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39,354,211 | Mr Muslem was a recent graduate in English literature; Shireen was still studying.
But four months after their wedding, their lives were shattered when so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters overran their city, forcing almost all of its civilians to flee into Turkey.
Now the couple and their 20-month old son Mirwan live more than 2,300 miles (3,700km) away in Colwyn Bay, Conwy county.
After more than two years in a refugee camp in northern Iraq, they are relieved to finally have a safe, long-term home.
"When IS attacked in 2014, everything was destroyed," Mr Muslem, 29, said.
"Everyone left. We moved to Turkey and then to Iraq but some people returned to the city. Then IS attacked another time and we lost abut 500 people. They were all killed.
"Every family in Syria has lost one person in the family. I lost my brother two years ago and we don't know if he is alive or dead. Some people have lost all their family."
"It was so hard," Mrs Muslem, 28, added. "We had to leave our town because of the war and all the destruction. We were afraid for our lives and we had to go. It was a bad situation."
"Here, I feel very happy and settled, the people are very kind and when we need anything, they help us."
Until the family arrived in north Wales, Mirwan had lived all his young life in the Gawilan refugee camp in northern Iraq.
"I delivered him in the camp," Mrs Muslem said. "It was difficult because the weather is very hot and it was summer when I had him. I was afraid I'd lose him.
"There is only a small medical surgery at the camp and most of the time there is no medicine and the service is very simple."
"I saw many, many bad situations when we first left Syria," Mr Muslem said. "We didn't want to live in a tent but where would we go? There was no choice for us.
"We couldn't go to rent a house in another city so we stayed in the camp and lived in a tent."
Since Kurdish forces drove IS out of Kobane in June 2015, some people have returned to the city - among them, relatives of the couple.
"I have two sisters in Syria," Mrs Muslem said. "They moved back after the fighting ended. I worry about them so much and want them to come and live in the UK too but it's very difficult."
Mr Muslem has two sisters in the refugee camp and family in Kobane.
"Their life is OK now but it's temporary," he said. "Maybe war will come again, we don't know what's going to happen in Syria."
By the end of February 2017, at least 397 refugees had been resettled in Wales under the UK government's Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
Mr and Mrs Muslem and Mirvan are the first to be placed in Conwy.
"I didn't know where I was going," Mr Muslem said. "I was just told in Iraq, you will go to Manchester airport and you will live in Conwy.
"When we arrived, we saw it was a good town. The weather is good and it's very nice for tourism. There are nice places like Llandudno and Rhyl and Bangor - I've visited all of these cities."
Life was lonely at first but after three months, the family is starting to make new friends.
"When I arrived here, I didn't know anyone," Mr Muslem said. "I had one friend but the council helped me meet people.
"I know some more people now - I hope to meet many more but I know I have some friends.
"For me it's not difficult but for other people it could be because they don't know the language and if they can't speak the language, they can't meet people."
He is perfecting his English at a college course in Bangor and wants to qualify as a teacher.
"If I go back to Syria after five years, I will help my own people in the university or in high school," he said.
For now though, the family is staying put in Wales to rebuild the burgeoning life that was wrecked nearly three years ago by war. | In the spring of 2014, newlyweds Omer and Shireen Muslem were starting a new life together in their hometown of Kobane, northern Syria. |
25,900,542 | Experts say it is not yet known what harm the tobacco-free devices could inflict and that their contents could be damaging young people's health.
An estimated 1.3m people in the UK use e-cigarettes which were designed to help smokers quit.
Ministers also plan to make it illegal for adults to buy traditional cigarettes for anyone under 18.
By Richard WarryBBC News
Electronic cigarettes mimic the effects of real cigarettes, producing a vapour that is potentially less harmful than cigarette smoke and free of some of its damaging substances, such as tar.
The vapour does often, however, contain nicotine, the addictive substance that provides the "hit" in cigarette smoke.
The jury is still out about just how safe e-cigarettes are, and nobody knows what their long-term impact is on health.
There are plans to licence e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking from 2016, but at present they are not available on the NHS, unlike other smoking cessation aids such as nicotine patches.
Because they are not regulated, the contents of e-cigarettes can vary. Some have been found to contain toxic chemicals which are also found in tobacco, and have been linked to cancer.
There is also only sketchy evidence that e-cigarettes help people to give up smoking.
While smoking rates have fallen to their lowest ever level, experts fear the electronic substitutes could be encouraging teenagers to take up the habit.
The battery-powered devices, which can be bought online and in some pubs, chemists and newsagents, deliver a hit of addictive nicotine and emit water vapour to mimic the feeling and look of smoking.
The vapour is considered potentially less harmful than cigarette smoke and is free of some its damaging substances such as tar.
"We do not yet know the harm that e-cigarettes can cause to adults, let alone to children, but we do know they are not risk free," Prof Dame Sally Davies, England's chief medical officer, said.
"E-cigarettes can produce toxic chemicals and the amount of nicotine and other chemical constituents and contaminants, including vaporised flavourings, varies between products - meaning they could be extremely damaging to young people's health."
Katherine Devlin, president of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association, welcomed the changes in the law, saying they had been asking for it "for years".
"It's high time that it was mandated in law so that it can be robustly enforced," she added, pointing out that product labelling made it clear e-cigarettes were not for under-18s.
Anti-smoking charity Ash also welcomed the changes, but chief executive Deborah Arnott called for a retail licensing system that would mean cigarettes could be legally sold only in shops, not in car boot sales or markets.
The UK currently has few restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes, despite moves in some countries to ban them.
Restrictions have recently been mooted in Scotland and Wales, where health policy is a devolved issue.
A Welsh government spokesman said on Sunday it "fully" supported a ban on e-cigarettes for under-18s and was considering how such legislation could be introduced in Wales.
In Northern Ireland, the NI Chest Heart and Stroke charity is pressing the health minister to introduce a similar ban.
The law change for England will be introduced in Parliament this week as an amendment to the Children and Families Bill.
Labour said the policy on banning cigarettes for children was a "watered-down version of a policy that Labour called for last year" and that buying cigarettes for children should carry the same penalty as buying alcohol for underage drinkers.
But it said restricting the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s was a "sensible step".
From 2016, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is expected to license e-cigarettes as a medicine in the UK.
This will bring them in line with nicotine patches and gum, and allow the agency to apply rules around, for example, the purity of the nicotine in e-cigarettes.
MEPs have rejected calls for a blanket ban on the sale of e-cigarettes across the EU.
However, under a compromise deal, strict limits will be placed on the amount of nicotine they contain, and individual EU member states will be able to introduce a national ban if they see fit.
If three or more member states chose that path, it could trigger an EU-wide ban.
Smoking remains one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK, with around 100,000 people dying each year from illnesses linked to the habit.
Experts want to crack down on the number of young people smoking by bringing the law in line with restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
The new rules on adults buying cigarettes for under-18s could be in force by the autumn and may mean anyone caught buying cigarettes for a child could be given a £50 fixed penalty notice or a fine of up to £2,500.
"We must do all we can to help children lead a healthy life," public health minister Jane Ellison said.
Some 41% of 15-year-olds who smoke say they usually buy their cigarettes from someone else, rather than from a shop, according to Department of Health figures. | Under-18s in England are to be banned from buying electronic cigarettes, the government has announced. |
32,379,364 | When Alan Cook brought his grandfather's bravery medal to the Antiques Roadshow last year at Hillsborough Castle, the war stories were the stuff of family legend but he had little idea of what he was like as a person.
"We knew Alfred Cook was the captain of the Medway Queen at Dunkirk and that they'd saved 7,000 soldiers during the course of 10 days going back and forward," he said.
"It was a real story of endurance and heroism, and we knew that he'd won the Distinguished Service Cross, but that was as far as we could go."
The story captured the interest of the programme makers, who decided it was a case for the Antiques Roadshow Detectives, a spin-off programme that explores the intriguing stories behind family heirlooms.
The architect from Bangor said that the research gave him a whole new perspective on his grandfather, who died when Mr Cook was aged 13.
"I went along thinking I would find out about the history of what they did at Dunkirk and the heroism of that, but through that I found out much more about his personality than I'd ever come across," he said.
"My granddad was living in London, I'm in Northern Ireland so I'd only see him maybe once a year. He just came across as this tough guy, but I saw a totally different side to him."
Mr Cook said that since bringing the medal to the Antiques Roadshow, it has been an emotional journey.
"Their researchers were able to go into the National Archives and they took me to the inner sanctum of the Royal Naval College library," he said.
"It's a bit like the programme Who Do You Think You Are, only instead of the well-known personality it was me being taken on the journey."
At the end of May 1940, at the government's request, thousands of boats set sail to rescue almost a quarter of a million Allied troops who had retreated from Hitler's forces onto the shores of Dunkirk in northern France. It was a time when Britain faced the possibility of defeat.
Mr Cook said his grandfather's ship, the Medway Queen, was dubbed "the Heroine of Dunkirk".
"She started out as a little paddle-steamer on the Thames but was converted to a minesweeper," he said.
"They were meant to do one trip across to Dunkirk in a flotilla of these paddle-steamers
"My granddad and his crew decided this wasn't enough because there was so much work to be done.
"They went back and forward seven times in 10 days to save these 7,000 soldiers - they were the last ship to leave Dunkirk as the Germans arrived."
Another clue that Mr Cook had was his father's MBE and his Lloyds Medal for Bravery at Sea, for an incident that happened later in WW2.
"He was in the Merchant Navy and his convoy was attacked by a pack of submarines - one night in October 1942, the ships were all sunk," he said.
"It turned out his convoy was a decoy diverted on a special course through the Bay of Biscay to take the submarines away from the north African landings convoys which were heading south.
"Coincidentally my grandfather was on one of those ships, so his son was sacrificed in a way so that he as captain of the Royal Ulstermen troop carrier could head for the north African troop landings.
"My dad went down with the ship and thought that this was the end of his life, but the ship was carrying bales of cotton that were floating in the sea and he found himself on the surface looking up at the stars.
"If that bale of cotton hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here today."
Antiques Roadshow Detectives: The Medway Queen was broadcast on BBC Two on Monday 20 April, and is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer. | A County Down man has traced the remarkable story of his grandfather's World War Two exploits with the help of Antiques Roadshow experts. |
38,064,854 | The US president-elect had earlier accused the newspaper on Twitter of changing the terms of the meeting.
The apparent U-turn came a day after he berated media chiefs at Trump Tower for their "unfair" election coverage.
During the campaign, Mr Trump railed against liberal bias but has also benefited from blanket TV coverage.
The meeting is currently happening in the Churchill Room of the New York Times.
Reporters are live-tweeting the conversation, in which Trump has appeared to suggest that he may still attempt to prosecute Hillary Clinton, as he had said during his campaign.
In other developments:
Early on Tuesday, the US president-elect tweeted that he had called off his meeting with what he always refers to as the "failing" New York Times.
The Republican - known to be an avid media consumer - said the newspaper had switched the terms at the last moment, adding: "Not nice."
Trump's gilded cage - Analysis by BBC's Nick Bryant
Nothing lays bare Donald Trump's thin skin quite like criticism from his hometown.
Tellingly, most of his tweet-storms since election day have been aimed at Big Apple targets: the New York Times, the satirical show Saturday Night Live and the Broadway musical Hamilton.
Since his unexpected win, Manhattan has taken on the feel of a real-life Gotham, with the billionaire cast by his many detractors as an evil super-villain.
In his eponymous skyscraper he resides, tweeting maniacally, as protesters swirl angrily below fearful that he poses a mortal threat to their city and their planet.
Trump Tower also looks more and more like a gilded cage.
While he boasted during the election that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose voters, he has not stepped foot on to its sidewalks as president-elect.
Now Fifth Avenue is lined with heavily armed police to prevent people from harming him.
Read our New York Correspondent's full blog
The Manhattan billionaire said he would instead be holding "great meetings" about who to appoint to his cabinet.
His spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, later told reporters: "The meeting is taking place as planned."
Jonathan Mahler, a political correspondent for the New York Times, tweeted that it was the president-elect who had tried to change the rules of engagement.
He said Mr Trump had asked for the discussion to be private and off-the-record, but the daily had refused.
A New York Times spokeswoman said it had only learned the meeting had been cancelled when he tweeted.
The newspaper has been reporting on potential conflicts of interest Mr Trump could face between his business interests and the presidency.
On Monday evening, he invited leading figures from the American TV networks for an off-the-record briefing at Trump Tower, where they were subjected to a tirade about election reporting.
The media executives and anchors - including NBC's Lester Holt, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and ABC's George Stephanopoulos - were apparently expecting to discuss coverage of his presidency.
But instead Mr Trump reportedly labelled them "liars" and called journalists the "lowest form of humanity".
One attendee leaked the details to the New York Post, saying: "The meeting was a total disaster.
"The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down."
The New York Times reports that during his complaint about "dishonest" coverage Mr Trump singled out CNN president Jeffrey Zucker.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump also referred to NBC's Katy Tur and ABC's Martha Raddatz, without naming them.
But Ms Conway said the meeting was "very cordial".
Throughout his campaign, Mr Trump accused the media of dishonesty, sometimes targeting individual journalists at his rallies and even denying some outlets accreditation to his events.
He feuded with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who later alleged that he had offered her gifts, including hotel stays, in an attempt to influence coverage.
The presenter said she was not the only journalist who had been offered freebies by Mr Trump.
Two weeks after his shock election victory, Mr Trump has yet to hold a news conference, and US media outlets have griped that no president-elect has delayed holding a press briefing for so long since Jimmy Carter in 1976. | Donald Trump is meeting New York Times executives, his spokeswoman says, hours after cancelling the face-to-face, complaining of "nasty" coverage. |
28,683,227 | The resort will be closed for the event of 4-5 September and over 12 miles (20 km) of security fencing is already being put up on-site and in Cardiff.
About 9,000 officers from 29 forces in England and Wales are being drafted in to police the summit.
Senior officers say they expect some protest groups to hold demonstrations.
US President Barack Obama will be among the world leaders attending.
Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Chris Armitt, who is leading the policing and security operation for the summit, said: "We are also working hard to ensure where security barriers will be in public places that access routes will remain open until the very last minute.
"So I am grateful to the public for their continued support and understanding and apologise in advance if any of our activity causes any disruption or inconvenience to them."
Closures around the Celtic Manor will be in effect from 22:00 BST on 31 August until 07:00 BST on 6 September.
Fencing work is set to start on Thursday in Cardiff. Bute Park, North Road, Castle Street and Duke Street are all set to be finished by 21 August before fencing goes up around Roath Basin between 22-29 August.
The last time Britain hosted the Nato summit was 24 years ago in London.
The event in Wales will also mark the 65th anniversary of Nato. | Details of road closures around the Celtic Manor which will host September's Nato summit of world leaders have been announced. |
37,318,917 | Is there something you have seen or heard that you would like us to investigate?
It could be a burning issue or something you have always wondered about the area or its people.
Use the tool below to send us your questions.
We could be in touch and your question could make the news. | Have you got a question about Shropshire? |
35,764,188 | Doherty, 24, has provided three assists in three games and also scored a 94th-minute winner against Bristol City.
"That's what happens when you're in the team and get successive games," he told BBC WM. "I was out of it earlier in the season a bit, which was frustrating.
"I thought to myself when I got in that I would do my best not to let it go even though it was at left-back."
Following the sale of left-back Scott Golbourne to Bristol City in January, Doherty has worked his way back into Wolves' back line and has started the last 16 games in all competitions.
He continued: "I always back myself and I'm quite comfortable to be able to change from right-back to left-back. My left foot is not the strongest but I can be clever by going round somebody or using the right side of my foot.
"We've got quite a young team but we have a talented team as well. Our bench [against Bristol City] wasn't full of experienced first teamers and neither was our starting 11."
Doherty has made more than 100 appearances for the club and now has the chance to utilise his experience in a young Wolves set-up.
"He's an asset for us as he's been strong defensively and the most important thing for Matt is that he's 24 and it has to be his time. He's had spells in the team before but I want him to come through and be a leader for us," boss Kenny Jackett said.
"There's not many experienced players at the club and he was one of the older players out there in the second half [in the win against Bristol City] and he has to step up now and build on the good work he's done and be one of the players that leads Wolves." | Wolves defender Matt Doherty says his latest run of games has helped him to improve his form at left-back. |
37,484,056 | Some 178,000 people were stopped in 2011-12 by police in the UK, compared with under 95,000 last year.
The National Police Federation said the drop was due to fewer traffic officers.
A road safety charity said too many people still used their mobile phone while driving.
The BBC received responses from 37 of the 43 police forces in the UK under the Freedom of Information Act.
Kent Police had the biggest drop in the number of drivers stopped for using a phone at the wheel, from 4,496 in 2011-12 to 723 in 2015-16 - a reduction of 84%.
Cyclist Lee Martin, 48, was killed when he was hit by a van travelling at 65mph on the A31 near Bentley, in Hampshire, in August last year.
His brother Darrell said the driver was writing an "inane" text message behind the wheel - an offence he had been caught eight times for in the past.
"He had nine seconds of clear road that he could see my brother at.
"The text message - think about how inane this is - it was about meeting his mate later and taking his dog for a walk. That's what killed my brother."
"It's horrendous," he said.
The driver, Christopher Gard, from Alton in Hampshire, was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Ch Con Suzette Davenport, from the National Police Chief's Council, said: "This problem cannot be solved by enforcement alone - we need to build awareness and make it socially unacceptable to use a mobile phone while driving."
Jayne Willetts, from the Police Federation for England and Wales, said: "It's no surprise that our figures have dropped because the number of operational roads policing officers whose core role would be to target the mobile phone offences has significantly dropped as well.
"Since 2000 [the number of officers] has almost halved. The two go hand in hand."
However, Insp Alan Nicholls, from the Sussex and Surrey road policing unit, said the figures could be viewed with "a positive spin".
"It could be people are getting the point and not committing this offence anymore," he said.
Under new rules expected to come in next year, drivers will get six points on their licence and face a £200 fine.
Newly qualified drivers could be made to retake their test the first time they are caught.
Alice Bailey from Brake, a road safety charity, said: "We carried out our own research and found anything between 15 and 50% of people, depending on their age range, admit to using their phone behind the wheel.
"It shows the message hasn't got through."
Steve Gooding, RAC Foundation director, said stiff penalties and "adequate policing which convinces drivers they will be caught" were needed to deter mobile phone use.
"These figures suggest the second part of the equation is missing," he said. | The number of drivers caught using a mobile phone behind the wheel has almost halved in five years, the BBC can reveal. |
35,584,499 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Full-back Paul McGinn crashed in the opening goal after running on to a neat Gary Harkins pass.
Harkins then crossed for Kane Hemmings to double the hosts' advantage from close range on 29 minutes.
Greg Stewart slammed in a shot after the interval and fired home a late free-kick after Kevin Holt had tucked away a rebound.
Dundee dominated from the outset with the Championship visitors struggling to cope with the movement of Stewart, Hemmings and Rory Loy up front, while Harkins was given far too much room to dictate play from the middle of the park.
Paul Hartley's side had been held to a goalless draw in the rain-soaked original tie but this was a one-sided contest.
The breakthrough came on 16 minutes and from an unlikely source.
Harkins played in a reverse pass for McGinn who beat goalkeeper Mark Brown at his near post with a fierce strike for his first goal of the season.
The Sons squandered their best chance within a minute of the restart as Scott Taggart's cutback fell perfectly for Jordan Kirkpatrick but the midfielder rushed his shot and the ball fell tamely into the arms of Scott Bain.
Another blank leaves Dumbarton with just one goal in their last six outings, while Hemmings grabbed his 13th in 11 games after more good work from Harkins.
The midfielder clipped the ball into the near post where the in-form striker slid the ball beyond Brown for his 19th of the season.
Stewart had been seeing plenty of the ball and he fired in number three five minutes into the second half.
The striker ghosted into the box from the right before sliding the ball into the left hand corner of the goal as the Dumbarton defence looked on.
Loy worked tirelessly throughout and looked to have won a penalty when he tumbled to the ground after a challenge by Darren Barr.
But referee Stephen Finnie stunned the home crowd by booking the former Rangers and Falkirk striker, the third yellow card of the evening for alleged simulation.
The fourth goal arrived with 10 minutes remaining as Brown saved from substitute Craig Wighton only to be beaten by left-back Holt who was following up.
The rout was complete in stoppage time when man-of-the-match Stewart fired home a free kick from 25 yards, with the defensive wall falling apart.
It rounded off a fine evening for Stewart and Hartley's men, who will travel full of confidence to Ibrox for their first visit since 2004.
Dundee's Paul Hartley: "It was professional, it was clinical. It was a good night for us.
"I thought our movement was terrific, we had some great combination play.
"It looks like a penalty when Loy is caught in the box but we're not complaining too much.
"It's great to be in the quarter-finals but we have some important games before that."
Dumbarton's Stephen Aitken: "We're bitterly disappointed in the manner in which we lost the game.
"Dundee were ruthless but they are cheap goals from our point of view. The reality is Dundee were better than us on the night.
"We stick together, we have done all season, and we'll bounce back." | Dundee set up a Scottish Cup quarter-final visit to Rangers with a comfortable replay win over Dumbarton. |
34,858,462 | The wealthiest people in the world are often cash rich, but time poor, so an industry has built up an offering to serve these millionaires' requirements.
Need a mansion in leafy London? That can be organised. How about some fine art to make it feel like home? No problem. Perhaps a little housewarming present for the family? Leave it to us.
So, how do these services work, and how prescriptive are the mega-rich with their requests?
Here's the view of those chipping away at the face of the diamond mine.
Spot Nathalie Hirst speaking intensely to somebody in an exclusive Chelsea club, and the chances are they are discussing a potential multi-million pound property purchase.
