id
int64 10.1M
41.1M
| dialogue
stringlengths 15
174k
⌀ | summary
stringlengths 1
399
|
|---|---|---|
37,230,194 | The 24-year-old played more than 200 times for the Rams in the Championship and signed a three-deal at Turf Moor on transfer deadline day.
The Clarets had a bid for Hendrick turned down earlier this summer.
Hendrick had an impressive Euro 2016 campaign in June, helping the Republic of Ireland progress out of the group stage.
"The Premier League was a big draw for me and it's where I aspire to be after the summer I've had," Hendrick told the club website.
"Burnley did so well last year going unbeaten for five months and how much they wanted me this summer was a real positive."
A product of the Derby academy, he made his Rams debut in April 2011 and has gone on to score 27 goals in 214 games.
Burnley's previous record signing came earlier this month when they signed Belgium midfielder Steven Defour for £8m from Anderlecht.
Meanwhile, Clarets defender Danny Lafferty has joined League One side Sheffield United on a season-long loan.
Austrian youth international Renny Smith, 19, has also left Turf Moor, moving to Italian Serie B side Vicenza in a permanent deal.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Burnley have completed a club record £10.5m deal to sign Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick from Derby. |
26,705,235 | The 30-year-old from Preston, who finished runner-up last year, battled past unseeded Sherbini 11-7 6-11 11-9 5-11 11-9 in Penang, Malaysia.
Already the British Open champion, Massaro's win follows compatriot Cassie Campion's victory of 15 years ago.
It was an emotional battle for me today
England's Nick Matthew won the men's world title in Manchester in November.
Massaro joins Matthew as a 2013 world champion after Penang hosted the event this week following the failure to secure a venue during the calendar year.
"For me and Nick to both be world champions at the same time is great," said Massaro.
"I'm so proud of what he's achieved as well. He's someone I really look up to, so to emulate what he's done by becoming world champion is very special.
"I never dreamed that I would be able to say that I was the British Open champion and the world champion, but now I can."
Malaysian Nicol David had won seven of the last eight women's world championships, including the last five, and had been a huge favourite to add another victory in front of her home crowd.
However, Sherbini produced one of the biggest shocks in the sport's history when and the world junior champion went close to taking the senior title against Massaro.
The 18-year-old Egyptian twice came back from a game down to force a fifth, and looked on course for a stunning win at 4-0 up in the decider.
But Massaro used her experience to haul herself level at 6-6 and from 8-8 earned two match balls at 10-8, converting the second to claim the biggest victory of her career.
"I can't actually believe that I'm world champion," said Massaro, who against Malaysia's Low Wee Wern.
"It was an emotional battle for me today. That's the hardest match I've ever played in my life, by far, especially knowing that I wasn't playing Nicol and that there was an opportunity there that I didn't want to miss.
"I felt really nervous, but I feel this whole tournament has been based around being mentally strong and being gritty when it counts, and that's what I'm most proud of.
"People actually have to beat me, they are never given the game."
Asked about her opponent, Massaro added: "She is the future of the game. I'm glad I managed to get a win while I still could." | Laura Massaro beat Egyptian teenager Nour El Sherbini in a dramatic final to become England's first female squash world champion since 1999. |
34,063,623 | Graham Palmer unearthed the unexploded British Army grenade in Gunthorpe, Peterborough, while digging a drainage trench with a pick axe.
He said bomb experts told him the relic once had a 20-metre (66ft) "kill zone".
"I didn't know what to do with it, so I lobbed it and took cover in the conservatory," said Mr Palmer.
He uncovered the explosive on Saturday after striking some surrounding stones while working in his back garden.
After prising the metal object out of the ground, he said it immediately reminded him of his old toy Action Man grenades.
He decided to launch it across his back garden and take shelter but when nothing happened after "three or four minutes", Mr Palmer alerted police.
RAF Wittering Bomb disposal experts arrived and identified it as a Mills grenade, used by the British Army between 1915 and 1972, but could not date it more accurately owing to its condition.
Mr Palmer said they told him some "terrifying facts" given that he had levered it out of the ground minutes before.
He said: "There is a kill zone on these things of 20-30m (66-98ft), with a maiming zone of 50m (164ft), and there's me sitting on the deckchair no more than 15m (49ft) away having a cup of tea."
The grenade was X-rayed before being detonated elsewhere.
An RAF Wittering spokesman said: "If a member of the public ever finds something of this nature we would urge them not to attempt to touch it or move it.
"They must call the police straight away."
Cambridgeshire Police said it was not known how the device ended up in the garden but it was "non-suspicious". | A DIY enthusiast has told how he dug up a hand grenade in his garden before "lobbing" it across his lawn and hiding in his house in fear of his life. |
40,100,934 | Lady Susan Zetland, 77, of Aske Hall, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, tried to cross the A66 at the Hargill junction on 4 July.
Teesside Crown Court heard there was a contraflow put in place and cones indicating cars should only turn left onto the dual carriageway.
Zetland had admitted careless driving, but denied being dangerous.
After three hours of deliberation, jurors cleared her of the more serious charge.
Zetland had been on the way to the gym when her car was hit by a Nissan Qashqai after she pulled out in front of it, the court heard.
She was then spun into the other lane in her Subaru Outback and was hit by a lorry driving the other way.
She told the court her memory was "fuzzy" about the incident, adding: "I did not realise I had made the decision to go because the next thing I knew I had been hit."
Rod Hunt, defending, told the court that two of the signs on the approach to the A66 had in fact been incorrect as they said there was no access to the road at all.
He also said one of the cones preventing cars going straight across or to the right was missing, leaving a gap.
It was "a puzzle of signs and cones where people had to work it out themselves", he said.
Judge Howard Crowson said he completely agreed with the verdict, fined her £500 and placed six points on her licence.
Speaking afterwards, Zetland said: "I'm delighted and relieved. It's not something I want to go through again.
"It's not put me off driving, I'm glad it's over." | An aristocrat who caused a three-car crash on a busy road has been cleared of dangerous driving. |
40,196,565 | The jewel was expected to fetch £350,000, but went for almost double that at Sotheby's on Wednesday.
The owner believed the "exceptionally-sized" stone was a piece of costume jewellery when she bought it at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, west London, in the 1980s.
Unaware it was a 26 carat diamond, she wore it daily for decades.
The cushion-shaped white diamond is thought to have been from the 19th Century.
Ahead of the sale, the head of the auction house's London jewellery department, Jessica Wyndham, said: "The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day. It's a good looking ring.
"No-one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all. They enjoyed it all this time."
Ms Wyndham said the owner - who does not want to be identified - assumed it was not a genuine gemstone because it was in a "filthy" mount and it did not have the sparkle of a diamond.
It wasn't until after 30 years of wearing the ring that the owners took it to Sotheby's and a jeweller told them it may be valuable.
After paying £10 for a floral vase at a car boot sale, the Hampshire-based owner decided to sell it on eBay.
When bids soared to £10,000, he withdrew it - and sought professional help in identifying just what he'd bought.
The £10 pot was, in fact, a rare enamel "two quails" vase, thought to have been made at Beijing's Imperial Palace at least 220 years ago.
John Axford, Asian art expert at Woolley & Wallis auctioneers, confirmed the "excellent investment" bore the four-character mark of Qianlong - the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty - and would have been made in the palace workshop between 1736 and 1795.
The firm sold the vase in Salisbury in November 2016, where it made £61,000, including buyer's premium. That was double its guide price of £30,000.
Read more about car boot discoveries here
Another eye-catching item from the Sotheby's sale was a Cartier diamond brooch worn by Margaret Thatcher.
It was worn the day she offered her resignation as Prime Minister to the Queen.
With its geometric chevron design, the brooch was eventually sold for £81,250, having been estimated to fetch up to £35,000.
Proceeds from that sale will be donated to charity.
Ms Wyndham said: "It was a thrill to bring the hammer down on two objects which have been the subject of so much interest and attention over the last few weeks and to see that attention translate into such strong bidding competition." | A diamond ring bought at a car boot sale for £10 has been sold for £656,750 at auction in London. |
23,766,274 | Al Jazeera America will be available in almost 48 million US households, offering 14 hours of news each day.
The new network replaces Current TV, the cable television network founded by former US Vice President Al Gore, which the Qatar-owned broadcaster acquired in January 2013 for around $500m (£308m).
However, it has yet to sign agreements with major operators, such as Time Warner Cable, to carry the channel.
Al Jazeera America said that they will give less airtime than other US networks to advertising, typically carrying six minutes of adverts each hour, less than the industry average of 15 minutes.
By Nick BryantBBC News, New York
From the thumping beat of its news anthems to the familiar faces of its on-screen talent, Al-Jazeera America looks and feels like a US network.
It claims the new channel will look at news through an American lens. Why, it has even opened a bureau in Nashville, the country and western capital.
Its main problem is reputational. Al Jazeera was the network of choice when Osama Bin Laden wanted to broadcast threats to the world. Some Americans confuse Al-Jazeera with Al-Qaeda. Some actively conflate the two.
The channel's big-name hire Ali Velshi, a former CNN presenter who made his name covering the 2008 financial crash, draws an interesting analogy with Japanese products launched in America.
Honda and Toyota overcame consumer animosity because their products proved so attractive. He says the same will be true of Al-Jazeera America, with its emphasis on hard news rather than punditry and comment, a point of difference with Fox News, the market leader, and MSNBC, the number two.
So, the new channel faces a dual challenge: is there still an appetite for straight news, and will Americans trust Al-Jazeera to deliver it.
Globally, Al Jazeera is seen in more than 260 million homes in 130 countries.
However, the network has previously struggled to attract a US audience, partly due to it being perceived as anti-American.
In 2010, Al-Jazeera English blamed a "very aggressive hostility" from the administration of former President George W Bush for reluctance among US cable companies to show the network.
After the takeover of Current TV was announced in January 2013, Time Warner Cable dropped Current from its line-up.
"Our agreement with Current has been terminated and we will no longer be carrying the service. We are removing the service as quickly as possible," the nation's second-largest TV operator said.
Al Jazeera said that its new schedule "fulfils its promise to provide unbiased in-depth coverage of domestic and international news important to its American viewers".
"We're breaking in with something that we think is unique and are confident, with our guts and some research, that the American people are looking for," said Kate O'Brian, president of Al Jazeera America and a former ABC News executive.
The new US network will employ around 850-900 journalists at launch, based in 12 US cities. | Al Jazeera is launching a new TV news channel in the United States. |
36,672,843 | The RFL has received £15m from central government to support the bid.
A mixture of 12 rugby league and other sporting venues, including Old Trafford and Wembley, will be selected if the bid is successful in the autumn.
England, which hosted the 2013 contest, is the first country to confirm its bid with potential rival submissions from South Africa and North America.
The government will also supply an additional £10m to the RFL to benefit rugby league infrastructure in the north of England.
The RFL states 80% of World Cup games will be held in Lancashire and Yorkshire if the bid is successful, with "showpiece fixtures" in London, the Midlands and the North East. It wants to get one million supporters to attend across the 31 games.
"The idea of playing alongside my brothers and team-mates - not only on home soil, but in the country's most iconic venues in front of packed out crowds - is so exciting," said England international Sam Burgess.
The 2021 edition of the World Cup will be the biggest since 2000 with 16 teams and 31 matches. | England will bid to host the World Cup in 2021, the Rugby Football League (RFL) has announced. |
33,904,838 | And on Saturday morning UK time, Richie McCaw became the most-capped player in Test history when he made his 142nd appearance for world champions New Zealand, breaking the record he jointly held with former Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll.
In perhaps the ultimate team game, flanker McCaw has earned his individual record by being the ultimate team man - the one who leads from the front, the one others want to follow.
"I've never seen a man play through what he plays through. The hits he goes through and injuries he plays with that people don't know about," veteran All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu told BBC Sport.
"You wouldn't be able to tell when you see him running out there, he always looks like Richie when he's in the black jersey, you know? And being a good man; a good Kiwi bloke... Skip's a skip."
Former All Blacks winger Rico Gear says it is McCaw's leadership that makes him extraordinary.
"Richie's probably not the most talented rugby player compared to other guys, but certainly what he has well above anybody else - which is why he's the captain - is his ability to lead the guys around," said Gear.
"He's uncompromising and he leads with his actions. His body is on the line and he somehow keeps going. That's inspirational."
Now 34 and a three-time winner of the world player of the year award, two poor Super Rugby seasons had seen some sniping at McCaw, but the lure of being part of the first team to retain the World Cup seems to have given him a new lease of life.
The All Blacks' most successful captain is happy to play down his role in the world champions' ongoing success.
"A lot of your talking and discussing is done before you're on the field, he said. "There are times where you just look at each other and know what you talked about is happening.
"You don't often need to say much, sometimes a look is enough, especially if you've played together a while. You understand the situations and then you know what to do."
Media playback is not supported on this device
McCaw's favourite victory is the 8-7 World Cup final triumph over France in 2011, when a broken foot meant every step he took during the match felt "like stepping on a red-hot lump of coal".
He also highlights the 48-18 second Test win over the British and Irish Lions in Wellington in 2005, when he was Tana Umaga's vice-captain, as one of his most memorable days in an All Black shirt.
All Test careers must come to an end at some point, even those of the greats, and Ardie Savea, the unbeaten 2013 European tour's "apprentice" to McCaw, says it is "surreal" being considered a leading contender - along with Sam Cane - for the captain's number seven jersey after the World Cup.
"Richie's a legend in the game. No-one will ever be a Richie again. What he's done with the seven jersey has raised the bar so high," said Savea.
The 21-year-old raised his formidable arms towards the heavens, adding: "It's a good challenge."
Whoever does succeed McCaw will have to replace "someone special", in the words of outside centre and vice-captain Conrad Smith.
He added: "You look at him and know he's not a guy you're ever going to worry about. His mind's in the right place."
McCaw's fellow Otago Boys' High boarders say he was hard-working back then, hitting the books at his desk till late every night.
His 99.4% for sixth-form maths is seen in his precise calculus between the white chalk lines during games.
"At my best, I live in that split second of time and space at the breakdown, a collision zone where 100kg-plus bodies are charging from diverse points of the compass towards a small ovoid focus. Success or failure can be measured in microseconds," as McCaw put it in his autobiography 'The Open Side'.
Kieran Crowley, part of the New Zealand squad that won the inaugural World Cup in 1987, was an All Blacks selector for McCaw's first World Cup in 2003.
"Richie is a great leader, he has the charisma that makes players want to follow him and play for him," said Crowley.
"On-field he always leads by example. Off-field his personality is natural and he has a genuine empathy for other people."
McCaw comes from a long line of "good Kiwi blokes" who were also "inspirational and uncompromising" leaders, with Smith naming iconic former All Blacks Colin Meads, Brian Lochore and Ian Kirkpatrick as the current captain's forebears.
During the middle of the challenging 2009 season, after South Africa beat the All Blacks three times in a row, McCaw invoked Lochore and co in a "moment of clarity" at an Auckland camp.
He laid an All Black jersey in front of his men at the Heritage Hotel and said: "There've been some great men who spilt blood for this jersey, made sacrifices. The toughness, ruthlessness, power, pace. The want. That's got to come from within, the inner desire to spill some blood if that's what it takes."
But while McCaw may be tough and ruthless on the pitch, Smith says that off it he remains firmly grounded.
"Whether it's [star fly-half] Dan [Carter] or Richie," Smith said, "they're normal people. That surprises some people.
"They think because they're a superstar they're going to be different, or do things differently, but they're just like anyone else.
"They have their quirky things about them in the same way anyone else does; and you realise they're fragile as well, they have feelings, they'll feel insecurities... they're still human beings."
On Saturday the All Blacks bounced back from last weekend's first loss to Australia for four years as they won the return Test in Auckland to retain the Bledisloe Cup.
Now comes the so far unconquerable challenge - to retain the World Cup.
Is New Zealand's captain confident of retaining the Cup? McCaw is ever crisp: "We're going to have a good crack at it." | He is the "good Kiwi bloke" who is the "inspirational and uncompromising" captain of the world's greatest rugby team. |
38,871,567 | Hearts almost got off to a flying start, but Esmael Goncalves shot straight at goalkeeper Ofir Marciano.
Chances were in short supply and it took until just before half-time for Jason Cummings to test Hearts goalkeeper Jack Hamilton.
Marciano denied Bjorn Johnsen as a game of poor quality went to a replay.
When the sides meet again on Wednesday, 22 February, Hibs will be hoping for a repeat of last season when they followed a 2-2 draw at Tynecastle with a 1-0 win before going on to beat Rangers in the final.
Neil Lennon's side not only denied Hearts a third-straight win but stretched their unbeaten run against their Edinburgh rivals to five games - and a 10th-straight game without defeat in all competitions.
Hibs have taken command at the top of the Championship, but Lennon showed his unhappiness at the loss of two home points by making five changes from the side that drew with Ayr United last weekend.
The manager's decision was also motivated by the state of a rutted Tynecastle pitch that resembled a badly maintained golf tee.
Lennon had warned pre-match that the match would be more "up and at them" and that was reflected in the starts handed to the more physical Jordon Forster in defence and Marvin Bartley in midfield.
Former Norwich City player Grant Holt was given the central striking role for an all-our-yesterdays battle in the Hearts penalty box with Aaron Hughes, two years the senior at 37 and someone he knows well from many a battle in the Premier League.
It was no surprise either that, within a minute of kick-off, James Keatings had whipped a dangerous corner straight at Hamilton considering the goalkeeper's recent difficulties with crosses.
What came as a shock was that, considering the robust play that followed, it took 29 minutes for referee Willie Collum to show the first yellow card. It was given to Darren McGregor for a shoulder charge that left Hearts captain Don Cowie needing several minutes to clear his head and steady his legs.
Ian Cathro's masterplan as Hearts head coach has started to take shape with successive Premiership wins over Rangers and Motherwell and Goncalves' goalscoring instincts have been central to that.
The Portuguese was handed a lone striking role, with misfiring Johnsen dropped to the bench, and it almost paid off within three minutes as he latched on to Lennard Sowah's fine pass but shot straight at Marciano.
Alexandros Tziolis has been a revelation in a holding midfield role, but even he was finding it difficult to retain his poise and the bobbly pitch and Hibs' man-marking combined to gradually wrestle away his early control of midfield.
The Greece international handed Hibs their best sight at goal yet with a loss of possession that allowed Cummings to warm Hamilton's palms and the ball rebounded off Holt and back into the goalkeeper's arms.
Hibs were looking the more dangerous in an even game, but Cathro had introduced Johnsen for midfielder Malaury Martin, who had been by-passed by the speed of play, at half-time and it took an elongated leg of Marciano to deny the American's fine first-time shot from 12 yards.
The introduction of Arnaud Djoum, fresh, or not so fresh, from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon, introduced some extra drive into Hearts' midfield.
However, it was Hibs who had the best opportunity to win a scrappy affair when Holt just failed to get on the end of a Cummings shot across the face of goal.
It wasn't to be, though, and the Edinburgh rivals will do it all again at Easter Road, but it is now advantage Hibs.
Hearts head coach Ian Cathro: "It was a derby game ultimately, a lot of stoppages in play, difficult for there to be any flow in the game, so that probably made things more difficult for us.
"If we ask 'could we have played better?', the answer is 'yes, we could have'.
"Some difficult moments and we've been strong together and fought well and we're frustrated, but we look forward to the replay.
"Whatever the conditions are, they play their part, but we need to manage those things, but I don't want to focus too much on that.
"We will naturally know a bit more about the opponent for the next game, we know we are ready for the fight and we know we can match them in the fight and what we need to do is play better."
Hibernian manager Neil Lennon: "There's many ways to skin a cat and the pitch isn't conducive to playing good football, so we came here with a set way of playing because I think the pitch dictated that.
"I thought my players were excellent. There's quality players in both teams, but the game lacked quality because the pitch didn't let the quality flow.
"We had chances, they had chances and we do it again in 10 days' time.
"To have the opportunity to do that is testament to how well my players played and I thought we were the better team for large parts of the game.
"They can turn it on when they really want to. I just want them to turn it on a consistent basis.
"But we're still in the cup, we're going well in the league and the season's very much alive for us.
"We've come to a Premiership team - they beat Rangers by four the last time they played here - so there's no doubting the quality of the opposition we played, but we limited them to very few chances."
Match ends, Heart of Midlothian 0, Hibernian 0.
Second Half ends, Heart of Midlothian 0, Hibernian 0.
Foul by Arnaud Djoum (Heart of Midlothian).
Darren McGregor (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Esmael Gonçalves (Heart of Midlothian) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Esmael Gonçalves (Heart of Midlothian).
David Gray (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Arnaud Djoum (Heart of Midlothian).
John McGinn (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Lennard Sowah (Heart of Midlothian).
Fraser Fyvie (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match James Keatings (Hibernian) because of an injury.
Attempt blocked. Jamie Walker (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Andraz Struna (Heart of Midlothian).
John McGinn (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Tasos Avlonitis (Heart of Midlothian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Brian Graham (Hibernian).
Foul by Esmael Gonçalves (Heart of Midlothian).
Lewis Stevenson (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Lennard Sowah.
Substitution, Heart of Midlothian. Krystian Nowak replaces Don Cowie.
Substitution, Hibernian. Brian Graham replaces Grant Holt.
Attempt missed. Grant Holt (Hibernian) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right.
Foul by Jamie Walker (Heart of Midlothian).
Fraser Fyvie (Hibernian) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Lennard Sowah (Heart of Midlothian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by David Gray (Hibernian).
Foul by Arnaud Djoum (Heart of Midlothian).
Marvin Bartley (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Alexandros Tziolis.
Hand ball by Jason Cummings (Hibernian).
Substitution, Heart of Midlothian. Arnaud Djoum replaces Sam Nicholson.
Attempt missed. Liam Fontaine (Hibernian) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high following a corner.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Andraz Struna.
Attempt missed. Grant Holt (Hibernian) header from the centre of the box misses to the right following a corner.
Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Alexandros Tziolis.
Foul by Lennard Sowah (Heart of Midlothian).
Fraser Fyvie (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Holders Hibernian took city rivals Hearts to a Scottish Cup fifth-round replay for a second successive season after a tense stalemate at Tynecastle. |
14,191,556 | L/CPl Watkins, who was in the Brigade Advisory Group, died on Saturday.
He was on a patrol with Afghan soldiers in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province when his team was fired on.
The 24-year-old, who had served in the armed forces for four years, leaves behind his mother Jill, father Rod, and brothers Luke and Simon.
An investigation has been launched into his death after reports he was shot by a man dressed in an Afghan national army uniform.
In a statement, his family said: "Paul wanted to join the Army from a very young age. He was proud to be a soldier and was proud of what he was doing; he died doing a job that he loved.
"He was such a loving and caring son, grandson and brother. He will be very sadly missed by his family and friends who loved him dearly."
And Lt Col William Fooks, Commanding Officer 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's), said the soldier will be "missed immeasurably" but "never forgotten".
"Lance Corporal Paul Watkins was absolutely someone you'd want on your team and by your side: tough, hugely dependable and determined yet compassionate," he said.
"When all around him was frenzied activity, L/Cpl Watkins would be serenely and reassuringly calm. And combined with his arid sense of humour and his disarming grin, a big problem very quickly became no problem at all." | A British soldier who was killed in Afghanistan while on a routine patrol has been named as L/Cpl Paul Watkins by the Ministry of Defence. |
32,972,565 | Orhan Koca, who is Turkish and whose address was given as no fixed abode, denied stabbing the 22 year old to death.
