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British and Irish Lions: Warren Gatland will speak to Mike Brown over omission - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland says he is happy to speak to England's Mike Brown about his squad omission.
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Warren Gatland has offered to talk to Mike Brown about his omission from the British and Irish Lions squad after the full-back cited a lack of "feedback".
Harlequins' Brown was left out of the 41-man group which will play 10 matches in New Zealand from 3 June to 8 July.
He played all of England's games as they won the Six Nations and called the lack of explanation "disappointing".
"I am more than happy for him to give me a call if he feels he's been hard done by," said head coach Gatland, 53.
"I can understand the frustration and the disappointment. There are a number of players in the same situation."
• None I'm going to have to keep mascot Billy close to me - youngest tourist Itoje
Gatland revealed he had previously asked his assistant - and Harlequins forwards coach - Graham Rowntree to speak to Brown and reiterated staff are happy to take calls from omitted players.
Brown, 31, told the Rugby Paper: "I've had no feedback about being on standby, which is disappointing, so I'm not going to keep up false hopes.
"Instead I'll reset my goals and concentrate fully on England and the excitement of going on a tough Argentina tour."
Gatland urged those not selected to stay sharp as he feels history shows "six to 10" of the current squad will need to be replaced due to the physical demands of the tour.
But he says he does not have a defined list of back-up players and that decisions are not always based on "rugby content".
'The game of your life'
Two-time Lions captain Martin Johnson told BBC Sport that bonding the squad quickly "is huge" if they are to secure a first series win in New Zealand since 1971.
Johnson - the only man other than current captain Sam Warburton to lead two tours - says players need the "game of their life" to win Tests on Lions duty.
"You have to come together as a team very quickly," said Johnson. "Tactics apart, if you're not a team you've got no chance. When the All Blacks are there, the people will want them to win and will let you know about it, so you have to use that in the right way.
"What happens in the Six Nations gets you on the flight but you have to be fast out of the traps because no one in that team is guaranteed anything. It's a chance for the players to do something very, very special."
Nothing wrong with 'first day at school'
Saracens criticised the timing of Gatland's squad get-together on Monday, with boss Mark McCall calling it "unbelievable" to host the meeting five days before his side play Clermont in the European Champions Cup final.
McCall cancelled training with six of his players attending, while Gloucester, who meet Stade Francais in the European Challenge Cup final on Friday, were without Ross Moriarty and Greig Laidlaw.
But Gatland called the day "very important", adding: "We haven't had any requests from anyone to move this date [which was] communicated months ago."
"It does really make a big difference for us. It's exciting, but also a very important day for us.
"Every Lions squad goes through this organisation day. I've spoken to most of the players, it's like the first day of school."
The Lions fly out to New Zealand on 29 May and will play the first of three Tests against world champions New Zealand on 24 June.
The Lions have already been forced into one squad change with Scotland scrum-half Laidlaw replacing Ben Youngs, who withdrew from the tour on Saturday after the wife of his brother Tom learned that she is terminally ill.
Gatland said it was "really tough" for the 27-year-old England scrum-half.
"As far as I'm concerned family comes first, he's made that decision and we know how close they are and we fully respect that decision and understand it," Gatland added.
Laidlaw, 31, missed the final three matches of Scotland's 2017 Six Nations campaign after injuring his ankle in round two against France, which Gatland said was "one of the reasons" he was not included in the original squad.
"It was obviously not ideal for him, but he's here from day one which is a bit easier than a later introduction to the squad," said Gatland.
"It's a sensitive situation but he has experience and also leadership experience and I'm sure he'll do well."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39842638
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Chris Froome: Team Sky rider 'rammed on purpose' by car in France - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Britain's three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome claims he was deliberately driven into by a car while out riding near his Monaco home.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome claims he was "rammed" by a car driver while out training in southern France - but says he "wasn't hurt".
The Briton, who rides for Team Sky, posted a picture on Twitter of his damaged bike and reported the incident to local police.
"Just got rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement!" the 31-year-old wrote.
"Thankfully I'm okay. Bike totalled. Driver kept going!"
The picture Froome posted was geotagged from Beausoleil in France, which is near his Monaco home.
Froome is not taking part in the current Giro d'Italia but is likely to race in June's traditional week-long Tour de France warm-up event, the Criterium du Dauphine, which he has won three times.
This year's Tour de France takes place from 1-23 July and Froome will be aiming to win the event for a fourth time and third in a row.
The incident follows the death of Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi after he was involved in a collision with a van during a training ride in April.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/39854961
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Why were 101 Uzbeks killed in the Netherlands in 1942? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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They left their homes in Central Asia to fight against the German army. Why were they taken to Amersfoort before being starved or shot?
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Magazine
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They left their homes in Central Asia to fight against the German army. Then, dressed in rags, they were taken as prisoners to a concentration camp in the Netherlands. Few now alive remember the 101 mostly Uzbek men who were killed in a forest near Amersfoort in 1942 - and they may well have been forgotten entirely if it had not been for a curious Dutch journalist.
Every spring hundreds of Dutch men and women, young and old, gather in a forest near the town of Amersfoort, near Utrecht.
Here they light candles to commemorate 101 unknown Soviet soldiers who were shot dead by the Nazis at this very spot - and then forgotten for more than half a century.
The story was rediscovered 18 years ago, when journalist Remco Reiding returned to the town after working in Russia for several years, and heard from a friend that there was a Soviet war cemetery nearby.
"I was surprised as I never heard of it before," Reiding says. "I visited the place and started looking for archives and witnesses."
It turned out that 865 Soviet soldiers were buried there, all but 101 of them brought from other parts of the Netherlands or Germany.
But the 101, all unnamed, had died in Amersfoort itself.
They had been captured near Smolensk in the first weeks after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and transported to the German-occupied Netherlands for propaganda purposes.
"They handpicked the Asian-looking prisoners and wanted to exhibit them to the Dutch, who resisted Nazi ideas," says Reiding.
"They called them untermenschen - inferior people - and hoped that once the Dutch saw what the Soviets looked like, they would join the Germans."
Camp Commander Karl Peter Berg was executed by firing squad in 1949
It was Dutch communists held in a concentration camp in Amersfoort whose opinion of the Soviet people the Germans were expecting to change. They had been held there with local Jews since August 1941, while all of them waited to be moved to other locations.
Now 91, Henk Broekhuizen, is one of the few remaining witnesses. He remembers, as a teenager, watching the Soviet prisoners arriving in the town.
"When I close my eyes I remember their faces," he says.
"Wrapped up in rags, they didn't even look like soldiers. You could only see their faces.
"The Nazis paraded them through the main street all the way from the train station to the camp. They were weak and small, their feet were covered in old cloths. Some of them could hardly walk and their friends helped them."
Some prisoners managed to make eye contact with the onlookers and used hand gestures to indicate that they were hungry.
"We brought some water and bread for them," says Broekhuizen. "But the Nazis knocked it all from our hands. They didn't let us help them."
He never saw them again and heard nothing of what happened to them in the camp.
One thing he discovered was that they were mainly Uzbeks. The camp authorities themselves were unaware of this, until an SS officer who spoke Russian arrived to interview them.
The translator, Alscher, had picked up Russian in Poland
Most were from Samarkand, says Reiding. "Maybe some of them were Kazakh, Kyrgyz or Bashkir. But the majority were Uzbeks."
Reiding also learned that the Central Asians were treated worse than any of the camp's other prisoners.
"The first three days in the camp the Uzbeks are kept without food, outside, surrounded by barbed wire," says Reiding.
"A German film crew prepares to capture the moment when the 'barbaric sub-humans' fight over food - they need to film this scene for their propaganda.
"So the Nazis throw a loaf of bread to the hungry Uzbeks.
"To their surprise, one of them takes the bread and calmly divides it into equal pieces with a spoon. The others wait patiently. No-one fights. Then they share the evenly divided pieces of bread. The Nazis are disappointed."
Remco Reiding has traced the families of 200 of the 865 Soviet soldiers buried at Amersfoort
But worse was to come for the prisoners.
"The Uzbeks were given half as much food as the others and if any other prisoner helped them the whole camp was left without food as punishment," says Bahodir Uzakov, an Uzbek historian based in nearby Gouda, who has also been researching the story of the Amersfoort camp.
"When they ate leftovers and potato skins the Nazis beat them for eating pigs' food."
From the confessions of camp guards and the recollections of prisoners he found in the archives - which formed the basis of his 2015 book, Child of the Field of Honour - Reiding also learned that the Uzbeks were constantly beaten and given the worst jobs, such as carrying heavy masonry, sand or logs in the cold.
One of the most shocking stories he discovered is about the camp doctor, a Dutch man called Nikolaas Van Nieuwenhuysen.
When two of the Uzbeks died, he forced other prisoners to behead them and boil their skulls until they were clean, Reiding says.
Dr Nikolaas Van Nieuwenhuysen was sentenced after the war to 10 years in jail
"The doctor kept the skulls of two Uzbeks on his desk to study. How crazy!"
Starved and frail, the Uzbeks started eating rats, mice and plants. Twenty-four of them didn't survive the harsh winter of 1941, and the remaining 77 were no longer needed when they became too weak to work.
So early one morning in April 1942, the Nazis told them they were being moved to southern France, where the warmer climate would suit them.
In fact they were taken to a forest just outside the camp, where they were shot and buried in a mass grave.
"Some of them started weeping, some held hands together and faced their death. Those who tried to flee were chased by the soldiers and shot," says Reiding, quoting camp guards and drivers who witnessed the execution.
Two rows of headstones inscribed "Unknown Soviet Soldier" in Russian mark the graves of the 101 Central Asians
"Imagine being 5,000km away from home - where the muezzin calls people to prayer, where the wind plays with the sand and dust on the market square and the streets are filled with the aroma of spices. You don't know their language and they don't know yours. And you never understand why these people treat you as if you were an animal."
There is little information that might help to identify these prisoners. The Nazis set fire to the camp archives before they fled in May 1945.
There is only one photograph that shows faces - two men, neither of whom are named.
Of nine portraits drawn in pencil by a Dutch prisoner, only two have names.
"The names are misspelt but they sound Uzbek," says Reiding.
"One is Kadiru Xatam and another says Muratov Zayer. So the first should be Kadirov, Hatam and the second is Muratov, Zair."
I instantly recognise the Uzbek-sounding names and the Central Asian faces. The unibrows, gentle eyes and mixed-race features - these are all considered beautiful in my country.
These are portraits of young men in their early twenties, or even younger. Probably their mothers had already begun looking for suitable brides and fathers had already bought a calf to rear for their wedding feast, when the war intervened.
It occurs to me that some of my own relatives could be among them. Two of my great uncles and my wife's grandfather failed to return from the war.
Sometimes I was told my uncles had married German women and decided to stay in Europe - a story my grandmothers invented to console themselves.
In fact, a third of the 1.4 million Uzbeks who fought in the war did not return and at least 100,000 remain missing.
Another drawing of Hatam Kadirov (left) and an unnamed prisoner, possibly also Zair Muratov
There are many reasons why the 101 Uzbek soldiers buried in Amersfoort have never been identified - apart from the two whose names are known. One is the Cold War, which followed quickly after World War Two, and turned Western Europe and the USSR into ideological enemies.
Another is Uzbekistan's decision to forget its Soviet past, after gaining independence in 1991. Veterans were no longer considered heroes. A monument to a family that adopted 14 war orphans was removed from a square in the centre of Tashkent - though the country's new president now says it will be returned. In short, looking for soldiers that went missing in the Soviet army several decades ago has not been a priority for the Uzbek government.
The Uzbeks were moved from the mass grave to a cemetery, then moved again when a special cemetery for Soviet war dead was created
But Reiding thinks he may be able to find the names in Uzbek archives.
"The documents of those Soviet soldiers who didn't die or whose deaths were not known to the Soviet authorities were sent to the local KGB, and the identities of the 101 prisoners are probably kept in Uzbekistan," says Reiding.
"If I have access to them I can find some of the 101 Uzbeks."
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39849088
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Steve Lansdown: Bristol 'underestimated' Premiership, admits owner - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Bristol "underestimated the Premiership" after their promotion in 2016, owner Steve Lansdown tells the BBC.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Relegated Bristol "underestimated the Premiership", the club's owner Steve Lansdown has admitted.
The Ashton Gate club, back in the top tier for the first time since 2009, won just three league games as they made an immediate return to the Championship.
"We thought we were ready, with a squad that could compete, but we were wrong," Lansdown told BBC Radio Bristol.
"We've learnt a lot of hard lessons. No excuses, we got it wrong. I should have recognised the danger signs sooner."
In November, after losing their first 10 games of the season in all competitions, Bristol sacked director of rugby Andy Robinson - who had led them to promotion in 2016.
With Connacht boss Pat Lam not able to replace Robinson until this summer, Mark Tainton took interim charge until the end of the season, but despite a brief upturn in form, he was unable to keep them in the top flight.
"Off the pitch, I don't think we've covered ourselves in glory," Lansdown admitted.
"I should have perhaps stuck my oar in a bit earlier and said 'we need that change'.
"We started off very badly. We underestimated what the Premiership would do.
"Our players have got better over time, but we know we didn't get it right at the start of the season.
"We knew it was going to be tough but we felt we would be able to win the number of games to keep us there."
'We were stuck in a time warp'
Bristol finished the campaign 13 points adrift of 11th-placed Worcester and 20 below 10th-placed Sale.
But major changes have already been made to their squad for next season, with Worcester Warriors flanker Chris Vui, Gloucester pair Mat Protheroe and Dan Thomas, and Sam Bedlow from Sale Sharks their most recent signings.
"We [thought we] had teams like Worcester and Newcastle in our sights, but they were miles ahead of us. I don't think they will be when we come back," said Lansdown.
"We've got to take our medicine now, step back and regroup. We need that extra class - I think we've brought that in now - and we need that development. The plan is in place.
"We've got to regenerate Bristol. We were stuck in a time warp, and we never actually got ourselves out of it when we got up to the Premiership. But we've been shaken up now and we are definitely out of it."
Steve Lansdown was speaking to the BBC's Damian Derrick.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39848382
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Nicola Adams: Double Olympic champion to face Mexican in Leeds over longer rounds - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Nicola Adams wants to impress her home town fans when she takes on Mexico's Maryan Salazar in Leeds on Saturday.
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Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Britain's double Olympic champion Nicola Adams wants to impress her home fans when she takes on Mexico's Maryan Salazar in Leeds on Saturday.
The fight, Adams' second as a professional and first in her home city for 20 years, will be over four three-minute rounds, rather than the usual two-minute rounds for women.
"I've looked at videos of my opponent and I know her style and I hope she'll come out confident and trying to win because I want to make sure I put on a great show for my fans," she said.
"Nights like Saturday are what I got into boxing for and what I turned professional for. I want to be fighting in the big-time and hopefully one day I will emulate my idols and fight in Las Vegas."
The flyweight voiced her frustration with two-minute rounds after beating Virginia Carcamo last month.
Adams, 34, says the extra minute in each round will give her a chance to try out things she has learnt in the gym.
She said: "I had two minutes to find my rhythm, distance and take out my opponent. It's not enough time.
"I found, by the end of the rounds, I needed a couple more seconds and it would be over.
"Now we have three minutes, I'm able to relax more, establish the jab, find the rhythm properly and really get in the swing of things."
Salazar, 18, has lost once in six professional contests.
On the same card, WBC international featherweight champion Josh Warrington defends his title against Spain's Kiko Martinez.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39856848
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Why are TV singing contests still popular? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A look at why the format remains so popular as Will Young and Bebe Rehxa gear up for new BBC talent show Pitch Battle.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Pitch Battle's judging panel will include Will Young and Bebe Rexha - who sang vocals on David Guetta and Nicki Minaj hit Hey Mama
Pitch Battle will become the latest singing contest set to hit our TV screens this summer but, 16 years on from ITV's Popstars, why is the format still so strong?
Putting Kelis, Gareth Malone, Chaka Khan and Mel Giedroyc together in the same room is, quite simply, a magnificent idea.
Having clearly recognised this, BBC One has duly recruited this dream team to appear in its upcoming singing contest Pitch Battle.
Judges Kelis and Malone will be joined by a different guest judge each week, with Chaka Khan, Will Young, Bebe Rexha and Seal lined up to critique the contestants.
Choirs and a capella groups will be pitted against each other in a format you just might recognise from the many, many other talent shows which have preceded it.
"I remember seeing Popstars back in 2001 and it being a genuinely fresh and exciting idea," says Julia Raeside, TV critic for The Guardian.
Hear'Say, made up of (l-r) Noel Sullivan, Suzanne Shaw, Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh and Danny Foster, won the first series of Popstars in 2001
"To watch the hopes and dreams of these young kids, it didn't feel quite so manipulated back then, and the concept of a judge being a bit of a villain was relatively new."
But, perhaps inevitably, the success of the show sparked a new wave of singing contests such as Popstars: The Rivals, Pop Idol, The X Factor and The Voice.
A number of successful groups and singers such as Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs came out of these shows over the years - but there were also plenty of potential careers which never took off.
The Observer's pop critic Kitty Empire says: "If you are an artist, quite often going on TV talent shows might not be the best idea for your career, because for every One Direction there are a thousand No Directions.
"If you want a career in music, that sometimes doesn't happen as a result of going on a talent show. However, if you're more versatile and more willing to go on the West End stage, you can certainly turn the TV exposure to your advantage."
It's true - there are plenty of contestants who applied for talent contests as singers, and ended up taking their careers in totally different directions after receiving the TV exposure.
Rylan released an autobiography, The Life of Rylan, last year
Rylan-Clark Neal was something of a novelty act in the 2012 series of the show, but has gone on to be a successful TV presenter and even released an autobiography last year.
Elsewhere, 2005 X Factor winner Shayne Ward and Popstars' Kym Marsh can now be seen acting in Coronation Street.
While Marsh's bandmate Myleene Klass is now a radio presenter and X Factor 2008 victor Alexandra Burke has starred in multiple theatre productions.
Certainly some of these former contestants have had success, but Empire points out: "There is a wider issue of whether great art is being made.
"For a country that produced people like David Bowie, who is universally acclaimed, we're not seeing that quality of talent on TV shows.
"People are just entertained by these programmes, and a singing contest is something that lends itself to TV watching by all generations. It gets kids and grandparents in front of the TV, in an age when most people are on YouTube.
"So it's much more about the format being successful TV than it is about creating meaningful musical careers."
A successful TV format it clearly is, but it's perhaps surprising that 16 years on from Popstars, singing contests continue to dominate TV schedules.
Girls Aloud formed after winning Popstars: The Rivals in 2002
"I understand the heavy reliance on singing contests - the idea that a show needs a result to make you tune in for the next instalment," Raeside says.
"But I think it's a shame that, by now, light entertainment producers haven't come up with something to replace it.
She adds: "I used to work in TV development, and the wheels do tend to move quite slowly.
"Back then, they were trying to work out what was going to be the next Big Brother. Similarly, these singing shows have a shelf life, and some would argue they've already reached their sell by date."
Empire agrees: "Increasingly now the talent show formula can get a little tired, and I think many people have realised winning these shows perhaps isn't always the best thing to do.
"In Britain we particularly embrace this format, partly because we love an underdog story, like Paul Potts [the mobile phone salesman who won the first series of Britain's got Talent].
"In America, the underdog stories don't play so well - it's the shiniest people with the straightest teeth who win. Whereas in Britain we love unlikely success stories, so it really serves our market.
Looking ahead to Pitch Battle, Raeside says she can see the appeal of using choirs instead of individual singers to attract viewers and thinks it's a good way to get more mileage out of the talent show format.
"There was something quite shrieky about a show like The Voice, because it's one singer trying to make their mark in a 90-second audition, and there's something unrelaxing about watching that," she says.
"When you watch a choir it has a much more positive feeling, so it could have the edge over a show where teenagers are trying to get their break."
Empire agrees that, on paper at least, Pitch Battle "looks like it's a winner".
"Before Glee, it was a very American phenomenon, but now people getting together and harmonising doesn't seem like such a weird thing to do anymore," she says.
"The idea that there will be choirs and a capella groups battling it out means that you're getting quite a variety of people into the TV studio, and presumably they'll be doing mash ups and cover versions, so I can see how the format has been thought up to appeal to the broadest audience."
But, Raeside adds: "I don't know how much longer these shows can keep going for. I can't see where else they'd take this format now, it feels like we're coming to the end of the line."
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-39843214
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Anne of Green Gables: The most popular redhead in Japan - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Canadian stories have become a feminist touchstone in Japan and inspired their own Japanese cultural spinoffs.
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US & Canada
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The entrance to Canadian World in Hokkaido, Japan
With two red braids hanging from her straw hat, Anne of Green Gables may just be the most recognisable ginger-haired girl in the world. But in Japan, the orphan from Prince Edward Island is more than just a quaint Canadian import - she's a national heroine.
As he approached the farmhouse with the forest green shutters and opened the old-fashioned wooden door, Terry Dawes readied himself for what he was about to see inside. Having grown up in Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province, Mr Dawes had visited the famous "Green Gables" historic site many times throughout his life.
But this building that Mr Dawes was about to enter wasn't that house at all - it was an exact replica built 9,700km away, in Hokkaido, Japan. At its peak, the house - one of the main attractions at Japan's Canadian World theme park - drew 40,000 visitors a day.
Now, the park is largely abandoned, a ghost of Japan's economic heyday in the 1990s.
"I've sort of likened it to having a dream, like an uncanny dream, where you're walking down a familiar street but something's off," Mr Dawes told the BBC.
The house of Green Gables in Hokkaido, Japan is an exact replica of the real house in Prince Edward Island.
The very existence of the Green Gables replica, and of Canadian World itself, is a testament to Japan's deep love for Anne of Green Gables, says Mr Dawes, who visited Japan in 2014 to film a documentary on that subject.
This love began just before the outbreak of the Second World War, when a Canadian missionary gave her student Hanako Muraoka a copy of the book. It continues to this day with an anime series, manga comics and several Japanese movies inspired by the story.
In this way, Anne became not just a Western cultural import, but a part of Japanese culture itself, interpreted and re-interpreted by Japanese artists and writers for a primarily Japanese audience.
"Generally speaking, we are good at imitating," says Yukari Yoshihara, a literature teacher at the University of Tsukuba who includes Anne in her first-year curriculum.
"Anne of Green Gables is a part of this larger culture of adaptations."
Anne is popular with Japanese women especially, Ms Yoshihara says, because the world of Green Gables is filled with "kawaii", which means the quality of being cute, romantic and beautiful in Japanese.
"They love the story because it is full of beautiful scenery and puff sleeves and cute things, like tea parties," she says.
A Japanese tourist takes a photo outside the real Green Gables house in Canada in 2011.
But not everyone who loves Anne is a girl. Go Takahashi, a student of Ms Yoshihara's, is also a devoted fan of Anne and is writing his university thesis on the books.
"I like Anne's character. I feel attracted to a person who talks a lot, makes a little trouble, and considers others' feelings. So Anne is perfect for me," he said.
Like many other Japanese readers of the Anne stories, Mr Takahashi has made the pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island, where he visited many of the sites written about in the books - the original Green Gables house, Lovers Lane and the Haunted Wood.
About 3,500 Japanese tourists visit Prince Edward Island - population 150,000 - annually, which makes Japan one of the largest source of overseas tourism on the island.
"They come for weddings, they come to see the wildflowers, they come for theatrical or musical offerings," says the province's Premier Wade MacLauchlan.
Tourism from Japan tends to spike when a new Anne-related production is broadcast. Premier MacLauchlan expects Netflix's new series, Anne, will draw large crowds once it launches on 12 May. The co-production with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is helmed by Breaking Bad alumna Moira Walley-Beckett, and makes ample use of the book's feminist subtext, choosing to portray Anne more as a survivor than a saint.
Anne (Amybeth McNulty) waits at the train station in the latest retelling of Anne of Green Gables, airing on CBC and coming to Netflix 12 May.
This subtext is also essential in Japan, Ms Yoshihara says. In class, she likes to teach Anne because the book is a kind of gateway for getting students to talk about gender, which is often considered taboo in Japanese society.
"We do not usually teach kids about how gender is related to our day to day issues, like education, or fashion or how we behave," she says.
It's for this reason that Anne was probably published in Japan in the first place, she adds. Citing Japanese scholar Hiromi Ochi, Ms Yoshihara explains that Anne may have been a key part of America's plan to rapidly democratise Japan after the war.
Published in 1952 by Muraoka, who translated the story secretly during the war, the book was widely distributed in libraries run by the US State Department in Allied-occupied Japan. Its central story, about an orphan girl who proves her heart and mind is just as good as any boy's, served as a kind of benign liberal propaganda aimed at freeing women from traditional Japanese gender roles, she says.
Anne (Amybeth McNulty) stands on the cliffs of Prince Edward Island
It seems that core reading of Anne is still prevalent today. In his interviews with Anne fans in Japan, Mr Dawes heard over and over again how people, especially women, identified with her.
"I think Anne Shirley provides a way of acting out, to a point, without ever transgressing fully," he says. "Ultimately, she does the right thing by her family, her adopted family."
Anne is both a conformist and revolutionary, a romantic and a radical.
"In a sense we are tricked into believing that Anne of Green Gables is a dream story of liberation," Ms Yoshihara says, laughing.
But that doesn't mean Anne is loved any less.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39809999
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Eurovision on front line: Will Russia's absence spoil Ukraine's party? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Eurovision is meant to foster unity but 2017 seems to be all about Ukraine's conflict with Russia.
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Europe
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Playing with fire? Georgia's singer will take full advantage of Eurovision pyrotechnics in Tuesday's semi-final
Performers from 42 countries strode down a long red carpet near Ukraine's parliament this week, as a curtain-raiser to this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
But one nation, Russia, was missing.
For the first time in Eurovision history, the host nation barred another country's singer.
That is because in 2015, in violation of Ukrainian border rules, Russia's Julia Samoilova performed in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia a year earlier.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why this Russian singer won't be in Kiev this year
Samoilova suffers from a neural muscular disorder and has used a wheelchair since childhood.
"When the rumours began I might not go, I was so sad," she told the BBC in Moscow. "I thought, how come? This was my dream. When the final decision was taken I didn't believe it. But unfortunately, this is the reality."
"I think it's a stupid reaction," Russian MP Vitaly Milonov tells me. "They're even afraid of such a small girl to enter Kiev."
Even before Ukraine's ban, Mr Milonov had called for a Russian boycott of Eurovision: "Eurovision became a disgusting socialist nightmare for all these left-wing parties with all their bearded women, or men, with these anti-Christian positions.
"I am sure that most conservatives in the world will never attend this festival. Because this is a festival of Sodom and Gomorrah."
The theme of this year's contest is "Celebrate diversity" but that has fallen flat for Russia
It is supposed to be a festival of peace and friendship but there is not much sign of either in relations between Kiev and Moscow.
In eastern Ukraine, 10,000 people have been killed in three years of war: a war in which Russia is directly involved through its military support for separatist rebels. Crimea remains a source of tension and Eurovision is the latest battleground.
"Since 2014, we've had a law in Ukraine that punishes people who illegally cross our border when they visit Crimea," says Ukrainian MP Olha Chervakova.
"Did Russia know this? Of course. Did Russia know that Julia Samoilova would fall foul of this law? Of course. In other words, entering her in the contest was a conscious provocation to create a huge political scandal."
The ban created a huge headache for Eurovision organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Eurovision's Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand said in March that Ukraine's decision went "against both the spirit of the contest and the notion of inclusivity that lies at the heart of its values".
In an unprecedented move, the EBU offered Russia the chance to take part by satellite from Moscow.
Russia declined: after the dramas of last year's Eurovision, Moscow was in no mood to compromise.
Ukraine's 2016 winning entry, 1944, sung by Jamala, was about Joseph Stalin's deportation of Crimea's Tatar population.
Russia had argued that Jamala's song broke contest rules for being of a political nature. When it won, Moscow cried foul and said there was politics at play. Now Russia seems determined to make not only Ukraine look bad, but the entire Eurovision Song Contest.
Recently, two Russian pranksters - posing as Ukraine's prime minister and his assistant - released online a telephone conversation they had recorded with a woman they claimed was EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre.
If this is the voice of the EBU's top official, it is hugely embarrassing for the EBU, because the woman on the recording makes an astonishing admission about Ukraine's winning song: "I was just too late made aware of the song.
"If I would have been earlier, and I think it was on purpose, I would have not allowed the song to participate, to be very transparent."
In a statement, the EBU said it would "not comment on prank calls".
But these are high-profile Russian pranksters, who once fooled Elton John into thinking he was talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Now our people don't trust Eurovision any more," one of the pranksters, Alexei, told me. "People understand that any country can use their political goals to win, so it's not a fair contest anymore."
Perhaps this is not just about a song contest? Or Russia's relations with Ukraine?
Security is tight for this year's Eurovision and some fear that Russia will somehow make its presence felt
Equating Eurovision with Sodom and Gomorrah and embarrassing the EBU appear part of a wider pattern of Russia trying to undermine Western institutions and Western liberal ideas.
"Russia now defines itself in its social and societal model against the West," believes Jan Techau of the Richard Holbrooke Forum at the American Academy in Berlin. "The Kremlin explicitly portrays Russian society as a counter model to the corrupted West. They seem now to buy completely into the idea that whatever harms the West is good for Russia: a classic zero-sum game."
In the run-up to this year's contest, singer Jamala warned that "we should expect more provocations [from Russia] because our victory hurt them a lot."
Security in Kiev is tight ahead of the first semi-final.
As for Julia Samoilova, instead of singing at Eurovision this week, she will be performing - once again - in Crimea. Another political message from Moscow, to Kiev and to Europe.
Russian singer Julia Samoilova has been denied a visa to perform in Kiev
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39847422
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George Groves 'struggling' with Eduard Gutknecht's condition - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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British fighter George Groves tells BBC Radio 5 live of his struggle to deal with the injuries Eduard Gutknecht of Germany suffered in their bout.
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Last updated on .From the section Boxing
George Groves says the injuries sustained by Eduard Gutknecht in their super-middleweight bout will haunt him until he retires from boxing.
Briton Groves beat Gutknecht on points in December and the German was taken to hospital with a bleed on the brain.
Gutknecht's wife Julia revealed in April that the 34-year-old was not able to walk or talk.
"Selfishly, while I'm still fighting I'm always going to struggle with his situation," Groves told 5 live boxing.
"It's a horrible thing. I struggle with it, my wife struggles with it."
• None Listen to the full George Groves interview on the latest BBC Radio 5 live boxing podcast
In her interview in Germany, Gutknecht's wife said he had made "little progress" and had also had "several strokes".
She explained the right hemisphere of his brain - which controls the left side of the body - is "almost completely damaged" and she also highlighted her battle to finance home care.
Groves, who visited Gutknecht in hospital, said he had not seen him since the German left the UK.
"It's very distressing," the 29-year-old said. "We don't know if his situation will deteriorate or if anything will happen.
"We feel for him, his wife, kids and family. It's horrible."
London-born Groves has not fought since that bout but will go for his first world title when he meets Russian Fedor Chudinov at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on 27 May.
The contest is part of the undercard as Britain's Kell Brook, who is from Sheffield, defends his IBF world welterweight title against American Errol Spence Jr and will be Groves' fourth attempt at winning a world crown.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39834817
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Giro d'Italia: Geraint Thomas moves to second overall after stage four - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Team Sky's Geraint Thomas moves into second place in the Giro d'Italia by finishing third on stage four.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Team Sky's Geraint Thomas moved into second place in the Giro d'Italia by finishing third on stage four.
The Welshman is six seconds behind Quick-Step's Bob Jungels, the fourth man to lead the race, and four seconds ahead of fellow Briton Adam Yates.
Orica rider Yates was eighth on Tuesday's 181km stage, which finished on Mount Etna.
Slovenia's Jan Polanc, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, won the stage having broken away after just 2km.
Katusha's Ilnur Zakarin was second, 19 seconds back, before Thomas outsprinted FDJ's Thibaut Pinot.
Wednesday's stage takes the riders from Pedara to Messina, with the three-week race concluding in Milan on 28 May.
"There was a bit of a headwind in the last 2km so everyone was a bit of apprehensive. I felt good and obviously it was nice to win the sprint for the third [place] and get a few seconds as well.
"I felt pretty good on the climb but, with it being a headwind, everyone like myself didn't really want to go too early.
"I think everyone's still finding their legs and sussing each other out but a good start.
"It's a nice sort of psychological boost winning the sprint but there's still a long way to go until Milan [the final stage], and we'll know a lot more on Sunday."
Overall classification after stage four
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/39859647
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Sulley Muntari: Italian FA may be disciplined by Fifa over handling of racism claims - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Italian football authorities may face disciplinary action from Fifa following its actions towards Pescara midfielder Sulley Muntari.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Italian football authorities may face disciplinary action over the treatment of Pescara midfielder Sulley Muntari.
Muntari, 32, was sent off after leaving the field claiming he was racially abused during a Serie A game.
He was initially banned for one game but had this overturned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
"We have a committee in charge of monitoring this and the committee will take action," Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura told BBC Sport.
"What matters is that the committee has to act and the sooner the better.
"I have my personal feelings on anybody that is treated like he has been treated, on the pitch and off the pitch but I'm not here for my personal matters. I'm here to make sure that Fifa takes, through the committee, the appropriate action for any single discriminatory action."
• None Muntari: I'd walk off again if abused
• None I've been through hell and have been treated like a criminal
On Tuesday, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said he would speak to ex-Portsmouth player Muntari, who believes world football's governing body, and European equivalent Uefa are "not taking racism seriously".
"We will work together," said Infantino, who also said he intends to talk to the head of FIGC, Carlo Tavecchio.
"Unfortunately idiots, there are always idiots everywhere but we have to fight them. We have to work on the people."
Fifa was criticised for disbanding its anti-racism task force last September.
The organisation defended this decision at the time, with Samoura then saying that it had fulfilled the "mandate" for which it was set up in 2013 - which was to provide recommendations for a "strong programme" to tackle racism.
A number of these have been put into action, including the introduction of an Anti-Discrimination Monitoring System to assess 850 high-risk matches for potential discriminatory incidents during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and friendlies.
Speaking before this week's Fifa congress meeting in Bahrain, Samoura adopted a different stance to Infantino, saying: "I don't have to call people anytime that they have been victim of an abuse."
She continued: "We've been regularly publicising the action of the committee on every action that relates to racism, homophobic chants and any kind of discrimination.
"We have monitoring too on anti-discrimination. We have heavy sanctions every time we have been receiving reports."
At the weekend, Juventus' Morocco defender Medhi Benatia cut short a post-match television interview on Sunday after claiming to hear a racist insult in his earpiece.
On Monday, Boca Junior player Frank Fabra reportedly left the pitch in tears after receiving racist abuse during his side's match with Estudiantes.
La Nation says that the Boca players approached the referee to halt the game but he deemed the insults to be isolated.
Does Fifa talk a good game, but not really care when it come to fighting racism, as Sulley Muntari suggested in his hard-hitting interview with my colleague David Ornstein in Milan this week?
Those working to eradicate discrimination from football believe the sport is slowly heading in the right direction, with heftier sanctions, regular initiatives, and better monitoring, despite the abolition of Fifa's anti-racism task force last year.
But as this case proves, there are still failings, especially in South America, Eastern Europe, and in Russia, where Fifa in their wisdom will stage the next World Cup. 2022 hosts Qatar meanwhile, have the death penalty for homosexual acts. Yet Fifa remains silent, and has not changed its regulations since 2013, something which frustrates campaigners.
Despite pressure from groups like Fifpro and Fare, Fifa prefers a 'hands-off' approach when it comes to dealing with national associations, hence their statement last week that the Muntari issue was a matter for the Italian authorities.
The implied threat from secretary general Fatma Samoura that the Italians may now be punished should therefore be viewed sceptically. There has been a spate of similar cases in recent years, with players suspended for leaving the field and making a stand against racism, and Fifa has been notoriously reluctant to get involved.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39855463
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Rupert Murdoch gives robust response to BBC questions - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As Ofcom investigates the planned Sky takeover, Rupert Murdoch remains robust as he answers BBC questions in New York.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The media mogul was leaving work in Manhattan, New York
As Ofcom explores whether Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox should be allowed to press on with its planned takeover of Sky, we thought the company might agree to an interview with the BBC. But they said no.
So we paid Rupert Murdoch a surprise visit at his headquarters in Manhattan.
Outside the Fox News building, I asked him if he was worried about whether Ofcom would take a close interest in what's happening at his cable news network as it made its decision.
First he waved a finger at me and responded: "You should be worried about what's happening at the BBC."
But once inside his car, he clarified: "Nothing's happening at Fox News. Nothing."
Murdoch's claim that there was nothing going on at Fox News, (aside from the "record ratings" he was very keen to mention) put me in mind of the wonderful Monty Python sketch about what the Romans have ever done for us.
Alas I didn't have time to engage him more fully, but I suppose I could have said that - aside from the departures of the founder and chief executive, and the most high-profile and popular host on the channel, and the co-president who was a senior figure for decades - then, yes, nothing's happening at Fox News.
Rupert Murdoch answers questions outside his New York offices
Except of course, for the 20-plus legal actions that are now lodged against Fox News, from former employees claiming to be victims of racial and sexual harassment. Oh, and the internal investigation by legal firm Paul, Weiss, which unearthed such things as caused the aforementioned senior figures to depart. The allegations against O'Reilly and Ailes are strongly denied by them, and there are no allegations against Bill Shine.
So apart from all that, yes I suppose there is nothing going on at Fox News. Oh, but forgive me - there's also the federal investigation into whether or not they concealed from investors the details of settlement payments for alleged harassment.
Apart, then, from the departures of Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, and Bill Shine, the federal investigation, an internal investigation, dozens of claims of sexual or racial harassment, an advertising boycott following the New York Times's brilliant investigation into O'Reilly, and a month of terrible headlines, I suppose it is true to say that "nothing's happening at Fox News. Nothing."
As for the instinctive threat that it's the BBC that should be worried, I blame myself for this. Instead of saying "Amol Rajan, BBC News", I should have said - channelling my inner Troy McClure - "You may remember, Rupert, we first met at Barry Diller's garden party in Los Angeles during Oscars weekend in 2015, but then Graydon Carter sauntered over to say hi with Anjelica Houston, and I just couldn't compete."
I can't blame Mr Murdoch: faced with a choice between speaking to myself, or Graydon Carter and Anjelica Houston, I would definitely have chosen the latter option. No wonder I didn't leave much of an impression. Had I done so, perhaps we could have conversed like old pals.
Instead, Mr Murdoch simply told me that he was "not worried at all" about what's happening. But his family and company's long-standing desire to take full control of Sky makes the timing of this scandal, and the series of visitors to Ofcom, rather annoying.
That's not to say that Ofcom will indeed rule against the latest bid for full control of Sky. There is, after all, a strong response from 21st Century Fox. In several conversations in Manhattan with those following this story closely, including representatives of Fox, the message comes back loud and clear, even if it is contradicted by Mr Murdoch's comment to me.
That message is that Fox has taken swift and decisive action; that the allegations remain unproven; that there is so much more to Fox than Rupert Murdoch; and that the generational change now under way is harbinger of a very different corporate culture.
Lawyer Douglas Wigdor will give evidence to Ofcom this week
Even if all that is true - and of course there are many who say it is rubbish - the man at the top was not on message when I spoke to him as he left work, doubtless to the annoyance of those trying to maintain message discipline on this ever-spreading scandal.
Douglas Wigdor, the lawyer representing more than 20 of the individuals who have launched cases against Fox, told me that Fox only got rid of O'Reilly because of the looming Ofcom scrutiny and because the advertising boycott was hurting them financially.
Fox vigorously denies these claims. The trouble for the company is that, on Thursday, Wigdor is going to spend rather a long time in the inner sanctum of Ofcom providing the kind of detail that cannot be good news for the Murdochs' latest bid.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39852404
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Antonio Conte: Chelsea boss says his players deserve Premier League title - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Antonio Conte thinks his Chelsea players deserve to be Premier League champions, as they move to within one win of the title.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manager Antonio Conte says his Chelsea players are worthy of winning the Premier League title.
The Blues are now one win away from securing their fifth league trophy after beating Middlesbrough 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Conte, 47, told BBC Match of the Day: "This is my first season in England in a tough championship.
"I'm delighted for my players, they deserve this. We are showing that we deserve to win the league."
