id
int64 10.1M
41.1M
| dialogue
stringlengths 15
174k
⌀ | summary
stringlengths 1
399
|
---|---|---|
29,305,064 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The 36-year-old former England international, who left Chelsea in the summer, came off the bench to equalise in the 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"Frank Lampard is a Man City player," Mourinho told Sky Sports.
"When he decided to go to a direct competitor then love stories are over."
The Portuguese coach added: "I don't believe in stories of passion and heart, maybe I am too pragmatic in football. He did his job as a professional."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Lampard's goal came on his home debut for City, having joined the club on loan from Major League Soccer side New York City.
It cancelled out Andre Schurrle's opener for Chelsea, which had come minutes after the hosts had Pablo Zabaleta sent off for a second bookable offence after fouling Diego Costa.
The equaliser denied Chelsea the chance to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
"I feel that when a player leaves another club and plays for a direct opponent, he is not going there for a holiday, he is going there to try and beat his club - the one everyone considers the club of his heart, but not any more," Mourinho told BBC Sport.
"Maybe again [Chelsea will be in his heart] when he leaves City, but while at City he wants to beat Chelsea. That is the nature of football."
Lampard was applauded by both Manchester City and Chelsea fans when he came on with 12 minutes remaining.
"The reception I got when I came on was amazing, I can't speak highly enough of the fans," he said.
"I came here to do a job and it was a special and weird day. It was a difficult day for me at the end because what do you do? You're caught in the middle.
"What was a win for me today? Maybe a draw and keeping the Premier League close and a reception from both sets of fans that I won't forget." | Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said there was nothing emotional about Frank Lampard's goal against the Blues, and insisted the "love story" finished when the midfielder joined Manchester City. |
40,628,869 | Ms McCall, who has been at EasyJet for seven years, will take over the running of the commercial broadcaster early next year. ITV's previous chief executive, Adam Crozier, left in June.
She will be paid an annual salary of £900,000, plus pension and possible bonus and incentives.
Before running EasyJet, Ms McCall was chief executive at the Guardian.
She also is a non-executive director at fashion company Burberry, sits on the board of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is a trustee at the Royal Academy.
Ms McCall said the decision to leave EasyJet had been "really difficult", but after seven years at the company the time was right for a move: "The opportunity from ITV felt like the right one to take. It is a fantastic company in a dynamic and stimulating sector."
Straight talking, no-nonsense, charming, effective. Those are some of the descriptions I've heard of Dame Carolyn McCall who this morning confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in British business that she will become the new CEO of ITV.
For the customers and shareholders of EasyJet, her track record is impressive. Since taking over in 2010, passenger numbers have grown 56% and the share price has tripled.
But it's perhaps her impact on the industry as a whole that will prove most lasting. Michael O'Leary freely admitted that EasyJet had "wiped the floor" with Ryanair - forcing his company into a rethink on its approach to customer relations.
EasyJet doesn't like the terms "budget" or "no frills" - preferring the word "value". EasyJet played a big part in redefining what that word meant to customers and in doing so ruffled the feathers of the big birds of aviation like BA, Lufthansa and KLM.
ITV's outgoing CEO Adam Crozier was considered a great success and will be a tough act to follow at ITV but tough is another word you could chuck in to describe Carolyn McCall.
ITV chairman Peter Bazalgette said: "In a very impressive field of high calibre candidates, Carolyn stood out for her track record in media, experience of an international operation, clear strategic acumen and strong record of delivering value to shareholders. I'm delighted we'll be working together at ITV."
John Barton, EasyJet chairman, said: "I speak for absolutely everyone at EasyJet in saying we will be sorry to see Carolyn leave and that we wish her well in her exciting new role."
Her bonus plan on joining ITV will be up to a maximum of 180% of salary, and there will be a long-term incentive plan up to 265% of salary.
ITV described it as "broadly the same remuneration opportunity" to Mr Crozier's.
The broadcaster's shares were the top riser on the FTSE 100 in early trading, jumping almost 3% to 180p.
Analysts at Liberum said it was a positive appointment, noting that she had been credited with transforming EasyJet's fortunes over the past seven years.
"She is seen as being very good with people, at building a strong management team around her and at the ability to 'work the room'," Liberum said.
"She also has very good links on the government side, which should be very helpful in areas such as retransmission revenues for ITV." | ITV has appointed the boss of EasyJet, Carolyn McCall, as its new chief executive. |
35,915,598 | It happened at Kilwilkie, Lurgan, on Monday afternoon.
A 15-year-old is due to appear in court later on charges of riotous behaviour, arson and placing an object on a railway line in Lurgan.
Another 15-year-old has been charged with riotous behaviour, making a petrol bomb and throwing a petrol bomb. He is due to appear in court in April. | Two teenagers have been charged following trouble in County Armagh. |
37,755,928 | An impressive 11 goals in 17 appearances later, you have won the EFL's Young Player of the Month award for September.
The 2016-17 season has already served up plenty of success for teenage striker Tammy Abraham - the kid who once needed a lift from Didier Drogba to get to training and has now helped lift Bristol City into the Championship's top six.
But is the form of the 19-year-old, on loan from Chelsea, remotely surprising to City boss Johnson? Not at all.
"We felt this was going to be his breakthrough year, whether it be with us or somebody else, so we made sure that we put ourselves at the front of the queue," Johnson told BBC Sport.
The loan has worked out well for both parties so far and Abraham netted five times in six appearances in all competitions in September.
"He's deserved it. He was superb," Johnson continued. "He's a constant threat for the Championship and teams need to take notice of him, and they have done, but he's still found a way.
"He's been there when we've needed him, whether it be with a tidy little finish or getting across his man or a poacher's goal."
Media playback is not supported on this device
But how important was Johnson's meal-time visit to the Abraham household in bringing the youngster to Ashton Gate from Chelsea?
"Particularly with a young player with top reputations, you have to get everybody to buy into it. They have to know the standards, as far as behaviour, that we expect," Johnson added.
"As soon as we met the family and we met Tammy, it was evident that we were going to get on great like a house on fire, because he is a footballer that likes playing football more than he loves being a footballer."
First impressions were crucial for Abraham, too, and after scoring 74 goals in 98 youth games for Chelsea at different age levels, Bristol City were inevitably not the only team interested.
"When I met the gaffer at the house and he introduced himself to my family, it really built that relationship," he said.
"I had a couple of other teams interested but as soon as I met the gaffer I set my mind to here. You have to go where your heart tells you to.
"When the gaffer believes in you, there is nothing better. He speaks to me literally every single day, keeps in touch and sees how I am doing. You really need that.
"When I don't score he says: 'This is not like you not to get a goal' and we have a few laughs. He tells me just to believe in myself and take confidence out on to the pitch."
Johnson takes a keen interest in Abraham's development and hopes he will leave Ashton Gate a more rounded player.
The former Barnsley and Oldham boss said: "He'll learn lessons - he's already had five or six lessons of serious note this season, in terms of tactical stuff, technical stuff and also the physical and mental side.
"The real test of a top player is how quickly they can learn those lessons. So far he has come through every challenge."
Asked what he needs to improve on, Abraham - whose 15-year-old brother Timmy is on the books with Charlton - replied: "Left-foot finishing.
"I need more left-footed goals. And shooting from outside the box - I need more variance of finishes.
"You're not going to get a chance every time in the box. After sessions, I keep working and practising with the left foot. Hopefully one day it'll just be fluent."
And working hard in training is something Abraham has admired in his idols, namely former Chelsea striker Drogba.
"Players like Didier Drogba, going to watch him play and seeing him off the pitch as well, I got to see how he was with the players and the youngsters," Abraham said of his early years with Chelsea.
"Growing up, he was a good idol. He's a bubbly, funny character. He likes to make people feel welcome. You need those kind of people, wherever you are.
"I remember one time, I couldn't get into the training ground. He saw me walking and he picked me up. He spoke to me and that's when I really got to know what he is like off the pitch."
But the presence of one of Drogba's long-term successors up front at Chelsea, Diego Costa, is one of many reasons why Abraham has made just two substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Blues.
Injuries meant that another teenage English striker, Marcus Rashford, was presented with a run of first-team games at Manchester United last season, shining enough at the top level to earn a place in the England squad at Euro 2016.
Former Tottenham manager David Pleat believes Abraham would have scored as many goals as Rashford if he had been given a similar chance.
"I'm certainly not going to argue with that," Johnson said. "Opportunity is the word and the most important element in any footballer's career - but of course then you've got to take it.
"I think this [loan move] is the right progression for Tammy, but you see Rashford and what a fantastic job he did for Manchester United and then England - I certainly put Tammy up there, when he is at his best, in that category."
Abraham's form for the Robins has already led to his breakthrough with the Under-21 side, scoring twice on his full debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 11 October.
"He's progressed quicker than maybe the England guys thought he would," Johnson added. "Tammy was ready - I just told him to go out and express himself. He was exceptional in the two goals that he scored."
And could Abraham play for England's senior team one day? "That's what I strive for and hopefully I will achieve that," the striker replied.
Tammy Abraham was speaking to BBC Radio Bristol's Geoff Twentyman - hear the full interview on Sound of the City on Monday, 31 October from 18:00 - 19:00 GMT. | It is a normal summer's evening and your mum's home-cooked food is on the table, except for one big difference - Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson is round for dinner and he wants to sign you on loan. |
35,671,763 | Rebel Rover was being trained in chest-high water at Sandgate beach when he unseated his rider and headed deeper.
The five-year-old gelding was picked up by the Brisbane Water Police and a marine rescue unit.
"He was in about four metres of water and he was swimming quite freely," said Volunteer Marine Rescue's Glen Philip.
Rebel Rover, with a track record of misdemeanours, has only recently made a comeback after being banned for misbehaving in the stalls.
Trainer Brad Smith told ABC News that horses could swim, but did not normally do so very much.
"Any other horse, 20 minutes would probably see them out, but this horse - he must have a pretty amazing lung capacity," he said.
"The vet looked at him yesterday and again this morning and he's pretty well amazed with how he's coped with it all.
Brisbane's Courier Mail reports he still had enough energy to head butt one of his support team, knocking them unconscious and putting them in hospital.
Rebel Rover has won three of his 12 races. | A racehorse has survived a two-hour swim, covering 11km, after being scared during a training run on a beach in Brisbane, Australia. |
34,323,106 | Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life by Jonathan Bate features alongside books on history, science and travel.
They include Mohamedou Ould Slahi's Guantanamo Diary and Laurence Scott's The Four-Dimensional Human, about technology's impact on people.
The £20,000 prize was won last year by Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk.
The prize-winning memoir recounted how the death of Macdonald's father prompted her to follow a childhood dream of training a goshawk. Judges described it as a "book like no other".
This year's longlist also includes Steve Silberman's Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently.
The book explores the history of autism and why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years. Unusually, Silberman is a technology writer - whose interest in the subject was sparked by his interviews with Silicon Valley innovators, many of whom had autistic children.
Bate's biography of Ted Hughes attracted attention last year when the author said the poet's estate wrote to tell him it was withdrawing its co-operation from his book.
Damon Parker, solicitor for the Ted Hughes Estate, said it had withdrawn support for the book because it feared the author was straying from an agreement to focus on Hughes' poetry and not write a standard biography, and he had not shown the estate his work in progress as agreed.
According to Anne Applebaum, chair of judges for the Samuel Johnson Prize, this year's selection contains "something for everybody".
She added: "We didn't plan it this way but this year's longlist includes pretty much every important non-fiction genre," saying the list should have wide appeal, "whatever your tastes".
Here is the list in full:
The judges had to whittle nearly 200 books down to 12, with the the final choices representing "what the judges believe to be the very best of the year's non-fiction writing, from across a huge variety of genres".
Pulitzer prize-winning historian and journalist Applebaum is joined on the judges' panel by Emma Duncan, the editor of Intelligent Life, Sumit Paul-Choudhury, the editor of New Scientist, Professor Rana Mitter, the director of China Centre at Oxford University and Tessa Ross, former controller of film and drama and head of Film 4.
The shortlist will be announced on 11 October.
Update 23 September 2015: This story was amended to add an updated comment from the Ted Hughes Estate. | A book about poet Ted Hughes, which triggered a dispute with his estate, is one of 12 works of non-fiction on the longlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. |
27,847,791 | Henri Gonay, from Belgium, died in June 1944 after his aircraft crashed into a farm.
The road at the northern end of Route de Grantez, St Ouen, which was unnamed, has been called Rue Henri Gonay.
Parish Constable Michael Paddock said: "He was a well-decorated pilot and was part of the forces which helped to secure our future."
A number of Belgian delegates attended a ceremony to mark the unveiling. | A Jersey road has been named after a fighter pilot who was shot down during World War Two. |
35,647,472 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The first-half header was the Welshman's third goal in five games since joining Aberdeen in January.
The Dons also had two goals chalked off and manager Derek McInnes was sent to the stand for protesting about one of the disallowed goals.
Defeat for United leaves them eight points adrift at the foot of the table.
Both sides have 10 games left but, crucially for United's hopes of survival, they hold a game in hand over second-bottom Kilmarnock.
It was a fairly timid early period for both sides as they struggled to create any clear-cut chances.
A free-kick was played into the Dons box and fell to recalled striker Flo Sinama-Pongolle, who knocked the ball to Gavin Gunning but the defender's effort was weak and saved easily by Scott Brown.
Aberdeen, playing with the benefit of a strong wind at their back, always looked dangerous going forward with Niall McGinn and Church causing the United rearguard problems at every opportunity.
There was a let-off for United when Church tapped home from close range following a Kenny McLean cross with the offside flag raised.
However, the same two players combined to give Aberdeen the lead moments later.
The home defence stood off McLean and allowed an inch-perfect cross to be delivered for Church to glance a header into the corner.
A major flashpoint came after Graeme Shinnie had forced his way into the United box and tumbled to the ground under Gunning's challenge. The ball continued to McGinn, whose effort found the net courtesy of a deflection off Paul Dixon but referee Bobby Madden had already blown his whistle for a free-kick to United.
Shinnie was booked for simulation - a decision that infuriated McInnes, who vented his frustration at fourth official Barry Cook and was sent to the stand by Madden for his continued protests.
United boss Mixu Paatelainnen made a change at the break with the ineffective Sinama-Pongolle making way for Henri Anier, who almost made a dramatic impact with his first action in the game.
The striker was through on goal and only a last-gasp challenge by Ash Taylor denied a shot on target.
Eiji Kawashima made a great stop to deny Church his second of the night while at the other end Anier tested Brown after latching on to a Billy Mckay cross.
With 10 minutes left, Brown came to Aberdeen's rescue with a dramatic diving save to deny Coll Donaldson. The defender picked the ball up eight yards out after the Aberdeen defence failed to clear a long ball and looked certain to score before Brown made the excellent stop.
United kept pressing and Gunning had one last effort on goal but once again Brown saved the day for Aberdeen. | Simon Church's goal was enough to give Aberdeen a win over Dundee United and close the gap on Premiership leaders Celtic to four points. |
18,204,231 | But an extraordinary rescue on the world's highest mountain has bonded two climbers, one from Israel and one a Turk.
By his own account Nadav Ben-Yehuda was only 300 metres from the summit of Mount Everest, and on course to become the youngest Israeli to conquer it, when he spotted someone lying in the snow, clearly in trouble.
He recognised Aydin Irmak as a Turkish climber he had befriended down at base camp. Other climbers, set on reaching the summit, or just too exhausted by the altitude, had passed by without helping.
Irmak had no gloves, no oxygen and no shelter, according to Ben-Yehuda, and was unconscious.
So the Israeli abandoned the goal he had been preparing for over many months, and helped to carry Irmak down the tough, nine-hour descent to base camp, from where both men were evacuated by helicopter for medical treatment. Both are suffering from frostbite. Irmak would certainly have died without help.
The story has inevitably been widely covered in the Israeli media, but it is also being reported in some Turkish newspapers - a rare piece of positive news about a country many Turks only ever see in the most negative light.
Turkish-Israeli inter-state relations have been deteriorating for many years, driven by a Turkish government which feels outrage over Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, and an Israeli government which has refused to soften that policy to accommodate the sensibilities of the only ally it had in the region.
Relations hit an all-time low in May 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed a ship full of activists trying to break the blockade of Gaza, killing nine Turkish citizens.
Attitudes in Turkish society have also hardened towards Israel. Rising Islamic piety in much of the country has led to a stronger sense of solidarity with perceived Islamic grievances elsewhere, the Palestinian issue foremost until the dramatic Arab uprisings of the past year. That hostility has also been fuelled by Turkish television dramas, which often portray Israel as a brutal military oppressor.
The story of Nadav Ben-Yehuda and Aydin Irmak contradicts that narrative.
So could it help break the ice between Turkey and Israel?
There have been other "ice-breaking" episodes: the time Turkey sent water-bombing aircraft to help Israel combat deadly forest fires in December 2010, and the aid Israel sent to Turkey after the earthquake that struck Van last year. But neither prompted a breakthrough in restoring relations.
Turkey is still adamant that there can be no real improvement until Israel apologises and pays compensation for the nine people killed on board the Gaza flotilla. A Turkish prosecutor has asked a court in Istanbul to accept an indictment of murder against senior Israeli military commanders over the incident.
The two countries are at odds over other issues, in particular Israel's involvement in the exploitation of oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus, a project Turkey opposes because it does not recognise the Cypriot government.
Trade between Israel and Turkey, though, has been largely unaffected - it actually grew last year to well over $3bn (£2bn). Israeli tourist numbers have dropped sharply, but those who come receive the same hospitality given to other visitors in Turkey's more liberal-minded coastal resorts.
The turmoil in the Arab world, especially Turkey's strife-torn neighbour Syria, means that Ankara is once again relying more on its alliance with the US, and co-operation with staunch US allies like Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
And the US is telling Turkey to fix the row with Israel, saying it is an unnecessary distraction from the more serious challenges confronting Ankara in the Middle East. It is still is not clear how that thaw can happen.
But the tale of a good deed high in the Himalayas can only help. | It isn't often these days that you see two men, arms round each other, holding Israeli and Turkish flags. |
39,186,617 | The woman, in her 30s, and the child were abducted by two men from Redcar seafront at lunchtime on Friday.
The pair were taken about four miles to Longbeck Lane, near Yearby, where the woman was raped by both men.
They were made to get out of the car six hours later in another area of Redcar.
Det Ch Insp Steve Young, of the Cleveland and North Yorkshire Major Investigation Team, said: "The area was busy at the time of the incident as people walked by with their dogs and local workers may have been on their lunch break.
"The victim was screaming for help as she was forced into the car. Someone must have seen or heard her. Anyone at all with information is urged to call police."
The force is also appealing for information about the two men in a dark-coloured saloon.
The driver, in his late 20s or early 30s, was white, with short, brown hair and a large build, police said. He had the word "love" tattooed across his knuckles.
The other man was white, in his early 20s, of shorter height and medium build, with brown hair. | Police investigating the rape of a woman said her screams as she and her toddler were forced into a car would have been heard. |
33,121,766 | Curry Mallet is one of 25 locations celebrating the signing of charter by King John in Runnymede on 15 June 1215.
Magna Carta established that the king was subject to the law rather than being above it.
William Malet, the feudal baron of Curry Mallet, born around 1175, was one of Magna Carta's guarantors.
The former Lord of the Manor of the village was one of the 25 rebel barons present at the signing.
A district council grant helped the village commission the signs by Somerset-based designer Belinda Magee.
Ms Magee worked with the Curry Mallet community to create a theme that reflected the "heritage" of the village.
With a population of 306, Curry Mallet is one of the smallest communities involved in the celebrations, and the furthest south west, the council added.
Village events over the anniversary weekend include taking part in a national peal of bells, choral performances, a pageant and a re-enactment of the sealing of Magna Carta. | One of the smallest communities involved in Magna Carta celebrations has unveiled new signs to mark its 800th anniversary. |
33,637,586 | Windows 10 is destined to change the way millions of us interact with our computers and gives Microsoft's chief executive, Satya Nadella, the opportunity to steer the company in a new direction.
He describes the OS as "Windows as a Service", which means he plans to release improvements as they become available, via the internet, rather than working towards another "big bang" upgrade in a few years.
Versions of the software will also be released for smartphones - making the Windows Phone OS defunct - as well as the Xbox One games console, "internet of things" kit and, potentially, smartwatches at a later stage.
There has even been talk of this being the "last version of Windows" assuming all goes well - so no pressure then.
The best explanation Microsoft has given for jumping a number has been in the form of a very nerdy joke: "Windows 10 because seven, eight, [ate] nine."
The suspicion is the company's marketers just think it sounds cooler.
And, of course, there is the added benefit that it further distances the product from the ill-fated Windows 8 while catching up in numeric terms with Apple's rival Mac OS X.
At first look, at least on a desktop PC, the user interface looks pretty similar to the popular Windows 7.
Microsoft is pitching the product as being "familiar and easy to use", as part of a shift away from the unpopular touch-centric focus of Windows 8.
Perhaps the headline feature is the return of the Start Menu, providing users with quick pop-up access to their favourite apps, documents and settings.
It does, however, carry over some of W8's design language.
To the right of the list of sober-looking shortcuts, the Start Menu now also offers a selection of customisable "live tiles".
These can also launch favoured apps, but people may prefer to use them to get at-a-glance updates about how many unread emails they have, what the weather is doing, forthcoming diary alerts and other notifications.
Those pining for Windows 8's full-display Start Screen can still turn it back on via settings, and it appears by default on tablets when no keyboard is attached.
The other big addition is Cortana - the virtual assistant first featured in Windows Phone 8.1.
This makes sense of natural-language requests spoken or typed into a computer to help users manage their diaries, search the internet for information tailored to their interests, play music they might like, and control third-party apps, among other activities.
The more Cortana studies its owner's habits, the better, in theory, the suggestions it makes. Those who find this a bit freaky can restrict the data it has access to.
Other new features include:
No.
Microsoft is making it available to members of its Insider programme - people who tested preview versions of the system - from the start.
But it is staggering delivery to others.
As part of the process it is carrying out compatibility checks, so that PCs most likely to experience serious problems running the software do not get the upgrade until the relevant bugs have been dealt with.
If users have not already pre-registered for the download, they can do so by clicking a Windows icon in their taskbar. If it isn't there, they will need to carry out a complicated workaround to make it appear.
That means some people will have to wait days and perhaps weeks to get Windows 10 for free.
Some computer makers have already, however, rushed out machines pre-installed with the software to shop shelves.
Boxes containing the software on USB flash drives are also due to go on sale "between mid-August and September" for those that don't have broadband internet. Retailers - including Currys in the UK - are also offering in-store installs for a fee.
