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22,310,502 | A total of 21 women were nominated for the Welsh Asian Women Achievement Awards (WAWAA).
Prof Meena Upadhyaya was inspired when she was put forward for another award.
"I looked round the room and saw there were no other Asian women. That was the catalyst," she said.
Prof Upadhyaya, who is now internationally recognised in her role as professor of medical genetics at Cardiff University, said although she did not win, being at those awards drove her to do more.
"I had dedicated my life to work," she said. "I feel that all my life I have done science, but now I wanted to give something back to the wider community and to share my experiences with women."
It could have all been so different, as she readily admits.
She moved to the UK from what she calls a comfortable and privileged life in Delhi more than 30 years ago.
While her husband was initially a student in Scotland, she was happy to live as a housewife and as a mother to their young daughter.
But then, she admitted, she got bored and accustomed to going round shopping centres, and wanted to get a job.
"I expected I would get a job at Woolworths. But my husband was horrified. He said he could not go out to work because my family back in India would think he could not support me."
Instead, a long and successful medical career was to follow - an MSc from Edinburgh to add to the BSc she had gained in India, and then a PhD from Cardiff, and a fellowship from the Royal College of Pathologists.
But for most of those years Prof Upadhyaya was on her own after her husband's early death at 35.
"Winning the Welsh Asian Small Business Woman of the Year award in 2011 was one of the most momentous events of my life," she said.
"At the ceremony I was left speechless (well almost!), but afterwards I felt that it was a confirmation that all the hard work in setting up my business had been worth it and gave me renewed confidence in my abilities.
"Since then, there have been a number of developments in my business, much of which can be attributed to the publicity surrounding the award and the kudos associated with it.
"I am receiving enquiries from as far afield as Ilford, Bristol and Birmingham and there has been an increase from Cardiff and the surrounding areas.
"Also, following media coverage, the proportion of my clientele from non-Asian background has significantly increased giving my business a wider base."
She said it had been difficult rising to the top of her chosen career path being Asian and a woman.
"I felt excluded, I had to work so hard to achieve in a world dominated by men. And now I want to pass on all my experiences and help others," she said.
"But my experience also shows it's never too late to change. Everybody has potential."
The awards have grown since their launch two years ago, with about 300 guests attending the Cardiff City Hall ceremony on Saturday night.
Prof Upadyaya said as well as an extra category - life achievement - this year's ceremony had invited women from more Asian countries and gained sponsorship.
She was "privileged and inspired" to be involved with the those taking part - role models not just for their communities but also for women as a whole.
"Our aim is to empower these women so that they can be role models, not only for the Asian community, but also Welsh women," she said.
In the future they intend to use the platform to tackle issues which affect women in the community such as domestic violence, sex trafficking and education. | Asian women from all walks of life have been celebrated an awards ceremony in Cardiff pioneered by a university professor who wants to share her experiences and empower others. |
35,640,192 | Lincolnshire Trading Standards said retailers were becoming "far more ingenious than a few fags hidden under the counter".
In once recent case in Spalding, a haul was found behind an electronically operated false wall.
Officials said smuggled tobacco products often contained rat droppings, arsenic and human excrement.
More on this and other stories at Lincolnshire Live
Earlier this month, The Baltic Store in Winsover Road, Spalding, had its Alcohol Premises Licence revoked by South Holland District Council.
Kirsty Herbertson, of Lincolnshire Trading Standards, said: "They had built false walls, and there were electronic systems in place with a hatch on one side and a sliding door on the other.
"Only by operating the electronic system would you be able to get access to the tobacco," she said.
"We had to bash through the wall."
"These smuggled goods do not conform to UK legislation - which says if a cig is left unattended it should self-extinguish," she added.
Sgt Kim Enderby from the Alcohol Licensing Team said: "In two separate stock rooms at the rear of the store, we found elaborate electronic hides built into the walls. These were found to contain thousands of illegal cigarettes.
"This was a sophisticated attempt to avoid detection." | Shops are using increasingly sophisticated methods to hide illegal tobacco products, officials have said. |
34,380,258 | Their report, in the journal Nature Genetics, identified genes involved in how the body repairs itself.
Ultimately the findings could contribute to a fertility or menopause test, or lead to new drugs.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the results were important for those at risk of an early menopause.
Most women go through the menopause between the ages of 40 and 60. However, what controls that timescale is not completely clear.
Comparing the DNA of nearly 70,000 women allowed the researchers to identify the differences between those starting the menopause early and late.
The team at Exeter and Cambridge universities showed that at least two repair mechanisms were involved.
The first is used when the eggs are being formed and the woman's DNA is being broken, rearranged and repaired.
The second corrects damage, caused by factors such as smoking or alcohol, throughout a woman's life.
Both would influence the number of viable eggs a woman has.
Women become infertile about 10 years before the menopause starts.
So could this knowledge lead to a test that predicts the age of menopause?
Dr Anna Murray, one of the researchers from the University of Exeter, told the BBC News website: "We would love to be able to do that, but the answer is no.
"[But] possibly by adding other risk factors such as smoking, hormone levels we might be able to get towards something more useful."
The age of menopause is thought to be controlled by a 50-50 split between genetics and lifestyle choices.
However, even after discovering 56 genetic variants linked to the age of menopause, that comprises only 6% of the total variation.
Dr Murray said the findings could help develop new drugs: "We really don't understand the process of egg loss, the timing of it, so better understanding of the basic biology of losing eggs will help us with that."
The researchers also found genes that controlled menopause timing were involved in both the age of puberty and the development of breast cancer.
Dr Edward Morris, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "We have known for some time about the fact that an early menopause protects against breast cancer whilst a late menopause increases the risk.
"It is reassuring that such a large study taking a genetic approach has clearly demonstrated this link.
"In addition this study has shown that there may well be future possibilities not only to have a clearer understanding of the length of a woman's reproductive life, but possibly to find treatments in the future.
"This type of knowledge would be of particular importance in women with a high risk of early menopause." | Sections of DNA that control when women go through the menopause have been identified by scientists. |
22,754,944 | It says there is not enough information about the chemical risks to foetuses from cosmetics and food packaging.
Items which it suggests should be avoided include tinned food, ready meals, shower gel and even new cars.
Critics say the advice is unhelpful, unrealistic and alarmist.
The RCOG says its paper on the issue is informing women and filling a void - until now, there has been no official advice for pregnant and breastfeeding women to turn to.
It is unlikely that any of the exposures are truly harmful for most babies, say the report's authors, and, based on current evidence, it is impossible to give an accurate assessment of risk.
Nevertheless, they say women should make an informed choice and at the same time "not wrap themselves up in a bubble".
They say pregnant women can be exposed to a complex mixture of hundreds of chemicals at low levels through the food they eat and the everyday products they use.
Chemicals, such as bisphenol A and phthalates, can leach into food packaging and containers, including food and beverage cans and plastic-wrapped ready meals, say the authors, Dr Michelle Bellingham and Professor Richard Sharpe.
Among other warnings:
And do not assume natural or herbal products or remedies are safe, say the authors.
Prof Sharpe said: "For most environmental chemicals we do not know whether or not they really affect a baby's development, and obtaining definitive guidance will take many years.
"This paper outlines a practical approach that pregnant women can take, if they are concerned about this issue and wish to 'play safe' in order to minimise their baby's exposure."
He said women should not be alarmed and that the potential risks were likely to be small.
Dr Bellingham added that the paper was primarily aimed at health professionals advising women at ante-natal classes.
"We are trying to empower women, not scare them. There is a void at the moment in terms of information about chemicals," she said.
But many expert organisations were quick to criticise the RCOG advice.
Tracey Brown, of Sense About Science, said: "Pregnancy is a time when people spend a lot of time and money trying to work out which advice to follow, and which products to buy or avoid. The simple question parents want answered during pregnancy is: 'Should we be worried?'
"What we need is help in navigating these debates about chemicals and pregnancy. Disappointingly, the RCOG report has ducked this."
Rosemary Dodds, of the National Childbirth Trust, said it was unacceptable that pregnant women today were still having to make decisions without clear information on possible risks.
Janet Fyle, of the Royal College of Midwives, said pregnant women must take the advice with caution and use their common sense and judgement and not be unnecessarily alarmed about using personal care products, such as moisturisers, cosmetics and shower gels.
"There needs to be more scientific and evidence-based research into the issues and concerns raised by this paper," she said.
Dr John Harrison, director of Public Health England's Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, said: "We agree that it would be sensible for pregnant women to avoid using hazardous chemicals such as pesticides or fungicides as a precaution, or in line with product information. However, there is no evidence to suggest that chemicals in items such as personal care products are a risk to public health."
Dr Chris Flower of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association said there was no need for anyone - pregnant or otherwise - to worry.
"The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has advised pregnant women to take a 'safety first' approach to cosmetic products and the good news is that there are already strict laws in place for cosmetics that allow us all to do just that."
He said a full safety assessment of every cosmetic product and all its ingredients was undertaken before a product could go on the market and, by law, all of the ingredients in a cosmetic product had to be listed on its packaging. | The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has been criticised for saying pregnant women may want to "play it safe" and avoid chemicals found in many common household products. |
36,811,368 | An International Olympic Committee (IOC) session is set to announce on 3 August that the sport will be added to the programme for four years' time.
It is one of five sports put forward by Tokyo organisers, a proposal backed unanimously by the IOC executive board.
Skateboarding, surfing, karate and baseball/softball could also become Olympic sports at next month's meeting.
Future Games hosts are being given a chance to bring in one or more sports popular in their country to boost ratings and attract greater sponsorship.
The event programme for the existing 28 Olympic sports - which includes golf as it returns this year for the first time since 1904 - will be finalised in mid-2017.
More than 20 male golfers, including the top four in the world, have pulled out of this summer's Games, with many citing concern over the Zika virus - a mosquito-borne virus linked to brain defects in newborn babies.
IOC president Thomas Bach said this week that the absences would be considered when the Tokyo 2020 line-up is decided.
The five new sports "offer a key focus on youth", the IOC has previously said, have a "significant popularity in Japan and beyond", and would be the "most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history".
Sport climbing involves participants scaling permanent anchors, like bolts, fixed to the rock.
According to the International Federation of Sport Climbing, more than 140 countries have climbing walls, with 35 million climbers around the world. The average age is 23 years old, with 40% under 20.
Great Britain's Shauna Coxsey, the Bouldering World Cup champion, told the Guardian: "This will make climbing even more popular and hopefully open it up to people who normally wouldn't give it a go."
Rob Adie, competitions officer at the British Mountaineering Council, which has helped campaign for climbing to be made an Olympic sport, said: "Climbing is such a wide-ranging sport and there are so many different facets. It is a good thing that it will be recognised on a world stage." | Sport climbing is expected to be confirmed as a new Olympic sport for the Tokyo 2020 Games next month. |
40,635,526 | The article alleges that Kelly, best known in the UK for hits like I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition (Remix), targets young women who come to him for help with their fledgling music careers.
It claims he seduces them before taking control of their lives - forbidding contact with the outside world, and taping their sexual encounters.
The allegations come from the parents of several women, who say their daughters have all but vanished.
Kelly, 50, has strenuously denied the story - but this is not the first time the R&B star has faced accusations of sexual misconduct, with many of the stories centring around the predatory pursuit of teenage girls.
The star was himself the victim of child sex abuse, detailing in his autobiography how he was raped by an older women when he was eight years old who told him to keep it a secret. He added that "she did it repeatedly for years".
Here is a brief history of the accusations against him.
The star, then aged 27, marries 15-year-old singer Aaliyah at a secret ceremony in Chicago. Vibe magazine later discovered that Aaliyah had lied on the wedding certificate about her age, listing herself as 18. The marriage was annulled in February 1995.
For the rest of her career, Aaliyah dodged questions about the nature of her relationship. "When people ask me, I tell them, 'Hey, don't believe all that mess,'" she told one interviewer. "We're close and people took it the wrong way."
Kelly himself has rarely spoken about Aaliyah since she died in a plane crash in 2001. She is not mentioned in his autobiography, where his author's note explains that "certain episodes could not be included for complicated reasons".
In a 2016 interview with GQ magazine, he described their relationship as "best best best best friends"; but declined to comment on their marriage, saying: "I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally."
Tiffany Hawkins sues R Kelly for the "personal injuries and emotional distress" she suffered during a three-year relationship with the star.
In court documents, she said she began having sex with Kelly in 1991, when she was 15 and he was 24, and the relationship ended three years later, when she turned 18. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Hawkins sought $10 million in damages, but accepted a fraction of that amount ($250,000) when the case was settled in 1998.
Kelly's spokeswoman said she had "no knowledge" of the accusations.
Tracy Sampson sues R Kelly, accusing him of inducing her "into an indecent sexual relationship" when she was 17 years old.
The woman, a former intern at Epic Records, claimed she was "treated as his personal sex object and cast aside".
"He often tried to control every aspect of my life including who I would see and where I would go," she said in her legal case against him. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, said the New York Post.
Kelly is sued for a third time by Patrice Jones, a Chicago woman who claims he impregnated her when she was underage, and that she was forced to have an abortion.
A woman named Montina Woods also sued Kelly, alleging that he videotaped them having sex without her knowledge. The recording was allegedly circulated on an R Kelly "sex tape" sold by bootleggers under the title R Kelly Triple-X.
The star settled both cases out of court, paying an undisclosed sum in return for a non-disclosure agreement.
The star is charged with 21 counts of making child pornography, involving intercourse, oral sex, urination, and other sexual acts.
Chicago police accused him of videotaping each of these acts and enticing a minor to participate in them. All of the charges related to one girl, born in September 1984.
His arrest stemmed from a video which was sent anonymously to the Chicago Sun Times earlier in the year. They passed it on to police, who verified the authenticity of the tape with help from FBI forensics experts.
Kelly, who posted $750,000 bail, immediately denied the charges in an interview with MTV and later pleaded not guilty in court.
It took six years for the case to come to trial, during which time Kelly released his wildly successful Trapped In The Closet album; and was nominated for an Image Award by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), prompting widespread criticism.
The jury eventually concluded they could not prove that the girl on the tape was a minor, and Kelly was found not guilty on all counts.
Kelly is charged with a further 12 counts of making child pornography in Florida, where he was arrested at his holiday home.
These charges came after police seized a camera during the arrest, which allegedly showed the star having sex with an underage girl.
The charges were dropped when a judge agreed with Kelly's defence team that police lacked sufficient evidence to justify a search.
Buzzfeed reports that Kelly lures young women into his inner circle and keeps them against their will inside his homes in a "cult-like" atmosphere.
The story says six women are being held in the star's properties, where he controls all aspects of their lives.
Buzzfeed also interviewed three former members of Kelly's inner circle, and reports the singer controls every aspect of the women's lives: dictating "what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records".
The superstar also confiscates the women's cell phones, the report says, barring contact with friends and family. He gives them new phones that they are only allowed to use to contact him or others with his permission.
The story was written by Jim DeRogatis, who has covered the allegations against R Kelly for two decades, principally for the Chicago Sun Times.
All of the women cited in his article are of legal age; and one has denied accusations that she is being held against her will.
"I'm not being brainwashed or anything like that," said 21-year-old Joycelyn Savage in a video call to TMZ. However, she would not reveal where she was speaking from, nor the nature of her relationship with Kelly.
R Kelly's lawyer, Linda Mensch, has also issued a strongly-worded denial of the accusations.
"Mr Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him," the statement said.
"Mr Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations and will work diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | On Monday, Buzzfeed published a long and detailed report accusing R Kelly of trapping six women in a sex "cult". |
39,258,837 | GP Rosemary Platt said her surgeon, Ian Paterson, said he would recommend his own wife to have the same procedure if in the same position.
Mr Paterson has denied 20 counts of wounding with intent on nine women and one man.
His trial has heard he carried out the operations for "obscure" reasons.
Mr Paterson, 59, of Castle Mill Lane, Ashley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, was formerly employed by Heart of England NHS Trust and also practised at Spire Healthcare in the West Midlands.
The procedures are alleged to have been carried out between 1997 and 2011.
More news from Birmingham and the Black Country
Dr Platt, now retired, told Nottingham Crown Court she trusted Mr Paterson's advice to have the operation in 2001 after growths in her breast were found.
She said her husband had asked Mr Paterson if his own wife had the same symptoms and results would this be the course of action he would take, and he said yes.
Dr Platt first went to Mr Paterson in 1997, when she was 47, after finding a lump in her right breast.
She later underwent an excision of the lump and had another procedure on her armpit a month later.
More lumps were found and four years later it was suggested she would have a mastectomy and reconstruction.
She said that despite her profession, she "left her GP hat at the door" and trusted the advice given to her by the consultant.
"I felt he was a trusted professional, he was a doctor who cared about his patients and he would give me the best advice in this situation," she told the court.
As she recovered from the operation Mr Paterson suggested to her that in the long term she would need a procedure on the left side. But she said she felt so ill she asked to leave it under review.
Cross examined by Mr Paterson's defence lawyer, Nicholas Johnson QC, it was suggested Dr Platt's memory might be affected by the passage of time.
But she said she thought pain, such as having stitches removed from a breast cut, helps you remember things.
The trial continues. | A doctor had an "unnecessary" operation to remove a breast after being told she had cancer that could turn aggressive at any time, a court heard. |
33,220,639 | Two women in their 20s reported being followed in Maida Vale by a teen who tried to engage them in conversation before inappropriately touching them.
The first assault happened on 1 June on Kilburn Park Road while the second was on 17 June on nearby Saltram Crescent. Both occurred at about 22:00 BST.
Police believe the assaults are linked and arrested the boy in Kilburn. | A 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out two sex assaults in west London. |
38,010,262 | The 21-year-old Spaniard was injured during the the north London derby against Tottenham on 6 November.
"He got injured in the last 10 seconds in a very strong tackle from Danny Rose," said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
Bellerin, who has played in all 11 of Arsenal's league fixtures this season, could miss eight games, including the visit of Paris St-Germain.
He will sit out the Champions League trip to Basel on 6 December, as well as the EFL quarter-final against Southampton at Emirates Stadium on 30 November.
Arsenal are fourth in the Premier League as they prepare to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday (12:30 GMT).
They will assess the fitness of Alexis Sanchez on Friday after the forward scored twice for Chile in a 3-1 win over Uruguay on Tuesday, despite being a doubt before the game. | Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin has been ruled out for four weeks with an ankle injury. |
38,526,914 | The statue was installed by activists outside the Japanese consulate in the South Korean city of Busan last month.
South Korea has long called for reparations for "comfort women", who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two.
Japan says the statue violates a previous agreement on the issue.
Bad blood between Japan and Korea persists
'Comfort women' - a painful legacy
The big row over a small Australian statue
The 1.5m-tall (5ft) bronze statue depicts a young, barefoot woman sitting in a chair.
It has become a symbol of hardships faced by the women and the perceived lack of adequate apology and compensation from Japan.
Many of the estimated 200,000 women forced to be wartime sex slaves were Korean. Others came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.
It is a perennial issue that has dogged relations with Japan.
The matter has only escalated with each passing year as many of the survivors are old and dying. About 46 survivors are thought to remain in South Korea.
No. In fact a more famous statue is outside the Japanese embassy in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
It was put up in 2011 to mark the 1,000th rally by activists calling for an apology and compensation.
Another 37 are thought to exist in South Korea, while in Australia a similar statue has sparked a row between Korean and Japanese community groups.
South Korean activists put up the statue in Busan on 28 December as a protest against a deal struck exactly one year before, in which Japan apologised and promised to give 1bn yen (£7m; $8.6m) to a fund for Korean women.
Critics say it was reached without consultation with victims, did not contain Japan's acknowledgement of legal responsibility, and did not provide direct compensation to the victims.
Busan police initially removed the statue but there was fierce domestic pressure for it to remain, reported The Korea Herald.
Days later, after Japan's defence minister visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, local authorities allowed it to be reinstalled.
Japan says the statue violates the 2015 deal, which agreed that Japan's reparations would "finally and irreversibly" resolve the issue.
In a statement on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was important that both countries carry out their agreement.
It has withdrawn its Busan consul-general and South Korean ambassador. It also suspended a currency swap and postponed high-level economic discussions.
"We have repeatedly asked South Korea to handle the resolution of this issue appropriately, but the situation has not improved, so we have taken this action," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
The statues have been a constant source of irritation for the Japanese.
Japan has previously claimed the statue outside its Seoul embassy is illegal as it breaches the 1961 Vienna Convention, which dictates that host countries must protect the premises of diplomatic missions. | Japan has temporarily withdrawn its ambassador to South Korea, amid an escalating row over a statue representing wartime sex slaves. |
30,631,059 | The home side declared on 318-9 at lunch on the final day, setting India 384 to win in 70 overs.
Virat Kohli (54) and Ajinkya Rahane (48) led India's resistance after they lost three wickets for 19 runs.
Captain MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin then survived a nervous final hour to push India to safety, as they closed on 174-6.
Australia resumed their second innings on 261-7 and had been expected to bat aggressively to add runs quickly before declaring, but Shaun Marsh and Ryan Harris took their time in a 69-run partnership, also knowing a draw would be enough for Australia to clinch the series.
Marsh was run out for 99 shortly before lunch as he attempted a rash single to bring up his first Test century on home soil.
After the break, Harris struck with the second ball of the second over to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan for a duck before Lokesh Rahul continued his forgettable Test debut by falling for one to a Mitchell Johnson short ball, following his three in the first innings.
Josh Hazlewood then claimed his first Test dismissal of the Test, trapping opener Murali Vijay lbw for 11 to leave India 19-3 after 8.2 overs.
But Kohli and Rahane steadied the innings to leave Australia needing seven wickets in the final session.
Kohli fell to the first ball after the tea break, caught at backward square leg, before Chetshewar Pujara was bowled by Johnson for 21 while Rahane was caught at mid-wicket off Hazlewood, to leave India on 142-6 with 15 overs remaining.
However, Dhoni, who announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket after the match, and Ashwin saw off 11 of the overs before a draw was mutually agreed with four overs remaining.
The result sees Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy. | Australia drew the third Test against India to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. |
30,940,542 | Brian Martin, 57, and Christopher McMultan, 40, are alleged to have entered Sarah Gloag's home in Perthshire on 19 January.
They are accused of holding a knife to her throat, and tying up Mrs Gloag and her husband as well as two children.
The men were remanded in custody after appearing in private at Perth Sheriff Court.
Sarah Gloag is the step-daughter of Ann Gloag, the founder of the Stagecoach transport company.
The charges against Mr Martin and Mr McMultan also allege that they stole jewellery worth £200,000 and £4,000 in cash from the house.
Both also face a number of other charges.
