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Danny Wilson's side rose above Ospreys to eighth in the Pro12 table, one point below sixth-placed Edinburgh and Munster in seventh.
Josh Turnbull, Rey Lee-Lo and Gareth Anscombe went over for the hosts.
Dragons battled throughout with Sarel Pretorius' try and Dorian Jones' penalty their reward.
Rhys Patchell was playing his last game at the Arms Park before joining Scarlets in a Blues team showing two changes from the 28-22 win in Llanelli.
Kristian Dacey replaced Matthew Rees at hooker with Jarrad Heota taking over from Turnbull in the second row.
Dragons were unchanged from their 23-21 win at Gloucester in the European Challenge Cup, but will travel to Montpellier in next Saturday's semi-final on the back of a Welsh derby defeat.
While Dragons were in action, Montpellier won 26-20 in the French Top 14 at Stade Francais.
A player with west Wales roots helped ensure the east Wales contest went Blues' way.
Having moved to number eight, Turnbull underlined his value to Blues this season by bursting past Taulupe Faletau's challenge to go over from close range.
Anscombe added a penalty to that opening try before Jones put Dragons on the scoreboard with his reply.
After Anscombe's second penalty the visitors had chances with Hallam Amos and Pretorius to the fore in attack.
Amos fluffed one chance when he went for the line instead of using an overlap, but Pretorius pounced at the base of a scrum.
Pretorius' yellow card for a deliberate knock-on while attempting to intercept looked harsh to some.
In his absence, man-of-the-match Anscombe's perfectly-weighted chip gave Lee-Lo the chance to gather and score.
Anscombe converted to give the hosts a 10-point half-time lead and added his final penalty as Blues tightened their grip on the game.
However, Blues were as guilty as the visitors of wasting chances.
When Anscombe went over to finish the final move of the game, Blues were already rueing missing the opportunities that could have led to a bonus-point win that would have sent them sixth in the table.
Cardiff Blues: Rhys Patchell; Dan Fish, Garyn Smith, Rey Lee-Lo, Tom James; Gareth Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Gethin Jenkins (capt), Kristian Dacey, Taufa'ao Filise, Jarrad Hoeata, James Down, Ellis Jenkins, Sam Warburton, Josh Turnbull
Replacements: Matthew Rees, Brad Thyer, Dillon Lewis, Manoa Vosawai, Josh Navidi, Tomos Williams, Harri Millard, Aled Summerhill
Newport Gwent Dragons: Carl Meyer; Adam Hughes, Tyler Morgan, Adam Warren, Hallam Amos; Dorian Jones, Sarel Pretorius; Phil Price, Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Rynard Landman, Nick Crosswell, Lewis Evans (capt), Nic Cudd, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Boris Stankovich, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Ed Jackson, Charlie Davies, Angus O'Brien, Geraint Rhys Jones.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges, Gwyn Morris (both Wales)
Citing Commissioner: Jeff Mark (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales) | Cardiff Blues retained their hopes of European Champions Cup qualification with a hard-fought win over Newport Gwent Dragons. | 36052878 |
But if you want to understand the challenge facing the nation, simply consider this: the disease has now become so common that one out of every two people born after 1960 will develop it during their lifetime.
It means that every two minutes someone in England is diagnosed with the disease.
The major cause is, of course, the fact we are living longer. But lifestyle factors, such as smoking, drinking and obesity are also playing a role.
It means over the past 40 years the number of cancer diagnoses has more than doubled - as this graph from figures collated by the Office for National Statistics shows.
But the increase in cases is putting a strain on services. The plans unveiled on Sunday cover just England, but across the UK the health service is struggling to meet its targets.
Probably the most high-profile target is the 62-day deadline for patients to start treatment following an urgent referral by a GP.
This is used in all parts of the UK - although it is measured slightly differently in each country so direct comparisons are difficult.
Nonetheless, all the parts of the UK have one thing in common: They are not meeting their own target.
These problems are similar to the ones experienced by A&E and routine hospital operations services. But for cancer it is arguably even more important. The faster patients get treated, the greater their chance of survival.
Go to our special report page on cancer for more information about the disease and what is being done to tackle it.
Talking of survival, how is the NHS faring? Well, survival rates have been increasing. Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows that five-year survival in England has risen substantially since the early 1970s.
Fewer than a third of patients diagnosed during 1971-2 lived for another five years. Now more than half do.
But depending on which cancer you have, survival rates vary greatly.
For example, among men five-year survival rates for testicular cancer stand at 97%, skin melanomas 90% and Hodgkin lymphoma 84%.
But for lung cancer it is 11% and pancreatic cancer 5%.
Among women the survival rates for those two cancers are the same, while the best rates are seen in skin melanomas at 93%, followed by thyroid cancers at 87% and breast at 86%.
Despite the overall improvements it is also clear the NHS has some way to go before it achieves the results of some of the best-performing health systems.
A report by the Nuffield Trust think tank published earlier this month looked at how the UK was performing against 14 similar countries when it came to three common cancers.
The mortality rates date back to 2010, but still give a good indication of how far there is to go.
A big part of England's new cancer strategy is improving earlier diagnosis - half of patients are currently diagnosed at an advanced stage with a fifth only happening after a visit to an A&E department.
Improving access to tests is a key part of this.
But there is also a lot of work is going on to develop new treatments. My colleague Fergus Walsh explains what's been happening in this video below.
But for all the emphasis on testing and treatment, there is a lot people can do. Four in 10 cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyles.
The biggest cause of cancer is smoking, but a host of other activities from diet to exercise also play a role.
If we are going to improve the odds in the fight against cancer, everyone has a role to play. | When it comes to cancer, there is a mountain of statistics. | 33570485 |
The current presidential frontrunner is outspoken 71-year-old mayor Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte.
But current president Benigno Aquino is leading attempts to bring together other candidates to defeat him.
The campaign has been marred by violence. On Saturday a mayoral candidate was murdered in the south.
A gunman stormed the home of Armando Ceballos, standing as an independent in the town of Lantapan, and shot him dead, police said.
It brings to 15 the number of people killed during the campaign.
Correspondents say the Philippines has a long tradition of political violence and dozens are killed during each election campaign.
On Monday voters will select a new president for a six-year term, as well as a vice-president, 12 senators and many local officials.
More than 54 million people are registered to vote across the archipelago of 7,000 islands.
Rodrigo Duterte, nicknamed "The Punisher" for his tough crime-fighting approach, has promised to eliminate crime and corruption within months of attaining office.
However, his brash speaking style and contempt for political correctness has seen him compared to US Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
He recently joked that, as mayor, he should have been first to rape an Australian missionary murdered in a prison riot, but he later apologised.
President Aquino called on Mr Duterte's rivals to agree on a plan to narrow the field of candidates and consolidate their votes.
However, candidates including Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay and Miriam Defensor-Santiago refused to step aside.
Mr Duterte's campaign said the attempt to form an alliance against him "reeks of the stench of defeat".
The economy, crime, corruption, poverty and territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea are all major issues.
Traffic jams and Duterte fans in Manila
Filipino boxing youth and politician Pacquiao
Election issues through emojis
The fizzy drink and bun presidential poll
Add BBC News on Snapchat: bbcnews.
Who will lead the Philippines? | Final campaign rallies are being held in the Philippines' capital Manila ahead of Monday's election. | 36235186 |
Barrie Newton, 71, of Rhuddlan, was the owner of the Light Works on Vale Road, Rhyl, where the blaze broke out on 23 December.
Neighbouring properties were evacuated as emergency crews tackled the fire.
A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the blaze is not being treated as suspicious. | A man who died in a fire at a Denbighshire workshop has been named. | 35193571 |
The plans, which have yet to be officially unveiled, follow similar plans to make company boards liable if staff facilitate tax evasion.
Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end "boardroom excess" and make tackling corporate crime a key focus.
Downing Street said the government would announce its bill in due course.
A new criminal finance bill will extend legislation and make employers responsible for preventing money-laundering, false accounting and fraud, The Times newspaper reports.
It comes after a recent speech by the attorney general Jeremy Wright QC who suggested the government would consult on extending the planned law on tax evasion, announced earlier this year.
Speaking at a symposium in Cambridge, he is reported as saying: "When considering the question 'where does the buck stop?' and who is responsible for economic crime, it is clear the answer is to be found at every level, from the boardroom down."
He said companies facing prosecution would be more likely to "take the actions necessary to discourage such offending in the first place".
It follows claims that while individuals were convicted over the Libor rigging scandal, UK authorities lacked the powers to act against institutions.
David Green, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said while banker Tom Hayes was the first person to be convicted for Libor fixing his employers were only held to account for his actions in a US court, where the law makes a prosecution easier.
Six former City money brokers who were cleared of helping to rig the lending rate claimed they had been made scapegoats for the scandal and any questions about the affair should have been put to senior bosses. | Company bosses could be prosecuted for failing to stop their staff committing fraud under new laws being considered by ministers. | 37335744 |
The death toll from deadly storms in the two states has risen to 21.
Forecasters have said more heavy rains are expected over the next few days, hitting the area with up to three more inches of rain.
This May has been the wettest month on record for Texas.
After a near dam break on Wednesday, rain-swollen rivers, creeks and lakes are now posing a threat to Texas and Oklahoma residents.
On Thursday, residents living in Wharton, a town southwest of Houston, were told to evacuate their homes due to a predicted rise of the Colorado River.
In North Texas, residents were asked to evacuate as well, because of the Brazos River reaching flood stage levels. People living in Western Oklahoma are evacuating homes, too.
Officials said at a press conference on Thursday that authorities are continuing to look for members of the families who were swept away in the flood in Wimberley, Texas.
Continued rain will hurt search efforts, and it is understandable to feel cynical, officials said, but efforts are not over.
Anywhere from 800 to 1,400 homes in Houston have been damaged by the storms.
President Barack Obama pledged federal assistance on Tuesday after Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in at least 40 Texas counties, including Harris County, which includes Houston.
Elsewhere in Houston, 100,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled at a flooded wastewater treatment plant.
Meanwhile, Texas authorities defended the way they alerted residents to flooding dangers.
In Hays County, where a vacation home was swept away, authorities said they placed multiple alerts to mobile phones and calls to landlines.
National Weather Service warnings were received on people's mobile phones in Houston, but city officials said they do not have a system that lets them send more targeted warnings. | More rain is expected in the southern US as recovery efforts for missing people continue across Texas and Oklahoma. | 32904575 |
29 December 2015 Last updated at 10:55 GMT
Also known as the "fire volcano", the Colima is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. | The Colima volcano in Mexico has been spewing out large columns of ash into the air, with two major eruptions within an hour and a half of each other. | 35193590 |
The Welsh county reached 221 for 9 in their 40 overs, with captain Mark Wallace making 49 and Chris Cooke 47.
But Moeen Ali's century ensured Worcestershire were always ahead of the run-rate at the Swalec Stadium and they got home with 14 balls to spare.
Will Owen took the first three wickets to fall while there were two apiece for spinners Andrew Salter and Nick James.
Glamorgan's remaining warm-up game is a three-day affair against the students of Cardiff MCCU starting on 5 April. | Glamorgan slipped to a two-wicket defeat against Worcestershire in their 40-over friendly in Cardiff. | 21977633 |
The Welshman, 48, who represented Great Britain's deaf swimming team in the 1990s, completed the crossing shortly before midnight on Sunday.
He was supported by his boat, the Louise Jane, and raised over £6,000 for the current Great Britain Deaf Swimming team after his 15-hour marathon.
The money will help deaf athletes, who receive little or no financial support, compete at the Deaflympics in 2017.
Don't let your deafness stop you
Andrew Rees' message to other deaf people after his swim
They have to raise the costs of competing for their country as well as training to be in peak condition for their events.
The 23rd Deaflympics are due to take place in Samsun, Turkey from 18-30 July, 2017.
After 18 months of long training sessions and preparations, Rees had set off from Semphire Hoe beach near Dover on Sunday morning.
For the first six hours, his stroke was fast and he was overtaking other swimmers, including those who were in relays.
But unexpected weather hit when he reached French waters, with gale force six winds creating 2.5-metre swells and making the waters choppy.
Nearing the French shores, swimming through jellyfish, Rees' next battle was the tide pushing him out to sea and at this point he was getting tired.
With light fading, communication became difficult due to his deafness - but he eventually crawled ashore at Sangatte beach around 11:30 BST.
Of the 11 support boats that had left that morning only two arrived. The other boat was supporting a relay team that completed after Andrew.
Find out how to get into swimming with our special guide.
"I would like to congratulate Andrew on the fantastic achievement of completing the Channel swim solo, the first British deaf swimmer to do so," said GB Deaf Swimming's chair, Brian Baxter.
"This is a monumental coup, both on a personal level and especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing swimmers.
"We are very grateful that he nominated GB Deaf Swimming Club as the chosen organisation for fund-raising purposes.
"The money he has raised will help our Deaflympic swimmers immensely, and his swim will also serve as an inspiration to them all."
Referring to the first man to swim the Channel unaided, Rees said after his crossing: "Captain Matthew Webb's quote hits the nail on the head, 'Nothing great is easy'." | Andrew Rees has become the first deaf man to swim the English Channel solo. | 36826128 |
Maria Mills, 51, was originally awarded £1,100 a month from 50-year-old Graham Mills after 13 years of marriage.
Appeal Court judges also ruled he should pay her £1,441 per month as she is "unable to meet her basic needs".
Mr Mills had argued he should not have to "pick up the tab" 15 years after the couple split.
Lord Justice Longmore and Sir Ernest Ryder heard the couple married in 1988, had a now-grown-up son, separated in 2001 and divorced in 2002.
Mr Mills, a surveyor, had agreed to give Mrs Mills, a former Notting Hill estate agent, almost all their "liquid capital" when they divorced, while he kept his business.
His barrister, Philip Cayford, told the court Mr Mills, who now lives in Guildford, had since remarried and wanted to "move on" with his life.
The court heard Mrs Mills had made some "unwise" property investments, moving from a house in Weybridge to a flat in Wimbledon, and then to an apartment in a luxury Victorian mansion block in Battersea.
After selling the Battersea flat she was left "without any of the capital", the court was told, and was now living in a rented home in Weybridge.
Mrs Mills works for two days per week as a beauty therapist, the court was told.
Frank Feehan, representing Mrs Mills, said she had been left with the responsibility for the couple's young child and without enough money to buy a house that she considered "good enough".
He said his client was "unable to meet her basic needs".
In the ruling, Sir Ernest said Mr Mills had the ability to make the increased maintenance "until a further order of the court". | The ex-husband of a woman who was awarded £230,000 on her divorce has been told by the Court of Appeal he must support her for life. | 38891663 |
Loo-Loo, formerly called Armitage after the toilet she was found in, was rescued from Cashinos in Morden last month.
She has now joined two other chickens living with the RSPCA's hen expert.
"She's missing quite a few feathers but she's on the mend and settling in well," said Mia Fernyhough. "It's an absolute mystery how she ended up where she did."
"We'll never know what happened to her."
Loo-Loo is believed to be an Aseel hen, a particularly intelligent breed that originated in India and Pakistan.
When she was found in the Surrey casino, she was dehydrated and too exhausted to fly, said Ms Fernyhough.
"My hens Matilda and Rachael were a bit unsure of Loo-Loo at first as she's quite different to them, both in appearance and - at first - in behaviour too. Loo-Loo didn't seem to recognise chicken food or the trough it's fed to them in so I think she may have been fed kitchen scraps.
"She watches my other hens and copies them so she is quickly getting the hang of things." | A chicken that was found drinking from a toilet in a casino has a new home. | 34595221 |
The 24-year-old Guernsey woman was found dead on a houseboat she shared with a local family in Srinagar, Kashmir, in April 2013.
Dutchman Richard de Wit denies her murder in a trial that started in July.
BBC reporter Riyaz Masroor said the judges were "disappointed" nothing conclusive had been presented.
He said: "In all about 26 witnesses have been questioned in the court room.
"The prosecution has never been able to produce the murder weapon or any direct eyewitness."
Questions have also been asked about the relationship between Ms Groves and Saeed Shoda, who describes himself as her boyfriend and whose family lived in the houseboat. | Judges in the Sarah Groves murder trial have repeated requests for the prosecution to present the murder weapon to the court. | 26786051 |
The decision comes one day before Clayton Lockett, 38, was due to die.
Another inmate, Charles Warner, was scheduled to be executed on 29 April.
Last month, a judge ruled that the secrecy surrounding the source of the state's lethal injection drugs was unconstitutional.
The court decision came as US states are having increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms.
Critics say the states risk botching executions and causing unnecessary suffering with impure drugs.
In January, an execution in Ohio took 25 minutes to complete, as the inmate reportedly gasped and made choking noises in the moments before he was pronounced dead.
The state used two untried drugs to kill convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use.
Oklahoma state law blocks officials from revealing - even during court proceedings - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate the inmates, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts.
The challenge to Oklahoma's law was brought by Lockett, who received the death penalty for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman, and Warner, who was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.
Oklahoma County district court Judge Patricia Parrish struck down the secrecy law on 26 March, saying the protocol that prevented the inmates from seeking information about the drugs used violated their rights.
The state said on 1 April that the men would be executed using midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - a combination never before used in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.
But the lawyers for the inmates said they had received no information showing that the drugs were "safe, or to prove that they were acquired legally".
The supreme court stayed the executions on Monday until final determination of the issues surrounding the secrecy law are settled, according to reports.
Thirty-two US states have death penalty laws and 18, as well as the District of Columbia, have abolished capital punishment.
But in recent years only a handful of states have actually carried out executions - nine in 2013 and seven in 2012. | The Oklahoma Supreme Court has delayed the execution of two murderers who challenged a state law preventing death row inmates learning the source of the drugs used to kill them. | 27106623 |
Eddie Maher, 59, spent 19 years on the run after fleeing from Lloyds Bank, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in a security van packed with cash in January 1993.
He was caught in 2012, living in the US under a false identity after authorities were tipped off.
Peter Bunn, who worked with Maher, said he was "surprised" at the release.
Maher, who the BBC has learned was freed from custody on January 8, was photographed in Eastbourne, East Sussex, by the Sunday Mirror newspaper last week.
He was dubbed "Fast Eddie" in media reports and was once one of Britain's most wanted men.
Maher was working as a cable engineer in Missouri in February 2012 when authorities eventually tracked him down. He had been declared bankrupt two years earlier.
Police had been tipped off by his estranged daughter-in-law, Jessica King.
Ex-pub landlord Maher, formerly of South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, was sentenced to five years at Southwark Crown Court in March 2013 after being brought back to the UK.
Mr Bunn, 70, had been working with Maher as a Securicor guard on 22 January 1993 but was left behind when Maher drove away after dropping him off at the Felixstowe branch.
Mr Bunn was initially suspected by police as a possible accomplice of Maher.
"I must admit I'm rather surprised he's out," said Mr Bunn. "I think he got off lightly, although considering he was on the run for the best part of 20 years I suppose he's pretty harmless now.
"It's all history as far as I'm concerned. I don't hold any grudges. He didn't hurt me, he just caused me a load of grief immediately after it happened."
Earlier this month, it emerged Maher's ex-daughter-in-law, Jessica King, had been paid a £10,000 reward for help in the conviction.
At Maher's sentencing hearing, the court was told it was likely he pocketed only a fraction of the £1.2m he escaped with. Several other people were suspected of helping him in an escape plan that saw him use at least two getaway cars.
Three people arrested as suspected accomplices of Maher were not charged.
Maher's £129,000 fire service pension was seized under the Criminal Justice Act in September 2013, with £50,000 paid to G4S, which took over Securicor, and the remaining £79,000 given to insurers Equitas.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) declined to comment on Maher's release.
Guidelines state that a five-year "standard determinate sentence" will mean a prisoner is automatically released at the halfway point but will serve the rest of the sentence on licence. Prisoners will be immediately recalled to prison if they breach the conditions. | A fugitive thief, who stole £1.2m, "got off lightly" after being freed half way through a five-year jail term, an ex colleague said. | 31484795 |
Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said British journalists uncovered the scandal but US authorities were taking the lead.
Two British banks are reviewing whether corrupt payments to Fifa officials went through their branches.
Mr Bryant asked if British authorities were "lax" on tackling financial crime.
The MP has written to the prime minister asking him to call an urgent summit of British football associations, sponsors and broadcasters to agree a common approach to Fifa amid European-led calls for a boycott of the World Cup.
Sepp Blatter's re-election as Fifa president on Friday was overshadowed by the arrests on Wednesday of seven Fifa officials as part of an FBI investigation of corrupt payments.
He refused to step down despite appeals from figures including David Cameron and Michel Platini, head of European football's governing body UEFA.
Two UK banks named in FBI papers - Standard Chartered and Barclays - have launched internal reviews into whether they were used for corrupt payments by Fifa officials, the BBC understands.
But Mr Bryant told BBC Radio Wales on Monday that Mr Cameron needed to explain why UK authorities had not done more.
He said: "Some of the allegations are that it was British financial institutions that were involved in all of this, and financial institutions in British overseas territories - why on earth has there been no action in the UK?
"How many years have we known abut this for?"
Mr Bryant asked whether the British financial authorities had the resources they needed.
"So many of us are mystified why so little has been done to prosecute people in relation to Libor, in relation to banking malpractice, in relation to the economic crash and so on, and maybe we have prosecuting authorities in this country which are rather lax." | British prosecutors have been accused of failing to investigate corruption in world football by Labour's shadow culture minister, in the wake of the Fifa allegations. | 32958072 |
It is understood that two brothers, aged six and 13, were paddling in the water when they were swept away. Their mother and others tried to save them.
The emergency services arrived at 16:45 on Saturday.
Five people were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where a 37-year-old woman and a six-year-old boy were pronounced dead.
The 13-year-old boy, a 25 year-old woman and a man, 28, remain in hospital receiving treatment. Their condition is not known.
Police Scotland has launched an investigation and officers are searching the scene.
Witness Emma Anderson was in the area at the time and told the BBC she heard sirens and police "frantically" telling people to evacuate the area.
"The whole boulevard was covered in ambulances and police. We overheard there was a body in the water and we saw what seemed to be the body of a small child floating lifelessly in the sea," she said.
"This is something that will forever be in my mind. Not something I ever expected to see on a fun day out with my kids. Heartbreaking for all involved."