Chelsea face West Brom on Friday with a seven-point advantage over Tottenham, who play Manchester United on Sunday.
The Blues finish their league season with games against Watford and relegated Sunderland.
"Now, we have taken another step to the title. We have to rest well and prepare for West Brom," Conte said after Monday's victory, which relegated Boro back to the Championship.
"We must try in the next game to become champions. West Brom will want to play a good game against us, but we are ready."
Cesc Fabregas was brought into Chelsea's starting line-up after N'Golo Kante was ruled out through injury, and the Spaniard was Chelsea's stand-out player.
He provided the pass for Diego Costa's opener and Nemanja Matic's third, and has now claimed 10 assists and four goals in 26 games. Marcos Alonso scored Chelsea's second.
"It's been a difficult year for me. I'm used to playing a lot but I feel I have matured a lot," former Arsenal midfielder Fabregas told Sky Sports.
"Many people told me I am not the type of player for Antonio Conte and I should leave but I like challenges.
"I hadn't played every game but I think I have played in the last 20 games. When I have been on the pitch maybe my contribution is better than a full season."
Former Chelsea and Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said on Match of the Day: "His interview just shows the calibre of the player. He wants to play week in, week out.
"He has got so much in the locker, his ability on the ball, how he is able to pick out players from anywhere on the pitch is outstanding.
"He may be lacking pace but his reading of the game is still world class. Every time Chelsea want an option or need an outlet, they go to Fabregas.
"He has been the ultimate professional and a huge weapon for Chelsea."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39852813
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How did the remote French outpost of St Pierre and Miquelon vote? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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Off Newfoundland's southern tip, French residents from St Pierre and Miquelon voted from afar.
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US & Canada
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Last March, just weeks before announcing her candidacy for the 2017 French presidential election, far-right politician Marine Le Pen set foot onto a craggy, frostbitten island 10 miles off the coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador. How did Le Pen's ideas resonate on the islands so far from the French mainland?
This was no foreign visit. The island of St Pierre, together with its larger but less populated neighbour Miquelon, is a remote outpost of France. It is the last French soil left in North America, and the oldest remaining French overseas territory in the world.
Few French people visit, or have even really heard of St Pierre and Miquelon, and that was exactly the point that Marine Le Pen, then leader of the Front National party, was trying to make when she arrived. Under her leadership, she argued, the people of St Pierre and Miquelon would be forgotten no more.
In the year since, the presidential election has been one of the most surprising in France's modern history, with far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and mainstream-right candidate François Fillon being eliminated in the first round of voting. French citizens were left to decide between Le Pen and a heretofore unelected 39-year-old banker, Emmanuel Macron.
Le Pen may have lost the vote for president, but her message resonated in St Pierre. Macron, on the other hand, has demonstrated little familiarity with life in this particular corner of France.
Île aux Marins, part of the chain of islands comprising Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
"I will never vote for Macron," said Johann, a French fisherman and captain of the small scalloping vessel Emeline.
As the Emeline zips through the Bay of Fortune en route to the St Pierre harbour, a couple of dolphins race by on the port side.
"We need something new," he adds. "She - Le Pen - is not new either, but at least she is different, you know. Macron is the same."
Johann was born and raised in St Pierre.
Although he and his fellow islanders number just 6,000, their votes held a special significance in French elections. St Pierre and Miquelon is the easternmost of France's western territories (the others being in the Caribbean and South America), which voted a day ahead of mainland France. Consequently, the very first votes to be cast in any French national election are those from St Pierre.
In mainland France, the rise of Marine Le Pen and the far right generally spurred increasing concern around immigration and terrorism, along with dissatisfaction with the European Union.
For Johann and his fellow fishermen, these concerns are quite literally a world away.
They gauge politics by hunches and intuitions, and in that frame of mind, president-elect Emmanuel Macron seems like an elitist, someone who would be out of place on a scalloping vessel in the high Atlantic.
Saint-Pierre was founded as a fishing territory, but today fishing comprises only 3% of the economy. While the local government has made a huge effort to boost tourism, the high cost of getting to the islands means that they receive only 10,000 visitors a year. The bulk of economic activity comes from public spending and administrative work. In this context, it is easy to see why, among the fishing community at least, a change from the establishment would be most welcome.
Election posters up in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
On Thursday evening before the election, one of the bars in the island was packed with young people. In typical French fashion, the life of the party was in the smoking section - and there were plenty of opinions on the election.
One vocal group of friends in their late teens and early twenties had just ordered a round of shots.
They were a diverse bunch, including two young women from France proper and one from Corsica. The women are all living in St Pierre because their parents have been sent there for work. The young men are all natives of the island, though with their black skinny jeans and fashionable haircuts, anyone of them could have been transported from a Parisian street corner.
All but one supported far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round. It seems he won the youth of Saint-Pierre over with his leftward pivots and his use of YouTube and social media. Once Mélenchon was out, the young voters declined to choose.
Many young people in the bar had decided to cast a vote blanc, a blank ballot. The other half begrudgingly said they would vote for Macron.
The sense of disenchantment seemed to teeter between animated frustration and blasé resignation.
In the first round of voting, St Pierre and Miquelon strongly supported Mélenchon, with 35.45% of the vote.
But in St Pierre and Miquelon, Le Pen and Macron were neck-and-neck for second and third place, receiving 18.16% and 17.97%, respectively. In an island community with just under 5,000 eligible voters, the difference between 18.16% and 17.97% was a mere five votes.
Alex Bry and Pierre Fouchard are cousins and best friends, but they are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum.
They are both 19, and first-time voters. Fouchard was the only one of his friends who said he would vote Le Pen, a decision he made because of what he sees as a kind of unfairness that permeates French society.
Bry argues frequently with Fouchard about politics, but they never allow it to reach the point of animosity.
Bry saw Macron as France's last chance to maintain its commitment to the environment and human rights. But in spite of his strong progressive bent he had a hard time deciding whether or not he would actually vote for Macron. For him, the vote blanc remained an option until the last minute. He said he voted for Macron "unwillingly".
Fouchard, on the other hand, voted for Le Pen despite expecting her to lose.
Around 1:00am, as bar staff made their way around the tables to prepare to close, Bry and Fouchard ordered a final round of cocktails. They decided to finish the night with a boisterous rendition of a Newfoundland drinking song - two smartly dressed boys who speak European French singing in English about fighting Quebeckers for the territorial integrity of Labrador.
A woman nearby leaned over and whispered: "A lot of people here feel Canadian on the inside, even just a little."
St Pierre and Miquelon voters casting their ballots in the second round of the 2017 French election
The polls opened on Saturday at the St Pierre town hall at 8:00 am.
A rooster in the garden of one of the neighbouring houses crowed at precisely the moment town hall officials unlocked the doors.
It was a polite and pleasant atmosphere, with none of the bitter disillusionment seen in the bar on Thursday night. The first person to vote in St Pierre was an elderly gentleman named Gérard Dagort.
In the end, Macron's victory was decisive, but voter turnout was the lowest in nearly 50 years and votes blancs were at a record high.
When St Pierre's own numbers were released, they closely mirrored the overall French result, with 63.88% for Macron to 36.12% for Le Pen.
It seems, then, that Marine Le Pen may have misjudged the impact of St Pierre and Miquelon's distance from France in her visit last year.
Sure, there are hockey jerseys and pickup trucks on the island and anything from France has to come on a cargo ship from Canada. But when it comes to politics at least, the people of St Pierre and Miquelon are as close to France as ever.
• None Will Macron mean Brexit blues or boost?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39848003
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Dyche, Howe, Allardyce - will an English manager ever win the Premier League? - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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It is 25 years since Howard Wilkinson won the First Division with Leeds United. How close are we to the next English manager lifting the title?
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To mark 25 years since the last English manager won the top flight, a BBC Radio 5 live special asks if an English manager will ever win the Premier League.
More English managers have got their hands on the World Cup than the Premier League title.
The media can be more guilty than most of thinking that football began with the Premier League's inaugural campaign in 1992-93, but, in this instance, it was the end of an era.
This season's 25th instalment also marks a quarter of a century since Howard Wilkinson became the last Englishman to guide a club to become champions of England. His Leeds side pipped Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to win the title only two years after being promoted from the second tier.
Since then, glory has been tasted by two Scots, a Frenchman, a Portuguese, a Chilean and, when Antonio Conte completes the job with Chelsea, four Italians.
English managers are getting further away, too. In the first edition of the Premier League, 16 of the 22 bosses were from England. Now there are six. Last season, the top flight ended with only four clubs managed by Englishmen, and that includes Everton's caretakers.
In 1993, Englishman Ron Atkinson was second with Aston Villa. The only other native to reach the top two is Kevin Keegan, and that was in 1996 (Brian Kidd's two-game spell in charge of second-placed Manchester City in 2013 hardly counts).
Englishmen gradually vacated the top three, then the top four, five, six and seven. Last season was the first Premier League without an English boss finishing in the top half.
To what extent have English managers been affected by the foreign money, owners and players that characterise the top flight? Should homegrown bosses look abroad in order to grow their knowledge and reputation? Can a manager find a way from the lower leagues to the summit of the domestic game?
Most importantly, will an English manager ever win the Premier League?
If the 2017 Premier League belongs to the world - backed by money from across Europe, Asia and America, managed by bosses from 11 different countries, populated by players from countless others and supported by fans across the globe - then the 1992-93 version was as English as fish and chips on a wet day in Southport, albeit with a few tourists from the rest of the UK and Ireland.
Of the 22 managers that ended the season, the six that weren't English were made up of four Scots, a Welshman and an Irishman. Bar Ossie Ardiles' spell in charge of Spurs, the Premier League remained entirely managed by Britons and Irishmen until 1996.
Arsene Wenger's arrival at Arsenal in that year has long been described as a Frenchman bringing a revolution to English football - new attitudes to diet, training, alcohol and professionalism.
Wenger did the Double in 1998, 12 months after Chelsea lifted the FA Cup to make Ruud Gullit the first manager from outside of the UK and Ireland to win one of English football's major trophies.
Their success piqued attention throughout the Premier League - former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said Wenger caused clubs to "rethink the approach" - but that was not the only reason that eyes began to glance abroad.
An expanded Champions League - England got two places in 1997 and three in 1999 - was one of the factors that contributed to Liverpool recruiting Gerard Houllier to work alongside existing manager Roy Evans in 1998.
"We wanted to bring someone in from overseas, we wanted to add that European dimension. That was a very deliberate decision," said Parry. "We felt the game was internationalising and that you couldn't just survive with an island league.
"You had to be aware of what was happening across borders and be able to compete with the top European clubs. We felt we needed that European experience to add to a successful base."
When the time came to replace Houllier in 2004, sights were set higher. To win the Premier League, the Reds felt they needed a manager with championship-winning experience.
By that time, though, the only managers in the English top flight to have won it were Wenger and Ferguson, neither of whom were ever likely to be available.
Liverpool's appointment of Rafael Benitez, a man who won two Spanish titles with Valencia, would be replicated by the arrivals of serial winners Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Roberto Mancini at Manchester City and, much later, Louis van Gaal at Manchester United.
"We had a very specific criteria that narrowed the selection," added Parry. "Rafa seemed like a perfect fit."
"It was nothing to do with a sexy image, it was how he and the world-class Spanish players he brought in could add value to the holy grail of winning the Premier League."
...and the world takes over
The arrival of managers from outside of the UK and Ireland began as a trickle, but is now a steady and self-replenishing stream. At the end of 2004-05 there were five bosses from overseas, seven by 2009-10 and 10 by '13-14. Earlier this season, that number peaked at 13.
If the touchline is increasingly multi-national, it is nothing compared to the boardroom.
What began with Norwegian investment at Wimbledon and Mohamed Al Fayed taking his Fulham to the top flight was followed by a mid-2000s avalanche of cash brought by the likes of Roman Abramovich and the Glazer family. Now, there are only four Premier League clubs that are not influenced by foreign money.
"The biggest single reason why there are more foreign managers is foreign ownership," said former England defender Phil Neville.
"A lot of these owners attach themselves to a particular agent who has foreign managers on their books and that agent will promote their own.
"In Europe, Spain and Italy in particular, they like to give opportunities to their own managers, rather than bringing someone in from outside."
To illustrate that point, there are eight non-German bosses in the Bundesliga, seven non-Spanish coaches in La Liga, seven non-French managers in Ligue 1 and only four non-Italians in charge of Serie A clubs.
Barring a Leicester-style shock (delivered by an Italian), Premier League winners for the foreseeable future are likely to come from six clubs - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Therefore, for an English manager to lift the title, he would have to be in charge of one of those clubs.
And therein lies a problem. Neither United or Arsenal have had an English boss since 1986. Chelsea's last full-time English manager was in 1996, while City haven't looked at home since the Abu Dhabi United group took over. Liverpool's only English stewardship since Roy Evans left in 1998 was Roy Hodgson's six months at Anfield.
These clubs have had plenty of success with bosses from the rest of UK and Ireland - Ferguson, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish - and taken chances on others - David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers. However, last season was the first that overseas bosses in the top flight outnumbered Britons and Irishmen.
Of that top six, Spurs have had the most recent success with an English manager, with Harry Redknapp the last Englishman to finish inside the Premier League's top four in 2012.
"It's about getting the opportunity, but the lads don't get the chance," said Redknapp. "They work their socks off to get their coaching badges, but when the top jobs come up they are never mentioned."
'It's sexy to have a foreign manager'
Still, it can be strongly argued that a Premier League owner, chairman or chief executive wanting the best for their club is right to look abroad.
Parry's explanation of Liverpool's recruitment of Houllier and Benitez is logical - it is only natural that a club signing the very best players from all over the world would want to do the same when it comes to the manager.
Can, then, English managers be considered to be among the best on the planet?
"The perception is that foreign coaches are better educated and it's harder to qualify overseas than it has been in England," said Parry.
"That perception has been a reality. Going back a decade or two, when English football had no requirements to be a manager, it was a fact of life that in Germany, Spain and Italy you had to have the qualifications or you couldn't coach. We were the last bastion of complete freedom - we were behind the curve in that sense.
"That was probably a setback, but I'd love to feel that we were catching up."
Redknapp, though, feels English bosses are not lacking in quality, but are up against it when it comes to image.
Sam Allardyce may have had his tongue planted in his cheek when he said that he would be managing a top-four club if his name was "Allardici", but the point still stands.
Is the designer suit and manicured stubble of a continental boss more appealing than the duvet coat of his English counterpart?
"It's sexy to have a foreign manager," said Redknapp. "Owners think he was so and so, or he played for him, he managed this club when, in reality, they are no better than what our lads are.
"It's my honest belief that if you put Sean Dyche in charge of a top six club, they will still be in the top six. If you put any of the top six managers down at Burnley, they won't do any better than what he's done."
Should I stay or should I go?
And so English bosses face multiple barriers to obtaining managerial jobs at the biggest clubs in the land.
Foreign managers are more attractive to foreign owners, are perceived to have greater knowledge of the European game and have often built a reputation through winning trophies in the biggest leagues on the continent.
An English manager could (and maybe even should) come to the conclusion that the best way to make himself appealing to the biggest clubs in the Premier League is to leave these shores to manage, learn and, hopefully, win in Europe.
But if English bosses are maligned at home, why should they be taken seriously abroad?
"I don't think English coaches are held in that high esteem abroad," said Neville. "There's a stigma attached to the coaches that leave England to work abroad and there are not many opportunities."
Neville speaks from the bruising experience of assisting brother Gary in an unsuccessful spell in charge of Valencia, but he insists he will see the benefits if he decides to return to coaching.
"There's a different world out there," added the former Manchester United and Everton man. "I have learned so much in the past 18 months, not just on the training field, but about the culture and myself.
"Watching, coaching, little things that will hopefully stand me in good stead for the rest of my coaching career."
'Don't blame them, look at yourself'
The reality, though, is that a new English manager who does not have the benefit of 50 international caps is likely to begin his career in League One or League Two - if he is lucky.
And Redknapp makes a strong point when he says that the only way for an English manager to reach the top flight is to win promotion from the Championship.
The last manager of any nationality to be appointed to a Premier League club from a job in the Football League (not unemployed, promoted from within or taken from abroad) was Chris Hughton, who moved from Birmingham to Norwich in the summer of 2012. More than 50 bosses have been recruited by top-flight clubs since then.
"We need to make sure we promote and market the CVs of up-and-coming coaches," said League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan. "We need to make sure that the agents who are advising foreign owners are aware of our members."
One option open to those ending the most stellar playing careers is to take a job coaching in an academy and work upwards.
Steven Gerrard, the new Liverpool Under-18s coach, may have come to the conclusion that he is much more likely to get a chance with the Reds first team by being taken from the Anfield system, rather than gambling on success in the lower leagues.
"If you asked Steven Gerrard to become MK Dons manager, he doesn't know anything about League One football, or even the Championship," said Neville. "He never played in it and maybe never watched a game. He'd be setting himself up for a fall.
"When I finished my career I wanted to go into management. I was an assistant for a couple of years, but wanted my own job. I thought I'd struggle to get a club, so wondered what another path could be, maybe at a youth team or an under-18 team.
"You see it a lot in Spain - we have Curro Torres, a former Spain international, at Valencia. He's had four seasons as the B team manager and now he's ready to go out on his own."
But for those who do not have the option of an academy job at a mega-club, the route to the top must start much further down the pyramid.
Historically that has been no barrier to success - World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey's first job was with third-tier Ipswich Town, the same level at which Redknapp inherited Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe famously kept the same club in the Football League despite a 17-point deduction, while Allardyce began as player-manager of Irish club Limerick.
For David Artell, a 36-year-old who has guided Crewe to League Two safety since being given his first managerial gig in January, Howe gives inspiration that the mountain can still be scaled.
"Why should I think there's anything stopping me from making it to the top?" he said. "Maybe that's naivety, but I truly believe I will go as far as my work ethic, desire and commitment will take me.
"I don't think that will stop at a chairman's door because a Portuguese fella or a French fella is better than me.
"You can say opportunity is limited because of all the foreign managers in the Premier League, but don't blame them. You have to look at yourself first. Excellence can't just be picked up, you have go and seek it."
His optimism, ambition and bullishness is laudable, but tempered by the bleak words of Redknapp.
"I don't see a top-six club appointing an Englishman for a long time to come," he said.
"It's a long way down the line before an Englishman wins the Premier League. The top six from this season will be the top six again next year. They all have foreign managers.
"Hopefully it will change, but not in the near future."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39765098
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Eugenie Bouchard beats Maria Sharapova at Madrid Open after calling her a "cheat" - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Eugenie Bouchard beats Maria Sharapova - the woman she called a "cheat" - in a marathon three-setter in the second round of the Madrid Open.
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A "motivated" Eugenie Bouchard beat Maria Sharapova - the woman she called a "cheat" - in a marathon three-setter in the second round of the Madrid Open.
Bouchard criticised Sharapova as she made her comeback from a 15-month drugs ban at the Stuttgart Open in April.
The Canadian finally came through a brutal encounter 7-5 2-6 6-4 after almost three hours on court.
"I was inspired because I had a lot of players coming up to me privately, wishing me good luck," said Bouchard.
"They were players I don't normally speak to and I got a lot of texts from people in the tennis world that were just rooting for me. I wanted to do it for myself, but also for all these people."
Bouchard will play Angelique Kerber, who is set to replace Serena Williams as world number one, in the third round.
"Some girls in the locker room were coming up to me and really wishing me good luck which doesn't normally happen," added the world number 60.
"It showed me that most people have my opinion and they were just maybe scared to speak out."
Speaking after Sharapova made her return from a ban for the use of meldonium in Stuttgart, Bouchard said: "She's a cheater and I don't think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play again.
"I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: cheat and we'll welcome you back with open arms.
"I don't think that's right and she's not someone I can say I look up to any more."
When Bouchard's comments were put to her, Sharapova said that she was "way above" responding.
Though there was no apparent frostiness between them as they entered the court and knocked up, what followed was a fluctuating and full-blooded encounter in which both players refused to give ground.
With breaks exchanged in the first set, Bouchard looked to have blown a huge chance in the 11th game when she missed a forehand into open court with Sharapova stranded.
But the former Wimbledon finalist recovered to take her fourth break point at the end of a 12-minute game and served out to win a first set that last for 70 minutes.
Sharapova, though, found an extra gear in the next stanza, winning four straight games to take the second set as mistakes crept into Bouchard's game.
The decider was a sapping affair, with each player coming from 0-40 down to avoid being broken - in Sharapova's case, the Russian did it in successive service games.
A third save from 0-40 was too big an ask for Sharapova, but even then it was not decisive for Bouchard, who surrendered her serve in the next game.
But, from 40-15 up, Sharapova was broken again and, in the next game, Bouchard took her second match point for her first victory over the five-time Grand Slam champion at the fifth time of asking.
After two hours and 51 minutes, the players exchanged the briefest of handshakes at the net.
"She said 'well played'," said Bouchard. "And I think she's been playing really well in her so-called comeback, if you want to call it that."
For Bouchard, this represents her biggest win and best run at a tournament since reaching the semi-finals in Sydney in January, while Sharapova still has work to do secure a place in Wimbledon qualifying.
"I think I would be worried about myself if I sat here and said I'm pretty happy with losing a tennis match, no matter who I face, no matter what round it is, whether it's the first round or final of a Grand Slam," said Sharapova.
"I'm a big competitor. What you work for so many hours every single day is to be on the winning end of matches.
"Today was just not that day. Of course, I'm disappointed. That's what's going to make me a better player. That's what's going to win me more tournaments and more Grand Slams."
Two hours and 51 minutes full of fabulous and often ferocious rallies - and ultimately a surprising winner. Bouchard has been in horrible form, but she played here with the confidence she showed en route to the Wimbledon final of 2014, and did not seem remotely fazed when Sharapova ran away with the second set.
Bouchard then remained on the front foot when she appeared for her media conference: choosing to detail how many good luck messages she had received from unlikely sources prior to the match.
The defeat leaves Sharapova some way adrift of direct entry into the Wimbledon main draw. She will need to reach the semi-finals in Rome next week to make sure. And a first round defeat could cost her a place in qualifying unless the All England Club steps in with a wildcard.
Andy Murray v Marius Copil in the Madrid Open round of 32 will be live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra on Tuesday from 16:00 BST.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39851644
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Why May is keeping immigration target - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Whether it is practically achievable or not, there are clear political reasons for the prime minister to stick with the "tens of thousands" goal.
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UK Politics
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Privately lots of Tories have said for years, six years in fact, that the chances of getting immigration down to under 100,000 were small.
And for as long as we were in the European Union, the UK government had no way of guaranteeing it would happen in any case.
The job prospects for young Spaniards, Poles, Italians, were arguably a bigger determinant for UK immigration than anything the UK government could do about European immigration at least.
For as long as we have freedom of movement, part of the deal of being in the EU, we can't put a limit on the numbers, nor the rest of the EU put a limit on the number of Brits who could move around the EU.
It's also worth saying that immigration from the rest of the world, on its own, has also been well over the target of "tens of thousands" - and remember, that's the bit that is easier to control. You can see the numbers here, since the Tories came into government in 2010:
Once we are out of the EU, controlling those numbers will in theory be easier. It will be the UK that decides how many people can come from around Europe, as they currently do with the rest of the world.
But while Theresa May has staunchly recommitted to the target she, as home secretary, missed for six years in a row, ministers have been also busy reassuring businesses they will be able to get the people they need, whether builders, bankers, or fruit pickers. If the economy needs them, they will be allowed to come.
That doesn't sound like a recipe for getting the numbers down to Theresa May's preferred level. And even though we are on our way out of the EU, there is still huge scepticism over whether the target is remotely achievable. So why keep it?
Sometimes in politics it's useful to ponder what would happen if they did the opposite.
Ditch the immigration target after the referendum when public concern about the levels was so obvious? Ditch it when the Tories want to pick up as many former UKIP voters as possible? Ditch it when Theresa May has spent years, with limited success, trying different ways of getting it down?
One source told me "it's just too ingrained". The political, if not the pragmatic, reasons for keeping it become clear pretty fast. Whether the target is suddenly achievable however is an entirely different debate.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39845154
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How will history remember the 2015-17 Parliament? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Brexit, tragedy, a new PM, the rise of the SNP and a fall in Lib Dems helped shape an eventful two years.
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Election 2017
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prime Minister David Cameron says he will stand down
In the tradition of the Good Parliament, the Long Parliament, the Addled Parliament and the Cavalier Parliament, will history remember the short, but eventful parliament of 2015-17?
Probably as the Brexit Parliament… its central event was the EU Referendum and its spectacular fallout - and there can be few moments in history when the political scene has transformed so convulsively and completely.
Rewind, for a moment, to 9 May, 2015. David Cameron and George Osborne were all-conquering - they had sloughed off the constraints of coalition and headed the first Conservative majority government to take office since 1992.
Labour and the Lib Dems were in disarray and faced leadership contests, and only the new phalanx of SNP MPs - now the third party in the Commons - looked confident and organised.
With a majority of just 12, the government had to tread carefully - especially on euro issues. There was no way the prime minister could resile from his manifesto commitment to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership and bring home new controls on immigration.
But right from the start, Tory strategists knew that the party faced what might be a devastating civil war between its pro-EU and pro-Brexit wings.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted to "build a better Britain"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Highlights of the arguments and campaigning ahead of the UK voting in the EU referendum
The referendum result forced David Cameron to resign, and a brief, but vicious smack down followed. Several cabinet ministers who had looked set to remain in office for a decade were suddenly out on their ears.
There was a little sniping from the dispossessed, but the Conservatives displayed their usual instinct for unity - an instinct summed up by the veteran pro-Remain former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, who told the Commons on 1 February: "As a confirmed remainer and supporter of the EU, I do not want the next generation of Conservative MPs to have the blight of this argument dogging them, their associations, their members and their voters in the way it has dogged us. It has soured friendships, deepened bitterness and damaged relationships - I swore at a mate in the Tea Room, and I am sorry."
Theresa May's new government was forced by a court action to bring in a bill to begin the process of leaving the EU - the 133-word European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. It was passed, clean and un-amended by the Commons, but amended twice by the Lords, before they backed down when the Commons refused to accept the changes they had made.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn won the contest in the first round of voting, with 251,417 votes
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn after 2016 contest: Let's wipe that slate clean, from today, and get on with the work we have got to do as a party together
For all the sound and fury, and baleful warnings that pro-Remain peers would "block Brexit" the government got the result it wanted on time and with no serious inconvenience along the way.
Labour's internal troubles were obvious from the moment Jeremy Corbyn took office…. It was not just the doomed Owen Smith leadership challenge that laid bare the internal rivalries of the Labour right while actually strengthening the leader's hand.
There were also the silent ranks of MPs behind him at PMQs, the constant churn through the shadow cabinet and front bench, the preference of many MPs for jobs on the committee corridor or big-city mayoralties - or even outside politics altogether.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Angus Robertson asks the prime minister if he is "running away" from a previous pledge to take part in a TV debate
There were splits on everything from economic policy to Brexit, but perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of all this came in the December 2015 Syria vote, when David Cameron sought Commons approval to join the military action against ISIS in Syria, which Jeremy Corbyn opposed, but his shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn (in what was probably THE speech of the Parliament) supported.
The SNP meanwhile were enjoying their new status as the third party in the Commons - gleefully turfing the Lib Dems out of the offices they had enjoyed for decades, and making good use of their new prominence in debates and question times - with their Westminster leader, Angus Robertson emerging as the classiest performer at PMQs.
In the 2015 Parliament, the SNP seemed to defy the normal laws of politics, running a focused, disciplined and very smart political operation, closely coordinated with their Holyrood leadership.
The Westminster press corps never really penetrated their shell; there was no hint of internal dissent or factional rivalry as they relentlessly used their new prominence to paint Westminster as corrupt and antiquated, and to push to make the case for independence at every opportunity, while taking pot-shots at Labour at every opportunity. Their natural allies, Plaid Cymru, did much the same, and were probably boosted by association.
The Lib Dems began the Parliament decimated and demoralised - just barely visible on good days and missing from debates a lot of the time. Like generations of his predecessors, their new leader, Tim Farron, has had a rough ride in the Commons, but Brexit seems to have revived them somewhat, with Nick Clegg in particular shaking off his post-election melancholy.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Douglas Carswell gets a one word answer when he asks David Cameron about his future.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. David Cameron is asked about the past progressive tense and modal verbs by Caroline Lucas.
Perched uneasily next to them in the Commons benches were the Northern Ireland DUP, whose main role in the last Parliament was as the go-to source of extra votes when the government's narrow majority was under threat. They have enjoyed huge leverage since 2010, and have played their hand well.
Then we had the one-person parties - Douglas Carswell (sometime of UKIP) and the Greens' Caroline Lucas. Being the only Commons voice for a party with national pretentions is a tough task. Ms Lucas has been an effective performer, and has managed to use the House as a platform to make her presence - and her party's - felt. She has been helped by Commons rules which require cross-party support for backbench debates, making her a sought-after ally for all kinds of campaigns.
Mr Carswell has been more pre-occupied with the internal politics of his adopted party. How antiseptic that statement seems, set against the brutal party infighting which marked his sojourn in UKIP. But (see previous blogpost) he can leave Westminster having secured his ultimate political aim, and able to at least claim that his faction-fighting inside UKIP made the referendum victory possible.
Of course the parties are just one dimension of Westminster life. The two years of the 2015-17 Parliament also saw an impressive flowering of the select committees, where cross-party working is the order of the day.
At times they have exerted real leverage over governments - there was the health committee's push for a sugary drinks tax to tackle obesity, under the leadership of Dr Sarah Wollaston. There was the astounding sight of Prime Minister David Cameron having to publicly court the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt, when he sought Commons approval to join the military action against ISIS in Syria. And there was a new trend to joint working, with several committees joining forces to address a series of issues which crossed departmental boundaries.
There were joint inquiries into Supported Housing (Work and Pensions and Communities and Local Government); Mental Health in Schools (Education and Health); Improving Air Quality (Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Environmental Audit Committee, Health, and Transport Committees); Competitiveness (Education and Business), and, most spectacularly, there was the joint Work and Pensions and Business inquiry into the collapse of BHS.
There was also cooperation between select committee chairs to push causes on which they agreed, most notably the close coordination between Sarah Wollaston, Clive Betts of the Communities and Local Government Committee, and the Public Accounts Committee chair, Meg Hillier, over funding for the NHS and social care.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Speaker John Bercow announces that clerks in the House of Commons will no longer have to wear wigs
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Speaker told the House of Commons that MPs should follow the example of Ken Clarke
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. John Bercow says the Lib Dem leader may be "irritating" to some Conservative backbenchers
The other continuing trend of the 2015 Parliament was more urgent questions and more emergency debates, as Speaker Bercow continued to facilitate MPs in jerking the chain of ministers. In this respect the Commons intakes of 2010 and 2015 hardly know they're born. The days when urgent questions were rarer than panda cubs, and emergency debates were merely a theoretical possibility, are long gone. A pro-active speaker has utterly changed the climate of the Commons, speeding up question times, so more voices are heard, and paying less regard to the rigid seniority system, which set the pecking order in debates. But John Bercow's term in the chair is now certainly closer to its end than its beginning.
This has also been a more visibly emotional parliament. There was an early moment of tragedy when the former Lib Dem Leader Charles Kennedy - who lost his seat at the election - died suddenly at his home, Then came the brutal murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox, and the terror attack of March 2017.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn tribute to Jo Cox: 'We have lost one of our best'
Each of these events led to emotional occasions in the Commons, and produced a sense of a political community rallying round. And beyond those moments, this was a Parliament where MPs talked openly about their experiences of stillbirth and infant death, depression, alcoholism and the suicide of a relative. Some of these speeches - from Antoinette Sandbach and Vicky Foxcroft, for example - had a shattering impact on the MPs in the chamber and the wider public.
One of the biggest changes has been the growing audience for Parliament. A few centuries ago, it was illegal to report debates in the Commons - now there is a substantial and growing audience for BBC Parliament and Westminster's own online service which allows the public to watch not just the main chamber but committee and Westminster Hall proceedings, too.
The 21st century audience does not have to rely on next-day reports of debates, and committee hearings, it can watch and comment in real time, replay and analyse every word and facial expression and rebroadcast its favourite moments.
Some MPs are becoming adept at creating viral social media moments - as when the SNP contingent began to hum the EU anthem "Ode to Joy" during the final votes on the bill to trigger Article 50, attracting a rebuke from deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle.
If I have one prediction for the next parliament, it is that more MPs will realise that there is now a very big spectators' gallery out there - and more and more of them will start to play to it.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39848296
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Players Championship: Will Sawgrass event become a major? - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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It is becoming harder to find reasons why this week's Players Championship will not eventually evolve to being a major, writes Iain Carter.
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Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website on Saturday and Sunday.
What makes a major? The question arises because it is becoming harder to find reasons why this week's Players Championship will not eventually evolve to that elevated level.
The four men's majors are the benchmark of the game.
The Open Championship is the world's oldest and most prestigious event, the Masters has become the game's most glamorous tournament, the US Open is America's national championship and the PGA? Well, it is the PGA.
Chronologically it is last of the big four and is regarded as such in significance - this despite always boasting the top 100 players in the world, which is more than the other three majors are able to do.
Gaining major status only genuinely happens when there is universal agreement that a tournament deserves such status.
The stature of the US Open has never been in doubt while on these shores, The Open's lustre only wobbled when American professionals became reluctant to travel in the 1950s.
Arnold Palmer's continued support of The Open ensured its elite status was preserved and never again ignored by any of the world's leading stars.
The Masters only truly acquired its major standing in the post-Second World War years and the US PGA Championship needed to switch from its original matchplay format in 1958 to maintain its relevance.
It is also the preserve of the PGA of America, one of the most powerful bodies in the sport and the organisation that runs the US Ryder Cup team.
All majors have in common a place in sporting history, large prize funds, deep fields populated with players desperate to win, a resonance that stretches beyond the golfing village and the ability to identify the best players in the world.
And this neatly brings us to the 44th Players Championship, which will be played at TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida from Thursday.
Which of those boxes is not ticked by the Players?
Its history has built year on year. This is the 36th time it will be played on Pete Dye's famous Stadium Course, relaid and refined this year, and the closing stretch of holes including the famous island-green 17th have become as familiar as any on the golf calendar.
In financial terms it is every bit as lucrative as any other tournament on the planet. This year it is worth $10.5m (£8.1m) and it is little surprise that it attracts the PGA Tour's strongest field of the season.
And it resonates. The fact that it returns to the same course every year helps and it generates memories that stick with us.
Remember Hal Sutton's "be the right club, be the right club, today" as he fired his tournament-winning approach to the 72nd green to hold off Tiger Woods in 2000? Or Fred Funk slamming his cap into the green upon completing his 2005 victory?
Sandy Lyle has been Britain's only winner, and his victory is still fondly remembered even though it was achieved 30 years ago. More recently the nerveless play-off wins by Sergio Garcia (2008) and Rickie Fowler (2015) are easier to recall than many a decisive moment in, say, the PGA Championship.
And there can be little argument over the pedigree of its champions. The Players is rarely won by anyone other than the highest calibre of golfer.
Jack Nicklaus triumphed three times, including the inaugural tournament in 1974, and the roster of champions includes; Woods, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Fred Couples, David Duval, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer and last year's winner Jason Day - all world number ones.
Sawgrass messes with golfers heads. It demands precision and the correct angles of attack. "It tests basically everything from a mechanical and hitting standpoint, as well as to a mental approach," said Duval, the champion in 1999.
For this year's event the course has been relaid with new grasses and several greens have been altered.
The 12th hole now becomes a driveable par-four to provide a kickstart to the fireworks that inevitably occur on the water dominated par-five 16th, short 17th and dramatic par-four closing hole.
Until 2007, the tournament occupied a March date and was recognised as the first genuine gathering of the world's best golfers before the Masters. Then came the move to its current timing in May.
Many have debated the wisdom of the schedule change. "I don't believe the golf course has quite lived up to how they have wanted it since the move to May, with the condition of it," Duval said.
"It should go back to March," he added, saying such a move is more likely to yield firmer and faster playing conditions. "It's been a bit of struggle and so I hope it does go back."
Duval may well get his wish. The proposed restructuring of the golfing calendar would see the PGA shift from its August date to take the Players Championship slot in May, as it moves back to the original pre-Masters timing.
Tellingly, the Players is at the heart of the conversation on finding the most attractive schedule for the men's game. It, therefore, is already sitting at golf's top table.
And, while the sport might not need another major - and certainly not another in the United States - it feels more and more as though we are arriving at a tipping point.
Right now it is "the four majors and the Players" when we discuss the most prized events in the game, but for how much longer might this distinction be drawn?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/39839666
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Madrid Open: Andy Murray beats Marius Copil to reach third round - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Andy Murray is through to the third round of the Madrid Open with a straight-set victory over Romanian Marius Copil.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
World number one Andy Murray progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open with a straight-set victory over Romanian Marius Copil.
The 29-year-old Briton, who had a first-round bye, won 6-4 6-3.
Murray was not at his best early on but broke world number 104 Copil at 5-4 to take the first set and pounced again at 3-2 in the second.
He will face Croat Borna Coric or Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the last 16.
Following his victory, Murray told BBC Sport: "The last few weeks my serve hasn't gone particularly well.
"Obviously when I was coming back from my elbow injury that was the one thing that I wasn't able to practise in my time off and that showed a bit in my matches.
"I was broken six times in one match, seven in another. I wanted to come here, serve a little bit better and I did that today.
"Today was the start and I have to get better, but at least I gave myself the chance to play another match in a couple of days. It is a very, very important period of the year."
It was a solid display from Murray against a potentially dangerous opponent as he prepares for the French Open, which starts on 28 May.
Copil will move into the world's top 100 next week, and the 6ft 4in Romanian was the more aggressive player in the first set.
It took Murray until the 10th game to break his serve, and he finally prevailed through attacking Copil's shaky backhand.
The Briton looked far more focused in the second set as he wrapped up victory in one hour and 23 minutes - with just nine unforced errors and without facing a break point.
Murray reached the final in Madrid last year, losing to Novak Djokovic, and took the title in 2015, but has so far had a mixed clay-court season.
After taking a month out due to the elbow injury and withdrawing from Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final defeat by France, he lost in the Monte Carlo Masters last 16 on his return.
The Scot was beaten by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open last month.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39861629
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Danny Willett and caddie Jonathan Smart part before Players Championship - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Danny Willett will use a new caddie at the Players Championship as Jonathan Smart has left the role after a disagreement.
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Last updated on .From the section Golf
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website on Saturday and Sunday
Danny Willett has split with caddie Jonathan Smart just over a year after winning the Masters at Augusta.
The pair have been friends since their teens but had a disagreement during April's RBC Heritage event, with Willett eventually missing the cut.
Smart felt mistreated and left his role, "effectively sacking" Willett, 29, mid-tournament, according to BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter.
"Things are a bit stale and kind of fizzled out," Willett told BBC Sport.
"It is a shame. But things happen and change, everything happens for a reason.
"We are still working hard to get the game in shape to get back playing the golf we know we can play."
• None Should the Players Championship be a major?
Willett did not rule out the prospect of his childhood friend one day returning to his bag but he was forced to use a member of his management team in the second round at the RBC Heritage.
He will use Sam Haywood at this week's Players Championship in Florida. Haywood was best man at Willett's wedding and has recently been on the bag of American player David Lipsky.
"Sam knows my game really well," Willett added. "We've played a lot of golf together over the last 10 or 15 years. It's nice having someone who you can speak frankly with. He knows where my game is and when it's good. I think it's going to be good."
Smart and Willett memorably embraced in the recorders' room at last year's Masters when it became clear the Englishman had won a first major.
But he has not won a tournament since, placing outside the top-25 in the three other majors in 2016 before missing the cut on his return to Augusta in April.
The dip in form has seen him fall 10 places to 21 in the world since the turn of the year.
It's been a struggle to adjust to the status of a major champion for Willett. Results haven't been good for a year.
Recently he's missed three of the last four cuts, so these are trying times.
It came home for me today as I remember this day last year I approached him at his first tournament since winning the Masters. Now, the mood music could not be any different.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/39865291
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Is work 'fair and decent'? That's not how the voters see it - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The head of the government's review into how we work says some businesses' employment practices are damaging the UK economy.
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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. Why bad work is bad for the economy
The head of the government's review into zero-hours contracts and the less secure world of work has said that too many businesses still allow "bad work" to flourish.
