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In Kiev
Fomenko cuts a sharp contrast to the spontaneous combustion that lurked permanently near the surface of Oleg Blokhin, his legendary predecessor.
Former Soviet Union striker Blokhin concluded a frank discussion with a Ukrainian journalist following their defeat by England in Euro 2012 with an old-fashioned invitation to go outside for "a man talk", complete with what looked suspiciously like a few tasty shadow-boxing moves just to emphasise his point.
It is hard to imagine such differing personalities as the emotional Blokhin and the taciturn - to put it very generously - Fomenko.
And yet the latter is clearly inspirational enough to have manoeuvred Ukraine into a position in Group H where they will be firm favourites for automatic qualification should they beat England on Tuesday.
Fomenko does not go in for such obvious dramatic gestures as Blokhin.
Indeed it seems he does not go in for gestures at all but one typically short answer brought a smattering of patriotic applause from his audience in the room deep inside the vast bowl of Kiev's Olympic Stadium.
Asked if the potentially decisive meeting with England was the game of his life, he simply replied: "Not only of mine."
This was all it took to prompt the response and shine a light on the feelings of Ukraine as they believe the goal of Brazil next summer will come into sharp relief should they beat Roy Hodgson's men.
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There was a mood of anticipation among Ukraine fans who walked along the banks of the vast Dnieper river that sweeps through this sprawling, exciting city.
And it will be mirrored in the mood of 70,000 supporters who will gather for what will be arguably the most important night of Hodgson's reign so far.
England are braced for the early whirlwind of attacks that have become Ukraine's calling card. Comparisons are being drawn with the occasion in October 1997 when Glenn Hoddle's England went to Rome's Stadio Olimpico and fought a rearguard action that brought back the goalless draw that sent them to France 98.
Hodgson, then coach of Inter Milan, worked as a television analyst that night.
He knows he will be under far more pressure on Tuesday as England reach the crucial point in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The England manager admits he is feeling that pressure - and why not? Hodgson's years of experience will inform him of the stakes, both professionally and personally, that may ride on events.
Full qualifying tables
Hodgson seemed at ease with such weight of expectation as he said: "We're getting closer to the situation where we are either going to achieve our goal and qualify for the World Cup or we are going to fail in our goal.
"Of course that's pressure but, like Steve Gerrard said, that is part and parcel of the business. You can't get away from that, and discussing it and admitting to it even - what does that do?
"What would you like me to say? 'No I don't feel any pressure and I couldn't care less?' Of course you wouldn't expect me to say that.
"I can't sleep at night? I can't sleep a wink? I'm frightened to death we're going to lose? Do you want me to say that?"
It was all said perfectly calmly but with the air of a man who could probably reel off a list of the searching questions he would be asked should he leave Kiev in the small hours of Wednesday morning a loser.
Hodgson has had a turbulent build-up with new Football Association chairman Greg Dyke realistically suggesting England would not be among the favourites to win in Brazil should they even get there.
And another unwanted distraction came in the form of defender Kyle Walker's apology for his "poor judgement" after photographs were published of the Tottenham defender inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas", during a night out in Sheffield this summer.
Take a look back at Frank Lampard's long career with West Ham, Chelsea and England
At least Hodgson's team selection was uncomplicated, with the reliable James Milner the only expected change in place of suspended Danny Welbeck.
It is an England team with a lop-sided look in terms of experience. Frank Lampard will win his 100th cap to join a select band of eight that includes team-mates Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole.
At the other end of the scale, Rickie Lambert's story gets another chapter as he earns only his third cap at the age of 31.
With midfielder Jack Wilshere also short of competitive England experience, Hodgson will rely heavily on his vastly and trusted trio.
Mikhail Fomenko has outlined what this night means to Ukraine - but Hodgson and England will also know what it will mean to spoil it. | Deadpan hardly does justice to the stone-faced delivery of Ukraine coach Mikhail Fomenko, but this man of few words did not need many to express his nation's feelings about the World Cup qualifier with England. | 24026395 |
County court bailiffs carried out 491 repossessions in 2015 compared to 955 in 2014.
The Ministry of Justice figures showed a downward trend since 2008 when almost 2,500 people lost their homes.
But the latest figures are also the lowest since 2004.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the falling figures were in line with the rest of the UK and put the drop down to very low mortgage rates and relatively strong employment.
However it issued a warning to homeowners to think ahead to when interest rates - which have stood at 0.5% since March 2009 - eventually rise.
"The more people can do now to make sure their finances are in place when the rates do rise the better position they will be in at that time," said CML spokeswoman Sue Anderson.
UK Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: "County court mortgage possession claims are running at the lowest levels since records began.
"This is thanks to our work to tackle the deficit and keep interest rates low, helping more families to stay in their hard-earned homes." | The number of homes repossessed in Wales has halved over the past 12 months and are at the lowest level for more than a decade, official figures have shown. | 35581010 |
He was making a pitch to win back Labour voters from UKIP in his first big speech as shadow home secretary.
He said it was "not true" that free movement had benefited everybody as Labour had claimed in the past.
UKIP said it was a "welcome recognition of the blindingly obvious" but if Mr Burnham wanted to do something about it he should campaign to leave the EU.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who beat Mr Burnham to the Labour leadership by a wide margin, has meanwhile stressed the positive contribution EU migrants had made to the UK.
"People that have migrated to this country over many years have made an enormous contribution to our society, helped our economic growth, helped our health service and helped our social services and our education services, so don't look upon immigration as necessarily a problem, it's often a very great opportunity," Mr Corbyn told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He said Mr Burnham had made the point during the leadership campaign that the government needed to be "far more focused" on the lack of doctors' surgeries or school places and housing difficulties in certain areas.
But Mr Burnham said in his speech that Labour had not "faced up" to some of the impacts of EU migration and consequently appeared "out of touch".
"To win back the voters we lost to UKIP, I want to reframe the debate about immigration and the way Labour approaches it," he told delegates in Brighton.
"For too long, we have argued that free movement across Europe benefits everyone and affects all areas equally. That's just not true.
"In places, a free market in labour benefits private companies more than people and communities. Labour hasn't faced up to that and that's why we look out of touch."
He said David Cameron's renegotiation of Britain's relationship with the EU, ahead of a planned in/out referendum, provided an opportunity to protect workers.
"The truth is that free movement on the current rules is widening inequality. It has built the economic power of the big cities and that is good. But it has made life harder for people in our poorest communities, where wages have been undercut and job security lost.
"The coming referendum presents a chance to change that. Let's seize it as an opportunity to put Labour back on the front foot and back in touch.
"Let's put forward a new vision for a social Europe. A Europe that puts people before profits and multinationals; a floor beneath all workers. The Tories and UKIP want to take those protections away.
"Let's have the strength to take on their scapegoating rhetoric which won't pay anybody's bills, feed anybody's kids or protect anybody's job.
"We welcome people here to work, as we always have. But let's make it work for everyone with new EU rules to stop undercutting, protecting the going rate for skilled workers."
UKIP employment spokeswoman, MEP Jane Collins, said Mr Burnham's words were "the desperate attempts of a man who has ignored the plight of the working classes due to mass immigration for years". | Free movement of workers in the EU has made life tougher for low paid workers in the UK, Andy Burnham has said. | 34397256 |
The former station was closed and demolished in 2015 to make way for BBC Wales' new home at Central Square.
The city council's new leader Huw Thomas said a replacement would be brought forward in fresh cabinet plans.
It comes as BBC Wales' Week In Week Out programme asks how Cardiff will deal with an expected 80,000 new residents in the city over the next 20 years.
"All will be revealed when I bring forward the cabinet paper in July - but be very clear - we will be delivering a bus station for Cardiff within my administration," said Mr Thomas.
The current council administration is in place for four years, but Mr Thomas insisted that was not the timetable to complete the new station.
"It'll be less than that," he stressed.
The council has faced some criticism for allowing the previous bus station to be knocked down before a deal on its replacement was finalised with developers, Rightacres.
Proposals for a bus station with 14 stands, cycle hub with 500 spaces and retail units on the site of the demolished Marland House and NCP car park were put to the council in February, but a decision was deferred ahead of local elections in May.
Paul McCarthy, chief executive of Rightacres, told BBC Wales: "We've always said that this development wouldn't prejudice the delivery of a new bus station.
"And there is a bus station coming. And I think that as part of 'the sell' [for the development], we presented that there would be a bus station, so we have a responsibility to deliver.
"The way in which we deliver that, from a financial point of view, is that we have got to come up with the right mix of uses above the interchange, that makes it a positive equation.
"At that point, we can deliver it."
But infrastructure, such as the bus station, is just one of the pressing issues facing the expanding city.
According to Cardiff's local development plan, 41,000 new homes will need to be built over the next two decades - much of that on greenfield sites on the fringes of the city.
One development, Plasdwr, will see 7,000 homes built by Redrow in the north-west of Cardiff, with the developer being asked to pay £28m towards improving transport networks, including bus and bike use.
But Roger Tanner from Cardiff Civic Society said he feared the money was not enough - and would not deliver.
"People don't like travelling by bus if they don't have to," he said.
"People will only use public transport if it's better than a private car, if it's reasonably priced and it's accessible. None of those things apply in this area."
A former planner himself, Mr Tanner said he feared the Plasdwr development would lead to "5,000 extra vehicle journeys" pulling on to already congested roads.
But the city's council leader said he was confident there would be a change in how people commute.
"We have to look at behaviour change, we have to look at delivering a modal shift in the way people travel around the city," said Mr Thomas.
He said he wanted to see a 50-50 split between car use and sustainable transport, including bus, bike and on foot.
"What's critical is that we invest wisely to put those options before people and encourage them and give them the options to do that," he added. | New central bus station plans for Cardiff will be revealed in July, BBC Wales has been told. | 40342706 |
Carlisle, who played for Burnley and QPR, tried to take his own life in December when he was hit by a lorry.
"People are delicate stepping around it - there's no shame invested in it for me," the 35-year-old said. "I attempted suicide because I was very unwell."
Carlisle was at the launch of a charter committed to tackling the stigma surrounding mental illness.
The Football Association, Rugby Football Union, Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board are among the sport governing bodies to have signed up to the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation.
Carlisle suffered cuts, bruises, internal bleeding, a broken rib and shattered left knee when he was struck by a lorry on the A64 near York on 22 December.
Afterwards he said he had been left severely depressed by the end of his football career, financial problems and the loss of a TV punditry role.
He left hospital six weeks after being struck, following treatment as an in-patient at a psychiatric unit.
A former chairman of players' union the Professional Footballers' Association, he added: "I'm managing my illness on a daily basis and I can tell you today I'm very well."
The first footballer to appear on Question Time, Carlisle had previously spoken out about depression and suicide in professional sport and presented a BBC Three documentary on the subject.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a sample to police on 20 December, at London's Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court, and will be sentenced on 14 May. | Former defender Clarke Carlisle has said he feels "no shame" about his recent suicide attempt. | 32050323 |
The car hit a wall before overturning in Brickyard Road, Aldridge, in the West Midlands, at about 02:15 GMT.
It ended up on its roof with the engine landing a few feet away.
One man cut his head and another had back and neck pain and were taken to hospital. The two other passengers were uninjured and discharged at the scene.
All the men were aged in their 20s, West Midlands Ambulance said.
The two men who needed treatment were taken to Walsall Manor Hospital. | Four men had a lucky escape after suffering relatively minor injuries when their car overturned, ripping the engine out of the vehicle. | 34894151 |
Many of those arriving at Glasgow Airport had opted to end their break early and take the specially-chartered Thomson flight, which arrived at 06:10.
Jim and Ann McQuire, from Cumbernauld, are thought to be among those who died in Friday's attack.
Another couple - Billy and Lisa Graham, from Perth - are still missing.
None of those killed by a gunman with links to Islamic State extremists on a beach near Sousse has been formally identified.
But there have been warnings that more than 30 of the 38 fatalities are British.
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that a national minute's silence will be held to remember the victims.
The silence will take place on Friday at 12:00, a week after the shooting.
The congregation at Abronhill Parish Church in Cumbernauld was told on Sunday that the authorities were "99.9% sure" that Mr and Mrs McQuire had died in the shooting.
The couple had been heavily involved with the church, with Mr McQuire being a captain with the Boys Brigade.
Minister Joyce Keyes said: "I don't think I can make any sense of it at all. My feeling is of numbness.
"They were regular holiday goers since their retirement and were really looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Holly Graham has said she is desperately worried after not hearing from her parents Billy and Lisa since the attack.
She said she had struggled to find out what was happening from tour operator Thomson or the Foreign Office.
Flights have been arriving back at Glasgow Airport from Tunisia.
Waiting relatives said police had boarded one of the planes and were speaking to passengers.
Among those arriving at Glasgow Airport earlier was Aamer Saeed, 37, from Glasgow's west end, who had been due to be on holiday with his children, aged eight and 12, for another week.
He said: "The kids were really scared and they didn't want to stay any longer. There was nothing you could do anyway, you just had to stay in.
"I feel sorry for the people there, it's not their fault. But it was frightening. We just stayed in the hotel, everything was cancelled."
Natalie Martin, a mother from Falkirk, said: "It was quite scary, we are just glad to be back home.
"The guys in the hotel tried to keep it upbeat for the families there but it was hard. Most of the hotel came back early."
She said she felt "a bit let down" by the support offered to tourists, adding: "We had to keep going to the rep all the time, asking if we were safe. We had to keep going to them."
Rick Martin, 52, from Peterhead, was staying two hotels along the coast and was on a day trip away when the massacre happened.
He said: "We found out on Friday afternoon, we got phone calls from the UK. It's very sad."
Asked about the support provided to holidaymakers, he said: "A young lassie, 21 years old, did her best. She told us what she knew."
One female traveller, who did not want to be named, said: "The support has been great. I just feel for the local people, because it's their livelihood."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired a further Scottish government resilience (SGORR) meeting on Monday afternoon - the third since the attack. Flags in Scottish government buildings are being flown at half-mast as a mark of respect.
Ms Sturgeon said: "While we have not yet received official confirmation that any of the dead come from Scotland, it now seems certain that there will be Scottish victims."
She said understood and sympathised with people who were concerned for loved ones and wanted immediate answers.
But she added: "The situation in Sousse is highly complex due to the scale of the attack, the number of people killed and the fact that the victims come from different countries.
"I would ask people to be reassured that the UK government, Scottish government and all agencies involved are working as fast as possible to identify victims, keep families informed and help people travel back as quickly and safely as possible."
The prime minister has paid tribute to Mr and Mrs McQuire.
He was speaking in the Commons following a minute's silence held by MPs in memory of those killed.
Mr Cameron added his condolences during an exchange with the couple's MP Stuart McDonald, who described the pair as "extremely kind and considerate." | Scots holidaymakers have returned home from Tunisia in the wake of the Sousse terror attack that left 38 people dead, the vast majority of them British. | 33309210 |
The league leaders thrashed Airbus UK Broughton 4-0 thanks to a brace from Jon Routledge and goals from Aeron Edwards and Scott Quigley on Friday.
The Saints have now won all 16 of their league games so far this campaign and have scored 60 goals in the process.
Bangor City had set the previous Welsh record of 15 consecutive wins back in the 2010-11 season.
On a night billed as 'David versus Goliath' by one fan, TNS will be grateful there was no biblical upset here.
After scoring three goals in the first half an hour, breaking the record was never in doubt.
Their 16-match winning run in a single season matches the best Barcelona have ever managed in La Liga in 2010-11.
But they are still some way off the British record - Martin O'Nell's Celtic won 25 league games in a row back in 2003-04. | The New Saints have become the first side to win 16 consecutive Welsh Premier League games in a season. | 38112357 |
The house was badly damaged in the incident in the Killyglen Road area of the town on Sunday afternoon.
The men, aged 24 and 34, are being questioned about the attack which was reported to police shortly before 16:45 BST.
It follows a series of arson attacks in Larne over recent days.
On Monday, a hair salon in the town was extensively damaged when a car was driven through its metal shutters.
It is not yet known if the Killyglen Road incident is linked to the previous attacks.
However, Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs, who represents East Antrim, said the latest incident "all the hallmarks of a tit-for-tat attack between feuding criminals".
"Another car has been set on fire and, with the risk of an exploding petrol tank, homes have been endangered along with the lives of local residents," he added.
Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the attacks must "stop now before someone is injured or killed".
"This situation cannot be allowed to increase any further and I appeal to everyone involved to help put an end to things."
A Northern Ireland Ambulance Service spokesman told the BBC its staff were called to the scene just before 17:00 BST, after a report that the car has been driven into the house.
A number of people were assessed by paramedics but no-one was taken to hospital. | Two men have been arrested after a stolen car was "set on fire and abandoned" against the front door of a house in Larne, County Antrim. | 39687585 |
Wales and the other UK nations have some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world.
But Prof Frede Olesen said lessons can be learned from Denmark, which has improved how patients with less obvious symptoms are diagnosed.
Welsh health experts have just returned from a fact-finding visit.
Prof Olesen from University of Aarhus said part of the reason Wales was lagging behind many other countries was patients too often waited too long for a diagnosis.
As a result too many patients start treatment at a late stage when their cancer is well advanced or has become incurable.
In recent years Denmark has transformed the way its health service delivers cancer care, after international research suggested it was performing poorly compared to other developed countries.
Denmark's poor performance - it ranked alongside the UK nations in international league tables - was considered a "disaster" by Danish politicians and the medical profession.
One of the key changes introduced in Denmark was to develop a system where patients who are ill, but do not have clear symptoms of a specific cancer - can have diagnostic tests more quickly.
These can take place within a few days or even within a few hours of a GP making a referral.
Special "one stop shop" diagnostic centres have been set up at hospitals for those with more vague symptoms, while other open-access centres are able to provide quick one-off tests or scans and to report back quickly to GPs.
Similar patients in Wales can wait weeks or even months for those tests.
Emerging research suggests Denmark is now closing the gap with the best performing countries on cancer survival.
"We can't say for sure yet whether it's the waits, better treatment, concentration of treatment or better equipment, but there have been calculations showing that waits really matter," said Prof Olesen.
"In my perception, there is no doubt shorter waits mean better prognosis."
A group of cancer specialists, GPs and health managers were shown the Danish model.
One expert said survival rates in Wales are "not as good as they should be".
Part of the problem is that patients with not obviously serious symptoms can get "lost in the system" - even though this group of patients ultimately account for around 50% of cancer cases.
Dr Tom Crosby, medical director of the Wales Cancer Network, said: "What they've demonstrated [in Denmark] is that what's taking us weeks and months in Wales to diagnose patients, particularly with those vague and non specific symptoms, they're now doing in a matter of days and there's nothing they're doing here that we can't do in Wales."
He said cancer patients in Wales generally had a very good experience in hospital but survival was not as good as it should be.
"This is more than just statistics, we know survival needs to improve but also it's devastating for us to see patients who complained of vague or non specific symptoms for months to be ultimately diagnosed with incurable disease."
But health bosses say they are confident that some of the changes introduced in Denmark can be replicated in Wales.
Cwm Taf Health Board in the south Wales valleys says it has already adopted some of the principles of the Danish model - for example in a project to diagnose head and neck cancers more quickly.
The health board is eager to hold further pilots, based on the changes made in Denmark, which, if successful, could perhaps be rolled out across Wales.
John Palmer, director of primary and community care at Cwm Taf, said they were already making progress in areas like breast cancer but they could "definitely scale up and do more".
"Every single day, NHS Wales does amazing things, mainly through collaboration - our multi disciplinary teams deal with highly complex work and most of the time deliver very effective services," he said.
"So I feel strongly we ought to be optimistic and there are real opportunities to roll out this work." | NHS Wales can be among the world's best for cancer care if big changes are made in how quickly it is diagnosed, says an international expert. | 35998183 |
"I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired," said Preet Bharara on Twitter.
Mr Bharara was first asked to remain in his post by President Donald Trump, when they met after the election.
But on Friday he was included in a list of prosecutors appointed by former President Barack Obama who were asked by the Justice Department to step down.
Mr Bharara's tweet continued: "Being the US Attorney in SDNY (South District New York) will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life."
Presidents often order appointees of the previous administration to resign but the decision to replace so many in one swoop raised eyebrows.
Mr Bharara's inclusion in the list came as a particular surprise. He told reporters in November that he had been asked by Mr Trump to stay on, and had agreed.
The prosecutor rose to prominence after pursuing high-profile corruption cases and cases against Wall Street bankers.
He won a $1.8 billion ($1.5 billion) insider-trading case against hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors, the largest in history. SAC was forced to close down.
He has also prosecuted both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Among his current cases was an investigation into fundraising by New York mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as a sexual harassment case against Fox News by its employees.
After it was reported on Saturday that he had refused to resign, top New York Republican Brian Kolb tweeted: "Good for Preet, he is doing the job he was appointed to do!"
On Saturday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement: "President Trump's abrupt and unexplained decision to summarily remove over 40 US attorneys has once again caused chaos in the federal government."
"Preet Bharara, like many of the US attorneys dismissed this week, served with honour and distinction."
However, ex-Republican strategist Brian Walsh argued that the firing was "nothing new" as "US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the [president] - even Preet".
Mr Bharara's office and the Justice Department refused to comment further, according to the Associated Press. | A New York federal prosecutor who refused to resign when he and 45 other prosecutors were asked to by the Trump administration says he has been sacked. | 39243529 |
Telecoms company BT is running the UK-wide contest to mark the 80th anniversary of the telephone service, which receives 12 million calls a year.
The winner will be only the fifth person to give the time "at the third stroke" when people dial 123.
Sara Mendes da Costa has been the voice of the speaking clock since winning the last competition in 2007.
Previous voices have included an actor and a London telephone exchange supervisor.
Listen to the current speaking clock
At the third stroke... Why do people still dial for the time?
The speaking clock service provides the precise time, announced every 10 seconds at any time of day or night.
It began on 24 July 1936 as a service for people who did not have a watch or clock to hand.
Before 1936, people used to ring the exchange operator - a real person - to settle a dispute over the time.
Now officially called Timeline, the speaking clock has never been a free service - in the early days, calls were one penny from home and tuppence from a phone box.
It now costs 45p a minute from a BT landline, and still experiences peak periods on Remembrance Day, New Year's Eve and when the clocks go forwards or back.
Ms Mendes da Costa, who will be one of the competition's judges, said she was sad her time as the voice of the "iconic service" was coming to an end, but "10 years is not a bad run".
"And it'll be great to be on the judging panel to choose the new voice, just as my predecessor Brian Cobby helped choose me," she said.
The speaking clock gets its time from the atomic clocks at the National Physical Laboratory, the UK's official time-keeper.
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the service, BT is donating the original speaking clock machines from 1936 and 1963 to the British Horological Institute.
The competition, which is being run in partnership with the BBC's The One Show in aid of Children in Need 2016, is open to anyone aged 10 or over. Details of how to apply are available on the BBC One Show website.