Mr Magee was visiting a friend in Summerhill Park, Twinbrook, on Saturday.
He had stepped out to check on a pizza delivery when he was attacked.
Mr Magee was the son of former WBU welterweight champion Eamonn Magee Sr.
He had followed his father into the boxing ring and had a promising career ahead of him. He was also studying engineering at university.
Eamonn Magee Sr was at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Tuesday and was supported by friends and relatives.
The court was told Mr Koca, a father of three young children, had consistently denied murder from the moment of his arrest and throughout 19 police interviews.
A defence solicitor said he intended to apply for bail in four weeks' time.
"There is a full acknowledgement that this was a truly horrific crime. To have a child taken away in such brutal circumstances is the worst thing that can happen to a parent," the solicitor said.
Mr Koca, who was dressed in a grey tracksuit, sat in the dock with his arms folded and was flanked by two prison guards. At times, he looked towards Mr Magee Snr.
He answered loudly and clearly "Yes" when asked by the court clerk to confirm his identity.
A prosecuting lawyer said bail would be opposed in all circumstances.
A detective inspector told the court he believed he could connect Mr Koca to the charges.
He also said further forensic tests would be carried out on the suspected murder weapon that police believe they recovered in searches in and around the Twinbrook area.
Mr Koca was remanded in custody until 29 June. | A 32-year-old barman has appeared in court in County Armagh charged with the murder of professional boxer Eamonn Magee Jr. |
32,840,862 | Mumbai-based Zeeshan Khan applied for a job at the jewellery firm, Hari Krishna Exports, but failed to get an interview with the company.
"We regret to inform you that we only hire non-Muslim candidates," the firm said in an email reply to him.
Mr Khan, who was looking to start his professional career after finishing a business management course, said he found the reply "deeply disturbing".
"The firm's quick reply suggests that they did not even open my CV and decided to reject me only because I was a Muslim candidate," the 23-year-old told the BBC.
He posted the offensive email on Facebook and filed a complaint with the police against the firm in Mumbai.
The government in Maharashtra state has promised to conduct an inquiry.
The firm, however, said that the email to Mr Khan was mistakenly sent by a human resource trainee.
"The HR trainee who denied a job to Zeeshan Khan has been suspended. The company functions without any caste, religion or gender bias. In fact, more than 50 employees are from the minority community and people from 28 states are working in our group companies," an official of the firm told NDTV.
The firm's explanation has left many asking if it was actually telling the truth.
"Just an error? Firm's rejection of Muslim candidate raises questions," says a report in the Hindustan Times.
Other writers are angry because they feel "the atmosphere in the country has changed" since the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power last year.
"There is shock, horror and outrage in liberal circles over... this report," writes Hasan Suroor on the First Post website.
According to historian Saleem Kidwai it is "a logical culmination of the anti-minorities' tirade launched during the past one year" .
The case has also triggered discussions about "religious discrimination" on social media platforms, with many users criticising the firm.
Meanwhile, some Twitter users were quick to highlight that other forms of discrimination also exists in the country.
Landlords in some parts of the country are known for preferring tenants from specific communities.
Many believe that the practice has led to the creation of "Muslim-only or Hindu-only" housing societies in several parts of the country.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | Social media users and newspaper reports have severely criticised an Indian firm for refusing to hire a Muslim man because of his religion. |
40,838,800 | North Wales Police said two others were treated for smoke inhalation following the fire in Pen y Graig, Denbigh, on Saturday.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze just before 15:30 BST.
A joint investigation between the police and fire service is under way. The woman's next of kin have been informed. | A woman has died in a fire at a property in Denbighshire. |
11,534,042 | The average British man is 38, will live another 41 years and is educated at least to A-levels.
The figures - released to mark next week's UN World Statistics Day - show the average British woman is two years older and will live to 82.
The ONS's Jil Matheson said stats "form the backbone of democratic debate".
Many of the figures are for the UK as a whole but some, such as weight and height, only relate to England and Wales.
Ms Matheson added: "It is impossible to open a daily newspaper or watch a news broadcast without seeing references to statistics on the economy, health, education or crime.
"Every day in the UK, decisions are made and money invested based on official statistics."
The average man works 39 hours a week and earns £28,270 a year. On average, women work less - 34 hours a week - and earn less - £22,151.
The ONS said the average man in England was 5ft 9in (175.3cm) tall and weighed 13.16 stone (83.6kg).
The average woman in England weighed 11 stone (70.2kg) and was 5ft 3in tall (161.6cm).
Women living in England or Wales will have an average of 1.96 children during their lifetime, said the ONS.
The ONS also revealed the five grocery items most likely to be in the average shopping basket - a two-pint carton of semi-skimmed milk, a pack of sliced ham, a box of breakfast cereal, some bacon and a bar of milk chocolate.
The average age to get married in England and Wales was 30.8 for men and 28.8 for women but the average age for divorce was 36.9 for men and 40.8 for women.
Consequently the typical man remarried at 45.9, compared with 43.1 for women.
The ONS analysis also suggests it is women who need to do more exercise.
Only 29% of women do the recommended amount of exercise, compared with 39% of men. | A picture of the average man and woman in Britain today has been painted with the release of figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). |
30,658,853 | On Thursday 19 February the mystery will be solved - as part of EastEnders' 30th anniversary week.
A video was put up on Twitter after the dramatic New Year's Day episode, which kept everyone guessing about who the killer might be.
The revelation will be one of the birthday week highlights, which kicks off from Monday 16 February.
On New Year's Day former police officer, Emma Summerhayes, was about to reveal who Lucy's killer was when she was knocked down by Roxy Mitchell and rushed to hospital.
Emma was texting the killer when she was hit.
"But that doesn't change anything it's still murder," she said, earlier in the episode.
One half of the Beale twins, Lucy had a short but eventful life.
She's been held hostage, mugged, run away from home and made life as difficult as possible for her dad Ian Beale's various love interests.
Her body was found on Walford Common on Good Friday.
Suspects have included Lucy's lover Max and her new boyfriend Lee Carter, but it won't be long before we'll find out for sure.
Brithday celebrations will include a 30-minute live episode and there will also be a series of live elements in all the episodes that week.
Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One says: "It will bring the nation together to celebrate 30 years of EastEnders by going live across the anniversary week."
"It will mark a massive event by creating the ultimate 'doof doof' and finally reveal who killed Lucy Beale," she added.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | It's the story line that's kept us gripped for more than a year, but EastEnders bosses have finally confirmed the exact date we'll find out who killed Lucy Beale. |
38,813,877 | It had approved the relocation from the East/West Brigs ward in Galashiels to Crumhaugh House in 2015.
It said at the time that the move would address "patient care and safety issues" in the service.
However, NHS Borders said changes in provision at Galashiels had "called into question" the decision to relocate to the vacant Hawick property.
The move would have relocated 28 staff from one town to the other.
Dr Cliff Sharp, associate medical director, said: "After very careful consideration I took the somewhat unusual step of going back to the board and requesting that we did not progress with the relocation to Hawick.
"On the basis of the information presented to them the board approved the request.
"In light of this decision which has been communicated to affected patients, families, carers and our staff, I would like to assure you that the board will restart the process to find a suitable alternative use for the Crumhaugh House property." | NHS Borders has abandoned £1.87m plans to move a mental health rehabilitation unit to a former care home in Hawick. |
37,349,040 | Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the men, one of them 17, appeared to have been smuggled to Europe through some of the same channels.
They were detained after a series of pre-dawn raids in the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.
They are said to have travelled through Turkey and Greece on false passports.
They have been named only as Mahir al-H, 17, Ibrahim M, 18, and Mohamed A, 26.
Investigations so far suggest the three came to Germany in November 2015 with the intention of "carrying out a previously determined order [from IS] or to await further instructions", prosecutors said in a statement.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's office has said no concrete missions or orders have so far been found, despite the seizure of "extensive material".
Mr de Maiziere said those arrested could have constituted a "sleeper cell" - a unit of people who remain dormant and inconspicuous in a community until activated.
The suspects were arrested when 200 police and security officers raided six locations, including three refugee shelters.
The 17-year-old had been trained in handling weapons and explosives in Raqqa, IS's stronghold in Syria, prosecutors said.
They received fake passports, mobile phones loaded with a pre-installed communication programme and four-figure cash sums in US dollars.
At a news conference, Mr de Maiziere said they were trafficked into Europe by the same organisation that supported the three men who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France national football stadium in Paris on 13 November last year.
A bystander also died - one of the total of 130 people killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks that night.
Paris attacks: Who were the attackers?
"Everything points to the fact that the same smuggler organisation behind the Paris attacks also brought the three men to Germany who were arrested," Mr de Maiziere said. "Indications are that their travel documents all came from the same workshop in that region."
That showed that Western nations faced the same "shared threat" and thus "shared interests in the averting that threat" through security co-operation.
These arrests come as ministers try to reassure a nervous German public that the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers has not put the country in danger. There is a febrile national debate here around integration and domestic security which will dominate campaigning ahead of next year's general election.
The security services have long suspected that IS is using the refugee crisis to infiltrate Germany. The country's interior minister has now acknowledged that is likely. But he was at pains to point out that the authorities are investigating a relatively small number of suspects among the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals, and to emphasise that the security services investigate every intelligence lead.
The German authorities are no doubt pleased to have broken what they are describing as a sleeper cell. But the arrests will most likely simply increase public concern.
Mr de Maiziere said the men had been under observation for months.
But he also cautioned that the arrests should not raise suspicions against refugees in general.
"We are actually talking about around 60 investigations [into migrants] and that's among many hundreds of thousands of newly arrived people."
The government has been under pressure to reduce the number of refugees it admits - more than a million in 2015 - under Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" policy.
The nation remains uneasy after attacks this summer.
Over one week in July, 10 people were killed and dozens more wounded in separate gun, bomb, axe and machete attacks in the south of the country.
Islamic State appeared to play a role in two of those attacks, by asylum seekers in Wuerzburg and Ansbach. In both cases, the attackers were killed.
In early June, three Syrian men were arrested on suspicion of plotting an IS suicide attack in the western city of Duesseldorf. | German authorities are investigating whether three Syrians held on suspicion of working for so-called Islamic State had links to the Paris attackers. |
37,958,494 | Barnsley's Sam Winnall headed narrowly wide before Marley Watkins forced Wigan goalkeeper Adam Bogdan into a save.
Yanic Wildschut wasted Wigan's best chance when he scuffed a shot straight at goalkeeper Adam Davies.
Adam Hammill and Conor Hourihane had chances for the hosts, but Wigan kept out their opponents to claim a draw, which saw them drop a place to 23rd.
Joyce suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Reading in his opening game, but despite a better showing from his side against the Tykes, they dropped a place after Blackburn's 3-2 win over Brentford.
The result was Barnsley's third consecutive draw and the second game in a row in which they have failed to score.
Winnall, Watkins, Hammill and Hourihane all came close, while Adam Armstrong also had a header ruled out for offside in the second half.
The hosts nearly won it in injury time, but substitute goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen dealt with Hourihane's effort after David Perkins did well to block Hammill's shot.
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom: "My only sort of criticism would be that we didn't work the keeper enough today.
"I thought we controlled the game from start to finish and we're disappointed we didn't get the three points there, definitely. Today showed how far as a club we've come, against a team that came up with us and romped our league.
"Their set-up and line-up, playing without a striker, a centre-midfielder at right midfield and the first sub is a left-back, so that shows that they came here paying us the utmost respect, trying to nullify us, which they did."
Wigan manager Warren Joyce: "I thought we did deserve the point. The way we defended, the way the lads put their bodies on the line second half, I thought it would be a travesty if we didn't get something out of the game.
"I think if you take out the first three minutes from Reading, it wasn't too dissimilar from a lot of things that happened today.
"It's a really tough place to come here, I've been here watching a lot of games. You know how good the crowd is here, what type of football they play, so we knew it was going to be tough today so I'm pleased."
Match ends, Barnsley 0, Wigan Athletic 0.
Second Half ends, Barnsley 0, Wigan Athletic 0.
Adam Jackson (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Craig Davies (Wigan Athletic).
Attempt saved. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Bradshaw.
Attempt blocked. Tom Bradshaw (Barnsley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Barnsley. Saidy Janko replaces Adam Armstrong.
Josh Scowen (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michael Jacobs (Wigan Athletic).
Corner, Barnsley. Conceded by Reece Burke.
Attempt blocked. Josh Scowen (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marley Watkins.
Attempt missed. Adam Hammill (Barnsley) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Conor Hourihane.
Andy Yiadom (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Craig Davies (Wigan Athletic).
Substitution, Barnsley. Tom Bradshaw replaces Sam Winnall.
Foul by Adam Hammill (Barnsley).
Max Power (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Josh Scowen (Barnsley) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Conor Hourihane.
Corner, Barnsley. Conceded by Jake Buxton.
Corner, Barnsley. Conceded by Craig Morgan.
Substitution, Wigan Athletic. Craig Davies replaces Yanic Wildschut.
Attempt missed. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Sam Winnall (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic).
Attempt missed. Reece Burke (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from long range on the right misses to the left. Assisted by Michael Jacobs.
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sam Winnall (Barnsley).
Reece Burke (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Barnsley. Adam Hammill replaces Ryan Kent.
Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Michael Jacobs (Wigan Athletic).
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Stephen Warnock (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Barnsley. Conceded by Craig Morgan.
Craig Morgan (Wigan Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sam Winnall (Barnsley) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Craig Morgan (Wigan Athletic).
Attempt missed. Adam Armstrong (Barnsley) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Sam Winnall with a cross.
Attempt saved. Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Luke Garbutt with a cross. | Warren Joyce earned his first point as Wigan manager as the Latics defended well to draw with Barnsley. |
35,835,948 | The 32-year-old has featured four times for the Sky Blues since joining the League One club in January.
Ramage began his career at Newcastle and has had spells at QPR and Crystal Palace, as well as spending time on loan at Birmingham and Barnsley.
He had a spell in the Indian Super League with Kerala Blasters before his move to the Ricoh Arena.
Ramage, who can play at right-back or centre-back, is eligible to make his debut for the O's against Morecambe on Saturday.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | League Two side Leyton Orient have signed Coventry City defender Peter Ramage on a 28-day loan deal. |
34,705,278 | Ian O'Mara, 55, was walking his dog along Princess Road in West Didsbury at about 13:30 GMT on Friday when he was struck while crossing Darley Avenue.
Mr O'Mara suffered serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at Wythenshawe hospital.
His dog Tia died at the scene.
The O'Mara family said in a statement: "Ian was a fantastic husband to Glynis and father to son's Ross, Neil and Glenn. He was also a doting grandfather to Max.
"He was a well-liked, respected and much loved member of the Withington community and surrounding areas.
"Ian had lots of friends who saw him as a strong and popular individual, a man's man."
Police are continuing to appeal for information about the crash and want the driver of a dark blue or black Mercedes car to come forward.
Officers believe the driver may have witnessed the crash after stopping at the pedestrian crossing on Princess Road at the junction with Darley Avenue. | The family of a man who died after being hit by a coach while walking his dog in Manchester said he was a "well liked, respected, man's man". |
37,894,497 | David Nicholas Davies, 25, has admitted murdering Emma Louise Baum at her home in Penygroes in Gwynedd in July 2016.
However he disputes the full case against him and the hearing will determine the basis of sentence.
The court heard he stood and watched as Ms Baum's mother tried to revive her daughter's lifeless body.
Ms Baum, 22, died from multiple head wounds.
Witnesses called 999 after hearing screaming coming from her house at about 04:00 BST on Monday 18th July 2016.
When police arrived they reported all was quiet and the house was in darkness.
Ms Baum had at least 20 injuries to her head including stab, incised and puncture wounds.
The prosecution said Davies had disposed of the murder weapon or weapons before returning to his home following the attack.
Davies said he used a crowbar not a knife in the attack and did not take a weapon with him.
Opening the case, barrister Simon Mills said: "On the morning after the murder, the defendant returned to the scene and reported finding Emma Louise Baum on her back doorstep. This was at 10:36.
"Shortly afterwards, he called Emma Louise Baum's mother and told her what he'd found. It's the prosecution's case that he intended her to come to the scene because he made a second, more hysterical call shortly afterwards.
"When she came, he watched and did nothing as she performed CPR on her daughter, despite the fact that he would have known that she was dead and had been lying there for some hours."
Judge Keith Thomas heard Ms Baum and Davies' two-year-old son was left alone for 10 hours after his mother's murder.
It was alleged Davies said when he brought the boy downstairs he told him: "Oh I am so sorry. You have lost your mother.
"You can come and live with your daddy."
Davies denies earlier allegations he had been violent towards her and had made threats to kill.
Mr Mills said he could call evidence alleging Davies had previously talked about Ms Baum being "six feet under" and that he could "put her in a box".
The prosecution also claims Davies sent text messages to his victim's phone after he'd killed her in order to create an alibi for himself.
The case, known as a Newton hearing, continues. | A man who killed his ex-partner has denied using a knife or taking a weapon to the murder site, Mold Crown Court has heard. |
30,478,814 | Millions of pounds have been slashed from council budgets by central government, thousands of jobs have been lost and services affected.
This year, on Merseyside the headlines seem less dramatic, but maybe that's because the narrative of 'cuts' has become established.
In Liverpool two years ago the city council withdrew school uniform grants from 24,000 pupils whose parents struggled to afford blazers and shirts and cut funding for youth mental health.
Analysis: Arif Ansari, BBC North West political editor
Local government in the North West has been hit harder by spending cuts than any other region in England.
Ministers are trying to reduce the deficit and that means targeting the bigger budgets.
Larger city councils get the most cash to deal with the most pressing social problems.
Even if the local government budget had been frozen, council leaders would have been making savings due to rising costs, particularly adult social care. But, in fact, local government spending has been reduced more than any other department.
Labour accuses the government of punishing Northern councils at the expense of more affluent ones in the South. The government points out that they still get far more funding.
The best councils have responded by becoming much more collaborative, innovative and efficient.
But undoubtedly some are struggling to cope.
So far it's estimated North West councils have had their budgets reduced by a third since the general election. And there's no sign the pressure is about to ease.
Last year they started a consultation on closing half the city's libraries. Earlier this year, the Mayor announced they have now been 'saved'.
That said, libraries across Merseyside are still perhaps bearing the most visible brunt of the cuts. Almost all our councils have reduced opening hours - and in Sefton seven libraries have closed.
Plans to allow local community groups to run them have stalled.
Lollipop crossing patrols are also under review at most councils, with schools being asked to fund them instead of councils.
In Wirral some street lights have been turned off in a bid to save cash (though they are now back on); in Sefton charges for burials have gone up, and in Liverpool some council-run leisure centres are under threat.
Local councils are still haemorrhaging jobs. In St Helens, for example, 1,600 posts have gone since 2010.
Whilst cuts to services inevitably attract the headlines, most of the savings have been behind the scenes as councils fundamentally change the way they operate. | After four years of savings announcements from local authorities, the numbers can seem incomprehensible. |
27,972,557 | Two of the bodies were discovered underground, the other six were found on the surface of an abandoned mine.
All eight had been shot in the upper body and have not been identified, police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini said.
Correspondents say there is fierce rivalry between competing groups of illegal miners.
The land around the town of Benoni, about 30km (18 miles) east of Johannesburg, is dotted with disused mine shafts that attract men from around the region, including Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with the promise of remaining gold deposits.
The bodies of the miners were discovered by security guards on Saturday and Sunday.
"There are eight bodies which were shot execution style," Paul Ramaloko, of an elite police unit, told the AFP news agency.
Lt-Col Dlamini told the South African Press Association that the motive behind the killings was not known.
The abandoned mine is in the same area where more than 20 illegal miners were rescued in February after being trapped underground for several days.
Those miners, who were reportedly trapped by a rival gang, were arrested after they emerged from the shaft.
According to South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources, a 2008 study of the gold sector found that an estimated $509m (??309m) in revenue was lost a year as a result of illegal mining.
South Africa has some of the world's deepest gold mines and safety is a major issue. | South African police are hunting for the killers of eight illegal gold miners shot dead near Johannesburg over the weekend. |
37,010,527 | A consultation document reveals key targets to reduce deprivation significantly by 2030.
The Child Poverty Bill's objectives are more ambitious than the ones scrapped by the UK government in January.
Equalities Minister Angela Constance said: "About one in five children live in poverty. This is unacceptable in a thriving country like ours."
Speaking at the launch of the bill in Dundee, Ms Constance said: "I want to be clear that we are serious about our ambition to eradicate child poverty and I want to work with partners across Scotland to make that ambition a reality."
The bill proposes protecting families' income by law, with the aim that less than 10% of children should live in relative poverty and less than 5% in absolute poverty.
Relative poverty is where a family earns less than 60% of the national average while absolute poverty is where earnings are less than 60% of the average wage in 1999.
The consultation also suggests that less than 5% of children should live in persistent poverty or a low income or materially deprived home, which cannot afford a car or holiday for instance.
The targets, which are to be calculated after housing costs have been deducted, are to be achieved within 14 years.
Ms Constance said: "We are showing that we see child poverty and low income families as a priority.
"We will continue to strive towards equality of opportunity for everyone in Scotland and ending the cycle of poverty once and for all."
The Scottish government has already brought in measures to tackle deprivation and inequality, including promoting the Living Wage, free school meals and funded childcare.
Ms Constance said: "We have already done a lot of work in this area but we want to go further.
"We've promised children a better start in life and more opportunities as they grow up.
"We've offered parents more and better-paid jobs and greater security in which to bring up their families and we are committed to tackling deep-seated inequalities."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to introduce the Child Poverty Bill last month.
She said the UK approach was "fundamentally wrong" after the Conservative government in Westminster moved to repeal parts of the 2010 Child Poverty Act.
Ms Sturgeon also appointed expert Naomi Eisenstadt as an independent child poverty adviser.
The new consultation is intended to seek out views on the feasibility of the proposed targets and whether additional or alternative measures should be taken.
The bill will be introduced at Holyrood next year.
Ms Constance was speaking at a project intended to provide free meals to low income families over the summer. | The Scottish government has outlined its vision to end child poverty in the country. |
19,674,761 | Cybercriminals used the flaw to install the Poison Ivy trojan on users' computers.
This piece of malware can steal data or take remote control of a PC.
Microsoft said in a blog the Fix It tool was "an easy, one-click solution that will help protect your computer right away" but "not intended to be a replacement for any security update".
Microsoft said there had been an "extremely limited number of attacks".
Before releasing the fix, the company had suggested workarounds such as disabling Active X controls and Active Scripting or downloading its Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit.
Another suggestion had been to change the security-zone settings on the browser to "high" and run IE in a restricted mode.
So-called zero-day, or newly discovered, vulnerabilities are rare. According to security company Symantec, only eight such bugs were spotted in 2011.
Symantec research manager Liam O Murchu said their novelty made them dangerous.
"Any time you see a zero-day like this, it is concerning," he said. "There are no patches available. It is very difficult for people to protect themselves."
The flaw, present in all versions of Internet Explorer except IE 10, was spotted by Luxembourg-based security expert Eric Romang, when his PC was infected by Poison Ivy last week. | Microsoft has released a temporary software fix for a bug in its Internet Explorer web browser. |
35,521,535 | Trinity Mirror has confirmed Catrin Pascoe, currently editor of the South Wales Echo, will take up the post on 1 March.
Alan Edmunds, currently the newspaper's editor and editor-in-chief at Media Wales, is to become deputy editorial director for Trinity Mirror Regionals.
