id
int64 10.1M
41.1M
| dialogue
stringlengths 15
174k
⌀ | summary
stringlengths 1
399
|
|---|---|---|
36,422,234 | Former Gloucestershire seamer Fuller added to his two overnight wickets either side of a rain-delayed lunch.
Jimmy Adams (78) offered some Hampshire resistance in the follow-on before James Franklin trapped him lbw.
Middlesex's first win of the season saw them secure maximum points and move up to fourth in Division One.
Hampshire resumed overnight on 100-4 after a rain-affected third day at Merchant Taylors' School, still 237 runs shy of making Middlesex bat again.
County Championship debutant Joe Weatherley was bowled by Toby Roland-Jones after just nine runs had been added.
Wicket-keeper Adam Wheater (25) and Adams added 53 for the sixth wicket, but victory was firmly in sight for Middlesex as three wickets then fell without a run scored.
Ryan McLaren struck five boundaries in an unbeaten 33 before James Tomlinson edged Ollie Rayner to slip.
Middlesex captain Adam Voges told BBC Radio London:
"I think we've played a brilliant four days of cricket. Set up well by our batters on day one and then the bowlers have done a fantastic job really.
"It was a bit of punt to bat first under the skies we had, but seeing the scores and talking to the guys from last year, they felt that batting first was the right option.
"We were able to set up what became a really good first innings total.
"I think we've been playing some really good cricket in the last couple of weeks and as a bowling unit, that's probably the best we've been this season.
"It always felt like a result like this was coming. We've been frustrated a bit by the weather this season, but it's nice to get a win finally."
Hampshire stand-in captain Will Smith told BBC Radio Solent:
"I thought after day one, we didn't do too badly. I know the outcome wasn't ideal, but we acquitted ourselves pretty well with the ball.
"We were perhaps a shade unlucky as well. The sun was out when they batted and then it's been cloudy and a lot more bowler-friendly since that.
"On the flip side, the first session on day two we've let them get away. Then the way we've batted, against what was a very high-skilled, resolute and relentless attack really was below par.
"It's the right result absolutely. It's good we've got a break now before our next four-day game to give us a look and review a few things to make sure this doesn't happen again." | James Fuller took five wickets on his County Championship debut for Middlesex as they beat the weather to complete an innings victory against Hampshire. |
39,049,858 | "French Londoners, France loves you," he told a rally, urging them to come home because their country needed their drive and expertise.
He cited the frequently aired claim that London was France's sixth-largest city, with an estimated 200,000 French residents. In fact it would rank about 30th.
But what drew Mr Macron to the UK was perhaps not so much the number as the type of French people living in its capital. Many are young, educated, upwardly and geographically mobile - exactly the constituency he has galvanised at home.
Opinion polls suggest he has a chance of reaching the second-round presidential run-off in May and could even win the presidency.
Queuing to hear him speak in Westminster on Tuesday was Elise Siouve, 25, a biotechnology postgraduate at Cambridge University, who felt Mr Macron "understands the need to adapt to social and economic changes".
Another Cambridge student, Benjamin Vendrand-Maillet, 24, has set up a unit of Macron supporters at the university. For him, the centrist's market-friendly policies would work "for all French people, whether rich or poor, young or old" and he was best placed to defeat the populist Front National.
The main challenge for French candidates campaigning abroad is that turnout is low among expats. In the UK, it is typically about 30%. Why bother to vote when you have decided to make another country your home?
But Mr Macron could benefit from the UK's vote to leave the EU, which he deeply regrets. French residents who may suddenly be unsure of their long-term status in the UK could find renewed interest in politics back home.
This is the case for Sylvie, a Macron fan who is studying for a doctorate in Oxford.
"I lost interest in France for four years because I found what was going on there dispiriting," she says. "Since Brexit I've realised that I might have to go back to France, so I'm much more involved now."
Restating the message he had delivered to UK Prime Minister Theresa May earlier in the day, Mr Macron promised the crowd of about 2,000 that he would attract talent back to France by freeing up the economy and encouraging risk-taking and enterprise.
He said he had been shocked when a French person he met on the Eurostar train to London had told him that he had gone to Britain to establish his start-up business because he had found it impossible to do so at home.
"What is at stake in this campaign," he said to loud applause, "is making sure that women and men who are willing to create jobs and wealth, who want to change their own lives and that of others, can never say 'I tried to do it in France but it's better to do it a two-hour Eurostar ride away'. I don't want to hear that ever again."
Mr Macron is hoping to buck an international trend towards anti-globalisation populism in a country where market reforms have never been popular.
The five-horse race for the French presidency remains wide open.
In recent weeks polls have consistently placed far-right leader Marine Le Pen ahead in the first round on 23 April. But they have also suggested she would lose the run-off two weeks later.
That suggests the top prize in this election could go to the initial runner-up.
Mr Macron surged ahead of his rivals in January but his support has wobbled over the past week, following an outcry over his comment that the colonisation of Algeria had been a "crime against humanity".
Mainstream conservative Francois Fillon appears to be staging a comeback after damaging allegations over payments to his wife. Two left-wing candidates are not far behind.
But what is clear is that the winning candidate will be the one most able to mobilise his constituency - hence the potential importance of the expat vote in this race.
"It is too close to call," says Benedicte Paviot, London correspondent for France 24 television. "French presidential candidates can't afford to ignore French nationals abroad." | For France's centrist presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron this was the chance to engage close-up with thousands of expat voters. |
40,908,049 | Porter made the most of substitute Zoumana Bakayogo's driven cross to poke home in the 75th minute and break the resistance of Bees keeper Jamie Stephens.
In the first half, Stephens was brought into action when he palmed away Porter's header and he also did well to keep out George Cooper's curling effort and Brad Walker's fierce drive from range.
Both sides deployed three at the back and cancelled each other out for long spells, but the match livened up after the break when David Tutonda forced a save from Alex goalkeeper Ben Garratt while Mauro Vilhete's free kick hit a post.
Chris Dagnall was denied on two occasions by Stephens as Crewe looked to extend their lead but the Barnet keeper was finally beaten from close range by Porter, who netted his fourth goal in four games for the hosts.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Crewe Alexandra 1, Barnet 0.
Second Half ends, Crewe Alexandra 1, Barnet 0.
Foul by George Cooper (Crewe Alexandra).
David Tutonda (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
George Cooper (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Harry Taylor (Barnet).
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Jack Taylor.
Tommy Lowery (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Simeon Akinola (Barnet).
David Tutonda (Barnet) is shown the yellow card.
David Tutonda (Barnet) has gone down, but that's a dive.
Delay in match Ricardo Santos (Barnet) because of an injury.
Foul by Tommy Lowery (Crewe Alexandra).
Simeon Akinola (Barnet) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Hand ball by Chris Porter (Crewe Alexandra).
Chris Dagnall (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mauro Vilhete (Barnet).
Substitution, Barnet. Simeon Akinola replaces Shaquile Coulthirst.
Harry Taylor (Barnet) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ryan Wintle (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Harry Taylor (Barnet).
Goal! Crewe Alexandra 1, Barnet 0. Chris Porter (Crewe Alexandra) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Zoumana Bakayogo.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by David Tutonda.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by David Tutonda.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Michael Nelson.
Attempt missed. Chris Dagnall (Crewe Alexandra) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Substitution, Barnet. Wesley Fonguck replaces Jamal Campbell-Ryce.
Chris Porter (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ricardo Santos (Barnet).
Substitution, Crewe Alexandra. Callum Ainley replaces Jordan Bowery.
Substitution, Crewe Alexandra. Zoumana Bakayogo replaces Harry Pickering.
Foul by Chris Porter (Crewe Alexandra).
Ricardo Santos (Barnet) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jordan Bowery (Crewe Alexandra).
(Barnet) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Crewe Alexandra. Conceded by Ricardo Santos.
Harry Pickering (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Barnet).
Brad Walker (Crewe Alexandra) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Shaquile Coulthirst (Barnet). | Chris Porter's second-half strike earned Crewe their first win of the campaign as they overcame Barnet at the Alexandra Stadium. |
35,685,126 | Cycling's world governing body, the UCI, made a series of change to its track programme in October, designed to make events more spectator-friendly.
The omnium sees the biggest change, but there are plenty of other tweaks to get your head around for the 2017 World Track Cycling Championships in Hong Kong this week.
Here is the BBC Sport guide to every event.
A mass-start race of 40km (160 laps) for men and 25km (100 laps) for women. Points are scored in intermediate sprints, which are held every 10 laps, with five points for the winner followed by three, two and one for the next three over the line. There are also 20 points on offer for lapping the field.
Tactics vary, with some riders sitting at the back to conserve energy and contest the intermediate sprints, while others try to gain a lap by breaking off the front and rejoining the back of the main bunch. The winner is the rider with the most points at the end of the race.
Perhaps the most confusing track cycling event to follow, the madison - named after Madison Square Garden in New York, where the event was first held - is similar to the points race but with teams of two riders.
Women compete in the madison for the first time at a World Championships in Hong Kong and will race over 30km (120 laps), while the men race 50km (200 laps).
Intermediate sprints are held every 10 laps, with five points for the winner followed by three, two and one for the next three over the line - while these points are doubled for the final sprint at the end of the race. Teams can also earn 20 points by gaining a lap on the main bunch.
One rider is always active, while the other continues to ride round, but is effectively 'resting' at the top of the track. When the active rider needs a breather, around every lap and a half or so, they 'hand-sling' their partner into the action. The best madison duos have an endurance rider capable of gaining a lap and a sprinter to win points.
With all teams racing at the same time, trying to gain a lap on their rivals or win sprints, it is quite an impressive spectacle. The team with the most points at the end of the race is the winner and if there is a draw on points, places in the final sprint determine the winner.
The omnium has had a major overhaul following the Rio 2016 Olympics, changing from a six-race event over two days to a four-race event held on a single day.
All three individual timed events have been dropped. The new format consists of four bunch races, with the scratch, elimination and points races retained and a new event - the tempo race - added. This also means the omnium is now a pure endurance event instead of a test of sprinting and endurance.
Points are accumulated by riders in the first three events - the scratch, tempo and elimination races - with 40 points for the winner, 38 for second, 36 for third and so on.
Each point then won during the final event - the points race - is added to the rider's points total. The rider with the highest score at the end of the points race is the winner.
The men's and women's teams both comprise four riders, racing over 4km. Two teams are on the track at the same time, one starting on the back straight, one on the home straight. The rules are simple - complete the distance in the quickest time possible, or catch your opponents in the final to win.
Drafting is crucial with riders racing millimetres behind each other. The time is stopped when the front wheel of the third rider crosses the line. This allows one member of the team to drop out during the race. Qualifying rounds now feature two teams on the track at once instead of one.
A straight race against the clock over 4km for men and 3km for women. As with the team pursuit, one rider starts on the back straight, one on the home straight but they are competing against the clock rather than each other.
The quickest two riders in qualifying contest the final, where to win you must catch the other rider or be first to complete the distance.
The men's race is a three-lap, three-rider team time trial. After each lap, one rider drops out, leaving one man to race the final lap on his own. The women's race is a two-lap, two-rider affair.
The quickest eight teams in qualifying proceed to the first competition round and the fastest two teams from that round compete against each other in the final for the gold medal, with the next two fastest going through to race for the bronze medal.
To qualify for the knockout rounds, riders must complete a 200m flying lap in the fastest time possible, with 28 now progressing instead of 24 at previous World Championships.
The four fastest athletes skip the 1/16 final - which consists of 12 races - to move straight into the 1/8 final, which consists of eight races. These races are 750m long but only the final 200m are timed, with the winner being the first across the line.
The 1/16 and 1/8 finals are straight knockouts, but the races become best-of-three contests from the quarter-finals onwards.
The knockout races tend to feature slow, tactical starts, followed by a frenetic finish as two riders race against each other with the first to cross the line winning - the perceived advantage being that the rider coming from behind can draft, using less energy and thus have a better chance of being victorious.
The men race over 15km, the women 10km - the simplest of races. There are no intermediate sprints or points to be won. The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line.
Developed in Japan for gambling purposes, the keirin is a tactical race that starts behind a motorised bike, called a derny, which gradually increases its pace to about 50km/h for men and 45km/h for women, until it pulls off to signal a sprint for the line.
The format has been tweaked following controversy in Rio 2016 men's final - won by Britain's Jason Kenny - which had to be restarted twice due to infringements.
The race is now 1.5km (six laps) in total, instead of 2km, but the sprint distance has been increased from two and a half laps to three laps.
Riders now also have to stay behind the leading edge of the front wheel of the derny - rather than the rear edge of the rear wheel - before the pacer pulls off.
A 1km race for the men (also known at the kilo) and 500m for the women, with riders going off from a standing start.
Qualifying rounds see two riders on the track at the same time, with the top eight going through. In the finals, each rider competes alone and the quickest time wins. | Just when you thought you knew your omniums, they go and change the rules. |
26,609,468 | Mr Obama told reporters at the White House that the search for a two-state solution remained elusive but he hoped to see progress in the coming weeks.
Mr Abbas said he considered the current round of talks a historic opportunity.
The US wants both sides to approve a "framework" accord that would extend the negotiations beyond next month's deadline for a final deal in July.
But Palestinian officials say the prospect is "disappearing day by day".
Mr Obama and Mr Kerry brought the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table last July after a three-year hiatus, and said at the time that their objective was to achieve a "final-status agreement over the course of the next nine months".
By Rushdi Abdu AloufBBC News, Gaza City
Gaza critical as Abbas meets Obama
Although negotiations have taken place in secret, there has been little sign of progress and US officials say they are now trying to forge a framework that "narrows the gaps" on core issues and allows the process to continue beyond 29 April.
The issues include the borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state; the status of Jerusalem; Israel's insistence that it be recognised as a Jewish state; the Palestinians' demand that their refugees be allowed to return to their former homes in what is now Israel; and security in the West Bank, with Israel wanting a long-term presence in the Jordan Valley.
At the start of his meeting with the Palestinian leader on Monday, Mr Obama said: "We are going to have to take some tough political decisions and risks if we're to move it forward."
"My hope is that we can continue to see progress in the coming days and weeks," he added.
Mr Abbas said he was hopeful that the Israeli authorities would release a fourth batch of 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners by 29 March, in line with a deal that saw the talks resume.
"This will give a very solid impression about the seriousness of the Israelis on the peace process," he said.
Israeli ministers said last week they would have difficulty approving the release if an agreement was not reached to extend the peace talks.
Before Mr Abbas's visit to Washington, an official at the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said its negotiating team felt it did not "have a partner on the Israeli side".
The pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat meanwhile reported that at his meeting with President Obama, Mr Abbas would demand that Israel halt all construction at Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as well as the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners as a condition for agreeing to extend the peace talks beyond 29 April.
Sources were cited as saying that the prisoners would include Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader serving multiple life sentences after being convicted of murdering Israelis, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Ahmed Saadat, jailed for 30 years for his role in the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001.
Two weeks ago, Mr Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a peace deal required "compromise on all sides".
While offering no concessions in public, Mr Netanyahu insisted: "Israel has been doing its part and I regret to say that the Palestinians have not."
Mr Netanyahu is insisting on Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, but Mr Abbas has refused.
The Palestinians recognise the State of Israel, but say recognising its Jewish character would have implications for Palestinian refugees and Israeli-Arabs. | US President Barack Obama has told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas he must take "risks" for peace. |
37,821,764 | The test cases were brought after the Supreme Court ruled the controversial law had been interpreted wrongly for more than 30 years.
It has allowed people to be convicted of murder even if they did not inflict the fatal blow, but "could" have foreseen violent acts by others.
There were shouts of "no justice, no peace" when the new judgement was made.
The Supreme Court said in February it was wrong to treat "foresight" as a sufficient test to convict a defendant under the law and juries had to decide on the "whole evidence".
But in his judgement, Lord Neuberger said the decision did not automatically mean all previous joint enterprise convictions were unsafe.
What is the controversial 'joint enterprise' law?
A moment of genuine legal history
Murder ruling 'brings heartache'
The men bringing the test cases at the Court of Appeal were convicted in relation to six separate crimes. Twelve were found guilty of murder and one of wounding with intent and possessing a bladed article.
Among them were Tyler Burton and Nicholas Terrelonge, who were found guilty of murdering Ashley Latty in a group attack in Dagenham, east London, in May 2014.
Rejecting their appeal, Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said the Supreme Court judgement would "not have made a difference" to the jury's verdict in the trial and the convictions "were and are safe".
An appeal was also brought on behalf of Asher Johnson, his brother Lewis and Reece Garwood, who were given life sentences for the murder of Thomas Cudjoe in Ilford, east London, in November 2012.
A fourth convicted man, Jerome Green, was seen in CCTV footage holding a knife and apparently stabbing Mr Cudjoe as he sat in the driver's seat of a car in a garage forecourt.
Lawyers argued there was no evidence of common enterprise between his clients and Green and the images did not show they had been involved in a planned attack.
Rejecting the appeal, Lord Thomas said the verdicts would have been "no different" following the Supreme Court ruling.
He said the court was "satisfied that there was no injustice, let alone substantial injustice".
The decision to reject their cases was met with cries of protest by supporters of the men sitting in the public gallery at the Court of Appeal.
The campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGBA) said families of those convicted under the law had been left in tears by the decision.
Group co-founder Jan Cunliffe said: "Some of the families were very, very distraught and left the court room in tears.
"I'm feeling numb, but we're determined to carry on, we're not going to stop."
She said the group was taking advice about the possibility of challenging the judgement in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruling applies to England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most UK overseas common law territories but not Scotland, which has its own rules on joint enterprise.
At the time, campaigners said the change would make the law fairer, but some murder victims' relatives said they were worried about possible appeals.
Joint enterprise law was originally used to stop aristocrats from duelling, allowing all those involved in the duel, including doctors, to be charged with murder along with the duellists.
The law is regarded as a vital prosecuting tool and was used to convict David Norris and Gary Dobson in 2012 for the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence.
However, in February the Supreme Court ruled that the courts "took a wrong turn" in 1984 in their interpretation of the law.
This judgement referred to a ruling in a case in which three gang members armed with knives burst into the home of a prostitute and her husband in Hong Kong, intending to collect a debt.
The husband was stabbed to death at the hand of at least one of the gang members and all three were convicted of murder.
In February judges said the error made had been "to equate foresight with intent to assist, as a matter of law; the correct approach is to treat it as evidence of intent". | Judges have refused to overturn guilty verdicts against 13 men convicted using the law of "joint enterprise". |
32,217,208 | Police said the man and woman were set upon at about 03:45 BST on Sunday shortly after they left the Blue Fly Cafe Bar on New Street.
The 24-year-old man was punched and kicked for 10 minutes, suffering a broken jaw and chipped teeth.
His girlfriend, 29, was repeatedly pushed to the floor. The attack only ended when a taxi driver intervened.
PC Sophie Wilson said: "The victims are extremely grateful to the taxi driver for having the decency to stop and help when they were in a very frightening situation.
"I am appealing for the taxi driver to get in touch as soon as possible as he may have vital information about the suspects.
"This is a very disturbing incident which will quite rightly shock the local community in York and those who regard the city as a friendly and safe place to visit.
"We are providing support to the young couple from Spain who have had their stay tarnished in the most sickening and vicious way."
North Yorkshire Police said it was treating the attack as a racially-aggravated assault.
The suspects are described as white, aged between 20 and 25, with short or shaved hair. | A Spanish couple on holiday in York have been assaulted in a racist attack by a gang of five men. |
38,294,998 | Problem: A total of 1.3 billion people worldwide currently don't have electricity, according to Yale Environment 360. Getting people in rural areas on to the national grid is proving too difficult and traditional solar panels generate meagre amounts of energy.
Solution: Steamaco makes solar and battery micro-grids which can work for a whole village. They are small electricity generation and distribution systems that operate independently of larger grids.
How it works: Micro-grids are nothing new. The new part is that Steamaco's technology automates the regulation of electricity.
So, if the system detects there will be a surge in demand for electricity, for example on a Saturday night when people want to start playing music for a party, or they see a dip in supply, like when the sun has gone down and so the grid is not collecting solar energy, then the grid automatically stops electricity for people it won't affect too badly.
The system sends an automatic text to all customers on the grid saying that the electricity in houses is about to be cut off so that the hospital can keep on going.
Who is talking about this? In October they featured in the Global Cleantech 100 Ones to Watch list.
Problem: Pneumonia kills 27,000 Ugandan children under the age of five every year. Most of these cases are due to pneumonia being misdiagnosed as malaria.
Solution: Ugandan engineer Brian Turyabagye has designed a biomedical "smart jacket" to quickly and accurately diagnose pneumonia. The Mamaope jacket measures a sick child's temperature and breathing rate. It can diagnose pneumonia three to four times faster than a doctor and eliminates most possibility for human error.
How it works: A modified stethoscope is put in a vest. It is linked to a mobile phone app that records the audio of the patient's chest. Analysis of that audio can detect lung crackles and can lead to preliminary diagnoses.
Who is talking about this: It is shortlisted for the 2017 Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize.
Problem: It is difficult for people in rural areas to travel to the cities to see heart specialists. There are just 50 cardiologists in Cameroon, which has a population of 20 million people.
Solution: Arthur Zang invented the Cardio Pad - a handheld medical computer tablet which healthcare workers in rural areas use to send the results of cardiac tests to specialists via a mobile phone connection.
How it works: Cardiopads are distributed to hospitals and clinics in Cameroon free of charge, and patients pay $29 (£20) yearly subscriptions. It takes a digitised reading of the patient's heart function. In a few seconds the results of a heart test are sent to a specialist clinic in the capital.
Who is talking about this: It won the Royal Academy of Engineering award for African engineering in 2016 and the Rolex award for Entreprise in 2014. But Mr Zang told BBC Africa that these things take time to develop and it only got approval from the Cameroon authorities in October 2016.
So, it is more likely that people will actually see it in their clinics in 2017.
Problem: A lack of accurate information about how to achieve certain hairstyles and where to find a high-quality stylist.
