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29659140 | The British Medical Association said the government had failed to recognise the damaging impact long hours could have on patient care.
But NHS Employers said it was committed to talks about the safety of patients and doctors.
It said the decision to stop the talks had come as a "huge disappointment".
Under plans set out by the government in 2013, hospitals in England will have to ensure senior doctors and key diagnostic tests are available seven days a week.
NHS officials and the British Medical Association - a union that represents doctors across the UK - had been involved in negotiations about working hours for junior and senior doctors for the last 18 months.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) announced it had stopped taking part in the talks on Thursday evening.
The organisation said it was not prepared to agree to change to contracts that would risk patient safety and doctors' well-being.
Dr Paul Flynn of the BMA said: "So far the government has failed to produce any detail on how it will staff and resource a massive expansion of services in a safe and sustainable way.
"Without this detail, consultants are not prepared to sign up in the dark to proposals that could put patients at risk by forcing existing doctors to work dangerously long hours, or lead to weekday services being cut because there simply aren't enough doctors to staff them."
But Gill Bellord, of NHS Employers, said: "This is a hugely disappointing way to conclude a year and a half of serious discussions.
"All our talks with the BMA have been aimed at ensuring safer working hours for doctors in training, as well as providing them with stability of pay and agreed work schedules that take account of educational needs.
"Underpinning all of this is the essential need to deliver safe care for patients."
She added: "It is a source of personal and professional disappointment that the BMA team feel able to throw our joint progress so far out of the window and walk away from what is currently on the table."
NHS Employers said it had put forward an offer of a maximum 40-hour contract for consultants, unless extended by mutual agreement, and accelerated access to higher pay. | A spat between leading doctors and NHS officials over a seven-day hospital service has led to the breakdown of contract negotiations. |
40377260 | Chief Constable Dave Thompson, of West Midlands Police, said the "strain is showing" after multiple terror attacks.
"We'd have real challenges in dealing with something like the 2011 riots again," he wrote on the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) blog on Friday.
The home secretary has admitted that police resources are "very tight".
Amber Rudd told MPs on Thursday that the police response to attacks in Manchester and London required "additional work" in law enforcement.
She said: "I recognise the fact that we cannot carry on at that emergency level indefinitely."
Mr Thompson, finance lead at the NPCC, which represents police leaders, called on the government to "stabilise" police funding so it can tackle not only terrorism but other threats, such as cyber-crime.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "policing is not raising a white flag, saying we can't cope".
"But the last few weeks, and our general resilience, is starting to show some red lights.
"Of course, policing will pull out all the stops to protect the public.
"But that strain on the system now is reaching a stage where we need a serious debate, as we go forward into the Budget in November, as to what the resources are for policing."
He wrote that the police face handling "a modern terror threat with 6,600 officers - a number that has already fallen by close to 2,000 and is set to fall further".
And he also said more investment was needed "with a growing cyber threat", adding: "Counter-terrorism policing is stretched and is in no place to deliver efficiency savings."
He said mainstream police resources were being diverted to fight terrorism, echoing warnings by Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley that ordinary law enforcement faced "significant" funding risks after four terror attacks in as many months.
The violence that spread around England began at a peaceful protest demanding justice for a man shot by police in London.
Mark Duggan was killed in Tottenham on Thursday 4 August after police stopped the car he was a passenger in.
A protest march two days later sparked unrest and resulted in cars and shops in Tottenham being set alight, and looting taking place.
By the afternoon of Monday 8 August this began to spread to other areas in London, then to other major cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol, Leicester, and several areas in Manchester and Liverpool.
More than 1,000 people were eventually jailed for the disturbances.
Maps and timeline of England riots
Mr Thompson said: "The firearms commanders, casualty bureau, custody staff, body recovery teams and uniformed officers patrolling crowded spaces that are so central to preventing and responding to a terror attack are paid for by core police funding."
He said that two-thirds of the policing effort after the Westminster Bridge attack was met by core police funding and not counter-terrorism.
He said: "If we are to sustain the protection citizens want and need, police leaders need to continue to reform, look hard at what needs to be done differently, and be bold and innovative in rising to the challenge.
"We need to have a conversation and a partnership with government that enables us to look forward to deal with the threats we face, and there are choices in there for government that we will give them."
This was not simply "asking for a blank cheque", he said.
Mr Thompson's comments were backed by West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Dee Collins.
"Our resources will only stretch so far and my concern is just how sustainable this in the long term, without an uplift in funding and resources," she said.
The Home Office has said it is in "detailed engagement" with police over planned funding changes.
A spokesman said: "The government is undertaking a period of detailed engagement with policing partners and independent experts on the police funding formula.
"New proposals will not be implemented without a public consultation." | Police in England and Wales would struggle to deal with riots on the scale of 2011 due to budget cuts, an officer who oversees funding has said. |
20003610 | It has narrow lanes with open drains and small houses built of brick and mud.
Children play in the dirt, while men sit around smoking. Not many outsiders visit this poor farming community.
But outside one of the houses two policemen stand on guard.
Inside, a 16-year-old girl sits in one of the rooms surrounded by women.
She is the reason the police are here.
Six weeks ago, she was out walking on the street when she was abducted by a dozen men.
"They dragged me inside the car and blindfolded me," she says, staring ahead, her voice steady but emotionless.
"They took me by the side of a river. There, seven of them took turns to rape me.
"The others kept watch."
Her ordeal did not end there. The men filmed the assault on their mobile phones and circulated the images in this deeply conservative society.
"Her father was so overcome with shame and the humiliation that he poisoned himself," the girl's cousin said.
"We rushed him to the hospital but it was too late to save him."
Nine of the alleged attackers have been arrested. But the others are still at large.
Last year, 733 rapes were reported in Haryana. Most such assaults go unreported.
Sexual violence against women takes place all over India. But what stands out in Haryana is the social attitude towards women.
In a region that is just a short drive from Delhi, the modern capital of one of the word's rising powers, men still call the shots.
In the rural district of Jind, a traditional village council meeting is under way.
Inside a large hall, elderly men sit on wooden cots, smoking pipes. There is a not a single woman among them.
And as they have for centuries, they pass judgement - on social mores, on women and on the recent spate of rapes.
"I'll tell you the main reason for these rapes," explains Suresh Koth, one of the elders.
"Just look at what's in the newspapers, on television. Topless women. This is what's corrupting our youth. After all this is India, not Europe."
These are comments which cannot be dismissed lightly.
These are the khaps, the all-male village councils that are tremendously powerful both socially and politically.
"They often function like kangaroo courts, creating laws for society, determining what women must do, how people should behave," says rights activist Ranjana Kumari, of the Centre for Social Research.
"And if people don't follow them, they intimidate them and threaten violence, including honour killings."
Khaps are unelected bodies but politicians and governments are wary of taking them on.
They can help to deliver votes during elections, which means they are often indispensable to politicians.
But there is a growing sense of outrage across India at their pronouncements following the recent spate of rapes.
One council elder was reported as saying that girls should be forced to marry young to protect them from rapists. Others routinely blame Western influences.
Many people believe they have no place in a modern, democratic and liberal India. But taking them on is not going to be easy.
Back in Dabra, the impact of what happened a few weeks ago is already apparent.
"The girls in my neighbourhood have stopped going to school," the young rape victim says.
"I am frightened too." | Dabra is a typical village in India's rural Haryana state. |
39941336 | Tarsem Singh, a 52-year-old father of two, died after being injured at Nylacast Engineering Plastics Solutions in Leicester in 2016.
A former employee said he was hit by a machinery end cap in 2010 or 2011.
Sukhwinder Singh said "a form was filled out" but a company spokesman said the accident was not recorded.
Mr Singh told the Leicester assistant coroner that when he tried to open an end cap on a plastic moulding machine, it came out "very forcefully" and hit his hand.
The cap then flew "right across the factory floor" although he was not seriously injured, the jury was told.
The firm's general manager Damien McCormack, who was not at the firm at the time of the earlier accident, said there was no record of the episode.
Mr McCormack said Tarsem Singh's injuries were caused when he removed an end cap on a "long length rod machine" and it struck him in the chest.
He said the cap would have come off "very fast under pressure" and there were no "fail safes" to prevent an operator removing the end cap if it was under high pressure.
Mr Singh was an experienced machine operator who had worked at the firm for 23 years.
The inquest continues. | The factory where a worker died after being hit by a piece of machinery had a similar accident years earlier that went unreported, an inquest heard. |
33092658 | In its annual report, the OBR said that without further spending cuts or tax rises, the national debt would only increase.
It said a permanent £20bn cut in annual public spending will be needed by 2020.
That would help bring the national debt down to 40% of GDP by 2064, it said.
If achieved, this means it would have taken more than half a century to bring the national debt back to the same level it was before the 2008 financial crisis.
Last year, public sector net debt was £1.48tn, or 80% of economic output, compared with around £600bn, or around 42% of GDP, in 2008.
And the OBR warned that even a cut of this size, equivalent to 1.1% of GDP, would not be sufficient to keep the national debt at 40% beyond 2064.
A Treasury spokesperson responded: "Our deficit is less than half what it was, but [today's] report from the OBR clearly shows the hard work that needs to be done to fix the public finances and deliver economic security and prosperity for working people."
The forecast spending cuts come a day after the Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to bind future governments to operating a budget surplus during times of economic growth.
But the OBR cast doubt on the government's ability to maintain a surplus, forecasting the UK public sector borrowing would still be necessary by the mid 2030s as a result of the demands of an ageing population.
OBR chairman Robert Chote said the government needed to define what it meant by normal times, and that it might not be easy to calculate.
"No-one can know with confidence how much spare capacity there is in the economy or what the sustainable growth rate ... will be looking forward," he said. "Any rule needs to be defined in the knowledge that our estimates of these things may change."
The OBR said the government's triple-lock on the state pension - whereby the state pension rises by whichever is the greater of inflation, average earnings, or 2.5% - had resulted in an additional £2.9bn cost to the government, seven times higher than the £0.4bn increase originally forecast in 2010.
Earlier this week, ratings agency Moody's warned that the government will find it very difficult to achieve a budget surplus by 2018-19, and is still likely to be operating a deficit of between 1% and 2% of GDP by 2020.
The chancellor is due to announce spending cuts to welfare and government departments totalling £30bn over two years in his summer Budget next month.
The OBR warned if the government only made the cuts it has currently outlined, the national debt as a share of GDP would fall to 50% by the mid-2030s.
But it forecast debt to be 87% of GDP by the 2060s as a result of an ageing population, declining revenues from North Sea oil and gas, and the impact of student loans.
While admitting they were difficult to predict, the OBR forecast North Sea oil and gas revenues would fall to below 0.1% of GDP over the coming decades. It said the tax take from North Sea oil and gas had already fallen by 80% in the last three years.
That would mean a decline in revenues to £2bn in total between 2020 and 2040, down from last year's forecast of £37bn for the period.
The OBR said its latest forecast recognised the obvious collapse in oil prices in the past year but also the effect of lower production since last year.
Accumulated losses and future decommissioning costs would also impact future revenues, it said.
"Our analysis of longer-term pressures on revenue streams suggests that governments will, over time, need to find new sources of revenue to maintain the overall ratio of revenue to national income, let alone to meet the spending pressures from an ageing population," the OBR said. | Further cuts in government spending will be needed beyond this parliament in order to bring the national debt under control, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned. |
33357521 | Lord Blair, who was in charge at the time of the 7/7 bombings, told the BBC "a single individual with no previous contact" was now the biggest concern.
He said it made it all the more vital to work with the Muslim community.
"Only the community can give the police that first clue that there is something odd going on in that house," he said.
Lord Blair, who is now a crossbench peer, was the country's most senior police officer between 2005 and 2008.
He oversaw the Met's response to the 7 July 2005 attacks in which 52 people were killed by suicide bombers on three Underground trains and a bus.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the attacks, Lord Blair said the threat had "in some ways lessened" since then "because the security services and the police have been able to develop techniques which have thwarted a lot".
"But as it evolves into what is sometimes called 'lone wolf', 'clean skin', that is a huge problem, because the more people you have in a conspiracy the more chances are somebody is going to find out about it," he continued.
"If you are just a single individual with no previous contact, then that is a very big problem to solve which is why the role of the community is so important because only the community can give the police that first clue that there is something odd going on in that house."
He added: "It is still this horrible sense of a random threat sitting out there somewhere, as in Tunisia, if you just happened to be on the beach, in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Lord Blair said he did not believe the West would be able to defeat the threat from Islamic extremism in his lifetime.
David Cameron has accused some Muslim communities of "quietly condoning" extremist ideology instead of confronting it, and said they must shoulder some blame for young Britons choosing to join Islamic State.
The prime minister said the UK should be more "intolerant of intolerance".
However, Lord Blair cautioned against taking a firmer line on religious fundamentalism - although he denied he was criticising the government's approach.
"Some people might argue we must take a much tougher approach, but I couldn't agree less with them," he said.
"We have to take a very resolute approach, be resolute in actually requiring and demanding this community works with us... But you don't do it to them, you do it with them."
He continued: "It seems to me we have to accept there are people who live their lives by fundamentalist rules… Fundamentalism in itself is not a matter for the state to interfere with - it's when it slides into violent extremism it is." | The threat of a terror attack by a "lone wolf" is "a huge problem" for the UK security services, a former Met Police commissioner has said. |
38782936 | He was one of five liberal activists to have disappeared in recent weeks.
Mr Haider's brother said he was well, but did not disclose where the blogger had been.
The men had aired views critical of the military or militancy on social media. No group has admitted holding them. The government has denied accusations that its secret agencies were involved.
When the activists disappeared in early January, hundreds of people held protests across Pakistan to demand the authorities traced them.
Mr Haider, a well-known poet and university professor, was last seen in Islamabad on 6 January, two days after bloggers Waqas Goraya and his cousin Asim Saeed disappeared in Lahore.
Another blogger, Ahmed Raza Naseer, who has polio, disappeared from his shop in Skeikhupura near Lahore on Saturday.
A fifth activist, Samar Abbas, also disappeared a few days later.
The whereabouts of the other four men are not known, but the AFP news agency on Saturday reported that one of them had been confirmed as safe by a family member. The relative asked AFP not to disclose his name.
Pakistan's government expressed concern and said they were investigating.
Supporters of the men accuse the security services of having secretly arrested them.
During their disappearance, the activists were accused of blasphemy on social media.
Blasphemy is a serious allegation in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan, and it has prompted further concerns for their safety.
Pakistan is one of the the world's most dangerous countries for reporters and human rights activists, and critics of the powerful military have been detained, beaten or killed.
Mr Haider is a known campaigner against enforced disappearances in the restive Balochistan province.
Correction 28 January 2017: This story has been amended to clarify that only Mr Haider has returned home. | Pakistani blogger Salman Haider has returned home, more than 20 days after disappearing in the capital Islamabad. |
33173488 | The move follows a similar extension for the independence referendum last year.
The age extension was also supported in last year's Smith Commission on further devolution for Scotland.
The voting age will be lowered next spring, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to take part in May's Holyrood election.
Extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds during the referendum was widely considered a success in terms of engaging young people in politics.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: "It has been a long-standing policy of this government to lower the voting age to 16 where we can and that policy now has, I am pleased to say, cross-party support across the chamber.
"I am delighted to have reached consensus on the principle.
"Building on that, I have been impressed by the thoughtful and passionate contributions that young people have made to the debate on the current proposals to extend the franchise permanently."
He said the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill "provides a detailed, workable and practical framework to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to register for and vote in Scottish elections", replicating the work done during the referendum.
He added: "I think it is a real missed opportunity on the part of the UK government not to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the EU referendum."
Labour's Lewis Macdonald said: "This bill is notable in delivering a significant amount of change with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of agreement.
"In passing this bill we should celebrate the democratic participation of all our citizens, the 100,000 or so 16 and 17-year-olds, the million over-65s and everyone in between.
"We are extending the franchise precisely because we know from experience that democracy works."
Conservative MSP Annabel Goldie told MSPs that the bill was an important moment for young people and democracy.
"This bill heralds an exciting era for our young people," she said.
"I think it is an opportunity for them to continue their high level of engagement in topical affairs that we saw with the independence referendum."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "The ball is now in the court of Scotland's 16 and 17-year-olds to demand a fairer deal from all of Scotland's political parties.
"The right to vote comes with a responsibility to take part in our democratic debate.
"From cuts to college places to the crisis facing our hospitals, there are many issues which will benefit from the voice and power of 16 and 17-year-olds."
MSPs rejected a plea from Liberal Democrat Alison McInnes for the legislation to be altered so that Scottish ministers could decide if some young offenders could vote.
Young people aged 16 and 17 were not allowed to vote in the recent general election, and they will not be able to take part in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.
The UK government used a so-called "section 30" order, which avoids primary legislation, to pass power to the Scottish Parliament.
This mechanism was used to lend Holyrood the unequivocal legal authority to hold the independence referendum. | A bill allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish and local government elections has been passed unanimously at Holyrood. |
39843143 | The 44-year-old man was taking part in a fundraising event for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice when he collapsed and died near Chirk, Wrexham, on the A5.
A spokesman thanked the riders and the emergency services for their "genuine display of consideration".
The rides on Sunday covered routes from Stoke-on-Trent to Llangollen.
Hospice chief executive David Webster said: "I have been made aware that other participants in the event stopped and tried to help the cyclist whilst waiting for the arrival of the emergency services.
"We thank everyone for their kindness and genuine display of consideration for their fellow event participant, who was not known to them personally.
"We share their sadness and deep regret that nothing could be done to help the cyclist."
The man, who was from Staffordshire, has not been named by police. | Organisers of a charity bike ride have praised participants for trying to save a cyclist's life after he collapsed part of the way through. |
35857240 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The 27-year-old pulled away from the chasing group to catch and then pass long-time leader Jolanda Neff (Stockli Pro) in the last 3 kms in Italy.
She crossed the line one second in front of American Boels-Dolmans team-mate Megan Guarnier with Neff third.
It is the fifth successive victory for Armitstead in races she has completed.
The road race world champion began her season by winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and followed it up with victory in the opening race of UCI World Tour season - the Italian one-day classic Strade Bianche in Tuscany.
She then abandoned the second World Tour event after around 50 km of the Ronde van Drenthe, apparently feeling sick.
But back to full health in Italy, Armitstead controlled the 112 km race on an undulating route that made for aggressive racing.
The peloton split and reformed several times, before Amitstead and a seven-strong elite group, that also included Dutch World Tour standings leader Anna van der Breggen (Rabobnk - Liv), broke away on the penultimate lap.
Neff made a break for victory, building up a 30-second lead at one stage, but Armitstead and Guarnier gradually reeled her in and the Swiss rider offered no resistance on the finishing straight.
Armitstead now sits top of the World Tour standings, ahead of Van der Breggen who finished sixth.
The World Tour consists of 18 races throughout the year and is a mix of one-day and stage races. It replaces the World Cup which was a series of 10 one-day races. | Britain's Lizzie Armitstead has defended her Trofeo Alfredo Binda title in Cittiglio to claim her second UCI World Tour win of the season. |
34898931 | If the lab technique works in the field, it could offer a new way of stopping the biting insects from spreading malaria to humans, they say.
The scientists put a new "resistance" gene into the mosquito's own DNA, using a gene editing method called Crispr.
And when the GM mosquitoes mated - their offspring inherited the same resistance, PNAS journal reports.
In theory, if these mosquitoes bite people, they should not be able to pass on the parasite that causes malaria.
About 3.2bn people - almost half of the world's population - are at risk of malaria.
Bed nets, insecticides and repellents can help stop the insects biting and drugs can be given to anyone who catches the infection, but the disease still kills around 580,000 people a year.
Scientists have been searching for new ways to fight malaria.
The University of California team believe their GM mosquito could play a pivotal role - breeding resistant offspring to replace endemic, malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
They took a type of mosquito found in India - Anopheles stephensi - on which to experiment.
Dr Anthony James and his team showed that they could give the insect new DNA code to make it a poor host for the malaria parasite.
The DNA, which codes for antibodies that combat the parasite, was inherited by almost 100% of the mosquito offspring and across three generations.
The researchers say the findings offer hope that the same method could also work in other mosquito species.
Although it would not be a sole solution to the malaria problem, it would be a useful additional weapon, they say.
Prof David Conway, UK expert from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "It's not the finished product yet but it certainly looks promising. It does look like the genetic editing works."
Other scientists have been looking at genetically modifying mosquitoes to render them infertile, so that they die out. But some experts fear that eliminating mosquitoes entirely may have unforeseen and unwanted consequences. Replacing disease-carrying mosquitoes with harmless breeds is a potential alternative. | US scientists say they have bred a genetically modified (GM) mosquito that can resist malaria infection. |
31567315 | Born in 1996, Dolly was the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell.
She is now the first sheep to be given a blue plaque, which links important historical figures with the buildings in which they lived and worked.
The plaque will read: "Dolly the Sheep, 1996-2003. First mammal to be cloned from an adult cell."
Organised by the Society of Biology, Dolly's plaque is one of ten to be put up around the UK during February and March "celebrating the eminent and sometimes unsung heroes of biology".
There are hundreds of blue plaques around the country.
Notable names to receive the honour include the actor Charlie Chaplin, the writer Agatha Christie and the creator of the Tube map, Harry Beck.
Dolly is not the first animal to receive a blue plaque. Nipper the HMV dog has one in Bristol.
The unveiling of Dolly's plaque, which will be installed at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, will take place on Wednesday 25 February.
Sir Ian Wilmut, who was the lead researcher on the Dolly project, will be making a short speech.
Scientists aimed to let Dolly live as normal a life as possible and she was allowed to breed, giving birth to six lambs.
In 2001 she was shown to have arthritis. She died in 2003 having also developed lung disease.
Sheep of her breed, Finn Dorset, usually have an average life expectancy of 11 to 12 years.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Dolly the sheep will have a blue plaque put up in Edinburgh, to acknowledge her contribution to science. |
37301210 | A sell-out crowd in excess of 11,000 will witness the 58th A420 derby at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
It is the first league meeting between the two since March 2012, when the U's ran out winners.
"We need to make sure we keep 11 players on the pitch," former U's midfielder Allen told BBC Radio Oxford.
"We have to remain disciplined and do what we normally do. We need to be pumped up but be calm.
"It's the team that deals with the emotions in the right way and stays under control that usually ends up doing quite well on the day."
Michael Appleton's side are unbeaten at home in League One this season, while Town are yet to win away.
Oxford have won each of the last five meetings between the teams but Swindon have won more head-to-head matches. | Oxford United assistant head coach Chris Allen has emphasised the importance of his team keeping their discipline against rivals Swindon Town. |
33900249 | Unlike most widely circulated war documents in China that captured gory beheadings and mass graves, these photos offer a human touch, and a less known side of history - they came from private photo albums previously owned by Japanese soldiers who fought in the Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the Anti-Japanese War.
Zou Dehuai, a 25-year-old Chinese man who has travelled to Japan a few times, bought the albums on eBay and from dozens of flea markets and second-hand book stores with the help of Chinese friends based in Japan.