The competition closes at 22:00 BST on Monday 29 August 2016, with the winner to be announced in November. | A competition to become the new voice of the speaking clock has been launched. | 37159953 |
The collection includes the nearly complete skeletons of Bactrosaurus, a nest of Protoceratops eggs, and the very rare skull of an Alioramus, which was related to the T-Rex.
The skull was confiscated after it was shipped into the US with false papers.
The US has returned 23 dinosaur fossils to Mongolia in the last three years.
Other items returned in this shipment included a Psittcosaurus skull and a Protoceratops skeleton.
US customs officials said the rare Alioramus skull, believed to be around 70 million years old, was part of a shipment put on sale on eBay by a French dealer.
It was shipped into Newark, New Jersey in 2014 with papers claiming the items were replicas and from France.
But the fossils were later confirmed to be real and to have come from Mongolia.
In 2013 the US returned more than a dozen illegally smuggled dinosaur skeletons to Mongolia, including Tyrannosaurus bataars and Oviraptors.
Mongolia has some of the largest dinosaur fossil beds in the world. | The US has returned a collection of dinosaur eggs and other fossils to Mongolia after finding they had been smuggled out of the country. | 35975018 |
Auction house Tajan said the drawing, one of eight the Renaissance artist made of the martyred Saint Sebastian, was an "extraordinary discovery".
The drawing has been authenticated by an expert from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Tajan claims it is the first "new" da Vinci to be discovered in 15 years.
Yet a "lost" painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World) was more recently attributed to him in 2011.
According to the New York Times, the sketch came to light when 14 unframed drawings were brought in to Tajan to be valued by Thaddee Prate, its director of old master pictures.
Mr Prate spotted "an interesting 16th Century drawing" within the bundle and sought a second opinion from an art expert in Paris.
The expert recognised the work was by a left-handed artist and also found two smaller scientific drawings on the back of the sheet.
The Metropolitan Museum's expert, Carmen C Bambach, confirmed the work was by da Vinci, who was famously left-handed.
The drawing shows Saint Sebastian tied to a tree, with notes and diagrams about light and shadow on the other side.
According to Dr Bambach, the drawing was made between 1482 and 1485 when da Vinci was working in Milan.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. | A previously unknown Leonardo da Vinci sketch has been valued at $15.8m (£12.4m) after being taken to a French auction house by a retired doctor. | 38300217 |
The National Transportation Safety Board released 500 pages of findings on the death of driver Joshua Brown, 40.
His Model S car collided with a lorry in Florida while in autopilot mode.
It found that in 37 minutes of driving, Mr Brown had his hands on the wheel for just 25 seconds.
The documents also found that Mr Brown had set cruise control at 74mph (119km/h) which was above the 65mph speed limit.
The US authorities investigated Mr Brown's death amid speculation that it might be the first to be caused by self-driving technology. The driver of the truck, which was pulling a trailer, was unhurt.
In its report, the Safety Board said the truck should have been visible to Mr Brown for at least seven seconds before impact but that he took "no braking, steering or other actions to avoid the collision".
The report said that the car remained in autopilot mode for most of his trip and that it gave him a visual warning seven separate times that said "hands required not detected".
In six cases, the system then sounded a chime.
In September, Tesla unveiled improvements to autopilot, adding new limits on hands-off driving. The updated system temporarily prevents drivers from using the system if they do not respond to audible warnings to take back control of the car.
In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had found no evidence of defects in the car. | The Tesla driver involved in a fatal crash in May 2016 was given repeated automated warnings about his driving behaviour, according to a US government report. | 40340828 |
Mr Zakhilwal had been under pressure to name them after making general accusations earlier this year about corruption in parliament.
He did so in a heated session of the lower house.
Corruption is one of the key challenges faced by the country.
It has become an especially important issue as it tries to establish a functioning state before US-led troops leave next year.
One of the accused MPs, Naeem Lalai, shouted insults at Mr Zakhilwal as he delivered what correspondents say was an incendiary speech that shocked and delighted lawmakers.
Another accused MP, Samiullah Samim, told the BBC Mr Zakhilwal's accusations were "totally baseless and completely false". Other accused MPs refused to answer their telephones when contacted by the BBC.
The minister said Mr Lalai had tried illegally to import 1,970 cars and that he and other lawmakers often persuaded custom officers to allow their contraband shipments into the country.
"Any time he [Mr Lalai] comes back from abroad he brings a lot of alcoholic drinks," Mr Zakhilwal said. "Yesterday, he called one of my customs officers and threatened him with death."
The minister - seen as a pro-Western politician - also accused MP Zahir Qadir of being involved in smuggling flour from Pakistan worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
"I was called by Mr Zahir asking me to release it," he said.
In another case, he said that MP Samiullah Samim had telephoned him from Germany to ask for the release of some fuel trucks that had been impounded.
When he responded that it would be illegal, the MP said that if it were legal he would not be phoning the minister.
The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says that Mr Zakhilwal easily shrugged off a vote of no confidence in the aftermath of his pronouncements and will have won public support for his stand against corruption.
But our correspondent says that he has made himself some powerful enemies. | Afghan lawmakers accused of corruption have been named in parliament by Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, triggering noisy cheering and applause in the lower house. | 22511143 |
The disruption at the Tegel and Schoenefeld airports began at 4 am (0300 GMT) on Monday morning.
Ground crews have already walked out several times over the past few weeks amid a tense dispute over pay.
On Friday, a similar strike led to nearly 700 flights being grounded at the two airports.
The service workers' union Verdi is demanding higher wages for around 2,000 workers handling passengers and baggage.
The two airports said in a statement that 448 flights would be cancelled at Tegel and 194 at Schoenefeld.
German flag carrier Lufthansa said it would cancel all flights on Monday from Frankfurt and Munich to Berlin and vice versa. Other airlines affected include Air Berlin, British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair.
The union is demanding a pay rise for ground staff to 12 euros per hour ($12.80, £10.50) from about 11 euros, as part of a one-year collective agreement.
Lower offers from management have been dismissed by the unions as unacceptable.
Ground staff jobs include checking in passengers, loading and unloading baggage and cargo and directing aircraft on the tarmac. | Ground staff at Berlin's two main airports have kicked off a 25-hour strike, which is expected to force the cancellation of more than 650 flights. | 39252242 |
The sub-dollar level is unusual even in the US, where the average national price on Sunday was $1.89, according to the American Automobile Association.
But the steep drop in Michigan is indicative of the struggle engulfing the oil industry in the US and globally. Growing competition, excess supply and shrinking demand are forcing the price of oil to record lows.
In the US, perhaps, no group understands this more clearly than the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry - the producers of shale oil and gas.
Fracking took off in the US in 2010 as a means to extract large reserves of oil from within hard rock.
The industry had support from the government as a means of achieving energy independence and bringing down prices at the pump.
As a worldwide oversupply has grown and the price of oil has dropped to a 12-year low - below $30 a barrel - many shale oil producers have been forced to shut their doors or make cuts to keep costs down.
By November last year, 93,800 people had been laid off by US-based energy companies in 2015, according to research compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"All the companies that survive will be leaner and be able to do more with less," says Sam Ori, executive director of The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
According to law firm Haynes & Boone, 42 oil and gas companies filed for bankruptcy in North America in 2015. This number is expected to increase this year as the industry struggles to cope with mounting corporate debt and oil prices that have dropped 70% in 18 months.
A third of US oil and gas companies could be gone by the middle of 2017, according to Wolfe Research.
Getting to that leaner point will not be easy.
The US shale oil boom took off in just a few years and now adds millions of barrels per day to the global supply.
And global oil inventories continue to grow after OPEC's (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) decision to keep output high.
OPEC, a group of some of the largest oil producing nations, typically cuts production to keep global oil prices high. In the face of growing US competition driving prices down, the group opted to maintain high levels of production, resulting in a global oil glut.
There was an excess of 2.6 million barrels of oil produced each day in 2015, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Face with this excess, and resulting low prices, US frackers are cutting costs. Many have opted not to drill new wells, instead focusing on creating technologies that allow them to get more oil out of the wells they have already drilled.
According to Mr Ori, the number of shale producers that has failed is smaller than many expected, but most analysts still anticipate consolidation in 2016 as companies merge or buy up weaker rivals.
One reason the situation is expected to be so hard in the US is because the cost of fracking is much higher than other extraction methods.
Fracking requires drilling horizontally into rock and then blasting water at high pressure to extract oil and gas.
To get started, many companies relied on debt, which they guaranteed with oil reserves. As the price of oil has dropped, it has become harder for companies to pay off this debt and harder to convince banks to extend new loans.
"The cash flows that companies are turning out are lower and they have less borrowing capacity because lenders are more nervous," says Dan Pickering, head of asset management at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, an energy focused investment bank.
According to him, the lack of access to borrowing and lower cash flows have made it harder for frackers to reinvest in new projects. This lack of investment could see supplies shrink and prices rise.
This rebalancing could still take several years. According to the IEA, global demand for oil is expected to grow by just 1.2 million barrels a day in 2016 a slowdown from the growth of 1.8 million barrels per day in 2015. This will make it more difficult to cut the oversupply particularly as OPEC, US shale producers and new oil producers like Iran add to the inventory.
In a report published this week, the IEA estimated the global oil industry would produce 1.5 million excess barrels per day in 2016.
"This inventory overhanging will have to be drawn down for the market to tighten up," says Mr Pickering, though he is still convinced oil prices will pick up by the end of the year.
"The under investment that is happening in the oil patch will translate to lower supply and that will be most visible in North America, and that will show up in the rest of the world in 2017 or 2018," he says.
Most oil companies, especially in the US, are not counting on that increase. The industry is expected to see more job cuts on top of the over 250,000 global layoffs that took place in 2015, making the overall outlook for the industry pretty bleak. | Petrol at one Michigan service station hit 47 cents (33 pence) a gallon last Sunday as a price war between local stations forced the owner to reduce prices to levels not seen in decades. | 35355286 |
Martin McGartland is suing MI5 for breach of contract and negligence after he was shot by the IRA in 1999.
A High Court judge said because of sensitive evidence in the case, "closed material proceedings" could be used in the interests of national security.
Three appeal judges have agreed that judge was entitled to take that view.
Mr McGartland, 43, was given a new identity after he was shot in Whitley Bay on Tyneside.
A former agent of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Branch, Mr McGartland claims the security services failed to provide care for post-traumatic stress disorder and access to disability benefits.
Mr McGartland blames "years of neglect" by MI5 for leaving him traumatised and unable to work because of his secret life.
A judge said that "sensitive material" relating to protecting and training security service "handlers" arose in the case.
Upholding the declaration, an appeal judge said he had read the High Court decision as going no further than "opening the gateway" to closed material proceedings being a "possibility".
He added that he expected any application to use them to be "scrutinised with care", and the court must consider serving a summary of the evidence.
The ruling means Mr McGartland and his lawyers will not be able to hear parts of the case or see material deemed to be sensitive.
Special advocates will be appointed to protect his interests at court hearings.
Mr McGartland, from west Belfast, has written a book about his experiences, 50 Dead Men Walking, that was made into a film in 2008. | The Court of Appeal has ruled that the home secretary can use secret court hearings to defend a damages claim being brought by a former IRA informer. | 33519429 |
Hargreaves Services said it was losing money on some Scottish operations due to falling prices and "exceptionally challenging" market conditions.
But it said it remained committed to Scotland and expected that the market should recover.
It is simplifying its management structure and cutting fixed costs in the face of "extreme volatility".
The price of coal last month fell to a nine-year low of £39 per tonne. That is £16 lower than the price when the company acquired its Scottish surface mines in spring of 2013.
With gas prices down, it said there was "a significant and unexpected reduction in coal burn by UK power stations" and the ability to predict future demand was "very poor".
Hargreaves expects demand from the power sector to fall and said it was possible that some power stations would buy no more coal this calendar year while they were burning through existing stocks.
While coal-burning power stations are scheduled for closure, it is expected before then that demand for British-mined coal was likely to fall faster than demand for imports.
The company's main rival in Britain, UK Coal, is cutting prices following the mild winter, while the remaining deep coal mines are boosting production.
"Notwithstanding this sharp fall in coal price, we remain committed to Scottish surface mining but will have to significantly reduce next year's planned 2m-tonne production target to mitigate losses," the company said, in its update for the stock exchange.
"We are currently targeting around 1m tonnes of production in the year ending 31 May 2016 focussing on the contribution from higher-priced speciality coals."
The problems at the Scottish opencast sites were expected to have "an impact of £8m", said Hargreaves, and jobs were expected to go.
The company, which also runs coal-mining operations in England and Wales, reported revenue down 24% in the six months to 30 November.
Profit before tax on its continuing operations was down 49% to £15m.
It claimed to have delivered "a resilient performance in difficult markets" and substantially reduced its debt.
Hargreaves chairman Tim Ross said: "The market conditions we are currently experiencing are unprecedented and very challenging.
"Although we are unable to control factors such as coal price and coal demand, the management team is proactively taking all the sensible steps and measures to manage current market conditions whilst leaving the group well placed to benefit when the market improves."
Hargreaves is expanding renewable energy generation on its land, having recently secured planning permission for a wind farm in South Lanarkshire.
Shares fell 11% to 505 pence following publication of the six-month figures, down from 892p last March. | The company that runs most of Scotland's remaining opencast coal mines is to half its output next year. | 31506312 |
The 25-year-old joined the Elland Road side in January last year from Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew after a trial.
Having only started one game for United since his arrival he was put on the transfer list.
He recently returned from a loan spell at Stevenage, where he made nine appearances for the League One club. | Leeds United have released United States international forward Robbie Rogers by mutual consent. | 21028631 |
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Fifa has confirmed it is investigating whether Russian players benefited from the state-sponsored doping programme outlined by the McLaren report in 2016.
Football's world governing body has refused to say whether the members of Russia's 2014 World Cup squad are among the 1,000 athletes implicated by the report - though the Mail on Sunday has said they are.
Fifa did say all players tested at the tournament, including the full Russian squad, returned negative samples.
Sorokin, who chairs the local organising committee for next year's World Cup in Russia, said that meant it was "very bizarre" for media reports to "focus on things from the past".
"Despite the allegations there are clear-cut test results," he added. "That is the most important thing.
"We don't consider this to be a serious matter and it's very strange that it's in the papers."
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency, which commissioned the McLaren report, has acknowledged physical evidence of Russia's doping required to punish those responsible - such as positive samples - may be difficult to find.
That is partly because the system Russia developed included a "disappearing positive" method that involved swapping samples known to be positive with clean ones.
The McLaren report said this system was used across at least 30 sports, including football, and that more than 1,000 athletes potentially benefited between 2011 and 2015.
It said the system was used to "corrupt the London 2012 Olympics on an unprecedented scale", while further techniques, including positive samples being secretly removed from anti-doping labs through "mouse holes" drilled by spies, were perfected at the Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi in 2014.
The report's findings were based on forensic evidence and witness testimony, including that of a doctor who used to work within that system, Grigory Rodchenkov.
Sorokin described its conclusions as "speculation that has appeared on the basis of an incredible witness".
He added: "If there are facts, let's discuss facts. If there are no facts, let's discuss football." | Russian football does not have a doping problem, and claims that suggest otherwise are "made-up news", says 2018 World Cup chief Alexey Sorokin. | 40411548 |
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United went ahead in the last-16 second leg tie before Nani was controversially dismissed for a high challenge.
Cristiano Ronaldo, on his return to Old Trafford, then tapped in the winner after Luka Modric's stunning equaliser.
"Independent of the decision, the best team lost. We didn't deserve to win but football is like this," Mourinho said.
Following a 1-1 draw in Spain, United had edged a tight second-leg opening in which captain Nemanja Vidic struck the post with a powerful header.
They finally took the lead - on the night and on aggregate - at the start of the second half, when Sergio Ramos deflected Nani's cross into his own net.
The match then turned in Real's favour just before the hour mark when referee Cuneyt Cakir dismissed the Portuguese for a high boot that made contact with Alvaro Arbeloa's rib-cage.
Mourinho's side took advantage of the decision in clinical fashion. Former Tottenham player Modric curled in a sublime equaliser after he came off the substitute's bench, and Ronaldo scored from close range after a stylish move.
"My feeling is that Manchester United were playing very well, were very compact and aggressive in a good way," Mourinho added. "I doubt that 11 v 11 we win the match.
"I know Manchester United are giants, not just physically but mentally. I know they have a manager who can motivate then, but I was waiting for us to play in a different way."
Before kick-off, Ronaldo was given a warm reception by supporters at the club where he had played a pivotal role in the winning of the Champions League in 2008, as well as three Premier League titles, in a six-year spell in England.
The attacker - who moved to Real for a record £80m fee in 2009 - admitted he had been overwhelmed by the reaction.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "It was an emotional moment for me, for both games, but especially tonight.
"I do not have words to explain how I feel. The supporters made me feel shy. I did not play how I play all the time."
When asked to comment on rumours of a potential return to Old Trafford, he replied: "The future I never know, but the supporters here and the club are massive.
"At this moment I am very happy in Madrid and I want to be there." | Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has claimed "the best team lost" after 10-man Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League. | 21679307 |
The 35-year-old was fishing from the bank of the River Carron near Falkirk at 18:45 on Saturday when she fell.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the woman did not land in the water but was unable to move.
A spokeswoman said: "She was put on a spinal board and transferred to an ambulance and is being treated at Forth Valley Royal Hospital." | A woman has suffered spinal injuries and a suspected broken leg after an accident while fishing. | 36408004 |
Anya Shrubsole took 3-35 as England restricted the Proteas to 196-9 from their 50 overs in Johannesburg.
Knight and Georgia Elwiss (61) put on 97 for the fifth wicket in the run chase to set up England's victory.
Despite the win, England stay fifth in the ICC Women's Championship standings, behind South Africa on net run rate.
Only the top four nations qualify automatically for the World Cup, which takes place in England in 2017.
England are currently second in the ICC's team rankings, but were fifth in the Championship table following last year's defeats by New Zealand and Australia.
They won the first ODI in Benoni by seven wickets, but South Africa took the second ODI, their first victory over England since 2004, at Centurion to level the series.
Knight won both the player of the match and player of the series awards.
"The last three matches have ebbed and flowed for us performance-wise," said England captain Charlotte Edwards.
"We have shown glimpses of what we are capable of with both bat and ball, but to be competitive with the best teams in the world we still need to be more consistent.
"We are starting to show signs of the positive, proactive and fearless cricket that we want to play, and I hope we can take this into the T20 series."
"It's nice to get over the line and, in the end, win quite convincingly," coach Mark Robinson, who secured victory in his first series in charge, told BBC Sport.
"I'm learning about the players, what they know and what they don't know. Half of them I met at the airport, three of them out here in South Africa.
"There's work in progress. Until today we haven't bowled very well, but now we've come to the party with the ball."
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England and South Africa now travel to Cape Town to play back-to-back T20 internationals on 18 and 19 February at Boland Park and Newlands Cricket Ground, before finishing the tour with the third and final T20 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on 21 February.
The last two matches will be played as double-headers with the men's series. | Heather Knight hit an unbeaten 67 as England beat South Africa by five wickets at the Wanderers to complete a 2-1 one-day international series win. | 35574037 |
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Michael O'Neill's men lost their opening game 1-0 to Poland on Sunday.
"We have identified what went wrong, we are not disheartened," said the 28-year-old West Brom defender.
"We have to be more aggressive," added Evans, who said the squad wanted to pay respects to the Northern Ireland fan who died in an accidental fall in Nice.
It is understood Northern Ireland have asked Uefa for permission to wear black armbands and hold a minute's tribute to 24-year-old Darren Rodgers, from Ballymena.
It is believed Uefa is unlikely to permit a minute's silence, but Northern Ireland fans are planning a period of applause in the 24th minute of Thursday's match.
"For us as players, Sunday's match was one of the greatest experiences we have had as footballers, and to wake up the next day and hear the news was terribly sad," said former Manchester United centre-back Evans.
"We have put a request into Uefa because we would like to pay our own respects in some way."
Evans, who played a leading role in a creditable defensive display against Poland, stressed the players' belief that they are still very much in contention in Group C.
"We have watched the Poland match on video and know there are things we can improve on," he said.
"Maybe we did not do things the way we have done in the past.
"We want to get back to the things we are good at, like closing people down, stamping our authority on the match and not letting it pass us by."
Evans says the tournament's format means they still had a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages even if they only draw on Thursday.
Asked if the Ukraine match was a 'must win', Evans said: "Well, we could still beat Germany and draw this game.
"We need to get a result, but a win on Thursday would give us a great belief going into the last match.
"Facing Germany in Paris with something to play for - it doesn't get much better than that."
Manager O'Neill has refused to be drawn on whether he will field another striker to support Kyle Lafferty against Ukraine.
If he does, Conor Washington or Jamie Ward could come into the starting line-up in Lyon.
Ukraine's assistant coach, former AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko, has vowed that his side "will attack" in Thursday's game.
"There is time to choose the right tactics for the game but one thing is clear - we will attack. At the same time, we need to be accurate, especially at the back," said Shevchenko. | Jonny Evans believes Northern Ireland must adopt a more positive approach against Ukraine on Thursday if they are to avoid an early exit from Euro 2016. | 36529535 |
21 August 2015 Last updated at 08:15 BST
Ann and Ken Fredericks, from Florida, eat one piece of the fruit cake every year to celebrate the day they got married.
They say their children are appalled that they're eating such old food but insist that it still tastes as good as ever.
The cake was made by Ann's mum back in 1955. So how does it taste? Watch this clip to find out.
But just remember it's definitely not advisable to eat food that is passed it's sell by date. | A couple in America have revealed that they are still eating their wedding cake 60 years after it was first baked. | 34014486 |
New M&S boss Steve Rowe is making the cuts amid pressure to improve results at the struggling retailer.
Mr Rowe, who took over in April, said the job losses were "necessary" to build a different type of M&S.
Many of the affected roles will be across its three London offices. It also plans to move 400 jobs in IT and logistics outside the capital.
Of the 525 job losses, about 260 will be permanent roles and the rest contractors, the company said.
Mr Rowe said: "It is never easy to propose changes that impact on our people, but I believe that the proposals outlined today are absolutely necessary and will help us build a different type of M&S - one that can take bolder, pacier decisions, be more profitable and ultimately better serve our customers."
Analysis: Emma Simpson, BBC business correspondent:
Steve Rowe has wasted no time as he tries to revive the fortunes of Marks and Spencer. The M&S veteran took over as chief executive in April and he quickly restructured his top team, with the loss of a number of directors.
He also set up a smaller, leaner, Operating Committee to run the 132 year old firm. Now it's the turn of head office.
Mr Rowe is also expected to reveal in November his strategy on Marks and Spencer's large portfolio of stores and whether there are too many of them.
