title stringlengths 13 112 | published_date stringlengths 10 10 | authors stringclasses 3
values | description stringlengths 0 382 ⌀ | section stringlengths 2 31 ⌀ | content stringlengths 0 81.9k | link stringlengths 21 189 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gina Miller 'violated' after viscount's Facebook post - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Rhodri Philipps denies threatening the leading Brexit campaigner in an online post. | UK | The 4th Viscount St Davids, Rhodri Philipps, is accused of online threats against the anti-Brexit campaigner, Gina Miller
Businesswoman Gina Miller has said she felt "violated" after an aristocrat wrote a Facebook post offering a bounty for her to be run over.
Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50, the 4th Viscount St Davids, wrote the message four days after Ms Miller won a Brexit legal challenge against the government in November of last year.
He told Westminster Magistrates' Court the posts were not "menacing".
Lord St Davids, of Knightsbridge, London, wrote on the social media site on 7 November 2016: "£5,000 for the first person to 'accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."
He described her as a "boat jumper" and added: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."
Ms Miller, 52, said she felt "violated" by his "shocking" comments about her.
Asked by the prosecution why he had used the term "immigrant", Lord St Davids told the court: "She's not part of the furniture" adding, "She's been here less than a generation."
The viscount also posted two messages referring to immigrants as "monkeys".
In one post, not directed at Ms Miller, he said: "Please will someone smoke this ghastly insult to this country, why should I pay tax to feed these monkeys?"
Ms Miller led the successful legal challenge which, on 3 November, ruled the government had to consult Parliament before formally beginning the Brexit process.
Ms Miller - who was born in Guyana - told the court she had been the subject of death threats since her role in the Article 50 case.
In a statement read to the court, she said she was "very scared for the safety of herself and her family".
"In addition to finding it offensive, racist and hateful, she was extremely concerned that someone would threaten to have her run over for a bounty," prosecutor Philip Stott said.
"She took the threat seriously, and it contributed to her employing professional security for her protection."
Lord St Davids, who was defending himself, accepted writing the posts but told the court they were not publicly visible or menacing.
"If you're in the public eye, people are going to say nasty things about you. It's the rough and tumble of public life," he said.
He insisted he is not racist and told the court: "I know a number of Muslims who are dear friends.
"My own mother is an immigrant from the very same continent (as Ms Miller)."
The case was adjourned until Tuesday afternoon when a verdict is expected. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40556872 |
Camden Lock Market fire: Seventy firefighters tackle blaze - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The huge blaze broke out overnight at the popular north London tourist attraction. | London | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A huge blaze broke out overnight at Camden Lock Market in north London.
Seventy firefighters and 10 fire engines were sent to the site, which is a popular tourist attraction, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
A fire officer at the scene said the fire began in a building containing a number of businesses.
It affected a small section of the area and many stalls and shops were "operating and welcoming visitors and customers as usual", the market said.
London Ambulance Service was called in, but confirmed it had not treated any patients.
Major fires have hit the sprawling market area twice before in recent years, in 2008 and 2014.
LFB said the first, second and third floors and the roof of the building had been damaged.
"Crews worked hard to get the fire under control and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring buildings," station manager David Reid said.
BBC Radio London reporter Barry Caffrey said he had been told by a fire officer at the scene the blaze had begun in a building with an Honest Burger restaurant on the ground floor.
LFB took 37 emergency calls about the fire
The fire spread across several floors of the building
Deana Irwin, who lives next to the market, saw flames blazing "about 5m high from the top of the building".
Witness Joan Ribes, 24, said: "I was just passing by when I saw the fire and they started to get firefighters and police, it was all very fast.
"We called the police to close the street to the traffic because it was very dangerous, the fire was flying through the air to the surrounding areas."
Fire officers said the fire began in a building where Honest Burger is based
The market, which has been based in the area since 1974, has more than 1,000 stalls and shops.
Deicola and Leora Neves, who own Camden Guitars which is based in the burnt building, said their shop had been destroyed and "everything has gone".
"This is where we started and we're really feeling the loss of that," Ms Neves said.
Market worker Kareem Khodeir said he believed about 100 traders would have been affected by the blaze and some would be "finished" as a result.
"There were 30-35 permanent stalls in the building who have completely lost everything while those who trade outside also store their stock in there.
"It most likely will destroy a few businesses completely," he said.
Alex Proud, founder of the Proud Galleries in Camden, said the fire brigade had "turned up incredibly quickly and stopped what could have been a really substantial fire which could have wiped out the market".
"These are old buildings, they go back to the 1840s," he added.
He said only about 5-10% of the market had been damaged and "75% of the market is now open".
Damping down has been continuing at the scene, the fire brigade said
It's a tourist hotspot that attracts millions and an area of the capital with rich rock 'n' roll history.
But Camden Lock Market is also the livelihood of many small businesses and a stone's throw from local residents who had to watch as the fire took hold.
Nestled next to Regent's Canal and beside Camden's railway bridge, visitors have vast quantities of shops to explore and cuisine to sample.
Now the Market Hall - a four storey building filled with independent traders who often make their own products - looks badly burnt, with broken windows and a strong smell of smoke surrounding it.
"The hard work and aggressive action of the fire crews ensured it didn't spread to the nearby buildings," said London Fire Brigade station manager Andrew Walton.
Ozgur Kaya works on a jewellery stall in the building.
"Some of the traders have lost everything," he said. "They are so upset. We are all here to be there for them."
Sam Row, who runs a vintage camera stall in the shadow of the building, only discovered the news when he came to work first thing.
"All my kit is in there," he said. "I don't know if it is safe, if it has been damaged by fire or water. It's very worrying for us."
Crews battled to stop the fire spreading in the tight alleyways around Camden Market
The ambulance service said it sent a clinical team leader and a Hazardous Area Response Team.
At about 03:00 the LFB said the blaze was "now under control but crews will be damping down into the morning".
In a statement, the brigade said: "Four fire engines and around 20 firefighters will remain at the scene on Monday."
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
The market has over 1,000 shops and stalls
On 8 February 2008, the famous celebrity haunt The Hawley Arms was severely damaged in a blaze, along with six shops and 90 market stalls.
In 2014, some 600 people fled a blaze in the Stables Market.
The market, located in the former Pickfords stables and Grade II-listed horse hospital, burned for two hours on the evening of 20 May.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40552451 |
Wayne Rooney: When Everton first signed striker - the inside story - BBC Sport | 2017-07-10 | null | Ex-Everton scout Bob Pendleton on how a shy, nine-year-old Wayne Rooney would go on to become England's greatest goalscorer. | null | Wayne Rooney's return to Everton after 13 years lends a certain romance to a record-breaking career. Here, through the eyes of Bob Pendleton - the former Everton scout who discovered him, we learn about the buzz, the tears and die-hard Goodison roots which go hand in hand with Rooney's rise and return.
I first saw Wayne Rooney playing on the Jeffrey Humble pitches on Long Lane, Walton. He was nine, and clearly lived for scoring goals. I didn't think then that this shy young man would become England's greatest goalscorer, but within two years I was absolutely certain it was going to happen.
Rooney's name was a talking point around the dozen or so pitches where Liverpool's Walton and Kirkdale Sunday League was played.
I was there every week for more than 35 years, volunteering in all sorts of roles. On one particular Sunday, I had to amble over to get £4.50 in fees from Copplehouse Boys, who Wayne was playing for at under-11s - two years early.
He lashed a goal in from 20 yards and dribbled for fun, normally passing the ball into the net when he had chances. You could see the satisfaction he got from hitting the net - it poured from him again and again. So small yet so strong, he'd demand the ball back if he ever needed to pass it.
I looked at his manager "Big Nev" and his reply was laced with a smile and hard luck. "Give over, Bob. If you take him to Everton he will be at the academy and won't be able to play for us. I've only just signed him."
I've followed Everton since 1948 week in, week out, and ended up scouting for the club. Of all those years, this day would be one of the most important.
A chat with Wayne's parents - Wayne Sr and Jeanette - revealed, to my relief, they were Evertonians. His dad had great humour and, naturally, was elated. We agreed young Wayne would come into Bellefield - Everton's training ground then - on the Thursday. A smooth deal then? Not quite.
Wayne had already been in to train with Liverpool, and for whatever reason it hadn't worked. But the buzz had grown and I heard they were going to try and speak to him on the Tuesday, two days before his visit to Everton.
So we moved the Bellefield trip forward 48 hours. I believe Liverpool were waiting to speak to him when they were told exactly where he was.
You can take kids to Bellefield and they go stiff with nerves. These are big places after all. Not Wayne, he was unmoved. He was picking up stray balls and slamming them into the net when we went in.
I spoke to Ray Hall - who was in charge of the club's youth set-up for many, many years - and said: "You have to sign him."
Ray wondered if they should take a better look - which is normally what happened - and was curious as to why I was so worked up. I, of course, was fearful Liverpool would try again and I was so determined to get this done.
Joe Royle, manager at the time, was called into the office. I can see it now. Wayne, again unmoved, was sliding down his chair almost under the table.
"Sit up straight," muttered his dad, who was thrilled to speak to Joe.
All credit to Ray for trusting me. Yet in that office, on that key night, Wayne was the same as he always was at that age. Shy, and distracted by anything shaped like a ball. But, let's be clear, that shyness evaporated when he walked onto any pitch.
The young man took to Everton rapidly. There were a few who thought he wasn't listening when instructions were being given, as he'd be kicking the ball in the air and all sorts, but then he'd go out and do what was being asked, so he soon showed them.
Quite early on he scored an overhead kick past a young Manchester United side with Kasper Schmeichel in goal. It's still talked about to this day - apparently every parent there clapped. These stories were relayed to me at the time and I'd just be made up for his parents. By 11-12 he was flying, that touch of something special just came with him, and when he hit one, it would just whistle.
I'm told when Walter Smith became manager he was made aware of this jewel Everton had in the youth set-up. He asked to see him in a game so one was organised and Wayne did the business.
Years later, we were at White Hart Lane in the Youth Cup and he whacked one in from range. Glenn Hoddle and David Pleat turned to the Everton delegation with a look that said, "where did you get him from?"
In his teenage years I'd sometimes wait outside Goodison for him with a couple of complimentary tickets. He'd often be late because of his footballing duties and I'd end up missing the first 10 minutes. "You play today?" I'd ask. Shy again, he'd reply: "Yes." "Did you score?" Regularly he'd come back with: "Six." And, tickets in hand, he'd be off in a flash.
Word had spread through the city about him. But there was one way to keep him in line. He worshipped the club's former player and manager Colin Harvey. If he wasn't listening, someone would just say: "Right, I'll tell Colin Harvey then." Time and again, Wayne would move instantly.
When his professional terms came at 16, I was so happy for him. I took Tony Hibbert to Everton when he was a kid too, and that satisfaction you get is wonderful.
I loved walking through West Derby Village from my house and hearing people talking about them. You'd always get the odd one saying Wayne wouldn't make it but I'd just say: "As long as he earns a living and puts food on the table for the family, that's all I'm concerned about."
'We were crying our eyes out'
Then, in October 2002, came the Arsenal game - with Everton heading for a draw against a side that hadn't lost in 30 games.
All of my family are season ticket holders and I had my son Robert next to me, with my wife and girls several rows in front.
In the last minute the ball dropped to Wayne, still only 16, and I said to Robert: "He'll hit this." Dear me. Robert's glasses were hanging off his face as we all went berserk when it hit the net.
I just recall being stunned at what he'd done.
All my family met by one of the exits and as I walked down I could see my daughters' eyes filling up. I'm an emotional man and we all just cried our eyes out. It was an incredible feeling.
Wayne's mum popped around the corner too and her face said it all, she was overjoyed. Needless to say, the whole pub wanted to speak to me after the game.
Within six months of scoring against Arsenal, he was playing for England. It all happened so fast.
When he moved to Manchester United, I told a reporter I was looking forward to the day he would captain them and England. I was certain.
From a young age I just thought he was a leader. Yes, he was shy, but he could just change things on the pitch, showing who was boss. Wayne was always someone you wanted by your side on and off the pitch, and I think that comes down to his family.
Whenever there has been an engagement party or christening, we tend to get an invite. They've not forgotten and it's nice of them.
We were invited to his 18th birthday party in Aintree. You could see how big a deal he was because, from behind a security fence which was bigger than most houses, there were flashing camera lights going off repeatedly. Not that Wayne minded, he was up doing karaoke and his friends were all loving it. 'The white Pele' some of them called him.
And his career has just gone on and on. Seeing him run out for England is always a joy, and when he scores for his country I'll often nod at the TV and say "well done, mate", safe in the knowledge I can walk through the village and give some stick to any pals who have said he's not been playing well.
I still get people telling me about the next big thing. "He's going to be better than Rooney," they say. And so it goes. My word he has had some career.
And now he's home. Some people may not realise that Wayne's family are not Everton 'fans', they are true die-hards.
For a good while now I've thought he would come back, as while there were always going to be other options, I felt a return would always be number one.
Knowing what Everton means to him, even with all he has achieved, I don't believe he will ever have a feeling in football like scoring that goal for his beloved club against Arsenal.
There are those who bring up the fact he joined United, but at that time the deal suited all parties. Each to your own but it's hard to be critical of a young man who went away and won all that he has. Looking at those trophies must be lovely for him.
I believe Evertonians should be braced for a period of real enjoyment with him back. I think of the young players at the club who may see him poke his head around the corner and grow as a result. He can be to them what Colin Harvey was to him.
On the field, he has so much to give. Last season at United I felt he was doing so much work at times to free some of those around him.
This will be my 70th season of going to Goodison and I can't wait to hear his name sung again.
A scout once asked me if I was enjoying the fact Wayne had done so well. I said "yes", and he replied: "Make sure you do because you won't find another like that."
That is as true a statement as there is. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40544561 |
Tech boss attacks 'whiners' in angry email - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The co-founder of a Silicon Valley investment firm says it is "not my job to make you all feel good". | Technology | The co-founder of a Silicon Valley investment firm said it is "not my job to make you all feel good" in a long email to staff and investors.
Jonathan Teo from Binary Capital was responding to negative press coverage about the firm following allegations of sexual harassment by his co-founder Justin Caldbeck.
He added that he was "tired and indignant", and raged against "whiners" who demanded his attention.
Mr Teo has already offered to resign.
He did so after Mr Caldbeck left the firm in June.
"I'm incredibly sorry," Mr Caldbeck tweeted when the news broke last month.
Mr Caldbeck's actions were one of several sexism scandals to rock Silicon Valley in recent months.
They include a damning report into the work culture inside ride-hailing firm Uber, and the resignation of venture capitalist Dave McClure, who admitted "inexcusable behaviour" towards "multiple women".
Justin Caldbeck said he was "incredibly sorry" over harassment claims
No allegations have been made against Jonathan Teo, who said he had offered to step down in order to "quell a news cycle".
He blamed leaks to a "corrupted" media about investors feeling nervous about his firm and claimed his resignation offer had not yet been accepted.
Mr Teo also said he was "angry that women had felt hurt", but described a suggestion by one of the firm's portfolio companies that the next partner should be a woman as "moronic".
"We must choose the best person, male or female," he wrote in the email, which the BBC has confirmed to be genuine.
"Talent is universal if we only choose to recognize it. Anything else is again grandstanding for a personal agenda."
Mr Teo also added that reports suggesting investors were trying to buy back shares were untrue, and said that it was "dishonourable" for an entrepreneur to back away "at the first sign of trouble".
Only one firm has so far announced its intention to pull away from Binary Capital.
"As for the people here that whine that they aren't taken care of, who have not to worry about their lives being taken from them or their basic needs met, who owes them more than the voice they already have access to?" he wrote.
The email was first published by the website Axios.
Journalist Erin Griffith described the email as "unapologetic" on the Fortune website.
"It is angry and, in parts, barely coherent," she said.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur and journalist Mike Malone said the email was "a Jerry Maguire moment" for Mr Teo.
"He's having a very bad day," he said.
"He says he'll resign, then turns around and says it's not his fault at all, that everyone is conspiring against him including the media.
"If you were teaching PR 101 this guy has just done everything possible wrong. He has insulted clients, he has insulted investors, he has insulted employees and he has insulted the media.
"This is a venture capital fund and venture capitalists live and die by the amount of money they can raise for their next fund."
Jonathan Teo told the BBC he didn't want to comment at this time. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40564393 |
Teachers face another year of 1% pay cap - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | More than 500,000 teachers in England and Wales face another year of real-term pay cuts. | Family & Education | Teachers have faced a pay cap for seven years - with pay falling behind inflation
Teachers' pay in England and Wales will have to stay within austerity pay limits - with another year of increases restricted to 1%.
It will mean another real-terms pay cut for more than 500,000 teachers in England and Wales.
The pay review body - which was obliged to keep pay rises to 1% - has expressed its concern.
The cap on pay, initially of 0% and then 1%, has been in place since 2010, as part of austerity measures.
The National Union of Teachers says that successive years of below-inflation pay deals has seen teachers' pay fall in real terms by 13%.
Head teachers' leader Geoff Barton accused ministers of "playing fast and loose with children's education".
"Teachers are facing a seventh year of real-terms pay cuts at a time when we are in a full-blown recruitment crisis," said Mr Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union.
The Department for Education said that it was striking a balance between being fair to teachers and to taxpayers.
The decision over teachers' pay will be seen as sending a signal over pay for more than five million public sector workers.
In the wake of the general election, there were reports of debates within the Cabinet about whether to ease the constraints on public sector pay and try to reverse wage stagnation.
The School Teachers' Review Body is an independent pay body that provides recommendations to ministers about the pay of more than 500,000 teachers in England and Wales.
But for the past seven years decisions have been determined by the government's limit on public sector pay.
The review body made its recommendation in line with the limits on public sector pay, but warned ministers of potential problems of teacher shortages and funding pressures.
The pay review body said there was a "real risk that schools will not be able to recruit and retain a workforce of high quality teachers to support pupil achievement".
There is also a warning that schools are "working under increasing financial constraints".
"Between now and 2020, many schools will face both real-terms reductions in the level of per-pupil funding and growing cost pressures. Difficult choices may be inescapable," says the pay body.
The pay limit was part of the government's efforts to reduce the budget deficit following the financial crash.
Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the outcome was "deeply disappointing".
He criticised that the pay review body "had its hands tied" and could not recommend a pay award "based on the evidence".
Kevin Courtney, leader of the National Union of Teachers, said that after successive years with pay falling behind inflation that some teachers were "finding life very difficult".
"The public sector needs a pay rise," said Mr Courtney.
James Westhead, executive director of Teach First, said that "recruiting teachers is becoming more and more challenging. We need to ensure teaching is fairly rewarded".
Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said the government needed to clarify how schools would pay for the increase - or whether it would be "squeezed" from budgets that were already under pressure.
"There are now more questions than answers about their education policy, and schools urgently need some certainty," said Ms Rayner.
Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman, said: "Giving teachers another below inflation pay-rise is frankly an insult to these incredibly hard working and dedicated professionals."
A Department of Education spokeswoman said: "We recognise and value the hard work of teachers which is why we have accepted the pay deal proposed by the independent School Teachers' Review Body, in line with the 1% public sector pay policy.
"This will ensure we continue to strike the balance between being fair to public sector workers and fair to taxpayers." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40557378 |
Cancer diagnosis 'more common than marriage' - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A cancer diagnosis is now one of the most common life-changing events in Scottish life, figures suggest. | Scotland | There were 31,467 cancers diagnosed in Scotland in 2015
A cancer diagnosis is one of the most common life-changing events in Scottish life, with more cases than marriages or first births, the latest figures show.
Macmillan Cancer Support said there were 31,467 cancers diagnosed in 2015 compared with 29,691 marriages and 23,695 first births.
Cancer was also named as the disease people in Scotland most feared, ahead of conditions such as Alzheimer's.
The research is part of a campaign to remove the fear of a cancer diagnosis.
The figures showed that - excluding non-melanoma skin cancer - there were just over 1,700 more new cases of cancer each year in Scotland than new marriages or 8,000 more cases than women having a child for the first time.
The number of people with cancer in Scotland has risen by 18% in five years, according to Macmillan.
Across the UK, Cancer Research UK says there has been a 12% rise since the 1990s, with rates among woman up by 16% and 4% for men.
Macmillan said as well as trying to remove the fear of a cancer diagnosis, its Life With Cancer campaign aimed to highlight the support available to people with the disease.
Of the Scots asked, 41% said they feared getting cancer over any other disease, while one in eight said cancer was scarier than terrorism or losing a loved one.
Trisha Hatt, Macmillan's partnership manager in Scotland, said: "This research highlights that for many people, cancer will be a fact of life.
"Survival rates from the illness are increasing, and even those with incurable cancer often live for many years.
"This report is about highlighting what life with cancer really looks like for a lot of people - looking after their children, seeing friends and even going to work.
"Most people say they want to keep life as normal as possible after treatment. That's why it's vital they get the support they need to deal with the emotional, practical and financial problems cancer can cause."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40548643 |
Paris flooding: Record rainfall hits French capital - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A storm unleashes the heaviest July rainfall on record in the French capital. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Water cascades down the steps of Porte de Pantin station (Video by Tiphanie Moreau)
A two-hour storm unleashed 54mm (2.1in) of rain on Sunday night in Paris, the equivalent of 27 days of rainfall.
Weather services say 49.2mm fell in one hour, the French capital's heaviest July deluge on record.
Flooding closed 20 metro stations and three were still shut as commuters made their way to work on Monday morning.
Parts of Switzerland were hit by violent winds and hail storms that also caused flooding at the weekend.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Flooding on the Boulevard Haussmann in Paris on Monday (Video by Jordi Bonabosch)
Heavy rain began in Paris at 21:00 (19:00 GMT) on Sunday night and Méteo France said the amount that fell was higher than the previous record of 47.4mm set on 2 July 1995. Rain continued to fall heavily on Monday in Paris.
Some areas of the west and around Paris had seen more than a month's average rainfall between Sunday afternoon and 08:00 on Monday, it said.
While Montsouris park on the southern edge of central Paris recorded 68mm in 24 hours, the western French village of Civray saw 86mm.
Forecaster Patrick Galois said that radar images suggested the central-western regions of Poitou, Berry and the northern Limousin could easily top 100mm in a matter of hours. A dozen storm alerts were in force on Monday as the weather front moved east.
Heavy rain continued to lash Paris as firefighters rehearsed for Friday's Bastille Day military parade
The Paris fire brigade recorded 1,700 emergency calls and responded to 87 incidents, including one in the basement of the culture ministry.
The flooding brought back memories from June 2016, when staff at the Louvre and Orsay museums moved priceless artworks to safety as the river levels on the Seine reached their highest for over 30 years and emergency barriers were raised. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40554842 |
Unesco awards Lake District World Heritage site status - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | It joins the likes of the Grand Canyon and Machu Picchu as it gets world heritage status. | Cumbria | About 18 million people visit the Lake District each year
The Lake District has joined the likes of the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu by being awarded Unesco World Heritage status.
The national park was one of 33 sites around the world to be discussed by the Unesco committee in Krakow, Poland.
The committee praised the area's beauty, farming and the inspiration it had provided to artists and writers.
It is the 31st place in the UK and overseas territories to be put on the Unesco World Heritage List.
The committee suggested the impact of tourism be monitored and requested improvements in conservation efforts.
The delegates heard the 885 sq-mile (2,292 sq km) Lake District had been trying to obtain the Unesco status since 1986.
Lord Clark of Windermere, chairman of the Lake District National Park Partnership which put together the bid, described the decision as "momentous".
"A great many people have come together to make this happen and we believe the decision will have long and lasting benefits for the spectacular Lake District landscape, the visitors we welcome every year and for the people who call the National Park their home," he added.
Steve Ratcliffe, director of sustainable development at the Lake District National Park, said the application had been a "long time in the making" and he was "incredibly proud" of the landscape which has been shaped by nature, farming and industry.
He told the committee: "The Lake District now becomes an international and global property and we look forward to working with you and our communities to make sure this site inspires future generations around the world."
Steve Ratcliffe said it "has taken millennia to become the evolving masterpiece it is today"
About 18 million people visit the Lake District each year, spending a total of £1.2bn and providing about 18,000 jobs.
It is home to England's largest natural lake - Windermere - and highest mountain - Scafell Pike.
The Lake District has inspired artists and writers
Nigel Wilkinson, managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said he was hopeful the Unesco status would put the Lakes on an international level.
"What we really hope is it will act as an economic driver and will grow the value, not the volume, of tourism by giving people more... reasons to make day visits and sustained visits."
Harriet Fraser, a writer and patron of Friends of the Lake District, said: "It's the most beautiful district but it has a very deep culture which is largely hill farming but also conservation."
Other UK Unesco sites include Stonehenge, Durham Castle and Cathedral, and the city of Bath.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-40547691 |
Holiday sickness fakers face government crackdown - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ministers are seeking to make it harder for UK holidaymakers to make bogus food poisoning claims. | Business | Ministers are seeking to make it harder for UK holidaymakers to make bogus food poisoning claims.
Travel industry bosses and Spanish hotels have complained of a huge rise in false insurance claims.
They warned that heavy payouts could lead to British tourists paying higher package holiday prices and being barred from some resorts.
The government said it would reduce the cash incentives of bringing such cases against holiday firms.
Justice Secretary David Lidington said it wanted to limit the legal costs that travel firms had to pay out for the claims.
"Our message to those who make false holiday sickness claims is clear - your actions are damaging and will not be tolerated," Mr Lidington said.
The problem recently led Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to observe British digestive systems "had become the most delicate in the world".
Travel trade body Abta said it "strongly welcomed" the government move.
The escalating problem of claims, according to one UK travel company boss, risked making British tourists the laughing stock of Europe.
That's because thousands of French, German, Danish etc holidaymakers staying in the same hotels and dining in the same restaurants as British tourists, didn't get as sick and as often as UK visitors.
The dilemma for hotels and restaurants is the cost of challenging these claims in the courts is so high yet the sums involved are relatively modest.
So most hotels and their insurance firms simply pay out. That ends up with higher premiums for everyone else.
This move to clamp down on bogus claims by the government could - in theory - save us all some money.
UK holidaymakers who are found guilty of making a fraudulent claim face up to three years in jail, the Ministry of Justice said.
It added that the travel industry estimated holiday sickness claims had increased by 500% since 2013 - a rise not seen in other countries.
The government is closing a loophole that means legal costs are not currently capped on claims for foreign holidays.
Those with genuine claims will still be able to sue for damages, it said.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: "These claims are tarnishing British holidaymakers' reputation abroad, particularly in Spain where they are costing hoteliers millions of pounds."
He welcomed efforts to stop firms from "unduly profiting from false claims", but called on the government to also increase transparency between claims firms and solicitors.
Last month, Tui's UK managing director Nick Longman and Thomas Cook UK's managing director Chris Mottershead both warned that if the problem continued, it could spell the end of the all-inclusive holiday for UK travellers.
Mr Mottershead said: "It has the potential of putting hoteliers out of business. They will stop British customers coming into their hotels."
A British citizen was arrested in Majorca in June for encouraging holidaymakers to submit bogus claims for food poisoning against the hotel where they were staying.
It followed an undercover operation by the hotel chain which had been subjected to a spike in claims from UK tourists. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40550858 |
Taylor Review: All work in UK economy should be fair - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The author of a government review into work says a modern economy should be fair and decent. | Business | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May said it was important to have a "flexible" approach that didn't "exploit workers"
All work in the UK's economy should be "fair and decent", a government review of employment practices has said.
The report by former aide to Tony Blair, Matthew Taylor, pays particular attention to the gig economy.
It recommends that workers for firms such as Uber and Deliveroo should be classified as dependent contractors, with extra benefits.
The Prime Minister said the government would take the report's recommendations seriously.
Mr Taylor said there was a perception that the gig economy put too much power into the hand of employers: "Of all the issues that were raised with us as we went around the country, the one that came through most strongly was what the report calls one-sided flexibility.
"One-sided flexibility is where employers seek to transfer all risk onto the shoulder of workers in ways that make people more insecure and makes their lives harder to manage. It's the people told to be ready for work or travelling to work, only to be told none is available."
• People who work for platform-based companies, such as Deliveroo and Uber, be classed as dependent contractors
• Strategies must be put in place to make sure that workers do not get stuck on the National Living Wage
• The review suggests a national strategy to provide good work for all "for which government needs to be held accountable"
• The government should avoid further increasing the the non-wage costs of employing a person, such as the apprenticeship levy
A spokesperson for the meal delivery service Deliveroo, one of the companies at the heart of the gig-economy debate, said: "We would welcome the opportunity to work with the government so we can end this trade off between flexibility and security."
Mr Taylor's report did not attack the gig economy. It said that flexibility in the workplace was important and had contributed to record high employment.
He pointed to the official Labour Force Survey of March this year, which found that 68% of those on zero hours contracts did not want more hours.
However, he said too many employers and businesses were relying on zero hours, short-hours or agency contracts, when they could be more forward thinking in their scheduling.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Earlier, Mr Taylor had told the BBC: "There are too many people at work who are treated like cogs in a machine rather than being human beings, and there are too many people who don't see a route from their current job to progress and earn more and do better."
But he said working platform providers such as Uber had to demonstrate that workers signing on for hours of work would "easily clear" the minimum wage.
Andrew Byrne, head of policy at Uber, said that the average driver took well over the National Living Wage.
He also said Uber "would welcome greater clarity in the law over different types of employment status".
Mr Taylor also suggested that cash payments should be phased-out.
He said cash jobs such as window cleaning and decorating were worth up to £6bn a year and many were untaxed - something Mr Taylor says should be addressed.
Mr Taylor said he did not want to ban cash payments outright, but hoped, over time, the increasing popularity of transaction platforms such as PayPal and Worldpay would see a shift from cash-in-hand work.
"In a few years time as we move to a more cashless economy, self employed people would be paid cashlessly - like your window cleaner. At the same time they can pay taxes and save for their pension," he said.
"Most people who do pay for self-employed labour would like to know that that person is paying their taxes."
However, Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said the review did not go far enough for the 4.5 million people in insecure work.
She told the BBC: "If it looks like a job or it smells like a job then it is a job, and the worker should be employed, and I think in those situations where a worker is carrying out work on behalf of an employer... they should not be exploited as a flexible workers."
Trade unions also said Mr Taylor had not tackled many of the issues facing workers.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "From what we've seen, this review is not the game-changer needed to end insecurity and exploitation at work." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40561807 |
Watchdog probes £4.50 premium rate texts - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Pro Money Holdings denies its competition texts are designed to look like spam. | Technology | These text messages were sent on 3 June
A watchdog has revealed it is investigating a premium-rate texting campaign, following complaints from recipients that they have been charged fees even though many believe they never opted into the service.
One expert claimed the messages look like spam, which could cause phone owners to ignore them.
There is also concern about conflicting advice being given to the public.
The two companies involved in the campaign deny any wrongdoing.
The BBC became aware of the campaign when one of its reporters received a text in June.
It said: "FreeMsg: U have subscribed to Comp House competition for £4.50 per month until you send stop to 82225. SP Pro Money HELLO? 08001577502?T&C".
A shortened Bit.ly link was sent as a follow-up message, and a third communication stated that this "text cost £1.50".
The company behind the campaign is called Pro Money Holdings, which is registered to an Ilford, London address.
It makes use of a second service, called Veoo - a St Albans-headquartered business that provides billing and messaging platforms to mobile-related companies.
The industry's regulator, the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), later told the BBC it was "informally" investigating complaints about the Pro Money Holdings service and had "recently" opened a probe into Veoo.
"Under our code of practice, consumers must not be charged for phone-paid services without their consent," said a spokesman.
"We are currently looking into complaints regarding the service operating on 82225 and separately have an ongoing investigation into Veoo."
Members of the public have posted concerns about the 82225's operation over the past two months, with several saying they could not recall subscribing to anything that would account for the fees.
But Pro Money Holdings told the BBC it only charged people who had "pushed a key" in an online competition or in response to a phone message.
"There's a lot of compliance that goes into everything that's done with anything we do," customer care manager David Marshall said.
"Prior to anything starting, there's a lot of testing done to make sure that everything from our end is correct.
"From our own perspective, if there's something not 100% at our end, we would get it adjusted."
To prove the point, Mr Marshall offered to provide details about how the BBC journalist came to be subscribed.
But more than a month after making the promise, Pro Money Holdings has not shared the details, despite repeated follow-up requests, beyond saying the journalist had opted in and this had been "verified by an independent third party".
It did, however, refund the £1.50 fee that had been charged.
For its part, Veoo said it was no longer supporting the campaign.
"Following on-going compliance checks with the service... run by Pro Money Holdings, Veoo suspended the Pro Comp service and will not be reinstating that service via our messaging platform," said spokeswoman Vanessa D'Souza.
"We take our responsibilities very seriously."
One cyber-security consultant said he had concerns that the messages could be mistaken as spam, in part because of their odd punctuation and use of "u" rather than "you".
"It's exactly the sort of message that you might delete assuming it's spam only to realise, perhaps months later when checking your bill, that you've been paying," said Alan Woodward.
Phone owners are given conflicting advice about how to deal with Stop-type texts
Mobile owners seeking advice about how to handle such demands are given contradictory advice online.
The PSA states that users should reply to rather than ignore Stop messages.
But the popular Money Saving Expert site, among others, says not to do so if the texts look suspicious.
"The golden rule is do not reply, at all, ever - do not text 'Stop'!" it states.
"These texts want any response to confirm you are a real person.
"Any numbers that are confirmed are likely to be sold on to... unscrupulous marketeers who may further spam you with unsolicited calls and texts.
"Ensure you don't click on any links within the text either."
For its part, Pro Money Holdings denies deliberately designing its texts to look odd and defended its use of "slang".
"The size of an SMS is a maximum of 160 characters as you are aware," it told the BBC.
"In order to fit the customer care telephone number on the message, it is necessary to shorten some words where applicable."
Mobile networks say customers who receive unsolicited texts can contact their support teams to confirm whether the messages are legitimate and if a Stop response should be sent.
"I have seen people ignoring these messages and being charged a lot," said one Vodafone call centre employee.
"Blocking doesn't stop these as customers are charged irrespective of whether they receive these messages or not, even if the phone is off."
The PSA said it could not comment further about Pro Money Holding's case.
But Mr Woodward urged it to review its guidance.
"If the regulator is expecting us to reply, 'Stop', there is a danger that it causes those heeding such advice to play into the hands of scammers," he said.
"Either way, the regulator is the one who needs to 'stop' this, not unsuspecting recipients."
The PSA issued more than £5m in fines in the past financial year against companies that had breached its rules.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40496744 |
Donald Trump backtracks on Russia joint cybersecurity unit - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump said a cybersecurity unit with Russia would not happen - hours after proposing the idea. | US & Canada | Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had their first face-to-face talks on Friday
Donald Trump has backtracked on a proposal to work with Russia to create an "impenetrable" cybersecurity unit to prevent election hacking.
Hours after promoting the idea on Sunday, the US president said that he did not think it could actually happen.
The idea of a partnership with Russia was ridiculed by senior Republicans.
It comes after Mr Trump's first face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany on Friday, in which the pair discussed the issue.
Mr Trump described the outcome of the talks as positive and suggested closer co-operation between the two nations.
"Putin and I discussed forming an impenetrable cybersecurity unit so that election hacking, and many other negative things, will be guarded and safe," he said.
The initial proposal immediately prompted derision from Democrats, as well as some Republicans who questioned why the US would work with Russia after the Kremlin's alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.
"The fact that President Putin and I discussed a cybersecurity unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't," he tweeted.
However, he stressed that another issue discussed in his talks with Mr Putin, a ceasefire in south-western Syria, had come into effect.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had sought to defend the proposed cyber unit after Mr Trump's initial announcement.
Speaking on ABC's This Week programme, he described it as a "significant accomplishment" for Mr Trump.
"What we want to make sure is that we co-ordinate with Russia," he added.
