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Rohingya crisis: UN sees 'ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The operation against Muslim Rohingyas "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", the UN says.
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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. Aid agencies say Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are in desperate need of aid
The security operation targeting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", the UN human rights chief says.
Zeid Raad Al Hussein urged Myanmar to end the "cruel military operation" in Rakhine state.
More than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted there late last month.
The military says it is responding to attacks by Rohingya militants and denies it is targeting civilians.
The violence began on 25 August when the Rohingya militants attacked police posts in northern Rakhine, killing 12 security personnel.
Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar since then say the military responded with a brutal campaign, burning villages and attacking civilians in a bid to drive them out.
The Rohingya, a stateless mostly Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Rakhine, have long experienced persecution in Myanmar, which says they are illegal immigrants.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Who is burning down Rohingya villages?
Mr Zeid, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the current operation in Rakhine was "clearly disproportionate".
He noted that the situation could not be fully assessed because Myanmar had refused access to human rights investigators, but said the UN had received "multiple reports and satellite imagery of security forces and local militia burning Rohingya villages, and consistent accounts of extrajudicial killings, including shooting fleeing civilians".
"I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population," he said.
Latest reports put the number of those who have fled to Bangladesh at 313,000. Aid agencies say they are in desperate need of food, shelter and medical aid, and that current resources are inadequate.
Bangladesh is already host to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled previous outbreaks of violence in Rakhine. Existing refugee camps are full and the new arrivals are sleeping rough in whatever space they can find, reports say.
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The authorities have, however, started to register the new arrivals. Previously only those in two official camps were being documented, but government teams are now collecting fingerprints and details from all newcomers, including those in makeshift shelters.
Analysts say that, until now, the government has refused to register those outside camps for fear of legitimising them. But the current move may help the government as it engages in a diplomatic battle about the Rohingyas' future, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder reports.
On Sunday, the Rohingya militant group behind the 25 August attacks declared a one-month unilateral ceasefire to allow aid agencies in, but the Myanmar government rejected it, saying it would not negotiate with "terrorists".
It maintains that it is the militants who are burning Rohingya villages and targeting civilians, but a BBC correspondent on an official visit to Rakhine came across a Muslim village apparently burned by Rakhine Buddhists, contradicting the official narrative.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, is facing mounting criticism for failing to protect the Rohingya, and on Monday exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama added his voice, urging her "to reach out to all sections of society to try to restore friendly relations".
But the Rohingya are extremely unpopular inside Myanmar. On Sunday, police fired rubber bullets to break up a mob attacking the home of a Muslim butcher in Magway region in central Myanmar. One protester was quoted by AFP news agency saying it was a response to events in Rakhine.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41224108
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Yorkshire breaking news: Latest updates - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Latest news, sport, weather and travel updates from across Yorkshire on Monday 11 September 2017.
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Leeds & West Yorkshire
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Two prisoners at Lindholme prison have had their jail time extended after attacking another inmate and leaving him with a broken jaw.
Adam Woodhouse, 23, formerly of Harehills, Leeds and Marlon James, 24, formerly of Chapeltown, Leeds, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Monday 4 September, where they entered guilty pleas.
The attack happened in May last year.
Woodhouse, who is currently serving a six year sentence for burglary and vehicle theft and was due to be released next year, pleaded guilty to wounding and was sentenced to a further 27 months in prison.James, serving an eight year sentence for possession of a firearm, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for a further 24 weeks in prison.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-leeds-41200959
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Great Yarmouth parents slam strict rules at failing academy - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A school bans mobile phones and tell parents children should be in bed by 21:30.
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Norfolk
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Pupils have been told to be in bed by 21:30 in a set of strict new rules at the failing school
The new head of a failing school has come in for severe criticism after introducing strict new rules to improve pupil performance.
Concerns over the "army-like schooling" at Great Yarmouth Charter Academy have been expressed by parents on Facebook.
New rules include banning mobile phones and children have been told to be in bed by 21:30 every night.
But a spokesman for the school said what pupils needed was "the right environment to learn and succeed".
Great Yarmouth High School was taken over by Inspiration Trust and re-named Charter Academy. Until this summer it had "some of the worst GCSE results in the entire country", according to new principal Barry Smith.
"In a typical class of 30 pupils, 21 pupils left the school without even a pass in English and maths," he said.
"As the headmaster of Charter Academy I cannot, I will not, allow the indiscipline, the disrespect, the failure, the bullying, the truancy and the lack of parental support, that were all a part of daily life at the former high school, to continue.
"There's a lot more to school than just passing exams. Every good teacher knows that. But, when push comes to shove, kids need those grades."
Parents have expressed concern over strict new rules at Great Yarmouth Charter Academy
A Facebook page was set up by parent Kelvin Seal, on which parents expressed concern over the strict uniform rules and detention for dental appointments taken during school hours.
Children have been told to be in bed by 21:30 every night and up at 06:30, and warned those claiming to feel sick during lessons would be handed a bucket to vomit in instead of being allowed to leave classrooms.
Seeing a parent and child crying outside the school, Mr Seal told the BBC he politely asked the head: "'Excuse me, why are you doing this to children?' His reply was 'If you don't like it, get out.'"
Inspiration Trust spokesman James Goffin said: "Unfortunately there has been a lot of rumour and inaccurate information spread on social media that has understandably concerned some parents and pupils."
A document shared with the BBC revealed the standards of discipline expected from pupils. The 22-page document included the following:
Steven Homes said his daughter was "begging him" not to send her back to the the academy
Parent Steven Holmes said his daughter came home in tears at the end of her first day in year seven saying she had been shouted at all day.
"I want her to learn not be in fear, " said Mr Holmes. "This isn't about discipline. It's bullying."
Mr Goffin said: "The academy will be holding a meeting for all parents in the coming days so they can hear first-hand what Great Yarmouth Charter Academy is really all about."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41228803
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Government wins vote on Brexit bill - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The EU Withdrawal Bill is backed by MPs by 326 to 290 in a late-night vote, as it passes onto the next stage of legislation.
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Parliaments
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That wraps up debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill today.
The government won its votes on second reading and the programme motion - and comfortably defeated Labour's amendment.
But looking ahead in Westminster later today, the Commons could be facing another late night...
A major row has blown up over a move designed to guarantee the government a majority on committees which do the line-by-line scrutiny of legislation.
Labour argues that the government didn't get a majority in the election, so they shouldn't have one to drive through their programme in the committees either.
There may be some fireworks surrounding those votes.
The Commons sits at 11.30am, kicking off with questions to the Business Secretary Greg Clark and his team of ministers.
See you then...
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-41228797
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Dallas gunman kills eight watching Dallas Cowboys match - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A gunman kills eight people at a house in Dallas, Texas, before being shot dead by police.
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US & Canada
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Police vehicles arriving at the scene of the shooting, in the Dallas suburb of Plano
A gunman has killed eight people at a home in Dallas, Texas, before being shot dead by police.
Two further shooting victims are in hospital after they were injured at the property on Sunday night.
Police spokesman David Tilley said the shooter was killed by the first responding officer after an exchange of gunfire. The officer was not injured.
It is not yet clear what motivated the attack in the suburb of Plano, or if the gunman knew the victims.
"We're trying to put all the puzzle pieces together," Mr Tilley said.
The local Dallas News reported that those killed had been watching the Dallas Cowboys, an American Football team, when the violence unfolded.
The outlet quoted a neighbour, Stacey Glover, who said there had been a game-watching party at the property that started early in the afternoon, with people laughing and grilling food outside.
Police have not named the shooter or any of the victims, but all are said to be adults. The condition of the two survivors is unknown.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41224531
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Neo-Nazi arrests: UK soldiers charged with terror offences - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Three men, including two servicemen, are accused of being members of a banned neo-Nazi group.
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UK
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Three men, including two British soldiers, have been charged under terror laws with being members of a banned neo-Nazi group.
Alexander Deakin, 22, Mikko Vehvilainen, 32, and Mark Barrett, 24, have been charged with being members of National Action.
It was the first far-right group to be banned by the Home Office in 2016.
They are among five men arrested on 5 September. Two others have since been released without charge.
Mr Deakin from Birmingham, Mr Vehvilainen, based at Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, and Mr Barrett, based at Dhekelia Garrison in Cyprus, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
West Midlands Police has said the arrests were "pre-planned and intelligence-led" with no threat to public safety.
Mr Deakin has been charged with two counts under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 - alleged possession of documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The 22-year-old is also charged with one count of distributing a terrorist publication. Separately he faces one count of inciting racial hatred - allegedly posting a number of National Action stickers at the Aston University campus in Birmingham in July 2016.
Mr Vehvilainen has also been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for the possession of a document likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The 32-year-old also faces two counts of publishing threatening, abusive or insulting comments online intending to stir up racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986.
He has also been charged with possession of a weapon - pepper spray.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41234539
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Catalan independence rally: Thousands gather in Barcelona - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Hundreds of thousands of Catalans pack the streets with a vote on independence just weeks away.
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Europe
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Thousands march in Barcelona in support of an independence referendum
Hundreds of thousands of Catalans in Barcelona have marked their national day - the "Diada" - in support of an independence referendum.
The city's streets were a mass of red and yellow flags three weeks ahead of the planned vote - which the Spanish government has deemed illegal.
Catalonia's pro-independence government has passed a law to secede from Spain if the vote is Yes.
Opinion polls suggest the vote, if it takes place, will be very close.
With their own language and customs, Catalans already have much autonomy.
Organisers say more than a million people took part in the protest
But there is a widespread feeling in the region - one of Spain's richest - that too much of its tax revenue goes to Madrid.
Estimates of the numbers taking part in Monday's protest varied - organisers said it was more than one million people, but Spanish government officials quoted by local media said it was much lower than that.
Spain's economic woes since the 2008 financial crisis - including chronic unemployment - have fuelled the pro-independence mood in Catalonia.
In recent days Spain's Guardia Civil police have raided several Catalan printing shops suspected of preparing material for the referendum.
The crowd in central Barcelona swelled as Catalans of all ages descended on the city. Nearly 2,000 buses were chartered to bring people to the rally.
The city's police, the Guàrdia Urbana, tweeted on Monday evening that "around a million people have participated".
Patriotic face-painting is common during the Diada
Those who gathered in Barcelona - many sporting T-shirts in the national colours - were hopeful the vote would go ahead, despite Spain's Constitutional Court placing a legal block on the independence referendum.
A majority of Catalans want the vote to go ahead, polls suggest, to settle the thorny issue of independence.
"We are in the 21st century and this constitution which says that the referendum is illegal is from 40 years ago: times change," Laura Alberch, 25, told news agency AFP.
Anna Comellas, 20, said: "Time passes and people become more and more aware that remaining in Spain harms us."
The 11 September Diada marks the fall of Barcelona in the War of Spanish Succession in 1714 - a defeat for Catalan forces.
The striped Catalan flag also adorned the iconic Sagrada Familia church
The left-wing mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, cautiously backs the referendum, but has asked the Catalan parliament for guarantees to make the vote as inclusive as possible.
In November 2014, Catalonia held an unofficial "consultation" on independence - and some 80% of those who voted backed it.
But turnout then was relatively low and the vote was non-binding, as the Constitutional Court had ruled it illegal.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41229486
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Offshore wind power cheaper than new nuclear - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Figures from the government are seen as a milestone in the advance of renewable energy.
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Business
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Energy from offshore wind in the UK will be cheaper than electricity from new nuclear power for the first time.
The cost of subsidies for new offshore wind farms has halved since the last 2015 auction for clean energy projects
Two firms said they were willing to build offshore wind farms for a guaranteed price of £57.50 per megawatt hour for 2022-23.
This compares with the new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant securing subsidies of £92.50 per megawatt hour.
Nuclear firms said the UK still needed a mix of low-carbon energy, especially for when wind power was not available.
The figures for offshore wind, from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, were revealed as the result of an auction for subsidies, in which the lowest bidder wins.
In the auction in 2015, offshore wind farm projects won subsidies between £114 and £120 per megawatt hour.
Emma Pinchbeck, from the wind energy trade body Renewable UK, told the BBC the latest figures were "truly astonishing".
"We still think nuclear can be part of the mix - but our industry has shown how to drive costs down, and now they need to do the same."
Bigger turbines, higher voltage cables and lower cost foundations, as well as growth in the UK supply chain and the downturn in the oil and gas industry have all contributed to falling prices.
The newest 8 megawatt offshore turbines stand almost 200 metres high, taller than London's Gherkin building. But Ms Pinchbeck said the turbines would double in size in the 2020s.
However, the nuclear industry said that because wind power is intermittent, nuclear energy would still be needed.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: "It doesn't matter how low the price of offshore wind is. On last year's figures it only produced electricity for 36% of the time."
EDF, which is building the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, said the UK still needed a "diverse, well-balanced" mix of low-carbon energy.
"New nuclear remains competitive for consumers who face extra costs in providing back-up power when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine," the French firm said.
"There are also costs of dealing with excess electricity when there is too much wind or sun."
EDF added that energy from new nuclear plants would become cheaper as the market matures, as has happened with offshore wind.
Eyes will be raised at this suggestion, as nuclear power has already received subsidies since the 1950s. But storage of surplus energy from offshore wind is still a challenge.
Onshore wind power and solar energy are already both cost-competitive with gas in some places in the UK.
And the price of energy subsidies for offshore wind has now halved in less than three years.
Energy analysts said UK government policy helped to lower the costs by nurturing the fledgling industry, then incentivising it to expand - and then demanding firms should bid in auction for their subsidies.
Minister for Energy and Industry Richard Harrington said: "We've placed clean growth at the heart of the Industrial Strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.
"The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5bn in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced today."
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Michael Grubb, professor of energy policy at University College London, called the cost reduction "a huge step forward in the energy revolution".
"It shows that Britain's biggest renewable resource - and least politically problematic - is available at reasonable cost.
"It'll be like the North Sea oil and gas industry: it started off expensive, then as the industry expanded, costs fell. We can expect offshore wind costs to fall more, too," he said.
The subsidies, paid from a levy on consumer bills, will run for 15 years - unlike nuclear subsidies for Hinkley C which run for 35 years.
This adds to the cost advantage offshore wind has now established over new nuclear.
Prof Grubb estimated the new offshore wind farms would supply about 2% of UK electricity demand, with a net cost to consumers of under £5 per year.
Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, said: "This massive price drop for offshore wind is a huge boost for the renewables industry and should be the nail in the coffin for new nuclear.
"The government's undying commitment to new nuclear risks locking us into sky high prices for years to come. Put simply, this news should be the death knell for Hinkley C nuclear station."
Construction of the Hinkley Point plant is under way after government approval last year
Along with three offshore wind farm projects, biomass and energy from waste plants have secured subsidies for low-carbon energy, with a total of 11 successful schemes in the latest auction.
The £57.50 for new offshore wind power is not a true subsidy. It is a "strike price" - a guaranteed price to the generating firm for power it supplies.
When the wholesale market price for electricity is below that price, payments to the firm are made up with a levy on consumers.
However, when the wholesale price is above the strike price, the generator pays the difference back. It is a way of providing a certain return on investment for large energy projects.
It is impossible to predict what the final additional cost to consumers will be because it depends on market conditions, but it will almost certainly be a fraction of the strike price itself.
Experts warn that in order to meet the UK's long term climate goals, additional sources of low-carbon energy will still be needed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41220948
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The app that inspires tens of millions to go cycling - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How cycling app Strava became a must-have for cyclists around the world.
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Business
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Mark Gainey did not let injury stop him from cycling for long
Thankfully for tens of millions of cyclists around the world, Mark Gainey didn't walk away from the sport when he had a nasty crash back in 2002.
Racing his bike down a steep road in California, he hit a pothole and went flying, shattering his left arm and elbow. He required no fewer than 11 operations to repair the damage.
Many of us wouldn't want to look at a bike again after that, but Mark got back in the saddle and a few years later he and a friend came up with the idea for what has become the world's most popular cycling app - Strava.
If you aren't a keen cyclist then you may not have heard of it but for those of us who do like pedalling around on two wheels it isn't an exaggeration to say that the app has been revolutionary.
Utilising the GPS (global positioning system) software on your smartphone, it enables you to record your ride, and then see an accurate line of the route you have cycled on an electronic map.
It tells you how far and fast you have cycled, and you can compare your times over certain sections - such as popular hill climbs - with both how well you have done before and with other Strava users.
This means that you can compete to beat other people's times and aim to be "the king (or queen) of the mountain" on a certain stretch of road.
The Strava app is continuing to see user numbers soar
First launched in 2009 and since expanding to running and other sports, Strava now has tens of millions of users around the world, many of whom find it completely addictive.
The word Strava is even used as a verb, as in "I'm going to strava this ride," and then there is the saying: "If it isn't on Strava then it doesn't count."
While it has numerous rivals whose apps do similar things, such as Map My Ride and Endomondo, Strava's user numbers tower over the others. It claims that an additional one million people join every 45 days.
But despite its vast popularity and the fact that it is backed by $70m (£54m) of investment, the company (which doesn't reveal its financial results) is widely reported to have not yet made a profit. So what is the problem and how can it change it?
The app was inspired by the idea to help boost camaraderie among fellow athletes
Mark Gainey, 48, says that the original genesis of the idea for San Francisco-based Strava came when he and co-founder Michael Horvath graduated from Harvard University.
"Back in the late 1980s Michael and I rowed together at Harvard. It was an incredible experience, pretty special, with great camaraderie.
"The only problem was that we then graduated and - whoosh - that all just disappeared.
"So brainstorming ideas for businesses we said, 'Wouldn't it be great to replicate that camaraderie in the boathouse.' The idea was to create a virtual locker room for athletes to compare times. Unfortunately the technology just didn't exist at the time."
Fast-forward to 2008 and Mark and Michael, still friends, had not forgotten their idea. By then Mark had spent almost two decades in the software sector, while Michael was a business and economics lecturer who also dabbled in the IT industry.
By then technology had made their idea possible, with the invention of GPS recorders and the iPhone and other smartphones. And the likes of Facebook had made people used to sharing information about themselves online.
The app has since expanded to running and other sports such as skiing
And so the two friends launched Strava, the name being the Swedish word for "strive" in reference to Michael's ancestry.
The app was an immediate word-of-mouth hit and user numbers soon skyrocketed and haven't slowed since.
With its largest number of users in the US followed by the UK and Brazil, commentators put Strava's success compared with its smaller rivals down to a combination of its ease of use, and larger focus on sociability - the ability to see what friends are up to, chat and comment on each other's rides, and give someone "kudos" for a good ride.
Mark refers to this as Strava's "secret sauce", and he has huge ambitions for the company. "We want to be the trusted sports brand of the 21st Century, but instead of needle and thread it is bits and bytes," he says.
The financial problem for Strava is that its basic free offering is so good most users aren't tempted to upgrade to its paid-for "premium" service.
The company won't release the percentage figure for the number of premium users, but commentators say it is likely to be around the 20% mark.
Users of the app can upload their own photos
As Mark confirms that the company's main revenue stream remains premium subscribers, it needs to see if it can increase this.
Strava is also hoping to increase the money it makes from tie-ups with sports firms, and use its data to work with local authorities around the world to improve and increase their provision of bike lanes.
To help boost Strava's earning potential, it has recently brought in a new chief executive, James Quarles, who joined from Instagram. The change saw Mark move from that role to chairman.
Mark says: "We want to take Strava from tens of millions [in] revenues to hundreds of millions, and James will lead that."
Mark has switched from chief executive to chairman
UK cycling journalist Rebecca Charlton says it is hard to overstate how successfully Strava had turned itself into a "social network for athletes, a kind of home for their athletic lives".
Meanwhile, US cycling industry commentator Scott Montgomery predicts that Strava will indeed have a profitable future.
"They say in the technology sector that the first is the winner, and the second is forgotten, and Strava has definitely beaten its rivals.
"Somebody has done a great job on the marketing side and the app is very easy to use. They are now at the stage where they own a vast audience, and if you are in that position you will get profitable."
Mark adds: "We are the world's social network for athletes, but I'm also very pleased that we are simply encouraging more people to be active."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41186824
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Newspaper headlines: Hurricane Irma 'tears up Florida' - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The huge devastation caused by Irma as it strikes the United States dominates the front pages.
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The Papers
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Being caught in Irma's "relentless churning" was like being a towel in a washing machine - so says a journalist for the Times, which, like a number of the papers, carries eyewitness accounts of the hurricane which swept Florida.
The Daily Express describes how Irma's last-minute change of course meant many residents, who had fled to Florida's west coast for safety, ended up experiencing the full force of the storm.
A restaurant owner from Miami, who decided to sit out the hurricane in his 35th floor apartment, tells the Guardian it was like being on a ship - he could feel the building swaying the whole time.
The Guardian's Ed Pilkington, reporting from the city of Naples, says the desperation of thousands of residents was palpable, particularly in the public shelters.
But a Red Cross volunteer tells the Financial Times that despite a lack of bedding for people to sleep on, there was a "sense of unity, and of people coming together".
The news that ministers are poised to agree wage rises for police and prison officers, which breach the public sector pay cap, is welcomed by the Mirror, which declares that Britain "deserves a pay rise".
The Guardian describes it as "a significant shift", and a first step towards recognising the concerns of workers across the public sector.
But for the Telegraph, the move risks increasing the deficit and is likely to be attacked by critics on the Conservative right.
But sources tell the Times the rise won't be paid for by more borrowing, suggesting the money will be found from cuts elsewhere.
Many papers get their first chance to comment on Tony Blair's call for a new immigration policy, which he suggests could address public concerns about immigration, without Britain having to leave the EU.
The Daily Mail is furious that the man it accuses of having thrown open the UK's frontiers "to all comers", should have the audacity to pose as a champion of rigorous border controls.
The Daily Express accuses the former prime minister of "sheer gall", while the Sun says the idea that senior EU officials could shift on the question of free movement is "delusional".
The Guardian columnist Matthew d'Ancona accuses Mr Blair of yielding too much ground on the question of immigration.
He's right to acknowledge anxieties, he writes, but there's a big difference between acknowledgment and appeasement.
The Guardian leads with a claim by the UN's rapporteur on toxic waste that the government is "flouting" its duty to protect its citizens from illegal and dangerous levels of air pollution.
The paper says such harsh international criticism will embarrass ministers, whose proposals to tackle air pollution have already been ruled illegal and inadequate on two occasions.
A government spokeswoman tells the paper that EU policies have damaged the environment - and Brexit represents a chance to improve the UK's air quality.
A separate report in the Telegraph says thousands of schoolchildren are using playgrounds near roads with illegal levels of pollution.
A spiked net designed to stop vans and lorries targeting crowds in terror attacks, unveiled by Scotland Yard
Staying with the Telegraph, and the paper reports that a new device, designed to stop a vehicle being used for a terrorist attack, has been unveiled by Scotland Yard.
It says the equipment, a heavy net "bristling with tungsten steel spikes", can stop and trap a 17-tonne lorry.
A senior police officer tells the Times the net, which can be deployed to protect public gatherings in less than a minute, "undoubtedly has the potential to save lives".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41222020
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Italy flooding kills six people in Livorno - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Four members of the same family died in the overnight flooding after heavy rainfalls.
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Europe
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Italian rescue services issued this photo of the flooded Livorno area
At least six people have been killed after heavy rainstorms and flooding in the Italian city of Livorno.
Four members of a family were killed when their basement apartment flooded. Italian newspaper Il Tirreno reports that two parents and their son died.
One girl was rescued by her grandfather, but he died when he returned to attempt for his other family members, the newspaper said.
Pictures from the city showed large areas underwater and extensive damage.
One resident, Piero Caturelli, said he had never seen such bad weather.
"It's incredible, incredible. It started around 10pm and continued until this morning. In my living memory, there's never been anything like this," he said.
The flooding caused extensive damage to property in Livorno
Mayor Filippo Nogarin told the AFP news agency that the extent of the flooding was completely unexpected, as only an orange alert was issued.
The city in Tuscany was the worst hit, but weather warnings have been issued for much of the country.
Precautions are being taken in the capital, Rome, where the highest level of alert is in place.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41219772
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Birmingham bin strike: John Clancy resigns as city council leader - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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John Clancy has faced criticism of his handling of a strike by refuse workers in Birmingham.
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Birmingham & Black Country
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John Clancy said he accepted he had made mistakes
The leader of Birmingham City Council, John Clancy, has resigned following criticism of his handling of industrial action by refuse workers.
In a statement, he said "frenzied media speculation" about the dispute was beginning to harm both the council and the Birmingham Labour Party.
He said he accepted he had made mistakes "for which he is sorry" and takes "full responsibility".
Workers resumed their strike on 1 September after a deal, which had seen the seven-week action suspended, fell apart.
Bin bags have piled up in Birmingham during the dispute
Mr Clancy, who has been leader of Birmingham City Council since December 2015, said the actions he took to negotiate an end to an "extremely complex and difficult industrial dispute were done with the best of intentions".
He also mentioned in his statement that "events in his personal life" had convinced him there were "issues of far more importance than Birmingham City Council".
Mr Clancy ended it by saying: "I really am looking forward to spending more time with my family."
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Ian Ward is now acting leader of the council.
Refuse workers started strike action on 30 June in a dispute over job re-grading and shift patterns. The Unite union says restructuring plans threaten the jobs of more than 120 staff, while the council says the changes will modernise the service and save £5m a year.
The action was suspended on 16 August when conciliation service Acas said the city council had agreed certain posts would not be made redundant, and bin collections resumed.
But on 31 August, the council said it was issuing redundancy notices and the industrial action restarted the following day.
Mr Clancy's announcement came just after it emerged that the government has written to Birmingham's Improvement Panel asking it for an urgent update into events.
Unite is also calling for the council chief executive Stella Manzie to leave
The panel, which was overseeing the running of the council, was set up in 2014 following an inquiry into the so-called Trojan Horse letter and council services.
In August it said it was satisfied the council could continue under its own steam.
But Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government has written to the panel saying that "clearly, there have been some developments since then which could have major implications" both for the council's leadership and finance and asked for an urgent update before he decided what the next steps should be.
Andy Street, Metro Mayor for the West Midlands, tweeted to say Mr Clancy has been a "generous colleague".
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Unite's assistant general secretary Howard Beckett told BBC WM Mr Clancy "made a mistake by claiming there was no deal in place when everybody knew there was and Acas recorded the deal".
"I'm just sorry the whole situation has got to this. He did an honourable deal and, I believe we would have had a settlement long ago and he made a crucial error."
Mr Beckett also stated interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, Stella Manzie, "must follow in John Clancy's footsteps and resign".
Residents in one part of the city marked 50 days since their rubbish had last been collected
"Stella Manzie has twice blocked Unite lawyers meeting council lawyers to discuss the fictitious equal pay concerns she is using to scupper the agreement that Unite reached with the council at Acas.
"John Clancy in his statement has made it clear this agreement was reached with the full knowledge of the cabinet."
Birmingham's nine Labour MPs had previously written a letter describing the city council as "an obstacle to moving forward" in resolving the bin strike.
In the letter addressed to Mr Clancy, MPs said delays to finding a solution were "unacceptable".
The Labour-run council said a swift end to the dispute was its "top priority".
David Jamieson, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, said Mr Clancy "made the right choice" to resign.
"He's stood back because he feels he's an impediment to Birmingham going forward. Birmingham has an excellent set of councillors to choose from to choose a new leader."
John Clancy's resignation was seen as inevitable by some following his comments there was never any deal with Unite over the bin dispute.
Unite have made it clear they feel a deal was not honoured
What followed was a series of allegations and reported evidence there had indeed been some kind of deal - and not only that, but John Clancy had overstepped the mark and overplayed his hand in promising it.
Whilst many people believe his intentions were good, his failure to admit mistakes in that crucial 'no deal' interview meant there was nowhere to go.
Confidence in the leader was crumbling and his resignation may have been influenced by three things: a critical letter from Labour MPs, a reported private meeting of his cabinet where all but one called for him to step down, and a government letter asking for an 'urgent update' from the independent panel monitoring the way the council keeps its house in order.
Unite have made it clear they feel they have a deal and they want it honoured. And that could mean strike action for some time to come.
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100 Women: ‘I dye my hair brown to be taken more seriously at work’ - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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A Silicon Valley CEO reveals her secret to getting ahead in business - darkening her blonde hair, wearing glasses and dressing in loose-fitting clothes.
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Magazine
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A Silicon Valley CEO reveals her secret to getting ahead in business - dyeing her blonde hair brown, and ditching her heels and contact lenses.
Eileen Carey is a successful CEO, in her early 30s, with glasses and brown hair.
But she didn't always look the way she does now.
"The first time I dyed my hair was actually due to advice I was given by a woman in venture capital," she says.
Carey was told that the investors she was pitching to would feel more comfortable dealing with a brunette, rather than a blonde woman.
"I was told for this raise [of funds], that it would be to my benefit to dye my hair brown because there was a stronger pattern recognition of brunette women CEOs," she explains.
Pattern recognition is a theory which suggests people look for familiar experiences - or people - which in turn can make them feel more comfortable with the perceived risks they are taking.
When she had blonde hair, Eileen says she was likened to Elizabeth Holmes, whose company Theranos has been through a lot of controversy.
"Being a brunette helps me to look a bit older and I needed that, I felt, in order to be taken seriously," Carey says.
Eileen Carey used to have blonde hair and wear contact lenses
In interviewing candidates for roles at her startup, Glassbreakers, which provides companies with software aimed at attracting and empowering a diverse workforce, she's encountered other blonde women who have also dyed their hair brown.
"We discussed that there's the fetishisation of blondes," says Carey.
"People are more likely to hit on me in a bar if I'm blonde. There's just that issue in general.
"For me to be successful in this [tech industry] space, I'd like to draw as little attention as possible, especially in any sort of sexual way."
It's not just hair colour either. Carey has swapped her contact lenses for glasses and says she wears loose-fitting "androgynous" clothes to work.
She says, in a male-dominated working environment, her old look made it more likely she would be flirted with.
BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. In 2017, we're challenging them to tackle four of the biggest problems facing women today - the glass ceiling, female illiteracy, harassment in public spaces and sexism in sport.
With your help, they'll be coming up with real-life solutions and we want you to get involved with your ideas. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and use #100Women
"I want to be seen as a business leader and not as a sexual object. Those lines are still crossed very often in this space," she explains.
Even so, Carey admits that sexual harassment against women in work or other public spaces is all too common.
"There's a problem in our industry, period, around sexual harassment," she explains.
At a recent party for software company executives, cocktails were served by paid female models, who were "dressed like fairies".
Being one of the few female CEOs in the room, Carey says she was in the minority when it came to seeing the situation as inappropriate and unprofessional.
Glassbreakers provides companies with software aimed at empowering a diverse workforce
She says her mother, Eileen Sr, has been a massive influence on the way she approaches masculinity and femininity, and gender issues in general.
Both Carey's mother and her aunt were feminists back in the 1980s.
"My mom has short hair, never wears makeup, does not wear high heels, never wears dresses. That's who she has always been," Carey says.
In the past Carey had her hair blow-dried professionally, her nails manicured.
Now she declares herself "very much my mother's daughter, where I don't like wearing makeup, and I don't like wearing heels. I just like being comfortable at work."
Carey doesn't feel the same pressure to be feminine as women who were brought up in more traditional cultures or households. "I was very fortunate that I didn't have those gender stereotypes placed on me at a very young age."
With news stories about sexism and gender in the tech industry - from Uber to Google - dominating the headlines, Carey says employees must remember they have a choice about where they work.
Trying to change a culture alone from within a company can be difficult she says, and can lead to employees feeling very wounded - leading potentially to "a million papercuts, the micro-aggressions, the little things".
If you want to try and change a company, then "Be the change you want to see in the world, which may mean sacrificing your personal life for a discrimination lawsuit. That's unfortunately how you have to change businesses."
Otherwise, she says: "Go where you are going to be successful."
Companies that aren't inclusive, that don't make spaces for women in leadership, that make it difficult for women to be retained, are not going to win in the long term, she explains.
"Look at the numbers. Look at the leadership. Talk to women who work there. If that doesn't seem like a place that you can reach your highest potential, don't work there."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41082939
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Northern Rock's Bank of England bailout 'should have been secret' - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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Ex-Bank of England governor Mervyn King says keeping it secret would have averted ensuing panic.
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Tyne & Wear
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The revelation of an emergency loan to Northern Rock caused a run on the bank
An agreement to bail out Northern Rock which triggered a run on the bank should have been kept secret, the country's then top banker claims.
The BBC revealed the Bank of England's support of the struggling North East bank on 13 September 2007.
The following day thousands of Northern Rock customers led the first run on a British bank since 1866.
Mervyn King, then governor of the Bank of England, said he advised the deal be kept secret to prevent panic.
Mervyn King - who entered the House of Lords as Baron King of Lothbury four years ago - was governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013
He told BBC Inside Out, North East & Cumbria: "My advice was very clear - we should not reveal publicly the fact we were going to lend to Northern Rock."
A Northern Rock insider told the programme the bank wanted to keep the liquidity support facility secret but was told it was "illegal".
The then governor - now Baron King of Lothbury - disagreed. He said: "Northern Rock and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) all felt it would be a good idea to reveal it.
"The advice of the lawyers and FSA was [keeping the deal secret] was against a European directive.
"Actually, none of my colleagues in Europe believed that for a minute."
The FSA's former head, Sir Hector Sants, said it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment.
The following year, the Bank of England did make secret loans worth £61.2bn to RBS and HBOS.
The news of the Northern Rock loan was broken by Robert Peston, then the BBC's business editor on the News at Ten.
The revelation caused many customers to try to withdraw their money and a there was a 30% drop in the value of Northern Rock shares.
Many staff and customers lost thousands of pounds worth of shares in the bank in the ensuing fall and subsequent nationalisation.
Northern Rock was taken over by the government in January 2008 before eventually being sold to Virgin money four years later.
Northern Rock shareholders claim they should have received compensation when the government took over
Mr Peston, who is now political editor of ITV News, said: "Under the rules, the moment Northern Rock requests emergency help from the Bank of England in that way it has failed.
"If I had not reported that event I would have been guilty of playing God in an incredibly patronising way.
"I'd have been effectively saying that adults were not capable of understanding the significant information and that would have been an appalling thing for any journalist to do."
Lord King said Mr Peston reported the story in a "very responsible way" and could not be blamed for the consequences.
He also said he would have wanted a "fair deal" for Northern Rock shareholders, which would have seen them get the "residual value" of the shares when the government took over.
Instead, they received nothing as the government concluded the bank was not a going concern, a view upheld by the High Court.
Campaigners are now mounting a new challenge for compensation.
Watch the full story on Inside Out, North East & Cumbria on Monday 11 September on BBC One at 19:30.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-41172945
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Apple suffers 'major iPhone X leak' - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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The operating system of unreleased iPhones is leaked to two websites, revealing secret details.
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Technology
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Developers are still scouring the leaked code for fresh discoveries
Details of new iPhones and other forthcoming Apple devices have been revealed via an apparent leak.
Two news sites were given access to an as-yet-unreleased version of the iOS operating system.
The code refers to an iPhone X in addition to two new iPhone 8 handsets. It also details facial recognition tech that acts both as an ID system and maps users' expressions onto emojis.
One tech writer said it was the biggest leak of its kind to hit the firm.
Apple is holding a launch event at its new headquarters on Tuesday.
The California-based company takes great efforts to keep its technologies secret until its showcase events, and chief executive Tim Cook spoke in 2012 of the need to "double down" on concealment measures.
Some details about the new devices had, however, already been revealed in August, when Apple published some test code for its HomePod speakers.
But while that was thought to have been a mistake, it has been claimed that the latest leak was an intentional act of sabotage.
"As best I've been able to ascertain, these builds were available to download by anyone, but they were obscured by long, unguessable URLs [web addresses]," wrote John Gruber, a blogger known for his coverage of Apple.
"Someone within Apple leaked the list of URLs to 9to5Mac and MacRumors. I'm nearly certain this wasn't a mistake, but rather a deliberate malicious act by a rogue Apple employee."
Neither Mr Gruber nor the two Apple-related news sites have disclosed their sources.
However, the BBC has independently confirmed that an anonymous source provided the publications with links to iOS 11's golden master (GM) code that downloaded the software from Apple's own computer servers.
GM is a term commonly used by software firms to indicate that they believe a version of a product is ready for release.
"More surprises were spoiled by this leak than any leak in Apple history," Mr Gruber added.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
Apple chief Tim Cook has publicly discussed his desire to protect Apple's secrets
Several developers are still scouring the leak for new features, but discoveries so far include:
It marks the second time in three months that the company seems to have been deliberately caught out by a staff member.
In June, an hour-long recording of an internal meeting - ironically about stopping leakers - was passed onto the Outline news site.
It revealed that Apple had hired ex-workers from the US National Security Agency (NSA), FBI and Secret Service to help catch tattletales.
"I have faith deep in my soul that if we hire smart people they're gonna think about this, they're gonna understand this, and ultimately they're gonna do the right thing, and that's to keep their mouth shut," one senior Apple executive was heard to say.
Apple's mobile devices account for the bulk of its profits
One company watcher said that the scale of the leak meant Tuesday's launch had lost some of its power to surprise.
"There will be an unbelievable effort within Apple to determine how this happened and I don't envy the person that did it because there will be no forgiveness for it," commented Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
But he added that it was unlikely to affect sales or interest in the new devices.
"For other companies this might have huge impact on the effectiveness of their grand official launches, but for Apple there is such insatiable demand for even the smallest details and such an obsessive fan-following of its products that even a very detailed leak will do little to dampen the enthusiasm of bloggers and others to report its news," he said.
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Learndirect 'should face investigation', says senior MP - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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The training provider, one of the UK's biggest, was recently rated "inadequate" by Ofsted.