They are more likely to be seen in a chauffeured car, touring around some of the latest high-end homes that have gone on the market.
"People like property, they can touch bricks and mortar," she says of these investments.
Ms Hirst, a 54-year-old buying agent, will have between seven and nine clients on her books at any one time. She charges an upfront fee of about £3,000 and then a success fee should she find a property that the client buys.
These clients pay for her knowledge of the market in a relatively tight, but exclusive area of South West London. In return, she shows them property for sale, but not openly advertised, and, crucially, takes the helm when it comes to negotiations over the price, drawing on 20 years in the industry, often battling against other buying agents.
She says about 70% of her clients are from overseas, but are buying in London for a variety of reasons.
Their wish list is dominated by location, but includes homes with natural light and, often, with parking - "not something that is easy in this city," she says.
She believes the job requires skill in building relationships and, most importantly, trust. On three occasions, clients have bought a home she has suggested, without ever seeing it. One client made her the godmother of her child.
Millionaires, having bought a new property, might want to furnish it in style with fine art on the walls and perhaps a classic car parked in the garage.
They may turn to people like Daniel Morris, of independent art buyers Corfield Morris.
His clients, he says, are often international, with multiple homes. Some want to furnish these homes, others are collectors of art.
He encourages those with money to spend, often self-made wealth, to buy what they like, not to "copy their mate who has a Warhol".
"They have not followed the crowd to get where they are, so why follow them now? They should buy something they love and really want to live with, not something to sell in a few years to make a few quid," he says.
The 43-year-old works with six to 12 clients at any one time, aged between their early 30s and late 50s, many of whom have fascinating life stories. Mr Morris, like all buyers in this business, does not name names.
Some clients pay a retainer, while others pay commission on a purchase, but the range of price paid for art and antiques is huge, he says.
He argues that his job is to "nurture" new clients who may only spend a few thousand pounds at first. Older, more well established collectors, may be happy to wait years for a specific type of art to come up for sale, at which point money is no object.
The key as a buyer, he says, is to be professional and transparent, especially as the art market is unregulated.
In addition to long-term investments of property and art, some of the world's high-rollers want to enjoy the finest things in life.
Some sign up to concierge services such as Quintessentially - a business operating in 78 countries, serving ultra-rich clients' requests.
For an annual membership fee of between £2,000 and £150,000, it organises anything from last-minute table reservations at the most exclusive restaurants to luxury gifts or travel itineraries.
One recent birthday request to be stranded on a desert island saw the business organise a castaway experience on a private island near Fiji.
The fixers say they only draw a line when requests are illegal or immoral.
Co-founder Aaron Simpson, 42, says that there is a relatively even split of male and female clients of all ages. Those from Russia, Israel and Scotland are among the most prescriptive, he says.
The lifestyle management sector is a crowded one with a string of businesses surviving, and even flourishing, despite the financial crisis late in the last decade.
Alex Cheatle, of Ten Group, another global business in this industry, says many of the mega-rich are socially competitive. Not only do some want to be seen in the trendiest restaurants, they want to be seen at the best tables in the trendiest restaurants.
Many restaurants tend to hold these tables for such requests, knowing that when these wealthy individuals come, they are likely to spend more at their sitting than the average diner.
Agreements and access such as this are, Mr Cheatle admits, "unfair and undemocratic". Moreover, he says, the buying power of the wealthy means that they can also secure better deals.
Money off for the mega-rich may seem a little perverse, but even multi-millionaires love a bargain. | Consider a problem that most people would like to have: a big pile of money but not enough time to spend it. |
40,933,720 | Ella Barber was born when her mother Michelle went into labour at their Derbyshire home on 15 August 2016.
Ms Barber's sister Jo Lambert called 999 when they realised there was a problem with the cord and Ella was struggling to breathe.
Paramedic Amanda Bird said it was "brilliant" she was now fully fit.
Live updates from the East Midlands
Michelle Barber, from Sandiacre, suddenly went into labour at home, but there was not enough time to get her to hospital.
Her sister realised the cord was wrapped around Ella's neck while talking to the emergency call handler.
"I was really scared." she said. "Michelle was screaming 'she's going to die, she's going to die.'
"I just thought I need to get her breathing and I did my best."
Joanne Shepherd took the emergency call and told Ms Lambert calmly to slide her finger under the cord and carefully pull it over the baby's head.
She said: "It was only my second baby delivery coming out of training so one I won't forget... not an easy one, but a really nice outcome."
Ms Bird arrived at the house within three minutes of the call.
She said: "She wasn't breathing, she was blue and she needed stimulation to breathe otherwise she wouldn't be here today celebrating her first birthday.
"I was thinking 'come on you little monkey, you are going to breathe' and she did, which was wonderful."
She added that it was "absolutely brilliant" that Ella was fully fit a year on.
Mum Michelle said of the reunion: "It's amazing and lovely to catch up again... people don't normally get to see [medical staff] afterwards." | A baby who nearly died when the umbilical cord became caught around her neck during birth has been reunited with the paramedics who saved her life. |
38,001,354 | Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, of Lewes, East Sussex, died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, on 20 October.
She had taken part in an alternative health session involving paida lajin therapy. She previously said a session had yielded "astonishing" results.
Two men, aged 51 and 53, and a woman, 64, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and released on bail.
Paida lajin involves patients being slapped or vigorously slapping themselves repeatedly as part of a "self-healing" process.
Matthew Carr-Gomm said his mother had been seeking alternative treatments after being diagnosed with diabetes in 1999.
He said: "She had a lifelong fear of needles so she struggled with the diagnosis and initially took a course of tablets instead.
"She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes and was very interested in alternative and holistic medicine and therapies.
"I know she was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease. She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life."
The week-long course at Cleeve House which Mrs Carr-Gomm attended was run by Hongchi Xiao, originally from Beijing.
Mrs Carr-Gomm, who was originally from Issenheim, in France, wrote a blog post about a previous session she had completed in Bulgaria.
She wrote: "Large areas of my body... bruised and blue which indicated that a lot of 'sha' or poisoned blood and toxins had been released".
She described painful seizures and said she vomited "the most horrible syrupy black stuff", but believed it improved her blood sugar readings and she planned to attend more workshops. | A woman who died following a "slapping workshop" was desperate to cure her diabetes, her son has said. |
38,116,006 | The suspect walked into the Wineflair store on the Upper Lisburn Road in Finaghy at 08:10 GMT on Saturday.
Police said a small amount of money was handed over.
The man was described as being in his 20s, about 5ft 5", of heavy build and wearing a red hat and red-hooded top.
PSNI Det Sgt Michael Hawthorne said: "I would appeal to anyone who saw a male matching this description in the Finaghy area this morning or who has any information which could assist us with our enquiries to contact detectives at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 300 26/11/16 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111." | A woman working in a Belfast off licence has been left shaken after being threatened with a knife during a robbery. |
34,312,968 | After a rain-delayed start, Gabriel took 5-31 to dent Middlesex's hopes of securing second place in Division One.
Only four batsmen reached double figures, and six made ducks, with John Simpson's 27 not out the top score.
Worcestershire replied by reaching 79-1 at the close, with Brett D'Oliveira 38 not out and Tom Fell on 37.
After their relegation back to Division Two was confirmed by defeat against Durham last week, the home side soon gave notice that they would not go down meekly when play finally got under way at 13:40 BST.
Joe Leach had Paul Stirling caught at point in the third over, then Sam Robson became Gabriel's first victim when he edged into the slips before the paceman bowled Dawid Malan for a duck with his next delivery.
After Jack Shantry removed both Neil Dexter and Middlesex skipper James Franklin for ducks in a spell of 2-5, the visitors were finally all out at the start of the 35th over.
Middlesex began 12 points clear of third-placed Nottinghamshire, as they look to achieve their best Championship finish since 1995. | West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel was in destructive mood as relegated Worcestershire bowled out Middlesex for just 98 on the opening day at New Road. |
30,431,988 | Aravindan Balakrishnan, 74, has been charged with one count of cruelty to a person under 16, four counts of rape and 19 counts of indecent assault.
The suspected offences relate to three women. No further action is being taken regarding his wife arrested last year.
Mr Balakrishnan, who was arrested in Lambeth in November 2013, is due before Westminster magistrates on 17 December.
Anthony Connell, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said there was "insufficient evidence" for the prospect of conviction relating to Mr Balakrishnan's wife, who was arrested at the same time.
The three alleged victims - a Briton in her 30s, an Irish woman in her 50s and a Malaysian woman in her 70s - had lived at an address in Brixton until October 2013.
A false imprisonment charge against Mr Balakrishnan relates to a 14-year period between January 1999 and October 2013.
The four rape charges span periods from 1980 to 1983, and the indecent assault charges cover periods from 1980 to 1992.
Another woman connected to Mr Balakrishnan, Sian Davies from west Wales, died aged 43 in 1997 at the house where they were living. | Police have charged a man with false imprisonment, rape and child cruelty in a suspected slavery case in London. |
36,897,596 | The NSPCC said its existing support line could now advise parents worried about extremists grooming a child.
It said counsellors had been trained to spot warning signs such as children isolating themselves or "talking as if from a scripted speech".
Recent terror attacks "highlighted the growing problem of individuals being influenced by extremism", it added.
The charity said it had already started getting calls from people worried about the problem.
One caller said: "I'm concerned that someone is trying to force a young boy into having extreme beliefs. He has started acting differently recently and has become more withdrawn."
The training for NSPCC counsellors explained how extremist recruiters "befriend vulnerable targets, feed them ideologies and - in the worst-case scenario - persuade them to commit terrorist attacks".
The charity said potential targets often had low self-esteem, were members of gangs, or were victims of bullying or discrimination.
Radicals tell them they can be "part of something special, and brainwash them into cutting themselves off from their friends and family", it added.
Signs which may "hint at a child being radicalised" include increased anger, becoming disrespectful and asking "inappropriate questions", the charity said.
"I'm worried about a child I know," one caller told counsellors.
"I fear that they may start holding extremist beliefs because I've heard her saying some worrying things.
"She's also showing changes in behaviour and appears to be more aggressive towards her parents.
"I'm not sure how to approach this as I know the family well... I don't think staying silent is an option in the current climate."
NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: "The fact that a young person might hold extreme or radical views is not a safeguarding issue in itself.
"But when young people are groomed for extremist purposes and encouraged to commit acts that could hurt themselves or others, then it becomes abuse.
"That's why we've trained our counsellors to cope with this fresh danger to young people."
The charity's counsellors can also advise parents on how to talk to children who are anxious about terrorism or upset by recent attacks, such as those in France and Germany. | A charity has trained its counsellors to help parents who fear their children are being radicalised. |
40,125,744 | He has been with the Latics since 2014 when he joined from Colchester and is their longest-serving player.
The right-back, 34, has also played for Bristol City and Cheltenham after coming through the Stoke youth system.
"We know we need to improve on the goalscoring side of things and hopefully with the right additions, we can push on," he told the club website. | Oldham Athletic full-back Brian Wilson has signed a new one-year deal with the League One side. |
35,188,344 | A convoy of buses and ambulances has reached Zabadani to take the fighters, and some civilians, to Beirut.
The evacuation is part of a truce agreed in September covering Zabadani and two towns in the north which had been under siege from rebel forces.
About 300 families from those towns are also being given safe passage.
Also on Monday, at least 14 people had been killed and 90 wounded in two suicide bombings in the central city of Homs.
Reports said the blasts had hit the Zahraa neighbourhood of the city. It is predominantly inhabited by members of the Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
Zabadani has been under siege from pro-government forces backed by the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.
However, the two towns of Kefraya and Fuaa, in the northern province of Idlib, have been under siege from Sunni rebels.
The families from Kefraya and Fuaa are being taken to Turkey from where they will go to Lebanon.
The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said the Lebanese Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the UN were all involved in the operation.
Monday's evacuations are the latest in a series of similar moves:
Zabadani is the last major rebel stronghold along the Lebanese border. Rebel fighters had been holding on, but faced almost certain defeat.
Localised ceasefires were at one point were proposed as one of the few ways out of the bloodshed and stalemate.
However, they have failed to build any real momentum, correspondents say. | Dozens of Syrian rebel fighters are being evacuated from the village of Zabadani near the Lebanese border under a UN-brokered deal. |
40,587,329 | The structure began to collapse in February after being closed since 2008.
Engineers at Conwy council, which owns the pier, say the collapse of the sea end has weakened other sections.
The council's planning committee granted permission to dismantle the pier and rebuild a small part of it closest to the land end.
The committee also gave retrospective permission for a section which had already been dismantled on safety grounds after the collapse.
But the final decision will be made by the relevant Welsh Government minister. | Plans to dismantle the Grade II-listed Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay have been approved by councillors. |
39,170,734 | Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray reaffirmed concerns about the human rights of Mexicans in the US.
But migrant defence centres would not "promote illegality," he said.
Mexico is worried about the impact that guidelines issued last month by President Donald Trump will have on the lives of its citizens.
Mr Trump ordered federal agents to join local police and immigration officers to enforce deportation procedures.
Millions of Mexicans who have lived in the US for many years are suddenly facing the prospect of fighting a lengthy and costly legal battle against deportation.
The new defence centres will provide free legal assistance for Mexican citizens who feel that their rights in the US are being threatened.
Bilateral relations have reached its lowest point in decades.
A week after being sworn in January, Mr Trump reaffirmed his intention to build a wall along his country's southern border, which extends for 3,200km (2,000 miles).
He insisted that Mexico would have to bear the cost of the proposed wall.
The remarks prompted President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel a visit to Washington on 31 January and to announce extra funding to protect the rights of Mexican citizens in the US.
During a visit to Mexico by last month by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Chief John Kelly, Mr Videgaray said President Trump's policies towards Mexico were a source of "concern and irritation".
There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US. Six million of them are reportedly Mexican citizens. | Mexico has opened legal aid centres at consulates in 50 US cities, in a move designed to protect its citizens from tougher immigration enforcement. |
39,740,863 | The Q&A at an architecture convention in Orlando came days after her husband made his first public comments as ex-president at a Chicago university.
Mrs Obama, who left office with a 68% approval rating (10% more than her husband) said "politics is tough."
"It's all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out."
It's hard on a family, she said. "I wouldn't ask my children to do this again because when you run for higher office, it's not just you. It's your whole family."
But "public service will always be in our blood", she added.
Although Mrs Obama had played down her political ambitions before, while first lady, this is the first time she has done so since the election campaign, when she was widely viewed as the most effective weapon in the Democratic armoury.
She did not openly discuss President Donald Trump by name during the 45-minute event, but she did make mention of "the new president" who marks his 100 days in office on Saturday.
"So far, so good," said Mrs Obama when asked about her own family's last 100 days, which included a yacht holiday near Tahiti.
She described how her dogs become confused by the sound of a doorbell, which is not a sound you hear at the White House. And now her two daughters can open their windows.
She also described fighting back tears when leaving the place where she had lived the longest in her entire life, saying: "I didn't want to have tears in my eyes because people would swear I was crying because of the new president."
Until this week, the Obamas had kept a low profile since the election, but they are each writing separate memoirs in a book deal worth $40m.
Mr Obama has drawn criticism from fellow Democrats over a $400,000 (£309,000) upcoming speaking engagement to a Wall Street investment firm.
Progressive senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seen as a possible 2020 presidential candidate, said she was "troubled" by Mr Obama's decision.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a 2016 Democratic presidential contender, said Mr Obama's speech was "distasteful", the Vermont Independent reports. | Former First Lady Michelle Obama appeared to rule out running for elected office during her first public remarks since leaving the White House. |
40,841,358 | Jose Mourinho's team were a constant threat against a poor Hammers side, offering excitement and encouragement to their supporters on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
Lukaku, a £75m summer signing from Everton, put the Red Devils ahead with a rising drive off the post after racing onto Marcus Rashford's pass.
The Belgium international doubled the lead after half-time, glancing in a header from Henrikh Mkhitaryan's inswinging free-kick.
United teenager Rashford curled against the inside of Joe Hart's left-hand post before substitute Anthony Martial ended the match as a contest with a slick finish.
There was still time for a fourth, however, as Paul Pogba curled in from distance.
The Hammers offered little going forward in a passive performance, although new signing Marko Arnautovic did flick a header onto the top of the home crossbar at 2-0.
The Red Devils have now lost only one of their 14 opening-day Premier League fixtures at Old Trafford, while West Ham's season began with a record 11th defeat.
Follow all the post-match reaction from Old Trafford
Manchester United might have won the Europa League and League Cup in Mourinho's debut season at Old Trafford, but Red Devils supporters will be expecting, if not demanding, a serious title challenge after a less-than-adequate sixth-placed finish last term.
Mourinho spent almost £150m on Everton striker Lukaku, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic and Benfica defender Victor Lindelof this summer in a bid to achieve it.
Although Mourinho's new-look side were outclassed by Real Madrid in Tuesday's Super Cup defeat, solace could be taken that the European champions contained a level of quality unlikely to be seen in the Premier League this season - and certainly not from their opening opponents.
In contrast to a workmanlike performance against Madrid, the home side played with verve and purpose as the Hammers sat back in a bid to contain and frustrate them.
It was a tactic that opponents used to successfully stifle Mourinho's side on several occasions at Old Trafford last season, but once Lukaku broke the deadlock the Hammers never looked like clawing their way back into the game.
Style is equally as important as substance for many United fans and their attacking approach - which saw them rack up 22 shots - will provide encouragement to supporters hoping for a first Premier League title since 2013.
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The opening weekend provided a tale of two strikers at Old Trafford: one a familiar face looking to haunt some old friends, the other a new arrival seeking to make an instant impression.
New Hammers signing Javier Hernandez received a warm welcome on his first return to the club where he made his name, but saw his appearance overshadowed by the latest man charged with firing the Red Devils to success.
Lukaku, who opened his account in Tuesday's defeat by Madrid, impressed throughout with his strong running, physical presence and link-up play.
But his two goals were what really caught the eye.
In truth, it seemed almost inevitable that the Belgian would find the net against the Hammers, having scored in nine of his 10 games against them while at Everton.
The 24-year-old eased any growing twitchiness - as United dominated the opening half an hour without testing Joe Hart - by smashing in the opener, then gave them valuable breathing space with a predatory header.
He had a chance to complete his hat-trick too, only to see Pablo Zabalata block his goalbound shot with a sliding tackle and then blaze a rising effort over.
"When you play for Manchester United, you have a job to do and mine is to score goals. It is promising," said the former Everton and Chelsea striker.
Optimism has been high at West Ham after a productive summer for manager Slaven Bilic - but some of that may have disappeared after they were easily brushed aside at Old Trafford.
Bilic said afterwards it was hard to find any positives, but one poor performance on the opening weekend does not mean the Hammers should necessarily panic, especially as several key players - including Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio - were missing through injury.
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The Hammers' transfer policy over the summer has been clear: experienced internationals who have proven Premier League quality.
That arrived in the shape of Manchester City title-winning duo Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta, Stoke attacking midfielder Marko Arnautovic and former Manchester United striker Hernandez.
Right-back Zabaleta probably came out with the most credit after a typically industrious display.
But questions may be asked over the ease with which England keeper Hart allowed Pogba's strike to creep in, while Hernandez barely had a sniff of a chance against his former club.
The Hammers only had one serious chance in a limp first-half performance - Edimilson Fernandes's fierce shot parried by David De Gea in the final kick before half-time - before Arnautovic's half-chance after the break.
Manchester United will look to follow up this fine opening win when they go to Swansea on Saturday (12:30 BST).
West Ham face another away game - because their London Stadium has been hosting the World Athletics Championships - as they visit Southampton on the same day (15:00).
Match ends, Manchester United 4, West Ham United 0.
Second Half ends, Manchester United 4, West Ham United 0.
Attempt missed. Chicharito (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Pedro Obiang.
Goal! Manchester United 4, West Ham United 0. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Attempt blocked. Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
Chicharito (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard replaces Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Goal! Manchester United 3, West Ham United 0. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Henrikh Mkhitaryan with a through ball.
Attempt blocked. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku.
Substitution, West Ham United. Aaron Cresswell replaces Arthur Masuaku.
Substitution, Manchester United. Anthony Martial replaces Marcus Rashford.
Phil Jones (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United).
Attempt missed. Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high.
Foul by Daley Blind (Manchester United).
André Ayew (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Manchester United. Marouane Fellaini replaces Juan Mata.
Attempt missed. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Winston Reid.
Foul by Juan Mata (Manchester United).
Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, West Ham United. Pedro Obiang tries a through ball, but André Ayew is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Daley Blind (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Antonio Valencia with a cross.
Phil Jones (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Chicharito (West Ham United).
Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).
Pablo Zabaleta (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Eric Bailly (Manchester United).
Diafra Sakho (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Winston Reid (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the left side of the box. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku.
Offside, West Ham United. Diafra Sakho tries a through ball, but Marko Arnautovic is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Paul Pogba.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Pablo Zabaleta.
Attempt blocked. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Henrikh Mkhitaryan. | Romelu Lukaku announced his arrival at Old Trafford by scoring twice on his Premier League debut for Manchester United as they embarrassed West Ham. |
39,572,434 | The German team confirmed that defender Marc Bartra broke his wrist in an incident near their hotel and required hospital treatment.
The match will now be played at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion at 17:45 BST on Wednesday.
Police confirmed there had been three explosions in the area of the team bus.
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Dortmund's chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said: "There has been an attack with explosives on the team bus.
"The whole team is in a state of shock - you can't get pictures like that out of your head."
Windows were broken on the bus, which was six miles from the stadium at the time of the incident at around 18:00 BST, and former Barcelona centre-back Bartra was sent to hospital.