However, Republican Senator Marco Rubio suggested that such an initiative would be like partnering with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on chemical weapons.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said: "It's not the dumbest idea I've ever heard, but it's pretty close."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Trump to Putin: "It's an honour to be with you"
A special prosecutor is investigating whether Trump associates colluded with alleged Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US election.
Both Mr Trump and Mr Putin said the allegations had been discussed.
However, the two sides described the content of the meeting differently.
Mr Trump said he "strongly pressed" the issue with Mr Putin, who had "vehemently denied" interfering in the US election.
He also said it was time to work more "constructively" with Russia.
President Putin said he believed President Trump had accepted his assurances that Moscow had not interfered in the vote.
However, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said interference in the 2016 election remained an impediment to better relations with Russia, while the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the US "can't trust Russia" and "won't ever trust Russia". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40552571 |
Newspaper headlines: 'May's cry for help to Corbyn' - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Theresa May's hold on power and the fate of sick baby Charlie Gard dominate the front pages. | The Papers | Theresa May's speech on Tuesday reaching out to opposition parties makes the lead for several of the papers - with headlines such as "May's cry for help to Corbyn" in the Daily Telegraph, "Weakened May pleads for support from rivals" in the Times and "May appeals to Labour for policy ideas" in the Guardian.
The i says the prime minister's message would have been unthinkable before her election gamble backfired.
The Times says it is an admission of her political weakness.
For the Guardian, the speech will be seen as an attempt to relaunch her faltering premiership.
The Telegraph says Mrs May's appeal comes at a time when her leadership is at its weakest, with calls by Tory MPs for her to stand down after her failure to secure a majority.
The Financial Times describes it as an attempt to shore up her premiership against mutinous MPs as she prepares to publish the most significant piece of Brexit legislation - the Repeal Bill - on Thursday.
Manoeuvring among ambitious backbenchers and pro-EU MPs is intensifying ahead of the bill, it adds.
Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express says there's no obvious, clear alternative to Mrs May, so the idea of a smooth coronation for her successor is just a fantasy.
The Sun agrees, saying a coronation to replace her won't happen and the leadership battle will be a bloodbath.
It will put the Brexit talks on hold and make us a laughing stock in Brussels, the paper adds.
For the Daily Mirror however, talk of plots means the prime minister's mind is on personal survival rather than Britain's future prosperity. It thinks she should resign and call another election.
The Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror and the Sun lead on Monday's fresh High Court hearing on the case of the terminally-ill baby, Charlie Gard.
The Mail says his heartrending fight for life has gripped the world, and even prompted dramatic interventions from the White House and the Vatican.
Today, it adds, his parents will beg the court to be able to seek treatment for his rare genetic condition, which has left him on life support.
It has the headline: "Charlie's day of destiny".
The Sun's headline says their plea to the judge will be: "Give our Charlie a miracle."
Reports and pictures of Iraqi forces and civilians celebrating on the streets of Mosul following the Iraqi government's announcement that the city had been liberated from the Islamic State group are on several front pages.
The Guardian says victory in Mosul is both a strategic and symbolic milestone for Iraqi fighters backed by US-led coalition forces.
But its residents have paid a steep price, with thousands killed or wounded in the battle.
The Financial Times warns that the advances on IS-held territory in Iraq and Syria will deal a heavy blow, but not eliminate the group.
It says its militants can melt into the desert and will probably keep up insurgent attacks and suicide bombings.
And the Telegraph says the UK and other European countries must be ready for the threat arising from the return of more jihadis.
Other extremists, it adds, will head for Libya or Sinai, presenting a menace to the world for years to come.
The Sun welcomes the proposal to keep zero hours contracts - one of the expected recommendations of the government's review of employment practices.
It accepts that some workers are exploited, but says most like the flexibility they offer.
Banning them - it argues - would harm small businesses who can't afford full-time staff.
The review strikes a decent balance by enhancing workers' rights without damaging business, it adds.
The Times reports that ministers have rejected calls to lower interest rates on student loans.
It quotes a government source as saying that interest charged on loans is below equivalent market rates and those of payday lenders, and they offer protection to borrowers that critics overlook.
The paper says First Secretary of State Damian Green appeared to support a review of tuition fees last month.
But the source tells the paper he was trying to highlight that Labour's policy of abolishing fees would mean the reintroduction of student number controls, reversing progress in social mobility and a dramatic underfunding of universities.
The Daily Mail has the results of a study of what it calls "motherhood in 2017", showing how the pressures of parenting and holding down a career have meant that many traditional tasks have fallen by the wayside.
According to the research, 23% of women said they did not have time to cook an evening meal from scratch and one in five was unable to find time to make a child's birthday cake.
Among the 1,000 mothers polled, 17% were unable to take a role in their child's Parent Teacher Association and a third said chores such as ironing bed linen were too much for them.
But - the paper adds - the vast majority made sure they never missed important events in their children's lives such as attending a school play, parents' evening or sports day.
Finally, depending which paper you read, play at Wimbledon will be "magic Monday" for the Mail; "mega Monday" for the i and "middle Monday" for the Telegraph.
Whatever it is called, the Mail explains that the second Monday of the tournament is when the last-16 in both the men's and the women's all play on the same day - the only Grand Slam where this happens.
The i says that if Andy Murray and Johanna Konta win their matches they will be through to the quarter-finals - and that would be the first time a British man and woman have made the last-eight together since 1973.
The Telegraph reports that fans have been queuing for two days to see the two players. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-40551928 |
Glasgow woman hands out 'life lecture' to bike thief - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Glaswegian mother describes how she confronted the teenager before urging him to turn his life around. | Glasgow & West Scotland | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A Glaswegian mother who handed out a hard-hitting "life lecture" to a teenager caught with her son's stolen bike has been hailed a "supermum".
Vonnie Sandlan used social media to trace the bike after it was stolen in Glasgow city centre on Saturday night.
In an often hilarious Facebook video, the brave mum said she posed as a buyer before confronting the boy.
She won plaudits after revealing that she told the boy he could "end up in Barlinnie" - Glasgow's prison.
Ms Sandlan, the former president of NUS Scotland, even told the boy to think about college or an apprenticeship "if school wasn't working out for him".
She said: "Part of me really hopes that the kid gets in trouble and it properly scares him and that's enough.
"Part of me hopes that he just genuinely takes it as an opportunity to make some better life choices."
The drama unfolded after her son Findlay's bike was taken from outside McDonald's on Argyle Street at about 21:30 on Saturday.
He had bought the cycle just a few days earlier and the theft had left the 16-year-old "distraught", Ms Sandlan told her followers.
"He's been less upset when pets have died," she said. "He used his birthday money for it, he'd been saving up for ages. It's a big deal."
She said she reported the theft to Police Scotland but understood they could not deal with it as they had other priorities.
Instead, she turned detective and launched a social media campaign in a bid to find her son's prized possession.
By Sunday, she had received a tip off that it was for sale on the Gumtree website.
After checking that it was definitely Findlay's bike, she called the police. She said they supported her plan to arrange to retrieve the bike.
While her friend filmed the meeting from a nearby bus stop, Ms Sandlan and her husband, Bob, met the boy with the bike outside The Forge shopping centre.
In her Facebook Live post, she said: "The kid came over and he stopped in front of the bike and I was giving it big smiles and went over and put my hand on the bike and I said 'Thanks so much for coming out to meet us on such a miserable day as well, we would have came to your house'.
"And I looked underneath the frame and I checked the serial number, then I just said 'This is my bike'. And the kid just burst into tears."
She went on: "So this kid is just like crying in front of me, saying 'Is it really your bike?' And I said 'Yeah, it's really my bike - it's not your bike, is it?'
"And then he's like 'It's my first time, it's my first time' and I was like 'I think we both know that's not true, pal'.
"And then somehow I ended up like pure giving him a life lecture on how this is a turning point in his life and it could have been so much worse if it had been somebody else who had came and just like battered him to get the bike back off him.
"And what he needed to be doing was thinking of his future and he said, 'I'm only 15'.
"And I said, you know what, if school's not working out for you, you need to start thinking about college or like go and do an apprenticeship or something. Stop stealing because you're terrible at it and you're going to end up in Barlinnie."
The video, which ends with Findlay agreeing that his mum is the "best in the world", has been viewed thousands of times since it was posted on Sunday night.
A police spokesman said: "Always use 101 in circumstances like this. Let us know what's happening and let us deal with the confrontation side of things."
Gumtree said it did not tolerate stolen items on its website.
A spokesperson said: "We encourage users to report anything suspicious to us through the 'report' button that sits on every ad on our website.
"Our dedicated safety team will then investigate. If you are concerned that an item you're viewing is stolen, don't buy it - report it to the police.
"We work regularly with law enforcement to share information and aid their investigations.
"We're pleased to hear that Vonnie and her son Findlay have been reunited with their bike, and recommend that all bike owners register their serial number with a service such as Bike Register." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-40553876 |
Camden Lock Market blaze: Businesses destroyed - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Some Camden Lock Market stall-holders say they have lost their entire stock in the fire. | London | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Dozens of stall-holders have lost their entire stock after a blaze ripped through Camden Lock Market in north London overnight.
About 30 stalls were based in the Market Hall, where the fire began, while other local businesses had goods stored inside the destroyed building.
One market owner said he believed about 100 traders had been affected and some would be "finished" as a result.
About 70 firefighters tackled the blaze at the popular tourist attraction.
Major fires have hit the sprawling market area twice before in recent years, with one in 2008 leading to part of the site being shut down for over a year.
The market, which has been based in the area since 1974, boasts more than 1,000 stalls and shops.
No-one was injured in the fire
Market worker Kareem Khodeir said he believed about 100 traders had been affected, while 30 who had permanent stalls in the building "have completely lost everything".
"It most likely will destroy a few businesses completely," he said.
Deicola and Leora Neves, who own Camden Guitars, which is based in the damaged building, said their shop had been destroyed and "everything has gone".
"This is where we started and we're really feeling the loss of that," Ms Neves said.
Firefighters contained the blaze to one building
Much of the market was not affected by the blaze
Open-air trader Laetitia Dupont said the lamps she sells in the market, which she stored in the burnt building, had all been destroyed.
"Even if the fire didn't touch it, the water has," she said.
Ms Dupont, who does not have insurance, added she was unsure what would happen to her business.
London Fire Brigade, which was called just before midnight, sent 10 fire engines and an aerial appliance to fight the flames.
Station manager Peter Wolfenden said the front of the building had been saved but the back was now "all charcoal".
The blaze lit up the area around Camden Lock
London Fire Brigade said the back of the building had been turned to "charcoal"
Alex Proud, founder of the Proud Galleries in Camden, said the fire brigade had "turned up incredibly quickly and stopped what could have been a really substantial fire which could have wiped out the market".
He said only about 5-10% of the market had been damaged and "75% of the market is now open".
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40558356 |
Terror advice video for holidaymakers shows hotel attack - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The police film urges British holidaymakers to be aware of the "run, hide, tell" safety message. | UK | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The "run, hide, tell" film shows holidaymakers what to do in the event of a terror attack
A video advising UK holidaymakers what to do in the event of a terror attack abroad has been released by police.
The four-minute film depicts a firearms attack unfolding at a hotel and uses the "run, hide, tell" safety message.
Thirty British tourists were among 38 people killed when a gunman attacked a Tunisian beach resort in June 2015.
Counter terrorism police said there is no specific intelligence Britons will be targeted this summer and the film is part of a general awareness campaign.
But Det Ch Supt Scott Wilson told the BBC it was "only right" to offer advice following the terror attacks in London and in Sousse, Tunisia.
"These people are not there to steal a mobile phone or steal your watch, they are there to kill you, you have to get yourself out of that danger zone," Mr Wilson told the BBC.
"It's very unlikely [that you will be caught up in a terror attack].
"It's very much like the safety briefing you get on an aeroplane before it takes off - it's very unlikely that plane is going to crash, but it's very important you are given that knowledge of what you should and what you shouldn't do."
The four-minute video tells holidaymakers what to do during a terror attack on their resort
The video has been produced with the Foreign Office and travel association Abta.
Mr Wilson said 23,000 representatives from major UK holiday companies at resorts all over the world had been trained in what to do in the event of a terror attack as well as how to spot suspicious items and activity.
Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: "While there is no specific information that British holidaymakers will be targeted this summer, it sets out some simple steps we can all take to minimise the impact of an attack if one does take place."
The run, hide, tell message was first introduced by police in December 2015. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40553565 |
East London double acid attack: John Tomlin appears in court - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar suffered "life-changing" injuries in the attack in Beckton. | London | Resham Khan has been left with damage to her left eye
A man accused of throwing acid at a student and her cousin through their car window has appeared in court.
Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar, 37, had been celebrating Ms Khan's 21st birthday before the attack.
Acid was thrown on them through their car window on 21 June while they were waiting at traffic lights in Beckton.
John Tomlin, 25, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court earlier charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Jameel Muhktar was temporarily placed in an induced coma to treat his injuries
He was remanded in custody and ordered to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 8 August.
Mr Tomlin, of Colman Road, Canning Town, was arrested on Sunday after handing himself in to police.
Ms Khan, a student at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Mr Muhktar suffered severe burns to the face and body in the attack at 09:13 BST on Tollgate Road.
The attacker then threw more of the acid at Mr Muhktar before fleeing the scene, police said.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40564772 |
What tally sticks tell us about how money works - BBC News | 2017-07-10 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Medieval tally sticks illustrate what money really is: a kind of debt that can be traded freely. | Business | Tally sticks, circa 1299, showing accounts of the bailiff of Ralph de Manton of Ufford Church, Northampton
Not far from where I live is Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, home to art and antiquities from around the world. I often find myself slipping down the stairs to the money gallery in its grand basement.
You can see coins from Rome, the Vikings, the Abbasid Caliphate and, closer to home, from medieval Oxfordshire and Somerset.
But while it seems obvious that the money gallery would be full of coins, most money isn't in the form of coins at all.
The trouble is, as Felix Martin points out in his book, Money: The Unauthorised Biography, that most of our monetary history hasn't survived in a form that could grace a museum.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world in which we live.
In fact, in 1834, the British government decided to destroy 600 years of precious monetary artefacts. It was a decision that was to have unfortunate consequences in more ways than one.
The artefacts in question were humble sticks of willow, about eight inches (20cm) long, called Exchequer tallies. The willow was harvested along the banks of the Thames, not far from the Palace of Westminster in central London.
Tallies were a way of recording debts with a system that was sublimely simple and effective.
The stick would contain a record of the debt, for example: "£9 4s 4d from Fulk Basset for the farm of Wycombe". Fulk Basset was a Bishop of London in the 13th Century. He owed his debt to King Henry III.
Now comes the elegant part.
The stick would be split in half, down its length from one end to the other. The debtor would retain half, called the "foil". The creditor would retain the other half, called the "stock" - even today, British bankers use the word "stocks" to refer to debts of the British government.
Because willow has a natural and distinctive grain, the two halves would match only each other.
Some of the old wooden tally sticks used by the UK Exchequer until 1826
Of course, the Treasury could simply have kept a record of these transactions in a ledger somewhere. But the tally stick system enabled something radical to occur.
If you had a tally stock showing that Bishop Basset owed you £5, then unless you worried that he wasn't good for the money, the tally stock itself was worth close to £5 in its own right.
If you wanted to buy something, you might well find that the seller would be pleased to accept the tally stock as a safe and convenient form of payment.
So the tally sticks themselves became a kind of money, a particular sort of debt that could be traded freely, circulating from person to person until it utterly separated from Bishop Basset and a farm in Wycombe.
We don't have a good sense of whether tally sticks were in fact widely traded or not, for reasons that will become clear. But we know that similar debts were, some surprisingly recently.
On Monday 4 May 1970, the Irish Independent, Ireland's leading newspaper, published a matter-of-fact notice with a straightforward title: Closure of banks.
Every major bank in Ireland was closed and would remain closed until further notice. The banks were in dispute with their own employees, who had voted to strike, and it seemed likely that the whole business would drag on for weeks or even months.
You might think that such news - in what was one of the world's more advanced economies - would inspire utter panic, but the Irish remained calm. They'd been expecting trouble, so had been stockpiling reserves of cash, but what kept the Irish economy going was something else.
The Irish wrote each other cheques.
People used cheques to cover expenses like bar bills, and publicans reused them to pay their suppliers
Now, at first sight this makes no sense.
Cheques are paper-based instructions to transfer money from one bank account to another. But if both banks are closed, then the instruction to transfer money can't be carried out - not until the banks open, anyway. But everyone in Ireland knew that might not happen for months.
Nevertheless, people wrote each other cheques, and they circulated. Patrick would write a cheque for £20 to clear his tab at the local pub. The publican might then use that cheque to pay his staff, or his suppliers.
Patrick's cheque would circulate around and around, a promise to pay £20 that couldn't be fulfilled until the banks reopened and started clearing the backlog.
The system was fragile. It was clearly open to abuse by people who wrote cheques they knew would eventually bounce.
As May dragged past, then June, then July, there was always the risk that people lost track of their own finances and started unknowingly writing cheques they couldn't afford and wouldn't be able to honour.
Perhaps the biggest risk of all was that trust would start to fray, that people would simply start refusing to accept cheques as payment.
Yet the Irish kept writing each other cheques. It must have helped that so much Irish business was small and local.
People knew their customers. They knew who was good for the money. Word would get around about people who cheated.
And the pubs and corner shops were able to vouch for the creditworthiness of their customers, which meant that cheques could keep moving.
When the dispute was resolved and the banks reopened in November, more than six months after they had closed, the Irish economy was still in one piece. The only problem: the backlog of £5bn worth of cheques would take another three months to clear.
Nor is the Irish case the only one in which cheques were passed around without ever being cashed.
In the 1950s, British soldiers stationed in Hong Kong would pay their bills with cheques on accounts back in England. The local merchants would circulate the cheques, vouching for them with their own signatures, without any great hurry to cash them in.
Some British soldiers stationed in Hong Kong during the 1950s - like these troops bound for Korea - used cheques drawn on their home banks
Effectively, the Hong Kong cheques - like the Irish cheques, like the Tally sticks - had become a form of private money.
If money is simply tradable debt, then tally sticks and uncashed Irish cheques weren't some weird form of quasi-money. They were simply money in a particularly unvarnished form.
Like an engine running with the cover off, or a building with the scaffolding still up, they're money with the underlying mechanism laid bare.
Of course, we still naturally think of money as those discs of metal in the Ashmolean Museum. After all it's the metal that survives, not the cheques or the tally sticks.
Those tally sticks, by the way, met an unfortunate end. The system was finally abolished and replaced by paper ledgers in 1834 after decades of attempts to modernise.
A decision to burn the obsolete tally sticks in 1834 nearly destroyed the Palace of Westminster
To celebrate, it was decided to burn the sticks - six centuries of irreplaceable monetary records - in a coal-fired stove in the House of Lords, rather than letting parliamentary staff take them home for firewood.
Burning a cartload or two of tally sticks in a coal-fired stove is a wonderful way to start a raging chimney fire.
So it was that the House of Lords, then the House of Commons, and almost the entire Palace of Westminster - a building as old as the tally stick system itself - was burned to the ground.
Perhaps the patron saints of monetary historians were having their revenge. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40189959 |
Rory Cowan: 'Unhappy' Mrs Brown's Boys actor quits - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cowan, who plays Mrs Brown's camp son Rory, says he's been "unhappy" for a couple of years. | Entertainment & Arts | Rory Cowan, who plays Mrs Brown's hairdresser son Rory in hit sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys, has left the programme.
Cowan said he had been "unhappy", and left his co-stars after a Mrs Brown show at London's O2 Arena on Sunday.
He has worked with the comedy's creator Brendan O'Carroll for 26 years.
"I hadn't been happy working for the Mrs Brown's Boys company for the last 18 months to two years," he said. "I feel that 26 years is enough so I decided it was time to go."
Cowan told O'Carroll last month that he wanted to quit, but was persuaded to stay for the latest part of the Mrs Brown tour.
"I told Brendan on 16 June about my decision to leave," Cowan told the Irish Daily Mail. "That's when I handed in my notice.
Cowan and his co-stars have been on a sold out UK arena tour
"I was supposed to leave at the end of that week, but Brendan said that would be impossible and asked if I'd stay on until the end of the London O2 gigs. So I agreed to that."
He said there was "no bad blood" between the pair.
"I'm not going into details about why I was unhappy. I did the final show, packed my stuff into a small Waitrose plastic bag and just left the venue."
In a statement, O'Carroll described Cowan as "a legend".
"To all of us it feels like Ronaldo leaving Manchester United," he said. "But Ronaldo went on to amazing success which I know Rory will too.
"I can't even quantify the contribution Rory has made to our success and the well-being of me and my family, not just on screen or stage but way before that as a friend and a driving force in getting us here."
Cowan started off as O'Carroll's publicist - a job he took after being made redundant as a marketing manager for EMI Records.
He only became part of the Mrs Brown's Boys cast when an actor dropped out during a tour and O'Carroll couldn't find anyone else who could learn the lines in time.
The success of the stage show led to the BBC TV series, which began in 2011.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40557869 |
Holly Brown: School minibus crash girl was 'beautiful daughter' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The parents and twin sister of 14-year-old Holly Brown say she lived with passion and enthusiasm. | England | Holly Brown was caring and lived with enthusiasm, her family said
A 14-year-old girl who died when a school minibus was in collision with a bin lorry was a "beautiful daughter", her family said.
Holly Brown was among 21 students on a field trip when the crash happened on the A38 in Birmingham on Friday.
In a statement, her parents said they were "so proud" of the teenager's achievements.
Flowers have been left outside John Taylor High School, in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire.
For more on this story and other Birmingham news or Staffordshire stories.
West Midlands Police appealed for any witnesses who had not yet come forward to contact the force.
Dozens of flowers and messages have been left outside Holly's school
Holly was confirmed dead at the scene of the crash which happened in the Castle Vale area of the city at about 09:00 BST.
Another teenage girl was taken to hospital with minor injuries and other pupils were treated at the roadside.
In their tribute, Holly's parents and twin sister Emma said: "You grasped every opportunity that life presented to you, displaying so much passion, enthusiasm and determination in pursuit of your dreams.
"All this without forgetting to care about people, being there for others and having time for those that needed it.
"We will miss you so much but you will always be in our thoughts, hearts and prayers."
Birmingham City Council has confirmed one of its bin lorries was involved in the crash and said it would "be fully co-operating with all investigations". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40566286 |
Premier League kicks on to record revenues of £3.6bn - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Premier League earnings are boosted by broadcast earnings, with TV cash set to soar. | Business | Buoyant Uefa TV income helped Premier League clubs' revenues rise 9% to a record £3.6bn in the 2015-16 season, according to analysis from Deloitte.
It says broadcast earnings of £1.9bn accounted for more than half of the top flight clubs' total revenues.
A new domestic TV deal which kicked in last year means overall revenues continue to grow strongly, it added.
For a third straight season, clubs' combined operating profits exceeded £500m, but wages rose 12% to £2.3bn.
"Even in the final year of its old broadcast contracts, Premier League revenues continued to set new records," said Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte's sports business group, which has unveiled its latest Annual Review of Football Finance.
He said the broadcasting boost to revenues in 2015-16 was mainly down to European federation Uefa increasing its payments to Premier League clubs by £100m.
Mr Jones said Premier League clubs were now reaping the benefit of a new broadcast rights cycle which started in 2016-17, plus new commercial agreements, and match day revenue growth from new and expanded stadia.
Deloitte says it now expects total Premier League clubs' revenues to be more than £4.5bn in 2017-18.
A new broadcasting cycle is now in operation
Meanwhile, Premier League net debt fell for the third consecutive season, by £125m (5%) to £2.2bn at the end of the 2015-16 season.
However, while Premier League clubs returned to a collective pre-tax loss in 2015-16. Deloitte said this was the result of exceptional, or one-off, accounting adjustments, without which clubs collectively would have broken even.
One example of these one-off adjustments was Chelsea making a big financial provision to cover the cost of the early cancellation of their kit deal with Adidas.
"We fully expect that Premier League clubs will collectively achieve record levels of profitability in the seasons to come," said Mr Jones.
In the Championship, overall revenues increased to a new record level of £556m in 2015-16, and have risen by 74% in the past decade.
But for the third time in four years, clubs spent more on wages (£561m) than they generated in revenue, resulting in a record operating loss of £261m. This follows two seasons where losses have been reduced.
Clubs in the Championship stand to see their revenues jump by at least £170m from promotion to the Premier League, rising to over £290m if they survive one season.
But Deloitte says there there is a danger that Championship clubs may continue to be tempted "to spend excessively relative to their revenues, particularly on wages".
Former Chelsea captain John Terry has signed for Aston Villa on a reported £60,000 a week, plus further cash incentives should they win promotion
Yet Deloitte points out that Huddersfield Town's promotion at the end of the 2016-17 season shows any Championship club can reach the Premier League, regardless of their budget. And they point out that in 2015-16 Huddersfield had the Championship's fourth-lowest wage costs.
Including Football League clubs, the top 92 professional teams in England generated a record £4.4bn in revenue in 2015-16, Deloitte said.
The 92 clubs contributed £1.6bn to UK government in taxes in 2015-16, up from £1.5bn the year before.
In Scotland, despite Celtic's failure to qualify for the Uefa Champions League group stages for the second consecutive season, Scottish Premiership clubs' aggregate revenues grew 10% to 149m euros.
Celtic continued to generate more than 50% of total revenues as they won the league for a fifth consecutive season, and Deloitte says "their participation in the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League group stages will result in a substantial uplift in revenue".
Oscar (r) has been one of the Chinese Super League's biggest signings
China's investment and influence in football has been growing in both domestic clubs' playing squads and infrastructure, and foreign club purchases and sponsorship.
In their 2016-17 winter transfer window, Chinese Super League clubs spent more than £300m on players, including Oscar's transfer from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG and Odion Ighalo's move from Watford to Changchun Yatai.
But Deloitte says some recent political moves could curtail this player spending boom.
In January, the government body responsible for regulation of sport in China said that a cap on player salaries and transfer fees would be established to control "irrational investment".
That month, the Chinese Football Association also implemented a stricter rule allowing only three foreign players to participate for a club in a super league fixture. This replaced the previous "4 plus 1" rule which allowed four foreigners plus one (non-Chinese) Asian player in a matchday squad.
And in June 2017, the Chinese Football Association said clubs that were loss making and spent in excess of 45m yuan (c.£5m) on a foreign player must pay an amount equivalent to the excess into a national fund to develop young Chinese players. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40555593 |
Kirstie Allsopp criticised for washing machine comment - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has provoked a debate on social media for saying washing machines should not be kept in the kitchen | UK | When it comes to the laundry, it's all about location, location, location, according to TV host Kirstie Allsopp. The presenter of property programmes has provoked a debate after posting on Twitter that it is disgusting to keep washing machines in the kitchen.
The remark, in response to a journalist's comments about Americans finding the British way of placing washing machines in kitchens confusing, provoked a (mostly) humorous backlash on social media.
Moments after the post one Twitter user asked where exactly in the home the washing machine should be located if a homeowner did not have a utility room to which Ms Allsopp replied: "Bathroom, hall cupboard, airing cupboard, google tiny laundry rooms."
"Really? We live in a moderately-sized, four-bed semi and couldn't fit a washing machine anywhere other than the kitchen!" remarked another Twitter user, while another commented: "What is disgusting is disrespecting those who have nowhere else to put one. "
Another Tweeter referred to the issue as "first world problems."
Realising the washing machine comment had provoked such a debate, Ms Allsopp attempted to quell the barrage of negative comments directed at her.
But the mocking continued, provoking some post-watershed language from the TV presenter, aimed at those who had still failed to grasp she was joking when she said it was her "life's work" to get washing machines out of the kitchen.
Most got the message as the responses took a humorous turn.
Washing machines in many parts of the US and Europe are placed in the bathroom or separate utility rooms, but in most UK homes they are usually found in the kitchen, in part because in the UK there are no electrical sockets in the bathroom and most UK bathrooms could not fit a washing machine.
Or maybe there were alternatives, suggested Nick. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40571843 |
East London double acid attack: John Tomlin appears in court - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cousins Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar suffered "life-changing" injuries in the attack in Beckton. | London | Resham Khan has been left with damage to her left eye
A man accused of throwing acid at a student and her cousin through their car window has appeared in court.
Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar, 37, had been celebrating Ms Khan's 21st birthday before the attack.
Acid was thrown on them through their car window on 21 June while they were waiting at traffic lights in Beckton.
John Tomlin, 25, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court earlier charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Jameel Muhktar was temporarily placed in an induced coma to treat his injuries
He was remanded in custody and ordered to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 8 August.
Mr Tomlin, of Colman Road, Canning Town, was arrested on Sunday after handing himself in to police.
Ms Khan, a student at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Mr Muhktar suffered severe burns to the face and body in the attack at 09:13 BST on Tollgate Road.
The attacker then threw more of the acid at Mr Muhktar before fleeing the scene, police said.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40564772 |
Trump spars with Chelsea Clinton over Ivanka's G20 seat - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | US President Donald Trump invoked Hillary Clinton's daughter, triggering an online rebuke. | US & Canada | Ms Trump accompanied her father to earlier sessions before sitting in for him later
US President Donald Trump and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton have sparred over his decision to seat his daughter at a summit of world leaders.
Mr Trump tweeted that his decision to allow his daughter to take his seat at the meeting in Hamburg was "very standard".
He also said the media would have cheered "CHELSEA FOR PRES!" if Hillary Clinton had made the same choice.
Chelsea Clinton tweeted back that her parents would never have done so.
Ivanka Trump was criticised online after taking her father's seat between the British prime minister and the Chinese president at the G20 summit in Germany on Saturday as her father sat for a one-on-one meeting with the Indonesian president.
The US president tweeted on Monday morning: "I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard.
In a follow-up tweet he wrote: "If Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the Fake News would say CHELSEA FOR PRES!"
Chelsea Clinton, who was 12-years-old when her father Bill Clinton was sworn in as US president, responded to say: "Good morning Mr President.
"It would never have occurred to my mother or my father to ask me. Were you giving our country away? Hoping not."
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump's tweet was not about attacking the Clintons, but rather "this was about responding to an outrageous attack against a White House senior adviser".
"If she didn't have the last name that she has I think that she would be constantly celebrated instead of constantly attacked" she added, saying that "I think we should be proud" of Ms Trump.
The younger Clinton has become a frequent social media critic of Mr Trump and his administration's policies ever since her mother's failed 2016 presidential campaign.
Last month Mr Trump sent out a series of tweets accusing the Clinton family of having inappropriate ties with Russia.
She and Mr Trump's first daughter, Ivanka, have said they are "very good friends" despite their family's political rivalry. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40561077 |
Thomas Cook wins fake holiday sickness case - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The travel company vows to fight other fraudulent damages claims after a court victory. | Business | There has been a spike in fake sickness claims by UK holidaymakers, industry bodies say
Travel company Thomas Cook says it has won a legal victory against a fake holiday sickness claim and plans to challenge other such claims in court.
It comes after a family tried to win up to £10,000 in damages for food poisoning on a trip to the Canary Islands.
A judge at Liverpool County Court dismissed the case on Monday after concluding they were not sick.
It follows reports of a "huge rise" in fake sickness claims by UK tourists.
In June, the travel trade organisation Abta launched a campaign to tackle the problem, saying it was "one of the biggest issues that has hit the travel industry for many years".
It said tens of thousands of holidaymakers had made claims in the past year - worth between £3,000 and £5,000 each - despite reported sickness levels in resorts remaining stable.
Speaking after the hearing in Liverpool, Thomas Cook managing director Chris Mottershead said the company would "not accept liability" in such cases.
"It's not comfortable for us to be in court questioning our customers' credibility, but the significant increase in unreported illness claims being received by the travel industry threatens holidays for all UK customers," he said.
The claimants said poor food and hygiene at their hotel made them sick
"This case follows an increasingly common pattern for these claims, with a previously unreported illness being raised years after the holiday, with no medical or other evidence to support the illness having occurred."
Thomas Cook said that Julie Lavelle, 33, her partner Michael McIntyre, 34, and their two young children had sought compensation after stating they suffered gastroenteritis on the third day of a two-week holiday in 2013.
The family blamed poor food and hygiene at their hotel on Gran Canaria and said their symptoms continued after they had returned the UK.
Thomas Cook said they did not mention their condition to hotel staff or tour representatives in the resort.
The company also said Mr McIntyre filled out a holiday feedback questionnaire on his flight home and left the section on illness unanswered.
The family's law firm, Bridger & Co of Carmarthenshire, was not immediately available for comment.
Abta said that rules designed to stop a spike in fraudulent whiplash claims have fuelled the rise in holiday sickness reports as they do not apply to incidents abroad.
It said holidaymakers pursuing fake or exaggerated claims risked being barred from resorts or ending up in prison.
In July, the government said it planned to tackle the problem by reducing the cash incentives of bringing such cases against holiday firms.
Justice Secretary David Lidington also said the government wanted to limit the legal costs that travel firms had to pay out for the claims.
"Our message to those who make false holiday sickness claims is clear - your actions are damaging and will not be tolerated," Mr Lidington said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40575874 |
Camden Lock Market fire: 'It's our heart and soul' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Stall holders fear for their futures after a blaze wipes out part of Camden Lock Market. | UK | The windows of the Market Hall were smashed as the fire took hold
The blaring music and bustling streets surrounding Camden Lock Market have been replaced with tearful stall holders worried about their futures.
In the early hours of the morning, 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines attended the scene as flames burst from the top of the Market Hall building - next to the iconic railway bridge at the heart of the North London destination.
The top three floors of the former Pickfords stables and Grade II-listed horse hospital were engulfed in the blaze that took London Fire Brigade almost three hours to bring under control.
And as the traders arrived to the smoky remains of where they had once sold their creations, there was upset and confusion around how it could have happened.
Anna Sionek has been selling her artwork in the hall for four years and was devastated at what she may have lost.
"Every piece I had in there was handmade by me," she said. "That is my business, my livelihood, and I am very upset.
"But it is not just me who will suffer - it is the people we employ. They depend on us and now I don't know what we are going to do."
Firefighters were still on the scene come lunchtime to investigate
The famous market started in the 1970s with just 16 stalls and grew from a Saturday afternoon event to a seven-day-a-week shopping experience, with more than 1,000 places to shop, eat, drink and dance into the early hours.
Due to the hard work of the fighters - who were still on the scene come lunchtime - the blaze was stopped from spreading to nearby buildings, no-one is believed to have been hurt and much of the market remains safe.
One woman who runs a food stall near the entrance said: "We are going to be opening today and lots of the market is safe, so we are very lucky and very grateful."
But for those who worked out of the hall, this was their patch - a part of a larger community that they love dearly.
"This place is my heart and soul," said Laetitia Dupont, who has lived in Camden for 10 years and set up her stall selling lamps and jewellery just 18 months ago.
"Even if the things I sell survived the fire, they won't have survived the smoke and water.
"The firefighters are doing everything they can, but it is devastating for the people who work here."
Emergency services were guarding the scene as teams investigated the cause of the blaze
This isn't the first time that Camden stall holders have been hit by fire.
On 8 February 2008, the famous celebrity haunt The Hawley Arms was severely damaged in a blaze, along with six shops and 90 market stalls.
And in 2014, some 600 people fled a blaze in the Stables Market, which saw the whole area destroyed and sold to new developers.
Ozgur Kaya, who works on a jewellery stall in the building, now fears for the market hall's future.
"We must protect this market," he said. "It is so unique and there is nothing left like this in London.
"Whether your stall was inside or not, it is so important to all of us and we really hope it will be back up and running soon, how it was."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The sense of community around the incident is palpable.
Jordan Lemon works on an Italian leather stall on the ground floor of the building - so his stock is safe - but he wanted to offer his support.
"There are people in tears that have lost everything," he said. "These are their jobs and their businesses.