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Education & Family
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Training company Learndirect should face an investigation after it was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee says.
The firm is estimated to have received more than £600m of public funding since 2011, but Meg Hillier said the government must demonstrate there were consequences for failure.
Ofsted has told the BBC no training provider should be beyond scrutiny.
Learndirect said it had made strong progress in improving its provision.
Ofsted's report, which the company tried to prevent being made public, rated Learndirect inadequate overall, with failings in apprenticeships and lesser problems in adult learning.
No termination of contract notice has been issued, which would normally follow a similar rating.
Officials have told the BBC that because there is a need to "protect learners and maintain other key public services run by Learndirect Ltd", the contract will run its course until next summer with intensive monitoring.
But those officials will face questions about their handling of the contract when they next appear before the influential Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Labour MP Ms Hillier MP said: "It's a very big contract and we're concerned the way Learndirect is treated is a sign the government considers it is too big to fail, which raises wider issues about how we contract these things out."
She said she had asked the National Audit Office to consider looking into the contract.
"If something is failing, the government needs to take action," Ms Hillier continued.
"It needs to show there are consequences, and it's a real slap in the face to providers out there doing a good job, who are rated good or excellent by Ofsted, who then see a failing provider seemingly getting away with it."
Learndirect Ltd has dozens of subcontractors, and takes a share of the contract value in return for passing the work on.
But this case raise may wider questions about the scrutiny of major public contracts.
The head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, spoke exclusively to the BBC and FE Week in a joint interview about the lessons that need to be learned.
"We have to make sure that we say what we have to say about quality, no matter what," she said.
"We have to do that as early on as possible in the life of providers so we don't end up with more Learndirects where there are 20,000 apprentices not getting what they should be getting."
She refused to be drawn on her view of the response by the Department for Education (DfE) following the Ofsted report, saying: "It is not for us to decide what happens to Learndirect."
But she added: "I hope that the lessons from Learndirect will really focus people's minds on what can be done up front, especially with very large providers.
"In any system there are always going to be some problems, some providers with difficulty, and making sure the system can cope with the failure of any provider is an essential part of a functioning market."
There is a risk for Ofsted that if robust action isn't seen to be taken following a critical report, its own authority is undermined.
In a BBC interview, Skills Minister Anne Milton said Learndirect Ltd was not seen by the government as too big to fail.
"It is most certainly not untouchable, we have the learners' interests at heart.
"We will continue to act swiftly with Learndirect and any other provider that fails to do as their contract specifies."
She also gave an undertaking to recoup any public money for training not delivered - the first time the government has said this publicly.
"We will claw back from Learndirect any bit of their contract they have failed to fulfil."
That could only happen after an audit of the contract, if it was found that some training had not been delivered.
Amanda Spielman said lessons must be learned from this case
This criticism of Learndirect comes at a time when a significant expansion of apprenticeships is about to unfold.
The prospect of the new employer-funded apprenticeship levy has led to around 2,000 potential providers joining a new government register.
Ms Spielman said: "There are very clear risks. One is about people who shouldn't be providing training at all, making sure they don't get onto the register, or recognising that at the earliest possible moment before lives are disrupted.
"One is about making sure that people who have the potential to do it well stay in control of their business model and don't lose sight of apprentices through layers of subcontracts that aren't managed well."
The new system will be very different, because employers will commission as well as fund the training.
Learndirect said it was making improvements to its adult training.
"We remain committed to working with current employers and apprentices to ensure they receive the training and skills they need to succeed," it said.
"Our focus is on delivering the highest levels of service and outcomes, and we will continue working closely with the DfE and ESFA [Education and Skills Funding Agency] to ensure its requirements around quality measures are met."
A separate company Learndirect Apprenticeships Limited has been set up for business under the new apprenticeship levy.
A spokesman for that company said Ofsted had recognised it had prepared well for the new system and that corporate apprenticeship customers were happy with the standard of learning.
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How Chinese mulberry bark paved the way for paper money - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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The value of modern currency comes not from what it's made of, but what we all agree it's worth.
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Business
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Almost 750 years ago, a young Venetian merchant named Marco Polo wrote a remarkable book chronicling his travels in China.
The Book of the Marvels of the World was full of strange foreign customs that Marco claimed to have seen.
But there was one that was so extraordinary, Marco Polo could barely contain himself: "Tell it how I might," he wrote, "you never would be satisfied that I was keeping within truth and reason."
What had excited Marco so much? He was one of the first Europeans to witness an invention that remains at the foundation of the modern economy: paper money.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world in which we live.
Of course, the paper itself isn't the point. Modern paper money isn't made of paper - it's made of cotton fibres or plastic.
And the Chinese money that so fascinated Marco Polo wasn't quite paper either.
It was made from a black sheet derived from the bark of mulberry trees, signed by multiple officials and, with a seal smothered in bright red vermilion, authenticated by the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan himself.
Kublai Khan announced that officially stamped mulberry bark was money - and lo, it was
The chapter of Marco Polo's book was titled, somewhat breathlessly: "How the great Khan Causes the Bark of Trees, Made into Something Like Paper, to Pass for Money All over His Country".
The point is, that whatever these notes were made of, their value didn't come from the preciousness of the substance, as with a gold or silver coin.
Instead, the value was created purely by the authority of the government.
Paper money is sometimes called fiat money - the Latin word "fiat" means "let it be done". The Great Khan announces that officially stamped mulberry bark is money - and lo, let it be done. Money it is.
The genius of this system amazed Marco Polo, who explained that the paper money circulated as though it were gold or silver itself. Where was all the gold that wasn't circulating? Well, the emperor kept a tight hold of that.
The Mulberry money itself wasn't new when Marco Polo heard about it. It had emerged nearly three centuries earlier, around the year 1000 in Sichuan, China.
Sichuan was a frontier province, bordered by foreign and sometimes hostile states. China's rulers didn't want valuable gold and silver currency to leak into foreign lands, and so they imposed a bizarre rule. Sichuan had to use coins made of iron.
These Chinese coins dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were found in 2005
Iron coins aren't terribly practical. If you traded in a handful of silver coins - 50g worth - you'd be given your own body weight in iron coins.
Even something simple like salt was worth more, gram for gram, than iron - so if you went to the market for groceries, your sackful of coins on the way there would weigh more than the bag of goods that you brought back.
Sichuan merchants had a problem, as William Goetzmann explains in his book Money Changes Everything. It was illegal to use gold and silver coins, and impractical to use iron coins. It's no surprise that they began to experiment with an alternative.
That alternative was called "jiaozi", or "exchange bills". Instead of carrying around a wagonload of iron coins, a well-known and trusted merchant would write an IOU, and promise to pay his bill later when it was more convenient for everyone.
That was a simple enough idea. But then there was a twist, a kind of economic magic. These "jiaozi", or IOUs, started to trade freely.
Suppose I supply some goods to the eminently reputable Mr Zhang, and he gives me an IOU. When I go to your shop later, rather than paying you with iron coins - who does that? - I could write you an IOU.
But it might be simpler - and indeed you might prefer it - if instead I give you Mr Zhang's IOU. After all, we both know he's good for the money.
Now you, and I, and Mr Zhang, have together created a kind of primitive paper money - it's a promise to repay that has a marketable value of its own - and can be passed around from person to person without being redeemed.
This is very good news for Mr Zhang, because as long as people keep finding it convenient simply to pass on his IOU as a way of paying for things, Mr Zhang never actually has to stump up the iron coins.
Effectively, he enjoys an interest-free loan for as long as his IOU continues to circulate. Better still, it's a loan that he may never be asked to repay.
A fragment of one of the earliest surviving banknotes, which was printed in the early 1260s
No wonder the Chinese authorities started to think these benefits ought to accrue to them, rather than to the likes of Mr Zhang.
At first they regulated the issuance of jiaozi, but then outlawed private jiaozi and took over the whole business themselves.
The official jiaozi currency was a huge hit, circulating across regions and even internationally. In fact, the jiaozi even traded at a premium, because they were so much easier to carry around than metal coins.
Initially, the government-issued jiaozi could be redeemed for coins on demand, exactly as the private jiaozi had been. This was logical: it treated the paper notes as a placeholder for something of real value.
But the government soon moved stealthily to a fiat system, maintaining the principle but abandoning the practice of redeeming jiaozi for metal. Bring an old jiaozi in to the government treasury to be redeemed, and you would receive a crisp new jiaozi.
That was a very modern step. The money we use today all over the world is created by central banks and it's backed by nothing in particular except the promises to replace old notes with fresh ones.
The oldest known British bank note, issued by the Bank of England in 1699
We've moved from a situation where Mr Zhang's IOU circulates without ever being redeemed, to the mind-bending situation where the government's IOUs circulate despite never being redeemed.
For governments, fiat money represents a temptation: a government with bills to pay can simply print more money. And when more money chases the same amount of goods and services, prices tend to go up.
The temptation quickly proved too great to resist.
The Song dynasty issued too many jiaozi. Counterfeiting was also a problem. Within a few decades of its invention in the early 11th century, jiaozi was devalued and discredited, trading at just 10% of its face value.
Other countries have since suffered much worse. Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe are famous examples of economies collapsing into chaos as excessive money-printing rendered prices meaningless.
The abysmal world record for hyperinflation is held by Hungary in 1946, where prices trebled during the course of every day. Walk into a Budapest cafe back then, and it was better to pay for your coffee when you arrived, not when you left.
These rare but terrifying episodes have convinced some economic radicals that fiat money can never be stable.
They yearn for a return to the days of the gold standard, when paper money could always be redeemed for a little piece of the precious metal held inside Fort Knox.
Gold has been used as currency for thousands of years
But mainstream economists generally now believe that pegging the money supply to gold is a terrible idea. Most regard low and predictable inflation as no problem at all - perhaps even a useful lubricant to economic activity.
And while we may not always be able to trust central bankers to print just the right amount of new money, it probably makes more sense than trusting miners to dig up just the right amount of new gold.
The ability to fire up the printing presses is especially useful in crisis situations.
After the 2007 financial crisis, the US Federal Reserve pumped trillions of dollars into the economy, without creating inflation. In fact, the printing presses were metaphorical: those trillions were simply created by key-strokes on computers in the global banking system.
As a wide-eyed Marco Polo might have put it: "The great Central Bank Causes the Digits on a Computer Screen, Made into Something Like Spreadsheets, to Pass for Money".
Technology has changed, but what passes for money continues to astonish.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40879028
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Public sector pay cap to be lifted for police and prison officers - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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Ministers are set to accept a pay review recommendation, paving the way for other public workers.
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UK Politics
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The government is to lift the 1% public sector pay cap for the first time for both police and prison officers, the BBC understands.
Ministers are expected to accept recommendations for higher pay rises this week and also to pave the way for similar increases in other sectors.
Unions, the opposition, and some Tories are calling for the cap to be lifted.
But there are warnings that police forces have budgeted for a 1% rise and without extra money, jobs are at risk.
The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said that while forces were welcoming reports of a pay rise, there were widespread concerns that it would put a huge strain on them if extra resources were not found.
The West Midlands Police and Crime commissioner has warned that, in such a scenario, 80 jobs would be lost for every 1% rise above the current cap.
"If the government do not put aside money to fund the pay increase, PCCs will be left with large bills and have no other option other than to reduce officer and staff numbers," Labour's David Jamieson said.
"The government must act quickly to ensure that its pay cap lifting is not a hollow gesture."
Public sector pay was frozen for two years in 2010, except for those earning less than £21,000 a year, and since 2013, rises have been capped at 1% - below the rate of inflation.
The higher increases expected this week for police and prison officers are based on the recommendations of independent pay review bodies, with recruitment and retention problems being cited in the case of prison officers.
The BBC understands the Treasury will then issue guidance on next year's pay round, which is likely to see the cap eased in other areas where there are similar problems, such as teaching and nursing.
Nurses protested about the pay cap at Westminster last week
Most - though not all - pay review bodies this year identified recruitment and retention problems, but decided to take note of government policy on wage restraint so they didn't recommend rises above an average of 1%.
But the police and prison officers review bodies, in as yet unpublished reports, did call for increases above 1% this summer, and the government has been mulling over how to handle a controversial issue.
This week it will agree to the recommendations, though there may be some creativity over how the pay awards are implemented.
And the government would also say that some public sector workers have enjoyed rises above 1% through promotion or pay increments.
But now, more widely, the Treasury is expected to tell other pay bodies - covering teachers and NHS staff for example - that they can take recruitment and retention difficulties into account when recommending next year's increases.
So not lifting of the pay cap across the board - which Labour is calling for - but this could be, as the TUC put it, a crack in the ice of pay restraint.
It comes as MPs are set to vote on public sector pay on Wednesday.
Labour's health spokesman Jon Ashworth urged Conservative MPs who "sincerely" believe the public sector pay cap should go to vote with his party during its Opposition Day debate, which would not be binding on the government.
He told Sky News: "We keep getting briefings in newspapers and suggestions that the government is sympathetic and wants to do something, and 'oh, it's terrible and we accept that but let's see where we get to'."
But the TUC's Frances O'Grady said the government should not favour some public service workers over others - and speaking at the TUC conference in Brighton, she said nurses, paramedics and fire fighters "are very angry", adding that seven years was "a long time for anyone to manage" with pay restraint.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're very clear that public service workers are a team. Pay shouldn't be a popularity contest. We know that front-line workers, so-called, depend on the whole team so we want a pay rise across the board."
The Public and Commercial Services union is to ballot its members on industrial action over the cap.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said raising pay in line with inflation for the next three or four years would cost £6bn to £7bn more than continuing with the current policy.
During last week's Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May said public sector workers were doing a vital job in often harrowing circumstances.
She added that the government would wait for the publication of the police and prison officers' pay review bodies' reports before deciding its policy framework for 2018-2019.
• None Public sector pay: Will they or won't they?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41218283
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YouTube star PewDiePie uses racial slur - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Swedish star was heard saying the word while playing a video game in a live broadcast.
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Europe
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PewDiePie has more than 57 million subscribers on YouTube
The world's highest-paid YouTube star, PewDiePie, has used the "n-word" during an online broadcast.
The 27-year-old Swede - real name Felix Kjellberg - could be heard using the racial slur while he was playing a video game during a live streaming.
After using the term he appeared to recognise his error, saying: "I don't mean that in a bad way."
PewDiePie, who has more than 57 million subscribers, previously had to defend himself over anti-Semitism allegations.
On another occasion, he was suspended from Twitter for so-called Islamic State jokes.
Sean Vanaman, whose Campo Santo studio develops the game Firewatch, tweeted that he intends to file DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) reports in an attempt to remove all videos and streams of Kjellberg playing his company's title.
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 Sean Vanaman 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.
PewDiePie amassed his following by posting recordings of himself playing video games and providing commentary.
In February, some of his videos were found to contain Nazi references or anti-Semitic imagery, which resulted in Disney cutting ties with him.
He is reported to have made $15m (£11m) through YouTube last year and has accrued billions of hits since he joined YouTube in 2010.
He had been associated with Disney via Maker Studios, a company with a network of YouTube stars.
In February, Disney said that while Mr Kjellberg had a reputation for being provocative and irreverent, some of the videos he made were "inappropriate".
In one of the controversial videos, Mr Kjellberg paid two people through a crowd-sourcing website to hold up a sign which read "Death to all Jews".
PewDiePie accepted the material was offensive, but said he did not support "any kind of hateful attitudes".
He said that the anti-Semitism claims were "insane" and "unfair", adding: "I am sorry for the words I used as I know they offended people."
The row led to YouTube cancelling the release of Mr Kjellberg's new series, Scare PewDiePie 2.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41222593
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More landmarks to show you're nearly home - BBC News
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2017-09-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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From twisty towers to tree-topped tors - the English landmarks that signify a journey's end.
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England
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Long journeys can seem even more tedious when they're accompanied by the kids in the back seat asking "are we nearly there yet?" every few miles. So it can be something of a relief when a familiar landmark comes into view, indicating the comforts of home are just around the corner.
From tree-topped tors to man-made monoliths, people shared with BBC News their particular sights - and sites - that means the trip is nearing its end.
Kirsten Reeve with her son Archie and their "coming home tree"
A solitary tree stands atop the natural knoll, which rises roughly 20m above the Severn Valley. Also known as the Crookbarrow Hill, the mound is a registered monument with Historic England as the site of a mediaeval fortification.
More importantly to some, though, the tree is a clear sign to those on the M5 that junction 7 - Worcester South - is drawing near.
Kirsten Reeves has nominated The Tump as her family's "coming home tree".
"It is very special to our family. I grew up in Worcester so seeing the tree as we travelled home from holidays on the M5 was always a very exciting moment and symbolised that just 10 minutes of the journey were left.
"After moving away for many years I decided to move 'home' when my husband and I started our family as he was in the navy and spent a long time away. Our two children now love seeing the coming home tree too and always spend the last part of our journeys trying to be the first one to spot it as it emerges.
"My husband has spent a lot of time at sea and after completing an 11-month deployment away from home said that the best thing ever was seeing that tree and knowing he was finally home."
For Nick Mitchell the Ouse Valley viaduct at Balcombe always marks his return from London to Sussex by train.
He tells the BBC: "I know we are back in the countryside as we cross the magnificent structure.
"As the train soars over the beautiful Ouse Valley, passengers often look up from their newspapers and electronic devices to gaze out over the woods and fields.
"When there's heavy mist or it's dark, it feels like we are flying as you can't see the ground at all."
The National Lift Tower is a research facility built to test - you've guessed it - lifts.
The 127m (418ft) tall structure houses six lift shafts of varying heights, one of which is a high-speed shaft with a (theoretical) maximum speed of 10m/s (22mph).
It rose to wider fame when Sir Terry Wogan lampooned it on his BBC Radio 2 programme, dubbing it the "Northampton lighthouse". He even joked the east coast was eroding so quickly that the government had commissioned the "lighthouse" ready for Northampton's new coastal location.
He's quoted as saying: "I don't think it was looked on in an architectural sense by my listeners - they're a bit too dim - we just took it for what it was: a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere."
According to Christopher Watts, for whom it is the landmark that shows he's nearly home, it is known as "Terry Wogan's lighthouse".
"I also have a personal interest as l worked on it for six months during the construction, installing a lot of the lift equipment," Mr Watts says.
Sarah Dev-Sherman and her children enjoy spotting the tower on their way to visit family
The Church Langley Water Tower is a conspicuous landmark perched high above and on the west side of the M11.
Sarah Dev-Sherman, originally from Essex but now living in Norfolk, says whenever she and her children visit family "there is always a race with the kids to see who can see the Church Langley water tower first.
"When we see it, it means we're nearly there after a long time in the car. It's such an iconic landmark you cannot fail to notice it."
Sue Simmons from Cambridge also lists it as her favourite sign that home is around the corner. "We always shout 'home cone!' when we see it. People think we're strange, but it is now a family tradition."
The Penshaw Monument was built in 1844 in memory of John George Lambton, the first Earl of Durham. He was a reforming Whig politician with the nickname "Radical Jack" who inherited vast wealth, created by the coalmining interests on his family's estates, when he was only five.
He then became known as "Jog Along Jack" after saying "a gentleman could jog along comfortably on £40,000 a year".
For local boy Richard Speding, who has lived in London for more than 30 years, the Penshaw (pronounced Pen-sher) Monument is the first thing he looks for when leaving the A1 and joining the A690.
"It's then I know I'm only minutes from the village I was brought up in. If I have the time I will visit and climb up to the top and survey my hometown."
Hidden inside one of the towers is a secret passage which goes to the top of the 20m (66ft) structure - the National Trust opens the winding staircase to the public between Good Friday and the end of September.
Its towering profile is one of the symbols on the badge of Sunderland Football Club.
Dream, a statue of the elongated head of a nine-year-old girl is located on the summit of the former Sutton Manor Colliery in St Helens, Merseyside, midway between Liverpool and Manchester.
It was created by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa after the group of former miners who made up the commissioning committee were unhappy with his first proposal - a statue of a mining lamp. They rejected the proposal and asked for something more "present day and progressive".
It's a homecoming landmark for Maeve and Maurice Harris, who remember the topping off ceremony in 2009 as it was on the same day as the birth of their first grandchild.
"For that reason, we always call her "Your Grace" after our granddaughter Gracie. She's a special reminder of a special time and always makes us smile on the way back to Warrington."
The Parish Church of St Mary and All Saints has a vision-bendingly twisty spire, which signifies "home" for John Merry. He says local lore has it that the devil or a witch caused the twist when being expelled from the area.
The spire is made of wood and clad in lead. It's thought the lean on the tower is accidental and arose from the use of unseasoned timber and inexperienced craftsmen, while the twist is a deliberate design.
The church survived underground activities of both coalmining and railway works, as well as two world wars, but nearly succumbed to fire in 1961.
This story was inspired by responses to How do you know when you're nearly home?
• None The landmarks that mean you're nearly home
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41124879
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Apple’s augmented reality ambitions - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Apple has big plans for augmented reality but faces strong competition from Google and Microsoft.
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Technology
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: What can AR do on iPhone?
Face recognition, an OLED screen and a £999 price tag will grab all the headlines. But software developers around the world were waiting on one thing from the Apple event - more news on augmented reality.
And slap bang in the middle of the iPhone 8 unveiling, a long section about AR, and a demo from a games developer - a clear signal that the company sees the technology as a key attraction in its new phones.
Back in May, Apple released ARKit, its augmented reality development tool, hoping that developers would rush to try it out and give the company a lead in the fast growing technology, which imposes virtual objects on the real world. And it has done just that.
Developers have been quick to experiment, showing off all kinds of apps, from a simple AR measuring tape to work out whether that chunky sofa will fit through the door, to a restaurant app that puts a virtual burger on your real plate.
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This week I found myself chasing pigeons around a cool shared office space in Shoreditch with Jamie Shoard. His tiny four-person company has used ARKit to develop Pigeon Panic, which he describes as "an utterly ridiculous game, built to live out your very achievable fantasies of running haphazardly into large flocks of virtual pigeons".
Augmented reality has been around for a long time, but it was only with the arrival of Pokemon Go last year that it entered the lives of millions of smartphone users.
Jamie Shoard says that until now developing AR apps was a complex business that could only be contemplated by major developers, and ARKit has changed that: "The technology would have taken years to create and a team of hundreds - now it can be done in matter of months by small teams like ours."
He now expects a new flowering of creativity in an app landscape that has been getting quite stale.
Apple showed off AR games played via its new smartphones
But if Apple is to spark this AR revolution, it has a number of hurdles to clear. First, there is plenty of competition.
For some years Google has been pushing its Tango augmented reality platform, but with just a couple of smartphones boasting the tech to make it work, the company saw the writing on the wall when ARKit came out.
It has ditched the brand and unveiled ARCore, which will work on millions of Android phones, with a big pitch to the developer community to get involved. Google's own designers have also demonstrated their first experiments, showing off a Streetview animation which allows you to zoom into the British Museum from the front of the building, and a training app demonstrating how to use an espresso machine.
The other big player is Microsoft with its Hololens headset, which the firm is using to bring what it calls mixed reality into the workplace and the classroom. While it may provide a more convincing experience than AR seen through a mobile phone, the headset is expensive and is not at this stage aimed at the consumer market.
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If anyone can be considered a veteran of the augmented reality world, it is Steve Dann, whose Amplified Robot studio is based in Soho.
His first AR project was for the Times newspaper 10 years ago and involved the use of a laptop's camera - smartphones were not in common use back then.
He admits that the revolution has taken longer to take off than he imagined - "the technology has not advanced quite as quickly as we hoped it would". But he does believe that Apple's initiative is a key moment for augmented reality.
"ARKit makes a big difference because it's an Apple statement of intent," he explained.
"Any time you get Apple entering into something, it is fully committed, and that will drag other companies in."
But however intense the competition to create compelling new uses for AR, there is another nagging question - do we really want to see our world through the lens of our smartphone camera?
The buzz has faded around pioneering augmented reality game Pokemon Go
The buzz around Pokemon Go has died down, and new augmented reality apps have not taken off in the same way. Paul Lee, head of technology research at Deloitte, says get ready for a big upsurge in interest: "I expect there will be hundreds or millions of smartphone users who use augmented reality enhanced digital apps at least five times in 2018."
He says we are already using AR without realising it when for instance we use filters in photo apps to improve the real world. AR will become a feature of many existing apps. "Augmenting reality is a very human activity - hence the appeal. It's a form of digital make up."
But Mr Dann thinks another technology advance may be needed before most people are ready to augment their world.
"I think ARKit is a step on the road to the future. I think augmented reality will really take off when you can see it through head mounted displays or a pair of glasses," he says.
Of course, that has already been tried - but Google Glass proved unpalatable to its users. Maybe somewhere inside the Apple Park spaceship, engineers are working on an iHeadset, but for now the company is counting on the iPhone as its weapon to barge its way into another new market.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41248983
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Brexit: EU repeal bill wins first Commons vote - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The EU Withdrawal Bill passes its first parliamentary test but will face more attempts to change it.
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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. The moment the government's attempt to take the UK out of EU law passed its first parliamentary test
The government's bid to extract the UK from EU law in time for Brexit has passed its first parliamentary test.
MPs backed the EU Withdrawal Bill by 326 votes to 290 despite critics warning that it represented a "power grab" by ministers.
The bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, now moves onto its next parliamentary stage.
Ministers sought to reassure MPs by considering calls for safeguards over their use of new powers.
Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the Commons vote in the early hours of Tuesday morning, saying the bill offered "certainty and clarity" - but Labour described it as an "affront to parliamentary democracy".
Seven Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn's order to oppose the bill - Ronnie Campbell, Frank Field, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, John Mann, Dennis Skinner and Graham Stringer. No Conservatives voted against it.
Having cleared the second reading stage, the bill will now face more attempts to change it with MPs, including several senior Conservative backbenchers, publishing a proposed 157 amendments, covering 59 pages.
Previously referred to as the Great Repeal Bill, the EU Withdrawal Bill overturns the 1972 European Communities Act which took the UK into the then European Economic Community.
It will also convert all existing EU laws into UK law, to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day.
Critics' concerns centre on ministers giving themselves the power to make changes to laws during this process without consulting MPs.
The government says it needs to be able to make minor technical changes to ensure a smooth transition, but fears were raised that ministers were getting sweeping powers to avoid parliamentary scrutiny.
More than 100 MPs had their say during the two-day second reading debate.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "This isn't the end of this bill, just one very early stage"
Labour, which denounced the "vague offers" of concessions, mostly voted against the bill.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the bill was a "naked power grab" by the government, adding that "this is a deeply disappointing result".
He said: "Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the bill but the flaws are so fundamental it's hard to see how this could ever be made fit for purpose."
Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said MPs who backed the bill should feel "ashamed".
"This is a dark day for the mother of parliaments," he added.
Summing up the Commons debate, Justice Secretary David Lidington had said some criticism had been "exaggerated up to and beyond the point of hyperbole".
He said the bill would "enable us to have a coherent and functioning statute book" on the day the UK leaves the EU.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Conservative MPs concerned about the legislation had already tabled a number of amendments to "remove the excesses of the bill" and to "make considerable improvements".
These include limiting the use of delegated powers, giving Parliament the "final say" on the EU withdrawal agreement and restoring the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
One MP told the BBC: "We hope MPs from all parties who share our concerns and aims to make the bill fit for the purpose of delivering a smooth Brexit will add their names."
SNP MPs, who also voted against the bill, said powers over devolved issues would be seized by Westminster as they were returned from Brussels.
But Mr Lidington denied this, predicting it would result in a "significant increase" in the powers exercised by the devolved administrations.
The bill will now receive line-by-line scrutiny in its committee stage.
MPs voted in favour of the government's proposed timetable for debating legislation - by 318 votes to 301 - guaranteeing 64 hours of debate over eight days.
But Mr Lidington said the government was "willing to consider" extending the allocated time.
The Bill's committee stage will take place when MPs return to parliament after their party conferences.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41235522
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The collapse of Northern Rock: Ten years on - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The collapse of Northern Rock: Ten years on
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Business
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In the summer of 2007, Newcastle had much to look forward to. The Toon - Newcastle United - had a new owner, the billionaire retail tycoon Mike Ashley, and much was expected under the management of Sam Allardyce.
The performance of the team's shirt sponsor, Northern Rock, was a source of pride; after decades of hard times following the end of shipbuilding and mining, the North East had a new economic champion, one that was giving the financial services giants of the South a real run for their money.
The former building society had demutualised and scaled the heights of the FTSE 100, the elite club of Britain's biggest quoted companies, and in the process had become the fourth biggest bank in the UK by share of lending.
The chairman, Matt Ridley, summed it up in the annual report, lauding "another excellent year" and said "our strategy of using growth, cost efficiency and credit quality to reward both shareholders and customers continues to run well."
A few months later, Northern Rock's empire was in ruins. The fuel it had used to grow so quickly turned out to be toxic.
Northern Rock had borrowed heavily on the international money markets
Rather than using customer deposits as the source of funds to lend out to homeowners, it borrowed in the international money markets.
When the sub-prime crisis hit America, those markets took fright, and stopped lending to anything that looked like it might be over-exposed to the housing market. Northern Rock was an obvious first casualty.
The BBC broke the news that it needed Bank of England support 10 years ago tomorrow, and the day after there were queues outside branches, the first run on a British bank in 150 years. After limping on for a few more months, Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008.
Councillor Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, remembers walking out of the civic offices to nearby Northumberland Street where Northern Rock had its main city centre branch. "There was a queue outside going right down the street. That really was the first sign that something was wrong. No-one really saw it coming."
Customers queued for hours to take out their savings
Northern Rock's demise - it was split into "bad" and "good" sets of assets and operations, with Virgin Money buying the latter - was a shock to the region's economy, as was the banking crisis that followed.
"We were early into recession and late out," said Mr Forbes. "It's only now really that we have recaptured that lost ground."
About 2,500 jobs were lost. There was another heavy blow, little understood outside the North East - the loss of the Northern Rock Foundation, a charitable trust which received 5% of the bank's profits each year.
Many who lost their savings want the government to change its mind on compensation
It had given £235m to good causes before the bank was nationalised and broken up. Mr Forbes is now pressing the Treasury to give back some of the profits it expects to make from its intervention on Northern Rock to make up for the loss of the foundation.
Northern Rock shareholders are also making a claim on the potential profits, which independent experts think could eventually reach about £8bn.
An association of small shareholders, many of whom lost their life savings when the bank was nationalised, has asked the chancellor to think again on compensation, which has been denied before.
Any surplus from Northern Rock's privatisation should go to taxpayers, says the Treasury
Jon Wood, a fund manager who was a big Northern Rock shareholder and has been severely critical of the Bank of England's action, is also thought be to considering fresh legal action. The Treasury has said that any surplus from the Northern Rock nationalisation should compensate taxpayers for the amounts risked in the rescue.
A decade on, important strands of "the run on the Rock" story are only now being uncovered. In an interview with the BBC Gary Hoffman, who was parachuted in as chief executive after privatisation, said he found an organisation with an unquestioning - and unhappy - culture.
"The management had completely lost touch with the coal face, and did not know what was happening. There was an attitude that you did not question what was going on, which was a tragedy because there were extremely good people at the bank."
Hoffman reveals that the Treasury had considered all options for the future of the bank when he was in charge - not just a sale to a banking rival, but also a refloating of the bank as an independent business, and its complete run-down and closure.
The collapse was the first sign in Britain of the coming global financial crisis
Other senior banking sources have told the BBC that the last option - closure - was the favourite right up until Christmas Eve 2008, when the bank's leadership was able to convince the Treasury it could be sold as a going concern.
Mr Hoffman says that the UK's banking sector is now safer than in the run-up to the crisis, with greater capital reserves at the big institutions. Others disagree, however, saying the increases have been largely illusory.
Kevin Dowd, professor of finance and economics at the University of Durham, says changes in bank regulations have not greatly improved banks' resilience.
"The Bank of England looks at the book value of bank assets - the value that they themselves put on their assets. But if you look at the stock market, investors don't believe it because most of our big banks have stock market values less than their book values."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41229513
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North Korea threatens US with 'greatest pain' after UN sanctions - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Pyongyang's envoy to the UN rejects "illegal resolution" that imposed new sanctions on the country.
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Asia
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North Korea says it has developed and tested a hydrogen bomb
North Korea has threatened the United States with the "greatest pain" it has ever suffered following new sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
Pyongyang's envoy to the UN accused Washington of opting for "political, economic and military confrontation".
US President Donald Trump said the move was nothing compared to what would have to happen to deal with North Korea.
The UN sanctions are an attempt to starve the country of fuel and income for its weapons programmes.
The measures restrict oil imports and ban textile exports, and were approved after North Korea's sixth and largest nuclear test earlier this month.
Han Tae Song, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, said he "categorically rejected" what he called an "illegal resolution".
"The forthcoming measures by DPRK [the Democratic Republic of Korea] will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history," he told a UN conference in Geneva.
"Instead of making [the] right choice with rational analysis... the Washington regime finally opted for political, economic and military confrontation, obsessed with the wild dream of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force - which has already reached the completion phase."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Was your T-shirt made in North Korea?
The resolution was only passed unanimously after North Korea's allies Russia and China agreed to softer sanctions than those proposed by the US.
The initial text included a total ban on oil imports, a measure seen by some analysts as potentially destabilising for the regime.
The new sanctions agreed by the UN include:
A proposed asset freeze and a travel ban on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were dropped.
Reacting on Tuesday, Mr Trump said: "We think it's just another very small step, not a big deal.
"I don't know if it has any impact, but certainly it was nice to get a 15 to nothing vote. But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen," he added, without giving details.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How could war with North Korea unfold?
The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, told the Security Council after the vote: "We don't take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today. We are not looking for war."
"The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," she added. "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
A South Korean presidential office spokesman said on Tuesday: "North Korea needs to realise that a reckless challenge against international peace will only bring about even stronger sanctions against them."
Monday's resolution was the ninth one unanimously adopted by the UN since 2006.
The UN Security Council, which includes the US, has repeatedly slapped sanctions on North Korea
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (link in Chinese) that North Korea had "ignored international opposition and once again conducted a nuclear test, severely violating UN Security Council resolutions".
It also repeated its call for a "peaceful resolution" instead of a military response, adding: "China will never allow the peninsula to descend into war and chaos."
The BBC's China editor Carrie Gracie says Beijing is treading a fine line and wants sanctions tough enough to signal its displeasure to Pyongyang and avoid American accusations of complicity, but not so tough as to threaten North Korea's survival.
Both Russia and China reiterated their proposal that the US and South Korea freeze all military drills - which anger North Korea - and asked for a halt in the deployment of the controversial anti-missile system Thaad, in exchange for Pyongyang's cessation of its weapons programmes.
Beijing believes Thaad, which employs a powerful radar, is a security threat to China and neighbouring countries.
Ms Haley last week dismissed this proposal as "insulting".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41242992
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Holby City's John Michie in tribute to Bestival death daughter - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Actor John Michie says his daughter was "so bright, so out there", following her death at Bestival.
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Dorset
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John Michie said his daughter Louella was "so very positive"
Grieving Holby City actor John Michie has paid tribute to his daughter following her death at a music festival in Dorset.
Louella Michie was found in a wooded area of the Bestival site at Lulworth Castle in the early hours of Monday.
Her 60-year-old dad told The Sun that the family had "lost an angel".
Dorset Police said a 28-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering the 25-year-old is continuing to assist officers with inquiries.
The force said Miss Michie and the arrested man, who is also being interviewed on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug, knew each other.
An initial post-mortem examination which revealed no clear signs of an assault was inconclusive.
More tests, including toxicology to establish if there were any substances in her system, will now be carried out, police said.
The force has urged anyone with information to get in touch.
Mr Michie, who also starred in Coronation Street and Taggart, told the paper: "She touched so many lives. She was so very positive, so bright, so out there.
"She had such energy. The tributes to her have been incredible."
Posting on Twitter, modelling agency The Eye Casting said: "It is with profound sadness and shock that we have heard of the death of our beautiful model Louella Michie.
"The thoughts of us all are with her sister Daisy and the rest of the family at this tragic time."
Bestival was first held in 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight, but the four-day annual event was held at Lulworth Estate for the first time this year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-41238633
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May phones Trump as Boeing dispute threatens Bombardier - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There are fears a major aircraft project that supports hundreds of Belfast jobs could be jeopardised.
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Northern Ireland
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The history of Bombardier in Northern Ireland
Prime Minister Theresa May has phoned US President Donald Trump over a threat to jobs at Bombardier in Belfast from a trade dispute.
In 2016, Canadian firm Bombardier won an order to supply up to 125 C-Series passenger jets to US airline Delta.
The wings for the C-Series are made at Bombardier's Belfast plant.
However, rival aircraft firm Boeing has complained to the US authorities that the deal was unfairly subsidised by the Canadian state.
Boeing has also complained about a UK government loan made to the Bombardier plant in Belfast.
The US Department of Commerce is due to make a ruling later this month.
It could hit Bombardier with punitive tariffs.
Mrs May and her Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, would discuss the dispute at a meeting in Ottawa on 18 September, Reuters reported.
The wings for the C-Series planes are made in Belfast
Tariffs could make it very difficult for Bombardier to find new C-Series customers in the US.
The C-Series project supports hundreds of jobs in Belfast.
The government was "working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardier's operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast", said a spokesperson.
"Ministers across government have engaged swiftly and extensively with Boeing, Bombardier, the US and Canadian governments," added the spokesperon.
"Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier."
Mrs May raised the issue and her concern to protect jobs in Northern Ireland in a call with President Donald Trump last week, Downing Street confirmed.
Business Secretary Greg Clark had also travelled to Chicago to meet Boeing's chairman, president and chief executive officer, Dennis Muilenburg.