Marks is a big, bureaucratic business. Mr Rowe wants to simplify things. For a man who was worked his way up from the shop floor, these are painful decisions to have to make.
M&S employs over 71,000 people in the UK, of which 3,500 are currently in its seven UK head offices.
Separately, the retailer announced on Friday that workers would receive a 14.7% pay rise after staff protested against plans by Mr Rowe to change the company's pay and pension scheme.
The retailer said shop floor staff would receive £8.50 an hour, and £9.65 in London, from next April. | Marks and Spencer is planning to cut about 525 head office jobs as part of an estimated £30m in cost savings. | 37276692 |
Born to a Zimbabwean mother and a Scottish father, he was much-loved by his many aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides.
His death in the Tavistock Square bus explosion on 7 July 2005 was a huge loss to his many friends and large family, none more so than his parents.
"To his mother, he was simply the best son in the world," the inquest into his death heard.
To his father, Jamie was a best friend, the statement from his parents read.
Born on 19 December 1974 in south London to Pairose Bond and Glaswegian David Gordon, Jamie moved to Harare with his mother and sister when he was four.
His father visited several times as Jamie threw himself into school, scouting, horseriding and BMX.
More than a decade later, he returned to Britain to finish his education at Eaglesfield secondary school in Shooters Hill, south London.
Out of school, he joined the scouts and formed a band with friends, playing guitar and singing at several gigs.
At the inquest, his parents told of Jamie's changing face.
He went from "the exuberant child who seemed to fear nothing, to the long-haired, rock star teenager, all hair, nail varnish, black mascara and guitars, to the mature, but still quirky young man", they said.
In the words of his father, Jamie "wanted to be a rock star, but fell into financial administration".
But it was only after some fun in Ibiza that, in 1997, he put on a suit and moved into the City. That same year, Jamie's older half-brother, David, died of a brain haemorrhage.
For several years Jamie worked in finance in Old Street, east London.
It was a job that he normally reached by taking an overground train from Enfield in north London, where he lived with his fiancee Yvonne Nash, to Liverpool Street, before walking the final three-quarters of a mile to his office.
But on the night before the London attacks, Mr Gordon, 30, had stayed at a friend's house after a leaving party. His route to work the next morning led him to take the number 30 bus that exploded in Tavistock Square.
At his side for seven years was his devoted girlfriend, who had, six months before his death, become his fiancee.
"It sounds very cliched, but he was my soulmate, my best friend," Ms Nash said in the wake of the attacks.
"We complemented each other. I took a back seat and was the organiser, while he was just happy to entertain everyone."
At the inquest, his parents said: "Jamie was a funny, tolerant and charming young man who could be irritatingly late, but rarely ever shortchanged any of us.
"His loyalty and humour saw him through many tight spots and his continual growth made it easier for us to accept the changing world we lived in.
"The essence of Jamie left an indelible mark on all who met him and, to this day, on the important dates, both friends and family gather to remember him." | Jamie Gordon had a knack for forming close bonds with people whether young or old. | 12192767 |
Thelma Bishop from Gatley in Stockport bought the ceramic jug for a few dollars while on holiday in the 1960s.
Its history was discovered by auctioneers after Ms Bishop decided to sell it.
She was told she could have been prosecuted for removing it. Turkish officials are said to be "delighted".
Ceramics expert Jason Wood at Adam Partridge Auctioneers said: "It is being returned to the Turkish authorities because it would have exposed the owner to legal proceedings if (Ms Bishop) had gone ahead and made a sale.
"That is because when she took it out of the country, inadvertently it was breaking a Turkish law which dates back to the 1880s.
"It is an early bronze age ceramic vessel, made specifically to be a grave good, so it was buried in cemeteries. (It was) commonly found in Western Anatolia in Turkey."
Mr Wood said the item was "fairly rare".
He said: "Its archaeological value is why it is important. There are a few examples; there is one in the British Museum, one in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and they crop up periodically, a few in Turkey as well, but to have one turn up in Stockport of all places and in such remarkable condition is quite unusual."
Ms Bishop has been offered a free museum pass in Istanbul for returning the jug to the Turkish authorities who are said to be "delighted".
The ceramic vessel will go on display at The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. | A woman who bought a souvenir jug in Turkey more than 50 years ago is to return it after discovering it is a bronze-age urn. | 38647955 |
From 2015 pupils will take exams at the end of two-year courses.
AS-levels will remain, but as stand-alone exams, and a group of leading universities will play a bigger role in maintaining standards.
Independent school head teachers attacked the proposals as "incoherent".
Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders said: "This is a classic case of fixing something that isn't broken."
The organisation representing leading private schools, the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, called the proposals "rushed and incoherent" and said they were driven by a "timetable based on electoral politics rather than principles of sound implementation".
The University of Cambridge has also voiced strong criticism of the changes to AS-levels, issuing a statement saying it will "jeopardise over a decade's progress towards fairer access to the University of Cambridge".
In a letter to exam regulator Ofqual, Mr Gove said A-levels in their current form did not help students to develop a "deep understanding" of their subjects.
Instead modular units will be scrapped, with the qualification returning to exams taken at the end of a two-year course.
By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent
This confirms the principles that will underpin changes to A-levels in England.
Exams will be taken at the end of two-year, non-modular courses; there will be more involvement from universities and the AS-level will become a standalone exam taken either in either one or two years.
Much of this had already been heavily signposted in the past year - but it is clearer about a specific date, with the changes to be introduced in autumn 2015.
It means that this gold standard qualification will return to an all-or-nothing set of exams at the end of the course.
It also means that apart from a stray AS-level, there will be no public exams in the lower sixth year - perhaps allowing it to return to its traditional status as a time for school plays, forming bands and writing bad poetry.
It remains to be seen to what extent universities will engage with policing the new exams - they have been lukewarm about direct involvement.
If Wales and Northern Ireland decline to follow, it will also mark a further fragmentation in the UK's exam system.
This shift away from so much piecemeal testing was welcomed by the Girls' Day School Trust.
"The educational advantages of linearity and of learning within a coherent continuous two year course are clear, and will be seized on by schools like ours that seek to put teaching above testing," said the trust's Kevin Stannard.
The AS-level exam will remain, but will no longer be taken after a year or count towards a full A-level. It will instead become a stand-alone qualification, taken alongside full A-levels after two years in the sixth form.
Many universities currently offer places using students' AS-level results. Nicola Dandridge of the higher education body, Universities UK, said the change would mean universities having to place more emphasis on other evidence such as school references which might disadvantage some pupils.
The AQA exam board said that it was "disappointed" that AS-levels would no longer be part of the wider A-level.
There will be a bigger role for leading Russell Group universities in supervising the content, although this might take the form of organising committees of specialists, rather than taking direct responsibility.
The introduction of an A-level Baccalaureate, closer to the International Baccalaureate, which was discussed last year does not appear as part of this package.
The A-level changes call for the end of assessing "modular" chunks of learning, and a return to a "linear" form, with exams at the end of the course - but Ofqual says this will not necessarily mean an end to coursework in A-levels.
Schools Minister Liz Truss said the plans would end a system where students are preparing for exams almost as soon as they begin a course.
"Pupils spend too much time thinking about exams and re-sits of exams that encourage a 'learn and forget' approach to studying," the minister said.
Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, rejected the argument behind the changes, and warned that it would narrow options for young people.
"It's no wonder leading universities like Oxford and Cambridge say this is a mistake. We need to have more high quality options available at age 16, including all young people studying English and maths to 18."
Teachers' unions say the changes to A-levels are being taken forward in a "cavalier" fashion without adequate evidence.
Chris Keates of the teachers' union NASUWT, said: "Rather than recycling the incoherent grumblings of a few isolated and unrepresentative academics, the secretary of state should take note of the fact that there has been no clamour for reform.
"Employers have not identified A-levels as problematic," she said.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the decision flew in the face of overwhelming feedback from a recent consultation that found that the "current system needs tweaking but is broadly fit for purpose".
"It is disappointing that this has ignored the overwhelming views of the teaching profession, academics, employers and universities to retain the link between AS and A level," said general secretary, Brian Lightman.
Neil Carberry, the CBI's director of employment and skills said: "Businesses want more rigorous exams but we're concerned that these changes aren't being linked up with other reforms, especially to GCSEs. We need a more coherent overall system."
Pam Tatlow of the Million+ university think tank said "These proposals risk creating a two-tier A-level system which will complicate university admissions and reduce opportunities for students."
Students in Scotland have a different exam system while the devolved governments in Wales and Northern Ireland will make their own decisions about whether to implement the changes to A-levels. | Education Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed major changes to A-levels in England but the plans have had an unenthusiastic reception from head teachers and university leaders. | 21156370 |
That was two more than in the previous quarter but one less than in the same period a year previously.
The FTSE sectors issuing most warnings were support services (11), travel and leisure (8), non-life insurance (5) and software and computer services (5).
Firms must warn when earnings look like being less than previously expected.
The report says profit warnings from industrial and commodity sectors have fallen significantly since the end of 2015, helped by an improving global economy.
But it says the impact of a weaker pound and rising pricing pressures "loom large".
Some 28% of warnings cited rising costs and pressure on prices, compared with 15% in 2016.
And another 28% of warnings cited contract delays or cancellations.
"Improving global growth and the positive impact of a weaker pound on exports, combined with falling expectations in stressed areas, should limit the number of profit warnings in the near-term," said Alan Hudson of EY.
"However, increased overheads, political and regulatory change, and digital disruption are piling pressure on sectors with long-standing structural issues, especially in consumer and business services.
"Periods of rapid change often leave companies behind and the next few years are unlikely to prove an exception." | The number of profit warnings posted by publicly listed companies reached 75 in the first quarter of 2017, according to business consultants EY. | 39683812 |
The fee could rise to £58m.
France Under-21 international Martial, who scored eight goals in 31 Ligue 1 games last season, signed a four-year deal with the option for a fifth year.
The 19-year-old, who had been linked with Arsenal, becomes United's third most expensive signing after Angel Di Maria (£59.7m) and Juan Mata (£37.1m).
He was allowed to leave the France squad on Monday for a medical with Louis van Gaal's side, who have given him the number nine shirt.
Monaco signed Martial for £4.4m two years ago from Lyon, who will receive about £7.35m as a result of a sell-on clause.
Conditions that would increase the fee include Martial winning the Ballon d'Or award for the world's top footballer.
The previous world record transfer fee for a teenager was £27m, which United paid for Southampton left-back Luke Shaw last summer and Paris St-Germain spent on Roma centre-back Marquinhos in 2013.
His signing came as Premier League spending passed £850m for the first time in a transfer window.
"I am so excited to be joining Manchester United," said Martial. "I have always wanted to play in the Premier League and to join the biggest club in the world is what every young footballer dreams of.
"I am looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and working with Louis van Gaal, who has achieved so much in his career."
Manager Van Gaal said: "Anthony is a naturally talented, young, multi-functional forward with great potential. We have been watching him for a while now and he has developed immensely during his time at Monaco.
"He has all the attributes to become a top football player; however we need to give him time to adjust to his new environment and the rhythm of the Premier League."
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said: "We wished to keep him this season but Manchester United made an incredible offer that neither Anthony, nor AS Monaco, could refuse."
In France, it is fair to say people are a little surprised.
"Is he worth that amount of money? If you ask the people back in France, they will say no he's not," said football journalist Philippe Auclair, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live's Monday Night Club.
"This amount of money leaves people speechless in France."
Such scepticism is greeted philosophically by the powerbrokers at Old Trafford.
In the final three weeks of the transfer window, a significant shift was noted in the prices being demanded for young players.
The acceleration was so quick a United source has said they expect the 200m euros (£150m) transfer barrier to be broken within three years.
With interest expected from all of Europe's leading clubs next summer, United felt they had to make a move Monaco could not refuse.
The add-ons merely underline the high expectations that surround Martial. "If he wins the Ballon D'Or, we won't care about the money," said the source.
A France Under-21 international who has just been called up to the senior national team for the first time.
He scored 32 goals in 21 games at youth level for Lyon before breaking into the first team in the 2012-13 season, making three appearances before joining Monaco.
Martial scored two goals in 15 games in his first season at Monaco and 11 in 42 in all competitions last season.
With nine goals, he is the top teenage scorer in Europe's top five leagues since the start of 2014-15.
In a July 2015 study by the Soccerex 20 Football Value Index, Martial was ranked the 17th most valuable under-21 player in Europe at £11.6m.
Raheem Sterling, who joined Manchester City from Liverpool for a fee that could reach £49m, was rated the most valuable.
He has already caught the eye of France boss Didier Deschamps and clearly United think he is worth the money, but it is all about potential.
"He plays centrally, but often drifts into wide positions, more on the left than the right," said Deschamps.
"He's got a good combination of pace and power.
"He's a young player obviously, but he's got an interesting profile in an area where it's not easy to find players with both strength and speed."
He has been likened to countryman Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend and Barcelona star who helped France win the 1998 World Cup.
Like Henry, Martial can play as a striker but also on the wings.
"The one comparison made by everybody in France - and will probably be made by everybody in England over the next few days - is he reminds people of Henry," said Auclair.
"He's not as tall - he's about two inches shorter - but he is lightning quick.
"He's got good technique, good skills, he's a good finisher, but he is still a raw product. We don't know how far he can go." | Manchester United have completed the £36m signing of Monaco forward Anthony Martial, making him the world's most expensive teenage footballer. | 34107092 |
Charles McLaughlin, 53, and his wife Judith, 58, were near Malton when they were hit by a car heading towards Scarborough on 23 June.
Police said the pair, from Welburn, North Yorkshire, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
The driver, a man in his 50s from Wakefield, and his wife who was in the passenger seat, were left uninjured.
More on this and other stories from across North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Police said its inquiry was ongoing into the collision, which happened at about 23:00 BST and forced the road to close for about four hours in both directions. | A married couple who were killed as they crossed the A64 late at night have been named by police. | 40567106 |
Energy stocks boosted the index with BP closing up by 2.1% and Shell gaining 0.9%.
Shares in Micro Focus International fell 3.5% after UBS cut its rating on the company to "neutral" from "buy".
Reckitt Benckiser fell 0.9% after an Australian court tripled the company's fine for misleading customers over Nurofen.
Australia's Federal Court ruled last year that products marketed as targeting specific pains, such as migraines, were actually identical.
Outside the FTSE 100, shares in Trinity Mirror rose 9.5% after it said its full-year performance would be "marginally ahead of expectations".
It predicted net debt would fall to about £35m, which was better than forecast. However, the newspaper publisher also said group revenues in the fourth quarter were set to fall by 8% on a like-for-like basis, with print advertising down 17%.
Rentokil Initial shares jumped 4.1% after it announced it would merge parts of its workwear and hygiene units into a joint venture with Germany's Haniel.
Rentokil said it would have an 18% stake in the joint venture and receive about €520m (£436m).
On the currency markets, the pound rose 0.51% against the dollar to $1.2483. Sterling had fallen sharply against the dollar on Thursday as financial markets continued to react to this week's Federal Reserve meeting, which pointed to three rate rises next year, rather than two.
Against the euro, the pound was little changed at €1.1931. | The FTSE 100 has closed above the 7,000 level, with the UK's benchmark index rising by 0.2% to 7,01164. | 38339341 |
The sides were level when Tyrone reeled off seven unanswered points to lead 0-12 to 0-5 at the break.
Tiernan McCann's early second-half goal ended the game as a contest as the Red Hands booked a place in the final against Monaghan or Down on 16 July.
Michael Carroll scored the only goal for a Donegal team who never looked like avenging their 2016 final defeat.
Paddy McBrearty was the game's top-scorer with six points, while Niall Sludden with four points and McCann (1-1) were joint highest scorers for the victors, for whom 12 players contributed scores.
Tyrone have now reversed a run of four consecutive defeats by Donegal between 2011 and 2015 by winning the last two provincial championship meetings between the sides, thereby denying their big Ulster rivals a seventh successive Ulster final appearance.
Relive the action from the Clones semi-final as it happened
The first quarter of the game was evenly contested as two points apiece from McBrearty and Michael Murphy, his second a sensational score from long range, plus one from Martin Reilly, kept Donegal in contention.
The Red Hands matched the skill and intensity shown by their opponents in the early stages of a match played at a frenetic pace, with Sean Cavanagh seeing his right-foot drive well saved by Mark Anthony McGinley.
At the other end, Eoin McHugh fired wide of Niall Morgan's right-hand post with the goal seemingly at his mercy, a crucial miss for his side.
Tyrone dominated the remainder of the opening half, scoring seven points in a row, with nine players registering scores, including doubles for Peter Harte, Niall Sludden and man-of-the-match Padraig Hampsey.
Cavanagh was denied a goalscoring chance by the hand of Eamonn Doherty and then the Tyrone skipper landed his side's first free of the match before the break, his side's previous 11 points having come from open play.
Donegal, in contrast, were forced to introduce experienced hands Karl Lacey and Martin McElhinney from the bench prior to the interval in a bid to stem the tide.
Three minutes after the interval Mickey Harte's men emphasised their superiority when McCann's mis-hit shot found the back of the net after a surging run.
Mark Bradley received a black card for a foul on his marker as he made space to score a point but the holders continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over to consolidate their advantage.
Carroll rifled the ball home for Donegal just after the hour mark while McBrearty's finishing was one of the few positives from an otherwise hugely disappointing performance.
Tyrone could have added further three-pointers but Rory Brennan saw his effort well saved by McGinley and Ryan McHugh blocked substitute Darren McCurry's goal-bound shot on the line.
Tyrone: N Morgan; A McCrory, R McNamee, P Hampsey; T McCann, C McCarron, P Harte; C Cavanagh, C McCann; K McGeary, N Sludden, R Brennan; M Bradley, S Cavanagh, M Donnelly.
Donegal: M A McGinley; P McGrath, N McGee, E Ben Gallagher; R McHugh, F McGlynn, E Doherty, J McGee, C Thompson, M Carroll, M Reilly, J Brennan, P McBrearty, M Murphy, E McHugh.
Referee: David Gough (Meath)
Attendance: 22,609 | Tyrone stayed on course to retain their Ulster SFC title by outclassing Donegal in a one-sided semi-final at Clones. | 40297300 |
A new year is upon us and I for one wonder what the fuss is all about - why the fireworks, the endless parties, the resolutions, the yearning to know the future - when in reality the new year for each and everyone should be the day our mothers gave birth to us.
But let us run with the herd and pretend there is a new year to celebrate and that making it into 2014 is worthy of raising a glass and that being alive at the beginning of January is somehow worthier of notice than being dead in December.
And it is a time to look ahead and speculate about the immediate future of this, our continent.
Increasingly, this has become an impossible task - for who could have known that before December was over South Sudan and her precarious peace would have unravelled and the prospect of another war loom large over the long-suffering South Sudanese?
Or that more than 100 people would die in the Democratic Republic of Congo as followers of evangelical Christian pastor Joseph Mukungubila attacked state institutions with gunfire on the second last day of 2013?
Pastor Mukungubila is known as the "prophet of the eternal" and he issued a press statement on his Facebook and Twitter accounts from "the office of the prophet" saying his followers had spontaneously rebelled against soldiers who had attacked his home.
And perhaps it is to these so-called prophets, the seers said to be blessed by holy visions that we should turn in predicting what this year has in store for us all.
Not only do these men say they can predict our uncertain future, they are also credited with performing astounding miracles.
Prophets are everywhere you look, ministering to the poor, the needy and the rich.
In Zimbabwe, Uebert Angel, a young charismatic prophet, arrives to preach to his flock by helicopter and tells them that God wants them to be rich, as rich as he is.
In Lagos, TB Joshua receives men and women of influence and presidents of different lands.
In Ghana, for these holy men are everywhere, Victor Kusi Boateng replenishes the spiritual needs of other prophets.
It would be foolish for anyone to cast aspersions on the acts of the divinely gifted, these miracle workers, these gardeners of the desert.
But seeing as so many of Africa's urban populations are filling the churches and the prayer halls in search of signs and miracles and salvation, I thought it wise to spend some time surfing the web in search of 2014 predictions for you from those in the know.
For the World Cup, no prophet goes out on a limb to hand the trophy to Africa, although one sees Nigeria's Super Eagles making it to the semi-finals.
If you are a Liverpool supporter, you will be disappointed to hear that another prophet has denied recent reports of that he predicted the Reds would win the league this year.
Yet another prophet believes there will be an explosion in prostitution in 2014 as the hard times continue to roll.
What of more serious issues, I hear you ask.
Another man of vision informs us that African politicians who depend on corruption for their wealth will fall by the wayside in 2014.
It seems, though, that a principal talent a prophet needs is the ability to foretell a leader's death, or to warn of some kind of attack or natural disaster before it occurs - but without giving us the specifics.
So it is possible we may hear a prophecy that a long-serving African leader will leave us in this 14th year of the new century and we, believing our prophets, will cast our roving eyes around to Eritrea, Zimbabwe or Cameroon and wonder where the prophet really wanted us to look.
We will watch the explosions in Somalia and the kidnappings in Libya or the murders in northern Nigeria and Mali and understand that the prophets have been telling us for some time that terrorism in Africa has been strengthening its grip and our governments must remain alert.
And what of the fate of all Africans all over the world? Despite the Bible and a love of scriptures, the world at large will watch us die in leaking boats in the Mediterranean or killed while crossing deserts as we demonstrate for the right to stay in places like Israel and Saudi Arabia where we are not wanted.
One thing you can be sure of is that 2014 will come and go of its own accord regardless of the prophecies - and it may well be more of the same but not necessarily in that order.
If you would like to comment on Farai Sevenzo's column, please do so below. | In our series of letters from African journalists, film-maker and columnist Farai Sevenzo looks at the new year predictions of some of Africa's many self-proclaimed prophets. | 25640425 |
The journalist was the first to be found guilty under Operation Elveden, the police probe into alleged payments to public officials for information.
The officer and his friend also won appeals against their convictions.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said no decision on possible retrials had been made.
The reporter, who cannot be named, was given a six-month suspended sentence at the Old Bailey in November 2014.
The officer and his friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been convicted in 2014 of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
A 42-month jail sentence was given to the officer and a 30-week sentence was handed to his friend.
Scotland Yard later defended the decision to go ahead with the case.
"The Metropolitan Police Service believes it was right that the evidence we gathered, having been tested and reviewed by the CPS as meeting the required threshold, was then put to a jury," a statement said.
The Lord Chief Justice ruled at the Court of Appeal that the trial judge, Charles Wide, had "misdirected" the jury on a key aspect of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in a public office in relation to the "level of seriousness" required.
The judgement said the jury should have considered whether the supply of information by the prison officer "has the effect of harming the public interest".
It also revealed some of the juror notes sent to the judge during their deliberations, including one that told of the "horrible atmosphere" in which they were working.