Police said the cause of the explosions, at Hochsten outside the city, was unclear, but added there had been no evidence of any threat to supporters.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted his support, wishing Bartra a quick recovery, as did his former club.
The night's other quarter-final between Juventus and Barcelona kicked off as scheduled.
Dortmund president Reinhard Rauball added: "Of course this is an extremely difficult situation for the players.
"But they are professionals, and I am convinced that they will put that away and will bring their performance on Wednesday." | Borussia Dortmund's Champions League quarter-final with Monaco has been postponed after the Dortmund team bus was damaged by an explosion. |
36,857,387 | The suspect, who is in his 60s, suffered serious burns as a result of the incident on Thursday evening, in the western suburb of Merrylands.
A top police official said there was no indication of any terrorist connection.
The Australian authorities believe the individual involved has a history of mental health problems.
No members of the public or police officers were injured during the incident in Memorial Avenue, police said.
The suspect was arrested at about 20:00 (10:00 GMT) and a bomb disposal unit deployed, as roads were locked down around the police station.
New South Wales state assistant police commissioner Dennis Clifford said officers had spotted the suspect sitting in his car outside the police station.
When they approached him, he appeared to ignite an accelerant and drove his vehicle into a roller door leading to the station's underground car park.
Australian media had reported a number of gas canisters were in the car at the time, although it is not clear how many.
"There's nothing to indicate this is in any way related to terrorism," Mr Clifford told reporters.
"We just don't know why this person has acted this way."
"The police reacted very bravely and it's just a miracle that no one else was seriously injured," he added.
Nick Ralston, crime and justice editor at The Sydney Morning Herald, tweeted to say the suspect was "known to police but not believed to have had any known links to a terrorist" organisation.
The suspect is being treated in hospital for his injuries. | A man has been arrested in Sydney, Australia, after reportedly setting himself and his car alight and ramming the gate of a police station car park. |
38,077,589 | The 29-year-old Hungary international joined the Latics in July from Liverpool and had started in every Championship game so far this season.
He suffered the injury in Wigan's 0-0 draw at Barnsley on Saturday and will undergo surgery on his knee.
"To lose him for him to be out for the season is a blow," boss Warren Joyce told BBC Radio Manchester.
"It's hampering his career for a period of time when he was looking to kick on and establish himself." | On-loan goalkeeper Adam Bogdan will miss the rest of Wigan Athletic's season with a serious knee injury. |
39,744,952 | German Shepherd Orion arrived at the RSPCA's Bryn-y-Maen centre in Colwyn Bay in January.
But a check-up discovered a surprise heart murmur, and she may need costly treatment in the future.
Staff say they were "devastated" by the news.
Orion was found abandoned in the Anglesey area in January along with another German Shepherd Sirius, who has since been re-homed.
The RSPCA said they are struggling to find a home for Orion because of her potentially costly vets bills.
Mel Kermode, the centre's deputy manager, said: "We can't tell whether her condition will or won't develop in the future.
"She could potentially live for years but it would be wrong if weren't honest with people about her condition.
"It takes a special person to take that on, but then she is a very special dog." | An abandoned dog with a potentially life-limiting heart condition is a "special dog" who deserves a forever home, say staff at a Conwy county animal sanctuary. |
17,839,882 | Vladimir Putin has been Russia's dominant political figure since his election as president in 2000, serving two terms and then a four-year stint as prime minister, before resuming the presidency in 2012.
Since his re-election against a token opponent, Russia's authorities have further tightened control over the media, marginalised genuine opposition, and adopted a stridently nationalist and anti-Western course to shore up domestic support, in contrast to a previous emphasis on stability and prosperity.
The last process accelerated with Mr Putin's tough response to the toppling of the pro-Russian government in Ukraine by pro-EU protests in early 2014.
Russia subsequently seized Crimea from Ukraine - a move that prompted Mr Putin's domestic approval rating to soar - and fomented a violent rebellion in the eastern provinces on Russia's border.
The following year, President Putin responded to the imperilled state of his ally President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where Russia maintains its sole Mediterranean naval base, by sending warplanes to bomb the positions of rebel groups.
The president presents himself as a strong leader who took Russia out of the economic, social and political crisis of the 1990s and defends Russia's national interests, particularly against what he portrays as Western attempts to corner and foist cultural values on it.
Critics say that since taking power, Mr Putin has created an almost neo-feudal system of rule that concentrates control over key economic resources in the hands of a narrow circle of close associates, and is smothering economic dynamism, democratic development and a nascent civil society to protect itself.
Several of Mr Putin's rivals and opposition activists have sought safety abroad or ended up in prison, most prominently the former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in jail following his arrest on tax evasion and fraud charges in 2003.
Born in St Petersburg in 1952, Vladimir Putin began his career in the KGB, the Soviet-era security police. From 1990 he worked in the St Petersburg administration before moving to Moscow in 1996. By August 1999 he was prime minister.
He was named acting president by his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, and went on to win presidential elections in May 2000, having gained popularity for launching a successful offensive against Chechen rebels, following a mysterious series of deadly explosions in Russian cities. He won again in 2004.
Barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive presidential term in 2008, he made way for his prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, before the two swapped roles in 2012.
By this time, parliament had extended presidential terms from four to six years, so that Mr Putin - already one of Europe's longest-serving leaders - could potentially stay in power until 2024. | President: Vladimir Putin |
32,441,813 | Gypsy Kings Café in Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was issued with a closure notice on Tuesday and ordered to close for three months on Thursday.
Police were granted an order by magistrates under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
PC Dan McGarrigle said he believed anti-social behaviour in the area was related to the sale of "legal highs".
He described them as "psychoactive substances".
"The anti-social behaviour related to this premises has had a detrimental effect on the local community and has had a negative impact on individuals, families and businesses," he said.
Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire Constabulary worked together to secure the closure of the shop.
Simon Hayes, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, said: "The magistrates have made the right decision here to close the Gypsy King's head shop. It sold products that endanger the lives of anyone who takes them. "
"These substances should not be available at all, let alone on our High Streets." | A so-called "head shop" that sells legal highs has been shut after anti-social behaviour complaints. |
36,256,161 | An outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral disease has killed 277 people in Angola since December, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association warns that it could spread to other continents.
The WHO says almost six million people have been vaccinated in Angola, which has a population of 24.3 million.
In April, the WHO said the emergency stockpile of vaccines had ran out.
The virus has already spread to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and China.
BBC Africa's health correspondent Anne Soy says vaccines take around six months to produce, so there is a time lag in responding to a large outbreak like the current one in Angola.
Drug manufacturers globally produce just enough vaccines for routine immunisation, she adds.
In the article, headlined A Yellow Fever Epidemic, A New Global Health Emergency?, two professors from Georgetown University warned that the shortage of vaccine supplies could potentially lead to a health security crisis if it spreads further in Africa, Asia - which has never experienced a yellow fever epidemic - and the Americas.
Daniel Lucey and Lawrence Gostinsay wrote in the journal that the WHO "should urgently convene an emergency committee to mobilise funds, co-ordinate an international response, and spearhead a surge in vaccine production".
Yellow fever is a virus that can cause bleeding, jaundice and kidney failure, It is spread by mosquitoes, usually the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same species that spreads the Zika virus.
It is endemic in tropical regions of Africa and South America.
A vaccine can prevent infection but there is no specific drug treatment for people who are infected. | Scientists in the US have warned that the shortage of yellow fever vaccines could spark a global health emergency. |
33,007,661 | Douglas Slade was arrested at the request of the UK authorities, said Elaine Tan from the Immigration Commission.
He has lived in Angeles City in the Philippines for many years.
Avon and Somerset Police said the offences were alleged to have taken place in the 1970s and 80s.
The force told the BBC it was aware of reports that a man had been arrested by immigration authorities in the Philippines.
"We can confirm this man is wanted by Avon and Somerset Police in connection with non-recent sex offences committed mainly in the Bristol area," the force said.
The force added that the investigation currently involves seven victims, who are all now adults.
Police said they were "working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service following this latest development". | A 74-year-old British man wanted by police in Bristol in connection with child sex abuse allegations has been detained in the Philippines. |
38,548,251 | An explosion ripped through Minnie Pit in Halmer End on 12 January 1918, with 44 of those killed aged under 16.
A service of remembrance was held at Halmer End Methodist Church, which also had an exhibition related to the disaster and the coal mining industry.
Senior church steward David Rowley said the day was organised because of the "bond amongst mining communities".
He said that was "very special" and it was that bond "which we think brings people together in an act of remembrance like this one".
In 1918, 405 miners were employed underground and 248 were working below the surface on the morning of 12 January.
An inquiry into the disaster found the explosion had been caused by a build up of methane gas in two of the pit's main seams.
The exhibition was held in the church hall on Sunday to remember the 156 men and boys.
Mr Rowley said: "I think when you think of youngsters who are that age now in school and college, it just brings it home.
"Most families in the village would have either lost a member or members of their family or would know other families that lost someone.
"It left 67 widows and 132 dependants so it's not surprising that feelings are still strong about the disaster with so many people in the village and other surrounding areas remembering those who died." | A service has taken place to remember 156 victims of a coal mine disaster in a Staffordshire village. |
37,338,785 | The 28-year-old, who has over 100 Premiership appearances to his name, spent the summer playing in Ohio before beginning his trial last month.
Director of rugby Dean Richards said: "We are delighted to have been able to bring him on board full time.
"He is a quality player, he knows this league very well and we look forward to working with him on a permanent basis."
Waldouck came off the replacements bench in Saturday's 58-5 thrashing at Bath.
The Falcons return to action on Sunday when they host Leicester Tigers. | Newcastle Falcons have given a contract to Dominic Waldouck after the centre impressed during a trial. |
36,110,236 | The figure was calculated based on comments by FBI director James Comey, who said that the agency had paid more to get into the phone than he "will make in the remaining seven years" in his post.
That would make it the largest publicised fee for a hacking job.
Mr Comey added that it was "worth it".
The calculation was based on a projection of Mr Comey's annual salary which, in January 2015, was $183,300. This has been multiplied over the next seven years and four months that he remains in his job. The figure does not factor in pay rises or bonuses.
The FBI has never named the security firm or group of hackers that helped unlock the phone, but whoever it was provided either software or hardware that helped crack the four-digit identification number without triggering a security feature that would have erased all data after 10 incorrect guesses.
Mr Comey said that the same method could be used on other 5C iPhones running IOS 9 software.
According to research firm IHS Technology, there are about 16 million such phones in use in the US and more than 80% of them run iOS 9 software, according to Apple.
The case has been hugely controversial, largely because of the spat with Apple, which had been resisting a court order requiring it to write new software to allow officials to access Syed Rizwan Farook's phone.
Farook and his wife killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, in December. Both were shot dead by police.
The FBI argued that it needed access to the phone's data to determine if the attackers worked with or were supported by other people and were planning other targets.
It is unclear how much information has been gleaned since the phone was opened. Some US news outlets have reported that, so far, the FBI has not found anything of interest on the device.
The case has raised the debate over whether technology firms' use of encryption is a good thing for consumer privacy or damaging to public safety.
There is big money to be made from helping the authorities to find bugs in software.
Last year, Zerodium - a firm that negotiates bug bounties - offered $1m for a web-based exploit against iOS 9 and that bounty was subsequently claimed. | The FBI paid at least $1.3m (£900,000) to hack into the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers, it has been estimated. |
40,905,698 | The 36-year-old Swiss won 6-4 6-4 in 68 minutes to set up a meeting with unseeded Dutchman Robin Haase.
Federer is aiming for the third Rogers Cup win of his career and sixth title of a remarkable 2017 season.
Canada's Denis Shapovalov plays Alexander Zverev of Germany in the other semi-final.
Federer secured the decisive first break at 4-4 in the opening set, then got the better of three consecutive breaks early in the second.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion has now won all 16 sets in his seven matches against Bautista Agut.
"I think it pays off playing aggressive here in Montreal," said Federer.
"Plus I feel comfortable at the net so why not spend some time up there instead of slugging it out from the baseline?"
With world number two Rafael Nadal eliminated on Thursday by Shapovalov and world number one Andy Murray sidelined by a hip injury, Federer has an opportunity to regain his world number one ranking.
He would need to win in Montreal and have an equal or better finish than Nadal in Cincinnati next week to become the world number one on 21 August.
"Now that Rafa is out I know I can make big strides, especially if I was to go further than the semis here. But it's all connected to great play," said Federer.
Haase, ranked 52nd in the world, fought back to beat Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 4-6 6-3 6-3.
Fourth seeded Alexander Zverev defeated South Africa's Kevin Anderson 7-5 6-4 to set up a match of rising stars with Shapovalov.
Zverev, 20, is the youngest player ranked in the top 20 in the world and Shapovalov, 18, is the youngest to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final.
The Canadian, who needed a wild card to gain entry into the tournament, beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 2-6 6-3 6-4.
"I've been against the wall a couple times this week. I'm very happy I've come out several times just playing really good tennis in those situations," Shapovalov said. "I think it really shows how I've improved mentally along with just finding my game at the right moments."
Shapovalov beat 10-time French Open champion Nadal to reach the quarter-finals and upset 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro in the second round. | Roger Federer extended his winning streak to 15 matches as he beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the Rogers Cup semi-finals in Montreal. |
27,107,946 | Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of the social network site, said women should hold half of the important positions in business.
"If you're thinking about doing something, ask yourself what you would do if you weren't afraid and then do it," she told the BBC.
Ms Sandberg became the first woman on Facebook's board in June 2012.
Last year, she wrote Lean In, a book advising women on how to make progress in the workplace.
"It's really important that since women make up half of the population, women start having half the seats at tables where the decisions are made and that's not where we are today," Ms Sandberg added.
She said women could make "unbelievably effective" business and government leaders, as well as entrepreneurs.
Talking about the wider challenges facing Facebook, Ms Sandberg said the world was going through a "huge technological shift".
"We are in the middle of the fastest adoption of disruptive technology the world has ever seen and that is the mobile phone," she added. | Facebook's highest-ranked woman has said women need to take action to create a more equal world. |
34,894,561 | After collecting his third Race to Dubai crown in four years, the Northern Irishman is taking stock of a 2015 season in which he won four times but failed to add to his quartet of major titles.
The setback of his July ankle injury, picked up playing football with mates, cost him the chance of defending his Open Championship at St Andrews and effectively ended his hopes of claiming a third PGA title in August.
It ripped the heart out of his year and Jordan Spieth and Jason Day filled the vacuum left by the 26-year-old's misfortune.
The 22-year-old American and the Australian, 28, surged past the Northern Ireland star in the world rankings and McIlroy learned important lessons in the process.
"You definitely can't be complacent," McIlroy told BBC Sport after the victory in the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday that completed his Race to Dubai defence.
"I had a big lead in the world rankings and you see Jordan and Jason play the way they did. Fields are so deep, you can't let up at all.
"Tagging along with that, you know, this is my time to capitalise on my career. The next 10, 15 years is my time.
"I really can't be doing silly things like playing football in the middle of the season to jeopardise even six months of my career. It's a big chunk where I could make some hay and win a major or two.
"I won't be making those mistakes again next year."
McIlroy was close to his very best over the final weekend of the European season. His imperious ball-striking was allied to a surer putting touch in closing rounds of 65 and 66.
It is refreshing to hear him accept he cannot take his foot off the gas in the coming seasons. Spieth's victories in the Masters and the US Open and Day's triumph at the PGA have demonstrated that McIlroy will not be able to rely on raw talent alone.
The Ulsterman is the most naturally gifted golfer on the planet, but to turn that into domination he has to harness a work ethic to match that of the duo who narrowly lead him in the rankings.
Certainly the evidence in Dubai suggests that McIlroy is more than aware of this and his victory sent the emphatic message that he remains a fearsome force at the top of the game.
Not that the player himself views his latest victory in such a way. "I'm not sending a message to anyone," he stated.
"I'm just going out there to play my best. I had goals and objectives which had nothing to do with Jordan Spieth or Jason Day.
"I wanted to win the Race to Dubai, I wanted to beat Danny Willett over the week and I wanted to beat Andy Sullivan.
"Whether it's Jordan Spieth or Jason Day or anyone else, I have certain objectives throughout the year and it doesn't matter who it is, I just want to play the best golf possible.
"I know if I do play to my best or close to my best then I am able to win big tournaments."
McIlroy will not compete again until the European Tour returns to the Middle East for the Abu Dhabi Championship in late January.
Much of that time will be spent on conditioning work in the gym before he picks up his clubs for serious practice in the new year.
This strategy makes perfect sense because the 2016 season will be like no other with the return of golf to the Olympics. Players must make sure they have plenty in the tank for July and August.
The Open and PGA are both played in a three-week window before Rio. Then, once the Games are completed in August, they will head straight into the PGA Tour playoffs before the Ryder Cup.
It is a mouth-watering prospect, particularly with such exciting figures at the very top of the game. And McIlroy, having learned the lessons of the ups and downs of 2015, seems much better equipped to capitalise.
Last summer was the most miserable of his career to date. The available evidence suggests a stark contrast next year. | Anyone thinking this was a wasted year for Rory McIlroy should think again. |
38,879,379 | Hundreds of people were involved in searches along the river on Saturday to find 23-year-old Jack Glenn.
Jack's sister, Katie Glenn, said her family were "extremely grateful" for all the support.
Foyle Search and Rescue are leading the search efforts which resumed early on Monday morning.
The police have urged those involved "not to put their own safety at risk" and warned of the dangers of fast-flowing water.
"We just want to thank everybody so, so much for all the support that they have given us," Katie Glenn told the BBC.
"Jack was my only brother and he was just the best brother in the world.
"He was so talented at everything, he didn't know how good he was and how much everybody loved him."
Jack was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, dark tracksuit bottoms and blue trainers when he entered the water at the Foyle Bridge. | Searches are continuing for a missing Londonderry man who went into the River Foyle on Thursday. |
40,893,902 | Media playback is not supported on this device
South African Van Niekerk had been hunting the first 200m-400m double since Michael Johnson 22 years ago, while Makwala of Botswana had run a solo time trial to get this far after his initial controversial exclusion on medical grounds.
But the 27-year-old Guliyev, who switched allegiance from his native Azerbaijan in 2011, held off Van Niekerk (20.11 seconds) and Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards (20.11) to win Turkey's first gold medal at a World Championships in 20.09 and pull off another upset at an unpredictable London 2017.
"This is not a shock," said the champion. "But it does not feel real.
"I have shown my best throughout this competition. I delivered my best race at the right time. I'm so happy to be world champion. This is the best moment of my career."
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake was 0.13 seconds off bronze in fourth, another close miss for Britain to go with the fourth places for Laura Muir in the 1500m, Kyle Langford in the 800m and Callum Hawkins in the marathon.
Mitchell-Blake told BBC Sport: "I am glad to come through healthy. I feel like I have let the nation down today. I know I had the calibre to get a medal. I wanted to win. That's all I thought about when I go out there."
Olympic 400m hurdles champion Dalilah Muhammad had earlier been dethroned by her USA team-mate Kori Carter, as Britain's team captain Eilidh Doyle came home eighth.
It has been a week where many of the big names have struggled, but one of the sport's great champions, double Olympic and world triple jump gold medallist Christian Taylor, once again excelled on the biggest stage as he held off fellow American Will Claye in a thrilling, seesaw final.
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Makwala had become the folk hero of London 2017 having been excluded from both the 400m and 200m heats when the IAAF medical commission placed him in 48-hour quarantine after deciding he showed symptoms of norovirus.
He then got through a time trial in sodden conditions on Wednesday evening to make the semi-finals, getting through those despite having only two hours recovery.
There are many people who don't think I deserve this
But those efforts may have taken their toll in the least preferred of his two events, and he tired down the home straight to finish sixth in 20.44, his slowest time all week.
He told BBC Sport: "The 400m was the one I put all my money on; the 200m I do sometimes for speed only. It's not like the 400m. I never use blocks, but I am happy I was in the final.
"I thought I could get a medal, but I ran yesterday two difficult races and it wasn't easy.
"I will leave the championships with my heart broken."
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Van Niekerk too looked weary in his sixth race in six days, and only held off Richards in bronze by one thousandth of a second.
This was Guliyev's night, and he celebrated with both Turkish and Azerbaijani flags in his hands.
"It was a tough week," said Van Niekerk, who was in tears during his interview with BBC Sport.
"I really feel I worked hard for tonight and I gave it my all. I have proven over and over I deserve what I have achieved.
"It's been a tough week. There are many people who don't think I deserve this.
"I work just as hard as every other competitor. I don't think I got the respect I deserved after the 400m - but it's only the beginning and I will show my dominance."
Taylor's triumph may not have surprised the bookmakers and he still has Briton Jonathan Edwards' world record to beat despite all those titles.
But he was pushed all the way by Claye in a fine competition, the latter jumping 17.54m in the first round before Taylor passed him with 17.57 in the second round.
Claye then retook the lead in the third round with 17.65, only for Taylor to better it by three centimetres with the very next jump.
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These have been a testing championships for the host nation, the solitary medal a week in coming from Mo Farah in the 10,000m on the opening night.
But Dina Asher-Smith is into Friday's 200m final after running a season's best of 22.73 to finish second behind Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou in her semi-final, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo looking dangerous as they dominated their semis.
"I'm absolutely over the moon, especially after the year that I've had," said Asher-Smith, who fractured her foot in February.
Eilish McColgan ran a personal best of 15 minutes 0.38 seconds to make the 5,000m final, and she will be joined by fellow Scot Muir, who squeaked through as a fastest qualifier despite ending the heat in obvious physical distress.
"I felt good out there apart from that last lap," said Muir. "I know I'm better than I ran today and hopefully I can show it in the final."
