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Pedro Godinho, 22, died in hospital after being discovered in Canonsleigh Road, Leicester, on Sunday morning. Ezekiel Braithwaite, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder and attempted grievous bodily harm. Taome Stabanner, 21, of Rowena Court, Mountsorrel, has been charged with assisting an offender. Both are due to appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court later. Mr Godinho's cousin, Rafael Godinho, said on behalf of the family: "Pedro was sadly taken from us. He was only 22-years-old, with a promising life ahead of him. "At this time, the family is working closely with Leicestershire Police. "Anybody who knows him would tell you what a good heart he had, he'd be the one to give you the shirt off his back."
A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder after another man was found fatally stabbed after an attack in a residential car park.
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Several Australian bars have dumped Coopers Brewery after it was featured by religious group the Bible Society. The video shows two MPs debating their opposing views on same-sex marriage - which is not legal in Australia - as they clutch Coopers beers. It has led to claims Coopers is against marriage equality, a claim it denies. The backlash has gathered pace in recent days and, by Tuesday, a string of drinking spots in favour of same-sex marriage had boycotted the brand. The Bible Society posted the "Keeping It Light" video on Thursday. It features conservative MPs Tim Wilson (for same-sex marriage) and Andrew Hastie (against) debating the issue in what they call a "civil and respectful way". Coopers has since claimed it "did not give permission" to be included in the video. However, the brand recently celebrated the Bible Society's 200-year anniversary with a commemorative beer featuring Bible verses. In the video, Mr Wilson argues: "I believe that it would be sensible to change the act that deals with issues around civil marriage to include two people regardless of their gender." Mr Hastie counters: "I'm for retaining the current definition of marriage, which is between a man and a woman." Despite Mr Wilson's inclusion, critics interpreted the video as one-sided. One commentator said Coopers risked sponsoring a "political act by a religious organisation", while another said "homophobia lite is still homophobia". "I have respected Coopers all my life, and it was crushing to realise that as a queer person, they don't respect me," wrote Chloe Sargeant for the Special Broadcasting Service. Opposition to the video has picked up steam since the weekend. By Tuesday, at least eight drinking spots in Sydney and Melbourne had publicly declared they would not stock Coopers. One widely shared video showed two people throwing full bottles in the bin. Luke Hiscox, from Sydney's Union Hotel, which plans to take Coopers off tap, said people were upset by the phrase "keeping it light". "That irks people because for them it's not in the slightest a light topic," he told the BBC. "I don't think they really realised what they were saying." Another venue, The Old Bar in Melbourne, said it would boycott Coopers because it was "very obvious that our values are at odds". In a statement, Cooper said it was not "trying to push a religious message" with its commemorative beer range. It maintained it had not sponsored the video. "We respect the beliefs of our community and do not wish to try and change them," the company said. In a subsequent statement, it said it had cancelled the release of its Bible Society commemorative cans and would be joining Australian Marriage Equality. ""Our company supports marriage equality," Director of Corporate Affairs Melanie Cooper said. Bible Society chief executive Greg Clarke said the video sought to have a "civil conversation on a serious issue". "At first I was surprised the reaction was so immediate and extreme, but then on reflection [I] wasn't surprised because this really seems to be how social media works at the moment," he told the BBC. Mr Wilson has described the boycott as absurd, saying it only proves the value of the discussion. "I'm disappointed Coopers appears to have distanced themselves from a sensible conversation that they should be proud to align themselves with," he told news.com.au. Advertising commentator Jane Caro agreed the video was not promoting a view. She said same-sex marriage advocates were often suspicious of religious messaging. "They have lost patience and lost tolerance for the idea that there should be mutual respect on both sides," Ms Caro told the BBC. "I think Coopers have probably inadvertently found themselves in the eye of the storm."
Australia's largest independent beer company has found itself at the centre of a boycott over a video discussing same-sex marriage.
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Operators Serco said it was a "peaceful protest" and it was talking to the women involved. Two members of staff had earlier been suspended following allegations of abuse. Undercover filming by Channel 4 News had shown staff referring to inmates as "animals", "beasties" and "bitches". The facility houses up to 400 women under threat of deportation. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Home Office Minister Karen Bradley told MPs Serco "immediately suspended" one member of staff and then another after seeing the footage. "The company has also commissioned an independent review of its culture and staffing at Yarl's Wood," she said. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for an independent inquiry into conditions at the centre.
About a dozen female detainees at Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire were involved in a "small" protest on Tuesday night.
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Northumberland County Council is planning to scrap Haydon Bridge station as well as downsizing West Harton Community Station. Dave Ledger, chairman of the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Authority, said the council had "no choice" but to make the cuts. The council also plans to scrap engines in Ponteland, Seahouses and Wooler and replace them with smaller appliances. It has to save £500,000 on top of £1.5m cuts and has just finished a three-month consultation on its proposals. The authority said a number of concerns had been raised, including how the county would cope in the face of further flooding when fire crews are called to help. During the consultation it received three petitions, 84 online responses and 76 letters raising concerns over the plans, a spokesman said. Mr Ledger, who is also the deputy Labour leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "To say I am concerned about the future is an understatement. "We simply have no choice. The Government keeps saying we have choices - well I'd like them to tell us what the choices are." The fire service has 88 full-time firefighters and 180 on-call officers in the county. A full cabinet meeting will be held on 21 March when a final decision will be made. Mr Ledger added: "Should the recommendation be approved, we will continue to have 21 emergency response vehicles and, through the introduction of smaller fire appliances, in some areas we will be able to increase the cover we provide."
A fire station in Northumberland is facing closure amid £500k budget cuts.
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Vern Cotter names his squad for the Championship on Tuesday, three months after a 35-34 quarter-final defeat. Referee Craig Joubert awarded the Wallabies a late penalty that replays suggested was an incorrect decision. "You feel you're over it and then you see something and it brings it all back," Hogg told BBC Scotland. "I was watching something on the TV a couple of weeks ago about the legacy of the World Cup and when us going out came up, it just brought back horrible memories. It was bitterly disappointing." Hogg is set to be included in a squad missing the injured Harlequins wing Tim Visser - ruled out of at least the first two games - and flanker Alasdair Strokosch, who retired from Test rugby after the World Cup. Another injury concern is Glasgow centre Mark Bennett, who was due to see a specialist on Monday to determine whether he needs an operation on his injured shoulder. The involvement of Warriors pair Ryan Wilson and Tim Swinson could hinge on the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against them following the European Champions Cup loss at Northampton. But club-mate and fellow midfielder Alex Dunbar could return to the Scotland fold after missing the World Cup with the after-effects of a knee injury sustained in training during last year's Six Nations. After the Calcutta Cup opener against England at Murrayfield on 6 February, Scotland travel to Cardiff - one of three away fixtures in this year's campaign - to face Wales in their second match a week later. Hogg says the squad will be desperate to banish the memories of not only their World Cup despair, but the embarrassment of a Six Nations whitewash last year. "It is another challenge for us now, but we can take immense confidence from the World Cup," said the 23-year-old, who has only tasted victory in three of his 19 Six Nations matches since his 2012 debut. "If I'm fortunate enough to be picked, hopefully we can produce something special in this Six Nations. England first up at Murrayfield is exactly what you want and it would be great to be part of that. "Getting a good couple of wins early doors would give us immense confidence going forward, and we'd be in the tournament if that happens. "We have let ourselves down in the last couple of Six Nations but we are looking forward to it." Hogg and his Glasgow team-mates will be hoping that joining up with Scotland provides a catalyst for rediscovering their World Cup form. Four successive defeats since Christmas have seen them slip to eighth in the Pro 12 table and effectively exit the European Champions Cup, after a third pool defeat on Sunday to Northampton. "Our target was to become the number one team in Europe and we've fallen short again," Hogg noted. "It's fine and well having good performances here and there but it's wins that we need. Europe is the be-all and end-all of club rugby so we're bitterly disappointed to no longer be part of it." After their final Champions Cup game against pool leaders Racing 92 at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park on Saturday, Glasgow - eight points off the Pro 12 play-off positions, but with two games in hand - must turn their attention to restoring last season's lustre. "We're defending champions although to be honest we have not been playing like it lately," Hogg added. "For us it's a challenge to get back up to where we belong."
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg says memories of their controversial World Cup exit to Australia are still raw as they prepare for the Six Nations.
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Habyarimana Mucebo, a senior member of the Rwandan FDLR rebel group, was captured in Rutshuru, north-eastern DR Congo. Members of the FDLR fled into DR Congo after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The slaughter of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus sparked years of unrest in the region. Mr Mucebo, the FDLR intelligence chief, has been taken into custody for interrogation, the army says. Most senior figures of the group are wanted by Rwanda for their alleged role in the 1994 killings. Mr Mucebo's arrest is not linked to genocide charges as initially reported. Congolese officials accuse him of links to atrocities blamed on the FDLR. For many years, the Hutu rebel group had become a source of instability in DR Congo's North Kivu province. Rwanda has sent troops and militias into DR Congo on several occasions since the genocide, saying they were going after the FDLR.
A Rwandan Hutu rebel commander wanted for atrocities committed on Congolese soil has been arrested in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Stuart Clancy, a Conservative councillor on Broadland District Council in Norfolk, was arrested by police in September 2014. The Crown Prosecution Service said there was "insufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of a conviction for any offence". The council, on which he represents Taverham South ward, welcomed the news. "We are very pleased that this issue has been resolved and Councillor Clancy can now put this difficult period behind him," said a spokeswoman. The council said the investigation was not connected to his council work.
No further action is to be taken against a deputy council leader arrested on suspicion of fraud.
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Sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara told Sri Lanka's players they were too fat after they failed to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals. Malinga, 33, responded by saying he did not care for criticism "from those who are simply warming chairs". "What does a monkey know about a parrot's nesting hollow?" he added. "This is like a monkey getting into a parrot's nest and talking about it." Jayasekara said Malinga's comments were a breach of his contract with the country's cricket board. "In my criticism of the appalling fitness levels of our players, I did not name Malinga, but he has chosen to put the hat on and attack me publicly," he added. Malinga won the Indian Premier League title with the Mumbai Indians before the Champions Trophy, and missed Sri Lanka's high-altitude training. Jayasekara spoke out after Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was dropped twice off the bowling of Malinga as Sri Lanka failed to progress from their Champions Trophy group. "The typical body fat amounts for a cricketer should be about 16%, but most of our players have over 25%," he said. "I want the results analysed and in future no-one will be included in a national squad if they are above 16%."
Fast bowler Lasith Malinga is being investigated by Sri Lanka's cricket board after comparing the country's sports minister to a monkey.
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Ashya King was taken out of Southampton General Hospital by his mother and father against medical advice. Hampshire Police believe he may have been taken to Spain and police are at a Marbella property owned by the family. Officers said they now thought his family had "taken steps to be able to feed him". It was unclear precisely what they meant but Hampshire Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead added: "The feeding system that Ashya needs and the other associated medical care is complex, and I would appeal to Ashya's family not to think that they are able to administer this care themselves." It is feared the battery on his medical feeding unit, which is designed only for temporary use and is not easy to replace, has now run out. He said it was unclear whether Ashya's parents had spare batteries. "Without properly administered food Ashya's situation is very serious," he said. Ashya and his family were last seen on a ferry to France on Thursday evening. Mr Shead cautioned it was possible the family may not have travelled on to Spain and asked people across Europe to remain vigilant. According to Ian Pople, a consultant neurosurgeon, the battery in the feeding machine used by Ashya can't be changed easily. It is integrated within the machine, much like an iPhone, and it means the machine has to be taken apart to replace the battery. It's also not designed to be run on batteries for a long period and is usually plugged into the mains. In other words, it's only battery-reliant for short periods, such as going to the toilet, or moving between wards. Although the arrest warrant was "based around neglect", Mr Shead said this did not necessarily mean the parents would be charged with that offence. "It purely gives us the power to arrest and then we will be able to speak to them," he said. Ashya's paternal grandmother, Patricia King, said the couple were "wonderful" and had been distraught at their child's illness. Ms King, who lives in Southsea, said her son was "the most caring and wonderful father you could ever have". She also praised her daughter-in-law, saying she had kept a bedside vigil while Ashya was in hospital. "We are a very close family," she said. Mr Shead said his force was considering sending officers from Hampshire to assist Spanish police in Marbella. He also thanked the Spanish authorities for their help with the search for the family and urged any medical professionals to be on the lookout for the family. Mr Shead said the latest information was "positive", adding: "There have been widespread media alerts across Europe. "We would now encourage anyone with links to Spain particularly, to also help us spread the appeal via social media." Interpol has issued a missing persons alert to all 190 of its member countries and said it was treating all information on the case as "high priority". Brett King, 51, and Naghemeh King, 45, removed Ashya from the ward on Thursday. A spokesman for the hospital, which contacted police six hours after the family left, said on Friday: "Ashya was a long-term patient who was permitted to leave the ward under the supervision of his parents as part of his ongoing rehabilitation. "When the length of time he had been absent became a cause of concern to staff yesterday afternoon they contacted police after a search of the site and attempts to contact the family were unsuccessful." Mr Shead said police were told by the hospital the child was missing at 20:35 BST on Thursday - more than six hours after he had been taken by his parents. On why the hospital did not alert police sooner, he said: "That is something that we need to look at." Parents have the right to remove their children from hospital unless they are prevented from doing so by a court order - it has not been confirmed whether Ashya was subject to an order. If doctors are concerned that parents intend to remove a child, deny it the medical treatment it needs, and expose it to the risk of serious harm, they can seek a court order. This will normally involve CAFCASS (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), the non-departmental public body which provides guardians to represent the best interests of children in family court proceedings. Once an order is in place, any parent who removes their child in breach of the order is committing a contempt of court for which they could be imprisoned. Hampshire Police confirmed the family are Jehovah's Witnesses, but there is no suggestion this is why he was taken. Officers were keeping an "open mind" on the motives, Mr Shead said. The Office of Public Information for Jehovah's Witnesses said in a statement: "There is absolutely no indication, as far as we are aware, that their decision is in any way motivated by any religious convictions." Jehovah's Witnesses say they refuse blood transfusions on the basis of biblical teaching. Their website says the Old and New Testaments "clearly command us to abstain from blood". The family, from Southsea, Hampshire, were travelling in a grey Hyundai I800 Style CRDI, registration KP60 HWK. Officers have asked for anyone who sees the vehicle to contact them.
A European arrest warrant has been issued for the parents of a five-year-old boy with a brain tumour, missing from hospital since Thursday.
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The service said it had a shortage of 24 staff - the equivalent of 12 ambulance crews - that could have led to delays for "less serious calls". It said support was sought from voluntary and private ambulance crews. The shortage was due to a factors including rostered leave, sickness, vacant shifts and cancelled overtime. John McPoland from the NIAS said the shortage left the service about 20% down on the usual 60 crews it expected to have in place for a Saturday night shift. He added that the staff shortage was an ongoing issue. "We are experiencing difficulty at the weekend and we have been relying on the voluntary crews and on the private ambulances," he said. "We also rely on our staff coming in and doing overtime. "We have been dealing with situations like this for quite a while now. "We're absolutely not happy about it but we will take steps to try to address it." He added that the reduced service would mostly be felt by patients "whose situation is not immediately or potentially life-threatening".
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has said it had to operate a reduced level of cover on Saturday night due to a shortage of staff.
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The New Zealand spinner fell two runs short of a century when he was stumped off Jack Leach, who also finished with career-best figures of 7-106. After bowling Warwickshire out for 324, Somerset then slumped to 9-3 as Keith Barker picked up three early wickets. Patel's devastating spell saw the hosts bowled out for 110 at Taunton before Warwickshire closed on 20-0. The 35-year-old's fine innings, which included eight fours and four sixes, took the visitors past an unlikely 300 after they were 120-7 at one stage on day two. After resuming on 180-7, the Bears' recovery was aided by Laurie Evans who made 73, sharing an eighth-wicket stand of 166 with Patel. On a third day pitch which had begun to turn, Patel had Jim Allenby caught at short leg, before Peter Trego and Luke Ronchi were both dismissed lbw. Lewis Gregory then could only pick out deep mid-wicket when he looked to launch the spinner over the boundary rope. Having edged his way to 26 Tom Cooper was bowled to give Patel his third first-class five-wicket haul of the season. Jamie Overton and Leach were both caught in the slips as Somerset were bowled out in just 34 overs, leaving Alfonso Thomas, in his final innings for the county, stranded on 13. Varun Chopra and Ian Westwood saw off the final hour before stumps without trouble to leave the Bears requiring another 205 for victory. Bears all-rounder Jeetan Patel told BBC WM: "It didn't bother me falling two short of a century because I don't really worry about stats like that. The partnership with Laurie Evans was more important because it got us back in the game. "The main thing is that it was a good day for the team. After seeing Jack Leach do so well for Somerset it was good for me to get some turn and take wickets. The ball is coming out well for me at the moment. "We still have a lot of work to do to win the game because 200 more will take some getting on that pitch. Hopefully we can be proactive from the start tomorrow and finish the season with a win." Somerset fast bowler Alfonso Thomas: "It was emotional for me walking out to bat in both innings on my last appearance for the club because I have had eight great years here. "There have been a lot of highlights. Taking four wickets in four balls in a Championship match was great for me personally, but there have been so many memorable times for the team while I have been here and a lot of great one-day occasions at Taunton. "I still think we can win this game. The pitch is aiding spin, rather than seam, but hopefully I can chip in and we can support Jack Leach. If that happens, it won't be easy for Warwickshire to get 200 more runs."
Jeetan Patel took a career-best 7-38 after hitting 98 as Warwickshire fought back against Somerset.
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About 12 students stormed the offices of LSE director, Sir Howard Davies Students and 150 held a rally outside. The LSE says it is reconsidering links with Libya "as a matter of urgency". But the students demanded the university paid back the £300,000 it had accepted of a £1.5m grant from a charity wing of the regime. The grant was pledged in 2009 by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. The funds have so far been used to develop a research programme on North Africa, focused on politics, economics and society. The student demonstrators called on the LSE management to "repay" the £300,000 already spent by creating a scholarship fund for underprivileged Libyan students. The students also urged the university to revoke the LSE alumni status of Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's second son Saif al-Islam, who studied at the university from 2003 to 2008, gaining both a Master of Science degree and a doctorate. They called for a public commitment that no grants from officials "of such oppressive regimes" would be accepted in the future, as well as a public statement denouncing the recent "gross violations of human rights" by the Gaddafi regime. One of the protesters, Ashok Kumar, who is also education officer for the LSE students' union, said: "I think it's reprehensible that the university continues to benefit from money that was stolen from the Libyan people and it's only right to return it to the people who are now being murdered in the streets fighting for their freedom." The money should be returned either as scholarships to underprivileged students, or "to the families of those who have been murdered and who continue to be murdered", he said. In a statement, the university said the LSE Director "noted the message" from the students. "He shares the students' revulsion at the recent violence and gross violations of human rights in Libya, and much regrets the association of the School's name with Saif Gaddafi and the actions of the Libyan regime. "The School's statement of 21 February made clear that School engagement with the present Libyan authorities, covering a number of programmes, has already finished or has been stopped following the events of the weekend of 19-20 February." The university said no more of the £1.5m donation from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation would be accepted. It said about half of the £300,000 already accepted had been spent and its council would now consider what to do with the remaining funds, taking into account the views of LSE students. The LSE's review of its links with Libya follows a speech made by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi on Sunday, in which he said the regime in Libya would stand firm. He warned of civil war, talked of "rivers of blood" and rejected foreign intervention. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi wrote his doctoral dissertation on the role of civil society in the democratisation of global governance institutions.
Students at the London School of Economics have staged a protest against the university's association with the regime in Libya.
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In a letter sent to the court that convicted him, he says it would be easier - and less expensive - for his family to visit him in Africa. He also said he feared being attacked in a British prison. Taylor was convicted of aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war. Last week, a UK minister confirmed that Taylor would be transferred to a British prison. He was convicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), but his trial was held in The Hague in case it sparked renewed unrest in West Africa. The Netherlands only agreed to host the trial if he was imprisoned elsewhere. In a letter seen by the BBC, Taylor wrote: "My position is that serving my sentence in Rwanda, in my home continent of Africa, would be substantially more humane not only on my own account, but also on account of the impact on my family." He noted that the court's statutes said access for prisoners' relatives should be taken into account when deciding where they should serve their sentence. • 1989: Launches rebellion in Liberia • 1991: RUF rebellion starts in Sierra Leone • 1997: Elected president after a 1995 peace deal • 1999: Rebels take up arms against Taylor • June 2003: Arrest warrant issued; two months later he steps down and goes into exile in Nigeria • March 2006: Arrested after a failed escape bid and sent to Sierra Leone • June 2007: His trial opens - hosted in The Hague for security reasons • April 2012: Convicted of aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes - later sentenced to 50 years in jail Charles Taylor profile Why Taylor will be jailed in UK He said that it would be cheaper and easier to travel to Rwanda - and that Liberian nationals could obtain visas at the airport, unlike in the UK. Taylor, 65, was convicted on 11 crimes including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 conflict, in which some 50,000 people died. He was found to have supplied weapons to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in exchange for so-called blood diamonds. The rebels were notorious for hacking off the limbs of civilians to terrorise the population. Taylor has always insisted he is innocent and his only contact with the rebels was to urge them to stop fighting. He is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II. In his three-page letter, dated 10 October, Taylor continued: "My name is now associated with horrendous atrocities. Prison inmates, whether from the region or not, are likely to be inclined to inflict their own brand of justice by attacking me." He pointed out that "a significant number of individuals from Sierra Leonean background are in detention in prisons in the UK" and noted that in 2011, Bosnian war criminal Radislav Krstic was attacked in a British jail by three Muslim men, apparently in revenge for his role in the Bosnian conflict. Taylor argued that the UK authorities "may also simply be unaware of the groups that might be particularly motivated to attack me in prison". "In short, incarceration in the United Kingdom will likely - and very soon - lead to me being seriously injured or killed." Some other people convicted by the SCSL are already serving their sentences in Rwanda. Last week, UK Justice Minister Jeremy Wright noted that the British offer to host Taylor had enabled his trial to proceed in The Hague. He told parliament: "The conviction of Charles Taylor is a landmark moment for international justice." "It clearly demonstrates that those who commit atrocities will be held to account and that no matter their position they will not enjoy impunity." Taylor's appeal against his conviction was rejected last month and he remains in The Hague, awaiting transfer.
Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has asked to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes in Rwanda, rather than the UK.
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The RSPB said a male hen harrier vanished from a Forest of Bowland nest three weeks ago, with males at two others not seen for a week. Male hen harriers disappearing while part of an active nesting attempt is "exceptionally unusual", the charity added. Police are investigating. The reward is for any information which leads to a successful conviction. The hen harrier is listed as a red status species, meaning that it is threatened and that populations have suffered a severe decline in numbers. In the absence of males to hunt for food, females at two of the nests were forced to abandon their eggs, the charity said. Last year there were only two breeding pairs in the Forest of Bowland. Martin Harper, from the RSPB, said: "Hen harriers are hanging on by a thread in England and the disappearances of the past few weeks have made a desperate situation even worse. "We don't know what has happened to these three birds, but we will find out and we will save our hen harriers. This is an awful setback, but it will not stop us." Source: BBC Nature
A £10,000 reward has been offered after three rare birds of prey disappeared in Lancashire.
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The technical error has directed people searching for the national park more than 150m (241km) away to a location between Chelsea and Knightsbridge. Brecon Beacons National Park Authority posted the image online with the caption: "We have now moved. Londoners get an upgrade thanks to Google Maps." Chief executive John Cook joked: "Well the move has come as a bit of a shock to us all." He added: "I'm sure it will come as good news to Londoners who want some fresh mountain air on their doorstep. "The truth is we are only three hours away from London - don't rely on your sat-nav or Google Maps - just head to Bristol on the M4, cross the bridge, ask a local and they'll know exactly where to find us."
A glitch on Google Maps has located the Brecon Beacons in the heart of London.
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He was repeatedly asked by MPs for evidence of his claim and a Muslim group has made an official complaint. The 22 March bomb attacks at Brussels airport and Maelbeek metro station left 32 dead and hundreds more wounded. Separately a new report says one bomber worked at the airport for five years. Mr Jambon, whose centre-right nationalist New Flemish Alliance is the largest party in parliament, has been broadly criticised for telling a newspaper that a significant section of the Muslim community danced after the attacks, One political opponent, Katja Gabriels, warned him that a member of the government could not make such generalisations and insult a whole section of the community. Others called for facts and figures to back up his remarks. "For days now people are focusing on the word 'significant' and talking about how many instances, how many police reports etc. I'll tell you straight: I don't have police reports. There are some, but not many," Mr Jambon told MPs. "Everyone knows that these things happened. Do we have to wait for an official police report to confirm the existence of these facts?" He also reminded his colleagues that stones and bottles were thrown at police after they arrested Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, four days before the Brussels bombings. One police officer told Flemish TV that he had witnessed three separate incidents after the Brussels attacks of young people laughing and making a V-for-victory sign with their fingers. But he said he had not seen anyone dancing. Meanwhile a report citing sources by Flemish broadcaster VTM (in Dutch) said airport suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui had worked for five years for a company that operates at the facility until late 2012, shortly before he travelled to Syria to join so-called Islamic State. Laachraoui, 24, blew himself up with Ibrahim el-Bakraoui little over an hour before el-Bakraoui's brother, Khalid, attacked the metro with a suicide bombing in the heart of Brussels' European quarter. The federal prosecutor told the BBC it had no comment on the report "because we don't have this information". Laachraoui has emerged as the bomb and weapons expert in both the Paris and Brussels attacks. He would have had a security pass and would have known about airport security, VTM said. The report also spoke of a secret prayer room used by radicalised employees at the airport which was shut down by police shortly before the attacks. Separately, another of the Paris attacks suspects, Salah Abdeslam, was accused on Thursday of attempting to murder four police officers who were wounded in Brussels a week before the March bombings. Algerian Islamist Mohamed Belkaid was killed in a shootout when police raided a flat on 15 March, but Salah Abdeslam and another suspect, Amine Choukri, escaped. They were arrested three days later. Salah Abdeslam is expected to be extradited to France shortly, and the Belgian accusation is not expected to affect his transfer because he has not been placed under an arrest warrant.
Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon has come under fire for saying that a "significant part of the Muslim community danced" in response to the Brussels bomb attacks.
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They will play hosts France in the quarter-final on Sunday after goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson knocked out England and forced manager Roy Hodgson to resign. Iceland, ranked 34th in the world, were surprise qualifiers for what is their first international tournament. "We all believed. The rest of the world didn't but we did," said Arnason. Iceland's population is just 329,000 - not many more than live in Coventry and almost 10 times fewer than Wales - and it is believed 8% of those are in France following their side. The island nation, which has no professional clubs, ranked 131st in the world during the last European Championships four years ago. "This is without a doubt the biggest result in Icelandic football history. We've shocked the world," added Arnason. Wayne Rooney put England ahead with a fourth-minute penalty but Iceland were ahead by the 18th minute and held on comfortably despite Hodgson's side having 18 attempts on goal. Iceland defender Sigurdsson, 29, accused England of complacency against a side who had already held Portugal and Hungary and beaten Austria during the group stage. "They thought this would be a walk in the park but we had faith in our ability," Sigurdsson said. "It went well. We didn't feel that England created any chances. We were just heading away long balls. I wasn't stressed in the second half." Media playback is not supported on this device Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson - joint manager with former Sweden boss Lars Lagerback - praised his side for taking their chances and is in confident mood for Sunday's quarter-final in Paris. "I was more relaxed than during the game against Austria," he said. "If someone had told me a few years ago that we would reach the last eight, I have to say I would not believe it. "But no obstacle is too big for these guys now. If you want the best out of life you have to be ready when the opportunity comes. That is a fact and these boys were ready and this opportunity that was put in our hand was huge - it can change their lives. "We are optimistic. Some Icelanders maybe think we are too optimistic, that we don't think we can fail, but we have a gameplan." Icelandic TV commentator Gudmundur Benediktsson went viral last week with his excited reaction to the win over Austria and he was at it again during the win in Nice - even seeming to reference the result of Britain's EU referendum. "This is done! This is done! We are never going home! Did you see that! Did you see that!" he said. "Never wake me from this amazing dream! "Live the way you want England! Iceland is going to play France on Sunday. France-Iceland! You can go home. You can go out of Europe. "You can go wherever the hell you want. England 1 Iceland 2 is the closing score here in Nice. And the fairytale continues." Create leagues and play against your friends in BBC Sport's new Euro 2016 Predictor game
Iceland's European Championship last-16 win over England "shocked the world", according to defender Kari Arnason.
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That is the warning in a report from economists at the World Bank. But there are some more upbeat aspects of their assessment. They don't reject the idea that this might just be a temporary soft patch. And they say emerging economies are not as vulnerable as they were in previous decades. The starting point for this report is the marked slowdown in growth that has already taken place in the emerging market economies since 2010. They have grown more slowly than the five years before the international financial crisis. By last year, the growth rate had slipped below the long-term average. China is the most high-profile example and in a way it's a special case. A slowdown there was seen as inevitable after three decade of rapid economic expansion. But many others in this group have also seen their performance weaken including Brazil, Russia and South Africa. (India is something of an exception.) Their slowdown contrasts with a weak but steady recovery in the advanced economies. The central question posed by the report is whether this is a temporary problem or the beginning of a new era of slower growth. There is no definitive answer in this report, but there is a clear sense of unease that it might be the latter, less attractive of the two possibilities. Some of the factors behind the slowdown are likely to be persistent. Many are affected by sliding prices of commodities such as metals and oil. There has also been weaker demand in export markets for their products, which in turn partly reflects what the report calls "anaemic growth in the advanced economies". International trade is likely to stay weak as the rich countries' recovery remains hesitant. Large investments in commodity production in recent years are likely to mean strong supplies which will keep downward pressure on prices. Some, especially oil exporters, have seen a deterioration in government finances as tax revenue has fallen sharply. There also been a marked decline in foreign investment going into emerging economies. It fell by about a quarter between 2010 and 2014. In the first part of 2015 there was a marked increase in capital leaving the emerging economies. There are also domestic factors, including aging populations in many emerging economies. The growth in productivity - the amount that each worker produces - has slowed in many. The report describes the slowdown as "unusually synchronous (affecting many countries at the same time) and protracted". Looking, ahead the report notes the prospect of higher borrowing costs as the US Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates - widely expected to begin as soon as next week. That is likely to lead also to a stronger dollar. That makes money borrowed in dollars more expensive to repay and the amount of foreign currency debt has increased from 30% of emerging economies' national income in 2007 to 36% last year. Declining currencies could also cause an inflation problem - they make imports more costly. There are clearly some reasons to be concerned. But the World Bank's economists also emphasise how these countries have changed compared with the 1980s and 90s. They have reduced debt and inflation levels, diversified their economies (they are less dependent on specific industries and so less in danger if those industries get into difficulty). And they have improved their economic policies. What should they do? There is no one-size-fits-all. Those who can afford to spend more on infrastructure (transport, telecommunications, energy) would benefit from doing so. There's a call for continued efforts to improve the climate for business, make labour markets more effective, tackle corruption and improve the efficiency of government. Much of this is frankly advice the Bank would give to most countries most of the time. So no hard conclusions here. More of a warning; a call for economic vigilance.
The emerging market countries are at a crossroads, facing the possibility of new era of slower economic growth.
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Nicholas Briggs, 28, went missing from HMP Leyhill in South Gloucestershire last Thursday. He is serving an 18-month sentence for domestic assault and was arrested by Gwent Police on Sunday night. A second inmate, Anthony McCormick, 52, who absconded at the same time, and who was handed a life sentence in 1998 after being convicted of rape, handed himself into police on Friday.
A second inmate who absconded from an open prison has been arrested.
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She died in Milan after a long illness, Italy's Ansa news agency reports. Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of publishers Conde Naste International, described her as "one of the greatest editors who ever made a magazine". Celebrities including Madonna, Kanye West and Victoria Beckham paid tribute to her. In a post on Instagram, Madonna posted a photo of her with the caption: "RIP Franca Sozzani! A trail blazer and a True Rebel! You are loved and adored by so many! We will miss you." US fashion model Kendall Jenner tweeted: "Rest peacefully, Franca Sozzani." Sozzani took charge of Vogue Italia in 1988 and became a key figure on the global fashion scene. In 2008, she produced an "all black" issue, featuring black models only. It became an international hit. Once asked how to define style, she said: "I think people should buy more mirrors than clothes, to see themselves before going out... but I think that clothes need to correspond to one's own personality. That is style." Sozzani was also a champion of humanitarian causes. She served as goodwill ambassador to fashion for the UN, supporting workers in the fashion world in Africa and Asia and helping to raise money to fight hunger. In a tribute on the Vogue website, US Vogue editor Anna Wintour described Sozzani as "warm, clever, funny". "She made everything she worked on appear effortless, regardless of whether it was an event for several hundred; a whirlwind trip to Africa to support the continent's emerging designers; or the creation of yet another newsworthy, provocative, and utterly spellbinding issue of Italian Vogue," she said. Sozzani attended the Fashion Awards in London earlier this month where designer Tom Ford presented her with the Swarovski award for positive change.
Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia for 28 years and a champion of Italian fashion, has died at the age of 66.
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A mayday call was made at about 05:00 BST from the Pegotty, a motor cruiser taking on water just north of Grimsby dock, the Humber coastguard said. A pilot vessel from Grimsby took two people off the boat, which sank about 25 minutes after the emergency call. The Humber and Cleethorpes RNLI lifeboats were also launched. The pilot vessel, Venus, and the two lifeboats returned to Grimsby after the rescue. "The casualties were checked over and found to require no medical attention", said the RNLI. Daniel Cooper, Cleethorpes RNLI Lifeboat operations manager, said: "Our volunteer crew managed to respond very quickly and launched the lifeboat within six minutes of the request for their assistance." The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been informed.
Two people have been rescued from a sinking boat in the Humber estuary after a collision with another vessel in the fog.
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The artist and photographer David Gwinnutt was part of the 1980s art scene that centred around the Blitz club in London's Covent Garden, leading to the creatives who frequented it being dubbed the "Blitz kids". Although they were known for their flamboyant makeup and performances, Gwinnutt captured these young men and women relaxing around their homes, which were often squats or rented council houses. Against a backdrop of the economic recession and unemployment of the early 1980s, some of these club-goers went on to become established artists and film-makers in their own right. "Derek Jarman [the experimental British filmmaker] really liked the photographs I had taken of him and asked me who I'd most like to photograph. I said David Bowie," Gwinnutt remembered about this photograph. "He laughed and said I should photograph John Maybury." Maybury was also a film-maker, who used theatrical themes and visuals in his work. The portrait above was taken as he smoked his first cigarette of the day in his Camden flat. Gilbert & George are artists who have spent their lives as "living sculptures", wearing sharp suits and making their entire existence a performance, down to claiming to eat in the same Turkish restaurant every evening. Gwinnutt met them at Planets nightclub in Piccadilly and, noticing how they stood out from the crowd in their neat suits, asked to photograph them in their East London home. The artist Cerith Wyn Evans stands on the set of his film Epiphany, which took inspiration from the London club scene and starred friends such as the flamboyant performance artist Leigh Bowery. In the image below, the artist Maggi Hambling looks in the mirror while smoking at a sink. She is best known for her sculpture on Aldeburgh beach dedicated to Benjamin Britten, as well as another sculptural "conversation" with Oscar Wilde, located near Trafalgar Square. In this photograph (above), co-founder of the fashion label BodyMap, David Holah, reclines on a sofa during a dinner party in Bloomsbury. At the time of this photograph below, Norman Rosenthal was the Exhibitions Secretary of the Royal Academy in London. Sensation, an exhibition he curated for the Academy in 1997, featured the work of Cerith Wyn Evans amongst others. The picture was taken in Rosenthal's flat opposite the Academy, which was so sparsely furnished the curator and art historian was forced to sit on the floor. Although Rosenthal was reclining, Gwinnutt recalled, "I felt all the time that he was observing me." The film producer Alison Owen, mother of singer Lily Allen, stands in a doorway in the mid 1980s. Since this was taken, she has worked on films such as Shaun of the Dead, The Other Boleyn Girl and Brick Lane. Although known for his flamboyant dress sense and immaculate makeup, fashion designer Stephen Linard is seen below in bed in his Kings Cross flat. On graduating from St Martin's School of Art, his first catwalk show of "mean and moody menswear" propelled him to overnight success. The man at the centre of this artistic scene, Derek Jarman [below] stares intensely down the camera lens while his protégé John Maybury stands behind him. "Using only his handheld camera and natural light, Gwinnutt's grainy black and white photographs feel unguarded and spontaneous," said curator Sabina Jaskot-Gill of the National Portrait Gallery, "offering a glimpse into the private worlds of these rising stars who lived, worked and played together". "Gwinnutt's photographs serve as a social document of a moment that had far-reaching effects on the cultural landscape."
David Gwinnutt: Before We Were Men runs at the National Portrait Gallery from 16 March-24 September 2017.
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All are members of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and Dales Motorcycle Club, formed for clergy and lay motorcyclists. Ten bikes will start the trip on Monday from Leyburn in North Yorkshire. Reverend Michael Hepper from St Matthew's in Leyburn said it would be a "very different kind of retreat". The 725-mile round trip will begin with a 200-mile ride to Barnard Castle, over the moors to Hexham and through the Kielder Forest to Jedburgh and Edinburgh. The riders will continue to Fionnphort on the west coast of Scotland via the Trossachs and the Isle of Mull. The "pilgrimage" ends on the island of Iona, known as "the cradle of Christianity" because St Columba is said to have landed there by coracle from Ireland in AD563, bringing the Gospel. Mr Hepper said the trip would be "a spiritual experience and an adventure". Reverend Neal Lefroy-Owen, of St Hilda's, Halifax and St John's, Warley, said: "It's great to be able to share my love of riding with fellow Christians from the new diocese and to get to know them better." Reverend Canon Stephen Kelly - area dean of Wakefield and priest in charge of Woolley and West Bretton, Reverend Canon Paul Tudge of Farsley near Pudsey, and Reverend Vic Iwanuschak, Incumbent of All Saints Pontefract will also take part in the pilgrimage ride. Five lay riders and four pillion passengers will accompany them.
Five Yorkshire vicars are preparing for a five-day motorbike "pilgrimage" from Yorkshire to Iona off the west coast of Scotland.
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The fighter gave himself up when he was approached near the town of Sinjar on Monday morning, an Iraqi Kurdish general said. He was reportedly carrying a large quantity of cash, three phones and a US driving licence. The US is leading an international military coalition against IS. The US state department said that it was aware of reports that a US citizen had been captured by Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, Reuters reports. "We are in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports," a state department official said. CBS News said the man was trying to enter Turkey when he was intercepted by Kurdish forces. Maj Gen Feisal Helkani of the Kurdish peshmerga forces said the man was currently being held by the peshmerga for interrogation, AP reports.
US officials are checking reports that an American member of the so-called "Islamic State" group (IS) has been held in northern Iraq.
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Production would never reach that level again, with the strike heralding the long slow decline of an industry they once called King Coal. Thirty years later, China's growth in coal consumption - just its growth - was not far off the UK's 1983 total output. In 2013, China consumed an extra 93 million tonnes of the stuff. That amount - a mountain of the black fuel that would at one time have kept the best part of a quarter of a million British miners in work - represented only a 2.6% increase in China's seemingly insatiable appetite for coal. Like Britain, China's industrial revolution has been coal-powered, but it has been on a scale and speed like nothing else in world history, bringing with it serious environmental implications. China surpassed the United States to become the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2007 and, if that trajectory is followed, it is well on track to double US emission levels within the next few years. For anyone, anywhere worried about climate change, China has become the problem, and with the country opening a new coal-fired power station on average every week, it is a problem that has looked likely to simply grow and grow. Except that the recently released figures for 2014 suggest that something very interesting may now be happening. Rather than another giant increase in coal consumption, for the first time in 15 years, government data shows that China's annual coal consumption declined by 2.9%, with an accompanying 1% fall in carbon dioxide emissions. A series of articles looking at how the world will meet increasing demand for energy and the need to cut CO2 emissions linked to global warming, using old and new technologies Rather than never-ending growth, all the talk now is of "peak coal", the moment when China begins to wean itself off fossil fuels. And some analysts believe, on the basis of that 2014 figure, the moment may well have already arrived. "It's quite possible," says Wang Tao, an expert on climate and energy policy at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy in Beijing. "I wouldn't say 100% sure, but given what we're seeing in the heavy industries and the direction that China is trying to drive its economy, I don't think we're going to see a dramatic change and coal consumption back up again." Other analysts are a little more cautious, but almost all agree that peak coal, if it hasn't yet arrived, is closer than anyone previously thought. And while some of it may be down to simple economic factors - the now well-documented slowdown in Chinese growth in recent years - there is wide recognition that a significant shift in Chinese environmental policy is also playing a part. China used to argue that it was unfair for developed countries to lecture as, just as they had in the course of their industrialisation, it had the "right to pollute". If it had to choose between its economy or its environment, the old orthodoxy used to go, the economy would win every time. "There are priorities driving Chinese policy makers to move faster than they are used to," says Li Yan, head of climate and energy campaign for Greenpeace East Asia. "I think that the environmental crisis we're facing right now, especially the air pollution - no-one expected this to be a top political priority four years ago but look at where we are now," she says. "The issue is shaping energy policy, economic policy and even local agendas in the most polluted regions." Here, she says, the public simply "cannot bear the air quality the way it is any longer". China is now the world's biggest investor in renewable energy, particularly in power generation. In fact, the country has seen more than $400bn (£267bn) invested in clean energy in the past 10 years, and is ranked number one in the world in consultancy EY's renewable energy country attractiveness index. According to Wang Tao, one in every four units of power generated now comes from wind, solar or hydro plants, and a new debate has begun, focusing not on the need to build more renewable energy plants, but on how to best utilise this new and still rapidly growing resource. "We have to make sure that people have the incentives to continue to invest in these renewables, and also that consumers will be able to know and to choose wisely in terms of what kind of electricity they consume, and also change their behaviour," he says. And where once everyone spoke about the huge vested interests in China's fossil fuel-powered sectors, many believe the government is starting to take them on. "In Hubei Province," Li Yan says, "we are observing very bold and firm action to close down the dirtiest fleet of the iron, steel and cement sector, even at the cost of temporary job losses. "I think that's a painful process, but it's also a demonstration of how important the air pollution agenda is in this region." Greenpeace's great fear had once been that China was preparing for a huge shift towards coal gasification projects - rather than using coal directly to fuel power plants, using it to produce natural gas. While the end product may be cleaner, critics argue that the industrial processes involved in the conversion emit more greenhouse gases and have other serious environmental impacts, like the huge amount of water consumed. But even here, there appear to be signs of a bit of a rethink going on. China's state-run media has cited an unnamed policymaker as saying that while the country will complete the construction of already approved coal-to-natural-gas plants, it will not approve new ones, at least until 2020. It is of course much too early to suggest that China is turning its back on King Coal. The fuel will make up the majority of its energy sector well into the next decade, a period over which it will continue to burn well over 3 billion tonnes of it every year. But even as new power plants come on stream, it seems likely that - if it hasn't already happened - very soon the overall reliance on coal will begin to decrease and more and more of those new plants will be forced to operate below capacity. If the slowdown in economic growth becomes more serious and sustained, then some environmentalists believe we could yet see the Chinese government lurch for another bout of stimulus spending, pouring money into the big energy-intensive industries and sparking another coal boom. But for now, there are signs that China's unbearable air has become the catalyst for at least the beginnings of a fundamental change in direction.
In 1983, the year before the coal miners' strike - one of the most bitter industrial disputes in British history - the UK produced 119 million tonnes of coal.
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In a prosecution case running to 12,000 pages, the charges against him cover a 16-year period between 1991 and 2007. On 23 June 2017 the Loyalist supergrass pleaded guilty to the following charges: Between 16 May 1997 and 19 May 1997 he murdered John Harbinson. On 24 February 1994 he murdered Sean McParland. On 17 May 1994 he murdered Gary Convey and Eamon Fox. Between 28 August 1994 and 1 September 1994 he murdered Sean McDermott. Between 5 May 1997 and 8 May 1997 he attempted to murder John Flynn. On 17 May 1994 he attempted to murder Witness A. On 6 April 1997 he attempted to murder Clarence Gould. On a date unknown between 29 May 2006 and 1 August 2006 he attempted to murder Mark Haddock. On a date unknown between 31 December 1994 and 1 January 2004 he attempted to murder police officers. On 24 February 1991 he aided and abetted in the murder of Peter McTasney. On a date unknown between 26 February 1994 and 1 September 1994 he conspired to murder an unknown male who resided at Henderson Avenue, Belfast. On a date unknown between 31 March 1994 and 1 June 1994 he conspired to murder an unknown person who lived in the Tiger's Bay area of Belfast. On a date unknown between 1 May 1994 and 31 August 1994 he conspired to murder an unknown male, believed by him to be a member of the IRA. On a date unknown between 31 December 1992 and 30 June 1994 he conspired to murder William Spence. On a date unknown between 1 July 1994 and 15 September 1994 he conspired to murder Terry Fairfield. On a date unknown between 1 May 1994 and 1 September 1994 he conspired to murder an unknown male at the Ramble Inn, County Antrim. On a date unknown between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 1996 he conspired to murder Mark Campbell. On a date unknown between 31 December 2004 and 1 January 2006 he conspired to murder a person unknown, believed by him to be a member of the Loyalist Volunteer Force. On 13 May 1996 he conspired to murder Archibald Galway. On a date unknown between 31 September 1998 and 1 December 1998 he conspired to murder Samuel Toan. On a date unknown between 27 October 2000 and 1 January 2001 he conspired to murder persons believed by him to be members of the Ulster Defence Association. On a date unknown between 1 January 1991 and 31 September 2000 he conspired to murder Thomas English. On a date unknown between 31 December 2004 and 1 January 2007 he conspired to murder persons unknown, believed by him to be members of the LVF. On a date unknown between 31 December 2004 and 1 January 2007 he conspired to murder Willie Beckett. On a date unknown between 31 December 2004 and 1 September 2005 he conspired to murder Laurence Kincaid. On a date unknown between 1 January 2006 and 31 May 2006 he conspired to murder Mark Haddock. On a date unknown between 31 December 1993 and 1 January 1995 he conspired to murder persons unknown. On a date unknown between 31 December 1993 and 1 January 1995 he conspired to murder persons unknown. On a date unknown between 1 July 1999 and 1 November 2000 he conspired to murder an unknown person, believed by him to be a member of the LVF. On a date unknown between 18 May 1994 and 1 January 1995 he conspired to murder Michael Donnelly. On a date unknown between 18 May 1994 and 1 January 1995 he conspired to murder John Donnelly. On a date unknown between 18 May 1994 and 31 December 1995 he conspired to murder Leo Morgan. On a date unknown between 1 April 1994 and 22 September 1994 he conspired to murder Liam Maskey. On a date unknown between 16 May 1997 and 19 May 1997 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned John Harbinson. On 17 February 1994 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned Pauline Carson. On a date unknown between 26 February 1994 and 1 September 1994 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned an unknown female. On 13 May 1996 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned Archibald Galway. On a date unknown between 31 December 2000 and 10 September 2003 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned Jackie McDowell. On a date unknown between 31 January 2004 and 1 January 2007 he unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned David Millar. These included: Twelve Taurus pistols. A .357 calibre Magnum revolver. A sawn-off shotgun. Two Sten guns and a .38 calibre Smith and Wesson revolver . A Model 1939 Beretta handgun, a WW1 bolt action rifle, four shotguns and ammunition. Two AK47 machine guns and a quantity of assorted ammunition. An Uzi machine gun. Five P226 Sig Sauer pistols and one HS pistol. Five Ingram machine pistols. These included: A quantity of electronic detonators and 12 Mercury tilt switches. An improvised under car booby trap explosive device. Twelve hand grenades. A quantity of improvised pipe bombs. An improvised coffee jar bomb. Namely a quantity of improvised pipe bomb type explosive devices. On dates ranging from 30 January 1991 to 1 March 2007. On dates between 1 March 1994 and 1 March 2007. These articles included: Electronic equipment consisting of digital cameras, digital video recorders, laptop computers, scanning equipment and covert audio recording equipment. A bullet-proof vest. Three sledgehammers. A metal grinder, drill bits, discs, a vice, a centre punch, wire brushes and silicone. A Nissan Sunny motor vehicle, video surveillance equipment, various other motor cars and vans and a covert audio and video device. The casing of an Uzi sub machine gun, other component parts of firearms and a Lathe Mill. These included: £130,000 cash. £5000 cash. £10,000 cash. These included: A laptop containing information relating to UVF targets. A photographic montage and files containing information relating to republican targets. Documents containing targeting information relating to the identities and addresses of persons believed to be republicans. Details of republican and loyalist paramilitaries and a DVD of an alleged republican parade. Names and addresses from the electoral register and a document containing information relating to the names of dissident republican targets. These included: On 6 April 1997 unlawfully and maliciously wounding Thomas English. On a date unknown between 29 April 2000 and 1 January 2005 unlawfully and maliciously wounded Alan Clarke. On a date unknown between 26 January 2001 and 10 September 2003 unlawfully and maliciously wounded William Glendinning. On 7 July 2000 unlawfully and maliciously wounded William Montgomery and Thompson Beckett. On a date unknown between 31 December 1995 and 1 January 1998 unlawfully and maliciously wounded Stephen Logue. On a date unknown between 27 March 1996 and 30 March 1996 unlawfully and maliciously wounded David McCosh. On 29 March 1997 unlawfully and maliciously wounded Alan McClure. On 7 April 2005 unlawfully and maliciously wounded Stephen Gaw. On a date unknown between 8 July 2000 and 11 July 2000 unlawfully and maliciously wounded David Graham. On 30 June 1994 unlawfully and maliciously wounded Glen Agnew. On 13 May 1996 assaulted William James Galway. On a date unknown between 1 September 1994 and 30 September 1994 destroyed or damaged by fire the Roughfort Inn, Newtownabbey. On a date unknown between 20 September 1994 and 23 September 1994 destroyed or damaged by fire Quick Fit Frames, Newtownabbey. On a date unknown between 1 September 2005 and 1 January 2007 destroyed a van belonging to Safeway's PLC. On a date unknown between 1 June 2000 and 1 January 2001 destroyed a number of houses belonging to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Namely a post office on a date unknown between 31 December 1999 and 20 April 2000. Namely a knife. Providing set top boxes which enabled access to television services for which NTL would not receive payment. Providing chips for mobile phones for which BT would not receive payment. Namely £35,000 in cash On a date unknown between 31 December 2005 and 1 January 2007 conspired to riotously assemble
The list of 200 charges Gary Haggarty has admitted runs to 82 pages.