The money paid by computer makers to preinstall Windows on their PCs is one of Microsoft's biggest sources of revenue.
It also helps Microsoft direct business' budgets towards its lucrative add-on cloud services - including its Office 365 productivity suite, Azure cloud computing platform, and Dynamics supply chain management tools - as well as the IT support and training it sells.
There are also subscription fees to be made from consumers, whether it is charging for OneDrive cloud storage, calls made via Skype, or access to Microsoft's Groove music library.
Every customer lost to devices running a Google, Apple or Linux operating system is one more likely to spend their money elsewhere.
In addition, every company that decides to stick with Windows 7, Vista or even XP is one that will not be able to support all of Microsoft's latest technologies.
Windows Phone has also been a bit of a flop, at least in most countries.
Now, there is a new pitch: if you link a Windows 10 Mobile handset to a screen, keyboard and mouse, it can double as a PC.
This feature - called Continuum - might appeal to the billions of consumers in emerging economies for whom buying both a smartphone and a laptop would be unaffordable.
Consumers and small businesses are being offered a free upgrade of existing computers running Windows 7 or 8 at any point over the first year of Windows 10's release.
In addition, Microsoft's move to a "universal app platform" should make the OS more attractive to developers.
Microsoft will run a single app store, and every product should be compatible with a plethora of devices - including PCs, Xboxes, smartphones and the forthcoming HoloLens headset - as long as the computer involved is powerful enough and the coder has made the user interface responsive.
Microsoft is also making it easier for developers to port Android and iOS apps to the platform.
Until about a month ago, this was a common complaint about the preview builds.
But critics acknowledge many of their biggest gripes have now been addressed , even if there are some outstanding issues - such as Edge's lack of support for extensions.
Big businesses are still unlikely to adopt the OS on day one. Tech consultancy Gartner has advised its clients to wait until at least the second half of 2016.
However, one issue that may have deterred consumers has been addressed.
Microsoft caused controversy when it suggested people using the Home version of its system would have to add new features as they became available.
Matters were not helped when it explicitly said businesses would be able to wait until "quality and application compatibility has been assessed in the consumer market".
That led some bloggers to accuse Microsoft of treating the public like "guinea pigs".
But on the eve of Windows 10's release, Microsoft told the BBC it had added an option to defer all Home Edition updates, security fixes aside.
There remains, however, an incentive to buy the Pro or Enterprise versions, as their owners will be able to control which specific features are added.
One final thought: just in case you try Windows 10 and do not like it, it is worth knowing there is a "rollback" option that works for the first 30 days. | The world's most used operating system has made it into double figures. |
34,402,900 | Diabetes UK has criticised Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and called for a specialist 24-hour footcare referral service.
The charity has also created a display of 148 shoes representing the number of amputations over the past three years.
In a statement the CCG acknowledged it needs to improve its amputation rate.
The average number of diabetes-related amputations in Southampton has risen from 3.8 per thousand people in 2009 to 4.3 between 2011 and 2014.
This is above the national average of 2.6 per thousand people and is the seventh highest rate in England.
Diabetes UK said an estimated 80% of amputations could be prevented by increasing awareness and improving access to structured care.
Jill Steaton, from Diabetes UK, said Southampton's amputation rate showed "no signs of slowing down" and there had also been a delay setting up a planned referral service.
She added: "We are continuing to see too many people losing their feet and limbs when better healthcare could have prevented this from happening."
Gerry Buxton, 60, from Eastleigh, had both his legs amputated 13 years ago because of diabetes-related ulcers and has donated his shoes to the Diabetes UK display.
He said: "I support anything that brings the issue forward to the general public."
Shoes were also donated by other amputees and by celebrities, such as X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke and TV presenter Fred Dinenage.
A Southampton City CCG spokesperson said it was working with Diabetes UK and the health service to address the issue.
People can view the display outside the Bargate Centre, a closed-down shopping complex in Southampton city centre. | A charity has called for urgent action to address Southampton's increasing and above-average number of "preventable" diabetes-related amputations. |
34,589,354 | The national team played at grounds across the country from 2000-2007 while Wembley was being rebuilt for £757m.
Last year it was reported that paying off the costs of the national stadium would mean staging England games at Wembley for up to nine more years.
But last week the FA agreed a £300m package to refinance their loan, which they say will allow "significant annual interest savings." | England could play home matches away from Wembley from next year. |
38,662,645 | Bournemouth lost a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday, 3 January.
Barker, on Hitchin's books at the time, later posted: "Big hype just for a disappointment like the nine months leading up to your child's birth."
Barker, who was sacked, has until 25 January to respond to the charge.
He later apologised for his "disgraceful comments" and said that he would accept any punishment given to him.
Barker, who takes medication to combat the symptoms of ADHD and a mild form of autism, was sacked by both Hitchin and Codicote FC, where he had been on loan.
Arter and partner Rachel's baby daughter Renee was stillborn in December 2015.
In relation to Barker's charge, it is alleged he posted comments which were abusive and/or insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute. | Ex-Hitchin player Alfie Barker has been charged by the FA in relation to tweets sent to Bournemouth's Harry Arter about the death of his baby daughter. |
37,800,174 | Carrasco's fine individual effort put the hosts ahead and Gameiro added a second with a crisp low strike.
Sandro Ramirez pulled one back for Malaga courtesy of a superb free-kick before Gameiro struck again.
Although Stefan Savic was sent off and Ignacio Camacho reduced the deficit, Carrasco sealed victory late on.
Malaga had Gonzalo Castro sent off in the 89th minute for a second yellow card.
Diego Simeone's Atletico are in third place - three points behind city rivals Real Madrid, who are top of La Liga following their 4-1 win over Alaves earlier on Saturday.
Match ends, Atlético de Madrid 4, Málaga 2.
Second Half ends, Atlético de Madrid 4, Málaga 2.
Attempt blocked. Tiago (Atlético de Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Tiago (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Juanpi (Málaga).
Ignacio Camacho (Málaga) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Lucas Hernández (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ignacio Camacho (Málaga).
Second yellow card to Gonzalo Castro (Málaga) for a bad foul.
Gabi (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gonzalo Castro (Málaga).
Goal! Atlético de Madrid 4, Málaga 2. Yannick Carrasco (Atlético de Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ángel Correa following a fast break.
Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético de Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético de Madrid).
Ignacio Camacho (Málaga) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético de Madrid).
Duda (Málaga) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético de Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
Federico Ricca (Málaga) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Federico Ricca (Málaga).
Jan Oblak (Atlético de Madrid) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt missed. Duda (Málaga) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Juanpi.
Yannick Carrasco (Atlético de Madrid) hits the bar with a right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left from a direct free kick.
Mikel Villanueva (Málaga) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Yannick Carrasco (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mikel Villanueva (Málaga).
Substitution, Málaga. Duda replaces Pablo Fornals.
Attempt blocked. Juanpi (Málaga) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sandro Ramírez.
Corner, Málaga. Conceded by Juanfran.
Foul by Diego Godín (Atlético de Madrid).
Sandro Ramírez (Málaga) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Youssef En-Nesyri (Málaga) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Gabi (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Youssef En-Nesyri (Málaga).
Corner, Atlético de Madrid. Conceded by Juankar.
Tiago (Atlético de Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ignacio Camacho (Málaga).
Substitution, Atlético de Madrid. Tiago replaces Kevin Gameiro.
Goal! Atlético de Madrid 3, Málaga 2. Ignacio Camacho (Málaga) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Gonzalo Castro with a cross following a corner. | Kevin Gameiro and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Malaga despite playing a third of the game with 10 men. |
36,687,365 | Christopher Walsh Atkins, 40, from Gospel Oak, north London, and Christina Slater, 37, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, filed inflated invoices to take advantage of tax breaks.
They falsely claimed to have spent £5.7m and made significant losses on Starsuckers and Mercedes the Movie.
Atkins was jailed for five years and Slater for four.
Each of them was banned for 12 years from being a company official after they were convicted at an earlier hearing of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, theft and fraud.
Southwark Crown Court heard that the scam apparently allowed wealthy investors to falsely claim around £40,000 tax relief for every £20,000 invested.
Government tax credits, which were set up to help promote the British film industry, allow investors to claim back 40% of the film company's losses.
Walsh Atkins, who gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, made the Starsuckers documentary in 2009. It had attempted to expose falling journalism standards by selling fake celebrity stories to tabloids.
The pair had been nominated for a Bafta in 2008 for Taking Liberties, a film about the erosion of civil liberties.
Judge Martin Beddoe said it did not matter that they were using the money to fund films as opposed to "a yacht, a Picasso".
"You were neither making nor playing Robin Hood. What is not to be ignored is that both directly and indirectly you cheated the revenue of large sums of money entirely for your own purposes and you put at risk the loss of even greater sums.
"Moreover what you actually took home is really neither here nor there."
Jennie Granger, of HM Revenue and Customs, said: "This was an audacious attempt to defraud HMRC and was motivated by the pure greed of dishonest and wealthy individuals.
"The majority of those involved in this fraud had no interest in the film industry, or regard for the impact of their criminality on honest taxpayers." | Two Bafta-nominated film producers have been jailed for their part in a £2.2m tax scam. |
38,805,343 | Sally Yates, who was appointed by Mr Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, said she was not "convinced that the executive order is lawful".
The president's ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries sparked street protests in the US and abroad.
Hundreds of US diplomats have also drafted a "dissent cable" to formally criticise the order.
The cable says that the immigration restrictions will not make the US safer, are un-American and will send the wrong message to the Muslim world, according to a draft seen by the BBC.
The ban bars citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Court orders blocking aspects of the order were also made in several states over the weekend.
Ms Yates is due to be replaced by Mr Trump's nominee, Jeff Sessions.
In a letter to employees published by US media, she noted that the order had been challenged in court in a number of jurisdictions.
"My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is," she wrote.
"I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right."
Ms Yates was the deputy attorney general under Loretta Lynch, when President Obama was in office. She became the acting attorney general once Ms Lynch left the position.
President Trump asked her to remain as head of the justice department in an acting capacity until his nominee was formally appointed.
He also has the authority to remove Ms Yates from her post.
Senator Jeff Sessions is awaiting confirmation from the Senate to take up the position.
Ms Yates's remarks follow comments from ex-President Barack Obama that he was "heartened" by the level of engagement taking place across the country.
"Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organise and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake," he said in a statement.
By convention, former presidents tend to leave the political fray and avoid commenting on their successors.
However, Mr Obama had earlier said that he might speak out after leaving office if he felt Mr Trump was threatening core American values.
On the same day, hundreds of foreign diplomats and service officers prepared a formal objection to the order, using a "dissent cable".
The White House, however, said those complaining should "get with the programme".
While dissent cables are not that unusual, a state department official has told the BBC that this document has garnered "hundreds" of signatures, which would be "unprecedented".
And while the dissent channel is meant to provide an avenue for protest without fear of reprisal, there are strong indications that this administration might not see it that way.
The dissent channel was instituted in the early 1970s as an outlet for diplomats frustrated by US policy in turbulent times. The very first cable was filed by former Ambassador Jack Perry protesting against the Christmas bombing of North Vietnam in 1972, on the eve of the Nixon-Breszhnev summit.
In an early analysis of dissent in the foreign service, author Kal Bird notes that this had no impact on the Nixon-Kissinger Vietnam policy, and that precisely because few dissent cables ever changed policy, they came to be seen as a tool of "desperate last resort".
Read more:Diplomats' dissent falls on deaf ears
Press secretary Sean Spicer criticised those diplomats and foreign service officers drafting the dissent cable.
"Again, you talk about, in a 24-hour period, 325,000 people from other countries flew in through our airports and we're talking about 109 people from seven countries that the Obama administration identified," he told reporters.
"And these career bureaucrats have a problem with it? I think they should either get with the programme or they can go." | The US acting attorney general has told the justice department not to defend President Trump's immigration order. |
37,894,488 | The two-week blitz on phone use behind the wheel will see anyone caught fined £100 and given a three-point penalty.
Illegal calling and texting while driving has risen nationally and is expected to be the number one cause of road death and injuries in 2016.
In Wales, more than 500 people were caught during last year's campaign.
Gwent Police is leading the crackdown for the four Welsh forces this year.
Ch Insp Huw Jones said: "Even experienced and competent drivers can be easily distracted and a slight lapse in concentration can have serious consequences.
"Smart phones are a key part of modern life and we are also seeing drivers being distracted whilst checking social media, reading their emails or accessing the internet. Drivers need to be aware that these actions carry the same danger and the same penalty.
"Our main message is clear; keep your eyes on the road. A lapse in concentration when driving can be devastating and this is why officers from all four Welsh forces will be carrying out proactive patrols to target motorists who endanger road users in this way."
Susan Storch, chairwoman of Road Safety Wales, said: "Driving a vehicle requires us to multi-task so anything above and beyond that needs to wait until we are safely parked up or until our journey has finished.
"No call or text is that important."
Last month, lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was jailed for 10 years after killing a mother and three children while distracted by his phone on the A34 in Berkshire. | Motorists who use mobile phones while driving are being warned they face sanctions as the Welsh forces launch a campaign to crack down on the practice. |
38,619,050 | City were in front inside three minutes as keeper Jason Steele brought down David Cotterill and Lukas Jutkiewicz converted the penalty.
Rovers levelled in first-half stoppage time when Danny Graham swept in from 10 yards after Derrick Williams' cut-back.
Both sides had chances to win it, but Sam Gallagher fired over and Jason Steele superbly denied Ryan Shotton.
The visitors could not have wished for a better start, with Jutkiewicz's spot-kick conversion meaning he has now scored four of his side's five goals since Zola took charge.
And Birmingham would have been two goals up had Steele not partially atoned for his penalty concession by saving well from Cotterill.
Rovers gradually began to get back into the game and Hope Akpan saw his header saved at the second attempt by Tomasz Kuszczak.
Graham should have scored on the stroke of half-time when he headed wide from eight yards but almost immediately found the net for his 11th of the season after a fine Blackburn move.
Blues lost keeper Kusczak at half-time because of blurred vision but both sides showed plenty of appetite to find a winner in the second half.
Jutkiewicz was relieved to see an offside flag after missing a sitter and Akpan blasted too high for Rovers, but both teams had to settle for a point in the end.
The Blues have now failed to win any of Zola's first eight games in charge, while Blackburn remain in the Championship relegation places.
Blackburn manager Owen Coyle: "It's not the start anybody envisaged. I think it's such an avoidable penalty to give away and, of course, that plays into Birmingham's hands.
"At 10 minutes in, given we'd started with two strikers, we had to change to match up. From that point on, we dominated the game and really took charge of it.
"The equaliser was no more than we deserved at that point and in the second half we were the aggressors again, but always accepting Birmingham would be dangerous on the counter attack."
Birmingham manager Gianfranco Zola: "I'm disappointed because I think we created our own problems. We went one up, were in total control, had a great chance to get the second goal and then we stopped.
"We started making silly mistakes in the passing - something that has been very good so far. We stopped and we allowed them to come back. We fed their confidence by making those silly choices.
"Then it's been an open game in the second half. They had one good chance and we had two great chances. The disappointing thing for me is we let them come off the hook."
Match ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Birmingham City 1.
Second Half ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Birmingham City 1.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Ryan Nyambe.
Offside, Birmingham City. Craig Gardner tries a through ball, but Lukas Jutkiewicz is caught offside.
Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Danny Guthrie replaces Hope Akpan.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers) because of an injury.
Foul by Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City).
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Jason Steele.
Attempt saved. Ryan Shotton (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Craig Gardner with a cross.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Derrick Williams.
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Ryan Nyambe.
Hand ball by Che Adams (Birmingham City).
Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Ryan Nyambe.
Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Craig Conway replaces Sam Gallagher.
Offside, Blackburn Rovers. Derrick Williams tries a through ball, but Danny Graham is caught offside.
Substitution, Birmingham City. Kerim Frei replaces David Cotterill.
Attempt missed. Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Liam Feeney with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Jonathan Grounds.
Substitution, Birmingham City. Maikel Kieftenbeld replaces David Davis.
Michael Morrison (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Danny Graham (Blackburn Rovers).
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Michael Morrison.
Foul by Josh Cogley (Birmingham City).
Elliott Bennett (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stephen Gleeson (Birmingham City).
Danny Graham (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Craig Gardner.
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Jonathan Grounds.
Offside, Birmingham City. Che Adams tries a through ball, but Lukas Jutkiewicz is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right.
Attempt blocked. Elliott Bennett (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Liam Feeney.
Attempt missed. Hope Akpan (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Elliott Bennett.
Attempt missed. Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) right footed shot from very close range is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jonathan Grounds with a cross.
Foul by Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City).
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Josh Cogley.
Attempt blocked. David Davis (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Craig Gardner.
Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Gianfranco Zola's search for a first win as Birmingham City manager goes on as his side drew at Blackburn. |
40,093,724 | As well as seeking to encourage more girls and boys to take up the sport, organisers also want more females to follow cricket, while convincing young sportswomen there is a worthwhile career for them in the game.
Ironically, for what is the most financially lucrative women's world cup to date, making huge amounts of money from the event is not the main priority.
And there is a lot of cash around the eight-team tournament - with record prize money of $2m (£1.57m), healthy ticket sales, and big name International Cricket Council (ICC) global sponsors such as Nissan, Emirates, Hublot and Moneygram backing the event.
Rather, it is hoped that the money being spent now on the 28-day, 31-match, tournament, will be a catalyst that piques the interest of potential commercial sponsors in both the UK and elsewhere.
"What strikes me is that we have been presented with this huge potential for growth in so many areas, sporting and financial," Clare Connor, head of England Women's Cricket and a former national team captain, tells me.
"We have got a sport, cricket, that is looking for relevance. People are asking 'how can we help take cricket into a new era?'
"One way is to engage with young women and girls. We have to maximise these opportunities during the World Cup."
Ms Connor, who is also chair of the women's committee at cricket's governing body the ICC, said that irrespective of who wins, the world cup offers a chance to grow the sport in lots of creative ways.
One way is through the ECB's All Stars Cricket, aimed at providing children aged five to eight with a memorable first experience of the sport. The nationwide entry-level participation programme aims to get 50,000 girls and boys - and their families - excited by the game over the summer.
"We also have a soft ball initiative specifically for women." says Ms Connor, with a number of festivals being held during the World Cup.
As well as boosting participation, getting more women to follow women's cricket is a major goal.
"At the moment it is a fallacy to think women watch women's cricket. More males than females are cricket fans," the 40-year-old says.
"Cricket is not currently as relevant to women as it is to men, but the World Cup gives us an opportunity to change that."
She said that the majority of tickets, some 80%, had been sold to fans of England Cricket, and that she expected a high majority of them to be to men.
"But work by our marketing team does show there is a growing interest in watching by women," she adds. "That is why a lot of our marketing of the All Stars children's programme is targeted at mums, we are looking to engage them in the whole experience."
She said a new city-based eight-team Twenty20 tournament, due to start in 2020, was the ideal way to attract a new female audience.
"We have been looking at Australia and the Women's Big Bash, where 50% of spectators are women. They have totally altered the make up of their audience, and that is something we would look to emulate."
The tournament was brought forward so more matches sat in school term time. Just less than half of the matches are taking place on weekdays which presents an opportunity for local schools to witness tournament action live.
Meanwhile, Ms Connor says tickets for World Cup games have been priced to allow an affordable family day out. England's opening game against India is sold out, and 15,000 tickets have been sold for the final at Lord's.
England cricket player Anya Shrubsole on forging a cricket career
The 25-year-old is the daughter of Ian Shrubsole, a former Minor Counties cricketer in the 1990s. At 13 she was the first girl to join the Somerset Academy.
"I remember from the age of three or four my dad playing, and going out onto the pitch at the interval, throwing a ball around. That is my first memory of cricket. I then really got into it when I was at school.
"Back then, when I was growing up and coming through as a player there was an element of financial reward, but not enough to live off it. The money you received wasn't enough, you couldn't have afforded a mortgage.
"However, that wasn't something that was a real issue for me, I wanted to be as good as I could be.
"But I graduated at the same time that cricket turned professional. So I have never had the worry of trying to find a job alongside playing cricket.
"In means that in terms of staying in cricket, it is now a viable career option for young women whereas previously it wasn't. You make a living out of women's cricket, like you can with women's football. Before that you would have needed a separate job alongside.
"It is an immense honour to represent your country, One of the strengths of women's sport is that they are playing for the real love of the game.
"I think we are role models for youngsters. I am guilty sometimes of not thinking that I am, but anyone who plays international sport is a role model.
"The game is still in quite a developmental stage, and I am hopeful we will have a young audience growing up alongside the sport."
On ticket pricing, the ICC worked with a specialist agency to look at various ticket prices both at the venues (so including men's and women's cricket domestic and international), cricket as a whole, and also looked at other women's sports events in this country.
"We are not going to make a great deal of money out of it," says Ms Connor.
But she adds: "We are hoping that eventually the event becomes a commercial money spinner.
"For example, we hope that companies see there is an opportunity there to get involved in women's cricket, like Kia did a few years ago, when they became the official car of the England women's team.
"They saw the women's game as a real area of growth. As a challenger brand they were keen to work with women's cricket which they saw as a challenger sport."
Other positives for the women's game are the widespread media coverage being given to the World Cup. In addition to the scheduled 10 fixtures to be broadcast live on TV, the remaining 21 World Cup matches will be streamed live.
There will be radio commentary and video highlights on BBC radio and sport website.
Meanwhile, the ICC has committed to equal prize money for women and men's cricket by 2032.
"There will be a strategic plan to ensure that the game can deliver equal prize money in 15 years time," says Ms Connor.
"The women's game has only been under the ICC's auspices since 2005. If you think of the developments since then, it is a sport transformed. The World Cup will continue that transformation." | The Women's Cricket World Cup takes to fields across England this weekend, looking to bowl over youngsters and women, not to mention businesses, with their event. |
33,632,515 | The man and woman were found fatally injured when police and the ambulance service arrived to the property at Bentfield Gardens in Stansted at about 23:00 BST.
The 23-year-old is being held in custody, Essex police said. | A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two people died at a house in Essex. |
38,639,241 | After starting with a seven-game unbeaten run when he first succeeded Roberto di Matteo, Bruce's men have now lost five of their last nine games.
Bruce told BBC WM he has to be sure that any arrivals are the right ones.
"If there's been a failing, we've just bought and bought and bought," he said.
"It's just piled and piled and piled and that has not improved.
"But we are a big scalp. Everyone wants to beat us in this division. I have to be 100% right that the people who we are bringing to the club can handle playing for Aston Villa."
Three successive defeats without scoring, including the FA Cup third-round exit at Tottenham, has left them 13th in the Championship, 10 points adrift of the play-offs.
