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In an open letter to fans posted on their website, the team address "the haters, the naysayers and the conspirators" following criticism on social media.
Mercedes also say it was a "miracle" Hamilton's car finished Sunday's Russian Grand Prix as the engine had zero water pressure for the last 16 laps.
They admit they have not met their own "expectations on reliability" in 2016.
The letter comes in the wake of four troubled races for Hamilton at the start of this season that have left him trailing Rosberg by 43 points - the equivalent of a win and a second place.
And the issues have left the world champion exposed to the likelihood of further difficulties later in the season.
The engine problems suffered by Hamilton mean he is likely to have to take grid penalties for using more than the permitted number of parts at some stage.
Media playback is not supported on this device
But the letter amounts to an impassioned plea to fans who have accused the team of trying to engineer a championship for Rosberg to reconsider.
"Performance-wise we are right on the money," the letter says, "but there is work to be done. Our goal is not simply to be fast but bulletproof, too. Not just to manage the problems but to understand them, fix them and ensure they are not repeated.
"We are working tirelessly to do just that and will continue to do so every step of the way.
"But there are no guarantees. This is a mechanical sport, balancing on the knife-edge of performance and endurance. You have to push the boundaries and failures can happen."
Mercedes say the entire team is "baffled and gutted" at the fact Hamilton has suffered identical failures in his engine's hybrid system in the past two qualifying sessions in China and Russia.
But they add they made a "monumental effort" to fly spare parts out to Russia overnight so Hamilton could start from 10th on the grid rather than the pit lane.
The letter explains in detail the engine problems both cars suffered in the race on the way to their one-two finish.
It says they saw "some alarming behaviour" from Rosberg's MGU-K - the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the rear axle - shortly after his pit stop.
"We spent a number of laps reassuring him he had a good gap over Lewis and could ease off before the FIA gave us the all-clear to tell him to switch to a setting that would control the issue".
Hamilton's water-pressure issue, they said, arose shortly after this at a time the Briton was setting fastest laps and closing on Rosberg.
"We needed to await confirmation from the FIA of what we could tell him over the radio (as a result of this season's restrictions on communication between team and driver)," the letter said.
It said that, with no water pressure for what amounted to nearly a quarter of the race, "the job he did to nurse the car home and still retain second place was truly remarkable", adding: "We genuinely aren't sure by what miracle the car limped across the line." | Mercedes have rejected accusations they are favouring Nico Rosberg over team-mate Lewis Hamilton this season. | 36204181 |
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for Cumbria with up to 120mm (4.7in) of rain predicted in some areas.
Alerts have been put in place from north Wales to southern Scotland, with north west England worst affected.
Cumbria is still recovering after some areas were hit by flooding three times in less than a month.
See the latest news from Cumbria.
Hundreds of properties were affected when Storm Desmond brought a record amount of rainfall during the weekend of 5 and 6 December.
A few days later rivers burst their banks during a further deluge, with some communities flooded for a third time on Tuesday.
lan Goodman, from the Met Office in the north west, said the forecast for overnight into Boxing Day was becoming increasingly specific as time passed.
He said: "The emphasis if anything is shifting towards the south-eastern end of Cumbria.
"But, there's still potential for some quite significant rainfall that would result in renewed flooding."
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency said it had deployed additional high-powered pumps at the pumping station in Ulpha to deal with current or future flooding problems.
Sand bags have been handed out to properties at risk, and Environment Agency staff and forces personnel are on standby in case of emergency.
People can access information from council websites and the Environment Agency Floodline.
The agency is also operating a phone line - 0345 988 1188 - which will be staffed rather than offering recorded information.
Live flood warnings from the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
View the flood map by tapping on the image below
Tap here for up to date flood information. | Flood-hit areas are braced for further problems with more heavy rain forecast for Christmas night and Boxing Day. | 35175297 |
Activists said it was unclear whether IS had laid the bombs to destroy the ruins or make the site secure from Syrian government forces.
IS fighters seized the city, which is one of the most important historic sites in the Middle East, in May.
Government forces are reported to be planning a bid to recapture the site.
The director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told reporters that Syrian soldiers outside the city have brought in reinforcements in recent days, "suggesting they may be planning an operation".
He said government forces had also launched heavy air strikes against the residential part of Palmyra in the past three days, killing at least 11 people.
The group relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information.
IS took control of the ancient city last month, prompting fears the group would destroy the 2,000-year-old Roman-era ruins.
They have already destroyed ancient sites in Iraq - most recently the ancient city of Nimrud, one of Iraq's greatest archaeological treasures.
But so far there have been no reports of IS damage to the ruins or antiquities in Palmyra, which is known locally as Tadmur.
Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's head of antiquities, told the Reuters news agency that the reports of explosives being planted by IS in Palmyra "seems true".
"The city is a hostage in their hands, the situation is dangerous," he said.
Since capturing the city, IS has also taken control of a military airbase and a notorious prison nearby.
The ancient ruins are situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus, and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour.
More than 230,000 Syrians have died in Syria's civil war, which began after President Bashar al-Assad's forces tried to put down anti-government protests in March 2011.
The Islamic State group, which grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq, capitalised on the ensuing chaos, taking control of large areas of the country and setting up their headquarters in Raqqa in northern Syria. | Islamic State (IS) militants have planted landmines and explosives around the ancient Palmyra ruins, according to a group that monitors the war in Syria. | 33216305 |
The American, 37, held off Jason Day at Baltusrol, New Jersey, on Sunday to claim his first major.
Australian Day, 28, remains top of the rankings, followed by Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.
Walker's career-high ranking of 10th came in April 2015 after he won the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Find out how to get into golf with our special guide.
We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here. | Jimmy Walker has climbed 33 places to 15th in the world rankings after his US PGA Championship victory. | 36939436 |
The one-time signing target of Rangers, the club he supported as a boy, says the comments have been more amusing than alarming.
Allan, 23, said: "There's been quite a lot of humour from friends. But I knew it was coming. It's not affected me at all, to be honest.
"There's not been any malice in it, so it's been fine for me."
The former Hibernian player added: "I've had the odd couple of things said but nothing too bad, nothing menacing.
"It's just good to be at a big club."
Allan has only played 35 minutes of first-team action since moving from Easter Road to the Scottish champions in August. He has made two substitute appearances against Dundee United and St Johnstone.
He believes he needs to bide his time to claim a regular place in the starting line-up and to keep up his match fitness.
Last season's PFA Scotland Championship player of the year featured in Celtic's Development League fixture with Dundee on Tuesday evening.
"I hadn't played 90 minutes since the first game of the season for Hibs at Dumbarton, so game time is vital for me," Allan admitted.
"When I signed I did say I'd need to be patient. I've still had minutes to come on and show, but I need to be patient and wait for my chance.
"There are a lot of games coming up so I think everybody will get a chance. It's up to me to take my chance when given it."
Those games for the Scottish Premiership leaders include a trip to Pittodrie this Saturday for a lunchtime fixture with second-place Aberdeen, before next Thursday's Europa League group stage opener in Amsterdam against Ajax.
He told BBC Scotland: "This match against Aberdeen is probably the biggest game domestically we've had this season. It'll obviously be good to put a marker down.
"They try and play the right way. They've got good players and a strong bench which they didn't have in previous seasons.
"Aberdeen and Hearts have both started well and I think the two of them will be up challenging this year."
With Celtic dropping into the Europa League after failing to qualify for the Champions League, Allan is looking forward to locking horns with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, the Norwegian champions Molde and Ajax in Group A.
"The Champions League was a bit of a disappointment, the fact we didn't go through, but there are big European clubs in this group so there are some good fixtures there," he said.
"We've just got to get through the group. Fenerbahce have a really strong team, Ajax have been doing well, so hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and pick up some points.
"If we can get some good results first and gain a bit of confidence in the European games then who knows what can happen." | Midfielder Scott Allan says the reaction from fans has not been as bad as he expected since joining Celtic. | 34199739 |
The British second seed broke the Frenchman's serve once in each set to win 6-4 6-4 in a rain-delayed match which finished at 01:30 local time.
Murray will now meet Kei Nishikori in the last four after the Japanese fourth seed overcame Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4.
Top-seeded Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic plays unseeded Jeremy Chardy in Saturday's other semi-final.
"I passed well," Murray, 28, said. "I came up with some good passing shots and that was the difference."
The first four games went with serve before Murray gained the opening break in game five courtesy of a fierce forehand up the line.
World number 24 Tsonga had two break points in game four of the second set, but passed up the first before Murray's first ace of the match took the game to deuce.
From there, the two-time Grand Slam-title winner held, before seizing the initiative with a lob to break Tsonga's serve on his way to taking the second set.
Should Murray reach the final in Montreal he will replace Swiss Roger Federer as number two in the world rankings. He last held the position - the highest of his career - in 2013.
Murray has now qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 arena in London in November, having only secured his place last year 11 days before the event.
Wimbledon champion Djokovic saved two match points to beat Latvian Ernests Gulbis and set up his last-four meeting with Frenchman Chardy.
The Serb rallied from a set down to win 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 and extend his Master Series streak to 29 - last losing to Federer in Shanghai last year.
In the women's tournament in Toronto, world number one Serena Williams beat Italy's Roberta Vinci to reach the last four.
The 33-year-old American served 12 aces to win 6-4 6-3 in 79 minutes and set up a semi-final with Belinda Bencic. The 18-year-old Swiss beat Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-2.
Romanian second seed Simona Halep faces Italy's Sara Errani in the other semi final. | Andy Murray reached the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal by beating defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. | 33945198 |
The 25-year-old was released after an eight-year stay at Tannadice, having spent the second half of last season on loan at Hibernian.
He trained with the Easter Road club over the summer but an injury hampered his chances of a deal.
Watson will go straight into the squad for Friday's derby trip to Morton in the Championship.
"Keith was someone we looked at a couple of weeks ago in terms of someone who could play several positions and once we knew we needed a right back in he was our first name," manager Ian Murray told the club website.
"He's ready to go, he's fit and that's the main thing so he certainly comes into our thoughts for tomorrow night.
"To get someone of Keith's calibre, pedigree and experience is great. Now we've got to try and get him into our team, get him used to our system, get him used to our players." | St Mirren have signed former Dundee United defender Keith Watson on a contract until January. | 34007916 |
The Friday night fixture will take place at Kingspan Stadium at 19:35 BST.
It was confirmed earlier this week that the Cheetahs and Southern Kings would be joining the revamped competition.
The South African teams lost their place in the southern hemisphere Super Rugby, which is cutting from 18 teams to 15, at the end of last season.
The full list of fixtures for the first 13 rounds of the competition will be published on Monday, 7 August.
Ulster have been included in Conference B of the tournament and the Cheetahs in Conference A so the Belfast encounter will be their only meeting of the regular Pro14 season.
The landmark game will also represent the first competitive outing for new Ulster head coach Jono Gibbes and assistant coach Dwayne Peel, who have been recruited by the Irish province.
"This is a really exciting departure for the competition and we're delighted to be hosting the Cheetahs on the opening day, in what will be fantastic occasion under the lights of Kingspan Stadium," said Ulster Director of Rugby Les Kiss.
"South Africa is one of world rugby's great powerhouses with sides renowned for playing fast, open and uncompromising rugby so there is no doubt that both teams will add greatly to the Championship.
"The Cheetahs in particular are famous for their all-out attacking brand of rugby, and we also like to get the ball moving fast so I think it will make for a highly entertaining spectacle." | Ulster's opening match of the new Pro14 against South African side the Cheetahs will be shown exclusively live in the UK on BBC Sport NI on 1 September. | 40830591 |
Causeway Coast and Glens Council approved the funding for the project in Glenariff by 19 votes to 18.
In June, the funding was pulled because of opposition by the DUP.
The party said that the gates leading onto the site would "re-traumatise" people affected by terrorism.
The gates carry the names of Charlie McAllister and Pat McVeigh, who were killed in 1922.
Last week, the chairman of GAA club Oisín Glenariffe resigned over a vote to move the set of gates to a different position.
Sinn Féin councillor Cara McShane said the council vote placed no conditions on the funding, such as the gates having to be moved.
She accused the DUP of not wanting council money to be spent in the Glens area.
"It's disgusting and disgraceful behaviour and they are creating nothing but negative impact within the Glens community."
DUP councillor Trevor Clarke said he was disappointed by the outcome and that "elevating an application from one group ahead of all others was unfair and unjust".
He added that his party were "astonished" that a majority of Ulster Unionist Party councillors voted to "endorse proposals for a scheme on grounds named after IRA terrorists".
SDLP councillor Margaret-Anne McKillop welcomed the decision but said she was "angry the community in Glenariff have had to jump through hoops to achieve the backing of the council". | A council has voted to approve £180,000 of funding for a community project in County Antrim despite a row over the names of two IRA men on the gates of the planned site. | 37171534 |
The first of a potential series of strikes will take place on 17 March.
Almost nine out of 10 lecturers who took part in the ballot voted for strike action. Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, said turnout was 61%.
Colleges Scotland, the body that represents Scotland's colleges, has said the pay offer which it put before the union is the best deal possible.
If the dispute is not settled, members of the EIS Further Education Lecturers Association may go on strike on two days during the following week.
And after Easter, they may walk out on three days every week - potentially including the day of the Scottish election on 5 May.
The dispute is linked to the return of national pay bargaining in the sector.
Lecturers at most colleges are angry about a 1% pay offer and are concerned about the differences between pay at different colleges.
They claim there are disparities of up to £10,000 a year.
The dispute at colleges in Glasgow is over a distinct issue - the union wants these colleges to join the national pay bargaining set-up.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: "These are overwhelming ballot results, which clearly demonstrate the depth of frustration that lecturers are feeling over the lack of progress towards equal pay.
"Lecturers were promised a return to national bargaining, and clear steps to deliver equal pay in all colleges across the country.
"In reality, neither of these promises has been delivered and lecturers feel angry and betrayed. These feelings have been reinforced by colleges abandoning the negotiations and imposing a pay uplift, while other colleges have refused to take part in negotiations at all."
Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: "We acknowledge the outcome of today's ballot, where around half of the EIS membership has voted to strike.
"Staff at all levels in colleges were offered a 1% pay rise, which is in line with other public sector agreements, and this was accepted by three of the four trade unions in Scotland's colleges.
"It is the best possible offer in the current difficult funding situation, because there are simply no additional resources available to finance a deal beyond that which has already been offered - and accepted by the other three unions."
She added: "We will continue working with all of the trade unions to progress harmonisation of pay and conditions across the college sector in Scotland, and to develop our colleges so that they are equipped and staffed for the challenges of future - meeting the needs of students and the economy for years to come." | College lecturers across Scotland are to go on strike over pay. | 35730342 |
Francis Lee's debut feature will open the 71st festival on 21 June.
The film was shot in West Yorkshire and is set on the sheep farming hills of rural Northern England. It is about the relationship between a Romanian worker and the owner of a farm.
The film festival will run until 2 July. The film will be released in the UK on Friday 1 September.
Mark Adams, EIFF artistic director, said: "We are thrilled to be staging the UK premiere of Francis Lee's accomplished debut, God's Own Country.
"This hotly-tipped feature debut is one to watch in this incredible year for independent film and perfectly reflects the festival's ongoing dedication to delivering audiences the most original and artistically accomplished work in international cinema."
Mr Lee said: "It's a great privilege that God's Own Country has been selected as the Opening Night film of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
"After the incredible critical and audience responses to the film in both Sundance and Berlin earlier in the year, I'm thrilled to bring God's Own Country to the UK for the first time."
Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 on Wednesday 10 May. | The UK premiere of God's Own Country is to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival. | 39858067 |
The 21-year-old has been loaned to Spanish second-tier side Valladolid.
He only joined Watford last month after his contract with another Spanish side Granada ended.
"I'm not disappointed the important thing is to get more playing time and prepare myself for the upcoming challenges," he told BBC Sport.
"It could be anywhere at Watford or elsewhere.
"I'm looking forward to playing in the Premier League in the coming year - it is a dream come true to sign for a Premier League club."
The midfielder is confident that his time at Granada is going to help him during his loan to Valladolid.
"I had a great experience at Granada and I think that can help me this season," he added.
"The language and the way of football is the same so am hoping to make use of this opportunity to add more experience and maturity to my game."
Marreh spent most of his stint at Granada playing for their B team but has made eight international appearances for The Gambia, including last month's 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin. | The Gambia's Sulayman Marreh insists he is not disappointed to be loaned out by English Premier League side Watford before playing a match for them. | 40556279 |
Patrick Kabele, 33, was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts, at Woolwich Crown Court.
Kabele, of Willesden, north-west London, was stopped at Gatwick Airport on 20 August, as he attempted to board a flight to Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul.
Media devices which revealed his plans to fight alongside IS were seized.
Commander Dean Haydon, of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Kabele's intention to join ISIS is made very clear in his own notes.
"Due to the good work of officers at the airport, who spotted Kabele and questioned him, as well as the investigation team who pieced the case together, we have prevented someone from travelling to fight for a terrorist group."
Kabele was also ordered to serve a further four years on licence when he is released. | A man who attempted to travel to Syria to join so-called Islamic State (IS) has been jailed for six years. | 40017048 |
The attack on the party was apparently co-ordinated by the DUP and Sinn Féin.
Peter Robinson told MLAs he listened "open-mouthed" to a denial by SDLP deputy leader Dolores Kelly, claiming what she said was "totally misleading".
Last week, Ms Kelly dismissed Sinn Féin's claim that the SDLP had agreed a position on welfare reform with the DUP, the UUP and Alliance in December.
She was speaking on the BBC's The View programme.
During first minister's questions in the assembly, Sinn Féin MLA Mickey Brady asked Mr Robinson whether the SDLP had been part of a four-party deal on 17 December that did not include a multi-million pound supplementary payment fund.
Mr Robinson said this had been the case.
He went on to criticise Ms Kelly: "If the member were to do what she should do at the speed that she should do it, I would not like to be standing between her and the confessional.
"For anybody to suggest, as she did, that her party had not endorsed either the four-party agreement or the five-party agreement is totally misleading."
However, other SDLP politicians have agreed with Ms Kelly's version of events.
The SDLP and Sinn Féin have been trading fierce words over the welfare issue as the legislation on changes to benefits has been making its way through the assembly.
On 19 December, the five executive parties signed off on the Stormont Castle Agreement, in which they agreed proposals to put to the British government.
The British and Irish governments and the parties struck the Stormont House Agreement on 23 December, which dealt with a number of issues - including welfare reform, the budget and how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
The Stormont Castle Agreement has been published, and reveals several differences between the parties' proposals and what ended up in the Stormont House Agreement.
One is about the financial penalties which Stormont had to pay to the Treasury because it had not agreed to the welfare changes introduced in the rest of the UK.
The parties wanted the penalties, which amounted to tens of millions of pounds, to be scrapped.
But this was not in the final deal.
The Stormont Castle Agreement also included a proposal to replace the Parades Commission with two new bodies - one to facilitate local dialogue and another to rule on contentious marches.
This also did not make it into the Stormont House Agreement.
Instead, the final deal featured an agreement in principle that parading should be devolved to Stormont and that proposals should be brought to the executive by June. | The first minister has criticised the SDLP for denying it signed up to a welfare reform provisional agreement. | 31498025 |
An investigation by Radio 4's You & Yours programme has found that some domestic energy accounts are thousands of pounds in credit.
Energy suppliers are under no obligation to tell customers if their credit becomes excessive.
However, they must pay back the surplus if homeowners request a refund.
Direct debit energy payments spread the cost of gas and electricity evenly across the year. Many customers are often in debit during the winter and build up credit in the summer. Ofgem has previously calculated that a typical customer's credit balance peaks at a little over £100 each year.
Figures obtained from energy regulator Ofgem through a freedom of information request reveal that, in October 2015, the UK's energy suppliers held a total of £3.98bn of credit on their customers' accounts.
At that time, there were nearly 31 million energy customers in the UK, but the credit is not evenly spread among customers.
David Flanagan, from Warrington, was shocked to discover that his energy supplier owed him £3,049.
"I was quite annoyed that the supplier had not bothered to contact me. If I'd have owed them £3,000, would they have been so tardy in contacting me? I can't believe that companies are so incompetent that they don't know what's going on," he said
Tom Colvin lives alone in a two-bedroom flat and pays for his energy through a regular payment plan. He found that his energy account was £2,000 in credit. When he asked for a refund, his energy supplier agreed to pay it back immediately.
"They seemed to imply that despite regular meter readings they haven't been able to address what I should be paying. Over a period of two and a half years it should be possible to calculate my actual usage and then make a sensible calculation based on that," he said.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, said people should keep an eye on their account and ask for a refund, if their credit felt too high.
Some energy suppliers provide annual automatic refunds. British Gas, EDF, Npower, SSE and E.On told You & Yours they automatically returned credits each year, if meter readings were up to date, as did Ovo, Green Star Energy and Flow. First Utility said they provided refunds on request.
You and Yours is on BBC Radio 4 weekdays 12:15-13:00 GMT. Listen online or download the programme podcast | Britain's energy firms have been holding on to nearly £4bn of their customers' money, figures obtained by the BBC reveal. | 38254071 |
Carlile became the youngest Olympic coach when he led the Australian swimming team at the 1948 London Games at the age of 27.