Rachel McBain, 25, who rang 999, told the Sunday Mail newspaper she saw two children go into the waves.
"I turned away for a few minutes and when I looked back I saw the two bodies floating in the water," she said.
"I was panicking but phoned the police. The next minute it was absolute chaos and there were sirens within seconds."
Ch Insp Stewart Mackie described it as a "very tragic incident".
He added: "It will undoubtedly bring shock and sadness to the entire city of Aberdeen and further afield.
"Given the recent weather conditions we'd urge members of the public to take care, especially when near coastal or beach areas."
He also asked anyone who witnessed the incident to make contact with police by calling 101.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the news was "heartbreaking".
She tweeted: "Tragic, heartbreaking news. My thoughts are with all those involved."
Police are currently making contact with the next of kin of the deceased. Fire crews, coastguards and the ambulance service were involved in the rescue effort.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said some people had been pulled out of the water by police and others had been rescued by the inshore lifeboat. | A mother and son have died after five people got into difficulty in the sea off Aberdeen beach. | 37142490 |
The Wigan-born ukulele legend, who died in 1961, was one of the country's best-paid stars during his heyday in the 1930s and 1940s.
Chairman of the UK George Formby Society, Caroline Stewart, said the film put him on the "road to stardom".
In it, Formby crashes his bike around the course, performing his own stunts.
The film, his third, is widely regarded as one of his funniest.
Formby plays George Shuttleworth, a chimney sweep from Wigan who dreams of winning the Isle of Man motorcycle races.
It was shot against the backdrop of the 1935 TT races in locations including Douglas beach and the Palace Ballrooms.
A star of the stage and screen, Formby did much to keep spirits high during World War Two.
The George Formby Society will attend a series of events over the weekend including a screening of the film at the Manx Museum on Saturday at 15:15 BST.
They will also perform a ukulele recital at his statue in Douglas on Sunday at 11:00.
Finally, a Shuttleworth Snap motorcycle - on which he rode to victory in the film - will make an appearance. | George Formby fans from around the British Isles are descending on Douglas to mark the 80th anniversary of his Isle of Man TT film No Limit. | 33638450 |
They have been training for the Belfast Marathon fun run for six months.
It is the first time Mencap, the marathon's charity partner, has entered a team of runners with learning disabilities.
Team member and charity ambassador James Martin said it had been tough going.
"It's been really good to have the training, apart from getting up early in the morning. You just have to get out there and do your best," he said.
"I am really looking forward to taking part in the marathon. I hope it's a nice day. I'm going to do my best and not worry about the time."
The group did some laps of a tennis court and a series of exercises involving running in and out of cones, before setting off for a jog around the park.
Liam McGarry, of Belfast Running Club, coaches the team every week.
"We decided we wanted to try and open the club a bit more," he said.
"I've done a lot of courses for couch to 5k, but I never really saw enough people with learning disabilities and I thought it's a perfect opportunity to get out in the park and enjoy it and the attitude has been brilliant.
"It's been rewarding and challenging in a good way as you're testing yourself and learning things and you see the members have a laugh and you can see how they support each other."
Barbara Norris, who has a learning disability, said taking part in the marathon had been a confidence booster.
"Being able to run is a massive opportunity for me. It's been hard work, but having the trainer, Liam, coming along to coach us has been amazing and he's done so much for us. I just enjoy being part of a massive running family". | A crisp Spring morning at Ormeau Park was the setting for the Belfast Falcons, a running group whose members have learning disabilities. | 39763407 |
The UN says it is investigating eight new reports of sex abuse, following more than 20 previous allegations.
One 14 year-old says she was raped by an armed soldier near the airport.
The 120 soldiers who will be repatriated are from Congo-Brazzaville. During the investigation, they will be confined to barracks.
Living under a shadow of fear
Road to anarchy
Last week the UN said European troops were implicated in child sex abuse allegations.
Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the UN envoy for CAR, travelled to Bambari, the country's second biggest city where the latest abuse allegedly occurred, on Thursday.
He expressed outrage and shame.
There is "sufficient initial evidence" that five of the alleged victims are minors and one adult has been sexually exploited, according to a fact-finding expert sent to the city.
The NGO Human Rights Watch said most of the abuse occurred while the Congolese peacekeepers were temporarily deployed to protect the city's airport.
UN assistant secretary-general Anthony Banbury said there are likely to be 22 confirmed allegations of sexual abuse or exploitation in the UN's peacekeeping mission in CAR. That may rise as a result of the latest allegations.
Last week, the UN said a number of girls aged between 14 and 16 alleged they had been raped by Georgian members of the EU's operation Eufor in CAR.
A seven-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy said they were abused by French troops.
The troops were sent to stem violence between Christian militias and largely Muslim rebels.
The rebels seized power in March 2013 - in response, the militias took up arms against them.
Last December an independent panel criticised the UN's handling of abuse allegations in the CAR, calling it "seriously flawed" and a "gross institutional failure".
It accused senior UN officials of abusing their authority by failing to take action over allegations of abuse by soldiers from France, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.
A 10,000-strong UN force took over a peacekeeping mission in September 2014. | More than 100 UN peacekeepers will be sent home from the Central African Republic after an investigation into sex abuse allegations, the UN says. | 35496785 |
It comes after Barcelona said they were suing the new Paris St-Germain player for 8.5m euros (£7.83m), as they want him to return the bonus paid when he signed the five-year extension.
Fifa said it had received a claim from the Brazilian against Barcelona.
On Tuesday, Neymar announced he will contest the Catalan club's lawsuit.
The 25-year-old's management group N & N Consultoria said in a statement that the player had fulfilled the terms of the deal
PSG broke the world transfer record earlier this month by triggering the 222m euros (£200m) buyout clause in Neymar's contract.
The 25-year-old won two La Liga titles, three Copas del Rey and the 2015 Champions League during his four years with Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique believes forward Lionel Messi will not leave the club despite delaying signing a new contract.
The five-time world player of the year and Barca's all-time leading goalscorer agreed a new four-year deal on 5 July, but has not yet put pen to paper.
Messi, like Neymar previously, has a release clause set at 250m euros (£230m).
The 30-year-old could even agree to leave the club for free as early as January, as his current contract expires in June of next year.
Pique said he is unconcerned by the delay.
"Everyone has the right to sign when they want, and we hope he signs it as soon as possible but I'm not worried at all about his contract, because I know him and I know what he's like," said the Spain international. | Forward Neymar is to sue former club Barcelona over a 26m euros (£23.97m) unpaid loyalty bonus included in the contract he signed last November. | 41043195 |
North Korea has in turn switched on its own giant speakers.
As the world continues to investigate whether the North's bomb claim is true and how it should respond, what are the two Koreas shouting at each other?
For the South, their purpose is propaganda - persuading North Korean soldiers to doubt their own regime or even defect.
The propaganda programming, running on and off since the Korean War, has become more subtle in recent years.
It includes weather reports - making it a useful thing for Northern soldiers to listen to - news from both Koreas and abroad which won't otherwise be heard over the border, dramas, favourable discussion of democracy, capitalism and life in South Korea, and less favourable comments on corruption and mismanagement in the North.
The speakers also blast music in the form of Korea's much-loved K-pop, which is banned in the North. Songs from Korean girl band Apink, singer IU and boy band Big Bang - including their megahit Bang Bang Bang - are on the propagandists' playlists.
The North's broadcasts are harder to hear - possibly the result of poor speakers - and carry its characteristically strident condemnations of Seoul and its allies.
They may not be as powerful, but it is thought they do help cancel out the sound of the South's speakers to some extent.
A South Korean military spokesperson said there were two to six hours of broadcasts daily, day and night, at irregular hours.
While the exact distance the sound travels will depend on topography, weather conditions and so on, the South Korean military claim the broadcasts can be heard as much as 10 km (6.2 miles) across the border in the day, and up to 24 km (15 miles) across at night.
That would easily reach North Korean troops, and would be audible by any civilians in the area.
In August, when the South briefly turned its speakers back on after an 11-year break, the military said there were 11 loudspeaker sites. But it has not confirmed if that is still the case. Their exact location along the border is also not officially disclosed.
One South Korean government official said the North appears to have expanded its own speaker operations, from two sites to "several".
"In fact, the anti-South loudspeaker broadcasts appear to be coming from every location where we are broadcasting," the unnamed official told the Yonhap news agency.
Pyongyang says it considers them an act of war and has threatened to blow up the speakers. Apart from the regime's usual sensitivity to insults and threats, its anger could be because they might be working.
The pop-cultural "Korean Wave" has not just broken on distant shores - North Koreans too are fans of movies and dramas smuggled across the border, says Kim Yong Hun, president of Daily NK, an online newspaper reporting on North Korea, with a network of sources inside the country.
"Its popularity trickles down to ordinary residents and is especially favoured by younger generations. Soldiers are not exempt from the obsession; songs and cultural programming transmitted by their brethren in the South holds massive power to influence how young soldiers view the North Korean system."
"Prolonged listening of these broadcasts day and night typically has a gradated and ultimately transformative effect," Kim Yong Hun says. "The North Korean government's enraged response is proof positive of the threat these broadcasts pose to its grip on power."
It is impossible to know.
In 2004, the broadcasts were stopped as part of a North-South deal. Seoul threatened to restart theirs in 2010 - going as far as reinstalling them along the border, before settling for radio broadcasts instead.
They finally did restart on 10 August 2015 - after a border landmine maimed two South Korean soldiers - only to end just weeks later, as part of another deal with the North to dial back tensions.
Some see the broadcasts as unnecessarily provocative. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, on a recent visit to Japan, said that resuming the broadcasts was "simply rising to the bait".
But their defenders argue that the North is annoyed by them precisely because they do work, or at least that they are a useful bargaining chip to use in negotiations.
The South also has a radio programme, called "The Voice of Freedom", which is transmitted into the North by radio. Dedicated listeners in Seoul can even tune in on FM107.3. Like the loudspeaker broadcasts, they are also sometimes halted. The North also attempts to jam the signal.
Other organisations, such as Unification Media Group, also broadcast radio into the North, though typically in a more neutral way than the military's efforts.
Still other groups, mostly made up of defectors, drop leaflets, DVDs, USB sticks and other material across the border, using balloons. Nearby residents say this could encourage the North to open fire, and while the government does not like the campaigns, it says it will not stop them. | South Korea has responded to North Korea's recent claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb by switching back on its gigantic loudspeakers pointed across the border. | 35278451 |
The visually-impaired athlete completed the 750m swim, 20km bike run and 5km run in one hour 14 minutes 53 seconds.
There were silvers for Ryan Taylor (PT2) and Kerry Large (PT4), ahead of debutant Ruth Wilson, who took bronze.
In another World Series Event in Yokohama, Japan, Mark Conway claimed bronze in the PT1 event.
The Series next heads to Strathclyde Park in Glasgow on 4-5 June as athletes continue to fight for ranking points ahead of the sport's Paralympic debut in Rio in September.
The World Triathlon Series: Yokohama highlights will be broadcast on BBC2 at 14:00 BST and then on the BBC Sport iPlayer. | Melissa Reid and her guide Hazel Smith have claimed PT5 gold in the ITU World Paratriathlon Event Series in Aguilas, Portugal. | 36296683 |
Media playback is unsupported on your device
2 October 2013 Last updated at 16:38 BST
The train driver was forced to apply the emergency brake when he saw the woman at Waterbeach on 12 September.
Richard Schofield, from Network Rail, said it was "one of the closest near misses we've seen".
British Transport Police is trying to trace the woman, who failed to stop despite the flashing lights and warning signals. | A cyclist came within seconds of death after failing to stop at a level crossing in Cambridgeshire. | 24365367 |
Unite the union will call eight 24 hour strikes across four sites, starting on 19 April and ending on 24 May.
It will be the first time that staff at BMW's UK operations have staged a walk-out.
BMW employs about 8,000 people and Unite says that the action could involve up to 3,500 workers who are in final-salary pension schemes.
Unite claims that BMW's intention to close the pension scheme by 31 May could reduce employees' retirement income by £160,000.
BMW said it was "disappointed" at the prospect of industrial action.
The German company said it had always provided "excellent pensions" for staff but wanted to protect future pension provision and to improve the competitiveness of its UK operations.
The company has put a number of options on the table to help employees transition to the proposed new pension arrangements and it remains open to negotiation," BMW said.
Unite's general secretary, Len McCluskey, urged the company to step back from its May deadline to find a settlement.
"Bosses in the UK and BMW's headquarters in Munich cannot feign surprise that it's come to this point. Unite has repeatedly warned of the anger their insistence to railroad through the pension scheme's closure would generate and the resulting industrial action," he said.
"BMW's bosses need to get their heads out of the sand and recognise their pension pinching plans will not go unchallenged."
The strikes will take place at several sites. BMW makes the Mini at Cowley near Oxford and Rolls-Royce cars at Goodwood.
It also manufactures engines at Hams Hall, Birmingham and has a plant that makes parts for the Mini at Swindon. | Workers at BMW's UK plants are taking strike action over plans to close the company's final salary pension scheme. | 39500529 |
Northumbria Police said officers were investigating allegations of fraud in relation to South Shields Day Trips, which arranges visits to theme parks.
The force has received 200 complaints and all trips have now been halted.
Those affected are being urged to attend a meeting at Chuter Ede school, Galsworthy Road, on 11 August.
A 24-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of fraud and bailed.
Det Insp Paul Stewart, who is leading the investigation, said: "We have now made contact with all customers, however, due the volume have not yet taken information from all of them and I would urge any customers who have not yet been spoken to by police to attend the meeting between 5pm and 9pm.
"If they cannot attend we will make contact with them in due course but would ask they are patient." | A meeting is being held for the potential victims of a day trip Facebook page at the centre of a fraud probe. | 33746384 |
Operation Stronghold will run over the next two weekends.
Similar action has reduced problems elsewhere on the network, the force said.
Insp Mike Jones said: "It's about having officers at key locations at key times to reduce crime and keep the travelling public safe." | British Transport Police are increasing patrols at Cardiff Central station to cut down on "alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour" in the evening. | 36859971 |
The lid for the Saturday County Cup - in use since 1880 - went missing sometime between the 1960s and 1980s.
The North Riding FA issued an appeal to find it as the trophy went on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
The lid has now been restored after being found in several pieces in a loft in Middlesbrough.
North Riding FA chief executive Tom Radigan said: "It is a great end to a great story.
"The cup is now in the museum for all football fans to see. To be able to reunite it with its lid, so the old trophy it takes on its full identity, is wonderful."
The finder asked to remain anonymous.
One notable winner of the trophy was Arthur Wharton, the world's first black professional footballer, whose Darlington side won it in 1887.
1867: The Youdan Cup was presented to non-league Hallam FC after they won a tournament contested by Sheffield teams. It was recently valued at £100,000.
1873: The Scottish FA claims its cup is the world's oldest national trophy and association football cup. The English FA Cup started in 1871, but the trophy presented to the winners has changed several times.
1880: The Cleveland Cup, now the Saturday County Cup, is contested by teams on Teesside and the original trophy is still presented to the winners each year. The trophy is on display at the National Football Museum and will soon be reunited with its lid.
1909: The Sir Thomas Lipton trophy, won in Italy by West Auckland, was nicknamed the first 'World Cup'. The original trophy, which was presented to West Auckland after they retained it in 1911, was stolen in 1994. A replica now stands in the village's working men's club.
1938: The first FIFA World Cup was won by hosts Uruguay, with the winners presented with the Jules Rimet trophy. A new trophy was needed after Brazil was allowed to keep the original when it was crowned world champions for the third time in 1970. | The missing lid of one of the country's oldest football trophies has been found in an attic following an appeal. | 37083909 |
The table-topping Lilywhites held a 0-4 to 0-3 lead after a defensive first half in a rain-lashed Pairc Esler.
Slattery netted just 90 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute and he fired in a second goal to give Kildare a six-point cushion.
Down stay fifth with two wins and three defeats.
There was little to entertain the Newry crowd in the first half although Down went close to an early goal when Ryan Johnston's shot was saved by Mark Donnellan.
The sides exchanged the opening points with Barry O'Hagan firing over two for the hosts while Donnellan and Tommy Moolick were the Kildare scorers.
Kevin Feely's double gave Kildare a 0-4 to 0-2 lead before Darragh O'Hanlon halved the gap before the half-time whistle.
Feely tagged on the first point of the second half and he set up Slattery to hit the Down net after a poor kick-out.
Caolan Mooney replied with two Down points and Kevin McKernan added another after Feely registered his fourth score of the evening.
Slattery banged in his second goal past keeper Michael Cunningham to leave Kildare 2-6 to 1-6 in front.
The game fizzled out as a contest and Down finished with 13 men after black cards for Alan Davidson and Jerome Johnston when all their susbstitutes had been used.
Allianz Football League
Saturday - 19:00 GMT
Division One
Donegal 0-12 0-6 Tyrone, Ballybofey,
Kerry 0-13 0-13 Dublin, Austin Stack Park
Division Two
Down 0-10 2-9 Kildare, Pairc Esler
Division Four
Carlow 2-10 0-7 Waterford, Dr Cullen Park | Down were undone by David Slattery's two second-half goals as the Mourne side fell to a 2-9 to 0-10 defeat by Kildare in Division Two. | 39317770 |
Fires in Camacha and Santa Cruz on Madeira are threatening homes, but there are no reports of casualties.
Dozens of people have abandoned their homes since fires began spreading in parts of Madeira on Wednesday.
The Tavira district is worst affected in the Algarve. Spain has sent a Canadair water-bombing plane to help.
High winds are said to be hampering efforts to contain the blazes. Portugal has been suffering from a heatwave, adding to a prolonged drought.
The area burnt in the Algarve is reported to be much bigger than the area hit by fire last year.
But a tour operator on Madeira told the BBC on Friday that hotels, golf courses, hiking routes and other leisure facilities were unaffected and open to tourists.
On Wednesday, TV images showed flames several storeys high right on the edge of Madeira's main town, Funchal. The area is now out of danger.
Two houses were destroyed and at least 25 more damaged in the town, according to officials quoted by the Associated Press.
At least 75 firefighters have been despatched from the Portuguese mainland to help the overstretched fire services.
On the Spanish island of Tenerife, officials say they have now contained forest fires that have been burning since Sunday.
Aircraft have been dropping water and people have been evacuated from Vilaflor, a town of about 1,800 people on the south side of the island. | Hundreds of Portuguese firefighters are battling forest fires raging in areas popular with tourists - the Algarve and the island of Madeira. | 18919736 |
The 40-year-old 14-time major champion, who twice had surgery during 15 months out, hit seven birdies as he moved into joint ninth on six under par.
From trailing by nine after a 73 on Thursday, he is now six off the lead.
"Yesterday I had it going and lost it. Today was different," Woods said.
He told the Golf Channel: "It feels good. I played the middle of the round better, kept the momentum going and moved myself up the board."
First-round leader JB Holmes shot a one-over 73 to slip to joint seventh as his fellow American Dustin Johnson moved into a share of the lead with Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Matt Kuchar and Louis Oosthuizen - who both shot 67s - are tied for third, two shots back, while Bubba Watson had a nine-under-par 63 to move three shots off the lead.
Behind him, Brandt Snedeker had an eight-under-par 64 to move one shot ahead of Justin Spieth and Holmes on eight under.
Olympic champion Justin Rose, playing his first event after a seven-week break, withdrew with a bad back before play got under way at the four-round event in the Bahamas.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Tiger Woods recovered from a mixed first round by shooting a brilliant seven-under-par 65 as he continued his return to competitive golf on day two of the Hero World Challenge. | 38188989 |
Mr Brown told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that the 2,000 surviving British child migrants who suffered abuse should be compensated.
He said the mass transportation of 130,000 British children overseas was "government-enforced trafficking".
Across 50 years, the children were sent to ex-colonies such as Australia.
The transportation programme began in the 1920s, partly to ease the population of the UK's orphanages in the years after the First World War, and to give "lost" children the chance of a new life in Britain's colonies.
But children continued to be be sent abroad until 1974.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales has already heard that many child migrants experienced "unacceptable depravity", with some having been sent abroad without the consent of parents and wrongly told they were orphans.
In 2009, the Australian government apologised for the cruelty shown to the child migrants and in 2010 Mr Brown, in his role as UK prime minister, issued an apology to victims on behalf of the UK.
The experiences of the children sent away from the UK is being looked at as part of the first phase of the wide-ranging inquiry into child abuse.
Mr Brown told the inquiry that the forced migration of British children was "probably the biggest national sex abuse scandal".
"Bigger than what people have alleged about Savile," he said.
"Bigger than what people have alleged about individual children's homes.
"Bigger in scale, bigger in geographical spread, and bigger in the length of time that went on undetected.
"I'm shocked about the information that I have seen."
The child sexual abuse inquiry so far
Mr Brown said a government minister should explain to the inquiry why nothing has been done over "sickening" new evidence of abuse which has come to light since his 2010 apology.
He said he had become aware of so many historical cases he described as "grave, horrifying and sickening" and said there had been a "violation of human rights".
"Children were denied a childhood, an identity, a family and any sense of belonging," he said.
"Many, some as young as three - and this was happening as recently as the 1970s - were sent abroad having been falsely told their parents were dead."
He said successive governments had failed in a duty of care.
"Because we failed in our duty of care it is now time to compensate the 2,000 child migrants still alive," he said.
Mr Brown added: "My apology seven years ago was for the gross inhumane violation of rights by forcibly removing children, depriving them of identity, family and any sense of belonging.
"An unknown but clearly large number of these children were subjected to horrific assaults sometimes before, sometimes during but in the main after they left the UK.
"Because successive governments failed in what I call their duty of care, these 2,000 surviving migrants all need and deserve redress."
Mr Brown told the inquiry that 1,000 families had been reunited since 2010.
Another former prime minister, Sir John Major, did not appear in person but provided a written statement to the inquiry which said his government took the approach that mistreatment of British children sent abroad was primarily a matter for the country concerned. | The forced migration of UK children overseas was a bigger sex abuse scandal than that of Jimmy Savile, ex-prime minister Gordon Brown has said. | 40669699 |
The 33-year-old took charge of the Sandgrounders in March after former manager Dino Maamria left the club for "family and travel reasons".
Southport have lost just once in seven games under player-manager Bishop to climb from 17th in the table to 15th.
"I've played a lot at this level so I know what it takes," he told the club website.
