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40,950,034 | Summer Grant, seven, from Norwich, was visiting the funfair in Harlow Town Park, Essex, on 26 March 2016 and died later in hospital.
Shelby Thurston, 25 and William Thurston, 28, from Whitecross Road, Wilburton, Cambridgeshire appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court earlier.
They will go on trial on 5 February.
The pair, who were given bail, also denied charges of failing to discharge a general health and safety duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The court was told by the couple's defence that the trial would hear expert evidence from a meteorologist.
At the opening of an inquest into Summer's death last April, Chelmsford Coroner's Court heard high winds had taken the dome-shaped inflatable "some distance".
The inquest was also told Summer was thought to have died from multiple injuries. | Two fairground workers have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of a girl who was fatally injured when the bouncy castle she was playing on blew away. |
34,567,638 | Both riders ended the event in Switzerland with three gold medals.
Trott, 23, had already won gold in the scratch race and women's team pursuit - alongside 21-year-old Archibald.
GB topped the medal table with six golds and three bronzes as Ciara Horne came third in the individual pursuit.
Double Olympic champion Trott easily won the six-discipline omnium after the points race, having led overnight.
Earlier, she finished second in the time trial and first in the flying lap to build a commanding lead.
It was her 10th European track title overall, making her the competition's most successful rider.
"I am super happy with that - I absolutely love the Euros," Trott told British Cycling.
Team-mate Archibald, meanwhile, retained her individual pursuit title.
She clocked three minutes 32.832 seconds to win gold from the Netherlands' Elise Delzenne.
After the event, Archibald said she was "pretty happy, pretty sweaty - all the things you'd expect".
Horne's bronze was her second medal of the event after she was part of the team pursuit squad alongside Trott and Archibald. | Great Britain's Katie Archibald clinched gold in the individual pursuit and elimination race and Laura Trott won the omnium on the final day of the European Track Cycling Championships. |
35,488,267 | Aaron McMahon was beaten in the Clandeboye Road area of the town in November.
The men, aged 28 and 26, face a number of charges, including attempted grievous bodily harm with intent. One of them is accused of possessing an offensive weapon.
The men are due to appear at Newtownards Magistrates Court in March. | Two men have been charged in connection with a hammer attack on a Bangor community worker. |
39,580,618 | Jeff Farrar will stand down at the end of June after four years as head of the force.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent (PCC) Jeff Cuthbert said a search for his successor would begin as soon as possible.
Mr Farrar said the new chief constable would be inheriting a "more effective and efficient force".
During his tenure, Mr Farrar has had to make £42m in efficiency savings because of budget cuts.
He has also overseen the improvement of the force, which has gone from being rated as "requiring improvement" by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to ranking as "good".
Mr Farrar, who started his career at South Wales Police, has planned and commanded some of the most high profile events in the UK in recent years, including the 2014 Nato Summit in Newport, golf's 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and two FA Cup and League Cup football finals.
He was appointed as Gwent Police's chief constable in November 2013 after carrying out the role in a temporary capacity and in 2014, he was awarded the Queens Police Medal in the Birthday Honours list.
Mr Farrar said he had been proud to serve in the police for the last 35 years.
"The last four years have presented countless challenges but I am confident that my successor will inherit a more effective and efficient force," he added.
Mr Cuthbert said Mr Farrar would be a "hard act" for the next chief constable to follow.
"He has done a fantastic job and has shown that he is a strong leader who has the support of officers, staff as well as our partners in the community," he said.
"I am confident that he will continue to play a leading role in public life, but in a different capacity."
Mr Farrar last week helped mark the 50th anniversary of Gwent Police and said he believed the force would rely more on technology to help policing in the future amid budget and job cuts. | The chief constable of Gwent Police is to retire this summer after 35 years of policing, it has been announced. |
39,887,357 | The fed-up bobby laid into anti-social teenagers, parents, and community support officers in the message.
It appeared on the GMP Irlam and Cadishead page on 7 May, prompting a complaint from a teacher, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Greater Manchester Police's Salford branch said it is investigating.
Ch Insp Glenn Jones said: "We have launched an internal investigation after we received a report of an inappropriate post on a GMP Facebook account.
"Officers and staff are expected to uphold the standards of behaviour in all of their duties including on social media."
The post has since been deleted.
"Good Morning everyone.
"An update on what's occurred in the area over the past 24hrs or so. It would be very quiet if it wasn't for one thing...or several "things"
"Kids/Yoofs/Yobs/Delinquents (cross out which one).
"There was a call to Heron Drive, Irlam to youths sitting or jumping on vehicles. The youths had gone home to mummy when officers arrived and no damage was found.
"There was a report of drunken youths on the fields at Sandy Lane, Irlam. Again, they had made off back to mummy, probably claiming that they had been doing their science project homework at a mates. How to get alcohol out of £3.60 dinner money.
"Please try and find out what your little Keanu or Beyonce are doing at night. If they're drinking or smoking weed, there will be signs. If they are, they will no doubt be causing mither in the street.
"Youths were throwing stones at residents houses and residents themselves, from the railway viaduct over Roseway Avenue, Cadishead.
"And finally, there was a call to Tesco at Woodrow Way, Irlam. Security called to report one man and his dog at the Cashpoint machines.
"Many cashpoint areas have points where you can leave deposits for the bank. They did so.... Defecating at the cashpoint... Not the dog.... The man.We have a description (Of the man- not the deposit) and CCTV of the incident. The dog is entirely innocent... Wonder if it's a shih-tzu?
"Only me in today as the PCSO's don't work on Sunday's. They have the day off to play with their crayons and Lego.
"Take care and lock your kids up till school time on Monday." | A world-weary police officer who posted a tirade about "stoned youths" on a force Facebook page has landed himself in trouble. |
33,137,533 | The alleged victim claimed he went on to have regular sex with Anne Lakey in the late 1980s.
Ms Lakey, 55, from Stanley, denies 13 charges of indecent assault involving two boys, one aged 13 or 14 and the other 15.
The trial continues at Teesside Crown Court.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he was on a group camping trip when he crept into Ms Lakey's tent at her behest.
He said her husband was sleeping in another tent nearby.
He added: "On the one hand, I was happy with my little self that I managed to lose my virginity before I was 16, which seemed really important at the time.
"On the other hand, everything was over so quickly. It should have been a bit more interesting than that.
"It was a bit of a confusing mix of emotions as I left the tent."
They continued to have sex at her home in the marital bed when her husband was away, he told the court.
He also said Ms Lakey rang him in 2012 after accusations were first made against her by another boy and she asked him to lie to police by saying they first had sex when he was 18.
The alleged victim said: "Here is somebody who has not spoken to me for 20 years who thought she could get me to pick up the phone and lie to the police.
"If that doesn't give you an idea of the control she had over us lads, I don't know what would."
Ms Lakey's trial also heard from the mother of the younger boy who said he had "tears rolling down his face" when, in his mid-20s, he told her about having sex with the teacher.
She said: "I was just so shocked, I was totally horrified.
"That's my child. He was a child, not a young man, not an adult."
His wife also recalled the complainant telling her about what happened, and she remembered him crying. "He was a very damaged, vulnerable young man," she said. | A head teacher accused of having sex with two underage boys took a 15-year-old's virginity in a tent, a court has heard. |
38,285,515 | Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok, cried as he denied allegations he insulted Islam.
Mr Purnama is the first non-Muslim governor of Indonesia's capital in 50 years.
The case is being seen as a test of religious tolerance in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
The prosecution said Mr Purnama insulted Islam by misusing a Koranic verse which suggests Muslims should not be ruled by non-Muslims, to boost public support ahead of February's governorship election.
He insisted his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using a Koranic verse against him, not at the verse itself.
If convicted, he faces a maximum five-year jail sentence. After the short hearing, the trial was adjourned until 20 December.
Rights groups say the authorities have set a dangerous precedent in which a noisy hardline Islamic minority can influence the legal process, says the BBC's Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta.
Read more: Who is Jakarta's non-Muslim governor?
In the streets outside court, hundreds of demonstrators, mostly men, gathered to protest. "Jail Governor Ahok now," they chanted. They punched their fists in the air and shouted: "We must defend Islam from those who insult the holy book."
It was a much smaller crowd than the huge demonstrations in Jakarta in recent weeks, but the anger remained the same. From a lorry, Islamic hard-line leaders made provocative speeches calling the governor a pig, and the crowd laughed when they mocked his Chinese appearance. One speaker turned to police officers standing guard and warned them that if Governor Ahok were not jailed, they would take matters into their own hands.
A smaller group of Ahok supporters were also there, dressed in his signature colourful shirts. Dertha Djawa Digigy, a Christian from eastern Indonesia, said she saw the trial as an attack against all Christians and believed the country's founding principles of unity and diversity were being tested.
A businessman who became Jakarta's deputy governor, Mr Purnama was made governor when his predecessor Joko Widodo became president in 2014.
At the time, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said it did not want him to succeed Mr Widodo, arguing a Christian should not govern a Muslim-majority city. They have played a major role in the latest protests against the governor.
Seen as politically independent, he was popular for his tough stance against corruption, and for improving poor public transport and other public services.
During campaigning in September, Mr Purnama made a speech where he said Islamic groups using a Koranic verse against him were deceiving voters.
The verse is interpreted by some as prohibiting Muslims from living under the leadership of a non-Muslim.
Islamic groups said he had criticised the Koran and complained to police, who began an investigation. Mr Purnama has repeatedly apologised but denied blasphemy.
His supporters say a widely-circulated video of the event had been edited and subtitled to make it appear he was criticising the verse, rather than those invoking it.
Although Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the country only recognises six religions and has tough penalties for blasphemy against any of them.
But observers say the laws are sometimes used against religious minorities.
Atheists too have been prosecuted, with one man sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail in 2012 for saying on Facebook that God does not exist.
President Widodo has blamed "political actors" for taking advantage of the furore.
The case has benefitted Mr Purnama's rivals in the election race where he was previously seen as the frontrunner.
Some observers say the case shows that Indonesia, historically a moderate Muslim nation, is becoming more radical.
However, Indonesia's largest Islamic group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), told its members not to take part in the anti-Ahok rallies.
In 1998, a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment led to mobs looting and burning Chinese-owned shops and houses, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.
Christians represent less than 10% of the country's 250 million people, and ethnic Chinese about 1%. | There were emotional scenes in court on the first day of the blasphemy trial of Jakarta's governor, a Christian of Chinese descent. |
38,565,083 | Campaign group Liberty says the powers, which are used by intelligence agencies to collect large volumes of data from electronic devices, amount to an "assault on our freedom".
The Investigatory Powers Act gained royal assent in November.
The government has said it will defend the act.
Powers covered by the act allow state agencies to control and alter electronic devices, read texts, online messages and emails and listen in on calls, regardless of a suspicion of criminal activity.
The act forces communications companies to retain data of the who, where and when, but not the content of people's phone calls, emails, texts and web browsing history.
But Liberty wants to challenge the lawfulness of these powers and is asking the public to fund a judicial review.
Liberty director Martha Spurrier said: "Last year, this government exploited fear and distraction to quietly create the most extreme surveillance regime of any democracy in history.
"Hundreds of thousands of people have since called for this act's repeal because they see it for what it is - an unprecedented, unjustified assault on our freedom."
In November 2016, a petition asking the government to repeal the act attracted more than 118,000 signatures.
Investigatory Powers Act
The act was first proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May when she was home secretary and was approved by the House of Lords on 19 November.
Bulk powers are among the most controversial in the legislation, but security services and the government argue that they play a crucial role in counter-terrorism efforts.
Last month, the government faced calls to amend the act after the European Court of Justice found the "general and indiscriminate" retention of communications data was illegal.
EU judges said communications data could only be retained if it was used to fight serious crime.
The BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the government has said it will vigorously defend the act, which it says protects both privacy and security, had faced unprecedented parliamentary scrutiny and enjoyed cross parliamentary support. | A human rights group is launching a crowd-funded legal challenge to the UK government's so-called "snoopers' charter". |
34,832,932 | Wasps, in a tough pool with holders Toulon, Bath and ex-champions Leinster, beat the Dublin side 33-6 on Saturday.
"This competition's all about mixing it with the best and we've certainly beaten one of the best," Young said.
"It puts us in a strong position now but it doesn't mean anything going into next week."
Wasps' victory was Leinster's heaviest-ever European home defeat and Young said he could not have wished for a better display from his players.
"Everything I asked of the boys before the game, they delivered," Young added to BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.
"We deserved to win but the scoreline far exceeded our expectations coming in."
Wasps secured their place in the competition after finishing sixth in the Premiership last season and Young is keen for his squad to make the most of their opportunity to play against the best sides in Europe.
"Let's look forward to these games and enjoy playing them - we've earned the right to be there.
"It's taken 22 games in 10 months to get there and we need to make sure we enjoy the experience." | Wasps will not get carried away by their impressive start to the European Champions Cup, says director of rugby Dai Young. |
36,401,728 | The band headlined a show at Cornwall's Eden Project, opening with Paper Gods, the title track of their latest album.
They followed it up with a brace of 80s hits - Wild Boys, Hungry Like The Wolf and A View To A Kill.
Will Young, Laura Mvula and Shaun The Sheep have also taken part in the UK-wide celebration of music.
Choristers Only Men Aloud launched events at 06:50, singing with Amy Wadge - who was singing on a platform atop of the Severn Bridge.
The singer, who won a Grammy for co-writing Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud, penned a song specially for BBC Music Day. Called The Bridge, it also marks the 50th anniversary of the Severn Bridge bridge being built.
Nile Rodgers, who co-founded Chic and has worked with Prince and David Bowie, is an ambassador for BBC Music Day, and said music had the power to change lives.
"I've had some really rough years as of late," said the star, who is currently in remission from cancer, "but the music keeps us going".
"When I have my worst times, I just pick up my guitar and I start practicing in my room. And people wonder, 'well, do those songs become hits?'.
"And I go, 'I don't care, I just do it because it makes me feel good'. I love to play."
Almost 400 events took place across the UK on Friday, including a children's "vegetable orchestra", led by Shaun The Sheep at Bristol's Colston Hall.
Rock band Travis played a unique, one-off show with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow's Barrowlands.
Birmingham's New Street Station saw a flashmob by singer Ruby Turner and the Town Hall Gospel Choir, who opened their set with gospel classic This Train (Is Bound For Glory).
Meanwhile, the Ulster Orchestra performed in the grounds of the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast.
Their programme included the theme to TV show Game Of Thrones, much of which is filmed in Northern Ireland.
A UK-wide bell-ringing event took place at 19:00 BST, with more than 180 church towers ringing simultaneously, including Bristol and Manchester cathedral and smaller parish churches such as Saint Francis Xavier's in Liverpool and St Mary's in Turville, Buckinghamshire.
BBC Radio 2 honoured five "unsung heroes" of music, including Dr Jane Bentley, who runs music groups for people with mental health difficulties, alzheimers and dementia.
And children's choirs from around the UK joined forces together to perform a specially-written song for BBC Music Day.
Our Song was composed by Sasha Johnson Manning using words provided by listeners to CBeebies radio.
At lunchtime, pop star Will Young serenaded workers at Bristol's Pukka Herbs tea factory, marking the 75th anniversary of Workers Playtime - a BBC radio programme which was started to boost morale among workers during the Second World War.
Dressed in hygienic scrubs, the singer said he was taking part because music "crosses boundaries" and brings communities together.
"I get as much joy singing in the shower as I will singing here today," he added.
Under the banner Take It To The Bridge, live music was staged on more than 40 bridges around the UK.
A Borders piper and a Northumbrian piper played on opposite sides of the Union Chain Bridge, which unites England and Scotland over the River Tweed, before meeting in the middle.
Singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti battled vertigo on London's Tower Bridge - playing his set on a glass-bottomed walkway 42 metres above the River Thames.
"I was clenching my eyes together," he admitted after the performance.
The Military Wives Choir sang Sailing - as made famous by Rod Stewart - on the bridge of HMS Victory in Portsmouth; while Middlesbrough's Tees Transporter Bridge featured live music throughout the day.
In Yorkshire, Rebecca Newman played Bridge over Troubled Waters on a temporary crossing over the River Wharfe. The footbridge was constructed after Tadcaster Bridge crumbled during floods last Christmas.
Full details of events around the UK can be found on the BBC Music Day website.
Duran Duran's concert will be broadcast live from 21:00 BST on Radio 2, while highlights will be shown on BBC One on Sunday, 5 June.
"Can I say thank you to the BBC for Music Day?" said singer Simon LeBon, four songs into their set.
"I think it's an amazing thing to bring people together over music." | Pop stars Duran Duran have brought the curtain down on BBC Music Day, which has seen concerts in libraries, on bridges and in bell towers. |
35,723,265 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Palace are without a league win in 2016 but will be at Wembley thanks to a Yohan Cabaye penalty and Fraizer Campbell's stoppage-time strike.
Reading had frustrated the Eagles before Jake Cooper was sent off for pulling back Yannick Bolasie. Cabaye converted from the spot before Campbell added a second from close range.
Palace boss Alan Pardew - who won promotion with Reading in his first managerial job - saw the tie as a chance for the Eagles to shake off their woeful league form but despite dominating possession and chances they could not find a way past Ali Al-Habsi in the Reading goal before the late penalty.
Reading took Arsenal to extra time in last year's semi-final but apart from an Ola John header which was well saved by Wayne Hennessey, they rarely threatened a repeat visit and were indebted to a string of fine saves from Al-Habsi.
Media playback is not supported on this device
He kept out Mile Jedinak's powerful header and two Cabaye free-kicks as the tie looked set for a replay, before the goalkeeper almost stopped the penalty awarded by referee Mike Dean for slight contact from Cooper as Bolasie chased a ball into the box.
Turning point for Pardew?
Pardew, 54, has strong FA Cup history with Palace, having scored the winner in the 1990 semi-final win against Liverpool.
And he will now hope to lead them to another final after seeing his side return to their counter-attacking best at times against stubborn opponents.
At the turn of the year Pardew may have been hoping for a place in the Champions League, with Palace four points off the top four in fifth, but they have picked up just two points since.
Cup wins against Stoke, Southampton and Tottenham have lightened the gloom though and Pardew will hope this latest win can inspire enough Premier League points to help end any lingering relegation fears.
The front three of Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and Emmanuel Adebayor were a constant threat as Palace chalked up 23 efforts on goal, with Adebayor spurning a golden chance in the first half and Bolasie twice shooting wide.
Former Tottenham and Arsenal man Adebayor then laid on the late second with a fine ball to find substitute Campbell as Palace wrapped up a professional and well-earned win.
Last Sunday Pardew's side were on the wrong end of a late penalty decision, with the manager subsequently accusing Liverpool striker Christian Benteke of diving at Selhurst Park.
"You've got to be 100% sure," said Pardew at the weekend, before claiming "if it had been us, we would not have got [the decision]".
Five nights on, Pardew was less keen to speak about a contentious late penalty as Reading's 21-year-old defender Cooper was penalised for putting a hand across Bolasie inside the area.
"I haven't seen the penalty again and I am not going to even give it an opinion," he told BBC Sport.
"I have had enough trouble with penalties!"
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "I thought it was going to go to a replay, if I'm honest. We've won, but we've got to win in the league.
"A semi-final in the Cup brings an excitement to you, and we hope that rubs off on our league form.
"We've had to win at Southampton and Tottenham, Stoke at home and now at Reading, and yet we can't get a win in the league.
"We've been pressure conscious of late, but that wasn't there in the Cup. We have 10 games left now and we're looking forward to them."
Reading boss Brian McDermott: "The players are gutted in the dressing room, we want this every week.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"We went toe to toe with a very good Premier League side.
"Our priority is the league. We don't want it to be a situation where we talk about the FA Cup and FA Cup runs.
"We want to be talking about winning league games. The last 18 months, we've not done that."
Palace will learn their semi-final opponents on Monday, with the draw taking place during The One Show on BBC One at 19:00 GMT.
Then they are back in Premier League action against leaders Leicester on 19 March. Reading - 11 points away from the Championship play-offs, nine from the relegation zone - face Brighton on Tuesday.
Match ends, Reading 0, Crystal Palace 2.
Second Half ends, Reading 0, Crystal Palace 2.
Corner, Reading. Conceded by Joel Ward.
Goal! Reading 0, Crystal Palace 2. Fraizer Campbell (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from very close range to the high centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Fraizer Campbell (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Emmanuel Adebayor.
Offside, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye tries a through ball, but Emmanuel Adebayor is caught offside.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Michael Hector.
Attempt blocked. Danny Williams (Reading) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Stephen Quinn with a headed pass.
Substitution, Reading. Deniss Rakels replaces Jordan Obita.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Fraizer Campbell replaces Yannick Bolasie.
Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace).
Danny Williams (Reading) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace) hits the bar with a right footed shot from the left side of the box. Assisted by Pape Souaré.
Goal! Reading 0, Crystal Palace 1. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Second yellow card to Jake Cooper (Reading) for a bad foul.
Penalty Crystal Palace. Yannick Bolasie draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Jake Cooper (Reading) after a foul in the penalty area.
Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading).
Emmanuel Adebayor (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt blocked. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Jordan Obita (Reading).
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading).
Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Pape Souaré with a cross.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Bakary Sako replaces Joe Ledley.
Attempt saved. Ola John (Reading) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Hal Robson-Kanu with a cross.
Substitution, Reading. Danny Williams replaces Oliver Norwood.
Attempt blocked. Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Ledley with a headed pass.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Michael Hector.
Attempt missed. Ola John (Reading) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Matej Vydra.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Ali Al Habsi.
Attempt saved. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Jake Cooper (Reading) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Jake Cooper (Reading).
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Stephen Quinn (Reading) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Jordan Obita.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Chris Gunter. | Crystal Palace put their Premier League struggles on hold to earn a place in their first FA Cup semi-final in 21 years by beating Championship side Reading with two late goals. |
32,205,797 | The gang tried to force open a cash machine outside a Waitrose in Kenilworth with an angle grinder, circular saw, crowbars and a hydraulic cutter.
They sped off empty handed, taking police from three forces on a high-speed pursuit during their getaway.
The men were jailed from three to 12 years at Birmingham Crown Court.
They were detained in Mile Oak, Tamworth on 29 September after a pursuit involving officers from Warwickshire, West Midlands and Staffordshire, and a police helicopter.
West Midlands Police said the gang hacked at the cash machine with the equipment.
"Sparks flew as they used an angle grinder to slice open the machine frontage but despite concerted efforts they were unable to breach its cash defences," a police spokesman said.
Residents at homes overlooking the Bertie Road shop were woken by the noise at 03:20 BST.
Police said unmarked traffic cars followed the gang on the M42 where "racetrack-like speeds" were reached in a stolen Audi RS7.
But they were monitored by a police helicopter, which directed officers to flats in Mile Oak.
Pedro Taylor, 30, of no fixed abode, and 27-year-old Jason Hadley of Harcourt Road, Birmingham, were each sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to steal over the botched raid.
