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37,183,600 | Wicketkeeper Billings hit 29 fours and one six in his innings, with Darren Stevens (140) and Will Gidman (58 not out) helping Kent declare on 533-6.
Stevens then took 3-11 to reduce the hosts to 34-4, still needing 278 more to avoid an innings defeat.
The all-rounder got rid of Chris Dent for one, William Tavare for a nine-ball duck and Michael Klinger for 10.
It was a memorable day for Stevens who had earlier shared 258 runs with Billings to set a Kent record for the fifth wicket.
Kent's Sam Billings told BBC Radio Kent:
"It was good to get the job done and it was great to spend some time with Darren [Stevens] out there. With two attacking players, you don't normally see that kind of partnership.
"The new ball is so key, you have to bowl well and just be patient. It's one of those where you have to squeeze the life out of an opposition and I think they just didn't quite do that with us.
"It's been a lot of Joe Denly, Sam Northeast and Daniel Bell-Drummond this year, so it's nice for all of us to come together and really put in a strong performance." | Sam Billings hit a first-class career best of 171 as Kent built a commanding lead against Gloucestershire. |
38,516,901 | Pipe, 33, returns to the club he captained to promotion in 2013 on a loan deal from Eastleigh.
Westley believes the midfielder is just the man to help his side in their League Two relegation battle.
"He's got experience and defensive qualities and leadership qualities, everything we need in the situation we are in right now," said Westley.
Pipe first joined Newport in September 2011 and went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Exiles over three seasons.
He was an integral part of the Newport side that was promoted back to the Football League via the then-Conference play-off final at Wembley in 2013.
But he departed the Welsh club in May 2014 for Forest Green Rovers before joining National League side Eastleigh in May 2016.
With Newport now at the bottom of League Two and currently five points from safety, Westley said Pipe had the attributes his side needed right now.
"Sometimes a player comes along who's got a history with a football club," said Westley.
"A history of success. When you've got a player you know is going to be strong in the dressing room, who understands winning standards and demands them, it's a no-brainer to bring them back."
A former Wales under-21 skipper, Pipe earned a full Wales cap in a 2003 friendly international against the United States.
Having begun his career at Coventry, Pipe had spells at Notts County, Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham.
In June 2010 he was convicted of wounding with intent after hitting a man with a wine bottle. He was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
Westley said what had gone on before had no bearing on his decision to sign Pipe.
"I've had a lot of players, who have been part of very successful sides who have allegedly had their problems in the past," added Westley.
"I judge people on what I see, on what is in front of me. I don't judge people on where they've been or what they've done because that would not be fair.
"David is looking forward with his life and career and very much wants to be a part of Newport County."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Newport County boss Graham Westley says bringing David Pipe back to the club was a 'no-brainer.' |
37,015,915 | It is the vehicles that first stand out. The open air, Thalab long range patrol vehicles are built for harsh terrain and are favoured by special forces.
In this case it is British special forces, seen for the first time on the ground, inside Syria, in photographs obtained by the BBC.
The pictures, which date from June, follow an attack by the so-called Islamic State (IS) on the moderate rebel New Syrian Army base of Al Tanaf on the Syria-Iraq border. The British soldiers appear to be securing the base's perimeter.
According to eyewitnesses, they were there in a defensive role. But they are carrying an arsenal of equipment including sniper rifles, heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
If IS attacked again they would have been able to put up a considerable fight.
A New Syrian Army's spokesman refused to comment on the pictures of the special forces, but acknowledged their help.
He said: "We are receiving special forces training from our British and American partners. We're also getting weapons and equipment from the Pentagon as well as complete air support."
The Pentagon's programme to train and equip moderate rebels is generally seen as a failure, after many of its fighters were kidnapped or gave their weapons to al-Qaeda in Syria.
The New Syrian Army, which draws most of its recruits from Deir Ezzor province, failed in a recent attempt to disrupt a key IS trading route across the Iraq-Syria border, but they have been able to fend off attacks at Al Tanaf.
They were mocked in an IS propaganda video following the failure of the Al-Bukamal attack. IS seized equipment and killed four of its fighters. One captured New Syrian Army recruit was shown being beheaded.
And, embarrassingly for its Western partners, videos of training sessions with western special forces were also included in the IS broadcast.
Another Western-backed rebel group, Asala and Tanmiya Front, broke with the New Syrian Army after the operation. Its spokesman, Abdelsalam al-Miz'il, has been critical of its planning.
He said: "We had met several parties and officially informed them, even before the al-Bukamal battle, that things weren't ready and inserting several fighters will not lead to liberation.
"We must first prepare things on the inside (the territory) and whip up popular support."
But the New Syrian Army's spokesman denied the operation was a complete failure. He said: "It was satisfactorily concluded by sticking a knife into the one of the most secure strongholds of the Islamic State."
And he added: "We need the international community to take a serious stand with all Syrians, with the Syrian rebels and the Syrian revolution in order to decapitate the head of terror, whether it may be Assad's or IS's or any terrorist organisation in Syria."
After viewing the pictures of British fighters at the base, the Ministry of Defence said it wouldn't comment on special forces operations.
Their numbers may be small, but on the frontlines in the fight against the Islamic State, time will tell if they are making a difference." | The BBC has obtained exclusive pictures showing for the first time British special forces operating on the ground in Syria. |
35,438,294 | They made a solid replica of a foetal brain, still smooth and unfolded, and coated it with a second layer which expanded when dunked into a solvent.
That expansion produced a network of furrows that was remarkably similar to the pattern seen in a real human brain.
This suggests that brain folds are caused by physics: the outer part grows faster than the rest, and crumples.
Such straightforward, mechanical buckling is one of several proposed explanations for the distinctive twists and turns of the brain's outermost blanket of cells, called the "cortex".
Alternatively, researchers have suggested that biochemical signals might trigger expansion and contraction in particular parts of the sheet, or that the folds arise because of stronger connections between specific areas.
"There have been several hypotheses, but the challenge has been that they are difficult to test experimentally," said Tuomas Tallinen, a soft matter physicist at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and a co-author of the study, which appears in Nature Physics.
"I think it's very significant... that we can actually recreate the folding process using this quite simple, physical model."
Humans are one of just a few animals - among them whales, pigs and some other primates - that possess these iconic undulations. In other creatures, and early in development, the cortex is smooth.
The replica in the study was based on an MRI brain scan from a 22-week-old foetus - the stage just before folds usually appear.
A 3D printout of that scan was used to make a mould, which in turn was filled with a silicon-based gel to make the "gel brain".
Finally, a 1mm-thick layer of slightly different gel was added to the surface - to play the role of the cortex.
When placed in a glass jar full of an organic solvent for 20-30 minutes, this outer layer swelled up and contorted itself into a very familiar shape.
"When I put the model into the solvent, I knew there should be folding but I never expected that kind of close pattern compared to human brain," said co-author Jun Young Chung from Harvard University, US.
"It looks like a real brain."
Specifically, the shape and direction of the gel brain's major grooves were an excellent match to those found in a typical 34-week-old human brain.
The team also created a computer simulation of the process.
Starting with the same shape as the replica foetus brain, split into its two simple layers, this mathematical model allowed them to follow the expansion process much further - until the simulated brain reached adulthood.
"In real brains there's something like a 20-fold increase in cortical area during development," Dr Tallinen told the BBC. "We can't create that in physical model - but in the numerical model we can. And we can also use more realistic parameters."
The experiments were a continuation of previous research by the same team, in which they stuck an expanding layer onto a simple spherical shape and calculated the stiffness and depth of "cortex" that produced wrinkles of a brain-appropriate size.
"In this paper we use real brain geometries, and we reproduce a developmental setting," Dr Tallinen explained. "We can study how brain geometry affects folding and creates the kind of arrangements of folds that we see in human brains."
As for whether these findings clinch the argument for brain folding being a purely mechanical process, Dr Tallinen was circumspect.
"The things that we saw in our model will inevitably happen in real brains as well, just as a consequence of this simple expansion. But there could be some other biological factors that modulate this process."
Zoltan Molnar, a neuroscientist at Oxford University who studies cortical development, said this was an impressive study that reconciled different ideas about how the brain folds, using a simple model.
"It's an excellent start - and it's almost alarming how similar it looks!" he told BBC News.
The simplicity of the mechanical mechanism is appealing, Prof Molnar explained, because it helps explain why "almost every branch" of the evolutionary tree has some species with brain folds, and some without.
"It has to be quite simple, because evolution is not going to keep inventing things twice. This way, you can see why it's so common."
The work also holds promise, he added, for studying diseases in which the brain fails to fold in the usual way.
"If they could recreate [a disorder] by changing some of the parameters... that would really help us to understand some of these folding abnormalities."
Follow Jonathan on Twitter | Scientists have reproduced the wrinkled shape of a human brain using a simple gel model with two layers. |
38,695,358 | Global Foods Ltd was issued with a legal notice in September 2014 after a complaint about cheese and ham being delivered in unsuitable vehicles.
On 9 December 2015, a check on a van delivering to a takeaway showed meat was not refrigerated again.
Director Mubarak Ali, appearing for the company, was hit with the fine at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Global Foods Ltd, which has a food hygiene rating of 1, said the wrong delivery truck had been loaded in error by a driver. | A Cardiff food wholesaler has been fined £120,000 for delivering "high-risk" goods in unrefrigerated vehicles. |
39,805,199 | Jason Gurgul, 33, was last seen on Baldwin Street in the city centre in the early hours of 29 April.
The remains were recovered from the Floating Harbour near Welsh Back earlier, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Formal identification has not yet taken place, but a force spokesman said Mr Gurgul's family was being kept fully updated. | A body has been found by police searching for a father-of-two who disappeared on a night out in Bristol. |
35,937,850 | Teams agreed unanimously to ditch the system after negative reaction to its debut in Australia two weeks ago.
Hamilton said: "It's strange we've kept it the same, particularly because the most important thing is the fans were unhappy."
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel added: "It's something we can't be proud of."
The new qualifying format was condemned because it ended with four minutes of an empty track in Australia as teams sought to save tyres for the race - exactly as they had predicted would happen.
Hamilton said: "My engineers say it's going to be exactly the same this weekend. So the fans are going to be unhappy again, and I just hope that they do something afterwards."
Vettel added: "Put it this way: You sell ice cream, and it's vanilla and everybody that comes to your shop is asking for chocolate ice cream.
"And the next day everyone comes expecting you to sell chocolate ice cream but you sell vanilla again. You do what your clients would like you to do. You are not really doing your job by doing the exact opposite."
The plan to revert to the 2015 format of three knock-out sessions in which all eligible cars run to the end was derailed by Jean Todt, president of governing body the FIA.
Sources say he was not prepared to be dictated to by the teams, so he did not present that option when the decision to change was put to a vote of the F1 Commission, which includes all teams, the FIA, F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone and representatives of the circuits, sponsors and tyre suppliers.
Instead, Todt offered the choice of a slightly amended elimination format - with the first two sessions slightly extended and only the third session running as 2015 - or to stick with the new rules.
McLaren, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India all voted against the tweaks because it was not what had been agreed by the teams in Australia.
Insiders say by doing so they hoped to force Todt to run a second vote with the option of reverting to 2015's format but this did not happen.
Several drivers made the point that the fiasco underlined their reasons for writing an open letter last week pleading for F1's governance to be changed to stop decisions being made on the sport's future.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said he hoped the letter would lead to a "re-think of what is currently happening".
He added: "Obviously it is clear if you write the letter it doesn't change tomorrow, we didn't give any proposals, we just made clear something is not right and something has to change. our intention was to really question our current situation and decision-making and hopefully improve that in the future."
Hamilton is one of a handful of drivers who are not members of the GPDA but he said the drivers were unanimously behind the letter.
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McLaren driver Jenson Button, also a GPDA director, said: "We wrote it to show we care.
"We're very passionate about the sport. We grew up loving watching F1 and dreaming of being in an F1 car and racing against the best drivers in the world.
"We are very emotional about our decisions, which sometimes is not the best, but you do need emotion about the way a sport should work and our input could be very useful.
"We're not putting a statement out to show how strong we are as drivers. Most of us don't care about that.
"We're doing it because we think we can help the sport we love very much and make it a better sport, for the fans, the sport and the whole of F1.
"We want the fan base to grow, we want youngsters to love the sport. With the short attention span most kids have these days with phones in their faces we need to make the sport more exciting." | Lewis Hamilton says it is "strange" Formula 1 has kept the controversial new elimination qualifying format for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. |
33,701,290 | The overtime bill for PSNI officers and staff was down by £11.5m, from £59.2m in 2013/14 to £47.7m in 2014/15.
In England and Wales it totalled almost £1bn over three years and went up by £6m last year, a freedom of information request by BBC Radio 5 live found.
One individual within the PSNI was paid almost £44,000 in overtime in 2014/15.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said the PSNI is facing "unprecedented budgetary pressures".
He said the service was having to find ways to "live within our reduced means".
But he denied that budget cuts were having a negative impact on frontline policing.
"We have been looking very carefully at every aspect of our service delivery to identify and implement ways of providing those services within our reducing budget," he said.
"This has not meant a reduction in frontline policing services, rather it is simply a change to what that service looks like.
"We have made significant efforts, based on research and examination of demand, to ensure that we have the right people in the right place at the right time to effectively deliver our services."
A recent shake-up of the PSNI's policing districts, local policing teams and support services was part of the process, he said.
In 2011, the PSNI said a 13% rise in overtime spending was due to the terrorist threat.
But the decrease in 2014/15 is not a suggestion that the threat has reduced, it said.
"The threat posed by violent, terrorist criminals remains severe," ACC Todd said.
"While this threat persists, keeping people safe, is and always will be of paramount importance to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
"This task continues to require significant policing resources."
He added that the PSNI would be keeping its resources "under regular review" as it faces "significant challenges".
Figures for 39 forces in England and Wales show the overtime bill rose from £307.1m in 2013/14 to £313.2m in 2014/15.
Police Scotland spent £18.2m on overtime in 2014/15, a reduction of £6m on the previous year. | Overtime spending by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) decreased last year by almost 20%. |
32,216,198 | Stewart Nicol said the industrial action by security staff who work at 11 Highlands and Islands Airports Limited sites could affect trade and tourism.
More than 120 members of the Prospect union began the 48-hour strike at midday on Tuesday.
Hial and Prospect are in a dispute over the employees' pay and conditions.
Scottish government-owned Hial has given managers training in security work to keep 10 of the airports open. Dundee has been temporarily shut.
Mr Nicol told BBC Radio Scotland: "I am quite concerned about the message this is putting out about the Highlands.
"Our reliance on the air routes is quite critical. For us as a region we are disproportionally reliant on them."
He added: "I would continue to urge management and the union to work together to get a resolution on this."
Hial runs Inverness, Dundee, Wick, Campbeltown airports and airports in the Hebrides and Northern Isles.
The industrial action is due to end at midday on Thursday.
In a statement, Hial said it was "business as usual" at 10 of its 11 airports.
It said: "Only scheduled services between Dundee and Stansted are suspended today.
"All other services are scheduled to operate. There are no delays to flights due to strike action."
Hial asked that passengers arrived 15 to 20 minutes early for flight and limit the amount of liquids and luggage they brought to the airport.
The company said it had an offer to Prospect to restart talks.
The union has accused Hial of telling the media first of its offer, adding that it was already for talks but would not resume negotiations without an offer on improved pay and conditions. | The chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce has urged management and union leaders to resolve a strike affecting regional airports. |
35,726,513 | Teacher recruitment expert Prof John Howson confirmed the rate of teacher vacancies advertised in London was higher than anywhere else in England.
A survey of 1,200 NUT members in London aged under 35 found 60% were planning to leave the city within five years.
And almost two-thirds of these said housing costs were the main reason.
The union has urged candidates in May's mayoral elections to adopt policies to boost affordable housing in London.
Prof Howson, of Oxford Brookes University and director of the Teach Vac website, told the BBC that London schools' teacher recruitment difficulties meant more children were taught by non-specialist teachers, particularly at secondary level.
The NUT says newly qualified teachers in inner London take home £1,655 a month after tax - and £1,583 in outer London.
But the rent on a one-bedroom flat in the capital averaged £1,155 in the year to the end of March 2015, according to government figures.
This compares with £525 for England as a whole and £625 for the south east of England.
This leaves young teachers struggling to make ends meet, says the union.
"Teaching, yes; in London, no. I just can't afford to live here," one teacher told the NUT.
"I can't move further away to find something cheaper as I need to get into work by 07:30," explained another.
Those with families were particularly likely to decide to move.
One teacher said: "I plan to move out because I have a one-year-old and cannot afford to raise my child in London."
Another added: "If I want to have children I would have to change either my city or my profession."
Some cut costs by sharing - but this takes its toll, combined with a teacher's workload, says the union.
"There's no privacy and nowhere to work. Sitting on my bed to mark books is killing my back."
Almost one in five was still living with their parents, blaming escalating rents and stagnating salaries.
"Salaries are little more than they were seven years ago but rent has doubled," said one.
It "makes me feel like I never have my own life. I'm leaving London," said another.
Many called for rent controls, particularly for key workers like teachers.
NUT regional secretary Martin Powell-Davies, said candidates for London Mayor and for the London Assembly must address "this significant and growing problem."
"It they don't, there will be detrimental consequences for London's children and young people's education."
Housing is a key policy area in the race for London Mayor.
Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith supports government plans to extend right-to-buy to housing association tenants.
If elected, Mr Goldsmith says he will double housebuilding to 50,000 homes a year by 2020 "by working with government to develop London's brownfield land".
Labour's Sadiq Khan says he would focus on building genuinely affordable new homes on public land owned by organisations like Transport for London.
"I'd ensure these new homes are offered to local people first, such as teachers, rather than overseas investors," he says.
Liberal Democrat candidate Caroline Pidgeon says the only way to combat high rents is to increase the housing supply through a City Hall building company.
UKIP's candidate Peter Whittle calls the problem a simple fact of supply-and-demand with "tens of thousands of people arriving in London every year".
For the Green Party, Sian Berry is calling for more new building and a halt to estate demolitions, along with limits to rent rises. | The success of London schools is at risk as high rents increasingly price young teachers out of London, says the National Union of Teachers. |
32,226,595 | Media playback is unsupported on your device
9 April 2015 Last updated at 00:27 BST
But Renewable Energy Systems said it was listening to the fears of locals and has already scaled back the wind farm.
Helen Astle reports. | Some villagers in Rutland say their county would be spoiled and wildlife ruined if plans for an industrial wind farm get the go ahead. |
40,644,073 | A coalition of charities including Barnardo's and Victim Support want an urgent review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's guidelines.
They say the rules do not reflect the fact the legal age of consent is 16.
Children as young as 12 have reportedly been denied payments even after their attackers have been jailed.
The charities say the rules should be changed "so no child groomed and manipulated into sexual abuse is denied compensation because they complied with their abuse through fear, lack of understanding, or being brainwashed into believing their abuser loved them".
The group, which also include Liberty, Rape Crisis and the National Working Group, has written to the Justice Secretary David Lidington.
According to a Freedom of Information request from Victim Support, 693 child victims of sexual abuse have been refused compensation since 2012.
The charity said the authorities did not state how many of these were denied because they "consented" to their sexual relationship,
Instead, the children were told their application was being denied because they were "not a direct victim of violence".
Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: "For children to be denied compensation on the grounds that they consented to the abuse they have suffered is nothing short of scandalous."
Director of Liberty, Martha Spurrier, said: "Perpetrators manipulate children into situations that look like consent.
"No child can consent to abuse, which is why the criminal law rightly says they are simply unable to do so."
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is open to applications from people who sustain a criminal injury "directly attributable to their being a direct victim of a crime of violence".
This can include a sexual assault to which a person did not "in fact" consent.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "This government is committed to doing everything possible to support victims. We will look closely at the concerns raised by these charities that some victims are not getting the compensation they deserve.
"The issue of compensation for victims is currently being examined by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, and the Ministry of Justice is contributing to its important work." | Child victims of sexual exploitation are being refused compensation from a government agency on the grounds they "consented", campaigners have said. |
38,689,590 | Fans are angry with Fawaz Al Hasawi over his running of the club and a failed takeover talks with a US-based consortium led by John Jay Moores.
Collymore, who played for the Reds between 1993 and 1995, said he had come to get answers for the Forest fans.
Mr Al Hasawi, a Kuwaiti businessman, insisted he was dedicated to the success of the club.
Mr Collymore was at the City Ground car-park with hundreds of fans, who want "Fawaz out" ahead of the game against Bristol City.
He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I'm not here today to say Fawaz out, Fawaz in.
"I'm here as a former player of the club... to actually have a meeting... and get these people [fans] answers."
Mr Al Hasawi took over at the City Ground in 2012.
During his time as owner and chairman Forest have been under a transfer embargo twice and faced several winding-up petitions.
The team are currently facing a relegation battle without a full-time manager after Philippe Montanier was sacked on 14 January.
Mr Al Hasawi was due to sell the club to Mr Moores, but talks broke down.
Mr Al Hasawi said he was committed to securing Nottingham Forest's "long-term position as a thriving and successful club".
