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14 December 2016 Last updated at 08:10 GMT
Actors including Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker and Alan Tudyk were all there for the star-studded event.
The film is set between episodes three and four of the Star Wars saga and tells the tale of how the rebels managed to steal the Death Star plans.
Have a watch to see how Miriam got on. | Last night was the premiere of the new Star Wars movie Rogue One, Newsround sent super-fan Miriam down to the red carpet to meet the stars of the movie and to find out a little more about the film. | 38312655 |
Their lawyers told the Al-Sweady Inquiry "insufficient material" had been heard, but added they intended to pursue mistreatment claims.
The inquiry, set up in 2009, has cost more than £22m to date.
The Ministry of Defence said it was pleased the claims had been withdrawn.
The inquiry, which started hearing evidence last year, has sought to identify the events surrounding the deaths of allegedly more than 20 Iraqi men.
It has been concerned with the Battle of Danny Boy - named after a British checkpoint near the town of Majar al-Kabir in southern Iraq in May 2004, during the Iraq war.
Iraqi insurgents ambushed soldiers, leading to a three-hour firefight which included the use of bayonets.
Lawyers acting for several Iraqi clients claimed men taken from the battlefield were mistreated and unlawfully killed at Camp Abu Naji and Shaibah Logistics Base.
The MoD, British troops and their lawyers have vigorously denied the claims, saying those who died were killed on the battlefield.
A spokesman for the MoD said: "We have long said that there was no credible evidence for these allegations and are pleased that they have been withdrawn."
Speaking on the last full day of evidence, Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) for the families said they had arrived at their decision following "the conclusion of the military evidence and the current state of disclosure by the Ministry of Defence".
PIL's John Dickinson said in a statement: "From the outset, the families have had the simple objective of discovering the extent of any wrongdoing and, if so, how it came about and who was responsible.
"It is accepted that - on the material which has been disclosed to date - there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of unlawful killing in Camp Abu Naji."
Inquiry chairman Sir Thayne Forbes, who is due to release his final inquiry report in November, praised the lawyers for their admission.
He said: "You and your team are to be commended for the courage that you have displayed in making this statement at the stage that you did."
The inquiry has been sitting for 42 weeks and has heard evidence from a total of 281 witnesses.
It is named after one of the Iraqi men, 19-year-old Hamid al-Sweady, who was alleged to have been unlawfully killed while being held following the battle. | A public inquiry into whether UK soldiers unlawfully killed Iraqi civilians in custody in 2004 has heard their relatives no longer believe there is enough evidence to back the claims. | 26672966 |
Jordan Dunn, 16, is alleged to have attacked the women in separate incidents at a BMX track and in the grounds of a water treatment plant in the city in August and October.
Dunn, from Dundee, appeared in private at Dundee Sheriff Court charged with two counts of rape.
He made no plea or declaration. He was fully committed for trial, and was remanded in custody.
Dunn is charged with raping a woman at a BMX track north of a footpath along the Dighty Water, near Balunie Drive, between 3 and 10 August.
He is also charged with raping a second woman at the grounds of Clatto Water Treatment Works on Dalmahoy Drive on 14 October. | A teenager has appeared in court accused of raping two women in Dundee. | 30003411 |
StepChange said high-cost credit, such as payday loans and fee-charging debt management services, should not be sold via unsolicited calls.
A survey found a third of its clients received more than five calls a week.
It estimates that buying such services added an average of £1,052 to its clients' existing debts.
"The problem is particularly serious among the most financially vulnerable in our society," said Mike O'Connor, chief executive of StepChange.
"When someone is already in financial difficulty, they may be at their lowest ebb and feel they have no option but to make quick decisions through desperation, which can bring devastating consequences.
"Before taking out any financial product, people need to know whether it is right for them, work out if they can afford it and shop around for the best deal, but unsolicited phone calls can take these key decisions away from them.
"It is not a good way to sell credit or financial services and it is certainly not a good way to buy them."
The call comes despite research from consumer group Which? suggesting that borrowing money on an unarranged overdraft from a bank can be more expensive than taking out a payday loan.
Borrowing £100 for 28 days from a payday lender would bring a maximum charge of £22.40 compared with a charge of up to £90 for an unarranged overdraft, Which? said. The banks argue that such overdrafts should be a last resort and there are cheaper alternatives.
Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association, which represents some payday lenders, said: "This small survey by StepChange is misinformed and draws the wrong conclusions.
"Cold calling is carried out by unscrupulous firms who purchase people's data, not lenders. The sector is regulated and CFA members do not cold call, do not lend to people who cannot afford credit and ensure all lending is responsible. Regulations exist to protect borrowers and there is no need to further restrict how lenders market to their customers." | Credit should be "bought, not sold", a debt charity has said, adding that cold calls offering high-risk financial products should be banned. | 36782659 |
Labour's Ruth Cadbury said she feared spectators at the Rugby World Cup venue would be subject to smells from the nearby Mogden sewage works.
The Brentford and Isleworth MP said problems persisted despite £140m investment in 2013.
But Thames Water said it was "confident rugby fans will not be turned off Twickenham by odour".
In a statement the company, which manages the sewage works, said its £140m upgrade included the installation of odour-reducing equipment and covers.
It also said it would "continue to work closely" with stadium bosses and Hounslow and Richmond councils in the run-up to the big event.
England Rugby, which manages the west London stadium, declined to comment.
The Rugby World Cup begins on 18 September, with Twickenham stadium hosting some of the major matches.
Environment Minister Rory Stewart initially said a new sewage super storm drain further down the Thames would help, before being corrected by the Brentford and Isleworth MP who said that project was nowhere near the problem site and would not help.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Cadbury said: "There is a real risk the UK could look rather embarrassing if many matches are spoilt by the stench of sewage floating over the stadium."
She called for ministerial intervention, claiming that "storm tanks need covering" and that "dilute sewage keeps discharging into the nearby Thames". | An MP has warned the UK faces "embarrassment" because of a sewage stench pervading Twickenham stadium. | 33059905 |
Swansea have conceded seven goals in their last two games following the 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
They have three Premier League games remaining but assistant coach Curtis says they are not already thinking about their summer break.
"Hopefully they will want to come back a lot stronger next week," Curtis said.
"It's certainly not the players thinking [about] the holidays.
"We certainly can't afford any more performances like that but that's nothing to do with safety. That's down to poor professional pride.
"We obviously wanted to push on. We've had two desperately poor performances and certainly this was the worst we've had for a long, long time."
Swansea, who host Liverpool next Sunday, reached the 40-point mark with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium on 9 April.
But they suffered their worst defeat of the season at the King Power Stadium as Leicester City took another stride towards the Premier League title.
Riyad Mahrez took advantage of Ashley Williams' poor clearance to score with a composed finish before Leonardo Ulloa added a second.
Ulloa scrambled in the third goal from a loose ball on the hour before substitute Marc Albrighton sealed the win.
"We had such a bad start in terms of conceding those two poor goals from our point of view," Curtis added.
"After that it just sort of deteriorated.
"You've just got to look in the dressing room and everyone's heads are down and we're all desperately disappointed with the results and probably more so with the performance." | Alan Curtis insists Swansea City's players still have plenty to play for and have not switched off despite their 4-0 defeat at Leicester. | 36126504 |
The deal will update the 18-year-old IT Agreement and add 200 products to the zero tariff list.
It is expected to give a boost to producers of goods ranging from video games to medical equipment.
The WTO says the sum is equal to global trade in iron, steel, textiles and clothing combined.
"Today's agreement is a landmark," said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo.
"Eliminating tariffs on trade of this magnitude will have a huge impact," he continued.
"It will support lower prices - including in many other sectors that use IT products as inputs - it will create jobs and it will help to boost GDP growth around the world."
The final technical details will be worked out until December.
The existing 1996 IT agreement was seen by industry and policy makers as woefully out of date as it did not cover devices and products invented since then.
Products added range from advanced computer chips to GPS devices, medical equipment, printer cartridges and video-game consoles
Technology manufacturers such as General Electric, Intel, Texas Instruments, Microsoft and Nintendo are among the many companies expected to benefit from the deal.
Negotiations on updating the technology agreement began in 2012.
Analysis: Andrew Walker, BBC World Service economics correspondent
Finally, the WTO has brought its Information Technology Agreement (ITA) into the 21st century.
This was the first tariff cutting agreement the WTO has managed since ITA 1.0, as it is not officially known, was agreed.
The key political deal was done in 1996 at a WTO ministerial conference in Singapore. Sadly, you might think, I was there and am still covering the same story, though I have had very little reason to think about this one since.
Still this is an important step, and it is the second one the WTO has taken in two years - a very short period in the geological timescales of trade negotiations.
The other was an agreement on simplifying trade procedures, the one concrete achievement of the negotiations called the Doha Round launched in 2001.
So a significant step towards more liberalised trade has been taken. But the WTO has the rest of the wide ranging and complex Doha Round still to do. | The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has struck a "landmark" deal to cut tariffs on $1.3 trn (£838bn) worth of technology products. | 33647358 |
Bailiffs and police moved to evict protesters from the site in Upton, near Chester, in January.
Campaigners had built an elaborate series of fortifications, including a network of tunnels, walls and a moat.
Councillor Matthew Bryan is among those on trial, charged with obstructing a police officer.
The Cheshire West and Chester councillor is accused of climbing on to a cherry picker after being directed to leave the site.
His defence claims he was trying to prevent it from moving into the field, where some campaigners had retreated into underground tunnels, as he was worried the weight of it would cause the land to collapse.
Appearing at Chester Magistrates Court, all defendants denied various charges.
A ninth defendant has had her trial postponed amid health problems.
Campaigners set up camp at the site in April 2014 in the hope of preventing drilling by energy company IGas.
In November 2015 they were served with a court order compelling them to leave the site, before the authorities moved in.
IGas later said it had "decided not to progress" plans for commercial drilling in the area.
The trial is expected to last a week. | Eight anti-fracking campaigners have gone on trial charged in connection with a protest at a test drilling site in Cheshire. | 37695434 |
When the adult female was finally captured north of Brisbane on Tuesday, she was also carrying a baby kangaroo, Australia Zoo said in a statement.
Doctors performed surgery to remove the arrow, which came very close to her skull and brain.
The kangaroo and her joey (baby) were released back into the wild after the operation.
The animal was captured by Australia Zoo and the RSPCA near Toorbul and taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital for treatment.
The arrow "actually grazed the skull and came millimetres from her eye socket and optical nerves", the Australia Zoo statement said.
It said the animal was sedated from when she arrived until when she was released back into the wild.
"She wouldn't have even known she was there, but she will be waking up in the wild much more comfortably without the arrow," the statement said.
"This type of deliberate cruelty towards animals is horrific, illegal and could have caused a certain slow, painful death for this mother kangaroo and her young joey." | A kangaroo has survived for four days with an arrow lodged in her head after being shot in Queensland, Australia. | 33160713 |
Some felt the scene, in which Rhona Goskirk was raped by Pierce Harris just hours after their wedding, was not suitable for broadcast before 21:00.
But the media watchdog said the scene "was likely to have been in line with what most viewers were expecting".
"We took into account the broadcaster had issued a warning and the scene was limited," it said in a statement.
"Emmerdale is known to have covered many challenging social issues."
The scene, shown on 24 April, was the culmination of a long-running storyline involving Rhona, played by Zoe Henry, and her abusive partner Pierce, played by Jonathan Wrather.
"I know some have said it's too much for a 1900 time slot," Emmerdale producer Iain MacLeod told Metro after the episode was broadcast.
"My response to that is Emmerdale has always covered hard-hitting subjects and I think soap has a responsibility to cover them."
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 harrowing rape scene from ITV soap Emmerdale will not face an Ofcom probe despite generating 101 complaints. | 40002848 |
The court will decide whether the British government failed to suspend weapons sales to the Saudi kingdom, which is fighting a war in Yemen.
The UN claims Saudi air strikes against Houthi rebels in that country have caused thousands of civilian deaths.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade, which is bringing the case, claims the UK has contravened humanitarian law.
Yemen crisis: Who is fighting whom?
Equipment sold to Saudi Arabia includes Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, as well as precision-guided bombs.
The sales contribute to thousands of engineering jobs in the UK, and have provided billions of pounds of revenue for the British arms trade.
Saudi Arabia has been supporting Yemen's internationally-recognised government after a civil war broke out in 2015.
Houthi rebels, loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, began an attack in 2014, forcing leader Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee the country for a time.
Since then the Saudi kingdom, and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states, have supported an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi's government.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "For more than two years now the Saudis have been conducting air strikes there against Houthi rebels but the UN blames these attacks for the majority of civilian deaths.
"Monday's verdict could have far-reaching consequences for Britain's relations with its Gulf Arab allies."
Restrictions on food and fuel imports have pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, and two million people in the country have been internally displaced. | The High Court is to rule later on the legality of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia. | 40550652 |
Off-duty PC Graham Thomas left the hamster food he purchased to chase the thief at Asda in South Woodham Ferrers, but when he came back it was gone.
Shortly after, numerous pictures of hamsters mysteriously appeared alongside "wanted" posters at his Chelmsford police station.
He said it was "all a bit of fun".
PC Thomas had been picking up food for his pet hamster Chippy, plus some vegetables and beer, when he noticed the shoplifter dashing out of the supermarket.
Leaving his shopping with staff, the officer gave chase.
He said he was annoyed not only to have failed to catch the thief, but to return to find staff had put his shopping in a chiller cabinet - which was then stolen by another shoplifter.
Asda refunded PC Thomas the £18 he had spent, but news of the stolen hamster treats spread quickly among his fellow officers.
"Almost immediately pictures of hamsters started appearing. There was one on my in-tray and several elsewhere," he said.
"Someone drew tears on one of the hamsters and wrote that 'the hamster was the real victim of this crime'.
"I keep thinking one day I'll walk in to find a bowl of hamster food left out for me."
His colleague PC Alan Conran was suspected of being behind the mysterious hamster pictures.
PC Conran tweeted several hamster-related messages after the supermarket incident.
"Colleagues at Chelmsford have been lightly ribbing PC Thomas," he wrote.
However, when asked, PC Conran denied having anything to do with the pictures.
"It's getting quite a lot of interaction on Twitter but it's just a bit of light-hearted fun," he said. | A police officer whose shopping was stolen when he left it to chase a supermarket shoplifter has become the butt of his colleagues' jokes. | 35550719 |
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"I'm a farmer's kid and I'm used to ploughing a field full of 2,000 seagulls," says the 45-year-old from the New Forest.
"Then you put me into Lakeside with 2,000 people screaming my name. I'm not sure who they are but they seem to know who I am. It's the most topsy-turvy world I'm living in at the moment."
It has been quite a journey, and quite a year, for 'Scotty Dog'.
As he prepares to defend his world title, he speaks to BBC Sport about his memorable victory at Lakeside, being recognised by strangers and making an appearance on one of his favourite television programmes.
Mitchell had never progressed past the last 16 in five previous World Championship appearances but showed excellent form to reach the final, where he beat Martin Adams 7-6 to win the world title for the first time.
"Martin is 'Mr BDO' and has been for the last 10 years. People kept asking who I wanted to play in the final and, it really was no disrespect to Glen Durrant [BDO world number one], I really wanted to play Martin.
"He'd done me in 24 minutes about three years before. I'd travelled for 12 months to make it to the World Championship and then he beat me 3-0 in the first round in 24 minutes. That was my motivation for the final.
"The week after I won was absolutely crazy. I'd read [Former BDO world champion] Andy Fordham's book and I remember him saying that he'd drunk so much, he doesn't remember anything about the game when he won in 2004.
"Andy's a big hero of mine and I remember reading that, so I didn't drink too much before I played the final. I drank coffee at the Champions' Ball after I'd won. I think I had one glass of champagne, and I savoured every minute of the whole evening.
"By about seven o'clock the next morning, the phone was ringing off the hook for the whole day."
"Unfortunately, I got to my local league game the following night and I'd been dropped.
"I was world champion one day and I'd been dropped the next because I'd missed the Monday before - and quite rightly so."
About 4m people watched Mitchell's victory over Adams on BBC Two. Now, perhaps understandably, it is quite difficult for him to keep a low profile around his home village of Bransgore.
"The biggest change is being recognised. It's not a perk, but it's nice to know that when you go to the supermarket, there's a little kid saying 'that's the world champion'.
"His mum's saying 'don't be stupid', and I have to tap the lad on the shoulder and say thanks for recognising me. There have been lots of fun moments like that.
"I've been to scout groups, taking a dartboard up for kids who have never thrown a dart before, and having pictures with the trophy. It really has been an amazing year.
"On the exhibition circuit, I was looking in July and my wife said I was booked up for the three months before Christmas. After Lakeside I'm booked up until Easter with varying commitments.
"I don't want it to end - it feels like the game that keeps on giving at the moment."
During his run to the Lakeside final, Mitchell said he would utilise any prize money to buy a new tractor for the family farm. His father, Jeff, took delivery of the new vehicle soon after Scott's World Championship win, which earned him £100,000.
"We went off and got a nice little tractor. The unfortunate thing is I think I need to take my dad for some new glasses now.
"We had little old vintage tractors and if you hit the barn pillar or something, it just stalled the tractor. But this one's a bit bigger so it just takes it straight out.
"I need him to be able to see the end of the bonnet. Apart from that, it's all been good for him."
The tractor story and Mitchell's farming background earned him a spot on one of BBC One's flagship programmes in March, as he appeared in a feature on Countryfile.
"It's huge! Let's not beat around the bush here - 4m people saw me hit that winning double at Lakeside, and 9.5m people saw me throw a set of keys to a tractor to my father. Countryfile's great, isn't it?"
Being world champion brings pressure and extra scrutiny. Mitchell struggled for form at times during 2015, but won the England Masters and Jersey Open titles and led England to World Cup victory in October.
"For the first three months after Lakeside, I was in the bubble. I felt nobody could touch me.
"Then I had a little thing in my head that maybe I can't do it and maybe the bubble's burst. I had three or four months with a lot of soul searching and struggling, but it got to September, the work at home had quietened down a little bit and more practice came in.
"That culminated in me winning the England Masters in September and winning the World Cup with England as captain.
"That was the most amazing feeling - picking up a World Cup as England captain. It doesn't happen often, particularly in football. Winning breeds winning, so those two or three things have come together and I've ended the year on the back of knowing that I can play well." | When Scott Mitchell won the BDO World Championship in January 2015, he knew his life would never be the same again. | 35062259 |
The first tram service set off at 05:00 from the Gyle shopping centre in the west of the city.
It follows six years of disruption and problems, including a bitter dispute between the council and its contractor.
The Edinburgh tram route cost £776m and covers 8.7 miles (14km) from the New Town to Edinburgh Airport.
In the decade since the first money was allocated to the project, the price has doubled, the network has halved and it has taken twice as long to build as originally planned.
Tram enthusiasts Marjory Broom, 59, her husband George, 63, and son Christopher, 31, were on the first tram as it went from the Gyle shopping centre to York Place in Edinburgh city centre, before heading out to Edinburgh Airport and then back to the Gyle.
Mrs Broom said: "It was chock-a-block, and it was a real carnival atmosphere on board, with people cheering as the tram set off."
She added: "We've been on trams all over the world and the tram in Edinburgh today was really, really smooth.
"It was the first tram and it was standing room only, it was very, very busy.
"I'm really excited we managed to get on - there would have been no buzz being on the second tram."
Also on the first tram was Edinburgh City Council transport convener Lesley Hinds, who conceded the transport project had been "hugely challenging" but said there was now "growing positivity" about the trams.
"Two years ago, I pledged to do everything in my power to ensure we brought this project in on the revised budget and revised schedule," she said.
"It was never going to be straightforward, but with an incredible team effort and a focus on results, it now feels fantastic to be where we are today."
The tram project was almost scrapped just weeks before the construction began in 2007 and later ground to a halt for months when the company in charge of the trams fell into a bitter dispute with the main contractor.
The people of Edinburgh suffered six years of disruption as roads were closed for construction and businesses have also complained it caused them to lose trade.
Edinburgh City Council chief executive Sue Bruce accepted the project had been a "shambles".
"It's not a day for jubilation," she told BBC Breakfast.
"I think the whole of Edinburgh is relieved that the programme is now in place and the city can move on."
She said there were "big questions to be asked over the original due diligence of the programme" and the council had to be "held to account" over what had gone wrong.
Edinburgh has 27 trams in its fleet, although only about half of these will be in service at any one time.
Tram vehicles, each costing about £2m, can take 250 passengers - 78 seated, 170 standing and two dedicated wheelchair spaces.
The full journey from the airport to York Place in the city centre should take about 35 minutes.
The route has 15 stops, three of which connect with rail and bus services.
The tram services will run seven days a week, with a reduced timetable on Sundays.
During the week, the first trams will run from the Gyle at 05:00 and from the airport at 06:15.
Trams will run from York Place to the airport from 05:29.
At peak times, the trams will runs every 8-10 minutes.
The last trams to travel the full route will leave from Edinburgh airport at 22:45 and from York Place at 23:08.
Tickets cost £1.50 for a single in the city zone and £5 for a single to or from the airport.
Operators warned passengers should get a ticket before getting on the tram as there will be a £10 fine for anyone travelling without a ticket.
It had been hoped the tram fleet would offer free wi-fi, but it is understood most carriages will be installed with internet access in the weeks and months following the launch date.
Original plans to take the tram line to Leith were scrapped but could still be implemented in the future.
Edinburgh City Council transport convener Lesley Hinds said: "You can't underestimate the amount of money over-budget and the time it's been over as well. Obviously that has been extremely frustrating and I think it's been damaging to the city of Edinburgh.
"Our purpose over the last two years has been to get passengers on the tram from the airport to York Place.
"We do have enough trams to go down Leith and we have the rails because that was all bought before.
"There will be a report at the end of the year to see how people are taking to the system and it will suggest how we might want to further invest in public transport and the trams come under that."
There have been calls for a public inquiry into the trams fiasco but Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said there are no immediate plans for one.
"We've said let's wait until the system is up and running and then look at lessons to be learned," Mr Brown said.
"I've spoken to the council already about this and will speak to them in future because the council has a number of legal actions ongoing and we can't have inquiries which cut across that.
"A total of £776m has now been spent on the system so let's make as much money as we can and get people on as many trams as we can to help repay that cost." | Edinburgh's tram service has taken its first paying customers as the long-awaited route from the airport to the city centre opened to the public. | 27602618 |
Ms Mone, brought up in Glasgow's East End, founded lingerie firm Ultimo in her 20s, after leaving school at 15.
She sold an 80% stake in the firm last year in a multi-million pound deal.
The review will look to identify obstacles to people in deprived areas starting new businesses.
"Entrepreneurship can play an important role in supporting economic growth and creating jobs in our most disadvantaged communities," said Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
"However, people living in those areas face a range of additional barriers they need to overcome in starting and growing businesses."
The government said these barriers included a lack of business and social networks, and a lack of inspiring role models.
It asked Ms Mone to draw on her own experiences, which included leaving school with no qualifications and having a child at 18.
"It's an honour to be appointed to lead this review because I know how tough it can be setting up successful businesses," she said.
"My philosophy is that it does not matter where you are from, what education you have, or if you are from an affluent background or not, you can make it if you work hard, set your goals and never give up."
Ms Mone co-founded the original Ultimo parent company MJM International with her ex-husband Michael in 1996, and created brands including Ultimo Miracle Shapewear and Miss Ultimo.
She was awarded an OBE in 2010. | Scottish entrepreneur Michelle Mone has been appointed by the government to carry out a review into how best to encourage start-ups in areas of high unemployment. | 33856079 |
One woman was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after the crash on the A470 between Betws-y-Coed and Llanrwst on Sunday at 13:30 BST.
A man and woman were also taken to hospital after the collision involving a white BMW car and motorbike. The male motorcyclist died at the scene.
North Wales Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash. | A motorcyclist has died and three other people have been hurt in a collision with a car in Conwy county. | 32194957 |
Early tries by Michael Allen and Viliame Mata, three from Stuart McInally and two from Nasi Manu put Edinburgh in firm control.
Stephen Shennan got Timisoara's first score in the first half.
Mata's second-half try and Manu's third of the game continued the rout before Shennan replied with his second.
Acting head coach Duncan Hodge's side join Harlequins on five points, with the top two meeting at Murrayfield next Saturday.
Stade Francais and Timisoara Saracens prop up the group and meet in Paris on Thursday.