Solution: Three software engineers - Priscilla Hazel, Esther Olatunde and Cassandra Sarfo - invented Tress, an app to share ideas about hairstyles.
How it works: It is described by Okay Africa as a kind of Pinterest or Instagram for hair. Once you have downloaded the app, you can follow other people who are sharing their hairstyle. You can search specifically by place, price range and the type of hairstyle your want, from relaxed hair to cornrow.
You can then scroll until your heart's content through people who have uploaded pictures of themselves with that style, tell them how much you like their style, ask how long it took, and even arrange to meet up with someone to style your hair.
Who is talking about this: The three software engineers behind this are graduates of the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in Accra, Ghana.
They were then selected for the Y Combinator eight-week fellowship programme for start-up companies.
Y Combinator is prestigious - business news website Fast company called it "the world's most powerful start-up incubator". In other words, the school is thought of as really good at finding the next Mark Zuckerberg.
Problem: There are online workers, specifically web developers, in Africa who people outside the continent would like to employ but it is difficult or prohibitively expensive to get their wages to them. Some don't have passports, and so don't have bank accounts either.
Solution: Bitpesa uses Bitcoin to significantly lower the time and cost of remittances and business payments to and from sub-Saharan Africa.
How it works: Bitpesa uses the crypto-currency bitcoin as a medium to transfer cash across borders. Bitcoin is a system of digitally created and traded tokens and people keep their tokens in online wallets.
It then takes the Bitcoin tokens and exchanges them into money in mobile money wallets - a popular way of paying for things in places like Kenya and Tanzania.
BitPesa is already used to pay online workers - a company called Tunga is using it as a way of getting wages from clients abroad to web developers in Uganda.
Who is talking about it: It won an award for the best apps across Africa in November.
How African governments block social media
Africa's top Twitter moments of the past decade
What difference will Obama's plan to bring power to Africa make?
World's first commercial regular drone delivery service launches in Rwanda | Here are five African inventions which may take off in 2017. |
37,703,887 | The dairy worker agreed to undergo a partial amputation at Dumfries Infirmary in order to return to work as quickly as possible.
A different operation, with a longer recovery time, was carried out instead.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has told NHS Dumfries and Galloway to apologise for the failings it found.
A report concluded the health board's records of the consent process were "inadequate" and that the operation performed had not been the one the patient - named only as Miss C - had consented to.
Instead of a partial amputation, a "terminalisation" had been carried out which involved the surgical shortening of the finger and closure of the wound with stitching.
"The board were unable to explain this, instead maintaining that Miss C had undergone the appropriate surgery," the ombudsman said.
The SPSO also found that the board's investigations of her complaint had been inadequate.
It had failed to identify the lack of records supporting her consent as a concern and failed to obtain a statement from the doctor involved.
In addition, the board's complaint response was found to have misrepresented records of Miss C's interactions with staff and failed to address her concerns about the financial impact of the surgery.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway was ordered to review its processes for obtaining consent and provide training to improve one doctor's communication skills.
It was also told to ensure another doctor reviewed his understanding of the consent process and the definition of a finger terminalisation procedure.
The SPSO sought evidence that both doctors had "reflected on the failings identified" as part of their appraisal process.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway was told to review its handling of the complaint and apologise for its failings. | A health board has been ordered to apologise after failing to carry out the operation a woman with a crushed finger had consented to. |
28,910,885 | There will be no First Capital Connect or Southern trains calling at the station until 1 September.
The closure is part of the £6.5bn Thameslink programme, which aims to improve north-south travel through the capital.
Nicky Hughes from Network Rail said the redevelopment of London Bridge was a "huge challenge".
"London Bridge is one of the country's busiest stations and we're rebuilding it piece by piece to transform north-south travel through London," he said.
The disruption is likely to affect up to 50,000 commuters every hour who normally travel into the station on First Capital Connect and Southern services.
There will also be no direct trains to Gatwick or Luton airport stations from London Bridge.
However, London Bridge Underground station will be unaffected.
Network Rail has urged commuters to check their routes before they travel.
Simon Blanchflower, major programme director for the Thameslink programme, said the station was being rebuilt in stages.
"We started earlier this year and we closed certain platforms and rebuilt those, he said.
"We are at a stage where we are reopening two new platforms - 12 and 13 - and closing the next two - 10 and 11.
"To do that we have got to have a closure while we carry out the next phase of the work and also to do the necessary track work and signalling alterations that lead up to the station."
The Thameslink Programme will see the size of the concourse at London Bridge railway station expanded and the number of trains to and through central London from the south east will also increase.
The project should be completed by 2018, Network Rail said. | London Bridge railway station has partially closed for nine days for building work. |
39,490,263 | The 26-year-old took 69 Championship wickets in 2015, but only 16 in seven games last summer as Middlesex won the title for the first time since 1993.
"I am grateful to the two counties for making it happen," said Harris, who began his career with Glamorgan.
He has initially joined Kent for their first three Championship games, plus the start of the One-Day Cup.
There is, however, a recall clause in their agreement with Middlesex.
"James has been one of the leading seam bowlers in county cricket in recent years," Kent head coach Matt Walker told the club website.
"To have him on board with us for the start of the season is very exciting and he brings extra quality to our talented squad."
Kent are hoping to secure one of the two promotion spots in Division Two of the County Championship this summer, having finished as runners-up to Essex in 2016 when only one team went up. | Kent have signed Welsh pace bowler James Harris on loan from Middlesex for the start of the new county season. |
38,717,028 | A secret rehearsal was arranged at Chequers for the then PM to "familiarise" herself with the vehicle.
Her newly released personal files cover 1986, when Michael Heseltine quit over the so-called Westland affair and the US launched bombing raids in Libya.
They have been published by the Thatcher Foundation.
The documents reveal careful planning behind the scenes to avoid anything going wrong with the Rover 800 photoshoot at Downing Street.
The PM's private secretary Mark Addison wrote to her: "You are test driving the new Rover on Thursday.
"The most straightforward way of arranging this would probably be for you to drive the car from the front door towards the bottom of Downing Street, reversing into the side road, and then driving back up the street to the front door.
"If you would like to handle the test drive in this way, you would need to feel fully confident about manoeuvring the car into the side road and back out again.
"The alternative would be to walk down to the car at the bottom of Downing Street and drive it back to the front door.
"Agree to the first option? Or prefer to keep it simple."
In another memo, Mr Addison told her the car was being towed, under cover, to Chequers for her to rehearse beforehand.
Chris Collins, from the Margaret Thatcher Archive Trust, said he believed Mrs Thatcher had seldom driven since 1975, leading to concern from officials.
"I think I'm reading between the lines but I'm reasonably confident that there was that worry, that there was this dark fear that she would crash into something, that it would all go horribly wrong, and after all she hadn't driven for many many years," he said.
The trust is overseeing the release of Mrs Thatcher's private files through the Churchill Archive Centre in Cambridge.
The files also reveal concerns that a blue, not a red, car should be supplied, but in the end the stunt passed without a hitch.
Things went less smoothly for the prime minister when she tripped over a manhole at the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth.
In a letter to the mayor apologising for pulling out of a civic ball that evening, she said: "As you may have heard I tripped over one of Bournemouth's manholes this afternoon and my ankle didn't like it very much. Neither did the manhole!"
Other papers in the newly released batch include a letter - written but never sent - from Mrs Thatcher to the then defence secretary Michael Heseltine warning him to toe the line or give up office over the Westland affair.
The battle for control of British helicopter manufacturer Westland was one of the most divisive political rows of Mrs Thatcher's second term in office.
The letter, drafted three weeks before Mr Heseltine resigned over the row, tells him the government's view of the future of British helicopter manufacturer Westland is that it is "a matter for the company to decide", adding: "In this situation no minister should use his position to promote one commercial option in preference to another - so long as he remains in government."
A more minor helicopter-related exchange involved a request for Mrs Thatcher to use one to travel the short distance from Downing Street to the opening of the Broadgate development in the City of London.
In a hand-written note, the PM dismissed the "ridiculous" suggestion, saying it would be an "unwarrantable extravagance and I should be criticised severely".
The documents also cover the fallout from the US air strikes in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, for which Mrs Thatcher allowed the use of British airbases.
One note, before the PM was due to speak on the subject, said an "unusually large number of calls" had been received by Conservative Central Office expressing concern about the raids.
Another revealed a warning from a senior civil servant that Conservative Party chairman Norman Tebbit's "obsession" with attacking the BBC's coverage of the military strikes risked a repeat of the "Westland troubles". | Officials feared Margaret Thatcher could crash Rover's new car when she test-drove it for a photocall, newly released papers suggest. |
34,249,470 | Hales's county colleague James Taylor is also named, after impressing during the one-day series with Australia.
There is no place for Yorkshire's Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth, with the latter dropped after a poor Ashes series.
The three-Test series begins in Abu Dhabi on 13 October.
All-rounder Ben Stokes is rested from the one-day squad, to which batsman Joe Root returns.
Lancashire spinner Stephen Parry and Sussex bowler Chris Jordan are recalled to the T20 squad.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has also announced former England limited-overs captain Paul Collingwood and ex-Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene will join the England management team in consultancy roles.
National selector James Whitaker said Hales, 26, "fully deserved" a chance at the top of the order after scoring 886 runs at an average of 52.11 in the County Championship this season.
"He has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in first-class cricket and has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white-ball cricket," said Whitaker.
Left-armer Ansari, 23, who has taken 44 wickets and scored more than 700 runs this season, will provide a third spin option alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
Ansari was told he had been selected on Monday, describing the news as "a surprise".
He said: "Going into this season it wasn't on my radar. I just wanted to have a solid, consistent season with Surrey and establish myself a bit more. Things have gone my way and this is what happens when that happens.
"If the conditions prove to be very spin-friendly and I make an impression, then great. I'm there as much as anything to learn and try to develop quickly and if I get my chance, to go out and perform."
Within hours of his call-up, Ansari was forced to leave the field in Surrey's County Championship match against Lancashire and went to hospital after injuring his hand trying to take a catch at cover point.
Taylor, 25, is recalled to the Test set-up after winning the last of his two caps against South Africa in 2012.
The middle-order batsman, who may compete with Jonny Bairstow for a place in the side, enjoyed a prolific ODI series against Australia, scoring 246 runs at an average of 49.20.
"I've been desperate to get back in the Test side for a number of years now and I know that any runs in international cricket are going to count no matter what format, especially against Australia," Taylor told the BBC.
"I knew going in to the UAE there's going to be a lot of spin bowled, and that'll hopefully work in my favour as I love playing spin. Overall, it's worked out nicely and those runs will have made a big impact."
With Lyth dropped after averaging just 12.77 in the Ashes, captain Alastair Cook seems certain to have a seventh opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss, though it is not clear whether Hales, Moeen or even Ansari will be selected.
Former Scotland assistant Collingwood will join the team in November to coach batting and fielding during the limited-overs series in the UAE, and will then link up with England again for the ICC World T20 in March.
He said: "It's an exciting time for English cricket. We've got some great, skilful youngsters coming through.
"Hopefully I can create the confidence in their games that they can go and do it out in the middle without any fear."
Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Zafar Ansari (Surrey), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wk), Sam Billings (Kent, wk), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Reece Topley (Essex, to join Hampshire at end of season), David Willey (Northants, to join Yorkshire at end of season), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Twenty20 squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Sam Billings (Kent, wk), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Stephen Parry (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Reece Topley (Essex, to join Hampshire at end of season), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Northants, to join Yorkshire at end of season), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham). | Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales and Surrey all-rounder Zafar Ansari could make their England Test debuts in the UAE after being selected in the squad for the series against Pakistan. |
35,170,590 | The PM said the country's "important religious roots" made it "a successful home to people of all faiths and none".
Labour's Jeremy Corbyn used a newspaper article to highlight homelessness and praise emergency workers.
Green Party leader Natalie Bennett called for a "different sort of society" while Lib Dem Tim Farron said the world was "in need of hope".
Mr Cameron highlighted the plight of people spending Christmas in refugee camps having fled the civil war in Syria, while Christians in some parts of the world would go to church in fear of persecution.
"Throughout the United Kingdom, some will spend the festive period ill, homeless or alone," he said.
He paid tribute to people working at Christmas "to help the vulnerable" and said the armed forces were "in the skies of Iraq and Syria, targeting the terrorists that threaten those countries and our security at home" as well as saving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
"It is because they face danger that we have peace," he added.
Labour said Mr Corbyn would not issue an official Christmas message, but in a Sunday Mirror article, he said many low-paid workers could not afford to take time off over Christmas, and that homelessness was increasing with tens of thousands of people spending the festive season in temporary accommodation.
People should ask themselves whether they could do more for others, he said.
"Jesus said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'", he said.
"It is a similar maxim that inspired our party: 'From each according to their means, to each according to their needs.'"
Ms Bennett said people should look to 2016 "with the understanding that politics shouldn't be just something that gets done to you.
"Politics should be something that you do to make a difference in your society."
Mr Farron said he hoped people would be inspired in 2016 to make the country a more "compassionate, liberal and welcoming one", Lib Dem Voice reported. | David Cameron has urged people to reflect on Britain's Christian values in his Christmas message. |
36,316,577 | The list, tweeted by the NHS Grampian Archives account, details causes of admission to the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum in 1847.
Among the more conventional conditions are death of relatives, fright and head injuries.
Less conventional symptoms include irregular habits and vegetable poison.
The entry on tea attributes "sedentary lifestyle - abuse of tea" as a supposed cause.
NHS Grampian said: "Some of these terms would never be used today, however, documents like this provide a valuable insight into the past."
The health board is urging people to discuss their experiences of mental health, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
This year's theme is relationships. | Abuse of tea and disappointment in love have been listed as suspected causes of distress in a lunatic asylum archive released by NHS Grampian. |
37,209,143 | The seven-time major winner joined Raonic's team in May before the 25-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, where McEnroe also did punditry for ESPN and the BBC.
McEnroe was seen with Raonic's primary coaches Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti just days before news of the parting.
He said he would step down "for Milos' sake, for ESPN and my sake".
McEnroe added: "When the US Open starts on Monday, he's got his people. I'm pulling for him and want him to do well.
"I'd love to see all the guys play their best because I think it's better for tennis. But it's best to sort of separate at this stage. It will just make life easier for everyone."
McEnroe admitted his media commitments "ended up becoming an issue at Wimbledon", but added he was "open to the possibility" of a second coaching stint should Raonic seek it.
The Canadian faces Germany's Dustin Brown in the first round at Flushing Meadows. | John McEnroe has ended his spell as a coach to Canadian world number six Milos Raonic before the US Open. |
37,266,505 | It may not boast the heritage of its more illustrious London namesake, but speakers and performers at the Craddock Street hall included Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and David Lloyd George.
Swansea council has received a planning inquiry to convert the upper floors into student accommodation, with retail proposed for the ground floor.
The hall has stood empty since 2007.
The Grade II-listed building was first opened as a music hall in 1864.
Councillor Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea council, said: "Although the Albert Hall is a privately-owned listed building that we don't have responsibility for, we'll do all we can to help the private owners bring the building back into sustainable use.
"This is important because it's an historically significant building right in the heart of the city centre that we'd like to see preserved and protected for years to come." | A 152-year-old Swansea landmark could be given a new lease of life, with plans to renovate the city's Albert Hall. |
14,573,942 | The man, named by the Guardian as former News of the World journalist James Desborough, was arrested on Thursday morning and later bailed.
Meanwhile, actress Leslie Ash has settled a claim against the paper.
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the hacking scandal, has filed a legal action against News International.
The action being brought by Mulcaire, who has admitted phone hacking on behalf of the Sunday tabloid, is a contractual dispute understood to relate to the decision by News International to stop paying his legal costs.
Leslie Ash and her husband, former footballer Lee Chapman, sued the NoW over allegations it illegally listened to voicemails left by their sons while Ms Ash was recovering from a superbug in hospital in 2004. They also sued Mulcaire.
Their solicitor, Charlotte Harris, told BBC News they were "pleased" to have settled the claim with him and the newspaper's publisher.
The couple now plan to take action against other newspapers, she said.
In a statement, the couple said they were pleased the issue had been resolved and they had received an apology.
The couple revealed in January that police had found documents listing their names, addresses and phone numbers, as well as the mobile details of their children.
News International has declined to comment.
Mr Chapman told BBC Radio 5 live the settlement related to a period between 2004 and 2005.
"During that period - and actually before that period and after - we felt that there were stories going into the press that we had no idea where they were coming from. There were semblances of truth, sensationalised and bits added on, going into the press that we knew could only have come from people close to us."
He said it was "scandalous" that his sons' phone messages had been accessed. "I think that's one of the reasons why News International settled so quickly because of the involvement of two teenage boys who were still at school."
Mr Chapman said he and his wife had settled early because they did not want to have "the whole process dragged through the courts" when their children were involved.
The arrest on Thursday was the 13th by the Met Police as part of their hacking investigation, Operation Weeting.
James Desborough was believed to have been held at a south London police station on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and later bailed to October.
He joined the News of the World in 2005 and was named showbiz writer of the year at the British Press Awards in April 2009, and later became the newspaper's Los Angeles-based US editor.
The judges said he "produced a series of uncompromising scoops which mean no celebrity with secrets can sleep easy".
He is among the journalists undergoing a 90-day consultation period following News International's decision to cease publication of the tabloid in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
A series of high-profile figures have been questioned by police, including the company's former chief executive Rebekah Brooks and ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson.
After the latest arrest, News International said in a statement: "We are fully co-operating with the police investigation and we are unable to comment further on matters due to the ongoing police investigation."
Mr Desborough was bailed until October.
On Wednesday, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson was cleared of misconduct in his handling of the phone-hacking inquiry by the police watchdog.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission also cleared John Yates, former Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman and former Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke of misconduct over phone hacking.
However, an independent inquiry will examine claims Mr Yates secured a Met Police job for a News of the World executive's daughter.
The announcement followed the release of a letter by the Commons culture committee that suggested senior executives at the News of the World knew phone hacking was taking place.
Written by former royal editor Clive Goodman as he appealed against his dismissal in 2007, the letter said hacking was "widely discussed" at the paper.
Following publication of the letter Prime Minister David Cameron said he would have "taken different decisions" over the appointment of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his director of communications if he had "known then all the things I know now". | A 38-year-old man has been arrested as part of the investigation into phone hacking, Scotland Yard has said. |
34,689,805 | But it was the way she walked into the cheering crowd afterwards, to be mobbed with hugs and handshakes, which really told the story of the weekend.
Ms Dugdale and UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn walked through the doors of Perth Concert Hall together on Friday, to applause from members bedecked with "Jez & Kez" badges.
But the way things developed, the conference hasn't really been about their working as a team, or the unity and solidarity Mr Corbyn preached in his address.
The conference has been more about autonomy, about Scottish Labour establishing its own identity as a distinct - dare one say independent - entity from the UK party.
Ms Dugdale gave a small nod to Mr Corbyn's approach - referring to Labour as a "radical" party, while standing in front of an enormous banner reading CHANGE - but she only actually mentioned him once in her speech.
Even then it was in passing, as part of a line about how "we will be, as Jeremy says, straight talking and honest".
She stressed that "Scottish decisions will be made in Scotland", and actually evoked the spirit of one of Mr Corbyn's New Labour predecessors in devoting a significant part of her speech to education (…education, education).
Her message about equality for women and having "feminists in positions of influence" was spoiled very slightly by her party executive of five men and two women sitting across the stage, but for the most part Ms Dugdale's first speech as Scottish Labour leader went down very well.
After a nervous start - in which she actually stumbled over the word "confidence" - she delivered a polished, effective speech, which actually won more acclaim from delegates than Mr Corbyn's.
That's not to say that there was any hint of antipathy in Perth for the UK-wide Labour Party or its new leader. If there are truly two parties now, they are separated but united.
Mr Corbyn was like a visiting celebrity, winning a round of applause just for walking into the building before being treated to a standing ovation as he mounted the stage.
Scottish Labour would raise tax for 'top earners'
Scottish Labour to vote on Trident renewal
Kezia Dugdale 'proud' to be part of UK party
Young members explain their commitment to Labour
Jeremy Corbyn urges Scots to vote for change
Brian Taylor analysis on Kezia Dugdale's "change" speech
More than 100 delegates stayed on into Friday evening, hours after the conference day proper had ended, to hear from his Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, at a fringe event - and they weren't shy in voicing agreement when Mr McDonnell said Labour had rediscovered its "soul" under the new regime.
But when talking to young delegates at the conference, it was Ms Dugdale's name which came up time and again, not Mr Corbyn's.
The speech was Ms Dugdale's moment to step out not just as leader of Scottish Labour, but as leader of a distinct party with its own separate identity. She even spelled it out; a "more autonomous" party.
The party north of the border today has a far larger remit than really ever before, with talks over additional powers being devolved to Holyrood, and even discussion of core reserved matters, like defence.
The fact Scottish Labour is debating Trident at all is significant, after the UK party's conference in Brighton demurred.
It might not be much of a surprise that delegates are widely expected to voice opposition to renewing the nuclear arsenal - they used to do so more or less every year prior to devolution. CND activists toting giant puppets and a "bairns not bombs" prop pram were stationed outside the conference hall before the decision to debate Trident was even announced.
But this would in effect create clear political water between Scottish Labour and UK Labour - albeit in a welcome fashion for Mr Corbyn, who would no doubt use such a resolution to pile pressure on delegates in England and Wales.
And with more powers set to be devolved, depending on the outcome of the Scotland Bill, Ms Dugdale is able to make campaign pledges about mooted tax credit changes which her counterparts in England and Wales would be powerless to affect.
Of course, exercising new Holyrood powers to negate Westminster policies will only be an option if Labour wins next year's election - and Ms Dugdale's message will have to reach a lot further than the crowd assembled in Perth to do that.
The slogan of the conference is "take a fresh look", urging voters who have deserted Labour in recent elections to return. Mr Corbyn also aimed a pitch at non-voters, people who feel alienated and disenfranchised from politics.