He was the first person to represent Australia at modern pentathlon at Helsinki 1952 before again coaching the swimmers at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Swimmers coached by Carlile secured 12 Olympic medals, including five golds, and 31 individual world records.
Carlile, who worked with athletes such as Shane Gould and Karen Moras, also established Australia's first commercial swimming school.
"He was a true legend in Australian Olympic history as both an athlete and a coach," said Australian Olympic Committee chief Kitty Chiller. | Australia's oldest Olympian, Forbes Carlile, has died aged 95. | 36950973 |
Ms Chacón was found dead at her Madrid home, aged 46, after a neighbour had raised the alarm. A congenital heart problem was the likely cause of death.
She was Spain's first woman defence minister, symbolising the change of culture since the end of military rule.
Her son Miquel is eight years old.
In 2007 Ms Chacón also served as housing minister in the Socialist government led by ex-Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Spanish politicians were among the many Spaniards who expressed shock and sympathy over Ms Chacón's sudden death.
Mr Zapatero said he was "heartbroken at the death of my comrade and friend".
He said "we feel emptiness, because of the enormity of this loss, for Spanish democracy and for all socialists".
The current Popular Party (PP) defence minister, Dolores de Cospedal, said "I deeply mourn the ex-minister". "My heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and the Socialist Party. RIP."
At the age of 37, and seven months pregnant, she visited Afghanistan, five days after being appointed defence minister.
She told Spain's El Pais daily "pregnant or not, I was clear that my first duty was to visit those who are able to put their lives at risk for higher values: for other people's freedom".
"A pregnant woman is not sick. Sure, it's harder when you're pregnant and on your feet all day. I wanted to express society's gratitude to those who put themselves in danger to bring peace to regions of conflict."
Spaniard Victor Orive-Martin tweeted the famous photo, in a tribute to Ms Chacón, calling her "a wonderful human being".
After the Afghanistan trip she also reviewed troops in Madrid while pregnant in May 2008.
She joined the Socialist Youth at the age of 18, and began her political career as a local councillor in 1999-2007. Later she served as an MP representing a Barcelona constituency. She was born in Llobregat, Barcelona, in 1971.
She was the daughter of a fire service official in Barcelona and his lawyer wife. As a girl she had been advised to lead a calm life because of her heart condition. But she ignored the advice repeatedly - including the suggestion that it would be risky to have children, El Pais reports.
Ms Chacón had also taught political science at Miami Dade College, in Florida, whose president Eduardo J Padrón said her contribution had "left an indelible mark".
"Spain is losing a distinguished figure from its modern political scene. And Spanish women are losing someone who always took a stand to emphasise the importance of women's roles in modern society, and among the college's faculty and students." | Spain is mourning Carme Chacón, the former defence minister who died on Sunday and was famously photographed in 2008 reviewing troops in Afghanistan while seven months pregnant. | 39551922 |
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The 23-year-old Exeter prop committed the offence in Wales' 25-21 defeat on Saturday.
He will now miss the rest of his club's regular season games, although he would be eligible to play in the European Champions Cup final if Exeter make it.
Francis can return on Monday, 9 May.
Wales assistant coach Rob Howley says Francis was unaware of what he was doing in the incident that led to him being disciplined.
"When you look at it, his [Francis'] eyes are closed and I don't think he knows what he's doing," said Howley.
"He went to clear someone out."
The second-half incident was reviewed by the television match official and resulted in a penalty against Wales.
World Rugby's recommended sanctions for those found guilty of such offences range from between 12 and 208 weeks but the body said it viewed the offence "as being at the lower end of the scale".
"The disciplinary committee was then required to consider aggravating and mitigating factors, which it did before concluding that the appropriate sanction be a playing suspension of eight weeks," World Rugby added.
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Wales coach Warren Gatland was unsure in his initial assessment of the incident.
"I haven't seen it again, and I listened to the TMO comments on it and he said there was only one view of it and it was inconclusive," said Gatland after the game.
"He thought there was contact with the face.
"I'll be honest and say my initial reaction to it was it didn't look great, but I haven't had a look at it since then."
Francis was a second-half replacement for Samson Lee at Twickenham. | Wales prop Tomas Francis has been banned for eight weeks after appearing to make contact with the "eye or eye area" of England's Dan Cole and will miss the Six Nations match with Italy. | 35796218 |
Jonathon Fagge, chief executive of NHS Norwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), denies assaulting Katy Fagge on 1 October in Long Stratton.
The CCG said it was agreed last November that Mr Fagge, 43, should step aside until the case is resolved.
It said it had appointed its chief finance officer, Jo Smithson, as acting chief executive.
Mr Fagge has been given what has been described as "compassionate leave".
The CCG spokesman said the allegation and Mr Fagge's forthcoming trial next month were "clearly a difficult personal situation for Mr Fagge and his family, which inevitably would have an impact on his ability to carry out his role".
He said Mr Fagge "has pleaded not guilty and strongly denies the allegations". | An NHS health chief from Norwich has stepped aside from his post to face a charge of assaulting his wife. | 30812553 |
"We know that they have started moving," Selahattin Demirtas, a pro-Kurdish politician involved in the peace process, told AFP news agency.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced last month a phased withdrawal to start early in May.
More than 40,000 people have died in their 30-year fight against Turkey.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the move from Turkey but an unnamed security source told Reuters news agency: "We have observed movement among [PKK] group members, but have not been able to establish whether this is regrouping or preparation for a withdrawal."
The PKK is believed to have up to 2,000 fighters inside Turkey and their full withdrawal may take up to four months.
They are expected to cross the border on foot, heading for their bases in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq.
Abdullah Ocalan, the veteran PKK leader in prison in Turkey, ordered the withdrawal in March as part of peace negotiations with Ankara.
Turkish press review
Gultan Kisinak, who co-chairs the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) along with Mr Demirtas, told the Associated Press news agency that a first group of fighters had started to move toward the border with northern Iraq.
A PKK spokesman, Bakhtiyar Dogan, told the Kurdish newspaper Hawlati that between 200 and 500 fighters would withdraw on Wednesday.
They would, he said, leave from the Semdinli and Sirnak areas of Turkey "on three fronts".
According to AFP, PKK fighters complained on the eve of the withdrawal that the Turkish state had increased its forces in the border area and was carrying out surveillance flights.
Such actions, they said, were "delaying the peace process" and paving the way for "provocations and clashes".
The Turkish army did not confirm any extra measures but said their "fight against any terrorism" continued.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc was quoted as saying by AP: "We are following the issue. It's the results that are important for us. We feel that we are close to getting results."
The PKK's acting leader, Murat Karayilan, warned in April that the fighters would strike back and the withdrawal would halt "immediately" if they were attacked.
"We have no doubt about the state but fear provocation from dark forces," Mr Demirtas said.
During a 1999 withdrawal, the Turkish military attacked the rebels, killing some 500.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly pledged the army will not attack any PKK fighters who withdrew.
On Tuesday, he said that "laying down weapons" should be the group's top priority in order for the peace process to succeed. | Kurdish rebel fighters have begun leaving south-eastern Turkey for their safe havens in Iraq under a ceasefire, Kurdish sources say. | 22448118 |
Stewart Rexter, 38, was found in Victoria Place in Airdrie at 17:30 on Thursday.
Detectives believe he was attacked by a man described as being between 25-35 years old, 5ft 8in, of slim build with short dark hair and dark clothing.
They are also keen to trace the occupants of a dark Transit-type van seen nearby.
Mr Rexter, who was from Coatbridge, was taken to Monklands Hospital and then later transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where he died on Saturday.
Det Ch Insp Paul Livingstone of Police Scotland's major investigation team said: "Officers have been carrying out extensive inquiries into this incident including carrying out house-to-house inquiries and studying CCTV footage gathered from the local area.
"We believe that Stewart was attacked by a man around 17:10 hours in Victoria Place between Craig Street and Devonview Street.
"Inquiries are ongoing to trace the man who is described as white, 25 -35 years old, approximately 5ft 8 inches in height and of slim build with short dark-coloured hair and wearing dark-coloured clothing.
"In particular, we are keen to trace the occupants of a dark-coloured Transit-type van that was parked on Victoria Place opposite the entrance to Airdrie train station.
"I believe that the occupants of the van may have vital information that would assist this inquiry and I would urge them to come forward." | A murder investigation is under way after a man found injured in a street in North Lanarkshire died in hospital. | 37888732 |
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Murray won 6-3 7-5 6-3 to give the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five tie.
Britain have now won the team title 10 times, while Murray adds the Davis Cup to his other major titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympic Games.
Captain Leon Smith guided Britain from the third tier to glory in five years.
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The combined challenge of whistles, shouts, camera flashes and the weight of history could not derail Murray from his task - and neither could Goffin.
The two-time Grand Slam champion claimed a regulation straight-set win in very irregular circumstances, completing a Herculean year-long effort.
Goffin gave everything and extended Murray to two hours and 54 minutes, but there was no stopping the Scot, who was mobbed by his team-mates after landing the title with a brilliant lob and falling back on the clay.
"I just can't believe we did it," said Murray. "I play some of my best tennis when I'm playing for my country.
"We have to enjoy this because we may never get the opportunity again."
Captain Smith said: "It is amazing, as good a feeling as I could imagine. Andy has shown himself to be an absolute superstar.
"He will be the first to say that it is a team thing but what he has done is astonishing. I am proud of everyone."
Older brother Jamie Murray, who partnered Andy to victory in Saturday's doubles, said: "It's by far the biggest achievement of my career. I've had an amazing season and this is an unbelievable way to cap it off."
In another frenzied atmosphere at the Flanders Expo, Murray brushed off several early attempts to disrupt his service motion and set about stamping his class on the contest.
Goffin won just one game when the pair met in Paris earlier this month but already looked a much tougher proposition when he doubled that tally and saved an early break point.
Murray found himself under pressure at 2-2, facing a break point and more interruptions from the crowd, but he fired over a kicking second serve and shouted "come on" as the return flew out.
It heralded a spectacular few minutes of Murray at his best, a stunning forehand pass and two blistering returns helping him to break and another of those impossible winners taking him to 5-2.
Goffin played his way out of trouble impressively to save three set points on serve but Murray took his chance to close out the set with a forehand into the corner.
Strip away the prize on offer and the party in the stands, and the action on court was going as expected, with Murray the heavyweight to Goffin's middleweight.
The Belgian, ranked 16 in the world, fought well in the second set and gave his supporters reason to hope, but the pressure finally told in game 11 and a forehand found the net on break point.
Murray held his nerve from 0-30 to see it out, closing the set with another miraculous forehand from back on his heels, and when Goffin finally did break serve at the start of the third, the Scot hit straight back.
There was nothing more Goffin could do and Murray accelerated towards the finish line, breaking to love at 3-3 and then sealing victory on his second match point with a trademark backhand lob.
Andy Murray has relished the team atmosphere ever since Smith, his childhood coach, took over as captain.
The world number two has insisted throughout that this is not a one-man team, and James Ward and Jamie Murray have contributed vital points during the winning campaign, but the younger Murray's achievement sets him apart.
The 28-year-old joins John McEnroe and Mats Wilander as the only men to have an 8-0 singles record in a Davis Cup year, and with the doubles he is only the fourth man to win 11 rubbers in a single year.
Murray also matches his contemporaries in winning one of the sport's biggest prizes, having won more points along the way than Novak Djokovic (seven points in Serbia's 2010 win), Roger Federer (seven points in Switzerland's 2014 win), and Rafael Nadal (six points in Spain's 2011 win).
Former Davis Cup finalist and GB coach John Lloyd: "It is the most amazing achievement. We are champions of the world. Andy Murray's performance was absolutely staggering. We have to use this success to inspire people to play tennis.
TV commentator Andrew Castle: "Andy Murray has made himself a part of the best generation of tennis players of all time and this is another feather in his cap.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller: "Murray's individual contribution has been immense, but he has headlined a team effort that has been five years in the making. Strategy and team spirit have been expertly co-ordinated by captain Leon Smith, and many other players have won crucial points in the climb through the divisions."
Former British number one Annabel Croft: "It feels like this is so special and I will look back on it for many years to come. I have nothing but admiration for the Great Britain team and what they have achieved. What a privilege to be here, we will never forget that lob for the winning moment."
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Novak Djokovic: Congrats #TeamGB on Davis Cup win! @andy_murray Seeing your reaction after winning made me relive again how it was for us in 2010. Well done, u deserve it.
Heather Watson: Great Britain are @DavisCup CHAMPIONEEEES!! This is History!! I'm cryingggggggg! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 #OMG #LEGEND #WOW #PROUD 🍾🏆@andy_murray #TeamGB
Boris Becker:Amazing Andy Murray! Well done captain Leon Smith and rest of Team GB! U guys made history.
Andy Roddick:Really impressive from @andy_murray. One of the best Davis Cup years in history.
JK Rowling: Tennis history made! @andy_murray is a superstar.
David Beckham: What an amazing achievement ... Congratulations to our guys it's been a long time since getting our hands on the Davis Cup but what a way to finish... Well done to the boys and all the team behind them for making us so proud ...
Gary Lineker: Britain wins the Davis Cup for the first time in almost 80 years. Perhaps now we can give @andy_murray the credit and plaudits he deserves.
Sir Matthew Pinsent:HUGE moment for GB winning one of the literally largest trophies in sport- congrats to the team bringing the Davis Cup home after 70+ yrs. | Great Britain have won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after Andy Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin to clinch the decisive point in Ghent. | 34957711 |
Music videos from his YouTube account have also disappeared but no-one from his media team will say why.
So what's the deal with the music legend's apparent digital blackout?
It's got social networks chattering with some comparing him to a moody teenage and labelling him "the artist formerly known as relevant".
Others said the star, who played secret gigs in London earlier this year, is just repeating old tricks.
So we've taken a look at Prince's previous fights with the internet.
In 2007, Stephanie Lenz posts a YouTube clip of her children dancing around her kitchen.
Unfortunately for her, the music playing in the background is Prince's Let's Go Crazy.
Prince's then record label, Universal, orders her to take it down, arguing it is copyright infringement.
She removes it temporarily but then puts it back up, arguing that it is fair use. The case is still ongoing, seven years later...
At the 2008 Coachella Music Festival, Prince performs a cover of Radiohead's Creep.
Everybody loves it, including Radiohead.
But then Prince forces YouTube to remove video captured by fans during the performance.
Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke says: "Really? He's blocked it? Surely we should block it. Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."
Days later, YouTube reinstates the videos.
In a 2010 interview, Prince announces: "The internet's completely over… The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers."
In January 2014, Prince starts a $22m lawsuit against fans who posted links to copyrighted material of his concerts on Facebook.
He later drops the case, after the fans remove the links, and tells the BBC "nobody sues their fans".
Having finally joined Twitter and Instagram in the last two years, Prince caps his social media presence by joining Facebook in October.
He holds a highly anticipated Q&A but of the 4,000 questions he gets from fans, he answers just one - on the topic of sound frequencies. Random, oh yes.
Prince has even been awarded the dubious title of "Raspberry Beret Lifetime Aggrievement Award" by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US internet civil liberties group, for the number of "take down notices" he has issued to various websites over alleged copyright infringement.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Prince's official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have been deleted. | 30215875 |
Great grandfather Ron Walker was assaulted in April in Torquay, Devon, after being accused of running over a man's foot.
He died last Wednesday.
In an open letter to attacker Kevin Williams, Mr Walker's grandaughter Natalie Lynn had "lost his pride, dignity and trust in others".
Ms Lynn, 41, wrote: "Because of you my grandfather's last few months were lived in pain and fear".
"Because of you he became angry and confused.
"Because of you we were by his side, while he died afraid."
Mr Walker, served in Palestine and Suez, and as an MoD dog handler.
Williams, 43, of Torquay, was jailed by Exeter Crown Court for 20 months after he admitted causing actual bodily harm.
Ms Lynn said: "Ron Walker, or as I knew him Pop, was a humble man. He never liked to be the centre of attention and lived his life pretty anonymously, spreading cheer and happiness through Torquay with a smile or a sweet.
"He was a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather and will be greatly missed."
Devon and Cornwall Police said any decision on further charges would be made by the Crown Prosecution Service. | A 90-year-old war veteran who died six months after he was attacked in his mobility scooter ended his days "in pain and fear", his family has said. | 37440305 |
It is investing the money at Code Serve in Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Dyfed Steels in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Express Reinforcements in Neath and Celsa Steel in Cardiff.
The businesses are also investing £8.75m in new facilities, new equipment and expansion projects.
The money is also being used for environmental improvements. | A £2.8m investment in the steel industry will create 90 new jobs, the Welsh Government has said. | 38901533 |
Work at the A19 A689 Wolviston Interchange near Wynyard began in May and has seen sliproads widened and the introduction of traffic lights.
The Highways Agency and Stockton Borough Council said the work should ease congestion.
It is the first of four such pinch point schemes to be completed in the North East.
Stockton Council's cabinet member for regeneration and transport Mike Smith, said: "Businesses in the north of our borough are continuing to develop and expand while the number of people living in the area is also growing so improvements to the road network are vital." | A £3.7m scheme aiming to cut congestion for motorists accessing the A19 near Stockton has been completed. | 30482910 |
The festival, at Bramham Park, near Leeds, attracts around 80,000 people over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Attendees often abandon sleeping bags and tents rather than carry them home.
Leeds No Borders, which campaigns on immigration issues, is one of a number of organisations which collects items left behind.
Emily Jennings, from Leeds No Borders, said volunteers had been shocked by the amount and quality of what had been abandoned.
"If we can share just a little with people who have nothing then that is at least one way forward."
Miss Jennings said the equipment they had collected would be sorted and cleaned before being taken to Calais.
Maya Conforti, from L'Auberge Des Migrants in Calais, says the salvaged kit will make a "big difference" at migrant camps.
She said: "There's been torrential rain in the last week which created huge flooding in the Jungle [the nickname of a camp in Calais], the place where the people survive, so we had to distribute tonnes of tents and sleeping bags."
"Conditions are way below international refugee camp standards, there are not enough toilets, the water points are dirty and there's no drainage.
"It's quite awful and there are about 3,500 people who live there. It's a European issue, an international issue." | Camping equipment abandoned by thousands of Leeds festival-goers has been collected to be taken to migrant camps in Calais. | 34127487 |
The 30-year-old Morocco international, who has made 18 appearances during his loan, has signed a deal until 2020.
They will seal a sixth consecutive Serie A title if they win at second-placed Roma on Sunday (19:45 BST).
Juventus face Lazio in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday and Real Madrid in the Champions League on 3 June. | Treble-chasing Juventus have exercised the option to make defender Medhi Benatia's loan move from Bayern Munich permanent for £14.4m (17m euros). | 39909651 |
From July 2, American will operate only 10 flights per week instead of the current 48.
The move comes as part of a continuing dispute over the repatriation of revenue due to tight currency controls in the oil-rich country.
A number of airlines have already suspended or reduced the number of flights to Venezuela.
"Since we are owed a substantial outstanding amount ($750m, £442m to March 2014) and have been unable to reach resolution on the debt, we will significantly reduce our flights to the country after 1 July," the airline said in a statement.
American said it would only fly to Venezuela from Miami, suspending its flights from New York, Dallas and Puerto Rico.
Tight foreign currency controls make it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate money from ticket sales in Venezuela.
The authorities have restricted access to dollars and want to make them more expensive to purchase, which may lead to losses for companies that are still waiting for cash from as far back as 2012.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) estimates Venezuela is delaying payment of $4bn.
American Airlines is the largest foreign carrier serving Venezuela.
Air Canada has suspended service citing security concerns, while others like Lufthansa and Copa Airlines have reduced the number of tickets made available in local currency.
In January, Ecuadorean airline Tame also suspended flights to Venezuela, demanding $43m (£26m) in overdue payments for tickets.
President Nicolas Maduro said at the time that airlines that reduced their operations in Venezuela would face "severe measures".
"The company that leaves the country will not return while we hold power," said Mr Maduro.
Last month, the Venezuelan government announced a deal with six Latin American airlines that would allow them to repatriate revenue from sales in 2012 and 2013.
Strict controls over foreign exchange were first imposed in 2003, following a troubled year which saw a coup against then-President Hugo Chavez.
The government hoped to avoid capital flight, but the economic crisis of the past year has led to a shortage of foreign currency. | American Airlines says it is cutting almost 80% of its flights to Venezuela from next month. | 27895233 |
Gestede, signed for £6m from Blackburn, powered in a header 13 minutes after replacing fellow new boy Jordan Ayew.
In front of a packed and excited home crowd, Dan Gosling fired over from 12 yards, and Callum Wilson and Marc Pugh saw shots saved before the break.
They were costly misses as Villa struck and comfortably defended the lead.
Having come close to extinction as a club twice in their recent history, some Bournemouth fans will claim their side have seen more important days but there was tangible excitement at the Vitality Stadium as the club tasted Premier League football for the first time.
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Their tiny ground should have erupted in the opening period, most notably when Pugh wasted a glorious chance on the stroke of half-time.