Two of the men were also sentenced for their part in a separate plot to rob a jeweller thought to be carrying thousands of pounds of diamonds. Mark Kirk, 34, of Cadbury Drive, Castle Vale, Birmingham, was jailed for 11 years, six months while Dean Beech, 37, of Courtney Road, Great Barr, was jailed for 12 years.
They were convicted of conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to commit robbery and aggravated vehicle taking in February. They were sentenced with Darren Bowman, 47, of Kingswood Road, Moseley, Birmingham.
Bowman, accused of planning the diamond robbery, was sentenced to six years, two months. | Four men who led police on a chase reaching speeds of about 150mph after a botched raid have been jailed. |
34,503,148 | The company blamed high wage costs resulting from the country's minimum wage, introduced at the beginning of this year.
The 200-year-old family firm paid its workers between €5.50 and €6.50 before the introduction of the €8.50 minimum wage, according to German media.
It has been unable to cope with the additional costs.
Steinbach is based in Hohenhameln in northern Germany. The nutcrackers it produces are particularly popular as Christmas decorations and are collected around the world, especially in the US.
Current boss Karla is the sixth generation Steinbach to run the firm. | Steinbach, one of Germany's best-known makers of traditional wooden nutcrackers, has filed for bankruptcy. |
33,561,233 | The former party president told activists he would "work every day" to repay the faith shown in him.
Mr Farron beat fellow Lib Dem Norman Lamb in the contest to replace Nick Clegg, with 56.5% of the votes cast.
He is aiming to rebuild the party after a disastrous general election defeat that left it with eight MPs.
Mr Farron won 19,137 of the 33,897 votes cast in an election in which 56% of the party's members took part.
Speaking at a rally in central London, Mr Farron said the party owed Mr Lamb a "massive debt of thanks" and paid tribute to Mr Clegg, calling him "truly remarkable".
He said he had been "completely gutted" the day after the general election, when Lib Dem colleagues who had given "blood, sweat and tears" lost their seats.
Mr Farron, 45, said 17,000 people had joined the party since that day, and urged supporters to fight "ward by ward" to recover the party's standing, calling for "hundreds and hundreds" of new Lib Dem councillors.
"We may not be able to change Britain from the top down just at the moment, but we can change lives from the bottom up," he said.
"That's community politics."
The Tim Farron story
Challenge facing the new Lib Dem leader
Mr Farron told the BBC that the party could not afford to "feel sorry for itself" or "navel-gaze" and had to begin its fight back immediately over issues such as pay, civil liberties and climate change.
Liberalism in British politics was "under threat but absolutely essential", he told Radio 4's Today programme.
Under his leadership, he said the party would oppose the cuts to tax credits and other benefits in George Osborne's Budget and push for greater spending on infrastructure such as transport and broadband
"Youngish families on lowish incomes, who are hard-working and in-work and people who are rich - the 6% richest people in the country - will benefit from an inheritance tax cut," he said.
"That is not sound economics, that is not about making tough decisions, that is about redistributing the damage done by the financial crash towards the poor and away from the rich and that is just morally wrong.
"Societies which are unequal are not just morally failing but they are failing in output as well."
Mr Farron, 45, is popular with activists and was the bookies' favourite to replace Mr Clegg. But former leader Lord Ashdown and former deputy leader Vince Cable have recently criticised him, questioning his judgement.
Mr Farron said that the two men were "right about most things" but "obviously" he disagreed with them about this.
Mr Lamb, a care minister in the coalition government, offered his congratulations, saying Mr Farron would make a "fantastic" leader who championed social justice while Mr Clegg tweeted: "It's a tough job but the best in politics. I know Tim will do us proud."
Party president Sal Brinton said: "Tim is a fantastic communicator and his energy, enthusiasm and passion will inspire and drive the Liberal Democrats back to winning ways." | "A new army" of Liberal Democrat supporters could help the party recover in the polls, Tim Farron has said, after being confirmed as its leader. |
34,232,095 | The Library at Willesden Green in Brent boasts 40,000 books, an art gallery, exhibition area and performance space.
Developers Linden Homes re-built the 1980s part of the library, which was deemed "inefficient", while incorporating elements from its Victorian heritage.
The council funded the library by working with developers and selling adjacent land for new homes.
In 2011 Brent Council was taken to the High Court by local campaigners over its decision to close six of the borough's libraries in a bid to cut council spending and help it save £104m.
Winning its legal battle the authority closed libraries in Kensal Rise, Barham Park, Tokyngton, Preston, Cricklewood and Neasden. | A new £10m library and community space has opened in north-west London. |
35,064,656 | Jay, Georgia, Anita, Katie and Kellie will be feeling the pressure as they have to dance to two different routines each on Saturday.
Here at Newsround, we have been taking a look back at some of the remaining five contestants best dances from this series.
Jay absolutely smashed the leader board in week three of the competition.
He and his partner Aliona danced a Pulp Fiction-themed jive during movie week, earning them the first 10 of the competition and scoring a whopping 37 out of 40 points.
Judge Bruno said it was the best routine he had ever seen on the show!
Georgia ended up in the bottom two last week after dancing to a Beauty and the Beast-themed dance for musicals week.
But it was her Ghostbusters-themed tango from week six that saw her rise to the top of the leader boards for the first time in the series.
She scored 35 out of 40 points and Judge Len Goodman nicknamed her the "Queen of Halloween".
Anita and Gleb wowed the judges in week nine, with one of Strictly's most notoriously difficult dances, the Paso Doble.
The duo notched up an impressive 37 points with judge Darcey Bussell awarding them full marks, saying they blew her away.
Katie and her dance partner Anton whipped the judges into a frenzy with their American Smooth routine in week nine.
They earned an impressive 35 points, and judge Bruno even said they "looked like a dream".
Kellie and Kevin impressed the judges in week nine with their office-themed quickstep routine, pushing them to the top of the leader board.
They smashed the scores and received 37 points and even pleased perfectionist judge Craig, who said he "loved it". | It's the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend and things are hotting up on the dance floor. |
31,575,239 | The parade started in Trafalgar Square where hand-crafted floats led a procession to Shaftesbury Avenue.
Crowds were entertained with music, dance and acrobatics in Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square and Chinatown.
The London celebrations for the year of the sheep are the largest in the UK with more than 1,000 performers and volunteers taking part.
Organised by London Chinatown Chinese Association, the event included lion dances throughout Chinatown along with the Cultures of China, Festival of Spring show and a drum show by The Red Poppy Ladies Percussion in Trafalgar Square. | Thousands of people have joined the lavish celebrations in London to welcome in the Chinese New Year. |
35,240,265 | This is despite the United Jihad Council (UJC) - a rebel alliance based in Pakistan-administered Kashmir - saying it carried out the attack, three days after it began.
Even so, some Pakistani commentators have continued to blame Indian authorities and media for their accusations against Pakistani organisations and individuals.
Analysts believe that the Pakistani media resorts to self-censorship and follows the official line on matters of national security - and recent rhetoric on the Pathankot attack can be seen in that context.
In the four-day battle, Indian troops killed six militants who had stormed the base in Punjab near the Pakistan border. Seven Indian soldiers also died in the clashes.
The attack dominated talk shows on at least eight TV channels over the weekend, before the UJC claim.
Ghulam Mustafa, a retired lieutenant-general, told Channel 24's DNA (Debate, News, Analysis) programme that the attack was an "India-backed, India-engineered and India-sponsored incident".
He rejected allegations of Pakistan's involvement, saying he was not happy with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to invite his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to Lahore.
Hopes for a thaw in relations were raised after Mr Modi paid an unexpected visit to Mr Sharif on his way back from Afghanistan in late December.
Ajmad Shoaib, another retired lieutenant-general, said on ABB Tak TV's "Tonight with Fareeha Idrees" programme that the Indian allegations were merely a continuation of an ongoing trend.
He recalled that India had blamed Pakistan for a fire on a fishing boat on 31 December 2014 as well as for the Gurdaspur police station attack in July 2015.
He said some groups in India did not want peaceful relations with Pakistan.
A few Indian voices were also heard on Pakistani TV channels.
Speaking on the phone from India, former Indian intelligence chief AS Dulat said that Indian media blamed Pakistani elements for involvement in the Pathankot attack because there was enough proof.
Some TV anchors in Pakistan also took to Twitter to "refute" India's claims.
Moeed Peerzada, a TV host on Dunya TV, said that India would benefit from the Pathankot attack and did not change his stance even after the UJC claim.
Television anchor Ahmed Quraishi initially expressed scepticism over India's "rush" to blame Pakistan, and then after the UJC claim, said it was a result of "India's own internal mess".
Taking the argument one step further, Farhan Khan Virk, a social media activist, said the attack seemed like a scripted Indian TV drama.
Popular TV anchor Mubashar Lucman commented on the duration of India's counter-operation.
But Pakistan's social media discourse was not entirely dominated by what some people called hawkish reactions. Some showed sympathy with India.
Imtiaz Alam, a veteran journalist and the Secretary General of the South Asian Free Media Association, noted that it was not always easy for Pakistani commentators to take a neutral position.
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. | As Indian security forces battled militants inside the Pathankot air base, defence analysts and media commentators in Islamabad lashed out at India for "typically" and "prematurely" blaming Pakistan for the attack. |
32,848,024 | In January, the force said it would cut the number of front counters from 16 to four as part of a property review.
On 12 June, seven offices will shut, with Bakewell and Derby's Assembly Rooms closing the day after. Three more will go by 18 September.
Senior officers said few people used the desks and the move would allow them to invest in other services.
The closures are part of the force's plans to make savings of up to £26m during the next five years.
The offices to close on 12 June are Glossop, Matlock, Clay Cross, Bolsover, Long Eaton, Cotton Lane in Derby and Swadlincote.
Ashbourne, Ripley and Ilkeston will close by 18 September, with exact dates to be announced nearer the time.
Only the counters at Buxton, Chesterfield and Derby's St Mary's Wharf and Pear Tree will remain open.
Assistant Chief Constable, Gary Knighton, said: "This will save us a significant amount of money which will go towards keeping people safe.
"The way people contact us has really changed, via the internet, phones and even scheduled appointments."
He emphasised only the front counters were closing and not the entire stations. | Derbyshire Constabulary has released more information on when it will close most of its inquiry desks. |
38,605,644 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Nuggets recovered after the Pacers led 31-30 early in the second quarter to finish with a season-high score.
Nikola Jokic scored 22 points as Denver ended the Pacers' five-game winning run before a sell-out crowd at the O2 Arena.
It was the seventh time a regular-season game has been held in London.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Denver Nuggets ended a five-game losing streak with a 140-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's Global Games series in London on Thursday. |
38,378,317 | The investigatory chamber at the world governing body's ethics committee has been looking into alleged breaches of its code of ethics since March 2015.
It has now recommended a two-year ban and a fine for Adamu, a former Fifa executive committee member who was banned for three years in 2010.
A final decision on his punishment may several take months to be determined.
A Fifa statement says Adamu, who was also once on the Confederation of African Football board, violated three articles - covering general rules of conduct, loyalty and conflict of interest - of its Code of Ethics.
"For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the adjudicatory chamber will not publish further details at the present time," the statement reads.
The 62-year-old was a member of Fifa's executive committee for four years until 2010, when he was banned from all football activity for three years.
He was found guilty of asking for money in exchange for World Cup votes - an accusation he denied.
Adamu's suspension expired in October 2013.
A high-ranking government official for Nigerian sport for 20 years, Adamu was once considered to be a leading candidate to succeed long-serving Issa Hayatou as Caf president. | Nigerian administrator Amos Adamu is facing another ban from all football-related activities by Fifa. |
38,586,215 | The victim, Rebecca Rawson, 65, was fatally injured after approaching the armed householder's home on Tuesday night, say sheriff's officials.
As her relative knocked on the door, Eugene Matthews, 83, emerged firing a handgun, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Ms Rawson was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
Officials say that Ms Rawson and her daughter waited in their car as her brother-in-law knocked on Mr Matthew's door to ask if he had seen their dog.
Police say Mr Matthews opened his door and started shooting at the family.
As she sat in the car, Ms Rawson was struck by a bullet that went through the windscreen.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrested and charged Mr Matthews with second-degree murder.
He is expected to appear in court later on Wednesday. | A Florida woman has died after being shot by a homeowner while searching the neighbourhood for her lost dog. |
37,352,295 | A unitary board will replace the BBC Trust, the corporation's arms-length regulator, and its executive board.
Ms Fairhead said the prime minister had "strongly encouraged" her to take part in the new appointment process.
But, she added, it would be "better to have a clean break and for the government to appoint someone new".
The previous government, under David Cameron, had originally asked Ms Fairhead to continue until 2018 - moving from chairwoman of the Trust to lead the new unitary board.
But BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said government sources described Prime Minister Theresa May as being not "overly impressed" by Mr Cameron's decision to appoint Ms Fairhead to the unitary board.
It is understood that Mrs May was concerned about the lack of transparency in the appointment process and felt the new post required different skills.
The decision to open the job up to other candidates was due to be announced on Thursday as part of a package of reforms of the BBC Trust.
Ms Fairhead's announcement, ahead of time, of her decision to go will be seen as an indication of strained relations between her and the prime minister.
Norman Smith, BBC assistant political editor
Most new prime ministers choose to distance themselves from their predecessors in order to signal change.
Rarely, though, has a new prime minister gone about dismantling and unpicking key decisions of their predecessor so quickly and so brutally as Theresa May.
The move to block the automatic appointment of Rona Fairhead as chair of the new BBC Board is just the latest example of Mrs May's readiness to rip up Mr Cameron's plans.
It follows from the very deliberate decision to give the go-ahead to grammar schools - a move Mr Cameron had strenuously resisted and made central to his modernising agenda.
Similarly, Mrs May has ordered a re-think over the Hinkley power station, tackling the deficit and the so-called "northern powerhouse".
What gives even more edge to Mrs May's actions is the fact that disowning chunks of David Cameron's legacy looks personal as well as political.
Hence her decision to cull Mr Cameron's friends and allies from the cabinet.
Ms Fairhead, the first woman to lead the BBC Trust, began her four-year tenure in October 2014.
It coincided with a renewal of the BBC Charter. In May this year a government White Paper unveiled major changes to how the BBC is run.
Following this, the government, under David Cameron, asked Ms Fairhead to continue until 2018 - and chair the new unitary board.
But it has since been decided to introduce an appointment process, a spokeswoman for the Trust said.
Ms Fairhead will step down when the new board begins its work early next year.
In a statement, Ms Fairhead said: "I took on leadership of the Trust to help stabilise, strengthen and develop the BBC following a very difficult period in its history and through Charter review. I was always clear that I was willing to serve for four years, after which I would continue my career in the private sector.
"I am proud of what I and my colleagues, both at the Trust and the BBC, have accomplished during the past two years. I believe the draft charter will secure the strong, confident and independent BBC that the public want and deserve."
Ms Fairhead said she intended to continue her career in the private sector "as I had always planned to do after my existing term ended in 2018".
BBC director general Tony Hall said: "Rona has made a real contribution to BBC and at a really important time for us. On behalf of all the staff, I'd like to thank her for that and wish her the very best for the future.
"We will continue to work together in the interests of licence fee payers until the new governance arrangements are in place."
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "The government thanks Rona Fairhead for her service to the BBC. Full details of the BBC Charter will be announced shortly."
Ms Fairhead is a former Financial Times chief executive and has served on the boards of a number of multinational companies including HSBC and PepsiCo and held leadership positions with plane and train-maker Bombardier and with ICI.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | BBC Trust chairwoman Rona Fairhead has announced she will step down early from her role and will not apply to head the corporation's new governing body. |
35,025,065 | Some schools are closed, and work is continuing to reopen the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle.
About 1,500 properties remain without power, including in Glenridding and Patterdale, which have been cut off as access roads are under water.
In Kendal, a body was found by search teams looking for a man who fell into the River Kent on Sunday.
Prime Minister David Cameron paid a visit to Carlisle, during which he thanked the emergency services.
He also visited a flood-hit householder and looked at the city's flood defences, which were breached during the deluge.
Mr Cameron said "After every flood the thing to do is sit down, look at the money you are spending, look at what you are building, look at what you are planning to build in the future and ask, 'Is it enough?'
"And that's exactly what we will do."
The Environment Agency said more than a month's average rainfall was recorded in 24 hours on Saturday.
The organisation confirmed the 341mm (1.1ft) recorded at Honister, Keswick was a UK record.
More than £300,000 has been donated to a fund set up to help people who have fallen victim to the floods and the Cumbria Community Foundation said it was set to begin allocating grants.
Cumbria Police said, in Carlisle alone, up to 2,500 properties were flooded, with just under 5,000 homes and businesses affected across the county.
Among those fleeing the floodwaters was Nic Hewitt, who shares a first-floor flat with her partner.
She said: "We noticed the water coming down at about 10pm [on Saturday] and between midnight and 2am it kept coming and coming. There was no stopping it.
"At 4.30am we went to bed and got a couple of hours sleep. Then we were woken up by the [rescue] boat outside. The water was above the ground-floor door and about a foot off the top window. It must have been about 8ft.
"I was terrified. Everything happened so quickly. When the RNLI told us it was time to go we had to grab what clothes we could and couldn't stop for anything. It's just devastating."
Kitty Brame shares a house on Warwick Road and lives on the ground floor. Many of her belongings have been destroyed.
She said: "All the laminate starting coming up, you can see the flood lines on the walls, all the electrics were flooded, my futon was floating.
"I feel distraught. This is my home and it's uninhabitable. We can't live here any more. There are nine of us."
It's getting better in Carlisle, but it's a long way from being over. The water in the Warwick Road area of the city is receding and the perimeter of the flood zone has shrunk.
But, people are still being rescued. Lifeboat crews say these are mainly people who thought they would tough it out at home but have finally decided enough is enough. Where the water has drained away residents are now assessing the damage.
Soaking carpets are being pulled up and ruined belongings thrown away. They know what's ahead. It will take months to dry out these homes and people here are well acquainted with the long miserable experience.
Also affected was John Chadwick, who was rescued by dinghy.
He said: "I was evacuated as the River Caldew burst over the flood barriers. I live alone and have severe mobility problems including osteoarthritis and mild epilepsy. I just had time to grab some medication.
"I have nowhere suitable to stay as I need ground-floor accommodation with disabled access.
"Earlier this year, I got an insurance quote for my home - they wanted £80 per month. I couldn't afford that and so I have nothing insured."
Electricity Northwest said 2,657 properties remained without power in Cumbria, as floodwater was hampering access to engineers.
Network Rail said the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle would remain closed for several days after 8ft (2.4m) of water flooded the railway.
Although flood defences put in place after previous incidents were breached, the Environment Agency defended their effectiveness.
Area manager Lisa Pinney said: "We have spent £45m on flood defences in Cumbria since 2009. Those defences did an important job this weekend in giving us time to ensure we could get warnings out.
"There is no doubt the flooding would have been a lot worse if the defences hadn't been in place."
Keep up to date with the latest news with BBC Local Live: Cumbria. | A major clean-up operation is under way after Cumbria was battered by Storm Desmond. |
38,288,483 | The 33-year-old, who had two years of his previous contract to run, made his debut for the New Road side in 2005.
Mitchell also spent six years as county captain before being replaced by Joe Leach in September.
"Daryl is a mature player in all formats," said director of cricket Steve Rhodes.
"We haven't got lots of very experienced players like Mitch, so to secure his future for the next four years I think is really key for the club going forward.
"He also is in a time when he can now focus totally on his batting and senior role within the group."
Mitchell added: "It's always been my aim to be a one club man and stay here and another four years is fantastic. I'm really pleased." | Opening batsman Daryl Mitchell has signed a new four-year deal to stay with Worcestershire until the end of the 2020 season. |
35,910,853 | Dani Dayan will now become Israel's consul general in New York, ending a seven-month diplomatic stand-off.
Israel had previously said it would not replace Mr Dayan as its nominee.
Mr Dayan's appointment caused outrage among left-wing groups in Brazil, which lobbied President Dilma Rousseff to reject it.
The Argentina-born official was chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing Jewish settlers in the occupied territories, from 2007 to 2013.
The fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land claimed by Palestinians for a future state - is one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel-Palestinians: World diplomacy's Gordian knot
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
In a statement on Monday, the Israeli prime minister's office announced Mr Dayan's new appointment, without any reference to Brazil.
Mr Dayan said his deployment to New York was "a victory over the BDS" - the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement which targets Israel politically, economically and culturally.
"I think those elements who did not want a settler leader in Brasilia, got a settler leader in the world's capital," he told an anti-BDS conference in Jerusalem.
Brazil is Israel's largest trading partner in South America, but relations have been tense since 2010, when Brazil said it recognised Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
They soured further in 2014 when Brazil recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest at what it called the "disproportionate use of force" by Israel in its summer offensive in Gaza.
In response, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called Brazil a "diplomatic dwarf".
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified another Israeli diplomat as Mr Dayan. | Israel has reassigned its nominee for ambassador to Brazil, whose appointment Brasilia refused to accept, apparently because he is a former settler leader. |
34,067,473 | Tata Steel is to mothball part of its plant in Llanwern with the loss of 250 jobs.
The UK Government is providing £35m to steel companies to help offset electricity costs.
But Mr Jones wants more of a response, saying high UK energy costs made it difficult for firms to be competitive.
"We have said this many, many times to UK government. They haven't responded effectively yet - we do need to see action," Mr Jones told BBC Wales.
Sue Lewis, regional organiser for the union Community, said it had been calling for help for years with energy prices but the support would only be in place in 2016.
"If this was brought in two years ago, maybe we wouldn't be having these redundancies," she said.
UK Business Minister Anna Soubry has said the UK Government would continue to "work closely with the sector to provide help where we can".
"My department has provided steelmakers with millions of pounds in compensation for energy costs and recently voted to extend anti-dumping measures on certain Chinese steel products.
"I will continue to meet with companies like Tata and provide support where we can."
On Wednesday, Tata confirmed some of its coil processing facilities at Llanwern would "come out of production" but added they would be retained so they can be "restarted in more favourable market conditions".
Analysis by Bran Meechan, BBC Wales business correspondent
Tata has been hit by cheaper steel imports from China and the higher costs of energy in the UK compared to its European competitors.
China is no longer building like it once was but is still producing all the steel. It's now selling that steel to Europe and it's much cheaper and while some say the quality is inferior, it's good enough for use in construction here. So Tata is now deciding to concentrate on the higher quality products which can't be produced in China.
Energy prices are particularly high in the UK and this is not just hitting companies like Tata but small businesses are feeling it as well.
There is help coming from the UK Government but that won't happen until 2016. The steel industry has been calling for years for that help to come in soon rather than later. And many, including the Community union, are saying how many jobs could have been saved if the help had been brought in sooner?
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Wales said it would be hard for so many skilled workers affected by the cuts to find work in the Newport area.
"The Welsh government is placing too strong a focus on attracting mobile global multi-nationals to Wales at the expense of plans to support smaller local firms." | First Minister Carwyn Jones and union leaders have urged the UK Government to do more to help steelmakers compete by cutting their electricity costs. |
38,234,451 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The world number one's success in York saw him become just the sixth man in history to win each of the sport's 'Triple Crown' events more than once.
