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38,846,657 | We've got a good team coming into the competition, the boys are on a high from the way their clubs are playing.
About 90% of the boys in the squad are playing for teams that have qualified for the knockout stages of the European competitions. I think that just shows the form that everyone is in and it's great to have guys who are in form playing around you.
For the Glasgow boys it's great coming off a high in Europe after a great win over Leicester at Welford Road that took us into the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
We were back in the Scotland camp on the Sunday afternoon so we didn't really get much time at all to soak it up, but in a way it was good to make the transition quickly. You need to forget about what's happened before and move on. The goal changes pretty quickly.
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I was rooming with Huw Jones on Monday which was good. I think rooming together is an important part of getting to know your team-mates. To be in a room with Huw is handy because he's going to be at 13 so to be able to chat to him and see what he wants on the field, get a better understanding of what he likes and how he plays is good. He doesn't play in the UK so it's good to understand what sort of style of play he likes and share stuff with him.
He's pretty chilled out which is good. We just sit about, watch some television and go to bed at roughly the same time, which is great because when you share with Jonny Gray he's in bed by 9pm and it's lights out!
Some of the chat in the build-up to this game was about me going up against Johnny Sexton. He has now been ruled out through injury, but I never really buy into these personal battles. It would have been good to go up against him, but Paddy Jackson has been going well this year.
It doesn't change that much for us as a team, our attacking or defensive game-plan. We might have to make some minor alterations, but it doesn't change much for us as a team or me as an individual.
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I've played against Sexton a few times, Jackson a few times. I've played against them all. I don't look at it as a one-on-one test. I just know I have to do my job on the pitch for Scotland so I can't get caught up in positional battles. If I start looking at it like that then I might start to change the way I play, so for me it's best to just stick to what I do and I think that is best for the team.
The way Munster and Leinster are playing at the moment, we know how good Ireland are going to be. We haven't beaten them in a good few years. I've only played against them once so I'm looking forward to the challenge. Joe Schmidt is a great coach. I would imagine he'll have a lot of trick plays up his sleeve for this game.
I don't really have any superstitions or a set pre-match routine. On the morning of a match I don't really tend to eat breakfast. I like to get a long lie and wake up whenever I want basically. I like to just do whatever I feel like to get me in the right frame of mind. That might be drinking a hot chocolate or eating a bag of sweets, anything so I'm going into the game feeling good, feeling comfortable.
The strength and conditioning guys aren't always too happy with that, but that's my routine, making sure I'm happy. For me, it's not a checklist of things that I must do, it's just making sure I'm feeling good going into the game.
We know that Scotland's opening-day record in the Championship is poor. As players we've mentioned it a few times. We need to start better. Every year you try to focus on the first game and we want to get out of the blocks as well as we can and get a good start to the tournament.
Momentum is so important. If you get off to a good start then it can set you up for the rest of the tournament. Hopefully, we can do that with a win against Ireland on Saturday.
Finn Russell was talking to BBC Sport Scotland's Andy Burke | The mood in the Scotland camp has been good as we gear up for our Six Nations opener against Ireland at Murrayfield on Saturday. |
36,129,899 | General Athanase Kararuza and his wife died instantly, while their daughter was injured. No group has said it was behind the attack in the capital.
More than 400 people have been killed in unrest since President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would run for a third term last April.
A string of high-ranking army officials have been targeted during the conflict.
Security forces have also been accused of killing opponents and dumping them in mass graves by rights group Amnesty International.
Shortly after the attack in Bujumbura, the International Criminal court announced that it was starting a preliminary investigation into the violence in Burundi.
This will decide whether a full-blown investigation will take place, which could result in charges against those accused of being behind the violence.
Africa Live: News updates from around the continent
Burundi's tit-for-tat killings spread fear
Has African Union let down Burundi?
Burundi on the brink
BBC Great Lakes reporter Robert Misigaro says the killing is a blow for President Nkurunziza because it shows that he cannot guarantee the safety of his officers.
On Sunday the Minister for Human Rights Martin Nivyabandi survived a grenade attack as he was coming out of church.
Although both opposition and government forces are ethnically mixed, some fear that the violence could descend into a repeat of the genocidal killings which the country has previously experienced.
President Nkurunziza is the former leader of a Hutu rebel group which battled a Tutsi-dominated army for many years until he came to power in 2005 as part of a peace deal.
The African Union had said it would send a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force to the country even if the government did not accept it but it has since back-tracked. | A security advisor to Burundi's vice-president has been shot dead while dropping off his daughter at school. |
39,881,437 | The flag, bearing a double 'S' in the style of the Nazi paramilitary force, was seen at Gamba's J-League game at city rivals Cerezo Osaka on 16 April.
The league has fined them two million yen (£13,500).
Gamba have banned members of the group responsible and issued an indefinite ban on flags and banners at games.
The club "immediately identified the supporter group in question and took swift and appropriate measures", the J-league said on its website.
"However, the club's efforts to establish a system of monitoring supporter activities and enlightening them is not enough to meet its important responsibility of preventing discriminatory action from happening," it added.
Gamba are third in the J-league with 19 points from 10 games and travel to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on Sunday. | Japanese side Gamba Osaka have been fined and reprimanded after their supporters waved a flag bearing a symbol similar to a Nazi SS insignia. |
34,652,008 | Peers rejected a Lib Dem attempt to block moves to accelerate the full switchover to individual registration.
From December, all household members must register by themselves or face being removed from the register.
Critics say "huge numbers" could be disenfranchised but ministers say "no genuine voters" will lose out.
To ease the transition to the new IER system, which was first agreed in 2013, nobody has so far been taken off existing electoral registers, but anyone who has not individually registered by 1 December will be removed.
Labour and the Lib Dems say by doing this then, rather than in December 2016 as was originally envisaged, risks robbing more than a million people of the chance to vote in next May's elections, including polls for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and new London mayor.
Opponents of the accelerated timetable for IER sought to block the measure through a so-called "fatal" motion but this was rejected by peers by 257 to 246 votes after a two-hour debate.
The Electoral Commission watchdog has called for the measure to be blocked by Parliament while work continues on the latest annual canvass of households to establish an accurate picture of current registered voters.
It says the risk of disenfranchising large numbers outweighs the chances of a smaller number remaining on the register who should not be.
Arguing for a delay, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Tyler, a former MP, said he had never heard a statutory body express its view with "such clarity".
"The official estimate is that 1.9 million people who are currently on the register and were on it at the general election in May will be dropped off it," he said. "At a stroke, ministers are prepared to disenfranchise huge numbers of electors."
But speaking out against the motion, Conservative peer Lord Dobbs said opponents had not provided a single example of any individual who would lose out as a result of the move.
And government minister Lord Bridges said the purpose of the move was to "remove ghost entries", people who had moved house, died or had never existed at all, a category of people he said accounted for 4% of those on the register at the general election.
He said such people had been given "ample opportunity" to confirm their identity, having been contacted by officials nine times.
No-one currently on the register "would lose their right to vote", he told peers, insisting the government should not tolerate the risk of fraud and IER was a step to a "more modern and secure electoral system".
Tuesday's vote came at a time of growing tension between the Lords and the Commons over the authority of the appointed House to challenge government business following peers' decision to demand major changes to the government's tax credit cuts. | Opposition peers in the House of Lords have failed in efforts to inflict another defeat on the government, this time over electoral registration. |
19,385,100 | Unwashed and still soiled with stains, the pants were worn beneath one of Presley's famous white jumpsuits during a performance in 1977.
The light blue briefs will go under the hammer at an auction of Elvis Presley pop memorabilia in Stockport, Greater Manchester, next month.
Presley died 35 years ago this month, on August 16 1977.
There is expected to be a lot of interest in the auction from his fans from across the globe.
The singer did not want any lines visible while he was on stage and this pair of underwear was obtained from the estate of Vernon Presley, the star's father.
Also up for sale is his personal Holy Bible, which is expected to raise up to £25,000.
The bible was given to Presley on his first Christmas at Graceland in 1957 and used throughout his life.
It contains his handwritten notes, thoughts, annotations and underlining throughout.
Poignantly, one of the many lines emphasised by the entertainer states: "What is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away."
Also on sale is 16mm film footage taken from Priscilla Presley's own personal home movies of the singer, especially of their holidays and their daughter Lisa.
It also includes footage of their wedding and the very first time Elvis and Priscilla brought their daughter home to Graceland from the hospital, Christmas inside Graceland and other special family moments.
The auction will be streamed live from the Omega Auctions website on 8 September. | A pair of Elvis Presley's underpants are expected to reach up to £10,000 when they are sold at auction. |
33,681,538 | The Argentina international leaves United just a year after they paid Real Madrid a British record £59.7m for him.
Di Maria, 27, has signed a four-year deal with the French champions after undergoing a medical in Qatar on Tuesday.
"I am very proud and I can't wait to wear the colours of Paris St-Germain," he said.
Di Maria failed to join United on their pre-season tour of America last month, and manager Louis van Gaal had said he "did not know why".
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The former Benfica winger made a strong start to his Old Trafford career, with a goal and an assist in three of his first four games.
But after being played in six different positions, including central midfield and striker, a pelvic injury kept him out for the whole of December 2014.
Reports that he was unsettled in Manchester followed an attempted break-in at Di Maria's home in Cheshire, in January.
He was then sent off in the FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Arsenal on 9 March and did not start another game until the final match of the campaign at Hull, only to limp off with a hamstring injury after 23 minutes.
A Champions League winner with Real, Di Maria will be competing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi for a starting place at PSG.
"I want to win the Champions League, which is a dream for all footballers, for a second time," he said.
"We will do everything we can to bring Europe's biggest trophy to France and the fans of Paris St-Germain."
United have themselves spent £83m this summer, including the £31m signing of Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Paris St-Germain have completed the signing of Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria for a fee of £44.3m. |
37,793,777 | The hosts were fined 1,500 euros (£1,340) after a water bottle was thrown from the stands at players.
But the disciplinary committee also criticised the "reproachable behaviour" of the celebrating Barcelona players.
The Catalan club said these declarations were "irresponsible".
"The most serious thing is the thrown bottle, but some players acted in a way we don't like," Tebas said after the incident, also suggesting Barcelona players provoked Valencia fans.
Barcelona said they have requested the Administrative Court of Sport open disciplinary proceedings against Tebas and members of the federation's competition committee.
The club's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, added: "Making statements regarding the actions of the players adds even more tension to a situation that must be de-escalated.
"The declarations made by Tebas are irresponsible and unbecoming of a sports executive." | Barcelona have reported La Liga president Javier Tebas to Spain's highest sports court after he questioned their players' conduct during a heated 3-2 win at Valencia. |
35,361,066 | Companies House recorded Taylor & Sons as being wound up in 2009 when it was Taylor & Son in difficulty.
Former co-owner Philip Davison-Sebry, of Cardiff, is now at the centre of an £8.8m case against Companies House.
Last year's ruling said the error caused the company to go into administration but a High Court judge ruled on Wednesday it can be appealed.
In January 2015, Mr Justice Edis found Companies House owed a duty of care when entering a winding up order to take reasonable care to ensure it is not registered against the wrong company.
He said Taylor & Sons had proved the reason it went into liquidation was because of an error made by Companies House.
Now, government lawyers have been granted permission to challenge that decision in the Court of Appeal.
Taylor & Sons dated back to 1875 and more than 250 people lost their jobs when it went under.
The error was rectified within three days but in the mean time, the false information had spread online.
The company said word had already got around, resulting in orders being cancelled and credit facilities being withdrawn.
Paul Rees QC, for Companies House, argued the judge's decision set a dangerous precedent for the future, "opening the door" to similar claims.
Lady Justice Arden said: "Clearly this case has wide implications and there are compelling reasons why an appeal should be considered."
She described what happened to Taylor & Sons through no fault of its own as "most unfortunate".
No date was given for the full hearing of the appeal. | A decision that a spelling mistake led to the collapse of an engineering firm can be appealed, a judge has ruled. |
35,520,216 | Napoli looked set to maintain their two-point lead until substitute Zaza's deflected 18-yard shot flew past away keeper Pepe Reina.
Juve, who are bidding for a fifth straight Scudetto, have now won 15 successive league games.
Napoli barely tested Gianluigi Buffon as their eight-match winning run ended.
Relive Juve's dramatic win over their Serie A title rivals
The visitors came closest to threatening when Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci's vital interception stopped Serie A's top scorer Gonzalo Higuain from making contact with a dangerous right-wing cross.
Argentina international Higuain had scored 24 goals in his previous 24 league matches, helping Napoli become the league's most prolific attack.
But, despite playing confidently and refusing to sit back, the visitors could not break down a Juventus defence that has only conceded 15 goals this season.
Zaza was introduced for Spain striker Alvaro Morata shortly before the hour mark, eventually making the decisive impact to spark joyous celebrations among the home players and supporters.
"I hope it's a decisive goal as far as the title race is concerned," said 24-year-old Italy international Zaza. "The good thing is it's now in our hands." | Defending champions Juventus moved top of Serie A for the first time this season as Simone Zaza's late strike saw off previous leaders Napoli in Turin. |
39,098,203 | The 35-year-old had played less than an hour of rugby all season before coming back from a shoulder problem on Sunday.
"To be out that long I feel pretty guilty about it - I haven't done much for the club, so I felt I owed a big performance," he told BBC Bristol.
"The main thing I was thinking was 'just don't get injured.'"
Henson slotted a drop-goal and kicked three penalties as Bristol, bottom of the Premiership, beat Bath for the first time in 11 years to move to within two points of 11th-placed Worcester.
He lasted just 12 minutes on his previous injury comeback in November and has spent almost four months on the sidelines since.
"It's been tough being out for so long and I become a loner when I'm injured," he added.
"I was so tired. I was tired from the first minute and I was just thinking maybe the second wind will come in, and it didn't.
"I've got a lot of friends at Bath because I played there not so long ago so I was a little bit nervous. Obviously because I've been out for four months and the last thing I want to do is get injured again.
"I had a little bit of everything I think. I'm 35 and still making those breaks, it's pretty good, so hopefully I've got a few years left." | Former Wales back Gavin Henson has spoken about the isolation he felt during his injury absence after kicking Bristol to victory over rivals Bath. |
39,963,470 | Ex-England international Salisbury has been appointed as new head coach of England's physical disability team.
Hunter will continue his work as coach of England's visually impaired side, now in a full-time capacity.
The ECB's head of disability cricket Ian Martin said: "This is an important step change in disability cricket."
He added: "I'm proud that we are the first international cricket board to make such a step.
"It will increase the capacity of our coaches to work with performance squads and is further evidence of the improvement and culture shift within our national squads."
Hunter recently led the England's visually impaired side to the semi-finals of the Blind World Cup in India, where they lost to Pakistan.
Salisbury's first assignment will be to prepare England's physical disability squad for games this summer as the side continues to build towards a world tournament in England in 2019.
"I am very humbled and honoured, especially knowing that we are the first two coaches in the world to be working full-time in disability cricket," he said.
"This will create an environment that puts this team at the forefront of disability cricket in England and the world." | The England and Wales Cricket Board has named Ross Hunter and Ian Salisbury as England's first ever full-time disability cricket coaches. |
35,208,798 | The 36-year-old was airlifted to hospital after he and an 18-year-old man got into difficulty in the River Garry near Invergarry, south of Loch Ness.
Police Scotland said the older man died in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, following the incident at around 12.30pm on Thursday
The younger man was discharged. Next of kin have been informed, police added.
Police, ambulance, fire crews, the coastguard and a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter were involved in the operation to help the pair. | A man has died after falling from a canoe into a Highland river. |
29,609,461 | They also re-opened a main thoroughfare in Causeway Bay, a shopping district.
It is the second day of operations which police say are to ease traffic disruption, not clear the protesters.
Demonstrators have occupied parts of Hong Kong for more than two weeks.
The activists, a mix of students and a pro-democracy group called Occupy Central, are demanding a fully democratic election in 2017.
China, which has control over Hong Kong, says residents can vote - but it will vet which candidates are eligible to stand.
On Monday, scuffles broke out between those opposed to the Occupy movement and demonstrators after police removed some barricades in Central district.
Men wearing surgical masks charged at the barricades and tried to remove them.
In a similar clash at the protest site in Mong Kok 10 days ago police said some of those involved had triad backgrounds.
Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho told AFP news agency on Monday that this was "one of the tactics used by the communists in mainland China from time to time. They use triads or pro-government mobs to try to attack you so the government will not have to assume responsibility".
Later on Monday protesters reinforced their barricades, building bamboo barriers and cement foundations.
On Tuesday, police arrived with bolt cutters, chainsaws and sledgehammers. Local media said they were using the chainsaw to cut through the bamboo barriers.
"To ensure public safety and maintain public order, police have to take necessary action to remove the barriers at the occupied spots so that traffic can be partially resumed," police said in a statement.
Some protesters were visibly distressed. "We are only residents and students," one protestor shouted according to AFP. "We will leave as we are unable to fight you but we will not give up."
At the start of the protests last month thousands of people were on the streets, with hundreds sleeping there overnight. However, numbers have dwindled in recent days.
Over the weekend, Hong Kong's embattled leader CY Leung said the protestors had zero chance of changing Beijing's mind on constitutional reform.
He added that the protest movement had spun out of control.
Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy | Hundreds of police have used chainsaws and bolt-cutters to dismantle barricades put up by pro-democracy activists near the government offices in Hong Kong. |
24,473,156 | But experts say many other factors could be at play and people should not stop taking supplements.
University of Auckland researchers analysed 23 studies involving more than 4,000 healthy people.
The UK government recommends children and over-65s take a daily supplement.
The New Zealand research team conducted a meta-analysis of all randomised trials examining the effects of vitamin D supplementation on bone mineral density in healthy adults up to July 2012.
The supplements were taken for an average of two years by the study participants.
Bone mineral density is a measure of bone strength and measures the amount of bone mineral present at different sites in the body. It is often seen as an indicator for the risk of osteoporosis, which can lead to an increased risk of fracture.
The trials took place in a number of different countries including the UK, the US, Australia, Holland, Finland and Norway.
Although the results did not identify any benefits for people who took vitamin D, they did find a small but statistically significant increase in bone density at the neck of the femur near the hip joint.
According to the authors, this effect is unlikely to be clinically significant.
Prof Ian Reid, lead study author, from the University of Auckland, said the findings showed that healthy adults did not need to take vitamin D supplements.
"Our data suggest that the targeting of low-dose vitamin D supplements only to individuals who are likely to be deficient could free up substantial resources that could be better used elsewhere in healthcare."
Writing about the study in The Lancet, Clifford J Rosen from the Maine Medical Research Institute agrees that science's understanding of vitamin D supports the findings for healthy adults, but not for everyone.
"Supplementation to prevent osteoporosis in healthy adults is not warranted. However, maintenance of vitamin D stores in the elderly combined with sufficient dietary calcium intake remains an effective approach for prevention of hip fractures."
The Department of Health currently recommends that a daily supplement of vitamin D of 10 micrograms (0.01mg) should be taken by pregnant and breastfeeding women and people over 65, while babies aged six months to five years should take vitamin drops containing 7 to 8.5 micrograms (0.007-0.0085mg) per day.
Dr Laura Tripkovic, research fellow in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Surrey, said the study was important but very specific.
"I'm not surprised they didn't find any evidence of the effects of vitamin D on bone density because there are so many other factors involved in osteoporosis, like genes, diet and environment.
"To pin it all on vitamin D... it's difficult to do that."
Dr Tripkovic said it was no good taking vitamin D supplements if people didn't also maintain a healthy, balanced diet containing calcium and take plenty of exercise.
She said most healthy people should be able to absorb enough vitamin D naturally, through sunshine and diet.
"But if people are worried about their vitamin D levels then a multi-vitamin tablet would do. If you have bone pain and muscle aches then you should go and see your GP and discuss it."
We get most of our vitamin D from sunlight on our skin, but it is also found in certain foods like oily fish, eggs and breakfast cereals.
However, taking too much vitamin D in the form of supplements can be harmful because calcium can build up and damage the kidneys.
Experts advise taking no more than 25 micrograms (0.025mg) a day.
The UK guidance is currently being reviewed. | Healthy adults do not need to take vitamin D supplements, suggests a study in The Lancet which found they had no beneficial effect on bone density, a sign of osteoporosis. |
35,365,521 | The IPCC found Cdr Richard Walton met an undercover officer in 1998 which could have undermined an inquiry into possible corruption in the case.
The watchdog said the commander had a "case to answer" for misconduct but the Met disagreed - on the day he retired.
The Met Police said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss the case.
Stephen's father Neville Lawrence has urged the force to halt Cdr Walton's retirement.
Stephen was 18 when he was stabbed to death in April 1993 in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths in Eltham, south-east London.
The IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) investigation followed the publication in March 2014 of a review by Mark Ellison QC into possible corruption and undercover policing linked to the Stephen Lawrence investigation.
The Ellison Review revealed an undercover officer held a meeting with Cdr Walton, who was responsible for making submissions to the Macpherson Inquiry which looked into failures in the investigation.
Mr Walton is alleged to have "obtained information pertaining to the Lawrence family and their supporters, potentially undermining the (Macpherson) inquiry and public confidence" and gave inconsistent accounts to Mr Ellison's review team.
The IPCC's review concluded his actions did not amount to gross misconduct but he did have a case to answer for misconduct - which can lead to a final written warning.
But the Met disagreed and as Mr Walton retired from the police on Wednesday, the IPCC cannot challenge the force's decision.
New Home Office measures prevent officers under investigation for gross misconduct resigning or retiring until the case has concluded but that did not apply to Cdr Walton, who could have been stopped from leaving had he been suspended but was not.
Neville Lawrence's legal team said the findings "provide enough justification that it is in the public interest to suspend Commander Walton immediately".
It added: "There is a strong public interest in ensuring any disciplinary sanctions are followed through, in order that the police are seen to be held accountable for their actions."
Cdr Walton said he had told the IPCC about his retirement and it was "disappointing" the watchdog had taken nearly two years to conclude its report.
He said: "I have been intending to retire from policing on this date for 30 years... so it is unfortunate it has taken so long for them to complete their report."
The IPCC is yet to comment.
The Met Police said it would be inappropriate to discuss the findings of the report until the IPCC's process had concluded.
In 2012, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murdering Stephen.
They were sentenced to minimum terms of 15 years and two months and 14 years and three months respectively. | The Met has refused to take action against its head of counter-terrorism amid claims of "discreditable conduct" over the Stephen Lawrence murder case. |
36,887,112 | US oil fell 2.4% to $43.11 (£32.72) a barrel, its lowest level since April, meaning it has now fallen by 12% so far this month.