They made no plea or declaration. | Two men have been accused of abducting members of one of Scotland's richest families at knifepoint. |
40,088,691 | You could argue for each of them, but in the end it's what happens in the classroom that matters most.
So perhaps we should be asking instead - does the teacher know their subject inside out, and are they experts in passing on their knowledge?
England has a teacher shortage and it could be one of the biggest headaches facing a new education secretary.
For several years now, not enough people have started teacher training.
At the same time a baby boom has been working its way through primary schools and is now hitting secondary schools.
By 2024, that means there will be 8% more pupils in primary schools, and 20% more secondary pupils, compared to 2015.
Last year, the target number for graduates starting training as a secondary teacher was missed by 18% overall.
And there's another problem too: growing numbers of young teachers are leaving within a few years.
Maths and science teachers are among the most likely to leave, which is why they are headhunted by secondary schools already.
That's despite the £25,000 to £30,000 you can get as a bursary to train as a teacher in these shortage subjects.
More maths and physics lessons than five years ago are being taught by someone who hasn't studied the subject beyond an A-level themselves.
So what's behind this?
Like the rest of the public sector, teachers have now had years of pay restraint, which has led to pay falling behind other graduate jobs.
A mid-point graduate starting salary outside London was estimated in 2015 to be £28,000 whereas a teacher starting out now could expect £22,244.
In other words, a social worker, quantity surveyor or IT analyst for business could expect a slightly better starting salary outside London.
Economists say the 1% cap on public sector pay should be looked at again if teacher shortages continue.
There's no sign of reassessing the cap in the Conservative plans - but Labour and the Lib Dems say they'd allow pay rises to go above 1% - keeping up with rising living costs.
But it's not just about pay.
Despite an effort by ministers to look at ways of reducing their workload, it remains an issue.
Teachers want more time outside the classroom to do their job properly.
Compared to the most successful education systems in the world, they get less time to prepare or to study themselves to become better teachers. | In the last few weeks you'll have heard that it's funding, or the kind of school, or what subjects pupils study. |
38,750,143 | The top-seeded Englishman needed a tie breaker before defeating the qualifier from Scotland 5-7 10-4 2-1.
Bence, from Blantyre, told BBC Sport: "It was great to play against the world number one.
"I enjoyed the game and did my best. It is the best I've played in a while. I thought I had him."
Brett admitted he was relieved to reach the quarter-finals after a match full of humour broadcast live on BBC television.
"Charlie was fantastic on the green," he said. "I've just had my eyes tested and he told me I'll have to do it again.
"I played some good bowls early on and he was killing me.
"I was very terrified. He played fantastic."
Scotland's Stewart Anderson, seeded nine, eased to victory over Irish qualifier Graham McKee 11-4 12-2.
McKee and Bence had both knocked out seeds in the opening round, with the former knocking out three-time champion and eighth seed Andy Thompson of England.
Bence had put paid to the chances of 16th-seeded Englishman Mark Dawes.
Jason Greenslade, the 12th seed from Wales, was also knocked out - by unseeded American Neil Furman - while Scottish 13th seed Jonathan Ross was ousted by unseeded Englishman James Rippey.
Englishman Mark Royal, the 11th seed, lost to Debbie Wilford, but the unseeded New Zealander was beaten in the next round by former champion Paul Foster, the sixth seed from Scotland.
Joining Foster in round three are English third seed Robert Paxton and former champion Greg Harlow, the fourth seed, who defeated Rippey.
Three Scottish former champions are in second-round action on Thursday, with David Gourlay, seeded five, facing Furman, Darren Burnett, seeded seven, taking on 10th-seeded Englishman Mervyn King and Alex Marshall, the second seed, facing 16th seed Les Gillett of England.
Meanwhile, the ladies' final will be between holder Ellen Falkner and Katherine Rednall after England filled all four semi-final places.
Falkner, seeking a fourth title, beat Janice Gower (Eng) 6-5 8-7, while Rednall defeated Amy Stanton. | Holder Nick Brett came close to a shock second-round defeat by 71-year-old Charlie Bence at the World Indoor Bowls Championships in Great Yarmouth. |
37,621,960 | The man, who cannot be named, said he fell unconscious at Stephen Port's east London flat in June 2014.
He told the Old Bailey the pair had arranged to meet after contacting each other via gay dating website Fitlads.
Mr Port, 41, denies 29 charges including murder, manslaughter, drugging, rape and sexual assault.
The man told the court he met the defendant at his flat three times, where they watched TV and chatted.
On the fourth occasion Mr Port's accuser, a practising Muslim, said he was offered a glass of Coke after refusing an alcoholic drink.
He said his throat burned "immediately", and felt as if someone had "poured acid" down it.
After Mr Port denied putting something in the drink, the man said he visited his flat again on a fifth occasion.
He said the defendant gave him a massage, and offered him some amyl nitrate - also known as poppers - which caused him to fall asleep.
When he woke, Mr Port gave him a glass of clear liquid, saying it was water.
"As soon as I drank it, I went unconscious," he said.
"The next thing I remember I was on the floor screaming and shouting. It was like I was going mad."
He added he was naked, did not know his own name, where he was or who he was.
"I felt like I never had any control over my body," he told jurors.
He said when he got home he called Mr Port: "I was shouting at him: 'What did you give me? What the hell did you give me, because it certainly wasn't poppers?'"
"The more angry I got, the less he answered my questions. I got the impression it was a normal thing what happened to me," he said.
The court heard Mr Port took him to Barking train station where the police and ambulance service were called.
During cross examination, the man said he decided not to file a police report as he was worried his parents would find out and he just wanted to go home.
He said he thought he was going to die in the flat and "if the police were not in the station, I don't know what he'd have done".
PC Alesha Owers, from British Transport Police, said Mr Port was "worried and jittery" at the station, had said the young man "arrived at his address in that state", and that he had been taking him home. He also admitted taking meth.
Jurors heard the alleged victim had told officers he had been at Mr Port's all day and had fallen asleep.
Earlier, he told the court that a couple of months later he returned to the defendant's flat where Mr Port had said "I am sorry", but he was unable to find out what he had been given.
The trial continues. | A student awoke "sore and naked" after being given a drink by a man accused of four murders and a string of rapes, a court has heard. |
13,834,032 | Media playback is not supported on this device
McIlroy became the youngest US Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923 and the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods triumphed at the Masters in 1997.
The 22-year-old broke a host of scoring records and shot a final-round 69 to end 16 under par at Congressional.
Australian Jason Day (68) was second, with Lee Westwood (70) tied in third.
Alongside Westwood were Yang Yong-Eun (71) of South Korea and Americans Kevin Chappell (66) and Robert Garrigus (70).
McIlroy banished memories of his Masters meltdown, when he blew a four-shot lead going into the final day, and marched to a first major title at his 10th attempt as a professional.
He led from start to finish, carding 65, 66, 68, 69 to post a tournament record total of 16-under 268, four better than the previous mark.
Leaving his rivals in his wake, he became the quickest player in the 111-year history of the US Open to reach 10 under par (after 26 holes), the first player to go beyond 12 under, reaching as much as 17 under on Sunday, and also recorded the best 36 and 54-hole totals.
He becomes the second successive Northern Irishman to win the US Open after Graeme McDowell triumphed at Pebble Beach last year and the third major champion after Fred Daly won the Open in 1947.
He is also the 11th different major winner in a row and the eighth of those 11 to be clinching their first major title. For the first time in history there have been no American winners in five successive majors.
"The whole week has been incredible - I could not have asked for any more and I am so happy to hold this trophy," said McIlroy, who rises to number four in the world rankings thanks to his win.
I know a few of my friends will be partying and I can't wait to get home and join them
"For such a small nation to win two US Opens in a row is pretty special. As Graeme [McDowell] said last year, there will be a lot of pints of Guinness going down.
"I know a few of my friends will be partying and I can't wait to get home and join them."
During the presentation ceremony McIlroy shouted across to his father Gerry: "Happy Father's Day - this one's for you.
"I have to mention my mum too. Everything they have done for me I can't thank them enough."
McIlroy's humbling of the field - and the supposedly tough 7,574-yard Blue Course, albeit softened by recent rain - evoked memories of Woods, who was 21 when he won the 1997 Masters by 12 shots to capture the first of his 14 major titles. He did, however, fall short of Woods's record 15-stroke victory when winning the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2000.
"I know how good Tiger was in 2000 to win by 15 in Pebble. I was trying to go out there and emulate him in some way," McIlroy added.
With an eight-shot lead going into the final round, McIlroy showed few signs of nerves and opened with a birdie, stretching his lead to 10 shots, with another at the fourth to get to 17 under.
He birdied the short 10th after hitting his tee shot to six inches and made only his second bogey of the week after driving into sand on the 12th.
Like Woods at his best, McIlroy made a number of crucial putts for par to keep up the momentum but he was really competing in his own tournament. He got back to 17 under with another birdie at the long 16th but, with the title in his pocket, he leaked his first three-putt of the week on the 17th to drop a shot. A safe par at the last gave him the fourth highest winning margin in US Open history.
McIlroy's Masters meltdown might have gone down in history, but the coronation at Congressional could become the stuff of legend
Read more of Rob's blog
"Unbelievable," said Gerry McIlroy. "With what's happened over the last couple of months, and to come back and do this, it's fantastic. After the Masters, he worked so hard. It's fantastic. You couldn't beat it."
Behind, a fierce battle was raging for the minor places. Westwood, who began the day nine shots back in third, had the wind knocked out of his sails when he found the water on the sixth, while Frederik Jacobson was flying until he four-putted the 12th green.
Chappell and Garrigus launched late surges, while Yang, playing with McIlroy in the final group, slipped back with two bogeys in his last four holes.
Day had a bogey-free round to secure his second successive runner-up spot in majors, while Sergio Garcia (70) and Peter Hanson (67) both dropped back to five under late on.
Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (66) and fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen (67), the Open champion, were tied ninth at five under.
McDowell (69) ended in a tie for 14th at two under, with England's world number one Luke Donald (69) five over and five-time US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson (71) seven over.
Media playback is not supported on this device | Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy completed a remarkable four days to clinch his first major title with an eight-shot victory in the US Open. |
40,310,543 | The 19-year-old joins the National League club after signing his first professional contract with Palace last June.
He failed to feature in any first-team games for the Eagles last year but can play both centre-back or right back.
"I'm a local boy," Wynter said on joining Bromley. "The club is definitely going in the right direction and I can't wait to get started."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Bromley have signed teenage defender Ben Wynter from Crystal Palace. |
23,432,301 | BT said slow speeds or a lack of service experienced by customers in parts of the north of Scotland had been traced to SHEFA-2.
The cable was laid to improve connections between North Atlantic communities and Europe.
Faroese Telecom, which owns the link, has been working on repairs.
BT said the damaged section of the fibre optic cable was where it passes through the Moray Firth.
SHEFA-2 runs from Torshavn in the Faroe Islands to Banff on the Aberdeenshire coast via Shetland and Orkney. | A problem with a subsea cable that runs between the Faroe Islands and Scotland has affected internet connections, it has emerged. |
36,202,521 | The transaction will give the group another 160,000 customers and increase assets under administration by £9.8bn.
The deal will create one of the UK's largest advisory platform businesses.
It will have combined assets under administration of £36.4bn and 350,000 customers.
Edinburgh-based Standard Life said the acquisition would be funded from its existing cash resources.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Barry O'Dwyer, managing director for corporate, retail and wholesale at Standard Life, said: "I am excited about the opportunity to bring together two award-winning adviser platforms at a time when the need for high quality advice has never been greater.
"We have a track record of successful acquisitions and an integration approach focussed on building a sustainable commercial model for the Elevate platform.
"Today's announcement demonstrates further progress towards building a simplified and well diversified investment company by strengthening Standard Life's leading position in one of our key growth channels." | Standard Life has moved to boost its advisory platform business by buying insurance group Axa's UK portfolio services arm Elevate for an undisclosed sum. |
34,001,405 | She has homed in on businesses and offshore bank accounts allegedly linked to President Ilham Aliyev's family, and made allegations of massive embezzlement of oil funds by government ministers.
In 2011, a sex tape was published as part of a blackmail campaign against her - one of a series of challenges that would test her commitment.
Now she faces seven and a half years in jail for embezzlement and tax evasion following a trial that human rights groups say was politically motivated.
Born in Baku in 1976, Khadija Ismayilova's father was a high-ranking government official and her mother was an engineer.
Her mother, Elmira, has described how she excelled at school - especially in literature and music - and was unusually honest for a young child.
She studied Turkic languages at Baku university, where she developed an interest in journalism.
Ms Ismayilova went on to work as a translator, trainer and investigative reporter.
She has described how the assassination of fellow journalist Elmar Huseynov in 2005 made her more determined in her pursuit of truth.
Ulviyya Asadzade, who worked with her at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Baku, remembers meeting her friend in about 2007.
"One day I was surprised to find red flowers on my desk, and on other people's desks," she recalls.
"When I asked who put them there, someone pointed to a young woman, a little bit overweight, with a white jacket on."
That was the young woman who would become Radio Liberty's Baku bureau chief.
'A good headache'
Ms Ismayilova had been working as an anchor for Voice of America in Washington, but returned to Azerbaijan to cover events in her own country.
Her colleagues speak of her as a demanding editor, with exceptionally high standards.
"She was a headache," says then radio station director, Kenan Aliyev, who hired her. "But she was a good headache - always pushing for better."
Ms Ismayilova presented a daily talk show for Radio Azadliq, RFE/RL's Azeri service, gaining popularity and notoriety with her no-nonsense tone, and became recognised as a leading figure in the national media.
"She doesn't relent on anything," says Drew Sullivan, who worked with her at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
"She's incredibly stubborn and self confident as a journalist. She's funny, cutting... someone who will hold court."
Ms Ismayilova's journalism has landed her a number of prestigious awards - but has also led to difficulties at home.
Government officials and pro-government media outlets have accused her of being "pro-Armenian" or an "international agent", with some newspapers making more personal attacks.
In March 2011, Khadija Ismayilova received a letter and photos showing her having sex with her boyfriend - taken with a hidden camera in her bedroom without her knowledge.
The letter ordered her to stop investigating alleged government corruption, or she would be publicly shamed.
She refused to give in, and the following week a sex video was posted online.
Her friends say she was deeply upset by the intrusion into her private life, despite remaining resolute.
But it may have made her better prepared for what was to come.
Ms Ismayilova was arrested on 5 December 2014 - something she had apparently been expecting for months.
She was charged with incitement to suicide, an allegation she rejected. The man who brought the claim against her, a former colleague, has since withdrawn the complaint, and the charge was dropped.
But she was later also charged with embezzlement, tax evasion and abuse of power.
Apart from pro-government media organisations, no other journalists were allowed into the court room to cover the trial which began in late July - including those from the BBC.
She maintains the trial is politically motivated. But Azerbaijan's government insists the judiciary operates independently.
Prosecutors say the defendant attempted to disrupt the trial with petitions to the court.
While she has been in custody, investigations that Ms Ismayilova began into the business activities of Azerbaijan's ruling family have been published by the OCCRP.
And she has spoken out in court about "illegal activities and corruption" in prisons.
"Prisoners are not getting the meat and cheese that they are entitled to. It would be better if prosecutors investigated this," she announced.
Her ex-boss, Kenan Aliyev, says this is characteristic of the "extraordinary, difficult woman" who has continually "hounded" the government.
Her supporters do not expect her to stop now. | As one of Azerbaijan's best-known journalists, Khadija Ismayilova has made life difficult for the Azeri government for years. |
32,444,066 | The man, who cannot be named to protect the girl's identity, admitted attacking her from the age of 10.
After his sentencing at Derby Crown Court, his daughter ran to him, crying out that she still loved him.
Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said it was difficult to "describe his depravity" and ordered he serve at least 15 years.
The court heard that the father had "poisoned" his daughter against her mother, who did not live with them, as part of a grooming process.
Suspicions were first raised when it was discovered the youngster was pregnant.
The man, fearful that the authorities would find out, encouraged his daughter to continue kick boxing in the hope it would trigger a miscarriage but when that failed they fled.
Eventually a DNA test revealed what he had done.
Giving evidence at his sentencing, the girl shook as she told the court that her father had destroyed her childhood and teenage years.
But she added: "I know what he did was wrong but I grew up with my dad at my side.
"I just wanted him to get help, to make him better, but unfortunately this never happened and it came to this. It has come to me having a baby."
In sentencing him, Judge Rafferty said: "It is difficult to find words that can properly describe the extent of your depravity and damage it has caused - not to a stranger but to your daughter.
"To be a parent is a privilege. Children do not ask to be born, children are to expect the best from their parents in terms of care and parental love.
"You gave your daughter a warped version of that which suited you and not her."
He added: "You took your daughter's life. You did not take it once you did every time you had sexual intercourse with her against her will."
As the man was led away following sentencing his daughter tried to run across the court, crying and screaming "I love you dad". | A father who repeatedly raped his daughter over a four-year period resulting in her having a baby has been jailed for life. |
18,531,008 | In a statement on his Twitter account, Mr Carr said he was no longer involved in the K2 tax shelter.
Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday called Mr Carr's use of the scheme "morally wrong".
But the PM refused to comment on Take That star Gary Barlow's tax affairs - saying it was a different case - after Labour called for his OBE to removed.
The K2 tax scheme used by Mr Carr is a way of lowering the amount of tax paid. It is legal and Mr Carr made clear in his statement it was fully disclosed to HMRC.
In a
series of messages on Twitter
Mr Carr said: "I appreciate as a comedian, people will expect me to 'make light' of this situation, but I'm not going to in this statement.
"As this is obviously a serious matter. I met with a financial advisor and he said to me 'Do you want to pay less tax? It's totally legal'. I said 'Yes'."
"I now realise I've made a terrible error of judgement.
"Although I've been advised the K2 Tax scheme is entirely legal, and has been fully disclosed to HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs).
By Kevin PeacheyPersonal finance reporter, BBC News
Do regular taxpayers care whether a comedian pays his tax? Or do they think it a joke that he, and hundreds of others, are given the opportunity to avoid paying it?
The government says it wants to put an end to "contrived" avoidance schemes. It needs the extra tax income after all.
Next year it plans to bring in a new general anti-abuse rule, to stop cunning schemes designed solely to avoid tax.
But accountants are lining up to argue that the line between artificial avoidance and legitimate tax planning is blurred - and the proposals will not end disputes entirely.
Which side of the line is sheltering your family from inheritance tax? And what about tax breaks for investing in small businesses?
Clearly Jimmy Carr's "error of judgement" will not be the punchline to this story.
Most common tax avoidance schemes
When is tax dodging illegal?
"I'm no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly. Apologies to everyone. Jimmy Carr."
More than 1,000 people, including Mr Carr, are thought to be using the Jersey-based K2 scheme, which is said to be sheltering £168m a year from the Treasury.
Under the K2 scheme, an individual resigns from their company and any salary they subsequently receive is paid to an offshore trust.
Downing Street welcomed Mr Carr's apology.
A spokeswoman said: "HMRC are working hard to investigate the sort of scheme that Jimmy Carr had been reported to be involved in to ensure that they are not aggressively avoiding tax, and, if they are, they are closed down."
She defended Mr Cameron's decision to speak out about an individual's tax affairs - in contravention of normal government practice.
"The prime minister was expressing what probably lots of people felt after reading the coverage," she said.
Business Secretary Vince Cable also backed the prime minister, telling BBC Radio Sheffield he was not prepared to go "through a hit-list of our celebrities" but adding: "We just want people to pay their dues."
The Lib Dem minister said he did not use tax avoidance schemes himself and that, as far he knows, no members of the cabinet did either, saying: "We observe the law... but also try to set an example."
According to The Times newspaper, which first published details of Mr Carr's tax arrangements, the K2 scheme enables members to pay income tax rates as low as 1%.
The prime minister was asked about Mr Carr's arrangement on Wednesday during a visit to Mexico for the G20 summit.
He told ITV News the comedian's tax affairs were "straightforward tax avoidance" and it was unfair on the people who pay to watch the comic perform that he was not paying his taxes in the same way that they did.
"I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong.
"People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes.
"That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine.
"But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong. The government is acting by looking at a general anti-avoidance law but we do need to make progress on this.
"It is not fair on hard working people who do the right thing and pay their taxes to see these sorts of scams taking place."
Labour leader Ed Miliband opted not to join in with the chorus of criticism of the 8 Out of 10 Cats star's tax affairs.
He said: "I'm not in favour of tax avoidance obviously, but I don't think it is for politicians to lecture people about morality.
"I think what the politicians need to do is - if the wrong thing is happening - change the law to prevent that tax avoidance happening."
Shadow leader of the House of Commons Angela Eagle turned her fire on Take That star Gary Barlow, who with two bandmates, is facing questions about £26m they are alleged to have invested in a scheme that is facing a legal challenge from HMRC.
The Labour MP said: "The prime minister rushed to the TV studios to condemn the tax avoidance scheme used by Jimmy Carr but he did not take the opportunity to condemn as morally repugnant the tax avoidance scheme used by Conservative supporter Gary Barlow, who's given a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Take That'.
"If it's all so morally repugnant, why has he just been given an OBE in the birthday honours list?
"Why is the prime minister's view of what's dodgy in the tax system so partial? Sir Philip Green has interesting tax arrangements but far from being labelled morally repugnant in a Mexico TV studio, he's got a government review to head up."
Retail magnate Sir Philip has firmly denied avoiding hundreds of millions of pounds in tax by transferring ownership of his Arcadia business, saying that Arcadia was bought by his wife, Lady Green, in 2002 and because she has not lived in the UK for 15 years no tax was due on any dividends that were paid to her.
During a joint press conference with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Mr Cameron declined to comment on Mr Barlow's tax affairs.
He said he was not "going to give a running commentary on different people's tax affairs", and said he had made "an exception yesterday... it was a particularly egregious example".
Mr Carr, who has satirised "fat cat" bankers, is reported to protect £3.3m a year from tax by channelling cash through the K2 scheme, which is under investigation by HMRC.
The comedian is thought to be one of more than 1,000 beneficiaries who shelter some £168m from the taxman each year using the company. | Comedian Jimmy Carr says he has "made a terrible error of judgement" over using a tax avoidance scheme. |
38,308,050 | Two Juan Pablo Socino scores along with tries from Sonatane Takulua and Hodgson gave the hosts a 34-10 half-time lead.
Zach Kibirige and Callum Chick added further tries after the break as Hodgson kicked seven from seven.
Paul Bonnefond scored Lyon's fourth try in the last play of the game as they earned a try bonus-point.
The Falcons were beaten 42-12 in France last week and now sit third, a point behind Lyon in their group.