In a statement, he said: "I want to assure fans I remain as devoted as ever to this great club." | Ex-footballer and sports broadcaster Stan Collymore was at a protest against the owner of Nottingham Forest. |
32,651,408 | The prime-time show will be filmed in a "contemporary, documentary-style" and will explore their personal lives, relationships and even disappointments.
The Big Bang Theory's producer Bill Prady is behind the series.
The recent pilot got a standing ovation at an ABC screening last month, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The Muppets, created by puppeteer Jim Henson, first appeared on television in the 1950s, getting their own show in the 1970s.
They recently made a return to the big screen in 2011's The Muppets and 2014's Muppets Most Wanted, featuring Ricky Gervais.
Their TV comeback series is one of several new comedies picked up by ABC after the US pilot season.
Dr Ken will star Community's Ken Jeong, while The Real O'Neals is a contemporary take on a seemingly perfect Catholic family.
ABC has also ordered six new dramas and given hit shows including Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and Marvel's Agents of Shield a new series.
Several other shows including Nigella Lawson's The Taste have been cancelled. | A new series of The Muppet Show has been commissioned by US TV network ABC, promising a "more adult" take on much-loved characters such as Kermit. |
40,392,122 | Hollywood actor Johnny Depp made the headlines with his comments about President Trump, Friday's night saw the return of Radiohead on the Pyramid stage and there was a surprise gig by Elbow at The Park stage.
Although it has been a damp start with rain overnight, music fans have mostly escaped the muddy conditions of previous years.
Here are some of the highlights so far:
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at Cineramageddon - a drive-in cinema on the Somerset site.
Bradley Cooper joined Kris Kristofferson on the Pyramid Stage.
There were some acrobatic performances by Bo Ningen.
Large crowds gathered beneath the giant spider at Arcadia.
The rather more sedate cinema option was also a popular choice for some festivalgoers.
This group of music fans were seen at Shangri-La dressed as astronauts.
The rain did not hold off, but the dreaded mud is not as bad as in some previous years.
Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper were spotted in the queue for a shower. | Festivalgoers are settling into the second day of Glastonbury Festival. |
39,394,343 | England Boxing's Junior Championships were due to take place at Basildon Sporting Village on Saturday and Sunday.
The governing body said the cancellation had ruined the "dreams of young boxers".
Essex Police confirmed it advised the organisers to cancel the tournament.
As first reported in the Essex Echo, the event was for 14 to 15 year old boxers.
It was cancelled in 2016 when it was due to take place in Portsmouth, also due to a "threat of life" warning.
England Boxing said it is attempting to find an alternative venue to re-run the competition in the future.
Chairman Casper Hobbs said: "There was a specific threat to life made which caused the police to enforce cancellation, despite us offering to double the security detail.
"It is disgraceful and disgusting that a few selfish and pathetic individuals can ruin the dreams of young boxers, and those who support them, for their own low and pathetic reasons.
"It is nothing short of outrageous. The same happened last year, that may be co-incidental or it may not be."
Essex Police said it was "unable to disclose the nature of the concerns prompting this cancellation".
It apologised for any "inconvenience" and "disappointment" caused to those who were due to take part. | A national junior boxing tournament has been cancelled by police due to a "threat to life" for the second year running. |
39,938,489 | Christine Malloy was one of two teenagers convicted of killing Edna Phillips from Penywaun, near Aberdare, in July 1992.
Mrs Phillips, who was partially-sighted and had arthritis, was tortured and stabbed by Malloy and Maria Rossi.
Malloy's body was found at a house in Fenstanton. Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.
A spokeswoman for the Cambridgeshire coroner said tests were being carried out to establish the cause of death and the results would not be known for a few months.
Malloy and Rossi pleaded guilty to murder at Cardiff Crown Court in March 1993 and were ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Eight years later Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, ruled Rossi should serve a minimum term of 13 years before being considered for parole, and Malloy should serve 12. | A woman who murdered a pensioner with a friend when they were both 17 has been found dead in Cambridgeshire. |
39,039,165 | It is still not clear whether there will be a second round or if governing party candidate Lenin Moreno will gain the 40% of the votes needed to win outright in the first round.
With 95% of the votes counted, he fell just short with 39.23%.
His closest rival, Guillermo Lasso, said the delays "did not smell right".
Mr Lasso is trailing more than 10 percentage points behind Mr Moreno but is confident he could beat him in a second round in which opposition supporters are likely to unite behind him.
National Electoral Council President Juan Pablo Pozo said there was a "marked trend" and that a run-off looked "inevitable" with only 5% of votes still to be counted.
But he called on Ecuadoreans to "wait for the results with calm".
He assured Ecuadoreans that "not one vote will be stolen from anyone".
Lenin Moreno:
Guillermo Lasso:
Third-placed candidate Cynthia Viteri has already said she would throw her weight behind Mr Lasso in a run-off.
"How can they take three days to count 12%?" Mr Lasso asked referring to the unprecedented slow pace at which the last remaining votes were trickling in.
In previous elections, official results were announced on the night of the election.
Supporters of Mr Lasso, some of whom gathered outside the National Electoral Council on Monday, were not convinced.
"It seems like democracy in this country has disappeared and this government does whatever it likes with our vote," Mateo Mendez told Reuters news agency.
"It's very strange that here in the 21st Century the results aren't known the same day as the election," Mr Lasso said while calling on his supporters to stay mobilised.
Mr Moreno was critical of Mr Lasso's call for Ecuadoreans to take to the streets if there was no second round.
"It's striking to me that there is a loser politician out there calling for violence,'' he said.
Mr Moreno has said that while he is confident he will gain enough votes to stave off a second round, he is ready to carry on fighting.
"A revolutionary is a revolutionary for life," he tweeted [in Spanish]. | Ecuadoreans are growing impatient at the slow pace of vote counting with the results of the presidential poll delayed until Wednesday or Thursday. |
34,302,103 | Media playback is not supported on this device
By letting the kick-off bounce, as if it were an under-11s game on a muddy school playing field.
England recovered from that inauspicious first act, if not to flourish or necessarily frighten the bigger boys who lie in wait over the next month and a half.
What they might go on to do now is almost as uncertain as those first few seconds. For while a 35-11 win over a team ranked ninth in the world appears an encouraging opener, this team and this tournament are in the same state: full of promise, as much about ambition and anticipation as solid achievement.
Twickenham played host to a wonderful atmosphere but an ordinary performance. While the stadium itself looked both familiar and entirely new, as if you had popped round to an old mate's house to find he had redecorated the entire ground floor, England were as they have been for much of the Stuart Lancaster regime: spirited yet often anxious, full of passion but sometimes short of pragmatism, victorious but often flawed.
You can forgive opening night nerves. When France hosted their own World Cup eight years ago they found themselves upstaged and upended by an Argentina side who refused to play the supporting role allotted to them.
England instead began at a canter. With 20 minutes gone they were 15 points up and playing against 14 men who appeared unable to match their old-fashioned forward power.
That should have been it, for all Fiji's dash and muscular daring. Instead, with 15 minutes remaining, England sat a mere converted try ahead. Had their opponents landed their several kickable penalties, the anxiety around the half-cut stands would have turned into full-blown panic.
The battles of the next two Saturday nights, when Wales and Australia come armed with greater weaponry yet, will tell us whether this performance sets the tone for English involvement in this tournament or merely represents a shaky start to soon be forgotten.
But while superior fitness and the power and control exerted by an impressive set of replacements calmed those nerves, the foundations of this performance will concern Stuart Lancaster and his specialist coaches.
England's scrum, the cornerstone to both their historic triumphs and the best displays of this particular team, continued to look as vulnerable as it had in their warm-up games.
Three of their eight scrums were lost, the most costly coming on their own five-metre line and leading directly to the first Fijian try.
At the breakdown they were short of control and often overwhelmed. Seven rucks were lost, a startling 16 turnovers conceded. Trepidation about the damage the more vaunted Wales and Wallaby back rows might wreak over the next fortnight is unlikely to dissipate.
The pressure told. Eleven penalties were conceded, even if referee Jaco Peyper had an over-cautious evening. The big ball carriers failed to make enough yards. The half-back pairing of Ben Youngs and George Ford, denied a solid platform, wobbled further.
Fijian flair has wrecked better teams before. For England to miss 16 tackles, even against 20-stone wingers and flankers built like fire engines, nevertheless sends alarms clanging.
So too does the team's approach in the fog of battle. Having smashed through the Fijian defence with an unstoppable rolling maul to win an early penalty try, more seasoned teams would have returned to such lucrative tactics to profit again.
Instead England looked to go wide when the speed of ball or shape of play seldom merited it, too often sucked into trying to match Fiji's own harum-scarum invention when a more prosaic approach would have brought greater dividend.
Great sides aren't built on slick hands and stepping feet alone. No child grows up dreaming of becoming a pragmatist, yet sometimes sensible is the only way to be. Play the odds not the maverick, at least until the opportunities have been earned.
England have started slowly before in World Cups only to find a style and momentum as the tournament has developed.
Having lost to New Zealand in their opening match of the 1991 showdown they went on to reach a final they probably should have won; eight years ago they were humiliated 36-0 by South Africa in the group stages before scrapping through to meet the same opponents in the final and coming within a stud or two of Mark Cueto's left boot of shocking them further.
As his reign began, Lancaster showed a chart to his RFU bosses which showed that the average World Cup-winning team had 663 caps in its starting XV. As judgement approaches, his own first-choice team features at least 200 fewer than that, reflecting a side both in perpetual transition and in search of its true core.
This is a team that has won back the affection of a nation that had lost faith following the bad behaviour and dismal displays at the last World Cup.
It is also one that has lost one big game a year in the Six Nations and at least one every autumn against the might of the southern hemisphere.
There is immense promise in Ford and Jonathan Joseph, in the rampaging Courtney Lawes and Billy Vunipola. There is also a back row that can lack balance, a callow centre partnership and a first-choice hooker who is not in the squad.
Britain now hosts these big global sporting events with both style and unmatched support. The 2012 Olympics flowed into the Tour's Grand Depart and the Commonwealth Games a summer ago.
To keep that wonderful sequence flowing, England's rugby team must now convert all that potential as effectively as Great Britain's athletes did in and around the capital three years ago.
How will success be judged? Probably only in reaching their fourth final in eight attempts. It is a mighty task, even as the opportunity to spark another celebration of sport promises so much. | How do you start a tournament that has been talked about for four years, cost £150 million to host, seen 2.4 million tickets sold and begun with 80,000 people roaring from all sides of a sold-out stadium? |
33,059,012 | Judge James Brady also banned prosecutors from trying Albert Woodfox, 68, for a third time.
Following Brady's orders, Woodfox could be released from jail within days.
He has been in solitary confinement since April 1972, after he was blamed for the death of a guard during a prison riot.
Woodfox was tried twice for the guard's death, but both convictions were later overturned. He denies all the charges.
He was confined for 23 hours a day, with an hour outside his cell to "walk alone along the tier on which his cell is located", according to court documents from a case challenging his prison conditions.
Exercise was permitted three times a week and there were restrictions on "personal property, reading materials, access to legal resources, work, and visitation rights".
Originally convicted and imprisoned for armed robbery, he was found guilty of murder after the riot in which prison officer Brent Miller was stabbed to death with a lawnmower blade.
On Monday, Judge Brady ordered the unconditional release of Woodfox and said a third trial could not be fair.
But a spokesman for the Louisiana attorney general said prosecutors would appeal "to make sure this murderer stays in prison and remains fully accountable for his actions".
Sources: ACLU, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Solitarywatch.com, Louisiana Prison Watch
How do you survive solitary confinement?
Woodfox is currently being held at a detention centre where he was placed in isolation ahead of his trial.
He is one of three men who were held in solitary confinement at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary and known as the "Angola Three", as the prison lies next to a former slave plantation called Angola.
The other two men, Robert King and Herman Wallace, were released in 2001 and 2013 respectively. Wallace, also convicted over Mr Miller's murder, died soon after his release pending a new trial. King's conviction was overturned.
King and Wallace were also initially imprisoned for armed robbery.
Woodfox and Wallace were involved with the Black Panthers, a militant black rights movement formed in 1966 for self-defence against police brutality and racism, which later embraced "revolutionary" struggle as a way of achieving black liberation.
Woodfox, Wallace and King consistently maintained they were imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, with convictions only obtained after mistrials.
King, who spent 29 years in solitary confinement, described his experience to the BBC in an interview three years ago.
He said he remained strong but it was "scary" to see how others crumbled through lack of human contact.
The three men have been the focus of a long-running international campaign.
Tory Pegram of the International Coalition to Free the Angola Three, said she had spoken to Woodfox late on Monday and he was "excited and nervous".
Jasmine Heiss, a campaigner with Amnesty International USA, said the decision to release Woodfox was "a momentous step toward justice". | A judge in the US state of Louisiana has ordered the release of an inmate who has been in solitary confinement for more than 40 years. |
40,235,515 | The Latvian, 20, hit 54 winners on her way to a "dream" 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over Romania's Simona Halep.
"I always had the possibility I could hit the ball really hard," said Ostapenko. "If I have a chance to go for a shot, I'm trying."
She is the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933.
It was only her eighth appearance at one of the four tennis majors, the fewest by a champion since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004.
A 100-1 outsider at the start of the tournament, she will rise from 47th to 12th in the world rankings following her spectacular victory.
And it was the 299 winners she hit over the course of seven matches that captured the imagination of the Roland Garros crowd, who roared her to victory on Saturday.
"Nobody taught me, it's just the way I play," said Ostapenko. "And also I think my character is like that. I want to really hit the ball."
Ostapenko beat Olympic champion Monica Puig, former finalist Sam Stosur, former number one Caroline Wozniacki and two-time semi-finalist Timea Bacsinszky on her way to the final.
But it was not until the closing moments of her win over third seed Halep, the 2014 runner-up, that the Latvian contemplated winning the title.
"I think I was up in the third set 5-3, then I realised I can win the match," she said. "Not before that. I was just taking it step by step."
Having earned a total of £1m in her professional career before Roland Garros, Ostapenko, who turned 20 on Thursday, will take home £1.65m for Saturday's victory.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
"I wasn't even thinking about it," she said. "I was thinking about winning the title."
The junior Wimbledon champion in 2014, she will now head to the All England Club next month among the contenders.
Ostapenko begins her grass-court season in Birmingham at the Aegon Classic, along with eight of the world's top 10, and will then head on to Eastbourne for the Aegon International.
"Of course I will probably now will have more pressure and attention, but I'm going to try to deal with that," she said.
"I think it's going to be little bit difficult but I chose to be a tennis player, so that's my career. I should be fine with that."
She made headlines last year because of a bust-up with British player Naomi Broady in Auckland. The pair argued at the end of their match after Broady claimed Ostapenko should have been disqualified for throwing her racquet at a ball boy.
Ostapenko chose a tennis career over ballroom dancing, something she still practises four times a week - her favourite dance is the samba.
She is coached by her mother Jelena, with father Jevgenijs taking fitness trainer duties.
Spanish player Anabel Medina Garrigues has also been helping with coaching as she recovers from an injury.
President Raimonds Rejoins called to wish her luck after the semi-final, and a giant screen in Riga showed the final. | French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko believes "anything is possible" with the all-out attacking style which brought her a first Grand Slam title. |
38,414,762 | The men, aged 32 and 24, have been charged in connection with the theft of seven cars from Ancrum Autos on 12 December.
The other charges relate to a break-in at Dundee clothing shop Size, the theft of two cars in Liff and a break-in to C and K Communications in St Andrews.
They are expected to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on Saturday. | Two men have been charged with a series of thefts and break-ins, including a raid on a Dundee used car dealership. |
18,352,135 | Researchers looked at places named after eagles in Gaelic and Old English to help estimate populations of the birds in AD500.
From the Dark Ages, they drew on historical material and studies to map pairs of the raptors to the present.
The RSPB said the maps painted "a sad picture of decline".
Published in Bird Study, the journal of the British Trust for Ornithology, the study suggests both species were once found across lowland and upland Britain and Ireland.
There were an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 pairs of golden eagles in AD500, when
Arthur
was said to have been a mythical king, or a real-life warlord.
By the year 1800, by which time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, numbers of the eagles had fallen to as few as 300.
According to the RSPB, up to 90% of sea eagles were lost over that same period and the species was extinct in Britain by the early years of the 20th Century.
Human persecution and the destruction of habitats have been blamed for the falling numbers.
White-tailed sea eagles were reintroduced to the Isle of Rum, off Scotland's west coast, in 1975, followed by other programmes to bring back the birds to other parts of Scotland.
Thirty-one pairs of sea eagles and 440 golden eagles were recorded in 2003.
Richard Evans, of RSPB Scotland and lead author of the study, said the results were striking.
He said: "They provide compelling evidence that eagles were widespread throughout most of Britain and Ireland in the Dark Ages.
"Between 500 and 1800 we see massive loss of eagle range in the south, which is consistent with the effects of habitat loss and killing by humans, rather than the influence of climate change on habitat, or competitive exclusion, as some have suggested.
"This trend continued in the years up to the First World War, until the only eagles left in all of Britain and Ireland were golden eagles in the highest hills and deer forests of Scotland."
Mr Evans added: "Recovery of golden eagles since this low point has now stalled, while limited recovery of white-tailed eagles has only been possible by reintroduction.
"Although the reintroduced white-tailed eagle population is healthy, at present they occupy only a fraction of their former range."
The study drew on research of names representing the word "eagle" given to places when Old English, Norse, Welsh and Scots and Irish Gaelic that replaced older Celtic language place names.
In Scots Gaelic, 276 such place names were found, 152 in Old English, 84 in English, 66 in Scots, 63 in Irish Gaelic, 55 in Norse, 18 in Welsh and two in Manx.
The method has been used to estimate numbers of other species. | The decline in numbers of golden and white-tailed sea eagles in Britain and Ireland since the time of King Arthur has been mapped by the RSPB. |
38,553,180 | Arlene Foster said that "if there's an election, there's an election".
She described Sinn Féin's demand that she stand aside during an investigation into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme as "ludicrous".
The RHI scheme is approximately £490m over budget.
Speaking to the Impartial Reporter newspaper, Mrs Foster said: "We want to see an independent inquiry probably more than anybody".
"While others have been engaging in hysteria over Christmas I've been actually working to try and find a plan and work through all of this with my ministerial colleague Simon Hamilton," she said.
The RHI was set up by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti) under the stewardship of Mrs Foster in 2012 to encourage businesses and other non-domestic users to move from using fossil fuels to renewable heating systems.
It was an attempt by the NI Executive to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources.
But flaws in setting the scheme's subsidy rate left it open to abuse as claimants could earn more cash the more fuel they burned.
'Conflict of interest'
Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said at the weekend that the DUP leader's refusal to step aside during an investigation into the green energy scheme was "unacceptable".
He also hinted that Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness could resign if Mrs Foster remained in post.
Mr Adams suggested there was a "clear conflict of interest" if she remained.
However, the first minister described Sinn Féin's position as "a purely political demand and not one that serves any genuine purpose".
Also writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Mrs Foster said the party "demand an independent inquiry free from any political interference, but they then make the holding of it conditional on my stepping aside".
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster, her party colleague, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, said that if Sinn Féin wanted an election "then we say bring it on".
"I'm saying categorically that the first minister will not be stepping down from her post, so the corollary from that is that if Sinn Féin are threatening an election then that is the more likely outcome". | The first minister has said that if Sinn Féin is "playing a game of chicken" and expecting her to stand aside "they're wrong". |
35,068,974 | Williams, 25, had been in line for a fresh national dual contract in which the Welsh Rugby Union would pay 60% of his wages.
But the WRU withdrew their offer amid an accusation of a bidding war among Wales' regions over Williams.
He said it is "exciting" his career will continue at Parc y Scarlets.
Williams has been on a national dual contract since March, 2015, but the WRU's controlling interest in the player will end in the summer of 2016.
He is in his second season as Scarlets vice-captain, but has been sidelined by a knee injury since Wales' 2015 World Cup win over England at Twickenham.
Jonathan Davies returns to Scarlets from Clermont Auvergne for the 2016-17 season to partner Williams in midfield.
Davies, a 2013 British and Irish Lion, has signed a national dual contract to return, giving Wales a controlling interest in him.
It means Davies' Scarlets game time can be limited to under 20 appearances per season while Williams will be more freely available to them.
Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac said: "Having him (Williams) and Jonathan Davies in the centre next season is going to be very exciting."
Williams added: "Continuing with my rugby development in Wales was vitally important to me.
"I'd like to thank the Scarlets board and backroom staff who have been supportive throughout the negotiations." | Wales centre Scott Williams will stay with Scarlets until 2018 after signing a new deal, ending speculation over his future. |
25,139,620 | Clayton lost 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to Andre Gaspar Murta of Portugal in Cyprus.
"I had a good talk with my coach and we looked back to August when I was really struggling with belief and enjoyment.
"If you'd have told me then how I'd be playing and feeling about myself now, then I'd have bitten your hand off," the 19-year-old told BBC Radio Jersey.