Brent crude dropped 2.1% to $44.75, its lowest level since 10 May.
Shares in oil and firms also lost ground, with Exxon Mobil shares down 1.8% and Chevron down 2.6%.
"Crude oil markets have been under pressure as oil supplies have started growing with the resumption of output from the capacity lost due to wildfires in the Canadian oil sands," said EY energy analyst Sanjeev Gupta.
Data from market intelligence firm Genscape also suggested US production had increased.
Inventory at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery base rose by 1.1 million barrels in the week to 22 July.
"Supply continues to return from disruptions, refined products are severely oversupplied, crude demand is falling well short of product demand, and key product demand is decelerating," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
On Friday, data showed the amount of US oil and gas extraction points had increased for the fourth week in a row.
The slump in prices from as high as $115 per barrel in 2014 led many shale oil producers to cut the number of rigs as producing oil was no longer profitable.
But despite a decrease in American crude supplies over the past year, there are still large stocks of gasoline in the country, even as the US hits its summer driving peak.
The value of the dollar which has steadily risen over the past month has also put pressure on crude oil prices. | Oil prices have fallen to a three-month low, hit by rising concerns that a global oversupply of both crude and natural gas will dampen prices. |
39,182,677 | The 22-year-old has only made eight starts in 17 appearances for Posh this season, scoring once.
Angol, who found the net 11 times in 38 matches for the League One side last term, has moved to Sincil Bank after forward Dayle Southwell returned to Wycombe at the end of his loan.
He is cup-tied for Lincoln's FA Cup quarter-final trip to Arsenal. | Peterborough striker Lee Angol has joined National League leaders Lincoln City on loan to the end of the season. |
38,202,298 | The local government body Cosla has blamed the job losses on a reduction in funding from the Scottish government.
It has warned of similar cuts in the coming year if the government reduces the value of the support it gives to councils.
The Scottish government has said it believes councils have been treated "very fairly".
Cosla President David O'Neill said: "The Scottish government needs to realise that if as a result of their political choices the local government settlement is cut again next week - this will have severe consequences for jobs across Scotland.
"There were 7,000 job losses arising from the £350m cut to Scottish councils last year.
A further reduction in budget of similar proportions, on an already reduced base, will have even more severe consequences for job losses in councils and have a wider knock on effect for jobs within communities."
He added: "Consequences for families and communities will be severe due to reduced local spending and the economic vibrancy of many communities will be threatened."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish government said: "Audit Scotland last week published their independent report into council finances and found that local government had experienced the same reduction in funding as was imposed on the Scottish government by Westminster.
"It is therefore clear that local government has been treated very fairly despite the cuts to the Scottish Budget from the UK government.
"Local government finance settlements were maintained in Scotland on a like for like basis over the period 2012-16 with extra money for new responsibilities resulting in total settlements of £10.8bn in 2014-15 and of over £10.85bn in 2015-16."
She added: "The Finance Secretary will publish the Scottish Draft Budget later this month that will support our economy, tackle inequality and provide high-quality public services for all." | Scottish councils have claimed that 7,000 jobs have gone in local authorities over the past year. |
36,704,606 | The 23-year-old centre-back joins the U's after leading Argyle to the League Two play-off final last season.
Nelson turned down a deal to stay at the Devon club after his previous contract had expired and had been the subject of a bid from Barnsley.
"It's a step up in league from last season and Oxford is a huge club," he told BBC Radio Oxford.
Nelson spent seven years at Stoke's academy, finishing his scholarship at Argyle before going on to make more than 200 senior appearances for Plymouth.
"I can't wait to get started at Oxford and I'm looking forward to it," he added. "You've got to pay credit to the manager for what he did last season as they did the job going up automatically.
"They played some really good football and were a difficult team to play against and hopefully it will be the same again next season."
Argyle will be entitled to compensation from the deal, which will be set at a tribunal as Nelson is under 24 and came through the club's academy.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Oxford have completed the signing of former Plymouth captain Curtis Nelson on a two-year deal. |
34,972,478 | City Football Group (CFG) has sold the stake to CMC (China Media Capital) and investment company Citic Capital.
It comes after six months of talks and is aimed at expanding CFG's interests in the Chinese football industry.
New shares will be issued in CFG in addition to those held by its owner, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG).
CFG is an investment and development company which is privately owned by Sheikh Mansour of the Abu Dhabi royal family. It also includes New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama Marinos.
The move will offer the chance for Man City and the other group clubs to grow a fan base in East Asia, where there is huge competition between top clubs in Europe, and beyond, to build up supporter numbers.
The ultimate aim is to turn those football fans into customers of club products and services too.
The move follows a visit to Manchester in October by the President of China, Xi Jinping.
Ruigang Li, who founded and chairs both the Chinese firms, will represent their consortium by becoming the seventh CFG board member.
This deal is big news for Manchester City, but I am told it is absolutely not the start of an exit strategy from the current owners. China has long been viewed as having huge potential for growth commercially.
In China, an area where only Real Madrid of the established European heavyweights has a significant presence, CMC Holdings will provide contacts to open the right doors to the right opportunities.
If their Abu Dhabi ownership is any guide, City's presence in China will expand rapidly.
It is also worth noting that through this deal, including satellite clubs New York City FC, Melbourne City and Yokohama Marinos, City are now worth approximately 10 times more than Sheikh Mansour bought the club for in 2008.
"Football is the most loved, played and watched sport in the world and in China, the exponential growth pathway for the game is both unique and hugely exciting," said Khaldoon al-Mubarak, chairman of CFG.
"We have therefore worked hard to find the right partners and to create the right deal structure to leverage the incredible potential that exists in China, both for CFG and for football at large."
CMC owns a number of exclusive major sports media rights including the Chinese Super League, China Football Association national teams and the China University Football League. CMC is also involved in sports production and media operations.
Citic Capital manages $5bn of capital for international and Chinese institutional investors, with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and New York.
Professor Chris Brady, director for Sports Business at the University of Salford, said it was not just Man City who would benefit, as the move would also help China in its goal of becoming a power in football, a sport where it has underperformed.
"It is no coincidence that the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, included a visit to the Etihad on his recent state visit," he added. "President Xi Jinping is a self confessed football fan and is known to be willing to prioritise football across China to build the domestic game there.
"Although the investment probably overvalued City it fits perfectly with the Chinese strategy. City already have New York and Melbourne outposts and it is not unreasonable to assume that a Shanghai City or Beijing City could be the next stops.
"This would, in turn, open up the opportunity to develop a China-wide academy system. There is already strong Chinese investment in Italy's Serie A and further European investment should be expected." | Manchester City's parent company has been valued at $3bn (£2bn) after selling a 13% stake, worth £265m, to a consortium of Chinese investors. |
34,348,233 | Archaeologists turned to the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification in Dundee after excavating the skull in eastern Brazil.
The decapitation is the oldest documented in South America by 6,000 years, and raised several questions.
Scientists in Dundee worked out how the decapitation was done with the limited tools available at the time.
Andre Strauss from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology was excavating the Lapa do Santo site in eastern Brazil when he unearthed a head buried under a rock.
The full skeleton was nowhere to be found, save the disembodied skull and the hands, which were placed over the face in a deliberate pose.
The remains were dated to 9,000 years ago, around 6,000 years before the next oldest known decapitation on the continent, in Peru.
Archaeologists were puzzled to how hunter-gatherers living in a simple society with few tools managed to carry out the gruesome act.
Mr Strauss turned to Professor Sue Black at Dundee University for help.
The team at CAHID were able to compare the case to a modern-day decapitation, and worked out that the skull had essentially been pulled off, with only partial cutting involved.
Prof Black said: "Examining the skull, we saw fractures consistent with hyper extension of the head and rotation.
"There would also have been cutting but the fracturing of the neck bones indicated a violence to the region."
Archaeologists cannot explain why the Lapa de Santo man was decapitated, having ruled out the possibility of his head being a trophy of some kind.
Examination of his bones suggest he was a local rather than an outsider or rival, leading to speculation that his death was part of some form of symbolic ritual. | Scientists at Dundee University were called in to investigate a decapitation which happened 9,000 years ago. |
37,163,711 | Stephen Charters, 51, of Galashiels, began molesting his victims as a boy and continued on into adulthood.
He had denied a string of offences during his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, but was convicted of seven sex crimes, including two of rape.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
Charters was charged with starting his sexual offending at the age of 12 - the youngest age for prosecution in Scotland.
A court heard he began by molesting a younger girl at a house in the Borders in 1977 and exposing himself and carrying out sex acts in her presence.
He later raped the girl when she was aged 11 and he was a teenager.
He also targeted another girl from the age of four and carried out indecency offences against her in the Borders, at a house in Midlothian and at Edinburgh's Royal Commonwealth Pool.
During the abuse he forced his victim to perform sex acts on him and raped her when she was aged between six and eight on an occasion between June 1984 and April 1987.
Charters also made sexual and inappropriate remarks to a girl aged between 10 and 11 between 1995 and 1997 in East Kilbride and during a car journey.
He had been on bail during his trial but after he was found guilty of the offences he was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing next month. | A man from the Scottish Borders has been found guilty of carrying out a catalogue of sexual abuse and rape of girls over two decades. |
38,864,746 | Francois Zoko's strike in first-half stoppage time gave the Glovers the lead but Massey smashed home for his relegation-threatened team late on to seal a point and leave them three shy of safety.
A poor first period from both sides produced few chances, with Sandro Semedo wasting a two-on-one counter attack for Orient and Liam Shephard slicing Yeovil's best chance wide after being played in behind.
Yet just as a half-time stalemate looked inevitable, the hosts took the lead in the first minute of stoppage time. Sam Sargeant did well to parry a Tom Eaves shot from distance, but Zoko was quickest to react and turn in the rebound.
There were cards aplenty as tempers flared after the break and the visitors threw everything at it and committed more men forward.
It was a tactic that finally paid off when Massey capitalised on poor Yeovil defending to rifle the ball into the roof of the net on 88 minutes.
Match report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Yeovil Town 1, Leyton Orient 1.
Second Half ends, Yeovil Town 1, Leyton Orient 1.
Attempt saved. Paul McCallum (Leyton Orient) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Paul McCallum (Leyton Orient) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Yeovil Town. Omar Sowunmi replaces Francois Zoko.
Gavin Massey (Leyton Orient) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
Goal! Yeovil Town 1, Leyton Orient 1. Gavin Massey (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the high centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town).
Tom Parkes (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Shayon Harrison (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient).
Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gavin Massey (Leyton Orient).
Corner, Leyton Orient. Conceded by Liam Shephard.
Substitution, Yeovil Town. Bevis Mugabi replaces Ryan Dickson because of an injury.
Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town).
Gavin Massey (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Liam Kelly (Leyton Orient) is shown the yellow card.
Matthew Dolan (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Liam Kelly (Leyton Orient).
Michael Collins (Leyton Orient) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ben Whitfield (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michael Collins (Leyton Orient).
Attempt missed. Josh Koroma (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Substitution, Yeovil Town. Shayon Harrison replaces Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro.
Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ryan Dickson (Yeovil Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sandro Semedo (Leyton Orient).
Corner, Leyton Orient. Conceded by Alex Lawless.
Attempt saved. Liam Kelly (Leyton Orient) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Foul by Francois Zoko (Yeovil Town).
Myles Judd (Leyton Orient) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Leyton Orient. Josh Koroma replaces Nigel Atangana.
Attempt missed. Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Yeovil Town. Conceded by Tom Parkes.
Attempt saved. Ben Whitfield (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Tom Eaves (Yeovil Town) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Foul by Liam Shephard (Yeovil Town). | Gavin Massey scored late on to break Leyton Orient's run of six consecutive losses as they earned a point away at Yeovil. |
37,182,308 | The 39-year-old man hit two pedestrians in Tokushima city late on Tuesday. The other woman was seriously injured.
The driver, who has been taken into custody, told police he was not watching the road carefully.
Police, speaking late on Wednesday, said it was the first fatal accident in Japan involving the hugely popular augmented reality game.
Pokemon Go creator Niantic expressed "deep condolences to the family", in a statement, according to media reports. The smartphone app gives players a warning if it detects they might be in a moving vehicle.
Since the game was released in July, public spaces in many parts of the world have been filled with players chasing virtual monsters on their phones.
Many heritage sites and sensitive locations have banned people from playing on their premises.
However, recent data suggests that since its peak in late July when almost 45 million people worldwide were playing the game its popularity may have started to dwindle. | A driver playing Pokemon Go behind the wheel has hit and killed a woman in Japan, say police. |
34,217,992 | The force announced it was reducing the number of PCSOs to 251 from 331 because of financial pressures with 44 people facing redundancy.
A petition to increase tax and keep the officers was signed by 21,000 people.
Union Unison said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the decision and that those signatories were ignored.
Nottinghamshire's police and crime commissioner Paddy Tipping, who promised to increase the number of PCSOs when he was elected in 2012, said he had been forced to reduce them because of Government cuts.
When the force began consulting on the future of PCSOs it employed 331 officers, some of whom have since left, meaning 44 face redundancy.
In a statement, Nottinghamshire police said: "This was a difficult decision to make as we recognise the important job PCSOs do in serving our communities. We also acknowledge and are grateful for the public support our PCSOs received.
"However, the financial pressure that the force is under means that we have to work differently and make these decisions in order for us to continue serving the public in the best way we can."
Dave Ratchford, of Unison, said: "The members are bitterly disappointed not just because their jobs are now going to be removed but also because of the service they have provided and the work they have built up over the years in Nottinghamshire communities.
"We believe we have demonstrated quite clearly in a very short space of time that the people of Nottinghamshire want an alternative solution to this." | A quarter of Nottinghamshire's police community support officers will be cut despite 21,000 people calling for an increase in council tax to keep them. |
37,908,180 | The attack happened near The Garage nightclub in Sauchiehall Street at about 03:00 on Wednesday 27 July.
A 21-year-old man suffered injuries that required hospital treatment.
The man police want to speak to is described as being white, fair haired, of slim-to-medium build and with tattoos on his forearms. | Police have released CCTV images of a man they want to trace in connection with a serious assault outside a nightclub in Glasgow city centre. |
39,994,620 | Latham's 104 from 111 balls provided the foundation for the Black Caps as they powered to 344-6 off 50 overs.
Despite William Porterfield's 48, Ireland could only manage 154 in reply off 39.3 overs as they ended their three-match campaign without a win.
New Zealand have beaten Ireland twice and Bangladesh once to win the series.
The Kiwis will meet Bangladesh again in the final game of the tournament at Clontarf on Wednesday.
Latham's innings eventually came to an end when he was stumped by Niall O'Brien off the bowling of George Dockrell.
However, it was a belligerent 44 from just 15 balls, including four sixes and three fours, from Colin Munro which helped push the total out of Ireland's reach as New Zealand blasted 72 runs from the last four overs.
Ireland's reply got off to a shaky start when they lost opener Paul Stirling in the third over with just a single run on the board, and although captain Porterfield steadied the ship, only he and Gary Wilson made it past 20.
Pace bowler Matt Henry, who was ably assisted by Corey Anderson and Scott Kuggeleijn with two wickets apiece, took 3-36.
This was another untimely Irish display with the game's bosses set to decide on their possible Test status next month.
Ireland had been competitive for much of last weekend's encounter with the New Zealanders, but this reverse will pile further pressure on coach John Bracewell and his struggling side, who subsequently went down by eight wickets to Bangladesh with 22.5 overs to spare.
Ireland are next in action in an Intercontinental Cup tie against the Netherlands at Malahide in August. | Skipper Tom Latham plundered a century as New Zealand crushed Ireland by 190 runs in Dublin to secure victory in the one-day international tri-series. |
37,400,913 | Twenty firefighters attended the Sandwell College site in Crocketts Lane, Smethwick, just before 20:00 BST on Saturday.
The roof and first floor suffered "severe damage", West Midlands Fire Service said.
A spokeswoman said she did not know what caused the blaze. No-one was injured and police have not been informed. | A fire has engulfed a derelict former school building in the West Midlands. |
35,294,630 | Viktoria Gribovskaja claims Cox was angry and told her: "I will get rid of you. I will do you in the Irish way."
The WBO European super-middleweight, real name James Russan, was charged following the incident on 16 July.
The 29-year-old has previously denied common assault, violence to secure entry, harassment and criminal damage.
The couple began dating in 2014, after Swindon-born Cox met Ms Gribovskaja in a London nightclub where she was working as an exotic dancer, Croydon Magistrates' Court heard.
But according to Ms Gribovskaja, tensions had been building between them after the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist accused her of being unfaithful.
She told the court that Cox had called her a "slut" in a series of abusive text messages from 13 July in the run-up to the alleged incident.
Three days later, she said she called police after he arrived at her flat in Lambeth at 01:00GMT "banging" and "screaming" for her to "open the door".
A "shouting" Cox then got in to her bedroom and told her to pack her things before grabbing her by the throat, according to Ms Gribovskaja.
"He was in front of me. He started to squeeze. I could not do anything. I could not breathe. I could not push him away," she told the court:
"I remember I touched his hand. I think probably he saw me scared. He stopped."
He left in his car before police arrived, it is claimed.
The trial continues. | Champion boxer Jamie Cox smashed into his ex-girlfriend's south London flat in the middle of the night and grabbed her by the throat, a court heard. |
32,603,977 | Mr Veale will succeed Pat Geenty, who announced his retirement in February.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon Angus Macpherson, said Mr Veale is "committed to my agenda of maintaining local policing".
Mr Veale said the challenge would be to save money while protecting frontline services. He is due to start on 1 June. | The new chief constable of Wiltshire has been named as Mike Veale who currently holds the position of Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) in the county. |
40,430,920 | Yn eu plith mae David Duckenfield, cyn-brif uwch-arolygydd fydd yn wynebu cyhuddiad o ddynladdiad 95 o bobl drwy esgeulustod difrifol.
Bu farw 96 o bobl o ganlyniad i'r trychineb, ond ni fydd modd dod ag achos yn enw un ohonynt - Tony Bland - oherwydd rhesymau cyfreithiol gan iddo ef farw pedair blynedd ar ôl y digwyddiad.
Fe ddigwyddodd y trychineb mewn gêm bêl-droed rhwng Lerpwl a Nottingham Forest yn Stadiwm Hillsborough yn Sheffield.
Y llynedd daeth cwest i farwolaethau'r cefnogwyr i'r casgliad eu bod wedi'u lladd yn anghyfreithlon.
Roedd dau Gymro ymysg y meirw, John McBrien o Dreffynnon a David Brown, oedd yn cael ei adnabod fel Steve Brown, o Holt, ger Wrecsam.
Ar ôl y cyhoeddiad gan Gwasaneth Erlyn y Goron, dywedodd Joan Hope, mam John McBrien, ei bod hi yn siomedig na fydd mwy o bobl yn cael eu herlyn.
Roedd wedi bod yn aros am gyfiawnder am 28 mlynedd, meddai, a bod hynny wedi cael effaith ofnadwy ar y teulu.
"Dwi'n meddwl am John bob diwrnod o fy mywyd.
"Rwyf wedi rhoi'r gorau i geisio cyfiawnder, bydd yn rhaid i mi dderbyn anghyfiawnder."
Ond dywedodd gweddw Steven Brown ei bod hi'n bles gyda'r penderfyniad i erlyn, gan ychwanegu ei fod wedi cymryd amser hir.
"Hwn oedd y penderfyniad roedd y teuluoedd eisiau oherwydd mae'r mater wedi ei basio o un lle i'r llall, i fod yn onest doeddwn ddim yn credu y byddwn yn cael penderfyniad o'r fath."
Cyn i Wasanaeth Erlyn y Goron allu gosod cyhuddiadau yn erbyn Mr Duckenfield, y plismon oedd yn gyfrifol am reoli trefniadau ar ddiwrnod y gêm, bydd yn rhaid gwneud cais i'r Uchel Lys i godi gwaharddiad llys.
Cafodd y gwaharddiad ei osod ar ôl erlyniad preifat yn erbyn y cyn-blismon yn 1999.
Yn ogystal â Mr Duckenfield fe fydd y cyn-Brif Gwnstabl, Sir Norman Bettison, yn wynebu pedwar cyhuddiad o gamymddygiad mewn swydd gyhoeddus, cyhuddiadau yn ymwneud â honiadau iddo ddweud celwyddau ynglŷn â chefnogwyr.
Bydd Graham Mackrell, cyn-ysgrifennydd Sheffield Wednesday, yn wynebu cyhuddiad o dorri rheolau Iechyd a Diogelwch.
Mae Peter Metcalf, cyfreithiwr oedd yn cynrychioli Heddlu De Sir Efrog, yn wynebu cyhuddiadau o wyrdroi cwrs cyfiawnder yn ymwneud â newid tystiolaeth llygad-dystion.
Mae Donald Denton, cyn-brif uwch-arolygydd, ac Alan Foster, cyn-brif dditectif wedi eu cyhuddo o wyrdroi cwrs cyfiawnder.
Fe fydd y diffynyddion, ac eithrio Mr Duckenfield, yn ymddangos ger Ynadon Warrington ar 9 Awst.
Cafodd teuluoedd y rhai a fu farw yn Hillsborough wybod am y camau diweddaraf mewn cyfarfod preifat gyda Gwasanaeth Erlyn y Goron fore Mercher. | Mae Gwasanaeth Erlyn y Goron wedi cyhoeddi bod digon o dystiolaeth i gyhuddo chwech o bobl o ganlyniad i drychineb Hillsborough yn 1989. |
37,663,526 | The former Newcastle man scored from the penalty spot after Rigino Cicilia had halved the deficit following strikes from U's pair Chey Dunkley and Daniel Crowley.
Defender Dunkley gave the visitors the lead after 11 minutes, rising highest to meet Chris Maguire's free-kick from the left and guide a header past the stationary Jak Alnwick.
Oxford doubled their advantage just eight minutes later when Maguire slipped in Marvin Johnson to cut-back to Crowley who tapped home into an empty net.
The Valiants started the second half much brighter and got their reward after 54 minutes when Cicilia fired home his first Vale goal after Nathan Smith nodded down Taylor's free-kick.
Taylor, who signed for the club just 24 hours before the match, sealed the comeback five minutes later, slotting home past Simon Eastwood after Cicilia was pulled down in the box.
Report supplied by the Press Association
Match ends, Port Vale 2, Oxford United 2.
Second Half ends, Port Vale 2, Oxford United 2.
Attempt missed. Remie Streete (Port Vale) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
Anthony Grant (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joe Rothwell (Oxford United).
Foul by Quentin Pereira (Port Vale).
Philip Edwards (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Joe Rothwell (Oxford United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Rigino Cicilia (Port Vale) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Attempt saved. Liam Sercombe (Oxford United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Chris Mbamba (Port Vale) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Corner, Port Vale. Conceded by Philip Edwards.
