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33,632,605 | It follows a YouGov poll for the Times putting left-winger Mr Corbyn ahead in the race and Ms Kendall fourth.
Senior Labour figures, including ex-PM Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, have warned against a victory for Mr Corbyn.
But Ms Kendall aides said suggestions she should back Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper were "not going to happen."
Norman Smith, BBC assistant political editor, said "pressure has been mounting" on Ms Kendall to withdraw from the race.
But our correspondent said aides to the Leicester West MP dismissed the calls, accusing Mr Burnham's and Ms Cooper's camps of "fuelling" the idea.
One source said: "Both Andy and Yvette have seen their numbers fall this week following the flip flop over welfare and that's what is making these campaigns try and make Liz somehow the problem to distract from their own issues."
The source said that under the preference voting system it would not make any difference, even if Ms Kendall pulled out.
The Labour leadership race has been the subject of widespread debate after a YouGov poll this week suggested that in the final round of voting Mr Corbyn could finish six points ahead of bookmakers' favourite Mr Burnham.
The poll 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%.
Taking second preferences into account, the poll - of 1,054 people eligible to vote in the contest and carried out between Friday and Tuesday - pointed to a 6% victory for Mr Corbyn.
Speaking to the Times, Lord Mandelson warned the Labour Party's existence as "an electoral force" was at stake.
"Those of us who stayed and fought to save the Labour party in the 1980s will be experiencing a growing sense of deja vu," he told the Times.
"The last five years have left us with a terrible legacy to overcome with the existence of the Labour Party as an effective electoral force now at stake."
On Tuesday, former prime minister Mr Blair warned Labour would not win again from a "traditional leftist platform".
Mr Blair said Labour the leadership contest was being presented as a choice "between heart and head", but added that people who said their heart was with Mr Corbyn should "get a transplant".
And former adviser to Mr Blair, John McTernan, told BBC Newsnight two of the candidates should withdraw in favour of an "anyone but Corbyn" candidate.
Labour is due to announce its new leader at a special conference on 12 September. | Labour leadership contender Liz Kendall has dismissed calls for her to pull out of the contest and back another candidate to defeat Jeremy Corbyn. |
37,173,669 | Government spokesman Scott Bardsley said the move was to reflect the diversity in Canada's communities and to attract more female Muslim officers.
The iconic uniform, famed for its wide-brimmed hat, has barely changed since it was introduced two centuries ago.
Recent figures show women make up about a fifth of the RCMP but it is not clear how many this measure will affect.
Three types of hijabs were tested before one was selected as suitable for police work, local media reported.
According to the Montreal newspaper La Presse, an internal memo said the hijab could be removed quickly and easily if needed, and did not encumber officers.
The policy was introduced quietly earlier this year, though it was not prompted by any requests from officers, according to the AFP agency.
Some 30 officers had asked for a relaxing of the rules for religious or cultural reasons over the past two years, La Presse reported.
In most cases, the requests were from male officers wanting to grow beards.
Sikh officers have been allowed to wear turbans since 1990.
The uniform, with its red serge tunic, leather riding boots and felt campaign hat, dates back to the 1800s - when mounted police were sent west to police American whisky traders.
Inspired by British military uniforms of the period, it has since only undergone minor changes.
The RCMP has become the third police force in Canada to add the hijab option after Toronto and Edmonton.
Police in Sweden and Norway, and some US states, have adopted similar policies, Mr Bardsley said.
The Metropolitan Police in London approved a uniform hijab more than 10 years ago. | The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known as the Mounties, is to allow women in uniform to wear hijabs. |
21,162,960 | Some 594 (23.4%) of the 2,540 schools teaching A-levels had no pupils with the two As and a B in the subjects recommended for top degree courses.
The data also shows some 215 schools missed the new government target of 40% of pupils obtaining five A*-C GCSEs.
The BBC is publishing its league tables for secondary schools in England.
The tables are drawn up from the latest official government data on pupils' academic achievement.
Overall they cover achievement in more than 4,000 mainstream state and independent schools, based mainly on the results of last summer's exams for 16- and 18-year-olds. In total, 2,540 schools and colleges in England run A-level courses.
Much has been made of the inability of leading universities to recruit more bright students from a wider set of backgrounds. But this data shows that many schools are not producing students of a high enough calibre to automatically get places at such universities.
It also shows that in only two schools did more than 70% of pupils obtain two As and a B in what is known as the "facilitating" subjects favoured by the 24 Russell Group of some of the leading universities. And in only 16 schools did 50% or more pupils achieve these grades.
The figures for how many pupils in a school achieve the grades most sought after by the leading universities are stark but not surprising.
Just two schools managed to get 70% or more of their pupils over this very demanding academic hurdle and 16 schools pushed 50% or more over it.
The figures demonstrate the degree to which England's education system remains polarised.
Fee-paying, selective independent schools and grammars dominate the top of the list, and community schools, sponsored academies and sixth-form colleges, some in very deprived areas, sit at the bottom.
It is the first time this interesting nugget on school performance has been published by the Department for Education.
And it is just one of the 400 pieces of data it publishes in the statistical blizzard of information on which school league tables are based.
It says the motivation for this is to "shine a light on those schools and colleges whose pupils achieve great results in key subjects that lead to the top universities".
But those working with less able students say the stat is a "blunt descriptor" that reflects poorly on schools and colleges.
A better focus, they argue, would be to recognise and tackle the root of under-achievement that lies earlier in the student's education.
In 208 schools (8%) of the total a quarter of pupils or more reached the grades in these subjects.
The Russell Group of top universities introduced this list to identify the very best students and inform schools which sorts of subjects they expect pupils to sit if they wish to obtain a place on one of their degree courses. Many courses will require two high grades in such subjects, and some will require three. But admissions tutors they also look at a pupil's background before deciding whether to give them a place.
Its director general Dr Wendy Piatt said: "The Russell Group has published a guide called Informed Choices which lists 'facilitating subjects' which are those most commonly required for entry to our leading universities.
"However, it's important that students make decisions based on their individual circumstances. We encourage all prospective students to check the entry requirements for their chosen course before applying to a particular university."
Joy Mercer, director of policy at the Association of Colleges, said the achievement of three A-levels was a "blunt descriptor" and that would give a poor reflection of colleges and sixth form colleges where students were encouraged to combine vocational qualifications and A-levels within a very demanding programme.
"Institutions like this account for one-third of all A-levels taken in this country."
Schools minister Liz Truss said the measure had been introduced to enable parents to be able to identify those schools and colleges where A-level pupils achieve great results in the key academic subjects that most often lead to the top universities.
"We are also reforming the post-16 tables so that in future schools and colleges focus on the very best vocational qualifications that are most valued by employers and lead to good jobs."
At GCSE level nationally, 59.4% of pupils in both maintained and independent schools reached the government's benchmark of five GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) graded A* to C, including English and maths - up from 58.2% in 2011.
The schools with the lowest GCSE results was the selective Pate's Grammar school in Cheltenham, where 0% of pupils reached this benchmark.
However, this result was because pupils sat new English exams which the Department for Education does not recognise for the purpose of performance data.
Excluding Pate's Grammar, the school with the lowest GCSE results was the Rushden Community College in Northamptonshire, where 6% of pupils got five A*-C GCSEs, including maths and English.
Head teacher Mark Lester said the college had entered pupils for English language and English exams but not English literature, which he said is the one counted by the DfE.
If pupils' English exams had been counted, their pass rate including English and maths would have been 46%, he said.
Academy schools
The Department for Education hailed the success of its academy schools in the performance data.
It said sponsored academies were improving results at a record rate - more than five times as quickly than in all state-funded schools - with an increase of 3.1 percentage points. This compares to a 0.6 percentage point improvement across all state-funded schools.
But many of these would have been performing at a higher level, as sponsored academies tend to be struggling schools which are converted to academies because of their difficulties.
A spokesman said: "This shows we are right to continue to support the sponsored academy programme. These brilliant sponsors have a track record of arresting decline - and then reversing it."
General Secretary of the Nasuwt teaching union, Chris Keates, said: "Everyone recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that the best is being achieved for every child, but the government's approach of manufacturing deficiencies to seek to justify its flawed education policies, rather than celebrating success is counter productive and divisive." | Almost a quarter of England's sixth forms and colleges have failed to produce any pupils with the top A-level grades sought by leading universities. |
36,014,033 | Salah Eddin Helal was also fined $110,000 (£80,000), while his chief-of-staff Muhyidin Said's fine was $55,000.
Helal resigned in September, when he was accused of taking bribes to sell state land a heavily discounted price.
Prosecutors said the bribes included a luxury home, membership of an exclusive sports club, and high-end clothing.
The businessman who paid the bribe and another who facilitated it were spared jail because they confessed, a judicial official told the AFP news agency.
The corruption scandal prompted the resignation of Ibrahim Mehleb's government, and Mr Mehleb's subsequent replacement by Ismail Sharif.
Egypt was ranked 88th out of 168 countries on Transparency International's 2015 corruption perceptions index.
The country's 2011 uprising was partially driven by widespread anger at corruption under long-time President Hosni Mubarak.
In May 2015, Mubarak and his two sons were found guilty at a retrial of embezzlement and sentenced to three and four years in prison respectively.
Two months later, a former prime minister under Mubarak, Ahmed Nazif, was sentenced to five years after being convicted of corruption charges at a retrial.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who led the military's overthrow of Mubarak's democratically-elected successor Mohammed Morsi in 2013, has promised to make the fight against corruption a focus of his administration. | A court in Egypt has sentenced a former agriculture minister and his office manager to 10 years in prison after finding them guilty of corruption. |
34,600,551 | Their report claims jade valued at a staggering almost $31bn (£20bn) was extracted from Burmese mines last year.
It estimates that the figure for the last decade could be more than $120bn.
Presented with the data by the BBC, the government did not question the quantity or valuation of the jade.
But it said most of the gemstones from the last year had been stockpiled, with only a small fraction sold so far.
Hpakant, in Kachin state, is the site of the world's biggest jade mine. We were stopped from travelling there by the chief minister, but footage obtained from the site shows huge articulated vehicles turning mountains into moonscapes.
With an election on the horizon and considerable political uncertainty the companies involved are clearly in a hurry.
To operate a mine in Hpakant you need military connections. The main companies listed in the Global Witness report are either directly owned by the army, or operated by those with close ties.
A few are run by those connected to ethnic armies, in return for them maintaining a ceasefire.
"If a military family does not have a jade company they are something of a black sheep," Mike Davis from Global Witness said. "These families are making extraordinary sums of money, often in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars."
Prominent among those allegedly profiting from the trade are jade companies owned by the family of retired senior general Than Shwe. As the military ruler of Myanmar, also known as Burma, between 1992 and 2011, he presided over a period in which demonstrations were brutally repressed and opponents imprisoned. Despite having retired many still think he's influential behind the scenes.
The Global Witness report - Jade: Myanmar's 'Big State Secret' - claims that companies connected to Than Shwe's family made more than $220m in jade sales in 2013 and 2014.
Several of the other companies are linked to recent ministers but most named were at their most prominent before Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011. None were immediately available for comment.
More than a year in the making, this report digs deep into previously unseen Burmese government figures.
To reach the headline number of nearly $31bn extracted in 2014 they took the officially recorded figure for jade production (16,684 tonnes) and then estimated, based on previous studies, the proportion that's likely to have been mined of each quality or "grade".
Using the prices for each grade from publically recorded sales they then calculated the likely total value of jade production. That came to a jaw-dropping $30.859bn.
To double-check this number, Global Witness then obtained customs data for jade imports into China. Last year precious and semi-precious stone imports from Myanmar were valued at $12.3bn on a weight of 5,402 tonnes. The researchers' analysis of the data shows that almost all of that was jade.
Using the officially declared production figure for 2014, and keeping all things equal (to the average value of declared imports into China) then the estimated value for the jade mined in 2014 is $37.98bn.
Clearly in both methods estimates are being used, but the ballpark figure remains similar and huge. The real total could even be much higher with many insiders saying that the best quality jade never goes through the books and is smuggled directly to Chinese buyers.
This contents of the report challenges the Burmese army narrative of recent history. The military has long said that it keeps a tight control of Burmese political life to maintain stability and, in the face of numerous ethnic wars, to prevent the country disintegrating.
It was, the people were told, a selfless act to maintain the unity of a troubled country.
This report makes it clearer than ever before that the top brass used their privileged positions to award themselves choice concessions and contracts and become extremely rich.
Ye Htay, a director from the Ministry of Mining, confirmed that the valuation of the jade mined in 2014 at $31bn was plausible, but said that most of it had been stockpiled and not sold.
Sales through the Nay Pyi Taw emporium last year were close to $1bn, he said, with about $90m paid in taxes.
He was much less forthcoming when pressed on how the concessions were awarded and the dominance of military companies.
He said Myanmar was "in a stage of democratic transition" and that such moves "haven't happened during the last five years".
There is an element of truth in that. The most egregious abuses do seem to date back to before 2010, and all agree that there have been moves towards greater transparency.
This report underscores just how difficult it will be to prise the Burmese army away from political power.
It also helps explain why the conflict in Kachin State, where the mines are, has proved so difficult to resolve.
Last week, rebels from the Kachin Independence Army refused to sign a nationwide agreement with the government - aimed at ending decades of civil conflict - and clashes with the Burmese army continue.
"Jade is a key source of financing for both sides," Mike Davis told me.
"There is an incentive there for the hardliners on the government side to keep the conflict going until such time as they can be confident that when the dust settles, their assets will still be there."
Most proposals for a lasting federal settlement to Myanmar's long running ethnic conflicts involve greater transparency and the sharing of wealth from natural resources in the states where they are extracted.
It's easy to see why peace and democratic transformation aren't attractive options for those making hundreds of millions from exploiting the jade mines. | Jade mining companies connected to the army in Myanmar may have carried out "the biggest natural resources heist in modern history", say transparency campaigners Global Witness. |
39,357,122 | The licences all focus on previously under-explored regions including Rockall and East Shetland.
It is a significant fall on the last licensing round in 2014/15 in which 175 licences were issued.
But, with a major fall in oil prices, the OGA says the companies' commitment will help stimulate further activity.
The 29th licensing round is the first in 20 years which has focused solely on so-called "frontier" areas.
In previous rounds, oil firms were able to bid for the exclusive rights to explore for oil in small sections of seabed, called blocks, in any part of UK waters.
To stimulate interest in exploration after the downturn, the regulator spent £20m commissioning seismic surveys of two keys areas, including the "Mid-North Sea High" region.
The results have been studied by geologists at the University of Aberdeen who revealed earlier this month that there may be reserves around Rockall which had previously been dismissed as devoid of oil.
The awards issued today are for 25 licences in 111 blocks to 17 companies.
Commitments have been made to drill three exploration wells in the near-medium term.
OGA chief executive Andy Samuel said: "The £20m investment in new seismic for the Rockall and Mid-North Sea High areas, subsequent release of 40,000 kilometres of new and reprocessed data... and a stable and competitive fiscal regime has resulted in a number of quality applications in this frontier Licensing Round.
"We are particularly pleased to see firm well commitments, the targeting of new and under-explored plays, and first-time entrants to the basin, alongside a number of established companies, which will help stimulate further activity and value creation.
"While exploration activity has undoubtedly suffered as a result of the difficult market conditions, we are now seeing highly encouraging success rates and finding costs on the UKCS.
"This is testament to the value of a robust and focused exploration strategy with commitment from industry, government and the OGA."
The most recent Business Outlook from the industry body Oil and Gas UK said exploration activity "remained depressed" with just 22 wells drilled in 2016.
But it said optimism is beginning to return to the sector as costs are driven down. | The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) says it is "highly encouraging" that 25 licences have been awarded to explore for oil in waters around the UK. |
39,254,661 | The victims, both aged 23, were walking between Hopetoun Street and Hopetoun Lane in Bathgate at about 03:00 on Sunday when they were assaulted.
One of the women also had a number of items of make-up stolen, along with her black high-heeled shoes.
It is thought all four women may have met earlier in the Envi nightclub.
The attackers were last seen near a car park in Hopetoun Lane.
One of the victims was released from hospital after treatment, while the other remains at St John's Hospital in Livingston.
The first suspect is described as a white woman in her mid 30s. She has a medium build, is about 5ft 3in tall and has dark shoulder-length hair with blonde highlights.
She speaks with a local accent and was wearing a black off-the-shoulder top with a floral print and black skinny jeans.
The second suspect is also a white woman in her mid 30s. She is about 5ft 3in tall with a large build and dark hair. She was wearing a pink bomber jacket.
Officers were also keen to speak to a man and two women who helped the victims shortly after the attack.
Det Con David Bryce said: "This was a brutal and unprovoked attack, which has left the victims badly shaken and with serious injuries.
"We are eager to trace the women responsible and wish to speak to anyone who saw the suspects in Envi nightclub.
"Hopetoun Street was busy on the morning of Sunday, March 12, and we believe there may be witnesses who were in the area and who may have information.
"We are also keen to speak to the man and two women that assisted the victims shortly after the attack." | Two women suffered serious head and facial injuries after being attacked and robbed by two other women in a West Lothian street. |
29,354,562 | A strike on Tuesday has also been suspended, but strike action is still planned for 3 October. The GMB union said a work-to-rule would remain.
Refuse and recycling truck drivers walked out earlier this month over pay, staff grading and responsibility.
The city council said it was pleased strike action had been suspended.
The union is claiming people at the council are doing equivalent jobs to its members, but being paid more.
It also said the authority had failed to "consult meaningfully" over new working practices and long-standing issues over round allocation and distribution.
GMB representative Mark Turner said the union was planning to hold more talks with the council next Tuesday.
In a statement, Brighton and Hove City Council said it was looking at a "full service redesign to ensure we meet the needs of the city and to resolve work-to-rule".
It added: "We cannot favour one group of workers over another and increasing allowances for one group of staff would require us to increase it for many others at great cost to the council's overall pay bill.
"The agreement we reached with our trade unions and staff last year was to better ensure we were equal pay compliant."
A series of strikes last summer led to waste piling up in the streets. | A strike by refuse workers in Brighton and Hove on Thursday has been called off to allow further talks between union leaders and the city council. |
25,403,304 | Doctors said they were "worried" by the high degree of weight fixation found in 13-year-old girls, years before eating disorders typically start.
Researchers say it might be possible to stop full eating disorders developing.
Their findings, in the Journal of Adolescent Health, came from interviews with the parents of 7,082 13-year-olds.
Eating disorders, such as anorexia, tend to start in the mid-teenage years, although they can begin before then.
The study, by University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, looked at the years before those disorders tend to start.
Interviews with the parents of 7,082 13-year-old schoolchildren showed:
One of the researchers, Dr Nadia Micali, told the BBC she was surprised children were so concerned about weight at such a young age.
"For me the results were particularly worrying, I wouldn't have thought they'd be so common at this age.
"Part of me thinks it's a shame we didn't ask earlier, we don't know when this behaviour starts.
"Quite a large proportion will develop full-blown eating disorders, maybe more than half."
However, she said there might be an opportunity to help children before they develop an eating disorder if a reliable set of warning signs could be developed for parents and teachers.
In a statement the eating disorder charity Beat said it was an interesting and important study.
"This is the first time a study like this has been carried out so we have nothing to compare it to and therefore don't know if the problem is increasing or getting worse.
"However it is striking and worrying how many young people had concerns about their weight from such a young age.
"It does not mean that they will all go on to develop eating disorders, but they could be tempted by unhealthy ways to control their weight and shape."
The findings came through data collected from the Children of the 90s study.
A separate analysis of those children, by a team at the University of Warwick, suggested bullying was linked to an increased risk of psychotic experiences, such as hearing voices, and paranoia.
Lead researcher Prof Dieter Wolke said: "We want to eradicate the myth that bullying at a young age could be viewed as a harmless rite of passage that everyone goes through - it casts a long shadow over a person's life and can have serious consequences for mental health.
"It strengthens on the evidence base that reducing bullying in childhood could substantially reduce mental health problems.