Bombardier managers in Belfast are also understood to have recently briefed trade unions about the importance of the case.
Boeing has alleged that Bombardier engaged in "price dumping" by agreeing to sell 75 of their planes for almost $14m (£10.6m) below their cost price.
The company said it had appealed to the International Trade Commission "to restore a level playing field in the US single-aisle airplane market".
"Boeing had to take action as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping," it said in a statement.
"Global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and that's a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and our aerospace industry."
It also pointed out that the Delta deal came after the regional government in Quebec effectively bailed out the C-Series programme with a $1bn investment.
"Equity infusions from government coffers not only rescued the program but have given Bombardier the resources it needs to aggressively target the US market," it said.
Bombardier has described the allegations as "absurd" and said the government investments "comply with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we do business".
Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable called on the UK government to "commit itself to standing very firmly behind Bombardier and its workers, and alongside the Canadian Government in resisting bullying from Boeing and its friend in the United States administration".
Minister for Climate Change and Industry Claire Perry said: "It is vitally important that we have this dispute settled and we create the environment for many manufacturers in this vital sector to thrive and grow."
Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon raised concerns about the future of the C-Series with Research and Innovation Minister, Jo Johnson.
"He'll be aware of Boeing's attempts to stop the contract which will add $30m (£23m) to every plane (coming into) C-Series in Belfast," he said.
Mr Johnson replied: "I can assure him that we are engaging very closely with the companies involved and will be following up on his point."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41233257
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Over a quarter of British people 'hold anti-Semitic attitudes', study finds - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Researchers say a major study of attitudes towards Jewish people has revealed more about anti-Semitism
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UK
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More than a quarter of British people hold at least one anti-Semitic view, according to a study of attitudes to Jewish people.
The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) said the finding came from the largest and most detailed survey of attitudes towards Jews and Israel ever conducted in Britain.
But it said the study did not mean that British people were anti-Semitic.
Researchers also found a correlation in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes.
The study found a relatively small number of British adults - 2.4% - expressed multiple anti-Semitic attitudes "readily and confidently".
But when questioned about whether they agreed with a number of statements, including "Jews think they are better than other people", and "Jews exploit holocaust victimhood for their own purposes", 30% agreed with at least one statement.
Despite this, the researchers said they found that levels of anti-Semitism in Great Britain were among the lowest in the world.
A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which has recorded high levels anti-Semitic crime, said: "We believe the new findings, data and nuance in this study will help us to work even more effectively with partners inside and outside the Jewish community to tackle this problem."
The report said about 70% of the population of Britain had a favourable opinion of Jews and did not hold any anti-Semitic ideas or views.
The JPR's researchers questioned 5,466 people face-to-face and online in the winter of 2016/17 - 995 of these were Muslims, although a smaller number of Muslims were included in the statisticians' nationally representative sample.
They found more than half of Muslims (55%) held at least one anti-Semitic attitude.
Dr Jonathan Boyd, director of the JPR, said: "Our intention here was not to make any broad generalisations about the Muslim population and their attitudes towards Jews.
"There does seem to be some relationship between levels of religiosity in the Muslim population and anti-Semitism."
The institute said it wanted to promote an "elastic view", making a distinction between people who are clearly anti-Semites, and ideas that are perceived by Jews as anti-Semitic.
In December 2016 the government adopted an internationally recognised definition of anti-Semitism: "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews".
The researchers also questioned people about their views on statements about Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians.
Their report said fewer than one in five people questioned (17%) had a favourable opinion of Israel, whereas about one in three (33%) held an unfavourable view.
The report said: "The position of the British population towards Israel can be characterised as one of uncertainty or indifference, but among those who hold a view, people with sympathies towards the Palestinians are numerically dominant."
Dr Boyd said: "Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish views exist both together and in isolation.
"The higher the level of anti-Israel attitudes measured, the more likely they are to hold anti-Semitic views as well."
The study also revealed that anti-Semitic attitudes were higher than normal among people who classified their politics as "very right-wing".
Among this group they were two to four times higher than among the general population.
The researchers said the prevalence was considerably higher among right-wingers than on the left.
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, from the Liberal Judaism movement, said: "The report is important for helping us understand where the anxiety comes from within the community at large and for understanding why anti-Semitism seems to be the prevailing discourse within the community.
"We must be really careful that it does not come to define us and that we celebrate the positive interactions with society at large.
"What is arguably more important … is to educate and interact, to be more outward facing and open to discussion than inward facing."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41241353
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Holby City star John Michie's daughter dies at Bestival - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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A man is arrested on suspicion of murdering the 25-year-old daughter of actor John Michie.
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England
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Louella Michie's body was discovered in a wooded area on the edge of the Bestival site
A woman who was found dead at Bestival was the daughter of Holby City, Taggart and Coronation Street actor John Michie, his agent has confirmed.
The body of Louella Michie, 25, from London, was discovered in a wooded area at the Dorset festival site.
Police said they were called at about 01:00 BST amid concern for the welfare of a woman.
A 28-year-old man from London has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being questioned by police.
A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out to establish the cause of death.
In a statement, Michie's agent said: "Sadly, I can confirm the tragic death of John Michie's daughter Louella at Bestival.
"John and his wife Carol ask that the privacy of their family be respected at this traumatic time."
John Michie currently stars as Guy Self in Holby City
Festival founder DJ Rob da Bank tweeted a link to the statement, which was posted on the festival's Facebook page.
In a statement, Bestival organisers said the team were "devastated to hear about this tragic news".
"We continue to support the police in their ongoing investigation and our thoughts and prayers are with all the woman's family and friends."
A cordon remains in place at the festival site while forensic examinations are carried out.
The festival was held at Lulworth Castle and estate
Det Ch Insp Sarah Derbyshire, of Dorset Police, said: "Following the discovery of the woman's body we have now launched an investigation into her death.
"We have specially trained officers supporting her family at this very difficult time."
She added the force was "working closely" with the festival organisers and urged anyone with information to get in touch.
Bestival was first held in 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight.
This was the first year the four-day annual event was held at Dorset's Lulworth Estate, where its sister festival Camp Bestival has been held since 2008.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41233845
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Rohingya crisis: Seeing through the official story in Myanmar - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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On a government-sponsored trip, journalists uncovered evidence they were not supposed to see.
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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. Who is burning down Rohingya villages?
The 300,000 people who have fled Rakhine state to Bangladesh over the past two weeks all come from the northern districts of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, the last areas of Myanmar with sizeable Rohingya populations not confined to displacement camps.
These districts are hard to reach. Roads are poor, and the government requires permits to go there, which journalists rarely get.
So we grabbed the opportunity to join a government-organised visit to Maungdaw, for 18 local and foreign journalists.
It would mean seeing only places and people they wanted us to see. But sometimes, even under these restrictions, you can glean valuable insights.
Besides, the government has arguments that need to be heard. It is now facing an armed insurgency, albeit one some would argue has been self-inflicted. The communal conflict in Rakhine state has a long history, and would be difficult for any government to deal with.
A Muslim man sits in a marketplace in Maungdaw, which journalists were allowed to visit only under supervision
On arrival at Sittwe, the Rakhine state capital, we were given instructions. No-one was to leave the group and try to work independently. There was a curfew at 6pm, so no wandering after dark. We could request to go to places that interested us; in practice we found such requests were rejected on grounds of security. To be fair, I believe they were genuinely concerned for our safety.
Most of the travel in this low-lying region of Myanmar is along the maze of creeks and rivers on crowded boats. The journey from Sittwe to Buthidaung takes six hours. From there we travelled for an hour on a rough road over the Mayu Hills to Maungdaw. As we drove into the town we passed our first burned village, Myo Thu Gyi. Even the palm trees were scorched.
The government's purpose in bringing us was to balance the overwhelmingly negative narrative coming from the Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh, who have almost all spoken of a deliberate campaign of destruction by the Myanmar military and Rakhine mobs, and appalling human rights abuses.
But right away these efforts faltered.
We were first taken to a small school in Maungdaw, now crowded with displaced Hindu families. They all had the same story to tell of Muslims attacking, of fleeing in fear. Oddly, Hindus who have fled to Bangladesh all say they were attacked by local Rakhine Buddhists, because they resemble Rohingyas.
In the school we were accompanied by armed police and officials. Could they speak freely? One man started to tell me how soldiers had been firing at his village, and he was quickly corrected by a neighbour.
A woman in an orange, lacy blouse and distinctive grey and mauve longyi was especially animated about the abuses by Muslims.
A local monk said Muslims burned down their own homes
We were then taken to a Buddhist temple, where a monk described Muslims burning down their own homes, nearby. We were given photographs catching them in the act. They looked strange.
Men in white haji caps posed as they set light to the palm-thatch roof. Women wearing what appeared to be lacy tablecloths on their heads melodramatically waved swords and machetes. Later I found that one of the women was in fact the animated Hindu woman from the school, and I saw that one of the men had also been present in among the displaced Hindu.
They had faked the photos to make it look as though Muslims were doing the burning.
Journalists were provided with photos supposedly of Muslims "caught in the act"
But the BBC later identified the same woman in a Hindu village
We had an audience with Colonel Phone Tint, the local minister for border security. He described how Bengali terrorists, as they call the militants of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, had taken control of Rohingya villages, and forced them to offer one man per household as a fighter. Those who refused to comply have their houses burned, he said. He accused the militants of planting mines and destroying three bridges.
I asked whether he was saying that all of the dozens of burned villages had been destroyed by the militants. He confirmed that was the government's position. Responding to a question about military atrocities, he waved it away. "Where is the proof?" he asked. "Look at those women," he meant the Rohingya refugees, "who are making these claims - would anyone want to rape them?"
Colonel Phone Tint insists 100% of burned villages have been set on fire by Muslim militants
The few Muslims we were able to see in Maungdaw were mostly too scared to talk in front of a camera. Breaking away from our minders, we spoke to some who described the hardship of not being allowed to leave their neighbourhood by the security forces, of food shortages, and intense fear.
One young man said they had wanted to flee to Bangladesh, but their leaders had signed an agreement with the authorities to stay. In the now quiet Bengali market, I asked a man what he was frightened of. The government, he said.
Weeks after the violence, Alel Than Kyaw was somehow still smouldering
The main destination on our itinerary outside Maungdaw was the coastal town of Alel Than Kyaw. This was one of the places attacked by Arsa militants in the early hours of 25 August. As we approached, we passed village after village, all completely empty. We saw boats, apparently abandoned, along with goats and cattle. There were no people.
Alel Than Kyaw had been razed to the ground. Even the clinic, with a sign showing it had been run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, had been destroyed. To the north, in the distance we could see four columns of smoke rising, and heard bursts of automatic weapons fire. More villages being put to the torch, we guessed.
The MSF charity's clinic was just one of the levelled buildings
Police Lieutenant Aung Kyaw Moe described to us how he had been given advance warning of the attack. He had taken the non-Muslim population for protection into his barracks, and his men fought off the assailants - armed, he said, with guns, swords and home-made explosives, for three hours until they were driven off. Seventeen of the militants lay dead, and one immigration officer. The Muslim population fled shortly afterwards.
But he struggled to explain why parts of the town were still smouldering, two weeks after the attack, and in the rainy season. Perhaps a few Muslims stayed on, and then set their homes alight before leaving more recently, he suggested half-heartedly.
Then, on our way back from Alel Than Kyaw, something entirely unplanned happened.
The village of Gaw Du Thar Ya, seen burning by the group
We spotted black smoke billowing out of some trees, over the rice fields. It was another village going up, right by the road. And the fires had only just started. We all shouted at our police escort to stop the van. When they did, we just ran, leaving our bewildered government minder behind. The police came with us, but then declared it was unsafe to enter the village. So we went ahead of them.
The sound of burning and crackling was everywhere. Women's clothing, clearly Muslim, was strewn on the muddy path. And there were muscular young men, holding swords and machetes, standing on the path, baffled by the sight of 18 sweaty journalists rushing towards them. They tried to avoid being filmed, and two of them dashed further into the village, bringing out the last of their group and making a hasty exit.
The village was reduced to charred timber and ashes
They said they were Rakhine Buddhists. One of my colleagues managed a quick conversation with one of them, who admitted they had set the houses on fire, with the help of the police.
As we walked in, we could see the roof of the madrassa had just been set alight. School texts with Arabic script had been thrown outside. An empty plastic jug, reeking of petrol, had been left on the path.
The village was called Gawdu Thar Ya. It was a Muslim village. There was no sign of the inhabitants. The Rakhine men who had torched the village walked out, past our police escort, some carrying household items they had looted.
The burning took place close to a number of large police barracks. No-one did anything to stop it.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41222210
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The Indian women eating with their families for the first time - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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In many parts of India, men and children are fed first and only then can women eat.
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India
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The Damor family now eat all their meals together
Meals have a way of bringing families together. As food is laid out, everyone gathers round the table, conversation flows and families bond.
But traditionally, eating together has not been encouraged in India. Men and children are fed first and only then can women sit down to eat.
But in millions of poor homes, this practice has had an unintended consequence - malnutrition among women.
Now, however, campaigners are urging women to eat with their families instead of after them. And, they say, the results have been very encouraging.
No-one knows when or where or how the practice started, but like every other symbol of patriarchy, it is deeply entrenched in people's psyche.
As a child, in my home too, my mother, grandmother, aunts and cousin's wives would cook and serve, but they would always be the last to eat.
In the pecking order, gods came first - once food was prepared, a small portion of all the dishes would be offered to them.
In my Brahmin home, even the resident cow was fed before humans - when my grandfather sat down to eat, he would set aside bits of food from every dish onto a small thick round piece of bread that was placed on a leaf. He would eat only after one of us had fed that to the cow.
This staggered eating sometimes caused minor friction at home - if men delayed mealtimes, it just meant that the women's wait to eat got longer. It didn't matter how hungry they were, they just had to wait.
The locally grown leafy vegetable is high in nutrients
Our family was not an exception - this is how my neighbours ate, as did those living across the length and breadth of the country. In many families, a rather unhygienic practice involved women eating from the unwashed plates of their husbands.
Anyone who sought an explanation for why this happened was told that it was the norm, that it had happened for centuries, that it was the traditional way.
In cities though, it is becoming increasingly common for educated and employed women to eat as and when they want to, but the tradition of women eating last continues to be widely followed to this day, especially in rural areas.
In homes like ours, it has no serious impact because there is enough food to go around. But in poor rural homes, it often leaves women and children hungry.
"This tradition of prioritising men's needs means sometimes when women sit down to eat, there isn't enough left for them," says Vandana Mishra of Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP), executed by charities Freedom from Hunger India Trust and Grameen Foundation.
Karma, Manshu Damor's daughter-in-law, does most of the cooking at their home
Campaigners are trying to promote locally grown coarse grain which they say is healthier
A survey of 403 poor tribal women in the state's Banswara and Sirohi districts in March 2015 showed "food secure and food insecure people in the same household", Ms Mishra said.
"Men always said, 'I go to work first and children go to school, so we need to eat first'," Rohit Samariya, RNP project manager in Banswara, told the BBC.
"We created plates to demonstrate what a man's plate looked like and what a woman's plate looked like to drive the point home that women were literally scraping the bottom of the barrel," he says.
To break this pattern, the group came up with a very simple but unusual strategy - to encourage families to eat their meals together.
Their two-year project concluded recently and to gauge its impact on rural communities, I travelled last month to the tribal-dominated Ambapara village in Banswara.
As I arrive at Manshu Damor's house, I find him chopping a type of locally grown leafy vegetable while his wife and daughter-in-law cook in the kitchen behind him.
Ambapara is among India's poorest villages where 89% still defecate in the open, child marriages are rampant, literacy levels are low and women still cover their faces in the presence of men.
So when the RNP campaigners suggested that people eat their meals together as a family, it was nothing less than revolutionary.
Until then, Mr Damor tells me, he had never shared a meal with Barju, his wife of 35 years. The idea that his daughter-in-law Karma could sit alongside him was unthinkable.
"People said how could a woman eat in front of her father-in-law? It had always been against our tradition, so in the beginning I also resisted. I too found it a bit odd," he said.
Mr Samariya says by asking men to eat together with the women, "we were asking them to change their behaviour".
"In our patriarchal society, men are not brought up to care for their wives. So we have to sensitise them to gender issues."
Ramila Damor (front) said her family had their first meal together two years ago
It was not just men - women also believed in the same tradition. But after some persuasion, the villagers agreed to give it a try.
And, it's made a world of difference to women's well-being.
"I was the one always cooking, but by the time I would sit down to eat, there would be little food left. Men would finish all the vegetables, so I'd have to contend with bread and salt," says Karma, Mr Damor's daughter-in-law. "Now everyone gets equal food."
Her neighbour, Ramila Damor, said her family had their first meal together two years ago.
"When I heard about it for the first time, I went home and cooked and I told my husband that from now on, we'll all eat together. It felt really nice sharing a meal," she said.
In traditional Indian homes, men are fed first
All the other women I spoke to in the village said family meals had become the norm in their homes too.
A survey done at the end of the two-year campaign in May showed heartening results - food security among the surveyed women had more than doubled. As the wellbeing of children is often linked to that of mothers, their food security too showed a huge increase.
The impact of the campaign was not limited to improving nutrition levels, it brought on other positive changes too.
Mr Damor says his daughter-in-law no longer covers her face entirely and the veil has moved up.
"Also, now she calls me Ba (father) instead of Haahoo (dad-in-law) and my wife Aaee (mother) instead of Haaharozi (mum-in-law)."
Meals do have a way of bringing families together. Like they have done in the case of Damors.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-41148492
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Photographer settles 'monkey selfie' legal fight - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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A photographer settles a legal fight against an animal rights group over a "monkey selfie" photograph.
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South East Wales
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Mr Slater said that he had to earn the trust of the monkeys over several days before venturing close enough to get the selfie
A photographer has settled a two-year legal fight against an animal rights group over a "monkey selfie" picture.
Naruto the macaque monkey took the image in the Indonesian jungle in 2011 when it picked up a camera owned by David Slater from Monmouthshire.
US judges had said copyright protection could not be applied to the monkey but Peta said the animal should benefit.
Peta's appeal on the "monkey's behalf" was dismissed but Mr Slater has agreed to donate 25% of any future revenue.
In a joint statement from Peta and Mr Slater, it said the photographer will give a quarter of the funds he receives from selling the monkey selfies to registered charities "dedicated to protecting the welfare or habitat of Naruto".
"Peta's groundbreaking case sparked a massive international discussion about the need to extend fundamental rights to animals for their own sake, not in relation to how they can be exploited by humans," said Peta lawyer Jeff Kerr.
Mr Slater, of Chepstow, said he put in a lot of effort which was more than enough for him to claim copyright.
Peta claimed the monkey is a female called Naruto but Mr Slater claimed it was a different male macaque
He also said he was a conservationist and interest in the image had already helped animals in Indonesia.
The case was listed as "Naruto v David Slater" but the identity of the monkey had also been in dispute, with Peta claiming it is a female called Naruto and Mr Slater saying it is a different male macaque.
But appeal judges at a court in San Francisco ruled in Mr Slater's favour after a two-year legal fight.
In the joint-statement between Peta and Mr Slater, they say this case "raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41235131
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Patrick Bergin to play 'old-school villain' on EastEnders - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Sleeping with the Enemy star will play a former prison friend of Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sleeping with the Enemy star Patrick Bergin - the man who turned towel-straightening into a sign of malevolent intent - is joining EastEnders.
The Robin Hood actor will play Aidan Maguire, a prison friend of Phil Mitchell's who is described as a "charismatic old-school villain".
The 66-year-old will start filming this month and will appear on screen towards the end of the year.
Bergin said he was "delighted" to join a soap he had "watched and admired."
"It is an iconic show that has the ability to shape the way people think, whilst also telling big explosive stories that keep the audience gripped.
"I am really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for Aidan as it's bound to be dramatic."
Bergin's storyline will see Aidan turn up on Phil's doorstep after many years, reigniting their old bond of friendship and ability to get into trouble.
EastEnders' creative director John Yorke said it was a "huge honour to have him on board".
He said Bergin will be working closely with Phil (Steve McFadden) and Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) to "carry a truly explosive storyline" over Christmas and New Year.
"EastEnders deserves the very best, and in Patrick we are absolutely privileged to have a truly great actor join the show."
Born in Dublin in 1951, Bergin's recent credits include heist film We Still Steal the Old Way and Irish TV series Red Rock.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41232415
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Trump welcomes ninth grandchild Eric 'Luke' Trump to world - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president's son Eric and his wife Lara, who wed in 2014, announce the birth of their first child.
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US & Canada
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US President Donald Trump's family just got a little more "bigly" with the addition of his ninth grandchild.
The president's son Eric and his 34-year-old wife Lara, who wed in 2014, have announced the birth of their first child, a boy named Eric "Luke" Trump.
Eric Trump, 33, posted a photo on Twitter of the newborn wearing a cap and swaddled in a blanket.
The president tweeted: "Congratulations to Eric & Lara on the birth of their son, Eric 'Luke' Trump this morning!"
Eric's older brother Donald Trump Jr, who has five children, teased his sibling: "Congrats buddy. Welcome to the club. Now that the niceties are out of the way it's older brother revenge for that drum set to my kids."
Ivanka Trump, who has three children with husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner, also congratulated him.
"Welcome to the world, baby boy," she said. "I can't wait to meet you."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41247929
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North Korea slapped with UN sanctions after nuclear test - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The measures, which include a cap on oil imports, are less severe than the original US proposal.
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Asia
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North Korea says it has developed and tested a hydrogen bomb
The United Nations has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on North Korea after its sixth and largest nuclear test.
The measures restrict oil imports and ban textile exports - an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programmes.
The US had originally proposed harsher sanctions including a total ban on oil imports.
Pyongyang said it "categorically rejected" what it called an "illegal" resolution.
North Korea's ambassador to the UN, Han Tae Song, told a conference in Geneva: "The forthcoming measures by DPRK [the Democratic Republic of Korea] will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history."
Monday's vote was only passed unanimously after Pyongyang allies Russia and China agreed to the reduced measures.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Was your T-shirt made in North Korea?
The US call last week for a total ban on oil imports was seen as by some analysts as potentially destabilising for the regime.
The new sanctions agreed by the UN include:
A proposed asset freeze and a travel ban on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were dropped.
The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, told the Security Council after the vote: "We don't take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today. We are not looking for war."
"The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," she added. "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
But the North Korean envoy also said: "Instead of making [the] right choice with rational analysis... the Washington regime finally opted for political, economic and military confrontation, obsessed with the wild dream of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force - which has already reached the completion phase."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How could war with North Korea unfold?
A South Korean presidential office spokesman said on Tuesday: "North Korea needs to realise that a reckless challenge against international peace will only bring about even stronger sanctions against them."
Monday's resolution was the ninth one unanimously adopted by the UN since 2006.
The UN Security Council, which includes the US, has repeatedly slapped sanctions on North Korea
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (link in Chinese) that North Korea had "ignored international opposition and once again conducted a nuclear test, severely violating UN Security Council resolutions".
It also repeated its call for a "peaceful resolution" instead of a military response, adding: "China will never allow the peninsula to descend into war and chaos."
The BBC's China editor Carrie Gracie says Beijing is treading a fine line and wants sanctions tough enough to signal its displeasure to Pyongyang and avoid American accusations of complicity, but not so tough as to threaten North Korea's survival.
Both Russia and China reiterated their proposal that the US and South Korea freeze all military drills - which anger North Korea - and asked for a halt in the deployment of the controversial anti-missile system Thaad, in exchange for Pyongyang's cessation of its weapons programmes.
Beijing believes Thaad, which employs a powerful radar, is a security threat to China and neighbouring countries.
Ms Haley last week dismissed this proposal as "insulting".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41235157
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The Beatles: What really inspired Eleanor Rigby? - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The deeds for Eleanor Rigby's grave are for sale, but what's the real story behind The Beatles' hit?
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Liverpool
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Eleanor Rigby is listed among the names on a headstone in the graveyard of St Peter's Church, Woolton
In a graveyard in Liverpool lies a headstone bearing the name Eleanor Rigby. Its deeds are being auctioned later as part of a sale of Beatles memorabilia, but what is the real story behind the Fab Four's famous hit?
It was at a church fete in 1957 that John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met. Just yards away lay the grave of scullery maid Eleanor Rigby, who had died, aged 44, in 1939.
Nine years later, McCartney would pen the lyrics for what became one of the band's most celebrated songs.
Often described as a lament for the lonely, or a commentary on life in post-war Britain, it tells the story of a woman who "died in the church and was buried along with her name".
It is tempting to picture the teenage Lennon and McCartney sombrely contemplating the headstone, imagining the life of Eleanor and later dreaming up the lyrics.
But the reality is few knew of the grave's existence until the early 1980s, and McCartney himself has denied it was the inspiration behind the song.
This hasn't stopped the deeds to the grave being listed for auction with a guide price of £4,000. They are part of a sale which also features other Beatles items and concludes on Thursday.
The deeds to Eleanor Rigby's grave were found by a relative
David Bedford, who has written several books about the band, said he thought it was "weird" there was such interest in a woman seemingly unconnected to the song.
"The score of the song you can understand but a grave, I find it really unusual," he said.
"I'm not quite sure who would want to buy the deeds to a grave, and I'll be interested to see who does buy them, and for how much money."
But Mr Bedford said he believed it would be "too much of a coincidence" if the grave had never figured in McCartney's mind, at least at some subliminal level.
"The mythology of the grave grows every year," he said.
The song seems to have gone through several stages of development.
McCartney said when he first sat down at the piano he had the name Daisy Hawkins in his mind. He later changed this to Eleanor, after the actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with The Beatles in the film Help!
The character's surname at one stage was Bygraves, according to Spencer Leigh, author of The Beatles book Love Me Do to Love Me Don't.
But McCartney later changed this to Rigby, from the name of a store he had spotted in Bristol - Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers.
"I just liked the name," he said in 1984. "I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."
Paul McCartney has conceded the grave of Eleanor Rigby may have influenced him in a subconscious way
St Peter's Church in Woolton, where the grave of Eleanor Rigby lies
In 2008, a birth certificate for the woman buried in the graveyard of St Peter's Church, Woolton, was put up for auction.
"Eleanor Rigby is a totally fictitious character that I made up," McCartney said in response.
"If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove a fictitious character exists, that's fine with me."
However, he has conceded in the past the headstone may have influenced him in a subconscious way.
Mr Leigh said it was easy to see how McCartney's childhood visits to the churchyard would have been very memorable for him.
"John Lennon had connections in that church and had even been in the choir there," he said.
"[Lennon's] uncle died in 1955 when he was quite young. His name was George Toogood Smith. John loved the name and quite often he would take his friends into the graveyard to show them.
"It's quite possible McCartney saw the Rigby grave and just stored it away in his head. It's just possible that he kept that in his mind. But we actually don't know, and I think McCartney himself doesn't know."
Eleanor Rigby was written primarily by Paul McCartney (far left) and produced by George Martin (second from right)
McCartney's score includes notes that there should be four violins, two violas and two cellos
Karen Fairweather, from Omega Auctions, conceded the connection between the real Eleanor Rigby and the song was a matter of "folklore", none of which was rooted in "concrete fact".
"There is of course the gravestone, and the Rigbys lived on the road that backed on to the road where John Lennon lived," she added.
Yet, whatever the origin of the name, Eleanor Rigby remains an integral part of the band's story and Liverpool's Beatles industry. The gravestone itself is regularly visited by guided tours and an Eleanor Rigby sculpture can be found in Stanley Street.
Mr Leigh describes the song as "perfect", both in its melodies and its representation of a typical Liverpudlian woman of the time.
An Eleanor Rigby sculpture sits on a bench in Liverpool's Stanley Street
"The real Eleanor Rigby worked as a sort of scullery maid," Mr Leigh said. "It just fits so perfectly."
He said the jazz singer George Melly put it best when he said: "Eleanor Rigby seemed to be written out of their experiences in Liverpool.
"Liverpool was always in their songs but this was about the kind of old woman that I remembered from my childhood and later: very respectable Liverpool women, living in two-up, two-down streets with the doorsteps meticulously holystoned (scoured) and the church the one solid thing in their lives.
"There's the loneliness of it and it struck me as a poem from the start.
"If you read Love Me Do without the music, it doesn't mean much but if you read Eleanor Rigby, it is a poem about someone, which [was] something unprecedented in popular song."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-41162284
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Business Live: new Apple range - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Apple boss Tim Cook unveils the latest versions of the iPhone a decade after its launch.
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Business
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Disney has pushed back the release of Star Wars: Episode IX by seven months to December 2019 after changing directors for the film.
The Force Awakens filmmaker JJ Abrams (pictured) will return to a galaxy far, far away to replace Colin Trevorrow as the director of the next instalment.
Trevorrow, who made Jurassic World, parted company with the film last week. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio, as well as directing.
Abrams delivered a huge box office success with Episode VII The Force Awakens in 2015, which took more than $2bn worldwide.
Episode VIII The Last Jedi, which will be released in cinemas on 14 December this year, was directed by Rian Johnson.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-41204154
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Newspaper headlines: May facing 'backlash' over public pay - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Theresa May's decision to lift the 1% cap on public pay dominates the front pages.
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The Papers
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Under the headline "rebels' gamble", the Sun criticises the Conservative MPs who have tabled amendments to the European Union Withdrawal Bill.
The legislation, which would end the supremacy of EU law in Britain, cleared its first hurdle in the Commons early on Tuesday morning.
The Sun warns that by potentially hindering its progress, Tory rebels are increasing the risk that the legal system will be "in chaos" when the UK leaves in March 2019.
The Telegraph believes those who obstruct the Bill "risk undermining the chances of getting a good deal, and damaging the national interest".
The Guardian uses the speech on Wednesday by the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, as an opportunity to assess the health of the EU.
Its opinion column agues that the Brexit vote, the refugee crisis, and the rise of nationalist parties across Europe are challenges which have actually made the bloc stronger. It concludes that "better awareness of this in Britain is long overdue".
"Will Sky finally be the limit for Murdoch?" asks the "i". The question refers to the announcement by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley that she is likely to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to look at Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB takeover bid.
In its Lombard column, the Financial Times suggests that the media magnate must miss the days when "it was the Sun wot won it".
The Daily Telegraph's front page headline is "NHS: winter flu to be worst ever".
The warning comes from Simon Stevens, the head of the health service in England, who says services will be put under increased pressure.
In its leader, the Daily Mirror says the comments by Mr Stevens "must be taken seriously". It urges readers to "get flu jabs where possible, so the NHS can concentrate on the most vulnerable".
A long-term study, suggesting women can take hormone replacement therapy without fear that it will cause early death, is the lead in the Times.
Researchers used data on 27,000 women aged between 50 and 79. The paper quotes Professor JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School, who led the study, saying it "fundamentally provides reassurance for women".
Many of the papers reflect on the career of Sir Peter Hall, who died on Monday.
The Times says the "theatre world salutes a colossus".
The Guardian has a large picture of Sir Peter on its front page. The headline is a tribute from its theatre critic, Michael Billington: "He left British theatre infinitely richer than he found it".
Sir Peter Hall, the founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, died at the age of 86
The Daily Mail reports that the Unite union leader, Len McCluskey, when asked about the possibility of illegal strikes over public sector pay, said: "I daresay if you'd have been interviewing Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi... you'd be telling them they were breaking the law."
The paper is unimpressed by the association.
Its leader asks: "Could the contrast be any starker between those gentle champions of democracy and Mr McCluskey, with his bellicose contempt for the law?"
Finally, the Times reports on how the US Republican senator, Ted Cruz, has been drawn into a controversy over what the paper describes as a "Twitter porn gaffe".
A pornographic video was "liked" by Mr Cruz's official account on the site.
The paper says he blamed the incident on a "staffing issue", suggesting that someone with access to the account had inadvertently hit the "like" button.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41249004
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Sir Peter Hall: A giant of British theatre - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A look back at the life of the man who founded the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sir Peter Hall was one of the great champions of British theatre.
In a career spanning seven decades, he acted, directed theatre and opera, and, occasionally, made forays into film and TV.
He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and was director of the National Theatre for 15 years.
And he fought tenaciously to persuade governments of all colours to maintain public funding for the arts.
Peter Reginald Frederick Hall was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 22 November 1930.
His father was a railway clerk, later a stationmaster. The family was not well-off.
"People always giggle when I say that I grew up on a single-line railway station with no running water and no electricity," he told the Guardian in 2005. "But, in the 1930s, that's the way it was."
Sir Peter remembered his father as a man of little ambition, adding that it was his mother, Grace, who was the driving force in the family.
The daughter of a butcher, she had a sound belief in the principles of a good education and "getting on", and Hall inherited her drive.
The family moved to Cambridge, where Hall had his first taste of a public production - Mozart's Requiem in King's College.
He was immediately smitten and began staying regularly with a relative in London so he could attend the theatre and opera.
"I saw Gielgud's Hamlet when I was 12," he later recalled, "standing at the back for sixpence."
Although German bombs were falling on London, people crowded into theatres as an escape from the war, and he witnessed some of the greatest actors of the age.
Watching Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft quickly convinced Hall that he wanted to become a theatre director.
"There wasn't any question in my head of doing anything else," he said.
Following a spell of National Service in the RAF, he won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, to study English.
In his third year, he booked a theatre and made his directorial debut with a performance of Jean Anouilh's Point of Departure.
"I remember an almost physical sense of release and pleasure rehearsing a play," he later recalled. "I thought, this is what I want to do."
His final play at Cambridge, Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV, brought him good reviews and an invitation to make his professional directorial debut at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in 1953.
He also secured a job at London's Arts Theatre as a script reviewer. When the artistic director John Fernald left, Hall found himself running his own West End theatre at the age of 24.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, with Judi Dench, was one of his last productions for the RSC
Within weeks of beginning his tenure, the script of Waiting for Godot arrived. Hall was initially unimpressed.
"I haven't the foggiest idea what some of it is about," he told the cast. "But if we stop to discuss every line, we will never open."
In the event, Hall's production of what was the play's British debut had the effect of making him one of the most talked-about directors in the country.
He appeared on the BBC, was interviewed for Vogue magazine and was invited to direct the stage version of the musical Gigi.
That show starred the French actress Leslie Caron. She and Hall married in 1956.
But the biggest boost that Godot gave to Hall's career was the invitation to run the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
At the time, the theatre merely ran a regional Shakespeare festival - not nearly enough for the ambitious Hall.
The concept of a Royal Shakespeare Company was born in Hall's imagination, in which he envisaged a London theatre and a move into a wider range of drama.
He alternately bullied and cajoled the theatre management and eventually got his way. The newly-born RSC opened its first London season at the Aldwych Theatre in 1961.
Its ensemble cast - a relatively new concept at the time - included exciting young actors such as Peter O'Toole and Vanessa Redgrave.
He also recruited Trevor Nunn and later Peter Brook. The appointment of the latter led to the controversial Theatre of Cruelty season in 1964.
It was an exciting time both for the theatre and the wider arts world, and Hall revelled in the new socially liberal scene of the 1960s.
But the pressures were taking their toll after a series of mental and physical breakdowns.
His marriage to Leslie Caron had ended in 1965 after her affair with the actor Warren Beatty, and Hall later married his assistant, Jacky Taylor.
Hall brought a young and enthusiastic team to the National
In 1968, he quit the RSC and briefly disappeared from the limelight.
For a time, he turned his attention to directing opera, both at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden.
In 1972, it emerged that he had been offered the job of running the National Theatre, which was due to move into its new modernist home on London's South Bank.
His appointment attracted a great deal of flak, not least from those who had been passed over for the job.
Jonathan Miller referred to him as "a safari-suited bureaucrat" who would suck all of Britain's talent and cash into the new theatre.
Hall, never the most gregarious of men, was prone to rub people up the wrong way.
He was accused of theatrical class distinction, grovelling to the stars and treating lesser mortals with disdain.
With cast members from a 1988 production of Twelfth Night
However, others praised him for going into battle - not least to secure the funds the theatre needed to achieve a sound financial footing.
Not only did he have to contend with funding, there was also the problem of the building itself, which was behind schedule and over budget.
Hall finally got things under way in 1976 with a production of Beckett's Happy Days, before the unions walked out and closed the building down.
A year later he received a knighthood for services to British theatre.
But, after the early trials and tribulations, things improved. Sir Peter managed to successfully establish the theatre and sent the company out on a series of well-received foreign tours.
He quit the National in 1986. "I was ready to leave," he said. "Fifteen years is probably five years too long."
With Elaine Paige in a production of The Misanthrope at the Piccadilly Theatre
He continued to direct, highlights being his 1988 production of Orpheus Descending and a musical version of Ionesco's Rhinoceros, for which Hall wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the libretto.
Sir Peter was still working on the eve of his ninth decade, with a production of Pygmalion at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
While his first love was the stage, he occasionally ventured into film and television.
Most of these forays involved classical plays and opera, although he did direct Channel 4's 1992 adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel The Camomile Lawn.
He was appointed director emeritus of the Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames, enticing Dame Judi Dench to appear in his sell-out production of A Midsummer's Night Dream in 2010.
After divorcing Jacky Taylor in 1981, he married the opera singer Maria Ewing in 1982.
The marriage ended in 1990 and he married his fourth wife, Nicky Frei, the same year.
Sir Peter Hall's great gift was that he excelled as an administrator as well as a theatre director.
He was a skilled administrator and director
"I love politics," he once said. "I do love committees, I do love getting things done."
His detractors saw him as a schemer and a manipulator, but there was little doubt about his talent as a director. He always preferred to act as an interpreter of playwright's work, rather than imposing his own concept.
The playwright Harold Pinter, many of whose works Sir Peter directed, was clear about his abilities. "I've seen productions of my work in various places that have really distorted the whole thing," he said.