"I wasn't even going to be working today, but when I heard the news, I wanted to come and be here for people."
Two fire investigation teams are trying to get to the bottom of what caused the blaze.
But, for the meantime, those world-famous traders will have to wait until the smoke clears to find out whether their future is bright. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40556742 |
Aristocrat guilty over 'menacing' Gina Miller Facebook post - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The 4th Viscount St Davids posted "menacing" Facebook comments about the Brexit campaigner. | UK | An aristocrat who wrote an online post offering £5,000 to anyone who ran over businesswoman Gina Miller has been found guilty of two charges of making menacing communications.
Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50 - the 4th Viscount St Davids - wrote the message four days after Ms Miller won a Brexit legal challenge against the government.
Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said she had "no doubt it was menacing".
He was found guilty of two counts of making malicious communications and acquitted of a third at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
One of the counts related to a post regarding Ms Miller, published on Facebook on 7 November 2016, which said: "£5,000 for the first person to 'accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."
Philipps, of Knightsbridge, London, described her as a "boat jumper" and added: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."
The court heard how Ms Miller, 52, said she felt "violated" by Philipps's "shocking" comments about her.
Ms Miller led a successful legal challenge which, on 3 November, resulted in the government being told to consult Parliament before formally beginning the Brexit process.
Philipps, who defended himself throughout the trial, said his posts had been simply reflecting how he and others felt following this ruling in the High Court.
A statement from Gina Miller was read out to the court
He told the court: "My family motto is 'Love of Country is my motivation'."
He said his comments were "meant to be a form of satire, a literary technique, iterated in my personal style, which may not be to everyone's taste, but is understood and accepted by everyone who knows me".
Ms Arbuthnot, in a series of exchanges with the peer, asked Philipps: "Boat jumper, how can I see that as anything other than a racial, ethnic aggravation?"
But Philipps denied the allegation that his posts were "racially aggravated" saying that describing Ms Miller as a "boat jumper" and that she should go back to the "steaming jungle" were "statements of fact not a racist comment at all".
He added that he would not have made any serious threat "on an account where I could easily be identified".
He added he had deleted the posts as soon as he realised that his closed circle of Facebook friends had been "infiltrated" and screen shots of the posts had been passed to Ms Miller.
Delivering her verdict, Ms Arbuthnot said there was "nothing private about a Facebook post".
The other post Philipps was convicted for was in response to a news article about an immigrant in Luton, who was involved in a row over housing.
Philipps wrote: "I will open the bidding. £2,000 in cash for the first person to carve Arnold Sube into pieces."
Kate Mulholland, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "No-one should have these kind of menacing comments made to them or about them."
Philipps will be sentenced later this week. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40574754 |
Spanish airline Iberia to drop pregnancy test demand - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Iberia insists the tests were for the women's own safety but is ridiculed for the claim. | Europe | Iberia insists it did not refuse to hire anyone for being pregnant - and says requiring tests is commonplace in Spain
The Spanish airline Iberia has said it will stop requiring female job candidates to take a pregnancy test after it was fined for the practice.
Labour inspectors in the Balearic Islands discovered the airline insisted on the tests, and fined it €25,000 (£22,000; $28,000).
The airline argued it had only been trying to "guarantee that [pregnant women] did not face any risks".
But this explanation drew ridicule on social media.
"You need help to improve your arguments," tweeted one blogger, Eva Snijders, having earlier tweeted, "Hello, we are Iberia and we live in medieval times."
The airline practice was uncovered after a campaign on the Balearic Islands to combat discrimination in the workplace, reports El Pais in English.
Inspectors subsequently found Iberia had required a recruitment company, Randstad, to carry out the test on candidates along with other medical checks, the paper says.
Iberia insists it did not turn down candidates discovered to be pregnant, saying five had been hired. It also reportedly argues that requiring pregnancy tests is commonplace in Spain.
"You need help to improve your arguments," tweeted Eva Snijders
But Spanish Health Minister Dolors Montserrat said she "rejected" the practice.
"Maternity can in no way be an obstacle for access to a job," she told reporters.
Iberia, which merged with British Airways in 2010, is free to appeal against the fine imposed by the Balearic regional government. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40567647 |
Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey 'won't use morally wrong Uber' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Shadow business secretary says drivers are "exploited" but Uber says they like being their own boss. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey has said she doesn't use taxi app Uber because it is not "morally acceptable".
"I don't like the way they treat their workers," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Ms Long-Bailey claimed Uber drivers were being "exploited" and should have the same rights as workers with permanent jobs.
Uber said its drivers liked "being their own boss".
Ms Long-Bailey told Today: "I don't personally use Uber because I don't feel that it is morally acceptable but that's not to say they can't reform their practices."
She added: "I don't want to see companies model their operations on the Uber model."
The San Francisco-based company argues that its drivers are not employees but self-employed contractors.
An Uber spokesman said: "Millions of people rely on Uber to get around and tens of thousands of drivers use our app to make money on their own terms.
"Almost all taxi and private hire drivers have been self-employed for decades before our app existed and with Uber they have more control.
"Drivers are totally free to choose if, when and where they drive with no shifts or minimum hours. In fact the main reason people say they sign up to drive with Uber is so they can be their own boss.
"Drivers using Uber made average fares of £15 per hour last year after our service fee and, even after costs, the average driver took home well over the National Living Wage.
"We're also proud to have moved things on from this industry's cash-in-hand past since every fare is electronically recorded, traceable and transparent."
An employment tribunal last year ruled that Uber drivers were entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the national minimum wage.
The tribunal described Uber's claim that its London operation was a network of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common technology platform as "faintly ridiculous".
The company's appeal against the employment tribunal decision will be heard later this year.
The tribunal said Uber drivers were not employees in the traditional sense, so were not entitled to the full range of employment rights, but could be classed as workers while they were using the Uber app and so were entitled to the minimum wage.
A government commissioned report by Tony Blair's former adviser, Matthew Taylor, recommends creating a new category of worker called a "dependent contractor", who should be given extra protections by firms such as Uber and Deliveroo.
But Ms Long-Bailey said this would not necessarily help them.
"We don't really need a new status, the court victories that we've far have proved that many of these so-called self-employed people who work for the likes of Uber, for example, are workers and should be given adequate protections.
"And I do worry that if this isn't dealt with in sufficient detail, it could undermine the court rulings of Uber, for example, which it was hoped to have wide-ranging implications for the industry."
Ms Long-Bailey's deputy, shadow business minister Chi Onwurah, said she used Uber, but would have to reconsider if workers' rights were not strengthened.
The Labour MP told Sky News: "These services bring real benefits to people. As a single woman leaving a meeting at 11 o'clock at night, being able to trace and see that your Uber is approaching is a benefit.
"We are not putting the blame on consumers and users of these applications."
But, she added, "if the regulatory form doesn't come through then I would find it very hard to use Uber or Deliveroo because it is important that we support strong working rights". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40567387 |
Newspaper headlines: Conservative MP's 'N-word shame' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Racist language used by a Conservative MP and the decision to cap teachers' pay feature on the front pages. | The Papers | The parents of Charlie Gard appear in many of the newspapers
Several papers report the warning from a pay review body that schools in England are struggling to recruit teachers, after the government decided to cap their pay rises at 1%.
The story makes the lead in the Daily Telegraph, which says the prime minister is likely to face more challenges from her own MPs on the issue.
The paper says the pay review body's warning will add to mounting pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to ease the pay cap in his Budget later this year.
The Guardian says Mrs May has been accused of insulting teachers.
It also believes pressure is building on the government to announce a review of public sector pay in the autumn Budget.
In other education news, ministers are considering scrapping the Conservative programme to build hundreds more free schools, as they struggle to fund a manifesto promise to boost education budgets by £4bn, according to the Times.
The paper also reports the decision to continue the 1% cap on pay rises for teachers, calling it another real-terms salary cut for half a million staff in England and Wales.
The grim-faced parents of Charlie Gard are pictured on the Daily Mirror's front page, after a hearing at the High Court on Monday.
The Times reports how they shouted at the judge and a lawyer as they were told to provide fresh evidence that their terminally-ill baby should be taken abroad for treatment.
The Daily Mail says that after the hearing, many were left pondering the same simple clash of arguments.
It was the medical establishment versus a family not prepared to admit defeat, as long as someone, somewhere, was saying that something might be done.
The main story in the Financial Times is that the drugs industry is going to court to try to stop the NHS imposing new limits on the price it will pay for medicines.
The FT says the industry has complained that the policy might prevent patients from securing cutting-edge medicines for the most serious diseases.
The paper says the rules also affect drugs for very rare illnesses, which often affect children, and will be subject to a cost limit for the first time.
The Guardian's front page, meanwhile, highlights a warning from scientists that the sixth mass extinction of species in the earth's history is well under way.
The paper says the new study analysed both common and rare species and found that billions of regional or local populations had been lost, mainly because of human overpopulation and over-consumption.
Animals affected include lions in South Africa, Guatemalan bearded lizards, as well as red squirrels and barn swallows.
A front-page report in the Financial Times says the government has conceded that the European Court of Justice could continue to have sway over Britain for a limited time after Brexit.
The paper sees the move as a "blurring" of one of Prime Minister Theresa May's red lines over negotiations with the EU, and says it could pave the way for a softer Brexit.
The FT calls it the most consequential concession since the referendum.
Mrs May's call for a cross-party approach to tacking the challenges facing the UK is given short shrift in the Telegraph.
The paper says that instead of prompting a great coming together, the idea seems to be falling apart almost immediately.
The Conservatives sometimes appear to have lost their bearings, the paper says, and the prime minister will not find the right path by following Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
But the Sun believes it was honest and brave of Mrs May to offer other parties a say.
What it calls Jeremy Corbyn's "graceless" rebuff was predictable, it says.
Amid all the Wimbledon coverage, the Telegraph highlights complaints of sexism in the tournament's scheduling.
It says critics have pointed out that the show courts at the All England Club are routinely hosting two men's games, but only one women's match, each day.
It says Andy Murray has entered the fray, urging Wimbledon to begin play earlier on Centre Court to allow four matches and an equal split.
And finally, there is widespread coverage of two new studies, which conclude that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of dying early.
The findings make the lead in the Daily Express, which says three cups a day can cut the risk of cancer, heart disease and strokes.
The Times adds that while coffee has been blamed for health problems such as insomnia, heartburn and weak bones, the new findings appear to show that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Fill the cafetiere, it advises, but ditch the cigarette. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-40564307 |
Elle Fanning on her 'scandalous' character in The Beguiled - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Stars of The Beguiled tell the BBC about the award-winning film - and objectifying Colin Farrell. | Entertainment & Arts | The 19-year-old previously worked with Sofia Coppola on Somewhere
Elle Fanning can't stop smiling as she describes her racy character in gothic thriller The Beguiled, set in a girls' boarding school during the American Civil War.
"It's funny because my character got to wear her hair down and have a couple of buttons unbuttoned and got to show her ankle - that was scandalous in Civil War times," she tells the BBC.
The film tells the story of what happens when Union soldier Corporal John McBurney (played by Colin Farrell) is taken in when one of the schoolgirls finds him injured - and he becomes an object of fascination for pupils and teachers alike.
The 19-year-old plays rebellious Alicia in the Sofia Coppola film, which won her the best director accolade at Cannes this year.
Fanning, star of last year's Neon Demon, said she'd stayed "extremely close" to Coppola since working with her on 2010's Somewhere. She got an email with the script for The Beguiled attached, saying Kirsten Dunst was to play teacher Edwina - and with a specific part in mind for Fanning.
"She thought that would be fun to make me the naughty one," said Fanning, adding that another draw was that it's set in the south, where she's from herself.
Her character Alicia gets to "show her ankle", said Fanning
The Beguiled is based on the Clint Eastwood film of the same name - and the Thomas P Cullinan novel The Painted Devil, which inspired that 1971 movie.
"It's a remake of that and also a different take on that - Sofia Coppola-esque, from a different point of view, from the women's perspective this time," explains Fanning.
Nicole Kidman (left) and Kirsten Dunst (second right) also star in the film, directed by Sofia Coppola (second left)
So what was it like being the "bad one"?
"It was really fun," she grins. "Also with Sofia, it feels so safe. She's so tasteful and keeps it classy."
The other girls got to have their fun too - in a "girls gone wild behind-the-scenes" film that Coppola also directed. "We're holding these red Solo cups and showing our ankles," Fanning says.
She says that McBurney "really shakes things up" and "also how he becomes the object", adding: "Normally women in films are objectified but in our film, we really got to objectify Colin.
"We had a calendar shoot with him, where all the girls were there and he was shirtless and he was sawing and we were laughing at him. He was a really good sport about it, it was really funny."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Kirsten Dunst on her new film The Beguiled and why things are harder for women
Her co-star Kirsten Dunst said there were "a lot of interesting dynamics with the household before McBurney comes in" - notably between her and headmistress Miss Martha, played by Nicole Kidman.
I don't know if something's gone on with me and Miss Martha or if she's made me do things that aren't kosher, you know what I mean?" she says, adding that there are a lot of underlying tensions.
"This whole movie's about what's not being said," she adds.
"I think my character is extremely repressed by her but has to keep a good front for the girls because she's their teacher and being a good Christian woman and so I think my character swallows a lot.
"But I think it's relatable in any way - it's not because we're women. I think that's just being stuck in that household all together is making us a bit stir crazy."
Dunst is also directing a film version of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, starring Elle's sister Dakota - explaining the script is currently being rewritten.
She said she picks up tips from all the directors she works with and adds that Coppola, who directed her in The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette, could have her play "any role".
"I've taken a lot from every director I've worked with," says Dunst - who was so overwhelmed at being on the Cannes red carpet with Coppola earlier this year that she burst into tears.
"Sofia makes a nice community on set which is a really lovely working environment. To be the most vulnerable you have to have a kind and open set and really listen to everyone and work as a team. So that's, I think, very important."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40519845 |
MP Anne Marie Morris suspended for racist remark - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Anne Marie Morris has the whip withdrawn for using a racist phrase during a public event on Brexit. | UK Politics | Ms Morris has been MP for Newton Abbot since 2010
A Conservative MP has been suspended from the party after it emerged she used a racist expression during a public discussion about Brexit.
Anne Marie Morris, the MP for Newton Abbot, used the phrase at an event in London to describe the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
She told the BBC: "The comment was totally unintentional. I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused."
The Conservative Party later confirmed she had had the whip withdrawn.
Announcing the suspension, Theresa May said she was "shocked" by the "completely unacceptable" language.
"I immediately asked the chief whip to suspend the party whip," she said in a statement.
"Language like this has absolutely no place in politics or in today's society."
The BBC understands the prime minister and Conservative Chief Whip Gavin Williamson met to discuss the matter once Mrs May finished her Commons statement on last weekend's G20 summit.
According to a recording published on the Huffington Post website, Ms Morris was discussing the impact of Brexit on the UK's financial services industry at an event organised by the Politeia think tank, which was attended by other MPs.
Suggesting that just 7% of financial services would be affected by Brexit, she reportedly said: "Now I am sure there will be many people who will challenge that but my response and my request is look at the detail - it isn't all doom and gloom."
She went on: "Now we get to the real nigger in the woodpile, which is in two years what happens if there is no deal."
The phrase originated in the American Deep South in the mid-19th Century and is thought to have referred to slaves having to conceal themselves as they sought to flee north and secure their freedom.
It was subsequently used in the 20th Century - including by a number of leading novelists - as a metaphor to describe a hidden fact or problem.
The Lib Dems had called on Theresa May to withdraw the whip from Ms Morris, who was first elected to Parliament in 2010 and was subsequently re-elected in 2015 and earlier this year.
Leader Tim Farron said he was "shocked" and called for her to be suspended from the parliamentary party.
"This disgusting comment belongs in the era of the Jim Crow laws and has no place in our Parliament," he said.
Labour's Andrew Gwynne said Ms Morris had used "outrageous and completely unacceptable" language.
Green Party leader Caroline Lucas called on Ms Morris to resign as an MP, telling Sky News: "There is no place for her in the House of Commons."
She also claimed that other Conservative MPs at the meeting "apparently did not bat an eyelid" at Ms Morris's language.
"At the very least, there ought to be a conversation between Theresa May and the others in that room so that they're very clear going forward that if ever that kind of language is heard in the earshot, it has to be condemned immediately," Ms Lucas said.
Labour MP Chuka Umunna tweeted: "Speechless, not just at the remark being made but also at the reported lack of a reaction from the Tories there. Utterly appalling."
Politeia's website said MPs Sir William Cash, Kwasi Kwarteng and John Redwood also took part, though Mr Kwarteng told the BBC he was not there. The BBC has contacted the other MPs for comment.
Ms Morris did face criticism from Tory colleagues, one of whom, Heidi Allen, tweeted: "I'm afraid an apology is not good enough - we must show zero tolerance for racism. MPs must lead by example."
Fellow Conservative MP Helen Grant tweeted: "Inconceivable for an MP using that expression to be incognisant of its history, impact and complete unacceptability. So ashamed!"
In 2008, Conservative peer and party spokesman Lord Dixon-Smith apologised for using the same phrase in the House of Lords, saying that it was not appropriate and that he had "left his brains behind".
The peer was not dismissed. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40555639 |
Boris Johnson: EU can 'go whistle' over Brexit divorce bill - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The UK foreign secretary also says there is "no plan" for Britain failing to get a Brexit deal. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson's message to the EU: "Go whistle seems to me to be an entirely appropriate expression"
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has told MPs the European Union can "go whistle" for any "extortionate" final payment from the UK on Brexit.
And he said that the government had "no plan" for what to do in the event of no deal being agreed with the EU.
He said: "The sums I have seen that they propose to demand from this country appear to be extortionate."
"Go whistle seems to me to be an entirely appropriate expression," he added.
The foreign secretary was responding to a question from backbench MP Philip Hollobone, who urged him to tell the EU they could "go whistle" if they wanted "a penny piece more" than the money the UK had already paid to the EU since 1973.
The question of any "divorce bill" paid by the UK is one of the first subjects to be tackled in the Brexit talks, and EU leaders say it must be settled before a future trading relationship can be negotiated.
Reports have suggested the demand from Brussels could be as high as 100bn euros. The UK government has said it will not pay this amount but will settle its "obligations" as it leaves.
Taking questions in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson also denied reports Chancellor Philip Hammond and First Secretary of State Damian Green had said there will be a transition period of at least three years after Brexit, when the UK will remain under the jurisdiction of the Europe Court of Justice.
And he was asked if there was a strategy, either public or private, for what would happen if there was no agreement on Brexit.
"There is no plan for no deal because we are going to get a great deal," he replied.
His comments come after No 10 sources played down suggestions that Theresa May plans to walk out of Brexit talks in September to show defiance over EU demands for a divorce bill worth tens of billions of pounds.
Mrs May has said that her view going into the Brexit negotiations was that "no deal is better than a bad deal".
Mr Johnson's comments seem to be at odds with Brexit Secretary David Davis, who told the BBC last month that the government had "worked up in detail" the "no deal" option on Brexit.
Asked about the foreign secretary's remarks, the prime minister's spokeswoman said: "We have said it is right to plan for all eventualities, and that planning is taking place across government."
Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said the foreign secretary's remarks showed a "shocking level of complacency".
"It is simply not good enough when people's jobs, living standards and rights are all on the line," he said.
"People should be able to judge Boris Johnson on his actions not his words, with the chance to reject a disastrous Brexit deal and stay in the EU."
Labour MP Chris Bryant added: "For the government to threaten to leave the EU with no deal, while boasting about not having a plan for that eventuality, is completely unacceptable."
Mr Davis was asked during a House of Lords committee hearing about Mr Johnson's "go whistle" remark.
In response he laughed and said: "Bluntly, I wouldn't worry, I mean you'll have to get the foreign secretary here to explain his views if you really want him to, I'm not going to comment on other ministers." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40571123 |
Gangnam Style is no longer the most-played video on YouTube - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Psy's megahit was the most-played video for five years, but it's been overtaken by another song. | Entertainment & Arts | Gangnam Style had been YouTube's most-watched video for five years
Psy's Gangnam Style is no longer the most-watched video on YouTube.
The South Korean megahit had been the site's most-played clip for the last five years.
The surreal video became so popular that it "broke" YouTube's play counter, exceeding the maximum possible number of views (2,147,483,647), and forcing the company to rewrite its code.
But the song has now been overtaken by another music video - Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's See You Again.
The heart-wrenching ballad has now been streamed 2,895,373,709 times; beating Psy's current count of 2,894,426,475 views.
Adding it up, that means See You Again has been streamed for a total of 21,759 years. If one person was to listen to each of those streams consecutively, they'd have to have started during the glacial peak of the last Ice Age.
"I joined YouTube in 2007 hoping to make a video that would reach 10,000 views," wrote Charlie Puth on Twitter. "Just heard about See You Again... Wow."
Charlie Puth wrote See You Again, while rapper Wiz Khalifa added verses at the request of the film company
The song was written for the action movie Furious 7, playing over the closing credits in tribute to the actor Paul Walker, who died in a car accident before the film was completed.
With its unabashedly sentimental lyrics ("it's been a long day without you my friend/ And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again"), See You Again has become one of the most frequently requested pop songs at funerals in the UK.
It was the best-selling song worldwide in 2015, and received best song nominations at both the Grammys and the Oscars.
The music video features the final scene of Furious 7, in which the two main characters Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Cody Walker, filling in for his brother, Paul), drive side-by-side, sharing a smile for the last time before they pull onto separate roads and drive into the sunset.
As the camera pans up into the sky, a title card reads "For Paul" and the video ends.
The song is a tribute to Paul Walker, who died in a car accident during a break in filming for Furious 7
The video reached 1 billion views in six months, and hit 2 billion last September. However, its reign as YouTube's most-watched clip may be short-lived.
Luis Fonsi's summer smash Despacito has racked up 2.5 billion views in just six months, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
The Puerto Rican song - sung in a mixture of Spanish and English - has been number one in the UK for the last eight weeks, thanks in part to a remix featuring Justin Bieber.
Whoever takes the title, though, its good news for Universal Music, which owns all of the songs.
Meanwhile, 47 of the top 50 clips on YouTube are music videos, proving the importance of the streaming site to the music industry - despite the fact the two sides are locked in a battle over royalty payments.
According to analysis by Midia Research, every stream on YouTube generates $0.001 for the music industry.
If accurate, that means Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's song has earned $2.9m (£2.2m) from YouTube - roughly the same amount it has made from 665 million plays on Spotify.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Despacito: The Latin hit taking over the world
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40566816 |
Horsemeat plot exposed by equine ID chips in beef, court told - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Andronicos Sideras, 54, is accused of deliberately mixing up the meats before they were sold. | London | Andronicos Sideras allegedly mixed up the meats before sale
A plot to pass horsemeat off as beef fell apart after horse identification chips were found in the meat by inspectors, a court has been told.
Andronicos Sideras, 54, has been accused of deliberately mixing up the meats before they were sold in 2012.
Mr Sideras was one of the owners of meat company and sausage manufacturer Dinos & Sons.
The businessman, from Southgate, north London, denies conspiracy to defraud between 1 January and 30 November 2012.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said alarm bells were raised after Dinos "messed things up" when assembling an order.
A surprise inspection was triggered when the wrong size of shipment was sent to a company called Rangeland in Newry, Northern Ireland, in 2012, Inner London Crown Court was told.
The 12-pallet load was analysed and four of them contained horse.
Mr Polnay said: "Some of them were found to contain significant amounts of horsemeat; roughly about a third contained horse."
It is alleged Mr Sideras mixed meat in this way before it was sold on to manufacturers making products for "a vast range of well-known companies".
Mr Sideras's fingerprints were found on "fake" labels, the court heard.
Mr Polnay added: "The final piece of the jigsaw is that when the meat was analysed, three horse ID chips were found in some of it."
The chips were roughly the size of a 1cm grain of rice - two of which were Polish and one Irish.
It is alleged Danish-owned company Flexi Foods would buy horsemeat and beef from suppliers across Europe and then deliver to Dinos & Sons in Tottenham, north London.
Mr Polnay said the fraud could not have worked or taken place without the "connivance" of Mr Sideras.
He said: "The meticulous records kept by FlexiFoods caused their undoing. They also provide compelling evidence of the guilt of this defendant."
He told the court that two men, Ulrik Nielsen, 58, the owner of FlexiFoods, and his "right-hand man", Alex Beech, 44, have already pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40559740 |
Rotherham attack led to cancer patient's early death - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Robber jailed for murder because his victim was too badly injured to be treated for her illness. | Sheffield & South Yorkshire | Paul Storm Blueitt will serve at least 27 years in prison
A robber who carried out a "horrendous" attack on a cancer patient has been jailed for life for her murder.
Paul Storm Blueitt, 36, assaulted Judith Ducker during the raid at a newsagents in Rotherham on 1 September.
Police said the injuries stopped Mrs Ducker receiving treatment for breast cancer and she died prematurely from the disease in hospital a month later.
Blueitt, of Cambridge Crescent, Rotherham, was convicted after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Det Sgt Andy Shields said 64-year-old Mrs Ducker was left with a fractured skull, a fractured eye socket, multiple head lacerations and bruising to the brain following a "horrendous assault".
Det Sgt Shields added: "The consequence of this assault, was that Judith would never be well enough to receive further cancer treatment and after being taken to hospital, a CT head scan revealed that Judith's breast cancer had spread to her brain.
"Such were her head injuries that further cancer treatment could not be given to her and she sadly died in hospital on 20 October last year. She died from the breast cancer that had spread to her brain."
Judith Ducker died in hospital after the attack prevented her from receiving cancer treatment
South Yorkshire Police said Blueitt was initially charged with attempted murder but after Mrs Ducker's death, the charge was upgraded to murder, following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.
The prosecution case was that the serious head injuries caused by Blueitt prevented Mrs Ducker from receiving vital cancer treatment and resulted in her premature death.
Blueitt was also found guilty of robbery and will have to serve a minimum of 27 years in prison.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-40571174 |
Mother sent 'last photo' of child to ex before killing her - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cody-Anne Jackson changes her plea during her trial and admits killing her two-year-old daughter. | Stoke & Staffordshire | Cody-Anne Jackson killed Macey and then tried to take her own life, the court heard
A mother who sent a "last photo" of her two-year-old daughter to her ex-partner shortly before she killed her has admitted murder.
Cody-Anne Jackson, 20, changed her plea to guilty after Stafford Crown Court heard evidence about how her daughter, Macey Hogan, may have died.
Macey was smothered to death in 2016, shortly before Jackson called 999 and then tried to kill herself.
The jury heard Jackson told paramedics she had been stabbed.
Jackson resented Macey's father following the breakdown of their relationship and sent him a photo of the toddler along with the message "Sorry, just thought you deserved one last picture and memory of her", the trial heard.
The 20-year-old, of Packett Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, claimed she had woken up on 10 October 2016 to find her daughter lifeless next to her between two pillows, police said.
Macey died at her home last October
Jurors heard she called paramedics to report that her daughter was not breathing.
Forensic pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar said the exact cause of Macey's death had not been defined.
It was impossible to give an exact time of death, he said, but evidence pointed to it being at least 30 minutes before the emergency services arrived.
Prosecutor Jonas Hankin QC said a suicide note written by Jackson, who had a history of self harm, was found at the house.
She was seen by a doctor who confirmed she had three superficial stab wounds but no significant injuries.
"The prosecution case is the defendant deliberately smothered Macey," he said,
Toys and flowers were left outside the home in Packett Street
"The defendant acted on her stated intention to kill Macey but failed to follow through with her suicide. It is that simple."
Det Insp Dan Ison, of Staffordshire Police, said: "We welcome this guilty plea, albeit during the trial, but nothing can ever replace Macey.
"This incident resulted in the dreadful loss of a two-year-old girl who is dearly missed."
Jackson will be sentenced on 27 July.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-40571702 |
Gina Miller 'violated' after viscount's Facebook post - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Rhodri Philipps denies threatening the leading Brexit campaigner in an online post. | UK | The 4th Viscount St Davids, Rhodri Philipps, is accused of online threats against the anti-Brexit campaigner, Gina Miller
Businesswoman Gina Miller has said she felt "violated" after an aristocrat wrote a Facebook post offering a bounty for her to be run over.
Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 50, the 4th Viscount St Davids, wrote the message four days after Ms Miller won a Brexit legal challenge against the government in November of last year.
He told Westminster Magistrates' Court the posts were not "menacing".
Lord St Davids, of Knightsbridge, London, wrote on the social media site on 7 November 2016: "£5,000 for the first person to 'accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."
He described her as a "boat jumper" and added: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."
Ms Miller, 52, said she felt "violated" by his "shocking" comments about her.
Asked by the prosecution why he had used the term "immigrant", Lord St Davids told the court: "She's not part of the furniture" adding, "She's been here less than a generation."
The viscount also posted two messages referring to immigrants as "monkeys".
In one post, not directed at Ms Miller, he said: "Please will someone smoke this ghastly insult to this country, why should I pay tax to feed these monkeys?"
Ms Miller led the successful legal challenge which, on 3 November, ruled the government had to consult Parliament before formally beginning the Brexit process.
Ms Miller - who was born in Guyana - told the court she had been the subject of death threats since her role in the Article 50 case.
In a statement read to the court, she said she was "very scared for the safety of herself and her family".
"In addition to finding it offensive, racist and hateful, she was extremely concerned that someone would threaten to have her run over for a bounty," prosecutor Philip Stott said.
"She took the threat seriously, and it contributed to her employing professional security for her protection."
Lord St Davids, who was defending himself, accepted writing the posts but told the court they were not publicly visible or menacing.
"If you're in the public eye, people are going to say nasty things about you. It's the rough and tumble of public life," he said.
He insisted he is not racist and told the court: "I know a number of Muslims who are dear friends.
"My own mother is an immigrant from the very same continent (as Ms Miller)."
The case was adjourned until Tuesday afternoon when a verdict is expected. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40556872 |
10 thoughts about the PM's position - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Whatever Theresa May had said this morning, she is in trouble. | UK Politics | It wasn't meant to be called a "relaunch" or a "fightback" or even a "reset".
The prime minister's speech this morning was, however, the first big speech she has made since the election.
You might, therefore, have expected it to be bold, determined, as she said it would be. You might have expected it to be, at least in part, a genuine mea culpa from the PM for the mistakes of the election campaign.
It was, however, more a rather pedestrian response to the long awaited Taylor review on the changing world of work and insecure employment (insert obvious jokes here) and a restatement of purpose than a dazzling rebrand.
But whatever Theresa May had said this morning, as MPs stagger towards the finish line of this tumultuous year, and stumble towards the sun loungers, she is in trouble.
And Tories will leave Westminster next week with the question of her future very much on their minds - the issue: how long can she survive?
There are some fundamental obstacles to her doing so, but some advantages to her position too (honest). This list is not exhaustive, nor predictive, and may, as is the way of things these days, not age well at all.
1) Smack bang in the middle of her speech Theresa May said she is still convinced that her vision for the country is the right one, and she is completely committed to delivering it. The problem with that is that plenty of her MPs believe that the election result gave the country's verdict on that vision, and it wasn't pretty. They believe simply that she has to change, to show she can be flexible. How can she do that if she refuses to accept that some of her judgements were wrong?
2) The cabinet has big disagreements on a lot of things, most notably of course on Brexit, and since the election they have little compunction in giving their views. Remainer members like the chancellor have not held back from arguing for a more flexible position than the PM's negotiating position as outlined earlier in the year. But others are adamant she must stick. I'm told that in cabinet this morning the foreign secretary urged the PM to reaffirm that the government position remained the Lancaster House speech and that she did so, despite the fact others sitting round the table have been arguing for that approach to bend.
3) There are plenty of would-be rebels who believe they have the numbers on all sorts of issues to force the government to back down. First up could be membership of the European nuclear safety agency, Euratom. The rebels are very confident they have the numbers to get the prime minister to back down without even having to put an amendment down. One cabinet minister told me it would be a sensible move to show willing to compromise on an issue which doesn't raise much public concern, and would not raise too much suspicion of Brexit backsliding. Another source said it was simply now an issue for Number 10, with the Brexit Secretary David Davis understood to be "relaxed" about the issue. Theresa May might end up isolated with only her red lines for company.
4) Some Brexiteer Tory MPs are what's described by a minister as "absolutist" - ready to pounce on any sign of compromise from Theresa May as evidence that she is about to betray their cause. Simply, she is trapped by the parliamentary numbers that dictate she will have to compromise, and by some in her own party who would be ready to condemn any whiff of her doing so.
5) The Tory party particularly has little sympathy for leaders who look like they will damage all of their fortunes. You cannot find Tory MPs who say that she should lead them into the next election. It is a question of when not if. One former minister said she was finished (a much more delicate term than the ex-minister actually used) adding: "We know it, and she knows it too." And as they enter the summer, many believe it would only take one more big thing to go wrong for the plotters to seize their moment.
1) While Tory MPs agree that Theresa May can't stay on indefinitely, they pretty much all agree that they don't want to risk a general election right now. A few sources around the margins argue that a period of opposition is the only thing that will bring true reflection - but the overwhelming sense is that they need at least to stick together until the Autumn, for risking any leadership changes could slam them into another such contest. They worry that by plunging into another internal battle, they would push voters to choose Jeremy Corbyn for Number 10.
2) There is no obvious successor to her. If there was a universally popular and respected alternative leader the situation might feel extremely different. Despite the chatter about all sorts of people, particularly Mr Davis, who is in notably buoyant form, there is no one figure that the party could obviously rally around. For those younger politicians who might hope for the job in a few years' time, there is a cynical - but also strategically understandable - appeal in allowing her to stay on to soak up all the potentially difficult months of Brexit, before being able to appear as a change candidate.
3) Labour, while definitely riding high, are still divided on some issues, and not universally convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is the man for the job in the long term. United, and determined, they could make day-by-day life extremely difficult and uncomfortable for the Tories in Parliament. But it's not clear yet that they will be able to deliver that kind of sustained pressure, nor that they will be able to continue to build support.
4) On the hardest thing of all, Brexit, there have - whisper it - been some signs of compromise on both sides. For example, while the UK folded on its key demand for parallel talks over withdrawal and future relationship, the EU side did concede a phased approach - there is a rather optimistic but well-informed outline of signs of compromise here.
5) Pretty much everyone (including the journalists!) who works in Westminster is exhausted after 12 months of turmoil. One of those knackered MPs suggested this week that last year, May ended up PM by being "the only grown-up in the room" left after the mess of the referendum. No-one else had the energy to fight - and, 12 months on, they suggested, while Mrs May is damaged, no-one wants - yet - to get on another rollercoaster with an unknown destination - at least until they have had a lie down. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40575473 |
Three days in July that shook America - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Two black men and five police officers died in three cities in three tumultuous days. | US & Canada | In a single week last summer, the deaths of two black men and then five police officers in a series of shootings across three US states left some wondering where the country was heading. One year on, what's changed?
Last week, on 5 July, Sandra Sterling lay awake in her bed nearly the entire night.
"At 1:30 this morning, you'll never know what I went through," she said later.
Before the sun rose on 6 July, Diamond Reynolds also could not sleep.
"The first thing I did was think, 'Phil's not here,'" she said. "Last year we was waking up together around this time."
And in the wee hours of 7 July, Abigail Irizarry, a dispatcher for the Dallas Police Department, was also struggling.
"I woke up early and it was kind of hard seeing everything on the news all over again," she said. "The footage of what happened."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'The nation is at tipping point'
One year ago, in rapid succession, a series of incidents shook three American cities over the course of three days:
After the three events splintered apart into their own individual investigations, memorials, trials, and controversies, it became difficult to remember that they occurred back to back, on a week when it felt as if the nation was on the brink of a race war.
But last week, they were pulled back together as the friends, families and survivors central to each incident dutifully marked the anniversaries, one after the other. Though they did so in vastly different ways, with at times diametrically opposed messages, the three communities were all in mourning. They shared those sleepless nights.
