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Vandals struck at the Royal Deeside Railway Preservation Society at Crathes in August 2015.
The Duke of Rothesay - as he is known north of the border - made a donation through The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.
He drove the steam engine on a line he used to travel on as a child.
The Duke of Rothesay was shown the controls by volunteer driver James West, who said he was a "very good" driver on the short journey on a reconstructed section of the historic line towards Banchory and back.
Mr West said: "I never thought I'd teach the future King to drive a stream train.
"He's driven similar trains before, so kind of understood how they work.
"We chatted on the way down the line about how he'd travelled on the line as a child and he never believed he would travel on it again.
"He took the controls and did all the driving. I did the braking as we approached the platform. His driving was very good." | Prince Charles has driven a steam train after his foundation helped Aberdeenshire enthusiasts fund repairs costing thousands of pounds. | 39694691 |
Hilary Penning only opened the Organic Kitchen in Buckhurst Hill three months ago.
Mrs Penning, who has a toddler herself, decided to ban young children from her eatery in response to concerns over noise levels and buggies around tables.
But some claimed the move was "discriminatory" against parents.
Live: For more on this and other Essex stories
As first reported in the Epping Forest Guardian, a sign put up about the ban was shared on social media and a discussion on the website Mumsnet became so heated that the thread was terminated this week.
Mrs Penning's husband Adam said his wife had since been the victim not only of comments on social media but also physical "intimidation".
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On three occasions, he said, his wife had been verbally abused in the street.
"The biggest surprise has been the vehemence and vitriol in the backlash against a policy which was taken for various reasons.
"It seems to have brought some of the worst out of local people. It is a minority. The majority have supported us.
"It has stirred up a hornets' nest."
He said when the couple started the 10-table business they wanted to attract a mix of business people, home-workers, "discerning foodies" as well as parents.
"It is a small intimate dining experience and when you get to a stage when your aisles are clogged with buggies and pushchairs, that is a concern because we do table service as a restaurant.
"When you have waitresses and waiters having to step over buggies while carrying boiling water it is a serious health and safety issue." | A restaurateur who banned under-fives says she has been stopped in the street and labelled a "disgrace to motherhood". | 38339579 |
A school complex was reportedly among several locations targeted in the village of Haas, in Idlib province.
It was not immediately clear if the raids were carried out by Syrian government or Russian warplanes.
State media quoted a military source as saying several "terrorists" had been killed when their positions were hit.
The UN's children's charity Unicef said 22 children were reportedly killed.
"This latest atrocity may be the deadliest attack on a school since the war began more than five years ago," executive director Anthony Lake said.
The incident comes as the government and its ally Russia said they would continue a moratorium on the aerial bombardment of besieged, rebel-held eastern districts of the city of Aleppo.
"It's horrible, I hope we were not involved. It's the easiest thing for me to say no, but I'm a responsible person, so I need to see what my ministry of defence is going to say," Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said some 300 civilians appeared to have been killed in 11 air strikes in Syria by the US-led coalition in two years.
More than 100 civilians were reportedly killed in June and July of this year in three strikes in Aleppo province, the group said.
The attack on Haas, about 75km (46 miles) south-west of Aleppo, appears to have been intense and flattened a number of buildings, reports the BBC's James Longman in Beirut.
The Syria Civil Defence, a volunteer group whose rescue workers are known as the White Helmets, said a complex containing three schools was targeted.
Children were reportedly gathered around an entrance when it was hit, at about 11:30 local time (08:30 GMT). They had been allowed to leave classes early because of the raids elsewhere in the village.
Activists shared photographs of dead bodies - many of them children - on the floor of a makeshift treatment centre.
The Syria Civil Defence said at least 20 children died in the attacks, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the total death toll at 26, including 15 children.
Idlib is one of the last strongholds of the Syrian opposition, and the province has been repeatedly bombed by the Syrian and Russian air forces.
The US-led coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS) has also targeted rival jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda who operate there.
Idlib is where civilians from other parts of Syria have been evacuated after being forced to surrender by years of siege and bombardment by government forces.
As part of efforts by the United Nations, the people of eastern Aleppo are being offered safe passage to the province, our correspondent says. But as these latest attacks demonstrate, he adds, nowhere in rebel-held Syria is free from violence.
Amnesty International has separately called for US-led coalition forces to investigate civilian casualties from its air strikes targeting IS in Syria.
The human rights group said it had reviewed publicly available information from local human rights and monitoring organisations, and where feasible interviewed eyewitnesses and analysed satellite imagery, photographs and video evidence to estimate some 300 civilians had been killed.
Three of the reported air strikes took place in June and July 2016 in the Manbij area of Aleppo province, which together are believed to have killed more than 100 civilians, including 34 children, in the villages of Tokhar, Hadhadh and Ghandoura.
Another struck two houses in the village of Ayn al-Khan, in Hassakeh province, on 7 December 2015. Activists said 40 civilians, including 19 children, were killed.
Amnesty said that research and documentation by local groups indicated that more than 1,000 civilians could have been killed by coalition forces since the air campaign in Syria began in September 2014. To date, the group added, the coalition had only acknowledged one single death. | At least 26 people, many of them children, have been killed in air strikes on a rebel-held village in north-western Syria, activists say. | 37777646 |
Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall each lost in the singles and Drinkhall and Sam Walker were beaten in the doubles as China progressed 3-0.
Great Britain won bronze at the World Team Championships in March.
China, winners of 24 of the 28 Olympic table tennis golds ever awarded, play in Monday's semi-finals at 19:00 BST.
"Our results as a team are on the up so I think table tennis in Britain is in a great place. Hopefully we can keep building on that," said Drinkhall.
"We're definitely looking at Tokyo 2020. It was a tough draw here against China but I think we all believe that if that happens again in Tokyo then we'll go to beat them.
"As a team we've got great team spirit and individually we're improving a lot. I think we've got the best team spirit in table tennis."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Great Britain have been knocked out of the men's table tennis team event in the quarter-finals by reigning Olympic champions China. | 37077852 |
The winger helped Great Britain win the World Cup in 1954, at the age of 20, and again in 1960.
He set the record for the most GB caps with 46 - later equalled by Garry Schofield - and scored 41 tries.
His club career saw him play for Huddersfield, Wigan - with whom he won the Challenge Cup in 1958 and 1959, St Helens and York, whom he also coached.
Sullivan was also part of Wigan's Championship-winning team of 1960 and later played in Australia, serving as captain and coach of Junee in the Group 9 competition in southern New South Wales from 1966-68.
One of only 25 members of the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Sullivan was last week admitted to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, where he died on Tuesday.
Schofield tweeted: "Very sad news. Rest in peace, legend." | Two-time World Cup winner Mick Sullivan has died at the age of 82 after a long illness. | 35974191 |
Haigh, 37, was jailed last May after being accused of fraud by Leeds' former owners and his former employer GFH Capital.
He is currently in custody as authorities decide whether to pursue a criminal case.
"It was the darkest time of my life." said Haigh. "I was suicidal."
Speaking to charity Prisoners Abroad from his cell, he added: "I just wanted it all to end - to get rid of the fear, desperation and the pain. It was crushing me."
Haigh says he had flown to Dubai believing he was about to discuss a job offer with his former employer - only to be handed over to the police.
He is accused of profiting from falsified invoices worth about £3m while at GFH Capital, a Dubai-based private equity group.
Haigh was employed by GFH when it purchased Leeds in December 2012 but resigned as an employee following the club's takeover last April.
GFH sold the Championship club to Italian businessman Massimo Cellino last April. They retain a 25% stake in the club.
Haigh strenuously denies the allegations being put against him.
Dubai law states that if someone is suspected of cheating, a breach of trust or fraud they can be detained for as long as necessary, based on the complexities of the investigation.
He added: "I can tell you that it has been the darkest and most terrifying experience of my life.
"And after nearly 300 days, it doesn't look like it is going to end anytime soon." | Former Leeds United managing director David Haigh has revealed how spending nearly 300 days in a Dubai prison has driven him to the brink of suicide. | 31888718 |
The two are also suspected of violating a law prohibiting groups such as al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State (IS), the statement added.
Geneva's prosecutor said traces of explosive had been found in their car.
Geneva has been on high alert this week amid fears an IS cell was in the area.
Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga said on Friday that a "foreign authority" had provided the information about "a potential IS cell in the Geneva area" but there was no indication that "a concrete attack" was planned.
Geneva's Prosecutor Olivier Jornot told a news conference on Saturday that the two Syrians had just arrived in the Swiss city and could not speak French.
He said although traces of explosives were found in their car during their arrest on Friday, there was no evidence of toxic gas.
An earlier statement from the prosecutor's office said criminal proceedings and been opened against them under Switzerland's law against the manufacture and transport of explosives and toxic gases.
The tip-off about a terror cell in Geneva had originally come from the United States, Swiss media reported on Friday.
Daily newspaper Le Temps, quoting a source close to the investigation, said US intelligence had identified three jihadist cells in Chicago, Toronto and Geneva.
On Thursday, security was stepped up outside synagogues, the UN building and the French ambassador's home, as well as train stations, the airport and similar places.
The number of police on Geneva's streets has been increased.
UN spokesman Michele Zaccheo said there was "no specific threat to the UN in Geneva or its personnel".
The border with France runs through the outskirts of Geneva.
IS said it carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November which killed 130 people.
Two men linked to the attacks - Salah Abdeslam and Mohammed Abrini - are still on the run and investigations have been launched in several European countries. | Two people of Syrian origin have been arrested in Geneva on suspicion of making, concealing and transporting explosives, the Swiss attorney general says. | 35083819 |
Tahir Alam resigned as Park View Educational Trust chairman on Tuesday.
The trust has been in the spotlight since allegations emerged about hardline Muslims trying to extend their influence in schools.
Mr Alam said he intended to continue his career in education and make a difference to the lives of children.
Speaking about the impact of the allegations, he said: "It has been quite shocking; difficult for me, difficult for my family.
"My reputation has been damaged. I've been painted as a sinister character when, in fact, I work very openly in education.
"What I have done is very transparent and open." | The man at the centre of the alleged Trojan Horse school takeover plot in Birmingham has said he has been unfairly painted as a sinister person. | 28338129 |
Argentine Hoyos, a former boss of Barcelona B, has called up seven goalkeepers, 27 defenders, 34 midfielders and 25 strikers.
His task is to reach World Cup 2018 in Russia, with Bolivia having won just once in their opening six qualifiers.
The 53-year-old will take charge for the first time against Peru next month.
Take part in our new Premier League Predictor game, which allows you to create leagues with friends.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Angel Guillermo Hoyos is spoilt for choice heading into his first game as Bolivia manager after naming 93 players in his preliminary squad. | 37134555 |
Murray, the 2013 champion, faces Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round on Monday.
"There are some pretty decent players left in my way, so I'm not getting carried away," Murray wrote in his BBC Sport column.
Day seven also features Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
Kyrgios has yet to beat Murray in any of their previous four meetings.
Yet the 21-year-old is confident of causing an upset against the world number two after the 15th seed turned on the style to outclass Spain's Feliciano Lopez on Middle Sunday.
"I definitely have the tools to beat Andy," he said. "I definitely feel like he's beatable. He's only human, but at the same time he's a great player.
"He is one of the best in the world and is probably the favourite now Novak is out.
"I've got a game plan, we both know what to expect and I'm really looking forward to it. I know what to do but it's hard to execute it against such a top player like him."
Kyrgios has come under fire for his on-court behaviour, but Murray believes the media is guilty of "winding him up the whole time".
"Nick is an extremely good server who is improving all of the time," he added.
"He likes the big courts, the big matches and has performed well in those situations before.
"Every time he's in here you're trying to wind him up the whole time. It's not really fair on him, to be honest."
Lleyton Hewitt, former Wimbledon champion: "Nick will have to use all his weapons and firepower. Andy will try to turn it into a physical battle.
"Nick plays pretty short points and it's hard to turn points into a physical battle against him. Andy backs himself against anyone when it gets physical, especially over five sets and I'm sure that's what he's going to try and do again.
"It's how many balls Andy keeps getting back. Can he keep making Nick play the extra ball? But Nick on his day can hit anyone off the court."
John Lloyd, 1977 Australian Open finalist: "If Nick Kyrgios stays like this, with this concentration and focus, Andy Murray will be in for a tough match. Andy will win. He might drop a set, possibly two, but he will come through."
Tim Henman, four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist: "Andy has to stay focused on the things he can control - that's his preparation and performance. Djokovic has dominated but Andy has separated himself from the others as world number two.
"He was my favourite before the tournament and still my favourite now. But there's a long way to go."
Steve Johnson will draw inspiration from doubles partner Sam Querrey as he attempts to pull off an upset against seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer.
Querrey produced a huge shock when he beat Djokovic on Saturday and unseeded Johnson, in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, said his fellow-American's exploits had given him hope.
"You see Novak lose, you sense the locker room, like believe there is a chance," the 26-year-old said.
Federer has yet to drop a set at Wimbledon 2016.
Querrey will return to action, facing Nicolas Mahut two days after pulling off the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
Querrey knocked out defending champion Djokovic in a four-set thriller to end Djokovic's run of 30 successive victories.
His opponent Mahut completed a three set win over fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbet on Saturday.
Mahut was part of Wimbledon's infamous 11-hour game against John Isner in 2010, the longest match in tennis history, which Mahut lost 70-68 in the final set.
Will it be a showdown between the Williams sisters in the women's singles final next Saturday?
Serena needed just 51 minutes to clinch the 300th Grand Slam win of her career on Sunday as the defending champion made the Wimbledon last 16.
Both will be in action on Monday, with Venus facing number twelve seed Carla Suarez Navarro on Court Two and Serena returning to Centre Court to face Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"I wouldn't bet against it," former French Open doubles finalist Jeff Tarango told BBC Radio 5 live.
"Venus has had two days off and she is going to feel like a whole new woman next week."
Serena and Venus last met at Wimbledon in 2015, with Serena claiming a fourth round victory on her way to her sixth Wimbledon title.
Last year's semi-finalist Richard Gasquet returns to the action on Court One against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, giving the 31-year-old Frenchman just 24 hours to recover from an epic four-hour battle that saw him win 19-17 in the fifth set against Isner.
Dominika Cibulkova, who knocked out Eugenie Bouchard on Saturday, plays 2012 finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, while 10th-seed Tomas Berdych faces fellow Czech Jiri Vesely on Court Three.
The first game on Court One is Simona Halep against Madison Keys, who beat Barbora Strycova to win the Aegon Classic in Birmingham last month.
Media playback is not supported on this device
You can now add tennis alerts in the BBC Sport app - simply head to the menu and My Alerts section | Andy Murray says he faces a "formidable" challenge to win Wimbledon for a second time despite Novak Djokovic's surprise exit. | 36698135 |
Khurram Rahi, 27, of Rosefield Road, Smethwick, was arrested by police investigating the assault of the girl at Witton station. He is due before Birmingham magistrates on Monday.
A second man, aged 34, who was also arrested on Saturday, has been released while police inquiries continue.
The girl told police she was raped a second time when she left the station.
She flagged down a van for help, police said, but was attacked by the driver, in the early hours of Wednesday.
Det Ch Insp Tony Fitzpatrick, from British Transport Police, said: "This case has gained national interest and I am pleased we are now in a position to charge a man.
"However, we still have a suspect outstanding for the offence in the vehicle.
"I would urge anyone who may have any information regarding this attack to get in touch as soon as possible."
He said the second attack happened at about 02:00 BST near Witton station.
The suspect sought over that assault is described as thick-set Asian man, about 5ft 6in tall with large biceps. | A man has been charged with rape after a 14-year-old girl was attacked twice on the same night in Birmingham. | 40769454 |
Third-place City visit second-place Liverpool on Saturday (17:30 GMT) as they look to close the gap on leaders Chelsea, who are six points clear.
Such is the size of the advantage that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says it is "Chelsea's title to lose".
But Guardiola said: "Six teams are fighting for the title and the Champions League qualification."
The Reds have won their last three league games against City, who have not won at Anfield since 2003 - a run of 14 Premier League and cup games.
The two sides are separated by just a single point, but they could find themselves even further behind the Blues, who host Stoke earlier on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
Former Barcelona boss Guardiola added: "Liverpool are a contender. The contenders are really tough. It will be a good fight until the end of the season. Anfield will be a big role for them. We have to match their intensity."
The Spaniard also confirmed striker Sergio Aguero is "ready" to return after serving a four-game domestic suspension.
...but Chelsea are making it look just that at the moment.
Victory over Bournemouth in their last league game stretched Antonio Conte's side's winning run to 12 games - a club record - and they last dropped points in September against Arsenal.
Italian manager Conte said: "We have only played 18 games. Another 20 to finish the season. At the start of the season no-one trusted in this team to fight for the title. We have only six points more than the second team. There is still a long way to go. I am pleased with the players.
"I think the most important thing in our head is to continue to work very hard and be focussed game by game. This league is not easy. Twelve wins in a row is a great achievement but it is not enough to win the league. I want to keep this run going."
Arsenal had momentarily taken top spot early in December after beating Stoke, albeit having played a game more than Chelsea, but back-to-back defeats against Everton and title rivals City has seen them slip nine points off the pace.
Frenchman Wenger said: "Chelsea is the super favourite. They have a big difference, it is theirs to lose. At the moment they have won it but they can still lose it. The head to head games are of vital importance." | Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola feels there are still six clubs in the Premier League title race. | 38471832 |
MSPs on the finance committee will look at what the new Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT) should be set at when it comes into effect next year.
The new powers are part of the 2012 Scotland Act.
The move means the UK Treasury will deduct 10p from standard and upper rates of income tax in Scotland, with MSPs then deciding how to raise cash.
The committee will also consider if companies and individuals are prepared for the introduction of the new levy in April.
The new powers will mean people north of the border could potentially pay a higher or lower rate than taxpayers in the rest of the UK.
As part of its work scrutinising the 2016-17 budget, the finance committee will consider what the extra cash raised could be spent on if the SRIT is higher than 10p.
They will also look at how any reduction in the SRIT could be funded from the Scottish budget.
Committee convener Kenneth Gibson said: "From next year, revenue from the Scottish rate of income tax will be a significant part of the money spent on Scotland's public services.
"There are key decisions to be made on the level the Scottish rate should be set at and how taxpayers and employers are informed about the introduction of SRIT."
He added: "It is important for the finance committee to scrutinise the introduction of this new power and I would encourage people to submit their views to inform the committee's inquiry."
Earlier this week a new Scotland Bill was published by the UK government.
The 76-page document outlined the Conservative government's plan to give tax-raising powers to Scotland.
It follows recommendations made by the cross-party Smith Commission which was set up to look at devolving more powers. | The use of new powers to raise or lower income tax in Scotland is to be considered by a Holyrood committee. | 32934955 |
In America, Ryan Weimer and his wife Lana, have tapped into that market by providing children with the 3D costumes of their imaginations.
Costing between $2,000 and $4,000 each, a team of volunteers spend about 120 hours building the costumes which range from aeroplanes to dragons.
The Weimers, from Oregon, have five children and were inspired by three of their sons who use wheelchairs due to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - a degenerative disease which causes muscle weakness.
Ryan Weimer says: "My first son, Keaton, was diagnosed at nine months old with SMA and this diagnosis has forever changed our family and how we do things.
"We have to look at life through a different set of lenses than the average man or woman."
Weimer first made a costume for his son in Halloween 2008 when he requested to be a pirate.
He says: "I realised, Keaton has this wheelchair he cruises around in, and every pirate needs a ship, so let's just build one around his chair.
"I drew out some rough plans and had to start over once or twice, but in the end we came out with a pretty awesome pirate ship for Keaton to sail around in."
He says every year he "can't help but cringe" at the thought of what his son might request but "it's always fun, frustrating, discouraging, occasionally painful, and expensive".
Hunter Power took delivery of his Quinjet, inspired by the Agents of Shield vehicle, earlier this year.
His mum, Ginger, says it was "the best Halloween ever for Hunter".
She says: "Not even the pouring rain during the trick-or-treating could dampen his spirit.
"Hunter still couldn't get up to people's doors, but they came to him, completely amazed by his costume. "
As word about the designs spread so did the requests from other families wanting to create something special for their children and in 2015 Magic Wheelchair, a non-profit charity, was created.
The funds to make each costume are raised through donations, but rely on a team of volunteers to give up their time to design and construct them.
Each year children are invited to submit a short video explaining why they deserve one of the bespoke costumes and what it is they would most like to be.
This Halloween designs will be rolled out in 11 States with 18 different teams having helped build 25 costumes including a Batmobile, Cinderella and Fire Engine.
Magic Wheelchair also has teams in Chile and Canada and is hoping to expand globally.
Photos courtesy of Magic Wheelchair | Halloween is big business and when you use a wheelchair you want your outfit to pack a punch when you go trick-or-treating. | 37774000 |
The 24-year-old England international has been with the Blues since 2011 after coming through the youth system at Arsenal Ladies.
She has also spent time out on loan at Nottingham Forest and Los Angeles Strikers.
"This is a fantastic move for me and I am really looking forward to the start of the season," she said.
"I had a great year with Chelsea Ladies last season winning the double but this is a brilliant move for me and hopefully I can help Liverpool Ladies to improve on last season."
Her move to Liverpool was announced shortly after Chelsea completed the signing of England's Karen Carney from Birmingham City Ladies. | Liverpool Ladies have signed Chelsea Ladies midfielder Laura Coombs a season-long loan deal. | 35162538 |
Some say the parliament needs to modernise and stop hiding behind its "Victorian values".
Others are in favour of maintaining traditional rules - for example, they are opposed to breastfeeding and bringing babies into the chamber.
BBC Scotland has spoken to politicians about how they juggle their personal lives with their professional lives.
Kirsty Blackman, MP for Aberdeen North, said it is "manageable" to be an MP and a mum to young children - hers are aged two and four - but that it is not always an easy task.
She said for single parents, or people without a strong support network to help out with childcare, it would be impossible to be an MP unless the House of Commons reformed to be more accommodating to parents.
When her young children visit her in London, she sometimes has to entertain them in the parliament until the day's voting is over - often after 23:00.