The winger smashed an effort into the ground from 12 yards, allowing Brad Guzan to save at a time which would have posed a lacklustre Villa serious questions.
Instead, it is Eddie Howe left searching for answers. But the confidence with which his side played will give him encouragement - they held 58% of possession - ahead their next game at Anfield.
More threat in the final third may be a desire, but the introduction of summer signing Max Gradel from the bench shows options are available.
Tim Sherwood gave debuts to six summer signings as he embarks on his first full campaign in charge of a team.
Perhaps his half-time words were behind the improvement as his side re-emerged quicker into the tackle and more threatening - notably when debutant Idrissa Gueye drew a fine save from Artur Boruc.
Sherwood has sought a presence up front to replace the 42 goals Christian Benteke contributed in his 89 league games, and in 6ft 4in Gestede, he has a player who contributed defensively from set pieces late on having already delivered the game's telling moment.
This was far from a free-flowing, transformed Villa, but they stuck to their task doggedly and maybe things are turning as a goal from a substitute was a luxury which did not arrive once last season but took just 72 minutes in this campaign.
Villa must improve on consecutive finishes of 16th, 15th, 15th and 17th if Sherwood is to back up his early promise as a manager but in making decisions at key times, he showed terrific instincts on the opening day.
With half a dozen players new to the league - including the disappointing Jordan Ayew - it was perhaps understandable Villa felt their way into the fixture.
Howe's side were threatening from the right flank in the opening period but as Gueye and left-back Jordan Amavi grew into the game, Villa's left-side stiffened up.
They were the most prominent away players on show, with Gueye's 74 touches only bettered by Amavi on 76 as the French full-back tackled ferociously and positioned himself well to ensure Villa won the battle down that key flank.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "I felt we dominated, especially possession and chances in the first half. If you're not clinical enough in their box and a player like Gestede comes on, you're in trouble. The chances will come at a premium this year and we need to take them.
"It was a great day for the football club regardless of the result. It's just a shame we couldn't back it up with the result, but I thought the performance was there."
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Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood: "I thought we were slow in the first period but we set out to nullify them and try to quieten this carnival atmosphere.
"Rudy hasn't trained an awful lot, but we knew he would give us a different dimension. We worked very hard to bring him to this football club so we're delighted - and that's a victory for the people behind the scenes at the club."
Brought in at a reported £7.7m from Nice, Jordan Amavi should answer plenty of questions at left-back where Villa have tried out the likes of Alan Hutton and Aly Cissokho in recent times.
At just 21, the France Under-21s international looked comfortable in the English game and prioritised his defensive duties over surging forward, winning 10 of his 15 duels.
Match ends, Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1.
Second Half ends, Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1.
Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Ciaran Clark.
Max Gradel (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa).
Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Tommy Elphick (Bournemouth).
Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Yann Kermorgant (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Carlos Sánchez (Aston Villa).
Substitution, Bournemouth. Eunan O'Kane replaces Dan Gosling.
Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa).
Attempt missed. Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Andrew Surman.
Attempt saved. Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Micah Richards.
Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Dan Gosling (Bournemouth).
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Kieran Richardson replaces Scott Sinclair.
Foul by Callum Wilson (Bournemouth).
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Andrew Surman (Bournemouth) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left following a set piece situation.
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Simon Francis (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
Max Gradel (Bournemouth) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa).
Goal! Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1. Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ashley Westwood with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Tommy Elphick.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Carlos Sánchez replaces Jordan Veretout.
Substitution, Bournemouth. Max Gradel replaces Marc Pugh.
Attempt missed. Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Andrew Surman (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa).
Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Leandro Bacuna.
Attempt blocked. Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Simon Francis.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) because of an injury.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Rudy Gestede replaces Jordan Ayew. | Substitute Rudy Gestede scored on his first competitive Aston Villa outing as Bournemouth were left to rue missed chances on their Premier League debut. | 33744565 |
The group infused pro-IS profiles with rainbow images and LGBT slogans.
The hacks follow the recent shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, where 49 people were killed by a gunman who reportedly stated his allegiance to IS.
A hacker known as WauchulaGhost, who is affiliated with Anonymous, said he was behind the hacking.
The hacker posted explicit pornographic material on some of the accounts, and in some cases, inserted a new Twitter handle, "Jacked by a Ghost".
WauchulaGhost said he had infiltrated more than 250 IS-linked accounts over the past month, posting gay pornography.
But after Sunday's shooting, he switched his focus to posting messages of gay pride.
"You had all those innocent lives lost. I just felt there's something I could do against the Islamic State to defend those people," WauchulaGhost told CNN.
The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, did not have a clear link to IS, according to US officials.
In phone calls to the authorities from the nightclub, Mateen said he was carrying out the attack for IS but he also pledged allegiance to a suicide bomber for the Nusra Front group in Syria, and to the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, none of whom is linked to IS.
Many of the hacked accounts were suspended by Twitter, but three profiles appeared to still be online on Friday, under the control of WauchulaGhost.
Anonymous, which was founded in the 4Chan forum in the late 2000s, began waging an online campaign against IS in 2015.
The group seized control of dozens of Twitter accounts linked to IS after the attacks on the offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris last year. | Hacker-activist group Anonymous has broken into Twitter accounts linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) and flooded them with gay pride messages. | 36560852 |
Health officials believe the move is needed as people are consuming 200 to 300 calories too many each day.
It could see the size of products reduced or ingredients changed in food and drinks bought in supermarkets, takeaways and restaurants.
The targets are expected to be set by Public Health England within a year.
They will be voluntary, although officials at the government advisory body said if the industry did not respond they were prepared to legislate.
The calorie-reduction programme comes after the success of the decade-long drive to reduce salt content in food.
It will be modelled on the sugar-reduction programme that was included in last year's child obesity strategy and which committed the industry to reducing the amount of sugar in certain foods by 20% by 2020.
PHE chief nutritionist Dr Alison Tedstone said good progress was being made on the sugar target and it was now time to consider tackling calories.
She pointed out that only a quarter of calories come from sugary foods so if successful it could have a major impact.
"We have a serious problem - one in three leave primary school either obese or overweight," she said.
"If we want to tackle this we have to look at calories. There are a number of ways it can be done - we can reduce the size of the products or change the ingredients."
Source: NHS Choices
She also defended the child obesity strategy, which was announced last August, amid criticism from campaigners that it had failed to have the impact it should have.
Dr Tedstone said she was "delighted" with it as it was the first time there had been a cross-government commitment to tackling the issue.
The plan also included the levy on sugary drinks, which is due to come into force in April 2018.
Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, said it looked forward to seeing "ambitious" targets being set to cut calories.
But she said the food industry was continuing to "get away with bombarding children with adverts that we know encourage unhealthy food choices".
"Failing to tackle this area is significantly undermining the impact of the child obesity plan. After one year, it is scraping along with a C grade, rather than topping the class with an A star," she added.
A spokeswoman for the Food and Drink Federation said it welcomed "broadening" the focus away from only sugar.
"Singling out the role of individual ingredients and food groups does not help consumers to make good choices about their diet, lifestyle or general health."
She said companies were playing their part by making healthier options available and providing nutritional information on packs.
She added: "Our industry has a proud track record of reformulation to remove salt, fat and sugar from food and drinks. This work will continue as we rise to the challenge of PHE's sugar reduction targets and engage with this new focus on calories." | Targets are to be set to reduce calories in pizzas, burgers and ready meals as part of the government's drive to tackle child obesity in England. | 40967300 |
Planetary Ventures, an offshoot of Google, will take over management of the Moffett Federal Airfield.
The airfield is already regularly used as a landing strip for the private jets of the firm's billionaire executives.
Google has not divulged exactly how the site will be used.
But, according to a Nasa press release, the site will be used for "research, development, assembly and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies".
For Nasa, the sale offers rich pickings - the agreement will provide it with $1.16bn (£731m) in rent over the initial 60-year lease term.
"As Nasa expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth," said Nasa administrator Charles Bolden.
And for Google, the investment represents an opportunity to restore an iconic building.
Part of the deal includes the restoration of Hangar One, an important landmark in Silicon Valley. Built in 1933, it is one of the world's largest free-standing structures.
Planetary Ventures plans to invest more than $200m in rebuilding Hangar One and two other hangars on the site.
It will create an educational facility where the public can explore the site's legacy and the role of technology on it.
"We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States," said David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate and workplace services at Google.
Very little is known about Planetary Ventures, the firm behind the deal. Press reports describe it as shell organisation for real estate deals although the name hints at something more.
The base, previously maintained by Nasa's Ames Research Center, is located four miles from Google's Mountain View headquarters.
It is not the first time Google has invested in unusual purchases. Two mysterious barges that appeared on the coasts of San Francisco and Portland, Maine, last year turned out to be Google-owned.
It emerged that Google intended to use them as floating showcases for new products such as Google Glass and its self-driving cars.
The project was later abandoned after coastguard officials deemed them to be a fire risk.
Neither it is the first time that Google has worked with Nasa. Back in 2005, Google built an office at Nasa's research facility in order to co-operate on a range of projects.
More recently, the two teamed up to launch a new laboratory, focused on advancing machine learning, also based at Nasa's research centre.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have a well-known interest in aviation and space and the company has acquired firms working on satellite technology and robotics.
The net giant also funds the Lunar X Prize, a $30m competition to land a privately funded robot on the moon. | Google latest "moonshot" is an apt one - it is investing in a Nasa-owned airfield to expand research into space exploration and robotics. | 30004299 |
A public meeting on Thursday passed a motion that residents should be asked whether they want Dover to become a "People's Port".
Dover People's Port Trust (DPPT), set up last year, has begun a £200m bid to purchase the port.
However, Dover Harbour Board (DHB) has said the idea is unrealistic and undeliverable.
Chairman of DPPT, Neil Wiggins, said that it would now waiting for confirmation of the date of the referendum from Dover District Council.
"Once we have that confirmation, the trust will be campaigning vigorously in order to ensure that the maximum number of people in Dover are aware of the People's Port Trust," he said.
Residents have been told they can become members of DPPT for £10.
Funding for the bid, in excess of the contribution from Dover residents, would be raised in the City of London.
DHB, which has run the port as a trust since 1606, asked the government for permission to privatise it in January last year. A decision is still awaited.
Mr Wiggins said a referendum vote in favour of the people's port would not be binding on the government.
But he added: "It would be disappointing if the government were to choose to ignore it.
"The idea of the People's Port of Dover is a totemic emblem of what the Big Society can be."
The People's Port has the backing of Dover's Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke and WWII singer Dame Vera Lynn.
But DHB has said the plan is an unaffordable "political instrument" and is neither a commercial nor a business proposition.
"Despite making statements that the people of Dover would 'own' the port - at a minimal payment of only £10 per head - it is estimated that such ownership could only be achieved if each and every one of the people of Dover, 39,000 in all, contributed over £5,000 per head to the trust," it said in November.
"The reality is that financial institutions would be financing the deal." | Campaigners hoping to buy the Port of Dover for the community have won backing for a referendum on the issue. | 12644883 |
But the full-back could be called up as injury cover if required and provided he proves his fitness.
The 27-year-old has not played since September and was omitted from Gatland's 35-man tour squad.
"We've spoken to Leigh and we've picked a standby list and he's part of that," said Gatland.
"He understands he does need some games and he's happy to be on a standby list."
Wales face England at Twickenham on 29 May before travelling to play three Tests against the World champions and a midweek game against Waikato Chiefs.
Halfpenny had surgery on a knee after suffering an injury playing for Wales against Italy on 5 September.
His return has been delayed, though Gatland said he was expected to be back in action for Toulon soon.
"He hasn't been involved in rugby since September and his return to play isn't too far away, he's started some running now," Gatland said.
"Maybe there's a possibility he'll get a few games for Toulon and maybe the potential to call him in later in the tour if there are injuries and he does get some form back."
Gatland said he had no discussion with Toulon over releasing Halfpenny after the French club's owner Mourad Boudjellal said the player would not be paid by the club if he toured with Wales.
"We cross that bridge when we come to it," added Gatland.
"At the moment there isn't any issue because Leigh isn't in the squad.
"One of the great things about Leigh is his priority is to play for Wales.
"We're conscious of making sure that relationship between the clubs and us will stay as positive as it can be because you don't want players in the middle of rows between countries and clubs because there's only one loser in that and that's the players."
Racing 92 lock Luke Charteris and Clermont Auvergne centre Jonathan Davies are also likely to be involved in French domestic play-offs, but have been named in Wales' tour squad.
The French Top 14 final will be played on 24 June, the eve of Wales' third and final Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin.
Wales have first call on the players during an World Rugby-sanctioned international window, and Gatland said the fact both players were leaving France at the end of the season "put a different slant" on the situation. | Toulon's Leigh Halfpenny was not considered for Wales' summer tour of New Zealand, according to coach Warren Gatland. | 36255758 |
The moors provide an ideal habitat for mountain hares.
But gamekeepers may cull the animals in an effort to protect red grouse from the tick-borne louping ill virus.
Wildlife groups say there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the claim that culling hares protects grouse.
Simon Jones of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, one of the groups campaigning for a moratorium, said: "We, along with the other organisations, are calling for a three year ban, to allow time for all those involved to take stock of the longer term impacts of large scale culling.
"Once the results of the study have been published we will then be able to identify the best ways to monitor mountain hare populations and measure the impact that management is having on their conservation status.
"The unregulated and seemingly unsustainable culling that is endemic on many grouse moors is a threat to these important populations."
Duncan Orr-Ewing of RSPB Scotland said: "Very little is known about their current numbers of mountain hares and population trends.
"We also don't know what impact these large scale culls are having on mountain hares' wider conservation status, which could mean the Scottish Government may be in breach of its legally binding international EU obligations to this species."
The calls for a ban have drawn an angry response from gamekeepers' leaders.
A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: "For groups with environmental credentials to call for such an environmentally irresponsible measure beggars belief.
"The numbers of tick, already a growing problem in the countryside, will escalate, endangering any bird that nests on the ground, not to mention the potential repercussions for human health.
"It will be bad for birds and bad for biodiversity."
The ten organisations calling for the three year ban are:
· Highland Foundation for Wildlife
· John Muir Trust
· National Trust for Scotland
· RSPB Scotland
· Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
· Scottish Raptor Study Group
· The Scottish Wildlife Trust
· The Cairngorms Campaign
· The Mammal Society
· The Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group
Meanwhile, landowners have said such a move would be "ill informed" and "heavy handed".
Tim Baynes of the Scottish Moorland Group told BBC Scotland: "We firmly believe the management of the hare population as it is at present is sustainable.
"This does mean some culling for sound habitat conservation reasons, but not to the extent where it threatens a population.
"We know in broad terms the numbers of hares and it is a population that is thriving."
Scottish Natural Heritage has pledged to work with "all interested parties" to make sure that management practices are not damaging the species' long-term prospects.
Responding to the call for a moratorium, a spokeswoman said: "Mountain hare populations can fluctuate widely and are influenced by a range of factors - the cyclical nature of the species, habitat fragmentation, changes in land use and over-culling
"We have already asked estates for restraint on large-scale culls of mountain hares which could jeopardise their conservation status.
"We continue to gather evidence on numbers, status and changes and for this reason have commissioned further research by Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and the James Hutton Institute to inform local and national management." | Ten wildlife and conservation organisations are calling for a three-year ban on the culling of mountain hares on Scotland's grouse moors. | 32292965 |
Campaigners say faster, more frequent trains would bring 70,000 new jobs to the region in the next 20 years.
Ashley Rogers, chairman of north Wales' business council, said improvements would play a "key role" in boosting the economy.
The campaign calls for electrification, better rolling-stock and the doubling of services on some lines.
Businesses representing 300,000 people from Cheshire, Mersey Dee and north Wales have backed the Growth Track 360 campaign.
Many hope rail improvements will reduce traffic on the A55 and create better connections to the rest of the UK.
Employers such as Siemens, based in Llanberis and Moneypenny in Wrexham, are among the backers.
Mr Rogers said: "Improved infrastructure has a key role to play in ensuring this vision becomes reality - opening up opportunities, attracting talented, skilled people from across the UK and helping the region to capitalise on its intrinsic strengths and grow and develop."
About 75% of large businesses, who responded to the campaign, hope the improvements will deliver time savings, while 64% of small businesses want to see better access to customers.
Martin Gray, finance director at Siemens, said high quality transport links were essential to ensure access to key talent across the region.
Rachel Clacher, director of Moneypenny, who want to grow their workforce from 500 to 1,000 over the next three years, said better connectivity was crucial.
The Growth Track 360 campaign was launched by the north Wales and Mersey Dee rail taskforce, which represents enterprise zones, local authorities and businesses across Cheshire, north Wales and Merseyside.
Earlier this year the Welsh Government, backed by north Wales' businesses, submitted a business case to the Department for Transport (Dft) for cash to electrify the line between Crewe and Holyhead.
They hope to secure £800m from the DfT to upgrade the 105 miles of track within the 2019-2024 funding period. | More than 400 companies have backed calls for improvements to rail services in north Wales. | 38156231 |
The Oscar-winning star told the Daily Mirror she had age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and struggled to read scripts or recognise faces.
But the 77-year-old has had some treatment and is hoping it might slow the decline in her eyesight.
AMD affects more than 600,000 Britons and last year research was published suggesting it could rise to 750,000.
Dame Judi, who is due to reprise the role of M in the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, told the Mirror: "I can't read scripts any more before because of the trouble with my eyes.
"And so somebody comes and reads them to me, like telling me a story."
AMD, which affects the macula at the back of the eye, is the cause of more than half of registrations for blind and partially sighted people in the UK.
She said: "I've got what my ma had, macular degeneration, which you get when you get old."
Dame Judi stars as one of a group of pensioners who move to India in her latest film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which premiered in London earlier this month.
She said the worst part of the condition was not being able to see the person she was having lunch with in a restaurant.
But she said she had no plans to let it force her retirement and added: "You get used to it. I've got lenses and glasses and things and very bright light helps."
She has been chosen to narrate the film Better Living Through Chemistry, starring Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde as a couple engaged in an affair.
Dame Judi won a best supporting actress Oscar in 1998 for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love but she is not expected to attend next weekend's Oscars. | Actress Dame Judi Dench has been diagnosed with a condition that can lead to blindness, she has revealed. | 17084970 |
There had been fears that potential tourists would be put off by the devastation caused by the winter storms.
However, Cumbria Tourism has revealed that room occupancy in June was at its highest level in a decade.
In July 80% of all self-catering places were booked up - for the first time since records began.
Ian Stephens, from Cumbria Tourism, said: "These are positive figures for the county's £2.62bn tourism industry, with an increasing number of people deciding to stay in the UK for their summer holidays and making the Lake District their destination of choice.
"The challenge now is to maintain this momentum for the traditionally quieter months of the year.
"We are planning to collaborate with a range of different organisations to launch a major winter marketing campaign to promote the area as an all-year-round visitor destination." | Visitor numbers in the Lake District were at record levels during the summer, new figures have shown. | 37513232 |
Joseph Smith suffered multiple injuries when the Ford Focus car he was travelling in smashed into oncoming traffic on Cardiff's Western Avenue.
Driver Dean Collins, 24, from St Mellons, denies causing death by dangerous driving in September 2015.
Cardiff Crown Court heard witnesses described his driving moments before as "impatient".
The trial was told that Mr Collins was in a borrowed car carrying his partner Laura Bright, 23, her mother Michelle Holmes, Joseph, and Mr Collins' own two-year-old daughter.
The grey Focus car crossed the central reservation on Western Avenue hitting a white Seat Ibiza head-on.
The jury was told that rear-seat passenger Joseph was wearing a seatbelt, but was not on a booster seat.
Prosecutors said it meant the child was too short, with the seatbelt across his neck.
The boy suffered broken limbs, a fractured spine, head and internal injuries.
"Joseph was not sitting on a booster seat as required by law," said prosecutor Janet McDonald.
"This impacted his chances of survival.
"The prosecution say the responsibility for that child was that of Dean Collins."
The trial heard that Mr Collins' own daughter had been strapped into a booster seat, and survived the crash.
His partner and her mother, and the driver and passenger in the Ibiza car all suffered critical injuries which required "intensive medical care".
The defendant has also pleaded not guilty to four charges of causing serious injury through dangerous driving.
The trial continues. | A five-year-old passenger was killed in a head-on crash because he was not on a booster seat, a trial has been told. | 39504928 |
Computer equipment was seized from the 18-year-old's home address in Stourbridge for forensic examination.
He was held on suspicion of preparing for terrorist acts after West Midlands counter terrorism officers arrested him at an address in Lye.
The man, who was arrested on Thursday, was bailed until a date in July when he will return for further questioning.
West Midlands Police said they were "keen to stress there was no immediate threat to public safety". | A man from the West Midlands has been arrested on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences. | 32444438 |
Kairon McKay, from Perth, died after the incident on the A90, at Longforgan, at about 21:20 on Friday.
Police said Kairon was hit by a blue Ford C Max and have urged witnesses to come forward.
Kairon's mother Laura posted a picture of the nine-year-old holding a skateboard on Facebook and called him her "precious boy".