Hooker McInally set up wing Allen to cross within the opening minute and fly-half Jason Tovey converted.
And debutant Mata, who won an Olympic gold medal with Fiji sevens in the summer, soon crossed and Tovey's kick took the visitors to 14 points.
Driven mauls led to captain McInally's initial brace, Tovey unsuccessful with the first conversion but knocking over the second.
Scrum-half Valentin Calafetnanu's penalty at 14-0 down and wing Shennan's try after McInally's first had given the Romanians some reward for their first-half endeavours.
But the visitors finished the half strongly with McInally going over to complete his hat-trick, Tovey missing the conversion.
Flanker Mata offloaded for Manu's first try and the number eight went over again soon after, Tovey adding the extras on both occasions.
Edinburgh were not done there as Mata crossed again early in the second half and Manu's tap and break extended the hosts' misery, Tovey converting both.
Shennan went over for the hosts and Calafetnanu maintained his record with the boot.
Timisoara Saracens: Catalin Fercu, Fonovai Tangimana, Brian Sefanaia, Jack Umaga, Stephen Shennan, Jody Rose, Valentin Calafeteanu; Gigi Militaru, Eugen Capatina, Horatiu Pungea, Valentin Poparlan, Marian Drenceanu, Daniel Ianus, Vasile Rus, Sandu Stelian Burcea (capt).
Replacements: Andrei Radoi, Edmund Aholelei, Samuel Maris, Ionut Muresan, Randall Morrison, Gabriel Conache, Tevita Manumua, Daniel Vladut Zaharia.
Edinburgh: Rory Scholes, Alex Northam, Sasa Tofilau, Junior Rasolea, Michael Allen, Jason Tovey, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; Allan Dell, Stuart McInally (capt), Murray McCallum, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Viliame Mata, John Hardie, Nasi Manu.
Replacements: Neil Cochrane, Rory Sutherland, Jack Cosgrove, Lewis Carmichael, Viliami Fihaki, Nathan Fowles, Blair Kinghorn, Glenn Bryce.
Referee: Ian Tempest. | Edinburgh ran in nine tries to move top of European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 5 with victory over Timisoara Saracens in Romania. | 37657252 |
The Neopalpa donaldtrumpi was discovered in California by researcher Vazrick Nazari, of Ottawa, Canada.
The name was inspired by the striking golden flakes covering its head, which he likened to Donald Trump's famous mop.
Nine species were named after President Barack Obama during his term in office.
What Mr Trump will make of the honour remains to be seen - especially as the tiny moth, with its wingspan of just more than a centimetre, is native to southern California and the Mexican region of Baja California.
However, Mr Nazari said he hoped it would inspire Mr Trump to prioritise ecological issues during his term in office.
He told Live Science: "I hope that the president will make conservation of such fragile ecosystems in the US his top priority. These ecosystems still contain many undiscovered and undescribed species, and deserve to be protected for future generations." | A tiny moth with a very recognisable "hairstyle" has become the first creature named after the soon-to-be 45th president of the United States. | 38661250 |
The deal will see 35bn euros go towards propping up the Irish banking system with the remaining 50bn euros to help the government's day-to-day spending.
An average interest rate of 5.8% will be payable on the loans, above the 5.2% paid by Greece for its bail-out.
Irish PM Brian Cowen said it was the "best available deal for Ireland".
It provides "vital time and space to successfully and conclusively address the problems we've been dealing with since the financial crisis began", the prime minister said.
Details of the 85bn euro plan include:
The Irish government has also said that interest payments on all state debt will account for more than 20% of tax revenues in 2014.
The deal does not require the Irish Republic to change its low 12.5% corporation tax.
The rescue package is the second to be approved in the eurozone this year following Greece's bail-out in May.
There had been much negotiating between European ministers over the interest rate the Irish Republic must pay on the loans.
By Robert PestonBusiness editor, BBC News
Peston: What the UK is putting in
A report from Irish state broadcaster on Saturday suggested the rate would be set at 6.7%, and the BBC's business editor Robert Peston said that Germany had been pushing for a higher interest rate of about 7% so that any rescue loans would not look like cheap money.
The Irish government had believed it would pay 5%, and the agreed rate of 5.8% is still higher than many in Ireland had hoped for, especially as it is higher than the agreed rate for Greece.
But Mr Cowen said the loans were necessary.
"These loans will provide money that we had already planned to borrow on the international markets. That funding will now be available to Ireland at a cheaper interest rate than if we'd borrowed on those markets," he said.
The details of the IMF and EU bail-out were discussed at a meeting in Brussels.
Ministers had been keen to reach an outline agreement before the financial markets reopen on Monday.
The Irish government applied for aid last Sunday when it conceded the banking crisis was too big for the country.
Eurozone finance ministers' chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said ministers had "unanimously endorsed" the measures.
"Ministers concur with the [European] Commission and the European Central Bank that providing a loan to Ireland is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the euro area and in the European Union as a whole," Mr Juncker said.
The crisis in the Irish Republic has been brought on by the global recession and the almost total collapse of the country's debt-ridden banks.
The rescue programme rests on the Irish Republic meeting three conditions.
Firstly, it must immediately strengthen and overhaul its banking system.
Secondly, it must implement an ambitious fiscal adjustment to reduce its "excessive" deficit by 2015.
Finally, it must introduce growth-enhancing reforms in particular on the labour market.
The EU also agreed the outline of a new European Stability Mechanism for resolving debt crises in the eurozone.
The mechanism should force losses on private investors "only on a case by case basis", and will replace an existing rescue fund which runs out in 2013.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said UK Chancellor George Osborne believes he has won an important concession from other EU countries in return for providing a direct loan of 3.84bn euros (£3.2bn) to Ireland.
Mr Osborne has secured an agreement that the UK will not be part of the new rescue fund for eurozone countries to be launched in 2013, he said.
The announcement on the permanent mechanism may have been rushed through to try to allay concerns about the debt crisis in Europe spreading.
Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office "categorically" denied that France was threatened by the crisis in the eurozone.
The comments came as concerns mount that Portugal may also need a bail-out, while fears over Spain, Italy and Belgium also increase. | European ministers have reached an agreement over a bail-out for the Irish Republic worth about 85bn euros ($113bn; £72bn). | 11855990 |
The party could return to the glory days when it held more than 20 seats in the East - or it could lose the precious few it already has. There are questions over how important he will be to Labour's plans.
Even though Mr Corbyn had the backing of two of our MPs - Luton's Kelvin Hopkins and Norwich South's Clive Lewis - many of those who stood for Labour at the last election voted for other candidates.
Most have not voiced criticism of Mr Corbyn, preferring instead to focus on what they hope will be the positive impact of the new leader.
"The enthusiasm which he has unleashed is fantastic," said Cambridge MP, Daniel Zeichner, who had voted for Yvette Cooper.
"He has touched a chord within the British public and I am excited about the future."
Euro MEP Richard Howitt, who also supported Yvette Cooper said: "We must now unite behind the new. Any party that does not stay united will not win elections and Labour knows that to its cost."
There are others within the party who are worried about what Jeremy Corbyn will mean for the party in the region.
Former Norwich MP and Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: "I think it is very serious problem for Labour and very difficult for us to gain the confidence of people at a general election."
Although the former home secretary said he did not think Labour had given up on the East, he added: "There is no doubt that the election we've gone through in the Labour Party makes it more difficult rather than easier.
"Labour can win back the East but it has to have the right policies, the right approach and the right people."
Former Northampton North MP Sally Keeble, speaking before the result, warned a Corbyn leadership would "be very damaging indeed".
"I think it would make it extraordinarily difficult going into the next election because we would be going in with commitments on more spending which people would know to be unaffordable.
"We would also be going in with positions on some foreign affairs which would be really difficult for the public to accept," she said.
When Tony Blair swept to victory in 1997, Labour won 25 seats across he eastern counties - its best result ever. In 2010 it was all but wiped out, holding just two constituencies, both in Luton.
This year Labour added Cambridge and Norwich South but both those wins took seats from Liberal Democrats.
Labour failed to gain any Conservative seats in this region and in nearly every other seat which it contested in the East, the Tory majority went up.
That is why there is a lot of unease among some local members about whether a move to the left will really work.
They accept that Jeremy Corbyn played to packed crowds when he spoke around the country, but they question if that will be enough to win in former Labour target seats like Norwich North, Ipswich, Great Yarmouth, Waveney and Bedford.
They also say that Mr Corbyn's more left-wing message may play better in parts of the country with a traditional working class vote but less well in this more affluent region.
In fact some within the Corbyn camp have told us that the East is not seen as a priority.
"I am not writing off the East of England, I am an MP there," said Clive Lewis, a key member of the Corbyn campaign.
"But you have to realise that for us the elephant in the room is Scotland, we need to win it back and win big again in the North of England.
"Of all four candidates Jeremy Corbyn was the best placed person to do that and that was the game changer," he added.
Others too in the Labour camp have told us that they also expect Scotland and the North of England to be the main focus of Labour's efforts under Corbyn rather than the East of England.
After Labour's dismal defeat under Michael Foot, the then shadow minister Giles Radice was asked to look at where Labour had gone wrong.
In his report "Southern Discomfort," he concluded Labour could never win power again unless it could win seats like Ipswich.
After the 2010 defeat the former MP for Waveney wrote a report saying that winning in the East was essential to Labour's future success.
The policy was embraced by Ed Miliband who beefed up the regional office and regularly visited the region.
Could the East be forgotten again under Jeremy Corbyn, or will the new leader surprise us all? | What does Jeremy Corby's leadership mean for the Labour Party in the our region? | 34248421 |
Under Congolese law, anyone under 18 is considered a minor.
The Romanian military observer is among five peacekeepers accused of acts of sexual abuse and exploitation in the first three months of 2017, a senior UN official told the BBC.
UN peacekeeping missions have been hit by a raft of child sex abuse scandals.
The underage girl involved in the first case has been put under the care of the UN children's agency Unicef, Adama Ndao, head of the conduct and discipline team for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (Monusco) told the BBC.
All the other cases involve adults.
Two of the complaints come from women who are demanding paternal recognition from the peacekeepers they had sex with, Ms Ndao added.
She said that one of the women has already had her baby, while the other is still pregnant.
Two South African soldiers and two non-military Monusco officials, from Burundi and Niger, are among the accused.
All have been suspended pending the outcome of investigations.
Other complaints about UN peacekeepers which have been received and are under consideration, implicate police officers and soldiers from Senegal, Uruguay and South Africa, Monusco spokesman Charles Bambara said on Wednesday.
UN and French forces faced multiple allegations of child rape in the Central African Republic, a scandal which was compounded by allegations of a high-level cover-up. | A UN peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended over allegations that he fathered a child with an underage girl. | 39745357 |
Oliver Ruse, a fifth generation butcher from Long Melford, Suffolk, was pronounced dead near Parkway car park, Bury St Edmunds, on Thursday.
About two hours later police found the body of his wife Deborah at her home in Long Melford.
Mrs Ruse's death is suspicious and Mr Ruse's said to be "unexplained".
The couple were both thought to be in their 30s, police said.
Ruse & Son Family Butchers, in Hall Street, Long Melford, was closed with police officers outside guarding the area. A single bunch of flowers had been left outside.
A house in Park Terrace, Little St Mary's, Long Melford, has also been sealed off.
Mr Ruse was found dead at about 12:10 GMT, while Mrs Ruse's body was discovered at about 14:40.
The BBC understands the couple had four daughters and Mrs Ruse had recently returned to the village after a period of living abroad.
The Rev Matthew Lawson, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford, said the community was "in shock and very, very sad".
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and all of those affected and we're particularly thinking of those four precious children," he said.
"I do hope our community pulls together to help all those affected, and I'm confident it will.
"There are questions we'll all be asking ourselves - could we have done more and supported them? - and hopefully the church can provide a place where people can reflect and work through these difficult questions."
Councillor Paul Moreton, of Long Melford Parish Council, said: "It's rocked the heart of the community.
"Obviously, everyone knows Ruse's butchers and they're a respected family and business.
"It's very, very sad for the children." | A woman was found dead at home hours after her husband's body was discovered at the foot of a multi-storey car park, the BBC understands. | 30052042 |
The Panama Papers revelations have prompted the country to create an international panel to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry.
But international organisations which investigate financial secrecy warn that Panama is not even in the top 10 countries with the least financial transparency.
They say that rich Europeans and North Americans can easily hide their money much closer to home. And this may explain why so few US residents have so far been implicated in the Panama scandal.
The co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, Ramon Fonseca, accuses richer countries of hypocrisy.
"I assure you there is more dirty money in New York, Miami and London than there is in Panama," he told the New York Times.
But is he right?
The Tax Justice Network, an independent organisation which analyses international tax and financial regulation has created a list that ranks countries according to the strength of their financial regulation and the volume of their transactions.
Source: The Tax Justice Network
It's notable that Panama does not even make the top ten
"There is a double standard: many developed countries host or support jurisdictions where there is an absence of financial transparency," says Alex Cobham of Tax Justice Network.
Switzerland leads the ranking with its almost impenetrable tradition of secrecy in banking, even if - under international pressure - it has recently made some concessions towards identifying the owners of accounts linked to international tax evasion investigations.
Hong Kong follows hot on Switzerland's heels in the ranking. The former British colony, now a special administrative region of China, is of "great concern", according to the Tax Justice Network.
The Panama Papers reveal that nearly one third of Mossack Fonseca's business came from its offices in Hong Kong and China - making China the firm's biggest market and Hong Kong the company's busiest office.
Hong Kong allows so-called bearer shares, which facilitate the movement of funds without knowing to whom the money belongs.
Within US borders and just a stone's throw from the White House, the east coast state of Delaware is home to around 945,000 firms, which equates to almost one for each resident.
Delaware is one of four US states - the others are Nevada, Arizona and Wyoming - that have been criticised for their lax financial regulation. Many of the firms are suspected of being "ghost companies".
Transparency International, an anti-corruption campaigning movement, describes the state as a "transnational crime haven".
President Obama told a debate in New Hampshire in 2008 about the case of Ugland House, a building in the Cayman Islands which he said hosted 12,000 companies.
"That's either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record," the President said. Ugland House's own website now says the building is the registered office of 18,000 companies.
Although the Cayman Islands are self-governing, they are a British Overseas Territory.
The Tax Justice Network's Alex Cobham suggests that if such dependencies are included in the British ranking, it would place the UK at the very top of the list.
Another UK Overseas Territory - the British Virgin Islands - features strongly in the Panama Papers. More than twice as many companies involved in the leak are registered there than in Panama.
Panama is not the only country which has promised to take action to improve its financial transparency.
The leaders of the G8 major economies agreed new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders at a summit in 2013.
The summit communique urged countries to "fight the scourge of tax evasion".
Developed countries may have their work cut out for them, however.
Jason Hickel of the London School of Economics estimates that tax havens collectively hide a sixth of the world's total private wealth. | The huge leak of documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has revealed how tax havens are used to hide wealth and has focused the world's attention on the Central American nation. | 35998801 |
Psychology professor Michael Lamb said there had been "repeated threats" to the independence of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
The major review is scheduled to last four years, but has been criticised by survivors of abuse.
The Scottish government said it "entirely rejects" Mr Lamb's comments.
The inquiry, which concerns historical allegations of child abuse in Scotland, will examine the extent of abuse of children in care, and identify any systemic failures.
It launched a formal call for evidence in March, but has already heard from some seriously ill or very elderly survivors.
Mr Lamb - one of three members of the panel, alongside chairwoman Susan O'Brien QC and Glenn Houston - said the project had "noble and worthy goals", but that it was ultimately "doomed".
In a letter to Education Secretary John Swinney, he said: "It has become increasingly clear over the last nine months that the panel cannot act independently and that the Scottish government intends to continue interfering in ways large and small, directly and indirectly.
"Continuing interference threatens to prevent the inquiry from investigating thoroughly and taking robust evidence of the highest quality.
"Repeated threats to the inquiry's independence have undermined the panel's freedom and have doomed the inquiry before the first witness has been heard.
"The Scottish government has delayed or prevented the appointment of crucial members of staff for prolonged periods of time while its officials have questioned the decisions made by the supposedly independent inquiry."
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: "We entirely reject Prof Lamb's comments about the Scottish government.
"The Scottish government has a clear obligation to fulfil its responsibilities within the requirements of The Inquiries Act 2005 and other relevant legislation. Our primary focus remains on supporting the successful operation of the independent statutory inquiry.
"Ministers are grateful to Prof Lamb for his work."
The government spokesperson added: "The deputy first minister has also written to survivors and their representatives about Prof Lamb's departure and assured them that his primary objective is to ensure that this does not impact on the progress that the independent inquiry has been making."
Survivors and their representatives are due to attend a ministerial meeting to discuss the progress of the inquiry and support for victims.
Angela Constance, who established the inquiry in 2015, said the inquiry would "aim to shine a light in the dark corners of the past, to shape how we respond in the present and guide how we go forward in the future."
Ms Constance was forced to defend the inquiry's remit after campaigners claimed institutions such as the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts could be "let off the hook" by its terms of reference. | A key member of the Scottish government's child abuse inquiry has resigned, saying it is "doomed" by government interference. | 36650261 |
While they are as well known as Caerphilly Castle and Cardiff's Principality Stadium, the M4 tunnels at Newport are renowned for all the wrong reasons.
But the notorious traffic bottleneck, once described by a former prime minister as a "foot on the windpipe of the Welsh economy", is also a feat of engineering and a motorway milestone in the UK.
The 360m (1,180ft) twin bore, two lane holes are significant because they were the first tunnels to be built on the British motorway network.
"The tunnels are not only of historical importance to Wales, they opened up social opportunities that we struggle to comprehend today," said Brian Hawker, assistant engineer on the Brynglas tunnels.
"When you're stuck in a traffic jam, you don't tend to appreciate the historic significance of the tunnel you are sitting in. It is an engineering marvel and helped the economic and social well-being of south Wales overnight."
The £3m tunnels project - led by engineer Sir Owen Williams, chief engineer on the old Wembley Stadium, the Spaghetti Junction, and the Newport bypass - relieved the "crippling congestion" in a stroke when it opened on 5 May 1967.
"Its success has ultimately led to its biggest criticism," said Mr Hawker.
"Built to accommodate 30,000 vehicles a day, it is nearing breaking point and traffic data says its the UK's most-congested stretch of motorway away from the M25.
"The opening of the Brynglas tunnels bypass around Newport and the Severn Bridge opened up the area, as getting around Newport and going to England was previously like going on safari," added Mr Hawker, the Welsh Office's former head of roads and major projects.
He added: "Now it took 30 minutes and gave relief to Newport and gave quick access to schools, work and hospitals.
"The tunnels and the ease of movement around south Wales raised people's expectations, but the tunnels have outgrown their capacity as demand for road travel rose beyond all recognition."
The Welsh Government have acknowledged the current M4 at Newport is "not fit for purpose" and said it wants to build a £1bn M4 relief road to ease congestion.
A six-lane motorway to the south of Newport was first proposed as far back as 1991 and only now is a public inquiry being held into building a 15-mile (24km) relief road.
The benefit of hindsight shows today's problems could have been averted way back in the early 1960s.
One plan was to make a cut in the hill, but the Monmouthshire railway company line - between Newport and Pontypool on the east side of Crindau Ridge - meant the tunnel was the only option at the time.
Mr Hawker said: "The shame is Dr Beeching's cuts closed that line in 1963, half way through construction.
"With a little planning, some of the subsequent traffic problems could have been averted as we would have built the road through the hill."
The initial M4 route - from the Severn Bridge to Tredegar Park in Newport, now junction 28 - was strategically located through the middle of Newport to generate traffic numbers to justify its existence to government.
Then, Newport was unique as, despite being a relatively small town, it had five motorway junctions to attract local traffic to use the M4 as a bypass and not a long-haul route, the intention of a motorway.
The line of the Newport bypass was dictated by the need to open the south Wales valleys, towns like Pontypool, Newbridge, Risca and the new town of Cwmbran, according to Mr Hawker.
"These were important strategic areas of economic resurgence following the demise of heavy industry. The development of a new, vibrant valleys economy was absolutely dependant on good road access," he said.
But the UK-first was not without its challenges and it cost one local his prized vegetables.
"I remember a representation to our site office from a house owner on the hill, who said he was concerned because he had just lost his prized leeks," said Mr Hawker.
"They were due to be shown at a horticultural show the following week," he said.
"It turned out that there was diagonal movement in the rock and that couldn't be controlled. Engineers found his house was cracked from top to bottom and had to be demolished.
"As a result of that movement, a dozen families had to be moved from their homes, put into a hotel while the necessary engineering work was carried out." | They are one of Wales' most notable landmarks and on Friday the Brynglas tunnels are celebrating their 50th birthday. | 39799025 |
Martyn Tucker, formerly of Chester, admitted 28 further offences of indecent assault or gross indecency between 1967 and 1985.
On Tuesday, Caernarfon Crown Court heard that one of the victims was just 12 at the time.
Tucker is due be sentenced in August or September.
The court was told "statements of complaint" from new victims had been generated as a result of the publicity of the previous case in May 2014 when Tucker was jailed for 12 years.
That case involved five boys in abuse dating back 46 years, with some offences occurring in Flintshire while he was a scoutmaster in the area.
Myles Wilson, prosecuting, asked for two further cases alleging sexual activity with a child of 13 in 2008 - to which Tucker pleaded not guilty - to lie on file. Judge Niclas Parry agreed.
His lawyer Stephen Edwards said he was serving his sentence at Rye Hill prison, near Rugby, and his earliest release date was May 2020. | An ex-scoutmaster already jailed for abusing boys in the 1960s and 1970s has admitted cases involving another eight youngsters. | 35639889 |
Mr Gibson, 28, was shot in the stomach and thigh in an alley near Divis Tower on 24 October. He died in hospital.
Margaret Goodman, 56, from Ballymurphy Parade, was arrested in Belfast on Monday.
She has also been charged with possession of firearms and ammunition under suspicious circumstances.
Detectives say new DNA evidence has come to light which connects Mrs Goodman with the alleged offences.
Mrs Goodman's bail application was opposed by police due to concerns that she would "leave the jurisdiction".
However, a judge ruled that the risks were not sufficient for the accused to be detained in custody and granted bail.
Mrs Goodman's husband, 58 year-old Malachy Goodman, has previously been charged with Edward Gibson's murder and is awaiting trial.
A 68-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman also face charges of assisting an offender and failing to provide information. | A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of Edward Gibson in west Belfast in 2014. | 35579980 |
Paul Drechsler will say he agrees with the PM that a deal can be done but it is "wrong" for others to suggest the only choice is to leave without one.
He will say both UK and European firms fear this "worst-case scenario".
Pro-Brexit group Change Britain accused the CBI of being "proven wrong time and again on Europe" and said it should be "more optimistic" about the UK.
Mr Drechsler's speech in London follows similar warnings from the British Chambers of Commerce and former chancellor George Osborne earlier this week.
He will say that business supports the government's plan for an ambitious trade deal and the CBI is working with business groups throughout the EU to work towards a deal in everyone's interests.
"But to those whose first and only choice is for Britain to walk away without a deal, I say you're not only wrong but irresponsible," he will say.
Mr Drechsler argues that if the UK were to revert to World Trade Organisation trading rules in the absence of an EU deal, British firms would face tariffs on 90% of their exports to the EU without an agreement and more "regulatory hurdles" which would hurt firms across the bloc.
He will say that while some businesses are already preparing for such a "worst case scenario", others are unable to do so because the costs are too high.
Theresa May has said Article 50 will be triggered by the end of this month.
While the prime minister has expressed determination to secure an agreement, she has also said that "no deal is better than a bad deal".
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said the UK can be "ever-more European and ever-more internationalist" at the same time and that there is every reason to believe a "win-win" EU deal can be done within the two-year timeframe for Brexit negotiations.
Mr Drechsler will say that getting a "smooth Brexit" would be in "everyone's interest".
But Change Britain spokesman Chloe Westley said: "The CBI campaigned to join the euro and warned of economic disaster if we left the EU. It has been proven wrong time and again on Europe and there is no reason to suggest that this has now changed."
"It is overwhelmingly in the EU's interests to strike a free trade agreement with the UK. Instead of being pessimistic about our future, the CBI should support the government in getting the best deal for Britain."
And Patrick Minford, chairman of Economists for Brexit, said it was wrong to assume that Brexit without an EU trade deal would be bad for the UK.