"I now have about 20 albums of more than 3,000 photos on war," he said.
"For many people, these albums are meaningless because most of them are just family or group photos. But after I studied more details, I realised some of them carry great significance."
Mr Zou said he has about a dozen Chinese friends in Japan who look out for these albums. Most are from his hometown, Qingdao, a coastal city in China that was once under Japan's occupation and only a short distance from Japan.
Mr Zou paid between a few hundred and several thousand Chinese yuan for each album.
New ones appear for sale online constantly but most are lost in the market and no-one bothers to find out what the back stories are.
The more popular and expensive ones are those that show cruel killings, but Mr Zou was more attracted by the subtle ones that dig deeper into people's lives.
One of his favourite albums may have come, he thinks, from a Japanese journalist who travelled with the army to China.
The absence of a military leader on the first page, the reflection of the photographer's tripod, and a few photos that look like self-portraits make the album stand out among the rest.
Photos in this album show ordinary Chinese girls on the streets of Nanjing, a city occupied by Japan in the war and where massacres killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese.
The girls are captured smiling for the camera in their traditional Chinese cheongsam dresses.
The photographer is seen in another city, Suzhou in southern China, posing by a wall daubed with slogans saying "kill all Japanese bandits who rob and rape".
Another album Mr Zou found very interesting was possibly from a school headmaster, who had photos labelled with three red Japanese characters - "Prohibited".
In one of the photos, the owner of the album sits in the centre of a group photo with students and a man whose robe had a few characters that indicated it was school.
In another, we see photos labelled "Prohibited" showing dead bodies lying on the ground - someone carefully wrote down "Chinese soldiers' bodies".
Mr Zou explained that after the war, Japan tried to clean up all materials that documented what happened, so many photos were labelled with "Prohibited".
It was unclear how the headmaster obtained these photos. He may have never travelled to China, but Mr Zhou says perhaps collecting photos was his way of participating in the "sacred cause" of the war.
Many were beautifully put together. Even though most of their colours have faded, the intricate patterns on some of the book covers still look amazingly fine.
Nobody knows how these albums came to be lying in the corners of second-hand book stores in Japan.
Mr Zou wondered whether maybe for some families, it was a painful memory to put behind them, and for others, perhaps it was a good thing to sell for money during the economic depression after the war.
Sporting a slicked-back hairstyle and a shiny silver stud earring, Mr Zou is obviously no historian. He works as an editor for the history section of a website.
One of his bigger projects is collecting old photos and interviews of survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide regime in Cambodia, which saw the deaths of around two million people.
For all the albums he collects, Mr Zou says he checks whether the photos are coherent, how frequently each person appears and whether the handwriting matches throughout.
A shoulder badge, a board on the tower house, a street sign - every detail matters.
"It's not hard to determine whether the photos are authentic or not. All the details say something," he said.
"It would be hard to forge this kind of albums, because frankly it would cost a lot of time and money, and it's hardly rewarding."
While Mr Zou plans to keep some of the albums private, he will share most of them or even sell them.
"I collect these albums not to remember hatred, but to avoid repeating the same pain," he emphasised.
"They teach us a lesson: war is cruel and there is no winner." | As China gears up for a grand commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, hundreds of never-before-seen historic photos have surfaced, shedding new light on a part of history that once scarred the country. |
38313849 | The 26-year-old's French club Montpellier have announced he will be out for several weeks as he needs an operation on the problem.
The club's leading scorer so far this season with seven goals hurt himself in Saturday's 2-1 loss at Lille.
Boudebouz will definitely miss Montpellier's final three games of the year.
Algeria are due to open their Nations Cup campaign on 15 January against Zimbabwe before games against Tunisia and Senegal in Group B. | Algeria midfielder Ryad Boudebouz looks set to miss next month's Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon with a knee injury. |
38744912 | Ukad, which carries out testing on behalf of the Football Association, took 1,204 samples from 1,989 players to appear in the EFL in 2015-16.
From 550 players to play in the Premier League, 799 samples were taken. There were no tests in the National League.
These figures do not account for players being tested more than once.
That means one player being tested five times would account for five samples, while some samples may have been taken from players who were registered with clubs but did not make a first-team appearance.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show only 36 samples were taken from 169 players to appear in Women's Super League One - the top flight of domestic women's football in England - meaning at least 78% of players were not tested.
The Football Association said that "like any sport" it prioritised its anti-doping programme "at the elite end".
It added: "This applies not just to staggering downwards the number of tests per competition but also in terms of focusing attention around those players playing the most number of first-team minutes.
"In addition, the anti-doping programme is research and intelligence-led, meaning any player the FA believes presents a particular doping risk will be targeted."
A spokesperson for Ukad told BBC Sport: "Like all sports, we create and deliver a testing programme for football which places resources where they are most effective in order to target where we believe the greatest risk of doping lies.
"But anti-doping programmes are no longer focused solely on testing and test numbers. There are 10 anti-doping rule violations under the World Anti-Doping (Wada) code, of which the presence of a prohibited substance in a sample is just one."
While there were more samples obtained than players who appeared in the Premier League during 2015-16, the ratio of samples to players tested across the three divisions making up the EFL was far lower:
These figures do not include samples collected from under-18 and under-21 squads or from national squads, while any players or teams competing in European competition are also subject to Uefa's anti-doping programmes.
According to Ukad, which says every anti-doping rule violation is listed on its website, Brentford midfielder Alan Judge was the only player in England and Wales tested on behalf of the FA to breach doping regulations during the 2015-16 season - an offence for which he was reprimanded.
The samples taken by Ukad, the only organisation that drug tests on behalf of the FA, are tested for both performance-enhancing and recreational drugs. The FA says there were three failed tests by unnamed players for recreational drugs last season.
Ukad, which carries out testing across more than 50 Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth and professional sports, says "it is incumbent on us as a publicly funded body to use our resources as effectively as possible across these sports and to target the right people at the right time".
But it also said the FA is "one of a small number of national governing bodies which supplements the testing programme allocated by Ukad" - and stressed the scale and breadth of testing within English football has "grown year on year".
"No other national governing body in the UK dedicates as much resource to prevent doping in its sport," the FA said, adding it operated "one of the most comprehensive national anti-doping testing programmes in the world.
"The programme is flexible in order to be able to respond to any emerging doping risk and adaptable to meet the demands of the growing game, with more tests already scheduled for this 2016-17 season and a further increase, again, in 2017-18."
The Press Association reported last Friday that the FA intends to double the number of tests carried out in 2017-18 compared to 2015-16, at a cost of almost £2m.
During 2015-16, fewer samples were collected from players in the top two tiers of men's football in Germany - which each contain 18 teams - than in the top two tiers in England collectively, according to the German anti-doping agency (Nada).
However, more samples were collected per player in the German second division than in the English Championship, as there were 209 fewer players in Bundesliga Two.
In total, Nada obtained 1,110 samples from players in the top two leagues in Germany last season, and carried out additional tests on German national team players and around relegation matches.
In Spain, since the country's anti-doping body was declared non-compliant by Wada in March 2016, there has been an absence of drugs testing.
The most recent published results in Italy show the country's national anti-doping organisation carried out 3,309 tests across the whole Italian Football Federation in 2014, resulting in one adverse analytical finding and 65 atypical findings.
In March 2016, a BBC Sport investigation found only eight drugs tests had been conducted in Scottish football between April and December 2015, with 20 further tests in the first three months of 2016.
That prompted the Scottish Football Association to announce it had "already made plans to enhance the provision of testing from next season and will do so from its own funds".
In rugby union, BBC Radio 5 live's Chris Jones reported on 26 January that "only about one third of Premiership players were tested during the 2015-16 season as part of the Rugby Football Union's anti-doping programme".
Golfer Rory McIlroy and tennis player Andy Murray called for improvements to the drug-testing regimes in their respective sports last year, with McIlroy even suggesting he could "get away with" doping at the time.
A report by Wada on the anti-doping methods employed at the Rio 2016 Olympics found that of the 11,470 athletes, 4,125 (36%) had no record of any testing in 2016, of whom 1,913 were competing in 10 "higher-risk sports".
Toni Minichiello, the former coach of Olympic and world heptathlon gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill, said in January "football isn't testing to the same level as athletics".
In 2015-16, the Championship was the fourth-best attended football league in Europe, even outperforming Italy's Serie A in attracting a total of 9.7 million fans at an average of 17,583 per match.
The combined average attendance across the whole EFL was 9,933 per match, with the cheapest matchday ticket last season the £10 charged by Derby County, according to the BBC's 2015 Price of Football study.
"Like fans of other sports they need total confidence in the fairness of the competitions they watch week in, week out," said Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters' Federation and the only fan representative on the FA Council.
"It is vital the game does not jeopardise this vibrant support by allowing the integrity of its competitions to be called into question."
Attendances in the National League exceeded one million in the 2015-16 season, with Tranmere Rovers averaging crowds of more than 5,200 for their home games.
The cheapest matchday ticket in the division was £13.50, at Southport, according the BBC's 2015 Price of Football survey.
"I am a bit surprised that there were no drugs tests at all [in the National League]," Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince told BBC Sport.
"It is a professional league. There are very few part-time clubs in our league these days.
"Drugs in sport is a real issue and if testing is happening in the top four leagues in English football I don't see why it shouldn't be in the fifth league as well." | At least 39% of players who played in the English Football League last season were not drugs tested by UK Anti-Doping (Ukad), according to official figures. |
34896275 | American author Diana Gabaldon - who wrote the novels on which the TV series Outlander is based - will address fans at Stirling Castle later.
Writers including Val McDermid and Michel Faber are among other authors who will make appearances.
Businesses will also be urged to set up reading spaces for their staff.
Events being staged around the country include poetry at football matches, author appearances and an online poll to find the nation's favourite quote from a book.
Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, will announce four new reading communities in Scotland and call on companies to set up designated areas to encourage staff to read.
It follows research from the University of Sussex which showed reading for just six minutes a day reduced stress more than other activities like walking and playing video games.
Mr Lambert said: "We need to create a culture of reading at every level in society. And that is why I want to launch a specific call to action to businesses and organisations: appoint your own company reading ambassador, with the task of making books and reading a normal part of the working day.
"Through the simple measure of creating a reading ambassador to oversee small changes such as creating a book swap area, scheduling reading breaks, marking out a dedicated reading space or starting a book club, businesses and organisations will give their staff a clear message that they value their personal health and development, and will be contributing to a wider social aim of promoting reading in every aspect of life."
Authors and illustrators will visit libraries in every local authority, with appearances by the likes of Kate Mosse, AL Kennedy, Arne Dahl and The Girl on a Train author Paula Hawkins.
A new campaign called #ThankBooks will be launched, encouraging members of the public to share how books or people from the world of books have inspired them or changed their life.
During the week, 150,000 free copies of a short story and poem collection written by ordinary Scottish people, Journeys, will be handed out via libraries, bookshops and other outlets.
In addition to this three free picture books, comprising the shortlist for the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2016, will be gifted to every Primary 1 pupil in Scotland. | Scotland's fourth national celebration of books and reading is taking place this week, with events across the country. |
34612089 | Gino Stocco, 57 and Mark, 35, are wanted for a string of violent offences and property crimes in several states.
Having evaded authorities for eight years, they were spotted early on Thursday driving on a highway north of Melbourne.
They are two of Australia's most wanted fugitives.
The hunt will now focus on the areas around Yea and Lake Rowan in the north-east of the state, police said.
Residents have been warned to expect a large police presence as the hunt is stepped up, officials said.
The men are said to be armed with a high-powered rifle and possibly other weapons.
Last week, the pair allegedly shot at police with a high-powered rifle during a car pursuit after failing to pull over in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.
The manhunt then moved to northern Victoria after the pair were spotted driving a white Toyota Landcruiser past a police surveillance point near the town of Castella early on Thursday.
Hours later, a police patrol tried to stop a similar car near Lake Rowan after seeing that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
A police statement said: "The police vehicle executed a U-turn and activated the blue lights with the intention to intercept.
"The white Toyota Landcruiser, with Victorian registration plates ZUE632 stopped in the middle of the road and with no warning reversed rapidly into the front of the police car, rendering it inoperable.
"The Toyota Landcruiser then sped off east towards Yarrawonga Road."
The statement added: "Police are again appealing to the community to remain vigilant and report any sightings of either vehicle immediately." | Police in the Australian state of Victoria say they have narrowed the search for fugitive father and son Gino and Mark Stocco. |
19536302 | The 33-year-old's triumph, after 5,000m,1500m and 800m victories, means he matches Sarah Storey as Britain's most successful athlete at the Games.
"I had to be in super-human shape to win four and I've done it," said Weir.
In the women's race ParalympicsGB's final medal hope Shelly Woods won silver after three track defeats.
Woods's second-placed finish behind American Shirley Reilly means Great Britain collected 120 medals - 17 more than their pre-Games target - and finished third in the medal table behind China and Russia.
They also improved their athletics medal tally from 17 (two golds) in Beijing four years ago to 29 in London, with 11 golds won.
Both Weir and Woods won the London marathon in April, although the Paralympic course was very different from the one they raced in the spring.
Consisting of one 2.2 mile and three eight-mile loops, the more technical route had been seen as favouring Weir, and the Londoner remained in the leading group as it whittled down from six to leave him with just Hug and Athens and Beijing champion Kurt Fearnley for company.
Despite his exertions on the track, Weir summoned up the strength over the final 500m to make a decisive break, and it was one neither of his rivals could follow.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"That was the toughest race I've ever raced in my life," Weir, who has suggested he might retire, added. "They were all working together to try and stop me, but I'm used to that. I do my own thing and race as best as I can.
"It has just been an amazing experience these last 10 days, I've never experienced anything like it in my life.
"It just shows the British public are so supportive; they love sport, they love seeing Britain doing well, you can see how proud they are to put these Games on."
His four golds in London will ease Weir's memories of a difficult Paralympic campaign in Beijing four years ago.
Tipped as a contender in five events in China, he came away with two golds having been hampered with a virus.
Woods, competing in the women's versions of Weir's events, had failed to get amongst the medals in this year's Games before Sunday's race.
Gold (6): 800m (Beijing), 1500m (Beijing), 1500m (London), 5,000m (London), 800m (London), marathon (London)
Silver (2): 100m (Athens), 400m (Beijing)
Bronze (2): 200m (Athens), 5,000m (Beijing)
All in T54 category
But after slipping 11 seconds off the pace at the 10km mark, the 26-year-old closed back in on the leaders and was only denied gold by a second as she was narrowly outsprinted by Reilly.
"It has been such a tough week and I've been wanting a medal so badly," Woods said.
"I've always known that physically my speed is there, it just wasn't happening on the track.
"This means the world to me. I was hoping I could do it on the track, but a silver in the marathon is amazing."
American Tatyana McFadden, whose hopes of five golds in the Games were foiled by a bronze in the 100m on Saturday night, finished ninth after a mechanical problem required a change of wheel. | David Weir made it four wins from four events at London 2012 as he beat Marcel Hug to win the T54 marathon in front of an ecstatic crowd on the Mall. |
39652271 | In an ABC interview, the star said she didn't give her all to director Lone Scherfig in 2011 film One Day.
"I really regret not trusting her more easily," she said.
"And I am to this day scared that the reason I didn't trust her the way I trust some of the other directors I work with is because she's a woman."
Hathaway added: "I'm so scared that I treated her with internalised misogyny. I'm scared that I didn't give her everything that she needed."
The actress questioned whether she was "resisting her on some level. It's something I've thought a lot about in terms of when I get scripts to be directed by women".
Hathaway told the Popcorn with Peter Travers show: "When I get a script, when I see a first film directed by a woman, I have in the past focused on what was wrong with it. And when I see a film... directed by a man, I focus on what's right with it.
"I can only acknowledge that I've done that and I don't want to do that anymore ... I, before I realised this, had actively tried to work with female directors. And I still had this mindset buried in there somewhere."
But the actress added that she knows how difficult it is for women to get "the reins to anything".
"That journey is way harder than it should be. It's not equal," she said.
"And I wonder if it's about the thought process like the one I just talked about. About undervaluing what it takes to make your first film."
Hathaway said she would call Scherfig after the interview to apologise.
"I've never apologised to her about it," she said.
"It wasn't an issue of professionalism. I hold her in such a dear place in my heart and I think she does for me, too."
A representative for Scherfig told ABC News: "Lone Scherfig is deep in pre-production of her next film and is consumed by it. She asked me to express her love and admiration for Anne and her work."
Hathaway has long been an advocate for women's rights and is a women's goodwill ambassador for the United Nations (UN).
She made a speech on International Women's Day last month at the UN calling on companies and countries around the world to offer paid parental leave.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway has admitted to not trusting female directors in the past due to "internalised misogyny". |
39816945 | Orient supporters protested against owner Francesco Becchetti on the pitch and fans were later told the match on 29 April had been abandoned.
It was restarted and concluded later.
The EFL said it recognises "the right to protest" but added it cannot support it if it affected a sporting outcome.
The U's beat relegated Orient 3-1 and, while Orient's fate has been sealed, the victory kept Colchester still in with a chance of reaching the fourth-tier play-offs.
Following the lengthy delay at the Matchroom Stadium, the players returned to the pitch to finish the final eight minutes of the match behind closed doors.
An EFL statement read: "We would like to reiterate that the EFL recognises that supporters of clubs have the right to protest if they are unhappy and very much understand the frustration of Leyton Orient fans in particular at this difficult time.
"As we have stated, unless our rules are broken, our powers to intervene are limited once owners ("Responsible Persons") are in position.
"Our rules reflect our position as a competition organiser and are derived to protect our competitions, the format of which thrives on promotion and relegation.
"It is therefore imperative that all clubs play 46 games of 90 minutes to complete a full season and any variation from this brings the legitimacy of the competition into question.
"While acknowledging the right of fans to protest, we cannot support this if those actions 'cross the white line' and affect the sporting outcome.
"The pitch invasion at the Matchroom Stadium was peaceful in its nature but led to the referee needing to take the players off the field. We cannot sit back and allow this to happen and have the credibility of our competition, which is envied the world over, questioned."
As well as the events at Orient on Saturday, the EFL have written to Championship side Huddersfield to "request their observations regarding team selection" for the 2-0 defeat by Birmingham City on the same day.
The Terriers are already guaranteed a play-off spot and made 10 changes for the trip to Blues, who are not yet safe from relegation to League One.
"It is very much a subjective matter to determine what constitutes a 'full strength' side, however the disappointment of both (Birmingham's fellow strugglers) Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest is understandable," said an EFL statement.
"Huddersfield have been asked for their observations and reasons for taking the approach that they did.
"This type of approach is another challenge to the integrity of the competition, albeit a different one to the actions of supporters. We have reminded all clubs this week as to their obligations in this area.
"It has been a difficult week for the EFL and we hope that the final weekend of matches in the Championship and League Two pass without further incident that could damage the reputation of our clubs, their fans or our competition." | The English Football League have said there is "no regret" over the "difficult decision" to suspend Leyton Orient's home League Two defeat by Colchester United for two hours. |
39985435 | First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, campaigning in Edinburgh South, said her party would retain the mechanism which determines annual increases.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson stressed her commitment to the Union and opposition to independence.
Labour's Kezia Dugdale has spoken out against the gender pay gap.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have been encouraging young people to vote.
Ms Sturgeon made a series of commitments to older voters including retaining the pension triple lock, maintaining winter fuel payments, and opposing any increase of the state pension age beyond 66.
She said: "It's really important at this election that Scotland has strong voices at Westminster, that we've got MPs standing up against Tory cuts and protecting our interests.
"We've seen from the Tory manifesto this week that this is a party that wants to continue with austerity, take protections away from pensioners, and pursue an extreme Brexit, and all of that has serious implications for Scotland.
"So we must make sure, probably now more than ever, that we've got strong voices. So even if you don't agree with the SNP on everything, my message is vote SNP to make sure Scotland's voice is heard."
The Scottish Conservatives have launched a poster campaign against a second independence referendum.
Speaking in Edinburgh South West, Ruth Davidson said: "People have had enough of the constant discussions about the constitution. There is a way to stop this.
"If we can lead the fightback against the SNP at this general election, we can stop it for good.
"So help us at this general election, send a message to the SNP that we've had enough of this constitutional division."
Kezia Dugdale, who has been campaigning in East Lothian, highlighted Scottish Labour's concerns about the gender pay gap.
She said: "A new report showed us that women are going to earn £60,000 less than their male counterparts over their lifetime. That's fundamentally unjust and Labour wants to tackle it.
"So we would force companies that want to pay women less than men to demonstrate that to the public so that we can literally shame them into doing things differently.
"But this is also about making sure that we help women access the jobs of the future, and that's about tackling some of the stigma in science, technology, engineering and maths."
Campaigning for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole-Hamilton highlighted the importance of younger voters.
He said: "We've been at the Green Investment Bank today, and outside there talking to young voters in particular - we're trying to encourage young people to register to vote, obviously that deadline is approaching.
"But also to remind people people that the Green Investment Bank was a Lib Dem policy, delivered in coalition, which is an example of a green policy which has been rolled back by the Conservative party, in terms of commitment to reducing carbon, to investing in renewable technologies, and an example of exactly the sort of platform that Lib Dems stand on, so that we leave the world we inhabit for the next generation in a better state than we found it." | The SNP has claimed Conservatives cannot be trusted to care for older people, after they revealed plans to remove the pensions "triple lock". |
35255556 | The S&P fell 392.4 points to 16,514, a 2.3% fall. The Dow Jones fell 47.1 points - 2.37% - to 1,943, its worst four-day start to a year in decades.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 146.3 points - 3% - to 4,689.4.
Apple slid 4.2%, Amazon 3.9%, Facebook 4.9%, and Google parent Alphabet 2.3%.
Banking shares also fell, led by Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, both 5% down.
Risers included Macy's, up 2.1% after the retailer unveiled a plan to save $400m through job cuts and store closures following a disappointing holiday shopping season.
Walgreens Boots Alliance advanced 1.9% as the pharmacy chain lifted its full-year forecast after first-quarter earnings bested analyst expectation | (Close): The S&P 500 posted its largest daily fall since September as worries about the Chinese economy and a continuing slide in the oil price rattled investors. |
37079257 | Lauren McMurchie fired past Jenna Fife after less than a minute, Julie Fleeting was then twice on target and Fiona Brown lobbed in City's fourth.
Celtic leapfrogged opponents Spartans as they won 2-0 away from home and Rangers won 2-0 at Forfar Farmington.
Stirling University also won on the road, a 1-0 triumph at Aberdeen. | Glasgow City moved five points clear at the top of the Scottish Women's Premier League after beating second-placed Hibernian Ladies 4-0 at Albyn Park. |
39469425 | Winks was taken off on a stretcher in the first half after injuring his ankle when he fell into the dugout.
Wanyama was also forced off before the break after taking a knock to the back.
Striker Vincent Janssen became the third injury worry when he was substituted in the second half.
Winks received oxygen after he fell into the Burnley dugout following an attempted tackle on Stephen Ward.
