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The man who built a $1bn firm in his basement - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How an IT worker quit his day job, and despite having no ideas to begin with, launched a firm from home that made him a multi-millionaire.
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Business
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Mr Rodrigues says he wanted to do something for a living that he really liked
Carl Rodrigues says that his family and friends all thought he had lost his mind.
"Everybody thought I had gone completely nuts," he says. "They were saying 'what's wrong with this guy? Is he having a hippy moment?'."
Mr Rodrigues, a successful IT consultant, had woken up one day and decided to quit the day job.
Instead of doing lucrative work for other people, he was going to retire to his basement and develop a best-selling computer product.
The significant problem was that he didn't have any ideas. But to the worry of his wife, and scorn of his mother-in-law - who lived with them - he was undeterred.
So back in 2001 he shut himself away beneath his house in the Canadian city of Mississauga, and started to try to dream up something.
"My goal was that I wanted to see what I could produce if I did something I really liked," he says.
"I didn't know what I was going to do, but I thought I would give it a shot."
After a month of working "crazy hours", Mr Rodrigues had come up with his first fully formed idea - a software system that allowed the user to control his or her mobile phone from their laptop.
Mr Rodrigues squirreled himself away in his basement
Naming his company Soti, sales of the system started to grow slowly, until 12 months later Mr Rodrigues got a phone call out of the blue from one of the UK's largest supermarket groups.
The firm didn't want to sell the system to its customers, instead it wanted to incorporate it into its operations, so staff could better communicate and pass on data and other information.
Mr Rodrigues, now 55 and Soti's chief executive, says: "I was still in my basement when I got a call from the company, saying they would like to place an order.
"I don't think they realised that they were talking to just one guy in a basement, so when the person asked to speak to someone in sales I came back on the phone with a slightly different tone."
The little ruse worked, and the UK firm placed a "huge order" for 20,000 units.
Soti has never looked back; and while most people have never heard of the firm - because it sells its mobile technology software systems to companies instead of consumers - it today has annual revenues of $80m (£62m).
This is despite Mr Rodrigues not needing any external investment. The business remains 100% owned by him and his wife.
Continuing to turn down numerous takeover bids, including an undisclosed offer from Microsoft in 2006, the Canadian business leader instead says he wants Soti to "become as big as they get" in the computer world.
Born in Pakistan to a Roman Catholic family that had its roots in the former Portuguese colony of Goa on India's west coast, Mr Rodrigues emigrated to Canada with his parents and four siblings when he was 11.
The decision to leave Pakistan was Mr Rodrigues' mother's. He says she was increasingly concerned at political and social instability in the country in the early 1970s.
He says: "Dad was happy in Pakistan, but mum wanted us kids to have a nice safe place to grow up in, and have a good education."
Carl (the youngest of the two boys) and his family left Pakistan in the early 1970s
As the family spoke English at home, Mr Rodrigues says he had no problem settling in Toronto. He even liked the significantly colder weather.
"I was dying to see snow," he says. "This magical thing I had never seen."
After "doing enough at school to go to university", Mr Rodrigues did a degree in computer science and mathematics at the University of Toronto.
He then spent a number of years working as a consultant, before launching Soti in 2001.
Today the company is valued at more than $1bn (£770m), and has 17,000 business customers around the world, and 700 employees across 22 countries.
Instead of still being based in Mr Rodrigues' basement, its headquarters is split across two buildings in Mississauga, which borders Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The company has 700 workers around the world
Technology journalist Martin Veitch who has followed Mr Rodrigues' career, says Soti has been so successful because of its specialised approach.
"I think Soti is an example of a company that has succeeded by being focused on a business niche," says Mr Veitch, who is contributing editor of website IDG Connect.
"A lot of its rivals are huge vendors that play in virtually every aspect of IT. That's fine for those customers that like 'one throat to choke', but for others a company that is a specialist represents a better fit."
More The Boss features, which every week profile a different business leader from around the world:
On a day-to-day basis Mr Rodrigues says he likes his senior managers to all "be their own chief executive".
He explains: "I'm so busy doing other things, they need to be their own CEOs and run their own organisations."
One problem Mr Rodrigues says the company has faced, is struggling to recruit enough good computer programmers.
Mr Rodrigues wants his senior managers to consider themselves to be their own chief executives
To get around this problem he has had to think creatively, and Soti advertises for people with no programming experience or qualifications to try their luck.
So far the firm has recruited 16 or so people under the initiative that sees applicants put through a number of tests.
Soti has also hired 20 programmers from the Ukraine, who it helped move to Canada with their families.
While Mr Rodrigues no longer has to work from his basement, his mother-in-law still lives with him, his wife and their two sons.
"My mother-in-law is not a shy person shall we say... but I think she is pleased [with what I have achieved]."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40504764
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Judge me on four things, said Trump. So we did - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president wants the media to focus on jobs, the economy, IS and the border. So we did.
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US & Canada
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President Trump claims the news media isn't paying attention to real policy issues, like jobs, the economy, so-called Islamic State and the border.
"At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else!" he tweeted.
Six months into his presidency, how is he faring in these areas? And how much is he tweeting about these policy priorities?
During the campaign, Mr Trump vowed to create 25 million jobs over 10 years and become "the greatest jobs president... ever".
In the past he discredited US jobless figures, claiming the actual unemployment rate was over forty per cent. Now he's America's CEO, he's embracing the same figures he once described as "phony".
So, are the jobs numbers "great", as his tweet suggests?
Yes - the jobs market is looking healthy, with the overall trend showing that unemployment is falling.
The president is also right when he says there are more jobs around - in June 222,000 jobs were created.
But this steady economic performance isn't a drastic change from what we saw under President Barack Obama, when job growth increased at a steady pace.
One area where that growth isn't being matched is in wages, and there have been calls for President Trump to address this issue.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Where did Trump the Outsourcing Slayer go?
Then there's his promise to bring more jobs back to the US from overseas - a pledge which energised much of his base.
Shortly after his election victory he spoke of how he had saved 1,100 jobs with the Indiana based air conditioner firm, Carrier. Months later, 600 of those jobs are still moving to Mexico.
Other companies like Ford are expanding production overseas, rather than in the US.
Despite the president's assurances he would reverse what he described as "job theft" overseas, it's proving difficult.
The latest growth figures, released since President Trump took office, showed a decline in the GDP rate (1.4%) in the first three months of this year, compared with the three months preceding (2.1%).
It was one of the worst readings for nearly a year, but not necessarily bad news for President Trump, as economists say the first quarter of the year usually posts a lower rate.
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Overall, the president is correct when he characterises the US economy as "strong". Upward growth is part of a trend, in which the US economy has picked up since the financial crisis in 2008.
The White House has set a growth target of 3%, but this does look like a challenge, as growth has only averaged less than 2% a year since 2001. The Congressional Budget Office currently estimates growth at about 1.9%.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Trump : 'I just don't want a poor person' running the US economy
President Trump often boasts about how the stock market has risen since he took office. He can take credit for this in part.
Some of the improvement in the markets can be attributed to anticipation that the president and the Republican pledge to reduce taxes and cut regulations will be implemented.
But he's still not managed to pass tax reform laws.
During the campaign Donald Trump didn't mince his words when it came to so-called Islamic State (IS), famously using an expletive to describe how much bombing he would carry out.
He added: "I'd just bomb those suckers. I'd blow up the pipes, I'd blow up the refineries, I'd blow up every single inch - there would be nothing left."
Back then Mr Trump was wary to reveal details but promised he had a "secret plan". Since entering office, he has ordered a review of US policy on IS.
Despite criticising his predecessor's handling of the militant group ("he's the founder of ISIS"), the Trump administration's strategy is strikingly similar. It includes continuing strikes and targeted raids, more support to local forces, and freezing the assets of IS operatives.
The goals are the same too - to take control of IS strongholds like Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq - and coalition forces have already seen success in the latter.
But there are some key differences in tactics. One is the decision to arm Syrian Kurds to help take Raqqa, despite objections from the Turkish government.
The second is a tougher stance on "annihilating" IS fighters, which has led to a rise in the number of civilian casualties caught up in attacks.
The third is that the Trump administration is authorising a far greater number of air strikes as it makes its push, and has ramped up operations against IS in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.
In Afghanistan his administration dropped the "Mother of All Bombs" to kill IS militants. And, when President Trump authorised a strike against a chemical weapons factory in Syria earlier this year, he showed he's not afraid to use military force when he feels it is necessary.
It shows another key difference between him and his predecessor Barack Obama, who promised such action, but didn't deliver.
Securing America's borders was the centrepiece of Donald Trump's election pitch. At campaign rallies he promised to crack down on illegal immigrants in the US, with his focus on criminals.
He often raised the case of Kate Steinle, a young woman from Seattle who was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times.
At the end of June he introduced "Kate's law" which would increase penalties for immigrants who re-enter the US after they've been deported. It was passed by the House of Representatives, and will now come before the Senate.
In the president's first 100 days, more than 41,000 people were arrested on the suspicion they were in the US illegally, an increase on the previous year. About 10,800 had no criminal conviction, compared with 4,200 the previous year.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. US immigration raids leave many 'afraid to open the door'
But despite his tough talk on the issue, President Trump actually deported fewer people in his first 100 days than Barack Obama.
In Trump's first 100 days 54,564 people were deported, compared with 62,062 for the same time period in the previous year under his predecessor.
And let's not forget Donald Trump's plans to tighten the border even further - his flagship plan to "build a wall" is moving along. Companies have until September to pitch their prototypes. At a recent rally in Iowa, the president said it could be a "solar wall" which would pay for itself.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How will President Trump deliver on border wall promise?
For months the president's travel ban was blocked by the courts and failed to become law.
After a decision by the US Supreme Court in June, it's partially in effect, but it's not as drastic. Visitors from the six designated countries can still enter, if they have a bona fide connection to the US.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40524386
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Drifting Antarctic iceberg A-68 opens up clear water - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Satellite images show the colossal Larsen iceberg continuing to edge away from the White Continent.
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Science & Environment
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The giant iceberg known as A-68 that was produced in the Antarctic last week continues to drift seaward.
All the latest satellite images indicate the gap between the 6,000-sq-km block and the floating Larsen C Ice Shelf from which it calved is widening.
The particular image on this page was acquired by the Deimos-1 satellite.
It is not easy getting pictures of the Antarctic at this time of year because of the long winter nights and because of cloud cover.
Those spacecraft that have so far spied the berg have been relying on radar or on infrared sensors to pierce these difficulties.
The monster berg - which is a quarter the size of Wales, and one of the biggest ever recorded - is so far behaving as expected.
Theory suggests it should move, in the first instance, down the slope in the ocean surface that has been created by winds in the Weddell Sea pushing water up against the coast. But the leftward deflecting effect of the Coriolis force, produced by the Earth's rotation, should keep the berg relatively close to the continent's edge.
Interestingly in the Deimos image, acquired on Friday, it appears as though a large segment of "fast ice" that was attached to the berg has broken free. This fast ice is considerably thinner than the main block - a few metres thick versus the 200-plus-metres of the berg itself.
In this Sunday thermal image from Nasa's Aqua satellite, the strong white lines are the signal of water which is warm relative to the surrounding ice and air. It also suggests a large section of fast ice has detached from the berg
Thomas Rackow and colleagues from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, are following the block with keen interest.
They recently published research in which they modelled the drift of icebergs through Antarctic waters - taking into account the different influences that act on small and large objects. There are essentially four "highways" that bergs travel, depending on their point of origin.
A-68 should follow the highway up the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, leading from the Weddell Sea towards the Atlantic.
"It will most likely follow a northeasterly course, heading roughly for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands," Dr Rackow told BBC News. "It will be very interesting to see whether the iceberg will move as expected, as a kind of 'reality-check' for the current models and our physical understanding."
Simulated highways: Small to medium bergs (Classes 1-3) generally have a lifetime of a couple of years; the big bergs (Classes 4-5) are mostly all gone after 10 years
Polar research agencies are already discussing the scientific opportunities afforded by the breakaway.
Scientists will want to understand what effect the calving might have on the remaining parts of the ice shelf. Ten percent of Larsen C's area was removed by the departing berg, and this loss could change the way stress is configured and managed across the shelf.
There are numerous cracks just north of a pinning point known as the Gipps Ice Rise. These fissures have long remained static, held in place by a band of soft, malleable ice.
Researchers will want to check the departure of A-68 will not alter the status of these cracks.
There are also some fascinating investigations to be done on the seafloor that will soon be uncovered when the berg moves completely clear of the shelf. Previous big calvings have led to the discovery of new species.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40635883
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Boy, 16, critical after moped and police car collide - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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A moped being ridden by three teenagers is in collision with a police car in London.
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London
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A moped ridden by three teenagers was in collision with a police car at the junction of South Park Road and Trinity Road in Wimbledon
A 16-year-old boy is in a critical condition after a collision between a police car and a moped being ridden by three teenagers in south-west London.
The crash happened at 02:15 BST on Sunday in South Park Road, Wimbledon.
All three boys were taken to a south London hospital for treatment.
The moped was believed to have been involved in an attempted robbery and was being monitored by the National Police Air Service helicopter, said the Metropolitan Police.
A second 16-year-old suffered a serious injury to his leg and a 15-year-old sustained minor injuries.
All three were arrested at the scene and two large knives were recovered.
The moped had been reported to police as lost or stolen, on 12 July.
The Met said the Directorate of Professionals Standards has been informed and the incident had been referred to the police watchdog.
In a statement, the Met said the moped was not being "pursued by police vehicles on the ground" at the time of the collision but "was monitored by police helicopter".
"The moped was in collision with the rear offside of a marked police car, which was being driven to a position ahead of the moped," it said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40624453
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HS2 reveals winners of building contracts - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Contracts worth £6.6bn are awarded ahead of news on the final HS2 routes to Leeds and Manchester.
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Business
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An artist's impression of the proposed HS2 Euston station
The winners of £6.6bn worth of contracts to build the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham have been announced by the government.
UK firms Carillion, Costain and Balfour Beatty are among the consortiums who will build tunnels, bridges and embankments on the first stretch of the new high speed rail line.
The final routes of the Manchester and Leeds branches of HS2 are due to be announced later.
It will include a decision over its path through Sheffield.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "As well as providing desperately needed new seats and better connecting our major cities, HS2 will help rebalance our economy."
But critics say the £56bn project will damage the environment and is too expensive.
The first trains are not expected to run until 2026.
Mr Grayling told the BBC's Today programme that the high-speed rail network will be "on time, on budget" and the government has "a clear idea of what it will cost".
He disputed a report that emerged over the weekend detailing a study by quantity surveyor Michael Byng who estimated that the cost of HS2 could balloon to more than £100bn, making it the most expensive railway in the world. Mr Grayling described the figure as "nonsense".
Commenting on the decision to spend on infrastructure amid the 1% cap on public sector pay, Mr Grayling said: "That's a very different issue because we are talking about capital investment over the next 15 years. We are not talking about current spending that the chancellor will decide on come the Budget."
The contracts to design and build areas of the high speed rail line have been split into three groups: south, central and north.
Carillion, which last week issued a profit warning and announced the immediate departure of its chief executive, has won two "lots" within the central area. Its share price rose by 7.7% to 60.5p on Monday but it has fallen by more than 76% over the last 12 months.
This includes one of the most controversial and complex areas of the route that runs between the Chiltern tunnels and Brackley.
Carillion, which is part of a consortium with three other companies to design and build the two lots, announced on Monday that it had appointed accountancy firm EY to support a strategic review of the business.
The decision over its route through the North of England has been delayed for several years due to a series of disagreements, the most controversial of which has been which route it should take through Sheffield.
The government's preferred plan for the route through Yorkshire would mean bulldozing the newly built Shimmer estate in Mexborough.
The government says HS2 is "on time" but they're clearly not talking about the route for the second phase, which was first promised in around 2014.
I remember flying a drone over a farm in Cheshire four years ago, filming the proposed route at the time.
The farmer has been waiting ever since then to find out if he'll lose his business.
He got in touch with me last year saying, "obviously we know nothing more today than we did when you were with us nearly 30 months ago, as the decision for HS2 Phase 2b has been put off yet again".
Anyone affected by the line now gets a year or two to put their case together and present it to a special committee of MPs who'll go through thousands of fears and objections before recommending any changes to the final route or the way it's designed.
When you talk to people adversely affected by HS2 they all say the same thing. Their lives go into limbo, often for years, just waiting for answers.
Parliament granted powers to build the first phase of the line between London and Birmingham in February.
Preparatory work has begun and major construction work is due to start in 2018-19. It is due to open in December 2026.
A Bill to deliver Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe will be published by Mr Grayling later on Monday. Services on this section are due to begin in 2027.
Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, and Birmingham to the East Midlands and Leeds, is due to open in 2033.
The companies who have won the contracts to design and build the first phase of HS2 are:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40627464
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Why the world's biggest investor backs the simplest investment - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Warren Buffett has advised his wife to invest her money in low-cost index funds, after his death.
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Business
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Warren Buffett has advised his wife to put her money into simple index funds after his death
What's the best financial investment? If anyone knows, it's Warren Buffett, the world's richest investor.
He's worth tens of billions of dollars, accumulated over decades of savvy investments. His advice is in a letter he wrote to his wife, advising her how to invest after his death, which anyone can read [page 20, paragraph 6].
Those instructions: pick the most mediocre investment you can imagine. Put almost everything into "a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund".
An index fund is mediocre by definition. It passively tracks the stock market as a whole by buying a little of everything, rather than trying to beat the market by investing in individual companies - as Warren Buffett has done so successfully for more than half a century.
Index funds now seem completely natural. But as recently as 1976, they didn't exist.
Before you can have an index fund, you need an index.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations that helped create the economic world.
In 1884, a financial journalist called Charles Dow had the bright idea to take the price of some famous company stocks and average them, then publish the average going up and down.
He ended up founding not only the Dow Jones company, but also the Wall Street Journal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average didn't pretend to do anything much except track how shares were doing, as a whole.
Charles Dow's first Industrial Average tracked the closing stock prices of 12 companies
But thanks to Charles Dow, pundits could talk about the stock market rising by 2.3% or falling by 114 points.
More sophisticated indices followed - the Nikkei, the Hang Seng, the Nasdaq, the FTSE, and most famously the S&P 500. They quickly became the meat and drink of business reporting all around the world.
Then, in 1974, the world's most famous economist took an interest.
Paul Samuelson had revolutionised the way economics was practised and taught, making it more mathematical and engineering-like, and less like a debating club.
His book Economics was America's bestselling textbook in any subject for almost 30 years. He won one of the first Nobel memorial prizes in economics.
Samuelson had already proved the most important idea in financial economics: that if investors were thinking rationally about the future, the price of assets such as shares and bonds should fluctuate randomly.
That seems paradoxical, but the intuition is that all the predictable movements have already happened: lots of people will buy a share that's obviously a bargain, and then the price will rise and it won't be an obvious bargain any more.
His idea became known as the efficient markets hypothesis.
Paul Samuelson (left) received the 1996 National Medal of Science for his contribution to economic science
It's probably not quite true. Investors aren't perfectly rational, and some are more interested in covering their backsides than taking well judged risks. But the hypothesis is true-ish. And the truer it is, the harder it's going to be for anyone to beat the stock market.
Samuelson looked at the data and found - embarrassingly for the investment industry - that, indeed, in the long run, most professional investors didn't beat the market.
And while some did, good performance often didn't last. There's a lot of luck involved, and it's hard to distinguish that luck from skill.
In his essay Challenge To Judgment Samuelson argued that most professional investors should quit and do something useful instead, such as plumbing.
He also said that, since professional investors didn't seem to be able to beat the market, somebody should set up an index fund - a way for ordinary people to invest in the stock market as a whole, without paying a fortune in fees for fancy professional fund managers to try, and fail, to be clever.
Then, something interesting happened: a practical businessman paid attention to an academic economist's suggestion.
John Bogle had just founded a company called Vanguard, whose mission was to provide simple mutual funds for ordinary investors, with no fancy stuff and low fees.
And what could be simpler and cheaper than an index fund - as recommended by the world's most respected economist?
So Bogle set up the world's first index fund, and waited for investors to rush in.
Investors were initially slow to put their money into John Bogle's index funds
They didn't. When Bogle launched the First Index Investment Trust, in August 1976, it flopped.
Investors weren't interested in a fund that was guaranteed to be mediocre. Financial professionals hated the idea - some even called it "un-American".
It was certainly a slap in their faces. Bogle was effectively saying: "Don't pay these guys to pick stocks, because they can't do better than random chance. Neither can I, but at least I charge less." People called Vanguard's index fund "Bogle's Folly".
But Bogle kept the faith, and slowly people started to catch on.
Active funds are expensive, after all. They often buy and sell a lot, in search of bargains. They pay analysts handsomely to fly around meeting company directors. Their annual fees might sound modest - just a percent or two - but soon mount up. Eventually, fees can swallow a quarter or more of a typical fund.
If such funds consistently outperform the market, that's money well spent. But Samuelson showed that, in the long run, most don't.
The super-cheap index funds looked, over time, to be a perfectly credible alternative to active funds - and much cheaper.
Today 40% of US stock market funds are passive trackers rather than active stock-pickers
Slowly and surely, Bogle's funds grew and spawned more and more imitators - each one passively tracking some broad financial benchmark or other, each one tapping into Samuelson's basic insight that if the market is working well, you might as well sit back and go with the flow.
Forty years after Bogle launched his index fund, fully 40% of US stock market funds are passive trackers rather than active stock-pickers. You might say that the remaining 60% are clinging to hope over experience.
Index investing is a symbol of the power of economists to change the world that they study.
When Samuelson and his successors developed the idea of the efficient markets hypothesis, they changed the way that markets themselves worked - for better or worse.
It wasn't just the index fund. Other financial products, such as derivatives, really took off after economists worked out how to value them.
Samuelson ranked the invention of the index fund alongside Gutenberg's printing press
Some scholars think the efficient markets hypothesis itself played a part in the financial crisis, by encouraging something called "mark to market" accounting - where a bank's accountants would work out what its assets were worth by looking at their value on financial markets.
There's a risk that such accounting leads to self-reinforcing booms and busts, as everyone's books suddenly and simultaneously look brilliant, or terrible, because financial markets have moved.
Samuelson himself, understandably, thought that the index fund had changed the world for the better.
It's already saved ordinary investors literally hundreds of billions of dollars.
For many, it will be the difference between scrimping and saving or relative comfort in old age.
In a speech in 2005, when Samuelson himself was 90 years old, he gave Bogle the credit.
He said: "I rank this Bogle invention along with the invention of the wheel, the alphabet, Gutenberg printing, and wine and cheese: a mutual fund that never made Bogle rich, but elevated the long-term returns of the mutual-fund owners - something new under the Sun."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40189970
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Havaianas: How a Brazilian flip-flop took over the world - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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How did the famous Havaianas brand make a working-class shoe a major fashion success?
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Latin America & Caribbean
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Havaianas are now produced in all colours of the rainbow
It is one of the simplest shoes on the planet: a piece of plastic, roughly the outline of your foot, with a crude strap holding the sole to your toes.
Yet Brazil's Havaianas brand took the humble flip-flop to new heights. The company behind them was sold earlier this week for $1bn (£780m). Selling about 200 million pairs every year, it had produced a domestic and international phenomenon.
Across the country, there are whole shops dedicated to them. Rows and rows, in all colours and styles. There are strappy ones, shiny ones, ones in the colour of your favourite football team, ones with huge platform wedges.
The colourful rubber shoes have become synonymous with Brazil. Many carry a little Brazilian flag on their strap. "Havaianas embodies Brazil's fun, vibrant & spontaneous way of life," claims the company's Twitter account. And it is this strong identity that has helped it hold its own, against cheap versions of what is an easy-to-replicate design.
The company adds embellishments and metallic shines to boost prices and desirability
Overseas, they have also proved a hit, and often sell at highly inflated prices: A pair encrusted with Swarovski crystals currently sells for almost $100 (£80) at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. They are sold all over the world, from the UK to Australia.
The success is a sure sign that the shoe's status has entirely flip-flopped it itself, from its 1960s origins as a purely functional, working-class footwear.
Back then, they were made only in one blue-and-white design, worn by workers across the country and sold by travelling salesmen out of the back of vans.
The company maintains that the first variation happened by accident in 1969, when one batch turned out green and became a surprise hit.
And that, according to local experts, is the secret of their success: they took a simple design and started experimenting.
This really kicked off in the 1990s, according to Daniel Gallas, the BBC's South America Business Correspondent, based in Sao Paulo.
"The company created different prototypes, accepted branding partnerships. With a few tweaks, a product costing 10 reais [£2, $3] could be sold for ten times that amount," he says.
"Brazil's masses could still purchase the old models; rich emerging Brazilians could afford the new, fancy ones. It was a turning point in the company - when it became an international hit and revenues multiplied."
Havaianas has also branched into patriotic, football-themed footwear
Eduardo Alves, a luxury lifestyle writer based in Rio de Janeiro, calls it one of "the most remarkable upgrades in the history of fashion".
Suddenly they were in vogue.
"It was the opposite when I was kid," a Brazilian friend once told me, of growing up in late-1980s Brasilia. "I was mortified when my mum brought us all pairs to wear to school. They felt so uncool."
Back then, they were so commonplace they were put on a list of fundamental products by the Brazilian government, alongside various household groceries, in its attempts to control inflation.
But, says Eduardo Alves, there is also a darker side to the success story.
Alpargatas - the company that make the shoes - was owned by the J&F group, which manages the fortune of the billionaire Batista family and which has recently been at the centre of the biggest corruption scandal the country has known.
A customer picks out a pair in a store in the upmarket Hamptons area of New York
In May, news broke that Joesley Batista, chairman of the group's meatpacking business, had secretly taped conversations with President Michel Temer; the pair were allegedly discussing bribes.
The J&F group has since been hit with a record fine of more than $3bn, and the sell-off will pay off some of those debts.
Do Brazilians care? Many have boycotted other products from the J&F group, but not all have made the Havaianas connection.
And now the famous flip-flop is moving on, under the new ownership of three Brazilian banking groups.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-40610739
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Martin Landau, star of Mission: Impossible, dies - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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He starred in the TV series of Mission: Impossible and won an Oscar for his performance in Ed Wood.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The actor Martin Landau, best known for roles in the TV series Mission: Impossible and 1960s blockbusters like Cleopatra, has died, aged 89.
His publicist Dick Guttman confirmed the death, saying: "We are overcome with sadness."
Landau won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1995 for portraying the horror movie star Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.
He died on Saturday in Los Angeles of "unexpected complications" following a hospital visit.
Landau was born in New York and started out as a cartoonist for the New York Daily News before moving to theatre and then cinema acting.
He featured in the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest and played a commander in Space: 1999 and Geppetto in a live-action version of The Adventures of Pinocchio.
But he turned down the role of Mr Spock in Star Trek, a role that went to his friend Leonard Nimoy instead.
And Nimoy later replaced Landau on Mission: Impossible when the latter left following a dispute over pay.
Many in Hollywood hit social media to pay tribute, including Star Trek actor William Shatner, who played the role of James T. Kirk.
Shatner tweeted: "Condolences to the family of Martin Landau."
Brent Spiner, best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, tweeted: "Great actor, Martin Landau leaves us at age 89. So glad the part of Lugosi came to him. He crushed it. RIP."
Stranger Things actor David Harbour wrote: "The great Martin Landau has died. Long time member of the actor's studio and brilliant craftsman in our tradition. I will miss his work."
Ralph Macchio, who played Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, praised Landau's performance in the 1989 comedy drama Crimes and Misdemeanours.
The film was written, directed by and co-starred Woody Allen and gave Landau his second Oscar nomination for best actor in a supporting role.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40627982
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Motorists could win £30m compensation from Europcar - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Thousands of British motorists could have been overcharged for car repairs over many years.
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Business
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French car hire firm Europcar has admitted that it may have to pay out as much as £30m to British motorists who were overcharged for car repairs.
UK Trading Standards officers launched an investigation after its office in Leicester received complaints.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is also planning to launch an inquiry, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The paper says more than half a million motorists could have been overcharged for repairs over many years.
In a statement, Europcar said: "Europcar's view is that the implications of the investigation will be somewhere in the region of £30m."
But the company - whose shares fell by 2.5% on Monday - said it had no further comment to make.
The Telegraph said some people were charged four times what they should have been for routine repairs.
The figures suggest an average compensation payment of up to £60 for every motorist who was overcharged.
Europcar's website says it charges an administration fee of £40 for each repair, plus up to £25 for a replacement wiper blade, and up to £350 for replacing a tyre.
The investigation appears to involve motorists who hired cars through Europcar UK, either via the website or on the phone.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40630238
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All the Doctors, from William Hartnell to Jodie Whittaker - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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As the new Time Lord prepares to enter the Tardis, we look back at her many predecessors.
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Entertainment & Arts
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A promotional image for 2013's 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor
Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi has passed on his sonic screwdriver to Jodie Whittaker who becomes the 13th doctor and first woman to take on the role of television's famous Time Lord.
She follows a distinguished line-up of thespian (male) talent that stretches all the way back to the sci-fi favourite's first episode in 1963.
William Hartnell was the first actor to play the Doctor on television, appearing in the BBC show from 1963 to 1966.
Hartnell, who died in 1975, had previously appeared in TV's The Army Game and Carry On Sergeant, the first Carry On film, in 1958.
While Hartnell was playing the Doctor on television, Peter Cushing could be found playing him on film in Dr Who and the Daleks, in which Roy Castle co-starred.
That 1965 film and its 1966 follow-up, Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., depicted the Doctor as a human scientist rather than a time-travelling Gallifreyan and are not considered part of the Doctor Who timeline.
When ill health forced Hartnell to relinquish the role, the Doctor regenerated - for the first time - into Patrick Troughton.
Memorably scruffy and eccentric, Troughton spent three years travelling time and space before stepping down in 1969.
When the raffish Jon Pertwee became the third Doctor, he also became the first to be seen on television in colour.
His tenure, which ran from 1970 to 1974, saw the Time Lord exiled to Earth and working with Unit, aka the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce.
Pertwee's time with the show also saw the first of the popular ensemble stories in which previous Doctors appear alongside the current one.
Broadcast over December 1972 and January 1973, The Three Doctors saw him joined by Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell in what would be the latter's final acting engagement.
When Pertwee moved on in 1974, Tom Baker moved in - and would become the longest-serving Doctor to date.
Deep-voiced, curly-haired and eternally long of scarf, his seven years in the Tardis earned him legions of fans who were delighted anew in 2013 when he popped up at the end of a 50th anniversary special.
When Baker finally stepped down from the role in 1981, his shoes were filled by the fresh-faced Peter Davison.
The boyish actor spent three years as the Fifth Doctor before taking his leave at the end of the show's 21st series.
Davison's tenure coincided with Doctor Who's 20th anniversary, celebrated by a feature-length special that saw him joined by Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton.
The First Doctor also made an appearance, with Richard Hurndall filling in for the late William Hartnell.
Tom Baker opted not to return for The Five Doctors, which covered over his absence by incorporating material from one of the actor's unbroadcast adventures.
Similar subterfuge was required for this 1983 photo shoot, which saw Hurndall, Davison, Pertwee and Troughton joined by an unconvincing Baker mannequin.
Davison's departure opened the door for another Baker to take controls of the Doctor's time-travelling police box in 1984.
Colin Baker (no relation of Tom's) spent less than three years in the role, with his appearances limited further by an 18-month hiatus in production.
Though Baker had limited time to enjoy the Tardis, he did get the chance to meet one of his predecessors when Patrick Troughton returned - for the third time - in 1985.
The Two Doctors marked Troughton's final reprise of his signature role. Some years later, his sons David and Michael would both make Doctor Who appearances.
Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy took over from Colin Baker in 1987 and played the Doctor until the show's axing in 1989.
Michael Grade - the controller of BBC One at the time - was no fan of the programme, which was looking increasingly threadbare and cheap-looking in the face of glossier cinema fare.
Some feel, though, that this period in the show's evolution has been harshly judged.
An attempt was made to revive Doctor Who in 1996 with a TV film that saw McCoy regenerate into Paul McGann on American soil.
It was hoped the special would spawn a TV series but it never materialised, making McGann's tenure the shortest of all the Doctors.
In 2005 Doctor Who regenerated into the ambitious, well-financed property it is today. It also introduced a new Doctor in the form of Christopher Eccleston.
To the disappointment of many, the Salford-born actor chose to make only one series of the rebooted show. His departure was confirmed only days after his debut episode was broadcast.
Eccleston's exit saw David Tennant join the show, with his first full episode - The Christmas Invasion - shown on BBC One on Christmas Day 2005.
Tennant's amiable style and enthusiasm made him a popular choice for the role, which he finally relinquished on the first day of 2010.
The spate of junior Doctors continued with the casting of Matt Smith, who was just 27 when he made his debut as the Time Lord's 11th incarnation.
His four years in the role, which coincided with Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, saw the programme both maintain and bolster its renewed popularity.
Doctor Who's 50th anniversary in 2013 was marked by The Day of the Doctor, a feature-length special in which Matt Smith's Time Lord was joined by David Tennant's version of the character.
The Day of the Doctor also introduced a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor, known as The War Doctor and played by Sir John Hurt.
The character rejected referring to himself as 'The Doctor' and is not considered to have the same status as his fellow TV Time Lords.
Peter Capaldi was no stranger to the Doctor Who universe when he was cast as the Doctor in 2013. A lifelong fan of the show, he appeared in an episode of the programme in 2008 and also had a role in its spin-off Torchwood.
His hawkish features brought a new intensity, and maturity, to the Tardis from the moment his first full episode was broadcast in August 2014.
Capaldi's most recent adventure saw him briefly joined by the "original" Doctor, played on this occasion by David Bradley.
Bradley will return in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special.
Bradley's appearance was a pleasing one for Whovians after his role as William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time, a 2013 dramatisation of the show's early years.
Jodie Whittaker has been named as the 13th Doctor and will be the first woman to play the role - if one discounts Joanna Lumley, who briefly played the Doctor in a 1999 Comic Relief sketch.
Whittaker will make her debut on the sci-fi show this Christmas when Peter Capaldi regenerates.
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• None Was Doctor Who rubbish in the 1980s?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40585673
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A mission to the Pacific plastic patch - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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A "raft" of plastic debris spanning more than 965,000 square miles is floating in the South Pacific.
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Science & Environment
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mission to the plastic patch: On board with Capt Charles Moore and his team
A mariner who has spent years travelling "hundreds of thousands of nautical miles" to measure the impact of plastic waste in the ocean has estimated that a "raft" of plastic debris spanning more than 965,000 square miles (2.5m sq km) is concentrated in a region of the South Pacific.
Capt Charles Moore has just returned from a sampling expedition around Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island.
He was part of the team which discovered the first ocean "garbage patch" in the North Pacific gyre in 1997 and has now turned his attention to the South Pacific.
Although plastic is known to occur in the Southern Hemisphere gyres, very few scientists have visited the region to collect samples.
Oceanographer Dr Erik van Sebille, from Utrecht University, says the work of Capt Moore and his colleagues will help fill "a massive knowledge gap" in our understanding of ocean plastics.
"Any data we can get our hands on is good data at this point," he told BBC News.
Capt Moore explained that the space occupied by sub-tropical gyres - areas of the ocean surrounded by circulating ocean currents - is approximately the same size as the entire land mass of the Earth, but they are now being "populated by our trash".
The phenomenon of oceanic garbage patches was originally documented in the North Pacific, but plastic has now been found in the South Pacific, Arctic and Mediterranean.
"It's hard not to find plastic in the ocean any more," Dr van Sebille said. "That's quite shocking".
Capt Charles Moore has been searching the ocean for plastic since 1997
Capt Moore is the founder of Algalita Marine Research, a non-profit organisation aiming to combat the "plastic plague" of garbage floating in the world's oceans.
For more than 30 years, he has transported scientists to the centre of remote debris patches aboard his research ship, Alguita.
Dragging nets behind the vessel, the crew sieves particles of plastic from the ocean, which are then counted and fed into estimates of global microplastic distribution.
Although scientists agree that plastic pollution is a widespread problem, the exact distribution of these rafts of ocean garbage is still unclear.
"If we don't understand where the plastic is, then we don't really understand what harm it does and we can't really work on solving the problem," said Dr van Sebille.
Capt Moore and his crew hope to address this lack of data through their research trips.
On this latest voyage, Capt Moore and his colleagues are also investigating how plastic in the South Pacific Ocean may be threatening the survival of fish.
Lanternfish, that live in the deep ocean, are an important part of the diet of whales, squid and king penguins and the Algalita team says that plastic ingestion by lanternfish could have a domino effect on the rest of the food chain.
Christiana Boerger, a marine biologist in the US Navy, who has worked with the organisation, told BBC News that the problem of plastic consumption in fish can be "out of sight, out of mind".
Most of the plastic is made up of tiny pieces floating at the surface
She explained that "scientists need to actually travel to these accumulation zones" in order to bring the issue to the world's attention.
Ms Boerger has seen the impact of oceanic garbage patches first hand, aboard the Alugita and she says that some fish species "have more man-made plastic in their stomach than their natural food".
Globally, most of the plastic that ends up in the oceans comes from the land.
Litter is typically transported offshore by currents, which then form large revolving bodies of water, or gyres.
But Capt Moore says the South Pacific garbage patch is different from those in the Northern Hemisphere, because most of the litter appears to have come from the fishing industry.
Elsewhere, scientists are shifting their attention away from remote mid-ocean garbage patches to locations closer to home.
"If you think about plastic in terms of its impact, where does it harm marine life?" Dr van Sebille posed.
"Near coastlines is where biology suffers. It's also where the economy suffers the most."
Dr van Sebille also says that future research efforts need to focus on ecologically sensitive regions along the continental shelf. Even though the garbage patches cover a very large area "they are not that ecologically important", he said.
Our plastic rubbish has floated to islands that are thousands of miles from the nearest human population
His team has previously studied the risk of plastics to marine animals, including turtles and sea birds. "Every time, we found that the risk is mostly outside of the garbage patches," he warned.
In the future, Dr van Sebille hopes to understand more about how plastic ends up on the coastline and is then subsequently transported to the oceans by storms. Interrupting this process might be an important mechanism for halting the growth of ocean garbage patches.
"A beach clean-up might turn out to be a very efficient way of cleaning up the ocean," he suggests.
In the meantime, humanity's love affair with plastic is unlikely to end soon. Plastic "will never be the enemy", concedes Capt Moore, "It has too many uses".
He explained that plastic pollution travels across national borders, so dealing with it required international collaboration.
• None Are your clothes polluting the ocean?
• None Plastic oceans: What do we know?
• None South Pacific Expedition - en route to the Galapagos by Charles James Moore The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40584629
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Saudi Arabia investigates video of woman in miniskirt - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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A woman shared footage of herself openly defying the conservative Muslim kingdom's strict dress code.
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Middle East
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The video of "Khulood" walking around Ushayqir was shared initially on Snapchat
The authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a young woman who posted a video of herself wearing a miniskirt and crop-top in public.
The woman, a model called "Khulood", shared the clip of her walking around a historic fort in Ushayqir.
The footage sparked a heated debate on social media, with some calling for her arrest for breaking the conservative Muslim country's strict dress code.
Other Saudis came to the woman's defence, praising her "bravery".
Women in Saudi Arabia must wear loose-fitting, full-length robes known as "abayas" in public, as well as a headscarf if they are Muslim. They are also banned from driving and are separated from unrelated men.
In the video initially shared on Snapchat over the weekend, Khulood is seen walking along an empty street in a fort at Ushayqir Heritage Village, about 155km (96 miles) north of the capital Riyadh, in Najd province.
Najd is one of the most conservative regions in Saudi Arabia. It was where the founder of Wahhabism - the austere form of Sunni Islam that is practised by the Saudi royal family and religious establishment - was born in the late 18th Century.
The video was quickly picked up by Saudis on Twitter, where opinion was divided between those who believe Khulood should be punished and others who insisted she should be allowed to wear what she wanted.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by فاطمة العيسى This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Journalist Khaled Zidan wrote: "The return of the Haia [religious police] here is a must."
Another user argued: "We should respect the laws of the country. In France, the niqab [face-covering veil] is banned and women are fined if they wear it. In Saudi Arabia, wearing abayas and modest clothing is part of the kingdom's laws."
The writer and philosopher, Wael al-Gassim, said he was "shocked to see those angry, scary tweets".
"I thought she had bombed or killed somebody. The story turned out to be about her skirt, which they did not like. I am wondering how Vision 2030 can succeed if she is arrested," he added, referring to the reform programme unveiled last year by Saudi Arabia's newly-appointed 31-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. In April, Saudi women's rights campaigners filmed themselves walking silently in protest against driving restrictions
Some defended Khulood by noting that US President Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka, had chosen not to wear abayas or headscarves during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
Fatima al-Issa wrote: "If she was a foreigner, they would sing about the beauty of her waist and the enchantment of her eyes... But because she is Saudi they are calling for her arrest."
On Monday, the Okaz newspaper reported that officials in Ushayqir had called on the provincial governor and police to take action against the woman.
The religious police, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, meanwhile wrote on Twitter that it had been made aware of the video and was in contact with the relevant authorities.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40633687
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South Korea proposes rare military talks with North Korea - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Despite the North's recent long-range missile test, the South is seeking to ease tensions.
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Asia
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South Korea has proposed holding military talks with the North, after weeks of heightened tension following Pyongyang's long-range missile test.
If they were to go ahead, they would be the first high-level talks since 2015.
A senior official said talks should aim to stop "all hostile activities that raise military tension" at the fortified border between the Koreas.
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in has long signalled he wants closer engagement with the North.
North Korea has not responded to the South's proposal yet.
In a recent speech in Berlin, Mr Moon said dialogue with the North was more pressing than ever and called for a peace treaty to be signed.
He said such dialogue was crucial for those who seek the end of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
However, the North's frequent missile tests, including the most recent one of an intercontinental ballistic missile, are in consistent violation of UN resolutions and have alarmed its neighbours and the US.
South Korea's Vice Defence Minister Suh Choo-suk told a media briefing that talks could be held at Tongilgak, a North Korean building in the Panmunjom compound in the demilitarised zone between the two countries, which was used to host previous talks.
He proposed that the talks be held on 21 July, and said: "We expect a positive response from the North."
South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon also urged the restoration of communication hotlines between the two Koreas, cut last year after a North Korean nuclear test.
The BBC's Karen Allen in Seoul says the ultimate aim of these talks would be to end the military confrontation that has dominated relations between the two Koreas for decades.
But it could begin with confidence-building measures such as ending the infamous loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border, she says.
The Red Cross and the government have also proposed a separate meeting, aimed at discussing how to hold reunions of families separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953.
But analysts say these could be highly fraught with Pyongyang still angry at the South's unwillingness to repatriate high-profile defectors.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40627608
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Jodie Whittaker: Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord to be a woman - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Broadchurch star Jodie Whittaker is named as the 13th Doctor - the first woman to take the role.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. See how Jodie Whittaker was revealed as the next Time Lord
Jodie Whittaker has been announced as Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord - the first woman to be given the role.