"The whole summer wasn't great for me but four months down the line and I'm happy with where I am.
It's very, very small margins. I feel I'm catching up
"I'm playing well and it's very, very small margins. I feel I'm catching up."
Clayton is currently ranked at 1,347 in the world, with Gaspar Murta more than 700 places above him in the standings.
"It was a close match and you win some, you lose some," said Clayton, who cited his Island Games doubles gold with friend James Connelly as one of the highlights of his year.
"I played great in the first set but in the second there was maybe a five-minute drop in level and you can't really afford to let that happen at key stages. I played a very bad game at 5-4 down with four unforced errors so that wasn't great.
"But I managed to pick it back up in the third and we were neck and neck. All in all it was a good performance and we'll see what I have to offer for the next few weeks."
Clayton, who is hoping for a career-high ranking when the next ATP list appears next week, will end the season in Qatar at the Futures event in Doha in December. | Jersey's Scott Clayton says he is looking forward to a strong end to the season despite his defeat in the second round of his latest Futures tournament. |
10,130,458 | US researchers found that birds used the patches of greenery to rest and refuel in the middle of their journey between winter and breeding sites.
The scientists gathered the data by fitting tiny tags to thrushes, which recorded the birds' movements.
Writing in the journal Landscape Ecology, they added the findings were important because the world was becoming increasingly urbanised.
"With the expansion of urban areas worldwide, migrating songbirds increasingly encounter fragmented landscapes where habitat patches are embedded in an urban matrix," wrote co-authors Stephen Matthews and Paul Rodewald, landscape ecologists at Ohio State University in the US.
"Yet, how migrating birds respond to urbanisation is poorly understood."
In order to learn more, the pair attached small tags to more than 100 Swainson's thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) and managed to gather data on the movements of 91 birds during the four-year study.
"The tags provided us with a unique data-set on migration during a stopover," Dr Matthews told BBC News.
"We were able to record how long the birds were staying, and we found that it was not necessarily the forest size that was influencing the birds.
"Instead, they were responding to internal factors, such as [the amount of] fat reserves they had."
He added that the importance of the urban tree cover was highlighted when they examined the area the birds were using to forage for food.
"We started to see the importance of these smaller forest patches.
"The birds ability to search around was limited by the extent of these forested areas."
The study examined seven urban forests, the smallest of which was an arboretum that covered less than one hectare.
"It seemed that the birds were able to utilise these small forest patches during their stopover," Dr Matthews observed.
"In five of the sites, the birds never left the forest patch... and were not exploring in folks' backyards."
The team collected the data by using radio-transmitter tags.
"The tags were very small, weighing an average of 0.66g, and we glued them to the back feathers of the birds using a very mild adhesive," he explained.
"The battery life only lasted a couple of weeks, so the transmitter just fell off after a short while."
Dr Matthews said the tiny tags emitted a signal that they could pick up via a hand-held receiver and record the birds' locations.
"We recorded the GPS location, and then we would go back and do the analysis [of the birds' movements] later. It would have been nice if it was all automated, but there was a little bit of fieldwork involved.
The researchers said that migration had been identified as a critical period in the annual cycle of migratory birds.
"Within migration, land birds spend up to 90% of their time resting and regaining energy at stopover sites, making habitat a key component," they explained.
"This information is necessary to evaluate the conservation importance of urban habitats for stopover migrants."
"These findings suggest that remnant forests within urban areas have conservation value for Swainson's thrushes and, potentially, other migrant land birds," Professor Rodewald said.
"Obviously, larger forest patches are better, but even smaller ones are worth saving." | Even a small urban forest can help migrating birds, a study has said. |
35,621,930 | Polls have already opened in the Republican primary vote in South Carolina, where frontrunner Donald Trump will try to fend off Ted Cruz.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders could face a close race in the Democratic Party caucus in Nevada.
The votes could be key ahead of the "Super Tuesday" round on 1 March.
On that day, about a dozen states will choose their candidates for the 8 November presidential election, with about a quarter of all nominating delegates up for grabs.
Before that, the two parties swap around in these two states - Republicans holding a Nevada caucus on Tuesday and the Democrats a South Carolina primary on 27 February.
These rounds could be crucial in particular for Republican candidates who have been lagging behind the leading pair.
What are primaries and caucuses?
How does it all work?
Trump v Pope - who wins?
Hillary's next move?
Polls opened in South Carolina at 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
The leading Republican pair split the first two rounds - Mr Trump winning in New Hampshire, a week after Mr Cruz had triumphed in Iowa.
Mr Trump has continued his colourful campaign this week with a public spat with Pope Francis on Christian values.
At a rally in North Charleston on Friday, he told supporters: "It's crunch time, folks."
Referring to his self-funded campaign, he added: "I don't want your money. We want your vote."
He called for a "big mandate", aware that a win in South Carolina could propel him to victories in important southern states that vote on Super Tuesday.
Mr Cruz has enlisted an army of volunteers to try to haul back Mr Trump's lead in the state - put at about 28% to 23% in an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll of Republican voters.
That poll suggested Senator Marco Rubio was third on 15%, followed by Jeb Bush on 13%.
Both are under massive pressure to generate support for their campaigns. Whoever loses this personal battle could face tough questions about the future of their candidacy.
The lagging John Kasich and Ben Carson face even tougher fights to rouse support.
In Nevada, Democrats will gather at about 200 caucus meetings across the state from 11:00 local time (19:00 GMT) to show their support for Mrs Clinton or Mr Sanders.
The pair also split the first two rounds - Mrs Clinton winning narrowly in Iowa, before being soundly beaten in New Hampshire.
Nevada represents the most racially diverse battleground so far, though, with both candidates trying to court the vote of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans, who make up about 50% of the state's population.
Veterans of the first Obama campaign in 2008 painted a picture of an inspirational candidate who had gone astray once in power.
"Where he failed is not sustaining that movement. He just dropped the ball on that," said Debra Mayes of Los Angeles.
Sanders supporters focused on what they see as the shortcomings of the Obama administration, and of moderate Democrats beholden to their corporate donors.
The establishment Democrats, they said, essentially wasted the majorities the party had built during the years leading to Mr Obama's sweeping victory.
If Democratic leaders, including Mr Obama, had been more ambitious, they would have been able to establish a lasting congressional majority, the argument goes.
Read more from Anthony here
Mrs Clinton had hoped to use the strength of her support among minority communities to pull away from Mr Sanders.
She has accused him of "pie in the sky" ideas on immigration reform.
However, although the caucus system makes accurate opinion polling difficult, the contest could be closer than initially thought.
Mr Sanders' socialist message has generally energised the youth vote and a win here, or even a narrow loss, could be a huge boost ahead of Super Tuesday. | The contest for Republican and Democratic contenders to become presidential candidates in the United States has entered its third round. |
40,611,591 | More than 40 firefighters from six appliances are tackling the blaze at Wymen Gordon at Houston Industrial Estate in Livingston.
Specialist chemical support crews are also at the scene of the fire, which started just after 14:00.
Houston Road has been closed to vehicles. The factory creates products for the aerospace and energy markets.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Specialist chemical support units are also in attendance and crews wearing breathing apparatus are using high-powered hoses to tackle the flames."
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "A number of nearby premises have been evacuated and road closures are in place.
"The public are advised to avoid the area and thanked for their patience and cooperation with emergency services at this time." | Hazardous material is on fire in a huge blaze at a factory in West Lothian. |
39,413,106 | Nature presenter Iolo Williams said species including otters, water voles, bats, dormice and rare beetles would be affected by the motorway.
The Welsh Government said mitigation works would include new mammal tunnels.
But in a statement to the public inquiry in Newport Mr Williams said these were "nothing short of a joke".
Writing on behalf of Gwent Wildlife Trust the BBC naturalist accused the Welsh Government of sponsoring "ecocide" - the extensive destruction of non-human life.
The Welsh Government's preferred route - known as the "black route" - cuts across the Gwent Levels and four sites of special scientific interest (SSSI).
In evidence submitted to the inquiry on Wednesday, Mr Williams argued the levels were "one of the jewels in the crown of Wales" and the "green lung of Newport".
Destroying them would be "madness" and cause "unprecedented" damage, he wrote as well as destroying history.
"I despair, I really do despair. It genuinely doesn't make sense," he added.
"The Gwent Levels are a fantastic place to visit, but to hear and see motorway traffic going past, and less wildlife, would break my heart."
The Welsh Government has said a 14-mile six-lane motorway will relieve congestion between the current M4 junction 23A at Magor to junction 29 near Castleton.
Proposals to protect wildlife include creating tunnels and bridges, reed beds, and a bat barn - as well as moving large numbers of dormice to Bristol Zoo during construction.
However, the Trust has argued these mitigation proposals are "grossly inadequate".
On day 19 of the inquiry, conservationist Prof John Altringham said the motorway had the potential to do "considerable damage" to bats.
He said bats could be killed crossing the motorway, tunnels were "too small" and plans to build them boxes as alternative homes for lost habitat were "simply eviction".
The Welsh Government said the proposed mitigation measures would reduce the impact of the road on bats to "slight".
An overpass on the A487 Portmadog bypass saw 97% of bats use it safely in 2012, it said.
The Welsh Government wants to build a £1.1bn six-lane motorway to the south of Newport.
The 14.23m (23km) highway will be between the current M4 junction 23A at Magor to junction 29 near Castleton.
The Welsh Government plans to begin construction in 2018 and open the new road in 2021.
It said the current M4 around Newport opened in 1967 but "does not meet modern motorway design standards".
Environmental campaigners and local residents claim the scheme will devastate the ancient marshlands of the Gwent Levels and four sites of special scientific interest.
There have been 335 formal objections, compared to 210 letters of support.
A public inquiry is expected to last five months. | Plans to build a £1.1bn M4 relief road through the Gwent Levels have been described as "government sponsored ecocide". |
35,150,336 | Heidi Loughlin, 32, was 13 weeks pregnant with her third child when she discovered she had breast cancer.
Despite delaying treatment to give her unborn baby the best chance, her daughter died days after being born.
A webpage set up in October to raise £200 for Cots for Tots has now received pledges of more than £12,000.
The Metropolitan Police officer, from Portishead, north Somerset, was given the option of terminating the pregnancy so she could begin intensive chemotherapy.
She decided instead to keep her baby and begin a less aggressive form of treatment.
But on 11 December, after being told she had to bring her treatment and the birth forward, Ally Louise Smith was born by C-section.
In a poem dedicated to her eight-day-old daughter, Ms Loughlin revealed her grief on her blog.
"Yesterday afternoon our hearts broke in two. For we had to say goodbye to you," she wrote.
She added "the pain in my body and heart and my soul - feels it will consume me and leave me un-whole".
On the Just Giving page, set up by Ms Loughlin in October, nearly £1,200 was pledged over the weekend for the Bristol charity Cots for Tots. | A charity appeal set up by a cancer-stricken mother whose baby daughter died at the weekend has raised 60 times its original target. |
12,193,108 | It was a few days after the London bomb attacks on 7 July 2005 and Mr Russell was classed as missing. The optimistic though clung to the slim hope he might turn up for the occasion.
But Mr Russell had not lived to enjoy the get-together he organised - he had died in the bomb blast that tore apart the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square.
The financial manager's usual route to work was disrupted by the shutdown of the Tube network, forcing him to find another way there.
At 0930 BST, he called his employer to say he would be taking the bus. Less than 20 minutes later, the bomb on his bus had gone off.
Born in the picturesque Kent village of Pembury in 1976, Philip showed an early interest in music - playing saxophone in an orchestra - and travel after a school French exchange.
By the sixth form, he had gone from a quiet studious boy to a popular outgoing young man, known among friends as the life and soul of a party.
He went on to graduate from Kingston University with a 2:1 in business studies.
Before settling into a job in finance in the City, Philip travelled on his own to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
At the time of his death, Philip had been rising quickly through the ranks at JP Morgan Asset Management and had been set to go to New York and Toronto with the company that September.
A Charlton Athletic fan, he used to attend home games with his father and he was a doting uncle to his sister's children.
In a family statement read out at his inquest, Grahame Russell said his son was a great family man.
"He once told a friend that, should he never have children of his own, he would be the world's best uncle," he said.
He was also a great gatherer of friends, always being there for them in a crisis and never fazed.
"Philip's life was one of contentment," Mr Russell said. "He lived it doing the deeds of a true gentleman.
"His parents' pride and love knows no bounds, and the stories recounted by his friends since his death have echoed their every thought, proving that their son was indeed a good man." | When Philip Russell's friends gathered for his 29th birthday drinks, the mood was sombre not celebratory. |
36,287,322 | Progress has been described by shadow chancellor John McDonnell as a "right wing conservative" group who had never accepted Mr Corbyn as Labour leader.
Mr Corbyn will address its members, which include some of Labour's best-known MPs, at their conference in central London.
Labour's leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale, is also due to speak.
Speaking in January, after several resignations from the Labour front bench, Mr McDonnell said: "They do all come from a narrow right wing clique within the Labour Party, based around the organisation Progress largely. I don't think they've ever accepted Jeremy's mandate really."
He added that the group had "a right wing conservative agenda" and there were some within it "who are quite hard right".
Progress, which was founded by Lord Mandelson to promote New Labour ideas, backed heavily-defeated Blairite candidate Liz Kendall in last year's Labour leadership contest. Ms Kendall is among the other speakers on Saturday.
Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair all gave speeches at Progress annual conferences when they were party leader. Mr Corbyn is not thought to have attended the event before.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said it was interesting that Mr Corbyn was meeting some of his fiercest critics - some of whom have been talking privately about trying to get rid of him as leader.
It could be seen as a sign that he is reaching out to his critics in the party rather than retreating into his comfort zone, he added.
But although the party is not briefing the contents of his speech, he is likely to repeat his tough message that MPs should not be giving a running commentary on his leadership.
Progress has borrowed Mr Corbyn's "straight talking, honest politics" slogan for its 2016 conference in a further sign it is offering an olive branch to the Labour leader. | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to address the annual conference of Blairite group Progress on Saturday. |
34,552,939 | Advocate's Close won national Project of the Year at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) awards.
The development saw nine listed buildings transformed into commercial, office and residential spaces.
It was created by Thomas and Adamson surveyors and Morgan McDonnell Architecture Ltd.
David Tuffin, chairman of the RICS judging panel, said: "Careful conservation, coupled with sensitive interventions and a clever use of new material and finishes, has produced an imaginative mixed use scheme.
"It includes a new hotel, 50 serviced apartments with views over the city, offices, restaurants, cafés and bars combining to produce a commercially sustainable and elegant addition to the Old Town.
"An exceptional regeneration, Advocate's Close is a very worthy winner of the 2015 RICS Awards - Project of the Year."
Lynn Robinson, regional director at RICS, said: "The Advocate's Close development is a shining example of how a once neglected part of a city can be truly transformed for the better of the surrounding community.
"Not only has this part of the city been restored in relation to its historic buildings and architecture, it's been brought right up-to-date with contemporary additions.
"The RICS Awards provides a real showcase of the skills and expertise of those professionals working across all sectors of the built environment.
"Once again, the standard set by the shortlisted projects was extremely high; each one representing a shining example of how property professionals with a passion for inspirational schemes, both large and small, can transform the lives of not only individuals, but whole communities and the environment at large."
A full list of winners from around the UK can be found here. | A historic area of Edinburgh's Old Town, which was restored following decades of neglect, has been named best development in Britain. |
37,078,561 | A 15th gold of the Games, putting GB second in the table, followed gymnast Max Whitlock's historic double win and Justin Rose's golf victory.
Cyclist Jason Kenny defeated team-mate Callum Skinner for his fifth title.
Bolt, 29, ran 9.81 seconds to beat Justin Gatlin to gold and follow up his titles at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The Jamaican remains on course for the sprint 'treble treble', with the 200m and the 4x100m relay to come.
"I expected to go faster, but I'm happy I won," he said. "I did what I had to."
South African Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's 17-year-old world record by 0.15secs to win 400m gold in 43.03. The mark stood for 6,198 days.
Wimbledon champion Murray, 29, retained his Olympic title with an epic four-set win over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
Britain secured five golds, and their three silvers included one for windsurfer Nick Dempsey to keep the team well on track for their Rio medal target of 48.
GB won six gold medals on 'Super Saturday' at London 2012 - the best one-day haul since eight were won in 1908.
Sailor Giles Scott is guaranteed gold in the men's Finn class, while boxer Joshua Buatsi will win at least a bronze.
But there will be no third Olympic medal for Christine Ohuruogu, champion in 2008 and silver medallist at London 2012.
The 32-year-old Briton hinted at retirement after missing out on the women's 400m final by finishing fifth in her semi-final.
More details from the medal tracker
All times BST
Max Whitlock - He created history by winning Britain's first-ever gymnastics gold medal thanks to victory in the floor discipline - and then added a second title less than two hours later by winning the pommel.
"I've completely outdone myself," said the 23-year-old, who pipped team-mate Louis Smith to gold in the second event.
Justin Rose - The first golfer to win an Olympic gold medal for 112 years as the sport returned to the Games.
Critics had questioned its inclusion, but the Englishman embraced the event and prevailed after a thrilling shootout against Open champion Henrik Stenson.
Jason Kenny - He claimed sixth medal and fifth Olympic title of his career by retaining his men's sprint title.
The 28-year-old beat team-mate and room-mate Skinner to join fellow cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins and rower Sir Steve Redgrave on five gold medals.
Andy Murray - He capped a remarkable nine months by becoming the first tennis player to retain an Olympic singles title.
Murray, 29, has helped win the Davis Cup, been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year, become a father and won his second Wimbledon title.
Other winners
American gymnast Simone Biles scooped her third gold medal in Rio when she soared to victory in the vault final.
Colombian Caterine Ibarguen won the women's triple jump and Jemima Sumgong became the first Kenyan woman to win the Olympic marathon.
The first boxing title went to Uzbek light-flyweight Hasanboy Dusmatov.
Also in the news
Gold medallist Ryan Lochte and three other members of the US Olympic swimming team were robbed in Rio.
It was also a bad day for long jumper Greg Rutherford, who lost his Olympic title and his phone, which held photographs of his son, Milo.
In happier news, Chinese silver medallist He Zi received a marriage proposal from fellow diver Qin Kai during the podium ceremony for the women's 3m springboard final. It could be the platform for a long and happy relationship.
13:30: Swimming Women's 10km marathon - Great Britain's Kerri-Anne Payne competes in the open water event
13:38: Athletics Women's 200m - First round featuring GB's Dina-Asher Smith.
14:00 Dressage - British riders Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester in the Individual Grand Prix. Concludes around 17.30.
21.23: Cycling - Mark Cavendish, third after day one, seeks his first Olympic medal in the men's omnium. Concludes around 22:30.
22:00 Women's hockey - Great Britain take on Spain in the quarter-finals of the women's hockey.
02:25: Athletics Men's 800m - Kenya's David Rudisha bids to repeat his London 2012 display and retain the men's 800m title.
02:45: Athletics Women's 400m - American six-time Olympic medallist Allyson Felix targets her first 400m Olympic gold. She stepped up after winning the 200m at London 2012.
Day-by-day guide to what's on
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Usain Bolt claimed a record third 100m title while tennis player Andy Murray won Britain's fifth Rio gold medal on GB's best day at an overseas Olympics. |
32,381,710 | Nicola Sturgeon backed the idea as she launched the SNP's general election manifesto in Edinburgh on Monday.
Plaid leader Leanne Wood said she was "very pleased" to have that support.
"Just as the SNP is doing for Scotland, Plaid Cymru is fighting for the best deal possible for Wales in this election," she said.
"Parity of funding with Scotland would see Wales receiving an extra £1.2bn a year - £400 for each man, woman and child."
Ms Wood said Plaid Cymru would prioritise health and education for extra spending.
She added: "I look forward to Plaid and SNP MPs continuing to work together in Westminster after May 7th in order to fight for policies that will benefit not only the people of Wales and Scotland but the people of the UK as a whole."
Answering a question at the SNP manifesto launch, Ms Sturgeon had said: "I do support Leanne Wood's and Plaid Cymru's call for parity for Wales but not at the expense of Scotland, because I do not accept that Scotland is subsidised and I will argue passionately against that notion for as long as I am in politics." | Plaid Cymru has welcomed support from the Scottish first minister for Wales to have the same level of funding and power as Scotland. |
39,408,564 | 27 March 2017 Last updated at 17:06 BST
James Brokenshire said there was" no appetite for another election" after the deadline to form a new power-sharing executive passed. | The Northern Ireland secretary has said there is now a "short window of opportunity" to resolve the Stormont crisis. |
36,184,276 | The Bulgarian, seeking his first title in two years, lost 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-0, having been a set and 5-2 up.
Dimitrov received a warning for his first racquet smash, early in the third set, then a point penalty for another.
That left him 5-0 down, before a third offence incurred a game penalty, which gave his Argentine opponent the match.
"I let my family down, I let my team down, I let my fans down with that kind of behaviour which I definitely apologise for," the world number 29 said.