Newcastle: Catterick; Marshall, Burdon, Socino, Kibirige; Hodgson, Takulua; Rogers, Sowrey, Welsh, Green, Civetta, Temm, M Wilson (capt), Chick.
Replacements: Nelson, Vickers, Ryan, Young, Orr, Egerton, Willis, Agulla.
Lyon: Porical; Regard, Bonnefond, Barassi, Romanet; Loursac, Figuerola (capt); Mavinga, Mapusua, Attoub, Bekhuis, Paulino, Cretin, Tison, Tuifua.
Replacements: Paulo, Menini, Kaabeche, Tarazona, Fourie, Potgieter, Durand, Couilloud.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Joel Hodgson scored 21 points as Newcastle Falcons secured a bonus-point win over Lyon to keep their hopes of progressing in the Challenge Cup alive. |
36,059,405 | Villa have lost eight successive matches and are 15 points from safety with five games of the season left.
"They're probably going to be relegated," Black said. "This could very easily implode. It could very easily turn into anarchy.
"I'm going to try and ensure that is not the case."
He added: "If they're all relegated I can only put certain parameters down to ensure that doesn't happen."
Villa will drop out of the top flight for the first time since 1987 if they fail to win at Manchester United on Saturday or if Norwich avoid defeat by Sunderland earlier in the day.
Black has told forward Gabriel Agbonlahor to undergo a personal fitness programme after deeming him unfit. He will not play for at least two weeks.
Black added: "The players are waiting to see what's going to happen here. They're all in limbo.
"They are not great elements to motivate yourself every single day.
"That's my responsibility and I will do my utmost to ensure that it continues to be done on an extremely professional basis." | Aston Villa caretaker manager Eric Black says he will take a hardline stance to prevent "anarchy" if they are relegated from the Premier League. |
40,496,688 | Nijamul Islam, 44, of Farm Road, Edgware, north London, pleaded guilty to two charges of being in charge of a dog, dangerously out of control.
Beata Obuchowski was working as a kennel maid when she was savaged by a Belgian Shepherd dog and a German Shepherd dog for about half an hour.
Islam's dogs attacked her on a deserted farm in Hertfordshire in 2014.
The farm was being used to train guard dogs and the court was told that for between 30 to 40 minutes, Polish mother-of-one Ms Obuchowski found herself under attack from the animals.
She was repeatedly bitten about her hands, arms and legs.
In the end, as the dogs began to tire, Ms Obuchowski - armed with a stone she had picked up to defend herself - pretended to be dead and lay lifeless on the ground.
The court was told her injuries were so severe that she remained in hospital for two and a half months following the attack.
Her right middle finger had to be amputated at the knuckle and the right index finger had to be amputated below the fingernail.
Following the attack, police found 99 animals were being kept at the farm in Great Amwell, near Ware.
Jurors heard Islam kept the dogs in horrendous conditions and a vet who attended the scene for the RSPCA was shocked by what she found.
Forty of the dogs had to be put down including the dogs that had attacked Ms Obuchowski.
Islam's barrister, Mr Joe Sidhu QC, asked that he be given credit for his guilty pleas on the day of his trial. | A man who kept two dogs that ferociously attacked a mother has been jailed for two and a half years. |
35,601,122 | The Nikkei 225 closed up 2.28% to 16,196.80 points.
Rising oil prices supported investor sentiment through the trading day together with better-than-forecast US economic data released earlier.
Toyota's shares closed up 1.71% in Tokyo trade despite a global recall of several million vehicles.
The firm said in the event of a crash, some seatbelts on a range of vehicles could be damaged by a metal seat frame part.
Toyota Australia said it was recalling approximately 98,000 RAV4 vehicles built between August 2005 and November 2012 due to the issue, but that no accidents had occurred as a result of the problem.
"The repairs will take approximately 60 minutes and will be conducted free of charge," said Toyota.
Australia's ASX 200 index closed higher, up 2.25% to 4,992.00 points.
Big energy companies supported the index with giants like BHP up more than 6% on higher oil prices.
In China, markets were in positive territory for much of the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 2.32% to 19,363.08.
However, the Shanghai Composite ended flat, down 0.16% to 2,862.89.
Fresh official numbers showed that inflation in China rose to 1.8% in January, slightly weaker than analysts expected.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi index finished up 1.32% to 1,908.84 in line with the rest of the region. | Japanese stocks led gains in Asia on Thursday despite disappointing trade figures that showed exports had fallen for a fourth straight month. |
36,860,427 | The former shadow Welsh secretary said he wanted First Minister Carwyn Jones to play a bigger role in Labour at Westminster.
Mr Smith said he would have Mr Jones sit in a shadow cabinet with metropolitan English leaders and the Scottish Labour leader.
Meanwhile he blamed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the party's fall in support at the assembly election.
Labour fell short of a majority at the May election, losing one seat.
Mr Corbyn launched his campaign to hold on to the Labour leadership on Thursday, urging MPs to get behind the party.
Mr Smith said the perception that he thought there should be no further powers devolved to Cardiff Bay was an impression Plaid Cymru was "keen to build up as they were trying to drive a wedge between me and Carwyn Jones".
He said Mr Jones knew "that isn't true".
"I'm a committed devolutionist," he said, saying he thinks devolution should be extended across England.
He said he was also "someone who believes we've got to think about what it is we want to hold in common as well as what we can devolve".
Mr Smith said the Welsh Labour leader and first minister "should be much more associated with big decisions being taken in Westminster".
He explained he would have Mr Jones "alongside other leaders from metropolitan bits of England and the leader in Scotland, sitting regularly in effectively a regional shadow, national shadow cabinet to make big decisions, to think about defence, economic areas where there isn't responsibility held in Wales but where there is clear interest in Wales, or in Scotland, in those decisions."
Pontypridd MP Mr Smith also said that voters in Labour heartlands had lost faith and hope in Labour because of Mr Corbyn's leadership and failure to speak powerfully for the party at Westminster.
"We've lost credibility, we've lost respect in many of our communities, communities that have been traditional Labour-voting areas.
"For us to almost lose Blaenau Gwent, for us to lose the Rhondda, these were hammer blows to the Labour Party and that's something Jeremy Corbyn needed to respond to, but he's been poor at taking Labour's case to the Tories in Westminster and he's not been successful in going beyond slogans." | Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith has denied he is anti-devolution. |
30,103,480 | The officers are 10 of 13 referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) by the force.
Two are not being investigated while a third officer remains under review.
A report, published by Professor Alexis Jay in August, found the abuse of 1,400 children in Rotherham over a 16 year period was ignored by agencies.
IPCC Commissioner Kathryn Stone said: "The amount of public concern across the country about this episode and the impact on confidence in the police means it is important that a fully independent investigation is conducted to establish how South Yorkshire Police dealt with child sexual exploitation.
"I sincerely hope that victims and their families will see this investigation as a positive step towards answering the many questions they must have."
1,400
children were abused, 1997-2013
1/3 of victims were already known to social services
157 reports concerning child sexual exploitation made to police in 2013
10 prosecutions were made between 2013 and April 2014
The IPCC probe comes after a whistleblower told the BBC she had regularly passed details about alleged abusers to senior police officers but they had failed to act.
The 10 officers - some of whom are still serving with South Yorkshire Police - were identified in Professor Jay's report, which detailed how children had been subjected to trafficking, rape and other sexual exploitation between 1997 to 2013.
Allegations against them included failures to progress investigations into children being abused and the loss of evidence.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: "The force has met with the IPCC and remains absolutely committed to assisting them with their independent investigation in any way we can to ensure the full facts are established relating to any alleged misconduct.
"We will fully co-operative with the investigation into the force's handling of child sexual exploitation and anyone found to have not acted appropriately will be held to account."
The controversy that followed the report led to a series of high-profile resignations, including Rotherham's strategic director of children's services, Joyce Thacker, and South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright, who had been the councillor with responsibility for children's services between 2005 and 2010. | The police watchdog is to investigate 10 South Yorkshire Police officers over the handling of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. |
40,515,325 | Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar said the city now enters a new era of "security, peace and reconciliation".
If confirmed, victory would mark a major advance for the one-time commander in the army of late strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
The LNA is not recognised by Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli.
Libya's unrest since the 2011 ousting of Gaddafi saw extremist organisations, including so-called Islamic State, gain a foothold in the country.
In a televised speech on Wednesday, Field Marshal Haftar said that "after a continuous struggle against terrorism and its agents that lasted more than three years... we announce to you the liberation of Benghazi".
His announcement comes after bloody battles this week in Benghazi's Sabri district in which dozens of LNA fighters and various local Islamist militants died.
Pictures posted on social media sites showed some civilians in Benghazi and other parts of the country celebrating the end of a bitter conflict that left large parts of the country's second city in ruins and displaced thousands of people in recent years.
But Field Marshal Haftar also has many political and armed opponents in Libya.
He does not recognise the government in Tripoli, and instead backs the authorities in the east.
Opponents accuse the commander, who has backing from some foreign powers, of trying to impose autocratic rule in Libya.
Benghazi's conflict over the last three years at times appeared to have no end in sight, and - as it grew - so too did the Field Marshal Haftar's political and military ambitions.
This is a significant gain for him, and a city that has been aching for respite from the war.
Opinions over the conflict in Benghazi are largely divided; many will be celebrating what they see as a war brought to their doorstep by Islamist militias at a time when political actors in Libya barely acknowledged there was a problem there, despite the near daily bombings and killings in the city.
Others view it as a product of a man who was power-hungry and lumped up all of his enemies under the banner of "Islamist terrorists" to pave the way for a future political role through the might of the gun.
His short address dedicated to the people of Libya had an unusually reconciliatory tone, but it is not one that will ease worries over what his, or his opponents' next move might be.
In Libya today, a military victory in one battlefield often opens the door to conflict in others. | The head of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) has said his forces "liberated" the eastern Benghazi city after years of fighting with Islamists. |
37,497,744 | Noreen McPolland, 54, told the High Court in Glasgow that Ronnie Coulter made the alleged confession when she visited him in Barlinnie Prison.
She said the conversation took place in 1998 or 1999 when he was on remand awaiting trial for Mr Chhokar's murder.
Mr Coulter denies murdering Mr Chhokar and blames two other men.
The 48-year-old, from Wishaw, denies stabbing the 32-year-old in Garrion Street, Overtown, North Lanarkshire, on 4 November 1998.
Mr Coulter has lodged a special defence blaming his nephew Andrew Coulter and another man, David Montgomery.
At the High Court in Glasgow, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC asked Ms McPolland whether Mr Coulter had ever said anything about the death of Mr Chhokar.
She replied: "He said 'I stabbed him'."
Ms McPolland, who was married to Mr Coulter's brother, Andrew, for 15 years, told the jury that she visited her brother-in-law in prison with his sister Margaret Chisholm when he made the remarks.
She added: "Margaret told him to own up to what he had done and he told us he had stabbed Mr Chhokar."
Mr Prentice asked: "What was your reaction?" She replied: "I got up and went to the canteen and I bought some stuff. I didn't want involved in it."
The prosecutor then asked if Mr Coulter had said anything else and Ms McPolland said he had when he visited his brother just days after the death of Mr Chhokar.
Mr Prentice said: "Did he make any reference to the death of Chhokar," and she responded saying: "My husband asked him if if he had stabbed Mr Chhokar. He said he had stabbed Mr Chhokar.
"He said Mr Chhokar was shouting after he had stabbed him. He was shouting 'Liz, Liz they've stabbed me.'
The jury has heard that Ronnie Coulter, his nephew Andrew Coulter and David Montgomery went to see Mr Chhokar on 4 November 1998, in a row over a £100 Giro cheque.
After an altercation, Mr Chhokar collapsed dying in the street in front of his partner Liz Bryce.
In evidence given earlier in the trial Andrew Coulter admitted hitting Chhokar on the arm with a home-made lead-filled bat, but denied stabbing him. Mr Montgomery also denies stabbing him.
Pathologist Dr Marjorie Turner revealed that Chhokar was stabbed in the chest three times and died from massive blood loss.
The jury earlier heard that Ronnie Coulter was tried and acquitted of murdering Mr Chhokar in 1999.
The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues. | A man accused of murdering Surjit Singh Chhokar in 1998 admitted to his former sister-in-law that he stabbed him, a murder trial has heard. |
23,089,180 | The Woking-based outfit are sixth in the constructors' championship, with neither Jenson Button nor Sergio Perez finishing higher than fifth place.
Dennis told BBC Surrey: "Losing is an inevitable repercussion of not doing a good enough job.
"It doesn't mean to say that we are in any shape or form not focused on reversing that trend."
He added: "If you compete at the top and challenge for world championships - whether it is Formula 1 or any other category of sport - you have to come to terms with the fact that you can't always be at the top.
"It is just too difficult. Every Grand Prix team experiences it.
"It is just about hard work, a focused and committed work force, good design and good support from the people who invest in you.
"Ultimately, the tide is there to be turned. It just takes time.
"It would be great if it could be sooner rather than later, but it is not that easy."
Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, described McLaren's form as "embarrassing" following last month's Spanish Grand Prix.
And managing director Jonathan Neale admitted this week that there was a "big gap" from McLaren to the front of the grid.
Dennis, who first took over as McLaren team principal in 1981 and stepped down in 2009, says some outsiders have been quick to criticise the team this season.
"We live in a world, and England tends to excel in it, at jumping on people who fail and quickly forgetting when they succeeded," he said.
"McLaren's statistics do not make good reading and the biggest problem is they don't seem to have a clue where they are going.
"No team deliberately builds an uncompetitive car. At the launch they were all very happy that it was a step forward and I agreed. I still think the concept is an improvement but the devil is always in the detail and somewhere in there they have lost themselves."
"It goes with the job. If you are a high-profile organisation that is used to winning, you shouldn't be at all surprised when people are critical when you are not doing the job that they expect."
Dennis says the team must remember their previous success in the sport as they look to return to the front of the grid and the higher echelons of the classifications.
McLaren have won the constructors' championship eight times and helped their drivers to the drivers' championship on 12 occasions.
"Whilst we don't rest on our laurels, it is important to remember that we have been around 50 years and we've won 182 Grands Prix," he said.
"Since 1966, when we first competed in Formula 1, we have won one in four races in which we have entered.
"We really know what it is to win, but equally we understand what it is to lose." | McLaren executive chairman Ron Dennis is confident they will recover from their difficult start to the F1 season. |
36,437,207 | The eggs were being transported by the Great Bustard Group as part of efforts to create a breeding population on Salisbury Plain.
But the charity's 4x4 broke down at Folkestone causing a power cut and risking the eggs inside the incubator.
Director David Waters said: "In the grand scheme, they survived the journey without any trouble or mishaps."
The eggs need to be kept at a constant temperature of 37.5C.
The incubator was off for 25 minutes causing the temperature to drop by "a couple of degrees," Mr Waters said.
"If the incubator was allowed to cool either too much or too long there does come a point where the eggs would start to suffer which would have been absolutely heart-breaking in so many ways," he added.
The incubator was plugged in at a petrol station at Folkestone once the problem was discovered.
Later the AA plugged the incubator in to 12-volt chargers while transporting the shipment and Mr Waters to Birdworld in Farnham where the eggs were safely hatched.
"Those 10 chicks are really good, strong, healthy chicks.
"If the incubation hasn't been perfect or close to perfect there are various problems that can occur - there's wet chick syndrome, or you can have curled toes or different things like that which are all suggestive of an incubation problem," added Mr Waters.
This year, 20 eggs were brought back in three shipments.
The eggs were collected from Castilla y León in North-western Spain, and then hatched and released on to Salisbury Plain.
Currently there are around 40 birds in Wiltshire and so far this year, five nests have been spotted in the wild. | A charity has said 10 out of 12 great bustard eggs have hatched despite a power cut on the way home from Spain. |
37,675,903 | Betfred, owned by billionaire Fred Done, will buy 322 shops and Stan James the other 37 for a total of £55.5m.
Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral must sell 350-400 shops for their merger to be cleared.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now assess the shop deals.
Jim Mullen, the chief executive of Ladbrokes, said: "The sale of these shops will clear the last significant hurdle to delivering on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on completion and quickly delivering on the opportunities the merger offers."
The two bookmakers said they would seek approval from the CMA to complete the merger once they sell one further shop.
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's second and third largest retail betting firms, behind William Hill.
Ladbrokes has about 2,150 outlets in Britain and 77 in Northern Ireland. Coral runs 1,850 shops in Britain.
A merger between the two would make them the UK's largest High Street bookmaker.
However, William Hill is seeking its own tie-up with Canadian operator Amaya, owner of the PokerStars franchise, to keep up with the competition and bolster its online offering.
It was widely reported over the weekend that William Hill plans to press ahead with the £4.5bn deal despite misgivings from its largest shareholder. | Ladbrokes and Coral have agreed to sell 359 shops to rival betting firms in what they say is the "last significant hurdle" for their £2.7bn merger. |
40,111,189 | Media playback is not supported on this device
They won nine consecutive league titles between 2004 and 2012.
And they were the first British women's side to lift the European Cup as they won four major trophies in 2007.
"I don't think you ever want women's football in this country to be how it was back then again," Scott said.
"When you look back, 10 years ago, we were dominant, but some of those games were easy. It's more competitive now because every team wants to set the bar. That's great for the league."
Scott, 32, struck the only goal when Arsenal won the 2007 Uefa Women's Cup - which was later rebranded as the Women's Champions League - over two legs against Swedish side Umea.
No British side has reached the final since, although Manchester City did become England's third different semi-finalists since 2011 when they reached this season's last four before losing to French holders Lyon.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Scott added: "It would be a massive feat for anyone to get to the Champions League final again.
"We knew it would take a long time. We knew, when we won the quadruple, that it was just an amazing year."
In the club's 30th-anniversary year, BBC 5 live's Arsenal Ladies - The Games Changers show will air from 21:00 BST on Thursday, as Lyon and Paris St-Germain meet in Cardiff in the 2016-17 Women' Champions League final.
The current Lyon side could arguably be likened to the Arsenal team of old, having won 11 consecutive French league titles.
Under former manager Vic Akers, the Gunners won 10 Women's FA Cups between 1993 and 2009.
"The quality of players is now more divided," Akers said. "We had most of the England team at that time.
"It's harder, at this point, because other clubs [in Europe] are making progress. They've upped their game.
"It is going to be harder for English teams to win the Champions League now, but certainly not impossible."
Alex Scott and Vic Akers were speaking to BBC Sport's Jo Currie. | Arsenal's dominance of women's football 10 years ago will not be emulated, because the depth of competition is now so much greater, says England right-back Alex Scott. |
30,376,250 | The Art Council's announcement is described as a "fundamental shift" in the organisation's approach.
Each body it funds will have to demonstrate how they have promoted diversity within their leadership, workforce, programming and audiences.
"Our work should reflect and engage with all our talent and communities," said chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette.
The implementation of the new plans is due to start in April 2015.
Sir Peter revealed the plans in a speech at Sadlers Wells, which he described as one of the most important he has made in his role.
"Britain has got many, many talents. And our work should reflect and engage with all our talent and communities. That's how we will ensure work of true ambition and enduring quality," he said.
He admitted that in the past the the Arts Council had tried to promote diversity "without grasping how complex it is" and said they "can and must do better".
Sir Peter pointed out that some national organisations and museums were making good progress but they had been "shouldering this responsibility alone for too long".
All groups that they fund will be asked to shape their artistic programme to better reflect the communities they serve and they will be held to "account" on their progress when it comes to their next round of funding in 2018.
Sir Peter did not go into further details of how that would be imposed.
He told The Guardian he saw this as encouragement rather than a threat.
"I call it a carrot because it is a is a way of making it work better - I don't call it a stick."
He also announced their Creative People and Places programme will fund a further £25 million to areas with low engagement in the arts, while their strategic touring fund will target the needs of specific audiences.
In his speech, Bazalgette said he hoped the plan would produce major changes.
"For things to change, long-term, they need to become more uncomfortable at the top. We have to open up access to power and to resources.
"Looking up, too many see the white cliff-face of the arts establishment and feel they just cannot climb it.
"We can't give people creative talent. But we can and must give those with talent creative opportunities. The arts are a mirror for society; and if we sort this, the arts won't have to make the case for diversity. The arts will simply be the case."
The plans were welcomed by entertainment union Bectu.
Janice Turner, Bectu's diversity officer, said: "Welcome is Peter Bazalgette's acknowledgement that the focus, until now, has been almost entirely on black, Asian and minority ethnic-led companies, which let the rest of the industry off the hook."
Actress Meera Syal, meanwhile, is the latest star to call for more diversity in theatre.
She told The Stage that theatres should cater more for Asian audiences and take advantage of the 'brown pound'.
"There's a very gregarious, moneyed, new generation [of Asian audiences] coming up, who spend an awful lot of money on entertainment and culture. And I think the theatres are missing a trick if they're not putting on stuff that might appeal to those audiences," she said.
Syal is currently starring in Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the National Theatre.
She said Asian audiences are "extra supportive and extra excited when they see stories that reflect their experiences or a diverse cast of people that they might know." | Arts organisations could have their funding cut if they fail to improve diversity under newly-unveiled plans. |
36,073,869 | The world number 15 lost 10-7 to Sam Baird in the first round in Sheffield.
The 24-year-old, who has won one ranking tournament, admitted he could not focus against the qualifier and world number 59 at The Crucible.
"I do suffer a bit with depression and stress can bring it on and make it feel worse," White told BBC Wales Sport.
"The honest truth is I couldn't focus out there at all and I don't really know where to turn at the moment with my game.
"I've got to get my mental state right first before I can go anywhere."
Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has tipped Neath-born White as a future title winner.
White was the youngest player ever to make a competitive century when he did so at the age of nine and was world amateur champion by the age of 14.
He won his first world ranking title at the 2015 Indian Open in Mumbai with victory over Ricky Walden. | Wales' Michael White does "not know where to turn" with his game after revealing he suffers from depression following his World Championship exit. |
39,153,591 | Howe's side are winless in 2017, with two points from seven league matches and an FA Cup exit, conceding 23 goals in total.
The 14th-placed Cherries travel to Manchester United on Saturday.
"We need all our players to excel to have any chance in this game," Howe told BBC Radio Solent.
"That has been the frustrating thing in recent weeks, where we have not quite got the performances individually and collectively that we want.
"Time is running out for us. We need to make sure we hit those levels very quickly."
A defeat on Saturday would mean five successive league losses for Bournemouth for the first time since March 2013, when they were in League One.
"We are in desperate search of a win," said Howe.
"We have been training well. Elements of our game have been very good, and we are hoping the tide will turn for us." | Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe says "time is running out" for his team to halt the slump which has taken them to within four points of the bottom three. |
20,947,274 | The rotating wire bristles cleared a roughly 5cm-wide patch on an area of ground dubbed "Ekwir 1" by scientists.