"The benefit to society would be huge, but of course, the greatest benefit would be to the individual." | About 10% of 13-year-old girls are "terrified" about putting on weight, the first UK study looking for warning signs of eating disorders suggests. |
15,621,653 | Chelsea pair Fernando Torres and Juan Mata, Manchester City's David Silva and Jose Reina of Liverpool could all line up against club-mates at Wembley.
Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas makes a return to London as part of an experienced 23-man squad named by coach Vicente del Bosque.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has been recalled after a hamstring injury.
Del Bosque has selected the majority of players who helped the world and European champions to their two major titles.
Iniesta, who scored the winner when Spain last visited England in 2007, missed last month's Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Scotland.
Sevilla winger Jesus Navas has been recalled to the squad, with Malaga full-back Nacho Monreal also included.
Del Bosque said: "Before submitting the squad list for the Euros we have only three (more) games.
"There will be some games to come after the squad get together, but we have to make the most of these matches.
"England are a great team, and we will be playing in an extraordinary stadium.
"We tailor these games to be the best they can be for the team and for the federation."
After facing England, Spain travel to Costa Rica on November 15 for another friendly.
Spain squad to face England: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona); Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Nacho Monreal (Malaga); Xavi (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Malaga), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona); David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Jesus Navas (Sevilla). | Four Premier League players have been named in a strong Spain squad for Saturday's friendly against England. |
36,782,555 | Provenzano, dubbed "The Tractor" for his ruthless trait of mowing people down, was arrested and jailed in 2006 after spending 43 years on the run.
He took over command of the Sicilian Mafia in 1993 after the arrest of ex-boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina.
Provenzano was serving a life term for several murders, including the 1992 killings of top anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
He was suffering from bladder cancer and serious cognitive impairment and had spent the last two years in a prison hospital ward, Italian media report.
His illnesses had forced the suspension of ongoing negotiations with the state over unresolved crimes. However, even before his health declined, he had resisted any co-operation with the justice system.
Bernardo Provenzano was born on 31 January 1933 in Corleone, a Sicilian town synonymous with Mafia activity which gave its name to the fictional family in the Godfather films.
He was said to have joined the mafia in his late teens, after World War Two.
He rose in the Mafia ranks and along with his friend, Toto Riina, worked for mafioso Luciano Liggio, who reportedly once said Provenzano had "the brains of a chicken but shoots like an angel".
When in 1974 Liggio was jailed, Riina was left in charge with Provenzano his right-hand man.
Once at the helm following Riina's capture, Provenzano reportedly tried to arbitrate between rival Mafia factions competing for business. He was said to have steered away from attacks on high-profile figures that had hardened public opinion against the Mafia and provoked police to respond.
In his later years, painstakingly cautious about revealing his whereabouts, Provenzano shunned the phone for hand-delivered "pizzini" notes and moved between farmhouses every two or three nights.
But in April 2006, he was arrested at a farmhouse near Corleone, his birthplace and where his wife and children lived.
Bernardo Provenzano earned the nickname The Tractor because, as an informant put it, "he mows people down".
He reportedly committed his first murder in 1958 aged 25, when Provenzano is alleged to have been one of the gunmen who helped rising mafioso Luciano Liggio murder Corleone clan head Michele Navarra, leaving Liggio as head of the family.
In 1963 Provenzano went on the run after an arrest warrant was issued against him for the murder of one of Navarra's men.
Gangland wars and murders of top judges became bloody hallmarks of Italian life in the 1980s, when Provenzano was second-in-command to "Toto" Riina.
However, Provenzano had another side to his character.
He was a careful operator, who took few overt risks, mastered the crime empire's finances, and under whose leadership the Mafia became a less bloodthirsty, more efficient machine, commentators say.
For these reasons, he was also dubbed The Accountant. | Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano has died in a prison hospital, aged 83. |
40,716,124 | Reports suggest the Rugby Football League (RFL) is considering moving the event from the national stadium to a stadium further north.
The final was first held at Wembley in 1929 and the RFL is in the middle of a 20-year deal to hold the final there.
"It's part of our tradition and we need to stick with that," Wane told BBC Radio Manchester.
"That drive to the stadium and seeing all your fans, and seeing your family in the bar afterwards when you've won, are memories that stay with you forever and it wouldn't be the same anywhere else.
"Wigan fans know everything about travelling down to London - they've done it that many times."
Wane's side are a game away from a first Challenge Cup final since their 2013 win against Hull FC, but must beat Salford Red Devils in Sunday's semi-final. They were also in the first final to be held at Wembley in 1929.
"I can't put into words how much it matters, to us as players, supporters, the town of Wigan," Wane added.
"We've been there many times, the history is fantastic with this trophy and is something that is addictive.
"We'll expect Salford to be at their best. They've gone out and bought an unbelievable winger in Manu Vatuvei from the Warriors so that shows how much this means to them.
"My players need to be prepared for a massive start but what they need to realise is that we've been there and we've done it, and we want to do it again."
Speaking to the Guardian, Super League chief executive Roger Draper said: "There's always the argument to bring it back to the heartlands in places like Elland Road, Manchester and Liverpool.
"We've got good relationships with Wembley and the London Stadium but, with Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea too, there's a wide range of areas we could look to take the event to. It'll be a difficult decision." | Wigan Warriors head coach Shaun Wane wants to see the Challenge Cup final stay at its traditional Wembley venue. |
37,925,723 | Roy Galvin, 69, from Alverstoke, died three days after the dispute on Bury Road, Gosport, on 25 September.
Duncan Snellgrove, 28, of Mandarin Way, Howe Road in Gosport, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court. He was initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced in December.
Mr Galvin, a former Royal Navy serviceman, hit his head on the road after he was pushed to the ground and suffered a serious head injury, police said. | A cyclist has admitted killing a pedestrian who died following a dispute on a one-way system in Hampshire. |
22,291,280 | Luminaries past and present from across the UK's computing industry had gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of the Cambridge University computer laboratory.
But there was also one nagging question. Why does a city and a country which have played such a huge part in the history of the computer, still produce so few world-class technology companies?
A strange question to ask, perhaps, in a lecture theatre packed with successful alumni of the lab, some from companies like ARM and CSR which have thrived in Cambridge. After all, this is a city where academia and business have combined very fruitfully in the past two decades.
But in a lecture on what he's learned about innovation, Mike Lynch - who's the founder of another Cambridge technology success story, Autonomy - bemoaned the fact that all the brilliant work done by the university's scientists had failed to translate into many big hitters in the FTSE-100.
Just one UK computer business had made it into the FTSE, he told us, and that was Sage, the Newcastle-based accountancy software firm. "Our universities are second to none," he said. "But they're failing to translate the gold coming out of them into economic growth."
(It now strikes me that Dr Lynch is ignoring the fact that the chip designer ARM is in the top third of the FTSE-100 - but maybe he doesn't count it as a computing company?)
He suggested that many companies with excellent technology got to a certain stage and then they or their backers lost confidence, selling up to American firms. We were, he suggested, producing great R&D labs for overseas firms to exploit rather than going on to turn high quality research into products for global markets.
Dr Lynch, of course, eventually sold Autonomy to America's Hewlett Packard and is now embroiled in a row over just what his company was really worth. But his point was that more firms needed to stay independent long enough to create a lasting infrastructure in Britain, even if they ended up in foreign ownership.
Others in the audience then joined a discussion about the way forward. Lord Broers, a distinguished engineer and former vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, was worried by how little we spent on research and development as a country compared to rivals - 1.7% of GDP in the UK, as compared to 2.8% in Germany and 2.9% in the United States. "We're underspending by billions, mainly in industry," he said.
There were the usual worries about a gap in capital for technology companies - plenty at the start, then very little when they wanted to make the leap into the big league. And there were calls for government to to think more about using its own procurement budgets to help UK firms in the way the US did - for the different tech clusters, from Cambridge to Bristol to London's TechCity, to collaborate better; even for The Sun newspaper to start celebrating computer scientists on page three.
Mike Lynch's main concern, however, was about the teaching of STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and maths - in secondary schools where he felt we were falling behind. He cited as an example the scarcity of girls taking A-Level physics.
We had brilliant graduates coming out of places like the Cambridge computing laboratory, he said, but that supply could dry up, and we needed a wider hinterland of skilled people. Those worries about a skills gap opening up are now commonplace amongst many in Britain's hi-tech industries.
But Cambridge, the birthplace of computers from the Edsac to the BBC Micro, has at least produced an attempt to address that problem with the Raspberry Pi, which aims to inspire a new generation of computer scientists.
That continuing spirit of innovation should provide some cause for optimism that we can find ways of turning world-class science into world-beating businesses. | It was a birthday party and the mood was celebratory. |
33,182,157 | Council workers Charles Owenson, 62, and James Costello, 44, helped award contracts to Edinburgh Action Building Contracts Ltd (ABC Ltd).
In return, ABC directors Kevin Balmer, 52, and Brendan Cantwell, 44, gave them tens of thousands of pounds, trips to lap dancing clubs and football tickets.
The charges related to the maintenance of council buildings from 2006 to 2010.
Owenson was sentenced to more than four years in prison, Costello received more than three years and Cantwell and Balmer were both jailed for more than two years.
Cantwell and Balmer were also disqualified from serving as company directors for five years. | Four men who admitted corruption charges over Edinburgh council building repairs have been jailed. |
35,796,861 | He said the cuts would be "equivalent to 50p in every £100" of public spending by 2020, which was "not a huge amount in the scheme of things".
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that the world was "more uncertain" than at any time since the financial crisis.
He said the UK needed to live within its means to withstand economic shocks.
Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for more long-term investment to enable the UK economy to "withstand the global headwinds".
Mr Osborne warned of cuts to come in his upcoming Budget on 16 March in a BBC interview last month.
Speaking on the Marr Show, Mr Osborne said the world was now "a more difficult and dangerous place" and warned about the state of the global economy.
While Britain was better placed to cope with economic shocks compared with 2008, it was "not immune to what's going on", he said.
"My message in this Budget is that the world is a more uncertain place than at any time since the financial crisis and we need to act now so we don't pay later," he said.
"That is why I need to find additional savings equivalent to 50p in every £100 the government spends by the end of the decade, because we've got to live within our means to stay secure.
"That's the way we make Britain fit for the future."
The chancellor - whose Budget on Wednesday will be his eighth - said he thought the savings were achievable, but he would not be drawn on where the axe would fall.
He said the government's plan had enabled it to invest in "the public's priorities", such as the NHS, science and education, infrastructure and defence, "while at the same time not spending more than the country can afford".
Mr Osborne added that he wanted to boost productivity, improve Britain's schools and infrastructure and make taxes "more competitive".
The chancellor declined to be drawn on whether fuel duty would be increased - something Tory backbenchers are urging him against.
But he added: "On fuel duty, we had a manifesto commitment there and we have pencilled in fuel duty plans going forward but what I would say is, every time we can have our economy more competitive, we do."
Mr Osborne also rejected claims that the most vulnerable people would be hit in the Budget through cuts to disability benefits known as Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
He said the government was "increasing spending on disabled people", but added that it was right to make sure the system was being "properly managed".
Also on Marr, Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for more long-term investment in the UK economy, specifically in skills, infrastructure and new technology.
He said the chancellor had reduced investment to 1.4% of GDP which was "unacceptable", saying the OECD has said the figure should be at least 3%.
"What I want to do is to make sure we invest in the long term and then we can withstand the global headwinds," he added.
He said prosperity needed to be "shared by all", saying the government's economic policies had created an "unequal" society.
The chancellor has promised to get the books into surplus by 2020.
In his November Autumn Statement, he watered down planned £4.4bn cuts to tax credits and eased back on planned spending cuts to the Home Office and other departments. He was able to do this owing to a combination of better tax receipts and lower interest payments on debt.
BBC political correspondent Eleanor Garnier said: "Only four months ago, when he made the Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne had sounded upbeat about the country's finances.
"But now, with the size of the British economy much smaller than had been expected, it seems the chancellor has not left himself much wriggle room."
In his Marr interview, Mr Osborne also warned against the UK leaving the EU, saying it "would create an economic shock" that would "cost jobs" and "damage living standards".
Leave campaigners say the UK could strike favourable trade deals with the EU after exit, arguing that Britain's future if better off outside.
Meanwhile, Mr McDonnell said he and the Labour shadow cabinet would be "on the stump" campaigning for a remain vote amid criticism Labour has been quiet in the campaign. | Chancellor George Osborne has warned the UK has to "act now rather than pay later" ahead of next week's Budget, with further spending cuts planned. |
32,913,653 | Commons Speaker John Bercow granted an urgent question on Thursday, with the debate expected to begin at 10:15 BST.
Seven top Fifa officials were arrested in Zurich on Wednesday following a long-running FBI investigation.
Swiss authorities have simultaneously launched an inquiry into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has told the BBC there is "something deeply wrong at the heart of Fifa" and it needs to "clean up its act".
The arrests have sparked concerns among some of Fifa's sponsors, who say they may review their ties over the corruption allegations. | MPs are to debate allegations of corruption at world football's governing body Fifa, after the arrest of several senior officials. |
36,408,774 | A section of sandstone surrounding a stained glass window high in the south transept fell off overnight.
The cathedral is scheduled to be the venue for Battle of Jutland commemorations on Tuesday, with many dignitaries due to attend.
It is thought that a section of the stonework fell about 70ft to the ground between Saturday and Sunday.
Those attending the Battle of Jutland event on Tuesday will include the Duke of Edinburgh and Prime Minister David Cameron. | Stone masons have been called in to inspect part of St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney. |
37,602,586 | The Bank of Scotland recorded the fastest rate of expansion for 14 months, while firms also saw higher levels of new business and employment.
Its latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 51.2 in September, up from 49.1 in August. Any figure above 50 represents growth.
The increase came despite a rise in business costs, the report found.
The PMI measures month-on-month changes in combined manufacturing and services output.
In its report, the bank said the upturn in September was driven by the sharpest increase in new business intakes since August 2015.
Moreover, the rise in total output was broad-based as both manufacturers and service providers reported higher levels of business activity during the month.
Jobs growth continued in Scotland's private sector for the second consecutive month, but the rate of increase was only marginal. A number of panellists linked the rise in headcounts with efforts to support the expansion in output.
Nick Laird, from Bank of Scotland, said: "The improvement in the economy was equally shared between service providers and manufacturers, who both registered modest increases in output during the month.
"Demand for Scottish goods and services also rose, highlighted by a rise in new business.
"On another note, firms faced the fastest increase in input costs for 33 months, putting pressures on firms' margins as we approach the end of the year." | Output from Scotland's private sector has increased for the first time in three months, according to a report. |
38,671,144 | John Robinson's father-in-law receives payment from the energy scheme for two boilers.
In a statement obtained by the News Letter, the DUP said Mr Robinson had no role in his father-in-law's business.
It added he was stepping aside to avoid the "accusation or perception of a conflict of interest".
John Robinson is a key member of the DUP's backroom team - formally as the party's director of communications and now as special adviser to the economy Minister Simon Hamilton.
He was accused in the assembly by the former DUP Minister Jonathan Bell of interfering in the RHI scheme - an accusation he denied insisting he had no link to the scheme.
Mr Bell made the allegation on Monday, speaking under parliamentary privilege.
The DUP said the claims were "outrageous".
On Monday, Mr Robinson, who now advises the economy minister, denied any family links to the Renewable Heat Incentive.
But on Tuesday, Mr Robinson told the Press Association his father-in-law applied to the scheme in August 2015, before he was married in October.
The DUP has now confirmed that Mr Robinson did not inform the department of his father in law's involvement in the scheme as he felt there was no conflict of interest.
It said Mr Robinson regrets that this has allowed a situation to develop where there is a "perception of conflict".
"John has fully supported the minister's position for maximum legal transparency around the scheme," the statement added.
"Minister Hamilton and his special adviser have been fully focused on investigating alleged fraud and abuse of the RHI scheme, investigating why warning signs were not heeded and introducing cost control measures."
The DUP added that Mr Robinson "fully supports the establishment of a thorough inquiry into all aspects of the RHI Scheme" and said that when such a probe is established he will "co-operate fully with it and he is confident that his integrity will be upheld in any such investigation."
In an earlier statement on Tuesday, Mr Robinson said: "I have never had any personal financial interest in the RHI Scheme".
"At no point have I ever advised anyone to join the Sse or sought to benefit in any way from it.
"Neither my wife nor I have ever had any role in the business nor have we received any benefit, financial or otherwise, from the business.
"I was appointed as an adviser in the Department for the Economy in June 2016. I was not involved in any aspect of the RHI Scheme prior to taking up the post."
The RHI scheme was set up by former first minister Arlene Foster in 2012 when she was enterprise minister.
Its aim was to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources.
However, businesses received more in subsidies than they paid for fuel, and the scheme became heavily oversubscribed.
It could lead to an overspend of £490m over the next 20 years. | The economy minister's special adviser is stepping aside from any future involvement in the flawed RHI scheme after failing to declare a family link. |
39,029,445 | Swansea council built the £27m stadium where Swansea City FC and the Ospreys RFC have played since 2005.
Swansea City's new American owners have held unofficial talks with the council since they bought the club last summer.
The authority's cabinet approved the start of formal talks on a new Liberty Stadium lease on Thursday.
The Swans and the Ospreys currently pay a peppercorn rent to the Swansea Stadium Management Company (SSMC) - a body running the stadium which is a partnership between the council and the two clubs.
But council leader Rob Stewart said last week the SSMC structure was "not fit for purpose anymore" following the success and growth of both clubs.
Swansea City have gone from a fourth-tier Football League club to play in the Premier League while the Ospreys are Wales' most successful club since the start of regional rugby.
The Swans owners want to lease the ground and explore more commercial opportunities out of it including stadium naming rights and possible expansion.
"The council's ambition is to secure the best value for the people of Swansea from any future arrangements," said Mr Stewart.
"The current arrangements are not viable long term and do nothing to give the clubs the freedom they need to grow and succeed commercially or give the taxpayers a return on the investment made when the stadium was built - that's the balance the negotiations will try to achieve."
It is understood many of the aspects of a potential deal have already been discussed which would help to speed up the process. | Councillors hope a deal over the running of Swansea's Liberty Stadium could be struck before May's council elections, BBC Wales understands. |
31,988,721 | The findings catch evolution in the act of making this adjustment - as none of the critters have eyes, but some of them still have stumpy eye-stalks.
Three different species were studied, each representing a different subgroup within the same class of crustaceans.
The research is published in the journal BMC Neuroscience.
The class of "malocostracans" also includes much better-known animals like lobsters, shrimps and wood lice, but this study focussed on three tiny and obscure examples that were only discovered in the 20th Century. It is the first investigation of these mysterious animals' brains.
"We studied three species. All of them live in caves, and all of them are very rare or hardly accessible," said lead author Dr Martin Stegner, from the University of Rostock in Germany.
Specifically, his colleagues retrieved the specimens from the coast of Bermuda, from Table Mountain in South Africa, and from Monte Argentario in Italy.
The animals were preserved rather than living, so the team could not observe their tiny brains in action. But by looking at the physical shape of the brain, and making comparisons with what we know about how the brain works in their evolutionary relatives, the researchers were able to assign jobs to the various lobes, lumps and spindly structures they could see under the microscope.
They were also able to infer what the brain of the creatures' most recent shared ancestor might have looked like.
"What I've done is looked at the structure, and interpreted it in an evolutionary context," Dr Stegner told the BBC.
Interestingly, while the areas devoted to touch and to smell had remained the same or even expanded in the 200 million years or so since the animals' ancestry diverged, the bits of the brain devoted to seeing had shrunk.
It is perhaps not a huge surprise that animals living in total darkness might start to shed, over many generations, the parts of their brain devoted to seeing. But this vanishing act had never been confirmed for these species - and the rate of the change was startling, Dr Stegner said.
"The reduction is much more dramatic than for other crustaceans of this group," he explained.
"It's a nice example of life conditions changing the neuroanatomy."
Furthermore, it is a particularly striking glimpse of nature whittling away unnecessary components, because it has been caught half-way.