After his third racquet smash, number two seed Dimitrov shook hands with umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
The 24-year-old's behaviour handed unseeded Schwartzman, 23, his first ATP Tour title.
Never want to miss the latest tennis news? You can now add this sport and all the other sports and teams you follow to your personalised My Sport home. | Grigor Dimitrov has apologised for smashing his racquet three times during the final set to concede the Istanbul Open final to Diego Schwartzman. |
37,374,403 | Darren Jackson, 51, was serving a life sentence at HMP Sudbury, Derbyshire, but was reported missing on Tuesday.
He was arrested by Staffordshire Police on Thursday on suspicion of escaping from lawful custody.
Jackson killed Gill Ellis in Burnley in 1984, when he was a teenager, by stamping on her stomach and tearing a main blood vessel to her heart.
In 1997, he escaped from HMP Ranby, in Nottinghamshire, and went on the run for three days before giving himself up.
He was released in 2007 - after serving 21 years of his sentence - but was later recalled to Sudbury Prison. | A convicted murderer who absconded from an open prison has been arrested. |
25,038,333 | Saltley School head teacher Balwant Bains said he left last Friday, in a letter sent to parents.
Ofsted inspectors said a "dysfunctional" relationship between the head and governors was hindering the school.
In September, the school was criticised for its handling of a knife incident.
Mr Bains's statement said: "I have made the brave and difficult decision to leave Saltley School with effect from Friday, 15 November.
"I have... concluded that I cannot carry out my roles and responsibilities as head teacher here."
The knife row was sparked when a pupil excluded in May for threatening other children was allowed to return.
Several months on, staff voted to refuse to teach the teenager.
During the last general inspection in May, Ofsted found Saltley School, a specialist science college with about 950 pupils aged 11 to 16, to be good.
However, concerns over leadership and management prompted a monitoring inspection, which was carried out on 5 November.
A report published on Wednesday found: "The dysfunctional relationship between the governors and the head teacher is damaging the school's capacity to improve."
Ofsted said there was a "lack of trust" between both parties, with each holding contradictory views about their work and performance.
"As a result there is no cohesive drive or shared vision on how to improve the school," the report said.
"Communication between the governors and the head teacher is ineffective."
Despite the issues, the report said Mr Bains had been able to improve teaching and learning but had not always sufficiently informed governors of his findings, which had exacerbated the poor relations.
It also said governors had "failed to act upon local authority advice about their roles and responsibilities" despite training.
Intervention by Birmingham City Council has also so far failed to resolve matters.
In a statement, the local authority said it was continuing to work with both the leadership team and the governors.
A council spokesperson claimed Mr Baines was "currently on leave and will not be returning to the school".
"All parties are working together to ensure the school not only remains 'good' but continues on its journey to 'outstanding'," they added.
The governors of the school said they were "working very hard in developing an effective action plan to address the issues raised by Ofsted and to ensure good relationships between all staff, senior leadership and the governing body".
In a statement, they said: "We are recruiting an interim executive head teacher in light of Balwant Bains leaving the school last Friday.
"That person will play a key role in helping ensure there are effective working relationships and that collectively we are able to achieve outstanding outcomes for all of our students."
Inspectors said immediate action must be taken and Ofsted would continue to monitor the situation and bring the next inspection forward if progress was too slow.
Reacting to the news of the resignation, one parent said: "I think the head teacher was made a scapegoat."
Birmingham MP Liam Byrne urged parents not to take their children out the school.
"The city council and Ofsted are very much on the case and our determination is very simple and clear… the issues are known they are on the table," he said.
"The governors have now got to respond with an action plan. If the plan is not good enough Ofsted will be back in." | A head teacher has quit a Birmingham school which had been criticised by inspectors for a "breakdown" in relations between leaders. |
35,857,453 | Jody Cundy, Jon-Allan Butterworth and 18-year-old debutant Louis Rolfe secured victory in 49.230 seconds.
Tandem sprint pair Neil Fachie and Pete Mitchell took their second title of the week to make it two golds for the day and eight for the week.
In addition, Britain won five silvers and four bronze medals.
Craig MacLean and James Ball claimed a bronze behind Fachie and Mitchell, while in the women's tandem sprint defending champions Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott had to settle for silver.
There was also an unexpected silver for Jon Gildea in the scratch race.
Head coach Jon Norfolk told BBC Sport: "I think we are confident with our performers this week. It's a good spot check of where we are now and how people can deliver.
"There'll still be plenty more we can add into the mix to make sure we can get the right result at the Paralympics in Rio." | Great Britain broke the world team sprint record on their way to topping the medal table at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Italy. |
35,006,667 | The five-week-old calf, which had not been named, fell ill earlier this week and died on Thursday.
A zoo spokeswoman said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our baby pygmy hippo".
There are fewer than 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the wild and Bristol Zoo is part of an international captive breeding programme.
The spokeswoman added: "The five-week old calf became ill overnight on Wednesday and was being treated by our vet team.
"Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the youngster passed away."
The animals are an endangered species as they face threats from hunting and people destroying the forests they live in.
They only grow to be around 31in (80cm) tall, which is half the height of their cousin the hippopotamus. | An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus born at Bristol Zoo has died. |
37,635,202 | The development on Herbert Street, near Atlantic Wharf, will feature a 25 storey tower and include study rooms, "dinner party rooms", a cinema and a "sky bar".
It was given approval by Cardiff councillors on Wednesday subject to conditions being met.
The council report noted the land had been vacant for about 20 years. | Plans to build a 674-bed student accommodation block on vacant land in Cardiff have been given the go-ahead. |
33,392,668 | They claimed the local authority had a "moral duty" to spend the money needed to retain Haulfre in Llangoed.
Anglesey council has started a consultation on its future, amid concern about the building's condition.
Residents at the meeting on Friday were told the council will make a final decision in October.
A report to councillors highlighted a detailed fire risk assessment, commissioned by the county council, which found a number of serious deficiencies within the building.
It is home to 18 residents.
Anglesey council's community director Gwen Carrington said: "It's acknowledged that there has been under-investment over the years.
"The overall assessment is that the current facilities are not suitable and that it will become more and more difficult to ensure safe care within the building.
"Our priority, first and foremost, must be to ensure safe and appropriate care of Haulfre's residents and the staff who look after them." | Around 150 people attended a meeting to discuss the future of a residential home as part of a review of council-run care for older people at Anglesey. |
37,795,947 | Someone in Hong Kong recently paid out HK$4.8m ($0.62m; £0.51m) for the privilege of parking their car.
The transaction last month broke the record of HK$4.24m for the most expensive parking space in the crowded city.
It is in a luxury property development on Conduit Road in the Mid-Levels, one of the most affluent and prestigious residential areas in Hong Kong.
The 135sq ft (12.5sq m) space was bought by a foreigner, local media reported.
Hong Kong riled by latest tiny 'space capsule' homes
Online, Hong Kongers seemed rather jaded by news about yet another expensive property, in a city where house prices are among the world's most unaffordable.
"We are already used to this kind of news. Every day we learnt about expensive things that break records from the media. But labour cost is only increasing at the speed of a tortoise," said Gary Lo.
Ed Lau wrote: "How ridiculous can Hong Kong be? A parking space is even more expensive than a brand new Ferrari." | How much are you prepared to pay for a parking space? |
40,575,059 | New head coach Richard Cockerill has added Calum MacRae and Nick Lumley, formerly piloting Scotland Sevens, to his hierarchy at the club.
Edinburgh, who are to remain at Myreside, have finished no higher than eighth in the Pro12 since 2010.
"Richard is bringing a big culture and you can see that already," Bryce told BBC Scotland.
"We've got a team room sorted out, we get breakfast, so we're in early at half-seven. It's changed things.
"This year we want to play a more expansive game - within structure - which will be fast-tempo. The training we're doing just now is all high-intensity; we're not working for long periods of time, it's short bursts.
"We're doing stuff under fatigue - so we're doing long-distance running and then back into skills, putting our skills and decision-making under pressure. We talk about completion under pressure - we're not changing things massively, it's just doing simple things well and building from that."
Strength and conditioning coach Lumley, who has previously worked with English Premiership sides Gloucester and Bath, is held in high regard by the national sevens players.
On secondment from club duties, Bryce helped Scotland Sevens retain their London World Series title in May, and says Lumley is already making his mark.
"Nick knows everyone's got different body compositions, and there's not a one-fits-all programme," Bryce said. "It's individual, and it's a big step up. He's mixed it up as well. Everything's done for a reason, and it's freshened up the boys.
"Monday, Wednesday, Friday are long days and Tuesday, Thursday are half-days. There are no easy days but he's getting that balance right.
"I think that was missing last season, maybe we were a little bit laid back. Everyone's on their toes now. There's a new coach in, everyone wants that starting jersey and it's a fresh start for everyone."
Bryce, 26, and elder brother Kevin, 28, swapped Glasgow Warriors for Edinburgh last summer, with the younger sibling scoring two tries in 21 appearances.
The full-back, who can also play at outside centre or stand-off, says the squad is eager to forge its own identity at 5,500-capacity Myreside, rather than the cavernous 61,744-seater Murrayfield.
"You're coming into Murrayfield and there's not really an identity there because it's the national stadium," he told BBC Scotland. "When you're coming into Scotstoun, you've got all the Warriors flags, and it's an actual stadium for Glasgow.
"The boys love playing [at Myreside], you can hear the crowd, and we want to make it a fortress. We want to get it filled out - if Glasgow can do it at Scotstoun, I don't see why we can't at Myreside.
"The supporters will be able to feel part of the club while we're there. We just need the wins. That'll bring the team and the crowd closer together. This year, it's all about putting it into action."
Bryce is also excited to play alongside hulking New Zealand-born centre Robbie Fruean, a new signing from Bath, and in time, with Scotland midfielder Mark Bennett, who is recovering from long-term knee damage.
"He makes the Rhino ball look like a size three when he's training," said Bryce. "He's really going to be a strong player for us this season and he's got that experience as well.
"It's not so much telling the boys what to do - he's open-minded and he's giving good inputs. Mark Bennett's been out injured, but he's been grinding away with the rehab, he's been watching the backs now and again, he's coming to all the analysis stuff and putting in his input as well." | Full-back Glenn Bryce says Edinburgh "feels like a new club" after an overhaul of the coaching staff. |
36,081,381 | Van der Merwe, 29, suffered the injury during Scarlets' 46-10 defeat in the Pro12 against his former club Glasgow Warriors last Saturday.
The South African-born Canada back will see a specialist this week.
He has scored eight tries in 19 appearances for Scarlets in all competitions this season.
Van der Merwe, who joined Scarlets from Glasgow ahead of the 2015-16 season, became the first player representing a tier-two nation to score a try in four successive Rugby World Cup matches in last year's tournament. | Scarlets wing DTH van der Merwe has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury. |
40,172,157 | After signing a new deal earlier on Friday, Cosgrove hit an unbeaten 122 as Leicestershire closed on 322-7.
Having been put into bat, opener Paul Horton made 71 before being bowled by Sussex's in-form Jofra Archer (5-61).
Number nine batsman Zak Chappell provided good support for captain Cosgrove, reaching stumps on 40. | Mark Cosgrove's 35th first-class century helped hosts Leicestershire build a decent first-innings score against Sussex on day one. |
17,214,382 | Olivier Giroud silenced the hosts in Werder Bremen's Weserstadion before Chelsea's Malouda doubled the lead.
Germany striker Cacau scored an injury-time consolation but France are now unbeaten in 18 matches.
Sweden and Ukraine, who also face England in the group stage at Euro 2012, secured wins against Croatia and Israel respectively.
Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson scored twice as Sweden recorded an impressive 3-1 victory.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic also scored while Croatia found the net through an own goal from West Brom defender Jonas Olsson, his header sending the ball looping over goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson and into an empty net.
Co-hosts Ukraine continued their impressive build-up to the tournament with a 3-2 friendly win away to Israel.
Feb 29: Germany (a) 2-1
Nov 15: Belgium (h) 0-0
Nov 11: United States (h) 1-0
Oct 11: Bosnia Herzegovina (h)1-1
Oct 07: Albania (h) 3-0
Oleg Gusev opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Yevhen Konoplyanka doubled the lead before half-time.
Andriy Yarmolenko extended Ukraine's two-goal cushion after Tomer Hemed had reduced the deficit, before Ben Sahar netted Israel's second.
Ukraine, now unbeaten in five, face England in Donetsk on 19 June.
Elsewhere, there was a major surprise as the United States pulled off an historic first win over Italy in Genoa.
Fulham striker Clint Dempsey's 55th-minute goal earned Jurgen Klinsmann a fourth straight win, while Italy suffered their second straight loss after defeat against Uruguay in November.
Roberto Soldado scored a hat-trick as World and European champions Spain crushed Venezuela 5-0, Manchester City's David Silva also on the scoresheet along with Andres Iniesta.
Andrey Arshavin scored in Russia's 2-0 win over Denmark in Copenhagen while Lionel Messi helped himself to a hat-trick as Argentina won 3-1 in Switzerland.
Messi struck with a delightful shot in the 20th minute, a mischievous chip in the 88th and a stoppage-time penalty.
Portugal were held to a goalless draw away to Poland. | Florent Malouda scored as England's Euro 2012 Group D opponents France stunned Germany 2-1 in Bremen. |
35,757,098 | Salford led 8-4 at the break thanks to Greg Johnson's first-half try.
After his first-half score for Cas, Denny Solomona ran in two more after the interval to complete his hat-trick and make the last quarter interesting.
But, for the second time, centre Griffin and Carney scored within five minutes of each other to seal victory.
Carney, who left Cas for Salford on a season-long loan, was in the sin-bin after just five minutes following a set-to.
But the Australian winger kept his cool after returning to the field to help Salford secure their first win at Castleford since 2004.
Gareth O'Brien enjoyed a perfect afternoon with the boot, but there was one setback as the visitors lost stand-off Robert Lui with a knee injury.
Luke Gale was the other Tigers scorer, kicking two of his three conversions.
Castleford head coach Daryl Powell:
"There are too many poor things in our game at the moment.
"There's a lot of injuries in Super League this year and we're getting belted with our fair share.
"We've got a lot of outstanding rugby league players sat on their backsides at the moment.
"Rugby league is a game for tough men and we're going to have to be tough over the coming weeks."
Salford head coach Ian Watson:
"Justin Carney has been great this week. He's a big player for us. I spoke to him all week about him playing here and he was adamant that he wanted to play.
"We spent a lot of time speaking about situations exactly like what happened. It's an experience this game for him. It's probably something he's never faced in his life before.
"To be fair to him, all week he's been really good and said the right things, but the emotion kind of got to him. Jake Webster has slapped him across the face and then he's lashed out again. He made a mistake but he's a genuinely good guy.
"We haven't seen the game out over the last few weeks so it's pleasing to come to Castleford and get such a massive result. They're a good team."
Castleford: Dorn; Monaghan, Crooks, Webster, Solomona; Hampshire, Gale; Lynch, Milner, Jewitt, McMeeken, Cook, Massey.
Replacements: McShane, Boyle, Springer, Maher.
Salford: O'Brien; Carney, Sau, J Griffin, Johnson; Lui, Dobson; Kopczak, Lee, G Griffin, Murdoch, Jones, Lannon.
Replacements: Flanagan, A Walne, Tomkins, Joseph.
Referee: Phil Bentham. | On-loan winger Justin Carney scored twice on his return to Castleford and Josh Griffin also ran in two second-half tries as Salford won comfortably. |
39,997,408 | Its return was greeted with both praise and bafflement by critics, one of whom called it "familiarly inscrutable".
"After nearly three decades, Mr Lynch's visual imagination remains inimitable," continued the New York Times' reviewer.
Kyle MacLachlan reprises his role as FBI agent Dale Cooper in the 18-episode series, which began its run on Sunday on US network Showtime.
The first two episodes were screened on Sky Atlantic in the UK in the early hours of Monday morning and will be shown again on Tuesday at 21:00 BST.
The episodes saw MacLachlan's character still trapped in the mysterious "black lodge" where the original series left him in 1991.
Other characters to return included Laura Palmer, whose murder was the basis of the original show, and 'The Log Lady', played by the late Catherine Coulson.
Future episodes, all directed by Lynch himself, will see Michael Cera, Laura Dern and Naomi Watts join the cast.
According to Metro's James Baldock, the new series is "quietly brilliant... thoughtful and understated".
Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost, he went on, "have taken the format and updated it, without losing the essence of what they originally created."
Variety's Sonia Saraiya called Twin Peaks: The Return "weird and creepy and slow" but conceded it was "interesting".
"It's not especially fun to watch and it can be quite disturbing," she went on. "But there is never a sense that you are watching something devoid of vision or intention."
"Through its first two hours, David Lynch's new Twin Peaks is unsettling, weird, funny and basically impossible to review," wrote The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg.
Yet he went on to call the first two episodes "accessibly scary, disturbing and audaciously funny as many of the best parts of the original Twin Peaks".
Writing in The Guardian, Mark Lawson said the cult show's latest iteration was more "what-is-it?" than whodunnit.
"Filled with giants, dwarves, monsters and ghosts, Twin Peaks most resembles a modern fairytale written on LSD then heavily redacted by the CIA," he wrote.
Walking Dead actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan was among those to welcome Twin Peaks' return on Twitter, praising Lynch for "outLynching the bejesus" out of his celebrated creation.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Pour the coffee and bake a cherry pie - David Lynch's cult TV series Twin Peaks is back after a 26-year hiatus. |
38,171,457 | The AI toolkit, inspired by photos of a toddler's hand, can automatically detect new child sexual abuse photos and videos in online networks.
Spotting newly produced media can give law enforcement agencies the evidence they need to find and prosecute offenders, researchers said.
The system is freely available to law enforcement agencies.
It is already being used in several European countries.
The research was carried out as part of the international research project iCOP (identifying and catching originators in peer-to-peer networks), which was founded by the European Commission Safer Internet Programme.
It was carried out by researchers at Lancaster University, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence and University College Cork in Ireland.
Lead researcher Claudia Peersman, from Lancaster University, explained what inspired her to develop the system.
"When I was just starting as a junior researcher interested in computational linguistics, I attended a presentation by an Interpol police officer who was arguing that the academic world should focus more on developing solutions to detect child abuse media online," she said.
"Although he clearly acknowledged that there are other crimes that also deserve attention, at one point he said: 'You know those sweet toddler hands with dimple-knuckles. I see them online every day'. From that moment I knew I wanted to do something to help stop this."
It works using a combination of file name analysis - picking up typical filenames used by paedophiles such as ch1ld. These cannot be picked up by standard computer analysis and while they are easily spotted by humans, the sheer volume of images makes it impossible for law enforcers to find every file.
The software can also identify specialised vocabulary commonly used by paedophiles and associated with images, such as Lolita, inspired by a Vladamir Nabokov novel about a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with a young girl.
The second element of the toolkit is image analysis. The AI software can spot images of children via things such as subtle differences in skin colour compared to adults or by spotting movements associated with sexual abuse.
Hundreds of thousands of child sexual abuse images and videos are being shared every year. There are already a number of tools available to help law enforcement agents monitor peer-to-peer networks for child abuse media, but they usually rely on identifying known media.
"Identifying new child sexual abuse media is critical because it can indicate recent or ongoing child abuse," said Ms Peersman.
"And because originators of such media can be hands-on abusers, their early detection and apprehension can safeguard victims from further abuse."
Tests of the toolkits on real images of child sexual abuse appeared to be highly accurate, with a false positive rate of 7.9% for images and 4.3% for videos, according to the researchers. | The fight to rid the web of images of child abuse has gained a new tool - in the form of artificial intelligence. |
39,268,171 | George Gilmore, who was 44, was in his car when he was attacked in Carrickfergus on Monday afternoon.
A dispute between loyalist factions in the town has been ongoing for months.
Police have described the murder as a "ruthless attack in broad daylight" and have appealed for help in indentifying those involved.
Det Ch Supt Raymond Murray of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "Our thoughts are with the Gilmore family at this time as they come to terms with their loss.
"Those involved had no consideration for the local community when they carried out their attack in a residential street populated with families, young children and older people."
The feud involves two factions of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) paramilitary group, Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson said.
"One side, in broad daylight and unmasked, have taken the opportunity to try to kill one of the Gilmore family," he added.
Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs urged the factions involved in the feud to remain calm in the wake of the attack.
"Let this be a learning point - stop the paramilitarism, bring it to an end, because it is ruining our communities," the East Antrim representative said.
"I am fearful that others may wish to start a tit-for-tat war, but if that happens everybody loses."
The shooting came after a serious assault on a doorman at a nearby bar on Sunday.
Three men appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with attempted murder. | Police have started a murder inquiry after a high-profile loyalist who was shot as part of a paramilitary feud in County Antrim died in hospital. |
36,099,794 | The unprecedented move comes two days after the head of the army, Gen Raheel Sharif, said corruption had to be uprooted to fight terrorism.
An initial army statement that said 11 officers had been dismissed has now been retracted.
Details of the allegations against the officers were not immediately released.
Observers say the timing of the announcement and the remarks by Gen Sharif are designed to put pressure on the government.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is still dealing with controversy at home after details of his family's offshore assets were revealed in the so-called Panama Papers.