Because her children are too old to be taken into the voting lobby - only babies under one year old are allowed in - she is faced with leaving her children in the care of the party whips' office.
Ms Blackman said the parliament should become more family-friendly to allow a wider range of people to become MPs.
"It worked out for my family because of the flexibility of our circumstances - my husband has reduced his hours at work. Becoming an MP was something that was really important to me and something I really wanted to do", she said.
But at home in her constituency, she often enjoys taking them along to some of the events she has to go to.
She said she thinks it is important that her constituents see her in her capacity as a mum as well as in her role as an MP.
Jo Swinson, who was the MP for East Dunbartonshire until May's general election, said that the House of Commons was more family-friendly when she left than it had been when she was first elected 10 years before, but said there was still a lot of progress to be made.
However, she said, modernisation faced opposition from some more traditional-minded MPs who seem to be stuck in the past.
Ms Swinson gave birth to her first child, Andrew, when she was an MP. Her husband, Duncan Hames, was also an MP.
Her son was the first baby to be taken through the voting lobby - by her husband - after the rules changed to allow babies under one to go into the voting lobby with their parents.
It was "crystal clear", she said, that she and Duncan wanted to combine having a family and being MPs.
She said this brought its own set of "logistical challenges", but acknowledged that "a lot of people have it a lot tougher" than MPs.
She said: "You need a range of experiences for a successful, representative parliament - including parents of small children.
"Being an MP can't be made an entirely family-friendly job, but the people who sign up to public service in that way recognise that there's no way around that sometimes.
"However, there's a lot more can be done to make things easier for MPs with children. There should be no additional barriers but in place to make it less family-friendly than it needs to be."
But being a parent of young children and being an MSP is an easier combination, according to one parliamentarian.
Aileen Campbell, Scottish government Minister for Children and Young People, was the first Holyrood minister to go on maternity leave when gave birth to her second son, Crawford, in 2014.
She said she discussed her maternity leave with the first minister, who "wanted to send a clear message: you can have children and still have a place in politics".
Ms Campbell described it as a "very welcoming" and "accommodating" place to be a parent.
She said she felt comfortable enough to breastfeed her young son around the parliament.
"There's a quiet, safe and comfortable space for breastfeeding, but I have sat out in the parliament's garden lobby and breastfed out there," she said.
"As a country, we need to make women feel comfortable doing whatever they think is right for them when it comes to breastfeeding."
On visits to the parliament with her children, she said everyone - from the first minister to the security guards - was "keen to get in a wee cuddle with baby Crawford".
Small gestures, Ms Campbell said, made all the difference: "even little things, like organising me a parking space that was suitable for me to manoeuvre the buggy around."
However, she said that being a parliamentarian had some unavoidable consequences on family life.
"The reality of the job is that you're elected to serve your constituents for a term, so while I had maternity leave from my ministerial duties I still had constituency duties."
But she said she has managed to strike a balance between work and family: "My husband is a stay-at-home dad, but whenever I possibly can I get home for the children's bedtime." | MPs have been debating whether the House of Commons should be more family-friendly. | 34786454 |
This follows similar action from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The IMF halted funding 10 days ago when it found Mozambique had not declared debts of more than $1bn (£700m).
The government says the liabilities relate to guaranteeing loans taken out by two mostly state-owned companies.
The UK said in a statement that it was now "working closely with other international partners to establish the truth and coordinate an appropriate response".
Africa Live: More on this and other news stories
The IMF is currently carrying out an analysis to see if Mozambique has a sustainable level of debt, and the World Bank is waiting for its outcome before it approves any more loans.
Mozambique's Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario went to the IMF headquarters in Washington DC last week to explain the government's position.
The government has admitted that it acted as guarantor for a $622m loan taken out by state-owned Pro-Indicus, and another loan of $535m by Mozambique Asset Management. Both are involved in the maritime industry.
Mozambique has had one of Africa's fastest growing economies in recent years with oil and gas discoveries buoying its prospects and attracting a lot of investment.
The mechanics of this are the same as with a personal loan.
If you take out a loan from a bank, the bank always asks you about your other liabilities. Do you have other debts? It will also want to see a payslip.
From the bank's point of view, it is all to do with risk. Can you make the payments on their loan, if you have a lot of other debt as well?
And it is the same with countries. So, when the IMF lent money to Mozambique, it would have asked about the country's other liabilities.
As the Mozambique government failed to disclose that it guaranteed the two large loans, it has put the IMF loan in jeopardy.
The IMF is now worried that Mozambique will not be able to meet its liability commitments with this extra debt on its books. | The UK government says it has suspended financial aid to Mozambique over an alleged "serious breach of trust" relating to undisclosed debts. | 36158118 |
Joined by the Duke of Edinburgh she visited the charity's new operating base at the Egerton-Smith Centre at Cambridge Airport.
The royal couple were given a tour by the Duke of Cambridge who has been based in the city for more than a year.
They viewed one of two operational H145 helicopters before unveiling a plaque.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh also met some of the charity's medics, support staff and pilots.
Live: Latest on this story and others from Cambridgeshire
Launched as a charity in 2000 the organisation's pilots fly an average of five missions per day from bases in Cambridge and Norwich and cover a wider geographical area spanning Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
The monarch was at the base for about 40 minutes before heading to Buckingham Palace, where she is due to meet outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron. | The Queen has opened the new base of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) where her grandson works as a helicopter pilot. | 36781682 |
Tracey Neville's team progress as Pool F runners-up, with two wins from three games, and will face four-time winners New Zealand on Saturday (03:20 BST).
The Roses opened up a 10-point half-time lead against world number five South Africa and although the Proteas improved, England prevailed.
Holders Australia beat Wales 89-24 to earn a semi-final with Jamaica.
Wales came through the preliminary stages of the competition unbeaten but lost all three games in the second round to finish bottom.
They will now filter into the placing matches, alongside Scotland.
Jamaica edged a 63-62 win against Malawi to qualify as Pool E runners up, while New Zealand, currently unbeaten in the competition, overcame Uganda 76-33 to progress as group winners. | England beat South Africa 62-46 to book their place in the Netball World Cup semi-finals in Sydney. | 33927910 |
He was recruited by al-Shabab but if you were to see him in his Spanish football shirt and a baseball cap emblazoned "New York", he would look like any other young Kenyan.
What is also unremarkable about this young man is that he says he only joined the Islamist militant group in Somalia, where he was based for two years, because they offered him money.
Three women we met whose relatives all went to fight with al-Shabab in Somalia told us their relatives had gone to fight in Somalia for the same reason.
The 24-year-old former recruit we met, whose identity we are protecting, says he was paid more than $1,000 (£640) to join the group.
When he was 18 he was recruited by al-Shabab while he was living in Nairobi's Majengo slum.
The conditions there are cramped and squalid. The metal box-like corrugated iron shacks can hardly be called homes.
Kids play around the stagnant mess inside the neighbourhood's open sewers.
These dusty litter-laden streets are fertile ground for recruiters.
The young man we met described al-Shabab as a "business".
He says he was trained in religious schools in Somalia and the one-off payment he received was akin to a "salary".
He insists he did not travel to Somalia because of ideological beliefs or jihad but simply because of the money.
"If I had had a job, I would not have gone there," he says.
The young man we met claims he never killed anyone and when he realised that he would be expected to kill he wanted to leave al-Shabab.
During his time with the group he says he did help smuggle arms across Somalia's border into Kenya.
He says they bribed policemen at the border and hid grenades among food.
The former al-Shabab recruit said he had never met foreign fighters but he was aware there were three Arabs and one white man who delivered arms to his unit.
He insists he is no longer working with, or affiliated to, al-Shabab.
And he says he was able to leave the group because they believed he was returning to Kenya to carry out attacks.
He says members of al-Shabab ordered him to bomb a market in Nairobi in May.
However, he told them he was unable to do so because he was known in the area.
Nairobi's Gikomba market was bombed on 16 May 2014, with 12 people killed.
Now the former al-Shabab recruit says he fears for his life if he refuses to take part in future attacks.
In a slum, on a muddy, smelly street amongst the rows of tin shacks, we speak with three women.
On 5 May 2012, Amina's 29-year-old husband left the house and never returned.
Halima's brother left on 27 January 2011.
And Mwanaisha's 14-year-old son left in August 2009.
All three women are convinced their relatives left Kenya to travel to Somalia to fight with al-Shabab.
In fact Mwanaisha received a phone call from her son two months after he left, confirming he was fighting with the Islamist group in Somalia.
"I don't know if he is dead or alive," she tells me. "I have given up hope."
Amina has not given up hope that her husband will, one day, return.
But she is certain that he left to escape the poverty of the slum.
"He had no means of making money here," she says. "The recruiters offered him money."
Amina, Malima and Mwanaisha all told me there was "zero" trust between people living in the slum and the police.
But the threat posed by young Kenyan men being radicalised by al-Shabab, fighting in Somalia and then returning home to carry out attacks, is real.
Nairobi-based security analyst Mwenda Mbijiwe estimates that a quarter of al-Shabab fighters are Kenyan.
"Al-Shabab is a big threat to Kenya," says Mr Mbijiwe, whose security company is called Eye On Security.
"They [al-Shabab fighters] hold Kenyan passports and Kenyan ID cards. They are our sons and daughters. For them to come back home is so easy."
But with so little trust between the police and the local community, and in particular Muslims living in places like the Majengo slum, there is little or no sharing of information.
The treasurer at the main mosque in Majengo, Mohammed Said, says the police often carry out searches of the mosque based on what he believes are "rumours, falsehoods or unreliable sources."
It is a criticism the Kenyan police service rejects.
However, Mr Said praised the "respect" shown by police officers who searched the mosque last week, the day after al-Shabab killed 36 quarry workers in the north of the country.
Mr Said insists his mosque is ready to assist the police, to stop any youths in the area becoming radicalised but he says more trust is needed.
"Before they start accusing us, we would like them to at least start co-operating with the Muslim leaders here," he says.
Kenya's president recently said his country "was at war" with al-Shabab.
Uhuru Kenyatta was defiant following al-Shabab's most recent attack in Kenya.
He said the Kenyan military would continue to fight the militant group in Somalia.
But the Kenyan authorities also need to start addressing the propaganda war back home. | As Kenyan troops fight al-Shabab militants in Somalia, the extremist group's propaganda machine is targeting disillusioned young men back home in Kenya's poorest neighbourhoods. | 30419987 |
JCB has landed a £115m ($142m) order to produce 1,600 rough terrain vehicles for the army to use around the world on tasks including loading and unloading aircraft and shipping containers.
The 400 workers at the firm's plant in Wrexham will be involved in producing axles for the trucks.
JCB said it was one of the biggest single orders in its 71-year history.
Chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: "This order is fantastic news for JCB and a great way to start the New Year.
"I congratulate everyone who has worked to secure this valuable contract." | A Wrexham factory is to play a key role in supplying the US Army with a huge fleet of forklift trucks. | 38523034 |
The Championship club will make an announcement "in due course" on a new head coach and backroom team.
Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo, 43, an ex-goalkeeper who has left his post at Porto, is his anticipated replacement.
As well as Lambert, 47, coaches Stuart Taylor and Rob Edwards, their former player, and another ex-player Tony Daley, fitness coach and head of sport science, are also leaving.
Lambert is the fifth of Wolves' past six first-team bosses to last less than a year at Molineux.
His role had been in doubt since the end of the Championship season over a dispute about who has the final say on signing players.
The decision was made as part of a coaching restructure by Wolves' Chinese owners Fosun following an end-of-season football review.
Fosun have had a close working relationship with Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes since their takeover in July 2016.
Several of their 12 summer signings were arranged by Mendes, although the majority of them struggled to make an impact at Molineux.
The one undoubted success was winger Helder Costa, who initially joined on loan from Benfica at the start of the season before completing a club-record £13m move in January.
Costa ended 2016-17 as Wolves' top scorer with 12 goals and swept the board at the club's end-of-season awards.
Lambert had spoken publicly of his desire to sign mainly British players this summer. But reports of the Scot considering his future as a result of his unease with Mendes' sizeable involvement in Wolves' recruitment policy first surfaced earlier this month.
Since the Premier League was launched in 1992, Wolves have spent just four of those 25 seasons in the top flight.
They first won promotion under Dave Jones in 2003, only to come straight back down again.
They then went back up again as champions under Mick McCarthy in 2009, spending three seasons there this time.
Over the last 10 seasons, only one manager has taken over a Championship club in the summer, having finished the previous season at the same level, and then won automatic promotion in his first season.
That was Steve Bruce, with Hull City in 2012-13 - and with a points haul (79) that would not have been good enough to make this season's play-offs.
Having been appointed as Walter Zenga's successor on 5 November, Lambert was in charge for 33 matches in all competitions, of which Wolves won 14, lost 14 and drew five.
A run of five successive league defeats in February dragged Wolves into a Championship relegation struggle, although they pulled well clear of the bottom three with five consecutive wins in March and April.
They eventually finished 15th, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The highlights of Lambert's reign came in the FA Cup, in which Wolves won at Premier League opponents Stoke City and Liverpool before losing at home to double-chasing Chelsea in the fifth round.
Media playback is not supported on this device
BBC WM's Mike Taylor
The news of Lambert's departure is not surprising, since it is now three weeks since reports of the apparent rift between him and the club first appeared, although no public comment confirming it was ever made by either side.
Neither will it be a surprise when, and we expect it will probably be Wednesday, Nuno Espirito Santo is announced as his replacement.
This decision by Wolves can be viewed either as a bold step forward with a fresh approach, or another unnecessary risk on a coach with no experience of a particularly treacherous league.
What it does appear to make abundantly clear, though, is that the owners Fosun are very much influenced by the agent Jorge Mendes, to a greater degree than they have previously been prepared to admit. Lambert was never going to stand for that.
Fans will have their own views on whether that is the right course. The opinions of the club's director Jeff Shi may also turn out to be of interest, given the enthusiastic language he used to describe Lambert's vital importance to the club's management team only a few weeks ago. | Wolves head coach Paul Lambert has left the club after seven months in charge. | 39896630 |
Mr Johnson said the removal of a bust of Churchill from Obama's office was seen by some as a sign of an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire".
The comments in an article for The Sun were branded "idiotic" and "deeply offensive" by Churchill's grandson.
Mr Obama made clear his admiration for Britain's wartime leader in pointed remarks at a press conference.
He did not mention Mr Johnson by name but said he had a bust of Churchill outside the Treaty Room - his private office on the second floor of his official residence.
"Right outside the door of the Treaty Room, so that I see it every day - including on weekends when I'm going into that office to watch a basketball game - the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill," he said.
"It's there voluntarily because I can do anything on the second floor. I love the guy."
It had been in the Oval Office, he said, but: "There are only so many tables where you can put busts otherwise it starts to looks a little cluttered."
As the first African American president, he said, a bust of Martin Luther King would be "appropriate", to remind him "of all the hard work of a lot of people who somehow allow me to have the privilege of holding this office".
He added: "That's just on Winston Churchill. I think people should know that, know my thinking there."
Mr Johnson said he was "delighted" by Mr Obama's backing for Churchill, but did not respond to questions about whether he had been trying to suggest the US President had a grudge against Britain.
Speaking earlier on a visit to a fast food restaurant in his Uxbridge constituency, Mr Johnson said: "The crucial point is that I'm a big fan of Barack Obama - I was one of the first people to come out in favour of him ages ago.
"But I think there's a weird paradox when the President of the Unites States, a country that would never dream of sharing its sovereignty over anything, instructs or urges us politely to get more embedded in the EU, which is already making 60% of our laws.
"I think the issue really is about democracy - America guards its democracy very jealously and I think we should be entitled to do so as well."
Downing Street said Mr Johnson was recycling "false" claims in relation to Churchill's bust.
Churchill's grandson, Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames, who is campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU, called the article "deplorable" and "completely idiotic".
He told LBC Radio: "I like to think, possibly - I'm mad enough to think - that it was probably written by some little twerp who works for Boris. I can't believe that Boris would really have done something so stupid, but whatever it is it bears his name and it is deeply offensive."
Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for Mr Johnson to withdraw his comment, writing on Twitter: "Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories."
Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Campbell of Pittenweem said Mr Johnson's comments constituted an "unacceptable smear".
But UKIP leader Nigel Farage defended the comments, saying: "I think Obama, because of his grandfather and Kenya and colonisation, I think Obama bears a bit of a grudge against this country."
Stories about the removal of the Churchill bust were described by the White House in 2012 as "100% false".
"The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room," a senior adviser said in a rebuttal.
A Churchill bust lent to President George Bush by Tony Blair was removed from the Oval Office along with other art lent to the Bush presidency after Mr Obama's 2009 inauguration "as is common practice at the end of every presidency", the White House said at the time.
A separate bust of Britain's wartime leader, that has been in the White House since the early 1960s, remains on display.
Mr Johnson said in his article: "No-one was sure whether the president had himself been involved in the decision", adding: "Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire - of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."
The London mayor, who penned a best-selling biography of Churchill, was born in New York but recently said he intends to renounce his American citizenship to prove his "commitment to Britain". | US president Barack Obama has hit back after Boris Johnson's comments about his "part-Kenyan" ancestry. | 36112694 |
Mr Jones visited the European Commission in Brussels to ask for funding for upgrades to public transport as part of the £600m scheme.
He wants assurances the request will not be affected by Brexit negotiations.
The UK government has said any successful application for EU funding would be guaranteed by Westminster after Britain leaves the union.
The Metro scheme promises better trains, faster buses and light rail or tram services in Cardiff and the south Wales valleys.
Plans include £125m from UK government funds and £369m from the Welsh budget as well as EU funds, but the latter has not yet been applied for.
Welsh ministers are working towards making an application for funds by mid-2017, with construction to begin in 2019 and completion by the end of 2022.
Mr Jones, who visited Brussels on Wednesday for the fist time since the Brexit vote, said: "The EU referendum result has undoubtedly raised concerns about the delivery of our major capital programmes which currently receive funding from Europe."
He said he was in Brussels "to personally seek assurance from the European Commission that we can rely on their continued support for the Metro project in the months and years ahead.
"It is vital we keep up the momentum so we can secure approval before the UK leaves the EU."
Head of the European Commission Office in Wales, David Hughes, said: "As long as the UK remains a member state of the EU, it has the same rights and obligations as other member states.
"This means funding applications will be treated in the same way.
"With regard to what happens after the UK leaves, we simply cannot comment at this stage, since the UK has neither given notification under Article 50 of its intention to leave nor any indication of what it is seeking, either in terms of the future relationship it seeks or any transitional arrangements." | First Minister Carwyn Jones has asked for £110m in EU funding for the South Wales Metro project. | 38228112 |
The Bank of Scotland's latest business monitor found the economy slowed in the three months to the end of February.
However, it also found firms' future expectations remained close to pre-recession levels.
The monitor said this suggested growth would pick up in the second quarter of the year.
Of 408 firms surveyed, 33% said they saw an increase in turnover in the latest quarterly period, with 34% experiencing static turnover and 33% experiencing a decrease.
This gave a net balance of 0% - down from the +16% of the previous quarter and the +18% of the same quarter a year ago.
The net balance is calculated by subtracting those that report a decrease from those that report an increase.
It was the worst result for turnover in 21 months, suggesting the Scottish economy experienced a sharp jolt to growth at the start of this year, the business monitor said.
Turnover for firms in the production sector was down significantly while the services sector also showed a sharp slowdown.
Firms also reported a fall in volumes of repeat business and new business while export activity increased slightly.
Businesses remained optimistic for the next six months, with 34% expecting to see turnover increase, compared with 20% who expected a decrease. A further 46% expected it to remain static.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said: "The Scottish economy slowed at the start of 2015 but is expected to return to moderate growth in spring." | The Scottish economy slowed down sharply at the start of the year but is expected to return to growth over the next few months, according to a report. | 32025385 |
Lawmakers will review the first national law against domestic violence for approval during the ongoing annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing.
The new bill, drafted in November, defines domestic violence for the first time and offers clear guidance on restraining orders.
According to reports, nearly 40% of Chinese women who are married or in a relationship have suffered abuse.
Despite the scale of the problem, domestic abuse has long been seen as a private matter in China, reports say.
The Xinhua News Agency urges authorities to speed up the implementation of anti-domestic violence laws to "eliminate society's hidden pain".
The news agency observes that some Chinese women continue to remain silent when faced with domestic violence, while law enforcers are usually oblivion to their plight.
Rong Hua, women's rights representative, tells the state media that such laws will better protect women and will also reflect the "improvement of the Chinese society and (judicial) system".
A commentary in the China Central Television points out that even if the law is passed, the authorities will still need to "strengthen the execution of the regulations" to "ingrain into everyone's mindset".
The South China Morning Post quotes activists as saying that the problem of domestic violence is "not taken seriously" in China and most victims are not aware of other options available for protection.
Prof Ke Qianting, a gender studies expert at Sun Yat-sen University, however, is confident that the draft law will have "a high chance of being passed by the National People's Congress in Beijing this month".
"In November, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council drafted the Anti-Domestic Violence Law and tendered it for public consultation, so we are very close now," the pundit tells the paper.
Meanwhile, some papers support President Xi Jinping's call for tougher actions to clean up the environment.
Mr Xi pledged on Friday that the government would severely punish polluters in the country, while urging the people to protect ecology and environment like they protect their "own eyes and life," the Xinhua News Agency reports.
"We are going to punish, with an iron hand, any violators who destroy ecology or environment, with no exceptions," the news agency quotes Mr Xi as saying.
The state media outlet also notes that environment pollution issue is a "hot topic" at the ongoing sessions of the top legislature and political advisory body.
A commentary in the People's Daily web portal highlights that the effort to clean up the environment is a "long fight" and people will have to "bear with it for a while".
"However, the leaders and the representatives did not evade the problem, instead they showed the courage to face it. This is enough to convince the people that the days of good environment are not too far away," says the article.
Echoing similar views, an article in the China Net urges lawmakers to "draw lessons" from other countries on managing the environment and "gradually establish regulations" to protect the people's rights to a better environment.
An opinion piece in the Haiwai Net warns against turning pollution issues into an "ideological problem" that will curb economic growth.