"I've really enjoyed every aspect of management so far. My target is to improve on this season and let's see where it takes us." | National League side Southport have appointed interim boss Andy Bishop as manager on a full-time basis. | 36152839 |
The US National Hurricane Center in Miami says Earl is threatening to bring heavy rains, flooding and high winds to Honduras, Belize and Mexico.
A hurricane watch has been issued for part of the coast of Mexico.
At least nine people died on Monday due to extreme weather in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the storm passed over the Caribbean.
Six of the victims were passengers on board a bus that caught fire in the Dominican town of Nagua when it was hit by tumbling power lines.
Three people drowned when their tour boat capsized. | A deadly weather system now named Tropical Storm Earl is making its way towards the Yucatan peninsula. | 36958691 |
Some £235m of bank debt will be written off, helping to cut the total to £329m.
Three major investors will also inject £75m into the firm. Much of it will go into refurbishing 175 hotels, starting next year.
Travelodge also wants to find new operators for 49 hotels and pay greatly reduced rents on 109 more.
It said it would work with its landlords to try to find other businesses to take over the running of the hotels, in the hope of avoiding job losses.
Travelodge has been struggling with debts estimated at more than £1bn, but has been making profits on its day-to-day operations. It will now be given more time to pay off its remaining debts at lower interest rates.
It does not own its hotels and many of its leases were agreed at the peak of the property market before the 2008 financial crash.
Chief executive Grant Hearn said it was now in a much stronger financial position.
"This new appropriate level [of debts, interest payments and rental costs] will provide greater security for our staff, suppliers, landlords and developers," Mr Hearn said.
"This is a successful brand with millions of customers and the company will emerge in excellent shape from this process."
As part of the deal, control will pass from private equity firm Dubai International Capital, which bought Travelodge in 2006, to Goldman Sachs, GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital Group.
Dubai International Capital raised the money to finance the deal by issuing a £480m eurobond.
This debt was added to Travelodge's balance sheet, but will now by written off by the Dubai investment firm as part of the restructuring deal, further reducing its debts.
The reductions in hotel numbers and rent payments are proposed as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a legal process which helps companies reduce debts and outgoings. It has to be agreed by at least 75% of creditors, including landlords, suppliers and staff.
The struggling chain said there would be no changes to 347 hotels if the proposed changes went ahead, the majority of its 505-strong estate.
The British Property Federation gave a cautious welcome to the deal to save the UK's second biggest budget hotel chain, but expressed concern about CVAs.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said some landlords were being asked to "take a big hit" to keep a far bigger business afloat.
"We are becoming increasingly concerned with a system that creates such a range of winners and losers and allows advisers to dice and slice creditors to reach the required voting thresholds.
"Such rules need reviewing and some greater sense of fairness restored," she said.
Accountancy firm KPMG, which is running the CVA, said landlords would get about 23.4 pence in the pound back. If Travelodge had gone into administration, they would just have received 0.2p in the pound, it said.
"We are constantly seeking to improve and evolve our CVA structures, based on feedback from the landlord community," Brian Green, restructuring partner at KPMG said.
"Accordingly, we are again including a 'clawback' mechanism for landlords, so they can share in the turnaround of the restructured company's future, and landlords are also being offered the option of lease extensions." | Hotel chain Travelodge has agreed a deal to cut its debts substantially, which it says will secure the long-term future of the business. | 19296438 |
After talks with David Cameron, the German leader said her "clear-cut" view was that the UK should stay in the EU.
While there was already "common ground" across many areas, she said progress on welfare would be "more protracted".
The British prime minister said there was no "magic" solution to reform but "where there's a will there's a way".
The PM, who is on a whistle-stop tour of Europe trying to gather support for changes he wants before holding the UK's EU membership referendum, also repeated his call for Fifa boss Sepp Blatter to stand down as soon as possible.
Speaking at a press conference after their talks in Berlin, Mrs Merkel said the two leaders had begun to talk about "specific issues" of future reform after Mr Cameron's general election victory.
She told journalists that Germany and other EU countries had "red lines" - such as upholding the principle of freedom of movement - but that she hoped as far as possible to accommodate the UK's demands.
"Where there is a desire there is a way," she said. "That should be our guiding principle."
She added: "We would like to be a part of the process that is going on in Great Britain at the moment and we would like to be a constructive partner in this process.
Mr Cameron repeated his belief that the changes could only be achieved through treaty change, a move opposed by some European countries, including France, but he said what mattered was the "substance" of the reforms not the method by which they would be achieved.
"This is about starting the process," he said of the talks. "Of course it is going to be difficult but the important thing is to get it under way."
On the prospect of treaty change, Mrs Merkel said: "If we're convinced of the substance we shouldn't say it's impossible to change the treaty. We should concentrate on the substance, not too much on formalities."
The UK prime minister, who earlier concluded a brief visit to Poland, has not set out in full detail the reforms he is pushing for but they will include tougher rules to prevent migrants claiming benefits.
He also wants safeguards to protect the City of London in the event of closer eurozone integration and an exemption for Britain from the EU drive for "ever closer union".
Securing the backing of Ms Merkel, who leads Europe's largest economy, will be crucial to Mr Cameron's hopes of presenting a package reforms to voters ahead of the UK's in/out referendum, which will take place before the end of 2017.
After Mr Cameron's breakfast meeting with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, Downing Street said the UK and Poland agreed on the need for more powers for national parliaments and for countries outside the eurozone to be treated fairly in the event of closer integration within the single currency bloc.
"On immigration and welfare, Prime Minister Kopacz welcomed the prime minister's commitment to respect the principle of free movement," a No 10 spokesman added.
"They agreed that there were issues concerning the interaction between free movement and national welfare systems that should be discussed further."
Speaking ahead of the visit Rafal Trzaskowski, Poland's Minister for European Affairs, told the BBC they would listen but that any treaty change or attempt to restrict access to benefits for EU migrants would be difficult.
"As far as treaty changes are concerned or the introduction of discriminatory measures, that would be a red line for Poland."
He added: "If every country comes with a shopping list to change European Union policies, that will be the end of the European construction, it will simply implode."
The UKIP Independence Party, which wants the UK to leave the European Union, said David Cameron's promised referendum on the UK's future in Europe - due by the end of 2017 - was about who governs the country rather than the details of benefits policy.
"David Cameron is trying to make the UK's relationship with the European Union simply a question of migrant access to benefits," said its leader Nigel Farage.
"In reality, this is a marginal detail of a far bigger problem - both with mass inward migration putting pressure on wages and causing huge problems in the provision of public services and housing and also in the broader sense of our relationship with an out of date, sclerotic, over-regulated bloc."
David Cameron is starting renegotiation of the terms of Britain's EU membership ahead of a referendum. Here is some further reading on what it all means:
The UK and the EU: Better off in or out?
What Britain wants from Europe
Q&A: The UK's planned EU referendum
Timeline: EU referendum debate
Why Germany is David Cameron's new best friend | Angela Merkel has said she does not rule out future treaty changes in Europe and will be a "constructive partner" to the UK in getting reforms. | 32925582 |
Russia wants to "create conditions for a political compromise" in Syria, he told Russian state TV.
On Monday the EU's foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, called Russia's role "a game-changer". She said: "It has some very worrying elements."
EU ministers are discussing Syria now.
Going into the Luxembourg meeting, several foreign ministers stressed that air strikes should only target so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters and other Islamist "terrorists".
The US and UK governments have accused Russia of attacking mainly "moderate" anti-Assad groups, rather than the jihadists.
Mr Putin denied that that was the case. .
"The interventions against Daesh (IS) have to be clearly against Daesh and other terrorist groups, as defined by the UN," Ms Mogherini stressed.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also said "the target is IS and nothing else".
Ms Mogherini said she was especially worried about recent violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets.
Syrian forces are said to have made significant advances against rebels.
Government gains in Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces were on Sunday reported both by the Syrian government and opposition activists.
The main battlefront is currently close to the key highway that links the capital with other major cities, including Aleppo. Mr Assad's forces are believed to be seeking to cut off rebels in Idlib.
Russia's security services said on Monday they had arrested a group of Russian citizens with links to IS.
The FSB security agency said in a statement that some of those detained had been through IS training camps in Syria and were suspected of planning a terror attack.
Explosives and bomb-making equipment were found at an address in Moscow used by the suspects, the agency said.
Speaking to Rossiya One TV on Sunday, Mr Putin said that without Moscow's support for President Assad, there was a danger that "terrorist groups" could overrun Syria.
Mr Assad's government was currently "under siege", he said, adding that militants were "at the edge of Damascus".
He also urged other nations to "unite efforts against this evil (terrorism)".
The US-led coalition - which has been carrying out its own air strikes in Syria - earlier said it would not be co-operating with Russia.
Several countries - including the UK and Turkey - have described Russia's support for President Assad as a "mistake".
Russia said on Sunday its aircraft had carried out more than 60 missions over Syria in the past 24 hours, and that IS was its main target. The attacks began on 30 September.
When asked whether the EU would have a dialogue with Mr Assad, Ms Mogherini stressed EU support for UN efforts to mediate, but did not rule out including Mr Assad in transitional talks.
"We say we have to have all the relevant actors round the table," she said.
Government forces are basically trying to win back areas they lost earlier this year, to the north of the city of Hama, and in the northern mountains of Latakia province near the coast. Rebels had penetrated there after unifying their ranks and with more concerted backing from their outside supporters, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
That posed a real threat to the heartland of Bashar al-Assad's regime, and it is almost certainly what triggered the Russian intervention and a stepped-up role by Iran.
A senior commander of the al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate which has forces in the area, has issued a call to all the rebel groups to unify and launch a co-ordinated counter-attack on all fronts.
He said if the rebels lost the initiative to the regime and the Russians, they would suffer a series of collapses and their future would be bleak.
The battle for Syria and Iraq in maps
Syria's civil war explained
Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that four years on has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are propping up the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran have pro-Assad forces on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russia are carrying out air strikes. | President Vladimir Putin has defended Russia's military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to "stabilise the legitimate authority" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. | 34502286 |
But an estimated 71 million viewers a year disagree when it comes to e-sports - or competitive video gaming.
Nate "Ataraxia" Mark, of Llanberis, Gwynedd, was Britain's top-earning professional gamer in 2015, winning about £80,000 of prize money in the last year.
The BBC spoke to the 23-year-old to find out about the pleasure, the pain and the pressure of "living the dream".
"There are some downsides to it but, in general, you have got to count your lucky stars," said Mark, who is captain of the five-strong Titan team.
In January, Titan won $500,000 (£335,000) after finishing second at the 2015 World Championships for Smite - a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game with professional leagues and tournaments run by maker Hi-Rez Studios.
"Growing up, I played video games, but to actually turn it into a career, however short-lived it may or may not be, is basically the dream," Mark said.
The idea of earning your living by travelling the world and playing video games in front of arenas packed with howling fans sounds, especially to younger ears, like a fantasy.
But the move into e-sports is not without its challenges.
"I'm not going to lie, my university [education] really suffered," Mark said. "It's quite a sacrifice. I decided this is what I want to do and ended up dropping out over it."
Mark, who quit his psychology degree at Liverpool University, now spends up to four hours a day practising with his team mates in the run up to big tournaments.
Smite involves players in two teams taking control of gods or mythological figures which battle it out in arena combat, using powers and heavily drilled tactics.
The level of professionalism is extremely high, with coaches recruited to help teams maximise their performance.
"It's very intensive. You can't completely lose your love of video games but, at some point, you're doing that much and it's all about winning, you can lose some of the fun."
But Mark still plays for pleasure with his brother, Daemon - against whom he sharpened his "mean competitive streak" on Nintendo games like Goldeneye and Super Smash Bros while growing up.
"We were really competitive with each other. I was a really sore loser growing up," he added.
$2m (£1.33m)
Peter Dager, 24, US
$2m (£1.33m) Saahil Arora, 26, US
$1.88m (£1.25m) Kurtis Ling, 23, Canada
The popularity of e-sports is growing exponentially.
The 2014 World Championships final for another professional MOBA game, the hugely popular League of Legends, was watched on TV and online by an estimated global audience of 27 million.
BBC Three screened this year's championships in October - the corporation's first live streaming of an e-gaming contest.
Top players can earn million-dollar salaries and specialist streaming platforms, such as Twitch, have tens of millions of visitors a month.
Mark is 252nd in the table of all-time top-earning pro-gamers worldwide, with top dog Peter Dager believed to have won more than $2m (£1.33m).
About 2,700 fans packed into Atlanta's Cobb Energy Centre for January's Smite World Championship, which had a prize pot of $2.6m (£1.73m), with 2.3 million people watching via Twitch TV.
However, some people still denigrate pro-gaming as something that's just for "geeks" in school, Mark said.
"People can be really undermining, as if video games are just some outlet for fun, but there is a lot of work, there's a lot of preparation.
"You do have to sacrifice a lot. Not everyone can make a living out of it, you have to practice in the early evening and late at night.
"If all of my friends go to the cinema or go out drinking - I have missed a lot of that because I have to practice."
He added: "You don't get a lot of free time. It's very anti-social just because to win you have to practice. It's very much, if you don't win or play well then the income is going to be really, really little."
With such intense pressure and suggestions that deteriorating reaction times make pro-gaming careers as short as four years, what do Mark's family think about the precarious nature of his chosen profession?
"My mum is very relaxed about this kind of stuff, which I'm really, really thankful for," he explained.
And with some players in their early teens pocketing winnings cheques worth thousands, the temptation for youngsters to snub their careers adviser at all costs is tantalising.
Mark hopes to remain in e-sports in some capacity whenever his professional gaming career ends and he has already done some work as an analyst.
He believes it is only a matter of time before e-sports becomes a mainstream attraction in the UK.
"A lot of countries have already embraced it. I think the UK will be late to adopt it because we love our football so much. But you see countries like South Korea which have e-sports on TV. I definitely see it moving on to TV (in the UK)."
Video edited by Gwyndaf Hughes | "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games," Ernest Hemingway is believed to have said. | 34987069 |
Merlin operates 99 attractions in 22 countries, and has 54 million visitors to its parks a year.
It says it is the second-largest company of its kind in the world after Walt Disney.
Its other well-known attractions include Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle.
The business has a turnover of £1bn a year and is thought to be worth some £3bn.
The share offer, which will see 20% of the company pass to public investors, is accessible to smaller shareholders with a minimum investment stake of £1,000. Shareholders will also get a one-off 30% discount on certain entry passes for Merlin's theme parks.
The company, which was formed in 1999, says the number of visitors to its parks has grown by 11% a year since 2008.
The company's non-executive chairman, Sir John Sunderland, said: "I have been impressed by the significant growth that Merlin has delivered as a private company.
"But there is more to come and I believe Merlin has a very promising future as a publicly listed company." | Merlin Entertainments, the UK company that owns Legoland, Madame Tussauds and Chessington World of Adventures, says it plans to issue shares to the public. | 24606280 |
Keister spoke to Leone Stars goal keeper coach Tamba Moses and logistics officer Alusine Kabba three weeks ago, and allegedly called the SLFA President Isha Johansen 'corrupt.'
Moses and Kabba have also been banned indefinitely.
'These officials were found guilty of gross misconduct by bringing the name of the institution into disrepute," the SLFA said in a statement.
"The SLFA management will subsequently inform the suspended officials with regards development on their employment status."
The SLFA secretary general Christopher Kamara also wrote to Keister about his previous conduct:
"You have had countless verbal and written warnings about your conduct."
Before his ban was announced, Keister - a former Sierra Leone international - had already issued a statement apologising for what he had said in the leaked audio.
Keister, who was appointed eleven weeks ago, has only taken charge of Sierra Leone for one official match, a 1-0 win over Kenya in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifier in Freetown in June.
The Leone Stars' next competitive game is away to Ethiopia in March next year. | John Keister, the head coach of Sierra Leone's national team, has been suspended indefinitely by the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) following the leak of an audio conversation where he is accused of bringing the SLFA 'into disrepute.' | 40828298 |
Economy spokesman Adam Price told BBC Wales that health and education could be the main beneficiaries of the idea.
He said the money could "transform" health and social care through a new integrated service.
It could also boost education, where he said spending in primary schools was £600 less per pupil than in England.
"We're beginning our preparations for the programme of government we're going to be putting in front of the Welsh people in the 2021 election," said Mr Price.
"We'll be consulting on this key question of what we should do with those new income tax powers.
"We'll be the first political party in Wales openly exploring the idea of having a dedicated penny for health and social care, which actually invests in this transition to a new integrated health and social care service.
"Creating that additional capacity so that we can transform the level and quality of care is something we could do.
"We'll also be asking the same question about education as well.
"A dedicated penny increase in income tax. What could that do in terms of our schools?"
Mr Price added: "We know relatively speaking, when the last time we had comparative figures, £600 less per pupil in the primary sector in Wales compared to England.
"If we were to decide as a society we wanted to actually achieve world class quality of an education system, would there be an appetite out there for actually using the income tax powers that we have as a nation?"
On Friday, leader Leanne Wood told the conference that voting Plaid was the only way for people in Wales to "be in control" of their lives. | People in Wales could be asked to pay an extra 1p in the basic rate of income tax to boost public services, the Plaid Cymru conference will be told later. | 39166102 |
Vicky Balch was among five people seriously hurt when two carriages crashed on the rollercoaster last June.
She has since begun using a Genium X3 prosthetic, which uses sensors to adapt to her movements and walking style.
It enabled her to "do normal things that a normal 20-year-old would do", she told ITV's Good Morning Britain.
More on this story and others from Staffordshire
Miss Balch, from Leyland, Lancashire, described the prosthetic, made by German company Otto Bock, as "very clever" and it enabled her to walk and run unaided and cycle.
"It is a lot more natural, I have a lot more energy. I can do a lot more things like go and see my friends," she told The New Day show.
Miss Balch, who had her right leg amputated below the knee following seven rounds of surgery, said she had "really bad days" during her recovery, including moments when she did not know if she would walk again.
After learning she would get a new prosthetic, Ms Balch signed up to dating app Tinder, where she met her 24-year-old boyfriend Jordan.
"We hadn't been together long when we told each other we love each other," she said. "But Jordan is really sweet and I just feel so comfortable around him. If I'm at home, I'll just take my leg off and sit in my shorts, and he is so laid back about it."
Four other people were seriously injured - including Leah Washington, who also had to have a leg amputated - when their carriage crashed into an empty carriage at the Staffordshire theme park.
Park owner Merlin Entertainments is compensating those involved and said the incident was due to human error. The Health and Safety Executive is prosecuting the firm over the crash later this month. | A victim of the Alton Towers Smiler crash - who lost her leg in the accident - has said a new "bionic" limb helps her to live a "more normal" life. | 36026492 |
Ebola has left more than 18,000 children in West Africa without one or both parents, according to Unicef (the UN children's fund).
More than 8,000 of them are in Sierra Leone, where the number of new cases has been falling dramatically in recent months.
But challenges remain in re-integrating some orphaned children back into their communities, as I saw on my return to the UK-run St George Foundation Orphanage in Freetown, six months after my first visit.
It is hard to miss. The bright yellow building, set back from the main road, has housed hundreds of children who have lost parents to Ebola since the start of the outbreak.
Tracing the Ebola outbreak
As I walk in, I am greeted by social workers that I did not meet last time I was here. The man I met then was Augustine Baker. He has since died of Ebola. The virus also claimed the life of his wife, Margaret. Their three small children are now Ebola orphans.
"He sacrificed his life working for children," said Isatu Kamara, a social worker at the orphanage who was mentored by Augustine.
"We feel the loss so deeply. His own children have become orphans now. We just feel so [sad]."
Augustine's children, the youngest just one year old, are now being cared for by their grandmother.
I meet Augustine's mother at the orphanage. She is a formidable, graceful woman, but she looks deflated and exhausted.
"When I remember my son, I always cry. It was such a sudden death." says Juliet.
"He was a gentleman."
Augustine collapsed during an office meeting at the orphanage in February. After his death, the entire centre had to be quarantined for three weeks. Thankfully, no one else was infected.
"It's been difficult for us to continue," says Isatu Kamara, "but we can't just leave all these cases.
"Augustine is dead but we must still continue to work for the children."
Augustine Baker and the human cost of Ebola
Unicef estimates that 8,619 children have lost one or both parents to Ebola in Sierra Leone.
It says that the vast majority of them are able to go back into their communities and are cared for by their extended families.
But many of these already poor families are struggling to feed the extra mouths.
When I last visited the orphanage, there were about 50 children being cared for. Now there are about 20.
With new cases of the virus down to around 10 a week in Sierra Leone, the focus has switched from finding Ebola orphans to ensuring those placed back in their communities are being cared for properly.
There is still a great deal of fear and suspicion around survivors.
"We have been having cases of children being rejected from their communities. They have been been stigmatised, especially children who survived Ebola," said Isatu Kamara.
"People are scared of them... They just don't trust that these children are okay now and they can touch them and go near them, so they push [the children] far away from them."
It was this sort of work to which Augustine Baker dedicated the final months of his life.
Augustine's mother says she will make sure his children understand what their father did for Sierra Leone.
"I will tell them," she said. "They will be very proud." | BBC Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar returns to Sierra Leone to assess the legacy of health worker Augustine Baker, who died in the fight against the Ebola virus. | 33581446 |
Captaincy trio George Pinner, Ian Sloan and Phil Roper will lead the side following their appointments.
Former skipper Barry Middleton will add to his 379 international appearances.
The hosts play Argentina in their Pool B opener on 18 June, with China, South Korea and Malaysia making up the group.
The World League semi-finals provide the opportunity of places at the prestigious end-of-year Hockey World League as well as automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup with both events being held in India.
Full England squad:
Goalkeepers: George Pinner (C), Harry Gibson
Defenders: Brendan Creed, Michael Hoare, Liam Sanford, Henry Weir, Ollie Willars
Midfield: Ian Sloan (C), David Ames, David Condon, Adam Dixon, David Goodfield, Harry Martin, Barry Middleton
Forwards: Phil Roper (C), Mark Gleghorne, Chris Griffiths, Sam Ward | England men's team have announced an 18-strong squad for the Hockey World League semi-finals, a World Cup qualification event starting in London on 15 June. | 40113096 |
Will Patterson, 33, chairman of the Wigan and Leigh Green Party, is to run following the death of Deyika Nzeribe.
