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40,593,472 | Police Scotland said the body was recovered from the shoreline at about 07:00 on Thursday.
There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances at this time and the man's next of kin have been informed, police said.
Police have appealed for sightings of the man on Wednesday.
He is described as being 5ft 10in tall and was last seen wearing a green top and brightly-coloured trainers.
A man matching the description was seen walking from Castlebay in the direction of Vatersay from about 14:00 on Wednesday.
The body was found in the Traigh a' Ghoirtein area of Barra.
Police, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency were called to the scene. | The body of a 32-year-old man who had earlier been reported missing has been found in the Castlebay area of the Isle of Barra. |
36,169,010 | Speaking at a fans forum at Gresty Road, chairman John Bowler promised Davis a budget for next season on a par with the one he has had this season.
"We're not cutting back. We're putting in money that's sensible," said Bowler.
"We're finalising the budget but there is scope to bring in three quarters of the experienced players we need."
Bowler added: "In football, you have to realise that it's a results business and nobody is happy with this year. But we are setting ourselves out to be successful in League Two.
"We know what we've got to deliver and Steve has to lead that from the front. He says he's prepared to take on that challenge.
"I'm assuming that, if Steve's not happy with the support the board is giving him, then he'd look for another job."
Crewe, who have only won six league games this season, go into the final two games of the season eight points adrift at the foot of the table.
In his backing for Davis, English football's sixth longest-serving manager, Crewe chairman Bowler did issue a couple of cautionary directives.
Bowler made it clear at the fans' forum that Davis's position will be reviewed if the season does not start well.
He has also suggested that this summer's new arrivals, which may include popular former Alex striker Ryan Lowe, if he turns down the offer of a new deal at Bury, must prove more effective than last summer's.
In pointing out that recruitment "hasn't been as good as it needs to be", Bowler will back Davis, while "at the same not jeopardising the stability of the club".
"Signings haven't had the impact we thought they would," Davis told BBC Radio Stoke. "I'd hold my hands up to that. But the squad is now the youngest we've ever had. We have players with potential. I have to get that out of them.
"I know I've got the full confidence of the board and I'm grateful for the opportunity to restore a bit of lost confidence among the fans.
"When I was brought in we were 18th in League Two. I am still the right person. I know the circumstances if we don't start well but, if we can build some momentum early on, we can have a good season." | Crewe Alexandra have given manager Steve Davis full backing to carry on as manager next season in the wake of relegation from League One. |
37,240,324 | Forward Goodship, 21, scored once in 10 appearances on loan at League Two side Yeovil Town last campaign.
Midfielder Matthews, 19, has yet to play a first-team match for the Premier League side.
The pair join a side currently 21st in the National League table after seven matches.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | AFC Bournemouth youngsters Brandon Goodship and Sam Matthews have joined National League side Braintree Town on long-term loans. |
36,060,833 | The Latics opened the scoring through Chris McCann before Will Grigg added a second after Yanic Wildschut hit the post and Grigg scored the rebound.
Grigg then slotted home for his second and Michael Jacobs fired into the top right-hand corner for Wigan's fourth.
The Seasiders got a goal back when Wigan captain Craig Morgan turned the ball into his own net.
Wigan sit on 84 points at the top of League One, nine points clear of Walsall who have three games left and three points ahead of second-placed Burton who have two games remaining.
However, the Latics have a far superior goal difference compared to their rivals. | League One leaders Wigan Athletic thumped Southend United to all-but seal their promotion to the Championship. |
38,331,830 | Three years ago, Mackay apologised for sending three texts containing discriminatory language.
And he is one of five men being pursued by Cardiff City in a High Court claim over allegedly fraudulent transfers.
Mackay denies any wrongdoing and said that he would "respect the legal process".
SFA chief executive Stewart Regan added that the governing body had carried out "due diligence" and that Mackay could be a "force for good".
After being confirmed as successor to Brian McClair and Mark Wotte, Mackay insisted that he had learned the lessons of his offensive text messages and worked with various groups in an equality and diversity capacity.
"Three years ago, I apologised publicly and privately for the three texts to the two gentleman I spoke about," Mackay said.
"Then, for the last three years, I've been involved in diversity and equality meetings and been on an education to a point where I know more about it than anybody in this room - then going on to talk to young players and young coaches concerning it.
"What I said at the time I deeply regret. It's about learning from that and making sure my understanding of what happened I can pass on to others. Judge me by my actions over the next period of time.
"We were well aware of [the High Court claim], I was waiting on it. It's come up in the last three jobs that I've gone for, the same article, [by the] same person, and it was something I'd spoken to Stewart about and that my legal advisors had advised the SFA about at an early basis.
"I categorically deny that I've done anything wrong. There is not a shred of evidence against me.".
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Regan described Mackay as the "outstanding candidate" and insisted that he was the right person for the role because of his background in football and also because he can play an active part in the SFA's anti-discrimination strategy.
"We're very proud of our work in equality and diversity," said Regan. "We currently have the intermediate level of the equality standard and we're well on track for making progress on the advance level.
"Within our equality strategy, we talk about being fair and inclusive and we accept that Malky has made mistakes, he said things that were regrettable, but he's shown genuine remorse and we were impressed and encouraged by the actions he's taken since apologising for what he said.
"Of his own volition, he's undergone equality training and has lectured on that to a number of different organisations. We believe that Malky will be a force for good for Scottish football, he'll be part of our equality and diversity strategy and be a real advocate for the role.
"We've undertaken due diligence, through Malky and his QC, and we're convinced that Malky has what it takes to be an excellent performance director.
"We spoke to a number of individuals, stakeholders, third parties, to get feedback about Malky and the work that he has done in the past and the issues.
"What Malky has disclosed to us as part of the due diligence process is the same information that's come out since 2013.
"He's been very clear, very open, his QC has been very clear and very open, we've had access to a lot of information and we are very confident that everything that has been disclosed sets out what Malky has gone through."
Mackay's task, when he takes up his role early in the New Year, is to lead and implement Project Brave, a remodelling of the SFA's performance strategy to improve the number of young players reaching the elite level of Scottish football.
He has primarily worked as a coach and a manager since retiring from playing, but he insists his experiences in charge of Watford and Cardiff City - who he led to the Premier League before being sacked in 2013 - have prepared him for the performance director role.
"I have [been an administrator] because the role I undertook at Watford, it was myself, the sporting director and the chief executive who ran the club, so I was involved in a weekly meeting involving budgets, reporting to the board and shaping how the club was run," Mackay said.
"That stood me in good stead going to Cardiff, because there I was asked to put together a strategy for rebuilding the football club, department to department, and talking to the board on a regular basis.
"I've got a broad range [of experience]. Relationships help, the fact that you're able to make phone calls and somebody picks up the phone and welcomes you into their football club is huge.
"We need to have a togetherness in this country, from clubs, to the Scottish FA, to the media. We don't have enough good players, we're not managing to give [Scotland coach] Gordon Strachan enough good players and we've got to do more of it.
"I believe that my skill set and the clubs that I've been involved in, in the boardrooms in terms of strategy and planning, has given me an understanding of that part of the job.
"In terms of coaching, how to talk to players, coaches, managers, the access that I've got to the managers in Scotland, allows me the chance to follow on from my two predecessors.
"There was good work done by Mark Wotte and Brian McClair and, having read Project Brave, there's very good work done by the working party involved in that.
"I've got to make sure I take that on and we raise standards and try to get Scottish players through."
It is a 22-page document drawn up by a working party consisting of representatives of Celtic, Rangers (including one previously at Falkirk), Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian, Hamilton Academical, Ross County, Annan Athletic and the Scottish Professional Football League.
The overarching ambition is "more, better Scottish international players, playing better football - more often". To that end, a number of proposals have been raised and will be worked through with the clubs before a final performance strategy is implemented in 2018. They include: | Malky Mackay has urged critics to "judge me by my actions" after being appointed as the Scottish FA's new performance director. |
18,624,831 | To welcome visitors, Hariton Pushwagner, 72, has designed an image of a cavernous mouth to transform the facade of the MK Gallery.
It seems that stepping on to a projecting tongue is an appropriate introduction to a show of his largely satirical work which targets greed and power.
Variously described as "eccentric" and "visionary", Pushwagner's detailed works contain elements of pop art and science fiction, and his existentialism has led to comparisons with Edvard Munch, the man behind The Scream.
The Soft City exhibition in Milton Keynes brings together drawings, paintings and prints made by the Oslo-born artist over the last 40 years.
Despite being educated at the National Academy of Fine Art and the Cit?? Internationale des Arts Paris, his breakthrough came only in 2008 when the original drawings of his graphic novel Soft City were exhibited at the Berlin Biennale of Contemporary Art.
Since then he has quickly earned celebrity status in Norway, where people are fascinated by the rags-to-riches story of a man who lived on the streets for many years and lived a hedonistic lifestyle.
It was on the initiative of MK Gallery director Anthony Spira that Pushwagner was invited to show his work in Milton Keynes.
"I felt there was a particular aptness about his work being shown in a city established at roughly the same time as Pushwagner was creating these works," he said.
"And [Milton Keynes'] utopian ideal and grid square design has some visual affinity with many of his works."
Soft City, which depicts disillusion with capitalism and life in the modern city, was created between 1969 and 1974 and all 154 pages are displayed in the exhibition.
Mr Spira said that this was probably Pushwagner's "defining work".
"It has often been classed as one of the top graphic novels ever made," he said.
"The characters in this novel live a completely mechanical existence, they are turned into robots basically."
The exhibition, which can be seen until 2 September, also includes The Family of Man, a series of 34 silk screen prints that depict the trappings of power, and show a world under siege from pollution and mass destruction.
Meanwhile, in the Long Gallery, the Apocalypse Frieze comprises detailed paintings where factories double up as death camps and the ravages of war are perpetuated under the watchful eye of robotic men in suits.
All this will be exhibited alongside the Oblidor Guide Book, a sketchbook that reveals the artist's working process, plus other early work.
The exhibition will be complemented by a Norwegian season of video, music and performance events with around 50 Norwegian artists and curators.
Following its presentation in Milton Keynes, the exhibition will visit Haugar Vestfold Art Museum, Norway and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Netherlands. | An artist, hailed as the "modern-day Munch", is holding his first solo show outside Norway in Milton Keynes. |
39,418,982 | The River Tyne Booze Cruise is based on the Finnish Kaljakellunta, meaning "beer floating". This is "what England needs", organisers said.
They said alcohol quantities would be "regulated".
Northumbria Police said they were concerned about people drinking a "significant amount of alcohol" in vessels that were not "appropriate".
"The River Tyne is not a countryside stream," a spokesman said.
"The current is strong, there is a lot of debris and a number of vessels use the waterway every single day.
"A rubber dinghy is not an appropriate vessel to be used on this river and if people were to fall overboard then they could find themselves in real danger."
The force said it would speak to the organisers.
One, Kieran Chapman, said it was "more of a social drink not a night out in town getting mortal".
"People will be searched before they go on to the river to make sure that they're not drinking five litres of vodka," he said.
The event's Facebook page recommends participants wear armbands and life jackets and stay on their vessel at all times "to eliminate accidents".
The July event, lasting three-and-a-half hours, is due to begin in Newburn and finish on the quayside. | A planned 3,000-person drinking trip on inflatable dinghies on a city centre river has been criticised by police. |
35,454,548 | 31 January 2016 Last updated at 13:59 GMT
Tim is currently spending six months on the International Space Station.
He shared a little video of himself cooking a breakfast of scrambled eggs in the space lab.
The process for making the eggs seems pretty easy (you just add warm water and they fluff up), but Tim doesn't look particularly excited about eating it!
He Tweeted: "Not quite as good as at home, but they are definitely scrambled! Space scrambled eggs." | Record breaking British astronaut, Tim Peake, has revealed how he makes scrambled eggs for breakfast, in space. |
40,083,391 | Media playback is not supported on this device
McKaigue attempted to block a Donnelly run before the Tyrone man raised his right hand to the Derry player.
Referee Maurice Deegan took no action against the Tyrone centre half-forward.
"It's clear Mattie Donnelly strikes Chrissy McKaigue," said BBC Sport NI's Championship pundit Oisin McConville.
"If that's the case, it's a sending-off."
Donnelly has already been in disciplinary trouble twice this season.
The Trillick man was sent off for striking Cavan's Seanie Johnston in a Dr McKenna Cup in January and was banned retrospectively for one match during the Football League following a post-match altercation with Mayo's Aidan O'Shea in March.
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The incident happened 10 minutes into the second half as Tyrone were on their way to earning a 0-22 to 0-11 victory.
"It's something that the disciplinary committee may have a look at," added McConville.
"It wasn't dealt with on the day so they are able to have another look at it.
"Us looking at the pictures, can you conclusively say it was a punch in the mouth? It's a difficult one.
"I can imagine if Tyrone went up to defend that, they would be able to get (Donnelly) off on this occasion.