Each of these three species comes from its own subgroup, and all the known members of those subgroups are completely blind. But tell-tale signs of their ancestors' ability to see are still hanging around.
"None of them have eyes, but some of them have rudiments of these eye-stalks," Dr Stegner said.
In the time it has taken for evolution to get this far in streamlining the crustaceans' brains, the vast supercontinent Gondwana broke up into today's land masses. That is one of the reasons Dr Stegner's three species are distributed the way they are.
By the time those eye-stalk remnants have also disappeared, what our planet will look like is anyone's guess.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter | A study of blind crustaceans living in deep, dark caves has revealed that evolution is rapidly withering the visual parts of their brain. |
36,184,221 | Resuming on 275-8, Derbyshire lost Luke Fletcher to the fifth ball of the morning to Azharullah (4-95),
Shiv Thakor (83 not out) Andy Carter (17) then put on 48 for the 10th wicket to take the visitors to 324 all out.
Duckett and on-loan Notts opener Jake Libby (28 not out) saw the home side to 66-0 at close, 258 behind. | Ben Duckett's unbeaten 36 helped give Northants a solid start to their reply against Derbyshire before rain curtailed day two at Wantage Road. |
35,301,688 | The ex-England footballer, 55, and Danielle Bux, 36, have decided to end their six-year marriage and a decree nisi will be issued.
The ex-model and mother-of-one, from Ely, wed the presenter in Italy in 2009.
Lineker confirmed the news on Twitter on Wednesday.
He said: "Thank you all for your kind words. @DanielleBux and I had many wonderful years together.
"We remain very close and the greatest of friends."
Ms Bux tweeted she will "cherish" the years the pair had together and they remained "best" friends.
A spokesman for the couple also confirmed to The Sun: "Gary and Danielle have decided to end their marriage."
He added: "They remain the greatest of friends and wish each other every happiness."
The paper quoted a source as saying the break-up was "friendly" and the pair filled out forms on a UK government website together.
The online site costs around £400, meaning the couple saved tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees.
When the couple married in Ravello they had been dating for two years.
Lineker had previously been married to Michelle, mother of his four sons, for 20 years.
They divorced in 2006. | Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and his Cardiff-born wife have filed for divorce. |
29,314,986 | The US have not won on European soil for 21 years, while the home team count in their ranks the world's top-ranked player in Rory McIlroy and three of this year's four major champions.
But Watson, returning to the country where he won four of his five Open championships, believes his unheralded team can bring down both McIlroy and Europe's great inspiration two years ago, Ian Poulter.
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Watson, 65, said: "When you beat the stud on the other side, it gives a boost to your team.
"The bottom line is that if each of your players wins more than they lose, we win as a team. That is what I have told our team.
"Poulter, he's an 80% victor over the matches he has played in. We would like to reduce that."
Watson, the oldest captain in the contest's 87-year history, wants revenge for the shock defeat at Medinah in 2012, when they led 10-6 going into the final day's singles only to lose eight and draw one of the 12 matches as a Poulter-led Europe pulled off one of the great Ryder Cup comebacks.
Only seven of that American dozen have made it to Gleneagles, but Watson - captain when the US won at the Belfry in 1993 - said: "I have made it very clear to them that this trip is a redemption trip.
"Those players that played on that team… it's time to make amends and try to redeem yourselves from what happened in 2012. I think it's a motivation rather than a negative.
In addition to McIlroy, winner of both the Open and US PGA this summer, Europe's team contains three more of the world's top six ranked players and US Open champion Martin Kaymer.
Only once since 2002 - at Valhalla six years ago - have they lost the Ryder Cup.
"I think we're slight favourites," said captain Paul McGinley. "We're not overwhelming favourites.
"But we have been favourites before in Ryder Cups. I think our players have deserved it, and I think it's a situation to embrace."
McGinley, 47, said his side should not be "afraid" or "ashamed" of being favourites - and warned they face a "very tough contest".
He added: "The guys have worked very hard to be in the position they are.
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"Having said that, I did a bit of calculation myself when the two teams were formulated, and Tom's team's average ranking position was 16 and ours was 18. So this is not a weak American team.
"We might be slight favourites with the bookies, but the two teams are very well balanced and very close together."
Both teams arrived in Perthshire on Monday, with McIlroy one of the first on the driving range set up alongside the substantially redesigned Centenary course.
McGinley insisted there were no problems between the 25-year-old and his fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell.
McDowell, 35, admitted in his BBC Sport column that the lawsuit McIlroy has filed against his management company had put a strain on their relationship, but stressed he would love to be paired with his compatriot again.
Yet McGinley may have other plans ahead of Friday morning's fourballs.
He said: "Both of them have assured me all along that there's no issues, and that's the way I've always seen it. Whether they come together or not is another story.
"Three or four months ago, I had a very strong view that they would have been, but the more I look at their statistics and the more I look at the different value I have with them, I'm thinking there may be a value in not doing it.
"But if I don't decide to play them, it would be for tactical reasons. It won't be for any other reasons.
"They have played six Ryder Cup matches and they have only won two together. It's not like these guys are written in stone." | US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson says his team will be targeting Europe's best player and talisman as they seek to overturn golfing logic and recent history this week. |
39,848,688 | The stand-out feel-good men of the three-Test summer tour - Italy in Singapore, Australia in Sydney and Fiji in Suva - are the three uncapped players - D'Arcy Rae, the Glasgow tight-head, George Turner, the Edinburgh hooker and Nick Grigg, the Glasgow centre.
Grigg, a Kiwi with an Ayrshire grandfather, came on the Scottish radar by way of a tip-off from the great All Black forward Andy Leslie. He's had a fine season with Glasgow.
Rae is something of a surprise, but Turner is the real bolter. The 24-year-old was once the coming man of Edinburgh rugby but he has started just one game for them in five years. Townsend has a lot of faith in Turner.
The biggest casualty is just as obvious. Having been included in the match-day 23 for every one of Scotland's Six Nations matches this season - coming off the bench in four of them - Duncan Weir has bitten the dust.
Townsend has picked two fly-halves, but Finn Russell's understudy is now Glasgow's Peter Horne. Ruaridh Jackson, of Harlequins, has also been selected, a third 10 who is included in the back-three category. With Russell, Horne and Jackson in the travelling party, Weir has gone from second-choice to fourth.
He's not alone among 2017 Six Nations players who are going to be left at home this summer. Simon Berghan, the Edinburgh tight-head, played three games off the bench in the championship but he's lost his place to Rae, who Townsend talked up as a consistent player who deserves his chance. WP Nel, blighted by injury since his last Test in Japan last June, is included and has started to take contact in training, a blessing for the new coach.
Cornell du Preez, the Edinburgh back-row who made two substitute appearances in the Six Nations, has been replaced. Magnus Bradbury is in after being dropped following his one Scotland appearance against Argentina last autumn. Josh Strauss returns following injury as does Saracens' Duncan Taylor, a key addition to the squad. Rob Harley is back in the frame having falling out of contention under Vern Cotter.
Though he started in Scotland's, and Cotter's, last Test against Italy in the spring, Grant Gilchrist has missed out to his Edinburgh team-mate Ben Toolis. Others are absent through Lions selection - Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Greig Laidlaw - and injury - Huw Jones, Mark Bennett, Alasdair Dickinson, Rory Sutherland and Stuart McInally.
Townsend has chosen 17 Glasgow players and another 17 from Edinburgh (10) and the exiles (seven). John Barclay carries on as captain in Laidlaw's absence with Sean Maitland favourite to take over from Hogg at full-back in the Tests and Lee Jones in the box-seat to fill in for Seymour on the wing.
For the coach, there is an upside to having only three players away with the Lions and no Scottish team in contention in the Pro12 play-offs. He'll have to sweat on Barclay, Taylor and Maitland as they enter league knockouts with their clubs, but he'll have three weeks to work with the vast bulk of his squad before they depart for Singapore and another three weeks after that on tour.
The ball is now rolling on the Townsend era. Three Saturdays in June will give us the first idea what direction that era is heading in. | A squad of 34 players was always going to have a story or two - some winners and some losers in Gregor Townsend's first selection as Scotland coach. |
33,722,408 | Edward James, 68, hired out his land to cannabis growers but was caught with 395 plants.
When police raided the farm in Devon, James told officers he began growing drugs because it made more money than chickens, Exeter Crown Court heard.
James, of View Farm, Bratton Fleming, Barnstaple, admitted producing cannabis and was jailed for 15 months.
The court heard the farmer was paid rent by two men who set up growing rooms in a lorry container and a barn and turned an electricity sub station into a drying room.
Sentencing, Recorder Timothy Grice said James knew he was housing "a substantial commercial operation for the production of drugs".
He said: "I am perfectly certain if you did not know immediately, you did very shortly afterwards and you did it for profit."
Nigel Wraith, for the prosecution, said the operation had the potential to produce 10kg (22lb) of cannabis worth between £68,000 and £109,000.
Gareth Evans, for the defence, said the men who set up the operation wrecked James's car following the police raid by way of retribution for losing the potential yield.
He said James's wife would suffer most from the prison sentence and would probably have to sell the farm. | A chicken farmer who turned to growing illegal drugs to increase his profits has been jailed. |
29,841,990 | Turrialba volcano, some 50km (30 miles) east of San Jose, began rumbling and producing seismic activity on Wednesday night.
The authorities said they were evacuating nearby residents to temporary shelters as a precaution.
Eyewitnesses reported fiery explosions and ash falling like snow over parts of central Costa Rica.
This is Turrialba's largest eruption in more than a century.
The National Emergency Commission said volcanologists and other specialists were on site to assess the situation.
Costa Rica is home to dozens of volcanoes, but most of them are dormant. | Costa Rica has issued an emergency alert after ash from an erupting volcano reached the capital and beyond. |
40,579,211 | Andrew Scott, 27, was last seen leaving his home in Winterborne Whitechurch to go fishing at Ringstead Bay on Monday.
In a statement his family said: "We are desperate to have Andrew home safe and well with us."
A coastguard-led search was stood down on Tuesday evening. Police said efforts to find Mr Scott continue.
Lifeboats, coastguard teams and the coastguard helicopter were initially dispatched to look for Mr Scott at about 21:00 BST on Monday.
The search continued throughout Tuesday.
The family statement said: "We would appeal to anyone with any information to contact police, no matter how small or insignificant it seems, as it could potentially help to find Andrew."
When he went missing police said Mr Scott was possibly wearing a full black wetsuit, blue flippers and a snorkel.
Rescue teams found his bright-orange dry bag containing his car keys, mobile phone and clothing at the White Nothe headland, while his car was discovered parked at nearby Ringstead Bay. | The family of a Dorset man who failed to return home from the Jurassic Coast after going spear fishing have appealed for information. |
35,094,706 | Daniel Jones, 60, has admitted his role in the £14m burglary in April.
His friend Carl Wood, 58, told Woolwich Crown Court that Jones was obsessed with crime and would sleep in his mother's dressing gown and a fez hat.
Mr Wood is one of three men who deny conspiracy to commit burglary in relation to the raid.
A fourth denies conspiracy to conceal or transfer criminal property.
Mr Wood told the court his friend was also obsessed with the Army - often going to bed in a sleeping bag on his bedroom floor.
He told jurors he first met Jones in a pub about 30 years ago, and the two became friends over their mutual interest in keeping fit.
Mr Wood told the court that Jones was "eccentric to extremes", and would speak to his white-haired terrier dog, Rocket, as if it were human.
The defendant said of his friend: "He would read palms, tell people he could read their fortunes - bit of a Walter Mitty.
"Danny was studying crime all the time in his room, reading books about it, watch films and go on the internet."
He said Jones was having arguments with his "agoraphobic wife" at home and that she was "keeping on at him" while he was "doing something important that involved a lot of money".
The court heard the two men would often speak on the phone, but Wood explained this as "general chit chat".
The prosecution alleges that the series of phone calls involved plotting the Hatton Garden raid.
Referring to a call made in early January, Nick Corsellis, defending, asked: "Were you discussing the planning of the largest burglary in English history?"
Mr Wood replied: "No I was not."
Asked why he did not use his phone - a "cheap Tesco" mobile - again after the burglary, Mr Wood said he thought it had been stolen.
He is accused of being one of the men who broke into Hatton Garden Safe Deposit in central London on the night of 2 April.
Mr Wood is alleged to have also returned two nights later, but walked away from the job after finding the fire escape door closed.
The prosecution alleges that a suspect identified as "Man F" in CCTV footage of the burglary is Mr Wood, a claim he denies.
He told the court he was not part of the burglary team on either night as he was at home.
Jones, of Park Avenue, Enfield; John Collins, 75, of Bletsoe Walk, Islington; Terry Perkins, 67, of Heene Road, Enfield and Brian Reader, 76, of Dartford Road, Dartford, have all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.
The trial continues.
Defendants and charges | One of the Hatton Garden raid ringleaders was "eccentric to extremes" and a "bit of a Walter Mitty", a court has been told. |
37,148,717 | The West Bromwich Albion player will be in Michael O'Neill's squad for the opening Group C qualifying match away to the Czech Republic on 4 September.
The full squad for the match in Prague will be announced on Wednesday.
When Northern Ireland bowed out of Euro 2016, some wondered if 36-year-old McAuley had played his last NI match.
But boss O'Neill said the 63-times capped stalwart had opted to play on for the World Cup campaign.
"He has started the season in fine form for West Brom and I am delighted he made the decision he did," said O'Neill, whose team reached the last 16 at the summer's European Championship finals in France.
"He had a great championship for us. I have never left him out of the team in my four and a half years in charge and I do not envisage doing it in the next two either."
While McAuley is certain to be in the squad to face the Czech Republic, O'Neill has hinted another long-serving defender, Aaron Hughes, may be left out.
The 36-year-old former Newcastle United and Aston Villa man has signed for Indian Super League team Kerala Blasters after leaving Melbourne City.
"The Indian season does not start until the end of December and Aaron has been training on his own in Australia," O'Neill said.
"He has not done pre-season work of any description and it is a conversation me and Aaron have been having over the last few weeks.
"I have to decide if it is worth taking him."
Northern Ireland's other opponents in qualifying Group C are Germany, Norway, Azerbaijan and San Marino.
Their first home match is against San Marino on 8 October. | Northern Ireland's World Cup prospects have been boosted after defender Gareth McAuley decided to extend his international career. |
40,919,852 | Simone Inzaghi's side led 2-0 thanks to Ciro Immobile's double, the first from a penalty and the second a fine header after the break.
Paulo Dybala scored twice in the last five minutes for Juve, with a free-kick and a penalty, to level the score.
But Alessandro Murgia converted Jordan Lukaku's cross in injury time as Lazio won without needing extra time. | Lazio beat Juventus 3-2 in the Italian Super Cup following a thrilling finale at the Stadio Olimpico. |
28,755,033 | In fact, the epidemic killed five times more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.
More than 21 months on from the first confirmed case recorded on 23 March 2014, 11,315 people have been reported as having died from the disease in six countries; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali.
The total number of reported cases is about 28,637.
But on 13 January, 2016, the World Health Organisation declared the last of the countries affected, Liberia, to be Ebola-free.
11,315
Deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected
(Includes one in the US and six in Mali)
4,809 Liberia
3,955 Sierra Leone
2,536 Guinea
8 Nigeria
The World Health Organization (WHO) admits the figures are underestimates, given the difficulty collecting the data.
There needs to be 42 days without any new cases for a country to be declared Ebola-free.
The outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal were declared officially over by the WHO in October 2014. Sierra Leone and Guinea both had much larger outbreaks and it took a little longer. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on 7 November 2015, Guinea followed in December.
Liberia has been the worst-hit, with more than 4,800 dead and 10,672 becoming infected. The WHO said that at the peak of transmission, during August and September 2014, Liberia was reporting between 300 and 400 new cases every week.
The epidemic seemed to abate and the outbreak in Liberia was declared over on 9 May 2015 - only to re-emerge seven weeks later when a 17-year-old man died from the disease and more cases were reported. The same happened in September, which is why the latest declaration of Liberia being Ebola-free, while welcome, should be treated with caution, say correspondents.
The WHO has warned that West Africa may see flare-ups of the virus.
Researchers from the New England Journal of Medicine traced the outbreak to a two-year-old toddler, who died in December 2013 in Meliandou, a small village in south-eastern Guinea.
In March, hospital staff alerted Guinea's Ministry of Health and then medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). They reported a mysterious disease in the south-eastern regions of Gueckedou, Macenta, Nzerekore, and Kissidougou.
It caused fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. It also had a high death rate. Of the first 86 cases, 59 people died.
The WHO later confirmed the disease as Ebola.
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The Gueckedou prefecture in Guinea, where the outbreak started, is a major regional trading centre and, by the end of March, Ebola had crossed the border into Liberia. It was confirmed in Sierra Leone in May.
In June, MSF described the Ebola outbreak as out of control.
Nigeria had its first case of the disease in July and, in the same month, two leading doctors died from Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In August, the United Nations health agency declared an "international public health emergency", saying that a co-ordinated response was essential to halt the spread of the virus.
Senegal reported its first case of Ebola on 29 August. A young man from Guinea had travelled to Senegal despite having been infected with the virus, officials said.
By September, WHO director general Margaret Chan said the number of patients was "moving far faster than the capacity to manage them".
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, Thomas Frieden, said in October that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was unlike anything since the emergence of HIV/Aids. But Senegal managed to halt transmissions by mid October.
Authorities in Mali confirmed the death of the country's first Ebola patient, a two-year-old girl, on 25 October. The girl had travelled hundreds of kilometres by bus from Guinea through Mali showing symptoms of the disease, the WHO said.
An infected Islamic preacher from Guinea, who was initially diagnosed with a kidney problem, was treated at a clinic in Bamako. The preacher died a few days after entering the country.
Two health workers who cared for the preacher also died after contracting the virus. In total, Mali recorded six deaths from Ebola. By January 2015 however, the country was declared ebola-free.
*In all but three cases the patient was infected with Ebola while in West Africa. Infection outside Africa has been restricted to health workers in Madrid and in Dallas. DR Congo also reported a separate outbreak of an unrelated strain of Ebola.
The first case of the deadly virus diagnosed on US soil was announced on 1 October. Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, who contracted the virus in Liberia before travelling to the US, died on 8 October.
He had not displayed symptoms of the disease until 24 September, five days after his arrival. Other people with whom he came into contact are being monitored for symptoms.
Two medical workers in Dallas, Texas, who treated Duncan tested positive for Ebola since his death but have both recovered. The second death on US soil was surgeon Martin Salia, from Sierra Leone. He was flown back to the United States in November and treated for Ebola at a hospital in Nebraska. But Dr Salia, who had US residency and was married to an American, died a short time later.
Spanish nurse Teresa Romero was the first person to contract the virus outside West Africa. She was part of a team of about 30 staff at the Carlos II hospital in Madrid looking after two missionaries who returned from Liberia and Sierra Leone after becoming infected.
Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Switzerland and the UK have all treated patients who contracted the virus in West Africa.
Ebola was first identified in 1976 and occurs in regions of sub-Saharan Africa. There are normally fewer than 500 cases reported each year, and no cases were reported at all between 1979 and 1994.
In August 2014, the WHO confirmed a separate outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By the beginning of October there had been 70 cases reported and 43 deaths.
However, the outbreak in DR Congo was a different strain of the virus and unrelated to the epidemic in West Africa, which now dwarfs all previous outbreaks. | The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and rapidly became the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. |
36,468,154 | Nigerians spent $1bn (£690m) on foreign medical trips in 2013, most of which was unnecessary, said Dr Osahon Enabulele.
Nigerian politicians were mostly treated by Nigerian doctors in the UK, he added.
Mr Buhari flew to London on Monday to be treated for an ear infection.
It is unclear where the 73-year-old would be treated for what his office described as a "persistent" infection.
Dr Enabulele, vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, said it was a "national shame" that Mr Buhari went to the UK for treatment when Nigeria had more than 250 ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, as well as a National Ear Centre.
Mr Buhari should lead by example by using Nigerian doctors and facilities, and ensure government officials do not go abroad on "frivolous" medical trips, he added.