The daily newspaper was founded in Cardiff in 1869. | The Western Mail is to get its first female editor. |
32,955,713 | Silent Majority, painted during the 1998 Glastonbury Festival, shows soldier-like figures landing on a beach with a speaker in an inflatable raft.
Its Norfolk owners say it "depicts the ...rave and hip hop scene of the time".
The work is unusual for a Banksy piece, as it is largely freehand with little use of stencils.
Auction house Digard said it was thought to be one of the artist's oldest works.
The metal piece, painted over three days outside the festival's Dance Tent, measures 2.4m (7.8ft) by 9.9m (32ft).
Its message reads: "It's better not to rely too much on silent majorities ... for silence is a fragile thing... one loud noise and it's gone."
The elusive graffiti artist's team has provided a certificate of authenticity as part of the auction lot. It was painted in collaboration with fellow Bristol artist Inkie.
The owner, who prefers to be known by his first name, Nathan, said he organises infrastructure at festivals and lives in the trailer.
He said Banksy approached him in 1998 - before he rose to fame - to ask if he could use it as a canvas for a piece commissioned by the festival.
Nathan agreed, in return for some tickets and his expenses.
Now he says he has no definite plans for the proceeds although he may choose to build a house.
Street art specialist Mary McCarthy said the piece was "quite special" as an example of a Banksy work which did not rely heavily on stencils.
"This one really is a rare piece," she said.
It was one of more than 150 "urban art" pieces auctioned on Monday including work by artists Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Pure Evil and Conor Harrington. | An early Banksy work painted on the side of a festival worker's trailer has fetched £445,792 ($676,668) at an auction in Paris. |
34,305,936 | Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi was speaking after meeting coup leader Gen Gilbert Diendere in Ouagadougou.
Mr Boni Yayi suggested an announcement on Sunday could see the reinstatement of President Michel Kafando.
At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 hurt in clashes since Thursday's coup.
The coup in the former French colony was condemned by the US and France, and the African Union suspended Burkina Faso.
The international delegation, which also includes Senegalese President Macky Sall, held crisis talks on Saturday with Gen Diendere, who was the chief of staff to former president Blaise Compaore, deposed in a popular uprising last October.
Mr Boni Yayi said: "All the players will come together tomorrow morning (Sunday) to issue the good news to the whole world."
When pressed he said: "We are going to re-launch the transition - a transition led by civilians, with Michel Kafando," Reuters new agency reported.
One foreign diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse: "What is envisaged - and what will be done - is maintaining Kafando as head of state and for the government to complete the transition. Diendere should leave."
The head of the army, Gen Pingrenoma Zagre, had issued a statement earlier on Saturday condemning the violence against civilians and calling on the military to be professional.
He urged the people to trust the armed forces to resolve the crisis.
But impromptu roadblocks with burning tyres have been set up across the country in protest at the coup.
Andre, a student, told AFP: "We got rid of Blaise [Compaore]. It's not on for him to come back or for us to see his aide come back a year later."
Elections are due to be held in the West African nation on 11 October.
The junta leaders have said that Mr Kafando has been freed and is in good health.
However, other questions remain unanswered, including the fate of Prime Minister Isaac Zida, who was also detained when the presidential guard stormed a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Compaore is currently in exile and was accused of committing widespread abuses, and trying to change the constitution to extend his term in office.
Some of his key allies had been barred from contesting the election.
Gen Diendere has said he has had no contact with Mr Compaore and will do everything to "avoid violence that could plunge the country into chaos".
The 'heroes' of Burkina Faso's revolution
The rise and fall of Blaise Compaore
Guide to Burkina Faso | A delegation mediating in Burkina Faso after a coup this week says there has been a breakthrough and hinted the transitional government could return. |
39,456,449 | A convoy of 100 cars has driven through Bibury in an act of solidarity towards Vauxhall Corsa owner Peter Maddox, 84.
Mr Maddox has come under fire for parking his car outside his cottage in Arlington Row.
Tourists have complained that it "ruins" the view and, earlier this year, the vehicle was vandalised.
Hundreds of yellow car owners applied to join the drive-through, which had a set limit of 100 cars for safety.
Organiser Matty Bee, from Coventry, said it was "a celebration of anything yellow".
He added: "The response has been amazing and overwhelming; people from all over the country and all over the world have applied to join the group.
"We've had everything here from a three-wheeler and a Mini to a Lamborghini super car...I've never seen so many yellow coloured cars in one place."
Mr Maddox, who watched the convoy as it drove past his cottage, said he was "overwhelmed" by the show of support for his yellow car.
Bibury, near Cirencester, was once described by William Morris as "the most beautiful village in England".
The National Trust owns the 17th Century cottages of Arlington Row, which are featured on the inside cover of the British passport and are some of the most photographed dwellings in the country.
Complaints about Mr Maddox's car began in 2015 after Lee McCallum posted a picture of the car with the comment: "Picture postcard street photobombed by ugly little yellow car."
Numerous visitors then took to Twitter claiming it "ruins" the view and is a "shot spoiler".
In February, vandals scratched the word 'move' into the car's bonnet, damaged panels and smashed its windows - causing approximately £6,000 of damage.
At the time, a defiant Mr Maddox said that if it was too expensive to repair the car he would buy a replacement - in lime green.
Yellow cars | Yellow car owners have rallied in support of a vehicle blamed for ruining tourists' photographs in a picturesque Cotswold village. |
35,831,915 | Sir Declan says the new system would include "drugs courts", which would give those with a history of addiction and drug-related crime the opportunity to change their lifestyle.
In the United States and in Scotland, special drugs courts have been established for criminals with drug addictions.
Instead of prison, offenders are offered treatment and sometimes made to do community service.
The scheme has seen re-offending rates fall and now the Lord Chief Justice wants the courts to be introduced to Northern Ireland.
Speaking on BBC programme The View, he said: "There is no reason why Northern Ireland should not enjoy the same type of approach and hopefully the same benefits."
However, the idea of problem-solving courts does not please everyone. TUV leader Jim Allister is concerned.
"I think victims can rightly feel that some imbalance has crept in," said Mr Allister, who also suggested that the deterrence of crime "has been sacrificed for giving a soft landing to criminals".
DUP MLA Alastair Ross, who chairs Stormont's justice committee, is a strong supporter of problem-solving courts.
He disagrees with Mr Allister's analysis and believes fresh thinking is needed.
Mr Ross told the BBC: "We need to move away from this narrative that things are either soft on crime or tough on crime.
"What we need to do is get smarter on crime. That means looking at the evidence from elsewhere in the world and seeing what works and what does not work."
If the scheme gets the go ahead, a pilot study will operate to test its effectiveness.
One location that could be considered is Ballymena, which has a history of drug related problems and a track record of dealing with addiction.
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust operates a centre in the town for people with drug and alcohol problems.
Kathy Goumas, who is the trust's head of addiction, told The View: "We have evidence that offending does come down when people recover and are rehabilitated from drug dependencies that they find are destroying their lives, along with their communities' lives."
The idea of the new courts is supported by the Probation Board and would require funding from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health.
Justice Minister David Ford is committed to the idea and says after the assembly election in May, the issue "ought to be in the programme for government".
The lord chief justice says he hopes the changes will be up and running in the years ahead.
He told The View: "My aspiration is to see these courts well established in this jurisdiction by the time the mandate of the next assembly has completed." | The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, has told the BBC that he hopes new problem-solving courts aimed at reducing re-offending will be established in Northern Ireland. |
35,799,993 | Mr Zind made the remark in a televised interview on Friday. He immediately said "God forgive me" and apologised the following day.
He was sacked by the Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail.
It was not immediately clear who would replace Mr Zind, an outspoken critic of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree today to relieve Ahmed al-Zind ... of his position," a government statement said, giving no more details.
Egyptian judges issued a statement opposing Mr Zind's removal over what the head of the Judges Club told Reuters was a slip of the tongue that could have happened to anyone.
Abdallah Fath said: "Egypt's judges are sorry that someone who defended Egypt and its people, judiciary and nation ... should be punished in this way."
Mr Zind, a former appeals court judge, has been publicly critical of the Islamist movement which overthrew former leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and was removed from power itself by the army in mid-2013 and outlawed.
He has in the past denounced the revolt that ended Mubarak's 30-year rule and ushered in the election that brought the Muslim Brotherhood to power.
He has also been a strong defender of the judiciary and its powerful position.
Egyptian courts have been absolving Mubarak-era officials, while imposing long sentences on liberal and Islamist activists.
Egypt's judiciary has faced criticism from rights groups in the past two years after judges issued mass death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood supporters, locking up youth activists and sentencing writers and journalists.
Mr Zind's predecessor was forced to resign last May after saying the son of a rubbish collector was ineligible to serve as a judge. | Egypt's Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind has been sacked after boasting that he would jail Islam's Prophet Muhammad himself if the prophet broke the law. |
32,527,605 | There were emotional scenes as family members greeted relatives after the plane landed at Stansted Airport shortly after 03:00 BST.
Saturday's 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 5,000 people.
The Foreign Office has confirmed that one British dual national, Hemchandra Rai, 42, was killed in the disaster.
The married father-of-three lived in Hong Kong. Reports of another possible British victim killed at Mount Everest base camp are still being investigated.
Meanwhile, a boy and a woman have been rescued from collapsed buildings in Kathmandu after surviving for five days in the rubble.
The UK government is preparing to send three RAF Chinook helicopters to help the relief effort as well as giving £2.5m to the UN's Humanitarian Air Service, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said.
The military and UN helicopters will be used to ferry people and aid supplies across remote and hard to reach terrain.
Among those arriving back at Stansted on board the Department for International Development (DfID) chartered Boeing 767 - which flew aid out to Nepal on Sunday - were children and people chosen as a priority because of health conditions.
The youngest passenger was a three-month-old baby.
Husband and wife Grahame and Holly Jobes, from Sunderland, were reunited as he stepped through immigration.
Mr Jobes, who was in Nepal for a friend's wedding, later told the BBC he was in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck.
"Things were dropping down, people were running.
"I am very fortunate, I managed to get out. I was next to people who are no longer here.
"I have three children and a new baby on the way, it was just a matter of staying alive really."
Mrs Jobes, who is seven months pregnant, said she was relieved to have her husband back.
"It has been a long morning and a long night, and long few days to be honest with you, but we are very pleased to be home."
Harry Quinn, 26, from Brighton, said a hotel which had turned him away because it was full, completely collapsed with 80 people inside.
"We were among the lucky ones but we saw plenty of others who weren't so lucky."
Ingrid Chiene, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, was greeted by her sons Harry, 12, and Ethan, 10.
"When it happened the whole building was moving from side to side and we thought it was going to fall down," she said.
"We looked outside and we could see a Mexican wave of other buildings moving."
About 30 British and Irish families are reportedly still waiting for news of their loved ones who may have been in Nepal at the time of the earthquake.
Judy Ross from Bath said she feared for the safety of her daughter, Susannah Ross, 20, who is among a group of trekkers stranded in northern Nepal following Saturday's earthquake.
She has heard her daughter is alive but said she did not know what state she was in, and that she feared boulders "the size of a car" were still falling in the area.
Ms Ross added the family was struggling to get information from the authorities about whether helicopters would be sent in to carry out a rescue.
An appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has raised more than £19m in the UK - including £14m in public donations and £5m from the government, which matched the first £5m of public donations.
The UK government has also pledged £15m to Nepal in aid.
Members of a 60-strong UK International Search and Rescue (UKISAR) team have also started searching for victims on the ground - including in remote parts of Nepal - with specialist rescue dogs.
Hundreds of shelter kits and solar lanterns are among 18 tonnes of supplies from the UK which have arrived in the devastated region, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said.
A team of Gurkha engineers - 12 from 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles and six from the Queen's Gurkha Engineers - has also travelled to the country to help operate water purification equipment.
The DEC, an umbrella organisation that brings together 13 British aid charities to deal with international crises, has launched a website and donation line. | Britons caught up in the Nepal earthquake have been reunited with their families after an aid flight carrying 120 people landed in the UK. |
33,156,023 | Reports said the man was trying to rescue the woman, who had jumped on to the track near Chartham station.
British Transport Police (BTP) said emergency services were called just before 10.55 BST.
The man, in his 70s, died from his injuries. The woman, in her 30s, was treated before being taken to hospital.
She remains in a serious but stable condition.
The incident is not being treated as suspicious.
Police said both families had been informed and a report was being prepared for the coroner.
The train involved was the 10:22 BST Ramsgate to Charing Cross service, which was not due to stop at Chartham. | A man has died and a woman is being treated in hospital for her injuries after they were both hit by a train on a railway line in Kent. |
38,034,265 | The 34-year-old fell ill in his changing room and was carried out on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
Gutknecht is in a stable condition and will continue to be monitored after having surgery and being sedated, the British Boxing Board of Control said.
Groves scored a unanimous points win in the fight at Wembley's SSE Arena.
It moves him closer to a shot at the vacant WBA super-middleweight title.
The Londoner said he was "deeply concerned" for his opponent in a social media post on Saturday morning.
"Out of respect to Eduard Gutknecht and his family's privacy, I don't want to say too much but we are all deeply concerned to hear that he was taken to hospital after the fight last night," he said.
"I sincerely hope it is nothing too serious and I would like to send out all my support and best wishes to him and his family at this difficult time."
The judges awarded the fight to Groves, 28, with one scoring it 119-110 in his favour and two 119-109.
Groves has now won his past four fights since losing two world title bouts - one to Carl Froch and one against Badou Jack.
"I am very happy with how I fought - it went exactly to plan," Groves told Channel 5 before news emerged of Gutknecht being taken to hospital. "I set a great tempo and busted him up badly. I am surprised he made it to the bell - Gutknecht is a tough character.
"We want real, big, proper fights. There was no world title on the line, but we knew Gutknecht was going to give me a tough fight. It will push me on for a world title fight and, ideally, I would love a rematch with Badou Jack."
The Londoner looked confident against Gutknecht and hurt his opponent with a couple of blows to the head in the fourth round.
He continued to find the target with his combinations and cut open Gutknecht's right eye in the 10th, but the 34-year-old managed to make it through the full 12 rounds.
Meanwhile, Welshman Andrew Selby stopped Jake Bornea of the Philippines in the seventh round in London.
Selby, the brother of IBF featherweight champion Lee, has now won all seven of his fights since turning professional in September 2015. | German Eduard Gutknecht was taken to hospital after Britain's George Groves defended his WBA International super-middleweight title in London. |
36,212,130 | In fact, some believe it may already be there.
This morning, the UK Purchasing Managers' Index revealed weakening optimism in a sector vital to the strength of the economy - services.
The PMIs - which cover the whole of the UK economy - are important for three reasons.
First, they are a survey of business activity.
Second, they are a record that goes back to 1996 and are therefore comparable.
Thirdly, there is a close correlation between the PMI figures and the country's gross domestic product (or, approximately, national income).
So, if the PMIs are suggesting poorer economic news, the GDP figures are likely to as well.
The services business activity PMI released this morning stood at 52.3, the lowest since February 2013 when Europe was still licking its wounds following the eurozone economic crisis.
Although the figure would need to fall below 50 to reveal an actual contraction in activity, 52.3 is still well below the 55.2 average over the past 20 years.
Today's figures follow the construction sector PMI released yesterday, which was also at a three-year low, and the manufacturing PMI which, at 49.2, has now fallen below that critical 50 figure.
According to Markit and CIPS, the two organisations that compile the data, uncertainty over the European Union referendum, higher input costs (some connected to the introduction of the national living wage) and the general global economic slowdown are weighing on sentiment.
Worries have already raised about weakening UK economic growth in the first three months of the year.
The concern now is that it is only the start of tougher economic times ahead.
As Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, says: "The slowdown in the service sector follows similar weakness in manufacturing and construction to make a triple-whammy of disappointing news on the health of the economy at the start of the second quarter [of the year].
"The PMI surveys are collectively indicating a near-stalling of economic growth, down from 0.4% in the first quarter to just 0.1% in April."
We may only see the full effects of the slowdown - in data terms at least - when the next economic growth figures are published in July.
Many are preparing for them to be grim. | Over the past 48 hours, three sets of economic data have been published which suggest the UK economy is heading for choppy waters. |
34,044,115 | Residents in the town have spent 18 years campaigning to have the Dibble Tree in Ferrier Street protected.
The 30ft (9m) "cricket bat" willow was planted in 1797, and the present town of Carnoustie grew up around it.
Carnoustie's name is said to derive from the Scottish phrase craw's noustie, or crow's nest, after the birds which nest in the tree.
The Dibble Tree now sits between a back lane and a disused public toilet, and fears were raised after adjacent trees were cut down.
It dates back to the late 1790s when Thomas Lowson, a loom wright, was granted the first patch of land in the area now occupied by the town.
In 1797, it is said that while farming cabbage he left the willow stick he had been using stuck in the ground, and later found it had taken root and sprouted leaves.
Angus Council head of planning Vivien Smith recommended the order be granted, calling the tree "an important part of cultural history".
Willows are not normally expected to live more than 150 years, but the Dibble Tree has prospered despite being split in two almost to the roots by a lightning strike in the 19th Century.
Mr Lowson's great-great-grandson Davie, 94, had supported the call for the preservation order. | A preservation order has been granted for a 200-year-old tree in Carnoustie, said to have given the town its name. |
40,586,245 | Media playback is not supported on this device
James Vince (81) and Rilee Rossouw (46) put on 109 for Hampshire's first wicket and Michael Carberry's 41 not out lifted the visitors to 188-3.
Mason Crane (2-24) took the key wickets of Luke Wright (50) and Ross Taylor (27) as Sussex replied with 169-7.
Laurie Evans and David Wiese entertained with some late hitting but Kyle Abbott (3-22) helped seal victory.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The win took Hampshire above Surrey to the top of the early South Group table, while Sussex have lost both of their games.
Hampshire had appeared on course for a much larger total when openers Vince and Rossouw brought up their century partnership in the 10th over, but some disciplined bowling by Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan kept Sussex in with a chance.
Wright, who scored 101 in Sunday's loss to Glamorgan, continued his good form with a 32-ball half-century to get Sussex's run chase off to a positive start.
However, leg-spinner Crane bowled with great control and the dismissal of New Zealand batsman Taylor - superbly stumped by wicketkeeper Lewis McManus - proved a critical moment. | Hampshire made it two wins from two in this season's T20 Blast with a 19-run success over Sussex at Hove. |
35,470,796 | Media playback is not supported on this device
As he ran in to bowl the first ball of the final over with Zimbabwe needing three to win, seamer Keemo Paul removed the bails at the bowler's end with batsman Richard Ngarava just out of his ground.
Zimbabwe's two-run defeat in Chittagong denied them a place in the last eight.
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan tweeted: "Disgraceful behaviour in the U19 CWC. West Indies should be embarrassed!!"
Former West Indies fast bowler Tino Best responded: "Everything we do is embarrassing to people like you. I wonder if it was the other way round would you have something to say?"
The type of dismissal - known as a 'Mankad' after India bowler Vinoo Mankad ran out Australia batsman Bill Brown in a similar manner in Sydney in 1947 - is within the laws of cricket.
However, etiquette dictates that the batsman should be warned for leaving his crease early, before another run-out is attempted.
After Paul broke the stumps, the umpires asked West Indies if they wanted to uphold the appeal.
Television replays showed Ngarava's bat was on the line and he was given out.
West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer said: "Cricket is a game of uncertainties. We've seen it happen in cricket before. It's not a big deal for us."
Asked whether he thought West Indies' actions were in the spirit of the game, he said: "Probably not."
Zimbabwe coach Stephen Mangongo said: "I am disappointed with the way the game ended. I have debriefed the boys in the dressing room and they were all crying."
Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said: "This is not a good look, absolutely disgraceful behaviour!
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler was the victim of a Mankad incident, in a one-day international against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in 2014.
WATCH MORE: Brilliant boundary save from Mavuta | West Indies Under-19s were accused of "disgraceful behaviour" after a controversial run-out secured victory over Zimbabwe and a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. |
38,460,856 | Since March of this year three other people in Northern Ireland have been defrauded of some £13,000 between them.
In the latest incident, the County Down couple paid £4,850 by bank transfer for a 2010 Ford Kuga.
They were told the seller would arrange transport of the car, but it never arrived.
Bill Malloy from the Trading Standards Service urged potential car buyers to be cautious.
He explained how the scam worked: "The scammer says they have worked in IKEA in Belfast or Dublin for seven years and they have now returned to Sweden and the car that they have is right-hand drive and is no use in Sweden.
"So they're prepared to sell the car at a good price and they will arrange transport of the car back to Ireland, north or south."
The correspondence by the seller in all these cases is virtually identical except for details of the cars advertised.
In each of the Northern Ireland cases, a link was sent to the consumers that opened up a specially created website for the fake logistics company.
"Follow the old adage. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is," Mr Malloy said.
"Don't be rushed into sending off money to someone you do not know, however plausible they might sound and even where an approach is personalised." | A couple from County Down have been conned out of almost £5,000 after becoming the latest victims of a Swedish car buying scam. |
12,770,942 | A musical work based on Elizabeth I's medical and scientific adviser, Doctor Dee will have its premiere in July at the Manchester International Festival.
It will then be staged at the home of the English National Opera as part of London's Cultural Olympiad programme.
The Manchester festival will also feature the debut of Bjork's new show during a three-week residency.
Other original productions will be created for the event by immersive theatre company Punchdrunk, film-makers The Quay Brothers, comedian Victoria Wood and performance artist Marina Abramovic.
Manchester International Festival director Alex Poots said the event, which started in 2007 and takes place every two years, was "a home for major artists to realise their most ambitious projects".
Albarn's Chinese opera Monkey: Journey To The West was a highlight of the first Manchester International Festival four years ago and the Blur and Gorillaz singer will present his next production at the city's Palace Theatre.
Albarn did not appear in Monkey but will perform in Doctor Dee.
The show has been co-produced by the English National Opera and the London 2012 Festival and will be staged at the London Coliseum next year.
It will be directed by Rufus Norris, who staged Don Giovanni at the ENO last year and whose Broadway revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses was nominated for five Tony Awards in 2008.
"It will be a big, spectacular show," Mr Poots said. "I know that Damon's passionate about it and he's already written some incredibly beautiful songs, some anthemic songs."
Bjork will launch the Manchester International Festival on 30 June with a show based on her new album Biophilia.
The project combines her interests in music, science and nature and is billed as a "multi-media project encompassing music, apps, internet, installations and live shows".
There will be an app for each song and the singer has invented a range of new instruments for the shows, including a 30-foot (nine-metre) pendulum that harnesses the earth's gravitational pull to create musical patterns.
She will perform six times over three weeks at the Campfield Market Hall.
Elsewhere, the Quay Brothers, celebrated for their dark, disjointed films and animations, will team up with Russian-born violinist Alina Ibragimova to stage chamber music in a promenade setting.
Punchdrunk will return after creating the acclaimed theatrical experience It Felt Like A Kiss with Damon Albarn at the last festival. Their new show, The Crash of the Elysium, will be the company's first for children.
Amadou and Mariam, a blind musical duo from Mali, will attempt to stage the world's first concert in total darkness, while comedian Johnny Vegas will present a new theatre show.
Victoria Wood is writing and directing That Day We Sang, about the 1920s Manchester Children's Choir, which will open at the Manchester Opera House.
Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe is to star in The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic alongside the Serbian-born performance artist. The production will feature music written and performed by Antony Hegarty from the Mercury-prize winning Antony and The Johnsons.