Brushing away the dust gives the robot's survey instruments a clearer view of the texture and chemistry of the underlying rock.
Curiosity is building towards using its hammer-drill, the last major tool yet to be deployed on the mission.
This should see action very soon, provided a suitable rock can be identified. The drill will produce a powdered sample that can be put in the robot's on-board laboratories for analysis.
The rover is currently investigating a location in Mars' Gale Crater known as Yellowknife Bay, a small depression several hundred metres from the point where it landed back in August.
It is using its mast-mounted colour cameras and laser spectrometer, together with its arm-held "hand lens" camera and X-ray spectrometer, to try to find the best drill candidate. Scientists need to be sure that when the big hammer tool turns in a rock it breaks the surface into a useable powder that will not clog or damage the sample handling mechanism.
Brushing the surface of rocks with Curiosity's dust removal tool first enables the arm-held hand lens camera and X-ray spectrometer, in particular, to see features that might otherwise be obstructed. This information could be critical in selecting the most suitable rock for drilling.
Explore the Red Planet with Nasa's robot
"We wanted to be sure we had an optimal target for the first use [of the dust removal tool]," said Diana Trujillo from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"We need to place the instrument within less than half an inch of the target without putting the hardware at risk. We needed a flat target, one that wasn't rough, one that was covered with dust. The results certainly look good."
Curiosity has now spent more than 150 Martian days on the Red Planet.
It is trying to determine whether past environments in Gale Crater might have allowed any microbial life to flourish. Already it has identified rock deposits that were laid down in a streambed billions of years ago. | Nasa's Mars rover Curiosity has used its brush tool for the first time to sweep dust off the surface of a rock. |
33,998,299 | The group claims the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will in effect subsidise the rent, which the LLDC denies.
The group added there were "serious questions" about the amount taxpayers would be relied upon.
West Ham said it had won the deal though a fair and "robust process".
The coalition of supporters, made up of trusts from clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, has started an online petition which has so far gained more than 5,800 signatures in favour of an inquiry.
The supporters also said they had concerns the deal would give the Hammers a competitive advantage.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request previously revealed West Ham contributed £15m to the £272m conversion of the stadium.
The LLDC, which owns the stadium, will pay for "facilities and services" such as pitch maintenance and for stewarding on match days, which can cost £2.5m annually.
It is understood West Ham, which earned £76m in Premier League payments last season, will pay up to £2.5m a year in rent.
In comparison, Manchester City, who moved into the former Commonwealth Games venue, pay overheads on top of £4m rent, while Chelsea and Tottenham are expected to pay between £11m and £15m a year to play at Wembley on a temporary basis.
The coalition said: "The fact that so many supporter groups have come together to call for this inquiry shows that the issues raised go beyond football tribalism.
"As football fans and as taxpayers... this shady deal is not in the interests of the game of football and does little to promote public confidence in the way our money is being spent."
West Ham said: "Our presence underwrites the multi-use legacy of the stadium and our contribution alone will pay back more than the cost of building and converting the stadium."
The LLDC said in a statement: "The stadium is a publicly-owned multi-use venue that will host 25 West Ham United home matches and many other sporting and entertainment events every year. This contract will ensure commercial success.
"West Ham United secured their anchor tenancy after winning a competitive tender process that was heavily publicised and open to any organisation in the world."
West Ham is due to move from Upton Park in August 2016. | A group of London football supporters have called for a public inquiry into the rental of the Olympic Stadium by West Ham United. |
35,677,549 | He said the software controlling the new system would not be ready for the start of the season on 18-20 March.
"My guys who do the timing said: 'Mr E, we don't want to be put in the position because we don't think we can get it done properly in time'," he said.
He added the system "wasn't my idea" and he wanted a different approach.
Ecclestone said the new system would go ahead, however.
Governing body the FIA announced on Wednesday that a new qualifying system had been agreed that would feature the slowest car being eliminated every 90 seconds in three knock-out sections of qualifying.
The teams were to spend the next few days making sure there were no unintended consequences before it was formally adopted, but the problems have instead been discovered by Ecclestone's Formula 1 Management company, which handles the timing software.
"It's not quite that easy," Ecclestone, 85, said. "You've got all the graphics to go on the screen.
"If you're going to try and explain it to the public properly, it's not just a case of 'OK, the guy was the last one, bye-bye'. You can't just do that.
"We'll have to deal with it. I've told the FIA this and asked them what they'd like to do with it but the bottom line is there's not a lot they can do with it because we do all the timekeeping. So, that's it."
The idea behind the new qualifying format is to introduce an element of uncertainty that could lead to cars qualifying out of position.
But Ecclestone said his original idea had been for a different way of shuffling the order.
"I don't want to touch the current qualifying, which I think is good," he said.
"What I've said was, if the guy that's on pole won the last race, for example, we'd have to come up with some sort of a format to say in the end he starts 10th. And the guy who was third in the last race starts maybe eighth or something like that.
"And then you will find you get a whole mix-up of the grid and some of the guys who don't get as much TV coverage will be up at the front.
"Because you can guarantee the guy who's on pole will still win the race but it ain't going to be like pole man disappears and that's it."
He said the teams were opposed to this idea.
"People at the time that don't want any change at all thought: 'Well, Ecclestone's going to push through something so we might as well agree with that rather than have something that is a bit more drastic'," he said.
"Because it could happen that the guy on pole doesn't get through the pack.
"Monaco, Hungary - there's lots of places where you wouldn't want to put your money on the guy coming through the field." | Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says the introduction of a new elimination qualifying format will be delayed until the fifth race of the season. |
35,782,374 | After dropping 1.8% on Thursday, the FTSE 100 rose 103.09 points or 1.71% on Friday to 6,139.79.
For the second day in a row, insurance firm Aviva was the top riser on the index, climbing 6.35%, after posting strong results.
Bank stocks also did well as investors digested the implications of the latest stimulus moves from the ECB.
Plans by the European Central Bank to provide ultra-cheap loans to banks lifted the sector. Barclays rose 3.8% and Standard Chartered added 4.3%.
Mining shares had risen in early trade on gains in commodity prices, but the sector then lost ground and shares in Anglo American were down 0.5%.
Shares in financial services group Old Mutual rose 3% at first after the company announced plans to split itself into four units, but then dropped back to stand 1.78% lower.
High Street retailer Marks and Spencer was the biggest faller on Friday with shares down 2% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating to "underperform" from "neutral".
On the currency markets, the pound edged up 1% against the dollar to $1.4427, and also rose 1% against the euro to €1.2902. | (Close): The London market has ended the week on an upbeat note, with financial stocks leading the way. |
34,453,827 | On Monday, a judge-led panel upheld a decision taken in August to block his transfer to house arrest.
The panel also said Pistorius should undergo psychotherapy, but his family said he was already receiving it.
The 28-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison last year for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa found him guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter.
The 28-year-old double amputee had hoped to be freed in August after a parole board ruled that he could serve the rest of his five-year prison sentence under house arrest.
But the panel, led by Judge Lucy Mailula, ruled that Justice Minister Michael Masutha had acted correctly when he prevented the release on the grounds that it had been taken prematurely.
At the time of his intervention, Pistorius had been granted parole only six months into his five-year sentence.
Mr Masutha had argued that the law states that an offender can only be considered for parole after serving one-sixth of his sentence, in this case 10 months.
In a statement, the Pistorius family said it was concerned about the "legality" of delaying his release.
"Time has now cured" Mr Masutha's concerns and it could not understand why the panel had referred the case back to the parole board rather than taking a decision, the statement said.
"The failure to give proper - and consistent - effect to the Correctional Services Act flies in the face of administrative justice," it said.
"This experience leaves us with the uncomfortable conclusion that the public, political and media hype that was allowed to develop around Oscar's trial has undermined his right to be treated like any other prisoner - as per the prescripts of the Correctional Services Act."
Pistorius: Track champion
The making and unmaking of Pistorius
Pistorius was "receiving regular and ongoing psychotherapy from not only his own psychologist, but also from prison psychologists and a social worker whose reports formed part of the parole decision process", the family added.
The panel had ruled that Pistorius should "be subjected to psychotherapy in order to address criminogenic factors of the crime he committed", referring to behaviour that leads to criminality.
The psychotherapy should be given "even if the offender is, indeed placed under correctional supervision", it added.
The panel also ruled that the parole board should consider imposing conditions restricting the use of firearms by the athlete.
The double amputee athlete said he mistook Ms Steenkamp for a burglar when he fired multiple shots though a locked door at her in his home on Valentine's Day 2013.
Judge Masipa acquitted him of murder, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charge.
The prosecution has appealed against this acquittal and the case will be heard next month by some of South Africa's most senior judges. | The refusal to free South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius from prison on parole "flies in the face" of justice, his family has said. |
34,960,818 | The mosquito-borne virus from Africa has been linked to a spike in birth defects across the country.
Pernambuco has around two thirds of the cases of micro-encephalitis - an inflammation of the foetal brain that can stunt growth of the baby's head.
A World Health Organization team is due in Brazil this week.
On Saturday, the Brazilian health ministry said the link between Zika and birth defects was unprecedented anywhere in the world.
The ministry said doctors had found Zika virus in the blood and tissue of a baby with the disease in the north-eastern state of Ceara.
It said it had recorded two adult deaths and 1,248 cases of micro-encephalitis this year - an eight-fold increase on last year's numbers.
Most cases of micro-encephalitis have been in the north-east of Brazil but cases also rapidly appeared in the south-east, including the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The Zika virus was first detected in Brazil in April and has spread to 13 states.
It appears relatively harmless at first, causing a rash and a fever for a few days.
But ministry officials have issued warnings to women to think carefully about getting pregnant at the moment in areas where there are Zika fever cases.
Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, also known to carry the yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya viruses.
The authorities in Pernambuco say the state of emergency will allow for more staff to be recruited quickly to conduct a large door-to-door public education campaign on the dangers of allowing breeding areas for mosquitoes in stagnant water.
Brazil's ministry of health says Zika has become a serious risk to public health and that Brazil must embark on an emergency programme to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the virus's spread. | The Brazilian state of Pernambuco has declared a state of emergency to help speed up the official response to Zika fever. |
38,678,694 | The 22-year-old left-back has returned to his Bundesliga club Schalke, where he is on loan from Chelsea.
Ghana said Rahman has "a rupture of the meniscus and a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament" in the left knee.
Rahman was hurt in the Black Stars' 1-0 win over Uganda in Group D on Tuesday.
Ghana's next match at the tournament is against Mali on Saturday. A victory would put them into the quarter-finals. | Ghana's Baba Rahman will travel to Germany for possible knee surgery after suffering an injury that has ended his participation at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. |
38,331,172 | Parris took caretaker charge in April after James Marrs was dismissed following a disciplinary process.
Ex-Albion midfielder Parris, 52, guided the side to promotion to Women's Super League Two this summer after beating Sporting Club Albion in a play-off.
Amy Merricks has been appointed as assistant manager on a permanent basis.
The 2017 Spring Series is a one-off, transitional competition before the WSL switches to a winter calendar. | Brighton have confirmed George Parris will remain as interim manager for the upcoming FA Women's Super League Spring Series. |
32,169,695 | Titina Nzolameso was offered a property in Bletchley, near Milton Keynes, after the government's benefits cap made her Westminster rent unaffordable.
When she refused to leave, Westminster City Council decided its legal duty to her had ended - leaving her homeless.
The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the authority's decision.
Its ruling means Ms Nzolameso, who argued that moving to Buckinghamshire would deprive her of the network of friends that supported her during ill health, can stay in the capital.
The decision could have knock-on effects for other local authorities in a similar position.
The court's deputy president Lady Hale heard the case with Lord Clarke, Lord Reed, Lord Hughes and Lord Toulson.
She said that out-of-borough placements were not prohibited, but Westminster City Council had not properly explained its decision.
The authority had not provided evidence to show its offer of the property in Bletchley "was sufficient to discharge their legal obligations" under laws around the housing of homeless people, she added. | A woman left homeless when she could no longer afford the rent on her London home has won a legal battle against attempts to move her out of the city. |
32,796,215 | Mr Coulson, 47, was called as a witness and questioned by Mr Sheridan during the case. A tape of that exchange was played in court on Tuesday.
He is accused of lying when he told the jury he did not know one of the paper's journalists and a private investigator were involved in phone hacking.
Mr Coulson denies the charge.
In courtroom three at the High Court in Edinburgh, the jury of nine men and six women listened to a tape of Mr Coulson's evidence on 9 and 10 December 2010 at Mr Sheridan's perjury trial.
They heard Mr Coulson swearing an oath to tell the truth before confirming his job at the time: director of communications at Downing Street, answerable to the prime minister, a position he said could be described as a "spin doctor".
On the tape, Mr Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World from 2003 to 2007, said the first he had known that one of his journalists, Clive Goodman, had been involved in hacking the telephones of celebrities and members of the royal household was when Mr Goodman was arrested along with a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire.
"I had no knowledge that he was doing these things," said Mr Coulson, who is from Preston in Kent.
Mr Coulson said he had not known Mr Mulcaire.
"I'd never met, heard of, emailed spoken to Glenn Mulcaire," prior to the Goodman affair, he said.
He said payments involving Mr Mulcaire were made "without my knowledge".
The former journalist also denied knowing about the News of the World making payments to corrupt police officers.
"I have no knowledge of it happening," he said.
Under cross-examination, a senior detective told the court there was no evidence that Mr Coulson and Mr Mulcaire ever exchanged emails.
The court later heard that Mr Coulson and members of the Royal Family had their phones hacked.
Det Con Richard Fitzgerald, 36, said the former editor was among thousands of people who had their mobile phone security compromised.
The officer was working on the Metropolitan Police's Operation Weeting investigation which was set up to look at claims that journalists at the News of the World were illegally intercepting voicemails.
He told the court the methods which people use to hack phones and said that officers found handwritten notes detailing the contents of intercepted voicemails.
The police officer also told the court that phone hackers also made tape recordings of voicemails.
The court also heard that Mr Goodman and Mr Mulcaire were both convicted of phone hacking offences and both received prison sentences.
Det Ch Insp Steve McCabe, 47, who is also based with the Met Police in London, told the court that Operation Weeting, which is still ongoing, established that phone hackers targeted celebrities, royals and people who had been the victims of crime.
When Mr Coulson's advocate Murdo MacLeod QC asked whether policemen looked at 90,000,000 emails during the phone hacking inquiry, Mr McCabe said: "90,000,000 doesn't sound unreasonable."
The charge against Mr Coulson alleges that he lied in court and that he did in fact know about phone hacking, did know or know of Glenn Mulcaire and did know about payments by the newspaper to corrupt police officers.
Mr Coulson, who sat in the dock wearing a grey suit and holding a transcript of his evidence, denies perjury.
The trial before Lord Burns is expected to last four weeks. | The Andy Coulson perjury trial has begun hearing evidence which the former News of the World editor gave at the 2010 perjury trial of Tommy Sheridan. |
35,360,349 | Judith Barrett, principal of St Michael's Academy in Yeovil, said "an increasing number of children" come to school "in a pretty shocking state".
The letter goes on to say some pupils "obviously haven't had a shower in readiness for Monday morning".
A spokesperson for the school said it would not comment on the letter.
The academy has about 220 pupils aged seven to 11.
The principal's letter says many children are getting themselves up in the morning and into school "as their parents are still in bed".
"In a country where there is plentiful running water and washing machines, and shops like Tesco offering entire school uniforms for £10, it is a pretty poor indictment of the parenting skills of some of our families."
The letter ends by warning parents the school will phone them at home to collect their children if they are not wearing the correct uniform including black shoes. | A head teacher has used her weekly letter to tell off parents who allow their children to arrive at school in a "dirty and unkempt" state. |
35,708,934 | Richard McPhee, 35, held up the Day Today shop in Drip Road on 25 November.
A court was told that McPhee brandished the knife at 27-year-old Lilita Mierina and forced her to open the till.
McPhee, also of Stirling, admitted a charge of armed robbery at the High Court in Edinburgh before judge Lord Boyd.
Officers recognised McPhee from Ms Mierina's description and he was arrested the following day.
Sentence was deferred for reports until 30 March. | A man who threatened a Stirling shop worker with a knife before stealing £980 from the till will be sentenced later this month. |
17,991,993 | Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography documented the big rise when they trawled the waters off California.
They were able to compare their plastic "catch" with previous data for the region.
The group
reports its findings in the journal Biology Letters
.
"We did not expect to find this," says
Scripps researcher Miriam Goldstein
.
"When you go out into the North Pacific, what you find can be highly variable. So, to find such a clear pattern and such a large increase was very surprising," she told BBC News.
All the plastic discarded into the ocean that does not sink will eventually break down.
Sunlight and the action of the waves will degrade and shred the material over time into pieces the size of a fingernail, or smaller.
An obvious concern is that this micro-material could be ingested by marine organisms, but the Scripps team has noted another, perhaps unexpected, consequence.
The fragments make it easier for the marine insect
Halobates sericeus to lay its eggs out over the ocean.
These "sea skaters" or "water striders" - relatives of pond water skaters - need a platform for the task.
Normally, this might be seabird feathers, tar lumps or even pieces of pumice rock. But it is clear from the trawl results that
H. sericeus has been greatly aided by the numerous plastic surfaces now available to it in the Pacific.
The team found a strong association between the presence of
Halobates and the micro-plastic in a way that was just not evident in the data from 40 years ago.
Ms Goldstein explained: "We thought there might be fewer
Halobates if there's more plastic - that there might be some sort of toxic effect. But, actually, we found the opposite. In the areas that had the most plastic, we found the most
Halobates.
"So, they're obviously congregating around this plastic, laying their eggs on it, and hatching out from it. For
Halobates, all this plastic has worked out well for them."
Ms Goldstein and colleagues gathered their information on the abundance of micro-plastic during the
Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (Seaplex)
off California in 2009. They then compared their data with those from other scientific cruises, including archived records stretching back to the early 1970s.
Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern.
The natural circulation of water - the North Pacific Gyre - tends to retain the debris in reasonably discrete, long-lived collections, which have popularly become known as "garbage patches". In the north-eastern Pacific, one of these concentrations is seen in waters between Hawaii and California.
This Scripps study follows another report by colleagues at the institution that showed 9% of the fish collected during the same Seaplex voyage had plastic waste in their stomachs.
That investigation, published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, estimated the fish at intermediate ocean depths in the North Pacific Ocean could be ingesting plastic at a rate of roughly 12,000 to 24,000 tonnes per year.
Toxicity is the issue most often raised in relation to this type of pollution, but Ms Goldstein and colleagues say broader ecosystem effects also need to be studied.
The abundance of ocean debris will influence the success, or otherwise, of "rafting communities" - those species that are specifically adapted to life on or around objects floating in the water.
Bigger creatures would include barnacles and crabs, and even fish that like to live under some kind of cover, but large-scale change would likely touch even the smallest organisms.
"The study raises an important issue, which is the addition of hard surfaces to the open ocean," says Ms Goldstein.
"In the North Pacific, for example, there's no floating seaweed like there is in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. And we know that the animals, the plants and the microbes that live on hard surfaces are different to the ones that live floating around in the water.
"So, what plastic has done is add hundreds of millions of hard surfaces to the Pacific Ocean. That's quite a profound change."
Ms Goldstein's co-authors were Marci Rosenberg, a student at the University of California Los Angeles, and Scripps research biologist emeritus Lanna Cheng.
[email protected] and follow me on
Twitter | The quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean has increased a hundred fold over the past 40 years. |
38,542,033 | Researchers from Newcastle University, and the British Dental Association (BDA), found about 135,000 dental patients a year visit A& E departments.
The BDA said GPs and medics were having to "pick up the pieces" of the government "slashing budgets and ramping up charges" for dentistry.
NHS England said that access to dentists was improving.
The study by Newcastle University's Centre for Oral Health Research, which looked at patients attending hospitals in the city over three years, and also used calculation by the BDA, found more than half the A&E visits were for toothache.
Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, from the BDA, said: "Ministers keep underestimating how much their indifference to dentistry has knock-on effects across the health service.
"GPs and A&E medics are having to pick up the pieces, while the government's only strategy is to ask our patients to pay more in to plug the funding gap.
"We are seeing patients who need our care pushed towards medical colleagues who aren't equipped to treat them.
"As long as government keeps slashing budgets and ramping up charges, we will keep seeing more of the same."
An NHS England spokeswoman said: "Figures show access to NHS dentists is in fact improving, although a small number of people with a dental emergency, such as bleeding, may need to attend A&E.
"Patients who need advice on pain relief can also get help from their local pharmacist as most causes of dental pain don't need antibiotics.
"Anyone in need of an NHS dentist should contact their own dental surgery or NHS 111, who can signpost them to the most appropriate service for treatment." | People going to A&E instead of the dentist could be costing the NHS as much as £18m a year, a study has found. |
39,669,673 | Pavey needs to finish as one of the top two British women and run a time of two hours and 36 minutes or better.
She will be at the Worlds in August to receive a bronze medal after her 2007 fourth place was upgraded when Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse failed a doping test.
"I've trained as hard as I could," said the 43-year-old.
"I've had a bit more illness than I would have liked but any busy parent can relate to that and I've kept training consistently."
Pavey will race her first marathon in six years on Sunday. She is up against fellow Britons Alyson Dixon, Louise Damen, Charlotte Purdue and Susan Partridge as they also compete to qualify for the World Championships, which are being held in London from 5-13 August.
With Callum Hawkins already selected, Tsegai Tewelde goes up against 10 other male runners in a bid to make the British team for the summer's event.
Meanwhile, Britain's six-time Paralympic champion David Weir says Sunday's race "could be" his last.
Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele, who is the 5,000m and 10,000m track world record holder, headlines the men's elite race.
The women's elite line-up also includes Kenyan Florence Kiplagat, who won last year's Chicago Marathon, compatriot and Tokyo Marathon champion Helah Kiprop, and Olympic 5,000m champion and fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, who will make her marathon debut aged 33.
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Drugs cheats like 2016 London marathon champion Jemima Sumgong are "ruining the sport", says European 10,000m champion Pavey.
Olympic gold medallist Sumgong, 32, tested positive for banned substance EPO in an out-of-competition test.
"It is a shame you have got a winner like Sumgong testing positive," Pavey told BBC Sport. "We're glad that she's been caught, that's one good thing to say.
"You want to believe in a good performance, you want to be looking at athletes winning Olympics and big events and admire their performance.
"There is still a lot more work to do to make sure others are going through the same anti-doping methods as we are in the UK - I had people on my doorstep a couple of days ago and that is what you want to see around the world.
"People like her are ruining the sport because every time you see a good performance, you're wondering is that for real or not."