"Our research demonstrates that that if the UK removes all import tariffs, even if the EU does not reciprocate, we will add to 4% to GDP and 7.3% to UK treasury receipts, compared to the status quo," he said.
"Our economy can and will flourish outside the single market and we do not need a trade deal with the EU to deliver that." | Leaving the EU without a trade deal would be "irresponsible", the president of the CBI business group will warn. | 39147190 |
The visitors remain third in League One after a disappointing performance but squandered the point Kevin van Veen's second-half finish appeared to have earned until Tony Watt's late penalty.
That was after Johnnie Jackson's first-half volley had given the 14th-placed hosts the lead.
As the team pursuing the division's top two visiting another which had lost five of their past six fixtures, Scunthorpe played with little conviction on an evening when kick-off was held up for 15 minutes by delays and cancellations on public transport.
It was in the 33rd minute when Charlton went ahead. Ricky Holmes sent a right-wing corner into the crowded penalty box, and from there Jackson impressively stretched and volleyed with his weaker right foot beyond goalkeeper Luke Daniels.
An error from Declan Rudd, in the 75th minute when Charlton were once again looking comfortable, led to Scunthorpe's equaliser. The goalkeeper made an unorthodox effort at catching a high ball with Paddy Madden attempting to head and appeared to have succeeded until spilling to Van Veen, who took his time before finishing into a near-open goal.
As the game entered stoppage time, from an unconvincing attack Jorge Teixeira was brought down in the area by Murray Wallace, and from substitute Watt calmly struck inside the post to score his first goal since returning to his parent club in January, and first since August 27.
Match report supplied by the Press Association. | Charlton delivered a blow to Scunthorpe's hopes of promotion as a home win secured their first victory in nine. | 39105415 |
That is below the £90.2bn figure estimated in March by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and £11.1bn lower than last year's total.
March's borrowing figure was down £400m from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics figures showed.
Finances in the month were helped by increased revenues from income tax and national insurance.
The ONS said taxpayers paid a record £15.5bn in income tax last month.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, borrowing peaked at £153bn in 2009-10, the year before the Coalition government took power.
As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit has more than halved since then from 10% to 4.8%.
Total Public Sector Net Debt (PSNB), which excludes help for state-controlled banks, stood at £1.484 trillion in March, equivalent to 80.4% of GDP.
The figure is £500bn higher than it was the year before the Coalition government took charge. | Government borrowing fell to £7.4bn in March, figures show, taking the total for the financial year to £87.3bn. | 32427155 |
Archbishop Vincent Nichols delivered a message from the Pope to the Inclusive Capitalism conference in London.
He said: "You have to be willing to re-examine a system that seems to work very well for the few and not very well for the majority."
But he added that business was a "noble vocation".
Asked if there was any moral justification for paying anyone millions of pounds, the Archbishop said: "I would find it hard to find. I understand the argument of market mechanisms, we have to compete for the very best of talent, and we have to keep it in this country.
"[The Pope] does salute business leaders, he talks of their life as a 'noble vocation'. But it's a kind of conditional salute, it's conditional on their life being one of service, not self-service."
"As you would expect his [the Pope's] message is pretty challenging, because we know that his priorities lie with an attentiveness to the cry of the poor.
Asked if business leaders understood that inequality must be tackled, he replied: "I think many of the leaders do. They know they are in the midst of a crisis of trust, that people do have that corrosively cynical view of what business is for.
"I think the leaders do have that sensitivity and in many ways are engaged in trying to rethink their purpose." | The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has told the BBC moral justification for multi-million-pound pay is "hard to find". | 33288874 |
You know that sinking feeling. It's late in the evening and you've caught the glint in the eye of the wine bottle in the fridge.
And then you get the call. "Can you help with this homework?"
Before you even start a long night of history or incomprehensible maths, there's just about time for an argument about why they didn't ask three hours earlier.
It's almost impossible to resist the urge to go into parental irony mode. And that's really going to irritate them even more.
How did they find time to take enough Snapchat pictures to fill the National Portrait Gallery but couldn't manage to start their homework?
Then when you think it's all over, it gets even worse. Somewhere deep into the night, you hear the final stage of the homework trauma.
"There's no ink in the printer."
But is there any point to it all?
A secondary school in Essex is scrapping the traditional approach to homework, allowing pupils to choose tasks rather than having a set amount of work to be completed.
It's not the first such ditching of homework.
Last month a message from a teacher in Texas in the United States calling off homework was widely shared on social media.
"After much research this summer, I am trying something new," the teacher wrote to parents.
"I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your children to bed early."
But was she right? Is homework an unnecessary burden?
Prof Susan Hallam from the Institute of Education says there is "hard evidence" from research that homework really does improve how well pupils achieve. "There is no question about that."
But she says this doesn't mean that endlessly increasing the amount of homework will keep delivering better results.
At some point, the benefits of more homework stop. But the difficult part is that this homework saturation point is different for each individual.
Another complication, says Prof Hallam, is that the most able pupils probably need the least homework - but in practice, teachers give pupils in the top ability groups the most homework.
It would be more effective if the least able pupils were given the most homework.
Prof Hallam also says the benefits of homework are more doubtful in primary school than in secondary.
But she says there is no evidence that homework can be actively counter-productive to learning.
A big study published by the Department for Education also found homework made a positive difference.
After taking into account family background, the amount of time spent on homework was found to be a strong predictor of doing well in exams in secondary school.
"The strongest effects were noted for those who reported spending two to three hours doing homework on a typical school night," said the study from researchers at the University of Oxford, Birkbeck and the Institute of Education.
Pupils who did that amount of homework were almost 10 times more likely to achieve five good GCSEs than students who did not spend any time on homework.
Homework has also always been something of a political football.
In the US, it's claimed that the habit of piling on homework went back to the 1950s and Cold War fears that the US was losing the space race to the Soviet Union.
In an attempt to catch up with the cosmonauts, US schools hit the homework to rocket-boost young learners.
Even though homework seems to be such an entrenched part of the English school system, there are no official guidelines to impose it.
There used to be recommendations for an hour a week for five to seven-year-olds, rising to 2.5 hours per night for pupils aged between 14 and 16.
But that was scrapped four years ago - leaving schools to make their own decisions.
If the late-night arguments over homework are too much, there is always the last-minute excuse.
Blaming dogs for eating homework has been an excuse in circulation since at least the 1920s.
But a college survey showed the current most popular excuse for homework being destroyed was milk spilled over it at breakfast.
And like tears over late-night homework, there's no point crying over spilt milk. | Homework can be a nightmare - for the parents. | 37494563 |
Dublin City Council granted permission for only three out of five Brooks concerts - on 25, 26 and 27 July - at Croke Park this month.
About 400,000 fans have booked tickets.
The organiser of the concerts said he was hopeful but not optimistic that all five would go ahead.
Peter Aiken, from Aiken Promotions, said that those with tickets should "hold fire" on seeking a refund or cancelling travel plans, but that the chances of all five concerts going ahead did not "look very promising".
On Thursday evening, the Press Association reported Brooks as saying: "I can't thank the people of Ireland enough for how welcome they have made me feel.
"I have faith that Dublin City Council will make the best decision for the people of Ireland.
"For us, it is five shows or none at all. To choose which shows to do and which shows not to do, would be like asking to choose one child over another."
Mr Aiken said he felt "disbelief" at Dublin City Council's decision but was trying to make sure the concerts went ahead.
"I'm doing everything I can but there's only so much I can do," he said.
"The man himself, Garth, has said, and I support him, that he cannot come and do three shows and not do two.
"I think the police or anybody would applaud that. I think it would be crazy to do three shows.
"The 160,000 people who don't have tickets, what are they supposed to do? They would be devastated."
Mr Aiken dismissed reports the concerts could be staged at a different venue and said: "It's Croke Park or nowhere."
He also said he had never heard of permission being denied to "any other major show in Dublin ever".
In a statement on Thursday, Dublin City Council said: "It would not be appropriate to grant five consecutive nights of concerts."
They said the scale of the concerts was "unprecedented" and would lead to "an unacceptable level of disruption" for residents and businesses near Croke Park.
However, Mr Aiken said he had no indication that the council would reject the five concerts and that the company had followed their usual procedure for applying for the licences.
"The thing people don't understand is, I wouldn't be allowed to put the show on sale unless people said go ahead.
"In every way we went, we did it exactly how we've done every other show in Ireland.
"The deadline for the licence application is 10 weeks. We had it in 14 weeks beforehand.
"Dublin City Council need to know that what we're putting in is safe, that we can get it done in the time that we say.
"It would be foolish of them not to put us through a rigorous examination, and they did."
Earlier, some residents near Croke Park started a petition to allow the concerts to go ahead.
Dublin City councillor Gary Gannon, who is from the Croke Park area, said that there was a "silent majority" of residents who are not against the Garth Brooks concerts.
Residents near the GAA stadium had threatened legal action after the initial two concerts were increased to five.
The council said 373 submissions had been received from residents, residents' groups and local businesses.
However, Mr Gannon said: "Some of those most vocally against these concerts don't live in the area.
"There is no single voice or group who speaks for the area's residents.
"There is a silent majority. Some are indifferent to the concerts, but there are also many who feel disrespected by the GAA.
"They have no sympathy with Croke Park, but they do have sympathy with the thousands of fans who have tickets for these concerts."
Mr Gannon said that residents would let the concerts go ahead if it was followed by the full implementation of the recommendation of mediator Kieran Mulvey.
Last month, Mr Mulvey, from the Labour Relations Commission, produced a report aiming to strike an agreement between the GAA and Croke Park area residents.
He said that in "no circumstances" should four or five consecutive concerts be organised for the venue in future and recommended a 500,000 euro (£396,000) "legacy fund" for the area.
The only way to appeal the Dublin City Council's decision is by going to the courts.
However, Mr Gannon said that "common sense" should allow the concerts to go ahead if the petition is successful.
"These concerts are important for the local and national economy. We're asking for some level of leadership and that people don't make excuses behind legislation."
Irish prime minister Enda Kenny said he hoped a solution would be found but said he would not "interfere in any way".
In a statement on Thursday, Dublin City Council said: "It would not be appropriate to grant five consecutive nights of concerts."
They said the scale of the concerts was "unprecedented" and would lead to "an unacceptable level of disruption" for residents and businesses near Croke Park.
The council also said that granting all five concerts, following on from three by One Direction in May, would have doubled the previous maximum number of concerts held at Croke Park per year.
It is understood to be unlikely that promoters will be able to use an alternative venue, such as the Aviva Stadium, as there is not enough time for a licence application.
The GAA said they "will fully assess the implication" of the announcement and make no further comment before Monday, 7 July. | Garth Brooks has said he wants to put on all five concerts in Dublin or none at all after the city's council refused licences for two of them. | 28144918 |
The 24-year-old replaces Alex Cuthbert in the only change from the 21-16 defeat by England in Cardiff.
Ross Moriarty continues at number eight, while Taulupe Faletau remains on the bench for Rob Howley's side.
There is just one change among the Wales replacements, as second row Luke Charteris replaces Cory Hill.
North was selected for the match against England on 11 February but was withdrawn an hour before kick-off.
The Northampton Saints wing was replaced by Cuthbert, who was criticised after England scored a late try to snatch victory at the Principality Stadium.
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"We have been able to select from a position of strength which is a huge positive and it is good to welcome George [North] back into the starting XV and Luke [Charteris] on to the bench," said Howley.
"In terms of intensity and performance, we stepped up a level against England and we need to take the positives from that performance and take it into 80 minutes against Scotland at Murrayfield."
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon); George North (Northampton), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Liam Williams (Scarlets); Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Rob Evans (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, capt), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester).
Replacements: Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Bath), Taulupe Faletau (Bath), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Sam Davies (Ospreys), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins). | Wing George North has recovered from a bruised thigh to start for Wales in Saturday's Six Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield. | 39050103 |
Graham's move came a day after Richard Foster left for St Johnstone.
Manager Jim McIntyre agreed to release them despite both having a year left on their contracts.
"I don't see many clubs paying money for a player in his 30's. Brian's coming up to that as well," he said of the 28-year-old.
"There will be a small fee if Hibernian get promoted.
"Quite frankly, Brian came and asked me 'can I go?' He's missing his wee girl and finding it tough because they're based in the central belt.
"I feel we've got good competition there and young Greg Morrison coming through who we feel has got an opportunity."
Foster made his debut for St Johnstone in Saturday's 4-2 defeat by Celtic, the former Aberdeen and Rangers right-back having already been in talks with the Perth club, who pushed through the deal following a series of injuries.
"Both players did fantastically well," McIntyre told BBC Scotland following his side's 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.
"They were involved in arguably the most successful season Ross County's had last year, so we wish them well."
McIntyre, who has Liam Boyce in a rich vein of form with five goals in two games and Craig Curran back to fitness after long-term injury, admitted not all decisions are entirely about football.
"You've got to sometimes look at the human side and try and help him out," he said of Graham.
"Sometimes, when a player comes and says that to you, he was not a regular starter for us, I've got to add that as well, although he played a good part here.
"In Richard's case, we've been playing him wide midfield.
"I signed a natural left back in the summer and I want a natural wide player, somebody that's used to playing that role."
Graham has signed a one-year contract with the option of a further year and made his debut for Neil Lennon's side as a substitute in their Championship win over St Mirren.
The striker, who spent a season in Dingwall after leaving Dundee United, had agreed to terminate his contract with County by mutual consent.
Graham said: "It's one of the top four clubs in Scotland with a great opportunity to go there and get promotion.
"I enjoyed Ross County, it's a great family club and obviously I won a cup there.
"Once I knew there was interest, I was very keen on working with Neil Lennon. He did exceptionally well at Celtic.
"I've been away from my wife and two children for long spells as well, so getting back down to be with them was additional motivation." | Ross County will receive a small fee for the departed Brian Graham if the striker helps Hibernian win promotion this season after Saturday's transfer. | 37142210 |
Romeo Smith's mother said her nine-year-old son had been bullied all week by a group of older boys before the attack at about 21:15 BST on Sunday.
Natasha Smith said Romeo was assaulted in Ilion Street, Mansfield, and the plank needed removing in hospital.
Nottinghamshire Police said the assault is being reviewed by its youth offending team.
Updates on this and more from the East Midlands
Romeo's father, Craig Smith, said he saw his son being confronted by two boys.
"As Romeo was walking away one of the lads came running up behind him and threw a bit of wood with a nail in it," he added.
"I saw it just stuck there, in the back of his head, and then Romeo started screaming and running towards me."
Romeo is autistic and his mother thinks this may increase the long term impact of what has happened.
"Now I feel I can't let him out on his own because due to his ASD [autism spectrum disorder] he is very vulnerable.
"And this has been happening and he hasn't even told me about it - I just feel I wouldn't be able to let him out because it could happen again and he probably wouldn't mention it," she said.
Nottinghamshire Police said the incident could be dealt with "via the restorative justice route".
"We recognise that children sometimes do things without considering the consequences or the seriousness of their actions," the force said in a statement.
"In cases such as this, where genuine remorse is shown and there is an understanding of the consequences of their actions, we try to mediate between both parties to avoid progressing down the criminal justice route." | A boy was left with a nail embedded in the back of his head when an older "bully" threw a plank of wood at him. | 40881460 |
Two were killed when two assailants, who were identified as Arabs, shot and stabbed passengers on a bus in Jerusalem before being shot by police.
Another Israeli died after being run down and stabbed elsewhere in the city.
Later, a Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, medics said.
Near-daily stabbings by Palestinians have left dozens of Israelis dead and wounded over the past fortnight. Several attackers and at least 17 other Palestinians have also been killed.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it planned new security measures that would "settle its accounts with the murderers, with those who try murder and with all those who assist them".
Is social media driving Israel-Palestinian violence?
Can Israel and the Palestinians contain spiralling violence?
"We will employ all means in order to bring quiet back to the citizens of Israel," he told parliament, after convening an emergency session of his security cabinet.
Mr Netanyahu also told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to "stop lying, and stop inciting". Mr Abbas has blamed "acts of aggression" by the Israeli authorities and Jewish settlers for the upsurge in violence.
The militant Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas earlier praised the "heroic operations in Jerusalem and greets the heroes who carried them out".
In the bus attack, the two assailants shot several passengers and stabbed others on board the vehicle in East Talpiot, a district in East Jerusalem also known as Armon Hanatziv, police said.
A security guard was able to overpower one of them and shoot him, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The second assailant then reportedly locked the bus doors in an attempt to stop police from boarding it and passengers from escaping, but police opened fire from outside and shot him.
The body of one attacker was still on the bus, his feet visible in the doorway. We saw police carry away a handgun.
One Israeli woman was looking on in tears. "You can't be safe anywhere," she said, "we are worried all the time. Our children are trembling."
Other Israeli residents hurled insults in the direction of Arab residents of the neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber, just across the road. "They are cannibals," one man shouted. And there were shouts of "death to the Arabs" and "close their villages".
Locals turned their anger towards Jerusalem's Mayor, Nir Barkat, who visited the scene. "Where is the security?" they asked.
As police responded to this attack, another was unfolding in downtown Jerusalem, where three Israelis were stabbed at a bus stop.
There is a real sense here of not knowing where and when the next attack will come.
Minutes later, a man ran over three people with his car at a bus station in the Geula district of West Jerusalem. He then got out of the car and attacked them with a meat cleaver. The attacker was shot by a security guard and seriously wounded.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld identified all three attackers as Arab residents of the Jabal Mukaber district of East Jerusalem.
Earlier in the morning, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man, moderately wounding him, at a bus stop in Raanana, a town north of Tel Aviv, police said. The attacker was captured and reportedly beaten and seriously injured by passers-by.
Not long afterwards, at least four other people were wounded in another knife attack in Raanana, police said. The assailant fled, but was then arrested by police.
Police identified both of the attackers in Raanana as residents of East Jerusalem.
On Tuesday afternoon, clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces continued in the West Bank after activists called for a "day of rage"
Palestinian medics told the AFP news agency that at least one Palestinian was killed and 15 others wounded by Israeli fire.
There has been a spate of stabbings of Israelis by Palestinians since early October, and one apparent revenge stabbing by an Israeli. The attacks, in which some Israelis have died, have struck in Jerusalem and elsewhere, and in the occupied West Bank. Israel has tightened security and clashed with rioting Palestinians, leading to deaths on the Palestinian side. The violence has also spread to the border with Gaza.
After a period of relative quiet, violence between the two communities has spiralled since clashes erupted at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site in mid-September. It was fuelled by rumours among Palestinians that Israel was attempting to alter a long-standing religious arrangement governing the site. Israel repeatedly dismissed the rumours as incitement. Soon afterwards, two Israelis were shot dead by Palestinians in the West Bank and the stabbing attacks began. Both Israel and the Palestinian authorities have accused one another of doing nothing to protect each other's communities.
There have been two organised uprisings by Palestinians against Israeli occupation, in the 1980s and early 2000s. With peace talks moribund, some observers have questioned whether we are now seeing a third. The stabbing attacks seem to be opportunistic and although they have been praised by militant groups, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said Palestinians are not interested in a further escalation. | Three Israelis have been killed and more than 20 injured in shooting and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and central Israel, Israeli police say. | 34513753 |
A 2014 government advisory did not require police to consider if a suspect could face the death penalty before sharing information, it has emerged.
But existing police guidelines say police must take into account the potential for a death sentence.
The row comes after the execution in Indonesia of the Bali Nine pair.
Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran and the rest of the drug-smuggling gang were arrested in 2005 after a tip-off from Australian police.
Chan and Sukumaran were killed by an Indonesian firing squad on Wednesday despite Australian diplomatic pressure.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will soon be called before a parliamentary committee to explain its role in reporting the Bali Nine to Indonesian authorities.
AFP guidelines say that when the police are giving information to overseas law enforcement agencies about suspected criminals they must take into account the degree of risk to the person in providing the information, including the likelihood the death penalty would be imposed.
The guidelines say also the AFP must consider Australia's interest in promoting and securing co-operation from overseas agencies in combating crime.
A 2010 directive from the Labor government setting out its priorities and expectations for the AFP included that obligation.
But the 2014 directive from the justice minister for the Tony Abbott government, Michael Keenan, did not.
In a letter sent to Mr Keenan on Wednesday, opposition justice spokesman David Feeney said the omission raises concerns that protecting Australians from a potential death sentence overseas "is no longer to be considered a critical priority for the AFP".
He said it should be included as a "matter of urgency".
Mr Feeney said it was "more important than ever" after the executions of Chan and Sukumaran that Australia's leaders "do all we can to protect Australians from the threat of the death penalty, and to campaign for the global abolition of this cruel punishment".
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Keenan would not explain the omission, saying only that "strict" guidelines were in place governing the way the police dealt with countries who had the death penalty .
"Those guidelines were updated in 2009 and they are the same today and they are not changed," he said.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop criticised Labor for bringing up the matter so soon after the deaths of Chan and Sukumaran.
"To think that less than 24 hours after these executions the Labor party is looking to take a cheap political shot," she told reporters.
"Shame on them," she said. "We are satisfied that those guidelines are appropriate."
The case of the Bali Nine
Who were the Bali Nine ringleaders?
The inmates executed - or spared
Bob Myers, an Australian lawyer involved with the family of one of the other Bali Nine members, on Wednesday accused the AFP of having "blood on its hands".
"They knew of this plot, they knew of eight participants - they didn't know of Sukumaran at the time - and they didn't want to stop these people," he told Australian media.
Australia waged a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful diplomatic campaign seeking clemency for the two men.
Six people from other countries were also executed on Wednesday at the prison island of Nusakambangan.
The bodies of the two Australians are expected to be flown back to Australia on Thursday night, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. | Australia has defended its death penalty stance amid a row over what advice police are given on working with their foreign counterparts. | 32527666 |
Rentokil acquired City Link in 2006, but City Link has lost money since 2007, including £26m in 2012.
It has struggled in the face of weakening demand for its services from small businesses.
It is now being offloaded to restructuring specialist Better Capital, who are expected to invest £40m into the business.
Better Capital has recently invested in fashion retailer Jaeger and double-glazing firm Everest.
City Link will continue to be run by its existing management team, Rentokil said in a statement.
Rentokil chief executive Alan Brown said: "I believe City Link has now turned the corner after five years of substantial losses."
But he said Rentokil was offloading the business to focus on its core pest control and hygiene operations.
Its shares closed 0.6% down, having been up more than 4% in morning trading, following the news. | Pest control company Rentokil Initial has sold its parcel delivery firm City Link for £1, after years of losses. | 22335092 |
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25 June 2015 Last updated at 12:14 BST
The fire had spread and is now burning across 350 acres in just a few hours.
Strong winds have fanned the flames further.
Over 400 firefighters are trying to put out the flames.
They say four years with little rain have made the conditions this year the worst on record.
It's not the only area affected.
Wildfires are also tearing through some hot, dry areas in northern California.
One wildfire south of Lake Tahoe has grown to more than 25 square miles.
There are also wildfires burning in Alaska, Oregon and Washington state. | Hundreds of people have had to move from their homes in Los Angeles in the United States after huge wildfires hit the Santa Clarita area. | 33270837 |
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Jockey Leighton Aspell, also successful in 2014 on Pineau De Re, is seeking a historic third consecutive victory in the famous race over 30 fences.
The field was reduced on Saturday when O'Faolains Boy, trained by Rebecca Curtis, was found to be lame.
Coverage of the £1m race is expected to be followed by 600m people worldwide.
Download your sweepstake kit here
Pinstickers' guide
BBC Grand National coverage and schedule
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Bookmakers say more than £150m will be wagered on the race.
Two-time winner Ruby Walsh, who was set to ride Sir Des Champs, was ruled out with a fractured wrist after falling twice on Friday.
The Aintree showpiece - run over nearly four and a half miles - has been put back an hour to 17:15 BST, avoiding a clash with the afternoon's football fixtures, in an effort to increase audience figures.
Contenders have to negotiate obstacles such as Becher's Brook and The Chair, and no horse has won back-to-back runnings since triple-winner Red Rum in the 1970s.
But Aspell believes Many Clouds, rated 8-1 favourite on Friday, can defy top weight for trainer Oliver Sherwood.
"I think he's the worthy favourite. I would choose Many Clouds for his experience and class. He's possibly still improving," said Aspell, 39.
However, the jockey did concede that Silviniaco Conti, a seven-time winner of Grade One races at the highest level, had the capability to "make a mockery" of his 16-1 odds.