"Peter never allows this. He doesn't impose, he discovers."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29467703
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Sir Peter Hall: Theatre giant dies aged 86 - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The former director of the National Theatre had a career that spanned half a century.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sir Peter Hall staged premieres of Waiting for Godot and Homecoming
Sir Peter Hall, the founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and former National Theatre director, has died at the age of 86.
He died on Monday at University College hospital in London, surrounded by his family, the National Theatre said.
During his career he staged the English language premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and the world premiere of Harold Pinter's Homecoming.
Sir Peter had been diagnosed with dementia in 2011.
Sir Peter with his wife Nicki and daughter Rebecca at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards
Sir Peter became director of the National in 1973 and was responsible for the theatre's move from the Old Vic to the purpose-built complex on the South Bank.
He founded the RSC at the age of just 29 in 1960 and led the company until 1968.
Tributes have been paid to Sir Peter by many in the theatre world.
Speaking to Radio 4's World at One, actress Vanessa Redgrave described Sir Peter as "a very extraordinary, interesting and fascinating director".
"He was very mischievous, very handsome, an extremely attractive man who everyone fell in love with... he was everything really, a kind of Shelley in the theatre."
Several stars have credited Sir Peter with helping launch their careers, Sir Patrick Stewart being among them.
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Toby Stephens paid tribute, saying Sir Peter gave him his first break as an actor.
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Labour peer and broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell also tweeted, sharing her "golden memories" of the director.
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Playwright Sir David Hare also praised Sir Peter for his legacy.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "He was fearless about giving young people their head," says playwright David Hare
Rufus Norris, current director of the National Theatre, said: 'We all stand on the shoulders of giants and Peter Hall's shoulders supported the entirety of British theatre as we know it.
"All of us, including those in the new generation of theatre-makers not immediately touched by his influence, are in his debt. His legendary tenacity and vision created an extraordinary and lasting legacy for us all."
Sir Peter Hall was, in many ways, the single most influential figure in British theatre in the second half of the 20th Century.
Not just because he was the man who launched Beckett in Britain, or founded the Royal Shakespeare Company, or transformed the National Theatre from a niche affair operating out of the Old Vic into a three-stage, globally respected, highly ambitious production house - all of which were great achievements.
But what really made him special was what he did for others - the way in which he helped playwrights, actors and fellow directors flourish.
Other former National Theatre directors lined up to pay tribute.
Sir Nicholas Hytner said: "Peter Hall was one of the great figures in British theatrical history, up there in a line of impresarios that stretches back to [Richard] Burbage.
"He was the great theatrical buccaneer of the 20th Century and has left a permanent mark on our culture."
Sir Trevor Nunn described Sir Peter as "not only a thrilling and penetrating director, he was also the great impresario of the age".
And Sir Richard Eyre said Sir Peter "was - and is - the godfather (in both senses) of British theatre".
Greg Doran, director of the RSC, said of his predecessor: "Sir Peter Hall was a colossus, bestriding the British theatre. He was a visionary.
"Not only was he a great director of theatre and opera, he was a politician who fought for the arts... his greatest legacy without doubt will be judged to be the formation of the Royal Shakespeare Company."
After leaving the National Theatre in 1988, Sir Peter formed the Peter Hall Company (1988 - 2011) and in 2003 became the founding director of the Rose Theatre Kingston.
Throughout his career, Sir Peter was also a champion of public funding for the arts.
His other works included the London and Broadway premieres of Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce (1977) and the 1987 production of Antony and Cleopatra, starring Dame Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins.
He also directed his daughter, the actress Rebecca Hall, in a 2003 production of Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Sir Peter's last production at the National Theatre was Twelfth Night in 2011.
He was also a renowned opera director and was the artistic director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera between 1984 and 1990.
Gus Christie, Glyndebourne's executive chairman, said in a statement: "It was a golden era for Glyndebourne when Peter was artistic director. He was loved by both audiences and artists. The productions he created were timeless."
In 1983, Sir Peter staged Wagner's Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, Germany, to honour the 100th anniversary of the composer's death.
Sir Peter is survived by his wife Nicki, children Christopher, Jennifer, Edward, Lucy, Rebecca and Emma, and nine grandchildren.
His former wives Leslie Caron, Jacqueline Taylor and Maria Ewing also survive him.
There will be a private family funeral, with details of a memorial service to be announced at a later date.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41237988
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Apple iPhone X adopts facial recognition and OLED screen - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The new handset has an edge-to-edge screen and uses facial recognition to check owners' IDs.
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Technology
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Apple has revealed a high-end smartphone with an "edge-to-edge" screen that has no physical home button.
The iPhone X - which is referred to as "ten" - uses a facial recognition system to recognise its owner rather than a fingerprint-based one.
Apple said FaceID can work in the dark by using 30,000 infra-red dots to check an identity, and was harder to fool than its old TouchID system.
It is Apple's most expensive phone yet.
A 64 gigabyte capacity model will cost $999 (£999 in the UK) when it goes on sale on 3 November. A 256GB version will be priced at $1,149 (£1,149 in the UK).
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Dave Lee gets hands on with the new iPhone X
By contrast, Samsung is charging $930 (£869 in the UK) for its new Note 8 phone, which has 64GB of storage.
"The iPhone X is a long-term investment by Apple that sets a template for the next generation of iPhone hardware," commented Geoff Blaber from the CCS Insight consultancy.
"An OLED [organic light-emitting diode] display and the new design is likely to be standard on future iPhone models, but Apple must first tackle the challenge of obtaining sufficient supplies."
Apple said the switch to an OLED display would help the phone produce "true blacks" and more accurate colours than before. LG and Samsung already use similar tech on their handsets.
Prior to the launch, Apple's most expensive phone was an iPhone 7 Plus that cost $969 (£919 in the UK).
One expert commented that Apple's ability to get consumers to spend more on its smartphones than rivals' was "legendary".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: A hands on with the new iPhone 8 Plus
"There may be an element of high pricing to constrain demand and make things match up with how many they can produce," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.
"But I suspect Apple always had a $1,000 iPhone in mind - we had seen the price creep up year after year, and there's a lot of pressure from shareholders for the company to hit a $1tn valuation.
"Bumping up the prices on their number one product is one way of doing that."
Apple acknowledged that users might have concerns about using facial recognition to verify purchases via Apple Pay or to access their device.
But it claimed that while there was a one-in-50,000 chance that TouchID could be unlocked by a random stranger, the odds rose to one-in-one-million with FaceID.
Apple said it used a range of technologies to ensure its FaceID system was accurate
Nevertheless, one expert said users might still be concerned the handset had no fingerprint sensor as an alternative.
"This is the steepest hurdle that they have," commented Carolina Milanesi from market research firm Creative Strategies.
"A lot of consumers will be a little bit reluctant to use facial recognition as an ID system until Apple has proven that it is safe and works all the time.
"In the eyes of consumers TouchID wasn't broken - so they may ask why Apple is trying to fix it."
Other features announced about the handset included:
It's the big(ger) leap that iPhone fans - and Wall Street - had been demanding.
The iPhone X brings together many features we'd been expecting - such as FaceID for unlocking the phone, and animated emojis - animojis - that look fun to play with, if not a killer feature that will have people running to stores.
All this won't come cheap: at $999+ it's the most expensive iPhone to date.
Apple is often accused of being slow to new tech, and I think that criticism will continue.
Wireless charging comes years after Samsung first introduced it, for example, and the overall look of the phone - which no longer has the iconic home button - looks strikingly similar to the latest Samsung Galaxy Note.
The iPhone X uses its face-mapping sensors to let users control the facial expressions of new animojis
The phone was unveiled in the new Steve Jobs Theater, a purpose-built venue for such launches.
A beautiful, comfy building, with marble everywhere, it sits alongside Apple's striking new spaceship campus. This is the house that iPhone built, with a decade of phenomenal success.
Does iPhone X herald another great era? The audience here cheered, but didn't stand, with applause. I'm reserving my judgement until I've tried it.
The iPhone X also adds support for wireless charging.
"It was the right decision to use a standard because Apple users will benefit from widely available charge pads."
The feature was also introduced to the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models, which were introduced earlier at the event.
The iPhone 8 models are dust and water resistant
The lower-end 4.7in and 5.5in devices are distinguished from their predecessors by having:
The iPhone 8 ranges from $699 to $849 and the iPhone 8 Plus from $799 to $949.
They will cost the same amounts in Sterling and go on sale on 22 September.
The new models coincide with the release of iOS 11 - the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system.
It introduces ARKit - software development tools that make it easier for developers to add augmented reality features to their apps, in which graphics are mixed together with real-world views.
Marketing chief Phil Schiller showed off one app that - if used by spectators at a sports stadium - would show real-time stats hovering over the live action.
Another demo involved the Machines, a multiplayer robot-battle game that can be played over views of close-by table tops and other surfaces.
The facility will not work on the iPhone 6 or older devices, so may provide a means to convince owners of ageing Apple kit to upgrade.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: What can AR do on iPhone?
"When Apple first introduced the iPhone users were unsure about how touchscreens would benefit them, but now we know that they're a great way to use a device," said Brian Blau, a tech industry analyst at Gartner.
"The same thing will happen with augmented reality - it's as important as touch, if not more.
"Developers have new opportunities and I think they will embrace them, but just as with touch it took them years to perfect those experiences, I also think that will also happen with AR."
Apple also unveiled a version of its smartwatch with its own 4G link.
The new watch has a red crown to denote its 4G capability
The innovation means that the Watch Series 3 can receive phone calls, access internet services and stream music without being linked to an iPhone. Users will, however, face an additional monthly charge for the benefit.
Apple recently overtook Fitbit to become the world's joint-top wearable tech-maker alongside Xiaomi, according to one study.
Other companies - including LG and Samsung - have previously sold smartwatches with in-built cellular capabilities, but battery-life restrictions and other issues limited interest.
"Apple's ability in the past to generate new markets when others thought they were dead is legendary," commented Mr Mawston.
"For people like joggers, runners and cyclists who possibly want to do hardcore sports outdoors without carrying two devices, an LTE Apple Watch could be something of a blessing."
The latest version of the Watch's operating system - which will also be available to earlier models - will include new heart monitor functions.
It will warn owners if their heart rate becomes elevated when they are not active or if its rhythm becomes irregular, to flag the possibility of disease.
The 4G Apple Watch will cost $399 (£300) and be released on 22 September.
The launch was held in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple's new campus
Apple also announced a fresh version of its TV set-top box, which now supports 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) content.
In one of the few details not to have leaked in advance, Apple revealed it had struck a deal with several of the major movie studios to ensure that films in the higher-resolution, richer-colour formats would not cost more than their high-definition (HD) equivalents.
Consumers have had to pay a premium for 4K HDR movies until now
Users' existing iTunes movie libraries will also be upgraded without charge.
HDR 4K movies have already been available to rent or buy from services including Amazon, but they tended to be sold at much higher prices than lower-quality formats.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41228126
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Cassini: Saturn probe turns towards its death plunge - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The veteran space probe puts itself on a path to destruction in Saturn's atmosphere on Friday.
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Science & Environment
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The international Cassini spacecraft at Saturn has executed the course correction that will send it to destruction at the end of the week.
The probe flew within 120,000km of the giant moon Titan on Monday - an encounter that bent its trajectory just enough to put it on a collision path with the ringed planet.
Nothing can now stop the death plunge in Saturn's atmosphere on Friday.
Cassini will be torn to pieces as it heads down towards the clouds.
Its components will melt and be dispersed through the planet's gases.
Titan's surface: Pebbles rounded by the action of a flowing liquid
Ever since it arrived at Saturn 13 years ago, the probe has used the gravity of Titan - the second biggest moon in the Solar System - to slingshot itself into different positions from which to study the planet and its stunning rings.
It has been a smart strategy because Cassini would otherwise have had to fire up its propulsion system and drain its fuel reserves every time it wanted to make a big change in direction.
As it is, those propellants are almost exhausted and Nasa is determined the spacecraft will not be permitted to just drift around Saturn uncontrolled; it must be disposed of properly and fully.
The agency called Monday's last encounter with Titan the "kiss goodbye".
"Cassini has been in a long-term relationship with Titan, with a new rendezvous nearly every month for more than a decade," said Earl Maize, the Cassini project manager at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"This final encounter is something of a bittersweet goodbye, but as it has done throughout the mission, Titan's gravity is once again sending Cassini where we need it to go."
Closest approach to the moon's surface occurred at 19:04 GMT (20:04 BST; 15:04 EDT; 12:04 PDT).
As the probe passed Titan, it gathered some images and other science data that will be streamed back to Earth on Tuesday.
The investigation of the 5,150km-wide moon has been one of the outstanding successes of the Cassini mission.
The spacecraft put a small robot called Huygens on its surface in 2005. It returned a remarkable image of rounded pebbles that had been smoothed by the action of flowing liquid methane. This hydrocarbon rains from Titan's orange sky and runs into huge seas at northern latitudes.
Cassini also spied what are presumed to be volcanoes that spew an icy slush and vast dunes made from a plastic-like sand.
Cassini began its study of the ringed planet in 2004
Cassini scientist Michelle Dougherty from Imperial College London, UK, says there will be an effort in the days up to Friday to try to squeeze out every last scientific observation.
"We're now running on fumes," she told BBC Radio 4's Inside Science programme.
"The fact that we've got as far as we have, so close to the end of mission, is spectacular. We're almost there and it's going to be really sad watching it happen."
Besides a last look at Titan, scientists want to get a few more pictures of the rings and the moon Enceladus, before then configuring the spacecraft for its dramatic scuttling.
The idea is to use only those instruments at the end that can sense Saturn's near-space environment, such as its magnetic field, or can sample the composition of its gases.
In the final three hours or so before "impact" on Friday, all data acquired by the spacecraft will be relayed straight to Earth, bypassing the onboard solid state memory.
Contact with the probe after it has entered the atmosphere will be short, measured perhaps in a few tens of seconds.
The signal at Earth is expected to drop off around 11:55 GMT (12:55 BST; 07:55 EDT; 04:55 PDT). Engineers will be able to be more precise once they have looked at the position of the probe after Monday's change in course.
"The Cassini mission has taught us so very much, and to me personally I find great comfort from the fact that Cassini will continue teaching us right up to the very last seconds," said Curt Niebur, the Cassini programme scientist at Nasa Headquarters in Washington, DC.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a joint endeavour of Nasa, and the European and Italian space agencies.
BBC News will have live coverage of the ending of the mission on both TV and radio. Inside Science will preview the climax this Thursday at 16:30 BST on Radio 4. A Horizon documentary will also review the mission and the final hours in a special programme to be broadcast on Monday 18 September at 21:00 BST on BBC Two. And you can still watch the Sky At Night programme Cassini: The Gamechanger on the iPlayer. This is being repeated on Thursday on BBC Four at 19:30 BST.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
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Chesterfield's 'awful' Princess Diana tribute mocked - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The tribute to the Princess of Wales is part of Chesterfield's well dressing celebrations.
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Derby
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Chesterfield Borough Council said it hoped the design would bring more people to the town.
A floral tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, displayed as part of a town's well dressing celebrations, has been described as "horrific" and "awful".
The memorial displayed in Chesterfield Market Place marks the 20th anniversary of the death of the princess.
However, the portrait has been mocked on social media, with some saying it looked more like Worzel Gummidge.
Chesterfield Borough Council said it hoped the design would bring more people to the town.
The authority published the pictures of the memorial on its Facebook page earlier, attracting mixed reviews.
The floral tribute was installed in Chesterfield Market Place
Some have likened the portrait to the TV character Worzel Gummidge
Gayla Tuckley thought it was an "insult to Diana", while Catherine Bunten commented she was "crying with laughter".
Richard Wilkins said it looked more like Worzel Gummidge, a living scarecrow played by Jon Pertwee, in the children's 1979 TV show, while Julie White commented: "I appreciate all the work that goes into the dressing of a well but this is just awful."
The pictures have since gone viral, provoking many more comments, including one by Welbeck Kane who said: "I live here [Chesterfield] and, let me tell you, I can feel its eyes on me, even now in my house."
Many people said the portrait looked nothing like the princess
A spokesman for the authority said: "The well dressing is produced by 14 volunteers using the ancient Derbyshire art of well dressing, which involves creating designs from flower petals and other natural materials.
"All art is meant to be a talking point and that certainly seems to be the case with this year's design.
"The well dressing is designed to attract visitors to the area and if the publicity encourages more people to come and experience our historic market town and local shops then that can only be good for Chesterfield."
The well dressings are on display until Saturday.
Many comments were posted on the council's Facebook page about the memorial
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EU Withdrawal Bill: A taste of things to come - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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There are clear reasons for nerves on all sides of the House of Commons about the EU Withdrawal Bill.
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UK Politics
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The government wants to incorporate EU law into the UK statute book in time for Brexit
What is all the fuss about?
Listen to ministers and all they are trying to do is tidy up the paperwork, cross the t's and dot the i's. Listen to Labour and Theresa May is trying her luck as a despot, grabbing power in great chunks, never again to give our elected representatives the chance to argue or even consider what's being done on our behalf.
Guess what? As ever in politics the truth is somewhere in between, whatever the two sides say. We are leaving the EU in less than two years (pretty much inevitably unless something really surprising happens).
But much of our law is based on EU law and EU institutions. So when we leave, in theory we lose lots of law overnight, and much of it simply won't make sense any more in thousands and thousands of areas.
Sounds strange, but hypothetically that's what could happen. Right now the EU rules that have over the years been incorporated into our statute books govern everything from chemicals to beaches to immigration to animal welfare to aviation. This list goes on and on, and it is safe to assume EU law shapes pretty much everything.
The idea behind the Withdrawal Bill is therefore to cut and paste the lot into British law, so that we don't wake up the morning after we leave the EU in 2019 with a free-for-all.
So far, so uncontroversial. Here's the problem. The amount of stuff, the sheer volume of the rules and regulations that need to be transferred is so massive, basically our entire statute book, that the government says there is just no way there will be time to debate it all, let alone vote on every bit.
Their solution is to use so-called 'Henry VIII powers', evoking the image of a medieval monarch, ruling by whim and decree. In practice this could mean that on thousands of rules, regulations, ministers can make changes, whether harmless tweaks or suspicious alterations, without having to consult other MPs, let alone give them a vote.
Pro-EU demonstrators waved flags outside Parliament as MPs prepared to debate the bill
Crucially, it would allow ministers to change things where they think it is "appropriate", in theory that makes their decisions even exempt to legal challenge. As it stands, the bill also gives ministers the power to choose the day of our actual exit from the EU, without asking Parliament, and it could also give them the power to designate different days for Brexit in different legal areas.
There are therefore clear reasons for there to be nerves on all sides of the House of Commons about the bill.
Ministers accept privately that they will probably have to budge in some areas. But tonight's midnight vote is not likely to be the big showdown.
Tory rebels will, in the main, vote for the bill in principle, and enter hand-to-hand combat in the more detailed stages in the next couple of months. And although the opposition will vote against the bill this evening, there are also anxious MPs on that side of the House of Commons who won't, worried about appearing to be blocking Brexit by "killing the bill".
But tonight will be the first real taste of the months to come, the House of Commons sitting until midnight, the government anxiously totting up the numbers, MPs being told to cancel any plans they have to be around for vital votes.
Tonight's likely approval of the bill won't wash away the real concerns, and once it makes it to the House of Lords the battles could be even more fraught.
PS: Potential Tory rebels might find a little relief in this nugget. Despite reports that the government chief whip, Gavin Williamson, had acquired a second tarantula for his office, the better to torment his charges (yes he does have one), he told me this morning that in fact that is not the case. His spider, Cronus, is still his only office pet.
• None Reality Check: Who are the low-skilled EU workers?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41224764
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Newspaper headlines: Holby star has 'lost his angel' - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The death of Holby City star John Michie's daughter at Bestival makes front-page headlines.
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The Papers
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Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is on the front page of the Daily Mail
The Daily Mail quotes the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, telling a rally in 2013 that parliamentary democracy and elections no longer work - and urging industrial action and "insurrection".
The Mail has put a video of the speech on its website, and says the dictionary definition of insurrection is "violent uprising".
It calls the speech "chilling" and says Mr McDonnell has spent the last three months living up to his words, by appearing at rallies and on picket lines inciting union members to "drive the Tories from office".
A spokesman for Mr McDonnell tells the paper he's spent the summer "meeting with workers across the country who are struggling to get by under a Tory government".
There are more dramatic pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
The Sun has a picture of Royal Marines standing among wreckage in the British Virgin Isles, labelling them "storm troopers".
It says 700 British troops sent to the Caribbean for the relief effort have also found themselves tackling marauding gangs of armed looters - one says he is stopping a looter every 10 minutes.
The Daily Mirror has pictures of what it says are looters in Florida lying face down, handcuffed behind their backs.
The Daily Mail calls it the "anarchy after Irma". It also warns that strong winds are set to batter parts of Britain this week - with gusts of 75mph - as stormy weather races across the Atlantic.
The BBC has won a battle to ease its public service role, according to the lead in the Daily Telegraph.
The paper says it has learned that, under plans being drawn up by the regulator Ofcom, Radio 4 will no longer be required to broadcast religious services, science shows or art programming.
In fact, it says, 200 requirements will be reduced to just 20. Business, farming, consumer affairs and disability are other issues which will apparently no longer be mandatory.
But a BBC spokesman said there were no plans to change the balance or mix of programmes on Radio 4.
According to The Times, Theresa May has appealed to US President Donald Trump to intervene in a dispute between Boeing and the Canadian plane maker, Bombardier.
The disagreement is said to threaten jobs at a Bombardier factory in Northern Ireland, which employs 4,500 people making wings.
The Daily Express says official figures released to MPs show that Britain has paid £374 billion to the EU since 1973.
It says Leave campaigners insist the "colossal payment" means Britain should not be forced to pay a divorce fee on leaving the EU.
According to the Sun, firefighters are to be asked to check people's blood pressure when they visit homes to test smoke alarms.
Five-and-a-half million people in England are said to have high blood pressure without knowing it and it is hoped the move will help prevent 9,000 heart attacks and 15,500 strokes a year - saving the NHS more than £500m annually.
The Daily Telegraph says under the same NHS proposals, it is also being suggested that teachers could carry out blood pressure tests during parents' evenings or at the school gates.
The Daily Mail says there might be machines at schools that let people test their own blood pressure - and possibly at supermarkets too.
According to the Daily Mirror, hospital blunders have hit record levels - something the paper blames on "the worst staffing crisis in the history of the NHS".
Compensation claims soared 72% last year to £29 million, the paper says, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
It calls on Theresa May to give nurses, teachers and all essential workers a decent pay rise.
Louella Michie's body was discovered in a wooded area on the edge of the Bestival site
A picture of the daughter of Holby City star John Michie features on many of the front pages.
The former Coronation Street actor told the Sun his daughter's death at Bestival was a "tragic accident".
The 60-year-old said his family had "lost an angel" with the death of 25-year-old Louella Michie.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41234702
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Toronto Film Festival: George Clooney 'felt sick' shooting Suburbicon - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The director of Suburbicon said some scenes involving racial abuse made the cast and crew feel sick.
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Entertainment & Arts
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George Clooney is the director of Suburbicon - currently showing at the Toronto Film Festival
George Clooney has said he "felt sick" while directing some scenes in his new movie Suburbicon.
The film's plot sees a black family move into a predominantly white suburban community in the 1950s.
"The trickiest part [of shooting] was, we were in a very racially diverse neighbourhood in Fullerton, California," Clooney said.
"And we had about 350 extras who were going to hurl a lot of racial slurs and say a lot of pretty terrible things."
Clooney added: "Everybody who was making the film, we all just felt sick while we were doing it."
Referring to the way the family is treated in the film, the director said: "These are things that happened - [neighbours] sang church hymns, they hung confederate flags over the fence, they built a fence around their house, these are things that really happened.
"But it was sickening to be part of it quite honestly, so that was one of the most difficult things to shoot."
The movie, which is currently showing as part of the Toronto Film Festival, was conceived during the run up to the US election of November 2016, which was won by Donald Trump.
Clooney said: "We'd seen some things on the campaign trail where they were talking about building fences, and scapegoating Mexicans and Muslims, and we're always reminded that these aren't new things and new moments in our history.
"So we thought it would be interesting to talk about it, but we wanted the film to be entertaining, not a documentary, we didn't want it to be an eat-your-spinach piece of filmmaking.
"So we merged it with [an existing Coen Brothers script] Suburbicon, because we thought it was a funnier idea to put it in the suburbs in the 1950s where we all thought everything was perfect - if you were a white straight male."
The actor and director said the real-life political climate the film was shot in ultimately altered the tone of the movie.
"While we were shooting, Trump was elected, and it changed the temperature of the film in a weird way," Clooney explained.
"The country got angrier, whichever side you were on. We had to cut some of Josh Brolin's scenes out, and one of the reasons is they were really slapstick funny, and it felt like the wrong tone suddenly."
The film stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Karimah Westbrook - who drew parallels between her character (the mother of the African-American family) and her own experience of the entertainment industry.
"I think early on there was a lot of correlations as far as what I've experienced in Hollywood," she said.
Karimah Westbrook said diversity in Hollywood had improved more recently
"I wore my hair natural for a very long time, so when I first moved to Hollywood I had an afro, and my manager said 'You'll never work with your hair like that, you'll have to straighten it'.
"I struggled with that for years, my looks, my hair... but I feel like things have changed so much in the industry, we have so many African-American women starring in shows now, so I feel there's been progress, but there's still a lot of things we're facing on both sides."
Read more from the festival:
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Nadine Coyle: Girls Aloud split was 'silly' - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The singer on the end of Girls Aloud, her new music - and why she loves the smell of bleach.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Nadine has recorded a new album with Girls Aloud's "mad scientist" Brian Higgins
"My favourite smell is bleach," says Nadine Coyle.
"If I walk into the house and there's things being bleached, it just makes me feel at home, euphoric almost."
She pauses and laughs. "I can't believe we're having a whole discussion about bleach. Real pop star things!"
The topic has come up because Coyle's new song, Go To Work, is a withering riposte to a lover who's not pulling their weight.
"Tell me what I got to do / To get you up in the morning?" she sings over an infectious house piano. "Why don't you go to work?"
The song sees the 32-year-old reunited with Xenomania, the songwriting geniuses behind her old band Girls Aloud. Together they scored 21 Top 10 singles, more than any other female band in history, before calling it a day in 2013. (Coyle says the split was "silly" and refused to put her name to it. But more on that later.)
"LA is a beautiful place, but it doesn't feel like real life," says the singer
Go To Work was inspired, says Coyle, by "general annoyance" with people "who just don't do anything" to help out, at home or at work.
But she's quick to point out the lyrics have nothing to do with her partner, American Football player Jason Bell.
"It's funny, we were watching this programme, Married to a Celebrity, the other night, and people had to write lists of whinges about their partner.
"I said to Jason, 'what would we write on our lists?' and he said, 'I wouldn't write anything.'
"I was like, 'that's a good answer. Well done, Jason!'
"We live really well together," she adds. "He doesn't cook and he doesn't clean, but he makes really good coffees."
Home life has been Coyle's priority since Girls Aloud split in 2013. She moved back to Northern Ireland after nine years in Los Angeles to raise her three-year-old daughter Anaiya.
Now, though, she's all fired up and ready to return to the charts.
Nadine's first solo record was released, somewhat disastrously, in partnership with Tesco.
Six years on she's signed a deal with Virgin EMI, home to Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, and says there's already a "four-single plan" for her new album.
Coyle had almost 100 songs to choose from, recorded over a two-year period in Brighton. The overwhelming theme, she says, is feel-good pop.
"We're not trying to change the world. There's enough people trying to do that," she explains.
"We just want songs you can put on and have fun, that make your day better for those three minutes".
Girls Aloud at the start of their career (L-R): Sarah Harding, Cheryl, Nicola Roberts, Nadine and Kimberley Walsh
Born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, Coyle first came to attention in 2001 on the Irish version of reality show Pop Stars.
She made it through to the final band, Six. But then it was discovered she was 16, two years below the show's age limit, and had been lying throughout the audition process.
The revelation saw her make a tearful exit from the competition. But Louis Walsh, a judge on the series, kept in touch and encouraged the singer to audition for ITV's Pop Stars: The Rivals in 2002.
She was the third member to be selected for Girls Aloud, joining Cheryl Tweedy (as she was then), Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding.
What followed were some of the best, most unconventional pop hits of the 21st Century.
Biology, for example, took two minutes and five (five!) musical movements to get to the chorus, while Sexy... No! No! No! grafted a lyric about sexual liberation onto a '70s heavy metal sample.
The singer says her new album is "all uptempo", despite her love of big R&B ballads
To begin with, Coyle was very much seen as the star.
"She's the one with the big solo career," Louis Walsh told the BBC in an (unpublished) interview from 2005. "All she wants to do is sing.
"She's kind of lost in the group really, because no one knows how good she is. But if they were the Supremes, she would be Diana Ross."
It didn't quite turn out like that.
When Cheryl signed up for X Factor, she began to eclipse her bandmates. On later Girls Aloud albums, she received a bigger share of the lead vocals.
And it was Cheryl's solo career, not Coyle's, that produced platinum albums and number one singles.
But there was no bad blood, and Coyle happily signed up for a Girls Aloud reunion tour in 2013 - an experience that nearly ended in disaster when a floating platform malfunctioned during rehearsals.
"We came down on the platform and it tilted and nearly tipped us off," she recalls. "We were all screaming and clinging on for dear life. Thankfully, we were all fine."
The band won a Brit Award in 2009 for their number one single The Promise
The tour was a huge success. After 20 dates, though, the band called it a day, announcing their split in a brief tweet.
The statement was famously issued against Coyle's wishes.
Informed of the decision just 20 minutes before they were due on stage for their final show, Coyle refused to sign a contract formalising their separation.
"I was in my robe and I'd got my hair and make-up on, and I was like, 'What? Everybody wants to do that?' And they said, 'Yes, everybody'.
"I thought it was silly. Why would you want to do that? I thought everybody was tired because it was the end of the tour and they'd change their minds.
"Then they said, 'We're going to put out a statement' - and it was a tweet.
"I thought, 'What? What?! We came back with a press conference, and you're going to end 10 years with a tweet? Then remove my name completely from the whole thing. I do not agree with any of this.'"
The statement may have gone out but, to this day, Coyle has not put pen to paper - technically making her the sole remaining member of the band.
"I'm not saying that!" she guffaws. "You know that's what the headline will be! 'Nadine says she is Girls Aloud!'"
But she's still in touch with the rest of the band, and says she voted "all day" for Sarah Harding to win the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother.
The role of Erin was "one of the best jobs I've had in my life," says Coyle
Following the band's split and the birth of her daughter, Coyle signed up to appear as Erin the Goddess in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance - finding herself dumbstruck by the dancers' physical prowess.
"It's like a sport," she says. "When they were getting ready for the big finale, they would literally jump way above the height of me, just to get themselves pumped up.
"They were like gazelles, then they'd run on stage."
Did she ever harbour ambitions to join in? "Are you joking?" she laughs.
"I tried Irish dancing when I was younger but I wasn't any good. I just thought, 'this is a waste of time.'"
No, singing has always been in her blood - from her early days in a local restaurant called The Drunken Duck, all the way to Wembley Stadium.
You get the sense that nothing makes her happier than being in the vocal booth, running through scales and recording harmonies.
Making the new album with Xenomania supremo Brian Higgins, she says, pushed herself to discover new shades and tones to her voice.
"Brian would say, 'Oh, there's a lot to get through - we've got 25 vocal parts to record, but we'll do it over two or three days'.
"And I'd be like, 'No, we'll get this done in two hours.'
"You have to get into a zone where you're so focused that you're hearing melodies you've never heard before."
Nadine's Uber rating is going to suffer if she leaves a mark on that door
Coyle says her favourite songs on the record include Girls On Fire, a celebration of strong women, and I Fall, "which is about feeling connected to somebody, even when you're not in the same room."
Soon enough, though, she's back to talking about domestic life and describing how she pined for the Irish winter when she was out in America.
"I love being at home and hearing the rain on the window," she says. "I missed that cosiness."
Nor was she impressed by LA's health-conscious food trends. "You know how everybody's into this 'fresh from the farm' organic produce? That's how we grew up!
"You went to the farm to pick up your eggs and your potatoes. We were on that years ago - now it's trendy!"
If her music's as ahead of the curve as her diet, we're sure to be hearing a lot more from Nadine Coyle over the next 12 months.
Go To Work is out now on Virgin/EMI.
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Sofi Tukker: Who are the band on the iPhone X advert? - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Art-pop band Sofi Tukker feature on the advert for the new iPhone X - but who are they?
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Entertainment & Arts
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Art-pop band Sofi Tukker feature on the advert for the new iPhone X - but who are they?
Formed in 2014, the New York duo are Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern (hence the name).
Their song, Best Friends, recalls the anything-goes psychedelia of Deee-Lite, with an infectious bassline punctuated by horn stabs and cowbells.
"You are my best friend and we've got some things to do," sing-speaks Hawley-Weld in the track's whimsical chorus.
The singer and guitar player (who, in the lyrics, claims to be "addictive like some Pokemon") met Halpern at an art gallery while studying at Browns University in Rhode Island.
"I was playing acoustic bossa nova music in a trio and Tucker was the DJ that night," Hawley-Weld explained to the Huffington Post last year.
"He came early and saw what we were doing and ended up remixing one of my songs on the spot... We have been working together ever since!"
Hawley-Weld was born in Germany and grew up in international school communities in Brazil, Italy and Canada.
Her upbringing introduced her to a wide variety of music - as did her degree in West African dance and drumming at university - all of which filter into the band's eclectic sound.
Halpern, meanwhile, is a Boston native who was set to play professional basketball (he's 6ft 8in) until health issues forced him out of the sport.
Laid up in bed for eight months, he taught himself to be a DJ - leading to that fateful meeting with his bandmate.
The band's debut single Drinkee, a colourful, danceable slice of pop, was released in 2016 and earned the band a Grammy nomination for best dance recording.
"It was the first song we wrote," Halpern told Billboard. "It's why we started the band, really, because we believed in the vibe."
Based on the poem Relogio by the Brazilian-Portuguese writer Chacal, the song is partly sung in Portuguese.
"We wanted it to act like a chant in which the point is just the act of repetition," they explained to NPR - who presciently commented that the record sounded like the soundtrack to "a fashion week party or an Apple ad".
Now that they've landed one of those coveted adverts, the band join a club that includes Feist, U2 and Florence + The Machine.
They might be more self-consciously quirky than those acts, but there's a strand of playfulness to their music that suggests they could cross over to the mainstream.
Hawley-Weld summed it up perfectly last year when she was asked how she'd explain her music to visiting aliens.
"Hi Aliens," she told Mat Mag. "We're Sofi Tukker. This is called dancing, it is what people do when they want to be happy and feel free. Let's be friends!"
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Neo-Nazi arrests: UK soldiers charged with terror offences - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Three men, including two servicemen, are accused of being members of a banned neo-Nazi group.
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UK
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Three men, including two British soldiers, have been charged under terror laws with being members of a banned neo-Nazi group.
Alexander Deakin, 22, Mikko Vehvilainen, 32, and Mark Barrett, 24, have been charged with being members of National Action.
It was the first far-right group to be banned by the Home Office in 2016.
They are among five men arrested on 5 September. Two others have since been released without charge.
Mr Deakin from Birmingham, Mr Vehvilainen, based at Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, and Mr Barrett, based at Dhekelia Garrison in Cyprus, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
West Midlands Police has said the arrests were "pre-planned and intelligence-led" with no threat to public safety.
Mr Deakin has been charged with two counts under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 - alleged possession of documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The 22-year-old is also charged with one count of distributing a terrorist publication. Separately he faces one count of inciting racial hatred - allegedly posting a number of National Action stickers at the Aston University campus in Birmingham in July 2016.
Mr Vehvilainen has also been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 for the possession of a document likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The 32-year-old also faces two counts of publishing threatening, abusive or insulting comments online intending to stir up racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986.
He has also been charged with possession of a weapon - pepper spray.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41234539
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Toronto Film Festival: The teen actresses gaining plaudits in I Kill Giants - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Madison Wolfe and Sydney Wade are the stars of I Kill Giants, which has premiered at the festival.
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Entertainment & Arts
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It's not often you ask an actor how they felt about working with their co-star and they reply: "We hated each other."
Fortunately Madison Wolfe is only kidding, and she and Sydney Wade collapse into giggles as they explain how close they grew on the set of their new movie I Kill Giants.
"At the beginning of production we were just kind of polite to each other or whatever, but by the end we were really good friends," 14-year-old Madison says.
Her co-star Sydney, 15, picks up: "By the time we finished we were roasting each other, 'I don't like your shoes', 'Oh yeah, well I don't like your hair!'
"But honestly all jokes aside... she's an okay person." The pair descend into more laughter.
The duo struck up a firm friendship on set
By quite some distance, Sydney and Madison must be two of the youngest movie stars at this year's Toronto Film Festival.
But they're not exactly newcomers to the industry. "I've been acting since I was four, so 11 years now," Sydney explains.
"Building up to this film was a very difficult process for me, it was challenging. I had to graft. I was doing non-speaking roles, non-paid roles. I didn't mind what I did as long as I was doing what I loved.
"But when I got on to I Kill Giants I thought 'this is it - this is everything that I wanted.'"
Similarly, audiences (and horror fans in particular) may have already seen films starring Madison without even realising it.
"A lot of people saw me in The Conjuring, that was probably my biggest role so far," she says. "But people didn't realise that I'd been working for almost six years before that. It takes a long time."