"He is in hospital now, doing scans. Now we need to wait," Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
"We wish it is not a big issue and we hope it's not a big problem for the future for him."
Tottenham are already without midfielder Erik Lamela, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a hip injury.
Striker Harry Kane and left-back Danny Rose are also sidelined with an ankle and knee injury respectively, although Pochettino was hopeful of Kane's return.
"Harry Kane is good, he's doing things on the pitch and may be back in a few weeks," he added. | Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks has been taken to hospital following Saturday's 2-0 win at Burnley, while Spurs also have an injury concern over Victor Wanyama. |
32172870 | The polls suggest there was no clear winner but here is what the parties have been saying.
The Conservatives
"David Cameron was in control from beginning to end. We settled the debate on who would make the best prime minister for Britain." Chancellor George Osborne
"I think David Cameron was composed and in control, the strong prime minister that people over the last five years have got used to being in charge.
"I think some of the other participants were quite feisty and scrappy, but the overall impression people will have got is if you want to look at that group of seven people and say 'who is the best person to lead the country over the next five years?', David will have come out clearly ahead." Chief Whip Michael Gove
Labour
"Ed Miliband set out a compelling case that Britain can be better than this and that Britain succeeds when working people succeed." Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander
"Only 2 people could be PM after May 7 and of those two Ed Miliband beat David Cameron At least Ed knows why he wants the job. DC not on it" tweetedLabour strategist and blogger Alastair Campbell
UKIP
"It was a resounding success for Nigel Farage and UKIP because he was straight-talking, honest and set out commonsense policies for leading Britain and putting Britain's interests first." Immigration spokesman Steven Woolfe
Liberal Democrats
"I think what Nick Clegg did, and what he did brilliantly, was lay the foundation for us to begin to make the argument. What he had to do was lay out his vision for the country, expose the failures of the Labour and Tory propositions - he did that pretty flawlessly.
"He was the only person who put David Cameron and Ed Miliband seriously on the back foot, and he took on Nigel Farage." Campaign co-ordinator Lord Ashdown
SNP
"The fact that Nicola Sturgeon won on an average of polls conducted across the UK shows just how strong and persuasive she was." Deputy leader Stewart Hosie
The Green Party of England and Wales
"There is a divide in British politics. There is what I consider to be the right-wing stale politics of the old Westminster politics that want to continue the focus on austerity and want to demonise some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Contrast that with the parties represented by women last night who want a human economy - with people at the centre of what it does." Maggie Chapman, co-convenor of the Scottish Green Party
Plaid Cymru
"Leaders debate show Labour are right. The election is a straight choice in Wales - between Plaid Cymru and the Westminster establishment." tweeted Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru spokesman | The parties have been reacting to Thursday's TV election debate, in which Conservative leader David Cameron, Labour's Ed Miliband, Lib Dem Nick Clegg, UKIP's Nigel Farage, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood and the Green Party's Natalie Bennett clashed for two hours before a live audience. |
22328710 | The bill passed by 168 votes to 123, and had the support of the three parties making up the ruling coalition.
It is part of continuing moves by the centre-right government to cut costs and ensure more bailout money from international creditors.
But it was vociferously opposed by protesters outside parliament.
The new law will overturn what had been a constitutional guarantee for civil servants of a job for life, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens.
The sector has been seen as notoriously bloated since it expanded in the 1970s and 1980s as successive administrations employed their own people, our correspondent adds.
Some 2,000 civil servants will lose their jobs by the end of June, another 2,000 by the end of the year, and a further 11,000 by the end of 2014.
State workers who have broken rules will be targeted for dismissal, but many are expected to be replaced by younger employees in key sectors such as health.
So the law will not slim down the public sector, our correspondent says. That would be achieved by a parallel plan that would see 150,000 state jobs go by the end of 2015, by replacing only some of those who retire.
The law is a condition for Greece to receive its next tranche of loans worth 8.8bn euros (£7.4bn; $11.4bn).
Eurozone officials will now meet on Monday to approve the overdue release of 2.8bn euros, said Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, according to Reuters news agency.
The remaining 6bn euros will be paid on 13 May, he added.
As MPs debated the measures inside parliament, several hundred demonstrators outside took part in a protest called by Adedy, the civil service trade confederation, and the private sector GSEE union.
They were demonstrating against what the unions called "those politicians who are dismantling the public service and destroying the welfare state".
Critics say the law, which is part of a larger package of measures, will only add to Greece's record unemployment rate of 27%.
They say many of those who will lose their jobs are older workers already struggling to support their families and make ends meet.
But others say the measures are overdue.
The conservative coalition, led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, has 167 seats in the 300-seat parliament so the measure was always expected to pass.
However, there are reports of divisions within his government on some issues and there is speculation he could reshuffle his ministerial team soon.
Eurozone finance ministers are expected to decide on the next instalment of aid for debt-ridden Greece at a meeting on 16 May.
Since 2010, the European Union and the IMF have promised more than 200bn euros in lending for Greece, the first country to be hit by the eurozone crisis.
The government has imposed tough austerity measures in return for aid, including cuts in pay and pensions leading to numerous general strikes. | The Greek parliament has passed a bill which will see 15,000 state employees lose their jobs by the end of next year. |
36065840 | The epicentre was near the northern coastal town of Muisne, but the effects were felt hundreds of kilometres away, including in the capital, Quito, and second city, Guayaquil.
People in Ecuador have been contacting BBC News with their stories.
'It lasted for minutes and was very scary' - Juan Jose, Guayaquil, Ecuador
I am safe with my family now but the earthquake was an awful experience. It lasted for minutes and was very scary.
The streets started to move like waves. The roof fell in on a mall here and a bridge collapsed.
My daughter is still afraid. The worst affected towns are Pedernales, Manta, Muisne, Portoviejo and Guayaquil.
My uncle lives in Portoviejo and says the damage there is very bad.
The electricity service is still very unstable here and the phone lines are very bad.
We are scared about another quake happening.
We've had lots of small tremors over the last few months, so I thought it was just another one of those to start with, which is why I was slow to react.
When I heard people yelling, children crying and dogs barking, I realised it wasn't. My mirror started shaking, then I heard a bottle fall downstairs from my apartment.
I grabbed my dog and hid under the table. The worst part was realising it wasn't going away and that I might be found here if the worst happened.
So I grabbed my dog and ran out into the street. We could see the electricity lines shaking - in other parts of the city they've collapsed, apparently.
I've gone back to my apartment now. I've seen images of dead people on the news, crushed by falling objects, that I'd rather not have seen.
They are saying this is the worst quake since 1979 to strike the country.
I never felt something like that in my life, never! Because in Ecuador this is not common. It was so strong. I was feeling very, very scared.
Suddenly everything was dark; the light was off; like a movie. I only was thinking 'God, please stop that, because maybe I die today.'
Just after 7pm we felt a long earthquake while driving. I didn't understand it at first.
Then I saw other cars were shaking too and people starting to go out of their cars and buildings.
The power went off in the area we were in. We were happy we were in the car and felt safe there.
Just now, there was an after-quake and we were on the 9th floor. It was very scary and lasted for 30 seconds. They say it was 6.2 near the coast.
We are trying to sleep because it's 02:30 here, but I am very scared and sad.
I can tell you, that was an extremely scary experience. I live in Guayaquil and we got hit pretty hard.
Cities around us have been affected so badly. My first ever experience of an earthquake and I'm just relieved that my wife and family are all OK. RIP to all those who passed. What an absolute tragedy. | Ecuador has been struck by a massive magnitude-7.8 earthquake that has left more than 230 people dead and hundreds injured. |
35563688 | Kenya threatened to pull out if the Zika virus reaches "epidemic levels".
There are also concerns about water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, but Stanford is happy to represent Great Britain.
"I know that health and safety would never be compromised," she told BBC Wales Sport.
"The medical representatives from Team GB have been in touch to reassure us that they will do everything possible to make sure we're not affected by these issues.
"If by the time the Games come around there is a serious threat, then I'm sure the necessary steps will be taken to make sure we don't come into any harm."
Stanford earned her place in the Great Britain triathlon team by finishing second at the World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago in September 2015.
The 2012 World Under-23 champion Stanford won the senior title the following year.
But injuries ruled Stanford out of most of the 2014 season, including the Commonwealth Games, and began her bid to win selection for Rio at the ITU event in Yokohama in May 2015.
That campaign ended successfully in Chicago where fellow Welshwoman Helen Jenkins finished 11th. | Welsh triathlete Non Stanford says she is not concerned about competing at the Olympics in Brazil following the outbreak of the Zika virus. |
39963214 | It is noisy and busy in Lisnaskea mart, and against the backdrop of the auctioneer's excited tones all eyes are on the ring.
On the margins of the large crowd there is a familiar face.
Tom Elliott is a part-time farmer and a full-time politician and he is no stranger to the area.
For the past two years the Ulster Unionist has travelled to Westminster to represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone as its MP and he wants to continue that job.
He took the seat off Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew in one of the surprise results of the 2015 general election.
The constituency is now being targeted by Sinn Féin and once again Michelle Gildernew is the party's candidate.
Like the last election, Mr Elliott has the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party and the Traditional Unionist Voice.
He knows he is in a big fight to retain the seat.
"I am a competitive person by nature, whether that's in business, whether it's when I was playing football or whether it's now in politics," he said.
"I like that competition and I just get on with it."
Mrs Gildernew had the job for 14 years and hopes to get it back again.
She said interest in the election is high and the result will be very close.
"On track record it will probably come will down to a fairly narrow margin," she added.
"People are very exercised and up for this election."
If Mrs Gildernew wins next month, she will not take her seat at Westminster, in line with her party's policy.
The Social Democratic and Labour Party's Mary Garrity, who is a councillor, is also hoping to be the next MP and she insists that Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy does not work.
"When an MP does not go to their work they are not an MP," she said.
"By not going you become irrelevant.
"If you are not in effect working for the people, you are useless."
The Alliance Party's Noreen Campbell and the Green Party's Tanya Jones are also on the ballot paper.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a rural, border constituency and Brexit, jobs and fracking are all campaign talking points.
But away from the issues people see the contest as a two-horse race, according to Rodney Edwards, a journalist with the Impartial Reporter newspaper.
"Tom Elliott won this seat last time by just over 500 votes; he won it against the odds," said Mr Edwards.
"He can win it again because he has the backing of other unionists in the area.
"Equally, Michelle Gildernew could win it again and we have seen she has been capable of winning it against a single unionist candidate."
In the townlands of Tyrone and in the lakelands of Fermanagh, politics runs deep.
Tradition and history are never far away from the surface.
This is the seat once held by republican hunger striker Bobby Sands and there has been plenty of drama and controversy in the past, marked by recounts and legal challenges.
At election time the cliché of "every vote counts" is often used, but in the UK's most westerly constituency that saying rings true.
It is a seat that once again may be won by the slimmest of margins. | In a packed livestock market in a County Fermanagh town on a Tuesday lunchtime farmers are buying and selling cattle. |
36840162 | The capture of McCourt, 32, is a major coup for Lurgan Blues manager Gary Hamilton, who unveiled the duo at Mourneview Park on Tuesday night.
McCourt left Luton Town to return home in May after his wife Laura was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Bates re-joins the club from Linfield, having made 83 appearances and scored 34 goals in his last spell at Glenavon.
The 30-year-old initially signed for the club at the start of the 2012-13 season, before moving to Australia to take up a job in the family business after the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
On his return to Northern Ireland, he opted to sign for Linfield.
Renowned as a skilful crowd-pleaser, McCourt started his professional career with English Football League side Rochdale in 2001, before moving to League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers in 2005.
Later that year he moved to his home-town club, Derry City, then moved to Glasgow Celtic where he spent five seasons.
He subsequently had spells at Barnsley, Brighton and a loan spell at Notts County before signing a two year deal at Luton Town.
It had earlier emerged that Derry City boss Kenny Shiels had opted not to sign McCourt, citing the progress of the youngsters in his squad as the reason.
Laura underwent a successful operation last month and doctors are optimistic that she will make a full recovery.
Hamilton's side begin their league campaign with a home fixture against Carrick Rangers on 6 August. | Northern Ireland winger Paddy McCourt and striker Guy Bates have agreed one-year contracts with Glenavon. |
30792542 | South Wales Police were called to a stretch of the river at Penarth Road on Monday but said the search was made hazardous by the fast flowing current.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were also called to the scene but left at 23:30 GMT after no body was found.
Emergency services said the incident was now a police matter. | Emergency services have suspended a search of the River Taff in Cardiff after a member of the public reported seeing a body in the water. |
36425370 | 2 June 2016 Last updated at 14:55 BST
Mohammed Nowrouz Noori, an Afghan in his 30s, lost his wife Nilufar, his son Mohammad and baby daughter Nastaran in January on a failed crossing from Turkey to Greece.
Repatriating the bodies of his wife and son to Kabul for burial took him 12 days and left him bankrupt - he never found his daughter. | Hundreds of migrants face huge debts and a logistical nightmare to repatriate the bodies of loved ones who have died during perilous sea crossings to Europe. |
39881764 | The election follows last year's Brexit vote when voters decided to leave the European Union, a decision that is expected to bring a lot of changes to the UK's international relationships.
If you want to know where the major parties stand on trade, immigration, education, or an issue which you want to know about or want a clarification, let us know.
We'll put a selection of your questions to our reporters and in-house experts for their analysis.
Whatever you want to ask about how the UK election will affect Africa, please use the box below. | British voters go to the polls on 8 June but how will the vote affect Africa? |
33799929 | Policymakers voted 8-1 to hold rates and the Bank said the outlook for inflation was "muted".
The pound fell more than a cent against the dollar to $1.5501 and lost nearly one cent against the euro to €1.4216.
However, the FTSE 100 recouped some early losses to close 5.32 points lower at 6,747.09.
Analysts had been expecting two of the Bank's monetary policy committee members to vote for a rate rise, with some even suggesting three could back an increase.
But in the end, only Ian McCafferty voted in favour of lifting rates from the historic low of 0.5%.
"The chances of an interest rate hike before the end of 2015 have seemingly receded markedly; indeed, it looks more questionable as to whether the Bank of England will act early on in 2016," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.
On the stock market, shares in RSA Insurance fell 2.7% after Zurich Insurance said it would not overpay for the UK company. Zurich admitted last month it was considering making a bid for RSA.
Shares in mining firm Rio Tinto edged up 0.3% despite the company reporting a sharp drop in second-quarter profits, as the sector continues to be hit by falling commodity prices.
Underlying earnings fell 43% to $2.9bn, with earnings at Rio's iron ore division down 55% to $2.1bn.
Shares in insurer Aviva rose 0.9% after it reported half-year operating profits of £1.17bn, up from £1.07bn last year and ahead of analysts' expectations. | (Close): The pound fell after the "Super Thursday" news flow from the Bank of England appeared to rule out any early UK interest rate rise. |
32300305 | The Virb X and Virb XE will be priced at £239 ($349) and £319 ($466) when they are launched in the summer.
Both models are waterproof to a depth of 50m without a case, and can capture "action data" such as speed and a G-force using bespoke system G-Metrix which can then be overlaid on the footage itself.
The market is currently dominated by top seller GoPro.
Garmin launched its first action cam, Virb, in 2013. Sony, Polaroid, HTC and Xiaomi are among other tech firms offering rival devices.
Users of the higher-end Virb XE can manually control advanced settings including white balance, sharpness, colour profile and exposure levels.
The XE also shoots video in high definition quality of either 1440p/30fps (frames per second) or 1080p/60fps, with the cheaper X version offering 1080p/30fps or 720p/60fps.
Both models can capture stills images at up to 12 megapixels and have wi-fi and bluetooth connectivity.
GoPro meanwhile announced a partnership with broadcast equipment manufacturer Vislink which will enable its Hero 3+ and Hero 4 models to broadcast high definition wireless video for the first time.
"GoPro is the undisputed market leader right now and its cameras have become synonymous with the category," said analyst Ben Wood from CSS Insight.
"We expect the next battleground to be with 360 degree action cameras to capture footage for virtual reality headsets.
"It will be interesting to see when GoPro makes the jump into that space."
Mr Wood also said that cheaper rivals - such as the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera which had a launch price of just 399 yuan (£41) - pose more of an immediate threat to the firm.
"GoPro probably won't be too worried about Garmin. The biggest threat comes from low-cost Chinese rivals," he added.
"As the quality of their products improves and prices drop they become more realistic challengers." | Sat-Nav maker Garmin has unveiled two new HD action camera models. |
25974614 | Knox, who is currently in the US, was sentenced to 28 years and six months.
Her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, also had his guilty verdict reinstated and received 25 years. He was "struck dumb", his lawyer said.
The Kercher family lawyer said that justice had been done.
Lawyers for both Knox and Sollecito have said they will appeal to the supreme Court of Cassation.
By Alan Johnston BBC News, Florence
This re-running of the appeal process was ordered by Italy's highest court, whose judges had demolished the grounds for Knox and Sollecito's acquittals.
And so there was a sense that the momentum was with the prosecution as this latest appeal began. Now that it has secured a conviction, an eventual attempt to extradite Knox is a possibility.
But her legal team would fight it with everything it had.
Most people in Italy would find it very difficult indeed to imagine the US authorities one day putting Amanda Knox on a plane and sending her back here to spend much of the rest of her life in jail.
As part of Thursday's ruling, Knox and Sollecito were also ordered to pay damages to the family of Miss Kercher, whose brother Lyle and sister Stephanie were in the courtroom in Florence.
Speaking soon after, Lyle Kercher said: "It's hard to feel anything at the moment because we know it will go to a further appeal. No matter what the verdict was, it never was going to be a case of celebrating anything."
Their lawyer, Francesco Maresca, called the verdict "justice for Meredith and the family".
Sollecito's lawyer, Luca Maori, said his client had heard the verdict on TV and looked "annihilated".
"There isn't a shred of proof," Mr Maori said.
Miss Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon in south London, was stabbed to death in the flat she shared with Knox in the college city of Perugia.
Knox and Sollecito, 29, were jailed for her murder in 2009 but the verdicts were overturned in 2011 and the pair were freed.
However, the acquittals were themselves overturned last year by the Court of Cassation, which returned the case to the Florence court.
The Court of Cassation will now hear the defendants' appeals.
In Italy, verdicts are not considered final until they are confirmed, usually by the Court of Cassation.
Legal experts say it is unlikely Italy will request Knox's extradition until then.
In a statement issued after the verdict, Knox, 26, said: "I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict.
"Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system."
She added: "There has always been a marked lack of evidence. My family and I have suffered greatly from this wrongful persecution. This has gotten out of hand."
Knox, who is currently studying for a degree in creative writing at the University of Washington, followed the court proceedings from her hometown of Seattle.
After 12 hours of deliberation, the verdicts were delivered by presiding judge Alessando Nencini, who ordered that Sollecito's passport should be revoked.
Sollecito had been in court earlier on Thursday but left before the verdicts were delivered.
The judge made no requests for limits on Knox's movements.
Legal experts say that if Italy requests extradition, the US would have to decide whether the case fell under the nations' extradition treaty. Political considerations could also come into play, they say.
By Taylor BrownBBC News, Washington
Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at American University in Washington DC, says that whether or not Knox is extradited to Italy is a question of the request's legal basis and America's political interest in the case.
Once Italy makes a request, the US will have to decide whether it falls under their extradition treaty.
While there is "no reason to think the US has a specific interest" in blocking her extradition, Mr Vladeck says, countries can effectively stand in the way with a variety of "creative" interpretations of extradition treaties.
If the US does grant Italy's request, Knox can fight her extradition in a US court, citing among other things international human rights law.
US Senator Maria Cantwell, from Knox's home state of Washington, said she was "very concerned and disappointed'' by the verdict and confident that the appeal would re-examine the decision.
"It is very troubling that Amanda and her family have had to endure this process for so many years,'' she said in a statement.
Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast has already been convicted of Miss Kercher's murder at an earlier trial, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. That verdict specified that he did not commit the crime alone.
Prosecutors sought to prove Miss Kercher had died in a sex game involving Knox and Sollecito that went wrong.
They have since alleged that the murder resulted from a heated argument over cleanliness in the Perugia apartment. | US student Amanda Knox says she is "frightened and saddened" after a court in Italy reinstated her guilty verdict for the 2007 murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher. |
40331215 | The 1.1 terabytes of data includes birthdates, home addresses, telephone numbers and political views of nearly 62% of the entire US population.
The data was available on a publicly accessible Amazon cloud server.
Anyone could access the data as long as they had a link to it.
The huge cache of data was discovered last week by Chris Vickery, a cyber-risk analyst with security firm UpGuard. The information seems to have been collected from a wide range of sources - from posts on controversial banned threads on the social network Reddit, to committees that raised funds for the Republican Party.
The information was stored in spreadsheets uploaded to a server owned by Deep Root Analytics. It had last been updated in January when President Donald Trump was inaugurated and had been online for an unknown period of time.
"We take full responsibility for this situation. Based on the information we have gathered thus far, we do not believe that our systems have been hacked," Deep Root Analytics' founder Alex Lundry told technology website Gizmodo.
"Since this event has come to our attention, we have updated the access settings and put protocols in place to prevent further access."
Apart from personal details, the data also contained citizens' suspected religious affiliations, ethnicities and political biases, such as where they stood on controversial topics like gun control, the right to abortion and stem cell research.
The file names and directories indicated that the data was meant to be used by influential Republican political organisations. The idea was to try to create a profile on as many voters as possible using all available data, so some of the fields in the spreadsheets were left left empty if an answer could not be found.
"That such an enormous national database could be created and hosted online, missing even the simplest of protections against the data being publicly accessible, is troubling," Dan O'Sullivan wrote in a blog post on Upguard's website.
"The ability to collect such information and store it insecurely further calls into question the responsibilities owed by private corporations and political campaigns to those citizens targeted by increasingly high-powered data analytics operations."
Although it is known that political parties routinely gather data on voters, this is the largest breach of electoral data in the US to date and privacy experts are concerned about the sheer scale of the data gathered.
"This is deeply troubling. This is not just sensitive, it's intimate information, predictions about people's behaviour, opinions and beliefs that people have never decided to disclose to anyone," Privacy International's policy officer Frederike Kaltheuner told the BBC News website.
However, the issue of data collection and using computer models to predict voter behaviour is not just limited to marketing firms - Privacy International says that the entire online advertising ecosystem operates in the same way.
"It is a threat to the way democracy works. The GOP [Republican Party] relied on publicly-collected, commercially-provided information. Nobody would have realised that the data they entrusted to one organisation would end up in a database used to target them politically.
"You should be in charge of what is happening to your data, who can use it and for what purposes," Ms Kaltheuner added.
There are fears that leaked data can easily be used for nefarious purposes, from identity fraud to harassment of people under protection orders, or to intimidate people who hold an opposing political view.
"The potential for this type of data being made available publicly and on the dark web is extremely high," Paul Fletcher, a cyber-security evangelist at security firm Alert Logic told the BBC. | Sensitive personal details relating to almost 200 million US citizens have been accidentally exposed by a marketing firm contracted by the Republican National Committee. |
37148520 | Willis, of Warwick Boat Club Tennis Club, was the world number 772, but played Federer on Centre Court after coming through six rounds of qualifying and the first round proper.