Apart from selling striker Rudy Gestede to Middlesbrough, his only January transfer business so far has been to bring in goalkeeper Sam Johnstone on loan from Manchester United and move out Pierluigi Gollini to Atalanta.
"We're never going to give it up," said Bruce after Saturday's 1-0 local derby defeat by Wolves. "But we have to be brutally honest with ourselves.
"We will keep working away to find the formula and eventually get a team which can mount that challenge. But, at the moment, we're short. The sheer lack of ability to do the basics at Molineux was not good enough. It epitomised everything I'm not."
"We're not making easy for ourselves," said Villa defender James Chester, who was reunited with Bruce when the ex-Hull City boss arrived in October, having been part of his first promotion-winning Tigers team in 2013.
"There's an awful lot of games to go, But if we don't start going on a run quickly, we're going to find ourselves further and further away."
The loss of Ivory Coast striker Jonathan Kodjia and Ghana's Jordan Ayew to the African Cup of Nations is a factor in Villa's decline of goals.
"They're obviously a big miss," Wales international Chester told BBC WM. "Kodjia has scored a lot of goals and Jordan has a lot of creativity. But there's still plenty of quality on the pitch.
"It doesn't seem to be working at the moment, and we're not keeping clean sheets at the other end." | Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce says any prospective new signings for the Championship promotion hopefuls must "handle" the pressure of being at a club "everyone wants to beat". |
35,541,244 | Oil and Gas UK's latest Business Sentiment Index drew the gloomiest response from companies since the survey began in 2009.
It said "deteriorating market conditions and the scarcity of new business opportunities" continued to be major concerns for the industry.
The latest index covered the fourth quarter of last year.
With a score of -32 on a -50/+50 scale, the index remained in negative territory for the sixth quarter in a row.
The index surveys representatives from both operator and contractor companies, including smaller enterprises.
Last month a report by accountancy firm Moore Stephens blamed plunging oil prices for a sharp rise in the number of UK oil and gas companies going bust.
Last year, 28 oil and gas service firms entered insolvency - up from 18 in 2014.
Moore Stephens said the increase was "an almost inevitable result" of the drop in the oil price and the consequent cancellation of projects worldwide.
Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced a £20m funding package to help the North Sea oil and gas sector.
The Scottish government also announced a new £12m fund to help people who face losing their jobs in oil and gas to gain new skills and find new work.
Oil and Gas UK operations director Oonagh Werngren said: "Many companies remain deeply apprehensive about the future, with two-thirds reporting activity down further in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter.
"For the majority of respondents, job losses continue, with 54% of respondents reporting a reduction in headcount. Two-thirds of respondents also reported falling revenues."
Ms Werngren said firms had also reported progress in reducing costs, with two-thirds of respondents undertaking "intensive cost reduction and efficiency measures" to keep their businesses competitive.
These included reviews of internal practices and the application of new technology to "evolve smarter engineering solutions".
Ms Werngren added: "Taking a co-operative approach to implementing efficiency measures will help the UK oil and gas industry weather the current downturn and ensure it emerges in robust shape to tackle future economic challenges.
"However, both fiscal and regulatory reform also have a key role to play in transforming the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) into a competitive, low tax, high activity basin that will be attractive to a variety of operators and support the continued development of the sector's world-class supply chain." | Optimism in the UK oil and gas sector has sunk to a new low, according to an industry survey. |
39,527,183 | Teachers of subjects not included in the EBacc league table measure are the most at risk, research from the ATL and NUT unions has suggested.
Of 1,200 union members polled, before the ATL annual conference in Liverpool, 93% were "pessimistic" about funding.
The Department for Education says funding is at record levels.
But in recent months school governors, head teachers, MPs and teacher unions have highlighted mounting financial problems in England's schools.
In December, the National Audit Office said funding was not keeping pace with rising national insurance and pension costs and the budget gap would reach £3bn by the end of the decade.
The two unions questioned teachers, support staff and head teachers last month - just over half were from secondary schools.
Almost three quarters (71%) of the secondary staff said there had been cuts to teaching posts in their schools in the past year, compared with 31% of the primary staff.
At secondary level, the greatest impact was on non-EBacc academic subjects, with 61% of respondents reporting cuts compared with 38% reporting cuts in EBacc subjects.
The English Baccalaureate or EBacc was brought in by the coalition government in 2010 for pupils achieving at least a GCSE C grade in English, maths, the sciences, a language and geography or history.
The percentages of pupils entering and achieving this standard are among measures used by government to determine a school's performance.
The poll suggests pupils' options are being narrowed throughout the secondary curriculum.
One London school has "shed" design technology at GCSE and removed religious education from the curriculum for 11-14-year-olds, according to a staff member.
Other teachers mentioned cuts to music, modern languages, drama, PE, and art, as well as to vocational subjects including engineering, construction, childcare and business studies.
Overall, 64% of secondary staff said there had been a reduction in vocational subjects in their schools.
According to the report, a quarter of secondary staff said their schools had cut teaching hours for some courses, "clearly creating a potential threat to students' chances of success".
At one Hertfordshire school, the teaching hours for A-level maths have been cut to four hours a week from five, said a teacher.
Of the staff polled at both secondary and primary levels:
ATL general secretary Mary Bousted warned: "Unless the government finds more money for schools and fast, today's school children will have severely limited choices at school and children from poorer families will be even further disadvantaged because their parents may struggle to provide the resources schools can no longer afford."
NUT general secretary Kevin Courtney said: "Parents cannot sit back and watch their children's education harmed by this bargain basement approach to schooling. More money must be found for our schools.
"Our government must invest in our country and invest in our children."
The two unions are due to merge this year to form the National Education Union.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said the government had "protected the core schools budget in real terms since 2010", adding that there was "significant scope for efficiency across the system".
"We recognise that schools are facing cost pressures, which is why we will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways and make efficiencies."
The spokeswoman said the new Schools' Buying Strategy would help schools "save over £1bn a year by 2019-20 on non-staff spend". | Pressure on school budgets in England is leading to a narrower secondary curriculum, with teaching posts in some subjects being cut, unions have said. |
14,620,900 | Bridgnorth Cliff Railway in Shropshire has been bought by Suffolk-based property developers Devitt and Sons.
The family firm said it was not intending to make big changes and that it would be "business as usual".
The cliff railway, which was built in 1892, has been owned and operated by Allan and Jean Reynolds for the last 15 years.
One of the new owners Malvern Tipping said: "My family are immensely excited about our involvement in this historical railway.
"We are very much looking forward to continuing this great service and tradition both for Bridgnorth and the many visitors."
Mr and Mrs Reynolds put the railway, incorporating Grade II listed buildings at the top and bottom of the cliff, on the market in March.
Jonathan Bengough, of agents Knight Frank, said: "The railway was sold after an unprecedented amount of interested was shown from right across the UK."
The railway transports people up and down the town's 111ft (33.8m) sandstone cliffs.
Two cars on parallel tracks, connected by steel ropes, counterbalance each other - as one rises to the top station, the other runs to the bottom station between High Town and Low Town.
The cars are now powered by an electric winding engine, but were originally driven by a system of water balance.
Mrs Reynolds, who is retiring with her husband, said at the height of the tourist season the railway made 200 journeys a day and carried 2,000 people, who pay £1 for a return ticket.
There are thought to be about 15 working seaside funicular railways left in England. | England's last inland funicular railway has been sold for more than £700,000. |
32,009,742 | The survey found out one in three of you say you eat unhealthy food more than three times a week.
We spoke to 1,432 children aged 7-12, across the UK.
The results come at a time when one in three kids is said to be overweight or obese.
I eat carrots, broccoli, peas and my least favourite vegetable sweet corn, with my favourite lunch/dinner such as fish fingers and chips. So I'm 50% healthy.
Aidan
I think I'm healthy enough because raspberries are my favourite food and I do tap dance, ballet, modern dance and swimming.
Orla, Devon
I try to think about what I eat and if it is healthy. I do football, tennis and swimming. I have to wait five weeks for pizza!
Jacob, York
I think I'm very healthy because my mum always gives me fruit/veg in my packed lunch.
Saraf, London
My favourite food is banana. I think more people should like fruit, like me and my friends.
Noelia, Scotland
I eat a lot of fruit and veg and we try not to eat out or have a take away more than once a month. I think that's reasonable.
Elsa, Birmingham
I eat veg most days but I have fruit everyday!
Jasmine, Doncaster
I think I'm very healthy because I exercise every day and I think about what I eat. I eat veg a lot. I only eat unhealthy food 3-4 times a week.
Dina
I think I eat healthy, because I have pepper and cucumber in my packed lunch every day and when we have unhealthy meals I have salad with it.
Emmie, Launceston
I am healthy on weekdays, but not very healthy on weekends!
Mark, High Wycombe
I am healthy because I always get my five-a-day and I exercise and eat healthy.
Abby, Sheffield
I need to try some fruit and veg but I find it really hard.
Steve, Portsmouth
I think I am quite healthy because I have an apple nearly everyday and I eat my veg.
Lavinia, Dorking | Newsround's big food survey shows more than half of kids don't eat any vegetables on a daily basis. |
33,543,876 | In a note following the Westland affair, press secretary Bernard Ingham urged her to take action to show the government "knows what it is doing".
He warned that so far it appeared to be "at the mercy of events".
Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine quit in January 1986 in a row over the future of Westland helicopter firm.
The battle for control of the company was one of the most divisive political rows of Mrs Thatcher's second term in office.
In his message to the PM in the months that followed, Mr Ingham said: "You need to be seen to be imposing your will on things."
His comments were echoed by the then chief whip, John Wakeham, who said ministers were behaving "as a string of one-man, single-issue pressure groups, without regard to collective responsibility."
He added: "This merely serves to give backbenchers and the media the impression that, far from being a united, purposeful government, we are a bunch of undisciplined politicians in unco-ordinated competition with each other."
Mr Ingham also criticised the approach taken to dealing with the media by Mrs Thatcher's ally, the then party chairman Norman Tebbit.
"In my experience, the media, and not least the BBC's Today programme, welcome advice, put in a constructive way, about where they have got their facts wrong," he wrote.
"This is quite different from moaning subjectively about programmes.
"I am afraid Mr Tebbit has acquired a reputation with some broadcasters as simply a moaner. This does no good."
In another note, after the 1985 Autumn Statement, Mr Ingham invoked one of Mrs Thatcher's most famous phrases as he noted that the "appalling press" he had expected had not materialised.
"The opposition is in a state of frustration/sulk/defeat because it does not know where to turn," he wrote.
"This is not a question of whether you are right or wrong. Most people haven't a clue either way. But their gut feeling is that they don't believe you are for turning, after six years."
He added: "So far, so good. We can't count on it lasting. But remember you are not for turning, have not turned and will not turn.
"That's the Maggie they know." | Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was advised to assert her authority over her feuding ministers, newly-released government files reveal. |
36,342,097 | The borough council loaned £10.25m to Northampton Town Football Club to redevelop the stadium and nearby land, but the funds have seemingly vanished, leaving an unfinished stand and the football club almost going under.
This story began four years ago when a decision was made to invest in the new stand. Now a police inquiry is under way into "alleged financial irregularities".
A BBC investigation has traced where most of the loan money seems to have gone, uncovering allegations millions of pounds was misappropriated by the developer appointed to oversee the project.
We've also discovered how some of it may have financed other schemes and how the developer disguised his funding of former council leader David Mackintosh's successful bid to become the MP for Northampton South.
These hidden donations are now the subject of another police inquiry, after the Electoral Commission referred our findings to them.
Mr Mackintosh said he welcomed both investigations and that he "will co-operate fully with police".
Below is our coverage to date. This timeline will be updated as we report on developments.
Council lent club £10m despite concerns
A senior council officer who had concerns about Northampton Town's finances left her post just weeks before her authority decided to loan the club more than 10 million pounds. The BBC has learned Northampton Borough Council's former head of finance hadn't been told about the plans.
Northampton Town stadium firm spent money on Spurs
A firm being investigated over "missing millions" meant to revamp Northampton Town's ground spent £36,000 on tickets and hospitality for a Premier League football club, the BBC can reveal.
'Hidden payments' to MP's fund probed
Hidden payments totalling £30,000 to a Tory MP's general election campaign are being investigated by the police.
Northampton Borough Council agrees a further £500k to chase Cobblers cash
A further £500,000 has been earmarked by Northampton Borough Council in its bid to recover the £10.25m it loaned to Northampton Town Football Club.
MP alerted to missing cash fears
Northampton Borough Council says it has no record of its former leader - now a Conservative MP - passing on a whistleblower's warning. David Mackintosh says this is "incorrect".
Football director ‘can’t be found’
A council trying to recoup £10.25m it loaned to Northampton Town Football Club has said it could not locate the father of the club's former chairman, it wanted to serve legal papers on.
Cardoza home sale cash to be held back
Solicitors are to keep half the proceeds of any sale of David Cardoza's £1.2m family home in case of further legal action, a court has ruled.
Northampton Town loan: Bid to stop house sale
Northampton Borough Council is seeking an interim injunction to stop the sale of a house owned by the wife of the ex-chairman of the town's football club.
'Missing millions' firm paid MP's costs
A Tory MP's general election bid got donations from a firm at the centre of an inquiry into the disappearance of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.
Northampton Town: Stand reopens at Sixfields
A football stand at the centre of a financial row has reopened for the first time in two years.
Loan to club 'financed other projects'
Thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to fund a football stadium project may have been diverted to finance a string of other schemes.
£10m football loan 'misappropriated'
Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money intended for a football stadium redevelopment was "misappropriated" by developers.
David Cardoza arrested over £10.25m loan to Northampton Town Football Club
The ex-chairman of Northampton Town FC has been arrested by police investigating a £10.25m loan given to the club by the borough council.
Northampton MP David Mackintosh on election campaign fund 'error'
David Mackintosh MP has said a failure to declare an election campaign donation was down to an "error".
Northampton Town: Council probe into missing £10.25m starts
A council leader said she will do everything in her power to retrieve millions of pounds of missing public money.
Northampton Town insolvency dismissal 'in best interests'
A council has withdrawn insolvency proceedings against Northampton Town Football Club, claiming it is in everyone's "best interests" now a deal has been struck with a new owner.
Northampton Town hearing 'to be withdrawn'
The future of Northampton Town has been secured after an agreement was signed to stop a hearing that could have seen the club go into administration.
MP David Mackintosh payments will not be investigated
Undeclared payments made to an MP's office by a businessman will not be investigated by police.
Northampton Town debt: Council says £10m loan 'will be recovered'
A council has said it has received a "number of offers" on land it claimed in return for an unpaid £10.25m loan for football stadium development.
Northampton Town players and staff paid after Kelvin Thomas takeover
Northampton Town's players and staff have now all been paid their October and November wages after Kelvin Thomas' takeover of the League Two club.
Northampton Town's winding up petition withdrawn by HMRC
The winding-up petition brought against League Two side Northampton Town has been withdrawn following a court hearing on Monday.
MP's party 'received developer payment'
A Conservative MP's local party was given undeclared payments linked to a businessman involved in a stalled stadium development.
Northampton Town: Kelvin Thomas takeover completed
Former Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas has completed his takeover of Northampton Town from David Cardoza.
Northampton Town: £10m council debt could be wiped out
Northampton Town could be relieved of its £10.25m debt owed to the borough council, after the authority agreed to back a deal to sell the club.
Northampton Town FC: Police start inquiry into 'alleged financial irregularities'
Police have started an investigation into "alleged financial irregularities" surrounding a council's £10.25m loan to Northampton Town Football Club.
Northampton Town: Council lodges administration petition
Northampton Borough Council has lodged a petition asking for Northampton Town to be put in administration in a bid to save the League Two club.
Stadium work boss had 'already failed'
The director of a company employed to oversee the development of a football stadium had failed in a previous business venture.
A football club chairman and his father were given a "loan" of more than £2.5m by a company set up to oversee the development of its stadium.
Chairman given £2.65m of club's cash
MP David Mackintosh 'feels responsible' over £10m unpaid loan
An MP says he "has to take some responsibility" over an unpaid £10.25m loan to a football club.
Northampton Town FC loan: Police in talks with council
Police are working with Northampton council "to see whether any criminality has occurred" in connection with its £10.25m loan to the town football club.
Northampton Town players not paid
Players and staff at Northampton Town Football Club have not been paid due to its financial problems, it has confirmed.
Northampton Town buyer looking for 'sensible deal'
A "sensible deal" to buy Northampton Town may not be possible, according to the man who wants to take control of the football club.
Northampton Town players facing pay delay
Financial problems at Northampton Town Football Club mean there is "every chance" players and staff will not get paid on time.
Northampton Town: £10m loan to club 'will not be written off'
A council loan of more than £10m to a League Two football club will not be written off, the authority has said.
Northampton Town: Sixfields contractors CDNL in liquidation
A company set up to oversee the development of a new stand at Northampton Town Football Club has been forced into liquidation.
Northampton Town issued with winding up petition by HMRC
League Two club Northampton Town have been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs.
Northampton Town must repay £10m loan to borough council
Northampton Town Football Club has been given three weeks to pay back more than £10m to the borough council.
Northampton Town: David Cardoza discusses council loan
Northampton Town chairman David Cardoza talks to BBC Look East about a sizeable loan the club have received from the local council, ahead of a proposed takeover by a London-based Indian consortium.
Northampton Town fans to protest at Oxford United game
Northampton Town fans are planning a peaceful protest before Saturday's League Two match against Oxford United over chairman David Cardoza's running of the club.
Northampton Town set for takeover by Indian consortium
League Two side Northampton Town are set to be taken over by an Indian consortium after both parties signed a heads of terms agreement.
Northampton Town Sixfields stadium 'dispute' halts work
Work to redevelop one of the stands at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium has been temporarily halted by a "contractual dispute", the club said.
Northampton Town FC stadium: 10,000 seats and 225 homes plan
Plans for a 100-room hotel, shops and houses next to a football stadium and athletics track in Northampton have been submitted to the borough council.
Northampton Town FC Sixfields plan to be debated
A land deal including a £12m loan that forms part of a stadium development in Northampton is set to be backed.
Northampton Football club agrees Sixfields redevelopment deal
Northampton Town Football Club has agreed a deal with the local council that will see a multi-million pound redevelopment of its Sixfields Stadium.
Development of Northampton Town's Sixfields to go ahead
A deal that could see new shops, offices and a hotel built on land near Northampton Town Football Club's stadium has been given the go ahead. | The people of Northampton want to know what has happened to their missing millions. |
37,299,114 | Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, was killed on 29 December as he left his Islington flat to post cards to friends and family to announce his daughter's birth.
Femi Nandap, 23, of Woolwich, admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey.
Three charges against Nandap had been dropped at court on 23 December.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had "insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction" over charges of possession of two knives and assaulting a policeman
Dr Ensink, a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who was leading a project to improve health in Africa, was stabbed repeatedly by Nandap on Hilldrop Crescent.
After the academic did not return from his short errand, his wife Nadja left the family home and found the street outside cordoned off and blood-spattered cards strewn on the pavement.
Nandap, who has a history of mental health problems, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea when he appeared via videolink from Broadmoor hospital.
Duncan Atkinson QC said the prosecution accepted the plea as it was "clear... there was an abnormality of mental function at that time".
Nandap, of Pett Street, had been charged with murder.
Dr Ensink was originally from Holland and had joined the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine almost a decade ago.
At the time of his death he was leading a study in the Democratic Republic of Congo to understand how to control and prevent cholera.
The school's director, Prof Peter Piot, said Dr Ensink was "passionately committed to improving access to water and sanitation in countries where children continue to die needlessly".
At an earlier hearing, Judge Charles Wide said there could be "considerable public concern" about why the three charges against Nandap had been dropped at the magistrate's court.
Julian Hendy of the charity Hundredfamilies, which helps families of those killed by people with mental health problems, said it was "another deeply distressing case of a... young family destroyed by the violent actions of a seriously mentally ill offender".
Nandap will be sentenced on 10 October. | A man who admitted stabbing to death an academic outside his London home had a knife offence charge against him dropped six days before the killing. |
37,164,607 | The proposed development at Mossend was originally declined in 2014 by North Lanarkshire Council but the developer, PD Stirling, appealed to ministers.
They later granted permission in principle despite a reporter recommending that it should be refused.
The judges said ministers had failed to give adequate reasons for the decision.
PD Stirling (PDS), which operates the existing Mossend Railhead in Bellshill, planned to expand the facility by creating the Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP).
It said the park would boost rail link capacity to UK and European markets.
PDS said the development had the potential to deliver 4,900 new jobs during the construction and operational phases.
When North Lanarkshire Council rejected the scheme in 2014, PDS appealed to the Scottish government which appointed Michael Cunliffe to report on it and make recommendations.
In his report, Mr Cunliffe concluded: "While I recognize that there would be substantial economic benefits and carbon savings, in my view these are outweighed by the adverse impacts on quality of place, residential amenity and green space."
He said: "I do not consider that a sufficient case has been made out that the proposal with its large rail freight park on Green Belt land would be..... 'the right development in the right place'."
In May last year, ministers gave approval for the scheme in a letter which stated that they did not support the reporter's recommendation to refuse the application.
North Lanarkshire Council later challenged this decision at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, where they claimed that ministers did not properly explain why they disregarded the reporter's concerns.
Lord Drummond Young, who heard the action with Lady Paton and Lady Smith, said: "In our opinion that decision letter does not contain proper and adequate reasons for reaching a conclusion that is contrary not only to the reporter's recommendations but also the provisions of the strategic development plan and local plan.
"In particular Scottish ministers have failed to explain why they disagreed with the reporter on a number of critical issues, and why they consider that the provisions of two relatively recent development plans should not be followed."
The senior judge added: "We accordingly hold that Scottish ministers failed to give proper, adequate and intelligible reasons for their decision to allow the appeal.
"For that reason we will allow the present appeal and quash the decision of Scottish ministers." | Judges have overturned a Scottish government decision to grant planning permission for an expanded rail freight terminal in North Lanarkshire. |
38,308,763 | Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant said progress had been made but UK government welfare reforms were hindering Welsh Government ambitions.
He said it did not have the power needed to make the significant changes needed to reach the goal.
The Department for Work and Pensions said welfare reforms were helping people who can work get employment.
In 2015, almost 72,000 children were living in workless households in Wales.
The 2020 target is a long-standing goal and was restated in a child poverty strategy last year.
Mr Sargeant said progress had been made in number of areas, including improvements in the school performance of children who receive free school meals, fewer children now living in workless households and higher employment rates.
But Mr Sargeant said the Welsh government lacked the power to make some of the required policy changes.