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McColgan is now less than a second off the career best of her mother Liz, who was 10,000m world champion in Tokyo in 1991.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson remains in the hunt for a high jump medal to make up for the disappointment of missing out in the heptathlon after both she and Morgan Lake made it through their qualifying pools with clearances at 1.92m.
Chris O'Hare and Jake Wightman qualified well for the 1500m semi-finals, with all three British women in the 800m - Lynsey Sharp, Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Adelle Tracey - into the semis, Tracey impressing with a new personal best of 2.00.28.
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BBC athletics analyst Michael Johnson, former 200m world champion
The times were not very impressive so the standard of the 200m has gone down a little bit. With Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin and Andre de Grasse out it created a close race.
Makwala looked like he had a great start and then the fatigue set in.
Van Niekerk found something between yesterday and today to be able to take that silver medal.
Mitchell-Blake has had a long season in the American collegiate system so that is a great result for him. | Turkey's Ramil Guliyev wrecked the dreams of 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk and comeback kid Isaac Makwala to seize the 200m world title. |
40,427,941 | Mustafa Dossa was found guilty of transporting weapons to Mumbai.
The explosions killed 257 people, and were allegedly to avenge the killing of Muslims in riots a few months earlier.
The blasts targeted a dozen sites, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of national carrier Air India and a luxury hotel.
Indian media reports say Dossa was admitted to the jail hospital ward after he complained of severe chest pain early on Wednesday.
Indian prosecutors had argued that Dossa was one of the "brains" behind the attack and was even more culpable than Yakub Memon, who was hanged for his role in the blasts in 2015, the PTI news agency said.
He was found guilty earlier this month, but the court had not pronounced a sentence.
Dossa, along with six others, was tried separately for his role in the blasts.
The seven men were arrested between 2003 and 2010 and tried separately from Memon as they were arrested towards the end of his trial.
A court found six of them guilty of criminal conspiracy and murder. One man was acquitted. | A man convicted of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts has died of a heart attack, one day after prosecutors asked a court to sentence him to death. |
36,499,693 | The Alex finished bottom of League One, winning only seven of their 46 games.
Collins says he, head of recruitment Neil Baker and boss Steve Davis have all benefitted from the experience.
"The more time you spend together, you learn more about each other and that helps you in the difficult times," Collins, 38, told BBC Radio Stoke.
Crewe endured a wretched campaign last term, with their relegation back into League Two confirmed with a month of the season still to go.
Long-serving manager Davis, 50, was given the backing of chairman John Bowler with finances available to help build a promotion bid in 2016-17.
As the Alex prepare for that tilt, Collins is adamant the backroom staff better and wiser.
"As you can imagine, there were some dark times last season in that office," Collins said.
"You learn about each other's character and you move on and get stronger - I think that's what we've done.
"We all sit in the same office and discuss things - the team, the players, tactics or recruitment - and I think we work well together.
"Last season's gone and we start next season with all guns blazing."
Crewe have made one signing so far this summer with the return to the club of experienced striker Ryan Lowe. | Crewe Alexandra's management team have been made stronger by the "dark" times of relegation last season, says assistant manager James Collins. |
37,034,554 | They may be rivals in the sport arena but outside the competition many women athletes appear to be forging a sisterly bond.
Their interaction on social media reveals what the television cameras often do not capture: mutual encouragement and developing friendships - a true Olympic "sisterhood" that seems to go far beyond victories or defeats.
Female athletes from a wide array of sports and nationalities have been engaging with each other, even rooting for one another, and sharing hopes and aspirations.
US star gymnast Simone Biles, already a three-time world champion and a media sensation, has been showing her sisterly solidarity with her roommate, who is not only her team mate but also her rival for individual gold.
"Behind the scenes: facemasks and head wraps," she recently wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of herself and Aly Raisman. (@Simone_Biles)
Raisman, the US gymnastics team captain, is a two-time Olympic champion who previously won gold in floor exercise, a discipline in which Biles is now wowing the globe.
Both of them have taken lots of group pictures with heart icons and flexed biceps emoticons, and are frequently seen hugging and smiling.
Raisman was predictably proud when the US won team gold on Wednesday.
Tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams are just one of the pairs of female siblings competing in Rio, suggesting that girl power often runs in the family.
Tweeting from Rio, before she and her sister were defeated in the doubles tournament, a nostalgic Serena Williams offered a glimpse of her phenomenal career alongside her big sister Venus.
"Our first gold" read the title of an Instagram photo showcasing their big smiles on the podium in the 2000 Sydney Games.
Brazilian identical twins Bia and Branca Feres, who are competing together in synchronised swimming, like to share everything from their social media account to the pair of identical-looking white kittens they are seen cuddling in one of their Instagram posts.
But sisterly camaraderie does not stop at two.
Estonian marathon runners Liina, Leila and Lily Luik have been a social media hit with their special hashtag #TrioToRio.
They are the first triplets to qualify for the Olympics and they have been a favourite with fans who have joked about how race stewards will tell them apart.
They may not be sisters but Canada's 4x100 freestyle Olympic swimming relay team also decided to create a "sisterhood" by showing off their Olympic rings, given to them by Swimming Canada.
In smaller delegations, the feeling of camaraderie amongst female athletes has been even more marked.
East Timor has only sent three athletes to the Olympics, two of whom are women.
Anche Cabral will be competing in the mountain biking and Nelia Martins in the marathon.
The two have been busy posting pictures of the themselves making new friends in the Olympic village.
Below Cabral poses with two athletes from Ghana.
However big or small the delegation, judging by their posts on social media, they share a sense of excitement and achievement that binds the Olympic "sisterhood" together.
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. | The Rio Olympics is hosting more than 10,000 athletes, 45% of whom are women, the highest percentage in the games' history, according to the organisers. |
36,063,490 | For the Solar Impulse team it came over the northern Pacific Ocean in mid-summer last year.
Their pilot Andre Borschberg was in the midst of trying to make a crossing from Japan to Hawaii - the longest non-stop solo aeroplane flight in aviation history.
Although a routine journey for today's airline passengers, this 8,000km passage was full of uncertainty and danger for the Swiss adventurer's slow-moving, sun-powered vehicle.
Did it have the performance? Did he, on what would be a five-day and five-night feat of endurance?
And Andre had a major problem: one of his key safety systems wasn't working.
This was the electronic box he calls his "virtual co-pilot".
It's a system that monitors the plane while the human pilot rests, and will sound the alarm if the craft starts to do something it should not.
For the super-light Solar Impulse plane, easily buffeted by winds, a potentially disastrous situation could arise at anytime. The experienced hand of the aviator needs to be available to take control in the instant - something that would be delayed if he is in a deep slumber.
And so to proceed with continuous flight for several days and nights without this critical back-up seemed a risk too far.
At least that's what many of the team's engineers at mission control in Monaco thought. They wanted Andre to abort the crossing and turn back to Japan. He, on the other hand, intended to press on. And that led to quite a bust-up.
"The weather window was constantly improving and I thought if I looked at the global risk of the situation this was a good window and I could manage the deficiency I had, and I decided to continue.
"But it was a drama because some of the engineers threatened to resign immediately as they did not understand my decisions," he told me.
"This was the first time for a dramatic and extremely important decision that we were not unanimous.
"I felt the situation was very difficult and very emotional. The technical decision for me was easy because I was prepared for that, but the emotional side of it was extremely strong, and I meditated the entire night. And when I saw the sun rise in the morning, I had the feeling I could throw these emotions out of the cockpit and really get into the flight."
The disagreements were resolved in a clear-the-air teleconference between the cockpit and mission control. But the drama left its mark on the dynamics of the team.
Fortuitously, as Andre now views it, the plane suffered damage to its batteries on the Pacific crossing, which meant it had to undergo some lengthy maintenance. It was an opportunity also to repair the team.
"We called in a friend of mine who is a captain with EasyJet," recalls Solar Impulse flight director Raymond Clerc.
"He is a trainer in that company for what we call CRM - Crew Resource Management.
"Each airline pilot has to do this every year. It's about improving communication between different teams. It's an approach used now in hospitals and police forces, and the like, but it came out of aviation.
"It was realised in the 70s and 80s that a lot of accidents were due to misunderstandings within the cockpit, for example between the captain and the co-pilot. You can have a very good aircraft but you can crash because the people do not understand each other.
"So we've done sessions with the engineers and the pilots, in the "classroom", and I think it's had a good effect."
Andre likens the sessions to "couples therapy".
What has emerged, he believes, is a more solid team, a stronger unit - one that will be better able to deal with any future crises.
Solar Impulse now stands ready to try to complete its circumnavigation of the globe.
Last year, it travelled from Abu Dhabi, UAE, to Kalaeloa, Hawaii. If the weather is kind, the plane will seek to fly to the US West Coast in the coming days.
Andre's business partner and project chairman, Bertrand Piccard, will be at the controls for the first leg, which will aim for one of Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver.
The hope is to be in New York in June to begin preparations for an Atlantic crossing. If Solar Impulse gets that done successfully, it should be a relatively straightforward run to the finishing line in Abu Dhabi.
"Before the flight from Japan there was still a very big question mark," says Andre. "Would we be able to do it? Would the airplane be capable? Would we have enough performance? And of course this is now done; it has been demonstrated, and we go to the next leg with a high level of confidence.
"It's still not easy because the weather is not totally predictable. But the longest flight we needed to do is done. So from an exploration point of view and a technical point of view, I think we are in a very good position."
LEG 1: 9 March. Abu Dhabi (UAE) to Muscat (Oman) - 772km; 13 Hours 1 Minute
LEG 2: 10 March. Muscat (Oman) to Ahmedabad (India) - 1,593km; 15 Hours 20 Minutes
LEG 3: 18 March. Ahmedabad (India) to Varanasi (India) - 1,170km; 13 Hours 15 Minutes
LEG 4: 18 March. Varanasi (India) to Mandalay (Myanmar) - 1,536km; 13 Hours 29 Minutes
LEG 5: 29 March. Mandalay (Myanmar) to Chongqing (China) - 1,636km; 20 Hours 29 Minutes
LEG 6: 21 April. Chongqing (China) to Nanjing (China) - 1,384km; 17 Hours 22 Minutes
LEG 7: 30 May. Nanjing (China) to Nagoya (Japan) - 2,942km; 1 Day 20 Hours 9 Minutes
LEG 8: 28 June. Nagoya (Japan) to Kalaeloa, Hawaii (USA) - 8,924km; 4 Days 21 Hours 52 Minutes | All big projects have their crunch moments, and these pinch points will very often define the people involved. |
34,900,169 | "If you have a little question you can type it in," he says showing off his app, Babylon Health.
"We'll have a doctor respond to your question in minutes."
Babylon Health is a subscription service which you access via a smart-phone app.
For a monthly subscription of £4.99 ($7.55/€7.99) customers can get unlimited medical consultations by text and video. Once you've had an online exchange, a doctor can send a subscription to your nearest pharmacy and arrange a referral for a follow-up consultation.
"If you had something wrong and wanted to see a doctor you used to take half a day off and go to the surgery," Dr Parsa says.
"Today you can make an appointment in seconds, see a doctor in minutes and get an answer straight away."
250,000 people are already using Babylon Health in the United Kingdom and Ireland either as direct subscribers or through a private medical insurance policy.
But can seeing a doctor on your phone compete with visiting one in person?
Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, the professional membership body for family doctors in the UK and overseas says "Mobile phone apps and medical devices have huge potential to support patients and the health professionals who provide their care."
But she adds, "We have concerns about the patient-safety implications. Patients will be having consultations with GPs who are unfamiliar with - and won't necessarily have access to - their medical history, or information about drugs that they have been prescribed."
"Medical histories provided by patients themselves will rarely be as comprehensive as those held by their family doctor. There are also many signs and symptoms that GPs look out for when making a diagnosis, that the patient might not think to raise."
Babylon says that if a patient wants to see a doctor they have already seen on the app they can request it but they may have to wait longer to see them.
The company adds that: "Records of all our patient consultations are stored so GPs can look over the history before they speak to a patient. Patients can also access videos and notes from their previous consultations."
Doctors and patients can also access the medical and health data that many phones now collect.
The idea for Babylon came while Ali Parsa was working in the British health system.
"I used to run hospitals," he says. "But most healthcare doesn't have to do with hospitals"
In 2012, he quit as the boss of the first privately run hospital in Britain's National Health Service and that hospital has since been returned to being run by the NHS.
However, the NHS is offering Babylon Health to customers in limited areas and the company tells the BBC that other tie-ups with the service will be announced imminently.
Babylon is also looking beyond the UK and Ireland and plans to launch in East Africa in 2016.
"50% of the world's population don't have access to the very basic healthcare that they need," Ali Parsa says.
"Yet we have a device that they all carry, on which we can deliver healthcare to wherever they are."
The global application is part of what is making the business investment community interested in Babylon and its competitors.
"As an investor, healthcare or med-tech is hugely important to us," says Eileen Burbidge from Passion Capital.
"The addressable market is the whole world, it's every individual in the world, they're going to need healthcare, they require healthcare or they'll benefit from healthcare."
"A company like Babylon Health, by using mobile devices and mobile technology is hugely interesting because it's not as capital intensive, you don't require quite as much investment as a life-sciences business or a pharmaceutical company."
But competition is intensifying.
"Self-serve healthcare on your mobile phone sounds massively appealing," says Ben Wood of CCS Insight. "But the challenges are: can it scale? And is this the company which is going to break through, as so many people are chasing the opportunity?"
Ali Parsa is determined to turn Babylon into a global player.
"The biggest problem is to get London to think like Silicon Valley," he says.
"If today we can deliver 95% of your healthcare over your mobile phone, imagine what we can do in three years time, five years time, ten years time."
The Digital Disruptors is a series about the people and companies shaking up business with new technology. | Ali Parsa believes the mobile phone might be the most important medical piece of equipment we have and wants to use it to change the face of healthcare. |
27,252,841 | But according Google Maps it no longer had a mark at all, when it replaced Basingstoke with "Town Centre".
A Google spokesman said: "Whoops. Sorry for the mix-up. An engineer is quite literally putting Basingstoke on the map."
The town name has now been reinstated on Google Maps on certain browsers, but on others the area is now left blank.
Chris Quintana of Hampshire's Chamber of Commerce had branded the gaffe "ridiculous", describing Basingstoke as "an amazing place".
Source: Hampshire County Council
"Basingstoke is a major central link to Heathrow, to Farnborough airport," he said.
"'Town Centre' - why would anyone put it down like that?'
"This does absolutely nothing for inward investment into the UK.
"This town is not called 'Town Centre' it has a name and it is called Basingstoke."
Attractions in the town include: Basing House, the ruins of a 12th Centre castle; The Anvil, one of Hampshire's largest entertainment venues; and the Milestones Museum of Living History. | As a London overspill town, Basingstoke is a town that competes with its larger neighbours to make its mark on the map. |
33,376,342 | Members of the UN's heritage committee have gathered in Germany for the start of a three day meeting, where the bridge's nomination will be considered.
It has been recommended for approval, with inspectors praising it as an "extraordinary milestone in the history of bridge construction".
A final decision is due to be taken some time before Sunday night.
The distinctive red rail bridge spans the Firth of Forth between South Queensferry, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, and North Queensferry in Fife.
It opened in 1890 after eight years of construction work, and at 2,529m long was at the time the world's longest multi-span cantilever bridge.
Supporters of its bid for World Heritage Status have described it as a masterpiece of human creative genius.
Unesco appeared to agree with that assessment in its inspection report, which stated: "This enormous structure, with its distinctive industrial aesthetic and striking red colour, was conceived and built using advanced civil engineering design principles and construction methods.
"Innovative in design, materials, and scale, the Forth Bridge is an extraordinary and impressive milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel."
World Heritage Sites are those which Unesco considers to have an internationally significant cultural or natural heritage, and whose value is considered to transcend national boundaries.
The aim is to protect and preserve them for future generations.
There are currently 1,007 World Heritage Sites spread across 161 countries.
Other Scottish landmarks to have been given the status are Orkney's Neolithic sites, the Antonine Wall, New Lanark, St Kilda and Edinburgh's Old and New Towns. | The Forth Bridge is set to become Scotland's sixth Unesco World Heritage Site. |
32,700,756 | Gen Gregorio Catapang made the announcement on a trip to Pagasa, one of the nine islands claimed by Manila in the Spratly archipelago.
He said a ferry service from nearby Palawan would be launched next year.
China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with its neighbours.
It has been developing some islands and reefs on a large scale - alarming others in the region - but says the work is legal and necessary for safeguarding its sovereignty.
The US Pentagon has said that while the aim of the expansion activity remains unclear, China is "improving its defence infrastructure in the South China Sea".
Pagasa - known internationally as Thitu and in China as Zhong Ye Dao - currently has about 100 people living on it and a small Philippine military detachment. There are no tourist facilities apart from its airstrip.
Gen Catapang, visiting the island on Monday, said the military would help with local government plans to develop the island for tourism, including starting a ferry service next year.
He also said they would expand the existing runway on the island and develop the fishing industry.
Eugenio Bito-onon, the mayor of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan province - which includes Pagasa - said the tourism project would be popular.
"For the past 20 years, a lot of people have been dying to come here but cannot because of the inadequate [infrastructure]. There is no regular transportation," Mr Bito-onon said.
The ferry taking tourists from Palawan to Pagasa, a distance of about 160 km (100 miles), would pass by all the islands in the Spratly archipelago held by Manila, Gen Catapang told reporters.
"It can be a good tourism effort," he said.
"Our message to our Filipino brothers and sisters is to help Mayor Bito-onon to jumpstart his tourism for peace because... if there will be tourism, you will help the economy here," Gen Catapang said.
BBC visits China's 'island factory'
US officials say China's construction projects on and around disputed South China Sea islands has reclaimed 810 hectares (2,000 acres) of land since the beginning of 2014, and that it is expanding its programme.
The Philippines military has said the activity could be aimed at turning some of the islands into large naval and air bases.
Major Ferdinand Atos, the most senior military officer stationed on Pagasa, said the Chinese reclamation was worrying.
"We are concerned with the creeping invasion," Maj Atos said. "Two years ago they were not there, now you see them getting closer."
Gen Catapang vowed to defend Pagasa and other islands claimed by the Philippines from aggression.
"According to our constitution these are our regime of islands and we have to protect our regime of islands, in as much as they form our territory and sovereignty," Gen Catapang said. | The Philippines will develop a disputed island it claims in the South China Sea as a tourist destination, the military chief has said. |
40,264,915 | Andrea Constand claims the US comedian drugged and molested her at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Mr Cosby's lawyers argue the sex was consensual.
The jurors entered a second day of deliberations after failing to reach a verdict on Monday night.
If convicted, Mr Cosby, 79, faces up to a decade in prison.
Dozens of women say he assaulted them, but statutes of limitation rules mean he is on trial for only Ms Constand's allegation.
She claims he gave her three blue pills, which he described as "little friends", before sexually assaulting her.
Ms Constand, the 44-year-old at the centre of the case, settled a civil lawsuit with the embattled star in 2006 and was given an undisclosed cash sum.
She was in court on Tuesday morning, while the accused's wife, Camille Cosby, who accompanied him to court for the first time on Monday, was absent.
After deliberating for more than four hours on Monday, the jurors asked Judge Steven O'Neill to hear excerpts from Mr Cosby's unsealed 2005 deposition to clarify the context in which the comedian describes the pills he gave her during the encounter.
Mr Cosby declined to testify in this case, but extracts from his previous deposition were read aloud for about 30 minutes in court.
These related to the number and type of sexual contacts Mr Cosby claimed to have with Ms Constand as well as his description of the night in question.
"Your friends," Mr Cosby said he told her in the 2005-06 deposition. "I have three friends for you to make you relax."
He later told police the pills were Benadryl, a cold and allergy medicine, and that what transpired was consensual.
"I wanted her to be comfortable and relaxed and be able to go to sleep after our necking session," he told police.
Closing arguments on Monday came after just six days of testimony, which included another woman who accused Mr Cosby of sexually assaulting her in a similar manner and Ms Constand's mother.
Defence lawyers for Mr Cosby rested their case after presenting a single witness.
Detective Richard Schaffer appeared for just six minutes on the defence's behalf, in which he told a jury that Ms Constand had visited Mr Cosby at an out-of-state casino.
Mr Cosby's lawyers argue that Ms Constand's account changed several times and that she hid her romantic relationship with the comedian when reporting the incident a year later.
But Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele insists Mr Cosby was a sexual predator who altered the story to make it appear that the two were involved in a relationship. | A jury deliberating Bill Cosby's sex assault trial has again heard excerpts of his testimony from a 2005-06 civil case involving his accuser. |
35,819,687 | This Is For My Girls was written by Diane Warren - whose previous credits include I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Un-Break My Heart.
She described the song - a strident, girl power anthem - as "We Are the World meets Lady Marmalade".
Obama released the single ahead of her keynote speech at the SXSW festival.
She will talk about her Let Girls Learn initiative, which is aimed at boosting education rates amongst adolescent girls around the world.
Several of the performers on the track, including Missy Elliott and Diane Warren, will then join her on a panel about the initiative, as well as Sophia Bush and Queen Latifah, who will moderate the discussion.
This Is For My Girls combines jazzy horn stabs with a propulsive drum beat, giving the song a militaristic feel.
The lyrics mostly comprise generic statements of empowerment - "Don't take nothing from nobody"; "It's all about respect"; "Stand strong forever" - which have been a standard component of female-fronted R&B since the turn of the millennium.
Other vocalists featured on the track include Janelle Monae, Glee actress Lea Michele, Disney star Zendaya, 16-year-old Motown artist Jadagrace, and Beyonce proteges Chloe & Halle.
All of the artists waived their fees, meaning proceeds will go directly to the Let Girls Learn campaign.