"(But) From what we saw, it was a clear enough strike. Certainly at that stage, Derry were were well in the game and it (a Donnelly red card) would have made a huge amount of difference to that match." | Tyrone will hope that influential Mattie Donnelly avoids censure after TV replays showed him appearing to strike Derry's Chrissy McKaigue in Sunday's Ulster SFC game at Celtic Park. |
39,006,341 | Sidney Fillery was accused of the crime following the murder of private detective Daniel Morgan, who was found with an axe in his head outside a London pub in 1987.
But the High Court ruled Mr Fillery was unfairly prosecuted on the evidence of a "doubtful witness".
Damages have yet to be agreed.
The judge, Mr Justice Mitting, threw out the claims of three other men accused of carrying out the murder of Mr Morgan - who was found dead in the pub car park.
Daniel Morgan, from Llanfrechfa, near Cwmbran, worked for a private investigations agency, Southern Investigations, during the 1980s.
He was killed after leaving the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London.
Mr Fillery's civil proceeding follows a series of failed police investigations into Mr Morgan's murder, which were dogged by allegations of police corruption.
Several investigations in 1990s and 2000s led to a prosecution being brought in 2011 against Mr Morgan's business partner, Jonathan Rees, and two brothers, Glenn and Gary Vian.
But the case collapsed and it emerged a senior police officer, Det Supt David Cook, had established improper contact with a witness and concealed it from prosecutors.
As a result, Mr Fillery and the three others claimed the Met had falsely and maliciously prosecuted them.
Mr Justice Mitting decided Det Supt Cook "deliberately withheld" details of his contact with the witness from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - which decided to press charges.
He concluded this amounted to '"misfeasance in public office" but said it was the decision of the CPS as to whether to prosecute all four men, not the Met.
He added the prosecution would have gone ahead even if the evidence of the tainted witness had been left out.
But Mr Justice Mitting found Mr Fillery was prosecuted entirely on this witness's evidence, which made his prosecution unfair.
The Daniel Morgan case remains unsolved and is the subject of an independent Home Office inquiry
In a statement, Mr Morgan's brother Alistair said the case had "focussed simply on the conduct of David Cook."
"Whatever the conclusions of this judgement, we consider that it would be a travesty of justice if David Cook is allowed to become the scapegoat for the failures of the Metropolitan Police over the decades in failing to confront the police corruption that lay at the heart of this case," he added. | A former Metropolitan Police detective has won damages against the force after he was unfairly accused of perverting the course of justice. |
32,174,181 | The 26-year-old man died after a black Peugeot hit a tree in Bristol Road South, Birmingham, at about 23:00 BST on Wednesday, the IPCC said.
West Midlands Police said they had been in pursuit of the car which failed to stop.
The force said its Professional Standards Department informed the IPCC.
It added this was "normal procedure in a collision where a police vehicle is involved".
The force said the man was pronounced dead at the scene. | The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to investigate a fatal crash involving a driver who had been pursued by police. |
39,342,818 | The authors of a new study say there was a 48% fall in planned coal units, with a 62% drop in construction starts.
The report, from several green campaign groups, claims changing policies and economic conditions in China and India were behind the decline.
However, the coal industry argues the fuel will remain essential to economic growth in Asia for decades to come.
Between 2006 and 2016, India and China together accounted for 85% of the coal plants built around the world.
But according to the Boom and Bust 2017 report, put together by Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and CoalSwarm, there has been a huge swing away from coal in these two countries in just 12 months.
The main causes of the decline are the imposition of restrictive measures by China's central government - with the equivalent of 600 coal-fired units being put on hold until at least 2020.
The Indian go-slow was prompted, according to the authors, by the reluctance of banks to provide funds. Work at 13 locations is currently not going ahead.
However, there have also been significant retirements of coal plants in Europe and the US over the past two years, with roughly 120 large units being taken out of commission.
"This has been a messy year, and an unusual one," said Ted Nace, director of CoalSwarm.
"It's not normal to see construction frozen at scores of locations, but central authorities in China and bankers in India have come to recognize overbuilding of coal plants as a major waste of resources.
"However abrupt, the shift from fossil fuels to clean sources in the power sector is a positive one for health, climate security, and jobs. And by all indications, the shift is unstoppable."
The study comes as other groups analyse the potential for investments in coal to become stranded assets if governments continue to restrict CO2 emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that hundreds of billions of dollars could be at risk.
"The decline in new coal plants in Asian countries is truly dramatic, and shows how a perfect storm of factors is simply making coal a bad investment," said Paul Massara, now of North Star Solar but a former CEO of RWE npower.
"Growing awareness of the air pollution problems coal causes, the impact of policies to tackle climate change, and the rapid growth and cost-competitiveness of renewable sources of energy, along with emerging battery technologies, are making new coal plants redundant before they are even built," he said.
However, the World Coal Association vehemently disagrees. It says the complexity of large infrastructure projects means that until they break ground, it's no surprise if they don't go ahead.
"Yes, China, is reducing the number of coal-stations but not because it's transitioning away from coal. Instead, the new dynamics is a signal of a more developed economy," said Benjamin Sporton.
"Contrary to the picture being portrayed by certain quarters, China's climate pledge suggests that coal will continue to be central to its energy solutions, albeit through efficiencies including the use of new coal technologies.
"In India's case, it's simply not true that renewables are displacing coal. The International Energy Agency has said that India's coal demand will see the biggest growth over next five years with an annual average growth rate of 5% by 2021.
"For these countries, excluding coal from the energy mix is not an option; it is essential for economic growth and critical in securing energy access."
According to the authors of the study, the slowdown brings the possibility of keeping global warming under 2 degrees C since pre-industrial times "within feasible reach."
However, the study says that much more progress needs to be made to reduce the number of coal-fired plants under development in Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and elsewhere.
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook. | Twenty-sixteen saw a "dramatic" decline in the number of coal-fired power stations in pre-construction globally. |
38,537,258 | Yassar Yaqub, 28, from Huddersfield, was shot when police stopped a car near junction 24 of the M62 on Monday.
Dee Collins, West Yorkshire Police chief constable, said she understood the desire of Mr Yaqub's family "for answers to their unresolved questions".
She also extended sympathy to the dead man's family.
Her comments come on the day Mr Yaqub's funeral was held at the Jamia Masjid Bilal mosque in Huddersfield.
An inquest into his death was also opened and adjourned in Bradford.
The force's boss set up the meeting after protesters carrying banners saying "stop the killings" on Tuesday evening brought traffic to a halt in Leeds Road, Bradford.
During that protest earlier in the week, a police car was kicked and its wing mirror broken during the protest, although no arrests were made.
"I completely understand and empathise with the heightened community tensions and people's wish to peacefully demonstrate", Ms Collins said.
The police chief said she had met "politicians and community representatives" to discuss their concerns and how "to work together in the public interest" . Ms Collins said the discussions would continue.
However, she also said she could not "comment directly on the policing operation".
Monday's operation at Ainley Top, near junction 24 of the M62, is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Ms Collins said its investigation had to "run its course, properly and thoroughly".
The IPCC has said post-mortem tests showed Mr Yaqub died of gunshot wounds to his chest. He was was shot by a West Yorkshire Police firearms officer.
Mr Yaqub was in the front passenger seat of a white Audi stopped by police. The IPCC has said a gun was found in the car.
On Wednesday about 100 people, including the dead man's parents, gathered near the site to lay flowers and light candles.
Meanwhile, Mohsin Amin, 30, from Dewsbury, who was arrested as part of the operation, has appeared in court charged with firearms offences. | The chief constable of West Yorkshire has met "community representatives" after a police operation on the M62 in which an officer shot a man dead. |
38,667,115 | Separate polls conducted by The Washington Post/ABC and CNN/ORC both found Mr Obama with 60% approval.
A majority approve of his economic policy, but polls show a deep divide between Democrats and Republicans.
The nation's first African American president will hold his final press conference later on Wednesday.
Only Presidents Ronald Reagan, Franklin D Roosevelt and Bill Clinton have handed over the White House keys with higher favourability ratings.
President Barack Obama is set to leave office with some of the highest popularity ratings in his presidency. The man who will replace him, despite having some of the lowest ratings of any incoming president, is poised to roll back much of his legacy.
A closer look at these recent surveys helps explain the apparent contradiction. The US is sharply divided along partisan lines, with Mr Obama touting high support among Democrats and low ratings with Republicans.
Throw in that voters in key Midwestern swing states feel more pessimistic about the state of the nation - many of whom backed Mr Obama in 2008 and 2012 and switched to Donald Trump in 2016 - and it's a recipe for a narrow presidential win for the Republican Party.
Mr Obama's reservoir of goodwill as he departs, like Hillary Clinton's popular vote victory in November, must be cold comfort for Democrats shut out of the Washington corridors of power.
In 2001 they were in a similar situation, with Bill Clinton riding an even higher wave of support, and it took them six years - and an unpopular war - to climb out of that political hole.
About a quarter (25%) of Americans view him as one of the greatest presidents, however about the same number (23%) view him as a poor president.
Among Democrats, Mr Obama has near-universal support (95%), however just 18% of Republicans approve of his eight years in office.
Mr Obama's approval continued to climb during the bitter 2016 presidential election, as views of the economy improved.
When Mr Obama took office in 2009 only 5% of Americans rated the economy as "great" or "good" according to the Washington Post's figures, and that number never rose about 20% during his first four-year term.
Although few now rate the economy as "excellent", those rating it as "poor" have dropped from 62% to 14% during Mr Obama's presidency.
On Tuesday a Washington-Post/ABC News poll found the President-elect Donald Trump has one of the lowest approval ratings of any incoming president in history.
He dismissed the poll as "rigged" after it was found that his 40% approval rating is lower than any arriving president since Jimmy Carter.
How reality derailed the Obama dream
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Unexpected things named after Obama | Two new polls show President Barack Obama leaving office with one of the highest approval ratings for any departing US president. |
35,872,841 | The 44-year-old started his playing career with the Iron and has agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the League One club.
Nick Daws, who had previously been placed in charge until the end of the season, will be Alexander's assistant.
His first game in charge of the 13th placed side will be Good Friday's trip to Barnsley.
"I'm an ambitious guy, I want to win things. The guys in charge at the club are exactly the same and I'm sure we'll do great things here," Alexander told the club website.
"There are a lot of good players in this squad without a doubt. For whatever reason it hasn't fulfilled its potential this season, but that's my remit - to come and assess, and try to improve it.
"Any manager when he comes into a new club has to look at where he needs to put his stamp on things, and get the players to enjoy their football and play as well as they can."
The former Scotland international guided Fleetwood to League One in 2014, but was sacked last September after a poor start to the season.
He will be the third person to take charge of the team this season after Mark Robins was sacked in January following a 5-0 defeat at struggling Blackpool.
Iron chairman Peter Swann added: "Over the last couple of weeks we've felt it quite important that, if we were to have a manager in place, now would be a good time.
"It made a lot of sense. We have nine games remaining this season and we'll do whatever can be done within that, but it will give him a chance to get organised for the summer, target any new players and plan what we need to do for pre-season training." | Scunthorpe United have appointed former Fleetwood boss Graham Alexander as their new manager. |
38,604,328 | Gary Carruthers, 35, admitted his guilt and was jailed on Wednesday.
Ch Supt George Clarke said PSNI officers had identified the children in the photos held by Carruthers and have already spoken to their parents.
He said none of those in the images had reported "contact offending".
Mr Clarke also reassured parents of children at the school that Carruthers had not shared the images with anyone else.
Carruthers was caught by police with about 30,000 indecent images of children, some of the victims were as young as two years old.
In a safe at his home, detectives also found computer discs and storage devices, manuals on how to abuse children, and even classroom registers.
He pleaded guilty to possessing the indecent images and was sentenced to three years in prison.
At the time of his arrest, parents at his former workplace were sent a note explaining that there was a child safeguarding issue at the school.
Some parents have told the BBC they were not given enough information about the arrest and trial of the part-time cleaner at their child's school for such serious crimes against children.
They also expressed concern about images of their children being distributed online, with one father asking: "Is my wee girl's face on computer screens in other countries?"
Mr Clarke advised parents at the school that if they have not been contacted by police at this stage, they should not be concerned.
The officer told the BBC that Carruthers "used one of those images to manufacture an image of abuse".
"So he took an abuse image he manufactured on the image of a child at the school.
"He also had a number of other images of children at the school, so any child that is in that group we have identified.
"We have spoken to the child and their parents and none of those have disclosed contact offending, so that should be a reassurance to the parents that we haven't spoken to that they're not in that category."
"It's also very important to note that there's no suggestion whatsoever that he was involved in distribution of these images," he added. | The police have moved to reassure parents at a County Down school after a former caretaker was convicted of superimposing pictures of children onto those of others being sexually abused. |
28,490,544 | The presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met Mr Obama at the White House on Friday to discuss the crisis at the US southern border.
More than 50,000 children, many unaccompanied, have been detained at the border since October.
Mr Obama said they must deter more children from attempting the journey.
"All of us recognise that we have a shared responsibility to address this problem," Mr Obama told reporters at the White House on Friday, flanked by Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and El Salvador President Salvador Sanchez Ceren.
