document stringlengths 0 174k | summary stringlengths 1 399 | id stringlengths 8 8 |
|---|---|---|
Fitton, twice a Lakeside semi-finalist, missed six match darts before Harbour hit double six to reach the last 16.
Three-time runner-up Tony O'Shea is also out, beaten 3-0 by Welsh 12th seed Jim Williams in the tournament's opening match.
It is the third year running that unseeded O'Shea has lost in round one.
Craig Caldwell of New Zealand will play the defending men's champion, England's Scott Mitchell, in round one on Sunday after the Kiwi thrower beat Scotland's Alan Soutar 3-1 in a preliminary-round match.
Middlesbrough's Glen Durrant, the number one seed, faces Welshman Dean Reynolds in the final game of Saturday's evening session.
In the women's draw, reigning women's champion Lisa Ashton made it safely through to the last eight.
The 45-year-old from Bolton dropped just one leg in her 2-0 win over England's Paula Jacklin as she began her quest for a third consecutive women's world title.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Seventh seed Darryl Fitton is out of the BDO World Championships, losing his first-round tie to fellow Englishman Dennis Harbour in a sudden-death leg. | 35214368 |
The 19-year-old, who has agreed a three-and-a-half year deal, will return to the League One side on loan for the remainder of the season.
Canaries manager Alex Neil said: "We're delighted to sign James as he is a fantastic prospect."
Maddison made his debut for Coventry in 2014 and has gone on to make another 30 appearances for the club.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Norwich City have signed midfielder James Maddison from Coventry City for an undisclosed fee. | 35467045 |
The bomb damage diagrams are aerial photographs of Berlin, Cologne and Dresden, overlaid with coloured areas indicating how much damage was caused by the strategic bombing campaign.
They were included in the campaign's so-called Blue Books - used as propaganda to justify the bombing raids.
The maps, held in the Imperial War Museum's archives, have been collated by military cartography historian Peter Chasseaud.
On the following four maps, colour coding is used:
Numbers are used to mark buildings of interest like key factories, German ministries and the Gestapo headquarters.
Almost half of the 125,000 Bomber Command lost their lives, and their military commanders' policy of large-scale area bombing near the end of the war has long drawn criticism.
The young volunteers of Bomber Command destroyed German cities with several "thousand-bomber raids", killing between 300,000 and 600,000 civilians.
This aerial image of Cologne is from November 1944. The area to the west of the river, almost all coloured in dark blue, indicates the city centre.
Cologne had been the target of Britain's first "thousand bomber raid" on 30 May 1942.
"By this point, Cologne had been bombed many times," said Dr Chasseaud. "This image shows the result of many raids."
Studying the aerial photographs showed how much of the city had been destroyed - for example, if a shadow could be seen inside a wall, that meant its roof had collapsed.
Showing the most densely populated areas also indicated potential future targets.
The two images of Berlin show how much the city had suffered during World War Two.
The first shows north west Berlin in December 1943, with the second image depicting north east Berlin in March 1945.
The raids - carried out by the United States Army Air Forces by day and the RAF at night - had become increasingly destructive from 1943 onwards.
This Blue Book image shows Dresden in March 1945, just months before the end of the war. The city centre can be seen south of the river - largely in blue.
Dresden had been heavily raided the previous month, on 13 and 14 February, with more than 1,000 planes involved.
Some 25,000 people were killed in a firestorm and 75,000 of its 220,000 homes were destroyed.
British fire hazard maps, which show the areas of Berlin and Hamburg most susceptible to fire, are also being published for the first time.
This 1944 map of Hamburg was produced to show which areas of the city would burn the most easily, said Dr Chasseaud.
The fire hazard maps are coded red, for areas of high flammability, pink, for areas of medium flammability and purple, showing industrial areas and docklands.
Areas that have already been destroyed are left blank and again, numbers are used to mark buildings of special interest.
There are fewer areas in red on the Berlin fire hazard map, dating back to 1944, as it wasn't considered as easy to burn as some other cities, like Hamburg (above), said Dr Chasseaud.
This is because it wasn't a medieval wooden city, its buildings were not as close together and the centre of the city was more spacious than some others.
Dr Chasseaud explained: "I think it's important that maps like these, showing a very controversial episode from the war, notably the strategic bombing campaign, are in the open.
"There was a lot of opposition to the strategic bombing of Germany and debates fought in Parliament, and it's worth remembering that even during the war, people were speaking out against government policy and 'carpet bombing' in particular. There were huge civilian areas being targeted."
So-called carpet bombing - widespread bombing attacks - by the Allies became policy in 1942 after they decided that bombing a whole city was more effective than a more targeted approach.
Dr Chasseaud said there was a real "moral dilemma" over bombing civilian targets - adding this was a dilemma that remains today. Pinpoint bombing was seen as a "diversion" by Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris, head of Bomber Command.
"His main aim was to break the civilian population and bring war to an end that way," he said. "But he was wrong. Civilian morale never cracked, as it never did in the UK.
"It's quite clear from these maps that Bomber Harris had his own private agenda and was very keen to propagandise on his own behalf, and that of Bomber Command."
Dr Chasseaud stressed that the casualties from Bomber Command "should never be forgotten", along with the casualties in Germany - which were "even worse".
The Blue Books held by the Imperial War Museum were owned by the British Joint Staff Mission in Washington DC, who had been responsible for handling copies destined for then US President Franklin D Roosevelt.
Only a small number of the books, which were intended to show how effective the RAF campaign was compared with their counterparts in the US, were ever produced.
More than 150 maps from the Imperial War Museum are being published in Dr Chasseaud's book, Mapping the Second World War, published by Collins on 8 October. | The scale of devastation wreaked on Germany by RAF Bomber Command in World War Two has been revealed in detail in rare maps, published for the first time. | 34467543 |
On Wednesday the US warned of a "credible" terrorism risk to international flights, without revealing the specifics of the threat.
The UK and Germany are among those who have complied with the request.
On Thursday security was increased in Uganda's capital Kampala following a "specific threat" to its airport.
France's civil aviation authority, DGAC, said the enhanced screening "will be carried out in a way to limit as much as possible inconvenience to passengers".
It warned however that "delays are possible".
A DGAC spokesman said "we cannot divulge the added measures" being taken.
Dozens of direct flights from France to the US are believed to be affected. Officials are recommending passengers arrive at airports early to allow time for screening.
On Thursday the UK said that it too would increase checks because of an "evolving threat" but said people should travel as usual.
A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said on Wednesday the requests were in response to a "real-time" and "credible" threat, but that he could not comment on specific intelligence matters.
Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
This new increased threat warning has been triggered by a fear amongst western intelligence agencies that some of al-Qaeda's sophisticated bomb-making expertise has proliferated out of Yemen to Syria.
For the last five years jihadists in Yemen have been working on so-called "artfully-concealed devices" - hard-to-detect explosives that contain no metal and emit only a faint vapour.
Three times now they have been able to smuggle these onto international flights. Only one exploded, killing the man carrying it but nobody else, after the plane landed.
There is equipment in place to detect such devices at most major UK airports but it is not used on every passenger.
What is alarming the US Department for Homeland Security is the possibility that jihadists with European passports are now in Syria, learning how to construct such devices before returning home.
US officials believe Islamist terrorists are developing bombs that could evade routine checks.
The US is concerned that al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria and Yemen are working together to try to design such a bomb.
Ugandan authorities said that the security operation in Kampala was in response to a "specific threat" to the city's main airport.
The US warned its citizens to "review plans" to travel through Entebbe International Airport following advice from the Ugandan police force. | France has become the latest country to increase airport security in line with a request from Washington to enhance screening for flights to the US. | 28157028 |
Wenger provoked the Blues boss this week, saying: "It is easy to defend."
Mourinho retorted by mentioning Arsenal's Champions League last-16 exit in February, saying: "It's not easy. If it was easy, you wouldn't lose 3-1 at home to Monaco."
The sides face each other in the Premier League on Sunday.
Chelsea are 10 points clear at the top with six games remaining, and they will be champions if they beat Arsenal and Leicester in their next two matches.
The second-placed Gunners, meanwhile, have won their last eight league games.
Wenger and Mourinho clashed in last year's meeting at Stamford Bridge but the Blues boss played down their rivalry before their trip to the Emirates.
Mourinho said: "For me, he is not my rival. He is the manager of a big club in the same city where I work. It is a big club with the same objectives we have."
Mourinho said his relationship with Wenger was the same as he had experienced at previous clubs.
He added: "It is no different from when I was at Inter with the Milan manager, at Real with the Atletico manager, or Porto with Benfica. It was the same."
Mourinho called Wenger a "voyeur" in 2005 over comments the Frenchman had made about events at Stamford Bridge and last year described Wenger as a "specialist in failure".
Mourinho believes former Arsenal favourite Cesc Fabregas will receive a good reception on his return to his old club.
The 27-year-old midfielder joined the Blues from Barcelona in the summer.
"I'm not worried," said Mourinho. "Frank Lampard played for Manchester City at Stamford Bridge without any problem and with a good reception."
Fabregas had the option of returning to Arsenal when he left the Nou Camp.
"I know why he chose Chelsea, not why he didn't choose Arsenal," said Mourinho. "I can only talk about what we promised him, not his time at Arsenal or what stopped him going back.
"We promised him we would build a team adapted to his style of play and he would be an important part of our project."
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard, who signed a new five-year contract in February, was this week praised by Real Madrid assistant manager Zinedine Zidane.
But Mourinho is confident the 24-year-old Belgium international, who is favourite for the players' player of the year award, will stay.
"He just signed a new contract," said the Portuguese. "We didn't put a gun to his head. He likes Chelsea. He likes the league and he has made a commitment to that.
"I don't think he is interested in going."
Media playback is not supported on this device | Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has retaliated after his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger questioned his side's defensive tactics. | 32444996 |
Graham Keddie recently called for better promotion of the airport by Tourism Ireland.
He is one of six new NIrepresentatives nominated to the cross-border body by DUP Economy Minister Simon Hamilton.
Mr Keddie raised issues about Tourism Ireland in a letter to Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny.
In a letter to Mr Kenny, written in October, Mr Keddie called for "fairness and equality" in the marketing of Northern Ireland.
On Tuesday, Mr Hamilton told the Northern Ireland Assembly he agreed with Mr Keddie's observations.
Tourism Ireland was set up under the Good Friday Agreement to promote the entire island to potential overseas visitors.
The DUP has been critical of it for some time and previously threatened to look at the funding it receives.
The appointments are likely to be confirmed in the near future.
It is believed they will also include DUP councillor Trevor Clarke, who runs a hotel, and Kathryn Thompson, chief executive of National Museums NI.
She formerly worked at Tourism NI, whose current chief executive, John McGrillen, is also expected to join the board.
Overseas visitor numbers to Northern Ireland have been improving.
They rose by 9% in the 12 months to June to more than 2m with Tourism Ireland seeing itself as deserving at least some of the credit. | The boss of Belfast International Airport is to be appointed to the board of Tourism Ireland - just weeks after he criticised the organisation. | 38229228 |
Calum Kerr said "every effort to explore any avenue" had been made to keep Burgons of Eyemouth open.
The company started consultation over plans to close the facility last month.
Spokesman Trevor Bartlett said negotiations with potential buyers had been ongoing and would continue for as long as possible.
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP Mr Kerr said: "Unfortunately it does seem that despite discussions with the Scottish government, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Borders Council and myself, the plant is going to shut."
He said the company "clearly felt it had to act to prevent further losses and possible insolvency".
He pledged to "pull all the stops out" to help workers set to be made redundant.
During attempts to save the factory, Mr Kerr managed to find savings of about £30,000-a-year with local farmers willing to use empty crab shells as fertiliser rather than the firm sending the shells to landfill.
"It would have been a helpful saving but unfortunately and despite all our efforts, it came too late," he said.
"The loss of Burgons is a severe blow to Eyemouth.
"We now need to do everything we can to make sure that these skilled and committed workers find new employment, hopefully locally and as quickly as possible."
Mr Bartlett said it was grateful to Mr Kerr for his efforts towards seeking ways of keeping the business alive.
"Unfortunately, though, there have been too many other reasons for the losses which have been supported by the parent company for three years, preventing its growth, so it has been with great reluctance that we have made this decision," he said.
"As the only company to offer continued employment when the previous owners were looking to sell, we feel we have done our best for the workforce and are confident that the employment opportunities are far better now than they were three years ago and we wish all the staff well as they seek other work." | An MP has said efforts to save a crab meat factory which employs more than 80 staff in the Scottish Borders have proved to be "in vain". | 34983087 |
More than 40 of the figurines were smashed and strewn across the track at Echills Wood Railway in Warwickshire.
The "gnome village" is a centrepiece of the family attraction, which is part of Kingsbury Water Park.
Dozens of people who were moved by the story have offered to donate replacements after staff at the park shared the news on Facebook.
A post about the attack - showing a picture of the damage - has been seen by thousands of people and shared hundreds of times online.
Signs and a crocodile head were also damaged when the attraction was targeted on Saturday.
Staff at the park said the response from the public to news of the "massacre" had been overwhelming.
"It's been quite profound. Who knew gnomes could be so emotive?" said Kingsbury Water Park countryside ranger Rachel Hextall.
Helen Perkins posted: "Oh no my two children love the gnome village. What the hell is wrong with some people????!!! This makes me so cross. Next time we come we will be sure to donate a gnome xxxx."
And Faye Nethercot added: "Vile, vicious vandals! So so upsetting. I hope you're able together with the generosity of the public to replenish and remake a beaut lil (sic) gnome village once more."
Warwickshire Police said it received a report of criminal damage being caused to signs, steelworks and a "significant number of ornamental gnomes".
It said the incident was believed to have happened between 21:00 BST on 8 September and 09:00 on 9 September, when an unknown offender or offenders gained access to the site. | Vandals broke into a miniature railway and "massacred" dozens of its trademark gnomes. | 37439825 |
The pair - namely Joe Root and Gary Ballance - are proud products of the Yorkshire academy and now lynchpins of the England Test batting line-up.
Born one year and 5,000 miles apart - Root, 23, in a middle-class village outside Sheffield, Ballance, 24, on a tobacco farm in Zimbabwe - it was at Yorkshire that the paths of these two batting prodigies intertwined.
During a year as housemates, they ate takeaways, caught each other out with practical jokes and honed the skills that would take them to the very top.
In the gap between the international season and their triumphant return to the county ranks, BBC Sport sat down with the pair to reflect on their remarkable rise.
Ballance left Zimbabwe as a 16-year-old in 2006 to take up a sports scholarship with Harrow in England. In between his studies he played enough games for Derbyshire to encourage Yorkshire to sign him on an academy contract the following year.
At the same academy Root was already establishing himself as one of the country's brightest batting prospects.
"We had a few games for the second team and then on the weekend we used to play for the academy in the Yorkshire League," explains Ballance. "We opened the batting together and got on quite well. I couldn't afford a car so I used to get Rooty to pick me up every Saturday morning. I think I owe him a few lifts."
"He was never on time," interjects Root. "I was always banging down the door.
"But it's always nice when you go through the academy, second team and first team stages with guys you have played with for a long time.
"We know each other's games well, enjoy each other's company and now, to be able to do that at international level, is great. You obviously make friends within the side from other parts of the country but to have familiar faces around is sometimes really reassuring when times are hard."
Despite his choir-boy looks, Root soon earned himself a reputation for mischief in the Yorkshire dressing-room, much to the chagrin of some of the team's older campaigners.
"When I arrived, there were lots of tales about 'the Yorkshire Snipper', who used to cut up people's clothes," says Ballance.
"He disappeared for about five years then turned up again. People were pulling up their socks and they were coming up to their knees. Rooty being a practical joker, everyone thought it had to be him."
Root grins knowingly, then adds: "The worst one was when I did it to (veteran fast bowler) Ryan Sidebottom after dropping two catches off him. At the end of the day's play he was sitting next to me in the dressing-room and was already absolutely furious.
"Then he got out of the shower, pulled his first sock on right up to the top of his thigh and just blew up. All the lads were trying not to look at him and laugh. I just knew I had to get out of there or I would be in a bit of pain."
By 2011, Root and Ballance were both established in the Yorkshire top six, two of the stronger performers in a side that was relegated from Division One of the Championship.
By then, they were also housemates in a village near Bradford called Idle. An appropriate name for two young lads with limited domestic skills? It depends on who you ask.
Ballance: "I had one go-to meal which was steak, eggs and chips. But Rooty did a bit more of the cooking than me. I would do the dishes and the housework."
Root: "That's not true. He's the messy one."
Ballance: "He says I'm messy but he's a bit OCD when it comes to cleaning. That's perfect for me because I could leave the house how I wanted it and turn up the next day and Rooty had cleaned it."
Root: "I cooked now and then. Spicy prawns was my speciality. But there were plenty of takeaways as well.
"At the end of the 2012 season, Yorkshire sat us both down and told us that we'd obviously both done well this year but if we had any aspirations of playing international cricket, we were going to have to move out. We weren't eating the right things and had started to put on a bit of weight.
"Within six months of moving out, I was playing for England, and a year later so was Gary, so it seems to be the right decision."
At the end of the 2012 summer, Root was called up for England's tour of India. Drafted in for the final Test in Nagpur 17 days before his 22nd birthday, he played the sixth-longest debut innings in terms of balls faced, scoring 73 from 229 balls, to help England secure their first series victory in India for 27 years.
After making his maiden century against New Zealand on his home ground the following summer, he scored 180 against Australia at Lord's during an otherwise difficult home Ashes series.
Like most of his team-mates, Root's form deserted him during the disastrous Ashes whitewash down under in 2013-14. Asked to bat at number three following Jonathan Trott's departure, he scored only one fifty in eight innings.
When he was then dropped for the final Test in Sydney, it was Ballance who took his place.
"You always want to play but I wasn't scoring the runs that I had been," says Root. "It was nice to know there was someone coming in who I knew was going to be up for it.
"It was a little bit bittersweet, but to see a mate who had come up with me through the academy and second team now playing for England was a proud moment. I enjoyed watching him play, although not so much when Mitchell Johnson rearranged his face."
"You laughed your head off when that happened," Ballance retorts.
"I had mixed feelings about replacing Rooty, but that's what sport's about. It was strange because in the one-dayers he took my spot for the final game. After that tour we said to each other 'let's try to get into this team together'. Luckily that's what has happened."
Handed the number three slot for the start of the 2014 Test summer, and with Root now batting at five, Ballance announced his arrival with a brilliant maiden hundred at Lord's against Sri Lanka.
He was soon making headlines for different reasons, however, when pictures of him shirtless in a Nottingham nightclub in the aftermath of the draw with India at Trent Bridge were splashed across the tabloids.
Root had experienced unwanted attention of his own the previous summer when his face met the fist of Australia batsman David Warner in a Birmingham bar. So, could Ballance count on some sympathy and understanding from his mate?
"He thought it was brilliant," says Ballance. "I think I'd played a joke on him earlier in the day so when that came out he laughed for several days straight.
"It's something I can laugh about now even if it wasn't a great feeling at the time. But everyone that really mattered, like family and team-mates were behind me. That night Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Rooty took me out for some food and told me it would be fine. I appreciated that."
"It's very funny looking back on it," admits Root. "I'm surprised the photo was so flattering to be honest.
"I'm not saying everyone needs to go through something like that but the Warner thing has definitely helped me going forward. To have the experience behind me of dealing with that pressure early in my international career has definitely helped and I'm sure it will be the same for Gary."
Ballance's brush with tabloid notoriety did not disrupt his form as both he and Root played huge roles in England's Test revival. Cook's side failed to win any of the first four matches of the summer but recovered to thrash India in the last three and take the series 3-1.
Root and Ballance scored three centuries apiece against Sri Lanka and India and topped the England batting averages in both series, suggesting they will be mainstays in the middle order for years to come.
"A summer that started off tough ended up being brilliant," says Ballance. "Just winning the series against India was the highlight. Walking around The Oval after the final Test had been won will live long in the memory."
"We had gone a long time without winning a game so it was great to get that momentum back," adds Root. "After all the hard work we'd put in all summer it all came together and that relief when we won the series was huge.
"The whole squad had played a part in doing that. It wasn't just one or two players leading the way, it was everyone making a contribution."
Although England's season tailed off with a heavy defeat by India in the one-day series, Root and Ballance finished it on a high by returning to their spiritual home to play a part in Yorkshire's coronation as county champions.
With Root captaining the side in the absence of the suspended Andrew Gale, Yorkshire thrashed their closest rivals Nottinghamshire by an innings and 152 runs at Trent Bridge to take the title with a match to spare.
For Root and Ballance, it was a chance to return to what Root calls his "family" and share in the culmination of something they had worked towards as youngsters.
It will also give them ammunition for England's winter tours.
"We've been following it all year on our phones with England and there's been a lot of banter," says Root. "For example, Cookie. With Essex playing in the second division it's nice to be in a position where we have bragging rights."
Following Yorkshire's final match of the season against Somerset, Ballance and Root will take advantage of a rare break in the international calendar before - selection permitting - heading out to Sri Lanka in November for a one-day series that represents crucial preparation for next year's World Cup.
Although they now live in different cities in Yorkshire - Root in Sheffield, Ballance in Leeds - the repartee that marked their time as housemates remains in force.
"We still find a way to prank each other every now and again," says Ballance. "Just a few little ones to keep things ticking over."
"I have the lads round for a barbecue from time to time," says Root. "Gaz gets the call maybe one in five times." | As Yorkshire's players piled up on the Trent Bridge outfield to celebrate the county's first championship title since 2001, two faces may well have been familiar to even the casual cricket fan. | 29133197 |
In a letter with Bexhill and Battle MP Huw Merriman, the Hastings and Rye MP said constituents would otherwise face higher costs and longer journeys.
They also expressed disappointment about the lack of reinstatement of the emergency timetable across Sussex.
RMT members are due to stage a 48-hour strike on 7 and 8 September.
The rail union is fighting moves to turn conductors on Southern into "on-board supervisors", with drivers taking over responsibility for opening and closing carriage doors.
The union has said it has concerns over safety and job cuts, but the company began imposing the changes earlier in August.
In their letter to the managing director of Southern rail, Charles Horton, the MPs said the industrial action was "regretted in circumstances where the RMT have been offered guarantees on jobs and pay".
Ms Rudd and Mr Merriman said bus replacement services would "minimise the impact" of next week's strike.
"A failure to provide a bus replacement service sends out the signal that constituents closer to the coast are not treated with the same sense of urgency as those closer to London.
"This has already been exacerbated by the news this week that certain services which had been subject to the temporary timetable have been returned to normal in south London and Surrey but not in Sussex," they said.
The MPs went on to point out that their constituents, unlike other parts of the network, would not be able "to enjoy the benefits of the new driver-operated trains", and were suffering "more detriment than others".
Mr Merriman later told BBC South East that he had received "a communication" from Southern saying the timetable to the coastal routes in Sussex would be reinstated "within weeks".
The operator introduced a reduced service in July after months of delays and cancellations, which it blamed on "unprecedented" staff sickness. | Home Secretary Amber Rudd has written to Southern rail calling for "adequate" bus replacement services to be provided in Sussex during the next RMT strike. | 37239187 |
In West Lothian they can receive up to £110 per child, while in North Ayrshire it is a maximum of £40.