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The senior west London coroner Chinyere Inyama "inadvertently disposed" of a 30-page document of evidence against the chief suspect Arnis Zalkalns in November, police said. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) tried to recover the file but concluded it had probably been destroyed. Alice went missing in August and her body was found in a river in September. Her family said they were "extremely concerned, bewildered and angry" that highly sensitive information about Alice had been lost. The force said the search for the missing 14-year-old was the largest investigation it had undertaken since the 7 July 2005 bomb attacks in London. Her body was found in the River Brent on 30 September 2014. The body of Arnis Zalkalns, 41, from Latvia, was found on 4 October, decomposed in woodland in west London. A post-mortem examination found he died from hanging. The following month, a copy of the police file against him was lost. Alice's family said: "We have looked to the police and coroner to help us through our awful loss. Yet now we learn they - either independently or together - have withheld from us the loss of this terribly sensitive information about Alice. "We are extremely concerned, bewildered and angry, and we have asked for a full written explanation as to what exactly happened and why we were not told." A spokesman for the Met said: "In November 2014 the MPS was informed by HM Coroner, London West, that he had inadvertently disposed of a single document relating to the police evidence against Arnis Zalkalns. "An investigation to recover it was undertaken. This concluded that it was highly likely it had been destroyed as waste." Police said details of the evidence against Zalkalns was provided to the media in January with the agreement of the CPS and the coroner. The coroner was given the file to assist in his preparations for the inquests into Alice Gross and Zalkalns' deaths. The Ministry of Justice said: "This clearly appears to be a troubling incident. A full investigation is now under way."
A copy of the police investigation file into the murder of schoolgirl Alice Gross was left by a coroner on a train.
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A gunman opened fire on a 33-year-old man in Dornoch Place, Bishopbriggs, at about 15:10 on Thursday. The victim, who was collecting a child from St Helen's Primary, suffered non-life threatening injuries. Detectives are treating the incident as attempted murder. Pupils were being offered support from social workers. Officers said the gunman approached the victim, shot him and then ran off towards Ronaldsay Drive. The suspect was holding a silver-coloured gun and wearing a high-visibility reflective yellow jacket with the hood pulled up. He was described as being in his mid-40s, between 5ft 10in and 6ft tall and of heavy build. Detectives said they were following a number of lines of inquiry. They were keen to hear from anyone with information about a burnt-out grey Volkswagen Golf - registration FR12 PYB - found nearby in Wood Lane which is believed to have been involved in the incident. It was reported stolen in March. Det Supt Stevie Grant said: " I would appeal to anyone who has seen it either throughout the past few months or around the time of the incident to get in touch." A major incident room had been set up at Kirkintilloch Police Office and extra patrols were being made to reassure the public. The victim remains in hospital. Ch Insp Craig Smith said: "Understandably people in the local community are shocked and alarmed at what happened and I believe a number of young children may have witnessed the incident. "Police Scotland is working closely with our colleagues at East Dunbartonshire Council, and in particular the social work and education department, to ensure all those affected are provided with the best support possible." Armed officers were called to the scene of the shooting, which happened as pupils were leaving St Helens at the end of the school day on Thursday. One woman who lives in the residential area told BBC Scotland that she had heard three bangs which she believed were gunshots. Several streets in the area were cordoned off, and access to the primary school was closed.
Police investigating a shooting outside a primary school in East Dunbartonshire said a number of young children may have witnessed the incident.
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McDowell has dropped to 89th in the world rankings and as is stands, is not in the field for the Masters or the WGC Match Play in Mexico in early March. "The Masters is not something I'm going to beat myself up about," said the 2010 US Open champion, who is now 37. "If come Bay Hill (mid-March) I'm not in, I'm not going to add more events." However, McDowell believes with him playing in Qatar and Dubai on the European Tour and the Genesis Open and Honda Classic in America over the coming five weeks, he is capable of putting himself in contention to earn spots at the World Match Play and Augusta. "I'm more motivated than I have been for a while. I still have the belief that my good is good enough (to compete at the very top). I have just got to work hard and get out and be calm and believe in myself," added McDowell, who missed out on a fifth Ryder Cup appearance last year. McDowell says his watchword in the early weeks of the season will be "patience" as he focuses on the whole campaign rather an obsession with ensuring a ninth Masters appearance. "World ranking is very important but it's a step by step process. Getting back in the top 50 is goal number one and then back into the top 25 and competing in all the major championships. "How long is the road going to be? It could be a long road or a short road but I'm going to be patient with it. "The Masters is not going to be the be all and end all for me as my record around Augusta is not great. "Things like the World Match Play and getting ready for the British Open are also on my radar." McDowell did achieve five top-10 finishes in 2016 but he admits he "struggled for consistency" for much of the season. "I felt like when I played well, I did play well and posted some decent finishes but I was inconsistent and missed a lot of cuts." The Northern Irishman accepts that becoming a father for the second time during the year may have allowed his focus to drift away from his golf. "Getting married and having children are big steps in life. You never really understand what they are going to do to you from a priorities points of view, a mental point of view and a desire to play golf point of view. "I think they affected me more than I thought they were going to but I wouldn't change anything for the world. I've got two very healthy and beautiful young kids at home and I'm enjoying that stage of my life."
Graeme McDowell says he will not frantically chase a spot at this year's Masters as he prepares to begin his season at this week's Qatar Masters.
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Alcohol Concern said many young people recognised more alcohol brands than those of ice cream or cake products. It is calling for new rules on what alcohol adverts can mention and it also wants them banned in film trailers. Advertising body Isba said there was no strong evidence to suggest advertising influenced young people to drink. Alcohol Concern's report was based on research by its Youth Alcohol Advertising Council (YAAC) - a group of young people in England and Wales who review alcohol advertising and issue complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) when they discover content deemed to be irresponsible. Three of their 13 complaints so far have been upheld. In its report, Alcohol Concern said it had found "numerous" examples of inappropriate advertising and high levels of alcohol brand recognition among the young. It called for new rules restricting what adverts could mention about an alcohol product, arguing that only characteristics such as strength, origin, composition and means of production should be described. The charity also demanded a ban on alcohol advertising in the trailers of films shown in cinemas with less than an 18 certificate. It urged the ASA to operate in a "more proactive way", instead of "depending on complaints from the public" before looking into advertising code breaches. The ASA should be able to levy "meaningful" sanctions including fines for serious non-compliance, it added. In a statement, the ASA said it was "not unheard of for an anti-alcohol lobby group to call for further restrictions on advertising". "The ASA will continue to take a proportionate approach, regulating effectively alcohol ads across media, including online, against strict rules that are designed to protect young people," it said. "The Department of Health's own figures show, encouragingly, that fewer young people are drinking." The Alcohol Concern report called for statutory and independent regulation of the alcohol and advertising industries and a review of the way digital and online content is regulated. In May, figures released by the broadcasting regulator Ofcom suggested children saw an average of 3.2 alcohol adverts per week in 2011 - compared with 2.7 in 2007. It called for the UK's advertising regulators to reassess the rules that limit children from being exposed to alcohol advertising on TV. Ian Twinn, from Isba, which represents advertisers, told BBC Radio 5 live there was a lack of well-researched evidence to show that advertising influenced young people to drink alcohol. "What the advertisers are doing is trying to influence adults to drink their brand, not young people," he said. "Underage drinking is declining in this country, where we have alcohol advertising, and in France it is going up, where they've banned it." Without alcohol sponsorship of sport and music, parents and children would find it much more difficult to afford events, he added. Alcohol Concern chief executive Eric Appleby said: "Children and young people are seeing more alcohol advertising than in the past and are better able to recognise alcohol brands than those of cakes or ice cream. "This has to be a wake-up call to the fact that the way we regulate alcohol advertising isn't working." He went on: "Young people tell us that they think alcohol advertising sends a message that it's cool and normal to drink, often to excess. "It's time we reset the balance between commercial and public interest." Stuart O'Reilly, a 19-year-old member of YAAC, said: "The code is clearly unfit for purpose. Young people are bombarded with adverts that may not explicitly state, but often heavily imply, messages about alcohol that are inappropriate or misleading. "This can be extremely damaging to young people who use these messages to form their relationship with alcohol."
Alcohol advertising should be banned at music and sports events to protect young people from excessive exposure, a charity says.
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More than 2,000 pigs would be bred at the farm on the Moys Road and slurry spread on nearby land. Thousands of people have objected claiming it would impact on their health and the environment. However, an environmental statement said that the scale of the proposed development would have "no adverse impact" on either. The BBC has tried to contact the farmer behind the plans, Thomas Simpson, but has not yet had a response. Causeway Coast and Glens Council confirmed it has received more than 3,000 letters of objections. "Over 3,000 letters of objection, five petitions with a total of almost 14,000 signatures and two letters of support have been received," said a council spokesperson. "Once all consultations have been returned the application will be considered further - taking account of all material planning issues raised through letters and petitions of representation." Thousands of objectors have also signed an online petition claiming the proposed farm would cause pollution and noise and affect traffic and rivers. In February, the Public Health Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency wrote to the council's planning department expressing their concerns. "Our main concern remains the potential for bioaerosol releases from pig rearing activities and the associated anaerobic digester plant," said Gerry Waldron from the PHA. A number of other government agencies - including NIEA, Shared Environment Services and Transport NI - also had concerns. However, last month an environmental statement from an independent company concluded that the scale of the proposed development would have "no adverse impact" on people's health or the environment. The report also stated that 500 more pigs would be included in the plans, bringing the total figure to more than 2,700. It also stated that an anaerobic digester would no longer be needed and that slurry would be spread in local fields. The council has said it is still considering the application. Dozens of Limavady residents attended a meeting on Wednesday night to discuss their concerns. Marcus Moore, chairman of Roe Angling Limited, said: "This is a disaster waiting to happen. I don't think the destruction of the environment is worth six jobs." Former Justice Minister and Independent MLA Claire Sugden said further clarification was needed. "We need to be sure that it isn't going to have a detrimental impact on the environment," she said. However, the DUP's Adrian McQuillan said that the proposal would be good for the local economy and create a lot of jobs in the area. The Ulster Farmers' Union said it did not discuss or comment on the development or proposed expansion plans of any farm business.
Campaigners opposed to plans for a controversial pig farm outside Limavady have met to voice their concerns.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device 13 May 2014 Last updated at 13:00 BST The mechanical hands have joints and fingers like real hands. They are very sensitive and can be used to pick up delicate objects like eggs. The new arms make it easier for people who have lost a limb to care for themselves and do everyday tasks like doing up zips.
New high tech robotic arms which can be used for delicate tasks have been approved for use by people in America.
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France centre-back Sakho, 27, is out of favour at Anfield after falling out with Reds manager Jurgen Klopp on the 2016 pre-season tour of the USA. He was sent on loan to Crystal Palace last season, where he made eight appearances, and was nominated for their player of the year award. The news comes after the Baggies rejected an £18m bid from Manchester City for centre-back Jonny Evans. Manager Tony Pulis said on Friday it would be "crazy" to say they would turn down a bigger offer for the Northern Ireland defender, but added: "We're not desperate for money." Sakho turned down a loan move to West Brom last August after being told he can leave the club. He has not played for the Reds since April 2016, when he was provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test before subsequently being cleared. Sakho joined Palace on loan for the second half of last term and was not involved in Liverpool's Premier League game at Watford last Saturday or Tuesday's Champions League play-off, first-leg win over Hoffenheim. Should a deal go through, the fee would eclipse the club record £13m West Brom paid Tottenham for Nacer Chadli 12 months ago. The last two weeks of the transfer window can involve some cagey wheeling and dealing. West Brom know they can sell Evans to Manchester City. If they do that, they have decent money to get in a replacement. However, if they tell everyone that is what they intend to do, the price of their targets go up. So, they sound out clubs quietly, while telling the world Evans is going nowhere. It may be that the Northern Irishman stays put. But Tony Pulis wants to know what the alternatives are - and having already spoken to Liverpool about Sakho once this summer, he is now talking to them again.
West Brom are interested in Liverpool's £30m-rated defender Mamadou Sakho.
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In a letter to Pope Francis this month, Krzysztof Charamsa accused the Church of making the lives of millions of gay Catholics globally "a hell". He criticised what he called the Vatican's hypocrisy in banning gay priests, even though he said the clergy was "full of homosexuals". Pope Francis has yet to respond. Until 3 October, Monsignor Charamsa held a senior post at the Vatican at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the department that upholds Roman Catholic doctrine. The Vatican immediately stripped him of his post after he held a news conference in a restaurant in Rome to announce that he was both gay and in a relationship. Roman Catholic priests are meant to be celibate. At the time, the Holy See said the priest's decision to come out on the eve of the Vatican's synod on the family had been "irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod assembly to undue media pressure". The Polish priest has released to the BBC a copy of the letter he sent to the Pope, written the same day as the announcement, in which he criticises the Church for "persecuting" and causing "immeasurable suffering" to homosexual Catholics and their families. He says that after a "long and tormented period of discernment and prayer", he had taken the decision to "publicly reject the violence of the Church towards homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual people". The 43-year-old says that while the Roman Catholic clergy is "full of homosexuals", it is also "frequently violently homophobic", and he calls on "all gay cardinals, gay bishops and gay priests [to] have the courage to abandon this insensitive, unfair and brutal Church". He says he can no longer bear the "homophobic hate of the Church, the exclusion, the marginalisation and the stigmatisation of people like me", whose "human rights are denied" by the Church. The priest goes on to thank Pope Francis - who is thought to have a more lenient attitude on homosexuality than some of his predecessors - for some of his words and gestures towards gay people. The Pope recently met a gay former student of his during his recent visit to the US, and has previously said that gay people should not be marginalised in society. But Krzysztof Charamsa says that the pontiff's words will only be worthwhile when all the statements from the Holy See that are offensive and violent against homosexuals are withdrawn. He also urged the Church to annul a decision taken by his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, to sign a document in 2005 that forbids men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies from becoming priests. The Polish priest terms "diabolical" Pope Benedict's statement that homosexuality was "a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil". The priest writes that LGBT Catholics have a right to family life, "even if the Church does not want to bless it". He later criticises the Vatican for putting pressure on states which have legalised equal or same-sex marriage. He also expresses his fears about the impact his coming out may have on the treatment of his mother in Poland, "a woman of unshakeable faith", saying she bears no responsibility for his actions. The synod ended on Sunday, but made no change to its pastoral attitude to gay Catholics. The final document agreed by the Synod Fathers reiterated Church teaching that gay Catholics should be welcomed with "respect" and "dignity". But it restated that there was "no basis for any comparison, however remote, between homosexual unions and God's design for marriage and the family". The synod voted through a paragraph saying that it was unacceptable for pressure to be put upon local churches over their attitude towards same-sex unions, or for international organisations to make financial help contingent on poor countries introducing laws to "allow or institutionalise" marriage between people of the same sex.
A senior Vatican priest, stripped of his post after admitting being in a gay relationship, has launched a scathing attack on the Roman Catholic Church.
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There were delays on Monday at airports in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Brussels, where visibility reportedly dropped to just 100m. The situation was worsened at Duesseldorf Airport by the discovery overnight of an unexploded World War Two bomb. A controlled explosion closed the airport to flights for an hour. According to Eurocontrol, the European air safety agency, there were more than 120,000 minutes of flight delays across the continent on Monday morning, with 94% due to adverse weather conditions. Cancelled flights: Why does fog cause chaos at airports? A Eurocontrol spokesman told the Guardian it was "unusual situation to have such widespread low visibility for such a long period". Airports in Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and the UK were among the worst affected, according to the agency's Twitter feed. Easyjet said it was suffering "major network disruption today due to poor weather conditions throughout Europe causing low visibility". "This has resulted in a large number of aircraft and crew out of place for flights today," the airline said in a statement. "In addition we are seeing a lot of Air Traffic Control restrictions which has resulted in some delays, diversions and cancellations." In Paris, the top half of the Eiffel Tower was obscured by a thick blanket of fog. Several airlines warned on Twitter that delays were expected to continue throughout Monday. There were widespread delays at UK airports. Heathrow airport said it expected to cancel around 10% of flights on Monday, while London City was forced to close to all traffic. Other affected airports include Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff.
Heavy fog is causing disruption across western Europe, with low visibility leading to significant flight delays.
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The hotel, which claims to have invented the tradition of the afternoon tea, was opened by the Prince of Wales - later Edward VII - on 10 June 1865. It became renowned for what were at the time luxury touches, such as electric lighting and hydraulic lifts. Over the years, the Langham has played host to many notable guests, including the exiled French emperor Louis-Napoleon III, Charles Dickens, one of the "Cambridge Five" spies Guy Burgess and his wartime employer, the BBC. The hotel sought to attract well-heeled guests and ensured staff members were immaculately dressed at all times. The five men pictured above were waiters. During World War Two much of its regular clientele decamped to the countryside but the building in Regent Street remained open and served as a first-aid point and military post. On 16 September 1940 it came under intense fire from Luftwaffe raiders who destroyed a large section of the west wing. As the Langham was so close to the BBC's Broadcasting House, across the road at Portland Place, it was in constant danger from German bombers. The BBC's wartime staff used to broadcast from the roof of the Langham, in particular the US correspondent Edward Murrow. JB Priestley was also a guest in this period to be close to Broadcasting House for his frequent late-night transmissions of Britain Speaks to North America. In 1941 the notorious Soviet spy Burgess was involved in what became known as the "Langham incident". An internal memo from his wartime employer the BBC revealed that he tried to break down the door of his room when he could not get in. It was some time after the war was over before the Langham could be returned to its original splendour. In 1965 the BBC took out a partial lease and made the bar the home of the BBC's private members club. The royal suites were used for office printing and the grand ballroom became the registry. The Langham was eventually returned to its original use after significant refurbishment. Today, the hotel is still capable of attracting the well-heeled guests it could in its Victorian heyday when the likes of Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde would grace its corridors. More recently, the hotel has played host to the England cricket team, with bowler Stuart Broad claiming the building was haunted. Broad told the Mail on Sunday how the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason and turned themselves off, leaving him "really freaked out".
Billed as London's first "Grand Hotel", it is exactly 150 years since the Langham began serving the whims of the rich and famous.
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The company, which is based in Stokesley, is building a third fermenter at its site in Billingham to increase production by up to 50%. The deal will create about 100 new jobs during construction then a further 300 to operate the facility. Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham said it was "tremendous good news" for local people. The company employs about 600 people and exports to 13 countries around the world including Australia and the USA.
About 400 jobs are to be created across Teesside and North Yorkshire thanks to £30m of investment from Quorn Foods.
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Russian athletes remain banned from next month's Rio Olympics after claims of a state-sponsored doping programme. No British athletes are on governing body IAAF's list of sanctioned athletes but Warner guarded against complacency. He added GB athletes know "at all times if they cheat they'll be caught". Last week's McLaren report revealed that urine samples of Russian competitors were manipulated across the "vast majority" of summer and winter Olympic sports from late 2011 to August 2015. Asked whether he could be sure no Britons would be involved in doping, Warner told BBC Radio 5 live: "I'm very confident, but I'll never say never. "This is a world in which temptation exists in all sorts of quarters in every walk of life, including in sports. "So what we can do is be constantly vigilant and lean very heavily on UK Anti-Doping, who are a very good body. "We work closely with them to ensure our athletes are well educated. They understand at all times that if they cheat there's no hiding place, but also that the watching public deserves clean athletics. "We're a great standard bearer for this, but I'm not going to be so complacent as ever to say there will never be a problem." Britain's double Olympic champion Mo Farah said: "We (in Great Britain) have very tight rules and I just wish other countries applied them." "All I want to be able to do is run against clean athletes fairly. "There's no point having one rule for one country and another for another country." Farah, who last year said his name was "being dragged through the mud" following allegations linking his coach Alberto Salazar with doping, added: "I do feel bad for the athletes who haven't done anything or who haven't crossed the line. "It is not a nice thing. Last year you put me through hell and I hadn't done anything." On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a ban on the Russian Olympic Committee and 68 Russian athletes who had tried to overturn it. The ban was imposed on track and field athletes by governing body the IAAF following allegations of widespread, state-sponsored doping in the country. A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on 5 August, if they can fulfil IAAF criteria to prove they are clean. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee will hold a second emergency meeting on Sunday to decide its course of action in response to the McLaren report. Some have called for a total ban on Russian competitors in Rio. Britain's 2004 relay gold medallist Darren Campbell has said the decision to ban Russian athletes from Rio 2016 would be the "rebirth of the Olympics". Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt, who will be competing in Rio, added: "Doping violations in track and field is getting really bad. If you cheat or go or against the rules, this will scare a lot of people." Media playback is not supported on this device
UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner admits he could "never say never" that British athletes were 100% clean - but stressed Britain remained a "great standard bearer" in the battle against doping.
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The BBC understands the report suggests the number of UK workers unemployed due to non-EU immigration is well below the figure previously cited by ministers. No 10 denied claims the report had been suppressed, saying it was not ready. But it insisted it would be published in "due course", possibly within days. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the row over the report reflected splits within the coalition over the benefits of immigration, with the Lib Dems refusing to back a Conservative commitment to reduce levels of net migration to below 100,000 by 2015. Home Secretary Theresa May has previously used research from 2012 by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a group of independent academics, as a basis for saying that for every additional 100 immigrants from outside the EU, 23 British workers "would not be employed" as a consequence. But the new analysis by civil servants is much less pessimistic, estimating that the cost to existing British workers of new arrivals is much lower. Although the estimated figure for the so-called "displacement" of British workers has not been disclosed, Nick Robinson said he understood it was "virtually negligible". He said the two reports were not directly comparable since the 2012 research covered a specific period between 1995 and 2010 while the new findings analysed all the research available on the impact of immigration. But he said the row over the report's publication reflected fault lines within the coalition on the issue, with Mrs May keen to flag up evidence backing up her argument that migration has an economic "downside" while Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable sought to do the opposite. The BBC's Newsnight programme, which first reported the story, said it had been told by officials that No 10 had prevented publication of the report to avoid igniting controversy. By Nick RobinsonPolitical editor According to emails seen by Newsnight, the old research cited by Mrs May was not considered sufficiently "robust" by either the Treasury or the Department for Business. The new report, it argued, had been checked by external academics and agreed across all the departments with a hand in migration - including the Home Office. However, Newsnight said Home Office officials had protested that the new research, in parts, reflected an "institutional bias" in favour of migration among officials at the Treasury, Foreign Office and business department. For Labour, shadow immigration minister David Hanson said the report would help inform the highly charged debate about immigration. "The government's record on immigration is one of failing to meet their own net migration target and ramping up the rhetoric. Now they want to keep their own research hidden rather than scrutinised," he said. "We need an open, calm and fact-based debate on the impact of immigration and this should be facilitated by the government and not made harder." And economist Jonathan Portes, who questioned the validity of the 2012 research at the time, said there was no excuse not to release a report that was "purely analytical and is clearly of wide public interest". Lib Dem MP Martin Horwood said the report had got "stuck in someone's in-tray" and should be "extricated", adding that the debate on immigration needed more facts and less rhetoric. Downing Street said the report had not yet been completed but would be published "in due course". It said the initial figures, compiled by teams at the Home Office and Business Department, had now been peer reviewed by academics, but that work had still to be completed. By Anthony ReubenHead of statistics, BBC News It's worth looking back at the caveats in the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) January 2012 report. It does indeed mention the 23 jobs lost for 100 non-EU migrants number, but it also says there was no effect at all between 1975 and 1994, and while there was an effect between 1995 and 2010, it says that was fewer than eight jobs lost for every 100 migrants. It also says that there is no effect at all in a buoyant economy, but few of these caveats have been seen in government references to this report. So the new report, when it comes out, may not disagree that dramatically with the original one from MAC. However, it said much of its findings supported the government's case for tighter controls on immigration. And Sir Andrew Green, chair of the campaign group Migration Watch, said the impact of immigration could not be measured in purely economic terms and the effects on housing, transport and public services must also be considered. "The best thing the government can now do is publish the report so that the public can see its limited scope," he wrote on the Spectator website. Statistics released last week suggest the government is unlikely to meet its pledge to reduce net immigration - with numbers rising by 58,000 to 212,000 in the year to September 2013. UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the Home Office should produce specific figures on the impact of EU migrants on UK workers' job prospects, saying this was now the most critical issue.
Labour has called for the immediate publication of a government report about the impact of immigration on the UK economy following suggestions that it has been withheld by Downing Street.