About 70 people attended a free session to allow non-members to try the sport.
The event was set up in a bid to make tennis less elitist, the club said.
Willis, 25, from Warwick, who is now the world number 420, said his life had "completely changed since those two weeks" at Wimbledon.
He said: "I got on an aeroplane [at Atlanta]. The security guard looked at me and went 'Willis. I know who you are'.
"The story has gone global... everywhere [you get] 'this was the guy who played Roger Federer on Centre Court'.
"I'm getting a lot more offers."
Willis, who is away on tour for up to 30 weeks a year, said since Wimbledon he had played for the New York Empire team in World Team Tennis, which included doubles action alongside former world number one Andy Roddick.
He said he would be making personal appearances and going to exhibition events when he was not competing.
Club tennis manager Gavin Henderson said Willis was a coach who was "so enthusiastic" and did it "with a smile on his face".
He said: "It's better for us to have someone like him than someone like Roger Federer, for instance.
"[He's] not just around for one day or a week. He's here for the next few years."
The free Sunday afternoon sessions for non-members were set up in a bid to make tennis "more welcoming," the club said.
It said they usually attract more than 20 people and would carry on for as long as they were popular. | Wimbledon underdog Marcus Willis has coached at his home tennis club for the first time since his match against seven-times winner Roger Federer. |
39325786 | Bonuses were cut to 0.5bn euros (£433m) from 2.4bn euros a year earlier.
Total pay at the bank, which employs about 100,000 people worldwide, was 8.9bn euros in 2016, down from 10.5bn the year before.
Deutsche has been cutting costs - it shed more than a thousand jobs last year - and raising money.
It is in the process of raising 8bn euros through selling new shares.
On Monday, Deutsche's shares opened down 1% at 17.67 euros.
Deutsche Bank reported an annual loss of 1.4bn euros (£1.2bn) for 2016 after being hit by legal costs, although that was down from a loss of 6.4bn euros the previous year.
In the final three months of 2016 alone the bank lost 1.9bn euros, mainly thanks to a record penalty in the US.
In January, it was fined £500m by US and UK regulators in connection with a Russian money laundering plan.
Major banks have paid heavy fines and other penalties in recent years for a range of misdemeanours, including interest rate and currency rigging, and mis-selling of products.
They are also finding conditions tough as regulations tighten.
Persistent low interest rates are another element of the tougher climate for banks, as it is far more difficult to make a profit when the difference between borrowing and deposit rates is so small.
Deutsche Bank, which last year was deemed the riskiest bank in the world by the International Monetary Fund for its global interconnectedness and weakness, has been slower than rivals to take action to recover from the financial crisis of 2008, giving it less strength to ride the weak business banking climate.
Deutsche Bank is currently in the process of closing 200 branches in Germany and laying off about 9,000 of its roughly 100,000 full-time staff. | German banking giant Deutsche Bank cut its bonuses by more than three-quarters last year, its annual report and accounts show. |
38218247 | She revealed her mental illness during a visit to a homeless shelter for young LGBT people last month.
In a TV interview about the visit, she said: "I suffer from a mental illness - I suffer from PTSD. I've never told anyone that before."
Lady Gaga, now 30, first spoke publicly about the rape two years ago.
She has since admitted she blamed herself and did not tell anyone about it for seven years.
Her interview with the Today Show, which was broadcast on NBC on Monday, is the first time she has talked about having PTSD.
During her visit to the Ali Forney Centre in New York, she told the homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers that her trauma helped her understand others.
"The kindness that's been shown to me, by doctors as well as my family and my friends, it's really saved my life," the singer said, after bringing presents to the astonished teenagers at the centre.
"Meditation helps me to calm down," she said, adding that she was struggling with her mental illness "every day".
Lady Gaga later tweeted: "Today I shared one my deepest secrets w/ the world. Secrets keep you sick w/ shame."
A tearful young person from the centre she visited said: "Lady Gaga's act of kindness today was a reminder that love still exists - and that there's still some for me."
On social media, her fans opened up with their own experiences in response.
"I remember how your music and your spirit got me through really hard times," one user tweeted back to the singer. "Now I'm 1723 days self-harm free."
"I have something to tell you. I also suffer from PTSD. This is the first time I say it too. I love you and I admire you so much," another replied.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder which can develop after a very stressful, frightening or distressing event, or a prolonged traumatic experience.
People naturally feel afraid when in danger, but the legacy of some traumatic events is a change in perception of fear.
They may feel stressed or frightened in day-to-day life.
It can be caused by any traumatic event - including military conflict, serious road accidents, natural disasters, sexual assaults, and muggings.
Sufferers typically tend to re-experience the event in flashbacks, avoid talking about it, have trouble sleeping, or experience a change in mood.
Lady Gaga is one of the world's most successful contemporary artists, with a string of hits across her first five albums. Her sixth, Joanne, was released in October.
The star has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ community; campaigning for Hillary Clinton during the election and protesting outside Trump Tower when the results were announced.
Last week, she gave her backing to gay rights during Donald Trump's presidency, telling the BBC "we are going to do everything that we can to protect the social progress we have made over the last eight years". | US pop star Lady Gaga says she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since being raped at the age of 19. |
40700897 | The one-minute clip for the episode, titled Twice Upon A Time, sees Capaldi and the First Doctor team up.
It features the return of Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, who had seemingly left the show at the end of series 10.
The clip also showed a guest appearance from Mark Gatiss, who plays a World War One soldier called The Captain.
The release of the trailer coincided with the cast appearing at Comic-Con in San Diego on Sunday, where they talked about the upcoming episode, the last series and looked back at Capaldi's time on the sci-fi drama.
Gatiss described the Christmas special as being "a Christmas episode without being overtly Christmassy - it's very happy-sad".
He added: "[It's] a fantastic episode and we had a great time doing it. It was a lovely way out."
It will be the third time the Sherlock actor and writer has appeared on Doctor Who, after previously starring in episodes in series three and six.
Mackie also confirmed the festive episode will be her last appearance on the show.
Twice Upon a Time is the final episode for Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor and for outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat. Both have been huge Doctor Who fans for most of their lives, and their final story is clearly a love letter to a show that means a huge amount to both.
This first trailer begins with original footage of the First Doctor, William Hartnell, from 1966's The Tenth Planet (episode two if you're interested), which then mixes through to David Bradley who plays him in this story.
But it also shows a glimpse of a scene with the First Doctor and his assistant Polly from episode four - Hartnell's final episode before Patrick Troughton took over. Sadly that episode is one of the dozens that are still missing from the BBC archives.
The minute-long teaser also makes clear that this Christmas story won't just be accessible to long term fans. Bill will be back, after she was last seen heading off to travel the universe with student-turned-space and time traveller Heather.
The trailer also shows actor and writer Mark Gatiss making another Doctor Who appearance. In 2007 he played Professor Lazarus, and he also briefly popped up playing a different character in 2011.
Comic-Con fans were shown a three-minute goodbye video for Capaldi, thanking him for his time on the show, which led to a standing ovation.
The actor praised writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, saying: "Every shot you saw there came through his gentleman's mind. The message of the show comes from his heart."
The team also addressed the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor and first female to take on the role.
Capaldi called it "a great choice", adding: "I think Jodie's going to be amazing and she's so full of excitement and full of passion about the show.
It's really thrilling to know it's in the hands of somebody who cares for it so deeply and is going to do exciting things with it."
Meanwhile, Moffat criticised the "imaginary backlash" in the media on the issue.
"There's so many press articles about a backlash among Doctor Who fandom against the casting of a female Doctor. There has been no backlash at all," he said.
"[Jodie has] an 80% approval rating on social media. I wish every single journalist who is writing the alternative would shut the hell up - it's not true."
The outgoing writer and executive producer also cleared up the issue of whether the character's name is Doctor Who or the Doctor.
"There isn't any doubt about it, I'm sorry," Moffat said. "It was established in The War Machines (episode) that his name is Doctor Who."
He provided evidence to back up his point, including signing letters "Doctor W" and the third Doctor having a "Who" licence plate.
"He doesn't often call himself Doctor Who because it's a bloody stupid name," Moffat added.
On Saturday, Capaldi told Empire he was both sad to be leaving the series and excited for its future.
"[The Christmas special] is a wonderful episode and I couldn't have wanted for any more.
"It's an emotional and moving end to my time as Doctor Who."
More from Comic-Con
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Details of Peter Capaldi's final outing in Doctor Who have been revealed as the first trailer for the Christmas special was released online. |
25810381 | The company Arup looked at Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Farringdon stations and found population growth outstripped the original estimates.
In 2004 it was estimated 185 million passengers would use the stations, but that estimate has now increased to 250 million a year.
It includes people using London Underground at the stations.
To accommodate the increase, the New West End Company said it would "consider all the ideas on the table".
Commissioned by organisations including Crossrail, Transport for London and NWEC The impact of Crossrail on visitor numbers in Central London looked at the number of people entering and exiting the stations for all services.
Alexander Jan from Arup said "With London's population growing by 2,000 every eight days, Arup's analysis suggests Crossrail's stations will be somewhat busier sooner than was originally anticipated.
"This is in line with the experience of London Overground improvements and DLR extensions.
"Crossrail stations are designed to handle the flow, but there are going to be significant opportunities - and some challenges."
Arup said the projected figures depended on assumptions and business factors which "carry an intrinsic level of uncertainty".
It said: "Without the offices, residential development, entertainment and retail offer to attract and sustain visitors to central London the numbers in question may not materialise."
Sally Eden from NWEC said: "We're going to consider all the ideas on the table, that's from traffic management schemes, possible pedestrianisation.
"There were suggestions of having trams, of having electric buses, of building a roof on Oxford Street, we're going to consider absolutely everything." | An extra 65 million journeys could be made using three Crossrail stations annually by 2026, revised figures show. |
39280049 | Problems with a new referral system means some GPs' requests for hospital consultations in Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole have not been recorded.
The NHS trust is asking patients who have been referred by their doctors between January and October 2016 to contact them.
An investigation has been launched.
More on this and other northern Lincolnshire stories
The interim Chief Executive of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) has admitted it kept news of missing referral data quiet as they tried to find an administrative solution.
Councillor Holly Mumby-Croft, of North Lincolnshire Council's Scrutiny Committee, said: "I took the decision to invoke legislation to require the chief executive of NLAG and the chief officer of the clinical commissioning group to attend scrutiny because I was sufficiently concerned that this needed to be discussed."
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) said it had started a new centralised referral unit in October.
After complaints it reviewed the system and found that 111 patients were missing their appointments, leading the trust to believe more people could have been omitted.
The trust's interim chief executive, Richard Sunley, said: "We are currently carrying out reviews and checks of all of our waiting lists.
"As part of this work we believe there may be patients who were referred before the new central referral team was put in place, who have not been added to our waiting lists." | Information that 100 patients were left waiting for hospital appointments only came to light after a council used legal powers to make it public. |
32573049 | The blaze at Clandon Park House on Wednesday left the structure gutted.
The National Trust-owned Grade I-listed property, near Guildford, is a popular wedding venue, with 27 weddings due to take place there in 2015.
The trust said a "significant amount" of the mansion's collection had been saved from the fire.
However, it is still not known what caused it or whether the house can be restored.
A Surrey County Council spokesman said: "Following the devastating fire at Clandon Park, we've done all we can to ensure two weddings due to take place this weekend can proceed at alternative venues on the days the couples intended.
'We've applied to the General Register Office for the wedding notice period to be waived and we'll also be contacting other couples who have booked ceremonies at Clandon Park to give them any advice and support they need."
About 80 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height and crews managed to save a number of valuable antiques, which have now been put into storage. | Two couples who were due to get married at a fire-ravaged mansion have been found an alternative venue, Surrey County Council has said. |
38116867 | It proves that winning the toss is only part of the deal. You don't get 400 runs in your back pocket, you have to get out there and bat well too.
We can excuse Haseeb Hameed from criticism because he got one that bounced but England lost three heavyweight wickets to poor shots.
Joe Root seemed to have a lapse of concentration while facing the first ball after drinks, Alastair Cook cut at the first ball that Ravichandran Ashwin bowled and Moeen Ali went for a hook shot with two men out in the deep.
When you're batting first on a pitch that is likely to deteriorate, you've got to work hard and get runs. I'm afraid the application from those three was lacking.
Look down the order and even Jos Buttler, who had played really well, and Ben Stokes played poor shots. If you sat down and watched the wickets in succession, you'd shake your head and say "what on earth is going on?" Far too many gave their wickets away and, closing on 268-8, it will probably cost them.
Jonny Bairstow is playing magnificently at the moment - his bat is coming down beautifully straight and you can see that by the number of times he hits to mid-off and mid-on.
It's a real shame he did not get his hundred but I don't think there is anything he could have done about his dismissal for 89.
He was well forward and was given out lbw - correctly, as it turned out - but it's the sort of decision that six years ago would never have been given before the DRS system was brought in.
Bairstow and Stokes bat well together and encourage each other. Once again their partnership, worth 57, was the start of a bit of a recovery. England only lost one wicket in the afternoon, which showed that the pitch is playing perfectly.
People who say they should take the wicketkeeping gloves off Bairstow should consider what a damaging impact that would have on his confidence. That would be like telling an all-rounder who bowls that he's not going to bowl anymore.
He views himself as being the all-round England package. He has worked very hard and both his batting and wicketkeeping have come on in leaps and bounds.
Lancashire's Buttler had played only one first-class match in 13 months before replacing Ben Duckett for this Test but often it doesn't matter, you can just walk out and bat.
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When you're playing at this level, you can go out with a blank sheet of paper, you haven't got any past in this series and the bowlers haven't got you out before. You can go out there and play quite positively.
I thought Buttler played really well, some lovely clean shots, and he was really angry at the way he got out for 43 with a tame drive to cover. All that hard work was gone. However, there is a mental toughness you only get through playing.
It could have been a lot worse for England because the fast outfield has probably added 20 runs to their score, while India's fielding was dreadful.
The hosts have got a lot of work to do in that department - they dropped far too many catches and their ground fielding is poor. Cook was dropped twice and Bairstow gave a couple of chances. If India click in the field, England are really going to suffer.
It is a very, very big day for England tomorrow. They have got to get what they can from these last two wickets and bowl India out. They need to bowl their boots off, take every half chance that comes their way and hope for some luck.
Three of India's batsmen are in good form - Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara - and if India post 350-400 then I suspect the writing is on the wall.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Alan Jewell | It was a very disappointing day one of the third Test for England, and that morning session where four wickets fell might well cost them the match. |
36240425 | Sadio Mane opened the scoring late in the first half following a mistake by Palace keeper Julian Speroni.
Saints doubled the lead through substitute Graziano Pelle, but Jason Puncheon pulled one back for Palace.
Ryan Bertrand scored a penalty, before Steve Davis sealed the win with an emphatic late goal.
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West Ham's defeat at Stoke meant they could not overhaul Southampton, who would remain in fifth place in the table if Manchester United lose to Bournemouth when their match, called off because of a security alert, is eventually played.
FA Cup finalists Palace would finish in 16th place if Bournemouth beat United.
Follow all the Premier League news and reaction
Relive all the action from St Mary's
The match had an end-of-term feel, with neither side having many chances to score until an error by Speroni, one of five changes to the Palace line-up from their last outing.
The goalkeeper, making only his second appearance of the season in place of Wayne Hennessey, could only push a cross as far as Mane.
The Saints forward calmly hooked the ball home to hand the impetus to the home side, who mostly controlled the rest of the match.
Only after Puncheon's fiercely hit shot flew into the top corner of the net did Palace look like they might come away from the south coast with something.
Saints have ended their season in a fine vein of form, with only one defeat in their final 10 outings.
Ronald Koeman's side have also netted 14 times in their past four games, including consecutive four-goal scorelines at home.
Palace, by contrast, slipped to a third straight defeat on the road, and will likely prefer to forget about a lacklustre second half of the season when preparing for the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Sixth in the table in December, the Eagles fell away badly to finish just five points above relegated Newcastle.
Even with their final place still not confirmed, Southampton have improved on last season's showing.
Their total of 63 points is three more than last season and similarly they improved their goal tally, scoring 59 times compared to 54 in 2014-15.
It concludes another good campaign for Saints manager Ronald Koeman, who had been linked with the vacant position at Everton before the match.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman: "A difficult game, Palace played well but we were very clinical. It was not our best game, but the belief and the fight till the last seconds brought the three points.
"Last season was a very special one, but I don't know what I have to say about this season. 63 points and fifth in the table, it is incredible.
"I am very happy in the club, and if we have a talk next week and both the board and I have the same ambition, and everybody has that ambition, we know it is difficult to keep improving on the last few years is difficult. Everybody likes to make the next step, including myself."
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Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "I thought our performance was good, actually. I think there two shocking decisions gifted them two goals, I don't think its a penalty, contact outside, and I think it is a blatant push for the second goal.
"We obviously protected a few, but they (Southampton) are in good form and deserved to win.
"The first priority was to get a result, we lost but the second was to come through unscathed. We have no injuries, and no-one sent off so we should be OK."
Match ends, Southampton 4, Crystal Palace 1.
Second Half ends, Southampton 4, Crystal Palace 1.
Steven Davis (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace).
Attempt blocked. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
Attempt missed. Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Sullay Kaikai with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Cuco Martina.
Goal! Southampton 4, Crystal Palace 1. Steven Davis (Southampton) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Graziano Pellè.
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Mile Jedinak.
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Damien Delaney.
Offside, Southampton. Fraser Forster tries a through ball, but Graziano Pellè is caught offside.
Substitution, Southampton. Charlie Austin replaces Shane Long.
Offside, Crystal Palace. Jason Puncheon tries a through ball, but Emmanuel Adebayor is caught offside.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Martin Kelly replaces Joel Ward.
Attempt missed. Steven Davis (Southampton) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Graziano Pellè.
Attempt missed. Sadio Mané (Southampton) left footed shot from the right side of the box is too high.
Attempt missed. Sadio Mané (Southampton) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by James Ward-Prowse.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Lee Chung-yong replaces James McArthur.
Foul by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Sullay Kaikai (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mile Jedinak.
Goal! Southampton 3, Crystal Palace 1. Ryan Bertrand (Southampton) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Penalty Southampton. Sadio Mané draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace) after a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt missed. Shane Long (Southampton) header from the left side of the six yard box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Sadio Mané with a cross.
Graziano Pellè (Southampton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Southampton. James Ward-Prowse replaces Dusan Tadic.
Foul by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Cuco Martina (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace).
Attempt missed. Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. James McArthur (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. James McArthur (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sullay Kaikai.
Foul by Dusan Tadic (Southampton).
Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Southampton qualified for the Europa League and ended the season with their highest Premier League points total with victory over Crystal Palace. |
35733157 | Chesterfield led on 19 minutes from James O'Connor's own goal, only for another own goal, sliced in off Tom Anderson, to level it by the break.
Sam Mantom put Walsall in front before Chesterfield had Dion Donohue sent off.
But two goals in four minutes from on-loan Jordy Hiwula, who ran clear to score, and midfielder Mantom sealed victory against the 10-man Spireites.
In their first game under new boss Jon Whitney, Walsall's 10th away league win of the season moved them back to within three points of second-placed Wigan Athletic.
Mantom drilled home his first from the edge of the box on 57 minutes, before adding his second on 75 minutes when he rounded off another precise passing move.
But the celebrations turned ugly when players from both sides clashed, producing a red card for Donohue and yellows for three other players.
Walsall boss Jon Whitney told BBC WM:
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"It caps off a really good week. If you think back to last Sunday when I found out after Sean's dismissal, straightaway I'm thinking: 'Right, how can I get the lads ready for this?'
"We started off just thinking about us, respecting the opposition but it was all about getting back to that early season form where we were really fluid.
"I don't think Chesterfield had enough for us, Our movement was fantastic and we came out deserved winners in the end." | Walsall responded to the sacking of Sean O'Driscoll by beating Chesterfield for their first win in seven matches. |
39473338 | Police have arrested a 42-year-old man following what it described as a serious assault.
The victim was found in a property in Sperrin Park at about 08:00 BST on Sunday morning.
The PSNI has appealed for information. | A 60-year-old man is in a serious condition after being found badly injured in a house in Londonderry. |
37130730 | Four 19-year-olds and a youth changed their pleas during a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
The attack left Watford fan Nic Cruwys in a coma following a match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 7 March 2015.
The five, and another teenager who previously admitted grievous bodily harm, will be sentenced on 9 September.
Daniel Lloyd, of Longfellow Road, Dudley; Joseph Lister, of Palmer Close, Wednesfield and a 15-year-old, who cannot be named, admitted grievous bodily harm.
Robert Beech, of Springfield Road, Wednesfield, admitted threatening behaviour, while Ryan Meer, of Watling Street, Gailey, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to affray.
All five were acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial which lasted almost two weeks.
Mr Cruwys suffered serious brain injuries and was in a coma for three months following the "unprovoked attack", the trial heard.
He had travelled with friends by train to watch the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
The attack happened as they made their way back to the city's train station and planned to visit a pub for a drink.
David Lee, prosecuting, described it as "an unprovoked group attack", adding the defendants were "going in a group to that area to look for trouble, which they found and caused".
The court heard Mr Cruwys continues to receive treatment for his injuries.
In a statement his family said they hope the verdicts "reflect the injuries Nic suffered and our family's pain and suffering".
"Although Nic will never fully recover, we are now hoping to try to move on with our lives and try to put the horrific situation behind us," they said. | Five teenagers have admitted their part in an attack which left a football fan seriously ill. |
38940869 | Both sides struggled to make things happen during a lacklustre first half of few chances.
It opened up after the break, with Jordan Williams wasting a great chance by dallying on the ball and giving Torquay time to recover after a swift counter-attack.
Torquay's Jared Hodgkiss was forced into a last-ditch block on the line to deny Moussa Diarra after Brendan Moore was caught flapping at a corner late on, but it stayed goalless.
Report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Barrow 0, Torquay United 0.
Second Half ends, Barrow 0, Torquay United 0.
Substitution, Torquay United. Ruairi Keating replaces Brett Williams.
Substitution, Barrow. Inih Effiong replaces Richard Bennett.
Substitution, Barrow. Ross Hannah replaces Connor Thompson.
Second Half begins Barrow 0, Torquay United 0.
First Half ends, Barrow 0, Torquay United 0.
Substitution, Torquay United. Luke Young replaces Courtney Richards.
Dan Sparkes (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card.
Moussa Diarra (Barrow) is shown the yellow card.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | National League play-off hopefuls Barrow were held to a goalless draw by Torquay at Holker Street. |
37938806 | The £122,000 public lavatory was installed on Bullock Fair, Harleston, Norfolk, in 2015.
But the block proved unpopular and South Norfolk Council has now agreed to remove it at the cost of £30,000, as reported in the Eastern Daily Press.
There were also reports of vandalism and initial teething issues.
Councillor Kay Mason Billig said some people living in Harleston "didn't trust" the automatic doors.