Punters will keep a keen eye on the weather, with 7mm of rain overnight changing the going at the track to Soft, Good to Soft in places.
Any rain would be considered a plus for last year's Midlands National winner Goonyella, while the Jonjo O'Neill pair of Holywell and Shutthefrontdoor would prefer drier conditions.
Other leading contenders include The Last Samuri for trainer Kim Bailey, who triumphed 26 years ago with Mr Frisk.
Sir Des Champs, the 2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up trained by Willie Mullins, saw his 40-1 odds halve after Walsh was confirmed as jockey.
However, Nina Carberry will deputise for Walsh following his injury.
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Along with Carberry, Ruby's sister Katie is seeking to become the first female rider to win the National.
Katie, who achieved a best-placed finish of third in 2012 on Seabass, rides outsider Ballycasey for Mullins having been called up for the ride on Wednesday night.
As a child she watched the movie National Velvet, in which Elizabeth Taylor plays a young woman who rides the Grand National winner, but does not overplay her gender.
"I don't see myself as a female jockey. I'm just a jockey," said the 32-year-old Irish amateur.
"Loads of people say that if I win the National, I would be the first female to do so. I don't see it like that. I just think it would be great to win."
The National is famed as a unique test for horse and rider, but draws criticism from opponents, including animal welfare groups.
Officials believe modifications to the fences, and other alterations, introduced three years ago have helped improve safety.
Since the changes, there have been no fatal injuries to horses in the National itself, but there were three fatalities over the National fences on the first two days of this year's Aintree meeting.
In Thursday's Fox Hunters' Chase, Clonbanan Lad and Marasonnien did not fall, but were pulled up by their jockeys and later collapsed.
On Friday, Gullinbursti and Minella Reception were put down after a fall at Becher's Brook in the Grade Three Topham Chase. | Last year's winner Many Clouds will bid to emulate Red Rum by winning back-to-back runnings as 39 horses line up for the Grand National on Saturday. | 36000267 |
A lorry packed with explosives was detonated in the Karrada district while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Rescuers said whole families had been wiped out and many victims were burned beyond recognition.
So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the mainly Shia area on Sunday but his convoy was greeted by angry crowds.
His office later announced the three days of mourning, adding that Mr Abadi understood the angry reaction of residents.
As night fell on Sunday, teams of workers were still clearing debris from the site and searching the charred remnants of buildings.
The bombing at around midnight on Saturday was the deadliest in Iraq this year and came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Falluja from IS.
Reports said a refrigerator van had been packed with explosives and left near the popular al-Hadi Centre.
Footage from the scene in the minutes after the blast showed the whole area engulfed in flames.
"We need a number of days to be able to recover the bodies of victims. It is a difficult task," a member of the civil defence forces quoted by AFP news agency said.
"The lists of victims I saw included whole families - the father and his sons, the mother and her daughters - whole families were wiped out by this explosion."
A second bomb exploded shortly afterwards in another predominantly Shia area north of the capital, killing another five people.
IS, which follows its own extreme version of Sunni Islam, said in an online statement that the attack in Karrada was carried out by an Iraqi as part of "ongoing security operations".
The US said on Sunday that the latest attack strengthened its resolve to support Iraqi forces in their fight against IS.
"We remain united with the Iraqi people and government in our combined efforts to destroy Isil," the White House statement said, using another term for the group.
UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis described the violence as a "cowardly and heinous act of unparalleled proportions".
He said that IS militants who have "suffered defeats at the battlefront are seeking to avenge their losses by targeting vulnerable civilians".
Later on Sunday, Mr Abadi also announced increased security measures including the scrapping of "magic wand" fake bomb detectors which are still being used at checkpoints in Iraq despite being exposed as a scam several years ago.
He also ordered that improved vehicle inspection systems be installed at entry points into Baghdad and in other provinces.
9 June 2016: At least 30 people killed in and around Baghdad in two suicide attacks claimed by IS
17 May 2016: Four bomb blasts kill 69 people in Baghdad; three of the targets were Shia areas
11 May 2016: Car bombs in Baghdad kill 93 people, including 64 in market in Shia district of Sadr City
1 May 2016: Two car bombs kill at least 33 people in southern city of Samawa
26 March 2016: Suicide attack targets football match in central city of Iskandariya, killing at least 32
6 March 2016: Fuel tanker blown up at checkpoint near central city of Hilla, killing 47
28 February 2016: Twin suicide bomb attacks hit market in Sadr City, killing 70 | The Iraqi government has declared three days of national mourning after a huge bomb in Baghdad killed 165 people and injured 225 others. | 36699562 |
Roger Livermore, an ex-crown prosecutor for the Health and Safety Executive, said prosecutions should have been brought in cases of harm or death.
The Lord Advocate's office said prosecutions were not appropriate.
It said the fact that an incident had occurred did not mean there was "sufficient evidence" of a crime.
Mr Livermore's campaign is supported by Janette and Ian Black, whose daughter Nicola died while being inadequately cared for in a mental health ward.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran was belatedly prosecuted over Nicola's death four years after the incident occurred.
In a letter to Mr Livermore, Gary Aitken, the head of the health and safety division of the Crown Office, said he had looked at 11 incidents but had been advised by the Health and Safety Executive that they did not fall within its criteria for investigations.
The Crown Office said it had already investigated another 38 incidents raised by Mr Livermore but decided no legal action was required.
"Only in very limited circumstances is the provision of poor quality care or the exercise of poor clinical judgement a criminal matter," he said.
"Such issues may alternatively be dealt with by other regulatory means or by the governing bodies of professional clinicians."
Mr Aitken added: "The fact that an incident has occurred does not mean that here will be sufficient evidence to prove that a crime has been committed."
Mr Livermore is continuing his campaign for a public inquiry into the way the law is being interpreted in Scotland.
In a separate move, the Scottish government has confirmed its intention to introduce legislation to place a legal "duty of candour" on healthcare providers.
The government said it would force health and social care organisations to be open when harm has occurred and provide proper support and training.
It also intends to make the wilful neglect or ill-treatment of patients a criminal offence. | The Crown Office has turned down a request by a health and safety expert to re-open investigations into dozens of incidents at NHS Ayrshire and Arran. | 32590065 |
Indonesians are used to reports of violence and abuse of their migrant workers. The media here carries horror stories almost every month and President Joko Widodo has made protecting migrant workers one of his key policies.
Some cases have sparked protests outside foreign embassies as fellow workers shout out for the rights of the women labouring abroad.
But few of them get so brutally killed and there has been notably little coverage of the murder trial in Hong Kong of Sumarti Ningsih and Seneng Mujiasih, the two victims.
On social media no one is really talking about it and when they do there is little sympathy for the women.
"Sumarti was generous. That much is clear from the evidence in the house. Her driving force was to improve life for her family, to make them richer. Life may be peaceful in the village but she would have been all too aware of the possibilities of a life with more material comforts."
The story of Sumarti: Born in Indonesia, murdered in Hong Kong
Facebook provides a clue as to why sympathy for the two women may be in short supply.
"That's the risk of being a sex worker," wrote one Facebook user. "They want to get rich but they don't want to work hard."
Another wrote: 'I hope God forgives the sins of the killer and the victim."
It's certainly true that some on social media point out that no matter what your profession, nobody deserves to be tortured like that. But activists say that the way the murders were reported two years ago dehumanised the two women.
"They have been incredibly stigmatised by the press as sex workers who in some way deserve to be tortured and killed," Anis Hidayah, the executive director of Migrant Care says.
"People are now not as interested as they should be in their families receiving the justice that they deserve for this horrific crime."
She sees this case as a missed opportunity.
"Hong Kong has always been seen as a safe place for our migrant workers to work in but these murders show that is not the case. This trial is very important to remind the government that they have lots of work to do to better protect our women abroad."
Fellow migrant worker Lidya says she is devastated by the lack of sympathy for her friends, adding that even the media coverage has lacked empathy.
"I can't understand why after this horrific thing has happened to them people focusing on their profession as female entertainers," she told BBC Indonesian.
Struggling with loss
Outside the Hong Kong court on Tuesday, a group representing the two families distributed statements describing how the women only wanted to seek a better life and support their families back in Indonesia, who still live in grinding poverty.
Ms Mujiasih's family described her as an "outgoing" person who had many friends.
"As a child, she had no aspirations whatsoever and only told her mother 'When I've finished school, I want to work so Mama would not be miserable'," they said.
In distant Cilacap, deep in the Javanese countryside, Ms Ningsih's father Ahmad Kaliman has been deeply shocked by the updates he has received from the trial about how his daughter died.
"I didn't know before that my daughter was tortured badly before she was killed. She suffered so much and it makes the pain of her death even worse," he said.
"I wish I could go there and punish him myself. I don't care what people say about her job. For us, she is a good girl that tried to help her parents and her family."
Since her death they have been struggling to keep Sumarti's seven-year-old son in school.
"She was the one who paid for everything, I hope the judge orders her murderer to pay for the costs of Muhamad's education," says her mother, Suratmi.
"She cannot be replaced. I still can't accept that she is gone. Every time I remember her, I go to her tomb, and pray," she said, her eyes filled with tears.
In the two years since her death nobody from the Indonesian government has visited them. And no-one took the time to tell them that the trial was even on. They learned that from reporters.
When the BBC arrived at their home ahead of the verdict, the family were out working in their rice fields.
They were surprised to learn this was the day the man who killed their daughter would be convicted.
It's in stark contrast to the media circus that took place in Jakarta just a few weeks ago when a wealthy young woman was found guilty of murdering her friend with a cyanide-laced coffee because she was jealous.
That trial was broadcast live on all the major news channel and both families were given hours of coverage.
But today there are no cameras standing by outside Ahmad and Suratmi's home waiting to hear their story. | British banker Rurik Jutting has been found guilty of murder, but in Jakarta, as BBC Indonesian's Rebecca Henschke reports, the grisly fate of the two Indonesian women he killed was seen as just another migrant worker story gone wrong. | 37845487 |
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill will set a series of statutory targets to reduce, and ultimately wipe out, what minsters call a "systemic problem".
Studies show more than 200,000 children in Scotland are growing up in poverty.
Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said this was "utterly unacceptable", adding that the government is "utterly committed" to tackling the problem.
The legislation sets an initial target of cutting the number of children in relative poverty to less than 10% by 2030, and in absolute poverty to less than 5%. As of December 2016, the rates stood at 22% and 21% respectively.
The government said it would publish a three-year delivery plan by April 2018, which will be updated every five years alongside annual reports to measure progress.
Poverty has been shown to be the driver of inequalities from educational attainment to the health of children.
Launching the legislation in Dundee, Ms Constance said: "It's utterly unacceptable that one in five children in Scotland live in poverty and this Bill sets out statutory targets to reduce and ultimately eradicate child poverty.
"Child poverty has been a systemic problem for decades. Tackling the immense challenge is an ambition all of Scotland - be that national and local government, health boards, businesses, the third sector or others - must work together to overcome.
"We're absolutely committed to tackling the deep-rooted causes of child poverty, addressing the needs of those living in poverty today and preventing future generations from those circumstances.
"This Bill is a major step forward as we look to give our children the best start in life, and it establishes a framework by which we can be held to account for our efforts. We look forward to hearing the views of the Parliament and of stakeholders on the proposals."
The government is working through recommendations set out by its independent advisor on poverty and inequality, Naomi Eisenstadt.
Ms Eisenstadt recently denied being put under pressure to water down her report after it emerged sections warning about cuts to local government funding were deleted from an early draft.
Scottish Labour said the bill was "well intentioned", but said it "looks like a parliamentary PR exercise".
The Scottish Greens meanwhile said the bill was "another good step forward", but said the government "need to go much further on boosting incomes in order to meet targets". | Legislation setting targets for the eradication of child poverty in Scotland has been tabled at Holyrood. | 38930208 |
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the "radical" move would ensure every penny of the health budget was spent wisely.
A "procurement tsar" will produce the list - made up of prices negotiated and set between the NHS and suppliers.
But Labour said the government's overhaul of the NHS had wasted millions and these plans would not change that.
The new central procurement list will mean that hundreds of everyday hospital supplies will be bought in bulk to help harness the "buying power" of the health service.
The government has committed to making savings of £1.5bn to £2bn on procurement by the end of 2015/16.
The Department of Health said it expects this NHS core list to make up £500m - roughly a third - of these overall savings.
Hospitals currently negotiate prices for supplies individually and as a result cannot always secure the best prices for products, it said.
It claimed the new core procurement list would "drive out variation and secure better prices with our suppliers".
The NHS will centrally negotiate with suppliers, using its scale to "drive a harder bargain" and trusts will then shop for what they need from the list.
The health secretary told BBC 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics show that improving procurement could significantly cut spending.
He used spending on sterile surgical gloves as an example, saying hospitals could save up to 38% on the price they paid for the product if they switched from the market leader to an alternative supplier.
"The reason that we're being even more radical in what we're announcing today is because there is concern within the ageing population as to whether the NHS is going to be financially viable going forward," Mr Hunt said.
"And before we go back to the British people with any request for extra money from taxes or any other sources of finance, I think we have to be confident that we are spending every penny of the £100bn NHS budget wisely."
He also insisted that the reorganisation of the NHS since the coalition took office was achieving savings of £1bn every year.
He said while the process of shaking up the health service may not have been perfect, the principle behind the reforms had been right.
"We removed 20,000 administrative jobs in the old primary care trusts and strategic health authorities, and we're using that to pay for 7,500 more doctors," the health secretary said.
"So we've been taking lots of measures right from the start of the Parliament in order to get more money out of the frontline."
But shadow health minister Jamie Reed said Prime Minister David Cameron's £3bn reorganisation had fragmented the NHS and it had "lost the power to bulk-buy".
"As a result, hospitals are wasting millions that should be spent on patient care," Mr Reed said.
"These plans will not reverse that." | A new central procurement list for NHS England aimed at ensuring hospitals get the best price for supplies could help save £500m, the government says. | 27179905 |
Hunt led after the initial two rounds on Friday and was clear after the penultimate dive on Sunday.
However, the 32-year-old over-rotated the entry of his final routine to drop out of medal contention.
Steve LoBue of the United States won gold ahead of Czech Michal Navratil and Italy's Alessandro de Rose.
Hunt's final routine - three forward somersaults and four and a half twists - carried the competition's highest degree of difficulty score of 5.6.
"I was annoyed throwing away the gold medal but I didn't want to be seen as this unbeatable machine," he told BBC Sport.
"This gives me plenty to work on."
Hunt had won medals at each of the previous World Aquatics Championships to feature high diving - claiming silver in the sport's debut at Barcelona 2013 before taking gold at Kazan 2015.
Fellow Briton Blake Aldridge - who dived alongside Tom Daley in the synchronised 10m platform event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - finished ninth.
The 34-year-old had been fifth and just 12 points from the podium places heading into the last round, but mistimed his entry.
"I feel completely numb," he told BBC Sport. "To have a chance and completely throw it away on the last dive is heartbreaking."
Aldridge endured a torrid 2016, landing on his back at an event in Dubai and had further injury problems after attempting the then most difficult dive in the world - reverse double with five twists.
"This year has been about getting my confidence back because I landed on my back in Dubai and was coughing up blood for a few days, and then I nearly bit through my tongue at another event," he added.
"I'm currently struggling with an abductor tear which makes twisting difficult - but I'm determined to be back strong next season and won't give up." | Britain's Gary Hunt missed out on the chance to defend his world 27m high diving title - finishing fifth in Budapest, Hungary. | 40768987 |
It is the first conviction of a traditional fox hunt under legislation introduced in Scotland in 2002.
Johnny Riley, 24, and his father, John Clive Richardson, 67, of Bonchester Bridge, were fined £400 and £250 respectively for deliberately hunting a fox with dogs near Jedburgh last year.
They plan to appeal against the decision.
During their trial, the pair had denied breaching the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.
Their defence lawyer David McKie said they had worked within the terms of the legislation by using hounds to flush out a fox from cover to waiting guns.
However, depute fiscal Fiona Caldwell argued the two men had clearly broken the law at Townfoothill near Jedburgh on 16 February last year.
She said evidence had shown it had been a "deliberate course of acts culminating with those responsible for the hunt, hunting the fox with dogs".
The verdict was welcomed by the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland which supplied video footage to the trial.
Its director Robbie Marsland said: "Today's guilty verdict is the first successful prosecution for mounted fox hunting in Scotland and while we're delighted with the outcome, and our role in this, we remain of the view that the law needs strengthened.
"The Scottish government has committed to consult on the hunt ban following a review by Lord Bonomy, who clearly stated there was evidence of lawbreaking by Scottish hunts."
He said the guilty verdict had confirmed that to be the case and said they looked forward to working to help "strengthen the law".
However, the Countryside Alliance voiced disappointment at the conviction claiming the huntsmen had been subjected to "trial by television".
It said footage which had been given to the BBC had put pressure on police and prosecutors to take the case forward.
Director Jamie Stewart said: "Scottish mounted packs not only adhere to the law but also work under an enhanced protocol."
He said the organisation was disappointed with the verdict and would await the full transcript of the judgement before making further comment.
PC Andrew Loughlin, wildlife crime officer for the Scottish Borders, said: "Wildlife crime is a priority for Police Scotland and we will always take action against those who breach wildlife laws.
"I would ask those who undertake countryside pursuits to keep their dogs under control as they will be held accountable should their dogs chase or kill wild mammals.
"We continue to work with our partners to tackle the issue of illegal fox hunting and would encourage anyone who witnesses this activity to get in touch with police via 101." | Two huntsmen from the Scottish Borders have been found guilty of breaching fox-hunting law. | 40442286 |
The chancellor told MPs the UK will only have to pay £850m next year, in interest-free instalments, rather than the larger lump sum by 1 December.
In an update to Parliament, he said the "whole episode reminds us of the reform" the Tories wanted in Europe.
But Mr Balls said his counterpart had not saved taxpayers "a single penny".
The two men clashed in Parliament after Commons Speaker John Bercow granted Labour's request for an Urgent Question on the issue.
The surcharge followed an annual review of the economic performance of EU member states since 1995, which showed Britain had done better than previously thought.
But the demand sparked anger across the UK political spectrum, with David Cameron insisting the UK would pay nothing by Brussels' original 1 December deadline and calling for the overall sum to be renegotiated.
Analysis, by BBC News head of statistics Anthony Reuben
George Osborne criticised Ed Balls for referring to the interest rate that would have been payable on £1.7bn, even though the shadow chancellor said everybody knew there would be a rebate payable on the money.
But that ignores the timing of the payments, which are the key part of this issue.
Previously, the UK would have had to pay £1.7bn in December and would not have received a rebate for a year. That would have added £1.7bn to the UK's deficit for the current year. Whether this year's deficit is likely to be bigger than last year's is going to be a big issue at the Autumn Statement.
Instead, the chancellor has managed to negotiate a position in which this year's deficit is unaffected and next year's goes up by £850m, well after the general election.
Speaking after meeting other European finance ministers on Friday, Mr Osborne said the UK would pay £850m in two instalments next year since the Commission had agreed to apply the UK's rebate on its EU contributions in full to the surcharge.
But Mr Balls told MPs that other European countries were "queuing up to contradict" Mr Osborne's assertion that he had halved the bill.
Accusing Mr Osborne of "fog and bluster", Mr Balls said everyone had known that the rebate - a partial refund that the UK gets on its annual contribution - would be applied in full in advance of the negotiations.
"The British people do not like being taken for fools and his attempts to fool them have totally unravelled," Mr Balls said.
Mr Osborne agreed that "the British people don't like being taken for fools - that is why he is sitting in opposition".
Mr Osborne said his counterpart had never mentioned the issue of the rebate before and said it was "an absurd charade" to suggest Labour would defend the UK's interests as the last Labour government "had given away half of it".
"It was not clear that we would receive a rebate or such a large one," he said, adding that this had only been confirmed on the night before the Brussels meeting.
The rebate was specific to the surcharge, he added, and would not affect the UK's existing refund on its annual contributions.
Former Tory Chancellor Ken Clarke said the outcome was a "surprisingly good result" but accused eurosceptics of turning the episode into a "Gunfight at the OK Corral".
Veteran eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash questioned whether the UK needed to pay any money if the formula used to determine each country's contributions were flawed. | Chancellor George Osborne's claim to have halved the £1.7bn UK surcharge owed to the European Union is a "con trick", Labour's Ed Balls has claimed. | 29985950 |
But there is still a hole in his sporting CV. A hole that can only be filled by five big rings.
"Going back in time the best sportsmen ever have been Olympians," said the 30-year-old as he announced he would dedicate himself to being part of rugby sevens' debut at Rio 2016.
"Usain Bolt, Muhammad Ali, the list goes on. It's just an amazing opportunity to become one of those."
This weekend is the start of that journey as Williams - a little more than a month after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup - heads to Dubai for the first event of the globe-trotting Sevens World Series.
This is not one of six World Series events that Williams aims to play in. Instead he has cut short his off-season to meet his new team-mates and learn the seven-a-side game from the sidelines.
And he is not the only 15-a-side star aiming to be part of rugby's new frontier.
On his flight to the Middle East from Sydney, Williams bumped into Australia fly-half Quade Cooper, the pair tweeting pictures of themselves grinning away in business class.
Cooper was en route back to French club Toulon rather than stopping off in Dubai for the sevens. But he is determined to be on the plane to Rio.
His contract negotiations with Toulon's hard-ball president Mourad Boudjellal were long and laborious as Cooper successfully fought for the chance to play sevens for Australia alongside his club commitments.
When he lands in the south of France, Cooper might discuss his summer plans with new club team-mate Bryan Habana.
The Springboks leading try scorer, along with fellow World Cup stars Damian de Allende and Lwazi Mvovo, was invited to train with the South Africa sevens team in November as coach Neil Powell considers whether to import 15-a-side specialists into his Olympic side.
Cooper's international team-mates Bernard Foley and Israel Folau have opted for short stints in Japanese club rugby and will make a decision on whether to try their hand at sevens when they return early in 2016.
Winger Henry Speight, also part of the Wallabies squad at the World Cup, has already made the switch and is in the Australia squad for the Dubai event.
Flanker Liam Messam - another of the All Blacks World Cup-winning squad - has joined Williams in focusing solely on sevens this season.
And Argentina winger Santiago Cordero - one of the stars of the Pumas' run to the World Cup semi-finals - is likely to be part of their Rio effort after signing a central contract with his country.
Montpellier flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo and Castres winger Remy Grosso helped France secure their place at Rio in the summer before joining their country's Rugby World Cup squad.
All those format flip-floppers will have to contend with sevens specialists, men who understand the game's cagey, contact-averse tactics and lactic-heavy physical demands.
Wales wing George North has mused on the possibility of joining cyclist girlfriend Becky James in a British Olympic team.
Danny Cipriani is interested in being involved after his maverick talents were deemed surplus to England's World Cup requirements.
Full-back Stuart Hogg's electric running and courageous tackling for Scotland would surely transfer well to the seven-a-side game.
The names come easily. The reality is more complicated.
Great Britain qualified for Rio 2016 on the back of England's top-four finish in last season's Sevens World Series and the team will be made up of the best players from England, Scotland and Wales at Rio.
However, the chances of recruiting 15-a-side superstars to concentrate on sevens - as Williams has done - is a non-starter for Team GB as they don't have central contracts, while clubs are understandably keen their employees focus on their well-paid day jobs.
English club Wasps have indicated that they - and the rest of the Premiership - will adhere to the regulations and only release players two weeks before the tournament.
Barring an unforeseen bout of Olympic enthusiasm from clubs in the midst of trying domestic and European campaigns, Great Britain coach Simon Amor is likely to have to wait until the second-tier European Grand Prix Sevens series at least before he can welcome 15-a-side players into the fold.
The final leg of that series will take place in Exeter on 9-10 July and Great Britain are hoping their involvement will be confirmed before the end of this year.
Amor will then be faced with the unenviable task of condensing players from three different nations and two different formats into one team in less than a month.
What Amor would give for the access that Simon Middleton, coach of Great Britain's women's team, has to 15-a-side specialists.
A week after England won the Women's Rugby World Cup in August 2014, the Rugby Football Union - mindful of the funding that potential Olympic medals bring to women's rugby - handed 12 of that squad and another eight players contracts to concentrate on sevens full-time.
Emily Scarratt, who scored 16 points in that 21-9 World Cup final win over Canada, is captaining England in Dubai, with another five of that historic squad also involved.