"The discussions within the jury room have become aggressive and the atmosphere is horrible" the note said.
"One juror even got out a magazine and proceeded to read this whilst others were stating their points.
"Please be aware all of the above is only the activity of two jurors however I strongly feel it is affecting the ability of us all to voice our opinions without fear of reprisal from them."
The next morning the judge told lawyers about the note but said he did not propose showing it to them.
He directed the jury encouraging them to have "discussions" rather than "arguments" and reminded them "the collective collaborative nature of your decision making is important."
Immediately after the jury resumed considering their verdicts the judge received a note from another juror which said: "I am being that, I am wasting oxygen!"
According to the judgment, both notes should have been disclosed at the time as they "showed that one juror was very concerned as to the way in which the deliberations were being conducted".
The CPS said it would consider the contents of the judgement "very carefully".
It has until 31 March to make a decision on a retrial.
In a separate case, the Lord Chief Justice also gave ex-News of the World reporter Ryan Sabey, the second journalist to be convicted following an Operation Elveden trial, leave to appeal against his conviction.
Sabey, 34, of Bethnal Green, east London, was found guilty of aiding and abetting lance corporal Paul Brunt to commit misconduct in a public office in February this year.
The court heard Brunt, 32, of Kentish Town, north London, was paid more than £16,000 to provide information and pictures about Prince Harry to the Sun and the News of the World over 18 months from 2006. | An ex-News of the World reporter who was found guilty of paying a prison officer for information has had their conviction quashed. | 32091020 |
While the horror stories of the orphanages of 1990s Romania were widely publicised, the conditions facing children in neighbouring Moldova are not well known.
Widespread poverty and a lack of basic social services are blamed for a situation which aid groups argue violates a child's right to a family, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In the capital, Chisinau, the institutions are surprisingly well maintained.
From the outside, the one I was able to visit looked like a school, with plants and a play area, while inside there were pictures on the walls and toys on display.
Yet the first thing you notice is how quiet it is: dozens of young children live in the institution, but you do not hear any noise.
The toys are not being played with; instead children are lying in cots. In one room is a group of about a dozen toddlers.
These youngsters rarely go outside, says Lavinia (not her real name), who works with Hope and Homes for Children, a charity that tries to return children to their families.
Instead, the children spend almost all of their time in just two rooms.
In the corner, a disabled child is left lying in vomit.
No pictures indoors are allowed.
The manager says there are not enough staff to take the children outside, although there appear to be more staff than children.
Lavinia is clearly frustrated by the attitude, but there is little she can do, even though she is working with local authorities on reforming childcare services.
"What we need is to inform and educate families," she says.
"If we can develop family alternatives, this would prevent more children having to live like this."
In another room, 10 newborns lie alone in cots. The institution's manager does not know their sexes.
The standards are shocking for Sarah Butterworth, a UK mental-health specialist on children in care who is visiting at the same time.
"[Knowing] how the brain develops in the first few months of life means I can only imagine the damage that is happening before our eyes," she says.
Although basic needs appear to have been met, these do not look like valued children.
Most of them are not even orphans; they have families but have been abandoned because of poverty and an outdated social reliance on state care.
Moldova's Soviet legacy still remains, and reliance on the state care is embedded in people's attitudes and the law, according to Dr Delia Pop of Hope and Homes for Children.
"For many, institutional care has become the only option," she says. "The irony is that it gets called 'childcare', even though this is one of the most damaging systems for children."
The authorities accept changes are needed but say one of the biggest obstacles is the weakness of the Moldovan economy.
"We want to reform institutions for babies and young children," says Svetlana Chifa, head of the Child Protection Department in Chisinau.
Unemployment in Moldova is high and young adults often head abroad to find work, leaving their children behind to the state.
They believe what they are doing is for the best.
There is also the stigma of disability. A three-year-old I visited, who has been helped into a foster family, was abandoned simply because he was born without an arm.
The situation is even harder in the breakaway eastern region of Trans-Dniester, which is technically part of Moldova but sees itself as a separate country.
"Trans-Dniester has an attitude for independence, and has strong connections with former Soviet countries," says Dr Pop.
This gives aid workers additional challenges in encouraging co-operation to get children out of institutions and back with their families.
Visiting the region is like going back in time.
Placing children in such institutions is simply firefighting an ever-expanding, complex social problem rather than offering a long-term solution for the many children within their walls, says children-in-care specialist Sarah Butterworth.
Even when compared with children living in the most deprived of households, children in care are more likely to grow up as dysfunctional adults.
"Years of research have shown the importance of family-based care and attachment, which children in institutions just aren't offered," she says.
Developmental needs, attachment, love and consistency are overlooked.
The authorities in Moldova acknowledge solving this problem is about changing ingrained attitudes and will not happen overnight, partly because many who work in such institutions have a vested interest in them remaining open.
"People are cautious about changes," says Svetlana Chifa.
"The institutions are their livelihoods and people could lose their jobs when they close." | More than 7,000 children have been placed in state-run institutions in Europe's poorest country, Moldova, and only 2% are orphans. | 29204924 |
Kasabian Newton-Smith, eight, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two and has two inoperable brain tumours.
Football teams, players and individuals are being asked to tweet with #1LastSmile4Kasabian.
His father Simon Newton-Smith said: "I just hope he is awake enough to know if he meets Wayne Rooney."
The organisation Grassroots Football said: "We appeal to the entire footballing world to join together and send Kasabian 1 last smile."
People are being encouraged to wear a football strip, hold one finger in the air and smile for a photograph.
Billy Sharp, who plays for Sheffield United, has tweeted a picture using #1LastSmile4Kasabian featuring Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and Liverpool's Adam Lallana.
Kasabian, from Parson Cross, Sheffield, has been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma and has had 111 radiation treatments.
He has been treated for five other tumours in six years.
He is now confined to bed at home and his family celebrated his ninth birthday, which was to be in December, early.
His mother Kay said the campaign was the idea of some friends who wanted to give her son "one last smile" and meet the England player.
Kasabian had "desperately" wanted to follow in his big brother's footsteps and play football and he had three games for Southy Wolves U10's, his father said.
Watching him play football "was a dream", Mr Newton-Smith said.
Kasabian has seen one Manchester United game at Old Trafford and "absolutely loved it" his dad said.
The young boy, who has six brothers and sisters, has previously taken part in fundraising efforts for Sheffield Children's Hospital and cancer charities.
The BBC has contacted Wayne Rooney's management for a comment. | A social media campaign is trying to give a terminally ill boy "one last smile" by getting him to meet footballer Wayne Rooney. | 37950687 |
First year student De'Andre Johnson, 19, was initially suspended but was dropped from the team on Monday after prosecutors released the video.
He was charged with misdemeanour battery after the incident on 24 June at a Tallahassee bar.
The 21-year-old woman suffered bruising and swelling to her face, police said.
Mr Johnson, a quarterback nicknamed "Mr Football", was a standout player at First Coast High School.
He graduated early to play for Florida State, although he was not expected to become the starting quarterback in the coming season.
Florida State has one of the top university football programmes in the US. Former quarterback Jameis Winston was the number one pick in April's National Football League draft.
The security camera footage shows Mr Johnson and the woman arguing in a crowded bar. After the woman strikes Mr Johnson with her hand, he punches her in the face, throwing her off balance.
Mr Johnson remains a student at Florida State.
His family has hired Jose Baez, a prominent Florida defence lawyer.
"While it is clear from the video that De'Andre Johnson was not the initial aggressor, his family wants to take the lead in helping him learn and grow from this experience," Mr Baez said. | A promising football player at Florida State University has been kicked off the team after a video showed him punching a woman in a bar. | 33429915 |
The son of Frankel, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was one of a handful of horses to work on the track at the annual Breakfast with the Stars event.
Gosden said the Derby trip should suit Cracksman, who was added to the field last month as a supplementary entry.
"I think the mile and half will be right up his alley and we didn't supplement him for fun," he said.
"He goes there a fit, happy horse - a touch light on experience, but he is not the only one."
Cracksman beat subsequent Dante Stakes winner Periman in the Derby Trial at Epsom in April and is joint 4-1 favourite for the Classic on 3 June with Cliffs Of Moher, trained by Aidan O'Brien.
Surrey Police said security would be stepped up for the event, which attracts an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people, following the Manchester Arena attack.
"People attending will notice tighter security measures and firearms officers in and around the Derby grounds which we feel people have a right to expect and are commonly seen at large events of this type," said Chief Superintendent Jerry Westerman. | Trainer John Gosden issued an upbeat bulletin on Cracksman after the Derby contender galloped at Epsom. | 40021021 |
Media playback is unsupported on your device
31 May 2015 Last updated at 10:29 BST
The young crocs are a protected species and are classed as critically endangered.
The 12 crocodiles had been in quarantine to keep them from getting diseases.
Experts said the creatures were healthy and strong enough to live in the wild.
Martin has this report... | Rare baby crocodiles, that were donated by a zoo in Sweden to Cuba, have been released into the wild. | 32930505 |
The hotel was sold by the Belfast-based Mooney Group who had owned it since 1986.
The McKeever Group owns a portfolio of hotels which includes the Adair Arms in Ballymena and the Dunsilly in Antrim.
Bookings at the Dunadry are not affected by the change of ownership and all employees will be retained.
In 2016, the McKeever group made a pre-tax profit of just under £1m on turnover of £8.2m. | The Dunadry Hotel in County Antrim has been bought by the McKeever Hotel Group for an undisclosed sum. | 40324761 |
But the international think tank says to maximise the benefits of early years education, there need to be places for the poorest families.
The OECD says the UK has low levels of hours in pre-school education.
There are plans in England to double the amount of free childcare to 30 hours, but only for working families.
The OECD study says there are significant economic and personal benefits from investing in early years education - and it supports the move in England to extend access to pre-school places.
At present, the 15 hours of free childcare is among the lowest levels of provision of any OECD country, but it will rise to 30 hours in the autumn, for families with a working parent.
Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's education director, says that he understands the argument for focusing pre-school places on working families - so that parents can afford to go out to work.
But he says that such an approach can reduce the educational benefits of early years support, which is greatest for those from the most disadvantaged families.
The OECD study shows that by international standards the UK has high proportions of children in workless families, particularly in lone-parent families.
These may miss out if access to early years places is focused on working families.
Mr Schleicher highlighted the importance of pre-school education in giving children a strong start. This extended beyond learning, with the study highlighting links between access to early years education and reduced levels of obesity.
But the report warned that spending on this sector could be patchy and that staff could be less well-paid than in the school system.
Pre-school staff in the UK have seen their pay fall in real terms since 2010, says the OECD survey.
Looking for good quality pre-school places could also be much more difficult for parents, compared with the amount of information available about schools.
Mr Schleicher said the variety of early years places could be "very fragmented and hard to navigate".
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: "We have long argued that, given current limited resources, the government should focus its spending on where it is needed most.
"As such, we remain at a loss as to why there has been no attempt to rethink the current eligibility criteria for the 30-hour offer."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We are investing more than ever before into childcare - £6bn per year by 2020 - and doubling our existing offer of free childcare for all three and four year olds to 30 hours for working parents.
"We are also supporting the most disadvantaged families with 15 free hours per week for two year olds, our pupil premium which is worth over £300 a year per child and our new Disability Access Fund, providing £615 per eligible child." | Young people who went through pre-school education are much more likely to do well in international Pisa tests when they are teenagers, says the OECD. | 40344055 |
David Ungi, 24, is accused of killing Vinny Waddington, 18, in July 2015.
The teenager was found with gunshot wounds following a crash between a car and a scrambler bike in Banks Road.
Suspects from Liverpool, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham are also wanted. Several were involved in drugs-related offences.
Merseyside Police said David Ungi is the son of David Ungi Senior, who was killed in a notorious gangland shooting in the Toxteth area of Liverpool in 1995. The killing prompted a spate of other shootings in the city.
Also on the list of suspects, drawn up by the National Crime Agency and Crimestoppers, is alleged murderer Shane O'Brien, 28.
He is accused of killing Josh Hanson in front of his girlfriend in the RE Bar in Hillingdon, west London, in October 2015.
A £10,000 reward is on offer for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Officers are also looking for Shazad Ghafoor, 29, who allegedly stole a car from a Land Rover dealership in Manchester in August 2013 using a false name, sparking a high-speed police chase with his wife and children in the car.
The pursuit ended with him rolling the car in Halifax, West Yorkshire, before police found up to £100,000 in cash in the vehicle.
He is accused of a string of offences for the chase, and supplying cannabis.
David Walley, 40, is alleged to have smuggled MDMA and cocaine into the UK in parcels delivered to Manchester.
Ahmed Dervish Omer, 45, from Nottingham, is wanted after fleeing in the middle of his trial for drugs offences in November last year. He was found guilty in his absence and sentenced to 10 years.
The remaining suspects are Michael Moogan and Robert Gerrard, both 52 and from Liverpool, who are accused of being part of an international drug trafficking ring; and Mark Liscott, 55, from Birmingham, who is wanted for allegedly dealing drugs while out on licence for a jail term for dealing cannabis.
Convicted rapist Rezgar Zengana, 33, is also on the list for posing as a minicab driver in Glasgow in 2006, and picking up a 25-year-old woman who he attacked. He was convicted for rape but has yet to be sentenced.
There were 904 arrests under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) between 2009 and 2015, data from the National Crime Agency reveals.
Spain accounted for the most arrests overall in that period, 245 in total, with 49 in 2014-15.
The Netherlands saw 129 arrests of people wanted by the UK since 2009.
The most common reason for arrest was drugs trafficking, with 154 for such offences.
The Metropolitan Police, the biggest force in the UK, made the most arrests abroad under the EAW in 2014-15, with 16 out of 161 arrests that year.
Dave Allen, from the NCA, said: "Those who believe they can use the Netherlands to evade capture or continue illegal activities soon find out that it is not a safe haven." | A man accused of shooting dead a Liverpool teenager is among nine "most wanted" suspects believed to have fled to the Netherlands. | 35748952 |
Long ago, according to a famous Aboriginal legend, a maku - the white moth larva also known as the witchetty grub - made its way across the remote South Australian outback, carving what's now known as the Everard Ranges in its wake.
In the 1950s and '60s the British government, under agreement with Australia, exploded nine nuclear bombs near the region, as it developed its Cold War arsenal instituted under Winston Churchill. Two bombs were tested at Emu Field, just 180km (112 miles) across the flat, barren landscape from the Everards.
At some point during those controversial 11 years of atomic testing, an indigenous couple of the area and their young daughter took ill. Present day tribal elders believe this was due to radiation. They were of the so-called Spinifex People, who roamed over hundreds of kilometres in a nomadic existence in the outback.
The child died and her remains were interred in the customary manner for children, wrapped in hair and selected vegetation and placed in a high-up wall cavity in a cave. The parents soon also died, elsewhere in the region.
A decade later, relatives looked for the child's grave site, but with only scant details passed down from her parents, they were unsuccessful.
For some 60 years the bones lay untouched - until last November.
New land management staff on a routine inspection in the Sandy Bore Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) found the skeleton of the girl, thought to have been between three and six. Though indigenous people were present, they were not traditional owners of the area, and knew nothing of the girl's interment six decades earlier, and so police from the nearby town of Mimili were informed of the find. Also informed was a senior Aboriginal elder of the region, Rex Tjami.
Mr Tjami is director of administration in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) area. He also happens to be one of the relatives of the deceased family who searched fruitlessly for the girl's remains in the Everards that day, saying he looked to the north of the maku's trail, when the burial site was to the south.
When Mr Tjami went to the cave, which is deemed a sacred site, some three weeks after being informed, he was horrified to find the bones had been removed.
Mimili police had informed detectives in the state capital Adelaide, 1,400km to the south. A forensic pathologist and a forensic anthropologist had visited the site. The pathologist formed the view the bones might have been laid to rest within the past 10 years, and might even not be indigenous. As a result, he gained permission from the state coroner to take the bones and burial effects back to Adelaide for further examination.
That might sound like routine police work, but it has raised a huge storm of cultural controversy and calls for an official inquiry, having inflamed indigenous sensitivities on the issue of how Aboriginal Australians bury their dead.
"Our elders are very upset," Mr Tjami told the BBC. "Our culture has some special ways when it comes to burials. Babies and children are buried in a very special way. This was very disrespectful."
Mr Tjami is incensed he was not consulted before the bones were removed. Not only were they in an IPA, he could have told the pathologist about the deceased parents and the child.
He said the removal of the bones was akin to "coming into someone's backyard" and taking something away. The APY strongly believe that the dead should be left in peace, so that their spirit is undisturbed. While that's similar to many cultures, indigenous Australians also have a strong connection to the land they are from, with a deep belief they must return to it when they die.
"A lot of people are very upset, especially the women. They want this child to 'come home'," said Rosanne McInnes, a barrister and former magistrate representing the APY. "What they say is that 'the mother is crying and calling for the child'. The women also regard this child as one of their own."
Ms McInnes is putting the case for a coronial inquest into why the remains were removed without proper processes respectful of the indigenous community. The case includes a sworn affidavit from Mr Tjami detailing his recollections about the deceased parents and child, including that they "came from the area where there was nuclear testing''.
"We want protection for our heritage ... not people from Adelaide digging up old graves and taking away the bodies of our people without telling us," Mr Tjami says in his affidavit.
Ms McInnes is also petitioning the federal government to enshrine tighter protection for the APY area. She says this is needed as some "younger people" in the poverty-stricken region, in the far north of the state, have suggested making the burial site a tourist attraction, since the case has made headlines across Australia.
The episode again raises the issue of the battle to have Aboriginal remains returned to their place of origin, which continues to be fought internationally. Since 1990, the remains of 1,150 indigenous Australians have been returned to their homelands from abroad. But campaigners say 1,000 more are still held in museums around the world, mostly in the UK, Germany, France and the USA, and should be returned home for a proper burial.
Ms McInnes said still more remained in Australian museums and warehouses.
"They were found by road crews and railway crews and so forth and taken away and they're still sitting in warehouses somewhere in the cities," she told the BBC. "The indigenous people want to get their people back home, but how? They can't afford it."
The case of the Sandy Bore girl has at least prompted a swift response from authorities.
Coroner Mark Johns has ordered a comprehensive report from police, which will likely determine if an inquest will be held. He told the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper he had asked for details on how the discovery was made and how the remains were removed, to see if "things should have been done differently".
He had also asked for a report on why the pathologist and anthropologist had formed the view the remains might not be historic.
The South Australian government has expressed its regret over what's been called another indignity for a child assumed to have been killed by radiation sickness. State Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher has also called on the coroner to review policies about the removal of bones from sacred burial sites for examination "to avoid any future incident that may cause this type of distress".
While the coroner still awaits his report from police, he has ordered the remains to be released and returned to the cave within two weeks. Mr Maher said the government would cover the costs of reburying the remains, including a proper Aboriginal funeral.
Britain detonated nine nuclear devices in the region between 1952 and 1963, seven in the Maralinga area and two in nearby Emu Field. Indigenous people plus UK servicemen, Australian soldiers and civilians were exposed to radiation, with various illnesses resulting. The site, of some 1,800 sq km, was officially closed to human habitation in 1967, but handed back between 2009 and 2014 after clean-up operations.
In 1994, the Maralinga-Tjarutja people were paid A$13.5m (£8.2m; $10.3m) in compensation under a deal between Australia and Britain after a 1985 Royal Commission into the nuclear tests. | The removal of a child's remains from a cave in South Australia has prompted calls for an inquest, and government efforts to atone for culturally insensitive actions, reports Trevor Marshallsea. | 38915007 |
It has announced revisions to 10 services from 25 June, with some being rerouted, affecting Coedpoeth, Penycae, Rhostyllen, Llay and other areas.
Local MP Susan Elan Jones and AM Ken Skates have written to Arriva and are calling on Wrexham council to step in.
Arriva has been asked to comment.
Mr Skates said: "In Penycae, these changes will see key areas such as the Afoneitha estate hugely affected, and people fear they will be completely cut off.
"Arriva has stated that long-running parking issues hindering access to the estate have contributed to its decision, so I would implore Wrexham council to act as a matter of urgency."
Wrexham councillor David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: "These are commercial decisions taken by Arriva and the council unfortunately has no power to prevent them going ahead." | Politicians are calling for bus company Arriva to rethink planned service changes in Wrexham, claiming they act as a "lifeline" for some communities. | 40326755 |
Hope Not Hate campaign organiser David Braniff-Herbert, 30, was involved in an altercation with Tom Andrews in Great Yarmouth on Saturday.
Mr Andrews, 73, was arrested and given a caution for minor assault.
Mr Braniff-Herbert said he had received "threatening" and "violent" abuse on the social media site based around his sexuality.
"It's really, really horrible," he said. "I consider myself a strong person but you read through the messages and it's visceral hate - the worst of the worst."
Mr Braniff-Herbert, who lives in London but is currently based in Great Yarmouth, said he was preparing for a leaflet drop at Drill House on York Road when Mr Andrews appeared.
He said Mr Andrews refused to leave when asked, became aggressive and slapped him.
"I accept police have reprimanded him and this will go on his record," Mr Braniff-Herbert said.
Mr Braniff-Herbert said he was considering taking police action over the Twitter abuse, which he said included a message saying "I wish you had Aids".
"The words they are using are really threatening," he said. "This is hate crime, they are having a go at me because I'm gay."
BBC News Online has been unable to reach Mr Andrews for a comment about Saturday's incident.
He was elected to Great Yarmouth Borough Council last year. | A campaigner who was assaulted by a UKIP councillor has received homophobic abuse on Twitter. | 32371728 |
The higher education funding council has analysed last year's degree grades awarded by England's universities.
It shows 82% of former state school students achieved a first or upper second degree, compared with 73% of private school students.
The figures also show that women achieved better degree grades than men.
The Higher Education Funding Council has published an analysis showing the wide range of grades being awarded to different groups of students who graduated in 2014.
Earlier this year, figures were published showing record levels of first class degrees - with 21% graduating with this top grade. There were a further 51% of students awarded upper seconds.
The funding council figures provide a more detailed profile of where the top grades are being awarded.
Private school students are significantly behind - and the analysis says that this is only partially explained by state school students entering with higher A-level grades.
About half this nine percentage point gap remains unexplained - with state school pupils performing better than might have been predicted.
State school pupils consistently outperform private school students relative to their A-level grades on admissions.
For students entering with three B grades, 75% of independent school students will achieve a first or upper second class degree, while about 84% of state school students will achieve these top grades.
There is also a big variation in degree grades by subject. Among students taking medicine, 90% received a first or upper second, compared with 73% for maths and 69% for law.
Women are ahead of men in degree grades, with 74% achieving firsts or upper seconds compared with 70% of men.
In a further profile of the stronger performers, students from richer backgrounds tend to get higher grades and white students get significantly higher grades than those from ethnic minorities.
Disabled and part-time students also tend to do less well than those without disabilities and those studying full time.