So as well as these messages, and indeed Ms Dugdale's speech, have gone down with the party faithful - and after its recent woes, those who remain with Labour really are faithful - the real measure of success will be how they go down with people at home. | Kezia Dugdale asked Scottish Labour to "walk with confidence into the future" as she delivered her keynote address to the party's autumn conference in Perth. |
34,188,161 | The team are 17th with only six points from their first six league games and lost 1-0 at Gillingham on Saturday.
"The board are ambitious for a top-six finish and that is, and will remain, our aim," said a club statement.
"From today Rob Jones will take charge of first-team affairs on a temporary basis and the club has full confidence in Rob as we look forward to a tough game against Walsall this weekend."
Former Scotland international Dickov, 42, who played for Arsenal, Manchester City, Leicester and Blackburn during a lengthy playing career, was in his second managerial role.
He spent two-and-a-half years at Oldham and left in February 2013 before taking over at Doncaster in May 2013.
During his time in charge of Rovers, the club dropped down from the Championship to League One and he won 34 of the 113 matches the side played in all competitions.
In the opening game of this season, Dickov ordered his players to allow Bury to walk in an injury-time equaliser for a 1-1 draw.
Doncaster's Harry Forrester inadvertently scored when playing the ball back to the Bury goalkeeper, which then led to Leon Clarke dribbling from the centre circle to equalise unchallenged.
"I just felt the right thing for us to do was to go and let Bury score," said Dickov afterwards. "The one thing I wanted to do was to keep the good name of football and Doncaster Rovers intact."
Despite their poor start in League One, Doncaster did knock out Championship side Leeds United on penalties in the first round of the League Cup before going out to Ipswich Town in the second round. | League One side Doncaster Rovers have sacked manager Paul Dickov. |
18,421,771 | The drop in industrial production was not as bad as feared, and March's figure was revised up to a 0.1% fall.
But the fall in output is a sign of slower economic activity. Eurozone GDP stagnated in the first quarter of the year and shrank at the end of 2011.
On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti again called for a plan to boost EU growth.
Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics said that while the latest industrial production figures were not as bad as expected, the data was still a bad sign.
"April's industrial production figures provide an early indication that the eurozone's narrow escape from technical recession in Q1 is unlikely to last very long," he said.
A German economic think tank, the RWI Institute, raised its growth forecast for the euro area's biggest economy. It now expects German wealth to expand 1.1% this year, compared with an earlier estimate of 1%.
The country's 0.5% growth in the first three months of the year offset recessions in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and peripheral states such as Portugal and Spain to give the eurozone a GDP growth rate of zero in the first quarter.
Austria, Belgium, Finland, Estonia and Slovakia also reported economic growth for the start of 2012 but, as the world's fourth-biggest economy, Germany dwarfs most of its eurozone neighbours.
Generating economic wealth across the eurozone is seen as essential for governments trying to pay off colossal debts.
Separate figures showed that inflation eased in the eurozone's biggest economies during May as retailers cut prices.
In Germany, consumer prices rose 2.2% compared with a year earlier, based on the European Central Bank's favoured HICP measure. That was slightly slower than the 2.1% annual rate registered in April.
Cheaper fuel fed through into lower transport costs for households and firms in France, Germany and Italy.
French consumer prices were up 2.3% from last May, down from April's 2.4% annual rise. Italian inflation remained stubbornly high at 3.5%, but that was still down from 3.7% in April. | Output from eurozone factories fell by 0.8% in April, according to the latest official figures from EU body Eurostat. |
38,003,691 | 16 November 2016 Last updated at 17:39 GMT
She has a condition called Rett syndrome, which scrambles the messages from her brain and means she cannot speak - despite desperately wanting to communicate.
Money raised for Children in Need is helping Luton-based charity Rett UK care for her and her family. | Meet six-year-old Esme, from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. |
40,745,277 | Air France-KLM is taking a 31% stake, worth £220m, in Virgin Atlantic as part of a four-way joint-venture with US partner Delta.
Virgin Group's share will fall from 51% to 20%, while Delta will retain 49%.
Sir Richard said he would remain "very much involved" after the deal.
He said in an open letter that the new joint-venture would be "extremely beneficial" to the airline, customers and the brand, and recalled key moments in Virgin Atlantic's history, striking a valedictory tone.
Jean-Marc Janaillac, chief executive of Air France-KLM, said the deal would give customers "even more choice between Europe, UK and the United States via twelve hubs on both sides of the Atlantic".
Virgin and Delta have operated a joint-venture for almost five years, plying the busy routes between Europe and the United States.
Competition has intensified in recent years, with newcomers including Norwegian and British Airways' low-cost Level service offering no-frills long-haul flights.
The new venture, which will also include troubled Italian carrier Alitalia, will operate 300 transatlantic flights per day.
In a joint press release Virgin and its partners said the venture would offer "convenient flight schedules with competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers".
Virgin Atlantic, set up in 1984, was one of the earliest companies in Richard Branson's Virgin brand portfolio.
In his open letter, Sir Richard recalled its eventful rivalry with British Airways, the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the financial crisis.
Sir Richard wrote that as he got older he was keen to ensure that "all the necessary building blocks are in place for Virgin Atlantic to continue to prosper and grow for the next 50 years".
While transatlantic routes are among the most lucrative, Virgin has had mixed fortunes in recent years.
In 2016 it reported its best profits for five years, but the company warned earlier this year that it was likely to go into the red again in 2017 as the weaker pound pushed up costs and put off holiday-makers. | Air France-KLM is buying almost a third of Virgin Atlantic, leaving Sir Richard Branson's parent company, Virgin Group, with a minority stake in the airline he founded. |
35,614,168 | The party went from 57 UK MPs in 2010 to eight at the general election, and lost two of its three Welsh members.
The internal review said its election broadcasts gave no reason not to vote for the nationalist parties.
It said the defeat was the result of its tuition fees U-turn, a weak Labour party and an effective Tory strategy.
The inquiry said the UK party's move to go into coalition with the Tories had not been well understood, and also blamed a "confusing" campaign.
The Liberal Democrats were left with only one Welsh MP after the 5 May poll - Ceredigion's Mark Williams.
The review said: "Our party election broadcasts did not show enough distinctive reasons to vote for the Liberal Democrats and, in the main, did not feature Liberal Democrat spokespeople.
"They made little sense in Scotland or Wales - where the message gave no reason not to vote for the Nationalist parties.
"They were also poorly integrated with our campaign on the ground."
The review recommended the party "keep the use of Scottish and Welsh variations" of UK party political broadcasts for Scotland and Wales. | The Liberal Democrats's party election broadcasts "made little sense" in Wales, a review of its 2015 general election defeat has found. |
40,355,934 | One of the biggest groups to feel the heat were the thousands arriving at Glastonbury Festival. Elsewhere, people took to pools, parks, fountains and rivers to cool off. | As the UK basks in the hottest June day in 41 years, people up and down the country have found ways to keep cool. |
36,030,395 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Anderson's Inner Circle and Dean Holdsworth's Sports Shield completed a takeover from Eddie Davies last month.
The Wanderers, £179.2m in debt, have already been relegated this season.
"Our initial job is to make sure we perform on the pitch and then make sure we get our finances in order and give the best opportunity to go forward," he told North West Tonight.
"As I sit now I'm the current custodian, along with Dean, at this club and we've got to try and change things and not repeat the mistakes of the past.
"Fans are happy if things perform well on the pitch, if they don't they're very unhappy."
Saturday's 4-1 loss at Derby confirmed Bolton's drop into the third tier of English football for the first time since 1992-93.
They were in the Premier League as recently as 2012, having competed in the Uefa Cup in 2008, and Anderson aims to return the club to that level as soon as possible.
"Short-term [the ambition is] to get promoted again next year," he said.
"And then like everybody else's dream to get back in the Premier League. That's a very tough call nowadays.
"If we could emulate what Bournemouth have done, I'd be very happy."
Anderson confirmed that they have a shortlist of three candidates as they search for a new manager and an appointment could be close.
Neil Lennon left shortly after the takeover, but interim boss Jimmy Phillips could not prevent relegation to League One.
"I think with the three candidates we'll have a second interview with all three of them," said Anderson.
"Hopefully we'll be able to reach a decision as to which manager we would like to appoint.
"It's probably likely to be next week, as a couple of them are still in jobs."
Asked if ex-Bolton captain Kevin Nolan, who was demoted from his position as player-manager at Leyton Orient on Tuesday, was one of the three, Anderson responded: "As far as I know, he hasn't applied." | New Bolton chairman Ken Anderson has promised the Championship club will learn from past mistakes. |
33,564,016 | It said that fewer than 50% of emails which it scanned during June were junk - the lowest percentage it had seen in over a decade.
The fall suggests that cyber-thieves are looking to other ways to make money from people going online.
The security firm said legal action against the criminal networks that pipe spam to people had helped to cut junk.
However, it said the fall in spam had been offset by a rise in the amount of malware being made.
In June only 49.7% of the billions of messages monitored by Symantec were spam, it said in its latest monthly threat report. While the amount of spam being sent had been declining for some time, this was the first time since 2003 that it had dipped below 50%, said Ben Nahorney in the report.
Since the report was issued, spam levels have continued to decline further. On 14 July, of the 25 billion messages monitored by Symantec only 46.4% were junk.
It said the decline was caused by action against botnets, networks of hijacked computers that have historically been the route through which spam has been sent.
In the last 10 months, UK police forces have been involved in takedowns of seven separate botnets - many of which funnelled spam to victims. In addition, many European internet providers have joined together to share information about botnet activity to limit their effectiveness.
Symantec said other formerly popular scams, such as phishing for passwords and email with malware attached, also saw a decline in June.
However, Symantec said it had seen a significant rise in the amount of malware variants being produced. In June it caught about 57.6 million individual pieces of malware - almost double what it saw in April.
Ransomware also proved more popular: Symantec's monitoring systems caught almost 500,000 attacks based around this type of malware in June.
"This increase in activity lends more evidence to the idea that, with the continued drops in email-based malicious activity, attackers are simply moving to other areas of the threat landscape," wrote Mr Nahorney.
Andrew Conway, a research analyst at security company Cloudmark, said it was "challenging" to accurately measure global spam levels because many companies did not sample nations where junk mail levels were still very high.
Despite this, he said, successful law enforcement operations had led to steep drops in some types of spam. For instance, he said, action by the US Federal Trade Commission against one spammer resulted in an 80% drop in junk mail peddling diet pills.
Mr Conway added that spammers in China and Eastern Europe still relied on email to tempt people to buy counterfeit goods and bootleg pharmaceuticals.
"We are in a constant arms race," he said. "with spammers continually coming up with new techniques that we have to deal with, and it would be hubris to declare victory." | People are being sent fewer spam emails than at any time in the past 12 years, according to security firm Symantec. |
38,205,889 | Tweeting in English with the help of her mother, a teacher, Bana Alabed painted a picture of life in the city.
But the account was deleted on Sunday, as troops pushed into the city's east.
The final tweet, by her mother, read: "We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each other another day dear world. Bye. - Fatemah".
Meet the seven-year-old girl tweeting from Aleppo
Aleppo, Syria's second city, has been split in two during the country's long conflict. Bana lived in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, which has been relentlessly bombed by the army.
Army troops advanced further into the city's east overnight, following a heavy bombardment.
Bana's Twitter account - @alabedbana - had amassed more than 100,000 followers.
The account, where tweets were posted by both Bana and her mother Fatemah, drew attention to the plight of civilians trapped in eastern Aleppo.
In a conversation with the BBC in October, Fatemah said her daughter wanted "the world to hear our voice".
One tweet from November read: "Tonight we have no house, it's bombed and I got in rubble. I saw deaths and I almost died."
Another said that a friend had been killed when her house was bombed.
In one video posted on the account, Bana appeared with her brothers - five-year-old Mohamed and three-year-old Noor - with the message "drawing with the brothers before the planes come. We need peace to draw".
Another short video showed the three together in a bedroom. "We will live forever together," Bana said, before laughing and hugging her brothers.
In others she appeared with her mother.
Bana's tweets captured the attention of JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series.
Ms Rowling sent Bana eBooks of the entire Harry Potter series after the young girl posted that she liked to read "to forget the war."
The author retweeted several messages after the account was deleted, calling for information on the girl's whereabouts.
At least 300 people have been killed since the government-led offensive on east Aleppo and about 250,000 are thought to be trapped in besieged areas.
Earlier this week, Stephen O'Brien, the UN's humanitarian affairs chief, said parts of the city were at risk of becoming "one giant graveyard".
He said some people inside opposition-controlled areas were so hungry they had been reduced to scavenging. | A seven-year-old girl whose tweets from besieged eastern Aleppo drew worldwide attention has disappeared from the social network amid an army offensive. |
10,589,031 | An official report, leaked to the Sunday Times, also said black and Asian intelligence officers had complained of discrimination at the complex in Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire.
A GCHQ spokesman told the BBC policies and practices were now being improved.
Much of GCHQ's work involves monitoring calls and e-mails from terror suspects.
But the report, authorised by the head of the civil service, Sir Gus O'Donnell, says a lack of officers with specialist knowledge of languages like Urdu and Arabic is hampering efforts to spot codes and cultural nuances in intercepted conversations.
"It is critical to have a diverse staff group who are able to profile and recognise certain behaviour patterns and communications," the document says.
The report recommends better engagement with ethnic minority communities in order to boost recruitment and improve the image of the organisation.
"This is critical to good national security intelligence," it adds.
The report says GCHQ has tried to improve its equality and diversity, but "the culture of the organisation has not been receptive to this" and it "is seen as a people issue which only applies to some people". It points out that there are no black or Asian senior managers.
Several dozen ethnic minority intelligence officers were interviewed during its preparation, and among the complaints recorded was: "I wasn't born here and although I have been security cleared, I am constantly challenged about my loyalty to Britain by my colleagues."
Another employee said: "The security officers ask questions which are culturally inappropriate, insensitive and offensive."
A third said they felt that ethnic minority employees had to work harder than white colleagues "and for less reward".
The director of communications at GCHQ, Chris Marshall, said the organisation had "long recognised that strict nationality and residency requirements for staff, and the specialist nature of our work, have made it challenging to develop a workforce which represents the diversity of the UK population".
He said the organisation had tried to improve things with a targeted recruitment campaign, but a review in 2009 "reflected that GCHQ continued to fall short in meeting our targets".
Mr Marshall said that in response to it, GCHQ was "making a number of improvements to our policies and practices", including employing a dedicated diversity officer and focusing recruitment on specific universities with large ethnic minority populations.
"GCHQ is regularly recognised as a good employer but we aspire to be the best," he said. "We recognise that recruiting a diverse range of people, treating them in a non-discriminatory way and supporting them to achieve their full potential is key to that aspiration." | Britain's secret eavesdropping centre, GCHQ, has been criticised for failing to recruit enough ethnic minority staff to help fight terrorism. |
35,927,241 | Caton-Brown, 22, will undergo surgery following a tackle by Huddersfield's Danny Brough in Monday's 26-24 win.
The tackle was cited, but after viewing the incident, the RFL decided not to take any action towards Brough.
"We're not happy about it. We've asked the RFL to look at the incident. They have come back telling us it's legal," head coach Ian Watson said.
"From our point of view, we're really disappointed with what they've come back with as we've lost a good player."
Caton-Brown was making his first appearance of the season for Salford since coming back from injury, but now faces another lengthy spell out.
"He has only just come back from an injury, he's been out for a long time," Watson told BBC Radio Manchester, "He's a really nice kid and in your first game back to go down like that when you're playing so well is a big loss."
Salford moved up to seventh in Super League following Monday's win, which was marred when fighting broke out among a section of Salford fans at full-time. | Salford Red Devils winger Mason Caton-Brown will be out for up to 12 weeks with a serious leg injury. |
36,226,372 | Following an update the function is now available only on the more expensive Windows 10 Enterprise version, as well as the Education edition.
Many firms try to prevent staff from downloading additional software as it can cause problems with existing programs and affect productivity.
Microsoft said it had made the change "by design".
"Windows 10 Enterprise is our offering that provides IT pros with the most granular control over company devices," the tech giant said in a statement.
"Windows 10 Pro offers a subset of those capabilities and is recommended for small and mid-size businesses looking for some management controls, but not the full suite necessary for IT pros at larger enterprises."
John Harrison, owner of Harrison IT services, said the change could cause problems for small businesses.
"Users like to change settings or try to install software by themselves. If they don't know what they're doing or don't have the appropriate experience, they can cause all kinds of issues," he said.
"You are going to have to educate staff, tell them not to use the Windows Store unless it really is relevant to the business. How do you manage that policy?"
In September 2015 there were 669,000 apps on the Windows Store, according to Microsoft's own figures.
Microsoft says there are 300 million devices using Windows 10 one year after its launch.
On 29 July, a free upgrade offer for Windows users with earlier versions of the operating system will come to an end. | Businesses running the professional version of Windows 10 can no longer block access to the Windows Store. |
34,160,236 | The winger, who rejoined Boro from West Ham, superbly curled a shot from the right into the corner midway through the second half.
David Nugent then got his first Boro goal to wrap up the win when he finished a one-on-one chance.
The Dons' best chance came at 0-0 when Simon Church's chip hit the post.
Until Downing's opener, Karl Robinson's side, who were playing their first competitive match against Middlesbrough, had defended stoutly.
They restricted the hosts to mostly long-range efforts in the first half, before Wales international Church was unlucky to see his chip over Dimi Konstantopolous come back off the upright, following great build-up work from Jordan Spence.
Media playback is not supported on this device
But Middlesbrough, who left winger Albert Adomah out of their matchday squad after a reported transfer request in the transfer window, took the lead when Downing cut inside from the right and, with defenders backing off, bent in past David Martin.
Downing said the chance to win promotion for his hometown club was behind his move down from the Premier League.
And he set up another man who moved down a division in the summer, Nugent, when he headed on for the former Leicester striker to keep his cool and slot home.
MK Dons rarely threatened after that, but Rob Hall did skim the post with an injury-time strike.
Match ends, Middlesbrough 2, MK Dons 0.
Second Half ends, Middlesbrough 2, MK Dons 0.
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.
Attempt saved. Robert Hall (MK Dons) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Diego Poyet.
David Nugent (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Kyle McFadzean (MK Dons).
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Fernando Amorebieta.
Offside, Middlesbrough. David Nugent tries a through ball, but Christian Stuani is caught offside.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Robert Hall (MK Dons) because of an injury.
Attempt saved. Carl Baker (MK Dons) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Robert Hall.
Substitution, Middlesbrough. Adam Forshaw replaces Diego Fabbrini.
Foul by David Nugent (Middlesbrough).
Kyle McFadzean (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Christian Stuani (Middlesbrough).
Kyle McFadzean (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Middlesbrough. Conceded by Kyle McFadzean.
Attempt blocked. Diego Fabbrini (Middlesbrough) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Goal! Middlesbrough 2, MK Dons 0. David Nugent (Middlesbrough) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Stewart Downing.
Attempt missed. Antony Kay (MK Dons) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Robert Hall with a cross following a corner.
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Tomas Kalas.
Substitution, MK Dons. Robert Hall replaces Samir Carruthers.
Foul by Christian Stuani (Middlesbrough).
Kyle McFadzean (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Middlesbrough. Conceded by David Martin.
Attempt saved. Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Carl Baker (MK Dons) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Diego Fabbrini (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Carl Baker (MK Dons).
Christian Stuani (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Carl Baker (MK Dons).
David Nugent (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Dean Lewington (MK Dons).
Substitution, MK Dons. Carl Baker replaces Daniel Powell.
Goal! Middlesbrough 1, MK Dons 0. Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Fernando Amorebieta.
Corner, Middlesbrough. Conceded by Dean Bowditch.
Attempt blocked. Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Diego Fabbrini.
Samir Carruthers (MK Dons) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Diego Fabbrini (Middlesbrough) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Samir Carruthers (MK Dons). | Stewart Downing scored his first goal for Middlesbrough since returning to the Riverside Stadium in the summer to help his side beat MK Dons. |
38,722,128 | The group said an 11.8% rise in underlying pre-tax profits in the year to the end of April showed "continued momentum" for the Apex brand.
It attributed the performance to strong trading across its nine-hotel portfolio and new room openings.
The company runs four-star hotels in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.
Its turnover last year rose by 7% to £61.3m, while underlying pre-tax profit climbed to £10.3m.
Apex said it invested more than £16m during the financial year.
It added 134 rooms to its stock by opening an Apex in Glasgow in September 2015 and extending its Apex City of London hotel.
A new 177-room Apex hotel is due to open in Bath this summer.
Apex chief executive Angela Vickers said: "Key to our success is our ongoing commitment to providing a guest experience that rivals that of global brands, distinguishing Apex Hotels in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
"As we move into 2017 our robust financial results are testament to this and demonstrate our continued momentum in the development of the Apex brand and expansion of the portfolio."
She added: "It is important for us to continue investing in our existing portfolio and we are planning further bedroom expansion at Apex Temple Court in London as well as refurbishment totalling £6m across our City of London, Grassmarket and Dundee hotels.
"In 2017 we will continue to look at other opportunities to extend and complement our existing portfolio." | Edinburgh-based hotel chain Apex has said it is looking at future potential acquisitions following a strong trading year. |
39,044,724 | Scottish FA compliance officer Tony McGlennan has issued a notice of complaint against the manager.
McGhee is accused of using offensive, abusing and/or insulting language and gestures towards a match official.
He is also facing a charge of adopting aggressive behaviour towards an official.
McGhee's had until next Tuesday to respond to the complaint before a planned hearing on Thursday 16 March.
He was sent to the stand by referee Alan Muir in the 60th minute of Well's 7-2 thrashing by Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership with his side already trailing 4-0.
McGhee was given a three-match touchline ban in December after being found guilty of abusing referee John Beaton during a 2-0 defeat by Dundee.
One of those games was suspended pending any further breach.