A Great Britain select seven - including Scots Steph Johnston and Megan Gaffney - also played in an invitational tournament running alongside the main Women's Sevens Series event.
Whoever is picked for Rio though, New Zealand will be overwhelming favourites for gold.
They have won all three of the Women's World Series titles since the it was introduced in 2012.
This season, they have a new recruit with Niall Williams, sister of Sonny Bill, making her debut in Dubai. | Sonny Bill Williams has won two Rugby World Cups, been named the best rugby league player in the world and won the New Zealand heavyweight boxing title. | 34957613 |
Derry has named midfielder Luke Berry, 23, as his new full-time skipper after dropping Roberts to the bench for last Saturday's win at Leyton Orient.
"I've spoken to Mark and he's accepted it as a man. He'll respond in the right way because he's a leader of men," Derry told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"But I wanted to appoint Luke because his performances have changed my mind."
Berry has scored eight goals in 33 appearances since returning to the club where he started his professional career in the summer from Barnsley.
Derry continued: "I've always said I'm a massive fan of Luke Berry, I think he's a very good player and can take his leadership qualities into a different area.
"He's never had this tag before. It's a massive responsibility, but when I look around what this football club is, Luke Berry falls in that category and I want him to take this captaincy onto a different level." | Cambridge United defender Mark Roberts has accepted losing the captaincy "as a man", according to boss Shaun Derry. | 35492021 |
Gardner settled a poor contest in the 77th minute but Chesterfield had to survive 11 minutes of added time following an injury to their centre-back Tom Anderson.
And George Thomas missed a great chance to equalise when he fired over at the back post in stoppage time.
Chesterfield caretaker boss Ritchie Humphreys was in charge for the first time following the last weekend's sacking of Danny Wilson and Chris Morgan.
Spireites midfielder Jay O'Shea sent in a 30th-minute free-kick which Ian Evatt headed just over the bar before Ched Evans was too high three minutes later from a corner before Coventry went close when a low shot from Kevin Foley was flicked just wide by Stuart Beavon.
Sam Hird headed another O'Shea free-kick straight at Lee Burge in the 42nd minute and Marcus Tudgay had the ball in the Chesterfield net in the 56th minute but had strayed offside.
There was then a lengthy delay while Chesterfield defender Anderson was treated for a head injury before being stretchered off and Coventry had a great chance in the 72nd minute when George Thomas fired wide after a swift counter-attack.
But it proved as a costly miss five minutes later when Gardner's 25-yard shot flew into Burge's top left corner to plunge City back to the foot of the table.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Chesterfield 1, Coventry City 0.
Second Half ends, Chesterfield 1, Coventry City 0.
Attempt saved. Jay O'Shea (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Corner, Chesterfield. Conceded by Lee Burge.
Ched Evans (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Nathan Clarke (Coventry City).
Stuart Beavon (Coventry City) is shown the yellow card.
Liam O'Neil (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Stuart Beavon (Coventry City).
Foul by Ched Evans (Chesterfield).
Ryan Haynes (Coventry City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Liam O'Neil (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marcus Tudgay (Coventry City).
Jay O'Shea (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Ryan Haynes (Coventry City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ryan Haynes (Coventry City).
Corner, Coventry City. Conceded by Liam O'Neil.
Attempt missed. Kristian Dennis (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield).
Ben Stevenson (Coventry City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Dan Gardner (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner.
Attempt missed. Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Dion Kelly-Evans (Coventry City).
Ched Evans (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dion Kelly-Evans (Coventry City).
Substitution, Coventry City. Dion Kelly-Evans replaces Kevin Foley because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Dion Donohue (Chesterfield) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Attempt blocked. Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Dion Donohue (Chesterfield).
Stuart Beavon (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Stuart Beavon (Coventry City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Goal! Chesterfield 1, Coventry City 0. Dan Gardner (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Jay O'Shea.
Substitution, Coventry City. Ben Stevenson replaces Callum Reilly.
Foul by Ian Evatt (Chesterfield).
Jordan Willis (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Chesterfield. Conceded by Nathan Clarke.
Liam O'Neil (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Kyel Reid (Coventry City). | Managerless Chesterfield came out on top in the League One relegation battle with Coventry City at the Proact Stadium, thanks to Dan Gardner's late second-half winner | 38539096 |
The European Court of Justice said that the Safe Harbour agreement did not eliminate the need for local privacy watchdogs to check US firms were taking adequate data protection measures.
It added that the ruling meant Ireland's regulator now needed to decide whether Facebook's EU-to-US transfers should be suspended.
The pact has existed for 15 years.
Facebook has denied any wrongdoing.
"This case is not about Facebook," said a spokeswoman.
"What is at issue is one of the mechanisms that European law provides to enable essential transatlantic data flows.
"We will of course respond fully to any enquiries by our regulator the Irish Data Protection Commission as they look at how personal data is being protected in the US.
"The outcome... will have significant implications for all Irish companies who transfer data across the Atlantic."
The ruling was the result of a legal challenge by an Austrian privacy campaigner concerned that the social network might be sharing Europeans' personal data with US cyberspies.
"I very much welcome the judgement of the court, which will hopefully be a milestone when it comes to online privacy," said Max Schrems on learning of the judgement.
"It clarifies that mass surveillance violates our fundamental rights."
But others warned it could have far-reaching consequences.
"Thousands of US businesses rely on the Safe Harbour as a means of moving information to the US from Europe," said Richard Cumbley from the law firm Linklaters.
"Without Safe Harbour, they will be scrambling to put replacement measures in place."
The European Commission said it would issue "clear guidance" in the coming weeks to prevent local data authorities issuing conflicting rulings.
The term refers to an agreement struck by the EU and US, that came into effect in 2000.
It was designed to provide a "streamlined and cost-effective" way for US firms to get data from Europe without breaking its rules.
The EU forbids personal data from being transferred to and processed in parts of the world that do not provide "adequate" privacy protections.
So, to make it easier for US firms - including the tech giants - to function, Safe Harbour was introduced to let them self-certify that they are carrying out the required steps.
More than 5,000 US companies make use of the arrangement to facilitate data transfers.
In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked details about a surveillance scheme operated by the NSA called Prism.
It was alleged the agency had gained access to data about Europeans and other foreign citizens stored by the US tech giants.
Privacy campaigner Max Schrems asked the Irish Data Protection Commission to audit what material Facebook might be passing on.
However, the watchdog declined saying the transfers were covered by Safe Harbour.
When Mr Schrems contested the decision, the matter was referred to the European Court of Justice.
The case reflected a clash between two cultures: in the EU, data privacy is treated as a fundamental right; in the US, other concerns are sometimes given priority.
Personal data should no longer be transferred to US bodies solely on the basis they are Safe Harbour-certified.
Instead to authorise the "export" of the data, the two bodies involved must draw up and sign what's referred to as "model contract clauses", which set out the US organisation's privacy obligations.
"It will involve lots of contracts between lots of parties and it's going to be a bit of a nightmare administratively," commented Nicola Fulford, head of data protection at the UK law firm Kemp Little.
"The model clauses themselves are standard form - what you need to put into them are details of the data involved and the security steps being taken.
"It's not that we're going to be negotiating them individually, as the legal terms are mostly fixed, but it does mean a lot more paperwork and they have legal implications."
All of this will drive up costs and potentially cause delays.
It depends on who you speak to.
The big-name firms are being guarded about what they say.
Sources at one firm suggest it believes it already has all the necessary contracts drawn up and processes in place to avoid any disruption.
But an insider at another company suggests that it may have to alter or stop some of its data transfers across the Atlantic.
What everyone agrees on, however, is that the ruling will have wider impact.
"It's not just about companies whose core activities is data processing - i.e. the Facebooks of the world - it's the companies who don't have data processing capabilities of their own and transfer personal data abroad to get it done," explains Allie Renison from the UK's Institute of Directors.
"So, if you're a company that sends payroll data for administrative purposes across to the US, that becomes an issue.
"Likewise, it affects you if you're a firm trying to send over data about your customers for a marketing campaign."
Yes - but few expected the court to rule on the matter so quickly.
Having said that, while some data privacy regulators - including the UK and Ireland's - said they were satisfied with Safe Harbour's stamp of approval, Germany's watchdogs raised concerns years ago.
As far back as 2010, they told local firms they were still obliged to check whether Safe Harbour-certified organisations were actually taking adequate measures, and suggested they draw up model contract clauses to avoid any doubt.
Potentially, yes.
If people challenge whether adequate steps to protect their data are being taken, the regulators may now need to intervene.
Max Schrems certainly intends to try again to make the Irish Data Protection Commissioner look into Facebook.
It should, however, be stressed that the social network strongly denies providing "backdoor" access to the US intelligence agencies.
Yes - but that's not as simple as it sounds.
The US and EU have in fact been negotiating to update the Safe Harbour pact for nearly two years, and won't say when they hope to conclude a deal.
Following Snowden's leaks, the EU sought to limit the circumstances under which the US authorities could access transferred data, and threatened to veto any future trade agreements if a new deal was not stuck.
But despite repeated reports that an agreement was close, the two sides have failed to agree terms.
To further complicate matters, they recently agreed in principle a separate data-sharing deal called the Umbrella Agreement, which governs how their law enforcement agencies share data.
But the EU has said it would only finalise the pact if Europeans are given the right to sue US companies in American courts for misusing their data.
The US seemed set to agree, but now its politicians may retaliate against the ECJ's ruling by refusing to grant the privilege. | A pact that helped the tech giants and others send personal data from the EU to the US has been ruled invalid. | 34442618 |
Known as LudoSport, it has gained popularity in the UK since being created in Italy.
While described as a "playful fun sport" instructor Jordan Court wants it to become an Olympic sport.
He said while it did not have the strict regime of martial arts, students needed to be respectful to each other.
"I would love to think one day people competing in the Olympics with light saber combat once the number of participants have increased," Mr Court said.
"We've opened classes in Cheltenham, Bristol and London - with Birmingham and Cardiff not far behind - and there are plans for Swindon and up north as well.
"You don't need to use a lot of force as all the strikes are light which means we don't have to wear Kevlar armour or body padding."
There are several ranks for those wishing to become a fully-fledged Jedi Knight:
Children aged 8-12 are "apprentices", and those aged 13 or over are "younglings"
Younglings start with a blue blade but those who achieve stage three of the sport become a Jedi and may choose the colour of their lightsaber
Students can choose to be either a Jedi Knight or a Sith
There are seven different fighting styles
Combat encounters take place in a rectangular or circular arena
Opponents aim for non-mortal (the hilt of the lightsaber, forearms and legs below the knee) and mortal (the rest of the body) targets
If a contender puts a single foot totally out of the arena he or she loses the match | A group of lightsaber enthusiasts have been learning to master the Jedi weapon's use in the run up to the release of the latest Star Wars movie. | 35065211 |
Overseas aid for education stands at about $12bn (£9bn) - which Unesco says is 4% less than in 2010.
The UN agency says the funding gap means global targets for access to school are unlikely to be achieved.
The US and the UK remain the biggest donor countries for basic education.
Unesco's Global Monitoring Report says that despite warnings about the importance of raising education standards, international aid funding is falling behind.
The UN agency says there is a $39bn (£30bn) annual shortfall in the financial support needed to reach education targets set for 2030, such as ensuring a primary school place for every child.
When the targets were set in 2015, the UN says there were more than 260 million young people without access to school, with serious consequences for their future wealth, health and security.
The most recent figures show a slight annual increase - but Unesco warns that the amounts being targeted at education have "stagnated" and are below the levels at the beginning of the decade.
The report says that for the sixth year in a row, education has had a declining proportion of the overall overseas aid budget.
Health continues to take a much bigger slice of aid budgets - with aid support for transport now matching the amount donated for education.
Poor girls living in rural areas in low-income countries are particularly at risk of missing out on school.
At the current rate of progress, Unesco has forecast that it will be 2042 before universal access to primary school is achieved. It will be 2084 before all young people will have the chance to stay on for upper secondary school, the UN says.
The UN report also highlights that the poorest countries are not necessarily receiving the most aid.
Unesco says that sub-Saharan countries account for half of the world's children out of school, but these countries now only get about a quarter of the education aid budget.
Global education
Get in touch with the Global education series.
The report says an increasing amount of support is going to countries with refugees from Syria's civil war.
Conflict and war have become a significant factor in denying millions of youngsters a chance of an education.
Overseas aid budgets are also being spent on supporting refugees within the donor countries - and in a number of European countries, about a fifth of international aid is spent within their own borders.
The UN agency has also warned of education aid being targeted by donor countries towards their own trade interests, rather than towards those in the greatest need.
Unesco argues that improving education standards will have far-reaching economic and social benefits.
This applies to developed as well as developing countries. Unesco says that in the United States, if 5% more male teenagers graduated from high school, it would add $20bn to the economy in reduced crime and higher earnings.
Child mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa would improve, says the UN, if more mothers were literate and could access medical advice.
There are also big differences in access to education within countries. In low-income countries, for every 100 wealthy children who complete primary school, only 30 children from poorer families reach the same level of education.
The report shows the countries and organisations that have given the most direct funding to basic education.
Despite warning of a "chronic" funding gap for education, the UN report highlights where some donations have increased.
The war in Syria and the displacement of millions of families prompted a big increase in emergency humanitarian aid for education, to a record level of $300m.
Unesco's director general, Irina Bokova, said that the aid shortage was putting international education pledges "at risk".
"Aid would need to be multiplied by at least six to achieve our common education goals and must go to countries most in need.
"Yet, we see that donors to education are shifting their attention away from the poorest countries," said Ms Bokova. | International funding to support education in poorer countries is "stagnating", says a Unesco report, despite campaigns calling for more investment. | 40164309 |
Kensington Palace said Prince William will join the East Anglian Air Ambulance flying both day and night shifts.
It will become his main job, but his rota will take into account any duties he will continue to undertake on behalf of the Queen.
A spokesman said the duke was "hugely excited and motivated" by the role.
"The duke sees this as a true form of public service, helping people in their most difficult times," he said.
"He regards his work with the RAF search and rescue force as having been an exceptional privilege and the duke wanted to make his own contribution to the outstanding work of the air ambulance service."
The charity's chief executive, Patrick Peal, said: "We're delighted His Highness has decided to fly with us.
"We are confident this will help raise the profile of the charity and other air ambulance charities in the region and across the UK."
The charity said the duke would be based at Cambridge Airport and fly missions in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Bedfordshire.
He will be paid a salary which he will donate in full to the charity, Kensington Palace said.
For a second time in his life, the man who will be king will take on a role on merit and not because he has inherited it.
It will, according to one of those close to him, give Prince William a renewed sense of purpose.
The pilot prince will work for the East Anglian Air Ambulance for at least two years. He is, apparently, fully committed to remaining in the job for as long as he can.
This career choice - away from the tried and tested royal path of unveiling plaques and planting trees - is a reminder that William is, in the words of one official, "two heartbeats away from the throne". Being heir-but-one gives him the freedom that Prince Charles never enjoyed.
William is exploiting this flexibility to the full and will continue to do so until destiny calls.
Read more from Peter
Cambridge Airport is well placed between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new home at Anmer Hall in Norfolk and their apartment at Kensington Palace.
There had been speculation surrounding the move since Prince William, who is qualified to be a captain or pilot of a Sea King helicopter, ended his active service as an RAF search and rescue pilot last September.
During his service he carried out more than 150 missions and completed more than 1,300 flying hours.
His main duties will involve flying an EC145 T2 aircraft and working alongside medics to respond to emergencies ranging from road accidents to heart attacks.
In order to gain this licence, the prince must complete five months of training followed by 14 exams and a flight test.
Initially he will be employed as a co-pilot but, after a period of training, he will be qualified as a helicopter commander.
Alastair Wilson, the charity's medical director, said: "He will be looking after patients with conditions that would be horrifying for many and some pilots may not like that very much.
"Compared to his role as a search and rescue pilot, he may be dealing with more injury patients than he is used to, but I'm sure he will adapt very well to that." | The Duke of Cambridge is to become an air ambulance pilot next spring, it has been announced. | 28685666 |
Judge Lord Eassie said the Court of Justice of the European Union should give its opinion on the proposal.
The case was brought by The Scotch Whisky Association, which argued the legislation breached European law.
Holyrood ministers have said minimum pricing was vital to address Scotland's "unhealthy relationship with drink".
The Court of Session judgement means there could be a delay of up to two years before Scottish government plans to set a 50p rate per unit of alcohol can be implemented.
By Reevel AldersonHome affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland
Although the Court of Session is Scotland's highest civil court, it is now asking another court for its views on the government's minimum pricing proposals.
Judges in Edinburgh will ask the Court of Justice of the European Union for a "preliminary ruling" - on whether the proposals would be valid under EU law.
The procedure exists to ensure EU law is properly applied in each country.
But before the case can be heard by the court in Luxembourg, the questions it will be asked must be decided.
This will involve another hearing in Edinburgh at which the Scottish government and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) along with other parties to the case will give their views.
Overall, it could take between 15 months and two years before a ruling will be given by Luxembourg.
Even then it may not be possible for the Scottish government to implement the policy, enacted in May 2012, for a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol.
Either the government or the SWA could appeal to the UK Supreme in London, a process which would take several months more.
However today's reference to Luxembourg would at least mean that there could be no further appeal in the case to a European court.
The Scotch Whisky Association, whose members account for more than 90% of the industry's production, had appealed against a Court of Session ruling that the minimum alcohol pricing policy was within the powers of Scottish ministers and not incompatible with EU law.
Two major European wine and spirit organisations are also party to the SWA's appeal.
Scottish Health Secretary Alex Neil said he was "frustrated" at the challenge to a democratic decision of the Scottish Parliament but expressed determination to see it through.
Mr Neil said a final decision would be made by the Court of Session, once legal opinion was received from the Court of Justice, in Luxembourg.
He added: "The first time we went to the Court of Session they gave us a ringing endorsement and were very clear that what we were doing was perfectly legitimate in law and I'm very confident we will end up with that decision being reinforced in two years' time."
In his written judgement, Lord Eassie said: "We have come to the view that - as heralded in the debate before us - the present proceedings raise aspects of those tests and of the role of the national court which are not clearly established.
"There are thus aspects relating to the Scottish ministers claim of justification under article 36 TFEU (Treaty of the Functioning of the EU) which we consider that it would be of help to have the guidance of the Court of Justice of the European Law."
Liver deaths
Legislation to bring in the government's price plan was passed by parliament in May 2012 but ongoing legal challenges have prevented the policy from being implemented.
According to NHS figures, Scottish deaths from chronic liver disease are among the highest in Europe, while alcohol kills the equivalent of 20 people a week in Scotland.
Scottish ministers said their minimum pricing plan, under which the Âcheapest bottle of wine would be £4.69 and a four-pack of lager would cost at least £3.52, would help tackle the problem.
Scotch Whisky Association chief executive David Frost, said of the latest ruling: "We are pleased that the Court of Session in Edinburgh is referring the minimum unit pricing case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
"From the outset we said that we believed minimum unit pricing was contrary to European Union law and that it was likely in the end to go to the European Court.
"We also believe minimum unit pricing would be ineffective in tackling alcohol misuse and would damage the Scotch Whisky industry in the UK and overseas."
The UK government previously shelved plans for minimum pricing in England and Wales, after Prime Minister David Cameron cited concerns over evidence it would not work and possible legal challenges. | A legal challenge to the Scottish government's policy on minimum alcohol pricing has been referred to a European court by the Court of Session. | 27219905 |
Indonesia - Australia's biggest live cattle market - has told the market it would issue 50,000 import permits between July and September.
That compares with an expected 200,000 permits for that quarter and is well below the usual third quarter figure.
The Australian Livestock Exporters Council said the decision was both a surprise and a disappointment.
However, Council Chief Executive Officer Alison Penfold rejected local media suggestions it was linked to the uneasy relationship between the two countries.
"Absolutely not. I know there have been some suggestions in the media today and I am disappointed [some people] have decided to play politics," Ms Penfold told the BBC.
The import cut comes amid political tensions between the two countries over asylum seekers departing Indonesia by boat for Australia.
Also, earlier this year, Indonesia ignored pleas from the Australian government to grant clemency to two Australian convicted drug traffickers on death row.
In recent years, the live cattle industry has been rocked by a serious of scandals about poor treatment of the animals in some of the countries Australia exports to.
In 2011, Australia halted live cattle exports to Indonesia after shocking footage of cruelty at some Indonesian abattoirs was broadcast in Australia.
A spokesman for Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told local media the Australian Government respected Indonesia's right to make the decision but was "disappointed" by the cut.
However, the Opposition's Agriculture Spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the decision was a reflection of the tense relationship between the two countries.
"Of course the Abbott Government's relationship with Indonesia or the deterioration of it won't be helping at all," Mr Fitzgibbon told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Ms Penfold said over the past five years import permits for the third quarter had fluctuated between 62,000 and 184,000, averaging out at about 105,000 head of cattle.
"[This quarter] will present challenges for us but we have a constructive relationship with Indonesia and we want to support its food security needs," she said.
She said it was too early to say whether exporters would find other markets for their cattle.
She said she did not think any lobbing by the Australian government would change matters. | Australia's cattle industry has taken a sudden hit after Indonesia slashed its live cattle imports from Australia. | 33517481 |
The tanker, which is yet to be built, will be called the USNS Harvey Milk, USNI News said.
It cited a notification signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the US and was killed a year after winning election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
He served in the US Navy in his youth as a diving officer during the Korean War before being honourably discharged.
Milk was wearing his Navy belt buckle when he was shot dead.
Speaking in 2012, Milk's nephew Stuart Milk said such a move would send "a green light to all the brave men and women who serve our nation: that honesty and authenticity are held up among the highest ideals of of nation's military".
The news delighted San Francisco politician Scott Wiener, who has called for a ship to be named after Milk, saying it was an "incredible day".
"When Harvey Milk served in the military, he couldn't tell anyone who he truly was," he wrote.
"Now our country is telling the men and women who serve, and the entire world, that we honour and support people for who they are."
The idea is not without controversy. After the suggestion was first mooted critics said Milk would have disapproved of lending his name to a Navy ship, given his opposition to the Vietnam War.
Several other civil rights champions are also set to be honoured with ships bearing their names, USNI News said, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth. | The US Navy is set to name a ship after gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, according to a report by the US Naval Institute News. | 36921306 |
At the age of 23, she had found a flat-share she could afford. A wave of sadness swept over me - our family unit was crumbling. But, like many parents, I also felt a sense of relief that she had finally found a way out of the nest.
My wife and I both said goodbye to our respective parents well before our 21st birthdays and to us, there is something almost odd about still sharing a home with your mum and dad after your education is complete.
We learn today, though, that a quarter of all 20-34 year-olds in the UK still live with their parents. According to analysis of census data by the Office for National Statistics, since 1996, the number of young adults still at home with their mum or dad has increased by 25% to 3.3 million.
In some parts of Britain, the proportion is far greater. In Northern Ireland, a third of 20-34 year-olds are living with parents, compared to London and Yorkshire where the proportion is just 22%.
Britain's living habits appear to be changing - becoming more southern European, perhaps. While in Scandinavian countries, children tend to leave home by the age of 20 or 21, in Italy, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia it tends to be late 20s for daughters and above 30 for sons. In Bulgaria, most men are still living at home at 35.
So what is going on? In Britain, the biggest increase is found among 20-24 year-olds - 49% of that age group still live at home. One obvious reason for that is housing affordability - the ratio of house prices paid by first-time buyers to their incomes is now 4.4, up from 2.7 back in 1996.
Millions of parents will recognise the problem of a child in their late teens or early 20s unable to afford to buy or even to rent a home in some parts of the country. Certainly with my children, finding a decent and affordable place to live in London has proved immensely difficult.
But there are other reasons why young adults are not flying the nest as they once did. The big increase in the figures coincides with the economic downturn. The proportion of young people (18-24) who are unemployed has risen from 13% in 2008 to 19% last year. Without a job it becomes much harder to make that big move into the wider world.
Among 20-34 year-olds who live with their parents, 13% are without a job. Among those who live independently, it is 6%. Austerity more generally has meant that young adults may choose to study at a college or university close to the parental home, avoiding expensive accommodation costs.
Men are more likely than women to still be living at home in their mid to late 20s. For every 10 women, 17 men aged 20-34 are still shacked up with their parents. The main reason is that women tend to form partnerships with men older than they are - so more in the 20-34 age group are married or cohabiting.