The festival will also involve rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Sinead O'Connor, artist John Gerrard, the Halle Orchestra and French composer Mark Andre.
Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure, Councillor Mike Amesbury, said the festival "makes a massive contribution to the cultural offering of our great city and has helped establish us on the world stage as a leading artistic powerhouse". | Damon Albarn has written and will star in a stage show about 16th Century alchemist, astrologer and spy John Dee. |
18,031,124 | The Special Investigation Team (SIT) made its controversial findings in a report to India's Supreme Court.
Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed in the Gulbarg residential complex in Ahmedabad.
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in violence that erupted after 60 Hindus were killed in a train fire.
The cause of the train fire is a matter of fierce debate, although Muslims were blamed at the time.
The riots were one of India's worst outbreaks of religious violence.
The SIT, which was appointed by the Supreme Court, is looking into a number of high-profile Gujarat riots cases.
It recently submitted its report to the court, and details of its findings to do with the Gulbarg complex killings are emerging only now.
Mr Jafri fired at the mob and "the provoked mob stormed the [Gulbarg] Society and set it on fire", the SIT report said.
Correspondents say the SIT report invokes the same Newtonian theory of "action and reaction" that the state's controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi had used as the riots were raging.
In an interview to Zee television on 1 March 2002, Mr Modi is reported to have said that the firing by the MP was an "action" and the massacre was a "reaction".
Mr Modi later denied making the statement and said he was "quoted out of context".
The SIT report confirmed that Mr Modi used the words "action" and "reaction", but it gave a clean chit to the chief minister.
"In his interview, the chief minister has clearly referred to Jafri's firing as 'action' and the massacre as 'reaction'. It may be clarified here that in case late Ehsan Jafri fired at the mob, this could be an immediate provocation to the mob which had assembled there to take revenge of Godhra incidents from Muslims,'' it said.
The report quoted Mr Modi as saying that the train fire was a "heinous crime, for which reactions were being felt".
The controversial chief minister has been blamed by critics for not doing enough to stop the violence.
Zakia Jafri, the MP's widow, says her husband called Mr Modi for help but it never came.
Survivors of the Gulbarg massacre say he fired his gun in self defence as the violent mob attacked the complex.
Mrs Jafri has accused Mr Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministerial colleagues, including top police officials, of conspiracy in the riots.
The chief minister argues that he has been unfairly targeted by his critics and his lawyer called the allegations against his client "absurd".
On the basis of the SIT report,
in the case.
Mrs Jafri, who received a copy of the SIT investigation into his death earlier this week, has said she would appeal.
The report has been criticised by activists and opposition politicians for giving a clean chit to Mr Modi.
One Congress politician has filed a Right to Information application seeking details of pay and other benefits given to RK Raghavan, the SIT head, by the Gujarat government.
There have also been allegations that Mr Raghavan's foreign trips were financed by the state. | A Muslim politician who was murdered in 2002 riots in India's Gujarat state may have "provoked" a violent mob by firing at them, investigators say. |
39,973,553 | The actor was on location in Dumfries and Galloway for several weeks earlier this year, along with fellow stars Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells.
The film, directed by Kristoffer Nyholm, best known for The Killing, was shot at lighthouses across the region.
The picture which has been released shows the three stars with the Mull of Galloway lighthouse as their backdrop.
The psychological thriller sees the region stand in for the remote Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides.
The starting point for the film is the true story of the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers more than 100 years ago which has never been properly explained.
Three lighthouses in Dumfries and Galloway - Killantringan, Mull of Galloway and Corsewall - along with Cloch in the Firth of Clyde - were used for filming.
Joe Bone, who co-wrote the screenplay with Celyn Jones, said they could not have hoped for a better backdrop. | The first image released from Gerard Butler's new film Keepers gives a starring role to south west Scotland. |
36,733,737 | The trust has identified nine sites suitable for snorkelling which also have environments rich in marine life.
The locations include Tanera Mor in the Summer Isles, Camusnagaul and Achmelvich Bay.
SWT said marine life that could be seen at the sites included dogfish, barrel jellyfish and sea urchins.
The trail project, which forms part of the trust's Living Seas programme, has received funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Noel Hawkins, Living Seas communities officer, said: "The coast of Wester Ross and Sutherland features some fantastic sheltered headlands and beaches that are great places for snorkelling.
"The new trail is self-led, but we are hoping to establish a training programme for local people to become qualified snorkel instructors, and also a snorkel club at the local leisure centre to introduce younger members of the community to snorkelling and their local marine environment."
Lizzie Bird, of the British Sub Aqua Club, added: "Lots of people might think it's too cold to snorkel in Scotland but the colours and life under the surface in places like the north west coast are up there with the coral reefs you can find abroad."
The launch of the trail has been welcomed by Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
She said: "Scotland's coast boasts some of the UK's richest spots for marine wildlife, which is why nearly half of the visitors surveyed come to Scotland for our scenery and landscape.
"The snorkel trail is an innovative approach to marine and coastal planning that encourages use of existing infrastructure to help tourism diversification like this." | What has been described as Scotland's first snorkel trail has been created in the north west Highlands by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT). |
34,670,681 | Currently anybody can use the laws to obtain information held by public authorities, with certain exceptions.
The government has set up a commission to review FOI, amid concerns it is being misused as a "research tool".
Critics fear it will curb transparency and the exposure of wrongdoing by making FOI requests more expensive or limiting their scope.
Answering a business question from Labour MP Jack Dromey in the Commons, Mr Grayling said FOI requests were for "those who want to understand why and how Government is taking decisions".
He added that Jack Straw, the former Labour home secretary responsible for introducing the laws regretted them most.
Mr Dromey said that reviewing the laws was "a threat to a cornerstone of our democracy".
Questioned by Guardian journalist, Nicholas Watt on the matter at a press conference in Iceland today, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The British government is one of the most open and transparent anywhere in the world."
The Guardian fought a decade-long legal battle to publish private letters sent by the Prince of Wales to Labour ministers, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Act has been used by investigative reporters on a string of other high profile stories, including MPs expenses and ambulance delays, over the past 10 years.
It is also a well-established tool for finding out more about the workings of central and local government and the rest of the public sector.
The BBC's Freedom of Information specialist Martin Rosenbaum said: "Good journalism is one of the best uses of the Freedom of Information Act.
"It produces stories which are in the public interest, which are based on facts and documents rather than speculation, and which are used to make the wider public better informed." | Commons leader Chris Grayling has called journalists' use of Freedom of Information (FOI) "unacceptable". |
24,854,074 | An open letter from human rights group Child Soldiers International called on the Ministry of Defence to raise the joining age from the current 16.
All Church in Wales bishops signed the letter, along with other Christian peace groups from around the UK.
The MoD said it had no plans to change the recruitment age, arguing enlisting could be beneficial for youngsters.
At present, 16-year-olds can join the Army with parental consent and can apply from 15 and 7 months.
"We commend the MoD for having ceased routinely deploying children into conflict, but challenge its failure to stop recruiting them," the letter said.
It was signed by the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan, the Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton, convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, and peace groups run by Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics and Quakers.
The campaigners pointed out that in World War One, the youngest that recruits could join up was officially 18 - and that only those older than 19 were supposed to be sent to fight, "although it was known that many younger boys slipped through".
Dave, who joined the army at 16, told the BBC he thought recruits should be "at least 20".
"You've got two years training before you go into a theatre of war," he said. "But still, you're still a child.
"At 18 you're going through massive life changes and still experiencing."
He added that joining at the age of at least 20 would ensure "you've had a little bit of life experience".
Peter Felstead, the editor of Jane's Defence Weekly - a magazine reporting on the military - said the UK was out of sync with other European nations.
"It is an amazing opportunity to join the British Army for a lot of these guys who, otherwise, simply would not have that kind of opportunity to learn a trade, see the world and really make something of their lives," he said.
"But if you do look at the rest of Western Europe, 16 probably does seem slightly early. The average is more like 17 or 18 to join the armed forces."
An analysis of MoD figures by Child Soldiers International suggested 880 16-year-olds enlisted last year - 40% fewer than the year before and down from 3,600 a decade ago.
The group also claimed that of all the 16-year-olds recruited by the Army last year, nearly half (410) dropped out during training - although the MoD said "only a proportion" would have joined and dropped out in the same year.
The charity's director Richard Clarke said: "It's time for the MoD to recognise what more and more young people and their parents are realising - that enlisting at 16 is not in their best interests.
"Army training does not give young people what they need to succeed in today's economy, especially in terms of qualifications."
But that claim was directly contradicted by the MoD, which said the letter "ignores the benefits and opportunities that a military career offers young people.
"It provides them challenging and constructive education, training and employment, equipping them with valuable and transferable skills for life," a spokesman said.
"There are currently no plans to revisit the government's recruitment policy for under-18s which is fully compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child."
The UK is among fewer than 20 countries which have a minimum voluntary recruitment age of 16. | The British Army should stop recruiting under 18-year-olds, campaigners and religious figures have urged. |
36,653,599 | He was responding to concerns that UK students might find it more difficult to study at European universities after the referendum vote.
Mr Renzi said he wanted to find a way for UK students to gain passports while they studied for degree courses.
The UK universities minister has sought to reassure EU students in the UK.
Jo Johnson has told EU students already at UK universities and those starting in the autumn that their funding would be honoured for the duration of their courses.
The proposals from the Italian prime minister, in comments to the BBC's Nick Beake in Brussels, suggested there could be plans to lessen any disruption for UK students who wanted to study at European universities.
Mr Renzi said he would propose an initiative to allow UK students to have passports from EU countries.
"In other words, if a British student decides to spend two, three, four years in a university in Europe, we study now if it's possible to give him a European passport - Italian, French or German.
"But for now, nothing is sure," said Mr Renzi.
Many European student exchanges and opportunities to study abroad are run through the Erasmus programmes.
But it remains unclear whether UK students and UK universities will be able to participate after the EU referendum vote.
The Erasmus programme itself says it has been getting many questions about the impact, but it does not yet know what will happen and that "definitive answers" may take some time.
It remains unclear whether the UK government would buy back into the scheme, when it ceased to be a member of the EU.
UK universities, with many international staff and students, have been trying to work out the implications of the decision to end EU membership.
In an attempt to offer some stability, Goldsmiths, University of London, has promised to fix fees for EU students up to and including courses beginning in 2018-2019.
This is intended to reassure potential applicants that their status, in terms of fees, would not change while they were studying.
Students from the EU are currently treated on the same terms as UK students - and so pay fees of up to £9,000. But if EU students were to become "international" students, they would be liable for much higher fees.
UK universities have also sought clarity over research funding.
Analysis by the Royal Society suggests that between 2007 and 2013, the UK received 8.8bn euros (£7.3bn) in direct EU research funding and had contributed 5.4bn euros (£4.5bn).
Even after leaving the EU, it could be possible for the UK to pay to rejoin the EU's research programmes as an "associate" member, although it would lose control over how such research was directed. | Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has suggested that UK students wanting to study in Europe could receive passports from other European Union countries. |
31,481,797 | The footage shows a group wearing orange overalls being forced to the ground and then decapitated.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said Egypt reserves the right to respond in any way it sees fit.
IS militants claim to have carried out several attacks in Libya, which is in effect without a government.
However, with many armed groups operating in Libya, it is not clear how much power IS actually wields.
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, now under the control of Islamist groups.
The video of the beheadings was posted online by Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to IS. A caption made it clear the men were targeted because of their faith.
"Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals," President Sisi said.
The beheadings were described as "barbaric" by al-Azhar, the highly regarded theological institution which is based in Egypt.
The Coptic church said it was "confident" Egypt would exact retribution. Egypt has declared seven days of national mourning.
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 and the overthrow of its then-leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Since then, numerous other militia groups have battled for control.
The head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency warned last month that IS was assembling "a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under-governed areas", including Libya.
The five-minute video shows hostages in orange jumpsuits being marched along a beach, each accompanied by a masked militant. The men are made to kneel before they are simultaneously beheaded.
Most were from a poor village in Upper Egypt where some relatives fainted on hearing the news. A caption accompanying the video made it clear the hostages were targeted because of their faith. It referred to the victims as "people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church".
There's speculation here that Egypt may now consider airstrikes across the border. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said in the past that militants in Libya are a danger not just to Egypt, but also to the Middle East.
Libya has two rival governments, one based in Tripoli, the other in Tobruk. Meanwhile, the eastern city of Benghazi, headquarters of the 2011 revolution, is largely in the hands of Islamist fighters, some with links to al-Qaeda.
On Sunday, Italy closed its embassy in Tripoli. Italy, the former colonial power, lies less than 500 miles (750km) from Libya at the shortest sea crossing point.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has been calling for the UN to intervene in Libya. Thousands of migrants use the Libyan coast as a starting point to flee the violence and attempt to reach the EU.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond condemned the beheadings.
"Such barbaric acts strengthen our determination to work with our partners to counter the expanding terrorist threat to Libya and the region," he said.
On Sunday, President Sisi banned all travel to Libya by Egyptian citizens.
Despite the turmoil in Libya, thousands of Egyptians go to the country looking for work.
There had been demonstrations in Egypt calling on the government to do more to secure the release of those held. | A video has emerged apparently showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya. |
35,756,856 | The voluntary ban at Little Haven, which also applies to e-cigarettes, came into effect on Wednesday to coincide with National No Smoking Day.
Pembrokeshire council said it took public health very seriously.
But smokers' lobby group Forest accused the council of imposing a policy to "denormalise a legitimate habit".
Thirty-five pupils from Broad Haven Primary School launched the 12-month trial, to highlight children taking up smoking in Wales.
Criticising the scheme, Simon Clark said: "There is no evidence that the sight of a complete stranger smoking encourages children to start smoking.
"The ban on the use of e-cigarettes demonstrates that this is not about health, it's about control."
Huw George, environment cabinet member, said: "We know children are at particular risk from second-hand smoke and that they are more likely to start smoking themselves if they see adults doing it in a family-friendly environment.
"It is vital to denormalise smoking to reduce the rates of young people taking it up and also to reduce their exposure to smoke and e-cigarette vapour in areas where they gather." | A Pembrokeshire beach has become the first in the UK to be declared smoke-free. |
40,482,660 | He claimed there were few vessels to enforce new regulations for UK inshore fishing waters after it leaves the EU.
And the ex-Falklands veteran, who was once a Labour security minister, said he was "stunned" at the government's "amazing complacency" over the issue.
But minister Lord Gardiner insisted a vessel monitoring system was in place.
Lord West raised the issue just days after the government announced it is to withdraw from the London Fisheries Convention - the deal which allows foreign fisherman access to British waters.
Lord Gardiner, a rural affairs minister, said the Marine Management Organisation would supervise the UK's "exclusive economic zone", which stretches from six to 200 nautical miles - while the Association of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities would cover up to six nautical miles.
But he added that as the UK leaves the EU a review will be needed to reflect on the level of fisheries enforcement required.
That response prompted Lord West to say: "This simple sailor is absolutely stunned by the answer, which shows amazing complacency.
"The bottom line is we have very, very few vessels involved in this. They are not properly centrally coordinated. We've already seen a number of the countries involved saying 'well to hell with what you're saying, we're coming there anyway'.
"We will be made a laughing stock if we apply some rules and cannot enforce them."
Lord West urged ministers to establish "a centralised command system to actually control the various assets we have", adding that "far too few of them seem to be able to focus on things like someone fishing illegally in the six to 12 mile zones".
He said more ships and boats needed to be built "to ensure we can actually enforce it".
The minister said he would like Lord West, who served in the Royal Navy between 1965 and 2006, to go with him to Newcastle to see a new digital vessel monitoring system that can pinpoint "every vessel that's at sea within our waters".
He said there were three offshore patrol vessels in operation, with a further five new river offshore patrol vessels being built that will be used for fisheries protection.
But Labour's rural affairs spokeswoman Baroness Jones of Whitchurch argued that "fish stocks can't be managed unilaterally", adding "there has to be some cooperation with neighbouring countries".
"Fish shoals can sometimes move for hundreds of miles, and indeed our own fishermen fish up to the north of Russia and southern Portugal," she said.
"There's no point in making a unilateral declaration."
But Lord Gardiner said not only would the government be negotiating "with our partners and friends in Europe so we have a sustainable fishing industry" but post-Brexit the UK will "have the ability to decide who fishes in our waters".
He said the chief executive of National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations had welcomed the UK's decision to give notice to the London Fisheries Convention as "an important part of establishing the UK as an independent coastal state with sovereignty over its own exclusive economic zone".
He said fishing is worth £1.3bn to the UK economy, employs 34,600 people, has 6,000 fishing vessels and lands 708 tonnes of fish each year worth £775m.
The government would be "very conscious" of the interests of the coastal and fishing communities of the UK, he added. | The UK will be a "laughing stock" in Europe if it cannot police its fishing waters after Brexit, former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West has said. |
38,926,139 | James Brokenshire was addressing members of Northern Ireland's Institute of Directors.
"I for one am not contemplating any other outcome but a resumption of devolved partnership government.
"That's what people in Northern Ireland want and that's what we're working to deliver," Mr Brokenshire said.
The election will take place on 2 March.
It was triggered after the resignation of Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister in January.
Talks will follow the election in a bid to form a new executive.
Speaking on BBC NI's The View, Sinn Féin's leader in Stormont, Michelle O'Neill, said Mr Brokenshire should not have a role in those negotiations.
"If you look at his actions to date, if you look at his comments, for example, in relation to British soldiers receiving immunity," she said.
"If you look at how he's ignoring the views of the people of the north who want to remain in the European Union.
"If you look at his one-sided and partisan views on a lot of things, I don't believe James Brokenshire is an honest broker."
More than 200 delegates attended the dinner, with the assembly election and Brexit major talking points.
Stephen Martin, the newly-appointed Belfast-born director general of the institute, said Northern Ireland would be at the heart of negotiations over leaving the EU.
"The border undoubtedly puts Northern Ireland front and centre of negotiations, because it's got such an impact," he said.
"There's a lot of people moving between the border because of work and because of education.
"There's 30,000 border crossings every day and of those, about half are relating to business and education, so we mustn't interrupt that flow in any way."
The chairman of the institute in Northern Ireland, Ian Shepherd, said the lack of a devolved government was also causing concern.
"I think there's real frustration in the business community that, at the time when we're getting very close to the triggering of Article 50, that we don't have our politicians in the institutions representing the members here in Northern Ireland," he said.
"Uncertainty is one of the most difficult things for a business to deal with.
"If they know what they're dealing with, then they can plan and they can react and they can take things forward.
"But Northern Ireland business people are used to uncertainty, it's been an occupational hazard here." | The secretary of state has told business leaders at a dinner in Belfast that he wants a return to devolved government after the assembly election. |
35,926,462 | The juvenile common seal had been in a lagoon near Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, for "a couple of weeks" before it died on 1 March, scientists said.
Tests carried out by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) found the seal was in "moderate-poor nutritional condition".
Its body was recovered from Ferry Lagoon near the River Great Ouse.
Rob Deaville, project manager at CSIP, said seals were not normally resident so far inland, but had occasionally made their way up river streams in the past, including the River Great Ouse.
Common seals are normally found on islands, rocky shores and cliffs, and are particularly common around western Scotland and the northern UK islands.
During a post-mortem examination, scientists found the young male seal had "a moderate burden of lungworms".
They also discovered "several bacterial species of potential interest" which are being tested to find out their "potential significance". | A seal found 60km (37 miles) inland was malnourished and full of bacteria when it died, scientists have said. |
35,733,019 | Liam Trotter stroked home to put the troubled Trotters ahead, with the club still to face a winding-up petition despite the Sports Shield consortium's £7.5m takeover on Thursday.
Jordan Hugill met Adam Reach's pass to nod in Preston's leveller.
Marnick Vermijl won it four minutes from the end with a close-range finish.
Bolton, who have taken just one point from a possible 15 from their past five games, have taken only 26 points from 37 matches - a tally with which no side in 34 years has managed to survive relegation from the second to third tier at this stage of the season.
Wanderers now have to take at least 12 points from the last nine games to have any chance of avoiding the drop, but the immediate focus at the Macron Stadium will remain on the High Court as their case for an outstanding tax bill of £2.2m owed to HM Revenue & Customs is set to be concluded on 21 March.
Preston's first win over Bolton in seven meetings, dating back to 1992, sees them stay 10th.
Before Hugill equalised just before the hour mark, Preston had failed to score against the Trotters in more than 23 years.
The match also marked a solemn occasion for Bolton as the club remembered the 33 people who perished at an FA Cup sixth round tie against Stoke at the club's former Burnden Park stadium 70 years ago.
There was a minute's applause from both sets of supporters on 33 minutes, while Bolton's flag flew at half-mast all week.
Bolton Wanderers boss Neil Lennon:
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I thought we played well first half; I thought Preston were strong second half but we had a good spell and Zach Clough had great chance to put us 2-1 up. We missed good chances again to win the game and we got caught by a sucker punch.
"The sooner [the transfer embargo] gets lifted the better. If we can get players in quickly it would be of great benefit because the squad is very thin.
"[Referring to Jay Spearing's omission] If he plays 50 per cent of the games, we need to pay £100,000 to Liverpool. We tried to get it deferred but we couldn't get it done."
Preston North End manager Simon Grayson:
"We started the game well but petered out towards the back end of the first half when I don't think we were really at it.
"There were a few choice words at half-time because we have set standards and don't want the season to peter out. We want to keep winning games and see where it takes us. They responded in a positive manner and looked a far better team in the second half.
"We have been to a few grounds in recent weeks that you know if you get back in the game you are going to cause opposition problems because of the quality we have but also the nervous tension that can be around. Bolton played some good stuff at times but we were a lot better and looked a real threat with pace and energy about us." | Bolton Wanderers began life under new ownership with a home defeat by Preston to slip 11 points from safety at the bottom of the Championship. |
39,951,924 | Fox, who won the supporters' player of the year award this season, follows Craig Curran,Ryan Dow and Alex Schalk in committing to the Dingwall outfit.
The 29-year-old keeper joined County from Partick Thistle in 2015.
He has also played for East Fife, Queen of the South and Dundee in a career amassing over 240 appearances so far. | Ross County have agreed a deal that ties goalkeeper Scott Fox to the Scottish Premiership club for a further two years until 2019. |
33,831,029 | Tee times were released on Friday with McIlroy grouped with the winners of this year's majors, Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson.
The 26-year-old had given hints via social media that he would be able to return to action.
He suffered a "total rupture" of ligaments in his left ankle last month.
McIlroy's post on Friday showed the inside of a private plane along with various emojis depicting a US flag, a thumbs-up symbol and a golf flag.
The on-board video screen suggested McIlroy was departing from Faro in Portugal, where the four-time major winner was understood to have been practising and the location for Thursday's video of him hitting a driver on the range.
On Wednesday, McIlroy posted a video in which he was seen balancing on his left leg and twisting and throwing a gym ball to mimic the actions of the golf swing.
He has also shared photographs of his ankle from four and three weeks ago, saying: "I've come a long way since."
McIlroy, who was ruled out of the Scottish Open and the defence of his Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational titles with the injury, was always going to be included in the tee times for Whistling Straits unless he called the PGA of America to withdraw.
His last competitive round was a closing 66 in the US Open at Chambers Bay on 21 June. | World number one Rory McIlroy will defend his US PGA Championship title next week at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin after recovering from injury. |
36,074,710 | Owner Massimo Cellino told the Daily Telegraph he had spoken to ex-Chelsea manager Mourinho and former Real Madrid boss Ancelotti about managing the club.