Two further charges were dropped - adopting "aggressive behaviour towards a match official; and/or" adopting "aggressive behaviour towards a steward".
McGhee said he was "horrified" by the attitude of fourth official John McKendrick as he was sent to the stand at Pittodrie and hinted that there "is an agenda" by officials.
He said Motherwell wanted an explanation from the Scottish FA's head of referees, John Fleming, about recent decisions that have gone against his side. | Motherwell's Mark McGhee is facing a second touchline ban this season after being called to a hearing for being sent to the stand against Aberdeen. |
35,937,689 | 31 March 2016 Last updated at 20:44 BST
The girl band was due to play a matinee and evening show at the SSE Arena on Thursday.
Helen Jones reports. | The band Little Mix have been forced to cancel their Belfast gigs after singer Jesy Nelson became unwell. |
36,132,870 | Aberthaw in the Vale of Glamorgan will from April 2017 only generate electricity when needed, such as in the winter months.
Owner RWE wants to secure its future and said it was too early to speculate on the impact on 600 jobs there.
It will also take more coal from suppliers beyond Wales, which could have a knock on effect on producers.
The UK government has already said it wants all coal-fired power stations to close by 2025.
A RWE spokeswoman said it wants to keep Aberthaw operating into the 2020s and this would make it more affordable.
The reduction in output will result in job losses at the plant but details have not been finalised.
The station, which began operating in 1971, can generate around 1555MW of electricity for the National Grid - enough to meet the needs of some three million households.
It will invest in new technology to enable all three of the stations' 500MW units to expand the range of coal they can use.
It is claimed this will yield a 30% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions when burning higher volatile fuels.
It comes as the European Court of Justice considers a case brought against the UK government over claims Aberthaw Power station is breaking emission regulations.
Nitrogen oxides released into the environment from burning fuels have serious consequences for human health and the environment, causing respiratory illnesses, acidifying soil and surface water, and damaging vegetation.
Expanding the range of coal used at Aberthaw could have a knock on effect on the opencast mining industry in Wales, with the station being a key customer for Welsh coal.
Suppliers include Tower Colliery, which is now a purely opencast operation.
Richard Little, Aberthaw power station manager, said: "When market conditions are very difficult it is testament to the hard work and dedication of our people that we can adapt the station to ensure that it continues to play a key role into the future."
The UK has been taken to court by the European Commission in recent weeks over claims the power station has been pumping out more than double the legal amount of nitrogen oxides for seven years.
The UK government has said that air quality "has improved significantly" thanks to £2bn investment over the last five years. | Wales' biggest coal-fired power station is to downgrade its operations due to "challenging" market conditions. |
11,082,007 | The bridges are over the Church Village bypass near Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and are part of plans to protect ecology along the 4.6-mile road.
The bridges consist of wire mesh tubes suspended between trees and tall poles.
The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) said the "special treatment" for the dormice met EU rules and it criticised "negative reporting" of the matter.
When completed, the tubes will be solid mesh to stop the dormice falling out.
As dormice live in trees as opposed to on the ground, their routes have to stretch between trees instead of along underpasses used by, for example, hedgehogs and badgers.
Newts, toads and slow worms have also been given new ponds along the £90m route, which is due to open next month.
The specialist work has been carried out by Rhondda Cynon Taf council and contractors Costain, who were legally required to outline wildlife protection plans before the bypass was approved.
The Welsh Assembly Government has funded the bypass, including the dormice bridges.
A Rhondda Cynon Taf council spokesman said: "The council and Costain, its contractor in delivering the bypass, is proud of the working relationship it enjoys with the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency, who required the ecological work to be carried out before planning permission could be secured for the road.
"Both statutory bodies fully endorsed the ecological work undertaken by the team which enabled planning permission for the road to be built.
"Such measures are now commonplace across the country and adhere to the current legislation in protecting species of this nature."
As part of the specialist work, trees have been cleared along the route and new ponds dug for the relocation of newts and other amphibians.
Costain also employs a principal ecologist who works closely with the Countryside Council for Wales and an ecological adviser from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
Other species provided for include badgers, bats and marsh fritillary butterflies.
Reaction to the bridges was mixed among local residents.
Clair Mugridge of Church Village said: "I think it's a great idea to try and preserve their population."
But shoppers in nearby Talbot Green were less impressed, with one man telling the BBC the scheme was a "waste of money", while a woman thought at first it was a joke.
"I find it quite hilarious really, with this recession and the money that we need elsewhere," she said.
The bypass is due to open on 7 September, more than 20 years after the need between Church Village, Llantwit Fardre and Tonteg was first identified to ease congestion on the A473.
Earlier this month the route was opened to the public for the first time when thousands of people walked 8km from Gwaun Miskin to Tonteg and back.
The CCW said the threatened dormice had the highest level of protection afforded to them via the EU Habitats Directive.
It said: "The [dormouse] bridges will hopefully raise public awareness of the presence of dormice and wildlife issues in general. Its disappointing to see this reported negatively by some media.
"The environmental mitigation cost needs to be taken in the context of the overall cost of the scheme.
"To not provide adequate mitigation for dormice would have risked possible infraction proceedings and fines from the European Union." | Dormice will be able to cross a new bypass safely, thanks to three special bridges costing £190,000. |
39,855,687 | Reports of trouble were received at areas including the High Street, railway station and near Inverurie Academy from about 20:00 on Monday.
As many as 30 young people - some believed to have travelled from outlying areas - were involved.
Police said several people were issued with anti-social behaviour fixed penalties.
There were no reports of injuries.
Six people were previously charged in connection with anti-social behaviour following reports of youths congregating in Inverurie on Friday and Saturday.
Sgt Willie Murdoch said: "This kind of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.
"A team of officers are investigating these incidents and several lines of enquiry are being pursued including examination of CCTV.
"Anyone identified as being involved in disorderly behaviour will be apprehended and there will be consequences for those involved." | Disturbances involving about 30 youths in an Aberdeenshire town were pre-arranged, police believe. |
29,044,130 | Naghemeh King and her husband Brett were freed from custody in Madrid on Tuesday after efforts to extradite the couple to the UK were abandoned.
Speaking after her release, she said: "All I could do was just cry and pray."
Earlier it emerged that five-year-old Ashya, who has a brain tumour, can receive treatment at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague.
Police efforts to track down Ashya began after his parents took him from Southampton General Hospital without doctors' consent last week, in order to seek proton beam treatment abroad.
The Kings were arrested in Spain on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview, Mrs King told the BBC's Jon Kay: "What could I do in a prison cell? I could not do much, really."
Asked how angry the couple were, Mr King said: "I wouldn't say angry, I'm just missing my son so much.
"My heart is aching for my son and anger can't come in at the moment because I've just got these feelings that I've got to see my son's face."
Mrs King added: "I just want to wet his mouth because he can't drink through his mouth, I want to brush his teeth, I want to turn him side to side every 15 minutes because he can't move.
"I just want to do all those things I was doing from Southampton, I want to do it for him here."
In an emotional press conference, Brett King said: "They arrested us and directly they took my son away and said he was not allowed to have any visitors.
"We want to help our son get through this bad time because he hasn't got too many months to live and we're locked away in a cell - we're just trying to speed things up to help him."
The couple are believed to be on their way to see their son in hospital in Malaga.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said a cancer specialist will be flown out to Spain to give Ashya's parents advice on the best course of action.
The Proton Therapy Center said it has received full medical reports from Southampton Hospital and Ashya is required to undergo two cycles of chemotherapy before he could be treated in Prague.
That is expected to take several weeks but afterwards Ashya would be able to travel to the Czech Republic.
Proton Therapy uses a form of radiation that targets cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue virtually untouched.
Ashya had major surgery to successfully remove a brain tumour on 24 July and a further operation on his brain on 22 August.
As a result of these procedures he was unable to speak, unable to eat or drink on his own and relied on a food pump.
Following his disappearance from Southampton Hospital last Thursday, Hampshire Constabulary obtained a European arrest warrant on the grounds the Kings had neglected their son.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) withdrew the warrant on Tuesday.
In a statement, the CPS said the risk to Ashya's life "was not as great or immediate as had been originally thought".
The statement read: "Mr and Mrs King did take certain steps to safeguard the health of Ashya, for example it appears they had ordered specialist foods to care for Ashya, and had managed to charge the food pump using their car battery."
Dr Pete Wilson, chief paediatrician at Southampton General Hospital, has told the BBC the Kings' departure from the hospital with Ashya came after they questioned the planned treatment for their son.
The University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust took the view that in Ashya's case proton beam treatment was of "no proven significant benefit" over standard radiotherapy and would make no difference to the likelihood of his survival.
He said: "When [the doctors] were asked directly by the family what would happen if we refused any treatment they were told that in exceptional circumstances, as doctors, we would need to act in Ashya's best interests and that may need going to the court.
"[A threat] wasn't made. A question was asked what would happen if we refused treatment.
"Refusing treatment for a child is exceptionally serious. This is a young lad who has a very, very good chance of survival if he receives rapid treatment.
"We are very clear that the message that we were giving them was consistent and that we got it across.
"I think there are cases where the family just disagrees with us. That is their right. But it our duty as doctors to do the best for the patient."
Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the Home Office had been in discussions with Hampshire Constabulary about the force's handling of the investigation.
Hampshire Police Commissioner Simon Hayes said the force had been correct to pursue the arrest warrant.
Mr Hayes said: "I'm confident with the evidence that I have that it was the right thing to do.
"Hampshire Constabulary were given information by Southampton General Hospital that said Ashya was in grave danger and he needed to be found for his life to be saved."
An internal inquiry into the case has begun at the hospital, the BBC understands. | The mother of Ashya King has said she prayed in prison she would be reunited with her child. |
36,009,761 | The film was nominated for 11 awards going into the Los Angeles ceremony, but only won three including prizes for its stars Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver.
Following on from his Oscar win in February, Leonardo DiCaprio won best male performance for his role in The Revenant.
Mad Max: Fury Road's Charlize Theron won best female performance.
Will Smith was given the MTV Generation award, recognising his film career. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who presented Smith with his award, praised the star as "a champion for diversity in Hollywood".
"[He] blazes a path for actors by showing that someone of any colour can play any role, and can open any movie and win any award and be the biggest freaking movie star in the whole world," she said.
Accepting his award, Smith joked the honour was "code for the old dude award".
He added: "This is absolutely beautiful. I released my first record when I was 17. I'm 47 years old now. This June marks 30 years in this business."
British actress Ridley beat her Star Wars co-star John Boyega to win the breakthrough performance award, while Driver was voted best villain for his role in the franchise.
Chris Pratt and Amy Poehler also collected awards for best action and best virtual performance respectively, while Oscar-winning Amy Winehouse film Amy was voted best documentary and Straight Outta Compton won best true story.
Bridesmaid's star Melissa McCarthy received the comedic genius award and said although she was the first woman to achieve the feat, she was "certainly not the first one to deserve it".
Ryan Reynolds collected two awards - best comedic performance for his role in comic book movie Deadpool, and best fight for a sequence in the film with Ed Skrein.
Among the other quirky category winners were Pitch Perfect 2's Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine for best kiss, and Jennifer Lawrence for best hero for her part in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.
The awards will be screened on MTV in the UK on Monday evening. | Star Wars: The Force Awakens was named movie of the year at the 25th MTV Movie Awards on Saturday. |
22,225,953 | A "technical baccalaureate" is to be introduced showing young people's abilities in maths, literacy and a high level vocational qualification.
This will be a performance measure for schools and evidence of credible skills for students to show employers.
Skills minister Matthew Hancock said the technical baccalaureate would be a "mark of achievement".
But Labour's education spokesman Stephen Twigg said: "Seven months after Labour announced plans for a technical baccalaureate, the government is today trying to catch up."
The "Tech Bacc", launched on Monday by Mr Hancock and Education Secretary Michael Gove, is intended to reinforce the value of technical and vocational training and qualifications taken by 16 to 19-year-olds.
It is aimed at teenagers who might want qualifications for jobs in areas such as information technology, construction, retail, hospitality and digital media.
It will not be another separate qualification, but will be evidence that a young person has a particular set of employer-friendly skills.
The Tech Bacc will require students to have three elements - qualifications in maths and literacy and a "high quality" vocational qualification.
These vocational qualifications could be in anything from engineering to hairdressing, but will be taught at a level of difficulty which is meant to show that pupils are able to carry out "complex and non-routine" skills, on a par with A-levels.
These so-called Level 3 vocational qualifications were taken by about 185,000 students last year.
There is a consultation taking place to decide which vocational qualifications should be retained - after complaints that there were too many insubstantial qualifications, which carried little weight with employers.
For schools and colleges, the Tech Bacc will become a league table performance measure from 2017, in the way that schools are measured by the percentage of pupils who have achieved academic English Baccalaureate subjects.
A proposal for a Tech Bacc has previously been put forward by Labour's education spokesman, Stephen Twigg.
Responding to the government announcement, he said that Labour's version would have been a "gold standard" available to all pupils.
"David Cameron and Michael Gove have spent the last three years undermining technical education - damaging the quality of apprenticeships, downgrading the engineering diploma and narrowing the curriculum so skills are side-lined.
"The government should be judged on their actions so far, not on their words today."
The idea of a Tech Bacc has also been supported by former education ministers Labour's Lord Adonis and the Conservatives' Lord Baker.
Neil Carberry, the CBI's director for employment and skills said this was a "big step in the right direction".
"Including the Tech Bacc in existing league tables will help put vocational subjects on a par with academic A-levels.
"Business prefers this approach, rather than creating another new qualification which would struggle for recognition - like the Diploma did. We hope this will prove to be a staging point towards our ultimate goal of rigorous vocational A-levels."
Christine Blower, head of the National Union of Teachers, said that "vocational qualifications should be part of a wider 14-19 integrated system of education where the emphasis is on the opportunity to study general education, specialist areas and vocational learning. This constant tinkering with 14-19 education perpetuates unnecessary divisions."
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: "We want an education system in which everyone can reach their potential.
"Our reforms to post-16 qualifications, including the introduction of the new Tech Bacc will do that. They will incentivise the development of high-quality courses and incentivise schools and colleges to offer the courses that get young people on in life.
"We expect all bright students who want to go into technically-skilled jobs or apprenticeships to aim for the Tech Bacc." | Plans to raise the status of vocational courses in sixth forms and colleges in England have been announced. |
18,456,746 | The price was more than double Sotheby's high estimate and sets a new record for the collector's item.
A memo written by the firm's co-founder Steve Jobs when he worked at Atari sold for $27,500 at the same New York event.
The original estimate for the four-page handwritten note was up to $15,000.
Only about 200 Apple 1s were ever created. The computers were hand-built by Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak and originally sold for $666.66 (£426) as a fully assembled circuit board.
He later said he picked a sum with a repeating number "because it was just an easier way to type".
Only about 50 Apple 1s are still believed to be in existence.
The auctioned model
is one of the very few that still works.
Sotheby's said there was a battle between two parties for the item which also included the original manuals. A set of bids was executed by the auctioneer on behalf of an absentee collector, but a telephone bidder proved more persistent and eventually clinched the sale.
Their identity has not been revealed.
The Atari memo
was written in 1974 and consists of four pages detailing the late Steve Jobs' thoughts on how to improve its arcade football game World Cup.
He was 19 years old at the time. The pages include circuit drawings and diagrams showing how the paddle-based game could be made more fun to play.
The notes are stamped with Mr Jobs' Los Altos home address and a Buddhist mantra - "gate gate paragate parasangate bodhi svahdl".
It translates as: "Going, going, going on beyond, always going on beyond, always becoming Buddha."
Sotheby's said there had been "at least three bidders" for the item.
The high sums are the latest confirmation of demand for memorabilia connected to Steve Jobs, who died last October.
Apple's founding papers, featuring Mr Jobs' signature, sold at auction in December for close to $1.6m. | A rare functioning Apple 1 computer - the company's first product - has been sold at an auction for $374,500 (£240,929). |
26,114,894 | The company said it might scale down the operations of its development and technical centre in Australia as well.
Last year, Ford and General Motors' Holden unit also announced plans to stop producing cars in Australia.
About 2,500 jobs are set to be lost as a result of Toyota's decision, which it attributed to high manufacturing costs.
"We believed that we should continue producing vehicles in Australia, and Toyota and its workforce here made every effort," said Toyota president Akio Toyoda.
"However, various negative factors such as an extremely competitive market and a strong Australian dollar, together with forecasts of a reduction in the total scale of vehicle production in Australia, have forced us to make this painful decision."
The Japanese auto giant, which first began making cars in Australia in 1963, said it "intends to provide the best support it can, including employment assistance" to those affected by the decision.
Vivek Vaidya, an automotive analyst at consultancy Frost & Sullivan, said he was not surprised by Toyota's decision.
"Toyota was the last producer in Australia after exit of Mitsubishi, Ford and Holden," he said. "Labour cost in Australia is too high to be price competitive in production."
Mr Vaidya also said rival car-producing countries such as Thailand and the US were more attractive in terms of manufacturing costs.
Toyota's decision comes despite appeals from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has been looking to keep the carmaker operating in the country.
According to Australian public broadcaster ABC, upon hearing the news Mr Abbott said that "there will be better days in the future".
"Nothing we say or do can limit the devastation that so many people will feel at this point," he said.
"The important thing to remember is, while some businesses close, other businesses open, while some jobs end, other jobs start."
ABC also reported that Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten called Toyota's decision an "unmitigated disaster".
"The car industry has died under the Abbott government - it's a disgrace," he said.
Car manufacturers have been pulling out of Australia as the rising cost of doing business in the country has hit profits.
Last May, Ford said it would close its car lines in Australia in October 2016 with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs.
General Motors' Holden unit has also announced plans to stop production in 2017, affecting nearly 3,000 jobs.
Japan's Mitsubishi Motors sold its last Australian-made car in 2010.
Australia's carmaking industry has traditionally received billions of dollars in subsidies from the government.
However, a national commission recently recommended that the financial support should be ended and that car companies should cut costs instead.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) called Toyota's decision "devastating" and warned the move could cause an economic recession.
"The magnitude of this decision in the community cannot be underestimated," AMWU National Vehicles Secretary Dave Smith said.
"We are looking at a potential recession all along the south-eastern seaboard.
"The government's lack of support for manufacturing workers and the communities they support is contrary to the national interest, will harm our economy and devastate communities," Mr Smith said.
Last year, Toyota - the world's top global car maker by sales - found itself in a dispute with Australian car plant workers over proposed changes to their contracts, in an attempt to reduce costs.
This included changes to overtime requirements and the removal of additional allowances to trained first-aid officers and workers who make blood donations.
In December, Australia's Federal Court blocked a vote on the contractual changes, which Toyota said it would appeal against.
A Toyota spokesman said there were no plans to withdraw that appeal, as it believed it had not violated any laws concerning the issue.
The Australian government weighed in last month, saying it would intervene in the dispute. | Toyota is to end its vehicle and engine production in Australia by the end of 2017, effectively marking the end of the country's carmaking industry. |
36,299,242 | Alberta's municipal affairs minister, Danielle Larivee, warned that the images could be traumatic.
She said the aim was to give homeowners the most accurate information possible.
More than 80,000 people were forced to flee when a devastating wildfire swept through the town two weeks ago.
The fire, which has now moved away from the city, destroyed more than 2,400 structures.
Thousands of evacuated residents continue to live in temporary shelters, with no possessions, as they wait to hear when they can go home.
Officials say a plan should be ready within two weeks to get residents back to their homes, although fire conditions could worsen in the coming days.
Ms Larivee said she had lived through a devastating fire and evacuation herself and knew how stressful it was to have to wait for updates on which homes had been lost.
"These images will help us begin to answer the questions you have about the state of your homes and community," she said in a statement.
She warned that structures that appeared to be standing should not be considered undamaged.
"These images should not be used for official damage assessments, determining the status of individual structures, or planning re-entry to the city," she said.
On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Fort McMurray for the first time since the evacuation.
He said that despite having seen images on television, the scale of the disaster had not hit him until he had seen it for himself.
The wildfire still covers about 2,410 sq km (930 sq miles) and is expected to burn for a few more weeks. | A smartphone app has been released by the government of the Canadian province of Alberta to let people evacuated from the fire-hit town of Fort McMurray to see satellite images of their homes. |
36,687,853 | American Ledecky, 19, took nearly two seconds off her own world record to win in eight minutes 4.79 seconds, nearly 12 seconds clear of the rest.
Welsh star Carlin, 25, was her nearest challenger, securing her second silver of the Games after finishing second in the 400m freestyle earlier in the week.
Hungary's Boglarka Kapas took bronze.
Ledecky's dominant display rounded off a stunning debut Olympics with a world record nearly 14 seconds faster than what it stood at when Rebecca Adlington set it at the Beijing Olympics.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"I had a lot of fun tonight," Ledecky said. "I just wanted to push myself and see what I could do."
Carlin secured Britain's fifth swimming medal in Rio.
Siobhan-Marie O'Connor in the 200m individual medley and the men's team in the 4x200m freestyle relay also won silver.
Adam Peaty is Britain's only gold medallist so far after winning the 100m breaststroke gold.
"I couldn't do it without my family," said Carlin after the race. "They have been there through the tough times and it is nice that they can be here.
"Two silver medals, it is an incredible feeling. I'm finally believing in myself."
Find out how to get into swimming with our special guide.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | Jazz Carlin won Olympic silver for Great Britain in the women's 800m freestyle, as Katie Ledecky secured her fourth gold medal of the Rio Games. |
40,170,016 | Mr McHugh made clear that, during his year as mayor, he will not be attending Remembrance Sunday events.
"It's unlikely that I'll be there, and I've said previously and been quite frank and honest about it," he said.
He received his chain of office on Monday and succeeds the DUP's Hilary McClintock.
It is the first time someone from County Tyrone has held the position since the super council was formed in 2015.
John Boyle, of the SDLP, is the new deputy mayor.
An Irish language enthusiast, Maolíosa McHugh - who is the first male mayor of the council - has politics in his blood.
