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37,335,857 | The UN and the International Red Cross say the government has reported 133 deaths with nearly 400 people missing and homes and crops destroyed.
Rescue teams have been unable to reach some of the worst-hit areas.
North Korea already has chronic food shortages and is heavily dependent on foreign aid to feed its population.
The UN has allocated $8m this year for humanitarian aid in the isolated country.
The flooding, triggered by the recent Typhoon Lionrock, comes as North Korea faces global anger for conducting its fifth nuclear test.
Friday's detonation, believed to be the North's biggest test so far, is expected to lead to a tightening of sanctions.
The worst flooding is along the Tumen river, which borders China. Many areas in Musan and Yonsa counties are entirely cut off, said the UN.
Chris Staines, who is leading a Red Cross delegation in North Korea, said the region was facing "a very major and complex disaster".
"The floods came through with such force, they destroyed everything in their path," AFP quoted him as saying. In some villages close to Hoeryong City there was "barely a building left unscathed".
"People displaced from the floods are now in a very difficult situation and there are real risks of secondary disasters, particularly relating to people's health," he added.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said 140,000 people are "in urgent need of assistance".
Murat Sahin, a UN official in North Korea, said the scale of the disaster was "beyond anything experienced by local officials".
North Korean state media said people are experiencing "great suffering" in the region.
A week after the disaster struck, state media told citizens about the extent of the floods and launched a "200-day" campaign to rebuild affected areas.
According to one report from state news agency KCNA, the campaign means that workers have been diverted from many of North Korea's set-piece construction projects and sent to Hamgyong Province to shore up river banks and build new homes.
Tuesday's main evening news showed labourers hard at work in what could easily be a scene orchestrated for the cameras. Workers dug and shifted mud in front of propaganda banners, while a uniformed musical troupe sang in the background.
However, the emergency is not the main news story in the country. That honour was given to Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's visit to a farm, which was seen heaving with ripening crops. | Aid agencies have warned that North Korea is facing a humanitarian disaster after tens of thousands of people were displaced by flooding. |
33,508,288 | The alternate minister for combating unemployment, who was a professional economist, said that the combination of the closure of the banks and austerity measures being forced on the country by eurozone and IMF creditors will tip Greece back into serious recession.
She also told me that she felt the government of Alexis Tsipras could remain in power, in spite of accepting a bailout deal at least as onerous as one rejected by it and Greek people in a referendum.
She would not be quitting, she said - although she did not hide her deep distaste for the tax rises and spending cuts being forced on her administration.
She did not know which, if any, of her ministerial colleagues would resign.
Mr Tsipras had no choice but to capitulate in the face of pressure from creditors, led by Germany, because the alternative was the complete collapse of the banks, and the meltdown of the economy.
The alternative of quitting the euro could not be considered, she said, because Syriza had no mandate for that.
She would not be drawn on whether she was personally in favour of exit from the eurozone.
Even with the rescue agreed, subject to Athens parliamentary approval, and the approval of other eurozone parliaments - including the Bundestag in Germany - restrictions on withdrawals from Greek banks (capital controls) would remain for some time, she said. | Greece's economy will contract a further 3%, Athens minister Rania Antonopoulos has told me in a BBC interview. |
37,228,762 | The alarm was raised at about 09:30 BST after the 16ft (5m) vessel was seen in Aberystwyth Harbour.
The town's lifeboat was launched and police, the ambulance service, air ambulance and the coastguard were called to the scene.
The other man is said to be in a stable condition in Bronglais Hospital.
The RNLI regained control of the speedboat and it was taken to Aberystwyth Marina, HM Coastguard said.
Dyfed-Powys Police said specialist officers are supporting the family. | A man has died after he and another man were pulled from the sea when an empty speedboat was spotted circling in the water. |
38,250,085 | The Motherwell boss will not be in the dugout for the games against Kilmarnock and Aberdeen following the incidents at Dundee's Dens Park on 5 November.
McGhee will incur a ban for a third match if he again breaches Scottish FA disciplinary rule 203 this season.
Two further charges against McGhee were dropped at Thursday's hearing.
These were adopting "aggressive behaviour towards a match official; and/or" adopting "aggressive behaviour towards a steward".
Well lost the match in Dundee 2-0, with both goals coming after a controversial incident in the first half.
The visitors claimed the ball had crossed the line when Dundee goalkeeper David Mitchell collided with a post while clutching an over-hit Scott McDonald cross.
Prior to the outcome of McGhee's hearing, Motherwell player-assistant manager James McFadden was asked at the club's media conference about the possibility of the manager's absence from the dugout.
"It won't really change," said McFadden.
"The manager, contrary to belief, is quite reserved on the touchline and I'm the one that does all the shouting.
"I think the team will be set up the same way, the structures will be the same and it will just be a continuation of what's been happening anyway."
However, McFadden admitted McGhee's absence from the technical area could hinder his chance of playing.
The 33-year-old played for Motherwell's under-20s this week to maintain his fitness in case he is called upon.
"I hadn't been playing so I was just making sure I was ready if required, because we've got a lot of games coming up and in case we get any injuries," explained McFadden.
"But I need to be ready just in case because we are quite short on numbers and I want to still play. We'll just see how that goes." | Mark McGhee will serve a two-match touchline ban after admitting use of abusing and/or insulting language towards a match official and a steward. |
40,188,240 | The arrest followed an incident involving armed police at Shrewsbury Close on Wednesday.
Gwent Police is investigating alleged robberies at stores at Malpas Road and Albany Street at 08:15 BST and 08:21.
Chief Supt Marc Budden said officers responded quickly to "ensure there was little risk to the local community".
The man has also been arrested for possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence. | A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of committing two armed robberies in Newport. |
39,600,258 | Students at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich claim the figures, by the acclaimed artist Sir Antony Gormley, resemble people contemplating jumping off.
The work is part of an exhibition by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and will be on display for five years.
UEA said it "is proud" to be hosting "thought-provoking work".
One student told BBC Look East: "I really did think it was someone who was going to jump off a building."
Another student said of the cast iron figures: "I can see why they might startle someone, especially if they haven't been forewarned they're there."
In a statement, UEA said: "The university is proud to be hosting though-provoking work by an artist of such international acclaim.
"The reaction of the university community... has been overwhelmingly positive and we are sure the three figures will become much-loved focal points in our campus landscape."
Gormley is one the UK's leading artists and is probably best known for his Angel of the North.
However, his Event Horizon work - a touring exhibition which features human forms placed on top of buildings - has previously provoked fearful reactions.
In 2010, police in New York received calls from people who mistook human-shaped sculptures on the top of tall buildings for people about to jump.
There were similar concerns when the work was shown on London's South Bank in 2007 and the project was cancelled in Hong Kong in 2014 because a banker had jumped to his death the same year. | An art installation featuring life-size human statues on top of university buildings has been criticised. |
34,334,649 | Durham fast bowler Mark Wood has won a central contract for the first time.
In addition to the 11 central contracts for 2015-16, the ECB has also awarded eight incremental contracts.
Gary Ballance, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes, who held full central contracts for 2014-15, are among the players given incremental deals for 2015-16.
England play Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October and November, then tour South Africa in the winter before the World Twenty20 is held in India in March and April.
"Eoin Morgan's award reflects his status as captain of our limited-overs teams and the wider importance we place on white-ball cricket," said ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss.
"We congratulate Mark Wood on winning a central contract for the first time.
"This award reflects his excellent performances for England this summer and our expectation that he will have a role to play in all three formats of the international game over the next 12 months."
Adam Lyth and Jason Roy, who earned incremental deals by virtue of the number of matches they played last season, have been left off the new list.
Meanwhile Ravi Bopara and James Tredwell, who did not represent England over the summer, also miss out having held incremental deals for 2014-15.
Centrally contracted players: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Mark Wood (Durham).
Players awarded incremental contracts: Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire) | England one-day and Twenty20 captain Eoin Morgan is one of 11 players to have been given a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board. |
34,061,931 | Sanford Wallace, who is known as the "Spam King", faces a maximum prison sentence of three years and a fine of $250,000 (£160,000).
Wallace tricked people into revealing their login details which he then used to access half a million accounts.
He then used those accounts to send spam to other Facebook users.
The charges against Wallace included fraud and criminal contempt in connection with misusing electronic mail, according to a statement from the district attorney.
One of Wallace's strategies for distributing spam involved targeting Facebook users with bogus "friend requests", which were in fact disguised advertisements.
As part of the guilty plea, he admitted to knowingly violating an order not to access Facebook's computer network.
The move to prosecute Wallace relates to a complaint filed in 2011, which was the result of an FBI investigation.
He will be sentenced on 2 December. | A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to fraud and criminal contempt after he sent more than 27 million spam messages through Facebook. |
36,560,823 | The 30 year-old scored 17 goals in 69 league appearances for the Millers in two seasons at The New York Stadium.
He has previously played for Blackburn, Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest.
The club said in a statement: "We would like to place on record our thanks to Matt for his major contribution over the past two seasons where he has been a key player." | Rotherham striker Matt Derbyshire has left the Championship club to join Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus. |
35,279,941 | The Poppies: Weeping Window installation has adorned the steps of St George's Hall since November and ends on Sunday.
A larger display of the poppies was on show at The Tower of London in 2014.
Created by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, the original artwork marked 100 years since the start of World War One.
The Weeping Window display was installed in Liverpool just before Remembrance Sunday and had attracted 301,500 visitors by the end of 2015.
The Liverpool Welsh Choral Union will sing at the site at 14:00 GMT on Sunday, before the exhibition is closed with a performance from a bugler from the Band of the Duke of Lancaster at about 16:45.
Councillor Wendy Simon, assistant mayor and cabinet member for culture, tourism and events, said: "These poppies will have been part of the city's fabric for 72 days and the reaction to the stunning work has been overwhelming to say the least.
"We bid to host the poppies six months ago as St George's Hall would be the perfect venue for the installation with its World War One connections, and as with all our events, we knew that as usual, the people of Liverpool would come out in their thousands to show support for the thought-provoking piece of work.
"But we didn't expect the response we've had, and it makes me massively proud to know so many people have taken the time to visit." | Thousands are expected to visit a display of ceramic poppies during the exhibit's last weekend in Liverpool. |
34,758,262 | Burgess, 26, left the Premiership side on Thursday to return to Australian NRL club South Sydney Rabbitohs.
He made the decision after being part of England's poor World Cup campaign.
"The way we play rugby at Bath he would have fitted in brilliantly and taken our game, and rugby union I feel, to a new dimension," said Ford.
Burgess switched codes and moved to Bath last year, before the recent Rugby Union World Cup.
But he has returned to Rabbitohs, citing "family reasons", with two years of his three-year contract remaining.
The Yorkshireman had been playing at blind-side flanker for Bath, but was picked at centre for England against Wales in the World Cup.
His selection led to much debate, with many observers suggesting the newcomer should have been allowed time to develop in just one position.
Ford is adamant Burgess could cope with playing in both positions, despite personally seeing his future at number six.
"No-one can change my mind that Sam Burgess is a back-row player - that's who he is," the 49-year-old former rugby league player told BBC Radio 5 live.
"We wanted him on the field as a ball carrier and a tackler, that's what he did and it worked for us the way we played.
"Going from six to 12 for how England wanted to play, it's the same job. But with Bath he touched the ball more, made more tackles, had more involvements.
"I said to him he could play 12 with England then easily come back to us and play six. I stand by that.
"It's disappointing as I feel he has potentially left too early and we're short of a very good back-row player, and England are short of a potentially good back-row player internationally."
Burgess was given time off by Bath after England's World Cup campaign, returning earlier this week and had been poised to start on the bench in Saturday's Premiership win at London Irish.
"In that 10 days he's gone away and discussed his future to his fiancée Phoebe, he's come back in and he's still not right," said Ford after the 45-14 victory.
"On Monday, we spoke to him and there was still light at the end of the tunnel that he was going to play for Bath.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"He trained Monday, he trained Tuesday, we picked him in the team today to start on the bench, but from late on Wednesday South Sydney rang up and started negotiating with Bath.
"We had one more chance with Sam where we sat down with him and he kept saying it was for family reasons and he wanted to go back home." | Sam Burgess's early return to rugby league has left England short of a potentially international-class back-rower, says Bath coach Mike Ford. |
30,562,386 | The light pink spiky stilettos are covered in real human hair, have a four inch heel and a pointy toe.
The award winning artist, Zhu Tian, who created them, hasn't said exactly which part of the body the black strands came from.
But just keep imagining it's head hair and think of someone nice, clean and good-looking.
However, you won't be dancing in these shoes (made from someone nice, clean and good-looking).
They weren't invented for this year's Christmas party, they're part of an exhibition in London.
The artist wanted to play with the "fetishist sexualisation of high heels", she said.
"I was invited to create a work using a pair of Dior's stilettos."
Even though the designer's stamp was on the project and it was commissioned by ELLE China, the shoes failed to impress some of the fash pack world.
"The stuff of nightmares" said one website, "creepy" and "the grossest shoes of all time." were some of the other comments.
Tian, who won the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize this year said: "I was trying to question and play with the fetishist sexualisation of high heels in contemporary consumerist culture."
She compares today's high heel shoes to foot binding feet in China in ancient times.
The artist said: "Women who had small highly twisted feet were considered sexy but nowadays people would find the same thing vile.
"High heels have been proven to be harmful to a women's body. So we will look back in 100 years in the same way we now think of foot binding?"
So who cares what the fash pack have said on their websites, the shoes weren't intended for them to wear at a 'launch' or a 'red carpet event'.
But still, as fetishes go there is bound to be someone out there who would like to sniff these flesh coloured hairy stilettos.
Zhu Tian's work will feature in the Young Gods 2015 Exhibition in London between 8 January - 6 February 2015. She is also featured in The Catlin Guide 2015 of New Artists.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | These hairy high heels have been called "creepy" and "the grossest shoes of all time" by some fashion websites. |
34,237,078 | There have been reports of clashes between rival groups.
Protesters demand the government's resignation and early elections over a $1bn (£655m) bank fraud.
Last week, tens of thousands of people protested against the failure of the authorities to hold to account those responsible for the disappearance of the cash from the country's banks.
They argue that their living standards have been damaged by the fraud.
The state was forced to bail three banks out last year after the money vanished from their coffers.
Correspondents say streets in the city centre have been cordoned off and there is a heavy police presence.
Privately-owned news channel Publika TV said clashes between supporters of the Dignity and Justice civic platform and a group advocating Moldova's unification with Romania broke out soon after the rally began.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe and the fraud has resulted in a depreciation of the national currency, the leu.
At the scene
By Rayhan Demytrie, BBC News
Chanting "resign" and "victory", thousands of demonstrators joined the ongoing anti-government protest in Chisinau's central square. Many were holding Moldovan and EU flags.
It's the second Sunday in a row that has seen thousands coming out to protest against corruption.
The rally has been organised by a civic platform, Dignity and Truth, which was established in February in response to a $1bn banking fraud.
It has been largely peaceful, apart from a small clash between the so-called unionists - the supporters of Moldova's union with Romania - and supporters of Dignity and Truth.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of the president, the government and are calling for early elections.
So far there has not been any response from the government. The leaders of Dignity and Truth, many of whom are journalists, lawyers and other public figures in Moldova, have called for civil disobedience until their demands are met.
A leaked report last week said that a 28-year-old businessman, Ilan Shor, was the main co-ordinator and beneficiary - but in an exclusive BBC interview he proclaimed his innocence.
Much of the money passed through UK companies.
Many demonstrators have been camped out in the city centre since a similar protest last Sunday.
And organisers from the Dignity and Justice movement have warned that their supporters will stay camped out near the government building in Chisinau's main square until their demands are met.
Many protesters directed their criticism at Moldova's super-wealthy oligarchs - a source of much anger in one of Europe's poorest countries.
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova signed an association agreement taking it closer to European Union membership last year, despite opposition from Moscow. | Thousands of people are taking part in another large anti-corruption protest in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. |
15,961,780 | The 36-page guidebook was circulated to the union's 4,000 members this season.
While it is not known whether Speed was suffering from depression, the PFA is keen to act.
And 50,000 former professionals will receive the booklet as PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor wants to "let people know there is a support system".
The debate around mental health has grown since Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke took his own life in late 2009 and Rushden & Diamonds keeper Dale Roberts killed himself a year later.
It's very, very hard for players to know where to go and who to turn to when they start feeling rough
Speed, the Wales manager and former Leeds, Newcastle and Wales midfielder, was found hanged at his home on Sunday, aged 42.
The booklet, entitled 'The Footballers' Guidebook', contains advice, helpline numbers and case studies on suffering depression from Andy Cole, Neil Lennon, Stan Collymore, Paul Gascoigne and PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle.
But Susannah Strong, the author, admitted she found it "really, really difficult to get any footballer to talk about mental health".
She told BBC Sports World Have Your Say: "There's a huge amount of stigma and taboo around mental health.
"It's an extraordinary sport where you get people to the absolute physical perfection - and yet there's no attention paid whatsoever to the mental health of footballers.
"It's very, very hard for players to know where to go and who to turn to when they start feeling rough."
Peter Kay, the chief executive of the Sporting Chance clinic which helps sportsmen fight addiction, told the BBC that 10 players have been in touch since Speed's death.
"There has been a tremendous outpouring of emotion this week, an indication that Gary was regarded as one of our finest," said Taylor.
"This booklet went out at the beginning of the season after the deaths of Robert Enke and Dale Roberts, and after what has happened with Gary we have decided to widen its circulation.
"Mental problems have to be treated with understanding. Players can have panic attacks, fail to come terms with leaving football, finishing as a player, or the pressures of being a manager.
"We want to do all we can to try to avoid another tragedy like this."
The guidebook is designed to be easy to read and contains cartoons by Roy of the Rovers illustrator Paul Trevillion.
However, Strong warned: "Our booklet is a start but there's so much more to be done.
"The thing now is about prevention. It needs to be ok to talk about mental health.
"There needs to be more communication. That needs to start before people become unwell, right at the beginning." | The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) will send a booklet on handling depression to all ex-players following Gary Speed's death. |
39,921,713 | Entrants were invited to submit their ideas for the Midsteeple Quarter in the heart of the town.
The national competition hopes to develop a new architectural vision for the area and a number of empty shops nearby.
It was organised by the community-led Stove Network in collaboration with the Glasgow Institute of Architects.
Prizes will be awarded for the top three designs in the competition and their work will be exhibited in Dumfries and Glasgow during the summer.
The Stove Network wants to see more buildings brought under local control and create new housing and services on the town's High Street. | A competition to find designs to help revitalise the historic centre of Dumfries has drawn to a close. |
30,973,779 | John Whitbread, from Leicestershire, put the £1,800 trip to the Dominican Republic on eBay in the hope of finding a female companion.
But the two highest bidders failed to pay the winning sum.
He instead sold £10 raffle tickets and the lucky winner drawn out of a hat has agreed to jet off with him.
The "Jilted John" raffle raised £1,420 for Balls to Cancer.
Mr Whitbread confirmed to the BBC that the winner had agreed to accompany him to the Caribbean.
The 32-year-old, who grew up in Derbyshire, split from his fiancée six weeks before their wedding.
He was determined not to go on the honeymoon alone and so auctioned off his partner's place - to women only - on eBay.
After the top two bidders failed to pay, he decided to hold a raffle instead. | After being jilted three times, a man who tried to auction his ex-fiancée's honeymoon place has finally found a holiday partner. |
26,118,114 | Coach Mike Hesson said team officials had lost confidence in the pair.
Batsman Ryder, 29, only recently returned to the squad after two years out, including a six-month drug ban.
If a player was to have a beer with their meal before a game, we don't have an issue with that at all. But there's a big difference between that and what occurred the night before the Test match
"Both Jesse and Doug did not prepare themselves well for the Test match and we're very disappointed," said Hesson.
"We need to make sure that all our players prepare themselves accordingly for Test cricket, and at the moment we don't have confidence that that's the case.
"We're dealing with grown men. If a player was to have a beer with their meal before a game, we don't have an issue with that at all. But there's a big difference between that and what occurred the night before the Test match."
Ryder quit international cricket in 2012 citing personal problems.
During his absence he was left in a medically induced coma after being attacked as he left a Christchurch bar.
He was also suspended for six months after testing positive for two banned stimulants.
However, he was brought back into the fold in December 2013, claiming he was "more motivated than ever to perform for New Zealand".
Ryder and all-rounder Bracewell were not in the starting team for the first Test in Auckland, which New Zealand won by 40 runs.
The second Test of the two-match series starts in Wellington on Friday. | New Zealand have dropped Jesse Ryder and Doug Bracewell from their squad for the second Test against India for going on a late-night drinking session on the eve of the first Test. |
26,944,506 | The details are contained in the latest accounts of Junction One Ltd, which cover the 18 months to March 2013.
They show that the centre is now valued at £7.85m, compared to a valuation of almost £80m in 2009.
Virtually all commercial properties in Northern Ireland have seen their values fall as a result of the property crash.
The latest fall in the value of the centre follows a revaluation in May 2013 that saw a chartered surveyor reduce the value from £30.3m to £7.85m.
Junction One Ltd has Ulster Bank borrowings of more than £48m and its liabilities outweigh its assets by almost £52m.
Junction One Ltd is partially under the control of an administrator after one of the company's shareholders was placed into administration last year.
Valto Ltd went into administration in October as part of a restructuring of property assets controlled by brothers Shamus and Francis Jennings.
Company documents suggest that Valto has 50% of the shares in Junction One Ltd. | The Junction One shopping centre near Antrim is now worth less than 10% of what it was valued at in 2009. |
38,506,322 | The university became the first in the world in 1997 to offer degree level qualifications in computer games development.
Abertay will host its biggest ever Global Game Jam event in January to launch the anniversary celebrations.
It will be the fifth time the university has hosted the event.
About 220 students, lecturers and games industry professionals will collaborate on new computer game prototypes over two days.
The event is part of the international Global Game Jam where developers work to a set theme.
The university will announce its full programme for 20 Years of Computer Games in the coming weeks.
Last year it was named as the only European institution in a list of the world's top universities for studying game design. | Abertay University in Dundee will stage a programme of celebrations to mark 20 years of running computer gaming courses. |
36,261,120 | Edwards is Wrexham manager Gary Mills' first signing of the summer.
The centre-half made two first team appearances for Wrexham before leaving the Dragons during the summer of 2011.
The 25-year-old spent a season with Neath but joined New Saints in 2012 following the club's liquidation.