The UK had more than 3,000 Nigerian-trained doctors, and the US more than 5,000, Dr Enabule said, accusing the government of failing to address the brain drain by improving working conditions and health centres.
Mr Buhari, in a speech delivered on his behalf to the Nigeria Medical Association in April, said the government's hard-earned cash would not be spent on treating officials overseas, especially when Nigeria had the expertise.
Nigeria is one of Africa's biggest oil producers but most of its citizens live in poverty.
Mr Buhari took office last year on a promise to tackle corruption and waste. | A leading Nigerian doctor has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of reneging on a promise to end "medical tourism" by seeking treatment in the UK. |
35,775,454 | The answer is London's newest railway system, Crossrail or the Elizabeth Line as it will be known.
The 200 metre (650 ft) long trains will each carry up to 1,500 passengers on an east-west route taking in more than 60 miles (96 km) of track.
But why should anyone in Wales care about more investment in London transport?
That is a question I put to the project chairman Terry Morgan, originally from Cwmbran, and Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb as I joined them on a tour of the new Paddington station. | What is 35 metres underground, will be used by 200 million passengers a year and costs almost £15bn? |
40,485,319 | The victims, mainly women, were often exposed to asbestos while washing their spouse's clothing.
They fall outside a compensation scheme which only covers those who contracted the disease directly at their work.
Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma - a type of cancer that mainly affects the lining of the lungs.
Victims can attempt to identify the insurance policy for the company they worked for and then pursue a civil claim.
If that is not possible then the UK government diffuse mesothelioma payments scheme, introduced in 2014, can provide compensation.
However, neither of these options are open to the family members of employees who, for instance, brought home clothing covered with asbestos.
Euan Love, from Digby Brown solicitors who are representing some of the victims, said the government should consider extending the scheme to this group.
"The negligent act is identical for the man working in the premises and the man bringing home the overalls to his wife and her being exposed in that way," he said.
"There is a potential argument that it is discriminatory against women as they are disproportionately affected by their inability to seek compensation either through the insurance policy or through the diffuse mesothelioma payments.
"They are left to rely on state benefits funded by the taxpayer."
A DWP spokeswoman said the scheme was designed for people who contracted the disease because they were exposed to asbestos at work.
She added: "But we know there will be people who develop the disease after coming into contact with asbestos in other ways, which is why we have a separate scheme to provide people with the financial support they need."
Trish Doig is one of the women who are thought to have become ill because of exposure to asbestos brought home on the clothing of a family member.
"I think I came into contact with asbestos when I stayed with my aunt and uncle in the 60s," she said. "My uncle worked for a Dundee boiler company and they worked with asbestos all the time.
"I think the fibres came home on his clothes, he would give me a lift to work in his little van which was full of asbestos and I think that is where my contact came from in the 60s.
"I think the fibres were all around his van and anyone inside his van was exposed to these little tiny fibres that you couldn't even see."
Doctors initially assumed she must have worked with asbestos when they gave her diagnosis.
She said: "I was shocked. I'd never heard of this mesothelioma. Quite horrifying."
She's always breathless.
"I don't do very much now. I still try to do housework and I still cook but as far as doing anything energetic, I find that quite difficult.
"I find I don't have the energy for that. And when I do try to do too much then I just get breathless and I have to sit down."
Her husband Ally Doig insists their fight is "not about the money".
"My feeling about it is the sheer injustice of it, that the government recognised in 2014 that there were lots of people who were left unable to claim because companies had ceased to exist or their insurance companies couldn't be traced."
He agrees that the government deserves credits for at least introducing a compensation scheme.
"Unfortunately the eligibility criteria for it is limited to people who have acquired the disease directly through their own employment," he said.
"So anyone who has acquired it - for example women washing their husband's clothes - they're excluded, they're just not eligible for the scheme at all.
"I just think that really in this day and age that's just not right. I think all citizens should be entitled to expect the same treatment under the law."
Trish Doig said she cannot understand why people in her position receive so little.
"I think it's wrong that they do what they do, because the way I look at it is that I didn't ask to get this disease but I have it," she said.
"And if there is a way of some compensation, whether it's a lot of money or a little money, then it would be quite nice to think at least someone's listening out there." | People who developed a fatal lung disease after coming into contact with asbestos through family members have begun a campaign for compensation. |
35,252,643 | Water levels at the lough are at a 30-year-high after recent heavy rain, which caused damage to numerous businesses on its shores.
Brothers Steven and Glen Allen farm beef cattle on a 50 acre farm near Portadown. Thirty of those acres are now under water.
The pair said long-term action needs to be taken to address the problem.
They have hired pumps and are using sandbags to keep the water from the lough out of their cattle sheds.
They claimed a build up of silt, where the River Bann flows into Lough Neagh, is causing the river to back up and flood.
Elsewhere in County Armagh, the Rivers Agency is working to protect a Grade 2 listed thatched cottage outside Portadown.
Water started coming into Dan and Kate McQuillan's home around New Year's Eve. The couple said they will need help to save it.
Mr McQuillan said the house is suffering from multiple problems associated with the flood water.
"The electric keeps tripping, the septic tank's two feet under water, we can't use the toilet or the shower, wash dishes or clothes," he said.
"Kate keeps watch during the night to make sure the pump doesn't go off, because the minute it goes off, the place fills up with water.
"I make sure everything's okay during the day - checking the drainage and the wee trenches the boys have dug are clear."
He said he now fears the listed building could collapse.
A short distance away, a man, whose son returned from Australia at Christmas to marry and move in to a newly renovated cottage, says their home has been destroyed.
Adrian McKernan spent several years renovating the cottage, which has been badly affected by the flooding from Lough Neagh.
The Rivers Agency is pumping water away from the house and have built a sandbag barrier in an attempt to protect it.
Mr McKernan said the young couple's "dreams have been ruined".
An "urgent" ministerial meeting has been held to discuss the response to flooding across Northern Ireland.
The agriculture, regional development and environment ministers attended.
It comes after a range of flood-hit businesses on the shores of Lough Neagh questioned if enough was done to prevent rising waters brought on by winter storms.
The agriculture minister said the meeting would be a chance to "hold [government] agencies to account" over their actions in dealing with floods. | Two County Armagh farmers have been fighting to keep the rising waters of Lough Neagh from swamping their farm. |
33,326,604 | Eileen Swannack, 70, and partner John Welch, 74, both from Wiltshire, have not made contact since the shootings at the resort near Sousse on Friday.
Police said relatives of Ms Swannack and Mr Welch, of Corsham, were getting family liaison officer support.
It is feared up to 30 UK citizens were killed, but only 18 are confirmed dead.
Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, Mr Welch's grandson Daniel Welch said: "You know that we're going to get some sort of news at some point, whether it be today, tomorrow or the next day, and you know it's probably not going to be great, because they haven't been able to make contact themselves by now."
Tunisian authorities have arrested several people on suspicion of helping the gunman, who had links to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). | A British couple who are still officially classed as missing following the Tunisian beach attack are among the dead, the BBC understands. |
39,018,882 | The deployment comes days after China's foreign ministry warned Washington against challenging Beijing's sovereignty in the region.
China claims several contested shoals, islets and reefs in the area.
It has been constructing artificial islands with airstrips in the South China Sea for a number of years.
The aircraft carrier was last in the South China Sea two years ago, for exercises with Malaysia's navy and air force and has made 16 voyages to the region in its 35 years of US navy service.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis said during a recent trip to Japan that the Trump administration saw no need for "dramatic military moves" at the stage.
The statement appeared to repudiate comments on the subject from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who told senators during his confirmation hearings that China should be prevented from reaching the disputed islands.
On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: "We urge the US not to take any actions that challenge China's sovereignty and security." | US aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson has started what it calls "routine operations" in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships. |
40,780,831 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Pressure is mounting on head coach Ian Cathro after the Edinburgh side were knocked out of the League Cup.
And, with work continuing on the main stand at Tynecastle, Hearts' first four Premiership games are away to Celtic, Kilmarnock, Rangers and Motherwell.
"These games make you or break you and hopefully they're going to be the making of us," Berra said.
The 32-year-old reckons that, following a tough week in the League Cup. there is "no better game to bounce back" in than away to champions Celtic on Saturday.
A 2-1 defeat at Peterhead was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Dunfermline Athletic, with the Pars winning the penalty shootout and the bonus point that came with it.
The Gorgie fans vented their anger towards Cathro at the end of Saturday's match and Berra revealed that the players had a frank exchange in the dressing-room at full time.
"It's not the result we wanted and we had a few harsh words afterwards for 10-15 minutes between the players, which was needed," the summer signing from Ipswich Town revealed.
"Sometimes, if you let it lie, you come back into training and everything is rosy again, nothing is said.
"So sometimes you're better saying things in the heat of the moment in the changing-room after games. I said a few things, a few other boys and the manager did too."
Berra, who was also at Hearts from 2003-09, says the players are backing head coach Cathro and the Scotland international reckons the 31-year-old is the man to take the club forward.
But he knows the pressure is on the man who took over in December last year and guided Hearts to a fifth-place finish in the Premiership.
"At the end of the game, the fans weren't happy, first and foremost, and the players can sense that," Berra said.
"It's not just on the manager, it's the players as well, we're not getting results. We're the ones who cross that white line.
"We're the ones on the pitch, not taking chances or making mistakes that lose the game. So, in the end, the responsibility lies on the players and we need to do better as well.
"I wasn't here when he was revealed as manager, but a lot of press has been on his back, but he won't be the only one or the last one - that's football and I'm sure the manager is big enough to take that on the chin and move on."
Cathro is in his first job as team boss, with the former Dundee United youth coach having been assistant Rio Ave, Valencia and Newcastle United.
"It's a lot of pressure," added Berra. "If you're a footballer or a manager, if things are not going well, you're going to get stick. That's the way it is.
"Scotland is a small country, but there is a lot of media and that's the way it is - it's the nature of the beast.
"The only way we're going to win the fans over is by winning games, starting the season well and doing the best we can." | Club captain Christophe Berra says the first four league games of the season are "make or break" for Hearts. |
34,614,203 | The Crues trail leaders Linfield by two points, while Glenavon lie in fifth.
Meanwhile Glentoran's Director of Football Roy Coyle will take charge for his side's trip to Warrenpoint Town following Eddie Patterson's dismissal.
Basement club Warrenpoint are without rib injury victim Darren King and the suspended Jordan Dane, while Mark Clarke is doubtful with a foot injury.
'Point manager Barry Gray is also missing long-term casualties Johnny Parr and John McGuigan.
Michael McNamee presents coverage of all six Irish Premiership matches on Saturday Sportsound.
Joel Taggart and Tommy Breslin will be at Seaview to watch Crusaders play Glenavon while Grant Cameron and Liam Beckett take in Coleraine against Cliftonville at Ballycastle Road.
The programme will also have reports from the remainder of the afternoon's games and news of the rest of the day's sporting action.
Sportsound on BBC Radio Ulster from 14:00 BST
Linfield will hope to have Andy Waterworth, who has scored 12 goals in 11 Premiership outings, back in their squad after injury for the visit of Carrick Rangers to Windsor Park.
Coleraine's early-season form has been boosted by the goalscoring exploits of striker James McLaughlin, who has bagged five goals in five games and 10 for the season.
"We have a really good changing room at the moment. We have a very tight group of players and there is a real togetherness among the squad," said Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney ahead of his side's game against Cliftonville at Ballycastle Road.
Cliftonville boss Gerard Lyttle has bolstered his squad by signing former Celtic winger Paul George and he knows his team face a tough task against an outfit "who have got a bit of momentum going".
"We have achieved some good results but we have to continue to work hard and try to improve. I can't speak highly enough of the application of the players," said Lyttle.
Meanwhile Ballymena United manager Glenn Ferguson has urged his players to be more clinical in front of goal as they prepare to play struggling Dungannon Swifts at the Showgrounds.
The Swifts are without banned midfielder Jamie Glackin as they aim to halt a run of four consecutive league defeats, while the hosts have themselves gone three matches without picking up a point.
"There are four teams being cut adrift at the bottom of the table and whoever can put together a run of two or three wins in a row out of five or six games has a chance to pull themselves clear," argued Swifts manager Darren Murphy.
Portadown entertain a Ballinamallard United side who are without influential midfielder Cathal Beacom, ruled out of the visit to Shamrock Park with a hamstring problem.
Beacom could be absent for three weeks, but on the plus side, Stephen Feeney has recovered from a calf complaint in time to take his place in the squad.
Danske Bank Premiership fixtures - Saturday 24 October - 15:00 BST kick-offs
Ballymena United v Dungannon Swifts
Coleraine v Cliftonville
Crusaders v Glenavon
Linfield v Carrick Rangers
Portadown v Ballinamallard Utd
Warrenpoint Town v Glentoran | Crusaders welcome back skipper Colin Coates after suspension for Saturday's Irish Premiership game with Glenavon. |
39,885,084 | Chasing 261, Notts were wobbling at 84-3 before Patel (103) and Steven Mullaney's (77) unbroken stand of 181.
Lancashire were earlier restricted to 260-6 despite an unbeaten 75 from Haseeb Hameed, as Notts put in an excellent all-round bowling display.
Notts will reach the quarter-finals if they beat Northamptonshire.
Meanwhile, Lancashire must beat Durham to have any chance.
Lancashire had won their previous three games, including a thriller against Derbyshire on Friday, but were outclassed in front of a crowd in excess of 8,000 at Trent Bridge.
The visitors were squeezed in excellent batting conditions, firstly by the pace of James Pattinson and Stuart Broad, then the control of Patel's spin and Mullaney's medium pace.
An opening stand of 98 between Karl Brown and Alex Davies was compiled in only 16 overs but, after Brown drove Broad to cover for 52, Lancashire were strangled.
Hameed held the innings together with delicate touch and swiftness between the wickets, but Lancashire simply could not accelerate.
Although Ryan McLaren (42) helped Lancashire take 61 from the final six overs, their total seemed well short of being competitive, and looked even more so when Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels got stuck into the visiting bowling.
But Lancashire all-rounder Danny Lamb, on his debut in the absence of the injured Jordan Clark, removed both to drag the away side back into the contest.
However, Patel and Mullaney absorbed the pressure, then exploited a Lancashire attack that became increasingly short of options.
In the end, Patel in particular accelerated towards the finish line, the victory completed with 24 balls to spare.
Notts all-rounder Samit Patel told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"I've been ticking quite nicely but just not been converting and that's been disappointing.
"I've been working hard on my game and it's now coming all together at the right time.
"We can only do what we can do against Northants but it's a massive game on Tuesday. We've got to play well to qualify."
Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"260 was possibly a bit light. It was a funny innings really. We worked well through the powerplay and up to the first 17 overs but then it got more difficult.
"Leicester now have a tough game against Yorkshire and Notts have a tough game against Northants.
"So all we can do is go to the Riverside and try to beat Durham and see." | Samit Patel made an unbeaten century as Nottinghamshire kept their One-Day Cup hopes alive with a seven-wicket defeat of Lancashire. |
35,539,439 | London-based Banker Magazine awarded Amara Konneh its African Finance Minister of the Year award in 2014.
But on Tuesday the Senate voted to jail Mr Konneh for acting beyond his powers by proposing a $1.2m (£800,000) budget cut.
The Supreme Court ordered a halt on his imprisonment "until further notice".
Senate leader Armah Jallah told the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia that the Senate had voted unanimously to jail the finance minister because he did not have the powers to reduce their budget.
The issue of how much politicians get paid is often the subject of radio talk shows and public debate here in Liberia.
The 103 lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives get monthly salaries of $13,000 (£9,000) each.
And now there is an extra pressure for scrutiny about that pay.
The decline in the country's two main foreign-exchange earners - rubber and iron ore - has cut the country's budget to below $500m, meaning all sectors of the government are coming under pressure to cut their budgets. | Liberia's Supreme Court has stopped the Senate's attempts to jail the country's finance minister after he tried to clamp down on politicians' expenses. |
25,741,869 | The Queen received more than 70 presents from foreign dignitaries, charities and private individuals.
A member of the Sri Lankan parliament presented a portrait of the Queen burned on to a tree trunk.
Regulations state that official gifts are not the property of the royal recipient but may be used by them.
The rules surrounding gifts to the Royal Family call for extravagant gifts to be "discouraged" and can be refused if they are inappropriate or "appear to place the member of the Royal Family under any obligation to the donor".
Official gifts are defined as being any object received on an official engagement, and only items with a value of less than £150, given by a person or organisation privately known by the royal, can be considered a personal present.
Princess Anne received some unusual-sounding official gifts, including a plastic stand-up angel, a garden gnome and a book titled Your Arms Remind Me of Pork Luncheon Meat.
Gifts to the Duke of York took a culinary theme, with a chocolate hamper, Turkish sweets, champagne, tea, a gingerbread cathedral, a box of mangoes, macaroons and a chocolate bear presented to him.
Recipients of such perishable items who choose or are unable to consume them themselves are instructed by the official gift rules to pass them on to charities to avoid waste.
Ties were a popular present for the male royals - with the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Kent all receiving additions to their wardrobes.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall received their official gifts while on overseas tours to India and Sri Lanka, and the Gulf states.
Prince Charles lists ceremonial necklaces, several chests of teas, a number of decorative elephants, Arabic coffee sets and bottle of perfume as items received on the trips.
Apart from the colourful art and exotic objects the Queen received from foreign dignitaries, she also received some unusual novelty items on engagements in the UK.
On a visit to Baker Street station to mark the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, the Queen was given a commemorative Oyster Card.
And an artillery cartridge that was fired as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations was mounted on a plinth and offered to the Queen on a visit to the barracks of the the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
The Queen also received gifts from the BBC, including framed copies of the Radio Times to commemorate her 60 years on the throne, and a radio alarm clock.
The details of the items and donors were revealed in lists of official gifts to members of the Royal Family released by Buckingham Palace and Clarence House. | A gnome, a photograph of the Royal Family set on a decorative ostrich egg, and golf clubs were among gifts received by the Royal Family in 2013. |
22,863,552 | Navas, 27, passed a medical in New York to complete a deal worth an initial £14.9m, potentially rising to £15.9m over the course of his contract.
"Manchester City is an exciting project and this is the right moment for me to take this step," he told the club's official website.
Navas has suffered from chronic homesickness in the past and spent his entire career at Sevilla, which is 20 miles north of his hometown of Los Palacios y Villafranca.
He turned down a move to Chelsea after helping Sevilla beat Middlesbrough in the 2006 Uefa Cup final, citing a fear of living abroad.
Navas has suffered from anxiety attacks when away from home for extended periods and has been forced to leave training camps on several occasions.
The good news for Manchester City fans is that extensive counselling appears to have alleviated the problem.
"I'm very happy with the opportunity and the decision."
Navas, who has earned 23 caps for Spain, is City's second major signing of the summer following Fernandinho's arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £30m.
The Spain international has spent his entire career to date at Sevilla, which is 20 miles north of his hometown of Los Palacios y Villafranca.
He was a key part of the Sevilla team that won the Uefa Cup in 2006 and 2007 but was held back earlier in his career by a fear of travelling away from his Andalusian home.
A quick and direct right winger, he was a member of Spain's successful 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 squads and
"The Premier League is a competition where the football is very fast and will suit the way I play. I'm really looking forward to it," Navas said.
"I'm going to a great club in England and I want to continue developing my game there. The club has put a lot of faith in me and I want to repay them out on the pitch."
City are yet to appoint a successor to Roberto Mancini as manager, with Manuel Pellegrini expected to move to the club from Malaga. | Manchester City have confirmed the signing of winger Jesus Navas from Sevilla on a four-year deal. |
39,167,601 | Media playback is not supported on this device
It is the first time Bishop, 25, has been on the podium in the World Series.
Fellow Britons Marc Austin and Adam Bowden were 14th and 20th respectively, while Grant Sheldon did not finish.
Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee, who is training for the World Half Ironman Championships, and injured brother Jonny did not compete.
Third place went to France's Vincent Luis, while reigning champion Mario Mola of Spain was back in eighth.