Madison and Sydney's new film I Kill Giants is the big-screen adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura.
It tells the story of Barbara (Madison), a young girl who escapes to her own imaginary world to deal with the grief and trauma of something she's experiencing at home.
Sydney plays Sophia, an English girl to whom Barbara somewhat reluctantly grows close through the course of the film.
The young actress and the character she plays are both from Leeds - but there's little hint of a northern accent.
"We did try a stronger accent, but we thought, for the film to go globally, it's very hard for some people to understand the Leeds accent, because it can be really strong," Sydney says.
"But I'm kind of neutral. I'm not RP [received pronunciation], I'm not from London or anything, so my own accent is quite plain, and you can understand it.
"I feel like it works well with Madison's accent too, which isn't too strong American."
Madison's character is far from your stereotypical teen girl heroine. She's a social outcast at school, dresses awkwardly and is generally quite eccentric and introverted - quite the opposite of Madison's outgoing real-life personality.
"Getting to play a character that's so different from myself is so cool," the actress says.
"I don't dress like her or anything or wear bunny ears, but this is why I love acting so much, you can be anyone you want to be.
"Barbara being so scruffy and hard, it kind of betrays that she has a bit of a shell on her and she is kind of an introvert."
The film is directed by Anders Walter and also stars Imogen Poots and Zoe Saldana.
Working on major film projects like this must be quite exhausting when you've got homework and exams to worry about, right?
"It's my last year at school, so I'm trying to pass through that," Sydney says.
"I tried a private school which worked really well, but towards the end I was struggling to manage both because I had loads of lessons.
"And then I did a year of home schooling, which was easier in terms of going off to work, but it was harder in terms of learning exactly what you needed to.
"So now I'm back at school, who are just incredible. They're so lenient with me going off and everything."
Madison and Sydney clearly have a long and bright future in film ahead of them - and when asked which other actresses they look up to, they're both full of names.
Sydney cites Chloe Grace Moretz and Nicole Kidman as her acting inspirations
"One of the biggest icons I have is Meryl Streep," Madison says instantly. "If I ever met her I think I would die.
"But I also love Natalie Portman, Emma Roberts, Margot Robbie - there's so many."
Sydney adds: "I really appreciate Chloe Grace Moretz, I think she's a really great, interesting actor. And she's really diverse with everything she does.
"And Nicole Kidman, I saw her yesterday, very close-up! They are my top two."
Kidman is just one of several Hollywood A-listers Madison and Sydney have been rubbing shoulders with while in Toronto.
Promotion and film festivals can be overwhelming, especially at such a young age, but it's a process the pair are clearly enjoying.
"It's quite rewarding, everyone worked so hard on this film," Madison says. "You see all the reviews and people wanting to know more about it, it's just great - you feel like you've really accomplished something."
The same photographers who have mostly spent their time chasing Matt Damon, Jennifer Lawrence and George Clooney around Toronto this week could well be turning their attention to Madison and Sydney in a few years' time.
Read more from the festival:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41214355
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Rooney family slavery victim 'made to dig own grave' - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Eighteen people were illegally trafficked and exploited to fund the Rooney family's lavish lifestyle.
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Lincolnshire
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The sister of one of the victims says he was forced to dig his own grave
Members of a traveller family have been jailed for enslaving 18 men who were made to work for little or no wages while their captors lived a life of lavish luxury.
The workers were illegally trafficked and exploited by the Rooney family - 10 men and one woman - whose actions left a gruelling mark on their victims.
One man's terrifying ordeal spanned more than a quarter of a century. On one occasion, he was made to dig his own grave if he did not agree to a lifetime of servitude.
"You're going to work for me for the rest of your life... if you don't sign this contract that is where you're going," John Rooney told his victim, pointing at the hole he had been forced to dig.
The harrowing details have been told to the BBC by the victim's sister.
Police said the living quarters of 18 men who were trafficked into a modern slavery ring were "truly shocking"
She described how her brother was beaten with a rake and had his front teeth smashed with a concrete slab in savage attacks which left him "psychologically damaged".
"I think one of the worst stories he told me was about digging his own grave," his sister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the BBC.
"John Rooney had asked him to dig a hole and he said, 'I kept digging and digging and digging. I said to John: Crikey how much more have I got to dig? And he said keep digging'.
"According to my brother, John produced a contract and said to him 'you're going to work for me for the rest of your life... if you don't sign this contract that is where you're going'.
"On another occasion, he was late getting up and John came into his van with a rake and hit him over the head. You can see evidence of scarring on the left side of his head.
The victims were aged between 18 and 63, held in squalor and forced to work up to 12-hour days, seven days a week, for the family's tarmacking company.
While the Rooneys led an extravagant lifestyle, their slaves lived in filth - some in stables next to dog kennels, many in unkempt caravans without running water or toilet facilities.
"Many were very, very thin and they were absolutely filthy," said Ch Supt Nikki Mayo, of Lincolnshire Police.
"These individuals didn't have a toilet so many had to go into the woods and, in fact, some were kept in a stable block nearby with animals. So, absolutely disgraceful."
The 11 members of the Rooney led extravagant lifestyles while their victims suffered
Many were alcoholics and estranged from their relatives, while several had learning disabilities and mental health issues. Half were British nationals targeted from all over the country because they were homeless.
Ch Supt Mayo said the victims were left "completely institutionalised and isolated from society".
"They were given scraps of food that were mainly leftovers from family meals, complete with bite marks, but only after working long hard hours tarmacking driveways and fitting block paving," she said.
"When they weren't working for the company the men had to collect scrap, sweep, tidy up or look after pets around the sites.
"Often their only payment was a packet of tobacco and a limited amount of alcohol, which didn't help those with addictions and was another way in which the defendants exerted control over them."
The men worked long hard hours for little more than a packet of tobacco
Even though the victims were "not physically trapped", they were "financially, emotionally and physically abused making any escape seem impossible", the detective added.
The threat of violence also made them too scared to leave. One victim told police he was afraid of the Rooney gang because he had seen the brutality they had inflicted on others.
"There was one moment one of the [Rooneys] took a shovel... and then I [saw] three people kicking [the slave] as he was lying on the ground," he said.
"I've been quite scared because I've seen what they're capable of."
The family operated from a number of sites in Lincolnshire and were caught as part of Operation Pottery, which detectives described as "one of the largest and most complex" cases in the force's history.
Reverend Jeremy Cullimore, who worked in a homeless shelter in Lincoln, said he had tried to protect potential victims.
"We were aware that the Rooneys [had] a series of vans driving around the streets, seeking out people, to persuade them that they could offer them a nice caravan and so on.
"We introduced a number of systems so that people who were vulnerable would not be alone."
The defendants led a lavish lifestyle and operated from a number of sites
He recalled the moment he came head-to-head with the gang.
"The family [came] to recover a man who escaped from them and they were saying quite clearly 'he's ours, he owes us money and we want him'.
"I turned around and said 'You know I'm a priest and I can absolve you from your sins, but beware I can bind them to you forever. Now think on this' and they left.
When police officers dismantled the ring in 2014, the force set up a refuge for the victims aided by the NHS, social services, British Red Cross and the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
One charity worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, said one individual used "an entire bottle of shampoo to make themselves feel clean".
"When I first saw them they looked completely bedraggled. One of them asked how long he could shower for. We said 'as long as you like' and he was completely taken aback by the response.
"After 20 minutes he came out looking like a different person. The colour in his skin came back. He just felt like a normal human being."
But how did the Rooney slavery ring operate undetected for so long?
Kevin Hyland, the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said there was a lack of awareness about slavery legislation and recognising the signs.
"People in the communities haven't recognised this for what it is or haven't really understood what it is," he said. "But this case really does demonstrate how serious this crime is and it can be happening on your own front drive.
"There has been a lack of understanding and awareness but, then also, what do you do when you recognise it? The authorities themselves need to understand this and realise this is a crime and they have a duty to respond."
Under the Modern Slavery Act, introduced in 2015, it is illegal to hold someone in slavery or servitude and force them to carry out compulsory labour.
For the woman whose brother was captive for 26 years, the mark left by his experience is indelible.
On seeing him for the first time after his release, she said she wanted to "fall on my knees and sob".
"He was very thin. His teeth are terrible, they're all rotten and he's not got many left.
"He's damaged... but he's now enjoying his freedom."
• None What has the National Crime Agency found in investigating modern slavery- - BBC News
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-40903474
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Bell Pottinger collapses after South African scandal - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The troubled PR firm has appointed administrators in the UK after failing to find a buyer.
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Business
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Bell Pottinger has collapsed into administration in the UK after running a racially charged PR campaign in South Africa.
The troubled public relations firm put itself up for sale last week, but could not find a buyer.
The administrators BDO said the firm had been "heavily financially impacted" by the scandal.
The level of its losses and the inability to win new clients left the firm with no other option, BDO said.
Bell Pottinger was ejected from the UK's industry body last week for a PR campaign that emphasised the power of white-owned businesses in South Africa.
A string of clients, including HSBC, Investec and luxury goods company Richemont, cut ties with the firm over its work on the campaign.
Bell Pottinger filed plans to appoint three BDO administrators on Friday, and the appointment became effective on Tuesday.
A BDO spokesman said: "Following an immediate assessment of the financial position, the administrators have made a number of redundancies.
"The administrators are now working with the remaining partners and employees to seek an orderly transfer of Bell Pottinger's clients to other firms in order to protect and realise value for creditors."
Bell Pottinger's Middle East and Asian units had already announced plans to separate from the UK parent company.
South Africa's opposition party filed a complaint over the campaign
The PR firm worked on the controversial campaign for Oakbay, a company owned by the wealthy Guptas family in South Africa.
The work was criticised for presenting opponents of President Jacob Zuma and the Guptas as agents of "white monopoly capital".
Bell Pottinger and its co-founder, Lord Bell, had a reputation for taking risks. Lord Bell, who was a PR adviser to Margaret Thatcher, resigned from the firm last year.
The company represented Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic athlete, after he was charged with murder.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has used the firm's services, as well as Syria's first lady Asma al-Assad.
In the late 1990s the PR firm worked on a campaign to release former Chilean dictator General Pinochet after his arrest in London on a Spanish extradition warrant on murder charges.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41245719
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Why Sweden is close to becoming a cashless economy - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Card and phone payments may be replacing coins and notes, but are Swedes ready to get rid of cash altogether?
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Business
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Senobar Johnsen says it's "visibly noticeable" that Swedes prefer cards to cash these days
Sweden is the most cashless society on the planet, with barely 1% of the value of all payments made using coins or notes last year. So how did the Nordic nation get so far ahead of the rest of us?
Warm cinnamon buns are stacked next to mounds of freshly-baked sourdough bread at a neighbourhood coffee shop in Kungsholmen, just west of Stockholm city centre.
Amongst the other typically Scandinavian touches - minimalist white tiles and exposed filament light bulbs - is another increasingly common sight in the Swedish capital: a "We don't accept cash" sign.
"We wanted to minimise the risk of robberies and it's quicker with the customers when they pay by card," says Victoria Nilsson, who manages two of the bakery chain's 16 stores across the city.
"It's been mainly positive reactions. We love to use our cards here in Stockholm."
Across the country, cash is now used in less than 20% of transactions in stores - half the number five years ago, according to the Riksbank, Sweden's central bank.
Coins and banknotes have been banned on buses for several years after unions raised concerns over drivers' safety.
Even tourist attractions have started to gamble on taking plastic-only payments, including Stockholm's Pop House Hotel and The Abba Museum.
Bjorn Ulvaeus (left) back in his Abba heyday. Now he's a keen supporter of a cashless Sweden.
The iconic band's Bjorn Ulvaeus is, in fact, one of the nation's most vocal supporters of Sweden's cash-free trend, after his son lost cash in an apartment burglary.
Smaller retailers are jumping on the bandwagon, too, making use of home-grown technologies such as iZettle, the Swedish start-up behind Europe's first mobile credit card reader.
Such portable technologies have enabled market traders - and even homeless people promoting charity magazines - to take card payments easily.
"I took my kids to the funfair and there was a guy selling balloons and he had a card machine with him," remarks Senobar Johnsen, one of the Swedish customers back at the bakery.
Currently living in Portsmouth in southern England, she's visiting Sweden for the first time in a year and says it's "visibly noticeable" that people are paying more with cards.
"It's not like the UK where there's often a minimum spend when you go to a kiosk or you're in the middle of nowhere. I think it's great".
Swish, a smartphone payment system, is another popular Swedish innovation used by more than half the country's 10 million strong population.
Signs like this are becoming increasingly common in Sweden
Backed by the major banks, it allows customers to send money securely to anyone else with the app, just by using their mobile number.
A staple at flea markets and school fetes, it's also a popular way to transfer money instantly between friends: Swedes can no longer get away with delaying their share of a restaurant bill using the excuse that they're short on cash.
"In general, consumers are very interested in new technologies, so we're quite early to adopt [them]," explains Niklas Arvidsson, a professor at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology.
This is partly down to infrastructure (Sweden is among the most connected countries in the EU); a relatively small population that is an ideal test-bed for innovations; and the country's historically low corruption levels, he argues.
"Swedes tend to trust banks, we trust institutions... people are not afraid of the sort-of 'Big Brother' issues or fraud connected to electronic payment."
Somewhat paradoxically, Sweden's decision to update its coins and banknotes, a move announced by the Riksbank in 2010 and fully implemented this year, actually boosted cashless transactions, explains Prof Arvidsson.
"You would have thought that a new kind of cash would have created an interest, but the reaction seems to have been the opposite," he says.
"Some retailers thought it's easier not to accept these new forms of cash because there's learning to be done, maybe investment in cash registration machines and so-on."
There has also been a "ripple effect", he says, with more shops signing up to the cashless idea as it becomes increasingly socially acceptable.
Former Interpol president Bjorn Eriksson is worried about a cashless future
Riksbank figures reveal that the average value of Swedish krona in circulation fell from around 106 billion (£10bn) in 2009 to 65 billion (£6bn) in 2016.
Barely 1% of the value of all payments were made using coins or notes last year, compared to around 7% across the EU and in the US.
Prof Arvidsson predicts that the use of cash will most likely be reduced to "a very marginal payment form" by 2020.
Retailers seem to agree. A survey - not yet published - of almost 800 small retailers carried out by his research team found that two thirds of respondents said they anticipated phasing out cash payments completely by 2030.
But the trend is not to everyone's liking, as Bjorn Eriksson, formerly national police commissioner and president of Interpol, explains from the suburb of Alvik.
Here, his local coffee shop still accepts old-fashioned money, but several of the banks no longer offer cash deposits or over-the-counter withdrawals.
"I like cards. I'm just angry because about a million people can't cope with cards: the elderly, former convicts, tourists, immigrants. The banks don't care because [these groups] are not profitable," he argues.
The 71-year-old is the face of a national movement called Kontantupproret (Cash Rebellion), which is also concerned about identity theft, rising consumer debt and cyber-attacks.
"This system could easily be disturbed or manipulated. Why invade us when it's so easy? Just cut off the payment system and we're completely helpless," says Mr Eriksson.
His arguments haven't escaped the notice of politicians in Sweden, where debates about security are increasingly making their way onto the agenda in the wake of a government agency data leak that almost brought down the ruling coalition in July.
Meanwhile, the backdrop of an increasingly divided electorate suggests that rural and elderly voters could prove crucial in the Nordic country's next general election, scheduled for September 2018.
Back at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, Prof Arvidsson points out that while most Swedes have embraced the nation's cash-free innovations, two thirds don't want to get rid of notes and coins completely.
"There's a very strong emotional connection to cash among Swedes, even though they do not use it," he says.
Sweden may leading the global trend towards a cashless future, but its tech-savvy population also appears to be guided by another, more traditional Swedish trait: caution.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41095004
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Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In the early hours the government won its vote on the EU withdrawal bill. But ministers can't relax, not for a moment.
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UK Politics
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In the early hours the government won its vote on the behemoth-like task of transferring laws incorporated from the EU on to a new statute book.
In the end Labour doubts and a strict hand from the Tory whips won the day and the numbers were more comfortable than the squeaky feeling at the start of the political week suggested.
But ministers can't relax, not for a moment.
Tories with unease about the withdrawal bill have already drawn up proposed amendments, changes to the bill and here's the rub - they say they already have at least a dozen colleagues signed up, including four influential chairs of Westminster committees.
Why does that matter? Remember, the government's majority (with the DUP) is so slim only six grumpy Tories can sink a bill.
So a dirty dozen, as ministers might see them, can force them to change their position or lose.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41237745
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Chancellor Philip Hammond sets date for next Budget - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Philip Hammond says he will deliver his next Budget on Wednesday 22 November.
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Business
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The next Budget will be held on Wednesday 22 November, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has said.
It will be the first Budget since the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons in the snap election in June.
Mr Hammond delivered another Budget earlier this year in the spring.
But he has previously indicated that the main date for the annual speech, which outlines fiscal forecasts and tax changes, will move to the autumn.
The chancellor said the Budget was an opportunity for the government to "set out our thinking on how to keep the economy strong and resilient and fair".
Mr Hammond told the Lords Economics Affairs Committee that the UK economy had "inevitably been overshadowed by the uncertainty of the Brexit negotiation process".
"The quicker we can generate some clarity about the future for business and consumers, the better, so that we can get back to the business of pursuing what I think looked like a very positive outlook for the UK economy in early 2016," he added.
Also on Tuesday, the government moved on public sector pay, announcing pay rises for police and prison officers which go beyond the current cap.
Downing Street signalled the end of the 1% pay freeze for other public sector workers, saying they recognised the need for more flexibility in future.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41245714
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The app that inspires tens of millions to go cycling - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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How cycling app Strava became a must-have for cyclists around the world.
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Business
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Mark Gainey did not let injury stop him from cycling for long
Thankfully for tens of millions of cyclists around the world, Mark Gainey didn't walk away from the sport when he had a nasty crash back in 2002.
Racing his bike down a steep road in California, he hit a pothole and went flying, shattering his left arm and elbow. He required no fewer than 11 operations to repair the damage.
Many of us wouldn't want to look at a bike again after that, but Mark got back in the saddle and a few years later he and a friend came up with the idea for what has become the world's most popular cycling app - Strava.
If you aren't a keen cyclist then you may not have heard of it but for those of us who do like pedalling around on two wheels it isn't an exaggeration to say that the app has been revolutionary.
Utilising the GPS (global positioning system) software on your smartphone, it enables you to record your ride, and then see an accurate line of the route you have cycled on an electronic map.
It tells you how far and fast you have cycled, and you can compare your times over certain sections - such as popular hill climbs - with both how well you have done before and with other Strava users.
This means that you can compete to beat other people's times and aim to be "the king (or queen) of the mountain" on a certain stretch of road.
The Strava app is continuing to see user numbers soar
First launched in 2009 and since expanding to running and other sports, Strava now has tens of millions of users around the world, many of whom find it completely addictive.
The word Strava is even used as a verb, as in "I'm going to strava this ride," and then there is the saying: "If it isn't on Strava then it doesn't count."
While it has numerous rivals whose apps do similar things, such as Map My Ride and Endomondo, Strava's user numbers tower over the others. It claims that an additional one million people join every 45 days.
But despite its vast popularity and the fact that it is backed by $70m (£54m) of investment, the company (which doesn't reveal its financial results) is widely reported to have not yet made a profit. So what is the problem and how can it change it?
The app was inspired by the idea to help boost camaraderie among fellow athletes
Mark Gainey, 48, says that the original genesis of the idea for San Francisco-based Strava came when he and co-founder Michael Horvath graduated from Harvard University.
"Back in the late 1980s Michael and I rowed together at Harvard. It was an incredible experience, pretty special, with great camaraderie.
"The only problem was that we then graduated and - whoosh - that all just disappeared.
"So brainstorming ideas for businesses we said, 'Wouldn't it be great to replicate that camaraderie in the boathouse.' The idea was to create a virtual locker room for athletes to compare times. Unfortunately the technology just didn't exist at the time."
Fast-forward to 2008 and Mark and Michael, still friends, had not forgotten their idea. By then Mark had spent almost two decades in the software sector, while Michael was a business and economics lecturer who also dabbled in the IT industry.
By then technology had made their idea possible, with the invention of GPS recorders and the iPhone and other smartphones. And the likes of Facebook had made people used to sharing information about themselves online.
The app has since expanded to running and other sports such as skiing
And so the two friends launched Strava, the name being the Swedish word for "strive" in reference to Michael's ancestry.
The app was an immediate word-of-mouth hit and user numbers soon skyrocketed and haven't slowed since.
With its largest number of users in the US followed by the UK and Brazil, commentators put Strava's success compared with its smaller rivals down to a combination of its ease of use, and larger focus on sociability - the ability to see what friends are up to, chat and comment on each other's rides, and give someone "kudos" for a good ride.
Mark refers to this as Strava's "secret sauce", and he has huge ambitions for the company. "We want to be the trusted sports brand of the 21st Century, but instead of needle and thread it is bits and bytes," he says.
The financial problem for Strava is that its basic free offering is so good most users aren't tempted to upgrade to its paid-for "premium" service.
The company won't release the percentage figure for the number of premium users, but commentators say it is likely to be around the 20% mark.
Users of the app can upload their own photos
As Mark confirms that the company's main revenue stream remains premium subscribers, it needs to see if it can increase this.
Strava is also hoping to increase the money it makes from tie-ups with sports firms, and use its data to work with local authorities around the world to improve and increase their provision of bike lanes.
To help boost Strava's earning potential, it has recently brought in a new chief executive, James Quarles, who joined from Instagram. The change saw Mark move from that role to chairman.
Mark says: "We want to take Strava from tens of millions [in] revenues to hundreds of millions, and James will lead that."
Mark has switched from chief executive to chairman
UK cycling journalist Rebecca Charlton says it is hard to overstate how successfully Strava had turned itself into a "social network for athletes, a kind of home for their athletic lives".
Meanwhile, US cycling industry commentator Scott Montgomery predicts that Strava will indeed have a profitable future.
"They say in the technology sector that the first is the winner, and the second is forgotten, and Strava has definitely beaten its rivals.
"Somebody has done a great job on the marketing side and the app is very easy to use. They are now at the stage where they own a vast audience, and if you are in that position you will get profitable."
Mark adds: "We are the world's social network for athletes, but I'm also very pleased that we are simply encouraging more people to be active."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41186824
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Storm Aileen: Winds bring travel disruption - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Gusts of 70mph cause damage to parts of the UK, bringing down trees and cutting power.
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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. The worst of Storm Aileen's winds have rattled off towards the Netherlands, says BBC Weather's Matt Taylor
Strong winds have caused travel disruption and power cuts across parts of the country.
Aileen, the first named storm this season, has now eased away but caused problems on rail routes and left thousands without power overnight.
The Met Office said gusts of 74mph hit Mumbles Head in south Wales, with southern parts of northern England and the north Midlands also badly affected.
Lorry drivers and motorcyclists were warned of the risk of being blown over.
Throughout the morning, rail travellers faced slower journeys and cancellations, but services now seem to be returning to normal.
On its website, National Rail said falling trees and large branches, power cuts and debris blown onto the tracks had caused difficulties.
By lunchtime, only Southern rail and Thameslink were still reporting difficulties. Other services were also affected during the morning rush hour.
A car is dented by a branch in Sheffield
In south Wales, the Taff Trail, between Radyr and Cardiff, takes a battering
At its height, the storm cut power to 60,000 homes in Wales - some for 10 minutes, others for several hours.
Western Power Distribution, which provides electricity to homes in south and west Wales, said all affected areas, from Pembrokeshire to Monmouthshire, were back up and running.
Northern Powergrid, which covers north-east England, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, said 7,400 homes had lost power overnight, and it was still working to restore power to 800 customers.
Electricity North West said about 1,300 homes were affected.
Police forces in Staffordshire, Cheshire and Gloucestershire all reported trees being blown over by the winds during the night.
The Met Office said there was no connection between high winds in the UK and the recent extreme weather in the Caribbean and the US.
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The UK's weather system came from the north, in the Atlantic, the Met Office added.
By late morning, all weather warnings had been lifted and Storm Aileen was heading for the Netherlands.
The Environment Agency lifted two flood warnings, but 7 alerts remain in place for areas where flooding "is possible".
By contrast, on this day last year, the temperature in Gravesend, Kent, reached 34C (93F).
Storm Aileen is the first storm to be given a name since they were announced for the 2017/18 season.
Other names on the list include Dylan, Octavia, Rebecca and Simon.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41241014
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Hope Hicks named White House Communications Director - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The long-time Trump aide will be the fourth person to fill the White House role.
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US & Canada
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Twenty-eight-year-old interim White House Communications Director Hope Hicks will serve in the role on a permanent basis.
The longtime Trump aide is the fourth person to fill the position, replacing Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired in July after just 10 days on the job.
Ms Hicks has served as President Donald Trump's strategic communications director and campaign press secretary.
The ex-Trump Organization employee is one of his most trusted aides.
As White House communications director she will be responsible for shaping the administration's message - although in a less visible way than press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The appointment of Ms Hicks - a former Ralph Lauren fashion model - comes after a summer of staff shake-ups at the White House.
Mr Scaramucci was fired after he raised eyebrows for calling a reporter to give a profanity-laced tirade against his own colleagues.
President Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and spokesman, Sean Spicer, both left their posts after Mr Scaramucci's appointment.
General John Kelly, who replaced Mr Priebus, sacked Mr Scaramucci after he was sworn in.
Mike Dubke, who was first appointed as communications director, resigned in May.
Mr Spicer also filled in as communications director while the post was open over the summer.
Reporters say mean things about Hope Hicks. They complain that she's not qualified for the job, and they say she's in over her head.
It's true that she did not come from the Washington establishment or the political world. A former Ford model, she started working for Trump in 2015.
Still, she has something valuable - the president's trust. Among those in the West Wing, she's the closest to Trump and knows how he wants to achieve his goals.
That seems like a good background for someone who's handling his communications strategy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41245690
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Michael O'Neill arrested on suspicion of drink-driving - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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Northern Ireland football boss Michael O'Neill was stopped in Scotland in the early hours of Sunday.
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Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland's football team manager, Michael O'Neill, has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
He was detained by police on the outskirts of Edinburgh on Sunday.
Police Scotland said they arrested and charged a 48-year-old man in connection with drink-driving eastbound on the A720 at about 00.55 BST on Sunday.
He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff's Court on 10 October, two days after Northern Ireland's final World Cup qualifier match against Norway.
In a statement, the Irish Football Association (IFA) said it was "aware of an alleged drink-driving incident involving Michael O'Neill".
The IFA added that it was a "police matter" and would make no further comment, after the story first appeared in the Scottish Sun.
Mr O'Neill became manager of the Northern Ireland international football team in February 2012.
He has enjoyed considerable success during his five-and-a-half-year tenure, guiding the team to their first ever European Championship finals last year.
Under his leadership, Northern Ireland made it through to the last 16.
Michael O'Neill was lauded after taking his side - featuring Steven Davies - to the Euro 2016 finals
A few months before the team travelled to France for the Euro finals, Mr O'Neill signed a new four-year contract with the IFA.
His success has continued into the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The team is currently second in their qualifying group after a string of impressive results.
Both of their final two qualifiers - at home to Germany on 5 October and away to Norway on 8 October - take place in the week before Mr O'Neill's court case.
During his playing career, Mr O'Neill won 33 caps for Northern Ireland and scored seven international goals.
The midfielder started out playing for Irish League club Coleraine and went on to play for Newcastle United, Dundee United and Hibernian.
When he hung up his boots, he entered management as an assistant at Cowdenbeath in Scotland, before taking charge of another Scottish side, Brechin City.
In 2008, he was appointed manager of Dublin team, Shamrock Rovers, and guided them to successive League of Ireland titles in 2010 and 2011.
He made history by becoming the first manager of a League of Ireland team to reach the group stages of the Europa League.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41236833
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Man-of-war spotted along coast in Cornwall and Wales - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The RNLI closed Perranporth beach to swimmers because of large numbers of jellyfish-like creatures.
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Cornwall
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A Portuguese man-of-war, which was one of a group of six, washed up at Gwithian
Large numbers of potentially fatal Portuguese man-of-war have washed up on a Cornish beach, prompting its closure.
RNLI lifeguards erected do not swim red flags at Perranporth beach earlier because of the "unusually large number" of the creatures.
The jellyfish-like organisms, which have long purple tentacles, have also been seen in Wales this month, says the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).
With mild sea temperatures of 16C there were fears of swimmers being stung.
The RNLI said it placed red flags at Perranporth beach between 10:00 and 13:30 BST to signal that the water was out of bounds, while lifeguards took advice on the level of danger to beachgoers.
Man-of-war were spotted at Newgale, Pembrokeshire, on 8 September and the next day on beaches near the holiday destination of Newquay.
A leatherback turtle was found washed up at Portreath
They have also been seen at Porthmelon Beach on the Isles of Scilly and on the Cornish beaches of Portheras Cove and Summerleaze, Widemouth, Perranporth, Hayle, Holywell Bay and Praa Sands.
Six were also reported at Gwithian.
Dr Peter Richardson from the MCS said a man-of-war's tentacles, which are usually about 10m (30ft) long, "deliver an agonising and potentially lethal sting".
"They are very pretty and look like partially deflated balloons with ribbons but picking one up could be very nasty," he said.
The man-of-war retain their sting when they are wet, even if they look dead, he warned.
He advised anyone who was stung to get the tentacles away from the body as soon as possible.
The man-of-war can be tempting to children because it looks like a deflated balloon
Leatherback turtles have also been washed up, Dr Richardson said.
A leatherback turtle was found at Portreath on 9 September and another one has been reported in Pembrokeshire.
The NHS recommends using tweezers or a clean stick, and gloves if possible, to remove man-of-war tentacles.
If symptoms become more severe, or a sensitive part of the body has been stung, you should seek medical help.
The MCS is asking people to report any sightings which could rise as man-of-war are driven across the Atlantic by recent storms.
The RNLI said it wasn't uncommon to see man-of-war after windy conditions
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-41237286
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'Monster' fatberg found blocking east London sewer - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The 250-metre long solid mass of wet wipes, nappies, fat and oil and condoms weighs in at 130 tonnes.
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London
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The fatberg was filmed by Thames Water engineers who are trying to remove the blockage
The solid mass of congealed fat, wet wipes, nappies, oil and condoms formed in the Victorian-era tunnel in Whitechapel, London.
Thames Water described it as one of the largest it had seen and said it would take three weeks to remove.
The company's head of waste networks Matt Rimmer said: "It's a total monster and taking a lot of manpower and machinery to remove as it's set hard."
The company says fatbergs form when people put things they shouldn't down sinks and toilets.
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"It's basically like trying to break up concrete," Mr Rimmer said.
"It's frustrating as these situations are totally avoidable and caused by fat, oil and grease being washed down sinks and wipes flushed down the loo.
"The sewers are not an abyss for household rubbish and our message to everyone is clear - please bin it - don't block it."
The fatberg is about as heavy as 11 double decker buses.
Work at Whitechapel Road to remove the immense fatberg started this week.
Eight workers will break up the mass with high-pressure hoses, suck up the pieces into tankers and take it to a recycling site in Stratford.
In 2013, Thames Water found a bus-size fatberg in a sewer in Kingston-upon-Thames.
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council said: "We know this is a major issue across London.
"We have set up a waste oil collection point with Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, and strongly encourage businesses to set up collection contracts for their waste oil with companies for recycling."
Eight workers will break up the mass with high-pressure hoses
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41238272
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Barcelona: Sagrada Familia evacuated in 'anti-terror' operation - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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A bomb squad checks a van parked near to the church, but police later say it was a false alarm.
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Europe
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The Sagrada Familia basilica is a famous attraction in Barcelona
Spanish police have evacuated and cordoned off one of Barcelona's main tourist attractions, the Sagrada Familia basilica, as part of an anti-terrorist operation.
A bomb squad was sent to check a van parked next to the church, but police later said it was a false alarm.
Nearby shops had also been evacuated as a precaution.
Last month, a series of attacks by jihadists in and around Barcelona killed 16 people.
Catalan police said on Twitter (in Catalan) that checks ruled out that the vehicle had any dangerous material.
Designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, the basilica attracts millions of tourists every year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41248703
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Brexit: Next round of talks delayed a week 'for consultation' - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The latest negotiating round is postponed by a week to give both sides "flexibility to make progress".
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UK Politics
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David Davis and Michel Barnier are currently meeting once a month
The next round of Brexit talks has been postponed by a week to "allow more time for consultation".
The fourth round of UK-EU negotiations, due to begin on 18 September, will start on the 25th instead.
The government said a short delay "would give negotiators the flexibility to make progress".
There had been been speculation that the talks could be moved to accommodate a major speech by Prime Minister Theresa May on the issue of Europe.
"The UK and the European Commission have today jointly agreed to start the fourth round of negotiations on September 25," the Department for Exiting the European Union said in a statement.
"Both sides settled on the date after discussions between senior officials in recognition that more time for consultation would give negotiators the flexibility to make progress in the September round."
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, has emphasised the need to be flexible while also warning that the "clock is ticking" if an agreement is to be reached by the time the UK is scheduled to leave at the end of March 2019.
Talks between the two sides, led on the British side by Brexit Secretary David Davis, have been taking place once a month since June.
The UK is keen to intensify their pace and open discussions on the country's future relationship with the EU, including trade, as soon as possible.
At the moment, the focus is on core separation issues, including the rights of EU nationals in the UK and British expats on the continent, the future of the Irish border, and financial matters.
Speculation about the delay was fuelled when European Parliament chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt claimed an "important intervention" would be made by the PM "in the coming days", although this has not been confirmed by Downing Street.
Reuters also quoted diplomatic sources as suggesting that there could be a hold-up in the talks to allow for an event in the UK's "domestic political calendar".
The PM's loss of her Commons majority following June's snap election caused turmoil in the party and has made her more vulnerable to possible rebellions over key Brexit legislation.
Mrs May - who has insisted her Brexit strategy is unchanged and that she wants to stay as leader for the "long term" - is due to address the Conservative Party conference at the start of October.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41246573
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JJ Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode IX - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The writer-director is returning to end the sequel trilogy, as the release is delayed by six months.
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Entertainment & Arts
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JJ Abrams, who launched the new era of Star Wars films with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to the series as director of Star Wars: Episode IX.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said "JJ delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for" in the earlier instalment, and she was excited he was returning to "close out this trilogy".
Abrams replaces Colin Trevorrow, who dropped out of the film last month.
Meanwhile the release has been delayed by six months, to December 2019.
The announcement was made on Twitter by Walt Disney Studios, which owns Lucasfilm, on Friday.
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Chris Terrio will co-write the ninth instalment with Abrams. He won an Oscar for writing Argo in 2013 and his other scripts include Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the forthcoming Justice League.
The return of JJ Abrams to the Star Wars universe is a big deal for fans and for Lucasfilm.
After the lacklustre prequel films, he made the series relevant again - delivering, in The Force Awakens, a movie that satisfied fans of the original 70s/80s trilogy, and excited a new audience, not to mention taking $2bn in ticket sales.
Since Disney bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas, the production giant has often had trouble marrying the visions of individual directors with its own clear view of how its most lucrative property should develop. Several directors have been left by the wayside.
JJ Abrams has so far proved to be one of the few directors who's been able to balance his individuality as a film-maker with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's more than firm hand on the movies. This news signals a return to stability in the saga of Star Wars series.
Episode IX is expected to star Daisy Ridley and John Boyega.
Rian Johnson is directing the second in the current trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released this December. Deadline reported that Johnson had declined an offer to take over Episode IX before Abrams was approached.
Most Star Wars fans on Twitter welcomed Abrams' return to the franchise.
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Trevorrow, who directed Jurassic World, left the director's chair because he and Lucasfilm had differing "visions", the company said.
Lucasfilm has a reputation for ruthlessness when it comes to hiring and firing directors. In 2015, Fantastic Four's Josh Trank was dropped from directing a standalone Star Wars story.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller also left the Han Solo standalone movie with only a few weeks left in production, and were replaced by Ron Howard.
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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Rooney traveller family jailed for modern slavery offences - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The gang, described as "chilling in their mercilessness", forced victims to live in squalor.
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Lincolnshire
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Nine members of a traveller family who kept workers in squalid conditions in caravans have been jailed for modern day slavery offences.
One victim, whose ordeal spanned more than 25 years, was made to dig his own grave.
The head of the family, Martin Rooney Senior, was jailed for 10 years, while two of his sons were each jailed for more than 15 years.
The traveller family were described as "chilling in their mercilessness".
The case at Nottingham Crown Court was part of Lincolnshire Police's Operation Pottery investigation, one of the largest investigations of its kind.
The Rooneys' victims were beaten and left without running water or toilet facilities at the Drinsey Nook site in Lincolnshire.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The sister of one of the victims says he was forced to dig his own grave
Sentencing Martin Rooney Senior, Timothy Spencer QC said: "You brought up your sons in a criminal culture."
The judge also compared the squalid lives of the victims to the lavish lifestyle the family enjoyed.
"It was like the gulf between medieval royalty and peasantry," he told him.
The head of the family Martin Rooney Senior was jailed for 10 years
Ch Supt Chris Davison, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "The victims will never get the years back that were taken away from them but I hope this provides them with some comfort that justice has been served and demonstrates that we will do everything in our power to try and stop others suffering in the ways that they did."
Mr Davison said there were potentially other victims of modern slavery in the UK and that the force "would not rest on this result".
"We are exploring five active investigations and we will continue to put any victims at the very heart of our investigations," he added.
Police began operations against members of the Rooney family in September 2014 when seven warrants were executed in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and London.
A number of victims were found and the UK Human Trafficking Centre concluded 18 men had been illegally brought to the sites.