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Spaniard Michu top scored for the Swans with 22 goals in his first season after a £2m move from Rayo Vallecano in 2012. However, within two years of helping Swansea finish ninth in the Premier League, he was playing fourth-flight football in Spain after a recurring ankle injury. Michu spent the 2016-17 season with Oviedo and plans to move into coaching. "The current state of Michu's right ankle makes it very difficult for him to take part in any sport," said a spokesman for the player. "He now finds it impossible to continue his profession as a footballer. After seeking medical advice, he has decided to abandon the sport. He will instead pursue a career in coaching football." After starting his career with Oviedo, Michu played for Celta Vigo before joining Rayo Vallecano, and was capped once by Spain in 2013. Signed by Swansea for just £2m, Michu went on to become arguably the biggest bargain in the Premier League as he made a major contribution to Swansea's historic 2012-13 season. He scored twice in the Swans' opening day 5-0 win over QPR at Loftus Road - manager Michael Laudrup's first Premier League game in charge of the Swans. Among the memorable strikes were two late goals in a 2-0 away win over Arsenal in December 2012, and a trademark cool finish in a 2-0 win at Chelsea in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final. Michu also scored as the Swans crushed Bradford 5-0 in the final at Wembley to claim their first major English football trophy. He ended the season with 22 goals as Swansea finished ninth. He was valued at £30m by the club, who had given the player an extended contract in January 2013. At the start of the 2013-14 season, Michu made his debut for Spain as a replacement in a 2-1 win over Belarus. However, the ankle injury which was to blight the remainder of his career meant his second season in south Wales failed to live up to expectations. Early season highlights, like a goal in the 3-0 away win over Valencia in the Europa League, gave way to frustration as he struggled for first-team appearances. Michu played only five times after Christmas 2013 and finished a season in which manager Laudrup departed and was replaced by Garry Monk with six goals in 25 matches. The 1-0 defeat by Hull on 5 April 2014 turned out to be Michu's last game for the Swans. In the summer of 2014 he joined Serie A side Napoli on a season-long loan - but played only six times. He was released by Swansea in November 2015 and spent a season playing fourth-tier football for Langreo in Spain, before agreeing a one-year deal with Oviedo for 2016-17. Michu made 27 appearances in the 2016-17 last season, but scored just once.
Michu, the forward who helped Swansea win the League Cup in 2013, has been forced to retire at the age of 31.
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In his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Cameron promised to open these religious schools to inspection. He said there was no problem with children learning about their faith in supplementary schools, but minds must be broadened, not "filled with poison". The Muslim Council of Britain said it had concerns about the plans. Speaking in Manchester, Mr Cameron told delegates: "Did you know, in our country, there are some children who spend several hours each day at a madrassa? "Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with children learning about their faith, whether it's at madrassas, Sunday schools or Jewish yeshivas. "But in some madrassas, we've got children being taught that they shouldn't mix with people of other religions; being beaten; swallowing conspiracy theories about Jewish people. "These children should be having their minds opened, their horizons broadened, not having their heads filled with poison and their hearts filled with hate. "So I can announce this today: if an institution is teaching children intensively, then whatever its religion, we will, like any other school, make it register so it can be inspected. "And be in no doubt: if you are teaching intolerance, we will shut you down." It's only a year since plans for a voluntary code of conduct for madrassas were shelved by the Department for Education. Now, the government is going considerably further, with plans to consult then legislate to require supplementary religious schools to register and face what is being described as a "light touch" inspection regime. While any law would be broadly framed to include all religions, the thresholds of numbers of children and hours per week are likely to be set at a level that would exclude conventional Sunday schools as well as home education. This is about what is being described privately as the "hard edge" of some religious instruction that crosses firmly into the territory of inciting hatred or intolerance. There will be no tolerance of corporal punishment, but no prescription of what or how religious beliefs can be taught. Of course, the reality of trying to define that in law will prove complex and highly contentious. Ofsted may be less than keen to take on the additional role of trying to enforce sanctions, which could include plans to change through to closure. The prime minister said extremist religious supplementary schools were part of a wider problem of segregation within some communities, adding extreme madrassas "incubate these divisions". In a statement, the Muslim Council of Britain said: "We are concerned at the Prime Minister's targeting of the supplementary schools. "It is neither Islamic, nor prevalent in madrassas to be isolationist or to preach hate of other faiths. "We would hope that these serious allegations can be substantiated and the evidence brought forward, so that appropriate action can be taken." Downing Street said that the new inspection regime would apply to religious institutions offering eight or more hours of study a week to children in England. This could include Christian Sunday schools and Jewish yeshivas, but is more likely to cover up to 2,000 Muslim madrassas. Many religious supplementary schools offer teaching within places of worship, but others are conducted in homes. Currently, they are not required to register with the authorities and are not subject to inspection, but under Mr Cameron's plans, they would have to register with the Department for Education. Faith groups would be consulted on the precise details of how inspections should be carried out and whether they should be done by the schools watchdog, Ofsted, or another body. The BBC understands the government will launch a consultation on the plan "swiftly". A Number 10 source said that Mr Cameron's initiative came in response to concerns raised about some madrassas by members of the Muslim community. It was expected no problems would be found with the vast majority of madrassas, the source added. The plans were welcomed by the counter-extremism think tank, the Quilliam Foundation. Political liaison officer Jonathan Russell said it was "entirely sensible" to make sure the right checks and balances were in place for supplementary schools to protect all young people. "This is going to be a long-term challenge, but this is a start," he said. But Pascale Vassie from the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education told the BBC the plans could be counterproductive. "Of course quality assurance is needed but so is support, encouragement and training," she said. "If insufficient money is spent on training and supporting what are often voluntary workers, it could be entirely counterproductive. It could even push some organisations underground."
Religious supplementary schools in England that teach children intolerance will be investigated and closed down, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
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Prince William made the comment when asked how many children he would like, during the second day of the couple's Diamond Jubilee tour to Singapore. A teenager at one walkabout said the prince had responded by saying "he was thinking about having two". The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also said they would like their "superhero superpower" to be invisibility. The prince, who married Catherine Middleton in April last year, has spoken before about starting a family, but has not mentioned numbers. After the couple's visit to the Gardens by the Bay attraction, Corine Ackermann, 17, said: "Someone asked him how many children he would like to have, and he said he was thinking about having two." Jaz Heber Percy, 13, asked the prince what superpower he would like to have if he could be a superhero. The prince replied: "That's a hard question - I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it. I think invisibility." The duchess had agreed that she would need to be invisible too, "otherwise he would be able to sneak up on her," Jaz said. Several people in the 1,000-strong crowd fainted as they waited in sweltering heat for three hours to see the royals. Local children who had been given the morning off school chanted: "Will, you're brill. Kate, you're great". The royal couple planted a Pachira glabra variegata tree to mark their visit. They also visited a Rolls-Royce jet engine factory, where the prince praised the "cutting-edge aerospace technology developed by one of the United Kingdom's great global companies". During the visit, the duchess fitted the last of 24 fan blades to a Trent 900 engine.
The Duke of Cambridge has reportedly revealed he would like to have two children with his wife.
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Many of us can rarely put down our phones, which are filled to the brim with social apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. In recent years, emergency services and public authorities have been getting in on the act too. Social media applications allow them to share information faster, easier and with a wider audience. When it works, it does so really well, but it is often the social media blunders and 140-character faux-pas that stick in the memory. Northern Ireland's Chief Constable George Hamilton apologised to his officers on Sunday, after posting a tweet that appeared to dismiss the pressure under which they work. He used Twitter to post a video apology, saying: "Last night's frank Twitter conversation was what the police actually do, however, such important issues are not best dealt with in the 140 characters of a tweet. "I've clearly caused some offence in what I've said, and for that I apologise." Mr Hamilton isn't alone in causing controversy after posting seemingly offensive comments on social media. In January, politician Gerry Adams apologised for using the 'N-word' in a tweet comparing the plight of slaves in the United States to the treatment of Irish nationalists. The tweet was later deleted, but it provoked an angry reaction. Social media consultant Sue Llewellyn advises users: "Think before you tweet." "If you mess up, 'fess up and apologise," Ms Llewellyn told BBC News NI. "The worst thing you can do is to either ignore it, or hide it by deleting your tweet." The difficulty that many people face on social media, she adds, is that humour often doesn't translate well in 140 characters or less. "You can't really see humour or sarcasm in a tweet, for example, and it can make you look offensive. "One way to deal with this is to use emojis, or hashtags to add that level of emotion," said Ms Llewellyn. Sue Llewellyn's social media dos and don'ts But if there are so many potential ways to trip up on social media, what makes it worth using? While users need to be mindful of the pitfalls, the benefits of social media far outweigh the downsides, said Ms Llewellyn. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have Twitter and Facebook accounts for each policing district - and for the most part, these have proved to be a really effective way of communicating with the public. In 2015, the PSNI held a 24-hour Twitter event to give people an insight into the everyday work of officers. More recently, they jumped on the 'Be like Bill' internet meme bandwagon, using the trend to deliver a more serious message. This approach to social media gives public authorities a "human voice", said Sue Llewellyn. "It puts a human face on what was once a closed door, it makes what they're doing more transparent." "I think it's a fantastic way of reaching more difficult to reach members of the public, especially younger people, and speak to them in their own language, on their own terms in their own turf." That authentic approach seems to be paying off for the PSNI's district social media teams. A battle to be named the funniest team on Facebook has even kicked off between PSNI Bangor and PSNI Craigavon. The use of well-known memes and behind-the-scenes photos of officers on duty points to a more humorous, approachable side of the police that the public rarely sees. Some officers have even used social media to stay trendy while promoting safety, with PSNI Bangor asking people to be careful when they are out hunting for Pokémon Go. The police and other public authorities tend to be regarded with caution, said Ms Sue Llewellyn, so such an approach helps these bodies connect with the public. "With a light touch and a human voice, the benefits can be enormous," she said. "A faceless organisation with the right tone can really engage the public in a great way." But, she concluded: "Think before you tweet, always!"
Let's face it - most people use social media in some form to communicate these days.
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The crash happened early on Monday in the city of Bareilly, 251km (155 miles) from the state capital, Lucknow. A senior police official said all 22 victims had been charred badly and could not be immediately identified. The passenger bus had caught fire following the collision. Police are searching for the driver of the truck. The AFP news agency quoted police as saying the doors of the bus jammed after the collision, trapping passengers inside. A few people managed to escape by breaking open the windows of the vehicle. The chief spokesman of the Uttar Pradesh police, Rahul Srivastav, said the bus was carrying 41 passengers, and that those who were injured had been rushed to hospital. The condition of many of them is said to be serious, and officials warn that the toll is likely to rise. India has the world's highest number of road deaths, with an accident taking place every four minutes. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and ageing vehicles.
At least 22 people have been killed after a bus they were travelling in collided with a truck in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
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The 32-year-old former Namibia captain has made 113 appearances since joining Sarries in 2009 and helped the club win two Premiership titles. Burger, who won 41 caps and appeared at the 2015 World Cup, will return to Namibia to become a farmer. "It is sad that it's coming to an end but playing rugby is something that I have really loved doing," he said. "Growing up I wanted to be a professional rugby player and I have been fortunate to live that dream." Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall described Burger, who leaves just two weeks before the Champions Cup final and the start of Sarries' Premiership play-off campaign, as "an amazing player and person". "He set a phenomenal example on the field with his bravery and the way that he gave everything he could in every game," McCall told the club website. "He will always be remembered as one of the true greats of Saracens."
Saracens back row Jacques Burger will retire from rugby after Sunday's Premiership game against Newcastle.
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John Renouf, 63, went missing on 3 July after leaving his home to take photographs. Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Deputy Viscount Mark Harrison said it was likely Mr Renouf lost his footing and fell from the cliffs at Portelet. He said this led to massive injuries which killed him immediately. The inquest heard the former English teacher retired three years ago and had taken a keen interest in walking and photography. On Friday 3 July he went out to take photos at Portelet Common, saying he would be home by 16:30 BST. His wife Naomi said Mr Renouf was a punctual man and when he had not returned by 18:30 BST she called the police. In a statement, Mrs Renouf told the hearing: "We were both teachers until recently. John retired three years ago and I retired a year ago. Our last year together was wonderful. "He felt life was precious and you don't know what's going to happen next, so make the most of it." The discovery of Mr Renouf's rucksack on the clifftops sparked an air, land and sea search involving a French coastguard helicopter. The search had to be called off overnight but the next day, a French pleasure craft found Mr Renouf's body in waters to the south east of the island.
The death of a popular Jersey teacher who fell from cliffs has been described at a inquest as a tragic accident.
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Some youngsters fail to achieve the grades they need to get into university. Relatively few places are available to Scots through the clearing system which is designed to allocate "spare" places. Yet a week or so later, they may feel aggrieved to find places are available to applicants from other parts of the UK. The clearing system is a complex issue. It is far more subtle than a headline claiming a Scot is losing out to someone from England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It is the price of free tuition at Scottish university - a price the policy's supporters would say was worth paying. To put this in context though, the number of places at Scottish universities available to Scots is at an historic high. By this week the number of Scottish applicants accepted to Scottish institutions had reached 30,400 - 4% up on this time last year. However, this may be little consolation to those who have lost out on the course they actually wanted to do. Essentially there are now three groups of students at Scottish universities. This two tier system for Scottish and other UK students is the result of free tuition in Scotland. But universities strongly contend that comparing students in the different categories is like comparing apples with pears. They deny claims Scots are losing out to fee-paying students from elsewhere and say this shows a misunderstanding of the issue. Realistically the only way to end the distinction would be if tuition fees were re-introduced in Scotland or if free tuition was brought back in other parts of the UK. The former would mean Scottish universities would be free to take in as many Scots as they wanted. The latter could end the distinction in the clearing system. Either would probably mean that there was no hard and fast distinction between Scottish applicants and prospective students from other parts of Britain. Universities Scotland is calling for discussions with the government over the total number of places available to Scots. It would like to see the overall number grow to ensure that more people from disadvantaged areas can get a place without making it harder for others. But this is a distinct issue.
Every year the exam results bring disappointment as well as joy.
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This week the UK government followed France in announcing it would ban the sale of such vehicles by 2040, while the mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens plan to banish diesels from their city centres by 2025. Almost all car makers now offer hybrid cars and many sell fully electric vehicles. But the electric charge also extends to vans and trucks, and the need to switch to cleaner engines is even greater given that these larger vehicles are far bigger polluters than cars. "In Europe, less than 5% of vehicles are commercial vehicles or heavy duty trucks, but they contribute to almost 20% of greenhouse gas emissions," says Ananth Srinivasan, mobility expert with research consultancy Frost & Sullivan. Even in a country with wide open spaces like Australia, the electric wave is rolling out. Melbourne-based logistics firm Kings Transport recently bought nine electric vans and light trucks from SEA Automotive. SEA chief executive Tony Fairweather says his firm realised a few years ago that electric commercial vehicles were becoming economically viable much faster than predicted. "The components are cheaper every time we go to buy," he explains. "There's not many industries where that happens." Beyond Australia, electric commercial vehicles are becoming an increasingly common sight. In Germany, for example, Deutsche Post has started building its own electric vans and will soon start selling them to other companies. Meanwhile, in the US, the city of Los Angeles plans to make its entire bus fleet emissions-free by 2030. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that keeping global temperature rises below 2C by the end of the century will in part depend on the electrification of some 600 million vehicles worldwide. Given there are more than 300 million commercial vehicles on the planet's roads, according to data portal Statista, it is clear that this goal need not be focused solely on passenger cars. SEA's approach involves fitting its own electric driveline technology to a chassis built by China's FAW. Big vehicle makers are also developing their own electric systems for commercial vehicles, including Nissan, with its e-NV200 fully electric van. Many light commercial vehicles often travel similar routes every time they leave the depot, Mr Fairweather and others point out. So businesses with depots can invest in installing their own charging stations. "You can get super cheap electricity late at night," says Simon Evans, deputy editor of Carbon Brief. But if everyone starts charging their trucks and vans overnight, electricity consumption dynamics could change dramatically, he warns. "You are basically sticking a massive great electricity demand into a new place," he says. If millions of new electric vehicles do hit the road in the coming years, electricity grids around the world will have to adapt. The UK's National Grid is already evaluating the impact of a potential boom in electric cars. However, the range of electric cars remains an issue. For smaller commercial vehicles travelling those relatively fixed urban routes, that is not too much of a concern. But larger trucks travelling long distances pose a much tougher challenge. Battery technology is still not good enough, although hybrid designs such as the one being tested by Volvo, which allows for intermittent recharging, could help. There are even experiments in which long stretches of road have been electrified with overhead cables to power large trucks en route. Lighter commercial vehicles remain the most likely to go electric in the near term, with the UK leading the way. That seems appropriate given that electric milk floats were once a common early morning sight across the country. Denis Naberezhnykh, of the UK's Transport Research Laboratory, says the government recently awarded £20m to a wide range of low emission freight and logistics projects - including several electric vehicle ventures. But even without government support, companies and local authorities are already investing in such vehicles. Some London routes now have only electric buses, for example. "There's a whole bunch in Milton Keynes and Bristol, all over the place there's really quite a large number of areas committed to the electrification of buses," says Mr Naberezhnykh. "Operators that would have traditionally operated hybrid buses are now seeing cost savings." In countries where infrastructure threatens to hold back the introduction of electric vehicles, interesting adaptations are being considered. Take India, for instance, which has an ambitious plan to electrify six million vehicles by 2020. An Indian truck-maker recently proposed a system for simply swapping electric buses' batteries with fully charged ones to keep them running for longer. But it's worth remembering that a similar battery-swapping venture for passenger cars, called Better Place, went bust in Israel four years ago after burning through at least $500m (£380m). Other city services seem especially well suited for electrification. One of Mr Fairweather's upcoming projects at SEA is a new design for electric refuse trucks, which are cropping up in many places. Mr Naberezhnykh says councils in the UK are already expressing interest, partly because electric trucks are much quieter. The first such vehicle went into service in Sacramento, the California state capital, in June. Many governments and businesses around the world are clearly interested in the electrification of commercial vehicles. Some projects may be more tentative than others, but it's obvious that organisations are taking advantage of their unique position. Unlike most car owners, they can often afford to absorb the initial cost of going electric - and make the business case for fuel savings down the road. Frost & Sullivan's Ananth Srinivasan says it it easier for freight fleet owners to justify investment in electric vehicles because "when they look at the cost for miles travelled over, say, two years with an electric van versus one powered by petrol or diesel", the financial benefits are obvious.
The clock may be ticking for petrol and diesel-powered cars, but it's vans, trucks and buses that are driving the electric vehicle revolution on the world's roads.
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His victory in the small West African nation's presidential poll is arguably an even bigger shock than that of fellow property mogul in the US, Donald Trump. Mr Barrow's opponent Yahya Jammeh, has ruled the country for more than two decades, but said if God willed it, his presidency could go on for "a billion years". Before the 51-year-old was chosen in September as the candidate to represent seven Gambian opposition parties at the election, he had spent 10 years working in property, having started his own estate agency in 2006. In the early 2000s, he lived in the UK for several years, where he reportedly worked as a security guard at the Argos catalogue store in north London, while studying for his real estate qualifications. British media have even reported that while guarding the shop on Holloway Road, he made a citizen's arrest on a shoplifter, which resulted in a six-month jail term. It was also during that period that Mr Barrow chose to support Arsenal FC, at that time his local club. Despite the uncertainty over whether the disputed election, he recently shared a picture on Twitter of him wearing the north London club's jersey and declared support for the team: "You can change your politics, but never can you change your favourite football team! Thank you — @Arsenal! #Gambia #Arsenal" He was born in 1965, the same year his country gained independence from British colonial rule, in a small village near the market town of Basse in the east of the country. Throughout his campaign, he pledged support for an independent judiciary, as well as increased freedom for the media and civil society. Six things about Adama Barrow: He described his opponent as a "soulless dictator" and promised to undo some of Mr Jammeh's more controversial moves. "We will take the country back to the Commonwealth and the International Criminal Court (ICC)," he said. A devout Muslim, he also criticised the lack of a two-term limit on the presidency and condemned the jailing of political opposition figures. Speaking to the BBC three days before the election, Mr Barrow said that Gambians "had been suffering for 22 years" and were ready for change. He scorned the achievements of his opponent, who boasted of having brought The Gambia out of the stone age with his education and health programmes. More on President Jammeh's rule: The hospitals President Jammeh had built had "no drugs... or quality doctors", the schools "no teachers, no chairs... no good educational materials", he said. They were "white elephant projects". Although he became treasurer of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) party in 2013, Mr Barrow was not a household name in The Gambia. He was described as "little-known" even by one of the local media outlets supporting him. In an interview with a local media, Mai Ceesay, a former female UDP youth leader, describes Mr Barrow as industrious and humble, calling him the perfect candidate: "He is humble, kind and industrious man who breaks the deal. He is down to the earth," she said. In his media appearances, Mr Barrow comes across as laid back, almost guarded, but his infectious smile gives him a personable mien. But he is not a rousing speaker. His accidental rise came after the jailing of UDP leader Ousainou Darboe, a long time nemesis of Mr Jammeh, who was detained months before the 1 December election after leading a protest over the alleged death of an activist in police custody. Mr Darboe's absence may have forced the opposition parties to rally behind one candidate. He was freed on bail after the opposition won the election. Mr Barrow, has two wives and five children, according to the Gambian newspaper The Point. He was especially popular among young voters who have been badly hit by the country's struggling economy. On 15 January 2017, his eight-year-old son Habibu Barrow died reportedly after being bitten by a dog. Mr Barrow missed his son's funeral as he was advised to remain in Senegal for his safety ahead of his inauguration - held in his country's embassy in Dakar, Senegal, on 19 January. Many thousands of Gambians have made the perilous journey to Europe in search of jobs. So The Gambia's new leader has great expectations on his shoulders - as he makes history in a country which has not had a smooth transfer of power in his lifetime. But he has to return home, first. Mr Jammeh has refused to stand down. Senegalese troops have entered The Gambia to enforce the result of the election - and the UN has backed their efforts.
Adama Barrow, a successful property developer who has never held public office, has defied the odds to score a shock victory in The Gambia's elections.
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A pregnant traveller, 18, said she was put in a ward on her own and not allowed visitors, as "she was a Gypsy". It was one account uncovered in a study into Gypsy and travellers' experiences of the Welsh NHS. Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said there were "real challenges" and more needed to be done. Chairwoman of the assembly's Gypsy and Traveller Committee Labour AM Julie Morgan said the discrimination was an "absolute disgrace". According to the last official count over 900 Gypsy and traveller families live in caravans across Wales, with 35% living on sites in Cardiff and Pembrokeshire alone. In what is thought to be the first survey of its kind in Europe, about 100 Gypsies and travellers were interviewed by community champions as part of the study, between April 2016 and March 2017. Travellers spoke of difficulties accessing GP services, claiming they faced discrimination from receptionists and barriers filling in registration forms as many are illiterate. A distrust of dentists also led to children saying they had needed to have between 10 and 20 rotten teeth removed. Report author Dr Adrian Marsh said while some GPs gave travellers prescriptions for during the summer period, when they travel to festivals and cultural events, others did not. He said large numbers of visitors descending on hospital wards during visiting hours often created tensions and lead to conflict. Some evidence of good practice especially in north Wales were also highlighted in the report. Speaking at the report's launch at the Pierhead in Cardiff Mrs Morgan said the experiences of the community were often "very negative" and people were nervous of seeking help. She said she hoped the report could be a blueprint for improving services for a community which was "one of the most stigmatised" in Wales. "It's very shocking to hear some of the ways people have been treated in the health service," she said. "There have been very good examples, very good relationships with district nurses, with GPs, but also a lot of stories of discrimination; difficulties getting access to the health service, ways people had been treated, stigma, and this really illustrates it, and it is really something we have got to tackle." Mr Gething said the Welsh Government was working in partnership with health boards to improve access to NHS services for communities. "I know we are not a perfect country but I do think we are doing the right thing to make sure there is equality," he said.
Gypsies and travellers are facing barriers to accessing health care in Wales due to discrimination, a report suggests.
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Police were first called to St James Boulevard in Newcastle just after midnight due to concerns for a man, 21, and an 18-year-old woman. Her condition is described as potentially life-threatening. An hour later, another couple, both 18, also had to be taken to hospital after becoming ill in the city centre. Northumbria Police said a quantity of drugs, believed to be ecstasy, had been seized and inquiries were ongoing. Det Inst Sally MacDonald said: "Taking illegal drugs is incredibly dangerous and the fact four people have been taken ill in just one evening is particularly worrying."
Four people had to be treated in hospital after taking what is thought to be ecstasy.
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The defending champions have been criticised in recent times for a series of uninspiring displays. Victory at Hearts on Saturday will seal a fifth straight title, should Aberdeen fail to secure maximum points. "The players know there is a good game coming up and of course we want to do it tomorrow," said Deila. "We are in a great position. We know it is going to be a great atmosphere and nothing would please me more than to do it tomorrow." Celtic enjoy a nine-point lead over Aberdeen with four matches remaining and also have a vastly superior goal difference. However, Hearts, in third place, have made life difficult for Celtic this season, earning two draws in the league. "If we win, it's essentially over," added Deila, who will leave at the end of the season. "Training has shown a lot of energy and now everything is about winning the games that are left. "It's so important to be together now and see what we can achieve. "Five-in-a-row is fantastic and it's something to build on. Hopefully, tomorrow we can start and the club can get to 10-in-a-row. "It's always emotional when you achieve something. The road to it is fun, but getting over the line is emotional for everybody." When the possibility of him returning to Scandinavia to manage one of their top teams and then meeting Celtic in European competition was put to Deila, he joked: "It could be Real Madrid as well, you never know, we will see. "If I came back here with another team it would be fun. But that is not in my mind right now."