"As much as we politicise and advocate our position when these tragedies happen, the grief of the family of an officer and the grief of the family of a person killed by an officer is the same grief," said David O Brown, who was the chief of the Dallas police on the night of the ambush.
"These funerals - they're all the same," he said. "These families hurt in the same ways."
While the race war never arrived, a new presidential administration did, one with a very different view on the federal government's role in police-involved killings and law enforcement reform in general. President Donald Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions, believes that consent decrees - agreements between local police departments and the Department of Justice on a set of reforms that often occur after a high profile incident - can "lower police morale" and actually increase crime.
Sessions has ordered all current consent decrees to be "reviewed". Fourteen police or sheriff's departments currently have such decrees, including Ferguson, Missouri, and many others were in the works in cities like Baltimore and Chicago.
Politics aside, the consequences of these incidents continue to pulse through the nation as a whole, affecting not just the families of the deceased, but those on the periphery as well.
Abdullah Muflahi behind the counter at Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
On the sweltering Baton Rouge afternoon of 5 July, Abdullah Muflahi smoked a cigarette outside of his store, Triple S Convenience, and watched a video on his cell phone.
It was not the one he recorded a year ago, of the death of his friend Alton Sterling, who died just feet from where Muflahi was sitting. It was one from that morning, when a group of protesters from the New Black Panther Party clashed with Baton Rouge police officers at their headquarters a few miles away.
The video, taken by a local news crew, showed the group of about 30 demonstrators try to walk through an opening in barricades surrounding the police headquarters when a brawl broke out with the officers blocking the way. The officers deployed their Tasers - they alleged later that one of the Black Panthers also had a Taser - one shot a PepperBall gun at the demonstrators, and seven protesters were arrested.
Two of Sterling's aunts are seen on the tape being dragged to the back of the protest screaming and crying.
"Nothing has changed," said Muflahi. "It's very depressing."
Just a week earlier, US Department of Justice officials declined to charge the two officers who shot Sterling with civil rights violations. Louisiana state officials have yet to announce whether they will pursue their own indictment.
Muflahi, a laconic, bearded 28-year-old Yemeni immigrant, allowed Sterling to sell bootleg CDs on a table outside his shop in a busy but economically depressed part of Baton Rouge. They'd sit outside on days just like this one and talk over cigarettes.
One year ago, Muflahi noticed the flashing lights of police vehicles pull up outside the store. Someone called to say Sterling had threatened them with a gun.
By the time Muflahi pulled out his cell phone and started recording one of two videos that went viral of the incident, Sterling was already on his back with two officers on top of him. Within seconds, one officer yelled, "Gun!" and that's when the shooting started. The video footage shows Sterling's eyes go wide, blood pooling on his chest.
"It's not as easy as just seeing it on the tape or the screen," said Muflahi. "Seeing it in front of you, somebody that you know, you knew for a while, it takes a big effect on your whole life."
Since the incident Muflahi has started seeing a psychiatrist. He said he has trouble sleeping, and when he does sleep, he finds it impossible to get up in the morning.
"My doctor's been trying to give me something to help me out," he said. "He said it was all because of depression."
Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed sits in the back of his "hearse ambulance"
Standing next to Muflahi was Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed, a former gang leader turned activist. Reed runs an organisation called "Stop the Killing" whose members listen to police scanners and race to the scene of every homicide in Baton Rouge. This is how Reed got his hands on the second tape of Sterling's death, which he turned over to the press, not trusting the local police to make it public.
"They have put new policies in place for policing," Reed conceded. "But even when you break the policy there's no [accountability]. So it's the same old thing and it's not just Baton Rouge, it's all over America."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The story behind this photo at Baton Rouge protests
Reed's vehicle sat in the Triple S car park - an ambulance painted black blasting "Tha Crossroads" on a loop. Inside was a bench seat facing a television screen, which played footage of the aftermath of real homicides in Baton Rouge that Reed and his associates filmed, in the hope that showing the extremely graphic tapes to the friends and family of the dead will motivate them to change their lives.
The screen that afternoon showed a young man in a white tank top lying in the street. When the police lifted him by his arms, his head pitched lifelessly to one side, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth.
"So many people like to try to throw this cliche on us like, 'Oh, how come they don't worry about when they killing each other?' We do," said Reed. "We show this."
Not long afterwards, Sandra Sterling - the aunt who raised Alton from the age of 10 when his mother died - walked into the Triple S. She looked exhausted, her voice hoarse from screaming.
"I don't have no strength left," she said.
Sandra said she did her best to raise her sister's children, but Alton and his siblings were often in trouble, sometimes locked up.
During his last stint in prison, Sandra said, Alton's brother died of a drug overdose. When she went to pick Alton up after his release, he insisted she take him straight to his brother's gravesite.
"Later on they buried [Alton] exactly where he was standing," she said.
As dusk approached, a group of about 60 activists and community members gathered in the parking lot of the Triple S. It was an informal gathering, light-up placards spelled out the words "JUSTICE FOR ALTON STERLING". A few activists spoke, several state and city officials milled about, but there were no celebrities or crowds like the hundreds that had descended on the food mart a year ago.
"Why nobody out here?" she cried, her voice breaking. "This street was flooded with people. Y'all make me think that y'all forgot about Alton. How could you forget?"
Despite the chants of "justice for Alton Sterling", despite the activist who turned to her and promised in a soaring voice that the two police officers would certainly be indicted, Sandra was not optimistic.
"After the Philando Castile murderer got off, I don't feel a lot of hope," she said.
Unlike the Sterling family, which is still waiting to find out if Louisiana authorities will indict the two officers involved in Alton's death, the friends and family of Philando Castile have their answer. On 17 June, a jury acquitted Officer Jeronimo Yanez on all counts in Castile's death.
On the 6th of July, Diamond Reynolds woke up early, around the time that her boyfriend Castile used to wake up to get ready for his job as a cafeteria supervisor at an elementary school in St Paul, just a few blocks from where he lived as a boy.
Waking up alone, Reynolds said she felt sluggish and weak.
"It's just gonna be a hard day," she said.
Diamond Reynolds holds her daughter Dae'Anna as she addresses a crowd the day after Castile's death in 2016
Reynolds doesn't have a lot of time for outrage over the court decision. She has to be out of the apartment she and her five-year-old Dae'Anna are currently living in by the end of the month, and since she can't find work, coming up with the money for a new place is proving impossible.
"No one will hire her," said her mother, Dafina Doty. "We're really, really, really having a hard time right now."
Still, Reynolds got up, and loaded Dae'Anna into the car to go do last-minute shopping for an event she was hosting later that afternoon to mark the year anniversary of Castile's death, titled "Black Love: A Remembrance Celebration".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'I don't want you to get shooted': Inside police car after Castile shooting
At about the same time that Reynolds was heading for the store, a press conference was starting at the Minnesota State Capitol in downtown St Paul.
Rather than feeling forgotten in a dusty parking lot like Sandra Sterling had the day before, Castile's uncle Clarence found himself standing beside Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, who announced the appointment of Clarence to the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training board.
"I can be angry at the system because they let Yanez off the hook. I can be angry at that. But I can also feel empowered because I've been appointed to this board," he said later. "For me, that's power."
Governor Dayton also announced a $12m infusion of money into the board, in a fund named after Philando.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mark Dayton, Minnesota Governor: "Would this have happened if he was white?"
"We need this extra training for our police officers," Valerie Castile, Philando's mother, told reporters. "Because at the end of the day, everyone wants to go home. The police wants to go home, and the civilian wants to go home."
The Castiles hosted a memorial dinner at an idyllic farm for about 250 friends and family later that day - no media allowed - just to the west of where Philando was killed. Reynolds held her separate event in a lakeside park to the east of the site.
Notably, Castile's name and image were absent from the flier for Reynolds' event. This was in accordance with Castile's mother's wishes, which Reynolds agreed to but was still bothered by.
"The fact that my child wasn't his child and we weren't married doesn't discredit the love that we had for each other," she said. "Doesn't mean we weren't a family."
Diamond Reynolds and a friend observe the anniversary of Castile's death at a park in St Paul, Minnesota
At both events, attendees ate and danced, listened to live music. The atmosphere was relaxed, the surroundings were lush. Dae'Anna played with her therapy dog, Chedda - Philando's nickname. Reynolds called it the "closure" that she and her daughter had been craving for the last year.
Still, in the back of Reynolds' mind there are many pressing worries. She rattled off a list of the kinds of jobs she's applied for over the last year: administrative work, customer service, childcare provider, nurse's aid.
"People notice who I am and they don't want to work with me," she said.
Then there's Dae'Anna. Reynolds needs to find a new home in time to enrol her for her first day of elementary school. The five year old is thriving in some ways - already reading chapter books and excited to start the first grade - but she also gets picked on by other kids who needle her about Castile. She's receiving therapy, but still ducks down in her car seat at the sound of sirens.
"She thinks any police officer [could hurt her]," said Reynolds. "Even when I tell her all police officers aren't bad, she's still going to be scared of them."
Shetamia Taylor remembers the face of the burly, bald officer who turned as he was being shot and called out to her as she and her four sons were leaving what had been a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas.
"He's got a gun," the officer yelled. "Get down!"
Taylor and her sons turned to run, but before she could, a bullet ripped through her leg with a red-hot stinging sensation, shattering her tibia bone. She grabbed on to her second oldest son and tumbled to the ground, covering him with her body.
A group of officers formed a protective circle around Taylor, including the one who'd first warned her. Later on she learned his name: Dallas police officer Lorne Ahrens. He would not survive.
"He was one of the five," she recalls. "I am so thankful to god that he spared us, but I'm so saddened that these men, these husbands, these fathers didn't."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. People in Dallas started running when they hear dozens of gun shots
On 7 July 2017, the city of Dallas commemorated the deaths of Officer Ahrens, Officer Patrick Zamarripa, Officer Michael Krol, Sergeant Michael Smith, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson. All five were killed in an ambush by Micah Xavier Johnson, who reportedly told police negotiators he wanted to kill white officers in retaliation for the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police. Johnson was killed after an hours-long standoff by an explosion set off by the Dallas police.
One year later, in the dim light of the room which served as her recovery room for three months, Taylor still walked with a slight limp. She had a metal plate and six screws holding the bone together, and though she was finally able to return to work she still has thousands of dollars in medical bills left to pay.
She had no plans to venture back into downtown Dallas for memorial events that day. Just seeing the news about the anniversary that morning sent her into a minor panic attack, her chest pounding and hands shaking.
"I guess it's just part of the PTSD," she said.
El Centro College police officer John Abbott didn't have that option. That morning, 12 months on, Abbott donned his uniform and headed in for his shift, patrolling the same campus where he took fire from Johnson. He walked the same street where he had pulled a wounded officer to safety - his own legs shredded by flying glass - only to roll him over and see that it was his long-time friend, DART officer Brent Thompson. Abbott, who is also a Navy medic, worked to save Thompson's life, but it was too late.
"I was just angry. I wanted to get a hold of that guy," recalled Abbott. "I don't know that there really is anyone who is a civilian who will ever be able to understand that type of reaction."
For Dr Alex Eastman - lead medical officer for the Dallas Police Department SWAT team, assistant professor of surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a trauma surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital - the day began with a short prayer in the "trauma pod" at Parkland surrounded by the medical team that had worked feverishly to save the officers' lives that night.
"I know many of us have hurt deeply over the last year," he told the small gathering of doctors, nurses, technicians and security guards. "This has certainly been, for me, one of the most challenging events of my career."
Then he swapped out of his white doctor's coat, and suited up in the same SWAT gear he wore a year ago when he found himself in the middle of the shooting.
Portraits of the five fallen officers at Dallas police headquarters
"I'm doing [on 7 July] what the rest of the police department and what Parkland Hospital is doing - we're going to take a few minutes for ourselves and we're going to reflect and honour the memory of our colleagues that aren't with us anymore," he said. "And then we're going to do what we do everyday. We're going to come to work and do our jobs and protect this great city."
Eastman went on duty to help watch over the city-wide memorial held in front of Dallas' city hall. Hundreds poured into the grassy areas in front of the building to listen to state and local politicians express condolences and grief, pledges of loyalty to the men and women in blue, and for extra spending on police tactical gear. At exactly 8:58pm, when the shooting began a year earlier, the crowd held tiny blue lights aloft as bagpipers played Amazing Grace.
Although the deaths of the officers took place at a protest over the deaths of Castile and Sterling, few of those present drew a link from those deaths to the deaths of the officers.
"I guess my perspective was we hadn't had anything like that happen in Dallas, so why did we pay for other issues?" said police dispatcher Abigail Irizarry, who was on duty the night of the ambush. "Why us?"
For Jose Vela, the contrast was even more stark. One year ago, he'd come to the demonstration as the leader of an organisation called "Cop Block" which filmed and scrutinized police behaviour. Vela said he was a block and a half away when the shots began.
"I saw the police literally run towards the bullets flying," he said.
Vela was so affected he completely reversed course. He resigned from Cop Block, started showing up to police stations in Dallas with an American flag, donating money to police causes, and instead of filming cops, filming civilians to try to be of assistance to law enforcement.
"Crime is going up. The police department is short 400 officers. They're tired, they're desperate," he said. "There will always be bad police, but overall, all police are good. They all have families, they're all human beings."
Jose Vela has gone from a protester of police to their number one fan
Opinions split from Baton Rouge to St Paul to Dallas on whether or not there is a way to connect the three days, and the seven deaths.
The Sterling family bristled at the thought that Alton somehow caused the deaths of the Dallas officers. Clarence Castile freely admitted he'd been too steeped in his own grief and effort to hold his family together to think about much about the other families.
The police community feels increasingly embattled after several ambush killings of officers over the past year including just last week, the death of a New York City police officer who was shot through the window of her cruiser by a mentally ill man.
But Shetamia Taylor quietly connected all these worlds. She was born in Louisiana, raised in Minnesota, and now lives in Texas - a set of facts that leads internet conspiracy theorists to accuse her of being a "crisis actor" and a hoaxer.
She went to the march a year ago to protest over police brutality, on behalf of her four black sons. She left wounded, but alive, thanks, she believes, to the bravery of an officer who died helping her.
Even before that day one year ago, her youngest son declared he wants to become a police officer, a decision she supports.
"I know there is false fear on both sides," she said on 7 July. "But being a black mother of four young black men at a time where race tensions are so high, to have these white officers so willingly risk their own lives for my black life? Come on now - everybody matters." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40307208 |
Briton Luke Rutter killed fighting IS in Syria - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Luke Rutter, 22, from Birkenhead, died fighting so-called Islamic State in Syria, say Kurdish fighters. | UK | A 22-year-old British man has been killed fighting against so-called Islamic State in northern Syria, Kurdish fighters have said.
Luke Rutter, of Birkenhead, Merseyside, was killed on 6 July in a neighbourhood south of Raqqa, they said.
In a statement, the Kurdish YPG fighters said he had been killed "during the big campaign to liberate Raqqa from the terrorism of IS".
Mr Rutter's family said they did not wish to comment.
He is the fourth British man to be killed while fighting against IS in Syria.
BBC News correspondent Emma Vardy said an eyewitness who had been close by told her Mr Rutter had not been killed during a planned operation, but had died in what he described as an ambush.
While Mr Rutter and a group of other soldiers were some distance back from the front line, one fighter stepped on a landmine which exploded, and then IS fighters attacked, the eyewitness said.
They were quickly overpowered and the incident lasted only minutes, he added.
YPG representatives told our correspondent that while IS is slowly being defeated in Raqqa, this ambush is proof that the jihadists are very much active within the city and are using snipers, tunnels, booby traps and hidden explosive devices.
In a video posted online by the general command of the YPG, Mr Rutter said he had joined the group because it "stands for the best opportunity for peace that this region might have".
"I lied to people I care about to come here," he said.
"I said I was going somewhere else - I didn't. I apologise massively for that.
"Apart from that I don't regret my decision and I hope that you respect it."
The statement from the YPG said Mr Rutter was also known by the name "Soro Zinar" and he had arrived in Rojava, a Kurdish region in northern Syria, at the beginning of March 2017.
It said Mr Rutter had had military training at the YPG academy in Rojava and that "despite lacking professional military background, he was among the best in training."
"We send our thoughts and prayers to Martyr Soro, his family, and his comrades who fought courageously on behalf of all humanity," the statement said.
"Soro will always be remembered by our people and all peace-loving people around the world as a hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of protecting the value of the free world."
The British Foreign Office advises people not to travel to Syria to fight.
Luke Rutter is one of a number of volunteers who have been willing to go to the front line and fight against the jihadists.
It is seen as a fight of good versus evil, a vision of hope against a fascist mindset.
Despite warnings from authorities, many volunteers from the UK and other countries have felt a strong draw to go and to take part.
The Kurdish YPG is a non-religious force fighting for a libertarian, socialist ideology. They say their struggle is a revolution, and many westerners have come to play a role.
But Mr Rutter's death is a reminder of the risks they take. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40572844 |
Air Canada flight nearly lands on crowded San Francisco taxiway - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The US investigates how the flight from Toronto almost landed on a taxiway with four planes on it. | US & Canada | Air Canada says it is investigating the incident
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an apparent near-miss involving an Air Canada flight at San Francisco's airport.
It says Flight AC759 from Toronto was cleared to land on a runway last Friday, but the pilot "inadvertently" lined up for a taxiway where four aircraft were waiting to depart.
An air traffic controller became aware of the problem and ordered the pilot to pull up and make another approach.
The FAA is currently investigating the distance between the Air Canada aircraft and the aircraft lined up on the taxiway, which runs parallel to the runway.
It describes the 7 July incident as "very rare".
Air Canada says 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard the flight from Toronto.
It was not immediately clear how many people were in the four planes on the taxiway.
Air Canada is also investigating the incident, a spokesman for the company says.
"Air Canada flight AC759 from Toronto was preparing to land at San Francisco airport Friday night when the aircraft initiated a go-around," Peter Fitzpatrick is quoted as saying by CBC News.
"The aircraft landed normally without incident. We are still investigating the circumstances and therefore have no additional information to offer."
Meanwhile, an audio recording has emerged of what are said to be last Friday's communications between air traffic controllers and pilots at San Francisco's airport.
In it, a male voice believed to be that of the Air Canada pilot is heard saying that there are lights on the runway.
One of the air traffic controllers replies that there are no other planes there.
Another - unidentified - voice is then heard saying: "Where's this guy going? He's on the taxiway."
The air traffic controller then apparently realises the danger of the Air Canada plane crashing into the four aircraft on the ground, and orders the pilot to pull up and make another approach.
A pilot from one of the planes on the ground is then heard saying: "United One, Air Canada flew directly over us."
"If it is true, what happened probably came close to the greatest aviation disaster in history," retired United Airlines Capt Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told the Mercury News.
"If you could imagine an Airbus colliding with four passenger aircraft wide bodies, full of fuel and passengers, then you can imagine how horrific this could have been," he said.
The deadliest incident in aviation history was in 1977, when 583 people were killed after two Boeing planes collided on a runway at Los Rodeos airport in northern Tenerife, on Spain's Canary Islands. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40571913 |
Man charged with murdering sleeping boy in Sydney - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The "execution-style" murder happened as the 15-year-old victim slept, police allege. | Australia | Brayden Dillon was shot dead in his Sydney home
An Australian man has been charged with the "execution-style" killing of a 15-year-old boy who was shot in his bed.
Brayden Dillon was sleeping on Good Friday in April when a masked gunman entered his family's Sydney home and shot him in the head, police said.
On Monday, heavily armed officers arrested a 26-year-old man and charged him with murder.
It came hours after police released images of a car being driven in the area around the time of the shooting.
In April, police said the gunman had threatened Brayden's mother before entering his room and shooting him at close range.
His stepfather and young step-siblings were also in the house at the time.
"Brayden's murder was particularly callous," Detective Chief Inspector Mark Henney said on Monday.
He would have celebrated his 16th birthday on Wednesday, police said.
The man will appear in a Sydney court on Tuesday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40553044 |
Workers 'exploited' at UK cosmetics chain Soap and Co. - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | An undercover BBC investigation reveals "exploitative" working conditions at a UK cosmetics chain. | London | In the undercover investigation, a senior manager demanded staff work six days a week
Some workers at a cosmetics chain in major London shopping sites, including Westfield, are getting paid as little as £2.05 an hour, a BBC investigation has found.
The month-long undercover investigation found people were made to sign up as self-employed when legally they should have been classified as employees.
Soap and Co. said it was "extremely concerned" about the allegations.
It said it planned to review the employment status of workers.
The company describes its products as "an ideal balance between beauty, health and simple indulgence".
During the BBC London-Newsnight investigation, an undercover reporter spent one month working for the company, documenting the treatment of staff and their employment conditions.
They were made to be at work for a minimum of six days per week, for around 60 hours, at the firm's stores.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC filmed undercover for this investigation. Watch Guy Lynn's report for BBC Newsnight
Workers are paid by commission based on their sales. Some earned better under the arrangement than others.
The BBC's undercover reporter was paid £199 in commission for 97 hours' work - equivalent to an hourly rate of £2.05.
The national minimum wage ranges from £4.05 for under-18s to £7.50 for someone aged over 25.
The BBC also asked the two managers that the undercover reporter worked for about their understanding of the working relationship. They did not respond.
The BBC was told similar arrangements were in place at the company's affiliated Sakare outlets in Mayfair and Covent Garden.
One employee said: "I cannot move, I'm tired, my body hurts."
Another said: "My lower back hurts. I'm smashed physically and mentally. This is not normal."
Fines were handed out if workers were caught checking their mobile phones.
Soap and Co. mainly recruits workers from Eastern Europe, and some staff paid for cramped accommodation with shared bedrooms.
Partner at employment law firm, BDBF, Arpita Dutt described what had happened as a "flagrant breach" of minimum wage legislation.
She said: "This does seem to be exploitation of workers.
"It reminds me of those days where we used to have master-servant relationships."
Staff had prescriptive hours, they were not allowed to work elsewhere, or to substitute another "self-employed" individual to cover a shift.
The investigation found workers had to sign contracts saying they were self-employed.
This Soap and Co. manager fined staff for looking at mobile phones
But lawyers have told the BBC that the high level of control exercised by managers over workers meant in reality they were employees.
This means they should have been paid the minimum wage and a host of other in-work benefits - including sick pay and holiday pay.
"What we're finding is a real case of abuse... a whole raft of employment legislation that has been with us for 30 years is being cast aside in one blink of an eye," said Meredith Hurst, a partner at employment lawyers Thomas Mansfield. "I find it quite shocking.
"This is a very extreme case of control over an individual, and there is no doubt in my mind these individuals are employees.
"I would say that what we're seeing is a sham situation."
Neither HM Revenue & Customs nor the Office of National Statistics publishes official figures for bogus self-employment.
But the overall PAYE tax gap - the difference between the amount of tax that should theoretically be collected from people's pay packets and what is actually taken - is currently £2.8bn.
In a statement, Soap and Co. said: "Soap and Co. takes their responsibility under UK law very seriously. We are therefore extremely concerned to learn about the allegations made by some individuals about the company's working arrangements.
"As a consequence we are reviewing those allegations and the implications (if any) regarding the employment status of those who work with us."
Westfield said it was "concerned" about the findings of the BBC investigation, but said it "does not comment on specific allegations relating to individual retailers".
It said: "Retailers in our centres directly manage their employees, independently of Westfield."
Update: The Soap Co. has asked us to point out that it has no connection to the company Soap and Co. which features in this report
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40512248 |
Kermit the Frog to get a new voice after 27 years - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Puppeteer Steve Whitmire is stepping down from the role and will be replaced by Matt Vogel. | Entertainment & Arts | Kermit the Frog is getting a new voice for the first time in nearly three decades as his puppeteer steps down.
Steve Whitmire has supplied Kermit's nasal tones since 1990, after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson.
US reports confirmed his departure and said he was going to be replaced by Matt Vogel.
Whitmire has worked on the Muppets since 1978 and also provided the voice of Sesame Street favourite Ernie, of Bert and Ernie fame.
No reason has been given for his exit.
Kermit and Miss Piggy arriving at the premiere for 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted
Whitmire has portrayed Fraggle Rock characters and appeared in films Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
He was chosen to take over as Kermit by Henson's son Brian, online magazine Kill Screen reported.
Fans said they were "devastated" that Whitmire would no longer work with Kermit, with one saying they were "trying not to cry" at the news, and shared stories of meeting him.
Vogel has also worked on Sesame Street
Vogel, who voiced Kermit imitator Constantine in 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted, will first be heard as Kermit - the long-time love of Miss Piggy - in a Muppets Thought of the Week video next week, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None Why Kermit the Frog memes are so popular
• None First Kermit given to Smithsonian
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40568011 |
Tech boss attacks 'whiners' in angry email - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The co-founder of a Silicon Valley investment firm says it is "not my job to make you all feel good". | Technology | The co-founder of a Silicon Valley investment firm said it is "not my job to make you all feel good" in a long email to staff and investors.
Jonathan Teo from Binary Capital was responding to negative press coverage about the firm following allegations of sexual harassment by his co-founder Justin Caldbeck.
He added that he was "tired and indignant", and raged against "whiners" who demanded his attention.
Mr Teo has already offered to resign.
He did so after Mr Caldbeck left the firm in June.
"I'm incredibly sorry," Mr Caldbeck tweeted when the news broke last month.
Mr Caldbeck's actions were one of several sexism scandals to rock Silicon Valley in recent months.
They include a damning report into the work culture inside ride-hailing firm Uber, and the resignation of venture capitalist Dave McClure, who admitted "inexcusable behaviour" towards "multiple women".
Justin Caldbeck said he was "incredibly sorry" over harassment claims
No allegations have been made against Jonathan Teo, who said he had offered to step down in order to "quell a news cycle".
He blamed leaks to a "corrupted" media about investors feeling nervous about his firm and claimed his resignation offer had not yet been accepted.
Mr Teo also said he was "angry that women had felt hurt", but described a suggestion by one of the firm's portfolio companies that the next partner should be a woman as "moronic".
"We must choose the best person, male or female," he wrote in the email, which the BBC has confirmed to be genuine.
"Talent is universal if we only choose to recognize it. Anything else is again grandstanding for a personal agenda."
Mr Teo also added that reports suggesting investors were trying to buy back shares were untrue, and said that it was "dishonourable" for an entrepreneur to back away "at the first sign of trouble".
Only one firm has so far announced its intention to pull away from Binary Capital.
"As for the people here that whine that they aren't taken care of, who have not to worry about their lives being taken from them or their basic needs met, who owes them more than the voice they already have access to?" he wrote.
The email was first published by the website Axios.
Journalist Erin Griffith described the email as "unapologetic" on the Fortune website.
"It is angry and, in parts, barely coherent," she said.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur and journalist Mike Malone said the email was "a Jerry Maguire moment" for Mr Teo.
"He's having a very bad day," he said.
"He says he'll resign, then turns around and says it's not his fault at all, that everyone is conspiring against him including the media.
"If you were teaching PR 101 this guy has just done everything possible wrong. He has insulted clients, he has insulted investors, he has insulted employees and he has insulted the media.
"This is a venture capital fund and venture capitalists live and die by the amount of money they can raise for their next fund."
Jonathan Teo told the BBC he didn't want to comment at this time. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40564393 |
Spanish royals' UK visit glosses over Brexit cracks - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Will the King of Spain's UK visit sweep Brexit tensions under the red carpet? | Europe | The UK is rolling out the red carpet for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, sprinkling pomp and glamour over some deep-rooted tensions.
Brexit and the centuries-old dispute over Gibraltar might suggest that UK-Spanish relations are between a Rock and a hard place.
But the 12-14 July state visit could send a sunburst through those clouds. The royal couple were due to arrive in London on Tuesday.
Both royal lines are descended from Queen Victoria - something to celebrate, in tough times for both countries.
This visit is nothing if not a survivor, having been called off - once in 2016, when Spain endured 10 months of political crisis without a government, and again this year, when UK Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election in June.
"These have been times of great difficulty on both sides, with the double cancellation telling its own story," says Ana Romero, a leading Spanish journalist and royal observer. She wrote a book - Final de Partida (End Game) - about the strained personal circumstances surrounding the abdication of King Felipe's father, Juan Carlos.
Ms Romero says King Felipe's reign has been three years of "permanent difficulty", including a fraud trial in which his sister, Princess Cristina, was eventually acquitted, while her husband Iñaki Urdangarin was sentenced to six years in jail.
Almost as damaging were supportive text messages Queen Letizia reportedly sent to a suspect in another corruption case.
"Now after three years of hard climbing, it is as if Felipe and Letizia have reached the bright summit, because the British monarchy represents the height of royal protocol," Ms Romero says, before adding that both countries face great problems.
Spain is still emerging from an economic crisis that has seen confidence in institutions plummet due to corruption scandals.
British politics entered a turbulent period with last year's referendum vote to leave the EU. Brexit remains shrouded in uncertainty.
Many of Spain's leading companies have made bold moves into Britain, including Santander bank and Ferrovial, an infrastructure group that owns Heathrow's operating company, among other UK concerns.
Brexit is also a worry for the many citizens living in each other's country and for those with investments at stake.
The almost 300,000 British citizens registered as residents in Spain, and many more who come and go, are concerned about their healthcare and pensions, says Anne Hernandez, leader of Brexpats in Spain, a group with more than 4,000 members.
While British diplomatic sources say they consider Spain an ally in negotiating relatively benign terms for Brexit, they also admit they are concerned about Madrid's insistence on re-examining the status of Gibraltar - an already delicate equation.
This is especially the case after the European Council included a clause in its guidelines for talks, stating that no agreement on the EU's future relationship with the UK would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain, giving Madrid a potential veto.
All eyes will be on King Felipe when he speaks to UK parliamentarians on Wednesday, to see if he emulates his father Juan Carlos. As king back in 1986 Juan Carlos raised Spain's claim over the Rock when addressing MPs and Lords, on the last Spanish state visit to the UK.
Gibraltar's status is a hot topic again because of Brexit
The signs are that Felipe is prepared to broach the issue as he did before the UN General Assembly last autumn. Describing Gibraltar as the last colony in Europe, Spain's king invited the UK to "put an end to this anachronism".
King Felipe, who will also have a private meeting with Prime Minister May, is considered a consummate diplomat, having been patiently groomed for the job by representing Spain in Latin America and elsewhere for almost two decades before his coronation.
He also proved in 2004 that he was his own man by marrying the TV journalist Letizia Ortiz, a commoner and divorcee.
For the first time Prince Harry, 32, will have an important ceremonial role, escorting Felipe and Letizia to Westminster Abbey.
He will also attend a grand state banquet, after the Queen has welcomed her Spanish guests to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40558218 |
Russia's Lavrov threatens US over seized diplomatic mansions - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Russia may expel 30 US diplomats and seize US property in a diplomatic tussle. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Kremlin is urging Donald Trump to lift the sanctions, as Steve Rosenberg reports
Russia says it is "outrageous" that the US has not yet handed back two Russian intelligence compounds seized in the US under the Obama administration.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was "considering specific measures" in response, but did not elaborate.
Earlier, unnamed Russian officials said Moscow was ready to expel about 30 US diplomats and seize US state property.
In December the Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two intelligence compounds.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources had accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Mr Lavrov told Russian media it was "simply shameful for such a great country as the United States, a champion of international law, to leave the situation in such a state of suspended animation".
"Justice and international law must be restored," he said, accusing the US Congress of being "charged up with Russophobia".
A huge Russian diplomatic estate in Maryland was seized by the US government in December
Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of the Obama sanctions with US President Donald Trump when they met in Hamburg on 7 July, the daily Izvestia reported.
The Trump team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
If Donald Trump has ever read Joseph Heller's famous satirical novel, he'll recognise the situation as Catch-22.
If President Trump hands back the Russian diplomatic compounds seized by President Obama last year, he will cement his image of Kremlin stooge in the eyes of his opponents. At this point any concessions to Russia would be highly controversial, in light of current investigations in America into alleged links between Mr Trump's team and Moscow.
But if the Russian compounds are not returned, Moscow may well expel a number of US diplomats and seize some US diplomatic buildings. That could complicate what Mr Trump says he wants to achieve: better relations with Russia.
This is not the first time that reports have emerged of Russia planning counter-measures. The latest threat - via a foreign ministry source in a pro-Kremlin newspaper - may be designed to increase the pressure on Washington, ahead of US-Russia talks on the issue.
The Obama sanctions came on top of existing Western sanctions imposed because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.
Mr Putin refrained from tit-for-tat retaliation - unlike in previous diplomatic spats. Mr Trump had been elected to succeed President Obama just weeks before.
Russia says President Trump presented "no plan to resolve the crisis" when the issue was raised in Hamburg last week.
An unnamed Russian diplomat told Izvestia that in retaliation Russia could seize a US government dacha (country villa) at Serebryany Bor, to the northwest of Moscow, and a US warehouse in the city itself.
However, the US ambassador's Spaso House residence and the Anglo-American School in St Petersburg would not be affected.
Russia would carry out the threat if no compromise was reached at a St Petersburg meeting later this month between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, Izvestia reported. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40567687 |
'Over-sexualised' Femfresh shaving advert banned - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Femfresh advert was likely to cause "serious offence", according to the advertising watchdog. | UK | The video-on-demand Femfresh advert was shown in March and April of this year
An advert for bikini line shaving products has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found it was likely to cause "serious or widespread offence".
Shown on ITV and Channel 4 on-demand services earlier this year, it included close-up shots of the women's crotches.
The ASA received 17 complaints that the advert objectified women and portrayed them in an overly sexualised way.
Church & Dwight UK - the brand which owns Femfresh - did not believe the advert for the so-called "intimate shaving collection" was offensive or socially irresponsible.
It said it was aimed at a target audience of 18 to 34-year-old women and that close-ups were used to illustrate that the product could give consumers a smooth bikini line.
Neither Channel 4 or ITV received any complaints about the advert directly and both agreed with comments made by Church & Dwight that it did not objectify women.
But the ASA noted that the dance sequence was "highly sexualised", there were "few shots" of the women's faces and the high-cut swimsuits "were more exposing" than most.
"Even taking into account the nature of the product, we considered that it had been presented in an overly-sexualised way that objectified women," the ASA said.
"We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and therefore breached the code."
It ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40572948 |
Mississippi crash: Sixteen dead in Marines Corps plane incident - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The KC-130 plane crashed in a rural area in the US state of Mississippi, with no survivors. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Smoke was seen billowing from the plane crash site
At least 16 people have died after a US military plane crashed in the southern state of Mississippi at around 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Monday.
The crash happened in LeFlore County, about 100 miles (160km) north of Jackson, the state capital.
All 16 victims were on the Marine Corps aircraft and there were no survivors, Leflore County emergency management director Fred Randle said.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said the incident was a "tragedy".
"Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom," he said.
US President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning: "Marine Plane crash in Mississippi is heartbreaking. Melania and I send our deepest condolences to all!"
No official details were immediately available on the circumstances of the crash.
Mississippi outlet the Clarion-Ledger said the plane came down in a soybean field on the Sunflower-Leflore county line, and left a five-mile trail of debris. It said the FBI was assisting at the scene.
Local Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth that firefighters were driven back by several "high-intensity explosions", possibly caused by jet fuel igniting. He said 4,000 gallons of foam were sprayed at the aircraft in a bid to subdue the fire.
Captain Sarah Burns, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps, said only that a US Marines KC-130 Hercules transport aircraft had "experienced a mishap".
"On behalf of the entire Marine Corps, I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the aircraft mishap yesterday afternoon in Mississippi," said Marine Corp Commandant Gen Robert Neller.
"Our focus remains on notifying and supporting the families while we conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of this tragedy." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40565556 |
Leeds Halloween 'Mad Max' biker event gang jailed - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | More than 100 bikers congregated in Kirkstall Road before riding into the city, causing chaos. | Leeds & West Yorkshire | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Bikers who took part in a "ride-out" in Leeds which caused chaos are jailed
The gang behind a Halloween "ride-out" in Leeds which was likened to scenes from the film Mad Max has been jailed.