Britain's Weir, 37, will be competing in the race for the 18th year in a row, on the back of winning the Paris Marathon men's wheelchair race earlier in April in one hour 29 minutes, 25 seconds.
He told BBC Sport: "I am just happy to be in good shape to compete. I don't put that pressure on my shoulders [to get the seventh title].
"I wait until the morning to see how I feel - I am in pretty good shape and I am happy with my performance over the past couple of weeks.
"I feel I am not getting any slower - to do that time on that course in Paris, a very rough, hard course. It just gave me a lot of confidence to perform mentally and physically in London.
Asked if it will be his last race, Weir replied: "It could be. But I have enjoyed the training and enjoyed just concentrating on the road, not thinking about being back on the track after the marathon."
In January, the six-time Paralympic champion said he will never wear a Great Britain vest again after an unsuccessful Paralympic Games in Rio last year.
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Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele, who won last year's Berlin Marathon in the second-quickest time ever, heads the men's elite field along with Kenya's Stanley Biwott.
"Times are very important," Bekele said. "On the track I don't see anyone out there looking like they can reach my marks at the moment. In the marathon, running two hours, 10 minutes and winning would not give you full happiness. Winning in two hours, four minutes would be a different feeling.
"But it is really challenging. It is almost 10,000 metres pace so it is difficult. I had to learn how to run differently from the track, a different foot strike. Every race, every course is different and I am learning with every one."
Brendan bids farewell
BBC commentator Brendan Foster is set to commentate on his last London Marathon - an event he has covered since its inception in 1981.
The 69-year-old, who will retire after the World Championships in London in August, said: "I'm looking forward to it.
"It's the 37th time I've done it, you'd think I'd be used to it by now. I've done every single one but it's as good as ever.
"The whole city comes alive and is awash with people and colour. It will be exciting at the front end, as it always is."
Media playback is not supported on this device | British five-time Olympian Jo Pavey is aiming to secure qualification for the 2017 World Championships when she races in Sunday's London Marathon. |
17,023,862 | It found that standards were well below what was expected, with an overall judgement of "unsatisfactory" - the lowest rating given.
Estyn said GCSE performance was among the lowest in Wales but primary schools standards improved in recent years.
Torfaen Council accepted the findings and expects to see an improvements in standards as early as the summer.
The Estyn report said Torfaen council needed to raise standards in secondary schools and do more for school leavers who don't go on to find jobs or training.
In particular, the authority came in for criticism for standards at GCSE level in schools across the county.
The report said that over half of schools are in the bottom quarter for performance in the core subjects of English or Welsh, maths and science.
No school is above average on the proportion of pupils achieving the equivalent of five GCSEs at grade A* to C.
The number of pupils suspended has increased - and are among the worst in Wales - however, the number of overall exclusions are reducing significantly.
The report said that performance in Key Stages 1 and 2 - children aged from five to 11 - have improved and the authority was doing more to monitor school performance and intervene when necessary.
However, attendance in primary schools was found to be "below the Welsh average in every measure and standards in this area fall short of what might be expected".
It means the hunt for Wales' first "excellent" local authority education service goes on as Torfaen is the 10th Welsh authority to be inspected and been given the worst rating.
So far, four councils have been considered adequate, three are good and two require significant improvement.
In her annual report, published last month, Estyn Chief inspector Ann Keane said: "Leaders, including governors, in schools and in local authorities need to play a more active role in tackling under performance more systematically."
Torfaen local authority now has 50 days to produce an action plan to show how it will address the recommendations.
Councillor Mary Barnett, executive member for children and young people, said: "We acknowledge the issues highlighted in this report and accept the findings."
She added that the council was already implementing many new strategies to help tackle the issues but these had had too little time for the impact to be measured.
"The report also highlights many positive aspects of education in Torfaen, and I am particularly pleased with performance across key stages 1 and 2, and the great strides made to improve secondary school attendance," she said.
Councillor Barnett added: "We are now supporting and challenging our secondary schools on an unprecedented level, and have shown we are prepared to use all our powers to secure better outcomes for children and young people.
"As a result governing bodies, headteachers and senior leadership teams in schools are already more challenging of their own performance.
"We are already seeing a shift and expect to see school standards begin to improve as early as the summer."
Torfaen assembly member Lynne Neagle said it was "clearly an incredibly challenging and worrying report" and there were simply no excuses for the kind of failings highlighted.
"It also helps underline the fact that the Welsh government was right to place a renewed and unrelenting focus on standards in our schools.
"Especially in these tough economic times, we simply have to ensure that we are delivering a first-class education to our young people and helping them to reach their full potential." | Education services in Torfaen have been heavily criticised in a report by the school's inspectorate, Estyn. |
29,759,239 | David Daniel Doran, 42, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to making Darrell Simester perform forced or compulsory labour.
The discovery of Mr Simester, who was forced to work for 13 years, sparked a wider inquiry around Cardiff.
Police said they are trying to find the other men they are concerned about.
Officers have received worrying information about one man in particular who they are now trying to locate.
It comes after Cardiff Crown Court heard how Mr Simester, 44, a timid man who was easily led, was kept in squalid and dirty conditions at Cariad Farm in Peterstone near Newport.
He was living in a cold caravan, washing in a horse trough and working up to 16 hours a day all year round.
Sentencing Doran on Friday, Judge Neil Bidder QC said the way he treated the victim was "repellent and wrong" and "not much better than a slave".
What happened to Mr Simester, from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, led to a wider police investigation.
Acting on intelligence, police launched an operation at Cariad Farm and began digging for possible human remains in September 2013.
Their information proved to be wrong and they found nothing.
But police said there were other leads too and some have already led to the rescue of vulnerable adults.
In other cases the information has been too sketchy and detectives said they do not have enough to go on.
They have told BBC Wales that they are increasingly concerned for one man in particular.
Det Supt Paul Griffiths, of Gwent Police, who is heading the investigation, said: "We've got a lot of individual names, nicknames or descriptions and we've been trying to locate them on the basis of the information we have and we've been very successful in identifying a large number of individuals, but equally sometimes information is not substantial enough to locate individuals."
They cannot release the name of the man - they themselves only have a nickname - but they say they are worried for his welfare and following all potential leads to try to find him.
Mr Simester had gone missing after going on a trip to the seaside in Porthcawl, south Wales, in 2000.
As he headed home he was picked up at the side of a dual carriageway by a member of the Doran family and taken to Cariad Farm.
He was only found after his family launched a social media campaign and they received a tip-off from a member of the public.
When they saw him again they could hardly recognise him and described him as being a "broken man" who looked far older than his years.
Health-wise he was in a "horrific state" with a chest infection, a hernia and calloused feet, along with being very malnourished.
David Daniel Doran pleaded guilty midway through his trial to making Mr Simester perform forced or compulsory labour.
His father Daniel Doran, 67, who faced the same charge, was formally found not guilty earlier this month. | Police who investigated the "modern day slavery" case of a vulnerable man found working unpaid on a farm say they are looking for other missing men. |
15,588,196 | Jagdip Randhawa, a student at the University of Leeds from Hounslow in London, died in Leeds General Infirmary on 17 October.
Mr Randhawa was injured in Albion Street, Leeds, on 12 October.
Clifton Mitchell, from Derby, will appear before Leeds magistrates on Monday. He has also been charged with assault over the incident.
Police said a 23-year-old man who was also arrested remains on police bail. | A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a 19-year-old student who was assaulted in Leeds city centre. |
39,496,015 | An Employment Tribunal had ruled Marion Konczak was unfairly dismissed from her job with BAE Systems in Lancashire.
It upheld a sex discrimination claim that a sexist comment from Mrs Konczak's manager "pushed her over the edge" into a breakdown.
Three Court of Appeal judges have reserved judgement on the case.
Mrs Konczak, now aged 62, worked for the company in Samlesbury and Warton from 1998 to 2007.
She had complained to her male manager that four men she worked with "had bullied and harassed her, including sexually" in 2006,. He responded that "women take things more emotionally then men whilst men tend to forget things and move on."
She argued his comment was the "final straw" and she went off sick with stress and was dismissed in July 2007.
An Employment Tribunal upheld the single complaint in 2008 of sexual discrimination relating the manager's comment although it made no finding on 15 others.
Mrs Konkczak was awarded £360,178.60 compensation in October 2014.
Her barrister, Tristan Jones, said it was fair because the manager's comment "pushed her over the edge" into a psychiatric breakdown which ruined her working life.
He added she has not been able to work since the manager's comment and her dismissal.
Paul Gilroy QC, for BAE, told the judges: "The excessive level of compensation awarded is an affront to justice", adding it was wrong to blame the manager's words alone for Mrs Konczak's psychiatric problems.
Mr Jones, defending the payout, told the court: "Her compensation has been calculated on the normal basis reflecting her lost income and pension," he added.
"These lengthy proceedings have prolonged and are prolonging her illness...(and) BAE is liable for such prolongation." | A £360,000 payout to a former secretary over a "single sexist comment" at work was "excessive", a major firm has told an appeal. |
30,778,916 | On Saturday evening, Andrew Griffiths, 32, of Kentish Town, London was hit by a car on the M1 motorway near junction 20, after getting out of a taxi parked on the hard shoulder.
Ammar Ingar, 21, and Muhammed-Abdullah Patel, 22, both from Leicester, were killed in a collision on Hastings Road, Leicester.
Police have appealed for witnesses.
The collision on the M1 occurred at about 19:50 GMT. No one else was injured.
The second crash, involving a Honda Civic and a Mitsubishi Shogun, happened at 20:25.
Two rear seat passengers in the Honda, both men, suffered serious injuries and are in hospital.
A man and a woman, travelling in the other car, were also injured. The man was later released from hospital but the woman is in a critical but stable condition. | Three people who died at the weekend as a result of two separate road crashes, just minutes apart, have been named. |
33,250,535 | The 23-year-old's deal is subject to a medical, which will take place after he returns from Chile, where he has been playing for Brazil in the Copa America.
Firmino, who has scored 47 goals in 151 games for Hoffenheim, becomes the Reds' second most expensive player.
The Anfield club made Andy Carroll their record signing when he joined them for £35m from Newcastle in 2011.
They also paid Southampton £25m for Adam Lallana in 2014, and have already brought in Burnley striker Danny Ings, goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, defender Joe Gomez and midfielder James Milner this summer.
The Reds have so far resisted two offers from Manchester City for England forward Raheem Sterling.
Firmino, who has spent the last four and a half seasons in the Bundesliga, was on target for Brazil in their 2-1 Copa America victory over Venezuela on Sunday.
In the absence of Neymar, who has been suspended for the rest of the tournament, Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, who is already a Liverpool player, are set to start again in Saturday's quarter-final against Paraguay. | Liverpool have signed forward Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim on a five-year deal for a fee of about £29m. |
39,642,159 | But how hard is the transition? How difficult is it to swap the glare of the camera for the focus of thousands of supporters? BBC Sport Scotland looks at some of the big names who have crossed the Rubicon.
The former winger, who had a previous coaching spell at Dunfermline Athletic, has worked as a pundit covering Scottish football for Sky Sports. He decided to accept Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee's offer of becoming interim boss until the end of the season.
He succeeds Paul Hartley at Dens Park with Dundee second bottom of the table and fighting for their top-flight safety.
"It's not a big risk for me - it's maybe a big risk for the club, a lot of guys will think, because I've not been in a job before," said the 42-year-old.
"This opportunity was just too good to turn down."
"I'm not going to kid anyone on and say, 'it's just going to be easy', because it's not. There's a lot of hard work ahead. The other sides in and around us will have that same mentality. It's a massive job.
"I think most people know the type of person I am, type of character, the standards that I liked to have when I was playing and training - those qualities I would like to think I'll bring to the football club.
"It's my job now to sit with the players and try to get them to understand the requirements that's going to get them that extra yard or that extra wee bit that's going to be enough to see us win games of football."
McCann started his playing career as a winger at Dundee in 1992 and enjoyed stints at Hearts, Rangers, Southampton and Falkirk before ending his career at Dens Park in 2011. He also won 26 caps, scoring three international goals.
Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville was sacked by Valencia in March 2016 after less than four months in charge of the Spanish club.
The 41-year-old, who was part of the England coaching set-up under Roy Hodgson, has returned to his previous role as Sky Sports analyst.
Valencia won three of their 16 league games under the former television pundit, and 10 of 28 games overall.
Neville said he wanted to stay but results had "not been to my standards" or those "required by this club". Neville's management career began with a Champions League loss to Lyon at the Mestalla and it was not until 13 February that Los Che clinched the first of only three league wins.
Cup competitions provided some respite for Neville, with seven wins coming in the Copa del Rey and Europa League.
Neville retired from playing in 2011 after 602 Manchester United appearances and 85 England caps. He won 16 trophies at United and represented his country at five major tournaments.
Former England captain Alan Shearer was in charge of Newcastle for a short spell in 2009, in his only stint in football management to date.
Shearer quit playing in 2006 as Newcastle's record goalscorer before becoming a Match of the Day pundit.
"I've been out of football for over four years and I'm not looking to get back into it," he told the BBC in 2013.
In eight games as manager, he could not prevent the Magpies being relegated from England's top flight.
"I love my job and know I'm lucky to have it. Could I see myself returning to management? Probably not," Shearer told BBC Newcastle.
Born in Gosforth, just three miles from St James' Park, Shearer scored 206 goals in 404 appearances for his boyhood club after joining for a then-world record £15m fee in 1996.
He began his career at Southampton and won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995 before moving on to Newcastle.
He was named Magpies manager on a short-term deal in April 2009, with boss Joe Kinnear undergoing triple heart bypass surgery. Shearer took over with the club two points in the relegation zone but one win in eight games saw them drop out of the Premier League, finishing one point behind Hull.
Bellshill-born McCoist was a Rangers player for 15 years as well as playing for St Johnstone, Sunderland, Kilmarnock and Scotland.
After retiring in 2001, McCoist continued to build a burgeoning media career, which included being a team captain on BBC's A Question of Sport.
He returned to football in 2004 as part of Walter Smith's Scotland coaching staff, and he followed Smith to Ibrox as assistant manger in 2007, before stepping up as his successor in summer 2011 while Rangers were still in the Scottish Premier League.
He subsequently led the side from the bottom tier of Scottish football by winning two consecutive league titles.
Expressing his gratitude to the Rangers supporters following his departure, McCoist said: "They were superb and they backed me and my staff.
"They also stood firm when their club was in dire straits and even at the bleakest moments they did not flinch.
"They are the heart and soul of this club and no-one should ever forget that."
McCoist has returned to his football pundit role since his managerial stint at Ibrox. | Neil McCann has swapped the pundit's chair for the dugout after agreeing to become Dundee's interim boss until the end of the season. |
40,104,564 | The organisers of the literary prize have announced they will adopt "a new sponsorship model" from 2018.
The hunt for a new backer began in January when drinks company Baileys announced it would be stepping down as title sponsor after this year.
Orange sponsored the award for 17 years up to 2012 before Baileys took over in 2014.
From next year, the title will revert to the Women's Prize for Fiction supported by "a family of sponsors".
One of these will be Baileys, alongside other other "leading brands and businesses from different sectors".
"We are excited to be announcing the next chapter for the prize," said Kate Mosse, novelist and prize co-founder.
"Our family of sponsors model not only gives us a new sustainable way of working in a changing world - based on one already successfully used in other areas of the arts - but also will enable us to reach an even wider range of readers through the varied and long-term partnerships we are building."
She added that she was "obviously thrilled" that Baileys would continue to be associated with the prize.
The winner of the 2017 prize will be announced a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Wednesday 7 June.
The six-strong list features one previous winner, Linda Grant, and one first-time novelist, Ayobami Adebayo.
The shortlist in full:
Last year's winner was Lisa McInerney for The Glorious Heresies.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction won't have a single sponsor for next year - it'll have several. |
21,618,345 | A new laboratory in the Thai capital Bangkok, equipped to gather DNA from elephant tusk, rhino horn and tiger skin, is on the front line in an increasingly desperate effort.
The move comes as wildlife trading moves into the major league of lucrative international criminal activities including the trafficking of drugs and weapons.
Rapidly growing demand for animal parts believed to have cultural or medicinal value has fuelled soaring prices and created greater incentives for poachers and dealers.
The lab's aim is to "prove the link between the victim and the suspect and support prosecutions", according to the scientists running the facility.
Conservation groups say the slaughter of elephant, rhino and tiger, along with other threatened species, has reached alarming levels and that only a concerted and sophisticated campaign will help.
The developments highlight the weakness of the only global agreement to halt the trade in endangered species, the CITES convention, set up 40 years ago. The latest round of talks on CITES opened in Bangkok yesterday.
The lab, located within the Thai Department for National Parks, was set up with the support of the specialist wildlife groups Traffic and Trace and the regional environmental organization ASEAN-WEN.
Its director, Dr Kanita Ouitavon, says the first samples of animals and animal parts have been analysed for their DNA and that a genetic database of Thai species is gradually being built up.
"It is very necessary to have new technology in my work - when we want to know about confiscated animals or animal parts, we can now find out about species or sub species or even learn about family links, the origins, where they're from and how they're related," she said.
"The illegal wildlife trade involves low investment but high profit and because no one owns the animals or the land it's so easy to commit the crimes.
"So I can consider this lab is a useful tool to crack down on this trade. Using DNA can prove a link between the suspects and the animals."
The lab, with 10 staff, receives samples almost every week including segments of elephant tusk, rhino horn, entire tiger skins and pieces of fur and flesh from a host of other creatures.
Each sample is catalogued and photographed before extracts are run through a DNA sequencing process. For animal parts from outside Thailand, the sequences are checked against an international database.
Dr Ouitavon acknowledges that her team will need patience - and larger numbers of staff - to build up evidence against poachers and smugglers
She also highlights the reality of being a small band fighting some very powerful interests. The gangs are expert at securing support from within the authorities - for example, officers from The Royal Thai Police are regularly accused of aiding the trade or being involved in it themselves.
In fact, during our visit to the lab, news came through of the seizure, in southern Thailand, of a load of ivory in a van actually driven by a police captain.
Dr Ouitavon is open about the challenge she faces: "We know from the beginning that those who are behind the illegal wildlife illegal trade are mostly influential and powerful people," she explained.
"If there is no check and balance like our unit so the problem will be worse… sometimes it may succeed or it may fail. That's not the main point. The important thing is we do it and we try to fight against it."
Customs officers also acknowledge that the Thai authorities have for years been notorious for turning a blind eye to wildlife smuggling, making Thailand an easy 'transit route' between Africa and China.
Now they insist that their procedures and intelligence have led to tightening up of controls, with better international cooperation, encouraged by the World Customs Union, and X-ray scanners to search cargo. Samples of hauls are now routinely sent to the forensics lab.
None of the customs officers wanted to be interviewed but they described a long list of recent seizures:
The total haul of ivory between 2009-12 at Bangkok airport alone weighs about 7 tonnes and is valued at least $7m, they say.
The officers believe their clampdown is successful because the smugglers have been forced to try new routes. Rather than flying their goods directly from Africa, they are now routing it through the Gulf or Europe to try to avoid suspicion.
I was shown six crates packed with sections of tusk, all seized on a flight from Kenya. A total of 79 elephants had been slaughtered to produce this one sorry haul.
The customs officer who led the operation seemed genuinely upset by it. The ivory, he said, "smells like a dead body" - it did have an intense musty odour and was a depressing sight.
But with more than 70 flights landing with cargo in Bangkok every day, maintaining a total screening is virtually impossible. I asked if the police would help them in the task, a question that produced a shake of the head and laughter.
Given the accusations levelled at them, I asked for a police response. Captain Marc Suranartyuth acts as a liaison officer with Interpol. He says he believes passionately in the need to fight wildlife crime and is clearly embarrassed by cases of police involvement.
"If I saw that I would feel really bad," he said, "since we are the government officials so we do our best to protect and serve people in our country and try to cooperate to solve crimes.
"That's why we want to solve the problem not create a problem."
Mary Rice of the Environmental Investigation Agency, an NGO specialising in wildlife crime, says one problem with international efforts is a lack of political will to tackle the biggest figures in the trade.
"They're catching foot soldiers and occasionally they're also catching the middlemen but to my knowledge they've never gone after the kingpins, the people driving the crime," she told BBC News.
"Since 2009 there's been a huge escalation in poaching and the current populations of elephants, for example, can't possibly keep up with demand."
Forensic science can play a part in saving species from extinction but only if governments are genuinely determined to stop the crime in the first place. | The latest forensic science is being harnessed in a bid to combat the international crime gangs killing and smuggling endangered species. |
39,628,117 | All of those held are teenagers, officials said.
Mr Henríquez, 33, was shot dead as he was leaving his home in the city of Nuevo Colón on Saturday. A 36-year-old man, Delano Wilson, was also killed.
The motive for the killing is still unclear, but police say it appears to have been carefully planned.
Officers said the gunmen had laid in wait at a home opposite that of Mr Henríquez.
A 70-year-old woman and three teenage girls living at the home have been told not to leave the country while the investigations are under way.
Local media first reported that Delano Wilson, the man who died alongside Mr Henríquez, was a friend of the footballer.
But Mr Wilson's sister has since come forward to say her brother was just crossing the street on the way to buy a burger when he got caught in the crossfire.
Another man, Josimar Gómez, was injured.
Mr Henríquez, a midfielder, had played for the Panamanian national side as well as for Panamanian team Árabe Unido.
Before that, he had played in Colombia for América de Cali and Real Cartagena.
President Juan Carlos Varela condemned the murder on Twitter, saying that justice would be done.
According to Panamanian police figures, the country had a homicide rate of 9.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016, which is below many other countries in the region.
However, the province of Colón, where Mr Henríquez was killed, is known to be a hotspot for gangs. | Police in Panama say they are holding four people in connection with the murder of international footballer Amílcar Henríquez. |
35,410,668 | Pub landlord Charlie Newman built "Woodhenge" in a field by the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers in June.
He was initially asked to dismantle his creation by Purbeck council as the structure contravened planning rules.
The council confirmed it can stay put for a further two years after which point it must be removed.
Mr Newman built the sculpture just before the summer solstice on 21 June on land he owns, but which is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
He used tree trunks originally destined for firewood to make the structure, which is nearly 10m (33ft) long and 3.5 metres (11.5ft) high.
But following a complaint from a member of the public, council officers told Mr Newman it had to be removed.
Residents and tourists lent their support by signing an online petition and writing to the council, stating Woodhenge was "a much loved and valued addition to the village".