Attempt missed. John Lundstram (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Corner, Port Vale. Conceded by Cheyenne Dunkley.
Substitution, Port Vale. Anthony de Freitas replaces Ryan Taylor.
Corner, Oxford United. Conceded by Sam Hart.
Attempt saved. Tyler Roberts (Oxford United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Anthony Grant (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Chris Maguire (Oxford United).
Foul by Rigino Cicilia (Port Vale).
Curtis Nelson (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
Corner, Oxford United. Conceded by Remie Streete.
Substitution, Oxford United. Tyler Roberts replaces Marvin Johnson.
Attempt missed. Philip Edwards (Oxford United) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right.
Anthony Grant (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Liam Sercombe (Oxford United).
Foul by Jerome Thomas (Port Vale).
Curtis Nelson (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sam Hart (Port Vale).
Chris Maguire (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Remie Streete (Port Vale).
Daniel Crowley (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Rigino Cicilia (Port Vale) header from the left side of the six yard box is just a bit too high.
Corner, Port Vale. Conceded by Simon Eastwood.
Attempt saved. Ryan Taylor (Port Vale) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal.
Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Chris Mbamba (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United).
Anthony Grant (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | A debut goal from new signing Ryan Taylor helped Port Vale overcome a two-goal half-time deficit to draw with Oxford at Vale Park. |
19,899,036 | The court heard an appeal brought by a white student denied a place at the University of Texas in 2008.
A ruling for Abigail Fisher could affect so-called affirmative action programmes elsewhere, analysts say.
The Supreme Court upheld the use of race in admissions in a 2003 ruling, but the court has become more conservative in the past nine years.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote the decision on the 2003 University of Michigan case, has since retired.
Her successor, Samuel Alito, opposes the use of racial preferences in admissions.
Justice Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts asked probing questions about details of the University of Texas admissions policy and when race could become a deciding factor between otherwise similar applicants.
The chief justice also asked the university's lawyers how judges would be able to tell when the college achieved a "critical mass" of diversity on campus.
He added later in the session: "I'm hearing a lot about what it's not. I would like to know what it is."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, often seen as a deciding vote between the court's liberal and conservative justices, has also never voted in favour of racial preference, the Associated Press reports.
"What you're saying is what counts is race above all," Justice Kennedy said on Wednesday.
Liberal justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer asked questions that some say suggested support of affirmative action.
Correspondents say that even if the court does not uphold the Texas admissions policy, striking down broader consideration of race in university admissions appeared unlikely.
The University of Texas updated its admissions policy after the 2003 Supreme Court ruling to consider race without using quotas.
Students in Texas high schools are automatically admitted to the university if they are in the top 8% of their class in terms of academic achievement.
The threshold was previously 10% and Ms Fisher's grades did not put her in that category.
Race and other factors can be considered as factors in admissions to any remaining spots - approximately 25% of the annual student intake.
Ms Fisher, along with another woman who has since dropped out of the case, filed a complaint arguing that the university's race-conscious policy violated their civil and constitutional rights.
She was never admitted to the University of Texas and has since graduated from Louisiana State University.
"If any state action should respect racial equality, it is university admission," Ms Fisher's lawyers said in their written submission to the court.
A federal appeals court has already backed the University of Texas admissions programme, saying it was allowed under the Supreme Court's Michigan decision.
Justice Elena Kagan, previously involved in the case as US solicitor general, has recused herself from the proceedings.
That leaves eight justices to decide the case, and a 4-4 tie would uphold the decision of the lower appeals court.
Private universities, including elite institutions such as Harvard and Columbia, have filed briefs to the court arguing that their national recruitment policies make it impossible for them to assure diversity without legal backing for racial preference, Reuters reports. | The US Supreme Court has challenged the consideration of a student's race in public university admissions policies. |
31,910,874 | The plan is being put forward by a London firm as an alternative to keeping Longannet power station open.
The giant coal-burner in Fife faces closure within a year unless it wins an auction to provide back-up supply.
That would keep it going for at least two years while grid connections between Scotland and England are improved.
Only once more transmission capacity is in place can Scotland be sure of maintaining voltage. A sub-sea link is being installed between Ayrshire and Merseyside, and cross-border links are being upgraded.
But until then, National Grid, which has responsibility to ensure the energy supply is maintained, says it has to strike a deal with a generating company to provide back-up power from coal, gas or oil burning power stations.
A decision is expected as early as this week. Deputy First Minister John Swinney was at Longannet on Monday to press the case for a decision that would retain the coal-burning plant and its 260 jobs.
Three companies are in the auction to provide the power. ScottishPower is bidding with the Longannet plant.
SSE/Scottish Hydro wants the contract to go to its gas-burning Peterhead plant.
The third bid is understood to be from Tower Bridge Ventures, based in London, which plans to build specialised barges.
These would burn liquified natural gas (LNG) to provide power, as well as generating heat and cooling. These are designed to be more efficient than existing thermal power stations, and could also produce compressed air and fresh water.
The company's website refers to a pipeline of projects, the biggest of which is in Scotland, and for 375 megawatts (MW). The auction is for at least 350 MW.
Industry insiders say the barge-based bid could be at a major advantage if it can avoid the fixed grid access charge which the existing power plants have to pay. These run to tens of millions of pounds per year.
"This is untried and untested," said one source. "They're taking risks with the Scottish economy. This wouldn't even be considered for power supply in London."
Helen Corey, chief executive of Tower Bridge Ventures, said the firm was set up in 2009, and will soon announce its engineering partners.
She declined to comment on the National Grid auction for Scotland, saying the company is in several commercially-sensitive discussions.
Its proposal to build floating power plants avoids the delays around planning approval for conventional ones. They can be moved to the communities where power is needed.
She said they could be a permanent solution to energy needs, or temporary to meet shortfalls, or provide emergency power, in the case of natural disasters.
Although the company is not yet operating any, the plan is for a variety of sizes, from 40MW up to 150 MW (30,000 to 110,000 homes).
Tower Bridge Ventures has been reported to be interested in setting up a base in Portsmouth, following the closure of the naval shipyard, from which it would also be able to supply power to the port city.
During his visit to Longannet, Mr Swinney urged the UK government to help prevent the early closure of Longannet, insisting it still had a vital role to play in delivering the country's energy supply.
Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Murdo Fraser claimed it was the Scottish government's "obsession with developing vast amounts of intermittent and expensive wind energy that has contributed to the current situation".
The energy union Prospect urged politicians to stop treating the troubled power station like a "political football" and urged them to work together to secure its long-term future. | Scotland's back-up energy supply could be provided by three to 10 gas-fuelled power stations on coastal barges. |
21,478,255 | A condition for the IMF loan is the completion of a planned debt swap.
The Caribbean nation must get private sector lenders to accept more lenient terms on its existing heavy debt load, equal to 140% of economic output.
The Jamaican government is also implementing spending cuts and labour market reforms as it seeks to deal with a serious economic crisis.
"Over the last three decades, the Jamaican economy has experienced very low economic growth, declining productivity, and reduced international competitiveness," said Jan Kees Martijn, the head of the IMF's mission to Jamaica.
"An important factor behind these problems has been Jamaica's unsustainable debt burden, which has undermined confidence and elevated risks to the economic stability."
The four-year loan still needs to be approved by the IMF's executive board, which is due to review the terms by the end of March.
By then, the government in Kingston will need to have carried out necessary economic and fiscal reforms, and to have won a "high rate of participation of private creditors" in the debt swap.
"If this debt is not reduced, Jamaica faces a dismal future," Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said on Jamaican TV on Monday night, explaining the need for the swap.
About 55% of government spending goes towards paying the nation's debt, while 25% goes on wages. That leaves just 20% for everything else - including education, security and health.
The swap is likely to result in a significantly lower interest rate being paid by Jamaica to its lenders.
The relatively high current interest rate reflects the low expectations of lenders that the government will ever be able to repay its existing debts in full.
Lenders have already been hit once - it is the second such debt swap by Jamaica in three years. | Jamaica has agreed terms with the International Monetary Fund to receive a new $750m (£483m) loan. |
28,444,107 | The off-spinner was reported to the International Cricket Council after June's second Test against West Indies.
He took one wicket in 15.2 overs as the Windies won that Test by 10 wickets.
Analysis at Cardiff Metropolitan University found the 23-year-old's elbow extension when bowling exceeded the 15 degrees allowed under ICC rules.
The ban also applies to county cricket, where Williamson has taken five wickets from 61.4 overs for Yorkshire in the County Championship this season.
Williamson said: "I will focus on changing whatever's necessary to return to the bowling crease.
"Clearly, the onus is on me to satisfy assessors as to the legality of my action, and I'm aware I have some hard work in front of me to achieve that goal.
"It's never nice, going through this sort of process but it will be worth it if I can manage to bowl again at international level."
Although primarily a batsman, Williamson's part-time spin has often been used by New Zealand, where he has captured 24 wickets in 34 Tests and 23 victims in 54 one-day internationals.
The ICC recently banned another off-spinner, Sri Lanka's Sachithra Senanayake, for an illegal action. | New Zealand and Yorkshire batsman Kane Williamson has been banned from bowling in international and domestic cricket because of an illegal action. |
34,181,528 | "The mountains of this country, the plains, highlands, cities will be not abandoned to terrorists," he said.
At least 16 Turkish soldiers died in Sunday's attack in the south-eastern Hakkari province, the army said.
In retaliation, Turkey carried out several air strikes on PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) targets on Monday.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Mr Davutoglu said: "You cannot discourage us from our war on terror. Those mountains will be cleared of these terrorists. Whatever it takes, they will be cleared."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said he was saddened by the attack and promised a "decisive" response.
"The pain of our security forces who were martyred in the treacherous attack by the separatist terrorist organisation sears our hearts," he said.
There has been a surge in violence between the army and the PKK after a ceasefire collapsed in July.
The PKK said it was behind the attack. Initially it said 15 soldiers had been killed, but later raised the figure to 31.
But the Turkish army said on Monday that 16 soldiers died, while six were injured.
The army said bombs had been detonated near two military vehicles in the village of Daglica on Sunday evening.
The area is close to the border with Iraq.
After President Erdogan's comments, about 200 people chanting slogans in his support attacked the offices of Turkish newspaper Hurriyet in Istanbul.
They accused the news organisation of misquoting Mr Erdogan and implying that he was trying to gain political capital from the Daglica attack.
Hurriyet has attracted criticism from pro-government circles over its coverage of the conflict between Turkey's government and the PKK.
The government says military operations against the Kurdish rebel group will continue until it withdraws from Turkish soil and disarms.
Curfews have been imposed in several towns where clashes take place and over a hundred districts have been declared "temporary security zones".
In response, several municipalities in the predominantly Kurdish east and south-east of Turkey have announced "self-rule".
Critics accuse President Erdogan of renewing violence to curb the support for the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), whose 14% share of the vote in June elections cost the governing AKP its majority in parliament.
The government denies these accusations. Many people fear the clashes will mount as snap elections scheduled for November draw closer.
More than 40,000 people have died since the PKK launched its armed campaign in 1984. | Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has pledged to "wipe out" Kurdish PKK rebels in their strongholds after a deadly bomb attack on the Turkish army. |
35,517,240 | The body of Caroline Andrews was discovered at a property in The Street, Benenden on Thursday.
A book of condolence was opened at St George's Church in the village and prayers offered during the service on Sunday.
A 54-year-old man was detained on Friday in connection with her death, which is being treated as murder.
Mrs Andrews was described as a "loved and respected" supply teacher at Benenden CE School.
Head teacher Gill Knox said staff had been left shocked and saddened. | Prayers have been said for a 52-year-old teacher whose death sparked a police manhunt across Kent. |
39,247,854 | Spain's Contador attacked to drop Colombian Henao with 52km of Sunday's eighth and final stage remaining.
But he was beaten to the stage win by Quick-Step Floors' David de la Cruz and took eight instead of 10 bonus seconds.
Henao, 29, trailed by a minute at one point but chased to finish 21 seconds down and secure the yellow jersey.
Team Sky have now won five Paris-Nice titles in the past six years and three consecutively, after former rider Richie Porte's success in 2015 and Briton Geraint Thomas' victory last year.
Ireland's Dan Martin completed the podium behind Henao and Contador, while Britain's Simon Yates finished ninth overall, following his victory on stage six.
Final standings:
1. Sergio Henao (Col/Team Sky) 29hrs 50mins 29secs
2. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) +2secs
3. Daniel Martin (Irl/Quick-Step) +30secs
4. Gorka Izagirre (Spa/Movistar) +1min
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Quick-Step) +1min 22secs
6. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus/Katusha-Alpecin) +1min 34secs
7. Jon Izaguirre (Spa/Bahrain-Merida) +1min 41secs
8. Warren Barguil (Fra/Sunweb) +4mins 07secs
9. Simon Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) +4mins 39secs
10. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC) +14mins 26secs | Team Sky's Sergio Henao held on to claim a thrilling overall victory in Paris-Nice by just two seconds from Alberto Contador. |
33,662,971 | Only she and left-winger Jeremy Corbyn offered "an alternative" to Labour of the last five or eight years, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She refused to make any recommendation to Labour members for a second preference vote, saying she would "fight to the end" to lead the party.
She has dismissed calls to pull out and back Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper.
She said: "I do believe I can win. This is not a choice between principle and power, we can have both."
"I think I'm the only candidate apart from Jeremy Corbyn setting out an alternative to what Labour was offering five or eight years ago."
She said ordinary Labour members were "desperate to win, get the Tories out, and make changes" on issues such as low pay and economic inequality.
With 50 days left in the leadership race, she said: "I'm making that case, and I'm going to do that until the end."
At-a-glance profiles of the four contenders
There had been some pressure on Ms Kendall to withdraw and back another candidate in order to defeat Jeremy Corbyn after the publication of the YouGov poll for the Times.
It suggested Mr Corbyn could receive 43% of first preference votes, ahead of Mr Burnham on 26%, Ms Cooper on 20% and Ms Kendall on 11%,.
But the Leicester West MP rejected the idea that she should pull out - with her aides accusing Andy Burnham's and Yvette Cooper's camps of "fuelling" the idea to distract from "their own issues".
The four leadership candidates, and five deputy leadership candidates, will take part in a Labour Party hustings in Warrington later.
Labour is due to announce its new leader at a special conference on 12 September. | Labour leadership hopeful Liz Kendall says she can win the contest, despite coming last in a recent YouGov poll. |
21,874,992 | They start their title defence with a home game against Derbyshire, promoted as Division Two champions last season.
In the second tier, Lancashire and Worcestershire meet at Old Trafford, with both seeking an immediate return to the top flight.
The YB40 gets under way on 3 May, with the FL t20 starting on 26 June.
The BBC will have expanded live coverage this summer, featuring commentary on every day of every match, via the BBC Sport website.
Captain: Wayne Madsen
Overseas players: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies); second player for FL t20 to be confirmed
How they did last season: Division Two champions in County Championship, fourth in CB40 group, fifth in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: Everyone at Derby is aware that most 'experts' are already writing off their chances of surviving in the top division and they head into the season with a grim determination to not only survive, but to thrive. With Chanderpaul, they have added a world-class batsman to the normally reliable duo of Madsen and Wes Durston, and another new signing, Billy Godleman, gets a chance to reboot his career. In limited-overs cricket, the amount of young talent coming through the Derbyshire ranks should see big improvements and a challenge for only a second quarter-final appearance in the Twenty20.
One to watch: One of the reasons for optimism is the many young players coming into the first-team picture this season. Batsman Dan Redfern should make more big strides, but I'm going to cheat and nominate two youngsters, all-rounders Alex Hughes and Peter Burgoyne. Neither will be automatic choices early, but I expect both to play a growing part as the season progresses.
By BBC Radio Derby's Charles Collins
Captain: Paul Collingwood
Overseas players: None
How they did last season: Sixth in County Championship Division One, fifth in CB 40 group, third in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: On paper, Durham still have one of the best squads in the country and when they apply themselves as a team, they can beat anyone. The weather proved a major problem last season with 23 days of action lost and over the winter the club have had to go cap in hand for millions of pounds in loans from a number of public bodies. Money is tight - hence no pre-season tour and, as yet, no overseas player. Durham are the only side not to go down since relegation went from three teams to two and I would settle for a mid-table finish. Chris Rushworth impressed greatly last summer and it will be nice to see how he continues this year, but, having lost the retired Michael Di Venuto, some may feel things look a bit thin on the batting front.
One to watch: With spinner Ian Blackwell retired, this is a season in which leg-spinner Scott Borthwick has a chance to fill the void and he will certainly get more overs. From a batting point of view, Keaton Jennings looks a great prospect. The South African was scoring runs for fun in the second team last season and already has a century this year against Durham University.
By BBC Newcastle's Martin Emmerson
Captain: James Foster
Overseas players: Rob Quiney (Australia), Shaun Tait (Australia, for FL t20 only)
How they did last season: Fifth in County Championship Division Two, fifth in CB40 group, third in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: Essex will have a strong-looking batting unit when they have everyone available, but with Owais Shah and Ryan ten Doeschate away on IPL duty and Alastair Cook taking a break at the start of the summer, they will be looking to Mark Pettini and Rob Quiney to provide the experience alongside youngsters of Tom Westley, Ben Foakes and Jaik Mickleburgh. Getting out of Division Two of the Championship has to be seen as a priority for a county which dominated in the 80s and early 90s. In the seam bowling department, Saj Mahmood has arrived to boost an attack which had previously been over-reliant on David Masters.
One to watch: Reece Topley arrived on the scene two years ago with a bang and Essex will want to continue his development. Tymal Mills is another exciting young fast bowler.
By BBC Essex's Glenn Speller
Captain: Mark Wallace (Championship), Marcus North (one-day)
Overseas players: Marcus North (Australia); Dirk Nannes (Australia, for T20)
How they did last season: Sixth in County Championship Division Two, sixth in CB40 Group B and fifth in FL t20 Midlands/West/Wales Group.
Season prospects: Glamorgan have now failed to win a trophy since 2004 and the barren spell has not been helped by England Lions strike bowler James Harris' decision to join Middlesex, but the arrival of quick bowler Dirk Nannes could make Glamorgan an outside bet for T20 success. Director of cricket Matthew Mott is in the final year of a three-year contract, having tried and failed to get the New Zealand national coach's job last year. He wants his team to make a faster start this season.
One to watch: New signing Murray Goodwin. He might be 40 but his experience of winning seven trophies with Sussex should add some much-needed steel to the batting department as his 48 centuries during 12 years on the south coast would suggest. All-rounder Graham Wagg has impressed in pre-season friendlies after missing much of last season with a foot injury. The former England A player could be a vital weapon in the Welsh county's armoury.
By BBC Wales' Richard Thomas and Richard Williams
Captain: Michael Klinger
Overseas players: Michael Klinger (Australia), Dan Christian (Australia, for Twenty20 only)
How they did last season: Bottom of County Championship Division Two, third in CB40 group, quarter-finalists in FL t20.
Season prospects: Gloucestershire have one of the smallest and least experienced squads in county cricket, and also lack a frontline spinner, so it will take all the skills of head coach John Bracewell and new captain Michael Klinger to keep them competitive. Much will depend on how Klinger finds combining captaincy with opening the batting, and how players such as Chris Dent, Liam Norwell and Ian Saxelby cope after injury troubles last season. The first phase of the County Ground development is under way, but at the moment Gloucestershire's resources are at full stretch and they would be regarded as outsiders for silverware this season.
One to watch: Chris Dent. The left-handed batsman missed the first half of last season with a broken finger, but was still the team's second highest run-scorer in the Championship. A versatile player, he can bowl occasional slow left-arm and keep wicket, but his batting is his strongest suit. At 22, he should learn a lot from opening with Klinger and, with two Championship hundreds already, a full summer could see him make 1,000 runs for the first time.
By BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Ian Randall
Captain: Jimmy Adams
Overseas players: George Bailey (Australia), Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan)
How they did last season: Fourth in County Championship Division Two, winners of CB40 and FL t20.
Season prospects: Trying to match winning two one-day trophies last season may be beyond Hampshire this campaign. However, the experience gained and the high-pressure games won along the way will stand the team in good stead. Hampshire will be the side to beat in the shorter formats but, while they will expect another good showing in the one-day competitions, it is the County Championship by which the season will be measured. They were happy to rebuild last season, but the pressure is on to regain the Division One status they lost in 2011.
One to watch: This is an important season for 23-year-old Liam Dawson in terms of establishing himself as a prominent member of the side. Dawson will be entrusted with the number three position in the Championship, with orders to 'bat long', having struggled as an opener in 2012 and being dropped down the order. His left-arm spin, which had fallen away badly, was more effective last year, doing much to keep Danny Briggs out of the side on green wickets. A successful season with both bat and ball in 2013 may see the all-rounder tipped for further honours, as he was a few seasons ago when captaining England Under-19s.
By BBC Radio Solent's Kevan James
Captain: James Tredwell
Overseas players: None (Brendan Nash has submitted an application to become a Kolpak player)
How they did last season: Third in County Championship Division Two, third in CB40 Group C, fourth in FL t20 South Group
Season prospects: Following near misses in all three competitions in 2012, Kent will hope to continue their progression under head coach Jimmy Adams. In stark contrast to the mass changes last season, it has been a stable winter at the St. Lawrence Ground, with the only major upheaval seeing James Tredwell replace Rob Key as captain. Promotion from Division Two must be the minimum goal and much will depend on Key scoring heavily at the top of the order, keeping their thin bowling attack fit and healthy, and minimising the impact of Tredwell's international duties.
One to watch: Sam Northeast. With Kent's plethora of youngsters another year wiser, it could be a big season for many of them, but 2012 was a real breakthrough for Northeast, the county's leading run scorer in all competitions. He looks to be living up to the hype of his England Under-19 days and if he continues to progress at his current rate in both formats of the game, he could be knocking on the door of the England Lions selectors come September.
By BBC Radio Kent's Ben Croucher
Captain: Glen Chapple
Overseas players: Simon Katich (Australia)
How they did last season: Eighth in Championship Division One (relegated), semi-finalists in CB40, fourth in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: Lancashire will start the season as one of the favourites for promotion back to Division One, probably alongside Hampshire and Kent. The Red Rose have made their intentions clear and with the additions of Simon Katich and Ashwell Prince to boast one of the most powerful batting line-ups. With Kabir Ali also coming in, assuming he stays fit, Lancashire will be confident of enough bowling firepower to take 20 wickets in a match. If Kyle Hogg can rediscover his form from the title-winning season in 2011, their attack, which also includes the evergreen Glen Chapple and one of the country's most talented spinners in Simon Kerrigan, should be good enough to enable them to compete not just for promotion, but for one-day silverware as well.