"We haven't had an anthem like this in a while," Warren told Billboard.
"I envisioned the record being with all these different women, never just one girl singing on it.
"With Kelly Rowland on it, it's almost like an updated Destiny's Child record. I think it can be a huge worldwide anthem. I hope it becomes that."
The single is available exclusively on iTunes, while Obama's speech at the SXSW festival will be streamed live on makers.com from 16:00 GMT. | Artists including Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson and Kelly Rowland all feature on a charity single put together by US First Lady Michelle Obama. |
35,502,110 | Created using 40,000 Lego bricks, and measuring more than 11ft (3m), the 1:37 scale model will go on display at Britannia's visitor centre on Saturday.
It has been designed and constructed from Britannia's original drawings.
It took Lego model builder and fisherman, Jim McDonough, 51, five weeks to create.
He built the ship on the dining room table in his home near Arbroath and said there was no glue used in its construction. He said everything could be taken apart.
The replica has the onboard Phantom V Rolls-Royce in its garage and the white Baby Grand Piano in Britannia's Royal deck tea room.
Bob Downie, Britannia's chief executive, said; "We are thrilled with our Lego Britannia.
"Jim has produced an outstanding replica model of the ship which will be on display during the Queen's 90th birthday year and this unique piece is sure to be a highlight for Lego fans, young and old."
Mr McDonough, said: "It was an honour to be asked to build The Royal Yacht Britannia, and it's one of the most exciting projects I've ever undertaken, and being able to refer to the original plans, kindly supplied by Britannia, allowed me to produce this replica of Her Majesty's yacht."
The Royal Yacht Britannia was home to the Queen and the Royal family for more than 40 years and sailed more than a million miles around the world.
Britannia has held the accolade of being Scotland's Best Visitor Attraction for 10 years in a row and in TripAdvisor's top three UK landmark attractions for two years. | A Lego replica model of the Queen's former floating palace, The Royal Yacht Britannia, is to be unveiled at the five-star attraction in Leith. |
37,636,099 | But cloud computing is also having a big impact on how this entertainment is being created.
Take US-Canadian visual effects studio Atomic Fiction, for example. It worked on films such as Star Trek Beyond, Deadpool, and upcoming Brad Pitt movie Allied.
But Laurent Taillefer, the firm's computer graphics supervisor, believes his company would not have been able to compete with larger studios without access to outsourced cloud computing power.
Rendering - the process of assembling all the component elements of a film - video, audio, graphics, filters and so on - into one final version, can take an agonisingly long time and requires vast computing power, he says.
"The amount of shots we are dealing with... and the level of detail of their contents - the photo-real reconstruction of Manhattan for Robert Zemeckis' movie The Walk, for example - require a computational power that would imply a massive investment which would make it impossible for a studio like ours to be competitive," says Mr Taillefer.
So Atomic Fiction uses a cloud-rendering service called Conductor, which gives the firm access to turbo-charged computing power as and when it needs it.
"For Deadpool," he says, "some shots of the city had so much detail in the models and textures that rendering the final images required more memory than available on standard computers.
"Cloud machines offered us that missing power, making extremely complex shots possible to render."
These cloud-based services - Google-owned Zync and Rayvision are two others - and their "pay-for-what-you-use" business models, are giving smaller studios the chance to compete with the biggest companies in the world.
"A lot of businesses like the scalability of the cloud," says Simon Robinson, chief scientist at The Foundry, a firm that makes software tools for the film industry.
"If you know you can produce something that a very large company can do - that's very enticing. It gives you that combination of scalability and accessibility to play up there with the big firms."
Before the cloud, some small studios found it difficult to handle the huge file sizes the switch to digital film-making entailed.
The processing power required to create 21st Century film special effects is "up there with supercomputing", he says.
For example, a film in production can grow in size to a petabyte of data - that's the equivalent of 1,000 terabyte hard drives. And all this data needs to be moved around, manipulated, uploaded and downloaded by the various teams involved in the stages of movie post-production.
So the benefits of sticking it somewhere remote and secure, yet accessible, may seem obvious.
But while the public cloud giants, Amazon, Microsoft and Google, already have vast data centres with rentable capacity, Hollywood studios have been slow to make use of this "public space", preferring instead to build their own cloud infrastructures.
Why? One reason is Hollywood studios have invested large sums in their own private data centres and private clouds so are reluctant to give up on that investment immediately, despite cheaper alternatives becoming available.
Security is another concern.
"As you can imagine the film industry is highly paranoid about security and data," says Mr Robinson.
"The security that a lot of the cloud vendors can offer now is as good as anything else…. but what people worry about comes back to our old friends the humans - mistakes and lapses that humans make."
Dr Richard Southern, senior lecturer in computer animation at Bournemouth University, agrees, saying: "In our crime-focused world, studios are in complete lockdown. Take [visual effects company] MPC, which is working on the Marvel films. No way would they permit a public system to be used in their production management."
Another concern is about the speed and reliability of cloud networks.
"Let's say you are rendering at 30 frames per second," says Dr Southern. "Each frame can be up to 100 megabytes. So the amount of data you are transferring becomes completely unmanageable if the network you are on is poor."
This is why many studios with deeper pockets have decided to keep the data in-house and build their own "server farms".
And uploading and downloading data in the huge quantities demanded by a film project still takes time and that time would be billed for by a cloud provider, Mr Robinson adds.
"It's still a slight barrier today. We're just near the edge now where people can say: 'I can either go and buy [my own hardware] or I can go to large [cloud] vendors.'
"It's almost worth their while doing it but the cost is still such that they often say: 'Ah forget it, I'll just buy my own.'"
Follow Technology of Business editor Matthew on Twitter
Click here for more Technology of Business features | We're used to streaming TV and films to our digital devices over the cloud these days, using services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, iPlayer and YouTube. |
37,761,872 | Under new rules set down by the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden, camera drones qualify as surveillance cameras and require a licence.
Permits can be expensive and paying to apply for one does not guarantee it will eventually be granted.
There are no exceptions made for journalists, and critics have said the ruling could mean job losses.
In what some are describing as a "huge blow" to the aerial photography and camera drone industry, the court ruled that drone-mounted cameras are "regarded as surveillance cameras".
Industry group UAS Sweden (Unmanned Aerial System) has argued that the court ruling could put 5,000 jobs in danger.
"It is a bad decision for Sweden as an entrepreneur country and ominous for the Swedish labour market that is constantly affected by new obscure and complicated regulations from the state and its agencies," said Gustav Gerdes, president of UAS.
A lower district court in Sweden had previously ruled that camera drones did not constitute camera surveillance but that decision has now been overruled.
According to photography website PetaPixel, more than 20,000 drones were sold in Sweden in 2014 with more than 1,000 permits issued for using camera drones for commercial purposes.
In the UK, people wishing to operate a drone must follow some basic safety rules such as keeping it within line of sight, no more than 400ft above and 500m ahead, according to the Civil Aviation Authority's drone code.
They will need to obtain permission from the CAA if they are flying a device over a congested area or within 50m of a building.
Drone operators must also "respect the privacy of people" around them and anyone with concerns about drones being used in their area are advised to contact the police. | The use of camera drones has been made illegal in Sweden unless they are granted a special surveillance permit. |
38,641,117 | They say a 100-page guide is needed to "maintain a positive image" of the city and could help reduce "tensions" between Muscovites and migrants.
But critics have suggested that foreign migrants and ethnic Russians may be viewed as antagonists in the manual.
Russian nationalists and migrants have repeatedly clashed in Moscow recently.
Thousands of people - many of them from ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Russia's North Caucasus - arrive in Moscow every year, attracted by the capital's job opportunities and relatively high salaries.
A significant number of them work in the Russian capital illegally.
The new guide in Russian seeks to explain the "dos" and "don'ts" to migrants.
They are urged not to cause trouble, by ogling women, or eating or talking loudly on the streets.
They are also warned that police may routinely stop them to check their documents.
In the manual, Russia's famous "three warriors" (bogatyri) are meant to represent the city's law enforcement agencies, while Prince Yuri Dolgoruky (a historical character) is used for tours around Moscow.
Meanwhile, Vasilisa the Wise and Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden) test the reader on Russia's language and history.
A special section of the book explains the importance of following Moscow's strict residency and employment rules, stressing that migrants could otherwise be deported or banned from entry.
The manual was written primarily for illegal migrants, Alexander Kalinin, who heads the group Support for Working Migrants in Moscow, told BBC Russian.
"We want to raise their level of law awareness," he added.
Migrant characters had initially been identified as representatives of different nationalities, but the book's authors later decided to drop this idea so as "not to offend anyone", said Mr Kalinin.
While welcoming the new book, critics point out that migrants are "ethnicised" and Moscow is presented as a Slavic city with its warriors.
"The old conflict between Russian heroes and hordes [non-Slavic invaders] is being revived," Yevgeny Varshaver, a migration and ethnicity expert at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, told BBC Russian.
He also suggested that the language used in the book would be "difficult" to understand for some migrants who were not native Russian speakers. | Moscow city authorities have begun using comics with characters from Russian fairytales to explain to migrants how they should behave. |
30,706,731 | First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will also pledge to double the number of specialist nurses, who are currently paid for through charity donations.
She made the decision within weeks of meeting MND campaigner Gordon Aikman.
Mr Aikman, 29, was diagnosed with the incurable condition last year, when he was working for Better Together.
He has since raised more than £100,000 for MND charities through his Gordon's Fightback campaign, which is also calling for improvements in care for patients.
When he met Ms Sturgeon before Christmas, he called for the number of specialist MND nurses to be increased from seven to 14 and for them to be paid for from public funds rather than charitable donations.
Ms Sturgeon announced the cash to pay for these changes as part of a £2.5m-a-year plan to improve specialist nursing care for those with MND and other rare conditions.
She told BBC Scotland: "We are establishing a £2.5m fund to expand specialist nursing care for people with very rare conditions.
"The first allocation of this fund will be for people with motor neurone disease and an amount of £700,000 will fund the existing motor neurone disease specialist nurses and double their number.
"It was one of the specific objectives that Gordon Aikman set out in his campaign and I'm delighted the government is able to do it."
The money will come from extra resources earmarked for the Scottish budget in the Chancellor's autumn statement.
Responding to Ms Sturgeon's announcement, Mr Aikman said: "I am delighted. This will transform the lives of Scottish MND patients, including me.
"Today, Scotland is leading the way with motor neurone disease care. But now it is up to the UK parties to commit to double MND research funding so we can find a cure to this horrific disease.
"This is a victory for the thousands of supporters who demanded action through GordonsFightback.com, MSPs from across the political spectrum, and the first minister who answered the call for change."
The MND Scotland charity also welcomed Ms Sturgeon's announcement, which it said would give patients greater contact with nurses as they will not have such huge geographical areas to cover.
Currently MND Scotland meets 80% of the nurses' costs, despite repeatedly asking NHS boards which do not contribute to do so.
The charity said Ms Sturgeon's announcement would save it more than £300,000 per year, which would be used to introduce new services aimed at improving the lives of those affected by MND.
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said he would double the number of MND nurses in Scotland as part of his plan to deliver 1,000 more nurses in Scotland if the party wins the general election in May.
MND is a rare, progressive and debilitating disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord. It leads to weakness and muscle wasting and can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.
There are said to 426 people in Scotland living with MND. | The NHS is to begin funding the specialist nurses who care for motor neurone disease (MND) patients in Scotland. |
37,510,715 | Actress Maureen Lipman unveiled the statue, built to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the pilot's death.
It also marks the end of the two-month Amy Johnson Festival in East Yorkshire in celebration of her life.
The sculpture is within a park in a new housing development near Hawthorne Avenue, close to Ms Johnson's childhood home.
The park is located on the site of the former Amy Johnson primary school.
Hull-born Ms Lipman said she was intrigued by Johnsons's story and had named her daughter after the pioneering pilot.
"I'm a daughter of Hull," she said.
"I wanted to celebrate the greatest export we ever had. I just think her story is so phenomenal".
Amy Johnson was born in St George's Road on 1 July 1903.
Her solo flight to Australia took 19 days and she landed in front of a huge crowd in Darwin on 24 May 1930.
The 37-year-old died during World War Two when the RAF plane she was transporting crashed in the Thames Estuary on 5 January 1941.
A second version of the statue is already installed at Herne Bay close to where she died, although her body has never been found. | A statue of Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia, has been unveiled in Hull. |
38,767,644 | But what exactly does Booker do and why has the country's largest supermarket snapped it up?
Booker may not be a household name but you may well have eaten in one of the restaurants it supplies or shopped at its stores.
Its sprawling empire includes the UK's largest cash and carry business and a raft of well known convenience brands including Londis and Budgens.
It racked up sales of some £5bn in the year to March 2016.
Booker makes most of its money supplying branded and private-label goods to independent convenience stores, grocers and leisure outlets.
It supplies thousands of product lines - from frozen food to tobacco - and claims more than 1.3 million customers.
The company also supplies catering services for pubs, restaurants and other clients.
Customers include the prison service in England and Wales, restaurant chains such as Byron and Prezzo, and most of the cinema chains in the UK.
Neil Wilson, an analyst at ETX Capital, said Tesco's interest in the wholesale side of the business would have been driven by a desire to merge supply chains and cut costs.
"The UK supermarket scene is in a recovery phase and there are further growth opportunities.
"But it's also hugely competitive and store deflation is hitting margins, meaning anything that can be done to pare back costs in areas like procurement, supply chain, distribution and store footprint is a good thing."
A raft of well known convenience store brands operate under franchise agreements with Booker, buying in its goods and services.
These include more than 3,200 Premier branded stores, 47 discount stores operating under the Family Shopper brand, 1,500 Londis stores, and 120 Budgens shops.
Bruno Monteyne at Bernstein Research said that the quality of these shops was likely to improve through the Tesco deal.
"Convenience stores are not known for their fresh food, but Tesco is," he told the BBC.
"So I expect Bookers' stores will improve their produce offerings which will be attractive to customers."
Booker also owns Makro, the cash-and-carry brand, with 30 outlets across the UK.
And it has taken its operations into India, where it claims to serve more than 21,000 customers through franchise convenience stores. | Tesco took the retail world by surprise when it announced it was buying Britain's largest food wholesaler, Booker Group, in a £3.7bn deal. |
37,179,098 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Basketball had its funding withdrawn in 2014, because it was unlikely to win medals at the Rio Games or Tokyo 2020.
But GB and Glasgow Rocks forward Kieron Achara, 33, says more investment could transform British basketball.
"It's not going to happen overnight, but we are making steps forward and I'm excited about the future," he said.
We're looking at other sports, like cycling, which did a lot on their own, and trying to find private investors
Grant-making body UK Sport awards £100m annually to sports that are expected to win medals, but a new strategy means participation rates will also be taken into account.
This could help basketball retrieve some funding as more than 150,000 people aged 16 and over play the sport at least once a week, according to Sport England participation figures.
In 2014, Achara said the loss of funding meant he and his team-mates were living on £15 a day as they attempted to reach the European Championships, adding that some players had to sleep in beds that were not big enough for them.
Neither Team GB's men's or women's basketball teams - ranked 22nd and 21st respectively - qualified for the Rio Olympic Games.
GB Basketball's hopes of receiving funding have been boosted by UK Sport's new funding model, and Achara told BBC World Service Sport that basketball was already making steps to improve.
"We have to think about the reasons why the funding was cut and prove how we deserve that funding in the future," said Achara, who represented Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games.
"We're looking at other sports, like cycling, which did a lot on their own, and trying to find private investors, so it's attractive for British players to come back and play in the national league rather than overseas - so we can develop our own style, nurture our own players, and improve our strength and conditioning.
"We are trying to assemble the best team we can, and qualify for EuroBasket and then the Worlds."
Find out how to get into basketball with our special guide.
Achara also wants more experienced coaches with top-level pedigree to be used by GB as he thinks this could make playing for the national side more appealing to British players in the NBA.
"Many of our coaches have only worked in the UK. We're not a basketball culture so they need people with overseas experience to mentor them," Achara said.
"If we had the best British players in the NBA playing regularly for us, I promise you we would have a great team and be at the top level at the Olympics."
Guard Ben Gordon - who played in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls - agrees.
"It has to do with getting the best talent on the same team - getting the players back from overseas so we have our best representation," he said.
GB's men have six EuroBasket qualifiers starting from 31 August, with home and away games against Hungary, Macedonia and Luxembourg.
If they win their group they will qualify for EuroBasket 2017 - which is to be held in four different nations next August and September - with the knockout stages played in Istanbul, Turkey.
Their first home qualifier is against Macedonia on 3 September at the Copper Box at the Olympic Park.
On Friday and Saturday they play the Netherlands in warm-up matches in Manchester.
Britain's women have two EuroBasket 2017 qualifiers remaining, away to Italy on 19 November and away to Albania on 23 November.
They are currently third in their group and are likely to require victory in both of their remaining games to qualify automatically, although they could also progress to the final tournament in the Czech Republic as one of the six best placed runners-up.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Britain's basketball players say they can challenge for medals at future Games if they win back their Olympic funding. |
35,589,505 | Investigators say Nguyen Thi Hue, 42, inseminated herself with the help of a male inmate, apparently to escape the death penalty, state media reported.
Police in the northern Quang Ninh province have not commented.
Her sentence is expected to be converted to life imprisonment for having a child under three years old.
Officials said Hue bought sperm from a 27-year-old male inmate for $2,300 (£1,600), the state-owned Thanh Nien newspaper reported.
The inmate handed over his semen and syringes to Hue twice in August 2015, it said. She is expected to give birth in April.
She was arrested for drug trafficking in 2012 and sentenced to death in 2014. An appeal was rejected in the same year.
Vietnamese legislation says that a pregnant woman or a mother whose child is less than three years old cannot be executed, and the sentence should be commuted to life imprisonment.
In 2007, two prison guards in the northern province of Hoa Binh were jailed after they allowed a female inmate on death row to get pregnant with a male inmate, the paper said.
She managed to avoid the sentence. | Four prison guards have reportedly been suspended in Vietnam for alleged negligence after an inmate on death row became pregnant. |
34,821,913 | The bone was among the contents of Torbay convent Stoodley Knowle School, which has now closed.
It will stay in Torbay after it was bought by a local man, jeweller Martin Travis.
"There was clapping and cheering in the room," said the Honiton auctioneers Chillcotts who put a guide price of £300 on the whale bone.
Shackleton, perhaps best known for his expedition aboard the ship Endurance that became trapped in an ice floe for nine months in 1915, gave the unusual item as a gift to his sisters.
They later presented it to the sisters of Les Filles de la Croix who had bought the house owned by the Shackleton family in Anstey's Cove Road, in order to turn it into a school for girls.
The relic was kept for many years in the fireplace with a commemorative plaque stating simply Shackleton's Whale Bone.
Mr Travis said: "I am a Torquay boy and I've always liked natural objects.
"It's nice to keep it in Torquay where it has been for more than 100 years."
Shackleton stayed at the family house for three months in 1907 when his ship, Nimrod, was moored in Torquay harbour before setting out on Antarctic expeditions.
Another ship, Quest, on which Shackleton took his final voyage, was anchored in Anstey's Cove below the school before setting sail for South Georgia in 1921. | A whale bone that once belonged to Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton has been sold for £1,200. |
31,478,215 | The record haul follows the musical's return to the West End last year, 25 years after it premiered in London.
Former Doctor Who co-stars David Tennant and Billie Piper won best actor and best actress in a play. Tennant for Richard II and Piper for Great Britain.
The awards, focusing predominantly on London theatre, are voted for entirely by members of the public.
The new production of Miss Saigon won nine of its 12 nominations, including best actor and actress in a musical, best direction, best choreography and best musical revival.
The musical, set during the Vietnam War and based on the opera Madame Butterfly, opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre last May.
"I've always known that the public knows best," said the show's producer, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, adding that he was was particularly thrilled "by the extraordinary achievement of our four leading Asian performers winning the top acting awards".
American newcomer Eva Noblezada, and Jon Jon Briones - who starred in the original cast 1989 London cast - took the awards for their leading roles.
Eighteen-year-old Noblezada's rivals included singer Beverley Knight and Made In Dagenham's Gemma Arterton, while Briones beat stars including Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' Robert Lindsay to the title.
There were also gongs for the best supporting actor and actress in a musical.
Tabloid star
Sherlock's Mark Gatiss won best supporting actor in a play for his role as the wily Menenius in the Donmar Warehouse's production of Coriolanus.
Thor star Tom Hiddleston was nominated for his portrayal of Coriolanus in the best actor category, but lost out to Tennant as another of Shakespeare's leading men, Richard II.
However, Coriolanus was the most successful play of the night, winning a further two awards for best play revival and lighting design.
Piper's win - for her role as a tabloid editor in Great Britain, Richard Bean's new play about hacking - was fiercely contested, with a shortlist that included Gillian Anderson's Blanche DuBois, Helen McCrory as Medea and Imelda Staunton.
Lee Hall's adaptation of the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love - currently playing at London's Noel Coward Theatre - won best new play, while Memphis the Musical was named best new musical.
Sheffield Theatres' Oliver! won the best regional production for the second consecutive year.
And there was a bittersweet win for Twickenham Theatre's Sweeney Todd - in the best off-West End production. The theatre closed just days after the production completed its run, and is still looking for a new home. | Miss Saigon has dominated this year's WhatsOnStage awards, winning nine trophies including best West End show. |
37,199,390 | Police were called to the graveyard shortly after 15:00 BST on Friday.
Some of the graves date back to the 1870s and are in a walled off section of the cemetery, which is often locked.
Ch Insp Norman Haslett said it was "a particularly sickening incident, which we are treating as a hate crime".