The new Doctor's identity was revealed in a trailer broadcast at the end of the Wimbledon men's singles final.
The Broadchurch star succeeds Peter Capaldi, who took over the role in 2013 and leaves in the forthcoming Christmas special.
Whittaker, 35, said it was "overwhelming, as a feminist" to become the next Doctor.
She will make her debut on the sci-fi show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas special.
The Huddersfield-born star, who was a late favourite to become the Doctor, will find a familiar face for her on set - Doctor Who's new showrunner is Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.
Whittaker said: "I'm beyond excited to begin this epic journey - with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet.
"It's more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can't wait."
The actress also shares another Broadchurch link with Doctor Who - co-star David Tennant was the 10th Doctor.
It was always unlikely that the Doctor would continue to be white and male, especially as the BBC has committed itself to greater diversity on its programmes.
Casting the first female Doctor is something many viewers have been calling for. And strong female-led stories have been successful on the big and small screen in recent years, in films ranging from The Hunger Games and Star Wars to Wonder Woman, and in TV series like Game of Thrones.
The BBC will be hoping today's announcement will not just excite viewers, but will also demonstrate that the time travel show has firmly moved into the 21st century.
Whittaker said it felt "incredible" to take on the role, saying: "It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you're told you can and can't be."
And she told fans not to be "scared" by her gender.
"Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that's exciting about change," she said, adding: "The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one."
Whittaker said she had used the codename "Clooney" when discussing the part with her husband and agent - as actor George is "an iconic guy".
Peter Capaldi will bow out in this year's Christmas special, featuring David Bradley as the First Doctor
Chibnall said the 13th Doctor was always going to be a woman.
He said: "I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we're thrilled to have secured our number one choice.
"Her audition for the Doctor simply blew us all away. Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role. The 13th Doctor is on her way."
Chibnall is taking over from Steven Moffat, who leaves the series at the same time as Capaldi.
Capaldi, who had said he wanted to see a woman replace him, said: "Anyone who has seen Jodie Whittaker's work will know that she is a wonderful actress of great individuality and charm.
"She has above all the huge heart to play this most special part. She's going to be a fantastic Doctor."
Former companions Billie Piper and Karen Gillan had called for a female Time Lord, while Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss said it was the perfect time for a woman to take the lead role.
After the announcement, Piper tweeted the word: "YES" with a red rose emoji, while fellow former companion Freema Agyeman tweeted: "Change isn't a dirty word!!!!"
Dedicated Whovians were quick to react to the news of Jodie Whittaker taking over the Tardis.
On social media, some said it would encourage them to watch the show for the first time - but others said the casting meant they would be switching off, and that the Doctor should be played by a man.
Carla Joanna tweeted to say that she would be tuning in and that the trailer "made me choke up a little". Another tweeter, Ayad, said: "I don't even watch Doctor Who but a woman doctor is so cool."
But Samantha Melton said: "I am a woman and a feminist but I don't want a female Doctor. To me it's trying too hard to tick the boxes."
Doctor Who writer Jenny Colgan, who has written for the series' books and audio dramas, said: "I am of course incredibly excited the new Doctor is a woman; Steven Moffat has been paving the way for this for ages and it is absolutely about time.
"I can't imagine what it's like for Jodie: she must be so scared and excited all at once, but I couldn't be happier, and 100% can't wait to write for her."
Will Howells, who writes for the Doctor Who magazine and has been a fan for 25 years, said: "In 2017, there shouldn't be anything major about a TV series changing from a male lead to a female one. We'll also maybe see a solo male companion as a regular feature for the first time.
"I don't think it's a risky choice at all - but if a show that can go anywhere and do anything can't take risks, what can?"
Science fiction and fantasy author Paul Cornell said: "It's always been time for a woman Doctor and it's great we got there.
"Well done to Steven Moffat for laying the groundwork. She's going to be amazing. And that first episode of hers is going to get a lot of new people watching."
Actress Olivia Colman, who starred in a Doctor Who episode and was one of the possible candidates for the role, said it was a "classy decision".
"The creatives made the right decision that the part should be a woman and it's about time," she told BBC News. She added that those unhappy about Whittaker being the new Time Lord should "leave her alone and let her do her job brilliantly".
Whittaker starred as Beth Latimer in the three series of the ITV crime drama Broadchurch, as the mother of a murdered boy.
As well as TV work, Whittaker has appeared on the big screen, in One Day, Attack the Block and St Trinian's. She made her film debut in 2006's Venus, opposite Peter O'Toole.
Traditionally, each Doctor has their own distinctive look, raising questions about the cloak Whittaker wears in the trailer. However, she has said it is not part of her official Doctor Who outfit, and that she does not yet know what she will wear.
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George and Charlotte join Poland and Germany diplomacy tour - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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The children are visiting Poland and Germany with their parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince George required some gentle encouragement to leave the plane
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children are in Warsaw at the start of their visit to Poland and Germany.
Their five-day tour of the two European countries is at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Kensington Palace said Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, two, would be seen "on at least a couple of occasions over the course of the week".
They joined their parents in Canada last year for an official trip.
"The duke and duchess are very much looking forward to this tour and are delighted with the exciting and varied programme that has been put together for it," a Kensington Palace spokesman said.
Charlotte and George looked out of the window after landing in Warsaw
Princess Charlotte was helped off the plane by her mother
They were greeted at Warsaw Chopin Airport by the UK's ambassador to Poland, Jonathan Knott, and his wife, alongside Poland's ambassador to Britain, Arkady Rzegocki.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were last seen in public on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a flypast following the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen's birthday last month.
The royals will travel to Germany on the second leg of their trip
For Prince George and Princess Charlotte such trips are a novelty but, as the future of the British monarchy, they'll one day become a way of life.
For their parents, the visit to Poland and Germany will inevitably be viewed in the context of Brexit.
It won't have any impact on the negotiations.
It will, the Foreign Office hopes, remind people of the strength of the ties that will endure after the UK has left the EU.
It's this mission the royals have pursued in recent months in various European cities.
The royal couple and their children were welcomed in Warsaw at a meeting with President Andrzej Duda.
Prince William and the duchess joined the president and the first lady to greet well wishers around the presidential palace.
Student Magda Mordaka, 21, said: "We were telling [the duchess] that she is beautiful and perfect, but she said it's not true - it's just the make-up."
The Polish ambassador to the UK presented the royal couple with three books to give to George and Charlotte. They were Mr Miniscule and the Whale, Bees: A Honeyed History, and Maps.
Catherine and Poland's first lady received flowers while meeting children
Prince William and Catherine visited the Warsaw Rising Museum, dedicated to the 1944 Polish uprising to liberate Warsaw from German occupation during World War Two.
Some 200,000 Polish people died during 63 days of fighting.
Prince William and Catherine paid their respects to the fallen soldiers of the uprising when they visited a wall of remembrance.
The names of 34 British servicemen, who died trying to give supplies to the Polish soldiers, were also listed on the wall.
The duke and President Andrzej Duda lit a candle to honour the fallen
The royals felt a pulsating wall that symbolised the Nazis not being able to stop Warsaw's heartbeat
Later, William spoke at an evening garden party to celebrate the Queen's birthday, telling guests in Polish: "Good evening, we hope you have a nice party."
He also also hailed Poland's "courage, fortitude and bravery" in surviving centuries of assaults, particularly its "incredible bravery" during the Nazi occupation.
He read a message from the Queen detailing 1,000 years of ties between the UK and Poland.
Catherine wore a sleeveless white dress by Polish designer Gosia Baczynska for the occasion.
Baczynska's designs, worn here by Catherine, featured in Paris fashion week
In Germany later this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a private meeting with the royal couple in Berlin before they visit the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of German unification.
The duke and duchess will also visit Berlin's Holocaust museum and memorial.
A boat race is planned in the Germany city of Heidelberg, which is twinned with Cambridge.
William and Catherine will cox opposing rowing teams in the race with crews from Cambridge and Heidelberg.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40627792
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Taiwan woman divorces husband who ignored her messages - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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A woman in Taiwan is granted a divorce after her husband read her messages - but never replied.
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Asia
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Line is the market leading messaging app in several Asian countries
Have you ever ignored your spouse's text messages? Be warned: it could be used against you in court.
A woman in Taiwan has been granted a divorce, using the "Read" indicators on the Line messages she had sent to her husband as proof that he had been ignoring her.
The app showed he had opened the text messages, but didn't reply to any of them.
A judge ruled in her favour earlier this month.
It's called "blue-ticking" - a term that refers to the act of reading but not replying to someone's messages. The concept comes from social media apps such as WhatsApp and Line, which use tick notifications to show when someone has received and read your message.
The judge in Hsinchu district's family affairs court cited the ignored Line messages as key evidence of the woman's marriage being beyond repair, ruling that she was therefore entitled to a divorce.
Over a period of about six months, the wife, surnamed Lin, sent her husband several text messages, including one after she was admitted to hospital because of a car accident, according to Judge Kao.
In one message she told her husband she was in the emergency room and asked why he simply read her messages but didn't reply, she said.
Although her husband did visit her once in hospital, the court found that his subsequent ignoring of her messages was grounds for divorce.
"The defendant did not inquire about the plaintiff, and the information sent by the plaintiff was read but not replied to," the court ruling said.
"The couple's marriage is beyond repair."
Apps like Whatsapp use a system of ticks to show users when their messages have been sent, received and read
A month or two after her accident, the husband finally sent his wife a brief message.
"It was about matters related to their dog and notified her there was mail for her, but he didn't show any concern for her," Judge Kao said.
"It appears there's very little interaction with the plaintiff; the defendant rarely replies to the plaintiff's messages."
The couple had been married since 2012. She is in her 50s and had been previously married. He is in his 40s.
Judge Kao said there were additional problems with the marriage.
After moving into the home her husband shared with his mother, younger brother, and sister-in-law, Ms Lin had to pay most of the family's bills and other expenses. Her mother-in-law had also asked her to take out a loan to pay her father-in-law's taxes.
Her husband did not have a stable income.
His family was cited as being "unfriendly" towards her, according to court documents.
They would restrict how long she could shower and how high she could turn up the water temperature, the filings say.
The ignored Line messages were the last straw, said Judge Kao.
"A normal couple shouldn't treat each other like that… The Line messages were a very important piece of evidence. It shows the overall state of the marriage… that the two parties don't have good communication," she said.
"Now internet communication is very common, so these can be used as evidence. In the past, we needed written hardcopy evidence," she noted.
Ms Lin's husband can file an appeal after receiving the court ruling by certified mail. But it seems unlikely to happen.
According to Judge Kao, he has never showed up for a court hearing and hasn't responded to any of the court's other notices.
And unlike Line messages, the court can't even tell if he's "Read" them.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40632435
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Terminally ill man Noel Conway in right-to-die fight - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Noel Conway has motor neurone disease and wants a doctor to be allowed to prescribe a lethal dose.
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Health
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Noel Conway: 'I want to be able to say goodbye at the right time'
The High Court has begun hearing the legal challenge of a terminally ill UK man who wants the right to die.
Noel Conway, who is 67 and has motor neurone disease, wants a doctor to be allowed to prescribe a lethal dose when his health deteriorates further.
He said he wanted to say goodbye to loved ones "at the right time, not to be in a zombie-like condition suffering both physically and psychologically".
Any doctor who helped him to die would face up to 14 years in prison.
Mr Conway was too weak to attend the court in person.
His lawyer, Richard Gordon QC, told the High Court in London that Mr Conway faced a stark choice either to seek to bring about his own death now whilst still physically able to do so, or await death with no control over how and when it comes.
Mr Gordon said the change to the law that Mr Conway wanted would apply only to adults who are terminally ill with less than six months to live and who have a settled wish to die.
Mr Conway, of Shrewsbury, told the BBC: "I will be quadriplegic. I could be virtually catatonic and conceivably be in a locked-in syndrome - that to me would be a living hell. That prospect is one I cannot accept."
Mr Conway, a retired college lecturer, was once fit and active but motor neurone disease is gradually destroying all strength in his muscles.
He cannot walk and increasingly relies on a ventilator to help him breathe. As his disease progresses, he fears becoming entombed in his body.
Before his illness Noel Conway was a keen skier, climber and cyclist
Mr Conway is being supported by the campaign group Dignity in Dying, but the issue polarises opinion.
Baroness Jane Campbell - a disability rights campaigner - says changing the law would send all the wrong signals.
The last major challenge to the law was turned down by the Supreme Court three years ago.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lord Falconer describes the assisted dying law as "absolutely outrageous" on Radio 4's Today
It ruled that while judges could interpret the law it was up to Parliament to decide whether to change it.
In 2015 MPs rejected proposals to allow assisted dying in England and Wales, in their first vote on the issue in almost 20 years.
Supporters of the current legislation say it exists to protect the weak and vulnerable from being exploited or coerced.
The case is expected to take up to four days.
Assisted suicide - helping or encouraging another person to kill themselves - is illegal under English law.
Under the terms of the Suicide Act (1961) for England and Wales, it is punishable by up to 14 year's imprisonment. In Scotland, helping someone take their own life could lead to prosecution.
There have been several unsuccessful attempts to change the law, as well as some high-profile cases that have challenged it.
2001: Diane Pretty, who had motor neurone disease, fought a long, and unsuccessfully, legal battle to win the right for her to end her life. She took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that her husband should be given immunity from prosecution should he help her to die. She lost and died at a hospice near her home in 2002.
2009: Debbie Purdy, who had multiple sclerosis, won a landmark ruling in 2009 when the courts agreed that it was a breach of her human rights not to know whether her husband would be prosecuted if he accompanied her to a Swiss clinic where she could end her life. That prompted Keir Starmer - the then Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales - to publish guidelines setting out what was taken into consideration when weighing up a prosecution. Debbie died in a hospice in England in 2014.
2012: Two men suffering from locked-in syndrome lost their legal fight to be helped to die. Tony Nicklinson and a man known only as Martin - both left paralysed after a stroke - had argued that doctors should be allowed to end their lives without punishment. Martin argued that the DPP policy on encouraging or assisted suicide was not clear enough for people such as carers to know how they could provide assistance without the risk of being prosecuted. Tony Nicklinson died in August 2012 after refusing food.
2016: The family of deceased locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson and paralysed road accident victim Paul Lamb lose their right-to-die challenges at the European Court of Human rights. They campaigned that disabled people should have the right to be helped to die with dignity.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40615778
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Zambia baboon causes power cut in Livingstone - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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The animal survived a massive electric shock that would have killed a human, the power company says.
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Africa
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Baboons and other wildlife are a common site near Livingstone
A baboon in Zambia has tampered with the cables at a power station in the south of the country leaving 50,000 people without electricity.
It caused the blackout on Sunday morning by climbing into the power station and pulling at the lines.
The baboon survived the "massive electric shock" that would have killed a human being, a power company spokesman said.
A person would also have been prosecuted, Henry Kapata added.
The baboon was rescued by a wildlife organisation and is now recovering but has "serious wounds", he told the BBC.
The power station is in the Zambian tourist city of Livingstone, where it is common for wild animals to be roaming around as it near a national park, the BBC's Kennedy Gondwe says.
Electricity has now been restored to the affected customers in Livingstone and the nearby Western Province.
In a similar incident last year, a monkey caused a nationwide power outage in Kenya.
The baboon did survive its injuries
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40629597
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Grenfell fire: McDonnell murder claim 'disgraceful' - Hammond - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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The chancellor criticised John McDonnell for saying victims were "murdered by political decisions".
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UK Politics
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Chancellor Phillip Hammond has called comments made by Labour's John McDonnell about the Grenfell fire tragedy "disgraceful".
The shadow chancellor told the BBC's Andrew Marr he stood by his claim that victims of the disaster in west London were "murdered by political decisions".
He said "social murder" had occurred and "people should be accountable".
But Mr Hammond told the programme there was "not a shred of evidence to support that" accusation.
At least 80 people are believed to have been killed in the tower block fire in north Kensington on 14 June.
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Asked if the politicians who sanctioned cuts were murderers, Mr McDonnell said he did not "resile" from that view.
He cited cuts to local government, to the fire service and the housing crisis.
"There's a long history in this country of the concept of social murder, where decisions are made with no regard to consequences of that, and as a result of that, people have suffered," he told Andrew Marr.
"That's what's happened here, and I'm angry."
He previously blamed the decision to "view housing as only for financial speculation".
John McDonnell's turn of phrase is one that was actually coined more than 170 years ago.
It was in the 19th Century that philosopher Friedrich Engels sought to prove that society commits "social murder" in his book Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844.
"When society places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death... When it deprives thousands of the necessaries of life... forces them, through the strong arm of the law, to remain in such conditions until that death ensues... its deed is murder," he wrote of Victorian England.
Engels went on to found Marxist theory with fellow German philosopher, Karl Marx. Mr McDonnell recently said there was much to learn from reading Marx's study of capitalism, Das Kapital.
Speaking ahead of June's general election, he said he was going to be the "first socialist in the tradition of the Labour Party".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40623653
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Russia hacking row: Moscow demands US return seized mansions - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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A Russian official says talks "almost" resolve a row over the seizing of two diplomatic compounds.
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Europe
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US officials say the Maryland complex doubles as a spying outpost
Russia has been pressing demands that the US give it access to two diplomatic compounds seized in the US last year.
After high-level talks between both sides, one Russian official involved said the row had "almost" been resolved.
Russia has been angered by the move, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling it "daylight robbery".
In December the US expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut the compounds over suspicions of meddling in US elections.
The talks saw US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon host Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on Monday.
Mr Ryabkov sounded upbeat after three hours of talks with the American diplomat.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What does body language tell us about the Trump-Putin G20 meeting?
He was asked by reporters if the spat over the diplomatic compounds had been settled, and he replied: "Almost, almost."
US officials did not comment and there has been no official press briefing.
The meeting was meant to have been held in June in St Petersburg, but was cancelled after the US government added 38 individuals and organisations to its list of sanctions over Russian activity in Ukraine.
Before the talks Russia made clear it was demanding restored access to the facilities.
"We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Lavrov said that this was not the way decent and well-brought-up people behaved.
"How can you seize property which is protected by a bilateral, inter-governmental, ratified document and, to return it, act according to the principle 'what is mine is mine, and what is yours we'll share'?" he said during a visit to Belarus.
Last week Russia said it was considering "specific measures" in retaliation, including the expulsion of 30 US diplomats and seizure of US state property.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
The Long Island property is surrounded by trees
President Donald Trump's team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
The Obama sanctions came on top of existing Western sanctions imposed because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.
At the time 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 at the G20 meeting in Hamburg on 7 July.
Russia would retaliate if no compromise was reached at the meeting between Mr Ryabkov and Mr Shannon, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported.
Russian officials welcomed the tone of the recent meeting between the two presidents.
But the political climate in Washington has only grown more toxic, with the ongoing inquiries into allegations of Russian meddling in the presidential election, and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
That makes any concessions to Moscow controversial.
Russia's threat to expel some American diplomats if it does not get its property back would further complicate the strained relationship.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40635263
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Chancellor Philip Hammond hits back over public pay leaks - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Public servants do get a "premium", Philip Hammond says, amid reports he described them as "overpaid".
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Chancellor Philip Hammond tells Andrew Marr: "Cabinet meetings are supposed to be a private space"
Public sector workers get a 10% "premium" over their private sector counterparts, Philip Hammond said as he warned ministers against leaking cabinet talks on the pay cap.
The chancellor refused to comment on reports he had said at a meeting that public servants were "overpaid".
And he suggested some colleagues who do not agree with his approach on Brexit were trying to undermine him.
Minister Liam Fox said he "deplored" the briefing by some of his colleagues.
The international trade secretary told the BBC's Sunday Politics they should "be very quiet" and "stick to their own departmental duties", adding: "Our backbenchers are furious and the only people smiling at this will be in Berlin and Paris."
Since the general election, cabinet splits have surfaced over the issue of the 1% cap on public sector pay rises, with some ministers pressing for it to be lifted.
Labour is promising £4bn which it says would offer a pay rise to workers.
On the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Hammond defended his stance, saying public sector pay had "raced ahead" of the private sector after the economic crash in 2008.
While in terms of salary alone, that gap had now closed, he continued, when "very generous" pension contributions were taken into account, the 10% disparity between public and private salaries was a "simple fact".
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Asked about a Sunday Times report claiming he had said the former were "overpaid", the chancellor insisted he was not going to discuss what was and wasn't said in a cabinet meeting.
"I do think on many fronts it would be helpful if my colleagues - all of us - focused on the job at hand," he said.
He added: "If you want my opinion, some of the noise is generated by people who are not happy with the agenda that I have, over the last few weeks, tried to advance, of ensuring that we achieve a Brexit which is focused on protecting our economy, protecting our jobs and making sure that we can have continued rising living standards in the future."
Mr Fox, one of the leading Brexit campaigners in the cabinet, rejected press reports he had clashed with Mr Hammond over the EU, saying the two had a "very good working relationship".
"I don't know where the briefing is coming from, but I do know it's got to stop," he said.
He added: "I think there's too much self-indulgence, and I think people need to have less prosecco and have a longer summer holiday."
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith criticised those briefing against Prime Minister Theresa May, saying: "Just for once shut up, for God's sake, and let everybody else get on with the business of governing."
Pay rises for most public sector workers are set by independent pay review bodies, but have effectively been capped at 1% each year since 2013.
Before that, there was a two-year freeze on pay for all but the lowest-paid workers.
The government has come under pressure over the policy since the general election, with some Conservative ministers speaking out in favour of lifting the cap.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would spend £4bn on ending the cap, insisting this would be enough to give a real-terms increase for public sector workers.
Pay review bodies would be asked to come up with an "honest judgement" and a Labour government would follow their advice, he said.
On Pienaar's Politics on BBC Radio 5 live, First Secretary of State Damian Green was asked whether Mr Hammond said public sector workers were "overpaid".
"I'm not going to report from inside cabinet because cabinet ministers should not do that," he said.
"But the chancellor does not think that public sector workers are overpaid - the government obviously respects the millions of people who do really important jobs."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40623343
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Southend football fans jailed for Simon Dobbin attack - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Twelve men are given prison sentences for assaulting Cambridge fan Simon Dobbin in March 2015.
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Suffolk
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Cambridge United fan Simon Dobbin was left with brain damage after he was attacked in March 2015
A group of football hooligans described as "a pack of animals" has been jailed over an attack which left a football fan unable to walk or speak.
Simon Dobbin, from Suffolk, was left brain damaged after the assault in Southend, Essex, in March 2015.
Three of the 12 men sentenced at Basildon Crown Court were jailed for five years for violent disorder.
Mr Dobbin's wife told the court her husband had been given a life sentence through the group's actions.
He spent a year in hospital as a result of the attack which happened after his team, Cambridge United, played at Southend United's ground Roots Hall.
Mr Dobbin was in court for sentencing - the first time he had come face-to-face with his attackers - but had to leave when he became upset.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Simon Dobbin was left brain damaged following the attack
Simon Dobbin (pictured centre) had been watching Cambridge United at Southend United before he was attacked
Det Ch Insp Martin Pasmore, who led the investigation into the attack, said the men were like a "pack of animals".
He said: "These are individuals that are mainly spending their time in pubs and drinking and looking for the opportunity to have fights with other so-called football fans/hooligans."
The detective also said accusations that Mr Dobbin had been ejected from the stadium on the day he was attacked were "absolute nonsense".
"Let me be clear, Simon Dobbin is a thoroughly decent man," he added.
"He was not involved in any form of disturbance and was not ejected from the match or any other establishment.
"He is an entirely innocent victim of an unprovoked savage attack which left him with a permanent and devastating brain injury."
In a victim impact statement, wife Nicole Dobbin said she "hates what these violent thugs have done to us".
The offence of committing violent disorder carries a maximum term of five years in prison. The shortest sentence - 16 months - was given to Rhys Pullen, who pleaded guilty to the charge earlier in proceedings.
Eight men were found guilty of violent disorder, while Rhys Pullen admitted the charge. They were sentenced to the following:
Three men were jailed for conspiracy to commit violent disorder:
All of the men were given a 10-year football banning order.
Ian Young, 41, of Brightwell Avenue, Westcliff was found guilty of assisting an offender by hiding the group while police were conducting a search. He will be sentenced next month.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-40633250
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Iran cases step up pressure on President Rouhani - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tensions are raised by the arrest of the president's own brother - and the jailing of a US academic.
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Middle East
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President Rouhani began his second term at loggerheads with influential hardliners
Two high-profile judiciary cases in Iran this weekend have underlined renewed political tensions between the country's recently re-elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and establishment hardliners.
The first case involves the arrest of the president's own brother, and the second an American academic jailed for 10 years after being convicted of espionage.
The arrest of Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother who goes by a different surname, was not wholly unexpected.
During Mr Rouhani's first term, Hossein Fereydoun was one of his most trusted advisors.
Although he did not occupy any official position Mr Fereydoun was present at the high-level international nuclear negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme, acting as the president's "eyes and ears".
Hossein Fereydoun was one of the president's closest advisers
He has frequently been the target of corruption allegations, most notably during last May's bitterly hard-fought presidential election, when President Rouhani's two main challengers, Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, frequently mentioned him and also accused Mr Rouhani of nepotism for continuing to support him.
Although Mr Rouhani won the election with a clear majority, the two losing candidates show no signs in backing down in their criticism of him.
While the charges against Mr Fereydoun are not clear, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said on Monday that he had been detained in relation to an ongoing investigation. He was subsequently freed on bail, according to reports.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Hassan Rouhani worked hard for re-election - but he'll have to work even harder on three big issues
The second case, which made headlines around the world, was the 10-year prison sentence for Xiyue Wang, a Princeton post-graduate history student who was in Iran doing research for a doctoral thesis on late 19th Century and early 20th Century history.
He is reported to have been arrested several months ago but the news only became public when the sentence was announced, and few details are known.
Commenting on the case without naming Mr Wang, an Iranian judiciary spokesman described him as "an American infiltrator".
An Iranian news site with ties to the Judiciary said Mr Wang was part of a "spider network" - Iranian code for a spy ring.
Whether by coincidence or part of a meticulous plan, both cases share one important aspect: both will put President Rouhani in a difficult position, both at home and abroad, as he begins a second term facing big challenges to fulfil the expectations of an electorate hoping for reform and economic progress.
Inside Iran, the arrest of the president's brother and most trusted adviser is seen by many observers as a major blow to his plans for the next four years.
If the case goes further and charges are made, specially charges of corruption, it could pave the way for more accusations to be made against other officials and even the president himself.
Outside Iran, the arrest of Mr Wang, a dual Chinese-US citizen puts even more pressure on an already fragile relationship with the US government.
President Trump and his administration have taken a much harder line on Iran than their predecessors.
The president has made clear his distaste for the 2015 nuclear deal, but while it remains in place for now, there have been no official contacts between Iran and the US since he took over, and the two countries have traded mutual accusations.
The jailing of Mr Wang can only cause more bitterness and widen the gap between the two sides.
Mr Wang is certainly not the first US citizen to be jailed in Iran - although all of the other current detainees are joint US-Iranian nationals.
But every time a case like this arises the result is more bad headlines, diplomatic headaches, and long negotiations which often end with none of the initial accusations being proved.
It's still too early to predict what the outcome will be for both of these current cases, and the details are still too sketchy.
One thing is certain though - both cases carry a very strong message to a president who very publicly challenged the establishment, judiciary and revolutionary guards during recent presidential campaigns, accusing them of not only sabotaging nuclear negotiations but also his domestic plans for reforming Iran's politics and economy.
They are accusations that the hardliners are not likely to forget and one for which they will be seeking revenge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40632676
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UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018 - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Users face checks before accessing content, with a new regulator overseeing the rules by next April.
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UK
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People in the UK will have to prove they are 18 before being allowed to access pornography websites from next year, the government is to announce.
Websites will be legally required to install age verification controls by April 2018 as part of a move to make the internet safer for children.
Users may be asked to provide credit card details, as gambling websites do.
Companies breaking the rules set out in the Digital Economy Act face being blocked by their internet provider.
Under the plans, firms supplying payment and other services to the pornography websites could be notified about any breach.
A regulatory body will be asked to oversee and enforce the new rules.
It is thought this could be the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) which already sets age limits for films.
The BBFC used to rate the suitability of computer games for certain ages but Pan European Game Information (PEGI) now does this.
Digital minister Matt Hancock will formally begin the process, which was the subject of a 2016 consultation during David Cameron's government, in a written statement to the Commons later.
Mr Hancock said: "All this means that while we can enjoy the freedom of the web, the UK will have the most robust internet child protection measures of any country in the world."
Will Gardner from internet safety charity Childnet said: "Steps like this to help restrict access, alongside the provision of free parental controls and education, are key."
An NSPCC report in 2016 said online pornography could damage a child's development and decision-making and had been seen by 65% of 15-16 year olds and 48% of 11-16 year olds.
The study found 28% of children may have stumbled across pornography while browsing, while 19% had searched for it deliberately.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40628909
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Games of Thrones: Critics welcome return of 'brilliant' show - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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They say the show is "more stunning than ever" - but there's not much love for Ed Sheeran's cameo.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Lena Headey returns as Cersei Lannister in the new series of Thrones
Game of Thrones has returned for its seventh season - and the critics are generally quite happy about it.
"It was a thrill to have the show back and it looked more stunning than ever," wrote The Independent's reviewer.
"By the end of the episode it is clear that the stage is now set for a war of truly epic proportions," wrote Jess Kelham-Hohler of the Evening Standard.
Yet Digital Spy's Alex Mullane did feel the episode - entitled Dragonstone - was "a little underwhelming in places".
The first episode of the show's seventh series was broadcast in the US on Sunday evening and in the early hours of Monday morning in the UK.
Only one more season of the epic fantasy saga, inspired by the works of author George RR Martin, is planned after this one.
WARNING: the following article may contain spoilers.
Dragonstone opened in typically gory fashion with members of the late Walder Frey's house dying in numbers after imbibing poisoned wine.
It also featured the introduction of a new character, played by the Oscar-winning Jim Broadbent, as well as a cameo from pop star Ed Sheeran.
Gwendoline Christie (left) also returned as the warrior Brienne of Tarth
Reviews of the episode welcomed Broadbent's performance as Archmaester Marwyn, with the Hollywood Reporter saying he "fits into this ensemble flawlessly".
Yet critics were far less complimentary about Sheeran, whose appearance as a soldier was dubbed "jarring" and "unsubtle" by The Independent's Christopher Hooton.
In his role as an unnamed singing soldier, the chart-topping performer is seen telling Maisie Williams' Arya Stark that the song he is singing is "a new one".
According to the Daily Mirror, the exchange "could only have been more awkward if he'd winked at the camera after and said 'Available at all good record stores'."
Sheeran posted a picture of him on set with Williams and director Jeremy Podeswa
Many reviewers felt the episode's main function was to set the scene for the rest of the season, with Empire's James White calling it "a fairly standard kick-off".
Yet this did not stop Forbes' Erik Kain proclaiming it to be "one of the best, most engaging season openers... filled with brilliant scene after brilliant scene."
Fans too have been in raptures, with Chris Gutierrez claiming the episode showed Game of Thrones to be "quite possibly the best show ever made".
"Arya madness. Ed Sheeran cameo. Sansa looking phenomenal. Dany finally touching Westeros. Dragons. Game of Thrones well & truly back," raved fellow Twitter user Luna.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40629662
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ITV names EasyJet's Carolyn McCall as new chief executive - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The airline boss will become the broadcaster's new chief executive next year.
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Business
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. EasyJet boss: 'Get to know people'
ITV has appointed the boss of EasyJet, Carolyn McCall, as its new chief executive.
Ms McCall, who has been at EasyJet for seven years, will take over the running of the commercial broadcaster early next year. ITV's previous chief executive, Adam Crozier, left in June.
She will be paid an annual salary of £900,000, plus pension and possible bonus and incentives.
Before running EasyJet, Ms McCall was chief executive at the Guardian.
She also is a non-executive director at fashion company Burberry, sits on the board of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is a trustee at the Royal Academy.
Ms McCall said the decision to leave EasyJet had been "really difficult", but after seven years at the company the time was right for a move: "The opportunity from ITV felt like the right one to take. It is a fantastic company in a dynamic and stimulating sector."
Straight talking, no-nonsense, charming, effective. Those are some of the descriptions I've heard of Dame Carolyn McCall who this morning confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in British business that she will become the new CEO of ITV.
For the customers and shareholders of EasyJet, her track record is impressive. Since taking over in 2010, passenger numbers have grown 56% and the share price has tripled.
But it's perhaps her impact on the industry as a whole that will prove most lasting. Michael O'Leary freely admitted that EasyJet had "wiped the floor" with Ryanair - forcing his company into a rethink on its approach to customer relations.
EasyJet doesn't like the terms "budget" or "no frills" - preferring the word "value". EasyJet played a big part in redefining what that word meant to customers and in doing so ruffled the feathers of the big birds of aviation like BA, Lufthansa and KLM.
ITV's outgoing CEO Adam Crozier was considered a great success and will be a tough act to follow at ITV but tough is another word you could chuck in to describe Carolyn McCall.
ITV chairman Peter Bazalgette said: "In a very impressive field of high calibre candidates, Carolyn stood out for her track record in media, experience of an international operation, clear strategic acumen and strong record of delivering value to shareholders. I'm delighted we'll be working together at ITV."
John Barton, EasyJet chairman, said: "I speak for absolutely everyone at EasyJet in saying we will be sorry to see Carolyn leave and that we wish her well in her exciting new role."
Her bonus plan on joining ITV will be up to a maximum of 180% of salary, and there will be a long-term incentive plan up to 265% of salary.
ITV described it as "broadly the same remuneration opportunity" to Mr Crozier's.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. EasyJet boss: 'Get to know people'
The broadcaster's shares were the top riser on the FTSE 100 in early trading, jumping almost 3% to 180p.
Analysts at Liberum said it was a positive appointment, noting that she had been credited with transforming EasyJet's fortunes over the past seven years.
"She is seen as being very good with people, at building a strong management team around her and at the ability to 'work the room'," Liberum said.
"She also has very good links on the government side, which should be very helpful in areas such as retransmission revenues for ITV."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40628869
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Tony Blair: I think Corbyn could be PM - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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Tony Blair stands by his criticism of Jeremy Corbyn, despite changing his mind on his chances of being PM.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tony Blair told Newsnight's Ian Katz it was "possible" that Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister
Tony Blair says he now accepts Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister.
The ex-PM told BBC Newsnight that a year ago he would have said it was impossible for the left-wing Labour leader to win.
But he added: "There's been so many political upsets, it's possible Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister and Labour could win on that programme."
Mr Blair, a consistent critic of Mr Corbyn, said he had not changed his mind on the "wisdom" of electing him.
Having defied predictions of a heavy defeat at last month's general election - and stripped the Conservatives of their majority - Mr Corbyn now describes his party as a "government-in-waiting".
Many of his critics have since admitted they underestimated him.
Speaking to Newsnight, Mr Blair said he still believed "it's a surer route to power to fight from the centre" and that it would be damaging for the country if Mr Corbyn became prime minister and imposed "an unreconstructed far Left programme".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "I hope he (Tony Blair) has looked very carefully at our manifesto"
But on Mr Corbyn's chances of reaching Downing Street, he said nothing could be ruled out.
"For most of my political life I've been saying: 'I think this is the right way to go, and what's more it's the only way to win an election'.
"I have to qualify that now. I have to say 'no - I think it's possible you end up with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.'"
The Labour leadership has dismissed Mr Blair's recent interventions - which included claiming Brexit followed by a Corbyn government would leave Britain "flat on its back".
"To be frank, Mr Blair hasn't really listened to the nature of the debate that is going on in the pubs, the clubs and school gates etc," shadow chancellor John McDonnell said on Saturday.
The interview will be shown on Newsnight, on BBC Two, at 22:30 BST on 17 July.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40624245
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Public sector pay: TUC says wages down thousands since 2010 - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Paramedics, firefighters and other state employees are worse off than in 2010, the TUC says.
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Business
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Firefighters, teachers and other public sector workers are thousands of pounds a year worse off than they were in 2010, the TUC has said.
With inflation outpacing the government's 1% limit on pay rises for state employees, real wages are being eroded, said the trades union body.
It said prison officers and paramedics were more than £3,800 a year poorer.
However, the chancellor has said state sector workers get a 10% "premium" over private sector counterparts.
The government has come under pressure since the election in June to alter its policy of limiting pay rises in the public sector.
"It's been seven long years of pay cuts for our public servants. And ministers still won't tell us if relief is on the way," TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said.
Inflation measured by the most commonly used method, CPI, which does not take housing costs into account, has picked up in recent months hitting 2.9% in May. According to the Bank of England it averaged 2.7% a year between 2010 and 2016.
The TUC calculates that if firefighters' wages had kept pace with inflation their average pay would be nearly £2,900 higher than it is. For nuclear engineers and teachers the figure is about £2,500.
On the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Chancellor Philip Hammond said public sector pay had "raced ahead" of the private sector after the economic crash in 2008.
He added that when "very generous" public sector pension contributions were taken into account, public sector workers enjoyed a 10% "premium" over their private sector counterparts,
But Mr Hammond refused to comment on reports he had said at a meeting that public servants were "overpaid".
The average pay for an NHS paramedic is £35,577.
But if the paramedic's salary in 2010 had kept pace with inflation measured by CPI, by now he or she should be earning £39,435 - £3,888 more, says the TUC.
The TUC says if RPI (the inflation measure which does include housing costs) is used, the paramedic would need to earn £41,717 - £6,140 more - to maintain their 2010 spending power.
The TUC's analysis suggests workers in different parts of the public sector are out of pocket in real terms to varying degrees (based on CPI):
Pay rises for most public sector workers are set by independent pay review bodies, but have effectively been capped at 1% each year since 2013.
Before that, there was a two-year freeze on pay for all but the lowest-paid workers.
Trade unions plan to submit a petition to the Treasury on Monday calling for the pay cap to be lifted.
Find out if your wages are keeping up with inflation
Enter your details below. Source, Office for National Statistics.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40626676
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Far-right extremism: 'I'm ashamed of my Nazi tattoos' - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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More far-right extremists are being sent to the Prevent strategy, including "Steve" who explains his past.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Steve", who is on the Prevent programme, tells Today's Sangita Myska that drink and drugs helped fuel his extremism
The number of far-right extremists on the UK's anti-radicalisation scheme has risen significantly, latest figures show.
"Steve", who is on the Prevent programme, says drink and drugs helped fuel his extremism.
When I met Steve, the first thing I noticed were his prominent far-right and Nazi tattoos.
I asked him to explain them to me and, as he did so, he appeared to examine his ink-stained skin with a mixture of confusion and disgust.
"Years ago I had a kind of warrior-type figure," he says, "with a very significant English shield, a weapon.
"The other one here says 'English Martyr'," he says, adding that "more recently and more dangerously I had two Waffen-SS tattoos on my fingers".
Steve has asked us to disguise his identity to keep him safe from his former associates.
He tells me the tattoos no longer represent his political views and that things changed six months ago, when he was picked up by counter-extremist authorities.
He now receives intensive de-radicalisation counselling via the Channel programme, part of the government's counter-extremism strategy, Prevent.
Last year, far-right extremists accounted for one-third of all referrals to Channel - which very rarely gives access to those on it - up from a quarter in 2015.
The Home Office says in some areas, far-right referrals "account for more than half" of all those sent on the scheme.
Steve says his fascination with extremism began in his childhood.
"As a child a lot of my friends would have Action Men dressed up in British military costume.
"I'd always go for stormtroopers or any kind of Germanic influence. I felt they were the underdog," he says.
"As I grew, I liked the power element and the ruthlessness of the Nazi regime.
"I always told myself that the only thing I didn't like about the Nazi regime was the way they treated the Jews."
As he got older, he says his markings became an attempt to be taken seriously by those with hardened far-right views,
"The kind of language I was using at the time, it was evidence that it was the real deal, the real thing. It wasn't just idle chit-chat in pubs saying right-wing mantra."
Steve has mental health issues. He is an alcoholic and occasional cocaine user.
"Your ability to make wise decisions is blurred," he says, when asked about his addictions.
"I was in the company of people who were quite happy to jump on a bus to the next EDL march. I'd be on my merry way just to fit in with people."
"It could be a simple phone call," he adds. "You could be quite innocently be sitting in a pub, playing darts, chatting, and the next minute there's a phone call and there's a minibus on the way."
The call would come from someone in his social circle, he says, someone saying "there's a march on 10 miles away, let's go for a drink and see what's happening".
He is currently receiving counselling for his substance abuse and interest in far-right ideas.
Prevent operates in the so-called pre-criminal space. In other words, it aims to identify people before they commit a terrorist act.
Steve has not been convicted of any racially-aggravated crimes or terrorist offences. He says he has given money to a far-right political party, but was not a registered member.
Six months ago, his life took "a surreal turn" when he ended up with a dedicated counter-terrorism unit officer assigned to him.
"During the worst moment of my drinking, I went to A&E on several occasions, where I believe I was being quite abusive in the reception area.
"I was carrying around a book lots of people consider dangerous - called American Psycho - a book full of violence and nasty stuff."
Steve says the drinking and drug abuse meant what happened next remains hazy.
"I found myself in my flat, surrounded by policemen, and the counter-terrorism unit identified themselves. I realised, I was in some kind of serious trouble."
It is, controversially, now a requirement that hospital staff report those they believe to be at risk of radicalisation to the authorities.
Steve cannot remember for sure whether this happened in his case. But he now receives intense one-to-one counselling funded by Channel, an arm of the Prevent strategy.
He says he has conducted de-radicalisation work with Islamist and far-right extremists. He argues Prevent is a vital tool in safeguarding vulnerable individuals - including, he adds, people like Steve.
"People were trying to use his vulnerability to drugs and other underlying mental health issues, knowing full well he was easy to prey on, easy to manipulate and easy to go and do something for them."
He says Steve was the victim of organised psychological groomers.
"This is how extremists work. They prey on the most vulnerable. They groom them and then go out and get them to do their dirty work."
Steve has been sober for six months. He's left the predominantly white market town where he grew up.
His social circle perpetuated what he calls an ever-decreasing circle of alcohol, drugs and tolerance of racist attitudes - and a discourse littered with racist terms.
As he looks at his skin again, I ask Steve how he feels now about his Nazi and far-right tattoos.
He takes a long pause and says: "It's like another world. It is what it is. It's probably the most embarrassing and unforgiving thing I've ever done in my life.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40632975
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Stephen Hough jailed for 12 years for Janet Commins killing - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Stephen Hough raped and killed 15-year-old Janet Commins before dumping her body 41 years ago.
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North East Wales
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Stephen Hough told police he was stealing petrol elsewhere when Janet was killed
A man who raped and killed a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 1976 has been jailed for 15 years.
Janet Commins' body was found near a school field in Flint, north Wales, by three children playing hide and seek.
Stephen Hough, 58, from Flint, was convicted of manslaughter, rape and sexual assault at Mold Crown Court last week. He was cleared of murder.