Military officials insist that accountability within the forces is an ongoing process, though often kept secret for reasons of morale. But this time there has been what looks like a deliberate leak.
It is not known when the officers were sacked, but the disclosure has come at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is battling a crisis of legitimacy after the Panama Papers leaks revealed that his family held foreign assets in the names of offshore companies.
The timing of the disclosure is significant. It will not only increase pressure on Mr Sharif, but also deflect muted but growing references to corruption within the military, which many believe runs deeper than it seems.
They say that while the military's internal systems work as a well-oiled machine, audit rules often crumble when it comes to the accounting of procurement and supplies. There have also been long-standing allegations that senior officials controlling border posts have been protecting smugglers.
And questions have been raised over the use of unaudited funds that until recently flowed to various militant networks through military agencies, though the agencies have often denied such a role. | At least six high-ranking Pakistani army officers, including a lieutenant-general and major-general, have been sacked amid corruption allegations. |
34,504,269 | But then the skies darkened and heavy rain like no one had seen in living memory began to fall.
It rained for just 30 minutes.
"After the rain, there was a silence followed by terrible thunder and lightning," says 63-year-old resident Cristina Inga.
Her house was destroyed first by flooding, and then tonnes of rocks tumbled down from the mountain.
"We survived by escaping through the roof," she recalls.
"All the neighbours did the same; we all helped each other."
When the landslide was over, their street was covered in mud and boulders over two metres (6ft 5 inches) high.
The street they lived on ran along a wash, a natural watercourse which floods when it rains heavily in the Andes.
It is by no means a place to build homes, but the people who live here are poor.
"I was born here, my parents settled on this land because we had no money" Ms Inga explains.
Her house had been destroyed three times before 23 March.
She currently lives in a wooden shack but is proud to be the legal owner of the plot of land it is build on.
As for the risks, she says: "We don't move because we have nowhere else to go."
What happened in Moyopampa earlier this year is seen by many as a sign of things to come.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the region may be facing the worst El Nino weather phenomenon in over 60 years between now and March.
The Peruvian government has already declared a state of emergency in more than half of the country's regions.
Peru, along with Ecuador, are the two countries most directly affected by El Nino.
In fact, it was Peruvian fishermen who named El Nino (The Child) in a reference to Baby Jesus because it used to arrive around Christmas time.
But for the people of Moyopampa, El Nino's arrival is not something they look forward to.
It is one of 107 places in Peru which the country's Civil Defence Institute (Indeci) has declared "vulnerable".
Three million people live in these vulnerable areas and are at risk of losing everything to heavy rains, mudslides and flash floods.
The government has set aside three billion Peruvian soles ($1bn; £0.65bn) to respond to the fall-out from El Nino and to support all sectors of the economy threatened by it.
Previous El Ninos destroyed key roads and bridges leaving communities isolated and often desperate for help.
So the ministry of transport is sending more than 1,000 portable bridges to different locations along Peru's coast.
So far, most of the government's efforts have been focused on cleaning the beds of coastal rivers, building floodwalls in vulnerable locations and making sure there is enough equipment to help in case of floods, mudslides or any other disasters.
On the day I visited the site of the Moyopampa landslide, local authority workers were removing debris which had been littering the street since March.
Others were building floodwalls which residents hope will be strong enough to withstand the forces of nature.
Ms Inga says she will only move if the government offers her family proper housing.
In the meantime, she puts her faith in God.
"I am scared. We are scared. But in God I trust and he always has the last word," she says with conviction.
But then, as if having second thoughts, she looks up at the sky and adds: "But down here we should be the first ones to protect ourselves". | People in the neighbourhood of Moyopampa, 35km (22 miles) east of Lima, say 23 March was a sunny Monday afternoon like so many others. |
26,651,398 | Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, took the stand in his own defence at his terrorism trial in New York City on Wednesday.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to kill Americans, and his defence lawyers say he had no advance knowledge of the attacks.
The case is one of the highest-profile terror trials in a US civilian court.
On Wednesday, Mr Abu Ghaith told the court he arrived in Afghanistan in June 2001 because he had a "serious desire to get to know the new Islamic government" there.
At the time, Afghanistan was nominally controlled by the Taliban Islamist militia.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Abu Ghaith testified that on the night of 11 September 2001, Bin Laden despatched an aide to drive him into a mountainous area of Afghanistan for a meeting.
"I wanted to see what he had, what is it he wanted," Mr Abu Ghaith testified of the man who would later become his father-in-law.
When they met Bin Laden said, "Did you learn what happened? We are the ones who did it," Mr Abu Ghaith testified.
Bin Laden then asked what Mr Abu Ghaith thought would happen next.
Mr Abu Ghaith testified that he responded with a prediction America "will not settle until it kills you and topples the state of Taliban".
"I want to deliver a message to the world," Bin Laden then told him, Mr Abu Ghaith testified. "I want you to deliver the message."
Prosecutors have argued Mr Abu Ghaith used the "murderous power of his words" to rally militants against America after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Lewin has previously said Mr Abu Ghaith spent time at the al-Qaeda camps inspiring the recruits to kill.
Prosecutors also allege that he agreed to appear in the group's propaganda videos after 11 September 2001 to call for further violence "while our buildings still burned".
The Kuwaiti preacher testified on Wednesday that those videos were based on "quotes and points by Sheikh Osama" and were intended to be religious sermons, encouraging Muslims to fight oppression.
Mr Abu Ghaith also denied allegations he had prior knowledge of the failed shoe-bomb airline attack by Richard Reid in December 2001.
Mr Abu Ghaith's remarks came a day after a judge ruled jurors would not hear testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
Mr Mohammed had previously written in a statement that Mr Abu Ghaith had no military role in al-Qaeda.
Mr Abu Ghaith was arrested last year in Turkey and brought to New York to face trial. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him. | A man US prosecutors say was al-Qaeda's spokesman after 9/11 has testified Osama Bin Laden wanted him "to deliver a message to the world". |
34,943,988 | A poll of more than 1,100 parents found that 55% had not spoken about the subject to their offspring.
Of those, 20% said they did not know how to address the issue.
The survey results have been released as part of a campaign, funded by the Department of Health, to break down the stigma associated with mental health.
The poll, of parents to children aged between six and 18, was carried out by market research company Opinion Matters on behalf of the Time to Change campaign, which is being run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.
It also found that 45% of parents felt they did not need to have the conversation because mental health "was not an issue".
One in 10 young people will experience a mental health problem, the campaign claims.
Sue Baker, the director of Time to Change, said: "This has to be the generation for change. Mental health problems are a common experience for three children in every classroom.
"Our research has shown that talking about mental health is still seen as too awkward for many parents and young people and we need to change that in the home, at school, on social media and in wider social circles."
Last month, a separate survey suggested 62% of youngsters had done a general internet search for depression. And the Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield said youngsters did not have the confidence to go to the doctor with mental health issues.
Nadine Peacock's 19-year-old daughter Emma experienced mental health issues in her early teens. She has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Nadine Peacock said: "My biggest piece of advice - make mental health part of everyday conversation with your child.
"Even if your child isn't experiencing any issues, if something does crop up further down the line at least then they feel like they can have an open conversation with you about it."
The Time to Change campaign has received £660,000 from the Department of Health. | More than half of parents in England have never spoken to their children about stress, anxiety or depression, a survey has suggested. |
37,528,708 | North Wales Police was called to the Clarence Road and Mostyn Avenue junction at about 00:25 BST, with ambulance and fire services also attending.
The driver of a Citroen ZX was taken to Bodelwyddan's Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. He is in his 20s and not local to the area.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101. | A man has been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after two cars crashed in Llandudno on Saturday. |
37,438,191 | Crawford, who has scored six goals this season, is once again proving to be a key player for Accies.
But Canning believes it may take a move away from the Lanarkshire club for the 25-year-old to be recognised eventually at international level.
"I think it happened with James McArthur," said Canning.
"He was obviously performing well for us, but he then moved to Wigan and the next week he was in the Scotland squad. It does happen but then again that's part of football. We are a small club but we try and do things right."
McArthur has accumulated 24 caps for his country since leaving Accies and Canning feels Crawford has the ability to follow that example.
"I think he should be aiming as high as he can," said the manager.
"We talk about him every transfer window - 'Is Ali going to go or is he going to stay?' - and he's still here.
"It speaks a lot for him and his attitude because he just keeps his head down, keeps himself to himself, continually works hard and every season produces for us.
"If he can continue to score goals again this season then we'll see what happens in January or at the end of the season.
"As a club we take pride in good young players coming through that move on and go and earn good money and have a good life for themselves, but we don't push them out the door.
"We're fortunate to have him just now. He's doing well for us and hopefully one day he'll get an opportunity to play for Scotland and move on to the Premier League or Championship down south and earn life-changing money."
Crawford is not the only player at Accies that the manager says deserves international recognition.
Midfielder Greg Docherty and striker Eamonn Brophy are two others he feels should be involved at Under-21 level under new boss Scot Gemmill.
"I tried to phone Scott Gemmill with regards young Greg Docherty and Eamonn Brophy. They don't get a look-in for the Under-21s and Greg's played 50 games in the Premiership," continued Canning.
"We talked the last time about Chris Cadden at Motherwell being left out the squad.
"There was a big uproar over Cadden, but nobody even mentioned Greg Docherty's name.
"He's played 50 games in the Premiership and he's 19. Eamonn Brophy is the same, he's played maybe 25 games and more than that when you consider the Championship as well.
"They just have to keep working hard and hope the boys get those opportunities." | Hamilton Accies manager Martin Canning is backing star midfielder Ali Crawford to one day receive a call-up to the Scotland national squad. |
39,118,725 | Figures up to the 31 December 2016 show 83.8% of patients started treatment within 18 weeks - a fall from 87.1% in December 2015.
The Scottish government's waiting time target is for 90% of patients to start treatment within that timeframe.
Opposition parties have criticised the government for the missed targets.
But the Scottish government said it was investing in long-term reform of the NHS with additional funding for outpatient services, improving specialist surgery and treatment, and allowing people to be cared for in the community for longer.
There has been a steady decline since 2011 and the 90% target has not been met since June 2014.
The figures also show a decline in the number of patients getting new outpatient appointments within 12 weeks.
The Scottish Conservatives' health spokesman Donald Cameron said: "This is all on the SNP's watch and it has to explain the disastrous slump in these crucial waiting times, given it's been running the NHS for almost a decade."
Scottish Labour said the SNP was "sleepwalking into an NHS crisis".
But the Scottish government said it was investing in long-term reform of the NHS with additional funding for outpatient services, improving specialist surgery and treatment, and allowing people to be cared for in the community for longer.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "We're investing substantially in social care and community care, with a view to keeping people healthy at home for as long as possible.
"This will, in time, help prevent the need for many people to go to hospital.
"These changes won't happen overnight but they are part of a clear, long-term strategy of matching increased investment in our NHS with reform to ensure our health service is providing care to the people of Scotland long into the future." | There has been a further decline in the number of NHS patients who begin treatment 18 weeks after referral, figures have shown. |
33,798,735 | The finding bolsters the theory that the plane, which disappeared on 8 March last year after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, crashed into the Indian Ocean after diverting from its route to Beijing.
French investigators say there are further checks to do, while Australia says its underwater search will go on.
But for some relatives, this is the first step to closure.
Sarah Bajc whose partner was on MH370, told the BBC: "Perhaps families will finally have the chance to grieve now, though this doesn't solve the mystery or hold anyone accountable. Both of those things still have to happen."
She added that there was still "much outstanding mistrust" of the authorities. "It hurts to have to give up that last thread of hope, but there is also a sad relief," she said.
They are now hoping for more concrete proof.
Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of a MH370 flight attendant, told Reuters: "They still need to find the whole plane and our spouses as well. We still want them back."
Lee Khim Fatt, whose wife was a flight attendant on MH370, told the BBC: "I'm not convinced by the finding. I want to see an item that I can recognise."
"The finding of debris does not mean the finding of our next of kin," said Jiang Hui, who lost his mother, to AP news agency.
"I'm numb, I'm not sad," said Melanie Antonio in Kuala Lumpur, whose husband was on the plane.
"It's just a flaperon, it doesn't prove anything. We still need the wreckage to prove. I just want anything that can tell me my hubby is gone.''
Some, like Zhang Yongli in China, continue to believe there has been a cover-up.
He was among a dozen grieving relatives who gathered outside the Beijing office of Malaysia Airlines on Thursday. They demanded information and a visa to travel to Reunion, reported Reuters.
"I don't believe this latest information about the plane, they have been lying to us from the beginning," said Mr Zhang.
"I know my daughter is out there, but they won't tell us the truth."
Some of the relatives have been angered by the difference in Malaysian authorities and French investigators' responses.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had earlier said that investigators had "conclusively confirmed" the debris was from MH370.
But shortly afterwards the Paris prosecutor Serge Mackowiak sounded a note of caution, and would only say it was a "very high probability".
Sara Weeks, whose brother was onboard the flight, told AP news agency: "Why the hell do you have one confirm and one not? Why not wait and get everybody on the same page so the families don't need to go through this turmoil.''
Relatives were similarly angered by the Malaysian response last year.
About two weeks after the plane disappeared, Mr Najib announced it had crashed into the ocean based on satellite data, while Malaysia Airlines informed relatives by text message.
This prompted criticism from relatives that the authorities were too hasty in making that conclusion, as they had yet to find any wreckage or debris, and were acting with insufficient sensitivity. | The announcement by Malaysian authorities that the aeroplane part found in Reunion came from MH370 has drawn a mixed reaction from relatives of passengers and crew. |
39,805,153 | But few think that the heated exchanges will have won over the 15% who say they are still undecided over who to vote for.
Emmanuel Galiero and François-Xavier Bourmaud of conservative Le Figaro say "Macron held up and asserted himself against Le Pen" in a "debate of unprecedented brutality that lacked substance".
Marine Le Pen "launched all-out war in an attempt to stifle her rival", but Emmanuel Macron "dominated his opponent on economic issues".
Overall it was a "dialogue of the deaf… as the positions of the two candidates appeared totally irreconcilable", the correspondents conclude.
Centre-left Le Monde agrees that stark differences were on display in the "brutal debate", and sides clearly with Mr Macron over his "repeated denunciations of the 'nonsense' talked by the National Front candidate".
Left-wing Liberation accuses Ms Le Pen of "drowning the debate in an avalanche of disinformation". Like several other papers, it fact-checks her "false and exaggerated statements".
Top-selling Ouest France says its fact-checkers found all of her accusations to be false or vague, and sometimes reflected the "agenda of pro-Russian or far-right internet sites".
Catholic La Croix's Francois Ernenwein, like Cecile Cornudet in Les Echos business daily, complains that the debate was "relentless without ever gaining clarity", but gives Mr Macron credit for "trying to answer his opponent's accusations without losing his cool".
In Germany, centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung's Leila Al-Serori thinks "neither candidate brought any new programme details to the debate, but rather wheeled out all their guns for the final TV duel".
She says that Emmanuel Macron "came across as presidential and self-confident, but also a bit arrogant: he gave as good as he got, but did not rise to her bait", while Marine Le Pen was "domineering, mocking and the more relaxed of the two, but did not appear stateswomanlike".
Like many commentators, she deems it "hard to see how either could have won over undecided voters".
Sascha Lehnartz of conservative Die Welt says the debate - "by far the worst of the Fifth Republic" - "went off the rails from the first minute", descending into "one long screaming match until an acceptable level was reached at the end".
He partly blames the two TV presenters, "who barely deserved the title", and agrees that undecided voters will not have been helped by the debate.
Like all commentators, he notes that a viewers' poll made Mr Macron the clear winner of the night. "One can only hope that the poll reflects reality. For either Emmanuel Macron wins on Sunday, or else it's all over for France," Lehnartz concludes.
Michaela Wiegel in the centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also deplores the level of exchanges in "the most vague and aggressive debate the history of French televised presidential run-offs", in particular highlighting Ms Le Pen's charge that Mr Macron would "take his orders from Berlin".
The paper also hopes the viewers' poll is correct, as "given Le Pen's anti-EU stance, the vote concerns the fate of Europe".
In Italy, Corriere della Sera's Stefano Montefiori says Ms Le Pen's poor poll ratings mean "she had nothing to lose and so went all out, not to present her programme but to attack her opponent".
Anais Ginori of La Repubblica thinks she "used the Trump strategy of alluding, insulting and confusing" in contrast with her efforts in the first debate to try to seem "calm and ready to rule".
The correspondent says Ms Le Pen "appeared more spontaneous and expressive than Macron", but "largely failed in her effort to unnerve her opponent, who mocked her for consulting her notes as a sign of not knowing her stuff".
In Spain, centre-right El Mundo's correspondent Anric Gonzalez was dismayed by a "violent and messy debate… that degraded both contenders".
"Marine Le Pen appeared angry, as she represents the angry France damaged by globalisation and the single market… while Macron tended to get lost in the details, " he thinks, concluding that Mr Macron prevailed as the "lesser evil".
In Poland's liberal Gazeta Wyborcza, Piotr Moszynski of Radio France Internationale writes that the debate was "chaotic, with Marine Le Pen constantly referring to her prompt cards, avoiding the questions, and speaking off topic," and concludes that it is "unlikely to change voter preferences".
The lasting impression that many commentators took away from the debate was its unpleasant tone, and this was not lost on French viewers either.
Danish state broadcaster DR1's correspondent Stephanie Surrugue reports that the "atmosphere approached the hateful… shocking many television viewers who quickly expressed their disappointment at the level and tone on social media."
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | The French press dubs Emmanuel Macron the clear winner of the final presidential election television debate, in common with papers around Europe. |
34,387,945 | The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary lies north of the mainland and includes a chain of islands and underwater volcanoes.
Prime Minister John Key made the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Fishing and mining will be banned in what Mr Key called "one of the most geographically and geologically diverse areas in the world."
"New Zealanders value our coasts and oceans, which are an important part of our culture, economy and environment and we are committed to managing them sustainably," he said in a statement.
The government is aiming to pass legislation to create the marine reserve next year.
The area to be protected is a vast 620,000 sq km (239,400 sq miles) stretch of the South Pacific, about 1,000km north-east of North Island.
It contains the 10-km deep Kermadec trench, one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, and is rich in sealife including whales, dolphins, endangered turtles and sea birds.
The move was welcomed by environmentalists.
Pew Environment Group, one of several groups which had lobbied for the creation of the reserve, said it effectively expands New Zealand's protection of its marine environment from 0.5% to 15.5% of its marine spaces.
"It's an extraordinary achievement for all New Zealanders and for the people of the Pacific Islands," Pew's campaign director Bronwen Golder told the BBC.
But the announcement has surprised fishing and mining companies.
George Clement, chairman of Seafood New Zealand, told Reuters news agency they had had "no forewarning from government" and that the industry "needs time to consider the full implications". | New Zealand has revealed plans to turn an area of the South Pacific about the size of France into a marine reserve. |
36,600,962 | Stella, a pitbull-type dog, was seized in 2014 and a destruction order was passed by a court in February.
But earlier, Exeter Crown Court granted Stella a reprieve.
Her new owner Carolyne Pharaoh took her on after Stella's previous owner Antony Hastie agreed to transfer ownership.
Click here for the latest updates on this story
Police had seized the dog because of its breed, its behaviour when officers seized the dog, and subsequent behavioural assessments.
Ms Pharaoh told the court: "I have formed a real bond with Stella. I'm very fond of her, my family are very fond of her. I feel we can give her a good quality of life."
The court heard how Ms Pharaoh has converted a stable to a dog room and has given Stella access to a yard and a securely fenced field.
Judge Graham Cottle, sitting with two magistrates, issued Stella with a contingent destruction order.
Judge Cottle said: "We have to be sure Stella doesn't pose a risk to public safety. Carolyne Pharaoh said she will take ownership of the dog and apply for an exemption certificate.
"It's clear she is very willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure Stella is not a risk to public safety", he told the court.
Mr Hastie, cried and hugged Ms Pharaoh, whom he said he was "eternally grateful" to.
"I'm made up that she [Stella] is going to be free," he said.
"It's broken my heart for the last two and a half years."
Devon and Cornwall Police said they supported the court's decision "due to the suitability of the new keeper to look after and rehabilitate Stella."
"Devon and Cornwall Police has on a number of occasions shared its concerns at the lengthy delay to cases, caused by legislation, the court system and on occasions the unfit owners surrounding the issue of dangerous dogs," a spokesman said.
"The force has already put forward a report to the Defra Select Committee inquiry into the welfare of seized domestic animals." | A dog seized by police and refused exercise for nearly two years has been freed from a death sentence and adopted by a kennel owner. |
40,318,285 | In a letter to Business Secretary Greg Clark, they also ask the government to "put the economy first".
The letter is from the British Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, EEF, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors.
Formal Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK begin on Monday.
The signatories say the "economic benefits" of the European Union single market, which allows free movement of goods, services, capital and people, and the customs union, which enables tariff-free trading within the EU, should be maintained until a final settlement between the UK and the EU is "agreed and implemented".