"To disturb the sanctity of a cemetery in this way is completely unacceptable and I can assure the public that we will conduct a robust investigation," he said.
Alliance Party Councillor Michael Long said it appeared to have been a targeted and systematic attack.
"I would have great concerns about the thoughts of the people who have been involved in this," he said.
William Humphrey from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said he was "disgusted and appalled".
"I understand that council staff reported that eight youths, supported by a larger crowd, caused the damage, using hammers and blocks," he said.
"A graveyard is a sacred place and should be respected as such," Mr Humphrey added.
The North Belfast MLA said he has been in contact with the Rabbi and members of the Jewish community to express his revulsion.
West Belfast MP Paul Maskey also condemned the incident.
"Visiting cemeteries can bring great comfort to grieving relatives and friends and it it would be very distressing for anyone to have the grave of a loved one desecrated in this way," he said.
The municipal cemetery on the Falls Road in the west of the city, is one of the oldest public graveyards in Belfast.
It is maintained by Belfast City Council. | Thirteen Jewish graves have been damaged in an attack at Belfast City Cemetery. |
30,711,353 | The director general blamed the problem on the numbers whose phase of acute care had ended but who could not be placed elsewhere.
Tony O'Brien said it was concentrating on "clearing away red tape".
A nursing union said that 563 patients were waiting for admission across the Republic of Ireland on Monday.
Mr O'Brien said since December the HSE had been focussing on ensuring as many patients as possible, whose acute care had ended, could receive the subsequent care appropriate to them.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said the executive was working closely with Nursing Homes Ireland.
On the issue of patient safety, Mr O'Brien said he was very clear that "reducing the level of overcrowding will increase safety and that's why that's our number one priority right now".
When asked if hospitals are safe at the moment, Mr O'Brien said there are 28 different emergency departments with different stresses and refused to give a "general glib answer".
According to a nursing union, the worst affected hospitals on Wednesday were Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, where about 42 patients were waiting, University Hospital Limerick with 40 patients and Connolly Hospital in Dublin which had 37 patients waiting.
Phil NÃ Sheaghda of the Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation said overcrowding was a capacity issue and that all 2,000 closed beds in hospitals around the country need to be opened immediately.
Irish Minister for Health Leo Varadkar is expected to make a statement on the overcrowding issue when he returns to Ireland later.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that nurses at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital were to serve notice of industrial action as a result of hospital overcrowding. | The cause of overcrowding in Irish hospitals is down to a delay in discharging patients, the Health Service Executive has said. |
33,235,442 | UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body responsible for handling the government's stakes in the privatised banks, has been gradually selling down the Treasury's stake in Lloyds.
The banking group received £22.5bn from taxpayers during the financial crisis.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley handled the share sales.
The government originally owned a 41% stake in the bank, but started selling Lloyds shares in 2013. This latest sale means that about £11.5bn has been returned to the taxpayer so far.
"Today's announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back," Lloyds Banking Group said in a statement.
UKFI's "trading plan", under which government-owned Lloyds shares have been sold to big institutional investors, was was due to end at the end of June. But it has now been extended to 31 December.
The Treasury said the extra six months would help it meet Chancellor George Osborne's pledge to sell a further £9bn of Lloyds shares in 2015-16.
Before the general election, Mr Osborne announced that a tranche of shares would also be made available to the public, possibly this year. | The UK government's stake in Lloyds Banking Group has fallen below 17% after more shares were sold to investors. |
40,653,125 | McCormick & Co saw off competition from consumer giant Unilever and Hormel Foods, the US owner of Spam, to buy the division.
It includes French's mustard as well as Franks' RedHot and Cattlemen's sauces.
The deal will help Reckitt Benckiser pay off debt after buying baby formula maker Mead Johnson for $17.9bn.
The chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, Rakesh Kapoor, said: "Following the acquisition of Mead Johnson Nutrition, this transaction marks another step towards transforming RB into a global leader in consumer health and hygiene."
Reckitt Benckiser's share price rose by 1.62% to £79.39.
The acquisition will cement McCormick's position in the US sauce and condiments market, which is worth around $21bn a year according to research by IBISWorld.
Lawrence Kurzius, chief executive at McCormick said the deal enables his business "to become a one-stop shop for condiment, spice and seasoning needs."
Last year, McCormick attempted to buy Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy. However, it walked away after being unable to offer a high enough price for the business. | The US owner of Schwartz herbs and spices has won the battle to acquire Reckitt Benckiser's food business in a deal worth $4.2bn (£3.2bn). |
33,663,572 | The downpours also left several roads in Lowestoft and Carlton Colville under water and near impassable.
Water poured into homes on Aldwyk Way causing serious damage to ground floor and ruining furniture.
Police are advising motorists to drive carefully in places where water has gathered and has still not drained away.
Although conditions have improved, community station Lowestoft Weather said it does not rule out the chance of further showers.
The water got in to the ground floors of homes in Aldwyk Way | Homes in Suffolk were left flooded as four inches of rain fell in 24 hours. |
39,554,011 | Shortly after Harry's new song 'Sign of the Times' was released on Friday, fans were unable to search for it on the streaming service.
Spotify told Newsround that "a technical glitch on Friday prevented Spotify users from being able to search for Harry Styles' new song" but that "it was resolved within a few hours."
This means Harry could have missed out on some streaming figures - which now count towards the number one spot in the official charts, along with downloads and sales of singles.
He's up against Ed Sheeran's Shape of You, which has been the official number one for 13 weeks.
It looks like it will be a close race - Harry's currently beating Ed on downloads on iTunes, but Ed's doing a lot better in the streaming charts on Spotify. | Harry Styles could miss out on the number one spot this week - because of a problem on Spotify. |
37,811,975 | Cambridge United fan Simon Dobbin, 44, from Mildenhall, Suffolk, was attacked in Southend in March last year.
He returned to the Cambridge stadium to watch his first live match between the U's and Portsmouth on Saturday.
"It was so lovely to see the smile on his face. He was really lapping it up," his wife Nicole said.
Mr Dobbin was left with life-changing injuries and needs round-the-clock care after he and other supporters were assaulted outside a pub in Southend.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, his wife said the family had been "chanting songs to him with his name in them, and he's singing along".
Her husband could now say a few words and recognise people, she said.
He was brought on to the pitch to a lengthy standing ovation from the crowd and both teams.
"I think he thinks today is not about the football, it's all about him," Mrs Dobbin said.
Asked what she hoped his presence at the match would achieve, she said: "I think people will see he has disabilities, but we know Simon's still in there.
"He's trapped in his body, but if it [makes] one person - seeing what's happened to Simon - actually step back and think they don't want this to happen again, then hopefully some good will have come out of it."
The U's chief executive told the crowd: "No-one should ever sustain Simon's life-changing injuries as a result of going to a football match."
Twelve men appeared before magistrates last month charged with violent disorder. Eight pleaded not guilty, while four did not enter a plea.
The case was adjourned until a later date. | A football fan, left brain-damaged after an attack at an away match, received a two-minute standing ovation when he returned to his home club. |
23,151,501 | By the time the teams walk out at Trent Bridge on 10 July, Warner will not have played any cricket since 8 June, when he was suspended for his altercation with England's Joe Root in a Birmingham bar.
He will have trained and hit plenty of balls in the nets, but there is no substitute for time out in the middle and throwing him straight into Ashes battle would undoubtedly be something of a gamble.
During my career, we would routinely play County Championship matches and one-day games in between Test matches and I would have felt undercooked going into a Test without a few innings - and hopefully some runs - behind me.
Warner's full career statistics (Cricinfo)
Warner, however, belongs to a different era. Since the advent of central contracts, international players play next to no cricket between Test matches, and have become accustomed to switching between the different forms of the game going into international series with little or no build-up.
Given Warner's style as a batsman - he is a naturally talented striker of a cricket ball - he may be exactly the type of player who can turn it on like a tap and start middling the ball from the off.
We are, after all, talking about a talented cricketer here. In his short Test career, he has already carried his bat through the fourth innings of a Test match against New Zealand, smashed a 69-ball hundred against India in Perth and struck 119 off 112 balls against South Africa's world-class attack in Adelaide.
He was picked in their original squad as one of their leading batsmen because he has the potential to change a game. He is a clever cricketer and could be an effective counter-attacking option if he is moved down the order to number six.
New coach Lehmann has a very sharp cricket brain and has had success wherever he has been, so any decision he makes - in conjunction with the selectors and captain Michael Clarke - will be well thought through.
In his playing days, Lehmann was a high quality batsman with great natural ability and he may see a bit of himself in Warner. I think he understands him and will get the best out of him.
I'm sure they will have spent time in each other's company talking cricket and will have formed an effective pupil-teacher relationship.
If Warner does play at Trent Bridge, he will inevitably cop plenty of flak from the crowds. He will be the pantomime villain and will have to be thick-skinned enough to deal with all the verbal taunting.
In the middle, however, I don't anticipate too many issues between him and the England players. I think what happened that night has been blown out of all proportion and both teams will want to move on and set about the business of trying to strike first blood in the series.
Lehmann's determination to give Warner a clean slate has been typical of the way he has already stamped his authority on the squad and re-energised the Aussie campaign.
By naming his opening partnership a week before the first Test, he is showing clarity of thought and giving both Shane Watson and Chris Rogers the confidence to go out and perform.
From the moment Rogers was recalled to the squad at the age of 35 he was always going to play, the only question mark was over whether he would open. I think it's the right call because his experience of English conditions and the way the new ball behaves over here will be invaluable.
Watson, meanwhile, has shown in both Australia's tour matches, that he can be a forceful and imposing presence at the top of the order.
In scoring a century before lunch at Worcester, he is embodying Lehmann's desire to take the game to the opposition by playing an attacking brand of cricket.
Lehmann played in the era when the Australian team always took the positive action at every opportunity. They weren't playing to stay in games, they were playing to dominate games.
The new coach wants this Australian side to emulate that approach even if they do not have anywhere near the talent of their predecessors.
If you go out there thinking you are not very good, you will play as if you are not very good, but if you are filled with confidence and want to be positive you are much more likely to succeed.
Australia will be looking to lay down their marker on the first Test as soon as possible. England job is to play good cricket themselves and stop the visitors in their tracks.
The news that Pakistan-born leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed has been granted Australian citizenship should not be giving England too many sleepless nights. He has very little first-class experience and it would be a huge ask to expect him to make an instant impact in the Ashes.
He reminds me a bit of Imran Tahir, who was billed as the next big thing when he qualified to play for South Africa but then got smashed out of the attack by Australia in Adelaide.
I gather that Kevin Pietersen's description of himself as an introvert in a BBC Radio 5 live interview with Andrew Flintoff has caused a few raised eyebrows.
I'll leave the decision on whether he fits that adjective to other people but what I can say is that within the Surrey dressing-room he is a very polite and generous individual.
Believe it or not he can be very quiet, and you can almost forget he is there but when he does talk he is always worth listening to because he has great knowledge about the game.
Overseeing the cricket at Surrey, while continuing with my other media and corporate commitments, has been as full on as I expected. I am running up a fair old phone bill, and my mileage has gone through the roof, but I am enjoying every minute of it.
Stuart Barnes, who is running the team on a day-to-day basis, has been quite outstanding and the players have put in some decent performances. We played well in the second half of the drawn game with Yorkshire at Headingley, where I felt we were the only side looking to win the game.
Although we started with a loss at Hampshire in the FL t20, we have responded well with good victories over Sussex and Kent.
Alec Stewart was talking to BBC Sport's Sam Sheringham. | The revelation from Australia coach Darren Lehmann that David Warner is in contention for the first Ashes Test may have surprised a few people. |
37,037,170 | Consultants are to be hired later this year to look at routes for a proposed new crossing to Anglesey.
Funding options to pay for the scheme are also to be examined.
Plaid Cymru welcomed progress on the proposal, saying current traffic congestion in the area causes "unnecessary misery" for commuters.
Currently, there are two Menai Strait crossings: the Menai Bridge, which was built by Thomas Telford in the 1820s, and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge, which was opened to carry rail traffic in 1850 but rebuilt in the 20th century to also carry road traffic.
The A55 runs as a dual carriageway from Holyhead to the Britannia Bridge, where it is carried as a single carriageway road, before returning to a dual carriageway on the other side.
There have been proposals for a third Menai crossing for some time to alleviate traffic on the two bridges over the strait.
According to a Welsh Government document, Economy Secretary Ken Skates has now "agreed to appoint technical advisors to take forward the third crossing project".
He also decided to appoint "external support to advise on possible financial packages to fund the project".
Dyfed Edwards, Plaid Cymru council leader for Gwynedd council, said "it is absolutely key that there's a new crossing" if the new Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant development "comes into place".
"It's not just commuter traffic, it will be construction traffic as well," he said.
A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman said: "This is a project which we have long championed yet which is sadly still to materialise due to the Labour Welsh Government's lethargy on the matter."
She said: "Current traffic congestion causes unnecessary misery for commuters on a daily basis and there are already concerns over the existing two bridges' long-term resilience."
Russell George, the Welsh Conservatives' economy spokesman, said the project was "long overdue".
"The third bridge has been on the agenda for more than a decade", he said, referring to a consultation in 2007.
"Yet the Welsh Government have done nothing," he added.
"The time for announcements is over - action is what is now needed."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We are currently in the process of procuring consultants to carry out a route selection study for the third Menai crossing.
"This will appraise various options and designs for the third crossing and will include a public consultation.
"Construction could start in 2021 subject to gaining all the necessary statutory consents."
Consultants are expected to be hired in the autumn, with the study to take 18 months. | Construction of a third crossing over the Menai Strait could begin by 2021 if it gets the go ahead, the Welsh Government has said. |
33,540,282 | It was the Trinity test - the first detonation of the atomic bomb. Three weeks later it would be used to devastating effect over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
What is less well known is the role Wales played in bringing the world into the nuclear age, long before American research had even started.
At Flintshire's top-secret Rhydymwyn Valley Works near Mold, the "Tube Alloy" project was under way - where scientists developed the key process that made nuclear warfare a reality.
At the start of World War Two, the tunnels in Rhydymwyn Valley were a giant silo for storing mustard gas, which would have been dropped on the British coastline in the event of a German invasion.
But already thoughts were turning to an even more deadly weapon.
In 1941, the Maud Report established a nuclear bomb was theoretically possible and, in all likelihood, Germany was already working on one.
A site, known as Building 45, at Rhydymwyn was identified as the ideal location to begin tests, and as Colin Barber, chairman of Rhydymwyn Valley History Society said, what scientists discovered there would change the world forever.
"They knew the bomb was possible, what Tube Alloy was set up to discover was whether it could be made in time, and at a price a war-torn Britain could afford," he said.
"Fifteen to 20 kilograms of the radioactive isotope Uranium-235 were needed for the bomb, but U-235 only constitutes about 0.7% of uranium ore.
"The scientists at Rhydymwyn perfected a method of extracting this from the ore by turning it into a gaseous form of uranium (uranium hexafluoride or hex) in a heated chamber and forcing it against a very fine meshed membrane.
"Using this method they predicted they could produce enough to manufacture three bombs per month in two years' time."
In 1942, Britain led the way in nuclear research, but the costs - both in terms of money and scarce resources - proved prohibitive.
So Britain shelved its hopes of developing its own nuclear weapon, and instead reluctantly pooled its expertise with America's Manhattan Project.
It heralded a fractious and suspicious period in Anglo-American wartime relations, though many of the Rhydymwyn scientists, such as James Chadwick and Mark Oliphant, did cross the Atlantic to contribute to the eventual bomb.
Meanwhile, research at Rhydymwyn was scaled back, and eventually mothballed in 1945.
After serving as a Cold War logistics and storage depot, now the works have been transformed into a nature reserve.
Building 45 is Grade II-listed, and Mr Barber is campaigning to have its wartime role officially recognised.
"The creation and use of the atom bomb is always going to be contentious," he said.
"It killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people, but arguably saved millions more by bringing the war to an end and preventing another.
"But whether you're for it or against it, the incredible achievement of a handful of scientists on a shoestring budget does need to be remembered in some way.
"I'd like to see a plaque erected there, so that future generations can both learn about the engineering feat, and remember the cost at which it came." | Seventy years ago scientists waited nervously in the New Mexico desert for the largest explosion in the history of mankind. |
34,040,559 | The 33-year-old batsman said he would "take stock" when asked about his future on Sunday as England celebrated a 3-2 Ashes series win over Australia.
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"If he's got the motivation and drive to continue, then he's still got an important part to play," said Strauss.
"We know the number of high-quality performances we've seen from him over the years."
Warwickshire right-hander Bell has now played in five Ashes-winning teams, in which time he has scored more than 7,500 Test runs for England in 115 games.
He was moved up to number three in the batting order this summer, but his form has slumped - he averaged 26.87 against Australia in this series compared to 62.44 in the last Ashes series on home soil in 2013.
"He's at the stage of his career when he'll be thinking about what his future looks like," Strauss, who played alongside Bell for England and captained him for three years, told BBC Radio 5 live.
"For all those players who played an important part in the Ashes, it's time to sit down and take a couple of days off reliving the whole series in their mind without all the pressure on their shoulders."
Captain Alastair Cook said after England's Ashes win: "Ian is a class player and I hope he's around for a few more years."
England play away series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa this winter.
Strauss added: "Those two locations in particular are very tough.
"We have to play a lot better than we have done this summer and make some big improvements in a short space of time.
"After the winter, it will be a good gauge of where we are as a Test-playing nation." | Ian Bell remains an important part of the England Test team, says director of cricket Andrew Strauss. |
35,285,774 | Wood was critical of Wales head coach Warren Gatland's selection and playing style as he led the Lions to their 2013 series victory in Australia.
Former hooker Wood believes Wales' Biggar is in better form than his main rival, Ireland's Johnny Sexton.
"He's playing far better rugby than Jonathan Sexton in my view," said Wood.
"He's playing more consistently. He's brave, he kicks well, he runs well, he tackles well, he chases his own kicks.
"I would say he's more the form 10 than Johnny Sexton is at the moment."
Biggar and Sexton faced each other last Friday, as Sexton's Leinster side won away against Ospreys in the Pro12.
That duel was billed as a battle between two of the world's best fly-halves, and the two have been tipped as leading candidates to be included in the Lions' squad.
"It's been a while since we've had a lot of outside-halves [of this quality]," Wood added.
"Johnny's had a hard time since he came back from Paris [Racing 92]. He's picked up a fair few knocks and injuries and he's trying to play himself back into form.
"He is getting better which is great for him and it's good for Ireland and Leinster.
"But I like watching Biggar play. He's a really good player. That guy is made of steel."
The Lions will travel to New Zealand in 2017 aiming for back-to-back series wins for the first time since 1974.
Their 2-1 triumph over Australia in 2013 was controversial, however, as head coach Gatland dropped legendary Irish centre Brian O'Driscoll for the pivotal third Test.
His decision paid off handsomely as 10 Wales players - including O'Driscoll's replacement, Jonathan Davies - contributed to a 41-16 thrashing of the Wallabies.
Gatland said he was shocked by the "vitriolic" criticism he received for dropping O'Driscoll, though Wood maintains his former team-mate should have been selected.
"It's the best of four teams. The point I criticised was Brian O'Driscoll and people said it was an anti-Welsh view, which it absolutely, patently wasn't," he said.
"I didn't like the fact Brian was put out in front of the press on the Tuesday [before the Test] - that only ever happens when you're playing in the team.
"It was the end of the career and I don't have that sentimentality - I felt the Lions were better with him in the squad.
"Without being negative, parts of it I just didn't like.
"It was functional and it was successful and I've long since made a point of not criticising success - but the Lions is an amalgamation of the four teams, bringing what they all have together.
"The Lions have to win. I want the Lions to be that amalgamation and it becomes harder for that to be successful, but I do feel that is the nature of it." | Dan Biggar is in prime position to be the British and Irish Lions' fly-half on their 2017 tour of New Zealand, says former Ireland captain Keith Wood. |
22,686,410 | The sold-out performance of the 13 November Stratford-upon-Avon show will also be shown live in cinemas.
"We want to bring the work we make... to the widest possible audience," said RSC artistic director Gregory Doran.
"Taking our productions live into cinemas and direct into schools is the next logical step."
Richard II runs in Stratford from 10 October to 16 November before transferring to the Barbican in London in December.
A recording of the live performance will be streamed direct into up to 1,000 schools on 15 November, accompanied by a live studio link-up hosted by Konnie Huq.
Members of the creative team, including Doran and Tennant, will take part in a live online Q&A as part of the initiative.
Two further RSC Shakespeare plays will be filmed live during 2014, the titles of which will be announced in September.
Tennant - recently seen in ITV drama Broadchurch and The Politician's Husband on BBC Two - previously worked with the RSC on its hit 2008 production of Hamlet.
Doran, who directed that production, will also direct Richard II, which tells of a king whose vanity and weakness threatens to drag England into a dynastic civil war.
Speaking to the Guardian, Doran said it was "very important" that a way was found to "re-imagine" the production for a cinema audience.
"It mustn't just be like having a security camera peering at the stage," continued the director, who took over from previous RSC chief Michael Boyd last year. | The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is to stream its upcoming production of Richard II starring former Doctor Who actor David Tennant to UK schools. |
23,653,172 | Mr Shah was recently cleared of raping a schoolgirl in London hotels when she was between 12 and 15.
He said charges of rape involving girls under 16 who "threw themselves" at celebrities could be "technical".
But the NSPCC and National Association of People Abused in Childhood said rape was always a crime.
Mr Shah, the 69-year-old founder of the newspaper Today, who lives in Chippenham, Wiltshire, was found not guilty at the Old Bailey last month of raping a girl at upmarket London hotels when she was between 12 and 15.