"They're great managers and outstanding coaches," Evans told BBC Radio Leeds.
"Whether they would be able to acclimatise and understand the remit of clubs in the Championship and that the schedule is relentless, I'm not sure."
Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea in December, and incoming Bayern Munich boss Ancelotti have both won the Champions League with two different clubs.
Former Rotherham boss Evans, 53, was appointed at Elland Road in October and is now the Championship club's longest serving boss since Cellino took over in April 2014.
He added: "The head coaches who have preceded me have all talked about how tough the job is here and you possibly don't realise just how tough until you are in the hotseat.
"That's because of the expectation of where this club has been and the hunger to get back there."
Despite speculation surrounding his position, Evans says that he "has to believe" that he will be in charge of the club next season.
"I think I'm the best person to take the club forward. I have to believe that I am going to be here next season," he said.
"I 100% believe that, if I am here next season, we will challenge for the Premier League.
"My heart tells me that I will be here and my head tells me I will be here and I have to believe that."
Leeds, who host Wolves on Tuesday, have won their last two matches to move up to 12th in the Championship. | Leeds boss Steve Evans does not think Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti would thrive managing in the Championship. |
40,407,174 | The charity Action for ME said a safeguarding referral to a child protection team had been made against one in five respondents.
Its chief executive said children and their carers faced the "double whammy" of an ME diagnosis and not being believed about their condition.
NHS England has been asked to comment.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a debilitating disease that has a major impact on the lives of those affected. It causes persistent fatigue that does not go away with rest or sleep.
It affects about 25,000 children in the UK.
Out of 270 respondents to the survey, one in five said they had had a safeguarding referral to a child protection team made against them.
Half of the referrals involved allegations that parents had fabricated or induced their child's illness, although 70% of all the cases referred to social services were dropped within a year.
Sonya Chowdhury, CEO of Action for ME, which is based in Keynsham, near Bristol, said: "Ninety-six per cent of the parents felt that their children's care had been affected by a lack of understanding of ME and nearly 100% of parents were concerned their child had not been believed.
"If people are not believing a child about an illness even when there is a diagnosis, those children are facing a double whammy.
"Not only have they had their lives stolen as a result of illness, they've had their lives affected and traumatised as a result of the system."
She said the charity would be carrying out further investigations into the claims.
England's chief social worker Isabelle Trowler said: "It's important that all the professionals who work with young people have a firm understanding of conditions like ME and the impact these can have on their daily lives, so they can access the same opportunities as their peers.
"I have met and continue to meet with groups and organisations including Forward-ME, and will work collaboratively with them and a national network of social workers to further professional understanding of children with ME."
An investigation of the survey and treatments for ME is on Radio 4's File on 4 on Tuesday at 20:00 BST. | A "significant number" of those caring for children with ME have been accused of fabricating their child's illness, a survey has found. |
40,398,696 | Fewer than 1% of the 9,000 users of the IT system were impacted by the hacking, said a parliamentary spokesman.
The hack prompted officials to disable remote access to the emails of MPs, peers and their staff as a safeguard.
The spokesman said the attack was a result of "weak passwords" and an investigation is under way to determine whether any data has been lost.
Both Houses of Parliament will meet as planned on Monday and plans are being put in place to allow it to resume its wider IT services, said officials.
A number of MPs confirmed to the BBC they were unable to access their parliamentary email accounts outside of the Westminster estate following the hacking.
The spokesman said the parliamentary network was compromised due to "weak passwords" which did not conform to guidance from the Parliamentary Digital Service.
They added: "As they are identified, the individuals whose accounts have been compromised have been contacted and investigations to determine whether any data has been lost are under way."
The incident comes just over a month after 48 of England's NHS trusts were hit by a cyber-attack.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: "We have seen reports in the last few days of even cabinet ministers' passwords being for sale online.
"We know that our public services are attacked so it is not at all surprising that there should be an attempt to hack into parliamentary emails.
"And it's a warning to everybody, whether they are in Parliament or elsewhere, that they need to do everything possible to maintain their own cyber-security."
The latest attack was publicly revealed by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard on Twitter as he asked his followers to send any "urgent messages" to him by text.
The National Cyber Security Centre and National Crime Agency are investigating the incident. | Up to 90 email accounts were compromised during the cyber-attack on Parliament on Friday. |
35,301,548 | Jasmine Lapsley, six, from Liverpool, collapsed and died in August 2014 while on holiday in Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd.
An inquest heard it took an ambulance 25 minutes to arrive after a 999 call.
Coroner Nicola Jones ruled her death was an accident but said more ambulances were needed in north Wales during the summer months.
The Welsh Ambulance Service said it had "learnt a lot" from Jasmine's death.
Gordon Roberts, the interim director of operations, said the coroner's report into Jasmine's death would be discussed at board level.
"I think it's important to note that we have made some changes over the last 12 months. We have implemented some new schemes," Mr Roberts told BBC Radio Wales.
"Without looking deeper into the report I think it may be suggesting we should look at the way we resource certain areas during the summer months when we have a greater demand.
"The other issue again in rural areas is to look at our community first responder structure.
"The coroner recognised the good work the community first responders do especially in rural areas and we've recently implemented a revised community first responders structure in north Wales.
"We have a new manager and a new structure of community first responders across north Wales."
The six-day inquest, which ended on Tuesday, heard the two closest ambulances to Jasmine were both on emergency calls.
Volunteer community first responders arrived 22 minutes after the initial call for help while the ambulance took 25 minutes to arrive.
An off-duty policeman and passing firemen who were flagged down gave CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The firemen were heard saying "Where is it? Where's the helicopter?" as urgent follow-up calls were made chasing the 999 response, the hearing was told.
In October 2015, the Welsh Ambulance Service also announced a new model where calls would be split into three categories in a traffic light system - red, amber and green.
It would see fewer calls classed as "red", which need an eight-minute response.
"Within our new response model we have a more appropriate response in relation to the clinical need of the patient," Mr Roberts added.
"Early signs from the first couple of months data there have been performance improvements, especially in the Gwynedd area, under the new response model."
Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts backed the coroner's call for greater ambulance cover.
She said: "Rural areas are greatly dependent on the air ambulance for emergency transport to hospital but this service is only available during daylight hours.
"There must be effective emergency transport at all hours, day and night."
The new model will introduce three categories of calls - red, amber and green. | Changes which would help improve 999 response times for summer emergencies have been made after a girl choked to death on a grape, ambulance bosses say. |
37,293,369 | Villa looked on their way to a comfortable win after Jonathan Kodjia's stunning first-half left-foot curler, his first goal for the club.
But Dean Smith's Bees stayed in the game and had the character to hit back.
From Sullay Kaikai's neat chip to the far post, Villa failed to clear their lines and Egan stole in to equalise.
Having been denied victory on Sunday only by the woodwork and the brilliance of Nottingham Forest keeper Vladimir Stojkovic, Villa appeared eager to make amends.
But it still took a flash of brilliance from new signing Kodjia to get them on their way on 19 minutes.
The striker took a pass from Mile Jedinak down the right, worked his way to the edge of the area and hit a left-foot shot which curled beautifully into the far-left corner.
Josh Clarke then fired over the bar from close range for Brentford in a flurry of chances for the Bees.
But, for all the hard running and tackling in midfield, epitomised by former Shrewsbury Town midfielder Ryan Woods, they lacked a cutting edge.
By contrast, Villa did have chances, as Kodjia got on the end of Jordan Ayew's cross, Ayew shot over with a left-foot curler and Kodjia brought a save out of keeper Daniel Bentley.
But the introduction of Crystal Palace loan man Kaikai brought its rewards for boyhood Villa fan Smith.
Kaikai had already caused concern in the home ranks before he cut back onto his right foot to curl over a cross in the 88th minute, from which Egan managed to force the ball home.
Aston Villa manager Roberto di Matteo told BBC Sport:
"We need to be more clinical in front of goal, we could have scored five on Sunday. But most of all we also need to see games out.
"We allowed them to get too much of the ball in the second half and we got a bit nervous in the last 10 minutes. We just need to win. Win ugly, or attractive. It doesn't matter.
"Jack Grealish could not play as he had a problem with his hamstring, Ross McCormack has knock on his knee and Richie de Laet got a knock clearing the ball at the far post. He is in a lot of pain and we will have to see about him."
Brentford boss Dean Smith told BBC Sport:
"It was the least we deserved. We'd have been very disappointed to go away without getting something.
"I was disappointed with their goal. But I suppose that's what £15m gets you and it was a good finish.
"Everyone knows I was a Villa fan growing up in Great Barr as a boy and to come here as a manager was a great experience but, if we'd lost, it would have meant nothing. My mates who are all Villa fans asked me if I'd celebrate and I think I gave them the answer."
Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Brentford 1.
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Brentford 1.
Harlee Dean (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa).
Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Lasse Vibe (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa).
Foul by John Egan (Brentford).
Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Harlee Dean (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Romaine Sawyers following a corner.
Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Pierluigi Gollini.
Attempt saved. Ryan Woods (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lasse Vibe.
Attempt blocked. Lasse Vibe (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sullay Kaikai.
Goal! Aston Villa 1, Brentford 1. John Egan (Brentford) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sullay Kaikai with a cross.
Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sullay Kaikai (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa).
Substitution, Brentford. Josh McEachran replaces Nico Yennaris.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Gary Gardner replaces Rudy Gestede.
Attempt saved. Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by Romaine Sawyers (Brentford).
Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Brentford. Lasse Vibe replaces Lewis MacLeod.
Attempt missed. Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Foul by Romaine Sawyers (Brentford).
Tommy Elphick (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jordan Ayew with a cross.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Maxime Colin.
Ryan Woods (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ryan Woods (Brentford).
Jordan Amavi (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Romaine Sawyers (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Leandro Bacuna replaces Ritchie de Laet because of an injury.
Delay in match Ritchie de Laet (Aston Villa) because of an injury.
Harlee Dean (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa).
Foul by Sullay Kaikai (Brentford).
Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing. | Aston Villa were held to a draw for the third Championship home game running as John Egan's scrambled late equaliser earned Brentford a point. |
30,998,664 | The SNP argues it can be a powerful voice promoting Scottish interests.
Jim Murphy said Scottish Labour votes could "help end Tory rule" while the Conservative Party said it would further reduce household benefits.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats said they could deliver a strong economy and the Scottish Greens said it was the party connecting with voters.
Deputy leader of the SNP, Stewart Hosie, insisted that people had 100 more days to make "Scotland's priorities Westminster's priorities".
He added: "Scotland needs and wants an alternative to austerity cuts, cancellation of the horrendously expensive Trident renewal, the real powers of Home Rule, protection for our oil and gas industry, and safeguarding our place in Europe by ensuring that all four UK nations would have to vote for EU withdrawal before the UK could exit.
"And we are prepared to vote for a Bill to restore the NHS in England to the public service, publicly accountable, it was always meant to be - which will help safeguard Scotland's budget."
Mr Murphy said that current polling suggested the general election was "neck and neck between Labour and the Tories".
He added: "Scotland is changing, and Scottish Labour is changing with it. It's a fresh start for Scottish Labour and the path to a better nation runs through May 7 and getting the Tories out.
"Only the biggest party after the general election can form a government.
"In the referendum whether you were Yes or whether you were No, most Scots know it's time for the Tories to go. Only Labour is big enough and strong enough to defeat David Cameron. Scotland can protest against the Tories by voting for any party but only Labour can replace them."
The Conservative Party will be focusing on the economy and have confirmed that the first act of a new Tory government would be to reduce the total amount of benefits any household could claim from £26,000 to £23,000.
Prime Minister David Cameron rejected claims the new cap would plunge more families into poverty, saying members of the public had repeatedly complained that it had been set too high.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is a basic issue of fairness. I don't think a family should be able to get more in benefits than someone going out to work, working every day, and trying to do the right thing for them and their family."
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie is due to join activists in Edinburgh to set out the party's priorities for the next five years.
He accused Labour of being in denial over its role in the economic crisis.
Mr Rennie added: "The Tories will only ever stand up for the wealthy and want to cut our public services to the bone.
"The SNP may try to pretend otherwise, but people know they took their eye off the ball during the referendum and will always put securing independence first.
"Only the Liberal Democrats can deliver the stronger economy and fairer society that we want to see and help provide opportunity for everyone."
The Scottish Green Party said it expected to stand in about 30 of Scotland's 59 Westminster constituencies.
Its co-convener Patrick Harvie explained: "Whether it's fracking, publicly-owned railways or the unfair TTIP trade deal, it's clear we're connecting with voters on key issues, with the other parties hurrying out new positions in response.
"Greens across the UK have long challenged the Westminster consensus on austerity; our vision of an economy with good jobs, better wages and strong public services is gaining momentum as we head towards an election like no other." | Scotland's political parties mark 100 days to go to the General Election by promoting some of their key messages. |
30,711,634 | In a statement he said: "I want to apologise to my fiancée, my children, as well as my mother, father, and brothers for the mistake that I made.
"I also want to apologise to the UFC, my coaches, my sponsors and equally important to my fans."
The announcement comes less than a week after Jones successfully defended his title against Daniel Cormier.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) confirmed that following a random drug test in December, Jones provided a sample which contained traces of benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite in cocaine.
Under UFC rules benzoylecgonine is not a banned substance out-of-competition.
As a result, organisers were unable to penalise Jon Jones or stop him from fighting, despite knowing of the positive test.
A statement on the UFC website said they would stick by the fighter.
"While we are disappointed in the failed test, we applaud him for making this decision to enter a drug treatment facility," it read.
"Jon is a strong, courageous fighter inside the octagon [the cage where fighters do battle] and we expect him to fight this issue with the same poise and diligence.
"We commend him on his decision, and look forward to him emerging from this programme a better man as a result."
Jon Jones became the youngest ever UFC champion in 2011.
His current record inside the "octagon" is 21 wins and just one defeat, which came because he was disqualified.
UFC president Dana White said: " I'm confident that he'll emerge from this program like the champion he truly is."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones has checked into rehab following a positive test for cocaine last month. |
36,447,297 | Keith Conradi's appointment as head of the new Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch is due to be confirmed at a parliamentary hearing next week.
Leading doctors have said for many years that healthcare has a lot to learn from systems which promote safety in the airline industry.
Mr Conradi was a professional pilot.
He took up his current role in as chief inspector of air accidents in 2010.
Scandals at Mid Staffs and Southern Health Trusts have highlighted failings in how the NHS in England responds to patients' complaints and deaths.
The new healthcare investigation body (HSIB) will begin work soon, with an initial budget of £3.5m.
It will carry out about 30 reviews a year. | The UK's chief inspector of air accidents is the leading contender to run a new organisation which aims to make the NHS in England safer. |
38,042,679 | The illness prompted his engagement to his partner of 23 years, Nicola Formby, with whom he has two children.
Doctors found he had cancer, which has spread from his lungs to other parts of his body, after he went for an X-ray when people noticed he had lost weight.
Gill, 62, who is having chemotherapy, said he does not "feel cheated" and has been "very lucky" in his life.
The columnist, who is restaurant and TV critic for the Sunday Times, told the paper: "I've got an embarrassment of cancer, the full English.
"There is barely a morsel of offal not included. I have a trucker's gut-buster, gimpy, malevolent, meaty malignancy."
In an interview with the newspaper, he said he was prompted to visit the doctor after people noticed he had lost weight during a family holiday over the summer.
He also found it a struggle to complete his usual climb while stalking in Scotland and was suffering from a pain in his neck.
Doctors found he had a smoking-related cancer which had spread from his lungs - despite him giving up smoking 15 years ago.
The illness has meant he is unable to ride a bike because one tumour affects his balance and he has been banned from flying because he cannot risk infections.
Gill told readers of his column he was revealing his diagnosis because chemotherapy can alter the way things taste, adding: "If ever things start tasting like licked battery terminals, I'll tell you."
The writer, who was previously married to Home Secretary Amber Rudd and with whom he has two grown-up children, said he was "surprisingly excited" to be getting married again to Ms Formby.
He often refers to his partner as "The Blonde" in his restaurant reviews.
Gill told the Sunday Times he felt like he was given a "Willy Wonka golden ticket" to life after giving up drinking when he was 30 due to alcoholism.
"I realise I don't have a bucket list; I don't feel I've been cheated of anything," he said.
"I'd like to have gone to Timbuktu, and there are places I will be sorry not to see again.
"But actually, because of the nature of my life and the nature of what happened to me in my early life - my addiction, I know I have been very lucky."
Gill said he had visited a private doctor and paid for his own X-rays, but wanted to go back into the NHS because of the "connection it brings".
He told the newspaper: "My father would say he didn't want to die in the trench, and I don't want to die in a trench in Harley Street." | Restaurant critic AA Gill has revealed he has been diagnosed with the "full English" of cancers. |
18,784,730 | 1494 - Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica.
1509 - Jamaica occupied by the Spaniards under a licence from Columbus's son; much of the indigenous Arawak community dies off from exposure to European diseases; African slaves brought in to work on the sugar plantations.
1655 - Jamaica is captured by the British.
1670 - Jamaica formally ceded to the British in accordance with the Treaty of Madrid.
1692 - Port Royal, once the busiest trading centre of the British West Indies and infamous for general debauchery, is devastated by an earthquake.
The capital Kingston has endured earthquakes and fires
1838 - Slavery abolished.
1865 - The British ruthlessly put down the Morant Bay rebellion, staged by freed slaves in response to acute hardship, and force the local legislature to surrender its powers; Jamaica becomes a crown colony.
1870 - Banana plantations set up as the sugar cane industry declines in the face of competition from European beet sugar.
1884 - New constitution marks the initial revival of local autonomy.
1938 - Serious riots caused by unemployment and resentment against British racial policies; People's National Party (PNP) founded by Norman Manley.
1944 - Universal adult suffrage introduced; new constitution providing for a popularly-elected House of Representatives promulgated.
1958 - Jamaica becomes a member of the British-sponsored Federation of the West Indies.
1961 - Jamaica withdraws from the Federation of the West Indies.
Michael Manley was prominent in Jamaican politics for 40 years
Independence
1962 - Jamaica becomes independent within the British Commonwealth with Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as prime minister.
1972 - Michael Manley becomes prime minister following an impressive victory by the PNP in the general elections and pursues a policy of economic self-reliance.
1976 - The PNP wins another term following elections marked by violence and proceeds to nationalise businesses and build closer ties with Cuba.
1980 - Edward Seaga becomes prime minister after his JLP wins general elections. He proceeds to privatise state enterprises and to distance Jamaica from Cuba. US grants Seaga government substantial aid.
1988 - Jamaica badly hit by Hurricane Gilbert.
1989 - PNP ousts JLP in elections, returning Michael Manley as prime minister. Manley, however, chooses to continue Seaga's policy course.
Patterson takes over
1992 - Manley retires on health grounds and is succeeded by Percival J Patterson.
Gang rivalry, drugs trade contribute to high murder rate
Spanish Town new 'murder capital'
1993 - PNP returned to office with an increased majority.
1998 - PNP wins a third term; increase in violent crime reported as the economy deteriorates.
1999 April - Violent protests take place against a 30% increase in fuel prices.
1999 July - Government orders the army to patrol the streets of Kingston following a massive increase in crime.
2001 July - Troops and armoured vehicles move in to restore order in the capital, Kingston, after three days of unrest leave at least 27 people dead.
2002 March - Britain's Privy Council - final court of appeal for Jamaica and other former colonies - decides to halt executions in some Caribbean countries, where capital punishment is supported as a deterrent to violent crime. Prime Minister PJ Patterson criticises the move.
Patterson's third term
2002 October - Prime Minister PJ Patterson's People's National Party wins general elections, ushering in fourth successive term in office for party and third term for incumbent premier.
2003 January - UK introduces visa requirement for Jamaicans entering UK; London says move is intended to tackle illegal immigration.
PJ Patterson led Jamaica for 14 years
2002: Profile - Jamaica's PJ as PM
2004 March - Ousted former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide takes up temporary asylum, prompting an angry response from the new Haitian government.
2004 September - Hurricane Ivan - described as the biggest in living memory - pounds the island, destroying thousands of homes.
2005 September - Prime Minister PJ Patterson says he will step down by April 2006.
Opposition leads a day of protest over price increases for utilities and public transport.
2006 February - Local government minister Portia Simpson Miller is elected as head of the ruling People's National Party. She succeeds PJ Patterson to become Jamaica's first female PM in March.
2006 October - Government survives a confidence vote in parliament over the ruling party's acceptance of a campaign donation from a Netherlands-based oil company.
Labour takes over
2007 September - Jamaica Labour Party wins general elections, Bruce Golding becomes PM.
2008 November - Parliament votes to keep the death penalty, as Jamaica struggles to contain one of the world's highest murder rates.
2010 May-June - Dozens killed in operation to arrest alleged drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke. He is extradited to the US, sentenced and jailed.
2011 October - Andrew Holness takes over as premier, after Golding quits, citing the ''Dudus'' Coke affair.
2011 December - Portia Simpson-Miller from the People's National Party wins a snap general election.
2012 January - On taking up office, Mrs Simpson-Miller says that 50 years after Jamaica gained its independence from Britain, it is time for the country to break with the British monarchy and become a republic.
2012 November - Jamaica abolishes flogging and whipping from its penal code.
2014 April - Anti-doping officials in Jamaica given Asafa Powell, once the world's top sprinter, an 18-month ban for failing a drugs test.
2014 June - The government announces plans to radically reform the country's drug laws.
2015 February - Parliament decriminalises the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use. The law also permits the use of marijuana for religious, medical and scientific purposes. | A chronology of key events: |
38,451,502 | Karen Bowden was pronounced dead at the scene the fire at Bayham Walk in Bucknall.
A man in his 60s who was taken to hospital after being recovered from the house has been discharged.
Staffordshire Police said it was not treating the fire as suspicious. A report is being prepared for the coroner. | A 60-year-old woman who died in a house fire in Stoke-on-Trent on Boxing Day has been named by police. |
40,891,248 | But if you're not a traditional football fan, there are lots of words to wrap your head around if you want to understand what everybody is talking about.
Don't worry - Newsround has got you covered!
Added time - This is not to be confused with extra time, which is something different. Added time is time added on to the end of a match after 90 minutes to make up for periods when the match might have had to be stopped earlier on in the game for injury or substitutions. It is usually around three or four minutes.
Assistant referee - You might hear these people being called linesmen or lineswomen. They help the referee from the side of the pitch, and will alert the referee to things like a player being offside. They are the ones sidestepping up and down the side of the pitch with flags in their hand.
Away - If a team is playing away, they are not playing at their own ground.
Box - The box is the big rectangular area in front of the goal. If a defender commits a foul in the box, he may give away a penalty. It is also referred to as the penalty area or the 18-yard box. The goalkeeper is not allowed to touch the ball with his hands outside of this area. The D shape on the edge is called the Penalty Arc. It is an extra space for penalty kicks, only the attacking kicker and defending goalkeeper can be in it.
Champions League - This is the most important European football competition. The teams who finish in the top four in the Premier League will go on to compete in this famous competition.
Championship - This is the competition beneath the Premier League.
Corner - If a team sends the ball over its own back line (the line that the goal sits on), the opposition will win a corner. It is a good opportunity for them to score a goal, so teams don't want to give these away if they can help it.
Dugout - This is where managers, coaches and players who aren't on the pitch at the time, like substitutes, will sit to watch the match.