One to watch: Ashwell Prince. Having committed to a two-year contract as a Kolpak player, the experience and talent of the South African will be crucial in Lancashire's bid for promotion back to Division One. He held the batting line-up together in 2012 and has shown in his previous three spells with the county that a good overseas signing can have a huge beneficial impact, both on and off the pitch.
By BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Read
Captain: Ramnaresh Sarwan (Championship), Josh Cobb (one-day)
Overseas players: Ranmnaresh Sarwan (West Indies), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh, for FL t20), Joe Burns (Australia, for FL t20)
How they did last season: Seventh in County Championship Division Two 2, sixth in CB40 group, bottom of T20 group.
Season prospects: The outlook is brighter than in previous seasons, with some strong additions in the winter. Niall O'Brien could be the missing link in the top order and the emergence of Shiv Thakor provides more encouragement for supporters. However, they need a fit Matthew Hoggard to compete in the County Championship and, after two barren and injury-filled years, it is time for Nathan Buck to deliver on his promise. Josh Cobb leads the team in all one-day cricket and expect better this season, with Shakib Al-Hasan an exciting signing to help give a more youthful and energetic feel to the shorter forms of the game.
One to watch: Joe Burns, the Queensland batsman who replaces Sarwan in May, will be keen to show the Australia selectors his abilities in an Ashes summer, and James Sykes the left-arm spinner, who will try and take on the role from Claude Henderson. Sykes has a nice action, turns it and has steady control.
By BBC Radio Leicester's Charles Dagnall
Captain: Chris Rogers (for County Championship), Neil Dexter (for YB40 and FL t20)
Overseas players: Chris Rogers (Australia), Adam Voges (Australia, for FL t20)
How they did last season: Third in County Championship Division One, second in CB40 group, fifth in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: Middlesex could not have hoped for a better outcome last season on their return to Division One. Whether they can go even further this year will depend greatly on the consistency of their middle-order batting. The top three of Joe Denly, Sam Robson and Chris Rogers can be relied upon to offer a solid foundation at the top, while the depth of the bowling attack has been strengthened by the outstanding addition of James Harris from Glamorgan. They have struggled in T20 cricket in recent years and this is an area the county will be desperate to improve in.
One to watch: Toby Roland-Jones has performed with astonishing consistency since his relatively late debut. The emergence of the naggingly accurate seamer has helped to fill very big boots, now that Steven Finn is established in the England side. With the ever-reliable Tim Murtagh, the new recruit Harris and the occasional glimpse of Steven Finn, along with all-rounder Gareth Berg, Middlesex will have arguably the most feared bowling attack in the country.
By BBC London 94.9's Kevin Hand
Captain: Stephen Peters (Championship), Alex Wakely (YB40 and T20)
Overseas players: Trent Copeland (Australia, until 8 June), Cameron White (Australia, for Twenty20)
How they did last season: Eighth in County Championship Division Two, sixth in CB40 Group C and sixth in FLt20 Midlands/Wales/West Group.
Season prospects: A truly dismal showing in 2012, particularly in white-ball cricket, prompted an honest appraisal, led by chief executive David Smith and first-team coach David Ripley, of where the county are now and what they want to be in the future. Matthew Spriegel and Steven Crook have been signed to bolster a predominantly young squad, with much hoped of Rob Newton, David Willey, Ben Duckett and Ollie Stone. Ripley's top priority is to be competitive in all forms of the game, and a run to Twenty20 finals day would please both supporters and the holders of the purse strings.
One to watch: Fast bowler Ollie Stone impressed good judges with his pace and control last season and captained England Under-19s in South Africa during the winter. Only 19, he will need some careful handling, but if the Norfolk-born prospect stays fit, he could make a major impact.
By BBC Radio Northampton's Andrew Radd
Captain: Chris Read
Overseas players: Ed Cowan (Australia, start of season), David Hussey (Australia, from June, including Twenty20)
How they did last season: Fifth in County Championship Division One, fourth in CB40 group, FL t20 quarter-finalists
Season prospects: Nottinghamshire's strength in depth was severely tested towards the end of the 2012 campaign, with six players being called away for England duty. While the likelihood is that the international calendar will again cause clashes with the domestic programme, director of cricket Mick Newell believes his squad is better equipped to withstand occasional absenteeism from his star names. The bookmakers agree, listing Notts as second favourites for both the County Championship and the T20.
One to watch: Michael Lumb. His first season at Trent Bridge could not have gone much better, with 971 first-class runs, despite missing the last two matches, and a prolific white-ball season, which saw him restored to the England Twenty20 side before becoming the leading scorer in last October's Champions League. More of the same is expected in 2013.
By BBC Radio Nottingham's Dave Bracegirdle
Captain: Marcus Trescothick.
Overseas players: Alviro Petersen (for first half of season and FL t20), Abdur Rehman (five Championship games and possibly FL t20).
How they did last season: Second in the County Championship Division One, third in CB40 group, losing semi-finalists in FL t20.
Season prospects: Falling at the final hurdle has become something of a problem for Somerset in recent seasons and their 'bridesmaid' reputation led to Brian Rose stepping down as director of cricket. His replacement is Dave Nosworthy and the county are hoping a fresh approach may be the missing piece in their trophy puzzle. The likely absence, on England duty, of Nick Compton for much of the Championship season will be a blow, but if they can avoid the injuries which blighted them last year, a squad including Marcus Trescothick, Jos Buttler, Pete Trego, Craig Kieswetter, Alfonso Thomas and Steve Kirby has plenty to offer.
One to watch: The Overton twins, Craig and Jamie, and Craig Meschede were just three of the club's youngsters to make a mark last season, but 20-year-old Ireland spinner George Dockrell took 34 wickets Championship wickets in just 10 matches and will hope to better that if he avoids injury.
By BBC Radio Bristol's Ed Hadwin
Captain: Graeme Smith
Overseas players: Graeme Smith (South Africa); Ricky Ponting (Australia, while Smith is at Champions Trophy)
How they did last season: Seventh in Championship Division One, second in CB 40 group, sixth in FL t20 group.
Season prospects: After a difficult 2012, Surrey have recruited well over the winter and the signing of Graeme Smith is one that has caught the imagination. Smith will bring his leadership and experience to the dressing room and plenty of runs to the top of the order. Vikram Solanki and Gary Keedy are shrewd signings and both will play a major role this year. The bowling unit looks very strong, with all bases covered, and the likes of Rory Burns and Arun Harinath will want to build on an excellent 2012, in which both scored maiden Championship centuries - and a certain Ricky Ponting will play for Surrey in June and July. They look to have a balanced squad and will want to make an impact in all three competitions.
One to watch: I'm going for two, Rory Burns and Arun Harinath. Burns seized his opportunity last year at the top of the order and scored his runs in a stylish and attractive manner. Burns will be looking to forge a successful partnership with Smith and learn from the captain's vast experience. For Harinath, 2012 was a breakthrough season and he will want to push on this year and provide the 'cement' to the Surrey batting order.
By BBC London 94.9's Mark Church
Captain: Ed Joyce
Overseas players: Steve Magoffin (Australia), Scott Styris (New Zealand, for FL t20 only)
How they did last season: Fourth in County Championship Division One, semi-finalists in CB40 and FL t20.
Season prospects: There is quiet optimism on the south coast that Sussex can continue their progress from last season and again mount a serious challenge on all three fronts. Ed Joyce, in his first full season in charge, will drop down the order to number four in the Championship, allowing highly promising left-hander Luke Wells to open. With the under-rated Chris Nash as the other opener and Mike Yardy at three, the Sussex top order has a solid look, and the return of Rory Hamilton-Brown from Surrey adds an extra dimension to the middle order. The seam bowling department, which too often last season was reliant on Steve Magoffin, has been strengthened by the signing of Chris Jordan, who found opportunities limited at Surrey, but how much success Sussex enjoy may depend on how much time spinner Monty Panesar spends on England duty.
One to watch: Chris Jordan has impressed during pre-season and, provided he can steer clear of the injuries which have so far disrupted his career, Sussex have a genuinely quick bowler and hard-hitting batsman capable of making a huge impact this summer.
By BBC Sussex's Adrian Harms
Captain: Jim Troughton
Overseas players: Jeetan Patel (New Zealand)
How they did last season: County champions, CB 40 finalists, fourth in Midlands/Wales/West Group in FL t20.
Season prospects: Warwickshire's strength in securing their seventh title last summer was the simple art of being able to bowl out the opposition twice. Five of their six wins - four of which came crucially in the first six games of the season - were achieved batting second and there is nothing to suggest they will be less of a force with the ball in 2013. The only concern is potential England calls in a busy Ashes summer, which also contains the Champions Trophy in June, but they managed pretty well in 2012 without Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Chris Woakes. Now, they have leading wicket taker Chris Wright, top scorer Varun Chopra and all-rounder Rikki Clarke in the England frame as well, but the Bears still have strength in depth.
One to watch: Oliver Hannon-Dalby may have been surplus to requirements with his native Yorkshire, but the Bears have spotted something in the tall seamer to suggest that he could be the latest to roll off the production line at highly-acclaimed bowling coach Graeme Welch's Edgbaston finishing school. Judging by his nine-wicket match haul against the Oxford students, keep a look out too for another fast bowler, youngster Tom Milnes.
By BBC Midlands Sport's Ged Scott
Captain: Daryl Mitchell
Overseas players: Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Jacob Oram (New Zealand, for FL t20)
How they did last season: Bottom of County Championship Division One (relegated), bottom of CB 40 group, FL t20 quarter-finalists.
Season prospects: Despite managing to stay up in 2011 for the first time since the introduction of two-division County Championship cricket, Worcestershire were always punching above their weight. For a county with such meagre resources, relegation last summer looked inevitable from early season when they paid for the loss of Gareth Andrew, who missed seven games, and main strike bowler Alan Richardson, who still chipped in with 57 wickets. By season's end, they had lost Surrey-bound Vikram Solanki too, but they hope overseas signings Thilan Samaraweera, who is available for the whole summer, and Twenty20 specialist Jacob Oram can trigger something in Steve Rhodes' young team.
One to watch: Ben Cox was a 17-year-old schoolboy when he made a half-century and claimed Marcus Trescothick as his first scalp on his first-class debut at Taunton in September 2009. Having now learned his trade - and, with a former England wicket-keeper like Rhodes as his coach, he will not have gone short on advice - the release of Ben Scott late last summer may have signalled the moment that Cox was deemed ready to be Worcestershire's first-choice keeper, assuming he sees off the challenge of Australian Michael Johnson.
By BBC Midlands Sport's Ged Scott
Captain: Andrew Gale
Overseas players: None, although they are looking to re-sign David Miller (South Africa) for the limited-overs matches
How they did last season: Second in County Championship Division Two (promoted), fifth in Group C in CB40, beaten finalists in FL t20.
Season prospects: It is a big jump up from Division Two but Yorkshire have recruited well, especially in the seam bowling department as Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks are both decent performers at this level. The club will be pleased to see batsmen Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, and Gary Ballance getting England recognition, but it is bittersweet given that it means they night not be available for parts of the season. Their absence will give Joe Sayers and Alex Lees a chance to stake a claim in the team and it will be interesting to see how they do. It would be wonderful if Yorkshire could win the title in their 150th year, but that is the stuff of fairytales really and, in reality, I think they will come third or fourth.
One to watch: Adam Lyth started the 2011 season in fantastic form and was the first player in the country to reach 1,000 runs. He has struggled since then and this is a big year for him. Given his chance he could really sparkle and might prove to be vital.
By BBC Radio Leeds' Dave Callaghan
Compiled by Paul Grunill. | The new county cricket season gets under way on Wednesday with Warwickshire looking to repeat last summer's Championship triumph |
35,846,351 | When he was about 18 months old, he was diagnosed with toddler diarrhoea, put on a low-fibre diet and his mum Caroline was told he would grow out of the problem.
But the diarrhoea continued and so did the accidents.
"He would go to nursery with a bag of spare clothes because he had two or three accidents a day," Caroline says.
"As he got older he started to realise that wasn't normal."
With no sign of any improvement after almost two years, Caroline sought a second opinion and Jack was diagnosed with chronic constipation. The diarrhoea had just been a symptom of a more serious underlying problem.
Finally, with advice from children's continence charity ERIC, Jack was put on a course of medication which helped to clear the contents of his bowel and then a dose which would help to keep his system moving in the future.
Within two or three months, his mum says, he was "all clear", just in time for starting primary school in Wiltshire, but they had been dealing with a misdiagnosis for nearly two years.
One particular incident brought it home to Caroline just how awful Jack's problem had become and how traumatic it felt for him.
"He'd locked himself in the toilet with one of his baby brother's nappies and was trying to put it on..."
Constipation in children is not unusual - children's continence charity ERIC says between 5% and 30% of children suffer from it, yet parents complain that the condition often goes unrecognised.
It says GPs are failing to diagnose the problem properly and not referring to a specialist when they should - and sometimes the advice they give is wrong.
Rhia Weston, from ERIC, says children should be encouraged to drink more water, prescribed a laxative to clear them out and then put on a 'maintenance dose'.
Changing their diets and adding more fibre may work, but it is not going to solve everything.
"More often it's to do with dehydration because the child is not drinking enough at school and is possibly holding on and not going to the toilet at school," she says.
"Or it may be caused by a fever or medication. They can experience one painful poo and then it becomes a vicious cycle of not wanting to go."
Although constipation can be caused by physical problems too, she said it was important to make sure children got a decent amount of exercise and had a toilet routine in place - for example, sitting on the toilet 20 minutes after each meal.
Dr Anton Emmanuel, consultant neuro-gastroenterologist at University College London, agrees that traditionally the emphasis has been on increasing fibre intake.
"But that doesn't work for everyone. If people have tried that and it doesn't work, they need to try something else," he says.
One new therapy - called biofeedback - focuses on re-training the body's functions to work normally, rather than relying on the laxative effect of drugs.
Biofeedback uses special sensors connected to computers to measure bodily functions, even ones we are not aware of, and this information helps patients find out how their bodies are actually working.
By retraining the pelvic floor and sphincter to work the right way, the idea is that normal bowel control can be re-learnt and restored.
Dr Emmanuel explains: "Therapies have failed because the pelvic floor is tightly shut. People avoid loos, they hold on, and so the pelvic floor doesn't relax."
He says that, over three or four biofeedback sessions, people can see improvements by doing pelvic floor exercises, among others.
Tammie Cherry, from Kent, has experienced the positive effects of biofeedback after nearly 30 years of suffering with chronic constipation, which often led to painful stomach cramps and terrible episodes of diarrhoea.
She first noticed the problems around the age of 10 but was told she would grow out of it if she ate more fibre in her diet - but that didn't work.
She was eventually referred to St Mark's Hospital in Harrow and treated at the Biofeedback Unit. After two months of a tailored diet while following specific stomach exercises, she had normal bowel movements and some control over her life again.
"I can go shopping now, sit down on a bus and go out of the house without being caught short - and I've got no chronic pain. It's fantastic."
Constipation is the second or third most common reason among potty-trained children for going to see the GP, but Dr Emmanuel says it's important to look more deeply.
"Constipation is just a symptom. It can mean different things in different people. We must understand the mechanism of the individual because it's not the same for everyone."
Caroline describes how they had to help Jack retrain his body how to poo which led to a battle of wills and many, many tears.
Now that he is five years old, in Reception class, and in a good toilet routine, he is a very different boy, his mum explains.
"Physically he is much more content and, because his body is working better, he is happier."
Looking back, Caroline knows that with a correct, early diagnosis and some proper support Jack's early years should have been very different. | Caroline's greatest fear was that her son Jack would have no control over his bowels when he started school. |
39,086,591 | Godden's double sandwiched Jack King's strike as the hosts earned a seventh win in eight games.
Boro are now sixth in the table, three points behind third-placed Carlisle, but County drop down to third-from-bottom, five points ahead of Leyton Orient.
Stevenage led in just the third minute after a corner was taken shot to Steven Schumacher, whose cross gave Godden the simple task of heading into the top corner.
Veteran goalkeeper Chris Day, in the side due to Jamie Jones' suspension, maintained their lead by first sharply saving Shola Ameobi's header then Jon Stead's rebound.
The hosts doubled their advantage on the hour as Godden flicked on a long ball into the path of captain King, who finished calmly into the bottom corner.
Two minutes later the match was finished as a contest as Ben Kennedy played Godden through and he held his nerve to strike his 20th goal of the season.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Stevenage 3, Notts County 0.
Second Half ends, Stevenage 3, Notts County 0.
Corner, Stevenage. Conceded by Curtis Thompson.
Tom Pett (Stevenage) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Tahvon Campbell (Notts County).
Tom Pett (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Curtis Thompson (Notts County).
Substitution, Stevenage. Kgosi Ntlhe replaces Connor Ogilvie because of an injury.
Charlie Lee (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jorge Grant (Notts County).
Josh McQuoid (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Haydn Hollis (Notts County).
Substitution, Stevenage. Josh McQuoid replaces Ben Kennedy.
Substitution, Stevenage. Kaylen Hinds replaces Matt Godden.
Jobi McAnuff (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Curtis Thompson (Notts County).
Attempt missed. Haydn Hollis (Notts County) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Foul by Steven Schumacher (Stevenage).
Curtis Thompson (Notts County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Tahvon Campbell (Notts County) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the centre of the goal.
Ben Kennedy (Stevenage) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Elliott Hewitt (Notts County).
Luke Wilkinson (Stevenage) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Shola Ameobi (Notts County).
Foul by Ben Kennedy (Stevenage).
Haydn Hollis (Notts County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Matt Godden (Stevenage) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked.
Substitution, Notts County. Tahvon Campbell replaces Mark Yeates.
Substitution, Notts County. Carl Dickinson replaces Marc Bola.
Corner, Stevenage. Conceded by Elliott Hewitt.
Attempt blocked. Ben Kennedy (Stevenage) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked.
Substitution, Notts County. Jonathan Forte replaces Jon Stead because of an injury.
Goal! Stevenage 3, Notts County 0. Matt Godden (Stevenage) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ben Kennedy.
Goal! Stevenage 2, Notts County 0. Jack King (Stevenage) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Luke Wilkinson.
Josh Clackstone (Notts County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Attempt missed. Shola Ameobi (Notts County) header from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Luke Wilkinson (Stevenage) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked.
Corner, Stevenage. Conceded by Shola Ameobi.
Tom Pett (Stevenage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Robert Milsom (Notts County). | Matt Godden scored twice as in-form Stevenage boosted their League Two promotion hopes by breezing past Notts County. |
34,150,941 | Stephen Longfellow, from Leeds, was last seen on Sunday when he spoke with walkers in Llanfihangel y Pennant, Gwynedd.
Police found his car close to the Tryfan mountain and are concentrating their search there.
The hunt will cover areas with crevices, dips and gullies for as long as there is light on Friday.
Mr Longfellow's family have travelled to Snowdonia and are being supported by officers.
North Wales Police said he had indicated he intended to go walking at Tryfan or the Snowdon Horseshoe route.
His family alerted police when Mr Longfellow failed to return home on Thursday.
Sgt Andy Davies said: "We are increasingly concerned for his welfare." | A mountain rescue team, search dogs and a helicopter are looking for a 64-year-old man missing in Snowdonia. |
23,643,700 | The US ITC upheld a 2011 decision which found that Samsung had infringed Apple patents in the production of mobile phones, media players and tablets.
The US ITC has ordered that Samsung devices affected by the ruling are banned from the US.
But that ban is on hold while US President Barack Obama reviews the decision.
The President has 60 days to assess the US ITC's findings, although analysts say he is unlikely to overturn the commission's decision.
"We are disappointed that the ITC has issued an exclusion order based on two of Apple's patents," Samsung said in a statement.
"The proper focus for the smartphone industry is not a global war in the courts, but fair competition in the marketplace."
Apple hailed the decision, placing it in the context of the tech giants' global patent battles.
"With today's decision, the ITC has joined courts around the world in Japan, Korea, Germany, Netherlands and California by standing up for innovation and rejecting Samsung's blatant copying of Apple's products," said the company.
The ruling applies to two patents.
The first is the so-called "Steve Jobs patent", named after the company's founder, which involves touch-screen technology.
The other patent is related to the audio socket on devices.
"It's another significant victory for Apple," intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller told the BBC, "especially because the famous Steve Jobs patent is a pretty foundational patent."
Four other patent infringements asserted by Apple were turned down by the US ITC.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting patent battles for years and across 10 countries.
The fight has escalated after Samsung overtook Apple last year to become the global leader in smartphone sales.
In Washington on Friday, a federal appeals judge heard testimony in a separate patent case between the two companies relating to a decision last year, in which Samsung was found to owe Apple $1bn (£645m) for infringing on patents.
That penalty was later struck to $450m, but Apple appealed against the ruling. A verdict in that case has not yet been issued.
Separately, last weekend President Obama issued the first presidential veto in 26 years relating to a US ITC decision.
That veto overturned a ban on older models of Apple's iPhones and iPads because of its "effect on competitive conditions in the US economy".
Friday's ruling is widely seen as a victory for the company.
"In a way. the noose is tightening. Apple step by step actually is gaining leverage against Samsung," says Mr Mueller. | Apple has won a key patent case against rival Samsung at the US International Trade Commission (US ITC). |
32,155,637 | The Tees Valley Airshow will take place on 29 August at Durham Tees Valley airport for the first time since 1989.
The show, which will also see a live music event on the night, is being organised by Skylive Events and the Peel Group, which operates the airport.
Chris Petty, from Skylive Events, said he was "excited" to put on a "fantastic airshow" for the region which will be a "full family day out".
Mr Petty said: "It's going to be fantastic for the whole region - for local businesses, local charities, we're going to get everybody involved because it's the region's airshow.
"We want to improve on it year on year, this isn't just a one-off event."
Organisers tried to bring back the airshow in 2013, but a "lack of operational support" meant it could not go ahead. | An airshow is returning to Teesside for the first time in more than 25 years. |
36,625,830 | Grace, 28, who won the RBC Heritage in April, said: "I am getting married in November and hoping to start a family. I must put their health first.
"I really hope to be able to qualify again in four years' time."
Northern Ireland duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell have already pulled out while Australia's world number one Jason Day is considering his options.
World number four McIlroy said on Wednesday that it was "a risk I am unwilling to take" despite the World Health Organisation stating that there is a "very low risk" for participants.
Fiji's Vijay Singh and Marc Leishman of Australia have already said they will not play because of the virus and the absence of the top players is a blow as the sport returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, has been linked to brain defects in newborn babies.