Hough was sentenced to 12 years and a further three after admitting sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 2016.
The two sentences will run consecutively.
After his arrest following the 2016 incident, Hough's DNA matched samples found on Janet's body, prompting his arrest and subsequent trial on charges relating to her death.
Talking about the offences dating back to 1976, Mr Justice Lewis said Hough had shown "no remorse whatsoever for what you did to that young girl".
"You knew what you were doing... for your own sexual pleasure".
Hough was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter, eight years for rape and eight years for sexual assault - the sentences will run concurrently.
The judge said he took into account the fact Hough was 16 when he committed the crimes.
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Janet went missing after leaving her home to go swimming on 7 January 1976.
Four days later, her body was found under a thicket near a school playing field. She had been suffocated during a sexual assault.
Noel Jones, who was 18 at the time, admitted killing her and served half of a 12-year prison sentence.
Although he has never challenged his conviction, he told Hough's trial he was made a scapegoat by police because he was a barely literate Gypsy.
Hough was questioned after Janet's death but was ruled out by police after he said he was stealing petrol the night she was killed - an offence for which he was fined.
In 2016, his DNA was taken by police in an unrelated matter and a match was found with samples taken from Janet's body at the time.
The jury heard it was a billion times more likely to belong to Hough than anyone else.
Senior investigating officer Det Supt Iestyn Davies said: "Very quickly after his DNA was taken [in 2016] and entered on the database, it hit against a crime stain from that 1976 investigation and that prompted us to fully reopen the case."
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Trisha Foley, scientific support officer with North Wales Police, praised the "foresight" of the scientists dealing with the case at the time.
"The fact that the material was placed onto slides and then a slip was added over actually preserved that evidence.
"To obtain not only a profile but a full DNA profile with a statistical probability of one to a billion that it matched Stephen Hough, in that timescale - that's a significant result."
The court heard Hough had been court-martialled in 1988 for grievous bodily harm with intent while serving as a soldier in Germany.
He attacked a hotel receptionist and was in the process of "strangling" her when he was disturbed by others.
He was jailed for five years, reduced through the ranks and discharged.
Janet left her house to go swimming and her parents Eileen and Ted never saw her alive again
Janet's body was found hidden under bushes near Gwynedd Primary School
Det Supt Davies added: "Janet was subjected to an horrific, sustained and brutal sexually-motivated assault and the impact upon her family, friends an the entire community was enormous.
"Hough is now in prison, where he rightly belongs."
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Janet's uncle Derek Ireston described his niece as a "loving child, slightly timid and shy, but fun to be with".
He said Hough "stole Janet's future" and her mother Eileen has been "hurting and suffering for 41 years".
His statement added: "The investigation in 1976 seemed to me to be shoddy... anything as a family that we put forward was dismissed.
"We also, as a family, feel for Noel Jones who has also suffered so much since 1976."
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating how North Wales Police handled the original investigation.
Iwan Jenkins, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The huge advancements in forensic testing since the 1970s were the key factor in being able to bring this case to court.
"Our thoughts have been with Janet's family throughout the investigation and trial. They now have the assurance of knowing that her killer has finally been brought to justice."
The judge said Hough killed Janet "in the course of a violent sexual assault"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40625655
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Australian bride-to-be shot dead by US police after 911 call - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Justine Damond was shot after reporting a disturbance but the officers' body cameras were not turned on.
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Australia
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An Australian woman has been killed by a US police officer responding to a 911 call in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said police responded to "a call of possible assault" when "at one point an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman".
Officials said the officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time of the Saturday shooting.
The victim has been identified by Australian officials as Justine Damond.
According to Australian media, the 40-year old woman was living in Minneapolis with her fiancé. The woman called 911 to report a noise near her home when the incident occurred, reports said.
Ms Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, reportedly approached the driver's side door and was talking to the officer at the wheel after the police arrived, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the incident.
The officer in the passenger seat, identified by local media as Mohamed Noor, reportedly drew his gun and shot Ms Damond through the driver's window, the newspaper reported.
Mr Noor's lawyer, Tom Plunkett, confirmed on Monday that his client had fired his weapon, killing Ms Damond.
"We take this seriously with great compassion for all persons who are being touched by this," he said in a statement to CBS News.
A man claiming to be Ms Damond's stepson also said in a Facebook video that she was the one who alerted authorities.
"Basically, my mom's dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know," said the man, named Zach.
"I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call the police and demand answers. I'm so done with all this violence," he said.
"America sucks. These cops need to get trained differently. I need to move out of here."
The Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said an investigation is under way and authorities are looking into whether there is any video of the incident.
Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement she was "heartsick and deeply disturbed by what occurred last night".
Over the past few years the US has seen a series of civilian killings at the hands of police that have caused widespread concern and criticism.
She used the surname of the man she was expected to marry in August, Don Damond, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Ms Damond studied to be a veterinarian before she relocated to the US, where she is believed to have been for at least the last three years.
According to her website, she also practised yoga and meditation for more than 17 years and is a "qualified yoga instructor, a personal health and life coach and meditation teacher".
Mohamed Noor fired his gun and killed Ms Damond, his lawyer says
Alison Monaghan, a friend who trained Ms Damon in alternative therapies, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she was "the most beautiful person" who moved to the US to "follow her heart" for a "new life".
About 200 neighbours, family members and residents shocked by the shooting gathered for a vigil on Sunday night where she died.
Her death made front-page news in her native Australia.
"I mean ask anybody here, they're shocked," said Ms Damond's student Corey Birkholz told CBS News.
He described Ms Damond as "a very conscious, loving person and you wouldn't associate that with a gunshot in an alley".
"I don't know anything about the law or police work to that extent but to me, it seems really stupid. You have a body camera, aren't you supposed to use them?" Mr Birkholz added.
Mrs Hodges echoed his sentiments, saying at a news conference: "I share the same questions other people have about why we don't have body camera footage of it, and I hope to get answers to that in the days coming."
The two officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday on behalf of Ms Damond's family.
"This is a very difficult time for our family," the statement said. "We are trying to come to terms with this tragedy and to understand why this has happened."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40627847
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Cruise tourists overwhelm Europe's ancient resorts - BBC News
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2017-07-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There are resorts where the surge of global tourism is starting to feel like a tidal wave.
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Europe
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Venetians have long complained of the big ships, and they are not alone
There are places where the surge of global tourism is starting to feel like a tidal wave.
Ancient cities around the shores of the Mediterranean and Adriatic are on the front line, their stone streets squeezed full of summer visitors as budget airlines and giant cruise ships unload ever-growing armies of tourists.
Take the Croatian city of Dubrovnik: a perfectly preserved historical miniature, carved from honey-coloured stone set in a sea of postcard blue.
Around 1,500 people live within the walls of its Old City, custodians of cultural treasures left by everyone from the Romans and the Ostrogoths to the Venetians and the Habsburgs.
On a busy day three modern cruise ships, each one the size of a floating apartment building, can disgorge five or six times that number of people into the city.
Dubrovnik's allure for tourists has been amplified by Game of Thrones
They join the throngs of tourists staying in local hotels and in rooms rented over the internet, in streets where almost every elegant stone house has been converted into a B&B.
The overall effect is Disneylandish - a sense that you meet no-one but other tourists or ice-cream sellers, tour guides, waiters, reception clerks and buskers who are there to keep the tourist wheels turning.
Mark Thomas, who edits The Dubrovnik Times, explains the phenomenon like this. "When I first got here, I'd stand back if I saw that people were taking photographs of each other. Now there are so many people that I know if I did that, I'd never get anywhere here."
Dubrovnik has a particular problem because its ancient appeal has now been bolstered by that most modern of phenomena - the HBO mini-series. The city, unchanged for centuries, provides the main locations for Game of Thrones.
Fans come on pilgrimages to visit the settings. One souvenir shop owner, who told me he doesn't watch the series himself, admitted he had Googled a couple of catchphrases to help attract customers.
"It does seem crazy," he admitted, "to stand here when it's 35 degrees, shouting that 'Winter is Coming'."
The idyllic Italian island of Capri is buckling under the thousands of daily tourists
Dubrovnik is not alone in struggling to balance its need for tourists' money with the need to ensure that those tourists don't end up destroying the beauty they've come to see.
The tiny Italian island of Capri has warned that it could "explode" under the pressure of the trade that sees as many as 15,000 visitors a day travelling by boat from the mainland, to visit its once-idyllic streets and squares.
One local official told The Daily Telegraph: "You can't fit a litre-and-a-half into a litre pot."
Florence, Barcelona and some Greek islands like Santorini have suffered too, and it was perhaps Venice which experienced the problem first. Its population has been falling since the 1950s, effectively forced out by the hordes of cruise-ship visitors.
Tourism, of course, remains essentially a good thing and in the developed world we nearly all do it.
It means trade and cultural exchange and it's both a symbol of rising prosperity and a generator of future wealth.
Not everyone in Barcelona is happy with the summer 'invasion' of tourists
Part of the "problem" is that travellers from traditional sources like the UK, Germany and the USA are increasingly being joined by the new middle classes of countries like Russia, China and India.
Add to that the issue of security, which means that many tourists feel safer in Europe than they do in alternative destinations like Tunisia, Turkey or Egypt, and it's hard to see the numbers falling any time soon.
It will fall to local governments in places like Dubrovnik and Capri and Venice to find a way of reducing those growing pressures.
For now, ideas like installing turnstiles on ancient squares and pedestrian traffic lights on crowded streets may sound rather fanciful.
But if that tourist tide keeps rising they might start to seem a little more tempting.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40592247
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London paramedic has liquid thrown in face by masked men - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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She was flagged down by three men who appeared to be in distress before being attacked.
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London
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A Met Police spokesman said the substance was non-corrosive but it is investigating
A lone paramedic had a substance thrown on to her face, neck and chest while answering a 999 call.
She was on her way to a patient when she was flagged down by three men who appeared to be in distress in Tottenham Hale, north London.
The 32-year-old stopped to help but they pulled bandanas over their faces before one threw liquid through her window.
She was taken to hospital after the attack on 16 July but later discharged.
A Met Police spokesman said the substance was non-corrosive but it is investigating the incident.
Since 2010, there have been more than 1,800 reports of attacks involving corrosive fluids in the capital. Last year, it was used in 458 crimes, compared to 261 in 2015, according to Met Police figures.
The paramedic, who did not want to be named, was on her way to help a man suffering from chest pains when she was targeted in the early hours.
"It was terrifying. This was so cowardly," she said.
"It is my job to help people. I was on my way to help a patient and I stopped because I am caring and I thought they needed my help.
"They have taken away my trust.
"What they've done is horrific in so many ways. It was premeditated and it delayed a patient getting treatment."
She said the attack took a paramedic off the road that night.
"And yet if one my attackers were hurt, I would still treat them because that is the job," she added.
The substance caused irritation to her face, neck and chest. The man who threw it was wearing latex gloves.
London Ambulance Service is reminding its staff of the need to be cautious when flagged down by anyone requesting help or assistance.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40641841
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Surgeons remove 27 contact lenses from woman's eye - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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"A bluish foreign body" turned out to be a "hard mass" of 17 lenses stuck together with mucus.
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Health
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"A bluish foreign body" turned out to be a "hard mass" of 17 lenses stuck together with mucus
Surgeons have removed 27 contact lenses from the eye of a 67-year-old woman who had come to Solihull Hospital for routine cataract surgery.
"A bluish foreign body" turned out to be a "hard mass" of 17 lenses stuck together with mucus, and 10 more were then found under further examination.
A report in the BMJ said she had worn disposable lenses for 35 years, and had not complained of any irritation.
But after they were removed, she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable.
Specialist trainee in ophthalmology Rupal Morjaria told Optometry Today: "None of us have ever seen this before.
"It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together.
"We were really surprised that the patient didn't notice it because it would cause quite a lot of irritation while it was sitting there.
"She was quite shocked. She thought her previous discomfort was just part of old age and dry eye."
The case report said the patient had poorer vision in her right eye and deep-set eyes, which may have been a factor in the lenses becoming lost.
Association of Optometrists spokeswoman Ceri Smith-Jaynes said losing contact lenses in the eye was a common problem but they usually worked their way out.
"They are normally hiding, folded up under the top lid of the eye," she said.
"They can't go any further up than that because there is a pocket.
"It's the same under the bottom lid - the lens can only be in one of those places."
She said it was important to see an optometrist or optician regularly to avoid any issues when using contact lenses.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40630852
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Electricity problems at Grenfell Tower 'never resolved' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Dozens of residents suffered electricity power surges in 2013 so powerful their appliances started emitting smoke.
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UK
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Former residents of Grenfell say electricity problems at the tower persisted into the months preceding the fire
Dozens of residents of Grenfell Tower suffered electricity power surges so strong their appliances malfunctioned, overheated and emitted smoke a few years before the fire, it has emerged.
Documents seen by the BBC reveal how 25 residents claimed compensation from the council following the surges in 2013.
Some say electricity problems persisted into the months before June's fire.
Police say the blaze, in which at least 80 are thought to have died, started in a fridge freezer on the fourth floor.
One fire expert told the BBC the electricity spikes could have been an issue which led to the fire starting in the first place.
Neither the council nor the tenant management organisation which looks after the tower have commented.
The documents show that 45 of the tower's 129 flats were affected by a particularly powerful electricity surge on 29 May 2013.
Eventually, 25 of those residents claimed compensation and received £200 each from the Conservative-controlled Kensington and Chelsea Council, a sum that many of them considered derisory.
In a letter dated 24 July 2013, the council's housing department stated that "…a series of surges were reported in Grenfell Tower…" and that the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, or TMO, that was responsible for managing the block "…has been actively investigating the cause…".
Judith Blakeman, the local Labour councillor and a board member for the TMO, believes the problem was never satisfactorily solved
The letter was sent to Judith Blakeman, the local Labour councillor.
Cllr Blakeman, who is also a board member for the TMO, said the surge affected many electrical appliances including fridges and computers.
She believes the electricity problem was never satisfactorily solved, saying: "One of the things they tried to suggest was that the smoke that people had seen was actually steam.
"Now, that didn't go down well with residents, because they can tell the difference between smoke and steam."
Residents' representatives expressed deep concern about electricity at the block.
One document indicates that the surges caused some appliances to explode and smoke.
In an email to the TMO in November 2013, more than six months after the serious surges, a tenant representative claimed that "electrical engineers failed to detect any problem", adding "…how could this be?
"Even the dogs in the street knew by this time that the Grenfell Tower power supply was in a highly volatile and dangerous state."
Sajad Jamalvatan, who moved into Grenfell Tower only in August last year, says he was concerned about the safety of electricity
Former residents of Grenfell say electricity problems at the tower even persisted following the refurbishment and into the months preceding the fire.
Sajad Jamalvatan, a biomechanical engineering student, moved into a flat on the third floor of Grenfell Tower only in August last year following the completion of the refurbishment works.
He said he was concerned about the safety of the electricity in the tower.
Mr Jamalvatan said the newly installed electrical meter often made a strange buzzing sound at night and constantly had to be topped up with money.
He was also concerned about the state of the wiring at the bottom of the tower, adding: "I went to the basement once and I saw a huge mess in the basement. So much wiring."
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Grenfell residents belonging to the Grenfell Action Group blogged warnings about the power surges and other problems at the tower at the time in 2013.
Joe Delaney, spokesman for the group, told the BBC there were problems with the electricity at the tower in the months leading up to the fire. He said: "There's been lots of issues with the electrics. There seemed to be a litany of problems."
Geoff Wilkinson, a building inspector and fire expert, said: "Certainly the issue with electricity spikes could well have been an issue which led to the fire in the first instance.
"If you're getting appliances overheat as a result of that then that could be an initial ignition source but that itself would not have led to the spread."
Police say the Grenfell Tower fire started in a fridge-freezer
He added, "I think it clearly concerns anyone that if you hear that there are 20 appliances in one day, there is something that is clearly wrong."
Both the TMO and Kensington and Chelsea Council said they could not comment, because of the public inquiry and police investigation into the fire.
The TMO added: "We recognise our responsibility to ensure that the investigative process is not hampered or undermined in any way."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40632705
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Justine Damond's fiance 'heartbroken' over police shooting - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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Australian Justine Damond was shot dead by a US police officer she called to report a disturbance.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Justine should be here. This shouldn't have happened"
The "heartbroken" American fiancé of an Australian shot dead by a US police officer has said they have received almost no information from officials.
Don Damond said his wife-to-be, Justine Damond, was gunned down after calling police to report a possible sexual assault in their quiet neighbourhood.
He said they were "desperate" to find out how Saturday's shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, happened.
The officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time.
The shooting happened in a relatively affluent area, where violent crime is rare.
Don Damond said his fiancée, Justine, "was so kind and so darn funny"
Mr Damond told a news conference outside his home on Monday evening: "Our hearts are broken and we are utterly devastated by the loss of Justine.
"As you know it was Justine who called 911 on Saturday evening, reporting what she believed was an active sexual assault occurring nearby.
"Sadly her family and I have been provided with almost no additional information from law enforcement regarding what happened after police arrived."
Mr Damond continued: "Our lives are forever changed as a result of knowing her. She was so kind and so darn funny."
Forty-year-old Ms Damond was living in Minneapolis with her fiancé, whose surname she had already adopted.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, citing three sources with knowledge of the incident, reported that Ms Damond was dressed in her pyjamas and approached the driver's side door to talk to the officer at the wheel after police arrived.
The officer in the passenger seat, identified by local media as Mohamed Noor, drew his gun and shot Ms Damond through the driver's window, the newspaper reported.
Mr Noor's lawyer, Tom Plunkett, confirmed on Monday that his client had fired his weapon, killing Ms Damond.
Mohamed Noor fired his gun and killed Ms Damond, his lawyer says
"America sucks," he said. "These cops need to get trained differently. I need to move out of here."
The Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said an investigation is under way and authorities are looking into whether there is any video of the incident.
"I've asked for the investigation to be expedited to provide transparency and to answer as many questions as quickly as we can," she said.
The two officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said she was "heartsick and deeply disturbed".
She told a news conference: "I share the same questions other people have about why we don't have body camera footage of it, and I hope to get answers to that in the days coming."
Ms Damond, nee Justine Ruszczyk, taught meditation classes at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community in Minneapolis.
She studied to be a veterinarian before relocating to the US, where she is believed to have been for at least the last three years.
According to her website, she is a "qualified yoga instructor, a personal health and life coach and meditation teacher".
About 200 neighbours, family members and residents gathered for a vigil on Sunday night where she died.
Over the past few years the US has seen a series of civilian killings at the hands of police that have caused widespread concern and criticism.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40639140
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Robot 'drowns' in fountain mishap - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The wheeled security robot in Washington DC tumbled into a fountain at an office building.
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Technology
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The Knightscope K5 robot tumbled into the fountain by accident
A security robot in Washington DC suffered a watery demise after falling into a fountain by an office building.
The stricken robot, made by Knightscope, was spotted by passers-by whose photos of the aftermath quickly went viral on social media.
For some, the incident seemed to sum up the state of 21st Century technology.
"We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots," wrote one worker from the building on Twitter.
Rescuers soon appeared to retrieve the fallen bot
"Steps are our best defence against the Robopocalypse," commented Peter Singer - author of Wired for War, a book about military robotics.
It is not the first accident involving Knightscope's patrolling robots, which are equipped with various instruments - including face-recognition systems, high-definition video capture, infrared and ultrasonic sensors.
Last year, a 16-month-old toddler was run over by one of the autonomous devices in a Silicon Valley shopping centre.
And earlier this year, a Californian man was arrested after attacking a Knightscope robot.
The man, who was drunk at the time of the incident, later said he wanted to "test" the machine, according to Knightscope.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40642968
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Duke and duchess meet Holocaust survivors in Poland - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit a concentration camp as part of their tour of Poland.
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UK
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have visited a former concentration camp as they continue their tour of Poland.
They described their visit to Stutthof as "shattering", saying the site is a "terrible reminder of the cost of war".
The royal couple met five Holocaust survivors at the camp near Gdansk, where 65,000 people were killed by the Nazis in World War Two.
The five-day tour of Poland and Germany will see the Cambridges also visit Berlin and Heidelberg.
Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, two, have accompanied their parents on the trip.
The Royal couple met former prisoners of the concentration camp, Manfred Goldberg and Zigi Shipper
During their visit to Stutthof, William and Catherine met British survivors Manfred Goldberg and Zigi Shipper, both 87.
As a teenager, Mr Goldberg spent more than eight months as a slave worker in Stutthof. There he met Mr Shipper, who had previously been at Auschwitz.
Days before the war ended, the camp was abandoned and prisoners were sent on a death march to the German town of Neustadt. The pair - both 15 at the time - were liberated at Neustadt on 3 May 1945. They later moved to the UK, where they remained friends.
Mr Goldberg said he was "extremely nervous" about returning to the camp, adding: "I agonised before I agreed to come here, because I felt I'd put it all behind me.
"In 1946 when I was a youngster I was admitted to England, I didn't dream I would ever have the privilege of shaking the hand of a future King of this country."
A message left in the visitors' book, which both the duke and duchess signed, said: "We were intensely moved by our visit to Stutthof, which has been the scene of so much terrible pain, suffering and death.
"All of us have an overwhelming responsibility to make sure that we learn the lessons and that the horror of what happened is never forgotten and never repeated."
The royal couple then met Poland's first democratically-elected president, Lech Walesa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for leading Solidarity - the party that helped bring to an end communism in Poland.
Prince William and Catherine had a tour of the European Solidarity Centre, which represents the movement Mr Walesa championed, before laying roses at the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970.
The memorial - made up of three 42m steel crosses - was unveiled in 1980, to commemorate the 44 people who died during anti-communist riots.
In Germany later this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a private meeting with the royal couple in Berlin before they visit the city's famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate.
The duke and duchess will also visit Berlin's Holocaust museum and memorial.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince George required some gentle encouragement to leave the plane
A boat race is planned in the German city of Heidelberg, which is twinned with Cambridge.
William and Catherine will cox opposing rowing teams in the race with crews from Cambridge and Heidelberg.
On the second day of the Polish leg of the tour, the royal couple joined a street party at Gdansk's central market square, where they were offered Goldwasser - a Gdansk liqueur - and traditional Polish pierogi dumplings.
They also visited the Gdansk Shakespeare theatre, opened in 2014, which has the Prince of Wales as patron.
Prince William tastes traditional Polish dumplings on the second day of a tour of Poland
William and Catherine are joined by the cast of a play at the Gdansk Shakespeare theatre
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40639711
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NHS pilot scheme taps into skills of refugee doctors - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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A pilot scheme being run in the north east of England aims to put refugee doctors back to work and cover NHS shortages.
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Health
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Refugee doctor Rouni Youssef with his mentor Dr Sue Jones and an elderly patient
A pioneering scheme that aims to harness the skills of refugees fleeing conflict and unrest in their home countries could help boost health services in north-east England.
Middlesbrough has the highest number of asylum seekers in the UK. Around one in every 186 people in the town is seeking refugee status, well over the government guidelines of no more than one in every 200 of the local population.
But many of the refugees are skilled professionals such as doctors or pharmacists, skills that happen to be in short supply in the area.
I have been to meet the foreign doctors who are participating in the scheme. Unable to practise their profession at home, they are embracing the opportunity to use their skills in an understaffed NHS.
Rouni Youssef, 27, picks up a patient's notes from the trolley outside the curtained cubicle and begins to thumb through the details.
"Interesting," he mutters to himself. "I think we should do an MRI."
I ask him what the day ahead on the hospital ward is looking like but Dr Youssef does not hear me. He is focused on the medical details before him, his eyes flicking feverishly over the scans like a sleuth over clues.
"Maybe some kidney malfunction here," he says.
Dr Rouni Youssef is currently on an unpaid clinical placement
Dr Youssef is polite and friendly towards me but I know I am holding him back from what he would rather be doing. It is, after all, what he has dreamed of doing all his life and what he has spent so many years training to do.
"I'm a Kurd from Aleppo," he shrugs. "And I'm a medical doctor but it just became too unsafe to stay in Syria and in 2014, I had to flee.
"I ended up here in Middlesbrough with nothing: no friends, no family and no career. I couldn't be a doctor any more. You can't imagine how that feels. It was like someone had cut off a body part.
"I was nothing and I had to start from scratch."
But thanks to the scheme run by the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust and a refugee charity called Investing in People and Culture, Dr Youssef once again is sporting a stethoscope around his neck.
He is currently on an unpaid clinical placement at the University Hospital of North Tees but he has just taken the second part of his Plab exams (an assessment conducted by the General Medical Council which all overseas doctors from outside the EEA must pass before they can legally practise medicine in the UK). If he passes, he will start applying for jobs in September.
"I'd love to be a consultant paediatrician," he admits shyly. "Babies are such dear little creatures - they're like angels, you know?"
Dr Jane Metcalf says the pilot scheme is a "win-win situation"
Dr Jane Metcalf, deputy medical director at the hospital, pops down to the ward to find out how his latest exams have gone.
She describes the Resettlement Programme For Overseas Doctors as primarily a humanitarian project to get skilled healthcare professionals back into practice but she also admits that, since the North East has a shortage of qualified doctors, it is also in the trust's interests to use their refugee resources.
The current scheme comprises 11 doctors and one pharmacist, from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan and the Congo.
"It's a win-win situation," Dr Metcalf explains. "Although the training is rigorous, the cost is low... to help the doctors through their exams and English tuition it's about £5,000 per doctor and when you compare that to the £250,000 it takes to train someone in the UK through medicine, it's pretty cost-effective.
"If we can get doctors like Rouni back into practice within a year that would be a tremendous achievement."
The biggest hurdle for the doctors though is passing the extremely high level, but requisite, English exam.
In an upstairs room at Middlesbrough library, the other doctors on the pilot scheme are learning about the inappropriate use of colloquial English in the written form.
Everyone is grumbling about the finicky example on the white board which, despite being a native speaker and having a university degree in English, even makes me pause for thought.
Eli (L) and Ahmad (R) are among those on the scheme studying for the extremely rigorous English exam
Eli, a GP from Congo, has had a long and difficult battle to win refugee status and was unable to join the scheme until his asylum papers were granted. While waiting however, he volunteered for the Alzheimer's Society and is now determined to work in geriatric medicine.
"We are refugees, yes," he smiles. "But we are doctors too. We don't take this opportunity for granted. Before this programme we had no road, no route. Now we have hope again. And we can give something back."
Ahmad, from Afghanistan, was just months away from completing his medical training as a specialist in paediatric orthopaedics when his life was threatened by the Taliban, forcing him and his family to flee Kabul.
"Now I'm optimistic for the future," he says. "I know that one day soon I will practise my passion again."
Outside the library I meet Bini Araia, founder of Investing in People and Culture, the charity working in partnership with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. He tells me that before the scheme's existence, many of the refugee surgeons and doctors, under pressure from their local job centre, were resigned to a life in the UK working in factories, garages or supermarkets.
"But we have a ready-made skill set!" he tells me. "And it's great to show with this programme that refugees can benefit UK society."
The programme shows refugees can benefit UK society, says IPC founder Bini Araia
Back on the ward at the hospital, there are no "baby angels" for Dr Youssef to treat today. Instead, his mentor, consultant physician Dr Sue Jones, asks him to join her as she examines an elderly patient who has been complaining of acute hip pain. Dr Youssef jogs eagerly to the patient's bedside.
"Well hello sir!" he beams. "And how are you feeling today? Is it really true you're 101?" He squats down and holds the man's hand, joking with him and reassuring him. I catch Dr Jones's eye. "Isn't he impressive?" she mouths delightedly.
Dr Metcalf wants to encourage other NHS trusts to implement the resettlement scheme for refugee doctors, something Dr Youssef welcomes.
"When I first walked back on to the ward," he remembers, "it felt like I had been fasting for 18 hours and then someone gave me a sip of cold, delicious water."
We walk together to the Rapid Assessment clinic.
"I want to be a doctor here in Middlesbrough," he continues, "because the people are so friendly." Then he grins."But the local accent here, it's a bit, um, fresh, isn't it?"
Emma Jane Kirby reports for BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40442848
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Delta hits back against conservative author Ann Coulter - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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"Unnecessary and unacceptable" said Delta after the conservative author had railed against them all weekend.
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US & Canada
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Delta Air Lines has responded to the "derogatory" tirade that conservative author Ann Coulter directed at them throughout the weekend.
The right-wing pundit's ire began after she was moved from her pre-booked seat on a flight from New York to Florida.
After landing on Saturday she began to rant to her 1.6m Twitter followers, eventually comparing Delta to fascists.
"Delta expects mutual civility throughout the entire travel experience," the airline hit back.
"We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for," Delta said in a statement posted to its website.
"More importantly, we are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media."
"Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable", continued the statement which was posted on Sunday - more than 24 hours after Ms Coulter's onslaught began.
Ms Coulter's more than 30 tweets include insults to the passengers, flight crew, Wifi, and corporate employees.
"So glad I took time investigate the aircraft & PRE-BOOK a specific seat on @Delta, so some woman could waltz at the last min & take my seat," she wrote, returning to Twitter the next morning to mockingly say the company's motto is "How can we make your flight more uncomfortable?".
The pundit also posted photos of the flight attendant and the woman seated in her original seat, whom she referred to as "dachshund-legged".
Delta said that the incident happened during boarding, when staff "inadvertently" moved the author - whose works include In Trump We Trust and Adios America! - to a window seat from an aisle.
The company statement added that they tried to contact Ms Coulter in order to apologise and refund her the $30 (£23) cost that she paid to pre-book the seat, but did not hear back from her until Sunday night.
They add that after some initial confusion sparked by passengers asking to change seats, Ms Coulter was eventually able to take her place at the seat listed on her ticket.
But Ms Coulter insisted on Monday that the money was never the issue, saying "30!. It cost me $10,000 of my time to pre-select the seat I wanted, investigate type of plane & go back periodically to review seat options".
Many liberal-leaning Twitter users took pleasure in Ms Coulter's incident.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40635993
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Cardiff church collapses: Man dies after Splott incident - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A man dies after being trapped under rubble when a church collapsed in Cardiff, firefighters say.
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South East Wales
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A man has died after being trapped under a large amount of rubble after the derelict church collapsed
A man has died after being trapped in rubble when a church collapsed near a railway line in Cardiff.
Firefighters, rescue dogs and a drone had been searching for the man in the wreckage of the derelict church in Splott, which collapsed at about 14:50 BST.
Two people escaped from the building - which was being demolished - and were treated for minor injures.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service workers are trying to recover the body.
Gareth Davies, area manager for SWFRS, said the man had been trapped under a large amount of rubble.
He said: "As a service, we wish to extend our sympathies to the individual's family at this very sad time."
Cardiff demolition firm Young Contractors, which has been working on the derelict church for about three weeks, confirmed none of its staff were on the site at the time.
A report, prepared for Cardiff council in June 2016 ahead of work to replace a bridge nearby as part of rail upgrades, described the building as a "dangerous structure" at risk of "imminent collapse".
Report authors Bruton Knowles warned part of the building close to the railway line was unstable and needed to be stabilised or it may "fall" and damage the tracks.
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas said questions would have to be asked as to how the building got into the state it did, adding it had been "left to deteriorate for decades".
As the building collapsed a warning was sent to a train heading towards the scene, but the driver did not report anything "untoward" on the line, Network Rail said.
However, South Wales Police has since confirmed scaffolding was on the tracks.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Firefighter Gareth Davies said crews worked in a very "challenging environment"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas says questions over the state of the church must be asked
Officers have taped off part of Pearl Street close to the derelict church.
All trains were initially cancelled between Cardiff and Newport, but two lines have now reopened. Limited services are in operation as a precautionary measure.
Network Rail warned commuters rail services across the network could be affected following the incident.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are working with our partners, Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway and Cross Country, to update passengers as and when more information becomes available."
Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens tweeted: "This is awful news from #Adamsdown my thoughts are with the victim's family & friends".
The Evac emergency alert phone app - which provides information about major incidents, fires, floods and terrorist attacks - warned users all main train lines between the capital and Newport were closed.
South Wales Police has asked people to avoid the area
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-40647984
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Credit and debit card surcharges to be banned - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The worst offenders are airlines and food delivery apps, the government says.
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Business
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Consumers are no longer to be charged extra for paying by debit or credit card, the government has said.
From January next year, businesses will not be allowed to add any surcharges for card payments.
The worst offenders currently are airlines and food delivery apps, and small businesses which typically add a fee for cards.
In 2010 alone consumers spent £473m on such charges, according to estimates by the Treasury.
It follows a directive from the European Union, which bans surcharges on Visa and Mastercard payments.
However the government has gone further than the directive, by also banning charges on American Express and Paypal too.
Campaigners welcomed the move, saying it was great news for consumers.
At the moment those booking airline tickets with credit cards pay an extra 3% with Flybe, with a minimum payment of £5.
However Flybe has already promised to get rid of the minimum payment, and cut its charges.
Ryanair said it would comply with any changes in the law.
Flybe has already promised to cut card surcharges
Several airlines, including Monarch and British Airways, have reduced their charges in the last year.
Take-away food apps are also amongst the highest-charging businesses, the Treasury said.
Both Hungryhouse and Just Eat add 50p to the bill for paying by card, although in some cases the charge may be paid by the restaurant.
On a £10 bill, that amounts to 5%.
Many local authorities also levy charges of around 2.5%. The DVLA - which charges a flat fee of £2.50 for a card -will also have to change its card payment policy.
Since 2012, it has made £42m from such fees. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) charges up to 0.6% for payment by credit card.
The change in the law is likely to mean some companies will simply put up their prices, to cover the extra costs they bear with card payments.
Banks typically charge large retailers between 10p and 20p for each debit card transaction, or 0.6% for credit cards.
"Maybe they will bump the price up," said James Daley, the managing director of Fairer Finance, which has been campaigning for the change.
"That's fair game. You have to take customers' money somehow. And it's not reasonable to add that cost on at the end of the process.
Why not put it in the headline price?"
There is also a question as to how the ban will be policed. Under the Consumer Rights Regulations, businesses are only allowed to charge a sum that reflects their own costs in processing a transaction.
But Mr Daley said many businesses are in breach of the regulations.
Some small shops charge a fee for the use of a card - but they are also have to pay more to the banks for processing such transactions.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40648641
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Trump and Putin had another, undisclosed conversation at G20 - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The White House and Kremlin both label media reporting of the meeting as "absolutely absurd".
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US & Canada
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US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had another, previously undisclosed conversation at this month's G20, the White House has confirmed.
They spoke towards the end of a formal dinner but the White House has not revealed what was discussed.
President Trump has condemned media revelations of the talks as "sick".
The two leaders' relationship is under scrutiny amid allegations of Russian interference in the US election.
US intelligence agencies believe Moscow tried to tip the election in Mr Trump's favour, something denied by Russia. Mr Trump has rejected allegations of any collusion.
The extra conversation happened during a private meal of heads of state at the G20 summit in Hamburg earlier in the month.
The Kremlin said at the time that the two leaders had had "an opportunity to continue their discussion during the dinner", but the extent of the meeting was not known.
Mr Trump left his seat and headed to Mr Putin, who had been sitting next to Mr Trump's wife, Melania, US media said. The US president was alone with Mr Putin, apart from the attendance of the Russian president's official interpreter.
Mr Trump had been seated next to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's wife, so the US interpreter at the dinner spoke Japanese, not Russian. No media were in attendance.
Given the poor state of relations between Washington and Moscow and the controversy surrounding Russia's efforts to interfere with the US presidential campaign, each and every encounter between Mr Putin and Mr Trump is bound to be carefully scrutinised.
Thus the apparently impromptu discussion between the two men at the G20 dinner inevitably raises many questions. What was President Trump seeking to do in approaching the Russian president? Were matters of substance discussed? If so, why was no formal note taken? And why did the US president have to rely upon a Russian official for translation?
This is all highly unusual, especially at a time when relations between the two countries are laden with so many problems.
Mr Trump also appeared unaware of another dimension - the message that his tete-a-tete would send to other leaders in the room, who must have watched the US president's gambit with some unease.
Mr Trump's spokesperson Sarah Sanders told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that the dinner was part of the president's publicly released schedule.
"You guys came and took pictures of it," she told journalists. "It wasn't like this was some sort of hidden dinner. To act as if this was some secret is just absolutely absurd."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders had "exchanged opinions and phrases in the margins of the visit on more than one occasion".
"There were no covert or secret meetings. It is absolutely absurd to claim this," he was quoted as saying by Russia's TASS news agency.
Mr Peskov also mocked the notion that the subject of a conversation between the two men could have been kept secret, saying that is a "manifestation of schizophrenia".
The length of the talks has been disputed.
Ian Bremmer, president of the US-based Eurasia Group, who first reported them in a newsletter to clients, said: "Donald Trump got up from the table and sat down with Putin for about an hour. It was very animated and very friendly."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What Trump said of his first, formal meeting with Putin
No-one else was nearby, so the topics of discussion were not known, he said.
Mr Bremmer had not been at the dinner but said details were given to him by unnamed attendees who, he said, were "flummoxed, confused and startled" by the turn of events.
"At summit meetings you have little 'pull-asides' between heads of state to discuss business all the time - a one-hour pull-aside is highly unusual in any context," he told the BBC.
"A one-hour pull-aside between Putin and Trump where only the Kremlin translator is there, where we don't know what's discussed, given the uniqueness of the US-Russia relationship... makes the [US] president, surprisingly and disturbingly, not credible."
In a statement, a senior White House official said there was no "second meeting", just a brief conversation after dinner.
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The official said: "The insinuation that the White House has tried to 'hide' a second meeting is false, malicious and absurd. It is not merely perfectly normal, it is part of a president's duties, to interact with world leaders."
National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said: "A conversation over dessert should not be characterised as a meeting."
Mr Trump later said on Twitter: "Fake News story of secret dinner with Putin is 'sick.' All G20 leaders, and spouses, were invited by the Chancellor of Germany. Press knew!"
The dinner and its attendees have always been known. Only the Trump-Putin discussion had not been reported before.
At the dinner, Mr Trump's wife, Melania, sat next to Mr Putin
At the earlier, formal meeting, their first face-to-face encounter, Mr Trump said he had repeatedly pressed Mr Putin about the allegations of interference in the US vote.
"I said, 'Did you do it?' He said, 'No, I did not, absolutely not.' I then asked him a second time, in a totally different way. He said, 'Absolutely not.'"
There are congressional investigations, and one by a special counsel, into the allegations of Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with the Trump team.
On Tuesday, the Senate intelligence committee said it wanted to interview Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, and other members of the Trump team, over a meeting they had with a Russian lawyer in June last year.
Mr Trump Jr said he had attended the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya as he was promised damaging material on Hillary Clinton, but it did not materialise.
On Wednesday, Ms Veselnitskaya told Russia's RT television channel she would be willing to testify before the Senate on the matter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Commander in tweets: What we can learn from Trump's Twitter
Meanwhile, the White House said Mr Trump would nominate former Utah governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia, a key post for a president who promised to improve relations with Moscow.
Mr Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China and Singapore, needs to have his name confirmed by the Senate.
The suspicions over Russian interference are likely to play a significant factor in his confirmation process, correspondents say.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40651502
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Swiss glacier reveals couple lost in 1942 - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Their 79-year-old daughter says she has found peace from the discovery after a life-long search.
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Europe
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Bernhard Tschannen shows where the bodies were found in the ice
A shrinking glacier in Switzerland has revealed two frozen bodies believed to be of a couple who went missing 75 years ago, Swiss media report.
Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin disappeared at a height of 2,600m (8,530ft) after going to tend to their cows in the Alps in August 1942.
They were farmers whose seven children never gave up hope of finding them.
Their youngest daughter, 79, said she was now planning to give her parents the funeral they deserved.
Mr and Mrs Dumoulin were never found despite extensive searches.
"We spent our whole lives looking for them," Marceline Udry-Dumoulin told Lausanne daily Le Matin.
"I can say that after 75 years of waiting this news gives me a deep sense of calm."
A DNA test will be conducted in several days' time, police say.
Local police said the bodies were discovered last week on Tsanfleuron glacier, above the Les Diablerets resort, by a worker from ski-lift company, Glacier 3000.
Director Bernhard Tschannen said his employee found some backpacks, tin bowls and a glass bottle, as well as male and female shoes, and part of a body under the ice.
Valais police said in a statement that a book, a backpack and a watch had been taken to Lausanne for forensic analysis.
Mr Tschannen said that it was likely the couple had fallen into a crevasse and the way they were dressed implied that they could have been there for 70 or 80 years.
"The bodies were lying near each other. It was a man and a woman wearing clothing dating from the period of World War Two," he told Le Matin.
The weathered belongings of Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin were also found on the Tsanfleuron glacier alongside their bodies
Ms Udry-Dumoulin said her mother, a teacher, rarely went on such walks with her husband, a shoemaker, because she spent much of her adult life pregnant and it was difficult terrain.
She said that she had never given up hoping that one day she would find her parents, even climbing the glacier three times to look for them.
Within two months of the disappearance of her parents, she and her siblings were placed with different families, and lost contact over the years.
She told Le Matin that she wanted to hold a long-awaited funeral, but would not wear black.
"I think that white would be more appropriate. It represents hope, which I never lost," she said.
The bodies of a number of missing climbers have been discovered in the Alps in recent years.
Climatologists say a rise in global temperatures is causing the ice to recede, revealing the corpses of those missing for decades.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40645745
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England 'on track' to stamp out smoking - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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Government sets out ambitious target to get remaining smokers to quit.
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Health
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The government has set out an ambitious plan to make England, in effect, smoke-free in the next few decades.
The new Tobacco Control Plan aims to slash smoking rates from 15.5% to 12% of the population by 2022, paving the way to a smoke-free generation.
If national smoking rates continue to fall, this generation of non-smokers could be achieved by 2030, says charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).
Health officials say smoking currently kills 200 people a day in England.
Smoking rates in England are at the lowest level since records began.
But the Department of Health says there is still much further to go.
It has sets out a range of targets:
Commenting on the proposals, Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Ash, said: "The vision of a smoke-free generation it sets out is a welcome step-change in ambition from the last Tobacco Control Plan for England and should be achievable by 2030."
But she warned that the success of the plan - which emphasises local over national action - was threatened by "severe government cuts in public health funding".
There is no new money to achieve this plan and no penalties for local areas that fail to meet the targets.
And smoking rates remain stubbornly high in some regions, particularly among the lowest earners.
Public Health England's chief executive Duncan Selbie said the country was at a "pivotal point" where the end was in sight and a smoke-free generation a reality.
But he added: "The final push, reaching the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, will undoubtedly be the hardest."
Meanwhile, Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, called on ministers to "stop lecturing" people.
He said: "The most important stakeholder is the consumer, yet they are routinely ignored by the government. Ministers should stop lecturing smokers and engage with them."
Public health minister, Steve Brine, said: "Smoking continues to kill hundreds of people a day in England, and we know the harms fall on some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society.
"That is why we are targeting prevention and local action to address the variation in smoking rates in our society, educate people about the risks and support them to quit for good."