Li Daokui, a prominent Chinese economist, states in the article that environmental protection and economic development are "not conflicting". He suggests that the effort to improve the environment should also help create growth for China's economy.
"China is still a poor country, we cannot treat these two issues as conflicting problems," writes the pundit.
And finally, papers urge Japanese leaders to reflect on the country's war crimes after Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Japan "not to lose its conscience".
"70 years ago, Japan lost the war - 70 years afterwards, it should not lose the conscience," Mr Wang said at a press conference on Sunday.
Noting that Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is likely to be invited to attend a military parade in China to mark the end of the Second World War, the China Daily suggests the leaders in Tokyo to "put themselves in the shoes of their Asian neighbours".
"It is a good opportunity for him and his cabinet to throw away the burden of the war by facing up to Japan's past," says the daily.
China and Japan are currently embroiled in a territorial dispute. Beijing also accuses Tokyo of glossing over its war actions.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | Papers in China urge legislators to approve a law against domestic violence to ensure safety of women. | 31793083 |
The Chelsea loanee, 21, scored the winner against Stoke on Saturday to secure a first Premier League away win of the season for Eddie Howe's side.
Chances have been limited for the Netherlands Under-21 international, who made his first league start at Stoke.
"It's been frustrating, but a lot of people have helped me get through it," he told BBC Radio Solent.
Ake, who moved to the south coast on a season-long loan in June, made 20 league starts for Watford last season while on loan at Vicarage Road.
He had hoped to establish himself as a defensive midfielder but now admits he is happy to take any available opportunity to play.
"I can't complain playing at centre back," Ake added. "If you play, you play."
"I'm delighted to be able to come in and score straight away. I just need to stay focused and be ready for the next game against Arsenal.
"Hopefully, I can keep improving in training and do the things the manager wants me to do." | Nathan Ake hopes a first goal for loan club Bournemouth will be the catalyst to kick-start his time with the club. | 38051592 |
In the first half of 2017, private equity investment in the capital's tech sector totalled £4.5bn, said the Mayor of London's agency, London & Partners.
At the same time, venture capital invested £1.1bn in London's tech firms.
That total was more than in any other six-month period in the past decade, the agency said.
The city's "fundamental strengths" as a centre for technology and business were unchanged, said London & Partners.
"The Brexit vote has understandably created some uncertainty, but it is no surprise to see that London continues to attract more than double the amount of investment [of] any other European city," said Laura Citron, chief executive of London & Partners.
"We have everything companies need to be successful: policymakers, finance, infrastructure, world-class universities and talent."
According to London & Partners, London's tech sector has attracted more venture capital investment than any other European city since the Brexit vote, including Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam.
It said the city had received £1.8bn in venture capital funding for 544 deals in the tech sector since the UK voted to leave the EU on 23 June 2016.
During the same period, Berlin, the next most popular city for venture capital tech investment, had received £775m for 136 deals, London & Partners said.
One of the companies benefiting is virtual reality start-up Improbable, which saw investment of £388m during the first half of this year.
Improbable's chief executive, Herman Narula, said: "For a technology business looking to raise growth capital and scale, investment can come from anywhere in the world, but London is a great place to be located.
"London provides access to the UK's tremendous tech talent, and is also an attractive place to work for the global talent vital to growing a tech business." | London remains Europe's number one hub for technology investment despite Brexit, with record levels of capital flowing in, say officials in the city. | 40496569 |
Highways England has revealed plans to begin work on seven new smart motorway projects by 2020.
This is in addition to the 17-mile scheme under way on the M62 and M60.
The agency said the schemes would make roads safer, cut congestion, and improve journey times.
The plan amounted to the "biggest increase in capacity on the region's roads in 50 years", it added.
Technology will be installed to monitor traffic, provide information to drivers, and ease congestion by using variable speed limits and utilising the hard shoulder.
Two of the schemes on the M62 will link up with existing projects, creating the "biggest single stretch of smart motorway in the country", covering nearly 60 miles between the North West and Yorkshire.
Other major schemes planned included bypasses on the A556, A585 and A57, new motorway junctions on the M55 and M56, and junction upgrades on the M6.
Road resurfacing, safety and lighting improvements were also scheduled.
Highways England Major Projects Director for the North, Jeremy Bloom, said the schemes would bring "significant long-term benefits" to drivers and the economy as a whole.
"The construction work will, of course, bring some disruption in the short term but we will ensure that we keep this to a minimum to keep traffic flowing. When the schemes are completed, road users will experience safer, more reliable and less congested journeys," he added.
However transport group, Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) said it was concerned about the "gung-ho way the government is pressing on" with smart motorways because of concerns over safety and air pollution.
Road Campaigner Sian Berry said: "We know from Highways England's own assessments that the risk of some types of crashes is increased three times by getting rid of the hard shoulder.
"And the government has been ordered by the Supreme Court to write a new air pollution plan that may rule out wider roads altogether." | Nearly 80 miles of "smart motorway" will be created in the North West over the next five years as part of a £1.5bn investment programme in the region's roads. | 33326284 |
Saints fly-half Harry Mallinder touched down to put the hosts ahead inside one minute, only for Connacht wing Niyi Adeolokun to hit back on five minutes.
Nic Groom went over after the break to put Saints eight points up before David Heffernan's try cut the gap to three.
Mallinder then kicked a crucial third penalty late on at Franklin's Gardens.
Saints played the final two minutes with 14 men after Jamie Gibson was sent to the sin bin, but Pro 12 side Connacht could not find a way through the hosts' resolute defence.
Jim Mallinder's side, who finished seventh in the Premiership this season, host Stade in the play-off final on Friday, 26 May.
Connacht will join Cardiff Blues - beaten by Stade on Friday - in the draw for next season's Challenge Cup.
Northampton Saints: Tuala; Foden, Tuitavake, Burrell, North; Mallinder, Groom; Waller, Hartley (capt), Brookes, Lawes, Day, Gibson, Harrison, Picamoles.
Replacements: Haywood for Tuala (78), Hutchinson for Burrell (22), Dickson for Groom (66), Ma'afu for A. Waller (61), Denman for Brookes (61), Ratuniyarawa for Day (63), Wood for Harrison (57).
Not used: Olver.
Connacht: O'Halloran; Adeolokun, Poolman, Ronaldson, Kelleher; Carty, Marmion; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham, Roux, Browne, O'Brien, Heenan, Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Healy for Kelleher (27), J. Cooney for Marmion (65), Carey for Bealham (66), Dawai for Muldoon (55).
Not used: Delahunt, JP Cooney, Dillane, Blade. | Northampton will take on Stade Francais for a place in next season's European Champions Cup after holding on to beat Connacht in the play-off semi-final. | 39982111 |
Louise Richardson says Oxford was "very good" as a university, but had "no experience" of running schools.
The call for universities to help set up schools was part of the proposals to expand grammar schools.
But Prof Richardson said to become involved in the government's plans for changing schools would be a "distraction from our core mission".
The government's Green Paper on grammar schools proposes that universities should have to either sponsor a school or help set up a new school - otherwise they would not be able to charge higher tuition fees.
About 60 universities, including Birmingham and King's College London, already sponsor or support schools - and the government argues that the expertise of universities should be harnessed to improve schools and drive social mobility.
But Oxford vice-chancellor Prof Richardson said that her university should focus on what it knew best, which was delivering higher education.
Oxford was named as the best in the world in global rankings published on Wednesday.
"We're very good at running a university. But we have no experience of running schools, so I think it would be a distraction," said Prof Richardson.
"We're deeply sympathetic to the idea of social mobility through education - and we have extensive relationships with schools."
But she said it was "insulting" to head teachers and school leaders to think that universities could step in and do a better job of running schools.
The university revealed earlier this year that it would be admitting the highest proportion of state school students for at least 40 years.
This followed spending of £6m per year on outreach projects with schools, encouraging state school pupils to apply.
But Prof Richardson said that such work was separate from running a school and that the university should not take on activities that would "distract our time, energy and resources".
The Oxford vice-chancellor also argued for the importance of free speech and for allowing university students to hear views they might find "objectionable".
And she said she opposed both the government's Prevent anti-extremism strategy and students who wanted to have "safe spaces", where views they found offensive would not be allowed, on campus.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "There are already some excellent examples of universities sponsoring schools - they have expertise that can really help improve our education system, and it's in their own interests to improve attainment in schools.
"With 1.25 million children in underperforming schools, we have put forward new proposals, asking how our world-leading higher education sector can help make more good school places available. | The head of Oxford University has rejected calls from the government to sponsor schools. | 37440546 |
Adam Paynter from the Lib Dems is the new leader following a secret ballot by councillors on Tuesday.
Independent councillor Julian German is to take on the role of deputy leader.
The Conservatives won the largest number of council seats with 46, while the Lib Dems won 37 and independents returned 30 in the local elections.
More on Cornwall Council's new administration and other news
Negotiations over who takes control of the council have been in progress since the election.
The Conservatives, as the largest party, had the first chance to try to form either a minority administration or a coalition but their proposal was unanimously rejected by the independent members.
Mr Paynter, former deputy leader, said his party would "seek to put people first" and "ensure that we deliver on the Cornwall Devolution Deal".
He added: "We will pledge to invest in excess of £200 million in building 1,000 council houses for fair rent. We will also extend the living wage foundations living wage, to all council contracts."
The council has been led by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and independents since 2013. | The Liberal Democrats and independent councillors have regained joint control of Cornwall Council following two weeks of uncertainty. | 40016356 |
Consider the flint that Stone Age man fashioned.
Special Report: The Technology of Business
Making OATs (Old Age Technologies)
The universal mobile web without walls
TV's white spaces connecting rural Africa
Christmas shop boom creates returns headache
Should we be recording our phone calls?
Edible edifice: The offices of tomorrow
Predicting technology in 2013
He could hardly have imagined, as he was using it to light a fire or hack a carcass apart, that his descendants would one day promote that kind of inventive step through patents.
So it is with the wonder of our age, the computer.
We've scarcely started to grasp the scale of the changes information technology will bring this century.
One application is to help analyse, map and collate features of our surroundings across the planet and keep track of activity on it. This geo-information has tremendous benefits and is gaining in sophistication and power all the time.
Data sources to produce geo-information come from satellites, together with aerial and ground observation equipment around the world.
They collect data from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum or from probing with radar or with sonar in air or water. Their output can then be processed into multiple formats, depending on ultimate use, including images with layers of content added.
The scale of the phenomenon and the quantities of data involved are barely imaginable, but the effect is for humanity to be endowed with new senses that can reach to the Earth's farthest corners.
How this will affect our behaviour as individuals and societies will be one of the biggest questions of the Information Age.
In November 2012, Britain experienced unusually severe autumn flooding.
Only a few years ago it would have overwhelmed the emergency services, but thanks in part to satellite imagery, situation managers gained a strategic view of areas at risk and could deploy resources effectively.
Yet, even with this kind of application of general public benefit, there are issues of access to data and the reliability of the resultant information as it is processed into services for users.
But when geo-information supports surveillance of human activities, there is a point at which particular interests are going to be affected.
While we may appreciate the sat-nav in our car or phone when it delivers us safely to some remote location we want to get to, we may find that a geo-location application known to the provider not to be very reliable for the purpose offered ought at least to carry a clear "quality" warning, similar to safety and health warnings for other things we use.
That way, possibly widespread inconvenience, even disruption, might be avoided.
Other, more disturbing questions arise when details of our daily commute are, to mention a recent example in the Netherlands, used to set speed traps without us being informed in some way of this potential use.
Similar issues can arise with surveillance from the sky of cars' movements in and out of particular locations at particular times.
Those watched - individuals and organisations - may wish to have some possibility of knowing who's watching, allowing for state's legitimate security needs.
Again here, geo-information seems to have two faces, depending on whose interest it serves.
But when the information processing for such applications is dispersed around the globe, how can issues like these be addressed?
It is the law's function to establish the rules which apply at this kind of intersection of technology and human interests.
Since the issues are transnational, we've proposed the development of an international Geo-information Convention.
Its aim is to be technology-neutral, so that it is future-proof enough also to cover new systems like hyper spectral sensors reminiscent of Star Trek and drones with privacy implications reminiscent of 1984.
The essential questions are: how do we make geoinformation reliable enough for the particular applications for which it is to be used, and what limits should we put on use of its power?
Work on these difficult questions has already begun through the International Bar Association (IBA).
Having already received encouragement from several quarters, we believe it's now time for the project to be opened up for wider international discussion.
A roundtable on the Convention will be held at an IBA conference in Zurich in May 2013 and from there, we hope to move towards governmental take-up of the Convention.
Christopher Rees is a partner at London-based law firm Taylor Wessing. Kevin Madders is a visiting professor at King's College London, and a managing partner at Systemics Network International. | Most people realise that technology shapes our lives, but few appreciate how much it shapes our laws. | 21624799 |
John Kiltie, 44, was stabbed four times after making the complaint at a house in Girvan, South Ayrshire, in May this year.
Adam Lundy, 27, was found guilty of murdering Mr Kiltie, a driver with Stagecoach, after a 13-day trial.
Lundy, described as a "a violent recidivist", will be sentenced later.
Two other men - Kern Allison, 18, and 24-year-old Nicholas Goodwin - were charged with assaulting Mr Kiltie, but not with his murder.
Allison was found guilty of the assault and admonished. Mr Goodwin was found not guilty.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Mr Kiltie was repeatedly punched and kicked on the head and body after going to make the complaint on 27 May in Park Road, Girvan.
He was also stabbed four times and died from a stab wound to the heart inflicted by a double-edged 5in blade.
The driver had lived in Park Road with his partner, 38-year-old Sharon Tweedie, for 20 years.
Ms Tweedie said the party had been held at the house opposite with continuous shouting and noise coming from the property all evening and into the morning.
She told the court she had asked her husband to call the police. Four officers arrived, but stayed "just minutes" before leaving, Ms Tweedie said.
The court heard that a woman who lived at the house later began shouting and swearing at Mr Kiltie and accused him of being a "police grass".
She also shouted "go and and do him in", the jury was told.
Minutes later Mr Kiltie was attacked and left bleeding on the ground.
Ms Tweedie said: "I went to the back door. John's mum was kneeling next to John, who was lying on the ground. There was lots of blood on his chest."
The three accused claimed in statements to the police that Mr Kiltie had attacked them with a baseball bat when he arrived at the house.
After the verdict, Advocate Depute Tim Niven-Smith told judge Lady Scott that Lundy was "a violent recidivist with a predilection for carrying weapons".
In 2007, he was convicted of assaults to severe injury and permanent disfigurement with a bottle, golf club and knife.
In November 2014, he was jailed for causing injury with a knife and while he was on bail prior to his trial for the murder of Mr Kiltie, he was sentenced for possession of a knife and carrying out racially aggravated assaults on two people.
He will be sentenced on December 15. | A father-of-four was stabbed to death after complaining about the noise of a neighbour's all-night party, a court has heard. | 38007522 |
The Spanish side protested to Uefa after the referee ruled Alberto Gil's penalty had hit the post when it had in fact rebounded from inside the goal.
Valencia boss Gary Neville called it "scandalous" while Chelsea said the ball "clearly crossed the line".
On Monday, Valencia said their appeal had been dismissed.
"The club regrets the decision taken by Uefa," said a statement on Valencia's website.
"We want to encourage our young players to continue to be motivated and continue believing in fair play."
Chelsea scored all five of their penalties to go through after the game finished 1-1 in normal time.
The Valencia players and staff urged the referee Adrien Jaccottet to consult the television replay at Chelsea's Cobham training ground.
It is believed the Swiss official refused.
Reigning champions Chelsea will host Lyon or Ajax in the next round, which is due to be played on 8-9 March. | Valencia have failed to overturn a controversial decision to disallow a goal in a Champions League Under-19 penalty shootout against Chelsea. | 35690389 |
More than 95,000 people have signed the online petition urging the UK government to hold its own, independent investigation into the Thai case.
The Thai police investigation has been widely criticised, including by the UK.
The bodies of the British tourists were found on a beach in Koh Tao last month. Two Burmese men are under arrest.
The petition is due to be handed into Downing Street later by Burmese activists who also plan to hold a demonstration in Whitehall.
Post-mortem examinations found Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Hemsby in Norfolk, died from head wounds.
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both migrant workers from Myanmar, also known as Burma, are suspects in the murders.
They are charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery, and could face the death penalty if found guilty.
Police have said DNA found on Ms Witheridge matched samples taken from the men.
But concerns about the murder investigation include the fact the crime scene was not sealed off after the killings, and an early statement by police that no Thai person could have committed such a crime.
Mr Zaw's mother said this week her son was being made a "scapegoat" by police.
Phyu Shwe Nu told the BBC "the case has been fixed", while both suspects' parents said their sons were innocent.
BBC political reporter Chris Rayner said the reports have pushed up the number of signatures on the petition.
On Monday, the UK Foreign Office summoned the Thai charge d'affaires to express "concern" how the investigation had been handled. | A petition calling for an independent investigation into the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller is to be handed in at No 10 later. | 29655934 |
Ms Villiers and the Irish minister for foreign affairs Charlie Flanagan held talks with the five Northern Ireland executive parties at Stormont.
The DUP proposed a budget as if welfare changes had already been implemented.
Sinn Féin said the British government had shown the least intent in reaching any resolution.
Back in December, the Stormont House Agreement was struck between the parties and the British and Irish governments. It is facing collapse over a failure to agree over welfare reform.
After Tuesday's talks broke up, Ms Villiers said: "We now face the real prospect of emergency budget provisions coming into operation by the end of July with a negative impact on frontline public services.
"Implementation of the Stormont House Agreement is the only way to get things back on track. The government is doing all it can to achieve this.
"The question is whether Northern Ireland's leaders are able to find a way to deliver on their side of the deal."
Mr Flanagan said he believed that "with political will, a way through the current challenges can be found," adding that finding a solution would "require exceptional resolve and leadership from all participants".
Ahead of the talks, the DUP announced that Finance Minister Arlene Foster would be bringing forward a new budget without the cuts of £600m that she had argued were needed if there was no deal on welfare reform.
DUP sources said that if the budget proceeds without the financial situation envisaged by the Stormont House Agreement underpinning it, either the Treasury would have to intervene or the Northern Ireland secretary would have to push welfare reform through via Westminster legislation.
Stormont sources told the BBC a "semi-fictional" budget could buy a bit more time for departments to continue in operation.
DUP leader Peter Robinson said it would be up to the other executive parties to decide if they wanted to accept his party's proposal.
The first minister said the parties had come "to the end of the road".
During a break from the talks, Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy said signs of political will for a resolution were "scarce".
"The people who have shown least intent in terms of approaching this with any sense of trying to bring a resolution are the British government, who are largely responsible for the crisis we find ourselves in," Mr Murphy said.
"There is a signal from the Treasury that the budget we had largely agreed, the 2015-16 budget, is going to be raided again. The Treasury have signalled they want in-year cuts."
He added that the British government "are under no illusion as to our opposition" to any suggestion that they could take back welfare powers.
Last week, the Welfare Reform Bill failed to pass at Stormont when Sinn Féin and the SDLP made a petition of concern, a blocking mechanism that meant it did not get the required cross-community support.
In March, Sinn Féin dramatically withdrew its support for the Stormont House Agreement. | Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has said the situation at Stormont "looks increasingly grim", after talks broke up without agreement. | 32972424 |
The actor and comedian took his own life at his Californian home at the age of 63.
Ms Williams told NBC's Today Show there was "no point" in asking why her father killed himself.
"We don't have an explanation," she told reporter Kate Snow. "There's no point questioning it... blaming yourself or the world. It happened."
The 25-year-old said it was "going to take a lot of work to allow myself to have the sort of fun, happy life that I had, but that's important".
"Anybody who has ever lost anyone works very hard to continue that memory in a positive way."
Williams, who was famous for films such as Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and Mrs Doubtfire, was understood to have been battling depression at the time of his death.
Hummingbird
"A lot of people feel his absence," said his daughter. "The side of him that people know and love... is the characters that he had so much fun being."
"I do think that's what a lot of people will hold on to. That's not going anywhere. They knew a dad that he was proud of them knowing. Laughter was incredibly important to him."
But she added he was also very private, calm and subdued.
Reflecting on her own memories she said: "They are mine and I love that. They are private and lovely and perhaps very different. Who knows?"
She revealed she had acquired a hummingbird tattoo on her right hand shortly after his death.
"I like hummingbirds. They're fun and flighty and strange. It's hard to keep them in one place and Dad was a bit like that," she said.
"Sometimes there are going to be days where things are really difficult and having a reminder that is permanently there is nice." | Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda, has spoken out for the first time since her father's death last August. | 31660714 |
The PCs, aged 24 and 26, were called to Kingsdown Road, a residential street in Islington at about 18:00 BST on Thursday.
One officer suffered a minor head injury and the other sustained injuries to his face and body.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured officers were taken to hospital for treatment. Their conditions are not said to be serious. | Two police officers were injured when a man threw large knives at them as they attended a disturbance in north London. | 33474781 |
Mr Mujuru, 62, was one of Zimbabwe's most senior politicians and married to Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
Analysts say his death is likely to intensify turmoil in President Robert Mugabe's party over the question of who will succeed the 87-year-old leader.
Under his nom de guerre, Rex Nhongo, he was the director of Mr Mugabe's forces during the 1970s' war of independence.
State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi said Gen Mujuru died in a fire at his farmhouse in Beatrice, about 80km (50 miles) south of the capital, Harare, in the early hours of Tuesday.
"We came here early in the morning after we were told what had happened. I still thought he might have been badly burnt, it was difficult to reconcile that he actually died - burnt beyond recognition," Mr Sekeramayi told state-run ZBC television.
"Rex Nhongo, Gen Solomon Mujuru, was just a charred body - one of Zimbabwe's greatest sons," the minister said, struggling to hold back his emotion.
Pathologists and police are investigating the cause of the fire at the 3,500-acre farm that had been seized from a white farmer in 2001.
A close relative told the BBC the family had no idea what caused the fire which eventually engulfed the farmhouse.
It began when the general was alone. Guards noticed plumes of smoke and called the maid, the relative said.