He has represented Wales at Under 17 and Under 19 level as well as the Wales Under 23 semi-professional side. | Wrexham have re-signed former trainee Kai Edwards on a one-year deal after the defender was released by Welsh treble winners The New Saints. |
32,677,260 | Civilians in the northern city of Saada are struggling to flee Saudi-led coalition air strikes targeting Houthi rebels, reports and aid workers say.
The UN also warned that the indiscriminate bombing of populated areas is against international law.
Air strikes have killed at least 1,400, more than half civilians, the UN says.
The medical charity MSF, say that fuel shortages mean many people can only flee on foot.
The UN's humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Johannes Van Der Klauuw, said he was "deeply concerned" by the impact of the latest air strikes on northern Yemen.
"Many civilians are effectively trapped in Saada as they are unable to access transport because of the fuel shortage," he added.
The Saudi-led coalition says it consider all of Saada a "military zone". On Friday it dropped leaflets warning residents to leave.
Mr Van Der Klauuw said that the decision to target the entire province "will put countless civilians at risk".
In a statement he added that many of Saada's residents were effectively trapped due to a lack of transport and that the leaflet warnings did not absolve the coalition of its responsibility not to target civilians.
Teresa Sancristoval, the emergency coordinator for Doctors without Borders (MSF) based at Saada's al-Gumhary Hospital, described intense bombing overnight, with reports of up to 140 strikes hitting the city in total.
She said her team had been treating seven pregnant women who were in labour, but five of them fled due to the intensity of the air strikes.
"The population that remains is very scared and worried... The market, storage facilities and government buildings have been destroyed and many civilians are suffering the consequences," she said.
Up to 130 strikes took place across the country on Saturday targeting rebel buildings, weapons stores and camps, a coalition spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Brig Gen Ahmad Assiri, said it was in response to Houthi rebels firing shells into Saudi Arabia earlier this week, killing 10 people.
Hundreds of families have already fled Saada province, security officials and Houthi rebels say.
However, the Saudis have accused the Houthi rebels of hiding troops and weapons in civilian areas to prevent them being targeted by airstrikes.
Gen Assiri said the Houthi rebels were preventing residents from leaving areas under fire. A Houthi spokesman, Hamed al-Bokheiti, later denied this.
The UN has called on all parties not to locate "military personnel and assets in densely populated areas, thereby endangering civilians."
Saudi Arabia on Friday offered a five-day truce, which would start at 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
But senior Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told the BBC that the ceasefire had not been formally proposed and the Houthis would not respond until a plan was properly laid out.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has accused Shia rival Iran of arming the Houthis, a charge Iran and the Houthis deny.
The Saudis have been sheltering the internationally recognised Yemeni President Mansour Abdrabbuh Hadi, who fled there in March. | The United Nations representative in Yemen has said that the Saudi-led coalition is bombing "effectively, trapped civilians". |
35,323,776 | 15 January 2016 Last updated at 12:15 GMT
Watch the video to find out more about how he's feeling. | The British astronaut, Tim Peake, has described the thought of a spacewalk as "the most exhilarating feeling imaginable." |
36,051,872 | The blaze broke out at the Gordon House Hotel in Kirkcudbright just after 20:00 on Thursday.
Staff, residents and customers were evacuated and there were no injuries as a result of the fire.
More than 20 firefighters spent several hours working to bring the flames under control. They left at about 04:50 after ensuring the scene was safe.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the fire broke out in the kitchen area before spreading to the roof of a small, single-storey extension at the back of the premises.
At the height of the incident, crews from Gatehouse, Kirkcudbright, Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Hamilton were in attendance.
They fought the blaze using six water jets.
It was contained to the rear of the hotel and shortly after midnight dampening down operations got under way.
Hotel guest Edward Connolly, from Glasgow, said: "There was no panic, we just all made our way out of the hotel.
"I was in the room upstairs with my wife Esther when we noticed smoke.
"We made our way downstairs and everyone got out safely."
He said the staff had been "great" throughout the incident.
"We didn't realise just how bad it was until we were out and saw the fire engines arrive and the smoke and flames," he added.
Hotel director Donald Allan said they were pleased that nobody had been hurt and could only praise everyone involved.
"The couple that manage the hotel for us did a great job and we are arranging for accommodation for everyone who needs it," he said.
"Obviously once things are sorted out our aim is to get the hotel open for we have a lot of bookings for the summer." | Fire has caused extensive damage to a hotel in a town in the south west of Scotland. |
37,506,194 | However, she said despite political differences between the administrations in Edinburgh and Holyrood it was important to avoid a "shouting match".
Powers, including DLA/PIP, Attendance Allowance and Carers Allowance, are to be transferred from Westminster.
Ms Freeman was giving an update to Holyrood's social security committee.
She was quizzed on recent remarks of her SNP colleagues who had highlighted the difficulties between the two governments.
This month, Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said the Scottish government was not going to give information or respond to inquiries if "we think that might lead to a sanction [of benefits]".
And First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also stated the government would not "co-operate in a scheme that is about piling human misery on human misery".
On Thursday, Ms Freeman was asked by Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins how such comments contributed to an "effective and co-operative" working relationship with the UK government.
She replied: "That is the big challenge. The big challenge is that the Scottish government and the UK government start from different political standpoints and those disagreements are not going to go away and we shouldn't pretend that they are going to go away.
"Which is why I also made the point that in this committee, with different members of this committee, in the chamber, we are going to have policy disagreements.
"That is not the same, though, as saying that we will have some kind of political grandstanding or shouting match around this, and that's the bit I want to avoid.
"We'd be daft to try and pretend amongst ourselves, far less to the wider population, that we don't disagree, because we disagree on some things."
Ms Freeman said the Scottish government had secured agreement from former UK work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith that it would be for Scottish ministers to decide whether devolved work programmes were voluntary or not.
She said clarification that this was still the case was being sought from his successor Damian Green.
Ms Freeman said the Scottish government had made it clear that it did not believe sanctions were "either fair or effective in their intended overall purpose as outlined to us by the UK government of incentivising people to enter the workplace". | Holyrood's social security minister, Jeane Freeman, believes there are "big challenges" ahead of bringing new welfare powers to Scotland. |
39,392,232 | It says an investigation is under way.
Meanwhile, thousands of Mosul residents have fled the areas held by IS, in fear of US-led air strikes and fierce fighting by Iraqi ground troops.
Residents say IS is using civilians as human shields, hiding in houses and forcing young men to fight.
The US Central Command said the planes acted at the request of Iraqi security forces. It did not name which country's aircraft carried out the attack.
In its statement, it said "an initial review of strike data" indicated that an air strike on 17 March was carried out in western Mosul "at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties".
The coalition "takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment has been opened to determine the facts surrounding the strike", it went on.
The details of what happened are still unclear, but reports have suggested the strikes killed more than 100 people. The number of victims could not be independently confirmed.
Reporters in the Jadideh neighbourhood of west Mosul said they saw 50 bodies being pulled out of rubble on Friday, after the buildings were razed in attacks earlier in March.
One resident who escaped Mosul said hundreds of bodies remained under rubble, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports. She lost nine members of her family.
If confirmed, the series of air strikes would rank among the highest civilian death tolls in a US air operation since 2003, when the US led the invasion of Iraq, the New York Times reports.
The Iraqi army, which launched an offensive to recapture Mosul from IS in October, is now closing in on the densely populated Old City. A large plume of smoke could be seen hanging over the area on Saturday as air strikes continued.
In neighbouring Syria, where the US-led coalition is also fighting IS, at least 33 people were killed earlier this week in an air strike, with activists blaming coalition jets.
Iraq's Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, himself from Mosul, said a "humanitarian catastrophe" was unfolding on account of the excessive use of fire power.
The UN was "stunned" at the loss of civilian lives, said its humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande.
"International humanitarian law is clear. Parties to the conflict - all parties - are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire-power," she said in a statement.
The number of people to have fled west Mosul since Iraqi forces launched their offensive last month now stands above 200,000, according to the Iraqi ministry of migration said on Saturday.
Iraqi security forces, with the help of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, retook eastern Mosul in January.
The UN estimates that 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in the Old City of Mosul. US officials believe there are about 2,000 IS fighters left in western Mosul. | The US military has acknowledged that aircraft of the coalition fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq hit a location in west Mosul where dozens of civilians were reportedly killed. |
40,999,416 | Adrian Coakley-Greene, 70, has named the crustacean Chelsea because it is the same colour blue as the Premier League football team.
It was caught off North Berwick in Scotland, and sent to Mr Coakley-Greene who supplies restaurants with seafood.
He wants to donate the lobster to an aquarium or return it to the sea.
Bright blue lobsters have a genetic abnormality that causes them to produce more of a certain protein than others.
Mr Coakley-Greene said: "I've been selling lobsters for 42 years and I've never seen anything like this one.
"He came in from my supplier along with eleven other lobsters which were the usual black colour.
"I did some research and found one in every two million lobsters is a blue.
"So he's off the menu - he's too rare and beautiful for a thermidor."
Mr Coakley-Greene is looking to rehome Chelsea with an aquarium: "If no one wants him we will return him to the sea off the south Wales coast - it will be a bit warmer for him down here." | A rare blue lobster has been saved from the cooking pot after a Swansea fishmonger discovered it was a one in two million specimen. |
36,295,766 | It is believed the 58-year-old may have fallen around two hours before police were called to Church Street, Tetbury, on Saturday evening.
Firefighters helped to recover her body from the property, Gloucestershire Police said.
The woman's death was not being treated as suspicious and the woman's next of kin and the coroner had been informed, the force added.
Emma Jones, 40, was staying in a cottage overlooking the large 17th-century semi-detached house where the woman died.
She said: "There were seven ambulances, two or three police cars, about two fire engines and a helicopter - I feel so sorry for her family."
A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said they had been looking out of the window at around 20:30 BST when they "saw the body come out in a private ambulance".
"We were told that she was doing her gardening and she just fell. One moment she was gardening, the next minute gone," they said.
"Just imagine how her family feel. Something like that, you wouldn't dream of happening." | A woman has died after plunging down a 15m (49ft) well in her garden. |
39,407,668 | The 25-year-old centre-back had only scored six career league goals before joining the Pilgrims last July.
Asked if he could reach double figures, Bradley told BBC Radio Devon: "It's possible - I don't see why not.
"There are seven games to go, [so] maybe one more brace and a late one last game of the season - who knows."
Only forwards Graham Carey and Jake Jervis have scored more for League Two Plymouth, who are in second place.
All of Bradley's goals have been headers, with the winner at Doncaster on Sunday his sixth away from home.
"I don't know where the (celebration) knee slide came from. I felt my hamstring straight after it, I thought 'why have you done that'," he joked.
"It's a great feeling, and when you get that feeling you want it again, again and again.
"I think if we keep working on it and the deliveries keep coming in like they are, I see no reason why I can't score more." | Plymouth Argyle defender Sonny Bradley says he can reach 10 league goals this season, after scoring his seventh of the campaign in their win at Doncaster. |
39,101,186 | The firm has opened three shops that do not feature its distinctive branding, prompting accusations of deception.
They are Southwold Books in Suffolk, The Rye Bookshop in East Sussex and Harpenden Books in Hertfordshire.
But Waterstones' chief executive, James Daunt, told the BBC the move was justified, saying he wanted the shops to have a more independent feel.
The policy was quietly introduced in mid-2014, when Southwold Books was launched as "a quintessentially local bookshop".
The Rye Bookshop followed a year later, while Harpenden Books opened in April 2016.
No-one paid much attention at first, but now Waterstones is under fire for apparently masquerading as the little guy in a world of increasingly homogenised High Streets.
As a result, Mr Daunt took to the airwaves to argue the company's case on the BBC's Today programme.
He said that all three of the shops in question were on small High Streets that did not have an independent book store.
"We're coming into quite sensitive High Streets, ones predominantly with independent retailers on them, and we wish to behave as they do," he said.
By giving his small stores a more independent feel, he said he hoped to change the way in which staff worked.
"Part of the reason that we do it is to convince our own booksellers that they have the autonomy that they do have," he added.
"I think I have always acted and worked as an independent book seller and I would love for everyone who works for me does so likewise." | Waterstones, the UK's leading bookshop chain, is on the defensive after going incognito at some of its newer stores. |
29,770,133 | Most, if not all of that, has been limited to news reports on radio and TV.
There is a chance though that the song will make the UK's Official Chart, leaving bosses at Radio 1 with an important decision to make.
To play it or not to play it?
A Radio 1 spokesman said: "The song is not currently on our playlist and, as the chart is compiled at the end of the week, we cannot say what will be in the Official Chart on Sunday".
The track's performed by former Radio 1 DJ Mike Read as an ode to Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP.
It was intended to raise money for the party, whose main political aim is for the UK to leave the European Union.
It includes the line: "Oh yes, when we take charge, and the new prime minister is Farage, we can trade with the world again when Nigel is at No. 10".
The song makes a number of politically-related statements, which we had a look over to fact check.
But following criticism that it was racist, Read asked the record company to withdraw the single.
"I am so sorry that the song unintentionally caused offence. It was never meant to, and I apologise unreservedly," Read said.
The song was number 21 in the midweek chart before it was pulled, meaning it's unclear whether it will actually chart in the top 40.
Excerpts of UKIP Calypso have been played on Radio 1's Newsbeat to discuss the controversy, but not the song in full.
The dilemma is not the first time Radio 1 have had to decide whether to play a song which throws up questions of politics, taste and decency.
In 2013, a clip of Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead was aired on the Official Chart. It followed an online campaign after the death of Baroness Thatcher.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | UKIP Calypso, the political song performed in a faux Caribbean accent, has had a fair amount of airtime this past week. |
38,595,005 | The "clock is ticking fast" and efforts to end the crisis in The Gambia should intensify, the lawmakers added.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is due to visit The Gambia on Friday in a bid to broker a deal with Mr Jammeh.
His office has not yet commented on the vote by the lower chamber, the House of Representatives.
Property developer Adama Barrow, the winner of The Gambia's election, insists he will become president on 19 January when Mr Jammeh's term expires.
However, Mr Jammeh says he will remain in office until the Supreme Court rules on his bid to annul the 1 December poll.
He alleges that the election was marred by irregularities and he has demanded a new poll.
Nigeria's House of Representatives approved a motion, saying Mr Buhari should offer Mr Jammeh a "safe haven" in Nigeria to try to end the standoff peacefully.
This would be better than sending troops to remove Mr Jammeh from power, and seeing Gambians flee to neighbouring states, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said.
Analysis, Ibrahim Isa, BBC Hausa, Abuja
The vote by Nigeria's House of Representatives reflects growing concern about the crisis in The Gambia, which has never had a smooth transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1965.
MPs are worried about the future of the many Nigerians who work in the small West African state as civil servants and even as judges.
They are therefore pushing for a "soft landing" for Mr Jammeh, hoping that it will avert conflict.
MPs believe that the vote will give Mr Buhari a free hand to offer Mr Jammeh asylum when he goes to The Gambia on Friday.
But some MPs opposed the move, saying it will send the wrong message to autocratic leaders in their bid to escape justice.
Mr Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has been accused of human rights abuses.
He has regularly held elections, and his defeat in December came as a shock.
He initially accepted the result, but rejected it after the election commission changed some of the results.
Mr Barrow won 43.3% of the vote compared with Mr Jammeh's 39.6%. A third candidate, Mama Kandeh, got 17.1%.
Earlier this month, election commission chairman Alieu Momar Njai fled to neighbouring Senegal, saying he feared for his life.
The regional body Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, has warned it will send troops to The Gambia if its mediation efforts, led by Mr Buhari, fail to persuade Mr Jammeh to quit.
Mr Buhari's visit to The Gambia on Friday would be his second to the small country since the crisis broke out.
Nigeria has given asylum to former leaders in the past - most recently Liberia's former President Charles Taylor in 2003 as part of a deal to end Liberia's civil war.
He was caught trying to flee Nigeria in 2006, and was handed over to Liberia's new government.
A UN-backed court later convicted him of war crimes and he is currently in prison in the UK. | Nigerian MPs have voted to give The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh asylum if he accepts his defeat in elections and gives up power. |
37,117,232 | The 23-year-old former FC Basel and Hoffenheim midfielder has joined the Royals on a free transfer after leaving Swiss top-flight side FC Thun.
Wieser played with current Reading player Danny Williams at Hoffenheim.
In 2015, Swiss state prosecutors fined Wieser for a tackle on an opponent in a Swiss league game, ruling the challenge "was negligent and an assault".
Wieser later apologised for the tackle while playing for Aarau against FC Zurich which left Gilles Yapi-Yapo with extensive knee injuries.
He was also banned for six matches by the Swiss league for the challenge.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Championship side Reading have signed Liechtenstein international Sandro Wieser on a three-year contract. |
38,143,629 | Presiding Officer Elin Jones has called the 60-member Senedd "over-stretched".
A new report by Prof Roger Scully suggests 87 AMs - three for each of the 29 new, larger constituencies being proposed - to handle the increasing workload.
Rachel Banner, who campaigned against more assembly powers in 2011, said parties had denied wanting more AMs.
Wednesday's report by the Wales Governance Centre and Electoral Reform Society puts forward options the authors think could gain support from across the parties, particularly as the biggest party - Labour - is not significantly adversely affected.
Powers over elections are set to be devolved in the Wales Bill, currently passing through Parliament, but to change the system, two-thirds of AMs would need to agree.
Prof Scully, of the Wales Governance Centre, said he thought cross-party agreement was "possible".
He said it seemed "do-able" to get Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives "on board", with the agreement of UKIP - which has been sceptical about increasing the number of AMs - "more possible after the discussions that we had with them".
The report said there would need to be changes to the electoral system if the number of AMs was to be increased.
Currently there are 40 constituency AMs elected through first-past-the-post, and 20 regional AMs elected through the proportional additional member system.
With Parliament set to cut the number of Welsh MPs to 29 in new, larger constituencies, the report suggested these boundaries are also used as the basis for assembly elections with three members per seat - a total of 87.
The report suggested two preferred options:
The analysis said a new electoral system should produce results that are at least as proportional as the existing system - where the share of seats a party gets reflects the share of the vote.
"We think they are workable options that might plausibly be able to get consensus," said Prof Scully.
The UK government's St David's Day agreement in 2015 found consensus among assembly groups that the institution's size "should be increased so that it can perform its scrutiny role better".
It has been argued there are not enough AMs to scrutinise the work of government and legislation it wants to pass.
Not all parties share that view, however.
The consensus in 2015 was across the assembly's parties then represented in the assembly - Labour, the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats.
UKIP did not have AMs at the time.
There has also been opposition from Rachel Banner, who led the referendum campaign against legislative powers for the assembly in 2011.
On BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme she said AMs should call another referendum if they want to expand their numbers.
"In 2011 politicians vehemently denied a 'yes' vote would lead to more AMs," she said.
"Politicians need to regain people's trust. They are not going to do that by saying one thing and doing another all the time."
Plaid Cymru welcomed the report - a spokeswoman said it had long called for a fairer voting system and for the assembly's capacity to be increased.
A Labour group spokesman said: "It is important that we involve the people of Wales throughout these ongoing discussions."
The Welsh Conservatives also welcomed the study but added "any changes must benefit the people of Wales and bring value for money for the taxpayer".
UKIP however restated its opposition to increasing the number of AMs, saying it was "against a costly increase" and pointed to its manifesto where it said MPs and councillors could help the assembly with its scrutiny work.
However, Prof Scully said: "Even amongst UKIP members there was at least broad acceptance that the assembly is under-powered in terms of its own internal resources."
The Assembly Commission - which has a UKIP member Caroline Jones - had earlier also agreed that the case for a larger assembly was more compelling than ever, and to explore the issue on a cross-party basis.
Presiding Officer Elin Jones welcomed the report, saying it would "aid the discussion".
"Subject to the passing of the Wales Bill, which is currently before Parliament, the power to legislate to increase the size of the institution and to reform the electoral system will be devolved to the Assembly," she said.
"The Commission unanimously agreed that it will take this work forward, acting on behalf of the institution, and in the interests of democracy in Wales." | Agreement between assembly parties to boost the number of AMs is "possible", a leading academic has said. |
33,360,878 | Dixons Carphone rose 1.2% after it signed a deal with Sprint that could result in it opening up to 500 stores in the US.
By midday, the FTSE 100 index was up 22.86 points at 6,631.45.
Europe saw modest gains earlier before shedding those as investors awaited the latest developments in Greece.
In London, shares in housebuilder Persimmon dipped 0.2% initially but closed up 0.4% after it said revenues in the first half of the year had risen by 12% to £1.34bn.
The firm said demand for homes was being supported by an "increasingly competitive mortgage market".
Shares in outsourcing company Serco continued to rise following its comments on Wednesday that it was still on track to meet full-year profit and sales targets. After rising 6.5% in the previous session they were up a further 11%.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.3% against the euro to €1.4079 and was flat against the dollar at $1.5611. | (Close): The FTSE 100 closed higher with shares in Dixons Carphone boosted by news of its tie-up with US mobile firm Sprint. |
37,528,729 | The world champion was 0.414 seconds quicker than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, with the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo next.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen continued the two-by-two in fifth and sixth places.
Hamilton has a great chance to recover some of his eight-point title-race deficit to Rosberg in Sunday's race.
The Briton was dominant throughout, with Rosberg only fifth after the first runs in final qualifying and having to rely on a last-gasp lap to vault up to the front row.
Hamilton looked fast in final practice and took that form into the start of qualifying as he topped all three sessions.
He was nearly 0.6secs up on Rosberg in second qualifying and then a massive 0.911secs clear after the first runs in Q3, on which Rosberg had a snap oversteer and ran wide off the track through the fast Turn Six.
Hamilton lost the championship lead to Rosberg following the German's victory in Singapore two weeks ago but has been driving this weekend as if intent on recovering it in one go.
Rosberg has moved into that position after winning the past three races to overturn what had been a 19-point advantage for Hamilton after the German Grand Prix in July.
Hamilton said: "It's been a difficult few weeks with Nico's wins but today the car felt fantastic. I really enjoyed the lap - but could have been faster."
Rosberg said: "Lewis' lap was very quick so it was always going to be difficult. I would have come close but I had a mistake in the last corner. Something just wasn't going right there.
"But anyway, second place - I've got to live with that now and, as we know from this year, second does not mean victory is not possible."
That is a reference to the difficulty with starts both Mercedes drivers have had intermittently throughout this season.
Although Mercedes dominated qualifying, there is the possibility they will face a challenge for the victory from both Red Bull and Ferrari.
Verstappen, who out-qualified Ricciardo for only the third time in their 12 races as team-mates, was the fastest driver in the race-simulation runs in Friday practice, with Mercedes and Ferrari closely matched just behind.