More than 100 bikers congregated in Kirkstall Road before riding into the city, disrupting traffic and driving through pedestrianised areas.
David Armitage did not take part in the event but had organised it through social media, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Also jailed were 12 other defendants, who had all admitted causing a public nuisance at an earlier hearing.
The judge said their actions on 31 October could "not be tolerated".
More than 100 bikers caused chaos on the streets during the Halloween "ride-out"
Armitage, 26, of Brookfield Road, Headingley, had been filmed on 31 October telling riders to "shut down" the city centre.
Jailing him for two years, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "This is a case which calls for a deterrent sentence.
"Behaviour of this sort, having serious effects on this city, cannot be tolerated."
David Armitage had organised the event through social media
West Yorkshire Police received around 160 calls from members of the public, some of whom had likened it to scenes from the Mel Gibson film, Mad Max.
Ch Supt Paul Money said: "The behaviour of these individuals and others that night put people's safety at risk, caused unnecessary fear to the public and created an image of lawlessness in the heart of the city that we simply could not allow to go unchallenged."
Following the incident, Leeds City Council secured an injunction banning people from anti-social driving of vehicles, including motorbikes and quad bikes, in any public place where it involves two or more vehicles.
Councillor Debra Coupar said the group had shown "sheer disregard" for public safety.
David Armitage, 26, of Brookfield Road, Headingley - jailed for two years
Ben Colley, 26, of Butterbowl Road, Farnley, also convicted of driving while disqualified and without insurance - jailed for 14 months
Nicholas Flaherty, aged 29, of Prospect Street, Farsley, also convicted of perverting the course of justice - jailed for 18 months
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-40570702 |
Taylor Review: All work in UK economy should be fair - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The author of a government review into work says a modern economy should be fair and decent. | Business | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May said it was important to have a "flexible" approach that didn't "exploit workers"
All work in the UK's economy should be "fair and decent", a government review of employment practices has said.
The report by former aide to Tony Blair, Matthew Taylor, pays particular attention to the gig economy.
It recommends that workers for firms such as Uber and Deliveroo should be classified as dependent contractors, with extra benefits.
The Prime Minister said the government would take the report's recommendations seriously.
Mr Taylor said there was a perception that the gig economy put too much power into the hand of employers: "Of all the issues that were raised with us as we went around the country, the one that came through most strongly was what the report calls one-sided flexibility.
"One-sided flexibility is where employers seek to transfer all risk onto the shoulder of workers in ways that make people more insecure and makes their lives harder to manage. It's the people told to be ready for work or travelling to work, only to be told none is available."
• People who work for platform-based companies, such as Deliveroo and Uber, be classed as dependent contractors
• Strategies must be put in place to make sure that workers do not get stuck on the National Living Wage
• The review suggests a national strategy to provide good work for all "for which government needs to be held accountable"
• The government should avoid further increasing the the non-wage costs of employing a person, such as the apprenticeship levy
A spokesperson for the meal delivery service Deliveroo, one of the companies at the heart of the gig-economy debate, said: "We would welcome the opportunity to work with the government so we can end this trade off between flexibility and security."
Mr Taylor's report did not attack the gig economy. It said that flexibility in the workplace was important and had contributed to record high employment.
He pointed to the official Labour Force Survey of March this year, which found that 68% of those on zero hours contracts did not want more hours.
However, he said too many employers and businesses were relying on zero hours, short-hours or agency contracts, when they could be more forward thinking in their scheduling.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Earlier, Mr Taylor had told the BBC: "There are too many people at work who are treated like cogs in a machine rather than being human beings, and there are too many people who don't see a route from their current job to progress and earn more and do better."
But he said working platform providers such as Uber had to demonstrate that workers signing on for hours of work would "easily clear" the minimum wage.
Andrew Byrne, head of policy at Uber, said that the average driver took well over the National Living Wage.
He also said Uber "would welcome greater clarity in the law over different types of employment status".
Mr Taylor also suggested that cash payments should be phased-out.
He said cash jobs such as window cleaning and decorating were worth up to £6bn a year and many were untaxed - something Mr Taylor says should be addressed.
Mr Taylor said he did not want to ban cash payments outright, but hoped, over time, the increasing popularity of transaction platforms such as PayPal and Worldpay would see a shift from cash-in-hand work.
"In a few years time as we move to a more cashless economy, self employed people would be paid cashlessly - like your window cleaner. At the same time they can pay taxes and save for their pension," he said.
"Most people who do pay for self-employed labour would like to know that that person is paying their taxes."
However, Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said the review did not go far enough for the 4.5 million people in insecure work.
She told the BBC: "If it looks like a job or it smells like a job then it is a job, and the worker should be employed, and I think in those situations where a worker is carrying out work on behalf of an employer... they should not be exploited as a flexible workers."
Trade unions also said Mr Taylor had not tackled many of the issues facing workers.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "From what we've seen, this review is not the game-changer needed to end insecurity and exploitation at work." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40561807 |
Watchdog probes £4.50 premium rate texts - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Pro Money Holdings denies its competition texts are designed to look like spam. | Technology | These text messages were sent on 3 June
A watchdog has revealed it is investigating a premium-rate texting campaign, following complaints from recipients that they have been charged fees even though many believe they never opted into the service.
One expert claimed the messages look like spam, which could cause phone owners to ignore them.
There is also concern about conflicting advice being given to the public.
The two companies involved in the campaign deny any wrongdoing.
The BBC became aware of the campaign when one of its reporters received a text in June.
It said: "FreeMsg: U have subscribed to Comp House competition for £4.50 per month until you send stop to 82225. SP Pro Money HELLO? 08001577502?T&C".
A shortened Bit.ly link was sent as a follow-up message, and a third communication stated that this "text cost £1.50".
The company behind the campaign is called Pro Money Holdings, which is registered to an Ilford, London address.
It makes use of a second service, called Veoo - a St Albans-headquartered business that provides billing and messaging platforms to mobile-related companies.
The industry's regulator, the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), later told the BBC it was "informally" investigating complaints about the Pro Money Holdings service and had "recently" opened a probe into Veoo.
"Under our code of practice, consumers must not be charged for phone-paid services without their consent," said a spokesman.
"We are currently looking into complaints regarding the service operating on 82225 and separately have an ongoing investigation into Veoo."
Members of the public have posted concerns about the 82225's operation over the past two months, with several saying they could not recall subscribing to anything that would account for the fees.
But Pro Money Holdings told the BBC it only charged people who had "pushed a key" in an online competition or in response to a phone message.
"There's a lot of compliance that goes into everything that's done with anything we do," customer care manager David Marshall said.
"Prior to anything starting, there's a lot of testing done to make sure that everything from our end is correct.
"From our own perspective, if there's something not 100% at our end, we would get it adjusted."
To prove the point, Mr Marshall offered to provide details about how the BBC journalist came to be subscribed.
But more than a month after making the promise, Pro Money Holdings has not shared the details, despite repeated follow-up requests, beyond saying the journalist had opted in and this had been "verified by an independent third party".
It did, however, refund the £1.50 fee that had been charged.
For its part, Veoo said it was no longer supporting the campaign.
"Following on-going compliance checks with the service... run by Pro Money Holdings, Veoo suspended the Pro Comp service and will not be reinstating that service via our messaging platform," said spokeswoman Vanessa D'Souza.
"We take our responsibilities very seriously."
One cyber-security consultant said he had concerns that the messages could be mistaken as spam, in part because of their odd punctuation and use of "u" rather than "you".
"It's exactly the sort of message that you might delete assuming it's spam only to realise, perhaps months later when checking your bill, that you've been paying," said Alan Woodward.
Phone owners are given conflicting advice about how to deal with Stop-type texts
Mobile owners seeking advice about how to handle such demands are given contradictory advice online.
The PSA states that users should reply to rather than ignore Stop messages.
But the popular Money Saving Expert site, among others, says not to do so if the texts look suspicious.
"The golden rule is do not reply, at all, ever - do not text 'Stop'!" it states.
"These texts want any response to confirm you are a real person.
"Any numbers that are confirmed are likely to be sold on to... unscrupulous marketeers who may further spam you with unsolicited calls and texts.
"Ensure you don't click on any links within the text either."
For its part, Pro Money Holdings denies deliberately designing its texts to look odd and defended its use of "slang".
"The size of an SMS is a maximum of 160 characters as you are aware," it told the BBC.
"In order to fit the customer care telephone number on the message, it is necessary to shorten some words where applicable."
Mobile networks say customers who receive unsolicited texts can contact their support teams to confirm whether the messages are legitimate and if a Stop response should be sent.
"I have seen people ignoring these messages and being charged a lot," said one Vodafone call centre employee.
"Blocking doesn't stop these as customers are charged irrespective of whether they receive these messages or not, even if the phone is off."
The PSA said it could not comment further about Pro Money Holding's case.
But Mr Woodward urged it to review its guidance.
"If the regulator is expecting us to reply, 'Stop', there is a danger that it causes those heeding such advice to play into the hands of scammers," he said.
"Either way, the regulator is the one who needs to 'stop' this, not unsuspecting recipients."
The PSA issued more than £5m in fines in the past financial year against companies that had breached its rules.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40496744 |
Meet the Guides encouraging girls into science and tech - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Can girlguiding encourage more girls to take up science, technology, economics and maths? | Business | Girl Guide Catherine Young wants to encourage more women into engineering
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is updating its image with a number of new achievement badges aimed at encouraging young women into science and technology.
My memories of the Girl Guides involve marshmallow toasting, tying knots and being assessed on my table-laying skills for a badge no doubt long-consigned to the archives.
Fast forward some 25 years and it's clear much has changed.
In an international organisation that liaises with Google and Microsoft among others, today's young guides are just as likely to be gathered round an engineering bench as a campfire.
Sixteen-year-old Catherine Young is on a mission to boost girls' interest in engineering and has found the Girl Guides a valuable platform for her campaign.
She surveyed girls aged 11-18 and found that 74% didn't have the opportunity to take the subject at school.
As part of the Girl Guide Scotland Action for Change project, she is lobbying MPs to make the subject more readily available across all UK schools.
"Having a national stage for my project has been incredible as this is something I'm very passionate about," she says.
"There is a huge lack of female engineers due to the subject not being available, or girls not knowing about it, and we need more females to bring new ideas that could solve Earth's biggest problems."
As the battle to engage girls with Stem subjects - science, technology, engineering and maths - extends beyond the classroom, attention is turning to the role this 106-year-old movement has to play in cultivating this interest.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has a presence in 146 countries and is busy forging links with tech companies and organisations across the globe.
For example, guides in Tanzania have hooked up with Techchix, a non-profit body that promotes science and engineering to girls at local secondary schools through mentoring programmes.
And in India, girls have teamed up with US-based artificial intelligence giant, Nvidia, to boost female employability in the tech sector.
Piloted in the city of Pune, the Screen Girls project aims to deliver computer courses to 400 girls who have recently completed secondary school education. If successful, the project will be extended to other parts of the country.
"Every country will have different approaches and where there is success we will showcase it to the rest of the world," says Anita Tiessen, chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides.
"In the US, for example, there has always been a very strong outdoors culture, so they introduce Stem activities in this way through robot camps and Stem field trips."
A forthcoming overhaul of achievement badges is likely to see Coding and Mechanics added to the list. Google is currently advising on the delivery of a new Web and App Design badge. In the UK, the main Stem-related badges are Science and Communicator.
Girlguiding UK's recent survey with Microsoft found that many members did not see technology as a potential career option, their views influenced by enduring gender stereotypes.
"It is a concern that many girls think of Stem as boys' subjects and don't identify any female role models in this area," says Angie Pitt, head of Girlguiding youth programmes.
"We have to think about what we can do to counter this, and the first thing is offering a space where they can learn about these subjects in a way that is fun, accessible and relevant to them - and doesn't feel like school or that they're being judged."
Projects with Rolls-Royce and BAE systems have led to the development of new "science investigator" and "engineering" badges - while cloud computing specialist Salesforce recently ran a weekend workshop for 200 guides in London.
When Lady Olave Baden-Powell (centre) was Chief Guide, roles for girls were more traditional
Charlotte Finn, Salesforce's vice president of programs, says: "Aspects of the school curriculum are rooted in the past and are simply not pairing young people with the skills they need for today's jobs in technology.
"So it's important that organisations like us complement formal education by bringing these skills to the forefront."
Salesforce also helped develop a volunteer recruitment app for the US Girl Scouts.
Ellie Overland, senior lecturer in computing education at the UK's Manchester Metropolitan University, recently developed a Computing badge with 30 guides.
"I have a son in the Scouts and daughter in the Brownies and I noticed a difference in the technology-related badges on offer," she says.
"The Scouts badges seemed to get into the nitty-gritty of computing, while in the Guides the focus was more about online image and e-safety, so I felt it was important with this badge to drill deeper and include components on networks, data and algorithms."
"Safe space": Anita Tiessen, head of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
While evolution is inevitable in an institution with a 100-plus year heritage, Ms Tiessen believes much of the progress in this area will be underpinned by the movement's core values of girl-led learning and leadership.
"In many countries around the world there are very few opportunities for girls to have that 'safe space' to develop their skills and leadership opportunities," she says.
"And with all the evidence pointing to girls holding back in more mixed environments, we are giving girls greater freedom to explore those things."
Ever since a small group of girls gate-crashed the first ever Scout rally in 1909 demanding "something for the girls", girl guides have been challenging the status quo.
More power to their elbows. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40506620 |
Nadiya Hussain feared she was Bake Off's 'token Muslim' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The negative comments she received when she appeared on Bake Off "shocked" her, she says. | Entertainment & Arts | Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain feared she was seen as the "token Muslim" when she appeared on the BBC TV show, she has revealed.
The champion of the 2015 series told the Radio Times religion was "incidental" to her and she "struggled" with it being so tied to her identity.
The negative comments she received "shocked" her, she told the magazine.
But she said those people were in the "minority" and most of the UK had reacted to her with "open arms".
Hussain, 32, told Radio Times magazine: "I certainly didn't enter a baking show in the hope of representing anyone.
"Being a Muslim for me was incidental, but from the day the show was launched, I was 'the 30-year-old Muslim' and that became my identity."
She told Radio Times it was difficult to adjust to that "identity" being forced upon her.
"I struggled at the beginning, because I thought: 'Am I the token Muslim?'
"I'd never, in all my years, been labelled like that.
"I heard it constantly, 'Oh, she's the Muslim, she's the Muslim'...
"And I was so shocked by the amount of negative comments I got."
Hussain will be one of the hosts of the Big Family Cooking Showdown, which airs in the autumn
Hussain, a second-generation British Bangladeshi, said she hears and sees "negativity" but that it does not affect her as those sharing such comments are in the minority.
"We are so much more accepting than that: I never realised Britain had such open arms," she said.
Since winning Bake Off, Hussain has appeared in her own series, The Chronicles Of Nadiya.
She is set to launch her new BBC TV show, Nadiya's British Food Adventure, on 17 July and will release a book of the same name alongside it.
Hussain will also host the BBC Two series The Big Family Cooking Showdown with Zoe Ball and judges Rosemary Shrager and Giorgio Locatelli this autumn. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40565226 |
Mosul: US commander says Iraq must stop Islamic State 2.0 - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Leaders are urged to reach out to Sunnis to prevent jihadists returning after their Mosul defeat. | Middle East | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Soldiers and police officers cheered as PM Abadi joined the celebrations
The senior US commander in Iraq has warned that the war against so-called Islamic State (IS) is not over, despite a "historic" victory in Mosul.
Lt Gen Stephen Townsend told the BBC Iraqis needed to unite to ensure IS was defeated across the rest of Iraq.
He also urged the government to reach out to the Sunni Arab minority.
"If we're to keep... ISIS 2.0 from emerging, the Iraqi government is going to have to do something pretty significantly different," he said.
"They're going to have to reach out and reconcile with the Sunni population, and make them feel like their government in Baghdad represents them."
IS (also known as ISIS) seized control of much of northern and western Iraq three years ago after exploiting widespread Sunni anger at the sectarian policies of the country's Shia Arab-led government.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who has promised to bridge the gap between the two Muslim communities, formally declared victory over IS in Mosul on Monday.
Standing alongside troops at a base in the city, he announced "the end and the failure and the collapse of the terrorist state of falsehood and terrorism ".
A member of Iraq's security forces holds an IS flag as he celebrates in Mosul
The US-led Coalition that provided air and ground support to Iraqi security forces confirmed they had Mosul "firmly under their control" but noted that areas of the Old City still had to be cleared of bombs and possible IS fighters in hiding.
Later, US President Donald Trump sent his congratulations to his Iraqi counterpart, saying Mosul had been "liberated from its long nightmare under the rule of ISIS".
"We mourn the thousands of Iraqis brutally killed by ISIS and the millions of Iraqis who suffered," he added, promising to seek the "total destruction" of the jihadists.
Lt Gen Stephen Townsend is the commander of the US-led operation against IS
On Tuesday, UN special representative Jan Kubis said the "historic" victory provided an "outstanding opportunity for Iraq to rise again strong and united".
But he warned that reconstruction work had to run parallel to a "robust political process to conduct elections and achieve national and societal reconciliation and rebuild the social fabric".
"The peace... must be based on solid foundations of unity, co-operation, justice, tolerance and co-existence starting at the societal, community and tribal levels to prevent falling back into the past and risk disastrous consequences," he added.
The battle for Mosul lasted almost nine months, left large areas in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 920,000 others.
The UN says 5,000 buildings have been damaged and 490 destroyed in the Old City alone
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC reports from Mosul where rescue teams are searching for survivors
The UN says that of the 54 residential districts in the western half of Mosul - where the Old City is located - 15 are heavily damaged and at least 23 moderately damaged.
In a report published on Tuesday, Amnesty International said Iraqi and coalition forces had used unnecessarily powerful weapons in Mosul and failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians.
A coalition spokesperson described the allegations as "irresponsible and an insult" to the troops who had died freeing civilians in Mosul from IS rule.
Amnesty also documented abuses by IS, including the use of human shields.
IS militants overran Mosul in June 2014, before seizing control of large parts of northern and western Iraq. The following month, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first and only public appearance as IS leader at the city's Great Mosque of al-Nuri, and gave a speech proclaiming the creation of a "caliphate".
IS blew up the mosque last month as Iraqi troops prepared to retake it.
IS still controls territory in three areas of Iraq - around Hawija, 130km (80 miles) south-east of Mosul, around Tal Afar, 65km west, and from Ana to Al-Qaim in the Euphrates river valley, 250km to the south-west.
It also holds a string of towns along the Euphrates in Syria, including Albu Kamal and Mayadin, but its stronghold of Raqqa is besieged by US-backed fighters. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40564159 |
US President Donald Trump 'to visit UK in 2018' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Downing Street and the White House are believed to be looking at options for the visit. | UK | US President Donald Trump is likely to come to the UK next year, the BBC understands.
Downing Street and the White House are believed to be looking at options for the visit.
Mr Trump accepted the Queen's invitation for him to travel to Britain on a state visit when UK PM Theresa May visited Washington in January.
But the prospect of a state visit caused much controversy and reportedly led Mr Trump to change his mind.
It was said he did not want to visit while there was potential for protests against him.
Nearly two million people signed one of a number of petitions saying Mr Trump should not be invited to the UK on a state visit.
Senior politicians, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron who called Mr Trump "an embarrassment to America", said the visit should not go ahead.
Questions were also raised as to why Mr Trump was invited so soon after taking office - it was two-and-a-half years into his first term before his predecessor Barack Obama came to the UK for his state visit.
The Queen welcomed President Barack Obama to Buckingham Palace in 2011
Mrs May extended the invitation to the president just as he sparked anger across the world with his proposed travel ban on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, clashed with Mr Trump over the immigration measures, later saying the UK should not "roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for".
Confirmation of Mr Trump's visit had been expected in last month's Queen's Speech, in which the Queen set out her official plans for the year.
But there was no mention of it, and October was later mooted as a possible date.
The White House denied reports that Mr Trump had reservations about visiting, saying they looked forward to working out a "mutually acceptable date".
The Queen usually receives one or two heads of state a year. She has hosted 109 state visits since becoming monarch in 1952.
State visits are grand, ceremonial occasions, but have a political purpose too, with governments using them to further what they see as Britain's national interests.
• None Donald Trump state visit: All you need to know | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40566786 |
Lloyds Bank to abolish charges for unplanned overdrafts - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Many of the bank's 20 million customers will also face lower charges for authorised overdrafts. | Business | Fees for unplanned overdrafts are to be scrapped for the 20 million customers of Lloyds Banking Group, which includes the Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
From November this year, any customer going over their overdraft limit will face no fees at all, Lloyds said.
However, the bank may continue to block payments from the account until the overdraft is paid off.
It follows criticism of high charges by consumer groups and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also expected to propose measures on overdraft fees within the next few weeks, as part of its inquiry into high-cost credit.
Previously Lloyds customers taking out unauthorised overdrafts faced interest payments at an annual rate of 19.89%, a daily charge of up to £10, the monthly charge of £6, and up to £30 a day for returned (unpaid) items.
These will all now be abolished.
Fees for missed payments from basic bank accounts will also disappear.
Lloyds said that it expected to make less money as a result of the changes, although it said fewer people now use an unauthorised facility than used to be the case.
Barclays has already abolished unauthorised lending. Since June 2014, customers cannot exceed their overdraft limit, unless they obtain permission for emergency lending.
As well as scrapping charges for unplanned overdrafts, Lloyds is also simplifying fees for planned overdrafts, making it cheaper for many customers to borrow.
Those with overdrafts of less than £500 are likely to pay less, while those borrowing more than £1000 are likely to see higher charges.
Anyone who takes out an authorised overdraft with Lloyds Banking Group - in other words the bank has agreed to it - is currently charged a £6 monthly fee, on top of interest at 19.89% a year.
While the £6 fee will be dropped, the interest charge will rise sharply, to 68.4% on an annual basis.
Lloyds said that amounts to 1p a day for every £7 borrowed.
As a result nine out of 10 customers will either be better off, or see no difference, it said.
However, the changes will not make Lloyds the cheapest lender on the market.
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert with Moneycomms, said there were at least eight banks providing lower cost overdrafts.
Tap on the image above, then pinch and zoom to enlarge
The move by Lloyds to abolish unauthorised borrowing fees was welcomed by consumer groups.
"Lloyds' decision to do away with these fees is a positive step, and its proposed simpler pricing will benefit many of its customers," said Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive.
"However, not everyone will be better off, so it's critical that Lloyds supports customers to help them avoid high charges and to reduce their level of debt."
The FCA should encourage other banks to follow suit, he added.
As part of its inquiry into current accounts, the CMA ruled last year that banks should introduce a maximum monthly charge - set by each bank - by the end of September 2017.
Lloyds is due to introduce a maximum monthly charge of £95 for unauthorised overdrafts in August, although this will be superseded by the changes in November.
RBS and NatWest will introduce a £80 maximum on 24 July.
HSBC is to remove interest charges on most unarranged overdrafts, but will still charge a £5 daily fee, up to a maximum of £80 a month.
Are you a Lloyds customer? How will you be affected by the changes? Share your views and experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40555175 |
Beeston Marina river death: Owen Jenkins, 12, was 'hero' - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Eyewitnesses say Owen Jenkins fell into the River Trent while trying to save a girl. | Nottingham | Owen's family thanked the emergency services who had tried to help him
The family of a 12-year-old boy, who died trying to rescue a girl from a weir, has described him as a "hero".
Owen Jenkins went missing in the River Trent near Beeston Marina, Nottinghamshire, on Monday afternoon.
Tributes have been paid to the boy, whose body was found in the water during a major search operation.
His great aunt, Liz Ryan, said: "He went in the water to save a girl and help her get out, and he couldn't swim much himself.
"We don't know the full story but all we know is that he is a hero."
In a statement his parents, Nicola and Gary Jenkins, said: "Our little boy, our English rose, our champion will be missed and never forgotten.
"We wish to thank all of the emergency services, who have been amazing, and all of the people that helped to look for Owen."
A weir on the River Trent is located near to Beeston Marina
A Facebook post by the boy's rugby team, Nottingham Casuals RFC, said: "It is with profound sadness and regret that we confirm the loss of 12-year-old Owen Jenkins who died at Beeston Weir last night.
"We cannot express how deep our sorrow is and our thoughts are with Owen's family and friends.
"Owen has played Rugby for Nottingham Casuals RFC since he was 7 and was loved [by] his teammates and everyone he came into contact with.
"His teammates are in bits this morning."
Ian Brierly, head teacher at Chilwell School where Owen was a student, described him as an "enthusiastic and gregarious young man".
"He was an exceptional sportsman and we recently celebrated his success from sports day when he broke several long-standing school records; most notably the 200m.
"Owen was a key member of our community and we are heartbroken at his loss," he added.
Dozens of firefighters and police officers were called to Beeston Marina
Anna Soubry, Conservative MP for Broxtowe, tweeted Owen had "lost his life in the Trent trying to help others".
The MP also raised the issue in the House of Commons, calling for government action to co-ordinate safety measures around open water.
"This is a terrible accident and everyone's thoughts are with Owen's family and friends," she said.
A body was found four hours after the alarm was raised
Narrow boat owner Brad O'Riordan said the water at Riverside Road, near to where Owen was last seen, was very dangerous.
He said: "It's a very fast current there. I don't think the kids realise what they're getting into when they go into the water."
About 30 firefighters helped with the search, which involved three power boats, a police helicopter and an air ambulance.
There was a sombre mood among the barge owners and dog walkers at Beeston Marina early this morning.
Some described seeing the boy entering the water to help a pair of girls who had got into trouble at the weir.
One barge owner told me the 12-year-old was standing on the weir when he picked a girl out, but his legs gave way and he never surfaced.
Many had questions over safety at the beauty spot, which is a magnet for youngsters when the weather is good.
Most people I spoke to said lifebelts had been stolen or vandalised.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-40564099 |
Florida family rescued by beachgoers' human chain - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | "I witnessed many brave citizens risking their safety and their lives," one witness said. | US & Canada | Eighty beachgoers linked hands at Panama City beach in Florida to rescue a family
In a testament to the true human spirit, 80 beachgoers formed a human chain in Panama City Beach in Florida to help save a family pulled in to the water by strong tides.
Roberta Ursey and her family were at the beach on Saturday when she heard her sons crying out for help.
Luckily, Jessica Simmons and her husband came to the rescue, encouraging people to hold hands and reach out for those who were in difficulties.
Ms Ursey's mother, who was among several others trapped in the rip current, suffered a heart attack and remains in hospital.
Ms Simmons, who is from Alabama and said she was raised in a pool and a lake since she could crawl, posted on Facebook that there were heavy rains at the beach when the incident occurred.
"I can hold my breath underwater and go around a Olympic pool with ease! I knew I could get them to the human chain of people that wanted to help," she stated.
Alongside her husband and the help of those forming the human chain, Ms Simmons shuttled people to safety on her bodyboard.
"To see people from different races and genders come into action to help total strangers is absolutely amazing! People who didn't even know each other went hand in hand in a line, into the water to try and reach them," she continued.
Rosalind Beckton, 38, who is a regular visitor to the beach, was there at the time with her 12-year-old son and witnessed the incident.
She told the BBC that she administered CPR to a woman who looked to be in need and who later suffered a heart attack.
"I witnessed many brave citizens risking their safety and their lives to form this human chain. It was amazing and heart warming to see," she continued.
Ms Beckton added that she didn't see any lifeguards on duty at the time.
Ms Ursey, who was rescued from the water alongside her family, told the News Herald: "I am so grateful... These people were God's angels that were in the right place at the right time.
"I owe my life and my family's life to them. Without them, we wouldn't be here."
• None Home washed away after rescue in Australia | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40572378 |
Italian tourist treasure turned into ghost town by earthquake - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | As you approach Castelluccio, you can see the shattered buildings more reminiscent of a war zone. | Europe | From a distance Castelluccio looks the same as it has done for 1,000 years, a beautiful hilltop town in the midst of one of Italy's most celebrated plains, the Piano Grande.
But even from the road below the village you can see the buildings are shattered, roofs collapsed, more reminiscent of a war zone than the Umbrian countryside.
Nearly a year on from the earthquakes which devastated this region of central Italy, visitors have just been allowed back into the so-called "zona rossa" near Castellucio, although not the village itself.
The red zone marks areas still regarded as too dangerous to visit but an exception was made for people to see "La Fioritura". This is a spectacular showing of wild flowers in the meadows of the Piano Grande.
We joined a convoy of around 40 cars to be taken through army road blocks high up into the Sibillini mountains.
Cornflowers and poppies colour the 16 sq km plain surrounded by the Sibillini mountains
Village after village showed the impact of the earthquakes that hit this region, first in August 2016 and then again in October.
These villages look as if the earthquake had just happened, instead of nearly a year ago. Most of the people who lived there have been moved to hotels on the coast.
We left our cars on top of a high ridge and trekked for two hours down on to the plain, overlooked by the jagged peak of Monte Vettore, which marks the boundary between Umbria and Le Marche.
A deep, black crack could be seen high up on the mountainside which had appeared after the earthquake.
The crack on the mountain, the lower of two lines, is up to a metre wide
As we came down on to the plain, extraordinary splashes of colour came into view, reminiscent of an Impressionist canvas.
Meadows were tinted red with swathes of poppies, others bright blue with cornflowers. Normally there would be 10,000 visitors a day to photograph the splendours of the Fioritura, we were told. This year it is in the hundreds.
There are more beehives than people in the fields.
The Piano Grande's fields are unusually deserted this year
The 16 sq km (6 sq miles) Piano Grande - literally the big plain - was once a glacier lake and is surrounded by mountains.
It is here that the farmers of Castelluccio plant their lentils, a crop that has become famous amongst foodies around the world.
This year they were only allowed in by convoy to prepare for the season ahead. No-one is allowed up into this ghost village at 1,452m (4,760 ft).
Below what has been his home for generations, Lorenzo Caponecchi is selling lentils and wild peas in a stall by the side of the road.
I wondered why it was taking time for rebuilding to begin. Was it because these were such old buildings or was it a question of money?
Lorenzo and Monia run a stall in the shadow of Castelluccio
No, said his partner Monia Falzetti angrily. "It's the state and the politicians. There is plenty of money from the EU but we aren't seeing any of it."
Other former inhabitants of Castelluccio are so angry at the lack of help that they believe visitors should not be allowed into the Piano Grande.
It is the tourism of rubble, they proclaim.
Rubble tourism? The remains of homes in the village of Trisungo
But the local mayor told La Repubblica that the flowers of the Piano Grande do not just belong to the people of Castelluccio. They are the world's heritage and, besides, more tourism will help the local economy.
Side by side in this unique valley, you can see the sublime beauty of nature at its most spectacular but also the forces of nature at its most destructive.
In a few moments here houses that existed for hundreds of years were torn down and reverted to stones. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40554843 |
Did NHS stats become a political football? - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Correspondence seen by the BBC reveals how officials agonised over publication. | Health | NHS monthly performance stats are not everyone's idea of a gripping read. Spreadsheets and tables are buried in the NHS England website and hard to find for the uninitiated. But they amount to a vitally important barometer of the pressures in A&E units and the waits experienced by patients for both emergency care and routine surgery.
A set of data due during the General Election campaign was postponed. Correspondence seen by the BBC reveals how politically sensitive this decision was.
Whitehall conventions ban the release of controversial announcements during election campaigns. Data releases for which the release date has not already been published will be held till after polling day. But official stats with a publication date already in the calendar will be put out as normal.
The NHS England monthly performance data had been carded some time before for June 8th which, it later turned out, was to be polling day. A Freedom of Information request by BBC News has revealed delicate internal discussions about whether or not to press on with publication on that day.
An official from the UK Statistics Authority advises Government bodies and departments in an email that statistical publications of "significant public interest" due on June 8th should be rescheduled - "publishing on polling day presents difficulties in communicating data clearly and fully, not least because of restrictions in place around reporting."
Intriguingly an NHS England manager responds with a concern that "changing the timing of this release in either direction would, to me, create the perception of political interference which tends me towards keeping the release for the original date."
The unnamed UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) official, acting on behalf of the National Statistician, warns again of the difficulties with communicating data on polling day and continued: "If you were challenged about political interference, the response would be that this is about ensuring orderly release".
The NHS manager comes back questioning how the release of data on polling day would not be orderly and asking for more of an explanation of the difficulties releasing data that day. There is another reference to "reticence" about changing the date because of how that might be perceived.
The UKSA official points out that broadcast media are not permitted to report anything about the election on polling day and the Whitehall conventions prevent any corrections of mistakes by journalists. NHS England then decides to announce a 24 hour delay in publication till June 9th and puts out a statement saying the decision was taken on the recommendation of the National Statistician, UK Statistics Authority.
The figures, which came out on June 9th, revealed a slight improvement in A&E performance (patients seen within four hours), but also the highest number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine surgery since September 2008.
The postponed publication will not warrant a mention in the history books and in the hurly burly of the election campaign the decision did not generate much of a political row beyond social media. But the email exchange lifts a lid on the world of politics and data. It raises questions about whether the data should have been brought forward one day instead of delayed - and whether snap general elections should derail planned data releases.
All this comes a short time after NHS England quietly changed the timing of future data. In 2015, the organisation controversially moved from publishing weekly A&E waiting time figures to monthly. The logic given was that this would be in line with other statistics, such as waits for routine surgery. The result was a delay of six weeks so, for example, the key January A&E data was not published till March.
A leak of internal NHS A&E data to the BBC's Faye Kirkland in January resulted in the intervention of the UK Statistics Authority. NHS England was criticised for circulating weekly data inside the organisation but delaying official publication for six weeks. The organisation has now decided to cut the delay till two weeks so, for example, from August this year, A&E data for July will be published.
Official statistics allow patients and the media to assess the performance of the NHS. Delays are not in anyone's interest. Recent revelations suggest that the timing of these stats has not been as straightforward as it might have been.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40554470 |
Teachers raise concerns over Sats marking - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Misshapen semi-colons and straying outside of a box have cost pupils marks, teachers claim. | Education & Family | Primary head teacher Cathryn Throup highlighted the guidance given to markers
Primary school teachers in England have taken to social media to vent their anger about what they claim are inconsistencies in the marking of this year's national curriculum test (Sats).
Using the hashtag #SATsshambles on Twitter, teachers have listed a range issues and are calling on all schools to go through their pupils' marked papers to check for errors.
The Department for Education said results of the tests were "robust and accurate" but head teachers could apply for a review of contested marks.
According to the teachers tweeting, 10- and 11-year-olds were asked to put punctuation in a pre-written sentence and - even though they got the right answer - did not get a mark because their commas were not curved the right way or their semi-colon was too large or not in precisely the right place.
They also complained about marking guidance which they claimed only markers, not teachers, had access to.
Primary head teacher Cathryn Throup tweeted some of the issued guidance which gave details of the "origin, height, depth and orientation" of semi-colons - or where pupils' should write their answers.
Primary teacher Liz Hindley, who tweets as @Leaping_liz, put up pictures of four answers all featuring the semi-colon in the correct place, but two were given a mark and two were not.
"The lack of consistency is so frustrating," she said.
Other teachers raised similar issues, such as pupils' answers straying outside of the box.
Brian Walton, head teacher of Brookside Academy in Somerset, told the BBC that schools had not been told that markers would mark pupils down for misshapen semi-colons and answers straying outside of a box.
"The markers had guidance that none of the teachers, none of the schools knew about, so a lot of this guidance about the size and the shape and the orientation and how we form letters - we didn't know that," he told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
"Remember, they [pupils] are putting written semi-colons in text type with no gaps between the writing at the same time - we're really getting pernickety when we're getting to that level."