They have also called for a final trade deal that will allow tariff-free goods to be traded between the UK and the EU.
In addition, they want that deal to include "minimal customs formalities", mutual recognition of standards and regulation, and a "flexible system" for the movement of labour and skills.
"We have come together to urge the government to put the economy first as it prepares to start formal negotiations," says the letter to Mr Clark.
"This is a deal that when finally agreed will matter fundamentally for the UK economy, for UK companies and for citizens of the UK."
Monday's talks between Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU negotiator Michel Barnier follow preliminary negotiations in Brussels between officials. | Five major UK business bodies have come together to call for continued access to the European single market until a final Brexit deal is made with the EU. |
37,198,479 | The ban in Villeneuve-Loubet "seriously and clearly illegally breached fundamental freedoms", it found.
The ruling could set a precedent for up to 30 other towns that imposed bans on their beaches, chiefly on the Riviera.
At least three mayors have already said they will keep the bans in their towns.
The court will make a final decision later on the bans' legality.
Correspondents in France say the court's decision means that all the bans on burkinis are likely now to be overturned,
But town hall authorities in Nice and Frejus, as well as in the Corsican village of Sisco, have vowed to keep the bans in place.
Nice saw a devastating attack by a follower of so-called Islamic State in July while Sisco witnessed clashes this month between villagers and Muslim bathers.
A human rights group, the Human Rights League (LDH), and an anti-Islamophobia association (CCIF), brought the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet to the court's attention.
Patrice Spinosi, a lawyer for the LDH, said outside court that people who had been fined could claim their money back.
But the town's mayor, Lionnel Luca, said: "We need to decide if we want a smiley, friendly version of sharia law on our beaches or if we want the rules of the [French] Republic to be implemented."
Amnesty International welcomed the court's decision. The human rights group's Europe director, John Dalhuisen, said it had "drawn a line in the sand".
He said: "French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women.
"These bans do nothing to increase public safety but do a lot to promote public humiliation."
On Thursday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls described the burkini as "a political sign of religious proselytising".
The French Republic was "not at war with Islam", he argued, but "protecting [Muslims] against discrimination".
The burkini bans have ignited fierce debate in France and worldwide.
Opinions polls suggested most French people backed the bans, which town mayors said were protecting public order and secularism.
Muslims said they were being targeted unfairly.
The "burkini bans" actually make no mention of the burkini.
The rules simply say beachwear must be respectful of good public manners and the principle of secularism.
The controversy intensified after pictures and video of police appearing to enforce the ban by making a woman take off an item of clothing prompted widespread anger.
The court said local authorities did not have the power to restrict individual liberties in this way without "proven risk" to public order.
After a militant Islamist ploughed a lorry into families on the seafront at Nice on 14 July, killing 86 people, the city's authorities said a ban was "a necessity".
Local leaders have described their actions as appropriate and proportionate.
But the bans are not just a response to a spate of deadly jihadist attacks on French soil. France has long-standing laws on secularism, and the Nice ban focused on "correct dress, respectful of accepted customs and secularism, as well as rules of hygiene and of safety in public bathing areas". | France's highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body "burkini" swimsuits that was imposed in a town on the Mediterranean coast. |
34,835,908 | Miss Malié said that it is a sentiment shared among some of the French expatriate community in Belfast.
"With everything that has happened, I think people are very worried about going back to Paris," Miss Malié said.
"I was myself in Paris a week ago, at the same time, the same place. I could have been in the middle of this."
Miss Malié found out about the terror attacks on Saturday morning.
"I was very worried for my friends in Paris and I had no news for the whole weekend," Miss Malié said.
"As an expatriate it's more difficult because we don't really know what's happening on site."
"We're all very shocked and very sad about what happened," Miss Malié said. "We don't really know what to do, or how to react to something like this."
"It's been a huge attack and it's been very devastating."
Members of Belfast's French community held a small vigil outside Belfast City Hall on Saturday.
Paris-born Nathalie Trinh has been living in Belfast for three years.
She said she was moved after seeing French people and locals gathered in the rain for the vigil.
"It was really nice to see a lot of people that are not French," she said. "It's touching."
Mrs Trinh said that she will not be changing her flight plans back to Paris in December.
"I don't feel nervous because it's still my home," she said.
"This is where I come from. I just think that if you get scared this is what they want.
"I don't want to give them this feeling. This is my home so no matter, if this were to happen again I would still go home." | Belfast-based French national Violaine Malié said she is "scared" to go back to Paris after terror attacks in the French capital on Friday. |
36,246,180 | If you have a picture you would like to share, please see below the images for details on how to submit yours.
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At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws collecting any kind of media. | Each day we feature a photograph sent in from across England - the gallery will grow during the week. |
32,387,194 | Graham Dwyer, 42, from Foxrock in south Dublin, had denied the murder of Elaine O'Hara but was convicted by unanimous verdict at the Central Criminal Court, last month.
The remains of the 36-year-old childcare worker were found in the Dublin mountains in September 2013.
Dwyer was sentenced on Monday.
A judge told the court Dwyer had preyed on Ms O'Hara to satisfy his "perverse and debauched desires".
"We may be thankful a dangerous man is now out of the way," he said.
During the trial, the married father admitted having an affair with his vulnerable victim, whom he met through a website.
She was last seen on 22 August 2012, the day of her murder and had been missing for more than a year before her remains were discovered.
The jury found that Dwyer stabbed Ms O'Hara to death on Kilakee Mountain in Rathfarnham on 22 August, 2012, the day she left a psychiatric hospital.
He sent her a series of texts in the days leading up to the killing.
Dwyer told her she would be punished for trying to kill herself without him.
Her skeletal remains were found on Kilakee Mountain in Rathfarnham on 13 September 2013, the day of Dwyer's birthday.
Three days after that, her keys and other items were found in Vartry Reservoir in Roundwood, which had dried up due to a heatwave.
Dwyer was arrested on 17 October 2013 and he has been in custody ever since. | A sadomasochistic killer who filmed his victim has been given a life sentence after being found guilty of her murder in the Republic of Ireland. |
33,840,414 | Police and ambulance were called to Flaxman Road, in Lambeth at 20:50 BST on Saturday.
The victim, who is yet to be formally identified, was found with head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said post-mortem tests were due to be carried out in Greenwich and a murder investigation had been launched.
One resident in the street reported hearing "loud bangs" which she thought were gunshots but police said they were not aware of any shots being fired during the incident.
A section of the road has been cordoned off while a forensic examination takes place. | A 17-year-old boy has died after a fight in south London. |
37,415,400 | Rescue volunteers reached the men via helicopter and abseiled them to safety early on Tuesday. Police said there were no injuries.
The men ventured off the designated pathway on Monday and became stuck in a crevice on the rock formation in the Northern Territory.
It is not prohibited to climb the site, also known as Ayers Rock.
However, the traditional owners of the landmark, the Anangu, ask that people "respect our law and culture" by not venturing onto the sacred site.
It is understood the men - all 23 years old - scaled down to see a waterfall but became stuck and were unable to climb back up.
Tourists are warned that the climb can be dangerous. More than 35 people have died scaling the sandstone monolith.
An emergency services spokeswoman said the "avoidable" incident would be costly with a helicopter and rock-climbing used in the rescue effort.
"They were all quite hungry but they were fine, they had sufficient water with them and weren't dehydrated," she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"It's really important that people stay within the designated areas when they're doing bushwalks so that they don't come into harm's way." | Three Australian men stranded on the landmark Uluru have been rescued after an 11-hour operation. |
35,568,126 | Two goals in as many first-half minutes gave the hosts control, with Scott Linton breaking the deadlock from the spot after Brian Martin's hand ball.
John Gemmell heading Chris Smith's cross past goalkeeper Mark Walters and into the bottom-left corner.
Ewan McNeil fired into the corner with 20 minutes remaining, but Berwick could not find an equaliser. | Clyde ended a run of four straight defeats by edging out struggling Berwick Rangers in Scottish League Two. |
39,086,633 | Goalmouth action was limited in the early stages with the first real chance not coming until the 29th minute when Stanley defender Matty Pearson hit the crossbar following Sean McConville's corner.
Barnet had to resort to some desperate defending to stop Stanley, with Michael Nelson blocking a goal-bound strike from McConville on the stroke of half-time.
The Bees' first shot on target did not come until first-half stoppage time but Mauro Vilhete's effort was easy for Stanley's on-loan goalkeeper Marek Rodak.
The home side started the second half with purpose and forward McCartan fired narrowly over from 30 yards while, at the other end, winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce saw a chip comfortably saved by Rodak.
McCartan then provided the game's decisive moment, firing a 20-yard free-kick into the top corner in the 54th minute after Billy Kee had been fouled on the edge of the area
The Bees' 22-goal top-scorer John Akinde should have levelled six minutes from time but his unmarked header from 10 yards was blocked on the line.
There was still time for Stanley substitute Jordan Clark to hit the woodwork.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Barnet 0.
Second Half ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Barnet 0.
Corner, Barnet. Conceded by Marek Rodak.
Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Bira Dembélé (Barnet).
Attempt blocked. Ruben Bover (Barnet) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the right side of the box.
Foul by Scott Brown (Accrington Stanley).
John Akinde (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Bira Dembélé (Barnet) header from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Corner, Barnet. Conceded by Mark Hughes.
Attempt blocked. John Akinde (Barnet) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley).
Michael Nelson (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Attempt missed. Harvey Rodgers (Accrington Stanley) header from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Ryan Watson.
Attempt saved. Ryan Watson (Barnet) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Substitution, Barnet. Ryan Watson replaces Tom Champion.
Corner, Barnet. Conceded by Mark Hughes.
Attempt blocked. Mauro Vilhete (Barnet) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Mauro Vilhete (Barnet) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley).
Foul by Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley).
Justin Amaluzor (Barnet) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Bira Dembélé (Barnet) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jordan Clark (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Bira Dembélé (Barnet).
Substitution, Barnet. Nana Kyei replaces Jamal Campbell-Ryce.
Attempt blocked. Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Barnet. Justin Amaluzor replaces Simeon Akinola.
Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Jordan Clark replaces Sean Clare.
Foul by Sean Clare (Accrington Stanley).
Bira Dembélé (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Bira Dembélé (Barnet) header from the centre of the box is too high.
Foul by Harvey Rodgers (Accrington Stanley).
John Akinde (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Matty Pearson (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Simeon Akinola (Barnet). | Shay McCartan scored the only goal as Accrington eased their League Two relegation worries with victory over Barnet. |
39,079,272 | Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) says at least 300 systems are in use and government figures show one council's recycling rate is just 15%, with an England average of 42%.
KBT is urging the government to create a national "recycling blueprint".
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insisted some councils had excellent recycling rates.
See figures for all English local authorities here.
KBT's deputy chief executive Richard McIlwain, said: "It's very difficult to have a national conversation about what we can recycle and what should be recycled when everyone is doing something different."
Currently, local authorities in the UK have a target to recycle at least half of all waste by 2020, to meet the European Union's Waste Framework Directive.
It is not known what effect Brexit could have on the target.
Some of the worst records are in London, with none of the capital's borough councils currently hitting the 50% mark.
In north west England, Liverpool and Hyndburn councils only recycled 28% of waste in the 12 months ending April 2016.
Mr McIlwain said English local authorities should learn from Wales, where the average recycling rate is 60%.
He said it was because of a nationwide waste and recycling blueprint.
"They've also got a system where every household in Wales has a food waste collection and that's incredibly important because we waste seven million tonnes of food in this country every year," he explained.
"It's really important to capture it because otherwise it goes straight to landfill. What we can do is collect that food and put it through a process where we can [extract]gas [from it] and put that back into the national grid."
A Defra spokesperson said: "We are recycling four times as much as we were in 2000 and only one fifth of council waste went to landfill last year, down significantly in recent years, but more clearly needs to be done.
"There are some excellent examples of councils improving recycling rates and we are working with local authorities and industry to build on these successes and encourage best practice across the nation as part of our commitment to protect the environment for future generations."
Watch BBC Inside Out North West. | Household recycling levels are too low in England because council schemes are too confusing, campaigners claim. |
29,613,124 | It means surgery in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital will cease.
Jim Wells made the announcement to the assembly on Tuesday, following a review of children's cardiac services.
In 2012, it emerged that services at the Royal were not sustainable with many operations taking place in either England or Dublin.
The review was commissioned by health ministers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Mr Wells, a Democratic Unionist Party minister, told MLAs he was recommending the implementation of a new cross-border model of co-operation that would "deliver safe and effective cardiac care to children in Northern Ireland".
Children's heart surgery for the whole of Ireland will be based at Our Lady's children's hospital in Crumlin, south Dublin.
The Royal in Belfast would develop as a centre for diagnostics and cardio interventions.
Mr Wells said a single children's heart centre in Dublin would see children being treated in accordance the highest standards of care.
He said the model provided significant opportunities for enhancing the support available to families, involving their representatives, as well as clinicians, in governance arrangements and improving communication and the flow of information between clinical teams in Dublin and Belfast.
A leading international surgeon who has advised on the future of children's heart surgery in Northern Ireland has said there is a real willingness to make an "all-island" solution work.
In 2013, Dr John Mayer, was asked by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to review existing services.
He looked at those in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
His conclusion and recommendations will have major ramifications for the Northern Ireland health service.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School said what was required was not difficult and should be achievable in a relatively short space of time.
The international panel that examined the cardiac services was chaired by leading surgeon Dr John Mayer from Boston.
In his report to the Department of Health in Northern Ireland he said surgical care of all children should be transferred to Dublin.
In a statement, Mr Wells and his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, said: "We recognise fully the importance of clarity for patients, their families, clinicians, and other stakeholders on the immediate implications for service delivery.
"The immediate impact of the removal of surgery from Belfast is that more children from Northern Ireland are likely to receive elective surgery at a specialist centre in Great Britain, as required, until appropriate capacity is in place in Crumlin."
In 2012, a national report said that that while safe, the unit at the Royal in Belfast was not sustainable. It said such cardiac centres across the United Kingdom must perform a minimum of 400 children's surgical procedures each year.
Hundreds of families have campaigned for heart surgery to be retained in Belfast.
Sarah Quinlan of the Children's Heartbeat Trust, an organisation that supports families of children with heart disease, said it was "very disappointing" to hear that surgery will be moving to Dublin.
"What this report does offer us, at last though, is an actual roadmap as to how they plan implementing this," she said.
"What really seems to be key within it (the report) is that this is a partnership.
"It isn't about Dublin, a one way road to Dublin but that Belfast is strengthened and enhanced and there's a lot of work and finance put into our cardiology in Belfast to ensure that children can receive the vast majority of their care still in Belfast.
"We would strongly say that at first sight all of these recommendations need to be implemented if this is going to work at all."
•Establishing a family advisory group
•Establishing an single governance committee
•Establishing a database of congenital heart disease patients
•A flow of expert personnel between the two jurisdictions
•Expansion of paediatric cardiac ICU capacity in Dublin to at least 10 fully staffed beds
•Expanding and upgrading telemedicine links between Northern Ireland and the Republic
•Changing focus in Belfast to elective and lower complexity adult congenital cardiac services
•Enhancing services for all patients and their families who do not reside in Dublin
•Integrating the activities of advanced practice nurses to provide patient and family support and manage the transfers between Belfast and Dublin
•Establishing quarterly meetings between paediatric and neonatal transport services in both jurisdictions to facilitate safe transfers between outlying areas and Belfast and Dublin
•Continuing the upgrade of paediatric transport services
•Expanding case conferences to include cardiologists from Belfast Trust
•Monthly review conferences including cardiologists from both jurisdictions
•Mandating an annual symposium to include assessment of the current system | Northern Ireland's health minister has backed the establishment of an all-Ireland children's heart surgery centre in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. |
33,606,593 | After Rachel Treweek becomes Bishop of Gloucester, she will also become the first woman bishop to sit in the House of Lords, this autumn. So how are she and the other women bishops making a difference?
When I meet her ahead of her consecration, Rachel Treweek is packing up, preparing to move. She is also worrying about the work being done on the kitchen at the house she will move into with her husband, Guy, another member of the clergy. That is not something many previous incumbents as bishop have had to worry about in earlier centuries or decades.
But the women now rising to senior leadership roles in the Church of England are having to carve out their own paths as they ascend. And as the most senior woman bishop so far, Bishop Treweek knows she will be closely scrutinised as she takes up her new role.
"People often say, 'What difference does it make that women are now in these positions?' and that's quite a hard question," she says.
"I think I'll be someone who is very collaborative. I will take decisions but in a very collaborational way. Women don't live in compartments, we link things together. But first and foremost what I bring is who I am, and part of that is being a woman and responding faithfully to Christ's calling."
At least six women have now shattered what was known as the "stained glass ceiling" by becoming bishops. The majority are married to other members of the clergy, and one - Alison White - became the first to be married to another bishop, Frank.
Christina Rees campaigned for women's ordination during almost a quarter of a century as a lay member of the general synod, the governing body of the Church. Like many, she's thrilled that Rachel Treweek will become the first woman to sit in the House of Lords as part of the Lords Spiritual: a woman on the front bench of the Church.
"Even though I don't like to stereotype women, I think women hold power more lightly," she says. "They have a better way of working through issues - they're less confrontational. So what I hope is that we'll see a more realistic House of Bishops, more in tune with reality and real people, and one that will be more accessible and a little less distant."
However, some at synod expressed their disquiet that those who appoint bishops had chosen women who did not look likely to rock the boat - or at least, not yet. Canon Rosie Harper, who fought hard for female leadership within the Church, says it's still too early to say what impact each woman bishop will have.
"If you speak to them individually, they all say, 'Just you wait and see, they'll make things different and be more radical than people expect.' But clearly the people appointed have all already been deeply involved in the institution. We haven't had anyone from left field.
"It would be unkind to say they'll all be good girl guides - that would be betraying it. But there is a feeling of that. Mostly, they're all married to clergy and the temptation to play the boys' game in order to survive will be very great until there's a much larger number of people."
As Rachel Treweek looks ahead to her consecration, she admits she feels both nervous and excited about what lies ahead. So could that also include a bit of rebellion?
"I think women priests have had to be rebels in many ways throughout our history. Am I a rebel in that I want to oppose things for the sake of it? No. But am I a rebel in terms of wanting to look at things from a different perspective? Yes, and I hope you'll hear me speaking out in years to come."
But she won't be drawn too far on one of the most divisive issues that lies ahead for the Church of England: that of same-sex marriage.
"For me, it offers us an immense opportunity to have a robust conversation, recognising that we have hugely different viewpoints within the Church. One of my real prayers is that rather than focusing on the issue, we can look at how we can live with difference. Every news story today is about where people have not been able to live with difference," she says.
"And one of the greatest gifts the Church can offer is being able to live together. But it will be hugely painful, and I hope that on this, people will walk towards one another and not away from one another."
Linda Woodhead, professor in the sociology of religion at Lancaster University, says that expectations for the first women bishops have been extraordinarily high, which makes them hard to fulfil.
"There is a tendency in all-male groups for a kind of herd mentality, and for everyone to be on message," she believes. "So some people will be hoping that women will shake up the House of Bishops and provide a different voice.
"But of course, it's more likely that safe women are going to be appointed first, and there has been criticism that the fighters for the ordination of women bishops are not the ones who are being appointed first, so these bishops may be a safer pair of hands, and the people less likely to rock the boat."
However, she doesn't believe that women will help stem the decline in the number of people attending Church of England services, which some view as an existential challenge.
"A big problem for the Church of England is that it's in enormous decline. What it has to do is reconnect itself with people and make itself seem interesting and worthwhile again.
"It's a tall order to expect a very small number of women clergy to do that. And in fact part of the problem is breaking down barriers between the clergy and the rest of us. So the fact of appointing more clergy, even of a different sex, may not be enough to help with that problem." | Wednesday will see the consecration of the Church of England's most senior woman bishop so far: the first female to be in charge of a diocese. |
11,697,022 | "Blanchisseuses souffrant des dents" (Laundry Women with Toothache) was stolen in 1973 from the Havre Museum in Normandy, where it had been stored by the Louvre since 1960.
Sotheby's removed the painting from auction after being alerted by the French authorities.
The painting was expected to fetch $350,000-450,000 in a sale of impressionist art.
A staff member from the Havre Museum spotted the painting in the catalogue, a French official told the AFP news agency.
"We contacted Sotheby's which agreed to withdraw it from the auction," the official said.
"We will begin friendly negotiations with the owner who appears to be of good faith via the auction house."
US and French police are investigating how the painting turned up at the auction.
It was understood not to be on Interpol's international stolen art list. | An Edgar Degas painting stolen in 1973 has turned up at an auction in the US. |
39,633,915 | A mass exodus after their play-off final defeat meant that 50 days before the new season they had half a team.
However, after starting the season with three defeats, the new-look Pilgrims clinched promotion to League One on Monday, thrashing Newport 6-1.
"People that stand still are a problem," Adams, 41, told BBC Devon.
"You're going to manage to get success if you keep on moving with the times - if you stagnate, you're history.