In an update to AMs, he said: "Our commitment to tackling child poverty is not in doubt.
"However, the decisions and actions of the UK government on welfare reform, which, alongside changes in the labour market play a major part in the forecasted rise in poverty, mean that we are not going to be able to achieve our ambition to eradicate child poverty by 2020."
"The Welsh Government does not hold the primary policy and fiscal levers, especially in terms of the welfare system, needed to enable us to deliver the significant changes needed.
"The issues we face can therefore, only be tackled through new ways of working. Within a context of stretched resources and reducing budgets, we need to focus our efforts where we can have most impact with the levers we have available."
Going forward, he said a "new, whole-government approach" was needed to help tackle child poverty.
He said this included improving people's wellbeing, economic prosperity and employment opportunities.
Children's Commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland, said more than 200,000 children in Wales were living in poverty - 60% of those in homes with parents who work - which she said was "simply unacceptable".
She added: "Instead of an arbitrary target we now need to deliver an ambitious plan with specific and measurable actions that will improve outcomes for children and families in poverty."
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman said: "Our welfare reforms make sure that work always pays, providing opportunity for all those who can work and safety net for those who can't work.
"Since 2010, the number of people living in poverty has fallen by 300,000 but we know there's more to do.
"That's why we're increasing the National Living Wage and taking millions of people out of income tax, to make sure it always pays to be in work." | A target to end child poverty in Wales by 2020 cannot be achieved, the Welsh Government has admitted. |
37,708,214 | Selby had been due to face Hermogenes Castillo, also of Nicaragua, but the 21-year-old has pulled out at the last minute with a hand injury.
The 27-year-old became the fastest Welsh boxer to a British title with victory over Louis Norman in May.
He is undefeated in five fights since turning professional in 2015.
IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby says brother Andrew is a "natural fighter".
"I'm not saying it because he's my brother but he's one of the most talented boxers I've seen," he said.
"He does stuff in the gym that you cannot teach. He's just a natural fighter."
Former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan said Selby is "one of the best talents" he has ever seen.
Older brother Lee has sparred against his sibling in the build-up to Friday's fight at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh.
"He's looking brilliant and I've got a black eye to prove it," he told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"It's like trying to swat a fly and you get stung by a bee. That's what it's like chasing round the ring - you just can't hit him.
"He hits you about five times before you move your hands."
After the Edinburgh fight, the younger Selby will face a yet to be announced opponent on 18 November at London's Wembley Arena.
Lee Selby has said he is likely to defend his IBF featherweight title against Jonathan Victor Barros in mid-December in the United States. | British champion Andrew Selby will now face Nicaraguan Felix Moncada in a 10-round international flyweight contest in Edinburgh on Friday. |
26,444,731 | The groups, including Women's Aid, say current legislation focuses too much on specific incidents, such as an assault.
They say the law fails to take into account power and control, which are the essence of domestic abuse.
The Home Office said it would carefully consider the idea after a police review of domestic abuse was completed.
Women's Aid, the Sara Charlton Charitable Foundation and stalking advice service Paladin have urged the government to criminalise "coercive control", patterns of abusive behaviour and causing psychological harm, in order to make it easier to prove long-running abuse.
Coercive control, which can include being excessively jealous, stopping someone from seeing family and friends or controlling what a victim wears, was included in the Home Office definition of domestic violence last year, but is not currently a criminal offence.
The groups carried out an online survey of 258 abuse victims between December 2013 and last month and found that 88% of them did not think the criminal justice system took psychological harm into account.
In addition, 94% of the respondents said mental cruelty could be worse than physical violence.
The chief executive of Women's Aid, Polly Neate, said: "These survey results clearly reflect what our member services have been telling us for a long time - that the criminal justice focus on individual incidents of physical violence cannot reflect the ongoing psychological harm caused by coercive control in intimate relationships.
"Currently two women a week die at the hands of a partner or ex-partner; the next step to preventing these deaths is reform to allow the criminal justice system to take account of patterns of controlling and violent behaviour." | Psychological abuse should be made a crime in England and Wales in order to save more victims of domestic violence, campaigners have said. |
36,429,104 | Scott Hilling, 25, was staying with Kathleen Griffin at her Clacton home at the time he killed her, the jury heard.
The court was told he stripped her body naked before trying to burn it.
At Chelmsford Crown Court Mr Hilling denies murdering Mrs Griffin in Old Road in the town on 17 December, but admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Ms Griffin, known as Kathy, was struck so hard in the face that she suffered brain damage.
The 57-year-old was tied up by her wrists, a scalpel was used as a "torture device" claimed Mr Gair, to make 'superficial wounds' over the victim's body.
She was then stabbed with a kitchen knife 13 or 14 times in the neck, chest, abdomen and back, he told the court.
The court heard he then doused her body with lighter fuel before attempting to set it alight.
Mr Hilling's clothes which were seized when he was arrested, had the victim's blood on a jacket sleeve and on his trainers, the jury was told.
The trial continues. | A man tortured a grandmother with a scalpel before stabbing her to death, a court heard. |
35,815,950 | Best, 33, was reported to have a tight calf but the Ireland management are confident the hooker will resume training on Thursday.
"The medics feel like he should be fine and ready to go for Thursday," said Ireland's skills coach Richie Murphy.
"He was a little tight in the calf at the end of training yesterday."
Murphy described Best's absence from Tuesday's session as precautionary, although the Ireland captain will need to prove his fitness on Thursday when the team for the Scotland game will be announced.
Simon Zebo looks certain to remain at full-back with Rob Kearney again ruled out by the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the 58-15 win over Italy.
Eoin Reddan and Cian Healy, who also missed the Italy game, will be in contention to feature against the Scots after resuming training this week.
Prop Healy was ruled out against Italy with a hamstring issue while scrum-half Reddan was sidelined with a calf problem.
"Eoin Reddan returned to training on Tuesday. Cian Healy trained Monday and Tuesday as well," added Murphy.
Ireland could well field the same starting XV as against Italy should Best come through his fitness worry, with the return of Leinster duo Healy and Reddan potentially bolstering resources on the bench. | Ireland captain Rory Best missed training on Tuesday but is still expected to be fit for Saturday's Six Nations game against Scotland. |
40,108,246 | The 27-year-old former England Under-21 international made 119 appearances for the Canaries after joining them from Peterborough in 2012.
Bennett also had talks with promoted Sheffield United, but has chosen to move to Molineux instead.
He has agreed a three-year contract to become Wolves' first summer signing and will join officially on 1 July.
"It was just a case of me picking which club had the most ambition within what I want to do," Bennett told Wolves' website.
Wolves parted company with head coach Paul Lambert, who signed Bennett during his time at Carrow Road, on Tuesday.
Former Porto boss Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as Lambert's replacement on Wednesday.
While the club had no manager in place, sporting director Kevin Thelwell has been looking after transfers.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Wolves have signed centre-back Ryan Bennett following his release by Championship rivals Norwich City. |
22,712,752 | A report presented to the meeting will call for a moratorium on their use while the ethical questions they raise are debated.
The robots are machines programmed in advance to take out people or targets, which - unlike drones - operate autonomously on the battlefield.
They are being developed by the US, UK and Israel, but have not yet been used.
Supporters say the "lethal autonomous robots", as they are technically known, could save lives, by reducing the number of soldiers on the battlefield.
But human rights groups argue they raise serious moral questions about how we wage war, reports the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.
They include: Who takes the final decision to kill? Can a robot really distinguish between a military target and civilians?
If there are serious civilian casualties, they ask, who is to be held responsible? After all, a robot cannot be prosecuted for a war crime.
"The traditional approach is that there is a warrior, and there is a weapon," says Christof Heyns, the UN expert examining their use, "but what we now see is that the weapon becomes the warrior, the weapon takes the decision itself."
The moratorium called for by the UN report is not the complete ban human rights groups want, but it will give time to answer some of those questions, our correspondent says. | So-called killer robots are due to be discussed at the UN Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva. |
39,416,484 | Group trading profit rose 25% to £515m for the six months to 31 January.
Wolseley also said it was changing its name to Ferguson, which is its main US brand. The group makes about 84% of its profit in the US.
Wolseley was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100, with the share index closing up 50 points at 7,343.42.
Shares in Tesco finished 1.25% ahead at 191.20p. The supermarket giant announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary, Tesco Stores Ltd, had in principle struck a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office over its 2014 accounting scandal.
The agreement - which still requires approval by the High Court - only covers Tesco Stores and does not address whether liability of any sort applies to the larger international group Tesco PLC or any of its employees.
Tesco is paying a £129m fine and will also pay £85m in compensation to shareholders.
Separately, one of Tesco's biggest shareholders has warned that the retailer is paying too much for its planned takeover of wholesaler Booker.
Schroders fund manager Nick Kirrage told the BBC that Tesco was paying a "premium" and he had "major concerns" about the deal.
On the currency markets, the pound was down 0.35% against the dollar at $1.2514, and 0.28% down against the euro at 1.1528 euros. | (Close): Shares in plumbing goods supplier Wolseley bolstered the market, ending the day 5.57% higher after the company reported a big rise in profits. |
23,433,955 | The Most Rev Justin Welby told Wonga boss Errol Damelin the Church would do this by expanding credit unions.
These would act as an alternative to payday lenders.
Mr Cable told Channel 5 News that the Archbishop had "hit the nail on the head".
He added the Archbishop was "right not just to condemn abuse but to offer alternatives which are more ethical."
Mr Cable also said that the government was considering ways of regulating the industry.
"We're looking at whether we can stop advertising drawing people into payday lending who perhaps shouldn't be using it."
Archbishop Welby said the plan is to create "credit unions that are... engaged in their communities."
Mr Damelin said he was "all for better consumer choice".
Payday firms offer short-term loans, often at high interest rates, and have been accused of leading people into more debt.
Archbishop Welby, a former financier who sits on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, has previously lobbied for a cap on high interest rates charged by loan companies.
Q&A: How to borrow from a credit union
He said the Church could do more to help non-profit lenders to compete with payday firms.
"I've met the head of Wonga, and we had a very good conversation," the archbishop told Total Politics magazine.
"I said to him quite bluntly that 'we're not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence; we're trying to compete you out of existence'."
He said of Mr Damelin's response: "He's a businessman; he took that well."
Mr Damelin later said: "There is mutual respect, some differing opinions and a meeting of minds on many big issues.
"On the competition point, we always welcome fresh approaches that give people a fuller set of alternatives to solve their financial challenges. I'm all for better consumer choice."
Earlier this month, Archbishop Welby launched a new credit union aimed at clergy and church staff. Credit unions charge their members low rates of interest to borrow money.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the archbishop's plan was to go to some of the 500 independent loan companies and say to them, "We will help you by letting you have access to our buildings and expertise".
Our correspondent said the Church would not run the companies but would help them and allow them to work on its premises.
"I think the archbishop would see this as a social good countering a social evil," he said.
He also said it was quite possible that in future people could go to church when they needed to borrow money.
"Churches are already being used as libraries and shops and post offices. It's part of a wider trend for churches to try and become more relevant to people's everyday lives."
Charities such as Christians Against Poverty already use church premises to offer debt counselling to those in difficulty.
The Association of British Credit Unions said it was a good idea to harness the skills among church congregations to help credit unions grow.
"We believe it is speed and convenience which attracts people to payday lenders, not the short term nature of the loans. The amount of loans which are rolled over demonstrates how the short-term nature of the product is in itself not in the best interests of consumers - even before the high interest charges are added on," it said.
By Robert PigottReligious affairs correspondent, BBC News
This is fully in line with the Church's efforts to capitalise on its 16,000 buildings - present in every corner of England - and to remain relevant to the lives of people whether or not they go to its services
Churches already serve as shops, cafes, post offices and libraries, as well as meeting places.
Christianity does not have as much of a problem with money lending and interest as Islam.
But the sin of usury - the charging of excessive interest - is condemned in the Bible and Justin Welby himself has warned of the dangers of usurious lending, saying it was bad for society at large.
This is the Church's way of integrating itself into the fabric of life, tackling what it sees as a social wrong, and living out its message at the same time.
"Credit unions have been shown to be best value in the UK market up to about £2,000, and many will match bank rates for higher value loans as well. They lend responsibly and ensure repayment terms are affordable for the borrower."
However, the association accepted that credit unions could do more to compete with payday lenders, by improving online applications and speedy decisions on loans.
In April, the government announced an investment of £36m in credit unions, to help them offer an alternative to payday lenders.
Wonga has said it charges about 1% a day on its consumer loans, which are short-term, and for small amounts.
The lender said there was room for more competition in the market.
"The Archbishop is an exceptional individual, with our discussions ranging from the future of banking and financial services to the emerging digital society," Mr Damelin said.
"On his ideas for competing with us, Wonga welcomes competition from any quarter that gives the consumer greater choice in effectively managing their financial affairs."
This view was echoed by the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), which represents many other payday lenders.
"Everyone needs access to banking and credit facilities in the modern world and so we welcome any support for the credit unions, which we see as complementary to short-term lenders," said Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of the CFA.
By Dr Alastair McIntoshCentre for Human Ecology
Several passages in the Old Testament condemn usury. This meant that lending money at interest was forbidden within the Jewish community and to the poor, but was permitted to outsiders.
As for Christianity, there is a passage in the Gospels (Luke 6: 34-35) where Jesus says that if you lend, you should not expect anything in return. This was taken by the medieval Roman Catholic Church to mean that usury should be forbidden among Christians.
But in the 16th century, with the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin of Geneva proposed reinterpreting the Gospel's passage to mean that money lending should be allowed, as long as the rate of interest was not excessive.
Islam holds a firm line against usury, as it forbids charging interest to anybody. This means that Islam favours equity (or shared) financing over debt.
BBC Religion and Ethics
"High standards and responsible lending are our watch words and I have written to the Archbishop seeking a meeting to talk about the role of alternative finance."
An investigation into the payday loan industry by its regulator found widespread irresponsible lending earlier this year.
The industry, worth £2bn, was later referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading.
At an industry summit in Whitehall last month lenders were told they could face tighter controls, including limits on the number of loans that can be taken out and a cap on the total cost of credit.
The measures will be considered by the Financial Conduct Authority, which formally takes over regulation of the industry from next April.
Asked about Archbishop Welby's comments, Chancellor George Osborne said: "We are now regulating [the payday] sector. I am all in favour of credit unions and all sorts of other channels to allow families to get credit. I want to see as many options for families as possible."
Wonga hit the headlines this month when Newcastle United footballer Papiss Cisse refused to wear the team's Wonga-branded strip.
He pulled out of the club's pre-season trip to Portugal, saying he was not prepared to promote the payday loan company, citing his religion, and instead offered to wear an unbranded strip.
He has now reached an agreement with the club and will wear the logo on his shirt. | The Business Secretary Vince Cable has backed a plan by the Archbishop of Canterbury to force the online lender Wonga out of business - by competing against it. |
26,349,350 | Battling record fuel costs and unrelenting competition from subsidised rivals, Qantas has just announced 5,000 job cuts alongside an underlying pre-tax loss of 252m Australian dollars (£135m; US$225m) for the second half of 2013.
The cuts are part of the airline's ruthless make-or-break plan to revive its wilting fortunes by reducing costs by A$2bn over the next three years.
"Hard decisions will be necessary to overcome the challenges we face and build a stronger business," chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
So can Australia's national carrier turn things around?
An airline that began with flimsy planes ferrying passengers in windy open cockpits in the 1920s has been lobbying the government in Canberra to ease limits in foreign investment or provide state intervention to boost its financial health.
While unwilling to pour taxpayers' dollars into the country's ailing car industry, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey appears sympathetic to Qantas's plea for help.
Ministers are drafting new laws to allow foreigners to buy a majority stake in the airline and to strip away other restrictions.
The Qantas Sale Act, brought in under a Labor administration in 1992, prevents overseas interests owning more than 49% of the company. It also blocks any single foreign investor holding more than a quarter of its shares.
Qantas management has argued that the legislation distorts the market and stifles its ability to grow.
"The government is philosophically attracted to levelling the playing field," said the federal Transport Minister, Warren Truss.
The Labor opposition has insisted that Qantas should be supported by the state, because it would be against the national interest for it to fold.
Earlier this month, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson took out a full-page advertisement in Australian newspapers urging Canberra not to give a financial leg-up to its arch-rival.
"Should the Australian taxpayer be forced by the Australian government to prop up the Qantas Group, as federal Treasurer Joe Hockey is suggesting, businesspeople worldwide should think twice about investing in Australia for fear of such intervention in their sectors," Sir Richard wrote in the ad.
"It is not right for the industry and it will not benefit the travelling public or the economy."
Sir Richard's comments were a further escalation in a sky-high dispute.
Qantas claims that it is unfairly hobbled in its fight for customers, because domestic rival Virgin Australia is largely owned by three government-backed operators - Air New Zealand, Etihad and Singapore Airlines.
Even Virgin Australia's usually measured chief executive, John Borghetti, felt the urge to come out swinging, accusing the competition of being underhand.
"This is all about Qantas trying to get a free ride, and there's no doubt about that," he argued on Australian radio.
The Flying 'Roo has repeatedly stressed that it does not want handouts, but rather a debt guarantee from the government that would allow it to borrow at more favourable interest rates. The airline is under pressure to tame its finances as ministers consider their next move.
Media commentators, however, have accused the carrier's executives of leaking information earlier this week about the sweeping job cuts to force Canberra to intervene at a time when unemployment in Australia is creeping higher.
"This is megaphone diplomacy at its worst," said John Durie from The Australian newspaper.
"The obvious intent of this [speculation about job losses] is to get some sort of government assistance, but each time we get one of these headlines, which are deliberately encouraged by Qantas, it just damages the Qantas brand and I think it is ultimately self-destructive."
Chief executive Mr Joyce is due to meet trade unions on Friday to discuss the job losses, but in union circles, there is anger and anxiety.
The national secretary of the Transport Workers' Union, Tony Sheldon, has blamed Qantas's ill-advised foray into neighbouring markets through its budget airline, Jetstar.
"Quite clearly the company has made some very poor strategic decisions about its investment in Asia with its Jetstar operations," he said earlier this week.
Mr Joyce has previously defended Jetstar's operations in Asia, but on Thursday, seemingly admitted to mistakes. "This performance by our airlines is unacceptable and the current position is unsustainable," he said on Thursday, referring to the budget carrier.
He also said Qantas would defer receipt of the three Boeing 787 Dreamliners it had ordered for Jetstar, as well as eight other Airbus A380s it had on order for the group.
Michael McCarthy, chief strategist for CMC Markets in Australia, says these are critical times for the famous old company.
"It certainly has sentimental support, but those of us who are involved in markets tend to think it must sink or swim on its own merit," he said.
In 1921, the Qantas fleet consisted of two humble biplanes. It has grown to become a treasured part of the Australian story, connecting not only distant parts of this vast island, but also providing a gateway to places far beyond.
A country now waits to see what sort of drama the next chapter of this turbulent story will bring. | Australia's Flying Kangaroo is facing the most tempestuous times in its long history. |
37,092,781 | Media playback is not supported on this device
After receiving a bye in the first round, Britain's London 2012 gold medallist proved too classy for Kob.
Quick on her feet and dangerous with the jab, Adams dominated the flyweight bout, though Kob was aggressive and impressive working on the inside.
Find out how to get into boxing with our special guide.
Adams faces a semi-final against Canada's Mandy Bujold or China's Cancan Ran, whom she beat in the London final.
Defeated semi-finalists do not fight again and both receive bronze medals.
Adams is aiming to become the first British boxer to retain an Olympic title for 92 years.
"Once you get the first fight out of the way, you get rid of the ring-rust," Adams told the BBC.
"I wasn't at my best there but I'll improve as the competition goes on." | Nicola Adams guaranteed herself another Olympic medal with a hard-fought victory over Ukraine's Tetyana Kob. |
40,398,096 | Pham Minh Hoang served a jail sentence after being convicted in 2011 over articles that "blackened the image of the country".
Hoang, 62, was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday after losing his appeal against deportation.
It is rare for dual-nationals to lose the nationality of their country of origin.
US-based Human Rights Watch called the move "unprecedented and shocking".
Hoang had admitted having joined Viet Tan - a California-based pro-democracy group that Vietnam considers a terrorist organisation. But he denied his writings were aimed at overthrowing the government.
After arriving in Paris on Sunday, Hoang described how Vietnamese police had surrounded his house and taken him away with no prior warning.
He was allowed to meet French consular officials but could not say goodbye to his wife, Le Thi Kieu Oanh.
"It's Hoang's ideal to stay in Vietnam to raise a voice and contribute to building freedom and democracy," Oanh told Reuters news agency.
In a statement, the French embassy in Ho Chi Minh reminded Vietnam of human rights agreements on the freedom of expression it was a party to and must observe.
Human Rights Watch said the Vietnamese action "crosses many human rights red lines on freedom of expression, right to nationality and exercise of basic civil and political freedoms".
Human rights activists say dozens of government critics in Vietnam have been given long jail terms in recent years. | A French-Vietnamese dissident blogger has been deported to France after losing his nationality of birth. |
24,043,331 | The Football Association of Ireland announced his departure on Wednesday after a meeting with Trapattoni and assistant boss Marco Tardelli.
The pair had been contracted until the end of May 2014.
In his five years in charge, Trapattoni guided the Republic to the finals of Euro 2012.
The 1-0 defeat in Austria left Ireland with only a mathematical possibility of overhauling Sweden to snatch second place in Group C.
"I want to thank everyone in Ireland who has given us their support during our time here, which has always meant a lot to us," said Trapattoni.
"We leave this country with emotion because we understand the Irish supporters who have a well-deserved international reputation and they have our utmost respect."
Immediately after Tuesday's game in Vienna, the 74-year-old Italian had said he would wait for the FAI to decide on his future.
The verdict came the following morning with a statement announcing the manager's departure by mutual consent.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Trapattoni's scheduled post-match news conference on Wednesday had already been cancelled by that point, a move which heightened speculation that his departure was imminent.
Speaking immediately after Tuesday's game, Republic captain Robbie Keane paid tribute to Trapattoni's efforts with the country.
"It is very difficult for a player just coming off a result and speaking about a manager who has done very, very well for this country," said an emotional Keane.
"He has been a credit to his country and he has carried himself the way a man of his stature should."
Keane added that there needed to be a "realism" about the Republic's capability at international level.
"We're a small nation and I think people get carried away sometimes and expect us to qualify all the time," he said. | Manager Giovanni Trapattoni has left the Republic of Ireland by mutual consent following Tuesday's defeat by Austria in a World Cup qualifier. |
39,506,544 | The singer and celebrity chef are among 63 alleged victims to have issued a bid for compensation at the High Court.