He praised his Central American counterparts for their ongoing efforts within their own nations to deter children from travelling illegally to the US, but said more work must be done to combat the "significant challenge" and alleviate the conditions that move parents to send them on the perilous trip.
"We have to deter a continuing influx of children putting themselves at great risk," he said. But he said, "Children who do not have proper claims and families with children who do not have proper claims at some point will be subject to repatriation to their home countries."
The Guatemalan president, Otto Perez Molina, told the BBC that he felt frustrated and distressed by the situation. He called for the root of the problem to be addressed.
"At the heart of this are issues of extreme poverty and a lack of employment opportunities" he said.
"These are the real reasons for immigration and, as a country, we have to work hard to ensure Guatemalans don't look towards the US, but rather find decent living conditions in Guatemala", he added.
The migrants - mostly from Central America - have been driven north by a spike in gang violence in their home countries, by extreme poverty, and amid incorrect rumours children will be allowed to stay if they make it across the border.
Also at issue is a 2008 US law that grants unaccompanied children from countries that do not border the US an automatic asylum hearing, thereby preventing their immediate removal from the country.
In his remarks, Mr Obama called on Republicans in Congress to postpone their upcoming August recess until they can approve legislation increasing funding to ease the crisis.
Earlier this month, his administration requested $3.7bn (£2.2bn) in emergency funds for tighter border security, care for the children, detention and removal programmes, and immigration courts.
Source: White House
But Republican lawmakers said they would not give Mr Obama a "blank cheque" without changes to US immigration policy.
Conservative politicians have blamed Mr Obama's immigration policy for the crisis, and some in the Congress have called for the repeal of the 2008 asylum law.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are developing an immigration proposal not to exceed $1.5bn, while Senate Democrats are floating one for $3.6bn to meet increased immigration and security needs.
"We need action and less talk," Mr Obama said of Congressional politicians, naming Republican House Speaker John Boehner in particular. | President Barack Obama has told Central American leaders that migrant children flooding into the US without legitimate legal claims will be sent home. |
23,751,440 | The Shanghai stock market went on a roller coaster ride after an apparent trading error that led China Everbright Securities, a major mainland brokerage firm, to make billions of yuan of buying orders within seconds during the morning trading on Friday.
Shanghai Composite index jumped 5.6 per cent in a flash on Friday morning, but ended the day with a loss of 0.6 per cent.
China's securities watchdog says the chaotic trading was caused by "design flaws" in China Everbright Securities' computer-based automated trading system and "obviously inadequate" internal risk controls.
However, some industry insiders and traders are making calls in the media for an investigation into possible market manipulation behind the firm's "own goal".
The China Daily says some are also dismissing reports that a trader may have made a buy order, thinking it was on a virtual trading system, when it was on a computer connected to the real exchange market.
"I've still got a lot of doubts and questions. In general there is a firewall between the two computers, and any big purchasing order should be approved by the compliance department," Yang Guoying, a researcher with China Finance Thinktank, tells the newspaper.
One director of an investment agency was incredulous at how such a massive purchase could be made without prior approval and called the transaction "a serious fraud, manipulation and disruption of the stock market" in an interview with The Beijing News.
"If Everbright Securities are not punished, the trustworthiness of China's securities market will drop from the 17th level of Hell into the 18th level of Hell," says Ye Tan, a financial commentator for Shanghai's National Business Daily, in her call for full compensation for short-sellers who suffered losses.
Meanwhile, a New York Times online report on JP Morgan Chase facing a US probe for allegedly hiring "princelings" - the children of senior Chinese officials - to boost its business in China, has been picked up in the mainland press, but there has been little comment so far.
Turning to other news, the Southern Metropolis Daily says a former top official at China's top economic policy-making body, Liu Tienan, has been placed under criminal investigation for suspected bribe-taking.
Just days ahead of the long-awaited corruption trial of fallen Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai that begins on Thursday, many media are paying tribute to an outspoken senior forensic scientist who has resigned in frustration over the standard of forensic evidence presented in trials.
Wang Xuemei, who quit as vice-president of the Chinese Forensic Medicine Association, had previously questioned the government's inquest into the murder of Briton Neil Heywood, whom Gu Kailai, Mr Bo's estranged wife, was convicted of poisoning.
Ms Wang said in her resignation video on Saturday that her name could not be related to an academic organization that offers "ridiculous and irresponsible" conclusions.
"We would like to pay tribute to Wang Xuemei not only because of her long-standing professional commitment, but because she was brave enough to expose shady dealings in the industry, as well as vowing to defend the bottom line of the industry to the death," says a Beijing Youth Daily commentary.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post gives details of an open letter signed by 70 police officers in Guizhou province accusing the acting president of the Shanghai High Court of corruption and abuse of power during his time as a provincial police chief.
Finally, the media are shocked at another "baby-throwing" incident that has gone viral on the internet, but this time there is even greater outrage because the alleged perpetrator is a policeman.
The Southern Metropolis Daily says the arrested suspect, Guo Zengxi, should be severely punished if found guilty of taking a 7-month-old girl from her father's arms, lifting her up and then throwing her to the ground.
The Beijing News asks why the police officer was not investigated until last Saturday, when the alleged incident took place on 20 July.
A similar case occurred on 23 July when a Beijing man allegedly picked up and threw a two-year-old girl to the ground during a dispute with her mother over a parking space. The girl later died.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | Media in China are demanding an investigation into the chaotic surge in Shanghai's stock exchange triggered by what many described as an "own goal" trading error on Friday. |
34,948,928 | Richard Maycock, 43, from Walsgrave in Warwickshire, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at a school in Coventry in 2013.
The girl told her parents Maycock touched her after a swimming lesson and said she would be in trouble if she told anyone.
He also admitted sexually assaulting a second girl at a school in Redditch.
The Redditch abuse came to light during the Coventry investigation, when a former pupil at a school in the Worcestershire town reported Maycock had abused her between 2005 and 2006 when he was a teacher there.
Det Con Sarah Rose from Warwickshire Police said: "Maycock used his position as a teacher to abuse the trust these two girls had in him.
"I cannot commend them enough for their bravery in reporting what happened to them. We also hope this case shows that we take such allegations extremely seriously and encourages other victims to come forward."
Maycock will also be placed on the sex offenders register. | A PE teacher has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting female pupils in his care. |
38,356,946 | MPs are expected to ask him about British cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins' therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs).
They allow the use of banned substances if athletes have genuine medical need.
Brailsford is also expected to be asked about an allegation in the Daily Mail about a medical package delivered to Team Sky in France in June 2011.
He has previously refused to comment on the contents of the alleged delivery, said to have been made on the day Wiggins won the Criterium du Dauphine in La Toussuire.
Team Sky have said they conducted an internal review and were "confident there has been no wrongdoing".
Brailsford will be one of six witnesses - along with British Cycling technical director and Team Sky coach Shane Sutton, and World Anti-Doping Agency president Sir Craig Reedie - appearing at the hearing.
Sports minister Tracey Crouch told BBC 5 live's Sportsweek programme she would be watching with "great interest".
"He will be asked some extremely important questions and he will have to justify himself and his actions, and it's not for me as sports minister to say otherwise," said Crouch.
Wiggins, a five-time Olympic champion, was granted a TUE to take anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone before the 2011 Tour de France, his 2012 Tour win and the 2013 Giro d'Italia.
His use of the drug, which treats allergies and respiratory issues, was released by Russian computer hackers known as Fancy Bears.
Wiggins' TUEs were approved by British authorities and cycling's world governing body the UCI, and there is no suggestion either the 36-year-old or former employers Team Sky have broken any rules.
Former Team Sky cyclist Jonathan Tiernan-Locke has said painkiller Tramadol was "freely offered" when he was riding for Great Britain at the 2012 World Championships.
British Cycling, the national governing body, put the allegation to the medic in question, doctor Richard Freeman, on the BBC's behalf. He denied it.
UK Anti-Doping says it is investigating allegations of wrongdoing in cycling. | Team Sky chief Sir Dave Brailsford will appear on Monday in front of a Culture, Media and Sport select committee on sport's fight against doping. |
35,233,534 | The Chiefs led 19-0 at the break through two Thomas Waldrom tries and another from Olly Woodburn, while Gareth Steenson kicked two conversions.
Greig Laidlaw got Gloucester on the board with a penalty before Charlie Sharples went over in the corner for a try, which Billy Burns converted.
Exeter pushed for the bonus point but despite late pressure could not cross.
The hosts lost wing Jack Nowell to a knee injury midway through the second half and that could have implications for England's Six Nations squad, which is announced next week.
The club's backs coach Ali Hepher said Nowell had suffered a "twisted knee" and he would be "assessed in the week", but added: "Sometimes the least painful ones can be the longest out."
With the wind in their favour, Exeter scored twice inside the opening 10 minutes as Waldrom crossed after Julian Salvi charged down James Hook's kick and then went over off the back of a driving maul.
Woodburn scored in the corner from Steenson's chip over the Gloucester defence, but to their credit the Cherry and Whites staged a mini-fightback.
Laidlaw sent over a penalty shortly after the break and Sharples touched down with 12 minutes left.
Exeter had a late effort ruled out by the TV official as they failed to score the fourth try that would have secured the extra point.
Exeter Chiefs backs coach Ali Hepher:
"At the start of the day we would have taken four points. To not concede a losing bonus point is obviously important.
"It was one of those days when you just have to battle through it and not having the ball was the best option. We showed good enthusiasm and intent to battle away and got our tries off our defensive work.
"We played pretty well with the conditions and all in all we are really pleased. This sets us up nicely for the two-week break in the Premiership."
Gloucester director of rugby David Humphreys told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:
Media playback is not supported on this device
"The conditions were horrific for both teams. We conceded three tries - three in the first 20 minutes, two in the first 10 minutes - all three from our errors.
"All three I don't think Exeter had to play through any phases of play at all, so once you give a team as good as Exeter in these conditions that much of a lead it's a long way back - but I actually thought we played some good rugby.
"There's no secret as to why they are at the top of the table - they've been building this, they're a very, very hard team to play agains and they do their jobs very, very well."
Exeter: Dollman; Woodburn, Nowell, Whitten, Short; Steenson; Chudley; Hepburn, Yeandle (capt), Francis, Atkins, Parling, Armand, Salvi, Waldrom.
Replacements: Taione, Moon, Low, Hill, Horstmann, Lewis, Hooley, Campagnaro.
Gloucester: Cook; Sharples, Meakes, Twelvetrees, Purdy; Hook, Laidlaw (capt); Wood, Hibbard, Thomas, Savage, Thrush, Kalamafoni, Kvesic, Morgan.
Replacements: Lindsay, Murphy, McAllister, Galarza, Moriarty, Heinz, Burns, Atkinson.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. | Exeter bounced back from last weekend's loss to Northampton to beat struggling Gloucester in the Premiership. |
30,099,482 | He added the situation might change if any long-term targets became available but said they would not consider "short-term fixes".
United spent just over £150m in the last window, including a club record £59.7m on winger Angel Di Maria.
They are currently seventh in the Premier League table.
"We are not looking to enter the market for short-term fixes," said Woodward, speaking on the day United posted a 9.9% fall in revenue to £88.7m for the three months to the end of September, which reflected "absence from the Champions League".
"However, we have targets we are looking at for next summer.
"Should any of them become available in January, which is obviously rare, we will consider acting. But it is a low probability."
During the summer transfer window, United also bought Ander Herrera (£28m), Luke Shaw (£27m), Marcos Rojo (£16m) and Daley Blind (£13.8m), as well as spending £6m to bring in Radamel Falcao on loan.
However, they have been hit by a succession of injuries, most recently to midfielder Blind and goalkeeper David De Gea. | Manchester United are unlikely to make any signings in the January transfer window, says the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. |
37,332,494 | Wood's brother Chris Foote Wood said the donation from Dame Judi, who played M in the Bond movies, was a "massive boost" to the appeal fund.
He said it meant the appeal to erect a statue of his sister in Bury, Greater Manchester, where she grew up, was halfway towards its £20,000 target.
The Bafta-winning comedian and writer died aged 62 in April.
Mr Foote Wood said he was delighted by the donation from Dame Judi and hoped it would encourage other stars to make pledges to the appeal.
He said his sister once dismissed the idea of being a national treasure - nominating Dame Judi rather than herself.
Mr Foote Wood, who has the backing of Bury Council, wants to show his sister "in typical pose" seated at a piano in the statue.
Wood was born in Prestwich and lived in Bury until she was 18. | Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench has donated £1,000 towards a fund for a statue of entertainer Victoria Wood. |
35,520,077 | McCullum, who will retire from all cricket after the Test series against the same opponents this month, scored 47 from 27 balls in his side's 246.
Australia regularly lost wickets and were bowled out for 191.
"I feel incredibly lucky to play for 14 years, meet some great blokes and make some great friends," said McCullum, 34.
"Not many people get that opportunity and I want to thank everyone for supporting me and supporting this team over a long period of time.
"The memories will hold for the rest of my life."
McCullum hit three sixes and six fours as he finished his ODI career with 6,083 runs, which included five centuries and a highest score of 166.
He played 228 innings in 260 ODI's, with an average of 30.41 and a strike rate of 96.37.