We've launched a new BBC Sport newsletter ahead of the Euros and Olympics, bringing all the best stories, features and video right to your inbox. You can sign up here. | South Africa's Branden Grace has pulled out of this summer's Olympics in Rio because of fears around the Zika virus. |
36,996,534 | The fleet included fishing boats and coastguard ships, Japan says, and three vessels appeared to be armed. Officials have protested to Chinese diplomats.
The reported incident occurred near the Japan-controlled disputed islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China.
Beijing has been increasingly assertive about waters it believes are Chinese.
In a separate incident on Saturday, Chinese state media said fighter jets and bombers had completed a patrol of airspace above islands in the South China Sea, as part of combat training.
These islands are also disputed, but last month an international tribunal dismissed most of Beijing's claims in that sea.
China said it would ignore the decision.
A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said the fleet's despatch to the East China Sea islands was a unilateral escalation of tension in the area.
How uninhabited islands soured China-Japan ties
Less than a decade ago, Tokyo and Beijing talked of jointly exploiting the resources of the East China Sea, the waterway that separates the two countries.
But since then tension has increased, particularly over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, which are uninhabited.
Over recent years, China has sent an increasing number of ships towards the islands, in what appears to be an attempt to test Japan's resolve to defend them. | Japan says China has sailed a fleet of 230 vessels near Japanese-controlled waters in the East China Sea. |
33,663,597 | The fund, generated by members of the Single Malt Club China (SMCC), will be used to buy rare and valuable malts for the Chinese market.
The initiative was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as she arrived in China for a trade mission.
Ms Sturgeon also revealed new figures showing food and drink exports to China totalled £85m last year.
During the mission, the first minister will open the SMCC's new Whisky Experience Centre in Beijing, which will showcase the malt whisky production process with photographs and items from distilleries.
It will also display single malts that are available in China.
The SMCC, which was set up in 2005, imported 60,000 bottles of Scotch last year.
The new £3m Whisky Investment Fund is expected to help lift that figure by another 20% over the next year.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The Single Malt Club China has worked hard to promote Scotch whisky for a decade and now has nearly 5,000 members throughout China.
"It also works with 31 of our distilleries, so the support for our industry is clear, and this fund will allow Chinese whisky connoisseurs to invest in some of Scotland's finest and rarest drams."
The move comes as Scotch whisky firms look to boost sales in China, which have been hit by an ongoing austerity campaign by the Chinese authorities.
According to figures released recently by the Scotch Whisky Association, direct exports to the country fell by 23% to £39m last year, making it Scotch's 26th largest market by value.
However, overall food and drink exports to China rose by 12% to £85m last year, according to new data announced by Ms Sturgeon.
Fish and seafood made up the bulk of exports, with £43m worth of products, followed by whisky (£39m), meat (£1.4m) and cereals (£1.1m).
During her trade visit, Ms Sturgeon will promote Scottish business, including hosting an "innovation showcase" for Scottish companies to meet with Chinese investors.
The first minister will also undertake a series of cultural and educational engagements. | A new £3m fund has been set up to allow whisky connoisseurs in China to invest in some of Scotland's rarest drams. |
40,621,915 | The charges include robbery, grievous bodily harm and possession of an item to discharge a noxious substance.
The five attacks took place in 90 minutes across north and east London.
The 16-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear at Stratford Youth Court on Monday. A 15-year-old boy also arrested has been released on bail.
The 16-year-old has been charged with:
Police said the investigation into the five separate attacks "remains ongoing".
Speaking before the boy was charged Ch Insp Ben Clark, from the Met's Hackney Borough, said all of the victims had been riding mopeds.
One victim suffered "life-changing injuries".
Jabed Hussain, 32, was one of the five people attacked on Thursday and said his helmet saved him from worse injury.
"I took off my helmet and I was just screaming for help because it's getting dry and as much as it's getting dry it's burning. So I was just screaming for water," Mr Hussain said. | A 16-year-old boy who was arrested in connection with five acid attacks in London on Thursday has been charged with 15 offences, police have said. |
38,457,101 | The Madras high court said the "media has raised doubts" about the cause of her death on 5 December, and "the truth should be revealed".
She was admitted to a local hospital for more than three months, but little information was given about her health.
Jayalalitha was one of India's most charismatic and enigmatic politicians.
Sasikala: The 'new mother' of Tamil Nadu politics
Obituary: Jayaram Jayalalitha
The two-judge bench was hearing a petition, seeking an investigation into the former chief minister's death.
"We also saw in the newspapers that the chief minister was recovering, and that she was eating, signing papers and even conducting meetings. And then suddenly she was dead," The Times of India quoted the judges as saying.
"At least after her death now, the truth should be revealed," they added.
The next hearing is due to take place on 9 January.
Jayalalitha's close aide Sasikala Natarajan, who was with her in her final days in the hospital, has taken over as the chief of her AIADMK party. | A court in India's Tamil Nadu state has asked why the body of former chief minister J Jayalalitha cannot be exhumed for investigation. |
40,834,496 | The 26-year-old, who joined the club from Super League rivals St Helens this season, was drug tested after Trinity's win at Widnes on 14 July.
Under the regulations he is banned from all training and playing activity.
Widnes' Rangi Chase was also banned on Thursday after testing positive for cocaine following the same game.
"The club fully respects this suspension," said Trinity's statement. "[We] are currently reviewing this matter. There will be no further comment at this time."
Scotland international Walker has played seven games for Wakefield this season and had been named in Steve McCormack's 40-man initial squad for the 2017 World Cup. | Wakefield Trinity prop Adam Walker has been suspended by the Rugby Football League under UK Anti-Doping protocol after testing positive for cocaine. |
30,595,206 | Mr Bush, 90, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after suffering from a shortness of breath.
His spokesman Jim McGrath said his condition had improved and doctors were "discussing dates for his discharge".
Mr Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was visited by family on Christmas Day.
Two years ago, Mr Bush was treated in the same hospital for more than two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.
He is the oldest living former US president and a World War II veteran. He can no longer use his legs, but in June celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump.
His son George W Bush served as president from 2001 to 2009.
Another son, Jeb, said this month he will "actively explore the possibility of running for president" in 2016. | Former US President George Bush Sr will remain in hospital this weekend but could be discharged soon, his spokesman says. |
31,867,514 | Under the plan, young people in England would make monthly payments equivalent to rent to build up a share in their home, without requiring a deposit.
After 30 years, occupants would gain full ownership of the property.
The announcement comes as the Lib Dems prepare to meet for a final time before the general election.
The party will gather for their spring conference in Liverpool on Friday, with leader Nick Clegg due to address activists on Sunday.
Housing is a key election issue, and the parties have made pledges to boost the supply of homes across the country and make home ownership more achievable.
Analysis by political correspondent Ross Hawkins in Liverpool
There is now ferocious competition for the votes of frustrated would-be first-time buyers, who will be able to choose between a series of competing schemes from politicians come the election.
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a policy that they claim would be revolutionary: to aim to make 30,000 new homes a year in England available to tenants who would slowly acquire equity as they made monthly rental payments, until after 30 years they owned the property outright.
The party is as yet undecided as to how the government would help social enterprises and housing associations build homes on this basis, and has not said how much it would cost the taxpayer.
The Conservatives intend to expand a coalition scheme to provide 200,000 discounted starter homes for those buying for the first time; Labour say first-time buyers would get priority under their plans.
The Conservatives have promised to build 200,000 starter homes for first-time buyers in England under the age of 40, priced at 20% below the market rate.
Meanwhile, Labour wants to see 200,000 new homes built a year by 2020, including new towns and garden cities.
Announcing the Lib Dem housing policy, Mr Clegg said it would make home-ownership "a reality" for thousands of young people currently priced out of the market.
The party is aiming to deliver 30,000 rent-to-own homes by 2020 in partnership with housing associations and other organisations, if they remain in government after the general election.
Under the plan, occupants would have an option to cash-in their share at any time, which could potentially to be used as a deposit for a home on the open market.
"For working young people the dream of home ownership is increasingly out of reach," Mr Clegg said.
Summary of other parties' housing policies:
"Prices are so high renters cannot afford to save for a deposit, which means they can never take that first step onto the housing ladder.
"Young people deserve better. Rent-to-own will mean, regardless of their background and family circumstance, they will be able to make this dream a reality."
Mr Clegg told the Evening Standard that the idea would be among his party's "core" offers in its election manifesto, suggesting it had been held back to date by "small c and big c conservatism in Whitehall".
Social enterprise business Gentoo Group said the idea was modelled on a 2011 initiative it had successfully piloted in the north-east of England.
Peter Walls, the firm's chief executive, said rent-to-own was "a now-proven concept" which "has already unlocked homeownership for many that were excluded".
Ahead of the Lib Dem conference, the deputy prime minister has warned the party that it faces a "long, hard campaign" in the run-up to the 7 May poll.
In a foreword to the conference agenda, he said the meeting was a chance to "set out our vision for the country" but also "celebrate our achievements in coalition".
The conference will get underway on Friday with a rally addressed by general election co-ordinator and former leader Lord Ashdown.
It comes after the party's former head of fundraising, Ibrahim Taguri, had to step down as a party candidate after a newspaper claimed he had accepted a "potentially illegal donation", although Mr Taguri denies any wrongdoing. | The Lib Dems are promising to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder through a "rent-to-own homes" scheme, if they are in power in May. |
27,514,210 | The attack took place early on Thursday in a market place in Urumqi.
More than 90 other people were injured as attackers in two vehicles drove into crowds and threw explosives. One of the vehicles then blew up.
China called the attack a "violent terrorist incident", while the US called it an "outrageous act of violence against innocent civilians".
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there was "no justification for the killing of civilians".
The latest information came from the state-run Global Times, which said it had "got information that five suspects who participated in the terrorist attack blew themselves up".
Police were investigating whether they had accomplices, the paper added. It was not clear whether the five were included in the death toll.
The BBC's John Sudworth, who is in Urumqi, said a heavy security presence had been deployed at the scene of the attack.
Some shops have opened again and there are a few signs of returning normality, but the shock over the brutality of what happened here remains, he says.
Why is there tension between China and the Uighurs?
With ranks of riot police now patrolling the area, local residents can be seen standing around, talking quietly to one another.
Some have friends and relatives who were killed or injured, run over by the cars that the attackers drove through the morning street market, or caught in the blast when one of the cars exploded, our correspondent adds.
Xinjiang, which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority, has seen a spate of attacks in recent years.
Beijing has blamed these - and other recent mass-casualty attacks - on Uighur separatists.
These include an attack in Beijing, where a car ploughed into pedestrians in Tiananmen Square, killing five people, and attacks at railway stations in Urumqi and Kunming.
China says it is pouring money into the Xinjiang region, but some Uighurs say their traditions and freedoms are being crushed. | Five people involved in the Xinjiang attack that killed 31 people "blew themselves up", a Chinese report says. |
39,547,785 | The 29-year-old woman's body was found at the home in Heaton Close, Speke, at about 03:10 GMT on Sunday, police said.
The woman, who has not been formally identified, was taken to hospital by the ambulance service where she was pronounced dead at 04:14 GMT.
A murder investigation has been launched and a post-mortem is taking place to establish the cause of death, Merseyside Police said.
Officers are conducting forensic enquiries at the house. | A woman's body has been discovered at a house in Merseyside. |
36,057,556 | Jack Price raced in the 1908 London Olympics before founding an athletics club still in existence today.
The runner, who died in 1965, has now been commemorated in his home town of Halesowen, West Midlands, following a campaign by his family.
Grandson Micky Whitehouse, 74, said: "It has been my sole ambition to get him recognised."
Born in 1884, Jack grew up in Shropshire but aged 17, walked 40 miles to Halesowen to find employment, landing a job at steelworks Stewarts & Lloyds.
"But he never stopped running," Mr Whitehouse, said.
"On a Sunday he'd run all the way to Shropshire to have breakfast with his mum and then get up and run back and have lunch with his family in Halesowen."
In 1908, trials for the Olympics were held and Jack took part in the Midlands heats from Coventry to West Bromwich - a distance of 25.5 miles.
"This was the first marathon held in England," said Bob Fowks, vice chairman of Halesowen Athletics Club.
"They altered the distance later so the royal family could see the finishing line."
Jack won in two hours, thirty-seven minutes and 13 seconds and was chosen for the 12-man United Kingdom team for the Olympic marathon, but despite leading for half the distance, he had to pull out in the 15th mile.
In 1910, he won Edinburgh's Powderhall Marathon in atrocious conditions with a time of two hours and 40 minutes.
He started Halesowen Athletics Club in 1922. It is also naming the road it is based on Jack Price Way. | An Olympian who won England's first ever "marathon" has been honoured with a blue plaque after a 20-year campaign. |
38,589,096 | The Lionesses will play world champions the USA, Germany and France - the same line-up that contested the inaugural edition of the competition last year, won by the USA.
England face France in their opener on 1 March in Pennsylvania.
They then face the hosts in New Jersey on 4 March and European champions Germany in Washington on 7 March.
Captain Steph Houghton said the SheBelieves Cup was a "great tournament to play in last year with big crowds and tough opposition".
"It's important we test ourselves against the best teams and players in the world and we'll certainly do so there," she added.
England fixtures | England's women will take on the three top ranked teams in the world in the SheBelieves Cup in the USA in March. |
18,577,951 | Their main indexes closed down about 4% as the Spanish prime minister called for Thursday's European Union summit to "dispel doubts" about the euro.
Wall Street was also unnerved by the continuing crisis and the Dow Jones ended with a loss of 1.1%.
Earlier Spain formally requested a bailout loan for its banking sector.
Eurozone countries have agreed to lend up to 100bn euros ($125bn; £80bn) to Spain's banks.
No specific figures were given for the emergency loans, although independent audits last week said that the banks would need up to 62bn euros to stabilise themselves.
The falls in Spanish stocks were mirrored across Europe with France's Cac 40 down 2.2%, Germany's Dax down 1.9% and Italy's Mib down 4%.
The falls were exacerbated by a Reuters report that Moody's was planning to downgrade Spanish banks.
In another sign of the scale of the problems facing Europe, Cyprus has formally requested financial assistance from European authorities.
"The purpose of the required assistance is to contain the risks to the Cypriot economy, notably those arising from the negative spill over effects through its financial sector, due to its large exposure in the Greek economy," a government statement said.
Cyprus' three largest banks - Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank and Hellenic Bank - are heavily exposed to Greece.
Cyprus' request comes after its credit rating was cut to junk status by Fitch.
Cyprus' junk credit rating means it is almost impossible for it to borrow money from international markets, as it makes it too expensive for it to do so.
Cyprus rating cut to junk status
Fears are building that this week's two-day European Union summit could prove inconclusive.
"We must dispel doubts over the eurozone," said Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy.
"The single currency is, must be, irreversible," he said.
In addition, an auditor's visit scheduled for debt-stricken Greece has had to be postponed after both the Greek prime minister and incoming finance minister were affected by health problems.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the delay meant no decision would be taken on Greece at the summit.
"Do not expect any decision on Greece at the European council," said Steffen Seibert.
Meanwhile, in another indication of the conflicts between European nations on the best way forward, Angela Merkel reiterated her opposition to calls to pool eurozone debt.
"There has to be a balance between guarantees and controls," she said.
IG Index analyst Chris Beauchamp blamed Chancellor Merkel's reluctance to share liability for eurozone debts for the share price falls.
"This was, is and will remain the fundamental issue in the crisis - Germany is understandably not keen on taking on the burden of debts built up by (as it sees it) spendthrift countries," he said.
By Stephanie FlandersEconomics editor
The problems facing Europe's banks will be on the agenda at the summit of European leaders on 28 and 29 June.
The BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders said: "On difficult areas like banking union, officials are making more progress than anyone would have expected a month or two ago.
"But the Germans have succeeded in dramatically lowering expectations for what could be achieved by Friday."
Draft documents prepared for the meeting, which have been reported by news agencies, detail proposals for a single European banking supervisor and a common scheme for guaranteeing bank deposits.
There would also be a central fund to wind down bad banks.
Options for the regulator include having one body, possibly the European Central Bank, to oversee the continent's biggest banks, while another watchdog supervises the day-to-day operations of all the banks.
The proposals also include closer fiscal union, with the prospect of eurozone countries sharing debt raised again. | Spanish and Italian shares have fallen sharply amid fears that an EU summit this week will again fail to produce a deal to shore up the euro. |
34,032,776 | The Dubai Financial Market closed down 7%, while the Saudi exchange also lost 7% after Fitch ratings agency cut its outlook for the country.
Last week, the Dow Jones in the US fell 6%, while the UK's FTSE 100 posted its biggest weekly loss this year of 5%.
Investors are concerned about a slowdown in China and the knock-on effects for the global economy.
Both France's Cac 40 and Germany's Dax indexes lost 7% of their value last week.
In the Middle East, there is particular concern about low oil prices, which are down by more than a half this year and have been falling steadily since May, when Brent Crude stood at $68 a barrel. A barrel now costs $45.
This is mainly due to an abundance of supply, in large part from from US shale oil producers, which are weakening OPEC's once dominant position in global oil markets. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are all members of OPEC.
Moods were further dampened by a report from Fitch which cut the agency's outlook on Saudi Arabia from "stable" to "negative". The move reflects concerns about the future of the country's finances, which are heavily dependent on revenues from exporting oil.
These worries come against a backdrop of falling global stock markets, reflecting widespread fears about the pace of the slowdown in the Chinese economy.
On Friday, figures from the world's second largest economy showed that factory activity in August shrank at its fastest pace in more than six years.
The data triggered another sell-off in Chinese shares, which ended the day down more than 4%, and 12% on the week.
Earlier this month, the country's central bank announced measures to devalue the country's currency, the yuan, seen widely as a move to help Chinese exports - a weaker yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper overseas.
This came after official figures showed the country's economic growth continuing to slow. For the three months to the end of July, the economy grew by 7% compared with a year earlier - its slowest pace since 2009. | Stock markets in the Middle East have fallen sharply after a difficult week for all major global share indexes. |
35,274,741 | In a game that was a pale shadow of previous meetings between these two Premier League superpowers, Liverpool had the better chances and United keeper David de Gea kept his side in it with fine saves from Adam Lallana and Emre Can.
Jurgen Klopp's side wasted other opportunities and paid the price 12 minutes from time when Rooney fired United's first shot on target high past Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet after Marouane Fellaini's header came back off the bar.
Van Gaal's position had been under scrutiny after only two wins in United's previous 11 games - but victory at Anfield is the perfect tonic and his team are now in fifth, just two points off the Champions League places.
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Rooney's status as United and England's main man is often questioned - but once again he proved he remains, along with the outstanding De Gea, one of Van Gaal's most crucial players.
The 30-year-old lifelong Evertonian relishes winning at Anfield, and his delight was plain to see after he hammered home his first goal here since January 2005.
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It was further proof he is undergoing a rejuvenation after criticism earlier this season, scoring twice in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle United and the winning goals in the FA Cup third-round victory against Sheffield United and the league match with Swansea City.
The question may be asked again soon - but there is still no evidence to suggest the Red Devils are a better side without Rooney than with him.
Liverpool have shown signs of promise in two big games at Anfield this week - but only earned a point against Arsenal with an injury-time equaliser and were beaten here.
Klopp is still trying to impose his "gegenpressing" style on Liverpool and it has worked better away - in impressive wins at Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Stoke City - than it has at Anfield.
Liverpool were arguably the better team here but once again demonstrated a vulnerability to crosses and ran out of steam badly towards the end. The philosophy will not bear fruit until his defenders can clear a cross.
The struggles Klopp faces are summed up by the fact that, for the second game running, he was reduced to throwing defender Steven Caulker, a loan signing from QPR, on as a late substitute in attack.
The German has much work to do.
Tongue in cheek, perhaps - but this was a far cry from the thunderous collisions between Liverpool and Manchester United when Scousers such as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher faced local products Gary and Phil Neville, as well as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Anfield, not helped by the lack of quality on offer, was subdued and the aggression that used to be this fixture's hallmark flared only briefly in a couple of early skirmishes involving Liverpool's Lucas and United midfielder Fellaini.
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This was every inch a game between sides sitting sixth and ninth in the Premier League before kick-off.
It may have even come as a disappointment to Klopp after the build-up and the history. He called these games "the salt in the soup" - this one needed an awful lot of seasoning.
United's Jesse Lingard, born in Warrington, was as close to local as it got in the starting line-ups - and perhaps that explains the lack of fire and brimstone that used to be a starting point in these confrontations.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "I didn't see too many chances for Manchester United and we didn't take ours. Of course it is frustrating. We lost a game that we should not have lost.
"The goal was to defend and we didn't do it. That is our responsibility. We have to defend set pieces better.
"We did really well creating the chances, but there were a lot of situations where we could have created more chances and didn't. There were a lot of positive things but we lost in a derby against Manchester United."
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "We know Wayne Rooney has played for Everton and now plays for United so he wants to score against Liverpool, it means a lot for him.
"We have made a good start in 2016, to beat Liverpool for the second time in a row is it marvellous, it gives a big boost for the players and the fans so I hope it shall continue with winning.
"That is why we are here, to win our games and at end of the season to be in the first three positions of the league."
Liverpool are hoping to avoid another home defeat - and an embarrassing FA Cup exit - when they host Exeter in a third-round replay on Wednesday.
United are safely into the fourth round already, meaning they are not back in action until Saturday. Van Gaal's side welcome 10th-placed Southampton to Old Trafford in the Premier League.
Match ends, Liverpool 0, Manchester United 1.
Second Half ends, Liverpool 0, Manchester United 1.
Offside, Liverpool. Mamadou Sakho tries a through ball, but Christian Benteke is caught offside.
Jordon Ibe (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
Hand ball by Juan Mata (Manchester United).
Substitution, Liverpool. Steven Caulker replaces James Milner.
Attempt blocked. James Milner (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christian Benteke.
Attempt missed. Christian Benteke (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jordon Ibe with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Jordon Ibe (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by James Milner.
Christian Benteke (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United).
Attempt missed. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Morgan Schneiderlin.
Offside, Liverpool. Alberto Moreno tries a through ball, but Roberto Firmino is caught offside.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Memphis Depay.
Emre Can (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United).
Emre Can (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Substitution, Liverpool. Christian Benteke replaces Kolo Touré.
Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Goal! Liverpool 0, Manchester United 1. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal following a corner.
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Juan Mata with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Kolo Touré.
Substitution, Liverpool. Jordon Ibe replaces Adam Lallana.
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool) header from the left side of the six yard box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by James Milner with a cross following a set piece situation.
Substitution, Manchester United. Memphis Depay replaces Ander Herrera.