She said: "No child should be away before their mum, I wish I would wake up from this nightmare. My whole future is with Kairon in it. I'm totally lost now." | A mother has paid tribute to her nine-year-old boy who died after being knocked down by a car south of Dundee. | 34626208 |
He made the remark in a BBC interview marking the publication of his memoirs.
Mr Blair said radical Islamists believed that whatever was done in the name of their cause was justified - including the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
Mr Blair, who led Britain into war in Afghanistan and Iraq, denied that his own policies had fuelled radicalism.
Asked about the argument that Chechens, Kashmiris, Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans were resisting foreign occupation, he said Western policies were designed to confront radical Islamists because they were "regressive, wicked and backward-looking".
The aim of al-Qaeda in Iraq was "not to get American troops out of Baghdad [but] to destabilise a government the people of Iraq have voted for", he told the BBC's Owen Bennett Jones in a World Service interview.
The former British leader - who now acts as the Middle East envoy for the international Quartet - said that Iran was one of the biggest state sponsors of radical Islam, and it was necessary to prevent it by any means from developing a nuclear weapon.
"We need to give a message to Iran that is very clear - that they cannot have nuclear weapons capability, and we will stop them," he said.
Mr Blair said he was not advocating military action, but simply saying no option could be taken off the table.
Iran denies pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, and insists its atomic work is for civilian purposes.
Mr Blair told the BBC his view of foreign policy had changed as a result of the 9/11 attacks: "After 11 September, rightly or wrongly, I felt the calculus of risk had changed.
"There is the most enormous threat from the combination of this radical extreme movement and the fact that, if they could, they would use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
"You can't take a risk with that happening."
Mr Blair said he agonised over how to respond to radical Islam and still had doubts that he was right.
These are really difficult issues, he said, but added: "This extremism is so deep that in the end they have to know that they're facing a stronger will than theirs."
Mr Blair has also expressed optimism about the prospect of peace in the Middle East. Direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians began in Washington on Thursday.
Speaking in Dublin, on the prime-time entertainment programme The Late Late Show, Mr Blair said he believed the Middle East peace process was similar to Northern Ireland - and would be successful.
He said: "I feel it can be settled. You just have to carry on."
There was a small anti-war protest outside the Dublin studio where the interview took place.
Mr Blair also told The Late Late Show that his successor as prime minister, Gordon Brown, remained a friend.
In his autobiography, Mr Blair said Mr Brown was "maddening", had "zero" emotional intelligence and sought to frustrate key reforms.
However, Mr Blair said there were many things he admired about Mr Brown and would "probably" still go for a drink with him. | Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has described radical Islam as the greatest threat facing the world today. | 11182225 |
The armchair fan from Bolton phoned Suffolk Police alleging that Ipswich player Tyrone Mings had been abused during the 1-1 draw at Portman Road.
Officers scanned footage and arrested a 17-year-old during the match.
The fan admitted using non-racist but abusive language. He will not go to the final under a community resolution.
Police said the television viewer phoned them during the first half of the match on Saturday, 9 May.
The 17-year-old fan from Cromer was removed from the crowd during the second half and taken into custody.
Suffolk Police would not disclose the actual language used by the supporter but a spokeswoman said it was not racist.
Mings told officers he had not heard anything and the person who reported it then declined to give an official statement, according to the force.
It was agreed to use the community resolution rather than charge the Norwich fan and take him to court.
The resolution meant the 17-year-old agreed to stay away from the second leg of the play-off semi-final at Carrow Road and any subsequent trip to Wembley.
Norwich won that match 3-1 to progress to the final which takes place against Middlesbrough on Monday.
Suffolk Police said it was unable to confirm whether the 17-year-old had been planning to go to Wembley.
Some Canaries fans have expressed disappointment that Norwich's allocation of 38,888 tickets for the final have not been put on general sale. | A Norwich City football fan was reported for "racially abusive" language by a television viewer during the play-off match at Ipswich Town. | 32825676 |
On average, about 10 new cases are diagnosed in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area each year as a result of drug injecting.
But the health board said that rose to 47 last year.
They are now warning drug users of the dangers of sharing needles and advising anyone who injects to get tested.
For the first time in almost 30 years, new diagnoses of HIV related to drug injecting was at a comparable level among gay and heterosexual men.
Investigations into the outbreak highlighted that some drug users were sharing needles, syringes, spoons and water when preparing and injecting their drugs.
It has also highlighted that there is low awareness of the risks of HIV from doing so.
Dr Catriona Milosevic, consultant in public health medicine at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), said it was "vitally important" that people who inject drugs do not share or reuse equipment.
She said: "This includes when injecting with close friends or partners - you can't guess whether someone has HIV, and they may have no symptoms and be unaware themselves.
"Everyone involved needs to use a new set of sterile injecting equipment every single time, including needles, syringes, water, filters, and spoons, to protect themselves and others. These are all available from injecting equipment services."
Dr Milosevic said the goal was to get people drug free, but until that is achieved the focus had to be on harm reduction.
Although there is no cure for HIV, there are now treatments which reduce the virus to what doctors describe as "undetectable" levels.
Dr Milosevic added: "Recent discussions have highlighted that those at risk are not aware of the huge advancements made in HIV treatment - there is still a perception that a diagnosis of HIV is a 'death sentence'.
"If people are diagnosed and start treatment early, which requires a test, they can have a similar life expectancy as the rest of the population." | Health officials in the Glasgow area have warned people who inject drugs about an outbreak of HIV after a near five-fold increase in the city. | 36062132 |
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The Reds lost 2-0 at Burnley, as they were punished for a series of mistakes, including losing possession for Sam Vokes' second-minute opener as they tried to play out from the back.
"There are real issues," Murphy said on Match of the Day. "Are they good enough to play from the back all the time?
"They're not Barcelona. They have to mix the game up better."
Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville added: "When Jurgen Klopp came to the Premier League we thought he would be a direct coach, get the ball forward and play fast, attacking football
"To play this system well you have to have your centre-backs control the game. Against Burnley they were poor."
Klopp, in his first full campaign in charge of Liverpool, said: "The season is still pretty young. It doesn't look like we are 100% fine-tuned. But it's only the start of the season and I can see a lot of good things.
"The lesson here is don't give the ball away like we did twice today. We will work on it 100%. We need to have a plan for deep-defending teams. We have a few things to do - that is clear."
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Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Liverpool have "real defensive issues" that need to be addressed, says former midfielder Danny Murphy. | 37146599 |
Robert Fidler, 66, built the four-bedroom home in Surrey without planning permission in 2000, hiding the building behind straw bales.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council argued he is in contempt of court for not demolishing the house.
If its claim is upheld, Mr Fidler could face a jail sentence.
Mr Fidler told the High Court in London he has sold the house at Honeycrock Farm in Salfords to an Indian businessman and that the injunction ordering demolition is invalid.
The hearing is the latest battle in a nine-year fight between Mr Fidler and the council.
The authority first ordered the house to be demolished in 2007. Since then there has been a planning inquiry, several different planning applications and a series of court cases.
Mr Fidler, who is also applying for the injunction to be varied or suspended, told Mr Justice Dove the council's case was based on "lies and deception".
Addressing the council's major development manager, Andrew Benson, he said: "All you want to do is put me in prison.
"The house is beautiful but you are so determined to get your way and destroy my life."
Mr Fidler said that if he demolished the house he would have nowhere to live and his herd of cattle would have to be disbanded.
The council has ruled out allowing the castle to stay, saying it breaches national and local planning rules protecting the green belt.
It said it had not seen sufficient evidence to show Mr Fidler was not the owner and the injunction still applied.
"Ultimately, the council wishes to see the building demolished in accordance with the enforcement notices," said Mr Benson.
The hearing was adjourned until 9 November. | A farmer who is facing jail for refusing to demolish his mock-Tudor castle has told a court the local council wants to destroy his life. | 34703232 |
The show is a sort of economic virility symbol; a chance for Dubai to showcase itself. So, while Paris's huge Le Bourget airshow gets rain and dreadful congestion, Dubai gets sunshine and Katy Perry.
The singer is performing at the show's gala dinner (no, I've not been invited) following in the footsteps of Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.
But - Ms Perry aside - this biennial event could be unusually quiet.
With more than 1,100 exhibitors and 65,000 trade visitors attending from this weekend, the show will be bigger than 2013, but it looks unlikely to generate anywhere near the $206bn (£135bn) of commercial aircraft orders announced then.
With the production lines of manufacturers Airbus and Boeing booked for years to come, there is an expectation that airlines will "pause for breath", says analyst Richard Aboulafia, vice president at US-based aerospace consultants Teal Group.
"I think everyone's more than adequately ordered," he says. "The Gulf carriers are still expanding, but the existing orders will do the job, and there's a glut of twin-aisle jets out there."
Raymond Conner, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, says airlines are now buying so far out into the future that a slowdown in the pace was inevitable.
He's expecting to see orders, but probably not "the huge numbers that we've seen before". In 2013, Boeing's orders and commitments reached 342 aircraft, worth $101.5bn at list prices.
Emirates' chief executive Tim Clark has also played down suggestions that his Dubai-based airline will have its chequebook open. "We're still running the programme we signed [in 2013]", Mr Clark told reporters last month.
This includes 150 of Boeing's huge new 777X, a deal worth $76bn, with the first aircraft due for delivery in 2019. Emirates also added another 50 Airbus A380 super-jumbo jets to its existing order for 90.
"That's enough for the time being," Mr Clark said.
It would be a surprise, though, if the airline didn't have something major to announce on its home turf, even if it didn't match 2013's record haul.
Emirates is considering the purchase of some 60 variants of either the Airbus A350 or Boeing's longer Dreamliner, the 787-10.
But it's unclear if any deal will be ready to unveil at the show. Much may depend on when Emirates decides to move from Dubai International Airport, where it faces space constraints, to the new larger Al Maktoum International Airport.
Dubai International has capacity to handle 75 million passengers a year. Al Maktoum, when fully up and running, will be able to cater for 160 million, enabling Emirates to accelerate its ambitions to double in size.
Airbus is desperate to announce fresh A380 orders, and Emirates would have more space to operate them at Al Maktoum. But the world's largest aircraft hasn't had an order for two years and there have been persistent rumours over its future.
Emirates, the biggest user of the A380, has pushed Airbus to commit to build a new version, the A380neo. But if the Dubai airline is in no hurry to buy, Airbus will be in no hurry to sign off on the €2bn (£1.4bn; $2.1bn)-plus development costs.
Saudi Arabian Airlines also has ambitious expansion plans and if the carrier's rumoured interest in buying A380s (or Boeing's 777) turns into firm orders this week, it will be a huge relief for Airbus.
Another manufacturer desperate for good news is Bombardier. The Canadian company announced only on Wednesday that its C-Series aircraft would be making its Middle East debut.
The C-Series, Bombardier's effort to move into a bigger aircraft bracket and challenge Airbus and Boeing, has been plagued by delays and worries about development costs.
Bombardier, maker of the Learjet and Challenger business aircraft, is weighed down by debt, and last month Quebec province announced plans to invest $1bn in the C-Series programme - aid that may yet spark a trade row with competitors.
Watch, also, for any hint of news from Iran. The easing of sanctions, possibly from next year, will lead to fleets being upgraded, with the country's aviation authority having spoken of the need for 400 new aircraft as well as investment in airport capacity.
It's far too early in the geo-political jigsaw for any announcements. But all the airframe manufacturers will be sizing up the potential of a market that Tony Tyler, head of the International Air Transport Authority, says is "going to be huge".
Defence deals are no less important than the civil orders, although there will be far less publicity. Saudi Arabia's defence budget last year was $80.7bn, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The UAE spent $13.4bn last year.
And analysts expect the worsening security situation in parts of the Middle East to boost defence spending across the region.
That's why US defence firms will be out in force, having scaled back their presence at the Farnborough and Paris airshows in recent years because of falling European arms budgets.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will have a big presence, as will Boeing's defence and space operations.
More than 90 US companies are participating, and six American states - Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Washington, Virginia and New Hampshire - have their own pavilions.
Boeing is bringing two of its military surveillance aircraft, its P-8 Poseidon and its MSA maritime plane that is still in development, plus its Apache and Chinook helicopters.
The US giant is thought to be in advanced talks about big helicopter orders with unnamed Middle East countries.
Meanwhile, a British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon will also be there, though not with the anticipation that accompanied its 2013 showing.
Then, UK Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise appearance to bolster negotiations with the UAE over its possible acquisition of the aircraft.
The UAE pulled out of talks a month later. | There's always razzamatazz around the Dubai Airshow, and it's not just because its a chance for mega-rich Gulf airlines to announce orders or for US defence giants to sell military hardware. | 34725187 |
He suffered a heart attack in Daytona Beach in Florida where he was due to play a concert on Wednesday evening.
He followed his father in the music business as a teenager, and later became his father's musical director and conductor.
He was famously kidnapped and held for ransom when he was 19.
A gang seized him at gunpoint at a casino in Lake Tahoe. His father paid a $240,000 (£168,000) ransom, which was later recovered after the kidnappers were arrested.
When he died on Wednesday, Frank Junior was due to perform at the Peabody Auditorium as part of his Sinatra Sings Sinatra tour, which included some of his father's greatest hits interwoven with family reminiscences.
The venue announced on its Facebook page: "Frank Sinatra Jr has passed away. Our love to his family and friends."
His sister Nancy, who also followed their father into the music business, said on her Facebook page: "Sleep warm, Frankie."
Tony Bennett wrote on Twitter: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Frank Sinatra Jr and send my sympathy to Tina and Nancy and the Sinatra family."
TV and radio host Larry King tweeted: "I always admired Frank Sinatra Jr. He was born with a hard name to live up to, but I loved his talent and his ability to be forthright."
Frank Sinatra Jr released six full-length albums and often made television appearances, recently starring as himself in two episodes of Family Guy.
Seth MacFarlane, who created the animated comedy, wrote: "Frank Sinatra, Jr. was a friend to Family Guy, and a friend to me. I'm saddened at his passing, but grateful to have known him."
Mia Farrow said: "RIP Frank Sinatra Jr. Thoughts with his mother Nancy, sisters Nancy and Tina and his son Michael."
Frank Sinatra Jr began singing with the Tommy Dorsey band, a version of the ensemble the elder Sinatra had sung with more than two decades before, at the age of 19.
The New York Times wrote in 1963: "Young Mr Sinatra has taken careful note of every aspect of his father's singing.
"He knows - and projects - the inflections, the shading, the phrasing that his father used."
Last year, he performed the national anthem at Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees games in celebration of the centennial of his father's birth.
Frank Senior died of a heart attack in 1998. | The American singer, Frank Sinatra Junior, who carried on his father's legacy with his own career in music, has died at the age of 72. | 35828841 |
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Karim Bashir, BBC Sport
"Who doesn't want to watch two people fighting with swords? I can't think of anything better to watch on TV. This Olympics will be the first time we'll have coverage of fencing where we can make sure we explain the basics and use super slo-mo to show what's going on. Richard Kruse is probably Britain's most experienced fencer; he's been to two previous Olympics and is the highest-ranked Briton in the sport. Elsewhere, the Italians are very strong at the moment. Valentina Vezzali in women's foil is one to watch out for as she could create Olympic history in London."
At the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, the fencing programme consisted of men's foil and sabre events, with the epee making its debut at Paris 1900. Women's fencing first featured in the same city in 1924.
After the Games of that year, the Italian and Hungarian men's teams settled a scoring controversy with a real-life duel!
There will be none of that at London 2012 as computer scoring systems should mean there are no such controversies. Ten events will be contested: men's individual and team epee, individual and team sabre, and individual foil; women's individual and team foil, individual and team sabre, and individual epee.
Britain's fencers face a tough task at London's ExCeL Arena, with the nation's sole Olympic gold coming over half a century ago and no medals of any colour won since 1964.
Fencing is great for all round fitness, muscle toning, building core strength, coordination and balance. Due to the need to make lightening fast decisions, it is also excellent for concentration and focus.
The cut and thrust, the parry, the attack and counter-attack performed by its participants requires stamina, agility and the ability to think at a lightning-fast pace.
As competitors lunge at each other with swords, it helps improve the flexibility in your thighs, hips, glutes, upper back, lower back and shoulders. Fencing's unique mix of physical and intellectual stimulation can burn approximately 408 calories per hour.
People of all ages can compete in the sport. At the Olympics, Sophie Lamon of Switzerland won silver in the women's epee team at the 2000 Games when aged 15, and Austrian Karl Munich competed at the 1912 Games at the age of 64.
Fencing is available to people of all ages and is a fast, dynamic and explosive sport. There are more than 300 clubs in the United Kingdom you can contact to arrange training and matches.
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Clubs are organised within sports centres, youth clubs, schools, colleges and universities. Many offer evening classes for those looking for more flexible times.
Most clubs charge a membership fee which normally includes the cost of tuition and hire of equipment. After a few weeks, new fencers may wish to purchase their own personal equipment.
British Fencing's GO/FENCE scheme replaces the traditional metal sword with plastic and foam versions to allow an introduction to be cheaper, quicker and safer.
GO/FENCE uses a different target area and only a plastic mask is required instead of the usual array of special protective clothing when metal swords are involved. Fencing with metal swords should never be tried unless supervised by a qualified trainer and the correct clothing is worn.
Further information can be found on the England Fencing,Northern Ireland Fencing,Scottish Fencing and Welsh Fencing websites.
More on the British Fencing website
'Join In Local Sport' aims to get as many people as possible to turn up and take part in activities at their local sports facilities on 18/19 August, 2012 - the first weekend between the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The aim of the initiative is for every sports club and community group in the UK to put on a special event in a bid to encourage more people to get involved as members, supporters or volunteers.
More than 4,000 local sports clubs will be opening their doors to host events and show people just how they can get involved.
As well as tips on playing sport there will be information on coaching, supporting and how to help out.
Find an event near you.
More on the London 2012 website
Three types of weapon are used in Olympic fencing - the foil (lightest of the three swords, with points scored from hits with the tip of the blade on the torso), epée (heaviest of the three swords, and the entire body is a valid point-scoring target area from blows with the point of the blade) and sabre (unlike the other two swords, the edge and tip can be used to score points on any part of the body above the waist, excluding hands).
The USA had not won a gold medal in the fencing for 100 years before Mariel Zagunis's win in the women's sabre at the Athens Olympics of 2004. She had only made it to the Games after Nigeria declined to send their qualifying fencer.
Each match takes place on a piste which is 14 metres long and between 1.5m and 2m wide.
Point scoring varies from weapon to weapon. In bouts using the foil and the epee, hits are scored when the tip of the weapon touches an opponent.
In sabre, hits are more commonly scored with the edge of the weapon. Epee allows both fencers to score at the same time, while fencers can only score a hit at a time in the foil and sabre.
Individual fencing bouts last for three rounds of three minutes each, or until one fencer has scored 15 hits against their opponent. In the team events, teams of three fencers compete against their opponents over a series of nine bouts, with the aim of accumulating a maximum of 45 hits.
Rule breaks, such as using the unarmed hand to cover the target, barging into your opponent or foot faults (when a fencer steps off the side or the end of the piste), are punished with points being taken away from an athlete or given to an opponent.
More on the Team GB website
The men's individual and team foil provide slender hopes of a medal for Team GB.
Former world number four Richard Kruse is returning to form after a wretched 2011, while the foil team won the Olympic test event in the absence of the Italians and were European bronze medallists in 2010.
Italians are dominant in the foil: Valentina Vezzali is bidding for an unprecedented fourth successive individual gold, while male counterpart Andrea Cassara is world and European champion.
American Mariel Zagunis is the double Olympic champion in sabre, and teenager Sun Yujie of China has already become the top-ranked female epee fencer.
Fencing, or at least sword fighting, can be traced back to numerous ancient works which suggest the origins of the sport to be well over 4,000 years old.
Ivan Osiier of Denmark competed in 29 Olympic fencing competitions across seven Olympic Games
The first rules of fencing appeared in 1474 in Spain but it wasn't until the 17th century that the foil was used - being a lighter weapon, it made exercise more pleasant. The mask became part of the fencer's equipment in 1780.
The Italians, the Hungarians and the French were the first nations to create their own great fencing schools and today all three are among the great world fencing nations.
Fencing began the move from being a form of military training to a sport in either the 14th or 15th century, with both Italy and Germany laying claim to its origins.
It was included in the Olympics for the first time at the 1896 Games in Athens, and has remained on the programme since then. The women's fencing competition entered the Games in 1924 in Paris.
More on the IOC website | Fencing developed from an ancient form of combat, was referred to by writers from Homer to Shakespeare and is one of just four sports to have featured at every modern Olympics. | 16435052 |
Some of the world's greatest cyclists will ride through Middlesbrough's Stewart Park on Sunday during the final leg of the event.
In honour of the tour, a sculpture showing explorer Captain James Cook emerging on wheels from a wall at his birthplace museum has been installed.
It was made by artist Keith Peacock and also features a bike chain and cogs.
Senior museum curator Phil Philo said: "As a legacy of the Tour it seems to pose the question, had the bicycle been invented, would Cook have embraced the technology and the thrills and spills that it offered, and had the ambition to cycle farther than any man? - we certainly think so."
The three-day cycle race began on Friday.