Ahead of a speech on Tuesday evening, Matthew Taylor told the BBC that workers should be "engaged" by employers and feel more in control of how they work.
"I think some business leaders understand completely the importance of good work and its link to productivity, but, as always, we have a long tail of businesses where there doesn't seem to be that understanding," he told me.
Mr Taylor said that he was "shocked" at a new poll which suggests only 1-in-10 believe that all work is "fair and decent".
Mr Taylor argued that it was "unacceptable" that so many people in work were classed as below the official poverty line.
A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that the number of people defined as suffering "in-work poverty" had risen by 1.1 million since 2010, to 3.8 million.
Although overall poverty is down, the report said that high housing costs, low wage growth and cuts to benefits meant that more people were officially classed as below the poverty line (an income of 60% of median earnings) despite being in work.
Less secure work in the "gig-economy" is also seen as a challenge to employment standards.
Companies like Deliveroo and Uber have been criticised for controversial workplace practices, though many say that the companies offer good, flexible alternatives to 9-5 work and a better deal for consumers.
"I think bad work is unacceptable when so many people in work are in poverty," Mr Taylor told me.
"Bad work is clearly bad for our health and well-being, it leads to people dropping out of work.
"Bad work is bad for productivity, so it's bad for our economy.
"If we're going to introduce technology - robots, artificial intelligence - we need to do that in a way which thinks about the quality of people's work experience.
"Bad work just doesn't fit 2017. We want a world of engaged citizens, part of our communities.
"How can it be right that those same citizens who go to work for half their lives, don't get listened to, don't get involved, don't get engaged?"
Mr Taylor, who is head of the Royal Society for the Encouragements of the Arts (the RSA), said the new poll findings showed that the public were not convinced that all work was of the right quality.
The RSA commissioned Populus to question more than 2,000 people.
Fewer than 1-in-10 thought that "all work was fair and decent".
And nearly 75% said that more should be done to improve the quality of work.
"Three quarters of people think that making work better should be a national priority," Mr Taylor said.
"It shows that nearly as many people think it is perfectly possible for all jobs to be fair and to be decent but actually, shockingly, only 1-in-10 think that is currently the state of affairs.
"So the public wants change, believes change is possible, but thinks we have got a long journey to go on."
As I wrote yesterday, the changing world of work is rising up the political agenda.
Theresa May made "an economy that works for everyone" the cornerstone of her "offer" to the voters after she became Prime Minister.
The government has said that introducing the National Living Wage and lifting tax thresholds (the point at which we start paying tax on our income) has helped many poorer people in work.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have criticised the government for letting the problem of the "quality" of work become so acute.
Labour has suggested it will ban zero-hours contracts and the Lib Dems have said that more transparency around what people are paid will help tackle the gap between higher and lower earners.
Mr Taylor said his review, which will be delivered to Number 10 shortly after the election whoever becomes Prime Minister, will call for a mix of new tax rules and workplace regulations as well as the promotion of a "new norm" around how businesses treat their employees.
"There is an old fashioned view in some parts of business that good work is somehow anti-competitive - it isn't," Mr Taylor said.
"If you get people to work better, then they will be more productive and be better for your business.
"That is an argument we've still got to win."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39849571
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Queen's Club: Andy Murray leads field for Aegon Championships in June - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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World number one Andy Murray will defend his title at next month's Aegon Championships as six of the world's top 10 men descend on Queen's Club.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
World number one Andy Murray will defend his title at next month's Aegon Championships as six of the world's top 10 men descend on Queen's Club.
The Briton has won the London event that precedes Wimbledon five times.
The tournament will also feature last year's beaten finalist Milos Raonic, 2012 champion Marin Cilic and 2008 winner Rafael Nadal.
Stan Wawrinka and David Goffin are also scheduled to play in the event which takes place from 19-25 June.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios and Juan Martin del Potro will also take part.
Tournament director Stephen Farrow said: "The player entry list for the Aegon Championships is strong every year and we already knew we were in for a great line-up, but with Cilic and Goffin adding their names to make it six of the world's top 10, this is going to be the best yet."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39855702
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Andrew Flintoff: Mental health issues should not be called 'a stigma' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff, who has suffered from depression, says the word "stigma" should not be used when discussing mental health issues.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff says the word "stigma" should not be used when discussing mental health issues.
Flintoff has suffered from depression and spoke about the subject as part of BBC Radio 5 Live's Mental Health Week.
"I know it [stigma] is a buzz-word at the minute and people say about 'breaking down the stigma'," said the 39-year-old ex-Lancashire player.
"I hear it all the time and for me it's a word that shouldn't be used."
On the international stage, Flintoff played in 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven Twenty20 internationals between 1998 and 2009.
• None Listen: 'When you're depressed ... the world passes you by, you can't get a thought in your head' - Flintoff opens up about mental health
He also played a key part in two Ashes series wins in 2005 and 2009 as well as being voting BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2005.
"If I was playing cricket and I had a bad leg, I'd take an anti-inflammatory. If I had a headache, I'd have an aspirin or a paracetamol.
"My head's no different. If there's something wrong with me, I'm taking something to help that.
"And they're not happy pills, I don't take a pill and I'm seeing unicorns and rainbows - I just start feeling normal after a few weeks."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39854321
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Facebook - the secret election weapon - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The social network is largely unregulated and unaccountable when it comes to politics, critics say.
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UK
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Facebook was a key influencer in the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit vote, according to those who ran the campaigns.
But critics say it is a largely unregulated form of campaigning.
Those in charge of the digital campaigns for Donald Trump's Republican Party and the political consultant behind Leave EU's referendum strategy are clear the social network was decisive in both wins.
Political strategist Gerry Gunster, from Leave EU, told BBC Panorama that Facebook was a game changer for convincing voters to back Brexit.
"You can say to Facebook, 'I would like to make sure that I can micro-target that fisherman, in certain parts of the UK, so that they are specifically hearing that if you vote to leave you will be able to change the way that the regulations are set for the fishing industry'.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. BBC Panorama's Darragh MacIntyre asks Facebook whether they have made money from fake news.
"Now I can do the exact same thing for people who live in the Midlands who are struggling because the factory has shut down. So I may send a specific message through Facebook to them that nobody else sees."
Gary Coby, the director of advertising for the Republican Party, says Facebook was also the key to Trump's victory.
He said the party used data about potential voters to reach them on social media, adding: "So if you are on Facebook, I can then match you and put you into a bucket of users that I can then target."
Mr Coby confirmed the official Trump campaign alone had spent in the region of $70m on Facebook over the election period.
"The way we bought media on Facebook was like no one else in politics has ever done."
Panorama has also been told Facebook had teams of people working directly with both the Democratic and Republican campaigns.
Targeted campaigning helped the Leave campaign get its message to voters
Simon Milner, Facebook's head of policy UK, confirmed that people from Facebook worked with the two campaigns, but declined to say how many.
"One of the things we are absolutely there to do is to help people make use of Facebook products. We do have people whose role is to help politicians and governments make good use of Facebook.
"I can't give you the number of exactly how many people worked with these campaigns. But I can tell you that it was completely demand driven, so it was really up to the campaigns."
The social network says it complies with all regulations but the platform, which is also expected to play a key role in the British general election on 8 June, has been criticised for being unaccountable when it comes to politics.
Teams of people from Facebook were working on both Trump and Hillary Clinton's campaigns
A quarter of the world's population now use Facebook, including 32 million people in the UK. Many use Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends and are unaware that it has become an important political player.
For example, the videos that appear in people's news feeds can be promoted by political parties and campaigners.
The far-right group, Britain First, has told Panorama how it paid Facebook to repeatedly promote its videos. It now has more than 1.6 million Facebook followers.
Damian Collins, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the outgoing parliament, says Facebook needs to be more accountable.
"Historically, there have been quite strict rules about the way information is presented and broadcasters work to a very strict code in terms of partiality and there are restrictions on use of advertising.
"But with something like Facebook you have a media which is increasingly seen as the most valuable media in an election period but which is totally unregulated."
Facebook says it is committed to assisting civic engagement and electoral participation, and that it helped two million people register to vote in the US presidential elections.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39830727
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Sulley Muntari says Fifa and Uefa 'not taking racism seriously' - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari says he would walk off the pitch again, adding that Fifa and Uefa are "not taking racism seriously".
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari says he would walk off the pitch again, adding that Fifa and Uefa are "not taking racism seriously".
The Pescara player, 32, was sent off after leaving the field claiming he was racially abused during a Serie A game.
In a BBC interview, the ex-Portsmouth player claims racism is "everywhere and getting worse", and encourages players to go on strike to combat it.
"I went through hell, I was treated just like a criminal," he said.
"I went off the field because I felt it wasn't right for me to be on the field while I have been racially abused," he told BBC Sport's David Ornstein.
Muntari was initially banned for one game after asking referee Daniele Minelli to stop the Italian top-flight game at Cagliari on 30 April.
The ex-Ghana international was instead booked for dissent in the 89th minute, prompting him to leave the pitch in protest, and he then received another yellow card.
He angrily confronted Cagliari fans, shouting: "This is my colour."
Muntari had the one-match ban overturned after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said it had considered the "particular delicacy" of the case.
He says he would walk off the pitch again if he was racially abused and he has urged other players to do the same.
"If I had this problem today, tomorrow or the next game I would go off again," he said.
"And I'd recommend it to others. If they are not feeling it they should walk off."
Italian football's reputation around the world has been damaged by the incident, said FIGC anti-racism advisor Fiona May before Muntari's suspension had been reversed.
Meanwhile, Juventus' Morocco defender Medhi Benatia cut short a post-match television interview on Sunday after claiming to hear a racist insult in his earpiece.
World governing body Fifa and Uefa, its European counterpart, point out that the Muntari case was dealt with by the FIGC.
Muntari believes the two organisations are "not taking racism seriously", but backs Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who replaced Sepp Blatter in February 2016.
"Fifa and Uefa only care about what they want to care about. If they want to fight racism they should be able to jump right in and tackle it," he said.
"But they have nothing to say about it. This is a big deal.
"Maybe the new president Infantino will do something about it. He has a different mind.
"I think he is capable of doing something in a good way to fight racism. I want him to fight racism."
A Uefa statement said: "The fight to eliminate racism, discrimination and intolerance from football is a major priority for our organisation.
"Uefa condemns such deplorable behaviour and has always shown zero tolerance for any form of racism and discrimination."
Last week, Fifa said it would "like to express full solidarity with Muntari."
"Any form of racism on or outside the field is totally unacceptable and has no place in football. As to the disciplinary consequences, this falls under the jurisdiction of the relevant national body," it added.
'Other countries need to follow England's example'
Former Portsmouth and Sunderland player Muntari says he never experienced racist abuse in the Premier League and has urged other countries to follow England's example of combating the problem.
"I never heard anything like that in England because I think they don't tolerate it," he said.
"The people who are racist are really scared to do it in a stadium because they will get prosecuted or banned. But in Italy they go free.
"England is the example for the world. If a country doesn't tolerate it then it means you get rid of it."
Foreign players are more likely to experience some form of discrimination than domestic footballers, a survey by world players' union Fifpro found in 2016.
The survey, of nearly 14,000 players in 54 countries, found that 17.2% of players based abroad have experienced discrimination, with the figure rising to 32% in Italy.
Muntari said his ban was overturned after an outpouring of support, and he praised former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks who had called on players in the Italian league to strike if his one-match suspension had not been withdrawn.
"Last week I heard a comment from the ex-Tottenham player and I was really pleased with that - saying if they don't lift my ban all the players should go on strike - that's a brave move right there," he said.
"He changed a lot of things by saying that, he changed a lot. I really have great respect for him. He has just fought maybe a per cent of racism right there by speaking out.
"All players, if they think it's right and we want to fight racism, we have to come together and do it."
We arranged to meet Sulley Muntari in Milan, a city he and his wife love in a country they adore. They feel at home - accepted, respected, happy. An ideal place to raise their two-year-old son.
Muntari suggested his favourite hotel in the centre of town, where the tranquillity inside contrasted to the bustle all around; an environment that aptly reflects how the Ghanaian himself was feeling after a week he described as "hell".
Eight days after he was abused by spectators watching him playing a game of football, handed a one-match ban for protesting and walking off the pitch - only for that ban to be rescinded after an outpouring of support - Muntari was serene. Anger was replaced by calm, confusion by clarity.
He was energised, passionate and articulate. He has turned negative into positive and is desperate to use his experience as a defining moment in the fight against discrimination.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39848079
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Arsene Wenger responds to Phil Neville's criticism of Nacho Monreal - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Arsene Wenger gives his response to Phil Neville's description of Nacho Monreal looking like he was "at a christening" in the tunnel before Arsenal faced Manchester United.
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Arsene Wenger is visibly amused by Phil Neville's description of Nacho Monreal being "at a christening" in the tunnel before Arsenal's 2-0 win over Manchester United, but says Monreal's focus was not affected.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39859008
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Election latest: Reaction to CPS decision on 2015 cases - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The CPS says there will not be charges over the Conservatives' 2015 election spending.
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Election 2017
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More than 12,000 people work at the university Image caption: More than 12,000 people work at the university
The University of Manchester's decision to cut 171 posts is due to "new government legislation and Brexit", a union has claimed.
The university says the move is necessary for it to be a world-leading institution.
But the University and College Union (UCU) said the university was in "a strong financial position".
Both academics and support staff jobs are at risk.
A university spokesman said cuts would be made in the biology, medicine, health, business and humanities departments.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2017-39839907
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Paul Pogba: Man Utd signing of Juventus midfielder subject of Fifa inquiry - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Paul Pogba's world-record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United last summer is the subject of a Fifa inquiry.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Paul Pogba's world-record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United last year is the subject of a Fifa inquiry.
Football's world governing body has written to the Premier League club "to seek clarification on the deal".
It is believed to concern who was involved in the £89.3m transfer, and how much money was paid to them.
A United spokesman said: "We do not comment on individual contracts. Fifa has had the documents since the transfer was concluded in August."
Pogba, 24, is in his second spell at Old Trafford, having left the club for Juventus for £1.5m in 2012.
The France midfielder first joined United from French side Le Havre in acrimonious circumstances in 2009.
He returned to the club last summer for a world-record fee of 105m euros.
United also agreed to pay Juventus 5m euros (£4.5m) in performance-related bonuses plus other costs, including 5m euros if Pogba signs a new contract.
When they confirmed the transfer, Juventus said the "economic effect" to their club was "about 72.6m euros".
A book published in Germany this week - The Football Leaks: The Dirty Business of Football - and reproduced in media reports, includes what it says is a breakdown of the Pogba fee and alleges his agent Mino Raiola earned £41m from the deal.
When contacted by the BBC, Raiola declined to comment and said the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.
Were there any more details?
According to reports taken from information in The Football Leaks:
• None Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another Raiola client, earns £367,640 a week - £19m a year - at Manchester United, making him the best-paid player in the Premier League.
• None Pogba's basic salary is £165,000 a week - £8.61m a year - but he has substantial incentives in a 41-page contract.
• None Raiola took a £23m slice of the transfer fee and will be paid five instalments totalling £16.39m from United over the course of Pogba's contract.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39865103
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Chelsea 3-0 Middlesbrough - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Chelsea are one win away from claiming the Premier League title as they relegate Middlesbrough with a dominant victory.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea moved to within one win of the Premier League title and confirmed Middlesbrough's relegation with a consummate performance and emphatic victory at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte's side can become champions with victory against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Friday night while Middlesbrough must contemplate a future back in the Championship after they were swept aside on Monday.
The Blues had already created a succession of chances before Diego Costa turned in man of the match Cesc Fabregas' pass after 23 minutes.
And the contest was effectively over when Marcos Alonso scored at the far post via the legs of Middlesbrough keeper Brad Guzan 11 minutes before the break.
Fabregas created Chelsea's third which Nemanja Matic converted as the hosts laid siege to Boro's goal, with the final whistle bringing contrasting emotions.
• None 'We are showing that we deserve to win the league' - Chelsea boss Conte
Chelsea on the brink of glory
In this mood it is hard to see the league title coming from anywhere other than at West Brom on Friday night.
Baggies manager Tony Pulis was watching from the stand at Stamford Bridge and will have gone away with plenty of food for thought after a Chelsea display that oozed class and intent.
Middlesbrough - downhearted, defeated and on their way back to the Championship - were little more than cannon fodder here.
From the opening moments when Guzan turned Alonso's shot on to the bar, Chelsea were rampant, nerveless and played with the swagger, poise and menace of the best team in the Premier League.
Chelsea's nerves may have shown momentarily in those defeats at home to Crystal Palace and at Manchester United in April, but the response has been magnificent, reeling off wins in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham and in the Premier League against Southampton, Everton and now Middlesbrough.
It is a question of when, rather than if the ebullient, effervescent Conte claims the title in his first season in England - and Chelsea will be fully deserved champions.
Chelsea's fans talk about Fabregas wearing a "magic hat", but all the magic was in his boots as he picked the visitors apart here at Stamford Bridge.
The 30-year-old was a key purchase from Barcelona when Jose Mourinho brought the title back to Chelsea to two seasons ago. But this season he will be a different kind of title-winner.
The signing of N'Golo Kante from Leicester City and Chelsea's subsequent success has meant Fabregas, who would have been first choice in almost every other Premier League side, has been marginalised and unable to claim a regular place.
When he has, however, the Spain midfielder has shown the class and quality that has made him one of the game's enduring talents in the recent era.
Fabregas stepped in here for the injured Kante and gave a midfield masterclass, and when he created Chelsea's opener for Costa he became the first player to record 10 Premier League assists in six different seasons.
He also created Chelsea's third for Matic with a glorious instinctive flick that unlocked Middlesbrough again.
Fabregas may wish to seek more regular first team football elsewhere despite being on course to claim another Premier League title winners' medal - and on this evidence there will be no shortage of takers.
Middlesbrough go down without a fight
Middlesbrough knew they were fighting against all the odds to try and avoid the defeat that would send them back into the Championship - and it was a battle they never looked like winning.
They were on the back foot from the first whistle and were simply overwhelmed by a Chelsea side who would not be denied. The Middlesbrough fans, who were stoic throughout, were applauded by Conte after the final whistle.
The feeling will remain that Middlesbrough have simply come and gone without contributing a great deal to this Premier League season. Could they have been bolder in pursuit of survival?
Boro have proved stubborn in defence on many occasions but have been totally undermined by a failure to score goals - and a failure to cure that obvious problem.
Aitor Karanka, the man who brought Middlesbrough up but who left in March as the decline started to accelerate, was backed by chairman Steve Gibson in January but his attacking purchases were never going to provide the answer.
Rudy Gestede arrived from Aston Villa and Patrick Bamford from Chelsea, but neither are of Premier League quality and the price was paid with relegation.
Middlesbrough look to currently have a good squad for the Championship - but this was a horribly tame end to their Premier League ambitions.
'The fans deserve Premier League football' - What the managers said
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte: "We must be pleased. It was a great performance, my players showed commitment and work-rate for three important points.
"At this stage it was important to win and exploit Tottenham's defeat. Now, another step to the title. We have to rest well and prepare for West Brom."
Middlesbrough boss Steve Agnew: "I am absolutely gutted and bitterly disappointed with the result and we have now lost our Premier League status which we took great pride in.
"I have just left a very silent dressing room.
"We haven't had enough wins and that's the key to the whole thing. Scoring goals wins football matches and we haven't done that enough this season.
"I have to say the fans all season have been outstanding - home and away has been top class and the least they deserve is Premier League football."
Boro make it four relegations - the stats
• None Chelsea have become the third club to win 300 Premier League home games, after Manchester United (347) and Arsenal (306)
• None Middlesbrough have been relegated from the Premier League for the fourth time - no side has suffered the drop more often since its inception [level with Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Sunderland]
• None Diego Costa became the third player to score 20+ goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea on two occasions [Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000-01 & 2001-02 and Didier Drogba in 2006-07 & 2009-10]
• None Costa has also scored the opening goal of a Premier League game on seven occasions this season - no other player has done so more
• None Middlesbrough have failed to score in 11 Premier League away games this season, more than any other side in the division
Chelsea will win the title if they beat West Brom on Friday. Even if they do not, they have two more opportunities to wrap up the title against Watford and Sunderland at home.
Middlesbrough will finish life in the Premier League by hosting Southampton on Saturday before going to Liverpool on Sunday, 21 May.
• None Adam Clayton (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Cesc Fàbregas following a corner.
• None Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39767793
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Will Macron mean the blues or a boost for Brexit? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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Emmanuel Macron's role as president of France may not necessarily mean bad news for Brexit.
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UK Politics
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The received wisdom is that the election of Emmanuel Macron as president of France is bad for Britain's Brexit negotiations.
Like much received wisdom, it may just be wrong. For the arrival of this young financier-turned politician in the Elysee could actually make a deal between Britain and the European Union easier.
Yes, President Macron is a devoted pro-European. His belief in the idea and the institutions of the EU is part of his core.
In his election manifesto, he described Brexit as a "crime" that will plunge Britain into "servitude".
As such, he will brook no Brexit-induced dilution of the single market and all its works.
After he met the prime minister in February, he told reporters in Downing Street: "Brexit cannot lead to a kind of optimisation of Britain's relationship with the rest of Europe. I am very determined that there will be no undue advantages."
Macron will thus, so the argument goes, stiffen sinews in Brussels and re-invigorate the Franco-German motor that has lain dormant in recent years. He has made utterly clear that he wants Britain to pay top whack when it exits the EU.
He has spoken of reforming the Le Touquet agreement that allows British immigration officers to check passports in Calais. And he has been shameless in his ambition to lure French workers and money back to France.
So Macron on paper could look like no friend of Britain in the Brexit stakes.
And yet his election is actually better news for Theresa May than she might imagine.
Theresa May will face tough Brexit negotiations with France's new president
Some Conservative ministers had been quite open in their preference for Francois Fillon, the former centre-right candidate with whom they had more natural, partisan commonalities. But they know they can live with Macron.
The new president is not going to be as Brexit obsessed as some imagine. He has other fish to fry.
He has to build support and coalitions in the National Assembly where polls suggest his new party may struggle to form a majority in next month's elections.
He has huge economic problems to deal with at home. And his efforts in Brussels will be focused on gaining support for his own proposals to reform the EU and the eurozone.
Brexit is just one issue on his to-do list. His priority is dealing with France's difficulties and stopping Marine Le Pen winning in 2022.
Now, of course, when President Macron does focus on Brexit, he will naturally be tough on Britain. But that is already the position of the French government. Whitehall has long ruled out any favours from Paris. In many ways, Macron represents continuity.
And just think of the alternative. If Marine Le Pen had won, the EU would be in chaos.
The EU's focus may have shifted from Brexit had Marine Le Pen won the French presidency
Her election would have been seen by some as an existential threat to the EU. Brexit would have become a second order issue.
EU politicians would have had less bandwidth to spend on Brexit. And as such, a deal would have been less likely, or at the very least much harder. Compare that to the stability that a Macron presidency may provide.
For here is the real point. The election of Macron may just make the EU a little more confident or perhaps a little less defensive. Many in the EU will conclude - maybe over-optimistically - that the global populist surge has now peaked with Trump and Brexit.
The electoral failure of anti-establishment politicians in Austria, the Netherlands and now France will give them hope that the troubled EU project is not quite so threatened as they had imagined.
They may feel a little less fearful that Brexit could presage the breakup of the EU. And a less vulnerable EU may feel less determined to make an example of Britain in the negotiations. And that can only be good for Brexit, however hard or soft you want it.
So the election of President Macron will of course send shivers of relief through the corridors of Brussels. But it won't make the challenge of Brexit any more enormous than it already is.
And just perhaps, it might make the task a little easier.
• None Five reasons why Macron won the French election
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39842424
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Would cash prizes make you more likely to vote? - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The idea has been trialled in several US cities with promising - if controversial - results.
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Magazine
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As the UK heads towards its third big national vote in three years, there are fears that people won't bother turning out - with apathy particularly strong among the young.
It's a problem across Western democracies. In last week's French presidential race, turn-out fell, and in the US last year, only slightly more than half of people eligible to vote cast a ballot for a presidential candidate. In Britain, turn-out has hovered at around 65% for the last two general elections, way down on figures from the previous century.
To combat the problem, several US cities are experimenting with a controversial idea: offering cash prizes to the electorate, in a bid to lure them out to vote.
In these schemes, people casting votes are added to a lottery, with big money prizes for a lucky few.
Bridget Conroy Varnis, a 52-year-old voter from Philadelphia, picked up a cheque for $10,000 after voting in a local election. "I was shaking, nervous, surprised, and I felt blessed too," she told us. She was presented with the award right there at the polling station. Camera bulbs flashed as a huge dummy cheque was handed over.
Bridget Conroy Varnis after winning at the polling station
Ray La Raja is a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts, and one of the academics behind the idea. He says that as well as boosting turn-out, voter lotteries can help counter traditional problems with the system.
The older, richer, whiter and more highly educated you are, the more likely you are to vote in the US, he explains. "If you go to a system in which you rely heavily on individual resources such as education, money, proximity to voting booth, you're going to get systematic bias in who turns out."
A similar lottery - the first of its kind - was run in Los Angeles by Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Education Registration project. He was also troubled by the pattern that Ray La Raja highlights, and he wanted to encourage more people from Latino communities to vote.
"We called it 'Voteria' to rhyme with 'Loteria' because that's a big deal in the Mexican and Central American community here. We wanted the branding to catch on," he explains. The lucky winner got $25,000.
The vote in question was for a local school board trustee, and indeed turn-out increased from 9% to 10%. The change wasn't dramatic, but as Gonzalez points out, the campaign had a minimal marketing campaign. An exit poll found that among voters who had heard of the scheme, around half said it was their reason for coming out to vote.
In Britain, another trial was conducted to see if a lottery could boost the number of people registered to vote - again with encouraging results.
However, while lotteries have shown signs they can boost both turn-out and registration, many have questioned the ethics of using cash incentives to persuade people to vote.
World Hacks is a new BBC team that aims to report on solutions being tried out, rather than focussing only on global problems.
We meet the people fixing the world.
Handing out money in return for voting is actually illegal in most US states, thanks to anti-bribery laws designed to prevent powerful interests from buying up votes.
Voting lotteries appear to be a loophole, because they award random prizes rather than direct payments to each voter. But ultimately, it is still a legal grey area that needs to be tested state by state, and nation by nation.
There are also suggestions that offering financial incentives can actually reduce participation in certain activities.
In an experiment with blood donors, for example, offering payment in exchange for blood actually prompted some regular donors to stop taking part. Cash payments had turned what the donors saw as a civic duty into a financial transaction, which became far less appealing.
And on the other hand you might encounter the opposite problem: attracting people who hadn't been voters before, but who didn't take the process of selection seriously.
Barry Schwartz, a psychologist at Swarthmore College in the US, is sceptical about offering prizes for voting. There are no incentives clever enough to replace the basic idea of doing the right thing, he says.
"If you had 80% turnout, and half the people didn't know what they were voting for, you wouldn't think the problem had gone away. You've got the same problem," Schwartz argues.
For Antonio Gonzalez, the president of the Southwest Voter Education Registration project, the process isn't quite so simple. Their big idea is that encouraging people to vote - even by offering material incentives - will encourage them to become more clued up about politics in the long term.
And the alternative is the system we have now, where turnout is skewed in favour of people who are already more privileged members of society. A sort of "dictatorship of the informed", as Gonzalez puts it.
Clearly, the idea is a controversial one. Voter lotteries have some way to go before being accepted as a practical, and ethical, solution to the problem of low voter turnout.
But after their initial success, two more voter lotteries will take place in Philadelphia this year.
And if - as is widely expected - huge swathes of young people fail to head to the polling booth at the UK's general election on 8 June, it could be an idea that begins to attract more attention.
Listen to BBC World Hacks on the World Service or listen back on the iPlayer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39794795
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Middlesbrough relegation 'lowest point' for captain Ben Gibson - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson describes his side's relegation from the Premier League as the "lowest point" of his life.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson described his side's relegation from the Premier League as the "lowest point" of his life.
Monday's 3-0 defeat by leaders Chelsea confirmed Boro will go back down to the Championship after one season.
"After the highs of last season, to be honest we've wasted an opportunity to play in the best league in the world," said defender Gibson, 24.
"We have to reflect and try to put it right."
Middlesbrough have been relegated from the Premier League four times, which is the joint highest along with Norwich, Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
Chairman Steve Gibson, who is the uncle of Ben, sacked manager Aitor Karanka in March, with assistant boss Steve Agnew taking the job until the end of the season.
But with just one win in nine league games, the former Barnsley player was unable to guide Boro away from the relegation zone.
"We have to put it right and make sure we come back stronger," said Middlesbrough-born Ben Gibson.
"The chairman and those fans, they deserve Premier League football. People say he's the best chairman in the country and our fans were singing until the end there."
Agnew, 51, would not comment on whether he wants to stay with Middlesbrough and try to lead the club straight back to the top flight.
"I have to say the fans all season have been outstanding - home and away has been top class and the least they deserve is Premier League football," he said.
"We need to finish the season strong and reflect through the summer.
"The most important thing at the moment is Middlesbrough football club and we are all bitterly disappointed."
'I felt in my heart I should applaud'
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, who saw his side move to within three points of winning the title, embraced Agnew at full-time and shook hands with Boro players while also applauding their fans.
"Only in England you can see this support. I've not seen it before," said the Italian, who is managing in his first season in England.
"It's great to see a team fight with all of their strength. They went down and the supporters stayed there.
"This must be an example for other countries. For this reason, I felt in my heart I should go and clap the Boro support."
Analysis - Boro start again with big questions to answer
Former Middlesbrough keeper Mark Schwarzer on Match of the Day
They were very cautious with the players they signed.
Other than Stewart Downing and Brad Guzan there was not enough Premier League experience in those players.
They had momentum as most promoted teams do when they started out in this league but but the momentum wore thin.
It is going to be interesting which direction they decide to go down [with the manager]."
Middlesbrough's defiance was confined to their supporters at Stamford Bridge as Steve Agnew's team were outclassed by Premier League champions-elect Chelsea.
Middlesbrough's weakness was an obvious one and was allowed to linger unchecked until it was too late and cost them a place in the Premier League after only one season back in the top flight.
When Middlesbrough went down in 2008-09 they conceded 57 goals. The three here makes 48 for this season with two games left and on many occasions they have looked defensively sound and well organised.
The problem is at the other end, where they have scored only 26 goals - the lowest in the Premier League.
Alvaro Negredo looked a striker past his peak, while Patrick Bamford and Rudy Gestede, brought in from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively in January, were very poor buys. Middlesbrough paid a heavy price for those transfer misjudgements.
Now they must start again with big questions to answer.
The squad has the appearance of a group in reasonable shape to tackle the Championship, but surely inspirational defender and captain Ben Gibson will be a target for top-tier clubs. And can their magnificent chairman Steve Gibson find it in himself to be a force behind yet another attempt to get back into the top flight?
Middlesbrough is a place with real passion for football and Steve Gibson is the shining symbol of the club, one of the most significant figures in the club's history.
If he can find renewed drive and the right manager then there is still the chance for Boro to bounce back yet again.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39852765
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The man who reportedly faked a terror plot to get out of a holiday - BBC Three
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2017-05-09
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Check out this content on BBC Three.
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How far would you go to get out of a holiday with a partner?
Would you pay a small cancellation fee? Or affect the symptoms of a mystery illness? Or would you just play it safe and fake a terror plot?
Forget post-holiday blues, it was pre-holiday blues that got one married man’s trunks in a twist. According to a Hyderabad City Police report, 32-year-old Motaparthi Vamshi Krishna went to the extraordinary lengths of faking a terror plot to ensure he didn’t have to go on holiday with his girlfriend.
Mr Krishna emailed Mumbai police claiming to be a woman who had heard six men at a hotel plotting to hijack planes in the cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. Extra security was put in place at the cities three airports as a result.
Mr Krishna ended up admitting he made the entire thing up after being traced by the IP address of the computer the email was sent from.
During the police interrogation, he said his online girlfriend had proposed the holiday but he didn’t have the money to make it happen. So, instead of believing that honesty may indeed be the best policy, he created a fake airline ticket and emailed it to his girlfriend before tipping the police off about the hoax hijacking.
Despite his best efforts, it’s thought no flights were disrupted. Mr Krishna was arrested on four charges, including impersonation and providing false information.
And, presumably, he now faces the wrath of two women.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/95df04e2-b85d-43aa-b920-2a1870b197f4?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=faketerrorplottogetoutofaholiday&intc_linkname=bbcthree_fac_article1
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Why Three Girls is one of TV's toughest watches - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Maxine Peake says her drama about child sex abuse in Rochdale is a story that "needed to be told".
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Entertainment & Arts
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Maxine Peake as sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham in Three Girls
"It was a story that needed to be told," says Maxine Peake, emphatically.
"It's a story about a swathe of society that has been ignored and bullied."
The actress is referring to Three Girls, a new BBC One drama based on the true stories of victims of grooming and sexual abuse in Rochdale.
Peake plays Sara Rowbotham, the sexual health worker who realised the girls were being abused and reported it to the authorities - and was repeatedly ignored.
"The powers that be weren't encouraging her, they were shutting doors, they were telling her to be quiet, they weren't interested," says Peake, who met the real-life Sara in preparation for the role.
"Nobody seemed interested in helping these girls who were in desperate situations. These were really vulnerable young women - the lack of care for them I found mind-blowing."
As the title suggests, Three Girls focuses on the young victims who were groomed in Rochdale in the five years between 2008 and 2012, for which nine men were convicted and sentenced.
The judge at the time, Gerald Clifton, said the men - eight of Pakistani origin and one from Afghanistan - treated the girls "as though they were worthless and beyond respect".
He said: "One of the factors leading to that was the fact that they were not part of your community or religion.
"Some of you, when arrested, said it (the prosecution) was triggered by race. That is nonsense. What triggered this prosecution was your lust and greed."
The drama - which will be shown over three nights next week - has been made with the full co-operation of the victims and their families.
It comes as ITV soap Coronation Street also has a running storyline about child grooming involving 16-year-old Bethany Platt and a "boyfriend" in his mid-30s.
Three Girls isn't an easy watch, although it is never prurient or sensational.
Two episodes were shown at a press screening in London this week. The mood afterwards was subdued.
Holly (Molly Windsor) with her parents Jim (Paul Kaye) and Julie (Jill Halfpenny)
The first episode follows schoolgirl Holly (an astonishing performance from Molly Windsor), recently moved to Rochdale with her family, who is is keen to make friends and fit in.
It isn't long before she is hanging out with a group of girls at the back of a local kebab shop being given free food and endless bottles of vodka by older men.
And then the demands for sex begin.
One chilling line that sticks in the memory is when one victim describes how girls would be driven to a flat full of men who "passed us around like a ball".
Writer Nicole Taylor started work on the project in December 2013 by getting to know the victims and their families so she could understand what had happened in detail.
Lesley Sharp (right) plays detective Maggie Oliver who, with Sara Rowbotham, helps bring the case to court
Speaking after the screening, Peake says that telling the story in a drama helps engage a bigger audience.
"Sometimes people can be slightly cautious about documentaries, maybe, so it's getting into more homes.
"This is still going on," she adds. "It's not over, but steps have been made and things are getting better."
Executive producer Sue Hogg says she had become interested in making the drama after she heard an interview with one of the victims after the trial.
"She was only 19 then, and she was so dignified and so strong in that interview - and then you begin to ask the questions 'why was this allowed to go on for so long?' and 'why were the girls not listened to?'"
She hopes that the drama will help the public understand how grooming works and will help prevent future cases.
Peake says that, despite the harrowing subject matter, acting in the drama was a "positive experience".
"It wasn't a depressing set to be on - it felt full of hope," she says.
"Being part of this story, you felt you were doing something that had hope for the next generation of girls that hopefully will be protected from this.
"And the girls who have been through it, and are now young women, will be able to move on with their lives."
This story was first published on 9 May 2017.
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-39846999
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Jamie Roberts to lead Wales for June Tests against Tonga and Samoa - BBC Sport
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2017-05-09
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Wales name Harlequins centre Jamie Roberts as captain for their summer tour Tests against Tonga in Auckland and Samoa in Apia.
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Last updated on .From the section Welsh Rugby
Wales have named Harlequins centre Jamie Roberts to lead a 32-man squad containing 13 uncapped players on their summer tour.
Roberts, 30, has been capped 91 times but dropped out of first-choice favour with Wales in 2016-17.
They face Tonga in Auckland on 16 June and Samoa in Apia a week later.
Wales will be missing 12 leading players - including captain Alun Wyn Jones - who will tour with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand.
With Warren Gatland as Lions boss and Rob Howley an assistant, regular forwards coach Robin McBryde will be in charge of Wales for the two Tests.
The uncapped forwards who could face Tonga and Samoa are Seb Davies, Adam Beard, Ryan Elias, Ollie Griffiths, Wyn Jones, Rory Thornton and Thomas Young.
The uncapped backs are Aled Davies, Keelan Giles, Owen Williams, Rhun Williams and Tomos Williams.
There are no places for scrum-half Lloyd Williams, fly-half Rhys Patchell or flanker James Davies but Josh Navidi and Gareth Anscombe are recalled.
Wales are also without injured prop Gethin Jenkins and lock Luke Charteris.
With Jonathan Davies heading to New Zealand with the Lions, 2009 and 2013 Lions tourist Roberts has a chance to shine in midfield and as tour leader.
Roberts admitted his "disappointment" at missing out on Lions selection, but was "immensely honoured" to be asked to lead Wales.
"I'm as disappointed as any player to miss out on it (Lions), but you mope around for about a day, dust yourself off and you get back to training hard and playing and trying to play your best and that motivation will always be there.
"But the focus now is on Wales, winning two games and best preparing this group as much as possible."
Roberts added: "It's a proud moment for myself, but more importantly my family and a position of responsibility that I will take huge pride in."
Cardiff Blues' Seb Davies and Beard and Thornton, of Ospreys are locks, Scarlets' Elias is a hooker and team-mate Wyn Jones a prop.
Young, of Wasps, and Newport Gwent Dragons' Griffiths are open-side flankers who will battle to fill the void left by Lions captain Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.
Tomos Williams, of Blues and Scarlets' Aled Davies will challenge another Scarlet, Gareth Davies, at scrum-half.
Leicester's Gloucester-bound Owen Williams can play fly-half and centre while wing Giles, of Ospreys, and Blues' Rhun Williams will vie for back-three spots.
Where and when do Wales play?
Wales will face Tonga at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, 16 June as part of a double-header also featuring New Zealand.
Wales explained in March that the contest had been moved to Auckland due to concerns over playing conditions.
The tourists will face Tonga at 06:30 BST, with the All Blacks taking on Samoa at 09:00 at the same venue.
The double-header will also provide Wales with an opportunity to observe the second opponents of their two-Test tour, with McBryde's men flying to Apia, Samoa to take on Samoa a week later on Friday, 23 June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39857796
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The Japanese manga comic helping Syrian refugee children dream - BBC News
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2017-05-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Arabic translations of a Japanese comic are giving Syrian refugee kids an escape from reality.
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Asia
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"The situation in Syria is terrible - so terrible that I think it stops kids from dreaming. But it's their dreams that one day will make Syria good again," says Obada Kassoumah.
"I wish I could just give them a little bit of hope and make them believe that yes, they can have dreams."
Obada is a Syrian student in Tokyo who, by a mixture of chance and determination, has become the translator of Japanese manga comics into Arabic.
And by another twist of fate, many of these Arab editions of football saga Captain Tsubasa have been donated to aid agencies and are being handed out to Syrian refugee children across Europe and the Middle East.
For Obada, the project started as an unexpected translation job but has become something very personal and important.
As a student of Japanese at university in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Obada received a scholarship to go to Japan for an exchange programme. That was in 2012, and the unrest in the country had already started.
Obada says its his duty to help his country
The situation got worse and worse and often he would be stopped by the police in the street suspecting that as a young man he might be a rebel fighter.
When the situation got too dangerous, his parents decided to send him to live with his aunt in Jordan until he could leave for Tokyo.
It was almost already too late - it was only through personal connections that he managed to cross the border.
When his scholarship ended a year later, he was able to stay in Japan by enrolling as a regular student, and picked up a part-time job translating Captain Tsubasa.
"I myself watched Captain Tsubasa as a kid on TV and I loved it," says 26-year old Obada.