One of the areas the government's plan focuses on is cutting smoking rates in pregnancy, partly by calling on local areas to appoint smoke-free pregnancy "champions".
It comes as the Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge Group - which includes academic institutions and charities- says pregnant women who find it hard to quit should be encouraged to try e-cigarettes as an alternative.
Prof Linda Bauld, chairwoman of the group, told the BBC: "Smoking in pregnancy is uniquely harmful. It causes 2,000 premature births, 5,000 miscarriages and 300 deaths of babies every year in the UK.
"So if somebody is struggling to stop, let us be open about that, let us talk about all the options.
"If a woman is really struggling and wants to use e-cigarettes, then from what we know to date in the UK, we shouldn't be preventing those women from using them."
• None How has smoking ban changed the UK?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40641469
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Newspaper headlines: 'May urged to sack her 'donkey' ministers' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Politics-heavy front pages feature cabinet discipline, schools cash and foreign aid.
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The Papers
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The Guardian says the £1.3bn committed to schools in England was intended to head off a revolt from Tory MPs who think the issue of school funding cost the party its majority.
The paper says the announcement was designed to "placate" schools and teachers before their summer holiday but has left many MPs - including Conservatives - concerned about unfairness.
In his parliamentary sketch in the Daily Telegraph, Michael Deacon asks what on earth the Department for Education had been doing that it could now save £1.3bn through "efficiencies".
"A gold plated departmental water cooler?" he wonders, or "printers with ink made from unicorns' blood?".
The paper's editorial says a revised funding formula for schools was inevitable given the political pressures but that success does not come through money alone and rigorous checks on spending are needed.
The Sun says it is right that schools get the money they need but without blowing billions which the country does not have.
The Times reports on "raised eyebrows" in Brussels that Brexit Secretary David Davis took part in less than an hour of talks with the EU.
The Guardian says his swift departure prompted suggestions that the government's parliamentary weakness was impeding the talks, adding that EU officials have feared since the election that the lack of a majority in the Commons could hinder Brexit negotiations.
British officials insisted Mr Davis had always intended to leave after a meet-and-greet with his opposite number Michel Barnier.
With all these issues, questions of government in-fighting lurk close behind.
The Daily Mirror says Tory squabbles have "exploded into all-out war" in which the country will be the loser.
The Times warns government ministers that "careless talk" and "recklessness" could open the way for Jeremy Corbyn.
It says Philip Hammond has been strengthened by the election result, with his focus on a Brexit that protects the economy, and says cabinet colleagues should listen to him instead of seeing "a minor irritant in the path of the Brexit juggernaut".
Concern about general election fraud is uppermost in the mind of the Daily Mail.
It leads with an investigation into what the Electoral Commission called "troubling" evidence that some students had voted twice in the election because they could easily register at their home address and their term-time address.
The paper's editorial warns of "the growing stench of fraud" and says this "glaring loop-hole" in election law should be closed.
Prince George is featured on many of the front pages in what the Times calls a "stubborn mood" during his visit to Poland.
The Telegraph says he was reluctant to perform his royal duties and he had to be persuaded to walk down the red carpet.
But the headline writers in the Mirror and the Daily Express are in forgiving mood - for them he was "His Royal Shyness".
The Express says the prince may not have intended it but his nerves will turn out to be "a diplomatic triumph".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-40639071
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The cabinet - Report, summer 2017 - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The story of why Mrs May is so cross with her cabinet.
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UK Politics
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With rumour swirling, gossip in the air about the cabinet, it is hard to work out what is really going on. Since Mrs May didn't really win the prize she was expecting, ministers have become an unruly lot. Tomorrow, they're all going to get a telling off (with apologies to the truth).
David wants her job, although he says that he doesn't and isn't thinking about it, it's only his friends getting excited.
Boris wants the job too, although he says he doesn't want it yet, and guess what, it's only his friends getting a bit excited.
This excitement sometimes involves those friends saying rude things about the other one.
Neither of them, nor any of their friends, want Philip to get the job.
Some of Philip's friends want him to get the job, but maybe he's not so sure. What he really wants is to stay in charge of the money, whoever has the big job.
Boris wants Theresa's job but not yet (he says)
Philip doesn't trust or like Michael very much.
Neither, really, does Theresa like Michael very much. But lots of people think he is clever and he likes Brexit.
So does Boris, who used to like Michael a lot.
Then Michael was really mean to Boris and it hurt his feelings a lot. They'll probably never go to each other's houses again for dinner but they may not quite feel like poisoning the other's dinner.
Then there's Liam, who also likes Brexit a lot.
He likes running for the big job. He says he doesn't want that opportunity to come up, but if it does, he might well have another go because he likes doing it so much.
There's also Andrea, who smiles a lot and likes Brexit, a lot. She didn't really enjoy going for the big job last time, but if it happens again, the chance to run again might make her smile, a lot.
Then there's the newer gang, like Priti, who also likes Brexit and might like to try for the big job one day.
So might Sajid, who doesn't really like Brexit that much, but might want to join in the big race too.
And don't forget Amber, who Philip and David are apparently trying to get into their gang - but it's tricky because she doesn't like Brexit and could also fancy having a go at the top post too one day, although she'd probably need to make a few more friends in her home town.
And there's Patrick, who didn't like Brexit either. No one really wants to be friends with him at the moment. He was meant to be in charge of trying to win the big prize but that didn't quite go according to plan.
Then there are Greg, Karen, Justine, Michael number two, David number two, Jeremy,David number three, Alun and yes, David number four.
None of them really like Brexit very much.
Most of them (apart from David number three) would also like Philip (remember him?) to write some bigger cheques for their departments.
But he isn't really in the mood to do that, remember. He wants to stay in charge of the money, whoever has the big job.
Then there is James, who also didn't like the idea of Brexit but has an almost even harder project in Belfast.
There are also Liz and Brandon. She used to have to worry about cheese, he now has to worry about immigration.
Neither of them really liked Brexit either but are, you guessed it "getting on with the job".
And Chris, who really loves the idea of Brexit and is in charge of trains. He says he doesn't want Philip or Boris or David (number one) to be making trouble.
There's also Natalie, who has to explain to another lot who get to wear red velvet cloaks (honest) what all of the above are trying to achieve. (That's a good question)
Then there is Damien, who really didn't like the idea of Brexit but who is really important because Theresa isn't cross with him.
In fact, she trusts him and my goodness, that doesn't happen very often.
Last of course there is Theresa who, while being cross with this lot, is probably still cross with herself, and most likely peeved with Nick and Fi, but that's another story.
The public might well think they all must try much harder.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40634152
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BBC admits University Challenge banana boots slip-up - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman incorrectly said Billy Connolly's banana boots were made by John Byrne.
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Scotland
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Edmund Smith created the boots for Billy Connolly in 1975
The BBC has upheld a complaint from the daughter of a Scottish artist after Jeremy Paxman gave the wrong answer to a question on University Challenge.
The quiz show host incorrectly attributed Billy Connolly's banana boots to artist John Byrne rather than their true creator Edmund Smith.
Glasgow pop artist Smith made the size 9 bananas for the comedian in 1975.
The BBC said it had drawn the "oversight" to the attention of the programme's producers.
The error was made during a Christmas celebrity special of the quiz show, broadcast on 27 December 2016.
During the semi final, presenter Jeremy Wade, journalist Shiulie Ghosh and Prof Jamie Angus - for the University of Kent - were asked by Paxman: "Born in Paisley in 1940, which artist and playwright designed Billy Connolly's banana boots and wrote the 'Slab Boys trilogy' for the theatre and the series Tutti Frutti for television?"
To which Paxman responded: "Funny answer, but not right. John Byrne".
The University of Kent team featured Jeremy Wade, Shiulie Ghosh, Paul Ross and Prof Jamie Angus
The BBC acknowledged that the answer was wrong and conceded that the correct information was widely available, including from the biography of Billy Connolly, written by his wife Pamela Stephenson.
In a ruling from the Complaints Unit, the BBC said: "The daughter of Edmund Smith complained that the answer was incorrect, her father having designed and made the boots in question.
"Evidence from several sources, including a detailed account of the matter in Pamela Stephenson's biography of Billy Connolly, confirmed that the boots had been designed and made by Edmund Smith.
"The executive producer responsible for oversight of the series drew the finding to the attention of the independent production company which makes it."
Edmund Smith's banana boots are currently on display at the People's Palace Museum at Glasgow Green.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40642593
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Extra cash in school budgets in funding shake-up - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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£1.3bn to protect core school budgets, with cuts to be made on free school spending.
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Education & Family
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Justine Greening said every school in England would benefit
Schools in England are being promised an extra £1.3bn over two years, as the government responded to pressure from campaigns over funding shortages.
But the cash for schools will be taken from elsewhere in the education budget, such as spending on free schools.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies says it represents a real-terms freeze on school budgets for the next two years.
Education Secretary Justine Greening told MPs she recognised there was public concern over school funding.
Ms Greening told the House of Commons this "significant investment" would help to "raise standards, promote social mobility and to give every child the best possible education".
But Labour's shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said: "This is all being funded without a penny of new money from the Treasury.
"They are not committing any new money and have not been clear about exactly what programmes they will be cutting to plug the funding back hole."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Angela Rayner: "They've taken with one hand and put it in with the other"
But Jules White, a West Sussex head teacher who co-ordinated a campaign over funding shortages, said: "The government finally appears to be listening."
But he cautioned that any increase would need to keep up with "rising pupil numbers and inflationary costs".
Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said this was a "step in the right direction and an acknowledgment of the huge level of concern around the country on this issue".
But he said schools would still have to see the implications of the money being "saved from elsewhere in the education budget".
Chris Keates leader of the NASUWT teachers' union called Ms Greening's statement "a recycled announcement of recycled money".
Jo Yurky, who headed a parents' campaign over funding, said this was "positive news" and an "amazing turn-around" in attitude from ministers, but pressure needed to be kept up on protecting funding.
A joint statement from the NUT and ATL teachers' unions accused the government of "smoke and mirrors".
"Whilst any extra money is welcome this isn't enough to stop the huge cuts that schools are making," said the teachers' unions.
School funding became a major issue during the general election, with school leaders and teachers' unions warning that budget shortages would mean cuts to staffing and subjects.
A protest over school funding cuts was held in London at the weekend
They pointed to evidence from the National Audit Office and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which warned of £3bn funding gap and schools facing an 8% real-terms budget cut.
During the election, the Conservatives had promised an extra £1bn per year, which on top of planned increases, would have meant the core schools budget rising by about £4bn in 2021-22.
Most of this extra funding was going to come from scrapping free meals for all infants, a policy which was subsequently ditched.
Under the plans announced by Ms Greening on Monday, the overall core schools budget will rise by £2.6bn between 2017-18 and 2019-20.
All schools will receive at least an increase of 0.5% in cash terms.
The Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran said: "This is a desperate attempt to pull the wool over people's eyes.
"Schools are still facing cuts to their budgets once inflation and increasing class sizes are taken into account."
As well as concerns about the overall amount of money available, there has been controversy over how it is divided between individual schools.
A new National Funding Formula was announced by education secretary Justine Greening before Christmas.
Ms Greening said the new formula would go ahead and would address unfair and inconsistent levels of funding.
Under the new arrangements, from 2018-19, the minimum funding per secondary pupil would be set at £4,800 per year.
For many years there have been complaints that schools in different parts of the country were receiving different levels of per pupil funding.
Details of an updated version of the formula, with budgets for individual schools, are being promised for the autumn.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40634472
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R Kelly denies holding several women in 'abusive cult' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The R&B singer responds to reports accusing him of holding women in a cult-like environment.
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US & Canada
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R Kelly has been accused of sexual misconduct before but was not found guilty
R&B singer R Kelly has denied allegations that he is holding several young women in an "abusive cult".
The singer's lawyer said he would work "diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name".
A BuzzFeed report accuses the singer of brainwashing women, who got closer to him in an effort to boost their musical careers.
One of the women said she was "not being brainwashed". Kelly denies any wrongdoing.
He has faced previous accusations of sexual misconduct, but was never found guilty.
The report, which quoted three unnamed sets of parents, said they had not seen or spoken with their daughters for months, and that the women, all of them over the age of consent, had their routines controlled by the singer.
That included rules about what they could eat and wear, when to bathe and sleep and how to engage in sexual encounters recorded by him, they said.
One of the women, Joycelyn Savage, 21, told the TMZ website she was not in a cult.
In a video posted hours after the allegations emerged, she said: "I'm in a happy place in my life. I'm not being brainwashed or anything like that." She added that the issue had "definitely got out of hand".
Three former members of Kelly's inner circle were also interviewed, saying that six women lived in properties managed by the singer in similar conditions.
If they broke the "rules", they said, the women could be punished physically and verbally by the singer, according to the report.
Some of the parents reported their concerns to the police, but the women said they were not being held against their will.
The singer's lawyer, Linda Mensch, said in a statement: "Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him. Mr Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations."
BuzzFeed has said it is standing by its reporting.
In 2008, R Kelly was acquitted of 14 charges of making child pornography after a videotape emerged allegedly showing him having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Kelly is one of the most successful R&B artists of all time, with 40 million records sold worldwide. His best known hits include I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition (Remix).
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40639378
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Carolyn McCall: From airline to airwaves - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The EasyJet chief's career has taken her through some of the best-known companies in the UK.
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Business
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When Carolyn McCall announced that she was moving from the Guardian Media Group to become chief executive of EasyJet, rival Ryanair's Michael O'Leary dismissed her as a media luvvie.
With her new post at ITV, which she will take up early next year, Mr O'Leary can happily call her a media luvvie again, although her track record shows her capabilities spread far more widely.
Her first six months in the job in 2010 were enough to make anyone match fit.
Those saw three of the aviation industry's biggest headaches: volcanic ash clouds, a spike in the oil price and an air traffic controllers strike.
But there's little in her early years that would suggest her as an establishment candidate whose career would read like a perfectly mapped flight path through some of the UK's best-known boardrooms, including Lloyds TSB, Tesco, Burberry and New Look.
She once described herself as a "coaster" at school, and rather middling as a school student, and claims she never had a plan for her career.
Born in Bangalore, in Southern India in 1961, she completed much of her schooling there before moving to the UK, attending school in Matlock in Derbyshire before going on to university at Canterbury in Kent.
After that she almost became a teacher, doing her training at Holland Park Comprehensive in London, one of the most notorious of its time for its mixed demographic and free-thinking ethos. That experience seemed to have served to make her own appetite for education stronger and she went for a master's degree in politics from the University of London.
Her first job was at builders Costain, but she was strongly drawn towards the media.
To her delight she applied for and became a research planner at the Guardian in 1986, where her boss, a woman, shocked her by saying she could become the group's chief executive.
By 2000, she had risen through the commercial ranks to become chief executive of the newspaper business, Guardian News & Media, and in 2006 she took the helm of the parent company.
Management Today magazine called her: "One of the toughest operators to have risen through the Guardian Media Group's ranks."
One of her landmark achievements there in 2005 was to take the paper from a Daily Telegraph-sized broadsheet to the pioneering, smaller Berliner format at an expense that raised eyebrows. But she also was involved at the start of the digital version of the Guardian.
During her time at EasyJet, passenger numbers have almost doubled.
She has also doubled the number of female applicants to become pilots under the Amy Johnson initiative.
On a more prosaic level, she is known for mucking in with the flight crew when flying, helping to clear up the rubbish while getting to know the staff and their concerns.
Her interest in supporting the progress of women is underlined by her naming one of her three children after political activist Emmeline Pankhurst, who helped women win the right to vote.
She is one of just a handful of female chief executives in the top 100 companies.
She was named Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year in April 2008, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to women in business, was awarded a damehood in the New Year Honours list for services to the aviation industry and on top of that has been given France's highest merit, the Legion d'Honneur.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40628873
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Theresa May sacking ministers 'would get MPs' support' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A senior backbencher backs the PM as she tries to restore discipline to her cabinet after leaks.
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UK Politics
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The cabinet has been posing for an official photo
Theresa May would have the backing of Tory MPs if she sacked disloyal ministers for plotting and briefing, a senior backbencher says.
Charles Walker, vice-chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, told ministers to "stop chattering away".
Earlier the prime minister told her cabinet to show "strength and unity" as she attempted to stem recent leaks.
And Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon called for the military virtues of "loyalty, cohesion and discipline".
Speaking at an event organised by the Policy Exchange think tank on Tuesday evening, Sir Michael urged the cabinet to "concentrate their fire" on Jeremy Corbyn, whom he described as a "dangerous enemy in reach of Downing Street".
At the same time, he said his party needed to make traditional Conservative arguments for "lower taxation, for honest public financing, for wider opportunity, enterprise and ownership".
Mrs May's attempt to instil discipline follows a sustained outbreak of cabinet leaks and leadership gossip.
Number 10 said press briefings were a case of colleagues not taking their responsibilities seriously.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World at One, Mr Walker said that aside from a few "outliers", the party was united behind Mrs May - adding that those plotting were "not doing themselves any favours at all".
The defence secretary has issued a warning to his colleagues
"I do not care about people's personal ambitions," he said.
"If the prime minister has to start removing secretaries of state because they are not focusing on their job, they are focusing on their own personal ambitions, so be it.
"And she will have the support of the 1922 Committee."
According to her spokesman, the PM told cabinet at its regular Tuesday meeting: "There's a need to show strength and unity as a country and that starts around the cabinet table."
Tuesday's cabinet meeting was the last before the summer recess
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was among those at Downing Street
Trade Secretary Liam Fox, seen arriving with Environment Secretary Michael Gove, has said he "deplores" leaks
On Monday she told Tory MPs to end the "backbiting" over disagreements within the party.
At a summer reception for backbench Tory MPs on the House of Commons terrace on Monday, Mrs May told the party "no backbiting, no carping".
The choice, she said, is "me or Jeremy Corbyn... and nobody wants that".
Go away over the summer for a "proper break", she told MPs, and "come back ready for serious business".
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said media reports of splits and negative briefings did not reflect her experience in cabinet.
She said Mrs May was "absolutely right" to tell ministers that "what is said in the cabinet should stay in the cabinet".
The PM's plea to her party for unity comes after she lost her Commons majority when her snap general election gamble backfired.
Hostile briefings in the press over the weekend appeared to show a growing rift in the cabinet.
On Sunday, Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested colleagues opposed to his approach to Brexit had been briefing against him, following press reports of his cabinet remarks on public sector pay.
During Treasury questions in the Commons, Mr Hammond dismissed Lord Heseltine's claim - raised by Labour - that he was "enfeebled".
"I don't feel particularly enfeebled," he said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40639715
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South Yorkshire Police helicopter sex film trial begins - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Two police officers and two pilots deny filming people either naked or having sex in a garden.
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Sheffield & South Yorkshire
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A police helicopter was used to film two people "brazenly" having sex in their garden, a court heard.
The trial of two South Yorkshire Police officers and two pilots has begun at Sheffield Crown Court.
Matthew Lucas, 42, Lee Walls, 47, Matthew Loosemore, 45, and Malcolm Reeves, 64, all deny misconduct in a public office.
On other occasions people sunbathing naked and naturists at a campsite were filmed, the court was told.
Richard Wright QC prosecuting, said the crew used their "unique viewing position [and] powerful video camera" to film people "in a gross violation of privacy."
The court heard that five people were filmed sunbathing naked, as well as naturists on a campsite, and a couple having sex in their garden.
Former police officer Adrian Pogmore has previously admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office
Pilots Mr Reeves, of Farfield Avenue, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, and Mr Loosemore, of Briar Close, Auckley, Doncaster, denies one count.
Police officers Mr Walls, of Southlands Way, Aston, Sheffield, denies one count, and Mr Lucas, of Coppice Rise, Chapeltown, Sheffield, denies three counts.
A fifth man, former police officer Adrian Pogmore, 50, of Whiston in Rotherham, has admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office.
Footage showed a couple having sex on their patio in July 2008 and at one point the naked woman waves at the aircraft.
The court was told the crew used a powerful video camera to film people
Mr Wright said the couple shared Pogmore's interest in swinging and added it was "no coincidence" that the helicopter flew above "while they brazenly put on a show."
The accused deny the charges and, "in short", blame Pogmore for what happened, Mr Wright said.
A couple sitting naked by a caravan were also filmed unawares in July 2008, and the aircraft filmed a garden where a woman was sunbathing naked with her daughters in 2007.
The court heard the woman felt the filming was "a complete and utter violation of my privacy" and added: "It makes me feel sick to think that this took place."
In 2012 other naked sunbathers were filmed, the jury were told.
Statements from all except the couple filmed having sex on the patio - who did not make a statement to police - said their privacy had been invaded.
Mr Wright told the court it was a "gross waste of valuable resource".
The trial continues and is expected to last three weeks.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-40645716
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What has President Trump said about your country? - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Find out what President Trump has said about where you live since he became US president.
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US & Canada
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"It was a pleasure to have President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan with us this morning!" President Ghani and Mr Trump shake hands before a meeting in New York (AFP) Afghanistan has been near the top of every president's in-tray since US forces invaded the country in 2001.
On the campaign trail, Mr Trump repeatedly described the war in Afghanistan as a "disaster" and talked about pulling the remaining 10,000 or so US troops out of the country.
Back in 2013, he tweeted: "We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Let's get out!"
But in September 2017, he agreed to send 3,000 extra troops to bolster the US contingent there as the Taliban gained ground and security deteriorated.
Earlier that year, the US used the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat, targeting a tunnel complex near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan that was said to have been used by the so-called Islamic State group (IS).
Around 100 IS militants were thought to have been killed in the huge blast and President Trump praised his armed forces for "another successful job".
Afghan officials said the attack had been carried out in co-ordination with the government in Kabul, but former President Hamid Karzai said the country should not be used as a "testing ground for new and dangerous weapons".
Mr Trump and Mr Ghani met during the UN General Assembly in September 2017 to discuss their commitment to combating terrorism and improving economic development opportunities for American companies in Afghanistan.
"Great talk with my friend President Mauricio Macri of Argentina this week. He is doing such a good job for Argentina. I support his vision for transforming his country's economy" Argentina's President Mauricio Macri is a relative newcomer to politics, but his relationship with Donald Trump dates back decades to when he and his father were doing business in 1980s New York.
That relationship came under scrutiny when Mr Macri called the US president-elect in November 2016 to congratulate him on his victory.
According to reports in Argentina, Mr Trump asked the Argentine president for help with a stalled building project by one of his companies in Buenos Aires - a claim both men denied.
Since then the pair have spoken on the phone a few times, most recently in May, to discuss Argentina's role in the region and the political crisis in Venezuela. They've also met once at the White House.
"Spoke to PM @TurnbullMalcolm of Australia. He is committed to having a very fair and reciprocal military and trade relationship. Working very quickly on a security agreement so we don't have to impose steel or aluminum tariffs on our ally, the great nation of Australia!" President Trump shakes hands with Mr Turnbull in the Oval Office (Getty Images) Australia has been one of America's closest allies in recent years, with its troops fighting alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that relationship came under strain almost as soon as President Trump entered the White House.
Mr Trump was said to have had a "contentious" phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the end of January, reportedly over a deal agreed with President Obama that the US would take in about 1,200 refugees who had been denied entry into Australia.
A Washington Post report said Mr Trump abruptly ended the planned one-hour phone call after just 25 minutes having condemned the refugee agreement as "the worst deal ever". President Trump, who later publicly criticised the deal as "dumb", insisted the phone call had been "civil" while Mr Turnbull said it was a "very frank and forthright" conversation.
Last summer, footage leaked to the media showing Mr Turnbull poking fun at his US counterpart at a dinner for media but both US and Australia dismissed the incident as harmless fun.
The pair have held three meetings since Mr Trump came into office. During the latest, at the White House in February, Mr Trump said: "The relationship we have with Australia is a terrific relationship, and probably stronger now than ever before — maybe because of our relationship, our friendship."
President Trump and his wife Melania with Queen Mathilde and King Philippe (Getty Images) Events passed off without incident on Mr Trump's first visit to Belgium as president in May 2017, when he met King Philippe and Queen Mathilde before taking part in a Nato summit.
Mr Trump met Prime Minister Charles Michel at the summit, praising Belgian contributions the fight against the Islamic State group and noting the "critical importance of Belgian F-16s flying missions in Iraq and Syria".
He also took the chance to remind him of "the responsibility of all nations to share our common defense burden," and to meet Nato spending commitments - a topic Mr Trump raised again at the 2018 Nato summit in Brussels.
No one seems to have mentioned his campaign trail claims that Brussels was a "hellhole" or the geographically dubious "Belgium is a beautiful city".
President Trump and Mr Temer pose for photos before a dinner with Latin American leaders (AFP) Despite being South America's most influential country, Mr Trump has had little to say about Brazil so far.
The president has met Michel Temer, his Brazilian counterpart, just once - at a working dinner he hosted in New York with representatives from Colombia, Panama and Argentina to discuss the situation in Venezuela.
Vice-President Mike Pence did speak to Mr Temer on the phone in June this year but the topic of conversation was not Venezuela but rather "Brazil-US cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space".
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" - President Trump's widely reported comments made in private during a meeting on immigration, 11 Jan 2018 Mr Trump's reported remark came as lawmakers from both parties visited him to propose a bipartisan immigration deal. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, when Mr Trump asked, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Mr Trump tweeted that he had used "tough" language but not that specific term. Senator Durbin responded by saying Mr Trump used "racist" language.
As the African Union expressed "shock, dismay and outrage" and demanded an apology, Botswana summoned the US ambassador and asked the envoy "to clarify if Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country given that there are Botswana nationals residing in the US."
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, whose prime minister visited him a day earlier, or Asian nations.
"PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, 'US Tariffs were kind of insulting' and he 'will not be pushed around.' Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!" President Trump and Mr Trudeau pose for photos at a G7 summit (Reuters) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the first dozen or so world leaders to visit the White House under Donald Trump and could be pleased with how it went.
Not only did he deal with President Trump's fierce handshake, he also got a guarantee that the White House would only be making "tweaks" to its relationship with Canada.
Mr Trudeau, meanwhile, admitted that the two men had several differences, most notably on accepting refugees, but said the "last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves".
The relationship between the two leaders has become strained since that first meeting though and tensions came to the surface in June at a G7 summit in Quebec.
When Mr Trudeau said he would not be pushed around by the US at a post-summit press conference, Mr Trump responded by refusing to sign the joint G7 communique on trade before tweeting that the Canadian leader "acts hurt when called out". Mr Trump's top economic aide later said Mr Trudeau had "stabbed us in the back" while another adviser said there was "a special place in Hell for any leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy" with the president.
With Mr Trump set to continue his tough stance on trade, it's unclear how US-Canada relations will develop during the rest of his term.
Mr Trump spoke to President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative like himself, in January to congratulate him on his election win. President Trump emphasised his desire to work with President Pinera on "issues of mutual interest," according to a read-out of the call.
The two billionaire presidents - Mr Pinera's estimated personal fortune is about $2.7bn (£2bn) - also discussed their "desire to see democracy restored for the Venezuelan people."
"In the coming months and years ahead I look forward to building an even STRONGER relationship between the United States and China." Mr Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony in Beijing with President Xi (Getty Images) Donald Trump mentioned China so frequently on the campaign trail it turned into a meme. He repeatedly called the Communist state a "currency manipulator" and even accused them of "raping" the US.
Since the election, however, most of the interactions between the two leaders have focused on the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
Mr Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida with open arms and described the pair's relationship as "outstanding".
He decided against a round of golf with China's leader though - Mr Xi has shut down several golf courses since coming into power and banned the Communist Party's 88 million members from teeing off.
President Xi also welcomed Mr Trump to China in November last year for discussions on North Korea and international trade. The trip appeared to go well, with Mr Trump describing the Chinese leader as a "very special man".
The US president called on China to be tougher on North Korea until they agreed to come to the negotiating table - a stance that paid off when Mr Trump met Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June.
But away from North Korea, US-China relations have been more complicated with Mr Trump going on the offensive over trade and imposing tariffs on over $30bn of Chinese goods.
"When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win," he tweeted in March.
China responded by putting its own tariffs on US goods in place and at the moment, it's difficult to predict how the trade war will develop.
"A great honor to welcome President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia to the White House today!" President Trump and Mr Santos hold a joint news conference at the White House (Getty Images) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos visited the White House in May last year after reports of a secret meeting between Mr Trump and two former Colombian presidents.
The White House brushed off the claims, saying the two former Colombian leaders were invited to the president's Mar-a-Lago Club by one of its members and the leaders shared a handshake.
The pair also discussed the Colombian government's peace process with the Farc rebel group, which gave up its weapons in June 2017.
Mr Trump also met President Santos in New York in September, along with other South American leaders, to discuss the Venezuela crisis.
"To the Cuban government, I say: Put an end to the abuse of dissidents. Release the political prisoners. Stop jailing innocent people." Mr Trump signs into effect some policy changes towards Cuba at an event in Miami (Getty Images) Mr Trump said he was "cancelling" President Barack Obama's deal to thaw relations with Cuba, saying he was re-imposing certain travel and trade restrictions eased by his predecessor.
But the president's approach has not scrapped all of the Obama-era policy regarding the island nation.
Both countries will keep their embassies open in each other's capitals, commercial flights will continue and US tourists can still return home with Cuban goods.
During a speech in Miami's Little Havana neighbourhood, where Mr Trump signed a directive outlining his policy, he lambasted the deal with the "brutal" Castro government as "terrible" and "misguided".
He said the US would not lift sanctions on Cuba until "all political prisoners are freed" and vowed to "help the Cuban people themselves form businesses and pursue much better lives".
"This administration should be judged by its actions, and not single tweets, because it's tough to get all the nuance out in 140 characters" Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was one of the first world leaders to meet Donald Trump at the White House.
Their talks at the end of March 2017 focused on the future of the Nato alliance and President Trump "urged" the Danish leader to commit to the target of spending 2% of his country's GDP on defence.
The meeting appeared to go well, with Mr Rasmussen saying afterwards that he was "more positive" about Denmark's relationship with the US than when he "evaluated the situation right after the [US] election."
"I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President Sisi" Mr Trump praised Egypt's leader after talks at the White House (Getty Images) Donald Trump first met Abdul Fattah al-Sisi - a "fantastic guy" - in September 2016 and when he won the election two months later, Mr Sisi was reportedly the first foreign leader to call him.
Their close relationship has continued since Mr Trump's inauguration and President Sisi visited the White House at the start of April for the first time since he led a military coup in Egypt in 2013.
Human rights groups, however, have criticised the US president for meeting a man who led a violent crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood group which left more than 1,000 people dead.
But officials say Mr Trump is seeking to "reboot" relations between the two countries because he sees a stable Egypt as an invaluable ally in the battle against the so-called Islamic State group.
Mr Sisi, who wants to ensure Egypt continues to receive US military aid worth about $1.3bn a year, has praised President Trump as someone who has a "deep and great understanding" of the Middle East.
The two met again during Mr Trump's first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, where the US president said he hoped to visit Cairo soon. At a summit in Riyadh, Mr Trump said Mr Sisi had "done a tremendous job under trying circumstance".
An image of Mr Trump, Mr Sisi and Saudi King Salman placing their hands on a glowing orb at the meeting also set social media abuzz.
The pair also held another meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in November last year.
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" - President Trump's widely reported comments made in private during a meeting on immigration, 11 Jan 2018 Mr Trump's reported remark came as lawmakers from both parties visited him to propose a bipartisan immigration deal. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, when Mr Trump asked, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Mr Trump tweeted that he had used "tough" language but not that specific term. Senator Durbin responded by saying Mr Trump used "racist" language and that the president did call some African nations "shitholes".
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, whose prime minister visited him a day earlier, or Asian nations.
Mr Trump's administration announced in January 2018 that it would cancel permits that allow nearly 200,000 people from El Salvador to live and work in the US.
They were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after earthquakes rocked the Central American country in 2001.
Salvadoreans now have until 9 September 2019 to leave or face deportation, unless they find a legal way to stay.
Mr Trump met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto ahead of his meeting with Mr Putin Mr Trump met the president before his face-to-face meeting in Helsinki with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on 16 July.
"Just landed from Paris, France. It was an incredible visit with President @EmmanuelMacron. A lot discussed and accomplished in two days!" Mr Trump and Mr Macron shake hands before a meeting in Canada (AFP) President Trump accepted an invitation to attend 2017's Bastille Day celebrations in France after a somewhat rocky start with the French president .
Before Emmanuel Macron was elected in May 2017, Mr Trump suggested in a tweet that a deadly attack on a police bus in Paris would "have a big effect" on the election.
Many thought Mr Trump was referring to National Front leader Marie Le Pen, the anti-immigrant and anti-globalisation candidate who lost to Mr Macron. But Mr Trump later refused to comment on the election and congratulated Mr Macron in a tweet.
Mr Macron described his white-knuckled handshake with Mr Trump at their first meeting in May last year in Brussels as "not innocent".
But since then their relationship has warmed, with Mr Trump describing the Bastille Day parade as "one of the greatest parades I've ever seen" and saying the US relationship with France was "stronger than ever".
President Macron visited the White House in April this year and was also given the honour of making an address to the US Congress. His speech was described as a "thinly veiled rebuke" to President Trump by the BBC's North America editor, Jon Sopel.
But despite that and the various differences the two men have on policy, they appear to get on well and Mr Trump has spoken to President Macron on the phone more than any other world leader.
"Honored to welcome Georgia Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili to the @WhiteHouse today with @VP Mike Pence." President Trump has yet to formally meet with or call the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, though he did pose for a photo and tweeted a welcome message when the leader visited Washington and met with Vice-President Mike Pence.
During his White House visit, the Trump Administration thanked Mr Kvirikashvili for Georgia's sacrifices fighting with NATO forces in Afghanistan and also vowed to explore better trade relations between the two countries.
"I have a great relationship with Angela Merkel of Germany, but the Fake News Media only shows the bad photos (implying anger) of negotiating an agreement - where I am asking for things that no other American President would ask for!" Chancellor Merkel and Mr Trump exchange views at a G7 meeting in Canada (Reuters) When Donald Trump won the US election he did so with the isolationist slogan of "America First", leading many to declare German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the new leader of the free world.
Her pivotal role in global politics could be seen clearly on the White House call sheet during Mr Trump's first few months in office - she was one of the world leaders he spoke to most frequently and she also paid the new president a visit in March 2017.
President Trump's tone towards Mrs Merkel has changed significantly since he took office. In 2015, he took to Twitter to describe her as the "person who is ruining Germany" after Time magazine picked her as their person of the year.
The German leader clearly noticed Mr Trump's disparaging comments, saying at their joint press conference that she's "always said it's much, much better to talk to one another and not about one another".
The meeting appeared amicable enough - albeit with one eye-catching moment of awkwardness - but some reports suggested Mrs Merkel was unimpressed with Mr Trump's command of policy details.
The pair have met several times and spoken on the phone regularly since that first meeting, but there has been a more adversarial tone to Mr Trump's comments on Germany recently.
On immigration, Mr Trump tweeted: "The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition."
On Nato and trade, he tweeted: "Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich Nato Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The U.S. pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and loses Big on Trade!"
At the latest Nato summit in July, Mr Trump accused Germany of being "totally controlled by Russia" because it imports "so much of its energy" from the country and has a new pipeline planned. Mrs Merkel responded by saying Germany "can make our own policies and make our own decisions".
While Mr Trump was right that Germany imports most of its gas from Russia, gas makes up less than 20% of its overall energy mix, according to BBC Reality Check.
The visit of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the White House in October could have been awkward, after he openly criticized Mr Trump during the campaign and even called him "evil".
But the two held a cordial joint press conference and Trump joked about the Greek leader's past remarks: "I wish I knew before my speech".
He added: "The American people stand with the Greek people as they recover from the economic crisis that recently afflicted their nation."
The Greek leader said the two had a productive exchange and he shared common values with the US.
"Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out." - President Trump's widely reported comments made in private during a meeting on immigration, 11 Jan 2018 Mr Trump's reported remark came as lawmakers from both parties visited him to propose a bipartisan immigration deal. He tweeted that he had "never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said 'take them out.'"
Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, when Mr Trump reportedly asked, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Mr Trump tweeted that he had used "tough" language but not that specific term. Senator Durbin responded by saying Mr Trump used "racist" language.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, whose prime minister visited him a day earlier, or Asian nations.
In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, granted to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, would end in July 2019.
Haiti's US Ambassador Paul Altidor told the BBC the idea that "we're simply immigrants who come here to take advantage of the US" is wrong.
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" - President Trump's widely reported comments made in private during a meeting on immigration, 11 Jan 2018 Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, when Mr Trump asked "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Mr Trump tweeted that he had used "tough" language but not that specific term. Senator Durbin said Mr Trump used "racist" language and that the president did call some African nations "shitholes".
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, whose prime minister visited him a day earlier, or Asian nations.
In June of this year, the Trump administration announced that it was ending the temporary protection status that had granted nearly 60,000 Hondurans the right to live in the US, meaning they could be forced to leave the the country by 5 January 2020.
Hondurans were granted this status after Hurricane Mitch hit the Central American country in 1998, but the Department of Homeland Security said conditions in the country had "notably improved" since the disaster.
The move came a couple of months after Mr Trump has complained that a "caravan" of migrants from Honduras were making their way towards the US, tweeting: "Honduras, Mexico and many other countries that the US is very generous to, sends many of their people to our country through our WEAK IMMIGRATION POLICIES. Caravans are heading here. Must pass tough laws and build the WALL."
Mr Modi visited the White House in June last year (Getty Images) President Trump has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice, once at the White House and once at the Association of South East Nations summit in the Philippines last November.
At the White House, the two leaders shared a warm embrace in front of reporters before vowing to fight terrorism together and praising US-India relations.
"The relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, never been better," said Mr Trump, who describes himself and Mr Modi as "world leaders in social media".
President Trump has yet to visit India himself, but he dispatched his daughter, Ivanka, there last November for what was described by local media as a "royal visit".
She was given the red-carpet treatment in Hyderabad, one of India's tech hubs, with local authorities reported to have removed beggars from the streets before her arrival as well as rushing through repairs to roads.
"Donald Trump said 'my friends are many in Indonesia and I have businesses in Indonesia.' He said this" Donald Trump's election win was the top story in Indonesia in November 2016 (Getty Images) Mr Trump has held one meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo so far, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017.
The two leaders also attended the Riyadh Summit in Saudi Arabia in May 2017, but they did not have a one-on-one meeting.
Mr Widodo didn't get an invitation to Mr Trump's inauguration, but Indonesian businessman Hary Tanoesoedibjo reportedly did and the president's relationship with him has raised eyebrows in the US.
Mr Tanoesoedibjo is overseeing the development of a Trump Hotel in West Java and another resort in Bali and recently told an Indonesian magazine that he has "close access" to the US president.
"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!" While Donald Trump hasn't spoken to Iran's leader since coming to power, he has spent a lot of his time talking about the country.
One of his administration's first moves was to impose new sanctions against the country in response to a ballistic missile test, which Tehran said had not violated a UN resolution on its nuclear activities.
The US confirmed that Tehran was continuing to comply with the UN agreement but Mr Trump labelled it a "terrible deal" and ordered a review into it nonetheless.
During a trip to Israel in 2017, Mr Trump said Iran "must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon - never, ever - and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias."
He later claimed in a tweet that Iran was working with North Korea to develop nuclear weapons.
Then in May this year, President Trump finally decided to pull out of the UN agreement with Iran, saying: "It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of this deal."
Going against advice from European allies, he said he would reimpose economic sanctions that were waived when the deal was signed in 2015.
Continuing his hardline stance, in June the US threatened to enforce sanctions on countries that have not stopped importing Iranian oil by November 2018.
"I want to thank you very much for being here, great respect for you. I know you're working very hard, [my staff] have all been telling me that you're doing a job - it's not an easy job, it's a very tough job" - President Trump to Prime Minister Abadi at the White House, 20 Mar 2017 President Trump welcomed Prime Minister Abadi to the White House in March last year (Getty Images) Donald Trump made defeating the so-called Islamic State group (IS) the focus of much of his campaign, so Iraq is central to his foreign policy objectives.
However, his relationship with Iraq's leaders got off to a bumpy start when he called for a ban on the travel of people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq.
The ban was eventually blocked by US judges, and when the Trump administration tried to implement a similar order a few weeks later, Iraq was left off the list - and judges blocked it again anyway.
That omission came after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke to President Trump over the phone on 10 February amid a large-scale offensive by his army to retake the city of Mosul from IS fighters.
Mr Abadi travelled to the US a few weeks later for a meeting at the White House, when President Trump told reporters: "Our main thrust is we have to get rid of [IS]. We're going to get rid of [IS]. It will happen. It's happening right now."
In July last year, Mr Abadi formally declared victory over IS in Mosul and Mr Trump congratulated his Iraqi counterpart, saying the city had been "liberated from its long nightmare" under the rule of IS.
"It was my honor to welcome Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland to the @WhiteHouse!" The Trump administration's plans to toughen America's immigration laws have been focused on Mexico and the Middle East, but they could also affect thousands of unregistered Irish immigrants in the US.
Former Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny raised this issue with President Trump when he visited the White House in March last year, saying there were "millions out there who want to... make America great."
The taoiseach traditionally presents the new US president with a bowl of shamrocks and Mr Kenny did so while making his views on President Trump's immigration policies clear.
Mr Trump avoided mentioning immigration during the pair's joint remarks, but he did tell reporters: "We love Ireland and we love the people of Ireland."
Mr Trump met the new taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, at the White House's St Patrick's Day celebrations in March, saying the two had "become friends — fast friends — over a short period of time."
Mr Varadkar was confirmed as Ireland's youngest and first openly gay leader in June 2017.
After the meeting at the White House, Mr Varadkar said there was "enthusiasm from the administration to work on a solution" for the thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants that are in the US.
Mr Trump has business interests in Ireland in the form of a golf course and resort in Doonbeg, County Clare.
"I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I am also directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem…" Mike Pence watches as Mr Trump signs his Jerusalem policy into effect (EPA) President Trump looked set to follow a fairly traditional path in his relationship with America's closest ally, Israel.
He was quick to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House and during a visit to Tel Aviv in May 2017, he said he came to "reaffirm the unbreakable bond" between the US and Israel and that there was a "rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace" to the region.
At the UN General Assembly in September, Mr Trump stressed America's commitment to Israel's security and fair treatment at the United Nations. The two leaders also discussed their continuing efforts to achieve an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
In August, Mr Trump tweeted that "Peace in the Middle East would be a truly great legacy for ALL people!"
But by December he had chosen a new path, recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, to the amazement of much of the international community.
The UN General Assembly backed a resolution calling on the US to withdraw the decision, leading to Trump threatening to cut financial aid to those who backed the resolution.
"Just met the new Prime Minister of Italy, @GiuseppeConteIT, a really great guy. He will be honored in Washington, at the @WhiteHouse, shortly. He will do a great job - the people of Italy got it right!" In a sign of how fast politics moves in the country, President Trump has already met two Italian prime ministers.