"These are tough circumstances to run in but I'm honoured that I have the chance to continue the great work Deyika started," he said.
All the main parties have chosen their candidates for the 4 May election.
Green campaigner and father-of-three Mr Nzeribe from Hulme was 50 years old when he died in January.
His campaign manager Astrid Johnson said party members were in "total shock" after losing a great friend and colleague.
He was a former chair of the party's Manchester branch and had stood at several local elections. | The Green Party has announced its contender for the Greater Manchester mayoral elections after its first candidate died from a heart attack. | 38720431 |
John Radford was left in a coma after the dispute in Huddersfield in 2013. He died 16 months later.
Michael Gledhill, who was found guilty of dangerous driving last October, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after Mr Radford died.
Mr Radford was the chairman of Huddersfield and District Cyclists.
He had been involved in a campaign calling for better investigation of road accidents.
Gledhill, 24, of Bramble Bank, Holmfirth, appeared at Leeds Crown Court and was told he would be sentenced on 12 January.
The court had previously heard how words were exchanged between Mr Radford and Gledhill through the driver's side window as they travelled on the A616 on 31 July, 2013.
Contact was made between the car and bike, which resulted in Mr Radford falling into the road and suffering brain damage.
Speaking after Mr Radford was injured, his friend and fellow cyclist Martyn Bolt said: "There was nobody more experienced and knowledgeable about cycling.
"He was cycling in the right part of the road, just at the wrong time." | A motorist has admitted causing the death of a cycling safety campaigner who was knocked off his bike in a road rage incident. | 34798621 |
In 2016 20,000 mobile phones and sim cards, which are also contraband, were also seized from prisoners.
The haul comes after £2 million investment in mobile phone detectors across the service, as well as 300 specialist dogs for drug detection.
Prisons minister Sam Gyimah said that the amount of drugs and phones in prisons is "unacceptable".
He said: "I have been clear that the current levels of violence, drugs and mobile phones in our prisons is unacceptable.
"These figures highlight the determination of prison staff to disrupt this behaviour."
Illegal mobile phones are used by some prisoners to continue their criminal activity, and can be rented for up to £1,000.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice added that the Prisons Service was working to curb the use of drones in delivering phones and drugs, by creating "a specialist squad of prison and police officers".
So far 35 people have been arrested and 11 others have been convicted for drone-related activities.
Mr Gyimah added: "The issues within our prisons will not be resolved overnight, but we must make progress in tackling these problems."
In February, a reporter from BBC's Panorama programme went undercover at HMP Northumberland, where he found a number of inmates incapacitated from taking the drug spice.
In 2016, more than 45% of prisoners in a survey conducted by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons said it was easy to get drugs behind cars.
Mr Gyimah said that the ministry was continuing to employ more prison officers in England and Wales to help tackle the problem. It is hoped there will be an extra 2,500 members of staff by 2018.
The department began rolling out tests for psychoactive substances at prisons in September 2016, in a bid to curb the drugs problem across correctional facilities in England and Wales.
It is also working with mobile network operators to develop ways of blocking mobile phone signals in prisons. | Prison officers confiscated about 225kg (496lbs) of drugs in one year, according to the Ministry of Justice. | 40544569 |
The pair were playing at the China Open qualifiers in Barnsley, with Wilson beating Hamilton 5-3 for a place at the Beijing finals in March.
The 24-year-old scored four centuries, while Hamilton, 44, scored two tons to break the previous record of five.
Only two matches had previously recorded five consecutive centuries.
How the record-breaking run unfolded:
Reigning Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry were the first opponents to do so at the 2003 British Open.
They were followed by Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson at the 2009 Masters.
"It's the best match I've ever played by far," said Wilson. "Even if I had lost I still would have enjoyed it.
"Anthony was very gracious afterwards, he wished me luck and we agreed that it had just been a phenomenal match."
It was a quick turnaround for Wilson, who five days ago was knocked out of the German Masters when he lost 6-3 in the semi-finals to Belgium's Luca Brecel.
The China Open, which began in September 1997, is the longest running of the China ranking events and was the first international snooker tournament in the country.
The 2016 tournament begins in Beijing on 28 March. | England's Kyren Wilson and Anthony Hamilton have made history by scoring six consecutive centuries in a snooker match. | 35547919 |
The city has one railway station serving almost 350,000 people.
Campaign for Better Transport Leicestershire said public transport "could be better".
It has been campaigning for the Ivanhoe line, from Leicester to Burton-upon-Trent, to reopen to passenger trains.
The group's chairman, Terry Kirby, said: "We've struggled for 20 to 30 years. Leicester station is busy and there are only four platforms.
"Cardiff is a similar sized city but it has more than a dozen stations."
The capital of Wales has 20 stations, which works out as one per 17,858 people.
The research, carried out by the Press Association, listed 10 places with the fewest number of railway stations.
Areas served by a mixture of mainline and light rail services, such as Sunderland and Wolverhampton, were not included in the ranking.
The City of London was found to top a list of the highest concentration of stations per population, with one for just 1,460 residents. | Rail users in Leicester are the most underserved in Britain, according to research which suggests the city has the fewest number of railway stations per head of population. | 37212969 |
Nigel Camplin, 55, accused driver Colin Evans of "cutting him up" on a roundabout before setting off on a four-mile chase through Caerphilly.
Footage played to Cardiff Crown Court saw Camplin tell Mr Evans "I'm going to kill you" in a foul-mouthed rant.
Camplin admitted to dangerous driving and was given an eight month suspended sentence.
He was also banned from driving for 18 months.
The court heard Camplin, of Maesycwmmer, was a 20-year veteran of the Royal Corps of Signals with an "excellent service record" who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told him it was "dangerous driving to the extreme" and that people who behaved in such a way "deservedly go to prison".
He added: "You completely lost your self control and should not have been behind the wheel of your car." | A former soldier has avoided jail after his road rage was recorded on his own "dashcam". | 37897657 |
The fall contrasted with growth of 0.7% for the UK as a whole.
Scottish government statisticians found output was flat in the service sector - and down in production and construction, by 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.
Scottish GDP grew by 0.4% over the calendar year - compared with growth of 1.8% for the UK as a whole.
Reacting to the figures, the Scottish government said the impact of the Brexit vote contributed to lower growth in Scotland last year.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: "Before the EU referendum, the UK government told us Brexit will make us 'permanently poorer'.
"What is now quite clear is the economic reality of the Brexit vote.
"We have already seen significantly lower consumer confidence in Scotland since the vote last summer.
"Now we see that feeding through into our growth figures and all of this is before the UK actually leaves the EU."
The Scottish Conservatives said the country was now "on the path to recession" under the SNP.
Finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: "Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish government must take responsibility for this mess.
"She has made Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK and created more instability and uncertainty with her threat of a second referendum.
"Now we see the real-life impact of her mismanagement.
"These figures also smash the SNP's claim that Brexit is to blame for a slowdown.
"If that was the case, why is the rest of the UK powering ahead, while Scotland comes to a standstill?"
There may be one positive that comes out of the negative number issued on Wednesday morning by the Scottish government.
With a decline of 0.2%, October-to-December output from the Scottish economy certainly grabs attention - because if there's another quarter of contraction, it's called recession.
Read more from Douglas here.
Scottish Labour's economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the figures provided "further compelling evidence that the last thing Scotland needs is another divisive independence referendum".
She added: "With Scotland's economy flatlining and Brexit creating unprecedented levels of uncertainty, it is time the SNP government in Edinburgh started taking some responsibility for its failures and acted to address them.
"The SNP should take a second referendum off the table and get back to governing the country."
Fraser of Allander Institute director Prof Graeme Roy said the latest figures were "deeply disappointing" and confirmed a more general slowdown in Scotland's economy.
He said: "With the Scottish economy shrinking in the final quarter of 2016, this means that the Scottish economy did not grow at all through 2016.
"At a time when the UK economy grew at 1.8% over the same period, this is a serious cause for concern.
"With any Brexit uncertainty affecting the UK as well, it's hard to argue that Scotland's relatively weaker performance can be explained by the outcome of the EU referendum."
He added: "While the downturn in the oil and gas sector remains part of the explanation, it is difficult to ignore the substantial declines in construction over the past year (-6%) or in manufacturing (-7.3%) - with all areas of manufacturing, not just those tied to the North Sea supply chain, shrinking during 2016."
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce called for urgent government action to restore confidence in the Scottish economy.
Chief executive Liz Cameron said: "The news that Scotland's economy is contracting at a time when the overall UK economy is growing healthily must ring alarm bells for both the Scottish and UK governments.
"While Scotland's growth has been sluggish since the fall in oil prices in 2015, the evidence now shows that no sector in the Scottish economy is experiencing growth, with production and construction falling and our service sector flatlining."
The Federation of Small Businesses described the latest growth figures as "anaemic".
Scottish policy convener Andy Willox said: "If Scotland is to avoid recession, we need to see action from governments in Edinburgh and London to boost local firms.
"Scottish government and UK government ministers need to avoid fixating on inward investment - and put real effort into developing genuinely resilient local economies." | Scottish economic output contracted by 0.2% in the final quarter of last year, according to official figures. | 39501748 |
In a BBC interview, she said there were still too many women being abused.
She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One she had been talking to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which assesses the police, "about them looking into this whole question of police response".
About two women a week die from domestic violence in England and Wales, a rate which has remained fairly steady for more than a decade.
"Too many young men, and in some surveys it shows young women as well, think that some form of abuse or violence within a relationship is a norm - part of a relationship," said May.
But men are also victims of domestic abuse. There are about 5,000 domestic violence cases brought against women every year.
Experts below discuss what should be done to address the issue.
Dealing with domestic violence is rightly at the top of the police agenda; having been a key topic of discussion at the most recent Chief Constable's Council.
It is clear that in the past not all victims have been provided with an excellent service, and that on occasion mistakes have been made. Domestic violence is always complex, with multiple organisations often being involved in cases. While accepting that more must be done with less, we must continue to learn lessons and always work to improve our responses to victims of domestic violence.
This cannot be done by the police alone and we must work with social services, local authorities, probation and third sector services to ensure there is a joined-up approach to dealing with those who are vulnerable to domestic violence and tackle it early to prevent it from escalating.
Our responses to domestic violence have greatly improved over the past few years, including the investment in specialist officers, training call handlers to better assess risks and building working partnerships with a multitude of organisations. This led to the number of prosecutions for domestic violence last year increasing by 15% to 52,500.
Working with government, police forces have also piloted multiple initiatives to protect victims and prevent potential victims, including the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and Domestic Violence Prevention Orders.
Research has shown that on average it's the 35th incident of domestic abuse before a victim calls us. It is therefore vital we consider each and every first-time response not as a one-off but as a critical moment where we must be effective in an ongoing crisis.
We'd encourage anyone who is suffering at the hands of a partner to call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
I've been practising almost 17 years as a family lawyer.
Early on the police were totally useless, [they] didn't believe that domestic violence happens and were not particularly proactive.
But my experience now is that the police are proactive and they do act. You can get hold of [officers] very quickly if you have a client in this position.
One reason for deaths, and domestic violence generally, is what Theresa May said about it being "normal". Sometimes when a woman, or a man, is in an abusive relationship, they're used to it.
And it's only when it becomes so bad that people decide they can't actually live like this. But sometimes it's gone far too far.
It's about educating from a young age about respecting people in relationships, and that if you do things like this there are going to be severe consequences.
[Another reason] is that whilst the police are much better than they were in dealing with domestic abuse issues, it's when you come to the courts that's the problem.
If you want to get an injunction to protect somebody, so their husband or partner cannot come within "x" distance, those orders are very easy to get.
The major problem is when it comes to getting the abuser out of the house.
[I have clients] with children who leave the home because it's so unbearable. The police were helping, Women's Aid were helping, but obviously I need to get [the abuser] out of the house so I can get [the victim] back in.
If you, or someone you know, is suffering from domestic abuse, you can seek out help and information from the following charities:
If you wish to report domestic abuse, dial 999 for emergencies.
Otherwise, regional contact numbers can be found on the government website.
[One woman's] in torrid accommodation and the court is only listing this hearing in two months' time, [even though] I write and write.
And this lady has her children crying and crying, about to start school, they want to see their dog, and sometimes it's the easy option to go back.
So it's not just about the immediate "What are the police doing?", it's about looking at housing arrangements, making sure that the person who has been put into the safekeeping thinks: "There's going to be an end to this very soon and my children are going to back in their environment."
That's where, in my view, the law needs to be changed. There are situations where the courts need to put aside the normal rules and say that it's bad to keep children in this position.
I feel nervous writing about this, even though my own experience of domestic abuse means I am more qualified than most to have an opinion on this issue.
I think that this is one of the reasons why progress has yet to be made, and suggests the beginning of an answer. People are afraid to talk about it. Part of why I feel nervous writing about this is the stigma attached to domestic abuse.
Another reason is the sort of reactions women speaking out against domestic violence can be met with. "Feminist" has become a dirty word. Debates on this issue can so easily be misconstrued as an attack on men.
We ask: "Why is it that two women a week are killed by their partner?" But the issue cannot be properly addressed until we ask the complementary question: "Why is it that two men a week kill their partners?"
I can begin only to answer from my own experience - that in a domestic situation, when no-one speaks up, violence escalates. A paradox lies in that violence, although a temporary exertion of control, is in fact the most eloquent expression of its loss.
And control is what domestic abuse is all about. It was about my dad feeling a devastating necessity to hold the power. Perceived disobedience, however slight, was threatening to his sense of identity and self-worth. His father treated him the same way, I know that it was learnt.
It is going to take everyone engaging openly in this debate, as a problem that we all share, before we can expect to make any progress. Women should not feel reluctance and shame in speaking out. Men should feel that they have a rightful, central part in the debate too, without being judged for it. We can no longer afford to avoid debate just because it is too uncomfortable, too painful, too close to home.
Domestic violence will not be stopped without a significant change in attitudes and greater investment in services. We have seen some improvements, not least in the prosecution of domestic violence cases by the CPS, but the attitudes which allow domestic violence to thrive are still deeply entrenched in society.
Myths, like the idea that "it takes two to fight" or a woman experiencing abuse "should just leave", are very widely believed. Unfortunately many of those tasked with intervening to stop domestic violence, like police officers, are also influenced by prevailing social attitudes and therefore sometimes fail to act in the most effective ways to stop violence.
Because so many domestic violence support services are constantly fighting for survival against a lack of funding, and even funding cuts, too many women are struggling to find a safe place to escape to. And when they have escaped, services based on their individual needs to help them and their children rebuild their lives are increasingly scarce.
Right now we need an end to cuts and security of funding for the services which keep women safe in emergencies. In the longer term, the attitudes towards women and relationships that underpin violence need to be challenged: through specialist training for police officers, social workers and other professionals, as well as through compulsory relationships education in schools.
Domestic violence and femicide is the far end of a spectrum of violence against women that begins with street harassment and online trolling. We won't end domestic violence until we end sexism.
While we welcome the broad thrust of the initiative and the concerns raised by the home secretary, on the basis of equality we still cannot understand why the focus and emphasis remains on female victims rather than all victims.
The Home Office's own figures show that one in three victims of domestic abuse are male and over 4,000 women per year are prosecuted for domestic abuse yet the government narrative continues to be on men committing domestic abuse on women.
This often unacceptably relegates men (and by extension their children) to being a footnote in the debate on domestic abuse solutions. In an age of equality, and to ensure all victims receive the support and recognition they need, irrelevant of gender or sexuality, there has to be a sea change in attitude and that comes from the top.
Any of the initiatives the home secretary is promoting, such as improved training for police officers and better education within schools, has to continually explain and recognise on equal terms that domestic abuse against men is as awful as domestic abuse against women. Only then can we say any such initiatives are successful for all victims and achieve the change we need to see.
The first incident of domestic violence is often difficult to stop, however repeat incidents of domestic violence is where all agencies need to improve.
Most agencies have training already in place so that isn't the answer, and national standards will only be useful if they are mandatory, and monitoring and accountability takes place.
While agencies have discretion on how to act and deal [with domestic abuse], there will always be issues and failures. The police cannot work in isolation to combat domestic violence and we must look at the [risk assessment models in place] to ascertain whether they are assisting victims and putting appropriate safety measures in place.
Monitoring and accountability is the key, not just for the police but for all agencies involved.
Police and the majority of agencies often deal with the immediate issues of domestic violence - predominantly safety and any legal address - and therefore perhaps don't always take into account the levels of trauma and impact that domestic violence has on a victim, and find the rationale of many victims difficult to comprehend.
Why? Because domestic violence is complex and the emotional and psychological impact is immense from the incidents, memories, triggers and associations.
To begin to understand, explore, reflect and work through this impact - for a victim and all directly involved - takes time in order to heal and recover and for them to comprehend what has happened.
So you have police and other agencies wanting immediate answers and decisions from a victim and they are often not, at the time, in a position to give them.
If you, or someone you know, is suffering from domestic abuse, you can seek help and information from Women's Aid, Refuge, ManKind. If you wish to report domestic abuse, dial 999 in an emergency. Otherwise, contact numbers for the UK nations can be found on the government website. | Home Secretary Theresa May has said she will speak to Parliament soon about how police in England and Wales can improve the way they handle domestic violence. | 23876948 |
She was 19 years old and studying medicine in Aberdeen when too much partying saw her fall behind in her studies.
Feeling alone and unsure of her future, she started regulating her food to regain a sense of control.
She says her eating-disorder thoughts literally appeared on one date: 5 November 2002.
"From that day until now, I have counted every calorie I've eaten," she says.
"It was like on that day in November, everything suddenly changed."
What developed was an all-consuming obsession that has since ruled her life.
It has been a "full time, seven day a week, constant battle," she says.
As part of her condition, she hoards food until its way past its use-by date.
In her kitchen, there are cupboards full of spoiled food.
"There's food that's been in here for years.," she says.
"I've probably got enough if there's ever a nuclear explosion."
She hoards food out of fear of being hungry.
But she would never actually consume any of it, as she only ever eats white fish and vegetables.
And, without fail, she weighs everything she eats.
She has three sets of scales.
Two are precise and electronic, which she uses to compare measurements.
And the third, which does not require batteries, is there to provide back-up - but only in the most desperate of circumstances.
"It makes me absolutely terrified," Ms Lalor says.
"Even if it means going on a bus to the 24-hour Tesco to get a battery, I'm going to get a battery."
She says the condition has left her isolated and made it almost impossible to maintain friendships.
"At times it's been very difficult to be social because every social situation has food - even a coffee," she says.
This cycle of food obsession and social isolation was something she struggled to break, but new research from King's College London is providing a sense of hope.
Conducted by Maria Kekic for her doctorate, it involves using electricity to stimulate a part of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Located toward the front of the brain, it is associated with impulsivity or self-control.
Participants, including Ms Lalor, were shown videos of food, and their urge to binge eat was measured.
Electrical impulses were then applied to their brains, via small electrodes placed on their foreheads.
Those who received the signals to the brain area, rather than the placebo, then demonstrated less urge to binge and greater self-control in subsequent tests.
But it is a long way from being prescribed as a treatment.
"It is important to remember that this trial is very early days in the research," says Ms Kekic.
"It was just a single session, so we're only looking at the temporary effects of brain stimulation
"The next step would be to carry out, over the course of several weeks, daily sessions to see if this has long-lasting effects on symptoms."
What is encouraging is that the stimulation has already proven effective in treating related conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders.
And Ms Lalor found it worked for her, even if only for a few hours.
"I just came out and my brain felt completely differently," she says.
"It was like something had switched and it was back into being how I remember it, when I was an early teenager."
And perhaps most importantly, taking part in the programme has alleviated some of her shame about having a mental illness.
"This treatment was the one time, the only time, that I've been genuinely able to believe that this was part of my brain," she says, "that it is not just me being lazy.
"And even that is enough to change my whole perception of myself, my self-confidence and my self-esteem." | Philippa Lalor says bulimia has stolen the past 15 years of her life. | 39216806 |
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Nick Compton was a team-mate of Phillip Hughes for both Sydney club Western Suburbs and English county Middlesex, and they were flat-mates in London. He attended Hughes's funeral in Macksville.
I drove up from Sydney on Tuesday with a couple of Phillip's friends. We had dinner last night at his favourite Chinese restaurant. It was a nice thing to do on the evening before the funeral, spending some quality time with those who loved Phillip, in his home town.
This is the first time I've been in Macksville and I can see why Phillip had such affection for it. It's a fantastic little place, green and by the coast. Seeing it for myself was quite moving.
The funeral itself was made overwhelming by the number of people and the outpouring of grief - it seemed like everyone was here and that all those people genuinely cared for Phillip.
From the guys from Western Suburbs who played with him since the age of 17 to legends of the game like Brian Lara and Shane Warne, all were there to say farewell.
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The tributes paid were even more special and it was truly amazing for his brother and sister to speak in the way that they did - there is no way I would have been able to handle myself in that way.
They regaled us with some great stories about Phillip and, from that perspective, it was a real celebration of his life and provided a means of reconnecting with a lot of the close friends that he and I shared.
The tribute that has been played around the world was delivered by Australia captain Michael Clarke, who has given everything he can during this time.
He spoke from the heart, describing how Phillip's spirit will stay with us forever. It was very special.
Later, I was standing at the bar with Michael and he told me how he wished he had another minute or two, just to see Phillip one last time.
Through all of this, from what he did at the hospital, to looking after Phillip's family and playing the part he did in the funeral, Michael has paid a fitting tribute to the man he called a "little brother".
Throughout this, a few have of us have thought, in a humorous way, how Phillip might be looking down on us and wondering "how have you carried this off?".
Knowing him as I do, he would have been in awe that thousands of people flocked to a small town in New South Wales to say goodbye to him.
The only shame is that I don't think he ever realised how many people he touched.
This was a country boy who loved the good life. He was a great kid, very happy, his own individual with a unique way of playing cricket. He was a cheeky, infectious guy who was fun to be around.
Now, I think the message is to really cherish some of those values and try to live by them every day.
Everyone here unanimously feels that it's hard to let go of Phillip - you almost feel he is going to walk round the corner and get involved.
You could see that by the well-wishing from all over the world. It's been quite incredible.
Nick Compton was talking to BBC World Service Sport | This has not been easy. | 30314910 |
New Zealand are bidding to retain the trophy while England, the hosts, face Australia and Wales in the pool stages.