He accepted the chain of office after being nominated by his nephew, Councillor Ruairí McHugh.
He is also the brother of the late Strabane councillor Charlie McHugh, who died suddenly in 2008 after having served in the Derg area from 1985.
Maolíosa McHugh explained that he would not be attending a "poppy day ceremony and so on" because it is "so much presented as a British military event."
"I would say that to people who wish to commemorate their dead should go along and do that in a dignified and respectful way," he added.
Mayor McHugh said that one of his main priorities would be to "open up the North West" to confront the "structural issues" relating to the region's high unemployment.
In 2015, following discussions with the Royal British Legion, Sinn Féin Mayor Elisha McCallion decided not to attend the remembrance day service at the war memorial in the Diamond in Londonderry.
Reflecting on her year in office, Hilary McClintock said it had been "full of positives".
"I think there was very little criticism of me during the year because I did seek to represent people to the best of my ability," she told BBC Radio Foyle.
Councillor McClintock was criticised, by some, for not attending the funeral of the former Bishop of Derry Edward Daly.
"Well at the time I thought it was the right thing to do but you know, I'm not looking back at the negatives from my year.
"I maybe didn't realise the importance of that to so many people in our community but we have moved on from that," she added. | Sinn Féin's Castlederg-based councillor Maolíosa McHugh has been elected mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council. |
33,127,323 | Mr Corbyn reached the 35 MP threshold just two minutes before the noon deadline, helped by colleagues wanting to widen the range of candidates.
He joins Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall in the contest.
Ms Kendall's campaign team has complained to Mr Burnham and Ms Cooper about media briefings against her.
Labour MP Toby Perkins, who chairs Ms Kendall's campaign, wrote to the two candidates saying he was "sad" to see negative reports about her based on anonymous briefings.
He said a description of her supporters as "Taliban New Labour" reported in the Daily Telegraph was "inappropriate and offensive", adding: "It was particularly surprising that your campaigns have chosen to do something that, predictably, had the effect of taking precedence over the speeches that both of you were making today."
Mr Burnham and Ms Cooper's teams have distanced themselves from the "Taliban" quote, which was attributed to a source in one of their campaigns.
The contest will involve a series of public and televised hustings over the coming weeks, with the winner announced before the party conference in September.
Mr Corbyn told BBC 2's Daily Politics he "fully acknowledged" that some of his nominations came from colleagues who did not support his candidacy, but who wanted to ensure a full debate.
"I will take part in that debate and hope that at the end of it the Labour Party emerges stronger and more resolute in opposing the principles behind austerity and impoverishment of the poorest in Britain," he said.
The election was sparked by Ed Miliband's resignation in the wake of the party's electoral defeat in May.
Mr Burnham topped the list with 68 nominations, followed by Ms Cooper on 59, Ms Kendall on 41 and Mr Corbyn on 36.
This leaves 28 Labour MPs who did not nominate anybody.
Mr Corbyn's appearance on the ballot paper was criticised by Labour MP John Mann, who tweeted: "So to demonstrate our desire never to win again, Islington's Jeremy Corbyn is now a Labour leadership candidate."
But it was welcomed by other Labour figures who said it would ensure a wider range of candidates.
Former shadow cabinet minister Sadiq Khan - who is running for the London mayor - said he would nominate Mr Corbyn, without voting for him in the ballot, to ensure the "widest possible debate".
Labour MP and another London mayoral hopeful, Diane Abbott, who stood for the leadership in 2010, told the BBC the way the party elected its leaders must change, claiming the 35 MP threshold "artificially narrows the choice".
"And it doesn't just lock out the left, it locks out newer candidates and younger candidates," Ms Abbott said.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was some "unease" among MPs - both that the party had rushed into a contest and about the calibre of the line-up.
Former Labour minister Frank Field has written to Labour Party chairman John Cryer to request a rule change to make it easier for the party to get rid of a failing leader.
Mr Field told the Mail on Sunday: "We cannot hide from the fact that we made catastrophic errors in the choice of our two most recent leaders, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband.
"Having chosen them, it was then impossible to change them when we were hurtling towards election defeat."
He said the Conservative Party "would not have hesitated for a moment" to ditch their leader if they had been in the same "predicament".
Under his proposal, a vote of confidence in the leader would be called if it had the support of 30 anonymous Labour MPs. A vote on his proposed changes is expected next week.
Margaret Hodge, who backs a change in the rules, said that now was the right time to do it, before a new leader was elected.
"Our rules are just too cumbersome, unlike the Conservative Party's," she told BBC2's Daily Politics programme, adding that the aim was to "mimic" the Tories in this area.
Put to her that it suggested a lack of confidence in the current candidates, Ms Hodge disagreed, saying: "This is entirely about putting in place a mechanism that we can use, because of our experience in the past, without actually passing judgement on any individual."
Mr Burnham and Ms Cooper both made speeches on Monday setting our their pitch.
Mr Burnham said he wanted as many people as possible to be involved in the leadership election, saying it had to be "a campaign for Labour to reach out to every corner of the country and win again".
The shadow health secretary also said Labour would need to "look again" at the tuition fees system.
Ms Cooper, shadow home secretary, set out her background as a "comprehensive girl" whose first job was picking fruit on a farm before she went on to secure a place at Oxford University.
She said the UK should invest 3% of GDP on "science, technology and innovation".
The winner will be decided by a vote of Labour Party representatives, members and affiliates, to be conducted on a one-member, one-vote basis.
The result will be announced at a special conference on 12 September.
A vacancy has also arisen for the deputy leadership, after Harriet Harman announced she would be stepping down once the posts were filled.
Nominations for that election close on Wednesday, with seven candidates in the race.
15 June: Nominations for leader will close at midday
17 June: Nominations for their deputy will close at midday
12 August: Deadline for people to join the Labour Party
14 August: Ballot papers sent out by post
10 September: Polling closes at midday
12 September: Winners announced at special conference
27 September: Labour's party conference begins | Four candidates will compete to become Labour's new leader, after left-winger Jeremy Corbyn secured enough nominations to get on the ballot. |
33,250,822 | It comes after the arrest of senior American executive Julie Hamp on suspicion of importing a controlled substance into Japan.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said last week that he believes she did not intend to violate the law.
It is unclear what authorities were looking for in the raid, which is common after an arrest.
Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai told Reuters news agency that the company would not comment because an investigation is ongoing.
Ms Hamp is Toyota's newly appointed head of public relations, the highest ranking female executive in Toyota's history.
She was arrested on 18 June on suspicion of importing oxycodone, a narcotic pain killer, into Japan. The substance is tightly controlled in the country.
Police said the drugs were in a parcel that Ms Hamp had posted to herself.
She told police she brought the drugs into Japan to help with pain in her knees, Kyodo News reported. | Police have raided the headquarters of Toyota Motor in Toyota City, as well as its office in Tokyo. |
38,858,898 | Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is "very worrying".
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer - a rare form of the disease - in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: "I'm able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I'm not bedridden.
"If it wasn't for people's generosity and kindness, I wouldn't be where I am now. It's not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn't be here. It means everything.
"I'm a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
"And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them."
A spokesman for NHS England said: "More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker."
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body's own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: "Over the last 12 months, we've seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren't available on the NHS.
"It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they've been given a cancer diagnosis."
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
"The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
"The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
"This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
"However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
"It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
"It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
"I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
"Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad."
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services. | There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest. |
33,844,633 | A shed, including eco-garden equipment, was destroyed in the blaze at St Paul's Primary School on Saturday night.
A nearby sports club in the Bloomfield Park area was also attacked.
Principal of St Paul's, Catriona McFeely, said: "The shed and equipment has been totally destroyed.
"Play resources and garden equipment has been destroyed and an extension was built to it recently.
"It's hard to believe that someone would do this.
"P1 and P2 pupils come up here rain, hail or snow because they love the gardening club.
"The local community also helped us out so it's a real shame that this has happened."
SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood has condemned those behind the attack on the school and the sports club.
"Those behind it have attacked vital community facilities and have left local people to pick up the pieces," said Mr Eastwood.
"I visited St Paul's recently and was hugely impressed by the fantastic community work which the school, its staff and pupils have undertaken.
"That includes the eco-garden project which had given children a real sense of community pride.
"The equipment for that project has now been destroyed and it's local children who have lost out.
"Those responsible for these attacks have only harmed their own communities."
The police and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said they were aware of the incidents. | The principal of a primary school in Londonderry has described fire damage at the school as "disgraceful". |
34,742,361 | The defence secretary told BBC News he was appealing to MPs to reconsider the case for airstrikes.
It comes after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai desert last Saturday, which the UK government suspects was caused by a bomb.
In 2013, MPs rejected possible UK military action in Syria.
The vote two years ago was on potential airstrikes against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, amid reports he had used chemical weapons, rather than militants from Islamic State (IS or ISIL).
The government is now making the case for Islamic State to be targeted, given its links to attacks on Western targets around the world, including the killing of 30 British holidaymakers in Tunisia in June.
The four-year civil war in Syria has ground to a stalemate, with President Bashar al-Assad's regime, so-called Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
Mr Fallon told the newspaper that IS was a direct threat to the UK's national security and it was "very odd" that the UK was among a coalition of countries - including the US, France and Australia - fighting IS militants in Iraq but was not doing the same in Syria, where the group is based and co-ordinates its wider military operations from.
"That is morally indefensible that our streets should be protected by French, Australian and American aircraft, when we are not prepared to bite the bullet and get the Tornados dealing with these supply routes," he said.
Asked whether it would strengthen the case for British if IS was found to be responsible for bringing the Russian airliner down, he replied: "We don't know whether it was Isil. If it turns out to be Isil, of course."
Last year, Parliament approved UK airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq but ministers have said they will only seek MPs' approval to extend the action to Syria if there is a political "consensus" behind the action.
For more than a year, the US and coalition forces have been carrying out air strikes against IS, which controls a large part of northern Syria and parts of neighbouring Iraq.
And Russia began bombing rebels in Syria in September, with President Vladimir Putin saying the aim was to "stabilise the legitimate authority" of President Assad.
In a separate interview with the BBC, Mr Fallon dismissed recent media reports that a new vote on Syria has been dropped, saying it would be held when "we are pretty sure we can win".
"We've had 30 British holidaymakers slaughtered on a beach in Tunisia, and it's not right morally to rely on French or Australian or American aircraft to keep our streets safe," he told the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale.
"In the end, we have to be prepared to strike at ISIL headquarters, which is in Syria and not in Iraq... This is a new parliament, and we are continuing to work to build a consensus that would give us the authority to strikes at the heart of ISIL in north-east Syria."
Downing Street said the prime minister's position had not changed.
"The prime minister has set out very clearly his view that there is a clear rationale for taking military action in Syria but equally, he has always made clear that to do that would require the consensus of the House," a spokesman said.
The Russian Metrojet Airbus A321 was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it crashed, killing all 224 people on board, on Saturday.
UK investigators believe a bomb was put in the hold prior to take-off, the BBC has learned.
On Tuesday, the influential Foreign Affairs Committee - which has a Conservative majority - urged David Cameron not to press ahead with a vote on UK air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria.
The committee of MPs said no vote should take place on Syria until the government presents a "coherent international strategy" to defeat IS and end the country's civil war.
The Labour leadership is currently opposed to extending air strikes, as are the SNP, while several Tory MPs harbour doubts about the move - making it unlikely that the government could win a vote. | It is "morally indefensible" for Britain to rely on other countries to tackle the so-called Islamic State in Syria, Michael Fallon has said. |
38,392,752 | A group of about 10 men were involved in the brawl on The Causeway in the town centre at about 02:40 GMT, police said.
The 31-year-old victim was found with serious head injuries. He died later in hospital.
Two men, aged 25 and 22, have been held on suspicion of murder, assault, affray and possession of an offensive weapon. | A man has died of injuries he sustained in a "gang fight" outside a bar in Altrincham. |
40,371,873 | The deceased foetus, named Wally, has been held at a public hospital in the city since April.
"We're really happy and relieved," the father, Kevin, told BBC News.
"It's bittersweet, of course, but I'm relieved that we've been able to get closure," he said.
"We will finally be able to bury our baby with the dignity and respect that he deserves."
Under current rules, deceased foetuses younger than 24 weeks are not routinely released to their families for burial.
Instead, they are considered to be "clinical waste" and disposed of accordingly.
Kevin and his wife Angela, who are using pseudonyms to protect their privacy, were only allowed to take their son for burial after the Catholic Diocese agreed to step in.
The Church has agreed to set aside space in its private cemetery in eastern Hong Kong for foetuses born before 24 weeks of gestation.
Called "Angel Garden", the space is only available to Roman Catholic families.
Kevin said Angela miscarried at home in April and after arriving in hospital, he held his son for seven hours.
He recalled the nurses as being sympathetic and kind, offering to dress the child in tiny dolls' clothing.
The trouble started when the couple tried to claim their child for burial.
"When the hospital said our son was hospital property, our jaws dropped," he said.
"If you have a relative die, and the government confiscates the body, it wouldn't make you feel very good unless you have some kind of resolution."
In a statement to the BBC, the hospital authority, which manages all public hospitals in Hong Kong, said foetuses born without signs of life before 24 weeks of gestation were handled according to the legal requirements of the Environmental Protection Department.
It added that parents were entitled to approach hospitals for release of the body.
In the past year, the authority said it had received 18 such applications, of which 14 had been approved.
But Kevin and Angela's lawyer, Michael Vidler, accused the authorities of taking directions from abortion law which stipulates that 24 weeks is the gestational age above which the foetus is considered stillborn and is allowed to be released for burial.
Currently, abortions in Hong Kong cannot be performed after 24 weeks unless it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Kevin said the hospital had previously agreed to release his son's body, but without the documentation required for a proper burial.
Outlook for extremely premature babies 'improving'
World's smallest MRI helps tiny babies
Extra baby scan 'spots brain problems'
How foetuses learn language
"I had nowhere to take him," he explained. "If you take a baby that is considered to be clinical waste, you can't just dispose of it any which way you like. I could bury him in my garden, or hold a bonfire at the beach, but it wouldn't be a legal burial. If someone discovers it, they could call the police."
He said that in May, weeks after the miscarriage, the hospital agreed to release the body and suggested the couple go to a pet crematorium - an offer which they quickly rejected.
He said the solution offered by the Roman Catholic Church mirrors what Hong Kong's Islamic cemetery had been allowed to do for decades.
Roman Catholics believe that life begins at conception, while most Muslim scholars say a foetus in the womb is recognised as a human life.
But Kevin wants all families in Hong Kong, regardless of religion or background, to have the option of taking their deceased children for burial or cremation.
"I don't think it should be available only to people of certain religions or certain backgrounds," he said. "I want to see the government change this policy, or for lawmakers to change the law." | A grieving couple in Hong Kong have finally been granted permission to pick up the body of their son for burial after he died during a miscarriage in the 15th week of pregnancy. |
35,343,985 | Gayle hit seven sixes to equal the mark of India batsman Yuvraj Singh against England at the 2007 World Twenty20.
He was out five balls later for 56.
Needing to surpass Adelaide Strikers' 170-5 in 15.5 overs or less to reach the BBL semi-finals, the Renegades were bowled out for 143.
The Strikers, including England leg-spinner Adil Rashid and coached by Yorkshire's's Jason Gillespie, top the group and advance to the last four, where they will face Sydney Thunder on Thursday.
In the other semi-final on Friday, up to four England internationals could be on show as Melbourne Stars face Perth Scorchers.
Kevin Pietersen and Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright are fixtures in the Stars side, while the Scorchers' squad includes left-arm seamer David Willey and Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry.
The semi-finals and final will be played as double-headers with the Women's Big Bash League.
For Gayle, the Renegades' exit ends a Big Bash campaign in which he attracted criticism for comments he made to TV reporter Mel McLaughlin.
The former West Indies captain asked McLaughlin out on a date during a live interview and later apologised.
The 36-year-old already holds the record for the fastest T20 hundred, made off 30 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in 2013. | Chris Gayle hit a 12-ball half-century to equal the record for the fastest fifty in Twenty20 cricket, but could not prevent Melbourne Renegades from going out of the Big Bash League. |
35,615,595 | The regulator said that 6.1m gas and electricity accounts had been transferred during the year - about 800,000 more than in 2014.
The news was welcomed by consumer groups, which said competition in the market was improving.
"It's encouraging to see switching levels at their highest level for four years," said Ofgem's Rachel Fletcher.
The big six energy companies have all cut prices for their gas customers this year by at least 5.1%, but there have been no reductions to electricity tariffs.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) - whose report on the energy market is due next month - has said that householders could save up to £234 a year by switching.
However, Ann Robinson, from the price comparison site Uswitch, said that recently consumers had been making much larger savings than that.
In the last three months of 2015 the average switcher's dual fuel saving was £337, she said.
For 10% of people, they were saving as much as £567 a year.
Earlier this year Ofgem accused the energy companies of overcharging many of their customers.
But for the industry, Energy UK said there was a competitive market.
The CMA is due to release its provisional remedies report in March, with a final report to be published on 25 June.
Among other options, it is considering a possible price cap on the most expensive tariffs. | The number of UK households switching their energy provider rose by 15% in 2015, Ofgem said. |
34,416,989 | Teenagers rarely meet online but do use technology for flirting, asking out, meeting up and parting, American think tank, the Pew Research Center, found.
A survey of 1,060 US teenagers aged 13 to 17 revealed that technology brings them closer but also breeds jealousy.
"Digital platforms are powerful tools for teens," said Amanda Lenhart, lead author of the report from Pew.
"But even as teens enjoy greater closeness with partners and a chance to display their relationships for others to see, mobile and social media can also be tools for jealousy, meddling and even troubling behaviour."
Of the 1,060 teenagers surveyed:
What gets discussed during all those frequent social media enabled check-ins?
According to the survey, it is mostly "funny stuff" followed by "things you're thinking about" as well as other information such as where they are and what their friends have been doing.
And forget having to meet up to resolve a conflict - 48% of dating teenagers said that could be done by texting or talking online.
Online tools, with their accessibility and ease of use, also showed some signs of giving this group relationship anxiety.
Females are more likely to be subject to unwanted flirting and 25% of teenagers surveyed said they have blocked or unfriended someone because of uncomfortable flirting.
And 15% of teenage daters said a partner had used the internet to pressure them into unwanted sexual activity.
Nearly half the respondents admitted to concentrating on their phone ahead of their partner when together with 43% of dating teens saying that had happened to them.
"I don't think this survey reveals much that is surprising. But it is affirming. Humans are social animals and we build tools to connect with each other," wrote Julie Beck, an associate editor at The Atlantic news site, of the survey's findings.
"It's not all heart emojis all the time, no, but the tools that facilitate relationships facilitate all aspects of them, good and bad.
"Connecting with others is scary, hard, sometimes dangerous, but usually, hopefully, good. The teens get it." | Technology plays a key role in teenage romance from initial encounters to eventual break-ups, says a US study. |
34,664,203 | Analysts said the closely watched cash profit measure, which strips out some one-off items, would be welcomed by investors despite expectations for profits of A$7.29bn.
"The core parts of the bank's results were a pass mark," said IG's Evan Lucas.
ANZ's shares were rising on the news.
The result for the year to September marks a 1% rise on cash profits from a year earlier.
The lender, which is the nation's third-biggest bank by market value, also said its after-tax profit rose 3% to A$7.5bn.
The results follow National Australia Bank's full-year profit report on Wednesday, which failed to impress investors after it missed expectations.
Australia's banking sector, particularly the so-called top four, which includes National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac, is regarded as being highly profitable.
The sector made it through the global financial crisis relatively unscathed, but is now facing tighter regulatory controls. Banks have been told to increase the amount of capital they put aside in order to protect their mortgage businesses.
ANZ has also been focused on its operations in Asia in recent years, but its latest results in the region "had declined substantially for the period", said Mr Lucas.
"We've seen a 32% decline in the bank's international and investment banking division in Asia, and the bank seems to have eased its tone on growth in that area," he said.
The bank's chief executive Mike Smith remained relatively upbeat, however, about the bank's business in Australia and New Zealand.
"In a constrained environment, we have continued to see growth in our core customer franchises in Australia, in New Zealand and in key Asian markets, partly offset by the effect of macro-economic headwinds on the international and institutional banking division," said Mr Smith. | One of Australia's biggest lenders, ANZ, has posted a record annual cash profit of 7.2bn Australian dollars ($5.1bn; £3.34bn). |
33,065,383 | The Commission on Housing and Wellbeing was established two years ago by the charity Shelter.
Its latest report called on the Scottish government to increase the number of new homes being built to 23,000 a year.
The Scottish government said housing "is at the heart" of its ambitions.
The commission said ignoring its recommendations would lead to a deepening of the current "crisis".
Some 15,500 homes were constructed in 2013-14, according to government figures.
The commission claimed a wider house-building programme would create jobs and bring significant health and education benefits.
Its chairman Robert Black, the former auditor-general for Scotland, said there was already a "homes crisis."
He added: "There are some stark statistics in the report about numbers of households on the waiting list, which is more than 150,000.
"More and more families are living on short-term tenancies in the private rented sector, so we think there's a real issue."
The report, launched on Wednesday, called for a "modest" increase in the number of houses built by 2020.
But Mr Black dismissed suggestions that tight public finances meant such an increase was unachievable.
"By making that investment, there's a 'spend to save' issue because a good home is essential to the quality of life of everybody living in Scotland," he said.
"It can help with issues as diverse as providing a base for kids to do their learning well, to the difficult issue of freeing up people who are blocked in hospital beds because their homes aren't suitable."
Anne Jarvie, former chief nursing officer for Scotland, who also sat on the commission, said improving the housing stock could help cut costs for the NHS.
"Having to live in cold, damp and completely unsuitable properties, or not having a permanent home, risks the long-term physical and mental health and wellbeing of many people, particularly children," she said.
"By acting now we can help end this inequality and create an environment where current and future generations in Scotland can prosper and flourish."
Shelter Scotland's director, Graeme Brown, said he had no doubt the government could meet the targets the report had set.