"I think it's safe to say that the modern toilets have not been popular with the people of Harleston and so we have listened and have agreed to reuse the toilet block elsewhere and refurbish the old loos." | A self-cleaning toilet block is to be removed from a town after less than a year because some people "didn't trust" the doors not to open. |
27236363 | The Daily Mirror reported that the star used the n-word in a nursery rhyme, although the paper claims it was later edited out of the BBC broadcast.
Clarkson responded to the claim in a video on Twitter saying he loathed the word.
In it he said he was "horrified" that it sounded as though he'd used it.
The presenter added he was "begging forgiveness" that it appeared that way.
He said in two takes he mumbled where it was supposed to appear in the rhyme. In a third take he used the word "teacher" instead.
Earlier he'd tweeted: "I did not use the n word. Never use it. The Mirror has gone way too far this time."
The newspaper said the footage was studied by audio forensic experts who told them the star could be heard chanting "Eeny, meeny, miny moe".
The experts claim that he then mumbled the rest of the racist rhyme while comparing two cars.
In a statement the BBC said: "Jeremy Clarkson has set out the background to this regrettable episode.
"We have made it absolutely clear to him, the standards the BBC expects on air and off. We have left him in no doubt about how seriously we view this."
His Top Gear co-host, James May, came to his defence on Twitter saying: "Jeremy Clarkson is not a racist."
"I wouldn't work with one. #ThatIsAll."
The story comes days after the show's producer apologised for broadcasting a "light-hearted" joke by Clarkson that led to the BBC show being accused of racism.
An episode of the show, filmed in Burma and Thailand and shown in March, featured a scene in which the presenters built a bridge over the River Kwai, and as an Asian man walked over it Clarkson said: "That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it."
Somi Guha, an actress who complained to the BBC, said the use of the phrase was an example of "casual racism" and "gross misconduct".
The BBC Two show's executive producer, Andy Wilman, said: "When we used the word slope in the recent Top Gear Burma Special it was a light-hearted word play joke referencing both the build quality of the bridge and the local Asian man who was crossing it.
"It has subsequently been brought to our attention, that the word slope is considered by some to be offensive, for example in Australia and the USA.
"If we had known that at the time we would not have broadcast the word in this context and regret any offence caused."
Clarkson is well known for courting controversy. In recent years he has been cleared of breaching the broadcasting code by media watchdog Ofcom after comparing a Japanese car to people with growths on their faces.
He previously faced protests from mental health charities after calling people who throw themselves under trains "selfish".
He was forced to apologise for telling BBC One's The One Show that striking workers should be shot.
The motoring show has also faced complaints from Indian and Mexican politicians over remarks made about their countries while filming on location.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has denied claims that he used racist language while filming an episode of the hit car show. |
32622983 | And that rarity now comes with special status as the 52-year-old has joined David Cameron's Downing Street Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland.
The media focus is sure to increase on the former lawyer given the sharp focus on the UK's constitutional future.
New Scottish Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell will be sitting around the cabinet table alongside George Osborne; Theresa May; Philip Hammond and Iain Duncan Smith. But who else will be there?
Mr Mundell is a man who knows politics and his constituency well, having been born in Dumfries and schooled in Lockerbie.
His entrance into the political arena was typical of so many - he joined the Young Conservatives at the age of 14; went on to study law at Edinburgh University; after graduating he became a lawyer and was elected a local councillor.
However, that early journey was not with one party. His head was turned by the Social Democrats which he backed in the early 1980s.
Mr Mundell was elected an SDP councillor, serving on Dumfries and Galloway Council until 1987.
By 1999 he was back with the Tories and found himself part of the new intake of the new Scottish Parliament where he was the first MSP to ask a question.
He was returned to Holyrood in 2003, but in 2005 he set his sights on becoming an MP and stood for the Westminster seat of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweedale.
Mr Mundell beat the Labour candidate by 1,739 votes and headed down to the House of Commons as the only Conservative MP in Scotland.
When Edinburgh Zoo welcomed two pandas from China a running joke began that there were more pandas in Scotland than there were Scottish Tory MPs.
By BBC Scotland Westminster correspondent David Porter
David Mundell will have to deliver new devolution for Scotland, which is backed by all the main parties
But he also has to be aware that he has many English colleagues who would like to see the power of Scottish MPs reduced.
He has the advantage that he knows the territory very well.
Essentially he has to decide with his Cabinet colleagues whether they go forward with the Smith Commission with more income tax powers for Scotland and more borrowing and welfare payments, or whether they go even further, as some people have said, and move to a more federal structure.
That is something the Cabinet will decide and that is something Mr Mundell will have to sell.
The first half of 2007 marked an uncomfortable period for Mr Mundell. It began with embarrassing headlines ahead of his party's Scottish conference in March when a Daily Record front page read: "Scots Tories are clueless - by Scotland's only Tory MP."
The story was based on a four-page memo written some nine months earlier in which Mr Mundell slammed the Holyrood Tory bench as having a "lack of thinkers".
It also contained a dig at the Scottish leader of the time, Annabel Goldie. Mr Mundell did not stop there and went on to call for the immediate replacement of the then Scottish Tory chairman Peter Duncan.
The public washing of dirty linen - just months ahead of the 2007 Holyrood election - prompted Conservative leader David Cameron to pay public tribute to both Ms Goldie and Mr Duncan.
He said: "Annabel has a no-nonsense approach and is addressing the issues that really matter in Scotland. The party in Scotland is in better health now than it has been for many years and is running an effective campaign."
There was a notable no mention for Shadow Scottish Secretary of State Mr Mundell.
The Holyrood election took place a few months after this episode and the party returned 17 members, one down on the previous electoral contest.
At Westminster, Mr Mundell - whose nickname is "Fluffy" - continued in his shadow Scottish secretary role.
And on taking to his feet in the House of Commons for the first Scottish Questions following the Holyrood poll, ironic cheers greeted him from the Labour government benches.
BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor noted at the time: "MPs were, of course, indulging in a collective chortle over the leaked memo.
"Fluffy fought back, rather well in fact. He noted, acerbically, that at least he knew the names of his Scottish comrades."
That was a reference to the then health secretary Patricia Hewitt who had repeatedly called Scotland's Labour first minister between 2001 and 2007 Jack McDonnell instead of Jack McConnell.
In 2010, a coalition government between the Tories and the Lib Dems did not result in the top Scottish job going to Mr Mundell.
Prime Minister Mr Cameron had to make concessions and one of those was picking a Scottish Lib Dem MP for the role of Secretary of State for Scotland.
First up was Michael Moore who saw through the arrangements for the Scottish independence referendum.
When he departed the scene, his Lib Dem colleague Alistair Carmichael saw through the independence referendum itself.
However, while the main job switched hands, Mr Mundell worked the full five years as undersecretary of state for Scotland.
This May's election result saw Mr Mundell being sent to Westminster for a third time (again as the sole Scots Tory MP), and finally the Scottish portfolio became his.
But what will the job of Scottish Secretary be like in 2015 and what challenges does Mr Mundell face?
The Union-supporting Conservatives were on the winning side when Scotland's electorate voted 55% to 45% against independence.
However, the "No" vote has not marked the end of constitutional politics as a new devolved settlement for Scotland is under way.
It is likely Mr Mundell will play a key role seeing that settlement through.
The Smith Commission recommendations have to be enacted and there are already political rows emerging.
On day one of his job, Mr Mundell said UK government plans to scrap the Human Rights Act would apply to Scotland.
That led the Scottish government to say it would "robustly oppose" withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Scotland Act (1998) states that all legislation passed by Holyrood must be compatible with the ECHR, however, Mr Mundell told BBC Scotland new legislation would apply north of the border.
It is sure to be the case that during the next five years the words of rare political breed Mr Mundell will be listened to, scrutinised and criticised. | The Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell is a rare political breed given his position as the sole Scottish Conservative representative in the House of Commons. |
40935733 | It alleged that RBS intends to cut 40% of its permanent IT staff, or 650 jobs, as well as 230 contractors.
The bank said no individual job was at risk and no figures had been finalised.
An RBS spokesperson said: "We have not consulted on any headcount reduction, instead sharing a direction of travel with Unite which is subject to change."
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "Royal Bank of Scotland is continuing with its savage jobs culling program with today's announcement of a 40% in IT staff, totalling nearly 900 staff.
"The decade of slashing jobs has done nothing to boost morale, increase consumer confidence or improve the bank's performance."
RBS, which is 73% owned by the government, has been restructuring ever since it was bailed out in the financial crisis.
Its global workforce has shrunk from 226,000 in 2007 to about 77,000. It has not made a full-year profit in a decade.
In May, it announced it was shedding nearly 250 IT posts as part of an overhaul of its back-office operations.
In London in 2016, RBS employed 2,200 full-time and contract IT staff. By 2020, Unite claims, there will be just 950 full-time staff.
RBS said in a statement: "Inevitably as RBS becomes a simpler, smaller bank focused on the UK and Ireland, our technology function will undergo reorganisation and will reduce over time.
"Our proposed plans are designed to reduce the number of contractors we employ and strengthen our permanent workforce and while we are downsizing in London, we are reinvesting in other UK hubs."
RBS has a bad track record with IT, suffering problems as recently as April. On the day it announced its first quarterly profit since 2015, its subsidiary NatWest was beset by complaints about glitches in its online banking system.
In June 2015, hundreds of thousands of payments failed to reach the accounts of RBS customers.
In 2012, more than six million customers had their wages, payments and other transactions disrupted when a software update was corrupted. The bank was fined £56m by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Mr MacGregor said: "Unite is angry that the massive scale of IT job losses will sap morale, productivity and faith in the company.
"RBS's fixation with cutting employee numbers, restructuring and offshoring work that could reasonably be done by displaced staff within the RBS IT community is unacceptable," | The Unite union has said Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is planning 900 technology job cuts at its London office by 2020 to reduce costs. |
32069002 | They are rarely shown enjoying a pint and instead appear as glamorous window dressing.
A South American beer company, Feminista, wants to change that.
Thais Fabris is behind the branding and says women in the ads are "either the waitress in the bar, a girl on the beach, or a prize the men get for drinking that beer".
She says for them "it has many dangerous aspects, since it objectifies women".
Hannah Rhodes is the founder of Hiver, an award-winning beer that has marketed itself to men and women.
She agrees that beer needs a makeover when it comes to selling itself.
"There are already great beers out there that tackle some of the traditional issues; smaller serving sizes, more balanced and interesting flavour profiles and finally, more neutral branding.
"I'd suggest that many men would feel similarly uncomfortable selecting a beer with floral patterns on the label and an advert focussed on a man's groin.
"It's just not mature and we all, men and women, want to be respected a bit more in how we're marketed to."
She told Newsbeat that beer is in need of a general rebrand.
"Like the creative agency behind this beer are saying, much of the advertising is targeted at men and I've heard many women say no to a sample of beer on the basis that they prefer 'more girly drinks'.
"So I think they're right, the perception of beer and the advertising campaigns around put women off and even make them feel drinking a beer challenges their identity.
"It's just a drink!"
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Beer is promoted the world over with adverts full of women in bikinis or skimpy underwear. |
28212734 | The LGA says the current structure, with councils responsible for most schools but academies and free schools answering to Whitehall, is confusing and lets issues "slip through the net".
It wants local education "trusts" to oversee all types of state school.
The Independent Academies Association called it "a step back into the past".
The LGA says the current system is so complicated that parents often don't know how to make complaints or raise issues.
Academies and free schools, which now number about 3,500, are independent of local authority control and accountable directly to Whitehall which, says the LGA, "acknowledges it lacks the capacity and local knowledge to provide oversight". It says that local authorities, while responsible for 84% of schools, lack adequate powers to hold the growing number of these other schools to account.
A new LGA document sets out a wish list for the first 100 days of a new government, following the 2015 election.
It urges the government to set up local "education trusts" for all schools, including academies and free schools, which would bring together head teachers and governors, "supported and held to account" by local councils.
Good and outstanding schools would share expertise and support improvement, says the LGA, "leaving Ofsted free to focus on schools which require improvement".
"The current two-tier system of accountability is confusing for mums and dads to navigate... there are too many possibilities for issues to slip through the net," said David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board.
"Education trusts would strip away this bureaucracy and provide an easily identifiable place which parents can turn to.
"Someone has to take responsibility for accountability of schools and with local knowledge and links to the community councils are ideally placed to take this role," said Mr Simmonds.
Traditionally, local authorities have had a role in monitoring standards in the schools they control, acting as a "middle tier" between schools and the Department for Education.
Concerns have been expressed about the viability of Whitehall monitoring thousands of academies.
The government is introducing regional schools commissioners and head-teacher boards to improve oversight of academies, while Labour proposes a network of regional school standards directors.
Nick Weller, chairman of the Independent Academies Association, described the LGA proposals as "the latest attempt to resurrect the discredited system of local authority control.
"The first 200 academies were established to replace maintained schools which did not provide a good or better education for their students and which had themselves been failed for years by their local authority.
"Those academies have since gone on to improve much faster than other schools nationally over a sustained period of time: why would we now want to return them to the failures of the past?"
Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said: "The LGA is right to recognise that the diverse nature of schools today can be confusing to parents, however another layer of structural change is not the solution.
"School improvement needs to be driven by school leaders, within a strong national accountability framework."
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "NAHT believes every school should be working in a trust, federation or cluster with other schools, with streamlined accountability to one overarching body.
"Ideally, however, these groupings would be small: half a dozen to a dozen schools, rather than encompassing an entire authority."
A Department for Education spokesman said: "Academies are giving hope to children who have been failed by councils.
"Since 2010 we have taken 900 schools which were failing under council control and turned them into academies with the support of a strong sponsor."
The spokesman said results and Ofsted ratings were improving faster in academies than in council-run schools but the government's new regional schools commissioners and head teacher boards would "ensure swift action is taken in the small number of cases where academies are struggling". | Parents in England should have access to a single local body responsible for standards in all state schools, says the Local Government Association (LGA). |
36805657 | The sermon, written by the state-run Islamic Foundation, condemns the "unjust killing of any human being".
It also urges parents to protect their children from "brainwashing".
The move comes after two deadly Islamist attacks in Bangladesh in recent weeks, including a siege on a Dhaka cafe that left 20 people dead.
That attack, and an attack on police guarding the country's largest Eid gathering in Kishoreganj, were both claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
The sermon said: "The Prophet says the greatest of all sins is to kill a human being. No distinction between Muslim or non-Muslim has been made here."
The foundation said it hoped imams would use the message, or take inspiration from it.
Although the sermon is not mandatory for mosques, observers say they expect most clerics will deliver the message, which was approved by the government.
The imam of the national mosque, Mohiuddin Quashem, read out the message in his Friday sermon.
He told the BBC's Akbar Hossain: "I said no human being can kill another human being. Islam never supports this."
The move is seen as part of the government's efforts to monitor activities in mosques, following concerns about radicalisation.
Abdullah Hasan, who joined the prayer at the national mosque, told the BBC: "I support the government's move to have an identical khutba [prayer]. The imams should deliver this sermon to fight against militancy in the name of Islam."
However, another worshipper, Muniruzzamn, argued that it was excessive regulation. "The imams should have their freedom, they should choose what they will speak about. It looks like government-controlled khutba. I don't think it will help."
Bangladesh has seen a spate of attacks on secular bloggers, gay activists, academics and members of religious minorities, with more than 40 killed since February 2013.
Many of those attacks were claimed by Islamic State militants or al-Qaeda affiliates, although the government has blamed local groups and the opposition instead. The opposition denies the claims. | All 300,000 mosques in Bangladesh have been asked give a sermon against terrorism and extremism in their Friday prayers this week. |
35435297 | The league was reduced to 12 teams ahead of the 2010-11 season with the competition splitting into two groups of six midway through the campaign.
Current champions Saints go into this weekend's opening round of second phase matches as league leaders.
"It's improves the standard," Harrison told BBC Radio Shropshire.
"It's strengthened the Welsh Premier League on the pitch.
"You've got to be on your mettle every single week, home and away. Every part of the season there's something to play for.
"It's also exciting at the bottom because three seasons ago Bala finished in the bottom half and they went on a fantastic run and they qualified for Europe through the play-offs."
Saints begin the second phase of the season in the Championship Conference on Friday at home to Gap Connah's Quay.
Connah's Quay are the only team to have beaten Saints in the league this season, winning 2-0 on the final weekend of the first phase on 16 January.
Welsh Premier & non-League round-up | New Saints director of football Craig Harrison believes the Welsh Premier League's mid-season split strengthens the competition. |
30847187 | A 27-year-old woman was attacked at Glasgow Royal Infirmary on 18 December. The second attack happened on Wednesday and involved a 24-year-old woman.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said CCTV footage had been given to police and staff had been told to remain vigilant.
Police would not confirm if the same man was behind both attacks.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said inquiries into both incidents were ongoing.
In a statement, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Security patrols have been increased at Glasgow Royal Infirmary after two separate reports over the past month of assaults against two female members staff.
"The hospital site is covered by extensive CCTV and all relevant footage from both incidents has been supplied to Police Scotland who are investigating.
"Our security staff already carry out patrols regularly over a 24/7 period but these have been increased. We have also advised all staff to remain vigilant."
The health board said it had a "strict zero tolerance policy towards violence" against staff, who it said were "entitled to work free of threats, assaults and intimidation".
The health board said it took "very seriously any act of physical or verbal abuse".
It added: "All our staff deserve basic courtesy and respect and to be able to work without fear of abuse or violence." | Security patrols have been increased at one of Scotland's largest hospitals following sexual assaults on two female members of staff over the past month. |
18350756 | Anglesey council has granted outline planning permission for the 500-berth development at Newry beach.
One opponent said it would destroy the beach, but a town councillor said the area needed progress.
The developers say it will create 700 jobs, but one economics analyst described that forecast as optimistic.
Prof Peter Midmore of Aberystwyth University said other development across the UK had delivered only half the proposed jobs, in the best case scenario.
Prof Midmore said: "It's very, very difficult to argue against something that will definitely create jobs, but the problem is, I think with many developments - not just marinas - the predications of developers are very rarely tested."
He said the level of jobs proposed and then actually created had "never been tested in the case of any marina in the UK".
But he said at other similar developments, the best "have been around about half the predicted level".
He also added that because of the affects on other parts of a town, in some cases, it could actually lead to fewer jobs in an area.
Despite receiving eight petitions with more than 4,000 names and over 300 letters against the plans, the outline proposals were accepted by councillors on Anglesey at a meeting in Wednesday.
The plans include:
Eilian Williams, the solicitor representing the opponents said after the meeting: "It's not what I wanted, but it is what I expected. The economic argument is always a very forceful argument."
But David Lloyd Williams, of the Newry Beach Residents Association, where the marina will be built, said: "It is absolutely ridiculous to attempt to build an aquatic housing estate on the Newry beach, which is frankly the only amenity in Holyhead.
"It's the only convenience area which everybody enjoys.
"What this scheme will lead to is the destruction of the Newry beach as we know it.
"We already have a very good marina which has been trading now for about 12 years, and still after 12 years trading, half of the berths are not taken up.
"Nobody denies the need for jobs in Holyhead, especially for young people, but this is not the way forward."
However, Anne Kennedy, a town councillor for the ward, said she still supported the development.
"I've always said that these decisions are taken by professional people, long discussions, forensic questioning - which is what we did in the chamber in Holyhead council," she said.
"I was born and bred in that area and I don't give away my heritage lightly.
"We mustn't forget that Stena owns all of the land and they are investing, effectively, in their own property.
"With the lack of investment, nothing progresses, and that I'm afraid is the position with Newry beach at the moment.
"We need additional investment." | Campaigners opposed to a new £100m marina development at Holyhead on Anglesey say they are disappointed by the go-ahead for the project. |
34039132 | He told the Financial Times the number of MPs making "noises off" about him was "relatively small".
Mr Corbyn's surprise emergence as the frontrunner in the contest has sparked fears of a civil war between Labour's left and right wings.
Alan Johnson - a leading figure on the right of the party - has urged calm.
The former home secretary told the Daily Telegraph: "I just say to my colleagues who are plotting and planning or whatever… cool heads and steady hands. This was an election.
"If Jeremy Corbyn emerges as the winner I would counsel anyone thinking of splitting or separating to think again," he added.
The former Commons Speaker Lady Boothroyd added her voice to those warning against a Corbyn victory, telling The Guardian: "My old party is galloping towards the precipice. I urge it to heed the jagged rocks before it is too late."
In other developments:
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Corbyn set out his plans to break up Rupert Murdoch's media empire and tackle Britain's "gross inequalities" in pay.
"I do think the salary levels and the bonus levels again have got to be looked at," he told the newspaper.
"I am looking at the gap in every organisation between highest and lowest levels of pay."
On the media, he said: "We need a media that is not controlled by a very small number of very big interests... Mr Murdoch should understand that we're very serious about diversity of media ownership and I hope he will understand that."
Addressing fears that he will split the party if he wins, he said: "I don't think there is any appetite for people to walk away from the party."
He said he appreciated that "only a relatively small number MPs" had nominated him but he added: "The number of MPs making 'noises off' at the moment is actually quite small".
"A lot of MPs are looking to see what happens and what role they can fulfil."
A former adviser to the Bank of England, David Blanchflower, was among 41 economists to sign a letter at the weekend backing Mr Corbyn's anti-austerity economic policies.
Mr Burnham insisted in an interview with BBC London that only he could beat Mr Corbyn and offer the "credible" economic policies the party needed to win a general election.
Asked about his reaction when Ed Miliband unveiled his widely ridiculed stone tablet inscribed with Labour pledges, he said: "It's hard to put that into words because that was a low point, there's no doubt about that. It felt like we'd lost the plot at that particular moment in time." | The Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn has rejected claims by rival Yvette Cooper and other senior figures that he would split the party. |
39863715 | Joel Moon scored a first-half hat-trick as Leeds dominated from the start, with Matt Parcell, Ash Handley and Ryan Hall also crossing for 32-4 at half-time.
Handley, Parcell and Rob Burrow completed braces after the break, while Stevie Ward, Liam Sutcliffe and Keith Galloway added further scores.
Luke Creswell and Jarrad Stack ran in consolation tries for Barrow.
The Raiders top the third tier having won all seven of their matches in the league this season, and they had managed 13 victories from 13 games in all competitions prior to Sunday's hammering by Leeds.
But they were always well short against the 13-time winners, who also landed 20 points courtesy of Sutcliffe's boot.
Rhinos are currently fourth in Super League with nine wins from 13 games.
Leeds Rhinos: Golding, Briscoe, Handley, L. Sutcliffe, Hall, McGuire, Moon, Galloway, Parcell, Baldwinson, Ferres, Ward, Singleton.
Replacements: Burrow, Cuthbertson, Jones-Buchanan, Mullally.
Barrow Raiders: Fieldhouse, Cresswell, Morrow, Litherland, Fleming, Charnock, Ashall, Bullock, Mossop, Walker, D. Toal, Stack, Aspinwall.
Replacements: Abram, Dawson, Duerden, Brennan.