Extra time - For many matches, it's not a problem if it ends in a draw after 90 minutes is up. But in some matches, a winner will need to be decided - for example, in finals. When this happens, there will be extra time after 90 minutes. This usually takes the form of an extra mini-match, with two halves of 15 minutes each. If nobody wins during this time, it will go to a penalty shoot-out. You don't have extra time in Premier League matches.
Foul - If a player commits a foul, he does something that is against the rules of the game. For example, it might be a dangerous tackle. If the foul is bad enough, the player might find themselves getting a yellow or even a red card (don't worry, we'll come on to those later).
Free kick - A free kick may be awarded to a player if they have had a foul committed against them, especially if it has caused them to lose possession of the ball.
Goal area - This is the smaller box immediately in front of the goal, which is inside the 18-yard box. Goal kicks are taken from inside this area, which is also called the six-yard box.
Goal difference - If two teams are on the same number of points in a table, goal difference is used to decide who comes out on top. It is the difference between how many goals a team has scored and how many have been scored against them. The number of goals scored against a team is subtracted from the number of goals it has scored itself. The bigger the goal difference, the better.
Home - If a team is playing at home, they are playing at their own ground. This normally means that most of the people in the crowd will be supporting them.
Manager - The manager is the main person in charge of the football team. During matches, you will often see them shouting from the sidelines. Sometimes the person in charge is called the Head Coach.
Offside - The offside rule says that if a player kicks the ball up the pitch to his or her teammate, the teammate must have at least two people between them and the goal they are trying to score into - usually the goalkeeper and one defender. They can be level with the defender though. This stops strikers from goal-hanging. A player can only be offside if they interfere at all with what happens in the match. It's not against the rules just to stand in an offside position if you're not actually affecting anything. You also cannot be offside if you receive the ball directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner. You also can't be offside if you're in your own half.
Penalty - A penalty is when a team get the chance to shoot at goal from the penalty spot, with nothing in between them and the goalkeeper (so no defenders). It is very likely that the player will score. A penalty will be awarded to a team if there is a foul made against them in the box.
Penalty shoot-out - A series of penalties are used to decide the winner of a match if there are no winners after extra time. Each team takes five penalties, in turn, to see who gets the highest score. If they still can't decide, then it goes to 'sudden death' and the first team to miss loses if the opposition score. They don't have them in the Premier League, but they do in some Champions League matches.
Possession - If a player is in possession¸ it means they have the ball. If a team is playing possession football, it means they are just keeping the ball and kicking it around between them, to stop the other team from getting it. Teams usually do this towards the end of a match if they are winning and want to waste time until the match finishes.
Promotion - The ultimate goal of any football team is to do well enough during a season that they get to move up into the competition above. This is getting promoted. If teams are in the Premier League, they cannot be promoted as the Premier League is the highest group you can be in. Towards the end of the season, all the fans will be talking about which teams are going to get promoted.
Red card - If a player receives a red card, they will be sent off the field. It may also stop them from playing in future matches. A player would receive a red card for seriously breaking the rules.
Referee - This is the person on the pitch who is in charge of overseeing the game. He or she will have a whistle and will be in charge of making decisions on the pitch about things like fouls. The referee has the final say on anything that goes on during the match. Clubs can ask for someone else to check red and yellow cards after the game, and sometimes if the referee doesn't see something during a game, a player can be punished later on.
Relegation - This is the opposite of promotion. Relegation is when a team does not do well enough during a season, so they are moved down to the competition below. They will have to spend the following season fighting to do well enough to be promoted back up again at the end of it.
Season - The season is the period during which the football league takes place. The season lasts from August until May.
Substitute - Substitutes are reserve players who do not start the match, but can be swapped on to the pitch for another player once play has started. Substitutes are used if a player on the pitch gets injured or perhaps the manager wants to bring someone off to rest. In the Premier League, teams can name seven people as substitutes for each game, but can only bring three of them on.
Tackle - A tackle is a move used by a player to try to win the ball off their opponent. There are rules about how players can tackle each other. If they do it in a dangerous way, they may find themselves being given a yellow or red card.
Throw-in - When the ball goes off the side of the pitch, the team who were the last to touch it concede a throw in. This means the other team get to throw the ball back into play. There are rules about the way the ball has to be thrown.
Transfer - A transfer is when a player moves to another team. During the year, there are two transfer windows - that means two periods during which players are allowed to register with new clubs. Transfer deadline day is the last day of a transfer window, and is always an exciting time as fans eagerly wait to see what deals will be done in time.
Yellow card - A player is given a yellow card if they are being warned following something that is against the rules. A yellow card isn't as bad as a red card, but if they receive multiple yellow cards, these can be turned into a red one, so any player who has been warned with a yellow card will want to be on their best behaviour. | Footie fans all over the country will be looking forward to the start of the Premier League on Friday. |
36,925,993 | Perhaps our experience as a university in Yola, north-eastern Nigeria might add something to the global debate.
Yola, desperately poor, sits on the edge of the Sahara Desert, and for the past three years on the porous border between safety and security, at the edge of the territory seized by Boko Haram terrorists.
The American University of Nigeria (AUN) was established in this unlikely spot, founded by the former Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who was orphaned in this area as a young boy.
"Be a development university," he said when the university was established a little over a decade ago.
Four years ago, with a growing number of unemployed youth just outside the gates of the university, and the hungry and hopeless in flight from Boko Haram flooding into our small city, the American University of Nigeria (AUN) began to implement our vision of a "development university."
We reached out to local religious and community leaders to see how we might partner with them in peace, food security, and education programmes.
More stories from the BBC's Global education series looking at education from an international perspective and how to get in touch
The AUN-Adamawa Peace Initiative (AUN-API) was born. All major local Muslim and Christian leaders, traditional rulers, and local community leaders actively participate.
Our goals are simple: educate and feed as many people as we can.
In the process, we were guided by a number of principles - make sure women and girls are included in all projects; join with religious leaders in all efforts; involve AUN students, faculty and staff in all of these efforts; and make sure our local vulnerable youth know that they have a network of people who care about them.
The tsunami of hungry frightened people began arriving in Yola in 2014. The first 5,000 had few relatives in the area, no food and no access to school.
The next wave of 20,000 arrived by foot and by bus. Their hungry faces were seen everywhere in town. The Catholic cathedral and Muslim Centre became the major feeding areas.
Our peace initiative members developed comprehensive lists of where people came from, their names, ages, and gender so we could provide the most accurate food and supplies.
For example, women needed sanitary supplies; some young children needed life saving oral rehydration. At the university, we held classes all day and raised funds and fed hungry people the rest of the time.
By early 2016, the university's peace initiative had fed close to 300,000 people. One young woman and baby, who had been held in the Sambisa forest by Boko Haram and were severely malnourished, died in our local hospital. We all mourned.
What have we learned here that can be applied to other cities and countries?
First is the centrality of local leaders in any development effort. These conscientious and concerned religious and community leaders know which youth are particularly at risk to be radicalised.
Second, find out what these young people really want. Our peace network identifies the youth who need literacy education, tools to start a business, training to learn about information technology (which our youth want as much as any around the world). Then the university designs programmes and projects to meet these needs.
The young people told us they wanted to play sports. Thousands have joined our Peace Through Sports programme, which not only gives young people a chance to compete with each other in soccer, basketball and volleyball, and something to do during the day, but also teaches them to think about peace and cooperation.
We begin each programme with a discussion of peace, led by members of the peace initiative. We listen to them talk about their challenges.
Most of the games occur on our campus, where students and staff welcome them and make them feel they are part of our community. Every team is made up of members of different religious and tribal communities. They forge teams with people they would otherwise never encounter, much less befriend.
While it's impossible to pinpoint which of our programmes have kept youth from joining the terrorist group in our back yard, more than one young man has said to me: "It is either you or Boko Haram - there is nothing else." Peace initiative leaders can document that none of the youth they identified and brought into our various programmes joined the terrorist group.
As the threat from Boko Haram fades, the problems local people face have not diminished.
Thousands of very young children have been orphaned, left in our city to live with non-family members. Hunger has increased, as thousands of farmers were not able to plant their crops. The university is trying to deal with this next phase of the humanitarian crisis. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and university founder Atiku Abubakar provided seed, which we distributed.
With assistance from USAID, we established Technology Enhanced Literacy for All, which employs tablet computers and radio broadcasts to extend learning to 22,000 out-of-school children.
Many of the students walk up to three miles each way to participate. If for some reason a session is cancelled, children are visibly upset. When a radio failed to materialise recently, children went house-to-house in a village until they found someone willing to lend them one.
The university feeds and provides literacy and numeracy education to hundreds of children who are homeless, orphans, and Almajiri (Muslim religious school) boys.
The programme, Feed and Read, has just expanded to include Feed and Read for Girls. These children are out of school and are among the millions of Nigerian children who comprise the largest out-of-school population in the world.
Currently, about 500 children receive instruction and a meal through these two programmes. The plan is to expand to help 2,000 children by 2017.
The demand for our projects far exceeds the number of places and available funding. At every session, hundreds of children crowd around the learning centres in hope of participating.
The children in the Feed and Read programmes share their meal with children who are not. It's heartbreaking to know that we can't help so many children who are hungry for learning, and just plain hungry.
It is essential that these modest efforts be replicated and expanded immediately. Otherwise, the most vicious cycle will begin again, devouring youth who are uneducated, destitute, with no family, no support, and nothing else in their lives. We all know where that leads.
The debate in the West about terrorism is usually presented in stark and defensive terms: increase security, curtail civil liberties and reduce the number of refugees allowed to emigrate. Is there another solution that would prevent angry and hopeless youth from joining terrorist groups? | As the world searches for methods to keep young people from joining radical groups, and new ways to prevent violence and foster development, this university may provide an example. |
40,398,089 | Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar were attacked on 21 June at traffic lights in Beckton, east London.
The cousins had been celebrating Ms Khan's 21st birthday before the attack.
Both suffered severe burns to the face and body and Mr Muhktar, 37, was placed in an induced coma. No arrests have been made, police said.
Both continue to be treated in hospital. Ms Khan has damage to her left eye and required two skin grafts.
Mr Muhktar, who has since been brought out of his coma, has burns across his body arms, legs, back, neck and the right side of his face as well as damage to his right eye.
On social media, Ms Khan said: "I'm devastated. I keep wondering if my life will ever be the same. Acid attacks in the UK are unheard of for me.
"The pain was excruciating. I was struggling to close the window. My cousin struggled to get us away. I saw my clothes burn away in front of me."
According to police the two had stopped at traffic lights during their drive when the man approached them and threw the toxic substance at Ms Khan through the window.
The attacker then circled around the car and threw more of the acid at Mr Muhktar, before eventually fleeing the scene.
In 2016-17, there were 398 victims of crimes involving "noxious or corrosive" substances, such as acid. This compares with 146 in 2012-13.
Violence with injury is the main offence to have seen a rise. In each of 2015-16 and 2016-17, there were 191 victims, compared with 67 in 2014-15.
Noxious or corrosive substances have also been used in five rapes between April 2012 and March 2017.
Not all these incidents will involve acid. Because of the way the Metropolitan Police recorded the data, the figures show all victims of crimes where any "noxious or corrosive" substances were used.
The force released the figures under the Freedom of Information Act. | Two people have been left with "life-changing" injuries after a corrosive substance was thrown on to them through their car windows. |
37,605,123 | The project has been heavily debated for a number of years, but Scottish ministers have said it offers significant strategic and economic benefits for Scotland.
The government said this would include up to 16,000 new jobs.
Heathrow Airport and the Scottish government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
This will highlight a number of commitments by Heathrow Airport, including the new jobs.
If the expansion goes ahead, about £200m would be spent on construction in Scotland, £10m for new domestic routes, and there would be a commitment to investigate Prestwick Airport as a potential site for a logistics hub to support the building of the third runway.
Keith Brown, the cabinet secretary for economy, jobs and fair work, told BBC Radio Scotland that it was the "best deal for Scotland".
Speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: "In the absence of action from the UK government, we have made this decision and we would urge them to act as quickly as possible."
The UK government said that it will "shortly announce" a decision on airport expansion, with another runway at Gatwick also in the running.
Environmental campaigners, local authorities near Heathrow and some MPs have raised concerns about the project.
Asked if this was a "green policy", Mr Brown said increasing the number of direct long-haul flights to Scotland could reduce the number of more "damaging" short-haul connections to Heathrow.
He said many people flying directly to Scotland would want to know about onward connections to London.
Mr Brown said the UK needs to have an international hub airport, but was facing "real pressure" from Schiphol, Istanbul and Dubai - and that short-haul connections with those airports would be "even more environmentally damaging" than those to Heathrow.
A spokesman for Gatwick Airport said he was "surprised" by the Scottish government's decision to back a third runway at Heathrow, which he said would "undermine Scotland's connections with the world, making it more dependent on London and the South East of England".
He added: "Some of the suggested benefits to Scotland are unlikely to bear serious scrutiny, which makes the decision all the more curious.
"However, we are confident that expansion will happen at Gatwick and that competition will prevail over the old-fashioned monopoly being planned by Heathrow. That would be the best outcome for Scotland."
The operators of Edinburgh Airport said they believed Gatwick "offered the better deal for Scotland" and described the Heathrow plan as "undeliverable" and potentially "bad for passengers".
A spokesman added: "We are now urging the Scottish government to give greater clarity on their planned cut to Air Passenger Duty (APD) - and we are calling on them to confirm that proposals will deliver a 50% cut in one move to create the greatest growth, generate jobs and support the economy."
Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said the Scottish government's announcement was disappointing.
He told Good Morning Scotland that a third runway at Heathrow would increase passenger traffic by about 70% by 2030.
"If you're concerned about climate change, the last thing you want to do is let aviation grow even more," he said.
"It's the fastest source of greenhouse gases, it's not really under control, and if we're to meet international targets... we can't possibly expand aviation much more than where it is today globally."
Mr Dixon also raised questions over the promises of mass job creation.
"If you're better connected, if it's easier to fly somewhere else, then people will do their business elsewhere," he said.
"This actually takes business, jobs and money out of Scotland as well as bring it in and it kind of balances out."
Heathrow Airport has also committed to a reduction of £10 per passenger on landing charges paid by airlines operating services from Heathrow to Scotland from January.
This will benefit existing services from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and incentivise the introduction of new services.
It has also agreed to a significant, long-term marketing campaign at Heathrow to promote Scotland and a procurement event in Glasgow to enhance opportunities for Scottish firms to win business with Tier 1 Heathrow suppliers.
Mr Brown said: "We have engaged extensively with both airports during this process and considered all options very carefully. Gatwick's proposals are also to be commended.
"However, Heathrow's plan offers significant job creation, major investment opportunities and, crucially, seeks to address how all of Scotland's airports benefit from the new runway capacity when it comes and also in the lead-up period.
"The potential for a logistics hub to be based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport is also an important part of the Heathrow offer. It would support the pre-fabrication of components for the construction phase, with potential for future work beyond the launch of the third runway, bringing strong economic benefits to the airport and the wider Ayrshire economy."
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: "It would facilitate more airlines flying routes to Scottish airports, meaning more flights, more competition and choice for families and businesses across the nation. That also means more visitors to Scotland, more destinations for Scottish tourists and more opportunity for Scottish businesses to reach new export markets.
"This partnership demonstrates how Heathrow expansion can work for every region and nation of the UK." | The Scottish government has said it is backing the plan to add a third runway at London's Heathrow airport. |
33,813,366 | The Egypt international joined Chelsea from Swiss side Basel for £11m in January 2014.
However, he has played only 19 times for the Blues, scoring two goals.
The 23-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Roma's Serie A rivals Fiorentina, where he scored nine times in 26 games.
"Salah is regarded by many as the best Egyptian player in the world right now," Roma said in a statement on their website. | Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah has joined Roma on a season-long loan, with the Italian club given an option to buy the player at any point in the season. |
33,552,279 | Costs were to be limited to £72,000 for the over-65s and younger adults with disabilities from April 2016.
The Department of Health said it was still "firmly committed" to the cap, but questions are now being raised whether the policy needs rethinking.
The move came after councils wrote to ministers asking for a delay because of the "enormous pressures" they faced.
For years councils have been warning the care system - which covers residential care and help at home with tasks such as washing and dressing - has been underfunded. A shortfall of £4.3bn has been predicted by the end of the decade - nearly a third.
Concerns had also been expressed that the drive for a national living wage would push up costs.
The BBC has launched an online guide to the care system for the over-65s. The "care calculator" covers residential care and the support provided in people's own homes, for tasks such as washing and dressing.
Users can submit their postcode and find out how much each service costs where they live in the UK.
There is also a dedicated BBC Cost of Care website, with news stories, analysis and video.
The letter from the Local Government Association on 1 July said that while councils backed the introduction of the cap, it was not possible to cope with the extra demands the changes would bring at the moment.
It said the current system was "no longer sustainable" and pressing ahead would be "deeply damaging".
It had been predicted the changes would add £6bn to public sector spending over the course of five years.
The move was part of a raft of changes being introduced under the 2014 Care Act and included in the Conservative Party's manifesto.
As well as capping costs, the changes would have provided a more generous system of state help.
Currently those with assets above £23,250 do not get any help from councils towards their costs.
That was to have risen to £118,000 under the changes.
Ministers had claimed the policy would stop people racking up "catastrophic" care costs in old age - one in 10 people who enter the care system end up forking out over £100,000.
In a written ministerial statement, the government said it was "firmly committed" to the plans, but it was clear following the letter from the LGA that the government needed to "think carefully".
"This is not a decision that has been taken lightly. Further announcements will follow in due course."
But Labour's shadow care minister Liz Kendall said: "This is a shameful broken promise from David Cameron, and devastating news for older people and their families who have been trying to plan for the future."
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, of the LGA, said: "In an ideal world, we would have funding for both the system and the reforms but we have to be realistic about where scarce resources are needed most.
"Any money from delaying the reforms must be put back into adult social care services and support putting it on a sustainable footing."
Age UK's Caroline Abrahams said the delay was the right decision as introducing the cap now would have been a "distraction" at a time when the care system was in a state of "cataclysmic" decline.
"What matters now is that the government grasps the scale of the galloping crisis and uses the spending review to bring forward effective solutions."
She said she hoped the delay would lead to a rethink as the cap had been set too high in the first place.
Prof Martin Green, chief Executive of Care England, which represents care providers, said it was now time to come up with a "sustainable" solution "once and for all".
"If the government refuses to address the issue of funding, we will have a care system in crisis and the NHS unable to cope with the pressure," he added. | The government says its flagship policy to cap care costs in England will be delayed until 2020. |
40,188,815 | Buildings on the experimental nuclear energy site, which dates to the 1950s, are being emptied of radioactive material and demolished.
Starting in 2018, the planned next stage would involve dismantling reactors.
New temporary buildings would also need to be built to aid the new phase.
The new buildings would include facilities for handling the clean up and demolition of areas of the site called the Silo and The Shaft.
Also included are plans to restoration and landscaping work to restore areas of land to close to how they looked before the construction of Dounreay.
The phase would take the site near Thurso to what is called its interim end state.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited has notified Highland Council that it expects to submit the planning application later this year. | A planning application is being prepared for a new phase in the decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear power complex in Caithness. |
37,055,366 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Manuel, 20, became the first black female swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal, while Oleksiak, 16, won Canada's first gold of these Games.
Both women finished in 52.70 seconds, a new Olympic record.
Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom took bronze, with Australian sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell fourth and sixth respectively.
The last time two swimmers won joint golds in the Olympics was in 2000 when Americans Gary Hall and Anthony Ervin shared the men's 50m freestyle title.
Oleksiak, who has also won a silver medal in the 100m butterfly and two relay bronze medals in Rio, becomes the first competitor born after 1 January, 2000 to claim an Olympic gold medal in an individual event.
The Campbell sisters were expected to battle for the gold and at the halfway point world record holder Cate Campbell led with Bronte second.
However, the pair, who helped Australia win the 4x100m freestyle relay on Saturday, faded in the second half of the race to miss out on the medals entirely.
Manuel said: "My first gold medal, at my first Olympics, is kind of a surprise to me.
"I never thought I would be in this position but I'm so blessed and honoured to be on the medal stand. All my hard work has paid off and I am really happy about it.
"I will just remember all the memories I made. Team USA is awesome. We're a family and it's a great support system. Regardless of our achievements, we're all there for each other and we are friends."
Oleksiak said: "This is amazing, to tie for a gold. I never thought I'd win a gold. It means so much. She (Manuel) deserves it as much as me."
Rebecca Adlington, double Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer, on BBC One: "I'm so shocked by that race. I don't think it's sunk in.
"Cate Campbell broke the world record two months ago - how can you go from that to sixth? It just baffles me."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | American Simone Manuel and Canada's Penny Oleksiak claimed joint gold in a remarkable finish to the women's 100m freestyle final at the 2016 Olympics. |
28,542,408 | The Conservatives were in second place on £25.4m with the Lib Dems third on £7.3m, according to accounts lodged with the Electoral Commission.
The UK Independence Party doubled its income, from £1.2m in 2012, to £2.5m.
The SNP saw a slight decrease, from £2.3m to £2m, with Sinn Fein on £1.2m, the Green Party on £881,819 and the British National Party on £605,208.
Labour's income included £6.9m in public funding - most of it from the so-called Short money to help opposition parties with policy research and other costs. The Conservatives received just £659,000 in public funding.
The rest of the income is from donations, including those too small to be registered quarterly, plus money from conferences, merchandising and any sales of property and other assets.
The trade unions are major contributors to Labour coffers, but the party said funds from individual members amounted to more than £8m.
"The total increases to £10.5m with contributions from our elected representatives making funds from members our greatest income segment."
The accounts show the party has moved a step closer to clearing its record debts, which stood at £41,798,000 in 2005.
John Mills, founder of TV shopping channel JML continued to be one of Labour's biggest donors, with one non-cash donation worth £1.6m.
Labour's membership increased by nearly 2,000 to 189,531 - less than half the total in 1997, when Tony Blair won his landslide general election victory.
The Lib Dems' membership increased for the first time since 2010, with an extra 950 people joining the party, bringing the total to 43,451. Membership was 65,038 when the party entered into coalition with the Conservatives.
The party's total income was also up by more than £1m on 2012.
The Conservatives do not declare membership figures but their membership income was up slightly, from £747,000 to £749,000.
Electoral Commission chief executive Peter Wardle said: "We are pleased that, for the third year running, all the larger political parties have submitted their accounts to us by the statutory deadline.
It is essential that parties continue to be transparent with their financial information so voters can see exactly how they are funded and how this money is spent."
Here is the full list of income for parties with gross expenditure of more than £250,000: | Labour was the best-funded political party in the UK in 2013, with an income of £33.3m. |
33,578,180 | Online copyright infringement currently carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment.
Ministers have launched a consultation on increasing it to 10 years - bringing it into line with copyright infringement of physical goods.
The government said tougher sentences would act as a "significant deterrent".
By Dave Lee, BBC technology reporter
Groups that represent the country's creative industry - particularly film and music - have been lobbying hard for this for some time.
They argue that a couple of years in jail just isn't a sufficient deterrent to prevent online piracy, and that the law is well out of date.
The proposed measures are mainly targeted at the distributors of pirated content - the people creating copies of movies, sometimes before release, and uploading them to be downloaded by thousands upon thousands.
It's not, the police are clear to point out, aimed at small-time downloaders - although there are other ways and means to prevent that too.