"There is going to be a lot of pressure on New Zealand but the majority of it is on England," Lomu told BBC Sport.
"It's their home tournament - they are playing in front of their own fans."
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England, who are looking to win the Webb Ellis Trophy for the first time since 2003, kick off the tournament against Fiji on Friday at Twickenham.
Lomu believes Stuart Lancaster's side should embrace the challenge of facing the Wallabies and Wales, who are both in the World Rugby rankings' top five.
"You come to the World Cup to play against the best of the best," said the 40-year-old.
"England need to play their game. If they can control their emotions and play to their ability, they should be there or thereabouts in terms of winning the pool.
"But the beauty about World Cups is that you get surprises.
"In 2011 it was Tonga knocking over France. Anything can happen."
New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw, the most capped player in Test history, could announce his retirement after the tournament.
"No-one has ever won it back-to-back and the All Blacks will be trying to do it, but there are six or seven teams who can knock each other over," said Lomu.
"They have to make sure they have prepared well.
"It would be immense for Richie [to win the trophy] as he has got a very impressive record.
"He is leading his team and making sure he keeps his mind in the game, and not worry about when he should retire or when he shouldn't."
South Africa winger Bryan Habana is five tries short of Lomu's all-time World Cup record of 15. But Lomu is not concerned about the Springboks star surpassing him.
Habana needs just one more score to become the fourth man to score 60 tries at Test level.
"I'm not worried about it," he said. "When I set the record, I did it in two World Cups and he's coming into his third - that's the difference.
"But Bryan is a great player. You can't take anything away from him as he has represented South Africa for a number of years and done something amazing." | Former New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu, the all-time leading try scorer in World Cup history, believes England will have to deal with more expectation than the All Blacks during the World Cup. | 34268642 |
Ian Ackley, who was abused by a man with links to Manchester City, said his father's calls for better protection "fell on deaf ears".
Separately, a charity has claimed the FA was too slow to implement criminal record checks in the 1990s, which may have placed children at risk.
The FA said it was unable to comment.
However, letters seen by the BBC suggest the organisation, which runs football in England, was waiting for a change in the law before it updated its child protection policies.
The organisation has now commissioned an independent investigation into the way it dealt with abuse allegations.
Mr Ackley told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that his father, who is now dead, felt the response to complaints he made to the FA was "very dismissive".
His father sent dozens of letters to MPs, government departments and sporting bodies, including the FA and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
In them, he had called for better protection for young players, including enhanced criminal record checks for coaches working in the game.
The letters followed a 1997 Channel 4 investigation, in which the first substantive allegations of abuse in football - focusing on coaches at Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Southampton - were aired.
Mr Ackley was one of a small number of young players involved in the programme to waive his right to anonymity and agree to speak openly about his abuse.
The letters, sent by his father and seen by the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, raised concerns about the case and the measures then in place to protect children in the game.
"This was pre-internet, pre-social media," Mr Ackley said. "Everything was handwritten and my father diligently wrote to anyone and everyone who he thought would be in a position of influence in order to affect this change. That was his real goal."
But he said his father felt that the FA and other organisations were "brushing off" attempts to improve safety in the game at the time.
"The replies were dismissive at best", said Mr Ackley. "They were always alluding to the fact it was somebody's else's problem... It was very much giving you snippets of information to appease you.
"Not only was I affected when I was abused, but when I, my Dad and the Channel 4 programme tried to bang this drum extremely loudly we were ignored for the second time."
In 2000, the FA did launch a new child protection strategy including better training and compulsory welfare officers at all clubs.
But many of the measures did not come into force for a number of years with compulsory criminal record checks not standard until at least 2003, and in some cases as late as 2007.
Meanwhile, a former Chelsea footballer, who was paid to keep quiet about allegations of sexual abuse, has said the £50,000 he received was "nowhere near enough for the pain and suffering".
Chelsea Football Club have apologised "profusely" for the confidentiality clause, but Mr Johnson told Victoria Derbyshire this was "too little, too late".
Mr Johnson joined the club as an 11-year-old in 1970 and said he had been groomed from the age of 13 by scout Eddie Heath, who died before the allegations against him were made.
Asked if he felt other clubs may have paid players to keep quiet about sexual abuse, he said: "There may be some truth to that".
In a statement on Saturday, Chelsea said Mr Johnson had "suffered unacceptably". The club said a review into the case would take place.
Other critics of the FA say the organisation was not fast enough to put in place enhanced criminal record checks for youth coaches and others working with children.
Those checks include details of convictions as well as so-called "soft intelligence" from local police forces about an individual and whether they should be allowed to coach under-18s.
Before 2002 it was only schools, local authorities and other statutory organisations which could ordinarily access that kind of information.
But in 1994 a Home Office pilot project was set up which allowed a handful of other groups to make use of those checks, including charities like Barnardo's and Fair Play for Children.
Jan Cosgrove, the chairman of Fair Play for Children, told Victoria Derbyshire that in 1997 he was approached by a youth league in Bristol to run checks on 50 managers and others involved in the local game.
The police force involved, Avon and Somerset, reported concerns about one coach who was asked to leave the club in question and was later convicted of child sex offences.
Mr Cosgrove wrote to the FA in April 1997 saying that "since Channel 4's documentary we are receiving regular enquiries from youth football clubs regarding our police checking service".
He said he later organised a conference at Leicester Football Club for other youth leagues, but he claims he was met by lack of interest and hostility by the Football Association at the time.
He claims executives at the FA contacted local clubs advising them not to take part.
"There was no reason other than we were on their patch. I can't understand that, you can't do that with child protection, you have to share," he said.
"We should have had a relationship with the FA, which would've done both parties no end of good, but more importantly it's the kids who come first, and they haven't here."
From 2003 the FA did bring in compulsory criminal record checks for anyone in the game working with children, though this does not apply when under-18s are playing in mixed-age football with adults.
The organisation says it now processes 55,000 checks every season.
The FA's independent inquiry into non-recent child sex abuse in football is being led by the barrister Clive Sheldon QC.
"The review will commence immediately," an FA statement said this week. "The findings of the review will be reported to the FA board.
"It is accepted that no final date can be agreed at this stage given the passage of time and the time it will take to recall files for review and to locate all those relevant people to interview who no longer work for the FA.
"The FA continues to work closely with the relevant authorities and respects the ongoing investigation by the police being co-ordinated by Operation Hydrant into childhood sexual abuse in football."
The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel. | The Football Association reacted "dismissively" to worries about sexual abuse in the game when they emerged in the 1990s, the BBC has been told. | 38242317 |
McGowan, 27, has played for four Scottish clubs and is currently in his second spell in China's top flight.
"A lot of Scottish kids I've encountered had almost a fear of going abroad," McGowan told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.
"I would recommend: go abroad, go for a year, two years."
Having joined Hearts in 2008, McGowan had loan spells at Ayr United and Partick Thistle before helping the Tynecastle side win the Scottish Cup in 2012, scoring in the final against Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.
The following year he moved to Shandong Luneng Taishan and returned to Scotland in 2015 with Dundee United before joining Henan Jianye last year.
"I was 16 when I left Australia and my goal was to become a professional footballer and it somehow took me to Scotland," McGowan said.
"Scottish kids have it really easy, they have almost 40 professional clubs within a three, four-hour drive. They can just move to different clubs.
"When I was growing up I had one club in Adelaide where I was from that was professional. They could only sign 23 players, which was for the first team. My next closest club was a two-hour flight away. I couldn't exactly go there every Monday, Tuesday night to train.
"Worst case [scenario with going abroad] is you don't like it, you get let go, you don't enjoy it and you come back and you're in the same situation that you left two years previously."
Chelsea and Brazil midfielder Oscar, 25, is close to a £60m move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG in January while Argentina forward Carlos Tevez, 32, is reportedly nearing a move to Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors.
"Every team now has almost a world class player," McGowan explained.
"This window coming up in January could be even bigger. They broke all the records in the summer just gone and they're all going to try and outdo each other again.
"There are only five foreigners there so they do make a huge effort in making sure that you're comfortable, your family's comfortable and everything off the field is looked after.
"They believe that if you're well off the field then you should perform better on the field. I thoroughly enjoy it. I couldn't speak highly enough of it.
"It's a great opportunity to experience a totally different culture, different country and as a defender come up against world class strikers week in, week out. As the foreign defender, there's a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation on me performing well.
"Like any league, you have your top five or six teams who would challenge or would do well in any sort of league in Europe and then you have your bottom three or four that do struggle."
World Cup-winning managers Luiz Felipe Scolari and Marcello Lippi and former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson are currently working in China, with Lippi the national coach.
"They are so wanting to win a World Cup," added McGowan. "They want to perform well. Anyone that comes in from a different country or with a bit of pedigree, they want to know what they do 24/7 and how they do it from training to how they prepare for games, how they recover from games.
"I guess that's why they're bringing in a lot of world class coaches as well, to get the academies set up. They're doing a lot of stuff off the field to make them what they believe will be a powerhouse in 15, 20 years' time.
"My club's a relatively small club compared to a few others but we get 25,000-30,000. You probably have five or six clubs that when they're playing at home would get 60,000. I think the lowest is about 17,000 or 20,000.
"There is huge attendances at pretty much every game that you play in." | Australia and Henan Jianye defender Ryan McGowan believes young Scottish footballers should try playing abroad early in their careers. | 38396564 |
The Disney and Marvel film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, took $43m (£34.3m) between Friday and Sunday.
Disney has already secured its best year on record at the global box office, which now tops $6bn (£4.7bn).
It has set a domestic box office annual record of $2.3bn (£1.8bn), beating last year's high of $2.27bn (£1.81bn).
In second position, Fox and Dreamworks' Trolls took an estimated $35m (£27.9m), only dropping by 24.8% in its second week.
Arrival, a sci-fi drama starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, debuted in third place on $24m (£19.1m).
The top five was rounded out by Almost Christmas with $15.6m (£12.4m) and Hacksaw Ridge on $10.8m (£8.6m).
Next week's box office figures will reveal how the highly anticipated Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them has performed on its opening weekend.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | Dr Strange has kept its place at the top of the US box office for a second week, cementing Disney's record-breaking year. | 37974360 |
The arrests in Wrexham, Flintshire and Cheshire come after Asian gold was targeted in a spate of burglaries over the past five months.
Officers from North Wales Police and Cheshire Constabulary were involved in the operation.
Police raided and searched 18 addresses. | Police have arrested nine people in dawn raids in north Wales in connection with the theft of gold jewellery. | 33703375 |
The Sutton Trust's commission on fees looked at Budget changes such as replacing means-tested grants with loans and tying fees to inflation.
It also calls for a full investigation of the student finance system.
Ministers say students will have more cash for living costs under the plan.
The trust - which advocates social mobility through education - set up the Independent Commission on Fees in 2012 to monitor the effect of higher tuition fees.
This report comes after Chancellor George Osborne announced he was scrapping means-tested maintenance loans for poorer students and allowing universities to increase fees in line with inflation - if they demonstrate excellent teaching.
The commission contends that linking tuition fees to inflation could see them rise to £10,000 a year by 2020.
It examines the higher education finance system for England, which allows universities to charge maximum yearly tuition fees of £9,000.
These are paid through upfront, government-backed loans with repayments beginning once the graduate starts earning £21,000 a year.
The report says poor students could rack up loans of about £53,000 for a three-year course once the new maintenance loans are included.
It is assumed that students from richer homes would be helped financially by their parents.
However, it notes that since the change to higher fees of £9,000, only 5% of students are thought likely to pay back their loans fully by the age of 40, compared with half of students under the old system.
It questions whether the system is value for money for the student and for the taxpayer and calls for the Office for Budget Responsibility to conduct an investigation into this.
"The OBR should investigate the system as a whole including the impact of this latest measure on likely repayments.
"The remit of this investigation should include an analysis of how the costs of higher education are now being shouldered and to what extent this is both ethical and sustainable."
The commission, chaired by Will Hutton, cautions against any "substantive increases in fees" or "removing the cap" on fees completely.
It stresses that there is still an "insufficient understanding of the long-term effects of the debts incurred in this process".
Mr Hutton said: "Debt is likely to become a bigger issue. Under the current system, nearly three-quarters of students will fail to clear their student loans before they are written off after 30 years, and the large majority will still be paying off their loans well into their forties, figures that will increase with the abolition of grants and increase in fees.
"At the same time, it looks increasingly likely that any anticipated gains to the Treasury will be largely wiped out by these non-payments."
Previous research by the Sutton Trust found that the Exchequer is forecast not to recoup around 45% of its loans.
A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson said: "We are committed to giving everyone the opportunity to get a degree, regardless of their background or ability to pay.
"Students will get more money in their pockets to help with living costs and lifting the cap on student numbers means that more people will be able to benefit from higher education than ever before.
"The Budget was clear that only institutions offering high-quality teaching will be able to increase tuition fees in line with inflation from 2017-18." | Poorer students in England may be put off university by funding changes that could leave them with higher debts than middle-class graduates helped by their parents, a report says. | 33706943 |
The state worst hit is Puebla, where officials say 28 people died. Another 10 people were killed in the state of Veracruz.
Previously, the confirmed number of deaths was six.
Earl made landfall in Belize this week as a Category One hurricane, after causing destruction in the Caribbean.
The storm was later downgraded to a tropical depression but it still left a path of destruction in Mexico.
Most of the victims were in the remote town of Huauchinango, Puebla.
They died after their houses were engulfed by tonnes of mud and rocks.
A whole hill collapsed near Huauchinango, sweeping down on a nearby village, officials say.
"It is a tragedy what has happened to our people in Huauchinango," Mayor Gabriel Alvarado was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Heavy rain continued in the region, forcing officials to close a section of the main federal motorway to the capital Mexico City.
Earlier this week, at least nine people died due to extreme weather in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the storm passed over the Caribbean. | The death toll in Mexico's landslides and flooding has jumped to 38 after Tropical Storm Earl swept through the country's eastern regions. | 37006703 |
Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, stopped the women while out on patrol in Oklahoma City and forced himself on them.
Last month, he was convicted of assault on eight victims, including a grandmother and a 17-year-old.
On Thursday, a district judge sentenced him to 263 years, in line with what jurors recommended.
During the trial, Holtzclaw's lawyer insisted his client had been attempting to help the drug addicts and prostitutes he encountered in his work. Many of the women had arrest records or histories of drug abuse.
The court heard from several women who described abuse at the hands of the officer and the feeling that their lives were threatened.
All of his accusers were black. Holtzclaw is half-white and half-Japanese.
He cried when the verdicts were delivered last month.
Rallying support for 'imperfect' accusers | A police officer has been sentenced to life in prison for raping and sexually assaulting black women in the poor part of Oklahoma where he worked. | 35376597 |
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22 August 2015 Last updated at 12:18 BST
After a pregnancy lasting 22 months, Thi Hi Way, a 34-year-old Asian elephant at the zoo, gave birth to the female on Thursday afternoon.
Zookeepers said the calf, which is yet to be named, was on its feet within three minutes and is doing well. | The birth of an elephant calf has been captured on CCTV at Chester Zoo. | 34019193 |
They made the appeal a week after Penelope Davis, 47, known as Pennie, was found stabbed to death in a field where she was tending to her horses.
Her five children and husband said they were "overwhelmed" by people's support.
Crimestoppers has offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer.
A 22-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on bail.
Hampshire Constabulary said it was possible Pennie may have been followed on the day of her murder, on 2 September, from the local supermarket where she worked to the horse paddock.
Her children, Sophie, Alex, Georgia, Daniel and Josef, and her husband Pete, said in the statement: "It has been a long, agonising week since our precious mum and wife was selfishly taken from us.
"We had no idea how many lives she had touched, as we have been overwhelmed by love and support. Despite this, the void in our hearts only continues to grow.
"The police have made progress, but there is still much more to be done. We only hope that no other family should ever have to go through the ordeal that we are currently facing.
"No other person deserves to ever have to go the way our poor mum and wife did. We will never begin to understand how scared and how alone she must have felt.
"This is why we are pleading for anybody with any information to come forward. Even if you think it won't make a difference, it might just be the call we were waiting for."
The mother-of-five's body was found by her husband in the paddock near Leygreen Farm in Beaulieu. A post-mortem examination revealed she died from multiple stab wounds.
Mrs Davis, from Blackfield, worked in a local supermarket and visited the field daily to tend to her horses.
Police would like to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anyone acting suspiciously near Sainsbury's on Hampton Lane, Blackfield, between 13:00 and 15:00 BST on 2 September. | The children of a woman who was murdered in the New Forest have made an emotional appeal for information to help catch their mother's killer. | 29122157 |
The head of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, Diego Padrón, said the reforms would turn the country into a "military dictatorship".
Mr Maduro issued a decree in May to establish a popular assembly that will write a new constitution.
The opposition is boycotting the vote to choose the assembly's members.
The election will be held on 30 July.
"This assembly will be imposed by force and its result will be that constitutional status will be given to a military, socialist, Marxist and communist dictatorship," said Monsignor Padrón.
The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, which gathers the country's bishops, considered Mr Maduro's proposed popular assembly "unnecessary and inconvenient," he added.
He also criticised the attack against members of the opposition-held National Assembly by government supporters on Wednesday.
Several lawmakers were beaten up by intruders brandishing sticks and pipes.
"This attack shows that the government is unwilling to abandon violence," said Mosignor Padrón, who has several times in the past criticised the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Mr Maduro's plans to create a citizen's assembly to rewrite the constitution has been heavily criticised by the opposition, which says it is an attempt by the president to increase his powers by sidestepping the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Mr Maduro argues that it will "bring peace" to Venezuela, where more than 90 people have been killed in protest-related violence since 1 April.
He has accused the opposition of plotting a right-wing coup against his socialist government.
Venezuela is going through a serious economic crisis, with the shortage of many goods, high inflation and rampant crime.
The opposition accuses Mr Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, of mismanaging the economy. | Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church has criticised President Nicolás Maduro's decision to have the constitution rewritten. | 40539151 |
It was found in the eastern approaches to the Firth by the lighthouse tender, Pharos, using sonar equipment.
The upturned hull of the Cemfjord - which was carrying cement - was spotted by a passing ferry on Saturday and sank the following day.
No trace was found of its crew despite a huge search operation.
The seven Polish nationals and one Filipino who were on board did not have time to send out a distress signal.
A liferaft from the cargo ship has also been discovered drifting in the Pentland Firth, but coastguards said there were no signs of life on board and that the liferaft had not been used.
The Shetland coastguard helicopter was sent to investigate at 14:00 on Monday after a passing vessel reported seeing the liferaft.
A winchman was lowered on board but found no signs that anyone had used it.
The ship was carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement and had been sailing from Aalborg in Denmark to Runcorn in Cheshire when it sank. It had been due to arrive on Monday.
Operators Brise of Hamburg expressed "great sadness" that the extensive air and sea search had found no trace of the missing crew.
The last confirmed sighting of the ship was at about 13:00 on Friday.
It is understood the alarm was raised by the crew of the ferry Hrossey at 14:30 on Saturday.
The Hrossey, which was sailing to Aberdeen, spent time in the area looking for survivors.
An investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing.
The Scottish government is expected to update the parliament on the accident during topical questions after 2pm, which you can watch live or on demand at BBC Scotland's Democracy Live website. | The wreck of the cargo ship Cemfjord, which sank in the Pentland Firth with eight men on board, has been located on the seabed. | 30689218 |
The 59-year-old former World number one and US Masters champion is targeting his first Senior Open title,
"It would be very special to finally put that trophy on the mantelpiece," he said.
Phillip Price and Stephen Dodd will be taking part in their first Senior Open alongside the experienced Mark Mouland.
Woosnam added: "Naturally, I'm very proud that the Senior Open is coming back to Wales for a second time and we will have a solid presence with four Welsh lads in the field."
The Senior Open Championship is at Royal Porthcawl from 27-30 July. | Ian Woosnam will spearhead a strong Welsh challenge at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl. | 39857005 |
At the world premiere of his environmental documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel, at Utah's Sundance Film Festival, Gore called those demanding action on climate change "a mass movement - one that cannot be ignored".
Like its predecessor, 2006's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, this film, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power focuses on Mr Gore's lifetime campaigning for global action on climate issues, and on the search for renewable energies.
The politician says he was initially "reluctant" to make another film, but believes the 2015 climate conference in Paris was a "benchmark".
However, the film ends with the election of Donald Trump as president in November 2016.
Donald Trump has previously described himself as "not a big believer in global warming."
In the documentary, directed by Bonnie Cohen and John Shenk, Mr Trump is heard calling for Mr Gore's Nobel Prize to be rescinded, while the politician describes the election of Mr Trump as a "setback".
But he's also seen going into Trump Towers in New York for a meeting with the then president elect, and it's been reported in the media that now Mr Gore is in "continuous" dialogue with the new administration.
He now says he's "hoping for the best" from Mr Trump's environmental team.
"There's a little more openness to the idea of climate change. That's the only thing I am going to say about it," he said.
"We'll find out those policies soon enough. I hope that those with responsibilities on their shoulders will listen carefully to what the experts and often their own advisors are telling them."
Festival founder Film Festival, Robert Redford, disagrees that there's a higher level of "political" filmmaking this year - although Sundance opened with An Inconvenient Sequel, along with Whose Streets?, a Sabaah Folayan's documentary about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
It also has a late addition to the programme - a documentary called Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time.
"We don't occupy ourselves with politics, we stay focused on what the stories are being told by artists," he said.
"The idea of us being involved in politics is just not so. We think it's far more important to support storytellers, and if politics comes up with them, so be it."
Nevertheless, the festival has established a New Climate section, to bring fresh film perspectives on the environment.
An Inconvenient Truth was the first hugely successful documentary on the topic, making more than $50m at the box office.
Gore, who was defeated by George W Bush in 2000 for the US Presidency, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
In the decade since the first film was made, the politician says the biggest difference is that "solutions on renewable energy are now readily available - and in some cases cheaper than fossil fuels.
"Also, one of the things that is most encouraging and exciting to me is that silly partisanship is fading, that there's co-operation between Democrat and Republicans," he said.
"And then there's the younger generation. For them, climate change is a given. They just want to roll up their sleeves and say 'Yes, what do we need to do? Let's just get on with it.' That's why I think we'll win in the end."
However, An Inconvenient Sequel shows Gore's admission of "it's hard not to take it personally" when his beliefs on global warming are rejected, and his belief that "democracy is being hacked by big business" - a reference to political lobbying by fossil fuel industries.