They tried to get into the house but the flames were so fierce they could not enter, they said.
When the fire service arrived the general's body was found close to the front door apparently overcome by the fumes, the relative said.
Obituary: Zimbabwe's 'king-maker'
The BBC's Brian Hungwe in Harare says Gen Mujuru was a senior politburo member in the Zanu-PF party and regarded as a moderate.
He was a strategist and rumoured power broker in divisive Zanu-PF succession politics, he says.
His death will create a void and leave his wife - one of the country's two vice-presidents - exposed, analysts say.
There has been fierce rivalry between the Mujurus and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa for control of the party.
During the war against Rhodesian rule in the 1970s, Gen Mujuru led the armed struggle together with the late Josiah Tongogora.
Knox Chitiyo, of the London-based think-tank Royal United Services Institute, knew Gen Mujuru personally and said he was someone "who couldn't be pushed around".
"He was very, very respected particularly among the military in Zimbabwe and among the liberation war veterans. His liberation war credentials were pretty impeccable," Mr Chitiyo told the BBC.
He said Gen Mujuru had also proved his mettle after independence during the early 1980s.
"He had to handle a lot of internal politics within the party, a lot of politics within the military and for him to be able to handle that and retain his capacity as head of the military showed that he was a tough guy," Mr Chitiyo added.
The circumstances of the death would raise a number of questions, he said.
"There's definitely going to be a lot of speculation about this, for two reasons: One is [that] his predecessor died in a car crash and also because of what's going on right now in Zimbabwean politics - the issues around the succession, the possible elections, possibly next year."
Our reporter says it was Gen Mujuru who implored the freedom fighters in Mozambique during the conflict to accept Mr Mugabe as the leader of the Zanla rebel movement forces after his release from detention in 1974.
At independence in 1980 he took over the command of the army, before retiring and going into business 10 years later.
Our reporter says as the leading commander of the liberation war against colonial rule, he is expected to be buried at the national shrine, Heroes Acre, some time this week. | Zimbabwe's ex-military chief Solomon Mujuru has died in a fire at his farm, the state security minister has said. | 14543048 |
The SNP formed the ruling administration with the Lib Dems and Labour in 2012.
David Alston, the council's Lib Dem group leader, said the group had found it increasingly difficult to work with the Nationalists. | The Liberal Democrats have walked out of the SNP-led coalition running Highland Council. | 32928077 |
The radio and television producer said he was leaving the show to concentrate on his film career.
He said it was "with a heavy heart" that he said goodbye to Albert Square.
Before joining the square in Walford, O'Connor was the editor of BBC Radio 4's The Archers, and was responsible for the domestic abuse story between Helen Archer and Rob Titchener.
O'Connor said: "I've had an amazing time at EastEnders.
"I'll enjoy watching EastEnders go from strength to strength but will miss everybody enormously. Elstree really is a place where you make friends for life."
He added that he had intended to continue at Elstree - the Hertfordshire studios where EastEnders is filmed - until the end of 2017.
But filming commitments with Camberwell Productions meant his departure came sooner.
Along with other projects, O'Connor is moving to work with Sherlock co-creator and League of Gentleman star Mark Gatiss.
Gatiss is writing his first big screen feature on the murderer Neville Heath.
Controller of BBC Drama Piers Wenger said: "I want to thank Sean on behalf of the BBC for the work he's done on EastEnders, and we wish him all the very best for the future."
Former Channel 4 head of drama John Yorke will take over as temporary creative director.
He was previously executive producer on EastEnders between 2000 and 2003, during the time that Phil Mitchell had been shot by his girlfriend Lisa.
Head of continuing drama series at BBC Studios Oliver Kent said: "John Yorke is a Walford legend and I am thrilled that he will be joining us for a short period to oversee the show and to help us build on Sean's legacy while we recruit a long-term successor." | EastEnders executive producer Sean O'Connor is leaving the long-running soap after a year in the job. | 40390623 |
Scenes from a film, depicting rape and murder, were shown to 50 adults. Half spent the next 30 minutes inhaling an equal mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen.
Over the next week, the number of involuntary memories of the film reported by that half declined steeply.
Among the others, the decline was more gradual, Psychological Medicine says.
"The day after they saw the film, the number of intrusions experienced by the group who received nitrous oxide fell by over a half," said lead author Dr Ravi Das.
"By contrast, the decline in intrusions was much slower in the group who received air, where there was not a significant drop in intrusions until the fourth day.
"We think that this is because nitrous oxide disrupts a process that helps permanent memories to form.
"If information is 'important' enough to remember, for instance because it produces a strong emotional response, it is 'tagged' for storage.
"The brain requires N-methyl-D-aspartate [NMDA] receptors to tag information during the day, which is then filed for long-term storage while we sleep.
"We know that nitrous oxide blocks NMDA receptors, so could interfere with tagging.
"This might explain why the nitrous oxide group seemed to have weaker memories of the film the day after they watched it."
In his 1945 work A History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell wrote: "[The 19th Century US philosopher] William James describes a man who got the experience from laughing gas; whenever he was under its influence, he knew the secret of the universe, but when he came to, he had forgotten it. At last, with immense effort, he wrote down the secret before the vision had faded. When completely recovered, he rushed to see what he had written. It was, 'A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.'"
The study also suggested those who felt more "dissociated" after watching the film scenes tended to experience more frequent distressing memories.
Dissociation is a measure of how detached someone feels from a situation and from themselves, and is assessed through a questionnaire.
Signs of dissociation include a:
These feelings can also induced by inhaling nitrous oxide.
A feeling of dissociation during and after a traumatic event can be a warning sign of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Nitrous oxide is regularly used by paramedics and accident and emergency departments.
Senior author Dr Sunjeev Kamboj said: "Many people who end up in an ambulance will have undergone some form of psychological trauma, and our study suggests that the nitrous oxide is likely to be having some effect on how their brain processes it.
"However, whether it helps to prevent symptoms of PTSD or makes them more likely may depend on how dissociated patients feel before they receive it."
Dr Kamboj said further research was now needed to assess memory effects of other painkillers, such as ketamine.
Laughing gas is often used as a recreational drug, but Dr Kamboj said the amount it took to fill a balloon - the most popular recreational method - would probably be "too small to have a noticeable effect on memory formation". | Inhaling laughing gas after a traumatic event could help prevent distressing memories from "sticking" in the brain, a University College London study says. | 35716190 |
Just two points separate the pair at the bottom of Women's Super League One with three games remaining, while Liverpool need just one point to guarantee safety.
Two sides that have competed in the Champions League twice in the past four years now face the prospect of the drop.
"If you go down it is not the end of the line but it is an absolute disaster to get relegated from this league," Parker told BBC Sport following Sunday's 1-1 home draw against Sunderland.
"Getting relegated from WSL 1 is a doomsday scenario - it is funding, players, everything. You see the way Everton went down, losing a couple of players and now you can see how hard it is to get out."
Bristol Academy, who beat Barcelona to reach the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition this year, are rock bottom - a spot they have occupied all season.
Birmingham, with almost the same line-up that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and came within a goal of the title last season, are away from home for their final three matches - starting with next week's trip to Bristol.
Birmingham City seemed to have brought Liverpool into the relegation scrap when they claimed their first and only league win to date against the Reds earlier this month.
However, two goals from Natasha Dowie was enough for Liverpool to overcome a Bristol side that revived their own hopes of avoiding the drop after claiming their first win of the league season by beating Women's FA Cup finalists Notts County.
"It was a two-horse race until Birmingham beat Liverpool and we beat Notts and it almost dragged them into it," Kirk told BBC Sport after Saturday's 2-0 defeat.
Blues travel to Bristol's Stoke Gifford Stadium next week for what is shaping up to be the most definitive night in their relegation battle.
Birmingham have enjoyed FA Cup glory and sampled European success, but Parker believes their trip down the M5 will be a defining moment.
"It is one of the biggest games in this club's history, we don't need to build it up any more than that," he said.
Kirk's message to his players ahead of Birmingham's visit is to ensure they take the fight all the way.
"I think it will go do to the last day of the season, but we have a lot of work to do between now and then to make sure we are still in it with a game to go," said the Scotsman.
Parker says the fitness of England internationals Karen Carney and Jade Moore is being assessed game by game.
Carney, the first woman inducted into Birmingham City's Hall of Fame, helped create Blues goal against Sunderland, while Moor was sidelined.
"Karen is a top-class player. You want top-class players on the pitch and, most importantly, you want them to perform," said Parker.
"If it is just a matter of playing game by game, then that is what we have to do at this moment in time because we are in a dogfight."
Kirk, who replaced Dave Edmondson in June and rejuvenated the squad with seven transfer deadline day signings, insists the Vixens have responded to their relegation plight.
"It is easy to coach that lot, because they have been great since the day I came," he said.
"They have been fantastic in terms of focusing on what we are trying to do and believe in what we are trying to do.
"We are not far away, but that is not going to save us from relegation - we need results."
Additional reporting by Jo Currie and Tom Garry. | Birmingham City boss David Parker has called it a "doomsday scenario" and Bristol Academy manager Willie Kirk says the Vixens are determined to take the relegation fight to the final day. | 34040098 |
Bakir Izetbegovic, a member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, said the appeal would be launched before a 10-year deadline expired on 26 February.
Bosnian Serb officials warned the move would trigger a new political crisis.
In 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) cleared Serbia of direct responsibility for genocide.
The ICJ found only one act of genocide during Bosnia's 1992-95 war - the massacre of about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces in the town of Srebrenica in 1995.
It was Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two.
The ICJ also ruled that Serbia had violated international law by failing to prevent the killings.
On Friday, Mr Izetbegovic said the appeal would be submitted by Bosnia-Herzegovina's legal representative.
"Everyone needs the truth, even those who oppose it, a truth that will be written by international judges, experienced and impartial," he said.
But Bosnian Serb officials said such a move could not be made without consensus within the country's presidency, where a Bosnian Serb and a Bosnian Croat take the other two seats.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik also urged ethnic Serb politicians to challenge the legitimacy of any appeal.
In Serbia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic described Mr Izetbegovic's announcement as "bad" for relations between the two countries.
Politicians from Bosnia's two semi-independent entities - the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska - have often clashed, triggering political crises.
The powers of the central government in the capital Sarajevo are very limited. | Bosnia will next week ask the UN's top court to review its ruling which cleared Serbia of genocide in the 1990s, Bosnia's Muslim leader has said. | 39011296 |
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The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the five-time Grand Slam champion would be provisionally suspended from 12 March.
Sportswear company Nike said it was halting its relationship with her until the investigation was complete.
"I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it," said Sharapova, who won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004.
Sharapova has been the highest-earning female athlete in the world in each of the past 11 years, according to the Forbes list.
With career earnings from tennis alone amounting to almost £26m, she claimed she had taken meldonium "for the past 10 years" after being given it by "my family doctor" but had known the drug as mildronate.
"A few days ago, after I received a letter from the ITF, I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know," she said.
Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, told Sports Illustrated he was hopeful the player would avoid a lengthy ban.
"We think there is a laundry list of extremely mitigating circumstances that, once taken into consideration, would result in dramatically reducing any sanction that they might want to impose on Maria," he said.
Sharapova provided the anti-doping sample in question on 26 January, the day she lost to world number one Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) analysed the sample and returned a positive for meldonium.
Sharapova, who lives in Florida, was subsequently charged on 2 March.
"It is very important for you to understand that, for 10 years, this medicine was not on Wada's banned list and I had been legally taking that medicine for the past 10 years," she said.
"But, on 1 January, the rules changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance, which I had not known."
She added that Wada had sent her an email on 22 December informing her of changes to the banned list, but she had failed to "click" on the link that would have detailed the prohibited items.
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Completely. There was speculation she had called Monday's news conference, which was streamed live online, to announce she was quitting tennis.
"I know many of you thought that I would be retiring today, but if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would not be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet," she said.
According to BBC tennis commentator Andrew Castle, Sharapova's positive drugs test is "a hammer blow to the sport".
Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Jennifer Capriati said she was "extremely angry and disappointed".
The American, whose career was ended by injury, added: "If this medication helped me to come back again, would everyone be all right with me taking it?
"In my opinion, if it's all true every title should be stripped. This is other people's lives as well."
However, 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova felt Sharapova had simply committed an "honest mistake".
It is meant for angina patients but athletes like it because it helps their endurance and ability to recover from big efforts.
It is on the banned list now because Wada started seeing it in lots of samples and found it does have performance-enhancing properties.
It was on Wada's 'watchlist' for over a year and added to the banned list on 1 January.
Made in Latvia, it is widely available - without prescription and at low cost - in many east European countries, but it is not licensed in most western countries, including the United States.
It is thought that hundreds of athletes have been using it and there are a lot more cases in the pipeline.
Haggerty said she started to take meldonium after her doctor did "an extensive battery of tests to determine what medical conditions were causing her to be sick on a frequent basis".
She had "abnormal electrocardiogram readings" and "some diabetes indicators", which prompted the doctor to recommend medication, including meldonium.
He added: "She took it on a regular basis as recommended by her doctor. He told her what to take and when to take it, then continued to test her and confirm that it was giving her the desired improved medical condition."
Wada placed meldonium on its monitoring programme in 2015 before adding it to the banned list this year "because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance".
Sharapova could apply for a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE).
A TUE allows a player to use a banned substance, without committing an anti-doping rule violation, if they have a medical condition that requires it.
As for her sponsors, it remains to be seen if others follow the lead of Nike, who said it was "saddened and surprised by the news".
She also has contracts with Evian, Tag Heuer, Porsche and Avon.
Whatever happens, Sharapova, who turns 29 in April, says she hopes to be able to return to tennis in the future.
"I made a huge mistake," she said. "I have let my fans down and let the sport down that I have been playing since the age of four, that I love so deeply.
"I know that with this I face consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope to be given another chance to play this game."
Sharapova first reached world number one in August 2005 and is currently seventh in the rankings.
But she has played just four tournaments since Wimbledon last July as she struggled with an arm injury.
Up to four years, according to Tennis Anti-Doping Programme and Wada guidelines.
But Jeff Tarango, Sharapova's former coach and an ex-Tour professional, said he doubted she would be banned for that long.
"I think it immediately falls under two years, but, with these circumstances, probably one year," the American told BBC Radio 5 live.
"She can apply for a TUE. If it really is something she had to take for her heart and diabetes ,then it falls under a TUE."
Several high-profile Tour players have been suspended for anti-doping violations, among them Marin Cilic, Viktor Troicki and Barbora Strycova.
Former US Open champion Cilic was banned for taking a glucose tablet bought at a pharmacy in France but had his suspension reduced from nine to four months in October 2013.
Troicki was suspended for 12 months on appeal after refusing to take a blood test at a tournament in Monte Carlo in 2013, claiming he was feeling unwell and had a phobia of needles.
Czech player Strycova was given a back-dated six-month ban in 2013 after saying a banned stimulant entered her system via a weight-loss supplement.
Former Grand Slam winners Martina Hingis and Andre Agassi are among those who have been banned for testing positive for recreational drugs.
Women's Tennis Association (WTA) president Steve Simon said he was "very saddened" at Sharapova's failed test.
"Maria is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity," he added.
"As Maria acknowledged, it is every player's responsibility to know what they put in their body and to know if it is permissible.
"This matter is now in the hands of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme and its standard procedures.
"The WTA will support the decisions reached through this process."
Tennis Australia added it was "surprised" by the news.
It added: "Throughout her career Maria has always impressed with her professionalism as a leader and role-model in our sport." | Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. | 35750285 |
This is slower than the 7.5% growth recorded for the previous quarter, and lower than expected.
India and China - which also posted 7% growth in the second quarter - are now the joint fastest growing major economies in the world.
But some economists have expressed concerns that India's official figures do not accurately reflect true growth.
"At face value, today's GDP figures for [the second quarter] suggest that India matched China as the world's fastest-growing major economy last quarter," said Shilan Shah at Capital Economics.
"But the GDP data remain inconsistent with numerous other indicators which suggest that, at best, the economy is in the early stages of recovery after three years of tepid growth.
"The official GDP data are overstating the strength of the economy, most probably by a significant margin."
With concerns about slowing growth in China, some investors are starting to turn to India as the next driver of global growth.
Some were expecting stronger growth than 7% - in two of the previous three quarters, the Indian economy grew faster than China.
"The GDP number is disappointing but, overall, going ahead we expect India's economic growth to be driven by domestic demand," said Madhavi Arora, from Kotak Mahindra Bank in Mumbai.
"With commodity prices falling, there should be a boost to corporate margins going ahead and household spending should also go up."
Analysis: Simon Atkinson, editor, India Business Report, Mumbai
There will be plenty of people disappointed with this number. Some economists I've spoken to recently thought GDP growth would be closer to 8% - streaking ahead of China's.
Digging into the detail - it looks like growth in Indian manufacturing has slowed from a year ago - a bit of a blow given this is one of the Modi government's main initiatives.
And whether pace picks up in the July-September period will largely depend on the weather. This is the monsoon season and when rains are good and harvest plentiful, rural consumption goes up as people working in agriculture have more money to spend.
But, so far, many parts of the country have seen less rain than you'd expect. | India's economy grew at an annual rate of 7% between April and June, official figures have shown. | 34107648 |
Tulip Siddiq said she "cannot reconcile myself to the front bench position".
Jeremy Corbyn has imposed a three-line whip on his MPs telling them to back the newly-published bill.
The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill has been produced after the Supreme Court ruled legislation would be necessary.
In her resignation letter to Mr Corbyn, Ms Siddiq, who had been an early years minister, said: "Leaving the European Union presents enormous uncertainty for my constituents, with most believing that the disadvantages of leaving outweigh any potential benefits."
Despite reports he might rebel, Shadow Business Secretary Clive Lewis said on Thursday he would back the bill.
But he added: "Labour will seek to amend the Bill to prevent the government using Brexit to trash our rights, public services, jobs and living standards while cutting taxes for the wealthiest."
Labour MPs expected to vote against the bill at second reading include former leadership challenger Owen Smith, former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw and Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner.
Mr Corbyn said Labour MPs would face a three-line whip to vote in favour of the bill.
He said he understood the "pressures and issues" members faced, but called on them to "unite" around "important issues" and "not to block Article 50 but to make sure it goes through next week".
Frontbench members of parties are generally expected to resign from their post if they decided to defy a three-line whip.
Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to begin the formal process of quitting the European Union, under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, by the end of March.
The government was forced to draw up the legislation after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, when judges ruled that Parliament must give permission to start the Brexit process.
The bill is due to be initially debated by MPs on Tuesday - in a sitting that may last until midnight - and clear the Commons on 8 February, after which it will move to the House of Lords.
As well as the bill, on Wednesday Prime Minister Theresa May announced the government would set out more details of its Brexit plans in a formal policy document.
In the House of Commons, MPs urged Mr Davis to commit to publishing the document, known as a White Paper, before the Article 50 bill legislation had passed through Parliament.
Mr Davis said the question involved "slightly separate issues".
The Article 50 bill, he said, was "about carrying out the will of the British people", adding that the White Paper would be published "as expeditiously as possible".
The Liberal Democrats have vowed to oppose Article 50 unless there is a guarantee of another referendum on the final Brexit deal that is agreed with Brussels, while the SNP has vowed to table 50 amendments to the legislation.
Taking questions from MPs, Mr Davis also said he disagreed with EU Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier's view that trade talks would have to be handled separately from the Article 50 negotiations.
Such a "sequential approach" would be "not practical", he said, adding that he wanted all negotiations to be completed inside two years. | A shadow minister has quit Labour's front bench after being told to back legislation paving the way for the UK's departure from the EU. | 38753808 |
The French interior ministry said Kristian "Varg" Vikernes constituted "a potential threat to society".
He was arrested in central France after his wife bought four rifles.
Vikernes, described by French officials as a neo-Nazi, had in the past received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Breivik planted a bomb in central Oslo and went on a shooting spree on the nearby island of Utoeya in July 2011. He was imprisoned for the maximum 21-year term last year.
An official at the Paris Prosecutor Office said Breivik sent a copy of a manifesto setting out his ideology to Vikernes, who is also a convicted murderer.
The official said: "There were several indications that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act."
Kristian Vikernes was arrested along with his French wife in Correze, a region in central France.
Police sources said officers were searching their home for weapons and explosives.
By Hugh SchofieldBBC News, Paris
French police have very broad powers to detain suspects, and they have used them here. On their own admission, there is no evidence that Kristian Vikernes was formulating any kind of plan.
But intelligence officials obviously believe that given his background and his known beliefs, Vikernes is potentially a very dangerous individual. So after his wife bought the guns, they decided to take him in.
The dark world of black metal neo-Nazism is not one with many supporters in France. It is in Scandinavia where the crude mix of Norse mythology and racial obsession has more of a following.
Still, some of Vikernes's internet warnings against immigration and the European Union might have struck a wider chord in France - had anyone been reading - and in a recent pronouncement he expressed wholehearted support for National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
It was the kind of extremist endorsement which Ms Le Pen will certainly not have appreciated.
Officials say Vikernes' wife had a legal firearms permit when she bought the four rifles.
Vikernes, a black-metal musician and writer known as Varg, was convicted in 1994 of stabbing a man to death in Oslo and burning down several churches.
He was released in 2009 and moved to France with his wife and three children.
On his website, Vikernes discusses Breivik's manifesto, but also criticises him for killing innocent Norwegians.
Breivik's 1,500-page manifesto outlined his planned crusade against Muslims, who he said "were taking over Europe and could only be defeated through a violent civil war".
Kristian Vikernes founded the one-man music project called Burzum in the early 1990s, which soon became a fixture of Norway's black metal scene.
The word "burzum" means "darkness" in the Black Speech, a fictional language crafted by JRR Tolkien.
"In 1991, 18-year-old guitarist Varg Vikernes founded one of Norwegian black metal's most important bands upon a simple, yet powerful, platform: to bring darkness into the world," the magazine Guitar World wrote in 2010 after interviewing him.
But he soon became involved in violent crime. In 1992, he took part in the arson of at least three churches in Norway.