The navigator and explorer was born in 1728. | An artwork built out of bicycle bits has been unveiled to mark the Tour de Yorkshire passing through Teesside. | 36177733 |
Ross Gibson, 19, of Aberdeen, was charged following the Parkhead clash between Celtic and Aberdeen on 1 March.
It had been claimed that comments about Jay Beatty, 11, were posted online.
Mr Gibson appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner. He made no plea or declaration and his case was continued.
He was released on bail and is expected to appear in court again later this year.
Jay, from Lurgan, County Armagh, won the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) Goal of the Month for January after he scored at half-time during Celtic's victory over Hamilton Academical.
He was presented with the award at the 1 March game. | A teenager has appeared in court after a young Celtic fan with Down's syndrome was allegedly abused online. | 32048683 |
Steven Mathieson stabbed escort Luciana Maurer a total of 44 times on 4 December while his partner was on a night out, and while his four-year-old son slept next door.
The 38-year-old then abducted and raped two other escorts near the body.
Mathieson pleaded guilty to rape and murder charges at the High Court and will be sentenced at a later date.
He was caught after the two women he had abducted, aged 26 and 22, escaped from the Springfield Drive house naked and sought help from neighbours, who called police.
Mathieson himself then called the emergency services, telling the 999 operator: "I've been high on drugs and I've killed a prostitute."
The High Court in Glasgow heard that the car salesman had spent a normal day out Christmas shopping with his family and going for a meal with his children, while his partner of 10 years went on a works night out.
However, having dropped one of his children off at his gran's and putting his younger son to bed, Mathieson got his phone and arranged for an escort to come to the house.
Romanian-born Ms Maurer, who had moved to Scotland from London a few days earlier, arrived at the house at about 23:00.
Mathieson, who was high on cocaine, stabbed her 44 times, before sending a text to his partner simply reading "sorry".
Two more escorts Mathieson had phoned for then arrived at the house, and found him sitting calmly on the sofa. He led the pair upstairs to the bedroom, where they saw Ms Maurer's body lying on the bed.
Mathieson grabbed two knives from a drawer and blocked the door, demanding the women surrender their mobile phones and strip naked.
He raped both of them in the bedroom, before repeating the act downstairs in the living room, telling them: "I've done this to show my wife something."
When he went to the window, thinking his partner had returned, the women ran for the door.
Mathieson gave chase, striking one of them on the leg with the knife. Still naked, his victims made it to a nearby flat where they called for help.
Mathieson himself dialled 999 and told the operator: "I've been high on drugs and I've killed a prostitute.
"Tell the officers I am not aggressive. I'm sitting on the couch. I had two other girls, but I've let them go."
Officers attended and found Mathieson in the living room. He got down on his knees and held out his hands to be arrested.
His partner arrived home at 02:00, and was described as being "hysterical" when she discovered the police presence.
Det Insp Dave Pinkney, from Police Scotland's major investigation team, said: "The incidents that took place within the property in Springfield Drive led to the death of one woman and left two other females traumatised and extremely distressed having been the victims of serious sexual assaults.
"I would like to thank the victims and the family of Luciana Maurer for their courage and assistance during the course of this investigation.
"While nothing can undo the pain Steven Mathieson's actions have caused, they can take some solace in his conviction as we await his sentence."
Local area commander Ch Insp Mandy Paterson added: "The murder and subsequent police activity impacted greatly on the community at the time.
"This early guilty plea will be welcome news for those who have been affected locally and beyond."
Mathieson will be sentenced on 7 May at the High Court in Livingston. | A man has admitted murdering a 23-year-old woman in his Falkirk home before raping two others. | 32160257 |
London 2012 bronze medallist Alan Campbell will hope a strong showing in the single scull will help to secure a place at a fourth Olympic Games.
Enniskillen woman Nixon, 22, will be part of Britain's quadruple scull team.
The event is the last event ahead of the final Olympic qualifier in Lucerne.
Nixon, Tina Stiller, Jess Leyden and Rosamund Bradbury finished fourth at the World Cup regatta in Varese last month and will hope to be in the medals in Brandenburg.
"This weekend is going to give us more of a glimpse of what could turn up at the Olympic qualification regatta in Lucerne," said Nixon.
"I think things are going well so far. Having more time in the crew is always a positive and we are making the most of that time together.
"I feel really lucky each day I get to go out with the girls. I am learning so much from them."
Campbell, representing Britain for a 10th successive year, will be facing a strong field in the single scull.
"I've seen the entry list and pretty much everyone you would expect is there," said the 32-year-old.
"Ondrej Synek is there, he's a three-times world champion now, and what Croatia's Damir Martin did in winning the World Cup in Varese last month was pretty exceptional.
"There are also a lot of new guys coming through and some people who are still looking to qualify for Rio, so they will really be on their game."
Campbell's fellow Coleraine Olympic medallist Peter Chambers will compete in the lightweight men's four this weekend.
Chambers' brother Richard has withdrawn from the lightweight men's double scull with Will Fletcher as he continues his recovery from a hand injury but another Coleraine man Joel Cassells will be in action in the non-Olympic lightweight pair with Sam Scrimgeour.
Cassells and Scrimgeour are the defending world champions in the class. | Northern Ireland pair Holly Nixon and Alan Campbell will be among the British rowers aiming to press their claims for Rio Olympic berths at this weekend's European Championships in Germany. | 36204964 |
As I wander endlessly across a vast site from which no escape seems possible, deafened by music from competing stands, disoriented by the flickering images from a thousand screens, I'm reminded of Hunter S Thompson's wonderful (though perhaps apocryphal) line about the TV industry: "A cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
Actually, despite the mayhem, it is worth coming because there are always a few products which stand out from the crowd and give a hint of where technology is heading. Here are three that I spotted on my travels.
In shows dominated by products from American and Asian firms, it is great to spot a British success story. Cambridge-based CSR were showing off their ultra-thin flexible keyboard which uses the firm's Bluetooth Smart chip to connect to a tablet or a smartphone. The technology can be incorporated in a cover, or could be used to turn any surface into a touchscreen or a digital drawing pad.
CSR won't itself be turning its prototype into a product but is already getting plenty of interest from potential partners. The fast-growing business is also promising lots of other interesting uses for Bluetooth Smart - Apple is a major proponent, so look out for possible announcements from California in the near future.
There seems to be no limit to the innovations offered to photographers - from ultra small action cameras, to the stand-alone smartphone lenses unveiled by Sony here.
Japan's Ricoh thinks the next big thing is 360-degree shots. Its Theta device has two fish-eye lenses which capture light from every direction. You can press the button yourself, which means a guaranteed selfie, or retire from the scene and control the camera via a smartphone app. The results can then be viewed and shared via the phone - and you can also use Microsoft's Photosynth app to manipulate the images.
The results are rather pleasing - click on this for one example - though it is hard to imagine there will be a huge market for a device that will cost £329. But more affluent smartphone users will find this accessory takes better pictures than Samsung's new smart watch.
Television remains the centrepiece of any technology show - and there are plenty of stunning screens, whether it is OLED or 4K or a TV with facial recognition so that you can stop your children getting access at certain times.
But what stood out was a television you could control just by looking at it, made by the Chinese firm Haier. The technology was first unveiled a year ago, but was rather clunky at that stage - now it looks ready for the market.
First, you calibrate the eye-tracking by following a dot around the screen, then the small sensor placed between you and the TV tracks your eye movements. Without moving your head you can then bring up different menus, change the volume or select multimedia content just by looking at different areas of the screen - and then blinking.
It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it, but soon I was scanning through menus, shuttling through a choice of films and turning up the volume at the blink of an eye. Whether this will ever have an application beyond people with very limited mobility seems doubtful - but unlike so much of what's on display here it certainly had the wow factor. And another thing impressed us.
We arrived on the Haier stand while it was still being built and the eye-control set wasn't hooked up - but a couple of technicians leaped into action and made everything work. That can-do attitude is typical of the Chinese firms I've encountered, and should be a warning to complacent technology companies operating at a slower pace. | Visiting a big technology show such as Berlin's IFA is an exhausting experience. | 23984739 |
According to the Bank of Scotland's PMI report, the rate of expansion is at its highest for nine months.
The headline PMI figure of 49.9 indicated a fractional fall in combined manufacturing and services output.
But workforce levels have fallen for the sixth successive month amid what was described as "a further deterioration" of outstanding business levels.
The rise in new business was largely driven by manufacturing, which reported the largest rise for 21 months.
Graham Blair, of the Bank of Scotland, said: "Scotland's private sector will be encouraged by the quicker expansion in new business levels during May, even if the rise was at a relatively marginal pace.
"However, other areas of the economy are still struggling as job shedding persists and backlogs decline further."
The bank's report said a number of respondents attributed the decline in employment to the continued downturn in the oil and gas sector.
Price pressures were reported to have continued to grow, with a "marked" increase in input costs and only a "slight" rise in output prices.
Mr Blair added: "Firms will be looking for a further pick-up in demand for Scottish goods and services over the coming months in a hope to revive business activity." | Scotland's companies have reported a higher volume of new business for May. | 36511058 |
Wing Elliot Daly was sent off in the 27-14 win against Argentina on Saturday for a tackle on number eight Leonardo Senatore who landed on his neck.
Argentine wing Juan-Pablo Estelles escaped sanction for a similar offence on Jonny May because the England and Gloucester man landed on his side.
"I argue against [it being judged on] the outcome," Jones said.
He added on BBC Radio 5 live: "I think it should be based on the action."
Daly became just the fifth England player in history to be sent off in a Test match.
Jones continued: "Elliot was reckless, there is no doubt about that, and deserved a red card. But Jonny May gets knocked over and he gets straight back on his feet, and it's a penalty.
"That's something to look at in the future. All we want is consistency."
England won their 13th match in a row by beating Argentina on Saturday despite the red card after less than five minutes at Twickenham.
A penalty try and three Owen Farrell penalties opened up a 16-0 lead. Tries from Facundo Isa and Santiago Cordero cut the gap to two points but a Jonny May score pulled England clear.
Meanwhile, England captain Dylan Hartley says he could empathise with Daly after his red card.
Hartley told BBC Radio 5 live: "I've been in a similar situation. You can't dwell on it, it's done. You have got to move on, adapt, and look at how you can regain a foothold in the game."
Hartley feels going a man down for almost the whole match provided the side with the perfect challenge.
The hooker added: "My overall gut feeling is that it was a really hearty performance, I'm really proud of the guys, the way they dug in.
"[The red card] galvanised us, and we were able to put some good points on the board against a good team."
Find out how to get into rugby union with our special guide.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | England head coach Eddie Jones has called for a change in the way foul play is refereed in rugby union. | 38123310 |
The Republican-led Congress sent the bill to the president on Tuesday.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama vetoed the bill "without any drama or fanfare or delay".
The 875-mile (1,400km) pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to the US state of Nebraska where it joins pipes running to Texas.
The project has pitted Republicans and other supporters, who say it will create much needed jobs, against many Democrats and environmentalists, who warn the pipeline will add to carbon emissions and contribute to global warming.
The Keystone bill is Mr Obama's third veto as president and his first since Republicans won full control of Congress in November.
More vetoes are expected in the coming months as Republicans in Congress craft legislation to reverse Mr Obama's action on health care, immigration and financial regulation.
The Keystone XL pipeline project was first proposed more than six years ago, but has languished, awaiting a permit required by the federal government because it would cross an international boundary.
The White House has said the bill passed by Congress interfered with the normal permitting process.
Without a veto-busting majority in Congress, Republicans are considering inserting Keystone into other critical legislation dealing with energy, spending or infrastructure in the hope that Obama would be less likely to veto those priorities. | US President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have approved construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. | 31596580 |
Supporters who bought their tickets from the allocation given to the respective FAs will be in segregated areas at Lens' Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
But police expect British-based fans to have bought the bulk of the remaining tickets, which are not segregated.
They appealed for fans to behave while in Lens for the match on 16 June.
The stadium has a capacity of 35,000, the second smallest in the tournament.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) was allocated just over 5,000 tickets and England's FA just over 6,000.
Supt Steve Furnham, of South Wales Police, who is in charge of Wales' police liaison for the tournament, said he expected that "the vast majority of people inside that stadium will be British nationals supporting either England or Wales".
He said he had full confidence in both the French police to cope, and in the fans themselves.
"The French police have got tried and tested procedures and they are well-versed in policing operations and football operations," he told BBC Radio Wales' Good Evening Wales.
"Lens has held games there before and this is not new to our colleagues in Lens or Lens itself, but obviously with thousands of British nationals descending on that town we can expect to see people mingling."
Supporters travelling to France for the tournament can also expect far higher levels of security following the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels and Supt Furnham asked for that to be borne in mind.
"What Welsh fans must have in their mind is that the French police are there for the football, but also there for the counter terrorism operation and that will be at the forefront of their mind," he said.
"What we would please, please ask Welsh fans is to behave whilst out there.
"What we do not want to be doing is giving our French colleagues any additional concern or worries on top of what they have got to deal with."
He also revealed that bags will be banned from Euro 2016 stadia.
Similar measures were in place for France's Six Nations matches earlier this year at the Stade de France in Paris.
The Mayor of Lens previously urged fans without tickets to stay away from the town on the day of the match itself. | Thousands of rival Wales and England fans are likely to be sat together in the French stadium hosting their Euro 2016 group match next month. | 36279601 |
The Millers are bottom of the Championship having only won one game this season.
"It's such an obvious handball. It's not acceptable he can miss that," Stubbs told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"He's a former Premiership referee who should be getting basic decisions right."
Stubbs added: "I hope the assessor wasn't assessing him tonight. I thought there was a real lack of communication between referee and linesman.
"You had the linesman pointing for a corner, then suddenly raising his arm for a goal-kick.
"They were pausing for four or five seconds before making a decision. I thought they were pretty average."
Rotherham equalised in the 34th minute through Danny Ward's volley after trailing early in the game, but Huddersfield's Nahki Wells scored just four minutes later to take the Terriers back to the top of the Championship.
"It was by far our better performance away from home but we've come away with nothing," Stubbs continued.
"We have to do better. I'll keep beating the drum until they get it right. We're not good enough to give teams a start.
"I keep telling them you have to believe yourselves, without belief there's no point in turning up." | Rotherham United manager Alan Stubbs says referee Stuart Attwell made a "terrible decision" in their 2-1 defeat away at Huddersfield. | 37498604 |
Pilot Bertrand Piccard set down the prop-driven vehicle at 23:28 local time (15:28 GMT), following a 1,240km journey from Chongqing in the west of the country.
The project is aiming to circumnavigate the globe, and it must now prepare for the challenge of crossing the Pacific.
The next 10 days will be spent giving Solar Impulse a thorough servicing.
Meteorologists on the Swiss team, which has its mission control in Monaco, will then look for a suitable weather window for the ocean flight.
It will be done in two stages, with the first reaching over to Hawaii - a distance from Nanjing of 8,000km. For the slow-moving aircraft, this will entail being airborne continuously for several days and nights.
In simulations done last year, the weather opening was found quite quickly, but the team recognises also that its stay in Nanjing could be a long one.
"I think 10 days is the time we need to get ready. Then we need to wait for a good weather window," explained mission director Raymond Clerc.
"That could be three days; we could have to wait three weeks - because this leg is really the most important and is very complex. To go towards Hawaii could last five days and five nights."
Bertrand Piccard has been sharing the flying duties in the single-seater with his business partner, Andre Borschberg. And it is Borschberg, the trained engineer, who will take the controls for the leg to Hawaii.
So far, Solar Impulse has covered about 7,000km since leaving Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 9 March.
Solar Impulse has set two world records for manned solar-powered flight on its journey so far.
The first was for the longest distance covered on a single trip - that of 1,468km between Muscat, Oman, and Ahmedabad, India.
The second was for a groundspeed of 117 knots (216km/h; 135mph), which was achieved during the leg into Mandalay, Myanmar, from Varanasi, India.
No solar-powered plane has ever flown around the world.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | The fuel-free aeroplane Solar Impulse has arrived in Nanjing in the east of China. | 32384232 |
The body was found in the River Avon in Bath, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Officers said although formal identification had not yet taken place, Henry Burke's family had been told.
Earlier officers said they were looking for Mr Burke, who was last seen leaving a nightclub in George Street late on Thursday.
A force spokesman said the death was being treated as unexplained and inquiries were continuing.
Mr Burke's girlfriend, Em Comley, earlier said he had been texting her "throughout the night" but then the messages suddenly stopped just after midnight. | A man's body has been found in a river after search and rescue teams were called in to try and find a missing 19-year-old student. | 38116275 |
Kevin Manley was awarded £3,750 after a judge ruled operators of the privately-owned Parc Prison in Bridgend failed to restore power in a reasonable time.
Now a High Court judge has dismissed an appeal by owner G4S.
Manley, who has mobility problems after a hip replacement, tripped and banged his head on a cupboard while the light was out, the court heard.
G4S disputed the claim it had breached a duty to ensure he was "reasonably safe" in his cell.
Judge Neil Bidder first heard the case at Cardiff County Court last year.
He concluded power should have been restored in 20 minutes at most - but heard Manley's cell had been in darkness for nearly twice that on 4 January 2013.
He ruled G4S's breach of a duty of care caused Manley an injury.
Mr Justice Lewis analysed the case at a High Court hearing in Cardiff in July and dismissed G4S's appeal in a written ruling published on Friday.
The judge did not say why Manley was in jail or give his age. | A prisoner who got damages after his cell light went out for 40 minutes has won the latest round of a legal battle. | 37524043 |
The striker retweeted two posts on his account @CarltonCole1 after his side's 3-0 defeat at Swansea on Saturday.
They questioned Cole's performance and used a racist term to describe him. He tweeted that how he plays has nothing to do with "race, creed or religion".
The man, 22, of Southend, is being quizzed on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
In several tweets, Cole, 28, posted: "Listen, i take racism a lot lighter than others and i do understand the banter that comes a long with it to get under peoples skin but...
"... it can sometimes be hurtful & insulting, i don't mind when people criticise me for having a bad game or they think I'm crap at football...
"...but just say that, whether i am crap or had a bad game has nothing to do with my race, creed or religion. lets just keep it FOOTBALL. Kapeesh?" | A man has been arrested after racist Twitter posts were sent to West Ham United footballer Carlton Cole. | 19385197 |
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Alex Gregory, George Nash, Mo Sbihi and sub Callum McBrierty overhauled Australia in the final two strokes to win by 0.27 seconds.
There was also silver for the men's quad and bronze in the men's pair.
Perhaps the most surprising result came in the women's eight, with the crew adding a silver to their European gold.
Even with a sub on board, the four won't be happy but that was still a very good result
That came amid speculation that two of their number could be dropped for the Rio Olympics to accommodate Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley.
"There's a selection question but this crew is capable of winning gold at Rio," cox Zoe de Toledo told BBC Sport.
"If it's made stronger, great, but if this is the crew we have I'm really excited about the next few months."
Britain were denied a predicted gold medal in the opening final of the day when Olympic champions Heather Stanning and Helen Glover pulled out of the pair.
Stanning was one of several members of the squad who fell ill overnight, with Peter Lambert also stricken by a bug.
However, the quad still delivered a silver in his absence, with Jack Beaumont joining Sam Townsend, Angus Groom and Graeme Thomas to hold off a late challenge from Switzerland and claim second behind Australia.
"That was proper last-minute stuff - an hour-and-a-half before - and we did our first stroke in the warm-up and nearly capsized," Townsend told BBC Sport.
The European Championship-winning four were also rowing with a substitute after Constantine Louloudis pulled out earlier in the week and struggled before one of the Australians caught an oar in the water in the second last stroke.
"I actually thought we'd lost it on the line because the Australians were shouting," said replacement McBrierty.
Nathaniel Reilly-O'Donnell and Matthew Tarrant completed Britain's medal haul with bronze in the pair, having finished behind New Zealand in the same time as the Dutch runners-up.
Britain sealed their first gold of the regatta on Saturday through the non-Olympic lightweight men's pair of Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells. | The flagship men's four won a thrilling gold as Great Britain claimed four medals on the final day of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne. | 36407768 |
Though the Premiership side still have one Group D fixture left, they will finish below the top two places.
McIntyre led County to their first League Cup triumph against Hibernian at Hampden in March's final.
"We played right into their hands by making gilt-edged mistakes," he said after the 3-2 loss at League One Alloa.
"We were nowhere near good enough. The performance was embarrassing.
"I can only apologise to our fans who made the journey down tonight."
The eight group winners and four best runners-up will progress to the second round and Alloa's win took them top of the section.
However, McIntyre felt County should have had a penalty when Jason Marr challenged Alex Schalk with the score 3-2.
"The referee has made the worst decision of the night," said McIntyre.
"It's a stonewall penalty on Alex Schalk. I have looked at it several times.
"It was a poor, poor decision at a crucial time in the match where I thought we had the ascendency and looked as if we were pressing for the third goal.
"It was a big moment in the match." | Jim McIntyre described Ross County's League Cup defeat by Alloa Athletic as "embarrassing" as the holders were knocked out of the tournament. | 36901880 |
The officer, Anthony Golden, was shot in Omeath, County Louth, on Sunday as he responded to a domestic complaint.