Mr Newman said he wanted to see the creation stay for at least a couple of years as, being timber, it had a "limited life" anyway. | A recreation of Stonehenge made from tree trunks is set to remain in place in a Dorset field after being awarded retrospective planning permission. |
23,257,275 | The Brock Memorial Foundation submitted the plans to the Environment Department earlier this week and anticipates a decision by September.
A maquette of the statue has been produced by Canadian artist Adrienne Alison, who has told the BBC the statue should be ready by the autumn of 2014.
The statue is intended to mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.
The conflict, in which Canada repelled US attempts at invasion, ended in February 1815.
Guernsey-born Brock died early in the war - during the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1812 - but became known as the Saviour of Upper Canada, having readied Canadian troops for the prospect of invasion.
Distant relative Oliver Brock, who is leading the statue project, said £50,000 remained to be found in order to pay for it, after sponsorship was secured from RBC Wealth Management.
Images of the proposed 7ft 6in (2.3m) statue were displayed on the market terrace on Tuesday.
There will be further public displays on Saturday and on 10, 17 and 24 August.
Mr Brock said he wanted feedback from islanders on the orientation of the statue.
It could be placed facing the Town Church Square below, facing the public space to the north or facing west towards Canada.
An online poll has been set up to establish the most popular option. | Plans have been unveiled for a statue of Sir Isaac Brock to be placed outside Guernsey's St Peter Port markets. |
33,901,999 | Nestle had challenged the ban ordered by the country's food safety regulator in June after some tests found lead levels beyond statutory limits.
The Swiss food multinational has always said its products are safe.
Thursday's ruling came a day after India separately sued Nestle for $100m (£64m) over "unfair trade practices".
The complaint against Nestle is that it caused damage to consumers through misleading advertisements related to its Maggi noodles product.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court called June's ban on the popular noodles "arbitrary" and said it violated the "principles of natural justice".
"We have examined the evidence in great detail. Since the petitioner Nestle has already agreed not to make and sell Maggi until the food authorities are satisfied, we see no reason to allow any relief to food authorities," Justice Vidyasagar Kanade was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
The court directed Nestle to "send five samples from each batch of Maggi [noodles] for testing to three labs and only if the lead is found to be lower than permitted will they start manufacturing and sale again".
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had earlier said that tests deemed the instant noodles to contain "unsafe and hazardous" amounts of lead.
Nestle says its noodles are safe as seen in the results of tests conducted in other countries, including the US, Britain and Singapore.
Two Indian laboratories in the western state of Goa and the southern city of Mysore also recently cleared the noodles, but the findings were dismissed by India's food safety authority, saying there were lapses in the tests.
Nestle said in statement on Wednesday that it had tested 2,700 samples of the noodles by several accredited laboratories in India and abroad, and each of these tests "have shown lead to be far below the permissible limits".
But the company, which has 80% of India's instant noodles market, has already destroyed 400 million packets of Maggi products.
The instant noodles arrived in India in 1983 and can be found in corner shops across the country.
Correction August 17 2015: this report has been changed to correct an error about the amount of noodles being destroyed | A court in India has lifted a government ban on Nestle's popular Maggi noodles, but ordered fresh tests before the product can go back on sale. |
35,890,910 | It will be the first time doctors have ever removed cover from areas such as A&E and intensive care.
The British Medical Association said it had been left with "no choice" in its fight against the imposition of a new contract in England.
But Mr Gummer said the government could not be "held hostage".
Previous junior doctors strikes have affected only routine care.
But the all-out stoppages - which will take place from 08:00 to 17:00 on 26 and 27 April - will include emergency care.
It will mean consultants being drafted in from other hospital departments to staff emergency care, potentially causing huge disruption to routine services.
Mr Gummer told the House of Commons that "we will do everything in our power to ensure patients are protected," but added "if you withdraw the number of doctors that will be withdrawn by the BMA in this action then there is an increased risk of patient harm".
Labour's Heidi Alexander said this was a "worrying time for patients" and urged ministers to listen to patients and "think again" to avert strike action.
She told the Commons: "The secretary of state may think the matter is closed, I say that is arrogant and dangerous in the extreme.
"This is an awful game of brinkmanship and the government must press the pause button before it is too late."
A full walk-out is unchartered territory for hospitals - and of course raises the risk for patients.
Consultants will have to be drafted in from all across the hospital to staff everything from intensive care and emergency surgery to, of course, A&E. That will undoubtedly mean a mass postponement of routine work.
But perhaps more important is what it means for life-threatening care - the heart attack patients and car accident victims. Greater consultant presence in A&E may mean better, quicker care, as they will be more available to make decisions about what patients need.
In emergency surgery, consultants are helped by junior colleagues. Having more consultants in a theatre should resolve that. But where it becomes less clear is what sort of response patients on wards get if they have a medical emergency.
Normally, junior doctors would be among the first medics called. Without them there, and with consultants and other staff deployed elsewhere, patients could be vulnerable.
Yesterday, BMA junior doctors' leader Dr Johann Malawana said: "No junior doctor wants to take this action, but the government has left us with no choice.
"In refusing to lift imposition and listen to junior doctors' outstanding concerns, the government will bear direct responsibility for the first full walkout of doctors in this country.
"The government is refusing to get back around the table and is ploughing ahead with plans to impose a contract junior doctors have no confidence in and have roundly rejected.
"We want to end this dispute through talks, but the government is making this impossible." | Junior doctors will put patients "in harm's way" by withdrawing emergency care during strikes next month, health minister Ben Gummer has said. |
33,972,818 | The one-vehicle accident happened about 1.5 miles from the Strathcarron Hotel just after 13:00.
The road was closed for a number of hours.
Police are not releasing any more information until next of kin have been informed. | A man has been killed after his motorbike crashed on the A890 in Strathcarron in Wester Ross. |
37,904,059 | The Scottish Championship club say the 35-year-old "left his position as manager for personal reasons".
Football development manager Jim Thomson has taken over as caretaker "until a replacement is appointed".
Queens, who only lost one of the first 12 games of the season, have dropped from top of the table to sixth amid a run of one win in their next eight.
Skelton's side suffered a 4-1 home defeat by second-top Dundee United on Saturday, but afterwards he told BBC Scotland he was looking forward to next week's Challenge Cup quarter-final at home to Alloa Athletic.
"It's a nice break from the league - the quarter-final of a cup - really looking forward to it," he said while admitting that the performance against United was poor.
Englishman Skelton, a midfielder with Carlisle United, Workington, Gretna, Kilmarnock, Hamilton Academical and Barrow, joined Queens in summer 2015 to become assistant to James Fowler.
Skelton had been manager at Northern Premier League outfit Workington.
He took over as caretaker in April after Fowler exited Queens, who had failed to reach the promotion play-offs, and was given the job permanently this summer. | Gavin Skelton has stood down as Queen of the South manager after only six months in charge. |
38,529,176 | St Mungo's Primary at Kettleholm had been expected to reopen on Friday.
Pupils have now returned to classes as normal at three other schools affected in Port William, Closeburn and Cummertrees.
In total more than 200 pupils were affected by the closures on Thursday. | One of four schools closed due to heating failures in Dumfries and Galloway is to remain shut until Monday. |
34,312,744 | The unauthorised biography, serialised in the Daily Mail, includes allegations about the PM's student days.
The former Tory donor admitted to having personal "beef" with the prime minister after not being offered a major job in the coalition government.
The prime minister's spokeswoman said she did "not see the need to dignify the book by offering any comment".
"The author has set out his reasons for writing it," she added.
In the book, Lord Ashcroft, who donated millions of pounds to help the Conservatives fight marginal seats, says Mr Cameron was aware of his non-domiciled tax status, which was heavily criticised by Labour, in 2009.
The following year Lord Ashcroft released a statement confirming he was a "non-dom", a status he gave up in order to remain in the Lords.
The book also includes allegations of drug-taking and an initiation ceremony Mr Cameron is said, by an unnamed source, to have taken part in, involving a dead pig.
But sources said Mr Cameron was never a member of the club in question, the Piers Gaveston Society, during his time at Oxford University, BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said.
He added that the as yet unpublished book, Call Me Dave, was "less a story about stupid student pranks, and more a story about raw political revenge".
This was denied by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who has co-written the book.
She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "If this was just a revenge job, Lord Ashcroft and I could have published it before the election."
Ms Oakeshott also said the Piers Gaveston Society did not have a formal membership list, saying "people go along" to society gatherings.
Two powerful men need each other, and then one of them becomes more powerful, and doesn't need the other anymore.
The understanding which they had comes to break down, recriminations follow, and sometimes, full throttle revenge.
But the roots of the embarrassment that has sent social media into overdrive in the last day were laid before Twitter was invented.
In fact, the origins of the spectacular parting of ways are 15 years ago.
Read Laura's blog in full
In the preface to his book, Lord Ashcroft says that after David Cameron became PM in 2010, he was offered the job of junior Foreign Office whip.
"After putting my neck on the line for nearly 10 years - both as party treasurer under William Hague and as deputy chairman - and after ploughing some £8m into the party, I regarded this as a declinable offer," he wrote.
"It would have been better had Cameron offered me nothing at all."
But he added: "Despite my disappointment, my new book about Cameron is not about settling scores."
According to Lord Ashcroft's account, Mr Cameron told him Lib Dem leader and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg had vetoed his appointment to a government role.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World at One, Mr Clegg said he did not recall being asked.
"I'm now used to Conservatives - they certainly did it for five years - using me as an alibi for awkward decisions that they had to face within their own party and I'm certain they fell into that category," he said.
Lord Ashcroft was deputy chairman during Mr Cameron's period as leader in opposition.
In July 2010, he gave up his non-domiciled tax status to remain in the Lords after a law was passed requiring peers and MPs to be tax resident and domiciled in order to remain in Parliament.
His tax status had long been criticised by his opponents.
Labour's shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth has written to Downing Street asking whether Mr Cameron was, as Lord Ashcroft claims, aware of his tax arrangements in 2009.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Cameron should "address directly" the claim, describing it as a "serious allegation".
In March Lord Ashcroft said he was stepping down from the House of Lords because he could not devote enough time to it.
In recent years he has built a reputation as an independent pollster. | Ex-Conservative Party treasurer Lord Ashcroft says his new book about David Cameron is "not about settling scores". |
40,988,516 | Team Sky were nine seconds off the pace, with Quick-Step Floors and Team Sunweb both six seconds behind BMC.
Britain's Froome is aiming to become only the third man to win the Vuelta in the same year as the Tour de France.
The Vuelta stays in France for Sunday's second stage, a 203.4km route from Nimes to Gruissan.
BMC Racing's Australian rider Rohan Dennis is the current race leader and will wear the red jersey, after crossing the line first ahead of his team-mates.
While Froome himself is down in 18th place, he is only nine seconds behind Dennis overall.
Three-time winner Alberto Contador, of Spain, who is retiring from professional cycling after the race, is 16 seconds adrift for Trek Segafredo.
1. BMC Racing Team (US) 15 minutes 58 seconds
2. Quick-Step Floors (Bel) +6secs
3. Team Sunweb (Ger) Same time
4. Team Sky (GB) +9secs
5. Orica-Scott (Aus) +17secs
6. BORA-hansgrohe (Ger) +21secs
7. Lotto-Soudal (Bel) +24secs
8. Movistar Team (Sp) Same time
9. Bahrain-Merida (Bah) +31secs
10. Katusha-Alpecin (Swi) +33secs
1. Rohan Dennis (Aus/BMC Racing Team) 15:58
2. Daniel Oss (Ita/BMC Racing Team) Same time
3. Nicolas Roche (Ire/BMC Racing Team) Same time
4. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita/BMC Racing Team) Same time
5. Damiano Caruso (Ita/BMC Racing Team) Same time
6. Tejay van Garderen (US/BMC Racing Team) Same time
7. Yves Lampaert (Bel/Quick-Step Floors) +6secs
8. David De La Cruz (Spa/Quick-Step Floors) Same time
9. Bob Jungels (Lux/Quick-Step Floors) Same time
10. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Quick-Step Floors) Same time
Selected others
18. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) + 9secs
21. Ian Stannard (GB/Team Sky) Same time
24. Adam Yates (GB/Orica-Scott) +17secs
27. Simon Yates (GB / Orica-Scott) Same time | Chris Froome's Team Sky finished fourth on the first stage of the Vuelta a Espana, as BMC Racing won the team time trial in Nimes, France. |
28,185,948 | The Brazil captain, 29, was booked in Friday's win against Colombia.
It was Silva's second yellow of the tournament, meaning he is automatically suspended for one match.
Media playback is not supported on this device
The Brazilian football confederation wanted the second caution rescinded but Fifa said there is "no legal basis" to grant such a request.
Silva was booked for blocking Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina's attempt to take a kick.
He had scored the opener as Brazil won 2-1 to progress to the last four.
Silva's defensive partner, David Luiz, will captain the side in his absence.
The tournament hosts are already without their star forward Neymar for the rest of the World Cup after he fractured a vertebra in his spine against Colombia.
Willian is expected to replace Neymar, although the Chelsea attacker did give Brazil a scare when he suffered a back injury in training.
"I was hurt on my left side," the former Shakhtar Donetsk player said. "It bothers me a bit but it is not significant. I am available to play." | Defender Thiago Silva will miss Tuesday's World Cup semi-final against Germany after Brazil failed in their bid to have his yellow card overturned. |
30,113,312 | From next year, A-levels will be separated from AS-levels.
But some universities still want pupils to study AS-levels - and Cambridge has asked schools to carry on with them.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said the changes would remove an "unnecessary burden" on pupils.
Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders said "politics is getting in the way", with secondary schools facing "confusion and uncertainty" over planning for exams.
Mr Hunt, in a speech at the Association of Colleges' conference, will accuse the government of "failing in its duty" to keep parents and pupils "properly informed".
He wants the permanent secretary at the Department for Education to write to the heads of schools and colleges explaining the changes to exams and to tackle "widespread confusion".
Uncertainty about AS-level changes is "the biggest real-time issue in secondary schools", says Mr Hunt.
He also wants the letter to explain the alternative arrangements that would be in place if Labour entered office after next year's general election.
From 2015, AS-levels will be separated from A-levels, which will become two-year courses with grades decided by final exams, as part of the government's drive for a more rigorous exam system.
But the AS-level will still remain as a free-standing qualification.
There has been criticism of the change from some universities, which argued that AS-levels had become a useful guide for selecting applicants.
The University of Cambridge has written to schools calling on them to carry on with AS-levels, saying that it provides a good way of finding the right candidates for their courses.
But for students and schools worrying about university applications, it raises the question of whether pupils could or should take both A and AS-levels to improve their chances.
Mr Lightman said that head teachers were struggling with a "lack of clarity" about how the A and AS-level changes should be introduced and the expectations of universities.
The two types of qualification are "co-teachable" for some subjects, he said, but not all subjects.
"It is difficult to plan without the whole picture. Head teachers are very worried about making the right decisions for young people," he said.
Richard Atkins, president of the Association of Colleges, said that at a parents' evening this week he had seen evidence of the confusion, with parents finding the changes "baffling".
He warned of a "state of confusion and it's difficult to explain to young people and their parents what will be happening to these qualifications over the coming few years".
This was compounded by the phasing in of A-level changes, so that old and new forms will be running in parallel.
Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, warned that the "volatility in exams is a barrier to good teaching and higher standards".
"Neither schools nor students know where they stand. Qualifications are changing, mark schemes are changing, performance measures are changing and programmes of study are changing.
"Some qualifications are being removed and then potentially replaced at short notice and this applies to both A-levels and GCSEs," said Mr Hobby.
The separation of A and AS-level is part of a wider package of exam reforms - most of which Labour would be unlikely to reverse.
The content of A-level courses is being rewritten, with the aim of raising academic standards, and there will no longer be a mid-year opportunity for resits.
There will be a greater emphasis on "linear" A-level courses, with a reduction in the modular approach of teaching and assessing individual course units.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said the changes for England's exam system would help students to develop a "deep understanding" of subjects.
"By decoupling the AS-level from the A-level, we are ending the routine of automatic, external assessment of students at the end of year 12. Removing this unnecessary burden from teachers and students means young people will have more time to study the fundamental concepts of a subject rather than sit through an endless treadmill of exams.
"Students will still be able to sit an AS before deciding whether to take a subject at A-level, but will no longer be required to do so by the government - instead the decision will lie with students and teachers.
"Our reforms are not being rushed - it is right that changes are made as quickly as possible, so that students can benefit from these new reformed qualifications as soon as possible." | The changes to A and AS-levels in England are so confusing the Department for Education should write to every school to explain them, says shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt. |
37,886,291 | He will visit Pennsylvania, Michigan and also Minnesota, which has not gone Republican since 1972.
On Saturday evening, he was briefly rushed off the stage by secret service agents at a rally in Reno, Nevada.
Mr Trump had stopped speaking after seeing something in the auditorium, but returned to the stage minutes later.
A man was held on the ground by local law enforcement officers before being searched and led away.
There were reports that the man had a gun, but the secret service later said that "upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found".
When he resumed his speech, Mr Trump said: "Nobody said it was going to be easy for us... I want to thank the Secret Service."
Donald Trump was approaching the climax of his speech inside a packed hall in Reno when suddenly there was a commotion near the stage. Secret service agents rushed towards the property tycoon and he was rapidly hustled from the auditorium.
For a short time there was panic among supporters of the Republican candidate with some people running for the exits amid an unconfirmed rumour of a gun in the crowd. The sense of alarm was heightened when soldiers in desert camouflage moved in. Seconds later a bald white man was escorted from the venue.
A few minutes later Mr Trump returned to the stage, apparently unfazed, thanking the secret service and completing his speech before leaving for his next stop on the campaign trail.
Earlier, Mr Trump had started off a four-state swing in Florida, where rival Hillary Clinton also campaigned.
She unveiled an advert to run in nearly a dozen states, set to the Katy Perry song, Roar.
Mrs Clinton later appeared with Perry at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Democratic presidential candidate urged the crowd to vote.
"When your kids and grandkids ask you what you did in 2016," Mrs Clinton said, "I want you to be able to say, I voted for a better, stronger, fairer America."
Perry, who took to the stage to sing the song Nasty, said she was looking forward to election day. "Tuesday's going to be fun," she said, "but Wednesday is going to be better."
Opinion polls suggest Mrs Clinton is still ahead in key states.
But she has seen her lead slip following last week's FBI announcement that it was looking into emails that may be connected to her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
A nationwide McClatchy-Marist opinion poll on Saturday gave her a one point lead, compared to six in September.
A YouGov polling estimate on Saturday gave her a three-point lead.
Some 37 million early voters have already cast their ballots. Reports suggest many more Latino voters are turning out early in key states including Florida, Arizona and Nevada compared to past elections.
Analysts in Nevada say the Democrats appear to have taken a significant lead there because of the early ballots.
Donald Trump told a rally in Tampa, Florida: "We're going into what they used to call Democrat strongholds, where we're now either tied or leading. We're going to Minnesota, which traditionally has not been Republican at all."
Pennsylvania and Michigan are also both on his agenda and they too have been tough states for Republicans. They have not won them since 1988.
After Tampa, Mr Trump headed to Wilmington in North Carolina, where he was introduced by his wife, Melania.
Mr Trump turned his fire on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
"Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing Obamacare," he said.
Mrs Clinton addressed a rally in a hoarse voice in Pembroke Pines in Florida, telling supporters: "I don't think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump", before cutting the speech short amid a downpour of rain.
Florida is an important state, particularly for Mr Trump, with many seeing it as a must-win. Candidates need 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. Florida is worth 29.
The contest appears to be tight. Real Clear Politics' poll average puts the Democratic candidate ahead, but poll analysis website FiveThirtyEight says Mr Trump has a 52.6% chance of winning the state.
Mrs Clinton's campaign has revealed she will do a two-minute national TV commercial on Monday night which they expect will reach a combined audience of 20 million people.
She has been relying heavily on A-list supporters - on Friday in Cleveland it was singer Beyonce and rapper husband Jay Z.
After Katy Perry, she will take the stage with basketball star LeBron James in Cleveland on Sunday.
Who is ahead in the polls?
45%
Hillary Clinton
45%
Donald Trump
Last updated November 4, 2016
Mr Trump says he does not need star endorsements.
"We do it the old-fashioned way," he said on Saturday.
Separately, US authorities have said they are assessing the credibility of information on a possible al-Qaeda extremist attack before election day.
New York City, Texas and Virginia were said to be possible targets but a police spokesman said the information "lacks specificity".
Officials say they regularly assess all possible threats before major events.
Who will win? Play our game to make your call | Republican candidate Donald Trump has said he is going to target states seen as Democratic strongholds in the last two days before the US election. |
36,439,148 | Despite often bitter partisan differences, the justices of the US Supreme Court have always dined together, as far back as the court's inception in the 18th Century.
Recently, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor shared some culinary tales from the country's most powerful court with a packed audience at the National Museum of American History in Washington.
"It's good to remember that politics can end at the edge of a plate," said David Skorton, secretary of the Smithsonian, at the start of the evening.
In the early 1800s, the first Supreme Court justices all lived in a boarding house, sharing meals together - as well as a fondness for wine.
According to Justice Ginsburg, back then the justices tried to keep their imbibing in check by making a rule that it had to be raining to drink wine - though it was a rule they were willing to bend.
"Somewhere in our broad jurisdiction it must surely be raining," Chief Justice John Marshall is said to have declared on a sunny day, which freed up the justices to have a glass of wine with dinner every night.
When the boarding house style of living ended, rifts among the court began to show.
"[Marshall's] idea was that there should only be one opinion, there should be no dissents, and he would write it," said Justice Ginsburg. "When the boarding house broke down, so did the unanimity."
Wives of members of the court had elaborate social functions for the justices in the early era of the court. On Mondays, they were expected to have tea for everyone, serve scones and cakes, and provide entertainment.
The tradition held up until the Great Depression in the US in the 1920s when the tradition was deemed too expensive, said Clare Cushman, the director of publications at Supreme Court Historical Society.
In earlier days of the court, justices would have to slip behind the bench and eat quickly behind a partition while oral arguments were taking place, with the clattering of knives and forks hardly concealed.
Rumour has it that one day a justice popped open a bottle of champagne and the cork flew out over the bench.
Today, the justices are allotted one hour for lunch and have their own dining room.
Most days, the justices eat either food they brought from home, takeaway from the Senate cafeteria or have something delivered. Justice Sotomayor revealed she favours sushi, salads and Indian cuisine.
Birthdays are never missed - all the justices enjoy some wine and sing to the birthday boy or girl, Justice Ginsburg said.
Her late husband Martin Ginsburg, who she said was an excellent chef and baker, also prepared a cake for each justice's birthday.
As for mealtime conversation, no topic is off limits, but the justices try to "avoid controversy".