The rising levels of top degree grades has prompted complaints about grade inflation - with the number of first class degrees having doubled in a decade.
The analysis shows that for students entering with the equivalent of three C grades at A-level, 70% will achieve a first or upper second class degree. For students with three B grades, 80% are awarded a first or upper second.
Among those entering with three C grades, about 15% achieve a first class degree.
"Once again, robust analysis shows persistent unexplained differences in degree outcomes for particular groups of students," said Madeleine Atkins, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
"Students who are disabled, or from a disadvantaged background, or from an ethnic minority group, continue to achieve lower degree outcomes than their non-disabled, white, advantaged peers.
"We must ensure that all students regardless of background or characteristics fulfil their potential and achieve the degree outcomes they deserve." | Students who attended a state school were significantly more likely to get top degree grades at university than those who went to private school. | 34268021 |
A cabinet statement said a voluntary recruitment drive was necessary to fill shortages in squads in the west of Anbar province.
Thousands have fled Ramadi since its capture by IS on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the US National Security Council said it was considering "how best to support local ground forces".
Spokesman Alistair Baskey told AFP that some of the measures may include "accelerating the training and equipping of local tribes and supporting an Iraqi-led operation to retake Ramadi".
A more detailed announcement could come within days.
President Barack Obama has been briefed by advisers and "reaffirmed the strong US support" for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Islamic State militants have been setting up defensive positions in Ramadi, witnesses say.
After a Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, the Iraqi prime minister vowed to prosecute forces who fled the city in the wake of the IS attacks.
Mr Abadi said the Iraqi people needed to "stand unified" and called for voluntary recruitment to the army. He also pledged to recruit and arm tribal fighters.
Fleeing Ramadi residents face tough choices
On the frontline in Anbar province
The council also issued a fresh plea to the international community to help Iraq's "war against terrorism".
The loss of Ramadi, capital of western Anbar province, is a blow for both the Iraqi government and US strategy in the area, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
Retaking it is a massive challenge to the Iraqi government, which has had to appeal to the Shia militias despite risks of a sectarian backlash from sending them deep into the Sunni heartland, our correspondent adds.
Some 3,000 Shia militiamen are said to be "on standby" at Habbaniyah military camp, some 20km east of Ramadi, in preparation for an attempt to recapture the city.
The United Nations says some 25,000 people have fled the area in recent days, with many having to sleep in the open.
Streets in the city are deserted, but some shops have been forced to open by IS fighters.
Militants were also going door-to-door looking for government sympathisers and throwing bodies in the Euphrates river, residents said. | Iraq's government has called for volunteers to fight against Islamic State and help retake the city of Ramadi. | 32806487 |
Liverpool beat champions Leicester City, while Arsenal, Bournemouth, Tottenham and Watford and Crystal Palace also won.
Chelsea were held at Swansea and you can see my team of the week above.
Do you agree with Garth's picks? Or would you go for a different team? Why not pick your very own Team of the Week from the shortlist selected by BBC Sport journalists and share it with your friends.
Pick your XI from our list and share with your friends.
The Crystal Palace keeper has made a good start to his career at Selhurst Park and been unlucky not to have a better return for his efforts. However, against Middlesbrough the Frenchman was outstanding. Two saves from Negredo saved the day for Palace but it was his tip over the bar from Ben Gibson that was the most spectacular.
If the Eagles can produce the right service for Christian Benteke, and retain the £50m-valued Wilfried Zaha, then Palace seem almost certain to retain their Premier League status. Manager Alan Pardew's business in the transfer window has been outstanding. The acquisition of Mandanda, Benteke and Loic Remy has once again established Pardew's business acumen. If he were to get £50m for Zaha this season I suggest he gives up football and becomes the chairman of the Confederation of British Industry!
The move for Tottenham's third goal started in their penalty area and ended up in the back of the net. In fact Kyle Walker, who made this goal for Delli Alli, hadn't left the penalty area when Christian Eriksen made the break.
The speed at which Walker raced forward to support the Spurs attack was tremendous but it was also the ease and composure he showed when he gently stroked the ball for Alli to finish that really made me take note. I've seen Walker in this mood before and it bodes well for Tottenham's fortunes in the Champions League.
When I saw Laurent Koscielny sitting in the stands recovering from his European Championship exploits when his team-mates were in desperate need of defenders against Liverpool, it made me question his commitment to Arsenal's cause. This is a player with enormous qualities and they were perfectly demonstrated against Southampton.
You don't often see a defender execute an overhead kick as well as Koscielny did to equalise against Southampton. If he is going to have a day off in future he should try to make sure it's not a matchday.
When Pep Guardiola brought John Stones to Manchester City for a king's ransom, few doubted his judgement and quite rightly so. However, if the performance of keeper Claudio Bravo against Manchester United is anything to go by then Stones may prove to be more valuable than originally thought.
Stones had to dig the debutant keeper out of so many situations against Manchester United I started to question whether Guardiola understood that in the Premier League the ball can arrive in the penalty area at any time and from anywhere. It doesn't matter how good a goalkeeper is with his feet - if he can't use his hands, what's the point?
We all saw it. That wonderful reverse pass by Dimitri Payet that lead to West Ham's second goal. The only problem with moments like that is the media love them but they stick in the minds of pros who find such extravagances unnecessary and humiliating.
So I can only imagine the delight of the Watford players when they saw Payet in a heap after a perfectly legitimate tackle by Jose Holebas. In the same move Holebas went on to complete a proper humiliation by scoring Watford's definitive goal to complete West Ham's total demise. Now that's what I call revenge.
At last Adam Lallana appears to be enjoying his game under the Anfield spotlight in the same way he did when he set the Premier League alight at St Mary's with Southampton. We've seen flashes of his brilliance but what I detect now is a player who has come to terms with the weight of expectancy that comes with being a Liverpool player.
The England international has finally realised that he is no longer playing at the Adelphi Theatre every week but Carnegie Hall. In the past, I sense he has struggled with this notion but it would seem not anymore. Lallana's all-round performance for club and country this week suggests that the player is finally coming to terms with the demands of playing for a big club and might even prove to be its leader in the end.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho didn't heed the warnings. The quality of Kevin de Bruyne's cross in the opening minutes against his side should have been enough to tell the Portuguese that De Bruyne had a score to settle. It was Mourinho who told De Bruyne he wasn't good enough at Chelsea and sent him packing with a career to rebuild.
De Bruyne has come back to the Premier League with a vengeance and tore the heart out of Mourinho's side in the derby. In fact, the Belgium international already looks like a contender for player of the season.
I must say I thought Son's first goal was a bit opportunistic but his second was a wonder goal. Last season Spurs tore Stoke apart by four goals to nil, looked full of enterprise and guile and got us all talking about how they were title contenders. Well, I have no intention of falling for that again.
Sadio Mane cut Leicester to ribbons. What excites me about this player is his change of pace. On two occasions Mane gave Kasper Schmeichel the impression that the keeper was the favourite to win the race to the ball and both times Mane switched on the turbochargers and left Schmeichel completely exposed.
There is a developing mood in the game that seems to encourage keepers to venture way beyond their penalty area in order for their defences to push high up the field. The only problem with that is it leaves the goal unprotected and the keeper looking rather foolish if it fails.
Recalled to the Spanish national team in midweek, the striker helped himself to two goals to justify his selection and another two against Swansea in the league in a pulsating game at the Liberty Stadium. The Chelsea hit man looks deadly in front of goal at the moment but still can't help causing mischief.
Pundits with a younger perspective tell me how much they enjoy the aggressive element to his game and, without it, he would be far less effective. What nonsense. The lad can play. Once you have that, do you need anything else?
With one Brazilian resting on the sidelines it was left to another to produce the goods. Philippe Coutinho will be the player who Liverpool depend on to see them past more difficult opposition but, in his absence, compatriot Roberto Firmino is very capable of holding the fort.
Firmino seemed to take great delight in putting Leicester to the sword. Meanwhile, the Foxes strike me as a team who have dispensed with the basic 'defend for our lives and then hit them on the break' attitude for a more sophisticated approach. The quicker Leicester get back to what they know, the better. | Manchester City are the only Premier League side with their 100% start to the season intact after they beat derby rivals Manchester United to stay top of the table. | 37334077 |
The new vessels will be Taiwanese-made, unlike its current fleet of four, which were bought from overseas decades ago.
The announcement comes the day before Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump meet in Florida.
Taiwan has never built its own submarines before. The new diesel-powered additions will go towards upgrading its ageing foreign fleet.
"In our indigenous submarine project, we hope to be able to make eight submarines," said Lee Tsung-hsiao, navy chief of staff, after a report on the project was presented at a legislative hearing.
Last month, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen expressed a need for upgrading defences while on a tour of part of the fleet.
"Strengthening underwater combat capabilities is most needed for Taiwan's defence," she said.
China regards democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, and has never renounced the threat of taking it back by force.
Taiwan's defence minister has accused China of having more than 1,000 missiles pointed at the island.
Taiwan's submarines are already being designed and should be in service within a decade.
They will replace the island's current fleet of four ageing vessels - two from the Netherlands and two from the United States. The US ships are from World War Two.
Taiwan usually relies on Washington for arms sales, but those have slowed in recent years because of objections from China, which has threatened to force the island to reunify.
Taipei has concluded that if it wants the latest weapons, it will have to build them itself.
Both China and the US have accused each other of "militarising" the South China Sea, where territory is disputed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
The US is obligated under its own laws (the Taiwan Relations Act) to help Taiwan defend itself.
President Trump has predicted Thursday's talks with Mr Xi will be "very difficult". | Taiwan has announced plans for eight new submarines, a senior Taiwanese navy official confirmed on Wednesday. | 39501621 |
The 48-year-old Wilmots was coach of Belgium between 2012 and 2016 and lead them to the World Cup in Brazil.
He was sacked in July 2016 after Belgium lost 3-1 to Wales in the quarter-finals of the European Championships.
Frenchman Dussuyer quit the Elephants after they exited the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage.
Wilmots, who has signed a two-year contract with an option to renew, will get the chance to see his new charges in action almost immediately as Ivory Coast play two friendlies.
However he will not be in charge of the team for those matches, against Russia on Friday in Krasnador and then Senegal three days later in Franceas, as Ibrahim Kamara will be in temporary control.
The Belgian has been set the task of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the Africa Cup of Nations a year later.
Ivory Coast are top of their World Cup qualifying pool with four points from two matches, ahead of Gabon, Morocco and Mali, with only the group winners going to Russia.
When the Nations Cup campaign kicks off in June, the Elephants will battle it out with Guinea, Central African Republic and Rwanda for a place at the finals in Cameroon. | Ivory Coast have named former Belgium international Marc Wilmots as their new head coach to replace Michel Dussuyer. | 39342275 |
The miners closed between 2.4% and 2.9% up, helping the FTSE finish 0.5% higher at 7,321.8 points.
Morrison and Sainsbury fell 2.8% and 2.4% respectively after research from Kantar suggested more pricing pressures were facing supermarkets.
The pound was down 0.37% against the dollar at $1.244, and fell 0.29% against the euro to 1.166 euros.
Old Mutual, whose shares have fallen in wake of political turmoil in South Africa, regained their poise.
The South Africa-focused insurer, whose shares fell in early trading, ended 0.10% higher.
Outside the top flight, Imagination Technologies, jumped 13%.
Shares in the computer chip maker had plunged 62% on Monday after the tech giant Apple said it would end a deal to use its products. | Mining stocks led a rise for the FTSE 100, with Fresnillo, Anglo American and Rio Tinto among the four main gainers. | 39489397 |
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks came after a speech by President Hassan Rouhani at the UN in which he called for an investigation.
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of playing politics with a tragedy.
At least 769 people died in the crush, more than 140 of them from Iran.
It was the deadliest incident to hit the Hajj in 25 years.
The crush occurred on Thursday morning as two large groups of pilgrims converged at right angles as they took part in the Hajj's last major rite - stone-throwing at pillars called Jamarat, where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham.
As pilgrims completed the final rituals of this year's Hajj in the shadow of Thursday's tragic events, the row between the Saudis and Iran over who was responsible only grew in virulence.
Iran lost at least 140 of its citizens in the disaster. But its outrage has political motivations, too, as its battle with Saudi Arabia for regional dominance sharpens week by week. The rivalry between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia also has a religious dimension.
Despite all the billions the Saudis have spent on the infrastructure of the Hajj, there is a growing chorus of criticism which extends beyond Iran.
It is claimed that their organisation of the pilgrimage may not have paid enough attention to the basic human level of managing the mass influx of pilgrims so that all are treated equally, as the simple white clothing they assume on entering Mecca is meant to symbolise.
Disaster puts pressure on Saudis
Hajj's safety concerns
In pictures: Aftermath of the stampede
Hajj stampede: What we know so far
Deadly pinch point at Jamarat Bridge
People ask who is to blame
"This issue will not be forgotten and the nations will pursue it seriously," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"Instead of accusing this and that, the Saudis should accept the responsibility and apologise to the Muslims and the victims' families," he added.
"The Islamic world has a lot of questions. The death of more than 1,000 people is not a small issue," he said, citing claims by Iranian officials of a higher death toll.
President Rouhani has described the stampede as "heart-rending".
Also on Saturday, Prosecutor General Sayed Ibrahim Raisi said on state television that Iran would seek the trial of the Saudi royal family over its "crimes" in "international courts".
As well as the fatalities, 934 people were injured.
But Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, said on Sunday: "This is not a situation with which to play politics.
"I would hope that the Iranian leaders would be more sensible and more thoughtful with regards to those who perished in this tragedy and wait until we see the results of the investigation."
Earlier, the country's most senior cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh, defended the authorities, saying the stampede was "beyond human control".
King Salman has ordered a safety review into the disaster.
The disaster is the second to strike in two weeks, after a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing 109 people.
Saturday was the final day of the Hajj, with no further incidents reported.
Deaths reported so far by nationality
Saudi helplines: 00966 125458000 and 00966 125496000
Timeline: Deadliest stampedes | Iran's supreme leader has called on Saudi Arabia to apologise for Thursday's deadly stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. | 34372745 |
I only ask because increasingly we all rely on our electronic devices to remember such information for us.
But when the idea of allowing students to use search engines in exams was suggested recently, the immediate fear was "dumbing down".
Only a few years ago, there was a similar debate about the use of calculators.
For the 11-year-olds sitting their national curriculum tests, often known as Sats, in England this coming week, the emphasis is on mental arithmetic.
Calculators are no longer permitted.
Their use will also be limited in the new GCSE maths exams, for which students will start studying this autumn.
Dictionaries have had a similarly chequered track record in foreign language exams.
They were banned 15 years ago, after research suggested they gave the brightest students a greater advantage.
Newly redrafted GCSEs in French, Spanish and German will be introduced in 2016.
As part of its recent consultation on the exam, the regulator Ofqual has asked about the ban on dictionaries.
In the responses, opinion was divided, suggesting this is not a settled debate.
In different ways, these are all dilemmas about the boundary between knowledge and understanding, between retrieving information and manipulating it.
And with search engines, it is very much a digital conundrum.
Imagine for a moment the pre-digital equivalent - allowing students to roam through a vast library.
They simply would not have time to find the references they needed and return to their desk to complete the exam.
Now unimaginable amounts of information lie at our fingertips.
But does the act of memorising and then recalling information mould our brains in a different way?
Scientists are showing increasing interest in the life-long plasticity of the human brain and how its physical structure is altered by how we use it.
Learning that requires effort, and the use of that knowledge, might subtly alter mental development.
Some of the best known studies involve London's licensed black cab drivers, who have to memorise 25,000 city streets.
The process takes applicants between two and four years and many fail the final test, known as The Knowledge, because of its difficulty.
Researchers at University College, London, in 2006 studied the brains of 79 trainee taxi drivers and 31 non-taxi drivers, recording who had passed or failed The Knowledge and who had never studied.
It was a very small sample.
But after four years, they found the taxi drivers' brain structure had altered, showing more grey matter in part of the hippocampus.
So whether we learn and remember large amounts of information may quite literally shape our brains.
The digital age is also raising broader philosophical questions about memory.
How much do we need to remember when it can be effortlessly recalled for us by a machine?
If the use of search engines for retrieving facts is allowed at some point in the future, exams themselves might have to change.
Examiners would need to find ways of distinguishing between those students regurgitating information and those who could show how much they truly understood.
The chief executive of exam board OCR, Mark Dawe, says: "Exams have to be much more than a memory test."
He believes exams should assess ability to interpret and analyse information and that allowing the use of search engines is "a no brainer".
This may mean, for example, seeing how well students cope with being asked to research new subjects in exams - testing whether they select appropriate resource materials and how they apply what they find to what they already know.
Sceptics see a devaluing of traditional exam demands and question how effective such tests would be.
With tablet and smartphone use steadily rising, it is a debate that will continue to grow. | How many of your family or friends' phone numbers can you remember off the top of your head? | 32623794 |
The appointment in January raised fears that the circle of US intelligence chiefs was being politicised.
A White House aide said the reshuffle was not a demotion for Mr Bannon, who used to head up Breitbart News.
The aide said Mr Bannon was only given a seat on the NSC to keep an eye on National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired in February.
Steve Bannon: Who is Trump's key adviser?
Trump's 'brain' Steve Bannon emerges from the shadows
The NSC is the main group advising the president on national security and foreign affairs.
Another day, another bit of palace intrigue in the White House. After a week in which presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner's power seemed to grow exponentially, another longtime Trump insider, Steve Bannon, has had his wings clipped.
The White House attempted to brush off news that the senior political adviser is no long a principal on the National Security Council, but the on-background administration explanations ring hollow.
Was Mr Bannon really just there to "de-operationalise" the council after the Obama years or, even more improbably, keep an eye on former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn? In January, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer vigorously asserted that Mr Bannon's presence on the council was nothing out of the ordinary.
Washington foreign policy insiders are probably relieved by this development, as they largely considered Mr Bannon a reckless and inexperienced provocateur. They may believe that international affairs "grown-ups" are finally in control.
Although his national security influence may have been curtailed, Mr Bannon will continue to cast a long shadow in this administration. He occupies prime White House real estate, reportedly maintains his top security clearance and, most importantly, almost certainly still has the president's ear on political matters.
The White House did not announce Wednesday's presidential executive order detailing the shake-up - it only came to light in a regulatory filing.
The reshuffle also restores the director of national intelligence, CIA director and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to full participation on the NSC's inner circle, its principals committee.
Critics have branded Mr Bannon - who once managed populist, right-wing Breitbart News - as a white nationalist.
In its 27 January memorandum elevating Mr Bannon, the White House had also downgraded the military chiefs of staff, provoking widespread criticism in Washington's foreign policy and security establishment.
The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs were advised they only needed to attend NSC meetings when discussions pertained to their areas.
The White House bridled in January at criticism of the Bannon move, pointing out that President Barack Obama's former adviser, David Axelrod, regularly attended NSC meetings.
However, Mr Axelrod was never appointed to the principals committee, as Mr Bannon was. | President Donald Trump has removed his senior strategist Steve Bannon from the US National Security Council (NSC). | 39508351 |
Queen Street Mill Museum in Burnley is among five museums owned by Lancashire County Council that will shut although they will open for school visits.
Along with Helmshore Mills Museum, which will also close, the Burnley museum is the last working example of Lancashire cotton spinning and weaving.
The council plans to save £65m by 2018.
Councillor Marcus Johnstone, cabinet member for environment, planning and cultural services, said: "Closing museums is the last thing we want to do but the scale of the county council's financial challenge means we have to take these difficult decisions in order to safeguard services for the most vulnerable people in our communities."
Other museums that will close include the Museum of Lancashire in Preston, Fleetwood's Maritime Museum and Judges' Lodgings in Lancaster.
Lancashire County Council originally intended to close the five museums in the spring but this was postponed to allow talks with groups interested in running them.
A council spokesman said the discussions were still continuing.
More than 10,000 people signed a petition to save the museums at Queen Street and Helmshore Mills, saying they were "an absolute cornerstone of Lancashire's rich industrial heritage" when the county played a key part in Britain's Industrial Revolution. | A cotton mill museum that appeared in the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech will be closed to the public from Friday due to council budget cuts. | 37512136 |
Ministers said the plans would mean the "freest and most frictionless possible trade" with the rest of Europe.
This could include a "temporary customs union" after Brexit to prevent border problems as the UK leaves the EU.
Businesses have called for clarity since the UK said it was leaving the customs union - the EU's tariff-free trading area - as part of Brexit.
The customs union document is the first of a series of papers to be published by the UK government on key negotiation issues.
On Wednesday it is expected to set out proposals for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Countries in the customs union don't impose tariffs - taxes on imports - on each other's goods.
Every country inside the union levies the same tariffs on imports from abroad.
So, for example, a 10% tariff is imposed on some cars imported from outside the customs union, while 7.5% is imposed on roasted coffee.
Other goods - such as soap or slate - have no tariffs.
The UK's departure from the EU's customs union was confirmed at the weekend in a joint article by Chancellor Philip Hammond and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.
According to the newly-published government paper, the UK could ask Brussels to establish a "temporary customs union" after it leaves the EU in March 2019.
But during this period, it would also expect to be able to negotiate its own international trade deals - something it cannot do as an EU customs union member.
Once this period expires, the UK will look to agree either a "highly streamlined" border with the EU, or a new "partnership" with no customs border at all.
The government said the interim arrangements would mean businesses would only have to adjust once to the new arrangements.
All of this will have to be negotiated with the EU - and the two sides have not yet even started discussing trade matters.
Other obstacles - including the size of the UK's "divorce bill" - need to be agreed first.
Keir Starmer, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, said the proposals were "incoherent and inadequate" and were designed to "gloss over deep and continuing divisions within the cabinet".
"These fantastical and contradictory proposals provide no guidance for negotiators or certainty for businesses," he added.
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said the plan would "only delay the economic pain caused by leaving the customs union".
"We still face the prospect of more red tape for businesses, longer queues at our borders and higher prices for consumers once the transition comes to an end."
However, the CBI, which represents British businesses, said the proposal was "encouraging".
Its deputy director general, Josh Hardie, added: "The clock is ticking and what matters now is giving companies the confidence to continue investing as quickly as possible."
Adam Fleming, BBC Brussels reporter, said the UK was seeking a customs union agreement "that will keep things broadly the same for an interim period - an attempt to reassure business".
"Firms will be told they'll only have to change their processes once," he said.
"In Brussels, EU negotiators are likely to stick to their position that that the future relationship can't be considered until agreement has been reached on their priority issues - the rights of citizens, a financial settlement and the Irish border."
BBC political correspondent Ben Wright said the UK government was "straining to show that it does have a route-map for Brexit".
He said ministers were also attempting to "subtly" put the issue onto the negotiating table sooner than Brussels wants.