News Group Newspapers already faced claims from 28 people who also allege their voicemails were intercepted.
More than 1,000 people have already settled with the company, which denies the practice took place at the Sun.
The latest claims include stories published by the Sun, after a High Court judge ruled in April 2016 there was enough evidence for claims against the paper to be heard.
The hacking revelations led to the closure of the NoW in 2011 after it emerged that journalists intercepted the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
Since then, celebrities including Hugh Grant and Charlotte Church have settled claims against the NoW over phone-hacking, while other cases - including actor David Tennant - are still being heard.
Christopher Hutchings of Hamlins Solicitors, the lead firm for the 91 claimants, said the inclusion of the Sun had led to more alleged victims coming forward.
"This surge in the number of claimants is a reflection of the expansion of the case to cover the Sun," he said.
Mr Hutchings added some claimants were seeking damages for "concealment and destruction of evidence" by NGN.
Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and theatrical agent Caroline Chignell are among the other people taking action, who include sporting celebrities, actors and entertainers. | Sir Elton John and Gordon Ramsay are taking action against the publisher of the Sun and defunct News of the World over phone-hacking claims. |
32,877,509 | It is proceeding despite Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson's admission to hospital with a suspected heart attack on Monday.
However, it is expected the welfare reform bill will be blocked.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP have signed a petition of concern, which means the bill will not get the necessary cross-community support.
Green Party leader Steven Agnew has also signed the petition.
He said: "There have been no significant changes to what has been proposed and this has left me with no option but to sign a petition of concern."
The debate comes a day after Mr Robinson, 66, was taken to the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald. The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party was then transferred to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) where he underwent a procedure.
But DUP sources told the BBC the first minister's illness did not change the urgent nature of the deadline facing the Stormont parties for agreeing a budget.
Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey of the DUP moved the bill on Tuesday, even though nationalist opposition means his measure looks doomed.
Mr Storey told MLAs that the "time for talking" was over.
The measure was designed as a way to safeguard minority rights in Stormont's power-sharing assembly.
If a petition of concern is presented to the assembly speaker, any motion or amendment will need cross-community support.
In such cases, a vote on proposed legislation will only pass if supported by a weighted majority (60%) of members voting, including at least 40% of each of the nationalist and unionist designations present and voting.
Effectively this means that, provided enough MLAs from a particular community agree, that community can exercise a veto over the assembly's decisions.
"Now is the time for decisions, for getting on with the implementation of reforms," he said.
He said there was a "tremendous responsibility on this House", adding "either we adopt the bill... or we don't and give way to an immensely worse outcome for those we serve".
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the political institutions in Northern Ireland were facing a growing crisis.
He said Sinn Féin concerns were "bigger than the issue of welfare".
"Our concern is wider than that. It's around the grave implications of further cuts threatened by the Tories."
The SDLP's Dolores Kelly said the threat of fines from the government over welfare reform was like a "gun put at our head today, metaphorically".
Mrs Kelly said it was not too late for the parties to get around a table "and thrash out all of the concerns we have" over welfare reform.
Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs said it was "the most difficult and controversial bill" that the assembly has debated in recent times, and his party did not favour all its contents.
"We do have choices. If this bill is not approved we will be the only part of the UK using the old benefits system, there will be less funds in many other public areas," he said.
"Let's be clear - there's no money tree, there's no going back asking for more money. We've been there lots of times over the past three years.
Alliance Party leader David Ford said while his party opposed many parts of the bill, they would nonetheless support its passage.
"We have to live within the administrative possibilities, we have to live within the financial realities," he said.
He added: "The reality is that if we do not agree this bill, we have the prospect of full blooded Tory cuts with no amelioration whatsoever," he said.
Gregory Campbell, of the DUP, said: "What we have is not perfect. It is rather imperfect."
"Do we sit tight and then it gets worse because that's what's going to happen, it's going to get worse," he said.
"Or do we adopt the better way and try to mitigate against the worst excesses of a welfare reform system that everybody else in the UK admits is better than what they have?"
First and Deputy First Ministers' Question Time was dropped from business on Tuesday due to Mr Robinson's illness.
The assembly has now been suspended until 14:00 BST.
Ahead of the debate, Finance Minister Arlene Foster of the DUP said: "The choice is very clear today, we either back the bill or we allow the bill to fall, which means that all of those top-ups that were negotiated will fall, the conditional support will fall, we'll continue to have to have the levies, the fines from Westminster of £9.5m per month currently - and those are going to increase.
"And of course we have a £600m pressure in relation to our budget.
"But Sinn Féin knows what the choice is. Everybody's walking into this bill today and they know the consequences if they don't back the bill."
Presuming the bill is rejected later on Tuesday, the executive faces a difficult situation, with the Finance Minister, Arlene Foster, calculating the Stormont departments will have to deal with around £600m in cuts.
BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport says that assuming the parties cannot agree to impose such a budget, the Northern Ireland Office may face fresh pressure to intervene.
Last week, Mr Robinson warned that the assembly could not survive the scenario that would unfold if the welfare reform bill was not approved.
The Northern Ireland parties had agreed a deal on Westminster's welfare reform in the Stormont House Agreement last December.
However, Sinn Féin withdrew its support for the bill in March. | Northern Ireland Assembly members are debating the final stage of the controversial welfare reform bill. |
37,571,970 | Weeping Window is to be installed at the Maritime Museum in the city centre for two months in 2017.
The building, formerly the Dock Offices, tells the history of the city's mariners.
The site has been chosen to highlight sacrifices made by the Merchant and Royal Navies, said Hull City Council.
Much of Hull's fishing fleet was requisitioned for mine-sweeping and many fishermen helped the war effort.
More on this story and others from East Yorkshire and the Humber
Artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper saw their full poppy installation, named Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, draw more than five million visitors to the Tower of London in 2014.
Each poppy represented one death in the British forces, a total of 888,246.
The Weeping Windows poppies are to be displayed in Hull from 22 March to 29 May 2017.
Hull is to be the UK's City of Culture 2017. | A sculpture featuring thousands of handmade ceramic poppies commemorating those who died in World War One is to be installed in Hull. |
36,347,706 | He was accused of hiring foreign mercenaries in an alleged plot against the state, which he denies.
Mr Katumbi's lawyer said he had been in hospital since police had fired tear gas during a protest.
Elections are due in November.
Prosecutors allowed him to travel for treatment on condition that he returned to face the criminal charges against him.
Lawyer Georges Kapiamba said Mr Katumbi was taken to hospital in Lubumbashi, after police fired tear gas at him and his supporters.
The politician was weak but boarded the flight unaided, he added.
Mr Katumbi has condemned the charges against him as an attempt to stall his campaign to replace President Joseph Kabila in November polls.
Mr Kabila, in power since 2001, is nearing the end of his second term and he is constitutionally obliged to step down by December.
But there is growing political tension as it is not clear if he will relinquish power.
Moise Katumbi was governor of the south-eastern Katanga province for almost a decade.
He is a wealthy businessman who has a lot of support in the mineral-rich south-eastern Katanga province, and was at one time an ally of the president,
But in September last year he broke ties with the ruling party when he accused President Kabila of wanting to cling to power.
His popularity is partly down to his job as the president of a great source of Congolese pride - football club TP Mazembe.
They are Africa's reigning football champions, having won the African Champions League for the fifth time in November.
Could Moise Katumbi become president?
Kabila unlikely to give up power | Moise Katumbi, the opposition presidential hopeful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has flown to South Africa for medical treatment, his lawyer says, a day after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him. |
32,397,636 | One bay on another ward at the site near Melrose has also been closed to admissions.
NHS Borders said the situation was being managed by its infection prevention and control team.
Visiting the department has been "strongly discouraged" and anyone who has had symptoms of the virus in the past 48 hours should stay away.
Dr Tim Patterson, consultant in public health medicine, said: "Norovirus is one of the most common causes of diarrhoea and vomiting illness.
"It is very infectious, spreads quickly between people and can start abruptly and spread quickly through communities.
"It is vital to protect yourselves and your loved ones from catching this unpleasant virus.
"Patients, visitors and staff can help minimise the spread by complying with instructions given by staff and paying attention to the signs at the entrances to the hospital and wards." | The department of medicine for the elderly at Borders General Hospital has been shut due to a norovirus outbreak. |
37,649,597 | The modern European bison, now found only in protected reserves, once roamed widely on the continent.
Studies of ancient DNA show the bison arose from interbreeding between the extinct steppe bison and the aurochs, about 120,000 years ago.
The scientific evidence was confirmed by cave paintings that depict features such as horns and humps.
"When we asked, French cave researchers told us that there were indeed two distinct forms of bison art in Ice Age caves, and it turns out their ages match those of the different species," said Dr Julien Soubrier, from the University of Adelaide.
"We'd never have guessed the cave artists had helpfully painted pictures of both species for us."
Early fossil records have shown that two major forms of bovids (a family of hoofed mammals, including cattle, sheep and goats) were present in Europe: the aurochs (the ancestors of modern cattle) and the steppe bison.
The University of Adelaide researchers used bones from 64 ancient bison to study the origins of the group.
"We were surprised to find that the DNA we were getting back from these bones didn't look entirely like the modern European bison, they looked quite different," lead researcher Prof Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, told BBC News.
"We determined that the European bison, bizarrely enough, is a hybrid between an auroch - which is the ancestor of modern cattle - one of the most ferocious wild animals, and a steppe bison, which ranged all the way across the grasslands of Russia, into Alaska and all the way down to Mexico in the Americas."
The findings are a surprise given that, genetically, cows and bison are quite far apart.
Hybrids (the offspring of two animals of different species) are rare - they break the rules of biology and are usually infertile.
The scientists had jokingly nicknamed the hybrid beast - the Higgs bison.
Like the particle long sought by physicists, they were not sure it existed, due to a gap in the fossil record.
"Finding that a hybridisation event led to a completely new species was a real surprise - as this isn't really meant to happen in mammals," said Prof Cooper.
"The genetic signals from the ancient bison bones were very odd, but we weren't quite sure a species really existed - so we referred to it as the Higgs bison."
Radio carbon dating of the bones revealed that each of the bison had been dominant at different times, due to changes in the environment.
The scientists found the age of the cave paintings matched this flux.
The cave paintings came from sites across France and Spain, including Grotte de Lascaux in the Dordogne and Grotte Chauvet-Pont d'Arc in the Ardeche.
Paintings from more than 18,000 years ago show creatures with long horns and hefty forequarters, like the American bison, which is descended from the Steppe bison.
However, more recent paintings (about 12,000 to 17,000 years old) show animals with shorter horns and smaller humps, similar to modern European bison.
"It looks like the cave artists were actually spotting the difference and actually recording them in their art," said Prof Cooper.
"And so the Higgs bison has been hiding in plain sight for all the time, and no-one recognised. The variation in cave art was put down to cultural or stylistic differences."
The European bison is now largely confined to the Białowieza forest between Poland and Belarus.
The animal was driven to extinction in the wild across Europe about 100 years ago through hunting and habitat loss.
There are now thousands in the wild, all descended from handful of individuals in captivity re-introduced into the wild.
The study is reported in the journal, Nature Communications.
Follow Helen on Twitter @hbriggs. | Cave art from the Ice Age has helped solve the mysterious origins of Europe's largest land mammal. |
37,234,975 | Firefighters were called to Cardiff Road, Glyntaff, near Pontypridd, just after 09:00 BST.
The fire service said the man and woman had been marooned on the riverbank after recovering the cat.
Specialist line rescue teams were called in and the pair were hauled to safety. | Two people from Rhondda Cynon Taff who climbed onto a riverbank to rescue a cat then had to be rescued themselves. |
38,832,927 | The car initially failed to stop for police on Belfast's Falls Road. It was reversed into a police car, injuring two officers inside.
The car was then driven out of Belfast towards Nutts Corner then across country, via Moira and Banbridge.
It was followed by police vehicles from several stations, before being stopped near Newry with a stinger device.
The police helicopter was also used in the pursuit.
PSNI Newry and Mourne said its officers "stung the subject vehicle and a short time later the pursuit ended on Craigmore Way".
In a Facebook post, the force said the cross-country pursuit involved officers from Belfast, Craigavon, Lisburn, Newtownhamilton and Newry.
Officers posted three pictures of the car on social media, adding "When first spotted this car was towing a trailer, not sure what it was connected to tho!"
A 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, driving whilst disqualified, dangerous driving, having no insurance, criminal damage and failing to stop, report and remain at a road traffic collision.
Police think the car may have hit other vehicles and say anyone affected should come forward. | A man has been arrested after police pursued a car from west Belfast to Newry on Wednesday afternoon. |
36,895,821 | Doors Open Day, on Saturday 24 September, will see the vintage vehicles running between Lothian Road and Newhaven.
The buses will travel along the number 16 route with a stop at Lothian Buses central depot in Annandale Street.
Passengers will then be able to see behind the scenes at the central depot.
Doors to the depot will be open between 12:00 and 16:00.
However, the vintage buses will be running every 10 minutes between 09:00 and 18:00, passengers will be able to travel on a fleet of vintage buses along Princes Street, St Andrew Square, York Place and Leith Walk to Newhaven.
Normal Lothian Buses fares will be accepted on the vintage vehicles.
At the depot there will be a display of new and vintage buses and people will be able to sit on a double-decker bus while it goes through a bus wash.
Richard Hall, Lothian Buses managing director, said: "We are really excited to be able to offer trips on vintage buses as part of our Doors Open Day programme this year.
"We hope that by giving people this rare opportunity to travel back in time on these special services, it will add to what is already a very popular event in Edinburgh."
The event will also have face painting, a bouncy castle and the chance to sit in the bus drivers seat. | Passengers will be able to ride on buses from the middle of last century as they make a return to Edinburgh's streets for a special day. |
39,629,051 | Prime Minister Theresa May announced an early election for 8 June, saying it was the only way to guarantee stability after the Brexit vote.
Mr Jones said the election was "not in the national interest".
But Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said UK ministers were in the position 'reluctantly'.
Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said the decision was right, while Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood tweeted: "Game on."
Mrs May's decision was taken during a walking holiday in Snowdonia with husband Philip.
Mr Jones reacted to the announcement first on Twitter, tweeting: "Calling an election in the middle of another election is odd. Northern Ireland peace process high and dry?
He later added: "I have to say though that this election isn't in the 'national interest'. Focus should be on Brexit and the economy not opinion polls".
"We won last year's assembly election based on our strong record of leadership and delivery," Mr Jones later said.
"We will enter the general election campaign, whenever it comes, from a position of strength and with a distinctive and innovative offer for the people of Wales."
Shadow Welsh Secretary, Labour Neath MP Christina Rees, said "Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a failing Tory Government at Westminster".
Tory Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "We're in this position reluctantly.
"We've seen that the opposition parties are using the parliamentary process to frustrate the Brexit negotiations, and leaving the prime minister potentially in a weaker position to negotiate with the European Union.
"This will strengthen the government's hand to get the right deal for Wales."
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said the snap election was "the right decision for the country".
"Here in Wales, both Labour and the Welsh nationalists have been in denial over Brexit, and have sought to undermine the process at every stage," he added.
He said every vote for the prime minister on 8 June "will strengthen Britain's hand in the negotiations ahead".
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: "Plaid Cymru is united and we're up for the opportunity to advocate for Wales' best interests.
"The more Plaid Cymru MPs, the stronger Wales' voice will be."
A spokeswoman for Plaid Cymru said Ms Wood had not ruled in or out standing in the Rhondda constituency.
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Mark Williams, MP for Ceredigion, said the poll was a "chance to change the direction of the country".
"If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance," he said.
Senior Welsh Conservative MP David Davies welcomed the announcement, telling BBC Wales: "A strong victory will help us achieve what we want to achieve in our negotiations with the EU."
Leader of UKIP in the assembly, Neil Hamilton, "welcomes the news of a snap general election".
"This is a great opportunity for the electorate to vote out those remain MPs in Wales and elect a UKIP MP who will represent their interests in parliament," a UKIP spokesman in Wales said.
He told BBC Wiltshire his party "will have a candidate in every single constituency" across England and Wales.
Wales will be heading to the polls for the fifth time in two years in June and all the political parties will have to scramble to select candidates and draw up manifestos and strategies for an unexpected contest.
Following a strong showing in Wales in 2015, the Conservatives face a shortage of obvious target seats, although party strategists will hope seats like Wrexham, Clwyd South and Newport West could come into play if the party's current lead in the polls holds up.
Unless Labour's fortunes revive, the party is likely to find itself on the defensive in Cardiff Central and Ynys Mon, where the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru will try to cash in on Labour's current difficulties.
Before engaging in the Westminster contest though, there's the little matter of the local elections on 4 May to deal with.
National politics always has an impact on the council results and that influence can only increase given the imminence of a general election. | Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones has criticised the decision to call a general election in the middle of a council election campaign. |
13,917,344 | A Malian security source said there had been "fierce fighting" at the base in the Wagadou forest region on Friday, including the use of heavy weapons.
Wagadou, near Mauritania's border, is an area where al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are known to operate.
Earlier this month, Mali and Mauritania agreed to lead a joint operation to tackle the al-Qaeda offshoot.
The attack took place at about 1745 local time (1745 GMT) on Friday and involved air strikes, according to a Mauritanian source cited by AFP news agency.
The source said the "terrorists" had struck back with "heavy weapons".
"The definitive toll on the enemy side will only be known at dawn but it will be heavy. The tents of the camp and three vehicles have been destroyed," the source said.
"We are in control of the situation and the zone has been secured."
The Malian source said helicopters from Mali had been used to evacuate the wounded from the area.
Regional governments has been on high alert since the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May, amid concern that affiliated groups might plot a revenge attack.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has staged attacks and kidnapped Europeans in the region.
It emerged from Islamist groups fighting in Algeria in the 1990s. | Mauritanian and Malian soldiers have raided an al-Qaeda camp in western Mali, defence sources said. |
36,469,497 | He was speaking in Cork Opera House at a send-off event for the Republic's team last week.
The Kilrea man joked that two backroom staff accompanied him and assistant boss Roy Keane to the Super Bowl in the USA so that people would not think that he and Keane were "queers".
He apologised on Monday, describing the remark as "crass".
He added: "If I have made inappropriate comments, I obviously apologise for it.
"I will attempt for the rest of my time here not to make such inappropriate comments.
"Almost the minute I had said it, I realised that I should not have said that, absolutely. I should not have said it," he is quoted as saying.
A spokesperson for Ireland's only gay football team, the Dublin Devils, has described O'Neill's comments as "hurtful, unhelpful and disappointing" but has welcomed the apology.
Club chairman John McAree said: "The club was disappointed to hear O'Neill's comments as they do nothing to help with the ongoing issue of homophobia in the world of football - in fact, his comments are part of the problem.
"This is the wrong message to send to the LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex] community a week before the Euro 2016 championships.
"O'Neill is an idol to many young gay teens all over Ireland. His comments will make them feel isolated, confused and different.
"Many young LGBTI men and women play football at local level and support Ireland at International level.
"Many club members from the Dublin Devils will be in France next week wearing the Green Jersey supporting and shouting for Ireland.
"Our sexuality does not define us in the club. We see ourselves as a group of gay men who love to watch, support and play football."
This latest apology follows comments O'Neill made earlier this year, joking that "uglier" wives and girlfriends will not be allowed to visit the squad during Euro 2016. | The Republic of Ireland manager, Martin O'Neill, has apologised for using the word "queers". |
34,675,212 | A PTI spokesman made an announcement on Imran Khan's official Facebook page. Ms Khan also confirmed on Twitter that they had decided to part ways.
The pair got married in January at Mr Khan's home.
The former cricketer was previously married to British journalist and activist Jemima Goldsmith.
PTI spokesman Naeem Ul Haque asked for the media to "refrain from any speculation" due to the sensitivity and seriousness of "this extremely painful matter".
"There will be no further communication in this respect," he added.
Mr Khan echoed the request to be left alone on Twitter: "This is a painful time for me & Reham & our families. I would request everyone to respect our privacy."
He denied that there had been any financial settlement between them, adding: "I have the greatest respect for Reham's moral character & her passion to work for & help the underprivileged".
Reham Khan, a journalist, said on her Twitter page: "We have decided to part ways and file for divorce."
Mr Khan and Ms Goldsmith were married for nine years and divorced in 2004. They have two sons who live in the UK.
Last year Imran Khan was at the helm of major protests and rallies calling for political reform and for Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down. | Imran Khan, head of Pakistan's opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and his wife Reham Khan have filed for divorce, 10 months after they wed. |
35,562,540 | The inky creased gloves can be seen in the National Museum in Dublin and are among the artefacts to feature in Ireland's Treasures Uncovered.
For presenter Dr Gavin Hughes, they are a touchstone to the past.
They are a link to a moment in 1690 on the Irish battlefield of the Boyne.
"On the night of the battle, they say that William slept in his carriage and then the next night one of his officers, Sir John Dillon, invited him to stay at Lismullen House, County Meath.
"He must have been in fairly buoyant mood as he showered Sir John with presents," he said.
Among them were two pairs of gauntlets.
"One set is creased and there is ink on them," Dr Hughes said.
"There is the distinct impression of a hand - as if William had been holding the reins of the horse. These are items personally used by the king and given to his officers.
"If we are trying to find a potential link between history and 'moments in time', then perhaps such seemingly ordinary objects as those unassuming gloves are as close as we can get.
"They represent a tangible moment in history that we can trace back almost to the day."
In the programme, Prof Alice Roberts and Dr Hughes explore the artefacts that shaped Ireland past and present, north and south.
They were given access to Belfast's Ulster Museum and the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
There, they get up close to the Tara Brooch, the Broighter Hoard, the Waterford Charter Roll and the Coggalbeg hoard.
The programme brings together archaeologists and curators who have spent their lives working to understand the true context for these emblematic treasures.
The Coggalbeg hoard is made up of three pieces of gold jewellery dating back to circa 2300 to 1800 BC.
They were found by a man cutting turf in a bog in Roscommon in March 1945.
He gave them to the local chemist who put them in the pharmacy safe in an envelope for safe keeping. And there they stayed hidden for over half a century.
ln 2009, thieves broke in and stole the safe, dumping the documents inside into a skip in Dublin.
Police moved in and, after a long and dirty search, they found the gold lunula - a crescent shaped necklace - and two small gold discs - treasure worth more than the thieves could ever have imagined.
The story made headlines across the world. It was the story of what the family called "daddy's necklace" that was in the safe.
Every piece in the programme has a story to tell.
"These are showcase treasures - but if this helps to get people out there and going into their local museums, they will find so much. There are so many stories and so much to enjoy," said Dr Hughes.