Manager Ronny Deila says he expects the lure of securing the Premiership title this weekend will help raise the performance of his Celtic players.
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World number three McIlroy has missed the cut at his home event for the last three years and has recorded just two top-10 finishes in nine attempts. "My performances haven't been what I'd want but it's a tournament I would love to win one day," said the 27-year-old. "I feel like my game is in good enough shape to do that." The Northern Irishman, who is tournament host for the second year, recorded his best result in 2008, when he finished seventh in his first full year as a professional. That came two years after he watched the final day of the 2006 Ryder Cup on the course as a 17-year-old spectator. But, despite being frustrated at failing to turn good performances into a victory so far in 2016, McIlroy thinks he can contend for the title. "The Irish Open always was, but even more so now, one of the most important weeks of the year for me," said the four-time major winner. Media playback is not supported on this device "I'm coming off a couple of decent weeks in the States where I felt I played better than the results suggested, and the K Club is a course I feel I can do well on. "It would be huge [to win]. Anyone that plays professional golf, they dream of winning their home open. You don't get many opportunities so it would be very special. It's one tournament that is missing from my CV." Asked if he could pinpoint why he had not performed well in Ireland, McIlroy said: "No, not really. Maybe the pressure of playing at home - we don't play at home often - and maybe trying too hard or putting too much pressure on myself. "There were obviously reasons I wanted to get involved in this tournament. I wanted to contribute something, where coming to the Irish Open was becoming more of a burden instead of something I relished and enjoyed. "Being able to get involved and not just play for myself, but play for and help other people, I enjoy that part of it. "I want to help out. I want to make this one of the best tournaments in the world and we've made a few good strides towards doing that." McIlroy believes he learnt a lot from acting as tournament host last year, when he slumped to an opening round of 80 and missed the cut at Royal County Down, but was on hand to present the trophy to eventual champion Soren Kjeldsen. "There were times where I spread myself too thin last year with a lot of commitments and we've tried to scale that back this year," he added.
Rory McIlroy is confident he can improve on his poor record in the Irish Open when he competes at this week's event at the K Club in County Kildare.
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Then playing for Walsall, the 24-year-old won his first senior cap for Wales in their defeat by Ukraine in March, giving him the chance to rub shoulders with the duo. Injury dashed his hopes of joining them at Euro 2016, however. "They constantly want to improve and get better so that's something every footballer should apply to their game," Bradshaw told BBC Radio Wales. Media playback is not supported on this device Wales have been buoyed by the success of Arsenal midfielder Ramsey and Real Madrid forward Bale in 2016 as they reached the semi-finals of the European Championships, their first international tournament for 58 years. Bradshaw, who has scored three goals in 19 appearances for the Tykes this season, puts the success of the pair down to two factors. "You watch them train and you watch them play and you try to pick their brains about how they managed to get to that level," he said. "A lot of it is natural ability and natural talent, but the thing that strikes me is their hunger; their hunger to want to improve even though Gareth's playing for Real Madrid and he's a massive part of his country's team." Bradshaw says he was "gutted" to miss out on Wales' memorable Euro 2016 campaign after a calf injury ruled him out of contention. The former Aberystwyth Town player has since concentrated on boosting his future Wales hopes by performing well for his new club Barnsley. "It was incredibly frustrating, with hindsight as well, at how well the lads did," he said. "I was incredibly proud of the boys and how impressive they were at the Euros. I was gutted, but that's football. Unfortunately that was part and parcel of the game. "But I picked my head up and managed to get a move to the Championship and I'm just trying to improve. It hurt for a while. It took for the majority of that summer for me to get over it. "I was watching all the games and cheering the lads on from afar, but it was invaluable experience for me to go away to Portugal although I didn't manage to train that much because of the injury, it's all experience that I've enjoyed and hopefully I can put it into good use in the future and hopefully one day I'll get an opportunity again."
Barnsley striker Tom Bradshaw says every footballer can learn from the examples set by Wales stars Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.
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The 64-year-old minister, who has a history of chronic diabetes, was admitted to a hospital in Delhi earlier this month. She tweeted to her followers on Wednesday that she was currently on dialysis. Ms Swaraj is one the most high-profile ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. Officials at the hospital told the PTI news agency that "chronic diabetes has affected her kidney functioning but her condition was stable". She is known for reacting quickly to calls for help from Indians living or travelling abroad. Earlier this month, she helped a Pakistani bride get a visa to attend her wedding in India.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that she is undergoing tests for a kidney transplant.
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Goodes, an Indigenous Australian, is regularly jeered and racially abused by spectators. The #IstandwithAdam campaign was trending on Saturday, with actors like Cate Blanchett offering their support. Some fans have defended the booing, claiming it is not racist, but simply a response to Goodes' performance. Ms Blanchett and other high-profile figures, like actor Hugo Weaving and opposition leader Bill Shorten, have spoken out in support of the 35-year-old footballer. They sent videos to Fairfax Media backing the #IstandwithAdam campaign. During games Goodes has faced derogatory slurs and even been told to "get back to the zoo". Other Twitter users said the success of a native Australian should be celebrated rather than derided. The Sydney Swans star has described the abuse as "shattering" and is taking time off from the sport. Australian Rules football, or Aussie Rules, is played on an oval pitch, between two teams of 18 players. The Australian Football League (AFL) Players' Association and team skippers released a statement on Friday expressing their distaste for the constant booing, especially during last Sunday's clash at Perth's Subiaco Oval. "Enjoy the game, celebrate the success but don't boo, jeer or taunt players because of who they are or what they stand for," it said. Goodes is a vocal advocate for indigenous issues and wants to see Aboriginal people recognised by the Australian constitution. Others, including cricketing legend Shane Warne, have defended fans' right to boo athletes. "For me, I don't think that the stuff that they're doing to Adam Goodes is racist," he told Triple M radio station. "It's their prerogative. Australia can have an opinion." Separately, one of Australia's wealthiest and most influential businessmen, Crown chairman James Packer, said on Friday he was "ashamed" of the whole affair. "He's a great Australian. He won Australian of the Year, I think he's an amazing role model," local media quoted Mr Packer as saying.
Social media users have been rallying around Aussie Rules footballer Adam Goodes, after he became embroiled in a racism row with fans.
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Cummings was in the right place at the right time to convert David Gray's cross for his first. And the 21-year-old rolled in an opportunistic second from a tight angle when he capitalised on a mix-up in the Buddies' defence. New signings Andrew Shinnie and Brian Graham both came off the bench to make their debuts for Hibs. Graham in particular had a brilliant chance to score his first goal for the Leith side but Saints goalkeeper Scott Gallacher blocked the effort. Former Buddie John McGinn cracked the angle of post and cross-bar late on and any critics of Cummings would say the forward should have gone home with a hat-trick ball. His double here brought his tally for the season to five already, and the deflected cross from energetic captain Gray only needed a left-foot steer into the net. Being in the right place to capitalise was key for Cummings, and 10 minutes later his persistence at pestering St Mirren defender Jack Baird and keeper Gallacher was rewarded. The St Mirren duo left a back-pass to each other and Cummings nipped in to clinically score from a tight angle. Lennon's managerial effect from the sidelines is clear. Fifteen minutes into this match the former Celtic boss was berating Hibs centre-back Darren McGregor for a lack of urgency. Players paid attention to Lennon's demands to "move it quickly" and "get it forward". Cummings received an earful for a poor second-half pass and Marvin Bartley was rebuked for moaning at the referee. Lennon has got his team by the scruff of the neck. St Mirren's home form under Alex Rae has been better than his predecessors but there was not much for the locals to get excited about on this occasion - indeed some booed at half-time. Baird watched his header sail over and substitute David Clarkson shot narrowly wide, but the impression was Hibs had another gear in them if required. Hibs boss Neil Lennon: "Jason Cummings is a goalscorer but there's more to his game. "He got two brilliant goals and could've had a couple more. I thought he got sloppy in the second half and looked a little bit tired. "If you'd been watching him in the first half you could have had Real Madrid on the phone. But if you'd been watching him second half you would've had Accrington Stanley on the phone - and that's no disrespect to Accrington." St Mirren manager Alex Rae: "The fact is that we dug in and competed in the second half. "You can't legislate for that second goal. No matter what the preparation is, it's just a miscommunication and it becomes difficult because you're chasing the game. "We need to stick together as a team and get through this." Match ends, St. Mirren 0, Hibernian 2. Second Half ends, St. Mirren 0, Hibernian 2. Andy Webster (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Brian Graham (Hibernian). John McGinn (Hibernian) hits the bar with a right footed shot from outside the box. Attempt missed. Andrew Shinnie (Hibernian) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the right. Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Jason Naismith. Attempt saved. Brian Graham (Hibernian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Jordan Stewart (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Jordan Stewart (St. Mirren). Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Stephen Mallan (St. Mirren) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. David Clarkson (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Darren McGregor (Hibernian). Substitution, Hibernian. Martin Boyle replaces Jason Cummings. Attempt missed. Brian Graham (Hibernian) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Attempt saved. David Clarkson (St. Mirren) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt missed. Andrew Shinnie (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Foul by Kyle Hutton (St. Mirren). Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by David Clarkson (St. Mirren). Marvin Bartley (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Gary Irvine (St. Mirren). Jason Cummings (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Hibernian. Brian Graham replaces Grant Holt. Substitution, St. Mirren. Jordan Stewart replaces Lawrence Shankland. Attempt saved. David Gray (Hibernian) header from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Andy Webster (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Andrew Shinnie (Hibernian). Substitution, St. Mirren. David Clarkson replaces John Sutton. Substitution, Hibernian. Andrew Shinnie replaces James Keatings. Foul by Gary Irvine (St. Mirren). Jason Cummings (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Gary Irvine (St. Mirren). Jason Cummings (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the right wing. James Keatings (Hibernian) hits the bar with a left footed shot from outside the box. Attempt missed. Jack Baird (St. Mirren) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Gary Irvine (St. Mirren) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by David Gray (Hibernian). Kyle Hutton (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jason Cummings' brace against St Mirren helped Hibernian continue their perfect start to the Championship season.
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The match, in Montevideo on Friday, 30 May, will be broadcast on the Red Button and also be streamed on the BBC Sport website. You can press the Red Button on either BBC One NI or BBC Two NI to watch the match. Kick-off for the match at the Estadio Centenario is 00:30 BST and the commentator will be Michael McNamee. Uruguay are in England's World Cup pool, Group D. On Freeview and BT Vision, the Red Button feed can be found on Channel 301, on Freesat Channel 981 and Virgin Media Channel 991. For those watching with Sky, coverage will be available only by pressing the Red Button. Alternatively fans can also watch the game live by logging on to bbc.co.uk/sportni. Shane Glynn, editor of BBC Sport NI, said: "Uruguay will be a tough test for Northern Ireland. "They will be one of the sides who fancy their chances of winning the World Cup - and with players of the calibre of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, why not? "I'm delighted BBC Northern Ireland has secured the rights to show the Uruguay game live on the Red Button and via our BBC Sport NI website. "We will also broadcast on the website an extended highlights package of the friendly match against Chile the following week." Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Irish Football Association, said: "We are delighted that BBC Northern Ireland have obtained the rights to show this game live on their Red Button and internet services. Northern Ireland fans all over the UK will be able to see live how well our team does against one of the World Cup favourites."
Northern Ireland's friendly against Uruguay is to be shown live on the BBC.
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Foster, a former European 5,000m gold medallist and a Commonwealth champion at 10,000m, began his commentary career in 1980 and has since gone on to cover nine summer Olympic Games for the BBC. "I have loved every minute of my time working for BBC Sport," said Foster. It just seems the right time and the right place - at a World Championships in the UK - to say thank you and goodbye "It has been a privilege and I am very lucky to have done what I have done since my competitive career finished." The BBC's director of sport Barbara Slater said: "Brendan's knowledge, instinct, tone, timing and skill have been wonderful to listen to, and he has given all of us so many great moments. "His words and iconic commentaries will be heard for years to come." Foster, 69, was named BBC Sports Personality Of The Year in 1974 after winning gold over 5,000m at that year's European Championships in Rome, as well as setting a new world record over 3,000m at his home track in Gateshead. After retiring from the track he became one of the leading voices of the BBC's athletics coverage, taking in every Commonwealth Games since 1982 and every World Athletics Championships since the inaugural event in 1983. He has also been ever present at the London Marathon since its inception in 1981, with this year's event on 23 April to be his 37th and last. Foster said: "My very first commentary was shortly after the 1980 Olympics at a cross-country event at Gateshead and that's when I started to work with the greatest sports broadcaster of all time, David Coleman. "David was just so professional and diligent and he taught me so much. After David retired, Steve Cram took over and working with Crammy for almost 20 years has been so special too. "We have had so many special days, and those recently with Sir Mo Farah winning golds galore, particularly at the Olympic Games, are commentaries that stick out in the memory as we have witnessed true greatness. "It's also been an honour to work with so many great people who have been a part of the BBC Athletics team - both in front of and behind the camera." Media playback is not supported on this device
BBC commentator Brendan Foster is to retire following August's World Athletics Championships in London.
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The 24-year-old clocked 101.76 seconds to finish behind Slovakia's Michal Martikan and Sideris Tasiadis of Germany in the third leg of the series. Martikan took victory by 0.69 seconds on the Markkleeberg course to secure the 20th World Cup gold medal of his career. "The manner in which I did it today is what I'm happy about," said Burgess. "Third in the heats, third in the semis, third in the final. That consistency is what I had last year and it's what got me a lot of good results." The fourth leg of the World Cup is in Ivrea, Italy from 1-3 September. Women's K1 Ricarda Funk (GER) 103.85 (0) Jessica Fox (AUS) 106.31 (0) Eva Tercelj (SLO) 109.17 (0) Men's C1 Michal Martikan (SVK) 100.88 (2) Sideris Tasiadis (GER) 101.57 (2) Adam Burgess (GBR) 101.76 (0)
Great Britain's Adam Burgess won bronze in the men's C1 at the Canoe Slalom World Cup in Markkleeberg, Germany.
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The incident happened at the One Stop Shop in Usk at about 06:00 GMT. A 15-year-old, from Little Mill, is currently in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of robbery. Gwent Police said a 36-year-old man from Blaina and a 42-year-old from Little Mill had been arrested and released on police bail pending further enquiries.
Police investigating an armed robbery at a shop in Monmouthshire on Sunday have arrested a teenager and two men.
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The 25-year-old, who finished last season on loan at Northampton, has agreed a three-year deal with the Reds. Collins is Crawley's 12th signing of the summer transfer window. "James wants a new challenge and he comes with a very good goalscoring record in League Two," Reds boss Dermot Drummy told the club website. Collins, who has previously had spells at Aston Villa, Swindon and Hibernian, scored 15 goals in 49 appearances last season. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
League Two side Crawley Town have signed James Collins after the striker's contract at Shrewsbury Town was cancelled by mutual consent.
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The Troup seat has been vacant since the death in September of Conservative councillor John Duncan, who had represented the ward since 2002. Independent Jack Moodie resigned from the Kirkwall West and Orphir seat on Orkney in the same month. Votes can be cast between 07:00 and 22:00, with the counts being held on Friday.
By-elections to replace councillors in Aberdeenshire and Orkney are being held.
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However, Sutton insists his statement is not a criticism and that Sir Chris Hoy has had similiar problems. He said: "Nicole's become one of these people that most people do in life - they don't cope with success." Road race gold medallist Cooke says there were no examples for her to emulate after the 2008 Games. Cooke won the 2004 Giro D'Italia Feminile, plus the La Grande Boucle Féminine in 2006 and 2007 among numerous podium finishes before making history at the 2008 Games by becoming Wales' second woman Olympic gold winner. Sir Chris [Hoy] won't mind me saying the guy crumbled for 12 months after all that success because of the change in lifestyle. He couldn't cope Since the euphoria of that triumph, Cooke has been unable to reach the heights she previously enjoyed. Sutton, the former Welsh cycling coach and 1978 Commonwealth Games team pursuit gold medallist, says like track cyclist Sir Chris and Sydney 2000 Games 1km time trial gold medallist Jason Queally, Cooke's performances have dipped. "In our sport or whatever sport or whatever, if you get beat, what do you do?" Sutton said. "You get up the next morning, you start training again and you change because you know you have to change, but you train and you change. "When you win - most people, they can't cope with success. "That's not a criticism, I'm just saying it from the likes of Jason Queeley, I've seen it with the likes of Sir Chris Hoy. "Sir Chris won't mind me saying the guy crumbled for 12 months after all that success because of the change in lifestyle. He couldn't cope." Cooke does not deny Sutton has a point, but points to a lack of guidance from within the sport in the wake of her Beijing triumph. She told Wales at the Olympics: "There were so many steps along the way where you could look at any little phase of my career and say 'I could have done that better'. "But who was there to advise me? "No one had ever done it before. No other British rider had become world number one. Between 2001 and 2009, Nicole Cooke (left) won an unprecedented nine consecutive British national road race titles. However, in 2010 Emma Pooley took the honours with Lizzie Armitstead second. In 2011, Armitstead won the title ahead of Cooke. In 2012 the race was won by Sharon Laws with Cooke sixth. British Olympic Dreams on BBC One/iPlayer "No other British rider had won a World Cup. No other British rider had won the Tour de France [La Grande Boucle Féminine], no other British rider had won the Giro D'Italia and no other British rider had become Olympic champion [or] world number one. "So if there was a book written on how to do that, well I would have been very happy to have it. "But there wasn't a book so I had to do the best I could and yeah, it was part of the journey." Even so Cooke has the chance to defend her title after securing a place in Great Britain's team for the women's road race in London. She will be joined by Lizzie Armitstead, Lucy Martin and Emma Pooley at the Games, with Katie Colclough and Sharon Laws having been dropped from the initial squad of six. However, Cooke is likely to be asked to sacrifice her own gold medal ambition to be a support rider. British number one Armitstead is expected to be the team leader in the race, with the other three team members expected to ensure she is given the best opportunity possible to claim gold. Cooke has already indicated she is willing to accept that role - known in cycling as a 'domestique' - while also retaining an ambition to be the team leader and therefore be given an opportunity to defend her title on home soil. A decision on who will be the team leader will not be taken until closer to the race itself, which takes place on Sunday, 29 July. The final episode of the three-part documentary 'Wales at the Olympics' will run is BBC One Wales on Tuesday at 22:35 BST. Each show is available for seven days on BBC iPlayer after transmission.
Team GB cycling head coach Shane Sutton says 2012 Olympics hopeful Nicole Cooke did not cope with her gold medal success at the 2008 Beijing Games.
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His journey towards the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games as a para-canoeist has been one filled with life-changing obstacles and defined by a steely resolve. He began as a record-breaking junior world champion powerlifter. Then, after suffering a serious spinal injury, he embarked on an illustrious handcycling career. Marsden raced on the European circuit while based in the Czech Republic, before a neck problem again saw him admitted into the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in 2009 for what he thought was a prolapsed disc. Instead it was revealed that he suffers with a rare motor-neurone condition which affects his arms, legs and brain. "Through powerlifting I damaged my back many years ago, and after that I managed to damage my neck and had a couple of plates and (carbon) cage put in," the 44-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent told BBC East Midlands Today. In a matter-of-fact manner, Marsden says his sporting journey "has not been an easy one". When handcycling was no longer an option, he took up air rifle shooting and set his sights on London 2012, but while more representative honours came his way, he missed out on the Paralympics. Eventually, he turned to the water where he was able to combine aspects of his his first two sporting loves - powerlifting and handcycling - together in one explosive sport. "I didn't want to give up on sport," he said. "The cycling and powerlifting work quite well with the para-canoe - the gym work, the power and strength and then you have the endurance and speed work on the bike." The two-time para-canoe European champion and two-time world silver medallist now wants to realise his Paralympic ambition in Brazil when the British line-up is decided at the trials in Nottingham in June. "It would be the highlight of my sporting career," Marsden said. "As a kid I watched TV and watched the Olympics. I've seen how the Paralympics has built up over the years, from not really knowing what it was about to the status it has now, with athletes being household names. "It would be an honour to represent Great Britain at the Paralympics. "I'll be aiming for gold in Rio. There is no other place you want after all the hard work." At a warm weather training camp in Brazil, Marsden got a picture-perfect view of what he can look forward to if he does make the trip to Rio later this year. Taking a look at the city's regatta venue on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, the backdrop itself motivated him further. "It's a fantastic place," he said. "With Christ the Redeemer looking down on the regatta course, it has to be the best sporting location of any sport in the world." Interview by BBC East Midlands Today's Mark Shardlow. If you want to find out about how to get into canoeing, read our special guide.
Ian Marsden has lifted, cycled, fired and paddled for Great Britain during a sporting career that has seen him requiring reconstructive spinal surgery which left him needing to use a wheelchair.
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Antonio Horta-Osorio told shareholders that the bank is "just days away" from returning to full private ownership. A sale of the final 0.25% stake would be a "major milestone", he added. The government said recently that the value of its share sales had surpassed £20.3bn, although this did not account for inflation. Mr Horta-Osorio described 2016 as a "significant year" for Lloyds during which the government substantially reduced its shareholding in the lender. He said: "We take great pride in the fact that the government has already received more than its original investment of £20.3bn. "With further proceeds to come as the sale is completed, this will ensure that the UK taxpayers get back at least £500m more than was originally put in." In 2008, Lloyds rescued HBOS but then had to seek a bailout from the government which gave the state a 43% stake on the bank. The Lloyds boss said: "Looking at the group now, it is perhaps easy to lose sight of the fact that just six years ago this was a bank in crisis. "Six years on we have turned the business around and we are now a strong, safe and UK-focused bank." However, the bank still has to deal with the aftermath of a £245m money laundering scandal that was uncovered at its Reading office which led to the jailing of two former employees. Lloyds has set aside £100m to compensate some 64 victims of the fraud which include Deal or No Deal host Noel Edmonds. Mr Edmonds is seeking £50m from the fund to compensate him for the "deep distress and public humiliation" he suffered because of the scandal. Lloyds chairman told shareholders at the meeting that he was "determined" to ensure the victims in that case were "fairly, swiftly and appropriately compensated" within "weeks rather than months". He said: "We remain committed to learning from our mistakes and following through our strategy to be the best bank for customers, shareholders and UK." Lloyds's progress is in marked contrast to Royal Bank of Scotland, which was also bailed out in 2008 at a cost of £45bn. Chancellor Philip Hammond recently admitted that it is likely the government will sell its shares in RBS at a loss and it will only begin to divest once legacy issues at the bank are resolved.
The taxpayer will make a profit of about £500m on the £20.3bn bailout of Lloyds Bank Group during the financial crisis, its chief executive said.
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The Common dolphin was discovered on the high water line at Gyllingvase near Falmouth early on Wednesday. Members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue covered the animal with wet towels and seaweed to keep it comfortable. A vet who was called to the scene assessed that it was too sick to be returned to the sea. There have been 41 strandings of Common dolphins in Cornwall in the past year according to figures from the Marine Strandings Network. Almost 3,500 whales, dolphins and porpoises have been stranded on UK coastlines over the six years up to December 2011, according to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Overall it recorded a fall in the number of strandings but said that some still were not being reported. The Society has launched a campaign to encourage the public to tell them when they find beached mammals.
A dolphin found stranded on a Cornish beach has been put down, say marine rescuers.
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Researchers said seven out of 10 companies had reported an increase in sales - some by more than 50%. The Scottish Technology Industry Survey also found that 82% of businesses were predicting sales to increase in 2017. Predicted employment growth is also on the up, with 78% of firms expecting to employ more people this year. This compares to 66% of firms that were expecting to hire more staff in 2016. The digital technologies trade body, ScotlandIS, produced the annual survey. Polly Purvis, chief executive of ScotlandIS, said: "The results of this year's survey show the confidence and resilience of the digital technologies industry which is continuing to grow and maintain its optimistic outlook despite uncertainties in the political environment. "This is great news not just for our sector, but also for the economy as a whole. The digital technologies industry generates over £5bn in GVA [gross value added] for Scotland every year and is becoming more and more important in our increasingly digital world." But ScotlandIS said a "skills shortage" remained an issue for many firms. For the first time since 2013, demand for experienced staff outstripped that for graduates. Ms Purvis added: "Our survey shows that more companies are looking to Scotland to recruit new employees. This is likely to be a sign of Brexit-related concerns and the decreasing attractiveness of the UK for international talent."
Scotland's digital technology industry enjoyed "sustained growth" in 2016 and is optimistic for the future, a survey has found.