The consultation phase will likely turn heated. Internet rights groups will question the influence Hollywood and the music industry has over the day-to-day operations of the police - after all, industry bodies, funded by top studios and record labels, have paid for staff to work in police stations with the sole brief of investigating copyright crime.
They'll also say the way to "solve" online piracy is to offer affordable, flexible ways to consume new film and music - not jail terms.
Netflix, Spotify and others are evidence this is happening, the industry groups say. They'll argue that no legal service, however cheap, will ever tempt those who simply don't want to pay for their entertainment.
Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: "The government takes copyright crime extremely seriously - it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy both on and offline.
"Our creative industries are worth more than £7 billion to the UK economy and it's important to protect them from online criminal enterprises.
"By toughening penalties for commercial-scale online offending we are offering greater protections to businesses and sending a clear message to deter criminals."
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ratcliffe, head of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, said: "Online or offline, intellectual property theft is a crime.
"With advances in technology and the popularity of the internet, more and more criminals are turning to online criminality and so it is imperative that our prosecution system reflects our moves to a more digital world."
The consultation follows calls from the creative industries for more action over copyright offences. | Online pirates could face jail terms of up to 10 years under plans being considered by the government. |
38,999,061 | The absence of the influential full-back, who has been capped 57 times, is a major setback to Irish hopes of winning the tournament.
Briggs missed the wins over Scotland and Italy, which took the Irish to the top of the standings.
Ireland finish with games against France, Wales and England.
"A scan on the 57-times capped full-back has confirmed a hamstring injury, ruling Niamh out for the remainder of the Women's 6 Nations Championship," the IRFU said.
"She will work with the IRFU medical staff to rehab the injury over the coming weeks." | Ireland captain Niamh Briggs has been ruled out for the rest of the Women's Six Nations because of a hamstring injury. |
35,400,141 | Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue has said it costs £303 for a one-hour attendance using one appliance.
Neil Blackburn from the service said: "We will only take cost recovery on businesses where there are persistent problems."
The fire service said the move, which they aim to bring in from April, would save £30,000 a year.
There were 246 call-outs in Somerset and 1608 in Devon between 2011-15.
The fire service said by taking no action on lift rescues, it would cost £758,000 over three years, a figure it wants to reduce.
"We don't ever want to get to that position where we are charging businesses, the intention is we will work with the businesses and we will encourage them to take action," added Mr Blackburn.
The fire service said the recovery costs would be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances.
If repeated call-outs were made to the same firm, they could potentially be faced with paying for the £303 cost of sending out one appliance. | Firms in Somerset and Devon are to be charged if they repeatedly call the fire service for broken lift rescues. |
36,487,781 | They say a group of men who were not fasting had complained that their lunch portions were too small.
Two North African men, aged 26, have been arrested and charged with arson.
The hall was destroyed at a major Duesseldorf convention centre close to the city's airport. Damage has been estimated at €10m ($11m; £8m).
The hall was acting as an accommodation hub for men mainly from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Africa who were waiting to be sent elsewhere in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Both Muslims and Christians were living there. Some 7,000 refugees and migrants are currently being housed in Duesseldorf, officials told Germany's DPA news agency.
Germany saw an influx of more than 1.1 million refugees and migrants in 2015 and although the number of arrivals has fallen, officials face a huge task in processing hundreds of thousands of asylum claims.
The mood at the hall was already poor, according to Red Cross workers cited by German media. Police are said to be looking at earlier reports of attempted arson.
When Ramadan started the situation reportedly became worse, and staff at the site were spat at and pelted with shoes.
A late evening meal was introduced for Muslims observing Ramadan and one group of men not taking part in the fast complained that their meals were not big enough. "We're looking at this as the motive," an investigator said.
Fire broke out on Tuesday and smoke from the centre was visible across the city.
Eight men were arrested and two were remanded in custody accused of setting fire to the hall.
One of the suspects told reporters: "We had to do it so that things would change."
Although everyone staying at the hall was brought to safety, a number of men suffered from smoke inhalation. | German investigators believe a dispute over Ramadan meals led to a fire that gutted a shelter for 282 asylum seekers in the western city of Duesseldorf. |
35,607,832 | Jim Rushton, from Telford, was issued with the penalty following the discovery of stowaways on his vehicle after he left Calais on 12 January.
He is appealing, saying he did all he could to secure his vehicle.
Telford MP Lucy Allan has backed his case, which is being considered by the Home Office.
Mr Rushton warned hauliers were having to begin journeys further away from Calais because of the risks of people trying to board lorries when drivers were sleeping or refuelling.
"We try to protect our vehicles and ourselves, but what chance do we have when there are four or five of them?" he said.
£2,000
Maximum on-the-spot fine a driver faces for each unauthorised person found in their vehicle
3,319 Fines served in 2014-15, up from 998 in 2012-13
7% Of all drivers fined in 2013-14 were British
1 in 3 Lorries entering the UK are believed to have lower than basic standards of security
Hauliers undergo training to help them secure their lorries, and have to go through checkpoints that can detect the heartbeat of anyone inside the back of their vehicles.
Mr Rushton said he had completed all the security checks before he re-entered the UK.
"We're basically just doing a job, and we're getting penalised for it through no fault of our own," he said.
Jack Semple, director of policy for the Road Haulage Association, said drivers were avoiding Calais due to the increasing dangers, causing traffic problems at other ports.
He called for the French and UK governments to "find a solution" to the "extremely difficult" conditions.
"It's a serious problem for drivers, migrants and the economy," he said.
"We support the Border Force's work, but it isn't perfect, and if someone has done all they can [to secure their vehicles] they should not be fined."
Ms Allan's office confirmed she has written to the home secretary to highlight the case.
A Home Office spokesman said the fines were to ensure drivers were "taking reasonable measures" to secure their vehicles.
While not discussing Mr Rushton's case, the spokesman said: "Drivers and haulage companies who can show they have taken appropriate steps as set out in the codes of practice will not receive a penalty." | A haulier who faces a £10,000 fine after five migrants were found on his lorry has called for more help for drivers around the Channel Tunnel. |
38,733,833 | Casey Scott, 29, of Drummond Road, Skegness, strangled and stabbed Lenuta Haidemac, 28, after asking her to come to the address.
Ms Haidemac, who was a sex worker, was found dead on the bathroom floor of Scott's flat.
Scott, who had previously pleaded guilty to her murder, was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.
Ms Haidemac had been living in Boston, Lincolnshire, with her partner and their two children since moving to the UK in 2015.
Judge Michael Heath told Scott he killed Ms Haidemac in a "brutal" manner and ordered him to serve 19 years imprisonment before he can be considered for parole.
Det Ch Insp Diane Coulson said: "Casey Scott has never accounted for his actions so we may never know what led to Lenuta's brutal killing.
"Whatever happened that day, it left a family grieving the loss of a much-loved young woman." | A man who murdered a woman in a "brutal" attack has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years. |
33,023,751 | The support line, run by staff from charity Mind, received more than 6,000 calls in its first six months.
Its funding is to end this month after the local NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) decided not to fund it.
The CCGs said they were unable to commit sufficient new funds. Mind said the service was a lifeline for patients.
The pilot project was launched by former health minister, North Norfolk Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, in January this year.
Its aim was to provide support for patients over 18 under the care of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) or those who have been seen by the trust's services within the last 12 months.
Amanda Hedley, chief executive of Norwich and Central Norfolk Mind, said that between January and May the service had been a lifeline and had been able to answer 6,111 calls.
She said she was "very shocked and extremely disappointed" by the decision.
Kevin James, service user governor for the NSFT in Norfolk, said: "The support line has met the needs of service users where other services have failed and I personally feel beyond concerned for the welfare of those who have a genuine need for the service."
A spokesman for the CCGs for North Norfolk, South Norfolk and Norwich said: "The helpline was funded through one-off, non-recurrent national 'mental health resilience' money.
"This was made available across the country to fund short-term schemes that ease pressures on the NHS over winter and the following months."
Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG said it had been working with social enterprise firm IC24 to develop a mental health pathway that works in partnership with the NSFT team to ensure the needs of mental health service users were met out of hours.
A spokeswoman for West Norfolk CCG said: "We have made the decision to not continue funding the central Mind helpline and are instead proposing a new better integrated and more locally-focused model for crisis response for West Norfolk patients." | A mental health crisis line in Norfolk, which has taken thousands of calls, is set to close after losing its funding. |
31,022,280 | On Wednesday, the council agreed to a two-month delay to the decision after Cuadrilla submitted additional information.
In June, when the company put in the original application for the two sites between Blackpool and Preston, oil was above $110 a barrel and it has been falling ever since.
It's important to stress that Cuadrilla is looking for shale gas, not oil, but the wholesale price of natural gas tends to follow the same trends as oil.
John Hall from Alfa Energy Group says: "The shale gas market took off in the US on the back of rising oil prices" as the price rose from around $60 a barrel in 2007 and started heading towards $140.
"My guess is that with the Brent price below $50 it will be difficult to justify short-term investment in shale, certainly in the UK," he says.
The likes of Chevron, Shell and Exxon have been delaying expansion plans or shelving projects worldwide that no longer look profitable.
So what is the break-even price for onshore shale gas in the UK? As with so many figures relating to the oil and gas industry, it is very hard to tell.
Cuadrilla wants to conduct exploratory drilling because it does not know how much shale gas there is in the area or how easy it would be to extract.
Greenpeace assembled some research and concluded that: "gas prices need to be higher than they are, or what the market says they will be, for the UK shale gas sector to even break even".
But Cuadrilla is playing a longer game than that. First of all, even if it gets regulatory clearance in two months, it is unlikely to be commercially extracting any gas from the ground until the end of the decade, by which time prices could have changed considerably.
Also, it is not just the suitability of the rocks for fracking that is being tested at the moment - it is the whole planning process.
Prof Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh says it is unlikely that the first projects in the UK would be profitable anyway, "because of the intense legislative burden, and because they are one-offs with large mobilisation costs to get the rig and crew on site".
Potential frackers would hope that if these projects get the go-ahead, future projects would take less time to get approval, and equipment and experienced staff would become easier and cheaper to find.
On top of that, Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan told the Telegraph recently that lower oil and gas prices are actually quite good news for him at the moment, because they reduce the price of services and raw materials.
"Contractors earning 20% less in Aberdeen in January than December - that feeds straight through to the prices services companies offer us for drilling and fracturing," he said.
A lower oil price makes it harder to get funding for exploration, but Mr Egan also pointed out that Cuadrilla's funding for the exploratory boreholes was already covered by a £160m deal with Centrica in 2013.
So it seems that today's price is not entirely relevant to the sort of long-term project Cuadrilla is involved in, as long as it can maintain the funding to keep the planning and exploration going.
The real concern for the companies would be if the delays to the process mean that the money runs out before the exploration is finished. | Has the decision by Lancashire County Council on whether to allow Cuadrilla Resources to conduct exploratory fracking been overtaken by events, given that oil has fallen below $50 a barrel? |
40,916,148 | Four drivers were photographed on the M20 near Ashford in Kent.
Two were reading, one was holding cutlery and a food container and another appeared to be steering with his elbows.
Road safety campaigners Brake branded the images as "shocking" while the AA said the consequences of such behaviour could be "dire".
Surrey Police said they spotted one driver using the app Snapchat.
Another was photographed looking at a piece of paper while travelling on the M4 in Swindon and another was snapped on his mobile phone near junction 46 of M1 in Yorkshire.
Jason Wakeford, from Brake, said: "These are shocking images showing drivers with a total disregard for the safety of other road users."
Police forces across the country have been using unmarked vehicles to take pictures.
PC Dan Pascoe of Surrey Police said the force's lorry had been "invaluable", with 26 people caught on one day so far this month.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said the risks associated with drivers using phones are "very clear".
The Department for Transport said anyone who is distracted can be prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving.
Edmund King from the AA, said some lorry drivers get bored, particularly on motorways.
"I think some feel that because they are high up in the cab it is harder to spot them."
He said the consequences of the driver of a 44-tonne lorry being distracted for a second or two could be "absolutely dire".
Tomasz Kroker was jailed for 10 years last year after killing a woman and three children when his lorry ploughed into their stationary car on the A34 near Newbury, Berkshire, while he was distracted by his phone. | Lorry drivers have been photographed on England's roads eating, reading and using a phone while behind the wheel. |
36,098,084 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Edinburgh side moved to within three points of Falkirk as they pursue second place in the Championship, which would spare them extra play-off games.
"We are not even thinking about the cup final," Stubbs told BBC Scotland.
"It was about getting three points and the lads deserve a lot of credit. We want to finish as high as we can."
Stubbs employed a 3-5-2 formation in the 3-2 victory, closing down Rangers' options in midfield as Jason Cummings - who scored the opener - and Anthony Stokes harassed the visitors' defenders to good effect.
"We know Rangers have got good players, that is why they won the league," Stubbs noted. "We knew if we played with good shape, we have got good players who can hurt them, as they have shown before.
"Jason's (Cummings) record against Rangers is good, and he and Anthony caused problems for them."
After their penalty shootout victory over Dundee United, Wednesday was the first of potentially 11 games in 36 days for Hibs, if they don't overtake Falkirk for second, but still make it to the Premiership play-off final.
But with an away game at Morton on Saturday next up, Stubbs believes his players are becoming "immune" to the strenuous schedule that has accompanied their progress to both domestic cup finals.
"We have had a heavy fixture schedule since March," he added. "If anything the players are starting to get immune to it and they will concentrate on recovery again now before Saturday.
"The most important thing is recovery and we will try to do that - with protein drinks, nutrition, ice, massage - and we might look at a couple of other options to maximise what potentially we can do."
Rangers boss Mark Warburton insists there was no Hampden hangover after watching his side slip to only their fourth league defeat of the season - two at Falkirk, and two at Hibs.
The Glasgow giants endured 120 minutes and a penalty shootout against Celtic in Sunday' second semi-final but he refused to use fatigue as an excuse.
"No not at all, Sunday was totally irrelevant," Warburton said. "That is next year if we win the cup and have the Europa League. You saw the fitness levels, you saw Barrie McKay running back 40 yards in the 93rd minute.
"We were physically fine, mentally fine. It is disappointing to start the game well and then give away a soft, soft goal. That can't happen.
"The third goal allows them to sit deep and they had 10 men behind the ball so it is hard to break down.
"We got a great strike from Baz, who again produced an outstanding level of performance. We should have had more chances with all the possession we had. To come here and have 70% of the ball tells you all you need to know." | Hibs boss Alan Stubbs insists his squad are not thinking about the Scottish Cup final after beating Hampden opponents Rangers in Wednesday's dress rehearsal. |
34,206,960 | Ian Murray wants to see Yvette Cooper replace Ed Miliband.
But he said if Mr Corbyn triumphed he would take on the shadow Scottish secretary role.
Voting in the election, being fought by Ms Cooper, Mr Corbyn, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall has closed and the winner will be announced on Saturday.
Mr Murray told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that he had made clear in the past that he would "think about serving in a Corbyn shadow cabinet".
He said: "But I think anyone who asks me to serve as shadow Scottish secretary, I'll be accepting of that because we need a Scottish voice in that shadow cabinet. We need to work with the leadership."
Mr Murray added: "I would serve under Jeremy Cobryn's leadership if I'm asked to do so."
The contest has been plagued by internal rows over Labour's direction and concerns that non-party supporters have tried to influence the outcome.
The Labour leadership election was sparked by Mr Miliband's resignation following the party's poor performance at the general election.
The surprise emergence of left-winger Mr Corbyn, a last-minute addition to the race, has led to warnings from his rivals and senior Labour figures, including former prime minister Tony Blair, against a lurch to the left.
The party is also in the process of choosing a new deputy leader, with the result of the ballot also to be unveiled at the leadership conference on Saturday. | Scotland's only Labour MP has said he would serve in the shadow cabinet of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn if he were to win the leadership of the UK party. |
18,851,703 | As well as being head of the army, he was vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission and held top posts in the ruling Workers' Party.
In a short statement, the party said Mr Ri had been removed from his posts "because of illness".
The BBC's Seoul correspondent Lucy Williamson says there is widespread scepticism about that explanation.
The decision to relieve Mr Ri of his duties came at a meeting of the Workers' Party Central Committee politburo on Sunday, state-run news agency KCNA said.
The brief report made no mention of a successor.
In Seoul, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry told reporters that the move was "very unusual".
"It's quite a rare case that the North promptly and publicly announced early this morning the outcome of a meeting yesterday, on 15 July. We will keep monitoring closely," Kim Hyung-suk said.
By Lucy WilliamsonBBC News, Seoul
Ri Yong-ho's removal from office has taken many people outside North Korea by surprise.
He was seen as having a key role in the recent transition of power in North Korea, from Kim Jong-il to his son, Kim Jong-un.
Few people here are taking the regime's explanation of "illness" at face value.
The statement posted on North Korea's state news agency was short and sparse, giving no details of his condition or any indication of his successor as head of the army.
Instead, some analysts are reading his removal as a possible political purge - in order to cement Kim Jong-un's grip on the military, or perhaps signalling a rift in the team of senior figures which has encircled the young heir during his six months in power.
Analysis: A diplomatic illness?
Mr Ri was made army chief three years ago under Kim Jong-il, the current leader's father who died in December 2011 after ruling North Korea for almost two decades.
The army chief regularly appeared at state occasions beside Kim Jong-il.
He was also one of seven top officials to accompany the younger Kim as he followed the hearse containing his father's body at his state funeral.
Mr Ri was widely thought to be a figure in the inner circle of the new leader and instrumental in helping him cement his position.
His removal is now being scrutinised by analysts for signs of the direction in which Kim Jong-un, seen as young and inexperienced, will take the country.
The army and Workers' Party are the two primary institutions that bolstered the Kim family dynasty, Robert Kelly, a professor at the Pusan National University in South Korea told the BBC.
Powers behind new leader
Kim Jong-un did not serve in either of those two institutions which are ''traditional proving grounds and grooming grounds... for the leadership in the system''.
''So his position is very vulnerable because he does not know the generals and colonels who prop up the state,'' said Dr Kelly.
In April North Korea defied international warnings to launch a rocket - an action its neighbours called a long-range missile test that contravened UN resolutions.
The rocket launch failed, and analysts warned that it was not clear whether this would lead to more efforts to demonstrate military might - such as another nuclear test - or strengthen the position of reformers seeking to focus on the economy.
South Korea warned earlier this year that Pyongyang appeared to be in the late stages of preparing for a third nuclear test - a claim North Korea has denied.
International talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions have been stalled since 2009. | North Korean military chief Ri Yong-ho has been removed from all official posts, according to state media. |
39,473,558 | County were 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two when Flynn replaced Graham Westley in March.
The Exiles remain in the relegation zone, but are five points from safety, having won three of Flynn's six games in charge.
"I'm proud of them. They have given everything since I've been here," Flynn said.
"That determination, that effort and that intensity has got to last every game to the end of the season.
"Nothing less than that will do. We've got six big games to go and if we close the gap one point every week we're going to stay up."
County ended a three-match winless run with a 1-0 win at home to Crawley Town to leave them five points behind Hartlepool, who were beaten by Portsmouth.
Fellow strugglers Cheltenham boosted their survival hopes with a home win over Morecambe and are six points ahead of Newport with six games remaining.
"It's so important we take care of our business because Cheltenham won," Flynn told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"It could have been a lot worse. It could have been nine points, but thankfully we've closed the gap because Hartlepool lost.
"Two teams have been dragged into it again and we've got to keep concentrating on what we do."
Newport are at play-off contenders Exeter City on Saturday, 8 April. | Mike Flynn says Newport County's players "have given everything" since he was appointed caretaker manager. |
33,977,953 | Seven schemes worth about £3bn are at varying stages of development.
They include Swansea University's second campus, a tidal lagoon and the St David's civic centre regeneration.
But it is understood even more plans are due to be unveiled in the future, adding to what is already taking place.
"It is the biggest landscape change since the Second World War," said Rob Stewart.
"When you look at Swansea then [after the blitz], there was one building left. Now the buildings here were built in the 1950s.
"There isn't one area of the city centre that wouldn't be touched by this development.
"It would be unrecognisable from even now."
The 69-acre (28 hectare) site off Fabian Way will focus on science and innovation as well as providing student residences.
Cost: £450m Completion: 2015 with further £100m development planned on site and Singleton campus to be developed.
World's first tidal lagoon power plant producing enough energy for more than 155,000 homes.
Cost: £1bn Start date: 2016
A retail and leisure complex would be built on the St David's site with a walkway over the main road leading to the current civic centre site which would have public spaces, tourist attractions and homes.
Cost: £500m Start date: 2017
The Kingsway could be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly plaza and business district. Work will start by demolishing the former Oceana building and the site could be the new home of Swansea council.
Cost: Unknown Start date: 2015
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has unveiled plans for an innovation campus in Swansea's SA1 development.
Cost: £100m Start date: Plans submitted
Multiple property and housing developments along the River Tawe from the Liberty Stadium to Parc Tawe. It also includes a £4.5m relief road to ease congestion.
Cost: No figures released Completion: 2017/18
Radical plans for a transformation of hospital services will see Morriston Hospital double in size and become a regional centre for specialist treatments while Singleton Hospital would become a centre of excellence for diagnostic and same-day care, working with GPs, opticians and dentists.
Cost: £600m Completion: 2020 | The centre of Swansea will be unrecognisable by 2020 as the biggest transformation since World War Two takes shape, the city's council leader has said. |
36,482,411 | Mohammed Aziz, 50, was walking along Shobnall Street in Burton upon Trent in July when a silver Mondeo swerved across the road, mounted the pavement and hit him.
He remains in hospital in a coma almost a year on, police said.
Nadeem Akhtar, from Shobnall Street, was convicted at Stafford Crown Court and will be sentenced at a later date.
The 37-year-old was cleared of grievous bodily harm with intent.
More updates on this story and others in Staffordshire
A second man, Mohammed Zufeer, 27, of Horninglow Road North, Burton, was found guilty of assisting an offender.
Rehan Akhtar, 28, of Shobnall Street, was cleared of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Police said Mr Aziz was walking home alone on 20 July after visiting a local shop when he was struck down.
He suffered extensive head and facial injuries and remains in hospital in a critical condition.
The following day, the car was found by police in a pub car park covered with a sheet, its registration plates and windscreen missing.
Zufeer was the insured driver of the vehicle and police claimed he discarded a black bin bag behind a local takeaway.
Forensic checks revealed the bag contained clothing belonging to Nadeem which had fragments of glass from the Mondeo's windscreen in them.
Police said the incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the families which had previously involved numerous altercations, and erupted in disorder in the town.
"Akthar escalated the dispute to carry out completely an unacceptable act of violence - leaving a man fighting for his life and devastating an entire family. There is no doubt that Nadeem intended to kill Mr Aziz when he drove at him that night," Ch Insp Steve Maskrey said. | A man has been found guilty of attempted murder after he deliberately ran over a man in a dispute. |
31,939,287 | Paratroopers from the Foreign Legion are receiving last-minute instructions before they climb in their armoured vehicles.
Engines roaring, they are on the move before the first light. This morning, they will advance through a searing and bitterly cold desert wind.
The temperature sinks to 4C (39F) overnight and at 05:30, the mercury of the thermometer has not started to rise.
These soldiers' mission is not the easiest; they are searching for clues amidst the emptiness.
The French base of Madama, in Niger's far north, is only about 100km (60 miles) from the Libyan border.
"It is a grey area from here to the border," a French senior military source explains.