A woman also sustained gunshot wounds in the incident and is in a critical condition.
Garda Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan said the triple shooting was a "sad and tragic day" for the police force.
The incident began on Sunday evening when a woman called to Omeath Garda station to make a written statement of complaint about a domestic incident.
Afterwards, Garda Golden accompanied the woman and her father to a house in Mullach Alainn, Omeath.
Her father remained outside while the woman and the police officer entered the house.
Shortly afterwards, at about 18:00 local time, gunshots were heard inside the house and the woman's father immediately raised the alarm.
Police and ambulance staff responded to a 999 call and Garda Golden was found in the house with a number of gunshot wounds that proved to be fatal.
The gunman, 24-year-old Adrian Crevan Mackin from the Newry area, also sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Mr Mackin was facing charges of membership of a dissident republican organisation and was out on bail.
The Garda commissioner described it as a "very traumatic incident" and expressed sympathy to the family of the 36-year-old police officer, who was a father of three.
She said Garda Golden was "very highly respected" community police officer who "served that community with dignity, with pride and distinction".
She said he was also a "very proud family man" and that for his widow, Nicola, the "loss is unthinkable".
Ms O'Sullivan paid tribute to the "professionalism" of Garda Golden's colleagues saying they had put aside "their own personal emotions" as they responded to the triple shooting.
"When a colleague is lost in such tragic circumstances, they have to park that emotion, the trauma," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"I'm very conscious of the [Garda] members that visited the scene last night - the assistance that they rendered to their colleague and indeed to Mr Mackin and to the other injured party in the case.
"I'd also like to pay tribute to the National Ambulance Service and indeed the Ambulance Service of Northern Ireland who were there."
A priest who gave the murdered officer the last rites spoke of the "horrific" scene in the house where the shootings took place.
Omeath priest Fr Christy McElwee, originally from Magherafelt, said he was shocked by what he saw.
"The scene that I saw was very horrific. You would need to be a strong person not to be taken back by it or shocked by it," he said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are very much with the Garda that lost his life. We're thinking of him and praying for his family at this time."
It also emerged on Monday that emergency services on both sides of the border were involved in the immediate aftermath of the shootings.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service sent a rapid response paramedic, followed by two ambulance crews and a doctor.
Garda Commissioner O'Sullivan also revealed that some of the officers who responded to the 999 call were also the first at the scene of a fatal shooting of another County Louth police officer less than three years ago.
Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was killed during a robbery at Lordship Credit Union in January 2013.
"This is the second member of An Garda Síochána [Irish police] that this community has lost in a very short space of time and that certainly has an impact," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"Talking to some people here in the community today, I understand and I can empathise with the numbness, the shock and the sense of loss that they feel."
The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents rank and file police officers, said a "darkness has descended" over the entire force.
"He was a brother in the sense that we are all brothers in arms," GRA president Dermot O'Brien said.
"There's a bond and it's a bond to serve and protect as we are guardians of the peace."
Mr O'Brien said the shooting had raised issues regarding manpower, resources and protocols that would have to be addressed with the government.
He said the officer's colleagues needed time to grieve, but the matters would be put to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald within days.
Earlier, the minister said that the police officer's death would be "mourned by the entire nation".
"The fact that [he] has laid down his life while protecting the community is a cause of great sadness," she said.
"While no words at this time can be expected to console his wife and children, his family, his colleagues and all who loved him, they know that he gave his life protecting the community he was so proud to serve."
Garda Golden's death brings the number of members of An Garda Síochána [Irish police force] who have lost their lives in the line of duty to 88. | Colleagues of a policeman shot dead by a gunman who then turned the gun on himself faced a "traumatic" scene, the head of the Irish police has said. | 34507416 |
A 14-year-old boy from Blackburn, Lancashire, was detained on 2 April following the examination of a number of electronic devices, police said.
He was questioned on suspicion of preparing for an act of terrorism.
A 16-year-old girl was subsequently arrested at a house in Longsight, Manchester, on 3 April on suspicion of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.
Both teenagers were bailed until 28 May.
The investigation involved officers from the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit, the Tactical Aid Unit, Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Constabulary.
Police said the arrests were not linked to the detention of nine people from Rochdale on the Turkey-Syria border earlier this week.
The group, including five adults and four children, was seized in Hatay on 1 April.
Their intention in travelling to the region, where areas are controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants or an al-Qaeda affiliate, is being investigated. | Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. | 32189850 |
Alex Dunbar and Duncan Weir ran in tries as the Warriors won 18-15 at Rodney Parade on Thursday evening.
"We had to play much better in the second period so that we could win as we didn't perform well in the first half," Townsend told Glasgow's website.
"We stepped up in the set piece and defensively we got a lot better."
Defending champions Glasgow moved up to fifth and now have 39 points from 14 games with Connacht currently leading the Pro12 with 50 points from 15 matches.
"We came out in the second half with much more resolve, determination and we were more direct which led to Alex Dunbar's try," added Townsend on the performance in Newport.
"We did enough to win but we put ourselves in a tricky situation after the first half.
"At half-time we spoke about fronting up as we weren't listening to the referee on a couple of occasions and we didn't look after ball.
"Gordon Reid performed a great turnover later on which illustrated how much we improved.
"Alex played well and was always looking to win the tackle contest. His run was excellent, picking up the ball from Mike Blair who also played well on his return.
"The players are delighted and the win helps boost us up the table a little more with eight games to go.
"We've got Cardiff at home in 10 days so we know that if we keep on winning we'll put pressure on those teams in the top four." | Head coach Gregor Townsend praised the "resolve" and "determination" of his Glasgow Warriors side after they secured victory over Dragons. | 35666637 |
Rosetta West said she was anxious and in pain after falling at her sheltered flat in Poole, Dorset.
South Dorset MP Richard Drax said protocols did not allow staff to move Mrs West while they waited.
Health minister Philip Dunne said the South Western Ambulance Service had seen an 11% rise in calls this year.
Mr Drax told the House of Commons on Monday the "frail" pensioner's plight was typical of cases which were "down-graded by call handlers under immense pressure for other incidents".
Melton Court manager Fiona Smith said staff had been left "grief-stricken" by Mrs West's ordeal, which followed another recent four hour wait for an ambulance for a resident.
She said ambulance delays had reached unprecedented levels, with "excruciating" waits becoming common.
Ms Smith said: "I've been a care manager for 13 years and never had a problem... but now it's normal to wait two and a half hours."
Mrs West, a Blitz survivor, said she had put the "very, very painful" wait into perspective and did not hold any ill-feeling towards the ambulance service.
She said she had been left bed-bound since the fall in August, which may have caused a knee fracture.
Her son, Paul Coleman, said the "disgusting" delay could have been life-threatening if his mother had suffered internal damage.
The South Western Ambulance Service said Mrs West had not needed hospital treatment and it had to prioritise unconscious or non-breathing patients.
It said many domiciliary care organisations operated a 'no lift' policy, leaving patients waiting for an emergency ambulance even when there was no medical need. | The plight of a 96-year-old woman, who was left lying on the floor while she waited four hours for an ambulance, has been raised in parliament. | 37690256 |
Ding, who won last week's Haining Open, led 4-2 and 5-4 but could not stop Day clinching the last two frames.
World number one Mark Selby beat Anthony McGill 6-1, and there were also wins for Shaun Murphy and John Higgins.
Scotland's Graeme Dott won the battle of former world champions as he beat Englishman Peter Ebdon 6-3.
Australia's Neil Robertson saw off Fergal O'Brien 6-3, last year's runner-up Mark Allen of Northern Ireland beat England's Kyren Wilson 6-3, but former world champion Mark Williams of Wales was edged out 6-5 by Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
See the full results and schedule for the 2015 International Championship | Welshman Ryan Day beat home favourite Ding Junhui in a final-frame decider to reach round three at the International Championship in Daqing, China. | 34653569 |
The former Lib Dem deputy PM said this was "one of the most cynical acts of political collusion" because the only choice voters face is a hard Brexit.
Mrs May says she is ready for Brexit talks, but claims Mr Corbyn is not.
The Labour leader says the PM would create a "low-wage, offshore tax haven" and a "toxic" mood in Brexit talks.
During a campaign event in east London, Mr Clegg cast doubt on Mrs May's ability to conduct successful Brexit negotiations, describing her electoral performance as "brittle", a performance which he said would not have gone un-noticed in the capital cities of Europe.
He said he believed the chances of Brexit talks collapsing were "much higher than I could have possibly imagined", adding: "That's only been confirmed during the course of the general election."
He claimed "a proper leader of a country" would use the election to explain and "prepare the British public for the huge, excruciatingly difficult, controversial, sometimes wholly unpopular compromises, that are inevitable if you want a deal".
"And yet Theresa May has made no attempt whatsoever to prepare people for what's to come. It's a spectacular failure of leadership."
Mr Clegg, currently the Lib Dems' Brexit spokesman, accused the prime minister of "digesting close to four million UKIP voters in one sitting" and of doing "what the editor of the Daily Mail tells her to do".
He added: "Negotiating Brexit is going to be a tightrope act - it requires subtlety, creativity and the ability to win friends.
"Above all, it requires sure-footedness, to keep on top of dozens of simultaneous, interlocking negotiations. Instead we are being asked to elect a leader who is unsteady in the limelight, incapable of straight-talking, and prone to chaotic U-turns."
During a live TV grilling on Channel 4/Sky News a week ago, Mrs May said she would be ready "from day one" to work on a new "deep and special relationship" with the European Union.
She said she had shown: "I am prepared. I am ready to go. Jeremy Corbyn is not."
But Labour's shadow education secretary Angela Rayner claimed the way Mrs May had handled Brexit negotiations so far "has made us look like ogres across Europe" and a "laughing stock".
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the prime minister has been "intent on playing the Brexit card for all it's worth in the election".
During his speech, Mr Clegg said consumers were "already beginning to feel the Brexit squeeze" and warned that holidaymakers heading overseas faced being hit in the pocket by the impact.
"Price rises have hit energy bills, petrol and clothes," he said.
"It's enough to make anyone need a fortifying glass of wine - but last week, it was reported that the average price of a bottle of wine has hit its highest price ever." | Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have formed "a pact of silence" to avoid discussing Brexit during the election campaign, Nick Clegg has claimed. | 40173180 |
It said the measures, restricting gaming depending on the player's age, were "to dispel parents' worries".
According to state media, there has been rising concern over Chinese children's excessive gaming habits.
Parents reportedly worry in particular about both the time and money spent playing Tencent's popular King of Glory game.
From Monday, players aged under 12 will be allowed to log in for only one hour a day, and not after 9pm. Older children will be allowed to play for two hours.
Tencent claims the measures are the most strict in the country's booming online gaming industry.
Chinese state media quoted a company spokesperson saying that "even though as of now, China has not yet passed clear regulations dealing with gaming addiction, we have decided to take the lead".
The firm said it was also working on better implementation of its identity verification, so that those who have not yet completed the verification will not be able to play.
King of Glory is thought to have about 50 million daily active users, and there are numerous reports of parents and teachers expressing concern and frustration about children's gaming habits.
Reports range from a 17-year old gamer in Guangzhou diagnosed with cerebral infarction after playing for 40 hours straight, to children using their parent's credit cards to spend thousands of dollars on the game. | Chinese internet giant Tencent has limited the hours that children can play several of its most popular games. | 40477951 |
The alleged offences detailed in the report by a leading human rights group include custody deaths, abduction, torture and rape.
Army, police and paramilitary officers of senior rank are among those named. There was no immediate army response.
Thousands have died in a separatist insurgency in Kashmir since 1989.
The disputed region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen violence fall in recent years.
But tens of thousands of Indian army and paramilitary troops continue to be deployed in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.
The report's authors say they gathered information from the police and under India's new freedom of information laws, as well from interviews with families and others.
An army spokesman said he was not aware of the report.
"If they have sent it to the defence ministry we have not received it so far. We can respond after proper perusal of the document," Lt-Col HS Brar, who speaks for the Indian army's Kashmir-based 15 corps, told the BBC.
The 354-page report was compiled by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir (IPTK).
It has analysed 214 cases of abuse and highlighted the role of officials in the killing of nearly 70 people and the disappearances of 8,000 people over two decades, the BBC's Riyaz Masroor in Srinagar says.
The report names military officials of very senior rank as "perpetrators", our correspondent reports.
Releasing the report in Srinagar, Kartik Murukutla, a human rights lawyer and one of the authors of the report, said India's priority in Kashmir was to control the territory, not pursue justice.
"For the victims, the wait for proper justice seems perpetual. In its approach to justice, the Indian state has not moved beyond cash relief or the promise of re-investigation.
"The state has wilfully lowered the standard of justice as well as the crimes perpetrated," he said.
The report says that despite the evidence, many of those accused of brutality were decorated for their role in fighting the separatist insurgency.
"While we believe in fixing the responsibility on the individuals, we have highlighted the culpability of the Indian state in shielding the perpetrators," the APDP chief Parvez Imroz said. | More than 500 members of India's armed forces are accused of human rights abuses in a damning report on conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir. | 20624798 |
The All-Party group on International Development (APGID) has launched a toilet twinning initiative.
As a result, two toilets have been twinned with two newly built latrines in Uganda - funded by MLAs.
SDLP MLA Claire Hanna, who chairs the group, explained the idea behind the unusual concept.
"In Northern Ireland we generally take the availability of toilets for granted but, in many parts of the world, a lack of adequate water and sanitation leads to disease and can prevent girls, in particular, from accessing education," she said.
"By twinning these toilets we hope to remind MLAs, staff and visitors to the building of this need around the world," she added. | You may have heard of towns across the world being twinned with each other but Stormont has gone one step further. | 38057038 |
But whether it's the dodgy accents or far-fetched scripts, it seems we all have an opinion about the films that attempt to launch wee Northern Ireland onto the big screen.
The latest such offering, The Journey, is a fictional account of the relationship between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.
Its writer, Colin Bateman, has a theory about what makes a great local film.
"In mathematical terms - the higher the budget the worse the movie, quite possibly.
"The ones that work best are the small films, like Cal or Hunger."
Film critic Mike Catto has watched many films that have used Northern Ireland as a backdrop.
He said: "There are films we laugh at, like Brad Pitt with a bad accent in The Devil's Own and Mickey Rourke with an even worse accent in a Prayer for the Dying, it was just so far removed from the reality we know."
However, there are a number of films he believes should be praised.
"For every really bad one there is one really worthy, for example Titanic Town with Julie Walters."
Ian McElhinney, who stars in The Journey, is one of Northern Ireland's best-known actors.
He would like to see films focus on previously unheard stories.
"I would quite like to see stories that are not necessarily to do with the violence, because I think there was quite a lot of normality in our world - but it is never reflected on the screen," he said.
However, Colin Bateman says he doesn't believe we should stop trying with films about the Troubles.
"I don't think you can ever have enough, in some respects," he said.
"If you think of something like the Vietnam War, some of the best movies did not come out until 10, 20 or 30 years afterwards."
But actress and screenwriter Bronagh Taggart thinks these types of films are only part of the story of Northern Ireland.
Television series like Game of Thrones and Line of Duty have all been filmed here in recent years and the BBC series, The Fall, was shot in Belfast.
She said: "I think a lot of people know the very political films that come out of Northern Ireland.
"They are quite high profile, but I don't think they are the only ones and I think the new writers, directors and producers making films and telling stories at the minute are telling a mix of political and personal and I think it will always be like that in Northern Ireland."
What is clear is that Northern Ireland will continue to be a home to filmmakers and producers.
It also seems certain that, when it comes to capturing the story of this place on film, our troubled past will never be too far away. | Love them or loathe them - films based on the Troubles seem to go hand-in-hand with box office success. | 39807495 |
Reed's opening lyrics read: "Holly came from Miami, F-L-A / Hitchhiked her way across the USA / Plucked her eyebrows on the way / Shaved her legs, and then he was a she" in his hit.
She died on Sunday in Los Angeles her friend Mariela Huerta said.
A memorial service is expected.
Puerto-Rico born Woodlawn, born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl, took on her new name after leaving home aged 15 and hitchhiking to New York City.
She told the Guardian in 2007 of her brief fame after appearing in Warhol's films: "I was very happy when I gradually became a Warhol superstar. I felt like Elizabeth Taylor!
"Little did I realise that not only would there be no money, but that your star would flicker for two seconds and that was it. But it was worth it, the drugs, the parties, it was fabulous."
She also explained that she did not get to know Reed properly until after the song's 1972 release.
The paper said she decided against gender reassignment surgery in the late 60s, with her response being: "Honey, once they cut it off, it's OFF!"
Despite receiving critical acclaim for her film work, she did not find mainstream success.
However she did appear in 90s independent films Twin Falls Idaho and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, as well as the Golden Globe-winning US TV series Transparent, about the father of an LA family who comes out as transgender.
The show, which won best TV series (musical or comedy) at January's awards, also saw its star Jeffrey Tambor win best TV series actor.
Joe Dallesandro, who starred in Trash, tweeted on 6 December: "Holly Woodlawn was in Room 306 when I arrived to see her today. At 3:06pm LA time, she passed away."
He also said on Facebook that he had visited in her in a hospice, adding: "I was next to her talking and telling her all the love that was being sent her way from everyone. It was like she knew I was there."
They played a couple in the film, produced by Warhol and directed by Paul Morrissey, living in the fringes of New York's East Village, scrounging for food and drugs.
Singer Marc Almond tweeted his respects, saying: "Sad news about Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn. 'Holly came from Miami FLA, hitch hiked her way across the USA'."
US rock band The Dandy Warhols added: "If you are of a certain age, Holly Woodlawn was the first trans woman you may have been aware of thanks to this song."
Huerta said Woodlawn, who had been battling brain and liver cancer, had no surviving relatives. | Holly Woodlawn, the transgender actress who inspired Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side and appeared in Andy Warhol's 70s films Trash and Women in Revolt, has died of cancer aged 69. | 35025326 |
It also sums up a few of the stories on a busy day of English Football League action.
Here are five things you may have missed, with the added treat of a little something to look forward to on Sunday as well.
Clayton Donaldson refused to let a first-half penalty miss, firm instructions not to take another spot-kick and hollers from the sideline distract him from becoming Birmingham City's match-winner against Fulham.
The 32-year-old had a 26th-minute spot-kick saved by Cottagers goalkeeper David Button and the clear message from Blues manager Garry Rowett at half-time was for the striker, who had already missed another penalty this season, to stand aside next time one needed taking.
It took all of four minutes to show he was not listening to his boss, however, as he won a debate with team-mate Jacques Maghoma to take the next penalty - and score Birmingham's winner at Craven Cottage after Che Adams was brought down by Floyd Ayite.
Rowett said the Blues management "were shouting" at him not to do it, but quickly praised Donaldson for his stubborn self belief.
"We told Mags to take it at half-time," Rowett told BBC WM. "It shows a lot of character from Clayton to take it.
"But I have to say that I think if he had missed it he would have needed that character to walk back into the dressing room."
Start in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, fly back from the Middle East during the week, regain your starting spot in the Championship and score your first goal for the club on Saturday.
It's fair to say Huddersfield Town's Australia international midfielder Aaron Mooy has had a busy few days.
Following his efforts in helping the Socceroos to a 1-0 victory over the United Arad Emirates, the Manchester City loanee made the 3,521-mile trip back from Abu Dhabi to jump straight back into the action for the Terriers to score a fine 25-yard winner for the Championship leaders in their West Yorkshire derby against Leeds United.
But this tale is not just one of a intrepid traveller.
The goal was Huddersfield's ninth in the Championship - and Mooy the ninth different goalscorer for the Terriers in the league this season.
And that is not the whole story, as Leeds United manager Garry Monk felt Mooy should have been sent off for what he called a "horrendous" challenge on Liam Bridcutt.
Football chants. Some go viral, some are tasteless and some are just plain delicious.
Jon 'Beast' Parkin has graced some impressive stages in his career, playing as high as Championship level, and he is still well capable of a bit of goalscoring magic in the bottom tier of the EFL.
The big forward could probably do a job for the Pro-12 rugby union side Newport Gwent Dragons, who share Rodney Parade with County, but his two goals were enough to earn Newport a draw against Cheltenham.
And he was recognised for his efforts by the County faithful in song, with the added bonus of having a pastie promised to him for a third. While the 34-year-old, who is with his 14th club, failed to bag a hat-trick, no-one could say he did not deserve to tuck into a tasty pastry after ensuring the hosts earned a point.
Striker Adam Armstrong is man who knows how to make a memorable first impression.
He made his debut on loan from Newcastle United for League One side Coventry City last season, scoring a brace to mark the occasion.
Eleven months on and, on his debut on loan for Barnsley in the Championship, he managed to produce another memorable moment with a fine winner against Preston, backheeling his way around a defender and curling past the goalkeeper.
Do yourself a favour, find the footage and let a little magic into your life.
The year was 1995, Michael and Janet Jackson collaborated on their hit Scream and Blackburn Rovers were flying the English flag in the Champions League as Premier League title holders.
It is not exactly a Champagne moment when almost 21 years to the day since the Lancashire club played their first group game in the competition, they sit bottom of the Championship with two points from six games.