"They want to hustle EU negotiators into talking about trade much sooner than Brussels intends," our correspondent said. | The UK has set out the "ambitious new customs arrangement" it wants to secure with the EU after Brexit. | 40922177 |
This will be the seventh consecutive Christmas mother-of-five Asia Bibi will spend in solitary confinement within the Islamic Republic of Pakistan - a country that has what the United Nations describes as "one of the worst situations in the world for religious freedom".
A member of the Christian minority, just 1.6% of the population, 45-year-old Asia Bibi was jailed after being found guilty of breaching Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.
Her case has provoked global protests, with supporters accusing the judiciary of fabricating the charge to persecute a Christian. There have been no fewer than three attempts at appealing against the verdict.
There's also been a direct intervention by Pope Francis, who received a delegation of family and friends at the Vatican. But still she languishes in a small cell as the world awaits a final decision from the Supreme Court in Lahore.
"The case of Asia Bibi is precisely the reason why I continue to fight for religious minorities around the world," says crossbench peer Baroness Cox, who recently returned from visiting oppressed Christians in Nigeria.
"Only those of us in open and free societies can be a voice to the voiceless and Christmas is the perfect season for us to renew our appeal for humanity and tolerance."
The original incident, which occurred in June 2009, centred around Asia Bibi sharing a bowl of water with fellow workers in a field, about 30 miles (48km) from Lahore, where they were working as farm labourers.
It's alleged that an argument erupted after some of the women felt it was sacrilegious for Muslims to share the cup with a Christian. Within weeks, the allegations had escalated to the charge of blasphemy, with some fellow workers accusing her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. She was arrested and imprisoned.
Despite reports of inconsistent witness testimony and fragmentary evidence, she was found guilty in November 2010. Large crowds gathered to celebrate her sentencing, and there soon followed a trail of death and destruction.
A month after sentencing, Asia Bibi was visited by the Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer. He emerged from jail and stated that the blasphemy laws had been misused and wrongly applied in her case. Within days, he was murdered by his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri.
Two months later, in March 2011, the Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti - the only Christian in the Pakistan cabinet - criticised the country's blasphemy laws as being open to abuse and manipulation.
After leaving his mother's house, his car was sprayed with bullets: a second assassination in a matter of weeks and both apparently linked to the case of Asia Bibi.
Beyond the application of blasphemy laws, 2016 has also witnessed the continued targeting of Christian minorities by militant groups in Pakistan.
The most severe attack was launched on Easter Sunday in Lahore. A large number of the Christians had chosen to visit a neighbourhood park following morning worship. Spirits were naturally high.
"Things were going well," said the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lahore, the Most Reverend Sebastian Shaw, "but it was very cautious. A priest called us and told us that we must be alert all the time."
As parents pushed their children on swings and enjoyed the company of friends, two suicide bombers entered the park. Within minutes, the hum of children's voices was overwhelmed by the sound of tragedy. More than 340 people were injured and 75 died. The vast majority were women and children.
"It was very difficult," said Archbishop Shaw, who rushed to several medical facilities where the injured had been taken. "Even in the corridors of the hospital, at the entrance [there were] so many people. It was very difficult to console people.
"I visited a lady. She came from Hyderabad. Her husband and two children were killed and another cousin was also killed. So the lady was totally out of her senses and didn't know what had happened."
Within hours a group affiliated to the Pakistan Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, said it had carried out the bombing and was reported to have deliberately targeted Christians.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, condemned the attack and urged the Pakistan government "to do its utmost to put in place protective measures to ensure the personal security of all individuals, including religious minority communities living in the country".
But Pakistan is not alone.
Earlier this month, an individual wearing a suicide vest attacked a Coptic Christian church in Cairo, during Sunday morning prayers. There are conflicting reports about whether this was a man or a woman.
But the effect was unequivocal: at least 25 people were killed and a further 45 injured. Orthodox Copts comprise just 10% of Egypt's 90 million people but are the Middle East's largest Christian community.
The latest attack followed complaints by Christians in the town of Minya, about 140 miles (225km) south of Cairo, where several buildings were burned after they were suspected of hosting prayer meetings.
Christian worship in countries such as Pakistan and Egypt remains the most dangerous practice and this year of horrifying attacks could yet end with further bloodshed.
If Asia Bibi's appeal is rejected by the Supreme Court, she will become the first woman in Pakistan to be executed for blasphemy. Christians throughout Pakistan are praying for a miracle this Christmas. | As churches around the country prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, with peace and goodwill toward men, spare a thought for those who must live out their faith in a foreign land. | 38222680 |
The Tigers, who host Leicester on 13 August, have been without a manager since Steve Bruce resigned after a fall out with vice-chairman Ehab Allam.
City are yet to make a summer signing.
"It's clear the desire to protest against the way the club is being run is stronger than ever before," said the Hull City Supporters' Trust (HCST).
Owner Assem Allam, who took charge of the Tigers in December 2010, put the club up for sale in 2014 after the Football Association turned down his request to change their name to Hull Tigers.
The East Yorkshire club opened talks with an interested party in May, but put takeover talks on hold until September to "ensure stability during the transfer window".
However, City have a threadbare squad after failing to sign any new players and a number of senior players were injured.
The club, who were promoted after winning the Championship play-off final in May, had an approach to speak to Wales boss Chris Coleman about replacing Bruce turned down by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) on Monday.
"No communication, no manager, no engagement, no signings, no identity, no concessions, no honesty. The list goes on," added the HCST statement.
"The owners are digging their heels in more than ever, discarding people at an alarming rate and pushing ahead with all of their ill-considered ideas with their usual arrogance and complete lack of interest in the damaging effects they will have.
"We will be organising and coordinating protests over the coming weeks."
A section of supporters held up red cards during April's home win against Brentford and the Trust said it would expand on that idea as part of the protest.
"Cards alone are not enough though, so we'll be organising additional protests, but we'd like to keep some of this as a surprise for maximum impact," it added. | Hull City fans are planning a protest against the "ill-considered ideas" of the newly-promoted club's owners on the first day of the Premier League season. | 36963875 |
Cheteshwar Pujara had set up the victory bid in the third Test in Indore when he hit an unbeaten century as the hosts set the Black Caps 475 to win.
Off-spinner Ashwin then returned his best innings figures of 7-59 as New Zealand were skittled for 153.
Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188) helped India to a decisive 557-5 in the first innings.
Their partnership of 365 was India's highest for the fourth wicket, and Ashwin took 6-81 to restrict New Zealand to 299 in their reply.
Ashwin, 30, finished with 27 wickets in the three-Test series.
The whitewash series win solidifies India's position at number one in the Test rankings, which they won back from Pakistan after the second Test in Kolkata. | Ravichandran Ashwin took a career-best 13-140 as India beat New Zealand by 321 runs to seal a 3-0 series whitewash. | 37621006 |
Live footage broadcast at lunchtime on Sunday showed Sky's Colin Brazier pluck items from an open suitcase.
He dropped them back into the luggage saying "we shouldn't really be doing this I suppose, really".
A Sky News spokesperson said both Mr Brazier "and Sky News apologise profusely for any offence caused".
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on July 17.
All 298 people on board were killed.
The crash left bodies strewn across several kilometres, as well as plane wreckage and passengers' belongings.
Mr Brazier's broadcast showed an array of luggage and personal items, which he described as 'holiday paraphernalia', collected on the ground.
The media regulator Ofcom said it was assessing the complaints about the broadcast and had not yet decided if it would open an investigation.
A Sky News statement said that "while presenting from the site of the MH17 air crash Colin Brazier reflected on the tragedy of the event and showed audiences the contents of one of the victim's bags.
"Colin immediately recognised that this was inappropriate and said so on air. Both Colin and Sky News apologise profusely for any offence caused".
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels have accused each other of shooting down the passenger jet.
Ukrainian authorities have released a recording they claimed was a conversation between pro-Russian militants admitting to shooting down the plane.
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai accused the Ukrainian government of attacking the airliner itself.
The US and other nations say there is growing evidence of Russian complicity in the crash. | A Sky News report from Ukraine has drawn 110 complaints to Ofcom after a journalist rummaged through belongings at the scene of the MH17 plane crash. | 28405047 |
Following chaotic scenes as he visited a shrine, Moqtada Sadr urged his supporters to show discipline.
The radical cleric has returned to his stronghold in the city after three years in self-imposed exile in Iran.
The militia founded by Moqtada Sadr, the Mehdi Army, clashed several times with US and Iraqi forces after the 2003 US-led invasion.
But last month, his political movement secured a deal to be part of the new government, with 39 parliamentary seats and seven ministries.
Moqtada Sadr arrived back in Iraq on Wednesday after more than three years in Iran.
On Thursday he visited one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam, the shrine of the Imam Ali, where thousands of his supporters gathered, chanting loudly and causing a stampede as they jostled to see him.
"His return is a victory for just people. It's a great pleasure for us, especially because his movement is to participate in the government," one Sadr supporter told AFP news agency.
"That means there that no security problems will happen - no battles or confrontation with the government, as happened before."
Moqtada Sadr later issued a statement criticising his followers' behaviour, telling them: "I did not know you like that."
"Your indiscipline while I was performing my religious rituals bothered me and hurt me. I beg you to be disciplined, and not to shout excessive slogans," he said.
"The stampede hurt me, and hurt others, and this will tarnish the image of our movement in the eyes of others."
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that despite his four-year absence, the charismatic Moqtada Sadr has lost none of his influence on the largely impoverished Shia population of Iraq.
But the situation in Iraq has changed since the cleric fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest, our correspondent adds.
His militia was blamed for the abduction, torture and killing of thousands of Sunnis during the sectarian carnage of 2006 and 2007.
In 2008, the militia clashed with the Iraqi army, commanded by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, and many members were arrested - Moqtada Sadr announced it was laying down arms and disbanding.
But the cleric's support was vital in securing Mr Maliki's second term in office, and his movement is now closely involved in the new government.
With the US preparing to withdraw all its forces in 2011, the emphasis in Iraq is now on supporting the government and promoting unity and prosperity, says our correspondent. | Anti-US Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has received an enthusiastic welcome in the Iraqi city of Najaf. | 12132900 |
The prime minister at the time, Julia Gillard, had suggested a backbencher appear in the minister's place.
But the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) rejected her proposal, saying such interference would be a clear breach of the public broadcaster's editorial independence.
Out went the minister; in went the chair.
Now, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ordered his entire frontbench to avoid the same programme - sparking a fierce debate about freedom of speech and national security.
Angry the show's producers in June allowed a former terror suspect and convicted criminal to ask a question from the studio audience, Mr Abbott has questioned the ABC's allegiance to Australia and demanded that "heads should roll" over the whole affair.
The audience member, Zaky Mallah, had questioned a member of the government about tough new citizenship laws being proposed, and accused the government of encouraging Australian Muslims to "to leave and go to Syria and join [Islamic State]".
The government's communications department ordered a review of the programme and security protocols for its live broadcasts.
There has been a heated debate in Australian political and media circles.
Some say it was foolish and dangerous to allow Mallah - who in the past had threatened to kill government officials - to be in the audience and to ask a question on live TV.
How the government reacted:
• Mr Abbott said the ABC gave "a platform to a convicted criminal and terrorist sympathiser"
• The PM has ordered his ministers not to appear on Q&A
• Several government ministers have pulled out of scheduled Q&A appearances
• The Department of Communications has reviewed Q&A editorial procedures
Others say Australians must be free to debate and question government policy.
Media experts say Mr Abbott's boycott is a dangerous step into the realm of press censorship.
Editorially independent of the government, the ABC is, however, a publicly funded broadcaster.
Over the years, its budget has been cut by various governments, most recently to the tune of A$254m ($187m, £120m) over five years by what has been dubbed Mr Abbott's razor gang.
The prime minister's stance on Q&A is the "most dramatic" media boycott by a politician that Queensland University of Technology journalism professor Brian McNair can recall.
Prof McNair believes the government considers the ABC "unpatriotic" on sensitive topics such as the government's strong anti-terrorism rhetoric and treatment of asylum seekers in off-shore detention centres.
"There is pressure from the government that the ABC is not towing the line when it comes to big issues like boat control [and] how you manage extreme Islam," he told the BBC.
"This [case] is ammunition that they might use in future to say we're going to change your funding regime [or] require you to do this or that."
ABC's director of corporate affairs and a former senior editor at Fairfax Media, Michael Millett, agrees.
"Why is the prime minister so pre-occupied with one television programme? It is directly seen as an attempt by him to interfere with the ABC's independence," Mr Millet told the BBC.
The boycott is not without precedent.
For example, for most of his seven years in government in the 1990s, Victorian state Premier Jeff Kennett ordered his ministers not to appear on ABC's 7.30 programme.
Other media boycotts
Under Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Labor ministers did not appear on talkback radio host Alan Jones' show for six months in 2012 after Mr Jones said Ms Gillard's father had "died of shame" because of his daughter.
Unofficial boycotts by politicians of programmes or blacklisting of journalists are common. In most cases, politicians simply say they are unavailable.
Advertising the decision in the way Mr Abbott has done is more unusual, say media watchers.
In opposition, Mr Abbott was a regular guest on Q&A but as prime minister he has avoided the unscripted and largely spontaneous show.
He has also shunned the ABC's LateLine and 7.30 programmes, both known for hard-hitting political interviews.
Back in 2012, Mr Abbott insisted he would not boycott Alan Jones' controversial show, despite describing the talkback host's comments about Ms Gillard as "unacceptable".
Mr Abbott said then it would be foolish to "ignore an audience of half a million people in Sydney".
Could Mr Abbott's Q&A boycott backfire?
Government ministers are usually keen to promote their policies and advertise their profiles; in their absence, opposition ministers are filling their vacant chairs.
Q&A's ratings have also risen strongly since the Mallah episode.
Journalist and author Margaret Simons believes Mr Abbott runs a risk of isolating the public.
She says most voters probably consider "this a spat between the political class and of not much relevance to them".
Mr Millett says the dialogue will eventually resume.
"There have always been tensions between politicians and certain media personalities and programmes and you often get stand-offs," he says.
"Sooner or later there has to be engagement and there always is," he says.
"In the end, you can't ignore the press."
Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore is a Sydney-based writer. | In 2010, producers of the popular Q&A current affairs TV show signified the failure of a minister to turn up for a live prime-time broadcast with an empty chair. | 33546387 |
From January, the Met is testing out a restructure which will see it move from borough-based policing to larger basic command units (BCUs).
The trial will see Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering, and Camden and Islington boroughs merge.
The Met said it would not mean any station closures or job cuts.
But the Metropolitan Police Federation said it would be surprised if this did not happen because "otherwise what's the point of what they are trying to achieve?"
Scotland Yard said it had to save £400m in the next four years.
It said the new system would bring together "management of neighbourhoods, response, investigation and protection of vulnerable people, including child protection, victims of sexual abuse and domestic abuse".
Each BCU will be led by an interim commander, a chief superintendent and four superintendents who will each be responsible for neighbourhoods, response, investigation and protecting vulnerable people.
People, buildings, technology and vehicles will be shared across the boroughs within the BCU.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons, who is responsible for the BCU test, said: "Change is important for the Met to remain operationally effective in the changing policing landscape.
"We want to invest more into neighbourhood policing and protect vulnerable people across London as well as make sure we are able to deal with predicted increases in demand.
"We also want to implement a way of investigating crime that is more focused on what victims need and can be even more effective in tackling serious offending."
The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, said the Met wanted to reduce the amount it spent on management so it could "maximise the amount spent on operational policing".
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Federation said officers had "massive concerns" about the scheme, particularly over fatigue and increasing workloads. | The boroughs which will merge as part of a shake-up at the Metropolitan Police have been announced. | 38027595 |
24 January 2014 Last updated at 08:29 GMT
He's heading to the International Space Station for a mission next year.
Major Peake is training at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany, where he's using a pool to try and experience what it's like to work in zero gravity.
Watch this clip of Major Tim Peake talking underwater! | The UK's first official astronaut, Major Tim Peake, has been training underwater to prepare him for space. | 25875143 |
The case marks the first time that the invention-acquiring business has been awarded a payout by a jury.
Intellectual Ventures charges others for the rights to use the inventions it has purchased and created, but makes few products of its own.
Several critics have described it as "the ultimate patent troll".
But Symantec was barred by the judge in the case from making use of the term.
The ruling was not, however, a total victory for Intellectual Ventures.
It had originally sought close to $300m in damages after claiming that three of its software cybersecurity patents had been infringed by Symantec.
The Delaware jury ruled that only two of the patents had in fact been infringed:
While the jury recognised that a third patent - describing a way to detect spam - was also valid, it decided it had not been infringed by Symantec.
Furthermore, it rejected Intellectual Venture's demand for continuing royalty payments.
"We are grateful to the jury for their hard work and for confirming the validity of these patents," responded Melissa Finocchio, chief litigation counsel for Intellectual Ventures.
"We remain committed to defending inventor rights and protecting the interests of our investors and customers."
A spokesman for Symantec said: "We are pleased the verdict came back for substantially less than the amount that Intellectual Ventures was seeking, and are considering our options to reduce the damages even further."
Intellectual Ventures had already settled claims involving the same patents with Check Point and Intel's McAfee division.
But Trend Micro - another security firm - has also refused to pay. Its dispute is set to go to court in May.
California-based Intellectual Ventures - which was founded by Microsoft's former chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold - initially avoided suing other companies directly.
Instead, for about a decade, much of its business model relied on licensing its inventions to others, so that they could use them defensively or offensively in their own disputes.
However, its strategy changed in December 2010, when it filed cases of its own against nine companies, including Symantec.
The first of these disputes, which was against Motorola Mobility - then owned by Google, came to court last year. But the judge ruled it a mis-trial after the jurors could not agree on a verdict.
Bloomberg Businessweek subsequently described Intellectual Ventures as "Silicon Valley's most hated patent troll", saying it hoarded ideas and wielded its intellectual property portfolio "like a weapon".
However, Mr Myhrvold has argued that his business benefits both the inventors it buys patents from and the researchers it employs itself.
"The world needs more inventions and my goal is to show that investing in invention is a good way of ensuring it gets them, provided you have the resources to scale this model up," he said.
In a separate development, Microsoft has announced that a patent dispute with Samsung over unpaid fees has been resolved.
The Windows-developer had claimed the South Korean firm had failed to pay it on schedule for the use of inventions that featured in the Android operating system.
Although Google leads development of Android, Microsoft lays claim to some of the processes the software uses and has successfully pursued dozens of manufacturers for payments.
Microsoft began legal action against Samsung in 2013. However, it has provided little detail about how the matter had been resolved.
"Samsung and Microsoft are pleased to announce that they have ended their contract dispute," it said it in a brief statement.
"Terms of the agreement are confidential." | Intellectual Ventures - the self-proclaimed "world's largest buyer" of patents - has won a $17m (£11.1m) court victory against security firm Symantec. | 31364349 |
Peter Connelly died in August 2007 at home in Haringey, north London, after months of abuse.
Details of his case, just published, reveal the incompetence of social workers, doctors, lawyers and police.
His mother, her boyfriend and a lodger were jailed last year for causing or allowing Peter's death.
The 17-month-old boy had suffered more than 50 injuries, and had been visited 60 times by the authorities in the eight months before his death.
Publishing the serious case review into Peter's death in full for the first time, Children's Minister Tim Loughton said he hoped it would bring "closure" to the case.
The report said: "In this case, the practice of the majority, both individually and collectively... was incompetent."
"Their approach was completely inadequate and did not meet the challenge of the case," it continued.
The report said that his "horrifying death could and should have been prevented" and if the correct approach had been taken, the situation would have been "stopped in its tracks at the first serious incident".
It criticised Peter's GP for not raising concerns when he found bruises on the child's head and chest after apparently falling down stairs.
It chastised police for not investigating suspicious injuries and it said the school, attended by Peter's siblings, had not mentioned the difficulties staff had encountered with the mother.
Neither did the social workers and their managers at any time "seriously think" that Peter was being harmed or was at risk of harm.
The report sets out how various agencies failed to realise that Stephen Barker, the violent boyfriend of Peter's mother Tracey Connelly, was living at the family home and might have been abusing Peter.
"Hovering in the background to the situation is Mr H [Stephen Barker], the male friend of Ms A [Tracey Connelly]... the extent of his involvement with the household is not known."
Connelly had apparently declared Barker as next of kin on an official form, but authorities still failed to realise he was living with her and there was a failure to establish his identity, interview him and check on his background.
The report said: "There was a readiness and a willingness to believe Ms A's account of herself, her care of her children, the composition of her household and the nature of her friendship networks."
The report said the intervention in the family lacked urgency and thoroughness and the agencies involved did not challenge Connelly's poor parenting or focus on the children's welfare.
It depicted a chaotic and troubled home - the house was "disorganised, dirty and smelly: it smelled of urine from the dogs", Peter and his siblings had head lice and their mother smoked 60 cigarettes a day.
The report touched on Tracey Connelly's own troubled childhood and noted that she herself was placed on the child protection register at the age of 10 because of neglect.
"Too little significance was given to Ms A's own childhood experience of serious physical and emotional abuse and the possible impact of it on her own parenting," the report said.
The publication of this previously secret report follows on from a Conservative and Liberal Democrat pledge to do so.
Mr Loughton said there had been "multiple failings" in the case. He said publishing the serious case review was not about a "blame game" but about achieving "greater transparency in child protection".
"It's also about trying to achieve a degree of closure. It would be in everyone's interest - the families and the professionals involved - if we can learn lessons, find closure and move on."
Graham Badman, author of the report and now chair of Haringey's children's safeguarding board, said the case contained many lessons for child protection agencies around the country, but said the tragic case had brought improvements in children's services.
"If Peter Connelly is to have any legacy at all it's that children are safer," he added.
Peter Lewis, director of children's services at Haringey, said improvements had been made at the council, with agency social workers accounting for 20% of staff, down from 45% at the height of the tragedy.
He also confirmed more children in the borough were being taken into care - 620 were now in care, up from 460 18 months ago.
This latest report is the second review into the case of the toddler.
The first serious case review was found to be "inadequate" by inspectors at the watchdog Ofsted - so a second one was undertaken. | Baby Peter's "horrifying death" was down to the incompetence of almost every member of staff who came into contact with him, official reports say. | 11621391 |
The building in Tylorstown, Rhondda Fach, is the only community venue left in the town after its library closed.
The Grade II-listed building dates from 1933 and was built using funding from miners' families.
The Heritage Lottery Funding will help provide services including employment support and training, a new cafe and community classes.
There are hopes the hall's former cinema could be revived, which would make it the Rhondda Fach's only cinema.