Hand ball by Daley Blind (Manchester United).
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.
Attempt missed. Adam Lallana (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Nathaniel Clyne.
Attempt saved. Emre Can (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Manchester United. Juan Mata replaces Jesse Lingard.
Chris Smalling (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Anthony Martial (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. | Wayne Rooney's late strike settled a scrappy encounter to give Manchester United and manager Louis van Gaal a vital victory at Liverpool. |
38,808,208 | MacDonald, 26, has made 30 appearances this season, scoring three goals, and joins on a free transfer after having his contract cancelled.
Potter, 28, had been released by Northampton Town, for whom he scored once in 32 league games.
Stags manager Steve Evans has now made eight signings during January.
They have already signed goalkeeper Jake Kean, defender Hayden White, midfielders Joel Byrom and Ben Whiteman, and strikers Yoann Arquin and Shaquile Coulthirst.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Mansfield Town have signed Oxford United winger Alex MacDonald and midfielder Alfie Potter from Northampton Town. |
36,312,351 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Dennis began running after thinking he was overweight and wants to take part on Sunday to "help those less fortunate."
Great Manchester Run 2016 takes place on Sunday May 22 and you can follow the action on BBC TV and also on our live text commentary.
You can get involved and send us your Great Manchester Run stories and messages by using the hashtag #GetInspired on social media
Feeling inspired? There are events for all abilities so use this handy guide to find the best one for you. | BBC Get Inspired caught up with Dennis Yarwood who is running Sunday's Great Manchester Run for the deaf blind charity Sense. |
33,635,945 | The announcement was made as Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! premiered on US TV on Wednesday on the Syfy channel.
It ended with a piece of space shuttle hurtling towards April, played by Tara Reid, and the caption: "You decide if #AprilLives or #AprilDies".
Sharknado 3 will premiere on Syfy in the UK on Thursday.
As the film reached its cliffhanger, a voice-over informed US fans they would find out the outcome of the Twitter vote and April's fate in a fourth instalment of the franchise.
"Now's your chance to be part of Sharknado history," it said, "You decide if April lives or April dies.
"Her fate will be revealed in Sharknado 4. Because we're not done yet!"
Reid confessed the twist came as a surprise to her too, telling the Hollywood Reporter: "That was a shocker! I didn't expect that!"
"I think that's going to be a big turning point for the franchise. It gives it some excitement, and it's giving the fans a chance to interact.
"No matter what happens, I'm proud to be a part of this phenomenon."
After the first two films saw a tornado of sharks hitting first LA and then New York, Sharknado 3 sees the action moving to Washington and Florida.
The made-for-television disaster film also stars Ian Ziering as Fin and David Hasselhoff as Fin's dad, as well as cameos from Jerry Springer, Bo Derek and former X Factor stars Jedward, who recorded the theme song.
The Sharknado franchise has taken social media by storm, with the first two films generating more than a billion tweets between them. Sharknado producer, Chris Regina, hopes this latest stunt will prove just as engaging.
"I'm hoping that we're going to break the internet this time with the "April lives, April dies" at the end," Regina told Hollywood Reporter.
"I think it's going to be precedent-setting. I can't think of an instance where another network has done something of that nature at the end of an event. Hopefully it's a TV first."
But despite fans' interest in the franchise, it has yet to win over the critics.
"Having now watched "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" I find myself in the position of having to write about it. And I am not sure which is worse, really, or even how to proceed," said Robert Lloyd, writing in the LA Times.
The Telegraph's reviewer Michael Hogan found the film, "so self-referential and in-jokey that the franchise is in grave danger of eating itself."
He added: "It frequently felt more like Victoria Wood's wobbly-setted soap spoof Acorn Antiques than a proper production."
IGN's Matt Fowler writes that it is "often shockingly awful" and concludes: "Sharknado 3 is bad, as it should be. As it must be.
"I only wonder how much time we're all willing to devote to something that's now totally awful by demand."
Fans can vote for what they want to see happen in Sharknado 4 on Twitter or on Syfy's dedicated website.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! airs on Syfy in the UK at 22:00 BST on Thursday 23 July. | A fourth instalment of cult TV movie phenomenon Sharknado has been confirmed, with fans getting to decide what happens next. |
39,218,705 | Michael Lane denies murdering Shana Grice, 19, who was found with her throat slit in her torched bedroom.
Lewes Crown Court heard he stalked the teenager after she renewed a relationship with a former boyfriend.
Emma King told jurors her housemate woke one night to find Mr Lane looming over her bed.
A phone conversation the day after between the former couple was played to the court, in which the victim asked why he had taken the key.
Mr Lane, 27, replied: "I wanted to see you and to talk to you. I knew you would not let me in."
"You could have flipped at any point... I think it's so wrong... You could have done anything... While I'm sleeping, it's just weird," Ms Grice responded.
Mr Lane said: "I'm sorry I'm just not right in the head, if I was I would not have done that."
He was arrested later that day and given a police caution.
Ms King said following the incident, they bolstered security at their house in Portslade, East Sussex, and changed all the locks.
The prosecution asserts Mr Lane was "obsessed" with Miss Grice and slit the teenager's throat before setting fire to her bedroom in Chrisdory Road in August.
The court heard the defendant, of Thornhill Rise, Portslade, refused to accept their break-up and had decided no-one else would be allowed to form a relationship with Miss Grice.
Ms King said he often followed her former housemate and added: "Shana said that he was bothering her, that he liked her and kept texting her and would not leave her alone."
The trial continues. | A man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend stole a key to her house in order to watch her as she slept, a court heard. |
40,677,518 | Fairweather defeated his fellow Irish amateur international Tiarnon McLarnon and Irish Boys international Mulligan in a play-off to win the amateur event.
With Mulligan the leading Under-18, he also earns an NI Open spot.
Fairweather's win came four days after he lost in the North of Ireland Final.
The Belfast man shot rounds of 72 and 74 to tie on four-over 146 with McLarnon (77, 69) and Mulligan (69,77).
Fairweather was leading by one playing the final hole in the 36-hole strokeplay event but lost his ball off the tee.
The 26-year-old eventually made a bogey six to force a play-off with Massereene's 2015 winner McLarnon and Mulligan.
The new champion didn't make the same mistake in sudden death after hitting a long drive down the fairway before firing a seven-iron onto the green to set up a two-putt birdie from 20 feet.
McLarnon missed a five-footer for his birdie, while Mulligan lost a ball off the tee, and though he still managed a par it was Fairweather who took the spoils.
"My putting wasn't up to scratch but I struck the ball very well and still managed to get it round. I'm over the moon to win here today and claim a place in the NI Open," said Fairweather, who will now tee it up alongside the professionals in the Galgorm Resort & Spa-sponsored Northern Ireland Open from 10-13 August.
Although Mulligan lost out in the play-off, the 17-year-old had already secured the second NI Open place up for grabs for the leading under-18.
"It's great, I came here to secure the under-18 invite," said the Leinster player, who also represented Great Britain & Ireland Boys in the Jacques Leglise Trophy in 2016.
This year's Northern Ireland Open introduces a new Shootout Sunday, which will see the leading 24 players after Saturday's action compete in six-hole strokeplay match play games in a knockout format. | Knock's Colin Fairweather and Laytown & Bettystown Thomas Mulligan clinched the Northern Ireland Open spots available at Tuesday's Northern Ireland Amateur Open at Galgorm Castle. |
40,766,961 | The visitors made the perfect start when Dorrans' drive deflected in off Ben Heneghan in the fourth minute.
The impressive Josh Windass hit the post and bar, but Motherwell responded and Heneghan headed in at the far post.
Louis Moult's careless elbow on Fabio Cardoso allowed Dorrans to convert the penalty, but Ryan Bowman and Alex Fisher missed chances to equalise.
The hosts remain without a league victory against Rangers since Boxing Day 2002, that sorry sequence now extending to 38 matches.
In what was an engrossing game, Rangers had a dream start when they scored after only four minutes. Bruno Alves crossed deftly for Kenny Miller, who headed it down for Dorrans, making his league debut for Pedro Caixinha's men, to drive home his first of the day.
Motherwell were a calamity at the back last season, conceding more goals than any other team bar relegated Inverness. They had to hang on to avoid going another one behind in the early minutes at Fir Park.
Rangers were full of running, repeatedly got in behind their hosts and threatened every time they poured forward, which was often.
Windass was terrific on the left. Motherwell didn't have a notion what to do about him. In the 20th minute he scampered free, beat a couple of men and curled a gorgeous shot on to Trevor Carson's post. Later, he saw another wonderful effort come slapping back off the crossbar.
By then, of course, Motherwell were level. This was a regular feature of Rangers' season last time around, an inability to force home their superiority and convert it into goals.
They had other chances but what they also had was a vulnerability down both flanks, particularly on their right where Lee Hodson toiled in the face of Elliott Frear.
Motherwell weathered the Rangers storm and started building their confidence. Moult volleyed one over, then Craig Tanner slid a half-chance wide.
The equaliser came just before the break when Alves conceded a needless free-kick which Tanner put in the box.
Rangers were all over the place in trying to deal with it. Wes Foderingham stood rooted to his line. None of his defenders took charge either. It was Heneghan's desire and desperation to get to the ball that counted, the big defender getting enough on a diving header to beat Foderingham.
In the midst of all of this Motherwell had a shout for a penalty when a Frear cross looked to come off Hodson's arm.
A penalty was awarded, but it didn't go to the hosts, it went to the visitors when Cardoso was elbowed in the side of the neck by Moult. Referee Bobby Madden was emphatic in pointing to the spot - and he was right. Dorrans took the penalty and he got it right, too.
Motherwell were always in this, though. Rangers' slackness in possession and frailty in defence guaranteed it.
From a Cadden delivery from the right, Bowman came painfully close to levelling it again. With four minutes left, Rangers had to scramble again when Fisher pounced on a loose ball just outside the six-yard box only to see his shot deflect away for a corner off Foderingham. It was a glorious chance.
Rangers saw it out for a hard-fought and desperately needed win. For Pedro Caixinha, relief that they didn't buckle in the end-game. For Stephen Robinson, frustration but also some optimism. Fine game, fine margin.
Match ends, Motherwell 1, Rangers 2.
Second Half ends, Motherwell 1, Rangers 2.
Attempt missed. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Richard Tait (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Richard Tait (Motherwell).
Josh Windass (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Cedric Kipre (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alfredo Morelos (Rangers).
Attempt missed. Ben Heneghan (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box is too high.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Fábio Cardoso.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Fábio Cardoso.
Attempt missed. Alex Fisher (Motherwell) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Fábio Cardoso.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Wes Foderingham.
Attempt saved. Alex Fisher (Motherwell) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Cedric Kipre (Motherwell).
Substitution, Rangers. Alfredo Morelos replaces Eduardo Herrera.
Attempt missed. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Graham Dorrans (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Chris Cadden (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Graham Dorrans (Rangers).
Substitution, Motherwell. George Newell replaces Andy Rose.
Ben Heneghan (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Ben Heneghan (Motherwell).
Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Rangers. Danny Wilson replaces Kenny Miller.
Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box.
Ryan Bowman (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Fábio Cardoso (Rangers).
Substitution, Motherwell. Alex Fisher replaces Louis Moult.
Foul by Ben Heneghan (Motherwell).
Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Louis Moult (Motherwell).
Bruno Alves (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Cedric Kipre.
Foul by Trevor Carson (Motherwell).
Kenny Miller (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Fábio Cardoso (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. | Graham Dorrans scored twice as Rangers began their Scottish Premiership campaign with victory at Motherwell. |
34,748,996 | The presidential hopeful wrote in his 1996 autobiography, Gifted Hands, that he had been offered a full scholarship by the prestigious school.
But the academy said it had no record of an application from Mr Carson.
His team has denied that he lied about West Point, saying the academy effectively offered him a place.
In his book, Mr Carson recalls a meeting in 1969 when he was a high school student in Detroit enrolled in the ROTC programme, which provides preliminary officer training for students.
Then 17 years old, he dined with the decorated general, William Westmoreland, and says in his book that a "full scholarship" was subsequently offered.
Whether any of this will adversely affect Mr Carson's standing in the Republican presidential race is an open question.
The retired neurosurgeon has made condemnations of the media and "PC culture" a standard part of his campaign rhetoric, so he may already be immunised against perceived attacks from the mainstream press.
In last week's Republican debate on CNBC, a moderator who pressed Mr Carson to respond to allegations that he had close ties to a controversial nutrition supplement company was roundly booed by the partisan audience.
"They know," Mr Carson concluded. And they very well may continue to stand by their man.
The bizarro-world of Carson denials
But his campaign team on Friday, after inquiries by Politico, said he never applied to join the academy and the scholarship assertion was based on "conversations" he had.
"His senior commander was in touch with West Point and told Dr Carson he could get in, Dr Carson did not seek admission," campaign spokesman Doug Watts told Reuters in an email.
The confusion comes as other parts of Mr Carson's personal story related in his book have also been questioned.
He has stood by his assertion in the autobiography that in his youth he was prone to sudden violent rages that he has overcome as an adult.
In one episode, he lunged with a knife at a close friend but fortunately struck his friend's belt buckle.
The retired neurosurgeon has made much of his struggling childhood while on the campaign trail.
Mr Carson is the joint frontrunner in the Republican presidential race with businessman Donald Trump, who wasted no time in capitalising on the latest story.
Mr Trump tweeted: "Wow, one of many lies by Ben Carson! Big story." | Republican Ben Carson has admitted that he never applied to join the US military academy at West Point, despite implications in his book that he had. |
38,466,327 | Arlene Foster was enterprise minister when she set up the botched RHI scheme in 2012.
A lack of cost controls left taxpayers facing an unexpected £490m bill.
Sinn Féin, the UUP and SDLP have called on Mrs Foster to step down after her Democratic Unionist Party released RHI letters she wrote to banks in 2013.
Mrs Foster has been criticised over the scheme's over-generous subsidies, which were greater than the cost of the fuel and meant the more claimants burned, the more public money they could earn.
In her letter to the Ulster Bank, dated 7 January 2013, Mrs Foster said she was "writing to encourage you to look favourably on approaches from businesses that are seeking finance to install renewable technologies".
"The government support, on offer through the incentive schemes, is reliable, long term and offers a good return on investment."
Her letter also added: "Tariffs are 'grandfathered' providing certainty for investors by setting a guaranteed support level for projects for their lifetime in a scheme, regardless of future reviews."
The existence of Mrs Foster's RHI letters to banks was reported by the Sunday World, but their contents were not public knowledge until her correspondence was released to the News Letter by the DUP on Thursday.
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Mike Nesbitt said his party had asked that the letters be released under a Freedom of Information request and he claimed the correspondence "now appears to have been leaked by the DUP".
Mr Nesbitt said Mrs Foster had played a "central role" in setting up the RHI scheme and accused her of "incompetence".
"Aside from the important question of the propriety of the DUP releasing government papers, the letter makes clear that Mrs Foster was across every important detail, or 'jot and tittle' of RHI, and wrote to the banks to inform them that in terms of the 20 years of the RHI subsidy, the only way was up, in that the levels were guaranteed to be adjusted only to account for inflation."
The health minister, Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin, called on the first minister to "stand aside to facilitate an independent investigation" into the RHI scheme.
"Revelations that Arlene Foster had written to banks asking them to support the RHI scheme is further evidence of the need for an independent, time-framed, robust and transparent investigation into the whole RHI debacle," she added.
"That investigation should be undertaken by an independent judicial figure from outside this jurisdiction and be appointed by the Attorney General.
"Arlene Foster should stand aside to facilitate that judicial led investigation until it brings forward a preliminary report.
"This is what is required to restore public confidence in the assembly and the political institutions."
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also urged Mrs Foster to "stand aside" as first minister, pending a public inquiry into the RHI scheme.
"I am again urging the first minister - abide by the will of the assembly," he said.
"Listen to the will of the public. Stand aside and begin to restore faith in our institutions."
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said: "With the release of the 7th January 2013 letters to banks from Arlene Foster, it turns out Mrs Foster was actively promoting the scheme with banks so that they would lend to those installing RHI boilers.
"This points to a far greater ministerial attachment to this scheme than hitherto has been admitted.
"Moreover, as these letters stressed the long term security of the tariffs - guaranteeing the tariffs would be exempt from downward movement - it further underscores ministerial knowledge and satisfaction with that situation - to the detriment of the taxpayer."
Mr Allister added that the need for a "full judicial inquiry is more imperative than ever".
In a statement on Friday, a spokesman for the Department for Economy said that when Mrs Foster wrote to the banks in January 2013, the statement about the non-domestic RHI "was entirely consistent with the department's [DETI] then understanding, ie. that the rate of return would be at a level of 12%.
"At that time, the department [DETI] had not recognised the much higher rate of return due to a misunderstanding that the tariff was lower than the market price.
"Indeed, action to encourage uptake was being considered as there was an underspend. Such action, including the letters to the banks, would have been entirely reasonable and appropriate, but for the design flaws in the scheme which had not been recognised by DETI at the time when these letters issued." | The first minister faces a renewed call to resign after it was revealed she wrote to banks encouraging support for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. |
34,847,462 | The Swiss six-time champion won 7-5 6-2, ensuring he will progress from the group stage with one match remaining.
Djokovic, winner of the past three season-ending titles in London, had won his previous 38 indoor matches.
The Serb will play Tomas Berdych in his final group match on Thursday and can still qualify for the last four.
Federer will play Japan's Kei Nishikori, who beat Berdych 7-5 3-6 6-3 in the afternoon session.
"It's always a thrill to come out here, even more so against a great player like Novak," said the 17-time Grand Slam champion.
"It's a special night for tennis, and a cool atmosphere."
The packed O2 Arena crowd of more than 17,000 spectators was largely behind Federer, as ever, but even the 34-year-old's most diehard fans must have been surprised by a straight-set win.
Djokovic, 28, had not been beaten anywhere since he lost to the Swiss in Cincinnati three months ago, and the world number one's last defeat at the O2 came in 2011.
His form dipped dramatically after a tight first set, with the Serb winning just 25% of points on his first serve and searching for his usual metronomic accuracy.
"You have those days when you are not feeling your best, not even close to the best," said Djokovic.
"Credit to Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a different ball. He used the slice and spin very wisely. He served very efficiently.
"I made a lot of, lot of unforced errors. I just handed him the win, especially in the second set."
Federer had to fend off a break point in the opening game but the next 40 minutes saw both men dominant on serve.
With a tie-break looming it was Federer who made the decisive move, missing a forehand on his first set point but playing a fabulous half-volley to convert the second.
A rash of attacking returns saw the Swiss move into a 2-0 lead in the second set but he then handed it straight back with an edgy service game.
The expected Djokovic fightback did not materialise though - instead the Serb played a dreadful service game and could only watch as a rasping Federer backhand made it 4-2, a lead he would not relinquish.
"The tactic was to mix it up, I have to against Djokovic," said Federer. "I hit it well out wide today. I knew it was an important serve to get Novak off the court."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Eighth seed Nishikori let an early lead slip and saved a break point in the deciding set before beating Berdych 7-5 3-6 6-3.
Berdych recovered from an error-strewn start that left him a set and a break down to move within sight of victory with a break point at 3-3 in the decider.
"I think it's been all about one point in the third set when I had the break point," said the Czech sixth seed.
"I had him on the run. The rally starts pretty well for me, but I was not able to break him. Then I lost my serve. Basically, that was it. That was the difference."
Nishikori said: "That was a really big point. He had three, four shots that he went really aggressive.
"I was on defence all the time. The last shot I kind of went for it, closed my eyes. I was a little bit lucky I made that shot."
In the doubles, Britain's Jamie Murray and Australian John Peers suffered their first defeat at the event in their second group match.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea of Romania won 6-3 7-6 (7-5) to secure the first semi-final place.
Murray and Peers won their opening round-robin match, so can still claim the second qualification spot.
They will take on Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in their final group match on Thursday.
"It's an exciting match to play," said Murray. "I guess we have to win if we want to try to stay in the competition.
"It will be nice to get out there and play with a full crowd again. They always bring a lot of energy to the court. We have to do the same if we want to try to win." | Roger Federer brought Novak Djokovic's three-year unbeaten run indoors to an end to secure a semi-final place at the ATP World Tour Finals. |
37,224,246 | A survey of 26,000 people, carried out for HM Inspector of Constabulary, found 36% had not seen a police officer on patrol over a period of 12 months.
Another 23% said they had seen police on foot only once or twice over a year.
The public perception of police was "vitally important" in having the confidence to report crime, HM Inspector Mike Cunningham said.
"We will continue to work with forces to improve the way in which they engage with members of the public to ensure that people are confident in reporting crime," he added.
The study, conducted last summer but published for the first time on Wednesday, was carried out by Ipsos Mori on behalf of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary to monitor public views of policing.
The research also found that:
The study questioned people aged over 16 years across the 43 police forces in England and Wales, between 15 July and 6 August 2015.
Mr Cunningham added: "We commissioned this survey in order to inform our inspection programme and have already begun to use these findings to inform the questions we ask of police forces."
The BBC has asked the Home Office for a response.
Last October, chairwoman of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Sara Thornton, and Craig Mackey, deputy commissioner of the Met Police, said the era of routine patrols by "bobbies on the beat" had come to an end.
They also said funding cuts would lead to a transformation in investigating crime, but the Home Office said at the time police reform was working and crime was falling.
Police budgets in England and Wales were protected in real terms in the former Chancellor George Osborne's Spending Review last November. | More than a third of people in England and Wales have not seen a bobby on the beat for a year, research suggests. |
40,917,550 | Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said women were being accepted after the military received "hundreds of letters" expressing interest in enrolling.
There will be 15 women in the first group, which starts training in October, Mr Shoigu said.
During WWII, Russian female pilots were known as "Stalin's Falcons". German troops called them "Night Witches".
This new generation of fighter pilots will be trained at the Krasnodar military aviation school, in the south of the country.
The academy has been accepting women since 2009, the state news agency Tass reported, but not for pilot training. | Russia is to accept female fighter pilots into its Air Force for the first time since the World War Two. |
28,846,954 | He curled a brilliant 38th-minute free-kick low into the bottom corner, but injured his hamstring in the process and limped off just two minutes later.
Mickey Demetriou should have made it 2-0 but made a mess of his effort, while Scott Vernon's shot hit the bar.
Chris Wood headed against the post for Leicester, then nodded wide late on.
Shrewsbury entertain Championship Norwich in the third round.
The three-times League Cup winners appeared to lack urgency against the lower league opposition, whose goal only came under threat on a handful of occasions.
Riyad Mahrez, who was excellent for the Foxes towards the end of their promotion run last season, produced a fine save from Jayson Leutwiler, before the Swiss goalkeeper kept out Marcin Wesilewski's hooked volley.