"We're very guarded about topics that might raise hostility in the room," said Justice Sotomayor. "The most common conversation is about a book one of the justices is reading. All of the justices are voracious readers.
"We tell funny stories about each other... it's that type of normal conversation people have that want to get to know each other as regular people, as not just justices."
The justices still enjoy their wine together, especially before the president's yearly State of the Union Address.
Justice Ginsburg recalled the year she famously fell asleep during President Barack Obama's 2015 address, thanks to the wine supplied by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
"I wasn't 100% sober," she said at the time.
Each justice brings their own food traditions to the other members of the court.
Justice Sotomayor recalled that a couple of times of year, former Justice Sandra Day O' Connor brought in a "very spicy" supply of beef jerky.
New York City pastries are a common treat from Justice Sotomayor, who said she "loves food" and that no meal should be wasted. On weekends, she brings in bagels with various cream cheeses, and tasks her clerks with finding new delivery places in Washington.
"One of my clerks' responsibilities during the year is to find a restaurant I haven't eaten at," she said. "It has expanded my knowledge of DC restaurants."
Her office is always stocked with candy, which she said brings people around more.
Another tradition is that the most junior justice on the court arranges the welcoming dinner for newly minted justices.
Justice Samuel Alito threw Justice Sotomayor a dinner complete with a guitar player performing Spanish music.
Martin Ginsburg would often coordinate with the spouses of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Anthony Kennedy to make a pre-State of the Union dinner for the court.
"Marty's fondness for the kitchen began shortly after I cooked my first meal [for him]," she said.
The two justices poked fun at some of the dining habits of their colleagues, like former Justice John Stevens, who was usually seen eating a plain cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off.
They also ridiculed former Justice David Souter for only eating plain yogurt and the occasional apple.
Both Justice Sotomayor and Justice Ginsburg said they would have dinner with Justice John Marshall - who was instrumental in the foundation of the American legal system, and died in 1835 - if they could.
Justice Sotomayor said she would also love to dine with former Justice Thurgood Marshall because she heard he never told a story twice.
However, there is one justice that Justice Ginsburg would avoid dining with, she said.
"I heard that if you went to dinner at the [Chief Justice Louis] Brandeis home, you would eat before and after." | Even Supreme Court justices, who preside over the highest court in the US, have to eat. |
30,941,431 | The 19-year-old right-back has not missed a minute's action since being handed his Wolves debut on 6 December.
"Making my debut was one thing," he told BBC WM 95.6. "But having the fans chant my name - I couldn't believe it.
"We were at Fulham. I heard the fans chant and I thought 'Is that my name?'"
He joked: "I always dreamed of having my own chant but didn't think it would happen so soon."
The highly-rated England Under-20 international admits that his rise to prominence has been rapid, significantly aided by his development on loan under Mike Jackson at Shrewsbury over the final seven weeks of last season.
Shrewsbury were bound for relegation to League Two, but Iorfa learnt a lot, playing in the then unaccustomed role of right-back, having come through Wolves' system as a central defender.
"I've been playing centre-back longer," he said. "But, when I went on loan to Shrewsbury, it was at right-back and it was a big step for me. You don't realise the tempo of it and playing in front of fans too. That helped me when I got my chance at Wolves."
Iorfa could not have picked a more dramatic match in which to make his Wolves debut, a 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth, in which Wolves lost following a controversial red card, later overturned, to Iorfa's team-mate Rajiv van La Parra.
"I'd been training with the first team all season and to actually make my debut without going on the bench first was a surprise. But the manager has shown great faith in me," he added.
Since that defeat, Wolves have turned the corner, having not lost in the league since - and only on penalties in the FA Cup third-round replay with Fulham.
And the son of a Nigerian international, also called Dominic Iorfa, is now glad he made the move from his native Essex.
"I was playing for Southend at 15 when Wolves saw me and offered me a trial," he said. "My dad had played all over the world and he wanted me to sign here as he thought I'd have better opportunities.
"I like to get forward and I think I'm getting better at it. And the team are doing well, which makes it even better."
You can listen to BBC WM 95.6's fans' forum with Kenny Jackett from 19:00 GMT on Friday, 23 January. | Teenage Wolves defender Dominic Iorfa says hearing his own fans' terrace chant has been the highlight of his first-team breakthrough at Molineux over the last two months. |
35,825,264 | The £200m, 15,000-tonne, 128m-long vessel is being built at Cammell Laird on Merseyside, and is due to become operational in 2019.
Anyone can propose a suitable name on a special website which will accept ideas up until 16 April.
The new ship will replace the existing polar fleet - the RRS James Clark Ross and RRS Ernest Shackleton - and work in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Names that have featured on previous UK research vessels will not be used again. But beyond that restriction, the possibilities are wide.
The Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc), which manages British polar science, says it is looking for something inspirational - something that will exemplify the ship's work.
The chosen name doesn't have to be that of a famous polar scientist; it could just as easily be the name of a place or phenomenon.
For example, the German polar research vessel is called Polarstern, or Pole Star; and the ship used regularly by Australian Antarctic scientists is called Aurora Australis - another name for the Southern Lights.
"Nerc's new ship will help put the UK at the cutting edge of polar research," said council chief executive, Prof Duncan Wingham.
"Built in the North West of England, she will help bring an economic boost to the region and to the UK shipbuilding industry.
"Today we are launching our campaign to bring our ship to the UK people, asking for their help to find her a name that encapsulates her role at the forefront of UK science.
"We are excited to hear what the public have to suggest and we really are open to ideas."
The funding of a new British RRS to work in icy seas was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in April 2014, with a contract to build the ship being given to Cammell Laird last year.
Since then, the Merseyside shipbuilder has been going through a detailed design exercise and expects eventually to be employing 400-500 people on the vessel's construction.
The ship will feature a helipad, cranes, onboard labs, and have the ability to deploy subs and other ocean survey and sampling gear.
Some of this equipment will go through an enclosed "moon pool", or "wet porch", inside the vessel.
Dr Robert Larter, a geophysicist working with the British Antarctic Survey, says the ship will have greatly increased scientific capabilities, especially in relation to the importance of the Southern Ocean and the role it plays in Earth's climate system.
"This is an area that has the most powerful ocean currents in the world - the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the link between all the world's oceans; and the seas around Antarctica are the 'factories' of most of the world's bottom water which drives the over-turn of the oceans. So, there's a lot to learn and this new ship will help us do that," he told BBC News.
The introduction of the new ship does mean the UK will be reducing its polar fleet from two to one vessel.
But the hope is this reduction in capacity can be mitigated, in part, by the efficiencies that come from operating a brand new super-ship.
It will have to take on not only all the research activities done predominantly now by the RRS James Clark Ross, but all the logistics work done mostly by the RRS Ernest Shackleton.
The new ship will certainly have greater individual endurance than its predecessors - the number of days it can operate at sea; and with its ice-breaking capabilities will also be able to go to places the earlier vessels could not.
"It's amazing to think of the places we have gone with the existing ships, but there is always an element of risk," said Dr Larter.
"With this bigger, more powerful ship, we'll have the confidence to go to those places, knowing also that we will be able to get out.
"With sea-ice, that's always a factor that plays on the mind of a captain: you can get in, but can you get out? Will you get stuck in ice?"
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | The public are being asked to name the UK's new polar research ship. |
34,536,951 | One hundred and thirty four people work for Lifeline in two offices in Londonderry and Belfast.
But a contract for the 24/7 helpline, funded by the Department of Health, is due to expire at the end of this year.
The Public Health Agency (PHA) is consulting on Lifeline's future.
Fergus Cumiskey, managing director of the charity, Contact, who manage Lifeline, said all Lifeline jobs across Northern Ireland were now at risk.
He said: "From our read of the PHA outline business model for Lifeline, the changes are so radical that we believe all jobs associates with the current model are in jeopardy."
Twenty nine managers, 72 counsellors, 22 trainee counsellors and 11 administration staff work across the two offices.
Some 90,000 calls are made to Lifeline every year.
Mr Cumiskey said that job losses would have a "grave impact" for those who rely on the service.
Last year, there was a large increase in the number of people contacting the service.
The PHA confirmed it was holding a 12-week consultation on the future of the Lifeline service to ensure it best meets the needs of the people who use it.
A spokesperson said: "The consultation proposals would maintain the 24 hour, seven days a week telephone helpline provided by staff who are skilled and qualified in talking to people in crisis."
The PHA is proposing that the telephone helpline service provided by Lifeline staff be managed by the ambulance service.
The closing date for responses to the consultation is 19 November 2015 at 1pm.
The current Lifeline contract was due to end on 31 March 2015, but has been extended until 31 December 2015 with the potential of a further extension until September 2016, but the PHA said it is prevented from extending the contract further because of "procurement rules".
A spokesperson said: "No decision on the service model will be taken until after the consultation has been completed and the findings given full consideration." | The head of a company which runs a suicide-prevention service in Northern Ireland said that over 100 jobs are at risk in its call centres. |
38,619,770 | The struggling Reds faced an uphill task from the 12th minute when defender Matty Pearson's challenge on Macaulay Gillesphey was judged high and dangerous by referee Chris Sarginson.
It was the second red card in a week for relegation-threatened Accrington, and Carlisle took advantage on 20 minutes when Gillesphey's cross was flicked on by Shaun Miller and Jason Kennedy bundled the ball goalwards, with unfortunate Stanley defender Omar Beckles getting the final touch.
However, the 10 men replied immediately when Shay McCartan's 20-yard free-kick sailed into the top corner for his first goal of the season.
Carlisle's top scorer Charlie Wyke twice headed over from good positions, Kennedy forced a superb reflex save from Fulham loan goalkeeper Marek Rodak from six yards and unmarked substitute Jabo Ibehre headed off target.
Still Accrington had chances with on-loan Hull defender Harvey Rodgers coming close with a header and Billy Kee testing keeper Mark Gillespie, who then kept out Rodgers in stoppage time.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Carlisle United 1.
Second Half ends, Accrington Stanley 1, Carlisle United 1.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Mark Gillespie.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Jason Kennedy.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Mark Gillespie.
Attempt saved. Harvey Rodgers (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, Accrington Stanley. Conceded by Jason Kennedy.
Foul by Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle United).
Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Sean Clare (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Omar Beckles (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Charlie Wyke (Carlisle United).
Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Harvey Rodgers.
Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Sean Clare replaces Shay McCartan.
Foul by Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle United).
Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Shay McCartan.
Attempt saved. Billy Kee (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Romuald Boco.
Attempt missed. Seamus Conneely (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Harvey Rodgers (Accrington Stanley) header from the right side of the six yard box is too high.
Foul by Luke Joyce (Carlisle United).
Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle United) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Corner, Carlisle United. Conceded by Marek Rodak.
Attempt saved. Jason Kennedy (Carlisle United) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the bottom right corner.
Attempt missed. Romuald Boco (Accrington Stanley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Shaun Miller (Carlisle United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Carlisle United. Jamie Devitt replaces Tom Miller.
Substitution, Carlisle United. Jabo Ibehre replaces Joe McKee.
Attempt missed. Gary Liddle (Carlisle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.
Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Nicky Adams (Carlisle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Sean McConville (Accrington Stanley).
Substitution, Accrington Stanley. Janoi Donacien replaces Arron Davies.
Gary Liddle (Carlisle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley).
Foul by Nicky Adams (Carlisle United).
Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) wins a free kick in the attacking half. | Accrington Stanley held promotion-chasing Carlisle United to a draw, despite playing for 78 minutes with 10 men. |
37,208,686 | Keepers threw a party for Nickel - who was born at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay in 1995 - to celebrate the milestone on Thursday.
Nickel and the zoo's 10 other chimps were given some treats to unwrap.
Head keeper Michelle Pywell said: "It was wonderful to see the chimps all taking part in the celebration and sharing many presents."
Chimpanzees can live up to about 50 years. | It was a case of many apey returns for a chimpanzee celebrating his 21st birthday at a Conwy zoo. |
38,828,176 | The Manx mother of Leo Keefe, who lives in Spain, said her son has been bravely battling SPNET - an aggressive type of brain cancer - for the last 17 months.
"Proton beam therapy (PBT) treatment is his only remaining option," said Karen Keefe, who wants to take him to the US.
A number of fundraising events will be held on the Isle of Man this weekend.
Ms Keefe said Leo, who has had five tumours, has been an "inspiration throughout his battle".
He has endured four operations as well as a gruelling programme of chemotherapy.
What is SPNET?
"I am doing what any mother would do," she said. "Oklahoma is the best possible place for this treatment so I have to do everything I can to get him there."
While Ms Keefe acknowledged that proton beam therapy was not guaranteed to work, she said it was their best option.
She said: "I couldn't live with any 'what ifs?'
"He smiles every day and has captured the hearts of thousands. He is my cheeky, gorgeous boy and it is heart-breaking how money comes into this.
"I would give my heart and soul to take [the cancer] away from him."
Proton beam therapy (PBT) is a type of radiation treatment that uses protons rather than x-rays to treat cancer.
It is not available in the UK or Isle of Man.
In the UK not all cases of children get approved and need to go in front of a committee on an individual basis.
Mrs Keefe said the process could take weeks, which Leo does not have.
It is not offered in Spain.
The radiologist at their local hospital in Pamplona said PBT was Leo's only option to still be able to have a normal life as conventional radiotherapy, which is available in Spain, would be guaranteed to lead to health issues including organ damage and severe growth issues.
Despite having a British passport, Karen said Leo has not qualified for help towards the treatment on the NHS as they live in Spain.
Their crowd-funding social media campaign has 5,000 followers and has already raised more than £40,000.
Events include a promenade run in Douglas on Saturday.
The UK government has committed £250m towards developing high-energy proton beam therapy services in the UK. | The friends and family of a four-year-old boy with a rare form of cancer are trying to raise £150,000 to give him a "last opportunity" to be cured. |
39,230,807 | This results in half of all eligible lesbian and bisexual women never having had a smear test, they said.
The human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes most cervical cancers, can be transmitted through lesbian sex.
Cervical cancer charities say all women, no matter their orientation, should have regular cervical screening.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups say women regularly face barriers to accessing healthcare and can have poor experiences when they do.
For example, in a survey of lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women, 36% said a doctor or nurse had assumed they were heterosexual.
The National LGBT Partnership says women also suffer in other ways - they are more likely to report a long-term mental health problem and more likely to binge drink than heterosexual women.
Joanna, 30, was told that she did not require a cervical screen test because she was a lesbian.
Although she was eventually tested, Joanna says: "I just felt she [the doctor] needed to be more knowledgeable on the subject."
Diane, also 30, said she received inaccurate information about whether or not she could benefit from cervical screenings.
She said: "My GP didn't advise me of my risk level, she just made a number of blanket statements."
But HPV is passed on through body fluids, like other sexually transmitted infections.
This means that oral sex, transferring vaginal fluids on hands and fingers, or sharing sex toys can all be ways of being exposed to HPV.
The charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust says all women, regardless of their sexual orientation, should have regular cervical screening.
"As HPV can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact in the genital area, gay women are equally at risk of contracting HPV and experiencing abnormal cervical changes and, thus, should always attend when invited for cervical screening."
In a study of attitudes to cervical screening among gay and bisexual women in the north-west of England, carried out by the University of Salford in 2011, 37% of women questioned said they had been told they did not require a cervical screening test because of their sexual orientation.
It is a test to check the health of the cells of the cervix, not a test for cancer.
Around one in 20 women's tests show some abnormal changes. Most of these changes will not lead to cervical cancer and the cells may go back to normal on their own.
However, in some cases, the abnormal cells need to be removed so they cannot become cancerous.
All women who are registered with a GP in the UK are invited for cervical screening:
It is possible for women of all ages to develop cervical cancer, although the condition mainly affects sexually active women aged 30 to 45.
The condition is much rarer in women under 25.
There are about 3,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed each year in the UK.
Yes - women should always be offered screening whether they are gay, straight or bisexual.
Sometimes, lesbian women have been advised by health workers that they do not need screening because they do not have sex with men.
But only women who have never had sex at all (with either men or women) may be advised that screening is not necessary. | Women who have sex with women are often wrongly told they do not need a cervical screening test, say LGBT groups. |
38,768,901 | The US president signed the executive order to stop federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions during his first week in office.
Known as the "Mexico City Policy", or global gag rule by critics, it was no surprise that he reinstated it. First introduced by Ronald Reagan in 1984, it has been become a game of policy ping pong between Republican and Democrat presidents.
Supporters of the ban say it protects the fundamental right to life.
But some health workers in Africa say when it was last put in place under George W Bush in 2001, it had far-reaching consequences.
"Women could not have access to contraceptive services and so they were getting unintended pregnancies and that increased the number of unwanted pregnancies and as such they went to the backstreet to do unsafe abortions," says Kenyan gynaecologist Dr John Nyamu.
The policy blocks US funding to overseas organisations that "support or participate in the management of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation".
It even affects countries like Kenya - where abortion is illegal unless a mother's life is at risk - as some family planning clinics or organisations get their funding from US pro-abortion groups.
The Trump order goes even further than previous Republican administrations, which only targeted reproductive health services, by extending the ban to cover all global health assistance provided by all departments or agencies.
"By removing funding from organisations that also deal with malaria and other child health issues, the policy could threaten progress on many fronts, including efforts to reduce HIV-related deaths and new infections, and decrease childhood mortality through malaria prevention and treatment initiatives and immunisation programs," Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement.
The medical charity does not receive US government funding - so is not affected by the policy - but it fears that women's lives could be endangered.
Unsafe abortion is one of the five main causes of maternal mortality, accounting for 13% of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Mexico City Policy is based on the US Republican party's pro-life position, which has resonance with much of socially conservative Africa, where abortion is largely illegal.
Abortion on demand can only be offered in four out of 54 African countries, according to the UN's World Abortion Policies report.
But the continent carries the biggest burden of unsafe abortions, according to the WHO.
Marie Stopes International's projections for Nigeria suggest the policy will have a big impact on women's health in Africa's most populous country.
"Without US funding, from 2017 to 2020, over 1.8 million unintended pregnancies will probably occur; more than 660,000 abortions will happen and over 10,000 maternal deaths will not be averted," says Effiom Effiom, country director for Marie Stopes in Nigeria.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) regional office in Africa says it will lose up to $100m (£80m) in US funding meant for sexual and reproductive health services for millions of women and girls who would otherwise go without these vital services as it refuses to abide by the gag rules.
"Over the years USAid has been a huge supporter of family planning - with a budget of over $600m per year. Reinstatement will mean that years of progress to increase access to essential services globally, will be lost," it said in a statement.
IPPF works with affiliates in 30 African countries including at least a dozen clinics in Kenya, five of which shut down the last time the Mexico City Policy was reinstated.
But it has struck a defiant note, saying it will work to bridge the funding and services gaps as the Dutch government has done with plans for an international fund to finance access to birth control in countries hit by the cuts.
"We cannot and will not - deny life-saving services to the world's poorest women," IPPF said. | Donald Trump's pro-abortion funding ban has infuriated many global health organisations as they say it will unintentionally lead to more abortions and more deaths in Africa. |
35,101,330 | Harris Tweed Hebrides has secured £300,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) towards its £1.8m project.
The company plans to build a new warehouse and dye facility at its mill at Shawbost on the west coast of Lewis.
The firm said it has seen an "upsurge" in the popularity of the fabric.
Chief executive Ian Angus Mackenzie said: "Over the past eight years, we have built a successful and profitable company, committed to continuous investment in its own future.
"HIE's support will enhance the overall level of investment available and will underpin our objective of a sustainable industry providing high quality employment to islanders and an iconic product to the world."
Rachel Mackenzie, HIE area manager in the Western Isles, said: "We are delighted to invest in the company's latest venture which will see many more new jobs created as a result of expanding production space and exporting in new international markets where demand for the fabric is rising.
"Communities across Lewis and Harris also benefit from a strong Harris Tweed industry with tourism, creative industries and food and drink sharing the opportunities for growth that emerge from the vibrant sector." | A manufacturer of Harris Tweed plans to create up to 10 new jobs in the coming months as part of an expansion of its mill. |
34,189,169 | The structure - made of two huts joined together - was being used as a social room by the Labour Club in Ipswich until its origins were discovered by historian Taff Gillingham.
Now it has been transported to Brook Farm in Hawstead where a Great War Visitor Centre is being created.
It has been rebuilt and will go on show this weekend.
Mr Gillingham discovered it while searching for army huts for his exhibition. It had been earmarked for demolition.
"They (the huts) are rapidly disappearing, 100 years on," he said. "Even in the time we've been restoring this one, and gathering some of the others, we know that plenty have been pulled down.
"We just thought it was really important now, while there are still some left, to gather examples of them and to restore them and put them back up again," he said.
Mr Gillingham said they wanted to hear about more of them, as each is individual and constructed differently.
He said: "The ones we're preserving will be very different, and it will be a proper living archive, if you like, of that really important time." | An original World War One army barrack hut in which hundreds of soldiers slept during their training is to reopen. |
36,523,042 | Five years have passed since the Scottish Football Association drew up its performance strategy. Last season, no club that finished in the top half of the English Premier League contained a Scottish international.
In the Scottish Premiership, five clubs finished the campaign with less than half of the players who appeared for them being Scottish. Only St Johnstone reached the informal target of 75% of their players being Scottish, while, of the 25 who played for Inverness Caledonian Thistle last season, only five were Scottish.
So in what state is youth development in Scotland and is the Club Academy Scotland structure devised by Mark Wotte after he was appointed performance director in 2011 working?
BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound brought together Willie Miller, former Aberdeen director of football, Alistair Gray, who the SFA consulted on the performance strategy and who now chairs a committee of club representatives reviewing Club Academy Scotland, Scotland Under-17 coach, Scot Gemmill, and Tommy Wilson, the former Rangers youth coach and now academy director of Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union, to discuss the issue.
Willie Miller: "We're not seeing any signs of [progress] and we're five years into it. I've been part of it, I set up the performance school in Aberdeen, I understand the financial restrictions that clubs work under in trying to fund their development programme. We thought Mark Wotte was going to be a long-term project, but he left after three years, which was really disappointing."
Alistair Gray: "The performance schools have only been performing for three years, so the players will be coming towards under-16 now. When we looked in 2011, 60% of all those capped at under-17/under-19 level for Scotland within five years were not playing or were playing junior football. That number has reduced, so one would hope that we're not throwing out as much talent as we used to throw out. There are now 31 academies, when there are 50-odd in Germany. The key thing is to reduce the number of academies - there are 2,500 players in the Club Academy Scotland system - and that number has to reduce and more has to be done with the [best] players. The facilities are much better now. There's no magic in this, it's about the systematic development of young people and giving them game time in a competitive situation.