After the case he called for a review of how rape cases are dealt with by police, saying: "Anybody walking down the street can point at a celebrity and say, 'he raped me'.
And on Saturday he told BBC Radio 5 live's Stephen Nolan rape charges involving girls who "threw themselves" at celebrities were a legal technicality.
Mr Shah said: "If we take the pop groups and people of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, who everybody knows that women were throwing themselves at them - young girls who looked 17, 18, 19 and 20...
"Rape was a technical thing - below a certain age. But these girls were going out with the pop groups and becoming groupies and all the rest of it, and throwing themselves at them. You cannot put that down to the fact they've been abused.
"Young girls and young men have always wanted a bit of excitement when they are young. They want to appear adult and do adult things."
When asked if he was implying that under-age victims could themselves be at fault, he said: "If we're talking about girls who go out and just have a good time, then they are to blame.
"If we talk about people who happen to be out and actually get 'raped' raped, then I feel no - and everything should be done against that."
Mr Shah also commented on Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree investigation, set up in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse by BBC DJ Jimmy Savile and other television stars from the 1970s and 1980s.
He added that he had been helping a "very well-known person" charged under Operation Yewtree deal with the "horrible, horrible feeling" of "emptiness about everything", which Mr Shah said he had experienced when he was wrongly accused of rape.
Asked if he thought the investigation was in danger of becoming a witch-hunt, he said: "I think it's developing into that. It's easy policing and it's easy prosecutions...
"In a civilised society there's got to be more checks and balances before these sort of accusations are used."
He also talked again about the suicidal thoughts he had experienced after his arrest.
"Every night I worked out different ways of committing suicide to help me go to sleep, actually," he said.
His comments come after another case, in which a prosecutor was suspended and a judge placed under investigation after it emerged a 13-year-old girl was labelled "predatory" and "sexually experienced" during the trial where a man admitted abusing her.
The NSPCC's Jon Brown said there was "nothing valid" about Mr Shah's comments.
He told BBC News: "If we start talking about gradations of rape, it's extremely concerning.
"Mr Shah's also completely incorrect. A young person under the age of 16 cannot give consent to sexual activity.
"We are talking about child abuse or we're talking about rape, it's as simple as that."
Mr Brown also called for more education and training to help judges with sentencing in child sex abuse cases.
Mr Shah's comments were also criticised by Pete Saunders, chief executive of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood.
Mr Saunders said: "I'd like to meet with Eddie, and to have him explain to me, and maybe explain to some rape victims, what he means by 'raped raped', because my understanding is there is rape, or there is not rape, and rape is always a crime."
His views were echoed by Jim Gamble, the former chief executive of Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP).
Mr Gamble said: "At the end of the day, a child is a child, and the law is configured to protect a child, and there's an assumption made that adults, you know, will respect that, because they will want to protect children themselves." | Former newspaper owner Eddy Shah has said under-age girls who engage in consensual sex can be "to blame" for the abuse they experience. |
35,586,754 | But those years have been tough going for Katherine Garrett-Cox at Alliance Trust, as she's spent much of that time under siege by activist shareholders.
Her departure looked all but inevitable. She was forced to concede ground and board places to Elliott Partners hedge fund.
She then lost her seat on the board, her business and investment strategies were dumped, and her ally and chairwoman Karin Forseke was ousted.
With all that, the nickname she carries without evident relish, Katherine the Great, wasn't looking as apt as once it did.
Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin moved in to the chair only a few weeks ago. Alliance Trust insiders said he had until July to see whether the Dundee asset manager could meet expectations of returns and efficiency, or hand over its funds to a bigger player.
The new chairman was described as 'agnostic' on that question and told colleagues that he was not attracted to the job if it merely involved wielding the hatchet on the chief executive.
Lord Smith has previous. Made famous for his chairing roles of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the cross-party devolution commission that bore his name, he first hit the headlines as the man who infamously ousted "superwoman" Nicola Horlick from her City of London high flyer post. That was 19 years ago.
In exiting, Garrett-Cox has stressed how she has served shareholders with a view to the long-term, and reflecting the Alliance Trust heritage across generations of investors.
The implication is that others might have rather more short-term horizons. Elliott Partners has a habit of getting in, getting ruthless and getting out fast.
For those from the Garrett-Cox regime who remain at the Dundee headquarters, it's not clear who could lead the fight to retain its asset management role.
That July deadline for the test of her strategy may have just been made redundant.
Aberdeen Asset Management is one of those waiting for opportunity to beckon for a big new asset management mandate from Dundee. | Eight years as chief executive of a listed company isn't a bad run, particularly when the pay and bonus last year hit £1.4m. |
36,722,554 | The Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 255,766 new cars were registered last month.
The SMMT said the sales figures were expected, adding the market would "stabilise" following a record 2015.
It added it was too early to tell if the result of the referendum had affected sales.
The fall in new car sales was the first since October 2015 and only the second monthly fall since February 2012.
Sales of diesel cars fell 2.1% in June from a year earlier, while petrol car sales fell 0.5%.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said demand for new cars in the first half of the year overall had grown by 3.2% to a record 1,420,636 registrations.
He said: "It is far too soon to determine whether the referendum result has had an impact on the new car market.
"The first six months saw strong demand at record levels but the market undoubtedly cooled over the second quarter.
"It's important government takes every measure to restore business and economic confidence to avoid the market contracting in the coming months."
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global, said the car sector would have serious concerns that demand could be hit following the referendum.
"There is widespread suspicion - including at the Bank of England - that heightened uncertainty following the vote to leave the European Union will particularly hit sales of big-ticket items such as cars and houses." | Sales of new cars fell by 0.8% in June compared to the same month a year earlier, the latest industry figures show. |
16,670,758 | The Christian Unity service was held for the first time at the Guild Hall.
It marked the start of Preston Guild, a celebration which has been held every 20 years since 1179.
One of the organisers, Steve Garsed, said he was "absolutely thrilled" almost 80 churches united for the service.
He said: "This Christian Unity service is a commitment to start working together through Guild year and beyond and serve our city."
The event marked a more prominent role for faith in this year's Guild. Previously, the church's involvement was in the Guild procession.
Highlights include a religious drama filmed in the city called Preston Passion, to be broadcast on BBC One on Good Friday, and the Methodist Collection of Modern Art.
Mr Garsed said: "The Methodist art exhibition is the second most prestigious exhibition of religious art after the Vatican collection so it is well worth seeing."
The Preston Guild has been held every 20 years since King Henry II granted the town the right to have a Guild Merchant and gave the town its first royal charter.
It is the only Guild celebration still held in the UK. | Two thousand people have attended the first major event of the 2012 Preston Guild year. |
39,302,616 | The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the alarm was raised to the fire at St Barr's Crescent on Barra about 06:15.
Police Scotland said the man has still to be formally indentified, but his next of kin have been informed.
Insp Roddy Mackay said police and the fire service will carry out a joint investigation.
He said inquiries into the cause of the fire were still at an early stage.
The incident is the third fatal fire on the Western Isles this year.
A woman died in a house fire in the Garrynamonie area of South Uist on 10 February.
Fives days later William Hanks, 83, died after a fire broke out at his home at Kildonan, also on South Uist. | A 51-year-old man has died after a fire broke out in a house in the Western Isles. |
37,243,789 | Some 5.3% of Welsh NHS staff were absent from January to March 2016, down from 5.6% in the same period in 2015.
The ambulance service recorded the highest absence levels - remaining at 7.8% in both sets of statistics.
Ministers said sickness absence rates had fallen, but they were "not averse" to considering the Tory suggestion.
The Conservatives said the data showed each NHS employee losing the equivalent of one working day a month to sickness.
Welsh Conservative health spokeswoman Angela Burns said staff were "bearing the brunt of an NHS creaking at the seams" due to poor funding, understaffing, a lack of integration between health and social service and "ever-rising demand".
"The Labour-led Welsh Government needs to up their investment in frontline services and take urgent action to improve recruitment and retention initiatives," Ms Burns said.
She also suggested a "feasibility study into prioritising treatment for NHS staff, particularly those suffering from chronic orthopaedic and skeletal conditions".
"The quicker their problems can be addressed, the sooner they can get back to work. The NHS cannot be healthy without a healthy workforce," Ms Burns added.
The Welsh Government said its health budget was larger than ever, with health and social services receiving an extra £1.1bn over the last two years.
A spokesman added: "We're not averse to considering whether treatment could be prioritised for NHS staff, however it's important to recognise the sickness absence rate in the NHS in Wales has decreased when compared to the same period the previous year.
"NHS Wales is taking action to support staff and reduce sickness rates, this includes participating in our corporate health standard initiative, which aims to develop healthy workplaces and promote the health and well-being of staff." | The Welsh Government should investigate whether to give Welsh NHS staff priority treatment due to high sickness levels, the Conservatives have said. |
36,466,422 | The 34 youngsters and two adults had got lost on the Kent coast in an area prone to cliff rock falls.
An air and sea search began at about 21:00 BST on Monday after the London school group alerted Kent Police.
They were advised to use their phone lights to aid the search for them, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
A rescue helicopter, based in Lydd, was involved in the operation, along with three lifeboats, two from Dover and one from Walmer and the Langdon Coastguard Rescue Team.
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"The group was located by one of the Walmer lifeboats in the area of active cliff falls and also spotted by a helicopter using the forward-looking infra red camera," said Richard Cockerill, UK Coastguard's senior maritime operations officer.
"All 36 people were recovered to safety by lifeboat and helicopter."
It is understood the group had descended on to the beach from a coastal path, between St Margaret's Bay and Dover, when they were caught by rising waters, a coastguard spokeswoman said.
After being spotted using night-vision cameras, 31 members of the group were taken ashore and the remaining five were airlifted to safety before being flown to the Dover Coastguard station.
All members were accounted for by 23:00 and were "safe and well".
"Thankfully, the quick and well co-ordinated search and rescue response meant all 36 were rescued and were lucky to escape without serious injuries, but they've had a traumatic experience," said Mark Finnis, coxswain of Dover RNLI.
The Port of Dover later tweeted that the group's rescue "was a lesson to us all to be careful around water and check tidal information". | More than 30 pupils who became trapped by rising coastal tides were rescued after using their mobile phones as distress beacons. |
34,341,339 | The home side, who only needed a point to book their top-flight spot for next season, fell behind early on to Ben Reynolds' try.
But Widnes hit back to lead 20-6 at the break through Patrick Ah Van, Kevin Brown, Charly Runciman and Paddy Flynn.
Alex Gerrard, Rhys Hanbury, Joe Mellor and Jack Owens all crossed after the break, while Ah Van grabbed his second.
Salford's defeat at Hull KR meant that Widnes climbed above the Red Devils to finish second in The Qualifiers, with all three remaining in Super League for next season.
Leigh, meanwhile, are destined for another year in the Championship despite convincingly winning the regular season title.
Widnes: Hanbury; Flynn, Dean, Runciman, Ah Van; Brown, Mellor; Gerrard, Heremaia, Manuokafoa, Tickle, Whitley, Cahill.
Replacements: Owens, White, Dudson, J. Chapelhow.
Leigh: McNally; Pownall, Worthington, Armstrong, Kay; Reynolds, Brierley; Spencer, Higham, Wilkes, Hock, Goulden, Beswick.
Replacements: Foster, Moimoi, Dixon, Emmitt.
Attendance: 5,550
Referee: Chris Kendall | Widnes Vikings thrashed Leigh Centurions 50-6 to secure their place in Super League for 2016. |
32,523,447 | Then he met Deborah Beaton, chief executive of Kenyan online recruitment service Kama Kazi, at his university's annual career week, who introduced him to the world of online job hunting.
As internet penetration increases across Africa, and the continent's famous mobile boom continues, the recruitment sector is also using tech-based solutions. However, online jobs-listings and application platforms have inevitably resulted in some 10,000 ill-matched applications for a given position.
Kama Kazi is based on the belief that online recruitment companies must offer a personalised approach to offer the best service to job seekers and employers. This means making the most of both the online and offline worlds.
While the online platform hosts job advertisements, and enables online applications, Ms Beaton and her team take the time to engage with job-seekers and provide training before making any applications.
She believes this helps job-seekers make the right decisions about where to apply, and eases the pressure on employers to identify suitable candidates.
"Several of us emailed [Ms Beaton] and she invited us for some training sessions before forwarding our resumes to any firms. The training was relevant and of great importance in our career path; she taught us communication skills, basic accounting skills, how to prepare for - and conduct yourself during - interviews," Mr Ngugi explains.
He went on to quickly secure his desired accountancy internship, and was subsequently offered a full-time position at the same company.
According to Ms Beaton, it is imperative for online recruitment companies in Africa to offer added value - such as training, and post-application feedback.
"In Kenya, customer care has become accepted as poor quality and so to rise above the expectation is key to our success," she says.
While technology is making the recruitment market in Africa more streamlined, she cautions against letting technology take centre-stage in a market so intrinsically centred on people.
"Technology is proving a much quicker, easier solution to HR and recruitment. I do think it is here to stay, but I also think we need to be careful the recruitment process is not simplified or devalued in the process," says Ms Beaton.
"People are still the number one resource that contributes to an organisation's success. Machines will never replace people, and so making decisions about your team should never be a small process, it should always be hugely emphasised. We need to ensure this is not lost in the need for speed, efficiency and the 'here and now'."
While Kama Kazi believes in the power of this offline element, co-founder of fellow Kenyan online HR company Duma Works, Arielle Sandor, says technology can be used to great effect throughout the recruitment process.
"Technology is enabling companies in Kenya, like companies across the globe, to expand rapidly by facilitating a more efficient hiring process," says Ms Sandor.
Duma Works uses specialised software which matches job seekers to openings, in as she puts it, "a process similar to how online dating sites do match-making", so people are not distracted by "irrelevant opportunities".
The company also helps employers use technology to create filters for applicants, such as skills-based tests tailored for specific roles, administered online or via SMS.
And as Africa still faces significant connectivity challenges, with the main form of internet access being via mobile, she says tech-based recruitment companies must also make use of alternative technologies such as SMS and Whatsapp.
"I'm excited to see how we can best leverage some of the constraints we have in Kenya, like lack of internet access, to create a technology-based recruiting solution that is even better than solutions in developed markets," says Ms Sandor.
South African recruitment company Byte Orbit has taken tech-savvy recruitment to a new level with its mobile app, ImpressMe, which asks job seekers to upload a 60-second video selfie - a video "pitch" to potential employers.
"When I read about ImpressMe on Byte Orbit's website I found the idea a bit strange at first because I never imagined such a service could exist," says Tresor Kambembo, who found his new job with the help of ImpressMe.
"I had been searching for a job offline for five months via newspapers and job boards, it was really difficult and challenging to get in touch with a recruiter. So I decided to use an online service [...]. Luckily I found Impress Me that kick-started my career and today I'm working and really enjoying my job."
ImpressMe guides a user through capturing a video selfie explaining why they should be considered for a post. Candidates can give an employer additional insight through a simple process of social media integration.
According to Byte Orbit chief executive Amit Ramdath, video is ideal for finding the right "fit" of candidate for a position and organisation; resulting in a shorter recruitment cycle overall.
Innovative recruitment tools are particularly suited to African markets, Mr Ramdath says, as they circumvent infrastructural challenges faced by job-seekers and employers alike.
"The African markets are significantly spread and the cost of travelling for interviews, or the access to tools and infrastructure to compose and snail mail or fax a resume make it difficult for many to access the job market," he explains.
"Online - especially via mobile - is a great way to make this process easier and more accessible. Imagine, a person in rural Africa, having acquired a specific set of skills being able to tap open an app, find suitable jobs, and pitch to the employer why they deserve a shot at the position."
The point on which everyone agrees, is that if an innovative recruitment solution works in Africa, it has the potential to change the global HR market.
"The best part of innovating for the conditions in Africa is that the technology and business models are put through their paces so that if it can be successful in Africa it can very likely be successful in most other parts of the world," Mr Ramdath says.
Ms Sandor agrees.
"If it can work in Africa, it can work anywhere." | "Throughout my four years at university, my friend and I used to go dropping off application letters to firms in Nairobi, but it was all in vain since we never received any responses," Zach Ngugi recalls. |
37,215,296 | Chapman, 61, shot the former Beatles star in New York in 1980. He told the parole board he now accepted his crime was "premeditated, selfish and evil".
But they told him: "In spite of many favourable factors, we find all to be outweighed by the premeditated and celebrity seeking nature of the crime."
His release would "be incompatible with the welfare of society" and "undermine respect for the law", they concluded.
Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in jail in 1981 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
Lennon was aged 40 when he was shot four times outside a Manhattan apartment block.
According to the ruling released by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the board considered factors including Chapman's "personal efforts to study and educate yourself", the "network of support and release plans" and "official opposition".
They said: "From our interview and review of your records, we find that your release would be incompatible with the welfare of society and would so deprecate that seriousness of the crime as to undermine respect for the law."
Chapman will next be eligible for parole in August 2018. | John Lennon's killer Mark Chapman has been denied parole for a ninth time. |
37,702,724 | The 22-year-old, who has replaced Brett Ferres in the squad, returned in September following a knee injury.
"It would be a bizarre moment, absolute elation and a dream accomplished, putting an England shirt on," he said.
England play a warm-up game in France on Saturday before their opening Four Nations match on 29 October.
Ward was set to start a three week end-of-season road trip around the USA with Leeds team-mate Adam Cuthbertson when he found out he had been called up.
"It's been a rollercoaster year, 2016," Ward told BBC Radio 5 live. "It was great to get those four games in for the Rhinos and hopefully the fifth game could be an England international debut.
"I'm proud to be taking part and just glad to have overcome all these challenges, from an injury and everything else, it's pretty magical really."
Earlier this year, the loose forward set up an online magazine, Mantality, encouraging professional sportspeople to be honest about difficulties with depression.
"Luckily for me I've been in a pretty good spot when I've been playing and I can deal with things, but there are so many people who suffer with it [mental illness] while they are playing," Ward explained.
"It's not great that people carry on and don't speak much about it because it is this macho sport where people don't deal with it. But I'm here at the England camp and people know I've spoken out about it and it's something that needs to be looked at constantly."
Know someone who volunteers in sport and deserves recognition for their efforts? Give them the chance to shine by nominating them.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Leed Rhinos forward Stevie Ward says an England debut would be "magical" following an injury-hit 12 months and dealing with depression. |
36,321,257 | Tubbs joined National League side Eastleigh on loan in February, while McGurk and Naismith both featured in Sunday's League Two play-off semi-final defeat by Plymouth.
Defender Ben Davies and midfielder Danny Hollands remain in talks over new contracts at the club.
Ben Close, Adam May and Ben Tollitt have triggered one-year extensions.
Pompey have also announced Brian Murphy, Chad Field and Snorre Nilsen have been released following the expiration of their contracts.
Youngsters Alex Bass, Calvin Davies and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain were offered one-year professional deals in April. | Portsmouth have placed forwards Adam McGurk, Kal Naismith and Matt Tubbs on the transfer list. |
35,172,506 | The ex-Kangaroos full-back, 33, ended a 15-year association with the Knights this winter to join the Wolves.
Gidley is one of five new faces to take on Widnes on Sunday, along with Tom Lineham, Jack Hughes, Benjamin Jullien and Jordan Cox.
"He's a champion fella and player," Smith told BBC Radio Merseyside.
"He's played in this part of the world with the Kangaroos, he's settled in and our lovely weather has not been a shock to him.
"Just the quality and the experience he brings, he's calm, down to earth and there are some really good lessons for some of the young guys to play alongside somebody of his calibre."
Alongside the newcomers in a strong squad for the festive friendly is England back-rower Ben Currie, who marked a remarkable 2015 season with a Young Player nomination and a call-up to squad for the New Zealand Test series.
Currie, 21, scored 19 tries in 31 games for Smith's side in all competitions last term, not enough to earn him a first cap in Steve McNamara's international unit.
"He didn't get to play in the England squad - he was part of the squad and the set up," added Smith.
"He's a little disappointed he didn't get a run because he would have fared well, but he's keen to get out there and get back in.
"He had a terrific year last year, had a bit of a break but it's a way to impress." | Winter import Kurt Gidley has already shown his value to Warrington Wolves following his move from Newcastle Knights, says head coach Tony Smith. |
34,565,258 | New South Wales Police said he swimming alone at Sydney's South Curl Curl Beach at about 19:00 local time on Saturday after fishing with a friend earlier.
Emergency services searched the area overnight and a sea search involving police divers resumed on Sunday.
Police said his last known address was in Manchester and they had contacted his family.
Insp Susan Preston, of New South Wales Police, said the man had only been in the country for a week.
"So we also have the concern that perhaps he's gotten out of the water at some point, not knowing where he's gone and perhaps is wandering around the local area," she said.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed a Briton had been reported missing in Sydney.
"We are in contact with local police and providing consular assistance to family," a spokesman said. | A 31-year-old British man is missing in Australia after failing to return from an evening swim, police have said. |
24,744,805 | The figures from exam regulator Ofqual showed a 10% increase in such cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
There were 374,000 requests approved for "special consideration" in marking this summer's GCSEs and A-levels.
The most common adjustment was worth 3% of the maximum exam mark.
The figures from Ofqual show that there was an even higher level of requests from schools for such special consideration - rising by 13% on the previous year to 415,200.
Only about 10% of these requests were rejected.
The extra marks are allowed because an exam candidate has faced an unexpected disadvantage, which could range from a minor illness to something more serious, such as a bereavement.
The exam regulator describes the criteria as "temporary injury, illness, indisposition or another unforeseen incident immediately before or during the exam's period".
It could also allow a student to receive a grade reflecting their ability if they were unable to attend an exam.