The following year, he stabbed to death fellow Norwegian guitarist Oeystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, who played with him in the black metal band Mayhem.
Vikernes was given Norway's maximum 21-year sentence and released from prison in 2009 after serving 16 years.
Since then he has continued releasing music and writing.
Through his writings he promotes what he calls "Odalism", an ideology based on the idea that White Europeans should re-adopt "native European values".
It includes racism, anti-Semitism and elements of ethnic European paganism. | A Norwegian musician with links to mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested in France on "suspicion he was preparing a major terrorist act". | 23327165 |
"The people are suffering and they are dying," he said.
Venezuela's Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said President Trump's suggestion was "an act of craziness".
President Nicolas Maduro's new constituent assembly has been widely criticised as anti-democratic. The US recently imposed sanctions on President Maduro, branding him a dictator.
"We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary," Mr Trump told reporters on Friday evening.
"We have troops all over the world in places that are very far away. Venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and they're dying."
The White House later said that President Maduro had requested a phone call with the American president.
In response, the White House said Mr Trump would gladly speak to his Venezuelan counterpart, when democracy had been restored in the country.
Regional pressure on the Venezuelan government has continued, with Peru ordering the expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador from Lima after Caracas sent an "unacceptable" response to regional condemnation of its new constituent assembly.
The ambassador, Diego Molero, has five days to leave Peru, officials say.
The move by Peru's foreign ministry, announced in a statement on Twitter (in Spanish), follows the condemnation by 11 other major countries in the Americas of Venezuela's controversial constituent assembly.
The new body has the ability to rewrite the constitution and could override the opposition-controlled parliament, the National Assembly.
In a separate development, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a fierce critic of Mr Maduro, has urged him to resign, saying he lost any credibility after the election of the new body.
"He's a dictator and has carried out a coup through a fraudulent election to eliminate Congress," Mr Kuczynski told Reuters news agency.
Mr Kuczynski also rejected an offer from Mr Maduro to meet face-to-face.
The Venezuelan opposition, which boycotted the election for the constituent assembly, accuses Mr Maduro of trying to cling on to power, which he denies.
The president has repeatedly said that the new assembly would bring peace to the country.
Violent demonstrations since April have left more than 120 people dead in the country. | US President Donald Trump has said he is not ruling out a military option in dealing with the crisis in Venezuela. | 40906290 |
The move in 2014 by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will put 1,300 jobs at risk, although the authority aims to deploy these staff elsewhere.
The centres will be replaced by a telephone service and home visits, to save HMRC £13m a year.
But an accountancy body said some "very vulnerable" people could be affected.
"While we wish HMRC success in saving costs and making their brave new world of roving enquiry staff work, we wonder whether the timing of this change will come to haunt them," said Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the ACCA.
"One wonders whether this should really happen to a later and longer timetable to take account of the wide ranging changes to the tax and benefits system."
The tax authority said that the number of people using the Enquiry Centres across the UK had halved from five million in 2005-06 to 2.5 million in 2011-12.
Each visit cost the service £152 on average, according to HMRC, but it said four out of five queries could have been solved on the telephone or online.
There will be a five-month pilot of the new telephone-based service in the north-east of England, starting in June.
Some 13 Enquiry Centres will be closed as part of the pilot, at Alnwick, Bishop Auckland, Bridlington, Hexham, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, Morpeth, Newcastle, Scarborough, Stockton, Sunderland and York.
People will need to contact the phone line or go online to get their tax query answered.
Advisers may then decide that the issue should be discussed face-to-face at the caller's home or elsewhere, but there is no set procedure about which cases would require visits.
"We will give a more specialised phone service for customers whose affairs can be resolved over the telephone, and face-to-face help to those who need it, visiting them at a place convenient to them, saving them both travel and time," said Lin Homer, HMRC chief executive.
"HMRC will provide a more modern and accessible service that will target the right support to customers who need it, where and when they want it."
However, the authority has been criticised in the past for its call-handling efficiency. HMRC handles more than 60 million calls a year dealing with issues such as self-assessment tax filing, and VAT returns.
In January, Ms Homer admitted to the Commons Public Accounts Committee that some people faced waits of more than 10 minutes to get through.
From April, HMRC will have a target of making 80% of people wait no longer than five minutes to speak to a real person.
Call costs will also be reduced by the end of the summer.
In February, the National Audit Office said HMRC had improved its value for money in 2011-12 as it began a programme to reduce annual running costs by 25% by 2014-15.
HMRC is targeting a £955m annual reduction in running costs, as well as bringing in an extra £7bn in tax.
The PCS union, which represents some HMRC staff, said it was unhappy with the decision to close the centres.
"Closing all face-to-face tax offices would break the link between people in communities and an essential public service they rely on," said general secretary Mark Serwotka.
"If, as we fear, flawed research has been used to justify these closure plans then ministers must put an immediate stop to them."
Extra funding will go to voluntary sector organisations that might also deal with queries.
The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group said that the pilot needed to ensure that tax credit claimants on low incomes or those with particular needs benefited from an improved service. | The UK tax authority is to close all of its 281 Enquiry Centres which gave face-to-face help to 2.5 million people with tax queries last year. | 21789759 |
Catherine Hickman, 31, was told to stay in her 11th floor flat despite repeatedly asking whether she should leave.
The fire broke out at Lakanal House in south-east London, in July 2009.
Within six minutes of the fire breaking out, Ms Hickman had called 999.
The fashion designer told brigade control at 16.21: "I'm at flat 79 and flames are coming out the windows from the flat underneath me."
She was told by the 999 operator: "You need to stay in your flat."
Ms Hickman was trapped in the flat directly above flat 65 where the fire started due to a faulty television set.
She remained on the phone to the controller. Two minutes later she reported: "Yeah, but there is fire coming through my floorboards. What should I do? Should I get out?"
Two minutes later Ms Hickman went upstairs in her maisonette and reported: "The room downstairs is full of smoke."
The operator told her: "I want you to stay there and don't move."
The jury heard that by this time the fire brigade was on the scene preparing to fight the blaze.
The manager of brigade control was asked in court if it would have been advisable for Ms Hickman to be told to leave the flat.
He said so much information was coming in to the operators it was unclear how widespread the fire was and where the dangers lay.
At 16.30 Ms Hickman asked the 999 operator: "Should I go downstairs or into the corridor?"
The operator, by now under extreme stress, said: "No, don't go out the door. I don't know what's outside that door."
The inquest jury at Lambeth Town Hall was told the advice that was given to Ms Hickman might have been contrary to the training that 999 operators were given.
When a resident reports there is smoke and fire in their flat, training suggests they should be advised to seek a means of escape, the inquest was told.
Ms Hickman remained on the phone until 16.49, a total of 28 minutes, when she finally lost consciousness.
The head of brigade control, with 40 years' experience, told the jury dealing with the incident at Lakanal House was the worst two hours of his career due to the intensity and the unique circumstances of the fire.
Dayana Francisquini, 26, and her children, six-year-old Thais, and Felipe, three, were killed in the fire.
Helen Udoaka, 34, her three-week-old daughter Michelle and Ms Hickman also lost their lives. | An inquest into the deaths of six people at a Camberwell tower block has heard how one victim had a 28 minute telephone conversation with an emergency operator. | 21434616 |
More than half of people would be unable to choose the cheapest deals when comparing the information in adverts, the charity said.
Three quarters of those in the research said information in the adverts was too complicated to make an easy comparison.
In particular, line rental costs were often not included in the advertised headline cost.
Earlier this year, Citizens Advice said that teaser deals in adverts were masking the long-term cost of broadband packages.
Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said the continuing problem with broadband adverts meant that potential customers were often left unable to make an informed decision.
"Attractive headline offers that don't include line rental costs make it impossible for people to work out the best broadband deal on offer without doing complicated sums," she said.
"Broadband providers need to make the costs of a contract clear in their advertising and the Advertising Standards Authority should also review the code of practice to make sure it works well for consumers."
In its latest research, Citizens Advice took a sample of just over 2,000 adults and split them into four groups.
Eight adverts, produced by seven unidentified companies, were selected by the charity and divided into four pairs.
Each of the four groups of people were then asked to compare a different pair of adverts, and also to look at marketing information on the websites of the companies involved.
The research found that 56% of those involved could not work out the cost of the deals on offer, and thus were unable to decide which was cheapest.
One advert, which the charity declined to identify, was so bad that only 22% of people in the research could work out accurately how much the deal on offer might cost them.
The charity said the source of the problem lay in the prominence given to temporary "teaser" rates, while at the same time the cost of line rental was often downplayed.
"The adverts typically are advertised with a promotional period featured prominently, which can be free or significantly lower than the overall cost of the contract," said Citizens Advice.
"The cost of line rental and the length of time that the 'teaser' price applies is included separately and often only in small print," it explained.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: "We've conducted research jointly with Ofcom on this important matter and will be publishing the outcome of that work early in the New Year." | Broadband adverts have been criticised by Citizens Advice for misleading potential customers. | 35159660 |
MPs said drivers licensed by other local authorities could operate in the town even if their application for a Rotherham licence had been rejected.
A 2014 report said 1,400 children had been abused in the town and taxi drivers played a "prominent role".
The issue was raised by the Communities and Local Government Committee (CLGC).
It said swift action was needed by ministers.
The Professor Alexis Jay report found hundreds of children were subjected to sexual abuse in the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013.
The committee noted the concerns raised relate to a "very small minority" of drivers in Rotherham but they had undermined public confidence.
It concluded there was a need for government departments to introduce statutory guidance in law over taxi licensing "without delay", adding legislation should be considered if this fails to deliver the high standards needed across the country.
"We believe that local authorities must be able to apply particular measures in relation to taxi licensing in their areas, such as requiring taxis to have CCTV installed, without those measures being undermined by taxis coming in from other areas," it said.
Rotherham, which has an estimated 1,100 drivers, introduced new rules requiring drivers to install CCTV cameras in the wake of Prof Jay's findings.
The CLGC made the recommendation following an inquiry into the government's imposition of commissioners in Rotherham in February 2015 and the London borough of Tower Hamlets in December 2014.
The committee's other conclusions included the need for local authorities to learn from the experiences of Rotherham and Tower Hamlets about the need to "encourage and support" whistleblowers and to take their concerns "seriously".
The MPs also suggested that local authorities subject to government intervention should pick up the costs despite tightened budgets. | MPs say a "legal loophole" is putting young people at risk by allowing taxi drivers to operate in Rotherham without meeting council-imposed standards. | 37124926 |
The bodies, believed to be Shelley Saxton-Cooper, 45 and Simon Saxton-Cooper, 50, were found after emergency services were called to a house in Riddings, Derbyshire.
Post-mortem examinations found Shelley died as a result of stab wounds and Simon died from smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Police launched a murder inquiry after the couple were found dead in the partly-collapsed building on Sunday.
The blaze destroyed much of the building's roof and fire crews had to wait several hours for the remaining structure to be declared safe before they could recover the victims' remains.
On Monday, Ch Supt Sunita Gamblin said: "We believe that Shelley was wounded before the explosion and fire. We are treating her death as murder.
Police and fire services are conducting an ongoing investigation and a report is being compiled for the coroner.
It is not believed anyone else was involved, Derbyshire police said.
A pet dog which escaped the blast is being looked after by relatives of the couple. | A woman whose body was found after an explosion destroyed a house died of stab wounds, police have said. | 34328251 |
Set in Los Angeles, The End of Longing tells of "four broken people yearning for love".
Lindsey Posner will direct Perry's playwriting debut, reuniting them after previously working together in 2003 on the West End production of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago.
It will run at the Playhouse Theatre from 2 February to 14 May.
Perry announced the new production in a video he posted on Twitter.
He said: "I've written a play called The End of Longing which I'm very excited about. I will also be starring in the play so I'm very narcissistic.
"It's about 12 years since I performed in a play in the West End so I'm very excited for my come back."
Talking about the upcoming production, Perry said: "Being on stage makes you feel naked.
"Being on stage in a play that I have written will make me feel doubly naked. So if you'd like to see me doubly naked, tickets go on sale today."
The actor told the Daily Mail the play - which he wrote in 10 days - was about "a drunk, a prostitute, a woman who's extremely neurotic and addicted to antidepressants, and a simpleton".
"When we meet them in a bar in Los Angeles, they're pretty severely broken, and they set off on a path to be less broken. Their path is bumpy and, hopefully, funny," he said.
Perry, who plays "the drunk", said the role was "sort of an exaggerated form of myself" but added it was not autobiographical.
Rehearsals will begin in January, although casting for the other roles have yet to be announced. | Friends star Matthew Perry is to return to London's West End stage to appear in a new play he has penned himself. | 35004551 |
But few people who work in computer security can stand those programmes or movies because, in their words, they are so technically inept.
One TV show that has proved popular with hackers is NBC Universal's Mr Robot which centres around Elliott Alderson - a security pro by day but who is also a member of an anti-establishment hacker group called FSociety that wants to use his technical skills to change the world.
Kor Adana, one of Mr Robot's writers who worked in IT security before jumping to TV production, said the decision to make the show as technically accurate as possible was made even before the first episode was shot.
"I've got nothing but disdain for how Hollywood has portrayed hacking and technology before now," he told a packed session at Def Con that was testament to the huge following Mr Robot has won among hackers.
"We wanted to do it right," he said, "and we thought that doing it in a realistic way would be enticing and compelling."
To help get the details correct, Mr Adana has recruited several technical consultants well-known in the Def Con and hacking community to advise on how the hacks Elliott uses can be accomplished.
The consultants develop the hacks, prove they work and then pass on information about how they were done to Mr Adana so they can be used on the show.
However, he said, drama demands that not every last detail of how Elliot cracks passwords, spoofs text messages, hacks phones or penetrates corporate and civil networks is shown.
"We have to strike a balance between what's visually compelling and what we have to do to move the story forward," he said.
Despite this the show does take care to make sure real and relevant hardware and software is used, he said. This attention to detail extends to the version numbers of software packages being used, command syntax, output format and screen layouts.
"We want to nail those details," said Mr Adana. "It really helps to ground the show in reality if we can use real tools."
Mr Adana extended an open invitation to the Def Con audience to contact him and the technical consultants with information about the tools they use so they can be featured on the show and used in its hacks.
Beyond the technology and hacks featured in the show, Mr Adana said it was also trying to make an important point about the contemporary role of technology.
"We live in an age where we are more dependent on devices than ever," he said. "And there are a lot of the younger generation that know how to use apps but do not know about the ways in which they are vulnerable and how if they leave their phone unlocked it will not take long for it to be rooted."
"If Mr Robot increases the level of awareness and paranoia out there then that's a good thing," he said.
Veteran hacker Marc Rogers, who develops and proves many of the hacks featured in the show, said he had been encouraged by the care it took to get the tech right.
"For years and years I have watched TV betray my community," he said, "I want to see real stuff on TV that does not make me rage and which is an accurate portrayal of people in my community."
"It's been a gift to work on this," he said.
Andre McGregor, a consultant who formerly worked in the FBI's cyber division, said he too was heartened by the care taken over the technology in the show.
"I find it refreshing that the accuracy is so important to them," he said, adding that he was approached to help with Series Two of Mr Robot because several episodes feature law enforcement and government responses to cyber attacks.
Mr McGregor said his advice extended beyond helping the show's writers understand how the FBI and law enforcement agencies investigate cyber intrusions and conduct interviews. It also involved more subtle elements such as how FBI agents arrange themselves in a room during a meeting or interrogation, he said.
"An agent would never stand in front of a door," he said. "It's what we call the 'fatal funnel', you could be hit by a shotgun blast through that door."
But there were some things that the show did gloss over, said consultant Ryan Kazanciyan, a former penetration tester who is now head of forensics at security firm Tanium.
"It's missing the time, the number of steps you have to go through for a hack, complexity and the amount of research you have to do," he said.
"When I would do penetration testing I would have one or two weeks to get in from the outside and then one or two weeks to see how much damage I could do from the inside," he said.
"Sometimes I would go for days just coming up blank," he said. "And then you would have that Aha! moment that gets you in."
He said one facet of hacking the show did get right was the view of the world that anyone with an understanding of security software swiftly acquires.
"There's always a way in," he said. | From the latest Jason Bourne movie to CSI Cyber and countless other films and TV shows, hacks, hackers and hacking have never been more mainstream. | 37001302 |
The 19-year-old from Flintshire set an F20 shot put personal best of 12.94m to secure bronze.
Poland's Ewa Durska set a world record to win gold with Anastasiia Mysnyk of the Ukraine winning silver.
"You can't picture something as amazing as this. I came here for a PB. I didn't think I'd get a medal as well," Fortune said.
"It was an absolute honour to run around that track with the GB flag flying behind you.
"I just hope, maybe in Tokyo, I'll get the gold medal and listen to the anthem played."
Sprinter Rhys Jones ran a personal best to finish fourth in his heat to qualify for Sunday's T37 100m final.
Sara Head will face Chinese world champion Li Qian in the women's singles class 3 table tennis quarter final after a 3-0 last 16 victory over Croatia's Helena Dretar-Karic having earlier beaten Sigala Lopez of Mexico.
"I'm over the moon. I was controlled, composed, kept to my game and that worked. It was so much fun," Head said.
In the men's singles class 1, Rob Davies will play Endre Major from Hungary in Sunday's semi-final following a 3-0 win over Jean-Francois Ducay of France.
Ducay had beaten Davies in the group stages at London 2012 and Davies was relieved to make amends.
"He is one of the top guys in Paralympic table tennis in my class and has been for years and it has been a battle with him for eight years and to get my revenge on him for London is sweet for sure," Davies said.
Fellow Welshman Paul Davies, having beaten Brazil's Aloisio Lima earlier in the day, could not repeat his heroics against Ki-won Nam and the Korean was a 3-0 winner in the men' singles class 1.
Welsh judoka Jack Hodgson lost to Kento Masaki of Japan in the quarter-finals of the men's +100kg category and although he beat Turkey's Dursun Hayran in the repechages the 19-year-old later lost to Ilham Zakiyev of Azerbaijan.
Clare Griffiths and GB's Women's Wheelchair basketball team secured their third win with a 50-45 victory over Germany. | Sabrina Fortune has become the first Welsh athlete to win a Paralympic medal at Rio 2016. | 37329466 |
This gathering in Nottingham looks like any group of friends, but the adults have one thing in common - they have all been widowed.
Way: Widowed and Young is a peer support organisation, introducing people in similarly tragic situations to others who can understand their complex grief.
All the members present agree that its regular meetings and internet chatroom have been an essential part of coping in the days and years since their bereavements.
"When my husband first died, suddenly from meningitis, I couldn't be in the house on my own. I had panic attacks," says Georgia Elms, who is now chair of Way.
She was widowed 10 years ago and discovered she was pregnant with her second daughter the following day.
"It really does affect your mental health. You become a different person and your self-confidence goes," she adds.
"You think you're going mad when you're grieving. For me - and everybody grieves differently - I wanted to check that what I was feeling was normal. It made me feel a lot calmer, that everybody else felt the same way."
Mental health concerns are a common theme in the group.
"It's normal to feel a little bit crazy. You feel these hugely strong emotions and the kids do too," says Sarah Philips, another member of the group.
"If that's not handled well, you can end up being a bit crazy."
Kevin Moore lost his wife to breast cancer eight years ago and joined Way in order to meet other fathers in the same position.
"It's a very traumatic experience. It turns your whole world upside down. It certainly does affect your mental health overall," he says.
"There are some very dark times and it's very despairing at times when you don't know what happens next. Being able to share your concerns helps you move through those times together.
"It's not a medical condition you can go to the doctor's with."
Being widowed at all is highly traumatic, but for Angela Sumata, whose husband Mark took his own life 13 years ago, her grief was almost impossible to process.
"Bereavement and grief is something that we all have to deal with in life. The thing that compounds it when somebody takes their life, is that it brings with it a whole different level of complexity, the emotions you feel, how they can change from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute."
Angela joined Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, another peer support organisation, in the wake of her experience.
"When Mark took his life we were very well treated on the night, but after that you're really reliant on your friends and family. What we didn't have was the offer of support from any professional.
"All of my help has come from the charity sector, from people realising that the specialist services aren't there and forming charities themselves."
It is especially important for people affected by suicide, says Angela, who is now a campaigner and fronted the BBC documentary Life After Suicide.
"There's people who consider suicide because they've been bereaved by suicide. If you don't receive the help you need to navigate through the issues, then absolutely it can lead to mental health issues."
One of the biggest issues, according to former cathedral minister Yvonne Tulloch, is finding the support when you need it.
Her husband died suddenly nine years ago while on a business trip. She found her grief hard to contain and says she had suicidal thoughts herself.
"It's this massive sadness that comes over you and you just can't get out of that, and you feel like life just isn't worth living," she says.
"These days it feels like people just don't understand what you're going through, and society's not geared up to help.
"I spiralled down very rapidly and got to the point of beginning to think there's no point to my life any more. The thought of ending it began crossing my mind."
She has set up the website At A Loss, where users can search for the most suitable support, be it for the loss of a parent or partner, tailored to the individual's age.
"We are providing a one-stop shop website to help signpost the bereaved to support," she says.
"If you find somebody who's been through what you're going through, and has come out the other side, it gives you hope." | It is a sunny Saturday afternoon and sausages are sizzling on the barbecue, wine is flowing and children shuttle between the swings and a plate of cupcakes. | 39653676 |
An explosive device was attached to the ATM at the Costcutter shop in Hamiltonsbawn.
It exploded at about 02:30 BST on Thursday, causing extensive damage to the machine.
An Army bomb team made the device safe. | Two men have been arrested by police investigating the attempted theft of an ATM machine at a filling station in County Armagh. | 27728549 |
The warning came after Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Sir Clive Loader earlier proposed to cut £19m from the force's spending over four years.
He could not yet confirm how many jobs would go but said 'several' officer posts would be affected.
Leicestershire's Police Federation said it feared up to 300 officers could go.
If the budget proposals are approved, the cuts will take place in three phases before April 2017.
Sir Clive, who was elected as PCC in November, said: "We are already pretty lean but we are going to be leaner, smaller, less burdened by bureaucracy by making use of emerging IT, making the most of our people by making them more skilled and a greater number of our police officers doing what we want them to do."