The first, Paolo Gentiloni, was welcomed to the White House in April last year and his relationship with Mr Trump appeared amicable enough.
But the president was clearly more excited when he met Giuseppe Conte, the leader of a populist coalition who became Italy's 58th prime minister in June.
After the brief meeting at the G7 summit in Canada, during which Mr Conte backed Mr Trump's call for Russia to be readmitted to the group, the US president called Mr Conte a "great guy" and announced he would be visiting the White House in July.
"Even Usain Bolt from Jamaica, one of the greatest runners and athletes of all time, showed RESPECT for our National Anthem!" Amid the NFL national anthem controversy, President Trump singled out Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt as an example for other sportspeople to follow.
He tweeted: "Even Usain Bolt from Jamaica, one of the greatest runners and athletes of all time, showed RESPECT for our National Anthem!"
Mr Trump had criticised NFL players who kneel during the national anthem as a protest, to highlight the treatment of black Americans.
"My visit to Japan and friendship with PM Abe will yield many benefits, for our great Country. Massive military & energy orders happening+++!" Shinzo Abe was invited out for golf by President Trump while visiting Florida (AFP) Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has developed a strong relationship with President Trump, with the pair having met several times both in the US and in Japan.
Mr Abe has visited Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida twice so far, playing golf with the president on both occasions.
The pair also found time for a round of golf when President Trump visited Japan in November last year - although Mr Abe may want to forget about that after he took a tumble into a bunker on the course.
Mr Trump has described US-Japan relations as a "very crucial alliance" and it has proved to be just that as the president has embarked on negotiations with neighbouring North Korea.
Mr Abe will be hoping that his relationship with the president will keep Japan at the front of his mind as he pursues a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis.
Away from North Korea, Mr Trump has also been talking to Mr Abe about trade between the two countries but the tone appears more amicable than it is with others - for now.
In June, he tweeted: "PM Abe and I are also working to improve the trading relationship between the US and Japan, something we have to do. The US seeks a bilateral deal with Japan that is based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity."
"I am deeply committed to preserving our strong relationship & to strengthening America's long-standing support for Jordan" King Abdullah has met with Donald Trump several times since he became president (Getty Images) Jordan's King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to meet President Trump and has had three further meetings since.
The first occasion came in February on the sidelines of the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event held in Washington DC, and appeared to be little more than a brief conversation.
King Abdullah was invited back to the capital in April last year for an official meeting with President Trump at the White House and he was back in Washington DC in June this year as well.
Jordan is a key member of the US-led coalition in the fight against the so-called Islamic State group (IS) in Iraq and Syria and Mr Trump has praised the king and his armed forces for their help.
"Jordanian service members have made tremendous sacrifices in this battle against the enemies of civilisation, and I want to thank all of them for their, really, just incredible courage," Mr Trump said.
US relations with Kenya are likely to be very different under Donald Trump to how they were under Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan.
Mr Trump's decision to speak to the leaders of three African nations - Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa - before speaking to Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta was taken as a snub by some in the country.
The two leaders discussed security in the region and President Trump praised Kenya's "significant contributions" to the African Union force fighting against the al-Shabaab group in neighbouring Somalia.
The US in May suspended $21m of funding to Kenya's ministry of health over corruption allegations and weak account procedures, according to the state department. Kenya has said it would strengthen its accounting.
President Trump met the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, during his May visit to Saudi Arabia.
During his visit, he called the leader a "special person" and said Kuwait's purchasing of "tremendous amounts of our military equipment" means "jobs, jobs, jobs" for Americans.
The emir then visited the White House in September 2017 and held a joint press conference, during which Mr Trump claimed the relationship between the US and Kuwait "has never been stronger - never, ever".
President Trump also referenced the "tremendous investments" that Kuwait has made in the US, especially in plane sales. Mr Trump lamented to New York and New Jersey politicians after the press conference that his plane was not as big as the emir's, according to Politico.
"We would be so much better off if Gaddafi would be in charge right now" Mr Trump cited Libya as an example of the failure of Western military intervention regularly on his way to winning the US election, but the record shows he backed it at the time.
The country has been beset by chaos since Nato-backed forces helped rebel fighters overthrow long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011. Fighters aligned to the so-called Islamic State group (IS) have threatened to cause further chaos in recent years.
President Trump held a meeting with Libya's prime minister, Fayez Al-Sarraj, at the White House in December last year during which they discussed political reconciliation in the country and the threat from IS.
But the US leader is keen to take a less engaged approach to the country, telling reporters he did not "see a role" there for the US.
"With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other." Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric towards Mexico during the US election campaign turned him into a pantomime villain south of the border (Getty Images) No Donald Trump rally during the presidential campaign was complete without the crowd chanting "Build the wall, build the wall!"
It was the policy that defined Mr Trump's insurgent run for office, so it was little surprise that who would pay for the wall caused a diplomatic dispute just days into his presidency.
Mr Trump, who has said repeatedly that Mexico will pay it, officially announced his intention to build the wall in an executive order signed on 25 January 2017.
Two days later, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto used a televised address to tell Mr Trump: "I've said time and again: Mexico won't pay for any wall."
More than a year later, Mr Trump is still tweeting about it: "Our Southern Border is under siege. Congress must act now to change our weak and ineffective immigration laws. Must build a Wall."
Construction on the wall is yet to start because Mr Trump needs Congress to pass the funding for it, but there is evidence that law enforcement agencies on the border have been given more power.
Mr Pena Nieto, who has now been replaced, met Mr Trump once on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany last July. He was due to visit the White House but twice cancelled planned trips because of disagreements with the US president.
The most recent one came in February when Mr Trump is said to have lost his temper during a phone call with Mr Pena Nieto when he refused to change his position on the wall.
Mr Trump appears to have changed tack with Mexico's new leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. They spoke for the first time at the beginning of July and, according to Mr López Obrador, the wall was not brought up by Mr Trump.
How long the cordial tone lasts is unclear, but Mr Trump is sending a delegation to meet the new leader, including his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
Jacinda Ardern and Donald Trump at the APEC summit (Getty Images) Did Mr Trump mistake New Zealand's prime minister for the wife of Canadian leader Justin Trudeau at November's APEC meeting in Vietnam?
PM Jacinda Ardern denied Mr Trump had made that error, telling TVNZ that "Someone observed that they thought that it happened, but in all my interactions, certainly President Trump didn't seem to have confused me when I interacted with him. But someone else observed this."
Mr Trump certainly seems to have recognised her when he patted her on the shoulder at a gala dinner during the summit and declared "This lady caused a lot of upset in her country".
"I said, 'You know', laughing, 'no-one marched when I was elected'," she told the website newsroom.co.nz.
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" - President Trump's widely reported comments made in private during a meeting on immigration, 11 Jan 2018 Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, when Mr Trump asked "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Mr Trump tweeted that he had used "tough" language but not that specific term. Senator Durbin said Mr Trump used "racist" language and that the president did call some African nations "shitholes".
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, whose prime minister visited him a day earlier, or Asian nations.
Mr Trump's administration announced in November 2017 that it would remove the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nicaragua, introduced in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America.
Thousands of Nicaraguans living in the US will now have until 5 January 2019 to seek "an alternative lawful immigration status" or leave.
"President Trump assured the Nigerian president of US readiness to cut a new deal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism" - A statement from the Nigerian presidency after a phone call with President Trump, 13 Feb 2017 President Trump caused some controversy when he first spoke to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari over the phone in February last year.
During the call, Mr Trump signalled his intention to renew a deal to sell military aircraft put on hold by the Obama administration after Nigerian forces mistakenly bombed a refugee camp in the country's north-east, killing more than 100 people.
The deal needs to be approved by the US Congress, but if it goes ahead it will raise questions over how important human rights concerns are to President Trump when it comes to trade.
Meeting President Buhari for the first time at the White House in April, Mr Trump said the pair were working on a "very big trade deal" that included "helicopters and the like".
"Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!" Kim Jong-un shakes hands with President Trump during their historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore (Getty Images) President Trump made history in June when he became the first sitting US president to meet with a North Korean leader.
It was an event few could have imagined just a few months after Mr Trump had threatened to unleash "fire and fury" against North Korea if it endangered the US.
The heated rhetoric from Mr Trump was in response to North Korea's repeated testing of long-range missiles in its pursuit to establish itself as a nuclear power. North Korea responded by vowing to launch a "nuclear pre-emptive strike" if it felt at risk.
President Trump and Kim Jong-un then traded insults for a few months as military conflict began to look inevitable. But then all of a sudden, the tone changed.
In January, Mr Trump signalled that he would be willing to sit down and talk with Mr Kim and a couple of months later the two sides said they had agreed to a meeting.
"Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!" Mr Trump tweeted in March.
Although the mooted summit was briefly cancelled by Mr Trump, it did eventually happen in Singapore in June, with the US president describing it as a "tremendous success".
The pair signed an agreement that while historic, was a little short on details. It commits North Korea to work towards "the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" and promises "new relations" between Washington and Pyongyang.
In a sign of possible trouble ahead though, North Korea accused the US of using "gangster-like" tactics to push it towards nuclear disarmament after a fresh round of high-level talks in July.
But this was followed by a letter sent to Mr Trump by Mr Kim, which the US president tweeted. Part of it read: "I firmly believe that the strong will, sincere efforts and unique approach of myself and Your Excellency Mr President aimed at opening up a new future between the DPRK and the US will surely come to fruition."
When Prime Minister Solberg met Mr Trump in Washington he may have been surprised to be told Norway had bought a fighter jet only available in Call of Duty, a computer game.
A day later Norway was reportedly mentioned by Mr Trump as an example of the sort of country the US should be taking migrants from in a meeting with lawmakers from both parties to propose a bipartisan immigration deal.
Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had just been discussing US temporary residency permits granted to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump told the lawmakers the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, or Asian nations.
"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Tensions between the US and its historical ally have been strained for years, but they reached a new low in January 2018, when Mr Trump threatened to withdraw US assistance. Previously he had put Pakistan on notice as he unveiled his new Afghan strategy in August 2017.
"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting. It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order and peace."
But he had warmer words when Islamabad helped secure the release of an American-Canadian couple held hostage in the country for five years.
But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?" The tone has changed between Mr Trump and President Abbas since they met in New York last September (Getty Images) Mr Trump first met President Mahmoud Abbas during the Palestinian Authority leader's White House visit at the beginning of May 2017.
He said there was a "very good chance" of a Middle East peace deal, telling Mr Abbas during a joint news conference: "We will get this done".
During a visit to Bethlehem to meet Mr Abbas again in May last year, Mr Trump said he would "do everything" to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace.
In September, Mr Trump and Mr Abbas met in New York during the UN General Assembly. Mr Trump noted his personal commitment to "improving the economic opportunities available to the Palestinian people".
But Mr Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital led to a sharp deterioration in relations as did his threats to withdraw financial support.
The move led to a draft UN Security Council resolution being put forward by Egypt, which called on all states to "comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem".
The US vetoed the resolution, but in a sign of its isolation on the issue, the four other permanent members of the Security Council - China, France, Russia and the UK - and 10 non-permanent members voted in favour of it.
President Trump met President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama in June, discussing illegal immigration, organised crime and drug gangs.
But perhaps the strangest part of the visit was Mr Trump's focus on the Panama Canal, which was opened by the US in 1914.
"The Panama Canal is doing quite well," he said at the White House meeting. "I think we did a good job building it."
Mr Trump also praised US-Panama relations, saying "things are going well" and "the relationship has been very strong".
During a working dinner in New York with leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Panama, the group reaffirmed the principles of the Lima Declaration from August 2017 and their commitment to the priority of restoring democracy to Venezuela.
Mr Varela met the US president again in September last year, at a working dinner in New York with South American leaders to discuss the "importance of working together to help restore democracy to Venezuela".
"We're interested in the free movement of people. I emphasised that to President Trump and we prefer bridges to walls" - President Kuczynski after a meeting at the White House, 24 Feb 2017 Mr Trump met with President Kuczynski in the Oval Office in February 2017 (AFP) Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has already had a substantial amount of contact with President Trump. The two men have spoken several times over the phone and Mr Kuczynski has also visited the White House.
As well as discussing regional security and trade between the two countries, the Peruvian president is particularly interested in persuading the US to deport its fugitive ex-leader Alejandro Toledo.
Mr Toledo, who is believed to be in San Francisco, is accused of taking $20m (£16m) in bribes. He denies that and says he is the victim of a witch-hunt. Mr Kuczynski is understood to have asked Mr Trump to "evaluate" the situation.
In March, Mr Kuczynski spoke to Mr Trump about tackling the economic and political crisis in Venezuela.
"He was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem... He understood the way we are handling it and he said there is nothing wrong with protecting your country." President Duterte after an April phone call with Mr Trump President Duterte toasts Mr Trump during his visit to the Philippines (AFP) President Trump's has only had a couple of interactions with President Rodrigo Duterte, but they have caused much controversy in the US.
Mr Trump first spoke to Mr Duterte over the phone in April 2017, in what was a "very friendly conversation" about North Korea and "the fact that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world."
Mr Duterte has been widely criticised for human rights violations in the Philippines, after he authorised police and vigilantes to maim and kill drug users on the streets of Manila.
His relationship with the US had been rocky in the past, in part because former President Barack Obama criticised the extrajudicial executions. Mr Obama cancelled a trip to the Philippines in September 2016 after Mr Duterte called him a "son of a whore".
Mr Trump, however, has had a warmer relationship with his Philippine counterpart so far.
After meeting Mr Duterte during a visit to the Philippines in November 2017, Mr Trump hailed their "great relationship" and their joint statement pledged to "further deepen the extensive United States-Philippine economic relationship".
Mr Trump was understood to have invited Mr Duterte to the White House but that meeting has yet to take place.
Mr Trump gave a speech in front of the Warsaw Uprising monument (Getty Images) Donald Trump is a big fan of Poland and its people.
During a visit there in July last year, he described Poland as an example of a country ready to defend Western freedoms, warning against the threats of "terrorism and extremism".
Mr Trump spoke of "the triumph of the Polish spirit over centuries of hardship" as an inspiration "for a future in which good conquers evil, and peace achieves victor over war" during his speech in Warsaw.
He also thanked the country for buying Patriot missile defence systems from the US in a multi-billion dollar contract as well as its investments in the Nato alliance.
"America loves Poland, and America loves the Polish people," he declared.
The first phone call with the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, came in February 2017 amid an attempted travel ban by Mr Trump that affected several Middle Eastern countries, but not Qatar itself.
The two men are said to have discussed the fight against the so-called Islamic State group, with Qatar being a prominent member of the US-led coalition.
Earlier this year, several Gulf countries cut travel and embassy links with Qatar over its alleged support for militants. Qatar strongly denies supporting radical Islamism.
Mr Trump took initial credit for applying pressure on Qatar in the longstanding Arab-world rift, saying it could mark "the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism".
In June last year, he again accused Qatar of funding terrorism, tweeting:"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!"
But Washington would stand to benefit most from a resolution with Qatar as the US ally is home to the largest American military facility in the Middle East. Mr Trump's strategy on Qatar lies in encouraging Qatar's neighbours to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, as well as implementing the United States-Qatar bilateral memorandum of understanding on counterterrorism cooperation.
"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!" President Trump chats with Mr Putin at the APEC summit in Vietnam (AFP) No US relationship with a country has been more scrutinised than Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
At a summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Mr Trump defended Russia over claims of interference in the 2016 US election.
Speaking with the Mr Putin at his side, Mr Trump was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to allegations of meddling in the election.
"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be," he replied.
But a day later, Mr Trump said he had misspoke.
"The sentence should have been: 'I don't see any reason why I wouldn't' or 'why it wouldn't be Russia'. Sort of a double negative," he explained to reporters when he arrived back in the US.
The US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of being behind the hacking of the Democratic Party's email server. A dossier has also emerged containing unsubstantiated claims about Mr Trump's ties to Russia.
A special counsel was set up in May 2017 to investigate whether there was any collusion between Russia and Mr Trump's campaign and whether the president unlawfully tried to obstruct the inquiry after the election.
President Trump has dismissed the entire Russia scandal as "fake news" and accused Democrats of launching a political witch-hunt against him because they are angry he defeated Hillary Clinton.
Mr Trump has tweeted more and more about Russia and the investigation in recent months - a sign that the allegations have got under his skin.
Since becoming president in January 2017, he has sought to improve relations with Russia.
In March, he tweeted: "I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing…"
In June, he alarmed allies by saying Russia should be readmitted to the G7 group of industrialised nations. Russia was suspended from what was then the G8 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing... Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!" Saudi Arabia has had a close relationship with the US for decades and that appears to be continuing under President Trump.
Mr Trump made his first foreign trip as president to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, where the White House said it signed deals worth more than $350bn (£270bn) with Saudi Arabia.
Mr Trump appeared a little out of his comfort zone when he took part in a ceremonial sword dance during the trip.
Relations had soured somewhat under President Obama after his administration's nuclear deal with Iran, but Mr Trump appeared to restore the partnership after he sided with Saudi Arabia in a diplomatic standoff with Qatar.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations cut off ties with Qatar over allegations that it funds terror groups. But Mr Trump told King Salman that it was "important that the Gulf be united for peace and security in the region".
When Saudi Arabia's leaders launched a purge of allegedly corrupt officials last November, Mr Trump tweeted: "I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing... Some of those they are harshly treating have been "milking" their country for years!"
More recently, Mr Trump has called on the king to increase the kingdom's oil production, complaining that the price of a barrel of oil had risen too high.
President Trump has met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong three times so far, the most recent time being during his visit to the country in June.
Last year, Mr Trump said of Singapore: "We're very close, the relationship is very close, and we expect to do some excellent things together in many ways. And we have a very big relationship now. It will probably get much bigger."
After Mr Trump's first meeting with Mr Lee, his social media team posted a photo of the two leaders on Instagram and mistakenly identified the prime minister as Indonesian President Joko Widodo, but later corrected the blunder.
Singapore and the US have had a friendly relationship in the past, though some Singapore officials have criticized the rising sentiment of economic protectionism in America.
Mr Lee was welcomed to the White House in October last year during a visit in which Singapore Airlines signed a deal with Boeing for new aircraft worth more than $13.8 billion.
Reacting to the deal, Mr Trump said: "I want to thank the Singaporean people for their faith in the American engineering and American workers."
While President Trump has not spoken to Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, he has tried to ban Somalis from entering the US.
The proposed ban has been partly reinstated by the Supreme Court after it was twice by rejected judges in the US, allowing Mr Trump to bar visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.
He has described the affected nations as "terror-prone countries".
In May last year, a member of the US military was killed in Somalia, the first confirmed combat death there since the 1993 disastrous Black Hawk Down incident. There was another fatality in June this year.
The deaths came after the US announced in April 2017 that it was sending dozens of troops to Somalia to train forces fighting Islamist group al-Shabab.
"I really like Nelson Mandela but South Africa is a crime ridden mess that is just waiting to explode-not a good situation for the people!" Donald Trump the businessman didn't have much positive to say about South Africa, tweeting that the country was a "mess".
He took a slightly different approach as president though, telling President Jacob Zuma that he hopes to "expand cooperation and trade" between the two countries.
The two leaders spoken once on the phone, mainly to discuss new opportunities to boost trade. According to the President Zuma's government, there are 600 US companies operating in South Africa.
Mr Zuma also met President Trump once, before he was forced to resign in February. Mr Trump held a working lunch for African leaders, including Mr Zuma, in New York in September. During the meeting, Mr Trump reportedly said: "Africa has tremendous business potential. I have so many friends going to your countries, trying to get rich."
South Africa's new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is yet to meet Mr Trump.
"With all of the failed 'experts' weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasn't firm, strong and willing to commit our total 'might' against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing!" Mr Trump walks alongside President Moon at a welcoming ceremony for him in Seoul (Getty Images) President Trump's tough rhetoric towards North Korea had many in the South feeling worried for much of 2017. But there is hope that tensions on the peninsular have been diffused since the US president brought Kim Jong-un to the negotiating table.
After President Moon Jae-in's historic meeting with Mr Kim in April, Mr Trump tweeted: "After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!"
Mr Moon, for his part, said Mr Trump "deserves big credit" for getting North Korea to agree to talks.
Away from the issue of North Korea, there have been lots of talks on trade between the two countries as well.
Donald Trump had long wanted to renegotiate the "horrible" free trade agreement the US struck with South Korea in 2012, claiming it had "destroyed" the US.
In March, the two sides reached an agreement on changes to that deal, allowing US carmakers greater access to the South Korean market while protecting Seoul from some of the tariffs that the US introduced on steel.
South Korea is a major US trade partner, with the US exchanging about $144.6bn (£112bn) in goods and services with the country last year.
Mr Trump visited the country in November last year and his daughter, Ivanka, also made the trip to South Korea for the Winter Olympics there in February.
President Trump with King Felipe outside the Oval Office (Getty Images) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy held one face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump before he was ousted by a vote of no confidence in June this year.
At the White House meeting, Mr Trump said he thought Spain was "a great country" and that he hoped it would remain "united" despite a push from people in the Catalonia region for independence.
Mr Trump was also ridiculed for referring to Mr Rajoy as "president" twice during their joint press conference. But it turns out Mr Trump may not have made an error as Mr Rajoy's official title in Spain is "president of the government" despite the role being known internationally as prime minister.
In June, Mr Trump and his wife Melania welcomed Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the White House to celebrate "over 300 years of historic and cultural ties between our two great countries".
Pedro Sánchez, Spain's new prime minister, met Donald Trump for the first time at the Nato summit in Brussels in July, but there was no one-on-one meeting this time.
Sudan is another of the predominantly Muslim countries that Donald Trump has included on his travel ban list.
The Supreme Court partly reinstated the ban after it was twice rejected by judges in the US.
It means people without "close" family or business relationships in the US could be denied visas and barred entry.
More recently, Mr Trump postponed a deadline on whether to permanently lift US sanctions against Sudan so he could have more time to "establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action" on counter-terrorism efforts, providing humanitarian relief and securing a ceasefire in conflict areas.
The US has issued sanctions against Sudan since the 1990s, when it was accused of state-sponsored terrorism.
Mr Trump has yet to appoint a special envoy for Sudan.
"Give the public a break - The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!" President Trump caused a bit of a stir about Sweden during one of his regular attacks on the media at a rally in February.
"Look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers [of migrants]. They're having problems like they never thought possible," the new US president told the crowd in Florida.
The only problem was that no-one seemed to know what incident Mr Trump was referring to - not least lots of baffled Swedes.
It later emerged that Mr Trump had been referring to a report on Fox News about gun violence and rape in Sweden since it opened its doors to large numbers of asylum-seekers in 2013.
But police officers interviewed for the feature said their comments had been taken out of context and data didn't appear to back up claims that there had been a surge in gun crimes or rape.
Although Mr Trump did not speak to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven during this saga, he did phone the Swedish leader in April to express condolences over an attack in Stockholm.
"Don't attack Syria - an attack that will bring nothing but trouble for the U.S. Focus on making our country strong and great again!" The US fired 59 cruise missiles at the Shayrat airbase in Syria in April 2017 (Getty Images) Syria is another country that Donald Trump has changed his views on quite substantially since becoming the US president.
When his predecessor was considering military action in Syria back in 2013, Mr Trump was a vocal critic against intervention.
"Again, to our very foolish leader, do not attack Syria - if you do many very bad things will happen & from that fight the US gets nothing," Mr Trump tweeted in September 2013.
But just over two months into his presidency, President Trump said he was so moved by images of children in the aftermath of a chemical attack by Syrian forces that he was taking military action.
"Using a deadly nerve agent, [Syrian President] Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children," Mr Trump said. "No child of God should ever suffer such horror."
Two US Navy ships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base from their positions in the Mediterranean. It was the first direct US military action against the Syrian president's forces.
Mr Trump deployed his military again in April this year, with 100 missiles targeting suspected government chemical weapons facilities in response to a suspected deadly chemical attack on the town of Douma.
After the strikes, Mr Trump tweeted: "A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!"
President Donald Trump called Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, who took control of the country in a 2014 coup, to state his commitment to the US alliance with the country.
Thailand's relationship with the US had been somewhat strained in the past because of human rights complaints. Former President Barack Obama did not invite Mr Chan-ocha to visit Washington.
Mr Trump seems to have warmer feelings toward Thailand's prime minister. According to a White House statement, the two leaders discussed "a strong shared interest in strengthening the trade and economic ties between the two countries." Mr Trump also invited Mr Chan-ocha to visit the White House for the first time since Mr Chan-ocha assumed power.
In September, Mr Chan-ocha visited the White House for the first time. During the visit, the two leaders released a joint statement that outlined "their shared commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond".
Perhaps the unlikeliest country to have made our list, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley spoke to Donald Trump on the phone in February 2017 to discuss "shared priorities".
One of those priorities is terrorism, with some US officials worried that the small Caribbean island could become a "breeding ground for extremists", according to the New York Times.
The island's former US ambassador John Estrada told the newspaper that more than 100 people have travelled from there to fight with the so-called Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
When Donald Trump announced a ban on people entering the US from several predominantly Muslim countries, some analysts were surprised not to see Tunisia on the list.
The Arab Spring began there in 2010, but it has become a breeding ground for the so-called Islamic State group (IS) in recent years - more Tunisians have joined them to fight in Iraq and Syria than any other nationality.
President Trump appears to have decided that a close relationship with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi is important in the fight against IS and he praised the country's "stability and security" in a phone call with its leader in February.
"I am in Istanbul, Turkey. Just opened magnificent #TrumpTowers - a big hit" Mr Trump met with President Erdogan in the Oval Office in May 2017 (Getty Images) Donald Trump's relationship with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one that his critics will be keeping a close eye on.
Mr Trump had business links to Turkey before he was elected president, licensing his name to a Turkish businessman in 2008 who opened a Trump Tower complex in Istanbul in 2012.
Mr Trump was at the launch of the property, as was Mr Erdogan (who was prime minister at that point).
But tensions were high after Mr Erdogan's White House visit in May last year, when clashes broke out between protesters and the Turkish president's supporters and members of security personnel.
US Congress has called for criminal charges against those involved in the brawl outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington DC.
Relations have also been strained with the Nato ally by Mr Trump's decision to arm the Syrian Kurds in the battle against the so-called Islamic State.
Turkey views the YPG (Popular Protection Units) as a terrorist group linked to the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group.
While at the United Nations General Assembly in September, together, Mr Trump and Mr Erdogan reaffirmed their rejection of the planned Kurdistan referendum planned for later that month.
"Crimea was TAKEN by Russia during the Obama Administration. Was Obama too soft on Russia?" Donald Trump said he had "very, very good discussions" with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko during the foreign leader's White House visit in June 2017.
The pair discussed "support for the peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine", where government forces have been fighting Russian-backed rebels since 2014.
In July last year, Mr Trump called on Russia to stop "destabilising" Ukraine and "join the community of responsible nations". The Kremlin brushed off the comments.
Mr Trump has previously accused Barack Obama of having been weak on Russia and allowing them to "pick off" the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.
The US president's calls for better ties to Russia have worried Ukrainian authorities, observers say.
But Mr Trump announced sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria would remain even after his meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg.
The president said he would work "constructively" with Russia, but to lift the sanctions would be premature.
At the United Nations General Assembly in September, Mr Trump met with Mr Poroshenko and encouraged the European leader to improve his nation's business and political climates. Mr Trump also reiterated his support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with Donald Trump on the phone just a few days after the former businessman became the new US president.
The two leaders spoke about the fight against international terrorism and according to the White House, the crown prince backed Mr Trump's idea of safe zones for refugees in the Middle East.
The UAE was not one of the countries that Mr Trump tried to ban people travelling to the US from, and the state's foreign minister was one of the few Middle East officials to defend the move.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan described Mr Trump's proposed ban as a "sovereign decision" and said some of the countries on the list "face structural problems" that need to be dealt with.
In May last year, Mr Trump met the Crown Prince at the White House, where the two leaders discussed "bilateral defense cooperation, counterterrorism, resolving the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, and the threat to regional stability posed by Iran."
"I would have done [Brexit] much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didn't agree, she didn't listen to me. She wanted to go a different route. I would actually say that she probably went the opposite way. And that is fine." - Donald Trump in an interview with The Sun newspaper, 13 Jul 2018 President Trump and Mrs May with their partners outside Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire (PA) Mr Trump arrived for his first visit to the UK as president on 12 July.
His first event was a black-tie dinner with Mrs May and British business leaders, but it was overshadowed by the publication of an interview the US president gave to The Sun newspaper.
In it, he said the UK would "probably not" get a trade deal with the US if the prime minister's Brexit plan goes ahead.
"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal," he told the paper, adding that Mrs May's plan "will definitely affect trade with the United States, unfortunately in a negative way."
He also said Mrs May's blueprint for its post-Brexit relations with the EU was "a much different deal than the people voted on".
But at a joint news conference on the second day of his visit, he changed his tone and said a trade deal "will absolutely be possible" after the UK leaves the EU. He also said Brexit was an "incredible opportunity".
Mr Trump also met the Queen, although there was no open carriage ride with her through the streets of the capital as the trip was designated a "working visit" rather than an official state visit.
He had been expected to visit in February to open the new $1bn (£738m) embassy but, having voiced his displeasure, that trip was cancelled.
Asked about the protests that greeted his arrival in the UK, he insisted many people were "delighted" he was visiting, adding: "I get thousands of notifications from people in the UK that they love the President of the United States."
Mr Trump spoke to Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December 2017 to discuss "discuss regional security and to explore opportunities for improved cooperation."
That came after Mr Mirziyoyev told Mr Trump his country was ready to "use all forces and resources" to help investigate the New York truck attack, in which eight people were killed, and where the suspect arrested by police was an Uzbek immigrant.
The two leaders met for the first time in May at the White House.
Human rights have not been at the top of President Trump's agenda so far, but he has called for the release of a political prisoner in Venezuela.
"Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori out of prison immediately," he tweeted in mid-February.
Venezuela is in the middle of an economic and political crisis, with the country deeply divided between those who support the government of the socialist President Nicolas Maduro and those who blame him.
Mr Trump has discussed the situation in Venezuela on the phone with leaders of neighbouring countries, including Brazil and Colombia, but he has not spoken directly to President Maduro.
In an October tweet, Mr Trump called "for the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela." The tweet reflected statements made by Mr Trump at a dinner with Latin American leaders in which he thanked them for supporting the Venezuelan people and condemning the Maduro "dictatorship".
Mr Maduro, however, has sent a word of warning to President Trump, saying in a televised speech: "Don't repeat the errors of Obama and Bush when it comes to Venezuela and Latin America."
In April 2017 it emerged that Citgo Petroleum, the state oil company, gave half a million dollars to Trump's inaugural committee and a General Motors plant in the country was seized by the state.
Mr Trump celebrated the release of an American man in Venezuela in May this year, tweeting: "Good news about the release of the American hostage from Venezuela." The man, a Mormon missionary from Utah, had been held without trial on weapons charges since 2016.
Vietnam played host to Trump with a lavish two-day state visit around the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in November 2017.
Mr Trump tweeted his thanks for "a wonderful visit".
Mr Trump was keen to highlight a $12bn (£9bn) purchase of Boeing aircraft in a joint statement after the visit.
"[Navy Seal] Ryan died on a winning mission (according to General Mattis), not a "failure". Time for the US to get smart and start winning again!" President Trump's main focus in Yemen has been his ban on its citizens from travelling to America.
In December 2017, the US Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump's travel ban on six mainly Muslim countries could go into full effect, pending legal challenges.
Mr Trump has also called on Saudi Arabia to "allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people who desperately need it," in response to the humanitarian crisis linked to the ongoing Saudi campaign and blockade against Houthi rebels.
Yemen was the site of the first military operation authorised by Mr Trump, in which a special forces team raided the compound of a suspected terrorist leader.
The mission didn't go to plan. The US Navy Seals came under fire from fighters belonging to the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group (AQAP) and one member of the elite team was killed.
It later emerged that a number of civilians were also killed in the operation, which had been drawn up in November 2016 but approved by Mr Trump.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump appeared to lay blame for the death of Navy Seal William "Ryan" Owens on military leaders.
"This was a mission that was started before I got here," Mr Trump said. "They came to see me and they explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are very respected... And they lost Ryan."
A New York Times article claimed the Navy Seals found out their mission had been compromised after intercepting AQAP communications but they "pressed on toward their target" nonetheless.
Mr Trump responded to criticism by tweeting that it had been "a winning mission... not a failure". A White House statement said it was a "successful raid" that yielded "important intelligence".
Carryn Owens, the widow of the Navy Seal, was invited to Mr Trump's joint address to Congress. She got a standing ovation and as the room applauded, the president said her husband's legacy was "etched into eternity".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39732845
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Motorists could win £30m compensation from Europcar - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Thousands of British motorists could have been overcharged for car repairs over many years.
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Business
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French car hire firm Europcar has admitted that it may have to pay out as much as £30m to British motorists who were overcharged for car repairs.
UK Trading Standards officers launched an investigation after its office in Leicester received complaints.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is also planning to launch an inquiry, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The paper says more than half a million motorists could have been overcharged for repairs over many years.
In a statement, Europcar said: "Europcar's view is that the implications of the investigation will be somewhere in the region of £30m."
But the company - whose shares fell by 2.5% on Monday - said it had no further comment to make.
The Telegraph said some people were charged four times what they should have been for routine repairs.
The figures suggest an average compensation payment of up to £60 for every motorist who was overcharged.
Europcar's website says it charges an administration fee of £40 for each repair, plus up to £25 for a replacement wiper blade, and up to £350 for replacing a tyre.
The investigation appears to involve motorists who hired cars through Europcar UK, either via the website or on the phone.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40630238
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Why did (almost) everyone call the election wrong (again)? - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Newsnight's editor assesses why so many people underestimated Labour's vote at the general election.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why do pollsters - and the media - keep getting elections so wrong? Ian Katz reports
Few species can match the brutality of a teenage child appraising its parent.
I was reminded of this the morning after last month's election as I passed my 18-year-old daughter on the stairs. "I'm never going to believe another word you say about politics," she announced matter-of-factly. "Because you've been wrong about EVERYTHING."
It was hard to argue. The 2015 election, Brexit, Trump, and now Corbyn's sort of moral victory… I'd called them all wrong. I was, as they say in American sport, "Oh for four". The only comfort was: most of the media and political world were, too.
Over the last month, I've been reflecting on why we keep getting surprised, for a Newsnight film. Has the political landscape changed in some profound way we have not yet got our heads around? Or have we simply been through a period of freak political weather?
Not impressed... Ian Katz's daughter is sceptical now of pundits and pollsters
And, more immediately, how did most of the media, the pollsters and even much of the Left underestimate Labour's vote so badly?
In the spirit of group therapy, I thought I'd start with someone who was even wronger than me. Martin Boon has long been one of Britain's most respected pollsters. This time his company, ICM, got it quite spectacularly wrong; their eve-of-election poll gave the Tories a 12-point lead, a full 10 points bigger than the actual result.
I found him in contemplative, even penitent, mood. In 2015, ICM got it wrong by overestimating the Labour vote. This time, they tried to address the problem by making sceptical assumptions about how many younger voters (among other groups) would turn out - and ended up massively underestimating Labour's vote.
"We were bamboozled by the turnout which we predicted wouldn't happen in the way it did," he said. "And I have to hold up my hands and say that…
"The problem for me is that the techniques which didn't work in 2015 did work in 2017, and indeed the techniques which the likes of me applied in 2017 wouldn't have worked retrospectively in 2015."
The result of the election was a shock to many
With a degree of humility not often encountered in either politics or the media, he said pollsters had to think hard about whether "classical orthodox polling techniques" were still worth persevering with.
One source of comfort to pollsters and journalists mulling over why they didn't see last month's result coming is the fact that most politicians didn't either. A source told me the Labour Party's internal predictions, minutes before the exit poll was released, were for a Tory majority of around 60 seats.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said she and other MPs simply weren't hearing anything on the ground to make them doubt the widely shared belief that they were heading for a drubbing.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tony Blair: "There's been so many political upsets, it's possible that Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister"
"What we potentially missed in classic campaigning and classic polling is the people we're not talking to, and still I'm driving round my constituency thinking, 'Did you vote for me? Did you vote for me?' We just weren't talking to the right people."
One man not willing to don sackcloth and ashes just yet is ITV's political editor Robert Peston, who was more upbeat than many in the media about Jeremy Corbyn's prospects: right up to polling day when, he says, he was persuaded by senior politicians on both sides that his instincts were mistaken.
Like many of us, Mr Peston confessed he was still trying to find his bearings in a world where many of the things we thought were true no longer seem to apply. "The old rules have gone and we've got to try and make sense of how politics works. And the truthful answer is we're all feeling our way a bit."
So what about the man who, perhaps more than anyone, can claim to have divined the rules of modern politics? Even Tony Blair, a man not famous for self-doubt, says the events of the last two years have made him rethink some of his assumptions about politics.
Robert Peston: "The old rules have gone"
"For most of my political life I've been saying, 'I think this is the right way to go, and what's more it's the only way to win an election.' I have to qualify that now. I have to say, 'No, I think it's possible you end up with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.'
"I personally think it's a surer route to power to fight it from the centre but I'm being open with you in saying that I accept now what if you'd asked me a year ago I'd have said is impossible."
Given that there's a fair chance we'll be grappling with another UK election in months rather than years, how can we do better at reading it than we have done on recent votes?
A good person to ask seemed to be one of the few commentators who called the 2017 election almost exactly right, Rod Liddle of the Spectator and the Sunday Times.
Liddle's prescription: "Get out of town, get out of London. Unless the polls change the way they are being done ignore them. And don't follow the herd."
Most pollsters and pundits underestimated how well Jeremy Corbyn would do in the election
Of course, the BBC and other media organisations did have lots of on the ground reporting from across the country during the election and some of it did suggest that Mr Corbyn was doing better than most pollsters and pundits thought. But there's a tendency to tune out evidence that doesn't fit the prevailing narrative.
One person who never doubted that Mr Corbyn would surprise his detractors is Matt Turner, a (just) 22-year-old who, while not doing his finals last month, was helping to edit Evolve Politics, one of a clutch of pro-Corbyn websites which claimed to have their finger closer to the national pulse than traditional media.
Although there is never a shortage of seers claiming to be wise after any surprise event, Turner has the betting slip to prove it: he put money on a hung parliament at 10-1 back in April.
"Sites like ours had our ear to the ground and we gave a more accurate reflection of what people were actually feeling. People have accused us of living in a bubble when we've accurately predicted the hung parliament. If anything it's now the Westminster media who are living in that bubble."
The one common thread among all those I talked to was an acknowledgement that social media - simultaneously mobilising, and polarising - has clearly changed the way millions of people experience politics. And we haven't yet worked out how to take the pulse of an election played out in 50 million timelines.
Figuring out how to do that may be the most urgent challenge facing all of us whose job it is to read the political runes. For the foreseeable future, though, you'd be best advised to ignore all political predictions. And I, my daughter at least will be pleased to know, won't be making any.
Ian Katz is editor of BBC Newsnight - watch his full report here
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40633025
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Theatre company advert asks if millennials understand 'real world' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Tea House Theatre posted the advert for a £15,000-£20,000 administration role.
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London
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The advert was posted on Arts Council England's ArtsJobs site
A theatre company has questioned if millennials "are taught anything about... the real world" after being unimpressed by applicants for a job.
The Tea House Theatre, in Vauxhall, south London, posted an advert for the £15,000-£20,000 administration role on Arts Council England's ArtsJobs site.
In it, the advert read that "it shouldn't be this hard" to find "a grafter, who can commit".
The theatre has so far not commented and the advert has since been removed.
Arts Council England said the advert was deleted for breaching terms as it targeted a specific age group.
The term "millennial" is typically applied to those born between 1980 and 1999, who reached adulthood in the 21st century.
Tea House Theatre wonders why "millennials" - the generation born between 1980 and 1999 and the largest age group since the baby boomers - are so turned off a job that "shouldn't be this hard" to fill, but perhaps the answer lies in the pay.
It wants to offer someone between £15,000 and £20,000 a year for an administrative job in London.
This works out at between £288 and £384 a week. That's less than the UK median wage for a full-time administration worker (excluding secretaries).
Rent is also significantly higher in London than anywhere else in England. According to the latest figures from the Valuation Office Agency, a one-bedroom property in London will cost a renter about £1,300 a month. That compares with £595 for England as a whole.
So far from having not been taught "anything about existing in the real world, where every penny counts", it may simply be that potential applicants, many of whom came of age after the 2008 financial crisis, were all too aware of the costs of living and working in the capital.
In the post, the firm described itself as a "receiving house, producing house" which has "an outdoor events company putting on festivals on the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens."
However, the company wrote that it was the third time they had put up the advert in as many months as they "have not been impressed so far."
"One old lady used to run the whole of Mountview Academy with an IBM computer, it shouldn't be this hard," the advert said.
Tea House Theatre was criticised for attacking millenials while serving "smashed avocado on toast"
Several people took to social media to comment on the advert.
Theatre company Creative Electric tweeted: "Dear Tea House Theatre, it's never good to advertise that you're entitled, patronising and abusive. Love Millennials x"
Rob Holley, from Camberwell, south east London, tweeted: "You run a tea house theatre selling smashed avocado, Lohikeitto and loose leaf tea by the ounce - maybe lay off the millennials, eh?"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40640649
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Saudi Arabia investigates video of woman in miniskirt - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A woman shared footage of herself openly defying the conservative Muslim kingdom's strict dress code.
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Middle East
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The video of "Khulood" walking around Ushayqir was shared initially on Snapchat
The authorities in Saudi Arabia are investigating a young woman who posted a video of herself wearing a miniskirt and crop-top in public.
The woman, a model called "Khulood", shared the clip of her walking around a historic fort in Ushayqir.
The footage sparked a heated debate on social media, with some calling for her arrest for breaking the conservative Muslim country's strict dress code.
Other Saudis came to the woman's defence, praising her "bravery".
Women in Saudi Arabia must wear loose-fitting, full-length robes known as "abayas" in public, as well as a headscarf if they are Muslim. They are also banned from driving and are separated from unrelated men.
In the video initially shared on Snapchat over the weekend, Khulood is seen walking along an empty street in a fort at Ushayqir Heritage Village, about 155km (96 miles) north of the capital Riyadh, in Najd province.
Najd is one of the most conservative regions in Saudi Arabia. It was where the founder of Wahhabism - the austere form of Sunni Islam that is practised by the Saudi royal family and religious establishment - was born in the late 18th Century.
The video was quickly picked up by Saudis on Twitter, where opinion was divided between those who believe Khulood should be punished and others who insisted she should be allowed to wear what she wanted.
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Journalist Khaled Zidan wrote: "The return of the Haia [religious police] here is a must."
Another user argued: "We should respect the laws of the country. In France, the niqab [face-covering veil] is banned and women are fined if they wear it. In Saudi Arabia, wearing abayas and modest clothing is part of the kingdom's laws."
The writer and philosopher, Wael al-Gassim, said he was "shocked to see those angry, scary tweets".