Shrewsbury scored the only goal seven minutes before half-time, when Mangan struck a free-kick into the bottom corner.
But, even without Mangan, the League Two side also went close through James Collins, who forced a good save from Ben Hamer.
The former Charlton keeper also pushed an effort from left-back Demetriou over the bar.
Vernon's strike from 10 yards then came back off the woodwork before Demetriou scuffed his shot wide after being teed up by Collins. But the Town hung on to claim their first win on a Premier League ground.
Foxes manager Nigel Pearson told BBC Radio Leicester:
"They created chances and good luck to them, but my focus is on our performance and I expected better.
"We take cup competitions seriously and I'm annoyed with the fashion of our exit. We didn't show enough aggression and we need to strengthen.
"When you get disappointing results, you've got to look at how you go about using it as a learning experience. The players should understand by now exactly what is expected, and clearly tonight it wasn't enough."
Town manager Micky Mellon told BBC Radio Shropshire:
"These are the nights that are special and you've really got to savour them. When you take a League Two club to a Premier League club and knock them out, it's got to be right up there.
"It wasn't just the victory. It was the way we got the victory. The way we passed, the way we defended. We were fantastic, and fully deserved it. And it was some goal to win it. A terrific strike. But, if I'm honest, I think we could have had a few more.
"Whatever anyone says, however many changes Leicester made, they had guys out there who play in the Premier League, and I want to make sure my players get the pat on the back they deserve." | Andy Mangan's first-half effort for Shrewsbury Town proved decisive as the League Two side stunned Leicester to reach the Capital One Cup third round. |
40,484,239 | Derry were thumped 6-1 in the first leg of the first qualifying round tie between the sides last week.
"People talk about restoring pride but I am full of pride because, maybe barring two players, everybody put in a shift in Denmark," said Shiels.
"We need everybody working hard and showing they have full commitment."
"If we are going to get beaten we should be beaten by a team that is superior to us. All it takes is one or two players to be off and not commit themselves for us to be in trouble," added the Derry boss.
The League of Ireland side were outclassed by their opponents in the first leg but Shiels is not overly critical of his side's performance.
"We are looking to make it a more competitive game to give us a boost going into Sunday's league match with Sligo and if the supporters can get behind us it will help us enormously.
"We didn't play badly in the first leg. We had periods of the game when we were very, very good and matched them but we just couldn't contain the mobility of their front four. They were so prolific and prominent in the last third of the pitch.
"Hopefully we can address that and see ways in which we can nullify it.
"They have physical prowess way beyond us in terms of stature and physique but we have to stand up to them and be professional."
The home side will be without injured duo Aaron Barry and Conor McDermott, while Dean Jarvis is a fitness concern.
Shiels will make a decision on Barry McNamee's potential involvement after taking medical advice and taking into account that the Candystripes have another game in three days' time. | Derry City manager Kenny Shiels says his players must show full commitment if they are to "repair some damaged morale" against Danes FC Midtjylland. |
35,512,034 | Civilian casualties were reported after what residents said was light resistance from the militants.
The AU on Friday denied on Friday it has lost control of Merca, saying it had made a tactical withdrawal.
Al-Shabab was forced out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011 but still has a presence in large areas of the south.
A Somali military official told AFP news agency: "The Somali forces and Amisom [AU] peacekeepers secured control of Merca again and now the situation has returned to normal.
"There was brief exchange of gunfire, but the militants have fled."
He said "several" al-Shabab fighters and one Somali soldier had been killed in the fighting. A resident told AFP that four civilians had died in his area.
The fighting comes three weeks after al-Shabab overran an AU military base outside the southern Somali town of el-Ade, saying they had killed about 100 Kenyans soldiers. | The Somali military, backed by the African Union (AU), has retaken Merca from al-Shabab militants who seized the port city on Friday, residents say. |
34,571,070 | Odeon and Picturehouse said their sites were affected, with Picturehouse saying it had seen "unprecedented" demand.
Some people took to Twitter to complain about sites crashing.
However a Vue spokesman said it had sold 10,000 tickets in 90 minutes, adding "our customers continue to purchase online with ease".
The new film, which hits cinema screens on 17 December, is one of the most anticipated titles of the year.
It reunites stars from the original trilogy of films including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.
Advance tickets went on sale this morning, but the volume of people trying to buy them was too high for website servers to cope.
'Massive traffic'
Picturehouse spokesman Gabriel Swartland said: "We're working on it, we've had an unprecedented demand for tickets."
He said the last title to cause such a surge in demand was a screening of the Barbican's production of Hamlet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
"We've had concurrent bookings in the thousands," he said. "On the plus side we already have sell outs. We expect it to calm down later in the day."
An Odeon spokesman said: "We're seeing massive traffic to our website this morning as guests book ahead for Spectre and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
"We knew this morning would be very busy and did as much as we could to prepare. Thousands of guests have already successfully bought their tickets.
"There have been some booking delays in the initial peak, but our website is now returning to normal speed."
Ailsa Scott said on Twitter: "Is 'I'm sorry, I was trying to book Star Wars tickets but the Odeon site kept crashing' a valid excuse for being late for work?"
Joel Tennant added: "The Force is not strong with the Odeon website today. Took Yoda's advice too literally they did; load or do not, there is no try." | Huge demand for tickets to the first screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens has put a strain on cinema websites. |
35,100,968 | US artist Ally Burguieres complained on Facebook after Swift used a wrongly-credited drawing of a fox identical to one of her watercolour designs.
Swift removed the image but the artist claims she took months to compensate her, that it wasn't enough and she was told she had to give it charity.
Swift's representatives say Ms Burguieres is just seeking publicity.
They also say the singer was just sharing a piece of work, that Ms Burguieres had been more than fairly compensated and that no stipulation of a donation was made.
"Notwithstanding the huge publicity this has generated for Ms Burguieres and her store, in early November, Ms Swift's office made a fair offer of payment well above a reasonable licensing fee for the short time that the fan art was posted online," the representative told Rolling Stone.
Swift used the hand-drawn image on social media alongside the lyrics to the track I Know Places, which features the lyrics: "They are the hunters we are the foxes and we run…"
In her Facebook post, the New Orleans artist wrote: "I am a professional artist. With years of work and support from customers, friends, and family, I have built a business around my designs.
"As a professional artist, I was astonished to see you use one of my most popular designs on all your official social media platforms as part of your promotions for 1989.
"The design was a copy, and with someone else's name signed to it. I was devastated."
Ms Burguieres added that Swift would not herself agree to the "four-figure" compensation amount or to the charity donation terms.
"Taylor, as a professional, would you agree to such terms from Apple, or Spotify?" said Ms Burguieres, referring to the fact Taylor took her music off the music streaming service Spotify and confronted Apple about artist payments.
Swift's team told Rolling Stone: "We have tried on multiple occasions to address Ms Burguieres' concerns, but these actions make it clear to us that this is just an unfortunate effort to extract more money and more publicity."
The row over the fox painting is the latest in a line of recent copyright and legal wrangles involving Swift.
Last month Swift paid an undisclosed sum to a US clothing company to settle a legal dispute over her use of its Lucky 13 name.
A judge also threw out a claim by US R&B singer Jesse Braham that Swift copied the words from his 2013 song called Haters Gone Hate for her hit Shake It Off.
And in October, Swift filed a counterclaim against a US radio DJ who is suing her over allegations he groped her backstage at a concert in June 2013. | Singer Taylor Swift has been accused of wrongfully using an artist's work to promote her album 1989. |
32,314,176 | Emergency services were called to a disturbance at Gwyrddgoed Road, Pontardawe, at 17:45 BST on Tuesday.
The 63-year-old victim was taken to hospital where her condition is serious but stable.
Her daughter, 32, is in custody and anyone with information should call South Wales Police on 101. | Police are continuing to investigate a serious incident which saw a mother airlifted to hospital after being stabbed and her daughter arrested. |
31,564,846 | Under a deal agreed on Friday, the list must be approved by the international creditors in order for Greece to secure a four-month extension of its bailout.
"We won a battle, not the war," Mr Tspiras said on Saturday.
The deal is widely regarded as a major climb down for the PM, who won power vowing to reverse budget cuts.
He hailed the agreement as a "decisive step" that "achieved much" towards ending austerity, but added: "We have a long and difficult road ahead."
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says the government is engaged in a hard sell to the Greek people over the deal with eurozone ministers and the IMF in Brussels.
The Greek cabinet is discussing the potential list of reforms, which must be approved before eurozone members ratify the bailout extension on Tuesday.
Analysts say a collapse of the deal would revive fears of an exit from the euro, a so-called "grexit" - something both the EU and Greece say they want to avoid.
Mark Lowen, BBC News, Athens
After the late-night deal comes the hard sell to the Greek public. A government elected by promising to reverse austerity and end the bailout has had a major climb-down.
It has had to accept supervision by its creditors - no moves without EU agreement - and a loan programme with conditions.
To its voters, the government will stress that it now has a say in which reforms it is willing to make.
The hard-left of the party won't like it, but the centre ground will, and Greece has staved off euro-exit for now. That is the success that the government will trumpet. But it is limited.
Saved from disaster - for two days
Linda Yueh: A deal, for now
Personality clash at heart of negotiations
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stressed on Friday that there would be no payment of new funds to Greece until the conditions of the deal had been met.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said he would work night and day until Monday to devise the list of reforms.
"If the list of reforms is not agreed, this agreement is dead," he admitted.
Greece's liberal daily Kathimerini warned on Saturday of "stifling" conditions attached to the deal in Brussels while the centre-left Ta Nea said both sides had made "compromises".
The Greek Communist Party (KKE) accused the coalition, which is led by its far-left rivals Syriza, of extending the bailout without getting the loan conditions changed.
"Ultimately the bill will be footed by the people, as it happened with all previous governments," KKE leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas said.
The government is already in trouble with its voters for seeking the bailout extension at all - something it swore it would never do.
On the streets of Athens, reaction to the deal in Brussels was mixed.
"I think it was positive in the sense that at least for now we can relax a bit," one man, Nikos, told the BBC. "We will have to wait see what will happen next."
But another man, Costas, dismissed the deal as a "somersault that the whole world will remember".
Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said on Friday night that the deal was a "very important" step in the process of rebuilding trust between Greece and its creditors - the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF. | Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned of "real difficulties" ahead, as his government faces a Monday deadline to submit a list of reforms to lenders. |
37,190,469 | A breakthrough that could have a huge implications for the tech industry.
Magnets made of "rare earth metals" are a vital part of almost every gadget from mobile phones to computer hard drives.
But most of the world's supply of rare earth metals is found in China. So being able to recycle them wouldn't just be greener it would also secure companies a new source of essential materials that would be outside the control of the Chinese government.
Traditional ways of recycling are pretty destructive.
You tear apart your gadget and then sift through what's left looking for the bits your want.
The problem with rare earth magnets is as soon as you start the shredding the magnet will just shatter and then stick to any bits of metal it can find.
The end result is tiny chunks of rare earth metals that are just impossible to retrieve from the mess.
But Prof Rex Harris from the University of Birmingham has a clever solution to all this.
Years ago, he discovered if you pass hydrogen over a rare earth magnet the magnet expands and the turns into a powder. Usefully the resulting powder isn't magnetic at all. It doesn't stick to anything.
Now for a long time this was just an interesting fact about an interesting group of elements. But as rare earths grew to become such a key part of modern life it became apparent this interesting fact could be the secret to recycling them.
And Dr Alan Walton and his team at the University of Birmingham have now managed to recycle rare earths on a scale where industry have begun to take notice.
At this stage the researchers have been focusing on computer hard drives. We already recycle about 100 million of these a year, mainly to get at the aluminium they contain.
The rare earths, because they just stick to everything, are impossible to recover.
But as part of this work a robot has been created that can identify the corner of each hard drive where the 25g of rare earth magnets are buried and then saw it off.
You then put the corners into a big drum (which actually comes from a washing machine!) and pass hydrogen gas over them. The rare earth magnets turn to powder and since they are no longer magnetic when you tumble the drum out drops all the powder.
The end result can then be made back into the first ever recycled rare earth magnets.
All of this has been proved to work on a commercial scale, so the hope is to get companies interested in the technology and using it within the next year or so. As well as being greener and cutting waste this also offers firms a new revenue stream.
Of course the other benefit is it offers a useful source of rare earth metals from outside China. People have in the past said rare earths are the oil of the twenty first century and China have built a hugely dominate position in the industry. This would offer an alternative.
Finally, like much of the research I talk about this is a huge project that involves lots of different scientists, companies and groups right across Europe. | Scientists in Birmingham have found a new way to recycle the very important metals found in almost every type of modern technology. |
28,118,405 | By Neil GallacherBBC South West Business Correspondent
I understand that there is no suggestion of gross misconduct, or dishonesty, or of what was described to me as "impropriety".
Clearly there are serious concerns of some sort, or Professor Purcell wouldn't have been suspended.
But this does help to clarify things, because until now there was no hint at all as to why she had been "placed on leave".
What should we make of this?
Some business leaders are concerned that if the university looks shaky at the top, the impressive investment that's been going on there could start to dry up.
On the other hand, the South West Devon MP Gary Streeter told us that he trusts the governors completely, and if there's a process to be gone through, he's happy for them to go through it.
University governors said Wendy Purcell's position was unchanged and her deputy, Professor David Coslett, would temporarily act up.
The BBC understands there has been a "serious clash of personalities".
The governors said they were not able to go into any more detail during the review, asking for the "confidentiality of the situation to be respected".
Professor Purcell, who earned more than £288,000 in 2013, was a graduate of Plymouth University in 1985 with a degree in biological science.
She was appointed vice-chancellor and chief executive of the university in December 2007.
A university statement said: "As you would expect from a world-ranked university with a strong and distinguished reputation, the executive team will ensure core business continues to be focused on the delivery of a first-class experience for our students.
"We also continue to work with partners and stakeholders for the benefit and interests of the city and wider region." | The vice-chancellor of Plymouth University has been suspended pending a review. |
21,218,003 | On Saturday Malian and French forces seized Gao, another key northern city.
The advance comes as African Union leaders are meeting to discuss sending more troops to Mali.
Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.
Late on Saturday French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Malian and French troops would arrive "near Timbuktu soon".
Overnight they secured Gao - northern Mali's most populous city- after special forces captured the airport and a strategic bridge to the south.
Most militants appear to have fled into desert hide-outs and the hunt for them may prove more difficult once all major towns are secure, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako.
Why do we know Timbuktu?
Troops from Niger and Chad are to assist Malian forces in further securing the town.
Also overnight, French forces bombed Islamist position in Kidal, Malian officials say.
An army source told AFP news agency that the home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali, had been destroyed in a raid.
African Union leaders are holding a summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, as members move to deploy troops to help the French-led operation there.
Outgoing AU chairman Boni Yayi on Sunday hailed France for its military intervention, saying it was something "we should have done a long time ago to defend a member country".
In a statement on Saturday, the AU said it wanted to make "an African Standby Force" operational in Mali soon.
African states have pledged nearly 5,700 troops to support French and Malian forces in their campaign. Only a small part of the African force has so far deployed.
On the sidelines of the Addis Ababa summit, the EU pledged 50m euros (£42.6m) to bolster the multinational force, saying a further 250m euros of development money would also be made available.
Meanwhile, the US said it would provide mid-air refuelling for French warplanes. The Pentagon said it had also discussed plans for the US to transport troops to Mali from countries including Chad and Togo.
Some 3,700 French troops are engaged in Operation Serval, 2,500 of them on Malian soil.
France intervened in its former colony after Islamist launched a push to the south earlier this month. Paris said the whole of Africa, and even Europe, was under threat if the Islamist offensive succeeded.
As French and Malian troops moved into Gao, Malian officials spoke of scenes of joy, but also some looting.
Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said ahead of the summit in Addis Ababa: "This terrorist group intends to spread its criminal purpose over the whole of Mali, and eventually target other countries."
The AU has recommended civilian observers monitor the human rights situation in the areas which have come back under the control of the Malian government.
Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of committing serious abuses.
Islamist groups and secular Tuareg rebels took advantage of chaos following a military coup to seize northern Mali in April 2012. But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs. | French-led forces in Mali are advancing on the key northern city of Timbuktu, as they press on with their offensive against Islamist rebels. |
33,376,352 | The regulator said late on Thursday that it would be looking into whether parties were mis-selling financial products.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index has slumped about 30% since mid-June, wiping out most of this year's gains.
Any criminal cases will be transferred to the police, the regulator said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said it would base its investigation on reports of abnormal market movements from the stock market and futures exchanges.
The Shanghai exchange, one of the best performing in the world, more than doubled its value in the last 12 months. But the recent losses have wiped out trillions of dollars of share value, said the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.
Some reports have accused overseas investors of driving prices down by short-selling stocks on Chinese bourses, meaning they were betting on stocks falling.
The China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) has suspended 19 accounts from short-selling for a month, reports Reuters news agency, citing unnamed sources.
However, analysts say the slump was triggered by concerns over inflated valuations and is a correction in the market, which had risen by 150% in the last year.
An editorial in the state-run Global Times has denied that overseas investors, who have limited access to Chinese markets, were manipulating stocks.
"Foreign capital has only a small part of the Chinese stock market," it said. "Large-scale short selling by foreign investors in the Chinese stock market has not appeared and is an unlikely scenario."
The sharp drop in the Shanghai Composite has already triggered policy moves over the past week, including a cut in the cost of borrowing and easing of margin lending rules, making it easier for brokerages to lend money.
However, these moves have failed to stop the sell-off, which is now starting to spill into commodity markets such as iron ore and steel. | China's securities regulator will investigate suspected manipulation of the stock market, state news agency Xinhua reports. |
34,244,087 | The man, who served two sentences at Chelmsford Prison, said he saw inmates pouring boiling water on each other.
Last year, a report said "bullying, low-level violence, and disobedience by prisoners" had increased.
A spokesman for the prison service said there was a "zero tolerance approach to violence".
The former prisoner, who wished to remain anonymous, said during his first stay a few years ago, "there was a lot more order" and he felt "quite safe".
"Last time I was there I saw about three violent incidents. This time there was violence every day," he said. "The whole place was just a shambles."
The ex-convict described a prisoner-on-prisoner attack in which a young inmate had boiling water poured over him while he was asleep, before being beaten with a metal rod.
"I know people have committed crimes, and they deserve to do their time, but people's lives are at stake in there," he said.
"There needs to be more staff. On a typical day, you'd look around on the wing, and there'd be 30 men on the floor and one officer with you."
Last year's report, by Chelmsford Independent Monitoring Board, also raised concerns about the "loss of a large number of experienced supervising officers and wing officers" having a "significant negative impact on the care and safety of prisoners".
In response to the former prisoner's claim, a prison service spokesman said: "We have a zero tolerance approach to violence in prisons and it can lead to offenders having time added to their sentence.
"We keep staffing levels under review and responded to recent pressures by recruiting over 1,700 additional prison officers nationally." | Inmates' lives could be at stake at a prison where concerns were raised about increasing levels of violence, an former convict has claimed. |
34,810,623 | They currently play in the Championship - English rugby's second tier - and the change comes into effect from 1 June.
The Moseley club name has been part of the history of rugby union since 1873, said a club statement.
"The board felt the name change will assist significantly in identifying the location of the club to the wider public," added chairman Dave Warren. | Moseley Rugby Club have announced that they will rebrand as Birmingham Moseley for the 2016-17 season. |
36,157,806 | Health Minister Maggie De Block said current rules requiring pills to be given within 20km (12 miles) of a reactor should be increased to 100km.
Belgium's neighbours have criticised the state of its nuclear reactors.
However, the minister said the change was as a result of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
An earthquake led to a tsunami and all three reactor cores largely melted down.
"Every country has updated its plans for a nuclear emergency," Ms De Block told Belgian TV.
Iodine tablets help to reduce the damage radiation does to the body after a nuclear accident.
People living near the Fukushima nuclear plant were handed the pills after a tsunami caused a radiation leak in 2011.
Radioactive iodine gathers in the thyroid gland and there it releases its energy and damages the tissue.
Ultimately this can culminate in cancer.
Taking the tablets fills the thyroid with stable iodine so there's no room for the radioactive material.
Of course they offer no protection against other radioactive elements such as caesium-137.
Health effects of radiation exposure
Germany calls for temporary nuclear shutdown in Belgium
Belgium has seven reactors, at Doel and Tihange, and a research reactor at Mol. But the advice also takes into account reactors in neighbouring countries including the Netherlands, which has a reactor at Borssele close to the Belgian border.
Ms De Block said pills would be given to the whole population because if a 100km circle was drawn from all the reactors in the region there was not one square centimetre of Belgium that was not covered.
The Dutch government updated its policy on iodine tablets last month, so that pregnant women and under-eighteens are given the pills within 100km of the Borssele and Doel reactors.
Earlier this month Belgium refused a German request to shut down two of its oldest reactors temporarily because of defects found in their pressure vessels.
Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks called for the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors to be taken offline because of a report by Germany's independent Reactor Safety Commission.
They were temporarily shut in 2012 when defects were found in the walls of the reactors' pressure vessels.
Belgian Green MP Jean-Marc Nollet welcomed the proposals for the whole population to be given the pills, but said it was not enough.
The risk would not disappear if Belgians were given pills, he said. The health, environmental and economic consequences of a nuclear accident would remain.
The change is expected to be finalised in June and pills will be handed out next year. | The Belgian government has agreed to distribute iodine pills to the country's entire population as a nuclear safety precaution. |
34,597,068 | In an overview of the performance of the NHS in 2014/15, Audit Scotland said the health service failed to meet seven out of nine key waiting time targets.
Problems around staffing have intensified, the report found.
Audit Scotland concluded this issue is "one of the biggest pressures facing the NHS today".
Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner said: "We have highlighted concerns around targets and staffing in previous reports.
"These have intensified over the past year as has the urgency for fundamental changes such as introducing new ways to deliver healthcare and developing a national approach to workforce planning.
"It is important that the Scottish government and health boards work closely together to help alleviate these pressures and also increase the pace of change necessary to meet its longer-term ambitions."
The report points out that rural health boards in particular are struggling to attract and retain employees.
As a result they have to pay inflated prices for temporary staff. Whilst it costs an average of £15.62 an hour for an internal 'bank' nurse, employing a similar nurse from an agency costs £42.97. In Orkney, the cost per hour is £84.05.
The report also says that the health budget as a whole has decreased slightly since 2008/9 by 0.7% once inflation and capital spending is taken into account.
Health boards - which are responsible for most frontline services - received a slight increase of 1%, but not enough to keep pace with cost pressures.