The victims were all described as vulnerable adults, aged between 18 and 63, who were often homeless and had been picked up by the defendants from across the UK.
The victims lived in squalor, police said
In one attack, a man was beaten with a shovel and left injured in a caravan for days for returning a car with no petrol.
The court also heard of one victim's terrifying ordeal which spanned more than a quarter of a century.
On one occasion, he was made to dig his own grave if he did not agree to a lifetime of servitude.
The Rooneys' victims were beaten at the Drinsey Nook site in Lincolnshire
Judge Spencer also spoke of how the family used food as a means of control over their victims.
"They knew if they wanted to eat, they had to stay at Drinsey Nook," he said.
"None of the men, in my judgement, were ever truly free to leave at all."
"You stripped them of dignity and humanity and confined them to a life of drudgery".
Bridget Rooney was told she had the power to stop what was happening but chose to ignore it
In a statement which was read in court, one victim said "life with the Rooneys was a living hell".
Judge Spencer told Bridget Rooney, described as the matriarch of the family, she had "the power to stop this".
She was jailed for seven years.
Two others, Eileen Rooney, 32, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby and Nora Rooney, 31, of the same address, were both acquitted.
Janine Smith, from the Crown Prosecution Service, paid tribute to the victims
Speaking outside court after sentencing, Janine Smith, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the sentences "reflect the level of exploitation, control and violence they exhibited and the betrayal of those they condemned to forced labour and the people they defrauded".
She added: "I hope that seeing their abusers imprisoned will be of some comfort to them and will be a suitable acknowledgement of their courage in giving evidence."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-41241049
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Italian couple and son die at Solfatara volcano crater - BBC News
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2017-09-12
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The Italian family fell into a pit on a visit to the popular tourist site at Solfatara near Naples.
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Europe
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The three fell into a pit that opened up as the parents tried to save their son
A boy and his parents have died after falling into a pit in a volcanic crater at Solfatara near Naples.
The drama unfolded during a family trip at the end of the school holidays, when the 11-year-old walked past a barrier into a prohibited area.
When his parents tried to pull him to safety, part of the crater collapsed and they fell 3m (10ft) into a hole.
It is thought all three were overcome by fumes. Their seven-year-old son did not enter the crater and survived.
Solfatara of Pozzuoli is one of a number of volcanoes to the west of Naples and is popular with tourists. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1198, it has a shallow crater and is known for its sulphurous fumes and emissions of steam.
The family was visiting from Meolo near Venice in north-eastern Italy, reports said. The parents were both in their forties. Italian reports named the three as Massimiliano Carrer, Tiziana Zaramella, and their son, Lorenzo.
The hole in the crater was visible along with the chains that rescuers had used to reach the three victims
The area where they died is known for a type of quicksand, where the ground is prone to crumbling.
When the boy went into the quicksand, his father tried to help him and fell into the pit. His mother went to their aid and all three are thought to have become trapped and lost consciousness because of poisonous gases. The local civil protection department said that inside the pit was boiling hot mud.
Firefighters managed to recover the three bodies and Pozzuoli mayor Vincenzo Figliolia said he had never come across such a tragedy at the site in 40 years.
Solfatara is one of many volcanic craters in the Campi Flegrei area west of Naples
The surviving son was taken to a bar close to the entrance, where owner Armando Guerriero told La Repubblica: "We tried to calm him down, as he was obviously very shocked. He was repeatedly asking for the rest of his family."
The seven-year-old was later looked after by social workers and a psychologist. He was due to be reunited with his grandparents later.
A local worker at the site, Diego Vitagliano, said the accident was the worst thing he had seen in his life.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41243134
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Apple’s augmented reality ambitions - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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Apple has big plans for augmented reality but faces strong competition from Google and Microsoft.
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Technology
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: What can AR do on iPhone?
Face recognition, an OLED screen and a £999 price tag will grab all the headlines. But software developers around the world were waiting on one thing from the Apple event - more news on augmented reality.
And slap bang in the middle of the iPhone 8 unveiling, a long section about AR, and a demo from a games developer - a clear signal that the company sees the technology as a key attraction in its new phones.
Back in May, Apple released ARKit, its augmented reality development tool, hoping that developers would rush to try it out and give the company a lead in the fast growing technology, which imposes virtual objects on the real world. And it has done just that.
Developers have been quick to experiment, showing off all kinds of apps, from a simple AR measuring tape to work out whether that chunky sofa will fit through the door, to a restaurant app that puts a virtual burger on your real plate.
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This week I found myself chasing pigeons around a cool shared office space in Shoreditch with Jamie Shoard. His tiny four-person company has used ARKit to develop Pigeon Panic, which he describes as "an utterly ridiculous game, built to live out your very achievable fantasies of running haphazardly into large flocks of virtual pigeons".
Augmented reality has been around for a long time, but it was only with the arrival of Pokemon Go last year that it entered the lives of millions of smartphone users.
Jamie Shoard says that until now developing AR apps was a complex business that could only be contemplated by major developers, and ARKit has changed that: "The technology would have taken years to create and a team of hundreds - now it can be done in matter of months by small teams like ours."
He now expects a new flowering of creativity in an app landscape that has been getting quite stale.
Apple showed off AR games played via its new smartphones
But if Apple is to spark this AR revolution, it has a number of hurdles to clear. First, there is plenty of competition.
For some years Google has been pushing its Tango augmented reality platform, but with just a couple of smartphones boasting the tech to make it work, the company saw the writing on the wall when ARKit came out.
It has ditched the brand and unveiled ARCore, which will work on millions of Android phones, with a big pitch to the developer community to get involved. Google's own designers have also demonstrated their first experiments, showing off a Streetview animation which allows you to zoom into the British Museum from the front of the building, and a training app demonstrating how to use an espresso machine.
The other big player is Microsoft with its Hololens headset, which the firm is using to bring what it calls mixed reality into the workplace and the classroom. While it may provide a more convincing experience than AR seen through a mobile phone, the headset is expensive and is not at this stage aimed at the consumer market.
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If anyone can be considered a veteran of the augmented reality world, it is Steve Dann, whose Amplified Robot studio is based in Soho.
His first AR project was for the Times newspaper 10 years ago and involved the use of a laptop's camera - smartphones were not in common use back then.
He admits that the revolution has taken longer to take off than he imagined - "the technology has not advanced quite as quickly as we hoped it would". But he does believe that Apple's initiative is a key moment for augmented reality.
"ARKit makes a big difference because it's an Apple statement of intent," he explained.
"Any time you get Apple entering into something, it is fully committed, and that will drag other companies in."
But however intense the competition to create compelling new uses for AR, there is another nagging question - do we really want to see our world through the lens of our smartphone camera?
The buzz has faded around pioneering augmented reality game Pokemon Go
The buzz around Pokemon Go has died down, and new augmented reality apps have not taken off in the same way. Paul Lee, head of technology research at Deloitte, says get ready for a big upsurge in interest: "I expect there will be hundreds or millions of smartphone users who use augmented reality enhanced digital apps at least five times in 2018."
He says we are already using AR without realising it when for instance we use filters in photo apps to improve the real world. AR will become a feature of many existing apps. "Augmenting reality is a very human activity - hence the appeal. It's a form of digital make up."
But Mr Dann thinks another technology advance may be needed before most people are ready to augment their world.
"I think ARKit is a step on the road to the future. I think augmented reality will really take off when you can see it through head mounted displays or a pair of glasses," he says.
Of course, that has already been tried - but Google Glass proved unpalatable to its users. Maybe somewhere inside the Apple Park spaceship, engineers are working on an iHeadset, but for now the company is counting on the iPhone as its weapon to barge its way into another new market.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41248983
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'Pay outpaces house prices' in many areas - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Edinburgh and Birmingham are among the 54% of areas where pay has outpaced property prices since 2007.
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Business
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More than half of Britain has seen wages rise faster than house prices in the last 10 years, research by a mortgage lender has suggested.
Edinburgh and Birmingham are among the 54% of areas where pay has outpaced property prices since 2007, the Yorkshire Building Society found.
Yet the gap between wages and house prices has widened dramatically in other areas.
The building society suggested this had accentuated a north-south divide.
Across London and much of southern England, it has become "increasingly difficult for first-time buyers and those wanting to move up the housing ladder", said Andrew McPhillips, chief economist at the Yorkshire Building Society.
"However, the north of England, Wales and Scotland present a different picture entirely, with many places more affordable than they were before the credit crunch," he said.
"While some northern cities, such as Manchester, are less affordable than they were in 2007, in much of the north of England, Scotland and Wales, the gap between earnings and house prices is around a third of the average for London."
The analysis compares earnings data for each area from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with Land Registry house price data at local authority level.
This is a relatively narrow definition of "affordability" as it ignores issues such as falling mortgage rates and the decreasing proportion of disposable income that is spent on home loan repayments.
Overall, the Yorkshire concludes that wage rises have effectively kept pace with increasing property prices in Britain compared with 10 years ago.
In England, house prices rose faster, with the typical home costing 8.2 times median average pre-tax earnings for a single full-time employee compared with 7.9 times in 2007.
In Scotland, wages rose faster - with the current house price five times the size of typical average earnings in Scotland, compared with 6.2 times in 2007.
The same was true in Wales where the ratio has changed from 6.9 times earnings in 2007 to 5.7 times now.
Three areas of Scotland have seen the biggest shift in wages rising faster than house prices compared with 10 years ago, according to the analysis.
They include Inverclyde, where house prices are 3.67 times average full-time gross earnings in the area now compared to 6.38 times a decade ago. The other two biggest movers were North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire.
At the other end of the scale was the Three Rivers local authority area in Hertfordshire, which has seen house prices rise from 9.83 times typical full-time earnings in that area in 2007 to 15.83 times now.
The next two biggest movers in that direction were the London borough of Haringey, where house prices are 17.5 times that area's typical earnings, and the London borough of Westminster which sees the average home cost more than £1m, or 24 times average earnings there.
Where can you afford to live? Try our housing calculator to see where you could rent or buy This interactive content requires an internet connection and a modern browser. Do you want to buy or rent? Use the buttons to increase or decrease the number of bedrooms: minimum one, maximum four. Alternatively, enter a number into the text input How much is your deposit? Enter your deposit below or adjust the deposit amount using the slider Return to 'How much is your deposit?' This calculator assumes you need a deposit of at least 5% of the value of the property to get a mortgage. The average deposit for UK first-time buyers is . How much can you pay monthly? Enter your monthly payment below or adjust the payment amount using the slider Return to 'How much can you pay monthly?' Your monthly payments are what you can afford to pay each month. Think about your monthly income and take off bills, council tax and living expenses. The average rent figure is for England and Wales. Amount of the that has housing you can Explore the map in detail below Search the UK for more details about a local area What does affordable mean? You have a big enough deposit and your monthly payments are high enough. The prices are based on the local market. If there are 100 properties of the right size in an area and they are placed in price order with the cheapest first, the “low-end” of the market will be the 25th property, "mid-priced" is the 50th and "high-end” will be the 75th.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41244444
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Facial recognition database 'risks targeting innocent people' - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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The police use of facial imaging technology could result in wrongful allegations, a watchdog warns.
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UK
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Facial recognition technology was used at Notting Hill Carnival
The "rapid" growth of a police facial recognition database could lead to innocent people being unfairly targeted, a watchdog has warned.
Biometrics Commissioner Paul Wiles said the Police National Database (PND) now had at least 19 million custody photographs on it.
But it is thought that hundreds of thousands are of innocent people.
The Home Office said police should delete images of unconvicted people if asked to do so.
Prof Wiles said that police have taken "mug shots" of people upon arresting them since Victorian times, but technical developments today - which allow digital pictures to be uploaded to a searchable national database - have moved "much faster" than the legislation.
Pictures of people who are entitled to the presumption of innocence - that is those who have not been convicted - are being kept on a national file for up to six years, he said.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it's very worrying because if we're not careful the public will lose confidence in the police."
In a government review published in February, the Home Office concluded that those who are not convicted have the right to request that their custody image is deleted from all police databases.
A High Court ruling in 2012 said retaining the custody images of unconvicted people amounted to a breach of human rights.
The PND contains custody images, taken at police stations after someone is arrested.
Of these, more than 16 million have been enrolled in a gallery which can be searched using facial recognition software, including pictures of individuals who are released without charge or later cleared.
Prof Wiles told the BBC that new biometrics - such as voice and facial recognition - can be "equally useful" to the police as DNA and fingerprinting, adding that the police "are quite right to be experimenting with this".
But he warned that there was a "legislative deficit" around them which needs to be addressed first.
He pointed out in his annual report that facial imaging was also being used in public places, including to check Notting Hill carnival-goers against a watch list.
"The use of facial images by the police has gone far beyond using them for custody purposes," he said.
Prof Wiles, who has held the post since last year, warned wrongful allegations could occur from the "very rapid growth" of the database.
Currently, different forces use their own systems to upload images to the central database, with "varying degrees of image quality", the report said.
"This situation could easily produce differential decision making and potentially runs the risk of false intelligence or wrongful allegations," it added.
Prof Wiles, whose job is to scrutinise how police and other authorities retain information including DNA samples, profiles and fingerprints, said hundreds of thousands of innocent people were on the PND.
This is because they were later released or cleared in court, but never deleted from the database.
But Prof Wiles pointed out that police have the discretion to refuse such a request and warned that the "complex" proposals could result in a "postcode lottery".
He said: "I have said that to the government [that] I think what they've put in place is a much more complicated process - that would be much simpler if deletion was simply automatic."
Renate Samson, chief executive of Big Brother Watch, welcomed the watchdog's warnings, saying: "It is of very serious concern that the Home Office appear to be so unwaveringly set on embedding facial biometric recognition technology into policing without debate, regulation, legislation or independent scrutiny."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41262064
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Hurricane Irma: Emile Heskey fears for relatives missing in Barbuda - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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Ex-England star Emile Heskey said his family had not heard from relatives in Barbuda for almost a week.
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Liverpool
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The former Liverpool striker has relatives in Barbuda, which was devastated by the hurricane
Former England footballer Emile Heskey has revealed some of his family have been missing since Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean.
The ex-Liverpool striker said his parents in Antigua were safe, but his mother has had no contact with relatives in Barbuda for almost a week.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Barbuda had been left "barely habitable".
"My mum can't get hold of them," Heskey said.
"My mum and dad were fortunately lucky. They caught the tail end of it," he continued.
"But my mum's family is from Barbuda and they were basically wiped out. Everything is gone."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's correspondents in the region chart Irma's path of destruction
Hurricane Irma destroyed an estimated 95% of buildings on the island of Barbuda, according to the prime minister.
Most of the island's population of just over 1,600 live in the town of Codrington, where an initial assessment using satellite images appears to show most of the buildings have been damaged.
Many buildings have been completely destroyed and debris litters the town.
Heskey said his family were still awaiting news.
The retired footballer, who lives in Cheshire and also played for Bolton Wanderers and Leicester City, added that he was supporting the Peter Virdee Foundation, which is helping with the relief effort.
The footballer said he was supporting the relief effort in the Caribbean
But he said: "We can't commit to anything because I believe there is another hurricane on its way towards Barbuda and Antigua.
"We don't know how much damage that is going to cause and what is going to be the final aid bill."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-41251811
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The collapse of Northern Rock: Ten years on - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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The collapse of Northern Rock: Ten years on
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Business
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In the summer of 2007, Newcastle had much to look forward to. The Toon - Newcastle United - had a new owner, the billionaire retail tycoon Mike Ashley, and much was expected under the management of Sam Allardyce.
The performance of the team's shirt sponsor, Northern Rock, was a source of pride; after decades of hard times following the end of shipbuilding and mining, the North East had a new economic champion, one that was giving the financial services giants of the South a real run for their money.
The former building society had demutualised and scaled the heights of the FTSE 100, the elite club of Britain's biggest quoted companies, and in the process had become the fourth biggest bank in the UK by share of lending.
The chairman, Matt Ridley, summed it up in the annual report, lauding "another excellent year" and said "our strategy of using growth, cost efficiency and credit quality to reward both shareholders and customers continues to run well."
A few months later, Northern Rock's empire was in ruins. The fuel it had used to grow so quickly turned out to be toxic.
Northern Rock had borrowed heavily on the international money markets
Rather than using customer deposits as the source of funds to lend out to homeowners, it borrowed in the international money markets.
When the sub-prime crisis hit America, those markets took fright, and stopped lending to anything that looked like it might be over-exposed to the housing market. Northern Rock was an obvious first casualty.
The BBC broke the news that it needed Bank of England support 10 years ago tomorrow, and the day after there were queues outside branches, the first run on a British bank in 150 years. After limping on for a few more months, Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008.
Councillor Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, remembers walking out of the civic offices to nearby Northumberland Street where Northern Rock had its main city centre branch. "There was a queue outside going right down the street. That really was the first sign that something was wrong. No-one really saw it coming."
Customers queued for hours to take out their savings
Northern Rock's demise - it was split into "bad" and "good" sets of assets and operations, with Virgin Money buying the latter - was a shock to the region's economy, as was the banking crisis that followed.
"We were early into recession and late out," said Mr Forbes. "It's only now really that we have recaptured that lost ground."
About 2,500 jobs were lost. There was another heavy blow, little understood outside the North East - the loss of the Northern Rock Foundation, a charitable trust which received 5% of the bank's profits each year.
Many who lost their savings want the government to change its mind on compensation
It had given £235m to good causes before the bank was nationalised and broken up. Mr Forbes is now pressing the Treasury to give back some of the profits it expects to make from its intervention on Northern Rock to make up for the loss of the foundation.
Northern Rock shareholders are also making a claim on the potential profits, which independent experts think could eventually reach about £8bn.
An association of small shareholders, many of whom lost their life savings when the bank was nationalised, has asked the chancellor to think again on compensation, which has been denied before.
Any surplus from Northern Rock's privatisation should go to taxpayers, says the Treasury
Jon Wood, a fund manager who was a big Northern Rock shareholder and has been severely critical of the Bank of England's action, is also thought be to considering fresh legal action. The Treasury has said that any surplus from the Northern Rock nationalisation should compensate taxpayers for the amounts risked in the rescue.
A decade on, important strands of "the run on the Rock" story are only now being uncovered. In an interview with the BBC Gary Hoffman, who was parachuted in as chief executive after privatisation, said he found an organisation with an unquestioning - and unhappy - culture.
"The management had completely lost touch with the coal face, and did not know what was happening. There was an attitude that you did not question what was going on, which was a tragedy because there were extremely good people at the bank."
Hoffman reveals that the Treasury had considered all options for the future of the bank when he was in charge - not just a sale to a banking rival, but also a refloating of the bank as an independent business, and its complete run-down and closure.
The collapse was the first sign in Britain of the coming global financial crisis
Other senior banking sources have told the BBC that the last option - closure - was the favourite right up until Christmas Eve 2008, when the bank's leadership was able to convince the Treasury it could be sold as a going concern.
Mr Hoffman says that the UK's banking sector is now safer than in the run-up to the crisis, with greater capital reserves at the big institutions. Others disagree, however, saying the increases have been largely illusory.
Kevin Dowd, professor of finance and economics at the University of Durham, says changes in bank regulations have not greatly improved banks' resilience.
"The Bank of England looks at the book value of bank assets - the value that they themselves put on their assets. But if you look at the stock market, investors don't believe it because most of our big banks have stock market values less than their book values."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41229513
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Rebel Wilson awarded A$4.5m in magazine defamation case - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The "unprecedented" payout follows the actress's claim her career was stifled by untrue articles.
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Australia
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Rebel Wilson celebrating in June after a jury found in her favour
Actress Rebel Wilson has been awarded A$4.5m (£2.7m; $3.6m) in Australia's largest payout for a defamation case.
Wilson successfully argued that a series of magazine articles had wrongly portrayed her as a serial liar.
In June a jury unanimously sided with the star, who had claimed the articles stifled her career in Hollywood. She has said she will give the money away.
Bauer Media has always denied the articles were defamatory. A lawyer said it would consider the judgement.
Wilson sought A$7m during the trial but had offered to settle for A$200,000 before it went to court.
Justice John Dixon told the Supreme Court of Victoria that the defamation case was "unprecedented in this country" because of its international reach.
"Substantial vindication can only be achieved by an award of damages that underscores that Ms Wilson's reputation as an actress of integrity was wrongly damaged in a manner that affected her marketability in a huge worldwide marketplace," he said on Wednesday.
The Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect actress was not in court on Wednesday, but she later tweeted that Bauer Media "viciously tried to take [her] down with a series of false articles" and "subjected [her] to a sustained and malicious attack".
"The judge accepted without qualification that I had an extremely high reputation and that the damage inflicted on me was substantial," she wrote.
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She added that the case "wasn't about the money" and that she would donate the damages to "some great Australian charities" and the Australian film industry.
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Wilson sat in court for every day of the three-week trial and spent six days in the witness box.
She claimed that eight articles published by Bauer magazines in 2015 had portrayed her as a serial liar, and that this resulted in her being sacked from two feature films.
A six-woman jury rejected Bauer Media's arguments that the articles were substantially true, trivial and did not affect Wilson's acting career. A 12-person jury is not required for civil cases in Victoria.
Wilson said the verdict had exposed the "disgusting and disgraceful" conduct of some tabloid media.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41249861
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Over a quarter of British people 'hold anti-Semitic attitudes', study finds - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Researchers say a major study of attitudes towards Jewish people has revealed more about anti-Semitism
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UK
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More than a quarter of British people hold at least one anti-Semitic view, according to a study of attitudes to Jewish people.
The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) said the finding came from the largest and most detailed survey of attitudes towards Jews and Israel ever conducted in Britain.
But it said the study did not mean that British people were anti-Semitic.
Researchers also found a correlation in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes.
The study found a relatively small number of British adults - 2.4% - expressed multiple anti-Semitic attitudes "readily and confidently".
But when questioned about whether they agreed with a number of statements, including "Jews think they are better than other people", and "Jews exploit holocaust victimhood for their own purposes", 30% agreed with at least one statement.
Despite this, the researchers said they found that levels of anti-Semitism in Great Britain were among the lowest in the world.
A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which has recorded high levels anti-Semitic crime, said: "We believe the new findings, data and nuance in this study will help us to work even more effectively with partners inside and outside the Jewish community to tackle this problem."
The report said about 70% of the population of Britain had a favourable opinion of Jews and did not hold any anti-Semitic ideas or views.
The JPR's researchers questioned 5,466 people face-to-face and online in the winter of 2016/17 - 995 of these were Muslims, although a smaller number of Muslims were included in the statisticians' nationally representative sample.
They found more than half of Muslims (55%) held at least one anti-Semitic attitude.
Dr Jonathan Boyd, director of the JPR, said: "Our intention here was not to make any broad generalisations about the Muslim population and their attitudes towards Jews.
"There does seem to be some relationship between levels of religiosity in the Muslim population and anti-Semitism."
The institute said it wanted to promote an "elastic view", making a distinction between people who are clearly anti-Semites, and ideas that are perceived by Jews as anti-Semitic.
In December 2016 the government adopted an internationally recognised definition of anti-Semitism: "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews".
The researchers also questioned people about their views on statements about Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians.
Their report said fewer than one in five people questioned (17%) had a favourable opinion of Israel, whereas about one in three (33%) held an unfavourable view.
The report said: "The position of the British population towards Israel can be characterised as one of uncertainty or indifference, but among those who hold a view, people with sympathies towards the Palestinians are numerically dominant."
Dr Boyd said: "Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish views exist both together and in isolation.
"The higher the level of anti-Israel attitudes measured, the more likely they are to hold anti-Semitic views as well."
The study also revealed that anti-Semitic attitudes were higher than normal among people who classified their politics as "very right-wing".
Among this group they were two to four times higher than among the general population.
The researchers said the prevalence was considerably higher among right-wingers than on the left.
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, from the Liberal Judaism movement, said: "The report is important for helping us understand where the anxiety comes from within the community at large and for understanding why anti-Semitism seems to be the prevailing discourse within the community.
"We must be really careful that it does not come to define us and that we celebrate the positive interactions with society at large.
"What is arguably more important … is to educate and interact, to be more outward facing and open to discussion than inward facing."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41241353
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Prince George's school security review after break-in - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A woman has been arrested over a daytime break-in at Prince George's prep school.
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London
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Security arrangements at Prince George's new school will be reviewed after a 40-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary.
Scotland Yard said the woman was held on Wednesday after someone gained access to Thomas' Battersea School in west London on Tuesday at 14:15 BST.
Police are "working with the school... to review its security arrangements" following the arrest, the Met said.
The woman remains in custody at a south London police station.
The four-year-old prince was dropped off on his first day by his father the Duke of Cambridge
A Met spokesperson said officers had "attended immediately after the issue came to light".
"Police are part of the protective security arrangements for the Prince and we will continue to work closely with the school, which is responsible for building security on its site," they said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince George held his father's hand as he arrived for his first day at school
The four-year-old prince started at the £18,000-a-year preparatory school on 7 September.
It educates 560 boys and girls aged from four to 13, with around 20 pupils in each class.
George was at school on Tuesday but it is thought unlikely he was there at the time of the break-in.
Kensington Palace said it was "aware of the issue but we would not comment further on security measures".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41253491
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G4S executives 'ashamed' over centre - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Executives from the security firm G4S tell the Home Affairs Committee they were ashamed by revelations of abuse at an immigration detention centre, Brook House.
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Parliaments
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Executives from the security firm G4S have said they were ashamed by revelations of abuse at an immigration detention centre run by the company.
They were appearing before MPs on the Home Affairs Committee, who condemned the firm's management of Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, near Gatwick Airport.
The executives were accused of failing to "get a grip" and overseeing major failings at the centre.
The chair of the committee, Yvette Cooper, told them it was a matter of "very grave concern" that the company appeared to have failed to stop staff misbehaviour following earlier revelations of mistreatment at a young offenders' unit.
The committee also heard evidence from a former G4S duty director at Brook House, who said he had raised concerns about staff and management culture in institutions run by the company between 2001 and his resignation in 2014.
Nathan Ward told the MPs that he was "not surprised but shocked" at the level of abuse revealed in the BBC Panorama film.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-41239933
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New Putney Bridge push jogger image released by police - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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The CCTV still is from the bus which narrowly avoided the woman who fell in its path.
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London
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The CCTV still was captured on the Number 430 bus which narrowly avoided the woman
Police have released a new CCTV image of a jogger who appeared to push a woman into the path of a bus.
Footage of the incident showed a man running along Putney Bridge in west London and appearing to shove the 33-year-old into the road.
Two men, both aged 41, have previously been arrested but were later released without further action.
The Met said officers were continuing "to work through the information received to identify the man".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Putney Bridge: CCTV of jogger 'pushing' woman in front of bus
The woman was knocked into the road as she was walking across Putney Bridge at about 07:40 BST on 5 May.
The new image of the jogger was captured on the Number 430 bus which narrowly avoided her.
About 15 minutes later the jogger returned to run back across the bridge.
The woman, who received minor injuries, tried to speak to him but he did not acknowledge her and carried on jogging.
He is described as a white man, aged in his 30s, with brown eyes and short brown hair.
Det Sgt Chris Griffith appealed for anyone who provided officers with a name of the potential suspect to contact police again "so we can fully follow up those lines of enquiry".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41253483
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Trump welcomes ninth grandchild Eric 'Luke' Trump to world - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president's son Eric and his wife Lara, who wed in 2014, announce the birth of their first child.
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US & Canada
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US President Donald Trump's family just got a little more "bigly" with the addition of his ninth grandchild.
The president's son Eric and his 34-year-old wife Lara, who wed in 2014, have announced the birth of their first child, a boy named Eric "Luke" Trump.
Eric Trump, 33, posted a photo on Twitter of the newborn wearing a cap and swaddled in a blanket.
The president tweeted: "Congratulations to Eric & Lara on the birth of their son, Eric 'Luke' Trump this morning!"
Eric's older brother Donald Trump Jr, who has five children, teased his sibling: "Congrats buddy. Welcome to the club. Now that the niceties are out of the way it's older brother revenge for that drum set to my kids."
Ivanka Trump, who has three children with husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner, also congratulated him.
"Welcome to the world, baby boy," she said. "I can't wait to meet you."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41247929
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Toronto Film Festival: Is there a snobbery about zombie movies? - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Ellen Page thriller The Cured premieres in Toronto, but such films are often dismissed by critics.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Director David Freyne with Ellen Page and Sam Keeley, stars of The Cured
Movies which generally attract awards buzz at film festivals like Toronto are dramas - and ideally ones based on true stories.
This year is no different with The Current War, Kings, Darkest Hour and I, Tonya among the hotly-tipped films.
Few comedies will stand a chance of taking home any best picture prizes - and horror films are also rarely acknowledged.
Such movies are often dismissed in awards season, but zombie films in particular have a loyal fanbase - one which seems to be growing all the time.
"I think there is for sure [a snobbery], but I think it is changing," says Ellen Page, whose film The Cured premiered at Toronto.
The actress cites the 1970s as a golden era of horror in general, adding: "I think it's been coming back these last few years, with these amazing films, like The Babadook and It Follows.
The Cured is David Freyne's first feature film as a director
"And when I think of how difficult it is to pull this genre off, as to how David [Freyne, director of The Cured] did it, it just blows my mind."
The film begins with the discovery of a cure for a disease which turns people into zombie-like monsters.
As the infected are reintegrated into society, they face hostility from sections of society who can't forgive their previous behaviour, leading to social unrest and government interference.
The film deals with themes of second chances and forgiveness - complex issues which aren't dissimilar to those you'd find in any standard Oscar-fodder biopic.
"When I started writing it, it was very much inspired by the recession we were suffering in Ireland," says Freyne.
"It was about the anger that I was experiencing, and people around me were experiencing - there were people losing jobs and being blamed for things beyond their control, just as the cured are in the film, and that was very much the starting point.
Sam, Ellen and David at the world premiere of The Cured
"That anger fuelled the script. We didn't predict what was going to happen over the next few years but what's happened is a symptom of it.
"But like all great genre films, I think they do reflect what's happening on society - they always have. "
Interestingly, despite it being loosely billed as a zombie thriller, the word "zombie" isn't uttered once in the film.
Instead, those who have been cured are referred to as "the infected".
"It is very deliberate not to use the term [zombie]," says Freyne. "We wanted to be very careful that we create our own very distinct creature in the infected.
"They're not undead, they're not mindless brain-eaters - they hunt and behave like a pack, like wolves."
But the director says he's not trying to shy away from it being labelled as a zombie movie, as he's a big fan of the genre.
"I adore zombie films, but the idea was 'what would happen next? What's the film that starts where most films end?' And the idea of somebody being cured.
"So I'm inspired by them, and I pray to be in that genre, but if you were in this world, I think you'd naturally say infected rather than zombie.
"Zombie generally means undead, and these guys aren't undead - it's an animal infection."
Page is known for her roles in Juno and the X-Men films
So, given that a zombie film has never won best picture at the Oscars, does Page think it's about time one did?
"I got sent the script for The Cured and was blown away. I was so compelled, I thought it was suspenseful and thought-provoking. It's like an intense family drama, but also a genre movie."
She co-stars in the film with Irish actor Sam Keeley, who praised Freyne for dealing with complex themes without being too preachy.
"You open any newspaper, turn on any news channel, it's all there, particularly in the last few years, the dramatic change in politics, the refugee crisis, Charlottesville - it's all insanity that's going on around us all the time," he says.
"But David did a clever thing by not beating people over the head with a message. He wrapped it in a way that people could absorb and then take that away."
Read more from the festival:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41214351
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When is an island not an island? - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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An MSP has questioned whether Skye is a "real" island, on account of its bridge. But what is a "real" island?
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Scotland
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The Skye bridge was opened in 1995
An MSP has questioned whether Skye is a "real island" on account of the bridge linking it to the mainland. But what is a "real" island? To put it another way, when is an island not an island?
John Mason provoked an audible intake of breath from the rural economy committee when he suggested that Skye "doesn't have the problems of ferries and transport which real islands do" on account of its bridge.
The committee's convener Edward Mountain - not a real mountain - was quick to underline that "I'm sure we can all agree that Skye is an island", and Skye MSP Kate Forbes noted that "we'd have to rewrite the Skye Boat Song" if Mr Mason was right.
But this is not the first row over what is or is not an island in Scotland. In 2011, Argyll and Bute Council saw its budget shrink due to Seil being declared no longer deserving of island funding, on account of its road bridge.
So what are the facts behind this?
To start with, this is not an issue unique to Scotland. The South China Sea is currently a hotbed of rather more serious tensions over the status of various artificial islands, which have been built on top of coral atolls and rocks.
At one point in 2003, the EU claimed that Britain was not an island, in a proposed new definition that excluded anything "attached to the mainland by a rigid structure".
And to consider the contents of this rabbit-hole on an even greater scale, Australia, at 7 million square kilometres, is considered a continent, not an island, while the smaller but still massive Greenland, at 2 million sq km, is an island, not a continent.
The Scottish government's Islands Bill, which prompted Mr Mason's chin-stroking, describes an island as "a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded on all sides by the sea (ignoring artificial structures such as bridges), and above water at high tide".
That seems fairly reasonable, but it appears to go against a move the government itself made in 2011, when it apparently reclassified the island status of Seil.
Seil has been linked to the Scottish mainland by the Clachan Bridge since 1792. The bridge is only about 22 metres long, but spans a channel linked to the ocean at both ends, leading to its nickname: "the bridge over the Atlantic".
However, in 2011 the government reviewed areas in receipt of the Special Islands Needs Allowance, and concluded that Seil no longer met the criteria - ultimately costing the local authority, Argyll and Bute Council, some £400,000 in funding.
Is Skye (left) an island, while Seil (right) is not?
Government officials justified the inclusion of Skye in the Islands Bill by citing the 2011 census, which listed 93 "inhabited islands" in Scotland.
These range from relatively heavily populated area like Lewis and Harris, Shetland and Orkney down to five tiny islands which each have a single occupant.
The census defines an island as being "a mass of land surrounded by water, separate from the Scottish mainland", and adds that: "Islands are still classified as individual islands even when they are linked to other islands or to the mainland by connections such as a bridge, causeway or ford."
This certainly describes Skye - but it also describes Seil.
In fact, the census report actually includes both in the list of 93 inhabited islands.
The Clachan Bridge links Seil to the mainland - which has cost the local council £400,000
The answer to this conundrum lies in the specific funding mechanism disputed in the case of Seil.
The Special Islands Needs Allowance is designed to funnel cash to councils with needs and "characteristics unique to island communities". Some 85% of its budget goes to the three "islands councils" - in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Crucially, this fund does not apply to islands linked to the mainland by bridges - "islands with road bridge links are not eligible, as it is clearly easier to get there by road".
The government justified this in the case of Seil on the grounds that "in many cases the costs of providing public services on such islands [with bridges] will be similar to rural communities on the mainland, which are already accommodated for under the general distribution formula".
This refers to the fact that councils with a large number of islands in their local area - like Argyll and Bute, Highland and North Ayrshire - receive block funding grants per head of population above the Scottish average.
So both Skye and Seil are islands, but thanks to their bridges neither get specific islands funding.
When is an island not an island? The answer appears to be, when money is involved.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41255024
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Apple iPhone X: The internet reacts - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The decision to launch a high-end, high-priced phone with facial recognition sparks strong feelings.
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Technology
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Dave Lee gets hands on with the new iPhone X
When Apple chief Tim Cook declared the iPhone X "the biggest leap forward since the first iPhone" at his latest launch extravaganza, you couldn't help but wonder if he was referring to its features or its price.
With the top-end model costing £1,149, customers are paying a premium to swap their fingerprint sensor for a facial scanner and the ability to make an animated monkey or poo emoji copy their bemused looks.
In opting to refer to the model as "ten" rather than "x", the firm has also thrown its naming convention into a bit of confusion - will there ever be an iPhone 9 - or indeed IX?
Of course, that's a problem for another day. And the internet has had plenty else to chew over in the meantime...
Some critics believe the iPhone X makes the new iPhone 8 models look outdated
The two biggest questions for me focus on the iPhone X's most daring design change, ditching the home button. Will it actually make the phone more convenient to use? And will using your face to unlock the phone benefit you, or is it just a workaround?
The iPhone X may be the most powerful iPhone ever, but compared to almost any other Android flagships, it's hard to pick out a category where it leads the pack - at least on paper when comparing raw specifications. But if Apple has shown one thing time and again with every iPhone generation, it's that optimisation of hardware and software matter just as much - if not more.
The iPhone X's new design - a 5.8in, edge-to-edge display -has raised hopes that it can reverse Apple's fortunes in China, where sales have fallen six straight quarters. Chinese consumers are more influenced by a phone's appearance than consumers in other markets, and Apple had kept the same appearance for three years.
A $1,000 iPhone could add as much as 6% to Apple's 2018 earnings per share... but that depends on the iPhone X being a hit, and there's more competition from lower-cost Chinese competitors such as Huawei and Xiaomi, which timed the introduction of their new phones around Apple's launch to attract customers who may be deterred by the iPhone X's price.
Apple has crafted a stunning new flagship. In a time when existing iPhones were starting to look a little - dare I say - pedestrian in comparison to what Samsung, LG, and others were doing in hardware, the iPhone X has accelerated through and can spar with the best of them.
What did bother me a little more than expected were the bezels that run around the screen... Given that Apple's competition has done an incredible job trimming the cruft from around their displays, I can't help but feel that the iPhone X's design doesn't have the same kind of impact as, say, the Essential or Samsung's recent Galaxys.
The very notion of using your face as the key to your digital secrets presents some fundamental problems... It's very hard to hide your face from someone who wants to coerce you to unlock your phone, like a mugger, a customs agent, or a policeman who has just arrested you. In some cases, criminal suspects in the US can invoke the Fifth Amendment protections from self-incrimination to refuse to give up their phone's passcode. That same protection doesn't apply to your face.