Mr Walton said he did know the scale of the problem, but had already had 50 or 60 heads in his area contact him with concerns.
Writer and poet Michael Rosen tweeted: "The punctuation police demand that the mark has to be drawn correctly and at the right angle."
In a statement, Pearson, the company which administered the Sats, said: "Marking quality is extremely important and is something we monitor continuously.
"In the unusual circumstance that there is an error, there is a review process in place which ensures a fair and transparent system and enables Pearson to correct any discrepancies and ensure pupils receive a fair mark."
A spokesman for the DfE said there were "a number of measures in place to ensure that schools' Key Stage 2 writing teacher assessment judgements are robust and accurate".
"The Standards and Testing Agency takes any issues with the accuracy of schools' teacher assessment judgments very seriously.
"Any concerns about particular schools should be reported to the STA so that they may be properly investigated."
But teacher unions criticised the marking for being inconsistent, saying pupils were being marked down on a technicality when it was clear they knew the correct answer to the question.
This pupil received no marks, despite appearing to answer the question correctly
Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "We now operate within a testing culture which appears focused on catching young children out rather than recording their achievements.
"Such a culture will swiftly erode the confidence of parents and teachers that the system is operating in the best interests of pupils.
"The stakes are so high that we seem unable to apply reasonable common sense."
Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: ""We already know that moderation is inconsistent and open to gaming.
"Now, teachers are finding out that marking is unreliable too.
"The system does not deserve anyone's trust, and it should not be the basis on which schools are held to account."
Last week, official figures showed two-fifths (39%) of primary school pupils in England had failed to meet the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.
However, this summer's results were an improvement on the success rate last year (53%), which was the first year of new, more rigorous tests. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40567217 |
The anti-immigration party trying to recruit immigrants - BBC News | 2017-07-11 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Their manifesto calls for a near-total halt to immigration, but the far-right political party Britain First is now actively trying to appeal to Polish immigrants living in the UK. | BBC Trending | Although their manifesto calls for a near-total halt to immigration, the far-right political party Britain First is now actively trying to appeal to Polish immigrants.
They are a fringe group, with no elected officials at any level, but Britain First has about 1.9 million Facebook likes - more than any other UK political party. And now they're trying to use that social media footprint to make explicit appeals to Polish immigrants living in the UK.
A string of Britain First videos that seem designed to attract a Polish audience have appeared online. Recent ones include a video from Jacek Miedlar, a Polish far-right former priest, an interview with a Polish media outlet that has over half a million views, and videos by Polish Britain First supporters encouraging others to support the party.
Miedlar, who has over 25,000 subscribers on YouTube, is an activist known for his anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic views. He has tried to travel to the UK twice this year to attend Britain First rallies but was stopped by UK authorities.
The videos have been posted despite Britain First's anti-immigration manifesto which calls for cash payments to foreigners to leave the UK, a complete halt to immigration except for people who marry British citizens, and a call to make it "an act of treason to implement any policy or measure, or sign any agreement, that facilitates and/or results in significant numbers of foreigners entering the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom with the aim of settling."
Despite the party's hard line on immigration, Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen told BBC Trending that post-Brexit, all European immigrants who are already in the UK should be allowed to stay, as long as they aren't criminals or Muslims. The party also supports a total ban on Islam in the UK, a policy they believe will attract some support from Polish migrants.
Poles form the largest immigrant community in Britain. There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015 - a jump of almost 750,000 compared with the number in 2004, the year Poland joined the European Union.
Rafal Pankowski from the Polish anti-hate charity Never Again says the party's attempts to appeal to UK-based Polish people may have something to do with what he perceives to be a trend towards the far-right in Polish society.
"We have been witnessing a rise in far-right activity in Poland itself as well," he says. "And unfortunately the Polish people in the UK have been victims of discrimination and hate crime especially since the Brexit referendum. And some of them have been turning to Polish far-right nationalist groups for a sense of belonging."
A number of videos have appeared on the Britain First Youtube channel seemingly aimed at the UK's Polish population
Wiktor Moszczynski, a former spokesperson for the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, agrees that there has been a spike of far-right activity amongst Polish people living in the UK, but says that such activity has recently died down.
"At the moment the trend tends to be towards the right in Polish society, both in Poland and to some extent here in the UK, but when I say right that doesn't necessarily mean radical right," Moszczynski tells BBC Trending radio.
"Suddenly these groups began turning up in demonstrations in the UK over the last two or three years generally wearing Polish fascist symbols, but what I do have to say is I have not seen anything of this in the last year," he says. "I have been spoken to by the police who are very concerned about these groups, so we do know that there may still be an undercurrent. But at the moment the problem seems to have been in remission, temporarily at least."
He says a majority of the younger Polish community are resistant to the influence of far-right groups, including Britain First, but nevertheless the far-right spike is "not pleasant, particularly at a time when we're trying to build up sympathy for the Poles living in this country on the way they've been treated after the Brexit vote."
A recent report from the campaigning group Hope Not Hate said the largest and most organised neo-Nazi group in the UK is the National Rebirth of Poland. The presence of groups like these, Hope Not Hate says, has fuelled extreme far-right activists.
Britain First rarely runs candidates. When they do they receive a small amount of the vote, such as the 1.2% of the vote party leader Paul Golding attracted in the 2016 London mayoral election. Its outsized social media following is due to a combination of factors including paid advertising, a core group of dedicated followers, and the use of less controversial posts - for instance messages encouraging people to support the troops or the royal family - and other tactics to drive up the numbers of likes.
The group's Facebook page has also become something of an international hub people attracted to its anti-Islam message. According to an analysis by Trending, less than half (44%) of the group's Facebook likes come from accounts based inside the UK, with large numbers of likes coming from the US, Australia and Canada. Around 23,000 of the page's likes come from Polish accounts.
By way of comparison, 87% of the Labour Party's 1 million likes come from UK accounts. The figure for the Conservative Party (more than 600,000 likes) is 78%.
Fransen claims the party has a "growing number" of Polish members and supporters, but refused to provide membership figures. She says the party's low appeal at the ballot box can be explained by the fact that the group has been concentrating on direct action, including turning up at the homes and offices of elected officials.
Former Polish wrestling champion Marian Lukasik (left) called for the assassination of Angela Merkel over her country's refugee policy
Pankowski believes the membership figures are very small, yet says his organisation saw via social media a number of Polish flags and Polish people at a Britain First rally in Birmingham last month.
In one video from the event, a UK-based Polish former wrestling champion Marian Lukasik, can be heard advocating the assassination of German Chancellor Angela Merkel because of her country's refugee policy. Lukasik has recently made other videos in support of Britain First.
"Britain First decided to attract support among the Polish community in the UK against Muslims, and a small section of the Polish community in the UK is probably prone to such messages," Pankowski says. "But obviously it's ironic because Polish migrants and Muslim migrants in the UK actually have a lot in common in terms of the everyday challenges they face."
You can find BBC Trending on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-40509632 |
Gatwick Express train death man's injuries 'not survivable' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Simon Brown, 24, hit his head on a gantry while travelling on a Gatwick Express train in August. | England | Simon Brown was killed when he was travelling on the Gatwick Express last August
A man who died on the Gatwick Express was found by another passenger with a "massive trauma" to his head, an inquest has heard.
Simon Brown, 24, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, hit his head on a signal gantry on 7 August.
The hearing in London was told that passenger Kirstin Duffield heard a "loud thud".
In a statement read by the coroner, she said she found Mr Brown with an injury that was "not survivable".
The train from Gatwick to London Victoria was travelling at about 60mph when the incident happened near Balham, south London.
Mark Young, from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), told the hearing Mr Brown's head was out of the window with no evidence to indicate why.
He said Mr Brown suffered a fatal head injury as a result of striking a signal gantry.
Ms Duffield said she saw Mr Brown had collapsed in the corridor after she stood up from her seat, but saw he was still breathing.
"There was a lot of blood on the floor and around his head. There was a massive trauma to the top of his head," she said.
She said it became apparent there was nothing she could do for him.
The train stopped at Wandsworth Common where paramedics tried to save Mr Brown
The inquest heard Ms Duffield got off the train at Wandsworth Common after the alarm was raised and the driver had been alerted.
She said she saw "blood splatter" on the outside of the carriage, but had not seen Mr Brown with his head out of the window.
Mr Brown's mother, Jane Street, said her son had a passion for railways and "was neither reckless nor ignorant of the dangers of that environment".
In a statement, she said her son first volunteered on the Bluebell Railway as a nine-year-old and had recently become an engineering technician with Hitachi Rail Europe in Bristol.
Mr Brown's father, Mike Brown, said his son had been due to move in with his girlfriend and he had "never seen him so relaxed, happy and enthusiastic about his future".
Mr Brown was on a Gatwick Express train when he suffered the fatal injury
Questioned about findings by the RAIB, Mr Young said the distance between the window and gantry was found to be 26cm while the train was static.
He said it complied with standards for existing structures but was less than an industry-recommended minimum for new structures.
He also said it had been found the distance between the gantry and a moving carriage could have been as little as 68mm.
He said the window opposite the guard's compartment was not intended for passenger use, although it was accessible to anyone on the train and open when the train left Gatwick.
A yellow sticker on the door warning people not to lean out of the window was "in a rather cluttered environment" among many other signs, he noted.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40581737 |
Premier League kicks on to record revenues of £3.6bn - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Premier League earnings are boosted by broadcast earnings, with TV cash set to soar. | Business | Buoyant Uefa TV income helped Premier League clubs' revenues rise 9% to a record £3.6bn in the 2015-16 season, according to analysis from Deloitte.
It says broadcast earnings of £1.9bn accounted for more than half of the top flight clubs' total revenues.
A new domestic TV deal which kicked in last year means overall revenues continue to grow strongly, it added.
For a third straight season, clubs' combined operating profits exceeded £500m, but wages rose 12% to £2.3bn.
"Even in the final year of its old broadcast contracts, Premier League revenues continued to set new records," said Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte's sports business group, which has unveiled its latest Annual Review of Football Finance.
He said the broadcasting boost to revenues in 2015-16 was mainly down to European federation Uefa increasing its payments to Premier League clubs by £100m.
Mr Jones said Premier League clubs were now reaping the benefit of a new broadcast rights cycle which started in 2016-17, plus new commercial agreements, and match day revenue growth from new and expanded stadia.
Deloitte says it now expects total Premier League clubs' revenues to be more than £4.5bn in 2017-18.
A new broadcasting cycle is now in operation
Meanwhile, Premier League net debt fell for the third consecutive season, by £125m (5%) to £2.2bn at the end of the 2015-16 season.
However, while Premier League clubs returned to a collective pre-tax loss in 2015-16. Deloitte said this was the result of exceptional, or one-off, accounting adjustments, without which clubs collectively would have broken even.
One example of these one-off adjustments was Chelsea making a big financial provision to cover the cost of the early cancellation of their kit deal with Adidas.
"We fully expect that Premier League clubs will collectively achieve record levels of profitability in the seasons to come," said Mr Jones.
In the Championship, overall revenues increased to a new record level of £556m in 2015-16, and have risen by 74% in the past decade.
But for the third time in four years, clubs spent more on wages (£561m) than they generated in revenue, resulting in a record operating loss of £261m. This follows two seasons where losses have been reduced.
Clubs in the Championship stand to see their revenues jump by at least £170m from promotion to the Premier League, rising to over £290m if they survive one season.
But Deloitte says there there is a danger that Championship clubs may continue to be tempted "to spend excessively relative to their revenues, particularly on wages".
Former Chelsea captain John Terry has signed for Aston Villa on a reported £60,000 a week, plus further cash incentives should they win promotion
Yet Deloitte points out that Huddersfield Town's promotion at the end of the 2016-17 season shows any Championship club can reach the Premier League, regardless of their budget. And they point out that in 2015-16 Huddersfield had the Championship's fourth-lowest wage costs.
Including Football League clubs, the top 92 professional teams in England generated a record £4.4bn in revenue in 2015-16, Deloitte said.
The 92 clubs contributed £1.6bn to UK government in taxes in 2015-16, up from £1.5bn the year before.
In Scotland, despite Celtic's failure to qualify for the Uefa Champions League group stages for the second consecutive season, Scottish Premiership clubs' aggregate revenues grew 10% to 149m euros.
Celtic continued to generate more than 50% of total revenues as they won the league for a fifth consecutive season, and Deloitte says "their participation in the 2016-17 Uefa Champions League group stages will result in a substantial uplift in revenue".
Oscar (r) has been one of the Chinese Super League's biggest signings
China's investment and influence in football has been growing in both domestic clubs' playing squads and infrastructure, and foreign club purchases and sponsorship.
In their 2016-17 winter transfer window, Chinese Super League clubs spent more than £300m on players, including Oscar's transfer from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG and Odion Ighalo's move from Watford to Changchun Yatai.
But Deloitte says some recent political moves could curtail this player spending boom.
In January, the government body responsible for regulation of sport in China said that a cap on player salaries and transfer fees would be established to control "irrational investment".
That month, the Chinese Football Association also implemented a stricter rule allowing only three foreign players to participate for a club in a super league fixture. This replaced the previous "4 plus 1" rule which allowed four foreigners plus one (non-Chinese) Asian player in a matchday squad.
And in June 2017, the Chinese Football Association said clubs that were loss making and spent in excess of 45m yuan (c.£5m) on a foreign player must pay an amount equivalent to the excess into a national fund to develop young Chinese players. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40555593 |
Kirstie Allsopp criticised for washing machine comment - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has provoked a debate on social media for saying washing machines should not be kept in the kitchen | UK | When it comes to the laundry, it's all about location, location, location, according to TV host Kirstie Allsopp. The presenter of property programmes has provoked a debate after posting on Twitter that it is disgusting to keep washing machines in the kitchen.
The remark, in response to a journalist's comments about Americans finding the British way of placing washing machines in kitchens confusing, provoked a (mostly) humorous backlash on social media.
Moments after the post one Twitter user asked where exactly in the home the washing machine should be located if a homeowner did not have a utility room to which Ms Allsopp replied: "Bathroom, hall cupboard, airing cupboard, google tiny laundry rooms."
"Really? We live in a moderately-sized, four-bed semi and couldn't fit a washing machine anywhere other than the kitchen!" remarked another Twitter user, while another commented: "What is disgusting is disrespecting those who have nowhere else to put one. "
Another Tweeter referred to the issue as "first world problems."
Realising the washing machine comment had provoked such a debate, Ms Allsopp attempted to quell the barrage of negative comments directed at her.
But the mocking continued, provoking some post-watershed language from the TV presenter, aimed at those who had still failed to grasp she was joking when she said it was her "life's work" to get washing machines out of the kitchen.
Most got the message as the responses took a humorous turn.
Washing machines in many parts of the US and Europe are placed in the bathroom or separate utility rooms, but in most UK homes they are usually found in the kitchen, in part because in the UK there are no electrical sockets in the bathroom and most UK bathrooms could not fit a washing machine.
Or maybe there were alternatives, suggested Nick. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40571843 |
Grieving mum says Doppler device gave 'false reassurance' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | She said the foetal listening device gave her "false reassurance" her unborn baby was alive. | Berkshire | Vicki McNelly said a hospital sonogram revealed her baby had died in the womb
A grieving mother has warned pregnant women not to use a home foetal listening device that gave her "false reassurance" her unborn baby was alive.
Vicki McNelly, 29, thought she heard the baby moving when she used the Doppler kit but her daughter was stillborn the following day.
Manufacturers say the kits are safe and should not be linked to stillbirths.
Experts who have been "specially trained" regularly use the monitors but discourage the use of them at home.
Mrs McNelly, from Mortimer near Reading, is calling for the Doppler devices to be banned.
She had used the kit - which can be bought over-the-counter from about £25 - in June 2015 to help her husband bond with their baby.
However, after waking and "feeling something was wrong" in the middle of the night, she used it to check for a heartbeat and movement.
Vicki McNelly and her husband Stephen were able to cradle the baby after she was stillborn
"Because I heard something, I convinced myself I must be okay and that everything would be fine," she said.
"If the Doppler wasn't in the house I would have only been able to rely on my own instincts. I think the Doppler gave me a false sense of security."
Mrs McNelly said a hospital sonogram revealed her child, who she had named Evie, had died in the womb.
Dr Alison Wright, Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said she "strongly discourages" the use of Dopplers at home.
"These devices can cause huge anxiety among pregnant women if they are not able to hear their baby's heartbeat and therefore understandably worry until they can see their doctor or midwife," she said.
"Also, potentially, women may be falsely reassured as hearing a heartbeat is not necessarily an indication that it is well with the baby.
"Unlike doctors and midwives who are specially trained to use foetal heart monitors, women who use Dopplers themselves may easily mistake their own heartbeat for their baby's."
Mrs McNelly has now joined stillbirth charity Kicks Count to call for the devices to be banned - with a petition reaching more than 11,000 signatures.
CEO of Kicks Count, Elizabeth Hudson, said Dopplers "create a barrier between the mum and seeking medical help".
She said many brands were marketed to expectant mothers, but should only be used by trained professionals such as midwives and doctors.
"Women are using Dopplers and being reassured by them, and unfortunately that leads to missed opportunities to save babies who may be in distress," Ms Hudson added.
The BBC contacted several Doppler manufacturers, which said their devices should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-40580726 |
Thomas Cook wins fake holiday sickness case - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The travel company vows to fight other fraudulent damages claims after a court victory. | Business | There has been a spike in fake sickness claims by UK holidaymakers, industry bodies say
Travel company Thomas Cook says it has won a legal victory against a fake holiday sickness claim and plans to challenge other such claims in court.
It comes after a family tried to win up to £10,000 in damages for food poisoning on a trip to the Canary Islands.
A judge at Liverpool County Court dismissed the case on Monday after concluding they were not sick.
It follows reports of a "huge rise" in fake sickness claims by UK tourists.
In June, the travel trade organisation Abta launched a campaign to tackle the problem, saying it was "one of the biggest issues that has hit the travel industry for many years".
It said tens of thousands of holidaymakers had made claims in the past year - worth between £3,000 and £5,000 each - despite reported sickness levels in resorts remaining stable.
Speaking after the hearing in Liverpool, Thomas Cook managing director Chris Mottershead said the company would "not accept liability" in such cases.
"It's not comfortable for us to be in court questioning our customers' credibility, but the significant increase in unreported illness claims being received by the travel industry threatens holidays for all UK customers," he said.
The claimants said poor food and hygiene at their hotel made them sick
"This case follows an increasingly common pattern for these claims, with a previously unreported illness being raised years after the holiday, with no medical or other evidence to support the illness having occurred."
Thomas Cook said that Julie Lavelle, 33, her partner Michael McIntyre, 34, and their two young children had sought compensation after stating they suffered gastroenteritis on the third day of a two-week holiday in 2013.
The family blamed poor food and hygiene at their hotel on Gran Canaria and said their symptoms continued after they had returned the UK.
Thomas Cook said they did not mention their condition to hotel staff or tour representatives in the resort.
The company also said Mr McIntyre filled out a holiday feedback questionnaire on his flight home and left the section on illness unanswered.
The family's law firm, Bridger & Co of Carmarthenshire, was not immediately available for comment.
Abta said that rules designed to stop a spike in fraudulent whiplash claims have fuelled the rise in holiday sickness reports as they do not apply to incidents abroad.
It said holidaymakers pursuing fake or exaggerated claims risked being barred from resorts or ending up in prison.
In July, the government said it planned to tackle the problem by reducing the cash incentives of bringing such cases against holiday firms.
Justice Secretary David Lidington also said the government wanted to limit the legal costs that travel firms had to pay out for the claims.
"Our message to those who make false holiday sickness claims is clear - your actions are damaging and will not be tolerated," Mr Lidington said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40575874 |
Giant iceberg splits from Antarctic - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A block of ice a quarter the size of Wales calves from the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. | Science & Environment | This view of the iceberg was taken by Nasa's Suomi NPP satellite
One of the biggest icebergs ever recorded has just broken away from Antarctica.
The giant block is estimated to cover an area of roughly 6,000 sq km; that's about a quarter the size of Wales.
A US satellite observed the berg on Wednesday while passing over a region known as the Larsen C Ice Shelf.
Scientists were expecting it. They'd been following the development of a large crack in Larsen's ice for more than a decade.
The rift's propagation had accelerated since 2014, making an imminent calving ever more likely.
The more than 200m-thick tabular berg will not move very far, very fast in the short term. But it will need to be monitored. Currents and winds might eventually push it north of the Antarctic where it could become a hazard to shipping.
An infrared sensor on the American space agency's Aqua satellite spied clear water in the rift between the shelf and the berg on Wednesday. The water is warmer relative to the surrounding ice and air - both of which are sub-zero.
"The rift was barely visible in these data in recent weeks, but the signature is so clear now that it must have opened considerably along its whole length," explained Prof Adrian Luckman, whose Project Midas at Swansea University has followed the berg's evolution most closely.
The event was confirmed by other spacecraft such as Europe's Sentinel-1 satellite-radar system.
How does it compare with past bergs?
The new Larsen berg is probably in the top 10 biggest ever recorded.
The largest observed in the satellite era was an object called B-15. It came away from the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000 and measured some 11,000 sq km. Six years later, fragments of this super-berg still persisted and passed by New Zealand.
In 1956, it was reported that a US Navy icebreaker had encountered an object of roughly 32,000 sq km. That is bigger than Belgium. Unfortunately, there were no satellites at the time to follow up and verify the observation.
It has been known also for the Larsen C Ice Shelf itself to spawn bigger bergs. An object measuring some 9,000 sq km came away in 1986. Many of Larsen's progeny can get wound up in a gyre in the Weddell sea or can be despatched north on currents into the Southern Ocean, and even into the South Atlantic.
A good number of bergs from this sector can end up being caught on the shallow continental shelf around the British overseas territory of South Georgia where they gradually wither away.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
What is the significance of the calving?
In and of itself, probably very little. The Larsen C shelf is a mass of floating ice formed by glaciers that have flowed down off the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula into the ocean. On entering the water, their buoyant fronts lift up and join together to make a single protrusion.
The calving of bergs at the forward edge of the shelf is a very natural behaviour. The shelf likes to maintain an equilibrium and the ejection of bergs is one way it balances the accumulation of mass from snowfall and the input of more ice from the feeding glaciers on land.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. File footage from the British Antarctic Survey showed the crack developing
That said, scientists think Larsen C is now at its smallest extent since the end of the last ice age some 11,700 years ago, and about 10 other shelves further to the north along the Peninsula have either collapsed or greatly retreated in recent decades.
The two nearby, smaller shelves, Larsen A and Larsen B, disintegrated around the turn of the century; and a warming climate very probably had a role in their demise.
But Larsen C today does not look like its siblings. Prof Helen Fricker, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told BBC News: "The signs we saw at Larsen A and B - we're not seeing yet. The thinning we saw for Larsen A and B - we're not seeing. And we're not seeing any evidence for large volumes of surface meltwater on the order of what you would need to hydro-fracture the ice shelf.
"Most glaciologists are not particularly alarmed by what's going on at Larsen C, yet. It's business as usual."
Researchers will be looking to see how the shelf responds in the coming years, to see how well it maintains a stable configuration, and if its calving rate changes.
There was some keen interest a while back when the crack, which spread across the shelf from a pinning point known as the Gipps Ice Rise, looked as though it might sweep around behind another such anchor called the Bawden Ice Rise. Had that happened, it could have prompted a significant speed-up in the shelf's seaward movement once the berg came off.
As it is, scientists are not now expecting a big change in the speed of the ice.
One fascinating focus for future study will be a strip of "warm", malleable ice that runs east-west through the shelf, reaching the ocean edge about 100km north from the Gipps Ice Rise. This strip is referred to as the Joerg suture zone. There is a large queue of cracks held behind it.
"Calving of the iceberg is not likely itself to make the existing cracks at the Joerg Peninsula suture zone more likely to jump across this boundary," observed Chris Borstad, from the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).
"At this stage we really don't know whether there is some larger-scale process that might be weakening this zone, like ocean melting at the base of the shelf, or whether the current rift was just a random or episodic event that was bound to happen at some point.
"We know that rifts like this periodically propagate and cause large tabular icebergs to break from ice shelves, even in the absence of any climate-driven changes.
"I am working with a number of colleagues to design field experiments on Larsen C to answer this specific question (by measuring the properties of the Joerg suture zone directly). But until we get down there and take some more measurements we can only speculate."
Scientists want to understand why a lot of cracks seem not to propagate across the ice shelf
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40321674 |
Recap: Prime Minister's Questions - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Prime Minister's Questions as it happened - with Damian Green and Emily Thornberry. | UK Politics | Priti Patel says that victory in Mosul comes after three years of fear, executions, abductions, destruction, and forced marriages under so-called Islamic State.
It is a "great victory" for the people of Iraq and "a great stride forward" in global security, she says, and praises Iraqi and Kurdish forces for their "courage and sacrifice" and in acting to reduce civilian casualties "wherever they could".
She warns however that we must be "realistic" about the challenges ahead.
The UK has been at the forefront of the humanitarian response, she says, and tells MPs that UK aid to Mosul will be £40m this year, bringing the total commitment in Iraq up to £209m since 2014. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-40571126 |
Weybridge Community Hospital engulfed by fire - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | People living near the scene of the blaze in Weybridge were told to leave their homes overnight. | Surrey | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Crews were called to the blaze late on Tuesday night
A large fire has ripped through Weybridge Community Hospital in Surrey.
Fire crews were called to the blaze at the building, which houses a walk-in centre that is only open during the daytime, late on Tuesday night.
People living near the scene of the fire have been evacuated from their homes for safety reasons and offered refuge inside St James' Parish Church.
The centre has been severely damaged and is not expected to reopen in the near future, the NHS said.
Images shared on social media show the roof of the three-storey all-purpose medical centre engulfed in flames.
There were also reports of several explosions, heard from up to a mile away.
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said they had eight pumps, two aerial ladder platforms and three water carriers at the scene at the height of the blaze.
Fire crews are still on the scene with smoke still billowing from the remains of the building.
Matt Leisegang, 28, who was evacuated from his home about 100m from the fire, said: "It was about 11.45pm when my wife woke me up and said there was a fire at the hospital.
"We heard people shouting outside and went to look through the window. Within about 15 minutes, the whole of the roof was alight.
"The building is only three storeys, and the top floor was completely engulfed in flames within a short time.
"Within about 40 minutes of the fire, the whole of the top floor was gone. I could only see flames."
The centre has been "severely damaged" and is not expected to reopen in the near future
An investigation is under way to find out what caused the fire
Charles Avens, who lives nearby, said: "Suddenly you could see flames leaping up over the back of the houses."
He said as he went to alert some of his neighbours some of the gas canisters at the hospital exploded.
"The noise was absolutely unbelievable, the houses were literally shaking as the gas canisters went up."
St James' Church was opened following the fire and some of the people who had been evacuated spent the night in the building.
Revd Brian Prothero said: "I got a phone call not long after midnight to say that the fire was raging, so I jumped on my bike and came over.
"Within half an hour it was full of people drinking coffee and tea.
"We were doing what ever we could do."
The building housed two GP practices and a walk-in centre
Police said in a statement that a "large number" of residents had been evacuated and that roads around the building, including Weybridge High Street, have been closed and will remain so "for some time".
An investigation is taking place to try to establish the cause of the blaze.
North Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group, community health provider CSH Surrey, and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals have issued a joint statement.
They said: "Unfortunately the building, which houses two local GP practices, the Weybridge Walk-in Centre and a number of other services such as imaging and physiotherapy, has been severely damaged and will not be re-opening in the near future.
"In the short-term, contingency plans are being put in place for local services including the two GP practices, Church Street and Rowan practices."
They added that people should use walk-in centres at Woking and Ashford and A&E "if absolutely necessary", and said they expected these services to be "very busy" on Wednesday.
The fire is just behind Church Street over the road from Lloyds Bank and Barclays.
There is such a smell of smoke in the air, all the way up to Weybridge station and also the Brooklands race track.
Looking over the roofs on Church Street I can still see smoke over the shops.
There is so much smoke that the police officers who closed Church Road are wearing face masks.
Three water carriers were among the Surrey Fire and Rescue vehicles at the scene
Thick smoke remains in the area after the fire overnight
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-40578016 |
Southern Rail work experience Eddie: 'I'm just being me' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Internet sensation Eddie is back on Southern Rail's Twitter account and appeared on BBC Radio 1. | England | "It's definitely been enjoyable, I can tell you that for a fact," said Eddie
Eddie, the work experience teen who took over Southern Rail's Twitter feed on Tuesday, says his new-found fame is an experience he will "carry with me for the rest of my life".
The company earlier posted a picture of the 15-year-old manning the account for a second day.
Instead of the usual complaints, he has been asked questions about duck-sized horses and how to make tea.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1 earlier, Eddie said: "I was just being me".
Talking to Scott Mills about the sensation caused by his tweets, he added: "I just tried to be myself and everything just turned out as it has.
Some did question whether Eddie really is who he says he is
"It's definitely been enjoyable, I can tell you that for a fact. Last week I was answering some tweets with guidance from the social team and so yesterday was the time I put myself out there and just said 'hello this is me'.
"It's been amazing, it's been an experience which I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
He thanked Twitter users who were "nice and forthcoming" but conceded some of the questions directed to him were "very strange".
"One of my favourites was somebody asking me what he should have for tea, Thai curry or chicken fajitas.
"Well, it's got to be chicken fajitas doesn't it?"
Eddie took on controversial issues, which have caused great debate for generations
The furore has transformed the usual fury-filled Southern Rail Twitter feed, where commuters complain of delayed and cancelled services. There has also been a bitter dispute over the role of guards which has affected Southern passengers for more than a year.
Mills said the youngster was "winning at life", taking to the front line of social media while most people spend their work experience photocopying.
Comparing the teen to "the new Ask Jeeves", Mills also toyed with the idea of hiring him for an occasional Radio 1 feature, Ask Eddie.
Eddie said he is not sure on his dream job at the moment, he "just wants to see what interests" him and pursue that when the day comes. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40580704 |
US African-American art exhibition Soul of a Nation opens at Tate Modern - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | New exhibition Soul of a Nation looks at how artists have explored what it means to be black. | Entertainment & Arts | The art world's response to the birth of Black Power is being highlighted at a major new exhibition at the Tate Modern.
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power explores what it meant to be black - and to be a black artist - in the USA from 1963 to 1983 as cultural identity was shifting and reforming.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Some of the pieces on show at the London gallery take direct inspiration from some of the key black figures of the day, as in Andy Warhol's Muhammad Ali.
Icon for My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved any Black People - Bobby Seale) by Barkley L Hendricks
Barkley Hendricks, who died earlier this year, told the Tate: "I'm just trying to do the best painting of the individuals who have piqued my curiosity and made me want to paint them."
His work Icon for My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved any Black People) was inspired by political activist Bobby Seale's statement that "Superman never saved any black people".
Black Children Keep Your Spirits Free by Carolyn Lawrence
Curator Mark Godfrey told the BBC: "We've done shows about American art for decades - it was a question of why hadn't we done one on African-American art?
"And there was every reason to do it as these are great artists making important work. We felt it was important to tell the story of this 20-year period when they were asking questions about the black aesthetic and what it means.
"It's a cohesive set of questions and a varied set of answers."
Wadsworth Jarrell - whose work Revolutionary is above - formed AfriCobra (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) with fellow artists Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Nelson Stevens and Gerald Williams in the late 1960s.
They were the only group to devise a manifesto for black art at this time.
Frank Bowling, born in British Guyana before moving from London to New York, was a key player in the Black Art movement, arguing that it could be abstract and did not need to be overtly political.
One of his other works, Middle Passage, is travelling outside of the US for the first time - and Bowling himself has not seen it since it was exhibited in 1971.
Did the Bear Sit Under a Tree by Benny Andrews
On that note, Godfrey said that many of the works - of which there are more than 150, by more than 60 artists - are being shown in the UK for the first time.
Some they wanted proved impossible to locate, including Phillip Lindsay Mason's The Death Makers. But its importance is being marked at the exhibition all the same.
Godfrey explained: "Even the artist doesn't know where it is. So we wanted to acknowledge its absence with a blank space."
We Shall Survive Without a Doubt by Emory Douglas
As well as such iconic artworks as Warhol's portrait of Ali, the exhibition also looks at how art was reflected on the streets of America.
The Black Panther Party's culture minister Emory Douglas said that "the ghetto itself is the gallery" and was behind posters like the one above.
Betye Saar is one of the female artists whose work looks at the black feminism movement and its impact on the two decades, increasing the visibility of black women.
Emma Amos once said in an interview that, in her opinion, "artists are extremely influenced by whatever is going on at the time they're coming into their powerful vision".
As the Tate said itself in its description of the show, it is a "timely opportunity to see how American cultural identity was reshaped at a time of social unrest and political struggle".
Soul of a Nation is at the Tate Modern from 12 July to 22 October
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None Soul of the Nation at Tate Modern The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40570293 |
Tech firms unite for 'net neutrality' protest - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A host of US internet giants will protest against plans to roll back rules protecting 'net neutrality'. | Technology | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Dave Lee explains what the protest is about
A host of internet giants - from social networks to dating apps to porn sites - will join a protest Wednesday against plans to roll back rules protecting "net neutrality".
The sites will display a variety of messages, or simulate the potential effects of losing the basic principle of all internet traffic being treated equally.
The US communications regulator earlier this year voted to remove an Obama-era rule that would prevent the prioritisation - or "throttling" - of data, as well as other measures campaigners consider to be detrimental to the internet.
Opponents to net neutrality say it stifles innovation and discourages investment in telecoms infrastructure.
Among the companies protesting, the headliners include Google, Facebook, Amazon, Reddit, AirBnB, Twitter and Snapchat.
Crowdfunding site Kickstarter will be involved, as will craft-selling site Etsy and dating app OkCupid. PornHub, one of the world's most visited sites, will also be taking part.
Google will be among those protesting
"Internet service providers could create special fast lanes for content providers willing to pay more," said Corey Price, vice president of PornHub.
"That means slow streaming, which, especially in regards to online porn, is quite problematic as you can imagine."
Campaigners told the BBC around 80,000 websites and services in all are taking part in the co-ordinated action that is designed to draw attention to a public consultation about the proposed rule reversal.
"What we want the FCC to hear, and we want members of Congress to hear, is that net neutrality is wildly popular, which it is, and we want them to stop trying to murder it," said Sean Vitka, a lawyer for pro-net neutrality groups Demand Progress and Fight for the Future.
"It stops large companies, like internet service providers, from controlling who wins or loses on the internet. There'd be nothing to stop your ISP stopping the next Facebook, the next Google, from accessing customers equally.
"If a new company can't access companies on the same terms as the incumbents they're not going to have the chance to thrive."
This kind of protest technique has been effective in the past.
When numerous firms went "dark" in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act, which they argued was a threat to free speech, it led to the bill being withdrawn.
But protest groups face a tougher battle in convincing the Republican-controlled FCC headed by new commissioner Ajit Pai.
Earlier this year the department described President Obama's rule as risking "online investment and innovation, threatening the very open internet it purported to preserve".
It added: "Requiring ISPs to divert resources to comply with unnecessary and broad new regulatory requirements threatens to take away from their ability to make investments that benefit consumers."
Promoting investment in infrastructure is the strongest of the anti-net neutrality arguments, with major telecoms companies arguing that the Googles and Facebooks of the world would not be able to run were it not for the high-speed internet connections offered by internet service providers.
Campaigners have countered this by suggesting it is the lure of enticing premium services like Netflix that tempt users into paying more for better internet access.
A more curious position came from mobile carrier AT&T which said it was supporting the protest - despite in the past being a vocal opponent of net neutrality.
"We agree that no company should be allowed to block content or throttle the download speeds of content in a discriminatory manner," the firm said.
"So, we are joining this effort because it's consistent with AT&T's proud history of championing our customers' right to an open internet and access to the internet content, applications, and devices of their choosing."