McCullum also led New Zealand to their first World Cup final in 2015, where the Kiwis lost to Australia.
His final match was not without its share of controversy.
Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh took 3-34 during New Zealand's innings and had reached 41 with the bat when he hit a delivery back to bowler Matt Henry.
The bowler's appeal for a caught and bowled was turned down but a replay was shown on the big screen, during which the crowd reacted noisily after the ball appeared to hit the batsman's boot before looping up to the bowler.
Umpires Ian Gould and Derek Walker then asked third umpire Sundaram Ravi to review the incident and Marsh was subsequently given out.
"A bit of controversy there, I don't think there was much of an appeal," said Australia skipper Steve Smith. "And they went upstairs after the replay, a bit disappointing.
"The right decision was made no doubt about that. I don't want to take anything away from the Black Caps, they deserved to win." | New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum ended his one-day international career with a 55-run win over Australia which gave the Kiwis a 2-1 series victory. |
39,290,345 | Gillies Mackinnon's feature stars Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo, Gregor Fisher, Kevin Guthrie, Ellie Kendrick, Naomi Battrick and Sean Biggerstaff.
It was premiered at 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival last year.
The films are adaptations of a book by Compton MacKenzie, whose story was inspired by the sinking of the cargo ship SS Politician off Eriskay in 1941.
The boat's cargo included more than 250,000 bottles of whisky.
Hundreds of cases of whisky were hidden from customs officers by islanders.
Some locations of these secret stashes have since been forgotten, according to islanders today.
The SS Politician was headed for Jamaica when it ran aground on the northern side of Eriskay, in the Western Isles, in bad weather.
Scottish author Mackenzie published the novel Whisky Galore in 1947. It was adapted for cinema in a 1949 Ealing comedy.
The new film will be released in cinemas on 5 May. | A remake of 1949 film Whisky Galore is to be released in cinemas in May, it has been announced. |
38,912,888 | Shafiq Mohammed, 50, said he had been spat at and faced Nazi salutes and yells of "Sieg Heil" at a protest by the Scottish Defence League (SDL).
Mr Mohammed had himself been accused of racially abusing a woman and three men.
Sheriff Robert Weir said the atmosphere at the demo had been "rendered toxic by other people".
He ruled that Mr Mohammed should not receive "further punishment" and gave him an absolute discharge.
During an earlier court hearing, the sheriff heard how tempers flared as members of the far-right anti-immigration SDL staged a counter demonstration against pro-refugee demonstrators on 15 November 2015.
It followed 150 Syrian refugees being granted emergency accommodation at the Adamton Country House Hotel in Monkton, near Prestwick, in Ayrshire.
Mr Mohammed was said to have shouted that the group were "nothing but white bastards".
He denied behaving in a racially aggravated manner which was intended to cause alarm and distress.
Mr Mohammed claimed the four witnesses had conspired to make up the allegations against him.
However, Sheriff Robert Weir QC found that Mr Mohammed had behaved in the manner outlined in the charges.
The sheriff also said he did not believe the group were in collusion over the allegations.
He adjourned the case from November last year to consider his verdict.
Delivering his verdict, Sheriff Weir noted Mr Mohammed had no previous convictions, was of low risk of re-offending and positive references had been given to the court.
He gave Mr Mohammed an absolute discharge, meaning no conviction or punishment.
The sheriff said: "I am satisfied that a formal conviction would make any future employment in your chosen field difficult, if not impossible."
Outside court, Mr Mohammed said the decision had made him "all the more more determined" to stand up to racists and support refugees and asylum seekers.
He said he had been hopeful of being cleared but that the other demonstrators should have been charged.
Mr Mohammed added: "Their behaviour was appalling with spitting, Sieg Heils and Hitler salutes. There was about 300 mainly white refugee supporters there yet it was me they went for.
"I reported it to the police but they took no action." | An anti-racism activist has been cleared of racially aggravated behaviour after he was targeted by far-right extremists at a demonstration. |
31,419,988 | Media playback is unsupported on your device
11 February 2015 Last updated at 17:04 GMT
The flight lasted about an hour and a half and a massive rocket helped to blast the two tonne craft into space.
The space plane successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean, and the director-general of the ESA said that the test "couldn't have gone better."
Scientists launched the spacecraft to try to figure out how to overcome the problems they face when trying to come back to Earth.
When spacecrafts re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, the air slows down the space ship causing friction.
This friction then causes the craft to heat up, and could be quite dangerous for the mini-plane.
On its return to Earth the surface of the mini-space shuttle reached temperatures of 1,700 degrees Celsius.
The ESA hope that this test will help improve how space shuttles re-enter the Earth's atmosphere allowing them to be reused more than once. | The Europe Space Agency (ESA) has successfully completed its first test flight of a new space plane. |
31,587,588 | Both MPs say they have broken no rules and have referred themselves to the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards and Sir Malcolm has been suspended from the Conservative group of MPs in Parliament.
Reporters for the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches posed as staff of a fake Chinese firm.
It is claimed that Mr Straw was recorded describing how he operated "under the radar" and had used his influence to change EU rules on behalf of a firm which paid him £60,000 a year.
On the subject of payment, Mr Straw is heard saying: "So normally, if I'm doing a speech or something, it's £5,000 a day, that's what I charge."
Sir Malcolm is reported to have claimed he could arrange "useful access" to every British ambassador in the world.
He is heard saying: "I am self-employed - so nobody pays me a salary. I have to earn my income."
There are no rules banning MPs from holding other sources of employment, and many do. Opinion is divided on whether this is a good thing.
For some, having work outside of Parliament means MPs have a broader range of experience and are less likely to be "career politicians".
But critics of the current policy, including Labour leader Ed Miliband, say banning second jobs would increase public trust in politicians.
£65,738
MP's salary
£78,298 Headteacher
£72,649 Police superintendent
£88,000 Senior civil servant
£63,032 NHS director
The Commons Code of Conduct states that MPs must not act as a "paid advocate" - taking payment for speaking in the House, asking a parliamentary question, tabling a motion, introducing a bill or tabling or moving an amendment to a motion or bill or urging colleagues or ministers to do so.
They have to declare their financial interests, including paid employment outside Parliament, in the Register of Members' Financial Interests.
There are also guidelines for ministers leaving office: former Cabinet members must normally wait three months after leaving office before they can accept any kind of paid employment, and should not lobby existing ministers on behalf of any organisation for which they are employed for two years after leaving office.
It is the job of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to look into complaints against MPs. The commissioner reports to the Committee on Standards, which then decides on a course of action to take against an MP, including recommending suspension from the Commons, if this is necessary.
MPs vote on whether to implement the recommendations.
They are both political veterans and former UK foreign secretaries.
Jack Straw, 68, has been Labour MP for Blackburn since 1979. He was a shadow Labour spokesman throughout the 1980s before serving as Home Secretary, from 1997, in Tony Blair's first term as PM, becoming Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and then holding a series of other front bench roles until Labour lost power in 2010. He is due to step down as an MP in May.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, 68, was MP for Edinburgh Pentlands from 1974 to 1997 and has been MP for Kensington and Chelsea/Kensington since 2005. He was on the Conservative frontbench from 1975 to 1997, including spells as transport, defence and, from 1995 to 1997, foreign secretary. He is currently chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the UK's intelligence agencies.
Both MPs have said they have not broken any of the rules governing MPs' outside interests.
Mr Straw, the Labour MP for Blackburn, said he had been discussing options for when he leaves Parliament after May's general election. He said he had followed the letter and the spirit of the rules, saying he did not agree with Mr Miliband's call to change the law.
Sir Malcolm, the Conservative MP for Kensington who chairs Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, said he had never accepted an offer from the fake firm, saying it was a "preliminary" discussion "about what they had mind".
He said he had "nothing to be embarrassed about". He said the allegations were "unfounded" and he vowed to fight them "with all my strength". | The debate over MPs and second jobs has been reignited after former Foreign Secretaries Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind were secretly filmed apparently offering their services to a private company for thousands of pounds. |
33,166,220 | Chad's government accused Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram of the bombings which killed more than 20 people.
The prime minister said the veil was used as a "camouflage" by militants and said the security forces will burn all full-face veils sold in markets.
Chad is to host a new regional force set up to tackle Boko Haram.
The militant group has not commented on the attack but has previously threatened to attack Chad, after its forces started to help Nigeria.
At a meeting with religious leaders, Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet said the ban applied everywhere, not only public places.
He added that any clothing that covers everything but the eyes was a camouflage.
The attackers were on motorcycles when they blew themselves up outside two police buildings in the capital, N'Djamena.
Borno state, at the heart of the insurgency, is on the Nigerian border with Chad and Chadian forces have played a key role in helping Nigeria battle the jihadist group.
The US announced on Tuesday that it will give $5m (£3.2m) towards a multi-national task force headquarters in Chad.
The BBC World Service's Africa editor Richard Hamilton says Boko Haram militants have increasingly been using female suicide bombers in Nigeria, as they are more likely to smuggle bombs into public places without detection.
The majority of the population in Chad is Muslim and the burka is worn mainly for religious reasons, but also helps protect women from the hot, dusty climate of the Sahara.
The full-face Islamic veil was also banned in May in public places in Congo-Brazzaville, to "counter terrorism".
Although there has never been an Islamist attack in the country and less than 5% of the population of Congo-Brazzaville is Muslim, thousands of mostly Muslim people had fled the neighbouring Central African Republic and had taken shelter in mosques.
Africa as it happened | Chad has banned people from wearing the full-face veil, following two suicide bomb attacks on Monday. |
18,948,285 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The 42-year-old South African birdied the 18th to end seven under as Australia's Scott bogeyed the last four holes to come second by one shot.
Els, who began the day six shots adrift, clinched his fourth major title and first since winning the 2002 Open at Muirfield.
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The 1994 and 1997 US Open champion carded 68 to the 75 of Scott, who had led since the sixth hole on Saturday.
The 32-year-old Scott was four shots clear on the 15th tee and needed to hole from 10ft on the last to force a play-off.
"I am just numb at the moment, I feel for Adam Scott, he is a great friend of mine," said Els, who picked up £900,000 in prize money.
"We both wanted to win so badly, but I really feel for him. That is the nature of the beast, that is why we are out here.
"It was my time. I was hoping at best a play-off. A lot of people never thought I would win but I started believing this year, getting a lot of help from my family and the professionals around me."
Tiger Woods threatened at times but a triple bogey via a greenside bunker at the par-four sixth and three straight bogeys from the 13th sank his chances of a 15th major and first since the 2008 US Open.
The 36-year-old carded a three-over 73 to end tied third at three under alongside playing partner and fellow American Brandt Snedeker (74).
Woods said: "It's part of golf - we all go through these phases, some people it lasts entire careers, others are a little bit shorter. Even the greatest players to ever play have all gone through little stretches like this."
Graeme McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, was playing in the final group for a second straight major but again struggled to engage the leader.
The Northern Irishman took 75 to tie for fifth at two under with England's world number one Luke Donald, who climbed up the leaderboard with a 69.
Scott's capitulation must rank worse than Rory McIlroy's Masters meltdown in 2011 and up there with Jean van de Velde's final-hole drama at Carnoustie in 1999.
"Els didn't do anything sensational, he just kept playing solid golf.
"They have been rebuilding his putting stroke for years now, but something has clicked psychologically. It is incredible the power of the mind.
"Adam Scott's Achilles heel is pulling his mid irons, which he did at 17. After that he should have throttled back with a two iron or something off the tee at the last to keep out of the bunkers.
"It will be scarring for him to get into such a position in a major. It will take a lot of fixing."
His defeat called to mind his compatriot Greg Norman's loss at the Masters in 1996 when Nick Faldo overhauled a six-stroke deficit to snatch victory at Augusta in the last round.
"I'm very disappointed but I played so beautifully for most of the week I really shouldn't let this bring me down," said Scott.
"I know I've let a really great chance slip through my fingers today, but somehow I'll look back and take the positives from it."
Els, who was ninth at last month's US Open, becomes the 16th consecutive different major champion and moves up from 40th to 15th in the world rankings. He also finished tied second when Royal Lytham hosted the Open in 1996 and tied third when it was last held on the Fylde coast, in 2001.
Scott led by four overnight and was still four clear of second-placed McDowell by the turn as the expected challenge in a stiffening breeze failed to materialise.
Els was six shots adrift after going out in two-over 36 but he edged into the frame with birdies at the 10th, 12th and 14th.
His putt across the final green set up the prospect of a play-off but Scott found a bunker with his drive and was unable to make his par.
Donald, who like Scott is also still searching for a maiden major title, echoed the Australian's feelings, and the feelings of many in the field.
"Certainly I'll leave this week knowing that my game is definitely good enough to win majors," said the 34-year-old, who finished five shots behind Els.
"Unfortunately I couldn't quite hole the putts, but I'll take a lot of positives away from this week."
Media playback is not supported on this device | Ernie Els clinched his second Open title after long-time leader Adam Scott spectacularly imploded at Royal Lytham & St Annes. |
35,586,240 | Manchester-based estate agents David Currie and Co said the suggestion to rename Plas Glynllifon near Caernarfon as "Newborough Hall" was made by its marketing department.