"It's a story about a kid having a dream to become a professional football player and working hard to make that dream come true.
"And that's something beautiful, that's something you should make these kids see."
Captain Tsubasa is a story of young boy fighting for his dream
Initially, adapting the books for the Arab market was a mere business decision by a Japanese publisher.
But they were then approached by Prof Masanori Naito, a Middle East specialist at Doshisha University in Kyoto.
Prof Naito had spent several years in Damascus as a doctoral student in the 1980s and was looking for ways to help people affected by the conflict.
He suggested the publisher could donate some of the manga books to refugee kids.
"The tragedy of Syria," he says, "is a very serious concern to me. Back then I worked in villages that are now held by the rebel forces."
The original copyright holders in Japan, Shueisha publishers, were immediately ready to fund the donations, he said.
Through co-operation with a number of international NGOs and Unicef, the books are now being distributed to young Syrian children in camps across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East who have escaped the terror and trauma of the civil war ravaging their home country.
"It is very far from the reality they know," Prof Naito explains. "But for kids it is very important to be able to escape from reality for a while. And these books can also give them some hope for their own future."
Manga he says, could even be "a tool of soft power against despair and radicalisation".
One of the places where Captain Tsubasa now provides a small escape from reality is a refugee home in Berlin where just last week, the copies were handed out by German-Turkish NGO Wefa to around 60 refugees.
For these Syrian refugees in Berlin, the manga might provide a break from reality
"It was really something quite unique and we got a completely different reaction from normal," Ismet Misirlioglu of Wefa told the BBC from Berlin.
"What the children usually get are of course clothes and food and so they were really surprised when we suddenly had Japanese manga books - in their own language," he says, laughing.
"And you really could tell that from their eyes!"
Wefa in Berlin is planning to give out more of the books in the coming weeks.
Back in Tokyo, Obada Kassoumah is still at work putting ever more adventures of Captain Tsubada into Arabic. He is currently translating volume seven out of 37.
For many of the young kids war is the only reality they know
For him, going back to Syria is not an option.
Instead, he will stay in Japan for now and finish his degree - he knows Syria will need his skills in the future and he hopes he can have a bigger impact if he works building links between the two countries.
"I have friends who are fighting with the government and other friends who are fighting with the rebels," he says with a heavy voice.
"We are all one family - and now they wish death to each other, trying to kill each other."
But he hopes his translations will put a smile on the face of a Syrian child somewhere, trying to forget the terror of the past.
"As a Syrian it's like my duty to help - and through this thing I can help.
"This way the children can - at least for a bit - forget all the bad memories they have from the war."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39801464
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BBC election debate: Five key things - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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From a missing PM to magic money trees - what we learned from the seven-way head-to-head.
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Election 2017
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Senior politicians from seven parties - although not the prime minister - took part in the BBC election debate on Wednesday.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd went head-to-head with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, UKIP's Paul Nuttall, SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson, Green co-leader Caroline Lucas and Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood.
Defending her absence, Mrs May said she preferred "taking questions and meeting people" on the campaign trail rather than "squabbling" with other politicians.
Here are five key themes from the showdown.
"WhereisTheresa" was trending before the debate began, and the party leaders didn't let the PM's absence be forgotten.
Leanne Wood went on the attack first, saying Mrs May was not there because "her campaign of soundbites is falling apart".
Mr Farron was hot on her heels, quipping: "Where do you think Theresa May is tonight? Take a look out your window. She might be out there sizing up your house to pay for your social care."
For the SNP deputy leader, the PM's no-show was evidence she lacked "guts".
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn asked "where is Theresa May, what happened to her?" as he defended his own leadership abilities. Ms Lucas said the "first rule of leadership is to show up".
However, it was the Lib Dem leader who persistently went after Mrs May, telling voters they should "make a brew" and watch Bake Off instead because the PM "couldn't be bothered" to turn up.
Twitter users also embraced the theme with memes searching for the PM.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Which party will help those in need?
Ms Rudd repeatedly accused Mr Corbyn of having a "magic money tree" - most notably after he attacked a Tory U-turn on disability benefits and accused the party of planning more cuts.
"Jeremy, I know there is no extra payment you don't want to add to, no tax you don't want to rise... we have to stop thinking - as you do - that there is a magic money tree," she said.
Mr Corbyn counter-attacked on poverty, asking Ms Rudd whether she had ever been to a food bank or seen people sleeping around stations.
But the "magic money tree" kept reappearing.
"May's strong and stable replaced by Rudd's 'magic money tree'," was the Guardian deputy editor Paul Johnson's verdict.
It was inevitable that a question about Brexit would turn into a debate about immigration.
Tim Farron cited a doctor receiving racial abuse as a consequence of what happens when you "demonise" migrants.
The UKIP leader - who Ms Lucas accused of "hate-filled rhetoric" on immigration - denied claims he was demonising immigrants, but insisted: "We have to get the population under control."
Ms Rudd said it was important to have an immigration policy the UK can control, while Mr Corbyn said he wanted it to be "fair".
Arguably the most powerful moment came when Mr Robertson said the debate about immigration "shames and demeans us all".
It's been a while since the Tory party had to talk about a coalition, but Ms Rudd kept mentioning the "coalition of chaos".
She said a vote for anyone other than Theresa May would be a "vote for Jeremy Corbyn and that coalition" - and all the "squabbling" made her realise how chaotic a coalition would be.
Ms Wood wasn't too happy about the suggestion, hitting back that it was the Conservative Party and UKIP that were in coalition.
The debate was difficult to follow at times, with politicians interrupting and shouting over each other. "Let him speak" and "can I finish?" were common mantras.
Tim Farron's one-liners, which weren't reserved for Mrs May's no-show, went down a storm on social media.
Buzzfeed's Jim Waterson joked that the Lib Dem leader added 500,000 viewers to the viewing figures for Bake Off.
But it was the Plaid Cymru leader's personal attack on UKIP leader Paul Nuttall that arguably attracted the most attention.
Criticising the party's approach to Brexit, she suggested the UKIP leader was someone who would try to divorce his wife without paying, adding: "We all know about blokes like you."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40113827
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England v Bangladesh: Ben Stokes sledging leads to confrontation with Tamim Iqbal - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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England's Ben Stokes and Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal exchange words during the opening match of the Champions Trophy at The Oval.
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England's Ben Stokes and Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal exchange words during the opening match of the Champions Trophy at The Oval. Tamim went on to make a century.
Available to UK users only.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40119218
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British and Irish Lions tour: Steve Hansen says All Blacks are better than in 2005 - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says his current team is better than the Dan Carter and Richie McCaw-inspired group of 2005.
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Coverage: Live text commentary on every match on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.
The All Blacks have a better team now than the Dan Carter and Richie McCaw-inspired group that whitewashed the Lions on their last tour of New Zealand in 2005, says coach Steve Hansen.
Hansen was assistant to Graham Henry when the All Blacks beat Sir Clive Woodward's team 3-0 12 summers ago.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "I think it's a more complete side now.
"If you look across the board there are one or two positions where we're stronger."
Flanker McCaw retired after leading the All Blacks to World Cup final victories in 2011 and 2015, while fly-half Carter quit international rugby after the latter of those wins.
Hansen said: "McCaw and Carter were very special players, and probably all-time greats.
"But we're better at the line-out because we've got more height there. I think it's a slightly stronger side."
• None 'Welcome to the jungle' - Lions arrive
• None Lions 'strong enough to beat New Zealand' - Cotter
With the Lions missing talismanic number eight Billy Vunipola through injury, and with the majority of the tourists' players having just finished a punishing domestic season, the All Blacks are clear favourites to win the series.
Two of the three Tests will be played at Eden Park in Auckland, where New Zealand have not lost a match in 23 years. Not since 2009 have they lost a home Test anywhere across the North and South Islands.
Hansen does not believe Vunipola's absence to be as critical as many in the northern hemisphere fear, nor that the Lions should be cowed by recent precedent.
"Billy is a quality player. It'll be a loss. But somebody will step up; I'm a firm believer that one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity," he said.
"James Haskell is a good player, he knows New Zealand well, he's played Super Rugby, and after missing out the first time he'll be keen to show he should have been picked in the first place.
"I don't think I have to give Lions supporters any reason for optimism. I think they've already got it. They'll be coming out here with reasonably large expectations that they can win the series.
"This is a good team. If I were a Lions supporter coming down I'd think, we've got four countries coming up against one - we should win.
"That's an expectation the Lions will have to bear on their shoulders, because it's going to be there, whether they like it or not. It's just like where we come from - we have that expectation all the time. And you can either run from it or accept it and get on with it."
It was during the famous 1971 series - the only one the Lions have won in New Zealand - that Hansen first fell in love with the game of rugby.
"The first Test I ever went to was the Lions one at Carisbrook in 1971," he said.
"It was a pretty good Test match. I remember the size of the two teams. I watched the match pretty close to the sidelines, and the sheer force and impact - I thought, wow, these guys are massive…"
Hansen's father Des was a long-time coach with club side Marist and the man who developed his son's interest in how the game should be played.
"He was ahead of his time as a coach," said Hansen.
"If you look back at that series, the Lions were given a lot of kudos for being a running side, but they did kick the ball a lot, and the All Blacks actually outscored them in tries across the series. But they played smart rugby, and there's a lesson to be learned there."
'A challenge that's right up our alley'
Hansen is not known for public displays of emotion. Even in becoming the first All Blacks coach to win the World Cup on foreign soil he was relatively restrained, but he says the series ahead excites him as much as that achievement.
"We're looking forward to this challenge immensely," he said. "It's one of the best sides that have toured here for a long time, if not their best side.
"It's the creation of four countries pouring in the best they've got, and the best they've got are playing pretty well at the moment - you only have to look at the last Six Nations, where there was some very good rugby played by some very good players.
"It's an opportunity for us to measure ourselves. We're a team who always try to be better than we were before - we don't always do that, but we're trying to - and this is a challenge that's right up our alley. "
'It's not all crash and bash'
Hansen believes there is a fundamental difference between rugby players from the northern and southern hemispheres.
"I don't think there's a difference in skill, but I do think environmentally there's a difference," he said.
"As a kid growing up in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and even the south of France, the weather conditions are conducive to being outside all the time, and you're developing athletic muscle that's natural.
"Your agility and your guile is being built. In the nations that produce the Lions, the game has issues with weather for large parts of the season. So as children growing you're not outside as much, climbing trees and doing all the things that build natural muscle. And I think that makes a little bit of a difference.
"It doesn't mean to say those players can't have the same skills, but when it's hosing down or sleeting, it's not as conducive to running with the ball, and it develops your game in a different way.
"You watch your competitions up there and the game is subtly starting to change. It's not all crash and bash. And maybe that's a reflection of the last World Cup, when you didn't get the results you wanted.
"People have had a look and thought, maybe we need to have a look at how we're playing."
Listen to the full interview on the Dawson and Mehrtens Lions Show on BBC Radio 5 live from 20:00 BST on Thursday, 1 June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40070669
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British and Irish Lions: Sam Warburton to captain tourists in opener - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Captain Sam Warburton will lead the British and Irish Lions in their opening fixture against the Provincial Barbarians after recovering from injury.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Sam Warburton will captain the British and Irish Lions in their opening match against the Provincial Barbarians on 3 June.
The flanker will play his first game since suffering a knee injury in April, lining up in an all-Welsh back-row.
The Scottish trio of Greig Laidlaw, Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg all start, as does Kyle Sinckler, who has yet to start a Test for England.
Anyone involved in club finals or play-offs last weekend was not considered.
"We have selected the majority of players who were together for the training weeks in Wales and Ireland," said head coach Warren Gatland.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, who recently recovered from a shoulder problem, starts in the second row and joins compatriots Ross Moriarty, Taulupe Faletau and Warburton in the forwards.
England prop Joe Marler is named alongside his Harlequins' team-mate Sinckler in the front row, with hooker Rory Best and second row Iain Henderson making up the pack.
After being called up as a replacement for Ben Youngs, scrum-half Laidlaw partners Ireland's Jonny Sexton at half-back, with Ben Te'o paired with fellow Englishman Jonathan Joseph in the centre.
Bath and England wing Anthony Watson joins Hogg and Seymour in the back three.
"We have named a side that showcases a strong combination of experience and youth and we are really looking forward to Saturday," Gatland added.
"We are all hugely excited about the first game; it's a great opportunity for the starting XV and the whole match day squad to lay down a marker and get the tour off to a good start."
The Saracens quartet of Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, George Kruis and Owen Farrell are all on the bench, as are the Irishmen Tadgh Furlong and Jared Payne, and the Welsh pair of Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40114593
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Chelsea paid £150.8m by Premier League after winning 2016-17 title - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Chelsea were paid £150.8m by the Premier League after winning the 2016-17 title - 50% more than last season's top earners.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea were paid £150.8m by the Premier League after winning the 2016-17 title - 50% more than the top earners in 2015-16.
The 2016-17 season was the first of the latest TV deal and saw a total of almost £2.4bn paid to the 20 clubs - up from £1.6bn last season.
Bottom club Sunderland got £93.471m - more than the £93.219m 2015-16 winners Leicester pocketed the previous season.
The figures are based on broadcast and commercial deals plus prize money.
Funds from the Premier League's central commercial deals and overseas broadcast rights are shared equally - as is half of the domestic broadcast income.
A quarter is paid out in prize money based on each club's league position and the other quarter in "facility fees" for each game broadcast on UK television.
Arsenal were the top earners in 2015-16 with £100.9m - but only the three relegated sides of Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland were paid less than that figure in 2016-17.
The ratio between the highest and lowest totals paid by the Premier League to its clubs in 2016-17 was 1.61 to 1, the lowest among Europe's top leagues, which means the Premier League is more equal when it comes to sharing revenue than its rivals.
The Premier League also paid out nearly £220m to Aston Villa, Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Wigan in parachute payments.
Villa, Newcastle and Norwich - the relegated sides in 2016 - got almost £41m each.
Full table broken down into all categories on the Premier League website.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40125394
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Kabul bomb: The hell of losing loved ones in Afghanistan - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The heavy toll from the huge blast in central Kabul underlines the fragility of security in Afghanistan.
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Asia
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. BBC's Tajuden Soroush was a passenger in the car with Mohammed Nasir when bomb exploded
BBC driver Mohammed Nazir was among scores of victims of Wednesday's bombing in Kabul's secure central zone. As Afghanistan mourns those killed, the editor of the BBC's Afghan service Waheed Massoud, remembers a friend and colleague caught up in an all too familiar scenario.
I woke to a phone call telling me that "a BBC minibus" had been caught up in the Kabul truck bomb attack.
But we did not know for sure how bad it was, and how many of our colleagues were hurt.
As things stand at least 90 were killed, but this toll will undoubtedly rise with hundreds injured.
The immediate feeling was so familiar: a racing heart beat and a thousand simultaneous thoughts going through my head.
My heart felt heavier. I felt it was sinking down to my feet.
I desperately made phone calls any way I could - through Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, and my mobile - but to no avail.
The whole network was down, another indication that something horrendous had happened.
I was torn between hope and fear. Fearing the loss of another dear one and hoping that all would be fine.
It is devastating when fear wins over hope; I soon found out that one dear colleague, Mohammed Nazir, our driver, had been killed and four other colleagues wounded.
The truck bomb exploded close to Kabul's "Green Zone", the most secure place in the heart of the city protected by guards, blast walls and security boom gates. It killed and wounded dozens of people.
Injured Afghans run from the site of the blast
I can imagine what Nazir's family, his wife and children, were going through as they were waiting for news from BBC colleagues who were searching hospitals and morgues to find him.
As they prayed for good news, they too were battling fears and hopes.
And they are not the only ones. The friends and family of the hundreds of victims of today's attack, like those of Mohammed Nazir, will have had the same experience.
Mohammed Nazir was young. He was the father of three children and the only breadwinner in his family. He had a gentle smile and a warm personality.
I knew Nazir for years and I worked with him most days of the week.
BBC journalists, support staff and visitors remember him as an honest and reliable person. Most colleagues deploying from Kabul to dangerous provinces would prefer to go with Nazir.
The irony is he survived decades of war, conflict and hostile environments but was killed by a bomb in the most secure diplomatic enclave in the heart of Kabul.
Many BBC colleagues find it hard to believe that the smiling face that drove them to work this morning will be buried by the end of the same day.
The thought that he is no longer with us is hanging over everyone. We think of his children, his wife and extended family and how they will survive without him in a country that does not have a welfare system.
Afghanistan has no welfare system, adding to the agony for families who lose a breadwinner
At least Nazir's family will receive financial support from the BBC. But what will happen to those of the others killed and wounded?
The attack today not only took lives, and caused injury. It also in an instant changed the future for hundreds of families.
Soon, the carnage of today will linger only as another casualty figure from yet another attack. Life will carry on.
But what happened here in Kabul is simply a reflection of what Afghanistan has been experiencing over the past 38 years in various different forms and guises.
Afghan security personnel were deployed to guard the bomb site in Kabul
The early post-2001 years were a brief period of hope when many believed the country would finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief from constant chaos. But it did not last long.
Today, Afghanistan is as much a battleground for proxy wars and regional arm wrestling as it was decades ago, with ordinary Afghans feeling like victims of an unchosen fate.
Although Nato military boots on the ground are present to provide training and support to the Afghan security forces and the government, the situation has not improved. The insurgents enjoy similar covert support today from regional players.
As Wednesday's devastating events proved, security, even in the most protected areas, is fragile.
Vulnerabilities in the security forces, or the sophistication of the insurgent groups, or both, could be to blame .
But for the public the situation represents one continuous, and lifelong, nightmare.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40109229
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Are 'McJobs' really history? - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The head of McDonald's calls on firms to "step up" as controversies over new ways of working threaten to damage trust.
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Business
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It was the Washington Post that first coined the term in 1986.
"The fast-food factories: McJobs are bad for kids" a headline announced over a report about thousands of teenagers employed in McDonald's US kitchens.
The term took hold, to such an extent the Oxford English Dictionary still defines McJobs - 30 years later - as a catch-all for "unstimulating, low-paid jobs with few prospects, especially ones created by the expansion of the service sector".
Fretting about "McJobs" has returned as the world of work changes rapidly.
And whoever wins the next general election will need to deal with this most fundamental of changes, away from the world of the nine-to-five, permanent job with a single employer, and towards a world of flexibility where people and technology become more entwined.
The very wealth of our economy depends on riding this wave - a global trend - successfully.
One of the first challenges the new prime minister will face is how to react to the most significant inquiry into the new world of work at present being finalised by Matthew Taylor, the head of the Royal Society of Arts.
He was commissioned to undertake the review by Theresa May last autumn, and has said he will deliver the report to Number 10 shortly after 8 June.
Much of this new world of work is said to be negative.
The number of zero-hours contracts - which offer no guaranteed work - has grown from 143,000 in 2008 to over 900,000 now.
The term McJobs was first used in the 1980s to describe teenagers employed in McDonald's US kitchens
Alongside that development comes the expansion of "self-employment" which has accounted for 45% of all employment growth over the same period (although it is worth remembering that more than 80% of working adults are still in more traditional, permanent employment).
Are zero hours contracts simply the return of "casualisation", where employees are at the beck and call of profit-hungry and often unscrupulous employers?
Or a nod to new, modern needs for flexibility, so that work can be balanced with the rest of life?
Is hiring from the new army of the "self-employed" simply a way of businesses avoiding tax and pension responsibilities and bypassing the rights - such as holiday and maternity leave - guaranteed to full time workers?
Or a nod to individual autonomy, where people work to their own rhythm and receive just reward for their entrepreneurial flair?
Of course, it depends which businesses you speak to.
Especially if it's the business that was the original butt of the McJobs attack - McDonald's.
"We have restaurant managers that look after 100 people, they are running businesses over £2m [in revenues] and they are responsible at a young age for their fortunes and their future," Paul Pomroy, the chief executive of McDonald's UK, told me.
Many of those managers started in the kitchens - not actually flipping burgers, it turns out, as machines fry the beef patties on both sides and there is no need to turn them over.
Indeed, when I put it to one manager, Liz Stephenson, that working in McDonald's is not all "flipping burgers", she replies archly: "I've never flipped a burger."
Some fear that automation could increasingly replace workers in the future
Snobbery is one word that comes to the mind of people like Liz when they consider how some view a career like hers, which started behind the counter on casual hours when she was at school and now involves being the company point person for restaurant managers who are running businesses with revenues counted in the tens of millions of pounds a year.
We have long had a rather romanticised vision of manufacturing jobs - even low-skilled ones - and have yet to fall in love with the service economy - such as retail - despite the fact it makes up the vast proportion of our economy.
"McDonald's offer training and a real career," Ms Stephenson (who is off to Chicago to receive a global company award for her achievements) tells me. "I've heard all the jokes."
Whatever the protestations of businesses which say they have worked hard improving their employment practices (McDonald's offers zero-hours workers rights to sick and holiday pay and has never demanded employees abide by "exclusivity clauses"), chief executives know controversies over companies such as Sports Direct and Uber can muddy all their reputations.
"Businesses take decisions that do damage," Mr Pomroy said, making clear he is not referring to any specific examples.
"Businesses in the modern world need to open up more, be transparent and be honest about how they treat their people and how they treat their customers.
"The internet has such a vast array of information, you can't sit back and hide anymore and not be front foot."
He added: "People up and down our workforce want to be treated with respect, they want a fair chance, they want progression, they want to have fun when they are working, they want to feel part of a team.
McDonald's says it will hire more people in the UK
"I want to be able to walk into our staff rooms and look people in the eye and know we are treating them fairly - whether it is the 16-year-old school leaver or the 35-year-old mum who is using our flexible contacts to interweave with childcare."
Mr Pomroy dismisses claims that zero-hours contracts, for example, are simply a method for firms to keep people in insecure, low-paid work.
As I wrote last month, when offered the chance to move on to fixed-hours contracts, 80% of McDonald's staff affected said they preferred zero-hours.
The other big, robotic, beast in the room when it comes to the new world of work is technology.
The fear is that while we worry about zero-hours and self-employment, artificial intelligence and computers that can crunch "big data" in the blink of an eye are going to replace millions of us in the workplace.
For services industries like his, Mr Pomroy is not so sure.
"Since we have introduced technology - you can place your order on giant screens - it hasn't actually saved us labour in terms of reducing the number of people we need," he said.
"We've actually used that as a springboard to put more people out in the dining area, so giving hospitality.
"We've introduced table service. Using technology to enhance the customer experience is what is critical - not cutting the number of jobs we offer.
"So since we have been introducing technology, we've recruited a further 5,000 people - taking our total workforce to 115,000."
That jobs growth will continue, he insists, revealing plans to recruit 2,000 to 3,000 jobs a year.
"We have over half our restaurants open 24 hours a day, five days a week, and there is still opportunity to extend the number of restaurants that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We are also a growing business. We have had 11 years of consecutive sales growth. I've got no plans to slow that down."
In 2007 McDonald's launched a campaign to have "McJobs" removed from the dictionary.
"I would love it to go," Mr Pomroy said.
"Not for me, I'm the CEO. It's more for the 115,000 people that work in our restaurants; they would love it to be removed."
McDonald's spawned the "McJobs" tag in the 1980s and insists it has moved on.
Mr Pomroy's problem is that other businesses could now be taking on the mantle as the new world of work throws up a very 21st century challenge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40110399
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Antoine Griezmann: Man Utd cool interest as forward suggests he will stay in Madrid - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann suggests he will stay with the club despite as Manchester United cool their interest in the player.
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann has suggested he is staying with the club despite reported interest from some of Europe's top sides.
The France international, 26, posted a message on social media reading: "Now more than ever! #atleti #alltogether."
It came just hours after a transfer ban on the club was upheld - meaning they could not replace him if he left.
Earlier on Thursday it emerged Manchester United had cooled their interest in signing the player.
As Atletico cannot buy players until January, it is anticipated they will offer Griezmann a new contract.
United were keen on the forward and were considering whether to trigger his 100m euro (£87m) escape clause.
However, a source close to United said Griezmann was no longer a priority.
It is understood the long-term injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic has forced the club to change their priorities, with doubts over the Swede's future beyond the expiry of his contract on 30 June.
No decision has yet been made over an extension but, given he is unlikely to play until January, the odds are against him being offered a new deal.
United are now thought to be targeting a main striker rather than a number 10, believing they already have enough players to fill that role.
After his side beat Ajax to win the Europa League last week, manager Jose Mourinho said executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has had his targets "for more than two months".
If Griezmann is not coming to Old Trafford, who are United going to get instead?
Everton's Romelu Lukaku is an obvious one, a battering ram of a striker in the Didier Drogba mould. And United have also been linked with Torino's Andrea Belotti - who has a release contract of £87m - and Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata.
No-one from the club is saying it, but by targeting a replacement for Ibrahimovic, United appear to be indicating the Swede has no future at Old Trafford once his contract expires on 30 June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40116737
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Ben Stokes: James Anderson worried by injuries to all-rounder - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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James Anderson is "worried" by the injuries suffered by Ben Stokes, and England will have to be "careful" to manage the all-rounder.
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England bowler James Anderson is "worried" by the injuries Ben Stokes has suffered and says the team may have to carefully manage the all-rounder.
Stokes, 25, has been suffering with a knee injury since returning from the Indian Premier League and was rested for Monday's loss against South Africa.
He missed last year's Test series with Sri Lanka after knee surgery, plus two Tests with Pakistan over a calf injury.
"The worry is how much Ben has played," Anderson told BBC Radio 5 live.
"At some point, you think something is going to break down," the 34-year-old said on the Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show.
"It is a worry when someone so young has had a problem with his knee and he's still getting that when he bowls.
"He will play with a broken leg - he loves playing, he charges round the outfield and is a fantastic player for the side. But it's possible he might need holding back."
It's a little bit concerning. He gives you so much, he's the lynchpin of that England side. It's crucial for him to be firing on all cylinders.
Durham player Stokes showed signs of his knee problem in the first one-day international against South Africa on 24 May. And despite making a century in the second ODI to help England seal the series, he only bowled three overs before being rested.
He is set to bowl in England's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh at the Oval, but his workload will be determined by a fitness test on Thursday morning. He did bowl in practice on Wednesday.
"It sounds like it is an issue but they can manage him. Getting five or six overs out of him would be a bonus," added the Lancashire player, who also spoke about his own recovery from a groin injury suffered in May.
Anderson has not played in four of England's past 10 Test matches after picking up a shoulder injury last summer, and his fitness for the first Test against South Africa from 6 July had been in doubt.
But he said: "I'm hoping to get a game for Lancashire before the first Test. It feels good at the minute and I've had a couple of weeks of rehab."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40115232
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Champions Trophy: England's Chris Woakes to have scan on side strain - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Chris Woakes is to have a scan after picking up an injury in the win against Bangladesh, reveals captain Owen Morgan.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England's Chris Woakes has been sent for a scan on a side strain and is a "worry" for the rest of the Champions Trophy, says captain Eoin Morgan.
Woakes bowled two overs in the eight-wicket one-day-international win over Bangladesh before leaving the field.
Morgan said: "He'll have a scan tonight [Thursday] and we'll see what it comes up with. It doesn't feel right."
The captain added on TMS that man of the match Joe Root "showed his class, even [though he picked] up a niggle".
Root compiled a career-best ODI score of 133 not out at better than a run a ball, despite sustaining a calf strain.
Morgan, who scored an unbeaten 75 to help see his side home, described Root as "the glue in our side".
"He has scored a lot of runs in the last couple of years and continues to do it," the captain continued.
"He is not slow. He is batting at pace. He has been working on his power hitting and today it worked."
If Woakes was to be ruled out, England can still call up a replacement, with Middlesex pair Steven Finn or Toby Roland-Jones likely replacements.
Ben Stokes, who is recovering from a knee injury, bowled seven overs on Thursday and Morgan says the all-rounder came through it well.
"It was a stretch for him but he hasn't felt his knee all day," said Morgan.
Opener Jason Roy, under pressure coming into this tournament, received a vote of confidence from his skipper despite falling for just one.
Roy averages 35 at over a run a ball in one-day internationals, but since the start of May he has reached double figures just once in six innings and was dismissed flicking a delivery to backward square leg against Bangladesh.
"I thought Jason Roy was terribly unlucky today. Those things happen when you can't seem to score runs but we back him - he's been brilliant for us," Morgan said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40120890
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Alexis Sanchez & Mesut Ozil: Selling Arsenal players 'right' - Martin Keown - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger should sell "overindulged" Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, says ex-defender Martin Keown.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger should sell "overindulged" star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil after agreeing to extend his stay at the club, says ex-defender Martin Keown.
The Frenchman has signed a two-year deal and says his side can challenge for the Premier League title next term.
Forward Sanchez and midfielder Ozil are entering the final year of their deals.
"If they have to say cheerio to those two players, then that is the right decision," Keown told BBC Radio 5 live.
• None Hear more from Keown speaking to BBC Radio 5 live
Chile striker Sanchez scored 24 goals and provided 10 assists for the Gunners last season while Germany player Ozil netted eight goals and laid on nine assists. Wenger's side finished fifth in the league, missing out on Champions League football for the first time in 20 years.
The north London club went out of this year's competition at the last-16 stage following a 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich.
Sanchez has reportedly been offered a new £300,000-a-week contract, while Ozil has reportedly refused to sign a £250,000-a-week deal.
"They have been overindulged at times this season and they let Arsenal down in the period when they lost twice to Bayern Munich, conceding 10 goals. That is the level of the problem," said Keown, who played more than 300 games for Arsenal.
"The manager needs to make some really tough decisions now. Sanchez's contract needs to get 100% secured. Is that going to happen? Will Ozil leave?
"I am sure both players want to go elsewhere because they want to win the Champions League, win the Premier League and maybe they do not feel it can be done at Arsenal. The club is bigger than two individuals."
• None Can Arsene write a new chapter in Arsenal's history?
'I do not want it to all fall apart in the next two years'
Wenger has said his side are "two players" off challenging for the title, and the club are expected to spend at least £100m on new players in the upcoming transfer window - which opens on 1 July - having also spent about that figure last summer.
Ex-captain Tony Adams, who played more than 500 games in a one-club career at Arsenal, feels the current group of players are not good enough to challenge for major honours.
"Maybe he thinks they can win the league in the next two years or get back into the Champions League. Looking at this squad, I don't think they can," Adams told BBC Wiltshire.
"But I can understand the frustration of the fans that want a league title and want to be competitive.
"We need to start being competitive and seen as number one by number one players instead of number four players on the pecking list."
Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov owns a 30% stake in the club and had a £1bn bid to wrest control from majority shareholder Stan Kroenke rejected.
He issued a statement on Wednesday which called on the board to support Wenger.
"He has a great opportunity to deliver the success that the fans deserve and the legacy that his long contribution merits. However, without the right support there remains a real risk that his legacy will be tarnished," he added.
Adams added he does not want Wenger's job to "end in tears".
"I just do not want it to all fall apart in the next two years and Arsene is seen as a villain, a bad man for Arsenal. that would be wrong. He has been so brilliant for the club," he said.
'Fans must now unite behind Wenger'
Wenger joined the club in 1996 and has won three league titles - the last in their unbeaten season of 2003-04 - and seven FA Cup titles - a record for any manager.
But last season saw regular protests from some supporters, who called for him to end his long tenure at the club.
Arsenal Supporters' Trust spokesperson Tim Payton told BBC Sport that fans have "a right to a voice". Arsenal Fan TV presenter Robbie Lyle says the atmosphere at Emirates Stadium could become "toxic" again next season if they lose back-to-back games.
Keown added: "Whether the fans want this decision or not, they have to get behind the manger. You cannot have a situation like last season, where there was a really difficult environment for the players to go in to.
"Coming off the bus there were people hurling abuse, all the 'Wenger Out' placards. It is time now they got behind the manager for the next two years and if that is going to be the send-off, then that is what he deserves."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40114462
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How is a major concert organised at short notice? - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The co-producer of One Love Manchester talks about the "incredible amount of work" going into the show.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The concert, which features Justin Bieber and Grande, will be broadcast on BBC One
A benefit concert in aid of the victims of the Manchester bombing is being organised for Sunday, but how much work goes into planning an event in so little time?
"To be honest, it's possibly the hardest task I've ever had to undertake," says Melvin Benn in an interview with the BBC about the One Love Manchester concert he is co-producing.
Benn, boss of Live Nation subsidiary Festival Republic, is the man behind some of the UK's biggest music festivals, including Latitude, Reading and Leeds, Wireless and Download.
"We started the conversations on Friday evening, here we are on Wednesday and the concert is on Sunday. It's eight-and-a-half days to put it together. It's an incredible amount of work," he says.
One Love takes place at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday, and will feature in its line-up Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That and Niall Horan.
Ariana Grande will also perform for the first time since last Monday, when 22 people were killed and 116 injured in a suicide bombing after a concert she played a concert at Manchester Arena.
Coldplay will also perform at the concert this Sunday
Free tickets are being offered to those who attended the original gig, with proceeds from sales to the general public raising money for Red Cross's Manchester Emergency Fund.
"Clearly there are some families suffering bereavement or who have family members in hospital, and we're trying to do as much as we can to look after them as a priority, as well as all the rest of the fans that came," Benn says.
"We felt offering free tickets to everybody that was there on that night was the minimum we could do. The rest of the people that are coming will be the people who will be providing the money for the fundraising, but for those fans that were there we felt this was a good way of honouring those that lost their lives."
The gig will naturally require a great deal of logistical organisation, but Benn says "everybody is pulling together".
Miley Cyrus will join Katy Perry and The Black Eyed Peas at Sunday's concert
"Greater Manchester Police, Trafford Borough Council, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester, all pulling in the same direction to make this work, as well as the music industry and all the pop stars, it's incredible really," he says.
"The way Manchester has responded [to the attack] has been phenomenal, and I think that's been part of the inspiration for Ariana, to want to come back so quickly."
Benn added that Grande was "traumatised, absolutely traumatised immediately after the gig, in complete shock, but she knew she had to do something".
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-40106013
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British and Irish Lions: Warren Gatland will not repeat Graham Henry mistake - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland says he will not repeat Graham Henry's mistake by splitting the squad early in the tour.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Coverage: Live text commentary on every match on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.
British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland says he will not repeat Graham Henry's 2001 mistake by splitting the squad early in the tour.
Gatland says Henry indicated to his players at the outset of the trip of Australia who would be selected for the Test matches.
He says that meant his compatriot "lost half the team on day one".
"The players knew straight away what was the Test side and who was making up the numbers," said the New Zealander.
• None Radio 5 live special: How NOT to win a series (2005)
• None All Blacks more complete than in 2005 - Hansen
• None 'O'Driscoll thought spear tackle was going to kill him'
Gatland, who on Wednesday named his side to face the Provincial Barbarians in the tour opener on Saturday, says each of his 41-man squad is in contention to face the All Blacks.
"Keeping harmony in the squad is paramount," he said. "It's about giving everyone an opportunity.
"It's important these guys feel like they are putting themselves in the shop window and have a chance to prove themselves, and with a little bit of luck are in contention for the Tests.
Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton appear to be in competition for the fly-half spot after Gatland reiterated he sees the Englishman as a "world-class 10", rather than a centre.
Irishman Sexton starts on Saturday, with Farrell on the bench.
"The players are pretty aware about the competition in that position," Gatland said. "Johnny gets a start on Saturday, and the other two [Farrell and Dan Biggar] will get a start in the next two games."
Gatland's son Bryn will start for the Provincial Barbarians at fly-half.
"I spoke to Bryn last night and he's enjoying the week," Gatland Sr said. "We'll catch up tomorrow, and he'll expect to have to make a few tackles on the weekend.
"We haven't spoken too much about the game but he's excited about the opportunity."
A round-up of the rest of the news from the tour
Lions boss Gatland was put on the spot in Thursday's news conference by a local reporter, who quoted a survey that found 78% of Kiwis couldn't name a single player from the Lions squad.
"It doesn't surprise me," was Gatland's retort. "Our job is to come here, play some good rugby and earn respect. If we reduce that number down to 77% that will be a good start…."
Targeting the opposition captain is a well-worn tactic before big sporting series - think Steve Waugh and the Australian cricket team - but the New Zealand media seem to have been won over by the "calm, composed, and eloquent" Sam Warburton.
The Welshman starts and captains Saturday's tour opener as he tries to do what no other man has done in history, and lead the Lions to back-to-back series victories.
For the first time, provincial teams the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs will join the Maori and the All Blacks in conducting their versions of the Haka before matches.
Unperturbed, Gatland has suggested the Haka is in danger of losing its mystique, and that it will soon become routine for his players: "The more times you face up to it, you don't mind it, it's a motivational thing, it's not intimidating.
"And I'm pleased my players will face it more than once. You become familiar with it. It becomes part of regular preparation for a game."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40116662
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French Open: Can Andre Agassi bring back 'warrior' Novak Djokovic? - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Will the addition of 'super coach' Andre Agassi be enough to bring back the "warrior" in Novak Djokovic?
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Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
Andre Agassi has attracted as many camera lenses as Novak Djokovic in the opening days of this year's French Open, but the question remains whether this is a fleeting glimpse or the long-term return of one of the game's greats.
The 47-year-old Las Vegan began working with Djokovic via phone calls to Madrid and Rome last month, and took up coaching duties in person last week in Paris.
There is no clear idea yet of how long the relationship will last.
"That's a question for him, to be honest," was all Djokovic would say on the subject before the tournament.
What we do know is that Agassi is scheduled to leave Paris at the end of the first week to carry out prior engagements, and there is no clue yet as to when, or if, he will be back in Team Djokovic.
"I will be very surprised if this relationship is going over the US Open," said Fabrice Santoro, a former rival of Agassi now commentating at Roland Garros.
"I think it's going to be a very short relation between Andre and Novak," the Frenchman told BBC Radio 5 live.
"Andre Agassi knows the game very well, he loves the game, he likes Novak, but it's not his life at the moment.
"He has his own life at home with his foundation, with his family, and I'm not sure he's happy to spend much time in the locker room."
• None Agassi expects to be coaching Djokovic at Wimbledon
It was in Paris 12 months ago that Djokovic finally cemented his place among the very best by completing the career Grand Slam, and holding all four major titles at once - something that has eluded Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
But with 12 Grand Slam titles to his name and seemingly set to dominate for the foreseeable future, the Serb's form deserted him.
"I think Novak needs to be back as a warrior, like he was a few months ago," said Santoro.
"It's not like 10 years ago - when he won the French Open last year he was not giving one free point to the opponent, he was sliding all over Paris to win a point. You could see in his eyes how big his ambition was. He's lost that."
"Private issues" contributed to Djokovic's early exit at Wimbledon, he later revealed, while a wrist injury curbed hopes of a quick return to form.
But by his own remarkable standards, the fact that he has since lost his grip on three of those Slams and seen the number one ranking go to Andy Murray is little short of a disaster.
"Shock therapy" was what he felt necessary, and it came with the surprise announcement late last year that he was parting ways not only with 'super coach' Boris Becker after three years, but his entire team, including long-time coach and confidante Marian Vajda.
"All these beautiful memories we shared with each other on and off the court cannot be forgotten just like that," said Djokovic. "We are still very close."
Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles over three years with Becker, and all 12 since starting work with Vajda in 2006.
The Serb's employment of Becker in 2013 was seen by many as a response to the success Andy Murray had after taking on another legend of the past in Ivan Lendl.
But even in his current, second coaching spell, Lendl is likely to spend up to 18 weeks of the year working with Murray, with Jamie Delgado alongside the Scot throughout the season.
"I think Andre Agassi's help could be enough if Marian Vajda was still there, but he's not," Santoro said of the fledgling Djokovic arrangement.
"So Novak needs someone to replace Vajda first, and then find a super coach like Andre.
"I know that if Andy Murray was travelling only a few weeks a year with Ivan Lendl, but without Jamie Delgado, he would be in trouble. This is the situation now with Novak."
Murray himself was a huge Agassi fan growing up and once discussed working with the American, but it never came to a formal offer.
"He was always really, really nice to me, which is great," said Murray.
"I'm sure he'll help Novak as well. I'm not sure exactly what their deal is or the situation is, but having someone with that much experience around can only help."
Djokovic is currently just working with his brother, Marko, a former professional but with no coaching credentials, and Pepe Imaz, a former world number 146 who now runs a tennis academy that preaches a philosophy of love, peace and meditation.
"I'm not convinced that this person helps Novak Djokovic a lot," said Santoro. "Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right. On court, for sure not."