All the focus today was on the innovations in the X.But it all made the new 8 look like a rather boring, "plain old" iPhone - and the price for that has just gone up $50 as well.
The X is the best iPhone, no questions, and it's quickly jumped to the top of the best phones, period. Yeah, it's going to cost you, but you already knew that.
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"I gaze into the iPhone and the iPhone gazes back at me" - Nietzsche. @ericasadun
I'm not sure how the iPhone X face recognition will distinguish between me with make-up and without make-up. Because the difference is real. @kandeejohnson
So if you were sleeping and your girl picks the iPhone X and puts it in your face, it just unlocks it yeah? Lol. Thanks Apple. But no, thanks. @DrOlufunmilayo
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I think the leaks spoiled the iPhone X keynote, but Apple also didn't do enough to show why augmented reality matters. @tomwarren
The choice is simple: The iPhone X or 363 coffees. @joshtgoossen
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Releasing the iPhoneX and 8 at the same time is strange, surely those who get the 8 will feel they've not got the latest iPhone. @Mr_Iconic
The iPhone X is over a thousand dollars but I get to make myself into a poop emoji, so ya, it's worth it. @donaldcookie
iPhone X has facial recognition. It'll look at your face and tell you that you can't afford it. - Abhimanyu Singh
Face ID seems like an over-engineered fix that they were forced to include because they couldn't integrate a fingerprint scanner into the screen - Nick Farina
How on earth can they justify the same price in $s as in £s... utterly shameful! I won't be buying on that basis alone. - Darren Taylor
They made the 8 almost identical to the 7 so people would have to spend the extra money for the X. And I'm sure I'll buy one even though I know what they did. - Patrick Michael
Google has just been given a gift. Apple could have really done something that would have caused Android fans angst today. It did not. Instead, we're looking toward the Pixel 2 launch in October with renewed interest. - Robert Scoble
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: A hands on with the new iPhone 8 Plus
Apple isn't the first in facial recognition (by a long shot) but they will without a doubt make facial recognition competitive by making it better. This is how they always work. - Leprecon
The lack of any fingerprint reader could cause problems for people who either cover their face for religious or professional reasons as well as for blind people. Really hoping Apple thought about these issues. - danius353
The iPhone home button was what made it look like a iPhone. The little round button was so iconic. Now the iPhone X looks like any other phone really especially if you put a case on it. - Ihavefallen
X2? XS? What are they going to call the next one? - Alteran195
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41249367
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Dame Kiri Te Kanawa: I won't sing in public again - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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The opera star, who sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, announces her retirement.
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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.
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of opera's most celebrated stars, has told the BBC she will never sing in public again.
Dame Kiri, 73, said she stopped performing a year ago, but had not announced her retirement until now.
"I don't want to hear my voice," said the soprano, whose career has spanned more than half a century.
"It is in the past. When I'm teaching young singers and hearing beautiful young fresh voices, I don't want to put my voice next to theirs."
Dame Kiri has appeared at all the world's major opera houses and concert halls. She made her name in 1971 when she was cast as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Garden. At the time she was barely known.
Her career took off after playing the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro
"I've had such an amazing career," the New Zealander said. But she was adamant she wanted to decide "when it was going to be the last note".
However, she admitted it took her five years "to say the goodbye in my own mind", adding: "I've taken that time."
What turned out to be her final performance was a concert in Ballarat near Melbourne in Australia last October. "Before I'd gone on, I said, right, this it. And that was the end."
Dame Kiri, who is of part-Maori ancestry, said she now never even sings in the shower but has no regrets and doesn't miss singing. She said: "Look what I had. The memories are lovely."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dame Kiri te Kanawa marked her birthday with a performance of Donizetti's comic opera La Fille du Regiment
She has certainly achieved a level of fame rare for a classical performer. Six hundred million people heard her sing Let the Bright Seraphim by Handel at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981.
"I was told two or three months before, you will sing this song," she revealed. "Can you imagine holding that inside you for months and months, not being able to mention it to anyone?"
But after the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997, she never sang it again. "I never wanted to," she said. "When she died, I felt that I should put that song away forever."
She has not even listened to the piece again since then. "In sort of respect for her, and the death and everything about it was such a terrible thing that I never wanted to hear it again."
Dame Kiri runs her own Foundation to support young New Zealand singers
Dame Kiri was also the first singer to perform the Rugby World Cup anthem World in Union in 1991. Her other career highlights include a guest appearance in ITV's Downton Abbey in 2013.
Her focus now, she said, was training what she called the future stars of opera through her own Foundation.
And she is being honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards. "It's very, very special," she said.
Nonetheless, she thinks it is "self-indulgent" to dwell on the past.
And she insisted that when she did reflect on her career, she never felt completely satisfied. "I never really achieved perfection of the 100% that I would have liked to.
"I never actually came off stage saying, 'I've really nailed it.' Never. I always thought there was a mistake in it.
"I was constantly analysing through the whole of the performance what I'd done."
But, she added with a wry smile: "I did keep trying."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41243394
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Newspaper headlines: May facing 'backlash' over public pay - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Theresa May's decision to lift the 1% cap on public pay dominates the front pages.
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The Papers
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Under the headline "rebels' gamble", the Sun criticises the Conservative MPs who have tabled amendments to the European Union Withdrawal Bill.
The legislation, which would end the supremacy of EU law in Britain, cleared its first hurdle in the Commons early on Tuesday morning.
The Sun warns that by potentially hindering its progress, Tory rebels are increasing the risk that the legal system will be "in chaos" when the UK leaves in March 2019.
The Telegraph believes those who obstruct the Bill "risk undermining the chances of getting a good deal, and damaging the national interest".
The Guardian uses the speech on Wednesday by the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, as an opportunity to assess the health of the EU.
Its opinion column agues that the Brexit vote, the refugee crisis, and the rise of nationalist parties across Europe are challenges which have actually made the bloc stronger. It concludes that "better awareness of this in Britain is long overdue".
"Will Sky finally be the limit for Murdoch?" asks the "i". The question refers to the announcement by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley that she is likely to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to look at Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB takeover bid.
In its Lombard column, the Financial Times suggests that the media magnate must miss the days when "it was the Sun wot won it".
The Daily Telegraph's front page headline is "NHS: winter flu to be worst ever".
The warning comes from Simon Stevens, the head of the health service in England, who says services will be put under increased pressure.
In its leader, the Daily Mirror says the comments by Mr Stevens "must be taken seriously". It urges readers to "get flu jabs where possible, so the NHS can concentrate on the most vulnerable".
A long-term study, suggesting women can take hormone replacement therapy without fear that it will cause early death, is the lead in the Times.
Researchers used data on 27,000 women aged between 50 and 79. The paper quotes Professor JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School, who led the study, saying it "fundamentally provides reassurance for women".
Many of the papers reflect on the career of Sir Peter Hall, who died on Monday.
The Times says the "theatre world salutes a colossus".
The Guardian has a large picture of Sir Peter on its front page. The headline is a tribute from its theatre critic, Michael Billington: "He left British theatre infinitely richer than he found it".
Sir Peter Hall, the founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, died at the age of 86
The Daily Mail reports that the Unite union leader, Len McCluskey, when asked about the possibility of illegal strikes over public sector pay, said: "I daresay if you'd have been interviewing Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi... you'd be telling them they were breaking the law."
The paper is unimpressed by the association.
Its leader asks: "Could the contrast be any starker between those gentle champions of democracy and Mr McCluskey, with his bellicose contempt for the law?"
Finally, the Times reports on how the US Republican senator, Ted Cruz, has been drawn into a controversy over what the paper describes as a "Twitter porn gaffe".
A pornographic video was "liked" by Mr Cruz's official account on the site.
The paper says he blamed the incident on a "staffing issue", suggesting that someone with access to the account had inadvertently hit the "like" button.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41249004
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Sir Peter Hall: A giant of British theatre - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A look back at the life of the man who founded the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sir Peter Hall was one of the great champions of British theatre.
In a career spanning seven decades, he acted, directed theatre and opera, and, occasionally, made forays into film and TV.
He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and was director of the National Theatre for 15 years.
And he fought tenaciously to persuade governments of all colours to maintain public funding for the arts.
Peter Reginald Frederick Hall was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 22 November 1930.
His father was a railway clerk, later a stationmaster. The family was not well-off.
"People always giggle when I say that I grew up on a single-line railway station with no running water and no electricity," he told the Guardian in 2005. "But, in the 1930s, that's the way it was."
Sir Peter remembered his father as a man of little ambition, adding that it was his mother, Grace, who was the driving force in the family.
The daughter of a butcher, she had a sound belief in the principles of a good education and "getting on", and Hall inherited her drive.
The family moved to Cambridge, where Hall had his first taste of a public production - Mozart's Requiem in King's College.
He was immediately smitten and began staying regularly with a relative in London so he could attend the theatre and opera.
"I saw Gielgud's Hamlet when I was 12," he later recalled, "standing at the back for sixpence."
Although German bombs were falling on London, people crowded into theatres as an escape from the war, and he witnessed some of the greatest actors of the age.
Watching Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft quickly convinced Hall that he wanted to become a theatre director.
"There wasn't any question in my head of doing anything else," he said.
Following a spell of National Service in the RAF, he won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, to study English.
In his third year, he booked a theatre and made his directorial debut with a performance of Jean Anouilh's Point of Departure.
"I remember an almost physical sense of release and pleasure rehearsing a play," he later recalled. "I thought, this is what I want to do."
His final play at Cambridge, Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV, brought him good reviews and an invitation to make his professional directorial debut at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in 1953.
He also secured a job at London's Arts Theatre as a script reviewer. When the artistic director John Fernald left, Hall found himself running his own West End theatre at the age of 24.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, with Judi Dench, was one of his last productions for the RSC
Within weeks of beginning his tenure, the script of Waiting for Godot arrived. Hall was initially unimpressed.
"I haven't the foggiest idea what some of it is about," he told the cast. "But if we stop to discuss every line, we will never open."
In the event, Hall's production of what was the play's British debut had the effect of making him one of the most talked-about directors in the country.
He appeared on the BBC, was interviewed for Vogue magazine and was invited to direct the stage version of the musical Gigi.
That show starred the French actress Leslie Caron. She and Hall married in 1956.
But the biggest boost that Godot gave to Hall's career was the invitation to run the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
At the time, the theatre merely ran a regional Shakespeare festival - not nearly enough for the ambitious Hall.
The concept of a Royal Shakespeare Company was born in Hall's imagination, in which he envisaged a London theatre and a move into a wider range of drama.
He alternately bullied and cajoled the theatre management and eventually got his way. The newly-born RSC opened its first London season at the Aldwych Theatre in 1961.
Its ensemble cast - a relatively new concept at the time - included exciting young actors such as Peter O'Toole and Vanessa Redgrave.
He also recruited Trevor Nunn and later Peter Brook. The appointment of the latter led to the controversial Theatre of Cruelty season in 1964.
It was an exciting time both for the theatre and the wider arts world, and Hall revelled in the new socially liberal scene of the 1960s.
But the pressures were taking their toll after a series of mental and physical breakdowns.
His marriage to Leslie Caron had ended in 1965 after her affair with the actor Warren Beatty, and Hall later married his assistant, Jacky Taylor.
Hall brought a young and enthusiastic team to the National
In 1968, he quit the RSC and briefly disappeared from the limelight.
For a time, he turned his attention to directing opera, both at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden.
In 1972, it emerged that he had been offered the job of running the National Theatre, which was due to move into its new modernist home on London's South Bank.
His appointment attracted a great deal of flak, not least from those who had been passed over for the job.
Jonathan Miller referred to him as "a safari-suited bureaucrat" who would suck all of Britain's talent and cash into the new theatre.
Hall, never the most gregarious of men, was prone to rub people up the wrong way.
He was accused of theatrical class distinction, grovelling to the stars and treating lesser mortals with disdain.
With cast members from a 1988 production of Twelfth Night
However, others praised him for going into battle - not least to secure the funds the theatre needed to achieve a sound financial footing.
Not only did he have to contend with funding, there was also the problem of the building itself, which was behind schedule and over budget.
Hall finally got things under way in 1976 with a production of Beckett's Happy Days, before the unions walked out and closed the building down.
A year later he received a knighthood for services to British theatre.
But, after the early trials and tribulations, things improved. Sir Peter managed to successfully establish the theatre and sent the company out on a series of well-received foreign tours.
He quit the National in 1986. "I was ready to leave," he said. "Fifteen years is probably five years too long."
With Elaine Paige in a production of The Misanthrope at the Piccadilly Theatre
He continued to direct, highlights being his 1988 production of Orpheus Descending and a musical version of Ionesco's Rhinoceros, for which Hall wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the libretto.
Sir Peter was still working on the eve of his ninth decade, with a production of Pygmalion at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
While his first love was the stage, he occasionally ventured into film and television.
Most of these forays involved classical plays and opera, although he did direct Channel 4's 1992 adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel The Camomile Lawn.
He was appointed director emeritus of the Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames, enticing Dame Judi Dench to appear in his sell-out production of A Midsummer's Night Dream in 2010.
After divorcing Jacky Taylor in 1981, he married the opera singer Maria Ewing in 1982.
The marriage ended in 1990 and he married his fourth wife, Nicky Frei, the same year.
Sir Peter Hall's great gift was that he excelled as an administrator as well as a theatre director.
He was a skilled administrator and director
"I love politics," he once said. "I do love committees, I do love getting things done."
His detractors saw him as a schemer and a manipulator, but there was little doubt about his talent as a director. He always preferred to act as an interpreter of playwright's work, rather than imposing his own concept.
The playwright Harold Pinter, many of whose works Sir Peter directed, was clear about his abilities. "I've seen productions of my work in various places that have really distorted the whole thing," he said.
"Peter never allows this. He doesn't impose, he discovers."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29467703
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Brexit: UK will 'soon regret' leaving EU argues Juncker - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU will move on, but Nigel Farage says it has "learnt nothing".
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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. Brexit is "a very sad and tragic moment in our history"
The UK will "soon regret" leaving the EU, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said.
Mr Juncker told the European Parliament that Brexit would be a "sad, tragic" moment for the EU but that the 27-member union would "move on".
"Brexit is not the future of Europe. It is not the be all and end all."
But, speaking in the same debate, ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the EU had "learnt nothing" from Brexit and was ploughing "full steam ahead".
In his state of the union speech in Strasbourg, Mr Juncker proposed an EU summit on the day after Brexit, 30 March 2019, in the Romanian city of Sibiu to map out the future of the European Union.
He called for closer economic and defence co-operation among member states, including more support for states outside the eurozone to prepare them to join the single currency, and reforms to the single market.
Reflecting on the economic and political challenges that the continent had faced in recent years, he said the "wind is back in Europe's sails".
While he respected the choice of the British people to go their own way, he said the UK's exit would prove a "very sad, tragic moment in our history" which we "will always regret".
Responding to UKIP MEPs in the chamber, who had cheered the mention of the UK's exit, he added - in an off-the-cuff remark not included in advance copies of the speech - "I think you will regret it as well soon, if I might say."
But he went on to stress that Brexit "was not everything" and an increasingly confident EU would continue to advance, focusing as he put it on the big strategic challenges rather than "the small things".
Mr Farage, the best known campaigner in the Parliament for the UK's withdrawal from the EU, attacked what he said were "truly worrying" plans to create a single president of the EU, an EU finance minister and a "strong EU army in a militarised Europe".
He said what was being proposed was "more Europe in every single direction... without the consent of the people".
The EU would further centralise power after Brexit, Mr Farage said
He also warned the idea of allowing future candidates to the European Parliament to stand on transnational tickets, rather than representing nation states, was anti-democratic and "reminiscent of regimes of old".
"You have learnt nothing from Brexit. If you had offered David Cameron concessions, particularly on immigration, I would have to admit that the Brexit vote would never ever have happened," he said.
Telling MEPs "thank God we are leaving", Mr Farage said the EU was "deluding itself" if it believed the "populist wave" of protests against the established European political order was over.
Responding to Mr Juncker's comments, justice minister Sam Gyimah said his initial reaction was "he would say that, wouldn't he" and he had signalled a future direction for Europe that "Britain was never going to go in".
Rather than "berating Britain", the Conservative MP told the BBC's Daily Politics that the EU's best interests would be served by agreeing a Brexit deal which made the whole of Europe more prosperous and secure.
Negotiations between the UK and EU are continuing although the latest round of talks, due to begin on Monday, have been put back a week to allow "more time for consultation".
Speaking on Tuesday, former Brexit minister Lord Bridges said the UK must be "honest" about the "complexity and scale" of leaving the EU as well as the lack of time to reach agreement with the EU.
And France's economy minister has sounded a warning that it will aggressively target new business as it seeks to make Paris the pre-eminent financial centre on the continent.
Changes to the country's labour laws meant France would become the "place to be" for financial services, Benjamin Griveaux told BBC Radio 4's Today, while acknowledging London would remain a major player.
"We need to have a fair Brexit, but we need to move on and we need probably more clarity and less ambiguity from the British government regarding the target of Brexit," he added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41252653
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Bestival murder probe: 'No malice' in model's death - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The family of Louella Michie say she "appeared to have taken an illegal substance".
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Dorset
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John Michie said his daughter Louella was "so very positive"
The death of a 25-year-old woman at a music festival, which sparked a police murder inquiry, involved "no malice", her father has said.
Louella Michie, 25, was found in a wooded area of the Bestival site at Lulworth, Dorset, early on Monday.
Her father, 60-year-old Holby City actor John Michie, said his daughter "appeared to have taken an illegal substance" along with a male friend.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying a controlled drug.
The 28-year-old suspect, who knew Ms Michie, was later released pending further inquiries.
In a statement, Mr Michie, who also appeared in Coronation Street and Taggart, said the "horrific tragedy" happened when his daughter attended the festival with a friend.
He said: "We do not believe there to have been any malice intended in [their] weekend at Bestival.
"They appear to have taken an illegal substance but we would appreciate cautious and sensitive reporting until the facts are known.
"Louella inspired all who knew her with her joy of life. The family would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt tributes and messages."
The four-day Bestival event was being held at a new site for the first time this year
A post-mortem examination revealed no signs of an assault on Ms Michie, although further tests were needed to establish the cause of her death, police said.
In a statement on Monday, modelling agency The Eye Casting said: "It is with profound sadness and shock that we have heard of the death of our beautiful model Louella Michie.
"The thoughts of us all are with her sister Daisy and the rest of the family at this tragic time."
Bestival was first held in 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight, but the four-day annual event was held at Lulworth Estate for the first time this year.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-41251437
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Why are wages so weak? - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Despite record levels of employment, pay is lagging, and economists can't decide why, writes Simon Jack.
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Business
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Unions have threatened strikes if the public sector pay cap remains in place
In August 2013, the Bank of England Governor said he would consider raising interest rates when the unemployment rate came down to 7%.
At the time, it was 7.8% - today it is at a 42 year low of 4.3% and rather than raising rates, the only adjustment the bank has made is to cut rates further in the aftermath of the referendum result.
He thought, along with most economists, that as unemployment came down, wages would start to rise and that would be the sensible time to consider returning interest rates to normal levels rather than levels associated with economic intensive care.
What happened? And more importantly what should the Bank of England do now?
Usually, as the unemployment rate falls, competition for available workers increases and, therefore, so do wages.
This relationship is called the Phillips Curve but it has become increasingly apparent that someone, or something, has taken a Phillips screwdriver to this mechanism. We have the lowest unemployment since 1975 and yet wage growth is weak.
There are several competing theories as to what has happened to alter this relationship. The most hotly debated of these explanations is that we have an inexhaustible supply of cheap labour from the EU which is holding down wages.
A Bank of England research paper found that in low skilled occupations, every 10% increase in the ratio of migrant to native worker created a 1.88% fall in wages.
There was no evidence it affected higher skilled jobs at all and so the impact on overall UK wages would be, in the words of the author Stephen Nickell, "infinitesimally small".
It's also worth noting that stagnant wage growth is a global phenomenon to be found in the US and also Japan where net migration is negligible.
The business lobby points out that an array of additional burdens on them such as the introduction of the apprenticeship levy (affecting big businesses), the introduction of the living wage, and the roll out of auto-enrolment (affects smaller businesses more) means they simply can't afford to offer higher wages.
It makes intuitive sense that an increase in overall labour costs would make it harder to raise basic pay.
Pay growth did indeed fall around the time of auto-enrolments introduction in 2013 but in the years since, wage growth has fluctuated from 1% to 3% so there doesn't appear to be any lasting impact.
Some argue Uber does not pay its drivers enough
Also, it would presumably act as an equally powerful disincentive to hiring people in the first place which it clearly hasn't.
The changing nature of work is also a suspect in this mystery.
The economist Martin Beck has made powerful arguments that companies which offer less secure forms of employment, like Uber, can switch their demand for labour on and off based on its cost - meaning pay rates no longer move upward as unemployment moves downward.
This has the important knock-on effect, argues Beck, that workers become so cheap that companies are tempted to use them rather than invest in more productive machines and processes so worker productivity (and the ability to pay them more per hour) declines.
One of the least discussed explanations is the decline in power of labour organisations. Unions experienced their biggest fall in membership since records began last year losing 275,000 members.
Unite boss Len McCluskey wields influence, but union membership has been falling
Union membership has halved since the late 1970s and both the rise in self employment and the fall in public sector roles could make it hard to reverse that decline.
There are probably elements of all of these factors at work. What really matters it not so much whether your pay is going up 1% or 3% but more, what your wages are doing compared to inflation.
Right now more of us are working than ever before and yet on average we are getting a bit poorer every day as inflation devours any income growth.
The question is when will it change - and why?
The Bank of England expects wage growth to exceed inflation next year for two reasons.
The first one is a pretty solid bet. Inflation will fall as the effect of sterling's post-referendum drop works its way through the system. Comparing prices of imports now to the same time last year will stop showing such a big rise.
The second reason is that it's convinced we must now be near the threshold when low unemployment begins to push wages higher.
It's been wrong on this before of course, but there is increasing evidence from recruitment firms that scarcity of available workers is beginning to force employers to offer higher salaries in some sectors.
The Bank of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, could vote for a rate rise
Presiding over an economy in which working people are getting poorer every day is not a very comfortable political position to be in. We have seen the cap on public sector workers' pay loosened this week, under pressure from a TUC threatening strike action and a rejuvenated Jeremy Corbyn.
The government will be dearly hoping the Bank is right this time.
We will get an inkling of how confident the Bank is in this prediction when it votes on interest rates tomorrow.
Last time only two out of the nine rate setters thought the time was right to nudge rates higher. Previously one other, Chief Economist Andy Haldane, has said he might join them later this year.
It will be worth keeping an eye out for how he votes.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41259803
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Grenfell fire chief calls for sprinklers in tower blocks - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The blaze, which killed at least 80, should be a "turning point", London's fire commissioner says.
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UK
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At least 80 people died at Grenfell Tower
London's fire commissioner says the Grenfell Tower blaze must be a "turning point", calling for sprinklers in all high-rise council flats.
At least 80 people died when fire engulfed the west London block in June.
A BBC Breakfast investigation which focused on half the UK's council and housing association-owned tower blocks found just 2% have full sprinkler systems.
Of those, 68% have just one staircase through which to evacuate.
A public inquiry will look at the causes of the fire, the adequacy of high-rise regulations, Grenfell Tower's refurbishment, and the actions of public authorities before and after the blaze.
The inquiry will hold its first hearing on Thursday, with an initial report due by Easter.
The Department for Communities and Local Government says it will consider whether to retrofit sprinklers based on the inquiry's recommendations.
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Dany Cotton, commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, said: "I think Grenfell should be a turning point.
"I support retrofitting - for me where you can save one life then it's worth doing.
"This can't be optional, it can't be a nice to have, this is something that must happen.
"If that isn't one of the recommendations (of the Grenfell Tower inquiry) then I will be so very disappointed."
In 2007, sprinklers were made compulsory in new-build high rises over 98 feet (30m) tall in England.
This requirement was not applied retroactively so did not apply to Grenfell Tower, which was built in 1974.
Croydon Council, in south London, has taken the decision to retrofit sprinklers in its 25 high-rise blocks at a cost of £10m.
Councillor Alison Butler, Croydon's deputy leader and cabinet member for homes, regeneration and planning, said: "Grenfell changed everything. It was horrifying.
"It brings home to you as a council that there are a lot of things you do, but this one is about saving lives."
The council says the Department of Communities and Local Government failed to offer any financial support to install sprinklers when the council requested it earlier this year.
In a letter to the council, Housing Minister Alok Sharma said "It is the landlord's responsibility to ensure people are safe, and cost considerations should not get in the way of this."
He did say support would be provided to prevent crucial safety work from falling through on cost grounds.
The report into the Lakanal House fire in 2009 supported the introduction of sprinklers
After the inquest into tower block fire in 2009, coroner Frances Kirkham recommended the government "encourage" housing providers to retrofit sprinkler systems in high rise flats.
Six people were killed in the fire in Lakanal House, in Southwark, London, in July 2009.
Alan Brinson, executive director of campaign group the European Fire Sprinkler Network, said that sprinklers could significantly reduce fire deaths.
"Nothing compares to them in saving lives," he said.
Evidence from the US shows that deaths per thousand reported fires were 87% lower where sprinklers were fitted.
Major fires in high rises with sprinklers in which nobody died
In Wales, all new homes built from 2016 now have to be fitted with sprinkler systems.
Ann Jones, Labour AM for the Vale of Clywd, pushed reforms through the Welsh Assembly.
"After 30 years in the fire service, I saw many firefighters coming back from incidents of fires where they had lost people, and the devastation that that causes," she said.
"I decided I was going to try to put in a system that would help fire safety, and for me, sprinklers in all new build homes was that opportunity."
Scotland also has stronger regulation than England, with new residential buildings taller than 18m requiring sprinklers.
BBC research found 30% of the blocks investigated had some kind of cladding, though not the same ACM cladding that played a role at Grenfell.
Some of this cladding will have passed safety tests, and some will still be undergoing checks.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "The results from the BBC investigation should be a source of concern to us all.
"The Grenfell public inquiry must report as soon as possible so that action can be taken."
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Public safety is paramount.
"Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the government established a comprehensive building safety programme to ensure a fire like this can never happen again.
"This included commissioning an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. We will consider this issue in light of the recommendations of this review and the findings of the Public Inquiry."
The BBC questioned 56 local authorities and housing associations in towns and cities across the UK with requests under the Freedom of Information act, for high-rise properties for which they hold the freehold.
These responses covered about half of the UK's estimated 4,000 tower blocks.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41148672
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Apple iPhone X adopts facial recognition and OLED screen - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The new handset has an edge-to-edge screen and uses facial recognition to check owners' IDs.
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Technology
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Apple has revealed a high-end smartphone with an "edge-to-edge" screen that has no physical home button.
The iPhone X - which is referred to as "ten" - uses a facial recognition system to recognise its owner rather than a fingerprint-based one.
Apple said FaceID can work in the dark by using 30,000 infra-red dots to check an identity, and was harder to fool than its old TouchID system.
It is Apple's most expensive phone yet.
A 64 gigabyte capacity model will cost $999 (£999 in the UK) when it goes on sale on 3 November. A 256GB version will be priced at $1,149 (£1,149 in the UK).
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Dave Lee gets hands on with the new iPhone X
By contrast, Samsung is charging $930 (£869 in the UK) for its new Note 8 phone, which has 64GB of storage.
"The iPhone X is a long-term investment by Apple that sets a template for the next generation of iPhone hardware," commented Geoff Blaber from the CCS Insight consultancy.
"An OLED [organic light-emitting diode] display and the new design is likely to be standard on future iPhone models, but Apple must first tackle the challenge of obtaining sufficient supplies."
Apple said the switch to an OLED display would help the phone produce "true blacks" and more accurate colours than before. LG and Samsung already use similar tech on their handsets.
Prior to the launch, Apple's most expensive phone was an iPhone 7 Plus that cost $969 (£919 in the UK).
One expert commented that Apple's ability to get consumers to spend more on its smartphones than rivals' was "legendary".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: A hands on with the new iPhone 8 Plus
"There may be an element of high pricing to constrain demand and make things match up with how many they can produce," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.
"But I suspect Apple always had a $1,000 iPhone in mind - we had seen the price creep up year after year, and there's a lot of pressure from shareholders for the company to hit a $1tn valuation.
"Bumping up the prices on their number one product is one way of doing that."
Apple acknowledged that users might have concerns about using facial recognition to verify purchases via Apple Pay or to access their device.
But it claimed that while there was a one-in-50,000 chance that TouchID could be unlocked by a random stranger, the odds rose to one-in-one-million with FaceID.
Apple said it used a range of technologies to ensure its FaceID system was accurate
Nevertheless, one expert said users might still be concerned the handset had no fingerprint sensor as an alternative.
"This is the steepest hurdle that they have," commented Carolina Milanesi from market research firm Creative Strategies.
"A lot of consumers will be a little bit reluctant to use facial recognition as an ID system until Apple has proven that it is safe and works all the time.
"In the eyes of consumers TouchID wasn't broken - so they may ask why Apple is trying to fix it."
Other features announced about the handset included:
It's the big(ger) leap that iPhone fans - and Wall Street - had been demanding.
The iPhone X brings together many features we'd been expecting - such as FaceID for unlocking the phone, and animated emojis - animojis - that look fun to play with, if not a killer feature that will have people running to stores.
All this won't come cheap: at $999+ it's the most expensive iPhone to date.
Apple is often accused of being slow to new tech, and I think that criticism will continue.
Wireless charging comes years after Samsung first introduced it, for example, and the overall look of the phone - which no longer has the iconic home button - looks strikingly similar to the latest Samsung Galaxy Note.
The iPhone X uses its face-mapping sensors to let users control the facial expressions of new animojis
The phone was unveiled in the new Steve Jobs Theater, a purpose-built venue for such launches.
A beautiful, comfy building, with marble everywhere, it sits alongside Apple's striking new spaceship campus. This is the house that iPhone built, with a decade of phenomenal success.
Does iPhone X herald another great era? The audience here cheered, but didn't stand, with applause. I'm reserving my judgement until I've tried it.
The iPhone X also adds support for wireless charging.
"It was the right decision to use a standard because Apple users will benefit from widely available charge pads."
The feature was also introduced to the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models, which were introduced earlier at the event.
The iPhone 8 models are dust and water resistant
The lower-end 4.7in and 5.5in devices are distinguished from their predecessors by having:
The iPhone 8 ranges from $699 to $849 and the iPhone 8 Plus from $799 to $949.
They will cost the same amounts in Sterling and go on sale on 22 September.
The new models coincide with the release of iOS 11 - the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system.
It introduces ARKit - software development tools that make it easier for developers to add augmented reality features to their apps, in which graphics are mixed together with real-world views.
Marketing chief Phil Schiller showed off one app that - if used by spectators at a sports stadium - would show real-time stats hovering over the live action.
Another demo involved the Machines, a multiplayer robot-battle game that can be played over views of close-by table tops and other surfaces.
The facility will not work on the iPhone 6 or older devices, so may provide a means to convince owners of ageing Apple kit to upgrade.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: What can AR do on iPhone?
"When Apple first introduced the iPhone users were unsure about how touchscreens would benefit them, but now we know that they're a great way to use a device," said Brian Blau, a tech industry analyst at Gartner.
"The same thing will happen with augmented reality - it's as important as touch, if not more.
"Developers have new opportunities and I think they will embrace them, but just as with touch it took them years to perfect those experiences, I also think that will also happen with AR."
Apple also unveiled a version of its smartwatch with its own 4G link.
The new watch has a red crown to denote its 4G capability
The innovation means that the Watch Series 3 can receive phone calls, access internet services and stream music without being linked to an iPhone. Users will, however, face an additional monthly charge for the benefit.
Apple recently overtook Fitbit to become the world's joint-top wearable tech-maker alongside Xiaomi, according to one study.
Other companies - including LG and Samsung - have previously sold smartwatches with in-built cellular capabilities, but battery-life restrictions and other issues limited interest.
"Apple's ability in the past to generate new markets when others thought they were dead is legendary," commented Mr Mawston.
"For people like joggers, runners and cyclists who possibly want to do hardcore sports outdoors without carrying two devices, an LTE Apple Watch could be something of a blessing."
The latest version of the Watch's operating system - which will also be available to earlier models - will include new heart monitor functions.
It will warn owners if their heart rate becomes elevated when they are not active or if its rhythm becomes irregular, to flag the possibility of disease.
The 4G Apple Watch will cost $399 (£300) and be released on 22 September.
The launch was held in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple's new campus
Apple also announced a fresh version of its TV set-top box, which now supports 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) content.
In one of the few details not to have leaked in advance, Apple revealed it had struck a deal with several of the major movie studios to ensure that films in the higher-resolution, richer-colour formats would not cost more than their high-definition (HD) equivalents.
Consumers have had to pay a premium for 4K HDR movies until now
Users' existing iTunes movie libraries will also be upgraded without charge.
HDR 4K movies have already been available to rent or buy from services including Amazon, but they tended to be sold at much higher prices than lower-quality formats.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41228126
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More pregnant women to get Group B Strep treatment - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Using antibiotics to protect against infection will save more babies' lives, say experts.
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Health
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Rebecca with her daughter, Hannah, and baby Alistair, who was treated for Strep B
All pregnant women who go into labour too soon should be given antibiotics to protect their baby from a potentially deadly infection called Group B Strep (GBS), say new guidelines.
Hundreds of newborn babies a year in the UK catch it. With prompt treatment, most can make a full recovery.
Currently, two in every 20 infected babies develops a disability and one in every 20 dies.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists wants to change this.
It says any woman who goes into labour before 37 weeks should be offered antibiotics as a precaution, even if her waters have not broken and the protective amniotic sac surrounding the baby in the womb is still intact.
Group B Strep bacteria can live harmlessly in the lower vaginal tract - about one in four women has it - and it can be passed on to the baby during delivery.
Most women will not realise they are a carrier.
The updated guidelines from the RCOG say pregnant women should be given information about the condition to raise awareness.
They also say women who have tested positive for GBS in a previous pregnancy can be tested at 35 to 37 weeks in subsequent pregnancies to see if they also need antibiotics in labour.
But they do not go as far as recommending routine screening of mothers-to-be.
The RCOG says there is no clear evidence that this would be beneficial, as previously stated by the government's National Screening Committee but campaigners disagree.
Group B Strep Support would like every pregnant woman to be offered the opportunity to be tested for the bacteria.
Chief executive Jane Plumb said: "The RCOG guideline is a significant improvement on previous editions, however, the UK National Screening Committee still recommends against offering GBS screening to all pregnant women, ignoring international evidence that shows such screening reduces GBS infection, disability and death in newborn babies."
Baby Alistair was unaffected by GBS after his mother was given antibiotics after her waters broke
Rebecca Gunn, 32 and from Wakefield, had GBS during her second pregnancy.
"I had gone in to hospital after experiencing some bleeding at 17 weeks, and that is when they picked up that I was a GBS carrier.
"The diagnosis came out of the blue. I was really surprised, as GBS hadn't even crossed my mind."
Rebecca went into labour at 38 weeks and was given intravenous antibiotics after her waters broke.
She gave birth to her son, Alistair, who was fortunately unaffected by GBS.
"I knew nothing about GBS. I'm not saying this to scare people, but it's important they are informed and aware of the risks," she said.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41238233
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Chesterfield's 'awful' Princess Diana tribute mocked - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The tribute to the Princess of Wales is part of Chesterfield's well dressing celebrations.
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Derby
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Chesterfield Borough Council said it hoped the design would bring more people to the town.
A floral tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, displayed as part of a town's well dressing celebrations, has been described as "horrific" and "awful".
The memorial displayed in Chesterfield Market Place marks the 20th anniversary of the death of the princess.
However, the portrait has been mocked on social media, with some saying it looked more like Worzel Gummidge.
Chesterfield Borough Council said it hoped the design would bring more people to the town.
The authority published the pictures of the memorial on its Facebook page earlier, attracting mixed reviews.
The floral tribute was installed in Chesterfield Market Place
Some have likened the portrait to the TV character Worzel Gummidge
Gayla Tuckley thought it was an "insult to Diana", while Catherine Bunten commented she was "crying with laughter".
Richard Wilkins said it looked more like Worzel Gummidge, a living scarecrow played by Jon Pertwee, in the children's 1979 TV show, while Julie White commented: "I appreciate all the work that goes into the dressing of a well but this is just awful."
The pictures have since gone viral, provoking many more comments, including one by Welbeck Kane who said: "I live here [Chesterfield] and, let me tell you, I can feel its eyes on me, even now in my house."
Many people said the portrait looked nothing like the princess
A spokesman for the authority said: "The well dressing is produced by 14 volunteers using the ancient Derbyshire art of well dressing, which involves creating designs from flower petals and other natural materials.
"All art is meant to be a talking point and that certainly seems to be the case with this year's design.
"The well dressing is designed to attract visitors to the area and if the publicity encourages more people to come and experience our historic market town and local shops then that can only be good for Chesterfield."
The well dressings are on display until Saturday.
Many comments were posted on the council's Facebook page about the memorial
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-41243025
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Italian couple and son die at Solfatara volcano crater - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Italian family fell into a pit on a visit to the popular tourist site at Solfatara near Naples.
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Europe
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The three fell into a pit that opened up as the parents tried to save their son
A boy and his parents have died after falling into a pit in a volcanic crater at Solfatara near Naples.
The drama unfolded during a family trip at the end of the school holidays, when the 11-year-old walked past a barrier into a prohibited area.