Last year, the Scottish government pledged to meet councils over setting a minimum level but it never happened.
Education secretary John Swinney has now said he wants a voluntary agreement for councils to set a nationwide rate.
Mr Swinney said there would be a range of views on the minimum rate but suggested it "should probably be set about £70".
That was the amount proposed by a Scottish government working group in 2009.
Eight years later, just 10 of the 32 councils have met that recommendation.
The average clothing grant for eligible parents is now £63.80.
Research by campaign group The Poverty Truth Commission suggested the actual cost of kitting out a child for school was £129.50, even when shopping at supermarkets and bargain stores.
Mr Swinney told BBC Scotland the Scottish government had the power to set a minimum rate but he thought "dialogue" with the local councils was the best way to achieve it.
Local government body Cosla refused to speak to BBC Scotland on-camera but issued a statement saying they would be keen to meet to discuss Mr Swinney's proposal and "to find out what additional money he is prepared to offer to facilitate such an agreement".
The 1980 Education Act stipulates that local authorities must make provision for the clothing of pupils who would otherwise be unable to afford schoolwear.
Councils, rather than the Scottish government, are responsible for deciding the eligibility criteria, the grant amount and application process.
In 2015, when BBC Scotland first carried out the survey, the majority of Scotland's 32 councils had failed to increase the level of school clothing grants for more than a decade.
In the two years since, just eight of Scotland's 32 local council areas have increased their grants.
Seventeen councils have not increased the rate in more than a decade.
In 2005, the average secondary school grant was £50.09. More than a decade later, 13 councils still pay less than that amount.
The average maximum grant offered by councils is now £63.80, still well short of the £70 minimum recommended in 2009.
The lowest maximum grant levels were in North Ayrshire (£40), Moray (£45), and the Scottish Borders (£45).
While some councils paid almost double the amount offered by the lowest, such as West Lothian (£110), Dundee (£100), East Ayrshire (£100), West Dunbartonshire (£100) Highland (£90) and Inverclyde (£90).
Angus Council had the lowest rate in 2015, having reduced it to just £20. It has since raised the grant to £50, the same as it was in 2005.
Mother-of-three Jackie says she has not yet received her grant from Glasgow City Council and is worried about not being able to afford new clothes before her children go back to school next week.
She says her partner works in a low-paid job and she is out of work so the council's grant to buy school clothing is important to her.
"I really need the uniform grant and I haven't received it this year because of an admin mistake because they're changing the system," she says.
"So it's becoming really stressful for me. I'm having to run out on very little money and try to buy last-minute things and use things from last year on the first week."
Jackie says: "It's important how your kids look when they go into school. People who are struggling don't want to look like they're struggling.
"For the first week, I feel as though I'm going to be sending my kids in rags, basically."
Jackie says she can't see why the grant is not a standard amount wherever you are in the country and she thinks it should be higher than the £52 Glasgow offers.
She says: "The bar should be set a lot higher - it should be more than £100 at least - definitely.
"Things just cost too much - for a badged polo shift dress it can be as much as £12 to £15, the last time I looked at the prices - and that's just for one. Realistically you would need five each."
"I have to try to hide my stress from the kids. I don't want them to pick up on it. I want them to go in feeling like they have a brand new uniform.
"I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get their hair cut by the time they go back. I'm just going to have to gel it for the first week and hope that it looks respectable enough.
"It's very stressful and it's very upsetting at times."
After pressure from anti-poverty campaigners at the start of the last school year, Mr Swinney, the deputy first minister, promised to meet Cosla to discuss the school clothing grant and agree eligibility criteria and a minimum grant level.
He said this would ensure those families across Scotland who need support receive it.
That meeting did not take place.
Mr Swinney has now told BBC Scotland: "The Scottish government took steps in legislation to establish the power to set a minimum rate - but we judged the most appropriate way to take that forward was by dialogue with local authorities to avoid regulation in this respect."
He said: "The government would prefer to take forward a voluntary approach with local government but we have the power within legislation to establish that minimum level if we choose to do so."
Mr Swinney added: "The evidence that has been looked at suggests that the minimum level for the clothing grant should probably be set about £70. And a lot of local authorities are paying either at that level or in excess of that level.
"There will be a range of different perspectives around the levels for a minimum grant in this respect. I fully recognise the significance of the cost of children going to school and being properly equipped for school."
A statement for local government body Cosla said: "Scotland's Councils are committed to doing the very best for the communities they are elected to represent - especially those people in the most need.
"However, years of UK government austerity and a lack of investment in public services takes its toll.
"This coupled with year on year cuts to council budgets from the Scottish government has meant that councils have had to make extremely difficult decisions across all areas of their expenditure."
Julie Hepburn runs the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Care School Uniform Bank, which provides school uniform free of charge to families in need, through a system of referrals.
The clothing consists of new and second-hand items.
She says there is growing demand across the country for services such as this.
"I've spoken to volunteers running the school banks around the country and we're all seeing a huge surge in demand this year," Ms Hepburn says.
"Partly people will be more aware of us and the service we offer but the demand is growing all the time.
"A number of the uniform banks are struggling to meet demand."
Ms Hepburn says she is always moved by the appreciation people show when she delivers a uniform package.
"Personally I find it very very difficult when we do drop off donations," she says.
"Sometimes people have been so stressed and worrying how they're going to get this uniform, when it does arrive they're quite emotional about it as well."
According to Ms Hepburn, the school clothing grant, even for those who are eligible, does not cover all the items they need.
She says: "If you are trying to kit out a teenager and you're trying to get shoes and a coat and a bag and a blazer - blazers are now compulsory in a lot of secondary schools.
"We were trying to get one this week that was £45. If you're only getting 70-odd quid that is not enough to cover the uniform your child needs." | The amount low-income parents can claim in school clothing grants still varies hugely around Scotland, a BBC Scotland investigation has found. | 40889900 |
Appeals against places allocated for primary schools have jumped from 33,000 to 38,000 - a rise of 16.8%.
At secondary level, there was a drop in appeals - down from 53,400 to 50,200.
The government says the figures show an increasing number of parents are unhappy with the school choices which are available.
Appeals have risen dramatically in the past few years - almost doubling since 2004.
A rise in the number of school-age children has increased pressure on school places, particularly in hot spots such as London and Birmingham.
When parents appeal against a school place allocated to their child, their case can go on to be heard by an independent panel, which decides whether the decision was fairly reached.
The panel assesses whether the school or admissions body (often the local council) followed its procedures correctly. Parents can also argue that there are "compelling" extra reasons why their child should go to that school.
If the parent succeeds, their child is usually given a place there.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "The figures show that an increasing number of parents are unhappy with the school choices open to them.
"The level of dissatisfaction underlines why it is so important we change the schools system so providers like teacher groups and charities can open new state schools wherever parents want them; and give outstanding schools the freedoms they need to help improve those in more challenging circumstances."
Statistics released on Thursday relate to appeals lodged in 2008-09.
They show that while appeals against primary places rose, parents were less likely to be successful in them than in the previous year and secure a place for their child at their chosen school.
One quarter of parents whose primary school cases were heard by an appeals panel were successful - down from 27.8% in the previous year.
The chances of success were higher at secondary level, with 33% of parents winning their case, up slightly on last year.
Rates of appeal vary across England. The highest rates for primary school appeals are seen in Bradford and Leeds, Birmingham and in parts of London.
At secondary level, parents in London are the most likely to appeal. | The number of parents appealing against their children's primary school places in England has risen again, government figures show. | 10275461 |
The Bullingdon Community Centre in the Lye Valley was built in the 1940s, but structural engineers said the prefabricated structure with concrete block walls needs extensive work.
Oxford City Council has provided the money to improve the hall and grounds.
Richard Bryant, Bullingdon Community Association secretary, said the money exceeded expectations.
Props have been installed to make the hall safe for the time being.
The association will carry out a consultation with residents on what they would like to see in the new facility, with building work expected to start early next year. | A community centre declared no longer fit for purpose will be resurrected with a £500,000 renovation. | 39203030 |
The tourists racked up 289-7 in their 50 overs at Malahide with Neil Broom hitting 79 and Ross Taylor adding 52.
A third-wicket stand of 86 between O'Brien (109) and Andrew Balbirnie (36) gave Ireland hope but they collapsed from 212-5 to 238 all out.
New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner (5-50) took five wickets.
Ireland's opener against Banglasdesh on Friday was washed out.
The Black Caps were captained for the first time by Tom Latham, while Central Districts fast bowler Seth Rance and Northern Districts all-rounder Scott Kuggeleijn made their debuts.
Luke Ronchi (37) and Latham (15) put on 53 for the opening partnership and it was a solid platform from which New Zealand capitalised.
Taylor and Worker (50) put on an unbroken 84 before Broom's impressive knock helped to set a target of 290 for the hosts.
Barry McCarthy (2-59) and Tim Murtagh (2-62) were the pick of the Irish bowlers.
O'Brien failed to get the support required to take Ireland close to the target but it was a superb innings, which included nine boundaries and five sixes in 162 balls.
Ireland were 26-2 after debutant Kuggeleijn (3-41) accounted for openers Williams Porterfield (12) and Paul Stirling (14).
Gary Wilson contributed 30 but when Santner had O'Brien stumped by Ronchi, leaving the Irish on 235-8, it signalled the end of the run chase.
"It was a nice nice milestone personally but without the win it's gutting," said wicketkeeper O'Brien.
"We were in a great position in our innings and it was just a just a case a case of moments not going our way.
"I'm delighted to get that performance - it was a long time coming and hopefully I can crack on from here."
It was a game against his home country for Ireland coach John Bracewell, who featured in 41 Tests and 53 one-day internationals for New Zealand before coaching the national side between 2003 and 2008.
The series sees the Irish continuing their countdown towards possibly being handed Test status next month. | Niall O'Brien's maiden ODI century was not enough to prevent Ireland falling to a 51-run defeat by New Zealand in the Tri-Nation Series. | 39917223 |
He formally handed power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was sworn in as head of state on Saturday.
The transfer was part of a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered agreement.
Under the deal, Mr Hadi will serve a two-year term and oversee the drafting of a new constitution. Mr Saleh was also granted immunity from prosecution.
Aides to the former president have said that he plans to go into exile, although there have been problems finding any country that will accept him. The Associated Press quoted Yemeni officials on Monday, however, as saying that Ethiopia had agreed.
Mr Saleh becomes the fourth Arab leader to be removed from power after more than a year of mass protests in the region. He only returned to Yemen on Saturday after receiving medical treatment in the United States for injuries sustained in an assassination attempt last June.
After handing Mr Hadi the flag of Yemen at the ceremony, he said: "I hand over the banner of the revolution, of the republic, of freedom, of security and of stability... to safe hands."
He also called on the country to unite behind the new leader.
Opposition MPs boycotted the ceremony because of Mr Saleh's presence. Security forces controlled by him and his family, as well as armed loyalists, were blamed killing hundreds of people during the 11-month uprising that forced him to step aside in November.
Mr Hadi was sworn in as Yemen's new president on Sunday after an election in which he was the only candidate.
Tuesday's poll was marred by violence in the south of the country in which nine people were killed. A car bomb also exploded in Hadramawt province on Saturday, killing 26 people.
Correspondents say the violence underscores the challenges Yemen - the poorest country in the Arab world - still faces after the departure of Mr Saleh.
Mr Hadi has to tackle widespread poverty and malnutrition, a secessionist movement in the south, rebellions across the country and a fight against al-Qaeda militants.
At his swearing-in ceremony in parliament, he promised to work to bring home the thousands of internal refugees created by fighting between government troops, southern separatists, mutinous military units, and other factions.
"Today, we are laying the new basis for the peaceful transfer of power. This rule, which we hope will continue in this manner, is a demand of the Yemeni people," Mr Hadi said.
"One of the most prominent tasks is the continuation of war against al-Qaeda as a religious and national duty, and to bring back displaced people to their villages and towns," he added.
He is expected to serve a two-year term to pave the way for new parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014. | Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has stepped down after 33 years in power and months of protests which took the country to the brink of civil war. | 17177720 |
The warrant concerns his alleged role in a coup attempt in Burkina Faso in September, which sparked deadly street protests.
Authorities listened to phone recordings linking Mr Soro to the coup, Reuters news agency says.
Mr Soro has always denied that his was the voice on the tape.
The speaker is an ally of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.
Mr Soro and the armed rebel group he led - the New Forces - played a key role in Ivory Coast's 2011 civil war.
"I confirm that the warrant was issued at the beginning of the week," a military source told Reuters.
Former Burkina Faso Prime Minister Isaac Zida previously confirmed that Mr Soro's voice was heard in a recording advising former Burkinabe foreign affairs minister Djibril Bassole on how to be successful in a coup.
In September, presidential guard officers seized power in a coup, overthrowing Burkina Faso's interim government.
Members of the presidential guard - set up by ex-President Blaise Compaore - said they were unhappy with the new electoral law banning candidates linked to a bid to extend the president's time in office. The attempt triggered his overthrow in October 2014.
But the coup ended just over a week later, and the reinstated interim government disbanded the presidential guard. | Burkina Faso has issued an international arrest warrant for Guillaume Soro, Ivory Coast's speaker of parliament. | 35325326 |
The 11-time Paralympic champion added: "I got to the point where I was going round in circles."
Her decision follows the departures of three other board members, including managing director Sally Bolton.
"There are some good people left, but they'll need a lot more support," said Grey-Thompson.
She added that her role was no longer "fun or interesting", adding she had "got tired" of being the one to raise Paralympic issues.
"It needs to be someone else because I don't feel I was having the impact in terms of taking that discussion on,' said Grey-Thompson.
A statement from London 2017 made no mention of Grey-Thompson's concerns, claiming she was resigning for other reasons.
It said she had taken the decision so she "dedicate her full attention to her work in the House of Lords" as well as her role leading an independent working group looking to safeguard people who play grassroots sport.
Heather Hancock and Martin Stewart also stood down last month, amid reports of differences with chairman Ed Warner, who is also head of UK Athletics.
London won the right to stage the championships by beating Doha in a vote in 2011 and will hold the event at the Olympic Stadium. | Baroness Grey-Thompson has resigned from the London 2017 Athletics World Championships board, saying her role had become "a bit tokenistic". | 35770955 |
Beer sales continued to slide last year and the trend towards cider sipping stalled.
The global market for all alcoholic drinks contracted 1.3% in 2016, driven by a 1.8% fall in beer sales, the International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) found.
Cider sales went in reverse, down 1.5% after several years of growth.
The overall contraction of international alcohol sales is far greater than the average dip of 0.3% in the previous five years.
The IWSR market report for 2016 found global wine sales to be relatively flat, down 0.1% and spirits consumption grew 0.3%.
UK gin makers could be boosted as the so-called gin revival continued, with sales of the iconic British tipple up 3.7% globally.
Although global GDP increased 3.5% in 2016, according to the IMF, and economic growth usually correlates with increased alcohol consumption several major economies, China, Russia and Brazil all faced an economic slowdown or recession.
Beer sales in China fell 4.2%, were down 5.3% in Brazil and dipped 7.8% in Russia. | People are drinking fewer alcoholic drinks, according to a new industry report tracking consumption worldwide. | 40149648 |
Rochdale could have taken the lead in the sixth minute after Ian Henderson's mazy run was blocked by Jordan Willis' last-ditch tackle.
Keith Hill's Dale side kept up the pressure and Callum Camps tested Lee Burge with a 30-yard free-kick.
But Coventry opened the scoring after 28 minutes through striker Daniel Agyei, who had hit the post nine minutes earlier.
Rochdale had the better of the second half and Matthew Lund's 52nd-minute header was cleared off the line by Gael Bigirimana.
Despite offering very little in the second half, Andre Wright made sure of the points for Coventry in the 84th minute as he tapped home a cross from Lewis Page.
Report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Coventry City 2, Rochdale 0.
Second Half ends, Coventry City 2, Rochdale 0.
Attempt blocked. Matthew Lund (Rochdale) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Lewis Page (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Steve Davies (Rochdale).
Substitution, Coventry City. Jodi Jones replaces Marvin Sordell.
Attempt missed. Steve Davies (Rochdale) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right following a corner.
Corner, Rochdale. Conceded by Gael Bigirimana.
Foul by Andre Wright (Coventry City).
(Rochdale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Jordan Turnbull (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Steve Davies (Rochdale).
Delay in match Gael Bigirimana (Coventry City) because of an injury.
Goal! Coventry City 2, Rochdale 0. Andre Wright (Coventry City) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jamie Sterry following a fast break.
Attempt missed. Ian Henderson (Rochdale) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City).
Joe Bunney (Rochdale) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Matthew Lund (Rochdale) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left following a corner.
Corner, Rochdale. Conceded by Marvin Sordell.
Substitution, Rochdale. Donal McDermott replaces Calvin Andrew.
Attempt missed. Calvin Andrew (Rochdale) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Attempt missed. Matthew Lund (Rochdale) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Attempt blocked. Gael Bigirimana (Coventry City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Kyel Reid (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Andrew Cannon (Rochdale).
Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Oliver Rathbone (Rochdale).
Foul by Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City).
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Rochdale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Coventry City. Andre Wright replaces Daniel Agyei.
Attempt blocked. Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Ben Stevenson (Coventry City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Rochdale. Steve Davies replaces Callum Camps.
Matthew Lund (Rochdale) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Matthew Lund (Rochdale).
Attempt missed. Matthew Lund (Rochdale) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Ruben Lameiras (Coventry City).
Andrew Cannon (Rochdale) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Callum Camps (Rochdale) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. | Coventry secured back-to-back league wins for the first time this season with victory over Rochdale. | 37664401 |
Chef Babu, (Shabbir Satter) of the Indian Tree in the town, said he was called over "very discreetly" by the man, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The customer was one of a group of five who dined at the restaurant last Tuesday, the Portadown Times reports.
He said he wanted to add the huge service fee in recognition of the "excellent food".
Luna Ekush, who owns the restaurant, said the tip was "incredibly generous".
"It is a very simple thing to express gratitude, but this has had such a big impact. We are still in shock," she said.
"All the staff working that night will split the money as the customer said it was for everyone.
"I don't think anyone at the restaurant has ever received such a massive tip, I definitely have not.
"I want to thank Babu for his hard work, all credit for the food must go to him." | A happy diner at an Indian restaurant in Portadown has surprised staff by leaving a £1,000 tip on a £79 bill. | 38598004 |
Warrington Wolves' Evans and Flower of Wigan Warriors will be in action in Saturday's Grand Final at Old Trafford.
Both players had been named in an initial 29-man training squad, but have made themselves unavailable due to club commitments.
Wales will also be without Tyson Frizell, who has been included in Australia's Four Nations squad.
Salford Red Devils' Craig Kopczak will captain a squad featuring the majority of last year's European Championships winning side.
Wales host Serbia at Stebonheath Park's Llanelli on 15 October and and face Italy in Monza on 29 October.
"It is an important period for Wales as we aim to make the World Cup next season," head coach John Kear said.
"Our group of players is a very hard working one and there is always a good atmosphere in camp, so we are looking forward to getting back to work."
Kear has said he would be happy for second row Frizell to represent Wales once again in the future.
Frizell, capped five times by Wales, has been included in Australia's squad for the Four Nations.
Australian-born Frizell qualifies to play for Wales through his Swansea-born father and can switch to the Kangaroos as they are a tier one nation.
"There's no hard feelings," Kear told BBC Wales Sport.
"Should ever the opportunity arise in the future for him to switch allegiance back to Wales then we'd be more than happy to welcome him back."
Wales squad: Elliot Kear (London Broncos), Rhys Williams (London Broncos), Calvin Wellington(St Helens), Christiaan Roets (South Wales Ironmen), Regan Grace (St Helens), Courtney Davies (South Wales Ironmen), Ollie Olds (Souths Logan Magpies), Gil Dudson (Widnes Vikings), Lloyd White (Widnes Vikings), Craig Kopczak (Salford Red Devils - captain), Rhodri Lloyd (Swinton Lions), Lewis Reece (Gloucestershire All Golds), Phil Joseph (Salford Red Devils), Steve Parry (Gloucestershire All Golds), Joe Burke (Oldham Roughyeds), Jake Emmitt (Swinton Lions), Anthony Walker (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats), Andrew Gay (Mackay Cutters), Matty Fozard (Sheffield Eagles), Morgan Evans (Gloucestershire All Golds), Ian Newbury (South Wales Ironmen), Connor Farrer (South Wales Ironmen) | Super League players Rhys Evans and Ben Flower will be unavailable for Wales' 2017 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers. | 37583252 |
The 25-year-old world number 14 will play multiple champion John Higgins in the quarter-finals after reaching the last eight for the season year running.
"I know how tough it will be against John," said Wilson. "He's won it four times and is a great player.
"I'm here to win it, not to make up the numbers. You have to be confident."
Wilson's 2016 Crucible run only came to an end at the hands of eventual winner Mark Selby, with the Leicester man then tipping Wilson to lift the trophy at some point in his career.
The Kettering cueman, whose break of 143 was the highest at the Crucible last season, added: "I am not really bothered about going one step further. I want to win the tournament.
"I am not being arrogant - I just feel I am a consistent top-16 player now and have a good chance.
"I am in the quarter-finals and I have to win three more matches to lift that trophy. That is what I have dreamed of since I was a young boy and that is what I will keep aiming for.
"I don't think anyone - maybe barring the odd qualifier - comes here thinking they couldn't win it and I am no different."
Wilson, the 2015 Shanghai Masters champion, enjoyed a routine first-round win over qualifier David Grace, following that victory by seeing off 2015 champion Stuart Bingham.
And Wilson intends to continue the attacking style which served him so well against Bingham.
Wilson led 5-0 but, despite Bingham's brave comeback, he continued take the match to his opponent as the pressure increased and finished a 13-10 winner.
"Not going for your shots would have sent out the wrong message," said Wilson. "It's important to carry on playing your game and do the things that have served you well.
"I feel like I have kept being consistent and getting to the business end of tournaments.
"This isn't an easy place to play so to be in my second quarter-final is testament to me as a player." | Kyren Wilson will not play down his chances of winning the World Championship, but says his confidence should not be confused with arrogance. | 39696589 |
The policies, unveiled ten years after the ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales, include a vow to reduce cruelty on shooting estates.
Labour also promised to defend the Hunting Act, saying the Conservatives might legalise hunting with dogs.
The Tories are committed to a free vote on the issue in the next Parliament.
Shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle said: "The last Labour government achieved much to end the cruel and unnecessary suffering of animals: the banning of hunting with dogs, securing an end to cosmetic testing on animals, banning fur farming and introducing the Animal Welfare Act.
"The next Labour government will continue to lead the way on animal welfare, starting with six key commitments that build on our previous achievements at home and abroad."
Labour pledged to:
Further details of the policies have not yet been released.
Party leader Ed Miliband said: "Our Labour values tell us that we have a moral duty to treat the animals we share our planet with in a humane and compassionate way.
"No other major political party has such a proven track record of decisive action for animals at home, on farms and in the wild."
Claire Bass, of Humane Society International, said: "We urge all parties to make acting for animals a priority, and encourage voters to ask their candidates for their views on animal welfare."