For all the scrutiny that his relationship with Imaz has come under, the lack of a settled fitness trainer and physio is incongruous for a player who wrote a book on the value of physical and mental well-being.
"I have certain people and methods that I have been trying out lately," said Djokovic on Monday. "I am working on something, for sure, but still not ready to be shared."
So what can Agassi bring that will rejuvenate and enhance the Djokovic game?
Djokovic turned 30 a few weeks ago, and Agassi won two of his eight Grand Slam titles in his 30s.
He also returned from the depths of 141 in the world in 1997 to regain the number one spot and complete the career Grand Slam in 1999 - a mountainous challenge compared to Djokovic's relatively minor slide.
Technical changes are rarely the major issue when elite players call upon greats of the past, and Djokovic is sure to look more for emotional support from Agassi, with neither man averse to a bout of introspection.
"On the first day we had two practice sessions, and then we had a very, very long conversation in the evening," the Serb said of their first day together in Paris.
Becker, the man who used to provide that support, gave Agassi a very public welcome to the role in the stands of Philippe Chatrier Court during Djokovic's opening match at the French Open.
"I think it's an excellent choice," Becker told the BBC. "Andre's personality fits with Novak's.
"Ideally you don't want to start a new relationship at a Grand Slam because you have to get to know each other but that was their decision, so I wish them luck.
"Ideally you have to spend a lot of time together - even in smaller tournaments to really get to know each other and trust each other - but it is what it is and hopefully successful."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40118530
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General Noriega's pen pal: An American school girl - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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When a 10-year-old school girl wrote to her country's foreign enemy, it started a bizarre relationship.
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US & Canada
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Andrea was around 14 years old, flipping through her school friend's photo album when something strange caught her eye.
She was at a US boarding school in the early 1990s and, in the days before mobile phones, everyone kept their hard copy keepsakes with them. "There were all these pictures of her family in rural Michigan," she recalled. "Baby photos of her and her siblings…"
But then among all the standard-issue images, something a little different caught her eye. There was her friend, Sarah, sitting with someone else's family: the family of General Manuel Noriega, the former Panamanian leader who died on Tuesday.
Andrea recognised him instantly. In the 1980s, Noriega was public enemy number one in the US, as the country battled for continuing control of the Panama Canal. Coming across this photo back then was the equivalent of finding decades-old photos of a school pal cosying up with Osama Bin Laden.
"Pineapple face," said Andrea Morningstar (née Maio). That was the nickname detractors had given him, and which became known even to school children.
Andrea's friend was Sarah York, a girl whose childhood had taken an unusual turn around four years earlier, when she wrote a letter, on a whim, to a man she saw on the TV news.
While her parents were watching a special edition of the current affairs show 60 Minutes discussing Noriega's drug-trafficking links, 10-year-old Sarah happened to observe that he had a nice hat.
Her dad collected hats. Perhaps if she wrote to this man on the TV, he would send them a hat.
So she did. She sent short letter on notepaper with a picture of a partridge on it.
To the family's surprise, a few weeks later, an envelope arrived in their mailbox, with a Panamanian flag stamped on the front. It was not hat-shaped, but it was from General Noriega. It was officially headed and signed. And, not only that, he also asked her to keep up the correspondence.
He wrote: "Dear Sarah, I feel honored by your letter. I appreciate your message of faith and friendship. I hope you continue sending your message and tell me about yourself and your city. With friendship and appreciation, General Manuel Antonio Noriega."
They did so for a number of months. He sent books about Central America; she told him about her school grades. He even sent the much-wanted hat. Then, in the weirdest twist of all, he sent an invitation for her and her family to visit Panama City, all expenses paid.
The visit went ahead in 1988, making the international press - from The New York Times to the Guardian - while attracting plenty of criticism. People accused the family of lacking patriotism, and supporting a brutal regime. Even Sarah's brother - an avid reader of the news - was angry, at least at first.
Meanwhile, Noriega was accused of exploiting a child and using her in political games.
After her 15 minutes of fame faded, Sarah chalked the visit up as a weird life experience and, showing signs of musical talent, pursued an education in the arts, where she met Andrea during a year at boarding school.
She was not keen to share the story when Andrea happened upon the photos. "I had to ask and she reluctantly told me," said Andrea. "I thought it was remarkable, and hilarious."
Sarah York (L) and Andrea Claire Morningstar pictured together last year; they remain good friends
Ten years later, Andrea had finished film school and was keen to get involved with a radio show called This American Life, which is famed for its storytelling and is popular globally in podcast form.
"I had a friend from college who was a producer there, and he would send me their production themes lists," she said. When she saw an upcoming show called Love Your Enemies, she knew she had the perfect tale.
Sarah agreed to take part only if her friend was the interviewer. So the producers agreed to take a punt on Andrea, then a 20-something with no radio experience.
The My Pen Pal episode, which aired in 2003, made compelling listening. It tackled the good guy/bad guy narrative of the press and politics; it explored childhood innocence and curiosity; it looked at propaganda and multiple realities.
Radio host Ira Glass presented the My Pen Pal episode of This American Life
"I knew that I was going to get plenty of the bad guy story, so why not get the story from the bad guy, you know?" said Sarah, during the interview. "But I don't know that I ever said: 'I'm going to be the judge of this'. I think it was more just, let's see what happens. Or let's see what we can find out."
The radio show recalled the friendship bracelet she made for Noriega in camouflage colours. Her memories of touching down in the Panamanian capital: "Flashbulbs were going off everywhere, and everyone was, like, saying my name."
The show's host, Ira Glass, told the BBC he still remembers that show and it remains one of his favourite episodes. "When I heard that Manuel Noriega died, the first thing I thought of was this episode from 2003, that revealed a side of him that was personal and surprising. His motives in starting a correspondence with a 10-year-old American were obviously self-serving. But the way the whole thing plays out show a private side of the man that was fascinating for me and I'm guessing for anyone who saw him in the news back in the 1980s."
Now living in Minnesota, Sarah still performs as a musician and has two children, as well as a lifelong interest in Panama. But she would still rather not talk about her former pen pal publicly.
A yearbook photo with Sarah (third left) and Andrea (far right)
"I think it is complicated," said Andrea, now an artist and filmmaker. "The perceived reality is so different from her experiences. It's taxing, to be defined by it, although she doesn't mind people knowing."
Andrea said her friend has always been a intriguing character, motivated by curiosity. At university she taught herself to swim after checking out some swimming books from the library. After graduating, she moved to northern Wisconsin and went off-grid for a few years, teaching herself about indigenous herbal remedies.
As for Noriega, he was overthrown in a 1989 US invasion, and later jailed in the US on drugs and money laundering charges.
He spent the rest of his life in custody, latterly in Panama for murder, corruption and embezzlement. He died earlier this week, two months after brain surgery.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40104069
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Freezing my eggs 'helped me after rape' - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Winnie Li decided to have her eggs frozen after rape ruined her 30s.
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Health
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Winnie at a red carpet film event before her life changed
At the age of 29, Winnie Li was living in London and enjoying a successful career as a film producer, working with film stars like Daniel Craig.
She had been to the Oscars where a film she had helped to produce had been nominated.
But in 2008, this all came to a halt. One Saturday afternoon, while hiking in Northern Ireland, she was raped.
She says it is something she will never forget and the emotional impact stays with her.
She told the BBC: "It was awful. It went from one day, being the person I'd always been, to the next - I felt like I was gutted like a fish, unable to feel any joy or hope.
"My insides were torn out. I was a shell of the person I'd been before."
Her perpetrator - a 15-year-old stranger to whom she had been giving directions - was caught.
Winnie then lived in a constant state of anxiety as she waited for the trial.
She told the BBC: "I wasn't feeling emotions. I was just in shock for months."
Winnie suffered severe depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was too scared to go out and had frequent panic attacks.
She said: "I went from being a well-adjusted 29-year-old to feeling like I couldn't function anymore."
"All my other friends were continuing on with their careers, personal lives, getting married and having kids.
"And I just wasn't there - I was on a completely different trajectory."
Last year, she found herself single, aged 37.
She said: "I was at that age where people warn you about your fertility dropping off and I wasn't anywhere further on the path to being a mother."
It was this realisation that led her to the decision to freeze her eggs.
She had two rounds of egg freezing. And though doctors managed to harvest some viable eggs, there were not enough for her to consider them a viable insurance plan.
She said: "A lot of women describe freezing eggs as an empowering thing. In some ways it's not. I spent thousands of pounds."
She says she cannot afford a third round.
Winnie added: "It's not necessarily given me hope but it's given me a sense of an option to see if those eggs can become a child."
"I'll always know I have at least done the best I could in this situation."
Winnie has written a novel, Dark Chapter, inspired by her experience of being raped and the journey to recovery.
She is also working on a doctorate at the London School of Economics, exploring how social media is allowing rape survivors to tell their stories.
"I learn every day from other women how difficult it is for them to put their lives back together.
"But I'm hoping by sharing these stories, we can understand how we can start to heal from this kind of trauma."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40104874
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England v Bangladesh: Imrul Kayes out after Mark Wood's brilliant catch - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Bangladesh's Imrul Kayes is out after England's Mark Wood makes a brilliant diving catch during the opening match of the Champions Trophy at The Oval.
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Bangladesh's Imrul Kayes is out after England's Mark Wood makes a brilliant diving catch during the opening match of the Champions Trophy at The Oval.
Available to UK users only.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40119215
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Jonathan Agnew column: England will be concerned over Champions Trophy injuries - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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It was job done for England in their potentially tricky Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, but injuries will be a worry, writes Jonathan Agnew.
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The eight-wicket win against Bangladesh on Thursday was an excellent way for England to begin the Champions Trophy.
To chase 306 against any side, even in the ideal batting conditions of The Oval, is a challenge. You have to work hard to get those runs.
In the context of the tournament, that sort of game is much more beneficial to England than if they rolled Bangladesh for 120 then chased them down in 20 overs.
Joe Root made a wonderful century, Alex Hales was in the runs, Eoin Morgan continued his good form and Liam Plunkett was amongst the wickets. In that sense, it was perfect.
However, it was marred by the injury to Chris Woakes, who bowled only two overs before having to leave the field with an injury to his left side.
• None Woakes to have scan on side strain
• None Vaughan on why England can win Champions Trophy
The Warwickshire man had a scan on Thursday evening, with the results probably known to us by Friday morning. If it turns out to be a side strain, it could be serious.
As an old fast bowler, I can tell you that having a proper side strain is like having a red hot poker jammed between your ribs. If Woakes has one of those, he won't play again in the tournament.
In fairness, that did not look to be the case with Woakes. It seemed that he felt something and knew he had to stop - which was the right thing to do.
But side injuries are tricky. It's not just a case of strapping them up and saying "on you go". England will have to be very careful and give some serious consideration to ruling him out.
It's very anxious for Morgan's men, because Woakes is their highest-placed bowler in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings.
For a time, it also looked like Root's fitness could be a concern. It seemed like he rolled his ankle while batting and spent most of the second half of his innings hobbling around.
However, after the match he said he thought it was cramp in his calf, so that is much less of a worry.
All of this slightly shifted the focus away from Ben Stokes, whose knee problem dominated the pre-match build-up.
As promised, Stokes turned up early for a fitness test and was deemed healthy enough to play his part with the ball.
Still, even with Woakes off the field, Stokes only bowled seven overs. That tells us that England are still protecting him. That is sensible and he will benefit from more rest before the game against New Zealand on Tuesday.
On top of the injury concerns, England will be hoping that Jason Roy gets a score at the top of the order sooner rather than later.
Before this game, Roy was heavily backed by Morgan after a poor sequence where he had not passed 20 in his previous six ODI innings.
Here, he made only one from eight deliveries, but again received the support of his captain.
Now, it is quite right for Morgan to back his man, but I was surprised by the shot Roy played - a scoop off the pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza to be caught at short fine leg.
Any batsman can edge a good ball, or even have a rush of blood and try to whack one, but those split-second decisions are made in the heat of the moment.
In this case, Roy made the choice to premeditate a stroke, probably as the bowler was walking back to his mark.
Instead of sticking to what he is good at, playing the ball down the ground, Roy simply did not give himself the chance of scoring runs on his home ground.
It just goes to show that poor form does not only mess with the way a batsman hits the ball, but also the decisions that are made.
England now move on to games against New Zealand and Australia, the two finalists from the 2015 World Cup, knowing that one win is likely to be enough for a place in the semi-finals.
Their confidence will be high, not least because they have got the hiccup of the final game against South Africa out of their system.
They could do without the injuries and the shot Roy played, but other than that they got the job done.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40127517
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Reality Check: What would be the impact of a four-day week? - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Green Party suggests the introduction of a four-day week. Would it work?
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Election 2017
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It's one of the policies included in the Green Guarantee. The first thing to say is that it's not quite as radical as it sounds - the maximum number of hours worked a week would be 35, which is the same as has applied in France since 2000, although the exceptions in the French system mean that their average number of hours worked per week is actually a bit above 35, according to the OECD.
Also, we already have a number of four-day weeks each year thanks to bank holidays.
Explaining the policy on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show last month, Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said: "I think there's a lot of evidence that suggests that when people are exhausted their productivity goes down.
"People are working ever more hours, getting ever more stressed, getting ever more ill-health - mental health problems as well."
The manifesto also said that the 35-hour week would be phased in. In the UK, the current limit is 48 hours a week, although you can opt out of it and various jobs are excluded.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Should we work a four day week?
The average number of paid hours worked by full-time employees in the UK in 2016 was 39.2.
While it is relatively straightforward to impose a maximum number of hours worked in the week for employees, it is harder to do so for the self-employed and harder still to legislate to force people to work a four-day week, especially because not everybody could take the same days off and there would presumably need to be some flexibility about when the hours were worked.
The idea is that working fewer hours would boost productivity, which is the value created by each hour worked.
The UK has comparatively low productivity. The UK's national income per hour worked is 22.7% below that of France, which means that if we could be as productive as the French then we could work a four-day week and not lose much output.
There are various suggestions in the parties' manifestos on what to do about UK productivity.
Trying to boost productivity by reducing hours worked would not be without its costs. France has higher unemployment than the UK. It is likely that its more restrictive labour laws have meant that companies have invested more in machinery to reduce the number of people they need.
Also, a working paper from the International Monetary Fund suggested that the 35-hour week in France had reduced employment and not made workers any happier.
But it's not just about maintaining economic growth - part of the idea of the four-day week is that to create a more sustainable economy we need to stop being obsessed by growth and start thinking about having a lower impact on the environment.
The left of centre think tank, the New Economics Foundation, did some work on the idea of a more radical 21-hour working week.
It said that in addition to reducing environmental impact, a 21-hour week would distribute work more evenly across the population, reducing both the problems of over-work and unemployment, as well as evening up the amount of unpaid work done by men and women.
It identified potential problems with the introduction of such a system such as increased poverty by reducing the number of hours worked by low-paid workers and increased unemployment.
Some businesses would also be likely to resent the extra regulation. The Green Party maintains that working fewer hours would reduce stress and ill-health.
• None Reality Check: What do manifestos say about productivity?
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40093861
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Messaging app Telegram centrepiece of IS social media strategy - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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The Islamic State group relies on encrypted messaging app Telegram to spread its message digitally.
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Technology
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The Islamic State militant group (IS) is fighting on many fronts against those seeking to defeat it. One of those fronts is a digital one.
Its use of social media has been thrown into the spotlight again after it used messaging app Telegram to claim responsibility for Saturday night's terror attack in London.
IS puts media warfare on a par with its battle on the ground and often glorifies "media martyrs" - people who are killed while creating videos and other digital content for the group.
Like many other such groups, IS has been an enthusiastic user of social media and the web, broadcasting propaganda about its successes and using it as a recruitment tool.
Although a long-time user of social media, IS activities took a significant turn in September 2015 when the group's official media outlets took to Telegram. The move to the encrypted messaging service came after a long-running conflict with Twitter, which regularly shut down IS accounts, and some experimentation with less well-known platforms from which it was also expelled.
The timing was significant because that was the moment when Telegram set up the "channel" feature, letting users broadcast to an unlimited number of other users - a tool that many online jihadists were quick to exploit.
The move to Telegram did not go unnoticed and IS went underground in August 2016 after its official accounts were repeatedly suspended.
But IS media operatives set up lots of separate channels that simply repeated or mirrored what appeared on the official channel.
These channels simultaneously stream material produced by IS's central media operation, including its self-styled news agency Amaq, and are described as being dedicated to distributing official IS news.
The mirror channels, called the Nashir News Agency, have also regularly been suspended.
To circumvent this, their administrators use a stealthy approach in which they set up a user or channel and allow it to build up a substantial following before suddenly switching it to the easily recognisable IS mirror brand.
The channels continuously promote new join-up links for their proliferating replica versions, calling on IS supporters to distribute them further.
Some channels, whose promotion on popular social media platforms is prohibited, are designed to maintain a lower profile to avoid suspension.
IS supporters enjoy relative freedom to post material on Telegram
This enables them to attract a significant number of followers but the channels are usually removed before this exceeds 1,000.
Such numbers suffice to get IS's message out for distribution by online supporters.
Prominent pro-IS figures reliably stream the group's propaganda alongside other content. But IS's strong media branding renders the group's material easily recognisable among other fare.
This was seen on Sunday, when the IS news outlet Amaq said on Telegram that "a security unit of Islamic State fighters carried out the London attacks of yesterday".
Telegram does not allow comprehensive searches of public content, which means that the number of pro-jihad users cannot be accurately gauged.
Nashir agency boasted that it had 100 replica channels on Telegram
In mid-April, the Nashir agency published a poster congratulating itself on setting up 100 mirror accounts - and there are now said to be more than 130.
This was shortly followed by a campaign to celebrate 12 months of Nashir agency's operation. As part of the campaign, the outlet called for admirers and readers to send in articles and images praising its work, which they did in large numbers.
These promotional campaigns appeared to be an effort to buoy morale among IS supporters who enjoy relative freedom to post material on Telegram.
The BBC has asked Telegram to comment on IS-related activity on its service but has not received a reply.
Telegram has advertised its daily efforts to take down pro-IS channels since December last year.
Nashir agency recently trumpeted the anniversary of its online presence
In another recent move, Nashir agency has switched from just being a mouthpiece for IS to urging its followers on Telegram to spread content via Twitter and Facebook.
It has advertised its own accounts on those platforms, which have repeatedly been suspended. It has also launched accounts on Instagram and set up English-language feeds for the first time.
Five people were killed in the Westminster attack
The outlet now posts IS material in Arabic and English translation via its main feeds - the latest step of an initiative to post in English that began after the Westminster attack on 22 March.
These moves by Nashir agency to expand its reach have followed criticism by IS supporters on Telegram that pro-IS channels were preaching to the converted and should step up their efforts on other platforms.
IS has sought to cultivate the commitment of virtual foot-soldiers by highlighting their importance in its war.
IS supporters are encouraged to spread the group's propaganda on popular social media platforms
Charlie Winter of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) acknowledges the success IS has had with Telegram.
He says the messaging service's action against pro-IS channels "seems to be very haphazard".
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has also named Telegram among tech firms she wants to be tougher on pro-jihad users.
Mr Winter adds that IS's efforts to expose unsuspecting audiences to its propaganda on other, more popular platforms now meet with much less success.
IS might regularly post content specifically designed for Twitter, but this attempt at "amplification" no longer goes well, he says.
The group is still most successful on Telegram but its reliance on it could come at a cost, as supporters flock to the app instead of pushing the IS message to audiences elsewhere.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39743252
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Investment groups tell investors to give up tobacco industry - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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Axa, Calpers, Scor and AMP Capital made the call on World No Tobacco Day.
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Business
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Four international investment groups have called on investors to quit the tobacco industry.
Axa, Calpers, Scor and AMP Capital have already sold or are selling their tobacco investments.
The companies launched their appeal on the annual World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
Along with 50 other firms with investments totalling $3.8tn, they have pledged "to openly support the tobacco control measures being taken by governments around the world".
The statement reads: "We in the investment community are becoming increasingly aware of the important role we can play in helping to address the health and societal impacts of tobacco.
"We strive within our own scope of action to support the ambition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in line with our commitment to the positive role finance can play in sustainable development more broadly."
Last year, when Axa announced it was selling its tobacco investments, its chief executive Thomas Buberl told the BBC: "The business case is positive. It makes no sense for us to continue our investments within the tobacco industry. The human cost of tobacco is tragic - its economic cost is huge."
WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.
Its Tobacco Fact Sheet explains: "Tobacco kills more than seven million people each year. More than six million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
"Nearly 80% of the world's more than one billion smokers live in low and middle-income countries."
In the developing world, tobacco markets are still growing, largely through ignorance of the dangers. A 2009 survey in China revealed that only 38% of smokers knew that smoking caused coronary heart disease and only 27% knew that it caused strokes.
WNTD is the only one of the WHO's health campaigns that pits itself against a specific industry.
The tobacco business remains a formidable adversary. It has been one of the best investments of the last decade, indeed possibly of the post-Second World War era.
The shares in companies listed in the Bloomberg tobacco producers index have risen 351% since 2009, compared with just over 101% for the MSCI global index.
A 2009 survey in China showed only 38% of smokers knew that smoking causes coronary heart disease
Despite the growing aversion of the big investors, many believe there is more growth to come.
Dan Caplinger, of the financial services company The Motley Fool, wrote in January: "As a new year begins, there are reasons to believe that 2017 could be a great year to invest in tobacco stocks."
He goes on to explain that mergers and a move into non-traditional tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and "heat-not-burn" tobacco products, could boost share prices further.
The success of the industry is all the more remarkable, bearing in mind the forces ranged against Big Tobacco.
These include multinational agencies, lobby groups, governments and the global medical establishment, as well as the stark fact, as formulated by the WHO, that "tobacco kills up to half of its users".
The regulations are getting tighter, specifically in the way companies can advertise tobacco products. Even so, only 29 countries, representing just 12% of the world's population, have completely banned all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
For instance, the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive forced tobacco companies to cover 65% of their packets with health warnings and clamped down on e-cigarette advertising.
The tobacco companies have fought back, complaining that they are being unlawfully deprived of the right to display their brands.
But last month, they lost a High Court challenge in the UK against new plain packaging rules. These mean all cigarette packets must now look the same, with the same green colour, font, size, case and alignment of text on boxes.
The move by investors against tobacco is part of a wider trend in so-called ethical investing, which seems to be gathering pace.
The US-based Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment estimates that there has been 33% growth in what it calls sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) over the past two years, and a 14-fold increase since 1995.
Its 2016 report says: "SRI investing continues to expand - now accounting for more than one out of every $5 under professional management in the United States."
The report is only talking about US-domiciled assets, but that's still $8.72tn. Of that, $1.97tn is invested with specific instructions to avoid tobacco and alcohol.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40105814
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What happened to Robert the smoking robot? - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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Robert the smoking robot was built in Kettering in the 1930s and became an international celebrity - but where is he now?
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Northampton
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More than 80 years ago, a robot could be found in the unlikely surroundings of Kettering, directing traffic and smoking a cigarette.
Today, the story of Robert the Robot is little known, even in the Northamptonshire town where he was once a celebrity.
Yet in the 1930s, his fame reached as far as Czechoslovakia and the United States, where he even featured in Time magazine.
And the reason he came to be?
"Someone bet me £5 I could not make a robot in three weeks," inventor Charles Lawson, who had a radio shop, told a newspaper at the time.
Robert could be seen outside Mr Lawson's shop in Wellington Street, Kettering
The electrical engineer's creation first hit headlines in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, which proclaimed: "Kettering robot 'enjoys' smoke."
The article from March 1939 proclaimed the android could do "practically everything that a human being can do", even crediting him with the "ability of mind reading".
"You may pick up a card from a pack and the robot will tell you the card you have chosen," it read.
"It has a sense of humour too, for when Mr Lawson was bending down to examine its leg he received a slap on the face."
So how did he function? Frustratingly, it is not entirely clear.
Robert was popular with children and could also - apparently - direct traffic
The only remaining evidence for his existence are a selection of photographs and Robert himself disappeared from view after World War Two.
Mr Lawson's son David, an 84-year-old retired farmer, remembers "wires and gears, a maze of chains and electronics" inside the robot's 10ft-tall frame.
He said his father had built a prototype in 1938, which he had installed in Kettering's Temperance Hall.
The robot had a microphone and speaker in its head and hidden assistants would surprise the unsuspecting people walking past.
"They (the assistants) would be looking down at people passing by and suddenly say something about someone's pink hat," he said.
His father then moved on to the more advanced Robert, who could move his arms and hands.
The Meririam Webster dictionary used a picture of Charles Lawson's robot in an advert
"It used to light its own cigarettes. It even directed the traffic in Kettering," David Lawson said.
"It even used to tell fortunes and he took it to the seaside, including trips to Blackpool. [My father] got obsessed with it."
Robert was one of the first robots seen in the UK. The very term robot was less than 20 years old, having been coined by Czech writer Karel Capek in his 1920 play RUR.
The first British robot is believed to have been constructed in 1928 and was called Eric. He was subsequently rebuilt and is on display at the Science Museum in London.
Noel Sharkey, professor of robotics at Sheffield University and head judge on BBC Two's Robot Wars, said it was most likely Robert was a similar construction to Elektro, a robot made by US power company Westinghouse in 1937 for the New York World's Fair in 1939.
Robert first hit the headlines in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph
"As is claimed for the Charles Lawson robot, it could walk, talk, smoke and count," he said.
"The robot relied on a combination of motors, photoelectric cells, telephone relays and a record player to perform 26 pre-programmed routines, each one initiated by voice commands from a human co-star.
"Smoking was done using automated bellows which were also a feature of 19th Century automatons.
"Remember that this type of robot did not have access to a computer and so talking was done using a triggering mechanism for a record player playing old 78 RPM bakelite records."
Science fiction was in vogue in the 1930s - serials such as Flash Gordon were popular in the cinemas - and Robert became a huge media sensation, drawing the attention of English newspapers.
His story was then syndicated abroad where it was eagerly reported by the foreign press.
The entry in one Czech newspaper, under the headline Robot Friend of the Children, read: "In the English town of Kettering a robot often appears in the streets, it strides, sits down, smoke and speaks.
The robot was shown in displays at theatres in Kettering and received coverage in Czech newspapers
"The steel servant is an invention of C. Lawson, once an electric tramway employee. The robot has a sound apparatus in its head.
"Every move of the robot is followed, chiefly by the crowd of young folk, especially when he is on point duty."
Mr Lawson tried to capitalise on Robert's fame, exhibiting him around the country. His son said he eventually sold him to a pier showman in Blackpool shortly before the start of World War Two.
Despite several attempts to trace him, Robert's whereabouts remain unknown. But it seems possible he enjoyed a post-war career as a seaside attraction before disappearing into obscurity.
Tony Sharkey, head of local history at Blackpool library, said robots often appeared in sideshows during the 1950s, including one from South Africa called Magna.
"From images I've seen it appears to have been very different [to Robert]. The show included illusions and the robot would mind read and tell people what they were wearing."
Mr Lawson sold his shop in the 1960s and retired, but although he was "quiet man" he would talk to people about his robots if asked.
He died in 2002 in Kettering, aged 96.
"It is only recently when I've thought about the complexity of the robot that I realised how clever he was," his son said.
Mr Lawson often staged events in Kettering to publicise his robot and his radio shop
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-39057312
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BA computer chaos: The unanswered questions - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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Experts remain unconvinced by the explanations given for British Airways' IT meltdown last weekend.
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Business
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I admit I'm no IT expert, but over the past few days I've spoken to plenty of people who are.
These are people who have either engineered airline IT networks or actually worked on British Airways' systems in the past.
What I've heard is a lot of confusion and scepticism at the idea that a local power surge could have wreaked such havoc.
There is also confusion as to why back-up systems didn't do their job.
Only the people in the room know exactly what happened, so these views are based on the information made public, and bucketfuls of IT experience, including at BA.
One put it like this: "BA has two data centres near Heathrow, about a kilometre apart, so how could a power surge affect both?"
Then there are all the fail-safes in place.
The two data centres mirror each other I'm told, so when one collapses the other should take over.
All the big installations have back-up power. If the mains fails, a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) kicks in. It's basically a big battery that keeps things ticking over until the power comes back on, or a diesel generator is fired up.
This UPS is meant to take the hit from any "surge", so the servers don't have to.
All the big servers and large routers, I'm told, also have dual power supplies fed from different sources.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Richard Westcott quizzed boss Alex Cruz over the outsourcing of technical staff to India
I'm also told that, certainly a while ago, they used to have regular outages to confirm all the back-up bits were working. And daily inspections of the computer room. There is no reason to think these were stopped.
It's not even clear who was monitoring the system at the crucial time. Was it a contractor? How much experience did they have?
The point is this: certainly up until a while ago, British Airways' IT systems had a variety of safety nets in place to protect them from big dumps of uncontrolled power, and to get things back on their feet quickly if there was any problem. I'm assuming those safety nets are still there, so why did they fail? And did human error play a part in all this?
British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz told me recently that the company has launched an exhaustive investigation into what went wrong, although no-one can say when it will report back, and whether the findings will ever be made public.
If BA wants to repair its reputation, its owner IAG needs to convince the public that making hundreds of IT staff redundant last year did not leave them woefully short of experts who could have fixed the meltdown sooner. And that it won't happen again - at least not on this epic scale.
Mr Cruz was adamant, by the way, that the outsourcing did not contribute in any way to this mess.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40117381
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Yaya Toure: Manchester City midfielder signs new contract - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has signed a new one-year deal with the Premier League club.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has signed a new one-year deal with the Premier League club.
The 34-year-old has played 299 games for City, scoring 81 goals, since joining from Barcelona in 2010.
Earlier this season, Toure was left out of the Champions League squad and manager Pep Guardiola fell out with the player's agent, Dimitri Seluk.
"I am delighted. I told myself the journey at City is not done," Toure told the club's website.
The former Monaco and Olympiakos man played in the first leg of the Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest in August, but was then dropped from the team by Guardiola.
Seluk claimed the midfielder had been "humiliated" and the Spaniard refused to pick Toure until Seluk apologised for criticising the decision to leave the player out.
But Toure apologised on Seluk's behalf at the start of November and he was selected for the Premier League game against Crystal Palace later that month, in which he scored two goals following his three-month exile.
Toure became an important part of the team for the remainder of the campaign, playing a total of 31 games, as City finished third in the league.
He said: "I am very lucky now to be part of a great club with great players around me who are helping me to achieve my targets.
"Of course I want to win trophies, that is very important to me. I want to enjoy it at this age still and remaining here is a massive, massive thing.
"It is a great club, going in the right direction with new players who are coming in."
City's director of football Txiki Begiristain added: "Yaya has been a fantastic servant for Manchester City and continues to be a vital member of Pep Guardiola's squad.
"He is one of our most experienced and popular players and we couldn't be happier that he is staying with us as we embark on what we all hope will be a very exciting season."
Toure's deal at Etihad Stadium was coming to an end this summer, while out-of-contract goalkeeper Willy Caballero, winger Jesus Navas and defenders Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna will all leave the club at the end of the month.
City have completed the £43m purchase of Monaco midfielder Bernardo Silva, while they have agreed a £35m deal for Benfica goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
It is quite remarkable that Toure should be the only one of City's out-of-contract players to sign a new deal.
In November the 34-year-old appeared to have no future at the club - with his departure in the January transfer window looking increasingly inevitable.
But not only did manager Pep Guardiola extract the apology from Toure's agent he had demanded after his negative comments about the City boss, he then saw the midfielder produce the sort of performances that brought to mind his fantastic early seasons at City when he was one of the most dominant midfielders in the Premier League.
Playing in a deep midfield role, he brought nous and experience to City's team at a point when they badly needed it.
And unlike long-time team-mate Pablo Zabaleta, who has left for West Ham, Toure evidently believes he still has a role to play under Guardiola.
With Ilkay Gundogan likely to remain sidelined for several more months yet with his cruciate injury, expect to see plenty of Toure in the early months of the season.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40126362
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Martina Navratilova says Margaret Court is 'a racist and a homophobe' - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Martina Navratilova renews her call for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed - describing the Australian as a "racist and a homophobe".
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has renewed her call for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed - describing the Australian as a "racist and a homophobe".
Court, 74, has said she would not fly on Qantas "where possible" in protest at its support of same-sex marriage.
She then told a Christian radio station "tennis is full of lesbians".
In an open letter, Navratilova said: "We should not be celebrating this kind of behaviour."
The 60-year-old addressed her letter to the Margaret Court Arena, one of the main show courts at the Australian Open.
She said: "It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe.
"Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights (note to Court: we are human beings, too)."
In 1990, Court said Navratilova was a poor role model for young tennis players because of her homosexuality.
Navratilova said she had forgiven Court for those comments, but had only just been made aware of remarks the Australian made about South Africa's apartheid regime.
In 1970, Court said: "South Africa has the racial situation rather better organised than anyone else, certainly much better than the United States."
Court won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 11 of them in the Open era, which began in 1968 and allowed professionals to compete alongside amateurs.
Navratilova described Court's actions as "bullying" and said sporting venues are named after athletes for "who they are as human beings" and "not just for what this person did on the field".
"The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger," she said.
Navratilova believes the Margaret Court Arena should be renamed after Evonne Goolagong, a 14-time Grand Slam winner of Australian Aboriginal descent.
"I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it," she added. "Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level."
Freedom of speech is one thing, but Margaret Court has caused widespread offence within tennis with these most recent remarks.
Tennis Australia has so far tried to separate Court's views from her achievements as a player to argue the name of the arena does not need to change. But they will find it very hard to withstand such pressure from figures like Martina Navratilova. And the current generation of players have much influence, too.
Andy Murray, who is a member of the ATP Player Council, says it would be difficult for players to boycott a particular court during a Grand Slam. But he points out they could collectively agree a position before the tournament, which would make life very difficult indeed for Tennis Australia.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40116513
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UK's red letter day awaited in Brussels - with Brexit talks looming - BBC News
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2017-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In almost a year, there's been zero progress on a deal, but Brussels thinks that's about to change.
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Europe
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Theresa May, pictured in July 2016 on her first trip as PM - to meet Germany's Angela Merkel
It's now almost a year since the UK blind-sided the EU by voting to leave the club.
And the sum total of face-to-face negotiations between the two sides to date? Zero.
Perfectly explicable in political circles, though baffling for much of the general public.
That's why, on both sides of the Channel, 8 June is a red-letter day.
Not only is it general election time for the UK, but here in Brussels it means finally starting Brexit negotiations - once the new British government is in place.
The first day of EU-UK Brexit talks is expected to be 19 June. And they will focus on who will meet, how often, in which country, discussing which aspects of Brexit, in which order.
And how prepared are the two sides?
Well, there's a definite aura of smugness emanating from the European Commission. Their man, Michel Barnier, is the EU's chief Brexit negotiator.
While the UK seemed to tear itself apart with recriminations hurled between Leavers and Remainers after the EU referendum, with politics and press coverage then becoming caught up in general election fever, the EU was quietly getting its Brexit ducks in a row.
It struck me once again this week just how far apart the two sides' pre-negotiating styles are.
Theresa May's government insists it has a Brexit plan - but prefers not to divulge it.
Instead, British voters are doused in rhetoric: Brexit means Brexit, No deal is better than a bad deal, and so forth, repeated by Prime Minister May in a televised interview just this Monday.
Both large parties in the UK election are set for Brexit, no matter what
The very same day, the European Commission produced groaningly meaty documents with draft negotiating details on two of its key Brexit priorities: the post-Brexit rights of EU citizens in the UK and of UK citizens in the EU, and the financial settlement the EU insists Britain pays before leaving.
The documents contain no real surprises, but as one of my colleagues noted, "no detail seems too small".
A stark reminder that the EU has been mulling all this over for the past 11 months. It's been busy game-planning. It's got in the lawyers.
In the draft papers, the EU even calls for the salaries of native English teachers at elite European schools attended by civil servants' children to be included in Britain's exit bill.
Also listed are the multiple legal acts from which the EU is calculating the UK's financial liabilities, though the final sum is notably absent. The EU wants Britain to agree on a methodology, to work out the precise exit bill in the first stage of negotiations.
Brexiteers desperate to "take back control" will be angry to see that Brussels wants the European Court of Justice to maintain jurisdiction in disputes involving the rights of EU citizens remaining in the UK after Brexit.
Michel Barnier is leading the EU side - and he's been preparing
It's this sort of detail that could well lead to confrontation with the UK government from the start - so why publish the minutiae in the first place?
With so many players involved on the EU side, the likelihood of press leaks are manifold, so Brussels is going for full disclosure in the name of "transparency".
Importantly for the UK, absent from any EU document is a mandate for Mr Barnier to negotiate post-Brexit relations with Britain, including a future trade deal, during the first phase of talks.
So insist though the British may, it is not in his discretion to start parallel negotiations.
This will be tough for Britain's new government to accept. The time pressure is huge.
Under EU rules, the Brexit deal must be agreed by March 2019 at the latest, and that's just the divorce, never mind the complexities of sorting out a new UK-EU relationship.
Also of note - no matter what some high-profile British politicians like Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson might insist - there is in fact no wiggle room in any EU paper published to date to allow UK cherry-picking from the single market, along the lines of 'we want to be part of the single market for cars and financial services, but we don't want to accept freedom of movement'.
Alongside the smug ambience at EU HQ as regards Brexit there is also a growing sense of coldness.
"We've gone through the five stages of mourning in rapid succession," is something you're often told here. "From huge sadness at the UK departing, to anger, remorse and now matter-of-fact acceptance."
Unlike normal trade deals between the EU and third countries, Brexit from the EU perspective is about destruction, not creating something new and filled with potential.
Whatever emerges from Brexit will be worse, it's felt, than what existed before - and many in the EU want Brexit to be difficult.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "We Europeans have to take our destiny in our own hands," says Mrs Merkel
Brussels is more than aware that Euroscepticsm is alive and well across the continent. If liberal governments like President Emmanuel Macron's in France disappoint voters, for example, populist nationalists could yet win the day.
Mainstream EU leaders are anxious to demonstrate that exiting the club doesn't pay. Brexit has to hurt, they think, to damage the arguments of those in other countries pushing to leave the bloc,
From now until March 2019, the UK exists in an uncomfortable twilight zone - legally still an EU member, emotionally already viewed as an outsider.
The pre-negotiations rhetoric these 12 months has been bullish and threatening on both sides.
That led to a plea from a former judge at the European Court of Justice: for the EU and Britain's new government after 8 June to keep in mind that this is a divorce, not a war.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40115291
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French Open 2017: Andy Murray fights back to reach Roland Garros third round - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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World number one Andy Murray and British number two Kyle Edmund reach the third round of the French Open.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
World number one Andy Murray came from a set down to beat unseeded Slovakian Martin Klizan in the French Open second round.
The Briton won 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and goes on to face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
It was Murray's 18th win of a season that has been interrupted by illness and injury.
British number two Kyle Edmund also progressed after beating Renzo Olivo 7-5 6-3 6-1.
The 22-year-old Yorkshireman will next play South Africa's Kevin Anderson, who beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2.
Del Potro, seeded 29th after his own injury struggles, went through when his opponent Nicolas Almagro retired at one set all.
Asked about facing former US Open champion Del Potro as early as the third round, Murray said: "It's a tough match. In my opinion he's one of the best players in the world."
Murray needed three hours and 34 minutes to see off Klizan, the world number 50, and claim his second four-set win of the week.
The Scot, 30, could again be heard to complain he was struggling with his movement, but once again his form improved as the match wore on.
"I'm playing way better than I was two weeks ago, and today's match will have done me a lot of good," said Murray.
"Physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that. And also, I hit a lot of balls out there today, more than the first-round match."
It could have been a much quicker afternoon on the Suzanne Lenglen Court had Murray completed a comeback from a break down in the first set.
Having weathered the expected early storm from his big-hitting opponent, Murray drew level at 5-5 only to play a poor tie-break and fall a set behind.
Klizan, 27, began the match with his left calf heavily strapped and it was no surprise that his level dropped in the second set.
Murray raced through seven straight games and when he made it 11 out of 13 to take a two-sets-to-one lead, there looked no way back for the Slovakian.
He was offered a lifeline early in the fourth thanks to a wayward Murray forehand and made it through to 5-3, only to fail once again when trying to serve out the set.
Klizan was broken for the sixth time when he framed a smash over the baseline and, despite brilliantly saving one match point, saw his challenge end in another tie-break.