When his parents tried to pull him to safety, part of the crater collapsed and they fell 3m (10ft) into a hole.
It is thought all three were overcome by fumes. Their seven-year-old son did not enter the crater and survived.
Solfatara of Pozzuoli is one of a number of volcanoes to the west of Naples and is popular with tourists. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1198, it has a shallow crater and is known for its sulphurous fumes and emissions of steam.
The family was visiting from Meolo near Venice in north-eastern Italy, reports said. The parents were both in their forties. Italian reports named the three as Massimiliano Carrer, Tiziana Zaramella, and their son, Lorenzo.
The hole in the crater was visible along with the chains that rescuers had used to reach the three victims
The area where they died is known for a type of quicksand, where the ground is prone to crumbling.
When the boy went into the quicksand, his father tried to help him and fell into the pit. His mother went to their aid and all three are thought to have become trapped and lost consciousness because of poisonous gases. The local civil protection department said that inside the pit was boiling hot mud.
Firefighters managed to recover the three bodies and Pozzuoli mayor Vincenzo Figliolia said he had never come across such a tragedy at the site in 40 years.
Solfatara is one of many volcanic craters in the Campi Flegrei area west of Naples
The surviving son was taken to a bar close to the entrance, where owner Armando Guerriero told La Repubblica: "We tried to calm him down, as he was obviously very shocked. He was repeatedly asking for the rest of his family."
The seven-year-old was later looked after by social workers and a psychologist. He was due to be reunited with his grandparents later.
A local worker at the site, Diego Vitagliano, said the accident was the worst thing he had seen in his life.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41243134
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Why are there so many berries this year? - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Berries are appearing early this year - and promise to last much longer than usual, according to experts.
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Science & Environment
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Berries are appearing on plants and hedgerows early this year because of the unusual weather patterns.
The combination of a warm, dry spring, followed by July and August rains, has led to a plethora of berries, according to horticulturists.
"Berries are a vital part of gardens and wildlife, and things have come together this year to make an abundant and beautiful crop," said Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
Plants that are already bearing berries include spindle bushes (Euonymus) and firethorn (Pyracantha), while crab apples are also ripening early.
The fruits are likely to coincide with the appearance of autumn colour on leaves.
Skimmia japonica: The glossy green fruit ripen to bright red in autumn
"At some stage, the autumn colours will form and you will get these wonderful colour combinations of reds, blacks, yellows and purples - something to look forward to," he added.
Trevor Dines of the charity, Plantlife, said there have been near-perfect conditions for good fruit in our hedgerows this year.
The dry warm spring encouraged pollinating bees, wasps and flies to be out at peak flowering times in April and May.
Then, the warm, wet summer was perfect for fruit development, with water around to swell the berries.
Meanwhile, autumn colour is also on display in some areas.
"With the return to wetter conditions over summer, it's been a bit of an extended growing season and so it's not surprising that we're now seeing fruit set and autumn colours arriving three to five weeks earlier than normal," said Dr Dines.
"Oak trees in north Wales are already starting to turn colour - you'd normally not see that until late October."
Berries can be seen on many plants at RHS Wisley in Surrey
Berries are a valuable source of food for wildlife, particularly birds.
Thrushes, blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares feast on berries throughout the winter.
The seeds pass out through the bird's gut and are often deposited far away, helping to spread plants far and wide.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41229523
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G4S: 'Serious questions' over immigration removal centre profits - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Two immigration removal centres made significant profits, documents seen by BBC Panorama suggest.
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UK
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Brook House is operated privately by G4S on behalf of the Home Office
Documents seen by the BBC's Panorama suggest G4S has been making significant profits from running two immigration removal centres near Gatwick Airport.
One, Brook House, was the focus of a Panorama investigation, which exposed chaos, bullying and the abusive treatment of detainees by some staff.
The BBC has seen a presentation stating G4S earned more than £2.4m in pre-tax profits from the centre in 2013.
G4S said the sum was "significantly overstated".
The company said the figures were based on "incomplete information", adding: "The Home Office has full access to financial information regarding the contract performance.
"Substantial savings have been passed on to the Home Office over the life of the Brook House contract."
Labour's Yvette Cooper, who chairs the home affairs select committee, said G4S had "serious questions" to answer about its profits.
"Clearly it would be unacceptable for a private company to be making excessive profits out of a contract where there appears to have been abuse taking place," she said.
The BBC has seen a slide presentation, dated January 2014, that was shown to senior G4S managers.
It states that in 2013 the company made a profit of just under 20% before tax on the running of Brook House Immigration Removal Centre near Gatwick - a figure of more than £2.4m.
It is understood that the original agreement with the Home Office envisaged that the company would make significantly less.
The BBC has also seen more financial documents for a number of years from the period 2009 to 2016 which suggest the company has been making significant profits.
The slide presentation states that in 2013 Tinsley House Immigration Removal centre, which shares the site at Gatwick with Brook House, made a profit of 27.3% before tax, about £1.5m.
Separately, a former senior manager with the company has told the BBC that he sat in meetings where those profits were discussed.
Nathan Ward, who quit the company in April 2014, said profits were "far in excess of what was meant to be made" from the Brook House contract.
"During those meetings profit margins at the end of the year that I left were declared at around 20% for the Brook House contract," he said.
Mr Ward, who is now a priest, said people would be asked not to recruit staff in order to save money.
"And actually the motive behind it for managers locally was that if you didn't make the profit you didn't get your bonus," he said.
He added: "If you are not recruiting the staff you need you have to offer overtime to existing staff who are already working extraordinarily long shifts."
He said this put staff "under more stress" and made them less able to deal with people in their care in a "decent humane way".
The Home Office said it was "committed" to ensuring immigration removal centre contractors provided a high level of service to detainees and value for money to the taxpayer.
"The G4S contract for Brook House and Tinsley House is no exception," it said.
The Home Office said G4S, like other firms contracted by the government, were required to meet set service standards - including ensuring minimum staffing levels are met and providing quarterly financial reports to the Home Office and Cabinet Office.
It added: "Savings identified by G4S through smarter working practices have been, and continue to be, reported to the Home Office."
After the BBC shared the slideshow with the Home Office, a spokesperson responded: "We do not recognise the profit margins quoted and they do not reflect those reported to the Home Office, which include all overheads and shared services."
Callum Tulley, 21, agreed to go undercover at Brook House
Last week, an undercover investigation by BBC One's Panorama showed staff working in Brook House Immigration Removal Centre under huge pressure - with drugs rife and self-harm common place amongst detainees awaiting deportation.
A 21-year-old detainee custody officer, Callum Tulley, had become so concerned by what he was seeing he decided to blow the whistle.
Wearing a secret camera, he was able to capture on film a chaotic place.
Some officers were doing their best in difficult circumstances, others were seen bullying, abusing, and in one case allegedly choking a detainee.
G4S has suspended 10 staff whilst it investigates the allegations made in the programme.
An 11th person, who now works for the Home Office, has also been suspended from his job.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41260192
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What Happened: The long list of who Hillary Clinton blames - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In her new book, Hillary Clinton tries to explain "what happened" to her presidential dreams.
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US & Canada
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In the firing line - Barack Obama, the New York Times, Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders
The beauty of Hillary Clinton's new book title, What Happened, is it can be interpreted in so many ways.
Perhaps it's a definitive account of the 2016 presidential election. "Here's what happened".
Maybe it's an exclamation, like someone reacting to an unexpectedly loud noise (or an electoral earthquake). "Yikes! What happened!?"
Then again, it could be a stern mom, who just walked in on the mess her children (the voters) made in the living room. "Whaaaaat happened …"
Or is she the dazed boxer, picking herself up off the canvas after getting knocked out by a surprise punch from her opponent.
It's up to readers to decide for themselves, but in Mrs Clinton's recent interviews and in her book, which was formally released on Tuesday, she offers plenty of explanations from which to choose.
Here's a list of just some of the factors to blame for the fact that she's hitting book stores across the country, while Donald Trump is redecorating the Oval Office.
"If not for the dramatic intervention of the FBI director in the final days we would have won the White House."
This isn't the first time Mrs Clinton has said the former FBI director - who wrote a letter informing Congress that he had reopened the investigation into the handling of classified material on Mrs Clinton's personal email server as secretary of state - is the main culprit behind her defeat.
In her book, Mrs Clinton calls the use of that server a "dumb mistake", but the resulting scandal was "even dumber". And in Mrs Clinton's eyes, Mr Comey's blame for the matter extends to his public announcement that he would not bring charges against Mrs Clinton, despite the fact that she had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified material.
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"I don't know quite what audience he was playing to, other than maybe some right-wing commentators, right-wing members of Congress, whatever," Mrs Clinton said of Mr Comey's press conference in July 2016.
Did it matter? Heading into the election home stretch, Mrs Clinton appeared to have all the momentum. Mr Trump was reeling after the decade-old Access Hollywood tape revealed he had boasted of making unwanted sexual advances. Then Comey's letter happened, and for nearly a week the story dominated the media, casting a cloud over Mrs Clinton and giving Mr Trump room to win back his Republican base. In a race as close as this one turned out to be, it was likely enough to tip the balance to the Republican.
"I never imagined that he would have the audacity to launch a massive covert attack against our own democracy, right under our noses - and that he'd get away with it."
Although few knew it at the time, there was mounting evidence over the course of the 2016 election that Russia was attempting to influence the outcome.
Through hacking of Democratic Party emails and state electoral databases, social media advert purchases and bots, and the proliferation of political propaganda, the US intelligence community has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was attempting to put his finger on the electoral scale in favour of the Republican.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. All you need to know about the Trump-Russia investigation
Mrs Clinton, needless to say, is not amused. What's more, she is convinced that members of the Trump team colluded with Russia to help get the Republican nominee elected.
"There certainly was communication and there certainly was an understanding of some sort," she said in an interview with USA Today.
Did it matter? If what we know Russia did is all that Russia actually did, then it almost certainly wasn't enough to hand Mr Trump the election (although it is, and should be, a major cause for concern going forward). Mrs Clinton compares Russian influence to the equivalent of a major outside political action committee contributing to a candidate. Of course, the Democrat had plenty of those kind of organisations at her disposal - and vastly outspent her opponent - and she still lost.
"I do wonder sometimes about what would have happened if President Obama had made a televised address to the nation in the fall of 2016 warning that our democracy was under attack. Maybe more Americans would have woken up to the threat in time. "
According to media reports, part of the reason why the nation didn't know about the evidence implicating Russia in election meddling until after the election is because President Barack Obama wouldn't go public unless he had the support of Republicans in Congress.
Without that support, the president kept quiet - concerned that any action he took would be viewed as being done for partisan benefit.
Mrs Clinton has plenty of words for Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well, who she said shamefully put partisanship ahead of national security.
"McConnell knew better," she writes, "but he did it anyway."
Did it matter? During the campaign Mrs Clinton tried to make the case that Mr Trump was a Russian "puppet", who took too soft a stand against Mr Putin's aggressive foreign policy. "You're the puppet," was the Republican's famous debate-night retort. Americans largely shrugged it all off, but perhaps the attacks would have stuck if it had been clear that Russia's machinations reached well beyond Ukraine.
"Many in the political media … can't bear to face their own role in helping elect Trump, from providing him free airtime to giving my emails three times more coverage than all the issues affecting people's lives combined."
It's no secret that Mrs Clinton isn't happy about the way the media covered the presidential race. She singles out the New York Times, in particular, which she accuses of "shoddy reporting" about her use of a private email server and over-hyping Mr Comey's election-eve letter announcing the FBI was reopening its investigation.
"The Times was by no means been the only - or even the worst - offender," she writes, "but its treatment has stung the most."
Did it matter? Mr Trump was an unconventional candidate who garnered an unprecedented amount of media attention - and ratings. His regular disregard for political norms, his seeming invulnerability to scandals that would sink typical politicians meant reporters were hard-pressed to cover the race in the traditional both-sides-get-their-say manner. Mrs Clinton may complain that the media weren't being fair, but Mr Trump was playing by a different set of rules.
Bernie Sanders campaigned for Clinton in the autumn, but it's his primary shots she remembers
"His attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's 'Crooked Hillary' campaign."
Mrs Clinton still has a bone to pick with her Democratic primary opponent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, as well.
She writes that he impugned her character, made unrealistic promises that put her in the position of being a wet-blanket realist and did little to confront those in his movement who were launching "ugly and more than a little sexist" attacks on her supporters.
Mrs Clinton also points out that Mr Sanders is not a member of the Democratic Party and, consequently, may not always have the party's best interests in mind.
"I am proud to be a Democrat, and I wish Bernie were, too," she writes.
Did it matter? According to several post-election surveys, as many as 12% of Sanders supporters ended up voting for Mr Trump. If they had opted for Mrs Clinton, that would have been more than enough to put her over the top in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - and give her the White House. Then again, the percentage of cross-party voting in 2016 wasn't unusual compared to historical norms.
"There were more than enough Stein voters to swing the result, just like Ralph Nader did in Florida and New Hampshire in 2000."
The last time a presidential candidate won the popular vote but lost the election thanks to the state-by-state idiosyncrasies of the Electoral College was in 2000, when Republican George W Bush beat Democrat Al Gore.
This historical quirk was clearly in Mrs Clinton's mind as she wrote this book, as she draws a comparison between Mr Nader's Green Party campaign and Jill Stein's in 2016.
The 2000 gap between Mr Bush and Mr Gore in Florida was 537 votes, so just a fraction of the 97,488 votes Mr Nader received in that state would have tipped the election to the Democrat.
Did it matter? In 2016 Ms Stein received 1,457,216 votes, the first time since 2000 that the Green Party had topped the million mark. Put Ms Stein's Pennsylvanian, Wisconsin and Michigan voters in Mrs Clinton's column, and the Democrat wins. Given that Ms Stein didn't have much visibility during the election cycle, however, her performance probably was more a reflection of dissatisfaction with Ms Clinton, than anything the Green Party candidate did or didn't do.
"This has to be said. Sexism and misogyny played a role in the 2016 presidential election. Exhibit A is that the flagrantly sexist candidate won."
Mrs Clinton was the first woman to be a major party presidential nominee. At key moments - such as when she locked up the nomination during the primaries and when she gave her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention - she explicitly acknowledged this fact. Other times, she downplayed it.
The groundbreaking nature of her campaign, however, was always in the background. On election day, women put flowers on the graves of famous leaders of the women's suffrage movement, in anticipation of a historic night to come.
That, of course, didn't happen - and, in Mrs Clinton's view, her gender was an obstacle she had to overcome.
"I started the campaign knowing that I would have to work extra hard to make women and men feel comfortable with the idea of a woman president," she said during a CBS interview. "It doesn't fit into the stereotypes we all carry around in our head. And a lot of the sexism and the misogyny was in service of these attitudes. Like, you know, 'We really don't want a woman commander in chief'."
Did it matter? The thing about historic firsts is that there is no standard by which to judge them. Mrs Clinton had remarkably high negative ratings for a modern presidential nominee (as did Mr Trump). Was this because of her gender or an aspect of her personality that some voters found off-putting? "What makes me such a lightning rod for fury?" Mrs Clinton writes. "I'm really asking. I'm at a loss." Until there's another female nominee (or more), it will be difficult to know for certain.
"He was quite successful in referencing a nostalgia that would give hope, comfort, settle grievances, for millions of people who were upset about gains that were made by others … millions of white people."
Mrs Clinton has plenty of criticism of Mr Trump in her book, from his naivete to his sexism to his dangerous and ill-conceived policies. During her interview with CBS, however, the former Democratic nominee was particularly blunt about what she viewed as the explicit attempts by the Trump campaign to stoke racial resentment among white working-class voters.
Her critique picks up on a particularly testy exchange between Trump and Clinton campaign aides in a post-election forum, where Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said Mr Trump gave a platform to white supremacists and that she would "rather lose than win the way you guys did".
Did it matter? Whether you call it playing to racial grievances or giving hope to socially and economically anxious voters, there's no question that Mr Trump had a message that resonated with many members of the white working-class.
"You can blame the data, blame the message, blame anything you want - but I was the candidate. It was my campaign. Those were my decisions."
Political analyst Mark Shields likes to note that in few professions is failure on such prominent display as in the world of politics. If the average Joe doesn't get a promotion, the local paper won't devote entire articles to what character flaw or personal mistake is to blame.
"Politicians boldly risk public rejection of the kind that the rest of us will go to any lengths to avoid," he writes.
Clinton is left wondering what happened - and what might have been
Any attempt by Mrs Clinton to explain "what happened" in 2016 was going to be ripe for criticism. Is she talking out too much? Or not enough? Why is she blaming other people? Will she devote 300 pages to delving into why people just don't seem to connect with her?
Although Mrs Clinton in her book is liberal with apportioning responsibility for her defeat, she sets aside plenty of space to point the finger at herself.
She calls her labelling of a certain segment of Mr Trump's base as being in a "basket of deplorables" as a "political gift" to her opponent. She says she deeply regrets her remarks about how government policies were going to put coal workers "out of business", even if she insists they were taken out of context.
She laments that she was unable to connect with the anger and resentment that many Americans felt after the financial crash in 2008.
Most of all, she says she understands that something just didn't click between her and many US voters.
"I have come to terms with the fact that a lot of people - millions and millions of people - decided they just didn't like me," she writes. "Imagine what that feels like."
Did it matter? Mrs Clinton has written her book and stated her case that, despite any personal flaws, it was a perfect political storm that dashed her presidential dreams. In the end, history will be the judge.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Hillary Clinton did make history, despite losing the 2016 election, her advisor says
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41244474
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May to set out post-Brexit 'partnership' - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The prime minister will outline her vision for the UK outside the EU days before negotiations resume.
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UK
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Theresa May will travel to Florence to make a speech on Brexit in a move likely to be seen as a bid to break the deadlock in negotiations.
The prime minister will give the speech on 22 September, days before Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels.
Downing Street said the PM will underline the UK's wish for a "special partnership" with the EU after Brexit.
The EU has criticised UK negotiators, claiming progress on Britain's divorce deal has been too slow.
Speculation about Mrs May's speech was sparked when EU Parliament negotiator Guy Verhofstadt claimed an "important intervention" would be made by the PM.
The fourth round of talks will begin on 25 September after they were pushed back by a week.
Mrs May's official spokesman denied that the delay was caused by the timing of the PM's speech.
"Both sides settled on the date for that round after discussions between senior officials in recognition that more time would give negotiators flexibility to make further progress," he said.
Downing Street declined to discuss the content of Mrs May's speech, beyond saying that she will give an "update on Brexit negotiations so far" and will "underline the government's wish for a deep and special partnership with the European Union once the UK leaves the EU".
Explaining the choice of venue, he added that the PM wanted to speak about the UK's future relationship with Europe "in its historical heart".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41262418
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Graham Taylor 'warned of abuse' at Aston Villa - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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One victim told the FA's inquiry the ex-England manager advised him to "sweep it under the carpet".
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UK
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Aston Villa first team squad photo 1988-89, featuring manager Graham Taylor (bottom, centre) and Dave Richardson (next to him)
Ex-Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor was warned about the abuse of young players in the 1980s, the FA's inquiry into sexual abuse has been told.
One victim told the Victoria Derbyshire show he was advised to "sweep it under the carpet" rather than tell police.
A new document appears to show paedophile Ted Langford worked as a scout for Villa almost two years after staff were first warned about him.
A club spokesman said safeguarding was of "paramount importance".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'They told me to sweep it under the carpet'
Langford, who is now dead, was convicted in 2007 of historical abuse against four boys, three of whom were linked to Aston Villa football club.
Tony Brien - who has waived his right to anonymity - revealed on the Victoria Derbyshire programme in January that he was abused numerous times by Langford while playing for a local youth team from the age of 12.
Aged 16, Mr Brien was signed for Leicester City by then youth team manager Dave Richardson, recommended by Langford, who was a part-time scout for the club.
Two years later, in the summer of 1987, Mr Richardson joined Aston Villa as assistant manager and Langford moved with him.
Later that season Mr Brien said he decided to call Mr Richardson to warn him about the scout's behaviour.
Mr Brien, aged 18 or 19 at the time, claimed he had a number of conversations with Mr Richardson and later a single conversation with manager Graham Taylor, but was put off from going public with the allegations.
In oral evidence to the FA's independent inquiry into sexual abuse, he said: "They discouraged me from going forward and never offered me a chance to go to the police or anything like that.
"I went into the kitchen at my mum's and my mum said, 'Well?' And I just said, 'They just told me to sweep it underneath the carpet.' And I burst into tears."
In his interview with Victoria Derbyshire, Mr Brien added that Mr Taylor had said to him: "Look, you're a young lad starting out in the game. I know you've just made your debut. Could you really be dealing with all the obscenities from the terraces? So I just suggest you sweep it under the carpet."
Mr Brien played for Leicester City and number of other league clubs. He never played for Aston Villa. In December 2016 he first gave a police statement outlining allegations against Langford and the response of Aston Villa FC.
Dave Richardson told the Victoria Derbyshire programme in January that he could not recall having a conversation with Tony Brien and strongly denied he would have advised the player he should not go public.
Ted Langford was sentenced to three years in prison in 2007 for sexual abuse between 1976 and 1989.
"The bottom line is once he'd rung me, [I would have said] 'We're dealing with it, it will be dealt with in such a way whereby you don't have to worry'," he said at the time.
"I wouldn't brush it under the carpet."
The BBC now understands a second victim of abuse, who wishes to remain anonymous, has come forward saying he made similar complaints about Langford in the late 1980s.
His lawyer said he was visited at his house by someone he now believes to be Graham Taylor, and another unidentified man, who he says both deterred him from taking the matter any further.
"They should have done more to protect children in their care," said Dino Nocivelli from solicitors Bolt Burdon Kemp. "My clients have been let down and other children have been abused due to the lack of action from Villa staff."
Mr Richardson said in a statement issued in January through his lawyers that he was first made aware of "alarming allegations" against Langford shortly after he joined Aston Villa in the summer of 1987.
He said he spoke to Graham Taylor and chairman Doug Ellis and an internal investigation took place.
"I took these extremely seriously and began making inquiries. These led me to speak to the parents of two young footballers at Aston Villa who each told me their sons had been abused by Ted Langford," he said.
This letter given to the Victoria Derbyshire programme suggests that Langford was still acting as the club's official representative until at least March 1989.
Mr Richardson said the parents involved did not want the matter reported to the police but, after consulting with Mr Taylor and Mr Ellis, Langford was sacked by the club.
He said earlier this year that he acted "rapidly" to deal with the situation.
"As soon as we got more information, as soon as I knew, we brought him in and we got him out of the way," he said.
But the programme has now seen a document that shows Langford was still acting as the club's official representative until at least March 1989, almost two years after Mr Richardson said he was first made aware of the allegations.
When asked to respond to the latest information obtained by the programme, Mr Richardson said he did not consider it appropriate to comment while the FA independent inquiry was continuing. He said he would co-operate with the inquiry if he was asked to do so.
It is not clear what happened to Langford after he was sacked by Aston Villa although it is thought he continued to work in junior football in the Birmingham area.
In 2007, the scout was convicted of a range of sexual offences against boys that took place between 1976 and 1989. He died in 2012 after his release from prison.
A spokesman for Aston Villa said: "Aston Villa would encourage anyone with any allegation or concern regarding safeguarding or other potential wrongdoing to contact the relevant authorities.
"Allegations relating to Ted Langford and involving the club are subject to ongoing legal proceedings and it is therefore not appropriate for the club to comment further on this matter."
Former chairman Doug Ellis, now 93, could not be reached for comment.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41252273
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British Museum sorry for labelling row - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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The institution apologises after one of its curators is attacked for calling Asian names "confusing".
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Entertainment & Arts
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The London institution is the most popular visitor attraction in Britain
The British Museum has apologised after a tweet from one of its curators saw it accused of racism and dumbing down.
The row escalated after Jane Portal, from the London institution's Asia department, said "sometimes Asian names can be confusing" on exhibition labels.
"We have to be careful about using too many," she continued, prompting a string of critical tweets.
The museum later said in a statement: "We would like to apologise for any offence caused."
It added: "Jane was answering a very specific question about how we make the information on object labels accessible to a wider range of people."
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Answering a question as part of the museum's #AskACurator initiative, Ms Portal said "we aim to be understandable by 16 year olds" and the length of the wording on information labels could be limiting.
"Dynasties & gods have different names in various Asian languages," she wrote. "We want to focus on the stories."
Her comments were described by one Twitter user, Dave Cochrane, as "a gigantic own goal", while Amanda Lillywhite wrote: "Don't blame the 16 year olds!"
"Confusing to whom?" asked Twitter user Jillian, while MrChaz asked her to "be a bit less racist".
Yet the museum keeper was not entirely friendless, with one Tweeter saying what she described "seems a perfectly sensible approach".
The museum's statement added: "Label text for any object is necessarily limited and we try to tell the object's story as well as include essential information about what it is and where it is from.
"We are not always able to reflect the complexity of different names for eg periods, rulers, gods in different languages and cultures on labels."
The gaffe is the latest in a number of embarrassing stories involving the museum, the UK's most popular visitor attraction.
Earlier this year it confirmed it had lost a diamond ring worth £750,000, while last year it emerged that a waiter working at the Museum had knocked the thumb off a priceless Roman sculpture.
According to the British Museum's website, Jane Portal started working there in 1987 as its curator of Chinese and Korean collections, and became Keeper of Asia in 2014.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41254560
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Rooney family slavery victim 'made to dig own grave' - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Eighteen people were illegally trafficked and exploited to fund the Rooney family's lavish lifestyle.
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Lincolnshire
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The sister of one of the victims says he was forced to dig his own grave
Members of a traveller family have been jailed for enslaving 18 men who were made to work for little or no wages while their captors lived a life of lavish luxury.
The workers were illegally trafficked and exploited by the Rooney family - 10 men and one woman - whose actions left a gruelling mark on their victims.
One man's terrifying ordeal spanned more than a quarter of a century. On one occasion, he was made to dig his own grave if he did not agree to a lifetime of servitude.
"You're going to work for me for the rest of your life... if you don't sign this contract that is where you're going," John Rooney told his victim, pointing at the hole he had been forced to dig.
The harrowing details have been told to the BBC by the victim's sister.
Police said the living quarters of 18 men who were trafficked into a modern slavery ring were "truly shocking"
She described how her brother was beaten with a rake and had his front teeth smashed with a concrete slab in savage attacks which left him "psychologically damaged".
"I think one of the worst stories he told me was about digging his own grave," his sister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the BBC.
"John Rooney had asked him to dig a hole and he said, 'I kept digging and digging and digging. I said to John: Crikey how much more have I got to dig? And he said keep digging'.
"According to my brother, John produced a contract and said to him 'you're going to work for me for the rest of your life... if you don't sign this contract that is where you're going'.
"On another occasion, he was late getting up and John came into his van with a rake and hit him over the head. You can see evidence of scarring on the left side of his head.
The victims were aged between 18 and 63, held in squalor and forced to work up to 12-hour days, seven days a week, for the family's tarmacking company.
While the Rooneys led an extravagant lifestyle, their slaves lived in filth - some in stables next to dog kennels, many in unkempt caravans without running water or toilet facilities.
"Many were very, very thin and they were absolutely filthy," said Ch Supt Nikki Mayo, of Lincolnshire Police.
"These individuals didn't have a toilet so many had to go into the woods and, in fact, some were kept in a stable block nearby with animals. So, absolutely disgraceful."
The 11 members of the Rooney led extravagant lifestyles while their victims suffered
Many were alcoholics and estranged from their relatives, while several had learning disabilities and mental health issues. Half were British nationals targeted from all over the country because they were homeless.
Ch Supt Mayo said the victims were left "completely institutionalised and isolated from society".
"They were given scraps of food that were mainly leftovers from family meals, complete with bite marks, but only after working long hard hours tarmacking driveways and fitting block paving," she said.
"When they weren't working for the company the men had to collect scrap, sweep, tidy up or look after pets around the sites.
"Often their only payment was a packet of tobacco and a limited amount of alcohol, which didn't help those with addictions and was another way in which the defendants exerted control over them."
The men worked long hard hours for little more than a packet of tobacco
Even though the victims were "not physically trapped", they were "financially, emotionally and physically abused making any escape seem impossible", the detective added.
The threat of violence also made them too scared to leave. One victim told police he was afraid of the Rooney gang because he had seen the brutality they had inflicted on others.
"There was one moment one of the [Rooneys] took a shovel... and then I [saw] three people kicking [the slave] as he was lying on the ground," he said.
"I've been quite scared because I've seen what they're capable of."
The family operated from a number of sites in Lincolnshire and were caught as part of Operation Pottery, which detectives described as "one of the largest and most complex" cases in the force's history.
Reverend Jeremy Cullimore, who worked in a homeless shelter in Lincoln, said he had tried to protect potential victims.
"We were aware that the Rooneys [had] a series of vans driving around the streets, seeking out people, to persuade them that they could offer them a nice caravan and so on.
"We introduced a number of systems so that people who were vulnerable would not be alone."
The defendants led a lavish lifestyle and operated from a number of sites
He recalled the moment he came head-to-head with the gang.
"The family [came] to recover a man who escaped from them and they were saying quite clearly 'he's ours, he owes us money and we want him'.
"I turned around and said 'You know I'm a priest and I can absolve you from your sins, but beware I can bind them to you forever. Now think on this' and they left.
When police officers dismantled the ring in 2014, the force set up a refuge for the victims aided by the NHS, social services, British Red Cross and the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
One charity worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, said one individual used "an entire bottle of shampoo to make themselves feel clean".
"When I first saw them they looked completely bedraggled. One of them asked how long he could shower for. We said 'as long as you like' and he was completely taken aback by the response.
"After 20 minutes he came out looking like a different person. The colour in his skin came back. He just felt like a normal human being."
But how did the Rooney slavery ring operate undetected for so long?
Kevin Hyland, the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said there was a lack of awareness about slavery legislation and recognising the signs.
"People in the communities haven't recognised this for what it is or haven't really understood what it is," he said. "But this case really does demonstrate how serious this crime is and it can be happening on your own front drive.
"There has been a lack of understanding and awareness but, then also, what do you do when you recognise it? The authorities themselves need to understand this and realise this is a crime and they have a duty to respond."
Under the Modern Slavery Act, introduced in 2015, it is illegal to hold someone in slavery or servitude and force them to carry out compulsory labour.
For the woman whose brother was captive for 26 years, the mark left by his experience is indelible.
On seeing him for the first time after his release, she said she wanted to "fall on my knees and sob".
"He was very thin. His teeth are terrible, they're all rotten and he's not got many left.
"He's damaged... but he's now enjoying his freedom."
• None What has the National Crime Agency found in investigating modern slavery- - BBC News
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-40903474
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Cafe Culture: Meet the regulars - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Photographer Jim Grover documents life at Cafe Delight, on Clapham High Street, in London.
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In Pictures
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On 19 August 1996, Cafe Delight opened its doors, on Clapham High Street, for the first time. To celebrate its 21st birthday, it is hosting an exhibition of photographs of many of its regular customers as well as everyday life in the cafe. The photographs were taken by local award-wining photographer Jim Grover.
When Cafe Delight opened, Izzy was 16 and had just left school. Two years later, his father died, leaving the destiny of Cafe Delight in the hands of Izzy and his new wife, Mehtap.
Inside, you will find a wonderfully broad spectrum of patrons: a TV reporter, a stand-up comic, and a chain-saw wood sculptor rub shoulders with local builders, shop workers, and members of a local club for the deaf - among many others.
"This is not just a cafe with all of the traditional features you'd expect: great food, never-ending mugs of tea, friendly service, banter (plus racing tips) and spotlessly clean tables. It's also a community - offering company, familiarity and security for those regulars who have made Cafe Delight part of their daily lives," said Grover.
Some come for company and banter, others to eat and pass the time alone, reading the paper, picking horses, or watching the world go by through the cafe's large windows. Some of Cafe Delight's regulars have been coming since it first opened, others are more recent converts; many come every day.
When the cafe opened, Charlie was working as a tailor. Now, approaching his 90th birthday he is still making clothes.
Friends Ricky and Julie are members of the Clapham Deaf Club and have been coming to the cafe for 10 and 15 years respectively.
Perry keeps the streets of Clapham clean and has been coming to the cafe for 12 years.
In 1996, Gus was a sixth-former. Now, he works as a shop manager and has been a regular at the cafe for 19 years.
Leanne has been coming to the cafe for the past four years.
The photographs can be seen at Cafe Delight, 19 Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7TS, from 14 September to 31 October (closed Sundays).
To see the full selection of pictures and more work by Jim Grover visit his website.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-41244294
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Brexit: Ex-minister Lord Bridges urges 'honesty' over EU exit - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Lord Bridges emphasises the "complexity and scale" of the task and the "need to compromise".
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UK Politics
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A former Brexit minister has said the UK must be "honest" about the "complexity and scale" of leaving the EU.
Lord Bridges also urged honesty about the lack of time to reach agreement with the EU over the UK's withdrawal.
The Tory peer, who left government after June's general election, emphasised the need for a transitional arrangement after March 2019.
That is when the UK is due to leave the EU under the Article 50 process.
Negotiations are under way, and ministers have said some form of interim arrangement - ending before the next general election - would help avoid a "cliff edge" scenario as new arrangements kick in.
On Tuesday evening, peers debated the recent series of papers published by the UK government setting out its position on key negotiation subjects.
Lord Bridges, who campaigned for Remain in last year's EU referendum, said: "We must be honest about the task we face, and its complexity and scale.
"We should be honest about the need to compromise. Honest about the lack of time we, and the EU, have to come to an agreement on our withdrawal."
He said the transitional arrangement must have a clear end point to avoid fuelling suspicion that "it would be a means to stay in the EU permanently by stealth".
"During this period we should keep, as far as possible, the existing arrangements we have with the EU," he said, adding that the UK should make it clear it will carry on paying into the EU budget until the current "financial framework" ends in 2020.
As parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Exiting the EU, Lord Bridges was a member of the ministerial team led by Brexit Secretary David Davis.
Saying the government will not be "defined by Brexit" - as Theresa May has done - is "careless talk" that will distract the government from the "task at hand", he said.
"The priority for every department must be to help ministers get the best possible deal, prepare us for Brexit, and ensure we prosper once we have left. Nothing is more important."
Lord Bridges added that the question of what sort of country the UK will be when it regains powers from Brussels was "unanswered".
The fourth round of UK-EU negotiations, will start on 25 September after they were put back a week.
Negotiations are focusing on any "divorce bill" to be paid by the UK, citizens' rights and Northern Ireland.
The EU says talks cannot move on to trade until it is happy sufficient progress on the initial subjects.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41249129
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Homelessness rise 'likely to have been driven by welfare reforms' - BBC News
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2017-09-13
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The government has a "light touch approach" to tackling the issue, the National Audit Office says.
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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.
The number of homeless families in the UK has risen by more than 60% and is "likely to have been driven" by the government's welfare reforms, the public spending watchdog has said.
Homelessness of all kinds has increased "significantly" over the last six years, said the National Audit Office.
It accused the government of having a "light touch approach" to tackling the problem.
The government said it was investing £550m by 2020 to address the issue.
There has been a 60% rise in households living in temporary accommodation - which includes 120,540 children - since 2010/11, the NAO said.
A snapshot overnight count last autumn found there were 4,134 rough sleepers - an increase of 134% since the Conservatives came into government, it added.
A report by the watchdog found rents in England have risen at the same time as households have seen a cut to some benefits.
Homelessness cost more than £1bn a year to deal with, it said.
Reforms to the local housing allowance are "likely to have contributed" to making it more expensive for claimants to rent privately and "are an element of the increase in homelessness," the report added.
Welfare reforms announced by the government in 2015 included a four-year freeze to housing benefit - which was implemented in April 2016.
Auditor General Sir Amyas Morse said the Department for Work and Pensions had failed to evaluate the impact of the benefit changes on homelessness.
"It is difficult to understand why the department persisted with its light touch approach in the face of such a visibly growing problem.
"Its recent performance in reducing homelessness therefore cannot be considered value for money."
The ending of private sector tenancies - rather than a change in personal circumstances - has become the main cause of homelessness in England, with numbers tripling since 2010/11, said the NAO.
Its analysis found private sector rents in England have gone up by three times as much as wages since 2010 - apart from in the north and East Midlands.
While in London, costs have risen by 24% - eight times the average wage increase.
Reforms to the local housing allowance are "likely to have contributed" to homelessness, says the NAO
Councils spent £1.1bn on homelessness in 2015/16 - with £845m going to pay for temporary accommodation, the NAO said.
It found that local authorities in London have been buying properties outside the capital to house families.
Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, said: "It is a national scandal that more and more people are made homeless every year.
"This reports illustrates the very real human cost of the government's failure to ensure people have access to affordable housing."
The Local Government Association - which represents councils - said local authorities were having to house "the equivalent of an extra secondary school's worth of homeless children in temporary accommodation every month."
"The net cost to councils of doing this has tripled in the last three years, as they plug the gap between rising rents and frozen housing benefit."
It called on the government to support councils by allowing them to invest in building affordable homes and "provide the support and resources they need to help prevent people becoming homeless in the first place".
Homelessness charity Shelter said it wants the government to end the freeze on housing benefit and commit to building affordable homes.
The government said tackling homelessness was a "complex issue" but it was determined to help the most vulnerable in society.
It said it was implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act which "means more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place".
A spokesman added: "Our welfare reforms restore fairness to the system with a strong safety net in place to support the most vulnerable, including £24bn through the housing benefit.
"There's more to do to make sure people always have a roof over their head and ministers will set out further plans shortly, including delivering on our commitment to eliminate rough sleeping entirely."
Are you homeless? Living in temporary accommodation? Share your views and experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41241021
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