He said he hoped the reductions would mostly occur by "natural attrition", through officers retiring or moving to other parts of the force.
He added: "We have been consulting on this since April. One of the important aspects to this plan is partner working so we have been listening to them and putting the ingredients of a cake together for six months."
John Hughes from Leicestershire Police Federation said he understood Sir Clive's difficult position but was concerned up to 300 jobs could go.
He added: "We appreciate the PCC is in a very tough position. He is hand tied by the amount of funding the government hand over.
"We can't perform as well as we have if we continue to cut.
"Officers are concerned they are working ever longer, harder and ever more isolated. It is increasingly difficult."
Chris Hanrahan from the union, UNISON, which represents police staff, said cuts to frontline policing would see civilian jobs changing and remodelled to deal with the impact.
People in Leicestershire and Rutland have nine days to comment on Sir Clive's police and crime plan.
Following that period, the plan will be presented to the Police and Crime Panel - which oversees the work of the police commissioner - for consideration at its meeting on 2 October. | Hundreds of police officers in Leicestershire could lose their jobs in the latest round of cuts, the Police Federation has said. | 23777236 |
The Cherries were 3-1 down but fought back to claim a dramatic 4-3 win with an injury-time goal from Nathan Ake.
"It shows we still have that spirit of a Championship team," said Howe, who guided Bournemouth into the top flight.
"When we got promotion we didn't want to lose our honesty, togetherness and never-say-die attitude."
Howe said the win was a "huge day" that he wouldn't forget and that he was proud his players had retained the character he fostered from their days in the lower leagues.
"We needed to protect that. If anything we've enhanced it," Howe added.
Comparisons were immediately drawn with last season's home match against Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton, who had led 2-0, only for Bournemouth to make it 3-3 in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
"It's right up there with the Everton game," Howe said.
"We were in real trouble at half-time [when they trailed 2-0], as Liverpool were excellent and showed their quality, but our players never lost their self-belief.
"For everyone involved with the club, it's a very special day. We'd never been in the Premier League until last season so we're making history."
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Bournemouth's inspiration was Scotland Under-21 winger Ryan Fraser, who put in a man-of-the-match display after he came on for the injured Junior Stanislas in the 55th minute.
Within a minute of his introduction Fraser was bundled over for a penalty that Callum Wilson converted, before he scored the Cherries' second, and crossed for Steve Cook to add a third as the hosts set up a grandstand finish.
"Ryan was absolutely magnificent," said Howe. "He's trained like that for the last three or four weeks and has been patient and waited for his chance."
Fraser first burst on the scene as a teenager with Aberdeen, before eyebrows were raised when he swapped the Scottish Premier League for England's lower divisions, joining Bournemouth in January 2013.
"As a very young player, he had to come a long way from home and come to a League One club. So it was a leap of faith and it's paid dividends for him," Howe added.
"We call him the 'Wee Man' - I heard the crowd singing his name which was nice - but he's got fitter and fitter since he's been with us. His physicality can be a strength as he has a low centre of gravity, and it was a great finish for his goal."
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was philosophical afterwards, despite his side's implosion to lose a game which they had completely controlled for the first half.
"Even at 2-0 up, we weren't playing too well - the first half wasn't perfect. We kept the ball too long, and passed it too late," the German said.
"Nothing was decided at 2-0. The boys know now we gave it away - it was only because of us that Bournemouth came back. We opened the door, but Bournemouth had to run through it. It's a wonderful story if you're not on the wrong side of it. But we have to accept it and learn from it.
"We are not ice skating - it's not about how it looks. I know we can play football. Nothing happened today apart from losing three points. Everything else is OK.
"I'm not happy, but I am not angry. We made mistakes and missed chances, but I cannot change it any more so why should I be angry?"
Klopp also played down a second-half incident, when he appeared to be warned by referee Bobby Madley after tempers flared in the technical areas.
"There was no issue with Bournemouth. I was, not surprisingly, not happy about the penalty decision," he said.
"It was not possible for me to do nothing but obviously I did too much. I left my box and that was the issue." | Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe believes the "Championship spirit" from his players inspired their incredible comeback victory over Liverpool. | 38202818 |
She was protesting against the detention of her daughter, Ta Phong Tan, who is facing charges of anti-state propaganda, another daughter told the BBC's Vietnamese service.
Dang Thi Kim Lieng set herself alight in southern Bac Lieu province.
Her daughter faces trial in August and could be jailed for 20 years.
Dang Thi Kim Lieng went alone, without telling anyone, to the local government building in Bac Lieu, the second daughter told the BBC.
The police have made no comment, but activists and lawyers said that Mrs Dang died while being taken by police to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
She was said to be extremely worried about the fate of her daughter, who she had not seen since her arrest last September.
Ta Phong Tan was arrested by the authorities with other bloggers, who are also accused of subversive activities in a state that controls the media and has little tolerance for criticism.
She is a former policewoman who built up a following with her reports on police abuses and injustices in the legal system.
The police newspaper denounced her writings as toxic and she was charged with distorting the truth and denigrating the Communist party and state.
Ta Phong Tan had posted a large number of articles on the "Free Journalists' Club", a banned website that has been a focus of the government crackdown on its internet critics.
She denied all the charges against her and has remained in detention since her arrest.
She was due to stand trial alongside another famous blogger, Phan Thanh Hai, who wrote about various sensitive issues, including a dispute with China over maritime boundaries, alleged corruption and case studies of famous dissidents.
Human Rights Watch has accused the Vietnamese government of stepping up its repression of dissidents over the past year and of jailing dozens of peaceful activists.
It said Mrs Dang's apparent suicide looked like an act of desperation to show the authorities what they were doing to the families of dissidents. | The mother of a prominent Vietnamese blogger has died from her injuries after setting herself on fire in front of government offices, her family says. | 19053910 |
In a tweet the bank said it was "urgently investigating" the cause of the problem.
Customers have been contacting the bank on social media to report problems accessing their money and making payments.
A Barclays spokeswoman said: "This was a fault with our internal systems and not an external cyber-attack."
"We can confirm that customer services are now recovering from a technical issue we experienced this afternoon impacting some of our customers," the spokeswoman added.
The bank has tweeted that customers "should be able to make payments & access ATMs" and that online and mobile banking are "back online".
Twitter user @BenTavill said: "@BarclaysUK you need to fix your systems, need to withdraw cash but can't. Not good at all." | Barclays is looking into "technical issues" which appear to be affecting debit card users. | 34684497 |
Council figures show 290 pupils were barred in 2015-16, with numbers set to remain the same in 2016-17.
The BBC has been told many of the 140 Norfolk children not in schools are being tutored online and at home.
North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said it was "shameful". The council said it was funding extra places.
A report to Norfolk County Council's children's services committee said there were concerns exclusion were not being used as a "last resort" and instead as a "mechanism for fairly low level behavioural issues".
Des Reynolds, chief executive of not-for-profit charity Engage Trust, which finds places for excluded pupils at its 10 short stay schools in Norfolk, said: "Currently, the system for providing places for challenging and vulnerable children is under an enormous amount of pressure and there is a shortage of places.
"If children and young people are not in school, that places them in a detrimental position. It's very important that the authorities work together to find a solution."
Holly Knight, 14, from North Walsham, has not been at school since February after being excluded over behavioural issues.
"I would have a panic attack and I would start screaming and shouting and just saying I don't like it - and even say I'd rather die than go to school sometimes," she said.
Her mother Elizabeth Knight said she has been bullied, is often anxious and is being assessed for Asperger's syndrome.
She said Holly's sister, Cacey-Jane, 16, has epilepsy.
Ms Knight said Casey-Jane had been "signed off" rather than excluded, but the result was the same - she had to complete her education through online learning at home.
She said: "I mean I'm quite a pushy parent in the sense that I want education to be quite important in their lives. Even if they're not high flyers it should still be important, but it's been the most stressful time."
Ms Knight said had left her job as a teaching assistant to look after her daughters.
In the last few days, Holly has been given a place at a short stay school from September. Her sister hopes to go to college.
Mr Lamb, a Liberal Democrat MP, said: "I think it is a shameful situation we have in Norfolk.
"I don't underestimate the challenge some pupils present to schools but I am acutely aware that the consequences of permanent exclusions are so dire.
"Norfolk has a legal obligation to every child to bring down those appalling numbers."
Figures for 2014/15 show there were 5,800 exclusions nationally.
A Norfolk County Council spokeswoman said: "We commission 290 places per year for pupils who have been permanently excluded, through the Short Stay School for Norfolk. We are aware of a capacity issue and have now commissioned extra funded places.
"We are also working with head teacher associations to reduce exclusions through a new 'managed move' process."
Scott Lyons, of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said he believed 142 pupils were going without education with excluded pupils from as young as six years to 16.
He said the NUT recognised that teacher should be protected and some pupils needed to be excluded, but he said the "state also has a duty to children".
The Department for Education said: "Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.
"There are also clear duties in place to ensure suitable, full-time education is put in place for excluded children. We are raising the standards of this alternative provision to ensure every child is given the support they need to achieve their potential." | More than 140 children are not getting a school education after exclusions hit a record high in Norfolk, it has emerged. | 40330651 |
Robert Hinz, who threw three-month-old Julian "vigorously" against a hard surface, will serve a minimum term of 21 years.
Julian suffered severe skull fractures last April and died in hospital when his life support system was turned off.
Hinz, 34, of Carysfort Road, Bournemouth, was convicted of murder by a jury at Winchester Crown Court.
The court heard Julian collapsed in a bedroom at home on 8 April 2016, when his mother was out shopping.
Hinz told the jury he tried to resuscitate his son, who was "floppy" and not breathing.
He had denied injuring his son, but police told the court he was "unable to control his anger and aggression".
Doctors identified a minimum of 42 fractures in Julian's body, including fractured ribs, inflicted by "squeezing" and bruising, the jury heard.
Following Hinz's sentencing, Det Insp Richard Dixey said the murder was a "truly appalling crime".
The court heard Hinz moved to the UK from Poland 2006, with wife Monika and their three children.
Julian was born a normal healthy child on New Year's Eve 2015.
Passing sentence, judge Mr Justice Warby said: "Over... three months until the fatal episode, you lost your job and ran into financial difficulties.
"Over the same period your son was subjected to serious violence at your hands on at least four occasions."
Mr Justice Warby said the harm Hinz caused to his family was "hard to exaggerate".
"My final words must be addressed to your wife," he said.
"The events will never leave her life, of course. With time will come some lessening of the pain. But she will be serving her own life sentence, because of what you did."
Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board confirmed a serious case review was under way following Julian's death.
Chair Sarah Elliott said: "Following today's sentencing, a serious case review begun last year will continue, to determine if the decisions and actions undertaken by the various agencies involved during Julian's short life could have prevented his death and whether there are lessons to be learned." | A man who murdered his baby son in a "moment of anger" has been jailed for life. | 39802288 |
The migrants, who had set sail from Libya, were picked up by EU naval vessels on Thursday, a coastguard spokesman told AFP news agency.
Last month the EU pledged to beef up maritime patrols and fight trafficking.
The UN estimates that 60,000 people have already tried to cross the Mediterranean in the past five months, and that about 1,800 people have died.
The death toll represents a 30-fold increase on the same period in 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The rise has been attributed to chaos in Libya - the staging post for most crossings - as well as milder weather.
Many migrants are trying to escape conflict or poverty in countries such as Syria, Eritrea, Nigeria and Somalia.
Have you or has someone you know been affected by the issues in this story? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk - if you are happy to speak with a BBC journalist please give a telephone number.
Or you can contact us on WhatsApp number +44 (0)7525 900971 | A total of 741 migrants travelling in six boats have been rescued off Sicily, the Italian coastguard says. | 32926374 |
Donna Wood is accused of recording an inaccurate temperature for Ms Cafferkey after they landed at Heathrow in 2014.
Ms Wood faces misconduct charges before an independent panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Her lawyer said it had been a "confusing situation" at the airport and evidence against her was flawed.
At a hearing in September, Scottish nurse Ms Cafferkey was herself cleared of misconduct over the recording of an incorrect temperature when the panel ruled her judgement had been impaired by her illness.
The panel on Monday heard that Ms Wood, who was among the first volunteers to leave the UK to spend Christmas treating Ebola, wrote down a temperature of 37.2C for Ms Cafferkey, even though her temperature had been taken twice by a doctor, Hannah Ryan, with readings of 38.2C and 38.3C.
A temperature above 37.5C should have led to further assessment in the screening room.
"I took her temperature in her left ear - it was 38.2C," a statement by Dr Ryan said. "I stood there in shock, it was like I was paralysed."
The NMC's Aja Hall claimed that Ms Wood had said the readings could be "artificial" since Ms Cafferkey had said she felt warm on the plane.
Ms Hall said: "Donna Wood broke the inertia by saying, 'I'm just going to write it down as 37.2C and then we will get out of here and sort it out.'"
But Ms Wood's lawyer, Ben Rich, suggested Dr Ryan's memory of events was "highly flawed" after she said she could not remember whether she had said Ms Cafferkey's temperature out loud to Ms Wood or had shown her the thermometer.
Mr Rich said: "I'm going to suggest this whole situation was a confusing situation and that your memories have become confused."
Dr Ryan replied: "I clearly don't have a perfect memory of these events. The details about Pauline's temperature I remember clearly."
After the temperature reading Ms Cafferkey was cleared to fly back to Scotland but was admitted to hospital a day later where she was diagnosed with Ebola. | A nurse could be struck off over claims she hid Ebola survivor Pauline Cafferkey's high temperature on their return to the UK from Sierra Leone. | 37974911 |
The 0.2% rise in house prices last month was down from a 0.8% rise in December, although that left prices 4.3% higher than at this time in 2016.
"The outlook for the housing market remains clouded," said Nationwide economist Robert Gardner.
The average price of a house in the UK dropped slightly to £205,240.
Mr Gardner said that so far there had not been a negative impact on the economy following the vote to leave the EU.
"The economy has remained far stronger than expected in the wake of the Brexit vote.
"Recent data indicates that the economy didn't slow in the second half of 2016 and the unemployment rate remained stable at an 11-year-low in the three months to November."
However, he added: "There are tentative signs that conditions may be about to soften.
"Employment growth has moderated and while wage growth has edged up in recent months, in real terms, earnings growth has already slowed."
Even though the Nationwide reckons that house price inflation was 4.3% in January, it still believes the average figure for 2017 will end up at 2%. That implies a fairly dramatic dip in inflation during the months ahead.
In fact it looks like house prices could soon be rising at a slower rate than the cost of living as a whole.
In the smartest parts of London, prices have already fallen by up to 12% in the last year, according to some analysis.
But Nationwide's gloomy outlook for the economy and house prices may be good news for house-hunters. | Annual UK house price inflation fell to its weakest level since November 2015 in January, according to mortgage lender Nationwide. | 38825150 |
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The two-day tournament features the top eight players from the PDC Order of Merit including 2016 world champion Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and world number one Michael Van Gerwen.
The BBC will show all the action live from the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, with commentary coming from Vassos Alexander and Dan Dawson.
Paul Nicholson, Mark Webster and Alan Warriner-Little are among the experts providing analysis.
There will also be a live text commentary, with in-play video highlights, social media debate and analysis, on the BBC Sport website and app.
The final has a £100,000 first prize on offer for the champion.
The top two from each group progress to knockout semi-finals.
Group matches are best-of-19 legs while knockout matches are played over 21.
Saturday evening's group matches
Adrian Lewis v Michael Smith
Gary Anderson v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Peter Wright v Robert Thornton
Coverage times
Live on BBC Two from 18:30-22:00 BST
Sunday afternoon's group matches
Final round of group matches
Coverage times
Live on BBC Two from 13:00-17:00 BST
Sunday's evening session
Semi-finals and final
Coverage times
Live on BBC Two from 18:30-22:30 BST (BBC Red Button 18:30-19:00 BST and BBC Two Scotland 19:00-22:30 BST)
Saturday afternoon group matches
Michael van Gerwen 10-5 Robert Thornton
Phil Taylor 10-5 Peter Wright
Gary Anderson 10-5 Michael Smith
Adrian Lewis 3-10 James Wade
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BBC One aired A Question of Sport Darts Special on 21 September with guests Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis.
CBBC broadcast a special Blue Peter Sports Badge show on 22 September, featuring young darts hopeful Beau Greaves.
Dermot O'Leary, Greg James and Alex Jones are among the BBC presenters who have been filmed trying their hands at BBC Sport's nine-dart challenge, to be shown during the live TV coverage and on the BBC Sport website.
BBC Radio 5 live's Fighting Talk will also broadcast live from the Motorpoint Arena on 24 September from 10:30-11:30 BST, with PDC chairman Barry Hearn joining the satirical sport show panel.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Live coverage of the Professional Darts Corporation's inaugural Champions League of Darts begins on Saturday, 24 September across BBC One, BBC Two and the BBC Sport website. | 37365436 |
It comes after Italy approved a €20bn fund to prop up its embattled banking sector on 23 December.
Monte dei Paschi had asked for a capital injection to stay afloat.
It is carrying a mountain of bad loans made to customers who cannot afford to repay them.
In a statement from the bank on Monday, it confirmed it had officially asked the ECB to go ahead with a "precautionary recapitalisation".
This will entail a forced conversion of the bank's junior bonds - many of which are held by small investors - into shares.
It also permits the government to buy shares or bonds on market terms endorsed by EU state aid officials.
In response, the ECB said it had calculated the capital it believed that the bank needed, based on an EU stress test of large lenders earlier this year.
Analysis: Theo Leggett, business correspondent
Monte dei Paschi (MPS) has formally requested a bailout from the Italian government - but it is far from a done deal.
The government is trying to present the plan as a "precautionary recapitalisation" rather than a full-blown rescue. It is an important distinction under EU state aid law, which would enable it to limit the losses suffered by investors.
This matters. In Italy, large numbers of bank investors are ordinary savers, people who thought bank bonds were a safe bet for their life savings, for example. The government is trying to protect them - but if the European Commission were to interpret the rules harshly, it might not be able to.
The ECB's conclusion that MPS needs €8.8bn to boost its reserves, as opposed to the €5bn previously being discussed, creates yet another headache. However, with €20bn already set aside by the government to support the banking sector, it shouldn't be too painful.
The ECB also says that MPS "remains solvent", although its liquidity position is deteriorating rapidly. That might actually help the government's argument that the bailout is, in fact, precautionary.
It said the bank was solvent, but noted its liquidity position had "deteriorated rapidly" between 30 November and 21 December.
"The bank has quickly started talks with the competent authorities to understand the methodologies underlying the ECB's calculations and introduce the measures for a precautionary recapitalisation," Monte dei Paschi said.
A spokesman for the ECB said: "We have been in continuous and constructive talks with the Italian authorities. We of course fully support the objective of the Italian authorities to further strengthen the Italian banking sector, in compliance with EU law."
Dr Andreas Hoepner, associate professor at the Henley Business School, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that trust in the bank, which now has a market capitalisation of less than €500m, had "deteriorated significantly".
He also questioned whether enough funds would be available to other struggling banks, given that Monte dei Paschi could use up almost half of the agreed €20bn support fund.
"We hope not too many other lenders will need support, but we don't know for sure," he said.
"The question is, is the €20bn the full sum or might the Italian government request more at a later stage?"
Founded in 1472, Monte dei Paschi is said to be the oldest surviving bank in the world.
It failed an EU stress test in July because of billions of euros of risky loans on its books, made to clients who cannot afford to repay them.
The situation has worsened since then.
On 21 December, the bank revealed that it could run out of funds by next April, using up nearly €11bn.
Previously, it had said it had enough funds to stay afloat for 11 months.
Italy's market watchdog said last week the bank's shares and securities would be suspended from trading until the conditions of a state bailout became clear. | Italian lender Monte dei Paschi is facing a capital shortfall of €8.8bn (£7.5bn), higher than the €5bn previously estimated by the bank, the European Central Bank has said. | 38442342 |
Ian Cameron, 45, exposed himself while driving on the M6 near Carlisle on two different days in February 2007.
But after being charged by police, Cameron fled to Spain where he remained for eight years until his arrest last month.
He has now been jailed for a year at Carlisle Crown Court.
Judge Peter Davies told him: "It is quite clear this was a course of conduct of deliberate, intentional lewd behaviour in front of female drivers."
Cameron, formerly of Waterfoot Drive, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent exposure.
He also admitted perverting the court of justice, having initially told police he was not driving the Volkswagen Golf at the time his crimes occurred.
Cameron - said in court to be the son of a police officer - was also banned from driving for 18 months. | A flasher who twice exposed himself to female motorists while driving beside them at 70mph has been jailed, eight years after going on the run. | 34814700 |
The manufacturers' organisation EEF found that 85% of those it polled would vote to stay in the EU, and only 7% would opt to leave, despite the bloc's economic troubles.
Firms with more than 250 employees were most keen on the EU, with 90% saying they would want to retain membership.
EEF represents over 6,000 companies.
The survey, carried out in August, included 160 companies.
Manufacturing companies in both the UK and the wider EU have been suffering in recent months.
Two surveys carried out in August showed that growth in the UK manufacturing sector has slowed, with both new orders and output increasing less rapidly than before.
The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged down in August to 52.5 from 54.8 in July, its lowest reading for 14 months.
Meanwhile, manufacturing across the eurozone fell in September to a PMI reading of 50.5, the lowest measure since July of last year.
Commenting on the EEF poll's findings, chief executive Terry Scuoler, said: "Despite the continued problems in the eurozone, manufacturers remain overwhelmingly of the view that our economic wellbeing is inextricably linked to the EU and, we must stay in membership.
"It makes no sense to disengage from our major market and it remains fanciful to think we can just pull up the drawbridge and walk away with no consequences." | Britain's manufacturers are overwhelmingly in favour of the country remaining a part of the European Union, a survey suggests. | 29404745 |
The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the sector rose to 58.1 in June from 55.9 in May. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Markit added that confidence in the sector about the coming 12 months was at its highest for 11 years.
Residential house building remained the fastest growing area in the construction sector.