Bishop, whose previous best at this level was fifth in Edmonton in Canada last year, said if he could be anywhere near as successful as the Brownlees then he was "doing a good job".
"I can't quite believe it to be honest but I had a plan. I had a feeling that it might all come together," Bishop said.
"I wasn't sure how it was going to go as it's the first race of the season, but when I found myself in the front group and there was a bit of a gap I was trying to work as hard as I could.
"It was tough. Some of the guys out there were riding really strong and I just did what I could to keep the group going.
"I got to the run and my back was pretty sore so I had to warm myself into it but luckily I had Gomez to pace me through. I thought he's a good act to follow and I tried to hang on to him as long as I could, and that dragged me into second."
In Friday's women's race, Britain's Jodie Stimpson was narrowly beaten into second place.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Watch highlights of the men's and women's races on BBC Two on Sunday from 13:00-14:30 GMT. | Britain's Tom Bishop finished second in the opening race of the 2017 World Triathlon Series in Abu Dhabi, as Javier Gomez of Spain won. |
37,186,373 | Primal Scream and The Charlatans head a line-up of more than 90 acts who are set to perform at the third edition of the Dumfries and Galloway event.
Organisers hope to see a crowd of about 5,000 at the festival near Thornhill.
Co-founder Nick Roberts said the bill had been carefully crafted to showcase emerging talent alongside more established artists.
He said it was about having a "happy balance" between bands with commercial clout and more "underground" acts.
Mr Roberts said the growing reputation of the event had definitely helped it to attract performers he might previously have considered out of reach.
"If you had said to me last year, 'At next year's festival you're going to have Primal Scream and the Charlatans headlining' I would have called you crazy," he said.
"But here we are."
Meanwhile, police have reminded revellers that making or distributing so-called legal highs are now criminal offences due to recent changes in legislation and anyone found with them will be arrested.
Drug sniffer dogs will also be at the site. | Thousands of music fans are expected to attend the extended two-day Electric Fields festival at Drumlanrig Castle. |
28,238,995 | Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said identifying sex offence victims in England and Wales could only be punished by fines at present.
The same applied even if there was sustained abuse of a victim, she said.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) leader also raised concerns about the naming of children in court cases.
"Where we do think the legislation needs to be looked at is around some of the reporting restrictions in relation to anonymity and breach of orders," Ms Saunders told the House of Lords Communications Committee.
CPS legal adviser Tim Thompson said existing laws against publishing the names of children who had appeared in court cases did not include social media posts.
The Sexual Offences Amendment Act, which gives lifelong anonymity to victims of sex offences, does apply but a fine is the maximum punishment.
"That is something that some district judges have commented on when dealing with particular cases where individual victims of rape have been vilified in campaigns, of people deliberately naming and abusing them, and the penalty available has been a financial one," Mr Thompson said.
Also speaking to the committee, the chief constable of Essex Police called for new "preventative" laws to stop online crime.
Stephen Kavanagh said: "There are too many victims out there whose lives have been devastated by online abuse.
"Of course legislation can be applied to many of the criminal behaviours on social media, but we believe it is time to consider whether enabling preventative and enforcement legislation will assist in keeping people more safe in the online environment." | Rape victims are being named and "vilified" online because laws to protect their anonymity are too weak, a House of Lords committee has heard. |
40,409,360 | Welsh Government previously suggested testing of cladding was voluntary.
But it has now told BBC Wales that if social landlords think they have aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding it should be tested urgently.
Two areas have ACM in place, according to Welsh Government Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant.
Currently cladding on seven Swansea council towers are being tested. Welsh Government has been unable to tell BBC Wales where the other area is.
Wales has 36 blocks of flats of seven or more storeys that are used for social housing.
UK ministers ordered social landlords in England to test tower block cladding if it is made of ACM last week - but a similar instruction from Welsh Government to councils initially appeared to be voluntary.
A total of 75 buildings in England had failed fire safety tests since the request from the UK government was made.
Meanwhile, all seven Welsh health boards have confirmed that they are carrying out inspections of their properties.
There are:
The Welsh Government previously said to BBC Wales in a statement Mr Sargeant "has urged local authorities who want to test cladding to do so" - suggesting the tests were voluntary.
"Swansea Council has decided to test cladding from seven of its 11 tower blocks as a precautionary measure in order to provide further reassurance to tenants, and awaits the results," it said.
But, when asked by BBC Wales why testing was not compulsory, the government said: "We are telling all social landlords to test any buildings they suspect may have used ACM.
"This is the same position as in England."
It said that social landlords across Wales have assured them none of the blocks use Reynobond PE - the specific brand of cladding used at Grenfell Tower.
"If, however, landlords have cladding they think might be other brands of Aluminium Composite Panels then we have made it clear they need to test it urgently," a spokesman said.
The spokesman added the Welsh Government does not have powers to compel private organisations to get their buildings checked.
"However, we are taking steps to encourage landlords of all high rise buildings regardless of their tenure to carry out fire safety checks and where necessary have samples of cladding tested."
Swansea council was asked which of its 11 council blocks are being tested but it has not responded.
Nine tower blocks in Wales over 10 storeys are run by housing associations.
Community Housing Cymru, which represents the housing association sector in Wales, said the Welsh Government had recommended all cladding is tested.
The Welsh Government offered housing associations the opportunity and support for testing last Friday at the same centre where the procedure is taking place in England - the Building Research Establishment.
Stuart Ropke, chief executive of CHC, said: "We can confirm that no tower block owned by a Welsh housing association has been fitted with the type of cladding used in Grenfell Tower.
"We are also encouraging members to use the Welsh Government's testing service for all tower block cladding to ensure that it passes fire safety tests."
Cardiff council, which has nine high-rise blocks of which several were over-clad in the 1990s, is currently using an independent contractor to conduct a survey.
Indications so far are that its own cladding is made up of fire retardant materials. The survey will include an analysis of the make-up of materials used, and if anything is needed checking, samples will be sent for checking.
A Cardiff spokesman said: "The council has not carried out any over-cladding work to any of its high rise flats in recent times.
"The buildings are clad with traditional, fire retardant material.
"The council will of course be reviewing arrangements for future schemes to ensure the safety of all tenants."
Cladding is also being checked at Singleton Hospital in Swansea. | All social landlords in Wales are being told to carry out fire safety tests on tower block cladding similar to the material used at Grenfell Tower. |
28,069,265 | Officers said a 60-year-old man had been arrested in Widegates, near Looe, on suspicion of firearms offences.
Earlier, dozens of officers were involved in an armed manhunt for Derrel Weaver, who went missing following a "domestic" incident on Thursday night.
Police had warned people not to approach Mr Weaver, an Elvis impersonator.
In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said the 60-year-old man was arrested on land in Widegates shortly before 21:30 BST on Friday.
Two firearms were recovered nearby, the force said.
The man has been taken to hospital for a medical assessment as a precaution.
Police are not looking for anybody else in connection with the incident.
Mr Weaver was being sought after a domestic-related incident at his home, Higher Widlake Farm in Widegates.
Officers said it was unclear whether Mr Weaver was armed but it was a possibility as he is a licensed firearms owner.
There was a high police presence in the Widegates and wider Looe area throughout Friday, including firearms officers and trained local officers.
The nearby Trenode Church of England Primary School was closed as a precaution.
The school has 75 pupils. | Police in Cornwall hunting for a man who they feared might be carrying a gun have made an arrest. |
21,517,905 | The 35-year-old will fight welterweight Robert Guerrero in the first of these bouts on 4 May.
"Mayweather's new deal is by far the biggest in the sport of boxing," said Mayweather's promotions company.
The specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Guerrero fight will be Mayweather's first since beating Miguel Cotto for the WBA light-middleweight title by unanimous decision in May last year, extending his record to 43-0 (26 KOs).
The American then served a two-month prison sentence for domestic violence before he was released on 3 August.
The new television deal sees Mayweather, who holds the WBC welterweight and WBA light middleweight belts, leave HBO for Showtime.
He averages more than one million pay-per-view buys per event - more than any other boxer.
"At this record-setting PPV performance level, if all six fights contemplated by this deal occur, it will be the richest individual athlete deal in all of sports," added the statement from Mayweather's promotions company. | Floyd Mayweather will fight six bouts over a 30-month period that could make the eight-time world champion the richest individual athlete in the world. |
37,196,560 | Taoiseach (prime minster) Enda Kenny said Mr Barry passed away in his home town of Cork surrounded by his family.
Mr Kenny said Mr Barry had given "outstanding service to his country and his native city".
He added that the former Irish foreign minister had played a "central and pivotal role" in negotiating the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Outside politics, Mr Barry was a successful businessman with the family firm, Barry's Tea, serving as chairman of the Cork-based company, which claims to have 40% of the tea market in the Republic.
Irish President Michael D Higgins said Mr Barry would be deeply missed.
"His view of Irish history was a long one and he brought all that wisdom to bear in his contributions to achieving the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985," said Mr Higgins.
"As a person he was immensely popular across all parties and, of course, he had a deep commitment to Cork city and its heritage."
Seamus Mallon, a former deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and ex-deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, also paid a warm tribute to Mr Barry.
"He had a very clear picture of the problems in the north and he had that well-ordered expertise at the negotiating table," Mr Mallon said.
"If you ally that to his great tenacity, I think it adds up to a very substantial reputation for a man."
Former SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell said Mr Barry had been a "special friend to Northern Ireland during some of the most challenging days of the Troubles".
"Peter towered above his peers in terms of his integrity, sincerity and commitment to ensuring that we could break free from the cycle of political instability and violence," Dr McDonnell added.
"Peter played a massive role in moving the north away from conflict and his personal kindness to all of us that dealt with him will never be forgotten."
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed on 15 November 1985 by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald.
The agreement gave the Republic of Ireland a consultative role in Northern Ireland for the first time, a move opposed by many unionists.
It is credited as the beginning of co-operative talks that would eventually lead to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Micheál Martin, the leader of the Republic of Ireland's biggest opposition party Fianna Fáil, said Mr Barry had distinguished himself in a number of ministerial roles during his tenure in government.
He also paid tribute to the part Mr Barry played in Anglo Irish relations, saying "at a time of great violence and uncertainty, his role in helping to chart a way forward was critical and his contribution will stand the test of time". | Former Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Peter Barry has died at the age of 88. |
39,874,863 | With those words, Donald Trump became only the second president to fire his FBI director.
But why was he dismissed?
This was the first official reason. The president opened his missive to Mr Comey by citing a damning letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that accused the now-former FBI director of "serious mistakes".
Among other things, it said Mr Comey had "usurped" the authority of the former attorney general by announcing last July the closure of the inquiry into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
The letter faulted him for "gratuitously" releasing "derogatory information" about the subject of an investigation - Mrs Clinton.
It even criticised his public reopening of the inquiry 11 days before the election, a step which some say contributed to Mr Trump's shock victory over Mrs Clinton.
At the time Mr Trump had praised Mr Comey's unusual move, saying it "took guts".
This was President Trump's first in-person explanation, given from the Oval Office in an interview with NBC News.
He said he had already decided to fire Mr Comey, "regardless of recommendation" as the FBI had been "in turmoil".
This appeared to contradict White House claims that Mr Trump acted on the deputy attorney general's recommendation.
Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Comey had "lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington".
But Mr Comey's successor, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, told the Senate "the vast majority of employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey".
Democrats assert that Mr Comey's role leading the FBI investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the election - and possible Kremlin links to the Trump campaign - was the real reason for his abrupt dismissal.
Mr Comey confirmed that such an investigation existed on 20 March, when he spoke before a congressional intelligence committee.
After his dismissal, Politico reported the president "had grown enraged by the Russia investigation" and was "frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative".
"He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn't disappear and demanded they speak out for him," Politico reported. "He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said."
Russia: The scandal Trump can't shake
"He's become more famous than me!" Mr Trump said of Mr Comey at a January meeting, sending an air-kiss his way.
But could this have been a problem, rather than a compliment?
In his NBC interview, the US president described Mr Comey as a "showboat" and "grandstander".
Citing unnamed White House officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Trump chafed at the increased media attention on Mr Comey.
"He viewed Mr Comey as eager to step in front of TV cameras and questioned whether his expanding media profile was warping his view of the Russia investigation," the officials said, according to the report.
Loyalty is one Mr Trump's most prized qualities - and according to the New York Times, two of Mr Comey's associates say he declined to pledge it.
Over dinner in January, the president asked the FBI head whether he could count on his loyalty, but Mr Comey only promised to be honest, according to the newspaper.
Mr Trump is also reported to have been furious that Mr Comey publicly dismissed his sensational claim in March that President Barack Obama had wiretapped him.
After Mr Comey testified to a Senate panel on 3 May that he felt "mildly nauseous" to think he might have swayed the election, Mr Trump began seriously considering firing him, the New York Times reports.
Is Trump's thin skin to blame? | "You are hereby terminated." |
19,138,754 | The attacker "ambushed" a policeman at the scene, shooting him multiple times, before a second officer returned fire, killing the gunman, said authorities.
The shot officer was among three men critically injured in the attack in Oak Creek, suburban Milwaukee.
Later local TV showed police vehicles at another suburb, near what is believed to be the gunman's home.
Reports said the FBI and a bomb squad had gone to search the building, in Cudahy, about 2.5 miles (4km) north of the temple, and had evacuated several blocks.
Police said they believe there was only one shooter, despite initial witness reports of more than one gunman.
President Barack Obama spoke of his sadness at the shooting, which comes just over two weeks after a gun massacre left 12 people dead at a Colorado cinema.
In Pictures: Sikh temple shooting
Hundreds of people turned out for an impromptu candlelit vigil in the nearby city of Milwaukee for the victims of the temple shooting on Sunday evening.
At a press conference, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said they were treating the attack as a "domestic terrorist-type incident", and that the FBI would take over the criminal investigation.
He said he could not release any information about the shooter, who local media reports said was a white male aged about 40.
Women and children hid in closets as the gunfire erupted shortly before 10:30 local time (15:30 GMT) on Sunday.
Four people were dead inside the temple and three outside - including the gunman, said the authorities.
"The best information is that there was only one gunman," said Chief Edwards.
He said the gunman had opened fire on one of the first officers to arrive at the scene, as the officer tended to a victim outside the temple.
The policeman was shot multiple times, before a second officer exchanged gunfire with the suspect, fatally shooting him, added Chief Edwards.
At least three critically injured men were being treated at Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital, said officials at that facility.
They included the shot police officer, although he was expected to survive, said Chief Edwards.
Local news station WISN 12 reported that one of the injured had gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, the second had shots to the face and the third had gunshot wounds to the neck.
Oak Creek is a town of about 30,000 people in the south-east corner of the state.
The website for the temple says it opened in 1999 and now has a congregation of 350-400. Sunday morning was the busiest time of worship, members of the congregation said.
Devendar Nagra, whose sister escaped injury by hiding in the temple's kitchen, told the Associated Press: "We never thought this could happen to our community. We never did anything wrong to anyone."
Suni Singh told Newsradio 620 WTMJ that he had spoken to a friend inside the temple at the time.
"My friend called and said, 'I heard the shot, and two people falling down in the parking lot.' He saw the shooter reloading the gun," Mr Singh said.
Darshan Dhaliwal, who identified himself as a leader at the temple, told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: "This is insanity."
President Obama said he was "deeply saddened" by Sunday's incident.
"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded," he said in statement released by the White House.
"As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family."
Local politician Mark Honadel called the attack "craziness".
The state representative told CNN: "Unfortunately, when this type of stuff hits your area, you say to yourself, 'why?' But in today's society, I don't think there's any place that's free from idiots." | At least seven people, including a gunman, have died in a shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in the US. |
28,640,560 | The cedi has fallen 40% against the US dollar this year, making it one of the world's worst-performing currencies.
Ghana, once seen as a shining example of economic strength in the region, is also struggling with high inflation.
The country last went to the IMF for help in 2009, when it secured a $600m (??360m), three-year aid package.
Despite being a major exporter of gold, oil and cocoa, Ghana is struggling with large current account and budget deficits.
Last week, the country's finance minister told the BBC the country would fix its currency problems itself and only go to the IMF as a last resort.
Many experts see the decision to go to the IMF as the first admission by the government that the economy is in bad shape.
Commentators said the move would force the government to take stronger action to tackle rising deficits and inflation.
"An IMF programme is likely to give to investors that additional level of confidence that fiscal consolidation might be pursued more seriously," said Razia Khan at Standard Chartered bank.
"However, news of potential talks with the IMF is unlikely to be enough, on its own, to make a meaningful difference to the cedi just yet."
Mark Asibey-Yeboah, spokesman for the opposition New Patriotic Party, said the IMF would insist on the government introducing measures to tackle inflation, including a freeze on wages.
"But all in all, the benefits will still outweigh the downside, so it's a step in the right direction," he said. | Ghana has said it will seek financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help strengthen the West African nation's currency. |
40,094,070 | The great grey owl and the bateleur eagle were taken from the back of a van at Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival in Vale of Glamorgan on Monday.
Handler Jason Ashcroft, 44, had been showing Mamba and Misty at the event before they were taken as he packed up.
Appealing for their safe return, he said he had a special bond with the birds which was "priceless".
Mr Ashcroft said: "I was going back and forth to my car and turned my back for just a minute when they were taken.
"The bird boxes are very heavy so whoever took them must have had a car.
"Our Bateleur eagle is very rare and both birds are valuable but my main concern is the loss of the amazing relationship we have.
"The birds are very tame and have been trained over many years to bond with me. That is priceless."
South Wales Police confirmed it was investigating the thefts.
A reward has been offered for the safe return of the birds. | Two rare birds of prey worth more than £8,000 have been stolen after performing at a festival. |
37,503,145 | The former judge succumbed to lung cancer on Thursday morning and "died peacefully" in hospital in the capital city, Manila, said her husband.
Mrs Santiago ran for president in the elections in May, but ultimately lost to Rodrigo Duterte.
Ill health plagued her election campaign but she insisted that she was fit to hold office.
She had also sought the presidency in 1992 and 1998.
Born in Iloilo city, Mrs Santiago announced to her supporters in 2014 that she was suffering from stage four lung cancer.
She turned down a judicial position at the International Criminal Court because of her illness.
Her weakening health was a source of concern in the run-up to this year's Philippine presidential election, where she was often seen sitting down and resting during televised debates.
Known as the Iron Lady of Filipino politics, Santiago was a feisty senator who took bold stands on major issues like corruption and defence agreements. She will also be widely known for never backing down from a good fight.
She was both known and feared for her quick wit and her even quicker tongue in court and at rallies.
In my days starting out as a reporter in the Philippines, I remember she was always accommodating. She would joke gamely with the Philippine media.
Her trademark frank and fearless style often came across in interviews.
Filipinos have flooded social media sites with tributes to the late senator.
A Facebook post from the GMA News agency drew more than 300,000 reactions and close to 50,000 comments.
Many described her as the best president the Philippines "never had".
"We just lost a great woman, a great Filipino and a great public servant. Rest in peace, madam senator," said Facebook user Cedric Pazcoguin.
"My heart is broken but I am finding comfort to the fact that she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Rest in perfect peace - our nation will surely treasure your legacy forever," wrote supporter Ruby Ann del Rosario from Manila.
"You could have been one of our greatest presidents. This is a very sad day for the Philippines. We lost a gem," said user Kharl Ferrer. | Philippine senator and former presidential candidate Miriam Defensor-Santiago has died aged 71. |
20,861,868 | Best friends Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, were the innocent victims of a drive-by shooting in the early hours of 2 January 2003.
Charlene's twin sister Sophie, their cousin Cheryl Shaw and friend Leon Harris were also injured.
The teenagers died in a hail of machine gun fire as they stood outside a new year party in Aston, Birmingham.
Mothers Marcia Shakespeare and Beverley Thomas have campaigned tirelessly over the past decade to try to rid the city of guns and gangs.
"My message to youngsters is to think about the impact it has on the families," Ms Thomas said.
"Think about the community and how it affects people closest to the victims."