Six-times UK champion Steve Davis said Selby "is one of the greats already".
Leicester's Selby, 33, beat Ronnie' O'Sullivan 10-7 in a thrilling, high-class final which saw six centuries.
Davis added: "If he doesn't know how great he is, he should just watch the tape of that match."
Stephen Hendry, the winner of 36 ranking events, was also full of praise for Selby and beaten finalist O'Sullivan, saying the pair were the "best two players in the world".
Two-time world champion and triple Masters winner Selby told BBC East Midlands Today: "It means a lot when it comes from your fellow professionals.
"When it comes from the likes of Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis you have to pinch yourself.
"What I have achieved probably won't sink in until the end of my career." | Mark Selby says he has to "pinch himself" at being called a snooker great by his fellow professionals after his victory at the UK Championship. |
38,381,583 | The 29-year-old left-hander, who has previously played for Surrey, has hit six centuries in 32 Test matches and a total of 28 in first-class cricket.
His arrival is set to fill the gap in Somerset's batting line-up vacated by the retirement of former captain Chris Rogers at the end of the 2016 season.
He will be available for all formats, around his international commitments.
Elgar joins a Somerset top order that includes new club captain Tom Abell and former England opener Marcus Trescothick, who signed a new deal for 2017 in August.
The Taunton-based side finished second in the County Championship in 2016, narrowly missing out on a maiden title as Middlesex triumphed on the final day of the season.
As a slow left-arm bowler, Elgar has also taken 13 Test wickets.
He first played for Somerset in 2013 on a short-term contract, when he provided cover for Alviro Petersen. | Somerset have signed South Africa opener Dean Elgar as their overseas player for 2017. |
35,660,621 | In 2014, surgeons in Poland announced they had reversed Darek Fidyka's paralysis using cells taken from his nose to repair his spinal cord.
The former fireman says he has noticed a gradual return of feeling and muscle control below his injury.
The surgical team are now launching a search for two more paralysed patients who they will try to help walk again.
Mr Fidyka told me: "I can tell that sensation is coming back and I am getting stronger. A year ago I would not have been able to ride a tricycle. Now I can feel each muscle and each press of the foot on the pedals."
The BBC's Panorama told the remarkable story of Darek Fidyka and the 40-year research programme involving scientists in Britain and Poland.
The medical team are now launching the worldwide search as they are looking for patients with an uncommon type of injury, where the spinal cord has been completely severed, which can happen after a knife injury.
The head of the project, surgeon Dr Pawel Tabakow said: "If we can bridge the gap between two spinal cord stumps then there will be no doubt that our technique works and this will be historic - if we succeed we will have found a cure for paralysis.
"Then we will be able to help other patients with the most common type of injury, caused by a crush or compression."
The Wroclaw Walk Again Project will be conducted in Poland, but patients anywhere in the world aged 16-65 will be able to apply via the team's website, which will be officially launched on 8th March in Wroclaw.
All the treatment will be free, but to be eligible patients must have no feeling or voluntary muscle function below the injury and they must be prepared to spend around three years in Poland.
They will undergo extensive physiotherapy before and especially after the transplant surgery.
The medical team are expecting to be inundated with applications in the months ahead.
They will make an initial shortlist based on patient scans and medical notes and then invite a few potential volunteers for assessment in Poland.
Those selected will undergo the same pioneering surgery that was performed on Darek Fidyka which was published in Cell Transplantation.
Scientists have spent decades searching for a means of enabling the paralysed to walk again. Motorised exoskeletons, which are strapped on the body, bypassing the injury, are now available commercially.
Electrical stimulation techniques use implants to enable patients to flex their lower limbs. But neither method involves repairing the damaged spinal cord.
The approach in Poland aims to reconnect the brain with the lower limbs along the neural superhighway that is the spinal cord, enabling both motor control commands to travel down the body and sensation to travel up.
Darek Fidyka's spinal cord had been almost completely severed as a result of a knife attack, apart from a thin thread of external connective tissue and prior to the transplant, he had no feeling or control below his injury.
Now he has had to re-learn how to control his muscles and interpret sensations. He said: "I realise how important the brain is while cycling, and that thinking is more tiring than the exercise itself."
But the results from one patient, however impressive, would never be sufficient evidence on which to base a new approach to spinal cord injury.
The forthcoming trial in Poland will be crucial if the wider scientific community is to be convinced that a patient's own cells can be used to regenerate their spinal cord.
It is also worth stressing that the patients selected will have to show enormous determination if they are to see the full benefits of the treatment.
In the first of two operations, surgeons will remove one of the patient's olfactory bulbs, which sit above the nasal cavity at the base of the brain, and process the sense of smell.
The bulb contains specialist cells known as olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) which act as a pathway that enables nerve fibres in the olfactory system to continually renew.
In a second operation the patient's OECs will be injected above and below the injury and strips of tissue laid across the gap in the cord.
The team believe the OECs will enable nerve fibres to regenerate across the cord and so repair the damage.
An independent team of assessors led by neurophysiologists from Imperial College London will also be closely involved in monitoring the research.
Peter Ellaway, emeritus professor of physiology, at Imperial said: "I'm excited because this is a novel treatment with a lot of promise."
But he cautioned that even if it works it would take some years to refine and so would not be immediately available for patients.
The treatment in Poland will cost £250,000 per patient and is being funded by a small British charity, the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation (NSIF).
It was founded by chef David Nicholls after his 18-year-old son Daniel was paralysed from the neck down in a swimming accident.
Mr Nicholls said: "I know how important progress is to people living with spinal cord injury and am optimistic that success with the next two patients will result in an announcement that paralysis is curable."
NSIF and the UK Stem Cell Foundation both support the research of Prof Geoff Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London (UCL), who has pioneered the use of OECs to repair the damaged spinal cord and leads the British side of the Walk Again project.
Prof Raisman said: "Darek's latest progress demonstrates the extraordinary power of (neuro) plasticity. But it depends on the patient's own efforts. It is like a baby learning to walk. We cannot teach it how. The progress comes from inside."
Darek underwent his transplant in April 2012, and he still spends five hours a day undergoing physiotherapy.
He can now walk slowly using crutches or a small walking frame, but usually relies on a wheelchair as it is simply quicker and less tiring.
The return of sensation below his injury has brought other benefits like bladder control and the return of sexual function.
Darek was happy to discuss sex and explained that the reawakening of the erogenous zones was a crucial part of his recovery.
He said: "The return of sexual satisfaction - which travels along the spinal cord to the brain - is very important psychologically and is another part of my growing sense of independence." | A man who was paralysed from the chest down after a knife attack in 2010 can now ride an adapted tricycle. |
34,617,875 | Wykeham House School in Fareham could close at the end of the Autumn term after being open for 100 years.
A statement from the school said: "The school is working hard with families to help find them alternative school places."
Both the boys' and girls' school sites face closure, the school said.
Wykeham House School was founded in 1913 and was originally a girls' school.
In a statement the school said: "'Due to increasing financial pressure, Wykeham House School in Fareham is facing the prospect of closure at the end of the Autumn term.
"The Board of Trustees are confident that the school will be continuing at least until the end of the term and the school is working hard with families to help find them alternative school places.
"With regards to the boys' school, although they are on separate sites and are taught separately, they are part of the same organisation so this news applies to both sites." | An independent school in Hampshire is facing closure due to "increasing financial pressure". |
29,921,851 | It follows an incident during their Premier League match at Villa Park on 2 November - which Tottenham won 2-1.
The FA charge stated that in or around the 66th minute, the clubs failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.
Both clubs accepted the standard penalty fine.
Villa striker Christian Benteke was sent off after he pushed a hand into Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason's face.
Television replays appeared to show Mason also pushing his head into the face of Benteke before referee Neil Swarbrick dismissed him.
Villa were leading 1-0 at the time of the incident but goals from Nacer Chadli and Harry Kane helped Tottenham come from behind to win. | Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have each been fined £20,000 by the Football Association for failing to control their players. |
18,846,771 | The deadline for the club to find a new buyer was extended last Tuesday by the administrators until 27 July.
RFL licensing director Blake Solly told BBC Sport: "There is a variety of opinion among the other clubs.
"But any decision as to whether Bradford will be allowed to stay in Super League is for the RFL board."
A group of local businessmen are keen to buy the four-time Super League winners, who went into administration last month.
Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle warned that the deal would be dependent on the RFL and the 13 other Super League clubs consenting to allow the club to remain in the top division and permitting the new owners to buy back their ground.
He said on Tuesday: "For the deal to go through we need the RFL to agree to us remaining in the top division and buying the ground back from them.
"We need the other clubs to agree that Super League is a poorer place without us."
Solly added that he was confident that the club would survive even if they had to drop into the Championship.
"There has been some consultation with the clubs already, but the ultimate decision maker will be the RFL," said Solly.
"Some clubs support the idea of Bradford staying in the league while others take a more hardline view.
"They would prefer to see them outside because leaving them in would impact on the integrity of the competition.
"But whether in the Super League or Championship, the passion of supporters in the past few months shows you that professional Rugby League has a big future in Bradford."
The economic future of Rugby League has been questioned after a year which has seen Wakefield go into administration and Welsh club Crusaders leave Super League over money issues.
But Solly believes clubs which are well run can continue to flourish.
He said: "We believe there is a viable economic model for a 14-club Super League. You just have to manage your club very well.
"When the licences were announced last year it was clear that if a club failed during the licence period the licence was in danger of being revoked.
"Bradford have failed so they have brought themselves into that area.
"What we've tried to do is create an environment that allows good clubs to succeed. Unfortunately some clubs like Bradford haven't done that." | Clubs in the Super League are split over whether Bradford Bulls should be allowed to stay in the competition, according to the Rugby Football League. |
35,401,233 | The Centre for Deaf People, a charity, sold its premises to pay off a pension deficit.
Trustee Sandra Smith said deaf people in Bristol "needed a new base".
Plans for the new centre include recruiting a fundraiser, a book keeper and setting up a website.
The original centre was established in 1962 and became a focal meeting point for Bristol's deaf community - complete with its own skittle alley.
Ms Smith said: "We do need a new base, where people know that they can come and meet - especially for young people".
She added it was not just about "alleviating the loneliness" but about somewhere people could go who "were all the same".
Six years ago the charity ran into difficulties when they had their core funding cut by the council.
Former trustees and management, who are no longer involved in the charity, said they were "devastated to hear about the closure of the centre". | Deaf people in Bristol who are upset because they had to sell their social club building have started a campaign for a new one. |
39,515,744 | Ms Dolezal will be the special guest at an event intended to promote a dialogue for a "non-racial" South Africa.
In 2015 she was accused of deception after her parents said she was white.
But her prospective South African hosts say her critics are jealous of her successful "racial transitioning".
Ms Dolezal resigned as head of a local branch of a US anti-racism organisation after her parents spoke publicly about their daughter.
She says the rejection she has faced subsequently has meant she has been unable to find a job and has also recently changed her name, saying she should now be known as Nkechi Amare Diallo.
In South Africa she will be attending the inaugural event of the group Quest for Non Racial South African Society Dialogue (QfNRSASD), which promotes an agenda for racial harmony among South Africans.
"They collectively critique and butcher Rachel Dolezal only because she successfully transitioned race, a stuck reality for them, and inconceivable only because it is believed it is not possible, if not an unpardonable sin," the group's founder Bishop Clyde Ramalaine said.
Ms Dolezal was "evidence of the myth of race", he added.
Last month Ms Dolezal told the BBC that the idea of race was "a lie" and argued that the concept of "transracial" - similar to that of transgender - was useful in describing people such as herself.
"Race is a lie. How can I be accused of lying about a lie," she said.
She has written a book about her experience, In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World, in which she recounts her "quest to find herself in a black and white world".
South Africa is still reeling from the legacy of Apartheid, minority white rule which made black South Africans into a second-class citizens. | The US race activist Rachel Dolezal, who identifies as black despite being born white, is to visit South Africa to talk about her experience. |
21,261,529 | Gerald Vernon-Jackson, a Liberal Democrat, was told it would take eight months to mint the medals but does not accept it can take that long.
He is concerned elderly veterans would not live to see their medals awarded to them and has written to David Cameron.
A Downing Street spokesman was unavailable for comment.
Mr Vernon-Jackson said there needed to "be a sense of urgency" as "people have been waiting since 1945 for this medal".
"They need to pull their finger out and get a move on, it cannot take eight months," he said of Downing Street.
More than 3,000 seamen died over four years from 1941 on missions to deliver supplies to ports in the Soviet Union.
Winston Churchill described the convoys as the most dangerous of the war.
The service was not recognised with a medal and the veterans were unable to lobby for honours after the war because Russia became an enemy.
But in December, Mr Cameron told the Commons he had accepted an expert review's recommendation that an Arctic star medal should finally be minted.
Mr Vernon-Jackson said there were about 400 Arctic convoy veterans still alive but that most would be in their late 80s and 90s.
In his letter to Mr Cameron, Mr Vernon-Jackson said: "I am very conscious that the veterans who will receive these medals are becoming increasingly old.
"Every week before the award of the medals puts them at risk of not being able to receive the medals they so richly deserve."
Veterans have received recognition from the Russian government but have yet to be honoured by the British government. | The leader of Portsmouth City Council has said Downing Street need "to pull their finger out" over medals promised to World War II Arctic convoy veterans. |
35,942,138 | Men who took part in the D-Day landings of June 1944, most of them in their 90s, received the Legion d'Honneur.
Former merchant seaman Peter Goldsack and ex-Para Charles Guscott received their medals from Honorary Consul James Ryeland in Dover, Kent.
"I feel extremely proud - this is a great thing," said Mr Goldsack.
Another 12 veterans received their medals from French ambassador Sylvie Bermann at a ceremony in London.
One of the recipients, Peter Cliffe, 94, from Woking, Surrey, landed at Leon-Sur-Mer in Normandy on 6 June.
Mr Cliffe, a captain in the Lincolnshire Regiment, helped to cover the exits from bridges over Canal De Caen and the River Orne.
Over the following two days, 22 men in his unit had been killed or wounded - as he himself was on 8 July.
Leslie Sutton, 91, from Ilford in Essex, was a corporal in the RAF when he landed on Omaha beach with the 1st American Army during D-Day.
He fought through France, liberating villages and helping to secure and hold airfields for the Allied forces.
Former able seaman Harry Card, from Orpington, south-east London, 89, was the youngest to be honoured.
He served aboard HMS Swift, an S-class destroyer, providing escort for HMS Warspite, Ramillies and Mauritius for the assault on Sword Beach on 6 June.
While on patrol on 24 June the ship struck a mine and sank, with the loss of 53 lives.
Mr Card survived the explosion and was rescued from the sea.
The presentation is the latest in a number of ceremonies around the UK since the 70th anniversary of D-Day two years ago, when President Francois Hollande pledged to honour all the surviving British veterans who had served in France. | British veterans have been presented with France's highest military honour in recognition of their role in the country's liberation in World War Two. |
38,634,077 | The Belfast Telegraph's headline is "Polls apart", with pictures of Arlene Foster addressing a DUP meeting in a County Fermanagh Orange hall and Sinn Féin's Máirtín Ó Muilleoir speaking to party members in west Belfast's Felons Club.
The paper says Secretary of State James Brokenshire is expected to announce the election later on Monday. Inside, the paper's former editor Edmund Curran questions how much Mrs Foster really knew about the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme that has sparked the crisis.
Both the Irish News and the News Letter say the Stormont institutions will collapse as Sinn Féin has confirmed it will not nominate a replacement for Martin McGuiness as deputy first minister.
The News Letter says an election could take place as soon as six weeks' time. A final piece of business for Stormont, it says, will be Economy Minister Simon Hamilton's plan to mitigate the cost of the RHI scheme.
The Irish News reports that Mr Brokenshire says he is not contemplating any alternatives to devolution. It says that the earliest date for an election is five weeks' time, followed by up to three weeks of negotiations to form a new executive.
Both papers also discuss what possible implications the assembly's collapse could have in regards to Brexit.
The Daily Mirror also focuses on the looming election announcement, saying the parties are in "poll positions".
It says in an indication of how potentially acrimonious an election could be, Sinn Féin has accused Communities Minister Paul Givan of "trying to buy votes" with his community halls grant scheme.
In other news, both the Belfast Telegraph and The Irish News report that a son of a couple shot in the legs in west Belfast's Turf Lodge estate last week has been threatened.
The couple, who are in their 50s, were shot in their home while trying to protect their son from an armed gang.
The 25th anniversary of the Teebane atrocity is marked in the Belfast Telegraph, News Letter and Irish News.
Jan Crawford, whose husband was injured in the IRA attack, is quoted in the News Letter, saying it is "deeply disappointing that the families affected still have no answers".
A foiled bomb attack in Belfast at the weekend is covered in all four of the papers, with several featuring the picture of a prone bomb disposal expert examining the device.
In a lighter note, the Daily Mirror reports on a wanted poster for BBC NI's own Barra Best posted on the PSNI's Craigavon Facebook page.
The PSNI post said that: "Whilst initially we thought that, as with most things, the lack of snow [last week] would be blamed on us, in the last 24 hours we have had new information."
The reward for tracking down the weatherman? Two doughnuts. | The likelihood that Northern Ireland will soon be going to the polls for another assembly election dominates the front pages on Monday morning. |
38,497,045 | Chemicals giant Ineos wants to survey part of the Nottinghamshire forest to see if there is potential for fracking.
But the RSPB - which will manage the entire Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve from 2018 - opposes fracking.
Thoresby Estate, which owns the site, has also said it will not agree to any shale gas well heads on its land.
What is fracking and why is it controversial?
The RSPB said: "The RSPB believes protected sites for nature such as Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, SSSIs and European sites should be ruled out by the government as locations for fracking exploration or operational well-heads.
"The RSPB is looking forward to take on the management of the whole of Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve in spring 2018.
"We are already working hard with our partners to preserve its natural and cultural heritage."
The government has given Ineos licences to explore for shale gas on a million acres of land across the UK.
As part of this, Ineos wants to carry out seismic imaging surveys at Sherwood Forest and other locations.
These surveys are the first step in determining whether there is shale gas in rocks under the surface, and whether it is possible or economical to extract it.
The RSPB does not object to seismic imaging surveys in principle - but said they must be done in a way that does not disturb breeding birds.
Thoresby Estate has also indicated that it will allow seismic surveys to be carried out, but nothing has been agreed with Ineos yet.
The RSPB said: "Our advice to Ineos would be to deploy seismic survey equipment only on existing tracks, well away from any trees.
"We would also strongly recommend the company takes steps to ensure the surveys do not cause any disturbance to breeding birds such as woodlarks and nightjars present in Sherwood Forest, since these are specially protected under UK and European law."
Friends of the Earth launched a campaign and petition to "save" Sherwood Forest from fracking after getting documents from the Forestry Commission under the Freedom of Information Act.
Campaigner Guy Shrubsole accused Ineos of "sticking two fingers up at England's green heritage" by "hunting" for shale gas in Sherwood Forest.
But Ineos has accused Friends of the Earth of misrepresenting the information.
Ineos Shale operations director Tom Pickering said the company was "exploring the viability" of shale gas across the UK to determine "whether it can be accessed without significantly impacting the local area".
"Friends of the Earth have unnecessarily alarmed the public by misrepresenting information made available to them by the Forestry Commission under Freedom of Information," he said.
"In order to build upon our existing knowledge of the ground below us, we are currently preparing to carry out seismic imaging surveys across our wider licence area in the East Midlands which includes part of Sherwood Forest.
"This process does not include fracking in any form."
Source: Nottinghamshire County Council and Thoresby Estate
Thoresby Estate "will not agree to either a test rig or permanent well site on any of its land which forms Sherwood Forest Country Park or part of the wider Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve", its resident agent Nick Brown said.
However, Thoresby Estate has indicated it will agree to seismic surveys being carried out. If it did not, Ineos could use powers within the Geological Survey Act 1845 to challenge the refusal.
By agreeing to the surveys, Thoresby Estate can "ensure that safeguards are put in place to protect veteran trees and other historic features, by the use of buffer zones", Mr Brown said.
He added: "Thoresby Estate believes that the seismic surveys being proposed by Ineos will ensure that Ineos have accurate geological data before they start their shale gas exploration.
"This will ensure that if they did drill on land adjoining the NNR that such drilling would not have a detrimental impact on the NNR and other land owned by Thoresby Estate."
Ineos needs permission from landowners to carry out seismic imaging surveys.
It does not need planning permission to do these surveys, but it would need planning permission to do exploratory drilling.
Nottinghamshire County Council said any planning applications for shale gas development would be "widely publicised and consulted on".
Head of planning Sally Gill said: "Our world famous Sherwood Forest Country Park, which is also home to the Major Oak and many other ancient oaks, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and is part of the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve.
"Conservation of its ecology and natural habitats are paramount and the county council will do everything in its power to ensure its heritage and conservation is protected now and for future generations."
The Forestry Commission said: "Forestry Commission England is considering a request from Ineos to undertake a survey on land that we manage in the East Midlands.
"We always carefully consider the potential impacts and their effects on the nation's woods and forests." | Sherwood Forest and other protected sites should be ruled out as locations for fracking, according to the RSPB conservation charity. |
37,811,199 | Not making it public would be "misleading", he said. He was aware of a risk of being "misunderstood", given that the FBI does not know the significance of the newly found emails.
Mrs Clinton said the FBI's move was "unprecedented" and "deeply troubling".
Her Republican rival Donald Trump has praised the bureau's decision.
On Friday, just 11 days before the presidential election, Mr Comey wrote to Congress, saying the FBI had learned of fresh emails which may be "pertinent" to its previous inquiry into the Democratic presidential candidate's use of a private server when she was secretary of state.
He has been heavily criticised by Clinton supporters - and according to the New York Times, justice department officials - for his decision to make the information public so close to polling day.
In the memo, reported by the NYT, Fox News and the Associated Press, he acknowledged that "we do not ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations".
But he said he felt an "obligation" to do so given that he had previously testified that the FBI investigation was complete.
Addressing cheering supporters at a rally in the key election state of Florida on Saturday, Mrs Clinton said: "It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election."
Earlier, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said the information provided by Mr Comey was "long on innuendo" and "short on facts", with "no evidence of wrongdoing. No charge of wrongdoing. No indication this is even about Hillary".
Mr Podesta said that 24 hours from Mr Comey's revelation, there was no real explanation for why he had decided to send that letter. The more that information had emerged, he said, "the more it seems overblown".
The FBI has already established that Mrs Clinton had held classified information on a private email server.
In July, Mr Comey said Mrs Clinton's handling of sensitive material during her tenure as secretary of state was "extremely careless", but cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing.
The latest emails were discovered as part of a separate investigation into the estranged husband of top Clinton aide, Huma Abedin.
Devices belonging to her and Anthony Weiner, a former high-flying congressman, were seized in an investigation into whether he sent sexually explicit emails to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
Mrs Clinton said she was "confident" the investigation into the emails would not change the FBI's original finding in July.