Looking ahead, nearly two-thirds of construction firms expect to see a rise in their activity as a result of increased investment spending among developers and robust demand for new residential projects.
Construction firms are also hiring staff at the fastest pace in six months the survey found.
Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit said the extent of the recent rise in construction optimism was "partly down to relief that pre-election uncertainty has now passed".
He added that the rise in output also suggested firms were confident that underlying demand would continue to recover.
Earlier in the week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised UK economic growth for the three months to March up to 0.4% from an original estimate of 0.3%, based on stronger than previously calculated activity in the construction industry.
The upbeat construction survey contrasts with the Markit/CIPS PMI reading for the manufacturing sector, which indicated growth slowed to its lowest pace in more than two years in June.
The manufacturing PMI reading fell to 51.4 in June from 51.9 the month before.
Markit's survey for the UK's services sector is due to be released on Friday. | Activity in the UK's construction industry grew last month at its fastest pace since February, a survey suggests. | 33359476 |
The British and Irish Lions player, 23, is out of contract at Northampton Saints in the summer of 2016.
But there have been no formal offers from either the Welsh Rugby Union or the regions to bring the 55-cap star back to Wales.
Saints coach Jim Mallinder has said he is "very, very confident" North will stay with the English Premiership side.
North, who scored two tries in three Tests for the Lions during the victorious 2013 tour of Australia, moved from Scarlets to Franklin's Gardens in 2013.
The Welsh regions are unable to match the spending power of the big English and French clubs.
However, a national dual contract - 60% funded by the Welsh Rugby Union - is being used to bring centre Jonathan Davies back to the Scarlets from Clermont Auvergne next season.
But union chairman Gareth Davies has said offering big money to tempt stars like North back to Wales may not be the answer.
"I think we've got to be fair to the other players as well. We don't want too much of an imbalance in what we pay players," he said, adding there is a "finite pot of money" available to sign players on national dual contracts.
Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac has already said they are "not chasing" their former player, instead confirming that they are in talks with fly-half Rhys Patchell over a potential move from Cardiff Blues. | Wales wing George North is unlikely to return to a Welsh region for the start of next season. | 34896698 |
Kipchoge, 31, beat his fellow Kenyan, 33, in a sprint finish in 2015.
Kenyan world-record holder Dennis Kimetto, third last year, is also confirmed for the event on 24 April.
It had already been announced that 2015's women's race winner, 28-year-old Ethiopian Tigist Tufa, will take on Kenya's two-time victor Mary Keitany.
Ethiopia's triple Olympic gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele and Eritrea's world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 20, are also due to take part in the men's race.
There will be 13 elite British male runners hoping to secure their place at this summer's Olympics.
Scott Overall and Callum Hawkins have already achieved the qualifying time and will guarantee their place in Rio de Janeiro if they are the first two Britons to cross the line.
Sonia Samuels and Alyson Dixon have run inside the women's qualifying time and will also guarantee Rio places if they are the first two British females to finish.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Reigning champion Eliud Kipchoge will vie with two-time winner Wilson Kipsang for this year's London Marathon men's title. | 35350271 |
The 22-year-old, who came through the Lyon youth system, is at Euro 2016 with the France squad and, although yet to play, is expected to start the quarter-final against Iceland.
Barca president Josep Bartomeu confirmed the news on Thursday but did not disclose the length of the deal.
According to French media, Umtiti will sign a five-year contract.
Bartomeu also confirmed that Barca striker Neymar was close to signing a new contract despite reported interest from Manchester United and Paris St-Germain. | Barcelona have agreed to buy France international centre-back Samuel Umtiti from Lyon for about £21m (25m Euro). | 36677539 |
Gemma Wale, of Small Heath, Birmingham, was given a two-week prison sentence.
A civil court judge concluded she had breached an anti-social behaviour order by "screaming and shouting whilst having sex" at a "level of noise" that annoyed a neighbour.
The details emerged in a written ruling by Judge Emma Kelly following a hearing in Birmingham County Court.
Birmingham City Council took legal action after a neighbour complained.
The judge did not give Miss Wale's age in her ruling but said she had a boyfriend called Wayne.
Judge Kelly said she had also breached the order by arguing with her boyfriend, swearing at a neighbour, "banging around the house" and "running around in the property".
She said a neighbour had complained "paragraph 3 of the order" had been breached at about 05:00 on 29 January.
"Gemma started screaming and shouting whilst having sex, which woke us up," said the neighbour. "This lasted 10 minutes."
The judge concluded: "I am satisfied that during the course of the early hours of 29 January 2015, at around 5am, the defendant was guilty of screaming and shouting whilst having sex at a level of noise which caused nuisance or annoyance to (a neighbour)." | A woman who breached a court order that barred her from making "loud sex noises" has been jailed. | 32961127 |
The hosts took the lead when Tony Watt connected with Johnnie Jackson's pass to fire the ball past Mark Cousins.
Karlan Ahearne-Grant doubled their lead before Zakarya Bergdich scored on his Charlton debut to make it three.
Christian Doidge's goal gave Dagenham some hope before Reza Ghoochannejhad scored Charlton's fourth.
Dagenham gave Nicholas Hamalainen his debut following his one-month loan from QPR and the young midfielder almost provided the visitors with an early lead, but Nick Pope saved his long-range strike.
Charlton opened the scoring when Jackson played the ball to Watt, who registered his second goal in as many games before 17-year-old Ahearne-Grant scored his first goal for the Addicks.
Watt turned provider as he sent the ball into the box for Bergdich to calmly finish, but Dagenham pulled a goal back after Ashley Chambers set up Doidge to finish.
Substitute Ghoochannejhad gave the hosts their fourth, ensuring that Charlton have now scored four goals in a first-round League Cup tie for the third season in a row. | Charlton Athletic were comfortable winners over Dagenham and Redbridge as they secured their place in the League Cup second round. | 33769182 |
24 September 2016 Last updated at 16:56 BST
She told the BBC's Nick Eardley that Mr Corbyn "can unite the party" and has to "want to unite the party".
Speaking after a special conference in Liverpool, Ms Dugdale said the Labour party at Westminster couldn't fight the Tories if they are fighting themselves. | Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said she believes a UK party led by Jeremy Corbyn can win a general election. | 37463530 |
The players' union say some clubs are facing a major financial crisis and have not paid them for five months.
Argentina's troubled football association says negotiations have progressed and the season will resume on Friday.
But players say they will nor turn up for league matches until they are paid.
A major corruption investigation implicating senior football officials last year triggered the current crisis.
On Friday afternoon, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) postponed two matches - Rosario Central v Godoy Cruz, in the city of Rosario, and San Lorenzo v Belgrano, in Buenos Aires.
Later it announced that talks with the union had collapsed and that all 13 other matches from the top division, known as Primera A, had been postponed.
Second and third division matches were also called off. Only non-professional footballers from the fourth division will be playing this weekend.
The crisis began after senior officials at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) were implicated in a corruption scandal involving television broadcasting rights.
The season should have resumed a month ago after the summer break. But it has been extended because of the crisis.
To try to avoid the strike, the government of Mauricio Macri made a $22m (£18m) payment on Thursday to the AFA.
The money was owed as compensation for the cancellation of a contract with the government, which held the broadcasting rights until this year.
But the players' union said the money was not enough.
They said most club presidents had spent and borrowed more money than they should have. | All of the weekend football matches in Argentina's top three divisions have been postponed amid a players' strike over delayed salary payments. | 39169480 |
Mr Rutte's liberal VVD party and the centre-left Labour party secured the coalition deal after coming out on top in 12 September elections.
The previous coalition collapsed after ministers failed to agree 16bn euros (£10bn) of cuts.
This new administration is seen as more pro-Europe and pro-austerity than the last one, our correspondent says.
Queen Beatrix swore in the new government at the royal palace in the The Hague, in a ceremony that was broadcast live on Dutch television and online for the first time.
The new coalition's motto is "building bridges", but the leaders have already warned voters that the new policies are going to be painful for everyone, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from The Hague.
Both parties have tried to convince the public that in order to secure a stronger country in the future, they must make short-term sacrifices to get through the European financial crisis.
But this means an austerity package aimed at saving 16bn euros ($20.5bn) from the national budget by 2017.
September's election was called after the right-wing Freedom Party, led by the anti-European Geert Wilders, withdrew its support for Mr Rutte's budget cuts six months ago.
Mr Wilders' party took heavy losses in the election, while VVD claimed overall victory with Diederik Samsom's Labour Party coming a close second. | The Netherlands has sworn in a new coalition government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. | 20207801 |
He fell into a coma first, succumbing to his injuries in hospital a week later.
We know that he suffered a severe spinal injury to his neck, but how that injury happened remains a mystery.
There has been a suggestion he intentionally injured himself - but a leading spinal surgeon told the BBC that would be "impossible".
Gray also reportedly suffered severe head injuries while in the police van, but the police have not confirmed the reports.
And he complained of having trouble breathing, which a surgeon said could be related to a neck injury sustained during arrest.
So what did kill Freddie Gray?
Gray's arrest was caught on film by a bystander, Kevin Young. Mr Young's video shows Gray being held face down on the pavement by two officers with him arms handcuffed behind him and his feet bent up to his back.
"He was folded up like a crab, or a piece of origami. He was all bent up," Mr Young said.
Gray is heard crying out in pain as the officers first restrain him then pick him up and drag him towards the van. His body appears limp, but he is still crying out.
Arun Ranganathan, a consultant trauma and spinal surgeon at St. Bart's Hospital, told the BBC it is possible that Gray sustained his spinal injury during his arrest.
Mr Ranganathan said that his spinal cord could have been fractured and remained aligned, allowing Gray to maintain consciousness and move but slowly exerting a pressure on his vertebral artery.
"If there was pressure on the spinal cord then it's possible he could have become paralysed or suffered a stroke in the van," he said.
But it would be very unlikely to kill him, Mr Ranganathan said. "It could only kill if the injury is higher up at the base of the skull, where it could exert pressure on the respiratory systems, preventing the person being able to breathe."
Police have said that Gray complained of trouble breathing and asked for his inhaler but was denied it.
Police have admitted that Gray was not secured in the van while it was moving, against department protocol. The revelation led many to speculate about whether he had been subjected to a so-called "nickel ride" - a police tactic of leaving a suspect unsecured in a van during an intentionally rough journey.
Citing police sources, Washington TV station WJLA said Gray died when his head violently struck a bolt inside the van. And the Washington Post reported that Gray had suffered injuries consistent with a car crash.
We know that Gray fell unconscious during the journey.
A violent impact even within a confined space could have caused a brain haemorrhage, Mr Ranganathan said.
"Unconsciousness is usually related to a head injury, rather than a spinal injury," he said.
We know that the van made a stop en route to the police station to pick up a second prisoner.
Citing to a report it obtained from the Baltimore police, the Washington Post reported that the second prisoner said Gray was "banging against the walls" and was "intentionally trying to injure himself".
But Mr Ranganathan said it was highly unlikely Gray could have inflicted his spinal injury on himself.
"For someone to break their own spine is very difficult, impossible," Mr Ranganathan said.
"Usually it is a high-velocity injury, for example if they hang themselves or have a high impact tackle in rugby.
"But no, for someone to break his neck in a confined space like that is almost impossible.
Mr Ranganathan said it was more like that Gray's spine was injured during his arrest, and the force of being pushed in the van or thrown around inside exacerbated the injury.
"In my opinion, his spine was injured before he got in that van," he said. | Sometime between being stopped by police in the rough Baltimore neighbourhood of Sandtown-Winchester and arriving at the city's western district police station in a van, Freddie Gray sustained an injury that killed him. | 32546204 |
But which new faces from across Europe could be joining them in England next season?
While total unknowns are hard to find, there are bound to be some surprise stars who emerge this summer.
BBC Sport's TV and radio Euro 2016 commentators pick out the 12 young non-Premier League players who are worth watching out for.
Steve Wilson: Coric is still at Dinamo Zagreb, though he has been linked with Liverpool as an alternative to Mario Gotze. Coric says he has been contacted by Manchester City and Bayern Munich too.
He operates behind the strikers and is the youngest ever Europa League goalscorer and the current Croatian Young Player of the Year.
Alistair Bruce-Ball: Turkey's game against Croatia on 12 June is my first commentary game at Euro 2016 so they were the first two squads I did my homework on.
While 21-year-old Ozan Tufan is often picked out as Turkey's young star to watch, Mor is worth keeping an eye on as well.
Mor is a little winger with bags of skill and Manchester City, among others, were known to have shown an interest in him before he joined Borussia Dortmund from FC Nordsjaelland for an undisclosed fee days before the tournament started.
Steve Wilson: Mor was born in Denmark but made the choice to represent Turkey in the spring - both his parents are Turkish. He was immediately given a place in their Under-21 side and then, just as quickly, a spot in their squad for Euro 2016.
His former coach at FC Nordsjaelland, Kasper Hjulmand, says: "What he is capable of is extraordinary. He has got so much speed in his feet, and he is so unpredictable. Just when you expect him to pass, he makes another dribble instead and changes direction. And when he does that, you do not catch him - that is plain impossible."
Radio 5 live football correspondent John Murray: A left-back for the Danish champions FC Copenhagen, Augustinsson was linked with Liverpool last summer. He played every minute and scored a penalty in the final shootout as Sweden became European Under-21 champions last year.
Guy Mowbray: Scored six goals in qualifying, and 24 in total for Ajax this season. Milik might not get the headlines of Poland team-mate Robert Lewandowski - but Lewandowski might not get so many himself without him.
Milik is the perfect foil for the Bayern Munich striker, whether playing alongside or behind him as a 'number 10'.
Conor McNamara: Milik wears the number nine shirt at Ajax but for Poland he is unselfish and sets up more goals than he scores. A very important part of their team.
Guy Mowbray: Coming soon to a Premier League ground near you? Possibly. Arsenal have been heavily linked already.
Benfica must kick themselves for releasing him as a teenager, since when he's matured at Maritimo before moving on up to Porto this season. A physically imposing defensive midfielder who could form a big back-four barrier if played alongside William Carvalho.
Steve Wilson: A teenager with a combination of pace and power which has endeared him to fans of FC Basel and seen him selected for the Swiss national team. Born in Cameroon, he scored 13 goals to help Basel to this season's Swiss title, and had club captain Marco Streller saying "my heart cheers when I see him playing".
John Murray: Embolo seems set for great things - quite possibly a future in the Premier League - and has already enjoyed two highly promising goalscoring seasons for Basel.
Alistair Bruce-Ball: Belgium aren't short of imposing, powerful strikers with Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke and Divock Origi all in the squad but Batshuayi is strong, and able to hold the ball up to link with Belgium's stellar midfielders like Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne.
His 17 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games this season in a struggling Marseille team tell you he's a pretty good finisher as well.
Steve Wilson: Compared by adoring Marseille fans to their old favourite Didier Drogba and already seen as one of the 'must-have' youngsters of the summer.
Marseille have confirmed that they are ready to sell - at a price. Their president Vincent Labrune said: "There is not a single top-15 world club that is not interested in Batshuayi. He is one of the most wanted players on the market."
John Murray: Plays as an attacking midfielder for KC Cracovia, once the favourite team of Pope John Paul II. If - as I suspect they might - Poland have a good tournament, he might get a chance to show what he can do.
Steve Wilson: Sanches burst on to the scene at Benfica and was then snapped up by Bayern Munich in May for a fee that could rise to £60m, with Manchester United among the clubs who were tracking him but missed out.
His introduction to the Benfica side turned their season around as he drove them forward with energy and style from midfield - and weighed in with some spectacular goals.
Guy Mowbray: If you watch any football at all outside the UK then you will know of Coman already. He has had an outstanding season on loan at Bayern Munich and, having started his career at Paris St-Germain, has now played for three of the world's biggest teams.
Like his fellow French young gun, Anthony Martial, he is devastatingly quick - and comparisons with Thierry Henry are inevitable for both players. Henry was 20 when he won the World Cup in his home country. This time France have a two-for-one deal.
Steve Wilson: He has just enjoyed his breakthrough season at Benfica, who signed him as a 17-year-old from Vasteras. But Benfica are a selling club (see Renato Sanches) and Lindelof is already being linked with both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Lindelhof, who models himself on German star Matts Hummels, was named in the team of tournament for the 2015 Under-21 European Championships, where he scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Portugal in the final.
Steve Wilson: An attacking midfielder who plays for CSKA Moscow and turns 20 just before Euro 2016 kicks off. Golovin scored in each of his first two senior internationals for Russia, and was a winner with his country at the the 2013 Under-17 European Championship.
He has been likened to Alan Dzagoev, whose broken metatarsal will keep him out of the finals. Golovin is hoping for the chance to replace him. | From Dele Alli to Anthony Martial, some of the Premier League's best young talent is heading for Euro 2016 and hoping for a chance to shine in France. | 36469608 |
Denis Petkov, 19, was found with stab wounds following an incident on East Hanningfield Road in Rettendon, Essex, on 11 March.
Mihal Dobrev, of East Hanningfield Road, pleaded not guilty to murdering the teenager.
The Crown Prosecution Service cited insufficient evidence for its decision not to go ahead with a trial.
Jenny Hopkins, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East of England, said following a review of the case it had "concluded there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction against Mr Dobrev".
She added: "This decision means that the case cannot proceed and so we have offered no evidence against him."
The CPS offered its sympathies to the family of Mr Petkov. | A 37-year-old man charged with murdering a Bulgarian teenager will no longer face prosecution. | 40568298 |
Mr Agnew, fondly known as Aggers, was a bowler for Leicestershire before joining BBC Radio Leicester and then the BBC's Test Match Special.
His suggestion that Ian Botham had failed to "get his leg over" was voted the greatest sporting commentary ever in a poll.
Mr Agnew said he was "really thrilled" to be made MBE.
"It's great to get a pat on the back no matter what you do and this is a big pat," he said.
"Test Match Special is a tight knit crew and I look at this as a team award.
"I've also been able to be more of an all-rounder, having done the Olympics and royal events, but I know cricket, and cricket on the radio is my home".
The famous "leg over" comment was broadcast on 9 August 1991, while commentating on the day's play at the Oval on Test Match Special.
Aggers and the late Brian Johnston both dissolved into helpless laughter.
"People have tried to write off radio but it is unique," Mr Agnew said.
"It is warmer and more personal and on long programmes like Test Match Special it is like a soap opera in terms of the characters the listeners get to know.
"It gets cricket and sport out there to new and wider audiences."
Claire Lomas, who completed the London Marathon in a robotic suit, is also among Leicestershire's New Years Honours recipients.
The 36-year-old has been appointed MBE for charitable and voluntary services to spinal injury research.
Ms Lomas has raised more than £570,000 for charities since being paralysed from the chest down in a horse riding accident in 2007.
As well as completing the London Marathon in 2012, Ms Lomas hand-cycled 400 miles around England in 2013, and completed the Great North Run in September while 16 weeks pregnant.
Her challenges have raised money for Spinal Research and the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation. | Cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew has been appointed MBE in the New Year Honours for services to broadcasting. | 38460606 |
The 23-year-old has featured in the starting line-up in recent weeks as manager Neil Lennon rotated his squad.
Forster was captain against Ayr United last weekend and wants to make up for sitting out the Hampden triumph.
"The chance to get the cup on Saturday is, personally and for the team, a massive achievement," Forster said.
"Missing out on the Scottish Cup, the boys becoming legends and heroes. Although I was delighted for them, it really was hard to take.
"The season has been all right for me, [but] I would like to have played a bit more."
Hibs face St Mirren at Easter Road on Saturday and they will be awarded the league trophy after the game.
Despite the occasion, and the opportunity to celebrate with the Hibs fans, Forster does not believe the players will take the game lightly.
The visitors need to take one point from the game to ensure their own survival in the Championship.
"Every professional would want to win a game [when they will] be presented with a trophy, rather than lose that game," Forster said.
"St Mirren will have to come out fighting. They have been really good lately, but they must have been really poor at the start of the season. The league form doesn't lie.
"They will need to really try and play against us - good luck to them, but we'll be ready."
Hibs coach Grant Murray also insists the title-winners will not let their performance levels drop against St Mirren, even though there is nothing left to play for this season but pride.
"It's an opportunity for the players to show their appreciation to the fans," Murray said.
"The players want to win. There can be implications for St Mirren, and they'll be coming all out to win, but as a football player you've got that wining mentality. The manager will want to put a winning team out.
"I thought it was strange [Neil Lennon] wasn't nominated [for manager of the year], but it's just one of those things." | Hibernian defender Jordon Forster is relishing the prospect of lifting the Championship trophy after missing last season's Scottish Cup win. | 39807258 |
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will phase out existing levels of support over the next year, giving players who lose out significantly a chance to adjust to their new financial means.
Funding will only be offered to those competitive with the world's best.
Coaches rather than cash will be the LTA's main currency in future.
The key adjustments include:
The philosophy of the LTA started to evolve even before Michael Downey took over as chief executive in January of this year.
Funding for elite players had already been reduced from £12m to £10m for 2014, and could only be claimed by players under 24 who agreed to pay back 20% of the prize money they earned.
The pace of reform has, however, been speeded up dramatically. The LTA is mindful of the need to reduce spending, but is also increasingly of the view that having too much too soon can hinder a player's development.
The hope is that if a player has to stay with a host family rather than in a hotel, and cook for themselves rather than eat out, they will more greatly appreciate the value of each ranking point gained and pound earned.
2013 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray benefited from the attention of world-class coaches such as Brad Gilbert and Paul Annacone when they joined the LTA at great expense in 2006.
Kyle Edmund and Liam Broady are now about the age Murray was then: both have just broken into the top 200 for the first time, and will have reached their targets, though modern-day funding is not designed to stretch to such illustrious coaches.
Since splitting with Greg Rusedski in October, Edmund has been working full-time with the LTA's James Trotman, and Broady - who reached the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open as a junior - has a similar arrangement with Mark Hilton.
The LTA's new director of player development, Bob Brett, is investing a lot of time in developing a network of British coaches. But one concern, by his own admission, is the talent pool is not yet deep enough.