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The opening session of the Scottish Parliament was largely devoted to ceremony, including swearing in MSPs and electing the presiding officer. Members found time to lodge 51 questions and motions - 28 of them from Willie Rennie on the China agreement. There was controversy about the issue during the election campaign. It emerged during the election period that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had signed the memorandum, potentially worth up to £10bn of investment, with SinoFortone and China Railway No 3 Engineering Group. At the time, Lib Dem leader Mr Rennie called for the agreement to be torn up after a parent firm of the engineering group had been blacklisted by Norway's state pension fund over fears of "gross corruption". Fears have also been voiced about human rights abuses. Ms Sturgeon said no firm investment plans had been made and insisted that due diligence would be carried out, although a UK advisor to the Chinese firms said specific projects had been discussed and claimed Ms Sturgeon wanted work to begin "this year". Mr Rennie lodged a total of 28 questions, all on the topic of the China agreement and government memoranda of understanding. He asked a series of questions about whether government officials were aware of the Norwegian blacklisting, their assessment of the firm's human rights record, what advice was taken before signing the memorandum, and whether the government would suspend the memorandum until it had investigated concerns. The Scottish Parliament website indicated that the questions were likely to be answered on 26 May. Ms Sturgeon has previously said that "if there were any concerns that said these were deals we should not do, then we wouldn't do them". A number of other MSPs also lodged questions on their first day back at work after the election. Labour MSP Neil Findlay submitted three motions, one of them on the "growing number of Scottish citizens identified as being involved in undercover policing scandals". His motion calls on the UK government to extend the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing into Scotland, and says that if it does not, the Scottish government should set up an inquiry of its own. Mr Findlay also submitted a motion to welcome the verdict of the Hillsborough inquests, and another calling for directors of companies that take part in blacklisting to be tried in court. Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who has now returned to parliament having lost his seat in 2011, lodged 13 questions on his first day back in the job. Mr Ruskell's questions focused on a series of environmental issues, including the culling of mountain hares and the reintroduction of beavers to Scotland.
Dozens of questions about the Scottish government memorandum of understanding with Chinese firms were lodged during the first session at Holyrood.
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England, who have never won the competition, were knocked out at the group stage this year. "We were a long way off the pace. Unless we focus on it, we will sleep walk our way into the next one," Strauss told BBC Test Match Special. "If we have a core of specialists we can prioritise both teams." Test skipper Alastair Cook was removed as one-day captain and replaced by Eoin Morgan less than two months before the World Cup started in February. England won only two of their six group games, against minnows Scotland and Afghanistan. Former England captain Strauss said: "Our country is generally is quite red-ball focussed, but that doesn't mean it has to be at the expense of white-ball cricket. "That's one of my focuses - to re-balance it and give more importance to it." Only four England players involved in the current one-day series against Pakistan featured in the recent 2-0 Test series defeat. Strauss said one-day specialists would have "opportunities" to compete in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), which clashes with the start of the English season in April and May. Asked about the IPL and the Big Bash, Australia's Twenty20 tournament, Strauss said: "I'm a massive fan. "If you are an overseas player, what those Twenty20 competitions do is put you under real pressure. "You have to stand up and deliver and that's a really good experience."
England director of cricket Andrew Strauss says "more separation" of the Test and one-day teams will improve their chances of winning the World Cup.
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American businessmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan lead a consortium that is in talks to buy a 60% stake. Swansea City Supporters' Trust will retain its full 21.1% holding, but former player Nurse, 78, is worried the club could lose its identity. "I'm concerned because it's going out of the hands of local people," he said. "I'm not going to say they're not going to advance the club, because we don't know what the future is going to hold. "But up until now the club has been run by Swansea people." Nurse was speaking after being given the freedom of the city in Swansea on Thursday. He played more than 250 games for the club and made 12 appearances for Wales. After retiring as a player Nurse invested in property in the city and emerged as a key character in saving the club from insolvency in 2002. He led the consortium that acquired the the Swans from then-owner Tony Petty. In addition to their financial problems Swansea were struggling in the bottom tier of the Football League, but have since climbed through the divisions and are in their fifth season in the Premier League. Nurse stood aside before the club's meteoric rise. Swansea's success means the value of shares is understood to have increased tenfold since the current board took charge in 2002, with the club now valued at about £100m. More than 70% of the shares are currently held by supporters and directors from south Wales. Swansea's directors have been impressed by Levien and Kaplan's plans, with chairman Huw Jenkins stating when news of the takeover first broke that additional investment would help the club "progress both on and off the field". Levien, the managing general partner of Major League Soccer side DC United, has been in Wales for discussions He and Kaplan, principal of Oaktree Capital investment fund and vice-chairman of NBA franchise Memphis Grizzlies, had initially been negotiating a deal which would have seen them acquire more than 75% of Swansea's shares. That would effectively have given the American consortium complete control, including the power to issue more shares. However, the modified acquisition of 60% will see the trust retain its 21.1% stake and ensure continuity at board level with the retention of Jenkins and vice chairman Leigh Dineen. They hope to complete a deal before the end of the Premier League season. *Martin Morgan resigned from his post as a director of OTH Ltd on 4 April 2016 **Brian Katzen and Jeffrey Crevoiserat own one more share than the Swansea City Supporters' Trust, giving them less than 0.1% more of a share.
Mel Nurse, who led the group that helped save Swansea City from bankruptcy in 2002, has concerns over plans for a US takeover of the club.
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Eleven of Scotland's 14 territorial health boards were hit by the "ransomware" attack linked to other IT attacks around the world. The hack has encrypted information on NHS computers, denying access unless a payment is made. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said work to fix the systems affected had entered a "recovery phase" She called the attack "hugely concerning" but said there was no evidence as yet to suggest outdated computer systems were responsible for the breach. Scotland's Health Secretary Shona Robison said there was a "level of confidence" that systems would be back up and running by Monday and that no breach of patient confidentiality had been detected. The health boards which have been affected are: The Scottish Ambulance Service has also been affected, along with NHS National Services Scotland. The incidents are thought to be part of a wider attack affecting organisations in about 100 countries around the world. IT problems have also caused disruption in about 30 health authorities in England, while the NHS in Wales and Northern Ireland are so far unaffected. The Scottish government said most incidents had been confined to desktop computers in GP surgeries, dental practices and other primary care centres. A spokesman said the only acute hospital sites so far affected had been in NHS Lanarkshire. BBC Scotland understands that computer systems at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride were compromised. Ms Robison told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that IT specialists had been working non-stop to get GP systems back up and running. She said: "People are working very, very hard and have worked through the night. The update I've got this morning is that we're very much into recovery phase now, with a lot of work going on to get systems back up running. "The GP systems, which of course were the main problem across our health boards - work is going on, and there is a level of confidence that many will be back up and running before GP surgeries open on Monday morning." Ms Sturgeon told the BBC: "Obviously cyber-attacks of this nature are hugely concerning and I think they underline the vulnerability not just of the public sector, but also of society generally to cyber-attacks, but they also underline the importance of all organisations making sure that they have all appropriate measures in place to protect against those kinds of attack." She added: "Obviously there is a lot of investigation into exactly why the health service has been affected in the way it has. I think it's important to stress that this has been a global international attack." Shona Robison said NHS Lanarkshire had been more affected in terms of its acute hospitals, but said manual systems had worked safely and insisted that patients had not been negatively impacted by the breach. "The intention today is to begin testing those IT systems and to gradually and safely try to bring those back on over the course of the weekend." Ms Robison added: "Throughout all of this there's been no breach to patient confidentiality that has been detected to date so patients should be reassured by that." Patient services, including emergency services, are continuing to operate across Scotland, the Scottish government confirmed. Ms Robison emphasised there had been no impact on the majority of the out-of-hours systems across Scotland, with NHS 24 working as normal along with the Scottish Ambulance Service, where the only issue had been with desktop PCs that were "non-patient facing". "All the other parts of the system that people would use over the weekend are working as normal," Ms Robison said. In NHS Lanarkshire, non-emergency patients have been urged to stay away from its hospitals as it deals with the ransomware attack. Dr Helen Mackie, chief of medical services at Hairmyres Hospital, said staff had reverted to paper and manual records for patients. She has urged any patients turning up at the authorities emergency departments to bring their medication with them because medics may have problems accessing their records. She said: "Help us by bringing as much information with you, So bring your medicines, bring any information you have about health care. Relatives can really help us as well because they're a wealth of information for us." Dr Mackie said the IT issues were leading to the cancellation of planned out-patient appoints for tests such as CT scans. However, she said that any emergency diagnostic tests would continue to take place. She added: "It's business as usual in terms of emergency care in our Lanarkshire hospitals. We are asking the public to help us by only coming to emergency departments if it is an emergency. But please be reassured that all our emergency access to treatment and care is up and fully running."
The Scottish government says it is working closely with health officials following a global cyber hack.
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The supermarket chain said like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.2% in the nine weeks to 3 January. Analysts had expected a fall in sales at Morrisons, which has been under intense pressure from rivals. It is the first time the supermarket has reported a rise in sales for more than a year. The results sent shares in Morrisons up sharply, and they closed more than 8% higher at 165.5p. Paul Thomas, an analyst at Retail Remedy, said Morrisons' sales had been expected to fall by between 2% and 3%. He said the UK's fourth-largest supermarket chain was clearly focusing on "its core market and core product" and that the sales figures were evidence that the new strategy was "paying off". David Potts, who became chief executive of Morrisons in March last year, said he was pleased with the performance over Christmas: "While there is of course much more to do, we are making important progress in improving all aspects of the shopping trip." He sold its 140 M Convenience stores at a loss of £30m in September and has also embarked on a cost-cutting and store closure programme. Last year, Morrisons reported a 52% drop in annual profits to £345m - its worst results in eight years. The retailer also dropped out of the FTSE 100 list of the UK's biggest companies in December. The increase in sales came as Morrisons continued to cut prices - by 3.2% in the last year and 7% over two years. It said customers were also returning, with transactions up 1.3% in the period. However, total sales were down 1.2%, which Mr Thomas said suggested that customers were buying fewer items. Morrisons maintained its profit forecast, saying it expected full year underlying profit in the region of £295m to £310m, before £60m of restructuring and store closure costs. According to new figures from research firm Kantar Worldpanel, Morrisons' share of the overall grocery market was 11% in the 12 weeks to 3 January, down from 11.3% a year earlier. Sainsbury's was the best performing of the "big four" supermarkets - which includes Tesco, Sainsbury's Asda and Morrisons. Its market share rose 0.1 percentage points to 17% compared with the same period in 2014, making it the only one of the big four to increase its share. Discount chains Aldi and Lidl, as well as the Co-operative and Waitrose, were the other chains to increase their market share in the 12-week period. Tesco kept the number one slot, with a 28.3% share, although this was down from 29.1% a year earlier. Overall, the value of sales in the 12-week period was down 0.2% due to continued price deflation, Kantar said. Analysts reacted to Morrisons' sales figures with surprise, with Nick Bubb tweeting: "Wow Morrisons was actually up 0.2% LFL at Xmas". Morrisons is the first of the "big four" to release Christmas sales figures, with Sainsbury's publishes its third-quarter results on Wednesday, followed by Tesco on Thursday. Walmart-owned Asda does not release its figures until February, but it has predicted another year of "intense pressure". Last week, M&S said third-quarter sales of general merchandise were down by 5.8% for the 13 weeks to 26 December, although food sales were up 0.4%. It also said chief executive Marc Bolland would step down in April, to be succeeded by Steve Rowe, head of general merchandise. Like-for-like sales at Waitrose, the supermarket owned by the John Lewis Partnership, fell 1.4% over the Christmas period, although John Lewis sales overall rose 5.1%.
Morrisons has reported better-than-expected sales over the Christmas shopping period compared with a year earlier.
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The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, now part of the National Crime Agency, took more than a year to pass the details on to police. Canadian police sent files to CEOP on about 2,000 men, including Myles Bradbury, convicted in September of abusing boys at a hospital until 2013. NCA head Keith Bristow told MPs he was sorry if children had been put at risk. Information on the men was sent by Toronto Police in July 2012, as part of an international investigation, Operation Spade, into suspected paedophiles. But it was not passed on to police forces until more than 12 months later in November 2013. The BBC has obtained figures from several police forces suggesting they have arrested only about a third of the names they were given. And so far just 6% have been charged, including teachers and nursery workers. West Yorkshire Police, which received the names of 60 people a year ago, had made no arrests a week ago but in the last few days has arrested 24 men A spokesman for the force said the arrests were very recent and no-one had yet been charged. Mr Bristow told the home affairs select committee: "Sitting on data for the period of time between July 2012 and November 2013, that could have led to children being protected or safeguarded, seems to me whether it's systemic or it's down to individuals - and there are certainly some systemic issues that we need to work through - that's not in the spirit of what we stand for. "I'm sorry if that's led to harm to children or exposing them to risk because that's not what we stand for." Mr Bristow told the committee: "We are sat on a daily basis on top of significant risk because of the sheer volume of images and the different methods of offending by people who have a sexual interest in children. "And we have a problem - not just NCA, not just law enforcement, not just government - we as a society have a problem with the number of people in the UK who access these horrible images or paying for children to be abused online." Police watchdog the IPCC has written to every chief constable to see if information from the Canadian investigation has been mishandled. Det Insp Jim Foy, of another of the forces, West Midlands Police, said: "In November 2013, we received 58 packages from the National Crime Agency (NCA) in connection with Operation Spade. "After an initial assessment of the information provided, 30 were found to be no longer for our attention as either the suspects were already under investigation, were deceased or had moved away from the West Midlands Force area. "Of the remaining 28 referrals, four people have already been charged with offences. Two are awaiting charging advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and 16 have been arrested and are currently on police bail. "No further action was required in six of the packages: we found no evidence of any offences in five of the referrals and one of the cases involved a man with serious mental health issues."
A law enforcement chief has apologised for delays in acting on information about possible British paedophiles.
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9 November 2015 Last updated at 07:22 GMT Onlookers described how they were eating their meals when the lights suddenly went out and they heard a loud crash. Tests are going to take place to find out why the ground opened up swallowing 12 cars. The large hole measured 120m long and 11m wide. Luckily no one was hurt.
Cars were swallowed up when a large sinkhole opened up in a restaurant car park, in Mississippi in America
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Captain John Rankin got the Doonhamers off to the perfect start with a seventh-minute opener from the edge of the area. Derek Lyle then turned in from close range following a corner. Jean-Yves Mvoto gave Rovers hope with a 61st-minute header but John Hughes' side could not find a way back. Home goalkeeper Lee Robinson made a couple of good saves to deny Rovers midfielder Chris Johnston, before Ryan Hardie spurned the chance to level when his header cleared the crossbar. Match ends, Queen of the South 2, Raith Rovers 1. Second Half ends, Queen of the South 2, Raith Rovers 1. Attempt missed. John Rankin (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left from a direct free kick. Jim Atkinson (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers). Substitution, Queen of the South. Ross Fergusson replaces Stephen Dobbie. Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers). Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jason Thomson (Raith Rovers). Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) wins a free kick on the right wing. Attempt missed. Declan McManus (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Attempt saved. Darren Brownlie (Queen of the South) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Declan McManus. Substitution, Queen of the South. Daniel Carmichael replaces Dom Thomas. Attempt missed. Ryan Hardie (Raith Rovers) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Attempt saved. Chris Johnston (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Attempt saved. Declan McManus (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Declan McManus. Attempt blocked. Dom Thomas (Queen of the South) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Foul by Ross Callachan (Raith Rovers). Kyle Jacobs (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Craig Barr (Raith Rovers). Lyndon Dykes (Queen of the South) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Iain Davidson (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South). Substitution, Raith Rovers. Chris Johnston replaces Ryan Stevenson. Foul by John Rankin (Queen of the South). Mark Stewart (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt saved. Dom Thomas (Queen of the South) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Jean-Yves Mvoto. Substitution, Queen of the South. Lyndon Dykes replaces Derek Lyle. Corner, Raith Rovers. Conceded by Darren Brownlie. Foul by Dom Thomas (Queen of the South). Declan McManus (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South). Kyle Benedictus (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Substitution, Raith Rovers. Declan McManus replaces Jordan Thompson. Substitution, Raith Rovers. Ryan Hardie replaces Bobby Barr. Corner, Queen of the South. Conceded by Craig Barr.
Queen of the South kept their slim play-off hopes alive with a win against Raith Rovers, who remain without a win in 16 games in all competitions.
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The first minister outlinedt details of new funding for those hit by recent severe weather during a visit to Inverurie in Aberdeenshire. She said more than £12m would be made available to help areas struck by storms and flooding. Businesses whose trade was affected can also apply for an extra £3,000. Hundreds of people were evacuated in Aberdeenshire after the Rivers Dee, Don and Ythan burst their banks in the early hours of Friday. It followed Storm Frank at the end of last month which saw flooding hit Tayside and the Borders. The first minister said the new funding was in addition to £4m announced by Deputy First Minister John Swinney in December. Ms Sturgeon said: "In the face of devastation Scotland's communities have rallied together and shown real strength. I have met with some local business owners who have made a real difference by offering vital support and once again I am amazed by the determination and dedication of all of our emergency services who are working around the clock to save homes and livelihoods. "We do not yet have confirmation of consequentials coming from UK Government flood funds - however, now that the picture of those who need support is clearer, the Scottish government is acting now to make sure that the people who need help get it." This money is in addition to almost £4m (announced in November) shared between these councils, plus Stirling and South Lanarkshire Have you been affected by the recent floods? You can share your comments by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us via WhatsApp: +44 7525 900971; send pictures/video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk; Upload your pictures / video here or tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay Scottish Labour welcomed the funding announcement but repeated its call for an urgent review of the country's flood prevention infrastructure. The party's environment spokesperson, Sarah Boyack, said: "It is vital that those affected receive this money as soon as possible. Families and local businesses can't wait for months for this support to actually arrive. "Questions also need to be asked about how local authorities are expected to shoulder the burden for flood defences when the SNP plan to slash council budgets across the whole of Scotland." The Scottish Conservatives welcomed the new funding. A spokesman added: "The UK government has made around £9m available through the Barnett Formula, and that alongside today's announcement will be of great assistance." NFU Scotland said funding to help the farming community was "much appreciated" but that discussions should also now take place on protection for homes and businesses in the future. President Allan Bowie said: "The damage seen on Scottish farms up and down the country has been extensive and the job of restoring flood banks and clearing up the debris will be costly and time consuming. "The full picture will not be known until the waters recede but it goes without saying that, for a good number of farmers, the effects will be felt for much longer." Water levels on the River Don reached their highest levels in 45 years during Thursday night's severe floods caused by heavy rain. Almost 70 properties were evacuated, including the 86 residents of three care homes in Aberdeen. As a clear-up operation got under way on Saturday, BBC Scotland reporter Andrew Anderson, in Inverurie, said it was a much improved picture but turning very cold. "This morning it's starting to resemble an ice-rink . We've got sub-zero temperatures here and there's a freezing mist beginning to settle on Port Elphinstone and Inverurie," he said. The first minister met some of the victims of the flooding on a visit to a rest centre set up at Inverurie Academy. She also talked with those who responded to the emergency and helped rescue those caught up in the flood water. David Barrack, who owns a hotel which offered free accommodation to those forced from their homes in Inverurie, told the BBC parts of the town had been devastated. "A lot of people have seen their houses just decimated," he said. "It'll be months and months and months before they can get back in, and last night we had about 30 of the people having dinner at the hotel, and they were very resolute. "They were amazed that nobody was hurt, that nobody was drowned. It could have been so much worse." The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it expected river levels to fall gradually, but a spokesman warned of the possibility of "residual impacts" in areas such as Kintore and Inverurie. Meanwhile, work was continuing over the weekend to protect historic Abergeldie Castle, which was at risk of collapsing after the River Dee swept away about 60ft (18m) of land behind the property earlier this week. The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" warnings of more rain in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth and Kinross rain covering from Saturday evening through Sunday. The recent severe flooding followed December being the wettest month for the UK in more than a century.
Every household, business or charity in Scotland directly affected by flood water will get a grant of £1,500, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
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The first "fight" with Brussels already loomed large on Monday in the British papers. The front-page lead story in The Times reported that "Brussels forces Britain to accept Med migrants". Migration is clearly a huge story, and a controversial one for the UK and Europe. It has been for years, with an economic downturn and anti-immigrant political parties on the rise on the one hand, while at the same time television screens bring the horrors of a humanitarian crisis on our shores straight into our living rooms as we watch desperate people from the Middle East and Africa arriving, some dying, in their boatloads. The European Commission, under new President Jean-Claude Juncker, says something decisive must be done. He and his migration commissioner will on Wednesday unveil a migration strategy for the EU. Some parts are extremely controversial. Included are two proposals strongly opposed by the UK, which says the migration crisis must be tackled by other means: Now, the Cameron government wants to curb migration to the UK by EU citizens as part of his new deal with Brussels. So he certainly will not agree to increase the number of non-EU migrants to the UK. And, as he has promised the UK to have "less Brussels" in daily life, he will oppose any migration quotas "imposed" by Brussels. So actually this migration headline is less of a challenge and more of a gift for the new Cameron government. It will be a chance to publicly bare its teeth at Brussels - the Home Office has put out a strongly worded statement about opposing Commission proposals to introduce non-voluntary migrant quotas - and to show some muscle-flexing to Eurosceptics, including in the Tory party itself, ahead of EU-UK renegotiations starting in earnest. In fact, the Commission proposals are not new. They have been rejected in the past by UK Home Secretary Theresa May and quite a number of her European counterparts. The Netherlands and Denmark will hear none of it. France is nervous about the idea, with the anti-immigration National Front doing so well in the polls, and countries in Eastern and Central Europe, which house very few asylum seekers, do not want to start opening their doors now. Estonia and Slovakia have already said "no" outright. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban described the migration quota plan as "mad" in a radio interview. The migration strategy will be debated at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels next month and you can expect a heated argument. It is not just the European Commission pushing the quota proposal. In 2014: In 2015 (1 Jan- 27 April): source: UNHCR Powerful Germany backs the plan - loudly - as the country that receives the lion share of asylum application in Europe- 200,000 last year alone. Berlin fears that number could double in 2015. The Mediterranean frontline states of Greece, Italy and Malta are also in favour of refugee-sharing, for obvious reasons. When it comes to home affairs issues like asylum, the UK has a so-called opt-in clause, which allows it to decide whether or not to adopt EU legislation. So, whatever is eventually agreed on migration at EU level, it is hard to see how quotas could be forced on the UK.
The first days in office are challenging for any new government and this will certainly be a busy week for UK Prime Minister David Cameron - who, amongst other things, says he has already rolled up his sleeves to change the UK's relationship with Europe.
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Crawford Falconer will take up the post of chief trade negotiation adviser at the Department for International Trade. Leaving the single market would mean the UK would have to establish new bilateral trade agreements, but cannot formally do so until after Brexit. However, one economist suggested Mr Falconer would already be "building bridges" with the European Commission. The UK faces a huge challenge in resetting its trading relationship with the EU and other countries when Brexit takes effect. Trade pacts that have been negotiated by the EU with the rest of the world will no longer apply to the UK, while Britain will also need to define new trading relationships with the EU itself. Membership of the EU has meant the UK does not have a large bank of trade negotiators with recent experience. A New Zealander, Mr Falconer has more than 25 years trade experience. He has represented New Zealand at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and held various posts in foreign and trade affairs in his home country. Prof Alan Winters, from the University of Sussex's UK Trade Policy Observatory, said Mr Falconer's experience and contacts at the WTO would mean the groundwork for separating UK trade policy from Brussels would be made easier. "He knows quite a lot of the main players at the WTO and can build bridges at the European Council, which is good as there is work to be done right now," he said. "There is work he can do, such as discussions on whether the UK uses replicas or changes trade agreements that we have with nations by way of membership with the EU." One suggestion has been that initially trade agreements could be adopted by the UK in their current form - replicating them - at the point of Brexit, to be altered subsequently as new deals are agreed. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said of the new appointee: "Crawford Falconer brings a wealth of international trade expertise to our international economic department, ensuring that as we leave the EU, the UK will be at the forefront of global free trade and driving the case for international openness." Mr Falconer will lead trade policy and negotiation teams at the DIT. His appointment was first announced in June.
The man in charge of negotiating the UK's trade deals once Brexit is finalised, starts his job this week.
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The world-first procedure at Necker Children's Hospital in Paris offers hope to millions of people with the blood disorder. Scientists altered the genetic instructions in his bone marrow so it made healthy red blood cells. So far, the therapy has worked for 15 months and the child is no longer on any medication. Sickle cell disease causes normally round red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, to become shaped like a sickle. These deformed cells can lock together to block the flow of blood around the body. This can cause intense pain, organ damage and can be fatal. The teenager who received the treatment had so much internal damage he needed to have his spleen removed and his hips replaced. Every month he had to go into hospital to have a blood transfusion to dilute his defective blood. But when he was 13, doctors at the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris did something unique. Doctors removed his bone marrow - the part of the body that makes blood. They then genetically altered it in a lab to compensate for the defect in his DNA that caused the disease. Sickle cell is caused by a typo in the instructions for making the protein haemoglobin, which is densely packed into red blood cells. A virus was used to infect the bone marrow with new, correct instructions. The corrected bone marrow was then put back into the patient. The results in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the teenager has been making normal blood since the procedure 15 months ago. Philippe Leboulch, a professor of medicine at the University of Paris, told the BBC News website: "So far the patient has no sign of the disease, no pain, no hospitalisation. He no longer requires a transfusion so we are quite pleased with that. "But of course we need to perform the same therapy in many patients to feel confident that it is robust enough to propose it as a mainstream therapy." Prof Leboulch is nervous about using the word "cure" as this is just the first patient to come through clinical trials. But the study does show the potential power of gene therapy to transform the lives of people with sickle cell. "I think it's very significant, essential they've given him his life back," said Dr Deborah Gill from the gene medicine research group at the University of Oxford. She told the BBC: "I've worked in gene therapy for a long time and we make small steps and know there's years more work. "But here you have someone who has received gene therapy and has complete clinical remission - that's a huge step forward." However, the expensive procedure can only be carried out in cutting-edge hospitals and laboratories, while most sickle cell patients are in Africa. The next big challenge will be to transform this pioneering science into something that really can help millions of people. Follow James on Twitter. Source: NHS Choices
A French teenager's sickle cell disease has been reversed using a pioneering treatment to change his DNA.