Campaign groups gave the company little credit, pointing out that it has sought to put in place data prioritisation, which would allow web companies to pay AT&T in order to get priority - i.e. quicker - access to their users.
"AT&T are lying when they say they support net neutrality, while actively opposing it," said Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, in an interview with tech news site Ars Technica.
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40575882 |
The prison monitor sacked after voicing her concerns - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Why was an independent prison monitor sacked after voicing her concerns? | Suffolk | When a letter arrived bearing official Ministry of Justice markings, Faith Spear knew her time monitoring prisons had come to an end
She was the watchdog who was accused of causing "embarrassment" by ministers and driven to the depths of despair after voicing concerns about prison monitoring. Then serious rioting erupted at several English prisons. Was Faith Spear right to blow the whistle on the state of England's jails?
Her fate was sealed with a printed, rather than handwritten, ministerial signature.
Received on a cold morning this January, Faith Spear, the suspended chairman of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at Hollesley Bay in Suffolk, knew what the letter from prisons minister Sam Gyimah would say.
She had, he told her, "repeatedly disclosed classified and other information, often in an inaccurate manner" and had "failed to comply with agreed policies and procedures".
Her role as chairman was terminated and she was told she could not serve on another IMB for at least five years.
To this day Mrs Spear believes she was punished by a system more interested in controlling its own reputation than listening to grave concerns over the state of prisons.
The spark for the Faith Spear case was an article published by The Prisons Handbook in April 2016 entitled "Whistle-blower without a whistle".
Using the pseudonym "Daisy Mallett", Mrs Spear challenged the idea that monitoring boards were truly independent.
"I want to speak out," said Mrs Spear in the article, which named neither individuals nor her own prison. "I am here as the public's eyes and ears, that is my role, but my voice is silenced.
"Prisons today are starved of resources. When I make the prison aware of issues with prisoners I am made to feel like I'm an irritation to them, but I am not here to irritate the prison process."
The repercussions were immediate.
A letter was fired off from the HQ of the Independent Monitoring Boards Secretariat - housed in the Ministry of Justice London HQ - to every IMB member in the country.
In it, president John Thornhill alleged Daisy Mallett's article contained "inaccuracies and misunderstandings".
He warned the Justice Secretary (then Michael Gove) had been alerted and "legal advice" sought.
In less than a year, Mrs Spear would be unmasked, suspended, involved in various hearings and ultimately sacked from her voluntary role as an IMB chairman.
Her experience echoes that of Ray Bewry, who to this day is the only former prisoner (his conviction was eventually quashed) to have served on an IMB.
"Any effective IMB member cannot do their job," claims Mr Bewry who served for a decade on the IMB at HMP Norwich.
"They want them to do what they are told, and not rock the boat."
At no stage did Mrs Spear seek to deny being Daisy Mallett
Having revealed she had three years of service and a degree in criminology, the outing of Daisy Mallett was perhaps inevitable.
Sure enough, within days of publication Mrs Spear, a mother of three, was called at home by then vice chairman Christine Smart asking her if she was behind the article.
Mrs Spear confirmed that she was.
And at the April 2016 meeting of her IMB board, Mrs Spear was made to read out a statement confessing to being the author of the offending article.
She was then expected to resign.
"It had already been planned as to how it was going be," she said. "I was ambushed."
"Faith just walked on to a minefield," says Mr Leech, the Thailand-based founder and editor of The Prisons Handbook.
"She should have refused to answer any questions and just move on with her business as chairman."
Perhaps. But hindsight is a beautiful thing.
Faith Spear is a known regular at Justice Committee meetings in Parliament
"I read my statement then had 50 minutes of every member questioning me, bullying me, taunting me. It was one of the worst experiences I have endured," Mrs Spear says.
Sent outside for 40 minutes, she was then told her board had unanimously decreed she should "step down as chairman".
"If I did not, there was an ultimatum," she said. "They would not work with me."
So what caused such a revolt?
Mr Leech believes the most likely trigger was that Mrs Spear "criticised the recruitment process".
This, he said, was tantamount to suggesting some IMB members were not up to the job.
Ray Bewry is the only former prisoner to have served on an IMB
The IMB Secretariat told the BBC it encourages members "to engage in the national debate on prison standards" though it cautioned "this must be a way that does not compromise their independence and draws upon evidence and experience".
The secretariat would not comment on the "specifics" of Mrs Spear's case, saying "any questions on the termination of an IMB member should be directed to the MoJ press office as these are ministerial appointments".
Something else happened while Mrs Spear was absent from the boardroom. Nomination forms were created for her successor and a new vice chairman.
Mrs Spear only learned of this because a fellow member broke ranks and sent a chain of emails to her.
One, from Mrs Spear's predecessor Dr David Smith to the then vice chairman Christine Smart, concerned "nominees for board positions".
In it, he wrote: "A delicate one, that was devised in the hope or expectation that Faith would resign.
"She has not and if she became aware that nominations had been requested, it would add fuel to the fire.
"I suppose we could always tear up the nomination forms and pretend it never happened."
Mr Leech, who was also sent copies of the leaked emails, said: "What we had here were people saying 'we will just rip it up and pretend it never happened'."
Joseph Spear told how his wife ceased eating properly after the board meeting revolt
The BBC approached Dr Smith and Mrs Smart about both the attempt to get Mrs Spear to stand down and the leaked emails.
Dr Smith declined to explain what he intended by his emails to fellow board members.
However, he said an investigation into the matter had concluded that those "complained about had no case to answer as the allegations against them had not been substantiated".
Mrs Smart too said the matter had been "independently investigated and reported to the minister and a decision taken" adding: "I have nothing further to add."
The Ministry of Justice was asked whether the nomination forms were a contravention of IMB rules and whether it felt Mrs Spear's allegations of bullying behaviour against fellow IMB members had been properly investigated. Neither question was answered.
Both Mrs Smart and Dr Smith subsequently resigned from the IMB of Hollesley Bay.
For weeks after that fateful meeting in April, Mrs Spear continued to carry out prison visits at Hollesley Bay.
And at the May 2016 board meeting, she found herself sitting alone.
"There have been some real lows. Seeing the physical and mental impact on Faith in front of me was remarkable."
During this time, she spoke about her experience to the East Anglian Daily Times (EADT).
In June, she found she had been suspended. A letter from previous prisons minister Andrew Selous cited the EADT article - and not the Prisons Handbook piece - as grounds for the suspension .
A few months after Mrs Spear was suspended, her worst fears about prisons were realised with a string of riots including at Bedford , Birmingham and Swaleside in Kent
The letter told her she was accused of "failing to treat colleagues with respect" and for "acting in a manner which could bring discredit or cause embarrassment to the IMB".
"It was just astonishing what people had engineered against her," says Mr Spear. "I have seen her rebound and find her feet and a place to rearticulate the issues she was concerned about."
Independent Monitoring Boards are "part of the UK's obligations to the United Nations for independent monitoring of prisons", says Mr Leech.
"IMBs need to be fit for purpose. They are not. They are groomed to be quiet."
The Ministry of Justice said: "We value the work of Independent Monitoring Boards which play a vital role in ensuring prisons are places of safety and reform."
A few months after Mrs Spear was suspended, her worst fears were realised with a string of prison riots at places such as Bedford , Birmingham, Lewes and Swaleside in Kent.
At Bedford, £1m of damage was caused while in Birmingham stairwells were set alight and paper records destroyed during trouble on four wings of the category B prison.
The IMB Secretariat issued a statement on the riots. Its irony was not lost on Mrs Spear.
In it, Mr Thornhill claimed: "IMB members have regularly expressed great frustration that their real concerns about the state of prisons has been largely ignored over the years."
He spoke of "serious issues" and "staff shortages", words not too far removed from Mrs Spear's own warnings that prisons were being "starved of resources".
And then, in January, she was sacked as IMB chairman.
"The crisis in our prisons has never been as bad as it is now," says Mr Leech.
"In the case of the Faith, they shot the messenger and they did not read the message."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39113391 |
Electrical fire closes London Paddington station - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The station was closed for about three hours, with many evening services cancelled or severely delayed. | London | The station remained closed for more than two hours
About 2,000 people were evacuated and trains cancelled or delayed due to an electrical fire at London Paddington.
The station was cleared at 19:30 BST due to the fire in an intake room, which London Fire Brigade (LFB) tweeted to say had been put out at 22:00.
Passengers were later let back into the station to wait on the concourse.
Matt Willis, of Arriva Trains Wales, said on Twitter that some services had departed, including the 22:30 to Reading and the 22:45 to Swansea.
A Network Rail spokesman said platforms one to six had reopened.
He said the others would remained closed until firefighters gave the all-clear.
Gavin Fellows, 50, a cyber security consultant from Gloucester, criticised the lack of information.
"I've been waiting for two hours. I was told it was going to reopen at 9.30pm," he said.
"I was in the station when the alarm went off and it said 'emergency situation, please evacuate'. There hasn't been any communication. I'm not happy."
An LFB spokesman said firefighters left the scene after the fire burnt itself out.
Great Western Railway customers were advised to use Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, South West Trains and London Underground. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40589754 |
Eleventh night bonfires take place across Northern Ireland - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The NI Fire Service say they are dealing with a "significant number" of ongoing bonfire incidents. | Northern Ireland | Eleventh night bonfires have been taking place across Northern Ireland.
Traditionally, bonfires are lit in many loyalist areas to mark the start of the annual commemoration of William of Orange's victory over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said they had resolved 13 bonfire incidents on Tuesday night.
However, it said it was also responding to a "significant number" of other bonfire-related callouts.
The PSNI say they are investigating complaints about "distasteful" materials placed on some bonfires.
Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney called on unionist politicians to condemn "hatemongers" who put a replica coffin bearing the image of Martin McGuinness, who died in March, on a bonfire in east Belfast.
"I am directly challenging the leaders of all unionists parties to immediately disassociate themselves and their parties from this and other examples of sectarian hate crime," he said.
Martin McGuinness' son Emmett tweeted: "I am very thankful that I was raised by parent's never to hate anyone or anything. Michelle O'Neill is right, the annual display of hate must end."
A replica casket with a picture of the former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness hung on a bonfire in east Belfast
Images also emerged on social media of a bonfire in east Belfast draped with a banner carrying a racist message directed at Celtic footballer Scott Sinclair.
In a statement, the PSNI said: "Police are investigating complaints about various materials, some of which are clearly distasteful, placed on the bonfire.
"Where police are aware of a crime being committed, an investigation will follow.
"We take hate crime very seriously and actively investigate all incidents reported to us," it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a number of homes close to a large bonfire in east Belfast were boarded up to protect the properties from heat damage when the fire is lit. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-40577190 |
Is the threat of a copyright lawsuit stifling music? - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Artists and producers are being advised not to mention the inspirations for their music in case they get sued for copyright infringement. | Entertainment & Arts | Blurred Lines made more than $5m (£3m) for Pharrell Williams (left) and Robin Thicke
Artists are being advised not to state publicly who they're inspired by on their new music, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has learned. Could this stifle their creativity?
"There is no such thing as a completely original composition," says music producer and songwriter Nile Rodgers.
"We learn music by practising. And what do we practise? We practise patterns. We practise scales.
"The art of music-making is the reinterpretation of those rules that we learned."
You would be hard-pushed to find a musician in the charts whose work hasn't taken inspiration from their idols and contemporaries.
Now though, music experts have told the Victoria Derbyshire programme that artists are being advised not to mention publicly who has inspired them.
This is because of a high-profile copyright infringement case in which US jurors ruled that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, on their song Blurred Lines, had copied Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up.
The Gaye family estate was awarded $7.3m (£4.8m) in damages, although an appeal has since been launched.
The verdict sent reverberations around the industry, with particular attention being paid to the fact that in court Pharrell Williams said Marvin Gaye's music was part of the soundtrack of his youth, and that he was "channelling... that late 70s feeling" in Blurred Lines.
According to forensic musicologist Peter Oxendale "everyone's concerned that inspiration can [now be interpreted as] a catalyst for infringement.
"All of these companies are worried that if a track is referenced on another at all, there may be a claim being brought," he explains.
Mr Oxendale says some artists are now having the requirement to name their influences written into contracts by their record labels - although he would not specify names.
"Many of the companies that I work with ask the producers and the artists to declare all of the tracks that may have been used as inspiration for their new tracks," he says.
He also confirmed that he is being sent new music to check the possibility of future copyright infringement claims.
But Richard Busch, the lawyer working on behalf of the some Marvin Gaye family members, says the industry has misunderstood the reasons why the Blurred Lines ruling was made, and that the judgement was not based on the "feel" or the "groove" of the song, as has been claimed.
"That's the story the Pharrell and Robin Thicke camp have been telling to try to drum up support. This 'the sky is falling', 'no-one is going to be able to create music', 'you'll be sued for whistling in public' - it's just not true.
"If anyone was actually aware of the evidence and the facts that they presented, you'll know it went far beyond that.
"In fact, I believe we had 15 different compositional elements that we identified as being significantly similar between Blurred Lines and Got To Give It Up."
Nevertheless, Simon Dixon - one of the lawyers for Ed Sheeran, Sir Elton John and the Rolling Stones - says the judgement has made some people in the industry nervous.
"[The court case] wouldn't have been decided the same way over here [in the UK]," he explains.
"So as a result, everyone felt they knew what the law was, they knew what the parameters were.
"And when you know what the laws are and the rules are you get comfortable. This injects an element of grey into the picture.
"So as a result people are less certain now about what they can and can't do. And as a result, everybody feels a bit nervous."
For singer-songwriter Laura Mvula, however, if a musician is looking to create their own original material, the ruling should not be a concern.
"We're all inspired by something, there are influences in everything," she says.
"But I just think the responsibility of the songwriter is always to push forward."
Fellow singer-songwriter Gary Numan believes it is just a case of musicians ensuring that influences are used to progress their own work.
"We all listen to stuff and we all get ideas from the things we listen to. And the trick of it is to turn those ideas into something new rather than just repeat them or copy them.
"Every fire starts with a spark, every song starts with an idea.
"You're influenced simply by listening to music. Even if you don't like the music, it's going to have some impact on what you do."
In just over two months' time, the Gaye family, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams will be back in court as the appeal process begins.
The Blurred Lines singers will be hoping they will be successful this time around.
But whatever the verdict, the industry is likely to remain extremely wary about copyright when it comes to releasing new music.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40560477 |
Why was Mother Teresa's uniform trademarked? - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The austere blue-trimmed white sari has long been identified with the nun and her order. | India | Mother Teresa wore a simple white sari with three blue stripes on the border
For nearly half a century, Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who worked with the poor in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) wore a simple white sari with three blue stripes on the borders, one thicker than the rest. Senior nuns who work for Missionaries of Charity, a 67-year-old sisterhood which has more than 3,000 nuns worldwide, continue to wear what has now become the religious uniform of this global order.
On Monday, news washed up that this "famous" sari of the Nobel laureate nun, who died in 1997, has been trademarked to prevent "unfair" use by people for commercial purposes. India's government quietly recognised the sari as the intellectual property of the Missionaries of Charity in September last year, when the nun was declared a saint by the Vatican, but the order had decided not to make it public.
Biswajit Sarkar, a Kolkata-based lawyer who works pro-bono for the order, says he had applied for the trademark in 2013. "It just came to my mind that the colour-identified blue border of the sari had to be protected to prevent any future misuse for commercial purposes," he told me. "If you want to wear or use the colour pattern in any form, you can write to us and if we are convinced that there is no commercial motive, we will allow it."
The austere blue-trimmed white sari has long been identified with the nun and her order. The story goes that in 1948, the Albanian nun, with permission from Rome, began wearing it and a small cross across her shoulder. According to some accounts, the nun chose the blue border as it was associated with purity. For more than three decades, the saris have been woven by leprosy patients living in a home run by the order on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Nuns say Mother Teresa had issued orders before her death that her name "should not be exploited for commercial purposes".
The austere blue-trimmed white sari has long been identified with the nun and her order
Accordingly, Mr Sarkar helped the order to trademark her name two decades back. Still, nuns of the order have complained that Mother Teresa's name was being exploited for commercial gain: a school being run in her name in Nepal where teachers complained of not receiving salaries; a priest raising funds in Romania using the order's name; shops near the order's headquarters in Kolkata telling customers that proceeds from memorabilia sales were donated to the order; and a cooperative bank in India curiously named after the nun.
"So we decided to do something about it," says Mr Sarkar. "Through this we are trying to tell the world that her name and reputation should not be misused."
Owning a trademark on a colour can be a tricky business. In 2013 Nestle won a court battle against confectionery rival Cadbury, over the latter's attempt to trademark the purple colour - known as Pantone 2865c - of its Dairy Milk bars.
It is also not clear how this trademark on the famous blue striped sari will be enforced. Many online shopping sites already sell variations of "unisex Mother Teresa dress" - blue bordered sari, and a long sleeved blouse.
Also, the move is bound to raise the hackles of the nun's critics - and she has her fair share of them - who have accused her of glorifying poverty, hobnobbing with dictators, running shambolic care facilities and proselytising. "How can anybody appropriate a sari, which has been a traditional Indian dress," one of them asked me, preferring to remain unnamed.
Designers like Anand Bhushan differ. "Some designs of the traditional Indian towel called gamcha, for example, have been trademarked. There's nothing wrong in trademarking a distinctive and iconic design or pattern like Mother Teresa's sari. It's not like anybody is beginning to own the sari." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40566352 |
Government criticised over 'suppressed' extremist report - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Opposition parties claim ministers were trying to protect Saudi Arabia by only publishing summary. | UK | A government refusal to publish a report on the funding of UK Islamist extremist groups has been criticised.
The home secretary has issued a two-page summary which concluded most organisations were funded via small, anonymous British-based donations.
Amber Rudd said she had decided to do so for national security reasons.
Opposition parties claimed the internal review was being "suppressed" to protect Saudi Arabia which has been accused of being a source of funding.
The Home Office has been under pressure for months to publish its investigation into the "nature, scale and origin of the funding".
Ms Rudd said another reason for not making the report public was because of the personal information it contained.
Some MPs will be allowed to view the report in private but without revealing its contents.
The summary of the report concluded that most extremist organisations got their money, often hundreds of thousands of pounds, from individual donors in the UK.
But it also confirmed that a small minority did get significant funds from overseas. These, it said, taught "deeply conservative forms of Islam" to individuals who became "of extremist concern".
From now on, charities will have to declare any overseas funding to the Charity Commission.
The summary said: "The most common source of support for Islamist extremist organisations in the UK is from small, anonymous public donations, with the majority of these donations most likely coming from UK-based individuals.
"In some cases these organisations receive hundreds of thousands of pounds a year."
It added: "For a small number of organisations with which there are extremism concerns, overseas funding is a significant source of income.
"However, for the vast majority of extremist groups in the UK, overseas funding is not a significant source. Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UK's Islamic institutions.
"Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern."
The government's refusal to publish the full report angered opposition parties which accused ministers of trying to protect allies such as Saudi Arabia which has long been accused of being a source of extremist funding, something it has long denied.
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas was among those critical of the government's move
The Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said there was a deep complicity between Whitehall and Riyadh.
She said: "The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from - leaving the government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK."
The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, said the government was putting its friendship with Saudi Arabia ahead of its values.
He said: "What we want to know is who are the violent extremists and who are their funders.
"This report clearly has found some of that out and we're bound to start suspecting all the more now that the sources of funding must be from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, otherwise the government wouldn't be so embarrassed that they won't tell us the truth."
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, said: "There is a strong suspicion this report is being suppressed to protect this government's trade and diplomatic priorities, including in relation to Saudi Arabia. The only way to allay those suspicions is to publish the report in full."
The Home Office insisted diplomatic relations played no part in the decision not to make the full report public.
In a blog published on its website, the Home Office said: "The former prime minister [David Cameron] was clear when committing to the review in the House that it would report to the home Secretary and prime minister.
No commitment was made to publish the review... Contrary to suggestions by some media outlets, diplomatic relations played absolutely no part in the decision not to publish the full report."
The home secretary said: "This government is committed to stamping out extremism in all its forms and cutting off the funding that fuels it.
"The Commission for Counter-Extremism, which the prime minister announced earlier this year, will have a key role to play in this fight.
"We are determined to cut off all funding that fuels the evils of extremism and terrorism, and will work closely with international and domestic partners to tackle this threat." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40581819 |
UK university applications fall by 4%, Ucas figures show - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Figures show 25,190 fewer people have applied to UK universities this year. | Education & Family | The number of people applying for UK university places has fallen by more than 25,000 (4%) on last year, data from the admissions service Ucas shows.
The figures show a sharp decline in those applying to study nursing courses - down 19% - and a continued fall in the number of mature students, notably in England and Northern Ireland.
The number of EU students planning to study in the UK has fallen by 5%.
It is the first decline since fees were last increased in England, in 2012.
Fees in England will increase to £9,250 this year, and student loans are subject to an increase in interest rates - rising from 4.6% to 6.1% from this autumn.
University leaders said a number of factors could be fuelling the fall in applicants, including Brexit, higher fees and funding changes for trainee nurses and midwives.
From 1 August, new nursing, midwifery and most allied health students in England will no longer receive NHS bursaries - instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students.
The latest Ucas figures show the number of people who had applied to UK universities for the coming academic year by the 30 June deadline was 649,700 - compared with 674,890 in 2016.
There have been reductions in applicants from all four countries in the UK. There were:
Applications from EU students fell from 51,850 in 2016 to 49,250 this year.
However, applicants from overseas countries outside of the European Union are up 2%, from 69,300 in 2016 to 70,830 this year.
There has been a significant drop in mature students (those aged 25 and over) in England and Northern Ireland - down 18% (11,190) and 13% (220) respectively.
Dr Mark Corver, Ucas director of analysis and research, said: "Within the figures, there are contrasting trends.
"How these trends translate into students at university and colleges will become clear over the next six weeks, as applicants get their results and secure their places and new applicants apply direct to Ucas's clearing process."
Prof Les Ebdon, director of Fair Access to Higher Education, said: "The downward trend in mature student numbers is now one of the most pressing issues in fair access to higher education.
"Undoubtedly, the reasons behind the fall are complex and multiple, but universities and colleges should look to do what they can to reverse the decline in mature student applications, as a matter of urgency."
Dame Julia Goodfellow, president of Universities UK, said universities recognised that there were a number of issues to address.
"Continuing to communicate to European applicants that they are welcome and enrich our education system is important," she said.
"The decline in part-time and mature student entrants must also be addressed.
"We recognise also the concern about the total cost of going to university.
"Any analysis needs to cover the cost of maintenance and the interest rate on the loans."
Sarah Stevens, head of policy at the Russell Group, said it would be a concern if EU students were being put off by the uncertainties of Brexit.
"It's positive that applications from overseas students outside the EU have risen slightly," he said.
"International students bring social and cultural diversity to our campuses and this benefits all students, and they contribute £25.8bn to the UK economy."
The Department for Education pointed out that the number of 18-year-olds applying for university was at record levels despite the fall in the overall number of applicants.
A spokeswoman said: "Higher education reforms will give people more choice and universities will be expected to continue improving access and participation in higher education.
"The government is committed to supporting all young people to reach their full potential - whether that is going to university, starting an apprenticeship or taking up a technical qualification."
Pam Tatlow, chief executive of MillionPlus, said the application data from Ucas was "not good news".
"As predicted, the abolition of bursaries has depressed rather than increased applications for nursing and there will be no additional nurses trained in spite of ministers' assurances," she said.
"There is no doubt that the government's approach to Brexit is damaging and is creating huge uncertainties, both for EU students and UK universities." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40581643 |
Australian plane passenger checks in can of beer - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | It was the first item on a baggage carousel after a four-hour flight in Australia. | Australia | The can was checked in for a flight from Melbourne to Perth
A man has successfully checked in a can of beer as his only luggage on a domestic flight in Australia.
The man, identified in media as Dean Stinson, said he and a friend had come up with the idea as a joke.
The can arrived, tagged and unopened, as the first item on the baggage carousel at Perth Airport after a four-hour journey from Melbourne.
The airline, Qantas, said it did not encourage other travellers to follow suit.
"This guy's done it and he's won the internet for the day, so we're happy to move on," a spokesman said in a statement to the BBC.
The can arrived before other luggage, Mr Stinson said
Mr Stinson told AFP news agency he was pleased the can had arrived safely on Saturday.
"And it was in perfect condition," he added.
The airline does not charge an additional fee for checked baggage. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40577923 |
Brexit: EU negotiator Barnier firm on citizens' rights - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The EU's top negotiator says European courts must be responsible for protecting citizens' rights. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mr Barnier said the UK's financial obligations were not a "ransom"
The EU's top Brexit negotiator has said there are still major differences between the EU and UK on the rights of EU citizens living in Britain.
"The British position does not allow those persons concerned to continue to live their lives as they do today," Michel Barnier said.
Mr Barnier said the European Court of Justice (ECJ) must have jurisdiction to guarantee citizens' rights.
He also said it was essential that the UK recognise its financial obligations.
If Britain did not accept it had some financial obligations, there would be no basis to discuss other issues, he said.
Ahead of the second round of talks next week, Mr Barnier said the EU had made its stance on the issues clear and was waiting on Britain to do the same.
"Our team is ready," he said. " I'm ready. I'm very prepared and willing to work on this very quickly - night and day, the weekend."
"We want EU citizens in Britain to have the same rights as British citizens who live in the EU," he told a news conference.
That would require the ECJ to be the "ultimate guarantor" of those rights, he said, because Britain could simply change its laws later, creating uncertainty.
UK law also imposes restrictions in areas such as reuniting families across borders, he said - something which was not applied to UK citizens living in Spain, for example.
Michel Barnier's message to the UK was: it's time to get a move on, to provide more clarity about the British position on a range of issues.
"As soon as possible," was his request, with the EU's chief negotiator joking that he was willing to work over the weekend and on Friday, which is a bank holiday in his native France.
The biggest sticking point appears to be the EU's insistence that Britain settles its outstanding financial obligations. Asked about Boris Johnson's suggestion on Tuesday that the EU could "go whistle", he joked that the only sound he could hear was a clock ticking.
There was copious evidence of the Barnier charm - but he was happy to turn on the menace, repeating several times that the UK would have to face the "consequences" of its choice to depart the EU.
Trying to sound eminently reasonable, he denied that his demand for a financial payment was a "ransom" or a "punishment."
Mr Barnier also said that those rights - along with the "divorce payment" and border issues - must be dealt with before future UK-EU trade could be discussed.
The financial payment the EU says will be owed to cover the UK's commitments is also a key point for Mr Barnier. Estimates have put the amount at anywhere from €60bn to €100bn (£53-89bn).
Asked about UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's comment that the EU could "go whistle" over the demand, Mr Barnier replied: "I'm not hearing any whistling. Just the clock ticking."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson's message to the EU: "Go whistle seems to me to be an entirely appropriate expression"
He denied that the EU was holding the UK government to ransom, and said it was simply a matter of "trust".
"It is not an exit bill, it is not a ransom - we won't ask for anything else than what the UK has committed to as a member," he said.
Mr Barnier also announced he would meet other key politicians on Thursday who were not part of Theresa May's government - including opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, representatives from the House of Lords, and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.
"I have always made clear that I will listen to different points on view in the British debate," he said.
"Of course, I will only negotiate with the UK government," he added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40579769 |
10 thoughts about the PM's position - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Whatever Theresa May had said this morning, she is in trouble. | UK Politics | It wasn't meant to be called a "relaunch" or a "fightback" or even a "reset".
The prime minister's speech this morning was, however, the first big speech she has made since the election.
You might, therefore, have expected it to be bold, determined, as she said it would be. You might have expected it to be, at least in part, a genuine mea culpa from the PM for the mistakes of the election campaign.
It was, however, more a rather pedestrian response to the long awaited Taylor review on the changing world of work and insecure employment (insert obvious jokes here) and a restatement of purpose than a dazzling rebrand.
But whatever Theresa May had said this morning, as MPs stagger towards the finish line of this tumultuous year, and stumble towards the sun loungers, she is in trouble.
And Tories will leave Westminster next week with the question of her future very much on their minds - the issue: how long can she survive?
There are some fundamental obstacles to her doing so, but some advantages to her position too (honest). This list is not exhaustive, nor predictive, and may, as is the way of things these days, not age well at all.
1) Smack bang in the middle of her speech Theresa May said she is still convinced that her vision for the country is the right one, and she is completely committed to delivering it. The problem with that is that plenty of her MPs believe that the election result gave the country's verdict on that vision, and it wasn't pretty. They believe simply that she has to change, to show she can be flexible. How can she do that if she refuses to accept that some of her judgements were wrong?
2) The cabinet has big disagreements on a lot of things, most notably of course on Brexit, and since the election they have little compunction in giving their views. Remainer members like the chancellor have not held back from arguing for a more flexible position than the PM's negotiating position as outlined earlier in the year. But others are adamant she must stick. I'm told that in cabinet this morning the foreign secretary urged the PM to reaffirm that the government position remained the Lancaster House speech and that she did so, despite the fact others sitting round the table have been arguing for that approach to bend.
3) There are plenty of would-be rebels who believe they have the numbers on all sorts of issues to force the government to back down. First up could be membership of the European nuclear safety agency, Euratom. The rebels are very confident they have the numbers to get the prime minister to back down without even having to put an amendment down. One cabinet minister told me it would be a sensible move to show willing to compromise on an issue which doesn't raise much public concern, and would not raise too much suspicion of Brexit backsliding. Another source said it was simply now an issue for Number 10, with the Brexit Secretary David Davis understood to be "relaxed" about the issue. Theresa May might end up isolated with only her red lines for company.
4) Some Brexiteer Tory MPs are what's described by a minister as "absolutist" - ready to pounce on any sign of compromise from Theresa May as evidence that she is about to betray their cause. Simply, she is trapped by the parliamentary numbers that dictate she will have to compromise, and by some in her own party who would be ready to condemn any whiff of her doing so.
5) The Tory party particularly has little sympathy for leaders who look like they will damage all of their fortunes. You cannot find Tory MPs who say that she should lead them into the next election. It is a question of when not if. One former minister said she was finished (a much more delicate term than the ex-minister actually used) adding: "We know it, and she knows it too." And as they enter the summer, many believe it would only take one more big thing to go wrong for the plotters to seize their moment.
1) While Tory MPs agree that Theresa May can't stay on indefinitely, they pretty much all agree that they don't want to risk a general election right now. A few sources around the margins argue that a period of opposition is the only thing that will bring true reflection - but the overwhelming sense is that they need at least to stick together until the Autumn, for risking any leadership changes could slam them into another such contest. They worry that by plunging into another internal battle, they would push voters to choose Jeremy Corbyn for Number 10.
2) There is no obvious successor to her. If there was a universally popular and respected alternative leader the situation might feel extremely different. Despite the chatter about all sorts of people, particularly Mr Davis, who is in notably buoyant form, there is no one figure that the party could obviously rally around. For those younger politicians who might hope for the job in a few years' time, there is a cynical - but also strategically understandable - appeal in allowing her to stay on to soak up all the potentially difficult months of Brexit, before being able to appear as a change candidate.
3) Labour, while definitely riding high, are still divided on some issues, and not universally convinced that Jeremy Corbyn is the man for the job in the long term. United, and determined, they could make day-by-day life extremely difficult and uncomfortable for the Tories in Parliament. But it's not clear yet that they will be able to deliver that kind of sustained pressure, nor that they will be able to continue to build support.
4) On the hardest thing of all, Brexit, there have - whisper it - been some signs of compromise on both sides. For example, while the UK folded on its key demand for parallel talks over withdrawal and future relationship, the EU side did concede a phased approach - there is a rather optimistic but well-informed outline of signs of compromise here.
5) Pretty much everyone (including the journalists!) who works in Westminster is exhausted after 12 months of turmoil. One of those knackered MPs suggested this week that last year, May ended up PM by being "the only grown-up in the room" left after the mess of the referendum. No-one else had the energy to fight - and, 12 months on, they suggested, while Mrs May is damaged, no-one wants - yet - to get on another rollercoaster with an unknown destination - at least until they have had a lie down. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40575473 |
Air Canada flight nearly lands on crowded San Francisco taxiway - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The US investigates how the flight from Toronto almost landed on a taxiway with four planes on it. | US & Canada | Air Canada says it is investigating the incident
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an apparent near-miss involving an Air Canada flight at San Francisco's airport.
It says Flight AC759 from Toronto was cleared to land on a runway last Friday, but the pilot "inadvertently" lined up for a taxiway where four aircraft were waiting to depart.
An air traffic controller became aware of the problem and ordered the pilot to pull up and make another approach.
The FAA is currently investigating the distance between the Air Canada aircraft and the aircraft lined up on the taxiway, which runs parallel to the runway.
It describes the 7 July incident as "very rare".
Air Canada says 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard the flight from Toronto.
It was not immediately clear how many people were in the four planes on the taxiway.
Air Canada is also investigating the incident, a spokesman for the company says.
"Air Canada flight AC759 from Toronto was preparing to land at San Francisco airport Friday night when the aircraft initiated a go-around," Peter Fitzpatrick is quoted as saying by CBC News.
"The aircraft landed normally without incident. We are still investigating the circumstances and therefore have no additional information to offer."
Meanwhile, an audio recording has emerged of what are said to be last Friday's communications between air traffic controllers and pilots at San Francisco's airport.
In it, a male voice believed to be that of the Air Canada pilot is heard saying that there are lights on the runway.
One of the air traffic controllers replies that there are no other planes there.
Another - unidentified - voice is then heard saying: "Where's this guy going? He's on the taxiway."
The air traffic controller then apparently realises the danger of the Air Canada plane crashing into the four aircraft on the ground, and orders the pilot to pull up and make another approach.
A pilot from one of the planes on the ground is then heard saying: "United One, Air Canada flew directly over us."
"If it is true, what happened probably came close to the greatest aviation disaster in history," retired United Airlines Capt Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told the Mercury News.
"If you could imagine an Airbus colliding with four passenger aircraft wide bodies, full of fuel and passengers, then you can imagine how horrific this could have been," he said.
The deadliest incident in aviation history was in 1977, when 583 people were killed after two Boeing planes collided on a runway at Los Rodeos airport in northern Tenerife, on Spain's Canary Islands. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40571913 |
Nicky Morgan to lead Treasury committee - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The ex-education secretary sees off Eurosceptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for the coveted position. | UK Politics | Former education secretary Nicky Morgan has been elected as chairwoman of the influential Treasury select committee.
Ms Morgan saw off five other Tory MPs to land the coveted role scrutinising the government's finances.
Other committee election results, which were announced by Speaker John Bercow, include Tom Tugendhat ousting fellow Tory Crispin Blunt as foreign affairs committee chairman.
And ex-education minister Robert Halfon will lead the education committee.
Defence committee chairman Julian Lewis saw off Johnny Mercer's challenge, while Neil Parish was re-elected as chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs committee, beating recently re-elected backbencher Zac Goldsmith.
Select committee chairs are allocated between parties by the Speaker based on their Commons representation and then elected by all MPs.
The contest for the Treasury select committee, previously chaired by Andrew Tyrie, pitted pro-EU Tory Ms Morgan against party colleagues including Eurosceptic backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The former education secretary has repeatedly clashed with Prime Minister Theresa May since being axed from the cabinet.
She won 200 of the 570 votes cast in the first round of votes, with the election decided on the alternative vote system, and ended up with 290 votes after the fifth round of voting.
In contests for committees chaired by Labour, former shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves was elected as chairwoman for business, energy and industrial strategy.
Clive Betts was re-elected as chairman for communities and local government, beating David Lammy, while former shadow transport secretary Lilian Greenwood won the race to chair the transport select committee.
Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb beat party colleague Jo Swinson and will chair the science and technology committee.