Hamilton said: "The [newly resurfaced] track is generally better, a lot smoother and works better with the tyres. It will be a difficult race because they were looking strong on the long runs, but I think we will be pretty strong too."
Behind the top three teams, Force India's Sergio Perez was seventh as it emerged he has, after weeks of speculation, apparently completed the deal that will keep him at the team in 2017.
His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was eighth, ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren and Felipe Massa's Williams.
Button's team-mate Fernando Alonso was last after deliberately doing only one lap good enough to get him within the 107% qualifying rule, as was the plan as a result of an engine penalty that meant he was going to be at the back of the grid.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Renault's Jolyon Palmer was disappointed to be 19th, 0.3secs slower than team-mate Kevin Magnussen as he was knocked out in Q1 and five places behind him on the grid.
Palmer: "It was crap, I drove terribly. I made a wrong choice on the set-up. Terrible."
Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying results
Malaysian Grand Prix coverage details | Lewis Hamilton put in a scintillating performance to take pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix. |
39,007,561 | The 24-year-old has played 27 league matches for the Whites since joining from Aldershot in the summer.
Stevenson could feature in Saturday's trip to Woking - who lie three points and three places above Southport.
He is the third player that Southport have brought in on loan this week, with Kevin Da Veiga Monteiro and Lindon Meikle joining on Wednesday.
The length of Stevenson's loan has not been confirmed by the club. | National League strugglers Southport have signed midfielder Jim Stevenson on loan from Dover Athletic. |
40,568,217 | Saturday's visit of AFC Wimbledon was also called off amid concerns over the condition of the new turf.
"We can't get enough water onto the pitch at the moment," chief executive Mark Jewell told BBC Radio Solent.
"Exposure to quite a large police bill if the game didn't go ahead was in the back of our mind."
The Spitfires were due to play south coast rivals Pompey on Saturday and League Two Newport on 22 July.
"Remedial work as a result of extreme heat will need to be completed upon 15-20% of the newly laid turf," Jewell added.
"Unless we have a heatwave of 50 degrees I can't see the pitch not being ready for the Sheffield United game (on 28 July)." | National League Eastleigh have cancelled pre-season fixtures against Portsmouth and Newport because of issues with their newly re-laid pitch. |
32,469,112 | Scientists have been mapping the seismic pressure building up along the fault lines under the Himalayas for the past few decades.
The last major quake to hit Nepal's densely populated Kathmandu valley was in 1934. About 10,000 people were killed and there was widespread devastation.
Since then, the population of the valley has swelled to more than 2.5 million.
Kathmandu and the surrounding towns that dot the valley floor are now crammed full of new, overcrowded and often poorly constructed buildings.
The fear was that when the big quake hit, not only would thousands of people die as these buildings collapsed, but that poor infrastructure and the valley's remote location would make rescue efforts almost impossible.
As devastating as this quake is, this nightmare scenario of a totally isolated country unable to receive any aid has, thankfully, not come to pass.
After being shut for several hours, the runway at Kathmandu airport is now open to aid flights which will bring in crucial supplies.
The airport will also act as a base for helicopter flight to more remote parts of the country where the damage is still to be assessed.
For the moment, the humanitarian response is being led by India, which will be keen to establish its dominance in this politically sensitive region close to the Chinese border.
India will be working in conjunction with the Nepali government which, after the wake-up call of the devastating 2011 Haiti earthquake, has been developing an earthquake preparedness plan.
Most districts around the country now have earthquake committees. People have been educated on where to shelter during a quake, where to congregate afterwards and how to give basic first aid.
Hospitals and schools have been retrofitted to withstand tremors. The police, army and local Red Cross have practised rescue drills.
But the poor state of Nepal's infrastructure means it will still be an enormous challenge to first locate and rescue those buried alive, and then house and feed those made homeless.
Right now it is not clear whether the few roads in and out of the valley are open or not.
As some are close to the quake's epicentre, there is likely to be major damage from cracking and landslides.
There is heavy-lifting equipment in Kathmandu, but despite a recent road-widening programme, many roads are still too small for the equipment to travel through.
Outside the city, eyewitnesses report that people are trying to dig victims out of the rubble by hand because they have nothing else to use.
The lack of electricity will be a problem over the coming days.
Kathmandu is used to long power cuts all year round and many people do have generators. But it is unclear how much petrol the city has - and whether more can be trucked in through damaged roads. It's also unclear whether the country's hydroelectric plants have been damaged.
Maintaining a clean water supply will become a major challenge for the rescue effort.
Only some homes in Kathmandu have access to mains water. The rest rely on water tankers who drive in supplies every week, and who may not be able to reach the city.
The city is no stranger to cholera, which tends to hit during the summer rainy season.
There will be an acute risk of water-borne disease if people start to rely on the heavily polluted water of Kathmandu's Bagmati River and its tributaries.
Water filtration plants will need to be established very quickly to prevent this.
In addition, supplies of blood, medicine and food will need to shipped in quickly for those who are injured or left homeless.
As bad as this situation is, at least those in the valley have access to aid.
The thousands of people in Nepal's middle hills and more isolated western towns will have to cope on their own without medical, food and water supplies until helicopters can reach them - and this may take days.
This also applies to hundreds of climbers in the Everest region who have been hit by a deadly avalanche. Right now they will be relying on each other to rescue those trapped and bring them to safety.
Nepalis are tough people used to living in extreme circumstances, but the next few days will be testing for everyone.
And when the dust settles on the rescue effort, the focus will move onto the country's many historic buildings now reduced to piles of rubble.
Nepal may have been expecting this quake for a long time, but its legacy will take even longer to cope with.
Joanna Jolly was the BBC's Nepal correspondent from 2009 to 2011 | Nepal has been expecting this earthquake for a long time. |
33,509,814 | A study, published in the Cancer Cell, uncovered how tumours can become resistant to commonly used drugs.
The University of Manchester team suggest drugs already in development may be able to counter this resistance to make chemotherapy more effective.
The approach has not yet been tested in people.
The team were looking at a class of drugs called taxanes, which are used to treat a range of cancers including breast and ovarian.
The research group at the University of Manchester were trying to determine how taxanes work.
By studying cancerous cells growing in the laboratory they were able to show how the class of drugs trigger cancer cells to kill themselves.
But at the same time they discovered a key difference between cancers that were susceptible to the drugs and those which were inherently resistant, or later developed resistance.
The found high levels of one protein, known as Bcl-xL, in those cells that were resisting treatment.
But drugs are in development which can neutralise Bcl-xL's effects.
One of the researchers, Prof Stephen Taylor, told the BBC News website: "Potentially combining this with taxanes you could take resistant [cancers] and make them sensitive.
"These new inhibitors would essentially soften-up the cancer cells so when they are treated they are more likely to die."
The team want to test their approach on samples of a patient's cancer as well as in animals studies.
One concern will be whether making cancers more vulnerable to chemotherapy would also make healthy tissue more vulnerable and increase the risks of side effects.
Dr Emma Smith, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "In cases where patients don't benefit from taxane-based chemotherapy, doctors could add drugs that target Bcl-xL to overcome cancer's defences.
"It's still early days for this research but, if the results are confirmed in clinical trials, it has the potential to improve treatment for thousands of cancer patients." | It may be possible to "soften-up" cancers before hitting them with chemotherapy drugs, researchers suggest. |
34,665,818 | "I'm the happiest mother at this point in my life," she says.
Like any other mum, she speaks with pride that Alisher "plays basketball and is starting high school in Germany".
But 40-year-old Oksana is no ordinary mum. Oksana is defying the odds in a sport renowned for the extremely young age of its competitors.
She is a gymnast, in fact one of the best gymnasts in the world - a regular on the podium over the past 25 years.
The Uzbekistan gymnast competed in her 14th World Championships last week. Her first was in 1991, for the Soviet Union. She made her Olympic debut in 1992 competing for the Unified Team that won gold.
Speaking through a translator, she says with a laugh: "To be honest I retired after I had my son, Alisher.
"But then I went to the gym to get a little bit into shape after I gave birth, and I've been there ever since."
And clearly she's worked hard - the veteran wasn't at the Glasgow Championships out of goodwill from the international gymnastics community.
She attempted a vault many of her competitors wouldn't attempt - a handspring onto the vault followed by two front somersaults. Unfortunately she didn't land it well.
Getting into shape wasn't the only motivation for Oksana to retreat to the gym.
In 2002, her son was diagnosed with Leukaemia and she moved to Germany for his treatment.
"As a mother you would do anything for a healthy child and I thank Germany for that," she says.
"When you see your sick child 24/7 it's so hard, so the gym was an escape for me.
"Just to have a few hours not to think about it - don't think about the pain, don't cry, don't let your heart down.
"I felt better afterwards, just having been in the gym."
Alisher made a full recovery.
Meanwhile, Oksana went on to join the German team, winning a silver on vault at Beijing 2008, and just missing a podium place, finishing fifth, in 2012.
Now competing for Uzbekistan, she has qualified for the test event in Rio next year for a place at the Olympics.
If she succeeds, she will find her place in the Guinness Book of Records as the only woman to have appeared at seven consecutive Olympic Games.
However, she insists that's not why she's doing it: "As a gymnast I will try to prepare the best I can, to give me a chance to win a medal."
And if she inspires other athletes to stay in the sport, then that's clearly a bonus.
"Perhaps I'm helping others because we are starting to see more 20 and 30 year olds in the sport, and that makes me happy," she says.
"But to be a healthy person in life, you don't have to be a professional athlete," she adds.
"I hope I can inspire many women, who are not athletes, to do any exercise - even just walking, jogging or stretching.
"It definitely helps - not only your physical health but also your mental health as well."
So will she retire if she makes it to the Olympics next year?
"Never say never!" she says, laughing.
Adult classes are popping up at gymnastics clubs throughout the UK. Take a look at our guide for more information. | Oksana Chusovitina's son turns 16 next month. |
33,221,033 | The cash offer of 145p per share valued Thorntons at around £112m, and represented a premium of around 43% on the closing price on Friday.
Thorntons saw sales and profits fall in the half year to 10 January, and issued a profit warning in December.
Ferrero is known for Nutella spread, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder Eggs and Tic Tac sweets.
Thorntons has urged shareholders to back the offer. Chairman Paul Wilkinson said: "Ferrero is a successful global confectionery business with a strong family heritage and as such represents a good cultural fit for Thorntons.
"The board of Thorntons therefore has given its unanimous recommendation for the offer from Ferrero."
Ferrero chief executive Giovanni Ferrero said: "We delivered our best ever results in the UK in 2014, giving us confidence that now is the right time to broaden our roots in this important market."
In March, Thorntons said its half-year profits were "disappointing" after pre-tax profit fell 8.8% to £6.5m, with sales down 8.2% to £128.2m in the 28 weeks to 10 January.
It said it was hit by a drop in orders by two major supermarkets and supply problems at its new centralised Derbyshire warehouse.
The firm issued a profit warning in December due to poor sales of its products in some supermarkets.
Thorntons was established by Joseph William Thornton in Sheffield in 1911, and has 242 of its own shops and cafes in the UK and Ireland, It also has 158 franchise outlets.
It employs around 3,500 staff, and about 3% of its revenues are generated overseas.
Family chocolate firm Ferrero posted sales of €8.4bn in the year to the end of last August, and employs around 27,000 staff.
Billionaire Michele Ferrero, whose chocolate empire made him Italy's richest man, died aged 89 in February. | Thorntons shares rose more than 42% after Italian chocolate maker Ferrero International made a bid for the firm. |
39,825,676 | The Jags defender is the only player outwith Celtic and Aberdeen to make the PFA's Premiership team of the year.
"It's up to [national boss] Gordon Strachan to decide but obviously I want to play for Scotland," Lindsay said.
"As a kid that's your dream and I want to do that. Whenever it comes, I'll be ready - if it comes."
Lindsay, 21, had voiced his surprise and disappointment at receiving no recognition at any level for Scotland.
But after helping Thistle to a top-six finish - their highest since 1981 - the centre-back feels he has garnered the highest possible praise this week from his fellow professionals, as the sole representative from the 10 Premiership clubs below the top two in the team of the year.
"It's brilliant," Lindsay added. "Obviously it's the players that are choosing, so it's players I'm up against week in, week out, so it's kind of the biggest compliment you can get, really.
"It felt like I've had a great season. Maybe the first half I was a bit slow starting but as the season went on we started picking up results. Getting in the top six has helped me get this as well so it's been a brilliant season."
Select your top Scottish Premiership top XI and share your team choice with your friends.
Lindsay's boss Alan Archibald, who is among the nominees for the PFA manager of the year award, is thrilled the defender is so highly-rated by his peers, and thinks a growing maturity this season has helped him develop quicker
"On the ball he's got better," Archibald said. "He's got real game awareness now, a lot more game awareness. He still has to learn a lot. I think he can get better still, turn himself into a man and protect himself.
"He got a broken nose earlier in the season just with being too honest, with not looking after himself when it comes to going and winning headers because he's just a big, honest pro.
"He's getting better and better all the time. One slight criticism: he should probably have more goals. Albeit, he has seven, he'll tell you himself he should be in double figures." | Partick Thistle's Liam Lindsay says he will seize the opportunity to play international football, if and when a Scotland call-up comes his way. |
37,142,043 | Emergency services were called at about 03:00 after a fire broke out on the Dundee Port pilot boat Lynx which was on its way to meet an incoming vessel.
The crew extinguished the blaze, but were unable to use their boat.
The RNLI said three people were transferred to a lifeboat. One man was taken to Dundee's Ninewell Hospital after suffering minor injuries. | Three people have been rescued in thick fog from a fire on a boat in the Firth of Tay near Buddon Point. |
28,539,286 | The City of London tower is expected to fetch offers in the region of £650m, the firm said.
Savills and Deloitte Real Estate have been jointly instructed to sell 30 St Mary Axe, which is the building's formal title.
The skyscraper was placed in receivership in April.
The estate agents have begun marketing the building, with adverts placed in the specialist press, and a website for investors to register an interest, Stephen Down from Savills told the BBC.
"We've started the ball rolling," he said.
Interest is expected from Chinese, Hong Kong, Singaporean and North American investors, among others, he said.
"I suspect there will be an iconic element to this [sale]," Mr Down added.
After a vetting process on both sides, either one party will be selected, or a number of sealed bids will be accepted, by the end of September or the beginning of October, he said.
"We could see offers in excess of £650m," he added.
The tower was placed in receivership in April by its creditors after one of its owners was placed in insolvency.
Germany's IVG Immobilien, which co-owned the building with private equity firm Evans Randall, filed for insolvency last year.
Although Evans Randall said it was willing to buy a bigger stake in the tower, it was unable to agree a new ownership plan with IVG.
Deloitte was appointed a receiver in April of the 40-storey building.
The skyscraper, which was designed by Lord Foster, opened in 2004. It is currently let to around 20 tenants, including Swiss Re. | London's Gherkin skyscraper has been put up for sale, with interest expected from Chinese, other Asian, and US buyers, estate agency Savills has said. |
33,538,483 | Angela Cockburn, 49, her husband David, 48, his two daughters Carley Ann, 21, and Bethany, 18, and Bethany's one-year-old daughter Lacie were killed on the A18 in Laceby near Grimsby in 2013.
The family, from Ouston, were going to a dance competition.
The Crown Prosecution Service had "considered the circumstances of the collision", Humberside Police said.
Det Ch Insp Matthew Baldwin said: "No criminal charges will be brought in connection with the incident. The family and the coroner have been notified."
The Grimsby stretch of the A18 featured in a BBC television programme, Britain's Killer Roads, in 2011.
The programme claimed it was 25 times more dangerous than the average British motorway, with 20 crashes in the preceding three years.
North Lincolnshire Council said after the crash that the speed limit on the road would be cut from 60mph to 50mph.
The lorry driver had minor injuries. | No charges will be brought after five members of a County Durham family died when their car crashed with a lorry. |
24,794,617 | Martin Molloy's brother, Eamon, was one of the Disappeared - people who were murdered and secretly buried by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
He was 22 years old when he was kidnapped and shot dead due to claims he was a police informer.
Martin Molloy has been speaking about his brother's final moments as part of a new BBC documentary on the Disappeared.
Eamon Molloy was a Catholic from north Belfast who was abducted from the city by the IRA in May 1975.
From that point on he was officially missing for almost 25 years, until his body was discovered in a cemetery near Dundalk, County Louth, in 1999.
His remains had been placed in a coffin and left above ground in Faughart cemetery, on the instructions of the IRA.
It followed the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the setting up of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains by the British and Irish governments.
Eamon Molloy was the first of the Disappeared whose body was recovered and returned to his family for burial. Seven more bodies have yet to be located.
Speaking to the documentary team, Martin Molloy said that shortly after his brother's funeral in 1999, they were contacted by a priest who told them he had been with Eamon on the night of the murder.
He said Fr Eugene McCoy had heard a news report about the discovery of a body in Faughart and recognised the name Eamon Molloy.
The priest told the family that in 1975 he was based in a parish in north County Louth and one night in May he answered a knock at his door.
A number of men were standing in the doorway, telling him there had been a road accident nearby and the victim needed a priest.
He went with them, but a short time later the men told Fr McCoy that they were holding a prisoner who they believed was an informer.
They were going to execute him, but he had asked for a priest to hear his confession before his death.
The priest told the Molloy family that he was then taken to a mobile home in a rural part of County Louth and led into a bedroom where a young man was lying, tied up on a bed.
Both his hands and feet were bound. Two or three gang members were inside the mobile home, while up to 10 others were outside, playing football.
The priest said he refused speak to the prisoner unless he was untied.
The young man was distraught, and could barely say his own name audibly, but asked the priest to ensure his wife and his mother received two letters he had written during his abduction.
He also asked Fr McCoy to tell his family that he was not an informer.
At this point the priest spoke to one of the men who appeared to be in charge and demanded that they release their prisoner.
"He actually confronted the men and it got a bit heated," Martin Molloy said, but added that the priest had told him that the gang would not listen and his pleas for mercy "fell on deaf ears".
Fr McCoy heard the prisoner's confession, but told the gang that he did not have his rosary beads with him to pray with the condemned man.
"The man who seemed to be in command, or in charge, pulled out a pair of rosary beads and said, 'there's a pair of rosary beads, use mine'," Mr Molloy said.
The family believe that Eamon Molloy was murdered and secretly buried a short time after the priest's failed intervention.
His brother said that, despite the circumstances of Eamon's death, they took some comfort from the priest's account and from the knowledge that someone had tried to help their loved one in his final moments.
"I did feel Eamon's pain, being there alone, being on his own and obviously knowing he was going to be killed.
"He was hopeless, he was powerless, there were 12 to 13 men there and I did feel consoled, slightly consoled, that he had the priest with him at the end, before he died, that he could make his peace with God."
Mr Molloy said when his brother's remains were discovered almost a quarter of a century later he was found to be clutching a small cross in his right hand.
"Obviously he had been holding that when he had been killed. He was holding on, he had his faith."
Mr Molloy added that the question of why Fr McCoy did not contact the police had "crossed his mind" but added that the situation was "not easy" for the priest.
The clergyman was being asked to hear the last confession of a man who was about to be executed by the IRA, because they believed he was a police informer.
Informing the police of such an incident would bring its own risks.
"I'm sure, even in Fr McCoy's own mind and even after this happened in his own life, that he went through his own turmoil and his own struggle of being suddenly in a situation that wasn't of his making.
Part of the interview Mr Molloy gave to the documentary team was broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence programme.
The Molloy family's own parish priest in north Belfast, Fr Paddy McCafferty, told Sunday Sequence that reporting the matter to police could have had consequences for other victims.
"Indeed the question has been raised," Fr McCafferty said. "The answer perhaps is that if he had gone to the police, other people in this position like Eamon at that time would have been denied.
"The IRA might have decided 'well, we're not getting a priest ever again for any person' and they would have had to face into eternity alone."
Fr McCafferty added that Fr McCoy's account of the night had given consolation to the dead man's mother, who had spent almost 25 years without any answers about his death.
He said the discovery of his body "certainly brought some closure at that time, but it brought further consolation to know that his last moments on earth were not devoid of comfort."
Fr McCafferty said that a "dilemma of course existed" for the priest over reporting the matter to police but added that Fr McCoy "would have had no control over what was going on".
"His main focus, for any priest, would have been to care for this young person who was being threatened with death and to minister to him, that was the crucial matter."
He agreed that the IRA's gang's offer of the rosary beads to the dying man was "grotesque".
"It's very hard to reconcile what they were going to do with the fact of a relationship with God, with prayer."
Fr McCafferty, who as a young Belfast curate had ministered to the Molloy family in the aftermath of Eamon's disappearance, led the murdered man's funeral Mass in 1999.
Fr McCoy, who later left the priesthood to get married, died about 10 years ago.
The Disappeared will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland at 22:35 on Monday. | The brother of a man who was killed by the IRA in 1975 has described how a Catholic priest prayed with the victim as a gang waited nearby to carry out the execution. |
39,458,999 | Lewandowski volleyed into the top corner to open the scoring before striking from close range.
Bayern scored four goals after the interval, Lewandowski making it 3-0 before Thiago struck.
Lewandowski then completed his hat-trick, with Muller getting the sixth.
Bayern are 13 points clear at the top with eight games remaining.
Poland striker Lewandowski now has 24 league goals of the season, while Muller was twice denied by the woodwork before he scored his first goal.
Carlo Ancelotti handed keeper Sven Ulreich a rare start after Manuel Neuer underwent surgery on a foot injury.
Ulreich was rarely tested as Bayern clocked up a fifth straight league clean sheet win.
Bayern's next match is away to third-placed Hoffenheim on Tuesday (19:00 BST).
Match ends, FC Bayern München 6, FC Augsburg 0.
Second Half ends, FC Bayern München 6, FC Augsburg 0.
Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Tim Rieder.
Attempt blocked. Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Franck Ribéry.
Attempt blocked. Dominik Kohr (FC Augsburg) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Dong-Won Ji.
Offside, FC Bayern München. Arjen Robben tries a through ball, but Franck Ribéry is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Georg Teigl (FC Augsburg) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Dong-Won Ji.
Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Philipp Max.
Christoph Janker (FC Augsburg) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! FC Bayern München 6, FC Augsburg 0. Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jérôme Boateng.
Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tim Rieder (FC Augsburg).
Substitution, FC Augsburg. Jonathan Schmid replaces Paul Verhaegh.
Goal! FC Bayern München 5, FC Augsburg 0. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) header from very close range to the bottom left corner following a corner.