The 2010 Conservative manifesto said the Hunting Act was "unworkable" and promised a free vote by MPs on its repeal.
The party says it remains committed to this if it wins a parliamentary majority in May. | Labour has pledged to fight animal cruelty by measures including a ban on wild animals in circuses and ending the "inhumane and ineffective" badger cull. | 31513637 |
The company needs money to plug a gaping hole at its US nuclear unit Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
Due to the woes at Westinghouse, Toshiba is struggling with debt that some warn might threaten its future.
One investor said management had turned Toshiba "into a laughing stock".
"You have no clue what's going on," the investor added, speaking at a shareholder meeting that approved the sale of Toshiba's NAND flash-memory unit.
The company has twice postponed its annual earnings and is now expected to file a net loss of 1tn yen ($9bn, £7.bn), which would be one of the biggest losses in the country's corporate history.
What went wrong at Toshiba?
Westinghouse files for bankruptcy protection
The Japanese conglomerate estimates its memory business to be worth $18bn (£14bn) and plans to sell parts or all of it.
According to media reports, the potential buyers for the memory chip unit include US firms Western Digital and Micron Technology as well as South Korea's SK Hynix.
Thursday's shareholder meeting saw chief executive Satoshi Tsunakawa and other managers face angry questions about the chaotic past few months.
"How can something that was supposed to be a pillar turn into a hole," one of the shareholders asked about the firm's nuclear business.
Toshiba president Satoshi Tsunakawa apologised for the situation.
"We apologise to all stakeholders, including shareholders, for causing this trouble and worry over our nuclear business," he said.
Westinghouse has suffered huge cost overruns at two US projects in Georgia and South Carolina.
By having the subsidiary file for bankruptcy protection in the US, Toshiba hopes to shield itself from even more costs in the future. | Toshiba's management has come under fierce criticism from shareholders, despite investors approving plans to sell its valuable memory chip unit. | 39441070 |
Another crew member from the vessel, which has been named locally as the Stornoway-registered Louisa, is missing.
One man was recovered from the water shortly after the alarm was raised at 03:45 and taken by helicopter to hospital.
The coastguard said at 14:45 that the search had been scaled back.
The operation was in an area of sea close to the island of Mingulay, where a signal from a distress beacon was located.
Coastguard helicopters from Stornoway and Prestwick took part, along with the Barra RNLI lifeboat.
Mark Rodaway of UK Coastguard said: "Despite an intensive search including the helicopters, lifeboat and other fishing vessels in the area, we have been unable to locate the missing fisherman. Our thoughts are with all those involved"
Ch Insp Alastair Garrow, of Police Scotland, said: "At this time we can confirm that the bodies of two men have been recovered. A third man was rescued and was taken to hospital at Stornoway. He is not seriously injured.
"A fourth man was on the boat and is still missing. The next of kin of all the men have been informed.
"An investigation will be carried out in parallel with the police and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."
He added: "This has been a tragic incident which will impact on the local community. Our thoughts are with the families affected." | Two people are confirmed to have died after a fishing boat went down off the Western Isles. | 36005321 |
The head of the UCI hopes to be re-elected in September and will campaign against the body's vice-president, Frenchman David Lappartient.
Cookson, 65, was criticised last week as part of a report into the culture and governance of British Cycling.
Lappartient, 44, said the UCI needed "real leadership" and a "clear vision".
"I have been made aware of a number of issues that must be urgently addressed if cycling is to remain a credible sport," added Lappartient, who is president of the European Cycling Union and served two terms as president of the French Cycling Federation.
In a statement, Lappartient outlined five "pillars" to his bid, including strengthening UCI governance "to make substantial contribution to the Olympic and Paralympic movement" and "promoting the development of women's cycling".
In addition he vowed to lead a "fight against technological fraud" and stressed the "changing nature of sports betting must be better understood".
Cookson was elected as head of the UCI in 2013, the year in which Lappartient became a vice-president.
In responding to news of Lappartient's challenge, Cookson said his rival had "not set out very much detail in his plan, or any vision he may have beyond his well known personal ambition for the role."
He added: "I strongly believe that my track record of restoring integrity and credibility to the UCI, and developing cycling over the past four years, together with my plans for a final four-year term as president, will be judged favourably by the cycling family."
Culture, Media and Sport select committee chairman Damian Collins said Cookson should not be re-elected because of failings when he was in charge at British Cycling between 1996 and 2013.
A report published last week outlined poor governance at the body, a "culture of fear" within the team and oversight by funding agency UK Sport.
Cookson has previously said he has "nothing to be ashamed or concerned about" regarding his time at British Cycling.
His bid to remain in charge at the UCI will be supported by UK Sport but, unlike in the 2013 elections, the body will not back him financially.
The UCI election takes place on 21 September in Bergen, Norway.
This content will not work on your device, please check Javascript and cookies are enabled or update your browser | Britain's Brian Cookson will be challenged for his position as president of cycling's world governing body by one of his deputies. | 40345145 |
Donaldson, 24, has scored one try in 37 appearances for Hull KR since joining from Bradford Bulls in 2014.
"He is a consistent performer and a real professional who works hard to improve his game," Rovers director of rugby Jamie Peacock said.
"At the age of 24, he has his best years ahead of him." | Hull KR forward James Donaldson has signed a new one-year deal to stay at the club until 2017, with an option to extend the contract by a further year. | 36619946 |
The managerless Buddies remain bottom of the Championship, without a win in eight league outings.
A huge deflection from a Craig Sibbald a free-kick gave Falkirk an early lead.
The visitors had the best of the few chances created thereafter but could not find a second goal before they were pegged back on 87 minutes.
It looks like Saints will name their new manager by the middle of next week, and more than a few eyes were trained on the directors box to see its there were any obvious candidates watching this one, although rumours of an interest from former French international and Fulham manager Jean Tigana being seen in Paisley earlier in the week were played down.
Falkirk had been looking to go six wins in a row in league and cup matches, and after an early good spell for the Buddies in which Tom Taiwo has cleared a Stevie Mallen corner off the line, Sibbald gave the visitors the lead on nine minutes with a 20 yard free kick which took a wicked deflection and evaded the diving Jamie Langfield.
John Rankin then produced a thundering shot which blasted into Gary Irvine before Ryan Hardie should have levelled for the hosts a minute before the interval but blasted high over the bar from 18 yards.
Falkirk's Bob McHugh had the ball in the net six minutes after the break but was correctly judged offside before John Baird's 82nd-minute cross found substitute James Craigan whose header was well saved by Langfield.
But it was Saints substitute Walsh who brought the biggest cheer from the 2,344 crowd with a thundering 25 yard equaliser for his fourth goal of the season to level matters three minutes from time.
St Mirren play Hibernian and Dundee United in their next two games and many of the home fans will take more than a passing interest when those two meet at Easter Road on Sunday to see if they can spot any managerial candidates doing some "homework" before next week's announcement.
Match ends, St. Mirren 1, Falkirk 1.
Second Half ends, St. Mirren 1, Falkirk 1.
Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by Jason Naismith.
Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by David McCracken.
Attempt blocked. Stephen Mallan (St. Mirren) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Goal! St. Mirren 1, Falkirk 1. Tom Walsh (St. Mirren) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by David Clarkson.
Substitution, St. Mirren. David Clarkson replaces Kyle Hutton.
Hand ball by Mark Kerr (Falkirk).
Foul by John Rankin (Falkirk).
Stephen Mallan (St. Mirren) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. James Craigen (Falkirk) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by Jack Baird.
James Craigen (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gary Irvine (St. Mirren).
Kyle Hutton (St. Mirren) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt saved. Myles Hippolyte (Falkirk) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
James Craigen (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kyle Hutton (St. Mirren).
Substitution, Falkirk. Myles Hippolyte replaces Craig Sibbald.
Attempt saved. Ryan Hardie (St. Mirren) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Mark Kerr (Falkirk) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by John Sutton (St. Mirren).
Craig Sibbald (Falkirk) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Tom Walsh (St. Mirren).
Substitution, Falkirk. James Craigen replaces Robert McHugh.
Substitution, Falkirk. Lee Miller replaces Tom Taiwo.
Tom Taiwo (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Lewis Morgan (St. Mirren).
Attempt saved. Robert McHugh (Falkirk) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Substitution, St. Mirren. Tom Walsh replaces Rocco Quinn.
Tom Taiwo (Falkirk) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gary Mackenzie (St. Mirren).
Corner, Falkirk. Conceded by Ryan Hardie.
Tom Taiwo (Falkirk) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Gary Irvine (St. Mirren).
Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Luke Leahy.
Corner, St. Mirren. Conceded by Lewis Kidd.
Attempt saved. Robert McHugh (Falkirk) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by John Baird (Falkirk).
Rocco Quinn (St. Mirren) wins a free kick on the left wing. | Tom Walsh curled in a fantastic late strike to rescue a point for struggling St Mirren in a drab match in Paisley. | 37460224 |
The 2017 Sunday Times Rich List reveals that their collective fortunes have increased by 9% in the past year.
Its compilers say the list "shatters the myth" that Scotland's economy runs on oil alone.
And it reveals that the Grant-Gordon whisky family is the richest in Scotland, with a fortune of £2.37bn, up £210m since last year.
The Banffshire whisky distiller posted record profits in 2015 amid booming overseas demand for premium spirits and surging sales of the flagship Glenfiddich single malt and Hendrick's gin, the rich list said.
The rich list highlights the wealth of billionaires living in Scotland, or with substantial business interests north of the border.
Second on the Scottish list is former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed and family, who own an estate in Scotland and whose fortune has held steady at £1.7bn.
Mahdi al-Tajir, who owns Highland Spring, saw his wealth fall by £65m in the past year, but he sits in third place on the list with an overall fortune of £1.67bn.
Fourth on the Scottish list is Trond Mohn, the founder of a Norwegian pump firm, and his sister Marit Mohn Westlake, who are worth £1.62bn.
Others in the Scottish top 10 include oil industry leader Sir Ian Wood and family with wealth of £1.6bn, and the Thomson family, owners of publisher DC Thomson, who are worth £1.285bn.
With the largest increase in wealth this year, John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have now entered the realm of the billionaires as a result of their Bangalore-based biopharmaceutical firm Biocon.
They boast £1.15bn to their names, earning a wealth increase of £530m in the last 12 months alone, largely off the back of the surging value of Biocon, and rank joint seventh position in Scotland alongside retail chief Philip Day, who owns Langholm-based Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
The Clark family, of the Arnold Clark car dealership, and Jim McColl, of Clyde Blowers, take ninth and 10th spot, with fortunes of £1.1bn and £1.07bn respectively.
Robert Watts, the compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List 2017, said: "This year's larger-than-ever rich list lays bare how the fortunes of Britain's 1,000 wealthiest individuals and families have fared amid the astonishing events of the past 12 months.
"Our Scottish list of 10 billionaires shatters the myth this country's economy runs on oil alone. Scotland is a place where 10-figure fortunes can be built from whisky, car dealing or even bottled water.
"This reflects the changing nature of wealth in 21st-century Britain.
"Gone are the days when the rich list would be dominated by finance, property or manufacturing. Greater diversity of entrepreneurial success is good news for the wider economy, and ultimately us all."
The 160-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in Britain and will be published this Sunday, May 7. | The 10 richest individuals or families in Scotland have a combined wealth of £14.71bn, according to a new study. | 39816930 |
Singer Ian Brown said Reni was absent because he had "a really bad cold".
The drummer has had a fractious relationship with his bandmates in the past and walked off during one of their reunion gigs in Amsterdam last year.
Meanwhile, guitarist John Squire said they had written "a few" new songs.
The group, who signed a new record deal at the end of 2011, will be working on a new album this year, he said.
"We won't be playing any of them live until we've recorded it," Squire told the BBC's Colin Paterson on the red carpet.
But the guitarist walked away when asked about what happened in Amsterdam. In the documentary, Reni is shown complaining about sound problems and leaving the stage before the encore.
After the premiere, a spokesman for the band said he had nothing to add about Reni's absence or his illness.
The film, titled Made Of Stone, features footage from the band's career and their comeback shows. It was directed by This Is England and Dead Man's Shoes filmmaker Shane Meadows.
The Stone Roses, whose 1989 eponymous debut is widely regarded in the UK music press as one of the best British albums ever, broke up in 1996.
After a reunion tour in 2012, the quartet have been on the road again this year. They are due to play in Paris on 3 and 4 June before appearing at Finsbury Park in London on 7 and 8 June.
The premiere was simultaneously broadcast to 200 UK cinemas, with a general release on 5 June.
Self-confessed Roses fan Meadows said: "You hear people say 'never work with your idols, it can only go wrong' and I was a bit of a nervous wreck.
"Normally as a director you're in control, you have written a script, whereas on this I was following their lead."
The director, best known for his semi-autobiographic film and television series This Is England, said the documentary was as "much about the fans as the band".
He said: "They [the band] were really open with me, they gave me access to clips, photographs, things no-one has ever seen." | A documentary charting the return of The Stone Roses has premiered in the seminal rock group's home city of Manchester, but drummer Reni failed to join his bandmates at the event. | 22716657 |
US President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced plans to up the amount of energy they use from renewable sources by 2030.
Ms Rousseff cancelled a trip to Washington in 2013 after claims the US had been listening to her phone calls.
Speaking on Tuesday, she said she had faith that such monitoring had stopped.
"The US government have stated on several occasions that they would no longer engage in intrusive acts of spying on friendly countries," Ms Rousseff told reporters after meeting Mr Obama at the White House.
"I believe President Obama," she said, adding that he would ring her if he wanted to know anything.
The leaders of the two biggest economies in the Americas said they were pledging to generate 20% of domestic electricity from renewable resources by 2030.
"These are very ambitious goals, a near tripling for the United States and more than double Brazil's current output," President Obama said at a joint news conference.
Their announcement comes ahead of crucial climate talks at a UN summit in Paris in December.
President Rousseff, 67, said her government had also pledged to eliminate illegal deforestation in the Amazon and to reforest swathes of degraded land.
But that commitment will be met with scepticism by some environmentalists amid signs that Amazon deforestation is again on the increase.
It makes all the sense in the world for the US and Brazil to put the embarrassing NSA spying row of 2013 behind them.
Dilma Rousseff is struggling to keep a grip on the reins of power in Brazil amid the massive corruption scandal at Petrobras.
But the one thing that will save her is for the impressive economic and social gains of the last decade to continue and in that US companies have a big role to play.
Billions of dollars worth of contracts to build infrastructure projects across Brazil were recently announced and, as the biggest inward investor in Brazil, US firms are well placed to snap up much of that business.
However, as President Rousseff acknowledged, Brazil also has to reduce its famously protective and bureaucratic barriers to outsiders if those opportunities are to be fully realized.
For the US too, this is a relationship worth developing. US diplomats will have watched nervously of late as China increased its economic muscle and political influence in the region via loans and credit guarantees. | The US and Brazil have unveiled ambitious energy goals in a sign of growing co-operation after a spying scandal damaged ties two years ago. | 33333795 |
The shooting happened at around 22:00 BST on Friday night in Ardmonagh Parade.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening.
SDLP justice spokesperson and west Belfast MLA Alex Attwood said: "There is a new tyranny emerging - drug pushing on one hand and violent attacks on the other."
"Many in west Belfast know the scale of the threat, the impact on our community and the risks for our young people in particular."
"People and police must together confront these criminal and violent forces," he added.
PSNI Det Insp Mark McHaffie has appealed for witnesses to contact police. | A 21-year-old man has been shot in both legs in the Turf Lodge area of west Belfast. | 38541700 |
Historic England is looking for photos of the country's first mosque set up in Liverpool in 1887 by English Muslim convert Abdullah Quilliam.
The Gloucestershire site of the first smallpox vaccination by Edward Jenner is also on a list of 21 places that require updated details.
Historic England said it wanted people to help "unlock the secrets".
"We want people and community groups across England to share their knowledge and pictures, so we can record important facts about places," it said.
The organisation curates the official list of England's 400,000 most significant historic places and items for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Roger Bowdler, director of listing at Historic England, said: "Many buildings on the list are well-known and even world-famous. But in some cases there is much that remains unknown."
Details and photos are also being requested on: | People are being asked to "chronicle the nation's missing history" by sharing details of key sites. | 36463024 |
Police were called to reports of people being attacked at Leytonstone around 19:00 GMT on Saturday. The knifeman reportedly shouted "this is for Syria".
A man was arrested after being Tasered by police. One man suffered serious knife injuries while two others received minor injuries.
Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism detectives are investigating the case.
Downing Street said it was monitoring the situation closely.
The Met said the suspect was reportedly threatening other people with a knife.
Fellow passengers reportedly shouted at the man to drop his weapon and one person shouted "You ain't no Muslim bruv," a sentiment which has been picked up on social media by people trying to disown and sideline the attacker.
Another witness told the BBC he saw a man holding a knife, about 3in (7.5cm) long, standing over another man who was lying on the ground, and people running out of the Central Line station.
Witness Michael Garcia, 24, a financial analyst from Leytonstone, said he was walking along an underground passage that runs through the station when he saw people running outside.
"I realised it wasn't a fight but something more sinister," he said.
He then saw "a guy, an adult, lying on the floor with a guy standing next to him brandishing a knife of about three inches... maybe a hobby knife".
"It had a thin blade, but looked fairly long," Mr Garcia said.
"He was screaming 'go on, then, run' to everyone else. He was pacing back and forth next to the guy on the floor. He came up to the barriers."
Another witness, named Khayam, told BBC Radio 5 live people were shouting and throwing things at the arrested man as he was led from the station.
"I saw pedestrians shouting at him, one tried to throw a bottle and the police officers said 'back off' and took him to the police van."
Police said they received a call at 19:06 GMT and the man was arrested at 19:14.
They said the most seriously-hurt victim's injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Salim Patel, who works at a shop in the Tube station, said: "People just wanted the attacker to stop it, but then he took the knife out and used it on the victim.
"Everybody left the concourse and the attacker was using the knife on his body then he came out of [the] barrier and the people who were nearby the subway ran off."
He said he had been on the phone at the time to the police and said the attacker left the station and then returned.
Commander Richard Walton, who leads the Met's Counter-Terrorism Command, said: "We are treating this as a terrorist incident. I would urge the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant.
"The threat from terrorism remains at severe, which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely.
"I would appeal to anyone who was in the vicinity of Leytonstone underground station earlier this evening at around 7pm who saw anything suspicious to call the anti-terror hotline on 0800 789 321."
He also urged anyone who took any photos or video of the incident to call that number.
A spokesman for the mayor of London said: "The incident, and the swift and professional response of the officers involved, reminds us of the dangers faced by the police every single day in their efforts to protect Londoners and keep the city safe."
A spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street said: "There is an ongoing police investigation into the attack in London. We are monitoring the situation closely as further details emerge."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote on Twitter: "The stabbing in Leytonstone is absolutely shocking. My thoughts are with the victim and his family."
Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, tweeted the attack "was an act of pure evil".
Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative MP for nearby Chingford and Woodford Green, told the Andrew Marr show: "We cannot let these sort of people, terrorist etc, actually dominate our space." He urged people to carry on going about their business as normal to ensure our freedoms are not "curtailed".
Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting and Labour's London mayoral candidate, has tweeted a photo of a London Tube notice board that reads: "London Underground say: #YouAintNoMuslimBruv."
"To defeat extremism we must directly challenge their poisonous ideology," he added. | A stabbing at a Tube station in east London is being treated as a "terrorist incident", the Met Police has said. | 35018789 |
The 25-year-old, who has played for Gloucestershire since 2010, has agreed a three-year contract with Middlesex.
"We have been looking to sign a fast bowler with white-ball pedigree," said Middlesex managing director of cricket Angus Fraser.
"In James I believe we have found a bowler that will add extra bite and quality to this area."
Fuller was a key part of Gloucestershire's winning One-Day Cup campaign this year, taking 15 wickets including 2-34 in the final at Lord's.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, he holds a UK passport and has taken 101 first-class wickets at an average of 33.90 with best figures of 6-24.
He also has 58 List A one-day wickets at an average of 25.17 and 62 Twenty20 wickets in 46 games.
"I have watched James bowl on numerous occasions and have been impressed with what I have seen," added Fraser.
"He is a fine athlete with a strong, easy action that allows him to bowl with good pace. James is extremely ambitious and is the sort of character that fits what Middlesex are looking for." | Middlesex have signed James Fuller after the fast bowler turned down a new deal with Gloucestershire. | 34403052 |
Gwent Police said one vehicle towing another had jack-knifed into the central reservation on the eastbound carriageway between junction 23 and junction 22 just after 10:30 BST.
Two lanes heading towards the Second Severn Crossing were shut but have now reopened.
Queues have now eased. | Drivers were stuck in queues of up to 23-miles after two vehicles were involved in a crash on the M4 in Monmouthshire on Saturday morning. | 36405526 |
Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, wants to send a message that "satisfactory" is now unsatisfactory and that more schools should be pushing for the higher rating of "good".
This is the latest attempt to improve schools which are seen as "coasting".
The National Union of Teachers criticised such labels as "insulting".
But Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This is not some small bureaucratic change. It marks a massive shift in attitude. I don't want the word 'satisfactory' to exist in our education system. 'Just good enough' is frankly not good enough."
Sir Michael wants to see more schools progressing beyond the current category of "satisfactory", with the change in description intended to emphasise that these schools need to make improvements.
At present, inspectors can judge schools to be "inadequate", "satisfactory", "good" or "outstanding". Subject to consultation, the satisfactory grade will become "requires improvement".
Schools will only be allowed to stay at the "requires improvement" level for three years - and there will be earlier re-inspections, after 12 to 18 months rather than three years, says Ofsted.
Sir Michael was speaking ahead of a Downing Street summit on so-called "coasting" schools - where performance, often in well-off areas, is not necessarily inadequate but has failed to impress.
"There are too many coasting schools not providing an acceptable standard of education," says Sir Michael.
"Of particular concern are the 3,000 schools educating a million children that have been 'satisfactory' two inspections in a row.
"This is not good enough. That is why I am determined to look again at the judgements we award, not only so we are accurately reporting what we see, but so that those schools that most need help are identified and can properly begin the process of improvement.
"I make no apology for making even greater demands of an education system which has to respond with greater urgency to increasingly difficult and competitive economic circumstances."
Prime Minister David Cameron, who hosted the summit, said: "To those who say that this will alienate some schools, I say we've got to stop making excuses and start doing what is best for our children: demanding excellence and confronting complacency wherever we find it."
But teachers' unions criticised the changes - with the NUT claiming that the re-labelled category would be used as a way of pressuring more schools into becoming academies.
"First we had 'underperforming' schools, now we have 'coasting' schools. Labelling schools in this way is derogatory and insulting to pupils, teachers, school leaders and governors," said NUT leader, Christine Blower.
"The government's real agenda behind this change is of course inventing yet another category of schools that it will then seek to force into academy status."
Chris Keates, head of the NASUWT teachers' union, attacked the proposals as "another crude ruse to enable the secretary of state to push more schools into the hands of profit making, private companies".
"The seemingly tough talk we have heard from the government today, may have popular appeal but the reality is that it has nothing to do with raising standards," she said.
"Instead, it is about ratcheting up pressure on schools, without providing the support and resources they need to assist them in securing further improvements.