Locals have been taking to social media to express their dismay.
David Currie said all references to the new name had now been removed from its marketing material.
He said: "We are always receptive to local feelings and no offence was intended to anybody."
There was a previous backlash after former owners MBI Sales briefly renamed the mansion 'Wynnborn.'
The name Glynllifon has been associated with the 700-acre estate for more than 500 years. It is now listed simply as Glynllifon Mansion on the agent's website. | A second attempt to re-brand a Gwynedd mansion with an English name has failed. |
37,839,803 | Leanna Taylor said she was "humiliated" by Justin Harris' serial infidelity, but told a jury he loved their son, Cooper, and did not mean to kill him.
The court heard Mr Harris sexted a teenage girl from work as his son was dying in the overheating car outside.
Ms Taylor was appearing as a defence witness for her ex-husband.
Lead prosecutor Chuck Boring suggested that Ms Taylor did not know her husband as well as she thought.
The children left behind in hot cars
He asked if she knew Mr Harris, whom she divorced earlier this year, was using Craigslist to arrange sexual trysts with both men and women.
She testified she had caught him sending text messages to other women, but did not realise he had a sexual relationship with any of them.
"If I had, I would have divorced him then," she said.
The prosecutor reminded Ms Taylor that barely three weeks before their son died in June 2014, Harris had met a prostitute for sex, while telling her he was helping a friend move.
Ms Taylor acknowledged she did not realise the extent of Mr Harris' double life.
"He destroyed my life," she said, looking at her ex-husband. "I'm humiliated. I may never trust anyone again because of the things he did.
"If I never see him again after this day, that would be fine."
She became tearful during her testimony and the judge ordered the court to take an early break.
Ms Taylor earlier told jurors that her sex life with Mr Harris had problems, but he was a good parent to 22-month-old Cooper.
"He wanted to be the one to push him on a swing," Ms Taylor said.
"He wanted to be the one to slide down the slide with him. He wanted to enjoy every second he could with him."
Defence attorney Maddox Kilgore asked her: "Did Ross love his little boy?"
"Yes, he did," she replied. "Very much."
Mr Harris, who avoided eye contact with his wife, cried at times during her testimony.
On the day of Cooper's death, he was supposed to drop the boy off at daycare but instead drove to Home Depot where he was employed as a web developer.
Mr Harris says he forgot that he had left his son strapped in his seat in the back of the car, where he was discovered later that day.
Previous hearings heard that outside temperatures on the day of Cooper's death in June 2014 reached almost 90F (32C).
Mr Harris, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. | The ex-wife of a Georgia man who is on trial charged with murder in their toddler son's hot car death has testified he "destroyed" her life. |
35,808,627 | Police said Jason Dalton, 45, carried out the shootings on 20 February while working for the ride-sharing company.
"When I logged onto [the Uber app], it started making me feel like a puppet," Mr Dalton told investigators.
He claims that the smartphone program told him to kill his victims.
Although none of the victims were Uber customers, police said Mr Dalton continued to pick up passengers during the shooting spree in Kalamazoo, a small city about 150 miles (241km) west of Detroit.
Uber has said Mr Dalton underwent background checks, but passed because he had no criminal record.
Investigators made Mr Dalton's comments public in response to a local television station's Freedom of Information Act request.
According to documents released on Monday, Mr Dalton said the horned cow head of a devil would appear on his phone screen and give him an assignment.
One of the investigators wrote in the report: "I asked Dalton what made him get his gun tonight, and he said the Uber app made him."
Mr Dalton is charged with shooting eight people, killing six of them during a five-hour period.
Police have said Mr Dalton did not know any of the victims and they appeared to be selected at random.
He will undergo a court-ordered mental competency exam, but the results will not affect his criminal responsibility for the shootings.
If convicted, Mr Dalton could be sentenced to life in prison. Michigan does not have the death penalty. | An Uber driver who is accused of killing six people in the US state of Michigan has told police that the Uber app took over his "mind and body", setting off his shooting spree. |
33,136,997 | Opponents say local authorities are forced to use their government education grant to clear the debts.
A BBC Freedom of Information request shows more than £30m has been cleared.
The Department for Education said local authorities should pay the debts as they were accumulated when the schools were under council control.
The Local Government Association said vital cash was being taken from schools not involved in the scheme.
The BBC's FOI to all local authorities in England revealed £32.5m has been spent by councils on clearing debts since the Academies Act was introduced in 2010.
Under the academies scheme, when council-maintained schools choose to convert, local authorities have to pick up the tab for the costs of conversion including the cost of any deficit and legal fees.
David Simmonds, deputy chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "It is not fair that some schools are burdened with a deficit while other schools can walk away and leave that debt behind at the detriment of other schools in the community.
"It is not right that the taxpayer foots the bill. This money could instead be spent in ways which directly benefits pupils."
In 2012, education chiefs in Birmingham refused to write off at least £1.3 million of debts owed by schools converting to academies. By 2013, there were fears Birmingham's school budget could run out if the practice continued.
A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "All of Birmingham's children must benefit from any changes to the education system, so we need the government to make changes to enable this to happen so school and council budgets, that are already stretched, are not strained even further."
Councillor John Jones, Blackpool Council's cabinet member for school improvement, said local councils having to pick up the tab to write off debts was "extremely frustrating".
Jonathan Bacon, from the Isle of Wight Council, said other schools missed out when £1.4m was paid for a school to become an academy.
Local authorities said they use the Dedicated Schools Grant to pay the school debts. The grant is paid by the government to local authorities as the main source of income for the schools budget.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Councils are only required to cover a school's deficit when it has become a sponsored academy after a prolonged period of underperformance, and the deficit was accumulated under council control.
"Academies are a vital part of our plan for education and are transforming the education for millions of pupils across the country."
Christine Blower, from the National Union of Teachers, said: "This is another example of the financial pressures that the academies policy has brought to bear on local authorities' education budgets.
"As a direct consequence of the academies programme, local authorities have less money to fund and support other schools." | Millions of pounds of debt has been inherited by councils across England as schools convert to academies, a BBC investigation has revealed. |
37,617,613 | And these students' loans and grants will be available for the duration of their degree course.
The arrangement will be honoured even if the UK exits the EU in that period.
Universities said the announcement gave the higher education sector much-needed clarity on the matter and must be communicated to European students.
The government's guarantee means EU students applying to study from 2017-18 will be able to access the same funding and support they are now.
Ministers say the move will help give universities and colleges certainty over future funding.
Shortly after the EU referendum result in June, the government gave a guarantee that students currently in higher or further education - and those applying for a place this academic year (2016-17) - would continue to be able to access student funding support.
Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: "We know that the result of the referendum brought with it some uncertainties for our higher education sector.
"International students make an important contribution to our world class universities, and we want that to continue.
"This latest assurance that students applying to study next year will not only be eligible to apply for student funding under current terms, but will have their eligibility maintained throughout the duration of their course, will provide important stability for both universities and students."
Universities UK president Dame Julia Goodfellow said the news provided much-needed clarity.
"Every effort must now be made to ensure that this announcement is communicated effectively to prospective students across Europe," she said.
"European and international students are a valuable part of cultural and academic life on British university campuses and play an important role in UK towns and cities, creating jobs and supporting local businesses.
"Looking ahead, as the government develops plans [for] post-Brexit Britain, a commitment is needed to ensure that students, from Europe and beyond, are able to continue to come to the UK to study without unnecessary bureaucratic burdens."
Dame Julia said she hoped the announcement would be followed shortly by similar reassurances from governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The University and College Union said it was pleased the government had clarified the situation for EU students and and hoped the devolved nations would soon follow suit. | EU students applying for a place at English universities for the next academic year will be eligible for loans and grants, ministers have said. |
36,553,420 | West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed it was called to the scene at Birmingham Trade Park, on Kingsbury Road in Erdington, at about 11:55 BST.
The man, believed to be in his 40s, was confirmed dead at the scene. The lorry driver, another man and a bystander were also treated for shock.
West Midlands Police confirmed it is investigating the incident and is appealing for witnesses.
The road was closed for several hours while emergency services dealt with the incident.
More updates on this and other stories in Birmingham and the Black Country | A man has died after being involved in a collision with a lorry in Birmingham. |
30,495,153 | Peter Miller, 24, was found stabbed in Camden Place, Great Yarmouth, in 1984.
His brother Tony, now 53, said the case was "flawed" and has met MP Brandon Lewis, who has pledged to help him.
Norfolk Police said forensic review opportunities had been limited by the destruction, but the case remains open.
Mr Miller was found stabbed on the kitchen floor of the family home on Sunday, 9 December, 1984.
He had last been seen by a neighbour in the afternoon,
His brother Tony, a plumber in Gorleston, was originally arrested over the death, but released soon afterwards.
Investigations then led to a number of other arrests, but no-one was ever charged.
Fresh information in 2013 led to a "sharp implement" being uncovered and officers re-appealed to find a woman who called police soon after the killing. However, the case has failed to be taken forward.
Mr Miller said the investigation initially moved at a fast pace, but slowed significantly after the town was rocked 10 months later, by the abduction and murder of three-year-old Leoni Keating. Her killer was jailed in 1986.
Mr Miller claims he has been "fobbed off" by police for many years and recently discovered some of case's evidence was destroyed in 1991.
He believes there were many "missed opportunities", with neighbours telling him officers did not collect formal statements from them in the 1980s, despite pledges they would.
The only way anyone will ever be convicted is if they confess, Mr Miller claims.
"It's left me angry, frustrated, I've pushed and pushed on my own most of the time to get this case recognised," he said.
"You stay as open-minded as possible, but it does become difficult.
"You get your hopes up, but then you stay back from it because you have to prepare yourself, because I've been let down so many times.
"I just want closure for my mum, who's now in her mid-80s. I need to get it cleared up because it's also affecting my health.
"The biggest problem is to get police to admit to their faults."
In a statement, Norfolk Police said: "Case evidence and papers including all statements and the full inquest papers for the murder of Peter Miller are still held by the unsolved case inquiry team and the inquiry remains open.
"However, the exhibits held in the investigation were either returned to their respective owners, or destroyed by the end of 1991.
"The circumstances behind this fact are not clear as records do not provide any details of any decisions taken at that time.
"However, whilst this may have limited the forensic review opportunities, it has not prevented the unsolved case team from progressing any new information with a view to bringing a resolution to the case."
Great Yarmouth Conservative MP Brandon Lewis said he would look into the case, adding: "I can't imagine what it's like for Tony and his family 30 years on to not have any answers, so I'll do whatever I can to help them." | A man who found the body of his murdered brother 30 years ago has called for an inquiry into the original police probe, after it emerged evidence was destroyed just seven years later. |
38,519,944 | Williams has made 14 appearances for League One side Southend, but has yet to start a game for the senior team.
The 21-year-old ended last season on loan at National League South side Chelmsford City, having previously also spent time at Welling
He could make his Boreham Wood debut when they travel to face Torquay United in the league on Saturday. | National League side Boreham Wood have signed Southend United forward Jason Williams on loan until 8 April. |
38,561,414 | The 26-year-old could be the next South African to sign a Kolpak deal after David Wiese joined Sussex on Monday.
De Lange has played two Tests, four one-day internationals and six Twenty20 games for the Proteas after making his debut in 2011, and played his last international match in 2015.
South Africa also lost Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw last week, after the pair joined Hampshire as Kolpak players.
Subject to a visa, De Lange would join fellow South Africans Colin Ingram and captain Jacques Rudolph at Glamorgan.
Ingram is preparing for his third summer as a Kolpak player in Wales, while Rudolph is currently Glamorgan's one permitted overseas player.
Kolpak contracts are named after Slovak handball player Marius Kolpak, who won a landmark case at the European Court of Justice in 2003.
It allows sportsmen from countries that have associate trade agreements with the European Union, including South Africa, the same right to free movement as EU citizens without being classed as 'foreigners'.
In cricket, such contracts render the player ineligible to represent their country at international level. | Glamorgan are in talks to sign South Africa fast bowler Marchant de Lange. |
36,713,632 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Therefore it's important that you know how to set up your cleats properly - watch British Cycling's guide to help you.
Inspired to get back on your bike? Take a look at this handy guide to find ways to get into cycling. | Correct positioning of your cleats - the plastic or metal that fixes to your cycling shoes and clips into the pedals - is vital if you want to avoid foot, neck or back pain. |
22,556,182 | Sark Estate Managements, which runs most of the island's big hotels, said it could cut staffing from 110, or 50 in the low season, to about 25.
Manager Kevin Delaney said the decision was due to a lack of growth in the island's tourism industry.
He said with no moves from government to encourage a growth in tourism the business had to cut it costs.
Mr Delaney said he was disappointed in the lack of progress in plans to create a customs area in Sark to allow direct travel to the island from France.
Currently, anyone visiting the island has to clear customs in Guernsey.
Mr Delaney said it would "transform Sark's tourist industry" by opening up a "market of eight million people in Brittany and Normandy alone".