Charlene's mother clearly remembers the day 10 years ago when she sat in City Hospital waiting for news.
"I'd got two girls and the first thing I was thinking was that two of them were going to die," she said. "And you get down there and you find that one of them has passed and the other is fighting for her life... it was hard, really hard."
Time has not healed the mothers' pain as they recalled the loss of their daughters.
Ms Shakespeare is still scathing of the young men who had armed themselves with a machine gun and planned to exact a revenge killing on a rival gang member - but instead fired into the crowd of new year party revellers.
"Knowing that someone can be that hyped up... to go out and buy a Mac-10 machine gun and plan to use it on the streets of Birmingham, that's just evil," she said.
Both mothers have helped create a peace garden in the city and have worked with successive governments to raise awareness about the dangers of gang culture.
Ms Shakespeare has been into schools and taken part in a programme highlighting issues surrounding violent crime.
She said: "We have made young people realise, and will continue to make them realise, that there are choices, alternatives to violent crime.
"Young people need to know how being with the wrong people can affect them."
The Aston shootings were a pivotal moment in Britain's recent history.
In 2003 Birmingham had one of the most hardened gang cultures in the UK with up to six shootings a day.
The year the two girls died, City Hospital dealt with 142 gun crime victims.
But December 2011 saw the lowest number of recorded gun offences - 15 - since the monthly number peaked in October 2002 at more than 80.
The shock of two innocent young girls killed on Britain's streets by gangsters armed with a machine gun galvanised the politicians, the police and the justice system.
Det Ch Insp Simon Wallis from West Midlands Police's gangs taskforce described the two mothers as inspirational.
He said: "I think the event has never gone away from the Birmingham memory.
"I think this is obviously a key moment to actually stop and remember what happened on that very dark day.
"But for the police it is still a very big event and we are blessed to have Marcia and Bev work with us and doing all we can to try to set about avoiding any further such tragedy." | The mothers of two girls killed in shootings 10 years ago have called on young people to think carefully about the choices they make and the impact gangs can have on communities. |
40,806,322 | The bill, which was signed in private at the White House, also imposes sanctions on Iran and North Korea.
Mr Trump accused Congress of overreach on the legislation, which "handcuffs" him from easing Russia penalties.
Moscow said the sanctions "put paid to hopes that our relations with the new American administration" would improve.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also said this move meant the US had declared a "full-scale trade war" on Russia.
Iran said the new sanctions violated the nuclear deal and it would respond in an "appropriate and proportional" manner, reports the semi-official Isna news agency.
The Kremlin has denied interfering in the US election, and Mr Trump has rejected any allegations that his campaign staff colluded with Russia to help him win.
Hours after the US president signed the bill, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This isn't news.
"The thing is, the bill was approved and was going to automatically become law with or without the president's signature."
Moscow had already retaliated last week to Congress passing the bill, by expelling 755 people from its US embassy and consulates.
Several European nations, including Germany, are fearful of the economic consequences and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned of "unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU's energy security interests".
In signing the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Mr Trump attached a statement calling the measure "deeply flawed".
He accused Congress, which last week overwhelmingly passed the bill and sent it to the White House, of overstepping its constitutional authority.
"As president, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress," he said.
Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
Donald Trump has signed the bill but he's clearly not happy about it. Hardly surprising, as any president would probably object to congressional efforts to curtail executive power included in this legislation.
As is becoming routine, however, this administration didn't draw its battle lines in the expected way.
There were several "signing statements". The first reads like a standard legalistic description of a presidential action with a bevy of "yes, but..." reservations.
Another statement is decidedly more Trumpian, complete with a shot at Congress for not passing healthcare reform and a closing boast about his business empire and negotiating prowess.
Releasing multiple signing statements with somewhat divergent tones is unusual, to say the least, and could be an indication that, despite the efforts of new chief of staff John Kelly, the administration is still not speaking with a unified voice.
The sanctions, which are also in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, come months after President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats.
Republican Lindsey Graham praised the bill after it passed, pointing out that Mr Trump's options were limited since there were enough votes to overcome a presidential veto.
"President Putin did something that nobody in America could do. He united the Congress," the South Carolina senator told CNN.
Senior Russian parliamentarian Konstantin Kosachev said that Mr Trump was "capitulating" by not standing up to Congress.
Mr Trump and Mr Putin met for the first time at the highly-scrutinised G20 summit last month in Germany.
Allegations by the US intelligence community that Russia interfered in the US election to aid Mr Trump are currently being investigated by Congress and a special investigator. | President Donald Trump has signed into a law a bill which imposes new sanctions on Russia for their alleged meddling in the 2016 election. |
24,912,216 | Institutions across the UK could by affected by the action by Unison, the University and College Union, Unite and the Educational Institute of Scotland.
The dispute centres on a 1% pay rise offered to university staff - including lecturers and support staff.
Employers expressed disappointment at the decision to take strike action.
The unions say there has been a 13% pay cut in real terms since October 2008.
Unison, Unite and the UCU staged a one-day walkout on 31 October. For this second planned day of action, they are being joined the the Scottish education union, the EIS.
UCU head of higher education Michael MacNeil said: "Staff have suffered year-on-year cuts in the value of their pay and have made it clear that enough is enough.
"We remain committed to trying to resolve this dispute and the employers now have until 3 December to sit down and positively engage with the unions.
"If they don't, then our members and those from our sister unions will be out on strike again, as well as continuing to work to contract."
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents universities as employers, said it was disappointed by the announcement of industrial action.
A UCEA spokesperson said: "Ever since the initial consultation at the start of this year, UCEA's 150 participating UK higher education employers have continued to say that, given the challenging and uncertain operating environment, the 1% pay uplift is a good and sustainable offer and is at the limit of affordability.
"This of course sits on top of other pay elements totalling around 3% on pay. So any announcement of further industrial action is naturally disappointing.
"However, less than 5% of staff voted to support this and nine out of 10 of institutions reported 'no to low' impact from the day of action on 31 October.
"UCEA continues to say that it is willing to talk to the disputing trade unions so that we can explore together whether the dispute can be resolved."
Union leaders said the day of action in October affected 149 UK universities, with support services such as catering, cleaning and security hit alongside academic departments.
The National Union of Students (NUS) urged both sides to work towards a speedy resolution to the dispute.
NUS president Toni Pearce said: "For that to happen we need to see the employers getting round the table with the unions and negotiating a fair and sustainable settlement.
"Students want the staff in our universities and colleges to be treated well and paid fairly.
"Our own research shows that more than half of UK universities pay at least some of their staff less than the living wage.
"It is those on lower wages such as porters, cleaners and kitchen staff who have already lost out in the pay squeeze and now stand to lose out again." | University academics and support staff are to stage a second national one-day strike on 3 December in a row over pay, four unions have announced. |
39,286,196 | England Under-19 goalkeeper Charlotte Haynes, who featured 17 times in 2016, signed a new deal on Thursday.
Yeovil have also given new contracts to young, versatile midfield trio Jessie Jones, Kelly Snook and Leah Burridge.
Wales international forward Nadia Lawrence similarly extended her deal with the top-flight side on Tuesday. | Women's Super League One club Yeovil Town Ladies have extended the contracts of a further five first-team players ahead of the 2017 WSL 1 Spring Series. |
40,084,510 | A crew member onboard one of the vessels was airlifted to hospital with a serious leg injury following the collision on Sunday at the Brixham Heritage Regatta, the RNLI said.
Two lifeboats were deployed and two people onboard the other boat were reportedly treated for shock.
The RNLI described the incident as "serious".
The event, which involves several races for traditional sailing boats, has been held annually in Torbay since 1997, but has its roots in trawler races dating back to the 1800's.
Sunday's event was part of the busy Brixfest celebrations in the port.
An RNLI spokesperson said: "Two vessels taking part - Ivory Gull and Moya - had collided, resulting in a serious injury to one casualty aboard the Ivory Gull."
"The incident took place 1.5 miles out in Torbay, and HM Coastguard teams were also in attendance, along with Devon Ambulance Service," they added. | A crash between two boats at a regatta in Devon left one person seriously injured. |
17,740,800 | Now a constitutional monarchy, the country began its independent life as a republic in the 16th century, when the foundations were laid for it to become one of the world's foremost maritime trading nations.
Although traditionally among the keener advocates of the European Union, Dutch voters echoed those in France by spurning the proposed EU constitution in a 2005 referendum.
The Netherlands has produced many of the world's most famous artists from Rembrandt and Vermeer in the 17th century to Van Gogh in the 19th and Mondrian in the 20th. It attracts visitors from across the globe.
Population 16.7 million
Area 41,864 sq km (16,164 sq miles)
Major language Dutch
Major religion Christianity
Life expectancy 79 years (men), 83 years (women)
Currency euro
Head of state: King Willem-Alexander
King Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch male monarch in more than a century in April 2013 when his mother Beatrix abdicated to end a 33-year reign.
The generational change in the House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a moment of celebration and pageantry at a time of recession brought on by the European economic crisis.
The much-loved Beatrix ended her reign in a nationally televised signing ceremony as thousands of orange-clad people cheered outside. Her retirement followed in the tradition of her mother and grandmother.
Prime minister: Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte won a second term in October 2012 when his liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) formed a coalition with the centre-left Labour Party after narrowly beating it in parliamentary elections.
The VVD won 41 seats in the 150-member lower house - a lead of just two seats over Labour - in the September vote.
Mr Rutte's previous cabinet - a minority coalition with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal - had collapsed after only two years in office.
The new coalition cabinet was seen as more pro-austerity and pro-EU than his last one, and warned that tough measures would be needed to weather the financial crisis and secure the Netherlands' economic future.
The Dutch approach to public broadcasting is unique. Programmes are made by groups which reflect political or religious currents, or other interests. These organisations are allocated airtime on TV and radio, in line with the number of members they have.
Public radio and TV face stiff competition from commercial stations. Viewers have access to a wide range of domestic and foreign channels, thanks mainly to one of the highest cable take-up rates in Europe. Every province has at least one local public TV channel. The three national public TV stations enjoy high audience shares.
Some key dates in the history of the Netherlands:
1914-1918 - The Netherlands maintains its neutrality during World War I.
1940 - Nazi Germany invades. The Dutch Royal Family flees to England, accompanied by the Dutch cabinet. The Dutch army is overwhelmed and the Netherlands surrenders.
1944 - As Allied forces advance towards Germany, the Netherlands becomes the site of bitter fighting.
1945 - The occupation ends with the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands. The Netherlands goes on to become a charter member of the United Nations.
1949 - The Dutch East Indies, which had been occupied by Japan during World War II, receives its independence as Indonesia.
1949 - The Netherlands abandons its policy of neutrality and joins Nato.
1952 - The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, which becomes the European Economic Community five years later.
1975 - Dutch colony of Surinam achieves independence. Hundreds of thousands of Surinamese emigrate to the Netherlands.
1980 - Queen Juliana abdicates; Beatrix becomes queen.
2002 - Euro replaces the Dutch guilder.
2013 - Queen Beatrix abdicates; her son Willem-Alexander becomes king. | The Netherlands' name reflects its low-lying topography, with more than a quarter of its total area under sea level. |
40,340,594 | The woman was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as a precaution following the blaze which started in Forrest Road at about 00:15.
Officers are also investigating an earlier assault in the flat where the fire started.
The resident suffered facial injuries as a result and needed hospital treatment.
Det Sgt Mark Lumsden, of Police Scotland, said: "Thankfully no-one was seriously injured as a result of this fire but it has caused alarm and inconvenience to the residents and the local businesses.
"We are also keeping an open mind as to the connection between the earlier assault of the occupier and the following fire." | A woman was taken to hospital after residents were evacuated from a tenement that caught fire in Edinburgh. |
36,624,479 | He made the remarks during a visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, for commemorations of the massacre.
Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5 million Armenian Christians were killed by Ottoman forces in 1915.
Turkey has always disputed that figure and rejects using the term "genocide".
It says the deaths were part of a civil conflict triggered by WW1.
The row over how to characterise the killings has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey, as well as drawing in other countries such as Germany, whose parliament recently declared the killings to be genocide.
In an address to Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and the diplomatic corps, the Pope appeared to have added the word "genocide" to his prepared text.
"This tragedy, this genocide, has unfortunately marked the start of a sad series of great catastrophes of the last century," he said.
He added that the killings were "made possible by twisted racial, ideological or religious aims that darkened the minds of the tormentors even to the point of planning the annihilation of entire peoples."
The remarks were met by a standing ovation.
"One cannot but believe in the triumph of justice when in 100 years... the message of justice is being conveyed to mankind from the heart of the Catholic world," President Sargsyan said.
There was no immediate reaction from Turkey, which last year recalled its envoy to the Vatican after the Pope referred to "genocide".
The envoy was kept away for 10 months.
In 2014, for the first time, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their lives.
But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the issue "into a matter of political conflict".
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman Empire was disintegrating. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.
Many of the victims were civilians deported en masse to barren desert regions where they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in massacres.
Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide. Among the other states which formally recognise them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay.
Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during WW1, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict. | Pope Francis has described the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman Turkish rule in World War One as "genocide", repeating a phrase that prompted Turkish anger last year. |
37,633,756 | The Spaniard, who missed two and half months with a wrist injury, was beaten 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the Serb in an hour and 34 minutes on Wednesday.
"I need to create pain for my opponent. It is something that is not happening very often now," said the 30-year-old.
Nadal is now fifth in the world.
This marks the first time since that both he and Swiss Roger Federer have been outside the top four since 2003.
Both players will slip further when the rankings are updated next week, with Nadal dropping out of the top five.
"I've two and a half months to put myself at the level I need," added Nadal.
The Spaniard has been a fixture at the season finale World Tour Finals for the past 11 years, but is in danger of missing out on one of the eight places for the London showpiece.
He believes that recovering the destructive power that he had on his forehand is key to returning to the top of the game.
"I need to recover the forehand. I know I need to hit forehands," he said.
"I need to move faster to hit more forehands. But I need to be more confident with the forehand to make that happen. Everything is a cycle."
Since losing in the bronze-medal match at Rio 2016 on his return from injury, Nadal has now failed to make the semi-finals of his past four tournaments, having previously been beaten by Borna Coric in Cincinnati, Lucas Pouille at the US Open and Grigor Dimitrov at the China Open.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide. | Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal says he has switched focus to 2017 after being beaten by world number 31 Viktor Troicki in his Shanghai opener. |
35,007,436 | The Met has been asked to take on an investigation into the complaint made by Belfast businessman Peter Curistan.
The commissioner of the London force received the request in a letter from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The complaint relates to remarks the first minister made in the House of Commons in 2006 while he was an MP.
Mr Curistan's lawyers allege there is a case to answer in respect of "misfeasance in public office", which they claim is not covered by parliamentary privilege.
They claim Mr Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader, has falsely linked the developer of Belfast's Odyssey complex to "IRA dirty money" and that has had "enormous consequences" on his business life.
The PSNI has told Mr Curistan's legal team the request was made to the Met because "the alleged offences took place in London".
Misfeasance in public office is where a public body, an individual in public office or a public servant acts unlawfully, knows that they are acting unlawfully and does so knowing that his or her actions are likely to cause loss or harm to another person.
A statement from the DUP said: "The Metropolitan Police are likely to be even more dismissive of this childish prank than the PSNI were.
"It is unsurprising that the BBC gives it publicity."
Responding to the development, Mr Curistan's solicitor, Joe McVeigh, said: "It may be helpful to have outside officers look at the case.
"However, most of the consequences of the remarks occurred in Northern Ireland.
"We will be asking the PSNI why they have assessed this as being a matter for the Met."
Previously, Mr Robinson issued a statement through the DUP after being informed of the initial complaint.
He said: "The police may have to waste their time with this but I do not." | A complaint against Peter Robinson that has been referred to the Metropolitan Police has been dismissed by his spokesman as a "childish prank". |
40,383,981 | The national event in Liverpool, attended by Prime Minister Theresa May and Prince Edward, saw a Red Arrows flypast and a parade to the waterfront.
Mrs May said that armed forces are more relevant than ever, "playing a vital role" after the Manchester attack.
The day was billed as a chance for people to show their support for those connected with the armed forces.
As well as those currently serving, the event honours veterans, reservists, cadets, families and charities.
Parades, military displays, gun salutes and Typhoon and Red Arrows flypasts have been some of the highlights.
The Royal Navy's type-23 frigate HMS Iron Duke was docked in Liverpool for the celebrations. A series of displays along Pier head also took place featuring planes, helicopters, tanks and marching bands.
Mrs May praised the "tremendous job that the armed forces do for us here at home and across the world, helping to keep us safe".
She said that armed forces "provided visible reassurance to our communities" when they were deployed on the streets after the UK terror threat level was raised to critical.
Troops were deployed after 22 people were killed by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at the Manchester Arena on 22 May.
The parade in Liverpool comprised about 100 personnel from each of the services, plus bands, veterans and about 300 cadets.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said there are some 10,000 service men and women who are working around the globe on operations or in British bases.
"They've been helping to deal with terrorism, they've been helping to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, they've been on Nato deployments, they've been peacekeeping in South Sudan.
"All of that keeps us safer here at home. They're out of our sight but they should never be out of mind," he said. | The UK's annual Armed Forces Day is taking place, with more than 300 events across the country. |
35,550,206 | Bordeaux said there had been a "serious incident in the dressing room" after the club's 4-3 extra-time loss to Nantes in the French Cup on Wednesday.
The French club added they "would make no further comment on the matter".
Sane joined Bordeaux in 2009 but sought a transfer in January and the ban could now end his career with the club. | Senegal international defender Lamine Sane has been suspended indefinitely by his club Bordeaux, along with goalkeeper Jerome Prior. |
37,218,726 | Set in 1686, the story unfolds as a young bride is given a miniature replica of her own house, the contents of which seem to mirror real life.
Burton wrote the book over four years while working as an actress and as a PA in a City firm.
She said: "Short of actually being published, it's the best news I've ever had."
The author added: "It's an almost indescribable thrill to know the characters and story I invented in The Miniaturist are going to be given a new life in such an exciting way."
Kate Sinclair, executive producer for The Forge which will make the series, said: "I feel privileged to be making this for the BBC. Think Wolf Hall meets Tulip Fever."
The book, which was one of the fastest-selling debut novels in a decade, has been adapted by John Brownlow.
It has won numerous awards including Waterstone's Book of the Year and the National Book Awards Overall Book of the Year.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | A three-part adaptation of Jessie Burton's award-winning novel The Miniaturist is to be made for BBC One. |
36,093,561 | The memo suggested Ms Sturgeon had told the French ambassador she would prefer David Cameron's Conservatives to win the 2015 general election.
Ms Sturgeon denied the claim, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards was asked to investigate.
The commissioner has now said it falls outside her remit.
This was because Mr Carmichael had been made aware of the memo through official Scottish Office channels, and not due to his role as an MP.
The commissioner, Kathryn Hudson, said: "I have established that the conduct which led to my inquiry falls outside my remit. I do not, therefore, make any criticism, or indeed any other comment, on Mr Carmichael's conduct in this affair."
Responding to the commissioner's report, Mr Carmichael said: "I am pleased that this is now resolved and will continue to focus on getting on with my job as MP for Orkney and Shetland."
Ms Hudson said she did not have sufficient information from the Cabinet Office to be able to answer questions about Mr Carmichael's role in the matter at the beginning of her inquiry.
She added: "On the same day that I initiated my inquiry, I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary to ask if he might release to me a full copy of the report of the leak inquiry carried out by Cabinet Office officials.
"On June 16 2015, the Cabinet Secretary told me that he did not think it would be appropriate to release a copy of the investigative report."
The commissioner also used her report into the matter to suggest that a review of the code of conduct for MPs should look at whether members seeking re-election should continue not to be covered by its rules during the period of a general election campaign.
Both Ms Sturgeon and the French ambassador insisted she had not made the comments contained in the Scotland Office memo, which was obtained by the Daily Telegraph newspaper ahead of last year's general election.
The memo had contained a disclaimer that parts of the conversation between the Scottish first minister and the ambassador may have been "lost in translation".