Prof Alice Roberts said: "We explore the forgotten riches, remarkable discoveries and surprising tales behind Ireland's most precious artefacts.
"We will reveal how ancient treasures continue to shed new light on the story of Ireland, both north and south."
Ireland's Treasures Uncovered is on Monday 15 February, BBC One Northern Ireland at 21:00 GMT. | The story of King William of Orange's gauntlets worn at the Battle of the Boyne features in a new programme on the treasures that helped shape Ireland. |
35,735,851 | Police said the 36-year-old had left a pub on Saracen Street, Possilpark, and was walking down the street when he became involved in an altercation.
The man was struck on the head during the incident, which took place at about 21:20 on Friday.
He was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary after the attack and has now been released following treatment.
Detectives said up to four men involved in the attack were part of a larger group on Saracen Street. They were of average height and build and wearing tracksuits.
Det Con Alan McIntosh said: "A man has been left with a very serious head injury as a result of this attack and inquiries are at an early stage to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"I would like to speak to anyone with information about this incident. Saracen Street was busy at this time and I am confident that people in the community will have seen or heard a disturbance." | A man has been seriously injured after being set upon by a group of young men in Glasgow. |
40,035,312 | There were two blasts about five minutes apart at about 21:00 local time (14:00 GMT) near a bus station in Kampung Melayu in the east of the city.
Two suspected attackers also died.
Indonesia has seen a series of low-level attacks since last January, when four attackers killed four people in a gun and bomb attack in central Jakarta.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group said they carried out the attack last January, its first in South East Asia.
More recent incidents have also been linked to the group.
However, many of the plots have been botched or foiled, with analysts saying that many of the country's militants lack the capacity to launch large-scale attacks. | A suspected suicide bomb attack in the Indonesian capital Jakarta has killed at least three police officers and injured 10 people, police say. |
19,281,659 | The rumba star, 56, was arrested after a fracas on Wednesday at a hotel in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Correspondents say the courtroom was packed to see the star, who leads the Quartier Latin band.
Olomide this year denied charges of raping three of his dancers in France.
The altercation with his producer, Diego Lubaki, was over a debt of 3,000 euros ($3,680, £2,345), the court heard.
'Door damaged'
Mr Lubaki said he wanted to drop the charges, but the judge continued the trial.
"He wanted to withdraw charges in favour of social peace and peace between him and the one he calls his 'big brother'," one of his lawyers is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
The court convicted Olomide of assault and battery but acquitted him of malicious destruction to property, after the hotel room door was damaged in the fight.
The music he plays is known as "soukous", which comes from the French word secouer, meaning to shake, and its dancers are renowned for their erotic moves.
Like other Congolese musicians, he is known for his extravagant lifestyle and flashy outfits.
Born in 1956, he won a scholarship to do a maths degree in France. On his return to the then-Zaire, he joined the band of musician Papa Wemba, initially as a songwriter.
He later struck out on his own and in the 1980s his soukous style gained popularity around Africa and he has won several Kora All Africa Music Awards.
However, his career has not been without controversy and the raunchy performances of some of his songs have been banned in some countries.
He sang in support of DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila during the 2006 election campaign, angering many of his fans in the opposition.
Olomide has battled to hold successful tours in Europe since then, as opposition supporters disrupt his concerts, the BBC's Patrice Chitera in Kinshasa says. | Koffi Olomide, one of Africa's most popular singers, has been given a three-month suspended prison sentence for assaulting his producer. |
37,194,903 | Syrian-born swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein and US-based Iranian discus thrower Shahrad Nasajpour will compete as part of the Independent Paralympic Athletes (IPA) team.
It is the first time in the history of the Paralympics that a dedicated team of its kind will compete.
Their Chef de Mission will be British official Tony Sainsbury.
Leg amputee Al Hussein, who is based in Greece and will race in the men's 50m and 100m freestyle S10 events, said: "I have been dreaming of this for 22 years.
"I thought my dream had gone when I lost my leg but now it is back for real. I want to send a message to all those injured that they too can achieve their dreams."
Nasajpour will compete in the F37 discus event.
The pair will stay in the Athletes' Village alongside more than 4,350 athletes from 165 countries. And, for official presentations such as medal and village welcome ceremonies, the Paralympic Anthem will be played.
Sainsbury, a five-time GB chef de mission added: "These athletes will help to raise awareness of the plight of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who make difficult decisions and journeys, often with impairments." | Two refugee Para-athletes will compete at the Rio Paralympics, which begin on 7 September. |
36,472,713 | Dr Carneiro, who claimed constructive dismissal against Chelsea, also reached a discrimination settlement against the club's former manager Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea said it apologised "unreservedly" to the former first team doctor for the distress caused.
On Monday it emerged Chelsea had offered Dr Carneiro £1.2m to settle her claims, which she had rejected.
In a statement, Dr Carneiro said: "I am relieved that today we have been able to conclude this tribunal case. It has been an extremely difficult and distressing time for me and my family and I now look forward to moving forward with my life.
"My priority has always been the health and safety of the players and fulfilling my duty of care as a doctor."
Addressing the London South Employment Tribunal centre in Croydon, Daniel Stilitz QC, for Chelsea and Mr Mourinho, said: "We are pleased to be able to tell the tribunal that the parties agreed a settlement on confidential terms."
Dr Carneiro claimed she was sexually discriminated against after she went on to the pitch to treat Chelsea player Eden Hazard during the opening day of the Premier League season last August.
She claimed that Mr Mourinho shouted the Portuguese phrase "filha da puta" at her, which means "daughter of a whore", as she ran on to the pitch.
Hazard had to leave the pitch, briefly leaving the team with only nine men at what Mr Mourinho claimed was a crucial stage in the game.
Chelsea went on to draw 2-2 with Swansea and Mr Mourinho publicly criticised both Dr Carneiro and first team physio Jon Fearn for being "impulsive and naive".
Dr Carneiro left the club in September after being demoted.
Analysis: BBC News correspondent Will Ross
Many will guess but we may never know how much money is winging its way into Dr Eva Carneiro's bank account. She did not accept a £1.2m settlement offer so this was no small business.
It seems bizarre that a dispute that began with a doctor running onto a football pitch to help an injured player would end 10 months later with a flurry of negotiations along the nondescript corridors of a building in Croydon.
Although she will have her critics, this was a major victory for Dr Carneiro who fought for justice in the male dominated world of Premier League football.
Chelsea Football Club would have been keen to avoid the potential embarrassment of a personal feud going even more public.
Jose Mourinho's new employers, Manchester United, would also have been keen to ensure that this did not drag on any longer.
Mr Mourinho will find watching the European Championships better preparation for rebuilding a reputation as a winner than being grilled in Croydon.
As for the public? We had already been treated to the subtleties of swearing in Portuguese. It was time to move on.
Chelsea said in a statement: "The club regrets the circumstances which led to Dr Carneiro leaving the club and apologises unreservedly to her and her family for the distress caused.
"We wish to place on record that in running onto the pitch Dr Carneiro was following both the rules of the game and fulfilling her responsibility to the players as a doctor, putting their safety first.
It added: "Jose Mourinho also thanked Dr Carneiro for the excellent and dedicated support she provided as first team doctor and he wishes her a successful career."
In a statement to the tribunal, Mr Mourinho - who was sacked by Chelsea in December after a run of poor form - conceded that he used the term "filho da puta", meaning "son of a whore" and insisted he had been using it throughout the match.
But Mary O'Rourke QC, acting for Dr Carneiro, told the tribunal on Monday: "He [Mourinho] uses the word 'filha' because he is abusing a woman."
The FA ruled on 30 September 2015 that the words did not constitute "discriminatory language" after consulting an independent academic expert in Portuguese linguistics.
A spokesman for Women in Football said: "Women in Football are delighted that Eva's name has been rightly cleared and her professional reputation as a doctor upheld.
"Eva has been courageous in her fight for a public apology from Chelsea and acknowledgement that on the day in question she was simply doing her job.
"We completely deplore and condemn her treatment by the club since and welcome their unreserved apology."
Mr Mourinho's presence at the tribunal on Tuesday was unexpected because it was not thought he was going to give evidence until next week.
Also in attendance were Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia, chairman Bruce Buck, head physio Jason Palmer and head of communications and PR, Steve Atkins.
The case was expected to last seven to 10 days and could have led to potentially embarrassing witness statements and documents - including texts and emails - being made public.
Dr Carneiro alleged that on 10 August last year Mr Mourinho told Mr Atkins that he did not want Dr Carneiro on the bench at the next match, adding: "She works in academy team or ladies team, not with me."
She also claimed Chelsea took no action following complaints about sexually explicit chanting at various away games - in particular at Manchester United and West Ham - and a lack of female changing facilities.
Further allegations were that she was not provided with a club suit, and regularly had to endure sexually explicit comments from her colleagues. | Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has settled her dismissal claim against the club on confidential terms. |
39,894,787 | Paul Higson had been scared to tell his wife Jan he had lost the ring and it took him two months to confess.
He works all over the Orkney mainland and the ring could have been anywhere.
The pair had given up all hope of finding the lost ring until Jan looked down and saw a sparkling object under a stone on the Sands of Wright beach.
Mrs Higson, a 49-year-old who works in a primary school, told BBC Scotland: "We walk the dogs at various beaches and Paul works at various places on Orkney mainland so we had just given up.
"We thought that was it."
However, on a walk at the Sands of Wright on South Ronaldsay Jan realised she had forgotten to bring poo bags for their dogs, Buddy and Rafn.
Paul went back to the car to collect them.
Jan said: "I stood there with two dogs and just looked down and saw something metallic in the stones.
"I originally thought it was a washer or something like that but I bent down and moved one of the stones because it was wedged under one of the stones and pulled it out and it was Paul's wedding ring."
Mr Higson, 60, who is an environmental consultant, keen birdwatcher and beachcomber, said he had no idea how or when he lost the ring.
When his wife told him she had found it he could hardly believe it.
He said: "I was quite stunned, to be honest, because I thought Jan was joking.
"She showed me the ring and it just fitted straight back on my finger again."
Paul said he had worn the ring for 25 years and knew straight away it was his.
He said: "When you've worn it as long as I have you just know. It fitted perfectly. It was the ring."
He added: "For Jan to just to look down and see it was a million-to-one chance really."
Jan said she put the news of the chance find on Facebook and family and friends were "absolutely stunned".
She said she hopes her brilliant luck continues and plans to enter the Euromillions Lottery this weekend.
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning | A woman says she was "stunned" at the "million-to-one chance" discovery of her husband's lost wedding ring on a beach in Orkney. |
32,879,809 | The MP for Wentworth and Dearne said he had not originally intended to stand but was "dismayed at how narrow and shallow the debate has been so far".
He becomes the seventh candidate, meaning at least one or two of those already declared will lack enough MPs' support to make the ballot paper.
But Mr Healey said he was confident of gaining enough support.
Also standing are Rushanara Ali, Ben Bradshaw, Angela Eagle, Stella Creasy, Caroline Flint and Tom Watson.
Writing in the Guardian, Mr Healey said: "I know I'm a late entrant when others have been up and running for some time. But the scale of the defeat, the complexity of the lessons and the huge task of holding things together while we rebuild requires a unifier - someone who can work across the political breadth of the party and with the unions."
He added: "Our new leader must be able to give their total attention to establishing themselves and re-establishing Labour with the country.
"Labour's internal affairs have to be left largely to others but their deputy must be much more than a party manager and motivator."
Mr Healey spent four years at the Treasury under Gordon Brown and was also a housing minister before becoming shadow health secretary for a year from October 2010.
He said he had been encouraged by colleagues to add his name to an already-crowded field.
To be on the ballot each candidate needs nomination from 35 MPs, but with only 232 Labour MPs in total, not all seven of those currently standing will reach that target.
Mr Healey has already nominated Yvette Cooper for the party leadership.
She is running alongside Andy Burnham, Mary Creagh and Liz Kendall. | John Healey, the former Labour housing minister, has announced he is running to be deputy leader of the party. |
34,903,224 | Farmer Robert Fidler, 66, hid the castle behind bales for four years when he built it in Redhill, Surrey.
A High Court judge has ordered him to demolish it by June. If he fails to do so he will be jailed for three months.
A petition, with 1,200 signatures, calls on Reigate and Banstead Council to stop the "wasteful" enforcement.
Maddie Stocker, who began the petition and has a background in property, said she thought the decision to demolish the home was "absolutely ridiculous".
"It was like the council were robots and couldn't see the bigger picture," she said.
"Of course, I understand the council had been misled and that's not the right way to do things.
"But I think it's a piece of art, an amazing structure that he built by himself for only £50,000."
Other people have agreed, with former X Factor winner Steve Brookstein tweeting: "Reigate is a few miles from Gatwick which wants to expand but the council want to destroy a castle."
On Ms Stocker's petition Daniel Barratt wrote: "The council need to concentrate on getting homeless people off the streets not creating more."
And Mel Dawson wrote: "To demolish this property would be an act of vandalism for the sake of sour grapes mentality."
The house was built on greenbelt land between 1999 and 2006. The council first ordered its demolition in 2007.
During a hearing at the High Court, Mr Fidler claimed it could not be demolished because bats, which are protected by law, were roosting in the property.
However, a High Court judge said he would be jailed for his "defiance" if the property was not demolished by next June.
A council spokeswoman said: "If the petition is submitted to the council, has over 400 valid signatures and meets our petition criteria it would be eligible for discussion at a full council meeting.
"However the High Court's ruling that the house and other unauthorised structures must be removed by 6 June 2016 is binding." | More than a thousand people have backed calls to halt the proposed demolition of a mock-Tudor castle built without planning permission. |
35,845,227 | The Liberal prime minister wants the unelected Senate to be a non-partisan body for vetting legislation.
A Paralympics champion and the head of the commission on reconciliation with indigenous communities are among the nominees.
They are the first appointments since an expenses scandal engulfed the Senate in 2013.
The Liberals announced a board in January to advise Mr Trudeau on possible senators, with the objective to bring people on based on their individual merit rather than party affiliation, the CBC reports.
"The Government is today taking further concrete steps to follow through on its commitment to reform the Senate, restore public trust, and bring an end to partisanship in the appointments process," said Mr Trudeau in a statement.
"The Senate appointments I have announced today will help advance the important objective to transform the Senate into a less partisan and more independent institution that can perform its fundamental roles in the legislative process more effectively-including the representation of regional and minority interests-by removing the element of partisanship, and ensuring that the interests of Canadians are placed before political allegiances."
The full list of nominees:
Claude Carignan, the opposition Leader in the Senate, told the CBC that Mr Trudeau's appointment process is "substantially no different than in the past."
"I note that this process yielded the same type of appointments as it has previously — former judges, provincial ministers, journalists, Olympians — have all been appointed to the Senate before," he said in a statement. "Mr. Trudeau's appointments also show that he understands that previous involvement in the partisan political process cannot be discounted and those appointments do have merit."
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper had not appointed anyone to the Senate in three years, when there was a scandal over four senators filing improper expenses.
Mr Harper's government wanted to reform or abolish the Canadian Senate, seeking for it to be an elected body and to establish term limits, but was rejected by the Canadian Supreme Court.
One senator embroiled in the scandal, Mike Duffy, is currently on trial, awaiting a verdict.
The appointees will fill vacancies in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. They are chosen by the prime minister but must now be formally approved by the Governor General.
The Governor General, David Johnston, is the representative of the Queen in Canada. | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named seven new senators to the country's scandal-hit upper chamber. |
25,475,644 | Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates, saying: "Thai politics is at a failed stage".
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of mass protests.
The head of the Thai army has warned the country's political divisions could "trigger a civil war".
General Prayuth Chan-ocha has proposed a "people's assembly" - made up of civilians from both sides, not the leaders, to heal the divisions.
By Jonathan HeadBBC News, Bangkok
For the second time in a decade, Thailand's oldest political party is boycotting an election.
The Democrat Party's many critics accuse it of turning its back on democracy because it cannot win elections. It has lost the last five to parties led or funded by Thaksin Shinawatra.
This was a tough decision for the Democrats. For days the party was split over which way to go.
Many of its supporters and MPs have thrown their weight behind the street protest movement, led by ex-Democrat powerbroker Suthep Thaugsuban. They argued there was no point in competing in an electoral system where Mr Thaksin has built up such a loyal following among voters in the north and north-east.
But there are those in the party who see just as much risk in a boycott; a risk not only to their reputation - one government minister has already accused them of preparing the ground for a military coup, which happened after their last boycott in 2006 - but also to their very existence.
If the election goes ahead as scheduled on 2 February, the Democrat constituencies will eventually be occupied by other parties, with all the power and influence that goes with that, and the Democrats could fall apart.
But then, after so many defeats, there are some in the party who believe an entirely fresh start might actually be good for it.
The opposition-backed protests in Bangkok have caused Thailand's most serious political turmoil since 2010.
Ms Yingluck won the last elections in 2011, but protesters say her brother - the controversial ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra - remains in charge.
At his news conference, Mr Abhisit told reporters his party had agreed it would not field candidates in the snap elections.
"The Thai people have lost their faith in the democratic system," he said.
The prime minister dissolved parliament and called the election on 9 December in a bid, she said, to avoid violence on the streets and "to give back the power to the Thai people".
Her Pheu Thai party has a majority in parliament, and draws significant support from Thailand's rural areas. It is seen as well-placed to win February's election.
General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he was deeply concerned by the latest crisis, with divisions not just in Bangkok but across the whole country.
"The situation could trigger a civil war," he told the Bangkok Post.
Setting out his vision of a "people's assembly", he said it should be made up of people from both sides of the political divide - known as the "red shirts", those who support Thaksin Shinawatra, and the "yellow shirts", those who oppose him.
"It must be from a neutral group and comprise non-core representatives of all colours, and all colour leaders must be excluded," he said.
He did not give details on how or when the assembly would be set up, but said any proposal "must come from a public consensus and the public must brainstorm how to reach that consensus".
He stressed his grouping would be different to the "people's council" proposed by the opposition.
"The people's assembly must not be organised or sponsored by any conflicting group, as it would not be accepted by the other side," he said.
His comments came after a defence council meeting on Friday to discuss the 2 February election.
Defence spokesman Col Thanatip Sawangsaeng said the army "is ready to support the Election Commission in organising the elections when asked".
But a military source has told the BBC that privately the army believes it would be better for the election to be delayed - as sought by the opposition parties.
Protests began nearly a month ago after Thailand's lower house passed a controversial amnesty bill, which critics said could allow Thaksin Shinawatra to return without serving time in jail.
Mr Thaksin is currently in self-imposed exile after he was overthrown in a military army coup in 2006 and convicted of corruption.
The protesters say the former prime minister remains the power behind the ruling Pheu Thai party, and accuse it of using public funds irresponsibly to secure votes. | Thailand's main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February. |
36,027,104 | Former Education and Welfare officer Lucy Ward told the tribunal she was dismissed as she was in a relationship with former head coach Neil Redfearn.
She is claiming unfair dismissal and sex discrimination at the hearing.
The club denies any improper conduct and claims she was was dismissed for exceeding her annual leave entitlement.
In 2015, Ms Ward travelled to Canada to work as a BBC analyst and commentator at the 2015 Women's World Cup.
Live updates on this story and others from West Yorkshire
The tribunal previously heard club chairman Massimo Cellino sacked her because she and Mr Redfearn came as "a pair".
Ms Ward told the tribunal she was treated as "Neil's baggage" and was given "no dignity as a businesswoman in my own right".
Leeds United's barrister Lucy Bairstow put it to Ms Ward that she "repeatedly failed to work on a Wednesday" and had not been given specific authorisation to have that day off.
She responded: "My working pattern was well-known and agreed with my line manager each season.
"Nobody ever said what I was doing was wrong. I'm being disciplined for the working practices I've had for 11 years."
The hearing was also told of an alleged conversation between Mr Cellino and Gary Cooper, the chairman of Leeds Ladies FC.
Ms Ward said she was told by Mr Cooper that Mr Cellino had said to him: "Football is no place for women, they should be in the bedroom or the beauticians."
Mr Redfearn and former Leeds United executive director Adam Pearson were also due to give evidence.
The tribunal continues. | A Leeds United employee was "treated like a piece of meat" in the way she was sacked by the club, an industrial tribunal has heard. |
31,916,399 | We don't yet know what will fill the considerable void that the absence of a military career will leave in his life.
It's no surprise that Harry describes quitting the army as a "really tough decision".
He's cherished doing a job which he was given on merit - and not because he's a prince.
It's a job which, when he was in Afghanistan, included targeting and killing Taliban fighters.
In the coming months, as he undertakes voluntary work in Africa and the UK, he'll have to decide how to occupy himself in the years that lie ahead.
He's rejected, for now, the option of becoming a full-time senior royal.
Officials will be hoping he embraces something which fulfils him and which doesn't give him time to once again be cast as a party prince.
It's little wonder Harry himself talks of being at a crossroads. | We know what Prince Harry's giving up. |
30,370,640 | Chad McVeigh, 18, from Devizes, and Nathan Cox and Jordan Taylor, both from Trowbridge, died on Quartermaster Road, Westbury, at 22:30 GMT on Friday.
The men, who were in a Citroen Saxo, were pronounced dead at the scene. The Scania lorry driver was uninjured.
Wiltshire Police are appealing for witnesses to get in touch. | Three men killed in a crash between a car and a lorry on a Wiltshire trading estate have been named as a teenager and two 20-year-olds. |
34,946,185 | Police officers were called to the town's High Street at 12.20pm.
The area was cordoned off and an investigation was launched.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "The death is currently being treated as unexplained and inquiries are ongoing." | A man's body has been found in a lane near a busy street in Galashiels. |
38,739,450 | Elen Jones, 36, and Lewis Rhys, from Menai Bridge, had not been seen since Tuesday 17 January.
North Wales Police tweeted on Tuesday evening that they had been found and thanked "all who have been involved" in the search. | A mother and her eight-year-old son who went missing from their Anglesey home have been found safe and well, police have confirmed. |
34,666,859 | There has been a 5.5% drop in alcohol-related hospital admissions and a slight fall in deaths.
There were also a drop in deaths from drug misuse and poisoning.
But while young people are heeding the messages, hospital admissions for the over 50s have increased for a third year running.
Josie Smith, head of the substance misuse programme at PHW called the latest figures "hugely encouraging".
"This indicates that interventions are taking place before these substances begin to truly endanger lives.
"What the data is also telling us about problematic drug and alcohol use in Wales is that trends are changing, with a shift away by younger people, aged up to 25 years, contrasting with increases recorded in the older populations."
In 2014/15, 789 young people were treated in hospital for drug poisoning - a fall of 9.4% but hospital admissions due to drug misuse amongst the over 50s was up 7.5%.