"It's imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay," she told reporters on the campaign trail in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
Mr Trump said the move was the "biggest political scandal since Watergate", referring to the 1970s scandal that engulfed then-Republican President Richard Nixon.
He said he has "great respect" for the FBI and the justice department, now that they were "willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made" in ending the investigation earlier.
The former secretary of state's private email server was first revealed in March 2015 by the New York Times.
She did not immediately express regret, and said the main reason for her "[email protected]" address was "convenience".
Soon after that she apologised in an interview with ABC News, and has since said sorry to voters a number of times.
Opinion polls suggest Mrs Clinton is four points ahead of Mr Trump, according to a Real Clear Politics average.
Who is ahead in the polls?
50%
Hillary Clinton
44%
Donald Trump
Last updated October 25, 2016
Who will win? Play our game to make your call | FBI director James Comey has defended his decision to brief US lawmakers on FBI moves to look again into Hillary Clinton's email use, US media say. |
40,634,656 | Amateur photographer Colin Edwards, 75, from Ruthin, took more than 200 pictures of the princess at public events.
She died, aged 36, on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris.
The exhibition of 124 photographs is being held at St Peter's Church, Ruthin, until 29 July.
Mr Edwards - a retired civil servant who spent much of his spare time capturing pictures of the Royal Family - said: "'I met Diana at many of her walkabouts and became a familiar face.
"I would talk to her about her boys, her charities and her foreign visits; conversation was always very easy with Diana.
"In 1998, the year after her death, I held exhibitions of my photographs of her in several towns and cities and was deeply moved by the reactions of visitors." | A collection of photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales has gone on show in Denbighshire to mark the 20th anniversary of her death. |
38,106,366 | Ireland's Taylor, a five-time world and 2012 Olympic champion, was simply in a different class to her Polish opponent.
Her bid to become a double Olympic gold medallist was shattered when she lost her opening bout in Rio in August.
Taylor's next fight is on the undercard of Anthony Joshua-Eric Molina on 10 December and she could challenge for a world title at the end of 2017.
"That would be the dream, boxing for a world title in Dublin, or anywhere in Ireland," said the 30-year-old.
"I don't want to get too carried away, it was only my first fight as a pro, but I plan to do big things in this sport. I hope to be multiple-weight world champion."
Taylor softened up Kopinska with some stinging hooks to the body and head in the first two rounds before burying her under a barrage of blows halfway through the third.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said: "There was huge pressure on her, not just to get the win but to put in a performance. It couldn't have gone any better.
"She needed a good start to get hold of the non-believers. Forget about whether it is men's or women's boxing, she can fight and entertain."
Also on the bill at the SSE Arena in Wembley, Essex boxer Martin Ward successfully defended his British super-featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Scotland's Ronnie Clark.
In the first defence of his Lonsdale Belt, 25-year-old Ward survived a 10th-round knockdown to remain on course for a shot at the European title.
London prospect Ohara Davies outpointed Italy's Andrea Scarpa to win the WBC 'silver' light-welterweight title. | Katie Taylor won her debut fight as a professional with a third-round stoppage of Karina Kopinska in London. |
24,086,285 | Hours after he had been named as the prime ministerial candidate for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for next year's general election, his flashy website welcome had duly been updated.
"Thank you! Let us work together to make Mission 272+ a reality," the new slogan said, replacing India First, the moniker of his muscular nationalist campaign.
Mission 272+ alludes to the number of seats in parliament the party needs to win for an absolute majority, a miracle for any party in India's severely fractured politics.
In the background, a beaming Mr Modi flashes a victory sign.
He has tried hard to reinvent himself, from the somewhat remote chief minister of Gujarat who steadfastly refused to apologise for the 2002 religious riots that killed more than 1,000 people, to a sprightly, energetic leader who appeals to a rising tide of young voters.
At 62, he's comparatively young by Indian political standards. People in Gujarat have backed him enthusiastically for four successive terms, impressed by his reputation as a no-nonsense administrator. The jury is still out on whether Gujarat's enviable record of development has been truly inclusive.
Mr Modi has been clever enough to retool his image to appeal to India's young. He talks about an India that has changed from a "nation of snake charmers to a nation of mouse charmers", referring to its info-tech success.
He says he "sows dreams in the eye of my fellow-citizens".
On Twitter, he exhorts the young to register to vote because they are the "power and strength of India".
However, Mr Modi continues to remain a hugely divisive and polarising figure. One key ally of the BJP-led coalition quit after fears that supporting him could lose Muslim votes.
Some 15% (180 million) of India's 1.2 billion people are Muslims. They comprise over 11% of the voters in six states, including the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. It is unlikely that they will warm to Mr Modi.
Many people believe that by making the 2014 election a presidential-style referendum on Mr Modi, the Hindu nationalist BJP is taking a huge risk.
For the past two decades, elections in the world's largest democracy have been closely fought affairs, with regional aspirations, local issues, caste dynasts and local chieftains playing a crucial role.
In the end, the parties with the bigger numbers and common interests cobble together a ruling coalition.
The BJP hopes that Mr Modi, taking advantage of a ruling Congress party that is tired and enfeebled, will attract enough votes to sweep the party into power. | Narendra Modi is one of the canniest Indian politicians. |
40,162,533 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Chasing 183, Australia reached 83-1 before rain arrived after 16 overs - four short of the number needed for a result.
Tamim Iqbal made 95 in Bangladesh's 182 all out as Mitchell Starc took four wickets in nine balls.
Both sides will take a point, with England still top of the group.
Australia, who benefitted from the rain during their opening match against New Zealand, will have been frustrated at the abandonment as they were on top when the rain arrived.
Their fast bowlers, who were criticised by captain Steve Smith after the first game, provided pace and accuracy to restrict Bangladesh before they made a composed start with the bat.
Both sides can still qualify for the semi-finals, with Bangladesh set to play New Zealand on Friday, while Australia face England on Saturday.
Against New Zealand, Australia were wobbling at 53-3 after nine overs and were struggling to deal with the pace bowlers when rain ended play.
Here, they had the upper hand as they calmly moved towards Bangladesh's total.
Despite losing Aaron Finch to Rubel Hossain, opener David Warner - a batsman who has added a calmer element to his game in the last 18 months - accumulated sensibly, passing 4,000 career ODI runs.
Warner is the fastest Australian to reach the landmark and the third fastest overall, after South Africa's Hashim Amla and West Indies legend Viv Richards.
Ably supported by Smith, Australia got themselves into prime position, before the rain intervened. They were briefly set a revised target of 166 from 43 overs, but further rain brought a halt to proceedings at 21:21 BST.
Bangladesh opted to bat despite the gloomy overhead conditions, and would have been confident of posting a good score after their impressive antics against England.
Australia's bowlers found the rhythm that had been missing against New Zealand, and Tamim - who made a century against England on Thursday - seemed to be the only player able to navigate the bowlers.
He took 16 runs from a Moises Henriques over, launching the ball into the crowd for six before striking boundaries to either side of the ground.
His half-century - his 37th in ODI cricket - saw him loosen his feet and he struck spinner Travis Head for two sixes to move within touching distance of a second century.
Despite cameos from Shakib al Hasan (29) and Mehedi Hasan Miraz (14), once Iqbal top-edged a short delivery from Starc, it felt like a matter of time before Bangladesh's innings came to a close.
Australia's fast bowlers were wasteful against New Zealand, prompting Smith to describe it as "one of the worst bowling displays we've put on for a very long time".
Starc went wicketless in his first six overs and struggled with his line, while fellow pace bowlers Josh Hazlewood (1-40) and Pat Cummins (1-22) profited.
It was leg-spinner Adam Zampa who started the collapse. Kept out of the attack by Smith until the 35th over, he claimed two wickets in 11 balls to set up the tail for left-armer Starc.
Starc has excelled at the end of an innings for Australia in the past - he ended the 2015 World Cup as the tournament's leading wicket taker - and utilised all of his skiddy pace and full deliveries to dismiss Bangladesh.
Consecutive yorkers to dismiss Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel set up a hat-trick but the ball somehow swung beyond the stumps, before Starc ended the innings just five balls later to finish with 4-29.
Australia captain Steve Smith: "The game the other day we weren't in a great position to win, although funnier things have happened. This game we were going pretty well and things were looking good.
"The equation is pretty simple for us now."
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza: "If you look at today's match, I think Australia was far ahead than us, and if you look at the last match against New Zealand and Australia, I think Australia was also in the same position as us.
"We have to beat New Zealand and obviously we have to wait for a few results as well. So our job is to play hard against New Zealand and if we can go through, then you never know." | Rain frustrated Australia and kept Bangladesh's Champions Trophy hopes alive as their Group A match was abandoned at The Oval. |
35,443,979 | Shailesh Vara said publishing the costs would be a "waste of time and effort".
He said the government wanted to "move ahead" after Justice Secretary Michael Gove scrapped his predecessor's proposals to overhaul the system.
Labour has called on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to refer itself to the National Audit Office over the issue.
It also demanded an apology to those adversely affected.
Plans to slash the number of law firms allowed to do criminal legal aid work at police stations and magistrates' courts have been dropped, while an 8.75% cut to legal aid fees lawyers earn has been suspended for a year.
Mr Gove said the MoJ had faced too many legal challenges over the plans - it faced 99 separate legal actions over the proposals.
Lawyers had claimed the reforms could damage quality and access to justice.
The proposed cuts - drawn up by former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - would have reduced the number of solicitor firms awarded "duty contracts" by about two-thirds from 1,600 to 527.
Asking an urgent question in the House of Commons on Friday, shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter said the abandoned plans were "an appalling use of taxpayers' money" that had presented an existential threat to the legal system.
He added: "How much public money and civil service time has been spent on the aborted tendering processes, the court cases and the consultations in the past three years?
"Will you refer your own department to the National Audit Office so it can be independently investigated? Will you apologise to the firms which have closed, laid off staff, or cut salaries faced with losing contracts?"
Mr Vara replied that "all shades of government... if they listen to people and if they feel a decision needs to be changed then they do make that change".
He added: "I don't recall previous governments wasting time and effort trying to calculate measures when they have made a change of direction.
"So as far as we're concerned this is a decision that's been welcomed by the profession, we're pleased about that, we want to look forward and move ahead."
Mr Gove's announcements were the latest in a series of reversals of policies brought in by his predecessor.
He pulled the UK out of deal to give prisons training advice to Saudi Arabia, having already scrapped the commercial arm of the MoJ that had sought the contract.
Mr Grayling's plans for "secure colleges" for young offenders were dropped, as were previously planned cuts to barristers' fees and a scheme to outsource the collection of fines by the courts. | Calls to reveal how much public money was spent on abandoned proposals to reform legal aid have been rejected by a justice minister. |
39,179,208 | Sodhi, 24, who took 6-11 as Adelaide beat Sydney Thunder in a match in Australia's Big Bash in January, has been capped 41 times in all formats.
From 12 T20 internationals he has taken 21 wickets at an average of 14.47 and strike-rate of a wicket every 13 balls.
"We're really excited to have him," said Notts head coach Peter Moores.
"Ish is a young player whose game has really moved forward. He's not been to England before, so he is an unknown quantity for our opposition and we've seen the impact leg-spinners can have in T20 cricket.
"Ish is a natural attacking leg-spinner who can create pressure and get us some crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs."
Sodhi will be the second of two overseas players, with Australian all-rounder Dan Christian returning to Nottinghamshire having been part of the side that won nine matches in a row in 2016 to reach Finals Day. | New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi has joined Nottinghamshire for the duration of the T20 Blast season, filling the last of their overseas spots. |
39,454,135 | An investigation was launched after British Athletics analysed GPS data.
"We're devastated that this mistake has happened," said the race organisers.
"We take full responsibility for this situation and apologise unreservedly to all runners who took part in the affected years."
It is the latest in a series of measuring errors which have affected high-profile mass participation races.
And it is not the first time Brighton organisers have had to apologise - after they revealed the course was too long in 2012.
Also, in 2016, the Great Scottish Run half-marathon course in Glasgow was found to be about 150m short after it was re-measured.
The error meant the record set by winner Callum Hawkins was invalid as were personal best times recorded by runners.
In addition, times from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Greater Manchester Marathon were discounted, affecting about 24,000 runners, after the course was found to be 380m too short. | Organisers of the Brighton Half Marathon have apologised after it was revealed the course has been 146 metres (0.09 miles) short for the past three years. |
37,417,949 | The government told Southwark Council it had not done enough to protect Aylesbury Estate residents.
Minister Sajid Javid found the orders breached the human rights of residents as they would not be able to afford to stay on the estate or live nearby.
Southwark Council said they would seek a judicial review.
It called on Mr Javid to reconsider his decision, claiming the report was based on a former leaseholder policy which had been updated in December 2015.
Council leader Peter John said the government had "jeopardised plans for 800 new homes for Londoners" and pointed out each of the remaining resident leaseholders has been offered a new home in the same area, rent-free, and with a shared equity arrangement to protect money they had saved and invested.
Homeowners on the estate told the BBC in recent weeks the council had priced their properties below market rates.
Resident Beverley Robinson, who bought her flat more than 10 years ago, claims the council valued her property at £117,000.
However, two independent valuers priced it at about £300,000.
"You can't buy a home in London for under £140,000 which means I will have to start again - finding a mortgage - and at my age that's not an option. I will be turned down by the banks," she said.
They would be forced to move away, with an impact on family life, the education of affected children and "dislocation from their cultural heritage" for some residents, the government said.
Agnes Kabuto, who lives on the same estate, said the council had offered her £145,000 for her three-bedroom home while similar-sized properties in the area were going for about £385,000.
The Aylesbury Estate in Elephant and Castle was the largest social housing estate in Europe, but it is to be demolished to make way for a £1.5bn regeneration scheme. | A compulsory purchase order to make residents of a London council estate sell their flats ahead of a regeneration scheme has been blocked. |
40,338,760 | The festival usually takes place over a weekend in the capital, championing up-and-coming acts.
But co-founder John Rostron said the 11th edition would be "very different" when he announced part of the line-up on Tuesday.
It will start in Swansea on 22 September and will incorporate the Welsh Music Prize.
The Skints' performance at Sin City will kick off the festival and follows calls to move events around the country.
But Mr Rostron said that while a few gigs will be held around Wales, Cardiff will remain "at the heart of it".
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme, Mr Rostron announced gigs at venues such as Clwb Ifor Bach, The Tramshed and The Globe.
In the past year, Dempsey's and The Full Moon - prominent Swn Festival locations - have closed.
"Cardiff changes fast and every year. What works one year doesn't the next," Mr Rostron said.
"We have lost a lot of small venues in the past year. Instead of buying a wristband and running round, it will look very different [this year] because the city looks very different."
The Welsh Music Prize is usually awarded in November but Mr Rostron said it has a "natural home" at the festival.
He added that packing the event into four days made it difficult to expand the festival's programme and that the new month-long format has given it far more flexibility. | Cardiff's Swn music festival will return in a changed format - spanning a month and visiting venues across Wales. |
37,014,277 | Christopher Scott, from Billesden Drive, in Heathfield, Nottingham, is charged with two counts of rape, one of kidnap and one of robbery.
He was bailed and must obey a curfew from 22:00 BST until 07:00 every day and attend a police station daily.
He will appear in court again on 4 November.
He is accused of dragging an 18-year-old woman standing at a bus stop in Mansfield Road, Nottingham, down an alleyway and forcing her into a car where she was sexually assaulted.
There was a high-profile appeal for information about the attack when it happened in 1992 and it featured on Crimewatch in 2008. | A 63-year-old man facing rape and kidnap charges dating back to 1992 has pleaded not guilty at Nottingham Crown Court. |
40,682,801 | Emily Price, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, moved to Aberystwyth in 2014 to study maths and physics.
She died just days after being elected as a Lib Dem town councillor in May.
Head of Maths Prof Simon Cox said: "With her quiet smile and enthusiasm, she will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by us all."
Ms Price, who was in the final year of the course, had submitted her dissertation shortly before the local elections and was planning to continue her studies at masters' level.
Her family and the university are discussing the idea of setting up a bursary in her memory. | Aberystwyth University has awarded a posthumous degree to a 22-year-old woman who fell ill and died shortly after being elected a town councillor. |
24,998,308 | By next week there'll be 2,500 officers on the street policing all road users.
Interestingly, there was a smaller scale operation on Monday at Vauxhall where in just four hours, the officers stopped 70 lorries and issued 15 penalties for offences such as the vehicles not being fit for the road.
They also stopped 100 cyclists, who were given safety advice for things like cutting corners and wearing headphones.
It shows the scale of the problem and it also shifts the debate away from infrastructure onto the road users.
This is a short term measure but I think London Mayor Boris Johnson had to be seen to be doing something.
The real issue will still be that there are record numbers of cyclists in the capital but the safe infrastructure is a long way off.
This intervention could save lives in the short-term but when the police go, what then?
And the calls for a daytime HGV ban are increasing in volume and frequency. | The move by the Met's traffic officers to make road safety their number one priority will be welcomed. |
36,072,290 | Media playback is not supported on this device
A win over derby rivals Cliftonville at Solitude on Tuesday night would ensure that the Crues retain the Gibson Cup for the first time in their history.
"We have only won the league five times in our history so if we can do it back-to-back it will be an incredible achievement," said Baxter.
"You can see what it means to people."
A 1-0 victory over the Reds effectively clinched the title for Crusaders last season and a repeat performance would see the league trophy reside in north Belfast for a fourth consecutive year, Cliftonville having collected the trophy in 2013 and 2014.
"I am so caught up in getting us over the line that I haven't had a lot of time to dwell on the historic side of things," added Baxter.
"We are just trying to play the next game in front of us and Cliftonville are our nearest neighbours, so they won't be lying down for us.
"I asked the players to look after themselves over the weekend. We are closing in on the title and it's important that we close it off."
Crusaders have won 1-0 on each of their last three league visits to Solitude and are unbeaten in their last six meetings with the Reds, winning five of those encounters and drawing one.
Linfield's 3-0 success over Coleraine on Saturday guaranteed them a second-place finish in the table but manager David Healy is dangling the carrot of Irish Cup final places in front of his players ahead of their clash with Glentoran at the Oval.
"The boys are being given an opportunity to showcase what they can do and prove they are worthy of a place in the squad for the final," explained Healy.
The Blues boss rested Jamie Mulgrew for the victory over the Bannsiders, while Ross Gaynor was out with a slight injury and Reece Glendinning, Andrew Waterworth and Mark Stafford sat out the game as they were one booking away from missing the showpiece decider against Glenavon.
Glentoran go into the match unbeaten in their last five fixtures, having secured 13 points from a possible 15.
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Bottom club Warrenpoint Town prepare for their home game against in-form Ballymena United with manager Barry Gray admitting that "confidence is a wee bit low" among his players, but hoping that a triumph could "give us the spark that we need".
Ballymena secured their top-flight status by defeating Carrick Rangers but will now be targeting the seventh-place finish which would assure them of a Europa League play-off berth.
Ballinamallard will be without the suspended Ivan Sproule for their trip to Stangmore Park to face Dungannon Swifts, who are also assured of playing Premiership football next season.
The Mallards took a step towards easing their relegation worries by seeing off Warrenpoint on Saturday but finish their campaign with three away matches against the Swifts, Ballymena and Carrick Rangers.
In the evening's other matches, Glenavon continue their bid to finish third as they entertain Coleraine, while Gary Haveron's Carrick outfit play Portadown at Taylor's Avenue. | Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter says securing successive Irish Premiership titles would represent "the biggest ever moment" for the Seaview club. |
28,828,321 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The pitiful tourists were skittled out for 94 in only 29.2 overs as England won by an innings and 244 runs at The Oval.
After James Anderson and Stuart Broad broke through with the new ball, Chris Jordan took four of the last five wickets to kick-start the celebrations in the south London sunshine.
England had earlier plundered a broken India for 101 runs in 11.3 overs to post 486 in reply to India's first-innings 148, with Joe Root making an unbeaten 149.
Their third successive victory capped an extraordinary turnaround since the hosts were beaten by 95 runs in the second Test at Lord's to go 1-0 behind in the series.
That defeat took England's winless streak to 10 matches, following a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia and a first home series defeat by Sri Lanka.
Since then, England have won by 266 runs in Southampton and an innings and 54 runs in Manchester before taking their dominance to even higher levels at The Oval.
India's total was their lowest at The Oval and the first time they have been bowled out for fewer than 100 since 2008.
"It was an amazing turnaround after Lord's," said England captain Alastair Cook. "India crumbled at the end but that was from the relentless pressure."
Cook praised coach Peter Moores and assistant coach Paul Farbrace, adding: "We have needed a kick up the backside and they have been brave enough to do that."
England's brutal assault with the bat on Saturday evening and Sunday morning left India facing the improbable task of scoring 338 just to make the hosts bat again.
And they made a miserable start by losing both openers cheaply before rain forced an early lunch.
Murali Vijay was trapped lbw by Anderson for two and Gautam Gambhir was run out for three when he set off for a single, turned back and was beaten by a direct hit from Chris Woakes.
After a delay of an hour-and-a-half, normal service was resumed.
Anderson had Chesteshwar Pujara caught behind, Ajinkya Rahane was brilliantly caught by Gary Ballance at slip off Stuart Broad and captain Mahendra Dhoni glanced Woakes to short leg.
Jordan then took over with three wickets in two overs. Virat Kohli's wretched series continued when he edged to Alastair Cook at first slip for 20 before Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also fell to outside edges.
Varun Aaron was run out attempting a second run and the match was ended when Ishant Sharma fended a short ball from Jordan into the air, enabling Moeen Ali to walk in from silly point and take a simple catch.
England had set the tone for another utterly one-sided day in a riotous first hour. Root completed his fifth Test hundred - and third of the summer - off 134 balls and Jordan made a breezy 20.
Broad, batting for the first time since having his nose broken by an Aaron bouncer, played with no fear as he cut and pulled short balls in a blistering 37 off 21 balls, including five fours and a six.
Broad and Anderson then set about dismantling India's top order, with Anderson closing to within three wickets of Ian Botham's England Test record of 383.
The five-match ODI series against India starts in Bristol on Monday, 25 August, but England's Test side are not back in action until April 2015 when they take on the West Indies in a three-Test tour of the Caribbean.
Listen to Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew review the day's play on the Test Match Special podcast. | Rampant England thrashed India inside three days in the fifth Test to complete a 3-1 series victory. |
31,028,268 | Anthony John Ward was being pursued by officers over the suspected abduction of a woman, but he crashed the car he was driving near the M50, south Dublin.
It is believed the 31-year-old got out of the car and shot himself in front of officers just after midnight on Monday.
The Irish police watchdog is carrying out an investigation into the death.
The Garda (Police) Ombudsman is obliged to carry out an independent investigation when a person either dies or comes to serious harm after having been in contact with police.
Mr Ward, who was from the Crumlin area of Dublin, was taken to hospital in a critical condition after the shooting and died on Tuesday.
It has been reported that the woman alerted a police patrol about the alleged abduction, when Mr Ward stopped at a filling station off the M50 and ordered her to buy cigarettes.