"I thought she had bombed or killed somebody. The story turned out to be about her skirt, which they did not like. I am wondering how Vision 2030 can succeed if she is arrested," he added, referring to the reform programme unveiled last year by Saudi Arabia's newly-appointed 31-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. In April, Saudi women's rights campaigners filmed themselves walking silently in protest against driving restrictions
Some defended Khulood by noting that US President Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka, had chosen not to wear abayas or headscarves during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
Fatima al-Issa wrote: "If she was a foreigner, they would sing about the beauty of her waist and the enchantment of her eyes... But because she is Saudi they are calling for her arrest."
On Monday, the Okaz newspaper reported that officials in Ushayqir had called on the provincial governor and police to take action against the woman.
The religious police, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, meanwhile wrote on Twitter that it had been made aware of the video and was in contact with the relevant authorities.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40633687
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George and Charlotte join Poland and Germany diplomacy tour - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The children are visiting Poland and Germany with their parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince George required some gentle encouragement to leave the plane
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children are in Warsaw at the start of their visit to Poland and Germany.
Their five-day tour of the two European countries is at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Kensington Palace said Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, two, would be seen "on at least a couple of occasions over the course of the week".
They joined their parents in Canada last year for an official trip.
"The duke and duchess are very much looking forward to this tour and are delighted with the exciting and varied programme that has been put together for it," a Kensington Palace spokesman said.
Charlotte and George looked out of the window after landing in Warsaw
Princess Charlotte was helped off the plane by her mother
They were greeted at Warsaw Chopin Airport by the UK's ambassador to Poland, Jonathan Knott, and his wife, alongside Poland's ambassador to Britain, Arkady Rzegocki.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were last seen in public on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a flypast following the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen's birthday last month.
The royals will travel to Germany on the second leg of their trip
For Prince George and Princess Charlotte such trips are a novelty but, as the future of the British monarchy, they'll one day become a way of life.
For their parents, the visit to Poland and Germany will inevitably be viewed in the context of Brexit.
It won't have any impact on the negotiations.
It will, the Foreign Office hopes, remind people of the strength of the ties that will endure after the UK has left the EU.
It's this mission the royals have pursued in recent months in various European cities.
The royal couple and their children were welcomed in Warsaw at a meeting with President Andrzej Duda.
Prince William and the duchess joined the president and the first lady to greet well wishers around the presidential palace.
Student Magda Mordaka, 21, said: "We were telling [the duchess] that she is beautiful and perfect, but she said it's not true - it's just the make-up."
The Polish ambassador to the UK presented the royal couple with three books to give to George and Charlotte. They were Mr Miniscule and the Whale, Bees: A Honeyed History, and Maps.
Catherine and Poland's first lady received flowers while meeting children
Prince William and Catherine visited the Warsaw Rising Museum, dedicated to the 1944 Polish uprising to liberate Warsaw from German occupation during World War Two.
Some 200,000 Polish people died during 63 days of fighting.
Prince William and Catherine paid their respects to the fallen soldiers of the uprising when they visited a wall of remembrance.
The names of 34 British servicemen, who died trying to give supplies to the Polish soldiers, were also listed on the wall.
The duke and President Andrzej Duda lit a candle to honour the fallen
The royals felt a pulsating wall that symbolised the Nazis not being able to stop Warsaw's heartbeat
Later, William spoke at an evening garden party to celebrate the Queen's birthday, telling guests in Polish: "Good evening, we hope you have a nice party."
He also also hailed Poland's "courage, fortitude and bravery" in surviving centuries of assaults, particularly its "incredible bravery" during the Nazi occupation.
He read a message from the Queen detailing 1,000 years of ties between the UK and Poland.
Catherine wore a sleeveless white dress by Polish designer Gosia Baczynska for the occasion.
Baczynska's designs, worn here by Catherine, featured in Paris fashion week
In Germany later this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a private meeting with the royal couple in Berlin before they visit the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of German unification.
The duke and duchess will also visit Berlin's Holocaust museum and memorial.
A boat race is planned in the Germany city of Heidelberg, which is twinned with Cambridge.
William and Catherine will cox opposing rowing teams in the race with crews from Cambridge and Heidelberg.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40627792
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'Triple sickie' policeman sacked over horse racing trips - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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PC Jonathan Adams was seen on television celebrating a win at Royal Ascot while "off sick".
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Gloucestershire
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. PC Jonathan Adams called in sick but was seen on TV celebrating a win at Ascot (Footage courtesy Racing UK)
A police officer who threw a "sickie" three times to watch horse racing has been sacked after being found guilty of gross misconduct.
PC Jonathan Adams, of Ross-on-Wye, went twice to Nottingham Racecourse and to Royal Ascot where he was seen celebrating a win on television.
The officer said the trips were "therapeutic" to deal with a "toxic" work environment.
A disciplinary hearing concluded PC Adams was "not as sick as he claimed".
PC Adams, an officer at Gloucester's Barton Street station, part-owned a horse with a racing syndicate.
PC Jonathan Adams said trips to the races were 'therapeutic'
The panel was told that in September 2015 and April 2016 he had reported in sick and went to Nottingham racecourse to watch the horse he part-owned, named Little Lady Katy.
In June 2016 he reported in sick again and went to Royal Ascot to watch Quiet Reflection, another horse owned by his syndicate, win the Commonwealth Cup.
The misconduct panel was shown a television clip of PC Adams jumping around and celebrating.
Stephen Morley, presenting the case for the force, told the hearing: "In a nutshell, on three occasions he deliberately reported sick in order to go to the horse races.
"We do not accept he was sick at all. He was throwing a sickie to go horse racing."
PC Adams said he had taken time off to avoid a "toxic" environment at Barton Street station. He described suffering stomach cramps, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome.
The hearing was told it was "quite clear" he was "not OK" and was "struggling with his environment".
Richard Shepherd, representing PC Adams, said: "He would not have let his colleagues down to go on a jolly at the races. It is not in his DNA."
But Alex Lock, chair of the panel, said: "We are forced to conclude that Pc Adams was not suffering the degree of sickness that he claimed he was.
"It is important that police officers are honest and that public confidence should be upheld.
"In the circumstances we conclude that dismissal without notice is appropriate in order to maintain public confidence in the force."
• None PC 'pulled triple sickie' to go to races
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-40644598
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Trump must release Mar-a-Lago visitor records, judge rules - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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The ruling is part of a legal challenge asking for records of visitors at Mr Trump's Florida resort.
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US & Canada
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Mr Trump has hosted several high-profile guests in Mar-a-Lago
A US court has ordered that President Donald Trump release records of visitors to his Mar-a-Lago resort in southern Florida.
Mr Trump has been to the property seven times this year, including when he hosted foreign leaders. But it is unclear who else he had as guests.
The move is part of a legal challenge brought by a non-profit watchdog group.
Meanwhile, the outgoing head of the government ethics agency says the US has been made a virtual laughing stock.
Walter Shaub told the New York Times that the Trump administration has ignored long-established guidelines, and that the flouting of ethics rules at home makes it hard for the US to tackle corruption overseas.
The White House has dismissed the criticism, saying that Mr Shaub was promoting himself and had failed to do his job properly.
Among the visitors that Mr Trump has hosted at his resort - which he calls the "Winter White House" - are Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The legal case for details of the visitors was launched by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), the National Security Archive (NSA) and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
Mr Trump and Mr Abe played golf in the Florida resort in February
The records must be released by 8 September, a US District Court for the Southern District of New York judge decided. It is not clear what information will be revealed.
The groups had also filed lawsuits for visitor records at the White House and Trump Tower in New York, a statement said.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, said it had no records of visitors at Trump Tower, while the lawsuit was still ongoing for the White House.
"The public deserves to know who is coming to meet with the president and his staff," Crew Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said.
"We are glad that as a result of this case, this information will become public for meetings at his personal residences - but it needs to be public for meetings at the White House as well."
The Trump administration has not revealed the names of White House visitors. The Obama government started disclosing its visitor records in 2009, after a lawsuit brought by Crew.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40639370
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Briton and Italian die in beach rescue near Brindisi - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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The pair had gone to help the tourist's daughter when she got into difficulties in rough seas.
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Europe
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There were strong currents in the sea when the accident happened. Picture courtesy of Ostuni Notizie
A British man and a beach worker have died at an Italian beach after they went to help the tourist's daughter who got into difficulties in rough seas.
Italian reports say the 11-year-old girl had been playing in the sea with her grandfather at a beach at Ostuni on the south-east coast near Brindisi.
When the pair struggled in a strong current, the girl's father and the local worker rushed to their aid.
They too were overcome by the waves and rescuers struggled to reach them.
The girl and her grandfather were eventually brought to safety.
The British tourist has not been officially identified, but local media named him as 48-year-old Simon Alessandro Pearson.
The UK foreign office said in a statement it was "supporting the family of a British man following his death".
The local worker has been identified as Martino Maggi, 49.
They were both rescued alive but died shortly afterwards despite attempts by rescue workers to save them, Ostuni Notizie website reports (in Italian).
The incident unfolded at about 10:00 (08:00 GMT) on Tuesday, at Bosco Verde beach.
Officials say the sea there is notorious for a strong north-easterly wind and local reports suggest the two men who died were unable to get back to the shore because of the strength of the current.
"That stretch of coastline unfortunately isn't new to this kind of tragedy," Giuseppe Chiarelli of Brindisi port authority told Rai TV.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40642346
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'Fake security' at UK festivals under investigation - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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A security firm allegedly supplied cloned official badges to unlicensed stewards at UK festivals this summer.
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Entertainment & Arts
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A security firm is under investigation for allegedly supplying cloned badges to unlicensed stewards at UK festivals this summer.
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) confirmed it was investigating LS Armour Security Ltd of Barry, south Wales, following a compliance check.
The watchdog issues licences to bouncers and security firms.
It said it was "exceptional" for it to comment and had taken "unprecedented action due to public safety".
The inspection has led to two arrests and the seizure of business records, including some relating to future events with contracts for security operatives around the UK.
The SIA has also written to various organisers of events and festivals that have used the firm in the past and have bookings in the future.
In a statement, an SIA spokesman said: "This type of unlawful conduct remains rare due to responsible organisers and security providers conducting appropriate due diligence.
"Nevertheless, the SIA understands that at this time of year, event organisers and primary contractors may not have sufficient SIA-licensed staff, which can lead to extensive sub-contracting.
"This provides opportunities to rogue providers that, with appropriate checks by organisers and primary contractors, can be largely mitigated."
Entertainment venues are seen as potential targets for terrorists
In a letter to promoters, the SIA's deputy director said: "If SIA-licensed staff arrive on site and are unknown to you, you must take all reasonable steps to ensure the person named on and in possession of the licence are the same person by requiring them to provide further evidence of identity.
"This will mitigate the risk of the cloned licence."
In response to the report, LS Armour Security Ltd's director Erica Lloyd told the BBC: "As a company we have only been made aware of one arrest as a result of a cloned badge, and this individual was cautioned by police and subsequently released without charge.
"At this point this individual was contacted by LS Armour and told he would no longer be employed for any future events."
She said that the SIA's system to check whether someone holds a valid licence - the Register of Licence Holders, available on the SIA website - was "simplistic" and "inadequate".
She added that this view was "brought to the attention of an SIA representative earlier this month, although at this time and on looking at the SIA website this appears to still be the only avenue of checking available".
Ms Lloyd said LS Armour Security Ltd were "fully complying with the SIA investigation".
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40647081
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Flash flood sweeps through Coverack in Cornwall - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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Residents in Coverack say hail the size of 50p pieces smashed window panes.
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Cornwall
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Drone footage of the flash floods which hit the village of Coverack in Cornwall
Flash flooding has seen torrents of water sweep through a Cornish village.
Residents in Coverack, on the Lizard Peninsula, reported roads being blocked and hailstones the size of 50 pence pieces smashing windows.
Heavy rainfall hit at about 15:00 BST on Tuesday and about 50 properties are estimated to be affected by the flooding, but no injuries have been reported.
Emergency services will meet at 09:00 BST "to coordinate the recovery phase".
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said its crews attended "multiple flooding-related incidents" and urged people to "avoid this area".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The coastguard helicopter crew winch people to safety in Coverack, Cornwall
Cornwall Council said the first calls about the flooding were received about 15:40. One person was reported to be trapped in an outbuilding and six people were on the roof of their property.
A major incident was declared at 17:20 and the helicopter was deployed to rescue the people trapped on the roof.
Gloria Knight, who lives on a hill above Coverack, said her garden became 'like a waterfall'
A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said a helicopter was sent from Newquay.
She said: "Six people were in a house and two have been rescued from the house by helicopter."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The helicopter rescue was caught on video
Karla Wainwright, who works at the Paris Hotel, said: "This afternoon we could tell it was going to get about stormy, then about 3pm it hit.
"There were hailstones as big as 50p pieces and a lot of small panes in our windows are broken."
Ms Wainwright said the storm continued for an hour and a half.
"Once it cleared off then we could see a massive flood of water coming down the main way into Coverack."
Water ran through the village before crashing over cliffs and into the sea
15:00 BST - Heavy rain moves in to the village of Coverack
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Bill Magill, who owns the nearby White Hart Hotel, said the water was "over a foot high" in some areas.
"It was nothing like I've ever known in this area, we were totally unprepared for it and it was totally unexpected," he said.
"[It was] racing down a little country lane, pouring over the banks like these waterfalls."
The Met Office said the flood followed heavy thunderstorms and rain in Cornwall and Devon on Tuesday afternoon.
Bill Frisken, a local councillor in Coverack, said he could not access the centre of the village because the main road was underwater.
A bus became stuck in the water on the road into Coverack
Describing the speed with which the flood hit, he said: "It was almost instantaneous."
"The village has effectively been cut in half, you can't cross the river," he added.
Mr Frisken said he and his wife had to bail water out of their kitchen, while their garage was also flooded.
"It was several feet of water coming down and pouring into the house. The depth of water was immense."
Another witness said: "I have never seen such big hails. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing and it was hailing, all at the same time.
"It was quite amazing really."
A Cornwall Council spokesman confirmed some properties in the village and one of the roads suffered structural damage and are due to be inspected by structural engineers.
A local hotel offered accommodation to anyone unable to return to their home, while one elderly resident was moved to a local nursing home.
A meeting is due to be held for residents at the village's Paris Hotel at 11:30 BST on Wednesday which will be attended by council officers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-40650406
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Russia hacking row: Moscow demands US return seized mansions - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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A Russian official says talks "almost" resolve a row over the seizing of two diplomatic compounds.
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Europe
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US officials say the Maryland complex doubles as a spying outpost
Russia has been pressing demands that the US give it access to two diplomatic compounds seized in the US last year.
After high-level talks between both sides, one Russian official involved said the row had "almost" been resolved.
Russia has been angered by the move, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling it "daylight robbery".
In December the US expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut the compounds over suspicions of meddling in US elections.
The talks saw US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon host Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on Monday.
Mr Ryabkov sounded upbeat after three hours of talks with the American diplomat.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What does body language tell us about the Trump-Putin G20 meeting?
He was asked by reporters if the spat over the diplomatic compounds had been settled, and he replied: "Almost, almost."
US officials did not comment and there has been no official press briefing.
The meeting was meant to have been held in June in St Petersburg, but was cancelled after the US government added 38 individuals and organisations to its list of sanctions over Russian activity in Ukraine.
Before the talks Russia made clear it was demanding restored access to the facilities.
"We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Lavrov said that this was not the way decent and well-brought-up people behaved.
"How can you seize property which is protected by a bilateral, inter-governmental, ratified document and, to return it, act according to the principle 'what is mine is mine, and what is yours we'll share'?" he said during a visit to Belarus.
Last week Russia said it was considering "specific measures" in retaliation, including the expulsion of 30 US diplomats and seizure of US state property.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
The Long Island property is surrounded by trees
President Donald Trump's team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
The Obama sanctions came on top of existing Western sanctions imposed because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.
At the time 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 at the G20 meeting in Hamburg on 7 July.
Russia would retaliate if no compromise was reached at the meeting between Mr Ryabkov and Mr Shannon, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported.
Russian officials welcomed the tone of the recent meeting between the two presidents.
But the political climate in Washington has only grown more toxic, with the ongoing inquiries into allegations of Russian meddling in the presidential election, and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
That makes any concessions to Moscow controversial.
Russia's threat to expel some American diplomats if it does not get its property back would further complicate the strained relationship.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40635263
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Iran cases step up pressure on President Rouhani - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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Tensions are raised by the arrest of the president's own brother - and the jailing of a US academic.
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Middle East
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President Rouhani began his second term at loggerheads with influential hardliners
Two high-profile judiciary cases in Iran this weekend have underlined renewed political tensions between the country's recently re-elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and establishment hardliners.
The first case involves the arrest of the president's own brother, and the second an American academic jailed for 10 years after being convicted of espionage.
The arrest of Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother who goes by a different surname, was not wholly unexpected.
During Mr Rouhani's first term, Hossein Fereydoun was one of his most trusted advisors.
Although he did not occupy any official position Mr Fereydoun was present at the high-level international nuclear negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme, acting as the president's "eyes and ears".
Hossein Fereydoun was one of the president's closest advisers
He has frequently been the target of corruption allegations, most notably during last May's bitterly hard-fought presidential election, when President Rouhani's two main challengers, Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, frequently mentioned him and also accused Mr Rouhani of nepotism for continuing to support him.
Although Mr Rouhani won the election with a clear majority, the two losing candidates show no signs in backing down in their criticism of him.
While the charges against Mr Fereydoun are not clear, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said on Monday that he had been detained in relation to an ongoing investigation. He was subsequently freed on bail, according to reports.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Hassan Rouhani worked hard for re-election - but he'll have to work even harder on three big issues
The second case, which made headlines around the world, was the 10-year prison sentence for Xiyue Wang, a Princeton post-graduate history student who was in Iran doing research for a doctoral thesis on late 19th Century and early 20th Century history.
He is reported to have been arrested several months ago but the news only became public when the sentence was announced, and few details are known.
Commenting on the case without naming Mr Wang, an Iranian judiciary spokesman described him as "an American infiltrator".
An Iranian news site with ties to the Judiciary said Mr Wang was part of a "spider network" - Iranian code for a spy ring.
Whether by coincidence or part of a meticulous plan, both cases share one important aspect: both will put President Rouhani in a difficult position, both at home and abroad, as he begins a second term facing big challenges to fulfil the expectations of an electorate hoping for reform and economic progress.
Inside Iran, the arrest of the president's brother and most trusted adviser is seen by many observers as a major blow to his plans for the next four years.
If the case goes further and charges are made, specially charges of corruption, it could pave the way for more accusations to be made against other officials and even the president himself.
Outside Iran, the arrest of Mr Wang, a dual Chinese-US citizen puts even more pressure on an already fragile relationship with the US government.
President Trump and his administration have taken a much harder line on Iran than their predecessors.
The president has made clear his distaste for the 2015 nuclear deal, but while it remains in place for now, there have been no official contacts between Iran and the US since he took over, and the two countries have traded mutual accusations.
The jailing of Mr Wang can only cause more bitterness and widen the gap between the two sides.
Mr Wang is certainly not the first US citizen to be jailed in Iran - although all of the other current detainees are joint US-Iranian nationals.
But every time a case like this arises the result is more bad headlines, diplomatic headaches, and long negotiations which often end with none of the initial accusations being proved.
It's still too early to predict what the outcome will be for both of these current cases, and the details are still too sketchy.
One thing is certain though - both cases carry a very strong message to a president who very publicly challenged the establishment, judiciary and revolutionary guards during recent presidential campaigns, accusing them of not only sabotaging nuclear negotiations but also his domestic plans for reforming Iran's politics and economy.
They are accusations that the hardliners are not likely to forget and one for which they will be seeking revenge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40632676
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Sarah Payne brothers: 'Thoughts of saving her eat us up' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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Luke and Lee Payne remember killer Roy Whiting smiling and waving as he drove their sister away.
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England
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Brothers Lee and Luke Payne speak out about Sarah's murder
The older brothers of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne have spoken for the first time of their guilt in not being able to save her.
The eight-year-old was abducted and murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000.
Speaking to Channel 5, Luke and Lee Payne said she ran ahead of them before being snatched by Whiting.
Lee said: "I did for a few years beat myself up .... that if I ran faster ... I might have caught up with her".
Sarah Payne was killed in 2000 by paedophile Roy Whiting
Luke, now 28, and Lee, 30, said Sarah ran from them and sister Charlotte to a road on the edge of a field while on a day out in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex.
She was not seen alive again and the brothers remember Whiting smiling at them as he drove her away.
Luke, who was 12 at the time, said the thought he could have saved her "eats you up inside".
He said he is haunted by what happened: "I don't get a lot of sleep. I dread the night, because it's just you and your thoughts."
His late father, Michael, bought a sawn-off shotgun and talked to him about what he would do if Whiting was found not guilty.
Luke added that when he sees Sarah's friends now: "I always wonder where she would be... what she would be doing... whatever she would have been doing, she would have shined."
Lee, who was then 13, remembers seeing Whiting drive past the field in his van looking "dodgy" - smiling and waving at him seconds after the abduction.
Lee said he was "literally 30 seconds behind her" but initially thought she was hiding.
Luke Payne says he is haunted by the memory of losing his sister
He said he would never get over the loss.
The family lived in Hersham, Surrey, and mother Sara Payne described seeing Whiting in court for the first time and realising he "wasn't a monster" but a "sad, lonely person".
Whiting was jailed for life in 2001 and will serve a minimum of 40 years.
The family spoke to Channel 5 for the documentary Sarah Payne: A Mother's Story.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40640940
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Far-right extremism: 'I'm ashamed of my Nazi tattoos' - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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More far-right extremists are being sent to the Prevent strategy, including "Steve" who explains his past.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Steve", who is on the Prevent programme, tells Today's Sangita Myska that drink and drugs helped fuel his extremism
The number of far-right extremists on the UK's anti-radicalisation scheme has risen significantly, latest figures show.
"Steve", who is on the Prevent programme, says drink and drugs helped fuel his extremism.
When I met Steve, the first thing I noticed were his prominent far-right and Nazi tattoos.
I asked him to explain them to me and, as he did so, he appeared to examine his ink-stained skin with a mixture of confusion and disgust.
"Years ago I had a kind of warrior-type figure," he says, "with a very significant English shield, a weapon.
"The other one here says 'English Martyr'," he says, adding that "more recently and more dangerously I had two Waffen-SS tattoos on my fingers".
Steve has asked us to disguise his identity to keep him safe from his former associates.
He tells me the tattoos no longer represent his political views and that things changed six months ago, when he was picked up by counter-extremist authorities.
He now receives intensive de-radicalisation counselling via the Channel programme, part of the government's counter-extremism strategy, Prevent.
Last year, far-right extremists accounted for one-third of all referrals to Channel - which very rarely gives access to those on it - up from a quarter in 2015.
The Home Office says in some areas, far-right referrals "account for more than half" of all those sent on the scheme.
Steve says his fascination with extremism began in his childhood.
"As a child a lot of my friends would have Action Men dressed up in British military costume.
"I'd always go for stormtroopers or any kind of Germanic influence. I felt they were the underdog," he says.
"As I grew, I liked the power element and the ruthlessness of the Nazi regime.
"I always told myself that the only thing I didn't like about the Nazi regime was the way they treated the Jews."
As he got older, he says his markings became an attempt to be taken seriously by those with hardened far-right views,
"The kind of language I was using at the time, it was evidence that it was the real deal, the real thing. It wasn't just idle chit-chat in pubs saying right-wing mantra."
Steve has mental health issues. He is an alcoholic and occasional cocaine user.
"Your ability to make wise decisions is blurred," he says, when asked about his addictions.
"I was in the company of people who were quite happy to jump on a bus to the next EDL march. I'd be on my merry way just to fit in with people."
"It could be a simple phone call," he adds. "You could be quite innocently be sitting in a pub, playing darts, chatting, and the next minute there's a phone call and there's a minibus on the way."
The call would come from someone in his social circle, he says, someone saying "there's a march on 10 miles away, let's go for a drink and see what's happening".
He is currently receiving counselling for his substance abuse and interest in far-right ideas.
Prevent operates in the so-called pre-criminal space. In other words, it aims to identify people before they commit a terrorist act.
Steve has not been convicted of any racially-aggravated crimes or terrorist offences. He says he has given money to a far-right political party, but was not a registered member.
Six months ago, his life took "a surreal turn" when he ended up with a dedicated counter-terrorism unit officer assigned to him.
"During the worst moment of my drinking, I went to A&E on several occasions, where I believe I was being quite abusive in the reception area.
"I was carrying around a book lots of people consider dangerous - called American Psycho - a book full of violence and nasty stuff."
Steve says the drinking and drug abuse meant what happened next remains hazy.
"I found myself in my flat, surrounded by policemen, and the counter-terrorism unit identified themselves. I realised, I was in some kind of serious trouble."
It is, controversially, now a requirement that hospital staff report those they believe to be at risk of radicalisation to the authorities.
Steve cannot remember for sure whether this happened in his case. But he now receives intense one-to-one counselling funded by Channel, an arm of the Prevent strategy.
He says he has conducted de-radicalisation work with Islamist and far-right extremists. He argues Prevent is a vital tool in safeguarding vulnerable individuals - including, he adds, people like Steve.
"People were trying to use his vulnerability to drugs and other underlying mental health issues, knowing full well he was easy to prey on, easy to manipulate and easy to go and do something for them."
He says Steve was the victim of organised psychological groomers.
"This is how extremists work. They prey on the most vulnerable. They groom them and then go out and get them to do their dirty work."
Steve has been sober for six months. He's left the predominantly white market town where he grew up.
His social circle perpetuated what he calls an ever-decreasing circle of alcohol, drugs and tolerance of racist attitudes - and a discourse littered with racist terms.
As he looks at his skin again, I ask Steve how he feels now about his Nazi and far-right tattoos.
He takes a long pause and says: "It's like another world. It is what it is. It's probably the most embarrassing and unforgiving thing I've ever done in my life.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40632975
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Trump's Obamacare repeal: Back to drawing board for Republicans - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Expect a stampede for the exits as everyone abandons what was always an unpopular bill.
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US & Canada
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Is this the end of the repeal-and-replace war?
In the end the death blow to the latest iteration of Obamacare repeal came from the right flank.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was always going to have to walk a fine line in his effort to keep both moderates and hardcore conservatives in the party on board with his healthcare reform proposal.
After his first draft failed to garner sufficient support, he came out with a new version that moved farther to the right in key areas while throwing money to keep the moderates satiated.
That strategy worked in the House, where Freedom Caucus arch-conservatives and just enough moderates came around to rescue the legislation from death's doorstep.
In the Senate, the entire rickety structure came tumbling down. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran balked, citing insufficient tax and regulation rollbacks.
Expect a stampede for the exits in the coming days, as everyone abandons what was always an unpopular bill.
On Monday night the president himself led the way, calling for repeal without so much as a plan for what to do next.
Then again, the Republican Party never really had a replacement plan, and its attempts to craft one on the fly - something that would perform better than Obamacare while costing less money - were like one of those hapless early airplane designs that flapped its wings or spun its wheels but never left the ground.
The Senate may very well try to vote on straight-up repeal, as the president has suggested - one with a two-year fuse - but it stands little chance of winning majority support. If and when that fails, it's back to the drawing board for Republicans.
The urgent need to do something, anything, to fulfil their years of healthcare promises is still there.
The White House is pledging to keep up the pressure.
There could even be a move, as some Republicans are now urging, to reach out to Democrats for help crafting a bipartisan solution to fix some of the current system's more glaring shortcomings.
This isn't the end of congressional efforts to pass healthcare legislation. But it's likely the end of the repeal-and-replace war as it's been waged for the past six months.
The final casualty list won't be tabulated at least until the midterm elections in November 2018, but it's not too early to wonder exactly how high the political death count for Republicans might run.
The Senate's Obamacare repeal bill is woefully unpopular and has led to numerous protests
All the members of the House of Representatives who gathered on the grounds of the White House to celebrate voting for a bill that was both politically toxic and will now never see the light of day have to be wondering if they stuck their neck out only to see the glint of the guillotine.
Others may be left wondering if the grassroots Tea Party faithful who rallied to their sides in opposition to Barack Obama and the Democrats in years past may find better things to do than vote when the next election day rolls around.
Political epitaphs aren't written in a day, and Mr Trump and the Republicans still have the opportunity to regroup and recover. They could find solace in a tax reform package or some new, as yet unrevealed infrastructure spending plan.
This is a serious setback, however. And time is a commodity in increasingly limited supply.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40640439
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New plastic £10 note featuring Jane Austen unveiled - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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It is the first Bank of England note to have a tactile feature to help visually impaired people.
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Business
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The new plastic £10 note has been unveiled by Bank of England governor Mark Carney at Winchester Cathedral.
The note, which follows the polymer £5, will be issued on 14 September and has a portrait of Jane Austen on the 200th anniversary of the author's death.
It is also the first Bank of England note to include a tactile feature to help visually impaired people.
Meanwhile, a limited supply of a new £2 coin honouring Jane Austen has been put into circulation by the Royal Mint.
The coin will initially only be available in tills at key locations in the Winchester and Basingstoke areas that have connections with Austen, including Winchester Cathedral and the Jane Austen House Museum.
It will be circulated more widely across the UK later this year.
The £10 note will be made of the same material as the £5 note, which means it also contains some traces of animal fat - an issue which caused concern for vegans and some religious groups when it was launched last September.
A petition to ban the note attracted more than 100,000 signatures but the new £10 will again contain some tallow, which is derived from meat products.
The new £10 note (top) is smaller than the current one
The Jane Austen quote on the note from Pride and Prejudice has also attracted some unfavourable comment.
The quotation: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" is uttered by a character called Caroline Bingley who in fact has no interest in books and is merely trying to impress Mr Darcy, a potential suitor.
"It captures much of her [Jane Austen's] spirit, at least in my mind," he said. "It draws out some of the essence of some of her social satire and her insight into people's character. So it works on multiple levels."
A new polymer £20 featuring artist JMW Turner is due to be issued by 2020, but there are no plans to replace the current £50 note, which was released in 2011.
The Bank of England says the new £10 notes contain sophisticated security features and are expected to last five years, which is two-and-a-half times longer than the current note.
The tactile feature was developed in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and is a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner of each note.
Bank notes are already in tiered sizes, and have bold numerals, raised print and differing colours to help blind and partially sighted people.
Launching the note in Winchester Cathedral, Austen's final resting place, Mr Carney paid tribute to the author, saying: "The new £10 note celebrates Jane Austen's work. Austen's novels have a universal appeal and speak as powerfully today as they did when they were first published."
Victoria Cleland, the Bank's chief cashier, said: "The new £10 note marks the next exciting step in our introduction of cleaner, safer, stronger polymer banknotes, and I am grateful to the cash industry for their work towards a smooth transition."
The design of the note includes the quote "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice and a portrait of the novelist based on an original sketch drawn by her sister Cassandra.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jane Austen "would have been gobsmacked" by the new £2 coin and £10 note says biographer
Meanwhile, the Austen £2 coin, designed by Royal Mint graphic designer Dominique Evans, features Austen's silhouette, set in a period frame against a backdrop of Regency wallpaper.
Ms Evans said: "I imagined Jane Austen's framed silhouette as if it were in one of the houses featured in her books, on the wall of a corridor as guests passed by to attend a dance, perhaps in Pride and Prejudice, or on the wall in the home of Emma."
Austen had her first novel Sense and Sensibility published anonymously in 1811 at the age of 35.
The Bank of Scotland unveiled the design of its new plastic £10 note at the end of May.
Featuring Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott alongside The Mound in Edinburgh on the front and the Glenfinnan Viaduct on the back, it also has a picture of a steam locomotive hauling a heritage tourist train.
The note is due to come into circulation in the autumn.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40641382
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Taiwan's brawling in parliament is a political way of life - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Fights take place in parliament to prevent the passing of legislation, but things are getting uglier.
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Asia
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After a huge brawl on Thursday last week, fighting has resumed in Taiwan's parliament
On the outside, the main building of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan - or parliament - is a picture of calm.
Two rows of neatly-trimmed shrubbery and trees line the courtyard leading to the stately-looking, white building with a Republic of China (Taiwan) flag on top.
But inside, the picture is very different.
In fact, while parliamentary brawls occur occasionally in other countries, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan is notorious for them.
Scuffles are common in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan - but they are getting uglier
Rowdy and sometimes violent scuffles occur as often as several times a year and even every few days or weeks.
Punching, hair pulling, throwing plastic bottles and water balloons, as well as splashing cups of water on the faces of rival party legislators are common scenes. Air-horns and filibustering - more like shouting - are also used to drown out one's opponents.
23 March 2004: A scuffle erupted between the ruling and opposition party members over vote recounts from the presidential election.
7 May 2004: Legislator Zhu Xingyu grabbed legislator William Lai and tried to wrestle him onto a desk and headbutt him, and jabbed him in the stomach, due to disagreements over legislative procedures.
26 October 2004: A food fight took place between the opposition and ruling party during a debate on a military hardware purchase ordinance.
30 May 2006: Then opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Shu-hui snatched a written proposal and shoved it into her mouth to prevent voting on allowing direct transportation links with Mainland China. Ruling party members tried to force her to cough it up by pulling her hair. She later spat it out but tore it up.
8 May 2007: Several members of the ruling DPP and opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party fought over control of the Speaker's podium, with some throwing punches and spraying water over an alleged delay of the annual budget. At least one person was admitted to hospital.
However this month's fights have become even uglier. Last Thursday, legislators lifted up and threw chairs at each other when they brawled over the ruling DPP's massive $29bn (£22bn) infrastructure spending bill, which the opposition (headed by the KMT) claims benefits cities and counties loyal to the DPP and is aimed at helping the party win forthcoming elections.
The fighting continued on Tuesday in a legislative committee meeting. The opposition KMT legislators wrestled DPP members to the floor and unplugged the cables of loud speakers to prevent the DPP from putting the bill through a committee review to move it towards passage into law.
Opposition parties, a minority in the 113-seat parliament, see physical fights as the only way to stop legislation they oppose, by blocking them from being voted on.
The standoffs can last for hours, even into the middle of the night. Legislators take turns eating or delay meals.
Many staff from local governments, ministries or government agencies have to be there, to see if legislation that affects them might pass, or to be on hand to answer questions in case there is actual discussion and debating, not just brawling.
These people find ways to put up with the chaotic scenes. Some cover their ears, others focus on their smartphones, and a few smart ones find the most comfortable couches in the back and manage to sleep through it all.
It's become a normal part of Taiwan's democracy - one of the most vibrant in the world.
Parties see parliamentary fights as an effective way to prevent the passing of legislation
But the fights shouldn't be taken too seriously, says a local journalist who covers parliament on a daily basis. He wished to be identified only by his first name.
"The legislators are partly acting - trying to show their constituents they're working hard to fight for their cause," said Danny.
However, he and other Taiwanese people say the brawls - with some broadcasted worldwide - are humiliating and do not advance democracy.
"The fights only allow the people to see the surface, not real issues. People often don't even understand the bills," said Danny.
He admitted that many journalists don't either. This current infrastructure bill is 10,000 pages long; it's impossible for them to read through all of it.
"If the legislators actually debate the contents of the bill instead of fight, the public might understand it better," said Danny. "I majored in politics in college. This is not what I had expected."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40640043
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Australian bride-to-be shot dead by US police after 911 call - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Justine Damond was shot after reporting a disturbance but the officers' body cameras were not turned on.
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Australia
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An Australian woman has been killed by a US police officer responding to a 911 call in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said police responded to "a call of possible assault" when "at one point an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman".
Officials said the officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time of the Saturday shooting.
The victim has been identified by Australian officials as Justine Damond.
According to Australian media, the 40-year old woman was living in Minneapolis with her fiancé. The woman called 911 to report a noise near her home when the incident occurred, reports said.
Ms Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, reportedly approached the driver's side door and was talking to the officer at the wheel after the police arrived, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the incident.
The officer in the passenger seat, identified by local media as Mohamed Noor, reportedly drew his gun and shot Ms Damond through the driver's window, the newspaper reported.
Mr Noor's lawyer, Tom Plunkett, confirmed on Monday that his client had fired his weapon, killing Ms Damond.
"We take this seriously with great compassion for all persons who are being touched by this," he said in a statement to CBS News.
A man claiming to be Ms Damond's stepson also said in a Facebook video that she was the one who alerted authorities.
"Basically, my mom's dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know," said the man, named Zach.
"I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call the police and demand answers. I'm so done with all this violence," he said.
"America sucks. These cops need to get trained differently. I need to move out of here."
The Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said an investigation is under way and authorities are looking into whether there is any video of the incident.
Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement she was "heartsick and deeply disturbed by what occurred last night".
Over the past few years the US has seen a series of civilian killings at the hands of police that have caused widespread concern and criticism.
She used the surname of the man she was expected to marry in August, Don Damond, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Ms Damond studied to be a veterinarian before she relocated to the US, where she is believed to have been for at least the last three years.
According to her website, she also practised yoga and meditation for more than 17 years and is a "qualified yoga instructor, a personal health and life coach and meditation teacher".
Mohamed Noor fired his gun and killed Ms Damond, his lawyer says
Alison Monaghan, a friend who trained Ms Damon in alternative therapies, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she was "the most beautiful person" who moved to the US to "follow her heart" for a "new life".
About 200 neighbours, family members and residents shocked by the shooting gathered for a vigil on Sunday night where she died.
Her death made front-page news in her native Australia.
"I mean ask anybody here, they're shocked," said Ms Damond's student Corey Birkholz told CBS News.
He described Ms Damond as "a very conscious, loving person and you wouldn't associate that with a gunshot in an alley".
"I don't know anything about the law or police work to that extent but to me, it seems really stupid. You have a body camera, aren't you supposed to use them?" Mr Birkholz added.
Mrs Hodges echoed his sentiments, saying at a news conference: "I share the same questions other people have about why we don't have body camera footage of it, and I hope to get answers to that in the days coming."
The two officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday on behalf of Ms Damond's family.
"This is a very difficult time for our family," the statement said. "We are trying to come to terms with this tragedy and to understand why this has happened."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40627847
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Viewpoint: Is there such a thing as 'flying ant day'? - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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We're all used to ants sprouting wings and taking to the air during summer, but is there really such a thing as a "flying ant day"?
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Science & Environment
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The emergence of winged ants during summer often provokes a strong public reaction
We're all used to ants sprouting wings and taking to the air during summer, but is there really such a thing as a "flying ant day"? A new study appears to have solved the mystery, using data submitted by the public. Here, Prof Adam Hart, one of the report's authors, explains how they did it.
No one can guarantee a rain-free Bank Holiday weekend or a sun-drenched Wimbledon but, no matter what the summer weather brings, you can guarantee that flying ants will make their annual appearance at some point.
Flying ants are a bit of a surprise for many people. After all, the ants we are used to seeing under stones in our gardens don't have wings and cannot fly. These wingless ants are female workers, toiling to ensure the colony survives and grows.
Once the colony has grown large enough though, it can stop investing in growth and start investing in reproduction. The problem for ants is that workers cannot start a new colony; for that you need a larger, fertile, "queen" ant that has mated with a male from a different colony.
The flying ants we see in the summer are these potential new female queens and male ants embarking on a mating flight.
Once they have mated, on the wing, the females drop to the ground and attempt to start a new colony. Most of them will not make it, becoming bird food or dying before they are able to produce worker ants (their daughters) and develop a new colony.
But some will go on to head up new colonies that will eventually produce their own flying ants
Once ants have mated, females drop to the ground in attempts to start new colonies
The mass emergence of these winged ants across the UK always seems to provoke a strong public and media reaction, but rather than celebrating one of the great spectacles of nature, it seems that most people would much rather it didn't happen at all!
Reading social media feeds during a flying ant event is a lesson in insect-hating, with words like "disgusting", "horrible" and "invasion" being typical. The term "flying ant day", with its implication of a single mass flying event across the country, is virtually ubiquitous.
The emergence of flying ants certainly does give the impression that these mating flights are coordinated across the whole country, and the collective media reporting of them lends weight to the idea that there is a single flying ant day.
But is there really such a day, how coordinated are these flights across the country and what triggers the ants to take to the air on the day or days that they do? These were questions I set out to answer with a team from the University Gloucestershire and the Royal Society of Biology.
It turns out that the widely-held idea of a "flying ant day" is actually a misconception.
Investigating mass events like flying ants presents scientists with a problem; to find out more about what is happening we need to record when and where flying ants are emerging but to do that means being everywhere at once.
With the advent of the internet, and especially the rise of smart phones, scientists have been able to harness the power of the public, who are more-or-less everywhere all the time, to record events for them.
Citizen science, as such scientist-public partnerships have become known, is an increasingly powerful tool being used in all corners of science. We decided to harness the power of the public to find out more about flying ants.
Whether ants flew seemed to be determined both by temperature and wind speed
Starting in 2012 and continuing for three years, the University of Gloucestershire and the Royal Society of Biology, ran an annual online Flying Ant Survey to find out where and when people were seeing flying ants.
After the first year, we also asked some people, "super-engagers" who were keen on doing more, to send us samples of the flying ants from their sightings. Using the thousands of ants returned to us we were able to determine that close to 90% of flying ants were from just one species - the black pavement ant Lasius niger.
We were also able to use the thousands of sightings to say once and for all that the media cliché of Flying Ant Day is a myth.
In fact, what the public-reported data showed us was that flying ants are much less coordinated across space and much less synchronised than we thought.
We found that ants were flying somewhere in the UK on as many as 96% of days between the start of June and the start of September.
The pattern of flying ants differed massively between years. For example, in 2012 there were just a few days in late July and a few more in mid-August where around 80% of the flying activity was focussed.
In 2012, there was a terrible patch of wet and cold weather at the end of July which seems to have concentrated flights in the periods before and after. But in other years we found very different patterns, for example the fine weather in 2013 resulted in "pulses" of ant flights across the country every few weeks throughout the summer.
We had expected to find flights clustered together geographically when we looked at records across the country but we found that flying ants were much less coordinated than we expected, with no clustering at any level at which we looked.
You might have flying ants in your garden one day and your neighbour might have them the week, or even the month, after. Even in your own garden, you might have one colony flying today and another tomorrow.
Although only a small effect, we did find that flying ant emergences move northwards and westwards across the UK over time, so those early flying ants in Wimbledon (the south-east) this year are exactly what we might expect, albeit a couple of weeks earlier than has been reported previously.
Weather turns out to be an absolutely critical factor in triggering ants to fly. By comparing records of flying ants with the nearest weather station data, we were able to untangle some of the factors that trigger ants to take to the sky.
Ants only flew when the temperature was above 13C and when the wind speed was less than 6.3 metres per second but overall ants like it calm and warm. During the course of the study, every day in the UK summer that had a mean temperature above 25C had ants flying somewhere.
The records sent in by the public also showed that ants are excellent at short-term weather forecasting. By examining the changes in weather in the days before and after each flying ant event, we discovered that ants were more likely to fly on days that were warmer and had lower wind speeds than the day before.