"There's no question in the top academies, the practices are extremely good. The style of play is better amongst the young teams, they're building up from the back, pass completion is better. But, between 17 and 21, youngsters are not getting the quality of competitive games despite the positive changes that have been made. Playing a competitive game is the only way you improve.
"The Scottish FA have enabled development loans to take place in the last couple of years that are now making a difference. Clubs are trusting each other, there are more players going out on loan. The tragic thing is that the players who are retained by their clubs get fewer games than the players who play for another club.
"The last three of four years have been the worst economic positions for Scottish club. The working group I'm chairing now is made up of clubs and they're committing very much more to some of the performance areas that were identified back in 2011. They really didn't have the appetite or the resources to do so over the last few years."
Scot Gemmill: "I really believe the players have got good potential and their results are suggesting that. That's across the age groups. If you look at this year's under-19 squad, [Ryan] Hardie was playing first-team football, [Greg] Kiltie's playing first-team football, [Aidan] Nesbitt, Kyle Cameron was on loan at York City, Jack Breslin was on loan. I believe that [they will play in the top half of EPL], why not? These players beat Mexico 3-1. They have a different mentality, a different attitude, they have more game intelligence; the work that's going on at the clubs is working."
Willie Miller: "Targets are really important, if you can get clubs to buy in. I don't think it's the manager, the club employs the manager, so if you're a board of directors and you have a policy of one [academy graduate into the first-team squad] a season into your squad then you tell the manager that.
"They've got loads at Aberdeen. You're approaching 50% that have come through the academy, not on the park but into the squad. The bench is full of youngsters. Now maybe the manager wants a more experienced bench and I can understand his thinking behind that. You've also got problems with other teams poaching your players as well, at 16. [Jack] Grimmer, [Fraser] Fyvie, Ryan Fraser - there's three players that could have been in the first-team."
Alistair Gray: "It's the short-term aim of the manager to get a quick fix to save their job over the course of the season. The good clubs that are doing [youth development] have a much more integrated system. The first-team manager is at one with the academy director, working together to produce more, better young players.
"The other thing the Scottish FA has done in recent years is focus the resources in terms of the amount of money they're giving clubs. They've got some performance outcomes that include the number of 18-21 year old players in the first-team and also the players who have come through to international squads and it's not an insignificant amount. The key is not to spread this money, £2.5m, across 31 academies and 2,500 young people and focus it much more."
Tommy Wilson: "Our overall budget [at Philadelphia Union] is more than I had at Rangers. We have more full-time coaches in our academy. We have our own school, we have 14 full-time staff, so we can double the training units that I was used to in Glasgow. Our young players train 10 times a week. Because it's part of a school, it's a much more holistic approach and we have full-time sports psychologists and nutritionists. If you can imagine a high-performance sports school attached to a football club academy, that's the route we're going down. I have some targets to try to get some players into the first-team, but there's not a directive. There's an open dialogue between myself, the manager and the sporting director."
Alistair Gray: "There are 50 full-time coaches in the current Club Academy Scotland system; it could be more. There are 200 part-time coaches, but there's no sense of community amongst these coaches. In Germany, post-2000, after they messed up in the European Championships, one of the biggest things they did was double the number of full-time coaches, so there was a career for the coaches. [In Scotland] someone who is a plumber during the day, and they [coach] during the evening or at the weekends, they can't take the time off to do formal coaching qualifications. Something has to be done in the area of coaching so that profession is valued. Are we identifying the future Scot Gemmills? I know of one Premiership club that is putting one of their youth coaches out to manage a League Two club next year. That's a very positive sign, a bit like a loan.
"The [SFA] coaching courses are well regarded and endorsed by Uefa, but once someone has their badge, where do they go? A large number of them aren't coaching at a level where they're able to deliver the benefit of the coaching they've had."
Willie Miller: "The SFA charge for coaching courses. Why not drop that if you're attached to a club? Scottish football can't afford to employ coaches at development level. Celtic can and Rangers could. Inverness Caley Thistle can't afford a development programme let alone employ someone to manage that programme. With Aberdeen, I had two centres, one in Edinburgh and one in Dundee, that I had to close because we couldn't afford it and we had only one full-time coach. I don't think we can compare ourselves with Germany, with a population of 80m people and funds coming out their ears. We should be looking at Iceland."
Scot Gemmill: "Everybody's keen to learn from [Iceland], but our under-17s beat Iceland three or four months ago. Liam Burt scored the winning goal and he made his debut for Rangers recently. There are good players coming through."
Tommy Wilson: "We have produced a number of top coaches and managers [through the SFA's coaching courses] and not produced top players. The only pathway for that top coach is to become the first-team manager to make a salary that is sufficient to support his family. We haven't professionalised youth coaching enough. We've not invested enough in our young players."
Alistair Gray: "There are some good things going on and we're learning from the first four years of the programme and making a small number of changes that will make a significant impact. It will be a pragmatic but impactful series of recommendations that come out in the next few months." | Scotland's absence from the European Championship finals has provoked the wider question about the quality of Scottish players. |
24,453,165 | Local media said about 50 people had been hurt in the fire, which broke out late on Tuesday in Gazipur.
It was feared the number of people killed could rise.
Safety standards in Bangladesh's garment factories are notoriously poor. More than 1,100 people died in April when a factory outside Dhaka collapsed.
Another 2,500 people were injured in the disaster in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of the capital, where most of the clothing industry is based.
Last November, 112 workers were killed in a fire at another clothes factory in the area.
The cause of the latest fire was not immediately clear, but reports said it broke out at a knitting section of Aswad Composite Mills.
A local official at the scene said that fire fighters had been unable to recover any bodies.
One man came to the site to find his uncle told the BBC that he had not been able to find him.
"I found out that the fire started from a [textile] machine," he said. "When the silencer of the machine exploded, the fire spread and the factory caught fire.
"Immediately after the fire many people ran out of the factory but a few could not get out."
Reports quoted officials saying water shortages and a lack of nearby fire stations had allowed the blaze to escalate and continue for several hours.
Factory Director Emdad Hossain told the Daily Star in Bangladesh that 170 workers were on duty on the two floors when the fire broke out.
"Almost all of them managed to come out of the building," he said.
Mr Hossain suffered injuries while rushing out of the building.
Although most members of a reported workforce of 3,000 had left the building for the day, those killed are thought to have been working overtime.
District administrator Dilruba Khanom said that emergency services were waiting until sunrise to complete their search of the factory. They warned that the number of casualties could rise.
"They have managed to control the fire in most parts of the factory, but the warehouse is still burning," he said. "The bodies are charred beyond recognition."
Police officer Ameer Hossain told the Daily Star that nine bodies had been recovered. Other accounts put the toll at 10.
Clothing makes up around three-quarters of Bangladesh's total exports, and the factory collapse prompted protests and calls for improved safety measures.
Dozens of international retailers agreed a plan last July to conduct inspections at factories from which their goods were sourced. | At least nine people have been killed in a fire at a clothing factory near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, emergency officials say. |
35,474,973 | Franklyn Mathurin, of no fixed address, posed as a mourner to gain access to the church last November.
The 47-year-old who admitted burglary, was described as a prolific thief who carried out a cruel and callous theft.
At Harrow Crown Court he was sentenced for two burglaries and breaching a suspended sentence.
The computer was taken from the Willesden church after the service when the congregation went to the cemetery.
It had been used to show photographs of Norris Tashan-Javan Martin, known as TJ, at Pentecostal City Mission Church in north-west London after he had died from a rare genetic condition.
After the theft on 2 November, TJ's family, said the computer contained "all their memories".
Nicola Calnan, from Crown Prosecution Service London, said: "This offence was particularly damaging as the victims were heartbroken parents who were mourning the loss of their young son and the laptop that was stolen contained some of their treasured memories.
"This was a cruel and callous theft and Mathurin has now been brought to justice for this despicable crime."
TJ had Candle Syndrome, a rare condition affecting the immune system. The funeral congregation of more than 300 people included members of staff from the Great Ormond Street and Northwick Park hospitals where he had been treated. | A man who stole a laptop which had been used for the funeral service of a six-year-old boy, has been jailed for four years and six months. |
33,492,512 | James McElvar, a singer in the band Rewind, fell ill after wearing 12 layers of clothing to avoid paying the £45 extra baggage fee.
McElvar threw up and was given oxygen during the Easyjet flight travelling from Stansted to Glasgow.
The airline said it had one of the most generous cabin bag allowances, with no upper weight limit.
The 19-year-old, from Cumbernauld, had intended to take a suitcase and a small rucksack on board, but the airline only permits passengers to have one piece of hand luggage.
After being told he would be charged an additional fee to take the extra bag on board, he emptied the rucksack and wore the contents.
McElvar was wearing four jumpers, six T-shirts, three pairs of jeans, two pairs of jogging bottoms, two jackets and two hats when he collapsed.
Paramedics reportedly told him he was "lucky to be alive".
After the incident the band took to social media to reassure their worried fans. They tweeted: "For everyone asking James is ok. He is being looked after in hospital now back home safe in Glasgow. He sends you all his love."
Twelve hours later, Rewind tweeted: "James is much better now! Still in a bit of shock but he's recovered from last night! And the other boys are fine and home safe! #rewindHQ"
Fans of the band have wished the frontman a speedy recovery, while rival airline Ryanair tweeted: "Hey James (@rewind_music) before you get hot under the collar, rewind, book #Ryanair & get 2 free bags. " | A member of a Scottish boy band is "lucky to be alive" after collapsing with heat exhaustion on board a flight. |
39,847,712 | Emma Harper's border collie Maya took the top prize, while Mark Ruskell's greyhound Bert won the public vote.
Members from across the political spectrum entered their canine companions in the contest.
The event was organised by the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust, aimed at raising awareness of issues affecting dogs in Scotland.
After Ms Harper's four-year-old rescue dog Maya won the first prize, the MSP, who has previously led a Holyrood debate about puppy trafficking, said she was "absolutely delighted" with the prize.
She said: "While it's a fun and light-hearted occasion it's also a great opportunity to discuss the importance of responsible dog ownership and animal welfare.
"I have three dogs and all of them have been adopted from rescue centres. I would encourage anyone hoping to get a dog to adopt a rescue dog as they are vet checked, microchipped and desperately in need of a loving home."
Tory member Bill Bowman came second with bulldog Astra, a Dogs Trust animal which is seeking adoption, while former SNP environment secretary Richard Lochhead was third with his terrier Cinder.
The Kennel Club conducted a separate public vote on their website, which was won by Green member Mark Ruskell's retired racing greyhound Bert.
The event was sponsored by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson. | The Scottish Parliament has hosted its first MSP's dog of the year competition. |
36,150,545 | The 22-year-old has made 32 appearances since joining the U's from Crystal Palace on an 18-month deal in January 2015, after a loan the previous season.
Wynter missed three months of this season after a clash of heads with team-mate Tom Eastman against Tottenham in the FA Cup on 30 January.
He returned on Saturday against Burton, when Colchester were relegated.
"I'm pleased that I've signed a new deal, it gives me a bit of stability and allows me to concentrate fully on playing football," he told the club website.
"It's been a frustrating season for me personally but hopefully, that's all behind me now."
The length of his new contract has not been disclosed. | Colchester United defender Alex Wynter has signed a new two-year contract with the relegated League One side. |
40,952,247 | The ongoing attempted hack of Scottish Parliament IT systems is similar to one which targeted Westminster in June.
Staff from Holyrood's IT office are working "closely" with the National Cyber Security Centre to put extra defences in place.
Chief Executive Sir Paul Grice said analysis was taking place to trace the origin of the attack.
MSPs and staff were advised that Holyrood had been targeted from "external sources" on Tuesday.
All users of parliamentary systems were encouraged to be vigilant and make sure their passwords were as strong as possible.
A brute force cyber attack involves hackers making repeated attempts to log in to a system using a series of different passwords, in an attempt to effectively guess the passcode.
In an update to colleagues, Mr Grice wrote that "various cyber security measures were quickly deployed" in the wake of the attack, saying that "the frequency of failed log-ins and account lockouts" had decreased.
He wrote: "At this point there is no evidence to suggest that the attack has breached our defences and our IT systems continue to be fully operational.
"Users should be aware, however, that this attack remains ongoing. It is not uncommon for brute force attacks to be sustained over a period of days so it is essential that IT account users are vigilant and report any suspicious issues."
The chief executive said IT staff were "working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre" to put "additional security measures" in place to continue to contain the incident and "mitigate against any future attacks".
He added: "In addition, analysis is taking place to better understand the origin of the attack and to assess its overall impact."
MSPs recently discussed cyber security in the wake of malware attacks which affected several Scottish NHS boards, concluding that "effective arrangements" were in place. | A sustained "brute force cyber attack" has failed to breach security systems at Holyrood, officials have confirmed. |
33,068,994 | The plea was entered by his lawyers acting on behalf of the 73-year-old at the US District Court in Chicago.
The FBI said Mr Hastert broke federal banking laws by withdrawing hundreds of thousands of dollars at once.
The pay-off is related to allegations of sexual abuse, according to US media, but there are no sex charges.
According to the indictment, Mr Hastert paid "Individual A" $3.5m (£2.3m) to not speak up about "prior misconduct" against the person.
He paid nearly half of the money before federal agents noticed.
He has not spoken about the allegations, which relate to when he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School in Illinois in the 1970s.
Judge Thomas M Durkin set a bond of $4,500 (£2,9250 ) and ordered him to surrender his passport.
His lawyer, Thomas C Green, has seen a handful of other high-profile, US politician-involved cases like the Watergate scandal with former US president Richard Nixon.
According to Jolene Burdge, her late brother Stephen Reinboldt told her he was sexually abused by Mr Hastert.
Ms Burdge said she was never paid by Mr Hastert, so the indictment shows there could be other victims.
Reinboldt told his sister about the alleged sexual abuse years after it happened, in 1979, when he revealed to her he was gay.
The FBI interviewed Ms Burdge last month, she said. | Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has pleaded not guilty to charges he paid someone off to stay quiet about past wrongdoing. |
35,663,771 | The Irish parliament (Dáil) has reduced in size, meaning any new government needs the support of nearly 80 elected members (called Teachtaí Dála or TDs).
More than 3m people are eligible to vote, including Irish and UK citizens.
Polling stations across 40 different constituencies opened at 07:00 local time (same as GMT) and will close at 22:00 on Friday.
More than 2,000 voters living on Irish islands off the coast of counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway got the chance to cast their ballots on Thursday.
The sealed ballot boxes were brought back to the mainland where they will be kept in police stations until counting begins on Saturday.
The outgoing government was a coalition between the largest political party, Fine Gael, and the Labour Party.
Led by Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny from Fine Gael, the coalition had been in power for almost five years, since March 2011.
They are being challenged by 13 other parties, including the largest opposition party, Fianna Fáil, led by Micheál Martin, and Sinn Féin, led by Gerry Adams.
There are also a number of independents among the 552 people standing for election.
TDs will be elected according to the single transferable vote (STV) system, in which candidates have to reach a quota, before their surplus votes are distributed to other candidates.
There will be a total of 158 seats in the next parliament, but one of them has already been filled.
That is because, under Irish electoral law, the Speaker (Ceann Comhairle) is automatically re-elected unless they have announced their intention to retire.
The election count is expected to last over the weekend.
A record number of young people are expected to vote on Friday and this age group, in particular, have been warned that taking photographs of themselves in polling booths is strictly forbidden, as it could identify individual voters and their ballot papers.
Cork County Returning Officer Sinead McNamara told Irish broadcaster, RTÉ that "selfies" were "a modern phenomenon" but electoral officials would not permit them to interfere with the democratic process.
"I know it's nice, particularly for first-time voters - they like to record the fact that they are voting for the first time. That's OK to certain extent, but we'll be saying to our staff 'absolutely no selfies in the polling booth itself'.
"The primary function is to preserve the integrity and secrecy of the ballot, so taking a selfie - it could include a photograph of a marked ballot paper - which is an absolute no-no." | Voting is under way in the Republic of Ireland to elect 157 new members of parliament. |
35,408,400 | West Lindsey District Council said land at Swallow on the A46, near Caistor, had become a "dumping ground for fly tippers".
Paperwork found among the rubbish revealed the waste was "likely to be from various house clearances in the Grimsby area", the authority said.
It is working with the police to identify those responsible.
The authority said it had taken seven members of staff four hours to clear the site of debris, which included fridges, mattresses and tyres, at an estimated cost of £1,500.
Lesley Beevers, regulatory team manager at the council, said: "No sooner has one lot of rubbish been cleared than another load appears. In November, we cleared around four tonnes of waste from the same spot, costing more than £900."
Councillor Owen Bierley said: "It is important for residents and landlords alike to make sure that their waste is disposed of by properly registered companies.
"Simply paying cash to anyone with a van to take away your waste is not acceptable and could leave you facing a fine of up to £5,000 for not checking where your waste is going to." | About 6.5 tonnes of rubbish has been removed from a bridleway in Lincolnshire. |
39,657,620 | Mike Hill, from Templeton, Devon, says a "horrendous" smell started coming from the farm last year, which it is claimed has made residents feel ill and caused them to leave their properties.
Authorities are testing air and water near the farm, which houses about 150 cows.
But farmer Winston Reed says he will take action against what he says are "false comments".
Mr Hill says that along with tongue fissures, he has suffered from irritated eyes, coughing and constant thirst.
"You get a really hot, peppery taste in your mouth and you just can't get rid of it, it's in the back of your throat," he said.
Other neighbours have complained of phlegm, high blood pressure, breathing difficulties and retching.
But Mr Reed, who runs Crossparks farm, says the allegations are simply not true.
"None of our cows or staff working at the unit display any of the symptoms alleged to have been caused to the complainants," Mr Reed said.
"I have asked for blood tests to be taken of our cows on site along with veterinary reports, samples to be taken of the slurry, additional odour monitoring to see if indeed this unit is as the allegations portray."
Mr Reed says he has also asked for a breakdown of how much the complaints have "cost the public taxpayer".
Mid Devon District Council's environmental health department confirmed it was investigating the complaints.
"Environmental health are conducting an investigation into complaints of statutory nuisance concerning farm operations at Crossparks and Cleave Farm, Templeton, Tiverton, Devon made by persons living in the surrounding area," a spokesperson said.
"The specific public health concerns raised by residents should be referred to the director of public health for NHS Devon and Devon County Council, who we are continuing to liaise with during the course of our investigation." | A man says fumes from a farm's slurry pit have "split" his tongue. |
24,542,444 | Monitor is looking at whether South Tees Hospital NHS Trust breached its licence to provide healthcare services.
The watchdog is concerned about an increase in C difficile infections and a rise in "never events" - incidents so serious they should never happen.
The trust said it had made "significant improvement" and welcomed the scrutiny.
It said it had failed to meet the national target of 18 weeks between referral and treatment for three quarters of the past year with approval from its board of directors.
It was working through a "backlog of patients" after an "exceptionally busy and prolonged winter period", it said.
Monitor regional director Robert Davidson said: "Patients rightly expect the highest possible standards of care from their local hospital.
"We've got concerns that this isn't always happening at South Tees and that's why we have launched this investigation."
The trust said its aim was to have "a zero-harm culture to patients" but the target it had been set for for reducing cases of C difficile was "very difficult".
The eight "never events" it has reported since 2010 had been "subject to rigorous review", it said.
Stockton South conservative MP James Wharton called waiting times at the trust "unacceptably long" and said "clearly something is not as it should be".
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs services at the James Cook Hospital, Friarage Hospital and six community hospitals across Teesside, Hambleton and Richmondshire. | "Persistent failure" to meet waiting time targets could signal "wider problems" at a Tees hospital trust, the health regulator has said. |
37,967,380 | It is aimed at young people who may have been involved in arson and hoax calls or those with low self-esteem and poor communication skills.
During the week-long course, the students learn activities like hose-running drills and fighting fires.
About 2,500 have taken part in the Phoenix Project in the last 12 years.
Watch manager and Phoenix co-ordinator Pam Roberts said: "We want to give them the confidence to achieve things that they maybe thought they couldn't achieve before.
"Even though they may not become a firefighter, we can maybe give them the belief they can achieve things."
The Welsh Government-funded course is aimed at youngsters aged 13 to 17.
As well as fire safety, they are taught search and rescue techniques and risk management.
Community safety manager Gwyn Jones said of the current group: "They're working hard as a team, excellent communication skills going on, and they're making decisions under pressure.
"These are skills that can be transposed to their school life, to their home life, and when they're interacting in the community."
He said the fire service tracks the progress of participants for 12 months after they finish the course and has found two-thirds "do show a marked improvement in their academic achievement, attendance in school and all-round ability to be better members of the community".
Course participant Billy said the most important thing he had learned was "team work and loyalty".
He said: "These aren't my friends, I've walked out with some brothers.
"I would honestly say that they taught us how to be disciplined and be kind to each other." | A character-building project run by firefighters is having a positive impact on teenagers, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service has said. |
36,470,979 | EMPpad was "a simple box that slows ageing, reduces pain... and tackles cancer," the entertainer tweeted.
In response to one cancer patient's comments, he suggested the disease was caused by "negative attitude".
EMPpad said it did not agree with his comments "in any way, shape or form".
The Deal Or No Deal presenter is a long-time fan of the EMPpad, a machine which aims to stimulate "cellular resonance" in the body with "low intensity and frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields".
Praising the machine, which he has previously called a "miracle pad", he tweeted: "A simple box that slows ageing, reduces pain, lifts depression and stress and tackles cancer. Yep tackles cancer!"
Other Twitter users responded to his tweet, including from @VaunEarl, whose Twitter biography states he has kidney cancer, lymph node metastases and psoriatic arthritis.
@VaunEarl tweeted: "I think Noel Edmonds should stick to what he's good at. Presenting quiz shows and beard trimming, rather than curing cancer."
Mr Edmonds responded by tweeting: "Scientific fact-disease is caused by negative energy. Is it possible your ill health is caused by your negative attitude? #explore".
The Advertising Standards Authority said it was aware of concerns about Edmonds' claims, and was "urgently looking into" a formal complaint.
EMPpad Limited said it does not pay Noel Edmonds to advertise the product.
Its directors published a statement which said: "The opinions of Mr Noel Edmonds are his alone and do not reflect in any way with the opinions of us at EMPpad.
"We had no discussion, input or prior knowledge of the content of Mr Edmonds' statement and we do not agree with it in any way, shape or form." | The Advertising Standards Authority is "urgently looking into" a complaint made over claims by TV presenter Noel Edmonds that an electromagnetic pulse machine "tackles cancer". |
38,726,955 | Photographers have scaled towering eucalyptus trees in Tasmania for a spectacular art project. | Click here to see The Tree Project's high-resolution image of a tree dubbed Gandalf's Staff. |
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