He attempted to flee alone, but crashed his vehicle a short distance away near the Spawell roundabout, Templeogue.
In a statement, the ombudsman's office said: "A previous incident involving the man had been reported to gardaÃ, and as a result they had been observing the vehicle when the man lost control of it." | A man has died after he reportedly shot himself in the head while he was being followed by the police in the Republic of Ireland. |
36,799,639 | The 44-year-old Dutchman "intentionally insulted" King Willem-Alexander, accusing him of being a murderer, thief and rapist, the Dutch judiciary said.
He was convicted of breaking seldom-used royal defamation laws.
A Dutch political party has proposed scrapping the laws and the king has pledged to accept the outcome of any debate on the issue.
Profile: Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
How the Dutch fell in love with their new queen
The court in Overijssel suspended 16 days of the sentence and the man will not spend any more time in jail, having already spent 14 days in preventative custody last year.
He was found to have doctored images of executions online to include the king's face in place of those of the actual victims, the judiciary said.
"This behaviour is unacceptable in our society and demands that a penalty be imposed on the suspect," it said in a statement.
The Dutch D66 political party is campaigning to abolish the lese majeste law, which was last used in 2014 after an activist shouted obscene slogans about the royal family during a protest.
Prosecutors initially charged the protester but reversed the decision after the move was condemned as an attack on freedom of speech.
The Netherlands' lese majeste law dates from 1881 and carries sentences of up to five years jail or a fine of 20,000 euros ($22,200; £16,700).
In total 18 prosecutions were brought under the law between 2000 and 2012, half of which resulted in convictions, Dutch TV reported. | A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail for insulting the king on Facebook. |
26,298,845 | Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster has now been appointed to the elite of the Church by Pope Francis.
He has been seen at times as a "liberal" figure whom opponents accused of supporting civil partnerships and gay-friendly Masses in London.
However, he has publically opposed gay marriage, saying in 2012, that the government plans for it were a "shambles", while fighting against plans for a quota of non-Catholics in RC schools.
The gay-friendly Masses at at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in London's Soho were discontinued in January 2013 after six years.
More recently he highlighted the plight of the poor by attacking the government's welfare reforms.
Archbishop Nichols warned the reforms were leaving people in "destitution" by the removal of a "safety net" and labelled the situation a "disgrace".
However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hit back, calling the archbishop's comments an "exaggeration".
The son of two teachers, the future Church leader was born in Crosby, Liverpool in 1945, and has spoken previously of feeling a calling while standing on the terraces at Anfield.
The life-long Liverpool FC supporter told The Times, in 2007: "I'd gone to watch Liverpool and stand on the Kop at Anfield, and say to God 'Why don't you just leave me alone? Why can't I just be one of a crowd?'," he said.
The future Cardinal Nichols studied for the priesthood in Rome from 1963 to 1970 and was ordained as a priest in 1969.
His first role was as a parish priest in Wigan, where he was also a chaplain to a sixth-form college, before he then moved to work in Toxteth, Liverpool.
He became the general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in January 1984.
He occupied the influential post for nine years, earning a reputation as a dynamic administrator and working closely with the then archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume.
In 1992 he moved as auxiliary bishop to the Archdiocese of Westminster, taking on special pastoral responsibility for north London.
He also played a key role in the production of the Common Good document, in 1996, in which the Catholic bishops condemned the rhetoric of greed.
He might easily have taken the top job in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales nine years before he eventually did.
In early 2000, some Roman Catholics saw the Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster as the most likely successor to Cardinal Basil Hume, who died in 1999.
Instead, Pope John Paul II chose the long-serving Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
Cardinal Nichols was named as the eighth Archbishop of Birmingham in 2000.
He became the Church's lead spokesman on education, including among his official posts head of the Bishops' Conference Department for Catholic Education and Formation.
In 2006, when the government introduced plans to force faith schools to take up to a quarter of pupils from "other religions", he mounted a campaign against what he called "insulting" and "divisive" plans.
Archbishop Nichols pointed out Catholic schools already took some 30% of their pupils from other faiths or no faith at all, and denounced coercion by the law as "ill thought-out, unworkable and contradictory of empirical evidence".
He retained a reputation as an effective media performer and tough champion for the Church.
On 21 May 2009, he was installed as Archbishop of Westminster following the retirement of Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor.
In 2010, he attempted to address the child abuse scandal "directly and unambiguously".
"We express our heartfelt apology and deep sorrow to those who have suffered abuse, those who have felt ignored, disbelieved or betrayed.
"We ask their pardon, and the pardon of God for these terrible deeds done in our midst. There can be no excuses", he said.
Some observers thought he might have been appointed a cardinal when Pope Benedict visited Britain in September 2010.
Instead he waited until January 2014, when it was announced he was to be made a cardinal by Pope Francis.
It was reported that it was not customary to make a Church leader a cardinal if his predecessor was under 80 - and therefore entitled to vote in Papal elections. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor turned 80 in August 2012
Speaking before his appointment as a Cardinal, he said: "This appointment enables me, on behalf of all, to serve the Pope in a direct and prolonged way."
He added: "I am deeply moved by the honour conferred on the Catholic Church in England and Wales and on the Diocese of Westminster in my appointment.
"Personally this is a humbling moment." | He was the boy who wanted to be a lorry driver who grew up to become the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. |
33,093,939 | Kerry Dixon is said to have knocked the man, who allegedly called him "fatso", off a bar stool before assaulting him.
Mr Dixon, 53, denies causing actual bodily harm at a pub in Dunstable last May, saying he acted in self defence.
Luton Crown Court heard the former Chelsea player earned £400 a week at the height of his career.
Mr Dixon's barrister Mark Wyeth QC asked his client how much he was earning "in the week in 1984 when you scored that famous goal at Highbury?"
The goal - in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal on the first day of the 1984-85 season after Chelsea had been promoted back into the top division - is regarded as one of Mr Dixon's best, and clips of it are often shown on TV and the internet.
Mr Dixon said football had not made him a rich man, but "could have done if I had used my money more wisely".
The court was shown CCTV footage of the attack at The Nags Head in Dunstable taken at 00:40 BST on 15 May 2014.
In the footage, Mr Dixon is seen punching 38-year-old father-of-two Ben Scoble in the face, sending him to the ground.
Mr Dixon told the court he was aware of Mr Scoble having an empty glass in his hand as they had a confrontation, after Mr Scoble had allegedly been "disrespectful".
"He was posing a threat to me as far as I was concerned. I have been glassed in the face before," Mr Dixon told the court.
Asked by his barrister if he had kicked Mr Scoble in the face, he replied "Never," saying "I would never do that."
The trial continues. | An ex-England footballer accused of punching and kicking a pub drinker said he feared the man was going to glass him in the face, a court has heard. |
29,123,528 | Islamic State has become synonymous with viciousness - beheadings, crucifixions, stonings, massacres, burying victims alive and religious and ethnic cleansing.
While such savagery might seem senseless to the vast majority of civilised human beings, for IS it is a rational choice. It is a conscious decision to terrorise enemies and impress and co-opt new recruits.
IS adheres to a doctrine of total war without limits and constraints - no such thing, for instance, as arbitration or compromise when it comes to settling disputes with even Sunni Islamist rivals. Unlike its parent organisation, al-Qaeda, IS pays no lip service to theology to justify its crimes.
The violence has its roots in what can be identified as two earlier waves, though the scale and intensity of IS' brutality far exceeds either.
The first wave, led by disciples of Sayyid Qutb - a radical Egyptian Islamist regarded as the master theoretician of modern jihadism - targeted pro-Western secular Arab regimes or what they called the "near enemy", and, on balance, showed restraint in the use of political violence.
Beginning with the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1980, this Islamist insurgency dissipated by the end of the 1990s. It had cost some 2,000 lives and saw a large number of militants head to Afghanistan to battle a new global enemy - the Soviet Union.
The Afghan jihad against the Soviets gave birth to a second wave, with a specific target - the "far enemy", or the United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe.
It was spearheaded by a wealthy Saudi turned revolutionary, Osama Bin Laden.
Bin Laden went to great lengths to rationalise al-Qaeda's attack on the US on 11 September 2001, calling it "defensive jihad", or retaliation against perceived US domination of Muslim societies.
Conscious of the importance of winning hearts and minds, Bin Laden sold his message to Muslims and even Americans as self-defence, not aggression.
This kind of justification, however, carries no weight with IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who cannot care less what the world thinks of his blood-letting.
In fact, he and his cohorts revel in displaying barbarity and coming across as savage.
In contrast to the first two waves, IS actually stresses violent action over theology and theory, and has produced no repertoire of ideas to sustain and nourish its social base. It is a killing machine powered by blood and iron.
Going beyond Bin Laden's doctrine that "when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse", al-Baghdadi's "victory through terrorism" signals to friends and foes that IS is a winning horse. Get out of the way or you will be crushed; join our caravan and make history.
Increasing evidence shows that over the past few months, hundreds, if not thousands, of diehard former Islamist enemies of IS, such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic Front, answered al-Baghdadi's call.
IS' sophisticated outreach campaign appeals to disaffected and deluded young Sunnis worldwide because it is seen as a powerful vanguard that delivers victory and salvation.
Far from abhorring the group's brutality, young recruits are attracted by its shock-and-awe tactics against the enemies of Islam.
Its exploits on the battlefield - especially capturing huge swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and establishing a caliphate - resonate near and far. Nothing succeeds like success, and IS' recent military gains have brought it a recruitment bonanza.
Muslim men living in Western countries join IS and other extremist groups because they feel part of a greater mission - to resurrect a lost idealised type of caliphate and be part of a tight-knit community with a potent identity.
Initially, many young men from London, Berlin and Paris and elsewhere migrate to the lands of jihad to defend persecuted co-religionists, but they end up in the clutches of IS, doing its evil deeds, such as beheading innocent civilians.
The drivers behind IS' unrestrained extremism can be traced to its origins with al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by the Americans in 2006.
Not unlike its predecessor, IS is nourished on an anti-Shia diet and visceral hatred of minorities in general, portraying itself as the spearhead of Sunni Arabs in the fight against sectarian-based regimes in Baghdad and Damascus.
Al-Zarqawi and al-Baghdadi view Shias as infidels, a fifth column in the heart of Islam that must be wiped out - a genocidal worldview.
Following in the footsteps of al-Zarqawi, al-Baghdadi ignored repeated pleas by his mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al-Qaeda, and other top militants to avoid indiscriminate killing of Shia and, instead, to attack the Shia-dominated and Alawite regimes in Iraq and Syria.
By exploiting the deepening Sunni-Shia rift in Iraq and the sectarian civil war in Syria, al-Baghdadi has built a powerful base of support among rebellious Sunnis and has blended his group into local communities.
He also restructured his military network and co-opted experienced officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army who turned IS into a professional sectarian fighting force.
IS has so far consistently focused on the Shia and not the "far enemy". The struggle against the US and Europe is distant, not a priority; it has to await liberation at home.
At the height of Israeli bombings of Gaza in August, militants on social media criticised IS for killing Muslims while doing nothing to help the Palestinians.
IS retorted by saying the struggle against the Shia takes priority over everything else.
Now that the US and Europe have joined the conflict against IS, the group will use all its assets in retaliation, including further beheading of hostages. There is also a growing likelihood that it will attack soft diplomatic targets in the Middle East.
While it might want to stage a spectacular operation on the American or European homeland, it is doubtful that IS currently has the capabilities to carry out complex attacks like 9/11.
A few months ago, in response to chatter by his followers, al-Baghdadi acknowledged that his organisation was not equipped to attack the Americans at home.
He said though that he wished the US would deploy boots on the ground so that IS could directly engage the Americans - and kill them.
Fawaz A Gerges holds the Emirates Chair in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is author of several books, including Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy. | Since the sudden appearance of the extremist Sunni Islamic State (IS), the group has seized headlines with a shocking level of blood-letting and cruelty - but can its savagery be explained, asks Fawaz A Gerges. |
25,748,091 | Thirteen local authority areas are set to benefit from the latest planned rollout of services.
Some places will be able to access high speed technology for the first time.
Others will see an expansion of existing fibre broadband provision.
Digital Scotland is a publicly-funded initiative made up of two projects, one covering the Highlands and Islands and the other the rest of Scotland.
The first locations in the Highlands and Islands, in Inverness-shire and Moray, were announced in October 2013.
The latest announcement includes the first locations to have their networks upgraded, as well as places such as Bridge of Allan, Castle Douglas, Findhorn, Fochabers, Kintore, Melrose, Scone and Taynuilt, which will receive superfast broadband for the first time.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The scale of the challenge of delivering fibre broadband into rural Scotland is greater than any other part of the UK and indeed, much of Europe.
"It's fantastic news that many rural communities and businesses, from the Highlands to the Borders, will soon begin to see the benefits of high quality digital connectivity, making them more economically viable in the long term."
The Scottish government is involved in the Digital Scotland partnership along with local government organisation Cosla, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and other public bodies and businesses.
Cosla spokesman Stephen Hagan said the announcement was "the start of the narrowing of the digital divide between rural and urban areas across Scotland".
He added: "Local communities across Scotland, especially in rural areas, have been loud and clear that better speed broadband services were a top priority for them and for that reason all 32 Scottish Councils agreed last year to pool over £90m to deliver this project alongside European Union funding of more than £20m."
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: "It is good to see progress being made by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Government to deliver on the UK Government's commitment to achieve a transformation in broadband across the country by 2015."
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Broadband Delivery UK project aims to provide superfast broadband access to "to at least 90% of premises in the UK". | About 39,000 more homes and businesses across Scotland are to get fibre optic broadband as part of the Digital Scotland partnership, it has been announced. |
38,827,091 | Leonard, who was born Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, had four Top 40 UK albums with the band from the late 1960s.
He recently returned to his home town with his long-term partner Mary.
Friend Kevin Allen, who directed the film Twin Town, said: "Deke was a true gentlemen of acid rock and he had a fantastic presence on stage."
Man toured across Europe and America and could include Frank Zappa among their admirers.
As well as working as a radio and television panellist, Leonard was a regular guest at the Laugharne Festival.
Mr Allen added: "Deke was such an interesting, gentle and lovely person and he was part of a dying breed - he'll be really missed."
Another friend, Paul Durden, who co-authored Twin Town, said: "I am really very sorry for both Mary and his daughter Kate. It is very sad news.
"Deke was an old mate, who I had known since the '60s. He was an elder statesman of rock music and was a brilliant man himself."
Leonard's bandmate, Micky Jones, died in 2010 at the age of 63. | The guitarist for Welsh progressive rock band Man, Deke Leonard, has died at the age of 72. |
37,093,090 | Luca Hurle died after getting into difficulties in the pool at Old Park Wood, Cumbria, on 8 August.
Senior coroner Andre Rebello concluded Luca, from Newport, Wales, died from an hypoxic brain injury and drowning.
He was pronounced dead the next day "in spite of a valiant effort" to save him, Mr Rebello said.
Although Luca had worn a flotation vest while swimming with his family, the coroner said, he had lost it before being recovered from the pool.
He was taken to hospital in Barrow-in-Furness and was flown to the paediatric intensive care unit at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool.
South Lakeland Council said its investigation into the incident was likely to take "some time". | The death of a four-year-old boy who drowned in a holiday park swimming pool was a "tragic accident", a coroner has ruled. |
35,959,573 | 4 April 2016 Last updated at 16:38 BST
People coming from countries like Syria, Iraq and parts of Africa often travel by boat from Turkey to get to other European countries.
One of the places that they get to first is Greece, which has been overwhelmed by the large number of people who have arrived there.
Now a new plan to help deal with the huge numbers of people asking for help has begun.
BBC reporter Sarah Rainsford sent us this report from Greece, where some migrants are leaving by boat to go to Turkey as part of the new plan - she explains what's happening there. | More than a million migrants and refugees have come to Europe in the last year, to try and start a new life. |
32,944,718 | The two-time French Open finalist has not played competitively since July 2011 because of severe glandular fever, but has told BBC Radio 5 live of his optimism he still has "some good years" ahead.
"I'm actually finally doing a lot better," says the 30-year-old Swede.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100%, but not very far from it, which is a great feeling."
He added: "Hopefully - if it continues to progress the way it has been - then maybe, it's tough to say, but maybe six months or a year from now I can hopefully start to train 100%.
"My goal was to play a long career and to play until I was way over 30. If I can become healthy, I still feel that I have some good years in me. Look at the way the players on the tour are performing now at a high age - that gives me a little bit of hope."
Soderling famously beat Nadal in four sets in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open and went on to finish as the runner-up to Roger Federer. He again reached the final in Paris 12 months later, where Nadal took the opportunity to exact his revenge.
The Swede says he started to develop a light fever and a sore throat during the 2011 Wimbledon Championships but rallied a couple of weeks later to beat David Ferrer in a final in Bastad, Sweden. That was the 10th title of a burgeoning career, and yet it remains his most recent appearance on the ATP Tour.
Soderling was just 26 at the time and admits to feeling bitter about the illness which has robbed him of arguably the best years of his career.
"In the beginning I didn't think so much about it because I was feeling so bad: I had problems going from my bed to the bathroom," he said.
"But then after a while, as I started to feel physically better, it was tough of course mentally: all [manner of] thoughts started going through my head about maybe I cannot ever play tennis again. But I did some other stuff. I had a kid and I learnt that tennis is a big part of my life but it's not my whole life as I thought it was before."
"Other stuff" includes setting up RS Tennis, a company that sells tennis products, and spending almost a year trying to develop the perfect tennis ball. Soderling's creation - which he says is light yet durable and offers plenty of control - will be used at this year's Stockholm Open, where the Swede is now in his second year as tournament director.
That role has really opened his eyes to life on the other side of the fence. He is now having to negotiate appearance fees with players' agents, some of whom are "very nice and easy to talk to - but some are totally the opposite".
And if Soderling does return to the tour in 2016, we should expect to see a man whose illness has given him a different perspective on professional life.
"Sometimes I wish I had been a little bit more humble as a player, because sometimes you could complain about really small things like there's no water on the court." | Robin Soderling - who remains the only man ever to have beaten Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros - is hoping he will be able to return to the ATP Tour in 2016. |
38,865,333 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Mikael Lustig latched on to Nir Bitton's chip and finished well to put the hosts ahead.
Dembele doubled the lead with a shot that squirmed under Owain Fon Williams.
The striker tucked away his second shortly after the break and headed another before Kieran Tierney nodded home and Scott Brown struck the sixth.
The draw for the next round will be made on Sunday evening.
France Under-21 striker Dembele, who scored three as a substitute in last week's league win over St Johnstone, was back in the starting line-up and his strength and movement stretched an Inverness side shorn of confidence after a difficult season so far that has them bottom of the Premiership.
After Lustig's delicate opener, James Forrest teed the ball up for Dembele at the edge of the box and the former Fulham forward's shot found its way past Fon Williams, who could not get a strong enough hand on it.
For his second, Dembele converted a loose ball on the left side of the box after David Raven's tackle on Scott Sinclair.
And Forrest set up another for the home side's top scorer, lifting the ball on to his head for a straightforward finish.
The 20-year-old's day was rounded off by an ovation from the crowd as he was replaced with Nadir Ciftci.
Though Celtic were heavy favourites to progress, Inverness had travelled to Glasgow as the only Scottish team not to lose to Brendan Rodgers' side this season.
That 2-2 league draw in September was the last time Celtic had failed to win domestically.
But there were few signs that the Highlanders would be able to stop their hosts reaching the last eight as Rodgers' men dominated possession.
The Premiership leaders did lack accuracy in the final third until Bitton's excellent pass was taken down deftly and touched in by Sweden full-back Lustig for the opener.
A corner flicked on by Billy Mckay and cleared was the extent of the visitors' attacking threat in the first half and they did not fare much better after the break.
At 4-0, Forrest should have marked his impressive performance with a goal when he intercepted a woeful pass across the Inverness box by Gary Warren but contrived to shoot wide.
Earlier, Bitton had fired off target and Sinclair also went close, but Tierney did find the net with a powerful header off another Forrest delivery.
Brown then got the break of the ball in stoppage time to lash past Fon Williams.
And with the League Cup won in November and a 27-point lead in the league, Celtic remain on course for a domestic treble.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "When we had the ball, I thought we were outstanding. The final third, we were so incisive.
"You see the level of his [Moussa Dembele's] game. He's got a natural instinct to score. He's got a top-class temperament.
"The value of the team is improving all the time with performing well."
Inverness CT manager Richie Foran: "Outclassed, simple as that. Six-nil is a tough one.
"We went and had a go at the start and that's all I could ask from the lads.
"This is one of the best Celtic teams assembled in a good few years. They've got confidence running through their veins. There was no stopping them."
Match ends, Celtic 6, Inverness CT 0.
Second Half ends, Celtic 6, Inverness CT 0.
Goal! Celtic 6, Inverness CT 0. Scott Brown (Celtic) from a free kick with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Erik Sviatchenko (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Greg Tansey (Inverness CT).
Attempt saved. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Kieran Tierney.
Substitution, Celtic. Kolo Touré replaces Dedryck Boyata.
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Kieran Tierney.
Attempt missed. Larnell Cole (Inverness CT) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Kieran Tierney.
Goal! Celtic 5, Inverness CT 0. Kieran Tierney (Celtic) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by James Forrest.
Attempt blocked. Kieran Tierney (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Scott Sinclair (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Brad McKay (Inverness CT).
Substitution, Celtic. Nadir Ciftci replaces Moussa Dembele.
Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
Dean Ebbe (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Scott Brown (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Callum McGregor (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
Larnell Cole (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Moussa Dembele (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT).
Scott Sinclair (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by David Raven (Inverness CT).
Mikael Lustig (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Mikael Lustig (Celtic).
Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Larnell Cole (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Erik Sviatchenko (Celtic).
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Dedryck Boyata.
Attempt blocked. Larnell Cole (Inverness CT) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution, Celtic. Callum McGregor replaces Liam Henderson.
Substitution, Inverness CT. Larnell Cole replaces Ross Draper.
Substitution, Inverness CT. Dean Ebbe replaces Billy McKay. | Moussa Dembele scored his second hat-trick in two games as Celtic routed Inverness Caledonian Thistle to reach the Scottish Cup quarter-finals. |
37,617,260 | Twenty "listeners" met and spoke to prisoners suffering from depression and mental health problems, including some who were suicidal.
Details of the number of calls have been released to mark the 10th anniversary of the scheme.
It operates in Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons.
There are currently more than 1,300 prisoners in the two jails.
The prison authorities have been strongly criticised in a series of inspection reports for treatment of vulnerable prisoners, including those with mental health problems.
The scheme is run by the Samaritans, who provide a 12-week training course for prisoners who pass an initial selection and vetting process.
Volunteers working for the charity outside the prison answered a further 1,500 telephone calls from prisoners in Northern Ireland last year.
The Listener scheme has been operating for 25 years in prisons across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Case study: The Listener who helps fellow inmates
The Samaritans said it is essential because research shows that prisoners are eight to 10 times more likely to die by suicide than the rest of the population.