Mr Carmichael claimed in a Channel 4 TV interview at the time that the first he had heard of the leak was when he received a phone call from a journalist.
He had in fact authorised his special advisor to leak the memo, an action he admitted days after being elected as the MP for Orkney and Shetland.
Four of his constituents launched a legal action aimed at having his election overturned, claiming he misled voters over the memo.
But judges ruled in December that it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt Mr Carmichael had committed an "illegal practice".
However, judge Lady Paton said in the ruling that Mr Carmichael had told a "blatant lie" in the Channel 4 interview. | An investigation into the involvement of former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael in a leak aimed at damaging Nicola Sturgeon has been dropped. |
37,108,722 | Throughout this time, the artist has opted to remain anonymous, only revealing her gender, despite the sculptures receiving international attention.
This year, a final, collaborative work was unveiled at the Edinburgh Book Festival.
Standing at 2m (6ft 6in) tall, it takes the shape of a tree, the leaves formed of butterflies, and a child clutching the trunk with a book in hand.
The public was invited by the artist to contribute their own paper butterflies to the sculpture, resulting in donations from the UK, Spain, Germany, Greece and the US.
Speaking to BBC Scotland via Twitter, where she goes by the name Freetofly, the sculptor said: "It's been obvious since the start of the project five years ago that there is a world of people who care about public libraries and universal access to literacy.
"The collaboration was a way of us joining our voices together.
"I'm pretty sure this is the final piece. I meant to end it after the 10th, but there was always a really good reason to keep going and make one more. Enough though now. More than enough maybe!"
The first of what would become a series of mystery sculptures - a paper tree nicknamed The Poetree - was found by staff in the Scottish Poetry Library in March 2011.
A further 10 were discovered over the course of that year, their location always connected to literature: libraries, bookshops and museums. Attached to each creation was a note, many of them reading "a gift in support of libraries, book, words and ideas".
The eleventh sculpture was delivered to an independent bookshop in Edinburgh, addressed to Scots author Ian Rankin.
In a 2015 interview, conducted by email to preserve anonymity, the woman said: "I didn't have a plan when I left the pieces. I chose places I love. I made works that I thought suited them, added tags with what I suppose is my mission statement, and placed them in situ."
In August 2014, a sculpture was covertly donated to the Macmillan Cancer Support Arts Exhibition, and put up for auction. The work was bought by the Mackenzie family from Edinburgh.
Dr Colin Mackenzie, concluding he couldn't "sit and admire it all day", decided to take the work on a not-for-profit tour of Scotland to raise awareness of the art.
During the tour, he said the artist made it known she was happy to do one final sculpture, and Dr Mackenzie then became the postal address for the paper butterflies.
Speaking to BBC Scotland at the Edinburgh Book Festival, he said: "I share a tremendous sadness with many about this being the last paper sculpture, but it's part of the story, and part of the art.
"The mystery of the artist is a fantastic story, and she'll leave a legacy of generosity. Not everyone is in it for themselves."
To the artist, the end of her project seems to be of less importance than the message shared.
She said: "I'm okay about it ending. I've always wanted the attention to be on the message really, that libraries are important resources, and reading matters.
"Having a building free to enter that is outside your home resourced and expertly staffed confers on us all a certain status - that we are valued.
"The fight for libraries continues. Maybe I'll devise a new way of shouting about it rather than with paper and glue." | For the past five years, intricate sculptures crafted from the pages of books have been appearing around Edinburgh. |
39,576,991 | Roedd Chanice Bowen, 25 o'r Barri, wedi dweud wrth yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau ei bod wedi gwahanu o'i phartner yn Ionawr 2013, ac fe aeth ei thaliadau budd-dal i fyny.
Ond fe wnaeth hi briodi Lee Mapstone yn Hydref 2013, a derbyn £22,000 na ddylai hi wedi ei dderbyn.
Cafodd ddedfryd o 10 mis yn y carchar wedi ei ohirio.
Clywodd Llys y Goron Caerdydd bod swyddogion wedi cael gwybod am y lluniau priodas ar dudalen Facebook Bowen, gyda chapsiwn yn dweud 'Blynyddoedd gorau fy mywyd...'.
Wrth gael ei holi gan yr heddlu yn 2015, roedd Bowen wedi dweud nad oedd hi'n cofio beth oedd hi'n ei wneud ar y diwrnod briododd Mr Mapstone.
Yn y llys, fe wnaeth hi gyfaddef twyll drwy fethu â datgan cael taliadau gormodol o £21,696 rhwng Ionawr 2013 a Thachwedd 2015.
Dywedodd y barnwr bod Bowen wedi osgoi mynd i'r carchar "o drwch blewyn", a phenderfynodd ohirio'r ddedfryd oherwydd yr effaith ar ferch Bowen pe bai dan glo.
Yn ogystal â'r ddedfryd ohiriedig, cafodd orchymyn i wneud 120 awr o waith di-dâl, talu'r arian yn ôl, a thalu costau o £500. | Cafodd dynes wnaeth hawlio £22,000 o fudd-daliadau drwy dwyll am bron i dair blynedd ei dal ar ôl rhoi lluniau o'i phriodas ar Facebook. |
32,144,569 | Surrey and Buckinghamshire have maintained their local bases in Redhill and Aylesbury but now operate under a single management structure.
No staff have been relocated and no-one has lost their jobs.
Both councils said the "partnership working" would better protect residents from scams and rip-offs.
Buckinghamshire is noted for its food safety and animal welfare work, while Surrey's expertise is doorstep crime.
Surrey County Council said it was "a partnership where both local authorities can achieve more for their local communities and businesses than they could by operating independently".
A spokesman for Buckinghamshire County Council said the pooled resources would save money "over a period of time". | Two county councils have merged trading standards services, which they say will enable them to make savings while enhancing front-line services. |
33,003,752 | Allan Joyce, who runs Tranquil Waters Aquatic Centre in High Ongar, Essex, said the carp's bones were found on a bed of coals on the site.
"It's just a shocking and horrible thing to find. It's like losing a child, or a dog," Mr Joyce said.
The ill-fated fish was worth between £200 and £300, he estimated.
It is not yet known who is responsible for the theft, but Mr Joyce said he had heard of other bodies of water in the area being targeted for similar reasons.
"We're aware of local lakes and rivers being slowly depleted and we all know there are carp-eating fans out there. It is quite a delicacy in some other ethnic origins," Mr Joyce said.
He said CCTV was being installed to monitor security at the site's 19 lakes in the wake of the theft, which is believed to have taken place between 22 and 25 May.
"We'd like to put a warning out to local residents to keep an eye on their own ponds," he said.
An Essex Police spokesman confirmed the theft had been reported. | A prized Japanese koi was stolen, then barbecued and eaten by thieves just a few metres from its lake at a pedigree fish farm, the site's manager said. |
22,200,476 | Scientists say these new worlds are the right size and distance from their parent star, so that you might expect to find liquid water on their surface.
It is impossible to know for sure. Being 1,200 light-years away, they are beyond detailed inspection by current telescope technology.
But researchers tell Science magazine, they are an exciting discovery.
"They are the best candidates found to date for habitable planets," stated Bill Borucki, who leads the team working on the US space agency Nasa's orbiting Kepler telescope.
The prolific observatory has so far confirmed the existence of more than 100 new worlds beyond our Solar System since its launch in 2009.
The two now being highlighted were actually found in a group of five planets circling a star that is slightly smaller, cooler and older than our own Sun. Called Kepler-62, this star is located in the Constellation Lyra.
Its two outermost worlds go by the names Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f.
They are what one might term "super-Earths" because their dimensions are somewhat larger than our home planet - about one-and-a-half-times the Earth's diameter.
Nonetheless, their size, the researchers say, still suggests that they are either rocky, like Earth, or composed mostly of ice. Certainly, they would appear to be too small to be gaseous worlds, like a Neptune or a Jupiter.
Planets 62e and 62f also happen to sit a sufficient distance from their host star that they receive a very tolerable amount of energy. They are neither too hot, nor too cold; a region of space around a star sometimes referred to as the "Goldilocks Zone".
How does the Kepler telescope work?
How rare is our blue planet?
Given the right kind of atmosphere, it is therefore reasonable to speculate, says the team, that they might be able to sustain water in a liquid state - a generally accepted precondition for life.
"Statements about a planet's habitability always depend on assumptions," said Lisa Kaltenegger, an expert on the likely atmospheres of "exoplanets" and a member of the discovery group.
"Let us assume that the planets Kepler-62e and -62f are indeed rocky, as their radius would indicate. Let us further assume that they have water and their atmospheric composition is similar to that of Earth, dominated by nitrogen, and containing water and carbon dioxide," the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg researcher went on.
"In that case, both planets could have liquid water on their surface: Kepler-62f gets less radiation energy from its host star than the Earth from the Sun and therefore needs more greenhouse gases, for Instance more carbon dioxide, than Earth to remain unfrozen.
"Kepler-62e is closer to its star, and needs an increased cloud cover - sufficient to reflect some of the star's radiation - to allow for liquid water on its surface."
None of this can be confirmed - not with today's technology. But with future telescopes, scientists say it may be possible to see past the blinding glare of the parent star to pick out just the faint light passing through a small world's atmosphere or even reflected off its surface.
This would permit the detection of chemical signatures associated with specific atmospheric gases and perhaps even some surface processes. Researchers have spoken in the past of trying to detect a marker for chlorophyll, the pigment in plants that plays a critical role in photosynthesis.
Dr Suzanne Aigrain is a lecturer in astrophysics at the University of Oxford.
She said ground-based experiments and space missions planned in the next few years would give more detailed information on distant planets like those announced by the Kepler team.
Astronomers would like to pin down the masses of the planets (information difficult to acquire with Kepler), as well as getting that data on atmospheric composition.
Dr Aigrain told BBC News: "What we do next is we try to find more systems like these; we try to measure the frequency of these systems; and we try to characterise individual systems and individual planets in more detail.
"That involves measuring their masses and their radii, and if possible getting an idea of what's in their atmospheres. But this is a very challenging task."
Kepler meanwhile will just keep counting planets beyond our Solar System.
It is equipped with the largest camera ever launched into space. It senses the presence of planets by looking for a tiny "shadowing" effect when one of them passes in front of its parent star.
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | The search for a far-off twin of Earth has turned up two of the most intriguing candidates yet. |
14,290,052 | Residents in Peterborough complained after hearing Wajid Hussain's van driving along to Teddy Bears' Picnic.
Officials say he was using the tune for longer than the four seconds he was allowed to play it.
The city council also refused his licence because of complaints relating to his parking and where he was operating.
Licensing regulatory officer Darren Dolby said it sent a strong message to other vendors to abide by trading laws.
The council received a total of 14 complaints about Mr Hussain, who trades as Adam Ices, over a three-month period.
These included parking his van dangerously, trading without consent in certain areas of Peterborough and playing his chimes for longer than allowed.
Only two of the complaints related to the van's chimes.
Members of the city council's licensing team gave evidence that Mr Hussain had been given a number of verbal and written warnings to comply - but this advice had been ignored.
Mr Dolby said: "We are pleased that the decision to revoke Hussain's licence was upheld by the committee."
A spokesman from the Ice Cream Alliance, the UK trade association for ice cream manufacturers and retailers, said: "The restrictions on chimes are part of a national code of practice which ice cream sellers have to adhere to.
"We have asked the government to relax these restrictions but until they do, all our members are advised to work within this code."
Mr Hussain told the BBC he did not wish to comment. | An ice cream van owner has been banned from trading - because he played his chimes for too long. |
19,011,505 | Rock coring is done for research of rocks' chemical make up and investigations into how the earth's magnetic field has changed.
When carried out properly, the visual impact is minimal.
However, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said there was growing concern about poor practice at sensitive sites.
Writing in Geoscientist Online
, SNH geologist Colin MacFadyen said guidance set out in the 1989 Code of Conduct for Rock Coring and also the Scottish Core Code were being ignored.
He said examples of irresponsible drilling included holes drilled into the Sandwick Fish Bed near Stromness, on Orkney.
In the Geological Society's magazine, Mr MacFadyen said: "Worryingly, there are reports from around the world, including one from Scotland, of small scale geological structures not only being defaced, but having been annihilated by coring.
"It is not just geoscientists who are becoming alarmed at the level of irresponsible core sampling, as the cumulative effects of this otherwise efficient sampling method are becoming increasingly apparent to even the most casual observers.
"Irresponsible coring is tarnishing the reputation of geological science as well as damaging exposure, with the general public experiencing defaced outcrop in every setting imaginable - remote beaches and islands, mountain tops, and, lamentably, classic geological sections within statutory protected areas."
Mr MacFadyen's concerns add to previous warnings about the condition of Scotland's geology, fossils and soils.
Last year, tonnes of rock were disturbed at a Jurassic site on Skye in what was described as one of Scotland's most reckless acts of fossil collecting.
SNH said rock was dug away from cliffs near Bearreraig Bay in an apparent organised search for valuable specimens.
Dinosaur footprints have also been removed from Valtos, another location on the island.
Skye is a key dinosaur fossil site in Scotland.
Bearreraig Bay, north of Portree, is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). A crowbar was suspected to have been used to prise away some of the rock.
The State of Scotland's Soils, a report published last year, suggested planning authorities should better understand the role of soils in storing carbon and do more to protect prime farm land.
The document's contributors included public agencies and scientists.
Soils support agricultural businesses worth £700m to the Scottish economy, according to the report.
However, it said the use of increasingly heavy farm machinery and how they compact soils posed a potential threat that was not fully understood in Scotland.
Other key threats to the quality of soils identified in the report included the effects of climate change.
Rainfall and temperatures influence the richness of organic matters - such as plants - in soils, the report said. | Irresponsible drilling of holes into rocks to extract samples threaten to "annihilate" geological features in Scotland, a public body has warned. |
32,590,213 | Party leader Peter Robinson outlined the party's position during a speech on Monday night.
He was speaking in the event of his party having any influence after Thursday's general election.
Mr Robinson said he would expect the leaders of all the pro-union parties at Westminster to sign up to the idea.
He said such a commission would seek to deal with the interests, not only of those who live in the regions of the United Kingdom, but also in England as well.
He argued this could pave the way for a long-term stable and secure United Kingdom. | The Democratic Unionist Party is to make the creation of a commission on the union "a non-negotiable requirement" of any post-election deal. |
37,368,722 | Varun Chopra, who recently returned to Essex from Warwickshire, made 79 before the hosts collapsed to 147-5.
Last pair David Masters and Jamie Porter edged Essex close to victory but Michael Hogan (5-45) and Timm van der Gugten (4-56) bowled them out for 252.
Earlier, Mark Wallace was run out for a season's best of 78 as Glamorgan added three runs to their overnight 293-9.
Essex openers Chopra and Nick Browne (30), who passed 1,000 Championship runs for the season, put on 92 together but the latter's departure just before lunch preceded a flurry of wickets in the afternoon session.
Masters and Porter were both dropped in quick succession off the bowling of Craig Meschede, but Van der Gugten bowled Porter to clinch a dramatic win for Glamorgan.
During the fourth day's play, veteran Essex seamer Masters confirmed he is to retire from professional cricket at the end of the season and captain Ryan ten Doeschate extended his contract until the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, Glamorgan announced that first-innings centurion Kiran Carlson was one of four players to agree new deals with the Welsh side.
Glamorgan bowler Michael Hogan told BBC Wales Sport:
"They're the ones you remember when the wicket's flat and the sun's out. It was pretty tough but it's certainly rewarding to get the win.
"It ebbed and flowed the whole game, but they're the ones you enjoy playing, we never gave up and in the last hour you get the win, so a fantastic result.
"It's a little bit of criticism for us that when we come up against the perceived better sides in the league, we seem to be up for it, and against the perceived lesser sides we seem to go in without as much intensity.
"If we can sort that out, we'll be a force but a great effort from the guys and I can't fault anyone." | Essex fell short in their chase of 264 as Glamorgan beat the Division Two champions by 11 runs at Chelmsford. |
39,526,944 | Writing on Facebook, he said he had been receiving treatment for the last week and would be voluntarily checking into rehab later this week.
The actor said he wrote the post due to concern from fans and said that he had battled alcohol addiction in the past.
"While it's not always been an easy fight, I'm willing to continue my fight day by day," he said.
He added: "I want to thank everyone that's reached out with their messages of support, it truly means the world to me. With your support, I got this."
The actor has appeared on a number of reality TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brother in the UK in 2009.
In 2015 he was taken to hospital after having a seizure at a Comic Con in Texas.
But he tweeted to fans: "Everything's ok guys. Thanks for the concern."
The actor was made famous by his role as Mini-Me in two Austin Powers films alongside Mike Myers.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Austin Powers actor Verne Troyer has revealed he is being treated for alcoholism. |
30,586,699 | A woman, 50, suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries when a car she was a passenger in struck a concrete post in the central motorway underpass at around 22:45 GMT on Monday.
Northumbria Police believe she was assaulted before the crash.
A man, 44, who was driving the car, has been arrested and is in police custody. | A driver has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car crash in Newcastle. |
37,356,388 | The Bluebirds dropped to 21st in the Championship and have won once in their opening seven matches.
It is Cardiff's worst start to a season in 12 years after what Trollope agreed was the team's poorest display so far.
"Apologies to the supporters, they have travelled a long way and seen a performance that was unacceptable," he said.
"I'm not going to stand here and give any excuses.
"We can stand here and talk about systems and ways of playing but there are some basic requirements in football to do well and win games and those were lacking.
"We were probably worthy of a goal in that second period but I'm not kidding myself, the game was done."
Trollope was appointed at the end of last season, taking over from Russell Slade who guided the team to eighth in the table.
But they have not won since the 2-1 victory over Blackburn on 17 August, with their only other points coming from draws at Birmingham and Fulham.
Cardiff face Leeds at home on Saturday following their 2-1 win over Blackburn on Tuesday.
"We've got a lot of work to do before Saturday," admitted Trollope.
"We're of course concerned. We didn't deserve to be going home with anything tonight.
"There's pressure on every manager every game and on every coach.
"The pressure is always there and everyone knows the situation and I believe in how I work and I believe in the group of players." | Cardiff City head coach Paul Trollope apologised to travelling supporters after his team's 3-0 defeat at Preston. |
35,147,991 | Billy Sharp opened the scoring for the Blades when he shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.
The lead was doubled when Bantams defender Stephen Darby could only turn Paul Coutts' cross into his own net.
Martyn Woolford headed a third for the hosts before Gary Liddle nodded in from a corner for a late consolation goal for Phil Parkinson's side. | Sheffield United extended their unbeaten run to five games with a comfortable win over Bradford. |
37,671,752 | The complaint is from 17 workers who are "extremely unhappy" at seeing their pay rates change for weekends, bank holidays and night shifts.
Leigh Day, the law firm acting for the workers, estimated thousands of long-term Tesco staff, mainly in their 40s, could be affected.
Tesco said workers would receive a "transition payment" for the changes.
The employees have started the process towards making a claim in an employment tribunal, according to Leigh Day.
Pay changes announced by Tesco in February included an hourly wage rise, but also cuts to the rates paid to some Sunday and bank holiday staff.
Under the changes, staff would receive time and a half for Sunday and bank holiday shifts from July, whereas previously some had received double time.
A Tesco spokesperson said: "The minority of colleagues who were negatively impacted by this change were supported with an agreed lump sum transition payment."
Paula Lee from Leigh Day said its clients, who have worked for Tesco for at least 16 years, felt "their loyalty was being taken advantage of".
She said: "Our clients are extremely unhappy that they have had their wages reduced in this way.
"These long-serving employees are especially angry that they only found out about the decision when news was leaked to the national press in January 2016.
"They feel hurt, bewildered and frightened that this could happen again."
The law firm claims a night premium was also scrapped. | Tesco is facing legal action from staff who say they lost out on pay for working anti-social hours. |
34,082,304 | The first boat, which signalled for help early on Thursday, had nearly 50 people on board.
The second overcrowded boat, which sank much later, had about 400 passengers.