It seems that ants are able to judge if the weather is likely to get better or deteriorate. If the weather is going to improve then they will wait, but if it is going to deteriorate then as long as the temperature and wind speed are above their critical thresholds they will fly.
Ants are incredibly important in the ecosystem. As predators they keep on top of other insects and as prey (especially flying ants) they feed many birds and mammals.
Their nest digging helps to aerate and structure soil as well as acting to cycle nutrients. Thousands of people have helped to make sure the emergence of flying ants, forecasting the weather and evading hungry gulls, can be celebrated as a highly visible sign of these vital ecosystem engineers.
This research, by Adam Hart (the author of this article), Anne Goodenough (University of Gloucestershire), Thomas Hesselberg (University of Oxford) and Rebecca Nesbit (Royal Society of Biology) is published in the journal Ecography.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40632535
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Advertising watchdog to get tough on gender stereotypes - BBC News
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2017-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ads showing women cleaning up and men failing at household chores will now be scrutinised.
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Business
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The advert for Aptamil baby formula showed girls wanting to be ballerinas
Advertisements that show men failing at simple household tasks and women left to clean up are set to be banned by the UK advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority will crack down on ads that feature stereotypical gender roles.
Ads that mock people for not conforming to gender types or reinforce gender roles had "costs for individuals, the economy and society", the ASA said.
As a result new rules will be drawn up that will take effect next year.
The ASA said it had decided to conduct a review following the public's reaction to the "beach body ready" advertising campaign in 2015. It prompted a wave of complaints for showing a bikini-clad model in an advertisement for a slimming product, which critics said was socially irresponsible.
In the past the ASA has banned ads on grounds of objectification, inappropriate sexualisation, and for suggesting it is desirable for young women to be unhealthily thin.
But in several instances the regulator had received complaints about ads that featured sexist stereotypes or mocked people who didn't follow traditional roles, which it had not investigated or ruled against, because they were not in breach of the current guidelines.
One example was an advert for Aptamil baby milk formula that showed girls growing up to be ballerinas and boys becoming engineers.
Complaints had also been made about adverts for clothing retailer Gap that showed a boy becoming an academic, and a girl becoming a "social butterfly".
An advertisement for KFC featured one man teasing another, who said he suffered from anxiety, over his lack of masculinity.
The review suggested that new standards should consider whether the stereotypes shown would "reinforce assumptions that adversely limit how people see themselves and how others see them."
"Portrayals which reinforce outdated and stereotypical views on gender roles in society can play their part in driving unfair outcomes for people," said Guy Parker, chief executive of the ASA.
"While advertising is only one of many factors that contribute to unequal gender outcomes, tougher advertising standards can play an important role in tackling inequalities and improving outcomes for individuals, the economy and society as a whole."
Not all stereotypes would be barred, however.
The ASA suggested showing a woman cleaning or a man doing DIY tasks was acceptable.
However it would be unacceptable if a family was shown making a mess and the woman was left with the sole responsibility to clean it up, or a man was shown "trying and failing to undertake simple parental or household tasks".
The ASA also said ads suggesting specific activities were suitable only for boys or girls were problematic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40638343
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Viewpoint: Is there such a thing as 'flying ant day'? - BBC News
|
2017-07-19
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
We're all used to ants sprouting wings and taking to the air during summer, but is there really such a thing as a "flying ant day"?
|
Science & Environment
|
The emergence of winged ants during summer often provokes a strong public reaction
We're all used to ants sprouting wings and taking to the air during summer, but is there really such a thing as a "flying ant day"? A new study appears to have solved the mystery, using data submitted by the public. Here, Prof Adam Hart, one of the report's authors, explains how they did it.
No one can guarantee a rain-free Bank Holiday weekend or a sun-drenched Wimbledon but, no matter what the summer weather brings, you can guarantee that flying ants will make their annual appearance at some point.
Flying ants are a bit of a surprise for many people. After all, the ants we are used to seeing under stones in our gardens don't have wings and cannot fly. These wingless ants are female workers, toiling to ensure the colony survives and grows.
Once the colony has grown large enough though, it can stop investing in growth and start investing in reproduction. The problem for ants is that workers cannot start a new colony; for that you need a larger, fertile, "queen" ant that has mated with a male from a different colony.
The flying ants we see in the summer are these potential new female queens and male ants embarking on a mating flight.
Once they have mated, on the wing, the females drop to the ground and attempt to start a new colony. Most of them will not make it, becoming bird food or dying before they are able to produce worker ants (their daughters) and develop a new colony.
But some will go on to head up new colonies that will eventually produce their own flying ants
Once ants have mated, females drop to the ground in attempts to start new colonies
The mass emergence of these winged ants across the UK always seems to provoke a strong public and media reaction, but rather than celebrating one of the great spectacles of nature, it seems that most people would much rather it didn't happen at all!
Reading social media feeds during a flying ant event is a lesson in insect-hating, with words like "disgusting", "horrible" and "invasion" being typical. The term "flying ant day", with its implication of a single mass flying event across the country, is virtually ubiquitous.
The emergence of flying ants certainly does give the impression that these mating flights are coordinated across the whole country, and the collective media reporting of them lends weight to the idea that there is a single flying ant day.
But is there really such a day, how coordinated are these flights across the country and what triggers the ants to take to the air on the day or days that they do? These were questions I set out to answer with a team from the University Gloucestershire and the Royal Society of Biology.
It turns out that the widely-held idea of a "flying ant day" is actually a misconception.
Investigating mass events like flying ants presents scientists with a problem; to find out more about what is happening we need to record when and where flying ants are emerging but to do that means being everywhere at once.
With the advent of the internet, and especially the rise of smart phones, scientists have been able to harness the power of the public, who are more-or-less everywhere all the time, to record events for them.
Citizen science, as such scientist-public partnerships have become known, is an increasingly powerful tool being used in all corners of science. We decided to harness the power of the public to find out more about flying ants.
Whether ants flew seemed to be determined both by temperature and wind speed
Starting in 2012 and continuing for three years, the University of Gloucestershire and the Royal Society of Biology, ran an annual online Flying Ant Survey to find out where and when people were seeing flying ants.
After the first year, we also asked some people, "super-engagers" who were keen on doing more, to send us samples of the flying ants from their sightings. Using the thousands of ants returned to us we were able to determine that close to 90% of flying ants were from just one species - the black pavement ant Lasius niger.
We were also able to use the thousands of sightings to say once and for all that the media cliché of Flying Ant Day is a myth.
In fact, what the public-reported data showed us was that flying ants are much less coordinated across space and much less synchronised than we thought.
We found that ants were flying somewhere in the UK on as many as 96% of days between the start of June and the start of September.
The pattern of flying ants differed massively between years. For example, in 2012 there were just a few days in late July and a few more in mid-August where around 80% of the flying activity was focussed.
In 2012, there was a terrible patch of wet and cold weather at the end of July which seems to have concentrated flights in the periods before and after. But in other years we found very different patterns, for example the fine weather in 2013 resulted in "pulses" of ant flights across the country every few weeks throughout the summer.
We had expected to find flights clustered together geographically when we looked at records across the country but we found that flying ants were much less coordinated than we expected, with no clustering at any level at which we looked.
You might have flying ants in your garden one day and your neighbour might have them the week, or even the month, after. Even in your own garden, you might have one colony flying today and another tomorrow.
Although only a small effect, we did find that flying ant emergences move northwards and westwards across the UK over time, so those early flying ants in Wimbledon (the south-east) this year are exactly what we might expect, albeit a couple of weeks earlier than has been reported previously.
Weather turns out to be an absolutely critical factor in triggering ants to fly. By comparing records of flying ants with the nearest weather station data, we were able to untangle some of the factors that trigger ants to take to the sky.
Ants only flew when the temperature was above 13C and when the wind speed was less than 6.3 metres per second but overall ants like it calm and warm. During the course of the study, every day in the UK summer that had a mean temperature above 25C had ants flying somewhere.
The records sent in by the public also showed that ants are excellent at short-term weather forecasting. By examining the changes in weather in the days before and after each flying ant event, we discovered that ants were more likely to fly on days that were warmer and had lower wind speeds than the day before.
It seems that ants are able to judge if the weather is likely to get better or deteriorate. If the weather is going to improve then they will wait, but if it is going to deteriorate then as long as the temperature and wind speed are above their critical thresholds they will fly.
Ants are incredibly important in the ecosystem. As predators they keep on top of other insects and as prey (especially flying ants) they feed many birds and mammals.
Their nest digging helps to aerate and structure soil as well as acting to cycle nutrients. Thousands of people have helped to make sure the emergence of flying ants, forecasting the weather and evading hungry gulls, can be celebrated as a highly visible sign of these vital ecosystem engineers.
This research, by Adam Hart (the author of this article), Anne Goodenough (University of Gloucestershire), Thomas Hesselberg (University of Oxford) and Rebecca Nesbit (Royal Society of Biology) is published in the journal Ecography.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40632535
|
Justine Damond shooting: Minneapolis police 'feared ambush' - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A lawyer suggests Minneapolis police could have been startled by Justine Damond, before killing her.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The lawyer for a US police officer whose partner killed an Australian woman says it would be "reasonable" for the pair to have feared an ambush.
Minneapolis officer Matthew Harrity has reportedly said they were startled by a "loud sound" before last Saturday night's shooting of Justine Damond.
Police have released the transcript of her call to police, in which the 40-year-old reports a suspected rape.
She was fatally shot in the abdomen by one of the officers she had called.
Officer Mohamed Noor, who fired the fatal shot in Ms Damond's upmarket neighbourhood, has refused to be interviewed by investigators, as is his legal right.
Fred Bruno, a lawyer for Officer Harrity, said on Wednesday: "It is reasonable to assume an officer in that situation would be concerned about a possible ambush.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
"It was only a few weeks ago when a female NYPD cop and mother of twins was executed in her car in a very similar scenario."
He was referring to the 5 July shooting of a 48-year-old police officer as she sat in her patrol car in the Bronx borough of New York City.
The attorney's comments come a day after Officer Harrity spoke to investigators with the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation.
During the interview, he described seeing a young person on a bicycle pass by moments before Ms Damond pounded on the door of the police car, according to KSTP-TV.
Detectives have appealed to the cyclist to come forward with any information he may have.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Justine should be here. This shouldn't have happened"
On Wednesday police released the transcript of her two separate 911 calls, which she made after hearing screams nearby.
"I'm not sure if she's having sex or being raped," she told the police operator, before giving her address.
"I think she just yelled out 'help', but it's difficult, the sound has been going on for a while," she continued.
Ms Damond called back eight minutes later to ensure police had the correct address.
Body cameras, which are worn by all Minneapolis police, had not been turned on at the time of the shooting and the squad car dashboard camera also failed to capture the incident.
Officers Harrity and Noor, who between them have spent three years on the police force, have been placed on paid administrative leave.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is appealing to the US for an explanation.
"It is a shocking killing, and yes, we are demanding answers on behalf of her family," he told Australian TV on Wednesday.
Hundreds of friends and family of Ms Damond held a vigil on Sydney's Freshwater beach on Wednesday morning.
The slain yoga instructor and spiritual healer was engaged to marry an American man.
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton told reporters he has been in touch with the Australian embassy, adding the state may need to review rules covering police use of body cameras.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40661873
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NHS pilot scheme taps into skills of refugee doctors - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A pilot scheme being run in the north east of England aims to put refugee doctors back to work and cover NHS shortages.
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Health
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Refugee doctor Rouni Youssef with his mentor Dr Sue Jones and an elderly patient
A pioneering scheme that aims to harness the skills of refugees fleeing conflict and unrest in their home countries could help boost health services in north-east England.
Middlesbrough has the highest number of asylum seekers in the UK. Around one in every 186 people in the town is seeking refugee status, well over the government guidelines of no more than one in every 200 of the local population.
But many of the refugees are skilled professionals such as doctors or pharmacists, skills that happen to be in short supply in the area.
I have been to meet the foreign doctors who are participating in the scheme. Unable to practise their profession at home, they are embracing the opportunity to use their skills in an understaffed NHS.
Rouni Youssef, 27, picks up a patient's notes from the trolley outside the curtained cubicle and begins to thumb through the details.
"Interesting," he mutters to himself. "I think we should do an MRI."
I ask him what the day ahead on the hospital ward is looking like but Dr Youssef does not hear me. He is focused on the medical details before him, his eyes flicking feverishly over the scans like a sleuth over clues.
"Maybe some kidney malfunction here," he says.
Dr Rouni Youssef is currently on an unpaid clinical placement
Dr Youssef is polite and friendly towards me but I know I am holding him back from what he would rather be doing. It is, after all, what he has dreamed of doing all his life and what he has spent so many years training to do.
"I'm a Kurd from Aleppo," he shrugs. "And I'm a medical doctor but it just became too unsafe to stay in Syria and in 2014, I had to flee.
"I ended up here in Middlesbrough with nothing: no friends, no family and no career. I couldn't be a doctor any more. You can't imagine how that feels. It was like someone had cut off a body part.
"I was nothing and I had to start from scratch."
But thanks to the scheme run by the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust and a refugee charity called Investing in People and Culture, Dr Youssef once again is sporting a stethoscope around his neck.
He is currently on an unpaid clinical placement at the University Hospital of North Tees but he has just taken the second part of his Plab exams (an assessment conducted by the General Medical Council which all overseas doctors from outside the EEA must pass before they can legally practise medicine in the UK). If he passes, he will start applying for jobs in September.
"I'd love to be a consultant paediatrician," he admits shyly. "Babies are such dear little creatures - they're like angels, you know?"
Dr Jane Metcalf says the pilot scheme is a "win-win situation"
Dr Jane Metcalf, deputy medical director at the hospital, pops down to the ward to find out how his latest exams have gone.
She describes the Resettlement Programme For Overseas Doctors as primarily a humanitarian project to get skilled healthcare professionals back into practice but she also admits that, since the North East has a shortage of qualified doctors, it is also in the trust's interests to use their refugee resources.
The current scheme comprises 11 doctors and one pharmacist, from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan and the Congo.
"It's a win-win situation," Dr Metcalf explains. "Although the training is rigorous, the cost is low... to help the doctors through their exams and English tuition it's about £5,000 per doctor and when you compare that to the £250,000 it takes to train someone in the UK through medicine, it's pretty cost-effective.
"If we can get doctors like Rouni back into practice within a year that would be a tremendous achievement."
The biggest hurdle for the doctors though is passing the extremely high level, but requisite, English exam.
In an upstairs room at Middlesbrough library, the other doctors on the pilot scheme are learning about the inappropriate use of colloquial English in the written form.
Everyone is grumbling about the finicky example on the white board which, despite being a native speaker and having a university degree in English, even makes me pause for thought.
Eli (L) and Ahmad (R) are among those on the scheme studying for the extremely rigorous English exam
Eli, a GP from Congo, has had a long and difficult battle to win refugee status and was unable to join the scheme until his asylum papers were granted. While waiting however, he volunteered for the Alzheimer's Society and is now determined to work in geriatric medicine.
"We are refugees, yes," he smiles. "But we are doctors too. We don't take this opportunity for granted. Before this programme we had no road, no route. Now we have hope again. And we can give something back."
Ahmad, from Afghanistan, was just months away from completing his medical training as a specialist in paediatric orthopaedics when his life was threatened by the Taliban, forcing him and his family to flee Kabul.
"Now I'm optimistic for the future," he says. "I know that one day soon I will practise my passion again."
Outside the library I meet Bini Araia, founder of Investing in People and Culture, the charity working in partnership with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. He tells me that before the scheme's existence, many of the refugee surgeons and doctors, under pressure from their local job centre, were resigned to a life in the UK working in factories, garages or supermarkets.
"But we have a ready-made skill set!" he tells me. "And it's great to show with this programme that refugees can benefit UK society."
The programme shows refugees can benefit UK society, says IPC founder Bini Araia
Back on the ward at the hospital, there are no "baby angels" for Dr Youssef to treat today. Instead, his mentor, consultant physician Dr Sue Jones, asks him to join her as she examines an elderly patient who has been complaining of acute hip pain. Dr Youssef jogs eagerly to the patient's bedside.
"Well hello sir!" he beams. "And how are you feeling today? Is it really true you're 101?" He squats down and holds the man's hand, joking with him and reassuring him. I catch Dr Jones's eye. "Isn't he impressive?" she mouths delightedly.
Dr Metcalf wants to encourage other NHS trusts to implement the resettlement scheme for refugee doctors, something Dr Youssef welcomes.
"When I first walked back on to the ward," he remembers, "it felt like I had been fasting for 18 hours and then someone gave me a sip of cold, delicious water."
We walk together to the Rapid Assessment clinic.
"I want to be a doctor here in Middlesbrough," he continues, "because the people are so friendly." Then he grins."But the local accent here, it's a bit, um, fresh, isn't it?"
Emma Jane Kirby reports for BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40442848
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Cardiff church collapses: Man dies after Splott incident - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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A man dies after being trapped under rubble when a church collapsed in Cardiff, firefighters say.
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South East Wales
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A man has died after being trapped under a large amount of rubble after the derelict church collapsed
A man has died after being trapped in rubble when a church collapsed near a railway line in Cardiff.
Firefighters, rescue dogs and a drone had been searching for the man in the wreckage of the derelict church in Splott, which collapsed at about 14:50 BST.
Two people escaped from the building - which was being demolished - and were treated for minor injures.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service workers are trying to recover the body.
Gareth Davies, area manager for SWFRS, said the man had been trapped under a large amount of rubble.
He said: "As a service, we wish to extend our sympathies to the individual's family at this very sad time."
Cardiff demolition firm Young Contractors, which has been working on the derelict church for about three weeks, confirmed none of its staff were on the site at the time.
A report, prepared for Cardiff council in June 2016 ahead of work to replace a bridge nearby as part of rail upgrades, described the building as a "dangerous structure" at risk of "imminent collapse".
Report authors Bruton Knowles warned part of the building close to the railway line was unstable and needed to be stabilised or it may "fall" and damage the tracks.
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas said questions would have to be asked as to how the building got into the state it did, adding it had been "left to deteriorate for decades".
As the building collapsed a warning was sent to a train heading towards the scene, but the driver did not report anything "untoward" on the line, Network Rail said.
However, South Wales Police has since confirmed scaffolding was on the tracks.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Firefighter Gareth Davies said crews worked in a very "challenging environment"
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas says questions over the state of the church must be asked
Officers have taped off part of Pearl Street close to the derelict church.
All trains were initially cancelled between Cardiff and Newport, but two lines have now reopened. Limited services are in operation as a precautionary measure.
Network Rail warned commuters rail services across the network could be affected following the incident.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are working with our partners, Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway and Cross Country, to update passengers as and when more information becomes available."
Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens tweeted: "This is awful news from #Adamsdown my thoughts are with the victim's family & friends".
The Evac emergency alert phone app - which provides information about major incidents, fires, floods and terrorist attacks - warned users all main train lines between the capital and Newport were closed.
South Wales Police has asked people to avoid the area
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-40647984
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Credit and debit card surcharges to be banned - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The worst offenders are airlines and food delivery apps, the government says.
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Business
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Consumers are no longer to be charged extra for paying by debit or credit card, the government has said.
From January next year, businesses will not be allowed to add any surcharges for card payments.
The worst offenders currently are airlines and food delivery apps, and small businesses which typically add a fee for cards.
In 2010 alone consumers spent £473m on such charges, according to estimates by the Treasury.
It follows a directive from the European Union, which bans surcharges on Visa and Mastercard payments.
However the government has gone further than the directive, by also banning charges on American Express and Paypal too.
Campaigners welcomed the move, saying it was great news for consumers.
At the moment those booking airline tickets with credit cards pay an extra 3% with Flybe, with a minimum payment of £5.
However Flybe has already promised to get rid of the minimum payment, and cut its charges.
Ryanair said it would comply with any changes in the law.
Flybe has already promised to cut card surcharges
Several airlines, including Monarch and British Airways, have reduced their charges in the last year.
Take-away food apps are also amongst the highest-charging businesses, the Treasury said.
Both Hungryhouse and Just Eat add 50p to the bill for paying by card, although in some cases the charge may be paid by the restaurant.
On a £10 bill, that amounts to 5%.
Many local authorities also levy charges of around 2.5%. The DVLA - which charges a flat fee of £2.50 for a card -will also have to change its card payment policy.
Since 2012, it has made £42m from such fees. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) charges up to 0.6% for payment by credit card.
The change in the law is likely to mean some companies will simply put up their prices, to cover the extra costs they bear with card payments.
Banks typically charge large retailers between 10p and 20p for each debit card transaction, or 0.6% for credit cards.
"Maybe they will bump the price up," said James Daley, the managing director of Fairer Finance, which has been campaigning for the change.
"That's fair game. You have to take customers' money somehow. And it's not reasonable to add that cost on at the end of the process.
Why not put it in the headline price?"
There is also a question as to how the ban will be policed. Under the Consumer Rights Regulations, businesses are only allowed to charge a sum that reflects their own costs in processing a transaction.
But Mr Daley said many businesses are in breach of the regulations.
Some small shops charge a fee for the use of a card - but they are also have to pay more to the banks for processing such transactions.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40648641
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Where's hot? This summer's most popular holiday spots - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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Many holidaymakers no longer want just a couple of weeks' rest, but are searching for a more memorable experience.
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Business
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Polly Rowe says she likes to step outside of her comfort zone
For some of us, holidays are becoming more than just a chance to relax in the sun but the chance to experience something different - and this growth in out-of-the-way travel is playing a vital role in many countries' economic development.
"I like to to try and tick off the bucket list if I can," says Polly Rowe.
The 26-year-old is planning to go to Mexico this October to meet up with an old school friend who is house-sitting at a ranch.
"Might try my hand at some farming," she laughs.
Last year she went to Belize to volunteer for a marine conservation company, and scuba-dived every day for a month.
Her bigger holidays so far have included New Zealand and Japan. When she travels she spends most of her money on flights and experiences.
Social media is a big influence on where people are choosing to go
"I try to mainly stay in hostels and then save my money for the bigger experiences and things I want to try out there," she says.
Polly is part of a generation of travellers seeking not just relaxation and leisure when they take a break from work, but also an experience.
Holidays for this age group are now all about the "braggability factor," says Tim Fryer, UK country manager at STA Travel.
He says bookings to more adventurous destinations have risen significantly in the past few years.
While Thailand remains one of its most popular destinations, the firm has seen an increase in bookings to less mainstream places such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Thailand remains a popular long-haul destination - but faces competition from Sri Lanka and the Philippines
"It's driven by social media influence. They want to discover something unique and special and show everyone," he says.
The travel agency's customers are predominantly 20-somethings, many of whom are taking a gap year, after finishing school or university.
Even here, he said people are now seeking out more unusual options. The traditional year out may now be just six months, or even as long as 18 months.
"We've seen less off the shelf round the world trips and more picking and choosing of 'I want this and I want that'," he says.
Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Iceland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Costa Rica, Georgia and Sri Lanka are some of the countries which are seeing the strongest growth globally in travel and tourism, according to global industry body The World Travel and Tourism Council.
Their widening appeal is outpacing that of some of the more traditional holiday markets such as India, China and Indonesia.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to advise against all but essential travel to Tunisia
This kind of jump in tourism can be a massive boost for a country which has few other ways of generating money. But even in developed nations the sector is crucial.
Last year, visitor exports - how much international tourists spend - accounted for some 6.6% of total world exports, and just under a third of total services exports. Overall the sector was responsible for around 10% of global growth last year.
Where we go on holiday is of course determined by wider world events.
Traditional holiday destination Tunisia has fallen off the map since the 2015 attack in the resort of Sousse in which 30 British tourists and eight others were killed by a gunman with links to Islamic State. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to advise against all but essential travel there.
Source: Thomas Cook, based on UK tour operator and flight-only bookings until 2 May
Yet Turkey, hit by security fears last year, has seen its popularity bounce back for this summer, according to Thomas Cook. The country is the third most popular destination for its customers this summer after Spain and Greece.
Old favourites the US and Cyprus are fourth and fifth, says the travel agency which arranges travel for around 19 million customers a year.
The pound's fall, which is still down around 15% against the dollar since last year's EU referendum, has had a clear impact on holidaymakers' choices with trips to Mexico and South Africa boosted by the relative weakness of their currencies.
Nonetheless, Thomas Cook too has noticed a growing appetite for adventure, with families with children going to long-haul destinations that you might not expect.
Family package holiday bookings for this summer are up 24% year-on-year to Cuba, 39% to Cancun in Mexico and 17% to the Dominican Republic, it says.
The Sao Lourenco do Barrocal hotel complex in Portugal used to be a traditional farming village
At the more expensive end of the market, luxury travel club Mr and Mrs Smith says Portugal and Sri Lanka are currently in vogue.
The biggest trend the firm's co-founder James Lohan has noticed is that people now want all their trips to be memorable, not just ones taken to mark special occasions such as honeymoons and birthdays. He says FOMO - or fear of missing out - means people now want to "collect the world".
"The rise of social media has opened people's eyes to the world's possibilities. People now want transformational travel - something to enrich their lives more," he says.
Their typical client is "a slightly cliched cash-rich, time-poor person with an average age of 40," he says.
Their customers are not after extreme adventures such as climbing Kilimanjaro, but want what he describes as "boutique adventure more in keeping with a holiday".
In some ways, he says, they're simply re-inventing typical holiday pursuits such as museum tours for a new generation, offering instead things such as photography tours and cookery lessons.
'Frazzled urbanites' want to get back to nature says Mr & Mrs Smith co-founder James Lohan
Customers might not even realise it, but they're seeking something beyond just a hotel and "smart hoteliers are responding to that," he says.
He says a old Portuguese farming village, which has now been renovated and turned into the Sao Lourenco do Barrocal hotel by Jose Antonio Uva, the eighth generation of the same family to have lived there, is a good example.
"People are excited about things like kitchen gardens and provenance and being part of the hotel's working, particularly us frazzled urbanites. We want to get back to nature and be involved with it all," he says.
Reflecting their customers' demands, the firm which started out as a publisher, producing a guidebook on the top UK boutique hotels, now organises tailor-made travel itineraries for its travel club members.
Isn't it all just a bit stressful for a holiday. Shouldn't people just be relaxing on a beach?
He laughs, saying there's still plenty of bookings to "fly and flop" destinations.
Although for Polly it's not the type of holiday she'll be seeking out.
"I think it's really important to experience different cultures and step outside of your comfort zone," she says.
"It's also a great opportunity to come back home with a different perspective."
More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40641560
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Trump and Putin had another, undisclosed conversation at G20 - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The White House and Kremlin both label media reporting of the meeting as "absolutely absurd".
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US & Canada
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US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had another, previously undisclosed conversation at this month's G20, the White House has confirmed.
They spoke towards the end of a formal dinner but the White House has not revealed what was discussed.
President Trump has condemned media revelations of the talks as "sick".
The two leaders' relationship is under scrutiny amid allegations of Russian interference in the US election.
US intelligence agencies believe Moscow tried to tip the election in Mr Trump's favour, something denied by Russia. Mr Trump has rejected allegations of any collusion.
The extra conversation happened during a private meal of heads of state at the G20 summit in Hamburg earlier in the month.
The Kremlin said at the time that the two leaders had had "an opportunity to continue their discussion during the dinner", but the extent of the meeting was not known.
Mr Trump left his seat and headed to Mr Putin, who had been sitting next to Mr Trump's wife, Melania, US media said. The US president was alone with Mr Putin, apart from the attendance of the Russian president's official interpreter.
Mr Trump had been seated next to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's wife, so the US interpreter at the dinner spoke Japanese, not Russian. No media were in attendance.
Given the poor state of relations between Washington and Moscow and the controversy surrounding Russia's efforts to interfere with the US presidential campaign, each and every encounter between Mr Putin and Mr Trump is bound to be carefully scrutinised.
Thus the apparently impromptu discussion between the two men at the G20 dinner inevitably raises many questions. What was President Trump seeking to do in approaching the Russian president? Were matters of substance discussed? If so, why was no formal note taken? And why did the US president have to rely upon a Russian official for translation?
This is all highly unusual, especially at a time when relations between the two countries are laden with so many problems.
Mr Trump also appeared unaware of another dimension - the message that his tete-a-tete would send to other leaders in the room, who must have watched the US president's gambit with some unease.
Mr Trump's spokesperson Sarah Sanders told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that the dinner was part of the president's publicly released schedule.
"You guys came and took pictures of it," she told journalists. "It wasn't like this was some sort of hidden dinner. To act as if this was some secret is just absolutely absurd."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders had "exchanged opinions and phrases in the margins of the visit on more than one occasion".
"There were no covert or secret meetings. It is absolutely absurd to claim this," he was quoted as saying by Russia's TASS news agency.
Mr Peskov also mocked the notion that the subject of a conversation between the two men could have been kept secret, saying that is a "manifestation of schizophrenia".
The length of the talks has been disputed.
Ian Bremmer, president of the US-based Eurasia Group, who first reported them in a newsletter to clients, said: "Donald Trump got up from the table and sat down with Putin for about an hour. It was very animated and very friendly."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What Trump said of his first, formal meeting with Putin
No-one else was nearby, so the topics of discussion were not known, he said.
Mr Bremmer had not been at the dinner but said details were given to him by unnamed attendees who, he said, were "flummoxed, confused and startled" by the turn of events.
"At summit meetings you have little 'pull-asides' between heads of state to discuss business all the time - a one-hour pull-aside is highly unusual in any context," he told the BBC.
"A one-hour pull-aside between Putin and Trump where only the Kremlin translator is there, where we don't know what's discussed, given the uniqueness of the US-Russia relationship... makes the [US] president, surprisingly and disturbingly, not credible."
In a statement, a senior White House official said there was no "second meeting", just a brief conversation after dinner.
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The official said: "The insinuation that the White House has tried to 'hide' a second meeting is false, malicious and absurd. It is not merely perfectly normal, it is part of a president's duties, to interact with world leaders."
National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said: "A conversation over dessert should not be characterised as a meeting."
Mr Trump later said on Twitter: "Fake News story of secret dinner with Putin is 'sick.' All G20 leaders, and spouses, were invited by the Chancellor of Germany. Press knew!"
The dinner and its attendees have always been known. Only the Trump-Putin discussion had not been reported before.
At the dinner, Mr Trump's wife, Melania, sat next to Mr Putin
At the earlier, formal meeting, their first face-to-face encounter, Mr Trump said he had repeatedly pressed Mr Putin about the allegations of interference in the US vote.
"I said, 'Did you do it?' He said, 'No, I did not, absolutely not.' I then asked him a second time, in a totally different way. He said, 'Absolutely not.'"
There are congressional investigations, and one by a special counsel, into the allegations of Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with the Trump team.
On Tuesday, the Senate intelligence committee said it wanted to interview Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, and other members of the Trump team, over a meeting they had with a Russian lawyer in June last year.
Mr Trump Jr said he had attended the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya as he was promised damaging material on Hillary Clinton, but it did not materialise.
On Wednesday, Ms Veselnitskaya told Russia's RT television channel she would be willing to testify before the Senate on the matter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Commander in tweets: What we can learn from Trump's Twitter
Meanwhile, the White House said Mr Trump would nominate former Utah governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia, a key post for a president who promised to improve relations with Moscow.
Mr Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China and Singapore, needs to have his name confirmed by the Senate.
The suspicions over Russian interference are likely to play a significant factor in his confirmation process, correspondents say.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40651502
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Swiss glacier reveals couple lost in 1942 - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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Their 79-year-old daughter says she has found peace from the discovery after a life-long search.
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Europe
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Bernhard Tschannen shows where the bodies were found in the ice
A shrinking glacier in Switzerland has revealed two frozen bodies believed to be of a couple who went missing 75 years ago, Swiss media report.
Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin disappeared at a height of 2,600m (8,530ft) after going to tend to their cows in the Alps in August 1942.
They were farmers whose seven children never gave up hope of finding them.
Their youngest daughter, 79, said she was now planning to give her parents the funeral they deserved.
Mr and Mrs Dumoulin were never found despite extensive searches.
"We spent our whole lives looking for them," Marceline Udry-Dumoulin told Lausanne daily Le Matin.
"I can say that after 75 years of waiting this news gives me a deep sense of calm."
A DNA test will be conducted in several days' time, police say.
Local police said the bodies were discovered last week on Tsanfleuron glacier, above the Les Diablerets resort, by a worker from ski-lift company, Glacier 3000.
Director Bernhard Tschannen said his employee found some backpacks, tin bowls and a glass bottle, as well as male and female shoes, and part of a body under the ice.
Valais police said in a statement that a book, a backpack and a watch had been taken to Lausanne for forensic analysis.
Mr Tschannen said that it was likely the couple had fallen into a crevasse and the way they were dressed implied that they could have been there for 70 or 80 years.
"The bodies were lying near each other. It was a man and a woman wearing clothing dating from the period of World War Two," he told Le Matin.
The weathered belongings of Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin were also found on the Tsanfleuron glacier alongside their bodies
Ms Udry-Dumoulin said her mother, a teacher, rarely went on such walks with her husband, a shoemaker, because she spent much of her adult life pregnant and it was difficult terrain.
She said that she had never given up hoping that one day she would find her parents, even climbing the glacier three times to look for them.
Within two months of the disappearance of her parents, she and her siblings were placed with different families, and lost contact over the years.
She told Le Matin that she wanted to hold a long-awaited funeral, but would not wear black.
"I think that white would be more appropriate. It represents hope, which I never lost," she said.
The bodies of a number of missing climbers have been discovered in the Alps in recent years.
Climatologists say a rise in global temperatures is causing the ice to recede, revealing the corpses of those missing for decades.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40645745
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Actor Paul Nicholls rescued from Thailand waterfall - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Actor Paul Nicholls had been trapped for three days at a Thai waterfall after breaking his legs.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Footage has emerged of Paul Nicholls being rescued
British actor Paul Nicholls has been rescued after being trapped at the bottom of a waterfall in Thailand for three days, his agent has said.
The ex-EastEnders star had motorcycled to the site in Koh Samui before falling, breaking both legs and shattering a knee.
He was unable to use his phone after it broke, but local villagers alerted police to his abandoned motorbike.
The 38-year-old Bolton-born actor's agent said he was "recovering well".
Nicholls will be flown back to the UK next week.
The actor, who played Joe Wicks on the BBC soap in the 1990s, was on holiday in Thailand after finishing filming for the Channel 4 series Ackley Bridge.
After being alerted, police searched records to find out who had rented the bike and found it had been rented to a British tourist called Paul Greenhalgh - Nicholls' real name.
Volunteer rescuers, police, and medics went to search for the actor, and found him several hours after setting off.
Mr Nicholls came to prominence in long-running BBC soap EastEnders
Nicholls' first TV appearance was aged 10 in Granada Television show Children's Ward.
His EastEnders character Joe Wicks lived with schizophrenia, and the popular soap was praised for its portrayal of mental health on-screen.
Since EastEnders, Nicholls has appeared in a number of TV shows, including Law and Order UK, Casualty, and Grantchester.
His most recent TV appearance is in Channel 4's Ackley Bridge, where he plays a teacher in a school where British Asian and white British communities merge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40656303
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BBC admits University Challenge banana boots slip-up - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman incorrectly said Billy Connolly's banana boots were made by John Byrne.
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Scotland
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Edmund Smith created the boots for Billy Connolly in 1975
The BBC has upheld a complaint from the daughter of a Scottish artist after Jeremy Paxman gave the wrong answer to a question on University Challenge.
The quiz show host incorrectly attributed Billy Connolly's banana boots to artist John Byrne rather than their true creator Edmund Smith.
Glasgow pop artist Smith made the size 9 bananas for the comedian in 1975.
The BBC said it had drawn the "oversight" to the attention of the programme's producers.
The error was made during a Christmas celebrity special of the quiz show, broadcast on 27 December 2016.
During the semi final, presenter Jeremy Wade, journalist Shiulie Ghosh and Prof Jamie Angus - for the University of Kent - were asked by Paxman: "Born in Paisley in 1940, which artist and playwright designed Billy Connolly's banana boots and wrote the 'Slab Boys trilogy' for the theatre and the series Tutti Frutti for television?"
To which Paxman responded: "Funny answer, but not right. John Byrne".
The University of Kent team featured Jeremy Wade, Shiulie Ghosh, Paul Ross and Prof Jamie Angus
The BBC acknowledged that the answer was wrong and conceded that the correct information was widely available, including from the biography of Billy Connolly, written by his wife Pamela Stephenson.
In a ruling from the Complaints Unit, the BBC said: "The daughter of Edmund Smith complained that the answer was incorrect, her father having designed and made the boots in question.
"Evidence from several sources, including a detailed account of the matter in Pamela Stephenson's biography of Billy Connolly, confirmed that the boots had been designed and made by Edmund Smith.
"The executive producer responsible for oversight of the series drew the finding to the attention of the independent production company which makes it."
Edmund Smith's banana boots are currently on display at the People's Palace Museum at Glasgow Green.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40642593
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Teaching union calls for school lockdown plan - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A strategy is needed in case of dangerous events on school premises, a teaching union says.
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Leeds & West Yorkshire
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Reinwood Junior School is one of several in West Yorkshire which carries out lockdown drills
Schools need a coherent strategy for lockdown procedures in case of a dangerous event taking place on their premises, a teaching union said.
The NASUWT said schools currently had ad hoc drills to deal with various threats and called on the government to put together a comprehensive plan.
More than 200 head teachers in West Yorkshire have attended council-run seminars providing advice on lockdowns.
The government said it "constantly reviewed" security guidance it issues.
The seminars, run in collaboration with police, the fire service and the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, give advice on managing a potentially violent or dangerous event in or around a school.
Five have been held since the beginning of 2016, with organisers aiming to have covered every school in West Yorkshire by Easter 2018.
Scenarios covered include noxious fumes from a fire or chemical incident, weapons in school, animals in school grounds, aggressive pupils or parents and bomb threats.
Many schools across the UK practise lockdown drills
Huddersfield's Reinwood Junior School is one of several in West Yorkshire which carries out lockdown drills, with pupils and staff practising twice a year.
After a pre-recorded alarm and message is played from the tannoy, pupils get under tables, teachers lock classroom doors, lights are turned off and window shutters pulled down.
Ian Darlington, Year Six teacher at the school, said it was better to practise so that it "almost becomes second nature" to the pupils.
"Initially it might appear that we are raising concerns, raising children's fears, but in actual fact they're quite calm doing it now," he said.
"They understand the importance of doing it and it doesn't worry them."
Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary, said: "Responsibility for ensuring security and terrorism preparedness should be the responsibility of the whole governing body.
"It would not be appropriate for the government simply to require schools to have preparedness plans in place and assume that they are able to do this.
"Schools will already have plans in place to respond to a range of emergency scenarios, but it's important that they are given specific advice and support on what additional provisions are considered necessary and the support and advice to implement them."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Schools have a legal responsibility to ensure staff and pupils are safe.
"We provide a range of support for schools and constantly review guidance to ensure it is comprehensive and up to date."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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Obamacare repeal plan 'would axe insurance for 32m' - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The cost of health insurance would double in a decade under the Republican plan, the analysis finds.
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US & Canada
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Thirty-two million Americans would lose health coverage under a Republican plan to repeal Obamacare, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has forecast.
The non-partisan office's analysis found the cost of a medical insurance policy would increase 25% next year and double by 2026.
The repeal bill would also cut the federal deficit by $473bn (£363bn), predicted the CBO.
The Republican-controlled Senate has twice failed to pass a healthcare bill.
Its members plan to vote next week on a plan to repeal President Barack Obama's 2010 health law with a two-year delay.
But the CBO estimates the number of uninsured would rise by 17 million next year alone if the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, were to be overturned.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. President Trump has been switching his position what do about the health bill in recent days
President Donald Trump earlier called on his party to postpone their summer holiday until they have repealed Obamacare and replaced it with the Republican plan.
Mr Trump told 49 Republican senators at the White House: "We should hammer this out and get it done."
In the past two days he has switched position several times, urging the repeal and replace of Obamacare, just repealing it, allowing it to fail, before reverting to repeal and replace on Wednesday.
Mr Trump said: "For seven years you promised the American people that you would repeal Obamacare.
"People are hurting. Inaction is not an option. And frankly I don't think we should leave town unless we have a health insurance plan."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. President Trump won big in Kentucky last year but the state also depends heavily on Obamacare
Mr Trump warned a senator who was seated next to him that he could lose his job if he did not toe the party line.
A ripple of uncomfortable laughter was heard in the room as the president said of Nevada's Dean Heller: "And he wants to remain a senator, doesn't he? OK."
Mr Heller, who was one of the earliest senators to oppose the first version of the Republican health bill, is up for re-election next year.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote early next week on a straight-up repeal of Obamacare.
However, it looks likely to fail after the defections on Tuesday of at least three of the party's senators.
Mr McConnell pointed out it was the same legislation that all but one Republican senator voted to send to President Barack Obama in 2015, safe in the knowledge he would veto it.
But now the party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, some rank-and-file Republicans seem wary of enacting legislation that would eliminate medical insurance for millions of Americans.
"We thankfully have a president in office who will sign it," said Mr McConnell, whose reputation as a master tactician has been dented by the imbroglio.
"So we should send it to him."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Trump's battles with Obamacare - in his own words
With Democrats united in opposition, Mr McConnell can only lose two votes from his 52-48 majority in the 100-seat Senate to pass the bill.
Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia are opposed to repeal.
Overturning Obamacare was a top campaign pledge for Mr Trump and congressional Republicans, who view the law as a costly intrusion into the healthcare system.
The party's proposed alternative includes steep cuts to Medicaid, a healthcare programme for the poor and disabled.
It would also remove Obamacare's individual mandate, which requires all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.
And there would be a six-month ban on obtaining new medical coverage for anyone who lets their previous policy lapse for more than two months.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Commander in tweets: What we can learn from Trump's Twitter
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40662772
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BBC stars react to their salaries being revealed - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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Work rate and competitors' offers sighted in defence of £150,000-plus salaries.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Stars and broadcasters have given their reaction to the BBC releasing details of what it pays its top talent.
Radio 2 host Chris Evans topped the table, in a salary bracket of £2,200,000 - £2,249,999.
He was followed by Gary Lineker, Graham Norton and Jeremy Vine - in a list that revealed a gender pay gap and a lack of diversity BBC Director General Tony Hall said must be addressed.
Of those, in the top pay brackets, Gary Lineker tweeted he would be looking for his "tin helmet" after wishing everyone "Happy BBC salary day".
He quipped his agent and commercial channels were to "blame"- possibly for his salary in the region of £1,750,000 - £1,799,999.
"This whole BBC salary exposure business is an absolute outrage," he went on to tweet. "I mean how can @achrisevans be on more than me?"
Another at the top of the list is Radio 4's Today presenter John Humphrys, who admitted his salary of £600,000 was hard to justify.
"What do I do? On paper, absolutely nothing that justifies that huge amount of money, if you compare me with lots of other people who do visibly.