"The authorities of Niger cannot control it."
In fact, jihadist groups control the west side of the Libyan border while local Libyan ethnic Tubu militia control the east side.
The French are trying to secure this vast zone to stop jihadist fighters and weapons from moving south and destabilising their former colonies in the Sahel region, and potentially linking up with Boko Haram in Nigeria.
"We are worried by the situation in Libya because terrorist groups are regrouping in the Libyan south-west and use it as their rear base," says Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas [French officers on assignments are not allowed to give their surnames], Detachment Commander in Madama.
"These groups cross into Niger and follow the Algerian border to reach Mali, where they supply terrorist groups with weapons," he adds.
"So we are here to keep pressure on them and make sure that they can't go through any more."
Troops and special forces conducting operations on the ground are supported by French jets stationed in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, from where France has operated its 3,000-strong regional Operation Barkhane since August last year.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced last week that additional troops would soon join this force. He did not give any indication of the numbers.
French war planes and attack helicopters destroyed two convoys that had crossed into Niger from Libya in September and October, Barkhane officials told the BBC.
Both were full of explosives and weapons.
"It's not about the number of men we have," force commander Gen Jean-Pierre Palasset said.
"It's about our ability to deploy very quickly and our capability to be at the right location at the right time."
About 100 fighters have been killed or captured and several tonnes of weapons have been recovered since the beginning of the operation, according to official figures given by Barkhane officials.
The French even seized a couple of tonnes of cannabis in December.
The armoured personnel carriers stop a first time and align themselves in order to cover a 360' radius. Legionnaires continue on foot, searching the area.
It is an ocean of sand but they follow the coordinates they were given, braving the icy wind.
The second stop will be at the bottom of a rocky mountain. Any trace of recent movements or bivouacs will be reported back.
The French and the Americans have eyes in the sky in northern Niger, but these boots on the ground help them map out suspicious activities.
Little by little, the French explore this part of the desert.
France and the US are working in partnership in the Sahel, the arid region south of the Sahara.
The Obama administration provides financial, logistical and intelligence support to the French, leaving them to deploy combat forces.
Operation Barkhane's last outpost before the Libyan border is a tiny shelter mounted on what is called a bastion wall - made of sand bags reinforced with steel mesh.
Guns and binoculars pointed towards the border, soldiers who rotate here are on the lookout.
"Most political actors see this French build-up as a prelude to some kind of military action in southern Libya itself," says Wolfram Lacher, researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Reliable sources say France has already conducted reconnaissance incursions in Libya's south-west.
While Barkhane soldiers keep a lonely vigil on the sandy hill, the army of Niger is manning a customs checkpoint a few hundreds yards away.
"We are searching lorries and all vehicles for weapons, drugs and any other illicit goods," says the man in charge, Maj Hassan Ousseini.
This is the gateway to Libya. From here onwards, begins one of the busiest trafficking routes in the Sahara, on which militia and jihadist groups continue to thrive.
It all transits here. For West African migrants who have paid smugglers in Agadez - about 1,000km south - this may be the last peaceful stop before the Libyan "hell", as migrants we spoke to on a previous trip described it.
But on this trip, we are not allowed to talk to any civilians.
"We do catch weapons, especially when we conduct patrols in the area because there are vehicles that bypass our check-point," Maj Ousseini says.
"We go on patrol three or four times a month and that is when we seize vehicles transporting weapons and drugs."
Maj Ousseini admits that seizures remain rare.
Armed groups have learned to dodge patrols and checkpoints over the years.
"It is extremely difficult for the governments of Niger and Chad to prevent cross-border smuggling," Mr Lacher says.
"Influential players have big stakes in this business."
France has deployed about 200 men in Madama.
They are sleeping under tents but Madama is no unknown territory.
This advanced base is taking shape right next to an old fort that the French army built out of dry mud in 1931 to defend themselves against the Italians, first, and then the British.
It is now home to the Nigeriens.
A few hundred kilometres further south, the Nigerien town of Arlit hosts a multi-billion French investment in uranium production, targeted by jihadist groups two years ago.
In Madama, the French are stepping into the region's main militant hotspot, concerned that illegal trafficking will empower groups linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State across the Sahel.
"These armed groups may channel weapons into Nigeria indeed," Lt-Col Thomas says.
It is believed that a handful of senior commanders from the Nigerian Boko Haram received training in northern Mali when jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda occupied it in 2012.
Boko Haram has recently pledged loyalty to the Islamic State. A few days later, an ethnic-Tubu IS member reportedly called on the southern Tubu militia to join IS too.
Mr Lacher downplays any short-term prospects of a "larger alliance between IS and the Tubus", but he warns that even though IS remains marginal in Libya, it is growing rapidly.
"Our operations are aimed at stopping the flow of logistical support that terrorist groups based in Libya can provide in Nigeria and Mali," insists Lt-Col Thomas.
The former colonial power, France, today stands as the Saharan policeman and has made it its mission to break the shifting allegiances between extremist groups.
But with Boko Haram to the south and an expanding Islamic State to the north, the regional outlook is not too promising. | France has set up a military base in Niger, just south of the Libyan border, hoping to cut off trafficking and supply routes, on which militant groups like Islamic State rely to spread their influence around the region, as Thomas Fessy reports. |
18,906,623 | Louis Smith, Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis sealed GB men's first Olympic team medal since a bronze in 1912.
China cruised to gold, with GB second, as the medal prospects of the United States and Germany disintegrated.
Japan, initially placed in fourth, moved up to second after an appeal.
They were unhappy with the pommel horse score awarded to Kohei Uchimura and were elevated above Britain, after lengthy deliberation by the officials, with Ukraine missing out on a bronze medal in the process.
The result is beyond the expectations of the British team, even though they qualified for the final in third place and knew they had the ability to challenge for a medal.
"For all these guys, their first Olympic Games, to get a medal is unbelievable," Smith told BBC Sport. "Silver? Bronze? It doesn't matter, we enjoyed it, it was fantastic."
Thomas added: "It's an Olympic medal at the end of the day, it's what dreams are made of. All I could think about was winning an Olympic medal when I was younger.
"Silver would've been nice but I couldn't complain at all right now. We're in London, it's once in a lifetime and we've made the most of it."
Uchimura, whose appeal denied Britain the silver, told reporters through an interpreter: "I feel sorry [for the British]. It's strange to say I feel sorry for them, though. This is the scoring system so I shouldn't feel sorry. This is just the score."
His appeal centred on whether he had been correctly rewarded for a partially botched dismount in his pommel horse routine. The three-time world champion's score was upgraded by 0.7 marks, enough to take Japan past Britain.
What a superstar Kristian Thomas is under all that pressure. He was the anchorman. Kristian is a real professional, he is not a flashy guy. He just gets on with his work. Unbelievable and so justly deserved.
Before the final, not many would talk in more than hushed tones of a bronze medal, let alone of beating Japan. So the 10 minutes spent in silver-medal position, before Japan's successful appeal, were breathtaking as a stunned and elated audience tried to take in the scale of the British men's achievement.
China came into the event as defending world and Olympic champions, while Japan's gymnasts have been an improving world power for years, led by gymnastics superstar Uchimura.
The importance of a medal to the sport in Britain, regardless of colour, cannot be overstated. No GB men's team has previously come close to a result of this magnitude in the modern sport.
After Smith's Olympic pommel horse bronze medal in Beijing four years ago, it confirms the giant leaps forward made by British Gymnastics on the world stage.
The British team began on the pommel horse, an ideal introduction for their first appearance in a men's team final in 88 years.
Media playback is not supported on this device
After Smith delivered handsomely in his specialist event with a score of 15.966, GB suffered a dip on rings, their weakest piece.
But then Thomas put in the performance of his life on vault for a score of 16.550 to keep Britain in the hunt for bronze.
As the tension mounted, Oldham endured a costly fall on the high bar - a repeat of his error at last year's World Championships - only for Thomas to throw everything at his high bar routine to keep hopes alive.
Then, as the Japanese suffered a near-unthinkable succession of mistakes on the pommel horse, Whitlock, Purvis and Thomas landed every move of their floor routines to finish.
In a bizarre and confusing finale, the Japanese lodged their successful appeal, which was met with inevitable derision from the home crowd, though replays suggested it had merit.
If that conclusion took the wind out of British sails, it should not. After a glimpse of silver, the performance heralds a golden era. | Great Britain's men won an astonishing Olympic bronze medal in the gymnastics team final - having originally taken silver before a Japanese appeal. |
38,619,748 | It was a one-sided affair in terms of chances created, as the Mariners won at home for only the second time since the end of September.
Midfield duo Jamey Osborne and Chris Clements were handed their debuts and both of them had a hand in Grimsby's opening goal, which Bogle turned neatly into the far corner with his left foot.
As the first half drew to a close, muted appeals for a home penalty were waved away, as wing-back Zak Mills took a tumble.
Upon the restart, Danny Andrew and Mills both went close in quick succession, and at the other end, Richard Duffy headed agonisingly wide.
As the clock ticked by, Vernon tapped into the net, after Mills had crashed against the post, to seal all three points.
It means Grimsby have now won four of their last six league games.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Grimsby Town 2, Notts County 0.
Second Half ends, Grimsby Town 2, Notts County 0.
Gavin Gunning (Grimsby Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stanley Aborah (Notts County).
Attempt blocked. Carl Dickinson (Notts County) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Jon Stead (Notts County) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Ben Davies (Grimsby Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Notts County. Conceded by Dean Henderson.
Attempt saved. Stanley Aborah (Notts County) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
Foul by Zak Mills (Grimsby Town).
Stanley Aborah (Notts County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Grimsby Town. Gavin Gunning replaces Scott Vernon.
Substitution, Grimsby Town. Ben Davies replaces Jamey Osborne.
Jamey Osborne (Grimsby Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michael O'Connor (Notts County).
Brandon Comley (Grimsby Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Stanley Aborah (Notts County).
Substitution, Notts County. Stanley Aborah replaces Adam Campbell.
Goal! Grimsby Town 2, Notts County 0. Scott Vernon (Grimsby Town) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner.
Omar Bogle (Grimsby Town) hits the left post with a left footed shot from the right side of the box.
Corner, Grimsby Town. Conceded by Adam Collin.
Attempt saved. Zak Mills (Grimsby Town) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Foul by Brandon Comley (Grimsby Town).
Jon Stead (Notts County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jon Stead (Notts County).
Shaun Pearson (Grimsby Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Grimsby Town. Craig Disley replaces Chris Clements.
Corner, Grimsby Town. Conceded by Carl Dickinson.
Substitution, Notts County. Montel Gibson replaces Jonathan Forte.
Attempt saved. Omar Bogle (Grimsby Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Jamey Osborne (Grimsby Town) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Curtis Thompson (Notts County).
Jamey Osborne (Grimsby Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Samuel Osborne (Notts County) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Notts County. Conceded by Zak Mills.
Chris Clements (Grimsby Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Chris Clements (Grimsby Town).
Adam Campbell (Notts County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Danny Andrew (Grimsby Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Grimsby Town. Conceded by Richard Duffy. | Goals from Omar Bogle and Scott Vernon helped boost Grimsby's League Two play-off hopes with victory against relegation-threatened Notts County. |
34,949,202 | Fraudsters, believed to be based in Africa, demanded £6,000 after he stripped in front of a webcam.
Speaking to the BBC anonymously, the man, from north Wales, said he thought he was talking to a local woman.
North Wales Police said so-called sextortion is a growing problem, with nine instances in the past month alone.
The woman contacted him through social media and they messaged each other while connected via webcam.
He told BBC's Cymru Fyw: "I could see her clearly. She looked like a woman from Wales - a white woman with dark hair. We never spoke to each other even though I could see her - she always messaged me."
Their conversation became sexual and he stripped in front of a webcam for her, before she did the same.
He said he was contacted the next day, with the woman threatening to post the video on Facebook saying he had stripped in front of an eight-year-old girl unless he paid them £6,000.
When he refused her demand, she posted the video on the internet, so he called the police.
North Wales Police set up a cybercrime unit 12 months ago to deal with sextortion and other online crimes.
Det Sgt Peter Jarvis said: "We will investigate it as far as we can but they are resolving back to countries similar to the Ivory Coast, to China, to Russia, so that's proving very difficult."
Wayne May, who runs a website called Scam Survivors, said criminals used sophisticated but cheap software to create 'virtual women'.
"So if I was the scammer and you were talking to me and you said to me 'prove that you're real - hold up three fingers', that would be possible, using the right version of this software, to hold up one, two, three fingers, smile," he explained.
"So there's that interaction that you could have that makes it appear very genuine."
The victim said he was embarrassed but hoped others would now avoid getting duped. | A man has warned about meeting people online after fraudsters blackmailed him and threatened to post a naked video of him on social media. |
32,188,232 | Four died after their vehicle was reportedly fired on by pro-Russian separatists in Schastye, close to the separatist stronghold of Lugansk.
Two others were killed when their vehicle hit an anti-tank mine near the government-held port city of Mariupol.
A fragile ceasefire has been in force in eastern Ukraine since February.
There have been isolated violations of the ceasefire, which was agreed by leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.
In the Schastye incident, the four Ukrainian government troops are said to have died when their vehicle was hit as it drove across a bridge .
Initial reports said rebels "had fired an anti-tank missile", the interior ministry said in a statement.
In the mine explosion near Mariupol, two soldiers died at the scene while a third was wounded and taken to hospital, the army said.
On Saturday, the government reported the deaths of three soldiers in a mine explosion near Donetsk, another separatist stronghold.
Some 6,000 people have been killed since fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government a year ago.
The Ukrainian government, Western leaders and Nato say there is clear evidence that Russia has helped the rebels with heavy weapons and soldiers. Independent experts echo that accusation.
Moscow denies it, insisting that any Russians serving with the rebels are "volunteers". | Six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in two separate incidents in the east of the country, government officials say. |
29,649,710 | Mary Shipstone was shot twice in the head outside her home in Northiam on 11 September as she returned home from school with her mother.
Her father, Yasser Alromisse, killed himself after the shooting. Mary died in hospital the following day.
Her mother Lyndsey Shipstone described her as a "fun, bright and inquisitive little girl".
The private service in St Mary's Church was followed by a private committal service in Beckley churchyard.
Mary's mother, Lyndsey Shipstone said: "It has been a month since our beautiful Mary was taken from us but the pain is still as fresh now as it was then.
"Mary was such a fun, bright, inquisitive little girl.
"Losing her so violently has left us in a state of trauma and grief. Her absence feels like a void that cannot be overcome.
"I will never forgot the kindness we have been shown over the last few weeks."
The Reverend Rod White, who has been helping to care for Ms Shipstone since the shooting, said: "The community have really come together in their love and support of the family.
"I know there have been very good neighbours who have been there with them throughout this difficult time."
At the scene
By Juliette Parkin, BBC South East Today reporter
Members of Mary's family followed her small coffin, covered in white, into St Mary's Church before the funeral started at 11:00 BST.
During the service, which was relayed by speaker to people outside the church, Reverend Rod White, spoke of Mary's "strong-willed streak" and "her bright-eyed energy".
He seemed to struggle at times as as he led tributes to the seven-year-old who was baptised at the church last December.
As well as the celebration of the life of a "caring and lively" little girl, there's a real sense of deep sadness here today over the fact that it was tragically cut short.
Speaking after the shooting, Ms Shipstone said the family had moved to Northiam from a women's refuge in Camber Sands, after she separated from her violent husband.
Ms Shipstone said: "As soon as I put my front door key in there was a terrible bang behind me and I turned round and Mary was on the ground.
"I saw her father with the gun in his hand pointing at Mary's head and he fired it a second time, and then he retreated into the car.
"I just dropped down to Mary and dragged her round the front of the house away from the car.
"I was screaming for help and I was telling the neighbours that he had a gun and Mary had been shot."
A fund to help children affected by trauma has been set up in memory of Mary.
Money from the fund will support Rye-based charity The Music Well, which offers music therapy to children.
Ms Shipstone said: "She will never leave our thoughts but at the moment every day is a struggle for us as we try to come to terms with our grief." | The funeral of a seven-year-old girl who was shot by her father in a village in Sussex has taken place. |
25,476,572 | The changes in the Vale will see the limit drop from 35mph to 25mph.
The Environment Department recommended cutting the limit in a number of roads in the area in response to two fatalities, including one near a school.
The changes will initially be on a 12-month trial, the States said.
Roads affected include Route des Coutures, Summerfield Road, North Quay and some connecting roads.
One of the fatalities which prompted the change was the death of seven-year-old Vale Junior School pupil Mai-Lea Falla.
She died after she was hit in Summerfield Road in November 2012. | Changes to speed limits in part of Guernsey are to come into force on 5 January, road bosses say. |
15,305,214 | Writing in Pediatrics journal, US researchers followed 862 New Jersey children born at a low birthweight from birth to the age of 21.
Some 5% were diagnosed with autism, compared to 1% of the general population.
But experts say more research is needed to confirm and understand the link.
Links between low birthweight and a range of motor and cognitive problems have been well established by previous research.
But the researchers say this is the first study to establish that these children may also have a greater risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.
The babies in the study were born between September 1984 and July 1987 in three counties in New Jersey.
They all weighed between 0.5kg and 2kg or a maximum of about 4.4lb.
At the age of 16, 623 children were screened for risk of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Of the 117 who were found to be positive in that screening, 70 were assessed again at age 21.
Eleven of that group were found to have an autism spectrum disorder.
From these results, the researchers calculated an estimated prevalence rate of ASD of 31 out of 623 children, which is equal to 5%.
Jennifer Pinto-Martin, professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and director of the autism centre where this research was conducted, said: "Cognitive problems in these children may mask underlying autism.
"If there is suspicion of autism or a positive screening test for ASD, parents should seek an evaluation for an ASD. Early intervention improves long-term outcome and can help these children both at school and at home."
But Dorothy Bishop, professor of developmental neuropsychology at the University of Oxford, said it was important to put the findings in perspective.
"The association looks real, but nevertheless, most low birthweight children don't have autism, and most children with autism don't have low birthweight."
Georgina Gomez, action research leader for The National Autistic Society, said more research is needed to confirm the link between low birthweight and autism and better understand why babies born underweight may be more prone to developing autism.
"Low birthweight has been linked to a range of motor and cognitive problems and often goes hand-in-hand with premature birth and birthing complications.
"It is important to dig down further to try to understand the biological processes and events that could explain this proposed connection." | Babies born weighing less than 4lb (1.8kg) could be more prone to developing autism than children born at normal weight, a study suggests. |
38,508,468 | Sir Ivan Rogers urged Brussels colleagues to challenge "muddled thinking and... speak truth to power" as he quit ahead of Brexit talks.
Mr Gill said the resignations allowed a "pro-Brexit ambassador" to be appointed for the crucial negotiations.
The first minister's spokesman called the resignation "deeply concerning".
Writing to staff, in a letter obtained by the BBC, Sir Ivan said UK ministers needed to hear "unvarnished" and "uncomfortable" views from Europe.
The government said Sir Ivan had quit earlier so a successor could be in place before Brexit negotiations started.
Sir Ivan's note confirmed this but also warned "the government will only achieve the best for the country if it harnesses the best experience we have".
Mr Gill told BBC Wales on Tuesday that he was "glad that Sir Ivan Rogers has gone" and "we can now have a pro-Brexit ambassador in place for the renegotiations which will be happening this year".
"The people of Wales and the UK spoke very clearly in the referendum on June the 23rd - they wanted out," he said.
"Personally I think Sir Ivan should have resigned once that Brexit result was declared."
The resignation came after Sir Ivan's deputy in Brussels, Shan Morgan, announced in November that she would be leaving the post to become the Welsh government's top civil servant, a job she is due to start within weeks.
In his letter, Sir Ivan said Ms Morgan would be "hugely missed" and would be a "tremendous asset to the Welsh Government".
A spokesman for First Minister Carwyn Jones said Sir Ivan's departure "at a time of such uncertainty" was "deeply concerning".
"As the negotiations on the UK leaving the European Union near, we need clarity and stability in our approach," the spokesman said.
"It is vital that a successor is appointed immediately to take up this crucial role."
Labour MEP Derek Vaughan described Sir Ivan as a "competent, well connected diplomat who puts the interests of the UK first".
"I believe he was frustrated with the muddled thinking of government ministers who would not accept the message from the EU passed on by Sir Ivan that full access to the single market means accepting freedom of movement [of labour]," he said.
"Hopefully, other politicians and trade union leaders will accept this and prioritise access to the single market." | The UK ambassador to the EU should have resigned when the result of June's referendum was announced, UKIP Wales MEP Nathan Gill has said. |
39,204,943 | The former Hearts and Sunderland keeper, 34, has made more than 100 appearances since signing for Celtic on a free transfer in 2014.
The Scottish Premiership leaders had rejected two offers for Gordon from Premier League leaders Chelsea in January.
And he has now committed himself to Celtic until the summer of 2020.
His move to Glasgow followed two years out of the game due to knee problems.
After making his Hearts debut in 2002, Gordon received his first senior international cap in 2004 and has made 45 appearances for Scotland.
He left Tynecastle in 2007 to join Sunderland in a £9m move. | Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has agreed a new three-and-a-half year deal with Celtic. |
23,849,848 | The Plymouth-based rider said the event was not part of his schedule this year, but insisted he would like to race it again in the future.
There's only so many times you can turn up to races and you start to lose self-esteem when you're not the rider that you should be
Tiernan-Locke, 28, had hoped to compete at the Vuelta a Espana this year.
But mid-season fatigue on his first full season for Team Sky led to him being omitted from the line-up.
Team Sky admitted Tiernan-Locke had been "pencilled in" for the Vuelta - which would have been his Grand Tour debut - after he featured in the likes of Paris-Nice, Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Tour de Suisse.
"All through the year I'd had this goal in mind of reaching mid-summer in great form and going for the Vuelta," said Tiernan-Locke.
"But for whatever reason, mainly down to the training I undertook and not recovering enough after races, I arrived at mid-summer cooked. Three weeks racing the bike is not something to be taken lightly. At any level it's difficult, but at World Tour level, especially so.
"You don't want it to be a bitter memory of just surviving for three weeks. You need to be going well just to do your job and be useful to the team.
"Leading up to the race I'd come completely off the bike to get over the fatigue and reset myself. Going into a Grand Tour, you want to be approaching it with the confidence you're in the form of your life, not 'I think I can get around' - especially for a team like Sky."
Tiernan-Locke, who returned to competitive action at the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday, said he had learned lots of lessons from his experiences this season.
"It's still bike racing at the end of the day, but my role has been different this year. You've got to be incredibly strong to be riding in a helper role, sometimes stronger than if you are a designated leader for a race at times," he said.
"As a domestique you're expending energy all day, whereas if you're fortunate enough to be the leader of a race - obviously you've got to have the legs to finish it off, but you get an easier ride throughout the day and you've just got to use your abilities at the end.
"Mentally I'm pretty good at picking myself up morale-wise. I think you have to have that ability as a cyclist as you do get a lot of disappointment.
"You have to have a selective memory. But there's only so many times you can turn up to races and you start to lose self-esteem when you're not the rider that you should be.
"Having this break I'm starting to feel decent on the bike again. There may be a chance to ride a Grand Tour in the future but the season's going on longer than I've ever done before with Beijing taking me into mid-October. That's going to be a bit of a goal and I'll see if I can get something there and have a strong back end of the year." | Team Sky's Jonathan Tiernan-Locke will not be defending his 2012 Tour of Britain title when this year's race gets under way in September. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.