Those with drug issues include ageing heroin users as well as misuse of prescription drugs such as valium.
The total number of people starting treatment for drug or alcohol problems was 16,922, up by 10% on 2013/14.
More than a quarter had referred themselves for help.
Nearly 4,000 had heroin problems, with by far the largest group being men in their 30s.
There were nearly 3,500 young people assessed for treatment. Cannabis is the most common substance cited by the under 25s, with 1,263 assessments in 2014-15, an increase of 2.4%.
Alcohol referrals for this age group were up slightly but had fallen by more than 43% over the last five years.
The report also shows only two cases of treatment for mephedrone (or meow meow). However, Ms Smith said there was still "widespread use," especially in south Wales. | Fewer people have needed hospital treatment for drug or alcohol problems in Wales, according to new figures released by Public Health Wales (PHW). |
40,156,401 | General secretary Calum Steele said unarmed officers were likely to be the first to respond to an incident.
But he asked: "How fair it is to expect them to do that when they are facing people intent on causing death and injury?"
Police Scotland has insisted its officers are appropriately resourced.
Michael Matheson, Scotland's cabinet secretary for justice, said the matter was being kept under "constant review".
Mr Steele told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We have to ask how realistic it is in this day and age, with the threat that we face at this moment in time, how we expect unarmed police officers - and in the vast majority of cases it will be unarmed officers that will be the first to attend, or happen across those who are committing these attacks - how fair it is to expect them to do that when they are facing people intent on causing death and injury?"
He said the likelihood of armed officers being the first to attend such an incident was "very low indeed" in certain areas.
It was announced last year that the number of armed officers in Scotland was increasing from 250 to 374.
But Mr Steele said: "Let's not kid ourselves that that's extra police officers, because those armed police officers are coming from the contingent of other officers out there.
"When we consider that the fight against terrorism has to be about more than just guns and armed officers, that is more police officers that are being taken out of communities where evidence and intelligence is capable of being gathered, where community relations are being built."
He added: "The police service cannot fight terrorism on its own and the intelligence services cannot fight terrorism on their own. As well as having the capability to gather intelligence and to form relationships and to build trust in our communities, we also have to have the tactical capabilities to respond.
"But we have to make sure we don't have police officers in a situation where they are likely to be considered expendable because they do not have the personal, protective equipment to look after themselves.
"We have police officers that are facing guns, knives, extreme violence and they do not have the capability of protecting themselves.
"How many police officers have to be killed, maimed or injured for that to be considered an acceptable price for what we're dealing with today?"
On Sunday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would see a "substantial" increase in the number of armed police on duty in the immediate aftermath of the London attack.
However, she said there was no intelligence of any specific threat to Scotland.
Assistant Chief Constable Nelson Telfer said Police Scotland had enough officers on the streets to respond to major incidents.
He told BBC Scotland: "We've increased our visible police presence, we've stood up more armed police, we've responded in the past to tragic events similar to Saturday night and I'm confident that the numbers in place on our streets are appropriate."
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said there had been a "significant increase" in the number of firearms officers over the last year.
But he said their deployment was a matter for the chief constable.
"Whether he wishes to deploy them on a more regular basis, then that would be a matter that he would have to consider, but I'm confident from the feedback that I've had from Police Scotland that they believe they have the appropriate resources at present," he said.
"And that's an issue that they continue to keep under review."
Mr Matheson said the force had the "capacity and capability" to increase its firearms presence in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Manchester and London.
"It's important to recognise that firearms is only one aspect of tackling issues such as terrorism," he added.
"The work which is undertaken in local communities by our police and other agencies, in helping to make sure that we are tackling issues around extremism is absolutely crucial as well and that is where they can gather important intelligence around these matters and that measures can be taken at an early stage."
Seven people were killed and 48 injured in the attack in London on Saturday evening.
Three suspects were shot dead by police officers.
The attackers used a white van to hit pedestrians on London Bridge, before getting out and stabbing people in nearby Borough Market at about 22:00.
Police said the men, who were shot dead within eight minutes of the attack starting, were wearing fake bomb vests.
The so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. | The Scottish Police Federation has said officers must not be "considered expendable" when dealing with terrorist attacks. |
34,699,292 | Peter Foster, who works in a Sheringham tea room, says he spotted the dolphin about 20 yards (18m) off shore on Sunday.
Regional Sea Watch Foundation co-ordinator Carl Chapman believes it was a common dolphin.
"Although it's not a rare breed in itself, it is very scarce in this area of Norfolk," he said.
"It looks pretty healthy and from what I've been told about its actions, it isn't too stressed.
"It sounds like it's a bit of a wayward individual - maybe it's on holiday!"
Mr Foster said he had worked in Whelk Coppers tea room, from where he spotted the dolphin, for about 25 years and had never seen one before.
"We get quite a few seals round here, they're fairly common, but I've never seen a dolphin," he said. | A dolphin has been spotted off the north Norfolk coast, one of only 10 sightings in the area since the 1800s. |
34,672,708 | Jason Williams was driving on a dual carriageway with his three-year-old daughter when he smelled burning.
He said he only escaped after breaking a window as the electrics had burned, causing the central locking to lock.
Vauxhall said it is investigating the problem, as hundreds of owners reported overheating problems.
Mr Williams spoke to BBC Watchdog, which has been carrying out investigations following reports of heating and ventilation system fires in a number of Vauxhall Zafira B models.
The fire broke out in Mr Williams's car as he drove to his parents' house on 17 October.
"I pulled up... and took the seat belts off my daughter and tried to get her out. The doors were basically locked and I couldn't get her out at all. I was punching at the glass to try and break the window," he said.
"I had hold of my daughter's hand because at one point the smoke was quite thick in the car.
"There's a release button on the dashboard which opens the central locking. Obviously because of the fire, electrics burning, it wasn't working…terrifying, really petrifying."
The programme has also discovered that some customers are facing long delays in getting appointments to have their cars inspected.
Watchdog has posed as customers and called 10 Vauxhall dealers to find out how long the wait was.
Four could not give a date, five quoted between one and two weeks and only one had appointments available this week.
A Vauxhall spokesman said the company was working on an "early conclusion and fix" and plans were being made to rework or recall the cars "as appropriate".
"Inspections of components by the engineers are proceeding apace across the country to enrich our understanding and enable a clear definition of the problem and fix," he added.
"Mr Williams's car will be inspected shortly, with the cooperation of his insurance company." | A man from Swansea has described the "terrifying" moment he became locked in his Vauxhall Zafira after the car caught fire. |
36,821,272 | The gunman was shot dead at the scene.
This is what we know so far about what has happened.
Baton Rouge shooting: As it happened
The shooting was near the police headquarters in the city.
It happened at 09:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Sunday on Airline Highway at a petrol station near a shopping centre, police said.
The local sheriff's office said the incident happened when officers are said to have responded to reports of a man with an assault rifle walking down an open stretch of road.
"It's my understanding that they [the officers] had responded to an initial shooting incident," Casey Rayborn Hicks, public affairs officer for the sheriff's office, told local WAFB television.
Witnesses reported a man with his face covered, shooting indiscriminately.
The sheriff's office posted the following statement on Facebook:
Witness Brady Vancel told local media he saw what may have been gang members shooting at each other before police arrived.
Three police officers were killed, another three injured, one of them critically.
The gunman was shot dead by police and although police initially searched for two others, police later said they believed no other suspects were at large.
The gunman has been identified as 29-year-old Gavin Long, a Marines veteran.
He served in the US Marines from 2005-2010, including a seven-month Iraq tour in 2008.
He attained the rank of sergeant and received several awards, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.
A house in Kansas City, Missouri, where Long was believed to have lived, was being surrounded by police on Sunday evening.
Court records showed he married in 2009 and divorced in 2011. The University of Alabama confirmed he studied there for a single semester in 2012.
Some reports say a court document shows that Long successfully applied to have his name legally changed to Cosmo Ausar Setepenra.
But others suggest this is simply the name he used on social media.
He has left social media comments and posted video messages complaining about the treatment of African Americans at the hands of the police and calling for black men to make sacrifices for their race.
"You gotta fight back," he urged viewers in one video.
Long turned 29 on Sunday, the day of the shooting.
Two of the officers were from the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Matthew Gerald, 41, had been there for less than a year. Before the police, he was in the Marines and in the Army.
He was married with two children.
Montrell Jackson, 32, had been on the force for a decade. A Louisiana state representative says he had a four-month-old baby.
Mr Jackson, who was black, posted a Facebook message which said he was physically and emotionally tired.
"I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me," he is reported to have said.
The third victim was Brad Garafola, 45, and a 24-year veteran of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
He was married with four children, aged seven to 21.
A spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said 41-year-old Nicholas Tullier is in critical condition.
The second officer, Bruce Simmonds, 51, has non-life-threatening injuries.
A third injured police officer is thought to be in a stable condition.
It comes amid spiralling tensions across the city - and the country - between the black community and police.
It follows the recent killing of a black man, Alton Sterling, by a white police officer in Baton Rouge.
That, and the shooting of another black man, Philando Castile, by police in Minnesota, led to protests across the US. It also triggered a revenge attack by a black army veteran who shot dead five officers in the city of Dallas.
President Barack Obama said the Baton Rouge attack was "the work of cowards" and there was never any justification for violence against the police. | A shooting in the US city of Baton Rouge has left three police officers dead and three more injured, one critically. |
32,797,986 | The National Literacy Trust questioned some 32,000 pupils aged eight to 18.
Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid was the most mentioned favourite work of fiction, followed by The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Children's laureate Malorie Blackman said she was "delighted" more children were enjoying the pleasures of reading.
Enjoyment and frequency of reading are both at their highest levels for nine years, the survey suggests.
There was also an increase in the proportion who said they read daily outside class, from 32.2% in 2013 to 41.1% in 2014.
The charity attributes this sharp rise to initiatives such as Bookstart, the Summer Reading Challenge, its own Young Readers Programme and the work of a series of children's authors who have campaigned as children's laureates.
Most mentioned favourite fiction
Source: National Literacy Trust
Children are not only reading more fiction but also a wide variety of other materials, including:
However, the research also suggests a persistent gender gap between girls and boys, with 46.5% of girls saying they read daily outside class, compared with 35.8% of boys.
Girls were also more likely to say they enjoyed reading very much or quite a lot: 61.6%, compared with 47.1% of boys.
Overall, more than half (55.2%) of children said they preferred watching television to reading, and almost a quarter (24.3%) believed their parents did not care if they spent time reading, rising to 31.5% among children on free school meals.
Trust director Jonathan Douglas described the survey as "encouraging" but said it was a "real concern that almost a third of the most disadvantaged children think their parents do not care whether they read".
Ms Blackman called for work to continue "to ensure all our children develop the reading-for-pleasure habit to improve their life chances" and said it was vital children had access to libraries "to fulfil their true potential".
War Horse author Michael Morpurgo said: "How good it is to have some heartening news about young readers.
"But much is still to be done. Too many boys still seem disinterested in reading, and far, far too many children simply never become readers at all.
"So we writers and illustrators and storytellers, and parents and teachers, and publishers and booksellers, must continue to play our part.
"And government too should remember that literacy must first and foremost be enjoyed if we are to engage our most reluctant readers." | Increasing numbers of UK schoolchildren are choosing to read in their spare time, with six in 10 having a favourite work of fiction, research suggests. |
32,753,135 | The 79-year-old was commissioned to write and direct the six-part untitled show earlier this year.
"I'm doing my best with it, but I should never have gotten into it," he said at the Cannes film festival.
"I thought six half-hours would be a cinch, but it's not. It's very hard. I'm not good at it, I'm floundering."
He added: "It could be a cosmic embarrassment. I just hope I don't disappoint Amazon."
When it was announced in January Allen was making the series, the Annie Hall director made similar self-deprecating comments about the project.
"I don't know how I got into this - I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin," he said.
The TV series - the first Allen has ever created - is due to be available to Amazon Prime subscribers in the US, UK and Germany next year.
The director is promoting his 46th film - Irrational Man - at the Cannes film festival.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, it tells of a philosophy professor who is deeply depressed until he perks up at the thought of committing a murder.
Discussing the film's plot surrounding life's choices, Allen was typically bleak at its press conference, saying: "Life has its own agenda, and it runs right over you.
"We're all going to end up in a very bad position sooner or later. The same position, but a bad one - and the only way out of it, the only thing you can do as an artist, is to explain to people how life is worth living and has a meaning." | Woody Allen has admitted he made a "catastrophic mistake" signing up to create a TV series for Amazon's online video service. |
40,497,806 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Japan's Matsuyama leapfrogged McIlroy in the rankings after finishing in a share of second place at the US Open while Rahm is the world number 11.
The trio, who will start at 13:20 BST on Thursday, are the highest-ranked players in the Portstewart field.
McIlroy is ranked fourth after Jordan Spieth's recent move up to third spot.
Matsuyama, the highest-placed Japanese golfer in the history of the world rankings, is making his debut in the £5.4m event in his first ever journey to Ireland.
The Japanese player has won four times on the PGA Tour including his successful defence of the Phoenix Open title this year.
Matsuyama's Japan Open triumph last autumn started a remarkable run of four wins in five starts which included the World Golf Championship HSBC Champions event in Shanghai and the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
"When you look at what he has achieved, not just last year and already this year, but over the past few years it is impressive how he goes about his business," said McIlroy.
"He is a very hard worker and anytime you are on the practice range he always seems to always be there and it is the same scenario when you are on the practice putting green.
"I heard he was interested in playing some links golf ahead of the Open, so we got in touch with his management team saying that would love to have him compete at Portstewart and we would do anything to help in getting him to the tournament."
Last year's Masters champion Danny Willett will be in the next three ball off the first tee on Thursday at 13:30 with fellow Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ian Poulter.
World number 22 Tyrrell Hatton will start 10 minutes before McIlroy alongside Lee Westwood and emerging Irish star Paul Dunne.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The 2011 Open champion, Darren Clarke, is also among the afternoon starters after being paired with 2015 Irish Open winner Soren Kjeldsen and England's Andrew 'Beef' Johnston.
Graeme McDowell has a morning tee time as he tees off from the 10th at 08:20 with Olympic champion Justin Rose and Sunday's French Open winner Tommy Fleetwood.
Padraig Harrington will start 10 minutes later alongside another veteran, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and European Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan.
Jamie Donaldson, the winner at Royal Portrush in 2012, will play alongside another previous Irish Open champion Mikko Ilonen while Offaly man Shane Lowry will have European Ryder Cup players Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Thomas Pieters for company over the opening two rounds.
The 1990 Irish Open champion, Jose-Maria Olazabal, will be partnered by recent BMW International Open winner Andres Romero and American Peter Uihlein.
Last year's BMW PGA Championship Chris Wood has pulled out of this week's event because of a wrist injury but hopes to play in next week's Scottish Open.
THURSDAY'S DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN TEE TIMES
Starting on the first hole
(all times BST)
07:30 - Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), David Howell (Eng), Stephen Gallacher (Sco)
07:40 - Matthew Southgate (Eng), Nathan Kimsey (Eng), Robert Rock (Eng)
07:50 - Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Matteo Manassero (Ita), Brandon Stone (SA)
08:00 - Daniel Brooks (Eng), Alexander Knappe (Ger), Simon Khan (Eng)
08:10 - Haydn Porteous (SA), Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Richie Ramsay (Sco)
08:20 - Nino Bertasio (Ita), Julien Quesne (Fra), Marc Warren (Sco)
08:30 - Paul Peterson (USA), David Horsey (Eng), Scott Hend (Aus)
08:40 - Paul Waring (Eng), Duncan Stewart (Sco), Bernd Ritthammer (Ger)
08:50 - Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Scott Jamieson (Sco), Justin Walters (SA)
09:00 - Oliver Fisher (Eng), Chris Hanson (Eng), Lasse Jensen (Den)
09:10 - Niclas Fasth (Swe), David Drysdale (Sco), Magnus A Carlsson (Swe)
09:20 - Richard Sterne (SA), Jordan Smith (Eng), Jorge Campillo (Spa)
09:30 - Neil O'Briain (Ire), Ashley Chesters (Eng), Thomas Aiken (SA)
12:30 - Jens Fahrbring (Swe), Romain Wattel (Fra), Daniel Im (USA)
12:40 - Joel Stalter (Fra), Maximilian Kieffer (Ger), Lucas Bjerregaard (Den)
12:50 - Michael Hoey (NI), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Robert Karlsson (Swe)
13:00 - Alexander Levy (Fra), Paul McGinley (Ire), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
13:10 - Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Lee Westwood (Eng), Paul Dunne (Ire)
13:20 - Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Rory McIlroy (NI), Jon Rahm (Spa)
13:30 - Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Ian Poulter (Eng), Danny Willett (Eng)
13:40 - Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Darren Clarke (NI), Andrew Johnston (Eng)
13:50 - Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Haotong Li (Chn)
14:00 - Gregory Havret (Fra), Damien Perrier (Fra), Paul Lawrie (Sco)
14:10 - Ryan Fox (NZ), Pep Angles (Spa), Gary Hurley (Ire)
14:20 - Johan Carlsson (Swe), Damien McGrane (Ire), Adrian Otaegui (Spa)
14:30 - Gavin Moynihan (Ire), Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Marcus Armitage (Eng)
Starting at hole 10
07:30 - Chris Paisley (Sco), Alexander Bjork (Swe), Richard Kilpatrick (NI)
07:40 - Sam Brazel (Aus), Anthony Wall (Eng), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)
07:50 - Jamie Donaldson (Wal), David Lipsky (USA), Mikko Ilonen (Fin)
08:00 - Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Andres Romero (Arg), Peter Uihlein (USA)
08:10 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), Shane Lowry (Ire), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
08:20 - Graeme McDowell (NI), Justin Rose (Eng), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
08:30 - Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Padraig Harrington (Ire), Andy Sullivan (Eng)
08:40 - Thomas Bjorn (Den), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Renato Paratore (Ita)
08:50 - Dylan Frittelli (SA), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Jeunghun Wang (Kor)
09:00 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Shih-Chang Chan (Tpe), Joakim Lagergren (Swe)
09:10 - Marcus Fraser (Aus), Brett Rumford (Aus), Dean Burmester (SA)
09:20 - Marcel Siem (Ger), Peter Hanson (Swe), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por)
09:30 - Simon Thornton (Ire), Florian Fritsch (Ger), Sam Walker (Eng)
12:30 - Kristoffer Broberg (Swe), Darren Fichardt (SA), Richard Finch (Eng)
12:40 - Stuart Manley (Wal), Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Colm Moriarty (Ire)
12:50 - Sebastian Heisele (Ger), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Thomas Detry (Bel)
13:00 - Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Matt Wallace (Eng), Victor Dubuisson (Fra)
13:10 - S.S.P Chawrasia (Ind), Soomin Lee (Kor), Richard Bland (Eng)
13:20 - Ashun Wu (Chn), Andrew Dodt (Aus), Ricardo Gouveia (Por)
13:30 - Joost Luiten (Ned), Bradley Dredge, Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
13:40 - Jason Scrivener (Aus), Jaco Van Zyl (SA), Callum Shinkwin (Eng)
13:50 - Hennie Otto (SA), James Morrison (Eng), Simon Dyson (Eng)
14:00 - Rikard Karlberg (Swe), Graeme Storm (Eng), Gary Stal (Fra)
14:10 - David Higgins (Ire), Eduardo De La Riva (Spa), Romain Langasque (Fra)
14:20 - Wade Ormsby (Aus), Lee Slattery (Eng), George Coetzee (SA)
14:30 - Dermot McElroy (NI), Sebastien Gros (Fra), Nacho Elvira (Spa) | Tournament host Rory McIlroy will play with world number two Hideki Matsuyama and Spaniard Jon Rahm in the first two rounds of this week's Irish Open. |
33,602,171 | Football's world governing body decided to lower the age limit for international transfers to include players aged 10 and above. That's right: 10.
Before the change was introduced in March, clubs only needed to go through the official process of applying for an International Transfer Certificate if their target was at least 12 years old.
"The executive committee decided to reduce the age limit… due to the increased number of international transfers of players younger than 12," Fifa told the BBC in a statement.
But what happens when clubs simply start recruiting six, seven and nine-year-olds to bypass Fifa's new red tape?
Well, if that does happen, Fifa says the age limit "could be reconsidered" if it detects a trend of players even younger than 10 being transferred.
Nonetheless, the change of the rules highlights the growing problem of the illegal movement of minors.
The Paris-based non-governmental organisation, Foot Solidaire, helps send boys back to Africa after they have been tricked by unscrupulous agents and empty promises into leaving the continent.
It estimates that 15,000 teenage footballers are moved out of just 10 West African countries every year - many of them underage.
Jean-Claude Mbvounim, Foot Solidaire's founder, says that agents can pocket anywhere between $3,000 (£2,000) and $10,000 for each child they send to a fictitious trial at an imagined club - and says football needs help to combat the issue.
"Fifa has to do more with public authorities, governments and civil society because this issue is a social issue," says Mbvounim.
"Today we have criminal activists threatening world football and the young players, so it's important to work together. Fifa will have to be on top of this battle."
What makes the actions of Champasak United in Laos, who imported 23 underage players in February, interesting is that they are the actions of a club, albeit under the guise of an academy.
The normal story is that teenagers duped into leaving Africa end up on the streets of whatever country they have been sent to, since the 'agent' has disappeared and no club is aware of their presence.
According to the boys who went to Laos and have since returned to Liberia, thanks to the help of global players' union Fifpro, Champasak's academy lacks a proper coach, medical facilities and there is no provision for education.
The club's player-'African players manager' Alex Karmo admits Champasak brought in the players to sell them on at a profit afterwards.
The contracts they offered the youngsters enabled the club to pay them absolutely nothing should they want to, although Karmo says they were paid each month.
The signed deals also stated that players must pay back the cost of their flights from Africa, and all food and accommodation received, should they wish to break their contract - an unrealistic goal for players earning zero a month at worst and $140 at best.
The Liberians are not the first Africans to be disappointed, but their nation is one of the few in West Africa to have no football academy, even if the Liberian FA says it plans to open one later this year.
To put it into context, the youngsters were keen on Laos even though it has made next-to-no impact on the international stage and is ranked 16 places below 161st-rated Liberia in Fifa's national rankings.
"Liberia is over 165 years old and we are just completing the first football training centre," said the country's FA chairman Musa Bility.
"Maybe if that training centre was here, those kids would not be in Laos."
The plan is to have former Liberian football star George Weah as a title name for the academies, but can their presence stop the flow of young players abroad?