According to the charity, around 23% of male prisoners and 46% of women prisoners suffer from anxiety and depression.
The first Listener programme in Northern Ireland began operating in Magilligan prison near Limavady in 2002.
The scheme in Maghaberry started in 2006.
A programme for women prisoners and young offenders is being developed at Hydebank in south Belfast.
Gillian McNaull, the Samaritans' regional prisons support officer, oversees the Listener scheme.
She said it works well because many prisoners prefer to talk to fellow prisoners.
"The prisoners who are suffering emotional distress know that the Listeners know what life in prison is like and know what they are going through," she said.
She believes those who volunteer to help their fellow inmates also benefit.
"I think there is something very redemptive about the process in that people who are in prison for punishment are being given a chance and are being trusted," she said.
"That can be really restorative for an individual to see that the people around them don't stigmatise them but trust them to provide this service."
A number of former Listeners have continued to help the Samaritans after being released from jail by helping to train volunteers dealing with calls from prisoners. | Prisoners trained to help fellow inmates in emotional distress in NI's two largest jails were contacted more than 1,600 times last year. |
34,578,096 | Brett Hart, the airline's general counsel, will take over from Oscar Munoz immediately.
Mr Munoz suffered a heart attack shortly after taking up the role.
The world's second-largest airline is due to report third-quarter results on Thursday, with strong profits expected by analysts.
The chairman, Henry Meyer, said: "Brett has taken on increasing responsibility beyond general counsel over the last few years in the operations and customer-facing areas of the company."
Mr Hart, 46, joined United five years ago from Sara Lee and was previously was a law firm partner and a lawyer for the US Treasury.
The airline did not say how long Mr Munoz would be on medical leave, saying it was "too soon to know the course of treatment and timing of recovery".
The lack of information given about Mr Munoz's condition has attracted criticism.
Vicki Bryan, an analyst for bond research firm Gimme Credit, said that United's statement last week about the chief executive's health was surprisingly sparse and raised more concerns than it answered.
She said that United needed to be more open, "particularly in light of United's substantial management upheaval in recent months".
Mr Munoz took over at United only last month after Jeff Smisek was forced out for allegedly making deals with public officials in New York and New Jersey.
It has been accused of maintaining unprofitable flights that were popular with politicians in return for favourable government subsidies and better airport transit deals.
Mr Munoz had been appointed chief executive in a bid to clean up the company and deal with a litany of staff and customer complaints.
The company had also struggled under Mr Smisek to merge the operations of the former United and Continental airlines after the two airlines merged in 2010.
United Continental shares have fallen 15% this year and closed on Monday at $56.75, valuing the company at just over $21bn (£13.5bn). | United Continental has appointed an acting boss after its chief executive suffered a heart attack last week. |
38,642,176 | "Red, white and blue Brexit."
"Operate within and trade with the single market."
"A bespoke deal."
"This won't be off-the-shelf."
The list goes on and on and on.
I, for one, will not be sad to see the back of some of the stock phrases Theresa May and her ministers have been using to describe life outside the European Union.
Number 10 decided long ago the prime minister would give as little away as possible before the official process began. It didn't make sense to give the game away to the other countries the UK will be facing across the negotiating table.
It has also, to use a diplomatic phrase, taken some time for the government to come to an agreement on what its plan would look like. There have been briefing papers aplenty, endless cabinet committee discussions, consultations with more than 50 different sectors of the business world before tomorrow's speech.
The less diplomatic way of looking at it is that, as some ministers have privately admitted, there hasn't been a plan. And the spectrum of opinion in the government has been extremely wide, from ministers I've spoken to who believed that we could stay in the single market, to those who have been pushing hard for months for a rapid, wholesale departure.
Essentially, ministers have taken more than six months to work out what they really want to do. And part of the problem has been that they don't all agree.
Now, as one of those on the Eurosceptic side of the argument describes it, the prime minister is about to make her speech and "people like me will not be upset with it".
But it is not the case that Mrs May has suddenly clicked her fingers and made up her mind about everything.
Indeed, while she has been accused of dithering and delaying, lacking vision and the ability to make swift decisions, those who defend the prime minister suggest that something else has been going on - it's not just that she has been taking a long time doing her homework.
Arguably, she has followed a decades-old political technique of "constructive ambiguity".
The phrase, coined by Henry Kissinger, the controversial architect of modern US diplomacy, had something rather different in mind when he developed its use. "Constructive ambiguity" is based on the belief that warring parties can all sign up to woolly-sounding statements without losing out, so that a diplomatic process can continue.
Whether in the Middle East or in Northern Ireland, the principle is that it's best to keep people at the table, and keep them talking, even if what seems to be actually being agreed could be written on the back of a fag packet and interpreted in different ways.
By being vague on detail, Mrs May has allowed others to have the public arguments about what leaving the European Union should look like. She has deferred or defused big fights with her party, the public and the press by saying, again and again, she is ruling nothing in and ruling nothing out.
It's hard for political opponents to criticise her decisions if she can keep saying that none have been reached.
While this ambiguity has reigned, behind closed doors ministers have been trying to work out what is legally and politically possible, and what is actually desirable. Tomorrow we will hear some of the fruits of their labour, although not surprisingly, not every issue is resolved.
But alongside the Brexit-related platitudes, whatever cross Remainers say, two big fundamental decisions were in fact made months ago, that Mrs May has not hidden.
First, even in the speech before she became the Tory leader in July, she was abundantly clear that free movement of people - the existing EU system of immigration that does not put limits on the number of EU citizens who can come here - could not last.
And time and again, in almost every speech she has given, and on many of the appearances that she has made at the Despatch Box, she has made it plain that, for her, controlling immigration is the priority, even it comes ahead of the economy.
Second, again on the conference platform, in speeches and in the Commons, the prime minister has said the UK will no longer be subject to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Those statements aren't just important in their own right, but crucial because, by implication, they mean that we will not seek to preserve our existing membership of the single market.
EU countries have made it plain the UK can't have existing trade arrangements without accepting free movement of people.
The ECJ is the referee of the single market too. So if, explicitly, the UK doesn't accept the authority of the referee, it cannot stay in the game.
With the cloak of constructive ambiguity, refusing to spell that out, the prime minister has been able to dismiss fears about that reality as speculation, as no final decisions have been made.
But as she prepares for one of the most important speeches of her life, she'll be all too aware, that protection can't last for good. | "Brexit means Brexit." |
28,722,554 | The Northern Irishman carded a four-under-par 67 on Friday to lead the US PGA at Valhalla at the halfway point.
McIlroy, who ended his engagement to Wozniacki in May, won the Open in July and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week.
"I just immersed myself in my game. I've practised hard and I'm reaping the rewards," the 25-year-old said.
Asked how much more time he had spent practising since his break-up, the three-time major winner said: "It's hard to really say. I guess, what else do I have to do?
"I get up in the morning, I go to the golf course, I go to the gym.
"It obviously works pretty well, so I'm going to keep doing it. It's my life at the minute.
"I always feel like I've practised pretty hard. Over the past couple of months, I've really buried myself in my golf game." | World number one Rory McIlroy says golf is his "life" after his break-up with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. |
40,010,896 | The women's game beat the men onto the global crease, with their inaugural World Cup in 1973 coming two years before the first male event.
Not only was batswoman Lynne, now 77, part of that wider trailblazing moment for sport, she played her part on the pitch too, scoring 263 runs in four innings, and making the first World Cup century.
What makes her and the England team's victory the more remarkable is that they played and promoted the women's game in the 1960s and 1970s for no financial reward, in fact their love of cricket left them regularly out of pocket.
By way of contrast, when England take to the field in Sunday's sell-out 2017 final at Lords they will be playing for a cool $660,000 (£512,000). Even the losing team will collect $330,000. It is all part of an ICC pot of $2m prize money this year.
Women's cricket makes declaration of intent
World Cup prize money 'will change people's lives'
World Cup can put India's women on the map
England's World Cup winners from 1973 honoured
"It is great for the girls that they can now make a career out of cricket if that is what they chose to do in life," says Lynne, who combined playing cricket for England with playing international hockey for Wales, and holding down a full-time job as a PE teacher.
"I am pleased for them. When I was playing I never imagined that one day it would be something that could provide a living."
The inaugural Women's World Cup was the result of the vision of the late Rachael Heyhoe Flint and a £40,000 backing from businessman Sir Jack Hayward, both from Wolverhampton (the latter went on to own football club Wolves).
Organised as a round robin event, England - whose team included nine teachers - beat Australia in the final deciding match on 28 July 1973.
"We didn't get given any medals for winning the World Cup, although we were introduced to Princess Anne," recalls Lynne of that historic day at Edgbaston.
"We drove ourselves to all of the England games in the tournament, and after the game against Australia I had to be back at work in south Wales on the Monday."
It was the same story throughout her cricketing career - playing solely for the glory of winning, and for meagre playing expenses, interspersed with bouts of fundraising to keep the women's cricket show on the road.
"I can tell you exactly about our finances - we paid for everything," she recalls of an international career that saw her play 10 Tests, and 12 one day internationals for England over a 13-year period.
"We paid for our playing kit, our playing equipment, and most of the cost of our tours."
To raise money towards the cost of those overseas tours. cricketing legend Rachael Heyhoe Flint organised fund raising across England, and beyond.
And that meant a lot of travelling for Lynne, the sole Welsh player in the England team.
"Those games covered the whole of England," she says. "We also played a fund raising game in Edinburgh one time. We played there on the Sunday, and drove back on the Sunday night.
"We worked, most of us had jobs, and had to be back at work on the Monday. It was pure dedication."
The Women's Cricket Association - all volunteers - who ran Women's Cricket at the time, also paid a small amount towards the cost of overseas tours.
Lynne went on a four-and-a-half month tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1968-69, and fortunately her understanding employers Neath Girls Grammar School gave her the time off with pay.
She also went on tour to the West Indies in 1971, when Sir Jack Hayward stepped in to fund the fares of the travelling party.
"When we were away on tour we only stayed in hotels when we played Test matches, when we played friendly matches we were put up to stay with local families," recalls Lynne.
Lynne got interested in cricket through father Raymond, a keen village cricketer and member of Dafen cricket club in Llanelli.
"From the age of six I used to watch him play every weekend. When I got to eight or nine I got my own cricket bat from Woolworths and would play with a tennis ball.
"There was no girls' cricket when I was growing up, I played in a boys team at Christchurch church in Llanelli."
She went on to play for Cardiff, Sussex Women, Glamorgan Women and West Counties Women.
"For the first couple of my playing years I didn't have a car, and friends would have to drive me around," says Lynne, a full MCC member.
"Then I managed to buy a little Singer Chamois car. I would drive thousands of miles each year playing cricket and hockey."
Lynne Thomas on cricket pioneer Rachael Heyhoe Flint
"She was wonderful person and a tremendous captain. She had a very good rapport with people from all levels of society.
"She was a good leader, and we would have done anything for her. She was one of the girls - on and off the field.
"She fought for women's sport, truthfully and in an honest way. She started it all off, if it wasn't for her the present day women would not enjoy a cricket career, and we wouldn't have had the World Cup in England this year."
Lynne, who with her team-mates were belatedly awarded winners' medals this summer, will be at Lord's on Sunday for the culmination of a tournament which she says "will have helped spread the game around the world".
During the 1973 event she and Enid Bakewell put on 246 - an English opening partnership record that stood until Sarah Taylor and Caroline Atkins made 268 at Lord's against South Africa in 2008.
"I was at Lord's when our record was broken, and we were interviewed in the pavilion for three-quarters of an hour by the media," she says. "But when we broke the record in 1973 nobody knew we had done it, not even ourselves.
"It was only decades later that my niece read about it in the Guinness Book of Firsts. We just played for the love of if, and did not worry about records."
She adds: "It was the same all through my career - in fact we paid out for the pleasure of playing, it was all about money going out, not coming in." | "When people ask me what I'd have been if I'd not been a cricket player, I say... a millionaire," laughs Lynne Thomas, who 44 years ago helped England to victory in the first ever cricket World Cup. |
39,394,583 | The team believe an asteroid triggered 150m-high waves when it plunged into an ocean thought to have existed on northern Mars three billion years ago.
Lomonosov crater in the planet's northern plains fits the bill as the source of tsunami deposits identified on the surface.
Details were outlined at the 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Although the idea has lost some of its currency in recent years, some scientists think an ocean might once have filled the vast lowland region that occupies the Red Planet's northerly latitudes.
Growing evidence that tsunami waves washed over the boundary between the southern highlands and northern lowlands help strengthen the hypothesis.
François Costard, Steve Clifford and colleagues identified and mapped the distribution of sediment that apparently originated in the northern plains and flowed onto a possible ancient shoreline to the south.
"We found typical tsunami deposits along the dichotomy between the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere of Mars," Dr Costard, from Université Paris-Sud and CNRS, told BBC News.
"It supports that there was, at that time, a northern ocean."
One type of feature seen on the dichotomy boundary is a lobate flow deposit. Dr Clifford, from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, explained the evidence.
"These lobate deposits propagate uphill from the northern plains and do so in close association with a potential palaeo-shoreline. The predictions of the numerical modelling that François and his colleagues have done provide a very persuasive case for an ocean at this time," he told BBC News.
"There's also a second set of landforms that we see along the coastline called thumbprint terrain.... the reflection of the tsunami waves from the coast and their interaction with a second set of tsunami waves, predicted by the numerical modelling, would have resulted in sediment deposition that's very similar to what we actually observe on Mars."
This terrain has previously been interpreted as having been caused by mud flows, mud volcanoes, or glaciers.
The proposed Martian tsunami travelled 150km (95 miles) inland, climbing to elevations of about 100m (330ft).
"If we do have this evidence of a tsunami having occurred back three billion years ago, there must have been an ocean present in the northern plains," said Steve Clifford.
"That's the key point here, it indicates that there was a substantial amount of water in residence on the Martian surface at this time and that has likely implications for the total inventory of water on Mars."
The researchers have identified what they think is the best candidate for the impact crater, a 120km-wide bowl called Lomonosov, after the 18th Century Russian polymath Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. The feature is extremely degraded today, with a collapsed crater rim.
Two successive waves were formed during the event, says François Costard.
"It was a really large-scale, high speed tsunami. At the very beginning, a crater of 70km in diameter was created by the impact. This expelled a huge volume of water, with wave propagation at 60m/second," he explained.
"The initial wave was about 300m in height. After just a few hours, that tsunami wave reached the palaeo-shoreline located at a few hundred km from the impact crater."
This gigantic wave washed over hills and plateaus and through valleys, leaving behind the lobate flow deposits.
"Finally... due to the Martian ocean filling in that crater, which produced a kind of rebound, there was a second wave propagation," Dr Costard added.
If there was an ocean on Mars three billion years ago, it could have made the Red Planet a more hospitable place for life, raising hopes that signs of biology could be detected today.
"It's very hard to conceive of any other process other than a tsunami that could have emplaced these lobate deposits along the dichotomy boundary," Steve Clifford told BBC News.
"There is ambiguity in all the various lines of evidence that have been cited regarding whether Mars is water-rich or water-poor. But the morphologic evidence that's been presented here is a very persuasive case for a water-rich planet."
While a few other teams have reported evidence of tsunamis on Mars, no one up until now has linked the events to particular impact crater.
The research has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets.
Follow Paul on Twitter. | Scientists have located an impact crater linked to powerful tsunamis that swept across part of ancient Mars. |
38,488,147 | The pop star's live appearance in New York's Times Square was beset by problems as she complained of sound difficulties and struggled to sing.
Her representative told Billboard the producers "set her up to fail".
But Dick Clark Productions said any suggestion it would "compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd".
Carey was live on ABC just before midnight and began with Auld Lang Syne, but hit trouble during her 1991 hit Emotions.
Complaining that she could not hear, she did not sing for much of the track and her dancers led her through an awkward stage routine.
She told the crowd: "I want a holiday, too. Can I not have one? I'm trying to be a good sport here."
The problems continued during her next song, the 2005 hit We Belong Together. She lowered her microphone but could still be heard singing on a pre-recorded track.
"It just don't get any better," she said at the end of the song.
Her spokesperson Nicole Perna told Billboard: "She was not 'winging' this moment and took it very seriously. A shame that production set her up to fail."
Carey told the production crew that her earpiece was not working in advance, Ms Perna said.
"They told her it would be fine once she was on stage," she explained. "However, that was not the case and they were again told that her earpiece was not working. Instead of endeavouring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live."
Carey went on stage but was "flying blind", Ms Perna said. Referring to the backing vocal track, she said, "it is not uncommon for artists to sing to track during certain live performances".
She added: "Any allegations that she planned to lip sync are just adding insult to injury."
However, production company Dick Clark Productions (DCP) said: "As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists.
"To suggest that DCP, as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year's Rockin' Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd."
It said technical errors could occur with live television in "very rare instances" but that an initial investigation indicated it had no involvement in the problems during Carey's performance.
"We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry," it added.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | There have been bitter recriminations after Mariah Carey's televised New Year's Eve performance went wrong. |
40,380,413 | As foreign nationals, EU citizens did not have a vote in the referendum exactly one year ago.
Yet the implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU left about three million people's future in question.
In Boston in Lincolnshire, the 14,000 EU nationals estimated to be living there is equivalent to a fifth of its overall population, the highest proportion in the UK.
There are areas of London too, such as Kensington and Chelsea, where a significant proportion of people hold citizenship of an EU member state.
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, said a new "UK settled status" would grant EU migrants the right to stay and access to health, education and other benefits.
Proposals were unveiled at a summit of the European Council in Brussels. They depend on EU states giving the same guarantee to Britons abroad.
However, it only applies to EU nationals who have lived in the UK for five years.
French engineer Alexandrine Kantor, told the Victoria Derbyshire programme she was living "in limbo".
"I know I'm helping my new country because I'm filling a shortage of skills. (The UK) doesn't have enough electrical engineers.
"I don't regret coming, but I'm now left in limbo. I didn't have a vote. I didn't choose and no-one warned me."
Ms Kantor lives in Oxford, where more than one in 10 of the population is an EU national.
Jose Granados Gomez, from Barcelona, has lived in the UK for five years.
The 35-year-old environmental engineer, of Littleport in Cambridgeshire, said he "never doubted" that the British government would try to make a transition as easy as possible for migrants and employers.
"Everything was pretty much speculation until this announcement so this at least makes me think that the government is pointing in the right direction," he said.
"Since (the Brexit vote) I wasn't worried because I was of the opinion that both the British government and the EU would try by all means to sign a beneficial deal for everyone involved, but I am a bit concerned that there doesn't seem to be a clear plan for the government to follow at this point so everything seems to have been improvised.
"I would just like to see negotiations being carried out as smoothly as possible and that EU migrant rights and obligations are respected the same way that they have been respected up until now."
In Breckland, which has a large Portuguese population working in agriculture and food companies, a new support service was opened by ambassador Manuel Lobo Antunes.
It is run by Carla and Joe Barreto who said many in their community would be reassured by Mrs May's statement to protect EU citizen's rights for five years as most of the families, which amounted to several thousand people of all ages, had set down roots in Norfolk.
Their children were at local academies and had ambitions to educate themselves to stay in the UK, she said.
Mrs May said her offer was "very fair and very serious" and said she wanted to reassure EU citizens that "no one will have to leave".
She said she also wanted to see certainty given to British citizens living elsewhere in the European Union.
Since the Brexit vote EU immigration to the UK has declined. The Office for National Statistics said there were 19,000 fewer EU migrants in 2016 compared with 2015. And the drop started straight after the referendum result.
However, with 250,000 EU migrants in 2016, the number has still not dropped below the level of 2014, the year that restrictions on Romania and Bulgaria were lifted. | EU migrants who have lived in Britain for more than five years will be offered the right to stay after Brexit, but where will the proposal have the biggest impact in England? |
29,739,275 | Charlton Floate, from Whiteslade Close in Knowle, Solihull, did not enter a plea at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.
The 18-year-old was arrested following an investigation into a cyber attack on the Home Office website, West Midlands Police said.
He was remanded in custody and is due at Birmingham Crown Court on 5 November.
Mr Floate is charged with conspiracy to commit computer misuse, possessing photographic indecent images of children, possessing non-photographic prohibited images of children and possession of extreme pornography. | A teenager has appeared in court charged with possessing indecent images of children and computer hacking. |
35,769,708 | The Oak Leafers dominated the first half as they led 0-12 to 0-3 at the interval and held on to win comfortably despite Antrim's second-half revival.
Early points from Peter Hagan, Niall Loughlin and Niall Toner helped Derry lead 0-6 to 0-1 at Celtic Park.
Ronan Hanna saved a Derry penalty before the Oak Leafers were restricted to four second-half points.
Derry hit the first two second-half points to extend their lead to 0-14 to 0-3 as Loughlin pointed his fourth 45 of the contest.
Antrim hit five unanswered points to cut the lead to six as Oisin Lenaghan, Ryan McNulty and Odhran Eastwood (two) were among the scorers.
However, the nearest the Saffrons could get was the five-point margin at the finish.
Fergal McCusker's Derry side will face Donegal at Ballybofey next week. | Derry beat Antrim 0-16 to 0-11 to set up an Ulster Under-21 Football quarter-final against Donegal next Wednesday. |
34,881,461 | Nick Alexander 35, of Colchester, Essex, was killed at the Bataclan concert hall, where he was selling band merchandise.
He was a member of St Andrew's Church in Weeley and had been attending since he was a child.
Reverend David Newman said Mr Alexander visited him there just a few weeks ago, having heard he was ill.
He said it was "typical of him to think of others and to actually do something about it."
He said he learned of Mr Alexander's death from his family who worship at the church, where the book can be signed.
"He was a very intelligent boy all the way along. As a youngster, he was always reliable and also good fun.
"He was very thoughtful in his dealings with the older members of the church," he said.
From his earliest days, he was "charming, had integrity and was encouraging of others", he added.
He said the church is in a "complete sense of shock" not only at the "suddenness of the death of a young man" but also at "the wicked arbitrariness of the killing of so many people."
The Anglican vicar said people are starting to think how this "desperately negative event" can be turned into something positive.
"Above all we need to hold on to the memories of a positive young man who lived his life in a very fulfilling way," he said.
An online fundraising page for Mr Alexander's family has raised nearly £60,000. | A book of condolence has been opened for a British man who died in the Paris attacks. |
37,185,313 | The 27-year-old came in at number 10 and finished 114 not out at New Road.
The South African's only previous first-class experience came in 2014 for Northants against the Sri Lankans.
"Two years waiting to play a second first-class game is a long time and you think to yourself 'are you going to play another one?'" he said.
"When I got the nod, I thought when I have a bat or a bowl I've just got to show what I can do."
Barrett has played for a number of county Second XIs trying to earn another first-class chance, including Leicestershire, Middlesex and Somerset.
But his opportunity has come at Northants, and his innings was the highest score by a number 10 for the county in first-class cricket.
He told BBC Radio Northampton: "I'm a coach on the side and I've got very supportive parents, especially my mum, who kept on telling me 'keep going, you're good enough to be playing'.