The maximum adjustment is 5%, such as a close family bereavement. A "minor illness on the day of the exam" could gain a pupil an extra 2%.
As well as these adjustments for unexpected problems, Ofqual says that candidates taking a further 209,900 exam papers were given special access arrangements because of a disability or a medical condition.
These numbers of special access cases are falling, both in terms of request and approvals.
But the most common request remains asking for an extra 25% time for candidates, which was allowed for 107,400 exam papers.
Other types of help included using a reading device or someone to act as a scribe, such as for people with problems with their sight.
The exam report from Ofqual also shows a sharp year-on-year rise in penalties on staff for "malpractice" in exams, up 62% to 97, although this was lower than in 2011.
The most common type of staff malpractice was giving "inappropriate assistance to candidates" and the most common penalty was a written warning.
There were also 135 penalties for exam malpractice for schools and colleges, almost all of which were written warnings.
Among pupils, there were 2,590 penalties from this summer's exams - similar to last year. The most common form of cheating was using "unauthorised material", which usually meant a mobile phone.
But there have been declining numbers caught trying to use mobiles - down for the fourth consecutive year to 814 cases. | Almost 3% of this summer's exam papers were given extra marks because of pupils having problems such as a temporary illness, the highest level on record. |
36,537,796 | Jacob Butterfield, who plays for Derby County, proposed to his girlfriend in March but celebrated their engagement over the weekend.
Police were called to the party in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, following a report a 47-year-old man had been assaulted.
The man was later treated in hospital.
Det Insp Phil Jackson, of Leeds District CID, said: "At 2.28am on Sunday, police were called to a report of a 47-year-old man having been assaulted at an address in Bardsey.
"The man was treated at hospital and discharged later that day.
"A 26-year-old man, from Leeds, was arrested in connection with the incident and has since been released on police bail pending further inquiries."
Mr Butterfield's fiancée, Hollie Jayne Dixon, works as a stockbroker, according to her Twitter profile.
She tweeted about their engagement and posted a photo of her engagement ring in March.
The footballer also tweeted a photo of his fiancée wearing her ring.
Neither of them have tweeted anything since the party. | A Championship footballer was arrested at his own engagement party on suspicion of assaulting one of the guests. |
28,042,122 | Wiggins triumphed in the men's race in a time of 53 minutes 56 seconds over a 26-mile course around Abergavenny.
The 2012 Tour de France winner, who says he will not be taking part in this year's race, beat Team Sky colleague Geraint Thomas by 68 seconds.
Pooley clocked 30 minutes 18 seconds over a 12.2-mile course to win the women's event.
In persistent rain, Wiggins, the London 2012 time-trial gold medallist, denied Thomas and Movistar's Alex Dowsett, who had been chasing a fourth successive title.
Although Team Sky have yet to announce their squad for the Tour de France, which begins in Leeds on 5 July, Wiggins is resigned to not being included.
He said: "This is probably my last British time-trial championship so to win it and perhaps never come back again is a nice way to end it."
Pooley, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, took her third national title as she finished 39 seconds ahead of Katie Archibald, with Dame Sarah Storey 51 seconds behind in third.
Elinor Barker was fourth, Laura Trott fifth and defending champion Joanna Rowsell sixth.
"It is pretty special to win this," said 31-year-old Pooley, who was riding for VC Norwich.
"I was pleased with the way I rode because I was pretty tired at the end, and that is how you should feel."
Pooley, world champion in 2010, now turns her attention to Sunday's road race in Monmouthshire, in which Lizzie Armitstead will defend her title. | Sir Bradley Wiggins and Emma Pooley won the British time-trial championships in Monmouthshire. |
34,268,660 | The Yorkshire-born 33-year-old made only one Championship appearance this season, and two in the T20 Blast.
"Professional cricket was my dream job and the only one that I ever wanted to do," he told the Surrey website.
"I feel incredibly grateful I was able to achieve that ambition and fortunate I have been able to lead the life that I always dreamed about as a kid."
Linley made his first-class debut for Oxford MCCU in 2003 and made his Surrey debut in 2009 following a spell at Sussex.
He took 73 first-class wickets for The Oval side as they won promotion from Division Two in 2011.
In total he picked up 200 wickets at an average of 27.59 in 64 first-class appearances. | Surrey seam bowler Tim Linley has announced his retirement because of a knee injury. |
39,141,548 | The 26-year-old joined from Fleetwood Town last summer, but has agreed a 12-month extension to that deal.
The Welshman made Lilywhites debut in September and has played 29 games so far this season.
"He has been a big part of the team since he earned his place," boss Simon Grayson told the club website. | Preston North End goalkeeper Chris Maxwell has signed a contract extension to keep him at the Championship club until 2020. |
40,163,449 | Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) said officers filmed the biker on Saturday afternoon between junction 12 and Stafford services.
He was was seen riding his Yamaha R6 in a dangerous manner while speeding at times, the police said.
A 27-year-old man from Harlow in Essex will appear in court at a later date.
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Video footage of the rider captured by police vehicles will be played for the magistrate in court, the spokesman added.
CMPG acting sergeant Steve Millward said: "This kind of behaviour on our motorways will simply not be tolerated. It is dangerous.
"We are committed to keeping all road users safe and will continue to take action against those who disregard the law.
"This rider will now face a magistrate to explain his behaviour." | A motorcyclist accused of performing wheelies and taking a selfie while driving on the M6 has been charged with traffic offences. |
35,823,283 | The Education Authority (EA) had proposed that children receive 2.5 hours a day in schools that offer pre-school provision rather than 4.5 hours.
The plans were due to come into effect from September 2016.
The review was requested by Education Minister John O'Dowd who described the decision as "flawed".
Officials from the EA appeared before Stormont's Education Committee on Wednesday.
Dr Claire Mangan said that the review would be completed within a short period of time.
"Obviously, until the EA board has the information that they will require, we are not moving forward with part-time," she said.
UUP MLA Sandra Overend said she could not understand how the minister did not know of the proposed cuts.
"Do you know how he didn't know?" she asked Dr Mangan.
"I can't answer that," Dr Mangan replied.
The EA's proposed cut in hours would have affected 29 special schools in Northern Ireland.
The EA had said that the move was "designed to increase the opportunity for children to access special schools places". | Plans to cut the hours of children who attend nursery in special schools have been suspended pending a review, a Stormont committee has heard. |
40,328,104 | The Australian made 127, having come in at 38-3, before he was bowled late in the day by England's James Anderson.
It was Anderson's only wicket on his return after a month out injured.
Kyle Jarvis and Luke Procter took two each, but Hampshire's Kyle Abbott made a quickfire 76 not out with 12 fours, adding 82 with Bailey.
After winning the toss and electing to bat in favourable conditions, the visitors were struggling when their top three of Michael Carberry, Jimmy Adams and Rilee Rossouw were dismissed inside 15 overs by Jarvis and Ryan McLaren.
But Bailey put on 69 for the fourth wicket with James Vince to rebuild before the Englishman fell for 22 lbw to Proctor.
Bailey then shared half-century stands with Lewis McManus, Gareth Berg and Abbott, but it was the latter who was the aggressor in the final session.
Bailey eventually fell with 10 overs remaining, his 187-ball knock ended when he played on to a wide delivery from Anderson.
Lancashire fast bowler Kyle Jarvis told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"There was a momentum swing towards Hampshire in that last session when Abbott played really well with George Bailey.
"After having them 177-6, we'd have liked to have done a little bit better and we let it go a bit before the new ball. They've got a few too many runs. We could have wrapped them up for mid-200s.
"There was a bit of movement through the air and the ball was easy to shine. As soon as we changed the ball you could see it moving in the air but the ball we had was out of shape.
"When Jimmy Anderson can't swing the ball, you know there's a problem with the ball. After lunch it moved the most for around 25-30 overs but it didn't do as much in the evening session."
Hampshire captain George Bailey told BBC Radio Solent:
"We knew there was going to be a little bit there early on in the day, but it's important to get a good score on the board in the first innings.
"It's a pretty dry wicket now and a few cracks are starting to appear, and hopefully some footmarks, for some spin late in the game.
"I think it was a pretty even day. It feels good in our changing room at the moment because at five for 120, it could have gone pear-shaped really quickly.
"To be able to fight back and still be batting at the end of the day is really pleasing. I felt better at the crease than I had in the first couple of games." | Hampshire captain George Bailey hit a fine century to help his side recover to 351-8 on a stifling first day against Lancashire at Old Trafford. |
35,739,405 | The Right Reverend Trevor Willmott said it should never be "acceptable for children to be sprayed with teargas".
He also called on Christians to hold a minute of prayer for the situation.
The French authorities said no children were affected by tear gas, but the BBC's Peter Whittlesea said families were present during the clearances.
In a statement, Bishop Willmott said there were no "easy answers" or "quick fixes" to the migrant crisis but God had stood in the "crowd enveloped by teargas" on Monday.
"As different interests compete across Europe, questions of security, stability, shelter and safety clash violently. And when they do, those that suffer most are those who are most vulnerable.
"It should never be acceptable for children to be sprayed with teargas."
Demolition teams moved through the southern sector of the Calais camp, known as the "Jungle", earlier in the week as part of the French government's move to relocate the migrants from makeshift huts to nearby shipping containers.
On Monday, riot police fired tear gas after people resisted and threw rocks.
Gilles DeBove, of the Calais Police Union, said no children were tear gassed and the "police response was justified".
He added: "Police were trying to destroy unused cabins. Migrants and activists wouldn't move - they could've died if we hadn't used tear gas. Does the Bishop of Dover therefore this it's fair for migrants to throw rocks at police? Or to deliberately start fires in the Calais Jungle?"
At least four people, including activists from the UK-based No Borders group, were arrested during Monday's unrest, police said.
Squads armed with with shields, batons, helmets and tear gas were met with little resistance on Tuesday.
Many migrants fear they will be required to claim asylum in France, not Britain.
French authorities estimated that about 1,000 migrants were affected by the eviction plan but aid agencies put the number of people living there as much higher.
Those living in the camp, mainly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, hope to cross the Channel to the UK, often using people traffickers to try to enter illegally.
In pictures: Anger as 'Jungle' cleared
Tea, rivalry and ambition at 'Jungle hotel'
Jungle migrants prepare to move
Migrants resist relocation to containers | The use of tear gas during the clearance of the Calais migrant camp while children were present has been condemned by the Bishop of Dover. |
36,796,355 | A fight broke out as officers tried to search a bag belonging to a 17-year-old at the restaurant in Birmingham, at about 23:30 BST on Wednesday.
West Midlands Police said the gun was found in the bag, along with six bullets at the branch on Bishopsgate Street.
Two knives and suspected Class B drugs were found in a search of the group.
More on this and other stories from Birmingham and the Black Country
The seven, who are all male and aged between 15 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm.
Det Ch Insp Sam Ridding, from the force's serious and organised crime unit, said: "It is shocking to think that this group of young men were enjoying a meal in a family restaurant while holding a loaded gun."
A spokesman for Nando's said they are helping the police with their enquiries. | Seven teenagers have been arrested after police seized a loaded handgun in a raid on a branch of Nando's. |
32,515,829 | The Consolation of Philosophy was most likely published by monks at Kelso Abbey in the 12th century.
The manuscript contains the ideas of Roman philosopher Boethius and was probably published around 1130 to 1150.
Previously it was thought that only religious or legal books were being produced at this time.
The find was made in the University of Glasgow's special collections by Dr Kylie Murray, of Balliol College, Oxford, who is currently on a visiting fellowship.
The manuscript is a 12th century copy of the Consolation of Philosophy originally thought to have been written in 524AD.
Although its existence was known and had previously been catalogued, scholars had believed it to be English, with Durham being the most likely place of origin.
However, closer inspection has revealed that the manuscript's handwriting and illustrations do not match those of Durham, or other English books, from this period.
Dr Murray argues that instead the manuscript suggests a connection with the Scottish kingdom.
Its unique illustrations more closely resemble the famous Kelso Charter, written at Kelso Abbey in 1159.
Dr Murray believes that this is proof that intellectual and literary cultures were flourishing in Scotland at a far earlier date than has been realised.
She said: "Glasgow's Boethius manuscript allows a fresh understanding of Scotland's early responses to key intellectual works in the Middle Ages, and provides a snapshot of how Scotland's literary culture as we now know it first began to emerge and develop.
"By showing us how alert and alive Scotland was to literary and intellectual influences from Europe at such an early date, the University of Glasgow's Boethius manuscript is a hugely exciting find not only for scholars of medieval Scotland, but for anyone interested in understanding the roots of Scotland's literary and intellectual culture." | What is believed to be Scotland's earliest non-religious manuscript has been discovered by a researcher at the University of Glasgow. |
38,718,362 | Among the more recognisable names are Lucie Jones and Danyl Johnson, who both featured in the 2009 series, which was eventually won by Joe McElderry.
Jones's song has the best pedigree: Never Give Up On You is written by 2013 Eurovision winner, Emmelie de Forest.
TV talent has good form at Eurovision, with two previous winners graduating from singing contests like X Factor.
Swedish singer Loreen, who won the competition in 2012, was previously a runner-up on Swedish Idol, where she performed under the name Loren Talhaoui.
More recently, Mans Zelmerlow triumphed at the 2015 contest - having earned his stripes on Swedish Idol and Let's Dance, which is his home country's version of Strictly.
This year's UK's entry will be selected on Friday, 27 January, in a live BBC Two show hosted by Mel Giedroyc.
A combination of viewer and jury votes will decide the winning song - with Bruno Tonioli and Sophie Ellis-Bextor forming part of the eight-person jury.
Danyl Johnson - Light Up the World
Former schoolteacher Danyl Johnson was, at one point, the bookies' favourite to win X Factor 2009. He eventually came fourth - losing out to Joe McElderry and runner-up Olly Murs - and earned brief notoriety after being (sort-of) outed by Danni Minogue.
The singer, who currently works as an ambassador for the People's Postcode Lottery, enters Eurovision with a empowering dance track about "shining a light in the darkness" - harking back to Katrina and the Waves' Eurovision-winning song in 1997.
It aims for anthemic but ends up sounding anaemic.
Key lyric: "We couldn't see, yeah, standing in the dark."
Holly Brewer - I Wish I Loved You More
Holly has previously sung at the wedding of Mark Wright (The Only Way is Essex) and Michelle Keegan (Coronation Street) - and received four "yeses" from the X Factor judges in 2015.
However, producers axed her from the programme by phone in a pre-bootcamp contestant cull - Cowell and co presumably underestimated the cost of accommodation in Wembley.
Never fear, for now Holly is returning with a power ballad co-written by Courtney Harrell, a former contestant on The Voice US. A decent effort which sounds like it could have been found on Kelly Clarkson's studio floor.
Key lyric: "You're the sunlight the the preacher talks about. Ooh-ooh, Amen."
Lucie Jones - Never Give Up on You
Lucie Jones will be remembered by the die-hard X Factor enthusiasts for coming eighth in the 2009 series - finishing behind fellow Eurovision hopeful Danyl Johnson and, er, Jedward.
While she might have crashed out of the live finals fairly early, she should be more confident of winning the UK Eurovision race - as her song is co-written by Emmelie de Forest - the Danish singer-songwriter who won the song contest in 2013.
Her vocals have improved remarkably since 2009, but the song is untroubled by percussion and ends up a slightly dreary piano ballad (not necessarily an obstacle to Eurovision victory).
Key lyric: "Together we'll dance through this storm."
Nate Simpson - What Are We Made Of?
"You opened your mouth and Jesus came out," said Nicole Scherzinger when Slough-born Nate Simpson auditioned for the X Factor last year.
That didn't stop her kicking him out at the judges's houses round, though. Maybe if he'd kept Jesus in there for a little longer...
The 23-year-old is hoping to go to Eurovision with the piano ballad What Are We Made Of?. It has a key change before the first chorus, which gives you an indication of what you're in for.
Key lyric: "We're breathing underwater and the struggle makes us stronger."
Olivia Garcia - Freedom Hearts
Canadian singer Laurell Barker has been busy on the songwriting front this year because, as well as penning Holly's song, she has writing credits on Olivia Garcia's.
Olivia is fresh from the most recent series of X Factor. She made it as far as judges houses, but Simon Cowell sadly didn't take her through to the live shows.
She's now joined the Eurovision race with a propulsive ballad that could lend itself to a dramatic staging (we're thinking acrobats and a tug of war). Garcia's vocal acrobatics, meanwhile, do a good job of showing Cowell what he missed.
Key lyric: "Shiny hair and shoes, how about me and you?"
Salena Mastroianni - I Don't Wanna Fight
A distant relative of the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita; Divorce, Italian Style) Salena has a degree in fashion, but ditched the runway to pursue a career in music.
After working as a wedding singer for four years, she auditioned for X Factor in 2012 but failed to progress beyond the initial stages.
Instantly catchy, her song I Don't Wanna Fight is the most contemporary of this year's Eurovision entries, with a trance-house beat that's proved successful for other countries in recent years.
Although the lyrics appear to carry an anti-war sentiment, Mastroianni says the song is about a relationship.
Key lyric: "Why can't we put our weapons down?"
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or email [email protected]. | This year's UK Eurovision hopefuls have been revealed - and every one of them is a former X Factor contestant. |
21,802,337 | But perching just 28ft (8.5m) from certain doom, her home at Happisburgh in Norfolk brings a whole new meaning to living on the edge.
Great chunks of land have fallen around her beloved house since she moved to erosion-hit Beach Road five years ago.
But this winter has really taken its toll, and for the first time the retired teacher and grandmother-of-six has to admit she is starting to feel "threatened" and "frightened" by the creeping coastline.
"I work on the assumption that if the house becomes seriously unsafe that my cats with their uncanny perceptions will yowl and not want to be in the house, but I'm told that I'm wrong on this and cats can equally well fall over cliffs," said Ms Nierop-Reading.
"But I do feel threatened now because of the rate at which it is going on the corner. I'm frightened sometimes, which I haven't been up until now."
A year ago virtually all of Ms Nierop-Reading's neighbours moved out after taking compensation from the council.
However, £53,000 was not enough to sway her, and she is now the last permanent resident living on the crumbling cliff top.
Erosion has threatened north Norfolk's idyll landscape for centuries, with communities such as Whimpwell and most of Eccles now consigned to historical records.
But now it is Happisburgh's turn, and after a recent clear-up on the beach below, Ms Nierop-Reading reckons she only has about three years left before she is forced to go.
"It's actually getting very serious," she said.
"Unfortunately North Norfolk District Council took away all the unsightly stuff at the corner on the beach and the revetments, which although damaged broke the force of the waves. So I am now being put under threat diagonally from the East.
"I lost a largish chunk - about 10ft - about two or three months ago. On March 4th I was shining the torch along the next remaining bit of fence to show people what was there. The next morning, I looked out of my window and the next section of fencing was falling over the cliff.
"On the 13th the cliff was up to the next fencepost, so it's going very, very fast."
But the 1930s timber-framed bungalow has become more than just a home for Ms Nierop-Reading. It has become her platform for protest, believing successive governments have failed to fully address the threat of the sea.
Recent Environment Agency statistics show about 200 properties in England are vulnerable to coastal erosion, with 2,000 predicted to become vulnerable over the next 20 years.
Current government policy states it is not possible to prevent all areas from erosion, but "action is being taken to manage the risks and reduce its impact".
But despite the risks - having that sea view day-in, day-out is what Ms Nierop-Reading says will keep her going right until the very end.
"I've had windows broken by the wind hurling things at me and I've definitely got tiles off the roof. When the wind is blowing and gusting furiously I can feel the house actually lifting slightly as it gets underneath.
"There are ripples going across my glass of water beside my bed and the glass in the windows bows - that's frightening.
"I knew one day I'd go, but what I'm more concerned about is the fact that we still have this stupid piecemeal policy right round the coast and there is no political will at a high level to save the coastline.
"But it doesn't put me off. I call it my 'million dollar' view. People say, 'Why didn't you take the £53,000 I was offered and run?'. My view is worth infinitely more than that.
"Either that or I'm just plain stupid. Take your pick." | There's no doubt Bryony Nierop-Reading's bungalow has what she refers to as "the million dollar view". |
22,820,207 | Ramirez, 53, was on death row in San Quentin prison after being convicted in 1989 of 13 murders. Officials said he died of natural causes.
Ramirez terrorised Southern California in 1984-5 with a rampage of sexual assault and murder.
Satanic symbols were left at some of the murder scenes by the killer, who broke into victims' homes at night.
Ramirez was captured and beaten by residents in East Los Angeles in 1985 as he attempted to hijack a car.
He was recognised from a photo published in newspapers after police identified him as a suspect from a fingerprint.
Los Angeles prosecutor Alan Yochelson, who was involved in the case, said his death ended "a pretty tragic period in the history of Los Angeles County".
"Richard Ramirez hurt a lot of people and I think our thoughts should be with the next of kin and the survivors, because their lives were changed forever by this man."
A drug addict and self-styled devil-worshipper, Ramirez mutilated the bodies of some of his victims.
They included an accountant, a lawyer, a mechanic and a church official. Some were children, others grandparents.
Most of the killings happened in the space of a few months in 1985. The random murder spree caused widespread fear, leading to a surge in sales of guns and locks for doors and windows.
Ramirez has also been linked to other murders for which he was never brought to trial.
After he was given the death sentence, he said: "Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland."
Once in prison he attracted a number of female admirers. Some visited him and in 1996 he married freelance journalist Doreen Lioy at a visiting room in San Quentin jail.
A horror film based on his life - titled Night Stalker - was released in 2002.
California has not executed a prisoner on death row since 2006 because of a legal battle over how inmates are put to death. | US serial killer Richard Ramirez - known as the "Night Stalker" - has died in hospital in California. |
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