"We have set a challenging and ambitious set of priorities for the government through this report. However, obviously we are in constrained times," he added.
"We will be looking to the finance secretary and the spending review which the Scottish government will be announcing later this year as an indication that they are seriously going to try to tackle these problems."
The report highlighted the close links between inequality, poverty and poor housing.
It said new homes need to be built in areas where jobs exist, and recommended possible tax changes to improve the supply of land for housing.
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil MSP welcomed the publication.
He said: "Housing is at the heart of the Scottish government's ambitions to create a fairer and more prosperous country, and it is our aim that everyone should have a safe, warm home which suits their needs and they can afford.
"Access to good quality housing is a vital part of this government's drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality." | Scotland's housing policy needs radical action to help deal with poverty and inequality, an independent commission has said. |
38,795,937 | Eastwood stopped an Aleksandar Mitrovic spot-kick in Oxford's impressive 3-0 fourth round win with the game at 1-0.
"He (the analyst) told me after the game that Mitrovic had gone the other way with his two previous penalties," Eastwood told BBC Radio Oxford.
"If he'd told me that before, I'd have definitely dived the wrong way."
Former Blackburn goalkeeper Eastwood put in a man of the match performance as League One club Oxford outfought their Championship opponents.
Media playback is not supported on this device
He denied striker Mitrovic with two smart one-on-one saves in the first half before diving low to his right to thwart the Serbia international from the spot.
"Sometimes it's just about trusting your instincts with a penalty," Eastwood added, after Oxford progressed to the last 16 for the first time since 1994.
But manager Michael Appleton, who has signed Eastwood three times in his career, chose to take some of the credit for the penalty save himself.
"I keep telling him in training to stand still and just wait for the player to actually kick it and place it," he said.
"I'm a believer that if you go once it's been hit and it's not within a couple of inches of the post, you can get there." | Oxford United goalkeeper Simon Eastwood was relieved the club's analyst chose not to speak to him before his FA Cup penalty save against Newcastle United. |
38,045,421 | The woman, who is in her 30s, was driving on the Pembroke Loop Road in the west of the city at about 07:00 GMT on Sunday morning.
A man ran out in front of her car, forcing her to stop.
Another man approached the vehicle and opened the driver's door before forcing the woman out of the car.
The two men got into the black Citroen C5 estate, along with a third man, before driving off.
The car has not yet been recovered. | A woman has been left badly shaken after her car was hijacked by three men in Belfast. |
35,188,050 | The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.6% to 18,873.35 despite economic data painting a gloomier picture of the world's third-largest economy.
Figures showed Japan's factory output fell 1% in November from the previous month, the first drop in three months.
Retail sales also fell below forecasts and declined 1% from a year ago.
Japan's economy narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter and economists are expecting only modest growth in the current one.
Shares of Sharp, however, were up 7.3% on reports that the struggling consumer electronics firm had received a purchase offer from Taiwan's electronics supplier Hon Hai Precision.
Chinese shares were lower, with the Shanghai Composite ending the day down 2.6% at 3,533.78, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 1% lower at 21,919.62.
Economic data released on Sunday showed that profits earned by Chinese industrial firms in November fell 1.4% from a year ago, marking the sixth month of declines.
Hong Kong-listed shares of China Telecom also fell 1.6% after the country's anti-corruption watchdog said it was investigating its chairman, Chang Xiaobing.
In South Korea, the Kospi index ended down 1.3% at 1,964.06 points.
The Australian market was closed for a public holiday. | It was a mixed picture for Asian shares at the start of a week shortened by holidays, amid quiet trade as Japanese shares ended a five-day losing streak. |
37,506,158 | Ronnie Coulter, 48, from Wishaw, denies murdering the 32-year-old in Overtown, North Lanarkshire, on 4 November 1998.
In his closing speech, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told jurors: "The person responsible is Ronnie Coulter."
Mr Coulter's QC Donald Findlay told the jury that witnesses for the prosecution has been "atrocious" and told "deliberate and despicable" lies.
Addressing the jury in the fourth week of the trial, Mr Prentice said: "On 4 November 1998 Surjit Singh Chhokar made his way home from his work with a bottle of juice and a takeaway meal, doubtless looking forward to a pleasant evening.
"He was confronted in the dark by three men. He was attacked, stabbed, killed, murdered and left in the street."
Mr Prentice added: "I say to you the person responsible for that is Ronnie Coulter.
"I ask you to convict Ronnie Coulter of the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar."
Mr Prentice told the jury that they perform an important public function and urged them to put aside any emotion and not to speculate, but decide the case on the facts.
He added: "This is a tragic tale. This man's death occurred simply because Surjit Singh Chhokar's flat was broken into and his Giro cheque stolen. The incident which led to his death lasted only a couple of minutes if that, yet we have occupied four weeks exploring the events."
The QC also urged the jury to ignore the fact that there have been two previous trials.
He told the jurors: "There are some unusual features about this case. You have heard quite properly that there have been two previous trials. Ronnie Coulter, Andrew Coulter and David Montgomery have all been tried for murder and all have been acquitted.
"In large part the previous trials are irrelevant. You have no idea what the evidence was or who the witnesses were."
The jury has heard that Mr Chhokar was stabbed three times. The fatal wound went through his heart and he died of massive blood loss.
Ronnie Coulter has blamed his nephew, Andrew Coulter, and another man, David Montgomery, for the killing.
Both have given evidence during the trial and admitted being there on the night Mr Chhokar died, but they denied murder.
Mr Prentice told the jurors that it would be suggested by the defence that there was a conspiracy against Ronnie Coulter in order to get him convicted of murder.
Referring to the two men Mr Coulter blames for the murder, Mr Prentice said: "Andrew Coulter is a killer who carries a knife. He pleaded guilty to culpable homicide of a man by stabbing him on the leg.
"Does that mean he stabbed Surjit Singh Chhokar? No it doesn't.
"There is a theme in cross-examination that he was seeking to divert blame from his uncle Ronnie for revenge or whatever.
"Andrew Coulter flatly denies having a knife that night and flatly denies stabbing Chhokar."
Mr Prentice asked the jury: "What was Ronnie Coulter's reason for being there? David Montgomery provided the lift and there was a dispute between Andrew Coulter and Surjit Singh Chhokar. Andrew Coulter had stolen and cashed his Giro."
Mr Coulter's QC, Donald Findlay, later began his speech to the jury.
He told the jury it was Mr Coulter's position that he did not stab Mr Chhokar.
Mr Findlay said race had no part to play in Mr Chhokar's death, adding: "It is wholly, completely and utterly irrelevant."
The QC claimed the trial had heard from "atrocious witnesses" who were "determined to say what they wanted to say for their own personal reasons".
The advocate insisted "not just white lies" had been told, but ones which were "deliberate and despicable".
The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues. | Jurors in the Surjit Singh Chhokar murder trial have been asked to convict the accused of the "tragic" stabbing. |
10,547,390 | At least 30 died when a suicide bomber targeted a crowd walking through the predominantly Sunni Adhamiya district to the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim mosque.
Eleven pilgrims were killed in other bombings across the capital.
Security had been stepped up to protect the thousands of pilgrims attending a festival that culminates on Thursday.
In pictures: Iraq pilgrimage
Vehicles had been banned in the mainly Shia area of Kadhimya, where the shrine is located, and 200,000 police officers and soldiers deployed along the pilgrims' main routes.
The authorities had also imposed a city-wide ban on motorbikes, bicycles and carts to help reduce the risk of vehicle-born attacks.
"We expect the terrorist groups to launch terrorist attacks against pilgrims during the coming hours, but our contingency plans will foil their vicious acts," Maj-Gen Ahmed al-Saedi had said earlier.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad says that while the overall level of violence is much lower than in recent years, and sectarian tensions have eased, attacks of this kind are all too frequent, particularly during high-profile religious events.
The religious festival marks the anniversary of the death in the 8th Century of Moussa al-Kadhim, the seventh of the 12 Shia imams. It was outlawed under Saddam Hussein, and has attracted large crowds since being revived.
An Adhamiya resident said he had been drinking tea and watching the pilgrims walk by when the suicide bomber struck.
"We heard a big explosion and everybody rushed to the site to see bodies and hear wounded people, screaming for help," Saif al-Azami told the Associated Press. "We helped carry the wounded to the hospital before the ambulances arrived."
Some of his Sunni friends, he said, had been serving food and water to the pilgrims and were killed or wounded in the attacks.
Despite the attacks, many pilgrims said they would not be deterred.
"Even in the time of Saddam, I came across the fields despite it being forbidden to travel to attend," Hamid Talib told AFP news agency.
"I would make the pilgrimage whatever the situation is."
Layla Abbas, 63, who was being pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter toward the shrine, told Reuters: "I'm disabled, yes, but my loyalty to Shia imams is not."
In 2005, nearly 1,000 pilgrims were killed in a stampede on the Imams Bridge, which crosses the River Tigris between Kadhimya and Adhamiya, after rumours spread that a suicide bomber was walking among them.
Last year, two female suicide bombers blew themselves near the shrine, killing 65 people, including 20 Iranian pilgrims.
Wednesday's attacks come as the US military prepares to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by the end of August.
There are fears the long-planned move could be hindered by the failure of Iraq's major political parties to form a coalition government following March's inconclusive parliamentary election. | More than 40 people have died and some 100 have been wounded in bomb attacks on Shia pilgrims converging on a shrine in northern Baghdad, say police. |
36,130,194 | The adult bird was discovered in Chopwell Wood, near Gateshead, where the protected species was reintroduced in 2004.
Police are investigating the shooting, which has been condemned by the Friends of the Red Kite (FoRK) group.
Three red kites were found poisoned in the same area last year.
FoRK's welfare officer Allan Withrington said a red kite had also recently been shot and injured near Malton in North Yorkshire.
"That anyone could even think about shooting these beautiful, graceful birds is beyond my comprehension," he said.
"We are saddened by yet another wildlife crime and look forward to hearing the results of the police investigation."
Red kites are protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and anyone found killing one can face up to six months in jail.
Mr Withrington said FoRK, which monitors red kite numbers, was working with police, the RSPB and Natural England to identify so-called "persecution hotspots" and encourage the public to report suspicious incidents close to 19 known nesting sites.
Last year about 25 red kite chicks were known to have fledged in the north east England, down from 35 the previous year.
There are about 1,000 red kites in England. | A red kite, one of the UK's most highly protected birds of prey, has been found shot dead and riddled with shotgun pellets. |
33,001,263 | The Conservative UK government plans to stop subsidies to onshore wind power - and policy details are expected soon.
Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to consult with Scotland before any change but that has not happened.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said he was concerned because onshore wind is so important to the economy.
In a letter to the UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, Mr Ewing said: "It is disappointing that I have not had the opportunity to engage with you on this ahead of it being a matter for speculation in the press.
"We have not received any information from your department on the possible options you are considering or what analysis has been done to assess the impact on projects in Scotland."
Mr Ewing warned that changing previously-agreed subsidies would cause a crisis of confidence with business.
His letter said: "Any lack of clarity on the UK government's intentions has the potential to stall a very substantial pipeline of investment in the UK and Scotland and dent (our) reputation with developers and inward investors."
Mr Cameron may be planning a strategy in which he appeases his own backbenchers by stopping subsidies in England and Wales - but then allowing them in Scotland, where the majority of wind farms are being planned anyway.
Mr Ewing wants to know whether this is the case. He believes it is irrational to end support for the UK's cheapest form of clean energy.
Experts have warned that choking off onshore wind energy would lead to higher bills as clean electricity is obtained from more expensive sources such as offshore wind.
Businesses are furious to hear rumours that a subsidy scheme known as the Renewables Obligation might be scrapped earlier than its planned end date of 2017.
They say it is unfair on firms which have invested in design, connectors and planning permission.
The row follows a previous dispute in which the UK government scrapped solar power subsidies early, while continuing support for nuclear power which has been subsidised for more than 60 years.
Ian Marchant, from the British Wind partnership, said: "The proposed approach contradicts the government's manifesto commitment to "meet our climate change commitments, cutting carbon emissions as cheaply as possible, to save you money" - as the cost of substituting more expensive technologies in place of onshore wind would add several hundred million pounds every year to bills.
"It surely cannot be the government's intention to deny local communities the chance to host onshore wind projects if that is what they want to do.
"Energy policy needs to honestly reflect the views of voters: the government's own polls show onshore wind is backed by 65% of the public - more than supported any political party at the election."
One possibility mooted in a recent report is that the government has run out of cash it allocated for renewables.
The decision on when to withdraw subsidies is a delicate one. If they are stopped too late, consumers will get needlessly charged; if stopped too early then the industry will fail to fulfil its potential - in the short term at least.
Some energy experts say onshore wind will be competitive with new-build gas power by 2020.
The energy and climate department (Decc) said no decisions on the subsidies had been made, but that an announcement should be made soon.
A UK government spokesman told BBC News that Scotland would be consulted but could not say when. | The Scottish energy minister has complained to his UK counterpart that Scotland is being frozen out of key decisions on green energy. |
34,551,782 | Jessica Bruce completed the Abingdon Marathon with her seven-month-old son Daniel in a pushchair in three hours, 17 minutes and 52 seconds.
Guinness World Records said the current record holder for fastest marathon pushing a pram (female) was three hours, 31 minutes and 45 seconds.
Ms Bruce, from Headington, said she was awaiting confirmation from Guinness.
She said: "We did so much training on hilly courses so this was easier than I expected.
"We went off on an even pace and it was really good. Daniel was a star."
She said she had applied to Guinness for the record and was awaiting the signature of the race director to verify her time.
Ms Bruce entered the race shortly after having her son and said: "I thought I would be running slower than usual so I thought I'd set up another kind of challenge for it.
"Daniel loves it, he loves watching the trees and is absolutely happy when he's awake."
Her personal best in a marathon is two hours and 58 minutes and she kept running until she was seven months pregnant.
Her buggy is lightweight and has in-built suspension.
Guinness World Records said the current record holder was Allison Tai of Canada who set her time in September 2012 in British Colombia.
The Abingdon Marathon is in its 34th year and about 1,200 runners took part. | A mother is claiming a world record for running a marathon while pushing a buggy. |
37,518,489 | Sir Tom Winsor said Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings' decision was based on three "misunderstood" words in a press release.
Mr Crompton was suspended after the Hillsborough inquest verdicts in April.
He said the PCC's decision was wrong and he will be taking legal action.
Mr Crompton - who was due to retire in November - was suspended the day after the Hillsborough inquests concluded police conduct contributed to or caused the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989.
A statement he issued on 27 April, included the phrase "these [police] failures had to be put into the context of other contributory factors".
Dr Billings said the words "other contributory factors" showed insensitivity to the victims of the disaster.
Following the suspension, Dr Billings instigated dismissal proceedings against Mr Crompton under Section 38 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, which required him to consult others on the proposal - among them, Sir Tom.
Speaking to the Today programme Sir Tom said: "Dr Billings is firing the chief constable for nothing other than three words in a press release which could not fairly mean anything other than he was not blaming the fans."
He said the PCC's interpretation of the statement was "mistaken and the High Court will correct him".
"The Police and Crime Commissioner cannot fire the chief because people have misunderstood what was said and, let's remember, the PCC was shown the statement before it was made an he did not say 'Do not issue that statement'."
In published documents relating to the dismissal proceedings Mr Crompton claims he took the statement to Dr Billings on the morning of 27 April but was told the PCC could not advise on it.
According to Dr Billings, Mr Crompton was told it was "unwise" to make a comment seeking to justify the force's legal stance at the inquests. | The decision to force South Yorkshire Police chief David Crompton to resign was a mistake which will be "corrected in the High Court", the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said. |
29,216,243 | Police said Michael Carter, 49, from Salford, got into a row about football with two men on King Street West at about 03:10 BST on 31 August.
He was punched and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement, said police. He died on 10 September.
The images show the two suspects outside Revolution Bar, Southgate.
The pictures were taken at about 1.50 BST on 31 August, before the incident.
A post-mortem examination concluded Mr Carter, who had four children, died from a head injury.
Det Ch Insp Richard Eales said: "It appears he was punched once in the face during, or after, an argument over football.
"We believe that two men came across Michael and his friend in the minutes before the incident and had football-related banter."
He added: "We know that Michael received a blow to the head outside the Cotswold Outdoor store on the corner of Deansgate and South King Street."
Police said one of the men was white, 6ft (1.8m) tall and of slim build while a second man was possibly Asian/mixed race, 5ft 7in (1.7m) tall and of medium build with black hair.
They said the suspects ran off towards Bridge Street after the incident.
A third man, not involved in the incident that led to Mr Carter's death, was with both men outside the Revolution Bar.
He was described as black with short dark hair.
Det Ch Insp Eales asked for anyone who recognised the men, including anyone working for a taxi firm that may have picked them up, to contact police or Crimestoppers. | CCTV images of men wanted in connection with the death of a man after a "single punch" on a night out in Manchester have been released by police. |
38,380,775 | The visitors twice led early on through Joel Hodgson penalties, but Sarries got the first try against the run of play when Marcelo Bosch went over.
Two Owen Farrell penalties put the hosts 13-6 ahead at half time, and he added a third late in the second half.
Ashton secured the win when he crossed in his first appearance since being found guilty of biting in September.
The England winger, who has agreed a move to French Top 14 side Toulon at the end of the season, played 30 minutes as a replacement and capped his performance when he went over untouched in the right corner.
Saracens were unable to earn a bonus point as Newcastle matched them for long periods of the game.
And second-placed Wasps are now only behind the reigning champions on points difference following their bonus-point home win over Bath.
Falcons spent much of the early stages camped on the Sarries line, but they were twice forced to settle for penalties and rarely troubled the hosts' impressive defence from then on.
And their inability to turn pressure into points meant they also missed out on a losing bonus point and remain eighth in the table.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall:
"It is good to have Chris back in the team and scoring tries. It wasn't the best game for him to come back for but he got his name on the scoresheet.
"His attitude in training has been fine. He's been waiting for this chance to play again and now he's keen to get a couple of starts.
"We now just want to see more of what he's given the club over the last four years."
Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards:
"We were our own worst enemy. We can moan about the referee's decisions but we had chances that we didn't take.
"It was disappointing not to get something because we matched them for most of the game."
Saracens: Maitland; Earle, Bosch, Tompkins, Wyles; Farrell (capt), Spencer; Barrington, George, Koch, Skelton, Kruis, Itoje, Rhodes, Wray.
Replacements: Brits, Lamositele, Figallo, Burger, Conlon, Wigglesworth, Lozowski, Ashton.
Newcastle: Tait; Watson, Burdon, Socino, Goneva; Hodgson, Takulua; Vickers, Lawson, Welsh, Green, Olmstead, Chick, Wilson (capt), Hogg.
Replacements: Sowrey, Harris, Ryan, Witty, Fonua, Egerton, Willis, Waldouck.
Referee: Matt Carley.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Chris Ashton scored a try on his return from a 13-week ban as Saracens beat Newcastle to stay top of the table. |
34,931,374 | The civilian Mi-8 helicopter was carrying the workers to state oil company Rosneft's Vankor oilfield. There were 25 people were on board.
Russian media said that the reason for the crash is unclear.
The helicopter is reported to have crashed on a frozen river. Snowmobiles evacuated injured people.
It came down 10km (6.2 miles) from the town of Igarka in Krasnoyarsk region. All three crew members were killed, officials said.
The helicopter was dropping off and collecting rotation workers at the remote Vankor site. In winter this can only be done by landing on ice. | At least 10 oil workers have been killed in a helicopter crash in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, Russian officials say. |
38,522,133 | Moshin Amin, 30, from Broomer Street, Dewsbury, has been charged with firearms offences related to a loaded semi-automatic handgun.
Yassar Yaqub, 28, from Huddersfield, was shot when police stopped a car near junction 24 of the M62 on Monday.
Mr Amin has been detained in custody and will appear before Leeds magistrates on Friday morning.
He was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause of fear of violence, possession of a sound moderator and possession of ammunition, said West Yorkshire Police.
Mr Yaqub was in the front seat of a white Audi stopped by police. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said a gun was found in the car.
Earlier, the IPCC said post-mortem tests showed Mr Yaqub died of gunshot wounds
Five men were arrested in total during the police operation in West Yorkshire on Monday.
Two other men aged 37 and 26 have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Two men, aged 26 and 30, have already been released on bail.
The police operation is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). | A man has been charged in connection with a police operation on the M62 in which an officer shot a man dead. |
36,868,706 | A UK-based monitoring group said 38 troops died in the blast, which it said happened on Thursday.
The Thuwwar al-Sham rebel group posted a video online that appeared to show a building used by government troops being destroyed by a huge blast.
Aleppo is divided between the rebel-held east and government west.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in the east of the city, which was effectively cut off by government forces earlier this month.
Government forces backed by Russian air strikes have intensified their military campaign against the city's rebel-held areas in recent weeks.
The city has been divided between the two sides for the past four years.
Footage by Thuwwar al-Sham purported to show members of the group planting explosives inside the tunnel. The video then showed a building blowing up in a huge explosion in a cloud of rubble and ash.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) initially said that the death toll from the tunnel bomb was 14, but revised this upward on Friday. | Dozens of pro-government troops were killed when rebels blew up a tunnel underneath a building in the Syrian city of Aleppo, reports say. |
40,749,382 | The broadcaster said the programme had been a "hugely successful brand", but would not be shown at the same time as the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
The show sees celebrities take on challenges like speed skating and ski-jumping and has run for four seasons.
But 34 contestants, including actress Tina Hobley and Strictly Come Dancing star Ola Jordan, have been injured.
Jordan suffered a leg injury while former Coronation Street star actress Hobley broke her arm in two places.
There have also been injuries to:
Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews was the latest winner of the show, which has been presented by Davina McCall.
A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: "The Jump has been a hugely successful brand for Channel 4 over the last four years.