Officials said about 201 people had been rescued by the Libyan coast guard but many people appeared trapped in the hold when the boat capsized.
A detention facility for illegal migrants in Sabratha, west of Tripoli, received 147 people, an official told Reuters.
At least 100 bodies were taken to a hospital in Zuwara, west of Tripoli, a resident told the BBC.
The victims included migrants from Syria, Bangladesh and several sub-Saharan African countries, the resident said, but the information could not be independently verified.
About 2,400 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, the UN says.
More than 100,000 others have landed in Italy, whilst another 160,000 have crossed to Greece.
On Wednesday, the bodies of at least 51 people were found in the hold of a stricken ship off Libya's coast.
They were picked up by a Swedish coastguard ship that also rescued more than 400 survivors - among at least 3,000 migrants saved that day.
The Swedish ship, Poseidon, docked in the port of Palermo, Sicily, on Thursday.
On Saturday, about 4,400 migrants were rescued from boats off the coast of Libya, in one of the biggest single-day operations mounted to date.
Many of those who attempt the journey are fleeing conflict or persecution, and set off from Libya in unseaworthy boats organised by smugglers. Libya has had two competing governments for the past year and is largely ruled by rival militias.
The Libyan coastguard has limited capacity to undertake large-scale rescue missions at sea, BBC North Africa correspondent Rana Jawad reports from Tunis.
Meanwhile, in Austria, police said they hoped to soon establish how many people died in a parked lorry near the Hungarian border. They suspected it could be as many as 50 people, almost certainly migrants.
The issue of the influx of migrants into Europe through land routes was raised at a summit in Vienna on Thursday.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, highlighted the need to deal with the large number of migrants heading to the EU via Western Balkan nations.
He stressed the "whole idea of the European Union without borders inside is in danger" if the bloc's external borders were not secure. | Hundreds of people are feared dead after two boats carrying up to 500 migrants capsized off the Libyan city of Zuwara, residents and officials say. |
39,806,736 | Christopher Scott, 64, had pleaded not guilty when he was charged last August.
The woman was dragged from a Nottingham bus stop, leading to a high-profile investigation and the case featured on the BBC's Crimewatch in 2008.
Scott from Billesdon Drive, Heathfield, Nottingham, admitted the charges at Nottingham Crown Court, on the first day of his trial.
Mrs Justice Carr adjourned sentencing until 26 May.
DNA samples were taken at the time but no match was found until Scott was tested last year in relation to a separate matter. | A man has admitted the kidnap and rape of an 18-year-old university student 25 years ago. |
35,426,876 | More than 20 rush-hour trains into London from Kent did not run, with some passengers delayed for two hours.
Services between Ashford and London were disrupted when lines were left without power because of overrunning engineering work.
A Southeastern spokesman said services were now "back to normal".
He said the delays caused by the power loss between Maidstone and Swanley "due to overrunning engineering works, which were supposed to be finished on time today.
"We do apologise for the disruption, but it is out of our control - we can only run our services if the track is fit for purpose," he said.
"Around 70% of all delays are down to infrastructure problems and we are challenging Network Rail to ensure that its asset maintenance programme is fit for purpose."
Network Rail responded saying the conductor rail had been damaged when a piece of equipment broke down at Kemsing.
A spokesman said: "We apologise to passengers who were disrupted this morning and would urge passengers to use the delay repay scheme to claim compensation.
During the disruption, passenger Sue Jones tweeted: "Totally fed up - if my performance at work was as poor as the train companies then I would have been fired!"
The bi-annual National Rail Passenger Survey has found the operators with the three lowest ratings all covered south-east England.
Thameslink had the lowest proportion of satisfied passengers at 73%, followed by Southeastern (75%) and Southern (78%).
Earlier this month, Southeastern blamed "bright sunlight" for delays to services through south-east London. | Southeastern has blamed Network Rail after more than 20 rush-hour trains were cancelled, leaving commuters with hours of delays. |
35,043,512 | Much of southern and central Scotland is covered by a Met Office yellow alert for rain valid from 06:00 on Wednesday to 03:00 on Thursday.
A warning of winds of between 50mph and 60mph has also been issued for southern regions for Wednesday afternoon.
Severe gales and rain are also expected in the Highlands with downpours likely in Grampian too.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issued 16 flood warnings and six flood alerts on Wednesday morning.
Mopping up operations are ongoing across many areas of Scotland following flooding due to Storm Desmond over the weekend.
Tayside, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway were among the worst affected parts of the country. | Warnings for rain and high winds are in place for many parts of Scotland, some still recovering from serious flooding. |
35,372,325 | Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), say there are no direct observations to confirm its presence yet.
But if proven to exist, the new planet would have 10 times the mass of Earth.
You've given the boffins a helping hand by suggesting possible names.
A recently departed Starman gets a mention:
Harrison Jeffrey keeps his options open: "Liking either Bowie or Ziggy - although just calling it Planet Nine has a nice sound about it too".
DJ_Brit continues the musical theme: "How about Planet Bri after @DrBrianMay?"
Ian M. goes for: "Mirage"
Some of you even doubt the existence of Planet Nine:
Derrick says equal opportunities should be taken into consideration:
While viking still has a hankering for an old favourite: "Pluto version .2".
For Mirabai Collamore, it has to be: "Galifrey"
Rosalinda plumps for: "zeus would be a great name for this planet".
Here are some more of your thoughts...
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Compiled by Bernadette McCague | US astronomers claim to have strong evidence that there is a ninth planet in our Solar System. |
39,890,114 | Ryan Beal, 20, Brandon Brown, 20, Alexandra Binns, 18, and Terrie Kirby, 16, were killed when the vehicle was hit by a Nissan 350Z moving at 140mph.
The Nissan was racing on the Hemsworth bypass, West Yorkshire, in 2015.
Nathan Jackson, 21, and Stephen Hebden, 23, both from Barnsley, were convicted at Leeds Crown Court.
The racing scenes that led to the deaths were likened to the film The Fast And The Furious during the trial.
A jury was told how the four who died were out celebrating Miss Kirby's birthday when the quad bike collided with the Nissan travelling in the same direction.
The driver of the Nissan, Daniel Raynor, and his front-seat passenger, Matthew Todd, previously admitted charges of causing death by dangerous driving.
During the trial, prosecutor Kama Melly QC said the Nissan was one of a number of vehicles taking part in a high-speed race when the crash happened on 27 September.
Two groups of people had travelled from Wakefield and Barnsley to use the stretch of road for racing as spectators watched from the sides of the road and a railway bridge, the jury heard.
Analysis of the Nissan's sat-nav showed it was doing 140mph at the time of the impact with the quad bike and had reached 144mph on previous runs along the single carriageway road.
George Tomlinson, 25, of Hall Croft, Netherton, Wakefield, Lee Fisher, 29, of Pond Street, Barnsley, and Bradley Lockwood, 22, of Rotherham Road, Barnsley, were cleared of encouraging dangerous driving.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said Jackson, of Higham Common, and Hebden, of Dodworth Road, will be sentenced in the next few weeks along with Raynor and Todd. | Two men have been convicted of encouraging dangerous driving after four young people on a quad bike died in a high-speed crash. |
40,487,791 | The Welsh club trailed 2-1 after the first leg, but the contest was really over before half-time in the second-leg with the home side 3-0 ahead.
Striker Aldin Turkes scored twice whilst Marco Mathays netted controversially as the visitors were trying to make a substitution.
A goalless second period means the European dream is over for Bala. | Bala exited the Europa League in the first qualifying round in Liechtenstein at the hands of FC Vaduz. |
33,573,497 | Eoin O'Mahony, now 32, had two operations at Cork University Hospital in 2001 after complaining of headaches during his final year at school.
Days later, he lapsed into a coma-like state and now has locked-in syndrome.
His family took a case against the Health Service Executive (HSE), seeking a settlement to cover his future care.
Liability had already been conceded in the case, according to the Irish broadcaster, RTÉ.
Friday's hearing was the latest in the family's long-running court battle with the Irish state to secure funds to meet Mr O'Mahony's extensive healthcare needs.
Dublin's High Court was told his disability is so extreme that he cannot even use his finger to press a button if he needs help.
"No financial award can bring back Eoin and his family to a life of fullness and achievement he had every reason to aspire to," the judge said.
Over the last five years, Mr O'Mahony has already received interim payments totalling 4.1m euros (£2.8m) to cover his care needs.
But after 13 years of litigation, his parents asked for the case to be finalised with a lump sum payment that would meet the cost of their son's future care requirements.
The judge said the case had been "enormously long" and complex.
He added that he intends to award Mr O'Mahony a final settlement of at least 10m euros when he makes a final ruling on the case in October. | An Irishman who suffered devastating brain injuries after undergoing surgery as a teenager is set to receive a settlement of at least 10m euros (£7m). |
35,533,520 | George and Vera Maskell were in the path of Darren Sanders' lorry in a cul-de-sac in south-west London.
The Old Bailey heard they "seemed uncertain what to do".
Sanders, 44, of Wellingborough, was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, but admitted careless driving.
He was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was banned from driving for 19 months.
The court heard the couple were wheeling a shopping trolley back to their car in Sunbury Cross in July.
Passers-by heard a "dull thud" when the couple were hit by the lorry, which was coming out of a service road which had a 5mph speed limit.
Both had fractured skulls and Mrs Maskell was trapped under the vehicle's wheels.
Jane Osborne, prosecuting counsel, said: "They seemed uncertain what to do and in the event did not move.
"Mr Maskell held onto his wife's arm as if he was trying to move her from the path of the vehicle.
"If he [Sanders] had seen the pedestrians he would not have hit them because his braking time would have been such that he would have stopped before."
The court heard Sanders told police "they just stepped out in front of me" and he had not seen them.
The trial heard he was blind in one eye, but had a valid driver's licence.
He had had flashbacks and sleepless nights since the accident.
Sentencing him, the Common Serjeant of London, Richard Marks QC, said: "The real cause of this accident was not in reality the speed or your failure to observe the Give Way sign but the fact you simply did not see them in front of you." | A partially-sighted lorry driver has been cleared of killing an elderly couple after his vehicle hit them at 12mph (19km/h). |
28,769,435 | The staging of the event has been opposed by unionist parties and some city councillors have called for a review.
Mr Galloway has said he will not withdraw from the event, billed as Saturday Night with George Galloway,
The Respect MP for Bradford West is due to speak at the council-owned Ulster Hall on Saturday 23 August.
A council spokesperson said: "The issue is now being considered and legal advice is being sought as part of that.
"The George Galloway event scheduled to take place at The Ulster Hall on Saturday 23 August has been booked by a third party promoter.
"Belfast City Council has simply hired the venue to this promoter who takes all responsibility for its planning and content. The council's programming policy does not preclude political events organised by third party promoters.
West Yorkshire Police are investigating recent comments by the Respect MP urging people in Bradford to reject all Israeli goods, services, academics and tourists.
One of those opposed to the event Democratic Unionist (DUP) councillor Brian Kingston said: "I have written to Belfast City Council director of development expressing concern about a booking for George Galloway to speak at the Ulster Hall next week," he said.
"We have asked for that booking to be reviewed, we think it is inappropriate at this time of tension in light of his highly controversial comments.
"He goes far beyond calling for a boycott, he is rejecting and demonising an entire country and its people."
Mr Kingston said DUP councillors were also seeking advice from the police on the potential for incitement to hatred in relation to Mr Galloway's comments.
Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers has also written to the council calling for a review.
In response, Mr Galloway said: "To be lectured on good relations by the DUP is a bit like being told to sit up straight by the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"It's a commercial contract with the Ulster Hall, signed, sealed and will be delivered, except on terms of very severe compensation.
"A great deal of money has already been spent, the tickets are going like hot cakes, so a great deal of income would be lost and that would be a very bad deal for the taxpayers in Belfast."
The DUP said Mr Galloway's 'hunchback remark was "meaningless abuse" and "an attempt to deflect attention from his extremist views".
On Tuesday, it emerged that a plaque erected to former Israeli president president Chaim Herzog at his former home in north Belfast had to be removed after a number of recent attacks.
Last month windows were smashed at a synagogue on north Belfast's Somerton Road. | Belfast City Council is seeking legal advice about a public speaking event in the city featuring George Galloway. |
34,657,267 | Examples of randomly parked cycles in Cambridge have been released to make people think "more carefully about how they park or secure" cycles.
The force said the photos in its #badlyparkedbike campaign were not "uncommon sights".
According to figures, 58% of people in Cambridge cycle at least once a month.
Insp Matt Johnson, of Cambridgeshire police, said: "While the photos are unbelievable, sights like this are not uncommon in Cambridge.
"This sort of parking causes an obstruction, it can make things difficult for others to unlock their bikes and - in a small number of cases - people have injured themselves when trying to remove bikes.
"Wherever possible, use a proper bike rack as these are designed to prevent theft when combined with a good lock."
While a number of people responded that bad parking is "dangerous", others said the crackdown has highlighted the need for more parking racks.
One user, Al Storer, said: "All [it]... really shows is locations where the available bike parking is WOEFULLY lacking."
Insp Johnson said there was a "huge amount of cycle parking provision across the city" but the number of abandoned cycles taking up spaces was an on-going problem. | Photos of "flying" bikes haphazardly left on the top of fences or suspended from trees have been posted on Twitter in a police crackdown on bad parking. |
38,622,809 | The body of a 27-year-old man from Poland was found at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre, near Lincoln, on Wednesday.
The Prison Service-run site is for men subject to deportation who need secure conditions.
An independent investigation is being carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
The Unity Centre charity said detainees at the centre were "very low" and people were "sick and tired of the place".
It described the man who died as "young and caring" and said he had "spent his time watching TV, playing games and at the gym".
Morton Hall, which is run by the Prison Service on behalf of UK Border Agency, has 392 rooms spread across six residential units.
The centre is used to detain some asylum seekers who are awaiting decisions and also people whose asylum claims have failed and are awaiting deportation.
A Home Office spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with the individual's family at this very sad time.
"As is the case with any death in detention, the police have been informed and a full independent investigation will be conducted by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman." | A man has been found dead at an immigration removal centre, according to the Home Office. |
34,054,892 | The woman had bought the Remy Martin XO Excellence in the US and then tried to take it on board an internal flight from Beijing to Wenzhou.
But the 700ml bottle was far above the 100ml that security laws allow.
She became hugely drunk and was forced to sleep it off at Beijing airport.
The incident occurred at Beijing Capital International Airport last Friday.
The passenger, identified only by her surname Zhou, downed the bottle at about midday after being informed she could not take it on board.
She began to shout incoherently, then fell over and started rolling around the floor. Security intervened.
One airport officer told the South China Morning Post: "She was so drunk… she couldn't even stand up. We took her to a room in a wheelchair so she could rest."
She was denied entry on to the plane and was given medical care.
The woman then slept and reportedly did not sober up until about 19:00. She was released by police to family members who came to pick her up.
One report said she thanked police for helping her. | A Chinese plane passenger who was told she could not carry a $190 (£120) bottle of cognac on board downed it all rather than let it go to waste - and was then deemed unfit to fly. |
19,587,311 | Brett Martin, from East Sussex, helped Zainab al-Hilli, seven, after the attack which claimed the lives of her parents, grandmother and a local man.
He told the BBC he made the difficult decision to leave her bleeding on the ground while he went to seek help.
Meanwhile, a French prosecutor has said the motive has its "origins" in the UK.
Eric Maillaud was speaking outside Woking police station in Surrey after arriving with the French judge leading the inquiry.
French and British police are continuing to search the Claygate, Surrey, home of Saad al-Hilli, 50, who was shot with his dentist wife Iqbal, 47, mother-in-law, 74, and passing cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, in Chevaline, close to the tourist destination of Lake Annecy.
Zainab and her four-year-old sister Zeena both survived the attack on 5 September during their camping holiday.
Mr Martin said he initially believed there had been a car accident after coming across the scene while cycling in the forest area.
He told the BBC the car's engine was running when he arrived and he had to break a window on the vehicle to switch it off.
"At first I thought there's been a terrible accident between a cyclist and a car because there was a cyclist on the ground, more or less in front of the car, but there were things that didn't quite match because the cyclist's bike wasn't beside him, so as the minutes went on I started to change my opinion," he said.
He saw three bodies in the car, and once he realised a crime had taken place, he was worried who might still be around.
"There was a lot of blood and heads with bullet holes in them," he said.
"I've never seen people who've been shot before... but it seemed to me just like a Hollywood scene, and if someone had said 'cut' and everybody got up and walked away, that would have been it, but unfortunately it was real life.
"I then started scanning the woods to see if there was some nutter or who knows what with a gun and I was going to be the next person shot."
He moved Zainab, who collapsed on the ground after he found her "stumbling" away from the car in case it began moving but said he faced a "dilemma" when he decided to seek help after finding his mobile phone had no reception.
He said he felt Zainab's injuries would have worsened - "perhaps killed her" - if he had carried her with him.
Mr Martin added that he has since travelled back to the location of the shooting under armed police protection to give further details to French officers.
French police have spoken briefly to Zainab, who remains in hospital in France after being shot in the shoulder and hit around the head. But they are still waiting to question her fully.
Zeena, who lay undiscovered in the car for eight hours, has returned to the UK and is under the care of social services.
On Wednesday, Mr Maillaud said 40 French police officers were working on the investigation and probing Mr al-Hilli's work as an engineer, his family connections and possible links within Iraq.
After talks with Surrey Police officers, the prosecutor told reporters: "Without any doubt... the reasons and causes have their origins in this country."
Surrey Police said they had held an "extremely productive" meeting with French and British officials involved in the investigation.
A spokesman said: "The meeting built on the already established strong working relationships between all parties involved. The UK and French authorities are extremely pleased with the progress which has been made."
The BBC's Christian Fraser, in Annecy, said the purpose of the visit was partly to "iron out" differences between the forces. On Wednesday Mr Maillaud said the language barrier between French and British officers had been slowing inquiries down.
Meanwhile, the family's BMW car has been sent to Paris for forensic tests and inquiries are also said to be taking place in Sweden, where Mr al-Hilli's mother-in-law had a property. | The ex-RAF pilot who found a British family murdered in the French Alps feared "some nutter" with a gun could still be nearby to shoot him next. |
41,062,024 | Lewis Vaughan scored twice for the Kirkcaldy side, who leapfrog Ayr United, surprise 2-1 losers at home to Arbroath - who move up to third place.
Airdrieonians join the Red Lichties on seven points after a 2-0 home win over Alloa Athletic.
Albion Rovers were 2-0 winners at Forfar Athletic, while Queen's Park and Stranraer shared four goals.
Bobby Barr, Greig Spence, Liam Buchanan were also on target for Rovers, who are now the only unbeaten side in the division.
Barr scored after just five minutes before Vaughan added a close-range header. Spence then made it 3-0 before the break with a header of his own
Buchanan nodded in at the near post before Vaughan grabbed his second on 80 minutes with an 18-yard strike.
Arbroath came from behind to defeat Ayr at Somerset Park and end the 100% league record of Ian McCall's side.
Chris Higgins put the hosts ahead with a close-range finish but the visitors responded on the stroke of half-time through Omar Kader's strike.
Mark Whatley scored the winner in the 59th minute with a composed finish into the top-right corner.
Airdrie made it three matches unbeaten thanks to an 18th-minute penalty from Ryan Conroy and a late Jake Hastie finish.
Ten-man Forfar suffered their third successive defeat with Alan Trouten putting the Wee Rovers ahead with a calm finish before with the hosts had Matt Aitken dismissed for two bookable offences with six minutes left.
Rovers took full advantage of the extra man and Connor Shields shot home their second goal.
Morgyn Neill's last-minute own goal earned Queen's Park their first point of the season at Hampden Park.
Ryan Wallace gave Stranraer a first-minute lead and the visitors doubled their advantage eight minutes later when Grant Anderson found the bottom corner.
Anton Brady reduced the deficit for the hosts before the half-time interval and Neill guided the ball into his own net in the first minute of stoppage-time. | Raith Rovers took over at the top of League One with a thumping 5-0 win at local rivals East Fife. |
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