"The coaches probably have been neglected across the country and it's important for us to support those coaches and try to help them take their players to higher levels," he told the BBC during an interview at last month's World Tour Finals. | Funding for up-and-coming British tennis players is to be severely cut in an attempt to develop more players who can survive in the world's top 100. | 30422039 |
The election ended the unionist majority at Stormont, with Sinn Féin now just one seat behind the DUP.
But Mrs Foster said her party had won the election, increasing its vote in every constituency, which was a "pretty good basis to continue as leader".
A DUP delegation met Sinn Féin later on Monday, with more talks due on Tuesday.
Mrs Foster denied reports that a third of her party's newly returned members of the legislative assembly wanted her to step down.
"There's no revolt," she said. "I've had a very good meeting today with my party officers, I'll meet with my full assembly team tomorrow morning and talk to a lot of my other colleagues as well."
"So there's no problem, no problem at all."
Having held what she called a "good discussion" with Secretary of State James Brokenshire earlier on Monday, Mrs Foster said she wanted to see devolution restored.
"From our perspective it's doable," she added.
Mr Brokenshire has been meeting Stormont party leaders to try to persuade them to form a new power-sharing executive.
The parties have just three weeks to overcome their differences.
Earlier, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams criticised the UK government, saying it was "going to make all the mistakes that it has made in the past" in Northern Ireland.
"The British government's general approach illustrates perfectly that they are part of the problem and without a fundamental change on their part there can't be the type of progress people want to see here," said Mr Adams.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said while the party would negotiate with anybody, Arlene Foster could not be nominated as first minister whilst the "cloud of scandal continues".
But Mr Eastwood had words of reassurance for unionists, saying: "We're not out to destroy your culture or identity, we're out to work with you."
Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party said that while Mr Brokenshire had a major role to play in the way forward, he had to take more care to be impartial.
"At times the UK government have been, and indeed the Conservative Party, too close to the perspective of the DUP rather than actually acting as an impartial broker between the parties," he said.
Mr Brokenshire said the primary responsibility lay with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin to use the "limited window" now open.
Both parties say they want to see power-sharing restored, reports BBC News NI Political Editor Mark Devenport.
But Sinn Féin is objecting to Arlene Foster returning as first minister while an inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal remains under way, adds our editor and, so far, there's no sign of how this immediate problem might be resolved.
Mrs Foster set up the botched energy scheme, which could cost the Northern Ireland tax payer £490m.
Her refusal to stand aside during the inquiry was the catalyst for Martin McGuinness' resignation as deputy first minister in January, triggering the collapse of the DUP and Sinn Féin-led coalition government and forcing last week's snap election.
DUP MP Nigel Dodds told BBC Radio Ulster earlier that although Mrs Foster had been through a "very difficult time", her position as leader of the party was "entirely secure".
But Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy earlier repeated the party's red line that the DUP leader could not be reinstated as first minister while an inquiry continues.
This was essential to restore public confidence in the institutions, he added.
Mr Murphy added his voice to concerns about Mr Brokenshire's neutrality, describing him as "the central blockage in relation to resolving the legacy issue".
New and returning Assembly members will be moving into their offices later, and talks are scheduled to get under way elsewhere at Stormont to determine how long the new Assembly term lasts.
The DUP went into the election 10-seats ahead of Sinn Féin and, while it remains the largest party with 28 seats, its lead has been cut to just one seat.
Under Northern Ireland's power-sharing agreement, the government must be run by Irish nationalists and unionists together, with the largest party being invited to put forward a candidate for first minister.
Sinn Féin and the DUP now have three weeks to reach a deal and if a government cannot be formed within that time then, under law, another election can be called.
Ultimately, if no power-sharing government is formed, power could return to the UK Parliament at Westminster for the first time in a decade. | There is "no revolt" within the DUP after its losses in the assembly election, says its embattled leader Arlene Foster. | 39173640 |
Manager Roy Hodgson needed his side to produce an encouraging performance and positive result after the misery of going out of the World Cup in Brazil at the group stage in the summer - and this did the job on both counts.
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England were indebted to two vital saves by goalkeeper Joe Hart from Haris Seferovic and a vital goal-line clearance from Gary Cahill, but this victory was fully deserved and showed promising signs for the future.
Switzerland - ninth in Fifa's world rankings in August after reaching the last 16 of the World Cup, with England 20th - posed a threat but ended up being well beaten.
The merits of Hodgson using the diamond formation, which suits Raheem Sterling perfectly, was shown as Liverpool's youngster set up former Manchester United star Welbeck's first goal just before the hour and was also involved as Anfield team-mate Rickie Lambert laid on the striker's second in stoppage time.
England's defence - Phil Jones in particular - still had moments of vulnerability but this meeting with Switzerland was regarded as the toughest assignment in the group with San Marino, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia to come. From that point of view, this was mission accomplished.
With the post-World Cup apathy reflected in an attendance of just over 40,000 for England's friendly against Norway at Wembley last week, Hodgson could ill-afford a poor start to this Euro 2016 qualifying group.
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He had shown signs of strain after the Norway win but cut a more relaxed figure here - and England delivered a result and performance that lifted his mood even more.
And as a signpost for the future, Hodgson has surely found a formation - with Arsenal's Jack Wilshere at the base of the diamond and Sterling at its tip - that he should settle on as England negotiate a group which should be nothing more than a foundation for success in France.
Sterling provided pace and strength, having a hand in both Welbeck goals, with England's pace on the counter-attack too much for Switzerland to handle.
Wayne Rooney also thrived surrounded by speed and willing runners and England's new captain showed his usual willingness to take responsibility and do his share of the donkey work.
Hodgson will also lean on those he has trusted in the past - and in Hart he found someone who excelled when called upon in Basel.
England gave a first start to Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph and he emerged with much credit, although he must also reflect on a lack of discipline that earned him an early yellow card and running the risk of even further punishment.
Jones, who has usurped Everton captain Phil Jagielka following the World Cup, was uncertain throughout and he was grateful to Hart for keeping England on level terms when he lost possession to Xherdan Shaqiri and, when he played in Seferovic, Manchester City's keeper was off his line to block.
England's speed on the counter was eye-catching and could have brought rewards on the break had Welbeck shot rather than attempt an ill-judged cross that missed both Sterling and Rooney.
Welbeck was on the mark after Hart had once again stopped Seferovic, getting on the end of Sterling's perfect cross after Rooney had broken swiftly on the Swiss defence.
Cahill was England's hero as Switzerland pressed, with a superb goalline clearance from Josip Drmic - and the final word was left to Welbeck as he took Lambert's pass in his stride in the dying seconds to beat Yann Sommer.
Hodgson punched the air in delight, and perhaps a measure of relief, as England made a start on their road to redemption after Brazil.
Match ends, Switzerland 0, England 2.
Second Half ends, Switzerland 0, England 2.
Goal! Switzerland 0, England 2. Danny Welbeck (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Rickie Lambert following a fast break.
Attempt missed. Ricardo Rodriguez (Switzerland) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Raheem Sterling (England) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Jordan Henderson following a fast break.
Attempt blocked. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Rickie Lambert (England) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, England. Joe Hart tries a through ball, but Rickie Lambert is caught offside.
Substitution, England. Rickie Lambert replaces Wayne Rooney.
Offside, Switzerland. Johan Djourou tries a through ball, but Haris Seferovic is caught offside.
Corner, England. Conceded by Johan Djourou.
Attempt blocked. Danny Welbeck (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Wayne Rooney with a headed pass.
Ricardo Rodriguez (Switzerland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Raheem Sterling (England).
Attempt missed. Gökhan Inler (Switzerland) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Johan Djourou (Switzerland) because of an injury.
Foul by Gökhan Inler (Switzerland).
Danny Welbeck (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Stephan Lichtsteiner (Switzerland).
Wayne Rooney (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution, England. Phil Jagielka replaces Phil Jones because of an injury.
Delay in match Phil Jones (England) because of an injury.
Offside, Switzerland. Josip Drmic tries a through ball, but Haris Seferovic is caught offside.
Substitution, Switzerland. Blerim Dzemaili replaces Granit Xhaka.
Foul by Granit Xhaka (Switzerland).
Danny Welbeck (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, England. James Milner replaces Jack Wilshere.
Corner, Switzerland. Conceded by Gary Cahill.
Attempt blocked. Josip Drmic (Switzerland) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by Haris Seferovic with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Haris Seferovic (Switzerland) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Granit Xhaka following a fast break.
Attempt missed. Phil Jones (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Leighton Baines with a cross following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Valon Behrami (Switzerland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Wayne Rooney (England).
Attempt blocked. Fabian Delph (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Wayne Rooney.
Foul by Haris Seferovic (Switzerland).
John Stones (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Switzerland. Josip Drmic replaces Admir Mehmedi. | England made the perfect start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign as two second-half strikes from Arsenal's £16m new boy Danny Welbeck gave them victory in Switzerland. | 29008534 |
The "clarification" came after its oil discovery in Horse Hill last week.
UKOG's chief executive told the BBC at the time that the Weald area, including the new discovery, could have "between 50 and 100 billion barrels of oil in place in the ground".
But the company now says it has "not undertaken work... sufficient to comment" on the Weald Basin potential.
A spokesman told the BBC that the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) - on which the company is listed - wanted UKOG to "clarify and reinforce the numbers".
UKOG announced: "The company has not undertaken work outside of its licence areas sufficient to comment on the possible OIP [oil in place] in either the approximate 1,100 sq miles or the whole of the Weald Basin."
It added that "further well testing and assessment of recovery factors will be required to seek to quantify net resources in relation to the... areas and to prove its commerciality".
When the Horse Hill oil discovery was announced, the oil exploration company's chief executive Stephen Sanderson said: "We believe we can recover between 5% and 15% of the oil in the ground, which by 2030 could mean that we produce 10% to 30% of the UK's oil demand from within the Weald area."
UKOG maintains its estimation of the new Horse Hill discovery at 158 million barrels of oil per sq mile.
The company's share price has been volatile, after it soared on the announcement of the new discovery last week. | UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (UKOG) has said its estimation of potential oil near Gatwick airport was untested. | 32314895 |
Former delivery boss Ralph Christie, 53, used more than £600,000 to fund his gambling habit, Bradford Crown Court heard.
The frauds, involving more than £1m, were carried out between March 2007 and May 2009.
He was jailed for seven years for five counts of fraud.
Christie, of North Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire was found guilty on Thursday after a six-week trial.
He convinced two of his victims, Michael and Kimberly Thompson from Doncaster to invest £200,000 in his property development firm on the island of Crete.
Christie had promised the Thompsons, who were planning semi-retirement on the Greek island, a 25% return on their money.
Later, the couple tried to get their money back but were met with excuses.
"We got so much back but then the rest of it never came," they said.
The Thompsons described Christie as a "remorseless" man "living off other people's money".
"It was like we were in mourning, it was like we'd lost a close family member," Mrs Thompson said.
"Some days I couldn't get out of bed." | A "remorseless" property developer who convinced his victims to invest in a bogus Greek property scheme has been jailed. | 31763111 |
"The president is enjoying very robust health and is continuing to carry on his duties" a statement said.
It warned that people speculating on his health will be "brought to book".
Mr Mutharika came into office in May 2014.
He spoke at the UN on 25 September and has been out of Malawi since then.
The government statement, posted on Facebook, and signed by the government spokesperson, said there was no need for people to panic.
It added that the rumours "were baseless, malicious and sickening".
It also reminded "all Malawians that whilst the laws of this country provide for freedom of expression, those rights ought to be exercised responsibly and within the law.
"Spreading false rumours about the health of the president is a criminal offence."
Local activist Gerald Kampanikiza told the privately-owned Nyasa Times newspaper that the government should provide video evidence to disprove the rumours.
"Take a video feed of Mr Mutharika and post [that] rather than his last public appearance photo as you are doing," Mr Kampanikiza is quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Malawians online have been using the hashtag #BringBackMutharika to call for the return of their president. | Malawi's government has dismissed rumours about President Peter Mutharika's health following his extended stay in the United States after attending the UN General Assembly in New York. | 37609034 |
A storytelling app, Traces, has been launched at St Fagans National History Museum.
The bilingual app focuses on characters who might "have lived and experienced" the castle and grounds in the early 20th Century.
The project hopes to offer visitors to the museum "something different".
Traces is a partnership between Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, Cardiff University, and Cardiff Bay-based company Yello Brick.
Dafydd James, head of digital media at National Museum Wales, said: "We hope it captures the visitors' imaginations." | Technology is helping to bring history to life at an open-air museum in Cardiff. | 39660716 |
The goals came from the Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta and Ivory Coast's Roger Assale in front of their home fans in Lubumbashi.
The victory gave Mazembe a 4-1 triumph on aggregate, after the Congolese side had won 2-1 in the first leg in Algiers last weekend.
Samatta broke the deadlock in the 75th minute, putting Mazembe ahead from the penalty spot after a foul by Zinedine Ferhat on Roger Assale.
It was Samatta's seventh goal of the campaign, to leave him as the joint leading scorer of this year's African Champions League, alongside Bakry 'Al Medina' Babiker of Sudan's Al Merrikh.
Assale made sure of the victory with a goal four minutes into stoppage time, tapping in from close range after Samatta spearheaded a counter-attack.
Goalkeepers Muteba Kidiaba of Mazembe and Ismail Mansouri of USM were virtual spectators during the opening half of a match staged on an artificial surface.
The introduction of Assale and Ghanaian Daniel Nii Adjei for the second half bolstered the Mazembe attack and Malian Adama Traore shot wide from close range just past the hour.
But persistent pressure from the home team produced their two winning goals.
The north African side finished the game with 10 men after Zinedine Ferhat picked up a second booking.
Mazembe, managed by former Mali coach Patrice Carteron, clinched this trophy for the first time since 2010, when they crushed Esperance of Tunisia 6-1 overall.
They join Zamalek of Egypt as the second most successful sides in the tournament's history, behind eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
North African teams had dominated the African Champions League in recent years, with Algeria's Entente Setif winning last year's title.
But the first-leg deficit, and Mazembe's home advantage, meant it was an uphill struggle for USM Alger to stage a comeback.
Mazembe's success means they will now represent Africa at the Fifa Club World Cup next month in Japan. | TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo were crowned club champions of Africa for a fifth time after a 2-0 victory over Algeria's USM Alger in the second leg of the Champions League final. | 34761440 |
Unbound sheets of Hugh Marwick's 1929 book The Orkney Norn were discovered in Kirkwall.
The Norn language - a variant of Old Norse - was spoken in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness.
A project was launched to get the pages bound, and they are now being sold in aid of the RNLI.
The pages were found when George Leonard was selling his family business.
He remembered seeing the sheets as a young boy and found them again on the first floor of the building which had acted as a store for Leonards, a stationery business.
After some practical and financial assistance, the pages were sent for binding.
Local language expert Dr Simon Hall said: "It lists all of the Norn words that he (Hugh Marwick) could find in Orkney during the early part of the 20th Century.
"He found these by going out and speaking to folk all over Orkney.
"He gathered them together and with huge academic rigour put them in to the book, which was a record of everything that was still extant at that point in time.
"If you look at the text of the book today you will see that there are hundreds of words that have fallen out of use but at the same time there are still many words in it that are used today."
Some of the words include whassigo - insincere talk - and puther, which is to grope about in the dark. | Copies of a historical book are going on sale in Orkney after the pages were discovered in a warehouse more than 80 years after being printed. | 37940700 |
The Strangford MP said victims of the Troubles want closure and justice.
He referred to the death of his cousin, Kenneth Smyth, murdered by the IRA, and other UDR members he knew personally.
Figures obtained by the BBC have challenged claims that investigations into Troubles killings are unduly focused on those committed by the Army.
The PSNI figures show investigations into killings by the Army account for about 30% of its legacy workload.
Mr Shannon was speaking during a debate brought forward by the DUP on the issue of investigating former members of the security forces during the Troubles.
Clearly upset and crying, Mr Shannon told fellow MPs that there was no multi-million pound investigation into the murder of his relative and he said it was wrong to suggest that one life was worth more than another.
"I resent the idea, at the present, that one life is worth more than another - it's not," Mr Shannon said.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland's minister for foreign affairs, Charlie Flanagan, has said prosecutions must be "vigorously pursued" in all unlawful troubles related deaths, regardless of the perpetrator.
Speaking at an event organised by Relatives for Justice on Thursday evening, Mr Flanagan said: "Regardless of who someone was and regardless of what they were doing, there is a requirement to effectively and meticulously investigate their death.
"It is not for governments to say to the bereaved that their loss or suffering is of greater or lesser worth than that or their neighbour or even their adversary."
Mr Flanagan said "the process is not about seeking to find an artificial balance or equivalence but about ensuring that we have a comprehensive approach. That means looking at all Troubles related deaths regardless of who the perpetrator was."
Mr Flanagan added that "there can be no hierarchy of victims".
"The Stormont House institutions set out a comprehensive, inclusive approach to dealing with our troubled past which also meets the obligations on State Parties - including the British and Irish governments - under the European Convention on Human Rights," he said.
SDLP MP Margaret Ritchie said inquiries "must be balanced and fair" and that the processes "must be set by victims and survivors, with truth and accountability at its very core".
She said that "no one is or should be above the rule of law".
Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan said there is a moral duty to look after service personnel.
The South Antrim MP said: "Unfortunately, too often, our troops have faced baseless accusations and have been dragged through the courts unnecessarily."
"No one is above the law regardless of whether they are in a uniform or not," he added.
Ms Ritchie acknowledged that inquests and prosecutions can look disproportionate, but they are only "part of what we are doing" and everyone should face justice.
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire spoke in favour of reforming legacy tribunals in Northern Ireland.
The police and armed forces cannot "act above [the law] or outside it", he said, but noted that the vast majority acted "honestly and with bravery".
He said that where soldiers face legal action, the government will supply counsel and "taxpayer-funded legal support will be provided" for as long as necessary.
He said, however, that in the case of Northern Ireland, the legacy cases have favoured those against the state.
He said that the system in Northern Ireland is not "delivering for anyone", and promised - in line with the Conservative manifesto - to reform the legacy tribunals and fully implement the Stormont House Agreement.
He described those who use the courts to make money off legacy cases as "appalling",
DUP MP Ian Paisley said the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, Barra McGrory, should remove himself from any involvement in legacy cases involving former members of the security forces because of a "perceived conflict of interest".
Conservative Sir Gerald Howarth accused Mr McGrory of issuing "a fatwa" to the media to suppress criticism of his treatment of veterans.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it was "aware of the debate and the breadth of political opinion expressed in the House of Commons" on Thursday.
"The PPS is wholly independent and, as the secretary of state has outlined, 'it is wrong to suggest that the PPS is applying itself to one side'," it added.
"There is no reason for a perception that the PPS does anything other than apply the law as it currently stands in Northern Ireland and does so without fear, favour or prejudice.
"All of our decisions are taken in full compliance with the PPS Code for Prosecutors."
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May attacked those she claimed have made a business of dragging soldiers through the courts over incidents in Northern Ireland.
She told MPs the government would ensure any Stormont investigative bodies have a legal duty to be fair, balanced and proportionate.
Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said on Thursday that Mr Brokenshire's remarks in the House of Commons were "an attempt by the British establishment to grant immunity to state forces involved in the conflict".
"Today James Brokenshire repeated the crass comments of British prime minister Theresa May that it is 'appalling when people try to make a business of dragging our brave troops through the courts'," Mr Kelly said.
He added that Mr Brokenshire's remarks were "dangerous and disgraceful". | DUP MP Jim Shannon has cried in the House of Commons during a debate about the prosecution of security force members. | 39068215 |
Kyowa Kirin International, formerly ProStrakan, is based in Galashiels.
KRN23 is the first of a pipeline of drugs from KKI's parent company, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, to reach the stage of seeking European approval.
The company said it was part of efforts to "contribute to the health and wellbeing of people around the world".
Rickets is caused by vitamin D deficiency resulting in weakened bones. | A Borders-based pharmaceuticals firm is seeking authorisation for a new drug for the treatment of the most common heritable form of rickets. | 38517807 |
TV series Da Vinci's Demons received six nominations, with Doctor Who and Y Gwyll/Hinterland receiving five each.
Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi is up against Hinterland's Richard Harrington and Rhys Ifans (Dan y Wenallt) for best actor.
Nominations were announced on Wednesday with the presentations in September.
The awards ceremony takes place at the St David's Hall, Cardiff.
Swansea City football documentary Jack to a King has received five nominations.
It is the 24th annual British Academy Cymru Awards, that recognise excellence in broadcasting and production in film and television in Wales.
Set Fire to the Stars has been nominated in the feature/television film category, for original music by Gruff Rhys, make-up and hair, photography and lighting, writer, costume design and production design.
In the factual programming category, Michael Sheen's Valleys Rebellion will go up against Jamie Baulch: Looking for my Birth Mum and Malcolm Allen: Cyfle Arall, for the single documentary award.
The factual series category will be contested by RAF Fighter Pilot: Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience, Adam Price a Streic y Glowyr and Great Welsh Writers: Dannie Abse.
Michael Sheen and Rhod Gilbert are nominated for the best presenter award, along with poet Owen Sheers for Dylan Thomas, A Poet's Guide.
Bafta Cymru director Hannah Raybould said: "It's been an outstanding year for television and film talent working in Wales.
"Across all categories we've seen an excellent breadth of programmes and individuals represented - in both languages, and from those starting out in their careers to the very experienced."
A breakthrough award will also be given to an emerging professional who has made a significant impact in television or film in the past year.
Host Huw Stephens called the night "a celebration of all the hard work that goes into making some incredible programmes and films". | Dylan Thomas biopic Set Fire to the Stars has received seven nominations for this year's Bafta Cymru awards. | 34056102 |
BBC Radio Cymru's Shân Cothi sang the Welsh hymn Calon Lân with Andres Evans.
The record-setting link-up, officially "the greatest distance between people singing a duet", was broadcast live on Radio Cymru for BBC Music Day.
It is one of a number of projects marking the 150th anniversary of the establishment of a Welsh settlement, Y Wladfa, in Patagonia in 1865. | A duet bridging the 7,000 miles between Wales and Patagonia has set a new world record. | 33031520 |
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