While England international Alan Shearer was banging in the goals for Rovers more than two decades ago, Blackburn needed on-loan Southampton striker Sam Gallagher to pop up with a header to salvage a draw against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Saturday.
If today's Blackburn flashback has got you in a nostalgic mood, Sunday will be a real treat as Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest write a rather unwanted chapter in European football.
For the first time in any domestic league, two former European Cup winners meet in the second tier.
You have to rewind more than three decades, to a time that predates the Champions League as we know it, when Forest and Villa reigned supreme on the continent.
While the pictures above of Reds captain John McGovern lifting the European Cup in Munich in 1979, Peter Shilton with Forest hands still on the trophy 12 months later and Dennis Mortimer claiming the silverware for Villa in 1982 are snapshots to a glorious past, you can join us on the BBC Sport website on Sunday to follow live text commentary from Villa Park. Kick off is 13:15 BST. | Make a good impression, go the extra mile, work for your supper, ignore your boss and try to smile - all fairly normal points to follow at work. | 37328684 |
Everton and England under-19 player Ledson, 18, has featured in 14 games for the U's since joining in November.
QPR right-back Furlong, 20, has made five appearances for Shaun Derry's side, while West Ham left-back Page, 19, has played in six games.
The U's sit ninth in League Two, one point outside the play-off places. | Midfielder Ryan Ledson and defenders Lewis Page and Darnell Furlong have extended their loan deals with Cambridge United for a further month. | 35521913 |
The parents of three-month-old Alexander Kendall, from Norwich, spotted the errors after being given a set of five bodysuits from the store.
One bore the slogan "I was born awsome", while the other read: "Daddys little man" - missing an apostrophe.
Tesco apologised after Alexander's father shared the errors on Twitter.
It offered a refund or exchange and said: "Sorry about this, we've made our suppliers aware of this so it can be corrected for future stock."
Mother Sophie Kendall, 28, said: "We both work as journalists so are perhaps a bit more pedantic about these things than most.
"Fortunately Alex is a long way off being able to read so we'll just use the suits and hope nobody notices." | Supermarket chain Tesco has said it will brush up on its spelling and grammar after making two mistakes in a single pack of baby clothes. | 35516158 |
Perhaps the first minister will get a better reception here than he feels he's had in London.
UK ministers think they have been very accommodating. Brexit secretary David Davis says they've "bent over backwards" for the devolved administrations.
And yet Mr Jones complained this week about letters to Downing Street going unanswered and the difficulty of arranging meetings.
He also put AMs on notice of a possible "constitutional crisis".
Today the UK Government has publish its European Union (Withdrawal) Bill - previously described as the Repeal Bill - copying EU regulations and pasting them on to the statute book.
As part of the "bending over backwards strategy" a draft copy has been sent to Cathays Park. But the Welsh Government is unimpressed.
At issue is what happens to powers returning to Brussels in devolved policies.
All sides say new UK-wide rules - on paying farm subsidies, for example - will have to be agreed upon.
But while the Welsh Government thinks the powers should come directly to Cardiff before talks start, the UK Government has talked about powers stopping off in London en route in a "holding pattern".
At least that was the plan before the general election. If the bill published today doesn't satisfy the first minister, he'll invite the assembly to withhold its legislative consent.
That would be a symbolic defeat for the UK Government, but Theresa May need not necessarily pay much attention. Such votes are not legally binding on Parliament.
Possibly of more interest is the Welsh Government's threat to publish a mini repeal bill for Wales - the Continuity Bill. This will transpose EU rules that apply to the assembly into Welsh law.
What will happen if the UK Government ignores the Continuity Bill and carries on regardless?
Mr Jones told AMs this week: "It's the issue of whether the UK Government and House of Lords particularly would see it as constitutionally proper to overturn legislation that's passed in this assembly, thus prompting a constitutional crisis."
If he pushes ahead - and a lot of preparatory work on a Continuity Bill has happened behind the scenes - Mr Jones will publish the bill in the autumn. He would also ask to change the Assembly's rules so legislation can be sped through before the repeal bill passes in Westminster.
As one of his aides put it to me, with so much work on their hands, why would UK ministers want to "pick a battle on the home front as well"? | I'm in Brussels for Carwyn Jones' meeting with Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, writes guest blogger Daniel Davies. | 40593136 |
Thompson, 28, was first diagnosed with nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013, while playing for Tranmere, and was given the all-clear the year after.
He was diagnosed with cancer again in March but is now in complete remission.
"I'm in a better condition than I was six weeks ago," Thompson told the BBC.
After his second diagnosis, Thompson stopped playing football, but he is now cancer-free following a course of chemotherapy and stem cell replacement at Christie's Hospital in Manchester.
"I've been out of hospital five weeks. Obviously it was an intense chemotherapy treatment that I had to go through, but I'm feeling a lot better," he said.
"When I got out of hospital it was walk, then it was jog and now it's getting to a run. First of all I've got to build myself up as a man, before I can build myself up again as a footballer. But that will all happen in due time."
Thompson began his career as a trainee with the club and has also had spells with Tranmere, Bury and Carlisle before returning in the summer of 2016.
He last played for Dale in their 2-2 draw against MK Dons on 11 March and is targeting a return for his hometown club after beating the disease for a second time.
"You have to strip it back and think clear. It wasn't so much 'I can't wait to get back on the pitch', as it wasn't guaranteed I would be alive," Thompson said.
"First and foremost, it was about living in the moment. I would cherish the time I was spending with my family.
"I'm feeling a lot brighter in myself and my energy levels are on the up.
"In a weird way I'm fortunate that I've had to go to such a dark place to see the light.
"I'm blessed I've come out the other end and can talk about it openly, because I know that so many people aren't as fortunate as me. It's kind of a lesson learned."
Media playback is not supported on this device | Rochdale midfielder Joe Thompson says he must build himself up "as a man" before he can build himself back up as a footballer after recovering from cancer for a second time. | 40795752 |
Maria de Villota was hurt while driving an MR-01 race car for the first time for the Oxfordshire-based Marussia team at Duxford airfield.
The car hit a Marussia support truck which had been used to transport it to the track.
The Spaniard, 32, is being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Emergency medical charity Magpas, which helped to treat De Villota at the scene, said she had suffered "facial and head injuries" and was in a stable condition on her arrival at hospital.
Marussia said she later regained consciousness and was being assessed by doctors.
A spokesman for the team said: "Maria is conscious and medical assessments are ongoing."
He added that "she has been receiving the best medical attention possible at the hospital".
BBC Cambridgeshire presenter Chris Mann, who witnessed the crash, said the car was slowing down when it "suddenly accelerated" into the back of the lorry.
"The top of her car and her helmet seemed to take the brunt of it," he added.
"She didn't move for about 15 minutes.
"It was an absolutely awful moment. I was surrounded by people that knew her very well, including family, friends, engineers, and her manager."
He said De Villota had been driving at up to 200mph during the testing but the car was travelling considerably slower at the time of the crash.
A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said they were notified by the ambulance service "of a slow-speed crash involving a racing car and a lorry".
By Andrew BensonBBC Sport chief Formula 1 reporter
Formula 1 cars are extremely challenging machines and can require significant skills and experience even to control in a straight line, but Maria de Villota is exactly the kind of competent racing driver typically asked to conduct this sort of test.
Extremely unlikely ever to qualify as a fully-fledged Grand Prix driver, she has raced solidly since 2001 in various lower categories and last summer completed a test for the Renault F1 team at a race track in France.
Crashes are not unknown at straight-line tests, but the circumstances surrounding this one sound especially unusual and it would be unwise to speculate what caused it before a full investigation is undertaken.
He added: "It looks like the driver has suffered a serious injury and we will be notifying the Health and Safety Executive as it happened on private land."
East of England Ambulance Service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: "A woman has sustained life-threatening injuries and following treatment at the scene by paramedics, she has been taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital for further care."
The crash happened at the start of two days of Formula 1 testing at the site.
Minutes before, Marussia driver Timo Glock said on Twitter: "Great to see @mariavillota in the car with the new update. Make it quick."
In a statement, Marussia said: "At approximately 09.15hrs BST, the Marussia F1 Team's test driver Maria de Villota had an accident in the team's MR-01 race car at Duxford Airfield, where she was testing the car for the first time.
"The accident happened at the end of her first installation run and involved an impact with the team's support truck."
Former F1 champions are among the hundreds of people to have wished De Villota well on Twitter.
Ferrari driver and fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who won the F1 drivers championship in 2005 and 2006, said: "I just got home and found out Maria's accident, we called the family and hopefully we will know more soon! All my energy with you!"
Jenson Button, who won the championship in 2009, said: "Terrible accident for Maria de Villota, Marussia F1 team test driver.
"My thoughts are with Maria and her family at this very difficult time."
Marussia entered the sport under the name Virgin in 2010, backed by businessman Richard Branson.
Russian car company Marussia acquired a controlling stake in the team toward the end of 2011.
In 2012, the team rebranded as Marussia, and drafted in Charles Pic to race alongside Glock.
The team has not scored any points so far this season.
Earlier, Marussia said on Twitter: "@mariavillota had her final seat-fitting & pedal test at our Banbury HQ & then headed north to the Imperial War Museum, ready to do battle."
On Friday, it tweeted that De Villota "had been waiting patiently all year" for the Duxford test day.
When she was unveiled as a test driver for Marussia in March, she said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a Formula 1 team and gain important experience to help me progress my career, including the chance to drive the new car later in the year at the Abu Dhabi test."
She added that the move "can only help my future ambition to step up to F1 racing".
On Monday she wrote on Twitter: "In Banbury, getting ready for tomorrow test. Can't wait." | A Formula 1 test driver who suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash during testing in Cambridgeshire has regained consciousness. | 18685789 |
After their win over Wexford, Monaghan have been drawn against Carlow.
Neither Ulster side will have home advantage for the matches, which will take place on 15 of July.
In Round 4A, Donegal will face Galway, whose Connacht final loss to Roscommon meant there was no need for a draw.
Having already beaten Mayo in the provincial championship, Galway will avoid a repeat meeting with their neighbours.
It means Donegal will play Galway at Markievicz Park in Sligo on 22 July, while Mayo face beaten Munster finalists Cork on the same date at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.
Armagh are into the third qualifying round for the first time since 2014 following Saturday's five point win over Westmeath and their reward is a chance to gain revenge for their last-minute defeat by Tipperary, which cost them a place in Division Two of the National League.
The first championship meeting between the two counties will be held at Semple Stadium at 5pm, 15 July after Tipperary were the first team drawn from the pot this morning.
Following their victory in Wexford, Monaghan will face another Leinster opponent this weekend.
Carlow were comfortable 2-14 to 0-13 winners over Leitrim in Round 2B and they will once again have home advantage against Malachy O'Rourke's side.
The match will also be held on 15 July at Dr Cullen Park in Carlow with a 19:00 BST throw-in. | Armagh's qualifier win over Westmeath has earned them a rematch with Tipperary, who denied the Orchard footballers promotion from Division Three of the National League in April. | 40550048 |
Shelley Klindt, who farms near Hannington, Wiltshire, said the 60m (200ft) circle appeared overnight on 2 August.
Despite "trying to keep it quiet", Ms Klindt said online drone footage had attracted hundreds of people.
A cherry picker is in place so visitors can view it without damaging crops.
Ms Klindt said the giant formation in a field of mature wheat near Highworth is the first she has had on her land.
She said she had had visitors from all over the world since its appearance.
"We've had helicopters, low-flying aircraft and so many drones," she said.
"On Saturday we had about 130 people and eight or nine people were there camping out in the middle of the circle to watch the Perseid meteor shower.
"And this morning I got a call at 4:30am to say there was a van with 'love' on it and a man with a magical cape dancing around with incense sticks."
Creating crop circles is a criminal offence and farmers in the county have been urged by the police to report any on their land.
But Ms Klindt said although it is "annoying", she has been allowing people into the field to see it.
"It's about 60m wide which means we've lost about eight tonnes of grain," she said.
"So we're asking for a £2 donation to cover the loss of the crop and we're also charging for people to go up in the cherry picker.
"But on Friday it will be gone when we harvest and the headache will be over." | A farmer says she has been inundated by 400 visitors, helicopters and drones since a crop circle appeared in her field. | 40915981 |
The footage begins just after 18:36 local time on Monday 17 August. All timings have been adjusted by Thai police to account for discrepancies in the clocks of individual cameras, so the timestamp on the image may differ from the time given by police.
Thai police say this image shows the tuk-tuk (largely obscured) doing a U-turn and pulling up outside the hotel, near the shrine.
18.37.12: Tuk-tuk parks and suspect gets out
18.37.35: Suspect gets backpack out of tuk-tuk
Twelve minutes follow in which the suspect is not caught on CCTV.
The young man is wearing a yellow T-shirt and glasses, and carrying a backpack.
Several cameras track his journey after he leaves the shrine, retracing his steps along the front of the Hyatt Hotel before travelling on the back of a motorcycle.
This is 30 seconds' walk from the previous CCTV image showing him at the Hyatt, but more than a minute later, suggesting he paused around the time the bomb went off.
Police believe he picked up the bike at Soi Mahatlek Luang 1.
Timecode adjustment may be wrong for this image.
After this image police lose track of the suspect. | Thai police investigating the bomb at a shrine in Bangkok on Monday, which killed 20 people, have released a series of CCTV images showing the movements of their main suspect before and after the bomb detonated. | 34002904 |
"Anger", "outrage", "betrayal" and "shame" are just some of the strong words the Indian media are using in connection with the arrest of Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila.
Sreesanth was part of the national team that won the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and the one-day international World Cup in 2011.
The cricketers' families have already protested that they are innocent and media reports on Friday quote Sreesanth's lawyer as saying that he is "totally innocent".
The Times of India says that "the dark and ugly face of Indian cricket exposed itself on Thursday".
"Sreesanth puts IPL in a spot, fans in a fix," is the headline of The Hindu newspaper.
"A major clean-up operation is required if cricket in India is to retain the loyalty of its fans," the paper's editorial says.
The Hindustan Times says: "Indian cricket's reputation was dragged through the mud on Thursday and a billion fans were betrayed".
Prominent Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran says the allegations have cast serious doubts over the credibility of cricket in India and that fans will now keenly watch players' actions.
Punjab's leading daily The Tribune writes: "It is a sad day when the uncertainties inherent in sport are undermined by the lure of money."
The Statesman quotes former India captain Sunil Gavaskar: "I am completely shocked. The IPL rewards cricketers quite handsomely, some of them are paid over-handsomely".
In other news, the Supreme Court has asked state governments to be careful in arresting people for posting "objectionable comments" on social networking sites, The New Indian Express reports.
"The courts said that state governments should ensure strict compliance of the federal government's advisory, which said that a person should not be arrested without taking permission from senior police officials," the paper adds.
It goes on to state that the court's advice should be seen "in view of public outrage over people being arrested for making comments or liking posts on Facebook".
Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt's return to jail for firearms offences linked to the 1993 Mumbai blasts has also been covered extensively in the media.
A picture gallery in The Indian Express shows Dutt's journey from his house to the prison.
Though overshadowed by Dutt's return to jail, Bollywood's tryst with glamour continues and most Indian newspapers and websites are enthusiastically reporting India's presence at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Indian Express shows Bollywood "shining" in a picture gallery with photos of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Vidya Balan walking the red carpet.
The Hindustan Times praised Mr Bachchan for addressing the festival audience in Hindi.
"It was a historic moment for Amitabh Bachchan to be invited to open the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival with his The Great Gatsby co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Big B made the experience more special by addressing the audience in his mother tongue Hindi," the paper said.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | "A billion betrayed" - the Times of India sums up the country's mood with this headline on the arrest of three cricketers over spot-fixing allegations in the Indian Premier League (IPL). | 22564440 |
Reports described Smita Panvalkar, a homemaker, who lived with her husband, son and brother in the first floor of the building as a "gritty woman who stands between Donald Trump, easily the world's most glamorous real estate developer, and his first project in India".
In 2011, the real estate tycoon had teamed up with a local developer to construct a 65-storey Trump Tower - India's first - containing some 50 ultra-luxury apartments in an upscale neighbourhood.
In a land-starved island city with steeply priced real estate, most new construction is done after tearing down old buildings and compensating and re-housing the original tenants.
The fate of the four-storey Pathare Prabhu Building in which the Panvalkars lived since 1990, turned out to be no different. There were 25 other tenants who lived in poky fixed-rent apartments in the building in the posh south Mumbai neighbourhood of Chowpatty, not far away from one of the city's bustling beaches.
"We lived a simple life. Our life was fairly eventless until 2011," says Prasad Panvalkar. He paid a paltry rent of 185 rupees($2.7; £2.24) a month for his first floor, three-room, 560 sq ft apartment.
Sometime before this, news washed up in the city's real estate circles that Mr Trump was looking to launch a project in India. A well-known local developer, Rohan Lifescapes, swiftly moved in.
"We met him in New York and had four meetings. He showed interest in India and we briefed him on prospects in Mumbai. He even invited us to the shooting of [the reality show] The Apprentice at the Trump Tower," Harresh Mehta, chairman of Rohan Lifescapes, told me.
It didn't take much time for the tycoon and the developer to forge an agreement to build India's first Trump Tower in Mumbai: a gleaming, state-of-the-art 65-storey high-rise with about 50 apartments on a plot of more than 2,000 sq m. The local developer had acquired two neighbouring buildings in adjacent plots - including the one in which Mr Panvalkar lived - for building the tower. Launch prices were set between 40,000 and 50,000 rupees ($600-$750; £488-£610) per sq ft.
"It was a branding agreement. In exchange for royalties, we would use the Trump brand name. He wasn't investing any money. Trump is a famous name, and the branding would have helped in the appreciation of price," said Mr Mehta.
Back in the decaying building, the tenants had been informed in 2004 that the building would be "redeveloped". The majority of tenants had apparently consented to the move.
"But nothing happened until 2010. Then the developers came and informed us to vacate the building so that they could develop it."
Mr Panvalkar told me that his wife took the lead and flatly refused to move out.
"The developers offered compensation money and asked us to leave. Smita told them we won't leave the building unless they gave us an apartment in the new building. Much later we learnt that the building was named after Donald Trump, the famous American tycoon," he said.
The local press quickly found a heroine of resistance. "Woman who won't let Donald Trump Mumbai," headlined Mumbai Mirror. The newspaper described her as the "gritty 54-year-old woman who stands between Donald Trump and his first project in India".
"One lady stands in the way of Trump Tower Mumbai," another headline cheered. Ms Panvalkar is a "tough nut to crack", reported yet another newspaper.
By January 2011, the Panvalkars were the last people living in the decaying building. The 25 other tenants had left. The pipes leaked, and grime and dust covered the stairwells. In May, a small fire, blamed on a short circuit, shut down electricity for 45 days.
There was a time, Mr Panvalkar said, when he felt that they should leave the building. Again, his wife stood in the way and refused to budge.
"We lived and slept in the flat in the sweltering humidity and heat. Smita was overworked, doing the chores," he said.
When darkness fell in their heaving city, she would make food in the candlelight, and the family would sleep early. Ms Panvalkar, who was a diabetic, told a reporter that she was going without her medicines because the refrigerator was not working.
Mr Mehta told me there was "no pressure to evict the Panvalkars". He said the majority of tenants of the building had already moved out. "They [Panvalkars] were difficult tenants, but they could not have stalled the project," he said.
For the next six years, up until this June, the Panvalkars refused to budge, thwarting the demolition of the building. The planned luxury tower, Mr Mehta told me, ran into further problems: approvals were delayed and there were "regulatory issues". The project also ran foul of some existing building laws.
In 2013, Mr Trump moved on. Mr Mehta said they terminated the licensing deal with the tycoon as the project was stalled. "We had lost time and we had an amicable parting."
Mr Trump went ahead and tied up with another leading builder, Lodha Group, to build his branded tower.
Back at the building, life went on for its solitary occupants. Then tragedy struck. Last November, Ms Panvalkar died after suffering from a massive heart attack. "She had suffered from a lot of stress. She had diabetes and high blood pressure," Mr Panvalkar said.
"She was a quiet woman, but very determined. She was a fighter. I miss her a lot."
Smita Panvalkar had also put family before career. A trained textile designer, she had done freelance work at Mumbai's dwindling textile mills. She had taught in a school. After marriage, she had stopped working to bring up a family, and fought fiercely to stay in her home.
Mr Panvalkar said he continued to stay in the building to "honour Smita's commitment". He had filed more than a dozen right to information applications, lived without electricity, resisted three eviction orders from civic authorities, and fought in the courts.
In April last year, the Panvalkar finally moved out after reaching an agreement with Rohan Lifescapes who are now building a 22-storey apartment on the plot, a joint venture with another builder. The developers, he says, have agreed to provide him a 12th storey flat in the building when it's ready.
Finally, Mumbai will also have a 75-storey luxury Trump Tower in the Upper Worli neighbourhood. It will have more than 400 apartments and a private jet facility. Deliveries will begin in 2018. A spokesperson of the group told me that 57% of the apartments, costing between $1.35m and $3.75m (£1.09m and £3.04m) had been already sold in advance.