He said: "In the absence of that arriving we will see very substantial redundancies as soon as this season comes to an end, probably mid September."
In 2012, the company cut 100 jobs blaming it on a decline in the tourist industry and closed all its businesses for two weeks in December 2008 after the island elected its first fully democratic government.
The island has a population of about 600.
Mr Delaney said the business would be reduced to "a caretaker organisation" with the exception of the vineyards, which would be unaffected.
He said: "We'll probably keep one hotel open - we'll probably keep the Aval [Du Creux] open, for the minimal number of people who come to the island.
"(With) the rest of the hotels, it would be immoral to keep them open to just pay staff to stand around all day waiting for visitors which quite simply aren't going to come."
He added: "It's a horse and cart situation - the hotels can't stay open because the visitors won't come and the visitors won't come because the hotels aren't open.
"That's why there needs to be an overall well thought through economic policy for this island. That's the only way we'll achieve full employment on the back of the island's principle industry, which is tourism." | Sark's largest employer has warned it may make most of its workforce redundant in September. |
39,336,850 | Roedd y gwleidydd Sinn Féin wedi bod yn dioddef o gyflwr prin ar y galon.
Aeth Mr McGuinness o fod yn arweinydd ar yr IRA i gymodi, a chwaraeodd ran flaenllaw yn llywodraeth ddatganoledig Gogledd Iwerddon yn dilyn Cytundeb Gwener y Groglith 1998.
Yn ei deyrnged iddo, dywedodd Prif Weinidog Cymru, Carwyn Jones: "Chwaraeodd Martin ran hanfodol mewn dod â heddwch i Ogledd Iwerddon.
"Gweithiais yn agos ag ef am sawl blwyddyn ar Gynghorau Prydain ac Iwerddon, Cynghorau Cydweinidogol a thu hwnt.
"Pan siaradai, roedd pobl yn gwrando. Mae'r presenoldeb hwnnw'n esbonio llawer am sut llwyddodd i godi pontydd dros wahaniaethau gwleidyddol. Mae fy meddyliau gyda'i deulu a'i ffrindiau heddiw."
Fe wnaeth arweinydd y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig, Andrew RT Davies, gydnabod cyfraniad Mr McGuinness i'r broses heddwch, ond ychwanegodd y bod yn rhaid cofio am y rhai fu farw yn ystod y trais yng Ngogledd Iwerddon.
"Chwaraeodd Martin McGuinness ran allweddol i ddod â'r Troubles i ben, ond i nifer llawer rhy niferus o deuluoedd yng Ngogledd Iwerddon, ac ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig, bydd yr holl glodfori'r bore 'ma yn ormod," meddai.
Daeth Mr McGuinness yn ddirprwy brif weinidog ar Ogledd Iwerddon yn 2007, gan gydweithio gydag arweinwyr plaid unoliaethol y DUP, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson ac Arlene Foster.
Dirprwy brif weinidog Cymru ar yr un cyfnod oedd Ieuan Wyn Jones, a dywedodd wrth raglen Post Cyntaf Radio Cymru ei fod wedi cwrdd â Mr McGuinness am y tro cyntaf yn 2007.
"Dyna lle o'n i'n cael fy nghyfarch yn Stormont gan Martin McGuinness ac Ian Paisley, oedd yn brofiad eithaf diddorol ar y pryd," meddai.
"Roedd llywodraeth ddatganoledig Gogledd Iwerddon newydd ddod yn ôl yn 2007 felly roedd o'n brofiad eithaf newydd iddyn nhw ac i mi.
"Ges i brofiad o fynd i gael sgwrs gyda Martin McGuinness sawl tro wedyn yn ystod y pedair blynedd o'n i yn y swydd.
"Roedd o'n gymeriad hawddgar iawn. Roedd ganddo fo'r cefndir o fod yn gefnogol i'r IRA, ond doeddech chi ddim yn ymwybodol o hynny o'i ymarweddiad.
"Roedd o'n hynod o hoffus, yn hawdd iawn i siarad ag o."
Dywedodd Mr Wyn Jones bod Mr McGuinness wastad wedi dangos diddordeb yn yr iaith Gymraeg, a hynny am ei fod yn gobeithio gweld datblygiad Gaeleg yng Ngogledd Iwerddon.
"Oherwydd bod y ddau ohonom yn ddirprwy brif weinidogion, oedden ni'n tueddu i eistedd wrth ein gilydd mewn ciniawau a chynadleddau ac yn y blaen, felly ges i gyfle i gael sawl sgwrs hynod o ddifyr efo fo ynglŷn â gwleidyddiaeth," meddai Mr Wyn Jones.
"Un maes oedd ganddo fo ddiddordeb mawr ynddi oedd y Gymraeg a Gaeleg, a sefyllfa'r ddwy o ran y gyfraith.
"Roedd o'n ein holi ni'n aml ynglŷn â pha fath o fesurau deddfwriaethol y bydden ni'n bwriadu eu gwneud i gryfhau'r Gymraeg, ac wrth gwrs, roedden nhw'n ei chael yn llawer iawn anoddach yng Ngogledd Iwerddon oherwydd bod yr unoliaethwyr yn gwrthod cyflwyno unrhyw fesur fyddai'n cryfhau'r iaith Aeleg yno." | Mae ffigyrau gwleidyddol Cymru wedi rhoi teyrngedau i gyn-ddirprwy brif weinidog Gogledd Iwerddon, Martin McGuinness, wedi iddo farw yn 66 oed. |
28,546,368 | Five bronze medals are guaranteed in the boxing with Lauren Price the first Welsh female boxer to medal.
Sean McGoldrick, Ashley Williams, Joe Cordina and Nathan Thorley are also guaranteed bronze.
Gold medal hope Robert Weale lost in his attempt to defend his singles lawn bowls title.
The 51-year-old has won six medals at previous Games, including singles gold at Delhi 2010, but lost 21-11 to Australia's Aron Sherriff.
Another Welsh defending champion lost in a preliminary round, as Dai Greene failed to reach the 400m hurdles final.
Reigning Commonwealth boxing champion McGoldrick won his bantamweight quarter-final.
He claimed a split points decision over South Africa's Ayabonga Sonjica to proceed to the semi-finals and guarantee at least a bronze medal.
Fellow boxers Williams, Cordina, Thorley and Price also secured bronze after winning their quarter-final bouts.
But Charlene Jones lost a split decision against India's Laishram Devi in the lightweight division.
Delhi gold medallist Greene trailed in fifth in his race after a build-up wrecked by injury.
Greene recently won on his return to competition after three hernia operations last year.
"I knew I was playing catch-up from a few months ago and to be honest I didn't expect to be here four months ago," said Greene.
Bowler Weale had got his campaign back on course with a 21-18 win over Dalton Tagelagi, but he failed to overcome Sherriff.
Wales women's pairs are through to the lawn bowls quarter-finals after beating the Cook Islands 14-13 and drawing with England 15-15.
The triples team narrowly lost to South Africa 14-13 but followed that up with a 14-13 win against New Zealand to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the athletics stadium, Brett Morse has qualified for the discus final. His throw of 59.85 metres was well below his personal best, but it was enough to get him through.
And Joe Thomas lines up in the semi-finals of the 800m.
Clinton Purnell finished seventh in the artistic gymnastics men's individual all-around final.
Wales' bronze-medal winning artistic gymnasts Georgina Hockenhull and Lizzie Beddoe finished sixth and eighth in the women's individual final. | Wales have reached their target of 27 medals and are guaranteed to win at least 32 after day seven of the Commonwealth Games. |
37,845,164 | The Electoral Commission received "almost 200 calls" from voters worried about using a pencil on 23 June.
Lib Dem Lord Rennard has asked the government if it would provide "special ballot pens" instead of pencils.
And the Electoral Commission says it is looking at "alternatives to providing pencils for voters in polling stations which could improve confidence".
The issue of using pencils to vote became an issue on social media for people voting in June's referendum who feared ballot papers filled out in pencil could be rubbed out and changed, leading the hashtag #usepens to gain traction on Twitter.
Lord Rennard asked the government for its assessment of voter concerns about using pencils instead of pens to mark ballot papers. He also asked whether the government was planning to provide polling stations with "special ballot pens or pencils with indelible ink".
Cabinet Office spokeswoman in the Lords, Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen, responded saying "voters were able to use the pencil provided, or mark their ballot paper with a pen if they preferred - we are not aware of any cases of ballot papers being changed at the referendum".
She added that the government had "noted the Electoral Commission's comments on this issue in its report on the EU referendum".
That Electoral Commission report into the EU referendum says that voters are able to use either a pen or pencil to mark their ballot paper, and that "there is nothing in law which states whether a pen or a pencil should be used to mark a ballot paper."
The report also says that the Commission would be working with returning officers and national governments to see "whether there could be alternatives to providing pencils for voters in polling stations which could improve confidence."
An Electoral Commission spokesman said that historically pencils were used for practical reasons, as pens carry the risk that "they may dry out or spill".
Wet ink might also smudge on to the other side of a folded ballot paper, leading to the risk that votes could be rejected if it looks like more than one box has been marked, he added. | People could get the choice of a pen as well as a pencil when they go to vote, after fraud fears at the EU referendum. |
31,113,639 | "It's a horrible thing to admit, but I can't do it," he told the Sunday Times.
"When the script's in front of me it takes me forever to learn it," the 74-year-old continued. "It's frightening."
Sir Michael can currently be seen in Fortitude on Sky Atlantic and appears in BBC One's upcoming dramatisation of JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy.
His agent was unable to comment further on the Sunday Times interview.
"You've got to go to work, haven't you?" he told the newspaper's Matt Rudd, dismissing suggestions he might give up acting altogether.
Fellow actor Dame Judi Dench told BBC Radio 4's PM programme she has been taking a health supplement as a "preventative" to memory loss, but not as a cure, as suggested by some newspaper reports.
"It sounds like I started to take these when I started to not remember the lines, and that's not true. I was told about this in 2002 and I started to take them then because I was learning The Breath of Life by David Hare with Dame Maggie [Smith].
"She and I both took them. I've put everybody on them since, they're absolutely wonderful, they've done the job. So mine, I hope is a preventative," said Dame Judi.
When asked by presenter Eddie Mair if they worked she said: "Well, I'm touching wood, you can't believe what wood I'm touching, but so far so good. I think in 59 or 60 years I've been on the stage there is an occasional moment where you completely forget a line, but so far I'm able to retain them."
Dame Judi said as well as taking two tablets each morning, she tried to learn something new every day to keep her brain active.
"I try and learn just one fact every day. I'm a games player and I love things that involve words. I could do the whole of A Midsummer Night's Dream for you now or Twelfth Night... I can't put you through that!"
According to the Sunday Times, Gambon - best known for playing Professor Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films - suffered panic attacks in 2009 after forgetting lines during play rehearsals at the National Theatre.
It also reported that Gambon was due to appear in a play with Tom Hollander last year but withdrew from the production shortly after rehearsals began.
"There was a girl in the wings and I had a plug in my ear so she could read me the lines," the actor confirmed.
"After about an hour I thought: 'This can't work. You can't be in theatre, free on the stage, shouting and screaming and running around, with someone reading you your lines.'"
A member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre acting company, Sir Michael went on to win three Olivier awards for performances in National Theatre productions.
The four-time Bafta winner - known as "The Great Gambon" in acting circles - last appeared on stage in 2012 in a London production of Samuel Beckett's play All That Fall. | Veteran Harry Potter actor Sir Michael Gambon has revealed he is no longer able to play roles on stage due to problems remembering lines. |
36,963,994 | The labourers from India, Pakistan and the Philippines among others are relying on food handouts organised by embassies and charities.
Many have also lost legal status, as residence permits are handled by their employers.
Low oil prices have hit the Saudi construction industry hard.
The full extent of the crisis has emerged over the past few days with moves by various governments to start helping their stranded citizens.
India has sent a junior foreign minister, Vijay Kumar Singh to try to arrange flights home for several thousand migrants lacking money to travel.
Authorities say around 7,700 Indian workers are affected by the layoffs and are housed in 20 camps.
Indian officials have been using the hashtag "#NoIndianLeftBehind" to highlight their efforts.
Apart from arranging repatriation, officials are trying to address workers' complaints about unpaid wages and end-of-service benefits.
Pakistan, too, has promised action.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said Pakistan's embassy in Riyadh has set up a centre to provide food and medical help as well as dealing with claims for outstanding payments.
"We stand by our hardworking workers who are away from their homeland to earn a living for their families," the statement said. "They are our strength and pride."
Officials say over 8,000 Pakistani workers are affected.
More than 10,000 Filipino migrant workers are affected, the Department of Labour in Manila estimates.
Labour officials say they are assisting families left without essential remittance payments.
"While awaiting their separation pay and other money claims, some of the children of these Overseas Filipino Workers had to stop their schooling," Labour and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello said.
Data from other countries is also beginning to emerge.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Bureau says at least 100 of its citizens are affected.
The Nepalese embassy in Jeddah says it is increasingly receiving complaints from its nationals about salary payments being delayed for several months, but the numbers are low.