"This announcement will encourage a culture of vicious management practices within schools which will have a profoundly negative effect on the workforce and children and young people alike."
Labour's shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, said coasting schools "need more than just a new label" and criticised the removal of routine inspections of outstanding schools.
"Outstanding schools can quickly slip back, so this measure could undermine confidence in the system and mean parents only get out of date information."
The change to the "satisfactory" category was welcomed by the RSA think tank, which warned about such schools "performing inconsistently".
"What needs to be addressed in particular is the variable quality of teaching. We need to find ways to incentivise the best teachers to join these schools and new ways of helping schools to improve," said the RSA's director of education, Becky Francis.
But head teachers warned that when it came to inconsistency it was Ofsted that needed to get "its own house in order".
"Inspections are too often at the whim of inspectors with little experience in the field they are inspecting and who have already made up their minds before they enter the school," said Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT head teachers' union.
"Heads feel the results can be the luck of the draw. If inspections are getting more severe, then they need to be more consistent and of higher quality or there will be no justice in the findings." | Education watchdog Ofsted wants to toughen the language of inspections in England - changing the "satisfactory" rating to "requires improvement". | 16579644 |
Barry Davis Ryan disappeared along with his father, also named Barry, and his girlfriend, Niamh O'Connor, in Baltimore, County Cork.
Mr Ryan Sr, 51, and Ms O'Connor both drowned and their bodies were found on the day of the incident.
It is understood all three were part of a group walking close to the harbour when one of them fell into the sea.
Two others then went into the water to try to rescue the first person, but all three got into difficulties.
The body found on Friday will be taken to Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Official confirmation on the identity of the body is expected over the coming hours. | A body has been recovered in the search for a man who went missing off the Irish coast on 30 June. | 33481106 |
The German, 24, will join the Canaries on a two-year deal when his contract at Dortmund runs out on 1 July.
He played 29 times for Dortmund II last season under Norwich's new boss Daniel Farke who took over in May.
"I'm extremely delighted and very honoured for the opportunity. I'm already counting the days to get started," Zimmermann said.
"I've had a really positive first impression, so I'm looking forward to meeting all the guys and I cannot wait to start working."
Zimmermann joined Dortmund's reserve team in 2014 after two seasons with Borussia Monchengladbach II where he progressed through the youth teams.
Farke said: "He's very big, tall, strong and powerful and he's an intelligent boy.
"He was my captain of my under-23 team at Borussia Dortmund, and he fits English football because of his powerful way.
"We're very happy he's chosen to come to Norwich."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Championship club Norwich City have signed Borussia Dortmund II central defender Christoph Zimmermann. | 40288511 |
The Tories propose changing how rates are calculated, as part of a pledge to put the needs of small businesses at the "heart of the Welsh government".
Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said small firms were vital to Wales and needed help to "develop and grow".
Retailers warned against "creating winners or losers or more complexity".
The Conservatives would also appoint a team of officials in the Welsh government dedicated to small businesses and answerable to the assembly, if they win power in May's assembly election.
Other measures, some already announced, include scrapping the age limit on a job creation scheme and pledging to make it easier for businesses to borrow money from the Welsh government.
Mr Davies said: "Wales is a nation of shopkeepers, and those small firms are the lifeblood of the Welsh economy; which is why they need support to develop and grow."
Businesses rates are paid to local councils and are based on property values.
There are already discounts available to small businesses from the Welsh government, known as rate relief.
For example, businesses with property worth up to £6,000 pay no rates.
The Tories say they would extend rate relief to more businesses.
But they would also introduce different rates for large and small businesses, so that bigger businesses pay more.
England and Scotland already have separate rates, but Wales does not.
The Welsh Retail Consortium, which represents shop owners, called for "fundamental reform of business rates for all, whether that be small, medium sized or larger businesses".
A spokeswoman said: "The proposed small firms' relief is a welcome acknowledgement of the need to keep down costs, however many high street retailers won't benefit and we would be alarmed if this new rate for medium and larger sized commercial premises simply opened the door to even higher taxes, as has been proposed in Scotland." | Supermarkets and other big businesses could face higher business rates under a Welsh Conservative government, with a tax cut for smaller companies. | 35420527 |
It is understood she was hit by the wooden frames of a ground-floor window in Hanover Street, Mayfair.
A witness told BBC London the woman was eating her lunch when she was struck on her chest.
London Ambulance and police were called at 11:30 BST. The woman, believed to be in her 20s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead by paramedics.
The building, 5 Hanover Square, is a multimillion-pound development comprising six floors of office space. The ground floor is in the process of being turned into an art gallery.
Scaffolding was removed from the outside of the building a few weeks ago.
Orla Wojtowitz said it "happened in a second".
"She was just passing and then she was suddenly lying on the pavement," she said.
Another witness, who did not want to be identified, said the victim saw the frame beginning to fall but could not move out of the way in time.
A delivery driver who made the 999 call following the incident said he and 10 other people helped to lift the concrete frame off the woman which had "flattened" her.
The man, who did not want to be named, said: "I heard this incredible loud bang, the guy next to me said 'what the hell is that?', pointing.
"I turned round and the frame was on the ground and I was hoping it was a coat underneath, but then I saw an arm.
"I realised it was a person underneath so I phoned 999. The operator asked me to go closer to the victim so I got off the back of my wagon and went over.
"Her eyes were open and I saw her hand move and then I think I saw her last breath and then the light went out, she'd gone."
He said ambulance crews arrived about a minute or two later.
"She was in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time."
Beverley Hazel, another witness, said she was on her way to work in nearby Conduit Street at 11:30 BST when she saw a young woman "half lying in the road".
"A man was saying to her 'can you hear me?' but I don't think there was any response. It had just happened," she said.
"Then there was a lady who said she was a doctor. She got on with doing CPR and I counted three minutes for her."
Mrs Hazel, who lives in Kennington Oval, south London, said she believed the victim was hit by two "massive" wooden window frames, measuring about 10ft by 10ft (3m).
"She was very young and slight. I've got two daughters, one younger and one older than this woman. I was in bits.
"If it had been my daughter I would have wanted someone with her.
"I went back later to lay some flowers."
Golam Mortuza, who works in the nearby Eat sandwich chain, was on his break when the incident happened. He said paramedics tried to revive the woman for 30 minutes.
"Life is so difficult. She was walking around and then this happened. It could have happened to anyone."
The Health and Safety Executive is aware of the incident, police said.
London Ambulance said it sent two cycle responders, two ambulance crews and a hazardous area response team and an air ambulance to the scene.
Hanover Square has been closed between Brook Street and St George Street.
The 8, 25 and 55 bus routes have been diverted. | A woman has died after being crushed when two window frames fell from a building in central London. | 19421257 |
New statistics show the number using services has risen by nearly a third in the last two years.
There were 4,642 children and young people seen in the quarter ending June 2016, compared to 3,560 in the same period in 2014. That was a rise of 30%.
A team led by Health Improvement Scotland is working in some of the board areas with the longest waits.
For adult psychological therapies, there were 12,779 people seen in the quarter, with 81.2% seen within 18 weeks.
Workforce statistics also show the number of psychologists working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has more than doubled since 2007.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Mental Health, said: "The continued and substantial increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health services clearly show that in the past there were far too many children who were unseen and whose need was unmet for far too long.
"To respond to this we have doubled the number of psychologists working in CAMHS. We are also investing an additional £150m over five years, and will be publishing a new mental health strategy at the end of the year.
"I have been clear with boards that any falls in performance towards the challenging 90% target, or children experiencing long waits, is simply not good enough."
A spokesman for Healthcare Improvement Scotland said a team was working with mental health teams to improve access and reduce waiting times. | More children and young people in Scotland are being seen by mental health professionals. | 37285358 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
The race is in its final stages and Thomson has reduced the distance he trails race leader Armel Le Cleac'h to 73 nautical miles.
Thomson and his team say he has set a solo 24-hour world mark of 536.81 miles in the process.
The leaders have passed the Azores with under 1,300 miles left.
"This new record awaits ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council," said Thomson's team of his efforts in the 24 hours between 06:00 GMT on Sunday to the same time on Monday.
The record is held by Frechman Francois Gabart, who set it during the race's 2012-13 edition.
Le Cleac'h and Thomson are now heading towards an expected Thursday finish at Sable D'Olonne on France's Atlantic coast.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Thomson is competing in the Vendee Globe for the fourth time and is aiming to become the first Briton to win it.
Thomson had led the race for much of the early stages and broke two race records prior to being overtaken, as he reached the Cape of Good Hope in record time, but Le Cleac'h stole the lead in early December and has not relinquished his hold on the race ahead of the sprint finish.
Thomson was nearly 1,000 miles behind Le Cleac'h at Christmas after his boat's hydrofoil was ripped off in mid-November, but has increased his speed since rounding Cape Horn. | Welsh sailor Alex Thomson is claiming a world record after again narrowing the gap on leader Armel le Cleac'h in the Vendee Globe race. | 38602923 |
The 22-year-old joined Quins from Saracens last season and made 10 appearances in all competitions in his first year at the club.
"The whole experience has been great from day one and I can't wait to carry on wearing the shirt in the hope to bring more success," he said.
Morris, who can also play on the wing, was part of the England Under-20 side which won the 2014 Junior World Cup. | Harlequins full-back Aaron Morris has signed a new contract. | 40521245 |
The England captain, 30, has a knee injury and is a doubt for the trip to Berlin to face Germany on 26 March and the Dutch at Wembley three days later.
Rooney is wearing a brace on the knee, and Van Gaal says it must stay in place for two-and-a-half weeks.
"He has to first be ready for us not the English team," said the Dutchman.
Rooney sustained the knee injury playing against Sunderland on February 13.
He has already missed three matches and will also be in the stands when United play Arsenal in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday.
United play West Ham in the FA Cup quarter-finals on 13 March and Liverpool in the two-leg last-16 of the Europa League on 10 and 17 March. | Wayne Rooney's priority is getting fit for Manchester United rather than appearing in England friendly games, says his manager Louis Van Gaal. | 35680852 |
A Russian Su-27 fighter was detected in the Gulf of Finland south of Porvoo late on Thursday, the ministry said.
Another Russian Su-27 was detected on a suspicious flight there earlier. "Russian military aviation over the Baltic Sea has been intense," it said.
The Russian military said there was no violation of Finnish airspace.
The Russian defence ministry said "the flights took place over neutral waters in the Gulf of Finland" and "no plane deviated from its set course".
The Su-27s were flying in the area for training purposes, it added.
Just hours after the incidents, Finland signed a defence co-operation pact with the US. It is a non-binding commitment to boost military information-sharing, joint training, research and defence against nuclear and other non-conventional threats.
The "statement of intent" was signed in Helsinki by US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work and Finnish Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto.
Finland is not in Nato but co-operates closely with the 28-nation alliance.
Porvoo lies just east of Helsinki, and is 140km (87 miles) from the Russian border.
Nato has complained repeatedly of provocative Russian military flights in the Baltic region. But it is rare for Finland to report such suspected violations.
Russian bombers also regularly fly long patrol missions from the Arctic down to the North Atlantic or Bay of Biscay, testing Nato reactions on the way.
And Russia plans to step up similar patrols in the North Pacific, sending bombers from bases in eastern Siberia.
Russia was angered by the deployment of Nato forces in the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - after those nations broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined Nato in 2004.
During the Cold War - which ended in 1991 - Finland remained neutral and developed strong trade ties with the Soviet Union. | Finland's Defence Ministry says it has scrambled jets twice in the past 24 hours to monitor suspected airspace violations by Russian fighters. | 37584058 |
There had been fears the police budget in England and Wales would face significant cuts.
But Mr Osborne said: "Now is not the time for further police cuts, now is the time to back our police and give them the tools to do the job."
The shadow chancellor said the decision was the result of pressure from Labour.
Mr Osborne also pledged to increase the counter-terrorism budget by 30% and invest in new border security.
The Treasury said police spending would be protected in line with inflation, which would represent an increase of £900m by 2019-20.
Policing is not a protected area of public spending and it had been thought Mr Osborne was considering cuts in police budgets of up to 20% as he sought to make savings of £20bn across all departments.
Why the government decided to perform an about-turn on police spending owes much to effective lobbying by police leaders who warned that further cuts put the police in risky territory.
A number of senior officers and PCCs made representations to the home secretary over the last few months. They were not shroud wavers - but people whose views she respected.
They pointed to the growing signs of strain on police forces and their ability to deal with cyber fraud and sexual offences, reports of which have gone up by 88% since 2012.
The terrorist attacks in Paris then cemented the view in Whitehall that the cuts couldn't go ahead as planned.
If the chancellor had limited the cuts to 10%, which police said they could just about cope with, there'd have been relief among most chiefs and PCCs.
His decision to go even further, no cuts at all, which took the opposition benches by complete surprise, suggests that in the end politics played a key part too.
Police disbelief at U-turn
Mr Osborne told the Commons that he had "received representations" from shadow home secretary Andy Burnham that police budgets should be cut by 10%.
But Mr Osborne said: "I am today announcing that there will be no cuts in the police budget at all, there will be real terms protection for police funding.
"Mr Speaker, the police protect us and we are going to protect the police."
Reporting from a policing conference in Manchester, the BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said police looked "astounded" at the news.
He tweeted: "Got to say: I didn't see that coming. And no one at the police conference did either. Was it Paris that changed the Govt's mind? #CSR"
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Kevin Hurley, told the BBC: "It was almost like euphoria as if your football team had scored a goal. The police and crime commissioner and chief constables are delighted. But of course, we should remember we are already in the process of implementing cuts."
Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell said a campaign by Mr Burnham had "forced the U-turn".
He added: "We don't forget, though, we face the highest level of risk from terrorist attack in a generation.
"But we have already lost 17,000 police officers, other cuts under this government."
Steve White, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, welcomed the news but said the government urgently needed to revisit the "outdated and antiquated" 43-force structure.
He added: "Officers are still hugely under pressure and many forces still have the final tranche of savings from the last set of cuts to find."
Further details of police funding released by the Home Office include:
Mr Osborne said police reform needed to continue in this parliament and that police forces would be able to make further savings by merging back offices and "sharing expertise".
He said the government would be offering a new fund to "help this reform".
Mr Osborne also said police and and crime commissioners would have "greater flexibility" to raise precepts - the money given to police through council tax - where they had been "historically low".
Police forces have suffered significant cuts since 2010.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies spending on police services in England and Wales fell by 14% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. | Police budgets in England and Wales will be protected in real terms, Chancellor George Osborne has said in his Spending Review. | 34922126 |
A Facebook album uploaded to the ministry's official page featured a photograph of Minister of State Teo Ser Luck lying on a worker's dormitory bed.
It was accompanied by the caption: "I learnt that some workers prefer to sleep without a mattress as they are used to it back in their home country".
Mr Teo denied making that comment when contacted by the BBC.
In a later statement the ministry said an administrator wrote the caption, not Mr Teo.
The statement issued on behalf of the Ministry of Manpower said the caption would be removed and a clarification issued.
"We regret the unintended implications, and any misunderstanding that the post has caused," the statement said.
It said Mr Teo had visited the dormitory to mark International Migrants Day, and that it was "unfortunate" that the visit "was over-shadowed by this turn of events".
Singapore is home to hundreds of thousands of foreign workers brought in to work in the shipping and construction industries, jobs that not many Singaporeans are eager to take on.
Employers provide accommodation for migrant workers, however, advocacy groups have raised concern over their living conditions which can be crowded and unsanitary.
The post has drawn criticism among the country's vocal online community.
While some Facebook users defended the caption, others criticised Mr Teo for being "insensitive and condescending".
"Is your head so far up the ivory tower? Our politicians really need to reflect on how far out of touch they are with reality," said Facebook user Johnny Tang.
Jeff Chua suggested that most foreign workers made the choice to sleep without mattresses because of "bed bug infestations" in dormitories.
A Facebook user criticised Mr Teo for his "million dollar salary" and using "migrant workers as a photo opportunity".
The most popular comment on the post however, came from Ibrahim Khalil, a foreign construction worker in Singapore.
"In our own homes, we sleep with mattresses. But in Singapore, it is due to the hot weather in our rooms, with (up to) 12 people. Sometimes dormitory management don't allow for more than two fans in the rooms," he said, adding that migrant workers like himself would be happier if they received a "more comfortable dormitory life".
Many of Singapore's politicians, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, maintain an active social media presence and are popular with internet users.
However, Mr Teo is not the first to have been criticised by some over what seemed like an insensitive post.
Minister Tan Chuan-Jin faced negative comments after he suggested in a Facebook post that some elderly people who collect cardboard as a way of making money, were doing it as a "form of exercise and activity".
Another politician Baey Yam Keng drew outrage after he condemned the Paris terror attacks in November by uploading a photo of himself standing next to the Eiffel Tower which some users thought was doctored - although he denied this. | Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has drawn criticism on social media over a post about foreign workers. | 35129247 |
The firm behind the voting system said turnout was at least one million fewer than the government figure.
But the head of the election council hit back, calling it an "irresponsible claim, with unfounded estimations".
President Nicolás Maduro has said that the new assembly will be inaugurated on Friday.
The opposition see the assembly as an attempt by Mr Maduro to cling on to power.
They boycotted the election and also held an unofficial referendum in which they said more than seven million Venezuelans voted against the constituent assembly.
Turnout in Sunday's poll is seen as a key indicator of the level of support the government enjoys.
The government said more than eight million people, or 41.5% of the electorate, had voted.
"It is with the deepest regret that we have to report that the turnout numbers on Sunday 30th July for the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela were tampered with," the boss of Smartmatic, Antonio Mugica, told journalists in London.
He said a full audit was needed to establish the exact number of voters but he said the firm estimated there was a difference of at least one million.
But Tibisay Lucena of the election council accused Mr Mugica of trying to "raise doubt over the result of the election".
Mr Maduro said the vote was free and fair and that it would not be tainted by "a company with its headquarters in London and its bank accounts in the United States".
The opposition-controlled National Assembly has approved a request to open a criminal investigation into Smartmatic's claims.
Separately, the Reuters news agency reported it had seen an internal memo from Venezuela's electoral authorities saying fewer than four million votes had been cast just two hours before polls closed.
Venezuela's controversial vote explained
Despite intense pressure at home and abroad, Mr Maduro is ploughing on with the constituent assembly.
The first deputies for the new body have received their credentials, among them Mr Maduro's wife and son. Swearing in has already begun and the assembly's first sitting is due on Thursday.
Mr Maduro says the constituent assembly, which has the power to rewrite the constitution and bypasses the National Assembly, is needed to restore order after months of crisis.
The opposition is calling for fresh demonstrations with a march planned to coincide with the expected installation of the assembly.
Venezuela remains in political and economic turmoil. Tumbling oil prices have hit social programmes hard and scores of people have died protesting against the government.
But despite the unrest the government retains the crucial support of the armed forces. | Venezuela's electoral authorities have dismissed a claim that turnout in Sunday's controversial vote for a new constituent assembly was inflated. | 40808752 |
The 29-year-old Dutchman, who began his career at Ajax, most recently played for Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates.
Deportivo signed Babel as Joselu, who is on loan from Stoke, faces two months out with a knee injury.
"I'm very excited. It is a dream come true to play in La Liga," Babel told the Deportivo website.
"I feel good but not yet ready to play.
"It is always difficult for a player who has not had a pre-season, but with my experience I will be able to overcome this." | Former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has joined Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna on a free transfer until the end of 2016. | 37378370 |
Aberdeenshire council said plans for the McLeod course at the Menie Estate were only received earlier this week.
But the local authority now says it has been asked to withdraw the application.
After losing a Court of Session challenge to stop an offshore windfarm being developed nearby, the Trump Organisation said it had acquired a golf course in Ireland.
It added that it would focus all its investment and energy on the Irish course.
Mr Trump's team have turned down repeated requests to clarify their position regarding their Scottish investment. | Donald Trump has withdrawn a planning application to build a second golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort. | 26135345 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg in Iceland, the Irish Cup holders suffered a setback when Kennie Chopart went clear to shoot a fifth-minute opener.
The impressive Chopart then fired in from the edge of the box for 2-0.
A Holmbert Fridjonsson penalty made it 3-0 and further goals by Morten Beck Andersen, Oskar Hauksson and Denis Fazlagic made it 8-1 on aggregate.
It was a desperately disappointing evening for Gary Hamilton's men as they felt the first qualifying round game was very much alive after their narrow defeat in the away leg.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Glenavon could have taken an early lead at Mourneview Park but Eoin Bradley shot side from a great position.
They were punished when Chopart's well-timed run put him clear of a square defence and he slotted in the opener.
Chopart then made it 2-0 on 29 minutes running forward to shoot in from the edge of the penalty area.
Striker Fridjonsson netted a penalty early in the second half after he had been fouled by defender Simon Kelly.
Glenavon visibly wilted and goals by Andersen, Hauksson and Fazlagic piled on the agony for the Irish League side. | Glenavon's hopes of progress in the Europa League ended with a heavy 6-0 home defeat by KR Reykjavik. | 36708546 |
They witnessed the tragic events at the Manchester Arena two weeks ago, and while Marie initially didn't want to go back to Manchester, that changed when the charity concert was announced.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the concert, she said: "I have very mixed emotions and fear at travelling to Manchester again after such a tragedy, but my daughter and I feel it is the right thing to do.
"We should be free to go where we want when we want and not live in fear of what might happen.
"It is for a good cause, the concert is showing respect to the people who lost their lives and the families that are suffering."
"I read some victim's families aren't happy with it - I can understand that - but I think everyone will be there for the right reason."
On the night of 22 May, Marie and Mya had taken the train from their home in Leyland, Lancashire, to Manchester Victoria.
Thanks to Marie's oldest daughter Shelly insisting on driving them home after the concert they left early and in the opposite direction to where the blast happened.
"We had just exited the Arena when we heard the explosion, then silence, then screaming, and people running in our direction," Marie said.
"Mya and I ran to avoid the stampede. It was an extremely frightening and tragic end to an evening that should have been full of happiness and singing."
Despite last-minute nerves, Marie and Mya made it to One Love Manchester and did not regret it.
"We are so pleased that we went. We were very nervous before and whilst going into the grounds but the security checks and police presence was reassuring.
"Everyone was upbeat. The performances were fantastic, they have done themselves and the families that have lost loved ones and those injured proud.
"Mya was upset and worried when it was time to leave as she was worried that something would happen.
"It's sad but that is reality and the times we are living in but we can't let the terrorists control us no matter how much they try.
"It showed Mya how many people have been affected by the tragedy and who have all shown solidarity in going to the concert and facing the fear.
"The whole night was special for the youngsters as well as the parents, my highlight being Take That and Mya's being Ariana and Justin Bieber.
"I'm happy to say that Mya has said she would go to future concerts.
"In our life we've had tragedies ourselves and one thing we always keep saying is onwards and upwards." | Marie Rushworth and her 11-year-old daughter Mya returned to Manchester to attend the One Love benefit concert. | 40154383 |
Carwyn Jones said it would "diminish not just the United States in the eyes of the world, but the west as a whole".
Mr Trump's executive order also halted the entire US refugee programme.
Mr Jones said the impact on "law-abiding citizens" is "beyond any rational defence".
"Those of us who believe in the solemn duty of helping and protecting refugees must now work harder to show that help is still available and that we still care," he added.