Attempt saved. Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jérôme Boateng.
Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Gojko Kacar.
Offside, FC Bayern München. Renato Sanches tries a through ball, but Robert Lewandowski is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Kevin Danso (FC Augsburg) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Philipp Max with a cross following a set piece situation.
Foul by Rafinha (FC Bayern München).
Halil Altintop (FC Augsburg) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt blocked. Renato Sanches (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.
Offside, FC Augsburg. Paul Verhaegh tries a through ball, but Georg Teigl is caught offside.
Substitution, FC Bayern München. Rafinha replaces Mats Hummels.
Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Georg Teigl (FC Augsburg).
Attempt blocked. Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Juan Bernat.
Attempt missed. Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Arjen Robben.
Attempt missed. Dong-Won Ji (FC Augsburg) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Philipp Max.
Substitution, FC Bayern München. Renato Sanches replaces Thiago Alcántara.
Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) hits the left post with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Arjen Robben.
Substitution, FC Bayern München. Arjen Robben replaces Kingsley Coman.
Goal! FC Bayern München 4, FC Augsburg 0. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.
Goal! FC Bayern München 3, FC Augsburg 0. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Franck Ribéry with a through ball.
Foul by Mats Hummels (FC Bayern München).
Halil Altintop (FC Augsburg) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.
Corner, FC Augsburg. Conceded by Thomas Müller.
Foul by Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München).
Halil Altintop (FC Augsburg) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Second Half begins FC Bayern München 2, FC Augsburg 0. | Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick and Thomas Muller got two as Bayern Munich crushed struggling Augsburg to close in on a fifth successive Bundesliga title. |
40,196,258 | Wales play Portugal today and again on Saturday as they prepare for the Fifa Women's World Cup Qualifying campaign, which begins in the autumn.
"It has been a gradual progression, since the turn of the year we've been really happy with our form and individual and collective performances," Ludlow told BBC Wales.
"But there is a lot still to do."
Media playback is not supported on this device
"And hopefully these two games are a stepping-stone to that."
Wales have only lost once in their last eight games.
They have opted to rest midfielder Jess Fishlock for the friendlies against Portugal.
The 100-cap star is replaced by Chloe Chivers.
Fellow midfielder Alice Griffiths is also added, as Amelia Ritchie has been ruled out through injury.
England, Russia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kazakhstan will be Wales' Group One opponents in World Cup qualifying.
Wales Women squad to face Portugal: Claire Skinner, Laura O'Sullivan, Emma Gibbon, Loren Dykes, Hannah Miles, Sophie Ingle, Gemma Evans, Hayley Ladd, Alice Griffiths, Rhiannon Roberts, Shaunna Jenkins, Chloe Chivers, Angharad James, Charlie Estcourt, Georgia Evans, Bronwen Thomas, Nadia Lawrence, Rachel Rowe, Natasha Harding, Kayleigh Green, Melissa Fletcher, Peyton Vincze, Ffion Morgan. | Manager Jayne Ludlow says Wales Women are in good form as they prepare for a double-header with Portugal. |
40,747,241 | It means senior executives from the council and the tenant management organisation that ran the block are likely to be interviewed under caution.
A letter from the Met Police to residents said officers had "seized a huge amount of material".
At least 80 people died in the fire in North Kensington on 14 June.
Organisations guilty of the offence of corporate manslaughter are liable to an "unlimited fine".
Individuals cannot be charged with corporate manslaughter, an offence which is intended to work "in conjunction" with other forms of accountability.
The relevant section of the letter says Met Police officers have "seized a huge amount of material and taken a large number of witness statements".
"After an initial assessment of that information, the officer leading the investigation has today notified the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenancy Management Organisation that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that each organisation may have committed the offence of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007," it said.
The Met Police also released a statement on Thursday, stating that its investigation into the cause and spread of the fire was a "complex and far reaching investigation that by its very nature will take a considerable time to complete".
Newly elected council leader Elizabeth Campbell, who was booed and heckled at a public meeting earlier this month, said residents "deserve answers" about the blaze and the "police investigation will provide these".
"We fully support the Metropolitan Police investigation and we will co-operate in every way we can," Ms Campbell added.
"It would not be appropriate to comment further on matters subject to the police investigation."
BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds says the Met Police has briefed a number of times that corporate manslaughter is a possible offence, along with breaches of health and safety laws.
The effect of what the police have said is to put both organisations on notice that their senior executives are likely to be questioned under caution in relation to the fire.
This means that evidence can be used against both bodies in a court, our correspondent added.
Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, whose friend Khadija Saye died in the fire, said the punishment for corporate manslaughter, a fine, would not "represent justice for the Grenfell victims and their families".
"Gross negligence manslaughter carries a punishment of prison time, and I hope that the police and the CPS are considering charges of manslaughter caused by gross negligence," he added.
Yvette Williams, a co-ordinator at the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign group, said the development would help increase levels of trust between the police and the community.
"However, what we would like to see running alongside that is individuals being prosecuted. We want is individuals named and prosecuted - you can have both, but we don't want corporate manslaughter on its own," she added.
The local authority has been accused of being slow to react to the disaster on the ground and not doing enough to re-house residents of Grenfell Tower.
Council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown and his deputy Rock Feilding-Mellen resigned following continued criticism of its response to the tragedy.
Robert Black, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, also stepped down to "concentrate on assisting with the investigation and inquiry".
The news comes after site manager at the tower block, Michael Lockwood, told a public meeting on Wednesday that the building would be covered in August.
He said that he expected the demolition of the tower block would begin "towards the end of 2018".
Some possessions could be retrieved from 33 of the block's flats, he added.
The residents of Grenfell Tower had reportedly raised fire safety concerns for several years before the blaze, according to a community action group.
A Newsnight investigation has shown that an official test of the types of materials used at Grenfell Tower suggest that designs such as that used in the tower's cladding are fundamentally flawed.
Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a public inquiry into the tower fire, which will be lead by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick.
He told survivors at a meeting on Tuesday he would "get to the bottom" of the tragedy but insisted he had "no power" to make arrests over the blaze. | Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire say they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect that corporate manslaughter offences may have been committed. |
39,130,490 | In five years' time, median income will be 4% higher than it is now, the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts.
The recession and tepid recovery mean that from the start of the crisis to 2021, households will suffer the worst income squeeze for 60 years, it says.
They will be £5,000 a year worse off than they might have expected.
The IFS has produced a report on living standards for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which campaigns to reduce poverty.
It suggests, based on official forecasts produced for the government by the Office for Budget Responsibility, that long-term income growth is a relatively slow 2% a year.
"If the OBR's forecast for earnings growth is correct, average incomes will not increase at all over the next two years," said Tom Waters, an author of the report.
"Even if earnings do much better than expected over the next few years, the long shadow cast by the financial crisis will not have receded."
This was generally the result of small increases in wages, low productivity levels, tax and benefit policies and the state of the UK economy.
The squeeze would be felt worst by low-income households with children, he said, owing primarily to the four-year freeze in working-age benefits.
In contrast, pensioners would see their income growing faster than working-age households - a reversal of the position a decade ago.
"Once you account for their lower housing costs and smaller household size, median income is projected to be nearly 8% higher for pensioners than for non-pensioners by 2021-22, having been nearly 10% lower in 2007-08," the report said.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "These troubling forecasts show millions of families across the country are teetering on a precipice, with 400,000 pensioners and over one million more children likely to fall into poverty."
He added: "It is essential that the prime minister and chancellor use the upcoming Budget to put in place measures to stop this happening. An excellent start would be to ensure families can keep more of their earnings under the Universal Credit."
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Baroness Kramer also called for the Government to take action in next week's Budget.
"For all the talk about the 'just about managing' we have seen no real help for them," she said.
A Treasury spokesman said: "We are taking action to support families with the costs of living by cutting taxes for millions of working people, doubling free childcare for nearly 400,000 working parents and introducing the National Living Wage - a significant pay rise for the lowest earners."
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Still got questions? Ask Newsbot | Typical household incomes in the UK will not grow for the next two years due to the "long shadow" of the financial crisis, a report suggests. |
34,575,008 | Last week, the head of exam watchdog Ofqual suggested some schools were making "strategic" use of challenges to A-level and GCSE grades.
But the chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference said the "real issue is inaccurate marking".
Ofqual has said it is planning improvements to the appeal process.
The university sector's Supporting Professionalism in Admissions organisation has also called for "greater clarity" about the rising numbers of appeals and grades being changed.
Director Janet Graham said: "This is an area that the awarding organisations and Ofqual could explore in more depth."
Ofqual chief Glenys Stacey faced questions last week from the Education Select Committee about the process of challenging exam results.
Ms Stacey told MPs she wanted a system that was "swift, effective and fair".
In the past four years, the number querying results has more than doubled to more than 400,000 and the number getting their grades changed after re-marking has also more than doubled to more than 77,000.
But Chris King, Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) chairman and headmaster of Leicester Grammar School, said there needed to be much more transparency and information about the grades being challenged and changed.
He also criticised the suggestion the increase in appeals was being driven by schools gaming the system to improve their grades
"It is misleading to imply that schools who appeal wrong grades are actually a cause of the problem. This is a smokescreen," said Mr King.
Instead he blamed "inconsistent marking and grading and a Byzantine appeals process, which Ofqual itself acknowledges is inadequate".
"Any suggestion that schools of any kind are 'gaming' the appeals system is unfair and underserved," said Mr King.
Exam boards charge for re-marking, unless there is a grade changed, with schools and parents paying millions of pounds each year.
"Independent schools submit proportionally more appeals but naturally state schools put in far more than we do, and we welcome this. Ultimately this is about justice for hard working pupils, whatever school they go to," said Mr King.
Ofqual has said that only about 1% of the overall exam results are subsequently changed and that proposals to improve the process of appealing against GCSE and A-level results would be announced later this month. | Head teachers of leading independent schools have accused exam regulators of creating a "smokescreen" around soaring numbers of appeals over exam marking. |
37,164,247 | It was formerly hosted by Sir Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and Lily Savage.
Walliams tweeted a photograph of former host Sir Terry, saying he had "very big shoes to fill".
The panel show, to be shown on ITV, will see six celebrities help two contestants win prizes by filling in blanked-out words in a phrase.
Britain's Got Talent star Walliams said: "I loved Terry Wogan and Les Dawson as a child, and Paul O'Grady was absolutely hilarious.
"I hope I can bring this much loved show to life for a new generation," added Walliams, who also starred in and co-wrote the hugely successful comedy sketch series Little Britain.
Referring to Sir Terry's trademark microphone he used on the show, Walliams also commented on Twitter: "It seems like you all want the stick microphone back on #BlanketyBlank.
"But who should snap it in two like Kenny Everett did go [sic] Terry Wogan?"
Some of his Twitter followers joked that younger viewers may not know what a chequebook and pen - the traditional consolation prize on the show - actually are.
Blankety Blank was first broadcast on BBC One in the 1980s, hosted first by Sir Terry and then Les Dawson.
Lily Savage - the alter ego of Paul O'Grady - then took on the presenting duties from 1998 to 2002 on the show, which was broadcast on BBC One before moving to ITV.
Walliams, who is also a highly successful children's author, has previously appeared on a Comic Relief version of the show, with host O'Grady.
It had also been revived for Children in Need, with Sir Terry as the host.
ITV's head of comedy entertainment Peter Davey said the show would "delight fans of the original" while attracting new fans.
"David Walliams is the perfect host for this - he'll bring his comedic talents and warm personality to the show," he said.
Earlier this year, Alec Baldwin launched a revival of US quiz Match Game, which was the inspiration for Blankety Blank.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | David Walliams is to front a revival of quiz show Blankety Blank in a one-off Christmas special of the TV quiz show - the first full episode since 2002. |
34,291,176 | Daniel Lloyd, Joseph Lister, Robert Beech and Ryan Meer, all 18, and two boys aged 14 and 15, are each charged with one count of grievous bodily harm.
Nic Cruwys, 44, from Hemel Hempstead, was attacked on March 7 following a Watford game at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The teens will appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 2 October.
All six defendants were granted conditional bail.
Mr Cruwys suffered a serious head injury following the match at Wolverhampton's Molineux stadium.
He was walking to Wolverhampton railway station when he was assaulted near Little's Lane.
Lloyd, of Tillington Street, Stafford; Lister, of Palmer Close, Wolverhampton; Beech, of Springhill Road, Wolverhampton and Meer, of Watling Street, Gailey, were not asked to enter pleas during an appearance at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court.
The younger defendants, both from Wolverhampton, appeared at the same court but cannot be named because of their age. | Six teenagers accused of attacking a Watford football fan who was left in a coma will face a trial. |
40,734,154 | Sian Hollands, 25, died from a pulmonary embolism at Darent Valley Hospital, Kent, in November 2015.
A coroner ruled in April her death was "due to the failures of the doctors" in examining, diagnosing and treating her.
One doctor is being investigated by the General Medical Council, but the hospital has confirmed he continues to practise.
Ms Hollands' mother Nicole Smith said she is furious no-one has faced sanctions.
Live: More on this story and other news from Kent
Kent Police launched an investigation into whether to bring charges of manslaughter through gross negligence. This week officers confirmed no criminal charges are being pursued.
Mum-of-three Ms Hollands had gone to hospital in agony three weeks after suffering an ectopic pregnancy.
She had been taking methadone to treat her drug addiction but had stopped for a few days, leading Dr Kamran Khan to put her symptoms down to withdrawal.
She was discharged but did not leave the hospital and died a few hours later.
Dr Khan claimed he had not seen Ms Hollands' notes and was unaware of the seriousness of her pain.
However, his handwriting was found on Ms Hollands' notes and, during cross-examination, the doctor admitted to not reading them.
Ms Smith, who now brings up Ms Hollands' young children, said: "The doctors were sat next to me in court and didn't even look at me.
"The hospital gave a statement of apology, but none of the medical staff had the decency to apologise to my face.
"They killed my daughter because they failed to do their jobs; the coroner confirmed she could have been saved.
"Victims of criminal offences can meet the criminal, but the doctors won't sit in a room with me and explain themselves."
Dr Khan must submit his case to the General Medical Council in August before it is sent to examiners for a final decision.
Ms Smith's solicitor has served the hospital with papers asking them to formally accept responsibility for Ms Hollands' death and requesting compensation for her children.
A spokesman for the hospital confirmed Dr Khan is still practising at the trust and that the papers from the family have been received.
He added: "This practitioner is subject to an ongoing investigation and the overall case subject to a claim against the organisation, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment at this time."
But Ms Smith said: "I don't even have so much as a written letter, so Sian's children can read it in the future and know the people responsible are truly sorry.
"They thought I'd disappear after the inquest, but I'm not going anywhere until I feel what needs to be done is done and there's no risk of it happening again.
"They can't comprehend how damaged this has left our family." | A woman whose daughter died because of doctors' failings says medics have not had the "decency" to apologise. |
35,157,209 | The 25-year-old would have been out of contract at the end of this season.
Davies starred for Wales with five tries during their run to the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals after Ospreys' Rhys Webb had been ruled out of the tournament with injury.
"Interest from elsewhere has been flattering but I always wanted to remain here," said Davies.
Davies' deal comes after Wales team-mate Scott Williams signed a contract that keeps him at Parc y Scarlets until 2018.
Centre Williams, 25, was in line for a new national dual contract in which the Welsh Rugby Union would pay 60% of his wages.
But the offer was withdrawn amid an accusation of a bidding war among Wales' regions over Williams, and a dual contract was not offered to Davies either.
Centre Jonathan Davies will return to Scarlets on such a contract from Clermont Auvergne for the 2016-17 season to partner Williams in midfield.
Davies was the top try-scorer with 10 in the 2013-14 Pro12 season, but a knee injury prevented him from building on that the following season.
Webb's injury gave him the chance to shine at the World Cup, though, and alerted a number of clubs outside Wales to his potential availability.
But his decision to stay at Scarlets continues their building work for the next years, with the region recently tempting Rhys Patchell from Cardiff Blues and retaining a number of their Wales internationals.
"Gareth had a very successful World Cup campaign with Wales scoring some good tries," said Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac.
"But coming back to the region and having to compete for the number nine shirt with Aled (Davies) and Rhodri (Williams) keeps the players sharp and ensures that they're always developing." | Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies has signed a new contract with Scarlets until the end of the 2017-18 season. |
36,961,431 | Hu Shigen pleaded guilty in Tianjin to "damaging national security and harming social stability", said state media.
On Tuesday, Zhai Yanmin was found guilty of subversion and handed a three-year suspended jail sentence. Two more activists also face trial.
The cases have been widely seen as an attempt to silence government critics.
Around 300 lawyers and activists have been arrested since last year as part of the nationwide campaign. About 20 are still detained.
How seriously do Chinese take 'confession' videos?
Hu was convicted after a trial lasting a few hours. He was described by state broadcaster CCTV as the "leader of an underground church" that masqueraded as a religious body but was dedicated to drawing attention to allegations of government abuses.
State media quoted prosecutors as saying his "ideology and his behaviours have seriously harmed the country and social stability".
He had previously served 20 years in prison for the now-abolished charge of counter-revolution, but was released in 2008.
China's crackdown targeted the country's small human rights advocacy movement, and involved lawyers tackling cases to do with freedom of speech, religion or abuses of power.
Several linked to the same Beijing law firm, Fengrui, were arrested.
On Monday, prominent Fengrui lawyer Wang Yu was apparently released on bail, after a video appeared in which she renounced her legal work.
But it was not clear when the video was filmed, nor whether Ms Wang was now free.
Fengrui's head, Zhou Shifeng, and another activist Gou Hongguo are also going on trial in Tianjin this week.
The detained lawyers and activists are widely known as "709", a reference to the date the crackdown was launched on 9 July 2015.
In a statement earlier this week, the families and supporters called the trials "ridiculous and evil", calling for them to be given international attention. | A Chinese activist has been jailed for more than seven years for subversion, the second person jailed in two days in a crackdown on legal activism. |
27,542,403 | His mother, Margaret, who lives in Luton, flew to Kathmandu to join a search effort when he failed to reappear in November.
The 23-year-old had been on a trekking holiday.
Tests on skeletal remains found on 10 May by two Nepalese foraging in a mountainous area have been confirmed as Mr Allpress, a family spokesman said.
Experts used medical and dental records to confirm his identity, the spokesman added.
The examination was performed by doctors at a hospital in Kathmandu after a request by police.
The spokesman said: "Margaret, Matthew's mum, attended the hospital on Thursday to view the remains and to meet with the examining doctors who had carried out the autopsy.
"The police have advised us that a new team of approximately 15 officers are being immediately deployed back to the area where the remains were found to search for, and hopefully retrieve, the remaining missing effects that belong to Matthew.
"This process will take some time but as normal we will keep everyone updated as news comes to hand."
Ms Allpress met up with her Australian son's father, Mark, after flying to Nepal.
The spokesman added: "Mark and Margaret thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers." | The remains of a man found in Nepal have been confirmed as missing backpacker Matthew Allpress. |
24,522,653 | Spokesman Jonathan Todd told the BBC the Commission had been asking for more than three years for the figures.
"One can but sincerely hope" for ministers to set the record straight, he said.
But No 10 said there was "widespread and understandable concern" over people coming to the UK to access benefits.
The Commission's intervention follows its publication of a report claiming that jobless EU migrants make up less than 5% of those claiming social benefits in most of the EU member states studied.
Some newspapers have noted that the report shows that there are more than 600,000 "non-active" EU migrants in the UK - describing them as "unemployed".
But the Commission said this figure included older schoolchildren, students, the spouses of migrant workers, and retired people.
Fewer than 38,000 were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, it added.
"The vast majority of migrants go to the UK to work, and they actually contribute more to the welfare system than they take out, purely because they tend to be younger than the average population, and of working age," Mr Todd told the BBC Two's Daily Politics.
"The more EU migrants you have, the better off your welfare system is."
He said that if the UK government could show evidence of "systematic, widespread abuse of benefits by EU migrants", then the Commission would look at changing EU rules.
The spokesman argued that it was important to deal with facts rather than perceptions.
The report, carried out by a consultancy on behalf of the Commission, concluded: "The share of non-active intra-EU migrants is very small. They account for a similarly limited share of SNCB [special non-contributory cast benefits] recipients and the budgetary impact of such claims on national welfare budgets is very low.
"The same is true for costs associated with the take-up of healthcare by this group."
But Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman said: "There is an issue around access to the welfare system, around fairness as well as a cost issue."
"We don't think the current system is working, that is why we are looking at changes across the board," he said.
The government is currently conducting an audit of the cost to the NHS of "health tourism", he added.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said there was a "big question mark" over the statistics.
"I am aware that this 600,000 figure doesn't actually refer to those who are necessarily of working age over here who could actually be working," he explained.
"I don't want to get in the middle of a debate between some of the media and the EU," he told MPs on Monday.
But he strongly criticised the Commission for mounting a legal challenge to the UK government's attempts to tighten the residency restrictions on who can claim UK benefits.
Conservative backbench MP Stewart Jackson told Daily Politics: "These people have not contributed.
"If you're a pensioner from Portugal or the Czech Republic you've not contributed. If you're a schoolchild, no-one would expect you to have contributed, but we're not in a parallel universe.
"Those children have got to be housed. They've got to have healthcare. Above all they've got to have school places.
"The strain in hot-spots, like my own constituency of Peterborough, is very, very acute, and I think that's why we're right to be saying there is an element of benefit tourism, particularly from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the government is absolutely right to be saying to the European Commission: 'Thus far and no further.'" | The UK government has consistently declined to provide evidence to support its claims about "benefit tourism", the European Commission has said. |
35,910,331 | Some of these have been related to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, while others appear to have a political motive.
Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim but after Hindus, Christians are the second-largest minority group, representing about 1.6% of the population.
The southern metropolis of Karachi has a large Christian population and there are countless Christian villages in the Punjab heartland and cities of Lahore and Faisalabad.
There is also a sizeable population in the deeply conservative north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly in Peshawar city.
Pre-partition Pakistan was a much more diverse place but tolerance has declined as society has been increasingly Islamicised and more homogenous.
Before partition minorities made up 15% of the population, now they fall short of 4%.
The majority of Pakistan's Christians are descended from low-caste Hindus who converted under the British Raj, in part to escape the caste system.
Many provided labour in garrison towns and every cantonment city has an area known as Lal Kurti, traditionally the area where Christians reside.
But Christian communities remain in the poorest sector of society doing menial jobs. Entire villages in parts of Punjab are Christian with inhabitants working as labourers and farmhands.
There are sections of the Christian community that are well off. They came over from Goa under the Raj, are more educated and mainly settled in Karachi.