Murray lunged to his right to send a superb volley past the Slovakian on the second match point.
"Consistency is definitely what I'm looking for," Murray told BBC Sport.
"I felt a little bit more in control of the first-round match than I did today. At times today I played some very solid stuff.
"The most positive things for me are physically I felt good after a pretty long match in tough conditions, and also I made some quite significant changes during the match to my tactics."
Edmund's progress was considerably easier as he beat Argentina's Olivo, ranked 91st in the world, in straight sets.
It is the first time the 22-year-old has progressed to the third round of the French Open after being knocked out in round two in 2015 and 2016.
The world number 49 dropped just nine games, hitting 30 winners along the way, 18 on his impressive forehand side.
"There was a stage when I really felt the match turn in my favour and helped me get on top," said Edmund.
"Olivo had beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last round and I knew I had to play well today. I am pleased I got it done."
Murray expended more energy than is ideal in a first-week Grand Slam match, but time on the match court is important right now - and every win valuable. He is starting to play very well for periods of a match and now seeks to add the consistency required.
Edmund knows he has a formidable game when he is on song and is learning to trust his instincts in the Grand Slams. He beat Richard Gasquet and John Isner in his run to the fourth round of the US Open last year and will emulate that with a victory over the slightly lower-ranked Kevin Anderson on Saturday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40120252
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Ederson Moraes: Manchester City sign goalkeeper from Benfica for £35m - BBC Sport
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2017-06-01
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Manchester City complete the signing of 23-year-old goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from Portuguese side Benfica.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City have signed goalkeeper Ederson Moraes for £35m from Benfica.
The 23-year-old broke into the Benfica team last March and won the Portuguese league and cup double this season.
"I like everything about Manchester City," said Ederson, who will join the Premier League club when the transfer window opens on 1 July.
"With Pep Guardiola, City are growing more and more. He's putting in place a young team for the future. Those were important factors in my decision."
He added: "I have always had the dream to play in English football and now I'm going to make it true.
"Manchester City has an amazing squad. Next season, we will have to be focused to achieve the goal of winning trophies."
A world-record fee - but only in sterling
Gianluigi Buffon's world-record move for a goalkeeper from Parma to Juventus in 2001 was reported to be worth 53m euros, or £32.6m at the time.
But at current exchange rates, Ederson's 40m euros transfer is equivalent to £35m. It is a world record in sterling, but not euros.
Benfica announced the deal had been agreed last Thursday, when they also confirmed 50% of the fee will be paid to "third parties".
But the transfer could not be concluded until the Premier League was satisfied its rules on third-party ownership were met.
'There's a bit of Manuel Neuer in him'
Ederson is a very different kind of keeper to Claudio Bravo in that he is bigger, much more physically imposing, and much younger.
He has ability with his feet and has a howitzer of a big kick, which paradoxically could help City play out from defence by forcing the opposing press back a bit. He looks confident on the ball, but how he copes with that style will be very important to how he does at the club.
There seems to be a bit of the Manuel Neuer in him. He's big and commanding; there's that chest of steel when he comes off his line very quickly. He looks a very promising goalkeeper indeed, but I'm not sure what his English is like, so communication could be a problem.
What now for Bravo and Hart?
Ederson has played for Brazil's Under-23 side but is yet to make his full international debut. However, he is in the squad for two friendly matches - against Argentina on Friday and Australia on Tuesday.
City manager Pep Guardiola has been interested in Ederson for some time and made room in his squad by releasing Willy Caballero at the end of the season.
His arrival will place more pressure on Claudio Bravo, who has had a difficult first season since arriving from Barcelona to take over from Joe Hart as City's number one.
England goalkeeper Hart has left Torino after a season-long loan. In March he told BBC Sport he was "surplus to requirements" at City and did not see himself playing for the club again.
The deal for Ederson is Guardiola's second signing of the summer, following the £43m arrival of Monaco's Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40080163
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British and Irish Lions beat Provincial Barbarians 13-7 in tour opener - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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The British and Irish Lions start their tour of New Zealand with a nervy 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand
The British and Irish Lions started their tour of New Zealand with a nervy victory over the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei.
The first of the Lions' 10 fixtures was expected to be the most straightforward, against a side made up of fringe players from Super Rugby.
But the visitors were put to the test throughout and had to come from behind to secure the win after a scrappy performance.
A try from Sam Anderson-Heather, converted by Bryn Gatland - the son of Lions coach Warren - gave the Provincial Barbarians a 7-3 lead at the break.
Greig Laidlaw added to Johnny Sexton's first-half penalty before Anthony Watson crossed to restore the visitors' lead on 53 minutes.
Replacement Owen Farrell added the conversion but then missed a penalty, and the Lions survived a late surge from the hosts to hang on.
Warren Gatland's side face all five Super Rugby teams, the New Zealand Maori, and the All Blacks, during the five-week tour, with their next match against the Blues on Wednesday (08:35 BST).
Gatland named 13 of the 14 players who attended the first training camp in his starting XV but the team, who landed in New Zealand three days ago, struggled to gel - especially in the first half.
Ireland's Sexton, picked ahead of Farrell and Dan Biggar in the number 10 shirt, missed a long-range penalty before getting the visitors off the mark from the tee on 17 minutes.
But the points failed to settle the Lions and moments later Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau was forced to make a try-saving tackle on Inga Finau, who was sent on his way after a quick break by Luteru Laulala.
Soon the Provincial Barbarians got the score they deserved when hooker and captain Anderson-Heather crashed over and fly-half Gatland added the extras against his father's team.
Captain Sam Warburton, Faletau and Jonathan Joseph went close to responding for the visitors before the break but they were continuously held up on the line by black shirts.
Gatland opted to make five changes on 50 minutes - bringing on Saracens quartet Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, George Kruis and Farrell, alongside Leinster's Tadhg Furlong.
And the impact was instant. England and Bath wing Watson spun over in the corner, and Farrell added the conversion for a 13-7 lead.
England fly-half cum centre Farrell should have extended the Lions' advantage further but saw a penalty come off the upright.
The Provincial Barbarians did not give up hope of an upset and it fell to Vunipola to disrupt what was to be their final attack of the game, ripping the ball clear in a maul.
Gatland's side won the series 2-1 on their tour of Australia four years ago.
But the Lions have won only one series in New Zealand, back in 1971, and the All Blacks have not lost a Test on home soil to anyone since 2009.
Getting the first win on the board was always going to be Gatland's priority in this match, but now the backroom staff - as well as the players - have bigger tests ahead.
There are six more matches before their first meeting with the All Blacks on Saturday, 24 June and Gatland will need to decide which members of the 41-man squad are up to the challenge of facing the world champions.
A win is a win, so that is the number one objective completed, but there will be frustration amongst the squad and coaches as to why the Lions weren't more convincing against a scratch Barbarians team.
They have plenty of areas to work on, but we knew that would be the case.
And, rugby tactics aside, it will have been an unbelievable feeling for those lads who put on the red jersey for the first time. England and Harlequins prop Kyle Sinckler in particular was outstanding, showing his ball-handling skills, work rate and physicality are all of Test standard.
Enjoy a beer tonight, rest up and roll on Wednesday.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland: "We would have preferred to have had a week in the UK with the full squad and a week in New Zealand before the first game.
"We arrived on Wednesday and we are still recovering from the travel and the guys haven't got into regular sleep patterns - perhaps the schedulers need to look at that for future tours.
"Some players are still seeing the doctor for sleeping pills to help them sleep."
What was the Kiwi view?
Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald: "The Lions got their heavily predicted opening-game victory but it was one that saw them reach unimaginable levels of mediocrity."
Phil Gifford for Rugby Heaven: "In blunt terms, the Lions looked incompetent. To be down 7-3 at half-time, and not take the lead until the 56th minute, was a disgrace to the jersey."
Mark Reason for Rugby Heaven: "The Lions bench may have finally got them over the line, but not a soul in the crowd was fooled."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40129657
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Chelsea paid £150.8m by Premier League after winning 2016-17 title - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Chelsea were paid £150.8m by the Premier League after winning the 2016-17 title - 50% more than last season's top earners.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea were paid £150.8m by the Premier League after winning the 2016-17 title - 50% more than the top earners in 2015-16.
The 2016-17 season was the first of the latest TV deal and saw a total of almost £2.4bn paid to the 20 clubs - up from £1.6bn last season.
Bottom club Sunderland got £93.471m - more than the £93.219m 2015-16 winners Leicester pocketed the previous season.
The figures are based on broadcast and commercial deals plus prize money.
Funds from the Premier League's central commercial deals and overseas broadcast rights are shared equally - as is half of the domestic broadcast income.
A quarter is paid out in prize money based on each club's league position and the other quarter in "facility fees" for each game broadcast on UK television.
Arsenal were the top earners in 2015-16 with £100.9m - but only the three relegated sides of Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland were paid less than that figure in 2016-17.
The ratio between the highest and lowest totals paid by the Premier League to its clubs in 2016-17 was 1.61 to 1, the lowest among Europe's top leagues, which means the Premier League is more equal when it comes to sharing revenue than its rivals.
The Premier League also paid out nearly £220m to Aston Villa, Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Wigan in parachute payments.
Villa, Newcastle and Norwich - the relegated sides in 2016 - got almost £41m each.
Full table broken down into all categories on the Premier League website.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40125394
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Champions Trophy: England's Chris Woakes ruled out of tournament with strain - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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England's Chris Woakes is ruled out of the rest of the Champions Trophy after a scan revealed he has sustained a side strain.
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Coverage: Highlights every evening on BBC Two, ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; in-play highlights and text commentary on the BBC Sport website
England all-rounder Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the rest of the Champions Trophy after a scan revealed he has sustained a side strain.
Woakes, who has played 63 one-day internationals, bowled two overs in the eight-wicket win over Bangladesh on Thursday before leaving the field.
Speaking on Friday after being ruled out, Woakes said: "More than anything, it's really frustrating."
England's next game in the tournament is against New Zealand on 6 June.
"An update on a replacement for the remainder of the tournament will follow in due course," said the ECB.
Woakes is England's highest-placed bowler in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings at seventh.
The 28-year-old has taken 89 wickets at an average of 31.60 and an economy rate of 5.58, while he has scored 800 runs for his country in one-day internationals at an average of exactly 25 and a strike rate of 86.86.
"It's a tough one to take, right at the start of a tournament which we have been building up to as a team for a while," he added.
"We've had our eyes on the Champions Trophy for a while now as a team and we were coming into the tournament in good form.
"The toughest thing as a bowler is having to come off after only bowling a couple of overs.
"Leaving the guys out there with almost 10 men is difficult to take, so I'm really pleased the boys managed to get over the line with a win."
Woakes did not feature in the second and third one-day internationals against South Africa last month because of a thigh problem and despite a Test series against the Proteas set for next month, he says he isn't going to put a timescale on his recovery.
"I will rehab it as well as I can. I'll listen to the medical staff, they know exactly what they are doing," he said.
"We will be as professional as possible and try and get back as soon as possible.
"I don't want to set a target to come back, I want to take it day-by-day and build it back up to return as soon as possible.
"I've never had a side strain before but as a bowler it's one of those injuries that is important not to risk."
England can still call up a replacement, with Middlesex pair Steven Finn or Toby Roland-Jones among the contenders.
After New Zealand, the tournament hosts face Australia at Edgbaston on 10 June.
As an old fast bowler, I can tell you that having a proper side strain is like having a red hot poker jammed between your ribs. It seemed that he felt something and knew he had to stop - which was the right thing to do. It's not just a case of strapping them up and saying "on you go".
England were already likely to drop a pace bowler to make way for leg-spinner Adil Rashid, so Woakes' absence probably means a three-way fight between Jake Ball, David Wiley and whoever is called into the squad.
There will be a clamour for England to call on Stuart Broad - who the ECB had already asked to be rested for Nottinghamshire game with Derbyshire on Friday - but the selectors will be consistent. Steven Finn is an experienced option, while Toby Roland-Jones impressed on his debut against South Africa and offers lower-order runs.
As for Woakes, he now faces a fight to be fit for the first Test against South Africa in July. When James Anderson suffered a similar injury in 2015, he was out for almost two months.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40130286
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Champions Trophy: England's Chris Woakes to have scan on side strain - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Chris Woakes is to have a scan after picking up an injury in the win against Bangladesh, reveals captain Owen Morgan.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England's Chris Woakes has been sent for a scan on a side strain and is a "worry" for the rest of the Champions Trophy, says captain Eoin Morgan.
Woakes bowled two overs in the eight-wicket one-day-international win over Bangladesh before leaving the field.
Morgan said: "He'll have a scan tonight [Thursday] and we'll see what it comes up with. It doesn't feel right."
The captain added on TMS that man of the match Joe Root "showed his class, even [though he picked] up a niggle".
Root compiled a career-best ODI score of 133 not out at better than a run a ball, despite sustaining a calf strain.
Morgan, who scored an unbeaten 75 to help see his side home, described Root as "the glue in our side".
"He has scored a lot of runs in the last couple of years and continues to do it," the captain continued.
"He is not slow. He is batting at pace. He has been working on his power hitting and today it worked."
If Woakes was to be ruled out, England can still call up a replacement, with Middlesex pair Steven Finn or Toby Roland-Jones likely replacements.
Ben Stokes, who is recovering from a knee injury, bowled seven overs on Thursday and Morgan says the all-rounder came through it well.
"It was a stretch for him but he hasn't felt his knee all day," said Morgan.
Opener Jason Roy, under pressure coming into this tournament, received a vote of confidence from his skipper despite falling for just one.
Roy averages 35 at over a run a ball in one-day internationals, but since the start of May he has reached double figures just once in six innings and was dismissed flicking a delivery to backward square leg against Bangladesh.
"I thought Jason Roy was terribly unlucky today. Those things happen when you can't seem to score runs but we back him - he's been brilliant for us," Morgan said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40120890
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Champions Trophy: Australia and New Zealand share points after play abandoned - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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New Zealand's Kane Williamson scores a century as their Champions Trophy tie against Australia is abandoned after rain.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Kane Williamson scored a century for New Zealand in their abandoned Champions Trophy game against Australia at Edgbaston.
The Kiwi captain top-scored as his side looked to be heading for a win before play was halted in the second innings.
Australia were 53-3 after nine overs, chasing a revised target of 235 from 33 overs, when rain intervened.
The two teams pick up a point each as England top the group after Thursday's win over Bangladesh.
The hosts now need one win from their matches against Australia and New Zealand to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Australia needed to bat for at least 20 overs for a result to be declared through the Duckworth-Lewis method.
• None Watch highlights of the match on BBC Two at 00:25 BST on Saturday (01:20 in Scotland)
New Zealand opener Luke Ronchi got his side off to a flying start, showcasing a repertoire of shots with an aggressive approach.
The Australian bowlers struggled to find their line and length as a long rain delay in the morning reduced the number of overs to 46.
Ronchi raced to his half-century from just 34 balls before he was caught by Glenn Maxwell off the bowling of John Hastings for 65, handing the reins over to his skipper Williamson.
Williamson batted superbly, starting with a patient approach. Accompanied by Ross Taylor, who scored 46, he kept the scoreboard ticking along between some high-scoring shots.
He registered his ninth one-day-international century in a knock that included eight fours and two sixes, before being run out on 100.
Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood registered career-best ODI figures, taking six wickets for 52 runs, as New Zealand's middle and lower order collapsed soon after their captain's dismissal.
New Zealand stuttered as they lost their last seven wickets for just 37 runs.
Hazlewood ensured the opposition did not see see out their allotted overs, mopping up the tail with three wickets in four balls.
Another rain delay at the midway point set Australia their revised target.
David Warner and Aaron Finch did not get off to the most convincing start, with both openers dismissed in the space of eight balls.
New Zealand's Adam Milne struck again to leave their opponents reeling, before play was called off.
The result is reminiscent of the last time the sides met at Edgbaston, which was also rained off in the second innings.
Ex-New Zealand batsman Jeremy Coney on Test Match Special: "Kane Williamson has such good hands, plays the ball very late and is able to see the length and line at the last moment.
"It's very hard to keep his scoring just down to singles, he keeps on scoring. At his best I think he is one of the top four players in the world. "
Ex-England batsman James Taylor on TMS: "The partnership between Williamson and Taylor laid the perfect platform for New Zealand but the crescendo never came.
"If they are to win the tournament, they can't afford to collapse like they did."
'One of the worst bowling displays that we've put on'
Australia captain Steve Smith: "I thought it was probably one of the worst bowling displays that we've put on for a very long time. We bowled both sides of wicket.
"We gave them a lot of freebies. And it was pretty ordinary, to be honest with you. Let's hope it's rust and let's hope it's gone."
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: "We were playing some good cricket. Would have been nice to see how the game would unfold if we were able to get out and finish it. But it is a funny game, cricket.
"And when there's rain around, the Duckworth-Lewis does tend to help the side batting second; but, like I say, the guys were going well with the ball in hand, and it would have been interesting to see how it unfolded."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40132968
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Does Trump still think climate change is a hoax? - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president's team sows confusion when asked about Donald Trump's views on global warming.
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US & Canada
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For a speech about whether the US should remain a party to the Paris climate accord, Donald Trump's Rose Garden address on Thursday didn't have a whole lot of discussion about, you know, the climate.
There was plenty of talk about jobs and the US economy. He offered more than a few expressions of concern over whether other nations were being given an unfair advantage over the US. And then there was that lengthy opening plug for his presidential accomplishments that had nothing to do with the environment whatsoever.
At one point the president made a somewhat oblique reference to current climate science, asserting that even if all nations hit their self-set, non-mandatory greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris agreement, it would only result in a reduction of 0.2 degrees in average global temperatures by the year 2100. (The researchers who conducted the study said the number he cited was outdated and misrepresented.)
Mr Trump's relative silence on the matter has left reporters wondering whether the president still stands by earlier comments - and tweets - expressing serious scepticism about whether climate change is real.
Does he still believe it's a Chinese plot to make the US less competitive, as he tweeted in November 2012? Or that it is a money-making "hoax", as he said during a December 2015 campaign rally?"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. President Trump says the Paris climate accord "disadvantages" US
He's occasionally backed away from such sweeping denunciations. During the first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, he denied having ever blamed the Chinese. In a New York Times interview shortly after his election victory, he said he thinks there's "some connectivity" between human activity and climate change.
After Mr Trump announced his Paris agreement withdrawal, reporters posed the almost-too-obvious question once again to White House aides tasked with selling the move to the public. Does the president believe human activity contributes to climate change?
They asked about it during an on-background session with two administration officials on Thursday afternoon. They asked White House advisor Kellyanne Conway during a television appearance Friday morning. They asked Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt during his press conference on Friday afternoon.
Time and time again the answer was some variation of "I don't know", "I can't say" or "that's not relevant".
"We focused on one key issue," Mr Pruitt said during one of the multiple times he was pressed on his boss's views. "Was Paris good or bad for the country?"
On Tuesday Press Secretary Sean Spicer had said he didn't know the president's thoughts about climate change because he hadn't asked him. On Friday he was asked whether he had since had a chance to speak to the president.
"I have not had the opportunity to do that," Spicer replied.
The rest of the press conference was an extended parlour game to try to get the press secretary to slip and perhaps inadvertently shed some light on Mr Trump's views - to no avail.
It's clear at this point that the administration has no interest in clarifying Mr Trump's position on climate change. But why?
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Students from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, are divided on Trump Paris pullout
Confusion can often be a politician's ally. The embattled president needs his core supporters to stick with him through what could be a rough road ahead. Those who don't believe climate change is real can look at the president's past comments as proof their man still stands with them without anyone having to explicitly say so.
That allows the president to insist that he is willing to do something to address climate change - "renegotiating" the Paris accord, perhaps - without saying climate change is a problem. It allows him tell the majority of Americans who believe climate change is a real global threat that he is trying to address their concerns.
It allows administration surrogates like Mr Pruitt to tout that the US has lowered its carbon output without acknowledging the only reason this would be a noteworthy accomplishment - human activity affects the global climate.
It's a fine line to walk for even the most dextrous of White House communications teams - let alone one that has to be concerned that the next time the president is asked the question, there's no telling what he might say.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40128034
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British and Irish Lions: Are the Lions sport's strangest concept? - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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From a Victorian-era Franken-side to modern-day commercial powerhouse, BBC Sport looks at how the Lions' unique appeal has survived and thrived.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Coverage: Live text commentary on every match on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.
Sam Warburton's 48-hour journey to Auckland, featuring business-class air travel and stopovers in Dubai and Melbourne, was described this week as "epic".
Robert Seddon would have something to say about that.
When Seddon led the British and Irish Lions on their first ever tour in 1888, he and his team-mates arrived in Australia after 42 days at sea, with 300 stoats and weasels - tasked with bringing the local rabbit population under control - as fellow passengers.
The world has certainly changed since then, but the Lions - albeit these days lacking a cargo of ruthless little mustelids - remain at their core the same: a composite side featuring the best players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, touring a southern-hemisphere stronghold every four years.
As the current class embark on their New Zealand trip, how has a team that began as a Victorian-era mix-and-match Franken-side not only survived, but thrived?
And are the Lions, ultimately, an endangered species?
A team like no other
Cross-sport comparisons with the Lions always fall short.
Europe's best golfers come together every two years to represent the continent in the Ryder Cup. But in a largely individual sport, there are not the same national allegiances to be set aside.
The State of Origin rugby league sides and NBA All Star basketball games show a fine disregard for club loyalties, but these are domestic affairs that lack the jet-set international dimension of the Lions.
Scour the sporting world high and low and you'll find there is nothing quite the same.
• None Radio 5 live special: How NOT to win a series (2005)
'One player nearly took off another's foot with a shotgun'
So what does it mean to become a Lion?
Jeremy Guscott was called up to the Lions' tour of Australia in 1989 as a 23-year-old centre with just one England cap to his name.
He started both of the Test victories, and played in all six Tests on the subsequent tours of New Zealand and South Africa, famously kicking the decisive drop-goal against the Springboks in 1997.
"It was absolute, all-encompassing euphoria when I got selected for the first time," he told BBC Sport.
"And because of what I experienced then, I would have almost chopped off an arm to get on the tours in 1993 and 1997.
"Everyone has to be selfless, helping team-mates to be the best they can, while at the same time competing furiously for places.
"It is very hard to do because it is an incredibly competitive environment. But the more that people buy into that, the greater chance there is of success.
"That is the unique balance with a Lions tour."
The standard of play may be be stratospheric, but the touring traditions of scrapes, high-jinks and horseplay are as true for the Lions as for Old Rubber Duckians 3rd XV.
Whether it be 1974 captain Willie John McBride asking an irate hotel manager just how many police would be arriving to quell his team-mates' partying or full-back Neil Jenkins decked out as Prince Ruprecht from the film 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' in 1997, there is a human and occasionally hell-raising side to the tours.
"There are moments which stay with you forever, both on and off field," remembers Guscott.
"There was an afternoon in New Zealand where we - and those involved will remain nameless - were out on a team-building activity and one player very nearly took off another's foot with a shotgun.
"He missed by a metre or so. The alternative didn't bear thinking about!"
• None All Blacks more complete than in 2005 - Hansen
• None 'O'Driscoll thought spear tackle was going to kill him'
The series that could have broken the Lions
As Warren Gatland's squad headed off in the glare of the media spotlight, kitbags loaded with £595 red velvet jackets provided by one of their many sponsors, it is funny to recall that it was once feared 'professionalism' could kill them off.
The Lions represent the continuing legacy of the British Empire. That still has tremendous resonance in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa
The end of the sport's amateur status in 1995 prompted predictions that the Lions' days were numbered, as clubs would be reluctant to allow paid employees to tour, improved annual Six Nations battles would dominate the conversation and a burgeoning World Cup would suck up the corporate cash.
So the theory went, at least.
"There are two reasons that the Lions survived the advent of professionalism," explains Tony Collins, professor at De Montfort University's International Centre for Sports History and Culture and author of 'The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby'.
"The first is that the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa - two years after the game turned professional - was incredibly successful.
"It was a great series, that showed the credibility of a Lions tour to supporters and the esteem it was held in by the players themselves.
"The other thing is just as important, but less recognised. Although a lot has changed, there is still tremendous continuity in the way that people view the world and their place in it.
"The Lions represent the continuing legacy of the British Empire. That still has tremendous resonance in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
"When the first tours went, these were still very young countries and, in many ways, they still define themselves by their ability to compete with and defeat the British.
"Back home in Britain, despite the devolution of powers to the various constituent parts, there is still a nostalgia for British-ness in lots of places."
While the Lions have thrived, the advent of professionalism has had an impact on another of the sport's great composite teams: the Barbarians.
Back in 1973, the Barbarians beat the All Blacks in front of 51,000 in what was a full-blooded contest at the very highest level of the game.
Contrast that with the Barbarians' most recent outing last month, which saw the free-running invitational side comfortably beaten in what amounted to a pre-tour loosener for a second-string England side.
The challenge for the Lions now is to ensure they can marry their romantic past with modern realities.
Before the third and deciding Test on the 2013 tour of Australia, Gatland controversially dropped Irish legend Brian O'Driscoll to reunite the Welsh midfield axis of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies.
In total 10 of the starting XV for that climatic match were players Gatland oversaw in his regular job as Wales head coach.
In the hours before kick-off, former Ireland hooker Keith Wood - a veteran of the 1997 and 2001 tours - accused him of fundamentally misunderstanding the Lions ethos.
"We are not seeing the blend of four teams, that is what makes the Lions phenomenal," he said.
"It about getting the best quality out of players from these islands, not having an intransigent game-plan that is low on subtlety and simplistic from the start."
The Lions recorded a thumping 41-16 victory to win the series. Wood, though, stood by his words, claiming that the Lions is about more than just the result.
This year's Lions will play six matches in 17 days before the first Test in an intense crash-course to prepare for the planet's best - the world-champion All Blacks.
With playbooks fatter than ever, can the Lions afford to start with a blank slate rather than arrive with a pre-heated plan?
But - given the unique and broad appeal that has has seen them survive for nearly 150 years - can they also afford to disregard the old traditions?
What is clear is that the Lions' battle to hitch contemporary professionalism to timeless romance, and to knit four teams into one, makes them unique in a sporting world long since stripped of such idiosyncrasy at the top level.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40117691
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Is India's ban on cattle slaughter 'food fascism'? - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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Critics say the beef ban is a brazen attack on India's secularism and federalism.
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India
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Beef kebabs are popular with millions of Indians
A lawmaker from India's southern state of Kerala has announced that he is returning to eating meat, fish and eggs after practising vegetarianism for nearly two decades.
There's nothing unusual about a lapsed vegetarian but VT Balram said his decision was prompted by the federal Hindu nationalist BJP government's attempt to seize the people's right to eat what they wanted.
"I have been living without eating meat, fish or eggs since 1998. But now the time has come break it and uphold the right politics of food assertively," Mr Balram said, while posting a video of him eating beef with friends and fellow party workers.
The BJP believes that cows should be protected, because they are considered holy by India's majority Hindu population. Some 18 Indian states have already banned slaughter of cattle.
But millions of Indians, including Dalits (formerly untouchables), Muslims and Christians, consume beef. And it's another matter, say many, that there's no outrage against the routine selling of male calves by Hindu farmers and pastoralists to middlemen for slaughter as the animals are of little use - bullocks have been phased out by tractors in much of rural India, and villagers need to rear only the occasional bull.
Ironically, the cow has become a polarising animal. Two years ago, a mob attacked a man and killed him over "rumours" that his family ate beef. Vigilante cow protection groups, operating with impunity, have killed people for transporting cattle.
More recently, the chief of BJP's powerful ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteers' Organisation) has called for a countrywide ban on the slaughter of cows. And this week, a senior judge said the cow should be declared a national animal and people who slaughter cows should be sentenced to life in prison.
Many say this is all contributing to effectively killing India's thriving buffalo meat trade.
Several states opposed the federal government's decision to ban the sale of cattle for slaughter
Earlier this week, several Indian states opposed the federal government's decision to ban the sale of cattle for slaughter at livestock markets. The government said the order was aimed at preventing uncontrolled and unregulated animal trade.
But the ban, say many, could end up hurting some $4bn (£3.11bn) in annual beef exports and millions of jobs. There are some 190 million cattle in India, and tens of millions "go out of the system" - die or need to be slaughtered - every year. How will poor farmers sell their animals?
So, as lawyer Gautam Bhatia says, the new rules are "perceived as imposing an indirect beef ban". He believes the government will find it difficult to defend them if they are challenged in the court - one state court, responding to a petition that they violate the right of a person to chose what he eats, has already put the ban on hold.
The badly-drafted rules, Mr Bhatia says, are "an opportunity for citizens and courts to think once again whether the prescription of food choices is consistent with a Constitution that promises economic and social liberty to all".
Critics have been calling the beef ban an example of "dietary profiling" and "food fascism". Others say it smacks of cultural imperialism, and is a brazen attack on India's secularism and constitutional values. Don't laugh, but there could be a conspiracy to turn India vegetarian, screamed a recent headline.
Many believe that the BJP, under Narendra Modi, appears to be completely out of depth with India's widely diverse food practices which have always been distinguished by religion, region, caste, class, age and gender.
Indians now eat more meat, including beef - cow and buffalo meat - than ever. Consumption of beef grew up 14% in cities, and 35% in villages, according to government data analysed by IndiaSpend, a non-profit data journalism initiative.
Beef is the preferred meat in north-eastern states like Nagaland and Meghalaya. According to National Sample Survey data, 42% Indians describe themselves as vegetarians who don't eat eggs, fish or meat; another baseline government survey showed 71% of Indians over the age of 15 are non-vegetarian.
Critics say the ban is an attack on rights of citizens
Governments have tried to impose food bans and choices around the world, mostly using health and environment concerns and hygiene concerns.
In the US, for example, groups have rallied against subsidised vegetables, outlawing large sodas, promotion of organic food and taxing fat. Bangkok is banning street food to clean up streets and enforce hygiene standards.
India has done the same in the past. Crops like BT brinjal have been stalled by the government and industrially manufactured food like Maggi noodles banned temporarily amid claims they contained dangerously high levels of lead. Scarcity has also led to bans - a ban of milk sweets in the 1970s in Delhi was justified because milk used to be in short supply.
"To the extent that this ban on cattle slaughter justifies itself by speaking of 'unfit and infected cattle', it seems to invoke public health, but then stops short by not banning the sale of goats, sheep and chicken as well," sociologist Amita Baviskar told me.
"In fact, the public health argument leads logically to a move towards better regulation like stricter checking of animals for disease, more hygienic slaughter and storage of meat rather than a flat-out ban."
Clearly, the ban appears to be working already.
There are fears that the proposed ban would hit a thriving buffalo meat exports
"Selling red meat, even goat meat, in a BJP-ruled state is now injurious to one's health. Who would want to risk the wrath of the vigilantes?," says Dr Baviskar.
As it is, she says, meat-eating habits of Indians have been changing rapidly in the last couple of decades and the chicken, once regarded as a "dirty bird", is now the most popular meat.
"I see a greater polarisation taking place between red states (meat-eating) and white states (chicken eating) Within the white states, meat-eaters will have to skulk about, looking over their shoulder as they bite into a beef kebab".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40116811
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The young Japanese working themselves to death - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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Japan has some of the world's longest working hours, and some young Japanese are literally working themselves to death.
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Business
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Michiyo Nishigaki lost her only son Naoya to "karoshi"
Japan has some of the longest working hours in the world, and some young Japanese workers are literally working themselves to death. Now there are calls for the government to do more.
Michiyo Nishigaki was a proud mother when her only son Naoya landed a job at a large Japanese telecoms company, straight out of college.
He loved computers, and it seemed like a great opportunity in Japan's competitive graduate jobs market.
But just two years later things started to go wrong.
"He was telling me he'd been busy, but he said he was OK," Ms Nishigaki tells me. "But then he came home for my father's funeral and he couldn't get out of bed. He said: 'Let me sleep a while, I can't get up. Sorry, Mum, but let me sleep'."
Japan has some of the longest working hours in the developed world
Later she learned from colleagues that he'd been working around the clock.
"He usually worked until the last train, but if he missed it he slept at his desk," she said. "In the worst case he had to work overnight through to 10pm the next evening, working 37 hours in total."
Two years later Naoya died at the age of 27 from an overdose of medication. His death was officially rule a case of "karoshi" - the Japanese term to describe death attributed to overwork.
Japan has a culture of long working hours and this is not a new phenomenon - it was first recorded in the 1960s - but recently high-profile cases have thrust karoshi back into the spotlight.
On Christmas Day in 2015, 24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi, an employee at the Japanese advertising agency Dentsu, jumped to her death.
It emerged she had barely slept after working more than 100 hours of overtime a month in the period leading up to her death.
Makoto Iwahashi says that is not unusual, particularly for new starters in a company. He works for Posse, an organisation that runs a helpline for young workers, and says most of the calls are complaints about long working hours.
"It's sad because young workers think they don't have any other choice," he tells me. "If you don't quit you have to work 100 hours. If you quit you just can't live."
Mr Iwahashi says declining job security has made the situation worse.
"We had karoshi in the 1960s and 70s - the big difference is they had to work long hours but they were secured lifetime employment. That's not the case any more."
Official figures put cases of karoshi in the hundreds each year, counting heart attacks, strokes and suicides. But campaigners say the real figure is much higher.
Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have employees working more than 80 hours overtime a month, often unpaid, a recent survey found. And 12% have employees breaking the 100 hours a month mark.
Those numbers are important; 80 hours overtime a month is regarded as the threshold above which you have an increased chance of dying.
Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have employees working more than 80 hours overtime a month
Japan's government has been under increasing pressure to act, but the challenge has been to break a decades-old work culture where it's frowned upon to leave before your colleagues or boss.
Earlier this year the government introduced Premium Fridays, encouraging firms to let their employees out early, at 3pm, on the last Friday each month. They also want Japanese workers to take more holiday.
Workers are entitled to 20 days leave a year but currently about 35% don't take any of it.
In the local government offices in Toshima, a district of downtown Tokyo, they have resorted to turning the office lights off at 7pm in an effort to force people to go home.
Hitoshi Ueno says it's important for employees to develop their own interests outside of the office
"We wanted to do something visible," says manager Hitoshi Ueno.
"It's not just about cutting working hours. We want people to be more efficient and productive, so that everyone can protect and enjoy their spare time. We want to change the work environment in total."
In focusing on efficiency he may have a point. While the country may have some of the longest working hours it is the least productive of the G7 group of developed economies.
But campaigners say these measures are piecemeal and fail to address the core problem: that young workers are dying because they are working too hard and for too long.
The only solution they say is to put a legal limit on the overtime employees are permitted to work.
Japan may have some of the longest working hours it is the least productive of the G7 group of developed economies
Earlier this year the government proposed limiting average overtime to 60 hours a month though firms would be allowed to up this to 100 hours during "busy periods" - well into the karoshi red zone.
Critics say the government is prioritising business and economic interests at the expense of the welfare of workers.
"The Japanese people count on the government but they are being betrayed," says Koji Morioka, an academic who has studied the karoshi phenomenon for 30 years.
In the meantime, more young workers are dying and the support groups for bereaved families keep getting new members.
Michiyo Nishigaki, who lost her son Naoya, says the country is killing the very workers it should be cherishing.
"Companies just focus on short-term profits," she says. "My son and other young workers don't hate work. they are capable and they want to do well.
"Give them the opportunity to work without long hours or health problems and the country would be privileged to have them."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39981997
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Will Paris pull-out hurt Trump? - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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Domestic politics is driving the president's Paris decision - but the cost of a mistake is high.
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US & Canada
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In the end the collected pressure from environmentalists, diplomats, major US corporations, foreign leaders, Mitt Romney, Leonardo Di Caprio and Ivanka Trump wasn't enough. The US is charting its own course, leaving the international community to fend for itself.
The implications for that community, and the role of US leadership in it, will be the subject of considerable discussion in the days ahead. This decision was not made with international affairs in mind, however. It was one of domestic politics, pure and simple.
If anything, the international community was the foil against which the president made a show of his dedication to the American people - putting Pittsburgh over Paris, as he phrased it.
"The Paris Agreement handicaps the United States economy in order to win praise from the very foreign capitals and global activists that have long sought to gain wealth at our country's expense," he said. "They don't put America first. I do, and I always will."
Donald Trump campaigned on the economy, jobs and deregulation first and foremost. While he's had more than a few tweets and asides about climate change over the years - the "Chinese hoax" quote being the most publicised of the bunch - environmental issues hardly came up over the course of the campaign, either in debates or on the stump.
On a sun-drenched Thursday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, it was more of the same. Despite a few throw-away lines about clean air and loving the environment, the president's speech was all about jobs and the economy; the "unfairness" of the agreement and the US as the object of international derision.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Trump: The world won't laugh any more at US
Traditionally, environmental issues have tended to rise in importance in the US during good times and taken a back seat when voters are more concerned about their economic livelihood.
According to Gallup polling, 40% of Americans worried a "great deal" about climate change in 2000, dropping to 26% in 2004 after the 9/11 attacks and the dot com recession. Concern peaked again at 41% in 2007, before collapsing to 25% in the wake of the Great Recession.
Now the issue is on the rise again, reaching a record high of 45% in March, up 8 points from the same time last year.
Some of this can be attributed to the anti-Trump phenomenon, where the president's position drives near universal opposition from those who hold him in low esteem. The dynamic played itself out earlier this year on healthcare, where the Obamacare reforms reached net-positive levels of approval for the first time shortly after Republicans began efforts to pass repeal legislation.
Paris City Hall turned green in an act of defiance
The question now is whether global warming and environmental issues will have political legs. Activists will certainly be motivated to unseat Mr Trump and his fellow Republicans - including some of the Bernie-or-bust voters and Green Party supporters who turned their backs on Democrats last autumn.
Because of the way the Paris agreement withdrawal is structured, the process won't be complete until just weeks after the 2020 presidential election, virtually guaranteeing the issue will come up in the campaign in some fashion.
Whether it hurts Mr Trump and his party will have little to do with the amount of scorn he receives from the international community or degraded US influence on the world stage, and considerably more to do with the state of the US economy over the next few years.
Are coal-country jobs coming back? Given the underlying economic fundamentals of the US energy sector, that seems unlikely, despite the president's boast of a new mine opening up soon in Pennsylvania (resulting in only about 70 new jobs).
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During his White House speech, Mr Trump predicted that the US economy would grow in the range of 3% to 4% in the coming years - an ambitious mark that, if realised, would put him well on the way to re-election.
Come in under that mark, however, and the president will have to campaign on jobs not lost and economic growth not thwarted. If working-class Americans continue to struggle, that will be as hard a sell for him as it was for Democrats when they held power the last eight years.
Then there's history's judgement to consider. Decades from now, Americans could look back and see 1 June 2017 as a missed opportunity, when the US had a chance to address an impending environmental disaster and shrugged. If that's the case, there will be one party - and one president - to blame.
Or, if Republicans are right and the dire climate warnings are overblown, the date will be nothing more than a historical footnote.
In the near term and long, Mr Trump and Republicans are playing political roulette, betting against the rest of the world and half of their own nation. The price for being in the wrong spot when the wheel stops spinning will be high.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Five Trump changes you may have missed
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40128026
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How has the fitness video adapted to the YouTube age? - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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In the 1980s, Jane Fonda sold millions of workout videos. Now anyone can be an online fitness guru.
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Business
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Pilates devotee Cassey Ho has nearly four million YouTube followers
In the 1980s, a Lycra-clad Jane Fonda sold millions of her pioneering workout video cassettes. But videotape gave way to DVDs, then along came the internet and digital streaming. So how has the workout video adapted?
When Cassey Ho, 30, logs on to her YouTube page "blogilates" and uploads her latest workout video, she knows she will soon be inundated with comments from fans across all her social media accounts.
The fitness video blogger, or vlogger for short, has amassed nearly four million subscribers to her YouTube channel, as well as millions of followers on Facebook and Instagram.
She is one of a new breed of fitness vloggers exploiting the internet's ability to beam content to global mass audiences at very low production costs.
It's a far cry from when fitness queen Jane Fonda inspired millions of people around the world to try aerobics in front of their living room TVs throughout the 1980s. She sold more than 17 million tapes.
Jane Fonda (right) was the fitness video queen in the 1980s
Scores of other models, actors and stars followed suit.
But today, you can find more than 30 million fitness videos on YouTube alone, and countless more on other social media platforms.