The hall has already been awarded £161,900 to develop plans and will receive £546,000 from the Heritage Lottery. | The last remaining miners' welfare hall in one of Rhondda's two valleys is to get a £500,000 makeover. | 39292079 |
But this was no joke. In the hours that followed a series of announcements, each more puzzling than the other, confirmed "The Anzhi Project", at least as we previously knew it, was coming to an end. Suleyman Kerimov, Anzhi's billionaire backer since January 2011, was no longer happy to finance a gravy train.
The club's budget, officially quoted at an extravagant £116m per season (second only to Zenit St Petersburg in Russia), was to be reduced to between £32m and £45m.
Rene Meulensteen, formerly Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United and the man hand-picked by predecessor Guus Hiddink to manage the club, lost his job after just 16 days. And a host of players, foreign and Russian, bought for extravagant fees over the past two and a half years, were to be shipped out post-haste.
The football media naturally looks for footballing reasons for Kerimov's sudden about-face - and there are several.
After finishing in third place last season, hopes were high of a title push, but Anzhi have begun the campaign in disappointing fashion, losing two and drawing two of their opening four games.
An official statement said as much, stating that "having analysed the club's recent sporting results, the decision has been taken to work on a new long-term strategy for the club".
Rumours have been rife of training-ground bust-ups ever since Meulensteen was handed the manager's job just over a fortnight ago. There were reports that a rift between newly signed Russia captain Igor Denisov and £130,000-per-week striker Samuel Eto'o, with Meulensteen caught in the middle, had destroyed the Dutchman's authority.
There are apparent precedents here, with Eto'o's alleged unwillingness to work with previous Anzhi coaches Gadzhi Gadzhiev and Yury Krasnozhan seeing them leave. Ironically - and this could spell the end for Eto'o too - Gadzhiev is widely tipped to replace Meulensteen.
But events on the field only provide a partial explanation for Anzhi's sudden dismantling of more than two years of hard work and investment. Speculation about the personal affairs of owner Kerimov has dominated the headlines in Russia in recent days.
Though rumours the 47-year-old is suffering from ill-health have been denied, what is not in question is that another of the oligarch's main business interests, potash producer Uralkali, has had a rocky few days.
Only last week it was announced the company had severed a trade agreement with a Belarusian company, ending a cartel which had effectively fixed prices and guaranteed a steady flow of income to Uralkali and Kerimov, whose fortune was said to be in excess of £4bn in March.
In the hours after the announcement £5.5bn was wiped off the company's value, with Kerimov losing some £325m in net worth, although the share price has since recovered. Kerimov's representatives are drawing no connections between Uralkali's woes and Anzhi, but the coincidence of events seems instructive.
How things play out for the remainder of the season and beyond remains an open question. But while many are already writing Anzhi's obituaries, club president Konstantin Remchukov insists Kerimov "is still in control of the club" and will remain its chief financial backer.
And several commentators and fans have greeted the change of policy with relief.
"Having spent £290m, all Kerimov has done is enriched a bunch of speculators," Alisher Aminov, a former board member of the Russian Football Union, said.
Fans have reacted in a similar fashion, with the webpage of Wild Division, the club's supporters organisation, peppered with positive comments.
"Many of us have waited for this for a long time," a user named Gubden wrote. "What difference does it make which players are on our side? The most important thing is that they wear our colours and we support them," another, Maga Pitersky, added.
What is certainly true is that Anzhi will now have to turn towards homegrown talent.
They may finally return to Dagestan; the players currently live and train in Moscow, flying the 800 miles to Makhachkala only for home games.
And even with a budget of £32-£45m, they can certainly compete for the Russian league's European places.
But the days of excess, of Eto'o's enormous contract, of the Bugatti Veyron given to former player Roberto Carlos as a present, and of Anzhi's £24m game of tug-of-war with QPR over Christopher Samba, are now most certainly consigned to the past. | When news broke that Anzhi Makhachkala, the billionaire-backed Russian Premier League club, were cutting their budget and selling their top players, many journalists - myself included - thought it was a late April fool. | 23603167 |
Nick Medlin, 57, died from a head injury outside a pub in Pier Street, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, during a night out.
Michael Hudson, 32, from the Nottingham area but of no fixed address, appeared at Winchester Crown Court.
He was remanded in custody ahead of a trial, scheduled to last two weeks from 26 June.
Mr Medlin, a father-of-two from Ventnor, worked at HMP Parkhurst and played bass in a punk band called Manufactured Romance. | A man has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of an off-duty prison officer early on Christmas Day. | 38720442 |
Jenny Jones won Great Britain's first Olympic medal on the snow at the event in Sochi on Sunday, taking a bronze.
Friend and fellow British snowboarder Aimee Fuller joined Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood in the commentary box.
Viewers complained that they cheered when Jones's competitors fell, and that the commentary was of a low standard.
Fuller had taken part in the early stages of the event but failed to make the final, after which she was invited into the presentation booth.
She was heard cheering when the final competitor, Austria's Anna Gasser, fell, meaning that Jones would clinch the bronze medal.
Fuller then said: "Are we supposed to do that? Probably not."
All three commentators began crying when it became clear that Jones had won a medal.
Warwood later tweeted: "Snowboarding just won the Olympics and I just cried Live on BBC2! If I get fired I'm invoicing you @jennyjonessnow"
He is a former UK snowboarding champion who now presents CBBC's Wild! and Disney XD's Goalmouth.
Ed Leigh is a presenter on Channel 4's Freesports and on BBC Two's Ski Sunday.
As US snowboarder Karly Shorr began her run, Warwood said: "She's got the same birthday as me, so she's obviously very cool".
Other comments included: "She's got a face that could help bread rise"; "this feels like I've got slugs in my knickers"; and "riding switch [back-to-front] is like writing left-handed while wearing a chip hat and being attacked by seagulls".
As Jones waited for her score, Leigh noted: "I can feel my pulse in my lower intestine."
"That's not your pulse, Ed," Warwood replied.
The commentary team also came in for criticism on Twitter.
Ian Jordan tweeted: "The commentators on @BBCSport Winter Olympics are embarrassing. Cheering people falling over just because a Brit is going to win a medal."
Another Twitter user, simply titled Suzanne, wrote: "Why are the commentators cheering for someone falling? How unprofessional can you get? #BBCSochiSuzanne".
Jeremy Sare added: "#bbcsochi snowboarding commentators are nothing more than hysterical idiots. Ruining the spectacle with streams [of] inane drivel".
But other Twitter users, including Mike Taylor, praised the coverage: "So the snowboarding commentators got a bit excited. But it's an excitable new sport. It sounded like fun. No great harm in that, really."
And the joint Twitter account of Shelley and Kirstie said it was: "The most refreshing commentary I've heard in years. The emotion shone through and added to such a joyous UK achievement."
A BBC spokesperson said: "This was a truly historic occasion for Team GB and the commentary team were understandably very excited.
"However we acknowledge that on occasion this excitement got the better of them and this is something that we will work on for future events."
The BBC has also received 53 compliments on its general Winter Olympics coverage since the event opened on Friday.
The Jenny Jones medal win attracted a peak audience of 3.1m. | More than 300 people complained to the BBC over the quality of commentary during the snowboarding slopestyle final at the Winter Olympics. | 26116848 |
Another 58 people were injured in the blast in Muqdadiya, Diyala province, some 80km (50 miles) from Baghdad.
Several leading figures in the Shia-dominated Popular Mobilisation Forces were among the victims.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) said it organised the bombing - a day its militants killed at least 70 in a Shia area of Baghdad.
Diyala security officials said two Shia commanders attending the funeral were targeted and killed in Monday's attack, Reuters reports.
The officials said the bomber approached the commanders and blew up his explosive-laden vest.
IS said earlier that its militants had organised Sunday's blasts in the Shia district of Sadr City and more attacks would follow.
The mainly Sunni group, which controls large swathes of northern and western Iraq, has attacked numerous Shia targets in the country recently. | At least 38 people have been killed by a suicide bomb at a Shia funeral north-east of Iraq's capital, officials say. | 35690823 |
The USA fixture was the Golden Eaglets' first match of Group A which also includes the hosts Chile and Croatia.
Goals from Chukwudi Agor and Victor Osimhen handed the reigning champions the victory in Santiago.
Both goals came in the second half with Agor scoring on 50 minutes, and Osimhen adding a second 11 minutes later.
Nigeria also had a man advantage late in the match after USA's Auston Trusty was sent off in the 87th minute for a bad challenge.
Nigeria's coach, Emmanuel Amuneke was pleased with his side's performance.
"Considering it was the first match, I think it was a good game," he told Fifa's website.
"Besides the three points, which are very important, I also liked that we kept our heads even when we could not get things going," Emmanuel Amuneke added.
The reigning champions are top of Group A after the first round of matches following a 1-1 draw between Chile and Croatia.
Guinea began their Group B campaign with a hard fought 1-1 draw against England in Coquimbo.
The first half was goal-less although England's Marcus Edwards missed a penalty to deny his team a lead going into the break.
But England did seize the advantage in the second half through Kaylen Hinds after 61 minutes.
Guinea fought back to secure a point with an equaliser from Naby Bangoura 15 minutes later.
Korea Republic top Group B after a shock 1-0 win over three-times former winners Brazil.
Four African nations in total will feature at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
Nigeria and Guinea are joined by the current African champions Mali and South Africa. | Nigeria began the defence of their Fifa Under-17 World Cup crown with a 2-0 victory over USA on Saturday, as Guinea opened with a 1-1 draw against England. | 34564110 |
Under the current lease, which expires in in 2016, an annual "peppercorn rent" is paid for the use of the common land.
A council spokesman said the current rent of £100 needed to be updated to something more "reasonable" but would not be drawn on what that would be.
Culture and Leisure Minister Mike O'Hara met with both sides on Thursday.
He said he has consulted with Her Majesty's Procureur Howard Roberts, chief legal adviser to the States, due to the complicated land rights involved in the issue.
The common has multiple owners including various individuals, the English Crown and the States. Alongside this the "habitants" of the Vale Parish have access rights for grazing animals and for cutting and collecting gorse or furze.
The golf course, used by the Royal Guernsey and L'Ancresse golf clubs, covers about half of the 737 vergees (298 acres) making up the common.
The peppercorn rent agreement came into force in 1947 and according to the Commons Council spokesman at that time it was sufficient to cover their expenses.
Alongside the discussions about the cost of the lease the clubs are also discussing redesigning the course so that players would no longer hit balls across the two roads that bisect it.
A spokesman for one of the clubs said they would not spend money on the design changes until a stable and reasonable lease had been negotiated. | A senior Guernsey politician has stepped in to try to settle a dispute over the lease paid by golf clubs to the L'Ancresse Commons Council. | 22214485 |
15 September 2016 Last updated at 14:13 BST
The balloon was part of a big inflatable display outside a shopping centre, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn lunar festival.
However, the moon balloon was hit by some very strong winds, and the strings tying it to the ground, snapped.
The giant balloon then made a dramatic bid for freedom, bouncing down a busy road.
Thankfully, no one was hurt, but many people were quite confused by the incident!
It seems like moon balloons aren't having much luck this year, take a look at what happened when we went to visit one in Bristol... | A giant moon balloon was caught on camera making a break for it in Fuzhou, in China. | 37376442 |
As part of its Healthy Visions series, Radio 4 invited five leading practitioners and thinkers to share their prescriptions for the future of healthcare.
How does our approach need to change, if the National Health Service is to cope with future demand?
GP Dr Michael Dixon chairs the NHS Alliance, and advises the College of Medicine.
"Patients are the renewable energy resource of the health service. We've got to start seeing ourselves as the creators of health - individually and collectively - and not just passive recipients of whatever the professionals want to give us.
"We don't take health as seriously as disease. We focus too much on the operations on the hearts and limbs and eyes for diabetics many years down the road, or gastric banding for the overweight. We've got to start preventing those patients needing those interventions in the first place.
"I run what you might call a one-stop shop. So we've not only got conventional GP and community services, but also complementary services, a cafe, pharmacy and voluntary sector services.
"We concentrate on health in every sense, caring for patients when they need it, but enabling them to look after themselves and live better and happier lives whenever we can. I'd like to reinvent the GP practice as a club where - with minor or self-limiting illnesses - we help each other to help ourselves, rather than use professional resources unnecessarily.
"No one expects their next door neighbour to be looking after their cancer or heart disease, but if we continue to spend as much NHS money as we do at present on things which could have been prevented, or don't actually need high tech input, then we will make the health service bankrupt and we won't have one tomorrow."
GP Dr Charles Alessi is co-chairman of the National Association Of Primary Care, and a senior adviser to Public Health England.
"The current healthcare system is on the verge of a revolution that will make our current ways seem as quaint as the horse and cart.
"More and more patients are taking control of their health. Patients regularly come to my surgery with a sheaf of internet printouts revealing their diagnosis and their suggestions for treatment.
"We can utilise this willingness to create a better healthcare system for us all.
"Other forms of digital technology can also empower patients. For people who have a single long- term condition like diabetes, there are already smartphone apps which advise how to alter your insulin dosage, or even change your medication.
The final part of Healthy Visions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 3 April at 13:45 BST. You can listen to the rest of the series now on the Radio 4 website
Listen to the 2014 Reith Lectures on the Future of Medicine
"In my vision, patients will carry their own medical records from practitioner to practitioner, demanding that care is carried out in convenient places such as pharmacies and supermarkets. Procedures like chemotherapy and dialysis will be delivered in the community or at home - not at a huge building we call a hospital.
"This may sound somewhat scary: next it'll be robots diagnosing and treating our illnesses. But the use of technology is to empower. It isn't to replace the doctor. It doesn't mean that face-to-face human interaction forged over the long-term is threatened. It is just different and more tailored to the individual.
"None of this will happen effortlessly. The change in the doctor - from the person in charge to an advocate and mentor through life-long illnesses - will not be easy. No doubt there will be resistance in places, and we will make some mistakes.
"But the days of the patient being subordinate to a great monolithic system are coming to an end."
Dame Carol Black is a former president of the Royal College of Physicians, and led two independent reviews for government about health in the workplace.
"We often think of the workplace as just where we go to do our job. But the workplace is more than that. It has the potential to be a place where you can improve your health. It can be a place to promote health - both physical and mental - and a place where you can improve well-being.
"There are good business cases now showing that investing in the health and well-being of staff is really investing in productivity, investing in being more profitable; and we've got lots of cases where we can show that. The business case has been proven.
"Good management requires that you listen to people. Even if you are a small company, there are many little things that don't require lots of money. You can take advantage of free smoking cessation classes. You can introduce a lunchtime walking club. You might have a yoga session at the end of the day.
"Our NHS is so busy dealing with people who are ill that it is very difficult to spend a lot of time and energy on prevention. As we're living longer, we're expected to work longer, so all of these things are an additional pressure, and it's really important for the workplace to play its part.
"Then I believe we will access our health service less, we will be healthier, and we will be a saving and a gain to the NHS."
Prof John Ashton is president of the Faculty of Public Health.
"I'm very interested in how we live as we get older. Health and housing are indivisible. They are also indivisible from living in a good, supportive neighbourhood.
"In 1948, when the health service was founded, the Department of Health was the Department of Health and Housing.
"How can we reconnect these two important areas to make it possible for people who are living longer to live a full life in the community?
"A new generation of better designed and more attractive homes for the elderly would provide a healthier living environment for many who currently live alone in homes that are too large and insufficiently adapted to their needs.
"A return to the 'almshouse' model would provide a supportive environment, free from the isolation and the mental health problems which loneliness can cause.
"It could also help alleviate the housing crisis for younger people trying to buy their first home.
"As we contemplate all those baby boomers reaching 85 in less than 20 years, we have time to plan and get it right.
"But it's time we got on with it."
Lord Crisp was chief executive of the NHS between 2000 and 2006. He is an independent member of the House of Lords, and co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health.
"The election of a new government is a great opportunity to change the direction and the mood for health provision in the UK.
"The World Health Organisation got it right when it said 'modern societies actively market unhealthy lifestyles'. We need to turn this round so we're creating healthy lifestyles.
"The NHS was a great coming together of everyone involved in health services to deliver healthcare to the whole population. We need all those parts of society that affect health to come together into a new compact. And we need to be explicit about this everywhere in the country.
"We need to release the NHS and the remarkable people in it to create a long-term plan for transition. There is already remarkable consensus about what needs to be done, and we need a transition fund to support development and the double running of services as changes are made.
"There's a wonderful African saying: 'health is made at home, hospital is for repairs'. Health is made at home, and in our communities.
"The NHS - with all the important services we all rely on - will only be sustainable if we all play our part in developing a health-creating society.
"We do know how to do it. It's time to act."
The final part of Healthy Visions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 3 April at 13:45 BST. You can listen to the rest of the series now on the BBC Radio 4 website. | The future of the NHS remains a key issue in the run-up to the general election. | 32072847 |
The 13-year-old was stopped by a man in West Drive, near Tooting Bec Common, and was forced into the woods before being assaulted.
The man is described as white, aged approximately 20, about 6ft tall with a slim build, dark eyes and was clean shaven.
Police have stepped up patrols in the area to provide reassurance following the attack on Thursday evening.
Det Insp Keith Ward said: "This was a horrific attack on a vulnerable young girl who was forced by this man into a secluded area and raped.
"The victim was able to provide a very good description of her attacker and we are keen to catch him before he has the opportunity to strike again."
The rapist was wearing a tracksuit top and bottoms with three white stripes down the sides, black trainers and a black woolly hat with black gloves when he carried out the assault. | A teenage girl has been raped in a woods in south-west London. | 34825989 |
The charity behind the Joyce Grove hospice, in Nettlebed, previously announced plans to move to the Townlands Community Hospital in Henley, but negotiations fell through.
The application to South Oxfordshire District Council is for 20 apartments.
But CEO Heidi Travis said the charity had "no immediate plans to move".
She added: "We have taken this step to help inform us about all of the options that are available to us to enable the continued provision of the service for the long term.
"We will continue to deliver the same well regarded and respected services from this building.
"As always, we remain incredibly grateful for the community's continued support, which enables us to be there for people at the most difficult time of their lives."
The Edwardian property has 18 beds and stands in 11 hectares (27 acres) of land.
The Grade II-listed house was built by Robert Fleming, the grandfather of the James Bond author Ian Fleming.
People have been cared for at the house for more than 30 years but the charity cannot offer patients single rooms, and access via public transport is difficult. | The future of a Sue Ryder hospice is in doubt after the charity applied for planning permission to convert the building into residential apartments. | 31522922 |
The German headed Hamilton by just 0.07 seconds as the two silver cars were a second clear of the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
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Hamilton appeared to have a faster lap in him, but after setting two quicker sector times he backed off following a slide in the final chicane.
Susie Wolff was 14th on her first outing of the season for Williams.
The Scot was six places and 0.8secs behind team-mate and race driver Felipe Massa.
Wolff was the slowest of the three stand-in drivers running during the session, with Sauber's Rafaelle Marciello 12th and Lotus's Jolyon Palmer 13th.
Marciello was two places behind Sauber race driver Felipe Nasr in 10th, while Palmer headed Pastor Maldonado, who was down in 18th after doing just one run.
Ferrari came to Spain hoping to close the gap to Mercedes and have a major upgrade on their car, with many of the aerodynamic surfaces reshaped to create more downforce.
However, Mercedes appear so far to have retained their advantage in overall downforce judging from the margin between the two cars.
Rosberg was 0.978secs quicker than Vettel, who headed Raikkonen by just 0.028secs.
Barcelona is a severe test of the overall aerodynamic performance of an F1 car because of its series of long-duration corners of varying speeds, which reward consistent downforce.
So when a car has an advantage here it tends to be a reflection of its aerodynamic qualities, assuming the engines are of relatively similar performance, as is the case this year with the Mercedes and Ferrari.
Behind the big two, Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen were fifth and sixth.
That put them ahead of senior team Red Bull, for whom Daniil Kvyat was seventh fastest as the team tried out a new shorter nose design on the car.
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The Russian did only one run, while team-mate Daniel Ricciardo did not get out until the final 10 minutes of the session because of engine reliability problems but still managed ninth fastest.
The McLaren-Hondas of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were only 15th and 16th.
The team had been expecting a step forward in performance as a result of a series of upgrades on car and engine but it was not reflected in the times in the first session.
One of the developments was a new front wing, and Button was heard complaining on the radio that the "balance was completely wrong".
There was only 0.004secs between the two drivers, with Alonso just ahead. The Spaniard ended the session with a dramatic spin on the exit of Turn 11 into Turn 12. | Nico Rosberg pipped Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to set the pace in Spanish Grand Prix first practice. | 32653631 |
Aloke Aich, 53, was hit in the right eye during the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens on 9 May.
"The incident and its ramifications have been terrible." Miller said.
"I wish this was not true - I am sorry for Mr Aich's irreversible loss and wish him the best recovery possible."
Aich's son said that Kolkata Police were paying his father's medical expenses but also said that he feared the injury might force his father, the sole earning member in the family, to give up his job.
"I don't know what will happen. With his right eye gone, I don't think he would be able to sit behind the wheel again," he told the Indian Express newspaper.
"Will they keep him in the job or will he be asked to take voluntary retirement? How will we survive if he loses his job?
"We are a lower middle-class family, dependent solely on his income."
Miller scored 27 not out from 11 balls in the match in question, which Kolkata won by one run.
The 25-year-old first joined Kings XI Punjab in the IPL in 2011, and hit a 38-ball century against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mohali in May 2013, the third fastest hundred in the history of the tournament.
The left-hander has appeared in 71 one-day internationals and 31 Twenty20 internationals for South Africa. | A policeman has been left blind in one eye after being hit by a six struck by South Africa batsman David Miller in an Indian Premier League match. | 32765150 |
Khaled Bahah, who is in Saudi Arabia, said his government would work to restore basic services there.
Aden has for months seen heavy fighting between rebels and loyalist forces backed by Saudi-led air strikes.
The government fled from its stronghold in Aden in March as the Houthis pushed towards the provincial capital.
A major offensive to drive the Houthis out of Aden was launched earlier this week.
On Thursday, several minister from the exiled government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi returned to the country for the first time since taking refuge in Riyadh.
They flew by helicopter to a military base on the outskirts of Aden city with instructions to prepare for the government's return, officials said.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Khaled Bahah said: "The government announces the liberation of the province of Aden on the first day of Eid al-Fitr which falls on July 17.
"We will work to restore life in Aden and all the liberated cities, to restore water and electricity."
Aden - the country's main port and second city - has been devastated by weeks of clashes and air strikes.
The losses in Aden represent the biggest setback for the Houthis since Sunni power Saudi Arabia launched a coalition air campaign against them on 26 March.
Mr Hadi had taken refuge there after the Houthis consolidated their control of the capital, Sanaa.
The Saudis say the campaign is aimed at forcing the rebels - who they say are armed by regional Shia rival Iran - to retreat and to restore the exiled government.
Iran denies backing the Houthis militarily.
The UN says more than 3,200 people, half of them civilians, have been killed in air strikes and fighting on the ground in the past 15 weeks.