What all of them share is a sense of vulnerability, with a number of wealthier Christians leaving to settle in Canada and Australia as the climate of intolerance in Pakistan becomes more unbearable.
Muslims and Christians mostly co-exist amiably enough without frequent outbreaks of animosity.
But accusations of blasphemy have also often led to mob violence against Christians, while militant Islamists have also targeted the community.
Recent attacks include:
Since the 1990s, scores of Christians have also been convicted for desecrating the Koran or blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad, although experts say most accusations are fuelled by personal disputes.
While most were handed death sentences by lower courts, those sentences were often set aside by higher courts due to lack of evidence, or because the complainants were found to be targeting the community for economic benefits.
In 2012, a Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, became the first non-Muslim to be acquitted in a blasphemy case when it was discovered that she had been framed by a local Muslim cleric.
Perhaps the best known example is that of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman from a Punjab village who in 2010 got into an altercation with some Muslim women and was later accused by them of having blasphemed.
Salman Taseer, then the governor of Punjab who stated that Pakistan's strict blasphemy law had been abused in the case, was later murdered by his Islamist bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri.
Qadri was found guilty and executed in February 2016, prompting mass protests.
Pakistan's minister for minority affairs and a Christian leader, Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated in 2011 by the Taliban for speaking out against the law.
Some of the violence is directly related to the American-led war in Afghanistan, so it has an expressly political motive.
Months after the US-led coalition attacked Afghanistan in late 2001, a grenade attack on a chapel inside a Christian mission hospital Taxila city killed four people.
A couple of months later, gunmen executed six workers of a Christian charity in their Karachi office. These incidents, although isolated, have continued through the years.
Attacks on Pakistan's Christian and Hindu minorities could be part of a militant plan to send a message to the West or embarrass Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he appears to be too friendly to the West. | The Taliban attack at a Lahore park was the latest in an escalating number of attacks on Christians in Pakistan, explains the BBC's M Ilyas Khan. |
37,263,423 | Northern Ireland's Will Grigg had given the visitors the perfect start when he netted after just five minutes.
Scotland striker Steven Fletcher scored his first goal for the Owls to draw the hosts level.
Forestieri then fired home from a tight angle in the second half to help the home side clinch all three points.
The former Watford striker had been denied the chance to give Sheffield Wednesday the lead within 60 seconds of the kick-off as Latics defender Luke Burke pulled off a last-ditch tackle.
Wigan quickly turned defence into attack as Michael Jacobs intercepted Owls midfielder Tom Lees' pass, and his low cross from the left was turned in by Grigg.
A ball over the top of Wigan's defence from Barry Bannan led to Wednesday's equaliser as Fletcher did well to hold off his marker, before angling the ball across goalkeeper Adam Bogdan and into the opposite corner.
The Owls' dominance told in the second half as Forestieri, whose initial cross was cleared straight back to him, scored his second goal of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal:
"We lost 3-1 at Burnley last season and we discovered our team, we discovered our heart (in that game).
"We want to be the mirror of the city and of the region of Yorkshire. We put our heart on the pitch (against Wigan).
"The most important thing was to win and it was important to take a step forward. We played with quality and we missed some chances, but we won."
Wigan manager Gary Caldwell:
"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say the better team won. We got ourselves in a great position scoring a fantastic goal early on.
"We didn't do a lot to score the goal. We got in a good shape which we have been working on and picked off a pass. If we had built on that we could have quietened the crowd.
"We defended for a lot of time and if you do that against good players you are going to get picked off.
"We have lost games by the odd goal and I believe a win is around the corner."
Match ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Wigan Athletic 1.
Second Half ends, Sheffield Wednesday 2, Wigan Athletic 1.
Foul by Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday).
Adam Le Fondre (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by William Buckley.
Attempt missed. Ross Wallace (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
Hand ball by Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic).
Attempt blocked. Ross Wallace (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by William Buckley.
Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Stephen Warnock.
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. William Buckley replaces Barry Bannan because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ross Wallace with a cross following a set piece situation.
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Alex Gilbey (Wigan Athletic).
Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic).
Attempt saved. Adam Le Fondre (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Yanic Wildschut.
Attempt blocked. Yanic Wildschut (Wigan Athletic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Kieran Lee.
Attempt blocked. Max Power (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Offside, Wigan Athletic. Alex Gilbey tries a through ball, but William Grigg is caught offside.
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Adam Reach replaces Daniel Pudil.
Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Shaun MacDonald.
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic).
Foul by Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday).
Stephen Warnock (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Michael Jacobs (Wigan Athletic) is shown the yellow card.
Corner, Wigan Athletic. Conceded by Tom Lees.
Attempt blocked. Michael Jacobs (Wigan Athletic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Adam Le Fondre (Wigan Athletic).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Stephen Warnock (Wigan Athletic) because of an injury.
Attempt blocked. Steven Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gary Hooper.
Attempt saved. Gary Hooper (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kieran Lee with a headed pass.
Foul by Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday).
Shaun MacDonald (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Sheffield Wednesday 2, Wigan Athletic 1. Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right to the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Gary Hooper replaces Almen Abdi.
Attempt missed. Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Fernando Forestieri. | Fernando Forestieri's strike helped Sheffield Wednesday claim their second league win of the season as they overcame Wigan at Hillsborough. |
37,151,086 | Lawrence Soper, 72, was arrested as he arrived at Luton Airport on Sunday on suspicion of nine offences of sexual assault allegedly committed over a period from 1972 to 1986.
Mr Soper had been detained in May under a European Arrest Warrant in Kosovo.
He is now being held in custody at a west London police station.
Mr Soper was arrested in 2010 and bailed, but failed to return to a London police station in March 2011.
A European Arrest Warrant was issued for him in 2012.
He is accused of committing offences at St Benedict's School in Ealing, west London, where he taught in the 1970s and 1980s.
After teaching at St Benedict's, Mr Soper became abbot of Ealing Abbey, which had founded the school and supplied monks to teach there.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police' s sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command had appealed for help in tracing Mr Soper. | A former Catholic priest accused of historical sex offences has been returned to Britain from Kosovo after a five-year police hunt. |
33,400,561 | The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescued the man after he capsized off the coast at Redcar on Saturday.
The man, 35, from Middlesbrough, had bought the boat for £40.
He had set out from the South Gare but was carried by the wind and tide towards the Teesside Wind Farm.
He was spotted struggling by a member of the public who contacted UK Coastguard and taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for treatment for hypothermia.
Dave Cocks, lifeboat operations manager at Redcar RNLI, said: "This could so nearly have ended as another tragedy at sea.
"While the craft may have been very inexpensive it could have cost the man his life.
"The North Sea is a dangerous place, even when the weather is as fine as we have seen in the past few days.
"The man was thrown into very cold water, he was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts and didn't have a lifejacket on.
"At one point his body temperature was measured at less than 34C (93F). He was suffering from hypothermia and was becoming very weak.
"If he'd got into difficulties and he hadn't been found he may not have been able to save himself." | A man has been hospitalised with hypothermia after going fishing in the North Sea on an inflatable kayak bought from a supermarket. |
36,052,141 | The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association figures showed that VW's sales fell 1.6% in March.
Its data suggests that the German giant continues to suffer from the emissions scandal and recall of millions of cars.
In the first three months of the year, Europe-wide sales rose 8.1% on the same period in 2015, to 3.932 million.
Nearly every European country recorded growth last month, but sales fell 0.7% in Spain and dipped slightly in Germany, Europe's biggest car market.
Italy recorded the strongest rise of any major market with demand rising 17.4%, followed by France where sales rose 7.5%.
EU sales have now increased for 31 months in a row, hitting levels close to those recorded in 2007, shortly before the economic crisis began to hit the car industry.
Peter Schmidt, editor at Automotive Industry Data, told the Bloomberg news agency that it looks like the "European car market is recovering much faster than most analysts anticipated - including myself". | European new car sales last month rose by 5.7% to 1.74 million registrations despite another dip in sales for Volkswagen. |
37,276,936 | Thirteen organisations, including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and CBI Scotland, signed up to the letter.
They said cutting rates back to be in line with those in force in England would "level the playing field".
An ongoing Scottish government review of business rates is expected to be completed by summer 2017.
A government spokeswoman said rates policies would be "closely considered" for the next budget.
A supplementary tax on large businesses was doubled this year from 1,3p in the pound to 2.6p, in what then Finance Secretary John Swinney called a "modest increase" aimed at maintaining the Small Business Bonus Scheme.
The letter to Mr Swinney's successor Derek Mackay welcomed the government's "continued commitment to support Scotland's businesses" in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
However, it then called on the government to "level the playing field" by reversing the increase to the Large Business Supplement.
It said: "This supplement affects one out of every eight commercial premises in Scotland and is expected to add a further £62m to these businesses' rates bills in the current year.
"Reducing the surcharge to the level which applies in England would not only be fair and make Scotland's business rates more competitive, but would also help to reduce the cost base of many hard pressed businesses at this time of economic uncertainty."
When the rates increase was announced, Mr Swinney said he was asking Scotland's biggest businesses to pay extra in order to support investment in research and innovation and higher education.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish government said Mr Mackay would meet business representatives to discuss economic recovery.
She said: "The austerity budget handed to Scotland by the UK Government has meant that those paying the large business supplement have a sustainable increase of 3.4% to their rates bill this year, helping to fund local services that support economic development.
"We will closely consider our business rates policies for 2017 to ensure competitiveness in light of the revaluation, and indeed have already pledged to expand the Small Business Bonus Scheme from next year so that it lifts 100,000 properties out of rates altogether."
Other signatories to the letter include the chief executives of the Scotch Whisky Association, the Scottish Tourism Association, the Scottish Grocers Federation and Scottish Engineering, and the directors of the Scottish Property Federation and the Scottish Retail Consortium.
The Scottish Conservatives said the letter was a warning that Scotland is becoming "the least competitive part of the UK to do business".
Economy spokesman Dean Lockhart said: "The doubling of a large business supplement was an action the Scottish Conservatives opposed during the budget and its impact is beginning to be seen right across Scotland as small businesses become trapped in its net." | Scottish business leaders have written to the finance secretary calling for an increase in tax rates for big firms to be reversed. |
37,600,891 | It is a big increase on the £4,327 paid in 2014, which prompted an outcry from campaigners who argued it had paid too little.
However, critics may also be riled by the fact that the company will receive a tax credit of £11m, which can be used to offset tax bills at a later date.
The firm said it was "proud" to have grown its business in the UK.
The social network posted taxable profit for the year to 31 December of about £20m, on which it paid tax at the standard corporation tax rate. Turnover more than doubled to £210m.
The tax credit is the result of offsetting payments linked to its bonus scheme for staff.
Facebook said in March it would no longer route advertising sales through Ireland for its largest advertisers.
That change, which took effect on 1 April, should mean the US company starts paying millions of pounds more in tax in the UK.
A spokesperson for Facebook said: "We are proud that in 2015 we have continued to grow our business in the UK and created over 300 new high skilled jobs. We pay all the taxes that we are required to under UK law."
The figures were revealed in Facebook UK's accounts, which were published on Companies House on Sunday.
Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant and professor of practice in international political economy at City, University of London, said it was difficult to determine whether Facebook was paying the right amount of tax in Britain.
"Facebook's UK accounts do not represent its real sales in this country, which are actually booked in Ireland with their true value never being disclosed," he said.
"The Facebook UK accounts just record the costs it incurs in the UK, with a bit of profit added on to keep HMRC happy. That's not good enough in the current climate.
"Facebook UK's accounts are an exercise in opacity when what we really need is transparency. If accountants continue to refuse to provide what users of accounts need then it will be time for the government to act."
Tax specialist Jo Maugham QC said: "Facebook's accounts are rather opaque. But we can be confident that the structure of its business continues to be driven by the desire to make the smallest possible financial contribution to the public infrastructure it uses."
Analysis
Theo Leggett, business reporter
When Facebook revealed it had paid just £4,327 in tax in 2014, there was a storm of protest from campaigners. Like other digital era multinationals, it has come under fire for doing a great deal of business here, but paying very little into the national coffers.
2015's bill looks decidedly steeper, but it still appears to bear little relation to the amount of business actually being done by the company. It is based entirely on revenues from engineering and marketing services supplied to other parts of the Facebook group.
It will be different in future. The company agreed earlier this year to book sales to major UK advertisers in Britain, rather than Ireland - so they will be subject to tax here.
Although this won't include sales made over the internet, it should still mean a much bigger payment is due for 2016.
That may go some way towards appeasing campaigners - and keeping the UK authorities at arms length.
Facebook employed 682 people in the UK last year, up from 362 in 2014, and the company now has more than 1,000 full-time equivalent staff.
Globally Facebook made profits of $3.7bn in 2015 on revenues of almost $18bn - 44% higher than the previous year. | Facebook paid £4.16m in UK corporation tax last year, as it expanded its business in the UK. |
33,529,019 | Cornwall Council members gave the council leader John Pollard a mandate to sign off an agreement with the government.
Cornwall would be the first county to get devolved powers as announced by the chancellor in the Budget.
The details of the deal have not been made public under instructions from ministers, said Mr Pollard.
The main demands listed by Cornwall Council include:
Councillors had a confidential briefing session where they were given details of which areas the government is offering to hand over some powers.
Councillors had a private briefing on Tuesday at which they were given some information about what extra powers ministers are offering the authority.
The Labour and UKIP groups didn't back the offer, but leader John Pollard received enough support for a mandate to sign an agreement.
The council says the government has insisted the process remain confidential. Alongside EU funding and bus services, the BBC also understands further education, business support, energy, and health and social care services will form part of any package.
An official announcement is expected possibly by the end of the week.
"Seeking more powers for Cornwall is not new - we have been striving for more autonomy for years," said Mr Pollard, independent leader of the Liberal Democrat-independent controlled authority.
"If agreed these proposals will allow the people of Cornwall to benefit from an integrated health and social care system, significant economic growth, more affordable homes, greater access to employment and training opportunities, together with a much improved public transport network."
Both UKIP and Labour members voted against the deal.
Tim Dwelly, leader of the Labour group, said: "We think this deal should not have been done in secret and should have been put to the people of Cornwall." | Devolution powers for Cornwall are said to be a step closer after councillors approved plans in a private meeting. |
30,592,503 | George Lowe's early try put Quins ahead, but Samu Manoa's touchdown and two Stephen Myler penalties gave champions Saints a 13-8 half-time lead.
A George North score extended the visitors' lead after the break, before Jack Clifford got one back for Quins.
Kahn Fotuali'i then crossed for Saints and, despite Sam Twomey's late try for the hosts, Northampton held on.
It was a welcome return to Twickenham for Jim Mallinder's side, who won their first-ever Premiership title at the stadium by beating Saracens in May.
On the balance of play, Harlequins may have deserved more from the game, but Northampton, and in particular fly-half Stephen Myler, were clinical with their chances and retain their league lead after Bath had briefly taken top spot with victory over Exeter earlier on Saturday.
Quins seemed to feed off the bumper crowd early on, and opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Lowe burst his way through bodies after a lovely looped pass from Marland Yarde.
Tim Swiel kicked his side into an eight-point lead, which was short-lived thanks to Myler's accuracy from the tee.
Northampton were being put immense pressure from the home side, but managed to turn Quins around against the run of play as George Pisi's grubber kick forced a line-out five metres from the try-line.
The subsequent catch and drive got Manoa over for the score before Myler's extras put the reigning champions ahead.
And, despite having Salesi Ma'afu sin-binned for a high tackle on Lowe, Saints extended their advantage before the break with another Myler kick.
After the break, a dreadful few minutes for Swiel began when he missed a penalty, and ended in having a kick charged down by Manoa, who offloaded to Wales winger North to power over.
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Swiel managed to compose himself to kick over his second penalty of the afternoon, but Myler was once more clinical from the tee, before Saints brought on England prop Alex Corbisiero for his first game since September.
Swiel then nearly touched down, but Quins recycled and Clifford crept over, and the South African fly-half converted to bring his side to within five at 23-18.
But Saints once more imposed their authority in the 72nd minute, as Fotuali'i picked up the pieces after Mike Haywood almost barged through and dived over.
Harlequins were given hope of a dramatic end to what had already been an entertaining game when lock Twomey crossed for his first Premiership try, but Northampton stood strong to deny their hosts.
Harlequins: Brown; Yarde, Hopper, Lowe, Monye; Swiel, Care; Lambert, Ward, Collier; Matthews, Robson; Trayfoot, Clifford, Easter (capt)
Replacements: Gray, Marfo, Sinckler, Twomey, J Chisholm, Dickson, Casson, R Chisholm
Northampton Saints: Foden; K Pisi, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, L Dickson; A Waller, Haywood, Ma'afu; Dickinson, Day; Clark, Wood (capt), Manoa
Replacements: McMillan, Corbisiero, Denman, Nutley, Dowson, Fotuali'i, Wilson, Stephenson | Northampton went top of the Premiership with victory over Harlequins in front of a 82,000 sell-out at Twickenham. |
16,565,759 | Central Hall Methodist Church in Longton, built in the mid-19th Century, will be restored as part of a scheme to renovate the town's architectural gems.
Restoring the exteriors of a further 10 buildings during 2012 will be funded by the city council and English Heritage.
Work on the church hall is expected to get under way on Monday.
Longton Market Hall has already benefited from the heritage grant with shop fronts refurbished and a new illuminated metallic market sign installed.
The funding has also helped to reinstate cobbles along the historical route of Handcart Lane.
Councillor Ruth Rosenau, Stoke-on-Trent City Council cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Longton has a strong architectural heritage and this project is helping to restore the exterior of some of the town's most historical buildings.
"The Methodist hall is well used by the community and has a long historic connection with the town.
"The work will repair the front stained glass windows and restore the intricate canopy designs which will bring the building back to its former glory." | A church hall in Stoke-on-Trent is being refurbished as part of a wider £750,000 investment in one area of the city. |
37,786,636 | An EU-Canada signing ceremony had been planned for Thursday. Its cancellation is a big setback for the EU, with Belgium's Wallonia region preventing the 28-nation EU from signing Ceta.
Belgium's federal government is holding further talks with Walloon politicians.
It took seven years to negotiate Ceta, the EU's most ambitious trade deal yet.
The Ceta wrangling has raised new concerns about future UK negotiations with the EU on a Brexit trade deal.
Under Belgium's federal system, the national government cannot sign the deal unless all six Belgian parliaments approve it.
French-speaking Wallonia, a staunchly socialist region of 3.6 million people, has led objections to the deal, demanding stronger safeguards on labour, environmental and consumer standards.
A major stumbling block is the plan to create new commercial courts to handle disputes between companies and national governments.
Wallonia fears they would give too much leverage to multinationals. It also wants more protection for Walloon farmers, who would face new competition from Canadian imports.
The other 27 EU governments want to sign Ceta (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was optimistic that the Belgian blockage could still be resolved.
As Thursday's talks got under way Wallonia's Socialist Prime Minister, Paul Magnette, said "a few legal issues" remained to be cleared up, but "a lot of progress" had been made.
A Belgian deal would still have to be approved by the other 27 EU governments.
98%
The number of tariffs between the EU and Canada that would be eliminated
€500 million
The estimated amount that EU exporters would save in duties annually
3.6m The population of Wallonia
36.3m The population of Canada
508m The population of the EU | Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cancelled a visit to Brussels because of Belgium's deadlock over the troubled EU-Canada Ceta trade deal. |
36,058,961 | 15 April 2016 Last updated at 19:18 BST
The annual event has been staged at Liverpool's stadium since the tragedy in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.
The Hillsborough Family Support Group released 96 white doves at the conclusion of the service, in memory of those fans who died as a result of the disaster.
The crowd sang Wind Beneath My Wings as doves were released towards the conclusion of the service. | The final Anfield memorial service for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster has been held in Liverpool. |
40,956,139 | Mary Grams, 84, was devastated when she lost the ring while weeding on the family farm in Alberta in 2004.
But she had kept the ring's loss a secret from all but her son for more than a decade.
On Monday, her daughter-in-law discovered the secret - and the ring - when she pulled up a lumpy carrot.
The carrot had grown straight through the ring, enabling it to be plucked out after many years hiding in the soil.
She had decided not to tell her husband when she lost it, out of embarrassment, but she told her son.
She went out and bought a slightly cheaper replacement ring, and carried on as if nothing had happened.
"Maybe I did the wrong thing, but you get so worked up," she said.
No one was the wiser, until this week when her daughter-in-law Colleen Daley decided she wanted some carrots for supper.
Ms Daley, who now lives on the farm where Mrs Grams used to live, went to harvest vegetables in the garden. Lo and behold, she spotted the ring while washing a rather lumpy carrot.
Her son instantly knew who the ring must belong to, and called his mother.
Looking back, Mrs Grams said she wishes she had told her husband, who died five years ago.
He was a joker, she said, and probably would have found this whole situation pretty funny.
Now that she has it back, she said she will be more careful.
"If I am going outside or anything I am going to put it in a safe space. That is what I should have done," she said.
This is not the first time someone has found a diamond ring on a carrot. In 2011, a Swedish woman found her wedding ring 16 years after she lost it. | A Canadian woman got an extra carrot with her diamond ring when it was found in her vegetable patch 13 years after she lost it. |
39,643,967 | 19 April 2017 Last updated at 13:06 BST
The surprise news of a general election in June and the issue of Scotland's constitutional future was discussed at the start of the publicly-aired discussion.
The panel then moved on to local issues including business rates and the Aberdeen economy; city centre redevelopment and affordable house building. | The BBC hosts a special election hustings for the Aberdeen City Council area ahead of the local elections on 4 May. |
33,110,128 | Born on 24 August 1758, as Lieutenant General he was the highest ranking British officer to fall at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium, exactly 200 years ago.
Described by the Duke of Wellington as "a rough foul-mouthed devil, but very capable", he died defending the British left flank in a typically courageous bayonet charge.
Yet at the time, and for two centuries afterwards, his reputation has been tarnished by his authorisation of torture during his spell as Governor of Trinidad in the late 1790s and early 1800s.
Swansea University expert Dr Leighton James explains: "Trinidad had recently been seized from the Spanish, and Picton felt vulnerable, both from the threat of re-conquest and the fact that the number of slaves there greatly outnumbered his small force.
"He maintained control through brutality, adopting the philosophy of 'let them hate so long as they fear'.
"But when he authorised the use of torture to extract a confession of theft from a free 'mulatto' girl, it provoked outrage, even in those much more brutal times."
In 1801, 14-year-old Luisa Calderon stood accused of being involved in the theft of around £500.