Mr Trump has said it is part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US".
Mr Jones also criticised Prime Minister Theresa May's response to Mr Trump's executive order.
Mrs May initially said the USA's immigration policies were a matter for them, not her, before Downing Street said she "does not agree" with the entry ban.
"If the special relationship means anything, it must mean honestly calling one another to account. Silence and evasion are not the hallmarks of leadership," Mr Jones added.
He said he would be raising the matter with Mrs May when they meet on Monday for the Joint Ministerial Committee.
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said the policy risked "fuelling grievances of those already marginalised in our communities, giving rise to further alienation and undermining security".
She added: "Trump's actions have rightly been met with anger around the world and should be condemned without reservation by us all." | The first minister has criticised President Donald Trump's decision to institute a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. | 38788792 |
The Silk Road was used by merchants and traders to take goods across the Asian continent. Now China is investing billions into revitalising this route for trade. Here are some images by photographer by Li Zhengde in Gansu province, China.
All photographs from Dunhuang: A City on the Silk Road, a Meet Asia guide from Make-Do Publishing. Pictures by Li Zhengde from Dunhuang Academy. | Dunhuang, on the old Silk Road, was one of the ancient world's most important intersections between East and West. | 34276009 |
About 35 people have walked from Rame's Church of St Germanus to the Rame Head Chapel in south east Cornwall.
The pilgrimage used to be an annual event for at least 20 years until 2007 when numbers dwindled, said church treasurer Ken Ryles.
Parishioners hope the pilgrimage to the chapel will once again become an annual event.
Mr Ryles said: "Sometimes you don't realise what you've got until it's gone.
"We always enjoyed taking part in the pilgrimage and we hope more people and young people will join us in the future."
The distance is just under one mile along a road and coastal path, he added.
Once they arrived a service was held at the chapel. | A pilgrimage to an isolated Cornish chapel has been revived after it was stopped five years ago. | 19226383 |
Pegasus and Ards drew 1-1 in their Ulster derby while Belfast Harlequins remain in trouble at the bottom after a 2-0 defeat at Dublin side Loreto.
In the men's IHL leaders Monkstown increased their advantage at the top following a 5-1 win over Glenanne.
Lisnagarvey got back to winning ways with a 2-1 success over Instonians.
With the top two teams in the Women's Irish Hockey League, Monkstown and UCD, playing each other on Sunday the attention turned to the other end of the table and a clash between the bottom two sides entering play, Ulster Elks and Pembroke.
There was plenty of tension at Jordanstown and goals from Dawn Axon, on her return to the club and Dannie Wilson twice gave the Ulster side the lead but on both occasions they were pegged back.
It was Pembroke's first point of the season but for the Elks it did ay least lift them above Belfast Harlequins and into 10th place after Harlequins lost at Loreto with goals from Freya McDermott and Hannah McDermott.
However, only three points separate the bottom three sides at the halfway stage of the season with the last place team relegated and the side that finishes just above involved in a play-off.
Lucy McKee looked to have given Ards all three points in their derby with Pegasus at Queen's but the home side earned a 1-1 draw when Suzanne Ferris converted a cross from Hannah Craig with just 90 seconds remaining.
Elsewhere, Cork Harlequins missed the opportunity to move into second place when they were beaten 3-1 by Railway Union.
Monkstown stretched their lead at the top of the men's IHL to six points with a 5-1 home win over Glenanne. David Carson and Sam Hyland each scored twice.
Goals from Jody Hosking and Ross Canning were enough to earn Three Rock Roves a 2-1 success over Cork C of I and they moved into second place.
Banbridge have two games in hand over Monkstown and face UCD on Sunday.
Lisnagarvey ended their recent two-game losing streak when captain Daniel Buser scored the winner in a victory over bottom side Instonians, who scored through a William Robinson penalty corner.
Inst remain five points behind the two sides immediately above them in the standings, Glenanne and Railway Union, who were beaten 3-1 by Pembroke on Friday night. | Ulster Elks missed a chance to ease their relegation worries in the women's IHL after a 2-2 draw with bottom club Pembroke Wanderers at Jordanstown. | 38277486 |
Mexico's Alvarez, who knocked out Briton Amir Khan in his last fight in May, has lost just one of 49 pro bouts, to Floyd Mayweather on points in 2013.
He is favourite to beat WBO light middleweight champion Smith, 28, when they meet on Saturday.
"I need tests like this because I need a bit of fear in me to win," the Liverpudlian told BBC Sport.
"I need that fear factor in training otherwise I might get beat by someone I should never lose against, all because I couldn't get up in the morning.
"I don't want that to happen, so this fear I have in training will bring the best out of me when I face Alvarez."
Smith, who is unbeaten in 24 contests, won the WBO belt when he defeated USA fighter John Thompson in Manchester last October.
He believes victory over former WBC middleweight champion Alvarez on Saturday will establish him as a major force in world boxing, which is why he told his promoter, Frank Warren, he wanted the fight.
"I'm one win away from being a superstar," he said.
"This kind of fight is one I've asked for since I won the title. I could've kept kidding the public, kept taking money off Frank and said: 'I'm not ready to step up yet. Keep on giving me easy fights.'
"But as soon as I became world champion and they gave me the WBO belt, I've wanted to fight the big names ever since. I wanted to fight guys like Shane Moseley, Miguel Cotto and Alvarez. Now I have my chance."
Alvarez has been fighting since the age of 15 and demonstrated his punching power during his emphatic victory over Khan.
But Smith said: "In my frame of mind, I'm not going in that ring as the underdog and I'm not calling it an upset because I know I'm good enough to beat him.
"I will look for the knockout, because that's the way I fight. I want to get in there, break him down and stop him. And when I win and my hand is raised, I'll say to all those people that doubted me: 'I told you so.'" | Britain's Liam Smith says he is being driven on by fear as he attempts to beat Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in Texas. | 37376968 |
Dean Copley, 45, sent explicit pictures of himself and made sexual approaches over Facebook before arranging to meet the 'girl' at Sheffield station.
Copley, of Renathorpe Road, Sheffield, had actually been conversing with the Online Predator Investigation Team.
At Sheffield Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to attempted grooming.
Police said Copley sent a friend request to the fake account on 29 December last year and "immediately began to engage in topics of a sexual nature".
After organising to meet-up on 14 February, the married couple behind the vigilante group confronted Copley at the station and alerted British Transport Police officers.
During questioning, Copley, said he thought he had been sharing messages with a 16-year-old and told police he had realised the profile was fake but went ahead with the meeting to expose those behind the sting.
Judge Peter Kelson QC, sentencing, told Copley: "Perverts must be stopped from preying on children.
"You wanted full sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old child.
"You were not trapped by this couple, you were trapped by your own perverted lust."
Det Insp Mick Jackson, from the British Transport Police, said: "This is a significant sentence which sends out a clear message and will hopefully act as a deterrent." | A man has been jailed for three years for attempting to groom a 14-year-old girl after he was caught by an online vigilante group. | 35161871 |
Harold Thomas Martin is alleged to have spent more than 20 years collecting data from multiple government agencies, federal prosecutors said.
Court documents say 50 terabytes of data had been seized but it is not clear how much of this was classified.
Mr Martin's lawyer said there is no evidence he betrayed the United States.
Six of the documents found in the 51-year-old's possession were classified as top secret, "meaning that unauthorised disclosure could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the US", said the Justice Department at the time of his arrest.
Mr Martin was arrested in Maryland in August but officials did not give a motive for the alleged crime.
The FBI said Mr Martin at first denied taking the data, but later admitted removing documents and digital files.
Mr Martin was employed with Booz Allen Hamilton, the same consulting firm that employed Edward Snowden, who gave documents to journalists exposing NSA surveillance practices.
The company said it had immediately fired Mr Martin when it learned of the FBI arrest.
Mr Martin will be charged under the Espionage Act and, if found guilty, faces a hefty prison sentence.
If the case succeeds, it raises serious questions about NSA security, says Alan Woodward, a computer security expert from Surrey University.
"The only extraordinary thing about this story is the volume of data stolen," he said.
"If someone was taking the data out of the NSA over a very long period of time, regardless of motive, it does raise a few questions about how they were able to do that: if someone is removing data habitually you'd expect that to be spotted." | US government lawyers have said they will prosecute a former National Security Agency contractor, accused of stealing masses of government data. | 37727386 |
The Panerai watch, made in Italy using Rolex movements, is believed to be one of only 618 made between 1941 and 1943.
The timepiece was found during a furniture valuation and is believed to have been taken home by a British soldier as a trophy or souvenir.
It was sold through Great Western Auctions in Glasgow for £54,560.
The watch was believed to have been worn for a short time but had spent many years unused in a drawer in a Lanark home.
The watches were used by "Kampfschwimmer" frogmen in the German and Italian navy during World War Two.
Anita Manning, managing director of Great Western Auctions, said: "The bidding was fierce.
"There was interest from Japan, Europe and America on the internet and telephone bidding, as well as from collectors in the room.
"The bidding started at £20,000 and raced upwards, with the winning bid coming from a private European collector."
He added: "The watch was found on a routine furniture valuation in Lanarkshire.
"It had been lying unused in a drawer for nearly 70 years. The vendors, who had no idea of the value, were ecstatic with the result." | A rare German military watch which lay in a drawer in a Lanarkshire house for almost 70 years has sold for more than £54,000 at auction. | 37455782 |
Yet people are desperate to let their loved ones know they're safe and to find out what's going on.
"The first questions people always ask when they arrive at a refugee camp are 'Where can I charge my phone?' and 'Is there wi-fi?'," says John Warnes, innovation specialist at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
"These often seem to be more important to people than food and water."
Administering food, shelter and medical aid is made even harder for aid agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without proper communications.
So some technology companies have been innovating to find ways of meeting these challenges.
For example, Croatian firm MeshPoint has designed a highly-portable rugged, all-weather wi-fi and 4G mobile device that can connect up to 150 people to the internet at the same time. It contains a built-in battery to enable quick set-up in the most inhospitable conditions.
The unit can be used on its own to create a local internet hotspot, or linked to others to form a network for use over a wider area.
What started out as a battery-powered modem and wi-fi router in a backpack to provide connectivity to refugees in east Croatia, has developed into a potential business, says Valent Turkovic, one of MeshPoint's co-founders, speaking at the Techfugees conference in London.
He says the firm is trying to raise investment on crowdfunding site, Indiegogo, and envisages the units selling for around €400 (£287) each.
Telecoms companies have been engaging in larger-scale communications projects in disaster areas around the world, but are also realising the benefits of more portable solutions.
For example, Vodafone Foundation, the telecom giant's charitable arm, has developed "instant network mini", an 11kg backpack containing a 2G mobile network that can offer a coverage radius of up to 1,000 yards (1km), a six-hour battery and a small solar panel.
It says aid workers or locals can have it up and running within 10 minutes.
"We realised that mobile telecoms tech can play a crucial role in disaster situations to reconnect people with their families," Oisin Walton, Vodafone Foundation's instant network programme manager, tells the BBC.
"It's also important for aid agencies trying to co-ordinate their efforts."
Earlier this year, the instant network mini kit was deployed in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, to help restore communications following the devastating earthquake there. And larger versions of its instant network kits have been used in South Sudan and the Philippines.
The smartphone has certainly given people more mobile functionality but at the expense of battery life, so providing energy stations where displaced people can recharge their phones is also becoming increasingly important, Mr Walton argues.
"The old Nokia phones would last for days, but smartphones use more power and don't last as long," he says.
The Foundation has developed charging blocks that can be screwed on to makeshift tables. They feature 20 USB ports for phone cables, can be linked in groups of three, and are recharged using generators or solar panels.
Once you've established a viable local communications network, dissemination of crucial information is key for refugees, disaster victims and aid agencies alike.
But there's often a lot of confusion in crisis situations and duplication of effort because information isn't shared properly, field workers say.
So a number of organisations, from Google to Medecins du Monde, are working on apps that can act as single information points, connecting doctors in developed countries with health workers in the field, for example, or NGOs with other aid agencies, so each can know what the other is providing.
And all this data from mobiles is proving valuable, too.
Swedish non-profit organisation Flowminder uses anonymised data from mobile operators to track the movements of populations - or their mobile phones - in disaster situations.
This can help governments and aid agencies understand people's behaviour and give them a better idea of where to channel resources.
"Based on their usual activity, we can see what areas phones belong in. Then, in a disaster scenario, we can see how many phones which belong in district A have moved to district B, for example," explains Flowminder chief executive, Linus Bengtsson.
There is no other reliable way of gauging where people are located or moving to, he says. And using historical data can also help predict future movements - and the likely spread of a disease, he maintains.
This kind of analysis has been used during the recent ebola crisis in west Africa and after the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
"Assuming mobiles are being used by infected people, we can predict where people, and the disease, will go," says Mr Bengtsson. "There could be the potential to stem the spread of infectious diseases in the early stages."
Greater co-operation between mobile operators is also key to improving communications in crisis situations, believes the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the mobile industry.
"Since 2012, the GSMA has been working with our mobile operator members on improving resilience and capacity to respond to humanitarian crises, recognising the critical role that mobile communication plays for those affected by these crises," says Kyla Reid, head of disaster response at the GSMA's mobile for development unit.
"What is most important is that efforts are coordinated and the partnerships necessary to deliver them are structured ahead of time, so that when disaster strikes, the potential of mobile technology can be maximised," she says.
This year the GSMA launched the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, which unites mobile operators around shared principles of preparedness, co-ordination and co-operation.
While technology alone cannot prevent the suffering that inevitably follows natural and man-made disasters, its better use can at least improve the response of governments, aid agencies and NGOs.
And give some autonomy back to people who've been dispossessed of almost everything else.
Follow Technology of Business editor @matthew_wall on Twitter | When war or natural disaster causes havoc around the world and millions of people are displaced or rendered homeless, communications and power infrastructures are often damaged or non-existent. | 34715962 |
The decision was announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a televised government meeting.
Gazprom said it had halted gas deliveries to Ukraine because it had used up all the gas it had paid for.
But Ukraine said it had stopped buying from Gazprom because it could get cheaper gas from Europe.
The airspace ban applies to military planes as well as civil airliners.
"The Ukrainian government has decided to ban all transit flights for all Russian airlines in Ukraine's airspace," said Mr Yatsenyuk.
"The government is instructing [aviation authority] Ukraerorukh, in line with the norms of international law, to inform the Russian Federation that Russian airlines and Russian aircraft do not have the right to use Ukraine's airspace any longer."
Following previous clashes over gas supplies, the two countries had agreed that Ukraine would pay for its gas in advance.
But Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said on Wednesday that Ukraine had already used up all the gas it had paid for.
In a statement, Mr Miller said that "deliveries have been stopped until the receipt of new payments from the Ukrainian company.
"The refusal to buy Russian gas will create serious risks for the reliable transit of gas to Europe through Ukraine and for the supply of gas to Ukrainian consumers during the upcoming winter," he added.
But Mr Yatsenyuk dismissed Mr Miller's comments out of hand.
He said his government had decided to stop buying gas from Russia as it could get a better deal elsewhere.
"The government has made the decision to order [Ukraine's national oil and gas company] Naftohaz to stop buying Russian gas.
"They got it all wrong. It is not them who are not supplying gas to us, it is us who are not buying gas from them. This is being done because offers that have come from our European partners - price offers - are much better than the offers from our eastern neighbour."
Russia cut off gas to Ukraine in June 2014 as the conflict between the government in Kiev and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine escalated.
However, it resumed them following the pre-payment deal.
About 15% of gas used in Europe travels through Ukraine. The EU has been holding talks aimed at keeping supplies running between the two sides. | Ukraine has banned all Russian planes from using its airspace and exports of Russian gas to Ukraine have been halted by state-controlled giant Gazprom. | 34920207 |
Nathaniel Cooper is alleged to have struck pensioner Andrew MacKay after losing control of the vehicle at the caravan park in Cumineston, near Turriff.
Mr Cooper, 30, denied the charge at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Sixty five-year-old Mr MacKay died of chest injuries following the incident, which happened on 21 July 2013.
It is alleged that on the day of the crash Mr Cooper had initially been operating the car's clutch, brake and accelerator, while a woman steered from the passenger seat as the pair drove along an unclassified road.
Mr Cooper then allegedly moved his seat back from the pedals at an access road entering the holiday spot, while the woman - 26-year-old Kylie Johnston - moved across to take control of the steering wheel.
Ms Johnston is then said to have been steering the vehicle while sitting on Mr Cooper's lap.
The pair then allegedly drove into the East Balthangie Caravan Park where they lost control of the car, crashed through a fence and collided with Mr MacKay who was standing in front of a caravan.
The jury heard that there were no mechanical defects found on the vehicle to explain the collision.
The court was also told that Ms Johnston did not have a driving licence.
Giving evidence, Mary Dobbin, Mr Mackay's partner of 23 years, said she was sitting in the couple's static caravan reading a book when the car crashed into it.
She said her partner had been cutting up onions and had stepped outside for some fresh air as his eyes were stinging.
She said that moments later there was a loud noise and dishes fell out of the cupboard and smashed on the floor.
She felt the caravan move and she struggled to stand up.
She said: "I started shouting 'Andy' and then I ran through the kitchen looking for Andy and when I got to the door that Andy had gone out there was a car embedded in the door."
Caravan park owner, John Burdon, dashed to the crash scene with his wife Anna as soon as they heard the noise from their house on the outskirts of the site.
The 61-year-old told the court that Mr Cooper and his girlfriend were standing outside the 4X4 vehicle when he arrived and both looked shocked.
He said: "She actually said to me 'I'm sorry'. She was very shocked and distressed."
Mr Burdon said that when he checked underneath the vehicle, he saw Mr MacKay lying face down on the ground.
He told the court two children were inside the car but were later taken out.
In a statement to police he said Mr Cooper had told him that he was letting his girl have a shot of the car and she put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake.
Judge Lord Stewart informed the jury that Kylie Johnston had also faced the same death by dangerous driving charge but she was no longer facing trial with Cooper because she had lodged a plea with the Crown which was accepted. | A man has gone on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving at an Aberdeenshire caravan park. | 32209328 |
Ten new turbines are be added to the scheme - giving it a total of 36 - making it one of the largest in the Highlands.
The green light for the extension follows a public inquiry.
Developer Falck Renewables said it had to the potential to supply almost 20,000 properties. | The Scottish government has approved plans for an extension to the Millennium wind farm near Fort Augustus. | 38855124 |
In 2014, YouTube published a mock sales pitch called Google Maps: Pokemon Challenge, which showed the corporation's maps app overtaken by colourful monsters.
The video asked recruits to track down these critters using their phone's GPS location data, and then capture them using their camera.
If you are still unsure about how to play Pokemon Go, or what it is, Google's prank provides a pretty good guide.
It's perhaps no coincidence that the studio that developed today's blockbuster app, Niantic Labs, is itself a spin-out from Google.
Up until now, the central concept of mobile games has been something that can be enjoyed anywhere. They are pit-stops in daily routines.
But few games encourage playing while on the move like Pokemon Go does.
In order to succeed, players have to travel to destinations and visit landmarks previously unknown to them.
In doing so, the Pokemon Company - and Nintendo, which has a large stake in it - may have just harnessed the true potential of mobilised gaming.
This a watershed moment for augmented reality in particular.
The concept has been around for more than a decade but has never before achieved this level of mainstream awareness.
Augmented reality games use a device's sensors to mix together the virtual and real worlds, allowing players to, for instance, fight a dragon circling Big Ben or take down a spaceship zipping through your lounge.
Read more:
Pokemon Go unleashed in UK
Five random Pokemon stories
Nintendo shares up more than 50%
Pokemon fixes Google error
Pokemon Go is a monster hit
Innovations, as self-evidently important as they are, don't tend to write the history of the games industry. Usually, it is the trendsetters that shape its future.
Doom wasn't the first shooter that depicted the world through the eyes of its hero, Street Fighter 2 wasn't the first one-on-one brawler, and Candy Crush was hardly the first game of rearranging items in lines, but all three were the trailblazers that set their respective genres alight.
Pokemon Go is not even the first augmented reality title to win critical acclaim.
In 2012, London developer Six to Start released Zombies, Run!, an audio-only exercise game that tasks joggers with fleeing from the undead, with the sounds of groans in their ears.
A year later, developer Niantic Labs released Ingress, which tasks players with finding virtual items dotted around the real world using a smartphone's GPS.
Although it has since been downloaded more than 14 million times, it is now perhaps best known for being the precursor to the same studio's Pokemon-themed follow-up.
The likelihood that other developers are now frantically working on games with similar conceits - collecting and interacting with virtual items in the real world - is very high.
What Pokemon Go has demonstrated so effectively is that augmented reality games can be extraordinarily viral if developed in a certain way.
On social media, thousands of players are posting images of Pokemon creatures dwelling in random locations and historical landmarks. This in itself has become a game of one-upmanship, to the extent that one Twitter user even snapped a picture of a monster while he was being pulled over by the police.
It is Pokemon Go's presence in the real world that sets it apart.
Its millions of players have effectively become walking advertisements by shuffling through busy streets with their smartphones held aloft, in the hope of catching their next creature.
Popular sightseeing locations, such as New York's Central Park, as well as more obscure ones, including an Australian suburb, have been bustling with crowds of players looking for rarer and elusive Pokemon.
For now, the game is a little barebones and free to play. Its developer currently makes money from the optional power-ups and virtual items that can be bought within the title.
But Niantic is already in talks with various companies who want to buy sponsored locations within the game.
This is a new kind of revenue stream for a games developer and, at a time where traditional income routes are somewhat challenged, is something that will certainly turn heads if successful.
The iPhone and Android have revolutionised the games industry by ushering in a new era of lightweight and compulsive games enjoyed in small chunks; on commutes into work and while queuing at the Post Office.
Pokemon Go takes that idea one step further. Here, the great outdoors isn't just a place to play games, but now an interactive playground to explore.
Rob Crossley was GameSpot's first UK editor, and previously worked for video games sites including Develop, Edge and CVG. | It seems stranger than fiction, but Pokemon Go - an app that has triggered a global phenomenon where millions of people obsessively capture small creatures in public spaces - was first introduced as an April Fool's Day joke. | 36793515 |
Shaquan Fearon, 17, from Lewisham, south east London, was stabbed on 3 September last year as he walked along Turnham Road in Brockley with a friend.
Two boys, aged 15 and 16, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of his murder and the attempted murder of Junior Inneh, who was wounded in the attack.
Both defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny the charges.
Prosecutor Brian O'Neill told the jury that Junior, 18, sustained a "wound to his face and cuts to his clothing".
He said: "Much of the incident was captured on CCTV and witnessed by local residents."
Mr O'Neill said the events leading up to the stabbing had been pieced together, although the motive was not clear.
The court heard that Junior and Shaquan were walking towards a youth club when they were approached by the defendants.
The 16-year-old asked Shaquan where he was going and was told it was "none of his business". The 15-year-old then grabbed Shaquan's body warmer and was hit in the face by the victim, jurors were told.
Two knives were produced by the older defendant and one was passed to his co-accused, the court heard.
The victims, who were not armed, ran away but were chased by the defendants who attacked Shaquan together, Mr O'Neill said.