Referee: Jack Smith (RFL) | Leeds Rhinos reached the Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a thumping victory over League One side Barrow Raiders. |
39514523 | Eddie Bilbey, from Ripley in Derbyshire, died shortly after the bout in South Normanton on 24 March.
His mother, Michelle Bilbey, described her son as "a beautiful, caring, honest, respectful and truly pure soul".
A post-mortem examination has taken place but the cause of death will not be made public until May.
Live updates and more from across the East Midlands
"He was my confidante, my rock, my very best friend and my shopping partner," Mrs Bilbey said.
"Boxing held the discipline and training ethics that he so enjoyed and I know people who don't understand the sport will slate it, but to us that knew him best, boxing did define him - it made him who he was.
"He lived and breathed boxing; it was his life, his passion. It may be that that's where his life ended on Friday night but knowing Eddie as I do, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
England Boxing, which sanctioned the East Midlands Youth Welterweight bout, is investigating the death. | The mother of a 17-year-old boy, who died after an amateur boxing match, has paid tribute to her "very best friend". |
37292450 | The home side added 119 to their overnight 341-5 before being bowled out for 460, as Barry McCarthy took 3-103.
Mark Stoneman (38) and Keaton Jennings (40) gave Durham a solid start in reply and Borthwick reached 50 off 93 balls.
But none of them could play a major innings and the visitors were 205-4 at stumps, still 255 behind.
Yorkshire had to settle for four bonus points in the morning session after Graham Onions bowled a maiden to Steven Patterson with eight runs needed for the fifth.
But Azeem Rafiq (45) and Jack Brooks (36) made useful runs to boost the total before Paul Collingwood bowled Brooks to end the innings.
Stoneman was first to go when Durham batted, edging a catch to slip off Brooks, and Patterson ended in-form Jennings' hopes of another big score by having him caught behind.
Both Jennings and Jack Burnham were dropped by Jake Lehmann and the latter survived to the close on 34 not out, but Tim Bresnan claimed a vital wicket by bowling former England team-mate Collingwood off the inside edge for six. | Scott Borthwick led Durham's resistance with 53 as title hopefuls Yorkshire kept the pressure on the visitors on day two at Headingley. |
35444344 | The first minister urged councils to accept the funding package on offer and work together in tackling low pay.
Many councils have argued that the deal and council tax freeze will force them into making "draconian cuts".
Ms Sturgeon made her plea as she addressed the SNP's first disabled members conference in Glasgow.
Scotland's councils have until 9 February to respond to the Scottish government's funding package.
On Friday, Cosla, the umbrella body for the most of the 32 councils, urged its members to reject it.
Cosla argues that the funding package is smaller than forecast and, coupled with the government's continued council tax freeze, will force local authorities to make unacceptable cuts in jobs and services.
Ms Sturgeon, however, said the deal included funding to maintain the council tax freeze and secure pupil teacher ratios.
She said the government was also offering £250m to help with the integration of health and social care, including a commitment to pay the Living Wage of £8.25 an hour.
She told the conference: "Our social care workers play an invaluable role in looking after the most vulnerable in our communities - and with an ageing population, it is more important than ever that we attract and retain the best staff by paying them a fair wage.
"Both the SNP government and local authorities have a shared aspiration to see care workers paid a living wage, and that's why we have included funding to roll it out in our funding offer to councils."
She added: "Delivering this landmark policy is a challenge for local government in the current financial circumstances - no-one is pretending otherwise. But the offer from the Scottish government will help meet that challenge.
"By accepting the local government finance settlement, the SNP and Labour can work together to take a huge leap forward in tackling low pay in Scotland - and help to build a fairer Scotland."
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "Care workers should be paid a living wage and we will work with anyone to make that a reality.
"The best way for this to be achieved is for the Scottish government to introduce a living wage for all public sector workers. Nicola Sturgeon had the chance to do this but has voted against it five times.
"At the same time councils need to be properly funded so that services for disabled people, and others, can be properly protected. Nicola Sturgeon should explain how cutting hundreds of millions of pounds from the services the most vulnerable rely on will help deliver this."
Elsewhere, Scottish Labour has unveiled proposals for a Warm Homes Act to help tackle fuel poverty.
Leader Kezia Dugdale told party activists in Inverness the plan would "deliver the changes we need to see in planning and building regulations to tackle fuel poverty".
Ms Dugdale said: "No family in Scotland should have to choose between heating and eating in 2016."
She also claimed the Scottish government planned to cut the fuel poverty budget by £15m.
About 845,000 households in Scotland - 35% of the total - were classed as living in fuel poverty last year, with 9.5% living in extreme fuel poverty, according to statistics published last month.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, claimed civil liberties were being slowly eroded under the SNP.
Speaking at the party's north east of Scotland regional conference, leader Willie Rennie pledged to continue to stand up to the "illiberal" SNP after May's Holyrood election.
Mr Rennie said only his party had effectively opposed the Scottish government on issues such as police stop-and-search, the abolition of corroboration and plans for an ID database.
He added: "Too often we take our civil liberties for granted and under the SNP government they have been slowly degraded.
"It has only been the effective campaigns run by the Liberal Democrats that has provided any form of opposition to their changes."
Responding to Mr Rennie, an SNP spokesman said the Lib Dems had spent five years "propping up a Tory government which is now hell-bent on scrapping human rights legislation". | Nicola Sturgeon has defended the funding deal for Scottish councils - and called on them to implement the Living Wage for care workers. |
32597509 | The clubs will face one another home and away in September and early October in the West Country Challenge Cup.
The tournament mirrors the being held by Leicester, Newcastle and Sale.
The Premiership is with both Exeter and Gloucester staging matches at their home grounds.
Gloucester will play their home games at Bristol's Memorial Stadium, so not to clash with the World Cup matches they are staging.
"Each year you want to get your season off to a solid start and all that begins by having a worthwhile and meaningful set of opening fixtures," said Exeter boss Rob Baxter.
"For us, the opportunity to play the likes of Bath and Gloucester - two of our biggest rivals in the Premiership - will not only give us a good gauge of where we lie heading into the new season, but it will also provide us with four very competitive fixtures." | Premiership clubs Exeter, Bath and Gloucester will play in a pre-season tournament during the 2015 World Cup. |
37811410 | Senator George Mitchell told The World This Weekend that the ability to cross the border was important.
It contributed to "the stability that's developed over the past two decades".
Changing that would have an adverse effect, he said.
"I believe that the restoration of a militarised border with strict controls limiting traffic back and forth would have an adverse effect on relations within the island of Ireland," he said.
"The ability to move back and forward across the border that has existed for the past several years has been very helpful in increasing commerce and also in reducing stereotypes on both sides.
"I think that that would be a step backward for that to occur."
Senator Mitchell , who was was President Bill Clinton's special envoy to Northern Ireland, said he did not want to prejudge any deal that may be done on the border, but he expressed optimism that the "constructive and thoughtful leaders on all sides" could reach an agreement that would "permit open access".
Asked if Brexit was a breach of the Good Friday Agreement, Senator Mitchell said the deal "plainly contemplates the possibility of a vote under certain circumstances" that change Northern Ireland's constitutional position.
"The agreement plainly provides that the political status of Northern Ireland can be determined or changed only through a vote - and it's the informed consent through a vote - of the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
He added: "I'll leave those arguments to the people of Northern Ireland and the UK."
Senator Mitchell also said Britain and Ireland's membership of the European Union had helped create the conditions for the peace process in Northern Ireland.
"There can be no doubt that the presence of Ireland and the United Kingdom in the EU was a significant factor in leading both governments to reach the conclusion that if there was to be a resolution to the conflict in the North it had to be led and underpinned by a joint effort by the two governments," he said.
"I think their being in the European Union for some years before that was a significant factor in the warming of what had been a very cold relationship." | The American senator who brokered the Good Friday Agreement has warned that border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would be a "step backwards" in the peace process. |
34982570 | The Objective Revision Evaluation Service software has been trained by Wikipedia editors to recognise the quality of an edit based on the language and context of the change.
There are about half a million changes to Wikipedia articles every day.
Editors and ordinary users will now be able to quickly check how likely it is a proposed alteration is "damaging".
"This allows editors to triage them from the torrent of new edits and review them with increased scrutiny," the Wikimedia Foundation said in a blog.
Other projects to engage artificial intelligence (AI) in the task of evaluating Wikipedia edits have not always been well received.
Some, for instance, have automatically downgraded the input of new editors, which has been seen as problematic for well-intentioned newcomers.
ORES aims to get around this by judging purely the content of an alteration.
"The thing to note is it doesn't judge whether the facts that people are adding are actually true, because fact-checking is immensely difficult, it's looking at the quality," said Dr John Carroll, a computational linguist at the University of Sussex.
"It should help a great deal with Wikipedia," he added.
Dr Carroll own start-up, iLexir, provides software to automatically check the quality of written English in essays by foreign language students. | Wikipedia has launched a tool designed to automatically highlight low-quality edits to articles. |
25515310 | The Energy Networks Association said late on Christmas Day that 24,000 properties in the South and South East were still without power.
Homes in the South East and South West had borne the brunt of the flooding, the Environment Agency added.
Two severe flood warnings remain in place in Dorset where rain is forecast.
The Environment Agency warning - meaning there is a danger to life - is still in place for Iford Bridge Home Park on the River Stour in Dorset, which police evacuated overnight.
Liz Gaere, 48, was rescued from the residential development at around 07:00 GMT on Christmas morning.
"We went out on our balcony and saw the flooding and saw the boats coming in," she said.
Check if this is affecting your journey
"They said to us 'do you want to come out, you've got five minutes'."
A 79-year-old neighbour Pat Tapply added: "I have nothing apart from what I am standing in. I don't know if my home is flooded."
People were also evacuated from the Beaulieu Garden Park Home in Christchurch, Dorset - where a severe flood warning is also in place.
More rain is expected in the already flood-hit county overnight with 10mm forecast to fall.
Tim Field from the Energy Networks Association (ENA) told the BBC the number of those without power was starting to come down but that it could be the end of the week before problems are resolved in heavily flooded areas in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
Leave had been cancelled and extra staff had been brought in to fix the problem, he said.
From the BBC:
Elsewhere:
UK Power Networks, which supplies about eight million customers in the South East, says it arranged Christmas dinner for hundreds of those without power via a mobile catering facility, pubs, restaurants and hotels.
Director of customer services, Matt Rudling, added: "Extra staff are on duty, many of whom have cancelled their leave to help with the repair effort or to join our additional call centres on Christmas Eve and today."
Meanwhile, about 800 homes in the north of Scotland are still without power, mainly around the Banchory, Buchan and Aboyne areas in Aberdeenshire, and Forres and Fochabers in Elgin.
Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution said it was hoped all properties would be reconnected on Christmas Day.
Some of the worst disruption was felt at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, where a power outage at the North terminal led to cancellations and delays on Christmas Eve.
Gatwick Airport is now running a full service, but says all flights apart from those with British Airways will be departing from the South terminal. It also advises people to check with airlines before travelling.
In other developments:
Elsewhere, winds of up to 80mph caused disruption to Christmas Eve travel in Scotland, with the Northern and Western Isles hit by ferry and flight cancellations.
There has also been heavy rain in Northern Ireland, while winds in Wales reached 78mph in Pembrey and 77mph in Aberdaron.
More than 10 flood warnings remain in place across mainland Scotland, with high tide being accompanied by heavy rainfall.
And yellow "be aware" warnings for high winds are in place for the Highlands and Islands, Orkney and Shetland.
The Environment Agency (EA) still has close to 100 flood warnings in place for England and Wales - signifying that flooding is "expected". A yellow alert for heavy rain remains for the southern coastal counties of England.
The agency's head of operations, David Jordan, told the BBC that officials were keeping a close eye on the Stour and the river flowing through Maidstone in Kent.
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BBC Weather said winds and rain would ease across much of the UK on Wednesday evening, although heavy rain and gales are expected to pick up again at the end of the week.
The next storm, expected to hit the UK on Thursday night into Friday, will not be as intense, but has the potential to cause disruption. | Some of those hit by power cuts over Christmas could be without electricity until the end of the week after storms left 1,000 homes in England flooded. |
29199724 | The National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW) said almost 9,000 fewer work schemes will be available for young people by next April.
It said there was no slack in the apprenticeship programme to cut.
But the Welsh government said it was "delivering one of the most successful apprenticeship programmes in Europe".
The NTfW represents more than 100 firms and outlets providing work-based learning in Wales.
The businesses have said the 8,857 fewer apprenticeships will be on offer by the end of 2015, a drop of 49%, according to the training body.
NTfW's operations manager Jeff Protheroe said: "When you see the figures in black and white the only word to describe them is stark - 9,000 less apprentices than last year.
"Our members have been left scratching their heads because there was no slack in the apprenticeship programme to cut.
"It appears the government has received some bad advice.
"There is a feeling that the Welsh government is taking learning providers for granted because it knows that the network has consistently delivered excellent results and responded to the needs of the Welsh government over the past decade."
The organisation said it fears "even worse news is on the way" after being told ministers are planning a further £20m cut in apprenticeship programmes in March.
Mr Protheroe added: "The irony of the situation is that the budget cuts coincide with a national media campaign by the Welsh government promoting apprenticeships.
"Having created the demand for apprenticeships, the Welsh government is now unable to fulfil it."
The Welsh government said that its apprenticeship programme had "exceeded all anticipated targets" over a two-year period.
A spokesman said: "We have been open about the scale of the financial challenges we face. By 2015-16, the Welsh budget will be 10% lower in real terms than it was in 2010-11.
"However, reductions in the funding for apprenticeships are not across the board.
"We will direct our funding towards apprenticeships for those aged 16-24 as well as to higher level apprenticeships and traineeships." | Employers in Wales are likely to cut the number of apprentices they take on by almost half after ministers cut the budget by £7m, a trade body has warned. |
32017582 | 24 March 2015 Last updated at 06:43 GMT
But food expert Doctor Radha Modgil has been explaining what effect junk food can have by taking Newsround reporter Ricky inside the human body.
It's all part of Newsround's big food week where a survey of more than 1,400 children showed one out of three eat unhealthy foods like chocolate, crisps and take away more than three times a week.
You can find out more about the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes on the Newsround website and send in any questions you have about food for Doctor Radha to answer. | With so many different foods out there it can be hard to know what's healthy and what's not. |
38084165 | The workers were not directly employed by the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, but had been hired via a sub-contractor.
The raid took place on Monday. The workers are due to appear before Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
Bridge officials said the project contractor had co-operated fully.
Scotland's Economy Secretary Keith Brown has written to the Home Office to seek reassurance over the measures used to address the issue of illegal foreign workers.
Mr Brown said: "It's important that the construction industry can responsibly provide the correct resource to support the delivery of our pipeline of infrastructure projects.
"Across our projects contractors have assured us that they carry out all business and operations in such a manner as to fully comply with and meet all legislative requirements, including all relevant employment laws.
"As such, it is standard policy to carry out checks to ensure that all direct employees and staff have the necessary and valid credentials as is required for them to be legitimately employed prior to their appointment. We have also received assurance that it is also a requirement that second tier subcontractors also meet these obligations."
More than 10,000 people have worked on the bridge construction site since work was started in 2011.
Responding to news of the arrests, the union UCATT said the incident was just one example of wider workplace abuses on the site.
Steve Dillon, regional secretary of UCATT Scotland, said: "This flagship project is now operating like the wild West. Without a union convenor the site has no sheriff and this is inevitably going to increase the exploitation and mistreatment of workers." | Seven people working on the Queensferry Crossing have been arrested on suspicion of working illegally after an investigation by the Home Office. |
39202088 | Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that in exchange, the US and South Korea could halt annual joint military drills, which consistently infuriate the North.
The appeal comes after North Korea test-launched four missiles on Monday, breaking international sanctions.
In response, the US began rolling out a missile defence system in South Korea.
Speaking on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting, Mr Wang said the Korean peninsula was like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way".
"Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" he asked.
A mutual halt of military operations would be the first step towards easing tensions and reopening negotiations, he said.
Three of the North Korean missiles came down inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday, prompting Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump to say the region had entered "a new stage of threat".
The UN Security Council earlier strongly condemned the launch in a unanimous statement, calling it a grave violation of North Korea's international obligations, which risked destabilising the region.
The Council, which will meet later on Wednesday, also threatened to "take further significant measures" against North Korea, which could imply efforts to introduce a fresh round of sanctions.
It is almost certainly not going to work. The US-South Korean joint exercises have been an annual fixture for the best part of two decades and North Korea's demands for the drills to be scrapped are always rebuffed.
At a time when Pyongyang is believed to be inching ever closer to developing nuclear warheads, Washington and Seoul are more than ever unlikely to be in the market for a grand, symbolic gesture.
So why would China join its neighbour's call for such a bargain? And why now? It may be that Wang Yi is conveying a genuine offer from Pyongyang and, in the role of an honest broker, is willing to give it a go however narrow the odds.
Or perhaps by calling Washington's bluff over the military exercises - casting President Trump as a man unwilling to make compromises in the name of peace - China itself sees some strategic advantage.
Meanwhile, the US has again sought to reassure Beijing over deployment of an extensive missile defence system in South Korea.
The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) is designed to protect South Korea, and US troops based there, from North Korean missile attacks. The first elements of it were moved into place on Tuesday, hours after the North's latest launch.
What impact will S Korea's expanded missile defence system have?
1. The enemy launches a missile
2. The Thaad radar system detects the launch, which is relayed to command and control
3. Thaad command and control instructs the launch of an interceptor missile
4. The interceptor missile is fired at the enemy projectile
5. The enemy projectile is destroyed in the terminal phase of flight
The launcher trucks can hold up to eight interceptor missiles.
The Thaad deployment, originally agreed under the Obama administration, is controversial.
South Koreans living in areas which will host defence batteries are concerned they could become targets.
China has said its radar capabilities go far beyond what is required for defence and represents an encroachment of US military power and that it will "resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interest".
At a news briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner repeated US reassurances to China.
He said the US had been "very clear in our conversations with China that this is not meant to be a threat, and is not a threat, to them or any other power in the region".
The US was "actively engaged" with its regional partners, he said, to address North Korea's "continuing provocative behaviour and actions".
Mr Toner said that North Korea would be discussed next week when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first official visits to South Korea, Japan and China. | China has proposed that North Korea suspend its tests of missile and nuclear technology to "defuse a looming crisis". |
37526977 | Argyle edged a cagey first half and almost scored on 43 minutes as Jimmy Spencer's looped effort hit the woodwork after Graham Carey had broken from midfield.
The visitors broke the deadlock soon after the restart when David Fox's free-kick evaded everyone apart from Bradley, who diverted the ball into the top corner.
Stevenage equalised just seven minutes later as Henry Cowans' low free-kick found Matthew Godden unmarked and his effort went in off Bradley from six yards.
Boro - who have now lost three of their last four league games - were only level for four minutes as Bradley glanced in a header from Carey's free-kick.
Stevenage had their chances to equalise during five minutes of injury time, with Jack King and Harry McKirdy going close, but Plymouth saw the game out to remain top of the table by five points.
Reports supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Stevenage 1, Plymouth Argyle 2.
Second Half ends, Stevenage 1, Plymouth Argyle 2.
Attempt missed. Michael Tonge (Stevenage) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Attempt saved. Jake Hyde (Stevenage) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. David Goodwillie replaces Jordan Slew.
Corner, Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Jamie Jones.
Attempt saved. Connor Smith (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. David Ijaha replaces David Fox.
Jake Jervis (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card.
Ben Purrington (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jake Hyde (Stevenage).
Attempt saved. Jake Jervis (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Stevenage. Michael Tonge replaces Henry Cowans.
Attempt missed. James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Plymouth Argyle. Connor Smith replaces Graham Carey.
Kgosi Ntlhe (Stevenage) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Graham Carey (Plymouth Argyle).
Fraser Franks (Stevenage) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Fraser Franks (Stevenage).
James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Harry McKirdy (Stevenage) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high following a set piece situation.
Jack King (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Yann Songo'o (Plymouth Argyle).
Foul by Henry Cowans (Stevenage).
Sonny Bradley (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Stevenage. Jake Hyde replaces Tom Pett.
Substitution, Stevenage. Harry McKirdy replaces Andrew Fox.
Attempt saved. David Fox (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. James Spencer (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Ben Purrington (Plymouth Argyle) is shown the yellow card.
Henry Cowans (Stevenage) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Henry Cowans (Stevenage).
Ben Purrington (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Fraser Franks (Stevenage) header from the right side of the box is too high following a corner.
Corner, Stevenage. Conceded by Gary Miller.
Andrew Fox (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Fox (Plymouth Argyle).
Corner, Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Kgosi Ntlhe.
Goal! Stevenage 1, Plymouth Argyle 2. Sonny Bradley (Plymouth Argyle) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Graham Carey following a set piece situation.
Foul by Henry Cowans (Stevenage). | Leaders Plymouth extended their unbeaten run in League Two to 10 games as Sonny Bradley's double secured victory at battling Stevenage. |
32949569 | Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members are set to hold a 24-hour strike from 17:00 BST on 4 June and a 48-hour strike from 17:00 BST on 9 June.
On Thursday the union rejected a fresh pay offer by Network Rail.
Both sides have been talking with conciliation service Acas since Friday.
The workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, are also planning to ban overtime from 6-12 June.
The RMT's 16,000 members at Network Rail work across the company's operations and maintenance departments.
A planned strike over last week's bank holiday was suspended after Network Rail tabled a revised pay offer to workers.
Network Rail originally offered a four-year deal of a single £500 payment followed by three years of rises in line with RPI inflation.
But the revised offer was for two years, with a 1% rise this year, and a rise of about 1.4% next year. It was also established that there would be no compulsory redundancies for the duration of the agreement.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has previously said he considered strike action "unnecessary and unreasonable". | Talks aimed at averting a national strike by Network Rail workers in a dispute over pay have been adjourned until Monday. |
38935757 | The Scotland coach thinks that the French will be confident of their chances of winning the physical battle, and therefore the match, at Stade de France on Sunday.
"They'll believe they can overpower us," said Cotter.
"You can see that reflected in their team selection."
While the Scots were starting their campaign with a home victory over Ireland, Sunday's hosts were losing narrowly to England at Twickenham.
"They'll believe that this is the game that will set their Six Nations alight," said Cotter.
"We've seen and heard noises coming out of their camp, so it's pretty clear what's coming: a big juggernaut is going to try to roll over the top of us."
Scotland are going to Paris without Ryan Wilson, who is out of the team with an injured elbow.
John Barclay steps into the back row in place of Wilson and the fit-again John Hardie - "hard to hold back and tearing the paddock up", according to the coach - comes in on the bench.
Scotland will have three number sevens in their squad that can be classified as groundhogs on the floor - Barclay, Hamish Watson and Hardie.
The change to the French team that Cotter referred to is the introduction of Bordeaux-Begles' Loann Goujon at blind-side instead of Damien Chouly.
"Chouly is their line-out specialist, but Goujon's another ball-carrier, very similar to Louis Picamoles, so it's obvious how they are going to play," said the Scotland coach.
"They're very heavy and powerful, very good going forward, but I want to see how they go when they have to go backwards.