Saudi media say the authorities have promised urgent action to help the stranded workers by easing restrictions on residency and on leaving the country.
India's consul general in Jeddah, Noor Rahman Sheikh said the Saudi government was offering to help with provisions and repatriation too.
"They have made arrangements to take care of the food of these workers," he told the BBC. "They've conveyed that they're willing to even carry those Indians on Saudi Arabian airlines back to India."
Millions of workers from Asian countries have found employment in Saudi Arabia and other gulf states, sending vital remittances home to their families. | Saudi Arabia has promised to help thousands of Asian migrant workers stuck without pay after losing their jobs in the construction industry. |
37,364,189 | The Republican retired four-star general's comments were revealed in a hack on his personal emails.
The emails were posted on DCLeaks.com, which has reportedly been tied to other recent high-profile hacks.
Mr Powell, who has been quiet during the election, said he had "no further comment" but was "not denying it".
A Powell spokesman also confirmed to CBS News that Mr Powell's personal account was hacked, and that they have "no idea who did it and no further comment at this time".
The remarks were part of an email sent on 17 June to Emily Miller, a journalist and Mr Powell's former aide.
The former secretary of state, who served during George W. Bush's administration, also called Mr Trump an "international pariah" who "is in the process of destroying himself".
"No need for Dems to attack him," the email said, according to BuzzFeed News.
"Paul Ryan is calibrating his position again," Mr Powell reportedly said, referring to the Republican Speaker of the House.
In a separate email sent on 21 August, Mr Powell also criticised Mr Trump for promoting the birther movement, which questioned whether President Barack Obama was born in the US.
"Yup, the whole birther movement was racist," the email read. "That's what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn't keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim."
But the leaked emails also revealed Mr Powell's frustrations with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her handling of her use of private email while at the State Department.
"Sad thing... HRC could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me into it," the email read, referring to Mrs Clinton.
"I told her staff three times not to try that gambit. I had to throw a mini tantrum at a Hampton's party to get their attention."
Mrs Clinton has pointed to Mr Powell's use of his personal AOL account at the state department as an example of why her email use was common practice.
"Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris," he said in an email last year to his business partner Jeffrey Leeds. | Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has reportedly called Republican nominee Donald Trump a "national disgrace," according to leaked emails. |
39,849,488 | It was the first time digital accounted for more than half its total revenues, which rose 11% to $825m.
Steve Cooper, Warner Music chief executive, said streaming revenue was now double that of physical sales and triple that of downloads.
Warner was also boosted by the success of Ed Sheeran's latest album, released in March.
Mr Cooper said Warner, which also has artists including Bruno Mars and Kylie Minogue on its roster, would remain focused on growth.
"We've only had two full years of industry growth after 15 years of contraction," he said. "We can't afford to take growth for granted."
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New York-based WMG reported a 67% rise in net profit to $20m (£15.5m) for the three months to 31 March compared with the same period last year.
The rise of paid subscription services from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music have been behind the rise in digital revenues.
More than 100 million people globally now pay for music streaming services, which boosted streaming revenues by more than 60% last year, according to the industry group IFPI.
That has injected new life into an industry where profit has plunged following the rise of illegal file sharing and free listening from platforms such as YouTube.
Warner's streaming revenue increased by about a third in the US and more than 55% in the UK.
WMG also recently renewed a licensing deal with YouTube, which has had a difficult relationship with the music business.
Mr Cooper did not reveal any specifics about the agreement, saying it was "the best possible deal for our artists and songwriters given the current environment".
He made clear he wanted tougher rules for websites that make money from user-generated uploads, like YouTube, which is owned by Google.
They are shielded from responsibility for user uploads by so-called "safe harbour" laws.
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Mr Cooper said those protections "skew competition", adding: "We strongly believe in the need for legislation."
As well as its recorded music business, Warner also has a substantial music publishing division. | Warner Music Group said streaming helped digital revenues jump by more than fifth in the first quarter. |
34,765,572 | The 45-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene in central London.
It comes after the troubled company, which is currently in administration, announced 450 job cuts, with the future of another 1,200 uncertain.
The Metropolitan Police said the death was being treated as "non-suspicious", although inquiries were continuing.
The man's next of kin has been informed, said the police, although he has not yet been formally identified.
On Twitter, the Indian entrepreneur Suhel Seth said: "Deeply saddened to learn of the suicide of Angad Paul in London. He was young and bright. Deepest condolences to Lord Swraj Paul and family."
Mr Paul is the son of Lord Paul, who founded the company in 1968 with a £5,000 loan.
As well as obtaining an economics degree from MIT, he was an executive producer on Guy Ritchie's films Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
He also financed the Caparo T1, which was the fastest supercar in the world when it launched in 2006.
Mr Paul married his wife, the media lawyer Michelle Bonn, in 2004.
Caparo went into administration last month after it was hit by collapsing steel prices and the strong pound.
The industry as a whole has suffered. SSI in Redcar, Cleveland recently collapsed, while Tata Steel has also announced cutbacks. In all, about 4,000 jobs were lost in the sector in October alone. | The boss of the troubled steel company Caparo, Angad Paul, has died after falling from his penthouse flat on Sunday morning. |
38,825,921 | 1 February 2017 Last updated at 08:47 GMT
The president says it's needed to protect the US and it's a popular idea for many American's too.
But ever since it was brought in people from all over the world have been protesting against it.
So we spoke to some American kids to find out how they felt about the president's decision. | US President Trump has put in place a temporary US travel ban on people from seven mainly Muslim countries. |
36,916,825 | The work, led by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, claims the plans are too "narrowly focused" on connecting six major northern cities and Manchester Airport.
It said "too little attention" had been paid to the needs of other cities.
Transport for the North (TfN) previously said a recommended route was due in 2017.
It is currently carrying out a feasibility study into the government's plans for HS3 - also dubbed Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Plans for a high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds were first announced in 2014.
The combined authority's report said there have been concerns TfN's remit concentrated mainly on serving Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester and the airport.
Stops in Bradford and York would boost the economy and regeneration, it said.
Andy Caton, from the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, supported its recommendations.
He said: "[A stop in Bradford] would not just improve connectivity and commuting times but Bradford would benefit enormously from regeneration impacts, more people, more footfall, more business coming in to the area.
"In establishing better transport through Leeds to Manchester it's logical that you also have a station in York because that then opens up not just York but all of the north of Yorkshire." | A "strong case" exists for HS3 stations to be built in Bradford and York, according to a new study. |
15,778,446 | "It is the British press that made the 'legend' that you see before you, so perhaps I should ask you who I am."
So said an ailing 82-year-old Ronnie Biggs in a rare public appearance as he turned the tables on the journalists who have spent much of the past 48 years following and scrutinising him.
Biggs's part in the 1963 Great Train Robbery - in which a gang held up a mail train, making off with £2.6m - and his later escape from prison that sparked a global chase gave him a notoriety that has enthralled the press for nearly half a century.
His life as a criminal on the run filled many newspaper column inches over the decades, as did his return to Britain in 2001 to face justice, his return to prison and then the controversial decision to release him on health grounds in 2009.
At that time, his family argued he was severely ill with pneumonia and unlikely to recover. "Ronnie Biggs is about to close this last chapter. He will now be retreating fully from public life," his son Michael said at the time.
Yet, two years on, he was the focus of media attention again as he launched an updated version of his autobiography at a private members' club in Shoreditch, east London.
After all this time, how does he think the British public sees him?
Speaking with the help of his son Michael, because several strokes dictate that he can no longer speak, he denied that their view was of him as a criminal.
"I'm a loveable rogue," said Biggs by pointing to letters on a specially made poster.
Earlier, journalists awaited Biggs's arrival in a bright, upstairs room at Shoreditch House, to a soundtrack of Elvis's Jailhouse Rock and Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, and the babble of Cockney accents.
When Biggs finally came in - nearly an hour late - his entrance was something akin to that of a rock star.
Wearing black sunglasses and skull and crossbones braces with a sharp black suit and blue tie, Biggs lapped up the attention as photographers closed in on his wheelchair.
"Ronnie, this way, Ronnie," they shouted. "In the middle Ronnie - gis' a wave Ron, thumbs up Ron."
As a frail Biggs responded to the requests, a smile creeping across his face, his son joked: "He'll be up tap dancing next."
Opening with a statement read by his son, Biggs gave a tongue-in-cheek thank you to those attending from "far and wide", including Australia and Brazil, where he spent 13,068 days on the run.
He added: "I can't believe this is my first press conference in Britain, but it is, and I apologise for not holding one after I went over the wall from Wandsworth (referring to his escape from Wandsworth prison in a furniture van after just 15 months behind bars)."
He explained how he would have liked to have had his own voice for the event, but added: "Despite my appearances my marbles are all there - or as many as I should have at my age and given my health."
He was quizzed on the actions that led to his notoriety and asked whether he wished he could go back and do things differently.
Did he regret the events of 8 August 1963? He answered "Yes" on his pad. If you could go back in time would you do it all again? A firm shake of the head. "No."
Did he feel uncomfortable in any way that the book was ultimately profiting from crime?
Biggs's son responded: "This is not profiting from crime this is profiting from his life. Yes he committed the crime but there's much more to my dad's life than the Great Train Robbery."
However, his son acknowledged that without the robbery Biggs would never have had the sometimes glamorous and exciting life he had. Instead he would likely have continued as a builder in Redhill.
Michael went on: "I don't look up to my dad as the Great Train Robber or as a criminal, I look up to him as the family man he became."
He said it was "never my father's intention to become Ronnie Biggs". Biggs had no way to support himself in Brazil so the press became his way to survive, he said.
"My dad was probably the Jordan of the 80s," quipped Michael, whose birth prevented his father's extradition from Brazil back to the UK.
One name that cropped up time and time again was that of Jack Mills.
He was the train driver caught up in the robbery. He was badly beaten by some of the gang and never recovered. He died in 1970 of leukaemia.
Asked if any of the proceeds from the book could go to his family, Biggs's son responded: "We haven't discussed that yet but it could be a possibility."
His family said the book - named Odd Man Out: The Last Straw - was a chance for Biggs to answer the "many misconceptions" about the robbery.
He has been working on the book since his release from jail in 2009.
Michael Biggs believes his father has been wrongly blamed for the violent actions of others. In fact, the man who Biggs claims coshed Mr Mills has never been caught. The convicted gang members still refuse to give him up, and he remains one of three robbers never caught.
Michael added: "My father wants to set the record straight (with the book). This is his last press appearance. He's retiring from public life 100%."
His son described the state of his father's health and how he developed chest infections every three or four weeks.
He also has no control over his mouth and throat, he said.
He said Biggs, who is originally from Lambeth, south London, had a final wish that his ashes be spread between Brazil and London.
But why is it that the Great Train Robber still holds such fascination now, nearly half a century on from his crime?
Daily Mail journalist David Jones, who has followed the former fugitive's story for years and met him in Rio in 2000, thinks he has the answer.
"He's the one who cocked a snook and pulled the wool over the authorities' eyes. Everybody likes to think they could do the same," he grins.
"They see him as a loveable rogue - and they're three-quarters right." | Ronnie Biggs, who has died aged 84, made a rare public appearance in 2011 and said he thought the public saw him as a "loveable rogue", not a criminal. |
32,681,824 | Black GIs based in Bristol during World War Two were housed in segregated units but many experienced a new-found freedom in the city while off duty.
They were able to mix with white women and socialise, which would have led to lynch mob violence in some US states.
Ms Greer said her father, Ben, and other young GIs "had seen another world" and had taken a thirst for similar freedoms back home with them.
It had given them a "kind of humanity and brief equality".
She said the city had become a "seedbed" for the civil rights movement in the US and is now calling for a better acknowledgement of this in school curriculums in the UK and the US.
The tolerance generally shown in the UK inspired many of the African Americans to fight oppression on their return to the US.
Ms Greer, filming for a BBC West documentary which explores the issue, said the contrast had a significant impact.
"For the first time in their lives, they could be just young soldiers, out on the town, doing their own thing," she said.
"And they could do the one thing they would have been killed for back home - hanging out with white women."
Neil Wynn, Emeritus Professor of 20th Century American History at the University of Gloucestershire, said: "It was a surprise for many African Americans to be treated as equals.
"That for many of them was an amazing experience and one which was going to remain with them for the rest of their lives."
Ms Greer said what happened in Bristol should be highlighted alongside other more publicised aspects of the city's past.
"The slave trade played a huge role in Bristol's history but I think that the experience of the GIs in the war was also important and the story should be told.
"Both sides of Bristol should be taught," she said.
"That's education - that's how knowledge and intelligence grows."
Her Chicago-born late father, Ben Greer, was based in England as a GI before taking part in the D-Day landings.
He described his time in the UK to her as the "first decent experience of white people I'd ever had".
The American authorities met local resistance to their attempts to introduce segregation beyond their military units, camps and social clubs.
The Colston Arms in Bristol, for example, refused to accept that black and white soldiers should not be served together.
Ms Greer said: "There should be a blue plaque outside the pub - it was remarkable what happened there."
The African American GIs livened up the city's wartime nightlife introducing exciting new dances such as the jitterbug and jazz music.