The case continues. | A teenage boy was killed in a "murderous knife attack" in the street by two younger boys, a court has heard. | 35412028 |
English Heritage, which manages the ancient site, wants to introduce "significant changes" in response to "repeated and consistent" feedback.
Stonehenge manager Kate Davies, said an alcohol ban would "help everyone to have a better experience of solstice".
But senior druid, King Arthur Pendragon, said English Heritage was "looking for confrontation".
In December, large crowds gathered at the ancient monument in Wiltshire to watch the sunrise and mark the winter solstice.
And an estimated 23,000 people descended on the site to celebrate the summer solstice last June.
Despite it being illegal to damage the monument, last year the Heritage Journal wanted revellers banned from getting close to the stones in a bid to prevent the "annual vandalism".
At the time, English Heritage claimed "deliberate damage" was "not characteristic of solstice celebrations" but now it wants to introduce changes "to reduce risk to the monument".
"Over the past few years, we have had lots of feedback from those attending the solstice celebrations, from families with young children to those for whom the stones holds a special spiritual significance," said Ms Davies.
"Having reflected on what they are telling us, we are now proposing two changes which will help us to better look after those attending and the monument itself."
Along with banning alcohol at Summer solstice, the organisation said it will also be "consulting with partners" on parking charges at both the winter and summer celebrations.
But Mr Pendragon said the charge was a "Pay to Pray policy" and he will fight the "total ban on alcohol".
"It's a celebration - not to be sanitized. It does not matter how they dress it up, we will not Pay to Pray," he said.
"This isn't just about money it's about sanitizing the event. How long before it's ticket only and book on-line like their [English Heritage] regular daily access?." | Revellers at Stonehenge could face a ban on alcohol and parking charges at this year's solstice celebrations. | 35500528 |
He was asked if a change in the law was being considered as part of a review of marriage laws.
"Not as far as I'm aware and I've certainly no intention of doing so," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics show.
The government was looking into humanist marriages in England and Wales, he said.
Humanism is a secular philosophy. Humanist weddings are not legally recognised in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - but they are legal in Scotland.
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that ministers had ordered a rethink of wedding laws, which could allow naturists to conduct weddings if the rules were changed.
It claimed a paper had been published by Mr Grayling which confirmed groups who have expressed an interest in changing wedding laws included British Naturism, the organisation that campaigns for a greater understanding and acceptance of outdoor nudism.
But Mr Grayling told the BBC: "It hasn't been ordered by me I can tell you that."
The justice secretary stressed there was a difference between someone "expressing an interest" and "something actually happening".
"No nude marriage right now as far as I'm concerned," he told the BBC. | Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has dismissed reports the government is planning to allow nude weddings. | 30871092 |
It happened at Three Mile Water, near Mossley Mill, in Newtownabbey.
A local angling group said hundreds of juvenile and adult trout and salmon were affected.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) confirmed it had begun an investigation into what caused the fish kill.
In a statement, the NIEA said it was alerted on Tuesday after receiving a water pollution report from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.
It said a water quality inspector "was able to quickly confirm the presence of a significant number of dead fish".
"From his initial investigation, the river was noted to be running visibly clear with no signs or odours of untreated sewage or agricultural effluents which are often associated with impact on fisheries," a spokesman said.
Water samples have been taken away for testing to confirm if a chemical pollutant caused the fish kill.
Andrew Moore of Three Mile Water Conservation and Angling Association said what happened was a mystery at this stage.
"If you're looking at the river, you wouldn't realise that it's polluted - apart from the dead fish, it's completely clear and there's no smell," he said.
"That's what has us baffled, and I understand it has the Environment Agency baffled too." | An environmental investigation has begun after a "significant" number of fish were killed in a river in County Antrim. | 34397608 |
Organisers Run 4 Wales announced the news after 22,000 runners took part in this year's Cardiff Half Marathon.
Chief executive Matt Newman said there was massive demand for the full 26-mile event in Wales and details would be announced in the next two weeks.
"People keep asking me about a marathon so we are going to put one on," said Newman.
"Run 4 Wales will be putting on a full marathon in April as a precursor to the London Marathon.
"There is huge demand. Plans are in place and almost finalised and we should be ready to launch in the next two weeks."
This year's Cardiff Half Marathon proved a huge success with organisers saying a record field had taken part.
In perfect conditions, course records were broken in both the men's and women's races. | Cardiff is to host a full marathon in April 2017. | 37533879 |
Although the sitcom is partly set at California's Caltech, the fund will sponsor studies in science, technology, engineering and maths at rival UCLA.
Series star Mayim Bialik earned a PhD in neuroscience from the university in 2007.
The first 20 scholars will be announced on the Big Bang Theory set this autumn.
"We have all been given a gift with The Big Bang Theory, a show that's not only based in the scientific community, but also enthusiastically supported by that same community - this is our opportunity to give back," said the show's creator, Chuck Lorre.
"In that spirit, our Big Bang family has made a meaningful contribution, and together, we'll share in the support of these future scholars, scientists and leaders."
The programme, which documents the achievements and obsessions of four science nerds and the (mostly) successful women who tolerate them, has just finished its eighth season.
Prof Stephen Hawking, Nobel Prize laureate George Smoot, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and theoretical physicist Brian Greene have all made cameos on the show, along with the cast of Star Trek and other sci-fi franchises.
It was nearly derailed by a pay dispute last summer, which saw principal cast members Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting negotiate a reported fee of $1m (£650,000) per episode.
UCLA said the scholarship endowment was the university's first to be created by the cast and crew of a television series.
A total of $4m has been raised to date for the fund, according to scholarship partner Warner Bros TV.
That includes an initial donation from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation combined with gifts from people associated with the show, including its stars, executive producers and crew, and TV companies CBS and WBTV.
After the initial intake of 20 students for the 2015-16 academic year, the scholarship will support five further students every year in perpetuity. | The cast and creators of TV comedy The Big Bang Theory have created a $4m (£2.6m) scholarship fund to support low-income science students. | 32929200 |
Media playback is not supported on this device
Briton Froome, 32, sealed his fourth title and third in succession on Sunday's final stage in Paris.
The record for most Tour titles won is five, held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
"Chris can go on - there's no reason to think that he can't," said Brailsford.
"Physically he's got what it takes and I don't think that's going to diminish in the next year or so."
Brailsford added that Froome's chances of winning more Tour titles were a question of "hunger and mentality" and that the Team Sky rider was "as hungry as ever".
"He's getting better tactically and technically, so as long as that hunger continues and he keeps his health, then he'll be a force in this race for a good couple of seasons to come," Brailsford told ITV4.
In the three previous years in which he won the Tour - 2013, 2015 and 2016 - Froome has never finished higher than sixth in voting for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, failing to make 16-strong shortlist last year.
Froome was jeered by some fans during this year's Tour and claimed he had urine thrown at him in the 2015 race.
"I don't think it's a popularity contest," said Brailsford.
"You've got to look at the sporting achievement and Chris is right up there with the greats now, there is no denying it.
"He'll be thinking about the respect amongst his peers in terms of what he's achieved and how he's achieved it and he's got the utmost respect from them.
"He deserves all the accolades he gets and I'm proud of Chris Froome - he's a great ambassador for the sport and a great ambassador for Team Sky and I'm sure a lot of people think the same."
Team Sky have now won five of the past six Tours following Sir Bradley Wiggins' victory in 2012.
"This is the greatest victory I've been involved in and definitely the most satisfying," Brailsford told BBC Radio 5 live.
Both Wiggins and Froome have been subject to scrutiny and asked questions about doping at times during their Tour wins.
Since Froome's third Tour win in 2016, there has also been more widespread criticism of Team Sky and their principal Brailsford.
The former performance director of British Cycling has been questioned over the contents of a medical package sent to Wiggins at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2011 and the team criticised for the use of therapeutic use exemptions.
Brailsford also apologised for a "foul-mouthed exchange" with a reporter during this year's Tour.
However, Brailsford claimed that this year's race had been his team's "friendliest" Tour de France.
"What has been interesting is there have been no difficult questions coming Chris Froome's way this year, there have been no challenges like we've had in other years," he added.
"In that sense I think that's a really good sign where we're at as a sport and where he's at." | Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome will be a "force" in the race for years to come, says Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford. | 40700711 |
Fighting followed an attack on an army base and a police station in the eastern town of Ben Guerdane.
Seven civilians and nine members of the security forces were also killed in the clashes, according to the government.
There is concern in Tunisia about the threat from Islamist fighters based in Libya being able to cross the border.
President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi called the attack "unprecedented" and said it was an act of "savagery which came from our neighbour Libya".
All entrances to the town have been shut and a dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from the capital, Tunis.
The border crossing at Ras Jdeir has also been closed.
Last week, Tunisian forces killed five militants in the same area after they had entered Tunisia with the aim of carrying out "terrorist attacks", Tunisia's Prime Minister Habib Essid said on his Facebook page.
Tunisia produces more people who go off to join jihadi groups in Iraq, Syria or Libya, than any other country in the region.
Now it is having to deal with the problem that officials have long been reluctant to admit to.
Tunisia is becoming increasingly vulnerable to militant attacks, but counter-terrorism measures by the state are not limited to securing its border crossing with Libya.
The army has been engaged in battles with local militants in the Chaambi Mountains, along its south-eastern border with Algeria for over a year.
Tunisian Islamist militants in Libya are now being targeted and may be trying to return to their home country to carry out attacks there.
Last year, two major attacks on popular tourist spots killed dozens of foreigners in the country.
In March, 22 people died when the Bardo Museum in Tunis was targeted, and in June, 38 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on tourists on the beach in Sousse.
The so-called Islamic State group, which now has a foothold in Libya, claimed responsibility for those attacks.
There was criticism at the time of Tunisia's failure to deal with the militant threat.
The instability in Libya has allowed that threat to grow and Tunisia has responded by building a trench along the border to try and stop fighters infiltrating. | Tunisian security forces have killed 28 militants after they launched a cross-border raid from Libya, the government says. | 35743185 |
A list of those who declined an honour between 1951 and 1999, and who have since died, has been published for the first time.
Until now, the information was so secret it was not included in official papers released under the 30-year rule.
It has been made public following a BBC Freedom of Information request.
News of people refusing an OBE, CBE or knighthood in the annual New Year or Birthday Honours list normally only comes to light if they volunteer the information themselves or reports are leaked.
In total 277 people are named on the list including the painters Francis Bacon and LS Lowry, the sculptor Henry Moore and novelist Aldous Huxley.
It shows that Lowry turned down more honours than anybody else, with a total of five, including an OBE in 1955, a CBE in 1961 and a knighthood in 1968.
Bacon turned down a CBE in 1960, while Freud refused the honour in the 1977 New Year's Honours list.
Dahl, who rejected an OBE in 1986, was among a number of writers who snubbed the accolade including CS Lewis, who turned down a CBE in 1952.
Film director Sir Alfred Hitchcock turned down a CBE in 1962, but went on to accept a knighthood from the Queen four months before his death in 1980.
More on this 'alternative honours list'
The Cabinet Office had been fighting the Freedom of Information request for more than a year but was ordered to release the information by the Information Commissioner's Office.
In the past a number of famous people have rejected or returned honours bestowed upon them by the monarch.
Beatles legend John Lennon returned his MBE in 1969, with a note to the Queen saying: "Your Majesty, I am returning this in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.
"With Love, John Lennon of Bag."
In 2007, co-founder of lingerie brand Agent Provocateur Joseph Corre also rejected the title, accusing Tony Blair of being "morally corrupt".
Writer J G Ballard, who also rejected a CBE, is on record as saying he was opposed to the "preposterous charade" of the honours system.
Honours have sometimes been forfeited when a recipient was convicted of a criminal offence.
That list includes Irish-born colonial officer Roger Casement, who was convicted of treason for aiding those involved in Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising and executed.
The publication of the list comes as senior civil servants are due to decide whether ex-Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin should be stripped of his knighthood.
The work of the Honours Forfeiture Committee is usually kept under wraps but David Cameron told MPs on Wednesday he expected it to sit in the coming days.
Political pressure has been mounting for the title awarded to Sir Fred in 2004 for "services to banking" to be withdrawn over his role in the subsequent collapse of RBS. | The author Roald Dahl and artist Lucian Freud are among those who have turned down honours from the Queen, according to official government records. | 16736495 |
An exceptional hot spell had covered much of northern and central Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
The Northern Territory and Queensland had their hottest March days on record, the BOM said in a special climate statement on Tuesday.
This also included the highest temperature ever observed in Australia in the second half of March, it said.
"March is a somewhat unusual month for extreme heat in the northern tropics," it said, explaining that rainfall usually keeps soils moist and temperatures cooler.
But this year, lower than usual rainfall and a late wet season dried out the soil, which in turn reduced evaporative cooling.
"The most widespread extreme heat occurred on 19 March... with temperatures at or near record levels for the time of year over a large area encompassing much of western Queensland, most of the Northern Territory, the northern and eastern outback of South Australia, and the far north and west of New South Wales, extending as far south as the far northwest of Victoria," said the BOM.
The most notable prolonged heat was recorded at the remote community of Borroloola in the Northern Territory.
With its many large cattle stations, Borroloola is the capital of the Gulf region. In 20 years of temperature observations made at the local airport prior to this year, 38.8 °C was the highest March temperature.
This was exceeded 18 days in a row from 5 to 22 March, with 14 of those 18 days exceeding the March record of 40.0 °C recorded from another Borroloola site where temperatures were measured from 1957 to 1978.
This year, the highest temperature, 43.3 °C, occurred on 12 March, more than 3 °C in excess of the previous record at either Borroloola site.
The central west Queensland town of Birdsville, best known for its annual horse race, was also hit hard.
On 19 March the mercury soared to 46.5 °C —the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia in the second half of March and 3.2 °C warmer than anything previously recorded in Queensland in the second half of March.
Weeks before the record was set, residents said the only time you could enjoy a walk outside was to go out just before sunrise.
"You can't really do anything later; you have to stay indoors in the air-conditioning," Birdsville local 25-year-old Elise Taylor told The Australian newspaper in early March. | March is usually the start of autumn in Australia but this year heat records are being set across the country. | 32028178 |
Figures from 36 forces show the number of drivers given fixed penalty notices fell by more than 40% from 2010-14.
Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, lead officer for roads policing, said forces were using different approaches.
Last year, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said motorists caught using mobiles could face tougher punishments.
Figures from a Freedom of Information Act request by BBC Radio 5 live show 72,753 fixed penalty notices (FPN) were given out in 2014.
Information was requested from the 43 police forces in England and Wales, plus British Transport Police - and 36 provided it.
In 2013, 95,941 FPNs were given out for mobile phone offences, while 122,752 were given out in 2010 by the same forces.
One force, Staffordshire Police, issued just four fixed penalty notices for mobile phone use last year.
The force said it had developed its own programme to deal with motorists - a four-hour "crash course" run by police, fire and victim support officials.
By comparison, the Metropolitan Police issued the most FPNs - 22,729 - last year, while Thames Valley Police issued 10,579 - the second highest.
Drivers caught using mobile phones at the wheel can be given a fixed penalty notice - which means three penalty points on their licence and a £100 fine.
In July last year, Mr McLoughlin said the penalty for motorists could be doubled to six points.
However, figures suggest many police forces have offered first-time offenders the chance to attend a road safety course, similar to those devised to deter speeding.
More than 99,000 people attended the What's Driving Us? course in 2014 - a 53% increase on the previous year.
The course is aimed at motorists found to be intentionally breaking the law, including those caught using mobiles.
A spokesman for road safety charity Brake said FPN figures could indicate a "decline in policing resources".
"We need traffic policing to be made a national priority, so police have the resources to catch and penalise risky multi-tasking drivers, as well as much higher fines to truly deter phone use by drivers," he said.
Jayne Willetts, roads policing lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales, also said the decrease could have been caused by a "substantial reduction" in office numbers.
Paul Newman, whose sister Ellen died after being hit by a driver using his mobile, said tougher punishments were needed - but warned even that might not be enough to deter drivers.
"All the penalty points in the world, it's not going to go away. All the education in the world, it's not going to go away," he said.
"I'm scared the figures will make people think they've conquered this - we really haven't."
Mr Newman added that he thinks it's a "dangerous message" to send out, saying: "It's a confusing message and we've a long way to go."
Jane Allen's 29-year-old son Shaun Worthington died in a car crash moments after sending a text while driving back from a safety awareness course last November.
She said: "This use of mobile phone while driving - it's not right. It's certainly not safe. It's not safe for you, it's not safe for other people that are on the road.
"Anybody can be wiped out in the blink of an eye. My son has paid the ultimate price with his life. If this can happen to my son, it can happen to anybody out there who is using a mobile phone."
Ms Davenport, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead on roads policing, said forces had "a number of options" when dealing with motorists using their phones when driving.
"If you are caught doing so, forces will choose what they believe to be the right enforcement action to deter you from doing so again," she said. | The number of drivers given penalty points for using mobile phones at the wheel fell by 24% last year in England and Wales, police figures suggest. | 32337990 |
The hotly contested campaign has been marred by internal squabbles within the governing party, which have turned violent.
The township of Atteridgeville, west of the capital, Pretoria, is one of several areas to have experienced some of this violence.
The working class community was outraged when the ANC foisted Thoko Dididza as the party's candidate for mayor of Tshwane, the metropolitan area which includes Pretoria.
More on the riots:
In pictures: Pretoria protests
People took to the streets to express their displeasure; buses were burnt and road barricaded as they demanded that the current ANC mayor, Kgosientsho "Sputla" Ramokgopa be on the ballot again.
The violence spread across many other areas in Tshwane - and five people lost their lives.
Ms Dididza was chosen by ANC head office after the local party could not agree between "Sputla" and his challenger during the nomination process.
Such local feuding has been most prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal province, where 12 ANC councillors have been killed in the last two months. Last week, another was shot dead in the Eastern Cape province.
Atteridgeville itself was established in the late 1930s as a settlement for black people and now has a population of 200,000.
What do Atteridgeville voters want?
It is Mr Ramokgopa's hometown, and is a great example of a politician understanding local issues and addressing them head on.
The paved streets are clean. It is like a mini Kigali, the Rwandan capital, known as the cleanest city in Africa.
To test the temperature a month on from the protests, I walk the streets of "Peli" as locals here sometimes call Atteridgeville.
In central Atteridgeville, I meet 62-year-old street vendor Moses Masemola.
"I am going to vote for the ANC because 'Sputla' delivered for us here. Look at this place. It is clean," he says.
However, 69-year-old Elizabeth Langa, who works as a domestic helper, says she admires the new opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which promises to do more to tackle poverty and create jobs.
"I'm going to vote for the EFF because I want change," she says.
Down the road outside a local school I see a group of mostly teenage boys huddled together looking at their smartphones.
They tell me they are using the free wi-fi provided to all residents by the city council - the signal is strongest near the school.
They are quick to point out that it is a Sputla initiative, one of his most popular.
However, one among them, 23-year-old McDonald Hopane, a third-year mechanical engineering student, explains that he is going to vote for the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).
"The ANC has failed to provide jobs. I'm about to finish my studies and it is clear that I will not have a job come 2017."
Twenty-year-old construction site labourer Happy Makhwiting stops to talk under a huge billboard of President Jacob Zuma.
Pointing at the president and ANC leader, he says: "I will vote for the ANC but not because of this one. I'm voting because of what [Nelson] Mandela did for us through the ANC."
Mr Makhwiting says he would like to be in the army but has taken a low-paid job just to make ends meet.
But it seems the ANC cannot rely on such loyalty any more.
If opinion polls are anything to go by, the governing party is going to have a tough time holding on to some of the major metropolitan regions such as Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province.
Local issues such as water, roads, refuse collection, community parks now mean more than anti-apartheid struggle credentials.
People are tired of being fed the same diet of "we liberated you from white-minority rule so keep voting for us".
They want material change on the ground. They want better schools for their children.
They are also angry at the cancer of corruption creeping in - not just at a local level but also among those who hold high office.
Political commentator Justice Malala tells me this is a test for President Zuma's leadership.
"It's about national and local issues all at once. That's why you see President Zuma's face on the campaign trail. And the Democratic Alliance is using [its] leader Mmusi Maimane. There is a lot at stake," he says.
"On local issues, in Nelson Mandela Bay people will tell you about the undignified bucket toilets they still use.
"These issues are big for them. And in Alexandra township some say their lives are no different from the dark days of apartheid."
So this election, as much as it is about local issues on the ground, it also about the ANC's national score card. | South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), which took power at the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is facing its toughest challenge - and not just from opposition parties in Wednesday's local elections. | 36922631 |
Goldson had preventative surgery in February after routine screening uncovered "a possible risk factor".
The 24-year-old played his first game since then in a friendly against Fortuna Dusseldorf on 14 July.
"It's massively important, because you never know what can happen," he told BBC Sussex.
"We put ourselves and our bodies through such hard work every day, we test ourselves every day to try to get better and better and you never know what's going on internally.
"There's people that have been a lot more unfortunate than me, but if my story can make other people or other clubs think that they need to do more testing - even if it's every year or every two years - then hopefully it can make a little change and save other people."
Goldson made eight appearances for the Seagulls last season, but was forced to watch from the sidelines as they secured a return to Premier League for the first time in 34 years.
"I think what was happening on the pitch helped me," he said.
"Dunky [centre-back Lewis Dunk] came to the hospital on day three and just walked me around the ward, and things like that help you at times like that.
"Seeing how successful we were and how happy the boys were, and obviously personally I was happy for the club to move forward, I think that helped my recovery."
Brighton's first game since returning to the Premier League sees them host four-time champions Manchester City on 12 August. | Brighton defender Connor Goldson has urged clubs to increase cardiac screening after resuming his playing career following a heart operation. | 40670301 |
The budget is £11.5bn, according to the budget document produced by the finance department.
It was passed by 62 votes to 30 on Tuesday evening.
The DUP and Sinn Féin voted in favour. The UUP, SDLP, Alliance, TUV, the Green Party, NI21's Basil McCrea, Independent Unionist John McCallister and Independent Claire Sugden opposed it.
Spending on benefits and pensions in Northern Ireland will be nearly £9bn, meaning that overall government expenditure is about £20bn.
The document says the taxes generated in Northern Ireland are "considerably less" than the level of funding received from the Treasury.
It says this shortfall, known as the fiscal deficit, was estimated to be more than £9bn in 2013-14.
Stormont has the power to borrow money under what is known as the Reform and Reinvestment Initiative, introduced in 2002.
The document says the level of outstanding debt in respect of these loans will be an estimated £2.1bn by the end of 2016-17.
The document says this equates to £1,138 per head of the population.
Finance Minister Mervyn Storey told MLAs Stormont is facing significant real term reductions and it is impossible to do more with less.
The budget document is divided up according to the new nine departmental structure which will come into effect after the May Assembly election.
The budget includes increases for the new communities department, as well as health and justice.
By contrast, there are cuts for the department of agriculture, environment and rural affairs, the economy department and the executive office, which is the new title for the office of the first and deputy first ministers.
The document shows no percentage change in the education budget.
The new Stormont economy department is taking responsibility for higher education.
The section of the latest budget document dealing with the department is frank about the difficulties facing local universities.