The investigating magistrate sought, and was granted, permission from Picton to obtain a confession through the use of picketing.
Widely used as a punishment in the British army, picketing involved the victim being suspended off the ground by the wrist, with their only means of supporting their weight being to stand on an upturned peg.
The peg was not sharp enough to break the skin and inflict permanent injury, but caused the victim excruciating pain.
Already unpopular for his ruthless treatment, the incident was investigated by a commission headed by William Fullarton, and, in 1803, Picton was ordered home to stand trial in London.
Dr James says that in the two years the case took to come to court, interest in it had mushroomed, helped in part by the fact that the prosecution was led by notable reforming lawyer William Garrow.
"Pamphlets and newspapers were doing the rounds, there were even etchings for sale, depicting what this girl had had to undergo on Picton's orders," he said.
"Garrow's involvement, combined with the fact that this exotic-appearing girl, Luisa Calderon, was brought over to give evidence in person meant that the trial attracted unprecedented interest.
"At the heart of it were a clash of different times and values. Britain was becoming more enlightened and liberal, while the reality of life in the colonies remained dangerous and violent."
Although convicted, Picton later had the verdict overturned, arguing that Trinidad had still been subject to Spanish law, which permitted the use of torture.
In the meantime, he had risen to prominence as a commander in Wellington's army fighting the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon's France.
On 16 June 1815, Picton was badly injured at The Battle of Quatre Bras - but hid his wounds from his men.
Two days later - at the Battle of Waterloo - he was shot through the temple by a musket ball, repulsing a French advance which had threatened to break the British line.
After his death a public memorial to Picton was erected at St Paul's Cathedral.
A second - funded by public subscription - was built in Carmarthen, with George IV himself contributing a hundred guineas.
Controversy over these has existed ever since, though Dr James believes that - deserved or not - they do serve a purpose.
"There's a tendency in popular memory for us to pigeonhole people as having been either heroes or villains; in Picton's case there's plenty of evidence for both cases.
"I'm not sure it helps to talk in terms of whether Picton should be celebrated in place names etc, but I do think they act as a talking point.
"When you sit down for a pint in a pub called the Thomas Picton, you ask 'why' is it named after him, and as a consequence you learn about Luisa Calderon, and the events behind the name.
"If you forget the names, you forget history, and I think that would be a terrible shame." | The name of Haverfordwest's Sir Thomas Picton is celebrated in schools, pubs, on the streets and even in towns around the world, but does it deserve to be? |
34,026,541 | Volunteers have been working to restore the HS Trident airliner cockpit and fuselage for the past six months.
Retired airline pilot Peter Lewis, from Hatherley, who co-piloted the British-built airliner in 1973 officially unveiled the aircraft at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday.
Mr Lewis said "the museum's restorers have done a wonderful job".
"I started flying Tridents when 21 years old in 1969 and never expected to sit again in the one of 'my' aircraft again after all this time.
"The museum's restorers have done a wonderful job of bringing the cockpit back to life and I thoroughly recommend the public to visit the museum and experience what flying was like in the 70s".
The trident was the first jet airliner to use Autoland, or the Blind Flying System, which allows aircraft to land in poor weather conditions and is standard on aircraft today.
It was originally developed by Smiths Industries, now GE Aviation, at Bishops Cleeve.
The HS Trident was used as a fire trainer at Stansted Airport before it was scrapped. The cockpit, galley and first few rows of seats were rescued for the restoration. | A new exhibit has been revealed to the public at Gloucestershire's Jet Age Museum. |
32,757,113 | He said a conductor had overheard a radio conversation between the Amtrak's driver and another driver, in which both said their trains had been struck.
But Amtrak driver Brandon Bostian said he could not remember what happened.
The train derailed as it hit a curve while travelling at more than twice the speed limit, killing eight people.
More than 200 people on board the Washington-New York train were wounded.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Robert Sumwalt said the assistant conductor had heard Mr Bostian talking by radio with the driver of another train from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Septa).
The Septa train driver reportedly said his train - which was in the same area - was hit by a rock or some other projectile.
Mr Bostian said the same had happened to the Amtrak train, according to the assistant conductor.
The investigators said they had found an area of glass which might indicate damage from a flying object, and have called in the FBI for technical assistance.
NTSB officials earlier interviewed Mr Bostian, saying he was "extremely co-operative", but could not remember what happened.
The 32-year-old driver had called for stricter rail safety.
On various posts to Trainorders.com, Mr Bostian lamented Amtrak's lack of Positive Train Control, an automatic braking and warning system which was not fully operational on that section of line.
Safety experts have said it could have prevented the crash.
Friends said Mr Bostian talked about trains all the time and always wanted to be a train driver or conductor.
He has worked for Amtrak for nine years and was promoted to train driver in 2010.
On his Facebook page, friends wrote that he is a "great person and a great engineer [driver]".
Investigators said the train sped up from 70mph (113km/h) to over 100mph in the minute before hitting the sharp bend.
Amtrak boss Joseph Boardman said on Thursday that the agency's goal is to "fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future".
The last wrecked coaches were pulled from the scene on Friday and taken away for further examination.
The rail service remains suspended between New York and Philadelphia until at least early next week. | The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday may have been hit by an object shortly before the crash, a US investigator has said. |
37,276,935 | Ms Sturgeon told MSPs at Holyrood that the move was an "exceptional response to an exceptional economic challenge".
She also insisted that education was the "defining mission" of the Scottish government.
Proposals to help close the attainment gap were among the 14 bills the Scottish government will introduce.
The plans include a Child Poverty Bill, which Ms Sturgeon said was arguably the government's most important legislation.
The bill would establish Scotland as the only part of the UK with statutory income targets on child poverty, and see a "baby box" given to every newborn.
But much of Ms Sturgeon's focus was on boosting the economy in the wake of the Brexit vote, with the first minister promising £4bn will be spent on infrastructure next year alongside the £500m Scottish Growth Scheme package of support for private businesses.
Ms Sturgeon said the growth scheme would offer individual investment guarantees, and some loans, of up to £5m to small and medium sized firms who would otherwise be unable to grow because of a lack of investment finance.
As financial guarantees, the support will not come from existing spending plans, and will instead see the Scottish government share some of the risk faced by small companies, when they make big investment decisions.
The first minister described the fund as a "half-billion pound vote of confidence in Scottish business, Scottish workers and the Scottish economy".
Ms Sturgeon's SNP formed a minority government after winning 63 seats in May's Scottish Parliament elections.
She told MSPS that Holyrood was operating in a "new political, economic and constitutional context" following the UK voting to leave the EU.
The first minister said the Scottish government would use its newly devolved powers over tax and welfare to adapt to those changes.
Ms Sturgeon has already ordered ministers to start drawing up legislation for a second independence referendum, which she said is "highly likely" - although not inevitable - following the Brexit vote.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that the Scottish government would consult on the draft referendum bill in case an independence referendum was the "best or only" way to protect Scottish interests - sparking groans and laughter from opposition politicians.
They have called on the Scottish government to "focus on the day job" of improving public services instead of pushing for independence.
It was, we were assured, a programme for different - and troubled - times. Hence a renewed emphasis on bolstering economic growth alongside the priority accorded to education.
Not, to be clear, that the economy has ever been far from ministers' minds. However, Nicola Sturgeon's narrative is that Brexit will add considerably to the challenges facing Scotland and the UK. Requiring additional support.
But, even in these post referendum days (EU, that is, not the 2014 version), there is still scope for a few familiar notes.
And so Ms Sturgeon lambasted the Tories, characterising them as the right-wing enemies of her social democratic programme.
Ruth Davidson, who leads said rightist cabal, smiled benignly from her new elevated status as the principal opposition party, accusing Ms Sturgeon of preparing to hike Scottish tax by failing to pass on UK Treasury concessions to higher rate payers.
Read more from Brian
Ms Sturgeon said four of her government's bills would focus on some of the new powers that have been devolved to Scotland, with proposals to cut Air Passenger Duty, incorporate British Transport Police in Scotland into Police Scotland, and to promote gender equality on public boards.
The fourth bill would set out proposals for a Scottish welfare system based on "dignity and respect", the first minister said, with the SNP having already pledged to increase carer's allowance and create a new grant for low-income parents.
Among the government's other plans are:
Ms Sturgeon said education was the "defining mission of my government", and that she was aiming for "truly transformational investment" in childcare.
She added: "I have said that I want to be judged on our success in narrowing and ultimately closing the attainment gap.
"We must not tolerate a situation where some children from deprived areas do less well at school than those from affluent areas.
"The measures we will implement over the next five years constitute a comprehensive approach to tackling that".
Responding to Ms Sturgeon's proposals, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson urged the first minister to ditch the "threat" of a second referendum and focus on governance, adding that she was disappointed by the SNP's "failure to listen" on the economy.
Energy is being "diverted into an endless political campaign", she said, with Ms Sturgeon's list of legislation serving as "a warm-up act to nudge the independence caravan another few inches along the road".
"I do not subscribe to the view that we are helpless to act in the face of Brexit - nor do I think that breaking up a union worth four times more to Scotland than the EU is going to help matters very much," she said.
"I said two weeks ago I wanted a new type of Scottish government and what I mean is one which no longer asks - how will this boost independence? But one that asks - how are we growing the country?"
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the programme lacked ambition and failed to address the "big questions" Scotland faces in areas such as public services and jobs.
She added: "Over the past decade, this parliament has become more and more powerful, but the government's programme has become less and less ambitious.
"The first minister and the SNP have had nearly a decade. They now have another five years.
"Let this be five years where focusing on jobs, public services and our economy rank as highly as the SNP's fight for independence."
Scottish Greens co-convenor Patrick Harvie reminded the first minister that she was leading a minority government, and that there would need to be compromise and open-minded discussion in order for its legislative programme to be passed by Holyrood.
He said the new challenges brought by Brexit were against a backdrop of pre-existing challenges, and that there had not been enough progress made in working towards a "fairer, more equal and healthier society".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "Nine years after they came to power there is no sign of the SNP are willing to drop independence and get on with the job of making our economy and services the best again.
"The first minister spent the whole summer talking up the prospect of a second independence referendum instead of getting on with the day job." | Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled a £500m fund to help Scottish businesses as she set out her government's plans for the next year. |
40,094,402 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Despite manager Arsene Wenger being set to sign a new two-year deal, ex-England striker Lineker's views were echoed by former Gunners goalkeeper Bob Wilson.
He believes Arsenal will struggle to attract quality players without the offer of elite European football.
"How are you going to get Antoine Greizmann to sign?" Wilson said.
"Without the Champions League, the only way is if you can compete salary-wise to attract the players," he told BBC Sport.
"Chelsea bought the best player available last season in N'Golo Kante and Arsenal went for him too but came nowhere near the salary that Chelsea pay.
"So the board has to be realistic and say: Are we going to compete at this level?
"They cannot compete with Manchester United, or Chelsea with all the money [owner] Roman Abramovich has, or [owner] Sheikh Mansour has at Manchester City - these are clubs who can manage to go into huge debt."
Wenger and club owner Stan Kroenke met on Monday to determine the Frenchman's future, with the decision relayed to directors at Tuesday's board meeting.
Arsenal are planning to make an official announcement confirming Wenger's new deal on Wednesday. His contract was set to finish at the end of the current campaign.
The Gunners were fifth in the league this season, the first time they have finished outside the top four since Wenger joined in 1996. They were 18 points behind champions Chelsea, but beat the Blues 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Lineker said: "Arsenal have got a long way to go at the moment. If you ask me now whether Arsenal are going to be in the top four next season, I would say most probably not. They are further behind than Wenger thinks."
The former Tottenham striker said he thought it was "remarkable" that it had been left to Wenger to determine his own future.
"The only other example of a manager that decides when and where he goes is Sir Alex Ferguson, but he was still winning league titles. Arsene Wenger was still winning FA Cups and until this season he had always got in the top four, but now that's changed."
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Wenger led the Gunners to three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in his first nine seasons in charge.
In 2003-04, he became the first manager since 1888-89 to lead a team through an entire top-flight season unbeaten.
But after winning the 2005 FA Cup, they had to wait another nine years - or 3,283 days - for their next silverware. It came as they beat Hull City to win the 2014 FA Cup, before winning the trophy again the following year.
Some Gunners fans turned on the 67-year-old Frenchman as a result of their league performances and they lost 10-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 in March.
They finished the league season with five successive victories, but it was not enough to carry them above Liverpool to take the fourth and final Champions League spot.
Wenger told BBC's Football Focus on Saturday the criticism he has faced this season is "a disgrace" he will "never forget".
Anti-Wenger banners were held aloft by Gunners fans in the closing stages of a 3-1 defeat at West Brom on 18 March, while in the first half two planes towed banners over the ground - one criticising the manager and the other supporting him.
After that loss, Wenger said he had made a decision on his future which he would announce "very soon".
He faced significant criticism around that time, with former Blackburn and Celtic striker Chris Sutton telling BBC Radio 5 live on 20 March that Wenger was "an uncle who doesn't want to leave the party" and was running a "dictatorship".
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, meanwhile, described Wenger as "one of the best managers in history". | Arsenal are "a long way behind" their Premier League rivals and are likely to miss out on a Champions League place again next year, says Gary Lineker. |
33,457,805 | But he warned that the so-called P5+1 (US, UN, Russia, UK, France and Germany) would not wait indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted: "We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done."
The pace at which sanctions are lifted is a major issue at talks in Vienna.
Pressure is mounting on world powers and Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme and avoid the issue becoming bogged down in the US Congress.
Congress has 30 days to review any agreement as long as it receives the text by midnight Washington time (04:00 GMT on Friday). Failing that the review period will be 60 days, which will delay the lifting of US sanctions.
"We're here because we believe we are making real progress," Mr Kerry told reporters in the Austrian capital Vienna on Thursday.
But he cautioned that "we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever" and that he was prepared to "call an end" to nuclear talks with Iran if "tough decisions" are not made.
"We also recognise that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight. And I emphasise, given that the work here is incredibly technical and that the stakes are very very high, we will not rush and we will not be rushed."
Mr Kerry said that any deal had to withstand the test of time.
"It is not a test of a matter of days or weeks or months, it's a test for decades, that's our goal here."
Mr Zarif, who leads the Iranian negotiators, earlier said he wanted to reach a deal. And he added on his Twitter page: "Mark my words; you can't change horses in the middle of a stream."
Separately, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he would be staying in Vienna to continue the negotiations, saying that "things are going in the right direction".
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the talks as "sometimes heated" but overall "constructive".
The White House has said that it is unlikely that the talks will go on for many more weeks. A 30 June deadline imposed by both sides has already been missed.
The P5+1 and Iran are still believed to differ in three key areas - international inspections of Iran's non-nuclear sites, sanctions, and how Iran's compliance will be verified.
Iran also wants a UN Security Council arms embargo to be scrapped - something the US has ruled out.
World powers want to be satisfied that Iran is neither trying to develop a nuclear bomb, nor has the capability to do so in under at least a year. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes.
If Congress rejects the deal, President Barack Obama can use his power of veto, but Congress can still overturn this. An extended review could help opposition to a deal build in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Under an interim accord, Iran and the P5+1 agreed that crippling sanctions would be eased in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear programme.
Both sides at the Vienna talks said they hoped for progress on Thursday, though there has been little concrete sign of a breakthrough. | US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that America and other major powers are not in a rush to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran. |
37,508,193 | The report included footage of Wright apparently accepting money in return for allegedly helping persuade the Championship club to sign players.
He was suspended on Wednesday while the club investigated the allegations.
But the 50-year-old has now been sacked with immediate effect after a meeting with chief executive Linton Brown.
A Barnsley statement read: "After considering Mr Wright's response to allegations in today's Daily Telegraph about breaching FA rules over player transfers, Mr Wright was dismissed.
"The club was unaware of such matters or involved in any wrongdoing. The club will continue to fully investigate the issues at hand and will co-operate with the regulatory authorities as necessary."
As part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in football, the newspaper claims Wright accepted £5,000 at a meeting in Leeds in August.
A spokesman for Wright has said: "Any suggested acts contrary to criminal law or those of the Football Association and Fifa are categorically denied."
Wright joined Barnsley in February 2015 as number two to former boss Lee Johnson, and continued in the role under current head coach Paul Heckingbottom.
The latest allegations come a day after the Telegraph claimed eight current or former Premier League managers had taken bribes for player transfers.
Sam Allardyce left his post as England manager on Tuesday after claims in the newspaper that he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.
The FA, Premier League and EFL have pledged to investigate this week's newspaper allegations.
In a joint statement, they said: "English football takes the governance of the game extremely seriously with integrity being of paramount importance.
"Any substantive allegations will be investigated with the full force of the rules at our disposal, which are wide-ranging and well-developed. In addition, should we find any evidence of criminality we would inform and seek the support of the appropriate statutory authorities."
The League Managers' Association (LMA) has accused the newspaper of holding up any investigation because it has yet to hand over any evidence. It said in a statement it wanted "full and complete unconditional disclosure of all the information it has, immediately".
The Telegraph has said it will pass on all relevant material to the football authorities.
In a separate meeting, QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was filmed apparently negotiating a fee to travel to Singapore to speak to the Far East firm.
The Dutchman, 44, also allegedly discusses the possibility of signing players from them.
He has not been suspended by the Championship club who say "there will be a thorough internal investigation regarding this matter".
QPR's statement added: "However, we have every confidence in our manager and the robust systems and processes the club has in place."
Former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink also issued a statement in which he denied "any accusations of wrongdoing on my part".
"I was approached by Mr McGarvey and Ms Newell of the Telegraph purporting to be players' agents. They offered me a fee to make a speech in Singapore.
"I do not see anything unusual in being offered to be paid to make a speech.
"I did not make any promises in return. I did not ask QPR to purchase any of the players who were said to be managed by Mr McGarvey and Ms Newell and did not and would not recommend the purchase of a player for my personal gain."
Controversial Leeds owner Massimo Cellino, meanwhile, was filmed by the Telegraph offering undercover reporters posing as an investment firm a way to get around FA and Fifa third-party ownership rules.
In a meeting at Leeds' ground, arranged by football agent Pino Pagliara, Cellino apparently offered to sell shares in the Championship club as a means of funding the purchase of players.
The Italian proposed the fictitious firm buy 20% of the club, in return for which it would receive the same percentage of future player sell-on fees.
In the video, Cellino says: "I tell you, I spend eight million this year... on new players.
"You want to finance that? You want to come 20% in that? You got 20% of the player - it's the only way.
"As a shareholder you can finance the club, asking everything you want - percentage - you are allowed to do it in England."
Leeds claimed the footage of their owner amounted to a "non-story" as Cellino "made a perfectly proper suggestion which is entirely consistent with the FA's regulations".
The statement added: "If a company commits money to a club by way of investment, taking on the potential for profit but also the risk for loss, then that is a normal, everyday corporate process.
"This is plainly not a suggestion as to how to circumvent the rules, but rather, an accurate albeit concise explanation of how to operate within the confines of the rules and effectively become 'the club'." | Barnsley have sacked assistant boss Tommy Wright after he was named in a Daily Telegraph investigation alleging corruption in football. |
40,625,279 | Froome took roughly 30 seconds to swap a back wheel shortly after Romain Bardet's AG2R La Mondiale team had put the defending champion in difficulty.
But he rallied and managed to rejoin his rivals on the category one climb with a monumental effort aided by his fellow Team Sky rider Mikel Landa, before Bauke Mollema went on to claim stage victory in a daring solo break.
Mollema attacked from a leading group with over 30km to go on Sunday's 189.5km ride from Laissac-Severac l'Eglise to Le Puy-en-Velay, and the Dutchman held on for his first stage win at the Tour.
Diego Ulissi, Tony Gallopin and Primoz Roglic were 19 seconds slower, with the main rivals for overall victory over six minutes further back.
Froome, a three-time winner of the Tour, remains 18 seconds clear of Astana's Italian rider Fabio Aru. Frenchman Bardet stays in third, 23 seconds behind, while fourth-placed Colombia rider Rigoberto Uran of Cannondale trails Froome by 29 seconds.
After Monday's final rest day, there will be six further stages before the race finishes in Paris on 23 July.
Find out how to get into cycling with our special guide.
Froome had lost almost a minute on his rivals by the time he emerged from a wheel swap with team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski on the slopes of the Col de Peyra Taillade.
Team Sky had been in control of the peloton before reaching the foot of the climb - which included an 800m section at a gradient of 14% - but AG2R suddenly burst clear in an ambitious co-ordinated attack.
Froome and his team-mates were under severe pressure even before the puncture and many riders, such as Nairo Quintana, one of the pre-race favourites, were blown away by the pace.
Mikel Nieve, Vasil Kiryienka and Sergio Henao all dropped back to assist in Froome's pursuit, peeling off before the 32-year-old eventually bridged to Landa, who helped his team leader through the final charge required to meet his yellow jersey rivals, Aru, Bardet, and Uran, once more.
Froome said his forced wheel change "couldn't have come at a worse time".
"But all in all I am just happy to have got through without any major losses. I'm going to pass out tonight. I'm knackered," he told ITV.
Quintana dropping out of the top 10 was the most significant movement in the overall standings.
The Colombian 27-year-old finished three minutes and 54 seconds behind Froome and fell from eighth to 11th. He now trails the Briton by six minutes and 16 seconds.
But Dan Martin finished strongly to move up to fifth in the overall standings, leapfrogging Landa.
The Irish Quick-Step Floors rider crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of the group led by Froome thanks to an attack inside the last 12km.
Martin lost one minute and 15 seconds a week earlier after crashing into Richie Porte - who was forced to abandon - on a hazardous descent, and has even been suffering from back pain ever since.
After the stage, he said the attack led by AG2R was "one of the hardest parts of the Tour so far".
"They were flying, and everyone was already in the red," he said.
"Chris is the only guy who could come back from a mechanical in that situation. They weren't taking advantage of the mechanical, but I'm happy he came back, because you don't want the Tour decided like that."
1. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Trek-Segafredo) 4hrs 41mins 47secs
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita/UAE Team Emirates) +19secs
3. Tony Gallopin (Fra/Lotto-Soudal) Same Time
4. Primoz Roglic (Svn/LottoNL-Jumbo) Same Time
5. Warren Barguil (Fra/Team Sunweb) +23secs
6. Nicolas Roche (Ire/BMC) +1min 00secs
7. Lilian Calmejane (Fra/Direct Energie) +1min 04secs
8. Jan Bakelants (Bel/AG2R La Mondiale) Same Time
9. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) Same Time
10. Serge Pauwels (Bel/Team Dimension Data) Same Time
1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 64hrs 40mins 21secs
2. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +18secs
3. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) +23secs
4. Rigoberto Uran (Col/Cannondale-Drapac) +29secs
5. Daniel Martin (Ire/Quick-Step Floors) +1min 12secs
6. Mikel Landa (Spa/Team Sky)+1min 17secs
7. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) +2mins 02secs
8. Louis Meintjes (SA/UAE Team Emirates) +5mins 09secs
9. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +5mins 37secs
10. Damiano Caruso (Ita/BMC) +6mins 05secs | Britain's Chris Froome brilliantly recovered from a puncture to defend his slender Tour de France lead from a blistering attack on stage 15. |
35,793,424 | Mohammad Nabi made 52 off 32 balls, Samiullah Shenwari 43 from 37 and Mohammad Shahzad 40 off 23 in their imposing 186-6 in Nagpur.
Zimbabwe, who are a Test nation, managed only 127 in reply as leg-spinner Rashid Khan, 17, claimed 3-11.
Afghanistan join England's group in the Super 10s, which feature the major nations and start on 15 March.
Afghanistan, who are coached by former Pakistan batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, failed to progress beyond the first round in the three previous World T20s.
"Afghanistan is about go very crazy because they love cricket," said captain Ashgar Stanikzai.
Man-of-the-match Nabi added: "We are through to the Super 10s round. You can't measure how ecstatic we are."
Having won their three group games in this tournament, they face defending champions Sri Lanka in their opening Super 10 encounter on 17 March in Kolkata.
Afghanistan's success was founded on the explosive batting of Shahzad, who dominated an opening partnership of 49 in five overs.
His was the first of four wickets to fall for 14 runs, but Shenwari and Nabi consolidated before accelerating during a stand of 98 off 64 balls, a T20 record for Afghanistan's fifth wicket.
Zimbabwe, who bowled 17 wides, were equally wasteful with the bat, a flurry of reckless shots hastening their slide from 43-1 to 98-8.
Number 10 Tinashe Panyangara, who had earlier taken 3-32, top-scored with an unbeaten 17.
"They outplayed us in every facet of the game," said Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza. "We were never in the game." | Afghanistan reached the second phase of the World Twenty20 for the first time with a 59-run win over Zimbabwe. |
38,126,928 | After decades of uncertainty over royal succession, the birth of a male heir was seen as vital for the monarchy, at a time when its primacy in Thailand's political hierarchy was uncertain. The absolute monarchy had been overthrown in 1932, followed by an abdication in 1935, and 11 years in which the country had no sitting king.
In King Vajiralongkorn's early years he was educated at a palace school in Bangkok. At the age of 13 he was sent to two private schools in the UK for five years, and then for a final year at a school in Sydney, Australia. He spent the following four years being trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra.
By his own account, he struggled to keep up at school, blaming his pampered upbringing in the palace. He also found it hard to make the grade at Duntroon.
He continued to receive advanced military training in Thailand, the UK, US and Australia, and became an officer in the Thai armed forces. He is a qualified civilian and fighter pilot, flying his own Boeing 737 when he travels overseas.
He was formally given the title of Crown Prince by his father in an investiture ceremony in 1972, making him the official heir. But by that time questions were being raised about his fitness to succeed to the throne.
He showed none of the enthusiasm of his younger sister Princess Sirindhorn for his father's development projects and there were persistent rumours of womanising, gambling and illegal businesses.
In 1981 his mother, Queen Sirikit, alluded to these problems, describing her son as "a bit of a Don Juan" and suggesting that he preferred spending his weekends with beautiful women rather than performing duties.
In a rare audience with Thai journalists in 1992, he denied the rumours that he was involved with mafia-like figures and underworld businesses.
In 1977 he married his cousin Princess Soamsawali and they had their first child, Princess Bajarakitiyabha, in December 1978. However, by then he was involved with a young actress, Yuvadhida, with whom he had five children from 1979 to 1987. He married her in 1994, but in 1996 very publicly denounced her and disowned his four sons, who were studying in the UK.
He married his third wife Srirasmi, a lady-in-waiting, in 2001, and had another son, Prince Dipangkorn, with her in 2005.
In 2014 Srirasmi was stripped of her royal title and nine of her relatives, including her parents, were arrested for lese majeste on charges they had abused their connections with the Crown Prince. A police officer linked to the family died in custody after falling from a window.
That charge, of abusing his name, has also been made against others who became close to the Crown Prince, notably a well known fortune teller who, together with another police officer, died after being arrested late last year. At the same time, the Crown Prince's personal bodyguard was stripped of his rank for "disobeying royal commands" and "threatening the monarchy by pursuing his own interests". He disappeared and is believed to have died.
King Vajiralongkorn is these days seen in the company of a former Thai Airways flight attendant, Suthida, who has been made an officer of the Royal Household Guard, with the rank of Lieutenant-General. He also famously promoted his pet poodle Fu-Fu to the rank of Air Chief Marshall.
The severity of the lese majeste law has prevented any open discussion of the new king's suitability inside Thailand. But privately, the possibility of Vajiralongkorn being passed over for his more popular and dutiful sister Sirindhorn was often talked about, encouraged by her own royal title being elevated in 1978 and by a change in palace succession law to allow a female to succeed to the throne.
But that is only possible where there is no male heir, and King Bhumibol never supported the option of an alternative to his son.
As King Bhumibol's health declined, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn began to be seen more often in public, performing traditional royal rituals on behalf of his father.
In the past there were rumours of a business relationship between him and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the telecoms tycoon whose party has won every election since 2001 and who was seen as a threat by much of the conservative royalist elite.
But after the coup in 2014, which deposed the government of Thaksin's sister Yingluck, the new military rulers appeared to work with the Crown Prince to ensure his succession, helping organise events like mass bicycle rides in which he and his daughters participated, presenting a less formal image of the future king to the public.
Just what kind of king Vajiralongkorn will make is hard to guess.
Although a constitutional monarch, he will wield considerable power - for example, it is almost impossible for anyone in Thailand to reject the express wishes of the monarch.
He also has a decisive say over the Crown Property Bureau, by far the wealthiest institution in Thailand, with assets valued at between $30-40bn (£24-32bn), giving the palace largely untaxed annual income of around $300m. And he commands his own personal regiment of the Royal Guard, comprising an estimated 5,000 troops.
One advantage he will not have is the immense prestige and respect built by his father over 70 years on the throne, which Thai royal experts point out must be earned, not inherited. Vajiralongkorn, at the age of 64, will not have so long to make his mark on the monarchy. But he has had decades to observe and learn from the complex flow of power that surrounds the monarch.
He will preside over the elaborate and prolonged funeral rituals for the late king, giving him a chance to enhance his own standing in the process.
He may well be able to rely on the lasting reverence for his father to shore up the monarchy's central role in Thai society. | Thailand's newly-proclaimed King Vajiralongkorn - his name means "adorned with jewels or thunderbolts" - was born on 28 July 1952, the first son and second child of Queen Sirikit and King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who had succeeded to the throne unexpectedly six years previously. |
36,471,236 | In a 61-page document, the terms for selling the Championship club have been outlined, valuing it at £37m.
The prospective new owners - Trillion Trophy Asia - promise not to sell the club for at least two years and make money available for players.
An Extraordinary General Meeting has been called for 22 July.
The next step is to get shares in Blues' parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd (BIHL) operating again on the Hong Kong stock exchange, on which they have been suspended since 2014.
Negotiations over the sale of the club between BIHL and preferred bidders Trillion Trophy Asia have been going on for 12 months following a two-year exclusivity period being granted.
That followed the ending of legal action against BIHL by the club's former owner Carson Yeung and ex-director Peter Pannu.
Blues' Birmingham rivals Aston Villa are also in the process of being taken over by an Asian owner - businessman Dr Tony Xia.
Blues director Panos Pavlakis said in a club statement: "I understand that this is a very long and complicated announcement and that it won't be very straight forward to digest.
"After all, the length and the complexity of this document shows clearly the number of different corporation actions and settlements that need to take place in the very near future amongst different parties.
"However, one thing I can definitely say - after more than two years as Blues director - is that I truly feel and believe that this is one of the most important and significant steps for Birmingham City Football Club which could lead us further to the right direction.
"This is the direction that will bring a steady, strong but always honest team ready to progress back to where we belong." | Birmingham City's takeover has taken another major step forward following an announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on restructuring plans. |
40,162,205 | PC Dave Wardell and German shepherd Finn were attacked by the boy, who cannot be named because of his age, in Stevenage in October. Finn suffered life-threatening injuries.
The 16-year-old from London was found guilty of causing PC Wardell actual bodily harm and criminal damage in relation to Finn at a trial last month.
He was sentenced at Bromley on Tuesday.
PC Wardell and Finn were attacked in the early hours of 5 October in the Hertfordshire town while responding to a report of a robbery.
More on this and other news from Hertfordshire
Finn was stabbed with a 30cm (12in) hunting knife in the head and chest and underwent four hours of emergency surgery.
The blade narrowly missed the dog's heart, magistrates at Stevenage Youth Court were told last month.
'I begged the vet to save my boy'
The officer's hand was stabbed, although he was not badly hurt.
The teenager from Lewisham, south-east London, was arrested the following day.
He admitted possessing an imitation firearm and the knife used in the attack on the officer and dog, although he denied attacking them.
He appeared for sentencing at Bromley Magistrates' Court in south London, where he was given an eight-month term for ABH against PC Wardell and eight months for possession of the weapons, to run concurrently.
He will spend half of his sentence in a young offender institution and the other half on supervision or probation, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Speaking after the conclusion of the case, PC Wardell said: "Without Finn there that night I would not have been going home to my family, of that I have no doubt."
Finn, now aged eight, recovered from injuries and returned to work. He retired from active duty at the end of March. | A teenage boy who stabbed a police dog and wounded his handler has been sentenced to eight months' detention. |
33,167,730 | Strikingly obvious, really. Think of your own budgeting. The chancellor, though, only lays out how he's going to raise money - generally through tax but also borrowing - and what he's going to spend it on, once a year (usually). In the past few decades this has also involved commitments to future years. Many of us, of course, don't bother laying out our budgets, the salary and bills seem to take care of themselves. He has to make a Budget by law as certain taxes have to be approved each year by parliament.
We've already had one this year, but after a new government is elected, the chancellor, even if it is the same one, traditionally announces another one. This year, because the Conservatives no longer have to worry about what their former Liberal Democrat coalition partners think, they are free to spend the nation's money how they want. Like after divorce. Except they get to keep all the assets, the income, and, oh yes, the debts.
Other countries call them finance ministers. Thomas Cromwell, Sir Robert Peel, creator of the police, and Sir Winston Churchill are former holders of the post. Chancellor just means official in Latin, roughly speaking. So that's boring. Exchequer is better. It refers to a special cloth that was used to place counters on. It looked like a chess board.
There have been arguments about this. Is it rising or falling? National debt - household and governments - in total, is rising. There's also debt as a percentage of the whole economy. That falls when the economy grows faster than that pile of debt. Like you've increased your mortgage but your property's value has gone up by more. In 2014-15, net UK debt stood at almost £1.5 trillion.
The gap between income and spending. Simply, shrinking the deficit means either raising taxes or cutting spending. It is sometimes called the country's overdraft. A concept some think is fatuous as unlike households, governments can keep rolling over the debt for years, and inflation, still a usually occurring phenomenon, erodes it. The next generation does not have to wipe out the previous one's debts, as it does in a family.
Excise duty. Like VAT it is an indirect tax applied within a country to goods or services. Unlike VAT, which is charged at 20% of the sale price, it is often a flat amount levied to each item. It is applied commonly to tobacco, alcohol, gambling - and fuel. The fuel duty is the reason why motorists fume when oil prices fall yet petrol prices do not. That and VAT make up 65% of the price. It has been as much as 80%. Governments raise most excise duties in line with inflation. Fuel price rises though tend to annoy the electorate more than just about anything. Most Budgets have either cancelled or deferred increasing it in line with inflation.
The rate of income tax people pay depends on how much they earn: the higher their income, the higher rate of tax. In expanding economies, people's earnings are more likely to increase. In some cases, those people will cross an earnings threshold and find themselves paying a higher rate of tax. If this is widespread, it can act as a brake on how the economy expands, as people have less money to spend. However, it can also be seen as something that stops inflation rising too quickly.
Different rates of income tax are paid on different parts of incomes. People pay nothing on the first £10,600 that they earn. They pay 20% on anything between that and the next £31,785. After that it is 40% on anything higher until you get to an income of more than £150,000. Earnings above £150,000 are taxed at 45%. The "threshold" refers to the barrier between the tax rates. So once someone edges over a threshold, they pay tax at a higher rate on anything they earn above that level. Not, as some think, suddenly on the whole amount, meaning if you're approaching a pay rise that takes you into a higher tax band, you needn't worry you will actually take home less.
Bank levy. Effectively another tax; introduced in 2011 it is charged on the amount of debt held by all UK banks. Initially brought in at the sliver rate of 0.05% it has been quadrupled in that short time to 0.21%. That is too much for some. Analysts cite it as one of the reasons HSBC, which makes the bulk of its profits abroad but is based here and taxed here, wants to move its business base elsewhere. The levy raised more than £2bn last year, of which about a third came from HSBC alone.
The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK's public finances. It has five main roles: producing five year forecasts; judging the government's performance against fiscal targets; scrutinising the Treasury's costing of tax; assessing sustainability of public finances; and assessing the government's performance against the welfare cap.
The government allows every taxpayer to earn a certain amount before they start paying tax - the personal allowance. It sets a threshold below which people don't pay income tax. Bear in mind that people may earn below this threshold and still pay other types of tax (for instance, national insurance contributions, which raise a lot of the total tax take). In 2015-16, the UK personal allowance is £10,600.
The structural deficit is a relatively new concept. It is basically the current budget deficit adjusted to strip out the cyclical nature of the economy. You would expect, for example, the budget deficit to get smaller when the economy grows. In other words, it's the underlying deficit that is not directly affected by general economic conditions.
Possibly the biggest political potato of this Budget. There are two types: Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. They are paid to more than four million people who may be eligible if they earn less than £33,000 a year. The taxpayer spends some £30bn a year on them. Formerly barely mentioned, now that the government is planning to cut another £12bn from welfare spending, they are firmly in the spotlight. They were designed to make it worthwhile for people to come off unemployment benefits - even for more low-paid jobs. One argument in favour is that it is better to have people in work, even if that is subsidised to some extent. But some argue that they subsidise low wages, and therefore business profits. The government has begun saying that if these were cut, business would pay more to make up the shortfall.
This is a term used to describe protections for increases in the state pension. Under the triple-lock scheme, the government promises to lift pensions by whatever is the highest out of: inflation, increases in average earnings or 2.5%. It guarantees that pensioners would see their pensions go up even if inflation is low.
Illustrations by Emily Kasriel | We bandy these words about: debt, deficit, duty, fiscal drag, especially at the time of the chancellor's Budget, but what do they actually mean? |
35,325,974 | The move was prompted after recent thefts from flooded homes, said Cumbria Police and the county council.
Hundreds of properties were deluged during two recent storms which resulted in record rainfall.
The additional patrols are being paid for through the county's existing flood relief fund.
Jonathan Brook from homeless charity Manna House in Kendal said they "could have been quicker off the mark but at least they've done it".
"It passes a message to people, would-be criminals, that there is a possibility, if they think of coming here, they will be detected."
Stuart Broadhurst, who runs a gallery in Askham, said: "If people know their properties are going to be watched then obviously they are going to feel more secure."
The patrols are being undertaken in Carlisle, Appleby, Cockermouth, Kendal, Keswick and Penrith between 16:00 and 08:00 each night and are expected to last until mid-February.
Staff are being sourced by recruitment firm Randstat.
A force spokesman said: "The security officers are being used to provide additional support to the police, but have not replaced police patrols or undertaken police responsibilities.
"This a precautionary measure to ensure Cumbria remains a low crime area and not a soft target as people recover from the impact of the floods.
"The use of a private security firm is not something that is normally required, however, on this occasion we felt it would be a positive approach to reassure the public during a difficult and challenging time for many people."
A county council spokesman added: "These are unprecedented times for the county.
"We're trying to help people affected by the floods as much as possible, and using private security to support the police and help safeguard flooded properties is part of that effort.
"Anyone who's been a victim of the floods has been through more than enough already, the last thing they need is to become a victim of crime as well."
One man has already been jailed for stealing property from flood-damaged homes in Carlisle.
Another man has been charged with burglary and theft of clothing and electrical goods in a flooded area.
A third is on bail after being arrested on suspicion of burglary. | Private security staff have been drafted in to patrol flood-hit areas of Cumbria to ensure the county does not become a "soft target" for criminals. |
35,793,513 | Tim Newton, 27, and Rachel Slater, 24, failed to return from an outing on the Scottish peak on 14 February.
Mr Newton's father Chris, from Leicestershire, believes the Bradford couple were caught in an avalanche.
No attempts to find the pair have been made since "hazardous weather" forced rescuers off the mountain.
The couple were described as experienced climbers who "loved life" and had everything to live for.
Mr Newton's father, who lives near Hinckley, said he believed that it was no longer a rescue but a recovery operation.
"I think there was an avalanche. Basically snow must have come off the hill side and I think they are buried deep down in one of the gullies," he said.
"The agony for me was the thought that they might be alive but absolutely buried under the snow. How could I cope with my child suffering like that?"
Mr Newton was first alerted by police on 15 February after a report that the couple had failed to return from Britain's highest peak.
Mountain rescue groups conducted several searches, including a coastguard helicopter, but they were called off because of "increasingly hazardous weather".
Mr Newton said: "I do remember him saying [before the climb] 'oh dad I've had such a tough week at uni. I so need and am looking forward to the climbing'.
"They were so young and enthusiastic, full of life and they had everything in front of them. They were so happy."
The families of the couple recently went to Scotland and climbed to the Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut, close to where they were thought to be camping.
"We all had a cry together... and climbed up to the mountain hut where Tim and Rachel had camped. It made you realise when you climb there how hostile the environment can suddenly become."
No further searches are planned for the pair. | The father of one of two climbers missing on Ben Nevis said he is "haunted" by the thought they may have been buried alive in snow. |
30,397,589 | The culprits made off with cash and drinks including champagne and spirits in the break-in at Vecchia Bologna overnight on Friday, 5 December.
It is thought more than one person was involved in the raid given the quantity of alcohol taken.
Officers have warned the alcohol may be offered for sale in the Stirling area.
They appealed for anyone with information to come forward. | Police are hunting for thieves who stole "a large quantity of alcohol" from an Italian restaurant in Bridge of Allan. |
36,911,221 | The Bank of Japan's news conference on Friday will be watched closely any news of further stimulus measures.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.13% at 16,476.84.
Shares in export-related companies fell as the yen strengthened against the dollar. A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive overseas.
Overnight, the US central bank decided to keep rates on hold, at between 0.25% and 0.5%. The Federal Reserve said "near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished", however the dollar weakened after the bank gave now clear indication it was thinking of raising rates at its next meeting in September.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 share index closed up 0.31% at 5,556.60.
Shares of Macquarie Group closed up 1.5% after the country's top investment bank confirmed it would meet its full-year earnings guidance.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended flat at 2,994.32 at the open. Investors have turned cautious following reports in local media that Chinese regulators are planning a clampdown on wealth management products, to curb risks to China's banking system.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index finished the day 44.65 points lower at 22,174.34.
In South Korea, the Kospi closed down 0.2% at 2,021.10. | Shares in Japan have fallen with investors remaining cautious as the country's central bank meets to discuss monetary policy. |
34,262,990 | The motoring research group said diesel demand had been rising for decades, but UK refineries were struggling to cope.
There were 11 million diesel cars on the road last year, compared with just 1.6 million in 1994.
The RACF said that, at this rate, diesel would be four times more popular than petrol by 2030.
Yet we consume twice as much diesel as we produce, and that growing reliance on countries including Russia and India to supply the fuel could leave motorists "at the mercy of the global market" in future, the foundation said.
"Even if we are not in conflict with those countries that control the taps, they might simply decide they need more of what they produce for their own markets," RACF director Steve Gooding told the BBC.
"If supply is interrupted, then at best we'll see sharp rises in forecourt prices and, at worst, there is the unlikely but real possibility of pumps running dry."
Diesel cars: What's all the fuss about?
Analysts say that the shift towards importing diesel is a process that has been happening for many years.
Nick McGregor, of Redmayne-Bentley, questioned the RACF's conclusion that the pumps could run dry, as diesel should still be available to import - much like jet fuel.
He said that the main issues of a reliance on importing diesel were the effect on price and energy security as a whole in the UK.
Mr Gooding, of the RACF, said that any shortage could hit hardest in the most populated area of the country.
"The UK keeps fuel reserves in case of emergencies, but they are not uniformly spread and the South East of England is particularly vulnerable to shocks to the supply chain," he said.
The report says that in 2009 there were nine big refineries in the UK. But since then, three have shut and several others are up for sale. The older refineries were never set up to make diesel because it was a niche product when they were built in the sixties. Converting them is too expensive, Mr Gooding said.
"Retrofitting them is a billion pound decision that has failed to stack up for investors who see refining as a low-margin business, despite our sky-high pump prices," he said.
In 2001, the Labour government changed the tax regime to encourage people to buy diesel rather than petrol cars. They wanted to cut the amount of CO2 being belched into the air, and petrol cars were the worst offenders.
It worked. Today, half of all new cars built are diesels.
The thing is, the focus on pollution has changed from carbon dioxide to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is spewed out by diesel cars. The government is potentially facing massive, daily fines for missing EU levels on NO2 and ministers are under pressure to cut levels in hotspots by 2020.
It is estimated that NO2 could be responsible for thousands of UK deaths each year. Pollution can also exacerbate breathing problems such as asthma. A recent government study put the number of premature deaths in the UK attributed specifically to NO2 at 23,500.
According to the latest figures available from the OECD, premature deaths and ill health caused by air pollution cost the UK economy an estimated $86bn (£56bn) in 2010.
One idea being floated is to restrict diesel vehicles in six city centres - London, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton. In London, dirty diesel drivers could soon be paying an extra £12.50 to drive in town, on top of the £11.50 congestion charge.
As yet, none of this seems to have quenched the thirst for diesel. | Britain's diesel pumps could "run dry" because of a growing dependence on foreign fuel, according to the RAC Foundation. |
32,810,434 | The advert, believed to be India's first gay matrimonial ad, was placed by his mother, Padma Iyer, in Mumbai's Mid-Day newspaper on Tuesday.