Budding fitness kings and queens can publish and gain a following without star status, a fancy studio or thousands of pounds' worth of equipment, simply recording workouts on their smartphones at the beach or in their gardens and editing the content on their laptops.
But unlike the traditional workout video, where weight loss and fitness was the goal, consumers are logging on to their favourite fitness vloggers for a more intimate and interactive experience.
"Fitness videos have switched from being functional to being aspirational content that give people a window into the lives of the fitness influencers they look up to," says Richard Wilson, chief executive of Clickon Media, a content creation firm.
For example, Zuzka Light, a 35-year-old Czech fitness vlogger now based in Los Angeles, started her channel in 2012. Her vlog shows short workout videos, with some of them attracting up to 20 million views.
Fitness vlogger Zuzka Light thinks the "personal approach is really key"
Taking her brand on to other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, has raised her profile, giving her the opportunity to launch a $9.99 a month subscription to her website and her own clothing and food supplement lines.
"I always try to post videos that I would like to watch myself," she tells the BBC.
"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I've had feedback from my viewers who say they feel connected to me and see me as their friend, their workout buddy.
"I think the personal approach is really key."
She regularly works with brands, but admits she's picky about the products she introduces to her audiences.
"Being an influencer I have a responsibility and I wouldn't want to take advantage of that and promote something I wouldn't use myself or something I wouldn't recommend to my loved ones."
A study by marketing platform MuseFind found that 92% of people preferred hearing about brands from influencers, rather than through paid adverts.
"This switch in perspective provides marketers and advertisers the freedom to develop more authentic content that tells a story as opposed to being purely functional and demonstrating things such as weight loss and technique," says Mr Wilson.
The fitness sector in general is huge, with the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association reporting that global health club industry revenue reached an estimated $81bn (£63bn) in 2015, with around 151 million members worldwide.
And the fitness clothing industry is worth more than $320bn in the US alone, says the NPD Group.
No wonder vloggers are proving very useful for brands trying to reach consumers directly and bypass the growing use of ad blockers on mobiles and desktops.
"The growth of smartphone usage and mobile video viewing lends itself well to a fitness audience," says Mark Brill, lecturer in digital communications at Birmingham City University.
"Not only can content be viewed anywhere, but mobile devices also make the interaction personal and more private.
"In the past, word of mouth has been an important way to recommend brands. That has shifted into the digital word of mouth - social media."
And it's not just fitness vloggers benefiting from taking their workouts online.
Fitness studios are realising the potential of live streaming videos of classes and videos featuring their clients' favourite instructors.
Some fitness studios, such as Barre3, are putting classes online to widen their appeal
Barre3, the ballet-based workout in New York, has a subscription-based fitness video service via its website to allow members to exercise from the comfort of their own homes.
Standalone services, such as Flex TV, which provide online access to live high-intensity interval training workouts and yoga classes, are popping up too.
So the traditional workout video on tape or DVD has adapted to a world in which people are more used to streaming entertainment over services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube. Declining DVD sales bear this out.
"Fewer people are buying DVDs and it reduces the revenue opportunities for a workout video," says Mr Brill.
"The new revenue comes from advertising share, especially on YouTube, and from sponsorship for those with a large enough social media following.
"Looking at it that way, it seems almost inevitable that the fitness vloggers will triumph."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39947943
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Jonathan Agnew column: England will be concerned over Champions Trophy injuries - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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It was job done for England in their potentially tricky Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, but injuries will be a worry, writes Jonathan Agnew.
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The eight-wicket win against Bangladesh on Thursday was an excellent way for England to begin the Champions Trophy.
To chase 306 against any side, even in the ideal batting conditions of The Oval, is a challenge. You have to work hard to get those runs.
In the context of the tournament, that sort of game is much more beneficial to England than if they rolled Bangladesh for 120 then chased them down in 20 overs.
Joe Root made a wonderful century, Alex Hales was in the runs, Eoin Morgan continued his good form and Liam Plunkett was amongst the wickets. In that sense, it was perfect.
However, it was marred by the injury to Chris Woakes, who bowled only two overs before having to leave the field with an injury to his left side.
• None Woakes to have scan on side strain
• None Vaughan on why England can win Champions Trophy
The Warwickshire man had a scan on Thursday evening, with the results probably known to us by Friday morning. If it turns out to be a side strain, it could be serious.
As an old fast bowler, I can tell you that having a proper side strain is like having a red hot poker jammed between your ribs. If Woakes has one of those, he won't play again in the tournament.
In fairness, that did not look to be the case with Woakes. It seemed that he felt something and knew he had to stop - which was the right thing to do.
But side injuries are tricky. It's not just a case of strapping them up and saying "on you go". England will have to be very careful and give some serious consideration to ruling him out.
It's very anxious for Morgan's men, because Woakes is their highest-placed bowler in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings.
For a time, it also looked like Root's fitness could be a concern. It seemed like he rolled his ankle while batting and spent most of the second half of his innings hobbling around.
However, after the match he said he thought it was cramp in his calf, so that is much less of a worry.
All of this slightly shifted the focus away from Ben Stokes, whose knee problem dominated the pre-match build-up.
As promised, Stokes turned up early for a fitness test and was deemed healthy enough to play his part with the ball.
Still, even with Woakes off the field, Stokes only bowled seven overs. That tells us that England are still protecting him. That is sensible and he will benefit from more rest before the game against New Zealand on Tuesday.
On top of the injury concerns, England will be hoping that Jason Roy gets a score at the top of the order sooner rather than later.
Before this game, Roy was heavily backed by Morgan after a poor sequence where he had not passed 20 in his previous six ODI innings.
Here, he made only one from eight deliveries, but again received the support of his captain.
Now, it is quite right for Morgan to back his man, but I was surprised by the shot Roy played - a scoop off the pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza to be caught at short fine leg.
Any batsman can edge a good ball, or even have a rush of blood and try to whack one, but those split-second decisions are made in the heat of the moment.
In this case, Roy made the choice to premeditate a stroke, probably as the bowler was walking back to his mark.
Instead of sticking to what he is good at, playing the ball down the ground, Roy simply did not give himself the chance of scoring runs on his home ground.
It just goes to show that poor form does not only mess with the way a batsman hits the ball, but also the decisions that are made.
England now move on to games against New Zealand and Australia, the two finalists from the 2015 World Cup, knowing that one win is likely to be enough for a place in the semi-finals.
Their confidence will be high, not least because they have got the hiccup of the final game against South Africa out of their system.
They could do without the injuries and the shot Roy played, but other than that they got the job done.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40127517
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Margaret Court: Tennis legend accuses 'US gay lobby' of conspiracy - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Margaret Court believes there is a "conspiracy" from the "US gay lobby" to strip her name from one of the Australian Open stadiums.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Tennis great Margaret Court believes there is a "conspiracy" from the "US gay lobby" to strip her name from one of the Australian Open stadiums.
The 74-year-old has been criticised for her beliefs on same-sex marriage, with 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova calling for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed.
I have 35 cultures in my church and I love them all. I think it's very sad and sick it's being brought up now
"They have a lot of money behind them," Court told 3AW radio.
Court won 24 Grand Slam titles, 11 in the Open era, which began in 1968.
Regarding calls for the stadium in her honour to be renamed, she said: "I think I've won more Grand Slams than any man or woman and if it is [renamed], I don't believe I deserve it.
"They could probably get 100,000 petitions in 24 hours because that's how they work. There's a lot of money behind it, and it's coming from America."
And asked about a possible conspiracy, she added: "Yes, I believe there is... I think the [gay] lobby, yeah."
Tennis Australia and the operator of the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne and Olympic Parks, have distanced themselves from Court's views on gay marriage. There are currently no plans to rename the venue.
The recent furore started following Court's open letter to The West Australian, when she declared she would not fly on Qantas "where possible" in protest at its support of same-sex marriage. She then told a Christian radio station "tennis is full of lesbians".
Navratilova responded: "It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe.
"Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights (note to Court: we are human beings, too)."
In 1970, during Apartheid in South Africa, Court said: "South Africa has the racial situation rather better organised than anyone else, certainly much better than the United States."
Court denied allegations of racism, stating that she had played tennis with compatriot and seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley in South Africa.
"Evonne and I went in there and played for the black people," she is quoted as saying in The West Australian. "I have 35 cultures in my church and I love them all. I think it's very sad and sick it's being brought up now."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40131929
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Leo Varadkar profile: Ireland's youngest PM - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There is much more to Leo Varadkar than his age, Indian heritage and sexuality.
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Europe
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Mr Varadkar has come to embody the liberalisation of a country
There have been plenty of international headlines about Leo Varadkar's rise to the top of Irish politics.
Almost all focus on the fact that the Republic of Ireland now has a half-Indian, openly gay prime minister.
Mr Varadkar has come to embody the liberalisation of a country which was once regarded as one of the most socially conservative in Europe.
But, in Ireland, Mr Varadkar's sexuality and ethnic background have not been particularly prominent.
He took over as taoiseach (Irish prime minister) on Thursday, having won the race for the leadership of Fine Gael - the biggest party in the country's ruling coalition.
The leadership contest focused primarily on socio-economic issues and the defining challenges for Mr Varadkar will be how to build on the Republic of Ireland's recovery from the financial disaster of several years ago, and how to manage Brexit.
Mr Varadkar was born on 18 January 1979 in Dublin.
His father Ashok - a doctor from Mumbai - met his mother Miriam, an Irish nurse, while they were both working in Slough in Berkshire.
Mr Varadkar followed his father into medicine
They settled in Ireland in the 1970s.
The country Mr Varadkar grew up in was very different to today.
Until the 1990s, homosexuality and divorce were illegal.
There were few immigrants, and the Republic of Ireland was one of the poorer members of the EU.
Mr Varadkar followed his father into medicine.
He became a councillor aged 24 and, in 2007, he was elected to the Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann.
The so-called Celtic Tiger was a global phenomenon - low corporate tax rates and financial deregulation meant the Irish economy became associated with Apple and Google rather than just agriculture and Guinness.
But the economy crashed amidst the worldwide financial crisis - and Ireland had to accept a £71bn international bailout.
In the aftermath, Fine Gael came to power at the head of a coalition in 2011.
Mr Varadkar was appointed minister for transport, tourism and sport - and then health minister.
In 2015, he came out as gay in an interview with the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ
More recently he has run Ireland's welfare system.
He has built up a high media profile - descriptions of him as a "sharp-shooter" and "straight-talker" are common.
In 2015, he came out as gay in an interview with the Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ.
He said: "It's not a big deal for me any more. I hope it's not a big deal for anyone else - it shouldn't be."
A few months later, Ireland voted in a referendum to legalise same-sex marriage.
When Enda Kenny announced his retirement as taoiseach and Fine Gael leader, Mr Varadkar's supporters launched a "shock-and-awe" strategy which saw most of the party's parliamentarians endorse him within 48 hours.
His opponent, Housing Minister Simon Coveney, was never able to recover.
But he did express "deep concern" at the direction in which his rival would take Fine Gael - suggesting Mr Varadkar's economic policies would pull the party to the right.
Mr Varadkar said Fine Gael should represent those "who got up early in the morning".
He went on to say he was talking about "people working in the public and private sector, the self-employed, carers getting up to mind loved ones, parents getting up to mind children".
But Fine Gael's political enemies have tried to portray him as a rightwing ideologue - pointing to a recent campaign against benefits cheats.
Mr Varadkar's predecessor, Mr Kenny, stood down a year after an election result in which Fine Gael lost seats, and could only form a minority government.
Now officially installed as premier, he is, at 38, the country's youngest prime minister.
He faces what Mr Kenny has described as the biggest challenge the Irish state has ever had - the departure of its nearest neighbour from the EU.
But Mr Varadkar has an internationalist outlook - seeing himself in the same mould as the French President Emmanuel Macron or the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - a youthful, dynamic, centrist leader.
His potent political brand has taken him far- but his toughest tests are still to come.
• None Irish health minister says he is gay
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40134140
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Rafael Nadal races into French Open fourth round with one-sided win - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal produces a brilliant display to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0 6-1 6-0.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
The fourth seed needed only 90 minutes to see off the Georgian and secured his place in the fourth round with his most one-sided win at Roland Garros.
Nadal, 31 on Saturday, has now won 98 of 100 best-of-five clay-court matches.
The Spaniard is bidding to become the first player in the Open era - and only the second in history - to win 10 titles at any Grand Slam event.
Margaret Court is the only player to have won 10 or more titles at one Grand Slam event, winning the Australian Open on 11 occasions between 1960 and 1973.
Nadal has a 75-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros with his only defeats coming against Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals.
This was the first time in a completed match at the tournament that Nadal has only lost one game.
Nadal won the first set in 23 minutes and won the next five games before world number 63 Basilashvili finally got on the scoreboard.
The Spaniard wrapped up the set by winning the next game and, with a storm threatening to interrupt play, clinched victory in clinical fashion with his 27th winner.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion will face compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.
My best match in a while - Nadal
"It is always important to be through, that's the most important thing," said Nadal. "But obviously when you have positive feelings it is even more important.
"Basilashvili had been playing well. He won against Gilles Simon in the first round who is a tough opponent and also Viktor Troicki.
"I'm happy because I had never played against him and I knew it would be tough.
"He hits the ball so quick but I believe I played my best match in a while."
Basilashvili was left with rather different feelings. "The score is quite embarrassing but I have to accept it," said the 25-year-old.
Belgium's David Goffin retired with an ankle injury after slipping while leading in the first set of his third-round match against Horacio Zeballos.
The 10th seed, who was 5-4 up on Court Suzanne Lenglen, was chasing a deep backhand and slid into a cover, hurting his right ankle.
His coach Thierry van Cleemput revealed positive news about the injury but was unsure whether he will be fit for Wimbledon.
Van Cleemput said: "He had an MRI, and the news is reassuring. There is no tearing of the ligaments and no bone that's been broken. There is a swelling, and in 48 hours we will see how things go on."
Thiem, 23, beat American 25th seed Steve Johnson, who has been "an emotional mess" after the recent death of his father, in an enthralling 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory.
Thiem is considered one of the outside favourites to win the tournament after beating favourite Rafael Nadal in straight sets in Rome earlier this month.
Fifth seed Milos Raonic reached the last 16 after Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired because of a thigh injury.
Raonic won the first set 6-1 in 21 minutes and led 1-0 in the second when the Spaniard retired at the changeover.
The Canadian will now face Pablo Carreno Busta who beat Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 6-3 6-4.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40133466
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Novak Djokovic survives scare to reach French Open fourth round - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Champion Novak Djokovic survives a third-round scare at the French Open to beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman in five sets.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a third-round scare at the French Open to beat unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman in five sets.
The Serb came back from two sets to one down to win 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1.
Djokovic, 30, finished strongly despite making 55 unforced errors and arguing with umpire Carlos Ramos over a conduct warning.
The second seed goes on to face Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who beat France's Lucas Pouille.
• None Agassi to keep working with Djokovic
The presence of new coach Andre Agassi has yet to inspire Djokovic to rediscover the form that made him a seemingly untouchable world number one this time last year.
An erratic performance saw the 12-time Grand Slam champion hit 21 errors in relinquishing a 4-1 lead in the first set.
However, Agassi's unexpected arrival midway through the second set apparently inspired Djokovic to a break of serve.
"I was focused on the screen and I saw obviously people reacting when he arrived," said the Serb.
"He was not supposed to be here today, because we have finished yesterday with our in-person collaboration here in Paris.
"I appreciate that. I respect that very much that he managed to do things and move his commitments around so he could come and watch."
That late break in the second appeared to have settled the world number two, but Schwartzman - playing his first ever third-round match at a Grand Slam - was his equal throughout the third.
The 5ft 7in Argentine then broke serve for a 5-3 lead and remarkably recovered from 0-40 to serve out the set.
With the crowd now excited by the prospect of an upset, Djokovic finally took a firm grip on the match by quickening the pace and shortening the rallies.
It was not plain sailing, however, and despite racing into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, Djokovic became embroiled in a row with umpire Ramos after receiving two warnings in a game - one of slow play, the second for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Clearly annoyed, the champion retained his focus on the job in hand and reeled off 12 of the last 14 games as dark clouds above threatened to delay his progress.
"Playing a five-setter at this stage is good," added Djokovic.
"I enjoyed playing, really, even though of course at times I was not playing my best, especially for first three sets, but fourth and fifth sets went completely my way."
• None The victory was Djokovic's 58th in the French Open and means he ties Guillermo Vilas in third place on the all-time list for most matches won at Roland Garros. He has a 58-11 win-loss record behind Rafael Nadal (75-2) and Roger Federer (65-16) while Vilas recorded 58-17.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40134827
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Sergio Ramos: Real Madrid defender says they have 'appointment with history' - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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Real Madrid have an "appointment with history" when they face Juventus in the Champions League final on Saturday, says Sergio Ramos.
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Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC website - and commentary on Radio 5 live from 19:00 BST
Real Madrid have an "appointment with history" when they face Juventus in the Champions League final in Cardiff on Saturday, says captain Sergio Ramos.
Eleven-time champions Real are aiming to become the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to retain the trophy.
Italian side Juventus are looking to win the crown for the third time, while Real can extend their own record.
"We never dreamed of this opportunity but the stats are there," said Spain international defender Ramos.
"It is a wonderful chance to take the cup home, then history speaks for itself. We are extremely excited about the chance to have two successive Champions League trophies.
"We have been very solid. Every time we have had the chance to fight for a trophy, we have done that. We are going to be extremely focused, very concentrated so we make as few mistakes as possible."
'We will see a great final'
Real Madrid won La Liga ahead of Barcelona this season and have scored 169 goals in all competitions this season.
In a repeat of the 1998 final, which the Spaniards won 1-0 in Amsterdam, Real come up against a side who are unbeaten in this season's competition
Boss Zinedine Zidane, who played for opponents Juventus between 1996 and 2001, said: "We know all about pressure at Real Madrid.
"We are not favourites, nor are Juventus. It is 50-50. But we are in the final again, and everything is possible. I expect an open game on both sides.
"I have lived and been at Juventus, in Italy there is the famous Catenaccio, but Juve do not just have that.
"We are going to try to play our game, we know we are going to play against a great team. What everyone who likes football wants to see is to see a great final - and I think we will see that."
Zidane must decide whether to choose between Gareth Bale and Isco in what seems like his only selection issue before Saturday's Champions League final.
Bale has not played since 23 April but is fit, while in-form Isco has scored five goals in his last eight games.
"I am not going to tell you who is going to play on Saturday," said Zidane.
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri also has a fully-fit squad to choose from. His side defeated Monaco 4-1 on aggregate to reach their second final in three seasons.
Real knocked out city rivals Atletico with a 4-2 aggregate win and are looking to defend the title they won last year.
'We need to win'
Treble-chasing Juventus clinched a record sixth consecutive Serie A title this season and beat Lazio in the Italian Cup.
Juve have been European Cup winners twice, in 1985 and the last in 1996, but have been defeated finalists on six occasions, most recently against Barcelona two years ago.
They have conceded just three goals in 12 games so far, while Real have scored in every single one of their 12 games - a total of 32 goals.
Manager Allegri said: "We have worked hard all year and the wins this season have been all about reaching this game. But on Saturday we need to win and we need to understand when will be the moments to attack and when to defend.
"We have to have the belief that we can bring the cup home and we have to be fiendish to strike when Real offer us an opening."
Massimiliano Allegri has done a great job at Juventus and has continued the work of Antonio Conte since arriving in Turin in 2014. He has been able to create a strong team spirit and is currently one of the best managers in Europe.
I had the privilege of playing alongside Zinedine Zidane in Italy for two years. He was a fantastic player with amazing technical skills and a strong personality. I was his room mate in hotels before games so I had an opportunity to know him very well.
I expected him to be a great manager because he has all the skills to do the job. I did not expect him to achieve great results so soon though. He has been doing an excellent job for Real Madrid.
Juventus full-back Dani Alves, 34, could win the competition for the fourth time, while 39-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is looking to triumph for the first time and in turn become the oldest winner of the tournament.
Alves, who played in that match for the La Liga side, said: "A player as important and big as Gigi, to not have this trophy, it would not really change much in his career but it would add one more page to his wonderful football history if he won. To win the title with him would be quite something for me before he retires.
"I am not a person who thinks about himself. If everything around me is fine, then I am fine too. The objective is for the whole team to win and for me to be up to the level of my colleagues."
World Cup winner Buffon announced in January 2016 that he will retire from football after the 2018 World Cup and this may be his last shot at winning Europe's elite club competition.
He said: "Dani is a bit like me, he is an optimist. He told me 'I will make you win the Champions League' and he has been a revelation for me. Real Madrid are used to winning finals, we have lost quite a number of them. It is a good match and we will try to overturn our record.
"The emotions I might feel may be different to a younger player. Dani has won this competition and has four or five years left in his career but I have to exclude this possibility. Yes, it will be much more special for me, but I want to play without regrets and without thinking of these issues."
June 2016: Ronaldo's Euro 2016 campaign did not start well - 20 shots, zero goals for Portugal. But a superb, flicked finish against Hungary in the group stages made him the first player to score in four different European Championship finals
Italian football might have looked very different over the last two decades if an impressionable 12-year-old had not been captivated by the Cameroon goalkeeper at the 1990 World Cup.
Buffon played as an attacker back then but the performances of Thomas N'Kono - playing in his third World Cup - inspired him to try life as a goalkeeper.
• None This is the 19th encounter between Juventus and Real Madrid - all in the European Cup/Champions League, making this the second-most played fixture in the history of the tournament after Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (24).
• None Juventus and Real Madrid have eight wins each and two draws. However, their only previous meeting in the Champions League final saw Real Madrid win 1-0 in 1998 thanks to a Predrag Mijatovic goal.
• None Real Madrid have reached the European Cup/Champions League final for the 15th time, four more than any other club (AC Milan have reached 11). They've won 11 of the previous 14 - again more than any other team in history.
• None Juventus have won only two of their eight European Cup/Champions League finals. They have lost their last four - in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2015.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40138302
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Tiger Woods: Martin Kaymer criticises 'nasty' reaction to golfer's arrest - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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The reaction to Tiger Woods' recent arrest has been "disrespectful and unfair", says former world number one Martin Kaymer.
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Last updated on .From the section Golf
The reaction to Tiger Woods' recent arrest has been "disrespectful and unfair", according to former world number one Martin Kaymer.
Woods, 41, winner of 14 majors, was found "asleep at the wheel" with the engine running when he was arrested on Monday in Florida.
Why so nasty? Why don't you try to do the opposite and help him now in the way he inspired us? Martin Kaymer on the reaction to Tiger Woods' arrest
The American said it was because of a reaction to medication.
Kaymer said: "Stop being so nasty. Try to help. We all want to see him happier and one day see him play golf again."
Palm Beach County police released video of Woods' arrest and subsequently of his breathalyser test inside the Sheriff's Office, which shows the former number one handcuffed and appearing to sit slumped on a chair.
He was initially charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
"Obviously a lot of people know what happened to Tiger Woods the last few days,'' Kaymer said in a video on his Twitter account, seemingly in reaction to disparaging remarks on social media.
"There's so many comments, so many opinions. They are so unfair and so disrespectful, in my opinion.
"He inspired kids, teenagers; he inspired all of us.
"I find it so nasty that people just kick him while he's already on the floor, and at the end of the day it's just using someone else for your own sadness. Yes, he's in the public eye, he's in the spotlight a lot, so of course people will talk about him.
"But why so nasty? Why don't you try to do the opposite and help him now in the way he inspired us?''
Woods has been recovering from back surgery - his fourth such operation - and is expected to be out of action until October.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/40130417
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French Open 2017: Andy Murray fights back to reach Roland Garros third round - BBC Sport
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2017-06-02
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World number one Andy Murray and British number two Kyle Edmund reach the third round of the French Open.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
World number one Andy Murray came from a set down to beat unseeded Slovakian Martin Klizan in the French Open second round.
The Briton won 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and goes on to face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
It was Murray's 18th win of a season that has been interrupted by illness and injury.
British number two Kyle Edmund also progressed after beating Renzo Olivo 7-5 6-3 6-1.
The 22-year-old Yorkshireman will next play South Africa's Kevin Anderson, who beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2.
Del Potro, seeded 29th after his own injury struggles, went through when his opponent Nicolas Almagro retired at one set all.
Asked about facing former US Open champion Del Potro as early as the third round, Murray said: "It's a tough match. In my opinion he's one of the best players in the world."
Murray needed three hours and 34 minutes to see off Klizan, the world number 50, and claim his second four-set win of the week.
The Scot, 30, could again be heard to complain he was struggling with his movement, but once again his form improved as the match wore on.
"I'm playing way better than I was two weeks ago, and today's match will have done me a lot of good," said Murray.
"Physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that. And also, I hit a lot of balls out there today, more than the first-round match."
It could have been a much quicker afternoon on the Suzanne Lenglen Court had Murray completed a comeback from a break down in the first set.
Having weathered the expected early storm from his big-hitting opponent, Murray drew level at 5-5 only to play a poor tie-break and fall a set behind.
Klizan, 27, began the match with his left calf heavily strapped and it was no surprise that his level dropped in the second set.
Murray raced through seven straight games and when he made it 11 out of 13 to take a two-sets-to-one lead, there looked no way back for the Slovakian.
He was offered a lifeline early in the fourth thanks to a wayward Murray forehand and made it through to 5-3, only to fail once again when trying to serve out the set.
Klizan was broken for the sixth time when he framed a smash over the baseline and, despite brilliantly saving one match point, saw his challenge end in another tie-break.
Murray lunged to his right to send a superb volley past the Slovakian on the second match point.
"Consistency is definitely what I'm looking for," Murray told BBC Sport.
"I felt a little bit more in control of the first-round match than I did today. At times today I played some very solid stuff.
"The most positive things for me are physically I felt good after a pretty long match in tough conditions, and also I made some quite significant changes during the match to my tactics."
Edmund's progress was considerably easier as he beat Argentina's Olivo, ranked 91st in the world, in straight sets.
It is the first time the 22-year-old has progressed to the third round of the French Open after being knocked out in round two in 2015 and 2016.
The world number 49 dropped just nine games, hitting 30 winners along the way, 18 on his impressive forehand side.
"There was a stage when I really felt the match turn in my favour and helped me get on top," said Edmund.
"Olivo had beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last round and I knew I had to play well today. I am pleased I got it done."
Murray expended more energy than is ideal in a first-week Grand Slam match, but time on the match court is important right now - and every win valuable. He is starting to play very well for periods of a match and now seeks to add the consistency required.
Edmund knows he has a formidable game when he is on song and is learning to trust his instincts in the Grand Slams. He beat Richard Gasquet and John Isner in his run to the fourth round of the US Open last year and will emulate that with a victory over the slightly lower-ranked Kevin Anderson on Saturday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40120252
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The world's not laughing, Donald, it's crying - BBC News
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2017-06-02
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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President Trump's statement takes a baseball bat to the Paris climate accord, writes Matt McGrath.
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Science & Environment
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President Trump went on the attack over what he sees as a bad deal for the US
President Trump's statement is a very clear repudiation of the Paris climate agreement and international efforts to fund climate mitigation and adaptation in poorer countries.
In many ways it is far worse than many observers had expected.
The president clearly believes that the accord is a job killer, an economy strangler and a desperately unfair stitch-up by other countries wanting to take economic advantage of the US.
"We don't want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore," thundered President Trump, "and they won't be."
He spoke of being open to re-negotiating the deal or trying to build a new agreement - but the idea of re-working the accord is an unlikely scenario.
French President Emmanuel Macron has already dismissed the idea.
"The President said that they could continue to talk, but indicated that nothing was renegotiable with regard to the Paris accords. The United States and France will continue to work together, but not on the subject of climate change," sources close to the President were reported as saying.
The solar industry now employs twice as many Americans as coal now does
"President Trump's speech was confused nonsense," said Bob Ward from the UK's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.
"He announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, while also launching negotiations to re-enter the agreement.
"But the agreement states that no country can withdraw within three years of it coming into force, and the process of withdrawal takes a further year to complete.
Mr Ward continued: "That means the United States cannot complete withdrawal from the Paris Agreement before 5 November 2020, the day after the next presidential election in the United States. So Mr Trump will not have withdrawn from the agreement within this presidential term."
The scale of President Trump's opposition to the deal is all about the money. He sees the accord as "a massive redistribution of US wealth to other countries". This is a clear indication that he has fully bought into an economic nationalist and climate sceptic perspective supported by several members of his inner circle.
Others don't see climate change that way.
California governor Jerry Brown and other state leaders have formed an alliance to "live by Paris"
"Today's decision is not only disappointing, but also highly concerning for those of us that live on the front line of climate change," said Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine.
"While today's decision will have grave impacts, it is not too late to act. We must not give up hope. Our children and their children deserve not only to survive, they deserve to thrive."
She added: "That is why the rest of the world remains firmly committed to the Paris Agreement, and our own commitment to it - and that of our wider Pacific family - will never waver."
Again and again, the question of unfairness cropped up in President Trump's lengthy statement. The "world's worst polluters", which he argued were China and India, had "no meaningful obligations" placed on them by the Paris deal.
Pulling the US out of the deal was, he said, his way of choosing Pittsburgh over Paris. However, the mayor of Pittsburgh rejected the association. Bill Peduto tweeted: "I can assure you that we will follow the guideline of the Paris agreement for our people, our country & future."
The president was scathing about the green climate fund, saying it would cost billions of dollars - the US has pledged $3bn and paid around $1bn.
The overall tone and content of his speech clearly plays to the support base that elected him but is also a clear disavowal of multilateralism, especially on climate change, and will definitely push other countries more closely together on this issue.
In an interview with the BBC, former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who signed the Paris accord on behalf of the Obama administration in 2016, said of Trump's "laughter" comments: "I think other countries will stop laughing at us when we don't have announcements like we had today and we have a presidency that offers America a greater vision of the possibilities of the future."
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40128046
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Seven stars who refused to be body shamed - BBC News
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2017-06-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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From Jennifer Lawrence to Vin Diesel - the celebrities who fought back against the shamers.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Chloe Moretz wasn't happy with the way her Snow White film was advertised
Stories about "body shaming" are nothing new - but more and more celebrities are starting to fight back against the trend.
Earlier this week, actress Chloe Moretz said she was "appalled and angry" over the marketing for her new animated Snow White film.
A poster for Red Shoes & The 7 Dwarfs showed a tall woman next to a shorter, heavier version of herself.
The caption read: "What if Snow White was no longer beautiful and the 7 dwarfs not so short?"
After plus-size model Tess Holliday tweeted a photo of the poster, Moretz apologised to her fans and said she hadn't approved the marketing.
The film's producers withdrew the ad campaign.
And last week, Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland took to social media after suggestions she looked anorexic in a recent photo.
Here are seven other stars who hit back after criticism over the way they look.
Lady Gaga came in for criticism after she wore a crop top during her performance at this year's Super Bowl.
More than 100 million people watched the legendary half-time show worldwide, but some made cruel remarks about her stomach and said she "wasn't fit enough".
The singer took to Instagram to respond with an empowering message to her fans.
"I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too," she said.
"I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you."
The comedian and actress has memorably taken on body shamers on more than one occasion.
When the advert for her film Trainwreck was released in 2015, one critic referred to her as a new member of director Judd Apatow's "Funny-Chubby Community".
Posting a photo of herself almost naked on Twitter, Schumer wrote: "I am a size 6 and have no plans of changing. This is it. Stay on or get off. Kisses!"
At the end of 2016, she responded to social media "fat shamers" who questioned whether she was an appropriate choice to play Barbie in a forthcoming film.
Alongside a photo of herself in a swimsuit, she said she was honoured to be considered to play "an important and evolving icon".
"Is it fat shaming if you know you're not fat and have zero shame in your game?" she asked.
"I don't think so. I am strong and proud of how I live my life and say what I mean and fight for what I believe in and I have a blast doing it with the people I love.
"Where's the shame? It's not there. It's an illusion. When I look in the mirror I know who I am."
In 2016, the singer made her record label take down the new video for her Me Too single after she noticed she'd been digitally altered.
Or to use her words, "they photoshopped the crap out of me".
Trainor took to Snapchat to tell her fans: "I'm so sick of it, and I'm over it, so I took it down until they fix it."
She added: "My waist is not that teeny, I had a bomb waist that night. I don't know why they didn't like my waist, but I didn't approve that video, and it went out for the world, so I'm embarrassed..."
A day later, the video reappeared with Trainor restored to her rightful size.
In March this year, the star and creator of HBO's Girls responded to criticism about her recent weight loss.
Dunham had attracted headlines about her dramatic new look. But in a lengthy Instagram post which referred to her struggle to control her endometriosis, she said: "My weight loss isn't a triumph and it also isn't some sign I've finally given in to the voices of trolls."
The actress said she had made it clear over the years that she didn't care what anyone else felt about her body.
"I've gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I've done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars. I've accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity - what goes up must come down and vice versa."
Back in 2013, Jennifer Lawrence said she thought "it should be illegal to call someone fat on TV" after red carpet criticism of her own figure.
Speaking to US host Barbara Walters, The Hunger Games star said she was worried about how the media's attitude affected young people.
"The media needs to take responsibility for the effect that it has on our younger generation, on these girls who are watching these television shows, and picking up how to talk and how to be cool," Lawrence said.
She added: "I mean, if we're regulating cigarettes and sex and cuss words, because of the effect they have on our younger generation, why aren't we regulating things like calling people fat?"
The actress, who won an Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, had previously spoken out against gossip magazines and TV shows which criticise the way women look.
She told the December 2012 issue of Elle magazine that "in Hollywood, I'm obese. I'm considered a fat actress".
The Titanic star and Oscar-winning actress has spoken on occasions about how she was bullied at school and called "Blubber".
"I was even told that I 'might be lucky with my acting, if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts'," she said during a speech this year for the WE charity at London's Wembley Arena.
"I felt that I wasn't enough, I wasn't good enough. I didn't look right... and all because I didn't fit into someone else's idea of 'perfect.' I didn't have the perfect body."
The star said her love of acting meant she was always auditioning for roles - however small.
"I would often get cast as the crocodile, or the scarecrow, or the dark fairy, I was even a dancing frog once. But it didn't matter. I still loved it... I wanted to be great and I was determined to keep learning."
Kate, who made her film debut aged 17 in 1994's Heavenly Creatures, shot to global stardom three years later as Rose in James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic.
She said: "The most unlikely candidate, Kate from the sandwich shop in Reading, [was] suddenly acting in one of the biggest movies ever made!"
It's not just women who get criticised for how they look.
Vin Diesel found that out in 2015 after the publication of unflattering pap shots of him shirtless in Miami. Some comments on social media referred to his "dad bod".
The Fast and Furious star responded by posting a photo on Instagram which showed off his muscular physique.
He said one journalist, during an interview for his film The Last Witch Hunter, had even asked to see the "dad bod".
"Haha," Diesel wrote. "I am wondering if I should show the picture... Body shaming is always wrong!"
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/40132608
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WSL 1 Spring Series: Chelsea Ladies win title on final day - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Chelsea clinch the Women's Super League One Spring Series title with a 2-0 final-day victory at Birmingham City.
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Last updated on .From the section Women's Football
Chelsea Ladies won the Women's Super League One Spring Series with a comfortable 2-0 final-day victory at Birmingham City.
Karen Carney's first-half penalty and Fran Kirby's close-range finish gave Chelsea the victory that ensured them the title regardless of other results.
Manchester City finished second with a 3-1 win at fourth-placed Liverpool.
Unbeaten Arsenal were 5-0 winners at Bristol City to go third and Reading drew 1-1 at Sunderland to finish sixth.
Starting the final day top of the table, level on points with Man City but with a vastly superior goal difference, Chelsea controlled their own destiny with an assured performance at Birmingham.
After Kirby was clattered in the box by Birmingham keeper Ann-Katrin Berger, Carney fired in from the spot against her old club to make it 1-0 and, after the break, Berger then spilled Gemma Davison's cross towards Kirby, who easily tucked in the second.
Chelsea's win ended Manchester City's run of three consecutive domestic club trophies, as Emma Hayes' side added to their double-winning year of 2015.
• None Relive the final day as it happened
The Spring Series was a one-off, transitional competition aimed to bridge the gap between the old summer WSL campaigns and the first winter season in 2017-18.
Teams played each other just once. Chelsea were beaten at 2016 champions Manchester City but clinched the title with three straight wins at the end of the campaign.
Hayes' side conceded just three times in the series and scored 32 goals - 10 more than anyone else.
FA Cup winners and Champions League semi-finalists Man City finished their busy season with goals from Jill Scott, Mel Lawley and Megan Campbell at Liverpool, who netted a late consolation through Scotland's Caroline Weir.
Arsenal - who finished just one point behind the top two - were dominant at eighth-placed Bristol City, with Louise Quinn, Jordan Nobbs, Chloe Kelly, Danielle van de Donk and Beth Mead all scoring.
At Sunderland, Melissa Fletcher had put Reading deservedly ahead, before Beverly Leon equalised for the hosts, who finished fifth in the table despite reverting to part-time status before the start of the season.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40144237
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British and Irish Lions beat Provincial Barbarians 13-7 in tour opener - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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The British and Irish Lions start their tour of New Zealand with a nervy 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand
The British and Irish Lions started their tour of New Zealand with a nervy victory over the Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei.
The first of the Lions' 10 fixtures was expected to be the most straightforward, against a side made up of fringe players from Super Rugby.
But the visitors were put to the test throughout and had to come from behind to secure the win after a scrappy performance.
A try from Sam Anderson-Heather, converted by Bryn Gatland - the son of Lions coach Warren - gave the Provincial Barbarians a 7-3 lead at the break.
Greig Laidlaw added to Johnny Sexton's first-half penalty before Anthony Watson crossed to restore the visitors' lead on 53 minutes.
Replacement Owen Farrell added the conversion but then missed a penalty, and the Lions survived a late surge from the hosts to hang on.
Warren Gatland's side face all five Super Rugby teams, the New Zealand Maori, and the All Blacks, during the five-week tour, with their next match against the Blues on Wednesday (08:35 BST).
Gatland named 13 of the 14 players who attended the first training camp in his starting XV but the team, who landed in New Zealand three days ago, struggled to gel - especially in the first half.
Ireland's Sexton, picked ahead of Farrell and Dan Biggar in the number 10 shirt, missed a long-range penalty before getting the visitors off the mark from the tee on 17 minutes.
But the points failed to settle the Lions and moments later Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau was forced to make a try-saving tackle on Inga Finau, who was sent on his way after a quick break by Luteru Laulala.
Soon the Provincial Barbarians got the score they deserved when hooker and captain Anderson-Heather crashed over and fly-half Gatland added the extras against his father's team.
Captain Sam Warburton, Faletau and Jonathan Joseph went close to responding for the visitors before the break but they were continuously held up on the line by black shirts.
Gatland opted to make five changes on 50 minutes - bringing on Saracens quartet Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, George Kruis and Farrell, alongside Leinster's Tadhg Furlong.
And the impact was instant. England and Bath wing Watson spun over in the corner, and Farrell added the conversion for a 13-7 lead.
England fly-half cum centre Farrell should have extended the Lions' advantage further but saw a penalty come off the upright.
The Provincial Barbarians did not give up hope of an upset and it fell to Vunipola to disrupt what was to be their final attack of the game, ripping the ball clear in a maul.
Gatland's side won the series 2-1 on their tour of Australia four years ago.
But the Lions have won only one series in New Zealand, back in 1971, and the All Blacks have not lost a Test on home soil to anyone since 2009.
Getting the first win on the board was always going to be Gatland's priority in this match, but now the backroom staff - as well as the players - have bigger tests ahead.
There are six more matches before their first meeting with the All Blacks on Saturday, 24 June and Gatland will need to decide which members of the 41-man squad are up to the challenge of facing the world champions.
A win is a win, so that is the number one objective completed, but there will be frustration amongst the squad and coaches as to why the Lions weren't more convincing against a scratch Barbarians team.
They have plenty of areas to work on, but we knew that would be the case.
And, rugby tactics aside, it will have been an unbelievable feeling for those lads who put on the red jersey for the first time. England and Harlequins prop Kyle Sinckler in particular was outstanding, showing his ball-handling skills, work rate and physicality are all of Test standard.
Enjoy a beer tonight, rest up and roll on Wednesday.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland: "We would have preferred to have had a week in the UK with the full squad and a week in New Zealand before the first game.