He also described his terror over what he calls "the Book of Revelations being enacted on our TV screens every night".
"There are fires, floods, droughts, and it keeps happening, it's just become something regular; 2016 was officially described as the hottest year ever, and that's the third year running it's happened.
"So this is real, and we have to act."
The environmental struggle, according to Gore, has parallels with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. It's inevitable, he claimed, that they will win, adding: "But it could take a while.
"It was won over time by people who spoke up in conversations. We have to win those conversations."
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power will be released later in 2017. The Sundance Film Festival runs until January 29, 2017 | Former US Vice President Al Gore says he believes climate change campaigners will "win" the debate, even with a new president in the White House who has previously called global warming "a hoax." | 38691032 |
The action stoked fears of rising tensions in the Middle East and oil prices jumped in response.
The Dow Jones fell 40 points, or 0.2% to 17,678, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 5 points, or 0.2%, to end on 2,056.
The tech-focused Nasdaq closed 13 points lower, or 0.3%, at 4,863.
Oil prices surged on news of the airstrikes. Brent crude futures jumped $2.6 to hit $59.09 a barrel, while US crude settled $2.08 higher at $51.29 a barrel, having peaked at $52.48 a barrel earlier.
"Obviously the situation in Yemen is being used as the excuse for this pullback, which is a continuation of yesterday," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, told Reuters.
Among individual stocks, Sandisk fell 18% after the firm cut its outlook for revenues for both the first quarter of 2015 and the full year.
Yoga-attire maker Lululemon Athletica jumped 4.9% as revenues for the three months to 1 February rose 15.6% to $602.5m.
The dollar gained 0.8% against the euro, edging to €0.9188. | (Close): Stocks on Wall Street closed lower as global markets tumbled following news of airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies on Yemen. | 32071395 |
At a European meeting of anaesthetists they said improvements in technology mean the line between life and death is less clear.
They called for precise guidelines and more research to prevent the rare occasions when people are pronounced dead but are later found to be alive.
The World Health Organisation has begun work to develop a global consensus.
In the majority of cases in hospitals, people are pronounced dead only after doctors have examined their heart, lungs and responsiveness, determining there are no longer any heart and breath sounds and no obvious reaction to the outside world.
But Dr Alex Manara, a consultant anaesthetist at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, said more than 30 reports in medical literature, describing people who had been determined dead but later found to be alive, had driven scientists to question whether the diagnosis of death can be improved.
At a meeting of the European Society for Anaesthesiology he said that on some occasions doctors do not observe the body for long enough before someone is declared dead.
Dr Manara called for internationally agreed guidelines to ensure doctors observe the body for five minutes, in order not to miss anyone whose heart and lungs spontaneously recover.
Many institutions in the US and Australia have adopted two minutes as the minimum observation period, while the UK and Canada recommend five minutes. Germany currently has no guidelines and Italy proposes that physicians wait 20 minutes before declaring death, particularly when organ donation is being considered.
Dr Jerry Nolan, consultant in intensive care at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, who is not involved in the conference, said: "In hospitals, where patients are monitored closely, and after the appropriate resuscitation has taken place, waiting five minutes to observe the body is a good idea.
"There is evidence to show that once you start going beyond five minutes without a circulation or oxygen to the brain you start seeing permanent damage to brain cells."
At the conference, Ricard Valero, professor of anaesthesia at the University of Barcelona, considered the rarer scenario of patients in intensive care units whose hearts and lungs are kept functioning by machines.
In such scenarios, doctors use the concept of brain death - often conducting neurological tests to monitor any brain activity in the patient.
But the criteria used to establish brain death have slight variations across the globe.
In Canada, for example, one doctor is needed to diagnose brain death; in the UK, two doctors are recommended; and in Spain three doctors are required. The number of neurological tests that have to be performed vary too, as does the time the body is observed before death is declared.
"These variations in practice just do not seem logical," Prof Valero said.
He proposed further research to support a global consensus on the most appropriate criteria to diagnose brain death.
Dr Nolan said: "In principle an international guideline on death is a very good idea. It is likely to help in terms of the movement of doctors between countries and, importantly, with public confidence.
"Italians and Brits are probably built in the same way. It makes sense to have the same criteria for death for both." | There needs to be international agreement on when and how death is diagnosed, two leading doctors suggest. | 22730360 |
Council officers had said the move could raise £120,000 to boost coffers, although "concerns about fly-tipping will be raised".
There were 1,069 incidents of flytipping in the county in 2015-16 - an increase of 90 compared to the previous year.
The policy, agreed by councillors, covers non-household waste such as rubble, plasterboard and tyres.
Officers said charges would be "less than the hire of a private skip", while the disposal of household waste, such as beds and wardrobes, remains free. | Charges for disposing of non-household waste will be introduced in Conwy. | 38402807 |
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France will not be competing in the Four Nations in October, having lost to Scotland at the 2014 European Cup.
A weakened French side were also beaten 84-4 by England in October 2015, ahead of next year's World Cup in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia .
"We've got loads of young players but they don't really know where to go," Larroyer told BBC Radio Humberside.
"We are all divided. I think we need to work with each other to be strong, to work together and try to improve rugby league in France because I really think we've got potential."
"We need a strong French championship as well to try to give some new players to Catalans Dragons or give a chance to go to [League One side] Toulouse as well or to go and have a crack in Super League." | Hull KR forward Kevin Larroyer says French rugby league needs greater unity if it is ever to reach its potential. | 36739267 |
The bear - named Bernard - bursts into song when people walk past Loft Café in Shefford, Bedfordshire, where he has stood since 1 December.
An enforcement officer told owners Rob and Teresa Farndon there had been a complaint about "noise nuisance".
Central Bedfordshire Council said there was an "ongoing investigation".
Bernard sings snippets of five or six Christmas songs, including Andy Williams' It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and is activated either by movement or by pressing a button.
He stood outside the cafe in North Bridge Street every day last December with no complaints and has been put away at 16:00 GMT every day so far this year.
The owners' son Connor Farndon said the complaint was "so petty".
"We put the bear outside for the kids to get them in the Christmas spirit and all the kids love him," he said.
"You can't even hear him over the traffic when it is standing stationary at the traffic lights outside.
"It's not the council's fault - they're just following up a complaint. It's the person who's complained who is ridiculous."
Mr Farndon said he thought the only thing the council could do was "tell us to take it away".
A council spokesman confirmed the premises had been visited "on a number of occasions" but that "Bernard has not been deemed a nuisance".
"We have written to both parties, explaining the situation as part of an ongoing investigation," he said.
"The council takes noise complaints seriously and has a legal obligation to fully investigate them, but we also want everyone in Central Bedfordshire to enjoy themselves over the Christmas period and would urge residents and business owners alike to be mindful of their neighbours when planning festivities." | A six-foot mechanical polar bear that dances and sings Christmas carols is being investigated after a council received a noise complaint. | 30475642 |
The 23-year-old midfielder powered the ball in from 25 yards as the hosts took the lead after 17 minutes.
Shaun Harrad met Nathan Blissett's flick-on and rifled the ball home to extend Torquay's lead.
Keeper Brendan Moore was forced into action to keep out Altrincham forward Damien Reeves as the home side picked up three vital points.
The Gulls are now six points clear of the National League relegation places, while the Robins remain two points from safety with just three matches remaining. | Luke Young scored his first league goal since October 2014 as Torquay eased to victory over Altrincham at Plainmoor. | 35619725 |
Hundreds of women were left in severe pain by operations to implant a surgical mesh.
They felt their symptoms were dismissed by the medical profession.
Shona Robison said they should not have had to lodge a petition in the Scottish Parliament to have their voices heard.
It also emerged that about 80 women have received the controversial procedure since former Health Secretary Alex Neil requested its suspension in June last year.
1,850
cases each year in Scotland
1-3% stress urinary incontinence patients suffer complications
2-6% pelvic organ prolapse patients suffer complications
An independent review into mesh implant surgery was ordered after women who had been left suffering from painful complications took their case to Holyrood.
Find out what the procedure is, and why it has caused a problem for some patients.
Ms Robison, appearing at the public petitions committee at the Scottish Parliament, said: "I'm happy to apologise to the women for having to basically campaign to bring it to everyone's attention.
"It should never have taken women to have to campaign in this way to shine a light on this issue. I want to thank them for all that they have done. They have left a legacy for other women.
"That is probably cold comfort for the ladies sitting behind me."
Elaine Holmes and Olive McIlroy of Scottish Mesh Survivors - the group which took the issue to Holyrood - want a public inquiry to be held or independent research to be carried out into the safety of mesh devices.
The committee hearing took place after the publication of an interim report by the Independent Review of Transvaginal Mesh Implants, which happened following the campaign.
Ms Holmes, Ms McIIroy and other women affected by the procedure sat behind those giving evidence to the committee.
Many shook their heads when they heard the practice had continued, and were visibly upset at other moments.
Ms Robison's apology came after a question by Labour MSP Neil Findlay.
He said: "One of the issues through this has been that the medical establishment has had a real willingness to believe those who said it was a fantastic procedure and product, and a real unwillingness to believe those who said this caused problems.
"Do you think someone should apologise to those women who were not believed?"
He said there were many in the medical establishment who still did not believe them.
Ms Robison said the women who had undergone the procedure since Mr Neil had called for its suspension last summer had asked for the procedures themselves, in light of all available information.
Ms Robison said: "The numbers of procedures have dropped dramatically.
"There have been very, very few carried out in light of the suspension.
"As I have said in parliament, where the women herself was asking for the procedure because of the distress that her condition was causing and the clinician was prepared to continue in that case, then those are the circumstances where the procedure can go ahead."
Ms Robison conceded there may have been an issue with the "communication of the time" as this may not have been the perception of some people, but the minister was clear this was always an option for women.
Catherine Calderwood, the Scottish government's chief medical officer, said that since the suspension call was made, 76 women had undergone procedures for stress, urinary and incontinence and "less than ten" women had received a mesh for a prolapse.
The interim review called for better training to ensure medical staff were more aware of the complications women could suffer after mesh implant surgery.
The report expressed "serious concerns that some women who had adverse events found they were not believed", adding that this added to their distress and meant they had to wait longer for help.
Ms Robison said the Scottish government accepted all the interim report's recommendations. The full report will be published at a later date. | Scotland's health minister has apologised to women who were left with severe complications following a procedure to treat prolapse and bladder problems. | 34453512 |
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Roy Hodgson's successor will take over an England team badly damaged by the humiliation of an exit to the minnows of Iceland at the last-16 stage of Euro 2016.
Hodgson, 68, cut a broken and fragile figure at his final news conference in France, another victim of what some are starting to see as the impossible job of ending England's years of hurt.
The role of England manager is full of possibilities but awash with potential downfalls - so is it the best or worst job in sport?
The public profile of being England's football manager is often put on a par with the Prime Minister, a man who can shape the public mood with the joy of victory and, more often than not in major tournaments, the pain of defeat.
It is a job which has the potential to make someone a legend if they get it right and emulate the success of Ramsey on 30 July 1966 when England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley in the World Cup final.
The man who gets it right is made for life. It still represents the greatest opportunity in English sport if someone can harness the passion and potential of the national game.
As Roy Hodgson made his emotional departure from England's media base in a secluded quarter of Chantilly, no talk of money could console a man whose reputation and record will be stained forever by the manner of defeat by Iceland, the minnows ranked 34th in the world with a population of just 330,000.
Hodgson was, however, the highest-paid manager at Euro 2016 at a reported £3.5m a year, eclipsing Italy's Chelsea-bound coach Antonio Conte at £3.15m a year and Turkey's Fatih Terim at £2.7m.
Nice work if you can get it and put up with the criticism that comes with a group-stage exit after only two matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the ignominious end here.
Northern Ireland's Michael O'Neill returned home a national hero after they went out to Wales in the last 16 and he is understood to be on £250,000 a year.
It was reported Chris Coleman - who has guided Wales to the quarter-finals - was on £200,000 a year before signing an improved two-year deal in May.
And as chief executive Martin Glenn announced the FA would conduct a global search to seek out the best man for the job, not simply an Englishman, it was clear that whoever takes on the task of replacing Hodgson will be handsomely rewarded for the privilege to enhance the attraction of the job.
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England's next boss will find the bar set at its lowest after Euro 2016, following on from the failure of Brazil two years ago and that track record of disappointment stretching back to 1966.
Hodgson's reign has drained expectation from England's supporters with the loss to Iceland standing alongside - or perhaps even below - the 1-0 defeat by the United States at the 1950 World Cup.
The graph can surely only move upwards, which is the perfect starting point for any new manager.
He will have no high expectations to meet, no track record of success to maintain, and pretty much no way to lower the mood of England's followers.
Sounds perfect.
England's dismal showing in France, with only one win over Wales set against draws against Russia and Slovakia and the defeat by Iceland, belied some of the excitement generated before Euro 2016 by the emergence of an exciting crop of young players.
The England job presents the chance to mould a team of genuine significance by the time the World Cup comes around again in Russia in 2018.
There was always the lingering feeling that Hodgson, as one of the elder statesmen of international management, could never quite relate to the younger brigade and was unable to release their full potential.
If the next England manager can press the right buttons he has plenty of raw materials to work with in the shape of Manchester United's 18-year-old forward Marcus Rashford, Tottenham striker Harry Kane, 22, and team-mate Dele Alli, who is only 20. Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling is still only 21.
He will also have the chance to nurture two outstanding talents from Everton in defender John Stones and midfielder Ross Barkley. They are both only 22 and were the only two outfield players not to see any action in France.
Hodgson's successor will not only be able to mine that rich seam, but will also note that England Under-21s have just won the prestigious Toulon Tournament in France for the first time in 22 years.
The next man through the door of the FA's offices will also have the best of everything when it comes to facilities.
St George's Park, despite its somewhat remote location tucked away in Staffordshire, has been built as a monument to the future of English football at a cost of £100m and will be at his full disposal.
It is not only a hub designed to produce the next generation of coaches, it is also where FA technical director Dan Ashworth and his team want to provide England's next manager with the tools to do his job.
He will not be expected to work at St George's Park, but some of his chances of success will be moulded by what goes on there in developing England's youth team, educating coaches and also provides cutting edge sports medicine and sports science work.
The rebuilt Wembley is also a home fit for a football king - it just needs the right man to wear the crown.
He will have to turn a tide of history stretching back 50 years, producing something beyond several managers who achieved great things in club football, such as Don Revie, Ron Greenwood, Sir Bobby Robson, Terry Venables, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
The FA's next choice must somehow find a way to cure a problem that has run through England's football teams in recent history and which has provided the narrative to the succession of disappointments.
He will also have to mould a style of play and sureness of touch that eluded Hodgson, who seemed unsure of how to play and who to play in France.
Chief executive Glenn said: "We want to move to a new approach, a new management team and it's our commitment to say that in future tournaments every game, every match, every half we will punch our weight.
"We will go to tournaments as contenders and get over this brittleness."
So there is the task right there.
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Hodgson, despite admitting his reluctance to attend his final news conference, made a point of saying he had been fairly treated by the media during his four years in charge.
He knew, however, that he would be facing a storm of criticism for England's failure at Euro 2016, perfectly understandable given the strength of feeling following that Iceland reverse.
And that same scrutiny will apply to the man who follows Hodgson.
He will find every team selection pored over, every tactical nuance examined, every result analysed. It goes with the territory and can be uncomfortable - but it is something that must be handled.
Quite simply the eyes of the nation are on this solitary figure. Any weakness will be brutally exposed - a fact of life for England's manager.
The job of England manager comes with a health warning attached: have a thick skin or else.
Graham Taylor, a thoroughly decent and dignified man, was portrayed as a turnip after a defeat by Sweden at Euro 92.
Kevin Keegan confirmed his decision to resign as England manager in a toilet after the final international game at the old Wembley in October 2000, a 1-0 loss to Germany in a World Cup qualifier, telling former FA chief executive David Davies: "I'm out of here. I'm not up to it."
Steve McClaren ended his reign portrayed as 'The Wally With The Brolly' after a Wembley defeat by Croatia that ended England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 when he chose to protect himself from a torrential downpour with an umbrella.
And then we saw Hodgson here in France, welling up with emotion, insisting he did not know why he was facing the media and saying he had been left "fragile" and "raw" by his Euro 2016 experience.
This was a man who has seen so much in the game heartbroken by defeat.
The two men who survived "the slings and arrows" - as Hodgson described them in Chantilly - were the Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, who were regarded as foreign guns for hire and shielded themselves with the knowledge another big job, another big contract, was just around the corner even if they failed.
It is a history England's next man in charge will do well to study. It is a pressure cooker that has brought good men down, especially those who were English and burdened by the sheer weight of responsibility to the nation.
"England DNA: Evolving. Developing. Winning."
Three words that will not be in any way associated with England's efforts at Euro 2016 - but a central plank of the strategy that England's new manager must buy into as he works in tandem with those behind the scenes at the FA to erase memories of failure.
This is the brainchild of the powerful Ashworth, a document unveiled in December 2014 after another embarrassing retreat from a major tournament, namely the World Cup in Brazil.
It is designed to develop elite international players through England's age groups from under-15s to full internationals - in other words those the manager of the seniors will be using to change the culture of loss in the national team.
Ashworth pledged that everything would follow the same pattern at every age level, adding: "Only the size of the shirt will change."
The manager may have thoughts of his own, and of course they will be accommodated, but working in this framework appears to be non-negotiable.
The FA has tried to change England's aloof image, which hit its nadir behind the gates and security of the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg and the austere "Camp Capello" at the South Africa World Cup in 2010, which kept the players out of distance of actual civilisation.
Since then they have based themselves in the centre of Krakow at Euro 2012, close to Copacabana beach in Rio two years later and near to the gentle bustle of Chantilly in France.
And yet they still struggle to make themselves loved. The attempted lighter touches such as players carrying a stuffed lion off the team bus appear forced - and there is now a disconnect between supporters and players after England's latest fiasco.
Former England winger Chris Waddle said: "They're all pampered. They're all listening to headphones. You can't get anything out of them."
And ex-England captain Alan Shearer said: "We are not as good as we think we are."
The new manager, in conjunction with a new FA that will take shape under Glenn and with the departure of chairman Greg Dyke, must change an image problem that England struggle to rid themselves of.
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A man impervious to criticism. A man happy to take the weight of a country. A man able to shut out huge external pressures. A man who can end a 50-year era of gross under-achievement. A man with England's much-vaunted DNA deep within this character.
This person will be hard, perhaps impossible, to find so the FA must do the best it can.
The problem is the high rollers such as Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and even Antonio Conte, who has created such a wonderful impression with Italy at Euro 2016 before his move to Chelsea, are all taken by Premier League clubs.
Old campaigners such as Steve Bruce at Hull City and Sunderland's Sam Allardyce have been touted, along with Crystal Palace's Alan Pardew and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, who surely needs more experience at just 38.
Gareth Southgate was considered as an interim solution, but he said he was not interested in the role on Wednesday.
But what about that willingness to delay that Glenn mentioned on Tuesday?
Could it leave the door ajar for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to apply his years of experience at international level? Or perhaps give Brendan Rodgers time to rehabilitate himself on a one-year rolling contract at Scottish champions Celtic.
Someone will take it - because for every manager who feels the job of England manager is the worst in the world, there will be another who will think it is the best. | The Football Association has started its search for a new England manager - the 12th man to take the job full time since the country enjoyed its only success under Sir Alf Ramsey at the 1966 World Cup. | 36654326 |
Roarie Deacon highlighted that long-term faith in a manager can be rewarded as he cut inside to fire the U's in front, midway through the first half.
Sutton had a swagger all afternoon and Ross Stearn volleyed in on 42 minutes after a Deacon cross had deflected fortunately off Brian Saah.
Nick Bailey pivoted nicely from Stearn's corner to make it three just after the interval before Craig McAllister headed in a cross at the near post in the 52nd minute.
Woking's Matt Tubbs lobbed Ross Worner to grab a consolation goal after 75 minutes, but it was too late to make an impact.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Sutton United 4, Woking 1.
Second Half ends, Sutton United 4, Woking 1.
Goal! Sutton United 4, Woking 1. Matt Tubbs (Woking).
Substitution, Sutton United. Dan Fitchett replaces Craig McAllister.
Substitution, Sutton United. Maxime Biamou replaces Chris Dickson.
Substitution, Woking. Anthony Edgar replaces Jake Caprice.
Max Kretzschmar (Woking) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Woking. Max Kretzschmar replaces Joey Jones.
Substitution, Woking. Charlie Carter replaces Keiran Murtagh.
Substitution, Sutton United. Shaun Cooper replaces Dean Beckwith.
Goal! Sutton United 4, Woking 0. Craig McAllister (Sutton United).
Goal! Sutton United 3, Woking 0. Nicky Bailey (Sutton United).
Second Half begins Sutton United 2, Woking 0.
First Half ends, Sutton United 2, Woking 0.
Goal! Sutton United 2, Woking 0. Ross Stearn (Sutton United).
Goal! Sutton United 1, Woking 0. Roarie Deacon (Sutton United).
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | Sutton United boss Paul Doswell celebrated the landmark of his 500th match at the club with a home rout over Woking. | 37527705 |
He is accused of involvement in the Spanish region's unofficial vote on independence in November 2014.
Mr Mas is accused of serious civil disobedience after the vote went ahead in defiance of Spain's constitutional court.
Prosecutors are calling for him to be disqualified from office for ten years.
It is the first time that a leader of the Catalan government has gone on trial. Artur Mas is going on trial with two former associates. The case is being used by pro-independence supporters to galvanise their campaign, and the current government has promised to hold a new vote in September.
Read more here: Will Catalonia try to secede this year?
The 9 November 2014 vote, which was not binding, went ahead despite fierce opposition by the Spanish government.
Catalan officials say more than 80% of those who voted backed independence, however only two million voters out of an estimated 5.4 million eligible took part.
Catalonia is one of Spain's richest and most highly-industrialised regions, and also one of the most independent-minded.
With a distinct history stretching back to the early Middle Ages, many Catalans think of themselves as a separate nation from the rest of Spain. | Thousands of supporters filled the streets outside a court in Barcelona on Monday as the former Catalan president Artur Mas went on trial. | 38878688 |
The £660,000 campaign, which ran during 2010, has now ended.