Mr Iyer, a prominent LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activist, told the BBC that his mother, like "any other in the world", was worried about his wedding prospects and decided to place a newspaper advert.
"She is going through the proposals, she will draw a shortlist and tell me who to meet. I am looking forward to meet them. I am hoping to find a partner now," he said.
In India arranged marriages are preferred over love matches and prominent newspapers daily carry thousands of ads for those looking for brides or grooms.
But Mr Iyer's mother's attempt to place an ad to find a "groom" for her gay son raked up a controversy in a country where homosexuality is still a crime.
In 2009, the Delhi high court in a landmark ruling decriminalised homosexual acts, but in December 2013, the Supreme Court reversed the order. It was seen as a massive blow to LGBT activists in the country.
The campaign for gay rights continues to face stiff opposition from religious groups who claim that homosexuality is "against Indian culture".
Mr Iyer says before Mid-Day agreed to carry the ad, his mother had approached three prominent newspapers - they all turned it down saying publishing it could invite legal trouble.
He says he is aware of the legal issues and what the law of the land says about same-sex marriages.
"It was an innocent attempt by a mother to find a partner for her son. She did what any other would have done. I do not understand the controversy over this advert."
The ad has evoked mixed reactions on Twitter and among the gay community.
Activists who support him say "it's Mr Iyer's right to place an ad in newspapers".
"He placed an advert for a partner and it's perfectly normal. I understand that same-sex marriages are illegal in India, but then it's also a reality that thousands of LGBT people live in India. Are we going to pretend that gay people don't exist or kill them all?" asks Delhi-based activist Monish Kabir Malhotra.
Mr Iyer is also getting support from Twitter users.
But there are others who have criticised the ad - they say it is "discriminatory" as it says that applicants from the Iyer caste - an upper-class Brahmin community from southern India - will be preferred.
Mr Iyer denies the charge: "Like most people my mother thought that a person from familiar surroundings would be better. But look at the ad, it says 'caste no bar'. Our family is multicultural. My mother's sister is married to a Muslim."
Calcutta-based activist Anindya Hajra argues that Mr Iyer's advert does not reflect the reality of the gay community in India.
"He lives in a big city and is a well-known activist and can afford such an advert. But LGBT people living in other towns and cities cannot think about it," he says.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | Gay rights activist Harrish Iyer has received half a dozen proposals after his mother placed a matrimonial advertisement in an Indian newspaper. |
40,648,266 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Manley finished joint second at the Johannesburg Open in February to earn a place in the tournament at Royal Birkdale from 20-23 July.
"This is my dream job and I'm living it - it's brilliant," said the 38-year-old.
"I've been dreaming about it for years, decades. You try to qualify every year and I've been very close a few times."
The Aberdare golfer admits he will be nervous when he steps onto the first tee on Thursday, with the opening hole considered one of the most demanding of any at The Open's host venues.
"It's one of the things to tick off the bucket list and I can't wait to get going," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"I will be pretty nervous. I've got the shot in my head which I want to play, so I've just go to try and shut everything out and just be committed to the shot.
"It's my first one of my first major so I'll be glad when that's over to be honest."
The world number 520 will tee off in the second group at 06:46 BST and is happy with the early start.
"It's what I wanted. I wanted to get out there really early because normally on links courses the weather is pretty calm early on.
"So yeah, I'm pretty happy with the draw.
"The crowds on the first tee won't be too big which is nice because it's actually a really tough tee shot probably one of the toughest tee shots on the golf course," he added.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Since securing his Open place in February Manley has made the cut just once in 10 competitions, but is hopeful of leaving his mark at Birkdale.
"I've had a lot of time to think about it and prepare for it, but now the time is here I really can't wait to get going.
"I don't want to set that (making the cut) as a goal because the bar is set a little too low with that as a target.
"Personally it'll be great to play the Sunday and be in the top 20 and get amongst it with the big crowds and the big players and then have a great finish and be exempt next year from it." | Welshman Stuart Manley says he is "living the dream" as he prepares for his Major debut at The Open. |
30,621,605 | If approved, Somerset County Council will stop 13 Saturday services and scrap eight routes.
Bus campaigner, Susan Jessop from Evercreech said: "It's going to be absolutely disastrous if they take our buses away."
The consultation was due to end on Monday but this will now run until 4 January, the council has said.
The council subsidises 81 bus routes across the county - some wholly, others partially - which are deemed to be commercially unviable.
It is proposing to reduce its funding for services where there are: alternative services, low passenger numbers, tourist-specific routes or commercial alternatives.
A petition has been started in Evercreech to keep the 161 Saturday service between Wells and Shepton Mallet.
Mrs Jessop added: "A lot of buses have been taken away from some of the villages and it's just isolating people. The youngsters use it for the cinema and ten-pin bowling and so on.
"They encourage us to use the buses, which a lot of people are, even if they do drive. If they get rid of the buses, we'll never get them back again."
The local authority has said some areas would be offered a demand responsive bus service.
The reduced bus services are being proposed as a result of government spending cuts to the council's budget, the authority added. | The consultation period over plans to reduce the bus subsidy to 24 routes in Somerset has been extended. |
35,151,246 | Emergency admissions due to the effects of alcohol, such as liver disease, have also risen by more than 50% in nine years to 250,000 a year in England.
Rates were highest in deprived areas and in the north, and among men aged 45-64, the Nuffield Trust revealed.
The government said it had banned the lowest priced drinks.
The Nuffield Trust said their figures were an underestimate of the impact of drinking because they did not include alcohol-fuelled falls and fights, just illnesses such as alcohol poisoning and liver disease.
Nor do they count people who come to A&E drunk and are then sent home without being treated or admitted as a patient.
Half of all A&E attendances likely to be due to alcohol poisoning - when a person drinks a toxic amount of alcohol, usually over a short period of time - took place on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, peaking between midnight and 2am.
Three in four arrived by ambulance - putting a strain on already stretched resources, said the Nuffield Trust.
Young women aged 15 to 19 were admitted to hospital for alcohol poisoning 1.4 times as often as young men in the same age group.
A&E attendance rates that are likely to be due to alcohol poisoning and emergency hospital admissions linked to alcohol were three to four times higher in the poorest fifth of the population, the figures showed.
There were also more hospital admissions in the north of England and in urban areas.
The report also reveals the number of people actually being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related problems, such as liver disease.
Men aged between 45 and 64 made up the largest share of this group.
Occurs when a person drinks a toxic amount of alcohol, usually over a short period of time.
What to look for:
'I ended up in hospital because of alcohol so many times'
Joint author of the report Claire Currie said: "With the Christmas party season in full swing, it's worth considering the full burden over-indulgence in alcohol is placing on our NHS, as well as the obvious human cost.
"Our research has uncovered a picture of rising and avoidable activity in hospitals, representing a stark challenge for the Health Service at a time when it's already great pressure. Hospitals alone cannot tackle this issue - the government must consider measures such as minimum unit pricing, restricting availability and limiting marketing and advertising."
In England in 2013, approximately 18% of men and 13% of women drank at a level considered to be putting them at increased risk of harm.
In 2013/14, approximately 1 in 20 emergency admissions in England were related to alcohol.
In recent years, alcohol admissions have been going down in Scotland and stabilising in Wales.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest binge-drinking among young adults in Britain is continuing to fall, and more than a fifth of UK adults now say they do not drink alcohol at all.
Jackie Ballard, of Alcohol Concern, said middle-aged and older people drinking above recommended limits, often in their own homes, were of particular concern.
"These are the people who tend to require the most complex and expensive health care due to the mental and physical problems caused by drinking too much and alcohol's impact on the ageing body.
"Alcohol is linked to over 60 medical conditions and unless society and the government starts to take this seriously and acknowledges the health problems too much alcohol can cause, the situation will only get worse and the NHS will continue to strain under the burden of alcohol harm."
A government spokesman said: "People should always drink alcohol responsibly - very busy ambulance services and A&E staff can do without this extra demand.
"The government has taken action to tackle cheap alcohol by banning the lowest priced drinks and we are already seeing fewer young people drinking on a regular basis." | Hospital visits for alcohol poisoning have doubled in six years, with the highest rate among females aged 15 to 19, a report has found. |
38,975,036 | On Friday night, Donald Trump was asked about his national security advisor's pre-inauguration contact with a Russian ambassador and said he'd "look into" it.
"I don't know about that," he said. "I haven't seen it."
On Monday senior Trump advise Kellyanne Conway assured reporters that Mr Flynn had the president's "full confidence"
Hours later, Flynn was gone and Conway was left explaining how the situation had become "unsustainable".
Although this may be the end of Mr Flynn's tenure in the White House, it's just the beginning of the story. There are a number of questions that aren't going away just because Mr Flynn has.
According to the Washington Post, acting Attorney General Sally Yates had informed Trump White House counsel Donald McGahn shortly after inauguration day that surveillance of Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak revealed he and Mr Flynn had discussed US sanctions imposed by the Obama administration during their 30 December phone call.
This ran directly counter not only to Mr Flynn's public denials, but those of other Trump administration officials, including press secretary Sean Spicer and Vice-President Mike Pence.
So, if the Trump White House knew that Mr Flynn had lied - or, as he put it in his resignation letter, had "inadvertently briefed the vice-president-elect and others with incomplete information" - why did it take weeks, and multiple embarrassing media reports, for the national security adviser to be shown the door?
During his press conference on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Trump had been informed that Mr Flynn had discussed sanctions with Mr Kislyak on 26 January and had instructed the White House counsel's office to investigate whether any laws had been violated. The conclusion was that that it was legal. Over the course of the ensuing weeks, however, Mr Trump's trust in Mr Flynn "eroded" to the point where he could no longer be effective as national security advisor. It was then that he was sacked.
Those were weeks during which Mr Flynn was putting Iran "on notice", conferring tableside at Mar-a-Lago as the president and Japanese Prime Minsiter Shinzo Abe dealt with a North Korean missile launch and sitting front and centre in the East Room of the White House during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mr Trump's joint press conference on Monday.
Democrats in Congress smell blood in the water and are already calling for a sweeping investigation into the circumstances behind Mr Flynn's resignation.
"The American people deserve to know the full extent of Russia's financial, personal and political grip on President Trump and what that means for our national security," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a press release.
Although Democrats would prefer a new congressional special committee be created to investigate the matter, that seems unlikely at this point. There are already planned investigations into the larger question of whether Russia interfered with the 2016 US presidential election, to be conducted by the House and Senate intelligence committees.
"I think we should look into it exhaustively," said Senate intelligence committee member Roy Blunt of Missouri, "so that at the end of this process, nobody wonders whether there was a stone left unturned and shouldn't reach conclusions before you have the information that you need to have to make those conclusions."
The House investigation will look into Russian intelligence activities and "links between Russian and individuals associated with political campaigns", according to a letter signed by the Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the committee.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two senators on the armed services committee, are also launching their own inquiry.
"General Flynn's resignation also raises further questions about the Trump administration's intentions toward Vladimir Putin's Russia, including statements by the president suggesting moral equivalence between the US and Russia," Mr McCain said in a press release.
Other Republicans in Congress seem less interested in the matter. Jason Chaffetz, the chair of the House Oversight Committee who made recent headlines with his pledge to continue investigating Democrat Hillary Clinton's email server, has so far declined from launching an inquiry into Mr Flynn's resignation.
"It's taking care of itself," he said.
Of perhaps greater concern for the White House is the status of a reported FBI investigation into Trump campaign ties to the Russian government. According to the Post, FBI Director James Comey was reluctant to inform the Trump White House about evidence contradicting Mr Flynn's accounts because "it could complicate the bureau's ongoing investigation".
Although the BBC has reported that there is a multi-agency probe into Russia and the 2016 election, there's never been an on-the-record confirmation of this by government officials.
Could the inquiry include a look at whether Mr Flynn violated the Logan Act, a 1799 federal law that prohibits "unauthorised citizens" from negotiating with foreign governments? Given that the law has never been used in an actual prosecution, that seems unlikely.
The more the FBI asks questions, however, the greater the temptation for Trump administration officials to mislead or misstate in order to avoid further political fallout from the matter.
That could open the door for obstruction of justice charges. It wouldn't be the first time a cover-up of a political scandal turned into a criminal case. Or the second. Or the third.
As this story unfolds, Mr Flynn and the rest of the Trump team may want to look back and see whether this whole mess was preventable.
Forget, for now, the puzzler that Mr Flynn, who once served as director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, was seemingly unaware or unconcerned that phone conversations by the Russian ambassador to the US might be under government surveillance. Could he have just come out and admitted that he did, in fact, talk with Mr Kislyak about sanctions as part of a wide-ranging discussion of US policy priorities under soon-to-be-President Trump?
Perhaps. There certainly would have been political fallout. Democrats would have cried bloody murder, given their sensitivity to the outcome of the Clinton-Trump campaign. They would have accused Mr Flynn of undermining Mr Obama's efforts to punish Russia for its alleged meddling and, in all likelihood, questioned whether the move constituted a violation of the Logan Act.
In addition, there would have been further calls for a full investigation into Mr Trump's relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin and allegations of pre-election communications between the Republican's senior campaign officials and the Russian government.
What seemingly undid Mr Flynn, however, was that Mr Pence and other Republicans had framed their defence of the general based on his insistence that sanctions definitely were not discussed. Mr Flynn embarrassed the vice-president, who wields enormous influence in the administration.
A united White House may have been able to ride out this storm. As soon as it fractured, Mr Flynn was finished.
Mr Flynn was one of the Mr Trump's most trusted advisers on national security, since the early days of the presidential campaign, and he will be difficult to replace.
The president has alienated much of the conservative foreign policy establishment and appears unwilling, at least so far, to consider enlisting the aid of experienced hands who actively worked against him during the campaign.
Following Mr Flynn's resignation, the White House announced that Keith Kellogg, who was serving as chief of staff of the National Security Council, would take over as acting national security advisor.
Since retiring as a general from the Army in 2003, Mr Kellogg had worked for a variety of defence contractors and advised Mr Trump on foreign policy matters during the presidential campaign.
Although Mr Kellogg will have the advantage of incumbency while the formal search is conducted, another high-profile name has already been floated for the job - former CIA Director David Petraeus.
Once considered a rising star in the Republican Party after his success organising the 2007 US military troop "surge" in Iraq, he was forced to resign from the CIA in disgrace and charged with sharing top secret documents with a civilian reporter with whom he was having an extra-marital affair. He eventually pleaded guilty to mishandling classified information
That, it seems, has not been a career-killing event, however - even though Mr Petraeus would have to get approval from his parole officer before taking a job in Washington.
Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of US Central Command, is reportedly also under consideration.
Whomever Mr Trump selects for national security adviser will be thrust into a key role in the administration's foreign policy team under less than ideal circumstances. The job requires the ability to co-ordinate multiple intelligence and security agencies with competing interests and priorities. The NSA has to be a diplomat and a facilitator, making sure the president is kept abreast of all relevant national security developments and his policy directives are effectively implemented.
It's not a job for the faint of heart even in the best of times.
In late January Ms Yates, an Obama administration holdover who was serving as acting attorney general, advised the Trump administration of problems surrounding Mr Flynn's role as national security adviser.
On 30 January Ms Yates announced that she would not enforce Mr Trump's executive order barring entry to the US for individuals from seven predominantly Muslim nations, warning that she considered the action of questionable legality.
She was fired by Mr Trump later that day.
Now the president's immigration order has been indefinitely suspended by multiple courts, which have said it may violate constitutional rights. And Mr Flynn is gone.
We already know the answer to this particular question, actually. Ms Yates probably feels pretty vindicated. | The Michael Flynn controversy went from zero to resignation in the blink of an eye. |
36,566,985 | The empty train was automatically derailed after passing a red signal outside Paddington.
Although the train has been shifted, engineers will continue to work on the site throughout the night to repair damage to the line, Network Rail said.
A damaged gantry which the train crashed into was removed earlier.
Platforms one to five remain closed at Paddington, and in total Network Rail has so far deployed 50 engineers to work on the incident.
Network Rail had originally hoped to remove the train at about 22:00 BST on Friday.
A Network Rail spokesperson said earlier that work would be ongoing throughout Saturday now that the "complicated" work to clear electric power cables had been completed.
With the train lifted clear, the track will be inspected for damage and the electrical cabling will be reconnected, he said.
No timescale has been given for when a full service will be running again.
Great Western Railway have advised passengers to "travel only if necessary and arrive in plenty of time", although a limited service is running.
The derailment has been referred to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to investigate why the driver passed a red signal.
Network Rail has said it will "await the conclusion of the official investigation" before commenting on the cause of the crash. | A train that has been stuck on the line at Paddington since Thursday evening causing disruption has been moved, Network Rail have said. |
38,551,628 | The treaty dealt with how oil and gas beneath the Timor Sea should be shared, but has been disputed ever since.
East Timor, one of Asia's poorest nations, argues the way territory has been divided was not fair.
It is now hoping for a fresh deal that gives it a larger share of revenues from natural resources.
After East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, no permanent maritime boundary was established between Australia and the new nation.
Instead, the two sides agreed on the "Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea" treaty (CMATS) that set a temporary border and put off a final agreement for another 50 years.
The location of that permanent border is crucial to both sides, because there is an estimated $40bn (£32.85bn) worth of oil and gas beneath the sea that divides the countries.
Under the 2006 treaty, revenue from the biggest of the reserves, the Sunrise oil and gas field, would be split evenly between the two countries. A small part of the field as well as other smaller reserves already fall into what is called the Joint Development Area which has 90% of the revenue going to East Timor.
Australia played a pivotal role in helping East Timor get independence, through military support and then providing post-independence aid.
But the small country believes its large, rich neighbour is getting far more than it actually is entitled to under the United National Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). While Australia is a signatory to UNCLOS - it refuses international arbitration on maritime boundary matters.
Many in East Timor feel that they were essentially bullied into the treaty at a time when the young country was desperate for money and would have signed pretty much anything.
The anger at Canberra was heightened when it was alleged that Australia had planted spying devices in East Timor's cabinet office during the negotiations ahead of the 2006 treaty.
"Having that as an advantage for you to negotiate something that is a matter of death and life for a small country, I think it's - at least morally - it's a crime," East Timor's Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2015.
Australia has signalled that it will accept East Timor's move to end the deal that marks out the maritime border.
There's a three month notice period until the treaty will actually cease to be in effect, and things will revert to an earlier agreement from 2002.
East Timor says that line should be drawn midway between the two coastlines, which would mean that most of the oil and gas reserves would lie on Timor's side.
But Australia argues the border should be at the edge of its continental shelf, which would put it closer to East Timor.
In September 2016, East Timor also took the case to the international court of arbitration in the Netherlands, but Australia - while having joined the arbitration process - denies the court has any jurisdiction on the matter.
East Timor's Ambassador to Australia, Abel Guterres, says reaching an agreement in line with international law would be "very important for both countries in our bilateral relations as well as regional stability and security". | East Timor says it wants to tear up a controversial 2006 maritime border treaty with Australia which has soured relations between the two countries. |
21,790,082 | Sir Steve Redgrave and Katherine Grainger attended Marlow Rowing Club after it received the sum from the Iconic Facilities Olympic legacy fund.
The club, on the Berkshire side of the River Thames, has been fundraising for a £2.5m boathouse since a fire in 2011.
A spokesman said the money would allow the club to rebuild the clubhouse and extend the facilities.
The event, which began at 15:00 GMT, was also attended by Home Secretary Theresa May.
Marlow Rowing Club is where Sir Steve started his career.
Sixty boats and treasured memorabilia were lost in the blaze in August 2011.
The club spokesman said the new facilities could also be used by other water sports clubs, including Marlow Canoe Club, Henley Open Water Swimming Club, High Wycombe Triathlon Club and Longridge Canoe Club.
It is hoped the new centre, on the Berkshire side of the River Thames, will open by 2014.
Sport England is investing more than £1bn of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012 and 2017. | Olympic gold medallists have celebrated at a rowing club to mark its receipt of a £1m lottery grant. |
39,823,348 | The Tories gained five seats for a total of 36, while Labour won six seats which was a loss of three.
UKIP lost their two seats on the council while the Liberal Democrats held on to their 13 seats.
Conservative leader Nick Rushton, who is expected to remain the council's leader, vowed to protect frontline services over the next four years.
Election 2017: Full results from across England
"A 17 [seat] majority is as much as I expected us to get," Mr Rushton said.
"We've got some tough times ahead, we've dealt with tough times in the past, and I feel certain we'll deal with the tough times going forward.
"I can promise the electorate the Conservative administration will represent you all, irrespective of whether you voted for us."
The leader of UKIP in the county, David Sprason - who is also the party's national spokesman on welfare and social care - lost his seat to Conservative Peter Bedford.
The Tory win means the party has won control of the authority for the fifth election in a row. | The Conservatives have retained overall control of Leicestershire County Council in the local elections. |
33,039,361 | Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain offered their resignations to an emergency meeting of the bank's supervisory board on Sunday, and their resignations were accepted.
The bank said John Cryan would become co-chief executive, replacing Mr Jain from 30 June.
Mr Fitschen will remain in post until the annual general meeting in May 2016.
After that, Mr Cryan, who has been a member of the bank's supervisory board since 2013, will become the sole chief executive, the bank said.
The planned resignations, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, come after a series of scandals affecting the bank, including a $2.5bn (£1.7bn) regulatory fine in connection with the bank's part in the Libor rate rigging affair.
Libor, the London inter-bank lending rate, is a key interest rate in finance, affecting financial contracts worth trillions of dollars. Deutsche is one of several major banks fined after traders were found to have manipulated the rate.
Deutsche Bank is also paying $55m (£35.7m) to settle civil charges for allegedly mis-stating financial reports.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigated the bank for the way it accounted for certain assets in reports filed during the financial crisis.
The SEC said it over-valued some of these and did not have sufficient collateral to cover potential losses.
Deutsche is settling without admitting or denying the charges.
Deutsche Bank was the target of shareholder anger at its recent annual general meeting (AGM) in May, as concerns have grown over its disappointing profit growth, the fines, and its restructuring plans.
Hermes Equity Ownership Services, which holds a stake of almost 5% in Deutsche Bank, called for management changes, with director Dr Hans-Christoph Hirt saying: "We no longer have confidence in the management board."
At the AGM Mr Fitschen admitted: "We have not delivered, so far, the returns you expect and deserve."
In April, the bank reported that net income for the first three months of 2015 had halved to €559m (£407m), compared with the same period a year earlier.
This is despite the fact that revenue rose by almost a quarter to €10.4bn. | The two co-chief executives of scandal-hit European banking giant, Deutsche Bank, have resigned. |
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