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Helen Hinks, of Talybont, and her son William, aged three, discovered the boat while walking along Borth beach. It had been launched by youngsters at St Andrew's School of Math and Science in Charleston, South Carolina, in May 2015 as part of a school project. Ms Hinks said it was "magical" to find the boat nine months later, while the school said it was "over the moon". The boat, named the Carolina Dreamer, had been fitted with a GPS tracker and had sailed for less than a week before washing up on Bermuda. There, it was relaunched and although initially heading towards Ireland, it made a detour towards the west Wales coast - a journey of about 4,000 miles. Pupils at St Andrew's had contacted Welsh harbour masters and marinas in the hope it had been sighted and rescued. Explaining the moment they found the boat, Ms Hinks said: "I was waiting to pick my two daughters up from school and normally take my little boy to the beach if the weather's nice. "We were looking across the waves when it literally sailed right to us. It was magical." Ms Hinks said she did not realise the significance of the boat until seeing media reports a week later. "When we contacted the school they were really excited. My children's school is hoping to relaunch it back to America," she said. On hearing the news, St Andrew's pupil Paris said: "When I heard somebody had found our boat...I jumped up and down" while Dhyeya said: "Thank you for saving our boat, we appreciate it". Fourth grade teacher Amy McMahon said: "We cannot tell you how excited and elated we are to hear that our beloved boat has been recovered and has found its way to a nearby school. "We are over the moon."
A toy boat set sail by American school pupils has been found thousands of miles away by a family in Ceredigion.
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The transit was a very rare astronomical event that would not be seen again for another 105 years. Observers in north and central America, and the northern-most parts of South America saw the event start just before local sunset. The far northwest of America, the Arctic, the western Pacific, and east Asia witnessed the entire passage. While the UK and the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and eastern Africa waited for local sunrise to try to see the closing stages of the transit. Venus appeared as a small black dot moving slowly but surely across the solar disc. The traverse lasted more than six and a half hours. Some of the best pictures of the event were provided by the US space agency's (Nasa) Solar Dynamics Observatory , which studies the Sun from a position 36,000km above the Earth. "We get to see Venus in exquisite detail because of SDO's spatial resolution," said agency astrophysicist Dr Lika Guhathakurta. "SDO is a very special observatory. It takes images that are about 10 times better than a high-definition TV and those images are acquired at a temporal cadence of one every 10 seconds. This is something we've never had before." Many citizens keen to observe the transit first hand attended special events at universities and observatories where equipment for safe viewing had been set up. In Hawaii, one of the best places to see the whole event, the university's Institute of Astronomy set up telescope stations on Waikiki beach. "We've had 10 telescopes and the queues have been 10 deep to each telescope all day long," said the institute's Dr Roy Gal. "It's a great opportunity to get people excited and teach them stuff. I was hoping for a big turn-out, and it's been fantastic," he told BBC News. Joe Cali viewed the transit on the edge of the Outback in New South Wales, Australia, another ideal vantage point. "It is exciting. It may look like just a black dot on the Sun but if you think about it, it's one of the few times you get to see a planet in motion," he said. UK skywatchers had to deal with quite extensive cloud conditions across the country. "We've had total cloud and rain," said Brian Sheen from the Roseland Observatory in Cornwall . "But we've been improving our chances by connecting with the Shetland Islands and the people up there have done rather better than we have. We've been seeing the transit through [a feed] of one of their telescopes," he explained. Scientists observed the transit to test ideas that will help them probe Earth-like planets elsewhere in the galaxy, and to learn more about Venus itself and its complex atmosphere. Venus transits occur four times in approximately 243 years; more precisely, they appear in pairs of events separated by about eight years and these pairs are separated by about 105 or 121 years. The reason for the long intervals lies in the fact that the orbits of Venus and Earth do not lie in the same plane and a transit can only occur if both planets and the Sun are situated exactly on one line. This has happened only seven times previously in the telescopic age: in 1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004. The next pair will not now occur until 2117 and 2125. The phenomenon has particular historical significance. The 17th- and 18th-Century transits were used by the astronomers of the day to work out fundamental facts about the Solar System. Employing a method of triangulation (parallax), they were able to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun - the so-called astronomical unit (AU) - which we know today to be about 149.6 million km (or 93 million miles). This allowed scientists to get their first real handle on the scale of things beyond Earth. In pictures: Transit of Venus Venus transit: Your pictures Modern instrumentation now gives us very precise numbers on planetary positions and masses, as well as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. But to the early astronomers, just getting good approximate values represented a huge challenge. This is not to say the 2012 Venus transit was regarded as just a pretty show with no interest for scientists. Planetary transits have key significance today because they represent one of the best methods for finding worlds orbiting distant stars. Nasa's Kepler telescope , for example, is identifying thousands of candidates by looking for the tell-tale dips in light that accompany a planet moving in front of its host sun. These planets are too far away to be visited by spacecraft in the foreseeable future, but scientists can learn something about them from the way the background star's light is affected as it passes through the planetary atmosphere. And observing a transiting Venus, which has a known atmospheric composition, provides a kind of benchmark to support these far-flung investigations. Researchers also took a close look at Venus itself during the transit, used the occasion to probe the middle layers of the planet's atmosphere - its mesosphere. They were looking for a very thin arc of light, called the aureole , which can only be seen when Venus appears to just touch the edge of the Sun's disc at ingress and egress. The brightness and thickness of the aureole depends on the density and temperature of the atmospheric layers above Venus's cloud tops. Observations of the aureole were being combined with data from Europe's Venus Express spacecraft in orbit around the planet to provide information on high-altitude winds. The Venusian atmosphere experiences super-rotation. That is - the whole atmosphere circles the planet in four Earth days, on a body that turns around just once in 243 Earth days. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter
Planet Venus has put on a show for skywatchers by moving across the face of the Sun as viewed from Earth.
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Media playback is not supported on this device "Football is not in a crisis, only some difficulties," said the Fifa president. Blatter brushed off suggestions, from the British government among others, that Wednesday's presidential election - for which he is the only candidate - should be suspended. "If governments try to intervene then something is wrong," he said. "I think Fifa is strong enough that we can deal with our problems inside Fifa." Blatter, unusually appearing alone at a news conference in Zurich, gave a defiant display despite the storm surrounding the organisation. "This was an absolutely extraordinary appearance by Sepp Blatter. Delusional, one colleague said to me afterwards. "The phrase that will stick in the mind is: 'Crisis? What crisis?' - reminiscent of that famous newspaper headline during the Winter of Discontent. "But Blatter is not playing to our audience, he's playing to the members of Fifa who he hopes will re-elect him. "He wouldn't deal with Mohamed Bin Hammam's suspension, wouldn't talk about Jack Warner and his claims and wouldn't talk about reopening the World Cup 2022 vote. "After this conference there are so many questions. This is not going away for Blatter." But he ended the news conference in an angry exchange with a German reporter and talked of his time working as a journalist, complaining about a lack of "respect" from some members of the media, warning them: "We are not in a bazaar; we are in Fifa's house." The 75-year-old Blatter insisted that a Football Association inquiry by barrister James Dingemans QC looking into ex-FA and bid chairman Lord Triesman's claims of alleged Fifa impropriety had "found no elements" which would prompt the world governing to investigate further. This despite Dingemans' report revealing that Fifa executive committee Nicolas Leoz's aide had asked for the FA Cup to be named after the Paraguayan Exco member, who Triesman claimed in Parliament had demanded a knighthood from England's 2018 bid. Fifa has now published a summary of Dingemans' report on its website. Sports minister Hugh Robertson had expressed the British government's displeasure at Fifa's situation last week, calling for its presidential election to be suspended. But Blatter argued neither governments nor anyone outside the Fifa membership could have any bearing on the election process, and vowed to carry on unless Wednesday's congress decided otherwise. "If somebody wants to change something in the election or in the congress of Wednesday, these are the members of Fifa," he said. Media playback is not supported on this device "This cannot be done by the executive committee, it cannot be done by any authorities outside of Fifa - it's only the congress itself that can do it. "Congress will decide if I am a valid or non-valid candidate." Blatter is expected to stand unopposed in an election marred by a torrent of dissent from within and beyond football's world governing body. The only rival candidate to emerge - Mohamed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - pulled out having been suspended by Fifa's own ethics committee over allegations that financial incentives were offered to Caribbean Football Union members. Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, himself also suspended on similar grounds, subsequently revealed an e-mail in which another high-ranking Fifa official, secretary general Jerome Valcke, suggested Bin Hammam had "bought" the 2022 World Cup finals for Qatar. Valcke has since attempted to clarify those remarks and Qatar 2022 itself issued a statement claiming that Valcke's words had been "taken out of context" and its bid had been "dragged through the mud for absolutely no reason". Blatter, however, took pains to avoid dealing with the detail of the various allegations as he faced reporters, saying only: "You should ask [Bin Hammam] why he pulled out. I was prepared to go into an election process with another candidate and then the congress would have decided. Now the situation has changed." These arguments may now begin to damage the organisation's commercial interests as, earlier on Monday, two of Fifa's largest sponsors - Coca-Cola and Adidas - expressed concern at the widely publicised in-fighting. "The current allegations being raised are distressing and bad for the sport," said a Coca-Cola spokesperson. "We have every expectation that Fifa will resolve this situation in an expedient and thorough manner." An Adidas spokesman said: "The negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners." Though insistent that the election process and the Qatar World Cup 2022 bid had not been undermined by recent revelations, Blatter admitted Fifa's reputation stands at a low ebb. "I have tried for years to make Fifa's reputation the highest possible," he said. "I regret what has happened in the last few days and weeks, [causing] great damage to the image of Fifa and a lot of disappointment for football fans. "When I entered Fifa 36 years ago, we had no problems. We had no problems until 1998, this was the so-called 'very modest' Fifa. Now we are a 'comfortable' Fifa. I think we are too comfortable and some people like that. "We are in a game and all the little devils can enter the game. We have to fight against these devils. We have started to fight. "We are in a very bad situation but, starting on Wednesday, the football family has the opportunity and they have to take it: if they want to restore the credibility of Fifa, and if they want to restore it with me." As Blatter took to the podium in Zurich, Warner - one of the four members named by Triesman - issued his own statement welcoming the FA-commissioned inquiry which exonerated him. "Today, I regained some hope in the power of truth and transparency," Warner's statement read. "The report of the independent investigator on the allegations of Lord Triesman has proven once again that whenever the truth is told, people will always be able to have their names exonerated." Meanwhile, a Conservative MP who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has called for Wednesday's Fifa election to be suspended and put forward his own agenda for the reform of the organisation. Damian Collins, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, has worked with the ChangeFifa organisation to set out a five-point plan, inviting "parliamentarians and elected representatives from all the nations of the world to register their support". Collins calls for the immediate suspension of the election and an independent inquiry followed by voting reform, increased transparency regarding decisions taken and Fifa finances, and limits to the number of terms Fifa members may serve as president or on the organisation's executive committee. China's Zhang Jilong has assumed temporary charge of the AFC in the wake of Bin Hammam's suspension, while Lisle Austin of Barbados is to stand in for Warner as the president of Concacaf.
Sepp Blatter has insisted that Fifa is not in crisis, despite the "great damage" done to its image by ongoing corruption allegations.
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Analysts said June's hot weather had helped to lift sales at the company, which also includes Argos. The UK's second biggest supermarket said like-for-like sales - which strip out the impact of new stores - grew by 2.3%, excluding petrol. Chief executive Mike Coupe said he was "pleased" with the results - its best growth in four years. Laith Khalaf, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The recent heatwave helped to boost sales at Sainsbury's group, as customers turned to the Argos website to buy electric fans and paddling pools to keep cool in the hot weather." Demand for deals on British strawberries and its summer eating range added to Sainsbury's grocery sales, which were up 3%. Food price inflation also contributed to a rise in sales at the supermarket's checkouts. This is the best quarterly performance by Sainsbury's in years, with sales up across the board. Like the other main supermarkets, inflation is driving some of this sales growth. The boss said the company had managed to "keep a control over prices" and that the rise in own label goods had been a big success. Was this a sign of shoppers trading down, for instance eating in instead of eating out? Chief executive Mike Coupe said there wasn't any evidence of a massive change in consumer behaviour although there might be a trend starting to come through. Most striking though is the rise in clothing sales - up by more than 7%, a very strong performance, in stark contrast to its competitors on the high street. A sign, perhaps, that consumers are watching their wallets. Mr Coupe said "inflation was coming through", but that Sainsbury's was trying to keep prices down by striking deals with suppliers. He pointed to chicken, milk and broccoli, which he said were cheaper than three years ago. The company's latest sales figures marked an acceleration from the previous quarter when sales grew by just 0.3%. The growth was also slightly stronger than expected, with analysts having forecast like-for-like sales to grow 2%. David Alexander of GlobalData, said: "Even accounting for a later Easter and Mother's Day, and the inclusion of a buoyant Argos in the figures, the numbers still present a positive picture." Widespread media reports have suggested Sainsbury's is lining up Nisa, a convenience store chain and wholesaler, for its next acquisition. George MacDonald, editor of Retail Week, told the BBC that Sainsbury's was "possibly grabbing on the coat-tails of Tesco which wants to buy another wholesaler called Booker". However, Mr Coupe declined to comment on any possible Nisa deal, saying it regularly looked at potential tie-ups. "We are not holding onto anyone's coat-tails - that's just the nature of a large corporation. Most of these conversations come to nothing," the Sainsbury's boss told reporters.
Sainsbury's has said sales of clothes, summer food and paddling pools helped speed up growth in the past few months.
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The former Home Office minister said Labour must not be "afraid" of the argument and had a moral responsibility to talk about immigration reform. He also said UKIP voters were "darkly pessimistic" about their lives, whereas progressive politics was optimistic. David Cameron and Ed Miliband clashed on the issue this week - with both attacking the other party's record. Official figures published in August showed UK net migration - the difference between those entering and leaving - increased by more than 38% to 243,000 in 2013-14. EU citizens accounted for two-thirds of the growth. The Labour leader has promised to bring in an immigration bill creating "clear, credible and concrete changes" within months, if Labour wins next year's general election. Mr Byrne - Labour's universities spokesman who was immigration minister in the last Labour government - told Total Politics magazine the party "can win an argument on this, but we have got to have the courage to put it at the top of our list of things we talk about". "And we have got be honest about the realities," he said. And he cautioned politicians against ignoring voters' concerns: "If people then sense that politicians are trying to duck the issue or avoid it or not confront it they are just not prepared to have that - and frankly, why should they?" He expressed confidence that voters backed his proposal to exempt students from migration targets: "People know that students are good for Britain, not bad for Britain, they know that they are critical for our future influence in the world." The Birmingham Hodge Hill MP said Mr Miliband had to offer a positive vision to voters who had been attracted to the UK Independence Party: "The curious thing about UKIP voters is that they have one big thing in common: they are darkly pessimistic about themselves and their lives and if you want people to vote for progressive politics, you need people that are optimistic." Meanwhile his colleague, shadow transport Sscretary Mary Creagh told The House magazine Labour "needs to acknowledge the strain on schools, public services and the fact that people want to feel that people have put into a society before they start taking something out". "We are the Labour Party, we do like talking about the NHS and we are right to talk about the NHS. But perhaps there are some colleagues who feel nervous talking about immigration. I certainly don't." Mr Cameron's Conservative Party is facing a difficult by-election in Rochester and Strood, Kent, called after one of its MPs, Mark Reckless, defected to UKIP, which campaigns for the UK's exit from the European Union. The prime minister has said action is needed to curb EU immigration and has pledged to have "one last go" at negotiating a better deal for the UK in Europe. There have been reports that the coalition could seek an "emergency brake" to stop EU migration after it reached a certain level or to limit the number of National Insurance numbers issued to new arrivals from the EU. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has appeared to rule this out, saying there could not be "tampering" with the EU principle of free movement of people.
Labour must have the "courage" to make talking about immigration policy a priority, Liam Byrne has said.
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Ahead of the vote, here are seven things you need to know about the West African country - once hailed as a model of stability. The economy has boomed in recent years and Ivory Coast is the world's biggest exporter of cocoa, producing around 40% of the planet's beans used to manufacture chocolate. But this year, it also overtook India as the leading exporter of cashew nuts. Cocoa transformed Ivory Coast into the "Paris of Africa" as it was called in the 1970s and 1980s, until a slump in cocoa prices dampened the "Ivorian miracle". President Alassane Ouattara, who took office in May 2011, wanted to diversify the economy. Agriculture is still the backbone, but it includes bananas, rubber and palm oil too. The last elections in 2010 sparked five months of violence when former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down. More than 3,000 people were killed in some of the most brutal violence the country has ever seen. President Ouattara has been accused of one-sided justice after hundreds of Mr Gbagbo's supporters were imprisoned but very few from his side were even arrested - despite the UN and international human rights organisations saying both sides committed atrocities. No more "nids de poules" on the country's major roads. The French call potholes "chicken nests". The government says it has built 1,000km (620 miles) of new roads since it has been in power and rehabilitated another 20,000km throughout Ivory Coast. It is promising to build 1,200km more if re-elected. There were 10, now there are seven. A former finance minister, Mamadou Koulibaly, and former foreign minister, Amara Essy, dropped out saying the elections would not be free and fair. The latest, former prime minister Charles Konan Banny, pulled out on Friday, with the same complaint. That leaves another former prime minister - Pascal Affi N'Guessan, leader of Laurent Gbagbo's former party - as Mr Ouattara's main rival. Mr Ouattara is the eldest at 73, while independent candidate Claire Jacqueline Kouangoua, one of only two women running, is the youngest at 44. Mr Affi N'Guessan, the main opposition candidate, is using the same slogan that France's Francois Hollande did in his last campaign , "Le changement maintenant", meaning "Change now", which is ironic considering how unpopular Mr Hollande is now in France. Mr Ouattara, known to his supporters as "Ado" because of his initials, has chosen to use "Avec Ado, reussir ensemble", meaning "With Ado, succeed together". This is also interesting because one of the main criticisms of President Ouattara has been his lack of focus on reconciliation since the crisis. The campaign theme of "togetherness" is clearly supposed to address this. Music has always played a role in Ivory Coast politics. Alpha Blondy, the country's undisputed king of reggae, began singing about war and fighting in the country as early as 1998. In 2010, he openly backed former President Laurent Gbagbo, giving a free concert in Abidjan. His main reggae rival, Tiken Jah Fakoly who sang anti-Gbagbo songs, had to go into exile and has decided to stay in Mali. And this election is no different when it comes to music and the main candidates have their songs. Mr N'Guessan's talks about "the fighters" being "tired" and how they were all the "victims of the political violence" but Affi N'Guessan is their man. Mr Ouattara's focuses instead on what the government has done for the economy, singing: "With Ado, Ivory Coast wins." The Elephants are the pride of Ivory Coast, and while football is a game and has nothing to do with politics, we all know that's not true. Didier Drogba has been attributed with single-handedly putting an end to violence that was raging in the country in 2005 when he fell to his knees on national television and asked fighters to lay down their arms. A week later they did. This year Drogba, along with his former teammates and other international Ivorian sport stars, like sprinter Murielle Ahoure, have a new message for voters. "Election c pas gnaga". It means "elections are not about violence", in Nouchi, Ivorian street speak.
Ivory Coast is holding its first elections this weekend since a civil war sparked by polls in 2010.
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Although prostitution is legal in France, soliciting in public and pimping are not. The National Assembly voted 16 months ago to impose a €1,500 (£1,090; $1,600) fine on clients, shifting the criminal burden from prostitutes. The upper house's decision to scrap the fine will now go back to the assembly. Social affairs minister Marisol Touraine said that Monday night's vote was "absolutely unbelievable and contemptuous towards women". But Joelle Garriaud-Maylam, a conservative senator, argued that the offence of soliciting was a useful resource for the authorities. "To help these women, you first of all have to identify them." The initial move to shift penalties from prostitutes to their clients followed a Swedish law that made it a crime to buy sex but not to sell it. Supporters argued that the move would help tackle trafficking networks. A Swedish government-commissioned report suggested that the 1999 law had brought about a dramatic fall in the numbers of women working as prostitutes. But the effect of the law is not entirely clear as many prostitutes have moved off the streets and on to the internet. France has an estimated 30,000 sex workers and the interior ministry says most come from eastern Europe, Africa, China and South America. Socialists who backed France's 2013 bill to criminalise paying for sex, rather than soliciting for it, had initially hoped that the trial of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn might influence the conservative-dominated Senate. Maud Olivier, a Socialist MP, said the trial had shone a light on the truth behind the world of escorts. "There is no choice; violence is ever present," she told Le Monde newspaper. The trial was bruising for Mr Strauss-Kahn, who endured a torrid time facing accusations of aggravated pimping, as several women gave evidence against him before dropping their case. He denied knowing the women were prostitutes. The verdict is expected in June.
France's Senate has rejected a planned 2013 law penalising people who pay for sex, and has chosen to maintain the offence of soliciting.
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The discovery was made during an unannounced visit to HMP Bronzefield near Ashford, Surrey, in April. Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said it amounted to "cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment". The prison's director said it would only segregate a prisoner if it felt there was no other option available. Charlotte Pattison-Rideout, director of HMP Bronzefield, Sodexo Justice Services, said the prison had taken on board the recommendations made in the report and had already started to address them. She added that the prison's policy was always to seek reintegration where possible. Mr Hardwick said some of the issues identified in the report needed "a fundamentally different approach" at national level. In the inspection report, he said: "We were dismayed that the woman who had already been in the segregation unit for three years in 2010 was still there in 2013. "Her cell was unkempt and squalid and she seldom left it. "Although more activities had been organised for her and better multi-disciplinary support was available, she still had too little to occupy her. "Her prolonged location on the segregation unit amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment - and we use these words advisedly." Mr Hardwick said the treatment and conditions of other women held for long periods in segregation was "little better". He said: "Much of this was outside the prison's direct control and required a national strategy for meeting the needs of these very complex women - as exists in the male estate." But he added that Bronzefield itself needed to do more to "ameliorate the worst effects of this national failure". The report calls for a policy to help manage women "with complex needs who cannot be supported in the prison's normal location". Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "This shocking case of treatment, which appears to amount to torture, in an English prison should shame ministers who tolerate the over-use of custody for women and consequent poor treatment. "Her Majesty's chief inspector is absolutely right that specialist care outside of the prison walls needs to be developed for the handful of women who pose particular challenges." The report said arrangements for transporting prisoners to and from the prison were unacceptable. The report said women were carried in vehicles with men and spent long periods in the van, possibly because they had to wait while male prisoners were dropped off first. Some complained they felt unsafe on the trip, it added. Positives identified by the inspectors included practical resettlement services; good reception, first night and induction arrangements; and very good support for women with substance misuse problems throughout their prison stays. Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The Chief Inspector reports that staff are doing their best to respond to the needs of women at Bronzefield, many of whom are in poor mental and physical health, addicted to drugs and drink and traumatised by separation from their children. "But why in this day and age are women with such complex needs transported like cattle and dumped in prison, where one of the most damaged women is left to rot in some form of solitary confinement for six years? "We are quick to condemn cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of people in prison in other countries, now government must act to put right failings in our own women's justice system." Ms Pattison-Rideout, said: "We have taken on board the recommendations made in the report and have already started to address these. We will continue to work towards further improving the quality of our services at Bronzefield. "We cannot comment on individuals. However, we would only segregate a restricted status prisoner with complex needs for any length of time if we felt that there was no other option available, but our policy is to continually seek reintegration wherever possible. "The report acknowledged the lack of a national strategy to manage women with such complex needs. "We have been working closely with the National Offender Management Service on how to better support restricted status prisoners, and we await the outcome of the forthcoming review of the women's custodial estate."
An inmate at a women's prison was held in segregation for more than five years, an inspection report has revealed.
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The 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist improved her English record to 65.10 metres at the New South Wales Championships in Sydney. It puts her second in the all-time British list behind Scotland's Margaret Ritchie, who threw 67.48. It is the second time she has thrown an Olympic qualifying mark in three days. The 28-year-old threw 64.22m at the Auckland Track Challenge on Thursday.
Jade Lally has produced the longest discus throw by a British woman since 1983 to move to fourth in the 2016 world rankings.