"I've done it throughout my managerial career, I've done it in six months - you've got to change things to be successful. I was born in Glasgow, so I know what it's like to live under a pressure cooker."
Playmaker Graham Carey was one of the few signed on for this season by mid-June and cannot speak highly enough of his manager, who brought in 14 players over the summer.
"I don't think I can put into words what he's done - to have four players at the start of the season, and to bring in the squad that he's brought in, is testament to him.
"It took us a while to get over that defeat at Wembley but I think the recruitment from the manager and the club has been first class."
Argyle were in the second tier as recently as 2010, but consecutive relegations and administration brought the club to the brink of extinction.
Chris Webb, now club president, was one of many supporters to galvanise Plymouth in their hour of need and is keen not to forget those times.
"The players, the fans, the staff; it's just great for everyone at the club, and finally there's some enjoyment after the dark days."
With the Devon side finally going up after a six-year stay in League Two, chairman James Brent added to BBC Sport: "I've always passionately believed that we are a Championship club in the making."
But despite looking up the league pyramid, he insists they will not spend beyond the club's means.
"We're currently one of the very few profitable clubs - we've made a cash profit for the last three years," says Brent, who claims clubs in the EFL suffered combined losses of £245m last season.
"We will still target profitability; we plan to remain as a sustainable club."
Of Plymouth's four out-and-out strikers, remarkably, none have scored more three goals for them this season; midfielder Carey being the shining light with 14 league goals and 14 assists.
The 27-year-old, who has been tipped for a Republic of Ireland call-up by his boss, is out of contract in the summer but has given a positive response to his chances of staying at Home Park.
"At the minute I see my future here, but that's not up to me really - it's up to the manager and the board.
"You never know what can happen in the summer - I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no, but that's not even in my mind at the minute."
Brent is similarly non-committal, but appreciates that keeping their most post potent attacking threat would be a signal of intent.
"I'm very confident that we want to keep him and I'm very confident that Derek does too and we'll try to achieve that, so we're keeping our fingers crossed." | Having had only four players signed on by mid-June, Plymouth boss Derek Adams says their promotion is down to the wholesale changes made to his team. |
39,857,333 | Mark McCall has named his strongest available side, with wing Sean Maitland the only absentee as Sarries look to move closer to a 'double double'.
All six of Saracens' British & Irish Lions squad members will start.
Clermont have named an unchanged side from last month's semi-final victory over Leinster.
David Strettle starts against his old side, with another former England international, Nick Abendanon, on the opposite wing.
Saracens are looking to win a Premiership and Champions Cup double for the second successive season.
They face Exeter in the Premiership semi-finals on 20 May, and would meet either Leicester or Wasps in the final on 27 May.
Last season's victory over Racing saw them crowned European champions for the first time - and McCall says that "big-game experience" will be crucial.
"The game will be close for large periods, that's what happens when really good teams play each other," he said.
"Clermont, when they're at their very best, start games very strongly and quickly. But if that does happen we have enough experience to be able to deal with that.
"These games tend to be won or lost in the last 20 minutes. Our big-game experience tends to show that we are able to do the right things."
Saracens winger Chris Ashton goes into the game needing just one try to become the outright top try-scorer in European Cup history - he is level with Vincent Clerc on 36.
Clermont Auvergne lost to Toulon in both the 2013 and 2015 finals, and have never won Europe's top club competition.
In their 14 final appearances - 12 of which have been in the French league - Clermont have won just once.
"We are very proud of what we have done in the past and our ability to get to finals, and to win titles and lose titles as well," said head coach Franck Azema.
"We are very consistent and our history shows this. We should be proud of it and carry it with us.
"But we have the opportunity to write a new chapter. Not to erase the history but simply to write something new."
Clermont Auvergne: Spedding, Strettle, Rougerie, Lamerat, Abendanon, Lopez, Parra, Chaume, Kayser, Zirakashvili, Iturria, Vahaamahina, Chouly, Yato, Lee.
Replacements: Ulugia, Falgoux, Jarvis, Jedrasiak, Lapandry, Radosavljevic, Fernandez, Penaud.
Saracens: Goode, Ashton, Bosch, Barritt, Wyles, Farrell, Wigglesworth, M Vunipola, George, Koch, Itoje, Kruis, Rhodes, Wray, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Brits, Lamositele, Du Plessis, Hamilton, Burger, Spencer, Lozowski, Taylor.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) | Saracens are aiming to become only the fourth team in history to retain the Champions Cup when they face Clermont in Saturday's final at Murrayfield. |
39,607,053 | The man is believed to be 31-year-old Christopher Andrew Laidler.
Local media reported that he fell naked from a guesthouse balcony in Walking Street in south Pattaya, early on Friday morning.
It is understood that emergency treatment was carried out at the scene and the man was taken to hospital, but later pronounced dead.
Police said there were no signs of a struggle, and the man's belongings remained untouched, according to local reports.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are providing assistance to the family of a British national who has sadly died in Thailand."
Pattaya is a popular resort destination on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, known for its clubs and bars. | A British tourist has died in Pattaya, a coastal city, in Thailand, the Foreign Office has confirmed. |
39,236,431 | He told the BBC the Conservative election pledge not to increase National Insurance, income tax and VAT was a "mistake".
He said Mr Hammond should "drop" the NI increase, which has been criticised by newspapers and some Conservative MPs.
But Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the rise as "fair".
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has also backed the proposal, arguing the current system had needed reform.
Reality Check: Do National Insurance changes break pledge?
Think tank backs National Insurance rise
The change, announced on Wednesday in Mr Hammond's first Budget statement since becoming chancellor, will see millions of self-employed workers pay an average of £240 a year more but ministers say those earning £16,250 or less will see their NI contributions fall.
Lord Lamont told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The real danger is that this continues because what he made clear was that this gap in the taxation - the national insurance of the self-employed and the employed - he intends to eliminate.... That would be a profound error."
Lord Lamont said the increase was "not just a political mistake" but also an economic one as the UK had benefitted from the rise in the number of self employed people.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Lamont described the government's manifesto pledge as "unwise in the extreme".
Lord Lamont, , who was chancellor from November 1990 until May 1993, wrote: "Election pledges should not be lightly given... and tax pledges cannot be lightly cast aside...
"What is said in a general election matters.
"Whatever politicians like to think, voters don't focus on the small print.
"What really counts when voters are making up their minds is the overall drift they pick up.
"It's therefore unwise for politicians to act as if the small print offers an escape route."
He added: "My guess is that, in time, the chancellor's tax raid on the self-employed will be seen as a rookie error."
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have criticised the change - as did more than a dozen Conservative MPs, including Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood, Anna Soubry and Dominic Raab.
Mrs May has defended the rise, saying the poorest workers will pay less and the change will "close the gap in contributions".
But she has said the plans will not go before MPs until the autumn.
The BBC's political correspondent Ross Hawkins said the move was an attempt to take the heat out of the immediate political crisis.
The decision prompted Labour to say the government was in "disarray" and had carried out a "partial u-turn".
Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "The fact the prime minister won't fully support her own chancellor's Budget measure, and has been forced by Labour to row back on it just 24 hours after he delivered his speech in Parliament, shows the level of disarray that exists at the top of government."
Meanwhile the increase in probate fees, which concern the administration of a dead person's estate, has also been criticised by Tory backbenchers calling it a "death tax".
Previously the charges were capped at £215 but the limit will now sit at £20,000 and be linked to the size of the estate.
Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport MP, Oliver Colvile, told the Daily Mail: "I have real concerns about this. We absolutely do not need a death tax - which is what this sounds like."
During consultation for the increase, 810 of the 831 responses were negative.
It is not right for the government to introduce "stealth taxes", North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said.
"Probate charges should relate to the cost of the probate work, which is broadly irrelevant to the size of the estate.
"There might be some more work for bigger estates, but the difference will not necessarily be as large as has been proposed." | Chancellor Philip Hammond's "tax raid" on the self-employed in the Budget has been described as a "rookie error" by former Tory chancellor Lord Lamont. |
34,631,502 | The proposals would see control over policy, membership, constituency parties and candidate selection transferred to Scotland.
Ms Dugdale said the reforms would leave no doubt that "the main focus of Scottish Labour will be on Holyrood".
Earlier, The Sunday Times Scotland reported that Jeremy Corbyn plans to create a "federal" Labour party.
The paper also reported concerns within the party over the possibility of conflicting policies on UK-wide issues.
The role and responsibilities of Scottish Labour has been a major topic of discussion for party members since the Scottish independence referendum.
Former leader Johann Lamont resigned last October saying the Scottish party was being treated like a "branch office".
Greater autonomy could mean Labour develop different policies on issues such as welfare and Trident. Party members are set to discuss policy positions at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth this week.
Announcing her plans, Ms Dugdale said: "With these reforms there will be no doubt that the main focus of Scottish Labour will be on Holyrood, where the key decisions affecting the daily lives of Scots are made.
"It won't be the Commons, the Lords or the European Parliament. They are important, of course, but the most important focus of Scottish Labour will be on using the powers at Holyrood to transform the lives of people in Scotland."
Ms Dugdale will also speak at the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party in the House of Commons on Monday.
Speaking on Sky News, she urged the wider party to "learn from the mistakes" of Scottish Labour, adding: "There's a chance here to reform and innovate how our party is organised and structured, if we get it right then our party will be in a much better and fitter position for the future."
But the SNP claimed there was "chaos and confusion" over the operation of Scottish Labour.
A spokeswoman said: "Most people are fed up hearing about Labour's narrow internal divisions when there are more important issues, like welfare cuts, the EU migrant crisis or holding David Cameron's government to account, that should be the priority." | Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has set out plans for "more autonomy" for the party in Scotland. |
35,937,343 | The Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference has voted to lobby for more and better holiday schemes which include meals.
"We risk returning to a Dickensian era rife with inequality," said ATL general secretary Mary Bousted.
The government said its provision of free school meals for infant pupils had helped boost their learning.
John Puckrin, a teacher from central London, said a recent report from food banks provider, the Trussell Trust, showed a 21% increase in demand during the school holidays.
"For many the school holidays provide a chance to relax and enjoy new experiences, meeting new people, going to places, perhaps different cultures and languages, the chance to grow their 'cultural capital' or improve sporting skills.
"But for the poorest it is often a closed in isolating experience with a lack of any positive stimulation," Mr Puckrin told the conference.
Janet Blanchard, from Nottinghamshire, said bored and hungry children could "get up to mischief or get into trouble".
And Niamh Sweeney, a delegate from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said the issue had made her weep.
"The number of people relying on food parcels has not been higher since the Second World War.
"A dangerous combination of low and unreliable income, multiple part-time jobs, benefit cuts and sanctions and the inability to pay bills from this income has, in every part of the country, brought an unprecedented hunger.
"In 2016 there are people for whom going hungry on a daily basis is now almost inevitable.
"You know you have children in your own school and class who come to school hungry and go home not knowing when they will next have another meal."
Ms Sweeney warned that hungry pupils found it hard to learn.
"And what happens in the holidays? Children and families get hungrier," she said.
She said family applications for referrals to her local food bank in Cambridge "rose during the months of January and February possibly related after the Christmas slump and significantly again in July and August when the school kitchens were shut".
"The city council has seen a significant increase in applications for holiday club provision but only for those sessions where food is provided."
She said community and church groups who helped families feed their children were filled with "utter horror" that they needed to do it.
Of 400 ATL members who took part in a survey for the union, 38% said pupils suffered from physical health issues over the summer break and 26% said pupils children went hungry over the period.
Almost half the staff (49%) said the summer break negatively impacted pupils' mental health.
The Department for Education did not directly address the issue of holiday hunger, but said its policies meant 1.3 million more children received a nutritious free meal at lunchtime, saving families hundreds of pounds.
"To ensure more children have a nutritious breakfast as a healthy start to their school day, we announced £10m funding a year as part of the Budget to expand breakfast clubs in up to 1,600 schools starting from September 2017," a spokesman said.
"Free school meals play a key role, giving children fuel for learning, and we continue to work with both councils and schools to encourage take-up." | Pupils who rely on free school meals can face hunger in the holidays, a teachers union conference has heard. |
40,172,842 | The B-52 was in international airspace but close to the Russian border, and was escorted away, the ministry said.
The Su-27 then returned to its Baltic Fleet airbase.
A similar incident happened on 9 May over the Black Sea, involving a US P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane and a Russian Su-30 fighter.
Separately on Tuesday, Russian media reported that a Russian fighter jet had been scrambled to intercept a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea.
Russia and Nato have boosted their military forces in the Baltic region amid an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
Russia has based nuclear-capable Iskander missiles at its Kaliningrad exclave in the Baltic, and Nato says Russian air patrols have increased in the region.
Russia has condemned Nato's military deployments near its Baltic borders, accusing the alliance of aggression.
Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in eastern Ukraine led to the worst political chill in Europe since the Cold War. | Russia scrambled an Su-27 fighter on Tuesday to intercept a US B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea, the Russian defence ministry said. |
40,680,445 | Officers were called to reports a man in his 50s had been stabbed at a house in Cumberland Avenue at 17:50 BST on Thursday.
A 43-year-old man is being questioned by police. Officers were seen guarding a property in nearby Lake Avenue.
At this stage it is believed that the victim and suspect were known to each other, Suffolk Police said.
For more on this and other stories, visit BBC Local Live: Suffolk | A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a fatal stabbing in Bury St Edmunds. |
39,347,006 | Zsolt Suhaj, 25, is charged with raping a 66-year-old woman in her Lancashire home when she went back to bed after getting up in the night for a drink.
Mr Suhaj, of Nelson, Lancashire, is also charged with sexually assaulting a woman, 70, Preston Crown Court heard.
He denies the charges but admitted burgling houses for "money and gold".
Mr Suhaj also denies six counts of trespassing with intent to commit sexual offences and one count of intending to trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Jurors were told that in the first incident, in May 2016, a 70-year-old grandmother, whose husband was sleeping in another room, woke to find the accused with his hand between her legs.
Lancashire Police initially believed she may have been "hallucinating or dreaming" because the case was so unusual, prosecutor Jeremy Grout-Smith said.
He said: "They, of course, did not have the advantage of knowing, as you know, about the other alleged attacks of a similar nature."
In the final offence in October 2016, the defendant had climbed through the window of the victim's home at about 04:00 BST before attacking her, Mr Grout-Smith said.
The victim later found a knife on her bed, the court heard.
Mr Grout-Smith said the defendant's claim that sexual activity with the 66-year-old woman had been consensual was "absurd".
The trial continues. | An alleged rapist broke into elderly women's houses at night with the intention of sexually assaulting them as they slept, a court has heard. |
37,336,678 | The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform says there is clear evidence cannabis could have a therapeutic role for some conditions, including chronic pain and anxiety.
It says tens of thousands of people in the UK already break the law to use the drug for symptom relief.
But the Home Office says there are no plans to legalise the "harmful drug."
Plant cannabis contains more than 60 chemicals.
The All Party Parliamentary Group wants the Home Office to reclassify herbal cannabis under existing drug laws, from schedule one to schedule four.
This would put it in the same category as steroids and sedatives and mean doctors could prescribe cannabis to patients, and chemists could dispense it.
Patients might even be allowed to grow limited amounts of cannabis for their own consumption.
People with multiple sclerosis can legally take a cannabis-based medicine.
This licensed medicine, called Sativex, is a mouth spray and contains two chemical extracts (THC and CBD) derived from the cannabis plant.
Under current laws in England and Wales, cannabis is not recognised as having any therapeutic value and anyone using the drug, even for medical reasons, could be charged for possession.
The NHS warns that cannabis use carries a number of risks, such as impairing the ability to drive, as well as causing harm to lungs if smoked and harm to mental health, fertility or unborn babies.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform took evidence from 623 patients, representatives of the medical professions and people with knowledge of how medical cannabis was regulated across the world.
37
average age of patient
67%
try conventional medicines first
37% don't tell their doctor
72% buy street cannabis
20% grow their own
Co-chair Baroness Molly Meacher said: "Cannabis works as a medicine for a number of medical conditions.
"The evidence has been strong enough to persuade a growing number of countries and US states to legalise access to medical cannabis.
"Against this background, the UK scheduling of cannabis as a substance that has no medical value is irrational."
The group commissioned a report by an expert in rehabilitation medicine, Prof Mike Barnes, which found good evidence that medical cannabis helps alleviate the symptoms of:
And there was moderate evidence that it could help with:
But there was limited or no evidence that cannabis helps:
It found short-term side-effects of cannabis were generally mild and well tolerated, but that there was a link with schizophrenia in some long-term users.
"There is probably a link in those who start using cannabis at an early age and also if the individual has a genetic predisposition to psychosis. There should be caution with regard to prescription of cannabis for such individuals," says the report.
Also, there is a small dependency rate with cannabis at about 9%, "which needs to be taken seriously but compares to around 32% for tobacco use and 15% for alcohol use".
The evidence for cognitive impairment in long-term users is not clear but "it is wise to be cautious in prescribing cannabis to younger people, given the possible susceptibility of the developing brain", says the report.
Smoking cannabis in a joint rolled with tobacco can make asthma worse and probably increases the risk of lung cancer.
Prof Barnes said: "We analysed over 20,000 scientific and medical reports.
"The results are clear. Cannabis has a medical benefit for a wide range of conditions.
"I believe that with greater research, it has the potential to help with an even greater number of conditions.
"But this research is being stifled by the government's current classification of cannabis as having no medical benefit."
Cannabis is currently classified as a Class B drug, with possession carrying a maximum sentence of five years in jail or an unlimited fine.
Those supplying or producing cannabis face tougher penalties, with a maximum of 14 years in jail.
The drug comes in many different forms - hash is cannabis resin, while marijuana is the dried leaves and flowers of the plant.
A Home Office spokesman said: "There is a substantial body of scientific and medical evidence to show that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health.
"It is important that medicines are thoroughly trialled to ensure they meet rigorous standards before being placed on the market.
"There is a clear regime in place, administered by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, to enable medicines, including those containing controlled drugs, to be developed."
About 24 US states, Canada, Israel and at least 11 European countries already allow access to cannabis for medical use.
Follow Michelle on Twitter | Taking cannabis for medical reasons should be made legal, says a cross-party group of UK politicians. |
40,683,047 | Warwickshire Police was called to a property in Nuneaton in the early hours of 10 July by someone concerned about Darren Cumberbatch's behaviour.
He was taken to hospital where he deteriorated and later died.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it was reviewing CCTV from the premises and hospital as part of its investigation.
Lawyers for Mr Cumberbatch's family said an incident happened before he was taken to the George Eliot Hospital and it was "possible that a further relevant event" occurred after the 32-year-old arrived there.
More updates on this story
The IPCC said: "We know that he became unwell while the police were on the premises and he was then transported to a local hospital.
"We are independently investigating the circumstances of Mr Cumberbatch's death and the contact the police had with him."
In a statement, his family said they were "depending" on the IPCC to conduct a "robust investigation".
"We ask anyone who can give any information about Darren's contact with the police on 9 and 10 July 2017 to contact the IPCC urgently.
"In the meantime we hope the media will avoid speculation as to what happened to Darren and let the investigation take its course."
Warwickshire Police said it had referred the death to the police watchdog and was providing full support to investigators.
Guido Liguor, from the IPCC, said speculation, particularly on social media, about how Mr Cumberbatch died and police interaction with him was "unhelpful".
"I would like to reassure all of those concerned, that we will thoroughly and independently examine the circumstances surrounding his tragic death in order to establish the facts," he said. | A man who died nine days after being arrested became unwell in the presence of police, investigators say. |
39,738,238 | The vote in favour - by 46 out of 81 MPs - paves the way for Montenegro to join Nato late next month.
All but two of Nato's 28 members have ratified the accord.
Russia long regarded Montenegro and neighbouring Serbia as allies. It has now banned Montenegrin wine and said it might move to defend Russian interests.
The Russian foreign ministry said Montenegro's leadership and its Western backers had "ignored the voice of reason and conscience".
"We reserve the right to take steps aimed at defending our interests and national security."
Montenegro's Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic, dismissed Russia's wine import ban as politically motivated. Russia cited sanitary concerns.
A fifth of all wine exports go to Russia, and the ban will have a significant impact on sales.
"It is clear that the decision is in the context of Nato membership," Mr Markovic said.
Montenegro, home to about 633,000 people, was granted a membership action plan by Nato in 2009.
A decade earlier, Montenegro and Serbia were bombed by Nato planes in a three-month campaign during the Kosovo war.
Nato membership remains highly controversial in Montenegro, which broke away from Serbia after the collapse of Yugoslavia, becoming independent in 2006.
Earlier this month Montenegro charged 14 people, including two Russians, with plotting to overthrow the government last October. | Montenegro's parliament has ratified the country's accession to Nato, despite strong domestic opposition and Russian disapproval. |
36,214,862 | The 27-year-old Northern Ireland striker is currently on loan with relegated Dundee United after failing to make an impact with Wigan Athletic.
He left Caley Thistle in January 2015 and his former club are keen to improve their goal threat next season.
"We would be stupid not to look at someone of his pedigree," said Rice.