"Turning them round will be key to the game. We've got to push them backwards and, if we can do that and force errors out of them, we'll free up the game. We have to be smart."
The hosts have a poor recent record in the championship and have lost their last three Tests, against Australia, New Zealand and England.
However, all three defeats were by narrow margins.
The French may not be a winning team, but there's a feeling that a new team is emerging and that better days lie ahead and beating Scotland is key to that progression.
"They have a more confident mix now," said Cotter. "When French teams are looking for a win, everybody talks about their attack, but actually it's their defence that sets it alight.
"They'll try to put a lot of speed and power into the game. They'll want to go harder and faster and try to make it as difficult for us as possible."
Losing Wilson is an undoubted set-back given his work-rate around the field, but Barclay was hugely effective when appearing early in the second half against Ireland and the return of Hardie is a boost.
"He looks great," said Cotter of the open-side. "Having his energy later in the game will be important against this team."
The oft-stated stat of Scotland not having won in Paris since 1999 is one that Cotter's team is trying to wipe from the record books.
"We want to make it a tussle," said the coach. | Vern Cotter says that a "juggernaut" is coming Scotland's way when they play the second match of their Six Nations campaign against France in Paris. |
39043648 | The England international had gone nine games without scoring and was a peripheral figure for much of Wednesday's game but sprang into life to finish Danny Drinkwater's superb cross with 17 minutes remaining in Spain.
It was one of only two shots on target the Foxes produced during a game in which they were largely under the cosh and had trailed 2-0 in thanks to Pablo Sarabia's header and a close-range finish from Joaquin Correa for Sevilla.
City's other hero was Kasper Schmeichel, who saved a Correa penalty with the score at 0-0 and made a number of other good saves.
Sevilla also hit the post and bar had over 70% possession but will only take a slender lead to the King Power Stadium for the second leg on 14 March.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Amidst Leicester's dire domestic form, which has seen them lose 14 league games already, including their last five, and exit the FA Cup at the hands of League One Millwall, their Champions League displays have acted as timely reminders of last season's stunning Premier League title success.
And there will have been none more timely than this.
Prior to the game, manager Claudio Ranieri suggested a positive display could act as a turning point for their season, and while they were outclassed for long periods, the rediscovery of a stubbornness and spirit could prove crucial not just for this tie but the rest of the campaign.
The tie looked to be over after Correa's calm close-range finish in the second half had doubled the lead given to the home side by Sarabia's powerful, pinpoint header before the break.
But with less than a quarter of the game to go, Drinkwater produced Leicester's one incisive attacking ball of the night to find Vardy, whose run into space behind his marker and first-time finish bore all the instinctual qualities he showed so often last season.
Vardy's goal not only keeps the tie alive but offers hope to Leicester that he can return to form and fire them to Premier League safety.
His goal-drought, following the hat-trick against Manchester City on 10 December, coincided with a nine-game winless streak for the Foxes that has left them just a point and a place above the relegation zone.
The 30-year-old managed just 25 touches in total on Wednesday, but he made the one that mattered - his only shot on goal - count.
Jorge Sampaoli's Sevilla side justified their position as La Liga title challengers with a dominant display that lacked only a goal-tally to match.
Schmeichel can take much of the credit for that and following his penalty save, he showed superb awareness and reflexes to tip away shots from Sergio Escudero and Correa.
City were also indebted to the woodwork, with the post denying Vitolo from a tight angle and the bar halting Adil Rami's late header.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri: "We knew they are better than us, they have high quality in possession. We suffered. They showed their quality but we showed our heart. We showed belief and never game up. That makes me satisfied.
"Kasper Schmeichel and everybody had a good game. Kasper saved the penalty and gave lot of support to his defenders.
"For us, it is important to continue to show our performance and our football."
Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli: "It is difficult to imagine such a big difference [between the sides] in a Champions League game.
"I am happy with how the game went because we had chances, but disappointed with the result because we deserved more."
Leicester host Liverpool next Monday and then Hull the following Saturday in the Premier League before the return leg against Sevilla.
Match ends, Sevilla 2, Leicester City 1.
Second Half ends, Sevilla 2, Leicester City 1.
Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City).
Daniel Carriço (Sevilla) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Daniel Carriço (Sevilla).
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Robert Huth.
Adil Rami (Sevilla) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Pablo Sarabia with a cross following a corner.
Substitution, Leicester City. Daniel Amartey replaces Marc Albrighton.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Robert Huth.
Attempt blocked. Stevan Jovetic (Sevilla) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Vitolo.
Hand ball by Vicente Iborra (Sevilla).
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Wes Morgan.
Attempt blocked. Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Steven N'Zonzi.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.
Attempt saved. Vitolo (Sevilla) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Stevan Jovetic (Sevilla) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Vitolo.
Stevan Jovetic (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Danny Simpson (Leicester City).
Attempt blocked. Demarai Gray (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marc Albrighton.
Attempt blocked. Christian Fuchs (Leicester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Riyad Mahrez.
Sergio Escudero (Sevilla) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Sergio Escudero (Sevilla).
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal! Sevilla 2, Leicester City 1. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Daniel Drinkwater.
Attempt blocked. Sergio Escudero (Sevilla) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Stevan Jovetic.
Attempt missed. Stevan Jovetic (Sevilla) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Samir Nasri with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Danny Simpson.
Stevan Jovetic (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Robert Huth (Leicester City).
Substitution, Sevilla. Vicente Iborra replaces Joaquín Correa.
Adil Rami (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).
Goal! Sevilla 2, Leicester City 0. Joaquín Correa (Sevilla) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Stevan Jovetic.
Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Adil Rami.
Attempt blocked. Daniel Drinkwater (Leicester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Leicester City. Demarai Gray replaces Ahmed Musa.
Attempt missed. Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla) left footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Sevilla. Daniel Carriço replaces Clement Lenglet because of an injury. | Jamie Vardy broke his recent goal-drought to give Leicester an away goal and keep alive their hopes of reaching the last eight of the Champions League despite a narrow first-leg defeat away to Sevilla. |
39563668 | The Argentine actress spoke about Noah's recovery at a press conference for her latest film in Buenos Aires.
She said: "When things like those that happened to us occur, your take on life changes. It happened to us. Now I value life much more, the now and the today.
"Thank God, my son is well." She also thanked the public for their support.
"I want them to know that they reached us and that it helped us a lot to come through this.
"It's difficult for me to speak about this. It's very recent and I'm still a bit sensitive about the subject.
"But the love is daily, when people stop me in the street. It's wonderful to know that you're accompanied in life and that people love you."
She and Buble recently returned to her homeland after Noah received treatment in the US.
Buble and Lopilato put their careers on hold when Noah was diagnosed.
But the 29-year-old said seeing Noah "grow and being happy" had given her the strength to finish the film, titled Those Who Love, Hate.
Lopilato, who also has a one-year-old son, Elias, with her husband, added: "We are looking forward to thinking about the future, to seeing our children grow."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Actress Luisana Lopilato, the wife of singer Michael Buble, says their three-year-old son is doing well, five months after he was diagnosed with cancer. |
32493860 | Since February, Jean-Honore Fragonard's 18th Century work Young Woman has been replaced by a $120 (£70) counterfeit, produced in China.
The public was asked whether it could identify the fake amongst the permanent collection of 270 Old Master paintings.
Nearly 3,000 visitors cast a vote, but only 10% guessed correctly.
The original will be put back in its frame on Tuesday and hung beside the replica, allowing people to compare the stylistic and material differences between the two.
Conceptual artist Doug Fishbone came up with the idea, selecting the original work and commissioning the copy from one of China's numerous exporters of handmade oil paintings.
The painting was made by the Meishing Oil Painting Manufacture Company, where 150 artists, many of them art students, make copies of Old Masters - including Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh and Monet - to order for clients across the world.
According to its website, the company "can reproduce various kinds of famous oil paintings in the world in enormous quantities such as impressionist, modern painting, scenery, seascape, still life, animal, pop art, abstract, classical, group paintings, reproduction oil painting, commerce oil painting, custom portrait oil painting and so on".
Strictly speaking, the works are not fakes, since the studio is careful to change the size slightly from the originals.
Dulwich Picture Gallery was the first purpose-built public art gallery in England when it opened its doors in the south London suburb in 1811.
Chief curator Dr Xavier Bray said attendance had quadrupled during the last two months.
"Never before have I seen so many people actively looking at each painting," he said.
"Now Fragonard's portrait of a young woman has returned to the gallery walls and hangs alongside its modern companion. The visual exercise of comparing and contrasting will demonstrate how exciting it is to engage with an original work of art, but also marvel at the skill of a modern copyist working 5,000 miles away."
Speaking at the launch of the project, Fishbone said his experiment would raise questions about the nature and importance of an original work versus a replica.
"In the West, we see replicas as very problematic, as 'fakes' perhaps, whereas in China the notion of copying cultural artefacts is seen totally differently," he said.
Having seen the project through, he called visitors' responses "intriguing and eye-opening".
"I'm no conspiracy theorist, but if it leaves viewers with a healthy suspicion that what is presented to them may not be what it seems, and that our experiences can be manipulated in ways we are unaware of or cannot detect, it will have done something quite interesting." | The identity of a replica painting which was hung at Dulwich Picture Gallery as part of a "spot-the-fake" challenge has been revealed. |
35745861 | About 100 million years ago, the oceans warmed up, polar ice melted and sea levels rose to unprecedented heights.
Scientists say the ichthyosaurs, or "fish lizards", could not adapt to the new conditions, spelling their demise.
The research is the latest twist in the mystery of how and why the predators disappeared.
Evidence suggests their extinction about 100 million years ago was driven by intense climate change and their inability to adapt to the changing world.
"Our results support a growing body of evidence revealing that rising sea levels and sea temperatures profoundly reorganised marine ecosystems about 100 million years ago," said lead researcher Dr Valentin Fischer of the University of Liège, Belgium, and the University of Oxford, UK.
"The ichthyosaurs were unable to adapt. They were evolving very slowly during the last 50 million years of their reign.
"When the environment changed very rapidly they couldn't keep up with this change."
During the age of the dinosaurs, the ocean was home to many types of ichthyosaur.
The marine predators evolved a streamlined body like a dolphin and were built for speed, feeding on fish and squid.
Ichthyosaurs endured for millions of years. They appeared in the Triassic, reached their peak in the Jurassic, then disappeared in the Cretaceous - several million years before the last dinosaurs died out.
Past explanations for their disappearance have focussed on their food supply, which may have dwindled as other marine animals such as sharks and bony fishes appeared.
The researchers - from the UK, Belgium, France and Russia - think this was just one factor in the animal's demise.
After drawing up a detailed family tree of the evolution of ichthyosaurs and analysing the causes of their extinction, they believe many factors were to blame.
"Although the rising temperatures and sea levels evidenced in rock records throughout the world may not directly have affected ichthyosaurs, related factors such as changes in food availability, migratory routes, competitors and birthing places are all potential drivers, probably occurring in conjunction to drive ichthyosaurs to extinction," Dr Fischer added.
Dr David Martill of the University of Portsmouth, who was not involved with the study, said the move to a "super greenhouse world" would have had a huge impact on the habitats of animals on land and in the sea.
Ichthyosaurs shared the ocean with other great groups of large marine reptiles such as the plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, however, which managed to outlive them.
"They [the ichthyosaurs] just disappear while a lot of animals living alongside did alright," Dr Martill told BBC News.
"Some mysterious thing was involved. I think it's still an enigma."
The famous fossil hunter Mary Anning discovered the first complete fossil of an ichthyosaur in the cliffs near Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1810.
Her discovery shook up the scientific world and provided evidence for new ideas about the history of the Earth.
Follow Helen on Twitter. | A dramatic shift in the Earth's climate killed off marine reptiles that swam at the time of the dinosaurs, according to a new study. |
39099489 | A family spokesman made the announcement late on Sunday night.
Sir Gerald had been an MP in the North West since 1970 and became the oldest serving member of the Commons in 2015.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn led tributes, calling him an "iconic and irascible figure". Former leader Ed Miliband said he was "an outstanding servant of the Labour movement".
Mr Miliband added: "His principles, values and friendship will be sorely missed."
Sir Gerald was a junior minister between 1974 and 1979, and held a number of senior shadow cabinet posts through the 1980s.
He famously called the Labour Party's left-wing 1983 election manifesto "the longest suicide note in history" and returned to the backbenches in the early 1990s. | Sir Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton and Father of The House of Commons, has died aged 86. |
40257519 | Robert Mueller has come under attacks recently, with the Speaker of the House casting doubts over his credibility.
Trump advocate Newt Gingrich urged the president to "rethink" Mr Mueller's position.
A close friend said Mr Trump saw firing him as an option, but the White House said both never discussed this issue.
Mr Mueller, who was tasked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein with overseeing the justice department's investigation, has started selecting members of his team, many of them criminal law experts.
If confirmed, his dismissal could have explosive implications and renew criticism of Mr Trump, who has been under intense pressure following his firing of James Comey as FBI director, and accusations that he might have tried to obstruct the investigation.
The very appointment of Mr Mueller only happened after calls for such a move sparked by Mr Comey's firing. Mr Trump considers the inquiry a "witch hunt".
The latest appointments from Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation could be a more ominous indication of trouble on the horizon for the Trump administration.
The hires could be an indication of the direction of the probe and the seriousness with which Mr Mueller is taking the enterprise.
Donald Trump has called the ongoing investigation a "witch hunt", a "hoax" and an excuse by Democrats for why they lost the presidential race. Mr Mueller's moves, however, indicate he does not share Mr Trump's view. He's assembling a team built for the long haul, with the talent and experience to take cases to trial and, if necessary, send people to prison.
So far, Mr Trump has only directed his criticism at former FBI Director James Comey. It may only be a matter of time before some of that attention is directed at Mr Mueller, however.
Read more from Anthony
Mr Mueller's appointment was initially praised by both Republicans and Democrats, but some influential conservatives have intensified their attacks, openly defending his dismissal.
Prominent radio host Mark Levin wrote on Facebook that "Mueller must step aside", while commentator Ann Coulter said there was no point in keeping him after Mr Comey confirmed that Mr Trump was not under investigation. She said on Twitter: "Why do we need a special counsel now?"
Meanwhile, Mr Gingrich, also on Twitter, said: "Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring."
Mr Trump does not have the authority to dismiss Mr Mueller, and he would have to ask Mr Rosenstein, who appointed the special counsel, to do so.
This would evoke memories of the "Saturday Night Massacre" of 1973, when President Richard Nixon sought to dismiss a special prosecutor.
But a long-time friend of Mr Trump said the president was considering sacking Mr Mueller.
Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of conservative group Newsmax Media, Mr Ruddy was at the White House on Monday, but US media reported that he did not meet Mr Trump while there.
In an interview with PBS Newshour, he said: "I think he is considering, perhaps, terminating the special counsel."
"I think he's weighing that option," he added, saying there were concerns about conflicts of interest, including Mr Mueller's interview to replace Mr Comey at the FBI and his law firm, which represents members of Trump family.
But he said: "I personally think it would be a very significant mistake."
Hours after the interview, White House spokesman Sean Spicer did not deny the claim, but said: "Mr Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue. With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorised to comment." | Conservative allies are adding pressure on the special counsel overseeing the investigation into alleged Russian interference in last year's election. |
31583949 | On Friday it was made public the 2 Sisters factory in the Anglesey town is considering cutting an entire shift.
The company employs about 800 people at the chicken processing facility.
One union official described morale as "very very low", saying it is now feared 200 agency jobs could be lost along with about 116 employees.
The 2 Sisters Food Group bought the factory from Dutch firm Vion in March 2013, and three months later announced it needed to increase production with an extra shift, bringing in an additional 300 posts.
Paddy McNaught, the regional organiser for Unite, said the company was planning to cut production at the factory.
"It's not been very promising news," he said following the meeting. "I think the company today have clarified the situation slightly in terms of numbers.
"We still believe we're looking at potentially over 300 people will be taken out of this business here at Llangefni.
"We've got somewhere in the region of 201 agency workers, as we believe it of today, and those will be going, plus a further 116 direct employees."
The company confirmed on Friday some roles were at risk of redundancy as it looked to "simplify" its business to sustain the quality of its products. | Union leaders have held a four hour meeting with managers at a Llangefni poultry plant amid fears over 300 jobs could be axed. |
39220929 | The 63-year-old ex-youth coach at Crewe Alexandra faces allegations relating to a boy between 1981 and 1982.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges followed an investigation by Cheshire Police.
Mr Bennell, who also had links to Manchester City and Stoke City, will appear via video link at South Cheshire Magistrates' Court on 13 March.
He is accused of four counts of indecent assault on a boy aged 11 to 12 years.
Earlier this week he was charged with eight counts of historical child sexual abuse - two counts of indecent assault on a boy aged under 14, indecent assault on a boy aged under 16, and five other offences.
Mr Bennell previously appeared in court in January charged with eight separate offences of sexual assault against a boy aged under 16, between 1981 and 1986.
He pleaded not guilty at Chester Crown Court and was remanded in custody until a further hearing on 20 March. | Former football coach Barry Bennell has been charged with four more counts of historical child sexual abuse. |
29441457 | Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show nearly 40,000 were admitted in 2012/13, a rise of 58% from 10 years ago.
Cliff Mann is one of the UK's most senior A&E doctors and says pre-loading is a major factor in the increase.
He told Newsbeat it's now becoming a "dangerous epidemic".
Government figures estimate the annual cost of alcohol to the NHS at £3.7bn and around £21bn to the wider society.
Mann is president of the College of Emergency Medicine which represents A&E Doctors and says pre-loading is the biggest behavioural change in drinking in the last decade.
"The real danger with pre-loading is that overall people drink far more in one evening, and drinking to that excess means it's much more likely they'll suffer the harmful consequences of alcohol," he said.
"In the short term they're that much more drunk, they're that much more likely to be ill or injure themselves and they're also much more likely to suffer long-term effects."
Friends Lewis Foster and Andreas Nichola, both 22 and from Northampton, don't think it's a problem.
On nearly every night out they and their friends begin with a couple of cases of cheap, supermarket beer and wine at home.
Lewis says they usually meet up at around 8pm and don't head out until around 11pm.
"It's a lot cheaper to do that than to go down to the pub all the time, so instead of say, once a month, we can meet up once a week.
"We want to save money to go to Glastonbury and things like that.
"You need to save money. You can't be spending half a Glastonbury fee on a night out in town."
Andreas agrees: "It's just easier, we all live in the same area, we can share cabs... and as long as you're sensible about it there are no worries.
"[Pre-loading is] more sociable because you've got your close mates around you and you can spend £10 here and £50 out in a pub."
It's not always that simple though.
Another of their friends, Greg Walding, admits sometimes it can be easy to drink too much.
"I have maybe four or five pints before I go out, then another four or five when I'm out.
"You can get a bit too drunk but it just saves money."
But Cliff Mann has no doubt that alcohol abuse is a serious problem and he wants to see minimum unit pricing introduced to try to tackle it.
The Scottish Government has already done that but it's being challenged in the courts so hasn't come into effect yet.
Politicians in Westminster are now waiting to see the outcome of that court case before making a decision about whether or not to introduce it in England and Wales.
In the meantime they have stopped supermarkets from selling below cost alcohol and stopped manufacturers from making super strength beers and ciders.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | There's been a big rise in the number of 15 to 29-year-olds ending up in hospitals across England because of alcohol problems. |
36372330 | They are the lifetime collection of broadcaster Gyles Brandreth and his wife, Michele Brown.
The Brandreth Bear collection could "keep on growing" at Newby Hall, Mr Brandreth said.
It was previously held at the former Teddy Bear Museum in Stratford-on-Avon.
The bears will be on permanent display in a new purpose-built Bear House at Newby Hall.
The collection includes Fozzie from The Muppet Show, Children in Need's Pudsey Bear, Superted and Winnie the Pooh.
Mr Brandreth said there were plans to put on plays.
The collection also features teddy companions of the rich and famous.
Newby Hall near Ripon was built by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1690s and is thought to be one of Britain's finest examples of Adam-style architecture.
Last May, a permanent collection of 65 dolls houses was installed in Newby Hall's potting sheds. | A collection of 1,000 teddy bears, including Sooty and the original Paddington Bear, has moved to a permanent home at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire. |
33701969 | The Irish author, who won the £50,000 prize in 2007, is longlisted for her sixth novel, The Green Road.
Three Britons - Tom McCarthy, Andrew O'Hagan and Sunjeev Sahota - make the longlist alongside five Americans.
Novelists from India, Jamaica, New Zealand and Nigeria round out this year's list of candidates.
A shortlist of six will be unveiled on 15 September, with the overall winner to be announced on 13 October.
Australian author Richard Flanagan won last year's prize for his wartime novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
The longlist of authors and titles is as follows:
Clegg, Obioma and Smaill have all been longlisted for their debut novels, while McCarthy and O'Hagan have both been shortlisted before.
This year's prize continues the policy introduced last year of allowing all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality, to be considered for the award.
Before 2014, the prize - first presented in 1969 - was only open to authors from the UK and the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Marlon James is the first Jamaican-born author to be nominated for the prize, while Laila Lalami is the first longlisted author to be born in Morocco.
Both writers are currently based in the US, the former in Minneapolis and the latter in Santa Monica.
Author and broadcaster Michael Wood, chair of this year's judges, said submissions were so "extraordinary... the longlist could have been twice as long".
"The range of different performances and forms of these novels is amazing," he continued. "All of them do something exciting with the language they have chosen to use."
Dublin-born Enright was considered an outsider when The Gathering, her fourth novel, won the 2007 prize, beating such titles as Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach and Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist. | The 13 books longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize have been announced, with previous winner Anne Enright among those in contention. |
37752858 | Sundowns lost 1-0 against Zamalek in Egypt on Sunday but triumphed 3-1 on aggregate as 'the Brazilians' raised their first continental title of any kind.
In addition to winning $1.5m for claiming the trophy, the Pretoria-based side will also now represent Africa at December's Fifa Club World Cup.
"To come to Egypt and raise the trophy, I don't think there's any sweeter way to lift it," Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane told the Confederation of African Football website.
Mosimane, who coached South Africa's national team from 2010 to 2012, is the first South African to lead a Champions League-winning side.
When Orlando Pirates won in 1995, the only previous time a South African team had triumphed, the Johannesburg side was led by a Scottish and Zambian coaching duo.
South Africa's Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was in attendance at the game in Alexandria, and he believes Sundowns' victory will inspire their league rivals to take the competition more seriously.
"It is important for southern Africa and for South Africa," Mbalula told BBC Sport.
"It's a really important achievement because in this competition, the dominance has (traditionally) been in North Africa. I think Sundowns have made it big for us - we are very excited.
"We, the government, have always said that clubs must take the competition seriously, so this is very important."
On Monday, both the South African government and President Jacob Zuma sent out congratulatory messages to Sundowns through their Twitter accounts.
The team's success was made all the sweeter given that Sundowns had been knocked out of the Champions League by DR Congo's AS Vita in a preliminary round.