"We arrived on Wednesday and we are still recovering from the travel and the guys haven't got into regular sleep patterns - perhaps the schedulers need to look at that for future tours.
"Some players are still seeing the doctor for sleeping pills to help them sleep."
What was the Kiwi view?
Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald: "The Lions got their heavily predicted opening-game victory but it was one that saw them reach unimaginable levels of mediocrity."
Phil Gifford for Rugby Heaven: "In blunt terms, the Lions looked incompetent. To be down 7-3 at half-time, and not take the lead until the 56th minute, was a disgrace to the jersey."
Mark Reason for Rugby Heaven: "The Lions bench may have finally got them over the line, but not a soul in the crowd was fooled."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40129657
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Opioid crisis: The letter that started it all - BBC News
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2017-06-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A Canadian doctor says one short letter managed to convince doctors that opioids were safe.
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US & Canada
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Canadian researchers have traced the origins of the opioid crisis to one letter published almost 40 years ago.
The letter, which said opioids were not addictive, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 1980.
Dr David Juurlink says the journal's prestige helped fuel the misguided belief that opioids were safe.
His research found that the letter was cited more than 600 times, usually to argue that opioids were not addictive.
On Wednesday, the NEJM published Dr Juurlink's rebuttal to the 1980 letter, along with his team's analysis of the number of times the letter was cited by other researchers.
"I think it's fair to say that this letter went quite a long way," Dr Juurlink, who is head of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mike John said heroin is "one of the biggest challenges" facing Ohio
The original letter, titled "Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics", was just a paragraph long. The lone evidence cited was an anecdote that out of 11,882 hospitalised patients were treated with narcotics, only four patients with no history of addiction became addicted.
This paragraph should have triggered a host of red flags, says Dr Juurlink.
The letter only described the effects on hospitalised patients, not on patients who had chronic pain and would need to take painkillers regularly. It also only described the effects of narcotics that are no longer used today - and yet it was cited by many as proof that modern drugs such as OxyContin were safe outside of the hospital setting.
"I don't think it mattered that it didn't say much, what mattered was its title and its publication, and those two things went a long way," Dr Juurlink said.
It is now widely accepted by medical researchers that opioids are highly addictive, he said. In 2016, the British Medical Journal urged doctors to limit opioid prescriptions in order to combat the overdose crisis in the US and other parts of the world.
In 2007, the makers of OxyContin pleaded guilty in federal court to "misbranding" by falsely claiming OxyContin was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications.
This week, Ohio became the second state after Mississippi to sue opioid manufacturers for unleashing "a health care crisis that has had far-reaching financial, social, and deadly consequences".
The letter's author, Dr Hershel Jick, says he never intended for the article to justify widespread opioid use, and has testified for the government about how these drugs are marketed.
"I'm essentially mortified that that letter to the editor was used as an excuse to do what these drug companies did," Jick told The Associated Press. "They used this letter to spread the word that these drugs were not very addictive."
Dr Juurlink believes that the misinformation that resulted after the letter's publication would not happen today. Back then, he said, if you wanted to read the original letter, you would need to go to a library. Many of the people who cited the 1980 letter were just plain "sloppy" he said and didn't do their diligence.
Now, it's easy to read the original 1980 letter online, as well as Dr Juurlink's rebuttal.
"It would be taken apart overnight on Twitter", he said.
There is now an editor's note on the original letter in the NEJM: "For reasons of public health, readers should be aware that this letter has been 'heavily and uncritically cited' as evidence that addiction is rare with opioid therapy."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40136881
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French Open: Andy Murray beats Juan Martin del Potro, but Kyle Edmund loses - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Andy Murray reaches the French Open last 16 with a superb win over Juan Martin del Potro, but fellow Briton Kyle Edmund is out.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
Andy Murray saw off Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro with a superb straight-set win to reach the fourth round of the French Open.
The world number one, 30, won a gripping 84-minute opening set on his way to a 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 6-0 victory.
The Scot, bidding for his first Roland Garros title, goes on to face American John Isner or Russia's Karen Khachanov.
British number two Kyle Edmund's run came to an end with a defeat by big-serving Kevin Anderson in five sets.
The South African, 31, fought back to win 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-1 6-4 in a near four-hour match.
• None Third seed Halep through to last 16
After searching for consistency in his opening two matches, Murray found something approaching his best form to win the most anticipated match of the first week.
Former US Open champion Del Potro, whose ranking has slid after injuries, posed an unusually severe test for the third round and he began strongly.
The Argentine's huge forehand drew regular gasps from the crowd, as well as what Murray later described as "a very manly grunt" from Del Potro.
But once he had levelled in a high-quality first set, Murray edged a thrilling tie-break and then dominated in arguably his best performance of 2017.
"I played some good matches at the beginning of the year, but definitely in the clay-court season, the second or third sets were the best I have played, for sure," Murray said.
He out-scored the powerful Argentine with 41 winners to 35, all the while mixing up his game with deft drop shots and sharp volleys.
The match turned late in the first set when Del Potro failed to serve it out and Murray eventually took the tie-break with his third set point, having saved four.
A distraught Del Potro slumped on the net post for most of the changeover, pausing only to smack down his racquet in anger before moments later dropping serve at the start of the second set.
"I couldn't believe that I lost that set, because I had many opportunities to win," he said.
"But this happens when you play against the number one in the world."
There was no way back, especially after the Argentine - who struggled with a groin injury on the previous round - called for the doctor.
Murray's hopes faltered only briefly when he failed to serve out at 5-4, but the Scot broke serve once again in the following game and then reeled off the last seven games in a row.
"Mentally I feel pretty good just now," he said.
"I'm happy with how the match was today. I'm working things out whilst I'm playing the matches. The really, really important part of my game is making adjustments.
"The tactical side is very important for me."
'Winning the first set gave me momentum'
After that marathon first set, the match quickly turned in Murray's favour as the Scot went on to clinch the final set in just 28 minutes.
"Whoever won that first set had big momentum," said Murray, who beat Del Potro in the Olympic gold-medal match at last year's Rio Games.
"It's slow and heavy, and coming back in these conditions is difficult.
"I thought I played some good tennis towards the end and I expected a tough match.
"It was tough. I think he was playing much better than me in the first set. Both of us hand some chances in the first set, the second set was the same. Both those sets could have gone either way."
Edmund, 22, had hoped to match his best Grand Slam run by reaching the last 16, but Anderson's greater experience told in the latter stages of a hard-fought contest.
Edmund held a slight edge in terms of ranking over Anderson, the Yorkshireman ranked nine places higher at 47th in the world, but the South African was playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the 17th time.
By contrast, it was only Edmund's second appearance in the last 32 of a major.
"I played a good match and am disappointed to lose," said Edmund.
"I would love to win and get to the fourth round, and especially win that type of match in the fifth set like that.
"But, you know, quality by him. And he just beat me."
Anderson, who was a top-10 player before being hampered by a series of injuries, will now meet 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40143231
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Jetlagged British and Irish Lions will improve after narrow opening win - Gatland - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland says jetlag was a factor in his side's lethargic display in the win over Provincial Barbarians.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland says jetlag was a factor in his side's lethargic display against the Provincial Barbarians.
After only arriving in New Zealand on Wednesday, the Lions laboured to a 13-7 victory in Whangarei.
"We are still recovering from the travel," Gatland said. "A number of players still haven't got into regular sleep patterns.
"It was a tough hit-out for us. Some positives and lots to work on too."
The Lions trailed 7-3 at half-time, and relied on an Anthony Watson try to seal the victory.
"The most important thing was the result and getting the tour off to a good start," the Kiwi added.
"If we were a bit more clinical and finished our opportunities then the game is relatively comfortable.
"We will improve from tonight's performance, definitely."
Gatland will select an entirely new starting XV for Wednesday's fixture against the Blues, who will field the likes of All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams.
By then he will hope his players will have eased into regular sleeping patterns.
"The ideal scenario would be to have a week in New Zealand before the first game," he continued.
"We knew it was going to be difficult in terms of adjusting and preparation.
"Some players have recovered, but a number of the players and staff are seeing the doctor to try and get a sleeping pill to try and get some sleep.
"[Defence coach] Andy Farrell went to the doctor last night to get a sleeping pill, went to bed at 11 or 12 o'clock and was up at 4 o'clock this morning in the team-room, he wasn't able to sleep.
"Hopefully in the next few games everyone will be able to get into a cycle which will help us in terms of feeling fresh and acclimatised."
One of the few impressive Lions players was Wales back rower Taulupe Faletau, who looks set to start the Test series in number eight in the absence of the injured Billy Vunipola.
"I thought Faletau was absolutely outstanding, and with Vunipola out he becomes the most important player on the tour for me," said former Lions flanker Martyn Williams, who toured in 2001, 2005 and 2009.
Williams added on BBC 5 live: "The Lions will dust themselves down and look at the positives - it's a win.
"But the next two games are absolutely crucial in how this tour will pan out."
What was the Kiwi view?
Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald: "The Lions got their heavily predicted opening-game victory but it was one that saw them reach unimaginable levels of mediocrity."
Phil Gifford for Rugby Heaven: "In blunt terms, the Lions looked incompetent. To be down 7-3 at half-time, and not take the lead until the 56th minute, was a disgrace to the jersey."
Mark Reason for Rugby Heaven: "The Lions bench may have finally got them over the line, but not a soul in the crowd was fooled."
'First game is often forgettable'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40144515
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Andy Murray v Juan Martin del Potro: French Open set for biggest clash so far - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro resume their rivalry in the most anticipated match of the French Open so far, both with fitness concerns.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and online.
Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro will resume their rivalry in the most anticipated match of the French Open so far on Saturday.
The pair will meet in the third round on Philippe Chatrier Court at about 12:00 BST.
Murray, the world number one, beat the Argentine to win Olympic gold last August, but lost their Davis Cup match the following month.
The 22-year-old from Yorkshire is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time, having reached round four at last year's US Open.
Murray will hope to take another step back towards top form when he plays Del Potro for the 10th time, having won six of their previous encounters.
"I definitely feel like I'm capable of winning that match," said the Scot.
• None 'I'm not playing like number one, but I can turn it around' - Murray
After two epic contests in 2016, Murray and Del Potro will both head into Saturday's match with uncertainly surrounding their form and fitness.
The 30-year-old Scot has struggled with injury and illness this year and, although now suffering only with a mild cough, his relative lack of matches has left him searching for consistency.
He was heard complaining about his own movement as he fought his way past Martin Klizan on Thursday, but drew encouragement from the performance.
Two four-set matches this week have at least seen him run 5,248m over the course of six hours.
"Physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that," he said after his second-round match.
"And also, I hit a lot of balls out there today."
Del Potro, 28, skipped the Australian Open at the start of the year to protect a fragile body that has seen the latter years of his career repeatedly interrupted by injuries.
As a result, he is ranked 30th and so meets the top players earlier in tournaments - he has already lost three times to Novak Djokovic and once to Roger Federer in 2017.
He made it through the second round in Paris when opponent Nicolas Almagro retired with an injury, but the Argentine was himself dealing with a groin problem, later saying: "I felt some pain. I didn't move well."
Looking ahead to Saturday, the 2009 US Open champion added: "Andy is one of the favourites to win this tournament.
"And now I know his game a lot, but I need to be in good shape and physically be stronger to hold a long match if we play a long match, long rallies."
Murray lost his composure at times during his second-round match and repeatedly looked to those in his player box for more obvious support.
Coaches Ivan Lendl and Jamie Delgado, along with Davis Cup captain Leon Smith and members of Murray's support team and family, will again be in the box on Saturday.
"I think a lot of the time when I'm playing and especially when I'm frustrated or down, I don't always project a lot of positivity on the court," said Murray.
"Sometimes I think also for my team it's difficult to know exactly how I'm feeling or what it is that I need when I'm on the court.
"So I think my job is really to try to be more positive while I'm out there."
Edmund might hold the edge in terms of ranking over Anderson at 47 in the world to 56, but the South African has far more experience.
Nine years older, at 31, the 6ft 8in Anderson will play in the third round of a Grand Slam for the 17th time.
He also has a huge weapon in his serve, hitting 34 aces to Edmund's four across the first two rounds.
"He's obviously got a big game, big guy," said Edmund.
"In hot conditions the ball is really pinging around, so Saturday I've just got to be on it. One match at a time.
"He's got a great serve and good groundstrokes. He was out a bit with injury, but before that he was consistent at the top of the game and getting good results."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40133636
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Champions League final: Gianluigi Buffon inspired by Cameroon keeper Thomas N'Kono - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Gianluigi Buffon is ready for Saturday's Champions League final - but it was a Cameroon keeper who inspired his long journey back in 1990
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Italian football might have looked very different over the last two decades if an impressionable 12-year-old had not been captivated by the Cameroon goalkeeper at the 1990 World Cup.
Gianluigi Buffon played as an attacker back then but the performances of Thomas N'Kono - playing in his third World Cup - inspired him to try life as a goalkeeper.
"All the eyes of the world were on players like Diego Maradona and Gary Lineker, but I was mesmerised by Thomas N'Kono," said Buffon.
"It was the things he did for Cameroon during that World Cup that inspired me to become a goalkeeper myself."
The Indomitable Lions defeated holders Argentina on their way to becoming the first African side to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they were unluckily defeated 3-2 by England in Naples.
When N'Kono retired he asked the Italian keeper to play in his farewell match - in Cameroon.
"I first met him when he was 20 and he was with Parma," N'Kono told the BBC's World Service,
"A year later I asked him to play in my farewell game in Cameroon. He said 'yes, no problem', but I never thought he would come.
"Then, at the last minute, he called me to say he was at the airport about to come to Cameroon. It was amazing."
The last time the two men met they discussed Buffon's eldest son Louis Thomas, named, at least in part, after the Cameroon keeper. N'Kono asked how Buffon's eldest was coming along. He told him the nine-year-old was doing well - but would play as an attacker, not a keeper.
N'Kono, who spent the bulk of his career with Spanish side Espanyol, is now 60 but was in his 40s when he retired. Buffon is now 39 - and still at the top of his game.
Second most Serie A appearances - 619 for Parma and Juventus - and 282 clean sheets Second most appearances for Juve - 621 Been named in five World Cup squads - won it in 2006 Has won 168 caps for Italy - more than anyone else
On Saturday, the man with 168 Italian caps will play in his third Champions League final, having tasted defeat in 2003 and 2015.
His Juve team have conceded just three goals en route to the final and are the only unbeaten team in the competition.
But they face a Real Madrid team fresh from capturing the La Liga title and determined to retain the Champions League they won with a shootout victory over Atletico Madrid last season.
The decisive penalty last season was scored Cristiano Ronaldo - and the Portuguese claims he is fresh and ready to go after a season when he has been regularly rested by Zinedine Zidane.
It is also the season when Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 goals in the Champions League.
And it is the fear of facing Ronaldo that Buffon hopes will give him a competitive edge in Cardiff on Saturday.
"It's the kind of fear you need to have when you play this kind of game," Buffon told Italian broadcaster Mediaset.
"The eve of a match of this kind, of this level, is always pretty much the same. You have to find your concentration; you feel a degree of fear and respect towards your opponents, but you also feel aware of your abilities - which is your key weapon.
"I'm pleased the media tend to see the game as a battle between me and Cristiano, but it's not the reality.
"We will play the game with confidence. We just want to have no regrets at the final whistle."
Watching him close-up in training and during games is really quite impressive. Weaknesses? He has none.
Regrets are something that Juve know all about in the Champions League.
They have lost their last four Champions League finals and six overall in the European Cup/Champions League.
If they lose on Saturday, they will equal the record for the most consecutive final defeats, currently held by Benfica.
"I have always maintained that, in football, making the final means nothing if you don't win it," added Buffon.
"I don't look at the Champions League as the trophy that evades me - but, yes, it is a big dream for me to win it.
"It would be great joy. There's nothing better in life than getting your reward, because you know how hard you've worked, how much you've sweated for it - and with team-mates who've worked even more to get it."
There appears to have been a groundswell of goodwill towards Juve because of the Buffon factor.
Former team-mate Gianluca Zambrotta told BBC World Service: "He deserves to win this trophy."
It is a sentiment you might expect from someone who played alongside Buffon for so long for club and country - but old foes like Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar have said they would like the Italian to finally win the trophy.
And even Iker Casillas - who made more than 500 appearances for Real before moving to Porto in 2015 - has expressed his desire to see Buffon lift the trophy on Saturday.
"If they weren't up against Madrid, I would want to him to win the Champions with all my heart," he said. "He deserves it - Gigi shouldn't end his career without a Champions League."
And what advice does N'Kono have for the man he inspired all those years ago?
"Enjoy it - enjoy it like you always have," he said.
"If you enjoy what you do in life you will always do it without any pressure."
The man Buffon must stop - Ronaldo's astonishing 12 months in photos
June 2016: Ronaldo's Euro 2016 campaign did not start well - 20 shots, zero goals for Portugal. But a superb, flicked finish against Hungary in the group stages made him the first player to score in four different European Championship finals
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40105283
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The man who built his plane using YouTube videos - BBC News
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2017-06-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Paen Long, a car mechanic from rural Cambodia, built a plane by watching YouTube videos.
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Asia
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Mr Long is a trained mechanic who runs his own garage
For three years, car mechanic Paen Long stayed up long after his wife went to bed each night, spending countless hours watching videos on YouTube.
But these weren't the viral clips or pop music videos that most people while away hours on. Mr Long, who lives on the side of a highway in Cambodia's rural south-east, had a singular obsession: aeroplanes.
"In the beginning, I typed in the word 'jet'," he says. From there, he was led to videos that showed planes taking off and landing, flight simulations, and virtual tours of factories that produce aircraft.
One of six children of rice farmers, Mr Long grew up in the years when Cambodia was struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge and had never been in an aircraft of any kind.
After seeing a helicopter when he was about six years old, he says, the urge to fly preoccupied his mind - for decades. "I always dreamt about aircraft every night. I always wanted to have my own plane," he says.
At first, it remained nothing more than a dream. Mr Long dropped out of school early and trained as a mechanic, one of the few non-farming professions available to young men without a high school education in his home province of Svay Rieng.
By last year his fascination with flight had taken over and Mr Long, now aged 30 and running his own garage in neighbouring Prey Veng province, decided he had saved enough money to realise his childhood fantasy.
"I started building a plane, making it in secret," he says. "I was afraid that people would make fun of me, so sometimes I worked at night."
Believing that a helicopter would be more complex to re-create than a plane, Mr Long based his design on a Japanese plane used in WWII. The one-seater aircraft, which has a wing span of 5.5m, took Mr Long almost a year to produce entirely from scratch out of mostly recycled materials.
The pilot's seat is a plastic chair with chopped-off legs, the control panel a car dashboard, and the body made from an old gas container.
Mr Long has produced many parts of his aircraft from recycled materials
The moment of truth came on 8 March. Just before 15:00, Mr Long started the plane's engine. Three people helped to push it to his "runway": a nearby dirt road leading off the main artery toward rice paddy fields.
According to villagers, about 200 to 300 people (Mr Long generously estimates the crowd size to be around 2,000) turned out to watch their first local aviator in action.
He strapped on a motorbike helmet - his only safety precaution - and sat inside the cockpit. The plane gained speed as he approached take-off before briefly lifting into the air - Mr Long says he reached a height of 50 metres - and crashing unceremoniously to the ground.
The sound of laughter greeted him on his return to Earth. "I was standing there and tears came down [my cheeks]. I felt emotional, because I couldn't bear all the things they were saying to me," he says, blaming the failure on the 500kg weight of his machine.
The setback made him more determined than ever to succeed, and he soon turned his attention to a new project. Now, he is building a seaplane - also largely from scrap materials - which he believes he can make light enough to take to the skies.
To date, his hobby has cost him thousands of dollars
No matter that his village in Prey Chhor commune is located about 200km from the ocean - once it's built, Mr Long plans to transport the new prototype back to Svay Rieng by truck and launch it from the Waiko River.
He estimates that the original model cost him more than $10,000 (£7,700) to build and, to date, he has spent $3,000 on the seaplane - no small sum in a country where the minimum wage is $153 a month and 13.5% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Not to mention the fact that Mr Long could have treated his entire family to a lavish international holiday for that amount. But, for Mr Long, it's no longer about simply flying. It's about making the impossible, possible.
"I never thought about spending money on other things," he says. "I never feel regret about spending all this money."
Mr Long's wife, Hing Muoyheng, says she worries her husband is putting himself in danger
Aside from those who mocked him, many others in the area are in awe of their eccentric neighbour. "I've never met such a person with an idea like this," says Sin Sopheap, a 44-year-old shop vendor.
"It's unusual to me," says 29-year-old Man Phary, who runs a roadside restaurant near Mr Long's house, "because among our Cambodian people, no-one [else] would do it."
Mr Long's wife, Hing Muoyheng, a 29-year-old car parts seller, says she worries about her husband's safety, particularly as the couple have two young sons, but supports him nonetheless.
"I don't know how planes work and he doesn't have any experts to help him," she says of her concerns. "I tried to ask him to stop a few times because I'm afraid, but he said he won't cause any danger, so I have to go along with his idea."
Yet although Mr Long hopes to cut the risks to himself and others by performing his July test flight over water, he's acutely aware that his flight of fancy contains a host of variables, many of them outside his control.
"Danger," he says, "we cannot predict it."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39945650
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Anthony Crolla plans Manchester Arena return after terror attack - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Anthony Crolla says he wants to fight again at Manchester Arena - the scene of a suicide bombing last month.
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Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Former WBA lightweight world champion Anthony Crolla says he wants to fight again at Manchester Arena.
The venue in Crolla's home city remains closed following last month's suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, which killed 22 people.
The 30-year-old is expecting his next bout to take place in October, although he has yet to name an opponent.
"It's about showing people we're not going to be put off by what's happened," he told BBC World Service.
"For me, it's such a special place. I've had some of my best nights there and I'm a proud Mancunian.
"It's always great to fight in front of your own people. I ran the Great Manchester Run last week and it showed the strength of the city. It makes you proud to be a Mancunian.
"There's nothing better than fighting in your hometown."
Crolla is back in training after losing his WBA lightweight rematch against Jorge Linares in March.
He says he will not be affected by his back-to-back defeats by the Venezuelan.
"I've come back from much worse than a defeat in a boxing match," he said.
"I just lost to the better man on the night. I get over it quickly because I know that I can hold my hands up.
"There are no excuses. I believe I prepared the best I possibly could so I can live with it.
"I'm a big believer that if you work hard in anything then you get the results. I believe I'll be back better than ever."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/40143335
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Juventus 1-4 Real Madrid - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as Real Madrid become champions of Europe for a record 12th time after beating 10-man Juventus in Cardiff.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
By Phil McNulty Chief football writer at the Principality Stadium
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid retained the Champions League in scintillating style by overwhelming Juventus in Cardiff.
Real's record 12th triumph in this competition - and third in four seasons - was predictably orchestrated by Ronaldo, who has now scored in three different Champions League finals.
Ronaldo stopped a bright Juve opening in its tracks as he swept in Dani Carvajal's pass after 20 minutes, before Mario Mandzukic levelled with one of the great Champions League final goals, firing a sublime overhead kick beyond Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Real were unstoppable after the break, restoring their lead through Casemiro's deflected shot before Ronaldo scored at the near post from a cross by the outstanding Luka Modric.
Juventus' misery increased when substitute Juan Cuadrado was sent off for a second caution after a clash with Sergio Ramos, before substitute Marco Asensio emphasised Real's superiority with a precise finish in the last minute.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane has now won back-to-back Champions Leagues - as well as this season's La Liga title - since he took charge in January 2016.
• None Reaction and relive the action from the Millennium Stadium
• None Ronaldo in the same bracket as Pele' - BBC Radio 5 live Football Daily Podcast
Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure early in the match, gesturing to German referee Felix Brych about what he perceived as some rough treatment.
But he ended the night as Real's hero, winning his third Champions League winners' medal for the Spanish club and fourth in total, as the 32-year-old continues to write new chapters in his glittering career.
On display in Cardiff were all the facets that make him an all-time great - pace, desire, anticipation, technique - as he helped Real dismantle a Juve defence that conceded just three goals in 1,080 minutes en route to the final.
Ronaldo's first was an instant sweeping finish beyond the outstretched right arm of Gianluigi Buffon while the second showed the touch of a poacher, moving like lightning beyond static Juve defenders to guide in an emphatic near-post finish.
The Portugal captain now has a remarkable record of 105 goals in 140 Champions League games - 12 of those coming in just 13 games this season.
Big players define big matches and Ronaldo defines more than most.
He did so again here in Cardiff.
Real had their qualities questioned in their most recent Champions League finals, starting with their victory over Atletico Madrid in Lisbon in 2014 - when they needed Ramos' injury-time equaliser to force extra time before going on to win - and again last season when they beat the same opponents on penalties.
No such questions can be levelled at Real after this latest triumph.
This was the performance of a world-class team, ripping apart a defence that has a reputation as one of football's meanest and did not concede a goal in either leg of their quarter-final win against Barcelona, keeping out Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Real survived a whirlwind Juventus opening before taking control after the break, with Modric and Toni Kroos manipulating possession in midfield and Ronaldo providing the cutting edge.
Juventus had performed with such distinction in this Champions League that many experts understandably had them as favourites - instead they ended heavily beaten by a ruthless and wonderfully gifted side.
Juventus come up short once more
Juventus looked the complete package en route to this final. Not only did Massimiliano Allegri's side have that formidable defence but also a potent attack led by Gonzalo Higuain.
They started as if determined to banish the demons that have visited them in past Champions League finals. They made a razor-sharp start - Miralem Pjanic's early 25-yard shot beaten away by Navas.
Juve were right in the game after Mandzukic's triumph of technique and athleticism pulled them level - but they faded badly in the second half and ended overwhelmed.
And most sympathy will go to Buffon, a three-time loser at 39 years and 126 days and whose expression at the conclusion suggested he knows another chance could be beyond him.
The cruelty of the game was illustrated by the agony on his face as he reached in vain for Casemiro's long-range shot, which was deflected tantalisingly out of his reach off Sami Khedira's heel.
Juve, though, can have no complaints and have now lost five Champions League finals since they last won the competition in 1996.
• None Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in three different Champions League finals (2017, 2014 and 2008), more than any other player.
• None Ronaldo scored his 600th goal in all competitions for club and country.
• None Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich, Juventus) became the third player to score in a European Cup/Champions League final for two different teams after Velibor Vasovic (Partizan Belgrade, Ajax) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid).
• None Real are the first team in the Champions League era to retain the trophy.
• None Juan Cuadrado became the third player to be sent off in a Champions League final, after Jens Lehmann (2006) and Didier Drogba (2008).
• None Zinedine Zidane is the first manager to win back-to-back European Cup/Champions League trophies since Arrigo Sacchi with AC Milan (1989, 1990).
• None Real have won their last six European Cup finals, last losing one in 1981 versus Liverpool.
• None Real became the first team in Champions League history to score 500+ goals (503 goals total).
• None Gianluigi Buffon was the third oldest player to feature in a European Cup final at 39 years and 126 days old.
Real Madrid will face Europa League winners Manchester United in the 2017 Uefa Super Cup (19:45 BST) in Skopje, Macedonia, on 8 August.
• None Dani Alves (Juventus) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt blocked. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
• None Attempt blocked. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gareth Bale.
• None Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
• None Goal! Juventus 1, Real Madrid 4. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marcelo following a set piece situation.
• None Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
• None Attempt missed. Alex Sandro (Juventus) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Dani Alves with a cross following a set piece situation.
• None Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) wins a free kick on the right wing. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40123279
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Champions Trophy: South African's Imran Tahir takes four wickets against Sri Lanka - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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Watch Imran Tahir take four wickets and make a run-out as South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs in the Champions Trophy at The Oval.
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Watch Imran Tahir take four wickets and make a run-out as South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs in the Champions Trophy at The Oval.
Available to UK users only.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40146284
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Does Trump still think climate change is a hoax? - BBC News
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2017-06-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president's team sows confusion when asked about Donald Trump's views on global warming.
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US & Canada
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For a speech about whether the US should remain a party to the Paris climate accord, Donald Trump's Rose Garden address on Thursday didn't have a whole lot of discussion about, you know, the climate.
There was plenty of talk about jobs and the US economy. He offered more than a few expressions of concern over whether other nations were being given an unfair advantage over the US. And then there was that lengthy opening plug for his presidential accomplishments that had nothing to do with the environment whatsoever.
At one point the president made a somewhat oblique reference to current climate science, asserting that even if all nations hit their self-set, non-mandatory greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris agreement, it would only result in a reduction of 0.2 degrees in average global temperatures by the year 2100. (The researchers who conducted the study said the number he cited was outdated and misrepresented.)
Mr Trump's relative silence on the matter has left reporters wondering whether the president still stands by earlier comments - and tweets - expressing serious scepticism about whether climate change is real.
Does he still believe it's a Chinese plot to make the US less competitive, as he tweeted in November 2012? Or that it is a money-making "hoax", as he said during a December 2015 campaign rally?"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. President Trump says the Paris climate accord "disadvantages" US
He's occasionally backed away from such sweeping denunciations. During the first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, he denied having ever blamed the Chinese. In a New York Times interview shortly after his election victory, he said he thinks there's "some connectivity" between human activity and climate change.
After Mr Trump announced his Paris agreement withdrawal, reporters posed the almost-too-obvious question once again to White House aides tasked with selling the move to the public. Does the president believe human activity contributes to climate change?
They asked about it during an on-background session with two administration officials on Thursday afternoon. They asked White House advisor Kellyanne Conway during a television appearance Friday morning. They asked Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt during his press conference on Friday afternoon.
Time and time again the answer was some variation of "I don't know", "I can't say" or "that's not relevant".
"We focused on one key issue," Mr Pruitt said during one of the multiple times he was pressed on his boss's views. "Was Paris good or bad for the country?"
On Tuesday Press Secretary Sean Spicer had said he didn't know the president's thoughts about climate change because he hadn't asked him. On Friday he was asked whether he had since had a chance to speak to the president.
"I have not had the opportunity to do that," Spicer replied.
The rest of the press conference was an extended parlour game to try to get the press secretary to slip and perhaps inadvertently shed some light on Mr Trump's views - to no avail.
It's clear at this point that the administration has no interest in clarifying Mr Trump's position on climate change. But why?
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Students from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, are divided on Trump Paris pullout
Confusion can often be a politician's ally. The embattled president needs his core supporters to stick with him through what could be a rough road ahead. Those who don't believe climate change is real can look at the president's past comments as proof their man still stands with them without anyone having to explicitly say so.
That allows the president to insist that he is willing to do something to address climate change - "renegotiating" the Paris accord, perhaps - without saying climate change is a problem. It allows him tell the majority of Americans who believe climate change is a real global threat that he is trying to address their concerns.
It allows administration surrogates like Mr Pruitt to tout that the US has lowered its carbon output without acknowledging the only reason this would be a noteworthy accomplishment - human activity affects the global climate.
It's a fine line to walk for even the most dextrous of White House communications teams - let alone one that has to be concerned that the next time the president is asked the question, there's no telling what he might say.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40128034
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British and Irish Lions: Are the Lions sport's strangest concept? - BBC Sport
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2017-06-03
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From a Victorian-era Franken-side to modern-day commercial powerhouse, BBC Sport looks at how the Lions' unique appeal has survived and thrived.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Coverage: Live text commentary on every match on the BBC Sport website and mobile app.
Sam Warburton's 48-hour journey to Auckland, featuring business-class air travel and stopovers in Dubai and Melbourne, was described this week as "epic".
Robert Seddon would have something to say about that.
When Seddon led the British and Irish Lions on their first ever tour in 1888, he and his team-mates arrived in Australia after 42 days at sea, with 300 stoats and weasels - tasked with bringing the local rabbit population under control - as fellow passengers.
The world has certainly changed since then, but the Lions - albeit these days lacking a cargo of ruthless little mustelids - remain at their core the same: a composite side featuring the best players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, touring a southern-hemisphere stronghold every four years.
As the current class embark on their New Zealand trip, how has a team that began as a Victorian-era mix-and-match Franken-side not only survived, but thrived?
And are the Lions, ultimately, an endangered species?
A team like no other
Cross-sport comparisons with the Lions always fall short.
Europe's best golfers come together every two years to represent the continent in the Ryder Cup. But in a largely individual sport, there are not the same national allegiances to be set aside.
The State of Origin rugby league sides and NBA All Star basketball games show a fine disregard for club loyalties, but these are domestic affairs that lack the jet-set international dimension of the Lions.
Scour the sporting world high and low and you'll find there is nothing quite the same.
• None Radio 5 live special: How NOT to win a series (2005)
'One player nearly took off another's foot with a shotgun'
So what does it mean to become a Lion?
Jeremy Guscott was called up to the Lions' tour of Australia in 1989 as a 23-year-old centre with just one England cap to his name.
He started both of the Test victories, and played in all six Tests on the subsequent tours of New Zealand and South Africa, famously kicking the decisive drop-goal against the Springboks in 1997.
"It was absolute, all-encompassing euphoria when I got selected for the first time," he told BBC Sport.
"And because of what I experienced then, I would have almost chopped off an arm to get on the tours in 1993 and 1997.
"Everyone has to be selfless, helping team-mates to be the best they can, while at the same time competing furiously for places.
"It is very hard to do because it is an incredibly competitive environment. But the more that people buy into that, the greater chance there is of success.
"That is the unique balance with a Lions tour."
The standard of play may be be stratospheric, but the touring traditions of scrapes, high-jinks and horseplay are as true for the Lions as for Old Rubber Duckians 3rd XV.
Whether it be 1974 captain Willie John McBride asking an irate hotel manager just how many police would be arriving to quell his team-mates' partying or full-back Neil Jenkins decked out as Prince Ruprecht from the film 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' in 1997, there is a human and occasionally hell-raising side to the tours.
"There are moments which stay with you forever, both on and off field," remembers Guscott.
"There was an afternoon in New Zealand where we - and those involved will remain nameless - were out on a team-building activity and one player very nearly took off another's foot with a shotgun.
"He missed by a metre or so. The alternative didn't bear thinking about!"
• None All Blacks more complete than in 2005 - Hansen
• None 'O'Driscoll thought spear tackle was going to kill him'
The series that could have broken the Lions
As Warren Gatland's squad headed off in the glare of the media spotlight, kitbags loaded with £595 red velvet jackets provided by one of their many sponsors, it is funny to recall that it was once feared 'professionalism' could kill them off.
The Lions represent the continuing legacy of the British Empire. That still has tremendous resonance in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa
The end of the sport's amateur status in 1995 prompted predictions that the Lions' days were numbered, as clubs would be reluctant to allow paid employees to tour, improved annual Six Nations battles would dominate the conversation and a burgeoning World Cup would suck up the corporate cash.
So the theory went, at least.
"There are two reasons that the Lions survived the advent of professionalism," explains Tony Collins, professor at De Montfort University's International Centre for Sports History and Culture and author of 'The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby'.
"The first is that the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa - two years after the game turned professional - was incredibly successful.
"It was a great series, that showed the credibility of a Lions tour to supporters and the esteem it was held in by the players themselves.
"The other thing is just as important, but less recognised. Although a lot has changed, there is still tremendous continuity in the way that people view the world and their place in it.
"The Lions represent the continuing legacy of the British Empire. That still has tremendous resonance in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
"When the first tours went, these were still very young countries and, in many ways, they still define themselves by their ability to compete with and defeat the British.
"Back home in Britain, despite the devolution of powers to the various constituent parts, there is still a nostalgia for British-ness in lots of places."
While the Lions have thrived, the advent of professionalism has had an impact on another of the sport's great composite teams: the Barbarians.
Back in 1973, the Barbarians beat the All Blacks in front of 51,000 in what was a full-blooded contest at the very highest level of the game.
Contrast that with the Barbarians' most recent outing last month, which saw the free-running invitational side comfortably beaten in what amounted to a pre-tour loosener for a second-string England side.
The challenge for the Lions now is to ensure they can marry their romantic past with modern realities.
Before the third and deciding Test on the 2013 tour of Australia, Gatland controversially dropped Irish legend Brian O'Driscoll to reunite the Welsh midfield axis of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies.
In total 10 of the starting XV for that climatic match were players Gatland oversaw in his regular job as Wales head coach.
In the hours before kick-off, former Ireland hooker Keith Wood - a veteran of the 1997 and 2001 tours - accused him of fundamentally misunderstanding the Lions ethos.
"We are not seeing the blend of four teams, that is what makes the Lions phenomenal," he said.
"It about getting the best quality out of players from these islands, not having an intransigent game-plan that is low on subtlety and simplistic from the start."
The Lions recorded a thumping 41-16 victory to win the series. Wood, though, stood by his words, claiming that the Lions is about more than just the result.
This year's Lions will play six matches in 17 days before the first Test in an intense crash-course to prepare for the planet's best - the world-champion All Blacks.
With playbooks fatter than ever, can the Lions afford to start with a blank slate rather than arrive with a pre-heated plan?
But - given the unique and broad appeal that has has seen them survive for nearly 150 years - can they also afford to disregard the old traditions?
What is clear is that the Lions' battle to hitch contemporary professionalism to timeless romance, and to knit four teams into one, makes them unique in a sporting world long since stripped of such idiosyncrasy at the top level.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40117691
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Reality Check: Can we be self-sufficient in renewable energy? - BBC News
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2017-06-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron discusses his vision for renewable energy.
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Election 2017
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The claim: The UK can make itself energy self-sufficient in renewables.
Reality Check verdict: This is not the policy in the Liberal Democrat manifesto, which pledges to get 60% of electricity from renewables by 2030. Being self-sufficient and having all energy coming from renewables would require considerable development of storage technology to avoid having to use non-renewable sources or energy bought from overseas as back-up sources.
In Wednesday night's debate, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that the UK could become energy self-sufficient in renewable energy.
It came after he had said: "If it is simply for hair shirt, muesli-eating, Guardian readers to solve climate change... we're all stuffed."
Becoming energy self-sufficient in renewables is not current Liberal Democrat policy, although Mr Farron described it in a speech in February as being a "patriotic endeavour".
The manifesto says the party would: "Expand renewable energy, aiming to generate 60% of electricity from renewables by 2030."
A party spokeswoman described the leader's statement in the debate as "visionary as opposed to completely literal".
The problem with being entirely self-sufficient is that many renewable sources of energy cannot generate power all of the time (the notable exception being the burning of biomass), so if you are using a very high proportion of renewables you rely on interconnectedness (buying electricity from another country where the wind is blowing), storage (batteries in the short-term, some sort of gas storage in the longer term) or a back-up system using gas-fired power stations or nuclear energy.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto talks about investing in interconnectors, which would be unnecessary if the country was to become self-sufficient.
There are already private plans in place to increase the amount of electricity that may be bought from France via interconnectors.
It may be that when he said self-sufficient he meant that we should not have a trade deficit in energy, so it would be OK to buy energy from other countries when we needed it as long as we sold the same amount to other countries when they needed it.
While there have been suggestions that marine energy could make the UK a net exporter of electricity, being self-sufficient and generating 100% of energy from renewables is considerably more challenging than, for example, 90%, mainly because of the challenges of storage.
The development of a smart grid, which co-ordinates renewable energy supplies depending on demand, may also be needed for a 100% renewable system.
Also, while the Liberal Democrat manifesto targets 60% of electricity, Mr Farron was talking about all energy, which means, for example, that all cars have to run on renewable energy and all buildings have to be heated by it.
So in 2016, the UK generated 24.4% of its electricity from renewables, but in 2015 (the latest year available) it was only producing 8.8% of energy from renewables.
The UK has an obligation under European Union rules to derive 30% of electricity from renewables by 2020, which it is on the way to achieving (although the UK is currently scheduled to have left the EU by then). But the other two parts of the targets are 12% of heat and 10% of transport to be powered by renewables, which we are less likely to achieve.
The Labour manifesto pledges to get 60% of energy from zero-carbon or renewable sources by 2030.
The Conservative manifesto looks at it in a different way, saying that "energy policy should be focused on outcomes rather than the means by which we reach our objectives".
So they say that the focus will not be on how the energy is generated but on achieving, "reliable and affordable energy, seizing the industrial opportunity that new technology presents and meeting our global commitments on climate change".
The Green Party would have a target of near-100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 with significant investment in electric vehicles and lower-carbon sources of heating.
It supports self-sufficiency and a decentralised system of communities owning their own generation systems, but would also invest in interconnectors to allow for co-operation with other countries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40120184
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