"I don't think he's had the best of times at Dundee United, through no fault of his own, but he was magnificent for this club and sometimes you find a club fits you.
"You find yourself at home, things come easier."
Mckay, who started his career with Leicester City, scored 62 goals in four years with Caley Thistle after leaving Northampton Town in 2011.
The Highlands outfit have struggled to find a similar goalscorer since he was transferred to Wigan in January 2015 for an undisclosed fee.
However, after 11 goalless outings for the Latics, he switched to United last August on loan, scoring 13 goals in 33 appearances despite them spending all season at the bottom of the Premiership.
"It's definitely one we would like to look at and I'm sure everyone at the club - the management, the players, the board, the fans - would all like to see Billy back here," added Rice.
"As much as we would like Billy back here, I don't know if Billy would like to come back here." | Inverness Caledonian Thistle would be negligent not to look at the possibility of re-signing Billy Mckay, according to assistant boss Brian Rice. |
39,857,312 | Billings, 25, was due to return to the Indian Premier League and his franchise Delhi Daredevils after playing in Sunday's 85-run win at Lord's.
However, with Delhi unable to reach the IPL play-offs, the ECB have agreed Billings will remain in England before a training camp in Spain on 15 May.
He could therefore feature in Kent's three One-Day Cup fixtures this week.
Billings, who scored 138 runs in six innings at an average of 23 in the IPL for the Daredevils over the last month, is yet to make an appearance for Kent this season.
The club have won all three of their County Championship games and are second in Division Two, but Sunday's win over Middlesex was their first in four 50-over matches.
The results have left Matt Walker's side in eighth place in their group, and needing an upturn in form when they play Gloucestershire in Bristol on Wednesday before further away games versus Surrey and Glamorgan.
If selected, Billings will compete with Adam Rouse for the wicketkeeper spot before heading to Spain with his England team-mates on Monday to prepare for this month's one-day series against South Africa and the Champions Trophy in June. | England wicketkeeper Sam Billings is available to play for Kent this week following the series win over Ireland. |
35,533,761 | Global warming is likely to speed up the jet stream, say researchers, and slow down aeroplanes heading for the US.
While eastbound flights from the US will be quicker, roundtrip journeys will "significantly lengthen".
The University of Reading scientists believe the changes will increase carbon emissions and fuel consumption and potentially raise ticket prices.
The study has been published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
High altitude jet streams in the northern and southern hemisphere are the powerful winds that help move weather systems around the globe.
Air traffic normally tries to take advantage of these speedy flows of the Atlantic jet stream from west to east to reduce journey times on routes between Europe and North America.
This is one of the world's busiest routes with around 600 flights every day.
Previous studies have shown that climate change is likely to increase turbulence on these transatlantic flights. In this new study researchers modelled how atmospheric winds would change given a doubling of atmospheric CO2.
They fed the results into the same route algorithms that airlines routinely use to plan their transatlantic journeys.
They found that the winds on the New York to London route will become 15% faster on average.
Flights from London will become twice as likely to take over seven hours while flights from New York will speed up and will become twice as likely to take under five hours and 20 minutes.
While on average, flights will only gain and lose a few minutes each way, the cumulative impact is "significant" says the study.
"If you look at the round trips, the eastbound flights are getting shorter by less than the westbound flights are getting longer," lead author Dr Paul Williams from the University of Reading told BBC News.
"So there is a robust increase in the round-trip journey time, which means planes spending longer in the air, when you add that up for all transatlantic aircraft you get an extra 2,000 hours of planes in the air every year, with $22 million extra in fuel costs and 70 million kg of CO2."
The researchers say the extra CO2 is the equivalent of the annual emissions of 7,000 British homes.
While at present there is no firm observational evidence of changes in the jet stream, scientists point to the fact that the record time for a non-Concorde flight from New York to London is currently 5 hours and 16 minutes, set in January last year.
"We know what drives the jet stream, it's the temperature difference between the warm tropical regions and the cold polar regions at flight levels," said Dr Williams.
"We understand what that temperature difference is going to do in response to global warming, it's increasing, we are very confident that the jet stream is increasing as a consequence."
The researchers believe that as well as worsening the environmental impacts of aviation, airlines are likely to increase ticket prices to cover their costs.
And while the study only applied to the London-New York route, the impacts on flights of changes in the jet streams are likely to be felt all over the world as these critical winds are found in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Other scientists in this field welcomed the study.
"This study builds on the concept that my team published last year showing that there is a two-way relationship between climate change and air travel," said Dr Kristopher Karnauskas, from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"I think these results are an important step forward in filling in the overall puzzle that is this intricate relationship that we humans have with the climate system."
Dr Gregor Leckebusch from the University of Birmingham said the study was sound and the findings were easy to comprehend.
"My meteorological basic instinct would exactly have predicted such a result (shorter eastbound times while longer westbound times), but it is difficult to quantify the net effect without a detailed study using a conceptual model and detailed computational efforts," he said.
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook. | Flights from the UK to the US could take longer due to the changes in the climate, according to a new study. |
34,446,684 | "The trouble with this subject is that we could sit swapping statistics all day long," he told the House of Lords.
That is what has actually happened for weeks.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne vowed to stick to their guns on tax credit changes, suggesting nine out of 10 people would benefit from the tax, welfare and wage changes announced in the Budget.
Think tanks and analysts have spoken of how tax credit claimants would lose hundreds of pounds in entitlement from April.
In its tax credit guide, consumer group Which? says it is "virtually impossible" for people claiming tax credits to work out what they are entitled to.
This debate on the impact of planned changes is hardly making it any clearer, but here we look at what they will really mean.
At present, people receive the maximum level of tax credits if their annual household income is below a threshold of £6,420. From April, that income threshold will go down to £3,850.
So, when household income goes over £3,850, tax credits start to be withdrawn for every extra pound earned.
Tax credit entitlement for those with an income of above £3,850 will be taken away quicker as their income rises. In technical terms, the taper rate will change from 41% to 48%.
In addition, claimants whose household income increases by up to £5,000 during the tax year currently have that rise ignored when entitlement is calculated for that year. From April, this will be reduced so that any increase in income of more than £2,500 will be taken into account.
In a year there will be further changes. Any family which has a third or subsequent child born after April 2017 will not qualify for more child tax credit.
Letters are being sent out to claimants in a few weeks' time to explain the changes to their entitlement. That, according to benefit advisers, will be the moment of reality for many people - especially those who are not following the news particularly closely.
In the meantime, there is a tax credit calculator available for claimants, run by HM Revenue and Customs, which administers tax credits.
The reality for many people is that there will be a "black hole in their budget" in April, according to Lee Healey, managing director of benefits adviser IncomeMAX.
"People have six months, so now is the time to prepare," he says.
He suggests that people bear in mind that the calculation of their tax credits is likely to change, so they need to alter the calculations in their household budget. With some recipients potentially receiving hundreds of pounds less than now, they should also start exploring ways to save such as reviewing and switching energy and telecoms providers, he says.
Another good way to prepare is by ensuring the annual tax credit renewal pack - which checks all income and personal details are correct - is returned as quickly as possible, Mr Healey says.
Anyone receiving tax credits with a household income above the new threshold of £3,850 will receive less in tax credits from April than they do now.
Whether they will actually be worse off is at the heart of the current debate.
Mr Osborne says that the rising minimum wage, tax changes, the introduction of the National Living Wage and entitlement to free childcare will actually mean the vast majority of families will be better off.
That is not a view shared by Frank Field, the Labour chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee. He says: "Even if his [Mr Osborne's] calculations are correct, he is still launching a dive-bomb attack on Britain's strivers from April until 2020."
Mr Osborne says that nine out of 10 families will be better off when all of the changes made in his Budget are considered. To isolate tax credits in this debate would be misleading, he says.
The government wants to reduce tax credit spending and says that measures - most notably increasing the level of earnings that are free of income tax - will help to compensate.
He claims that the typical family, with someone working full-time on the minimum wage, would be more than £2,000 a year better off, by taking all these policies into account.
The source of that claim, made at the start of the conference, were figures published by the Treasury at the time of the summer Budget.
The rise of £2,480, for the type of family mentioned, would see their net income go up from £26,040 in 2015-16 to £28,510 in 2020-21.
Groups, such as the Resolution Foundation think tank and the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), basically make two key points to counter the chancellor's argument.
Firstly, all the Budget changes do not come into effect at the same time. For example, the most significant cuts in tax credits take effect in April, but the point at which the National Living Wage hits £9 an hour will not come until 2020.
Secondly, Mr Osborne's "typical family" fails to make it clear who are the winners and who are the losers. For example the Resolution Foundation points out that the National Living Wage compensates only 13% of the lost income faced by the poorest 50% of households following the Budget.
"We estimate that 'a standard' tax credit family - a single earner couple with children - must be at least £985 a year worse in 2016," the think tank says.
Research by the IFS says that 8.4 million working age households, with someone in paid work and receiving benefits or tax credits, will lose £750 a year, and only gain £200 a year from the National Living Wage.
In Scotland, the SNP has used figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) to claim that 197,200 families - with a total of 346,000 children - would have less cash under the tax credit reforms.
In Northern Ireland, an official analysis of the budget by the Department for Social Development (DSD) suggested that 120,000 households would have their tax credit payments reduced as a result of the July Budget, with an average household loss of £918 a year.
Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, has said that the National Living Wage will not compensate for the loss of tax credits. | Conservative peer Lord Ashton must have had a crystal ball when fielding questions on tax credits in September. |
36,440,582 | 3 June 2016 Last updated at 13:24 BST
He was speaking to BBC Newsnight as part of its My Decision series, where a number of figures explain how they plan to vote in the EU referendum - and the thinking behind their decision.
More:
Dreda Say Mitchell: 'I'm black and voting for Leave'
Michael Morpurgo: 'I look at the history'
'Mavericks likely to vote leave' - John Timpson
Tom Hunter: 'Where are the facts?'
Tracey Emin: It would be 'insanity' to leave EU
Gillian Duffy: 'I don't want to be a European'
'Voters are being bullied' - Charles Moore | The EU referendum debate risks turning into a "playground row", according to Stig Abell, editor of the Times Literary Supplement. |
39,972,064 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The 67-year-old Frenchman has been with the Gunners since 1996 and his contract comes to an end this summer.
Wenger has faced numerous protests by Arsenal's own supporters this season, calling for him to quit as boss.
"There are many aspects to be discussed at a board meeting. One is what happens with the manager," he said.
"Of course I will be there. At the moment we should focus on the short term and what is going on on Sunday and in the cup final."
The north London side face Premier League champions Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, the Gunners' only hope of claiming a trophy this campaign.
But the season has been blighted by continuous questions surrounding his future at the club and banners from fans demanding he end his long association with the club. In their previous away game at Stoke, a plane was flown over the stadium which read "Wenger - out means out".
With one game remaining in the league, they face a battle to qualify for the Champions League as they are currently in fifth position, a point adrift of Liverpool in fourth and three behind third-placed Manchester City, albeit with an inferior goal difference of five.
Arsenal host Everton in their final game on Sunday (15:00 GMT), while Liverpool welcome relegated Middlesbrough to Anfield and Manchester City travel to Watford.
Wenger added: "We have to do our job, we are professionals and want to win. We are on a good run and all we can do is win our game on Sunday. After that what happens to me is less important.
"I am here to serve the club and the best way to do that is by winning the next game." | Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his future at the club will be decided at a board meeting after the FA Cup final on 27 May. |
35,070,477 | But it is hard to divorce the dispute from the bigger issue of the shake up to the sector in recent years.
Overall budgets were cut and jobs have gone. Colleges across Scotland have merged into a series of so-called "regional supercolleges".
Mergers in any field can often be difficult - they can lead to job losses and the inevitable challenges of bringing together the culture and practices of different institutions.
These concerns were exacerbated by rows over pay offs for some senior staff. The public spending watchdog raised concerns about the practices followed by some.
At the former Coatbridge College there were claims of collusion though, when questioned by MSPs, the former principal denied any wrongdoing.
Indeed at some colleges, the merger process itself has been difficult.
A distinct but related debate has also been going on. This is the question of just what role colleges should have in the education system.
Colleges were told to focus on full time courses which led to recognised qualifications - such as HNCs And HNDs.
Their principle aim is to help develop the skills of the workforce and, perhaps inevitably, an even higher proportion of the students than before are in their teens or 20s.
The number of part time student numbers fell dramatically.
A report by Audit Scotland argued there was no evidence that students had suffered from the shake up but also questioned whether there had been any actual benefits beyond savings.
This big shake up in the system inevitably colours the question of pay.
Each college used to have its own pay and conditions. But a move back to national pay deals has thrown up discrepancies between institutions.
Dealing with those would inevitably be an expensive, long term business.
A formal vote on industrial action is expected within weeks and some in the EIS Further Education Lecturers Association anticipate a strike in February if the issue is not resolved.
Some in the colleges sector have long complained that they can feel as if they're overlooked: political, media and public attention can, some argue, tend to focus unduly on schools and universities.
Any national college dispute, in the run up to May's Holyrood election, could certainly put the focus on the sector. | The impending dispute in colleges is specifically about pay. |
35,233,758 | Tim Brown, a volunteer rescue swimmer from Lagan Search and Rescue, has just returned from the Aegean Sea where he spent two-and-a-half weeks saving a total of 94 people.
He worked alongside people from 12 countries on a mission with Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), a charity rescuing migrants and refugees in trouble at sea.
The mission came out of a collaboration between Lagan Search and Rescue and MOAS.
When Mr Brown was first approached with the idea of being sent out to the Aegean Sea, he was initially hesitant when he found out he would miss out on Christmas and New Years at home.
"It's a time of year when your extended family get together maybe once or twice a year at most," he said.
"So it was a pity in some ways but at the end of the day I just thought why would I turn down the opportunity to save lives?"
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, sparking a political crisis on the continent.
Mr Brown said he was unaware of the full scale of the mission in the Aegean Sea.
"Before I went, I kind of looked at the map and thought, 'it's this little region here and we could patrol it quite easily,'" he said.
"But then I realised how vast it was when I was out there.
"It would nearly be impossible to patrol that whole region unless you had a massive fleet of ships."
The relationship between rescuers and the migrants and refugees onboard is a complex one.
"I didn't get to talk to the refugees too much," Mr Brown said.
"In some ways you need to maintain some sort of formality to control so many people on board.
"I got talking to some couples about where they were coming from.
"They were saying how dangerous the sea was but it wasn't as dangerous as the country they came from."
One of the most confronting aspects about the mission, Mr Brown said, was coming face to face with migrant and refugee children.
"Our last rescue that I was involved with, what really stood out to see such young children, a few months old, toddlers, all ages, being injured," he said.
"Head injuries, hypothermia and then also unfortunately, one of the toddlers was two years old and had died at sea and we had to recover his body.
"Just to see the child being put into the coffin and the coffin being carried off into a hearse, it really hits home what does happen there."
"Sometimes you hear numbers, but then you see face to face a child that has drowned at sea. And then you speak to the mother.
"I think the mother was still in shock when I was speaking to her and it's pretty tough to see that face-to-face and that's something that stands out."
Mr Brown prepared for the deployment in the Aegean Sea after a year of training and experience with Lagan Search and Rescue.
Part of the benefit of the exchange he said, was the experience and skills he could bring back to Northern Ireland.
While he was physically prepared for the mission, he said it was emotionally taxing.
"People did tell me it would be physically taxing," Mr Brown said.
"But being emotionally demanding was the main part.
"We could only take injured on board at the time. Authorities wouldn't let us take anyone else."
What is Mr Brown's take on the refugee and migrant crisis after taking part in the mission?
"The mission was primarily that we're assisting people fleeing from acts of war" he said.
"They're really refugees and not migrants. If you look at these pictures it's just impossible not to have compassion for these families. Especially first hand."
"They're forced to make that perilous journey and they're risking it for all the freedom that we have, that we take for granted."
"At the end of the day, the ethos for search and rescue, there are no borders," he said.
"Whether we're in the Lagan river or the eastern Aegean, no one deserves to die at sea."
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants. | "Nothing can fully prepare you to see all the children injured, with hypothermia, or to see a mother whose child has drowned." |
35,689,738 | The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak.
The Lancet authors say they developed the neurological problems around six days after Zika infection.
Leading scientists described the study as "compelling".
Zika was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in early February.
The virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, has caused alarm in central and south America because of its suspected links to under-developed brains in babies - a condition called microcephaly.
But experts have also questioned whether Zika might be linked to another medical condition as well.
Guillain-Barré syndrome leads to muscle weakness and, in severe cases, breathing problems requiring intensive care.
It is a rare response to infection, which sees the immune system attacking peripheral nerves.
Researchers analysed the blood of patients who developed the disorder during a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia in the Pacific two years ago.
From this work, they predict there could be one case of Guillain-Barré among every 4,000 people falling ill with Zika.
The lead author Professor Arnaud Fontanet, from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said: "These patients tended to deteriorate more rapidly than we usually see with Guillain-Barré.
"But once they were over the acute phase of the illness, their recovery tended to be better."
None of the 42 patients died but some still needed help walking, several months after they became ill.
The researchers say countries with Zika should prepare for extra cases of the nerve disorder.
Professor Hugh Willison, from Glasgow University, told BBC News: "On an individual level, we shouldn't be frightening people into thinking that if they get Zika infection they'll automatically get Guillain-Barré - because the risk is actually rather low.
"But if a million people get infected with Zika, that's hundreds of unexpected cases of Guillain-Barré."
Figures from the WHO show that Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Surinam and Venezuela have all reported increased numbers of cases of the syndrome in recent weeks.
Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "This study provides the most compelling evidence to date of a causative link between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
"The increase in reported cases seems to suggest that a similar situation may be occurring in the current outbreak, although the link here is yet to be proven definitively.
"The scale of the crisis unfolding in Latin America has taken us all by surprise, and we should be prepared for further unforeseen complications of Zika virus infection to emerge in the coming weeks and months." | New research gives the first evidence that Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome. |
39,497,025 | Monday's blast between two stations killed 14 people and injured almost 50.
Investigators say it may have been a suicide bomb set off by a Kyrgyzstan-born man, Akbarzhon Jalilov.
Reports in Russia say one of the victims, Irina Medyantseva, died as she tried to shield her daughter from the explosion.
Ms Medyantseva, a 50-year-old doll-maker, reportedly died in an ambulance.
Her daughter Yelena, 29, was treated for her injuries in hospital and her condition is said to be stable.
Others victims include Dilbara Alieva, 20, from Azerbaijan, who was taken to hospital but later died from her injuries.
The oldest victim was Yuri Nalimov, 71, and one of the youngest was Ksenia Malyukova, 18, Russia's investigative committee reports (in Russian).
Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said one of its nationals, Maksim Aryshev, a 20-year-old student, had died. He was wrongly named as the bomber on social media on Monday.
Kyrgyzstan's security service named the suspect as Akbarzhon Jalilov, who was born in the Kyrgyz city of Osh in 1995 and had obtained Russian citizenship.
His name was later confirmed by Russian investigators, who said he also planted a second bomb that did not explode.
No group has said it was behind the bombing.
Who is suspected bomber?
What we know so far
The metro here is open again, but passengers heading into the stations at the heart of the attack pass a huge pile of flowers. People here at Sennaya Ploshchad have been adding to the shrine all morning, leaving notes and stuffed toys and lighting candles.
This is a city trying to get back to normal, but there is deep shock at what's happened.
I spoke to women in tears. One told me she felt she had to bring flowers because this attack was so awful, and her mother was horrified at how random the killing was. "Everyone I know is fine," Irina said. "But it could have been any one of us."
There were bomb scares on the metro system again this morning, and several stations were closed and cordoned off as security teams moved in. It is another sign that this is a city on edge now.
The blast occurred on Monday afternoon after the train had left Sennaya Ploshchad station.
Senior investigator Svetlana Petrenko told Russian media the train driver's decision to continue to the next station, Tekhnologichesky Institut, had almost certainly helped save lives, as it allowed people to be rescued quickly.
Events as they happened
In pictures: St Petersburg explosion
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Train driver Alexander Kaverin told reporters: "I just followed the procedure. You will know that this isn't the first terrorist act that we've had, there've been explosions before, so smart people came up with smart procedures.
"And these procedures say that in this situation I had to take the train to the nearest station. This is what I did. The train kept moving. There was a bang and lots of dust, but the train kept on moving."
The discovery of an explosive device at another station, Ploshchad Vosstaniya, on Monday also suggested a co-ordinated attack.
Both Mr Kaverin and another employee who found the unexploded bomb would be rewarded for their actions, metro officials said. | The first victims of the St Petersburg metro explosion have been named, as investigators continue to piece together the identity of the attacker. |
40,386,520 | The Northern Ireland international was in Edinburgh on Friday afternoon to meet the club's management.
The 6ft 3in forward left Rangers in June 2012 for Swiss outfit Sion before moving to Palermo and then Norwich, who loaned him to Rizespor and then Birmingham City.
The 29-year-old was released by Norwich City at the end of last season. | Hearts are in talks with the former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty about a move to Tynecastle. |
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