It says: "Over the last number of years, a clear funding gap has emerged and widened between our own universities and those in other parts of these islands.
"With tuition fees frozen and grant funding reducing, we have been overseeing a reduction in the unit funding provided per student.
"The challenge for Northern Ireland universities is to compete in a very competitive global higher education marketplace.
"If we cannot maintain competitive funding levels, the quality of provision in Northern Ireland will diminish in relation to other parts of the UK and we will end up with a second rate higher education system."
It was the first opportunity for the assembly as a whole to examine the document. | Northern Ireland Assembly members have voted to pass the budget for the next financial year. | 35344941 |
It all began last week with The Times of India publishing a photo and tweet about actress Deepika Padukone's cleavage.
"OMG: Deepika Padukone's cleavage show," the paper tweeted alongside a photo of her from an event last year.
The actress hit back angrily, tweeting: " YES! I am a Woman. I have breasts AND a cleavage! You got a problem!!??".
It was re-tweeted more than 7,000 times and the #IStandWithDeepikaPadukone became India's top Twitter trend for hours on the day.
The newspaper deleted the tweet, but tried to mollify her, replying "It's a compliment! You look so great that we want to make sure everyone knew! :)"
Clearly, Padukone was not pleased with the reply. Neither were many others.
She wrote a longish post on her Facebook on Friday, saying that she had "spoken out against an ideology that such regressive tactics are still being employed to draw a reader's attention at a time when we are striving for women's equality and empowerment".
"I have no issue celebrating my body and I have never shied away from anything on-screen to portray a character??? All I am asking for is respect as a woman off-screen," she wrote.
The Times of India has now hit back with a piece which has whipped up more social media outrage, with many accusing the paper of being "as distasteful as its tweet".
The newspaper accuses Padukone of being hypocritical about the picture, saying several "media outlets have freely displayed Deepika's cleavage even as they sounded all outraged on her behalf".
The paper admitted that the "headline could have been better".
"But the world of online is different from that of newspapers. It is chaotic and cluttered - and sensational headlines are far from uncommon".
The newspaper also blamed Padukone for trying to support censorship and gaining "greater publicity" for herself ahead of a film release.
"???does she now want us to first check with her as to which pictures of her - taken at public events - we can or cannot publish? Are we going to have a parallel censor board for pictures of film stars taken off screen but in plain sight of the world, as Deepika's was?"
Many took issue with the newspaper's argument.
Journalist Kanika Gahlaut tweeted : "If deepika padukone has the right to wear what she likes we have the right to humiliate her for it?"
Gahlaut wrote that Padukone had shown "guts" to "stand up to Times of India's sexist coverage", but also hoped that she would stay away from doing adverts which objectify women.
Others like Shivam Vij of scroll.in are categorical in saying that the row has "highlighted the need for everyone, including Bollywood itself, to ask some tough questions about the objectification of women".
The controversy, tweeted journalist Hindol Sengupta, holds up a "mirror to us".
"The Deepika Padukone Vs The Times of India is a mirror for us. This is the distasteful, unapologetically crass society we have created," he tweeted.
"It is worth asking if we want to live in a country, have our children live in a country where a woman's cleavage is fought upon in headlines."
A rights activist in Mumbai has said he plans to file a complaint against the newspaper with the National Commission of Woman for "outraging the modesty of a woman by publishing and republishing her photograph with a pointer on her breasts".
Many say there are possibly two separate issues here - objectification of women in popular films and mass media and the responsibility of the media, as Vij says, of "established media brands to maintain propriety, decency and good taste".
Padukone works in a film industry which has traditionally revelled in crude sexual objectification of women, and there is very little outrage about that from within.
Filmmaker Shyam Benegal has spoken about the need for Bollywood to change the way it depicts women and "the effect you have on society, the desensitisation that takes place".
There is also, observers say, a perfectly symbiotic relationship between Bollywood and the media; a number of India's top film awards are sponsored by some of India's leading media groups, including the one which owns Times of India.
Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan says Padukone may be upset that the same media which has built up her image of a "young, impish, lissom, bubbly" young model-turned-actress - had "betrayed" her by portraying her as a cleavage-flashing bimbo.
"She was an embodiment of a certain kind of beauty. The image of an aesthetic woman collapsed when the Times of India put out the first tweet," Mr Visvanathan told me.
Clearly, the reciprocal - and sometimes corrosive - relationship between the mass media and film stars all over the world is double-edged, and this unsavoury episode is further proof of that. | A clash between India's top newspaper and a Bollywood actress shows no signs of abating. | 29306346 |
Pauline Cafferkey, 40, was infected while working in Sierra Leone in 2014.
She faced charges for allegedly allowing a wrong temperature to be recorded during the screening process at Heathrow on her arrival in the UK.
The conduct and competence panel dismissed the charges after hearing she had been impaired by illness. Another charge of dishonesty was withdrawn.
Afterwards, Ms Cafferkey's lawyer, Joyce Cullen, said her client was "relieved" to have been cleared of wrongdoing after "willingly" putting her life at risk to help people suffering from Ebola.
She said that the medics returning from Sierra Leone had encountered "chaotic scenes" and put the focus on Public Health England for the ordeal her client had endured.
"Public Health England were unprepared for the volume of people returning from countries affected by Ebola," Ms Cullen said.
"There were also serious failures in communication amongst the Public Health England staff.
"It is perhaps ironic that given the criticisms made about Public Health England processes, it was their complaint which led to the Nursing and Midwifery Council investigation and these proceedings being initiated against Pauline."
Ms Cullen concluded by saying that Ms Cafferkey would "never have knowingly put anyone in danger".
"Pauline was lucky to survive and since her return from Sierra Leone has continued to suffer from ill health," she said.
"The NMC disciplinary process has been very upsetting and stressful for Pauline. However, she's delighted that the panel has made the decision that she has no case to answer and that she's now able to continue her nursing career in Scotland, where she will carry on looking after families in Blantyre, who've been very appreciative of her skills and dedication."
How the case against Pauline Cafferkey collapsed - BBC Scotland reporter Philip Sim
Pauline Cafferkey has come out of her misconduct hearing with a clean bill of health - but the same can't be said for any of the other parties involved.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council had lodged a series of charges against her, including that she had been "dishonest", but was forced to reconsider after medical evidence came to light.
This saw the group's lawyer actually arguing against her own charges, in a bid to have mention of dishonesty scrapped.
In fact she made such a convincing case that the remaining, watered-down charges were never likely to win over the panel.
And if the NMC looked bad, it was even worse for Public Health England - ironically, given they raised the original complaint against Ms Cafferkey.
The hearing was told of "chaotic" scenes at PHE's Heathrow screening centre, with patients being told to administer their own tests. There were constant miscommunications between doctors, including one who left messages at the wrong hospital. In the end, many present at the hearing were puzzled as to why it was Ms Cafferkey who was under the microscope and not one of several others who appear to have let her down.
It now seems as if the case against Pauline Cafferkey had fallen apart before the hearing even began - raising questions as to why she had to go through it in the first place.
After Ms Cafferkey was cleared, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Sending my very best wishes to Pauline Cafferkey. Her bravery is an inspiration to all of us."
Last month it emerged that Ms Cafferkey would face charges from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) over alleged misconduct when she returned to the UK in December 2014.
When the panel hearing got under way on Tuesday, the NMC withdrew a charge of dishonesty, leaving her facing three charges.
The first charge alleged that while in a Public Health England screening area, inside Terminal 4 at Heathrow, she allowed an incorrect temperature to be recorded on her screening form.
The second charge alleges that she left the screening area without reporting her true temperature to medics.
The third charge alleged that she did not tell a doctor she had recently taken paracetamol.
After deliberating overnight, the panel ruled on Wednesday that Ms Cafferkey had not been guilty of misconduct in relation to all charges.
Panel chairman Timothy Cole told Ms Cafferkey that in her "exhausted and increasingly unwell state" she did not set out to mislead staff.
He said Ms Cafferkey's conduct in leaving the screening area without flagging up her elevated temperature could only be explained by illness and exhaustion.
Commenting on the outcome, NMC chief executive and registrar, Jackie Smith, said: "As the independent panel recognised, the NMC has an overarching duty to protect the health and wellbeing of the public and need to ensure the maintenance of public confidence in the profession.
"The referral from Public Health England showed a highly unusual set of circumstances that clearly required a thorough and proper investigation. In circumstances like this, it is right for an independent panel to hear all the evidence to decide if any action is required."
The decision to clear Ms Cafferkey was based on an agreed narrative of facts which had been presented to the panel on Tuesday.
These characterised the screening area at Heathrow airport as "busy, disorganised and even chaotic" when Ms Cafferkey and other medics arrived back from Sierra Leone.
They showed that the nurse's temperature was recorded twice by a doctor, in the presence of another person referred to as "registrant A", at more than 38C.
The doctor claimed that "registrant A" stated that she would record the temperature as 37.2C on Ms Cafferkey's screening form and then they would 'get out of there and sort it out'".
Ms Cafferkey recalled the words "let's get out of here" being used but could not remember who said it or who entered the incorrect temperature on her screening form.
The panel also heard that Ms Cafferkey accepted that her temperature had been measured at above 38C, yet allowed a reading of 37.2C to be recorded, after which she continued to the arrivals area.
It was heard that a temperature above 37.5C "is an elevated or pyrexial (feverish) temperature that requires further assessment and should be reported to a consultant".
Ms Cafferkey admitted taking paracetamol at some point but did not mention it to a doctor when she returned to the screening areas.
That doctor found her temperature to be normal and cleared the nurse to fly back to Scotland.
Hours later she was diagnosed with one of the most severe viral loads of Ebola ever recorded.
Doctors' evidence to the panel stated that early symptoms of Ebola would have impaired Ms Cafferkey's judgement and that there was no evidence she had been deliberately dishonest to staff.
The nurse, from Halfway, Cambuslang, contracted Ebola while working as part of a British team at the Kerry Town Ebola treatment centre in 2014.
She spent almost a month in isolation at the Royal Free hospital in London at the beginning of 2015 after the virus was detected when she arrived back in the UK.
Ms Cafferkey was later discharged after apparently making a full recovery, and in March 2015 returned to work as a public health nurse at Blantyre Health Centre in South Lanarkshire.
In October last year it was discovered that Ebola was still present in her body, with health officials later confirming she had been diagnosed with meningitis caused by the virus.
However, in the months that followed, her health suffered as she had issues with her thyroid, her hair fell out and she had headaches and pains in her joints. | A Scots nurse who survived Ebola has been cleared of misconduct charges by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. | 37364497 |
The Wallaby, 28, has not recovered from a hamstring injury picked up in their semi-final victory over Leicester.
Willie Le Roux switches to full-back, with Josh Bassett, who scored the winning try against the Tigers, starting on the wing.
Exeter make one change to the starting XV which overcame Saracens, with wing Olly Woodburn replacing James Short.
Short is Exeter's top try-scorer this season, having scored 11 tries in the Premiership, 14 times in all competitions.
Chris Jones, BBC Radio 5 live rugby reporter
Pace-setters all season, Wasps have been the great entertainers of the campaign, scoring tries at will and playing a brilliant brand of rugby.
However, their set-piece fell apart against Leicester - this area is one of the Chiefs' strengths - and if Wasps don't win enough good quality ball they will lose. Conversely, if their scrum and line-out does function, they have the tools to blow any team away.
Both clubs thoroughly deserve to be here, having finished in the top two and having showed remarkable composure under pressure to edge their semi-finals. They actually met on round one of the Premiership - Wasps edged it that day - so the league has come full circle.
But, while Wasps may have slightly tailed away at the back end of the season, Exeter have been on an upward curve. This may be decisive.
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon:
"We've got to make sure we leave the semi-final behind. The big thing is, with a semi-final that was that good a game, won in such a manner and was such a thriller for everybody who was there, sometimes it gets hard to leave it behind - you've got to move on.
"We're actually probably a stronger group going into the final than we were last week, which is always nice. There's a larger playing group who've had more time training and more time to return from injury.
"We've got to make sure that we don't expect that having a bit of experience from last year will be that big a factor. We've got to demand that what the big factor is, is the quality we play at."
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young:
"The final is new territory for this group of players, but really exciting territory. But, as much as we are going to enjoy the day, we want more than that.
"We are not there to make up the numbers. We are there to give absolutely everything we have to try to win the trophy. Saturday is about more than the matchday 23 lucky enough to wear the shirt. It will be about every player who has played their part this season to get us to Twickenham.
"We have a lot of respect for Exeter Chiefs, who are a quality team and a quality club. We've had some memorable battles over the past couple of seasons and know how well drilled and coached they are, so we will have to be at our absolute best to win. Produce our best and I know we are a match for anyone."
Wasps: Le Roux; Wade, Daly, Gopperth, Bassett; Cipriani, Robson; Mullan, Taylor, Swainston, Launchbury (capt), Symons, Haskell, Young, Hughes.
Replacements: Johnson, McIntyre, Moore, Myall, Thompson, Simpson, Leiua, Halai.
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman; Nowell, Whitten, Devoto, Woodburn; Steenson (capt), Townsend; Moon, Cowan-Dickie, Williams, Dennis, Parling, Horstmann, Armand, Waldrom.
Replacements: Yeandle, Rimmer, Francis, Lees, S. Simmonds, Chudley, Slade, Campagnaro. | Wasps back Kurtley Beale has been ruled out of Saturday's Premiership final against Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham. | 40018239 |
The 24-year-old player has scored 13 goals and made eight assists in 33 Premier League games.
The award was voted for by the Belgian midfielder's fellow professionals.
Hazard, who won last season's young player accolade, was handed the prize at the Grosvenor Hotel in London on Sunday.
He said: "I'm very happy. One day I want to be the best and what I did this season is play very well, Chelsea played very well."
"Personally I have played a good season, I have been there in the big games and I scored a lot of important goals," he added.
Chelsea midfielder Ji So-Yun took the Women's Player of the Year award.
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, 21, and Arsenal midfielder Leah Williamson, 18, won the PFA Young Player of the Year awards. | Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard has won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award. | 32478116 |
Christians, Turkmen, Yazidis, Shabak, Sabian Mandaeans, Bahais, Kakais and Faili Kurds have lived in Iraq for a very long time - some for centuries, others for thousands of years.
Many of them, particularly Christians, Yazidis, Shabak and Turkemen, live in Nineveh, a culturally rich province 250 miles (400km) north-west of Baghdad. The area known as the Nineveh Plain, north-east of the province, is inhabited mostly by these minority groups.
Since the US-led invasion of 2003, Nineveh has been racked by two parallel conflicts - between the central government and extremist Islamist groups, and the central government and the autonomous Kurdish region.
Persecuted under the Ottomans, Saddam Hussein's Baathists and nowadays by jihadists, and facing prejudice and intolerance, some of the smaller minority groups, such as the Shabak and Yazidis, have led a life of secrecy.
This in turn has given rise to misconceptions and suspicions about them, and led to further persecutions.
With the takeover of Mosul, Nineveh's capital, on 10 June by the Islamic State (formerly known as Isis), the minorities in the city fled en masse to the villages in the Nineveh Plain or further north to Kurdish cities. Many of them took up arms alongside the Kurdish forces.
Since then, there has been a steady flow of reports of attacks carried out by the Islamists against minority groups and destruction of their places of worship. The Islamic State itself has posted pictures of dozens of historic and religious sites in Nineveh that it demolished, under the pretext that reverence of such sites is heretical.
Iraq's Christians are of diverse ethnicities and denominations, but the majority are Chaldo-Assyrians who have lived in the region for thousands of years.
Their numbers have fallen from around 1.5 million in 2003 to 350,000-450,000. In Nineveh, they live mainly in the villages of Nineveh Plain, which include the Christian-dominant districts of Al-Hamdaniya (with its famous town of Qaraqosh) and Tel Kef.
One of the most devastating attacks targeting Iraqi Christians happened in 2010 when jihadists stormed a church in Baghdad during Sunday mass killing 52 people.
The Kurdish-speaking Yazidis are an ancient religious minority group that live in northern Iraq, particularly in the Nineveh Plain. A highly secretive group, their origins are subject of ongoing debates, although many consider them to be ethnic Kurds.
Their religion incorporates elements of many faiths, including Zoroastrian. As a result of some of their beliefs and the mystery surrounding their religion, many Muslims and non-Muslims have come to see Yazidis as devil worshippers.
This has led to violent attacks by Islamist groups who consider them infidels. In August 2007 jihadists attacked Yazidi villages in Nineveh, killing between 400 and 700 people.
There are estimated to be around 500,000 Yazidis today, most of them living in the Nineveh Plain in territories disputed between Arabs and Kurds.
A minority group with its distinct language and customs, Shabaks are mostly Shia Muslims and a minority are Sunnis.
It is thought that today there are about 250,000-400,000 Shabaks, almost all in Nineveh.
Some Sunni extremists accuse the predominantly Shia Shabak of being an apostate offshoot of Islam, giving way to violent attacks against them.
Located in areas of disputed ownership between Kurdish and Arab Iraq, the Shabaks have often faced persecution as well as pressure to assimilate by both Arabs and Kurds.
The Turkmen are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq, after the Arabs and Kurds, estimated to number between half a million and 2.5 million.
They are mostly Muslim, roughly divided between the Sunni and Shia traditions. A minority are Catholics.
Turkmen have their own language and customs. They live mainly along the line between the Arab and Kurdish regions - in the provinces of Nineveh (mostly in Tal Afar), Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala, but also in other parts of the country.
Often caught up in the power struggles between the Kurdish region and the central government and under Kurdish and Arab pressure to assimilate, they have also been the target of attacks by jihadists.
Following the Islamic State's takeover of Tal Afar in Nineveh, most of the town's 250,000 population fled to the Kurdish region.
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. | The conflict in Iraq is often framed as a struggle between Shias and Sunnis and Arabs and Kurds - but the country is home to a number of minority groups who find themselves caught in the violence and in political bargains beyond their control. | 28351073 |
The 22-year-old, who was on holiday, was drugged in a Doha hotel and woke up in an unfamiliar flat, where she realised she had been raped, her lawyer says.
She was arrested in March on suspicion of having sex outside of marriage. She is due to appear in court on Monday.
The alleged rapist is also being held, but says the sex had been consensual.
A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman said the woman, who she named as Laura, had been arrested but not yet been charged.
"We have provided assistance to her since the first day of detention. For the sake of the defendant's case we will not make further comments at this point," the Dutch embassy said in a statement.
The woman had gone dancing at a hotel in Doha where alcohol was allowed, "but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink... she felt very unwell" and realised she had been drugged, her lawyer Brian Lokollo told Dutch broadcaster NOS-Radio1.
Her next memory was waking up in an unfamiliar apartment where she "realised to her great horror that she had been raped," Mr Lokollo added.
The woman may also be charged with an alcohol-related offence, news website Doha News reported.
It is an offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public in Qatar, although alcohol is allowed at certain hotels and expatriates can obtain a permit for purchasing alcohol.
In 2013, a Norwegian woman in neighbouring United Arab Emirates was given a 16-month prison sentence for perjury, extramarital sex and drinking alcohol after she told police she had been raped.
She was later pardoned and allowed to return to Norway. | A Dutch woman is being detained in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she told police she had been raped. | 36508590 |
The boys, aged eleven and 12 at the time, spotted a distressed woman going into the Firth of Forth near Granton, in September 2015.
They tried to stop her, then alerted the coastguard and recorded the incident on a mobile phone.
Waca Ceesay, 12, Andrew Ball, 12, Aleks Czernecki, 13, Tyler Anderson, 13, and Kian McGee, 13, were given awards.
Kian said: "It was last year in September when we were at Gypsy Brae and we noticed her stumbling and thought something was wrong.
"She went down to the shore bit and started to strip. At first we thought it was funny and then suddenly there was a splash as she jumped into the water and we knew something was wrong."
His friend Tyler added: "We got someone who was passing by to call the police and the coastguard. She would probably have died of hypothermia if we hadn't."
The boys were among 36 police officers and 21 members of the public honoured for their courage at the Police Scotland Bravery and Meritorious Service Awards.
Among the other winners were PC Gary Cooper and PC Sarah Hay who called to a domestic incident in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in September 2014, which quickly turned violent.
PC Hay said: "It was just a domestic call and a female had reported that her husband was going crazy and smashing up the place."
The pair arrived at the house and could not see the man, but he suddenly ran through the house and was going to run away before he was restrained by PC Cooper.
The attacker started punching and kicking before launching an attack on PC Hay, who suffered an injured eye socket and facial injuries.
PC Cooper said: "It just started off a normal call at the end of a shift, you never know what's going to happen."
Chief Constable Phil Gormley, who presented the awards at Police Scotland College in Tulliallan, said: "It is genuinely humbling to hear of the extraordinary lengths people have gone to to help others.
"I was privileged to present these awards, meet the winners and to hear more about their stories.
"It is absolutely right we honour their bravery and show not only how proud we are of our police officers in Scotland, but also of members of the public who don't hesitate to take action to help another person at what could be the most difficult time of that individual's life.
"The actions of today's winners - both officers and members of the public - have undoubtedly saved lives and touched the hearts of people across the country." | Five boys who saved a woman's life in Edinburgh have been honoured at Police Scotland's bravery awards. | 37925616 |
Peter Madsen, 46, denies wrongdoing, saying he had dropped off the reporter - 30-year-old Kim Wall - in Copenhagen before the sinking.
Her partner raised the alarm in the early hours of Friday when she failed to return from the Nautilus vessel.
It was later spotted but sank on Friday morning and Mr Madsen was rescued.
Police have launched a search for Ms Wall, a freelance journalist based in New York and China who has written for the New York Times, the Guardian and Vice Magazine.
Danish media said Mr Madsen had been charged with negligent manslaughter and would be detained for 24 days, following his court appearance on Saturday.
Police would not comment on why charges had been brought before a body had been found.
In a statement to Swedish paper Aftonbladet, Ms Wall's family said: "It is with great dismay we received the message that Kim is missing. We believe and sincerely hope she will be found safe and well."
Her friends and family have been posting widely on social media asking for her whereabouts.
Salvage teams started raising the Nautilus from the seabed in Koge Bay, south of Copenhagen, on Saturday.
Police are hunting for witnesses and camera footage to determine whether the missing woman had disembarked after setting off.
Footage aired by Denmark's TV2 shows Mr Madsen getting out of what appeared to be a private boat, giving reporters a thumbs-up sign, saying: "I am fine, but sad because Nautilus went down."
He later told a reporter: "I was out on a rehearsal trip, tinkering with different things in the submarine. Then a defect happened with a ballast tank which wasn't that serious - until I tried to repair it - then it suddenly became very serious.
"After that it took 30 seconds for Nautilus to sink. I couldn't close the hatch or anything. But that might be OK, as I would still be down there then."
Ms Wall had been writing about Mr Madsen and his submarine, which at one stage was the largest privately-made vessel of its kind.
Mr Madsen made headlines in 2008 when he built the home-made submarine, that is almost 18 metres long, by using online crowd-funding. | A Danish submarine owner has appeared in court over the disappearance of a Swedish female journalist who had been on board his vessel before it sank. | 40909469 |
The Grade II listed building originally opened in 1856 but was damaged by a fire in 1972.
It closed in 2012 so a proper stage, backstage area and additional performing spaces could be built. The seating capacity has also increased.