Sundowns dropped into the second-tier Confederation Cup from which they were also eliminated, only to earn a sensational reprieve to the Champions League after Vita were disqualified in May for fielding an ineligible player.
"It's a miracle," Sundowns goalkeeper Dennis Onyango told BBC Sport.
"We've suffered a lot. When we were given a chance, it was our time to show what we can do. The guys have proved (the doubters) wrong. We've won it at last."
Sundowns, who are owned by billionaire mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, will now contest December's Fifa Club World Cup in Japan.
They will be the first South African team to do so since the tournament started in 2000, five years after Pirates' win.
"To club Motsepe and coach Mosimane, I would like to say you deserve all the accolades and you truly led from the front," said South African FA President Danny Jordaan in a statement.
"This is a historical first for a South African club to qualify for the prestigious Fifa Club World Cup."
"I want to wish Sundowns all the best in their next assignment and I am confident they are up to the challenge. They showed their tenacity and technical know-how in overcoming Zamalek over the two legs."
"This victory will serve South African football very well and will help in building a competitive Bafana Bafana side. South Africa stands tall on the African continent once again. Well done."
The Fifa Club World Cup, which features the champions of each continent, including Uefa Champions League winners Real Madrid, will take place between 8-18 December. | Mamelodi Sundowns are the toast of South Africa after becoming only the second club from the country to ever win the African Champions League. |
13908662 | Noxolo Nkosana, 23, is the latest victim of a series of violent attacks against lesbians.
She was stabbed a stone's throw from her home in Crossroads township, Cape Town, as she returned from work one evening with her girlfriend.
The two men - one of whom lives in her community - started yelling insults.
"They were walking behind us. They just started swearing at me screaming: 'Hey you lesbian, you tomboy, we'll show you,'" Ms Nkosana tells the BBC.
Before she knew it a sharp knife had entered her back - two fast jabs, then she was on the ground. Half conscious, she felt the knife sink into her skin twice more.
"I was sure that they were going to kill me," she says.
Many lesbians have died in such attacks - 31 in the last 10 years, it is reported.
In April, Noxolo Nogwaza was raped by eight men and murdered in KwaThema township near Johannesburg.
The 24-year-old's face and head were disfigured by stoning, and she was stabbed several times with broken glass.
The attack on her is thought to have begun as a case of what is known as "corrective rape", in which men rape lesbians in what they see as an attempt to "correct" their sexual orientation.
The practice appears to be on the increase in South Africa.
More than 10 lesbians per week are raped or gang-raped in Cape Town alone, according to Luleki Sizwe, a charity which helps women who have been raped in the Western Cape.
Many of the cases are not reported because the victims are afraid that the police will laugh at them, or that their attackers will come after them, says Ndumie Funda, founder of Luleki Sizwe.
"Many of them just suffer in silence," she says.
"The cases people read about in the media are not even the tip of the iceberg. Lesbians are under attack in South Africa's townships every day."
Reports of police ridiculing rape victims abound in the gay community.
"Some policemen in the township mock you saying: 'How can you be raped by a man if you are not attracted to them?' They ask you to explain how the rape felt. It is humiliating," says Thando Sibiya, a lesbian from Soweto.
She says she knows two people who reported rapes but then dropped their cases because of their treatment by the police.
Some trace the root of the problem to pockets of traditional African society that have not accepted homosexuality - especially among women.
"African societies are still very patriarchal. Women are taught that they should marry men, anything outside of that is viewed as wrong," says Lesego Tlhwale from African gay rights group Behind the Mask.
"It is seen as un-African for two women to marry. Some men are threatened by this and then want to 'fix' it," she adds.
She notes that the women who have been killed in South Africa so far have been described as "butch lesbians" - a slang term used to describe lesbians with a masculine or manly appearance.
"They are threatened by these kinds of lesbians in particular. They say they are stealing their girlfriends. It is a warped sense of entitlement and a need to protect their manhood."
South Africa is the only African country to have legalised homosexual marriage, and one of only 10 in the world. The constitution specifically forbids discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
But on the ground, prejudice remains common.
On the streets of Johannesburg, it is easy to find men who support the idea of "corrective rape".
"When someone is a lesbian, it's like saying to us men that we are not good enough," Thulani Bhengu, 35, tells the BBC.
Very few cases of rape against lesbians have ever resulted in convictions.
No-one knows how many of the more than 50,000 cases of rape reported in South Africa each year are committed against gay women, because the victim's sexual orientation is not recorded.
But after the murder of Ms Nogwaza - and a petition signed by 170,000 people around the world calling for an end to "corrective rape" - the justice department has begun to listen.
It is in the process of setting up a team to develop a strategy for tackling hate crimes against gay people, and is considering introducing heavier sentences for offences where the victim's sexual orientation is a factor in the crime.
Ms Nkosana is afraid that she might be attacked again, but says she will not be "forced back in the closet" - made to pretend that she is a heterosexual.
"They made me a victim in my own neighbourhood but I won't let them win," she says. "They can't stop me from being who I am."
But despite her defiant attitude, Ms Tlhwale says many South African lesbians are deeply worried.
"Everyone is scared," she says. "We have seen an increase in attacks against lesbians in recent months. Everyone we speak to is afraid that they might be next." | Lesbian South Africans are living in fear as rape and murder become a daily threat in the townships they call home. |
36266310 | The rainfall follows one of the worst droughts in more than 50 years, made worse by the El Nino phenomenon.
Administrators in the southern district of Wolaita said 41 people had died in landslides on Monday.
Nine other people drowned in floods in the south-eastern area of Bale that also killed hundreds of head of cattle.
The flooding in Bale, in the south of the Oromia region, has reportedly affected 559 hectares (1,381 acres) of farmland too, washing away seeds.
Rescue efforts are under way to save people missing in the landslides, Wolaita police commissioner Alemayehu Mamo told Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC).
But a major road and bridge had also been damaged in the SNNP region, hampering rescue efforts, he said.
The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in the capital, Addis Ababa, says more than 10 million people are already in need of urgent humanitarian assistance because of the drought.
The government and aid agencies have launched a $1.4bn (£970m) appeal to help those requiring urgent food assistance. | At least 50 people in Ethiopia have died in floods and landslides caused by heavy rain, a state-affiliated broadcaster has reported. |
39835224 | Unsurprisingly these year's ranking of the UK's richest 1,000 people by the Sunday Times continues to be dominated by financiers, hedge funders and property tycoons.
Yet delve a bit deeper and the list reveals some less obvious ways to become one of the super-rich.
We look at six of the career choices which you wouldn't typically bet on to bring in the big bucks.
"The egg market is big" - that's how egg producer Noble Foods put it.
In the UK, we eat a staggering 30 million eggs every day and as chairman of Noble Foods, Peter Dean has amassed a £212m fortune from the family egg business, putting him at 534 on the list.
The company was started in the 1920s by his grandfather William Dean, who sold eggs door-to-door in rural Hertfordshire.
The firm rapidly moved from packing and selling a small amount of eggs for local grocery stores into a national business.
Always ambitious, the firm bought several other companies to speed up its growth. Just over a decade ago, Dean Food Group merged with Stonegate, controlled by lifelong egg producer Michael Kent, to create Noble Foods.
"Bringing eggs to life," is the tagline of the company, whose brands include Happy Egg and Big & Fresh as well as luxury pudding brand Gu.
Never underestimate how much people love their pets. Most owners think of their animals as members of the family and are willing to spend big to prove it, making it a lucrative industry.
British husband and wife duo Tony and Christina Quinn - listed at number 446 with a £255m joint fortune - set up their business catering to pampered pets after emigrating to Australia.
Their chilled pet food business VIP Pet Foods focused on the gourmet end of the market for cats and dogs, offering a "Fussy Cat" range and vacuum-packed fresh minces.
The pair sold the business in 2015 for AU$410m - the equivalent of £250m today.
Thomas Warburton and his wife Ellen opened a grocery shop in 1870. When sales fell in 1870, Ellen switched to baking bread, with her loaves becoming an instant success.
Almost 150 years on, Warburtons is still a private family owned business managed by the fifth generation of Warburtons Jonathan, Ross and Brett.
The firm now sells £500m a year's worth of bread, crumpets, fruit loaf, muffins, tea cakes and wraps. It claims over a quarter of all bakery products eaten in the UK are produced by them.
Their enduring popularity has made them plenty of dough - putting the Warburton family at 225 on the list with a £545m fortune.
Everyone needs to wash. Soap brand Imperial Leather has helped power Anthony Green, former chairman of household products firm PZ Cussons, and the Zochonis family, descendants of company founder George Zochonis, to 170th on the list with a £541m fortune.
The Manchester-based company is now behind a range of household products from Charles Worthington hair care to self-tanning brand St Tropez.
The firm actually started out as a commodities trader in the 1880s, but by 1948 had switched to manufacturing, opening its first soap factory in Nigeria.
Boxes of juice may seem a pretty everyday item now. But back in the 1950s, sterile and watertight containers were seen as a novel alternative to glass bottles.
Tetra Pak founder Ruben Rausing came up with the idea after watching his wife make sausages by tying up the ends, and wondering if a similar system would work for milk, according to the New York Times.
Last year the firm sold 188 billion Tetra Pak packages.
The invention has made the Rausing family rich, propelling Ruben's son Hans Rausing and family - who have now sold their 50% stake in the business - to number 11 on the rich list with a £650m fortune.
Starting out as a market trader isn't an obvious route to wealth, yet at least one person on the list started out this way.
Former market trader Chris Dawson founded the Range discount stores which he describes as "the working man's John Lewis". Together with his wife Sarah Dawson, he's now worth £1.9bn and ranked 67th on the list.
The "pile it high, sell it cheap" approach has helped three other discounters make the grade.
Home Bargains chain founder Tom Morris and family rank 39th with a wealth of over £3bn, followed by Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora - the brothers behind the B&M discount store chain. Together the brothers are listed at 65, and are collectively worth £1.92bn.
Poundstretcher owners and brothers Rashid and Aziz Tayub and family - which now have over 400 stores in the UK - come 453rd on the list with £250m.
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning | If you want to get rich fast, then donning a pinstriped suit and heading for the City has traditionally been seen as the most straightforward path to wealth. |
40704687 | The 22-year-old was released by Championship side Derby County in the summer and joined the Glovers on trial.
Santos was born in Sao Paulo and moved to England at the age of 12, where he was at Stoke City and Bristol Rovers before joining Derby in 2014.
Glovers manager Darren Way said: "Alefe has been unlucky at Derby with a high turnover of managers, but I think he's a special talent."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Yeovil Town have signed Brazil-born winger Alefe Santos on a two-year deal. |
31999509 | Wake Up Wigan wants an area-wide vote on whether an elected mayor and other devolved powers are wanted.
A deal for devolution to Greater Manchester was announced in November.
The campaign's Stephen Hall said it was "hard to fathom how something which is supposed to empower the people shouldn't involve them".
When the devolution deal was revealed, the Chancellor George Osborne said it was "a massive moment for the north of England" that would "give Mancunians a powerful voice".
Mr Hall, the president of the Association of Greater Manchester Trade Unions Councils, said the lack of a referendum was "preventing a proper discussion on devolution and what people might ideally like to see".
He said he agreed with devolution in principle, but was against "devolution by diktat, rather than consensus".
"It's not as if the public have been involved in this, whatsoever," he said.
"People should be involved in a discussion about what devolution should look like, rather than being told 'This is what you're having, whether you like it or not'.
"Surely there must be a better way of devolving power than this."
It was revealed in January that the region would have an interim mayor from June, who would be chosen from existing council leaders. Elections for a regional mayor will be held in 2017. | Greater Manchester should hold a referendum on devolution to avoid "a massive democratic deficit", campaigners in Wigan have said. |
22178765 | The 7.8-magnitude quake, the most powerful to hit Iran for more than 50 years, caused 35 deaths in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
The National Disaster Management Authority say a further 150 people there have been injured.
The quake shook tall buildings as far away as India and the Gulf States.
It struck in the Iranian province of Sistan Baluchistan at about 15:14 local time (10:44 GMT) on Tuesday close to the city of Khash, which has a population of nearly 180,000, and Saravan, where 250,000 people live.
Its depth was about 95km (59 miles).
By Shahzeb JillaniBBC News, Quetta
The area most affected on the Pakistani side is a remote location close to the Iran border called Mashkel. Getting there from the provincial capital Quetta can take 10-12 hours.
Travelling by road in Balochistan is considered very risky because of frequent attacks and kidnappings blamed on separatist insurgents and extremist Sunni groups.
Baloch nationalists in turn accuse the Pakistani army of widespread abuses and keeping the province effectively under army occupation, with tens and thousands of paramilitary troops deployed across the country's largest province.
Since Tuesday, the army has sprung into action to fly helicopters to deliver medicines, rations and tents to the earthquake survivors. Many believe the army is keen to project its soft image in an otherwise hostile part of the country.
"The epicentre of the quake was located in the desert, and population centres do not surround it. There were no fatalities in the towns around the epicentre," an Iranian crisis centre official, Morteza Akbarpour, was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Isna.
Iran's Fars news agency said the depth of the quake reduced its impact to the size of a magnitude-4.0 tremor on the surface.
All communications to the region have been cut and the Iranian Red Crescent said it was sending 20 search-and-rescue teams to the area.
However, fatalities were soon reported in Pakistan, mostly in the Mashkel district of Balochistan.
Officials said homes had collapsed and army and paramilitary forces were being sent to help the relief effort.
Two military helicopters carrying medical teams were on their way and would have troops in support, they said.
The area has since been shaken by several strong aftershocks including one on Wednesday of magnitude 5.7.
Eyewitness reports
Iran's vulnerability to earthquakes
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying the organisation stood ready to help "if asked to do so" and the US also offered assistance.
The quake was felt over a wide area.
Tuesday's earthquake was about 180 times stronger in energy release than a 6.3-magnitude quake that struck on 10 April near the nuclear plant at Bushehr in south-western Iran. That quake killed at least 37 people and wounded 850.
The Bushehr plant was not damaged by the earlier earthquake, and an official at the Russian firm that built the plant said it had not been damaged by Tuesday's earthquake either, Reuters reported.
Scientists say earthquakes in south-eastern Iran are triggered by the clash between the Arabia and Eurasia tectonic plates, the former of which is pushing north at a rate of several centimetres each year.
In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake destroyed much of the south-eastern city of Bam and killed some 26,000 people. | Pakistan has sent troops to help its citizens affected by a powerful earthquake that struck just over the border in south-east Iran. |
35800717 | John David Hulme, 55, denies charges which relate to more than £800,000 in public money paid to Padarn Bus Ltd in claims for concessionary fares.
The offences allegedly occurred between July 2011 and December 2012, before he was suspended as the firm's managing director on an unrelated matter.
The trial is being held at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told the jury a fraud existed but added: "You have to decide whether Mr Hulme was involved in it. That's the issue you will want to concentrate on throughout the case."
The prosecution counsel told jurors fraudulent claims totalling £814,655.78 were made between July 2011 and March 2014 when the fraud came to light.
The total, which had been falsely claimed by the company at the point Mr Hulme, from Caernarfon, was suspended in December 2012 was £495,857.08.
The jury heard a second man, Darren Price, of Llanrug, the operations manager at Padarn Bus Ltd, had already pleaded guilty to charges relating to fraud offences.
Mr Hulme was "intimately" involved although he claimed he had become suspicious that something wrong was going on before he was suspended, prosecutor Matthew Dunford said.
The fraud allegation against Mr Hulme involves making false representations to Gwynedd council over concessionary fare passenger numbers.
The second charge involves a falsified document presented to the council.
Jurors were told Padarn Bus Ltd was formed in 2009 when Padarn Bus and KMP buses merged and it was a "substantial local company" employing 79 staff with a fleet of 43 buses.
But Mr Dunford said the company had borrowed heavily at the time of the merger and by 2011 it owed money to the taxman.
Chartered accountant Simon Thelwall-Jones was brought in to help out and the fraud came to light when operations manager Price told him: "I have got something to tell you."
The accountant immediately contacted Gwynedd Council and police were also informed.
The trial continues. | A former Gwynedd bus company boss has gone on trial accused of fraud and false accounting. |
18279513 | A mystery borrower slipped the book discreetly through the letterbox at the county library at the weekend.
It was checked out in 1932.
County librarian Ciaran Mangan said he was just delighted to see it back.
''It was an item that had been out on loan effectively since it was published and put into stock and the system in 1932," he explained.
"As good Christians, we decided we would waive the fine if the person appears in person and confesses to having returned the book."
There are no details on the original borrower because the library's computerised records only date back to 1994.
However, someone may have had their conscience pricked because the overdue book is a pictorial record of the 31st International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932.
The 50th International Eucharistic Congress takes place in Dublin next month.
The book has generated a lot of interest.
"We believe it was well cared for and was probably shelved with the family's collection, getting lost among their own books," said Mr Mangan.
"We have it on display as it is attracting a lot of attraction." | A library book has been returned to Navan library in the Republic of Ireland ... 80 years late. |
40714515 | That was the stark assessment a long-time China watcher gave me while discussing what's happening to one of the country's richest men, Wang Jianlin.
Mr Wang, once considered a Beijing favourite, seems to have fallen foul of the establishment.
His business, Dalian Wanda, grew into one of the country's most prominent property developers.
And overseas it has invested heavily too, most noticeably in Hollywood - controlling the AMC cinema chain as well as Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of hit films including Godzilla and The Dark Knight Rises.
But China is now reportedly ordering banks and financiers to stop lending to several high profile firms - including Wanda.
That forced it to suddenly sell off theme parks and hotels to raise cash and reduce debt. A subsequent rejigging of the deal just added to the picture of chaos.
"The business strategy of the company is changing, and is a bit unpredictable," Cindy Huang from S&P Global Ratings told me.
"Just a couple of weeks ago, the chairman was signing new theme park projects...but then decided to sell off 91% of the company's theme parks to a rival developer. The transaction is unusual."
That's putting it mildly. So what could lead a smart and savvy business operator like Mr Wang to make such a seemingly crazy U-turn?
Well there's speculation he couldn't do much else. Certainly if reports are to be believed, the clampdown on companies spending money overseas has come from the very top - President Xi Jinping himself.
And that's because while many in the West are concerned about "black swans" - rare, unexpected events that threaten financial markets - China has a different animal in its sights: "grey rhinos".
The term refers to large, visible problems in an economy which are often ignored - until they start moving fast and trampling everything in their wake.
And in this case the term it's being applied to a group of the country's corporate giants which despite growing so big and borrowing so much, were seen as untouchable because of their political connections.
But not any more.
A recent front page report in state mouthpiece People's Daily, warned of the need to avoid these grey rhinos, which as well as Dalian Wanda, also include:
Stocks and bonds of these companies fell as investors struggled to make sense of Beijing's new economic priorities.
"No one will touch these companies for a while," Dickie Wong of Kingston Financial Services told me.
"And don't expect these companies to invest or acquire any assets overseas. They will go quiet for a while."
In the past though, companies like Dalian Wanda had been actively encouraged by Beijing to go forth and conquer.
As I wrote in a piece last year about Chinese acquisitions, China Inc. went on a spending spree and was among the most active investors in UK, US and Australian property markets.
That splurge fuelled by cheap loans from state-owned banks. The powers-that-be in Beijing approved of this economic colonialism because, frankly, it made China look good.
"I'm a little bit sympathetic to Wanda, HNA and the like," Christopher Balding, an economics and politics professor at Peking University told me.
"Twelve months ago what they were doing was being heavily encouraged by Chinese regulators... because Beijing wanted to improve its soft power. Now, they've clearly fallen into a bit of a mess."
And this isn't just a Chinese problem.
If China's corporations stop spending cash overseas, then that's that's going to have knock-on effects for the global economy.
Chinese money has helped to push property prices up in many parts of the world (though that's not always a good thing, as those trying to get on the housing ladder in cities like London, Sydney and Melbourne will emphatically tell you).
And if demand dries up as Chinese businesses keep their hands in their pockets, global asset prices may drop too.
But what this really shows, above all else, is a government reasserting control.
And it's doing so in a way that directly contradicts Beijing's claims to be developing an economy more driven by free markets.
That opening up might be happening in one direction - for example allowing money into China through the Bond Connect programme and China's inclusion on the MSCI emerging markets index.
But from Beijing's recent moves, getting money out of China is becoming much harder. | "Nobody is safe". |
33034999 | The world number one resumed leading by two sets to one and with the match 3-3 in the fourth after a storm had halted play on Friday evening.
Murray took the fourth set on Saturday's resumption but Djokovic came through 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-1.
The 28-year-old Serb will face Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in the final on Sunday.
Djokovic has now won 28 matches in a row, and another victory would make him only the eighth man to complete the set of all four Grand Slam titles.
His hopes were threatened for the first time on Friday evening as Murray launched a stirring comeback, and the top seed looked in real danger when the Briton grabbed the fourth set on Saturday.
"I'm very glad that I managed to finish this match as a winner," said Djokovic.
"I was hoping I can do it before, but I don't think I have done too much wrong, even today in the fourth. He just came up with some great shots, great points."
Murray said: "Last night before we came off the crowd were really into it and it was a good atmosphere. I was obviously motivated to come out today and try to turn the match around.
"I played a loose game on my serve the first game of the [final] set with the new balls. I missed I think three balls long in that game.
"Then I think Novak relaxed a little bit after that and he hit the ball extremely accurate."
Both men had appeared nerveless as just one point went against serve in Saturday's opening four games, but it was Djokovic who faltered first at 5-5 amid some brilliant, punishing baseline rallies.
Murray's defensive skills began to draw errors and the Scot raised his fist in triumph after sealing the vital break, before closing the set out on serve.
The crowd, enjoying an unexpected bonus ahead of the women's final, rose to acclaim his effort against a player who had seemed invincible for much of the tournament.
Djokovic has been ruthless when it has counted during his unbeaten run, however, finishing off nine-time champion Rafael Nadal 6-1 in the quarter-finals, and with two love sets against Murray to his name this season.
Once again, the world number one powered away in the final stages.
A half-chance passed Murray by when he netted a regulation backhand at deuce in the opening game of the decider, and a poor service game of four errors then cost him dear.
Djokovic resumed the clinical display that had seen him through the first two sets on Friday, powering one rocket of a forehand down the line before breaking again to all but secure victory.
Murray had been on a 15-match winning run on clay coming into the match but in the closing stages could do nothing to avoid an eighth successive defeat by his rival since childhood. | Novak Djokovic saw off a thrilling fightback from Andy Murray to win their French Open semi-final in five sets. |
36838511 | Banks, 23, has joined on a two-year deal after leaving Chesterfield, where he won the League Two title in 2014.
He started his career at Rotherham but was moved on to spells at a number of non-league clubs before he joined the Spireites in 2013.
Former England Under-21 international Clarke, 34, has signed a one-year deal after his one-season stay at Bury.
Clarke has made more than 600 professional appearances for seven different clubs including Everton, Blackpool and Huddersfield.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | League One side Oldham Athletic have signed midfielder Ollie Banks and defender Peter Clarke. |
Subsets and Splits