"It's tough to go round and play seconds cricket, but that's the life of a professional sportsman, you've got to go round and prove yourself. To finally get a gig here is a big plus." | Chad Barrett questioned if he would play first-class cricket again before his century on his Championship debut for Northants against Worcestershire. |
24,047,750 | Murders are rife. Robberies, thefts and riots are a daily occurrence at the hands of young gang members who hold the entire city in a fearful, bloody grip.
Police do their best to control the daily nightmare but are vastly outnumbered.
Welcome to Birmingham 1919.
Now - nearly a century later - a six-part drama series explores the lives of the members of the city's most notorious gang from a century ago - the Peaky Blinders.
Their chilling nickname was derived from the razor blades carefully stitched into the front of their caps which could be used to blind their victims.
But who were the gangs that inspired the BBC Two series, and why were they formed?
From as early as the 1870s, inner-city Birmingham streets were filled with overcrowded slums and extreme poverty - and the lure of crime was a pull for some.
It soon led to an eruption of gangs and violence across the city.
Battles to "own" areas such as Small Heath and Cheapside broke out. These saw hundreds of youths fighting - sometimes to the death - in mass brawls that lasted for hours.
The most prominent - and ruthless - of these early gangs were known as the Sloggers, or the Cheapside Slogging Gang.
For 30 years they ruled the city's streets with protection rackets and violence.
Led by John Adrian, and his trusted lieutenant James Grinrod, they began their reign of terror in about 1870.
Their weapon of choice was a heavy-buckled belt used to pummel male and female victims of all ages into submission.
An 1872 Birmingham Mail report records a typical example of the Sloggers' antics.
It states how "400 roughs brought indiscriminate violence to the Cheapside area, attacking and stealing".
"A small body of police were sent to deal with the Slogging Gang," the report continues.
"Officers made three arrests, including two very poor youths of no fixed home."
Notorious Sloggers included Aston's Simpson Brothers and George "Cloggy" Williams, whose notoriety grew quickly after the 1897 killing of PC George Snipe.
Many rival gangs formed, and one in particular soon became the most fearful force on the city's streets.
The Peaky Blinders as a gang were as deliberately stylish as they were violent.
Historian David Cross, of the West Midlands Police Museum in Sparkhill, is curator of the country's largest collection of prisoner photographs.
The collection contains court papers which document the exploits of the city's bygone gangs.
"If you think of your grandfather's cap in those days, then it would have had a very hard peak," said Mr Cross.
"They used their hats with razor blades sewn in to rob people. That's what a Peaky Blinder was.
"When they hit someone or headbutted someone on the nose while wearing one, it would cause their victim temporary blindness."
Victims were chosen indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were male or female, young or old, rich or poor, according to Mr Cross.
"They would target anybody who looked vulnerable, or who did not look strong or fit," he said.
"Anything that could be taken, they would take it."
Their carefully stylised image was an attempt to bring a touch of class to their actions, Mr Cross said, as well as making them stand out from their rivals.
Peaky Blinders would wear a silk scarf tied around their necks, bell-bottom trousers and a flat, bladed cap tilted to one side.
Children, in the same desperate situation as adults, were also recruited regularly into the ranks.
Prominent members included 13-year-old David Taylor, jailed for carrying a gun, and 12-year-old Charles Lambourne.
Older gang members ruled the roost, such as Stephen McHickie, Harry Fowler and Tom Gilbert.
Members were loyal - and local legends. It was often impossible to tell how many fighters in a gang were actually Peaky Blinders, and how many were claiming to be simply for the status it gave them.
As families began to move out of the city centre in the early 20th Century, the rule of the gangs started to decline.
As areas such as Small Heath grew, so did the physical distance between the rivals.
Most of the once-feared names of the gang members are now forgotten, but their reputations are cemented in Birmingham's folklore.
Peaky Blinders is on BBC Two at 2100 BST and will be available on the iPlayer after. | The dank, slum streets are ruled by gangs made up of hundreds of youths armed with knives, razor blades and hammers. |
39,550,182 | Goals from teenage duo Victor Adeboyejo and Tristan Abrahams, after Rhys Oates had opened the scoring for the visitors, leaves Orient seven points adrift of safety with three games remaining.
The match was played out to a background of protests against Orient owner Francesco Becchetti and, at the end of the game, supporters gathered on the pitch to vent their feelings against the Italian.
Oates had opened the scoring on eight minutes when a poor header by O's defender Teddy Mezague gifted a simple chance to the Hartlepool striker.
Orient levelled 10 minutes later when defender Michael Clark picked out 18-year-old Adeboyejo who stabbed the ball home at the near post.
Abrahams gave the home side a deserved lead on 34 minutes with a wonderful left-footed strike from 18 yards and it proved to be the winner.
Hartlepool, who remain above the relegation zone by just a point, saw Liam Donnelly sent off in added time after the defender picked up two quick bookings for dissent.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Leyton Orient 2, Hartlepool United 1.
Second Half ends, Leyton Orient 2, Hartlepool United 1.
Attempt blocked. Freddy Moncur (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Second yellow card to Liam Donnelly (Hartlepool United).
Liam Donnelly (Hartlepool United) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt missed. Nathan Thomas (Hartlepool United) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Corner, Hartlepool United. Conceded by Teddy Mezague.
Brad Walker (Hartlepool United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Josh Koroma (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brad Walker (Hartlepool United).
Foul by Paul McCallum (Leyton Orient).
Brad Walker (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Leyton Orient. Freddy Moncur replaces Tristan Abrahams.
Josh Koroma (Leyton Orient) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Josh Koroma (Leyton Orient).
Rhys Oates (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Hartlepool United. Louis Rooney replaces Nicky Featherstone.
Foul by Teddy Mezague (Leyton Orient).
Devante Rodney (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient).
Rhys Oates (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Josh Koroma (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Leyton Orient. Conceded by Brad Walker.
Substitution, Leyton Orient. Josh Koroma replaces Victor Adeboyejo.
Attempt missed. Lewis Alessandra (Hartlepool United) header from the left side of the six yard box misses to the left.
Foul by Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient).
Carl Magnay (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Michael Collins (Leyton Orient).
Lewis Alessandra (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Hartlepool United. Devante Rodney replaces Padraig Amond.
Substitution, Leyton Orient. Paul McCallum replaces Steven Alzate.
Liam Kelly (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michael Woods (Hartlepool United).
Attempt missed. Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Victor Adeboyejo (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Brad Walker (Hartlepool United).
Foul by Liam Kelly (Leyton Orient).
Nicky Featherstone (Hartlepool United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Steven Alzate (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick on the left wing. | Leyton Orient kept their slim hopes of avoiding relegation from League Two alive by beating fellow strugglers Hartlepool at the Matchroom Stadium. |
38,252,369 | The US president-elect said Chuck Jones had done a "terrible job" for workers at Carrier, moments after Mr Jones had criticised Mr Trump on CNN.
Mr Trump had wrongly claimed 1,100 jobs in Indiana were saved, said Mr Jones.
Earlier in the week Mr Trump attacked Boeing, hours after its boss criticised his trade policy, but he denied a link.
Shortly after Mr Trump's tweet attacking Mr Jones on Wednesday night, the union leader started receiving phone calls threatening his children, he said.
"Nothing that says they're gonna kill me, but, you know, you better keep your eye on your kids," said Mr Jones.
Keeping jobs from migrating to lower-wage countries was a central plank of Mr Trump's successful election campaign.
And he claimed a victory last week when he struck a deal with Carrier's parent company, granting them $7m in tax cuts and incentives over 10 years.
In the CNN interview that preceded the enraged tweet by the president-elect, Mr Jones disputed Mr Trump's claim on the job figures because 550 jobs were still going overseas.
Using stronger language when speaking to the Washington Post earlier this week, Mr Jones said the billionaire businessman had "lied his ass off".
On Thursday morning, the union boss admitted his choice of words was unwise but he stood by his accusation.
"Trump didn't tell the truth and I called him out," he said, saying the president-elect "overreacted".
He said that while the union was grateful to have 730 of its members keeping their jobs, Mr Trump had raised false hopes for hundreds of others when he wrongly claimed 1,100 jobs were not moving abroad.
Mr Trump's tweet sparked a back and forth on Twitter with the union, which sprang to Mr Jones's defence by saying he worked tirelessly to save "all jobs".
Mr Trump responded by tweeting that the union was to blame for jobs going abroad and it should reduce its dues.
The union fired back by saying its dues helped the union save jobs, adding the hashtag #imwithchuck
The spat is the second time this week that the president-elect has attacked an organisation that has criticised him.
On Tuesday, he threatened to cancel a huge government contract with Boeing after the chief executive made pro-trade remarks that were reported in the Chicago Tribune.
But Mr Trump said he had not seen the article in question.
The Republican president-to-be has been assembling his administration team in preparation for assuming office on 20 January.
On Wednesday there were four new additions:
Trump picks border hawk for security job
Trump picks climate sceptic Pruitt
'Old friend of China' to be US envoy
The people around Donald Trump | Donald Trump has blasted a union leader who accused him of lying about his deal to stop an air conditioning maker from moving jobs to Mexico. |
32,399,989 | It dealt with 1,389 complaints - up more than 100 on the previous year.
Cases included a puppy being thrown in a river with a head wound in Rhondda, a rabbit with severely overgrown teeth, hunting wild mammals with dogs in north Wales and animals with skin conditions in Haverfordwest.
But the number of people convicted was down from 79 in 2013 to 47 last year.
The charity added it had a 100% conviction rate.
RSPCA Cymru superintendent Martyn Hubbard said: "It is extremely concerning that we are still receiving more than 1,300 complaints about animals being deliberately caused to suffer.
"Most of the complaints we receive involve animals being neglected or not receiving the right care and often we can put that right by offering welfare advice.
"However, it is shocking that in 2014 people are still being deliberately cruel." | The number of complaints relating to deliberate cruelty to animals in Wales rose last year, the RSPCA said. |
36,275,527 | Sgt Elizabeth Marks told Prince Harry, who presented her with the prize, to hand it to the medical team at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire.
The swimmer, 25, from Arizona, became gravely ill when she collapsed with a lung condition on the eve of the first games in London in 2014.
"They absolutely saved my life and I can't thank the UK enough," she said.
Sgt Marks won all four swimming events she entered at the Invictus Games in Orlando for injured military personnel and veterans.
She chose to give her 100m freestyle gold to the hospital as it had been touched by the prince, who came up with the idea for the games.
Read more on this story and other news in Cambridgeshire
Sgt Marks has served in the US army since she was 17, but in 2010 suffered a serious hip injury that left her with no feeling in her left leg.
Two years ago, she became very ill after arriving in the UK for the games.
She woke up from an induced coma 10 days later in an army hospital in Germany.
"I was in hospital in London and went into respiratory distress syndrome, they shipped a team down from Papworth who put me on to ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) life support and that ultimately saved my life," she said.
"But they absolutely saved my life and I can't thank the UK enough for having that kind of medical support and taking such good care of me.
"So I gave Prince Harry one of my medals and hope it will find its way back to Papworth."
She also paid tribute to the NHS and said: "Thank you, I'll never be able to repay you, but what you're doing is wonderful."
Papworth's temporary chief executive said she was "delighted" by both Sgt Marks' "extraordinary" achievement and gesture.
Claire Tripp said: "We wish Elizabeth the very best and would very much like to meet her so we can thank her personally."
The hospital's medical director Dr Roger Hall said the team was "extremely proud" of Sgt Marks and described her donation as "generous and unexpected".
"Elizabeth's fantastic achievement is a good example of how modern medicine can support all of us to not only lead a normal life, following life-threatening conditions, but go on to achieve truly amazing accomplishments," he said. | An American soldier has given her Invictus Games gold medal to the hospital team that saved her life. |
35,410,037 | Andalusia's Ombudsman for Children's office said it showed a "situation of unnecessary risk to a minor".
Animal rights activists and others have branded Francisco Rivera Ordonez "irresponsible" and "an idiot".
But fellow bullfighters have tweeted their support and shown pictures of other children around the animals.
A caption accompanying the photograph, which was uploaded to Instagram on Monday, refers to the episode as the five month old's "debut".
Mr Rivera has responded to the row by saying: "She is never going to be safer than she is in my arms."
However, the Andalusian authorities said they "totally rejected" his actions and had referred the case to prosecutors.
"We hope that such behaviour is not repeated and that the social media reaction ensures that it is not accepted as normal," the ombudsman's office said in a statement (in Spanish).
The move followed a storm of criticism online.
"Putting your daughter in danger, even if it is a calf, I don't understand," wrote one person quoted by El Pais.
"If I were your wife, I'd kill you," read another message.
British comedian Ricky Gervais, a well known animal rights campaigner and bullfighting critic tweeted that he "sorta fused animal abuse with child abuse" before deleting the post, according to El Pais.
But he later tweeted that bullfighting was "mental, dangerous and cruel. With or without a baby".
However, Mr Rivera has been staunchly defended by other bullfighters, who have posted their own images of them holding children in the ring.
"What's the problem in showing our children a profession that we love and is filled with values?" tweeted bullfighter Manuel El Cordobés Díaz.
"With my nephew in support of @paquirri74," tweeted Álvaro Oliver. "Respect our life, respect our values."
"With my wife Elisabet Pinero's permission, I'm sending my support to @paquirri74 with this photo with Rodrigo taken three days ago," tweeted Andres Sanchez.
However, the Spanish animal rights group Pacma tweeted that bullfighters were "entrenched in error" and were "violating moral principles".
One of the country's most popular bullfighters, Mr Rivera is taking a break from professional fights since he was gored through the stomach by a bull in August 2015.
His father, known across Spain as Paquirri, was gored to death by a bull in 1984, at the age of 36. | A Spanish bullfighter has been referred to prosecutors after he posted a picture of himself training while carrying his baby daughter. |
40,626,378 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The British and Swiss pairing, both former title winners at Wimbledon, crucially broke Briton Watson and Finn Kontinen in the seventh game of the match en route to taking the first set.
They repeated the feat in the seventh game of the second set to lead 4-3.
I forgot what it felt like the last time I won
Murray and Hingis then held serve in the 10th game to secure the title.
That gave the 36-year-old Swiss player her sixth Wimbledon title - comprising one singles crown, three doubles and two mixed doubles.
Hingis only decided to team up with her Scottish partner prior to this tournament.
She told BBC Sport: "I'm really happy how we played and performed. One Briton was going to win a Wimbledon title this year and I was hoping it would be mine.
Media playback is not supported on this device
When asked whether they would both return next year as a partnership, she added: "We have the next Grand Slam coming up and we have to talk about that."
This was Murray's second Wimbledon title, having won the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic 10 years ago.
The 31-year-old said: "I forgot what it felt like the last time I won.
"This was pretty sweet and I have to give huge thanks to Martina - when she texted me it was an easy decision and it's great to have the trophy again.
"A lot of guys in the locker room would be jumping at the chance to join Martina."
He said the atmosphere was "strange" in Centre Court because the British support were "a bit split with Heather and me".
Murray added: "It was a great success for British tennis to have the two of us in the final." | Top seeds Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis beat defending champions Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen 6-4 6-4 to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles final. |
37,531,553 | The French striker opened the scoring on 74 minutes after both sides had lost two players to injuries.
Alaves equalised through Victor Laguardia shortly after referee Mateu Lahoz limped off with a calf problem.
However, Ben Yedder backheeled Vitolo's cross past the keeper in the 89th minute to move Sevilla up to second.
Alaves midfielders Kiko Femenia and Daniel Torres were both forced off the pitch inside the first half hour.
Samir Nasri - on loan from Manchester City - and Luciano Vietto were then replaced for Sevilla shortly after the break, before substitute Ganso set up Ben Yedder's first goal.
The fourth official replaced Lahoz for the final stages of the game as Laguardia tapped in a corner to level the scores.
Ben Yedder, who scored the deciding goal in Sevilla's Champions League clash with Lyon on Tuesday, again proved the difference with a crisp finish.
Match ends, Sevilla 2, Alavés 1.
Second Half ends, Sevilla 2, Alavés 1.
Hand ball by Edgar Méndez (Alavés).
Foul by Vicente Iborra (Sevilla).
Nenad Krsticic (Alavés) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Mariano (Sevilla) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt saved. Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Franco Vázquez.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Fernando Pacheco.
Attempt saved. Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Steven N'Zonzi.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Raúl García.
Substitution, Sevilla. Vicente Iborra replaces Wissam Ben Yedder.
Goal! Sevilla 2, Alavés 1. Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Vitolo.
Foul by Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla).
Alexis (Alavés) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Nenad Krsticic.
Edgar Méndez (Alavés) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sergio Escudero (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Edgar Méndez (Alavés).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Fernando Pacheco (Alavés) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Franco Vázquez with a cross.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Aleksandar Katai.
Goal! Sevilla 1, Alavés 1. Víctor Laguardia (Alavés) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner following a corner.
Attempt blocked. Aleksandar Pantic (Alavés) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Theo Hernández with a cross.
Corner, Alavés. Conceded by Gabriel Mercado.
Mariano (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Theo Hernández (Alavés).
Manu García (Alavés) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt missed. Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Pablo Sarabia.
Substitution, Alavés. Aleksandar Katai replaces Víctor Camarasa because of an injury.
Raúl García (Alavés) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Raúl García (Alavés).
Attempt missed. Sergio Escudero (Sevilla) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Steven N'Zonzi.
Franco Vázquez (Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nenad Krsticic (Alavés).
Goal! Sevilla 1, Alavés 0. Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ganso.
Corner, Sevilla. Conceded by Alexis.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match (Sevilla). | Wissam Ben Yedder's late strike gave Sevilla a 2-1 win over Alaves in a chaotic La Liga game that saw four players and the referee go off injured. |
31,954,300 | In 2010, 405 children were subject to a child protection plan compared to 545 in 2014 - a rise of 35%, the biggest increase in south-west England.
The plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable children.
Plymouth City Council said the rise was due to "heightened public awareness".
The figures, released in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, show 67 unborn babies were added to the register in 2014, compared to a low of 47 in 2011.
Most of them were subject to a plan because of the risk of neglect or physical injury.
Chris Cuthbert, from children's charity the NSPCC, said the rise may look "alarming" but it actually means "children are receiving help early on".
"Even though some authorities face huge budget pressures and increasingly challenging caseloads, recognising risks and providing services before birth can give parents the best opportunity to change their behaviour before the baby is born."
The charity said the rise was "significant" but it appeared the council had "focused on the problem" of children being at risk by issuing more plans.
2010 - 405
2011 - 383
2012 - 421
2013 - 480
2014 - 545
Source: Freedom of Information response
Some other councils in the South West also reported a rise over the five-year period but not to the same extent as Plymouth.
Torbay Council saw an increase of 22% from 345 children in 2010, to 421 in 2014, while in 2010 Devon County Council had 436 children subject to plans compared to 515 in 2014 - a rise of 18%.
Cornwall Council saw a drop of 16% from 355 plans in 2010 to 297 in 2014.
Plymouth City Council said: "We have received a substantial increase in the number of referrals from the public and professionals and this seems to be a national trend."
The authority said it believed the rise was due to "heightened public awareness", following several high-profile national cases.
"This, coupled with other current influencing factors like the economy, which has put pressure on family finances, has resulted in a marked increase in the number of children in need of some form of safeguarding."
Source: NSPCC and South West Child Protection Procedures | The number of protection plans to try to keep children and unborn babies safe from abuse has increased dramatically in Plymouth in five years, the BBC has found. |
32,911,516 | Production in April was 3.8% lower than last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The number of cars produced for the domestic market increased by 11.1% to 29,930.
However, those intended for export, which represents a much larger portion of the market, fell 7.6% to 98,382.
Low demand in Europe may have hindered UK exports. "Europe as a whole is three million units off its peak," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes told the BBC.
Economic confidence and interest in new models may be behind the UK's rising demand," said Mr Hawes.
"The UK buyer is more confident than the average buyer across the rest of Europe," he said.
The growing availability and popularity of car finance packages had also pushed up domestic sales, he added. About three-quarters of purchases are now made with a finance package.
"Brits have a greater predilection to buy on credit. These packages are attracting people into the showrooms," he said. | UK car production fell in April after a rise in vehicle output for the domestic market failed to offset a drop in exports. |
31,431,649 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Tuesday's 2-0 loss to fellow strugglers Hull City was the West Midlands club's 10th league game without a win.
They have also managed just 12 league goals from 25 games - the lowest in Premier League history.
First-team coach Scott Marshall and goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall have taken temporary charge with 13 league matches remaining.
Football pundit Pat Nevin said the sacking had been coming given Villa's precarious league position, the lack of goals and the lack of entertaining football for Villa fans at home.
"Paul's a friend of mine, but that one is an absolute stick on," Nevin told Radio 5 live. "It was going to happen."
Disgruntled Villa fans had called for the 45-year-old Lambert, who was appointed in 2012, to go during the game against Hull.
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After the match, the Scot said he had been aware of the discontent "months ago" but was determined to battle on:, insisting "I've told the players they've got 13 cup finals."
Only two weeks ago, Villa chief executive Tom Fox had told BBC Sport said Lambert would remain in charge, adding that to sack him would be like "flipping a coin".
Fox added: "When things aren't going well, fans bay for that type of blood. That's not the way that I or the owner are going to make a decision. It's a false narrative."
Villa's decision to sack Lambert came just hours after the Birmingham Mail started a campaign to oust the former Norwich boss.
Their front and back pages were covered with the message: "Birmingham Mail says: Lambert Must Go!"
It was accompanied by the hashtag #lambertout.
Birmingham Mail editor Marc Reeves told BBC Midlands Today that his newspaper wanted to give "hundreds and thousands" of Villa fans the opportunity to have their say on Lambert.
"It's a voice that needs to be listened to and the Mail wanted to play its part in amplifying that voice to the Aston Villa board," he said.
"Villa owner Randy Lerner was determined to ride out the storm and, with Paul Lambert, had the best relationship he'd had with any Villa manager.
"I still believe Lerner will sell up during the summer. To a certain extent he's protecting his investment here.
"He'll be terrified about Villa going down - they have not been relegated since 1986-87 - and they look as if they could.
"I don't believe they will. They have a very good squad of players. They just need some sophisticated, modern coaching."
"There's always an insult around the corner": Revisit Lambert's run-ins with BBC Radio 5 Live's football reporter Pat Murphy.
Lambert arrived at Villa with a strong reputation, having managed Livingston, Wycombe, Colchester and Norwich.
He had taken the Canaries from League One to the Premier League, but he struggled to make an impact at Villa.
They have finished 15th in the last two seasons.
During Lambert's time in charge, they scored just 98 goals in 101 league games and collected 102 points. And this season's goals-per-game ratio of 0.48 is the lowest in English league history.
Bolton manager Neil Lennon, working on BBC Radio 5 live as a pundit, said he felt "very sad" for his "good friend" and former Celtic team-mate.
"Villa had been on a horrendous run and he'd had his hands tied for a long time in terms of finances," added Lennon.