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One migrant, who said he had spent £15,000 so far on trying to reach the UK from Syria, also said many of the criminals were British nationals. The BBC saw cars with UK number plates at a camp on Dunkirk's outskirts. The mayor of nearby Teteghem, Franck Dhersin, said UK-registered cars - driven by what he called English mafia - were often spotted there. He said people in the UK who complained about migrants trying to reach the country did not realise "the cars are English and the owners are English". The tactics of migrants around Dunkirk are different from those in Calais, where hundreds try to board lorries and scale fences every night to gain entry to the Channel Tunnel. The Dunkirk migrants are driven to locations where they can try to stow away on lorries. The Syrian migrant who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity said the £15,000 he had paid traffickers was all of his money. He has spent £12,000 on getting from Syria to France and a further £3,000 on trying to cross the Channel. He said migrants were threatened by traffickers if they did not follow orders. "I'm so, so scared," he said. "They have guns. They put it to someone's head and said 'You move again and I will kill you'." It's a similar story at the Teteghem camp a few miles away. Mr Dhersin said the traffickers were "very violent" and "just want to make money with immigrants". He said British traffickers had been operating in the area for several years, but were now much more organised. Until Tuesday he had insisted on visiting the Teteghem camp despite the dangers. "I wanted to show that a French mayor can go where he wants," he said. "I said 'I will enter and if you don't want [me to], I will come back with a policeman'." But Mr Dhersin said that a man there had shown him a gun and threatened to rape a reporter he was with. Police have advised him not to return. Pascal Aerts, who leads the officers policing migrants in Calais, has told the BBC he is aware of the probable involvement of British people. "I don't have proof that they're English but we know perfectly there do exist links between the traffickers and the receivers in Great Britain, and with the traffickers who work in France."
British traffickers are involved in smuggling migrants into the UK from northern France, a mayor has alleged.
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A high resolution microscope at a £7m new laboratory at Newcastle University has found evidence of microbes in 400-million-year-old basalt rock recovered from the Pacific Ocean floor. The rock is similar to those found on Mars and scientists will now study an actual piece of Martian rock. It is hoped that the detailed analysis will detect similar traces. The team at the Surface Engineering and Analysis Laboratory used a £1.5m Helium Ion Microscope, which analyses the surface of structures with a resolution five times higher than most other microscopes. It identified organic compounds in microscopic tunnels in basalt recovered from the Ontong Java plateau deep in the Pacific. The compounds are believed to be finger-like tubule structures made by microbes millions of years ago, and have never been analysed so closely by scientists, the university said. Head of the laboratory, Prof Peter Cumpson, said: "What we have detected is the trace left behind by living systems: the biological fingerprint which even after 200 million years is still visible, albeit only with a very, very good microscope. "If we can find those in this [Mars] rock and we can compare with the earth samples then I think we have made a big step - a very convincing step - forward which shows that at one time life - a simple life - was present."
Scientists believe they could be a step closer to finding out whether there was life on Mars.
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How can it in a country divided into two "ethnic entities", governed by 14 prime ministers and with three presidents acting as head of state? But even by Bosnia's bizarre standards, it is going through challenging times - with the notion of its continued existence once again a live topic. The president of the majority ethnic-Serb Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, has called a September referendum challenging the authority of Bosnia's National Court in the RS. Mr Dodik also has a policy of RS secession from Bosnia by 2018. Meanwhile some Croat nationalists are upset that they share the other entity (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) with Bosniaks (the majority-Muslim ethnic group). Mr Dodik has lent his support to the idea of a third entity - which would, not coincidentally, leave RS as the largest of the three. Emphasising the enduring anger among some Bosniaks - 20 years since the war ended - the recent commemorations at Srebrenica saw Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic come under verbal and physical attack. To the outsider it looks as though Bosnia might be on the verge of breaking up. But things here are never quite as they seem. Mr Dodik has been making secessionist noises for years now. There was an attempt at a referendum in 2011, before international pressure forced a retreat. And Serbia has given no encouragement to the RS leader - in fact Prime Minister Vucic has urged Mr Dodik to reconsider the referendum. A Sarajevo-based political analyst, Kurt Bassuener of the Democratisation Policy Council, believes the affair is really a challenge to the international community's authority in Bosnia. "This is Dodik testing the systems to see what the reaction will be," he says. There is also a gap between the rhetoric of political leaders and the feelings of the large number of Bosnians who feel stranded in a malfunctioning state. Protests across Bosnia last year indicated widespread anger towards politicians - widely viewed as enriching themselves at the expense of the people. But come election time, the same old faces were voted back in. There are several reasons why this may have happened. No compelling leaders emerged from the protest movement. None of the political parties made a credible effort to appeal to voters of all ethnic backgrounds. And a patronage system means some people fear they will lose their jobs if they vote "the wrong way". But the roots of all the trouble go back to the peace agreement signed in Dayton 20 years ago. This set in place the divisions and patronage networks which still persist - and Kurt Bassuener insists that international figures have to take responsibility for changing it. "This is an oligarchy that we identify as a democracy because we midwifed it," he says. "People in this country are very reasonable and problems could be solved. The hurdle which needs to be cleared is changing the beneficiaries of the system into change agents. But they're not going to rise to the occasion by themselves." The role of the considerable international presence in Bosnia is a matter of great concern to local people. A banner on daily display outside the presidency building in Sarajevo calls on the EU to intervene. But theatre director Haris Pasovic, who made his name by running festivals during the siege of Sarajevo, says foreigners who were supposed to help Bosnia have become too comfortable with its faulty state. "What would happen if everything was good?" he asks. "If you have worked in 'democracy' for 20 years and suddenly everything is OK, what would you do? As a human rights oligarch you have no accountability - the world needs you forever." After years of a laissez-faire attitude towards Bosnia's political class, some international players have recently become more active. An Anglo-German plan to encourage change in Bosnia has become an EU initiative. Brussels has reactivated its mothballed Stabilisation and Association Agreement - offering the possibility of economic assistance in return for meaningful reforms. Perhaps most encouraging of all, the recently-appointed EU Special Representative in Bosnia, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, believes it is time to reassess the Dayton agreement. "Dayton was not perfect. We need to refine and update it so that Bosnia can stand on its own," he says. That would not be a path without peril. The Serb member of the presidency, Mladen Ivanic, points out that Dayton has helped to ensure peace for two decades. But it has not brought prosperity. And perhaps the recent ructions in RS, Srebrenica and the Federation present Bosnia with an opportunity rather than a crisis. A chance to discuss what this country's people need to move away from a frozen conflict - and towards a functional future.
Business as usual is a concept which does not apply to Bosnia.
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Developer Allied London bought the Quay Street site in a joint venture with Manchester City Council and plan to build flats, shops and offices there. The ITV soap was filmed there from 1982 until January 2014, when production moved to MediaCityUK at Salford Quays. Manchester City Council's planning committee voted to approve the redevelopment at a meeting on Thursday. The move comes despite more than 2,000 people signing an online petition in the hope of preventing the set from being knocked down. Campaigners had particularly called on developers to retain the Victorian terrace featuring the Rovers Return Inn and the soap's corner shop in their regeneration of the 13-acre site. English Heritage rejected the application for listed status for the old Granada Studios site made by an anonymous individual in 2012 because it was not considered sufficiently historic. The development will form part of the wider St Johns area, which is also set to feature a new £110m theatre and arts venue called The Factory.
The former Coronation Street set in Manchester is to be demolished, despite a campaign to save it.
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About 20 pupils fell ill at Flash Ley Community Primary School and Nursery in Stafford in October amid reports of a mystery smell. An investigation has concluded that work to floor ducts last summer led to high levels of the chemical, Staffordshire County Council said. The Hawksmoor Road school has been shut on safety grounds ever since. Repairs will now start in March and completed in time for the new school year in September. The building will undergo a deep clean and the substance believed to be behind the presence of formaldehyde in the air removed. Children will continue lessons at the nearby Chetwynd Centre, Tillington Manor Primary and Stafford Manor High School. Councillor Ben Adams, cabinet member for learning and skills, said: "Children and staff will only return to the building once extensive tests show that is safe to do so." Head teacher Simon Barker said: "We are delighted that the county council have announced the decision and staff will now begin to make plans to ensure the arrangements for September will be in place and the transition back to Flash Ley will be smooth. "I would personally like to thank the children, parents and staff for their support while we have been temporarily moved. We can now look forward to a safe school to educate our children." Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a pungent odour and is found in materials used in plywood, carpeting and foam insulation. Those exposed to it can suffer irritation to the eyes, nose, mouth and throat. It is understood parents reported children with symptoms of nausea, vomiting and dizziness at the time.
A primary school will be closed until September after high levels of formaldehyde were discovered last year.
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Norrie and Claire Aitchison said that Liam's killers should have been kept in custody before and during their trial. The Aitchisons said they will campaign to have the rules changed. On Monday, Johnathan MacKinnon and Stefan Millar, both 22, were convicted of murdering Liam. The two men had lived on Lewis. Following their arrests in December 2011, Millar was allowed bail and moved to Inverness. MacKinnon was bailed in February 2012. A jury at the High Court in Glasgow convicted the two men of murder. The court had heard that Liam was beaten, stabbed and stripped his of clothing during an attack on 23 November 2011. The body of the 16-year-old, from South Uist, was later found in a derelict property in Steinish on Lewis. Following the conviction of the two men, Mr and Mrs Aitchison have spoken out against the right of murder suspects to bail. They said the knowledge that MacKinnon and Millar were out on bail had caused their family distress. Mr Aitchison said his youngest son, Steven, eight, had shared a room with Liam when he stayed at home and was terrified after his older brother was murdered. He said: "The wee fellow wouldn't sleep and thought he was next - we had to move him from the downstairs room to the upstairs room because the downstairs room was by the front door. "He had to watch us lock the door and if I wasn't in he had to wait until I was before he would go to sleep" "We want to head up a campaign to keep anyone that is charged with murder on remand until proven innocent or guilty." The Aitchisons said that they also hope to set up a memorial garden for Liam.
The father and step-mother of murdered Western Isles teenager Liam Aitchison have called for bail to be refused to people who are charged with murder.
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And the classic BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers is being deployed by some teachers in an attempt to give Japanese students an example of spoken English - rather than focusing on written language and grammar. Japan's government and businesses want to use the Olympics to boost tourism and global trade and to present a positive image of Japan to the world. So the government needs to ensure a supply of English speakers to be Olympic volunteers and work in the accommodation, tourism, and retail industries. There is also a demand for professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to speak to visitors or competitors in English. Japan's government has been working to bridge this English language gap. The subject is now taught in school from when students are eight or nine years old and remains compulsory for the next seven years. University students and school teachers have been sent on trips abroad to learn English, and many universities are giving language lessons to prospective Olympic volunteers. There are even proposals to create an "English village" in Tokyo, populated entirely by English-speakers, where learners could immerse themselves in the language. But early indications are that progress has been slow, and the country still comes surprisingly far down global rankings of English proficiency. More stories from the BBC's Global education series looking at education from an international perspective, and how to get in touch. You can join the debate at the BBC's Family & Education News Facebook page. Japan is 40th out of 48 countries on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), and last year it fell from "moderate proficiency" to "low proficiency" on EF's English Proficiency Index. So why is learning English so difficult for the Japanese? Megumi Tada, an education expert at Hirosaki University, said the main reason is "the lack of teachers who can effectively use the language". When the Kyoto Board of Education asked middle school English teachers to take the TOEIC, fewer than one in four teachers reached the threshold for language skills good enough for most social demands and limited work requirements. Ms Tada said that although the government has now introduced English in primary schools, most of the teachers in these schools are not qualified to teach the language. She said a better way to improve English teaching would be to increase the number of trained teachers in primary and secondary schools, and to train them for longer. There are also questions about the way English is taught in schools. The focus tends to be on grammar, vocabulary and writing, which are repeatedly tested in high-pressure exams. As a result, English is rarely spoken in Japanese classrooms. Junnosuke Nakamura, who leads the education company EF in Japan, has said that "too often in our schools, a Japanese national is teaching English in Japanese, and English must be taught in English". He said the government's reforms "have not actually changed anything at a fundamental level". Helen Bentley, who worked on Tokyo's Olympic bid for communications firm Finsbury, said: "There are relatively few opportunities to use spoken English in Japan. "As a result, many Japanese are much stronger at reading and writing than they are at speaking." There are teachers trying a more imaginative approach to getting students to speak English - such as setting them comedies to watch for homework. Teachers in Fukuoka Prefecture have been using Fawlty Towers and Red Dwarf to get students used to hearing spoken English. It raises the prospect of a generation of Japanese students sounding like Basil, Sybil or even Manuel. There is also a barrier from a culture of perfectionism in Japanese education, with a belief that there is a "right" way to do something. Students do not want to make mistakes and they will not attempt something until they are sure they can get it right. This might be a good thing for literacy and numeracy - Japan comes consistently near the top of global rankings such as PISA. But it does not work so well for languages, for which speaking and making mistakes are crucial to learning. Fumiko Inoue, who lectures in Japanese language and cross-cultural management at Rotterdam Business School, pointed to the experience of one of her Dutch students who taught English in a school in Tokyo. At first, the new teacher was surprised that students were reluctant to speak English in class, but after a lot of encouragement she got them to chat to each other in the language. That is, until she was observed by a senior teacher who criticised her students for making too many grammatical mistakes. "If you don't say anything, you don't make any mistakes either, of course," said Prof Inoue. This teaching style can have lifelong effects on how Japanese people approach the English language. "We Japanese have a strong psychological barrier to speaking English," said Kumiko Iwasaki, a professor of psychology and education at the Open University of Japan. "We have an obsession that we have to speak English perfectly."
Japan is struggling to make sure it has enough proficient English speakers when it hosts the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.
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It's an event that regularly sees a torrent of corporate deals, and has played a key role as a marketplace for Britain's aerospace and defence firms. It is a showcase for a sector worth £55bn a year, the fifth-largest industry in the UK that employs 340,000 people. Indeed, the last show in 2014 saw a record $204bn (£157bn) worth of orders being placed. "Farnborough is a global shop window for the UK and Europe, for the entire world," Shaun Omerod, chief executive of Farnborough International, said ahead of this year's show, which starts on Monday. "It connects UK small and medium-sized companies - who ordinarily wouldn't get this access - to the global market." If Farnborough's own connection with flying starts in 1904 with the Army Balloon Factory and the first flight of an aeroplane in the UK (by the showman Samuel Cody in 1908), then the history of today's air show actually begins in suburban London. In a bid to sell their wares the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) organised a one-day exhibition at the annual RAF flying display at Hendon in 1932. It was small by today's standards, with just 35 aircraft on display and only 16 companies taking part; this year there will be some 1,500 exhibitors. After the Second World War the event was initially held at Radlett, moving in 1948 to Farnborough, the home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment - responsible for researching and testing experimental designs. The show has been the stage for many of the high points of post-war aviation, from the wonderful to the whimsical, such as the Saunders Roe A1 flying boat jet fighter. First flown in 1947 at the show it was an heroic but ultimately flawed attempt to marry a long-range fighter with a flying boat. The idea was it wouldn't need to land on aircraft carriers as the Allies fought Japan across the Pacific Ocean, but the end of the war put paid to any use it might have had. The 1949 show saw the truly massive Bristol Brabazon, then the world's biggest airliner. It was designed to conquer the transatlantic air routes for Britain's aircraft industry. Driven by eight propellers it was so big that its construction was delayed while the runway at Bristol's Filton factory was extended so it could take off. Yet despite its size it only carried 100 passengers, and airlines thought it too big and expensive. Only one was ever built. The same event also saw the UK introduce the world's first jet airliner - the DH Comet. The Comet's pressurised cabin meant people could travel in comfort. It was a commercial success at first, yet the design hid a serious weakness. Its square window frames contributed to metal fatigue, which led to a series of fatal crashes within a couple of years. The entire fleet was grounded for four years while the flaws were ironed out and the aircraft strengthened. Later Comet models flew well - indeed the RAF used the Nimrod, a version of the Comet, until 2011 - but they were not as cost-effective as their American competitors. Many airlines switched to buying Boeing's new 707 and Douglas's DC8 passenger aircraft instead. 1952 was marked by the worst ever accident at a UK air show. A prototype de Havilland DH110 broke up in mid-air, killing the two crew and 29 spectators. The tragedy led to changes in safety rules at such shows. If the commercial crown was gradually passing to the US in the mid-1950s, spectators could still expect to be entertained by a host of British hardware. It was a time of experimentation and exploration. Witness the delta-wing Gloster Javelin; the Fairey Rotodyne, a helicopter with jets on its rotor-blades; the Fairey Delta, the first plane to fly faster than 1,000mph; and the jet and rocket-powered SR53 fighter. 1953 saw Britain's nuclear triumvirate, the Valiant, Vulcan and Victor V-Bombers, at the show for the first time - alongside a scarlet painted Hawker Hunter jet fighter that Neville Duke had flown to regain the world speed record for the UK. Vertical takeoff and landing was one of the next milestones, with 1962 seeing two Hawker Siddeley P1127 prototype vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft at the event. The aircraft would later become the Harrier, which is still in service with the US Marine Corps. Perhaps the greatest aircraft never to make Farnborough was the revolutionary TSR-2, which first flew just after 1964's show in September that year - and was controversially cancelled by a Labour government just a few months later because of rising costs. As aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm famously said: "All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics; TSR-2 simply got the first three right." By the 1960s things were changing. The show itself became biennial in 1962, taking turns with Paris. And the rapidly escalating cost of aircraft development and increasing international competition led to consolidation in the UK's own aerospace sector. With the merger of once proud rivals, just two big aircraft manufacturers remained - British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Hawker Siddeley. In 1977 these would join Scottish Aviation to form British Aerospace, now BAE Systems. Farnborough was becoming more international, allowing in foreign aeroplanes so long as they had a British engine or components in 1966, and then by 1974 fully opening the doors to international aircraft. 1974 saw US firm Lockheed bring the biggest and the fastest aircraft to the show: the C5 Galaxy military transport plane and the high-flying SR-71 spy plane. Britain's own Concorde made its first appearance at the show in 1970, and then at subsequent shows that decade; it was a brilliant technical Franco-British achievement, but one which failed to win orders from the world's airlines. The Cold War may have reached a new intensity in the 1980s, but the decade also saw the first appearance of Soviet combat aircraft in the West, with two Mig-29 fighters at Farnborough in 1986 as well as the gigantic Antonov An-225 transporter. Another memorable show for aerobatics fans came in 1990, when two Soviet SU-27 fighters performed the "cobra" manoeuvre. This involves raising the noses of the aircraft to beyond the vertical position before dropping it back to normal flight, emulating the strike of the snake. In recent years Farnborough has become a key marketing battleground for the world's two largest passenger aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, allowing them to display their latest offerings and to announce new orders. Airbus showed off its A380 double-decker airliner in 2006, an aircraft designed for mass market long-haul routes; while 2010 saw Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, promoted as the world's most fuel-efficient airliner. So where now for Farnborough as it approaches its own 70th anniversary in 2018? Brexit may have clouded the immediate future, but many are robustly confident of their ability to ride out the changes. "We may not be the manufacturing guru that existed in the days of the empire," says Phil Seymour of leading independent aviation consultancy IBA. "But we still produce significant parts for aircraft - we have a huge service sector - and London remains the foremost centre of aviation finance and insurance. So the event attracts many thousands of people." "Farnborough is one of the very few international trade events which is left on UK soil," says the show's chief executive Shaun Omerod. "Many of the traditional ones have disappeared or moved to mainland Europe over the years. "It truly is a jewel in the crown." Follow Tim Bowler on Twitter@timbowlerbbc
Farnborough: a small town in southern England; the birthplace of aviation in the UK and home for almost 70 years of arguably the world's most important air show.
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South Africa's instruction was that the money was for a Diaspora Legacy Programme which should be "implemented directly" by Mr Warner, Fifa said. The US says the $10m was a bribe in exchange for Mr Warner supporting South Africa's 2010 World Cup bid. Mr Warner and South African officials have denied any wrong doing. South Africa won the bid ahead of Morocco to become the first African country to host the World Cup. Africa news updates Mr Warner hails from Trinidad and Tobago and was the president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and vice-president of Fifa when the decision was made. He was among a string of Fifa officials arrested last week after the US and Switzerland launched separate investigations into corruption in Fifa, the world football governing body. In a statement, Fifa said South Africa's government approved a $10m project in 2007 to "support the African Diaspora in Caribbean countries as part of the World Cup legacy". The government, in agreement with the South African Football Association (Safa), asked Fifa to "process the project's funding by withholding" $10m from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the World Cup, the statement added. "Fifa did not incur any costs as a result of South Africa's request because the funds belonged to the LOC. Both the LOC and Safa adhered to the necessary formalities for the budgetary amendment," it said. Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter for the Press Association, has tweeted a 2008 letter from Safa to Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has denied involvement in the scandal. The letter, written by then Safa president Molefi Oliphant, requests that the money should be sent to the Diaspora Legacy Programme to be "administered and implemented directly by the president of Concacaf". A Fifa spokesman told the BBC in response to the letter that the football governing body wanted to reiterate that Mr Valcke and other members of its senior management were not "involved in the initiation, approval and implementation of the diaspora project". The Fifa statement did not comment on another US allegation - that a senior South African official travelled to Paris to hand over cash in $10,000 stacks - in a hotel room, to an unnamed person working for Mr Warner. South Africa's government and Safa have denied any bribes were paid.
Fifa says it paid $10m (£6.5m) to a Caribbean football body led by Jack Warner, who is charged by the US with corruption, at South Africa's request.
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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the PSNI was wrong to allow the protests to take place in the city. The court found in favour of a resident who claimed the police failed in its legal duty to stop the parades. Loyalists protested for weeks after Belfast City Council opted not to fly the union flag every day of the year. On Thursday, Mr Hamilton said the Supreme Court ruling against police makes for "uncomfortable reading", but that he accepted it. "I apologise to the residents of Short Strand and to anyone else who was inconvenienced by this parade," he said. "The residents had their rights curtailed as a result of us allowing that parade to go forward, so I acknowledge that we have a job to do in some quarters in terms of regaining trust and confidence." Mr Hamilton said that the flag protests had presented a challenging period for the police: "There were many times when we had 80 to 120 protest sites across Northern Ireland." He added that he accepted and respected the Supreme Court judgement. "It is good, actually, after four years of legal debate and a lot of scrutiny around this to have some judicial clarity," he said. "It is uncomfortable reading in parts for us, but it does bring some clarity to us and we will review how we handle un-notified parades in the future in light of this." The ruling also identified the importance of police "operational discretion", he said. "This judgement is not saying that every time there is an un-notified parade, the police should stop it. What it means is that the police have the power to stop it. "So in some ways it's another tactic for us dealing with this very difficult and unresolved issue in Northern Ireland."
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has apologised to residents in the Short Strand area of Belfast over the handling of the union flag protests.
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They analysed the trigger conditions for a glaciation, like the one that gripped Earth over 12,000 years ago. The shape of the planet's orbit around the Sun would be conducive now, they find, but the amount of carbon dioxide currently in the air is far too high. Earth is set for a prolonged warm phase, they tell the journal Nature. "In theory, the next ice age could be even further into the future, but there is no real practical importance in discussing whether it starts in 50,000 or 100,000 years from now," Andrey Ganopolski from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said. "The important thing is that it is an illustration that we have a geological power now. We can change the natural sequence of events for tens of thousands of years," he told BBC News. Earth has been through a cycle of ice ages and warm periods over the past 2.5 million years, referred to as the Quaternary Period. This has seen ice sheets come and go. At its maximum extent, the last glaciation witnessed a big freeze spread over much of North America, northern Europe, Russia and Asia. In the south, a vast expanse of what are now Chile and Argentina were also iced up. A fundamental parameter determining what dips Earth into an ice age is the changing nature of its orbit around the Sun. The passage around the star is not a perfect circle and over time our planet's axis of rotation also rocks back and forth. These movements alter the amount of solar radiation falling on the Earth's surface, and if a critical threshold is reached in mid latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere then a glaciation can be initiated. Dr Ganopolski colleagues confirm this in their modelling but show also the role played by the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And one of their findings is that Earth probably missed the inception by only a narrow margin a few hundred years ago, just before the industrial revolution took hold. "We are now in a period when our (northern) summer is furthest from the Sun," the Potsdam researcher explained. "Under normal circumstances, the interglacial would be terminated, and a new ice age would start. So, in principle, we are in the perfect conditions from an astronomical point of view. If we had a CO2 concentration of 240 parts per million (200 years ago) then an ice age could start, but luckily we had a concentration that was higher, 280ppm." Today, industrial society has taken that concentration to over 400ppm. The team says that an interglacial climate would probably have been sustained anyway for at least 20,000 years, and, very probably, for 50,000 years, even if CO2 had stayed at its eighteenth century level. But the almost 500 gigatonnes of carbon that has been released since the Industrial Revolution means we will likely miss the next best astronomical entry point into a glaciation, and with a further 500 gigatonnes of emissions the "probability of glacial inception during the next 100,000 years is notably reduced", the scientists say in their Nature paper. Add a further 500 Gt C on top of that and the next ice age is virtually guaranteed to be delayed beyond the next 100,000 years. Commenting on the study, Prof Eric Wolff from the University of Cambridge, UK, said: "There have been previous papers suggesting that the next ice age is many tens of thousands of years away, and that the combination of seasonal solar energy at the latitude where an ice sheet would form, plus CO2, is what determines the onset of an ice age. But this paper goes much further towards quantifying where the limits are. "It represents a nice confirmation that there is a relatively simple way of estimating the combination of insolation and CO2 to start an ice age," he told the Science Media Centre. And Prof Chris Rapley, from University College London, added: "This is an interesting result that provides further evidence that we have entered a new geological [Epoch] - 'The Anthropocene' - in which human actions are affecting the very metabolism of the planet." Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
The next ice age may have been delayed by over 50,000 years because of the greenhouse gases put in the atmosphere by humans, scientists in Germany say.
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