'Your real estate is unbelievably cheap," Mr Trump famously said, when he finally visited Mumbai, one of the world's most expensive property markets, in 2014. He had also probably never heard of Ms Panvalkar. | Five years ago, a 50-something woman living in a tumbledown 87-year-old building in Mumbai became the talk of the town for "standing up" to Donald Trump. | 37831883 |
A meeting of the health board on Tuesday heard that an "unprecedented" reduction in costs of about £100m may be needed over the next three years.
Plans to shift more resources to caring for people in their communities rather than in hospital are to be accelerated.
David Alston, the board's chairman, for NHS Highland to continue operating as it has been was "unsustainable".
On the plans to make savings, he told BBC Alba: "It is about there being less acute beds in acute hospitals because that those are not a good place for people to be and there needs to be a shift of resource from acute hospitals to primary care in the community.
"Each time we do a survey about a quarter of the people in an acute hospital don't need to be there."
Bosses at NHS Highland have said that Scottish government plans on health care offer "significant opportunities" to invest more in community care and also in reducing hospital bed blocking.
The potential scale of savings were set out in a report by NHS Highland's director of finance.
This year the health board is trying to make almost £29m of savings.
Next year the savings target more than doubles with the health authority having to cut another £50m from its budget to break even.
The report said: "Across the course of the next three financial years (2017-2020) the savings requirement is likely to be in the region of £100m.
"This is an unprecedented scale of savings requirement and it is clear that a 'more of the same' approach is not going to deliver a balanced plan and therefore the model of care needs to be changed." | NHS Highland has said that its current models of care delivered across its area needs to change quickly. | 38826682 |
Police Sergeant Mostafa Abdel Haseeb shot driver Mohamed Ismail, 25, in the head following the dispute in February.
He can appeal against the verdict issued by the Cairo criminal court.
The shooting fuelled public anger over alleged police brutality and lead to protests at the city's police headquarters.
The anger over the incident prompted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to announce a crackdown on police abuses.
Other high-profile cases include accusations that police officers beat two doctors at a Cairo hospital for refusing to falsify medical records.
And in February the body of a missing Italian graduate student was found on the outskirts of Cairo showing signs of torture. Activists said that Giulio Regeni's injuries bore the hallmarks of the Egyptian security services. The interior ministry denies any involvement.
Anger over perceived police excesses helped fuel the 2011 revolt that began on a Police Day holiday and ended with then-President Hosni Mubarak stepping down after 30 years in power. | An Egyptian policeman has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting dead a Cairo rickshaw driver during an argument over a fare. | 35951318 |
Dionne Clark's body was found at 22:22 BST at an address in Cornish Close on Saturday.
A man, 28, and a woman, 19, remain in custody. A 33-year-old woman has been released under investigation.
A 54-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
The two held on suspicion of murder who remain in custody have also been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
The death is currently being treated as "unexplained" after an initial post-mortem test was inconclusive.
See more stories from Coventry and Warwickshire here
A spokesperson from Warwickshire Police said inquiries were under way to establish exactly what occurred and further tests were being carried out to establish a cause of death. | Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a 27-year-old woman was found at a house in Nuneaton. | 40342268 |
It means millions of people are dying from treatable conditions such as appendicitis and obstructed labour.
Most live in low and middle-income countries.
The study suggests that 93% of people in sub-Saharan Africa cannot obtain basic surgical care.
Previous estimates have only looked at whether surgery was available.
But this research has also considered whether people can travel to facilities within two hours, whether the procedure will be safe, and whether patients can actually afford the treatment.
One of the study's authors, Andy Leather, director of the King's Centre for Global Health, said the situation was outrageous.
"People are dying and living with disabilities that could be avoided if they had good surgical treatment," he said.
"Also, more and more people are being pushed into poverty trying to access surgical care."
The study suggests a quarter of people who have an operation cannot in fact afford it.
Twenty-five experts spent a year and a half gathering evidence and testimony, from healthcare workers and patients, from more than 100 different countries as part of this report.
They are now calling for a greater focus on, and investment in, surgical care.
They say a third of all deaths in 2010 (16.9 million) were from conditions which were treatable with surgery.
That was more than the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
The authors suggest the cost to the global economy of doing nothing will be more than $12 trillion between now and 2030.
They are calling for a $420bn global investment.
These are enormous figures and - as is nearly always the case - the greatest need is in the poorest countries.
Source: The Lancet study
A key challenge is training enough surgeons, anaesthetists and obstetricians.
In higher income countries such as the UK, there are around 35 surgical specialists per 100,000 people, whereas in Bangladesh there are 1.7 per 100,000 population.
Lead author John Meara Kletjian, professor in global surgery at Harvard Medical School, said: "Although the scale-up costs are large, the costs of inaction are higher, and will accumulate progressively with delay."
"There is a pervasive misconception that the costs of providing safe and accessible surgery put it beyond the reach of any but the richest countries," he added.
Experts in the field say surgery is a basic and crucial health need that has been largely ignored by the global health community, with tragic consequences.
"The agenda has been so much focused on individual diseases and, because surgical care is spread across so many diseases, it's been missed off," said Andy Leather said.
"There's a myth there isn't a burden of surgical disease, that it's too costly and it's just for the urban elite."
London-based consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Shane Duffy, has recently returned from a surgical training camp in central Uganda.
There he has been teaching local doctors how to carry out very specialised 'fistula repair surgery'.
This is for women who have had obstructed labours.
Most sufferers lose their babies during child birth and are left with a damaged bladder, or bowels, which can leave them incontinent and rejected by their families.
"Unfortunately a lot of people have given up on the hospitals because they can't find surgeons there," said Dr Duffy.
"People are living in the community with debilitating conditions and they just can't find the skilled people to help them."
Source: The Lancet | Two-thirds of the world's population have no access to safe and affordable surgery, according to a new study in The Lancet - more than double the number in previous estimates. | 32452249 |
Captain McShane and USA international Williams had to be separated by team-mates in the 83rd minute of the game.
The incident was not seen by match official, but was caught on video. Both players have until Friday to respond.
Reading manager Brian McDermott has spoken to both players since the incident and taken disciplinary action.
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The Royals lost the game 2-1 to a late Adam Forshaw goal moments after Matej Vydra had missed a chance to win it for the visitors.
Speaking before the charges were confirmed, McDermott said his side must move on from the incident.
"Football is a high-octane game," he told BBC Radio Berkshire. "We all want to win and it's one of those things.
"It's a volatile situation when you lose in the last minute. We've had a chance to win the game and we don't take it.
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McDermott, who returned to Reading for a second spell as manager in December, refused to say he was "disappointed" in his players' actions.
"These things happen, we're all human beings," he said. "This is what life is about, there's a lot worse things going on.
"The boys will apologise. We know it's not right, but this is a sport where we're trying to get to that league above.
"It's happened and we have to deal with it the best way we can." | Reading players Paul McShane and Danny Williams have been charged with violent conduct by the FA following an on-pitch row in their defeat at Middlesbrough. | 36048146 |
It's not the first time the band have taken to the main stage, having made their debut at the event back in 2003.
"I can't stop thinking about playing at Reading & Leeds," said The Libertines frontman Pete Doherty.
"There is a great vibe in the band and we should be doing some new songs too. So it'll be the best Reading and Leeds ever," added band-mate Gary Powell.
The festival takes place on 28-30 August.
Mumford and Sons and Metallica have already been confirmed as the two other main stage headliners.
Mumford and Sons last appeared at Reading and Leeds on the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage five years ago.
The band have been working on their third album since February 2014.
Festival boss Melvin Benn announced another 50 acts that will perform for fans across the English bank holiday weekend.
They include Jamie XX, Gorgon City, Kendrick Lamar and The Maccabees.
"I really think we've got the ultimate line-up this year," Benn said.
"Where else can you see Kendrick Lamar on the same day as Deadmau5 and Years & Years, or Marmozets on the same day as Azealia Banks or Metallica, or All Time Low on the same day as Knife Party or Mumford & Sons."
Rebel Sound are another of the acts confirmed to play.
"The last time we played Reading and Leeds, the crowd were insane and we had to stop the set four times - there was so much energy," the group said.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | The Libertines have been announced as the final headliners for Reading and Leeds Festival 2015. | 31610310 |
Van Graan has previously worked alongside ex-Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer, who is one of the favourites to succeed sacked head coach Mike Ford.
Meyer left his South Africa post after the 2015 World Cup, but Van Graan retained a role with the national side.
Following Ford's departure on Monday, Bath said a "further announcement" was expected in due course.
However, they have yet to comment further. | Premiership club Bath are set to appoint South Africa assistant coach Johann van Graan in a coaching role. | 36341221 |
Once again, it has been a summer when Britain's sporting stars have done so much to delight. In Rio, second place in the medal table, 20 years after the Atlanta Olympics saw the nation finish 36th.
British athletes won 67 medals, more even than that giddy red, white and blue whirlwind in London four years ago.
They won gold medals in 15 different sports, a wider spread than any other nation - sitting-down sports, as the old gag goes, but also face down in watersports, fighting sports, multi-sports and running sports. On horseback, on wheels, off springboards and on pommels.
It has been a fortnight awash with not only first places but historical firsts. Never before has a Briton won a diving gold. Never before has a Briton won a gymnastics gold. Never before has any triathlete from anywhere retained an Olympic title.
Such is the unprecedented nature of so much of it, the merely dramatic barely gets a look-in. Adam Peaty became the first British male to win a swimming gold in 28 years, but when Max Whitlock and the pairing of Jack Laugher and Chris Mears are breaking hoodoos that have stretched back 130 years, the comparison is rendered unfair.
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This has been an Olympics when the cottage in Cheshire belonging to soon-to-be-married couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny would have sat 13th in the medal table on its own in the aftermath of their spectacular deeds in the velodrome, above Spain, Jamaica, Kenya and Brazil.
It has been a Games when a 58-year-old horse rider has won a gold, and a 16-year-old gymnast become a medallist.
When Amy Tinkler was born, Nick Skelton was six months from retirement. Here he became his country's oldest Olympic gold medallist since 61-year-old Jerry Millner 108 years ago, at an Olympics Tinkler probably thinks he can remember first hand.
With the freakish deeds came freakish stats; Skelton's triumph in the individual show jumping meant Britain's 57th medal had been won by a man born in 1957. With freakish stats came exceptional events: a penalty shootout was won, by the GB women's hockey team, when penalty shootouts are supposed to end only in tearful defeat.
There were new heroes to salute: goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, kayak single 200m sprint king Liam Heath, sailor Giles Scott. There were old favourites to hail once again: Andy Murray, Charlotte Dujardin, Mo Farah.
And that is only the Olympics, and a partial retelling of it too.
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Murray won a second Wimbledon men's singles title that was ultimately almost more comfortable than it was nerve-wracking. Danny Willett became the first Briton to win the Masters in 20 years.
And there are still four more months to come, weeks that will bring the Paralympics, a chance for the European team to hold the Ryder Cup for the ninth time in 11 stagings.
What sets these achievements apart is the effect they have on the nation. England rugby's first Grand Slam in 21 years and a clean sweep in the three-match away series in Australia were pleasures almost exclusively for the English. So too Northern Ireland's efforts in getting to the knockout stages of Euro 2016, or Wales' remarkable march to the semi-finals.
This is an unparalleled era to be competing under the Union flag.
A few years ago we had the miracle of a first male Wimbledon champion in 77 years, the rediscovery of the great lost ark of British sport. There was a first British Tour de France champion. Last year, Murray and his team-mates won the Davis Cup for the first time since tennis was played in slacks, Brylcreem and cable-knit pullovers.
That seemed quite enough. But we have moved on now to the age of multiples: Lewis Hamilton closing in on his third Formula One title in a row, Chris Froome winning his third Tour de France in four years, Nicola Adams - the first woman in history to win an Olympic boxing gold - becoming the first to retain one too.
There isn't much left except the America's Cup, and Sir Ben Ainslie is assembling a unit to have a crack at that too.
English football continues to fail on the international stage, but that has been happening for years, and may continue to happen for years to come. It sits in a cursed category of its own, so awash with money at club level that it can afford to price good but not great players at £50m but unable, amidst all the mercantile success, to produce home-grown talent to compete with even the supposed minnows.
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The only fear is the country might somehow start taking it all for granted.
Thirty-sixth in the medal table in 1996, 10th in Sydney 2000 and again in Athens, fourth to wild celebration in Beijing 2008, third in London, second here in Rio. At some stage it will stop being such a surprise, even though the lessons of the lean years that preceded this golden run suggest it should not.
There was a time when sports fans could name all the British gold medallists at an Olympics. A two-year-old child could have done so for Atlanta, since 'Redgrave and Pinsent' are hardly the most testing words to recall.
Now? Lots would get most, but only a few would get the full set.
So it is with the honours governments may dish out. Kenny can have six golds in his sock drawer and not be certain of a knighthood. Farah has won nine global track titles in a row and is not yet a sir.
Sports Personality of the Year? Good luck with whittling it down to the traditional shortlist of 10, let alone choosing your winner. A special time, at least until the next Olympic cycle tops it again. | Ambassadors, you are spoiling us. | 37149822 |
Almost 100 mergers have taken place since the beginning of the century. The European University Association (EUA), representing universities in 47 countries, is mapping this changing landscape with an interactive merger map.
And the pace is accelerating, with eight super-universities or clusters identified in 2012; 12 in 2013 and 14 in 2014.
So what's driving the merger mania?
Is it a way of climbing world university rankings by concentrating the best brains and resources to attract more students and bigger research grants?
Or is it a way of responding to funding cuts?
Thomas Estermann, director for governance, funding and public policy development at the EUA, says bigger numbers of staff and students give these super-universities more clout.
Bigger universities can gain higher profiles and boost global reputations, he says.
Mergers are also a way of "streamlining" and reducing duplication.
In some cases it will be a way of coping with a demographic decline of young people.
The EUA says mergers gathered pace from 2005 onwards, with Denmark and Estonia being the early trendsetters.
More stories from the BBC's Knowledge economy series looking at education from a global perspective and how to get in touch
Estonia cut its number of higher education institutions from 41 to 29 between 2000-2012. The University of Tallin in the country's capital capital absorbed eight smaller institutes and colleges.
In Denmark, the number of universities was reduced from 12 to eight and government research centres integrated into the university sector.
France now leads the way with mergers with a government-inspired initiative to gather universities and research centres into umbrella-like communities - "communes" - and then to consider full mergers.
One of the biggest amalgamations, the Paris-Saclay "federal university", includes the highly-ranked Ecole Polytechnique, the HEC business school and Universite Paris-Sud.
This has the explicit aim of creating a institution which will be in the top 10 of global rankings.
Now it looks like Paris will go one step further, following successful university mergers in Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Marseille.
In the heart of the Latin Quarter, two of the French capital's most prestigious institutions - Paris-Sorbonne and Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC) Universities - are planning to recreate the spirit of the old unified University of Paris which was torn apart after the student riots of 1968.
Back then, the French government allowed the University of Paris - one of the oldest in the world, founded around 1150 - to split into 13 autonomous universities along faculty lines, often referred to as Paris 1, 2, 3 and so on up to 13.
Professor Jean Chambaz, president of UPMC - Paris 6 - said: "One of the limitations of French universities came about 40 years ago when they separated along disciplinary lines.
"One had all sciences, another only the humanities, another just law and economics.
"We were the science and medical faculties of the Sorbonne, of the University of Paris, before the split in 1970."
"Today UPMC's focus is science, engineering and medicine; at Paris-Sorbonne it is arts and humanities. But to address the challenges of the world, we need to build a comprehensive university containing all these disciplines.
"At the moment in Paris, we don't have mergers, but autonomous institutions working in partnership, like our own Sorbonne University group, which includes research centres, the private INSEAD business school, as well as Paris-Sorbonne, UPMC and some other institutions.
"In February, we will have elections for presidents and boards of both Paris-Sorbonne and UPMC. Providing the new members agree, we will press ahead with a full merger and create the new university by 1 January 2018.
"In some ways we are recreating the old Sorbonne, but in the 21st Century."
Professor Barthelemy Jobert, president of Paris-Sorbonne University - Paris 4 - is enthusiastic about creating a powerful global research university covering all disciplines and capable of rivalling the best in the world.
"Success will be creating a new model of a global university in France, with independent autonomous faculties as well as a presidency who will speak for the whole university."
The French government favours such mergers, but is leaving it to the universities to decide.
Professors Jobert and Chambaz see eye-to-eye on the merger, but say it is vital to win support from academics, technical and administrative staff and students.
Prof Chambaz says they are learning from other European examples of successful government-backed mergers, such as Germany's Karlsruhe University and Karlsruhe Research Centre merging into Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
With the goal of repeating the success of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, KIT has increased student numbers by 20% since 2009 and concentrated research on fields such as energy and mobility.
It enjoyed a 50% boost to research income between 2009 and 2013.
The new Aalto University in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, had government backing to combine institutions.
Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki University of Technology and the University of Arts and Design, Helsinki were merged, with the aim of turbo-charging Finland's higher education system.
It wanted to tackle the relative poor performance of Finland's universities, compared with the country's top ratings at school level in the Pisa test rankings.
"The new university was designed to put innovation and impact on the knowledge economy at the heart of things," said Aalto's vice president, Hannu Seristo.
And the new bigger university climbed almost 50 places in this year's QS rankings.
But not all mergers are so enthusiastically supported by government.
The University of Lisbon and Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, had to "actively convince" public authorities to secure approval to merge into Universidade de Lisboa and justify the costs involved.
And that's just the point, says Mr Estermann. "Mergers need a lot of time and energy to be successful. Saving money should not be the main reason to merge as return on investment can take a long time.
"They shouldn't be forced. We're talking about autonomous institutions and not a company takeover." | Universities across Europe are talking about merging or forming alliances like never before. | 34902884 |
Narraway, 32, who joined the Exiles in 2014 from then French Top 14 side Perpignan, has made 45 appearances and captained the side this season.
Capped seven times by England, his last international appearance came against Ireland in the 2009 Six Nations.
"I'm proud to be committing myself to the future of the club, whatever that might look like," Narraway said. | London Irish back row forward Luke Narraway has signed a one-year contract extension with the club. | 36102620 |
The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is run by celebrated financier and Pimco co-founder Bill Gross, who has been interviewed by US authorities, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Pimco Total Return ETF has grown rapidly in the past couple of years.
Pimco said the investigation was a "private matter" and that its pricing procedures were "entirely appropriate".
The Californian firm confirmed it had been co-operating with the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the investigation had been going on for months and concerned the manner in which Pimco purchased and valued certain bonds.
The company, widely considered to be the world's biggest bond manager, was set up in 1971, and acquired by insurance giant Allianz in 2000.
Shares in Allianz have fallen slightly following news of the SEC investigation. | A fund run by investment firm Pimco is being investigated over allegations that managers inflated returns. | 29342298 |
A Belgian anti-terrorism source told the BBC the Athens operation planned to target Abaaoud before anti-terror raids in Belgium, but that did not happen.
Abaaoud had been directing the Belgian cell by phone from Athens.
Abaaoud died in a battle with French police five days after the 13 November Paris attacks that killed 130 people.
The Greek operation was supposed to have taken place before the one carried out by security forces in Verviers, eastern Belgium, on 15 January. That raid saw an exchange of fire that left two suspected jihadists dead.
Who were the Paris attackers?
Profile: Abdelhamid Abaaoud
Greek authorities were on Abaaoud's trail, believing him to be running the Belgian cell by mobile phone from Athens.
Anti-terror sources told the BBC that a senior Belgian police officer was in Athens co-ordinating the hunt for Abaaoud with his Greek counterparts before the raid on the Verviers cell.
It remains unclear why or how Abaaoud slipped through the Greek net. There may have been an attempt to track him down to a city centre square by tracing the signal of his mobile phone. But that did not work.
The Greek authorities are not confirming any details - all that is known is that he got away.
Greek police only carried out raids in Athens two days after Verviers, on 17 January.
Earlier that day Belgian media had reported that authorities there were seeking Abaaoud, a Brussels resident of Moroccan origin, who was believed to be in hiding in Greece.
Greek police raided two flats in Athens.
One Algerian man was eventually extradited to Belgium but Abaaoud was not to be found.
It is now known that traces of DNA recovered in both flats match samples recovered from Abaaoud's body in Paris.
A neighbour at one of the flats, Vasilis Katsanos, said he had seen Abdelhamid Abaaoud in the street outside on at least two occasions.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been implicated in four out of six foiled attacks since this spring in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said.
Abaaoud is not the only link between Greece and the Paris attacks.
Salah Abdeslam - who is still on the run - travelled to Greece by ferry from Italy on 1 August, leaving three days later.
And two of the suicide bombers who attacked the Stade de France crossed by boat from Turkey to the island of Leros in October, posing as refugees.
Much of the detail that has emerged in Athens raises questions about how to create a better exchange of information and closer cooperation between anti-terrorism authorities in different European countries.
But the link with Abaaoud is also a what-might-have-been.
If he had been captured in Athens in January, the attacks in Paris might never have taken place. | Greek police tried to capture the suspected ringleader of the Paris terror attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, in January but the operation failed. | 35044182 |
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