I do wonder whether there is also a tendency for young people generally to settle down in a relationship later in life. More people go to university now and students are likely to wait until after their education before getting married or agreeing to cohabit.
Lifestyles may be changing, but Britain is far from unusual. Of the 28 countries in the European Union, only six have a lower proportion of 25-34 year-olds living with their parents than the UK. | This week my eldest daughter announced she was moving out. | 25825240 |
Blake Farenthold, a congressman from Texas, told a local radio station if a man were responsible, he would challenge him to a duel.
Susan Collins of Maine was one of three female Republicans who said they could not back the Senate's healthcare plan.
The party has long vowed to replace President Barack Obama's signature law.
But there are deep divisions on what the Republican bill should contain.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump made a rare speech aimed at geeing up his party to make one more healthcare push.
The president stood on a stage at the White House alongside people he said were "victims" of the way so-called Obamacare had wrecked the healthcare system.
"To every member of the Senate I say this: The American people have waited long enough. There's been enough talk, and no action. Now is the time for action."
In a very partisan 10-minute speech, he also blamed Democrats for "obstructing" the Republican effort, even though his party controls both chambers in Congress and the White House.
On Tuesday, there will be a vote in the Senate on whether to bring the bill to the floor for debate and a vote.
But if that procedural vote passes, it is not clear what kind of bill senators would then be considering.
Senator Ron Johnson told reporters: "I don't have a clue what we're going to be voting on."
In an interview with radio station 1440 Keys, Mr Farenthold appeared to point the finger at his own party.
"The fact that the Senate does not have the courage to do some things that every Republican in the Senate promised to do is just absolutely repugnant to me," he said.
He added: "Some of the people that are opposed to this, they're some female senators from the North East."
If it was "a guy from south Texas" who was generating so much discord in the party, he would ask them to settle their differences in a gun fight, he said.
There was an outcry when Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell drafted the first healthcare bill in a group of 13 that did not include any women.
There are concerns from moderate Republicans, Democrats and groups representing the health service that the Republican plan will strip millions of poor Americans of healthcare.
Ms Collins, a moderate Republican, has been strongly opposed to the Republican bill from the start over cuts to Medicaid, a government health programme for the poor.
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelly Moore Capito of West Virginia also came out against the bill, expressing concerns over plans to weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions and affordability.
Mrs Capito was especially concerned with the cuts to Medicaid, which her state expanded under Obamacare.
All three female senators also emphasised they could not vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan in place.
Congressman Blake Farenthold isn't the kind of guy to hold his tongue. He's also no stranger to charges of misogyny, what with allegations of sexual harassment and being the subject of one of the most embarrassing pyjama photos in US political history.
Beneath the bluster from the South Texas Republican, however, is a bitter truth. Republicans in the House of Representatives are seething over the possibility that senators will hang them out to dry on healthcare reform.
After some drama, in May House Republicans voted in favour of unpopular healthcare legislation they were promised would be smoothed out in the Senate.
Democrats on the House floor took delight in a vote they believed would come back to haunt their counterparts in the 2018 congressional elections.
While that may be a reality for some moderate Republicans, they were buoyed by thoughts of fulfilling a long-time campaign promise and achieving a key conservative goal.
But what if that isn't the case? What if House Republicans took a hard vote and got nothing in return except the president's derision and months of Senate wheel-spinning?
They would be angry. And some, it seems, would eye their metaphorical duelling pistols. | A Republican politician has blamed "female senators" for the spluttering efforts by his party to pass a healthcare bill. | 40711882 |
The International Longevity Centre report said more should be done to make retirement housing "aspirational."
A lack of desirable retirement housing meant older people downsizing might end up chasing the same properties as first-time buyers, it added.
But critics said different generations had different housing priorities.
The International Longevity Centre (ILC) study, commissioned by Hanover Housing, criticised "scapegoating" of older people for "hoarding housing" as "ageist and irrelevant".
Rather than simply calling for older people to downsize, "we should be incentivising all generations to refrain from under-occupying properties", urge the authors.
However, they added that purpose-built housing for older people can improve their health and quality of life and "free up family-sized housing".
The report adds that elderly people are "often in denial about the realities of ageing" and struggle on in unsuitable, over-large homes when smaller properties might be more suitable.
"We must all think harder about the sort of housing we are likely to want to live in as we age," said Dylan Kneale of ILC-UK.
"Too many of us deny the impact of ageing and end up in inappropriate housing."
Mr Kneale urged local and central government to support the provision of appropriate housing for all ages.
"Planners and policy-makers must recognise the impact of our ageing society and develop adequate housing".
The report argues that the UK needs to build more homes but adds that a lack of desirable retirement housing means older people who downsize may end up chasing the same properties as first-time buyers.
Retirement housing needs an image overhaul, say the authors, with many people viewing it as "expensive and isolated" and prone to hidden charges.
Currently it is focused on people with the greatest health and social care needs - instead design should be improved to make it "aspirational", they argue.
The study suggests that designers of retirement homes could learn from age-segregated housing for other groups, for example student housing.
"Older people are no different from younger generations in being rational consumers; they need to be convinced that moving is the right decision for them."
Ashley Seager, of the Intergenerational Foundation, which has argued for tax breaks to encourage older people to move into smaller homes, said: "Asking older generations to downsize is neither ageist or irrelevant. US citizens happily flock to their condos in Florida, freeing themselves of the tyranny of upkeep expenses.
"The simple fact remains that children do not have the family space they need to thrive because government has not replaced the homes taken by older homeowners choosing not to downsize once their families have flown the nest."
"It is a myth that older downsizers and younger first time buyers compete for housing. Older generations require much higher specifications, good bus routes and amenities whilst young people are more willing to compromise on transport links and stairs in favour of price."
Michelle Mitchell of Age UK agreed too few retirement homes were being built and echoed concerns about design quality and support services in some schemes.
"We urgently need a much better choice of good housing options for older people. This would help younger people too as it would enable those older people who do want to move out of homes that no longer meet their needs to actually do so. At present they often have no choice but to stay where they are." | Encouraging older people to downsize to smaller homes could backfire and worsen the housing shortage for first-time buyers, argues a report. | 22656641 |
State-run al-Iraqiya TV said government forces were "advancing" but progress has been slowed by roadside bombs.
Security sources said they had captured villages and oil fields east of the city, and blocked a key IS supply line to neighbouring Diyala province.
The offensive is being overseen at least in part by an Iranian general.
On Tuesday, the top US general said Iran's role in Tikrit could be positive, as long as it did not fuel sectarian tensions.
Some 30,000 soldiers and militiamen from the Popular Mobilisation (al-Hashd al-Shaabi) force, backed by Iraqi jets and helicopters, have advanced gradually since the offensive began on Monday.
On Wednesday, a source in the Samarra Operations Command told the BBC that government forces had taken control of the village of al-Maibdi, on the road between Tikrit and the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, as well as the nearby Ajil and Alas oilfields. The road was a key supply route for IS between Salahuddin and Diyala provinces, the source said.
Another official told All Iraq News that the villages of Siha and Mazraat al-Rahim, just to the north of Tikrit in al-Alam district, had also been retaken.
However, the soldiers and militiamen have not breached IS defences around Tikrit and al-Dour, a town 19km (12 miles) to the south, which officials say is another stronghold of the jihadist group.
Military officials said on Tuesday that al-Dour had been surrounded and sealed off, but that an assault on the town had not yet been launched.
Can Iraq's army dislodge Islamic State?
How Iran is involved in battle for Tikrit
Tikrit campaign key to rolling back IS advance
A senior army commander said the operation was focused on preventing IS from launching more attacks, and cutting supply lines to stop reinforcements and weapons reaching Tikrit.
The next step would be to "surround the towns completely, suffocate them and then pounce," Lt Gen Abdul Amir al-Zaidi told the AFP news agency.
Gen Zaidi said progress along roads into Tikrit had been slowed by sniper fire and roadside bombs planted by IS militants since they seized Saddam Hussein's hometown last June. On one 8km (5-mile) stretch of road, soldiers found about 100 mines and bombs.
Troops taking part in the offensive have so far not received the support of US-led coalition aircraft.
Coalition officials said air strikes had not been requested by the Iraqi authorities, but there are reportedly concerns about the prominent role of Iran and its allied Shia militia.
Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, was said on Tuesday to have been directing operations from near the frontline east of Tikrit.
He was seen alongside the leader of the Popular Mobilisation, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, and Transport Minister Hadi al-Amiri, who heads the powerful Badr Organisation.
Iranian troops are also reportedly operating artillery, rocket launchers and aerial drones.
Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Tikrit campaign signalled a new level of Iranian involvement but added that it could turn out to be "a positive thing".
"This is the most overt conduct of Iranian support, in the form of artillery and other things," he said in a response to questions from members of the Senate armed services committee.
"Frankly, it will only be a problem if it results in sectarianism."
The UN warned that the operation had to be conducted "with full respect for fundamental human rights principles and humanitarian law" after militia leaders vowed to seek revenge for the massacre of hundreds of soldiers, most of them Shia, at Camp Speicher near Tikrit in June. | Iraqi army soldiers and Shia militiamen are seeking to encircle Islamic State fighters in Tikrit, on the third day of a major operation to retake the city. | 31727470 |
Liechtenstein international Buchel, 27, did not make a first-team appearance for the U's last season and spent time on loan at League Two Barnet.
Shearer signed a 12-month contract on Tuesday after being released by Mansfield Town.
Midfielder Josh Ashby, 21, has signed a new one-year deal while he recovers from a knee injury. | Goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel has left Oxford United following the arrival of Scott Shearer. | 39947412 |
The ex-London mayor and Leave campaigner said the EU was "virtually identical" after the PM's reform talks.
In a speech in London, he criticised what he called the "wholly bogus" arguments in favour of remaining in.
David Cameron said the UK had "the best of both worlds" in its relationship with a "reformed" EU.
He also said the Leave campaign offered "no answers to the most basic questions" and warned security in Europe could be at risk if the UK voted for an exit.
There are just over six weeks to go until the 23 June referendum which will decide whether Britain remains in, or leaves, the EU.
Mr Johnson, one of the favourites to replace Mr Cameron as Conservative leader, was scathing about the reforms the PM secured before calling the vote.
Quoting from the PM's 2013 speech in which Mr Cameron outlined his referendum plans, Mr Johnson said "nothing remotely resembling" the promised changes had been achieved.
Eurosceptics had been "excited" by what had been offered, Mr Johnson said, but "quietly despaired as no reform was forthcoming".
"If you look at what we were promised, and what we got, the government should logically be campaigning on our side today," he said.
Mr Cameron told the BBC he had "always believed that we are better off in a reformed European Union".
The reforms, he said, gave the UK "the best of both worlds" because it was in the single market but out of the euro, and people were able to travel freely but able to "keep our borders".
But Mr Johnson said the government was powerless to control EU migration because "this most basic power of a state - to decide who has the right to live and work in your country - has been taken away and now resides in Brussels".
The Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP said the UK would not be "leaving Europe" if it quits the EU, as he set out the "liberal cosmopolitan" case for an exit - including starting to sing Ode to Joy in German.
He also reiterated the Leave campaign's desire to maintain access to the EU single market area if it leaves - saying this could be achieved without being subject to the "vast, growing and politically-driven empire of EU law".
In his speech, Mr Cameron said the UK would be forced to accept freedom of movement and pay into the EU budget in exchange for single market access, adding that leaving it would be a "reckless and irresponsible course".
"The Leave campaign can't answer them because they don't know the answers," he said.
"They have no plan." | The government should be campaigning to leave the EU because of the "total failure" of its renegotiations, Boris Johnson says. | 36246009 |
The club say the agreement is "on terms substantially different from the terminated agreements".
"Supporters now have certainty that any money they spend on Rangers products will be hugely beneficial for the club," Rangers said on their website.
"The new deal will deliver real value for [Rangers] and SD."
The Ibrox club will now deal directly with the sports retailer, replacing the previous arrangement which was a joint venture between the club, a company called Rangers Retail Limited (RRL) and Sports Direct.
"The negotiations between the parties have been protracted and have not been smooth," the Rangers statement added.
"For obvious reasons it is not the practice for the details of commercial arrangements to be made public. However, in view of the publicity surrounding the previous agreements and the resultant boycott by supporters of kit purchases we consider it appropriate to give supporters some insight into the new arrangements.
"The new arrangements represent a fresh start for the Rangers Megastore, the re-launch of the Rangers Webstore and the sale of Rangers kit and products throughout SD's stores.
"[Rangers] will now receive by far the majority of net profits from the retail operations at the Megastore and Webstore together with an equal share of all net profits from sales through SD. [Rangers] will also obtain a priority dividend on the winding up of RRL.
"Both parties are delighted to achieve a successful resolution to the issues that have previously marred the relationship between them and bring an end to the protracted and costly litigation.
"Rangers has traditionally been one of the best performing brands in British football and the club believes the new arrangements can restore it to that position, providing funds to invest in the team and facilities at Ibrox and Auchenhowie."
Rangers chairman Dave King also revealed he and other shareholders - including Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor - have provided additional funding to the club in recent weeks in the form of interest-free loans.
King said the funding of this summer's transfer activity, with six players arriving so far and the signings of two Mexican internationals - Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera - expected to be confirmed soon, did not take into account the possibility of the retail deal being revised.
The chairman added the club has not received any notification of legal action being started by former manager Mark Warburton over his departure last season, and that the club did not expect there to be any. | Rangers have announced a new commercial deal with Sports Direct, which replaces the arrangement they had in place with Mike Ashley's company. | 40358177 |
The 21-year-old Yorkshire opener compiled the runs against DY Patil Academy for the England Performance Programme (EPP) side this week.
15-19 Nov: 1st Test, Ahmedabad India won by 9 wickets
23-27 Nov: 2nd Test, Mumbai England won by 10 wickets
5-9 Dec: 3rd Test, Kolkata
13-17 Dec: 4th Test, Nagpur
"It was crucial I took the opportunity and have the weight of runs behind me," he told BBC Sport.
"If I said I wasn't disappointed not to play in the first Test, I'd be lying."
Root lost out on a Test debut to Nick Compton in the first Test and also missed England's series-levelling victory in the second Test after Jonny Bairstow was called in to replace Ian Bell, who had gone home for the birth of his first child.
Bell is back with the team for the third Test, which starts on Wednesday in Kolkata.
"Everyone needs time in the middle, especially when you've not been playing," added Root.
"I'll just be doing everything I can in the nets, working with all the coaches to try to improve my game and take as much from the tour as possible - but also to make sure if required I'm ready to go."
England are level in the four-Test series after Alastair Cook's side defeated India by 10 wickets in the previous Test - it was only their second Test win in India in 14 matches since 1985.
"Obviously, we're on a massive high at the minute," said Root.
"Everyone's in a really good place, and really looking forward to what's to come here in Kolkata." | Joe Root is hoping he has done enough to earn his England debut on the current tour in India, having scored 166 in a warm-up match. | 20566117 |
The plan is expected to create more than 9,000 jobs and trigger almost £1.3bn investment in the region.
Mrs May said it would "benefit the whole of Wales".
It comes as First Minister Carwyn Jones told the Guardian Mrs May had a "tin ear" on issues of devolution.
Downing Street said Mrs May's visits to the four UK nations, which begin in Wales, would ensure the government was "engaging and listening to people from right across the nation" before triggering Article 50 to leave the European Union.
Q&A: What is in the Swansea Bay city deal?
Speaking ahead of the city deal signing, the prime minister said: "Wales' universities already have an excellent international reputation.
"They attract overseas students and pioneer in research projects here and abroad.
"I also want Wales to be at the forefront of science and innovation, as demonstrated by today's landmark city deal for Swansea.
"The deal is a great example of what can be achieved when the UK Government, the Welsh Government and local authorities work together to secure a deal that benefits the city and the whole of Wales."
As well as meeting the first minister, Mrs May will see representatives from a range of sectors and businesses at the signing ceremony at Swansea's Liberty Stadium.
Speaking ahead of the signing, Mr Jones said: "We have pushed long and hard for this city deal to be signed and have given it our strongest possible backing with £125m of Welsh Government investment.
"This is a package which will deliver jobs and economic growth for all of south west Wales, with clear benefits for all the areas involved.
"Today's announcement is a transformative deal that will drive the regional economy in a new direction, supported by high-quality jobs and a digital infrastructure."
Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea council and the city region, said: "This is among the biggest investments Wales has ever seen, so it's a historic day for the Swansea Bay City Region." | Prime Minister Theresa May will sign off the Swansea Bay City Region deal later, insisting she wants Wales "at the forefront of science and innovation". | 39321953 |
James Casbolt, from St Ives in Cornwall, previously admitted blackmail and stalking the hypermarket heiress, as well as harassing two other women.
Casbolt, 38, the former husband of Miss Meijer, repeatedly posted pornographic images of her online and demanded cash.
At Truro Crown Court, the judge said Casbolt had "depraved and distorted" values and an "evil" motive.
The court heard Casbolt became friends with Miss Meijer on Facebook and they met in person in May 2010.
They married in September 2011 and moved to Michigan in the US where Casbolt joined the US Army.
When he was posted to an army base in Texas he asked Miss Meijer for sexually explicit photographs and videos which she reluctantly gave him.
But when the couple split in June 2013 Casbolt posted sexually explicit images of her on Facebook and on a pornographic website, and demanded millions of dollars.
He also made "unrelenting" threats towards Miss Meijer and her relatives, the court heard.
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark told Casbolt: "I regard you as a dangerous man who is capable of using modern means of communication in a sinister and destructive way."
Casbolt had been remanded in a mental health unit but an expert report said he was not suffering from a mental disorder.
The judge said: "The circumstances of this offence reveal a highly intelligent and calculating criminal mind. Your motives were, to put it bluntly, evil."
He said Casbolt's actions "intimidated, terrified and humiliated" Miss Meijer and his mind was "obsessed with peculiar and distorted conspiracy theories".
"To adapt the celebrated phrase used about Lord Byron, you were not mad but you were bad and very dangerous to know for these women unfortunate enough to encounter you," the judge said.
The court heard Casbolt also harassed Simone Everett and surfing champion Anastassia 'Tassy' Swallow when back in St Ives.
He was sentenced to five years for blackmail and a further four years with one year on licence for stalking Miss Meijer.
He was given a further three years for harassing Ms Everett and one year concurrent for harassing Ms Swallow, making a total of 12 years.
Posting on Facebook, Ms Swallow warned that "you never know who's about and what might be acceptable in their heads".
She added her "thoughts are with the US family. Bet they're heaps relieved after today's hearing. I know I am."
Ms Meijer's father, Hank, is chief executive of American hypermarket chain Meijer, a company worth $9.5bn (£6.1bn) according to business analysts Forbes. | A man has been jailed for 12 years after trying to blackmail US heiress Haley Meijer out of £2m ($3.1m). | 33691476 |
The mother-of-three from Luton drew wide admiration for her dedication and is remembered as fondly in her Nigerian hometown as in the council offices of Hounslow, west London.
On 7 July 2005, she caught a train to King's Cross station, and took her usual route to work on the Piccadilly Line.
But in the explosion that followed, the 56-year-old lost her arms and legs and was declared dead by paramedics at the scene.
Mrs Ikeagwu was born and raised in Nigeria.
Her high school education was interrupted by the three-year Biafran war. In 1969, just before war was over, she married Dr Okorafor Ikeagwu and they went on to have three children.
The young family moved to England in 1976, settling in Luton, and Mrs Ikeagwu was keen to further her education.
Over the next two decades, she studied social work, returned to Nigeria for a spell and opened her own hair salon which she ran for nine years.
By 2000, she had achieved a masters degree in social work from Kingston University.
The following year she joined Hounslow social services and was based in the community, working with adults with learning difficulties at the Berkeley Centre in Heston.
At the inquest into her death, her husband said in a statement that Ojara had brought up their three children virtually single-handedly, as he often worked in hospitals outside Luton and was out of the country for six years.
Her efforts were rewarded by the academic progress of their children - now a pharmacist, a lawyer and a paediatrician, he said.
After her death, her university department at Kingston set up the Ojara Ikeagwu memorial prize, awarded annually to the best social work student.
Hounslow Council set out a garden in honour of services to the borough.
And her good work was also remembered further afield.
In 2003, she made education free for 500 pupils at her village school in Nigeria, giving them all free books, pens, pencils, rulers and school uniforms.
The school programme continues to be funded by her husband.
A week before her death, Mrs Ikeagwu started providing twice-monthly protein meals for the school pupils.
In return for her commitment to her home town, the village posthumously made her a chief and named the primary school after her.
In his statement, Dr Ikeagwu said: "Ojara was an extrovert and she got on well with everyone she came across.
"Her death dealt a big blow to her family that has been difficult to recover from. She now has two grandchildren that she will never see.
"The people she was helping and the people she could have helped are all suffering since her death."
Shortly after her death, Judy Smart, head of care management at the Berkeley Centre, said: "Ojara had her own inimitable style of work with service users, parents and carers, and was highly committed to the learning disability service." | In the five years before her death, social worker Ojara Ikeagwu helped hundreds of adults with learning difficulties in London and hundreds more children in her homeland to get free schooling. | 12003741 |
The referee was forced to abandon the Southern League match following a pitch invasion.
The club confirmed the bans came into effect immediately and said investigations were ongoing.
Two men who were arrested following the incident have been bailed.
In a statement, Hereford FC said: "Following the events that unfolded at Didcot on 4th March, Hereford FC can confirm that banning orders have been served on three supporters this week."
About 100 people were involved in the incident, which took place in the 87th minute when Hereford were leading 2-1.
A 19-year-old man from Hereford was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, and a 19-year-old man from Hereford was arrested on suspicion of common assault.
Both men have been bailed until April. | Football banning orders have been issued to three Hereford Football Club supporters following incidents at a game at Didcot Town earlier this month, the club said. | 39314844 |
Jason McCue, from East Kilbride, was found injured in John Hastie Park, Strathaven, on Tuesday afternoon. He died while being treated by paramedics.
On Thursday, a 50-year-old man appeared in court charged with murdering Mr McCue.
A 27-year-old man is currently in police custody and is expected to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court later. | A second man has been arrested over the death of a 43-year-old man at a park in South Lanarkshire. | 40605255 |
The format, also known as 4K, offers four times the resolution of 1080p high definition video.
The matches - including a quarter final and the final - mark one of the first times a live event has been streamed over the air in UHD in the UK.
They will only be made available to a limited number of TVs at BBC sites.
But it could pave the way for more widespread use of the technology.
One of the biggest challenges of distributing UHD TV to the home is how to make it compatible with existing broadcast and broadband capacities.
Users need speeds of around 20Mbps (megabits per second) in order to watch 4K content without glitches, experts say.
"It's a good idea for the BBC to trial these things and the results on a large screen look impressive but it also needs to be realistic about the potential to push this across current broadcast networks," said Toby Syfret, an analyst at Enders research group.
Previously the BBC has worked with Japanese broadcaster NHK on such trials. Rival broadcaster Sky has also run 4K trials.
The live streams will be sent via satellite from Brazil, and then distributed via Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) and Internet Protocol (IP) but only to a handful of UHD TV sets in selected BBC Research and Development facilities.
Matthew Postgate, controller of BBC Research and Development said: "The trials will prove hugely valuable in furthering our understanding of UHD technology, and potential distribution models for the future."
4K is the next great hope for TV manufacturers hoping to persuade viewers to upgrade their sets but like any fledging technology it has experienced teething problems.
There is not a great deal of content available yet in the format and the costs of 4K TV sets remain high.
Netflix recently made some of its TV shows - including House of Cards and Breaking Bad - available in the new technology but the decoder required to view the content was not compatible with some early 4K televisions. | Three World Cup football matches being played in Brazil this summer will be streamed in ultra high-definition (UHD), the BBC has announced. | 27713243 |
Axa, Calpers, Scor and AMP Capital have already sold or are selling their tobacco investments.
The companies launched their appeal on the annual World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
Along with 50 other firms with investments totalling $3.8tn, they have pledged "to openly support the tobacco control measures being taken by governments around the world".
The statement reads: "We in the investment community are becoming increasingly aware of the important role we can play in helping to address the health and societal impacts of tobacco.
"We strive within our own scope of action to support the ambition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in line with our commitment to the positive role finance can play in sustainable development more broadly."
Last year, when Axa announced it was selling its tobacco investments, its chief executive Thomas Buberl told the BBC: "The business case is positive. It makes no sense for us to continue our investments within the tobacco industry. The human cost of tobacco is tragic - its economic cost is huge."
WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.
Its Tobacco Fact Sheet explains: "Tobacco kills more than seven million people each year. More than six million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
"Nearly 80% of the world's more than one billion smokers live in low and middle-income countries."
In the developing world, tobacco markets are still growing, largely through ignorance of the dangers. A 2009 survey in China revealed that only 38% of smokers knew that smoking caused coronary heart disease and only 27% knew that it caused strokes.
WNTD is the only one of the WHO's health campaigns that pits itself against a specific industry.
The tobacco business remains a formidable adversary. It has been one of the best investments of the last decade, indeed possibly of the post-Second World War era.
The shares in companies listed in the Bloomberg tobacco producers index have risen 351% since 2009, compared with just over 101% for the MSCI global index.
Despite the growing aversion of the big investors, many believe there is more growth to come.
Dan Caplinger, of the financial services company The Motley Fool, wrote in January: "As a new year begins, there are reasons to believe that 2017 could be a great year to invest in tobacco stocks."
He goes on to explain that mergers and a move into non-traditional tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and "heat-not-burn" tobacco products, could boost share prices further.
The success of the industry is all the more remarkable, bearing in mind the forces ranged against Big Tobacco.
These include multinational agencies, lobby groups, governments and the global medical establishment, as well as the stark fact, as formulated by the WHO, that "tobacco kills up to half of its users".
The regulations are getting tighter, specifically in the way companies can advertise tobacco products. Even so, only 29 countries, representing just 12% of the world's population, have completely banned all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
For instance, the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive forced tobacco companies to cover 65% of their packets with health warnings and clamped down on e-cigarette advertising.
Companies such as Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have fought back, complaining that they are being unlawfully deprived of the right to display their brands.
But last month, they lost a High Court challenge in the UK against new plain packaging rules. These mean all cigarette packets must now look the same, with the same green colour, font, size, case and alignment of text on boxes.
The move by investors against tobacco is part of a wider trend in so-called ethical investing, which seems to be gathering pace.
The US-based Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment estimates that there has been 33% growth in what it calls sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) over the past two years, and a 14-fold increase since 1995.
Its 2016 report says: "SRI investing continues to expand - now accounting for more than one out of every $5 under professional management in the United States."
The report is only talking about US-domiciled assets, but that's still $8.72tn. Of that, $1.97tn is invested with specific instructions to avoid tobacco and alcohol. | Four international investment groups have called on investors to quit the tobacco industry. | 40105814 |
Today, Ascot is world famous for its racecourse, with races throughout the year.
However, it is only called Royal Ascot in June when the Queen attends.
But as racing historian Sean Magee explained, it was royal from the very start.
The 300-year story of racing at Ascot begins in 1711, when Queen Anne put an idea into motion to pursue her love of horse racing.
Also a lover of stag hunting, Mr Magee said that it was on one of her "regular rampages" through nearby Windsor forest when Anne had her "brainwave".
Her racecourse would appear near Ascot village, which was close to where her hunting hounds were kennelled at Swinley Bottom.
On 12 July 1711, the London Gazette printed that Her Majesty's plates of 50 and 100 guineas would be competed for at the new course the following month, even though at that time the course still needed to be laid out.
"Charles, Duke of Somerset and Master of the Horse, swung into action," said Mr Magee, author of Ascot: The History.
"Royal account books record the payment to 'sundry workmen employed in making and perfecting the round heat (course) on Ascot Common in the months of July and August 1711'".
Payments were also made to William Erlybrown "for setting up posts and other carpenter's work on the said common" and to Benjamin Culcott for painting the posts.
Mr Magee explained that on the eve of the first meeting, held on Saturday 11 August 1711, author Jonathan Swift wrote that "much company is come to town this evening to see tomorrow's race".
"The first Ascot meeting must have been considered a success as a second followed in September 1711," said Mr Magee.
"Ascot races were quickly established as one of the main social events of the court calendar."
However, the death of Queen Anne on 1 August 1714 caused the cancellation of the races later that month, and there is no further record of Ascot races until 1720.
Neither successors George I and George II showed any interest in Ascot Racecourse, but its fortunes were revived by George II's third son and keen sportsman William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland.
Known as The Butcher Of Culloden for his brutal defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in Scotland, Cumberland was responsible for the racecourse's first four-day Tuesday-to-Friday fixture in 1749.
Years later in 1785, the Straight Mile was built at Ascot when a marked improvement in thoroughbred breeds saw less emphasis on stamina and more on speed.
The next important royal in the history of Ascot was "the notorious Prinny," said Mr Magee.
He was George III's oldest son, who became Prince Regent in 1811.
"The future George IV is best remembered for his profligacy and hedonism, living his life in a whirl of banqueting, gambling and womanising - three activities which came together in his passion for racing," said Mr Magee.
He added: "Prinny's patronage made Ascot races one of the most fashionable social occasions of the year, but coverage of his attendance was by no means deferential.
"A famous satirical print of the time depicted 'His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, with a Lady of Quality, going to Ascot Races' - and the Lady of Quality is anything but."
When Prinny was crowned George IV in January 1820, he ordered architect John Nash to design a new stand, which included a lawn for the exclusive use of guests of the royal family - the beginning of the Royal Enclosure.
But the greatest legacy George IV left to Ascot is the Royal Procession.
"There had been grand entrances before but it was in 1825 that the royal party first made a formal procession up the Straight Mile," said Mr Magee.
"Since then the Royal Procession has provided the most graphic illustration of the connection between royalty and Ascot racecourse." | As this year's Royal Ascot gets underway in Berkshire, BBC News looks back at the racecourse's history as it marks its 300-year anniversary. | 13695338 |
The North Korea-flagged ship had been loaded at a rebel-held port and evaded a naval blockade before being boarded by US Navy Seals south of Cyprus.
Its evasion prompted parliament to sack Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.
The US said it had handed over the ship, cargo and crew to Libyan forces in international waters off the coast of Libya.
Rebels had loaded the Morning Glory with oil at the port of Sidra. It was unclear where it was heading.
It was the first vessel loaded at a rebel-held port since a separatist revolt against the central government in Tripoli erupted in July 2013.
Rebels under Ibrahim Jathran hold three ports, and are demanding a greater share of the country's oil revenue.
Earlier, the Lana state news agency reported clashes between his fighters and Libyan troops in his hometown of Ajdabiya.
The US embassy said in a statement that the handover of ship, cargo and crew had gone "smoothly and as planned".
It added: "We have been assured by the government of Libya that the captain, crew members and Libyan nationals who were aboard the stateless tanker will be treated humanely in accordance with internationally recognised standards of human rights."
The Navy Seals operation had been authorised by President Barack Obama and no-one was hurt.
The vessel was flagged in North Korea but officials in Pyongyang said it had been deregistered because of the incident. It was said to have been operated by an Egyptian company.
The Libyan government is still struggling to assert its authority on rebel groups that helped to overthrow Col Muammar Gaddafi. | The US says it has returned the rogue oil tanker Morning Glory to the Libyan government. | 26699610 |
Centre-back Dawson, 32, was injured during the club's pre-season friendly victory over Mansfield on Tuesday.
It means the Tigers have just 13 fit senior players less than a month before the new season starts.
On Monday, full-back Moses Odubajo was ruled out for up to six months with a knee ligament injury.
Earlier this month, goalkeeper Allan McGregor (back) and defender Alex Bruce (Achilles tendon) were ruled out for between four and six months.
Hull begin their Premier League campaign against champions Leicester on Saturday, 13 August (kick-off 12:45 BST). | Hull's injury problems have worsened, with captain Michael Dawson ruled out for three months because of a medial knee ligament injury. | 36848280 |
The final Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for February was 53.3.
This was higher than an earlier, preliminary estimate of 52.7, and above the 50 level that indicates expansion.
Markit said the figures indicated the eurozone is set to grow by 0.4-0.5% in the first quarter of 2014, which would be the best growth for three years.
Official figures, also released on Wednesday, confirmed that the eurozone grew by 0.3% in the final three months of 2013. Growth was helped by rising exports and improving investment.
The PMI survey confirmed the contrasting fortunes of Germany and France.
German companies saw strong growth, with the country's composite PMI reading hitting a 33-month high of 56.4.
However, activity among French firms continued to decline, with the PMI figure dropping to 47.9.
The European Central Bank (ECB) holds its latest meeting on Thursday, and there has been speculation that the bank may take action to avert the threat of deflation in the eurozone.
Eurozone inflation was 0.8% in February, well below the ECB's target of 2%. | Business growth in the eurozone accelerated last month to its fastest pace since June 2011, a survey says. | 26450464 |
The charity said Hull was the most deprived local authority in Yorkshire and among the most deprived in the country.
It said £4.9m funding would be used to step up how quickly patients are seen.
The project aims to speed up referrals, and improve treatment for people from socially-deprived communities.
The charity said that said in the period 2012-14, the number of people diagnosed with cancer per 100,000 people, was 689 in Hull, compared with 627 for Yorkshire and 615 for England.
Mortality rates for the same period, showed that per 100,000 people the figures were 353 for Hull, 299 for Yorkshire and 282 for England.
Nikki Johnson, from the charity, said: "Early diagnosis is key. Lots of people in Hull are diagnosed late on, at Stage Four cancer.
"Lung cancer in particular is a huge problem, Hull has one of the highest smoking rates in the country - the incidence rate is 131 per 100,000 people, while across England as a whole it's just 78."
The charity is working with the University of Hull, the Hull York Medical School and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust on the programme.
Interim chief executive Dr Kathryn Scott, said: "Areas with high levels of deprivation often have poor cancer outcomes."
"Smoking and drinking alcohol, poor knowledge and awareness of symptoms, and barriers in access to healthcare", were contributing factors, she explained.
Mike Lind, professor of oncology, said it was important to try to tackle the lung cancer problem, especially.
"I believe research is the best way to understand why people don't come forward, and why treatments don't work," he said.
Former cancer patient, Harry Good, from Long Riston, near Hull, said any scheme which encouraged people to take action was a good thing.
The 73-year-old sought medical help for what he thought was a chest infection, but was diagnosed with lung cancer after having an X-ray.
Mr Good is now cancer-free and said he was one of the "lucky ones". | A multi-million pound research project to tackle cancer inequalities in Hull has been announced by Yorkshire Cancer Research. | 39277822 |
The celebration of food, music and culture - among the oldest events of its kind in Europe - took over Potternewton Park for the bank holiday weekend.
The highlight was Monday's carnival parade on the streets of Chapeltown and Harehills.
Organisers estimated 120,000 had attended this year's celebrations.
The parade left Potternewton Park at 14:00 BST, turned left down Harehills Avenue before heading towards the city centre. It then looped back on itself and returned to the park.
An early-morning 'pyjama party' kicked-off the day's festivities at 06:30.
Arthur France, who helped to start the the carnival in 1967, said he was feeling "overwhelmingly great".
"We have some great costumes, great weather and Leeds is bustling - we upstage London and the rest of Europe," he said. | Thousands of people have turned out on the streets of Leeds for the 49th West Indian Carnival. | 37212917 |
Brent crude oil is at $65.37 per barrel and has gained around $9 since March.
A slowdown in US shale oil production and the conflict in Yemen have been cited as the main reasons for the rise in the oil price in recent weeks.
It comes as BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil are expected to report sharp falls in first quarter earnings this week.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "Overall we are in an upwards trend and we do appear to have found a short-term base. There's a good chance we could see $70 a barrel [for Brent] over the course of the next month or so."
While Yemen itself is not among the biggest oil producers in the Middle East, Gulf producers ship oil along the Gulf of Aden on Yemen's southern coast and through the narrow straits of Bab el-Mandeb, between Yemen and Djibouti.
As a result fighting in the region could create log jams in delivery.
Over the next few days the oil majors BP, Shell and Exxon are set to report results and city analysts are forecasting falls of more than 60% in profits, compared with the same three month period a year earlier.
That comes as a direct result of falling oil prices, which were more than 50% lower in the first three months of 2015 compared with the same time last year.
All seven major global oil firms are forecast to report a year-on-year decline in income of around 57%, according to analysts at Jefferies.
Analysts at Barclays bank cautioned against undue optimism over oil prices, which are still $50 per barrel below their previous high of $115 per barrel last August.
"Sustaining the recent oil price rally requires firmer demand and a tangible supply response," they said in a note.
"The cart is moving ahead of the horse, and we take a cautious view on further price appreciation over the near term."
Separately, UK government officials warned off any potential suitor for BP ahead of the release of its first quarter results on Tuesday.
A senior City source was quoted by the Financial Times newspaper as saying the government "would make their opposition so clear that any foreign bidder would be deterred from actually making a bid."
A poor set of results might make BP vulnerable to a takeover from one of its rivals. But the final bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill off the US coast in 2010 and the firm's exposure to Russia through its Rosneft business could deter would-be suitors.
Earlier this month Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group announced a £47bn merger. Should it receive regulatory approval the deal would be one of the biggest of 2015 and could produce a company with a value of more than £200bn. | The price of oil is hovering at a four-and-a-half month high amid concerns over disruption to supplies from the Middle East. | 32480039 |
Police found 2,489 packages and envelopes in Grant McCrone's property in Balmoral Avenue in Dumfries in May.
Dumfries Sheriff Court heard that the mail dated back to between September and December 2012.
McCrone, 26, who admitted stealing and intentionally delaying the mail, was sentenced to a community payback order and 180 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard that of the packages discovered, 2,388 were not addressed.
The Royal Mail had a contract to deliver them to certain postcode areas. It was likely they contained promotional material.
The remaining 101 packages were addressed to individuals. A total of 60 had been opened.
Sheriff Brian Mohan was told that McCrone was "a hard working, intelligent and, with the exception of this matter, a law abiding man".
He committed the crime when his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
He initially hid the mail at his family home before he moved to Balmoral Avenue after his father's death.
Sheriff Mohan said McCrone had breached the trust of the Royal Mail and its customers and he had narrowly avoided a prison sentence.
The court was told that McCrone was sacked by Royal Mail for gross misconduct on 6 June. | A postman stole more than 2,000 items of mail and hid them in his outhouse for more than two years. | 35114138 |
South Korea's Kospi index opened up 5 points, or 0.27%, to 1,976.68. Samsung shares are trading much higher, up by nearly 2%.
The company said it is expecting a 10% jump in operating profit for the first quarter period.
Over in Australia the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.4% higher in early trading, at 4,967.89.
Meanwhile, in Japan the benchmark Nikkei 225 is higher by 118 points, or 0.75%, at 15,830.40. This is a reversal from seven straight days of declines.
It's a different picture in Hong Kong and China, where both markets are trading in the red.
China's Shanghai Composite is down by 1%, or 33.5 points, at 3,017.22.
Over In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is lower by 36 points at 20,167.72. But there are bigger falls for shares of ZTE which are listed in Hong Kong. They have fallen by 14% at the start of trade.
Trading in shares of the Chinese telecom equipment maker have resumed for the first time since last month. That was when the US Commerce Department imposed export restrictions on the firm, for allegedly violating US export controls against Iran.
US stocks rose overnight, as investors bought up shares of drugmakers and other health care firms.
The buying spree followed news that US drugs giant Pfizer will walk away from a $160bn deal to takeover Dublin-based Allergan. Investors are now wondering if the American company will have to look at other drugs firms for a potential acquisition to help it grow the business.
Share of energy-related companies also got a boost as the price of oil rebounded. | Most Asian markets are off to a positive start on Thursday, tracking gains from Wall Street. | 35983806 |
The bamboo was used by his headmaster at Cambridge and County High School for Boys and inspired the cane-wielding character from Floyd's The Wall tour.
The exhibit accompanies a book which logs punishments issued to Waters, now 73, when he was a Cambridge schoolboy.
The book also records beatings for his late band mate Syd Barrett.
Waters has said he felt "inordinately proud" of his own entry for fighting.
Read this and more stories from Cambridge
Mr Waters was speaking alongside the band's drummer Nick Mason at a preview of the Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A in London.
He said he was particularly looking forward to seeing the cane, which he said was used for "flimsy" beatings.
He added that the headmaster "didn't really have his heart" in corporal punishment.
"There's a log of punishment that they [schoolboys] got... six strokes for fighting is my entry which I'm inordinately proud of.
"It's so archaic now, the idea of hitting people with sticks to make them do things."
Mr Mason revealed that Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson, who died in 2013, had been the school's most punished pupil, according to the log book.
The show also features a giant replica of the Bedford van the band used as their touring vehicle in the 1960s, while David Gilmour's famous Stratocaster guitar, nicknamed "the black strat", will also be on show.
The exhibition, which starts in May, marks 50 years since the release of the band's first album and their debut single Arnold Layne. | A cane used to beat Pink Floyd's Roger Waters as a schoolboy features among 350 items appearing at an exhibition documenting the band's 50-year history. | 39003687 |
Kristian Dacey and Gareth Anscombe both crossed for the Blues while Steven Shingler's kicking sent them 15-0 up.
But Welshman Jordan Williams and Jack Tovey both scored tries to claw back 14 points for Bristol at the break.
Matthew Morgan scored either side of Williams' second try as Sam Warburton sent the hosts into the last eight.
The Blues, along with fellow Welsh region Ospreys, will not know their opponents in the quarter-finals until Stade Francais have faced off against Harlequins on Sunday.
The result of that game will decide who finishes second in pool five.
Cardiff Blues coach Danny Wilson told BBC Radio Wales: "What you saw in the second half is when we can build and sustain pressure and make teams kick poorly to us that lights up Matthew Morgan.
"We can play some fantastic rugby and you saw that with some of the tries we scored today."
Bristol's interim head coach Mark Tainton told BBC Radio Bristol: "For 65 minutes we played really, really well. We showed ambition against a very, very strong Cardiff Blues team.
"We just lost our way in the last 15 minutes by some inaccurate plays and inaccurate kicks. Making 11 changes, a lot of these guys haven't played masses of rugby this season.
"Ultimately, we're disappointed with what the score was in the end. The next five weeks are going to say a lot about the rest of our season."
Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Alex Cuthbert, Rey Lee-Lo, Steven Shingler, Blaine Scully; Gareth Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Rhys Gill, Kristian Dacey, Anton Peikrishvili, Jarrad Hoeata, Macauley Cook, Josh Navidi, Sam Warburton (capt), Nick Williams
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Scott Andrews, James Down, Seb Davies, Tomos Williams, Garyn Smith, Rhun Williams.
Bristol: Luke Arscott; Jordan Williams, Jack Tovey, Tusi Pisi, David Lemi; Adrian Jarvis, Andy Uren; Jack O'Connell, Rob Hawkins, Gaston Cortes, Joe Joyce, Giorgi Nemsadze, Nick Koster, Jack Lam (c), James Phillips.
Replacements: Max Crumpton, Kyle Traynor, Jamal Ford-Robinson, Ian Evans, Nick Fenton-Wells, Martin Roberts, Thretton Palamo, Jack Wallace.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White, Bob Nevins (Fra)
TMO: Patrick Thomas (Fra) | Cardiff Blues sealed their place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-finals as they survived a Bristol comeback at Cardiff Arms Park. | 38629491 |
The referee brought a halt after four minutes of the first round with Craig unable to defend himself from a series of elbows from the Australian.
Pedro dominated from the first bell, trapping Craig against the cage and connecting several times with his knee.
Craig had some success with a few uppercuts but was hurt by a right hand before Pedro finished it on the floor.
Light-heavyweight Craig had defeated Henrique da Silva in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in December. | Scotland's Paul Craig fell to his first defeat in the UFC after he was stopped by Tyson Pedro in Las Vegas. | 39172266 |
Scientists from the University of Bradford have so far used their technique on three types of cancer with promising results.
It is hoped that in time the test could prevent costly and invasive procedures such as colonoscopies and biopsies.
But researchers say it is still very early days and much more work is needed.
Blood tests have been used before to detect different types of cancer, but the Bradford team hopes to develop a universal test for all cancers.
The technique involves subjecting white blood cells to ultraviolet light which damages the cells' DNA.
So far tests on the blood of melanoma, colon and lung cancer patients have shown the DNA is more easily damaged compared with healthy volunteers.
Those patients with pre-cancerous conditions showed an intermediate level of damage.
The researchers believe the results would not be affected by illnesses such as colds or flu that may affect the immune system.
Their work is published in the FASEB Journal.
Prof Diana Anderson, from the University of Bradford's School of Life Sciences, who led the research said: "White blood cells are part of the body's natural defence system.
"We know that they are under stress when they are fighting cancer or other diseases, so I wondered whether anything measureable could be seen if we put them under further stress with UVA light.
"We found that people with cancer have DNA which is more easily damaged by ultraviolet light than other people, so the test shows the sensitivity to damage of all the DNA - the genome - in a cell.
"These are early results completed on three different types of cancer and we accept that more research needs to be done; but these results so far are remarkable."
That view is backed by Cancer Research UK, which emphasised the research was at a very early stage.
Dr Anthea Martin, Cancer Research UK's science information manager, said: "Diagnosing cancer earlier is key to improving the chances of survival, but any new technique must be thoroughly trialled to make sure it is reliable and accurate.
"Although this small study is interesting, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about this test and much bigger studies are needed to prove whether it could be useful for diagnosing cancer on a wider scale."
However, Professor Shirley Hodgson, a professor of cancer genetics, at St George's, University of London, was more sceptical about the University of Bradford study.
"Overall, this is a small study with very significant limitations," she said. "We cannot derive from this study an indication that the comet assay test [the technique used in the Bradford study] can detect cancer, and certainly not all cancers.
"A much bigger experiment, including better-controlled groups of patients, is needed before we can determine how useful the test could be in cancer diagnosis." | A British team of researchers has developed what might be a simple blood test that can detect all cancers. | 28443865 |
The Hoops are eight points clear in the Premiership with five games left.
But the Norwegian has been criticised for their performances and acknowledged he will come under further pressure after defeat by their Glasgow rivals.
"Overall it is my responsibility. If that is not good enough, then it is not good enough," he told BBC Scotland.
"I'm very disappointed of course. It was draining. You want to win football games and in the end it was not good enough.
"It was a very hard game but we now have to fight for the league. We have a very good chance but there are still five games left, so we look at it after that. In football, you never know."
Deila admitted his side were "too passive" in their pressing of Rangers in the first half, and goalkeeper Craig Gordon agreed their start to the game ultimately cost them.
"We should have performed better in the first half," he told BBC Scotland. "If we had done that, we probably would have gone on to win the game.
"I didn't think Rangers carried a great threat after half-time. I thought we were the better team once Rangers had scored their second goal, and we had chances to go on and win it."
Gordon claimed referee Craig Thomson wrongly awarded Rangers a throw-in in the build-up to Barrie McKay's extra-time strike which put them 2-1 up.
"The throw-in has gone the wrong way," Gordon said. "Three players are in front of the referee and he has got involved in something else.
"That said, we should have defended it better but it was a one-hit wonder. He could probably have hit it another 100 times and not hit it as well."
Celtic now face a testing week before resuming their quest for a fifth consecutive league title with a home game against Ross County next Sunday.
"Of course the pressure is going to come on all of us now," Gordon added. "Collectively we are going to have to deal with it and everyone has to step up and take responsibility and move forward.
"It is a sore result to take, especially here in a derby match and emotions are raw. The fans are going to be unhappy about it.
"It is up to us to fight back. It is very difficult after a result like that but we have to do that now and go and win the league. We are professional sportsmen and that is what we have to do." | Celtic boss Ronny Deila admits he faces an uncertain future after his hopes of a league and Scottish Cup double ended with defeat by Rangers on penalties. | 36067738 |
A cut in corporation tax will mean less revenue is collected for the Treasury.
Under European rules, the Northern Ireland Executive will have to make up the shortfall through a cut in its block grant.
The political deal on Tuesday revealed the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland will be cut to 12.5% in 2018.
The UK rate is currently 20% though is due to be cut to 19% in 2017 and then to 18% in 2020.
It's understood that Stormont officials believe that the first full year of the 12.5% rate will knock £80m off the block grant.
That cost will rise to £160m in the second year before reaching a 'steady state' of £240m.
The major parties at Stormont believe that cutting the tax will help tackle long-term problems in the Northern Ireland economy.
They think that if companies can keep more of their profits, it will unleash an unprecedented wave of investment and growth.
A bill passed at Westminster earlier this year gives the Stormont executive the power to set the rate, so long is it can demonstrate sound finances.
Small and medium sized companies, in which at least 75% of staff time and costs relate to work carried out in Northern Ireland, will qualify.