A total of 94 houses are occupied at Prior's Hall Park.
Daniel Polak, the development's commercial project manager, said 10 of them had been sold due to the North Londonshire campaign.
"Although 10 houses have been sold and that's a direct return on investment, the amount of awareness that was created by the campaign is unfathomable," he said.
Mr Polak said they were pleased with the overall interest in Northamptonshire raised by the campaign.
Prior's Hall Park, to the north-east of Corby, has planning permission for 5,100 houses. The developers anticipate that in 15 years it could have a population of 12,500.
On Saturday, a party was held to mark the first anniversary of the first residents moving in.
The North Londonshire marketing campaign was designed to attract more people from London to Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and Rushden.
There are no statistics for how many people have moved to other parts of North Northamptonshire because of the campaign.
The campaign was originally meant to run for three years at a cost of £1.3m, but was reduced to one year because of the economic slowdown.
Some local people objected to the North Northamptonshire concept. A Facebook group was set up called "Northamptonshire is NOT North Londonshire".
The North Northants Development Company said the North Londonshire campaign was a success, producing media coverage which would have cost £300,000 to buy through advertising. | A marketing campaign which branded North Northamptonshire as North Londonshire resulted in 10 houses being sold on a flagship housing development in Corby. | 15187930 |
Pirates had exchanged gunfire with a super tanker on Friday 11 October before attacking a Spanish fishing vessel three days later.
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) traced the pirates' skiffs from Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria.
Nine men were caught and forces later destroyed two boats and equipment.
Commodore Jeremy Blunden, Royal Navy, Commander of CTF-151, said: "This is an excellent result.
"My multinational counter piracy forces swiftly located and dealt with this Somali pirate group, sending a clear message that piracy no longer pays."
Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, as the group is known, embarked on board RFA Fort Victoria with support from Australian guided-missile frigate HMAS Melbourne and South Korean destroyer ROKS Wang Geon.
The European Union flagship Dutch HNLMS Johan de Witt - flagship of the EU naval force in the area - and maritime patrol aircraft from Luxembourg were also part of the mission.
After tracing the pirates an HMAS Melbourne Seahawk guided the warship to their precise location, 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast, before a boarding team made the final approach to search the skiffs.
Commander Brian Schlegel, Royal Australian Navy, commanded HMAS Melbourne during the operation.
He said: "It is clear that there are still pirates out there determined to generate income from taking merchant ships hostage.
"Mariners have been served a timely reminder of the perils of transiting the Somali coastline."
CMF is a multinational naval partnership with 29 nation members. Its aim is to promotes security, stability and prosperity across 2.5 million square miles of international waters. | A counter-piracy task force commanded by a Royal Navy officer has caught a group of Somalis believed responsible for two attacks in the Indian Ocean. | 24600396 |
"It is currently envisaged that the existing group will cease to be an operator of homes," the firm said.
Southern Cross added that the landlords were still committed to providing continuity of care to its 31,000 residents.
Trading in the company's shares has been suspended.
The Darlington-based Southern Cross and its landlords and creditors are a month into a four-month restructuring period, which was agreed in crisis talks in June.
The statement said that the details of the restructuring were not yet settled and there was still a possibility of further changes.
It had been expected that some of the landlords would leave the group, leaving Southern Cross operating with between 250 and 400 homes, but now it appears that the group is to disappear altogether.
By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent, BBC News
Ministers have been quick to promise that Southern Cross residents will not be turfed out on to the street.
But that does not mean that these vulnerable people are not facing a great deal of uncertainty and, potentially, upheaval.
The hope now is that the group will be broken up into chunks for other providers to take on.
If that happens the new owners may still want to close some of the homes - something that everyone agrees is both distressing and damaging for the health of those involved.
But the Southern Cross developments raise wider questions about the whole sector.
While the problems the group has faced have been linked to its business model, the situation has been further compounded by cuts in fees paid by councils.
Last year alone fees paid by local authorities for state-funded care home residents were cut by about 2.5% once inflation was taken account.
Suffice to say, the squeeze has been felt across the industry - not just by Southern Cross. It is getting increasingly tough to keep services going.
The process began when the UK's biggest care home operator said it was unable to pay its rent bills to its landlords.
The statement said that little or no value would be left for the shareholders.
"We regret the loss of value which shareholders have experienced," Southern Cross chairman Christopher Fisher said.
About 250 of the homes will immediately begin to be transferred to other operators.
The owners of the rest of the homes are still finalising their plans, but they may end up using the existing Southern Cross back-office staff and some of its management.
"We anticipate that the period of uncertainty which we have been experiencing will now draw to a close," Mr Fisher added.
But Michelle Mitchell at Age UK, said that despite the promises about continuity of care, "this has been a really worrying few months for Southern Cross residents and their families, with these latest developments only adding to their concern".
Labour MP John Mann called on the government to intervene to make sure that care home residents were not forced to move.
"No resident should be forced to move out of their home and in the big sell-off there must be no cherry picking of the better properties," said Mr Mann, who has four Southern Cross homes in his constituency.
"Government intervention is needed now so that resident needs are put first and to prevent an even greater disaster from unfolding."
Martin Green, chief executive of the English Community Care Association, said the collapse of Southern Cross showed there were serious problems with the funding of care in the independent sector.
"I think the Southern Cross issue which has come to a head today, is very much an issue that other providers are facing because of the levels of resource that they have to deliver care on," he told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.
"Fees are a really big issue and we've had several years of nil increases, and of course we've had inflation rates running at 4-5%."
David Rogers, chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said: "Councils take the welfare of care home residents extremely seriously and throughout this process that has always been their priority."
"It's greatly reassuring, and testament to the good work which has been going on behind the scenes and the resilience of the care home system, that a solution has been found which will hopefully avoid major upheaval for the vulnerable people involved." | Care home operator Southern Cross is set to shut down after landlords owning all 752 of its care homes said they wanted to leave the group. | 14102750 |
Apiarist Murray McGregor, the owner of Denrosa Apiaries in Blairgowrie, is the first person in the UK to be convicted of the charges.
The 61-year-old previously admitted administering "unauthorised veterinary medicinal products".
McGregor has produced honey for both the Balmoral Estate and Prince Charles' Duchy Estate.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that McGregor's colonies of bees had become infected with European Foulbrood
McGregor was told he would be given officially approved antibiotics to treat the disease.
But the court was told that he did not wait for the authorities and instead bought unlicensed Terramycin from the United States over the internet.
He admitted committing the breach between July 2009 and October 2010.
During the period, McGregor admitted importing the unauthorised medicinal product, Terramycin 100MR.
He also admitted giving Terramycin 100MR to an animal, namely the honey bee, in contravention of the relevant regulations.
He admitted a third charge of possessing the substance without authorisation.
The court was told that McGregor had kept bees since 1973 and took over the business in 1981.
Solicitor Kevin Lancaster, defending, said: "He admitted he was solely responsible for importing the Terramycin.
"He instructed administering the Terramycin to the bees.
"He accepts he did not get a veterinary prescription. He accepts he did not keep records."
Mr Lancaster said the company was the largest bee firm in Scotland.
He said: "It is a family company with 3,000 hives of bees in Scotland and parts of England.
"It was identified by Mr McGregor that some of the colonies were showing signs of disease. The scale of this was unprecedented within the industry.
"Further tests showed it was widespread. The disease continued to spread.
"If left unchecked it would effectively decimate the bee population. Burning all the hives was not a viable option."
The court was told that powder was placed in the hives and ingested by the bees, and that it posed no risk to the human food chain.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: "The penalty imposed has to be at such a level to make it clear these regulations, or red tape, have to be complied with.
"They are in place for a reason." | A Royal beekeeper who gave a banned drug to his honey bees in a landmark legal case has been fined £2,500. | 38829175 |
The 22-year-old earned $35,719,902 (£22.7m) in 2011 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring.
Irish rockers U2 took second place with $32m (£20m) thanks to their 360 tour, seen by more than seven million people.
Kenny Chesney came third, followed by last year's highest earner, Lady Gaga, while Adele came 10th.
The British singer had the biggest-selling album of the year, but her earnings were affected by the cancellation of her North American tour for throat surgery.
Nonetheless, she earned $13,081,909 (£8.3m) in 2011,Billboard reported.
U2 claimed the runner's-up position without releasing any new material in 2011, highlighting the importance of tour revenues.
Kenny Chesney also made the bulk of his $29m (£19m) earnings from touring, although he also did well from merchandising and sponsorship.
Source: Billboard
Lady Gaga sold 2.8m albums in the US last year, with 1.1m copies of Born This Way sold in its first week of release.
Her live earnings dropped, however, after the Monster's Ball tour wrapped up in May.
In total, the theatrical pop diva made $25m (£16m) in 2011.
Fifth place was taken by rap star Lil Wayne, who returned to the limelight after serving an eight month jail sentence for gun possession.
His $23m (£14.8m) earnings came from sales of his comeback album Carter III, as well as touring and profits from his record label Young Money Entertainment, home to artists including Drake and Nicki Minaj.
British musicians were well represented on the annual Billboard chart, with Sade in sixth place, Elton John at 13 and Rod Stewart at 29.
Sir Paul McCartney claimed 25th place on the list, despite playing just six concerts in the US last year. The $18.6m (£11.8m) ticket sales earned the musician an estimated $6.2m (£4m), Billboard said.
Sir Paul's former band The Beatles came one place above him, whose back catalogue sales earned an impressive $6.7m (£4.2m) in 2011, thanks largely to their belated appearance on iTunes and other digital music stores.
The band sold 4.7m digital tracks last year - with George Harrison's Here Comes The Sun the most popular download. | Country star Taylor Swift has beaten Adele and Lady Gaga to be named the highest-earning pop artist of 2011 by trade publication Billboard. | 17336833 |
The move not only escalated an unusual fight between church and state but also threatened to cause splits within the Catholic Church itself.
The Catholic Bishop of Stockton, California, Stephen Blaire, told America magazine that he was concerned the campaign against the mandate was becoming too political.
He said he was worried his fellow bishops were being co-opted by political conservatives.
"Some groups very far to the right are trying to use the conflict as an 'anti-Obama campaign'."
His comments were the first public indication of a split in the fraternal hierarchy, which up to this point has been of one voice in its opposition to the mandate.
The mandate - due to come into force on 1 August - requires employers to cover reproductive services, including contraception.
The Catholic Church teaches that artificial contraception is wrong and opponents of this mandate further argue that it covers abortion-inducing drugs. Supporters, including many lay Catholics, dispute this.
The church itself is exempted from the rule, but many Catholic institutions, including hospitals, schools and charities, are not automatically exempted and must apply for one.
After the initial row erupted in January, President Barack Obama offered a compromise. Religious institutions would not have to provide the extended coverage, but the insurance companies would pay for it.
At first that seemed to meet with some approval from the US Catholic Bishops Conference, as well as from Notre Dame University, but that is no longer the case.
Some Catholic bodies self-insure so they would not be one step removed from covering something they say violates their religious conscience.
And the row has intensified as it has evolved into one about "religious liberty".
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, has led the charge by saying Catholic organisations will have to prove themselves Catholic enough in order to qualify for an exemption from the mandate.
"The exemption given to the churches is so strangling and is so narrow. And it's also presumptuous in that a bureau of the federal government is attempting to define for the church the extent of its ministry."
It is, for opponents, a violation of the First Amendment, which protects religion from state interference.
The US Catholic Bishops Conference has called on Catholics to join in 14 days of prayer and public action to defend religious liberty, as they put it, from 21 June to 4 July.
But some Catholic bodies have indicated they can work with Mr Obama's compromise. Meanwhile, some Catholic groups have been vocal in criticising their church leadership.
James Salt, Executive Director of Catholics United, decried the idea that religious liberty is at stake in America.
"There's certainly the appearance that the Catholic bishops are pursuing a right-wing political agenda," he said, adding: "It's driving Catholics away from the faith."
The row could not have come at a more sensitive time politically, with just a few months to go until the presidential election.
In recent years the Catholic vote has been much talked about. While there is no Catholic bloc vote - Hispanic Catholics lean Democratic, for example, but non-Hispanic white Catholics are seen to be a key independent voting constituency and many of them live in important swing states.
One of them is Pennsylvania, where the church hierarchy recently sponsored a day of fasting and prayer in response to what it called "an unprecedented and gross infringement" of religious liberty.
Recent polls suggest a shift in the last few weeks among Catholics away from Mr Obama. A Gallup survey found Mr Obama's support at 46%.
According to some election-watchers this is not coincidental and is at least in part attributable to the fight the Obama administration has picked - intentionally or not - with the Catholic Church. | This week 43 Catholic institutions, including the Archdioceses of New York and Washington DC as well as Notre Dame University, sued the Obama administration over its mandate requiring employers to provide contraception in their health insurance plans. | 18215371 |
Police say a file is now being prepared for the Public Prosecution Service.
The body of Ms McCausland, who was 23, was found beside a stream in Forthriver on 8 March 1987.
The PSNI re-opened the investigation into her murder last November. She was last seen alive in a loyalist club at Tyndale.
Police believe 23-year-old Ms McCausland, who had been on a night out, was raped in the club before she was "savagely beaten" and her body dumped.
On Thursday, a 54-year-old and a 56-year-old were arrested in Belfast while two men, aged 53 and 59, were arrested in Antrim.
It followed the arrests of two men, aged 49 and 56, in Scotland and a 53-year-old man in England on Wednesday.
Fourteen people were arrested during the original investigation but no-one was charged.
Detectives conducted 29 searches and took more than 100 witness statements.
Lorraine McCausland's son, who was aged just two, when she was killed, was himself murdered 18 years later, in July 2005.
Craig McCausland died after being shot in Dhu Varren Park in north Belfast and the killing was blamed on tensions within loyalism. | Seven men arrested over the rape and murder of Lorraine McCausland in Belfast 30 years ago have been released. | 40121010 |
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the money would help the work of a taskforce set up by ministers.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK will take in "thousands" more Syrian refugees.
Faith leaders in Scotland welcomed the two governments' willingness to offer a safe haven "to these desperate people".
But they also called for practical action to help as many refugees as possible.
The announcement by the Scottish government followed an emergency summit chaired by Ms Sturgeon on Friday.
It brought together political leaders, religious groups, humanitarian organisations and wider civic Scotland.
They discussed what could be done to help those fleeing Syria and other nations for safety in Europe.
Ms Sturgeon has said Scotland should accept 1,000 people as a "starting point" for further help.
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday morning the first minister also said she would be "happy" to have a Syrian refugee stay in her home.
She said: "I've been overwhelmed myself with messages from people across Scotland saying they personally would be happy to give a home temporarily, or for a longer period of time, to somebody fleeing Syria.
"Yes, I would be absolutely happy to do that as part of a bigger, wider, organised approach."
Announcing the funding, the SNP leader said: "During the humanitarian summit I convened on Friday, we heard the personal testimony of those who escaped persecution or war and have now been welcomed in Scotland and made to feel part of the community.
"Their stories are inspirational and I hope that the steps we are now taking can help many more refugees like them make a better life for their families."
She added: "This initial funding will ensure that the frontline organisations who will help refugees integrate into Scotland will have resources to carry out their work."
Scottish Labour welcomed the funding announcement, saying it was important Scotland spoke with "one voice" on the issue.
Leader Kezia Dugdale said: "This week, Scotland watched in horror at the tragedy unfolding across Europe, and then spoke with one voice to say that refugees are welcome.
"From Westminster to Holyrood to our council chambers, that rare thing has broken out amongst politicians - consensus."
On Sunday, faith leaders in Scotland released a joint statement, saying they viewed the "desperate" situation facing refugees currently seeking sanctuary in Europe "with growing alarm".
It was signed by the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Reverend Dr Angus Morrison, the convener of the Muslim Council of Scotland, Dr Javed Gill, and the director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, Ephraim Borowski.
They wrote: "Our faiths in their different ways are rooted in the refugee experience, in what it means to be forced to leave a place where one's very existence is threatened in search of somewhere safer.
"Our scriptures teach the importance of love and compassion for all who are destitute.
"We are concerned by the dehumanising language used to describe people who are so desperate that they risk their lives, and we share the belief that all people have an inherent dignity and right to life."
They added: "We welcome the UK and Scottish governments' willingness to offer a safe haven to these desperate people.
"We urge them to back this with practical action to help as many refugees as possible, and we call on our communities to support this and make them welcome."
The leaders will meet early this week to discuss the support faith communities can offer refugees arriving in Scotland.
The SNP is to devote its opposition day debate to the issue in the Commons on Wednesday, having accused the prime minister of failing to show leadership.
Mr Cameron has said the UK will take more refugees from Syrian camps and he has also pledged an additional £100m in aid.
25,771
people applied for asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2015
2,204
were from Syria
87% of Syrian requests for asylum were granted
216 Syrians have been granted protection under a special scheme to relocate vulnerable people
4,980 Syrian asylum seekers and their dependents have been granted asylum since 2011
145 Syrian asylum seekers have been removed from the UK since 2011 | Initial funding of £1m is being made available to co-ordinate Scotland's response to the refugee crisis, the Scottish government has announced. | 34164632 |
Nuertey Annang, 47, from Ghana, was knocked from the Banff-registered Aquarius off Aberdeen, near Girdleness Lighthouse, in August last year.
He was not wearing a lifejacket, and sank out of view.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report said the vessel's crew had not been adequately prepared to deal with emergency situations.
Mr Annang was struck by a piece of equipment and thrown overboard.
A major air and sea search was only launched after the alarm was raised when he disappeared from view.
The MAIB said the accident could have been avoided if risks had been properly assessed, and the catching of fish had not been a priority over safety.
The report said: "The energy with which the crewman was lifted off the deck and catapulted overboard would almost certainly have severely stunned and disorientated him, and was probably sufficient to cause internal injuries.
"Nevertheless, Annang was alive when he entered the water and was able to keep himself afloat for several minutes.
"When the crew raised the alarm the skipper's initial reaction was to focus on monitoring Annang's position in the water, and manoeuvring Aquarius astern towards him.
"The crew threw lifebuoys towards their crew mate in the water and shouted encouragement, but despite these efforts Annang soon succumbed and sank below the surface of the water."
The MAIB said that about 15 minutes after the crewman landed in the water, having realised the attempts to rescue him had failed, the skipper used his mobile phone to raise the alarm.
The report explained: "The actions taken by the skipper and his crew to recover the casualty were not in line with the guidance provided by the MCA for a man overboard situation, and fell well short of standard responses taught on training courses.
"Of particular note, the alarm was not raised until after the crewman had sunk below the surface of the water."
It went on: "The Maritime and Coastguard Agency had surveyed and inspected Aquarius on numerous occasions during the previous nine years.
"It had identified Aquarius as a poorly run vessel and issued it with 137 deficiencies; many of these related to safety management and were of a repetitive nature.
"The underlying factors that contributed to this accident included: a total lack of proactive safety management; a poor level of onboard safety culture; and the crew suffering from tiredness and fatigue.
"Recommendations have been made to the owners of Aquarius, the vessel's manning agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
"These are aimed at improving the levels of safety management and emergency preparedness on board Aquarius; the working conditions and hours of rest for non-UK nationals on board UK flagged fishing vessels; and the capability of the electronic systems used by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to manage and monitor deficiencies and poor performing fishing vessels."
More than 10 vessels were involved in the search, including tugs, rig vessels, merchant vessels and fishing boats. | Safety failures led to the the death of a crewman who was thrown from a North Sea trawler, a report has said. | 37566199 |
Sara Underwood and fiancé Andy York held their marine-themed party at Brancaster beach in Norfolk.
Mr York dressed as a large blue squid and Miss Underwood was an octopus.
Some of the more bizarre moments were when an excited dog tried to chew her tentacles, and an 8ft cod attempted to eat a fish and chip supper, she said.
The couple, from Brigstock, Northamptonshire, invited guests from as far afield as Cornwall to the beach for their fancy dress celebrations.
Click here for more news and fishy goings-on in Norfolk
Miss Underwood admitted the sight of 50 sea creatures arriving by coach and taking over the beach turned heads, when they arrived on Sunday afternoon.
"The local dogs were really startled," she said.
The bride-to-be's parents have a second home in the area and she said she had fond memories of childhood holidays there.
Guests embraced the theme dressing up as mermaids - "who got very cold" - along with "seaweed", "seahorses" and a "deep-sea diver".
They ended the party at a local fish and chip restaurant where many guests, including the 8ft-tall cod, attempted to polish off their supper still dressed in full costume.
"When the giant cod was waddling around trying to eat cod, it was all a bit surreal," Miss Underwood said.
"We wanted to do something a bit different and I've always wanted to dress up as an octopus... but I woke up this morning thinking, did this happen?" | A bride-to-be fulfilled her ambition to "be an octopus" by dressing the part along with 50 other "sea creatures" at a joint stag and hen party. | 38129431 |
Novels by authors such as James Patterson and Lee Child dominate the top 10 most borrowed books, with Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol in top spot.
Patterson remains the most borrowed author for the fifth year running, with five books written, or co-written, by the prolific US author, in the top 10.
Author Lee Child claims crime fiction gratifies "a desire for safety and security and the rule of law".
"In the decade following 9/11, I believe crime fiction has become more important in people's lives," Child told the Public Lending Right (PLR), who compile the annual data.
"It gratifies their desire for safety and security and the rule of law, because at the end of crime novels, order is restored."
"In US crime fiction and thrillers, the canvas is bigger, and the stakes are higher, making them particularly successful in this context."
British-born Child, who has two books in the most borrowed list, currently lives in the US.
Writer Ian Rankin is the only UK-resident author in the Top 10.
The data comes in sharp contrast to the charts from a decade ago, which saw British romance novelist Catherine Cookson dominate the list of most borrowed books, with five novels in the top 10.
Patterson - whose novels Kiss The Girls and Along Came A Spider were both made into films - is the only author to record more than two million loans in UK libraries between July 2010 and June 2011. | Crime thrillers are the most borrowed books from British libraries. | 16854192 |
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Van Gaal dismissed claims he offered to resign after losing to Southampton on Saturday, and his team were more positive against the Championship side.
Wayne Rooney curled in from 20 yards to put United ahead before George Thorne cut through their defence to equalise.
Daley Blind then finished low into the net from Jesse Lingard's cross before Juan Mata sealed victory late on.