"But ultimately you're judged on results. It's significant that they've just dropped into the bottom three and the very next day Paul's gone." | Aston Villa have sacked manager Paul Lambert after dropping into the Premier League relegation zone. |
36,544,571 | All four of the main signs to the Gwynedd town will be altered to coincide with the Euro 2016 group stage match against England.
Local councillor Dilwyn Morgan said he was "100% behind the move".
The signs will be up for the duration of Wales' time in the competition.
Mr Morgan said: "It's a great way to honour Gareth Bale and get behind the Welsh squad for Euro '16.
"Gareth Bale is an international sporting star and this move should put Bala, sorry, Bale, on the international map."
Mari Williams, editor of local newspaper Y Cyfnod, said: "This shows the lengths fans will go to in order to support the squad." | The north Wales town of Bala will be temporarily changing its name to Bale in honour of international football star and Wales striker Gareth Bale. |
32,795,741 | Mohamed, 19, says he was taken by complete surprise by the sweeping takeover of the city by IS militants last week.
When he went to bed on Friday evening, everything seemed to be normal in the city. But by the time he woke up the next morning, he said, "the army had left its positions and IS were there in their place".
Mohamed is a local tribesman, but fortunately for him not a well-known figure because, he says, many "tribal leaders who couldn't escape were killed" soon after IS entered the city.
Other residents have told media outlets that the IS militants were breaking into the homes of policemen and pro-government tribesmen.
It was only after the tribesmen were killed, Mohamed continues, that IS militants announced from a mosque in central Ramadi that they had captured the whole city.
"Now all of the tribes are dead, they've been killed, demolished. The only thing left are the Shia militias and I don't think they're going to do anything to help Ramadi."
Mohamed managed to evade the militants by hiding his weapons and clothes and travelling with the large numbers of families who fled.
He has cousins who remain in the city. He last heard from them on Sunday evening when they called to say they had been surrounded from all sides.
"They called just to say that they were going to die," he says. He hasn't heard from them since.
Like Mohamed, Ahmed also left some family members behind when he fled Ramadi with his wife and two children last weekend.
He says he has been in regular contact with his uncle, who was unable to leave the city because he simply had nowhere else to go.
"Whoever was against IS was killed by the militants and my uncle says there were bodies in the streets. IS has also raised flags on some of the buildings in the city," Ahmed says.
The militants allowed some people to flee the city, he explains, with families waving white flags to show they had surrendered.
The loss of Ramadi represented more the failure of the Iraqi armed forces than the success of IS, he argues, saying that the army showed a lack of faith and weakness.
"They just don't have the commitment to fight and they gave up."
Ahmed described life under the militant group as an "unknown", saying he could not "live in an atmosphere filled with death, fear, horror and slaughtering".
"I would never feel safe living with people that are against life and humanity. They kill for the simplest reasons."
Ahmed has joined thousands of refugees in Khaldiyah, to the east of Ramadi.
Mohamed ended up in the same place, where he found 15 people packed into each room.
And when the battle started to turn eastwards, Mohamed decided to move on to Baghdad, where some of his uncles, who were injured in the IS attack, could receive medical treatment.
He says the IS militant advance was akin to ants that "come out from the ground".
"I think they just dig into the ground and come out from another area. We were surprised when we saw them all in Ramadi."
Ammar is an Iraqi refugee currently in Turkey. His main concern rests with his family, who are currently stuck in the Habbaniyah area.
He told the BBC he was fearful for their safety, and has been urging them to consider where they could flee to.
Some 3,000 Shia militiamen have been deployed in a military camp in the area ahead of an attempt to recapture the city.
Despite this, life is normal in Habbaniyah right now, says Ammar, who is in regular contact with his sisters and father. "They don't have electricity, but that's just normal by Iraqi standards," he jokes.
However, his family are planning to leave because the fighting is getting too close for comfort. "They are worried to death and they don't know what to do - they don't have many choices left."
Ammar had first-hand experience of dealing with an IS onslaught when his house was on the frontline of the IS advance into Fallujah at the end of 2013.
"I left the first hour of the first day Islamic State militants entered the city," he recalls. He has since heard from his former Baghdad neighbours that his home was largely destroyed in bombing by Iraqi government forces trying to recapture the city.
He moved from Fallujah first to Habbaniyah, then onto Baghdad and finally Turkey. In all that time, he says he has not once seen an IS fighter. "It feels like we're still running from them."
He says the battle against IS is "not taken seriously - it's like a game of cat and mouse".
But, he continues, "I hope and think every game has an end - I just don't know when this will be."
All names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees
Interviews conducted by Sarah Fowler and Marwa Al-Nagar | As tens of thousands of civilians continue to flee Islamic State (IS) militants in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, BBC News talks to some of the people who escaped the fighting and still have family members caught up in the conflict. |
35,355,310 | Zebre led 6-3 at the break, with Edoardo Padovani kicking two early penalties before Billy Burns responded with the boot for Gloucester.
Mark Atkinson went over for Gloucester after Zebre's Federico Ruzza was sin-binned early in the second half.
Fly-half Burns landed penalties either side of Dries van Schalkwyk's late try to seal victory for the trophy holders.
The victory meant Gloucester progress as the only team in the competition with an unblemished record.
Only five of the starting XV that secured top spot in the group and safe passage to the last eight with victory against La Rochelle seven days earlier retained their place for the trip to Parma.
There was no room for Matt Kvesic, the only Cherry and Whites player included in Eddie Jones' new-look England squad, for the last group game.
Worcester, who lost 35-11 to La Rochelle on Friday, finished bottom of Pool Four, 16 points adrift of Gloucester.
Gloucester scrum coach Trevor Woodman told BBC Gloucestershire:
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"I don't think it was about getting a try bonus point, it was really about coming out here and getting the victory. You hear coaches say they would sooner win ugly and that was certainly the way of it today.
"It was good that we showed character at the end to be able to get back in the game, get ourselves in front and finish it off. Was it pretty ? Not really, but it doesn't need to be all the time.
"This has been a period where we've been able to rest a lot of players so they'll be fresh and ready to go. There's no LV Cup this year, and we now have 10 Premiership games in a row and over 10 weeks we'll need the whole squad. It's going to be a big battle and it'll pretty much decide where we are at the end of the season."
Zebre: Van Zyl; Berryman, Boni, Pratichetti, L Sarto; Padovani, Palazzani; De Marchi, Fabiani, Ceccarelli, Bernabo, Bortolami (capt), J Sarto, Cook, Van Schalkwyk.
Replacements: Coria Marchetti, Postiglioni, Roan, Koegelenberg, Ruzza, Burgess, Beyers, Haimona.
Gloucester: Cook; Halaifonua, Meakes, Atkinson, McColl; Burns, Heinz; Thomas, Lindsay, Doran-Jones, Latta, Galarza, Ludlow, Rowan (capt), Morgan.
Replacements: Dawidiuk, Wood, McNulty, Hicks, Stooke, Braley, Sharples, Evans.
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Gloucester narrowly beat Zebre to deny the Italians a European Challenge Cup quarter-final place. |
38,313,645 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The defender fired in at the far post on Tuesday to take his team into the third round for the first time.
But not even 12 hours later he was getting up for a university lecture.
"I've got a lecture at 9am. And I've got to go," he told BBC WM. "I've got a dissertation to do. I want to be a primary school teacher."
Duggan, who is doing a teaching degree at Newman University in Birmingham, also works behind the bar at a golf club when he is not writing his name into FA Cup folklore.
And, as one might expect of any celebrating footballer who plays for a club named the Glassboys, he did suggest he would first be having a glass of beer or two.
"Not too many people in life have played in the third round of the FA Cup, or even scored in the FA Cup," he said. "You've got to enjoy it."
Having reached the second round for the fourth time in six seasons, manager Gary Hackett had already acclaimed his seventh-tier Northern Premier League side as the FA Cup's new non-league kings.
And, after claiming a second Football League cup scalp in five years following a win over Plymouth in 2011, Duggan believes they are capable of doing it again at League Two Wycombe in round three on 7 January.
"We don't fear anyone," said Duggan. "Northampton might have had an off day but that was down to us. Every first or second ball we won.
"There's not much difference between league and non-league football, as hard work always outweighs talent. We just wanted it more.
"I'm only in my first season here, but this is why I came. To be part of nights like this."
Jack Duggan was talking to BBC WM's Steve Hermon. | Stourbridge's FA Cup hero Jack Duggan did not allow himself long for life to get back to normal following his late match-winner against Northampton Town. |
39,642,492 | Richard Clark, 45, of Portland Road, Leicester, tried to get a child to engage in sexual activity and made indecent images of a child.
Recorder Stuart Sprawson sentenced him to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years at Leicester Crown Court.
Clark resigned as the chief executive of The Mighty Creatives after the offences came to light in January 2016.
More on this and other stories from across the East Midlands
In October of that year, he admitted three counts of making indecent photographs of a child between March 2006 and October 2014.
Last month, Clark changed his plea to guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity between 18 April and 11 May 2012.
Clark, from the Clarendon Park area, served as the charity's boss for more than seven years.
In addition to the sexual harm prevention order, he was also given a community order for three years, told to attend a sex offenders programme and added to the sex offenders register.
In a statement, the Leicester-based charity said: "As soon as police alerted the organisation to the allegations against Mr Clark, immediate and appropriate action was taken, which led to his subsequent resignation.
"The police did not pursue any lines of enquiry in relation to the work of the charity."
Founded in 2009, the charity said it develops opportunities for young people to "fulfil their creative potential". | A former boss of a children's charity who admitted four child sex offences has avoided a jail term. |
39,191,845 | Britain's former Fed Cup captain believes there must be more women at the top of the national governing body if female involvement in tennis in the UK is to grow.
"There probably haven't been anywhere near enough opportunities for women to develop: not just in coaching roles, but throughout the entire organisation," Murray told BBC Sport.
"If you look at our leadership team at the moment within the LTA [eight people on the executive team plus head coaches Leon Smith and Jeremy Bates] - there is only one woman, and that's the lady who runs the Human Resources department.
"So in that very important team - the decision-making team - there is no female tennis voice and to me that is completely wrong: something that really needs to be addressed. We need a much better balance."
With the notable exception of the professional tour, women are under-represented throughout the sport. Inspiring more girls to take up tennis - and then crucially to continue playing as they approach their teenage years - is central to the issue, and Murray believes female coaches are a big part of the answer.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
Murray designed the Miss-Hits programme, which is aimed at girls aged between five and eight, and at the beginning of February launched a female coaching initiative called She Rallies. Both programmes are run in partnership with the LTA.
"I tried hard when I was Fed Cup captain to grow the women's side of the game," she said.
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"We don't have anywhere near enough women coaches and I do believe there is a correlation between the number of female coaches and our ability to retain girls in competitive sport.
"Women so much better understand how girls think and behave and what their needs are. Teenage girls, in my experience, are not going to open up about their fears - such as issues with their bodies - to male coaches."
The disparity between the number of male and female coaches is starkly illustrated in the professional game. Britain's top three women - Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Naomi Broady - have taken on male coaches in recent months - principally because there is a much bigger pool to choose from.
"My experience of working with women coaches is that there aren't egos," Murray continued.
"They are much more willing to work together, and network and share. And I think if we can use that as a starting point, then we get more women doing things together and we can really start to make some inroads."
The LTA says it has insisted on there being at least one woman on the shortlist for the last three executive vacancies, and is proud of the fact that the nine women who have returned from maternity leave in the past 18 months have all been offered flexible working. A specific strategy aimed at women and girls is set to be launched later in the year.
And as for increasing the number of women in the senior leadership team, chief executive Michael Downey says it is a priority for the LTA, but that it will not happen overnight.
"Given that our sport is pretty gender-balanced, we want to have more gender balance in leadership roles," Downey told the BBC.
"Change like that can take some time to get there, but we've got to keep working on it: it's the right thing to do.
"We spend a lot of time on the key hires, and hopefully more often or not there will be qualified women who give us an opportunity to achieve some of those metrics moving forward." | Judy Murray says it is "completely wrong" there are so few women in senior leadership roles at the Lawn Tennis Association. |
31,099,106 | MPs for English seats would have a veto on tax, and issues like schools and health, which only affect England.
The plan falls short of the English Parliament demanded by some Tory MPs.
But Commons leader William Hague said it was a "fair solution". Labour is calling for a cross-party investigation into the matter.
Scotland is on course to be given the power to set its own income tax rates and bands - and Air Passenger Duty rates - under proposals drawn up by the The Smith Commission in the wake of September's independence referendum.
Prime Minister David Cameron promised a new settlement for England at the same time.
Critics say it is unfair that Scottish MPs should help decide how things such as schools and the health service are run in England, when English MPs have no such say over how they are run in Scotland.
But attempts at cross-party talks to resolve the so-called "West Lothian Question" were boycotted by Labour - which could struggle to get key legislation through the Commons if it won the election without its Scottish MPs - as a "stitch up".
Mr Hague's plan would give an effective veto to MPs for English seats - and Wales on some policies - for matters decided in the Scottish Parliament, but would still require a majority of all UK MPs to pass legislation.
He said it was the least radical of three options to resolve demands for "English votes for English laws" but would bring "fairness and accountability to England without breaking up the unity and integrity of the UK Parliament".
He told BBC Breakfast: "MPs from all parts of the UK would continue to debate, as they do now, anything they want. It is just that they would only be able to pass measures relating only to England with the agreement of the English MPs."
English MPs were never going to be given total control over English law. That would have created a de facto English Parliament that many MPs believe would have left the United Kingdom unworkable.
David Cameron never had this in mind when he stood outside Downing Street last September and promised to listen to the voices of England.
While some constitutional purists on the Tory benches are feeling sore, others are content. They now have something to say on the doorstep about the so-called English issue.
Read more from James
Mr Hague said the Commons Speaker would probably have the job of deciding which measures should be treated as England only.
He said the proposals were unlikely to become law before May's general election but they would be in the Conservative manifesto and he was keen for MPs to debate them before the election.
But some Conservative MPs say the plan will still give MPs for Scottish constituencies too much influence.
Former Cabinet Minister John Redwood told The Daily Telegraph: "It gives them leverage. If you had a lot of Nationalist MPs, for example, who wanted something for Scotland then presumably they would all gang up and try to block an English proposal until we cave in on what they wanted. It would be perfectly legitimate political tactics."
He said Tory MPs would not back Mr Hague's proposals.
In December Labour said an English, or English and Welsh, committee stage would give those MPs "a key role" in considering the legislation in question, while MPs as a whole would have the final say.
Labour said this and other ideas should be considered by a constitutional convention after May's general election.
The Liberal Democrats favour a grand committee of English MPs, with the right to veto legislation applying only to England, with its members based on the share of the vote.
But Lib Dem Deputy Commons Leader Tom Brake said it would be a "major mistake" to "rush through" changes without a constitutional convention.
UKIP Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall said: "Cameron has spoken of English votes for English laws but these proposals will fail to deliver anything but chaos."
Stewart Hosie, deputy leader of the SNP, said Hague's plan was "confused and a bit shambolic" and the UK government could not exclude Scottish MPs from debate unless full tax and spending powers were devolved to Holyrood.
Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's leader at Westminster, said English votes must "go hand in hand with home rule all round and the Barnett formula must be replaced in order to address the chronic underfunding of Wales". | MPs for Scottish seats would be stripped of the power to "impose" income tax rate changes on England under Conservative plans. |
40,667,263 | Jacob Burnside was injured after being hit by a car in Inverness.
SAS received a call at 19:47 on Tuesday but was unable to get the nearest available ambulance to the scene until 21 minutes later at 20:08.
Local crews were attending to patients with "immediately life-threatening conditions", the service said.
Jacob was taken to Inverness' Raigmore Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Police Scotland said a 33-year-old man had been charged with road traffic offences following the incident in Springfield Gardens.
SAS said its staff had sought to monitor Jacob's situation while arranging an ambulance to respond.
A spokesman said: "We received a call at 19:47 on Tuesday to attend an incident on Springfield Gardens in Inverness.
"At the time of this call, our local crews were attending to patients with immediately life-threatening conditions which meant we were unable to respond as quickly as we would have liked.
"One of our clinical advisors attempted to contact the 999 caller to ensure there had been no change in the patient's condition.
"We dispatched the nearest available ambulance which arrived on scene at 20:08 hours."
The spokesman said the boy was taken safely to Raigmore.
He added: "We encourage all patients who are dissatisfied with the service they have received to contact our patient experience team to enable us to explain the circumstances around the delay and see if any lessons can be learned." | The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has said it was unable to respond to an incident involving a four-year-old boy "as quickly as it would have liked". |
32,495,616 | It expects net profit of 525bn yen ($4.4bn; £2.9bn) for the year to next March, after reporting a 8.9% decline in profit last year to 523bn yen.
It was hit last year by quality issues, delayed vehicle launches and recalls.
Honda is also facing tougher competition in the US, as cheaper fuel has boosted demand for larger SUVs.
In the January-to-March quarter, the final quarter of the last financial year, net profits fell 43% to 97.8bn yen.
Honda has been facing scrutiny following the recall of millions of vehicles to replace faulty air bag inflators made by parts maker Takata, its biggest air bag supplier.
Despite the dent in its sales and image, Honda's executive vice president Tetsuo Iwamura was optimistic about a pick up in demand later this year.
"We expect our US sales to start recovering from the latter half of this business year with the launch of the new Pilot and Civic," he said at a press conference in Tokyo.
In February, the carmaker replaced its president Takanobu Ito with another executive - Takahiro Hachigo - among with other management changes. | Japanese carmaker Honda has forecast that profit for the current financial year will rise by just 0.4%, after results missed expectations last year. |
15,127,992 | German scientists took the heads to perform experiments seeking to prove the racial superiority of white Europeans over black Africans.
The skulls were uncovered three years ago in medical archive exhibits.
A ceremony was held in the German capital to return the remains as a gesture of reconciliation.
But chaotic scenes accompanied the speeches, particularly an address by German Deputy Foreign Minister Cornelia Pieper.
A handful of demonstrators shouted "reparations", "apology" and "genocide".
By Richard HamiltonBBC News
In the 1880s, Germany acquired present-day Namibia, calling it German South-West Africa. In 1904 the Herero, the largest of about 200 ethnic groups, rose up against colonial rule killing more than a 120 civilians.
The German response was ruthless. Gen Lothar von Trotha signed a notorious extermination order against the Herero, defeated them in battle and drove them into the desert, where most died of thirst. Of an estimated 65,000 Herero, only 15,000 survived. It is thought about 10,000 Nama people also died.
In 1985, a UN report classified the events as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples of South-West Africa, and therefore the earliest attempted genocide in the 20th Century. In 2004, Germany's ambassador to Namibia expressed regret for what happened.
Germany has consistently refused to pay reparations to its former colony, arguing that it has given much development aid to Namibia. But Namibians at the ceremony said the aid had not reached them.
Earlier, Ueriuka Festus Tjikuua, a member of the Namibian delegation, told reporters: "We have come first and foremost to receive the mortal human remains of our forefathers and mothers and to return them to the land of their ancestors."
The skulls belong to 20 people who died after an uprising against their German colonial rulers more than 100 years ago.
They were among hundreds who starved to death after being rounded up in camps.
Some of the dead had their heads removed and of these, about 300 were taken to Germany, arriving between 1909 and 1914.
The skulls gathered dust in German archives until three years ago when a German reporter uncovered them at the Medical History Museum of the Charite hospital in Berlin, and at Freiburg University in the south-west.
German researchers believe the skulls belong to 11 people from the Nama ethnic group and nine from the Herero.
They were four women, 15 men and a boy.
Mr Tjikuua said the mission intended to "extend a hand of friendship" to Germans.
Namibians, he said, wished to encourage a dialogue "with the full participation and involvement of the representatives of the descendants of those that suffered heavily under dreadful and atrocious German colonial rule".
Charite spokeswoman Claudia Peter said the purported research on the skulls performed by German scientists had been rooted in perverse racial theories that later planted the seeds for the Nazis' genocidal ideology.
"They thought that they could prove that certain peoples were worth less than they were," she told AFP news agency.
"What these anthropologists did to these people was wrong and their descendants are still suffering for it." | Namibian tribal leaders have visited Berlin to collect the skulls of 20 compatriots who died under Germany's colonial rule in the early 1900s. |
34,123,997 | Mr Umunna said the party should not "simply dismiss out of hand those who hold critical views of New Labour".
He added "solidarity is key" and the party must "accept the result".
But asked whether he would serve under Mr Corbyn, he said he had "misgivings" about many of his policies.
A new grouping of moderate party figures, including Mr Umunna, will meet for the first time next week.
This new group, called Labour for the Common Good, will meet when MPs return to Westminster, and is being jointly led by Mr Umunna and shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Umunna was "at pains to claim this group will not be a faction; a party within a party with the immediate aim of toppling Ed Miliband's successor".
In a speech to centre-left think tank Policy Network, Mr Umunna said his party must support "our new leader in developing an agenda that can return Labour to office".
Jeremy Corbyn, the bookmakers' favourite, is up against Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall in the leadership contest, with the winner due to be announced on 12 September.
Mr Umunna, who withdrew from the contest in its early stages, acknowledged Islington North MP Mr Corbyn had enthused many who had previously been turned off by the party.
"Over half a million people are now members, supporters or affiliated supporters of our party, with hundreds of thousands joining in the last few weeks," he said.
"Some have joined in order to thwart the pursuit of Labour values but many more have joined to further the pursuit of those values, including lots of young people.
"At a time when so many are walking away from centre-left parties across the Western world, and many young people do not vote let alone join a party, this is surely something to celebrate.
"It is vital that we embrace our new joiners and harness their energy," he added.
But Mr Umunna said he disagreed with Mr Corbyn on a range of issues, such as his support for national insurance tax rises, greater public ownership and a downsizing of Nato, while he also had concerns over his stance on EU membership.
Asked if he would remain in the shadow cabinet if Mr Corbyn won, the shadow business secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that it would "completely depend on the programme" he was asked to endorse.
"If one was asked to adopt all of those positions, I would find it difficult. But you don't only contribute by serving in a shadow cabinet."
Whoever was elected leader, he suggested, would have to adopt policies "around which a degree of consensus" could be formed.
Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show, Mr Burnham said he respected the "positive" energy that Mr Corbyn had brought to the campaign although he disagreed with him on many things.
He also said he would not stand for the leadership again if he lost, saying it was "now or never" for him.
At-a-glance profiles of the four contenders | Labour's Chuka Umunna has urged his party to unite around its new leader, in an apparent offer of reconciliation with left-wing leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn. |
36,345,041 | Dr Robyn Wheldon-Williams, 39, a teacher at Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen, Caernarfon, faces eight charges involving 1,400 images.
Dyfan Wheldon-Williams, 42, who worked at Ysgol y Moelwyn, Blaenau Ffestiniog, faces five charges involving 40 indecent images.
They entered no pleas at Caernarfon Magistrates' Court and were bailed.
The brothers will next appear at Caernarfon Crown Court in June.
A Gwynedd council spokesman said following a previous hearing: "The charges do not relate to their work for the authority." | Two brothers who worked as teachers appeared in court after being charged over child abuse images allegations. |
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