"If a doctor saves a child's life, if a nurse comforts a dying person, a fireman rushes into Grenfell Tower, then of course you could argue that compared with that sort of thing I'm not worth tuppence ha'penny. However we operate in a market place."
Political, documentary and radio host Andrew Marr confirmed he is paid £400,475 a year, describing how that is less than the £600,000 he was "widely reported" to be paid a couple of years ago.
That covered his Sunday morning politics show, radio work, documentaries, obituaries and work on key news events such as elections and referendums, he said.
The presenter, who suffered a stroke in 2013, added: "As the BBC moves to deal with highly paid employees, my salary has been coming down.
"I now earn £139,000 a year less than I did two years ago.
"In the past I have been offered deals by the BBC's commercial rivals at a higher rate than the corporation would pay."
Jeremy Vine says he feels "lucky every day"
Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine was accused on air on Wednesday by a former miner of being "grossly, grossly overpaid" along with the other 95 on the talent list.
Harry Jones from Glamorgan told Vine: "I enjoy your programme and I enjoy you personally but I'd like to ask you a direct question, are you embarrassed to pick up your pay cheque?"
Vine said: "I just feel very lucky every day, is the answer to that."
Mr Jones asked: "Do you think you're overpaid?" to which Vine replied: "I don't really want to answer that because I don't think it's the moment for me."
Radio 5 live presenter and The Big Questions TV show host Nicky Campbell said simply that he had been on network radio for 30 years this year.
"Every day I realise what a privilege it is and how lucky I am," he tweeted.
Andrew Neil makes the list but co-host Jo Coburn does not
Andrew Neil mentioned his inclusion during Wednesday morning's Daily Politics, hosted with Jo Coburn, who is not on the list.
He said: "The BBC has published details of on-screen talent, which you may be surprised to know includes me - as on-screen talent."
Discussing sport, he joked: "Is Gary Lineker coming on to do this bit? That means the budget will be gone for the year."
The list has provoked debate, not least because two-thirds of those on it are men and there are seven of them ahead of the highest-paid woman, Claudia Winkleman.
She earns an amount in the £450,000 - £499,999 bracket. Her agent offered "no comment" in response to the publication.
"We'll be discussing #GenderPayGap. As we've done since 1946. Going well, isn't it?"
Speaking on BBC News former shadow culture secretary and former Labour leader Harriet Harman said publishing the list meant "pay discrimination" at the BBC had been "laid bare".
She described it as "the old boys' network where they're feathering their own nests and each others' and there is discrimination and unfairness against women".
"Although everybody will think it's very unfair and outrageous, this is a moment now, when it can be sorted out," she added.
Maria Miller, Basingstoke MP and chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee questioned how the BBC would handle the disparity between men's and women's pay.
"If individuals are doing exactly the same job, it is actually against the law to pay them differently," she said.
"It is still incredibly unclear how the BBC is going to avoid getting into some very difficult legal positions with some of the people they employ."
"All #BBCpay numbers are eye-watering," tweeted Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas. "But to see so many extremely talented women paid less than male 'equivalents' is utterly infuriating."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "We do have further to go" says James Purnell, BBC Director of Radio and Education
But BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker took to Twitter to say he earns the same as co-host Louise Minchin for the programme - it is his other BBC commitments in BBC Sport that take his total salary higher.
And Radio 1's Scott Mills opened the floodgates to a large lunch bill with his riposte to fellow DJ Chris Stark's request to buy him lunch.
Hungry Twitterers piled in to place their order after the £250,000 - £299,999 wage bracket earner generously replied: "What would you like?"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40654363
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BBC pay: Chris Evans tops list of best-paid stars - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The Radio 2 host earned more than £2.2m while Claudia Winkleman was the best-paid female presenter.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Evans and Winkleman are the BBC's highest paid male and female stars
Chris Evans has topped the list of the BBC's best-paid stars.
He made between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017, while Claudia Winkleman was the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000.
About two-thirds of stars earning more than £150,000 are male, compared to one-third female, according to the BBC annual report.
Director general Tony Hall said there was "more to do" on gender and diversity.
It is the first time the pay of stars earning more than £150,000 has been made public.
The BBC has been compelled to reveal the information, including the pay of 96 of its top stars, under the terms of its new Royal Charter.
The total bill for the 96 personalities was £28.7m; but the figures in the report reveal large disparities between what men and women are paid.
Overall, 25 men on the talent list receive more than £250,000, compared to just nine women.
Speaking on LBC Radio, Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We've seen the way the BBC is paying women less for doing the same job... I want women to be paid equally."
When asked if Chris Evans was worth 12 of her, Mrs May - who earns about £150,000 - said: "What's important is that the BBC looks at the question of paying men and women the same for doing the same job."
"On gender and diversity, the BBC is more diverse than the broadcasting industry and the civil service," Lord Hall said.
"We've made progress, but we recognise there is more to do and we are pushing further and faster than any other broadcaster."
When asked if female talent working at the BBC would now be asking for pay rises, Lord Hall said: "We will be working carefully on our relationship with our talent."
Woman's Hour's Jane Garvey tweeted: "I'm looking forward to presenting @BBCWomansHour today. We'll be discussing #GenderPayGap . As we've done since 1946. Going well, isn't it?"
Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, who did not appear on the list, retweeted Garvey's message.
There is also a gap between the pay for white stars and those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background.
George Alagiah, Jason Mohammad and Trevor Nelson are the highest paid BAME presenters, each receiving between £250,000 and £300,000.
The highest-paid female star with a BAME background is BBC news presenter Mishal Husain, who earned between £200,000 and £250,000.
The annual report contains pay information in bands and does not reveal exact amounts. Nor does it include stars who receive their pay through BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm.
The figures quoted only refer to the amount of licence fee money each person receives and do not include their earnings from other broadcasters or commercial activities.
They also exclude stars paid through independent production companies.
That means some big name stars - such as David Attenborough, Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt LeBlanc - do not appear on the list.
The list also does not distinguish between people who are paid for doing multiple jobs within the BBC and those who are just paid for one.
Two of the judges on Strictly are in a higher pay bracket than the others - but they also work for other BBC shows
Strictly Come Dancing head judge Len Goodman - who has now left the show - and fellow judge Bruno Tonioli were both in the £200,000-£250,000 band.
The show's other judges, Craig Revel Horwood and Darcey Bussell, got between £150,000 and £200,000.
Tess Daly, Winkleman's Strictly Come Dancing co-host, was paid between £350,000 and £400,000.
Graham Norton earned more than £850,000 but this does not include payments to his production company, which makes The Graham Norton Show and pays him a separate salary.
The BBC is alone amongst the UK's major broadcasters in releasing pay details for its on-air and on-screen talent. Talent pay is considerably higher in the commercial sector.
As he left the BBC after his Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday, Chris Evans said it was right "on balance" that star salaries were being disclosed.
"We are the ultimate public company I think, and therefore it's probably right and proper people know what we get paid," he told reporters.
During a briefing on the annual report on Wednesday morning, Lord Hall said: "Chris Evans is presenting the most popular show on the most popular radio network in Europe.
"The BBC does not exist in a market on its own where it can set the market rates.
"If we are to give the public what they want, then we have to pay for those great presenters and stars."
Aside from Strictly, Winkleman's other BBC roles include presenting The Great British Sewing Bee and her Radio 2 Sunday night show.
Her agent said she would be making no comment.
If you ask experienced people in the world of broadcasting what they think of these salary disclosures, three clear and consistent points are apparent.
First, the BBC pays below - and sometimes much below - market rates, both at management level and in terms of top broadcasting talent.
Second, this move will prove inflationary. Those on the list will think to themselves: "Why is that inferior presenter getting paid more than me?" - and will demand a pay rise.
Third, if you thought it was tin hat time for the talent, pity the poor agents they work with.
Casualty star Derek Thompson was the BBC's highest paid actor, receiving between £350,000 and £400,000 over the last financial year.
Amanda Mealing, who also stars in Casualty as well as Holby City, was the highest paid actress, receiving between £250,000 and £300,000.
Peter Capaldi, the outgoing star of Doctor Who, was paid between £200,000 and £250,000.
Clare Balding earned between £150,000 and £200,000 for her work on sports shows including Wimbledon Today and the Rio Olympics.
Casualty stars Derek Thompson and Amanda Mealing are the BBC's best-paid actors
The overall spend on talent was £193.5m - down on the £200m spent in 2015/2016.
The figures also showed a decrease - from 109 to 96 - in the number of stars paid more than £150,000.
The total spend on stars with salaries of more than £150,000 was also down £5 million on the £31.9 million paid in the previous financial year.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ex-BBC chairman Lord Grade describes the corporation's disclosure of talent pay as "disturbing"
Speaking on the Today programme, Lord Grade - a former BBC One controller - called the government's insistence that talent pay be disclosed "distasteful and disturbing".
"The net result of this is inflation," he said. "Talent salaries and wages will round upwards, they won't go down."
Former culture secretary John Whittingdale MP said: "If somebody is earning the equivalent of 1,000 households' licence fees put together… the licence fee payer deserves to know."
The annual report showed that the BBC continues to reach 95 percent of UK adults every week.
It also said the iPlayer had its most successful year to date, with an average of 246 million requests each month.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Prime Minister's Questions: Theresa May v Jeremy Corbyn - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clash over low pay in their final PMQs before the summer recess.
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UK Politics
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Bob Neill, the chair of the Justice Committee says it is right that the minister is frank about the problems facing prisons.
He asks if the government will take forward the prison reform agenda which does not rely on legislation, and if he will commit to providing data to the House and the committee on implementing the Prison Inspector's recommendations.
The minister says he would be more than happy to discuss this further with the committee.
He adds that the government have not ruled out future legislation for prisons, but there is a lot that can be done without requiring legislation.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-40653503
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South Yorkshire Police helicopter sex film trial begins - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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Two police officers and two pilots deny filming people either naked or having sex in a garden.
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Sheffield & South Yorkshire
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A police helicopter was used to film two people "brazenly" having sex in their garden, a court heard.
The trial of two South Yorkshire Police officers and two pilots has begun at Sheffield Crown Court.
Matthew Lucas, 42, Lee Walls, 47, Matthew Loosemore, 45, and Malcolm Reeves, 64, all deny misconduct in a public office.
On other occasions people sunbathing naked and naturists at a campsite were filmed, the court was told.
Richard Wright QC prosecuting, said the crew used their "unique viewing position [and] powerful video camera" to film people "in a gross violation of privacy."
The court heard that five people were filmed sunbathing naked, as well as naturists on a campsite, and a couple having sex in their garden.
Former police officer Adrian Pogmore has previously admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office
Pilots Mr Reeves, of Farfield Avenue, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, and Mr Loosemore, of Briar Close, Auckley, Doncaster, denies one count.
Police officers Mr Walls, of Southlands Way, Aston, Sheffield, denies one count, and Mr Lucas, of Coppice Rise, Chapeltown, Sheffield, denies three counts.
A fifth man, former police officer Adrian Pogmore, 50, of Whiston in Rotherham, has admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office.
Footage showed a couple having sex on their patio in July 2008 and at one point the naked woman waves at the aircraft.
The court was told the crew used a powerful video camera to film people
Mr Wright said the couple shared Pogmore's interest in swinging and added it was "no coincidence" that the helicopter flew above "while they brazenly put on a show."
The accused deny the charges and, "in short", blame Pogmore for what happened, Mr Wright said.
A couple sitting naked by a caravan were also filmed unawares in July 2008, and the aircraft filmed a garden where a woman was sunbathing naked with her daughters in 2007.
The court heard the woman felt the filming was "a complete and utter violation of my privacy" and added: "It makes me feel sick to think that this took place."
In 2012 other naked sunbathers were filmed, the jury were told.
Statements from all except the couple filmed having sex on the patio - who did not make a statement to police - said their privacy had been invaded.
Mr Wright told the court it was a "gross waste of valuable resource".
The trial continues and is expected to last three weeks.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-40645716
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Canada's Governor General blames 'slippy' carpet for royal protocol breach - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The 91-year-old monarch's representative in Canada touches her elbow to help her down stairs.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Canada's Governor General lightly touched the Queen on the elbow as she descended a flight of steps
Canada's Governor General David Johnston says a "slippy" carpet is to blame for an apparent breach of royal etiquette with the Queen.
He was pictured lightly touching the Queen's elbow during an event in London to mark Canada's 150th birthday.
Mr Johnston said he was simply concerned about the Queen's safety as she navigated a short flight of stairs.
"I was just anxious to be sure there was no stumbling on the steps," he told the CBC.
"It's a little bit awkward, that descent from Canada House to Trafalgar Square, and there was carpet that was a little slippy, and so I thought perhaps it was appropriate to breach protocol just to be sure that there was no stumble."
The Queen, 91, was accompanied by Prince Philip as she attended Wednesday's event at Canada's High Commission.
Mr Johnston, who is the Queen's representative in Canada, is not the first to make headlines for apparently breaching royal protocol.
Eyebrows raised in 2009 when former US First Lady Michelle Obama put her arm around the Queen.
In 1992, former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating was called "the lizard of Oz" for wrapping his arm around the Queen during a royal tour.
Queen Elizabeth is also not the only member of the royal family to find people getting more friendly than royal etiquette recommends.
American basketball star LeBron James made news in 2014 after placing his arm around the Duchess of Cambridge.
Basketball player LeBron James placing his arm around the Duchess of Cambridge
And actor Tom Hiddleston was pictured in 2016 with an arm wrapped around the Duchess of Cornwall.
Mr Johnston, 76, will not have another opportunity for any royal missteps.
He is to leave his position in September and will be replaced in the official role by Canadian astronaut Julie Payette.
This trip was his final visit to the UK to meet with the Queen.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40651179
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Madonna blocks sale of intimate items at auction - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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A US judge halts an auction of the superstar's items, including a break-up letter from rapper Tupac.
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US & Canada
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Madonna confirmed two years ago that she had had a relationship with Tupac (R)
A US judge has halted an auction of personal items of Madonna, after she said her privacy was violated.
New York Justice Gerald Lebovits set a full hearing for 6 September, banning auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll from holding a sale in the meantime.
Madonna's underwear, a chequebook, a hairbrush, photos and a break-up letter from the late rapper Tupac Shakur had been among the scheduled lots.
The pop superstar said her possessions had been stolen by a former friend.
Tupac's letter, in which the rapper suggests he broke up with Madonna because of her race, was expected to fetch as much as $400,000 (£307,000).
The letter is dated 15 January 1995 and was penned while Tupac was serving a prison sentence for sexual assault, 18 months before he was shot dead. Both artists were then at the height of their fame.
A series of pictures purportedly showing parts of the prison letter written by Tupac to Madonna, released by Gotta Have Rock and Roll
Madonna, 58, confirmed two years ago that the pair had had a relationship, though it is unclear how long it lasted.
"For you to be seen with a black man wouldn't in any way jeopardise your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open and exciting," Tupac, then 23, wrote from New York's Clinton Correctional Facility.
"But for me at least in my previous perception I felt due to my 'image' that I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was.
"Like you said, I haven't been the kind of friend I know I am capable of being," he wrote, adding: "I never meant to hurt you."
In court documents, Madonna said she had only learned from press reports that the letter from her former boyfriend - and many of the other items - were no longer in her possession.
Many of the lots were presented for sale by New York art dealer Darlene Lutz.
Madonna said Ms Lutz had access to them when she helped the singer pack up a house in Miami.
"It seems obvious that Defendant Lutz betrayed my trust in an outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or consent," Madonna told the court.
A spokesperson for Ms Lutz and the auction house said Madonna and "her legal army" had taken a "completely baseless" action to temporarily halt the sale, and vowed to challenge the allegations in court.
Objecting to the sale of her hairbrush, Madonna told the judge: "I understand that my DNA could be extracted from a piece of my hair. It is outrageous and grossly offensive that my DNA could be auctioned for sale to the general public."
The pop singer also sought to block the sale of a frank letter to another former lover, actor John Enos.
Writing in the early 1990s, Madonna said she envied the careers of singer Whitney Houston and actress Sharon Stone, saying they were "horribly mediocre" and had profited from her own success.
"Maybe this is what black people felt like when Elvis Presley got huge," she wrote.
Sharon Stone wrote in a Facebook post last week that she is friends with Madonna, adding: "I love and adore you; won't be pitted against you by any invasion of our personal journeys."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40656485
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BBC pay: Male stars earn more than female talent - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Of the BBC stars earning more than £150,000 last year, 62 were male and 34 were female.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Claudia Winkleman and Alex Jones are the BBC's highest paid female stars
The BBC has revealed two-thirds of its stars earning more than £150,000 are male, with Chris Evans the top-paid on between £2.2m and £2.25m.
Claudia Winkleman was the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000 last year, its annual report for 2016/2017 says.
The One Show's Alex Jones was second, earning between £400,000 and £450,000.
BBC director general Tony Hall said there was "more to do" on the gender pay gap.
The top seven earners, in the list of the BBC's 96 best-paid stars, were all male.
It is the first time the pay of stars earning more than £150,000 has been made public.
The BBC has been compelled to reveal the information under the terms of its new Royal Charter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why the gender pay gap could mean problems for the BBC
Speaking on LBC Radio, Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We've seen the way the BBC is paying women less for doing the same job... I want women to be paid equally."
When asked if Evans was worth considerably more than her, she said: "What's important is that the BBC looks at the question of paying men and women the same for doing the same job."
The total bill for the 96 personalities was £28.7m but the figures in the report reveal large disparities between what men and women are paid.
"On gender and diversity, the BBC is more diverse than the broadcasting industry and the civil service," Lord Hall said.
"We've made progress, but we recognise there is more to do and we are pushing further and faster than any other broadcaster."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "We do have further to go" on the gender pay gap says BBC Director of Radio and Education
When asked if female stars working at the BBC would now be asking for pay rises, Lord Hall said: "We will be working carefully on our relationship with our talent."
He also pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020.
Trade union Equity said in a statement: "The apparent pay gaps in gender and for those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background are troubling."
Woman's Hour's Jane Garvey tweeted: "I'm looking forward to presenting @BBCWomansHour today. We'll be discussing #GenderPayGap . As we've done since 1946. Going well, isn't it?"
Other high profile omissions including the Today programme's Sarah Montague, BBC Breakfast's Louise Minchin and Woman's Hour's Jenni Murray.
Radio 4 Today presenter John Humphrys, acknowledged that his £600,000 salary was hard to justify: "On paper, absolutely nothing that justifies that huge amount of money, if you compare me with lots of other people who do visibly.
"If a doctor saves a child's life, if a nurse comforts a dying person, a fireman rushes into Grenfell Tower, then of course you could argue that compared with that sort of thing I'm not worth tuppence ha'penny. However, we operate in a market place."
There is also a gap between the pay for white stars and those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background.
George Alagiah, Jason Mohammad and Trevor Nelson are the highest paid BAME presenters, each receiving between £250,000 and £300,000.
The highest-paid female star with a BAME background is BBC news presenter Mishal Husain, who earned between £200,000 and £250,000.
The annual report does not include stars who receive their pay through BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm.
The figures quoted only refer to the amount of licence fee money each person receives and do not include their earnings from other broadcasters or commercial activities. They also exclude stars paid through independent production companies.
That means some big name stars - such as David Attenborough, Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt LeBlanc - do not appear on the list.
The list also does not distinguish between people who are paid for doing multiple jobs within the BBC and those who are just paid for one. Talent pay is considerably higher in the commercial sector.
As he left the BBC after his Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday, Chris Evans said it was right "on balance" that star salaries were being disclosed.
"We are the ultimate public company I think, and therefore it's probably right and proper people know what we get paid," he told reporters.
During a briefing on the annual report on Wednesday morning, Lord Hall said: "Chris Evans is presenting the most popular show on the most popular radio network in Europe.
"The BBC does not exist in a market on its own where it can set the market rates.
"If we are to give the public what they want, then we have to pay for those great presenters and stars."
Aside from Strictly, Winkleman's other BBC roles include presenting The Great British Sewing Bee and her Radio 2 Sunday night show. Her agent said she would be making no comment.
Casualty stars Derek Thompson and Amanda Mealing are the BBC's best-paid actors
Casualty star Derek Thompson was the BBC's highest paid actor, receiving between £350,000 and £400,000 over the last financial year.
Amanda Mealing, who also stars in Casualty as well as Holby City, was the highest paid actress, receiving between £250,000 and £300,000.
Clare Balding earned between £150,000 and £200,000 for her work on sports shows including Wimbledon Today and the Rio Olympics.
The overall spend on talent was £193.5m - down on the £200m spent in 2015/2016.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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William and Kate visit Berlin's Holocaust memorial - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also met the German chancellor on their first day in Berlin.
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UK
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The royal couple also met Holocaust survivors in Poland
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have visited Berlin's Holocaust memorial to pay tribute to the millions of Jewish people who died.
Prince William and Catherine saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which represents a graveyard.
One survivor told them about his time at Auschwitz, where his parents were killed, and recalled the smell of burning bodies.
The couple are on a five-day tour of Poland and Germany with their children.
After looking around an underground museum at the memorial, the royal couple learned about some of the stories of the six million Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.
The duke and duchess then met a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Leon Schwarzbaum, 96, told them what life was like inside the camp.
At the age of 21, he worked as a runner for the camp commander.
Leon Schwarzbaum says it took him 10 years to talk about his experience
Mr Schwarzbaum showed the duke and duchess pictures of his family and told the duchess six people slept in one bunk.
He spoke about the smell of bodies while pointing to a chimney, adding: "You could smell the chimney throughout the whole camp. It was a terrible smell."
The couple also met several children on their first day in Berlin, at a centre for mental health and young people and also at the Strassenkinder charity for disadvantaged children.
Catherine was greeted with hugs by some children, rather than traditional handshakes
Some children opted for a high five from Prince William
While others cheered alongside the royal couple
The duke and duchess also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and attended a private lunch.
Prince William and Catherine were expected to discuss European politics, global issues and volunteer work.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The royals were given a tour of the chancellery by Angela Merkel
The duke and duchess visited Berlin's famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate
The royal couple, accompanied on the tour by Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, two, arrived in Germany after spending two days in Poland, where they met its first democratically-elected president, Lech Walesa, and visited a former concentration camp.
On Thursday the royals will move on to the German city of Heidelberg, which is twinned with Cambridge.
A boat race is planned which will see William and Catherine cox opposing rowing teams in the race, with crews from Cambridge and Heidelberg.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte are accompanying William and Kate on the tour
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40658177
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Births to foreign-born mothers hit 28% in England and Wales - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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This figure has been on the rise since 1990 in England and Wales, official data shows.
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Health
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The average age women become mothers is just over 30 in England and Wales
The number of foreign-born mothers having babies in England and Wales in 2016 reached 28% - the highest level on record, official statistics show.
This figure has increased every year since 1990.
Data from the Office for National Statistics also shows more women in their 40s are giving birth than women aged under 20.
This is the second year in a row this has happened - a pattern last recorded in 1947.
The fertility rate for women aged 40 and over has now trebled since 1990, to 15.9 babies born per 1,000 women in that age group.
The rate at which women in their 30s are having babies has been on the rise since the 1980s.
In contrast, among women under 20 and aged 20-24, fertility rates are now at their lowest level since 1938.
The proportion of all live births to mothers born outside the UK stood at 11.6% at the start of the 1990s.
The ONS says one of the reasons for the increase since then is that fertility levels are generally higher among foreign-born women.
The overall number of live births in England and Wales decreased slightly last year, to just under 700,000.
The average age of mothers in 2016 increased to 30.4 years, compared with 30.3 years in 2015.
Natika Halil, chief executive of the sexual health charity FPA, said the figures were a reminder that fertility does not stop at 40.
"Although it can take longer and be more difficult to get pregnant if you are over 35, many women over 35 have healthy pregnancies and babies.
"However, this also highlights the importance for women who are not planning to have children, or have completed their family, to continue to use contraception until menopause."
She said cuts to public health budgets could have a future impact on teenage pregnancy rates, which had been falling steadily.
"It's worth noting that the UK still has one of the highest teenage birth rates in Western Europe: three times the rate in Italy, and more than four times the rate in Sweden," Ms Halil added.
There was a small decrease in the number of deaths - 525,048 - registered in England and Wales last year, following a large increase in 2015.
But the number of deaths among people aged 65 to 74 increased, possibly due to those born in the baby boom immediately after World War Two moving into old age.
The figures for children dying from asthma were lower than last year, though Asthma UK says the level of boys dying from the condition is the highest since 2004.
In 2016, the stillbirth rate decreased to 4.4 per 1,000 total births, the lowest rate since 1992.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40655563
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North Sea cod can be eaten with 'clear conscience' - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The fish has been under threat for more than 10 years but stocks are recovering, a fisheries body says.
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Scotland
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The Marine Stewardship Council said North Sea cod stocks have recovered enough to be considered sustainable
North Sea cod is now sustainable and can be eaten with a "clear conscience", a fisheries body has said.
The fish has been considered under threat for more than a decade after stocks fell to 36,000 tonnes in 2006.
But the industry has agreed measures to help regenerate the population, including new nets and closing spawning areas to fishing.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said it could now be sold with its "blue tick" label.
The label indicates that North Sea cod caught by Scottish and English boats is "sustainable and fully traceable".
Cod stocks in the North Sea reached 270,000 tonnes in the 1970s. After the 2006 low, the fishing industry began work with the Scottish government and the EU Fisheries Council to agree a recovery plan.
The MSC said the announcement that cod was now sustainable was a "momentous achievement" for the industry and was the result of work of a coalition of fishing organisations, supermarkets, seafood brands and the industry body Seafish.
However, conservation body WWF has warned that historically, the population of North Sea cod remains at a low level.
The stocks have to be independently assessed before they can be given the MSC blue tick.
Skipper David Milne aboard MSC-certified Adorn. A range of conservation measures have been put in place to protect the cod stocks
Barry Reid, skipper of the Audacious mooring up at Peterhead in north-east Scotland
Cod is one of the UK's most popular fish, with almost 70,000 tonnes eaten each year, but the MSC said a recent YouGov survey showed there was confusion about whether it was sustainable or not.
Toby Middleton, MSC programme director for the north-east Atlantic said: "Today's certification marks the end of the cod confusion.
"If you can see the MSC label on your cod, you know that it has come from a sustainable source. By choosing fish with that label, you will be helping to protect stocks long into the future."
He added: "Thanks to a collaborative, cross-industry effort, one of our most iconic fish has been brought back from the brink.
"Modified fishing gear, catch controls, well-managed fishing practices - all these steps have come together to revive a species that was in severe decline."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cod is one of the UK's most popular fish
As part of the plan to regenerate stocks, boats were allocated a certain number of days fishing which were linked to the conservation measures they signed up to.
The fishing industry is also able to close fishing areas at short notice to protect local populations and has developed a system of remote monitoring using CCTV cameras on board boats.
Mike Park, chairman of the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group said: "This is a massive development for the catching sector and is a testament to the power of collective action.
"The years of commitment to rebuilding North Sea cod has shown that fishermen are responsible and can be trusted to deliver stable and sustainable stocks. The consumer can now eat home-caught cod with a clear conscience."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "The cod recovery plan was a joint effort," MSC spokesperson tells Radio 4's World at One
However, the WWF has warned that the population levels of North Sea cod remained low compared with 50 years ago.
Lyndsey Dodds, head of UK marine policy at WWF said: "The recovery of cod in the North Sea reflects what's possible if fishermen work together with fisheries managers, scientists and the wider industry to recover fish stocks.
"However, the amount of North Sea cod at breeding age is well below late 1960s levels and recovery remains fragile.
"If we're to get North Sea cod back on British plates for good, it's vital that we don't lose focus on sustainably managing fish stocks and ensuring the protection of the marine wildlife and habitats as the UK develops its post-Brexit fisheries policy.
"Embracing new technology and installing cameras on the UK fleet would be a highly cost-effective and efficient way to help manage and monitor cod catches, as well as the range of other fish also caught by these boats."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40642230
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PMQs: Theresa May praises public wage cap 'sacrifice' - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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The PM clashes with Jeremy Corbyn over wage restraint in the final PMQs before summer recess.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "Wages are falling, the economy is slowing"
Theresa May has said she recognises the "sacrifice" made by public sector workers as Jeremy Corbyn urged her to lift the 1% cap on their wages.
In the last PMQs before the summer break, Mr Corbyn said people were held back by low pay and accused ministers of a "lack of touch with reality".
Mrs May said she, like the Labour leader, valued public services.
"The difference is on this side of the house we know we have to pay for them," she added.
Mrs May is seeking to restore order to her party following a series of leaks and negative briefings, with Chancellor Philip Hammond reported to have told a private cabinet meeting public service workers were "overpaid".
Mr Corbyn asked whether, given the "squabbling" inside government, Mr Hammond had been talking about Mrs May's ministers.
The SNP's Hannah Bardell, seen in the background, sported a Scottish football shirt in the Commons
He urged her to lift the cap on wage rises and cited the case of a nurse living with pay restraint for seven years.
"I look along that front bench opposite and I see a cabinet bickering and backbiting while the economy gets weaker and people are pushed further into debt," he added.
Mrs May said she recognised the sacrifices made by public servants towards reducing the deficit. She said the Tories had a "record to be proud of" and accused Labour of unfunded spending pledges.
"The government doesn't seem to have any problem paying for DUP support," Mr Corbyn replied, in a reference to the £1bn package that secured the Democratic Unionist Party's backing for the Tories' minority administration.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May: "When did the Labour Party ever introduce the national living wage?' Never!"
Parliament goes into recess on Thursday and returns on 5 September.
Mrs May, under pressure since losing her Commons majority last month, has warned ministers and MPs that any "backbiting" between party figures could let Mr Corbyn into Downing Street.
During PMQs, Labour MP Ian Murray referred to her as the "interim prime minister" when he asked his question.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was now "something of a backlash" from MPs towards the "big beasts" thought to be manoeuvring themselves behind the scenes to replace her.
"I sense there's a real pushback now to keep her in place at least for the short to medium term," he added.
A senior backbencher, 1922 Committee vice-chairman Charles Walker, said Mrs May would have MPs' backing if she sacked plotting ministers.
And Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon called for military discipline from the cabinet ranks to confront the "dangerous enemy" of Mr Corbyn.
In an interview with LBC Radio, Mrs May urged ministers to "accept collective responsibility".
Asked whether there would be any punishment for those who'd leaked private conversations, she said there was "no such thing as an unsackable minister but at the moment the team is together and we're getting on with the job of delivering what we believe that British public want us to do".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40653456
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Cornwall floods: Clear-up follows flood 'devastation' - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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About 50 properties were damaged and several people had to be rescued in the Cornish village.
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Cornwall
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Heavy rain which sent a 4ft torrent of water through a Cornish village has left a "devastating" scene, a fire chief said.
About 50 properties were damaged and several people had to be rescued in Coverack, on the Lizard Peninsula, as storms hit on Tuesday afternoon.
Water swept through the village, leaving roads in and out impassable. A school bus remains stranded.
People described being hit in the face by marble-sized hailstones.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Flash floods in Coverack, Cornwall: Residents deal with the aftermath
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Woman winched from flash flood in Coverack, Cornwall, speaks to BBC
Heavy rainfall hit at about 15:00 BST on Tuesday and about 50 properties are thought to be affected by the flooding, but there were no reports of serious injuries.
The Environment Agency said 4in (100mm) of rain fell over two to three hours.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said its crews attended "multiple flooding-related incidents" and urged people to avoid the area.
Stan Harris had been laying slate in the village when the rain began to fall.
"We started to hear the rumble and then suddenly I was hit with marbles, hitting me in the face. I couldn't get out. I was just stuck in a shed," he said.
He said he thought his was the last vehicle to make it out of the village.
"By the time we got up past the lady we were working for, she said we were probably one of the last ones to get through because then another van floated through.
"By the time we got home it was chaos. Absolute chaos."
Assistant Chief Fire officer Phil Martin said there was now a "pile of rubble" about "3ft or 4ft high, that goes across about 20ft".
"You can see rubble on the beach and debris that's been washed down by the water," he added.
He described the flash flood as "devastating", adding "when I was listening to this incident unfold on the radio I had a real fear that this was going to have a tragic outcome ".
So far, the main focus has been Coverack's pretty harbour, which is littered with debris of every kind.
I've seen boulders, fence panels, a shed, a mobility scooter and even a kitchen sink, which have all been washed down from the hills above in the torrents of water.
The mud and silt are unpleasant - but that damage is mainly cosmetic.
The more worrying aspect of all this for local people is the main road into the village.
A route which normally brings in thousands of tourists every day during the summer months is a total mess. The Tarmac has been ripped up.
There are holes several feet deep, exposing pipes and cables. Repairing this road looks like a major engineering task.
"But we're Cornish," said one local lady. "We'll cope".
The flood water has completely destroyed the main road into the village
A school bus driver caught up in the Coverack flood said he was determined to make sure his sole passenger got home safely after they became stranded on the road into the village.
"The boulders from people's gardens were pummelling the bus," said Thomas Duffield, 33.
"They were about the size of a wheel and kept whacking the vehicle, making loud bangs, which was obviously quite worrying."
He kept his foot on the brake pedal even though he had the handbrake on while he waited for help.
He said: "I felt a little bit uneasy about taking my foot off the pedal, because it was like we were in the water rapids."
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency sent a helicopter from Newquay which rescued two people from a house.
Water tore through the village on Tuesday afternoon
Adam Paynter, Cornwall Council leader, said he hoped the authority's reserves would cover the cost of the clean-up.
"It's been absolutely unbelievable to see," he added,
"I think it's going to take a little while to get this sorted out and tidied up but obviously the main thing is that nobody's been injured and everybody is OK in the village.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Coverack resident Mary Roberts said the water had swept away her things - including a shed and a kitchen sink
At a meeting for local residents earlier Cornwall Councillor Geoff Brown said the authority's main concern was the care home in the village, which has lost power on the ground floor. He added that a generator was on the way.
His pledge to ensure the damaged road was repaired quickly, and would take "weeks rather than months", was met with loud applause.
A major incident was declared at 17:20 on Tuesday and the helicopter was deployed to rescue the people trapped on the roof.
Ben Johnston from the Environment Agency said the flood had caused some watercourses to become polluted but drinking water was safe.
A bus became stuck in the water on the road into Coverack
The bus was still stuck on the road after being trapped by water this morning
Have you been affected by the flash flood? If it is safe to do so, you can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-40652594
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Why did (almost) everyone call the election wrong (again)? - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Newsnight's editor assesses why so many people underestimated Labour's vote at the general election.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why do pollsters - and the media - keep getting elections so wrong? Ian Katz reports
Few species can match the brutality of a teenage child appraising its parent.
I was reminded of this the morning after last month's election as I passed my 18-year-old daughter on the stairs. "I'm never going to believe another word you say about politics," she announced matter-of-factly. "Because you've been wrong about EVERYTHING."
It was hard to argue. The 2015 election, Brexit, Trump, and now Corbyn's sort of moral victory… I'd called them all wrong. I was, as they say in American sport, "Oh for four". The only comfort was: most of the media and political world were, too.
Over the last month, I've been reflecting on why we keep getting surprised, for a Newsnight film. Has the political landscape changed in some profound way we have not yet got our heads around? Or have we simply been through a period of freak political weather?
Not impressed... Ian Katz's daughter is sceptical now of pundits and pollsters
And, more immediately, how did most of the media, the pollsters and even much of the Left underestimate Labour's vote so badly?
In the spirit of group therapy, I thought I'd start with someone who was even wronger than me. Martin Boon has long been one of Britain's most respected pollsters. This time his company, ICM, got it quite spectacularly wrong; their eve-of-election poll gave the Tories a 12-point lead, a full 10 points bigger than the actual result.
I found him in contemplative, even penitent, mood. In 2015, ICM got it wrong by overestimating the Labour vote. This time, they tried to address the problem by making sceptical assumptions about how many younger voters (among other groups) would turn out - and ended up massively underestimating Labour's vote.
"We were bamboozled by the turnout which we predicted wouldn't happen in the way it did," he said. "And I have to hold up my hands and say that…
"The problem for me is that the techniques which didn't work in 2015 did work in 2017, and indeed the techniques which the likes of me applied in 2017 wouldn't have worked retrospectively in 2015."
The result of the election was a shock to many
With a degree of humility not often encountered in either politics or the media, he said pollsters had to think hard about whether "classical orthodox polling techniques" were still worth persevering with.
One source of comfort to pollsters and journalists mulling over why they didn't see last month's result coming is the fact that most politicians didn't either. A source told me the Labour Party's internal predictions, minutes before the exit poll was released, were for a Tory majority of around 60 seats.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said she and other MPs simply weren't hearing anything on the ground to make them doubt the widely shared belief that they were heading for a drubbing.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tony Blair: "There's been so many political upsets, it's possible that Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister"
"What we potentially missed in classic campaigning and classic polling is the people we're not talking to, and still I'm driving round my constituency thinking, 'Did you vote for me? Did you vote for me?' We just weren't talking to the right people."
One man not willing to don sackcloth and ashes just yet is ITV's political editor Robert Peston, who was more upbeat than many in the media about Jeremy Corbyn's prospects: right up to polling day when, he says, he was persuaded by senior politicians on both sides that his instincts were mistaken.
Like many of us, Mr Peston confessed he was still trying to find his bearings in a world where many of the things we thought were true no longer seem to apply. "The old rules have gone and we've got to try and make sense of how politics works. And the truthful answer is we're all feeling our way a bit."
So what about the man who, perhaps more than anyone, can claim to have divined the rules of modern politics? Even Tony Blair, a man not famous for self-doubt, says the events of the last two years have made him rethink some of his assumptions about politics.
Robert Peston: "The old rules have gone"
"For most of my political life I've been saying, 'I think this is the right way to go, and what's more it's the only way to win an election.' I have to qualify that now. I have to say, 'No, I think it's possible you end up with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.'
"I personally think it's a surer route to power to fight it from the centre but I'm being open with you in saying that I accept now what if you'd asked me a year ago I'd have said is impossible."
Given that there's a fair chance we'll be grappling with another UK election in months rather than years, how can we do better at reading it than we have done on recent votes?
A good person to ask seemed to be one of the few commentators who called the 2017 election almost exactly right, Rod Liddle of the Spectator and the Sunday Times.
Liddle's prescription: "Get out of town, get out of London. Unless the polls change the way they are being done ignore them. And don't follow the herd."
Most pollsters and pundits underestimated how well Jeremy Corbyn would do in the election
Of course, the BBC and other media organisations did have lots of on the ground reporting from across the country during the election and some of it did suggest that Mr Corbyn was doing better than most pollsters and pundits thought. But there's a tendency to tune out evidence that doesn't fit the prevailing narrative.
One person who never doubted that Mr Corbyn would surprise his detractors is Matt Turner, a (just) 22-year-old who, while not doing his finals last month, was helping to edit Evolve Politics, one of a clutch of pro-Corbyn websites which claimed to have their finger closer to the national pulse than traditional media.
Although there is never a shortage of seers claiming to be wise after any surprise event, Turner has the betting slip to prove it: he put money on a hung parliament at 10-1 back in April.
"Sites like ours had our ear to the ground and we gave a more accurate reflection of what people were actually feeling. People have accused us of living in a bubble when we've accurately predicted the hung parliament. If anything it's now the Westminster media who are living in that bubble."
The one common thread among all those I talked to was an acknowledgement that social media - simultaneously mobilising, and polarising - has clearly changed the way millions of people experience politics. And we haven't yet worked out how to take the pulse of an election played out in 50 million timelines.
Figuring out how to do that may be the most urgent challenge facing all of us whose job it is to read the political runes. For the foreseeable future, though, you'd be best advised to ignore all political predictions. And I, my daughter at least will be pleased to know, won't be making any.
Ian Katz is editor of BBC Newsnight - watch his full report here
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40633025
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State pension age rise brought forward - BBC News
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2017-07-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The UK state pension age will now be increased from 67 to 68 by 2039, the government says.
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Business
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Six million men and women will have to wait a year longer than they expected to get their state pension, the government has announced.
The rise in the pension age to 68 will now be phased in between 2037 and 2039, rather than from 2044 as was originally proposed.
Those affected are currently between the ages of 39 and 47.
The announcement was made in the Commons by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke.
He said the government had decided to accept the recommendations of the Cridland report, which proposed the change.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The change was announced by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke
"As life expectancy continues to rise and the number of people in receipt of state pension increases, we need to ensure that we have a fair and sustainable system that is reflective of modern life and protected for future generations," he told MPs.
Anyone younger than 39 will have to wait for future announcements to learn what their precise pension age will be.
The change will affect those born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978.
The government said the new rules would save the taxpayer £74bn by 2045/46. While it had been due to spend 6.5% of GDP on the state pension by 2039/40, this change will reduce that figure to 6.1% of GDP.
Labour said the move was "astonishing", given recent reports suggesting increases in life expectancy were beginning to stall, and long-standing health inequalities between different income groups and regions in retirement.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams told MPs that many men and women were beginning to suffer ill health in the early 60s, well before they were entitled to their state pension.
"Most pensioners will now spend their retirement battling a toxic cocktail of ill-health," she said.
"The government talks about making Britain fairer but their pensions policy, whether it is the injustice that 1950s-born women are facing, or today's proposals, is anything but fair."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams says the pension change is "anything but fair"
"In large parts of the country, the state pension age will be higher than healthy life expectancy," she said.
"And low-paid workers at risk of insecurity in their working lives will now face greater insecurity in old age too.
"Rather than hiking the pension age, the government must do more for older workers who want to keep working and paying taxes."
Age UK was also critical of the change.
"In bringing forward a rise in the state pension age by seven years, the government is picking the pockets of everyone in their late forties and younger, despite there being no objective case in Age UK's view to support it at this point in time," said Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK.
"Indeed, it is astonishing that this is being announced the day after new authoritative research suggested that the long term improvement in life expectancy is stalling."
The government has also committed to regular reviews of the state pension age in the years ahead.
That raises the prospect of further rises. Indeed a report by the government's actuary department in March suggested that workers now under the age of 30 may have to wait until 70 before they qualify for a state pension.
Tom McPhail, head of policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the government would need to do more to encourage saving, particularly amongst younger people.
"For anyone yet to reach age 47, there is still time to adjust their retirement plans by looking to contribute more," he said.
"We feel it is important the government meets them halfway; we need a national savings strategy to help people save and invest for their future. A good starting point would be for the government to look at a savings commission."
The SNP said it remained opposed to raising the pension age beyond 66 and reiterated its call for an independent pensions commission to be set up to look at "demographic differences across the UK".
In response, Mr Gauke said the Scottish government would have the power to provide extra financial help for those approaching retirement if they so chose.
"This announcement will be a blow to many people. It is absolutely crucial that everyone - no matter what their age - seeks pensions advice from a reputable organisation and really understands their options and how those options fit in with their own retirement expectations.
"I know young people don't think this really impacts them as it is such a long way off, but they are the ones who will be impacted by state pension ages and support in the longer term more than any of us," said Carl Robertson, from Smart Pension.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40658774
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