An adaptation of the Great Gatsby will be the first production to be shown at the renovated theatre.
The University of Portsmouth is leasing part of the site from the theatre and will teach from the building.
A performing studio and rehearsal space has been built on land behind the theatre and is dedicated to the late director Anthony Minghella.
Caroline Sharman, artistic director and chief executive, said: "Over the past 40 years, there have been various attempts to keep it going.
"The support we got from the community has been hugely important.
"The more people I have spoken to the more I have heard what it means to people, such as their grandparents meeting here or getting engaged in a box.
"I am looking forward to welcoming people and saying thank you. It's really important for me to just say thank you to everyone."
The New Theatre Royal will feature in the documentary 'On Stage' on 9 November at 19:30 BST on BBC One in the south of England. | The New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth is reopening after a £4.5m revamp. | 34529842 |
The move came following concerns from politicians about officers carrying weapons while on routine patrol.
Opposition parties described the move as a U-turn.
However Police Scotland said the standing order allowing the deployment of officers with handguns and Taser stun guns would continue.
The "national standing firearms authority", in place since April 2013, allows a limited number of trained armed response vehicle officers to deploy with side arms and Tasers across Scotland.
Councillors in the Borders and Highlands have voiced concern, as well as opposition MSPs.
Many will see this as a U-turn.
Last year, Police Scotland rolled out a policy to allow firearms officers to carry handguns with them at all times while on duty rather than getting kitted up to deal with specific incidents.
It proved controversial, with photos emerging of police wearing guns in shopping centres and rural areas.
But today they've announced that officers attached to armed response vehicles will now only be used for specific incidents or if there is a threat to life.
And - as the BBC revealed yesterday - Police Scotland will review the types of holsters used to carry the handguns.
But despite criticism from local authorities and MSPs, police will continue the "standing order" which allows firearms officers to carry weapons routinely.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said the "national standing firearms authority" would remain in place, but issued directions on how officers are deployed after listening to the concerns of politicians and members of the public.
The national force has also set up a working group, to report in January 2015, which will review how handguns and Tasers are carried, as well as how armed response vehicle officers are used when not deployed to firearm incidents.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, said: "Protecting the public and ensuring that all communities have the same access to specialist policing support, no matter where or when they need it, is at the heart of this decision.
"We have balanced our overriding duty to keep people safe with consideration of the views expressed about the perception of armed officers supporting local policing activities.
"Having a small number of armed police officers available means we can retain our operational flexibility and ensure that more than 98% of our officers remain unarmed, but we remain best placed to support the public when the need arises. The public would expect nothing less."
Policy reviews
Mr Livingstone added: "The chief constable recognised the concerns expressed about the deployment of armed officers.
"As an organisation we acknowledge the local feeling from politicians and some members of the public, as evidenced by the feedback from several local authorities.
"We have listened to those concerns and this has resulted in the chief constable's announcement today."
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said armed officers are a "long-standing feature" of policing in Scotland, but it was for the chief constable to make operational decisions about where and when to deploy them.
He added: "The Scottish government welcomes the findings of the quarterly review of the standing firearms authority, which Police Scotland believes balances public safety while taking into account the views of local communities across Scotland.
"Ministers have noted the commitment to deploy armed officers only to firearms incidents or cases where there is a threat to life.
"We welcome Police Scotland's commitment to regularly review their policy on the deployment of armed officers, which will take into account factors such as current threat levels."
Labour justice spokesman Graeme Pearson, a former senior police office, said: "I welcome the change of heart reflected in Police Scotland's announcement and I know that local communities across Scotland will be pleased at the review."
Independent Highland MSP John Finnie, who also served as a police officer, added: "It is a great relief that armed police officers will no longer be seen on our streets dealing with routine police business as this was having a negative impact on community relations."
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Alison McInnes, whose party consistently asked questions over the firearms policy, added: "This U-turn is a win for the many local communities across Scotland who were alarmed by this undemocratic and fundamental change in policing approach."
Police Scotland said 275 officers - less than 2% of the force - were currently attached to armed response vehicles, which it said was proportionate and necessary to keep people safe.
The force also said it would carefully consider the findings of firearms policy reviews currently being carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. | Specialist armed police officers in Scotland will in future only be deployed to firearms incidents or where there is a threat to life. | 29444184 |
The figures - from the Office for National Statistics - are for the first full month after the Brexit vote.
They show that he average house price across the UK in July rose to £217,000.
The eastern region of England remains the area with the fastest growing prices. The annual rate of inflation there was 13.2% .
Prices in London grew at 12.3%, although they fell in parts of Central London, like Hammersmith and Fulham.
Earlier this month the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that the UK housing market had settled down after the Brexit vote.
There was a sharp drop in the number of sales immediately following the referendum result.
Surveyors now expect prices to continue to rise by an average of 3.3% a year for the next five years.
However other economists have predicted a decline of up to 5% in house prices next year.
Where can I afford to live? | House price inflation across the UK fell to 8.3% in the year to July, down from 9.7% in June, according to official statistics. | 37348155 |
The former Northern Ireland boss has watched them win their first ever European Championship game from afar, as he is immersed in life as a club ambassador at Fakenham Town, a club that finished 17th in the ninth tier of English football last season.
"I'll never be an artist, don't worry about that," he jokes with BBC Radio Norfolk of his painting skills.
"We are fortunate to have so many people who give up their time free of charge and it would be wrong for people like that to come in and do work and for myself, the chairman Andrew (Jarvis) not to.
"Everybody's hands on, we respect each other and what we are doing, and all want the club to go in a very positive and upward manner."
Since a spell as York City manager ended in October 2014, the 54-year-old has had a number of offers to return to the game.
But Worthington said he is much happier being hands-on in the area he has lived in ever since becoming Norwich manager in 2000 and at a club where his son used to play.
"I've been in the game for a long time, I missed my first two children growing up because of club and international commitments," he said.
"But I'm content in what I'm doing at the moment, and to give something back to football and the local community where I've lived for almost 16 years satisfies me very much."
Worthington's connections are proving very useful for the Eastern Counties League Premier Division side, with Norwich City and Premier League champions Leicester City both sending sides to Clipbush Park for pre-season friendlies this summer.
But he has a lot of work to do to make the place look "professional" before those two matches.
"I've been very lucky over many years to have had a load of people around me doing a lot of things for me, but to come in here and get my hands dirty, that's the nice thing.
"When you come up here and see the place full of more than 200 kids, and the place is being used to its maximum, it looks fantastic.
"This is very grounding. It's very humbling to see so many give up their time, and be so willing to get their hands dirty, to make the club a better place for the community."
Nigel Worthington was speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk's Chris Goreham
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Emptying bins, painting the walls and tiling the roof at a non-league club in Norfolk is a far cry from Euro 2016 - but Nigel Worthington doesn't mind. | 36575864 |
The higher education funding councils have announced a review of how universities are monitored.
There will be a public tendering process to run the university inspection system from 2017.
The current watchdog, the Quality Assurance Agency, says that it already offers "internationally recognised expertise" in ensuring quality.
The announcement raises the prospect of a new system for protecting the quality of higher education.
It is the first time that the contract for running the watchdog system will have been put out to competitive tender in this way.
It follows major changes in the university sector - with more consumer pressure from students paying higher tuition fees and an increasing number of private providers needing to be overseen.
It will also become a bigger sector next year with the removal of limits on student numbers.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for their own standards - but since 1997 the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has had a role in checking that these standards are maintained.
The funding councils say they want assessment arrangements that are "risk-based, proportionate, affordable, and low burden".
There will be a consultation process followed by competitive bids to run the quality assurance monitoring.
There could also be a split in the current UK-wide system - with England, Wales and Northern Ireland carrying out a review separately from a parallel review announced for Scotland.
A spokeswoman for the QAA says it would bid for the contract.
"QAA has internationally recognised expertise in providing quality assurance and enhancement to an exceptional standard," said chairman Sir Rodney Brooke.
"In recent years, we have continued to adapt the quality assurance framework to meet the needs of a growing and dynamic sector, working with higher education, further education and alternative providers.
"We look forward to continuing the development of quality assessment, protecting the public interest and supporting the UK higher education sector's international reputation for excellence."
The QAA carries out a watchdog role, but it is a very different type of organisation from Ofsted which inspects schools. While Ofsted has been debating whether a day's warning allows schools too much time to prepare for inspectors, the QAA can warn universities of a review several years in advance.
Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of universities, said she wanted a "proportional approach" which would require less "inspection and bureaucracy" for older, well established institutions.
"Our universities will not flourish if they are over-regulated. Resources should be focused where problems of quality are most likely to occur."
Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the Million+ group of universities, said the funding councils need "to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater".
"While there have been concerns about the QAA's modus operandi, the system is certainly not broken and has the advantage of being UK-wide in scope and internationally recognised.
"Higher education would certainly not benefit from an Ofsted-style inspection regime."
Nick Davy from the Association of Colleges said that the review process needed to recognise that about 10% of all funding-council regulated higher education was delivered in further education colleges.
Mr Davy said any quality assurance system needed to be appropriate to assessing the type of technical and professional education wanted by employers. | How the quality of university courses in the UK is checked is to be overhauled in the next few years. | 29521363 |
There were no injuries in the incident in which the drone hit the wheel and then a table as it fell to the ground.
The incident has added weight to calls to introduce national registers for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
The US has started up a register while the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has just announced similar plans for UAVs weighing over 1kg.
The area on Seattle's Pier 57 is understood to be a no-fly zone.
Drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) usage is skyrocketing with the Federal Aviation Administration estimating that by 2020 in the US there will be approximately 30,000 commercial drones in use and many more civilian devices.
Last month the US Department of Transportation and the FAA announced that they were preparing a registration scheme that would allow them to "track down people who fly drones above the FAA designated-altitudes, or get too close to airports and other restricted zones".
In Ireland, from 21 December, all drones weighing over 1kg must be registered while in the UK the House of Lords EU Committee have called for the compulsory registration of all commercial and civilian drones.
Drone crashes are increasingly hitting the headlines:
Drone use has raised privacy and security questions too. When a quadcopter drone crashed into the White House lawn in January, it caused minor panic until it emerged that the operator was a government employee.
As the number of drone-related accidents increases, so drone liability has emerged as a field of law and drone injury lawyers are setting up websites to help people who have been "injured by drone". | Seattle police are investigating after a drone collided with the city's giant Ferris wheel on Wednesday afternoon. | 34797182 |
The 32-year-old defender, who joined from local rivals Nottingham Forest in 2012, has a year to run on the three-year deal he signed in 2014.
Morgan told BBC East Midlands Today: "I love it here and would love to stay.
"But now I am focusing on what we can achieve as a group and trying to get over that finishing line."
Morgan added: "First and foremost I need to concentrate on the pitch and see what happens after that."
The Foxes have 53 points and are two points clear at the top of the table with 12 games remaining.
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham have 51 points, with Manchester City in fourth place on 47 points. | Leicester City captain Wes Morgan says he has not started talks about a new contract but is eager to extend his time with the Premier League leaders. | 35611283 |
The UKIP leader said Vote Leave had been "too defensive" and needed to speak about the EU's "open borders" to take the fight to the "enemy".
He said the Cabinet ministers in Vote Leave lacked credibility because of the government's record on immigration.
Mr Farage is not part of Vote Leave and is running his own UKIP campaign for an exit vote in 23 June's referendum.
In a speech in Westminster, he said Vote Leave - a cross party campaign headed by Conservative ministers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - had spent too much time "defending their own goal" from their opponents' economic attacks.
He urged them to "get onto the other side of the pitch" and start making a more assertive case over immigration.
He said: "Where the enemy are at their absolute weakest is on this whole question of open door migration, the effect that it's had on the lives of ordinary Britons over the course of the last decade and the threat that it poses given the new terror and security threat that we face in the west.
"I'm sorry to say that at the moment they don't appear to have done it."
This issue covers immigration and free movement within Europe.
He accused the Remain campaign of a "remorseless torrent of propaganda", attacking the OECD and the International Monetary Fund as "overpaid useless people" and President Obama of "parroting the Number 10 line" after he spoke out against a UK exit.
Raising the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Cologne and warnings of extremists "posing as migrants", he said migration, terror and the security threat was the "weakest" point for the Remain campaign.
UKIP-backed Grassroots Out missed out on being designated as the official Leave campaign when the Electoral Commission instead chose Vote Leave after a bitter battle between the rival Brexit camps.
Mr Farage said Vote Leave did not have the "credible voice" to speak out on migration, given the government's attempts to reduce the overall numbers.
He said he had reached out to Vote Leave, saying "let bygones be bygones", but "every time I try to work with them I am rebuffed and rejected". Fine, he added, "we will make the arguments ourselves".
He also said the referendum result would be decided by the level of turnout and the Leave side must "motivate" its supporters to get out and vote on 23 June.
A Vote Leave spokesman said "we wish Nigel well" and insisted the campaign group was committed to creating a "fairer and more humane" immigration system outside the EU.
Earlier this week Home Secretary Theresa May said EU membership made the UK "more secure from crime and terrorism".
On security, she said EU membership enabled the UK to access EU-wide information, such as criminal records, to allow the UK to turn away serious criminals and terrorists at the border, fast-track the extradition of offenders and simplify the deportation of prisoners.
She also said the free movement of workers within the EU makes it more difficult to curb immigration to the UK.
Mr Farage seized on this comment in his speech, brandishing a UK passport which he said made it "impossible" to control the numbers arriving, claiming wealthy people living in London were happy with an influx of cheaper nannies, gardeners and labour.
Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major has, meanwhile, said the Leave campaign's "splendid isolation" approach would leave the UK weaker.
He told Leave campaigners to "go to North Korea" if they want "undiluted sovereignty". | Nigel Farage has accused the official EU leave campaign of not focusing hard enough on immigration. | 36167329 |
One of those killed was a serving police officer who had tried to halt robberies at a petrol station.
The government announced last month that it would stop subsidising petrol and prices would gradually increase through 2017.
An increase of 20% came into force on 1 January.
It brought the price of a litre of petrol to 18 pesos ($0.85; £0.70).
That makes the average price of a gallon of petrol around the same as the daily minimum wage - 80 pesos ($3.77, £3.07) - and the raise has caused outrage among people dependent on petrol for their jobs.
President Enrique Pena Nieto has called for calm, saying the price hike is necessary after a rise in global oil prices.
In a televised address to the nation, he said keeping the subsidy would have put the country's whole economy at risk.
He said raising the petrol price was a "difficult and unpopular but necessary decision".
Traffic ground to a halt in Mexico City as transport workers and lorry drivers set up blockades. Protesters called for the president to stand down.
In the central town of Ixmiquilpan, two protesters died during clashes with police who were trying to clear a major road between Mexico City and Laredo.
In Veracruz, one person died after being hit by a lorry in which alleged looters were trying to escape the authorities, police sources said.
Hundreds of shops were looted, with some emptied of clothing, TVs and other consumer goods.
Some skirmishes have broken out between rioters and people who have armed themselves with planks, machetes and rocks in an attempt to prevent looting.
In Monterrey in northern Mexico, at least six protest marches convened on the state government's palace in the centre of town. Gunfire erupted and some of the 10,000 protesters threw stones and broke stained glass windows. | At least six people have died and 1,500 have been arrested during days of protests in Mexico against a rise in the price of petrol. | 38543198 |
Yn 1991 y dechreuodd Helen Greenwood weithio gyda'r mudiad yng Ngwent, ac fe fu hefyd yn gweithio gyda'r Cylch Meithrin lleol.
"Mae gen i storis gan rieni yn y Cylch Meithrin pan agorodd o, ymhell cyn i fi ddod, lle oedd pobl yn awgrymu bod nhw off eu pennau yn penderfynu bod nhw eisiau i'w plant fynd i ysgol Gymraeg."
Mae'r agwedd yna wedi chwyldroi erbyn heddiw meddai.
"Hynny yw mae pawb yn derbyn erbyn hyn bod cael ysgolion Cymraeg a chylchoedd meithrin yn rhan normal o unrhyw gymdeithas."
Mae twf addysg Gymraeg yn yr ardal yn arwydd arall bod yna frwdfrydedd dros yr iaith, a'r llynedd ac yn 2015 Gwent oedd yr ardal gyda'r nifer uchaf o aelodau'r Urdd yng Nghymru gyfan - ffaith meddai sydd yn "anhygoel o ystyried cyn lleied o Gymraeg sydd yn yr ardal wir."
Ei chymar wnaeth ei pherswadio i symud i Flaenau Gwent am ei fod yn byw yn yr ardal. Ac o fewn dim roedd hi wedi cael cynnig gwaith.
"Cael galwad ffôn gan rywun oedd yn nabod rhywun, oedd yn gwybod mod i wedi symud, yn dweud bod nhw yn chwilio am swyddog datblygu rhan amser i'r Urdd yn yr ardal. A trio dweud mod i ddim yn adnabod yr ardal, bod gen i ddim syniad o ran yr ysgolion ac ati," meddai ond fe gafodd ei pherswadio i fynd i gael sgwrs efo cadeirydd y pwyllgor rhanbarth yn yr ardal.
"Anne Hughes oedd ei henw hi, oedd hi yn brifathrawes yn Ysgol Gymraeg Trelyn a hi wnaeth fy mherswadio fi. Oedd ei brwdfrydedd hi'n heintus."
Mae Helen ei hun wedi bod yn frwd dros y Gymraeg ac wedi gweithio i Gymdeithas yr Iaith ar un cyfnod er nad oedd hi'n siarad yr iaith ar yr aelwyd gartref.
Dysgu'r Gymraeg wnaeth hi yn yr ysgol gynradd yn Ynys Môn. Yn ôl ei thad, pe byddai'r teulu wedi byw yn Lloegr, fe fyddai ei ferch wedi ymwneud gyda rhyw achos neu'i gilydd am fod hynny yn rhan o'i chymeriad.
"Odd o yn dweud mwy na thebyg byddwn ni wedi cael fy nhynnu mewn i neud rwbath gyda CND, neu fudiad gwyrdd neu rwbath, bod o jest yn rhan ohono i, mod i isio bod yn rhan o fudiadau oedd yn cynnig gweithredu dros gyfiawnder neu yn yr achos yma dros yr iaith."
Yr her pan oedd hi'n cychwyn efo'r Urdd yng Ngwent oedd cynnig ystod o weithgareddau i blant a phobl ifanc oedd ddim yn cael y cyfle i ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg tu allan i furiau'r ysgol. Mae argyhoeddi ysgolion ail iaith fod yna werth bod yn rhan o'r Urdd wedi bod yn her arall.
"Ond mae hwnna wedi mynd yn haws ar hyd y blynyddoedd achos mae o yn rhan o'r cwricwlwm rŵan bod nhw yn cynnig y Gymraeg a phethau o'r tu allan i'r ysgol trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg."
Sialens arall yw cynnig digon o gyfleoedd i bobl ifanc sydd ddim yn yr ysgolion fel eu bod yn gallu defnyddio'r Gymraeg yn gymdeithasol.
"Mae'n hawdd i ni drefnu gweithgareddau i blant a phobl ifanc tra bod nhw yn yr ysgol. Yr her ydy cadw gafael arnyn nhw, y rhai sydd ddim efallai yn mynd i'r brifysgol, sydd yn aros yn yr ardal.
"Mae angen i'r Mentrau, yr Urdd, y Mudiad Meithrin ddangos iddyn nhw bod yna gyfleoedd i ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg. Achos maen nhw yn colli'r cyfle ac yn troi fyny ac yn dweud, 'O, dw i ddim yn gallu siarad Cymraeg bellach. Dw i wedi gadael yr ysgol. '
"Wrth gwrs diffyg hyder ydy o. Dydyn nhw byth yn mynd i anghofio ond jest cyfleoedd sydd angen."
Ddiwedd yr haf y bydd Helen yn gorffen gweithio gyda'r Urdd ac mae'n cyfaddef fod gwneud popeth am y tro olaf yn deimlad 'od'.
Mae ei diolch yn fawr i'r gwirfoddolwyr a'r athrawon ac yn dweud na fyddai wedi cyflawni nag wedi mwynhau cymaint heb eu help.
"Bydda i'n colli'r gwmnïaeth mae hwnna yn sicr. Bydda i yn colli'r amrywiaeth yr holl bethau 'dw i wedi gwneud.
"Ond mae'r amser nawr i gamu nôl a gadael i rywun ifancach gymryd drosodd." | Mae gwraig sy'n ymddeol ar ôl gweithio am chwarter canrif i'r Urdd yn y de ddwyrain yn dweud bod agwedd rhieni tuag at y Gymraeg yn yr ardal wedi newid yn llwyr yn ystod y cyfnod y buodd hi yno. | 39553811 |
Felix Tshisekedi, 53, will now lead the opposition coalition in crucial negotiations over the departure of President Joseph Kabila from office.
Under a deal agreed last year, new elections would be held by the end of 2017 and Mr Kabila would not run.
It followed deadly protests calling for the president to step down.
Mr Kabila's final mandate ran out in November 2016.
Not everyone in the opposition coalition is happy with the choice of the younger Tshisekedi as leader, with some openly criticising his lack of senior political experience.
"Where else in the world would someone be put in charge of such an important process... who has only been in the opposition for seven months," coalition member Joseph Olengankoy told BBC Afrique.
The UDPS party of Mr Tshisekedi senior has not yet announced a new leader, although it is part of the alliance now lead by his son.
The veteran opposition leader died in Belgium earlier this year, aged 84.
His body is due to be flown back to Kinshasa on 11 March.
His appointment also comes at a time when there are fears that the government may be trying to retreat from key aspects of the transition deal.
Last month, the budget minister said the cost of organising polls in 2017 was too expensive, throwing the election timetable into doubt.
Mr Tshisekedi's appointment means that he is now more likely to be made prime minister in a power-sharing government, a post due to be held by an opposition figure under the terms of the deal.
DR Congo has never had a smooth transfer of power since independence more than 55 years ago.
Mr Kabila took power in 2001 following the assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila.
He has won two elections and the constitution bars him from running for a third term. | The son of Etienne Tshisekedi, the Democratic Republic of Congo's late opposition leader, has been chosen as his father's successor. | 39156806 |
Darren February, 34, of no fixed address, denies taking valuables from an open safe on 4 December 2015.
The X Factor judge was asleep in the property with his partner Lauren Silverman, their son Eric and a nanny at the time of the break in.
Isleworth Crown Court heard Mr February had dozens of burglary convictions.
Items worth £950,000 were taken from a safe inside a wardrobe which had been left open because Ms Silverman was due to travel the next morning.
Prosecutor Denis Barry told the jury Mr February had first tried the front door of the house in Holland Park, in an attempt described in court as "a bit ambitious".
Mr Barry said: "It would appear from the CCTV that the burglar is catching his breath because he had to shimmy over lots of different walls to get in to the premises and around the premises."
Mr February was identified by two police officers who studied CCTV footage, Mr Barry said.
The prosecutor added: "Mr February over a few years has committed a total of 37 burglaries and what is more relevant, he has committed a total of 37 burglaries, most of which are in this area."
Mr February denies one count of burglary.
The trial continues. | A burglar scaled several walls to break into Simon Cowell's west London home and steal jewellery worth almost £1m, a court has heard. | 39053094 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.