Seventeen committees were not contested as only one nomination was received. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40589509 |
Balearic Islands ask EU for alcohol limit on flights - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The request comes after a series of alcohol-related incidents on the popular party islands. | Europe | The request follows a string of high-profile alcohol-related incidents
Local authorities in the Balearic Islands have asked for a limit to be put on drinking alcohol on planes and in airports as they try to crack down on anti-social behaviour.
Pilar Carbonell, head of tourism across the islands, including Mallorca and Ibiza, has pleaded with Spain and the European Commission for the limit.
The proposal was raised in Brussels on Tuesday.
It comes after a series of high profile alcohol-fuelled incidents.
In one particular incident, passengers reported members of a stag do fighting in the aisles of a Ryanair flight on its way from Manchester to Palma, in Majorca.
According to the Manchester Evening News, three people were arrested when it landed on the island.
In a statement, Ms Carbonell said the limit in airports and on flights would "guarantee security... and tackle anti-social tourism". It was not clear whether it was just aimed at flights heading to the Balearic Islands, or the wider European Union.
"The aim of the measure is to improve passenger security and also that of security forces in planes and airports in our islands, who are often faced with drunk passengers," it said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40586293 |
Grenfell fire: 'I was too afraid because I'm undocumented' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | An illegal immigrant living in Grenfell Tower says she was worried she would not get any support. | UK | There are claims that the number of those killed in the fire is higher than the official figures
There have been persistent claims that the Grenfell Tower death toll is higher than official estimates because there were undocumented residents living there. One such woman explains why she is too afraid to come forward to the authorities.
Rhea is from the Philippines and lived in the high-rise tower with friends.
But, unlike them, 40-year-old Rhea wasn't a registered tenant, having lost her legal right to remain in the UK in 2012.
Having been caught up in the fire on 14 June, she is now homeless and afraid to identify herself to immigration officials.
"I thought maybe they'd lock me up," she says.
Rhea arrived in the UK in 2010 on a one-year working visa with an employer but this expired.
"I didn't have money to renew it and I couldn't find an employer as a solicitor was holding my documents."
She was left homeless and forced to rely on friends to let her stay in their homes. She eventually moved into Grenfell at the end of last year.
On the night of the fire, Rhea was with a friend in the tower.
"In the beginning there was only smoke and then a fire broke out - it just kept getting bigger and bigger."
Rhea escaped from the building via the lift. She says it was so dark people couldn't see each other.
"For me it's a miracle I survived."
She's now in the nightmare situation of being homeless again.
Police say about 80 people are currently thought to be dead, but charities and volunteers believe many unregistered people could have been killed.
They also say they have been in touch with other survivors like Rhea who are afraid to get help.
Last week the government announced a 12-month immigration "amnesty" for survivors like Rhea. She now has all the documents she needs to stay and is being kept in a hotel.
"Home is different than the hotel. But I am grateful I'm here. I feel a bit better because there are people showing they care and are there to support me.
"After this, I don't know. If there is possibility for me to have my own place, then I would like that especially as I have a young son."
Rhea's son was not in the tower at the time. She says she's now trying to make use of her legal status, but the future is uncertain.
"My family back home need my support. I called them in the Philippines, and to hear them say they still need me, is upsetting.
"That's why I was afraid to face immigration because they would send me home. I thought, how are we going to live? We are not rich, we are poor, we have nothing."
Update 12 October 2017: This article has been amended to reflect information subsequently received about the movements of some of the residents within Grenfell Tower. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40585049 |
UK unemployment drops to 1.49m - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Unemployment fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three months to May, official figures show. | Business | UK unemployment fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three months to May, official figures show.
It meant the unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to its lowest since 1975, at 4.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) added.
But wage increases continued to fall further behind inflation.
Excluding bonuses, earnings rose by 2.0% year-on-year. However, inflation had hit an almost four-year high of 2.9% in May.
When the impact of inflation is factored in, real weekly wages fell by 0.5% compared with a year earlier.
"Despite the strong jobs picture... there has been another real-terms fall in total earnings, with the growth in weekly wages low and inflation still rising," said Matt Hughes, senior statistician at the Office for National Statistics.
Those in work climbed to around 32 million, a rise of 324,000 on last year and the largest total since records began in 1971.
The employment rate rose by 0.3% on the quarter to a record high of 74.9%.
"The general picture is little changed on last month, with the overall employment rate and that for women both at record highs, the inactivity rate at a joint record low and the unemployment rate falling to its lowest since early summer 1975," said Mr Hughes.
The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds was 12.5%, lower than for a year earlier when it was 13.5%, and well below its highest rate of 22.5% in late 2011.
The sluggish pay data may cause Bank of England officials to think again about the need to raise interest rates, after a narrow 5-3 vote by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last month to leave rates at 0.25%.
"The continued weakness of wage growth provides some ammunition to the more dovish members of the MPC that now is not the time to raise interest rates," said Paul Hollingsworth, UK economist at Capital Economics.
He added: "Given the emphasis that some members of the Monetary Policy Committee, including Governor Carney, have put on wanting to see a clear "firming" in wage growth before they join others in voting to hike interest rates, we still think it is more likely than not that the MPC will hold off for a while longer, rather than raise interest rates imminently."
Meanwhile, Minister for Employment, Damian Hinds said the employment figures were "another reminder that our strong economy is giving record numbers of people the chance to find and stay in work".
But TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Ministers must set out a plan to get real wages rising across the public and the private sectors."
After trading lower against the dollar, the pound gained ground to trade 0.1% stronger on the day at $1.2858. Sterling also gained 0.1% against the euro, with one pound getting you 1.1217 euros. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40579523 |
Spanish royals' UK visit glosses over Brexit cracks - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Will the King of Spain's UK visit sweep Brexit tensions under the red carpet? | Europe | The UK is rolling out the red carpet for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, sprinkling pomp and glamour over some deep-rooted tensions.
Brexit and the centuries-old dispute over Gibraltar might suggest that UK-Spanish relations are between a Rock and a hard place.
But the 12-14 July state visit could send a sunburst through those clouds. The royal couple were due to arrive in London on Tuesday.
Both royal lines are descended from Queen Victoria - something to celebrate, in tough times for both countries.
This visit is nothing if not a survivor, having been called off - once in 2016, when Spain endured 10 months of political crisis without a government, and again this year, when UK Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election in June.
"These have been times of great difficulty on both sides, with the double cancellation telling its own story," says Ana Romero, a leading Spanish journalist and royal observer. She wrote a book - Final de Partida (End Game) - about the strained personal circumstances surrounding the abdication of King Felipe's father, Juan Carlos.
Ms Romero says King Felipe's reign has been three years of "permanent difficulty", including a fraud trial in which his sister, Princess Cristina, was eventually acquitted, while her husband Iñaki Urdangarin was sentenced to six years in jail.
Almost as damaging were supportive text messages Queen Letizia reportedly sent to a suspect in another corruption case.
"Now after three years of hard climbing, it is as if Felipe and Letizia have reached the bright summit, because the British monarchy represents the height of royal protocol," Ms Romero says, before adding that both countries face great problems.
Spain is still emerging from an economic crisis that has seen confidence in institutions plummet due to corruption scandals.
British politics entered a turbulent period with last year's referendum vote to leave the EU. Brexit remains shrouded in uncertainty.
Many of Spain's leading companies have made bold moves into Britain, including Santander bank and Ferrovial, an infrastructure group that owns Heathrow's operating company, among other UK concerns.
Brexit is also a worry for the many citizens living in each other's country and for those with investments at stake.
The almost 300,000 British citizens registered as residents in Spain, and many more who come and go, are concerned about their healthcare and pensions, says Anne Hernandez, leader of Brexpats in Spain, a group with more than 4,000 members.
While British diplomatic sources say they consider Spain an ally in negotiating relatively benign terms for Brexit, they also admit they are concerned about Madrid's insistence on re-examining the status of Gibraltar - an already delicate equation.
This is especially the case after the European Council included a clause in its guidelines for talks, stating that no agreement on the EU's future relationship with the UK would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain, giving Madrid a potential veto.
All eyes will be on King Felipe when he speaks to UK parliamentarians on Wednesday, to see if he emulates his father Juan Carlos. As king back in 1986 Juan Carlos raised Spain's claim over the Rock when addressing MPs and Lords, on the last Spanish state visit to the UK.
Gibraltar's status is a hot topic again because of Brexit
The signs are that Felipe is prepared to broach the issue as he did before the UN General Assembly last autumn. Describing Gibraltar as the last colony in Europe, Spain's king invited the UK to "put an end to this anachronism".
King Felipe, who will also have a private meeting with Prime Minister May, is considered a consummate diplomat, having been patiently groomed for the job by representing Spain in Latin America and elsewhere for almost two decades before his coronation.
He also proved in 2004 that he was his own man by marrying the TV journalist Letizia Ortiz, a commoner and divorcee.
For the first time Prince Harry, 32, will have an important ceremonial role, escorting Felipe and Letizia to Westminster Abbey.
He will also attend a grand state banquet, after the Queen has welcomed her Spanish guests to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40558218 |
'Over-sexualised' Femfresh shaving advert banned - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Femfresh advert was likely to cause "serious offence", according to the advertising watchdog. | UK | The video-on-demand Femfresh advert was shown in March and April of this year
An advert for bikini line shaving products has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found it was likely to cause "serious or widespread offence".
Shown on ITV and Channel 4 on-demand services earlier this year, it included close-up shots of the women's crotches.
The ASA received 17 complaints that the advert objectified women and portrayed them in an overly sexualised way.
Church & Dwight UK - the brand which owns Femfresh - did not believe the advert for the so-called "intimate shaving collection" was offensive or socially irresponsible.
It said it was aimed at a target audience of 18 to 34-year-old women and that close-ups were used to illustrate that the product could give consumers a smooth bikini line.
Neither Channel 4 or ITV received any complaints about the advert directly and both agreed with comments made by Church & Dwight that it did not objectify women.
But the ASA noted that the dance sequence was "highly sexualised", there were "few shots" of the women's faces and the high-cut swimsuits "were more exposing" than most.
"Even taking into account the nature of the product, we considered that it had been presented in an overly-sexualised way that objectified women," the ASA said.
"We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and therefore breached the code."
It ruled that the advert must not appear again in its current form. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40572948 |
Where many of the clothes you throw away end up - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The city in northern India where most of the West's second-hand clothing ends up. | Business | Torn or damaged clothes from the UK, US and other countries often end up in Panipat in India
Ever wonder where your clothes go after you discard them?
In Western countries, when you donate clothing to charities via shops, collection bags, or clothing banks many are given to those in need or sold in charity shops to raise funds.
But what happens to torn or damaged clothes, or items that no one wants to buy?
Often, they are sent to India, joining a global second-hand trade in which billions of old garments are bought and sold around the world every year.
Specifically, to Panipat in northern India which is known as the world's "cast off capital".
Every day hundreds of tonnes of clothes from across the UK and the US, and other countries, arrive in Panipat.
Outside the town, you can see long queues of trucks waiting to get in. They come here from the port town of Kandla on India's western coast - where ships bring containers full of worn clothes and textiles from all across the world.
The businessmen here call them "mutilated" clothing.
At Shankar Woollen Mills the clothes are first sorted by colour
India is the top importer of used clothes, beating countries such as Russia and Pakistan, according to the most recent data available.
In India, used clothes can be imported under two different categories - one is mutilated and the other is wearable.
To protect local garment manufacturers in India, importers of wearable clothing need a licence from the government. This licence will only be issued if the buyer guarantees the clothing will not be sold in India, but is instead re-exported.
However, the bulk of Indian imports of used clothing happen in the mutilated clothing segment, which doesn't require a licence.
In one of the recycling mills, Shankar Woollen Mills, I have to walk over hundreds of colourful buttons on the floor as I try to find my way.
It's humid and the piles of woollen clothing seem to be adding to the heat on this already hot summer day.
All around me, there are mountains of jackets, skirts, cardigans, berets and what looks like school uniform. From high-street brands to luxury labels - most clothes donated to charity end up here.
Piles of torn and used clothing that would have otherwise ended up as landfill.
Workers are bent over large blades, shredding clothes. They are ripping everything apart to remove zippers, buttons and labels.
The recycled fabric is largely used to make blankets
The clothes are then stored in large piles according to their colour: reds, blues, greens and a lot of black. This is the first step of breaking down the clothes into yarn before they are rewoven into beautiful fabric.
They are then processed in batches with similar coloured garments.
"We process it in machines which does what the human hands can't - rip the fabric into smaller rags.
"This is then fed into a bigger machine which mixes wool, silk, cotton and any man-made fibre like polyester and feeds into a carding machine which starts to spin into yarn," says Ashwini Kumar, who runs Shankar Woollen Mills shows me what happens next.
Every three tonnes of fabric produces around 1.5 tonnes of yarn, which is woven back into what's called "shoddy" fabric.
The shoddy fabric is then used largely to make blankets.
"They are used as relief material distributed during disasters - so at every tsunami, cyclone or earthquake - anywhere in the world, you see these blankets being distributed," adds Mr Kumar.
Or the fabric is sold as cheap blankets for the poor costing under $2 (£1.55) each.
Pawan Garg says the industry has shrunk dramatically
Africa is the biggest consumer for what's made here. Almost all traders visit markets in African countries regularly to find new buyers for their recycled fabric.
There is a local market too - but it's much smaller.
While the cost of importing this textile waste is very low, Mr Kumar is worried that what was once a lucrative business is now getting more expensive.
"Once it reaches India - the custom duties, transportation, storage, electricity and labour costs adds up. Our consumers in Africa want cheap blankets and we are struggling to keep the prices low."
More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade:
The industry has also been affected by increased competition from cheaper man-made fibres such as polyester.
Pawan Garg, the president of trade body the All India Woollen & Shoddy Mills Association, says the industry has already shrunk dramatically as a result.
"There were once more than 400 units here - now there are less than 100 units. It's taken a very bad hit. The industry is not doing well. Every day - a unit is closing or reducing production.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
"Earlier we worked 24/7, now it's hardly a shift a day," he says.
If the industry continues to shrink it won't just be a problem in India, points out Mr Kumar. He suggests the West could help support the industry.
"What we do here is important work. Think about the impact on the environment if we don't use up these huge mountains of waste.
"In India, things never get wasted. We pass on our clothes to those who need them, and even after that we find ways of using the fabric. I can't think of ever throwing a piece of clothing in the dustbin." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40352910 |
MPs speak out about 'sinister' election abuse - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Tory and Labour MPs talk about intimidation they have faced - as ministers announce inquiry. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
MPs have spoken about the abuse and intimidation they were subjected to during the general election.
Conservative Simon Hart said colleagues were targeted for their sexuality, religious beliefs and social background by people who were intent on "driving them out of politics altogether".
Labour's Diane Abbott said she had had a torrent of "mindless" racist and sexist abuse including death threats.
Ministers have announced an inquiry by the standards watchdog.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life will look at the nature of the problem of intimidation, considering the current protections and measures in place for candidates, reporting back to the prime minister.
Cabinet Office minister Chris Skidmore said harassment could not be tolerated and the integrity of the UK's democracy and public service must be upheld.
During an hour-long debate in Westminster Hall, MPs detailed how they have faced racist abuse, anti-Semitism, death threats from supporters of rival parties on social media, as well as physical intimidation and threats.
Using strong and graphic language, Diane Abbott gave examples of the offensive sexist and racist messages and "mindless abuse" she and her staff had to endure every day on social media, not just at election time.
The shadow home secretary said abuse of MPs was not new but it had been "turbo charged" by the speed and anonymity of social media. She added that male MPs get abuse "but it is much worse for women".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Mr Hart said he had heard of candidates having swastikas painted on their offices and windows smashed while he said the "hashtag Tory scum had become a regular feature of our lives" on social media.
While elections used to be about winning votes and arguments, he suggested that the 2017 poll was characterised by efforts by individuals and groups to silence people who did not agree with them.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Urging a review of current laws, he said it was up to leaders of all the political parties to condemn such actions and say "not in my name" rather than issuing "mealy-mouthed messages of condemnation" on Twitter.
"It is not about thin-skinned politicians having a bit of a bruising time and feeling a bit sorry for themselves. It is about families, staff, helpers and volunteers."
Conservative MP Andrew Percy said he had been subjected to anti-Semitic abuse while his staff had been spat at. While he was used to being challenged by opponents, he said "something more sinister" was going on in the country.
Labour's Paula Sheriff said the 2017 election had been the "most brutal" to date.
Labour said it had fought a "positive, hopeful campaign"
She said this kind of abuse had been going on for years but what had changed in recent times was the increasing connection between "online abuse and commentary in the mainstream media".
She added: "It is not about a particular party or particular faction. It is about the degradation of political discourse online."
Women and ethnic minority candidates were particularly vulnerable, according to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, which is calling for tougher discipline by parties.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The Conservatives and Labour have accused each other of not doing enough to stop it.
In a letter to Conservative Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin ahead of the debate Labour chairman Ian Lavery and Cat Smith, shadow minister for voter engagement, say: "Abuse against candidates on social media is completely unacceptable.
"The Conservative Party perpetrated this on an industrial scale by spending millions of pounds to post highly personalised and nasty attack adverts on voters' Facebook timelines without their permission."
Conservative MP Nus Ghani told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I am a Conservative, I am a woman, I am Asian and I am Muslim and that makes some people very angry.
"And the fact that I had the audacity to stand for public office causes some people offence."
On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May asked whether Jeremy Corbyn was doing enough in response to complaints of intimidation, saying she was "surprised at any party leader who's not willing to condemn that".
The Labour leader has repeatedly said personal attacks have no place in the party.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper said some of her party's supporters had targeted female Conservative MPs - as well as Labour members - with "vitriolic abuse". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40577325 |
The anti-immigration party trying to recruit immigrants - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Their manifesto calls for a near-total halt to immigration, but the far-right political party Britain First is now actively trying to appeal to Polish immigrants living in the UK. | BBC Trending | Although their manifesto calls for a near-total halt to immigration, the far-right political party Britain First is now actively trying to appeal to Polish immigrants.
They are a fringe group, with no elected officials at any level, but Britain First has about 1.9 million Facebook likes - more than any other UK political party. And now they're trying to use that social media footprint to make explicit appeals to Polish immigrants living in the UK.
A string of Britain First videos that seem designed to attract a Polish audience have appeared online. Recent ones include a video from Jacek Miedlar, a Polish far-right former priest, an interview with a Polish media outlet that has over half a million views, and videos by Polish Britain First supporters encouraging others to support the party.
Miedlar, who has over 25,000 subscribers on YouTube, is an activist known for his anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic views. He has tried to travel to the UK twice this year to attend Britain First rallies but was stopped by UK authorities.
The videos have been posted despite Britain First's anti-immigration manifesto which calls for cash payments to foreigners to leave the UK, a complete halt to immigration except for people who marry British citizens, and a call to make it "an act of treason to implement any policy or measure, or sign any agreement, that facilitates and/or results in significant numbers of foreigners entering the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom with the aim of settling."
Despite the party's hard line on immigration, Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen told BBC Trending that post-Brexit, all European immigrants who are already in the UK should be allowed to stay, as long as they aren't criminals or Muslims. The party also supports a total ban on Islam in the UK, a policy they believe will attract some support from Polish migrants.
Poles form the largest immigrant community in Britain. There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015 - a jump of almost 750,000 compared with the number in 2004, the year Poland joined the European Union.
Rafal Pankowski from the Polish anti-hate charity Never Again says the party's attempts to appeal to UK-based Polish people may have something to do with what he perceives to be a trend towards the far-right in Polish society.
"We have been witnessing a rise in far-right activity in Poland itself as well," he says. "And unfortunately the Polish people in the UK have been victims of discrimination and hate crime especially since the Brexit referendum. And some of them have been turning to Polish far-right nationalist groups for a sense of belonging."
A number of videos have appeared on the Britain First Youtube channel seemingly aimed at the UK's Polish population
Wiktor Moszczynski, a former spokesperson for the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, agrees that there has been a spike of far-right activity amongst Polish people living in the UK, but says that such activity has recently died down.
"At the moment the trend tends to be towards the right in Polish society, both in Poland and to some extent here in the UK, but when I say right that doesn't necessarily mean radical right," Moszczynski tells BBC Trending radio.
"Suddenly these groups began turning up in demonstrations in the UK over the last two or three years generally wearing Polish fascist symbols, but what I do have to say is I have not seen anything of this in the last year," he says. "I have been spoken to by the police who are very concerned about these groups, so we do know that there may still be an undercurrent. But at the moment the problem seems to have been in remission, temporarily at least."
He says a majority of the younger Polish community are resistant to the influence of far-right groups, including Britain First, but nevertheless the far-right spike is "not pleasant, particularly at a time when we're trying to build up sympathy for the Poles living in this country on the way they've been treated after the Brexit vote."
A recent report from the campaigning group Hope Not Hate said the largest and most organised neo-Nazi group in the UK is the National Rebirth of Poland. The presence of groups like these, Hope Not Hate says, has fuelled extreme far-right activists.
Britain First rarely runs candidates. When they do they receive a small amount of the vote, such as the 1.2% of the vote party leader Paul Golding attracted in the 2016 London mayoral election. Its outsized social media following is due to a combination of factors including paid advertising, a core group of dedicated followers, and the use of less controversial posts - for instance messages encouraging people to support the troops or the royal family - and other tactics to drive up the numbers of likes.
The group's Facebook page has also become something of an international hub people attracted to its anti-Islam message. According to an analysis by Trending, less than half (44%) of the group's Facebook likes come from accounts based inside the UK, with large numbers of likes coming from the US, Australia and Canada. Around 23,000 of the page's likes come from Polish accounts.
By way of comparison, 87% of the Labour Party's 1 million likes come from UK accounts. The figure for the Conservative Party (more than 600,000 likes) is 78%.
Fransen claims the party has a "growing number" of Polish members and supporters, but refused to provide membership figures. She says the party's low appeal at the ballot box can be explained by the fact that the group has been concentrating on direct action, including turning up at the homes and offices of elected officials.
Former Polish wrestling champion Marian Lukasik (left) called for the assassination of Angela Merkel over her country's refugee policy
Pankowski believes the membership figures are very small, yet says his organisation saw via social media a number of Polish flags and Polish people at a Britain First rally in Birmingham last month.
In one video from the event, a UK-based Polish former wrestling champion Marian Lukasik, can be heard advocating the assassination of German Chancellor Angela Merkel because of her country's refugee policy. Lukasik has recently made other videos in support of Britain First.
"Britain First decided to attract support among the Polish community in the UK against Muslims, and a small section of the Polish community in the UK is probably prone to such messages," Pankowski says. "But obviously it's ironic because Polish migrants and Muslim migrants in the UK actually have a lot in common in terms of the everyday challenges they face."
You can find BBC Trending on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-40509632 |
Newspaper headlines: Trump Jr 'treason', and 'Jo the Konquerer' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Emails revealing Donald Trump Jr was offered information about Hillary Clinton by the Russians, and Jo Konta's Wimbledon win feature on the front pages. | The Papers | Donald Trump Jr appears in a number of the papers
The Daily Telegraph leads on claims that Donald Trump Jr is facing a possible "treason" investigation after emails showed he welcomed an offer of Russian state assistance to influence the outcome of the US election.
The Guardian believes the messages spell "big trouble" for the president, as they look like the first concrete proof of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The Financial Times quotes a former Watergate prosecutor who says the emails may not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Trump camp was willing to accept help from a hostile government, but "we're getting pretty damn close".
An editorial in the Daily Mirror says the mounting evidence of collusion is a crisis for the US and the world.
It says that as a former host of the US version of The Apprentice, Donald Trump must now be worried that the country is about to tell him: "You're fired!"
An investigation by the Guardian lays bare what the paper calls "Big Tobacco's dirty battle for the African market".
It accuses leading cigarette manufacturers of resorting to intimidatory tactics and legal action to try to force governments to water down the kind of protections and health campaigns that have saved millions of lives in the West.
One of the firms named, British American Tobacco, denies that it is opposed to tobacco regulation, but says it reserves the right to ask courts to intervene where it believes regulations may not comply with the law.
The Times leads on the findings of a House of Lords' report which says that a Royal Navy and EU mission to combat people smuggling in the Mediterranean has caused more migrants to die at sea. It says the tactic of using warships to destroy traffickers' boats has led to migrants leaving the Libyan coast in less seaworthy vessels.
The Daily Mail calls the mission the "£15m migrant farce".
The Telegraph highlights a study that says that jetting off on an annual summer holiday is so bad for global warming that it wipes out the benefits of 20 years of recycling.
According to the paper, researchers in Sweden and Canada found that saving and sorting rubbish has far less impact when compared with cutting down on flights, ditching the car or switching to a vegetarian diet.
Images of a fist-pumping Johanna Konta during her latest victory at Wimbledon are featured on the front and back pages.
The Mirror says she is the toast of the nation after becoming the first British woman to reach a singles semi-final at the All England Club in nearly 40 years.
The Telegraph calls her the "history maker", while the Daily Express says Konta is just one match from fulfilling her lifelong dream of a Wimbledon final.
Several papers have tracked down the Chelsea Pensioner who was helped by Konta to take a celebratory picture of the two of them as she left Centre Court.
Sergeant John Griffiths, 72, is quoted as saying that the British player is a "brilliant lady" and a "fighter".
The Sun and the Daily Star dub him the "selfie pensioner". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-40577125 |
Households due £285 rebate on fuel bills, says Citizens Advice - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Citizens Advice says energy firms have made "excess" profits and households should be reimbursed. | Business | Every household in the UK should get a one-off rebate of £285 on its fuel bills as a result of excess industry profits, Citizens Advice has said.
Over eight years, it claimed firms that transport gas and electricity - so-called energy networks - have made £7.5bn in "unjustified" profits.
It blamed the regulator, Ofgem, which sets industry price controls, for "errors in judgement".
Ofgem disputed the claim and said it had already helped to lower fuel bills.
Citizens Advice said that network firms had enjoyed a multi-billion pound windfall at the expense of consumers.
As an example, Citizens Advice said National Grid had made an operating profit of more than £4bn in 2015/16.
However the company's annual accounts show that around a quarter of that profit was made in the US or on other activities.
"Decisions made by Ofgem have allowed gas and electricity network companies to make sky-high profits that we've found are not justified by their performance," said Gillian Guy, head of Citizens Advice.
"Through their energy bills, it is consumers who have to pay the £7.5bn price for the regulator's errors of judgment. We think it is right that energy network companies return this money to consumers through a rebate."
Gas distribution is also subject to Ofgem price controls
Ofgem sets the charges that network companies like National Grid, SSE and Cadent - which distributes gas - can levy in any eight-year period.
That is because they are monopoly operators.
But in the current period, lasting from 2013 to 2021, Citizens Advice says Ofgem has been too favourable to the companies' interests.
However, Ofgem said a number of the assumptions used by Citizens Advice were too high, and rejected the idea of a rebate.
"We do think they raise some valid points, but we don't agree with their modelling or their figures," said Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem's senior partner for networks.
On Wednesday Ofgem also announced a consultation on how it should set price controls after 2021.
"We will take some of the issues into account when we examine future price controls," Mr Brearley added.
He told the BBC that those controls are likely to be much tougher on the companies involved, providing downward pressure on bills.
At the moment, around a quarter of the average fuel bill is taken up by transmission charges.
The Energy Networks Association - which represents the operators - also said it did not agree with the modelling used by Citizens Advice.
It said a similar claim filed by British Gas had already been rejected by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40568869 |
Estate agents have lowest stock of homes for 40 years - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | On average, each estate agent in the UK has 42.5 properties on its books, the lowest since 1978. | Business | The UK housing market is in a state of lethargy, according to property surveyors, with estate agents reporting the lowest stock of properties for nearly 40 years.
Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the market might continue "flatlining" for a while.
New instructions in June fell for the 16th month in a row.
Most surveyors also saw further falls in the number of properties being sold.
The average number of homes on the books of estate agents fell to 42.5 - the lowest number since the survey started in January 1978.
"Political uncertainty" was given by 44% of surveyors as the main reason for the pessimism - nearly double the number who blamed Brexit.
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS' chief economist, said that uncertainty seemed to be "exerting itself on transaction levels, which are flat-lining, and may continue to do so for a while, particularly given the ongoing challenge presented by the low level of stock on the market".
Separately, the Bank of England's latest Credit Conditions Survey of banks and building societies has suggested that home buyers could find it trickier to find mortgage deals with low deposits in the months ahead.
The survey found lenders were likely to rein in lending as they become more cautious about the state of the economy.
Lenders expect a slight reduction in mortgage availability to house buyers with deposits of less than 25%, and "in particular" those with a deposit of below 10%.
The survey also found that unsecured lending - which includes credit cards - had fallen in the second quarter of the year, and was expected to drop further in the third quarter.
Last week, the Halifax, Britain's largest lender, reported that prices fell by 1% in June, with annual growth slipping to 2.6%.
The RICS survey suggests that property values actually rose during the month.
However, that hides an increasing regional divide in price growth.
Five years ago, prices in the south of the country were roaring ahead of prices in the north, but now there has been a reversal.
Prices in London are falling, while they are flat in East Anglia and the South East, according to the RICS survey.
By contrast, property values in the North West, Wales, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands are rising significantly.
"The latest results demonstrate the danger, however tempting, of talking about a single housing market across the country," said Mr Rubinsohn.
"RICS indicators, particularly regarding the price trend, are pointing towards an increasingly divergent picture."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40581912 |
King Felipe VI: Spain and UK 'profoundly intertwined' - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | King Felipe VI says they can overcome differences over Gibraltar and Brexit, in his state visit speech. | UK | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. King Felipe VI said he respected the UK's decision to leave the EU
Britain and Spain can overcome their differences and maintain strong ties after Brexit, the king of Spain has said in a speech at Westminster.
King Felipe VI said he believed they could begin "the necessary dialogue" to form an arrangement over Gibraltar.
But the government of Gibraltar said the king's focus on a dialogue between London and Madrid was "undemocratic".
The start of a three-day state visit to the UK by the king and queen of Spain ended with a Buckingham Palace banquet.
King Felipe made his comments on Gibraltar in a speech in the Palace of Westminster.
King Felipe VI is a distant relative of the Queen
While discussing Britain's decision to leave the EU, he said: "To overcome our differences will be greater in the case of Gibraltar. I am confident through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work... towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved."
The government of Gibraltar said it would have to be involved in any discussion between Spain and the UK.
It added that two referenda in 1967 and 2002 showed the people of Gibraltar voted to remain British.
Chief minister Fabian Picardo QC said: "We have no desire to part of Spain or to come under Spanish sovereignty in any shape or form.
"In the times in which we live, territories cannot be traded from one monarch to another like pawns in a chess game."
During the speech, King Felipe said Britain and Spain were "profoundly intertwined" and he respected the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Hundreds of thousands of Britons live in Spain, and a similar number of Spaniards live in the UK, King Felipe told MP and peers.
They "form a sound foundation for our relations," he added.
"These citizens have a legitimate expectation of stable living conditions for their families," he said.
The king highlighted the two countries' important trading arrangements, adding that Britain is "the second largest investor in our country".
The Spanish royals were guests at a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace
At the banquet later hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace, the British monarch acknowledged the two countries had not always seen "eye to eye".
In a speech, she also said: "A relationship like ours founded on such great strengths and common interests will ensure that both our nations prosper now and in the future whatever challenges arise."
The banquet menu began with poached fillet of salmon trout with fennel. It was followed by a medallion of Scottish beef with bone marrow and truffles, with a sauce made from Madeira, and a dark chocolate and raspberry tart for dessert.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex also attended.
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen gifted the Spanish monarchs love letters from a mutual relative, Queen Ena of Spain
Earlier the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh greeted King Felipe and Queen Letizia at Horse Guards Parade, in a traditional welcoming ceremony.
The trip is the first state visit by a Spanish king to the UK since Felipe's father, Juan Carlos, came 31 years ago.
The Queen gifted King Felipe copies of love letters from his great-grandmother to King Alfonso XIII.
Queen Victoria's grand-daughter Princess Victoria Eugenie met King Alfonso on a state visit to Britain in 1905.
The pair married and Princess Victoria Eugenie became Queen Ena of Spain, making King Felipe a descendant of Queen Victoria.
The wind died down and the sun broke through the clouds just as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh stepped on to the dais at Horse Guards.
Every visiting head of state gets the same welcome - their national anthem and the chance to inspect the guard of honour with Prince Philip. With his retirement imminent, this could be the last time he performed that particular public duty.
King Felipe inspected the guard of honour with Prince Philip, on what is expected to be the prince's last state visit before retiring from public engagements this year
Then King Felipe stepped into a carriage with the Queen for the traditional procession down the Mall accompanied by the Household Cavalry. The Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Letizia travelled in a separate carriage.
It was a chance for Britain to show off how well it can do "pomp".
On Thursday, Prince Harry will accompany the royal visitors to Westminster Abbey.
King Felipe will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and the prince will join them on a short tour of the abbey, including the Tomb of Eleanor "Leonor" of Castile - the 13th-Century Spanish princess who married Edward I.
King Felipe, at 6ft 5in, towered over the Queen as he kissed Her Majesty's hand on Horse Guards Parade
Prime Minister Theresa May attended the welcoming ceremony with Home Secretary Amber Rudd | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40577753 |
FBI nominee Christopher Wray says Russia probe not witch hunt - BBC News | 2017-07-12 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Christopher Wray also told senators he would not be "pulling punches" if confirmed in the role. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI has rejected the president's depiction of a probe into alleged Russian meddling in the US election as a witch hunt.
"I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Christopher Wray said about the former FBI director who is leading the special investigation.
Mr Wray, 50, also told a Senate hearing he would quit if the president asked him to do anything illegal.
The last FBI director, James Comey, was fired by the US president on 9 May.
The US president earlier on Wednesday tweeted: "This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"
Mr Wray told the Senate panel on Wednesday: "Anybody who thinks that I would be pulling punches as FBI director sure doesn't know me well.
"I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period."
The nominee said he was "very committed to supporting" the work of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mr Mueller, who was described by Mr Wray as "a straight shooter", is a former FBI director who is now leading the special inquiry into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 US presidential election.
Mr Wray also faced questions about emails belonging to Donald Trump Jr - the president's eldest son - arranging a meeting with a Russian lawyer linked to the Kremlin.
The nominee told senators he was unfamiliar with the emails.
Senator Lindsey Graham read out the text of the emails to him and asked if Mr Trump Jr "should have taken that meeting".
"I would think you'd want to consult with some good legal advisers before you did that," said Mr Wray when pressed by the South Carolina Republican.
"Any threat or effort to interfere with our elections from any nation state or non-state actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know", he continued.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Mr Wray added that he has "no reason to doubt" the assessment by US intelligence agencies that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election in Mr Trump's favour.
Last month, Mr Comey told a congressional hearing that Mr Trump had requested a pledge of loyalty to him, which Mr Comey said he had refused to give.
Mr Wray declared: "My loyalty is to the constitution, to the rule of law, and to the mission of the FBI.
"And nobody asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process and I sure as heck didn't offer one."
Mr Comey had also told senators he was worried about meeting one-on-one with Mr Trump, because he was concerned the president might lie later about their discussion.
When Mr Wray was asked how he would respond to a private invitation from Mr Trump, he said such a meeting would be "highly unlikely".
But he added it would depend on the circumstances and if national security was involved.
Mr Wray also said he would attempt to work with the justice department to ensure "it's not a one-on-one meeting".
"I think the relationship between any FBI director and any president needs to be a professional one, not a social one," he said.
"And there certainly shouldn't be any one-on-one discussion between the FBI director and any president about how to conduct particular investigations or cases".
Mr Wray, a longtime justice department official who most recently has worked as a private criminal defence attorney, also noted his opposition to torture as an interrogation tactic.
Democratic senators, who have harshly questioned other Trump nominees during their confirmations, signalled approval for Mr Wray, indicating that he will probably be approved for the 10-year term.
If the president ever asked him to do anything illegal, he told senators, "first I would try to talk him out of it, and if that failed I would resign". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40573675 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.