"However, with such a huge amount of winter sport on screen at the start of 2018 we have decided to rest the show for the year."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | Winter sports reality TV show The Jump will be taking a "rest" in 2018, Channel 4 has said. |
34,144,863 | The King's College London lecturers also fear relatives are sometimes excluded from "critical conversations" about the end of loved one's life.
And they say the NHS does not always have the capacity to provide "time and continuity".
NHS England said guidance stressed the importance of relatives' involvement.
The experts from the Cicely Saunders Institute, which examines palliative care policy, highlight a recent report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) that shows that most NHS complaints are focused on the last year of life.
Their modelling shows the number of people dying in the UK is likely to increase in the next several years by another 100,000 - added to approximately half a million people every year at the moment.
One of the lecturers, Dr Jonathan Koffman, said: "How will we identify these individuals and provide them with impeccable assessment?
"At the moment there's too much inconsistency and poor quality care meted out to people at critical moments in their life.
"They experience poor management of really distressing symptoms. This is not a vocal constituency - often they can't talk.
"And the family members who are subsequently bereaved are too wounded by those experiences to then talk and help us work out what to do better."
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is still consulting about its 266-page draft guidance on end-of-life care, which was published in July.
Two years ago, the government announced that previous care guidelines - called the Liverpool Care Pathway - were being phased out, after mounting criticism and distressing accounts that they had become a "checklist".
Another palliative care lecturer from King's College London, Dr Katherine Sleeman, said: "The NICE guidance is pretty thorough as a synthesis of scientific evidence.
"You can think of it as a reference manual for death. That's important and necessary within their remit, but not sufficient to ensure everyone who's dying is cared for well."
She said other essential factors included investment in education and training.
"Medical students graduate pretty much unprepared for this.
"An audit last year showed only one in five NHS trusts mandate training for doctors in palliative care - but 100% of them are going to have to care for someone who's dying."
Dr Sleeman said she was publishing research soon which shows how the Liverpool Care Pathway became misused.
She added: "It was intended as a guide but it became a protocol. It was used as a crutch because people simply didn't know any better.
"The review and phasing out was very hard for nurses on the wards. They told us they didn't know what to do.
"But that made me feel that getting rid of it was the right thing to do."
Prof Bee Wee, NHS England's national clinical director of end of life care, said: "These can be difficult issues for anyone to think or talk about, whether it's patients, their loved ones or the professionals caring for them.
"We made clear in our actions for end of life care guidance, published in November, how much importance we place on individuals and their loved ones being engaged, supported and empowered to make decisions about their own care." | More investment is still needed to improve the "inconsistent and often poor" care of dying people, say palliative care experts. |
25,984,238 | Known as Mez to her friends, Meredith saw her time in Italy as a dream trip. Her parents said she was excited about learning the language, meeting new friends and immersing herself in a different culture.
Miss Kercher had chosen the central Italian city for her exchange trip, over Milan and Rome because she believed it would be safer.
"She fought so hard to get out there," her father John has said.
"There were quite a few setbacks but she was determined to go and kept persisting and eventually got what she wanted."
But three months after leaving the University of Leeds to start her year-long exchange in Italy, she was found dead.
The European studies student was embarking on a course on modern history, political theories and history of cinema and had moved into a flat she rented with American Knox.
It was there that Italian police discovered her body - she had been stabbed to death.
Her flatmate and Rafaele Sollecito, Knox's then Italian boyfriend, were convicted of the murder in 2009.
At the time, prosecutors said the pair had been involved in a sex game with Miss Kercher that had gone wrong.
Prosecutors later alleged that the murder resulted from a heated argument over cleanliness in the Perugia apartment.
In 2011, an eight-member jury cleared both Knox and Sollecito of Miss Kercher's murder after doubts were raised over procedures used to gather DNA evidence and they were freed after four years in jail.
A retrial was ordered in 2013 after an appeal by prosecutors, who argued that important DNA evidence had been disregarded, and in 2014 the original guilty verdicts were reinstated.
But in March 2015, in a final ruling in the long-running case, Italy's top appeals court overturned the convictions again.
Miss Kercher was found in her bedroom, partially covered by a duvet. Her throat had been cut and the bedroom door was locked but the window had been broken.
She was, according to an Italian she was said to have dated, very different from her American flatmate.
"The two were like chalk and cheese - totally opposite in character," 24-year-old Giacomo Silenzi said.
"Meredith was calm, sweet and shy. Amanda was an extrovert and always showing off."
Described as sociable and loving by friends and family, Miss Kercher was often seen in photos smiling broadly.
She grew up in the suburb of Coulsdon, in the southern outer reaches of London.
Before heading north to university, she was educated at the £10,000-a-year private Old Palace School in nearby Croydon.
She was the youngest of four children, with older brothers John and Lyle and sister Stephanie.
The family have kept up a campaign to find out what happened in Perugia.
"It's very difficult being without my sister," Stephanie said in 2014 after hearing the news that Knox and Sollecito's guilty verdicts had been reinstated.
"There's so many things that happen that I want to tell her about or want to call her about."
She said at the time that she hoped the ruling would mean the end of their ordeal so her family could begin to "remember Meredith".
Only one person remains in jail for her sister's murder.
Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2008 but that verdict included a ruling that he did not commit the crime alone.
And for the Kercher family, there is still no closure.
"I think we are still on a journey for the truth and it may be the fact that we don't ever really know what happened that night, which is obviously something we'll have to come to terms with," Stephanie Kercher said. | The Kercher family have often said they may never know what happened to Meredith, who was 21 when she was found dead in the flat in Perugia she shared with Amanda Knox. |
34,889,315 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Caballero, 25, was stripped of the belt after coming in five and a half pounds overweight for the Las Vegas contest.
The American, unbeaten in 22 fights, has been out of the ring for more than a year because of an ankle injury.
Bristol's Haskins, 32, turned down a request for the fighters to meet in a catch-weight contest.
"It's a strange one to process," Haskins' manager Jamie Sanigar told Boxing News.
"Lee was disappointed when I told him what was happening. I told him the fight was off but then in the next sentence I'm telling him he's a world champion."
Media playback is not supported on this device
The fight was last month added to the undercard of the WBC middleweight title contest between Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez.
It is yet to be decided if Haskins, who claimed the interim title earlier in the year with victory over Japan's Ryosuke Iwasa, will keep his full purse. | Britain's Lee Haskins took the IBF world bantamweight title as Randy Caballero failed to make the weight for their fight on Saturday. |
28,787,714 | The Sheffield Half Marathon was abandoned on 6 April, but many of the 4,100 runners waiting at the start line ran the race anyway.
The organisers said they were "let down" by Water Direct who failed to deliver water supplies.
The firm claimed they had not been paid for the order by the race organisers.
A statement issued by the Sheffield Half Marathon said that they and Water Direct "have reached an agreement in conclusion of all matters arising under which a contribution will be made to The Sheffield Marathon Limited for distribution to each of the nominated charities".
The size of the donation has not been revealed.
The race has been held for the past 33 years and raises money for a number of South Yorkshire charities, including the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice.
In June, the members of the organising committee resigned claiming they had received abusive emails, calls and letters. | A firm accused of causing the cancellation of a Sheffield run by failing to provide water to the race has agreed to make a charity donation. |
30,374,520 | Soul singer Al Green, 9 to 5 star Lily Tomlin and ballet dancer Patricia McBride were also saluted at the White House ahead of a gala concert.
Sting, 63, said it was "rare" for an Englishman to receive the honour.
"I'm not sure when I'll wear it again, but I think I look rather fetching in it," he said of his rainbow ribbon.
The former Police frontman is set to join the cast of his Broadway musical The Last Ship, about shipbuilding in the north east of England.
Hanks, who won Oscars for his roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, said he "couldn't believe it" when he was told he was among the honourees.
Tomlin, 75, also admitted she had been surprised by her selection, saying she had "never been privy to the insider's circle".
Sunday's White House reception saw this year's recipients presented with their ceremonial ribbons by President Obama.
The event preceded a concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts which saw Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and Bruno Mars sing Sting's hits.
The musician told reporters it was "quite something [to] have other people sing my songs and have to do virtually nothing but smile".
Jennifer Hudson and Usher kicked off proceedings with a medley of Green's hits, before film director Steven Spielberg described Hanks as "America's favourite son".
"Tonight, Washington puts the arts above politics," said host Stephen Colbert. "Because no matter what party you belong to, everybody wants a selfie with Tom Hanks."
The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been honouring stars of the stage, screen and concert hall since 1978.
This year's concert, which also featured appearances by Earth, Wind and Fire, Jane Fonda and Glee actress Jane Lynch, will be broadcast on the CBS network on 30 December.
Hanks was joined in Washington by his actress wife Rita Wilson, who is set to follow her husband onto the Broadway stage.
Following Hanks' 2013 appearance in Nora Ephron's play Lucky Guy, Wilson will appear in Larry David's new comedy Fish in the Dark from 2 February. | British singer Sting and Oscar-winning US actor Tom Hanks have been feted in Washington as recipients of this year's Kennedy Center honours. |
36,230,820 | She increased her majority in Brecon and Radnorshire at the assembly election, but is now the only Lib Dem AM left after the other four lost.
Ms Williams said she had to "take responsibility" for the result, but said she would have stepped down anyway after eight years as leader.
Ceredigion MP Mark Williams will serve as acting leader, pending a decision on how to run any leadership contest.
"It's the right time for the party to have somebody new to pick up the challenge, bringing up new ideas and to drive the party forward," Ms Williams told BBC Wales.
"I also have to take responsibility for the result that we have had. So it seems only right that I make this decision, and make this decision now."
UK Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said he was "sorry" she had stood down and added he was "certain that Kirsty will play a key role in the future of our party".
A member of the Welsh Assembly since its creation in 1999, Ms Williams was elected Welsh Lib Dem leader in December 2008.
The Lib Dems finished fifth in the constituency vote on Thursday evening with 7.7%, down 2.9% on 2011 when they won five seats.
Their tally of one AM is their worst ever.
The Lib Dems have won five or six seats at every previous election, and had ministers in a coalition government with Labour from 2000 to 2003. | Kirsty Williams is stepping down as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. |
32,997,669 | Kevin Caughey, 33, and Margaret McKellar, 31, admitted killing 41-year-old Scott McGuire at the suspension bridge at Carlton Place on 8 July 2014.
The attack happened after Mr McGuire hit McKellar with a bottle.
Caughey was jailed for eight years and one month and McKellar for six years and four months.
Jailing the pair at the High Court in Glasgow, judge John Beckett QC told them: "This senseless killing of a man of 41 has left his family bereaved. He is survived by his father and four grown-up children.
"While I accept he may have triggered the attack by initially using violence, you reacted with wanton violence.
"Mr McGuire was repeatedly struck on the head and body with a knife and pushed into the river where he hit his head on a rock. You left the scene doing nothing to help him yourself or seek help for him."
The court heard that the incident was sparked by a row which led to Mr McGuire hitting McKellar with a bottle.
The pair then attacked Mr McGuire, inflicting superficial stab wounds.
The victim hit his head on a rock as he was pushed in to the River Clyde and drowned. His body was found later that day.
Caughey and McKeller were originally charged with murder, but their plea of guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide was accepted by the Crown.
It emerged in court that Caughey has 74 previous convictions, including seven for possessing a weapon, and McKellar has 60 previous convictions, including assault. | A man and a woman have been jailed for stabbing a friend and then dumping his body in the River Clyde in Glasgow and leaving him to drown. |
30,505,407 | Susan Potts, 64, of Lodge Close, Uxbridge, Middlesex, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Potts was arrested after Gladys Allen, 93, was found dead at a house in Crimicar Lane, Sheffield, last January.
Her family said they were "grateful" the justice system had recognised the defendant's mental state.
A post-mortem examination of Mrs Allen's body had proved inconclusive, South Yorkshire Police said.
However, Sheffield Crown Court was told her body had a range of injuries. including head wounds and broken ribs.
The Potts family said Mrs Allen had been the central focus of the family and Potts had been a "loving daughter who was consumed by remorse".
The statement continued: "The tragedy that occurred in January was because at that time Sue had become severely depressed; it would have been unthinkable in any other circumstances.
"We are grateful that the justice system has recognised, that, but for her mental state, this tragedy would not have occurred, and that Sue will continue to receive treatment in hospital.
"The hope for all of us, including Gladys' friends and neighbours, is that with expert care, Sue will recover and eventually return to her family." | A woman who caused the death of her elderly mother has been given an indefinite hospital order. |
31,575,399 | Professor of transport at the University of South Wales, Stuart Cole, said experienced staff are needed.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, he said that while the "franchise system has not been performing" a public sector approach was not the answer.
Previously, Transport Minister Edwina Hart said not-for-profit firms could run Welsh train services.
Recently, Labour's shadow transport secretary, Michael Dugher, said more public control of the railways will result in a better service.
Prof Cole said: "Private companies run the railways under contract in the way Marriott hotels and McDonald's are run under contract - which have very strict guidelines.
"But what's been happening is that these guidelines have not been very strict [for the railways]."
He said the answer was a franchise system managed by "professional railway people rather than civil servants". | Calls by Labour to renationalise some train services have been deemed "unnecessary". |
29,184,664 | In this series, we are looking at those major questions and by using statistics, analysis and expert views shining a light on some of the possible answers.
Here, we focus on the issue of EU membership.
Do you have a referendum question? Let us know by....
Dozens of BBC news website users have been asking questions connected to the EU membership debate, including from Mark Fowles, Albert Richardson, David Munro, William Hill, Ross Wilson, Paul Cruise, Richard Newton, Craig Howarth, Owain Evans, En Rice, Gordon Wilson, Dr Carol Pudsey, Gordon J Aitken, James Ross and Chris Findon.
There was a time when the Scottish government said that "Scotland would automatically be a member of the European Union upon independence".
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon argued that case before a parliamentary committee in 2007.
But the Scottish government's position has changed over time.
The White Paper on independence acknowledges that "negotiations" would be required and that it would be for EU member states to decide how to proceed.
A process would need to be agreed.
Never before has part of an EU member state become an independent country and sought to remain in the Union.
There is no specific provision for this scenario in the EU Treaties.
The Scottish government believes that membership could be negotiated in the 18 months between a "Yes" vote and its target date for independence in March 2016.
It does not think a standard application under Article 49 of the Treaty of the European Union would be necessary because Scotland already applies EU law as part of the UK.
Instead it suggests the Treaty could be amended using the revising provision in Article 48.
The UK government thinks it is "unlikely" all 28 existing member states would agree to Article 48 being used in this way.
In an analysis paper it suggests that any process would be "lengthy and complex".
There are those who have suggested that a "Yes" vote in the referendum would put Scotland outside of the EU.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has taken that line as has the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
In a letter to a House of Lords committee, Mr Barroso said: "A new independent state would, by the fact of its independence, become a third country with respect to the EU and the Treaties would no longer apply on its territory."
In a BBC interview, Mr Barroso went further, suggesting that it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for an independent Scotland to secure membership.
Scottish Finance Secretary, John Swinney, described that as a "pretty preposterous" position.
It has also been challenged by the former British judge at the European court of justice, Professor Sir David Edward.
In his opinion "EU law would require all parties to negotiate in good faith and in a spirit of cooperation before separation took place".
Scotland will still be in the EU as part of the UK if there's a "No" vote.
However, the Conservatives are promising to hold an in/out referendum on EU membership in 2017 if they win next year's general election.
The prime minister, David Cameron, wants to renegotiate the terms of UK membership before then. He intends to advocate continued membership.
The first minister, Alex Salmond, argues that growing support for the anti-EU party UKIP suggests there is still a significant risk of a vote for withdrawal.
All 28 EU countries would need to approve Scottish membership.
The prime minister, David Cameron, has said he would "absolutely" support an independent Scotland's application if the referendum does not go his way.
It has been suggested that a country like Spain might make it difficult for Scotland to discourage the independence movement in Catalonia.
In an address to the College of Europe in Bruges, Mr Salmond set out why the Scottish government thinks it would be in the interests of all EU countries to grant Scotland membership.
Mr Salmond said that the alternative was....
The terms would need to be negotiated and agreed.
The Scottish government argues that it should be allowed to retain a share of the UK's rebate from budget contributions and all the UK's existing opt-outs.
That would mean staying out of the Euro and the Schengen travel area.
It also believes that it can negotiate a deal to allow an independent Scotland to continue to charge students from the rest of the UK tuition fees.
Their critics argue that international negotiations involve give and take and that Scotland is unlikely to get all that it wants. | As the people of Scotland weigh up how to vote in the independence referendum, they are asking questions on a range of topics. |
40,047,496 | The 25-year-old forward is one of several high-profile players omitted by Kwesi Appiah in his first squad since his second coming as Black Stars coach.
Atsu, who signed for newly-promoted English Premier League side Newcastle United this week, is joined on the sidelines by Mubarak Wakaso, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Razak Brimah.
No official explanation has been given for the decision to drop Atsu, Wakaso, Badu and Brimah but Appiah has made it clear that he will cast his net far and wide in search of new talent to take Ghana forward.
Appiah has included seven players from the domestic league in a squad that will also play friendly internationals against the United States and Mexico.
Abdul-Majeed Waris, the striker overlooked by former coach Avram Grant for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon, has been given a chance to revive his international career as a Black Star.
Appiah has also kept faith with regulars such as captain Asamoah Gyan and the Ayew brother, Andre and Jordan.
The Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia will take place on 11 June in the second city of Kumasi.
The Black Stars will travel to the US for a date with Mexico in Houston, Texas, on (28 June) and the US in Connecticut (1 July).
Goalkeepers:
Richard Ofori (Wa Allstars); Adam Kwarasey (Brondby, Denmark); Felix Annan (Kotoko); Joseph Addo (Aduana Stars)
Defenders:
Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew, USA); Daniel Amartey (Leicester City, England); Lumor Agbenyenu (Munich 1860, Germany); Daniel Darkwah (Aduana Stars, Ghana); John Boye (Sivasspor, Turkey); Rashid Sumalia (Al Gharafa, Qatar); Nicholas Opoku (B.Chelsea, Ghana); Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew, USA); Jerry Akaminko (Eskiserhispor, Turkey); Samuel Sarfo (Liberty, Ghana)
Midfielders:
Mohammed Abu (Columbus Crew, USA); Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy); Isaac Sackey (Alanyaspor, Turkey); Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Ebenezer Ofori (Stuttgart, Germany); Kingsley Sarfo (Sirius, Sweden); Winful Cobbinah (Hearts of Oak); Yaw Yeboah (FC Twente, Holland); Godsway Donyoh (Nordjaelland, Denmark); Andre Ayew (West Ham, England); Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht, Belgium); Thomas Agyepong (NAC Breda, Holland)
Forwards:
Asamoah Gyan (Al Alhi, UAE); Jordan Ayew (Swansea City, England); Majeed Waris (Lorient FC, France); Raphael Dwamena (FC Zurich, Switzerland) | Christian Atsu has been left out of the 30-man Ghana squad for next month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia. |
27,667,473 | The relationship is now a much more textured one, with this year's World Cup sponsors aware of the growing non-commercial, and social and political, nuances around their role as financial backers of this huge sporting event.
This can be seen by the way Sony has involved itself in the furore around the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
Fellow sponsor Adidas says the ongoing issue is "neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners".
And another massive backer, Coca-Cola, says it is prepared to tone down its branding message in the face of the re-emergence of social unrest in Brazil during the tournament.
"Companies and brands are becoming increasingly aware, and have an added push and impetus towards showing ordinary people they are aware that there is a social aspect to being a sponsor," says Nigel Currie, from sports sponsorship agency Brand Rapport.
"When firms are involved in major sporting events like the World Cup there has to be an increased awareness of the outside world, and to take a more realistic approach to the world that people can respect."
He says that with such a high-profile tournament protest groups in Brazil were realising the potential of targeting not only the event itself but also sponsors. For instance, hacker group Anonymous has said it is preparing a cyber-attack on sponsor websites.
"The sponsors have to be ready for any potential banana skins that might come their way," he says.
So, with the 2014 tournament just days away, it means it is not just the 32 countries taking part that are fine-tuning their plans, but also the 22 corporate backers.
And according to one Brazilian expert, the big name sponsors are playing a more defensive game than usual.
"There is no disputing that the sponsors are a really important part of the World Cup," says Rio de Janeiro-based sports marketing consultant Amir Somoggi.
"However, some of the people and protesters on the streets are trying to put some of the guilt around the World Cup costs onto the sponsors.
"So sponsors are not launching their usual type of marketing strategies in case they are targeted by protesters. They are being slightly cautious, and for me, not being as major a part of the World Cup experience.
"But for me the blame for the increased costs should not be put on Fifa or the sponsors, but our politicians."
The sponsors have paid anything from an estimated £8m to £120m to have their names associated with what is one of the two biggest events in global sport.
And even if they are being more passive then usual, they will be getting their wares and services seen across most of the planet. During the last World Cup in South Africa there were reported to be more than 3.2 billion global TV viewers.
Meanwhile, Fifa has also benefitted. By selling the rights for firms to be associated with the event, it is estimated to make some £850m over a four-year World Cup cycle, making up the majority of its non-TV revenues during such a period.
As was the case in South Africa, Fifa this year is operating three tiers of sponsorship:
Mr Currie says if the sponsor roster was a "merry-go-round or revolving door of changing names", firms might question the value of being involved. Rather there is a steady roster of big names staying on board for a number of tournaments.
"When you count the number of renewals you can see the value of the World Cup to big brands - Adidas has signed up for the next four World Cups until 2030, and Visa, Coca-Cola and Hyundai-Kia until 2022," says Mr Currie.
Despite the lower-key approach, the main aim for sponsors will be to persuade football lovers to spend cash on their brands.
According to sports marketing research firm Repucom's World Football Report, which launches on 12 June, during the 2010 event about $4.12bn (£2.46bn) was generated globally for sponsors.
Some $907m of that amount was generated via the final alone.
This year is also expected to see a big increase in brand promotion via social media.