Another one million civilians have been displaced by the conflict and more than 80% of Yemen's 25 million people now need some form of humanitarian aid. | Yemen's southern province of Aden has been "liberated" from Houthi rebel forces, the country's exiled vice-president has declared. | 33563190 |
The £8m development will run between Greenore in County Louth and Greencastle, County Down.
It has been 10 years in the planning and has faced opposition from some residents and environmentalists.
The company that owns it, Frazer Ferries, said it is an important commercial and tourism link. The service will run all year round and has space for 44 cars.
It can also take coaches and commercial vehicles up to 20 metres.
It is not licensed for articulated lorries.
Cars cost 20 euros (£17.70) for a return journey, although there are online and multi-trip discounts.
Some people living on the northern side opposed the development.
They said the road infrastructure would not be able to cope and that it would change the tranquillity of their small coastal community.
Concerns were also raised about the impact on seals and nesting terns that live in the protected area.
The development was approved, however, after a road was widened to accommodate traffic and commitments given on environmental monitoring.
The 15-minute crossing will save a journey of about 30 miles and bypass Newry, in County Down. | A new cross-border ferry service opens to the public on Friday. | 40668098 |
The Football League did not confirm the size of the penalty, but details of the fine - which has not yet been paid - were disclosed in the club's accounts, which show they made a £38.3m loss in winning the Championship in 2014-15.
That was up from £10.3m the previous season, mainly because of staff wages, which rose to £30.4m, more than double the club's turnover of £12.9m.
Eddie Howe's side won the Championship title last season but exceeded Financial Fair Play limits of permitted maximum losses of £6m for a season.
Championship sides Bolton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest were all placed under a transfer embargo after breaking similar rules.
The accounts also revealed that it cost the Cherries £4.6m to bring their stadium up to Premier League specifications. | Bournemouth were handed a £7.6m fine for breaching Financial Fair Play rules after accruing huge losses last season en route to Premier League promotion. | 36189779 |
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The visitors were on the back foot from the first whistle and Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip scored his side's only try following a couple of devastating driving mauls.
Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson, so wasteful with the boot against Scotland, showed he is a fast learner, landing some crucial long-range kicks.
But Ireland tired badly as the second half wore on, Louis Picamoles scoring a try for France with six minutes remaining and Frederic Michalak landing the crucial conversion.
A late injury to substitute scrum-half Eoin Reddan, who was administered oxygen and then carried off, and a lent a sombre tone to the end of the match.
It is the second year in a row these two sides have drawn a Six Nations encounter - the score was 17-17 in Paris last March - and it was another absorbing, if at times desperate, contest this time around.
(provided by accenture)
France, whose final game of the tournament is against Scotland in Paris next weekend, had been in danger of being whitewashed in the tournament for the first time in 56 years.
However, despite managing to grab a draw, head coach Philippe Saint-Andre will struggle to keep his job, whether his side beat Scotland or not.
For Ireland head coach Declan Kidney, victory over France would have provided welcome respite following a fortnight of speculation over his future - his contract is up after this year's tournament after almost five years in the job.
But his side having failed to beat Scotland in Murrayfield a fortnight ago, despite huge advantages in terms of territory and possession, and now failed to finish off an insipid France team, the writing may now be on the wall.
With the wind billowing around Aviva Stadium and a blanket of rain enveloping players and spectators alike, the game was always going to be characterised more by mistakes than free-flowing rugby.
Indeed, a couple of handling errors under the high ball set the tone before Ireland's forwards began to make large dents with their driving maul, a tactic the French had little answer to.
One drive, with Sean O'Brien at its rear, travelled fully 15 metres into French territory and the hosts scored their first try from a second shortly after, Heaslip burrowing over from short range.
Jackson, in the side ahead of the injured Jonathan Sexton and discarded Ronan O'Gara, added the extras.
France fly-half Michalak, back in the starting line-up after losing his place to Francois Trinh-Duc for the game against England, missed a makeable penalty chance after 15 minutes and the visiting team did little to warm the cockles of their large travelling contingent of fans in the opening quarter.
Ireland should have extended their lead when France went over the top at a ruck but Jackson missed a penalty from centre-field, before Michalak got his side on the scoreboard with a three-pointer after the host's scrum disintegrated.
Ulster's Jackson, playing in only his second full international, steadied the nerves with a long-range penalty 11 minutes before half-time and added another from almost the identical spot three minutes later as errors continued to flow from the French.
Much was said before the game about the need for Ireland to put France on the back foot from the opening whistle and break them psychologically and so it panned out in the first half, with France, who were clueless in attack, never able to recover their composure after those early Irish mauls.
Michalak missed a difficult penalty attempt on the stroke of half-time and France, for whom skipper Thierry Dusautoir had been tireless in defence in a losing cause, were booed off by their fans.
When Louis Picamoles dropped the ball from Jackson's restart it was apparent it would be more of the same from a beleaguered French outfit in the second half.
Ireland should have added points after several waves of attack but desperate French defence and an ill-judged Rob Kearney drop-goal attempt let the visitors off the hook.
Morgan Parra took over kicking duties in the second half and slotted a three-pointer after 52 minutes to keep France alive but scuffed his second attempt at goal after Ireland went off-side.
Ireland began to lose their way as the second half went on, forgetting the pragmatic tactics that won them the first half, namely tight forward play and clever territorial kicking.
But while France were beginning to dominate in the scrum, Michalak, who had another poor day at the office in open play, was unable to spring anything worthwhile in attack.
When France did finally create some space, full-back Yoann Huget butchered the opportunity, ignoring the overlap and going into contact instead.
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But France did cross soon afterwards, Picamoles reaching over for the try after a sustained period of pressure on the Irish line. Michalak levelled the scores with a difficult kick from just inside the left touch-line.
Ireland nearly nicked the win with four minutes remaining, Picamoles, who put in a monumental shift for France, just beating Keith Earls to the touch-down after a kick ahead. And the hosts were unlucky not to have won a penalty as it appeared Vincent Debaty had taken Earls out without the ball.
France had one last throw of the dice but with Ireland defenders out on their feet and no time left on the clock, Michalak decided to kick ahead, a move that rather typified French decision making.
IRELAND: Kearney, McFadden, O'Driscoll, L. Marshall, Earls, Jackson, Murray, Healy, Best, Ross, McCarthy, Ryan, O'Mahony, O'Brien, Heaslip, Reddan.
Replacements: Fitzgerald for McFadden (63), Madigan for L. Marshall (72), Reddan for Murray (63), O'Callaghan for Ryan (68), Henderson for O'Mahony (77), Cronin for Reddan (80). Not Used: Kilcoyne, Archer.
FRANCE: Huget, Clerc, Fritz, Fofana, Medard, Michalak, Parra, Domingo, Kayser, Mas, Samson, Maestri, Nyanga, Dusautoir, Picamoles.
Replacements: Bastareaud for Fritz (68), Debaty for Domingo (66), Guirado for Kayser (68), Vahaamahina for Maestri (51), Claassen for Nyanga (66). Not Used: Ducalcon, Machenaud, Trinh-Duc.
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia) | France staged a second-half comeback to snatch a draw against Ireland in grim conditions in Dublin and break a run of five straight Six Nations defeats. | 21706934 |
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But just like moustaches, the notion of the great Scottish central defender has rather fallen out of fashion.
These Scottish pillars of rock once graced European finals for their clubs. These days the top Scottish central defenders are found slightly further down the football food chain.
Back in the day, central defender Willie Miller not only had a resplendent moustache, he also had to fight his way past football legends simply to get a game for the national team.
"I can only reflect on when I was trying to break into the international team and the type of player that was in front of me," Miller recalls.
"We don't have that quality of player now, that's for sure.
"I got my debut when Billy Bremner didn't turn up. He was playing in the European Cup final against Bayern Munich for Leeds United."
Miller went on to amass 65 caps and won European trophies himself. He can reel off a host of top players he had to jostle with just for a place in the Scotland starting 11. They all played for top clubs scrapping it out for European silverware.
For Miller, in 2016 the main issue when it comes to reaching major international tournaments remains player development.
"We have got a problem. It is a big problem," he says.
"How we solve it is a long and complicated question. But I do think we need to get our act in order, particularly at the development level and we need to encourage young players to come through of the right stature and the right standing in the hope that in the future it will get better.
"There definitely seems to be a lack of top quality players coming through and I think the SFA and the clubs have to take responsibility for that."
Defence is a particular area of concern for Miller, but he is a fan of John Souttar. Now 19 years of age, Souttar has been a big prospect ever since he came through the ranks at Dundee United, with Ryan Gauld, Andy Robertson et al.
Now at Hearts, the primary objective has been toughening him up with plenty of gym work.
"Since I have come to Hearts it has been drilled into me that defenders have got to be aggressive, have to be physical," Souttar says.
"I agree with that as well, because if you look at the top centre-halves in the world the first thing they do is match the striker physically."
Souttar was always backed at Dundee United by his manager there, Jackie McNamara, despite some mistakes along the way. McNamara and his assistants were convinced that the crop of talented youngsters at the club could reach the very top of the game.
So, can Souttar join the ranks of Miller, Alex McLeish, Dave Narey and Alan Hansen and develop into a world class centre-half?
"Yes. I have got self-confidence, I think I can," says the Hearts defender. "I have got a lot to learn, there is no doubt about that.
"I always take everything in, what everyone says to me. I learn all the time. I am always open to ideas.
"Don't get me wrong - I'm nowhere near it just now, obviously.
"But I think one day it is the aim, and hopefully I can do that." | In the 1980s Scotland internationals had big reputations, big moustaches, and big-time central defenders were almost taken for granted. | 37256644 |
The male bird was found at Loch Arkaig in Lochaber in June tangled in fishing line and in distress. It was rescued by conservation officer Lewis Pate.
The Scottish SPCA first took the chick to Inverness and then to its national rescue centre in Alloa for treatment.
An operation was done on the eagle to remove the fish hooks.
Animal welfare staff have called him Brahma.
Colin Seddon, of the SSPCA, said: "Brahma is now around 12-weeks-old and fully fledged.
"The release site was prepared by Lewis Pate and staff from the Achnacarry Esate in Lochaber, who have generously provided a boat and engine for logistical support and feeding if he needs it.
"There were several people involved in Brahma's rescue and recovery and without them he would not have survived." | A white tailed sea eagle chick that had to be rescued after swallowing two fish hooks has been released close to his nest site in the Highlands. | 34152942 |
The Halle Orchestra wants to open a school in Stoke-on-Trent in 2020, for both primary and secondary pupils.
The orchestra will work with an academy trust in setting up the school.
John Summers, chief executive of the orchestra, said the project would use music to "raise aspirations" across other academic subjects.
The school, proposed with the City Learning Trust, would be part of the free schools programme - and approval for its opening depends on the Department for Education.
But the orchestra wants to open the school in September 2020, for seven to 19-year-olds, with the promise of masterclasses from musicians, access to concerts and artists in residence.
The intention is for students to spend 40% of their time in specialist music classes, working with the Halle Choir, The Halle Youth Orchestra and Halle for Youth.
"The Halle has a huge amount of expertise and experience in working at high level performance, both in terms of instrumental coaching and choral training," said John Summers, chief executive of the Halle.
"Through our expertise we will also help develop music in the curriculum as a means of supporting academic achievement and aspiration."
There are precedents for such a connection between orchestras and schools.
In the German city of Bremen, there has been a high-profile partnership when a leading orchestra set up its rehearsal rooms and headquarters in a comprehensive school on a housing estate.
The musicians of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen became part of the daily life of the school - and truancy rates were lowered and academic results improved. | A leading international orchestra is planning to open a state school and make it a centre of excellence for music. | 39068865 |
Brandon Vandenburg was found guilty on five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Vandenburg, 23, was a student at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
He was first convicted last year alongside teammate Corey Batey, but the original verdict was thrown out when a juror was found to be a rape victim.
In a retrial, the jury took four hours to find Vandenberg guilty. He was also convicted on one count of unlawful photography.
Four former players were charged in the case but only two were accused of raping and sexually assaulting the woman.
Batey was convicted again in April. The two men now face a minimum of 15 years in prison.
The verdict comes amid controversy over a six-month sentence given to another college athlete, Brock Turner, for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman at Stanford University.
Vandenburg's lawyers argued that he was too drunk to be responsible for his actions. But CCTV footage showed the defendant carrying the victim into a hotel room along with several teammates.
The trial also featured graphic videos and photos that were taken by the players with their phones. Vandenburg's lawyers admitted in court that the images were "disturbing".
The victim, then a 21-year-old neuroscience student, testified that she had no memory of the event.
She said Vandenburg told her when she woke up that she had got drunk and sick and he had taken care of her.
Prosecutors suggested in court that she was under the influence of a date-rape drug.
Parallels have been drawn between the sentence in the Stanford case and the minimum sentence faced by Vandenburgg and Batey.
Dmitry Gorin, a Los Angeles criminal defence lawyer and former prosecutor specializing in sex crimes, told the Associated Press: "It does seem like an extreme disparity, but I would say this.
"With these sex crimes, the facts are very important, the details are very important, and the law punishes the conduct differently depending on what conduct can be proven.
"In the Stanford case, they did not prove rape." | A former US college football player has been convicted after a jury found that he encouraged teammates to rape an unconscious woman he had been dating. | 36570055 |
Gatland has said he rejected an approach from Super Rugby side Chiefs about leading them from 2018.
Gatland is contracted with Wales until after the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Phillips reinforced his belief Gatland will return, saying he "made it very clear his intention was to come back".
The WRU boss also does not expect any fall-out from the Lions tour that would affect the Wales camp.
After Gatland's Wales and Lions predecessor Graham Henry took the Lions to Australia in 2001, his relationship with senior Wales players suffered.
"The reason Warren has got the Lions job twice and assistant once is that he is a very experienced leader in that space," Phillips told Scrum V.
"So I would back him to manage the situation."
Phillips also defended the decision to allow Rob Howley to join Gatland as part of the Lions set-up.
Forwards coach Robin McBryde will be in charge of Wales' June tour Tests against Tonga and Samoa, assisted by regional coaches Danny Wilson, Matt Sherratt, both of Cardiff Blues and Scarlets' Stephen Jones.
"I think Warren and Rob will both benefit as coaches from the Lions experience," added Phillips.
"I don't think the South Sea Island tours will be hugely beneficial to them.
"Our belief was for Warren and Rob to go into the white-hot heat of a Lions tour will test and develop them.
"We genuinely have to give some coaches exposure so I am comfortable with that decision."
Phillips also defended the 2016 decision to award contracts until 2019 to members of Gatland's backroom staff, including Howley and McBryde.
"The demand for the very best coaches is greater than it has ever been," added Phillips.
"When you have got a good coaching team it tends to work in World Cup cycles so what you don't want is a major disruption halfway through.
"Four years will become the norm. Warren picks his coaching team and his belief was this was the best team. We looked at everything."
Watch the Martyn Phillips interview on Scrum V, Sunday, 8 January, BBC Two Wales from 17:30 GMT. | Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips expects Warren Gatland to return to his Wales role after coaching the 2017 British and Irish Lions in New Zealand. | 38516417 |
The bodies of a man and a woman - who were missing since a tornado in Benton County, Mississippi - were found, bringing the state's death toll to 10.
Another four people died in a traffic accident in Garland, Texas.
Officials said Texas and Oklahoma could be hit with a "historic blizzard", bringing up to 16in (41cm) of snow.
Motorists were warned they could face icy roads.
Six people died in Tennessee. Arkansas and Alabama each reported one fatality.
In Mississippi, 56 injuries have been reported and more than 400 houses have been destroyed or damaged.
At least 20 tornadoes hit the state, knocking down trees and leaving thousands without power over Christmas holidays.
One large tornado reportedly touched land in Mississippi and tore a path more than 100 miles (160 km) long to Tennessee.
While extreme weather in the US before Christmas is not unknown, meteorologists say that unseasonably high temperatures in some areas contributed to the severity of the storms.
One year ago a tornado hit south-eastern Mississippi, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
A storm on Christmas Day in 2012 which included several tornadoes damaged homes from Texas to Alabama. | At least 22 people are now known to have died after nearly a week of tornadoes, heavy rains and flooding in several US south-central states. | 35184791 |
The 26-year-old came through the club's academy and has scored 16 tries in 135 appearances for Quins since making his first-team debut in 2009.
"My decision to renew was a quick and easy one," uncapped Englishman Wallace told the club website.
"Harlequins is all I've known during my career and I can't imagine being anywhere else."
Quins have not disclosed the length of Wallace's new deal at The Stoop. | Harlequins flanker Luke Wallace has signed a new contract with the Premiership club. | 37646393 |
Glynis Bensley, 47, was killed outside the Seven Stars pub in Smethwick, West Midlands, on 3 September.
The judge lifted restrictions on her killer Petri Kurti, being named.
A second defendant, Zoheb Majid, 20, of Cheshire Road, Smethwick, was jailed for ten years at Wolverhampton Crown Court, for her manslaughter.
He was found not guilty of her murder.
Judge John Warner said Kurti had been described afterwards as "boastful and not caring less" but also later "crying, saying [he] had not meant to do it".
He told the pair it had been Ms Bensley's "enormous misfortune to cross paths with you" at 00:20 GMT that night, resulting in her death.
Michael Turner QC, representing Kurti, said in mitigation he was "susceptible to the influence of older people" and his criminality should not be mistaken for maturity, adding he had some "learning difficulties".
Joe Sidhu QC, who represented Majid, said his client had played a limited role in the assault, but expressed "genuine remorse" for his part - despite going to buy a bag of croissants at a local shop after the attack.
Both defendants were also found guilty of robbery after they stole her phone, cash, cigarettes and jewellery before leaving her for dead.
A post-mortem examination found Ms Bensley suffered a fatal head injury.
Glynis' sister Dawn, said: "We are a very close and supportive family and always look out for each other - to try and explain how Glynis' murder has affected us is very hard to put into words.
"Glynis was my only sister and best friend - I would describe her as my right arm and I thought we would grow old together."
Ms Bensley was on her way home from the Seven Stars when she was attacked, West Midlands Police said.
Police said Kurti had been joined by Majid on a bicycle.
After he had robbed her, Kurti stamped on her face with such force his footprint was left on her cheek, a spokesman said.
Det Ch Insp Sam Ridding said: "Ms Bensley was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time and was randomly picked out by the pair believing that she was a man and that she was wearing a gold bracelet.
"It was clearly the joint intention of the pair to use violence on anyone they targeted."
Martin Lindop, from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: "These two defendants had targeted Ms Bensley because she was a vulnerable female who was walking home on her own at night.
"Our thoughts are today with the family and friends of Ms Bensley." | A 13-year-old boy has been given a life sentence, with a minimum tariff of 12 years, for murdering a woman by punching her then stamping on her face. | 32356081 |
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said a radiation emergency was "no longer reasonably foreseeable" at the Trawsfynydd plant, Gwynedd.
It has now lifted a near one-mile emergency planning area around the site in the event of an incident.
Decommissioning began in 1995, two years after it ceased operating.
An ONR report said owner Magnox were due to begin a long term care and maintenance programme from 2016.
It plans to allow remaining structures to be "kept in a passively safe and secure state for a great number of years in order to allow for radiation levels to naturally decay over time".
Gwynedd council and Magnox still have other legal duties and emergency arrangements in place to protect the public, said the regulator. | Regulators say there are "no longer hazards" at a nuclear power plant requiring an emergency buffer zone as the site's decommissioning continues. | 32088768 |
The party won control of West Somerset and Mendip councils and held on to power at Sedgemoor.
Liberal Democrats lost 12 seats at councils across the county, but kept control of South Somerset.
Labour, which has traditionally struggled in the county, gained six more seats.
Taunton Deane Borough Council remains with no one party in overall control - the Conservatives have 28 seats but not a majority.
No party has overall control in Bath and North East Somerset - the Lib Dems and Tories have 29 seats each.
The Tories retained control of North Somerset Council.
The party also held Shepton Mallet in the Somerset County Council by-election, which was held after one Conservative councillor moved away from the area.
John Parham, a Mendip district councillor, was elected as the county councillor for the area.
The new West Somerset Council consists of 19 Conservatives, two Labour and seven independents.
It was previously run by Conservative leader Tim Taylor in coalition with independents.
Mr Taylor said the lack of a controlling group had weakened the council in recent years but that he felt the authority would now be in a better situation to deal with financial challenges.
He said: "I believe that we'll have good leadership, good team work and this will give us strength to negotiate with government to try and get our very challenging finances put right." | Conservatives in Somerset are celebrating winning an extra 15 seats across Somerset in local council elections. | 13280165 |
Anglesey council's executive committee decided to close Llangefni Golf Course in January citing annual losses.
But on Tuesday the council agreed in principle to transfer the management to a local social enterprise group.
The council said it would now enter into "detailed negotiations" for Partneriaeth Llangefni to manage the facility until April 2017. | An Anglesey golf course that was facing closure could remain open for a further two years, the council has said. | 32894133 |
Media playback is unsupported on your device
17 March 2015 Last updated at 15:17 GMT
She appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show to discuss her plans after President Obama finishes his time as leader.
The said she was most looking forward to what she called "luxuries", like driving her car with the windows down.
She probably couldn't do that at the moment because too many people would take photographs.
Michelle was invited to dance to pop hit Uptown Funk - and she didn't disappoint. | Michelle Obama, wife of US President Barack Obama, has showed off her dance moves on a TV chat show in the USA. | 31923221 |
The Spaniard finished the 24-lap race in 42 minutes 34.610 seconds, 2.992secs ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and 4.104secs ahead of Maverick Vinales.
His nearest challengers in the title standings, Yamaha pair Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, both crashed out.
Honda rider Marquez, 23, is the youngest man to win three premier class world championship titles.
"It was difficult to concentrate [after Rossi and Lorenzo crashed out]," said Marquez. "I am really happy. Really happy with my team."
There are still three races to go this season, starting with next weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Marquez began the race from second on the grid behind Italian Rossi, with last season's champion Lorenzo also starting on the front row.
It was the latter who seized control in the early stages before Marquez overtook him on the fourth lap.
With 19 laps remaining, Rossi's challenge was ended as he slipped on the tarmac at a hair-pin bend on turn 10.
Lorenzo would follow him out of the race with five laps to go as he also slipped on the track, this time at the V-shaped left-handed turn nine.
This left Marquez to go on and claim the race and the title.
Japan GP results
1. Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 42:34.610
2. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 42:37.602
3. Maverick Vinales (Spain) Suzuki 42:38.714
4. Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Suzuki 42:39.336
5. Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Honda 42:49.659
Championship standings
1. Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 273
2. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 196
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 182
4. Maverick Vinales (Spain) Suzuki 165
5. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 155 | Marc Marquez sealed his third MotoGP world championship by winning the Japan Grand Prix on Sunday. | 37670864 |
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