The cost of drugs alone rose by 4% and is expected to rise by 5-16% in future.
Ms Gardner said: "We all depend on the NHS and its staff who provide high-quality care. But it will not be able to provide services as it does at present due to the number of pressures it faces within the current challenging financial environment."
Despite the pressures, NHS Scotland managed to reach the end of the year with an underspend of £10m, or 0.09% of its total budget of £11.4bn. However, many health boards needed to make one-off savings or received loans from the Scottish government in order to break even.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said that since the report was written, the Scottish government has announced a £200m investment to create six new treatment centres to help health boards meet increasing demand for a growing elderly population.
Ms Robison added: "The Scottish government welcomes this annual contribution from Audit Scotland, which confirms the Scottish government has increased the frontline, resource spending on our NHS.
"The Scottish government has a clear vision for the future of our NHS and we will continue to take the right action to ensure that Scotland continues to have an NHS that it can be proud of today and in the future."
Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said: "The overriding message that must get through from this report is that substantive and realistic action is needed if our health service is to cope with the rapidly increasing pressures it is facing.
"As the report makes clear, increasing numbers of people are living longer lives, however, the amount of time that they will spend in need of support from the NHS is also growing.
"The NHS in Scotland is already coming under real strain as a result of these growing demands, continuing constraints on resources and increasing unfilled medical posts."
Royal College of Nursing Scotland associate director Ellen Hudson said: "If we are to put the NHS on a sustainable footing, then the government needs to take heed of the recommendations in this report and listen to what we and many other organisations have been saying for some time about the pressures on our health services."
Scottish Labour called the report "damning", adding the decrease in real terms of the budget shows the SNP has been cutting spending on health.
The party also highlighted that there has been a 53% increase in the use of private agency nursing staff, while 71% of vacancies for A&E staff were unfilled for more than six months.
Jackson Carlaw of the Scottish Conservatives commented: "We know about the pressures of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP government. Things are tough now and the service will deteriorate in the future if these problems are not dealt with now."
The Scottish Liberal Democrats said eight years of the SNP government has left the health service in "intensive care" while the Scottish Greens said the report revealed the Scottish government has not made sufficient progress towards its 2020 vision of more home and community-based healthcare settings. | Fundamental change is needed now if the NHS in Scotland is to cope with demand, according to the financial watchdog Audit Scotland. |
38,920,334 | Richard Jones, 31, from Llanwnnen, near Lampeter, was convicted of two counts of illegal dog breeding and 21 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs following two raids last June.
He was given a nine-week suspended sentence at Aberystwyth Justice Centre.
The prosecution was brought by Ceredigion council.
The court heard that Jones did not have a licence for breeding and, following a visit from officers, some of the dogs in his care were found in complete darkness with advanced chronic skin conditions.
One young puppy was so thin that it was close to death, the court heard.
Jones had been running a licensed premises known as "The Shed" near Lampeter with over 70 dogs from 2010.
Its license was renewed yearly until 2015 when the local authority decided not to renew it because of concerns.
The application was for 70 dogs to breed 40 litters a year.
In 2016, an application was not made by Jones, but he carried on breeding.
Searches of both his premises was carried out with 56 dogs found at "The Shed" and 38 puppies and 19 dogs found at Moelfre farm.
In all, 113 dogs were found suffering.
The animals were described by the vet who examined them as mentally stressed with no exercise or social contact, with many dogs homed on their own.
Many of the animals were described as dangerously thin, with one suffering from gangrene and septicaemia and close to death.
Jones' defence claimed he was devastated by the refusal for a licence in 2015 after making considerable investments at "The Shed" and felt he had been dealt with disproportionally by the local authority.
The court said all dogs should be removed from his premises by 2 March. | An illegal dog breeder from Ceredigion who left puppies languishing "close to death" has been banned from keeping animals for four years. |
37,173,888 | Erectile dysfunction drugs worth £500,000 were found in a garden shed after a raid at Atilla Fodor's property in Datchet, Slough.
Fodor, 38, was charged with importation and possession of unlicensed medicines with intent to supply and the supply of unlicensed medicines.
He was sentenced to 10 months in prison at Reading Crown Court.
An investigation carried out last year found Fodor had netted more than £27,000 from the illegally imported drugs.
They are only allowed to be sold on prescription in the UK.
Alastair Jeffrey, head of enforcement at Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said: "Selling unlicensed medicines is illegal and can pose a serious risk to health.
"Criminals involved in the illegal supply of medical products aren't interested in your health - they are only interested in your money.
"MHRA will continue to track down and prosecute those who put the public's health at risk." | A man who made nearly £30,000 selling doses of unlicensed Viagra-style drugs has been jailed. |
39,145,812 | A Crocodile Shark carcass was discovered on a beach at Hope Cove near Plymouth and was reported to the National Marine Aquarium.
Experts think the animal, normally found in tropical waters, may have died from the shock of UK's colder seas.
It is commonly found in Brazil and Australia growing to about 1m (3.3ft).
Steven Greenfields spotted the shark washed up on the beach while walking with his family.
Mr Greenfields said: "We regularly visit this beach and have never seen anything like this before. My whole family was stunned as the animal had really unusual features but was unmistakably a shark.
Because it was so unusual we consulted our local aquarium to confirm what species it was."
James Wright, curator at the National Marine Aquarium, said: "This species has never been recorded in the UK before, as it is normally found in deep waters during the day in tropical climates, such as Brazil and Australia, then coming shallower at night to feed.
"With the Crocodile Shark accustomed to much warmer waters, travelling so far and reaching colder waters would have caused a shock to its system and account for the cause of death.
"We would urge the public to share any other unusual sightings with us or The Shark Trust, so we can monitor any trends."
Paul Cox, managing director of the Shark Trust, said: "Any information that we can get is useful so it's great that this one has been reported and identified." | A tropical species of shark has been found on the UK coastline for the first time in recorded history, marine experts said. |
36,154,151 | Advertising revenues rose to $5.2bn, with more than 80% coming from mobile.
Facebook's focus on live video attracted new advertisers, while sales on existing services also grew.
Mark Zuckerberg also requested that a new class of stock should be issued, so he can donate money from his shares to charity while maintaining control of the firm he founded.
The company said the move would "encourage Mr Zuckerberg to remain in an active leadership role at Facebook".
The results hugely exceeded Wall Street's already sky-high expectations, and Facebook shares rose by more than 9% in after-hours trading.
Sales for the quarter reached $5.4bn, up from $3.5bn last year.
The increased focus on mobile advertising seems to have paid off, rising to 82% of the company's revenues for the first quarter of 2016, up from 73% during the same period last year.
Total monthly active users (MAU) increased 15% from a year earlier to 1.65 billion, beating analysts' expectations.
And each user earned the company more money, an average of $3.32 against $2.50 last year.
With Apple's iffy results yesterday, and the now-broken-record of Twitter continuing to struggle, it's Facebook taking the hopes of the tech world on its shoulders, and flourishing.
Wall Street is extremely tough on the world's biggest social network, a company which suffers from its own success. Even when Facebook warns about an Achilles heel, it seems to overcome it.
Remember when investors were worried about the transition to mobile? Well, it made $5.2bn from advertising in the last quarter - 82% of that was from mobile users. Some Achilles heel.
I'd been hoping we'd learn a little about the early sales of the Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset which went on sale towards the end of the quarter.
Sadly Facebook chose not to share specific figures on that.
Zuckerberg to give away 99% of shares
Facebook to pay millions more in UK tax
Facebook’s next big thing: Bots
Facebook enters transport business
On a call with investors, Facebook said it intended to continue buying other companies, but only those offering services that could be "ubiquitous".
Facebook has invested heavily in other firms - in 2012 it paid $1bn for the photo-sharing site Instagram.
But it is hard for investors to judge the success of such deals, as Facebook has not given details of earnings from the firms it has bought.
The announcement of the new share structure comes four months after Mr Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced they would give away 99% of their wealth.
The couple made the announcement after the birth of their daughter Max in December.
In a letter to Max on Facebook the pair said they would give the majority of their fortune to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative where it would be used to "advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation".
Mr Zuckerberg and Ms Chan plan to make the donations over the course of their lives. Under Facebook's current shareholder structure Mr Zuckerberg cannot do that without giving up control of the company he built. | Facebook shares have jumped after reporting a tripling of first quarter profits from a year earlier to $1.51bn. |
34,666,386 | Ministers plan to take 20,000 refugees by 2020 - a "huge change in the scale" of resettlement, according to Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz.
He said the committee was "concerned about our real level of preparedness and ability to increase capacity to manage such numbers at short notice".
The government said "careful planning" was needed to "ensure we get it right".
The committee said: "At no point in the recent past has the UK come near to resettling 4,000 refugees in one year."
A total of 2,204 Syrians applied for asylum in the UK in the 12 months up to the end of June 2015, according to the Home Office.
An additional 216 Syrian refugees were resettled under the government's Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme between January 2014 and mid-2015.
Mr Vaz said the refugee crisis had reached an "unimaginable scale" this summer.
"The generosity of the British public in offers of assistance and even space in their homes has not been accepted by ministers. This should be reconsidered," he said.
"Housing is likely to be one of the most difficult issues and it may be that, properly organised and supported, offers of private accommodation will be a helpful, viable and perhaps essential part of the solution."
Mr Vaz's comments come as the committee publishes a report on immigration, in which it recommends that the government sets out exactly how it plans to increase capacity for dealing with the influx of refugees.
The report's findings include:
20,000
more refugees will be resettled in the UK by 2020
4,980
Syrian asylum seekers have been allowed to stay since 2011
25,771 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to end June 2015
2,204 were from Syria
87% of Syrian requests for asylum were granted
145 Syrian asylum seekers have been removed from the UK since 2011
Commenting on the concern about the number of Syrian refugees the UK plans to accept, Richard Harrington, minister responsible for Syrian refugees, said the government planned to resettle 1,000 Syrians "by Christmas".
"We have already welcomed and successfully resettled a number of vulnerable people who were in desperate need of our help," he said.
"The scale of the expansion needs careful planning to ensure we get it right.
"That is why we are continuing to work closely with the UNHCR, local government associations, NGOs and partner organisations in order to resettle 20,000 people by the end of this Parliament."
He said there were plans to create a register of people willing to provide housing for refugees and to develop a "community sponsorship scheme" so members of the public and groups could give direct support.
What awaits refugees coming to the UK?
The refugees preparing for UK life
The children smuggled into the UK
EU migration: Crisis in graphics | The UK may not be prepared for the number of Syrian refugees the government plans to accept, MPs say. |
23,815,408 | Southern Water pleaded guilty to breaching its Environmental Permit at Foreness Point pumping station.
The Environment Agency said defective pumps led to several sewage discharges between January and June 2011.
Southern Water apologised and said it was struggling to deal with the amount of water arriving at Foreness Point in stormy weather.
Canterbury Crown Court was told the company frequently failed to notify the Environment Agency or the local food authority of the sewage discharges into the sea.
One of the breaches was on Easter Sunday 2011, when sewage was discharged on to the beach.
The Environment Agency said investigation into separate sewage leaks last year were still ongoing.
More than 20 beaches in Thanet had to be closed over the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend from 4 until 12 June.
Green Party councillor Ian Driver was on a scrutiny panel of Thanet Council which looked into the 2012 pollution incidents.
He said the £200,000 fine was too low.
"Last year Southern Water made profits of £331m so a £200,000 fine is hardly a deterrent considering the damage they caused," he said.
"There is the obvious environmental damage and the risk to health - that's a very serious issue.
"There's also huge damage to the local economy. People stop coming because they don't think the beaches are safe, so local traders lose money."
Southern Water said the majority of beaches in the Margate area continued to meet Blue Flag and European quality standards.
Director Geoff Loader said the fine should be taken in context with the £1.7m the company had spent addressing "extremely complex" issues at the pumping station.
"We have done some short-term improvements and we have some more things to do at a cost of £500,000," he said.
"Ultimately we might need to build a new pumping station.
"We are drawing up plans but that will have to go through planning permission and so on." | A water company has been fined £200,000 after untreated sewage was discharged into the sea off Margate. |
30,929,280 | Broadcast in January 2014, the first episode of the third series - which saw Sherlock apparently return from the dead - was requested 4.2 million times.
All three episodes in the 2014 Sherlock series were included in the top 10.
The second most-watched programme on the catch-up service was the opening episode of 2014's series of Top Gear, which took four of the top 10 slots.
The Burma special, which was later found to have breached broadcasting rules after Jeremy Clarkson used a racial slur, was the fourth most watched show on iPlayer last year.
The controversial Top Gear special in Argentina was the most popular iPlayer show over the UK's Christmas period - and 15th in the overall chart for most requested programmes across 2014.
Only BBC Three documentary Murdered by My Boyfriend, comedy Outnumbered and Doctor Who succeeded in breaking Sherlock and Top Gear's stranglehold on the top 10.
"Really thrilling to see Sherlock at the very top of the iPlayer ratings," said Sherlock co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
"We always knew he'd survive jumping off that building, but we never thought he'd fly so high."
The return of Sherlock to BBC One was watched by an average 9.2 million people when it first aired on New Year's Day last year.
Moffat's other major series - Doctor Who - made it into 10th place.
Deep Breath, which introduced new Doctor Peter Capaldi, was requested 2.8 million times.
Among shows which aired only on the iPlayer, Frankie Boyle's Referendum Autopsy - which looked at the outcome of the Scottish independence poll - was among the most popular online-only shows with 715,000 requests.
BBC figures releases earlier this month showed a 25% rise in demand for its iPlayer catch-up service, year on year.
Overall, the iPlayer had its biggest year yet with 3.5 billion requests for TV and radio programmes, up from 3.1 billion in 2013. | The return of Benedict Cumberbatch in BBC One's Sherlock was the most popular programme on iPlayer last year. |
28,301,440 | Ahead of the release of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) annual report, Christopher Graham said the body needed "stronger powers".
In the past year, the ICO issued £1.97m in penalties to companies found to breach data protection rules.
The report highlighted a high number of incidents involving local government.
"In particular, the disclosure of personal data in error," the report read.
In one example, a probation officer pleaded guilty to revealing the new address of a domestic violence victim to the alleged perpetrator. The officer was fined £150, and had to pay £280 in costs.
The ICO said it resolved 15,492 data protection complaints in the last financial year - a 10% rise on the previous 12 months. The number of calls to its advice helpline rose by more than 15%.
The ICO secured 12 criminal convictions and two cautions for the unlawful obtaining or disclosing of personal data.
In another incident, the ICO intervened when Staffordshire Police ran a Twitter campaign naming people charged with drink driving.
"Whilst releasing some details of people charged with criminal offences is acceptable," the ICO ruled, "using a hashtag '#drinkdrivers' is potentially misleading as it implies guilt."
One data security expert said that the ICO had a strong argument for deserving more funds.
"While penalties totalling £1,97m were issued, the ICO only collected £872,000, thanks to a combination of early payment reductions, appeals and impairments," said Chris McIntosh, chief executive of ViaSat UK.
"This is a situation that clearly favours those organisations with the resources to either reduce penalties through early payment or mount a challenge against a judgement.
"Yet with increased funding and powers, the ICO could not only make sure that penalties, financial or otherwise, matched the severity of an offence. It could make its investigations even more thorough: reducing the chances of appeals and making sure that its eventual judgement was both fair and final."
At the launch of the report on Tuesday, Mr Graham said: "Facebook, [NHS] care data, Google: it is clear that organisations' use of data is getting ever more complicated. People need to know someone is watching over their information.
"Independence means someone who's got the resources to take on this ever-growing number of cases. The last 12 months have been a record year - more complaints resolved than ever, more enforcement action taken and more advice given through our helpline.
"And it also means having the powers to act on the more serious complaints. A strong regulator is needed if a data breach affects millions of people.
"To do our job properly, to represent people properly, we need stronger powers, more sustainable funding and a clearer guarantee of independence."
The ICO in the past has been criticised for both being too lenient, and not thorough enough, when investigating companies.
The ICO was described as "sadly lacking" by privacy campaigners when it dropped a 2010 investigation into Google's scooping up of personal information from wi-fi networks when taking pictures for its Street View product.
The ICO dropped its investigation after receiving reassurances from Google - only to re-open it in 2012 after US regulators found wrongdoing on Google's part.
In that year's annual report, it admitted it had not issued a single fine to any firm. However, new powers granted in January 2012 made it easier for the ICO to fine large amounts.
In this year's report, the highest number of complaints relate to nuisance calls. Over the 12 months, 161,720 complaints were made - 46% of which related to automated calls. | The UK's information commissioner has called for better funding for the country's data regulator amid a record number of cases. |
33,089,157 | The annual sporting rich-list showed Mayweather, who also topped last year's list, earned US$300m (£194m).
Most of that came from his 'super-fight' with Manny Pacquiao, whose $160m (£103.4m) takings made him the second-highest earner.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was third with $79.6m (£51.4m).
The figures include salaries, bonuses, prize money and appearance fees, plus estimates of endorsement income for the past 12 months.
Golfer Tiger Woods remains in the top 10 thanks to his $50.6m (£32.7m) worth of endorsements. The American earned just $600,000 (£387,000) in winnings because of injury and poor form.
Click here for full list
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy appears at 12 on the list thanks to his two majors wins in the last 12 months that brought in $48.3m (£31m).
Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is 15th with $39m (£25m), although a lucrative new contract could push him up the list next year.
Wales and Real Madrid player Gareth Bale is the highest-placed British footballer, with his $35.5m (£22m) earnings putting him at 18.
England football captain Wayne Rooney at 34th, with $26.9m (£17m).
Scottish tennis player Andy Murray is 64th with $22.3m (£14m). | Boxer Floyd Mayweather was the world's highest-paid sportsman of the past 12 months, according to figures from business magazine Forbes. |
38,224,566 | Salto the robot can perform multiple vertical jumps in a row - making it a champion robot athlete.
Bush babies, or galagos, can jump five times in four seconds, to reach a combined height of 8.5m.
Writing in Science Robotics, the researchers say the prototype could be used for search and rescue in disaster zones.
The bush baby (Galago senegalensis) is a nocturnal primate native to Africa. It has the unusual ability to store energy in its tendons, enabling it to jump to heights not achievable by its muscles alone.
Duncan Haldane and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, describe the bush baby's special skill as "vertical jumping agility".
To compare robots and animals, the roboticists developed a new metric to measure vertical agility.
This is defined as the height something can reach with a single jump in Earth gravity, multiplied by the frequency with which that jump can be made.
Their robot is 26cm tall and weighs 100g. A motor drives a spring, which loads via a leg mechanism to create the kind of crouch seen in the bush baby.
Salto mimics the way energy is stored in the tendons of the nocturnal mammal, which means it doesn't need to wind up before a jump. As soon as it leaps, the robot is ready to go again.
With a vertical jumping agility of 1.75 metres per second (m/s), Salto was able to achieve 78% of the bush baby's score; the mammal has a jumping agility of 2.24 m/s.
However, the Californian-built robot was able to beat a bullfrog on the same metric.
"By combining biologically inspired design principles with improved engineering technology, matching the agile performance of animals may not be that far off," said co-author Prof Ronald Fearing.
The research has been backed by the US Army Research Laboratory among other funders.
Follow Paul on Twitter. | Scientists in the US have unveiled an athletic robot which takes its inspiration from bush babies. |
27,538,836 | She says she "wasn't taken seriously" when she first went to the doctors with her mum.
It wasn't until she says she "basically broke down in front of the GP" that she was diagnosed with Dermatillomania and was referred for professional help.
Now, the 20-year-old from Shropshire wants more people to know about the condition.
She said: "There's not really a lot I can do about it other than raise awareness to help people out there in the same situation."
Samantha has set up a support network on Facebook to help share advice for other people in her position.
She says she hopes the group can pass on some of the help she got when she received cognitive behavioural therapy.
The treatment teaches her what triggers the condition and ways she can control the urge.
"It really helped to be honest," she said.
"But it's not a miracle cure. It's not going to get rid of it straight away."
Samantha's condition has affected her face but she says Dermatillomania can leave cuts and scabs all over the body.
She said her condition puts her into a "trance-like state" and stops her doing day to day tasks.
"Sometimes you feel like giving up because it's always going to keep going," she said.
"It's horrible because I feel like I have to put make-up on and people don't understand. You just feel constantly judged.
"But when I've got make-up on I don't really feel like myself either, so none of them are me."
She added that she doesn't like making social plans because she knows that she'll become self-conscious worrying about her condition and will end up not going out.
"I think it's hard because there's so much pressure out there on social media.
"It's never really bothered me because I am who I am. I just want other people to know they're not alone."
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Samantha Wake has suffered from a rare mental condition that makes her pick her own skin since she was 12. |
40,186,624 | Researchers found patients with lower levels of the protein troponin were less likely to die after an operation.
The test is normally used to diagnose a heart attack, during which the protein is released into the bloodstream.
Dr Matthew Jackson from Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital said the test could identify patients who needed extra medication, tests and monitoring.
"Now we need to find out why troponin levels are raised in some patients before surgery, and why these patients are more likely to die, in order to identify treatments that could reduce the risk of death following non-cardiac surgery," he said.
The study, which looked at patients who had not had a heart attack, has been presented to the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester.
Blood samples from 993 patients were tested for troponin levels before they had non-cardiac surgery.
A quarter with levels above 50 nanograms per litre (ng/l) died within six months and 37% within a year, the researchers found.
Of those with lower than 17ng/l, just 2.5% died within six months of surgery and 3.7% within a year.
The link is not yet clear but patients with high troponin levels could have underlying inflammation, researchers said.
British Heart Foundation associate medical director Prof Metin Avkiran said if the "underlying causes" could be understood, treatment could be "tailored to improve outcome". | A routine blood test could predict whether a patient is likely to survive after surgery, a new study suggests. |
34,687,179 | The 30-year-old sealed his third drivers' world title with victory at the US Grand Prix last weekend.
The Briton had been linked with a move to Ferrari, but in May he signed a new three-year deal with Mercedes, taking him up to 2018.
"I honestly can't see myself anywhere else," said Hamilton.
"I imagine beyond this three-year deal there could be one more contract of three or four years and that would be it for me."
That could mean Hamilton, who joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013, retiring from the sport in 2022, aged 37 - with a maximum of 10 titles to his name.
His victory in the US saw him draw level with racing greats Sir Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna as a three-time world champion.
Former British F1 champion Nigel Mansell thinks Hamilton should target Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles.
Hamilton, who competes at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, added: "There was always that talk of driving another car and I have done that - ticked that box off.
"I don't like to say never, but I think it would be pretty awesome to finish my career with this team." | World champion Lewis Hamilton says he expects to finish his career with Mercedes - and will probably only compete for another seven years. |
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