"Digital consumption... will be central to this World Cup. Brazil is also Facebook's second largest market and provides YouTube with its second most unique visitors," says Paul Smith, founder and chief executive of Repucom.
"Because of this, we could well see a perfect storm of fan engagement this tournament. Sponsors will of course be positioning themselves to take advantage of this."
Brands expert Anastasia Kourovskaia, of Millward Brown Optimor, agrees that social media "offers uniquely more intimate engagement", but in return "it requires a more well-designed and considered approach".
However, she says it is important that brands stop differentiating between online and offline media. "We live in an increasingly seamless world and successful social media campaigns are seamlessly integrated campaigns." she says.
She says a McDonald's food box campaign linked to the GOL! App is a good example of a successful integrated campaign.
But she adds that while campaigns have to be integrated, it is also important to understand how each platform works and tailor content to the specifics of each platform.
Looking to individual sponsors, she says Budweiser has plenty of initiatives around the tournament, including a "Rise as One" micro-site campaign, use of Twitter cards for voting for Man of the Match, as well as programmes for Instagram and Facebook.
Meanwhile, she also points to Adidas's initiative in providing a football match perspective from the point of view of @Brazuca, its official match ball.
"Cutting through the noise becomes ever more difficult, and if previously this could have been resolved by throwing more money in the pot, unfortunately it is no longer the case," says Ms Kourovskaia.
"Nowadays a bigger budget does not necessarily translate into higher reach and impact - creativity plays an enormous role." | Global football sponsorship is now much more than firms just handing over money to governing bodies such as Fifa for pitch-side promotion on billboards. |
39,603,819 | Edmund, ranked one place below Evans at 45 in the world, recovered from a slow start to win 7-5 6-1.
The 22-year-old from Yorkshire, who rates clay as his favourite surface, will play nine-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal in round two.
Andy Murray, who watched compatriots Edmund and Evans from courtside, plays his opening match on Wednesday.
The world number one will take on Luxembourg's Gilles Muller or Tommy Robredo of Spain.
Edmund and Evans were Davis Cup team-mates in Britain's quarter-final defeat by France earlier this month, but were pitted against each other for the first time on the ATP Tour in Monte Carlo.
The surface made the big-hitting Edmund a heavy favourite against Evans, who has just two main draw wins to his name on the surface.
However, Edmund opened with two double faults and looked nervous, slipping 4-1 down as Evans capitalised on the errors.
The 26-year-old from Birmingham could not maintain his advantage though, with Edmund fighting back to claim the set with the seventh break of serve in 12 games.
Edmund had to save break points again at the start of the second but, despite some wayward smashes, went on to dominate, sealing it with an ace after one hour and 20 minutes. | Kyle Edmund saw off Davis Cup team-mate Dan Evans in straight sets in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters. |
38,954,891 | The Ulster Bank surveys private sector activity monthly and it is considered a reliable indicator of the economy.
It shows retailers have begun to pass on higher costs to consumers while manufacturers are absorbing some of their increased costs.
A weaker pound is pushing up the cost of imported goods and materials.
The flip side of the weaker pound is to make exports more competitive and the survey shows a surge in new export orders is continuing.
Ulster Bank's chief economist, Richard Ramsey, said the sterling exchange rate continued to be a significant factor in the local economy.
"Overall, the positives of the weak sterling, which have been prominent for a number of months, continue to be evident," he said.
"But the negatives of the exchange rate are also starting to feature more and more prominently.
"This will be a major feature of the year ahead as inflationary pressures continue to intensify and indeed accelerate." | The Northern Ireland economy saw solid growth in January although inflationary pressures are continuing to build, a bank survey has suggested. |
37,527,656 | Shots had enjoyed an eight-match unbeaten run prior to their 4-0 defeat against Forest Green on Tuesday and they got back on track thanks to second-half goals from Shamir Fenelon and Scott Rendell.
The hosts broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when Cheye Alexander played in Fenelon and he found the bottom corner from 15 yards, before Rendell headed in Jim Kellerman's cross from close range to seal the win in the 82nd minute.
Solihull had scored four goals in each of their last two matches but created very little as their five-match unbeaten run was ended.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Aldershot Town 2, Solihull Moors 0.
Second Half ends, Aldershot Town 2, Solihull Moors 0.
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Idris Kanu replaces Bernard Mensah.
Goal! Aldershot Town 2, Solihull Moors 0. Scott Rendell (Aldershot Town).
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Darryl Knights replaces Omari Sterling-James.
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Jim Kellerman replaces Charlie Walker.
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Andy Brown replaces Jamey Osborne.
Substitution, Solihull Moors. Harry White replaces Akwasi Asante.
Goal! Aldershot Town 1, Solihull Moors 0. Shamir Fenelon (Aldershot Town).
Substitution, Aldershot Town. Shamir Fenelon replaces Iffy Allen.
Jake Gallagher (Aldershot Town) is shown the yellow card.
Second Half begins Aldershot Town 0, Solihull Moors 0.
First Half ends, Aldershot Town 0, Solihull Moors 0.
Ryan Beswick (Solihull Moors) is shown the yellow card.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up. | Aldershot bounced back from their midweek thrashing with a victory at home against Solihull Moors. |
38,951,892 | McColgan was runner-up to Sarah McDonald in the 1500m, but had already edged out Steph Twell to win the 3000m.
Eilidh Doyle looks certain to be racing at the Belgrade event in March as she won the 400m on Sunday in Sheffield.
Guy Learmonth won the 800m and Allan Smith leapt to the high jump title for the second time in three years.
Lasswade's Learmonth led from start to finish and crossed the line in one minute 48.19 seconds, while Paisley-born Smith's jump of 2.25m earned him the British indoor title once again.
Three other Scots were on the podium, all winning bronze medals - Mhairi Hendry in the 800m, Courtney MacGuire in the pole vault and Grant Plenderleith in the 200m.
The team announcement is not due until 21 February, after next weekend's Grand Prix meeting in Birmingham. | Eilish McColgan won gold and silver medals at the British indoor team trials, which help to determine places for the European Indoor Championships. |
40,053,797 | Vunipola pulled out of the summer trip because of an ongoing shoulder injury.
Lions boss Warren Gatland was keen to manage the number eight through it, but Jones says that was not an option.
"He is such an honest boy - he didn't want to fudge it," the Australian told BBC Sport. "It was a very brave and courageous decision."
Vunipola aggravated a shoulder problem in Saracens' Premiership semi-final defeat by Exeter on Saturday.
And Jones revealed that when the 24-year-old texted him on Sunday it was clear "he had his mind made up" not to tour.
Another England international, scrum-half Ben Youngs, withdrew from the squad earlier this month after the wife of his brother Tom learned she is terminally ill.
"For me, it's a good indication of the ethics of our players," Jones said.
"They don't feel emotionally or physically right to play and, rather than go there and try to fudge their way through the tour, they have done the right thing."
Jones also rejected the notion that Vunipola is prioritising England and Saracens, reiterating that "it is about him being a very ethical rugby player".
Vunipola's withdrawal led to a summons for experienced flanker James Haskell, who Jones believes will force his way into the Test side after having "an absolute stormer" in one of the opening three tour matches.
Haskell was to tour Argentina with a youthful England squad next month, but instead joins an entire team of players unavailable to Jones.
The Australian will field a host of uncapped players against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
"We asked these young guys: 'Who are going to be the three or four involved in holding the World Cup up in 2019?
"'It's not going to be all of you so you have a choice now to make about how desperate you are to be one of those players.'" | Billy Vunipola's "ethics and honesty" led to his withdrawal from the British & Irish Lions' tour of New Zealand, says England head coach Eddie Jones. |
36,309,783 | Editor Betsan Powys said it was important the station "exploits all the opportunities" as digital platforms continued to develop.
It will be available online, via the BBC iPlayer Radio and on digital radio in south east Wales.
The station's existing schedule on FM and digital radio will not be affected.
The three-month trial starts in the autumn.
The station will also offer a new online "digital space" for its youth audiences, a collaboration with partners to find new voices, and use the new BBC Music app which allows users to select their favourite music, including Welsh artists.
Ms Powys said: "After three months we'll consider the next steps in light of the trial results, technological developments and the reality of the BBC's financial position."
The trial service will be available on weekday mornings.
The station marks its 40th anniversary in 2017.
As the only Welsh language station, Radio Cymru has to provide programming to meet every taste.
When, in 2013, Radio Cymru asked its audience what it wanted from the service, a second Welsh language station was a surprisingly popular request.
Its core audience is loyal but ageing. Launching a new service on digital radio and via the iPlayer app acknowledges that the station has to try harder to reach younger audiences, without alienating its existing listeners.
But it launches its pop-up station at a time when attracting younger audiences is a challenge facing all media providers.
Capturing this elusive market for a Welsh-language outlet could be trickier still. | Welsh language broadcaster BBC Radio Cymru is to trial a "pop-up radio station" to extend services to listeners. |
21,016,122 | Armstrong made the personal apology during private conversations in Austin, Texas, a foundation spokeswoman said.
His interview with Oprah Winfrey is due to be broadcast on Thursday.
Armstrong, 41, was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the sport's governing body last year. He has maintained his innocence.
"He had a private conversation with the staff, who have done the important work of the foundation for many years," Livestrong Foundation spokeswoman Katherine McLane was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"It was a very sincere and heartfelt expression of regret over any stress that they've suffered over the course of the last few years as a result of the media attention," she added.
Armstrong, who also received a lifetime ban from governing body the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), was reportedly close to tears.
It was not quite a confession of sustained cheating, but that is what many in the cycling world and across America are expecting to hear when they tune in to the cyclist's interview on 17 January, the BBC's Paul Adams in Washington reports.
The recording of the TV interview - his first since being stripped of his wins - took place on Monday.
After recording the interview, Winfrey tweeted: "Just wrapped with @lancearmstrong. More than 2 1/2 hours . He came READY!"
A spokeswoman for the Oprah show said last week that Armstrong was not being paid to appear and that Winfrey was free to ask him any question she wanted.
The choice of America's favourite agony aunt to conduct the interview suggests that Armstrong is prepared to make some kind of confession, our correspondent says.
At the weekend, Armstrong told the Associated Press: "I'm calm, I'm at ease and ready to speak candidly." He declined to go into further details.
Armstrong ended his fight against doping charges in August 2012.
In October, Usada released a 1,000-page report saying he had been at the heart of "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme" ever seen in sport.
Armstrong also later resigned as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation, the cancer charity he created.
His lawyer, Tim Herman, has described the Usada report as a "one-sided hatchet job" and the cyclist himself has accused the agency of offering "corrupt inducements" to other riders to speak out against him.
It is believed he is considering an admission because he wants to resume his athletic career, and has shown an interest in competing in triathlons.
The BBC understands Armstrong has held recent discussions with other cyclists who have themselves confessed to doping.
But there are a number of obstacles to a full confession.
The New York Times has reported Armstrong's supporters are concerned he could face perjury charges if he confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs, because he made sworn testimony in a 2005 court case that he had never done so.
In addition, the cyclist faces a number of legal cases. | Lance Armstrong has apologised to the staff at his Livestrong Foundation, amid reports that the US cyclist may admit doping in a TV interview. |
39,126,179 | The Rams have picked up just two points during a six-game winless run and are 11th in the table, 10 points adrift of the Championship play-off places.
Derby, who were fifth after beating QPR on 14 December, have not scored in their past three matches.
"We have two home games and we need a reaction," McClaren told BBC Radio Derby after defeat at Blackburn Rovers.
"We have challenged the players to give us a reaction."
McClaren's side face Barnsley at Pride Park on Saturday and Preston North End on Tuesday, 7 March.
The former England boss wants a return to the form which saw them climb from fifth from bottom when he took over following the 1-1 draw with Reading on 1 October.
The 3-0 away win over struggling Ipswich Town on 31 January, four days after drawing with Leicester in the FA Cup, was their last victory.
"These are home games that we have to win," McClaren said.
"We are not performing individually and collectively the way that we did up until the Leicester replay. Has that taken too much out of us? I don't know.
"We are not getting the rub of the green and we were doing that before. We are not scoring the first goal and we are not scoring goals. We have to start again on Saturday."
Blackburn's 1-0 victory on Tuesday was just their eighth in the league this season, but they remain in the relegation zone.
"It's another frustrating game we shouldn't have lost," McClaren added. "We've had 18 attempts on goal and only two on target. We should be coming here and keeping a clean sheet.
"When we play teams we should be beating, we have to beat them." | Manager Steve McClaren says Derby County's standards have dropped and he has demanded an immediate response. |
36,171,075 | They also have multiple entries in the singles chart, where Drake remains top.
Beyonce's "visual album" sold 73,000 copies, making it the second-fastest selling artist record of 2016, behind David Bowie's Blackstar.
Fifteen of Prince's albums made it into the chart as fans rushed to buy his music following his sudden death.
Six are in the top 40 with The Very Best Of, Ultimate and Purple Rain at two, three and four.
In the midweek chart Prince had held every spot in the top five, but many retailers ran out of physical stock at the start of the week and could not keep up with fan demand. The singer's catalogue is also only available on streaming service Tidal, limiting its reach.
Record label Warner Music, which published most of his classic albums, said more CDs were being pressed this week.
Ultimate, which was released in 2006, reached a new peak at three after first only making it to number six when it was first released in 2006.
The Purple Rain soundtrack at four, is up on its previous peak of seven when it was first released in 1984. Dirty Mind, which entered the chart at 61, did not previously chart in the UK.
Beyonce's Lemonade sold 10,000 copies via streaming - which is the biggest streaming sales since they were introduced into the chart last year.
In the singles chart, Beyonce has six tracks in the top 40 - the highest being Hold Up at 17. Formation, Sorry, 6 Inch, Don't Hurt Yourself and Freedom also made the top 40.
Six Prince tracks entered the top 100, with Purple Rain the highest entry at number six. The track peaked at eight when it was first released in 1984.
When Doves Cry, Kiss, Raspberry Beret, 1999 and Little Red Corvette also all charted.
Drake remained at number one for a third consecutive week with One Dance with sales of 129,000, which include 50,000 downloads and a record-breaking 7.86 million streams.
It is the highest number of track streams in a week ever recorded, beating Adele's Hello which reached 7.32 million plays on its release week in October.
Elsewhere in the album chart Adele's 25 fell out of the top five for the first time since its release in November.
Katherine Jenkins was at seven with Celebration, her album commemorating the Queen's 90th birthday. It is also number one on the classical album chart - giving the singer a record 12th UK classical number one, ahead of violinist Andre Rieu's 11.
Three other new entries in the album chart top 40 were Katy B's Honey at 22, Sandy Denny's I've Always Kept A Unicorn at 31, and Julian Ovenden's Be My Love at 37. | Beyonce and Prince have dominated the UK album chart this week, with Beyonce's Lemonade at one and Prince albums taking the next three places. |
37,496,738 | A broken-down trawler with six fishermen onboard was towed to Lochinver in Sutherland by Lochinver RNLI on Wednesday night.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI went to the aid of a man stuck on his small boat in rough conditions in Glenelg Bay.
A Met Office warning of high winds is in place until 13:00 on Thursday.
Forecasters warn that winds could gust to 75mph across the Hebrides, Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney.
Gusts of 50-60 mph are likely in many areas of Scotland during that period of the warning, which started from 01:00 on Thursday.
High winds have already been affecting large parts of Scotland west coast and the Highlands.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne said poor weather conditions has been causing disruption on many of its routes.
Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI's call-out on Wednesday afternoon saw the crew help a man get to shore from where his small boat was tied up in Glenelg Bay.
The man was safely dropped off at the ferry slipway at Glenelg. | RNLI lifeboat crews have been involved in a number of call-outs in stormy conditions off Scotland's west coast. |
37,209,280 | The first minister, Formula One driver Susie Wolff and Scottish women's football captain Gemma Fay are backing the Girlguiding Scotland initiative.
It encourages girls and young women to highlight good role models around them.
Ms Sturgeon said: "That's how they are inspired to be the leaders, scientists and Olympians of the future."
The launch of the WOWwoman campaign follows Girlguiding research which showed that less than half (49%) of girls aged 11 to 16 regularly feel inspired by a role model.
Only 35% of those aged 17 to 21 believe men and women have the same chance of career success.
Ms Sturgeon said: "I hope seeing so many inspiring women in their communities and beyond will empower a new generation of girls and young women to believe in themselves."
Ms Wolff said: "I'm proud to be named a Girlguiding Scotland WOWwoman and have the chance to back this new campaign.
"From my own experience, I know how important a role model can be in empowering girls and young women to aim high, discover new talents and take the lead. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it."
Ms Fay added: "I hope this campaign will show girls and young women across Scotland just how much they can achieve." | Nicola Sturgeon has joined sports stars to launch a campaign aimed at inspiring girls and young women to "fulfil their leadership potential". |
33,322,431 | Dozens of people were injured, reports say. An unconfirmed report says many people were killed.
The blast happened near a military hospital in Sanaa on Monday night.
It is the latest attack by IS against Houthis in Yemen, where the Sunni extremist group declared its presence in November.
Houthis have been fighting forces loyal to Yemen's exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi for several months.
A Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes in March, claiming to target Houthi positions. The strikes have had a devastating impact on civilians.
In a separate development on Monday, the rebels said in a statement that they had launched a Scud missile across the border at a Saudi military base. They said the missile was fired "in response to the crimes of the brutal Saudi aggression".
If confirmed, it would be the second such attack since fighting began.
A Scud missile fired from Yemen earlier this month was shot down by Saudi Arabia before it could reach its target.
Monday's car-bomb attack appears to have targeted a funeral attended by two brothers who are leaders in the Shia Houthi rebel movement.
The number of casualties is unclear, with reports saying at least 28 were injured, including women and children.
IS posted a statement online saying its Yemeni affiliate was behind the attack. The group has carried out a number of attacks in the capital in recent weeks.
Separately on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a full investigation after a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a UN compound in the southern city of Aden on Sunday, injuring one guard.
Yemen has been in turmoil since Houthi rebels overran Sanaa last September, forcing President Mansour Abdrabbuh Hadi to flee.
Three months ago, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began targeting the rebels with air strikes. Since then, well over 2,000 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 1,400 civilians, according to the UN. | The Islamic State (IS) militant group say its Yemeni affiliate carried out a car-bomb attack at a funeral attended by Shia Houthi rebels in the capital. |
27,866,327 | About 28,000 people took part in the event, run by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), on Sunday.
Police said the man crashed into a telegraph pole near Reigate, Surrey, at about 07:25 BST. At about 10:00, the woman crashed near Redhill.
The BHF said an investigation would be carried out in conjunction with police.
Officers said the man, who is in his 30s and from London, was taken to St George's Hospital in south London where he remains in a serious condition.
The woman, also in her 30s, was airlifted to St George's with head and eye injuries. Police said her condition was stable.
Louise Parkes, director of fundraising at the BHF, said: "We are saddened to hear that two cyclists have been injured while taking part in today's British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Bike Ride.
"An investigation will be carried out in conjunction with the police, ride managers and other agencies.
"As soon as we're in a position to comment further we will do so. Our thoughts are with those involved and their families."
Some people have raised questions about the safety of the 54-mile ride on social media.
One tweeted: "@TheBHF very well organised event , but you need to address rider safety .#toomanyaccidents"
The BHF wrote back that it was always trying to improve safety and would be looking at issues for next year's bike ride.
Another cyclist wrote: "Pleased with my achievement today. An hour off my PB, but can't get the injured man's face out of my head. Update? @TheBHF @LDNtoBrighton"
Those who took part in Sunday's bike ride included Masterchef presenter and chef John Torode, Olympic gold-medal winning rowers Mark Hunter and Tom James and TV presenter Aggie Mackenzie. | One cyclist was left fighting for his life and a woman was airlifted to hospital after two crashes in the London to Brighton charity bike ride. |
36,148,338 | Afarin Chitsaz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Saman Safarzai and Davud Asadi were found guilty of charges including acting against national security.
The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Iran to change laws that it says allows journalists to be harassed.
The four were arrested in November as part of a crackdown by hardliners.
Writers, artists and other cultural figures were also detained in the run-up to February's elections for parliament and the Assembly of Experts, in which supporters of moderate President Hassan Rouhani made gains.
The journalists were convicted by a court in Tehran on Tuesday on various charges, including "spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic" and "acting against national security and contacting foreign governments", the Tasnim news agency reported.
A lawyer for three of the journalists, Mohammad Alizadeh-Tabatabai, told Tasnim that Davud Asadi, whose brother co-founded the Rooz Online opposition website, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ehsan Mazandarani, the managing-director of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, was jailed for seven years, Mr Alizadeh-Tabatabai said.
Afarin Chitsaz, a columnist for the government-owned Iran newspaper and actress, and Saman Safarzai, a columnist for the Andishey-e Puya magazine who is also known as Ehsun Sarfarzai, were handed five-year sentences, the lawyer added.
They have 21 days to appeal against their sentences.
The four were accused of "paving the way for US infiltration of the country" after being arrested along with veteran journalist Isa Saharkhiz last year by the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.
"Convicting journalists for 'acting against national security' underlines the need to change the overbroad laws that lead to the harassment and jailing of the media," said the CPJ's Sherif Mansour. "Iranian authorities must cease imprisoning journalists."
President Rouhani, who criticised the journalists' arrests, has called for greater media freedom in several speeches. | A US-based media advocacy group has condemned the sentencing by a court in Iran of four reformist journalists to between five and 10 years in prison. |
35,217,546 | The 50-year-old died in hospital after suffering a head injury at The Boat in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton.
He walked to the Royal Tiger pub on High Street where an ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
A 22-year-old man has been arrested and bailed. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them.
The attack happened "in the beer garden or smoking area of The Boat pub in Church Street at around 22:30 GMT on 31 December" a statement from West Midlands Police said.
Det Insp Ian Iliffe said: "The pub would have been busy with people out to celebrate the start of the new year and we need any witnesses to come forward as soon as possible." | A man attacked outside a pub on New Year's Eve has died, sparking a murder investigation. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.