Derby, who have not won a league game in 2016 and are fifth in the Championship, caused problems towards the end of the first half when Thorne latched on to Chris Martin's delightful through ball.
But that aside, it was a confidence-boosting win for Van Gaal's team who, after a winless December, have lost once in January and registered a two-goal victory for the first time in 15 matches.
Follow all the reaction to Manchester United's victory over Derby
It has been a troubling week for Van Gaal, who has trained his fire on the media and sarcastically said losing to Derby could cost him his job for a fourth time this season.
But in the first half-hour and after the break, United showed the kind of swagger that has been missing in recent months.
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Buoyed by more than 5,000 visiting fans, much of United's improvement centred around Anthony Martial, who captured some of his early season form with a superb performance.
Stationed on the left wing, the 20-year-old caused problems for Derby right-back Cyrus Christie and capped an effervescent display when he set up Mata for the final goal after skipping through the home side's defence.
With better control, the French forward could have scored either side of Rooney's clinical finish. Although the United striker appeared offside when he collected the ball, he turned inside before finding the top corner to move within six of Sir Bobby Charlton's club record 249 goals.
Derby have had their own problems in the Championship under manager Paul Clement, who was assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Chelsea before he took his first step into management at the start of the season.
The former school teacher has overseen £25m of spending on players since taking over and, until Boxing Day, it seemed to be paying dividends with Derby on course for the Premier League.
But like last season, when the Rams faltered in the promotion push under Steve McClaren, their form has nosedived.
The hosts looked bereft of confidence as United began the game strongly, missing out on an opportunity to pressurise Van Gaal's side.
Yet once they pressed United higher up the pitch they began to give their expectant supporters something to cheer about.
Thorne's goal was well worked, and had Nick Blackman kept two efforts on target either side of the break, they might have caused real worry for the visitors.
However, Blackman and fellow winger Thomas Ince were well shackled by United's young full-backs Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, and once Blind put the 11-time FA Cup winners ahead, Derby's challenge faded.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "It was maybe better than we had trained. We played at the right time against the resistance of Derby. We gave their goal away but at half-time I said that it was a good performance, keep it up and we will win. And we did.
"Daley Blind's goal? You have to sniff it and he sniffed it. It was a great goal. The Premier League is very important but the FA Cup is the greatest cup in England with a long and important history. We haven't won it for a long time so we dream of it. After two wins you can't say that we will win it."
Derby boss Paul Clement: "You're always worried about those quality players, like Juan Mata and Anthony Martial, off the back of our midfield. They were clinical, their movement and finishing was the difference.
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"I thought we gave them a good game, it wasn't an easy game for them. We had some good passing spells and our goal was an excellent goal, a good finish from our holding midfielder - although I don't know what he was doing up there!
"I'm disappointed we didn't keep it tighter for a bit longer so we could go into the last 15-20 minutes with a chance. For a team who is lacking confidence they played well tonight."
Derby host Preston on Tuesday as they hope to get their Championship title challenge back on track, while Manchester United welcome Stoke to Old Trafford on the same evening.
Match ends, Derby County 1, Manchester United 3.
Second Half ends, Derby County 1, Manchester United 3.
Offside, Derby County. Jacob Butterfield tries a through ball, but Johnny Russell is caught offside.
Guillermo Varela (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tom Ince (Derby County).
Substitution, Manchester United. Ander Herrera replaces Juan Mata.
Goal! Derby County 1, Manchester United 3. Juan Mata (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Chris Smalling.
Foul by Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
Richard Keogh (Derby County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Derby County. Jeff Hendrick replaces Bradley Johnson.
Substitution, Derby County. Johnny Russell replaces George Thorne.
Offside, Manchester United. Juan Mata tries a through ball, but Anthony Martial is caught offside.
Substitution, Manchester United. Michael Carrick replaces Morgan Schneiderlin.
Attempt missed. Jacob Butterfield (Derby County) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Abdoul Camara with a cross.
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Guillermo Varela.
Foul by Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United).
George Thorne (Derby County) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by George Thorne (Derby County).
Attempt blocked. Chris Martin (Derby County) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Ince with a cross.
Corner, Derby County. Conceded by Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.
Foul by Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Chris Martin (Derby County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bradley Johnson (Derby County).
Goal! Derby County 1, Manchester United 2. Daley Blind (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jesse Lingard.
Attempt saved. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Daley Blind with a cross.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Tom Ince.
Attempt blocked. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Attempt missed. Juan Mata (Manchester United) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right. Assisted by Daley Blind following a corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Richard Keogh.
Substitution, Derby County. Abdoul Camara replaces Nick Blackman.
Attempt missed. Juan Mata (Manchester United) header from very close range is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Hand ball by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
Stephen Warnock (Derby County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Guillermo Varela (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Stephen Warnock (Derby County).
Attempt missed. Nick Blackman (Derby County) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Cyrus Christie with a cross. | Manchester United relieved the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal by beating Derby in the FA Cup fourth round. | 35378959 |
Klopp's side tore City apart with a dazzling first-half performance, which saw them take a 3-0 lead through Eliaquim Mangala's early own goal and cool finishes from Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino.
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Sergio Aguero gave City faint hope when he pulled a goal back on half time but City were undermined by shambolic defending as they failed to cope with the absence of injured captain Vincent Kompany.
Liverpool, however, never looked like conceding their advantage and Martin Skrtel's thunderous late fourth confirmed their superiority as they added this fine away win to their recent victory at champions Chelsea.
The optimism engendered by Klopp's arrival was punctured by Liverpool's home defeat by Crystal Palace, but all the signs of what the former Borussia Dortmund coach wants from his side were on show here.
Liverpool put City under pressure in possession right away and it was not long before City's impatient fans were getting stuck into their team for their inability to get the ball out of their own half.
The visitors were able to cut through City's defence almost at will, with Klopp urging his players not to take a backward step as they went in search of what would be a highly impressive victory.
The contrast between the two managers could not have been starker. Klopp was all action and animation in his technical area while City counterpart Manuel Pellegrini stood motionless for much of the match, hands in his pockets or with arms folded in frustration. The body language reflected the performances of their teams.
Coutinho struggled to hit his previous heights earlier this season but the little Brazilian magician has come to life with the arrival of Klopp.
His equaliser right on half-time time at Chelsea paved the way for victory at Stamford Bridge and has reignited him. He was masterly as Liverpool cut City to shreds in the first 45 minutes, dropping deep into positions where he could not be countered then darting into the area to get a goal and create countless problems.
The same applies to £29m summer signing Firmino. He initially struggled with the pace of the Premier League after arriving from Hoffenheim but has grown in confidence backed by the faith of Klopp, who has started him in an advanced role in preference to Christian Benteke in the wins at Chelsea and now City. It is a ploy that has reaped a rich reward.
Aguero's absence is always a source of anxiety to Manchester City - but on this evidence the damage is even worse when Vincent Kompany is missing.
The injured City captain looked on grim-faced from the stands as Mangala and Martin Demichelis floundered - although they were by no means the only offenders in what was a shocking display from Pellegrini's team.
Without Kompany, City lacked authority and composure at the back and had Liverpool scored more they could have had few complaints.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini: "Today we did it all wrong - the performance, the way we defended, the way we went forward. It was a fake night, a fake game. It is difficult to understand.
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"If we meant to do it on purpose we couldn't have done it that badly. We tried to make changes and have some options to score. We tried to fight but continued making so many mistakes with the ball."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "It feels perfect. The game was not perfect but it was very good.
"City couldn't start like they want but that is important for us. We played with big passion and that's the most important thing for us.
"The good news is that we can do better. At half-time I told the boys they were surprised to be winning 3-0, and we must do better in that situation.
"We have quality, we could have more goals but 4-1 is perfect. The boys can believe now that they are stronger than many people think."
Manchester City travel to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday. Group leaders City lead the second-placed Italians by a point.
Liverpool are also in Europe, but in the Europa League on Thursday when they face Bordeaux at Anfield. Klopp's side are second in Group B, three points ahead of the French side and two behind leaders FC Sion.
Match ends, Manchester City 1, Liverpool 4.
Second Half ends, Manchester City 1, Liverpool 4.
Bacary Sagna (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jordon Ibe (Liverpool).
Attempt blocked. Jordon Ibe (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Leiva.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Kolo Touré.
Foul by Fernando (Manchester City).
Emre Can (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Liverpool. Kolo Touré replaces Adam Lallana.
Attempt missed. Fernandinho (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Kelechi Iheanacho.
Fernando (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Christian Benteke (Liverpool).
Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Christian Benteke (Liverpool).
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Nathaniel Clyne.
Attempt saved. Fabian Delph (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Fernandinho.
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Manchester City 1, Liverpool 4. Martin Skrtel (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal following a corner.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Joe Hart.
Attempt saved. Christian Benteke (Liverpool) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jordon Ibe with a through ball.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Martin Skrtel.
Martín Demichelis (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Christian Benteke (Liverpool).
Attempt missed. Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.
Substitution, Liverpool. Christian Benteke replaces Roberto Firmino.
Attempt blocked. Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Dejan Lovren.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Roberto Firmino (Liverpool).
Foul by Fernando (Manchester City).
Adam Lallana (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Martín Demichelis.
Substitution, Liverpool. Jordon Ibe replaces Philippe Coutinho because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) because of an injury.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Dejan Lovren.
Substitution, Manchester City. Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Sergio Agüero. | Liverpool wrecked Manchester City's hopes of returning to the top of the Premier League and delivered more evidence of vast improvement under new manager Jurgen Klopp with an emphatic victory at The Etihad. | 34818213 |
He joined Mercedes in 2013 after non-executive chairman Niki Lauda promised they would make him world champion.
After winning Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to clinch the title, Hamilton, 29, said: "I wanted to be part of something building and growing.
"I feel this is just the beginning. What this team has put together is something incredibly special."
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Hamilton won the title by 67 points after a tense season-long battle with team-mate Nico Rosberg.
He is one of seven men to win the championship twice, leaving him one behind three-time victors Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel are the only four-time winners, Juan Manuel Fangio has five, while Michael Schumacher leads the way with seven.
Hamilton continued: "We've got great people in their right positions and me and Nico will continue to push the team forward.
"As will the boss of Mercedes, who has been so committed and building the best engine. These guys know just as much as I do, it's been phenomenal this year.
"It's really important the steps we take moving forwards to continue improving and I 100% believe the team will do that."
Team-mate Rosberg signed a new contract with Mercedes until at least the end of 2016 in May this year, while Hamilton has a contract with Mercedes until the end of next year.
He and the team delayed negotiations over a new deal until the title had been decided so Hamilton could concentrate on his racing.
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Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has said they will sit down in the coming days and discuss the new deal and both Stevenage-born Hamilton and his team expect to continue together into a new contract.
Hamilton said: "I definitely don't feel I am looking for a new challenge. We have a year to go, so there's no particular rush but this is my home and I'm very happy here."
Mercedes non-executive chairman Lauda added: "I asked him to leave McLaren and come to Mercedes and he said 'when are we going to be competitive'. I said I could guarantee him a world championship and in the second year here it is.
"We are going to do this [contract] in the next two weeks. He's happy, we're happy, I don't see any issues." | Lewis Hamilton says winning his second world title is the start of "something special" for himself and Mercedes. | 30173479 |
The practical and theory tests, in place since October 2014, must be passed before drivers can become qualified to pick up passengers.
Drivers sitting the theory test have to answer questions in four categories, covering issues from road responsibilities and mechanical knowledge to health and safety and customer care.
A number of questions are specific to the taxi industry, but some are the same as those in the theory test for new car drivers.
The pass mark is 80%, so ask yourself: | Taxi drivers in Northern Ireland say a test for new drivers is so difficult that it is putting people off joining the profession. | 37451733 |
Chloe Goins claims Mr Cosby drugged and molested her when she was 17.
The civil lawsuit accuses Mr Cosby of "childhood sexual abuse" and demands damages of at least $75,000 (£49,000). Ms Goins is also seeking a jury trial.
Mr Cosby, 78, is facing a series of sexual assault accusations dating back decades. He has denied the claims.
The star is due to testify on Friday in a separate lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, who accused the comedian of sexually abusing her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15 years old.
More than 50 women have come forward publicly over the past year with allegations including drugging, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape - all of which Mr Cosby denies.
In most cases, the alleged incidents date back decades, meaning they fall outside the time limit for legal action.
But Ms Goins' allegations do fall within California's statute of limitations, and prosecutors are also now reviewing the evidence for possible criminal charges.
The model told reporters: "Today I recognise that I've taken legal action that many of the other victims of Bill Cosby will never be able to take. This has gone on long enough, it's time Bill Cosby was held accountable for his crimes."
Ms Goins' lawyer Spencer Kuvin said the alleged assault happened before her 18th birthday in May 2008. Cosby's lawyer Marty Singer has previously claimed she was referring to an event at the Playboy Mansion that August.
Mr Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt declined to comment to the Reuters news agency on Tuesday about Ms Goins' lawsuit. | A 25-year-old model has sued US comedian Bill Cosby, alleging he sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 2008. | 34463079 |
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The captain scored twice in his first game since announcing he would move to Major League Soccer in the summer.
If Liverpool reach the final, which is on Gerrard's 35th birthday on 30 May, it would be his last game in England.
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"There would be no better way for it to end," Rodgers said.
"Steven was outstanding. He gave a brilliant individual performance. He scored two and if he was a more selfish player he might have had a hat-trick."
Midfielder Gerrard, who was expected to be on the bench, started the game and took his tally to 182 goals in 696 appearances for Liverpool, the only club he has played for.
"He's a world-class player who might be getting older, and at times the legs fatigue a bit, but he's absolute top drawer, a top-class player," Rodgers told BBC Sport.
"He has that real sprinkling of quality that this team needs. His two goals tonight were fantastic."
Gerrard said of ending his Liverpool career at Wembley: "Hopefully that will be the case. It's what dreams are made of.
"I grew up loving the FA Cup and this is my last time, so I want to make the most of it and go all the way."
Adebayo Akinfenwa equalised Gerrard's headed opener, but the former England captain curled home a superb free-kick in the 62nd minute to secure a fourth-round tie at home to Bolton.
AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley said: "With a bit more nous, we could have got at least a draw, but we got done by a world-class player." | Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers said the FA Cup final would be a "wonderful send-off" for Steven Gerrard after his side beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 to reach the fourth round. | 30691462 |
The ban was triggered because it was Cook's second such offence in 12 months.
England were ruled to be one over short of their target at the end of the rain-reduced game in Hambantota.
Cook, who will miss Sunday's fourth ODI in the seven-match series, was also fined 20% of his match fee.
Team-mates were docked 10% by the International Cricket Council.
England coach Peter Moores told BBC Test Match Special: "We knew Cook was on the verge of a ban. The bonus is that it wipes the slate clean before the World Cup."
Eoin Morgan will captain England, who trail 2-1, in Colombo. | England captain Alastair Cook has been given a one-match ban for his side's slow over rate in Wednesday's one-day international win over Sri Lanka. | 30328301 |
Raheem Wilks, brother of Leeds United under-23 player Mallik Wilks, was shot shortly before 13:20 GMT on Thursday in the Harehills area of Leeds.
West Yorkshire Police said a 21-year-old man and a woman, 20, were in custody.
A 49-year-old man arrested on Friday also remains in custody, officers said.
Mr Wilks was found seriously injured outside Too Sharps on Gathorne Terrace. He was taken to hospital for treatment but died later on Thursday evening.
Police said on Friday it was believed to have been "a targeted attack" on Mr Wilks.
Det Ch Insp Stuart Spencer said the force was continuing to maintain an increased presence in the area to reassure residents.
He added: "I believe the answer to what happened lies in the local community and I am appealing directly to anyone with any information to come forward."
Forensic teams remain at the site of the shooting. | Two further people have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a footballer's brother who was shot outside a barber's shop. | 38782572 |
The Welsh Music Prize, won last year by Welsh-language singer Gwenno and her album Y Dydd Olaf, was to include performances from nominated artists.
Cate Le Bon and Climbing Trees are two of the 12 acts nominated for the award.
Organisers will now have an invite-only awards ceremony without live music at The Depot in Cardiff on 24 November.
"We are taking the step to reduce our noise output by reverting to an invite-only event without live performances," said a Welsh Music Prize statement.
"Due to a small number of noise complaints in recent months at The Depot, we do not want to proceed with a full programme of amplified live music as originally intended.
"We have big plans for next year and we are sorry for any disappointment this may cause."
The Welsh Music Prize, whose past nominees include Manic Street Preachers, Catfish and The Bottlemen and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, has promised refunds for purchased tickets.
The Depot owner Nick Saunders confirmed the awards have been scaled back as the venue "works with Cardiff council and local residents" to minimise any potential disruption.
"We will do everything we can to ensure the local residents enjoy the Depot as much as we do," he added. | A Welsh music award ceremony founded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens has been scaled back at the last minute because of noise complaints at the host venue. | 38001071 |
Final results showed 50.3% voted in favour. The vote invalidates the Swiss-EU agreement on freedom of movement.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the vote would cause "a host of difficulties for Switzerland".
France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said "it will hurt Switzerland to be inward-looking".
The initiative to hold the referendum was spearheaded by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), amid increasing debate across Europe about migration and the impact of free movement of people.
By Gavin HewittEurope editor
Fiercely independent Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but has adopted large sections of EU policy.
The European Commission said it regretted the outcome of the vote and would examine its implications.
Freedom of movement is a key pillar of the EU single market - a market which accounts for more than half of Swiss exports.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the vote has shown up traditional divisions, with French-speaking areas in the west against the quotas, German-speaking regions divided, and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino firmly in favour.
In addition, cities with higher than average numbers of foreigners - Basel, Geneva and Zurich - voted against the quota proposal, while rural areas mostly voted for it.
Switzerland's economy is booming at the moment, and unemployment is low, but many Swiss worry about immigration.
Last year 80,000 new immigrants arrived in Switzerland, and foreigners now make up 23% of the population. It is the continent's second highest foreign population after Luxembourg.
By Imogen FoulkesBBC News, Berne
In Switzerland there is a feeling of nervousness, nearly all the newspapers are expecting a difficult period in Swiss-EU relations.
The justice minister will have to try to persuade Brussels that, while Switzerland has decided against free movement of people, it still wants various other EU perks, such as access to Europe's single market. That won't be easy.
Sunday's vote on immigration shows again that national unity, let alone consensus, is really rather fragile, and addressing this will also be a tricky task.
But under the Swiss system of direct democracy, the people's word is final: even though the majority was tiny, the proposals must now come into force.
Swiss nervous after vote to limit EU migrants
In a statement, the European Commission said the Swiss vote "goes against the principle of free movement of persons between the EU and Switzerland.
"The EU will examine the implications of this initiative on EU-Swiss relations as a whole."
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told the Financial Times that "the single market is not a Swiss cheese - you cannot have a single market with holes in it".
Mr Fabius told French radio it was bad news "both for Europe and the Swiss". Europe "was going to review its relations" with Switzerland, he added.
The German foreign minister said the vote had to be taken seriously: "This proves a little bit that in this globalised world people feel more discomfort towards unlimited free movement of persons."
European Parliament President Martin Schulz - a German Socialist - expressed disappointment over the vote. He said the EU would "perhaps [have] to renegotiate the agreement" with Switzerland. But he warned that unpicking freedom of movement from other single market freedoms, for example services, would be difficult.
"It is up to the Switzerland government to decide if they want to suspend the agreements with us or not."
Switzerland's bilateral agreements with the EU took years of negotiation to achieve. Our Berne correspondent says that abandoning free movement could limit Switzerland's access to the single market.
A Yes vote of more than 50% was needed for the referendum to pass.
Since 2007, most of the EU's 500 million residents have been on an equal footing with locals in the Swiss job market - the result of a policy voted into law in a 2000 referendum. But a movement led by the SVP now wants to reverse this deal, saying it was a huge mistake.
Supporters of quotas believe free movement has put pressure on housing, health, education, and transport. They also argue that foreign workers drive salaries down.
The initiative means employers should in future give preference to Swiss passport-holders.
But the Swiss government and business leaders say free movement is key to Switzerland's economic success, allowing employers to choose skilled staff from across Europe.
European politicians' dismay was echoed in some leading newspapers on Monday.
Belgium's Le Soir said "it's the whole scaffolding of Switzerland's bilateral accords with the European Union which is assured of collapse".
And Spain's El Pais said the Swiss had not only questioned their agreement with the EU, but the vote "also reflects the populist and xenophobic agitation sweeping the Old Continent less than three months before the European elections". | France and Germany have voiced concern about Switzerland's vote to bring back strict quotas for immigration from European Union countries. | 26116648 |
Starting the day on 126-2, Pakistan reached 152 before Azhar Ali was run-out by Mitchell Starc for 71.
Nathan Lyon then took three wickets while 39-year-old Younus (136 not out) scored his 34th Test hundred to take his side to 271-8 at the close.
Pakistan still trail by 267, needing 68 more runs to avoid the follow-on.
Rain delayed the start of play by more than three hours at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with only 54 overs bowled as a result.
Younus' maiden century in Australia means he becomes the first player to score a hundred in all 11 nations that have hosted Test matches.
Australia batsman Matt Renshaw - who scored his first Test century on day one - left the field after complaining of a headache following a blow to the helmet when fielding at short leg. Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade also left the field because of illness with Peter Handscomb taking the gloves. | Pakistan's Younus Khan hit an unbeaten century but Australia continued to dominate the third Test on a rain-affected day three in Sydney. | 38516227 |
Daniel Young, 30, was attacked in Kendor Gardens, Morden while on his way for the second day of a new job.
In the footage, Mr Young can be seen walking along Dorset Street as he approached the park, shortly after 08:00 GMT last Tuesday.
The Met said they have found "no clear motive or reason" for his murder.
Two men have been arrested and bailed over his killing.
Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons said the attack "appears to be the senseless murder of a brilliant young man" and appealed for anybody who was in the area at time to contact police.
Mr Young, originally from Paignton in Devon, had just begun working at Coventry University's London Campus International.
In the footage, he can be seen wearing a suit and carrying his laptop and a bag over his shoulder.
Detectives are still investigating whether another stabbing that occurred nearby at 07:25 on the same day is connected to his murder.
However, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said the two attacks had "not been linked forensically or evidentially" yet. | CCTV images of the final steps taken by a university lecturer before he was stabbed to death near a London tube station have been released by police. | 35408213 |
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