If this test is not met, the company will continue to be taxed at the main UK rate.
Large firms, such as multinationals, will need to have a "Northern Ireland Regional Establishment" (NIRE) - a fixed place of business, such as an office or factory, where it carries out its business.
Trading income arising from the NIRE will be taxed at the Northern Ireland rate. | The BBC understands that the latest official estimate for the cost of reducing corporation tax in Northern Ireland is £240m a year. | 34858575 |
The Lib Dem leader said those with most assets should "pay their fair share".
He also told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show he would "not flinch" amid growing speculation about his future.
Mr Clegg also unveiled plans to allow people receiving large sums of money on retirement to use them to help underwrite their children's mortgages.
Work and pensions minister Steve Webb has been asked to look at developing such a policy.
The Liberal Democrats are holding their annual conference in Brighton, with the leadership keen to promote a sense of discipline amid poor opinion poll ratings.
The theme of the event is "fairer tax in tough times". Mr Clegg is promising to ensure that the next government spending review will not include further spending cuts without a measure of wealth tax.
He said: "I think many people of considerable wealth in this country want to pay."
He added: "The vast majority of people in this country won't find it acceptable if further fiscal austerity was implemented on the backs of the poor...
"I'm not saying something as big as welfare is immune from further savings but I'm saying that the burden has to be spread fairly."
The Lib Dems already have a policy of imposing a 1% charge - a "mansion tax" - on expensive properties above a threshold of £2m and are investigating further proposals.
But the Conservatives oppose introducing a wealth tax, saying it would be unfair to impose it after a home or other large asset had been purchased.
Mr Clegg said that "so far I have failed" to persuade Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne to accept his party's arguments, adding: "But the mansion tax is not the only way in which you can make people at the top make a fair contribution to this huge national effort of balancing the books.
"We have already illustrated through capital gains tax, through stamp duty, through tax avoidance and many other measures ... the top 10% pay more and we can do more of that.
"There are numerous ways that we have already done it and numerous ways that you can do more of it."
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander promised an extra 100 HM Revenue and Customs staff devoted to fighting tax avoidance by people with assets worth more than £1m. Previously the threshold was £2.5m.
Earlier this week Mr Clegg apologised for breaking his pre-election promise not to support an increase in tuition fees.
But he said he would not be deterred from the coalition's main stated aim of cutting the budget deficit, telling the Andrew Marr Show: "When you are half-way up a mountain you should not bail out.... I am not going to flinch."
For Labour, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves said: "Nobody will be fooled by Nick Clegg's empty words on tax...
"Nick Clegg is the Deputy Prime Minister of this government and he must take responsibility for its actions. After so many broken promises, people will judge the Liberal Democrats on what they do, not what they say."
The latest poll by Opinium, published in the Observer newspaper, puts Labour on 42% and the Conservatives on 30%.
It places the Lib Dems on 8%, behind the UK Independence Party, on 10%.
The poll represents the views of 1,681 people who indicated they were likely to vote from 1,984 online interviews. | Nick Clegg has insisted the coalition will not make future spending cuts "on the backs of the poor" and urged the Conservatives to back a "wealth tax". | 19690327 |
Researchers scoured the clothes and boots of tourists and scientists visiting the continent and found that most were carrying plant seeds.
Alien plants already grow on the fast-warming Antarctic Peninsula.
Writing inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team says the plants are likely to spread as the climate warms.
"People in the past have been sceptical, saying, 'It's largely ice-covered so it's unlikely that plants will establish themselves'," said lead researcher Steven Chown from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
"[They're] forgetting that probably less than 1%, but still a significant area, is ice-free - some of that's in the peninsula region, and it's been warming very quickly."
The Antarctic Peninsula, which runs up towards the southern tip of South America, has warmed by about 3C over half a century, much faster than the global average.
As a result, ice cover is dwindling.
Many islands in the sub-Antarctic region have seen significant ecological changes due to invasive species that have either arrived accidentally or deliberately.
The research team believes that the Antarctic Peninsula and some other areas around the continent's coast could see similar changes in decades to come.
"Antarctica has a native ecology - a very well-established microbial ecology, and on the peninsula it has two species of indigenous plants," Prof Chown told BBC News.
"And it will be changed by species coming in."
The marine environment is changing too, with giant crabs establishing themselves in waters that were previously too cold.
During International Polar Year in 2007-08, the research team took samples from tourists and tourism operators, and scientists and their support staff.
On average, each visitor carried 9.5 seeds into the White Continent, though scientists carried far more each than tourists.
"What we found was that people's boots and bags were the things that had most material attached," said Kevin Hughes from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
"I guess the tongue of the boot is an ideal place for seeds to be caught when you're tying up your laces. But we did find them in various bits of clothing as well."
Extrapolating from their figures, this means that about 70,000 seeds arrive on Antarctica each year.
The places that tourists visit tend to be the warmest bits of the continent - which are also the places where seeds are most likely to survive.
The researchers found that although many of the seeds originated in South America, a large number came from the Northern Hemisphere.
About half of them came from cold regions and would probably be viable in the warmer bits of Antarctica.
The researchers also collated evidence from other scientists on organisms that have already established themselves.
Deception Island, 100km north-west of the peninsula, has already been colonised by two grass species and two springtails - tiny animals that live in topsoil and leaf litter.
On the western slopes of the peninsula itself, the grass speciesPoa annuahas established itself close to four research stations - implying that it has probably been brought, inadvertently, by visiting scientists.
Poa annuahas already taken over several sub-Antarctic islands where it dominates vegetation.
The researchers suggest that measures be taken as soon as possible to tackle invasive species that are already there, and to prevent the arrival of new ones, as far as possible.
Dr Hughes has already "eradicated" a South American member of the aster family from Deception Island, where tourists regularly stop to visit an old whaling base, by the simple measure of pulling up the single specimen he found.
But with some of the more widespread species, they fear it could already be too late.
The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), which covers most companies in the area, already takes pains to make sure tourists arrive seed-free; and some countries' science organisations have similar requirements.
"We can use guidelines for vehicles, make sure cargo hasn't got seeds and invertebrates on it, make sure clothing is clean and that we bring fresh boots," said Dr Hughes.
"[However,] I think it's safe to say that wherever people go, it's inevitable that they bring other species with them; and no matter what we do, our best efforts will only reduce the rate at which species are introduced, we'll never prevent it altogether."
There is no legal obligation to clean up accidentally introduced alien species under the Antarctic Treaty.
But this team of scientists believes there is a moral obligation to do so, and to block new arrivals as far as possible.
One complicating factor for the Antarctic Peninsula and its islands is that some seeds are known to arrive carried on the wind from South America.
But, argues Prof Chown, there is still an element of human agency about these wind-blown cases in that the plants can only establish themselves under climatic conditions created largely through humanity's production of greenhouse gases.
If nothing is done, he says, small pockets of the unsullied continent may, in 100 years, look very like sub-Antarctic islands such as South Georgia where alien plants and animals, particularly rats, have dramatically changed the local ecology.
"South Georgia is a great sentinel of what could happen in the area in the next few hundred years," he said.
"My suspicion is that if you didn't take any biosecurity measures you'd end up with a system that would look like a weedy environment with rats, sparrows andPoa annua."
Follow Richardon Twitter | The fringes of Antarctica are being invaded by alien plants and tiny animals, scientists have found. | 17258799 |
The government wants a new body to oversee all of Scotland's enterprise and skills agencies.
On Wednesday, MSPs voted for a motion demanding that HIE retain its own board.
During First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said the vote would be "fully taken into account".
She said HIE's headquarters and chief executive would remain in Inverness.
The government is in a second phase of determining the future shape of enterprise and skills services provision in Scotland.
Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott had asked the first minister to confirm the board of HIE would be kept after Wednesday's vote. | The Scottish government will reflect carefully on calls to allow Highlands and Islands Enterprise its own board, Nicola Sturgeon has said. | 38677356 |
Byram, who could leave the club next month, drove in from 25 yards to score with Leeds' first shot on target.
Earlier Nelson Oliveira took advantage of a mix-up in the Leeds defence to give Forest the lead.
Leeds dominated possession throughout but were poor in front of goal until Byram's strike, while Forest sub Oliver Burke hit the post in the 90th minute.
A Forest winner would have been hard on Leeds, who became the first team to take a point from the City Ground since late October.
The visitors looked slick on the ball early on but were undone by Matt Mills' long ball over the top. Centre-back Giuseppe Bellusci and goalkeeper Marco Silvestri both failed to clear, allowing Oliveira to go on and tap into an empty net.
Mills then had a header cleared off the line by Luke Murphy, and Forest substitute Jamie Ward had a shot turned over by Silvestri before Leeds mounted a late challenge.
Byram, whose contract expires at the end of the season and is expected to be sold in January, picked the ball up in space in a central area and shot low into the corner.
Leeds substitute Mirco Antenucci then sliced badly wide as Steve Evans' side came to life, with Chris Wood fluffing a close-range effort straight at Dorus de Vries.
It was Forest who came closer to winning a sixth home Championship game in a row though when Burke's miscued volley beat Silvestri and hit the base of the post.
The draw extends both sides' unbeaten records and leaves Leeds in 12th and Forest 13th in the Championship table - seven and eight points behind the play-off places respectively.
Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman talking to the club website:
"I was trying to go and win the game two or three-nil because that's the only way you can beat Leeds. Doing so, I increase my chances of losing but also of winning.
"We felt if we had a good structure we could hit them on the counter attack. I felt it was a gameplan that was working.
"Credit to Leeds, their fans demand their team goes for 95 minutes and they did that. I didn't see my goalkeeper get worked too much. Of course we're disappointed with the goal but it was a fantastic strike."
Leeds manager Steve Evans on Sky Sports:
"If it's a boxing match the towel would have come in. For all our dominance we made a mistake on the breakaway.
"Some of our play in the second half was exceptional. We opened them up a number of times and on another day we go on to win.
"I am a manager that wants the lads to be brave and pass it, I am going to encourage them to keep trying to pass it."
Match ends, Nottingham Forest 1, Leeds United 1.
Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 1, Leeds United 1.
Attempt missed. Liam Cooper (Leeds United) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Luke Murphy following a set piece situation.
Charlie Taylor (Leeds United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest).
Substitution, Leeds United. Lewie Coyle replaces Sam Byram.
Attempt missed. Luke Murphy (Leeds United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses the top right corner.
Corner, Leeds United. Conceded by Eric Lichaj.
Liam Bridcutt (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Robert Tesche (Nottingham Forest).
Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest) hits the left post with a right footed shot from outside the box.
Attempt blocked. Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nélson Oliveira.
Attempt missed. Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Oliver Burke.
Foul by Souleymane Doukara (Leeds United).
Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Chris Wood (Leeds United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Mirco Antenucci with a cross.
Offside, Leeds United. Mirco Antenucci tries a through ball, but Sam Byram is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Mirco Antenucci (Leeds United) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Scott Wootton.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Oliver Burke replaces David Vaughan.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Jamie Ward tries a through ball, but Eric Lichaj is caught offside.
Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sam Byram (Leeds United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest).
Goal! Nottingham Forest 1, Leeds United 1. Sam Byram (Leeds United) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Souleymane Doukara.
Offside, Nottingham Forest. Jamie Ward tries a through ball, but Nélson Oliveira is caught offside.
Substitution, Leeds United. Mirco Antenucci replaces Stuart Dallas.
Stuart Dallas (Leeds United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest).
Attempt blocked. Nélson Oliveira (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Matt Mills.
Attempt missed. Matt Mills (Nottingham Forest) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jamie Ward with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Marco Silvestri.
Attempt saved. Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Nélson Oliveira.
Chris Wood (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest).
Giuseppe Bellusci (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card.
Henri Lansbury (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Liam Bridcutt (Leeds United).
Nélson Oliveira (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Robert Tesche replaces Chris O'Grady.
Luke Murphy (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Sam Byram hit a late low strike to end Nottingham Forest's winning home run and give Leeds a point. | 35144283 |
England vice-captain Heather Knight is writing another series of columns this winter. Having played in the inaugural Women's Big Bash League, she is now in South Africa with England for their limited-overs series which begins on Sunday, 7 February.
It's great to be back with the team - everyone is ready and raring to go with what is set to be a pretty big 2016, starting here with three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals against South Africa.
One of the big things on the immediate "to do" list for the girls that have come straight from playing in the WBBL has been to meet our new head coach Mark Robinson. A lot of the girls (me included) had never met Robbo before and we're all really excited to start this new era for the team. A fresh start is never a bad thing, and we are now focused on what's ahead of us.
It's fair to say the inaugural WBBL was a pretty big success. People came to watch, particularly in the double-header fixtures alongside the men's Big Bash League (BBL), the competition was well publicised, and there was some great cricket played.
For Hobart Hurricanes, our season unfortunately ended in a rain-affected semi-final defeat at the MCG. It was a disappointing way to go out, but having been written off without a ball having even been bowled as 16-1 rank outsiders for the tournament, it was quite an achievement to finish second in the group stage and make the last four.
It's also been a great experience to captain the Hurricanes. Having played with most of the girls last year, I knew them all pretty well and the team has been an absolute pleasure to lead.
We seemed to love a close finish, and with a lot riding on each game you learn an awful lot when you're put in those high-pressure situations, win or lose. Having those experiences to draw upon going back into international cricket is brilliant and I'm sure the other England girls who played in the WBBL will be in the same boat.
Kate Cross seems to have learned a new diving technique at least… (sorry Crossy!)
Overall, it's been great for the women's game to bring some of the best players in the world together to play in the tournament, and hopefully it will push forward the standard of international cricket too.
It's brilliant that the Women's Cricket Super League will be starting back home in England this summer to continue this momentum. While the WBBL has to some extent benefited through piggybacking on the success of the men's BBL, it's exciting to see how a standalone women's competition will go in England.
It might end up taking slightly longer to develop the competition to the same scale as the WBBL, as the six hosts are effectively starting from scratch, but I'm certain that in time, the Super League will be just as successful.
Ultimately, it's massively exciting to see how the game develops in the next few years.
Read more: Anya Shrubsole & Lydia Greenway look ahead to the Super League
It's been great to "feed" off other international players during the WBBL - here's my Hurricanes team-mate Hayley Matthews. The West Indies batter is never to be seen without a packet of her favourite brand of crisps!
There is absolutely nothing which is less fun than staring at a wall from the depths of an ice bath - sadly a frequent occupational hazard for any professional cricketer. So when you get the opportunity to do your recovery in the sea at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach instead, you jump at the chance.
We were doing just this after a training session when things got even better as we bumped into some of the lifeguards that patrol the beach, along with the TV crew that was following them for the show Bondi Rescue.
Obviously we challenged them to a game of beach cricket and had a pretty decent game, despite being interrupted a few times as they had to pop off to save a few tourists who had got into trouble in the sea. Thanks guys, ice baths will never be the same again.
Another bonus of being a professional cricketer, is that on occasion, you get the odd freebie and loving a good book, I was excited to hear that a Tasmanian author was a fan of the Hurricanes and had given us all a copy of her recent book.
That excitement turned to shock and then hilarity, when we found out the book was called 50 Bales of Hay - a farming version of the erotic bestseller 50 Shades of Grey. Definitely the oddest freebie I've ever been given - and yes, I left the book in Tassie...
The last and only time I toured South Africa was back in 2011 and we played all our games at Senwes Park in a small town called Potchefstroom. This time we're lucky enough to see a bit more of the country, including matches at the iconic grounds of Newlands and the Wanderers - definitely a couple to tick off any cricketer's bucket list.
I actually took my first international wicket back on that 2011 tour, bowling my old filthy seamers - I definitely didn't expect to come back to South Africa as a spinner five years later!
This is going to be a really important tour for us, the three ODIs are massive in terms of the ICC Women's Championship and qualification for the 2017 Women's World Cup in England, and the three T20 matches are the last games we will play before the World T20 in India in March.
Get behind us!
BBC Radio will have commentary on all of England's ODI and T20 international matches in South Africa. Under a new rights deal announced on Monday, the BBC Sport website will show video highlights of ICC events for the next four years, including the World Twenty20 and Women's World Cup. | So, after a two-month stint in Australia, the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) has finally come to an end, and I'm back on England duty in sunny South Africa. | 35457729 |
The baking contest is moving to Channel 4 and Mary has said she won't be following, although Paul Hollywood will be.
We're sure many of you are going to miss Mary, so here are seven things you (probably) didn't know about the queen of baking...
"School was not something I enjoyed a lot," Mary said on BBC show My Life on a Plate.
"I was a bit of a tomboy really and I didn't work very hard and at the age of 12 you either did Latin and maths, or you did domestic science [home economics]."
Mary decided to do domestic science and that "changed her life completely".
She made a treacle sponge pudding, with the help of her teacher Miss Date, and her dad told her it was as good as her mum's!
Mary was a big animal fan growing up. She had a pet pony called Kerry Lass.
When she was 13, she became very sick with an illness called polio and she had to go to hospital. Her dad even brought Kerry Lass to help cheer her up!
Electric ovens were new technology at the time, so when people bought the ovens they could have someone come out to their home and show them how to use it. This was Mary's job - she would show them how to use it by baking a Victoria sponge cake.
Mary moved to France to study at the world famous cookery school, Le Cordon Bleu, in Paris.
She had to learn French because all the classes were taught in that language!
Mary has written over 70 cookbooks in her 46-year career, and her books have often been used in school lessons.
She's also worked for food magazines writing recipes.
She has her own range of salad sauces, which she launched with her daughter, Annabel, in the 1990s.
While you might know her best for being in the Bake Off tent, Mary's actually been on TV screens since the 1970s!
Her first TV series was called Afternoon Plus.
From then on, she appeared on many of her own shows, and as guests on others, before being asked to join The Great British Bake Off in 2010. | So Mary Berry is bidding farewell to soggy bottoms - the Great British Bake Off judge is leaving the show. | 37440527 |
Glastonbury computer programmer Ian Brooks has been out of work for several years with his disability.
His story went viral on social media in February after he claimed a firm had cancelled his job interview because it could not accommodate his dog.
However, a technology firm saw his story online and has offered him a job.
London-based Conspexit develops apps for blind and partially-sighted people.
Mr Brooks said: "It still doesn't feel real. I'd just like to thank everyone out there who has been on my side."
He starts his new role at the beginning of July, and will be working remotely from home.
Mr Brooks said he was never told the name of the company who offered and then withdrew the interview in February.
Recruitment firm Vector Resourcing was acting for the employer and has not responded to the BBC with a comment. | An unemployed blind man who claimed he had been discriminated against by a potential employer because he used a guide dog has been offered a job. | 40052176 |
The Navy said that "the attack was repelled, resulting in the deaths of six people among the group of assailants".
The incident comes two months after six soldiers and a policewoman were killed when their helicopter was shot down by suspected cartel members.
Tamaulipas is at the centre of a turf war between rival drugs cartels.
None of the Marines on board the Black Hawk helicopter was hurt when it was hit by seven bullets.
The helicopter was searching for members of a drug cartel when it was fired on by gunmen about 70km (45 miles) south of Nuevo Laredo.
Nuevo Laredo is on the border with the United States and a main transit point for drugs smuggled from Mexico to the US.
In the incident on 1 May, suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a Cougar helicopter and forced it to make an emergency landing.
Seven members of the security forces were killed in the attack in western Jalisco state.
While attacks on the security forces are frequent in Mexico, officials said that the downing of the Cougar represented an escalation in tactics by the cartels. | A Mexican Navy helicopter came under fire in the violence-wracked northern state of Tamaulipas on Sunday. | 33408821 |
The image by Atena Farghadani depicted MPs casting votes on the proposed legislation as animals.
Ms Farghadani, 28, faces charges of spreading propaganda, insulting MPs, and insulting the supreme leader.
The laws would end decades of family planning in Iran, outlawing vasectomies and restricting contraception.
Ms Farghadani was first arrested in August 2014, when her home was raided by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and taken to Gharchak prison.
She was released in December but was rearrested again in January after posting a video online in which she alleged that she had been beaten by prison guards and interrogated for up to nine hours a day.
Three weeks after being rearrested, Ms Farghadani went on hunger strike to protest against conditions at the prison. She was taken to hospital in late February after suffering a heart attack and briefly losing consciousness.
She has since been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin Prison.
Raha Bahreini, an Iran researcher for Amnesty International, told the BBC: "We are very concerned that Atena has even been put on trial.
"She is a prisoner of conscience and she has been held solely because of her opinions and for exercising the right to free expression.
"From our point of view she must be released immediately and unconditionally."
Ms Bahreini said that her trial might be as short as just one day. If convicted of the charges, she could face up to two years' imprisonment.
The draft laws mocked by Ms Farghadani's cartoon would outlaw vasectomies for men and voluntary sterilisation for women, and restrict women's access to birth control.
The legislation was widely criticised when it was announced in March. Amnesty said that if approved by parliament, it would set women's rights in Iran back by decades.
Women's rights groups warned that restricting access to birth control risked forcing women into unsafe abortions.
Ms Farghadani's cartoon has been shared on Twitter and Facebook since her arrest using the hashtag #freeatena, and a Facebook page set up to document her case has attracted messaged of support from around the world.
Responding to the charges laid against her in an open letter to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ms Farghadani said: "What you call an 'insult to representatives of the parliament by means of cartoons' I consider to be an artistic expression of the home of our nation (parliament), which our nation does not deserve!"
An Amnesty petition calling for Ms Farghadani's release garnered 33,000 signatures and was presented at the Iranian embassy in London on Monday. | An artist and political activist has gone on trial in Iran for a cartoon criticising draft laws which would restrict access to birth control. | 32794053 |
It comes after US Homeland Security said it was considering extending to Europe an existing ban for flights from eight mostly Muslim countries.
The ban was introduced over fears a bomb could be concealed inside electronic devices.
An EU spokeswoman said no decision had been made yet.
How do the rules affect me?
"The EU invited the US to come to Brussels next week for talks at political and expert level... to jointly assess the potential risks and review future measures," the spokeswoman said.
However, she added that in a telephone call, EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc had highlighted "the potential safety implications of putting a large number of electronic devices in the aircraft hold".
In March, the US banned devices "larger than a smartphone" from the cabins of flights from Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. At the same time, the UK issued a similar ban on flights from six countries.
On Thursday, US Homeland Security Department Secretary John Kelly held talks with officials from several US airlines.
The airlines declined to comment on the meeting but one official quoted by Reuters news agency said the government was suggesting that an expansion of the ban could come soon.
A congressional official also said the ban was likely to be expanded, but would not say when or to which airports.
Some European regulators have warned that the ban itself could compromise safety by placing hundreds of devices in the cargo holds on long-haul flights. They say the presence of so many lithium-ion batteries could increase the risk of fire. | US and EU officials are due to discuss the possible extension of a US ban on laptops and tablets in cabin baggage when they meet in Brussels next week. | 39905479 |
The Criminal Finances Bill, which cleared the Commons on Tuesday, is meant to freeze the assets of foreign officials who abuse anti-corruption and human rights activists.
The law was prompted by the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
He died in prison after revealing alleged fraud by state officials.
Mr Magnitsky, legal adviser for London-based Hermitage Capital Management (HCM), had been jailed after he was accused of committing fraud himself. Supporters say his death in November 2009 was the result of a severe beating, but official records say he died of acute heart failure and toxic shock, caused by untreated pancreatitis.
Since his death, HCM's founder William Browder has been campaigning to bring to justice those he believes are responsible for what happened to Mr Magnitsky.
He had already managed to get the US to sign the Magnitsky Act into law in 2012, which promise to deny visas to and freeze assets in the US of 18 people linked to the lawyer's death by Mr Browder's investigation.
On Tuesday, he welcomed the third reading of the UK bill in the Commons as a "huge triumph" that would "cause perceptible fear for kleptocrats in Russia and other authoritarian regimes".
"They all have expensive properties in London and think they are untouchable," he said in a statement.
Speaking during the bill's reading, Security Minister Ben Wallace said: "We need to make the UK a hostile environment for those seeking to move, hide and use the proceeds of crime and corruption. In an increasingly competitive international marketplace, the UK simply cannot afford to be seen as a haven for dirty money."
He added: "This measure would send a clear statement that the UK will not stand by and allow those who have committed gross abuse or violations around the world to launder their money here."
The bill must now make its way through the Lords. | A bill inspired by the case of a Russian whistleblower will turn the UK into a "hostile environment" for organised criminals and kleptocrats. | 39047321 |
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