As another potential form of defence against this problem, Foot Solidaire is looking to open an observation centre in the Senegalese capital Dakar next year. It hopes to both inform youngsters and families of the perils of trafficking, as well as keep a close eye on the exodus of West Africa's youngsters. | Fifa made a little-noted amendment to its statutes earlier this year but it was one that deserved considerably more attention. |
35,587,496 | 17 February 2016 Last updated at 11:03 GMT
She's just taken part in the ice hockey skills challenge at the Youth Winter Olympics in Norway.
Players show off their skills in a series of challenges like who can make the fastest shot and who has the most control of the puck.
She just missed out on a chance to compete in the finals but picked up a personal best in each of the six skills.
Watch her in action... | You might think ice hockey's a team sport - but meet Verity Lewis, she's a hockey ace all by herself. |
34,153,866 | Raymond Bell, 29, repeatedly kicked and stamped on David Black's head during the attack in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, on 1 November last year.
Mr Black was left in a persistent vegetative state and requires round-the-clock nursing care.
Bell denied the attack but was convicted of attempted murder.
Jailing him at the High Court in Livingston, temporary judge John Morris told Bell: "The jury convicted you of attempted murder and as you'll appreciate that's a very serious offence.
"In this particular case you'll also appreciate the consequences of your actions were very grave indeed for the victim.
"Although the victim is still alive he'll continue to have no quality of life whatsoever. In those circumstances, you'll appreciate only a substantial sentence is appropriate in your case."
Bell was also told he would be supervised for three years following his release from prison. | A man who inflicted horrific brain injuries on his friend after they argued over a woman at a party has been jailed for nine years. |
35,970,195 | Researchers compared ancient and modern deer DNA across the region.
In particular, analysis of deer samples from archaeological sites in Orkney and the Outer Hebrides revealed surprisingly distinctive DNA sequences.
The animals are unlikely to have come from the mainland, the scientists say.
Even Norway and Ireland are unlikely sources, they add, suggesting seafaring Neolithic people trafficked the beasts from a mysterious and more far-flung source.
Their findings are reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Red deer, the largest of modern British land animals, were banished from most of western Europe and restricted to southern Spain during the last Ice Age.
When the ice retreated about 10,000 years ago, these and other beasts - including humans - gradually repopulated northern regions. But red deer didn't make it to these outer Scottish isles until about 5,000 years ago.
Humans, which were increasingly adopting domestication during this period, are thought to be responsible for the deer's arrival - but the new study casts doubt on the obvious idea that they shipped them from mainland Scotland.
The ancient Orkney and Hebrides deer DNA in the new study is not a good match for any known population of red deer, including ancient specimens from mainland Scotland, Ireland and Norway.
"We think that the most likely source is from an unsampled population somewhere - we could be looking at somewhere like mainland Europe," the paper's lead author, Dr David Stanton from Cardiff University, told the BBC News website.
"There's not a huge amount known about the seafaring capabilities of humans in northern Europe around that time - we just don't know.
"This potentially gives us a bit of a clue as to what they might have been capable of."
If central Europe was indeed the source, then the deer could have shared the trajectory of the Orkney vole, which arrived on the boats of Belgian farmers 5,100 years ago according to a 2013 study.
One of the authors of that research, Prof Jeremy Searle from Cornell University in the US, said the new work on red deer DNA was "absolutely fascinating" but cautioned that there are other explanations for the genetic uniqueness of the ancient outer-island deer.
"One other explanation - which they do actually mention in the paper - is that there was an initial colonisation of the British Isles by the red deer, and then that initial genetic type later got replaced by another genetic type," he said.
"So what you're seeing around the periphery is kind of the relic of that initial colonisation, while the bulk of Britain is represented by the second population."
Prof Searle and colleagues have found evidence for this sort of two-phase colonisation in several British species, he explained.
The argument for a long-range deer delivery could be clinched, he suggested, by establishing a strong genetic similarity with that mysterious source population - wherever it may be.
"I think the study is a really interesting springboard for future investigations."
Dr Stanton agrees. "It's the tip of the iceberg really," he said of the new findings. "We've got a lot more searching to do."
Follow Jonathan on Twitter | When red deer arrived on Scotland's outer islands some 5,000 years ago, they were probably brought across the ocean by humans from as far away as central Europe, a study suggests. |
39,261,215 | Sixth formers who are part of the Seren network will be invited to apply for a place at a four-day summer school at Jesus College, Oxford.
They will try out student life and attend lectures in August.
The summer school is thought to be the first aimed specifically at Welsh students.
Prof Sir Nigel Shadbolt, principal of Jesus College, said he was "incredibly proud" of the college's enduring connection to Wales, which goes back to its foundation in 1571.
"This new initiative will help ensure that we continue to welcome future generations of talented Welsh students here in Oxford," he said.
The Seren network was set up by the Welsh Government two years ago to address the decline in the number of teenagers applying to the UK's top universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
The flagship university access programme now helps to ensure Wales' most able sixth formers have the right support as they apply to university.
More than 800 potential students have gathered in Newtown, Powys, for a Seren network conference over the next two days, where they are meeting representatives from UK universities and taking part in workshops and talks.
Those attending include Oxford, Cambridge, King's College and Imperial College, London.
Minister for Lifelong Learning and the Welsh Language, Alun Davies, said: "Raising the aspirations and attainment levels of Welsh school pupils to help them reach their academic potential is an ongoing priority for Welsh Government and the Seren network is playing a pivotal role in this ambition.
"Since its inception in 2015, the network has quickly grown to a recognised and valuable vehicle through which some 2,000 of the brightest pupils in Wales are now channelling and honing their academic talents."
The Seren network has 11 hubs across Wales supporting talented Welsh teenagers.
It works in partnership with organisations including the education charity the Sutton Trust to identify opportunities and support Seren students as they apply for degree courses at the best universities, not just in the UK but worldwide.
Morgan Cronin, from the Merthyr-RCT Seren hub, attended a Sutton Trust-organised summer school at Yale University in the United States and now has an unconditional offer to study there.
She said: "Many Welsh students are put off applying to top universities because they're worried about not being comfortable in an environment where they'll be a minority."
Ms Cronin said Welsh students were able to share their stories of studying at top universities and make prospective students more comfortable. | High-achieving teenagers from Wales will have a chance to sample life at Oxford University in a collaboration with the Welsh Government. |
40,108,907 | Mr Kenny announced earlier this month that he would step down as leader of the Fine Gael party.
"I am very happy after 15 years as leader of Fine Gael, and six as taoiseach, to hand over responsibility," he said.
The new party leader is to be announced on 2 June following a contest between Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney.
Mr Varadkar is the overwhelming favourite.
"I hope that the next leader of Fine Gael, whoever it may be, always makes decisions that are in the interest of the country," Mr Kenny told the Dáil (Irish Parliament).
Over the last year, Mr Kenny has led a minority government propped up by an alliance of independents with the support of the opposition party - Fianna Fáil - to pass its budgets.
Members from across the political spectrum extended their best wishes to Mr Kenny for the future.
He will continue as taoiseach until parliament chooses a successor. | Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny has taken part in his final Question Time in the Irish parliament. |
36,426,426 | Five of the girls, aged 11-16, were seriously hurt in the Belvidere Road crash in Liverpool on 12 February. One girl suffered serious brain injuries.
At Liverpool Crown Court, Norma Stokes admitted five counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
She was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
The court heard the crash happened during a busy Friday afternoon when students were leaving The Belvedere Academy girls' school.
Mrs Stokes, of Booker Avenue, Allerton, drove out of Peel Street onto Belvidere Road when heavy traffic meant it was not safe to pull out, the court heard.
She hit bollards in the middle of the carriageway before veering across the road, mounting the pavement, and hitting the girls.
Judge David Aubrey QC said it had been "a difficult sentencing exercise" due to Mrs Stokes' previous, unblemished driving record and impeccable character.
He called for the government to review the manner in which the elderly can or cannot be permitted to drive.
Currently the DVLA states drivers over the age of 70 must renew their licence every three years.
During the case the girls' families read out impact statements describing the trauma the crash had caused, including how the girls are now "deeply anxious" and suffer from "terrible pain".
The family of the girl who suffered significant brain injuries said they were told by a consultant that their daughter, who had gone to school that day, "no longer existed" and she would return home from hospital "a different person".
She now has epilepsy, short-term memory problems and diabetes.
Mrs Stokes told police, at the time of the crash, the car was out of control and that although she was trying to brake she accidentally pressed the accelerator.
Following sentencing Ch Supt Mark Wiggins, of Merseyside Police, said: "The effects of those injuries will last a lifetime for the girls, both physically and emotionally, as well as their families.
"Mrs Stokes too has been greatly affected. She has always expressed profound regret for the events of 12 February this year, and will carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life." | An 80-year-old woman has been banned from driving for life after she drove into a group of eight schoolgirls going home for the weekend. |
38,717,159 | Emergency services were called out to the incident at about 21:15 on Friday at an area near Enterkinfoot known as Hell's Cauldron.
A silver Audi A3 car which had been broken down and parked for "several weeks" at the location was on fire.
Police have asked anybody who saw anyone or any vehicles in the area around that time to contact them. | Police say they are treating a car fire in a layby on the A76 in Dumfries and Galloway as "suspicious". |
40,592,386 | It shows two masked men with a large machine gun with the words "Unfinished Business".
It was put up near a children's play area in Springhill Park.
Paul Gallagher has said that people in the area don't know where it has come out of.
"People were saying to me that they would prefer that it wasn't there.
"Residents are concerned that it brings the area down."
The niece of a man shot dead by the IRA in Strabane, told the Belfast Telegraph that the poster was an insult to IRA victims everywhere.
Shelley Gilfillan, whose uncle Hugh 'Lexie' Cummings was killed in 1982, said that it normalises violence.
"That will teach the children what to do. It's sick and it will make the children of the area more used to violence." | A republican councillor in Strabane has called for the removal of a large image of masked gunmen on the gable wall of a house in the town. |
35,841,179 | Prices fell by just under 4% - or about £5,000 - between 2010 and 2015.
Of the 112 areas covered by the survey, it was the steepest of just four places which saw falls.
Elsewhere, house prices in Newport and Cardiff rose 12.5% and 8.5% respectively, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
The survey looks at all the towns and cities of Wales and England which have a resident or working day population of at least 75,000.
The aim of the Towns and Cities Analysis is to focus on their core built-up areas, rather than surrounding districts.
In the south of England, 29 out of 45 areas had a median price above £200,000.
But only three did in the north of England, and there were none in Wales, where prices were £125,000 (Swansea), £132,500 (Newport) and £170,000 (Cardiff).
There were also no areas in Wales, nor the north or Midlands regions of England, where median house price rose by more than 20% during this period.
This meant median house prices in Swansea typically fell by £5,000 over those five years. That compares with a median rise of more than £100,000 in Cambridge and London. | Swansea has suffered the biggest fall in house prices of any major town or city across Wales and England over the past five years. |
34,901,866 | 24 November 2015 Last updated at 00:32 GMT
"I empower women" she says. Ms Brown told the BBC's Nomsa Maseko she wanted to have make-up for "all skin colours".
Ms Brown adds: "Our foundation number 10, called Espresso, is very dark.
"It's low-selling and there are probably marketing people who think I should discontinue it but I never will - for women who have that skin colour there is not another foundation in the world that matches."
Our 100 Women season showcases two weeks of inspirational stories about the BBC 100 Women and others who defy stereotypes around the world, including this related feature on make-up
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #100Women. Listen to the programmes here. | US make-up artist Bobbi Brown says she "doesn't objectify women". |
36,024,850 | Five youths dropped concrete posts and manhole covers off an A4174 bridge on 6 April, the Bristol Post reported.
A dispersal order has been put in place in Longwell Green following the "dangerous and reckless" behaviour of children.
Ch Insp Mark Evans, said: "We don't want to criminalise children, but we need to take action."
Over the past six weeks the anti-social behaviour of a group of children - some as young as nine - has escalated in the Barrs Court, Longwell Green and Oldland Common areas, according to Avon and Somerset Police.
Last week, two 15-year-old boys were arrested for breaching a dispersal order.
In addition, an 18-year-old man was given a street caution and a 16-year-old boy was arrested and street bailed for possessing cannabis.
Ch Insp Evans said children are being dropped off by parents who are not "fully aware of the danger their children are putting themselves or others in".
"What we're finding now is they're stepping up their behaviour and it's becoming more reckless and is beginning to put lives in danger," he said.
"Up until now we've been using dispersal powers to move on those causing problems, but we've now reached the stage where we're making arrests with the intention of bringing offenders to justice for their actions.
"So the appeal to parents is to get control of your children." | Parents are being told to "get control" of their children after manhole covers were thrown from a Bristol bridge. |
34,044,934 | The Italy international, 25, has moved back to the seven-time European champions in a season-long deal.
"I feel like someone who has put the first part of his career to one side. Played and lived like a boy," he said.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I haven't forgotten how to play football. I am no longer a kid. I've wasted too many chances."
Balotelli is taking a pay cut to move back to Milan, with Liverpool also paying some of his wages.
He scored only one Premier League goal for Liverpool after a £16m move from Milan in August 2014.
The ex-Manchester City player is set to make his second debut for the Rossoneri against Serie A rivals Empoli on Saturday.
Balotelli scored four goals in 28 appearances across all competitions for the Reds following his arrival a year ago.
But he was left out of the pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia and trained away from the first team before rejoining Milan.
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers signed forwards Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings, while Divock Origi is back at Anfield after a year on loan at Lille.
"I take my responsibilities, but the system chosen by Rodgers wasn't suited to my characteristics," Balotelli said on Milan's official website.
"Mario Balotelli has left Liverpool for AC Milan on loan - and very few at the club will ever wish to see him back at Anfield again.
"The Italian was a £16m panic buy last season when manager Brendan Rodgers was faced with the choice of the veteran Samuel Eto'o, Balotelli or no-one at all. After stating "categorically" he would not sign Balotelli, Rodgers would have been better with no-one at all.
"In every respect Balotelli was a terrible fit for Liverpool. A maverick with no team ethic, he was also completely at odds with the intense pressing style Rodgers employs.
"It was an expensive gamble that failed miserably and Rodgers and Liverpool will now hope it is behind them."
Balotelli has scored 13 goals in 33 appearances for Italy, but has not been picked for the national side since the 2014 World Cup.
Now he hopes his move back to Milan can lead to an Azzurri recall in time for next summer's European Championship in France.
"Yes, I am thinking about it. I want to play well for Milan and earn the Italy shirt again. But for now I simply have to work," he said.
"One step at a time. If I score lots of goals then maybe I will be in France. I want to play at the European Championship - I will do everything I can to achieve that.
"To see me again in the Italian national side was one of my father's wishes before he passed away. I owe it also to him."
Media playback is not supported on this device | Mario Balotelli says he cannot afford to make any more mistakes in his career after returning to AC Milan on loan from Liverpool. |
39,297,063 | Roedd Dr Felix Aubel wedi ymateb i neges at Twitter gan flogiwr asgell dde eithafol o Sweden drwy ofyn a ddylai Cristnogion yn Ewrop wneud yr hyn a wnaeth pobl Sbaen ar ddiwedd yr Oesoedd Canol.
Roedd yn cyfeirio at Chwil-lys Sbaen, pan gafodd Mwslemiaid ac Iddewon eu herlid a'u harteithio wrth gael eu llosgi.
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig: "Barn Felix Aubel ei hun yw hyn ac ni yw mewn unrhyw ffordd yn cynrychioli barn y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig.
"Ni allwn esgusodi'r defnydd o'r math yma o iaith."
Mae Dr Aubel, sydd yn weinidog ar nifer o gapeli yn ardal Caerfyrddin, wedi dileu'r neges oedd yn cynnwys ei ymateb ar Twitter, ond dywedodd wrth BBC Cymru fod camddealltwriaeth wedi bod.
"Roeddwn i'n gofyn cwestiwn pen agored am sylwadau gwrth-grefyddol y trydariad, ac nid yn gwneud datganiad," meddai.
"Rwyf o dras cymysg fy hun ac nid ydw i'n cytuno gydag unrhyw ragfarn grefyddol neu hiliol."
Fe ddaeth teulu Dr Aubel i dde Cymru fel ffoaduriaid wedi'r Ail Ryfel Byd.
Mae'r teulu'n hanu o Slofenia, ac fe wynebodd aelodau erledigaeth gan Serbiaid yn yr Iwgoslafia newydd gafodd ei chreu yn dilyn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf.
Mae Dr Aubel wedi sefyll fel ymgeisydd mewn nifer o etholiadau'r Cynulliad a San Steffan, ond ni fydd yn sefyll fel ymgeisydd ar ran y Ceidwadwyr yn yr etholiadau lleol ym mis Mai. | Mae aelod amlwg o'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig wedi gwadu awgrymiadau ei fod yn cefnogi erledigaeth grefyddol gan ddweud bod "camddealltwriaeth llwyr" wedi digwydd. |
35,890,847 | McInnes was offered a one-match touchline ban after he was sent to the stand during Aberdeen's victory at Dundee United earlier this month.
The punishment has been reduced on appeal to a one-match suspended ban until the end of the season.
McInnes will now be free to take his place in the dugout for Aberdeen's next match at home to Hamilton on 3 April. | Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has been successful in his appeal against a one-match touchline ban. |
39,830,309 | They say the bus plunged off the road in a steep ravine near the town of Karatu.
A number of people were hurt. Officials later tried to remove survivors and dead bodies from the vehicle.
The students from a primary school in Arusha were travelling to another school to sit an exam.
The final year pupils from the Lucky Vincent school - believed to be aged between 12 and 14 - were on their way to take mock exams when the accident happened on Saturday morning.
Two teachers and the driver were also killed.
President John Magufuli said the accident was a "national tragedy".
"This accident extinguishes the dreams of these children who were preparing to serve the nation, it is an immense pain for the families involved and for the whole nation," he said.
Regional police commander Charles Mkumbo told Reuters that "the accident happened when the bus was descending on a steep hill in rainy conditions".
"We are still investigating the incident to determine if it was caused by a mechanical defect or human error on the part of the driver," he added. | More than 30 people - almost all of them schoolchildren - have been killed in a bus crash in northern Tanzania, officials say. |
36,674,853 | London 2012 flyweight champion Nicola Adams, 33, is one of two women included, while British men qualified in all 10 weight divisions.
Britain topped the boxing medal table in London with three golds, one silver and a bronze.
GB Boxing performance director Rob McCracken described the qualification success as a "historic achievement".
Find out how to get into boxing with our special guide.
He said: "It was a very gruelling qualification campaign and to get to the end of it with 12 boxers going to the Olympics is a great reward for the hard work and efforts of everyone connected."
Adams is aiming to become Britain's first two-time Olympic boxing champion.
Her fellow gold medallists in London, Anthony Joshua and Luke Campbell, have since turned professional.
Joshua is the IBF heavyweight world champion - he defended his title for the first time on 25 June - while Campbell is the lightweight Commonwealth belt holder.
Professionals will be eligible to compete in the Olympics for the first time in Rio, a decision that has been widely criticised.
However, as Team GB secured 10 amateur male qualifiers, they were unable to take any professionals.
The Olympics run from 5 to 21 August.
Great Britain team
Men: Galal Yafai (light-flyweight), Muhammad Ali (flyweight), Qais Ashfaq (bantamweight), Joe Cordina (lightweight), Pat McCormack (light-welterweight), Josh Kelly (welterweight), Antony Fowler (middleweight), Joshua Buatsi (light-heavyweight), Lawrence Okolie (heavyweight), Joe Joyce (super-heavyweight).
Women: Nicola Adams (flyweight), Savannah Marshall (middleweight). | Great Britain have named a 12-strong team for this summer's Rio Olympics, their biggest since Los Angeles 1984. |
35,108,426 | The president of the South American football federation Conmebol was detained in Zurich earlier this month.
Mr Napout, a Paraguayan, is accused of taking bribes worth millions of dollars linked to the sale of marketing rights to South American tournaments.
He resigned following his arrest and is currently banned from football.
Swiss justice authorities also said Eduardo Li, a former president of the Costa Rican federation who was arrested in Zurich in May, had dropped his appeal against extradition to the US.
Mr Napout was arrested at the same time as fellow Fifa vice-president Alfredo Hawit, the interim president for North, Central America and Caribbean football.
All three men are among 16 current and former senior football officials indicted by US authorities investigating corruption in the organisation earlier this month.
The FBI investigation was initially sparked by the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, as well as the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
But the inquiry has since been widened to look at Fifa's dealings over the past 20 years. The US says the corruption was planned in the US and US banks were used to transfer money.
Fifa President Sepp Blatter has always denied any wrongdoing, but in September he was made the subject of a parallel Swiss criminal investigation.
Under the US investigation, former Honduras President Rafael Callejas appeared in court in New York and pleaded not guilty to bribery charges.
Mr Callejas, who led his country between 1990 and 1994, is a current member of Fifa's television and marketing committee.
Meanwhile in Peru, authorities have opened an investigation into the current head of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF), Edwin Oviedo, as well as 65 other people.
Prosecutors are examining the FPF's bank accounts and balance sheets amid suspicion that sports activities were used to launder money, AFP news agency reports.
And in Brazil, former stars including Rai and Paulo Cezar Caju have called for the resignation of Brazilian Football Confederation President Marco Polo Del Nero, who has been indicted in the US for "racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies".
"We need a more democratic institution in order to rebuild Brazilian football," Rai told BBC Brasil.
Mr Del Nero is currently on a leave of absence. | Fifa vice-president Juan Angel Napout has been extradited to the US to face corruption charges, Swiss officials say. |
35,883,796 | Planners have described an application for 2,068 homes, on the former Wisley Airfield, as "inappropriate" in the greenbelt.
Guildford Borough Council has called a special meeting on 6 April to rule on the proposal.
Developers Wisley Property Investments has said it will ask for more time to discuss "remaining issues".
The company said it expected to resolve matters "later this summer".
It submitted its original plan in December 2014 to build the homes, a school, eight travellers' pitches and a floodlit sports facility at the former airfield.
The planners concluded "there are benefits to be gained from the development, not least the early delivery of much need (sic) housing", but there were "no material considerations" to override the "Government's continuing firm commitment to Green Belt protection".
Wisley Action Group campaigners welcomed the recommendation.
Helen Jefferies, of the group, said there was now an "avalanche of evidence" against a "new town" of over 2,000 houses on "greenbelt land, agricultural land, in the rural hamlet of Ockham".
But, Mike Murray of Wisley Property Investments said the disused airfield was the "obvious location for a new settlement in Guildford".
He claimed support from "younger people keen to get on to the housing ladder" and said 65 per cent of under-35s surveyed last year were in favour. | Villagers have welcomed a recommendation to reject a proposed "new town" near Guildford. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.