But their popularity with the local girls led to tension and clashes with the white American GIs in Bristol - culminating in a riot in the Park Street area in 1944.
Details of the confrontation between hundreds of soldiers and military police were downplayed in the press under WW2 censorship.
At the end of the war, many white GI brides emigrated to America but black soldiers returning to the US had to leave their sweethearts and children behind as interracial relationships and marriage were illegal in many states.
VE Day: The First Days of Peace: Race Relations will be broadcast on BBC One in the West on Monday 11 May at 19:30 BST and on the BBC iPlayer. | The American-British writer Bonnie Greer is calling for greater recognition of Bristol's little-known role in the US civil rights movement. |
39,585,759 | The sites had until Wednesday to remove ads promising high returns and even good feng shui, state media said.
Beijing's surging home prices have made it unaffordable for many, and led to high debt levels.
Authorities have issued new restrictions this year, calling the property market an economic risk.
This includes raising the minimum down payment on a second home and suspending individual mortgage loans of more than 25 years. Third property purchases and any form of financing advice are also banned.
The crackdown now extends to sales tactics used by online real estate portals, some of which tout "limitless potential for price gains," according to Xinhua.
The Chinese state news agency said 15 property portals, including popular sites Lianjia and I Love My Home, were told to take out posting and claims that broke regulations on property advertisements.
It listed several of these rules, including a ban on "fengshui and other superstitious content", and a ban on "promises of appreciation on investment returns".
Feng shui, which means 'wind' and 'water' in Mandarin, is often consulted when deciding property value.
Xinhua said authorities will begin checking the sites on Thursday.
The world's second-largest economy is widely expected to show slowing growth as the impact of earlier stimulus measures wear off.
The property market contributes to around 20% of China's gross domestic product and there are fears a crash would severely damage the economy.
China releases its first-quarter growth figures next week. | Online property portals in Beijing have been forced to remove "illegal information" in an attempt to curb rising prices in the capital. |
38,019,392 | On a smaller scale in day-to-day medicine, freezing is an extremely useful technique for storing living cells, such as blood cells, bone marrow, sperm and embryos, at ultra-low temperatures.
But scientists agree that preserving and reawakening the complete human body is a remote possibility which would take massive breakthroughs in technology.
Prof John Armitage, director of tissue banking at the University of Bristol, believes you can never say never in science but there was little chance of it happening based on current knowledge.
He said taking tissues from healthy people to be stored for future use was one thing but taking a diseased body, freezing it safely - including the complex structure of the brain - and reactivating it was a far, far more difficult task.
"What are the chances there wouldn't be some damage?" Prof Armitage says.
"We are not even at the stage of cryopreserving organs yet, so doing it with a whole body would be a huge challenge."
Organs themselves are very complicated, containing different types of cells, blood vessels and an inter-cellular structure - which would all need to be preserved.
Barry Fuller, professor in surgical science and low temperature medicine at University College London, said the first step was to demonstrate that human organs could be cryopreserved for transplantation.
But at the moment the equipment to make that happen is not available, he said.
"This is why we have to say that at the moment we have no objective evidence that a whole human body can survive cryopreservation with cells which will function after rearming," he said.
After death, patients have to be acted on quickly.
In the UK, a group of volunteers trained in cryonics takes care of the body, starts the process of freezing and arranges for it to be shipped to the country where it is to be stored.
At this stage, dry ice is used to keep the body at a low temperature.
Once at the storage facility, patients are infused with cryoprotectants (like antifreeze) to prevent ice crystal formation - which would kill cells - before the temperature is slowly lowered and they are preserved in liquid nitrogen at extremely low temperatures of below -130C.
The low temperatures are needed to allow the cells to survive dehydration after death - but uncontrolled dehydration and freezing is also lethal to living cells, so it has to be done carefully.
The eventual aim is that one day they will be rewarmed and revived, but there is no evidence or guarantee that they can be.
Several hundred people have already paid to have their bodies cryogenically preserved in three existing facilities in the US and Russia, and there are as many as 1,250 on waiting lists.
Cryonics UK, a non-profit organisation which provides assistance to people in the UK who want their body to be frozen on death, said it has helped 10 people so far. | Cryonics is one extreme of cryopreservation where the whole body is frozen in the hope that one day it will be possible to revive it. |
35,038,280 | Grant Murray, 20, was convicted of attempted murder following the attack on 38-year-old James Martin in Newarthill on 1 February.
His brother, Graham Murray, 30, was convicted of assault for punching Mr Martin and causing him to fall.
Grant Murray was jailed for eight years and his brother for 11 months.
Jailing them at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Johanna Johnston QC told Grant Murray: "Mr Martin was on the ground defenceless and motionless. You did not care if the blows caused fatal injuries or not.
"Even when your brother tried to pull you away you continued the attack.
"This brutal attack left Mr Martin with shocking injuries. He could have died. Your behaviour was brutal and vicious."
Judge Johnston told his brother Graham Murray: "You were convicted of assaulting Mr Martin by punching him repeatedly and rending him unconscious. He had done you no harm."
During the trial, the victim's 18-year-old son, Jordan Martin, told the court that he had gone to collect his father from a pub and buy items from a local shop.
As they walked down a lane, Grant Murray approached them and asked Mr Martin snr for a cigarette.
When he handed one over Graham Murray came over said "don't touch him" and punched Mr Martin to the ground.
His brother Grant then stamped on and kicked Mr Martin as he lay unresponsive on the ground.
The court was told that Mr Martin's jaw was split in two by the force of the blows and he suffered life-threatening injuries.
Jordan Martin said that after the attack he called 999 and flagged down a passing car which was driven by his aunt, Pamela Hughes, who gave first aid until an ambulance arrived.
As Ms Hughes tended her brother, Grant Murray shouted at her: "It was me, it was me. What are you going to do."
The brothers claimed that the assaults were sparked by Jordan Martin hitting them with a shopping bag, but he denied this.
Both were convicted following a trial last month. | Two brothers have been jailed for carrying out a brutal street attack in North Lanarkshire which left their victim fighting for his life. |
35,091,644 | The fishermen have been involved in a legal wrangle with the landowner over access since last year.
Over the weekend, the large boulders were placed across the entrance to the pier, preventing access for vehicles.
The fishermen have been warned they face legal action over their boats and equipment being on the beach.
More than 5,000 people have signed a petition to save the harbour.
Landowner Pralhad Kolhe has not responded to a request for comment. | Fishermen who use a small Aberdeen harbour have had their access restricted by boulders after a long-running dispute took another twist. |
34,963,397 | Jayne Ludlow's side fell behind to Lee Sima Falkon's goal after 25 minutes in Ramat Gan before Manchester City striker Natasha Harding scored two second-half goals to put Wales ahead.
But they were denied their second win of the campaign by Shelina's late goal.
Third-placed Wales are now five points behind Group eight leaders Austria.
Wales, playing their 150th competitive match, had 12 efforts on goal during the game.
They had earned their first win of the campaign on Thursday, beating Kazakhstan 4-0 to move above Israel in the group.
Ludlow's side, who next face Kazakhstan away on 12 April, remain two points above fourth-placed Israel, who have a game in hand.
Only the eventual group winners are guaranteed automatic qualification to the tournament in the Netherlands.
Israel: Shamir, Ravitz, Bar Oz, Sofer, Shelina, Tvill (Sendel 66), Falkon, Fridman, Sade (c) (David 47), Barqui, Shahaf (Nakav 86).
Subs not used: Kadori, Efraim, Avital, Metkalov.
Wales: Evans, Ingle (c), Roberts (Estcourt 83), James, Fletcher, Harding, Fishlock, Rowe, Walkley (Bleazard 46), Ritchie (Jones 46), Ward.
Subs not used: Price, Green, Lawrence, Hinchcliffe.
Referee: Marta Fria Acedo (ESP) | Wales women were denied victory as Rachel Shelina's goal seven minutes from time secured a Euro 2017 qualifying point for Israel. |
40,367,939 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The decision follows a three-month review into the governing body's relationship with gambling firms.
The FA says it will continue to share important information with companies to identify suspect betting patterns.
Chief executive Martin Glenn thanked Ladbrokes for its "professionalism and understanding" on the change of policy.
The betting company's chief executive, Jim Mullen, added: "We understand the FA's decision regarding their commercial partnerships on gambling."
Mullen said Ladbrokes would continue to work with the FA "to ensure the integrity and trust of the sport is maintained".
Football's relationship with gambling has come under recent scrutiny, with midfielder Joey Barton criticising the FA's "dependence on betting companies".
Barton, who said he is addicted to gambling, was banned from football for 18 months after admitting an FA charge in relation to betting.
Reacting to Barton's ban in April, former Stoke winger Matthew Etherington, who lost £1.5m at the height of his gambling addiction, told BBC Radio 5 live the industry should be better "regulated".
"It's very hard and complex, but everyone needs to take a little bit more responsibility - the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association], the players, the FA and the gambling organisations themselves," the 35-year-old said. | The Football Association has ended all of its sponsorships with betting companies, including mutually terminating a long-term Ladbrokes deal. |
39,635,070 | Manchester's returning officer is seeking clarification following Theresa May's announcement.
The poll was due 4 May - the day after parliament is set to be dissolved.
This would potentially create the anomaly of a newly-elected MP without a parliament to sit in.
Returning Officer for Manchester Joanne Roney OBE said: "We are seeking advice in discussion with the Government and Electoral Commission and will confirm arrangements for the Manchester Gorton constituency as soon as possible."
The Electoral Commission said the general election decision would not affect the metro mayor elections in Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester on 4 May as these dates were "set in law".
But the BBC understands the snap poll means the Gorton by-election is unlikely to take place.
Cabinet member David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, said on Sky News the by-election would be cancelled, while the Leader of the House David Lidington told the Commons the decision on whether to hold the poll is one for the returning officer in Manchester.
Mr Lidington said parliament was likely to be dissolved on 2 or 3 May.
The House of Commons votes on Wednesday whether to approve the election.
The by-election was caused by the death of long-serving Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman in February. | Doubts have been cast over whether the Manchester Gorton by-election can go ahead following the prime minister's decision to call a general election. |
35,749,787 | The precarious situation comes as the company tries to slash its rent bill with landlords to survive.
BHS is trying to secure what is known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement, a form of compromise with its creditors.
Its pension scheme deficit stands at £207m, but it is understood the current working deficit is much higher.
The 147-page document, filed last week, is a sobering read.
According to the documents, the scheme's buy-out valuation has now ballooned to £571m. In other words, this would be the cost if an insurance company were to take over the pension liabilities. This, however, is an unlikely move.
BHS is already in discussions with the Pension Protection Fund, the government-supported rescue agency as well as the Pensions Regulator and the BHS pension trustees on addressing the deficit.
The PPF pays compensation to members of pension schemes when a company goes under and does not have enough assets to pay out to savers.
BHS insists that it continues to meet its pension payment obligations.
But in the submission, BHS's directors are clearly hoping that the two pension schemes will be transferred into the PPF and that the company would have no further liability to fund it.
The chairman of the BHS Pension Trustees, Chris Martin, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake up to Money programme he did not think there was a future for the schemes outside the PPF, even if the business was successfully restructured.
He also valued the combined pension scheme deficits at around £500m.
In the CVA documents, there is also a stark warning what will happen, should the CVA not get approved.
"It is very likely that BHS Limited will no longer be able to trade as a going concern, which would result in the appointment of administrators," the company said.
The documents reveal that BHS has been loss-making for seven consecutive years.
It was sold for a £1 a year ago by Sir Philip Green to Retail Acquisitions. He wrote off £215m of debts in the process. It has been reported that Sir Philip has been asked to make a multi-million pound voluntary contribution to the cost of restructuring the pension scheme.
The new owners, Retail Acquisitions, are a little-known group of financiers. This has prompted lots of questions about the long-term survival of BHS and the future of its staff when the sale was announced.
A turnaround plan has been under way, but the document reveals the scale of the challenge.
Last year, some major suppliers had their credit insurance cover cut. As a result, BHS had to put aside £25m to secure delivery of goods, which had a "substantial negative" impact on the company's available cash.
Also, it says, Christmas trading was poorer than anticipated, placing additional pressure on BHS's ability to continue to trade.
"Without a reduction in BHS's lease obligations as planned under the CVA proposal, the business does not have the working capital capability to meet its debt and working capital requirements beyond the next rent quarter date," says the court document.
Creditors have to agree that by 23 March, just before the next big rent bill is due.
BHS says it has been paying over the odds on too many of its leases and that reductions are needed to reset the business and put the chain on a more secure financial footing.
The company spells out the alternative for its landlords: "Unsecured creditors (including landlords) will receive a greater return on the amount owed to them in the CVA proposal than they would do if BHS Limited were to be subject to an administration."
The amount owed to unsecured creditors is huge. The documents state that if BHS was liquidated, they would stand to lose up to £1.3bn. But this figure does include the elevated buy-out figure for the pension deficit.
Nevertheless, the potential fall-out is very great indeed.
"It's a complete mess," one veteran property told me. | Department store chain BHS's pension scheme liabilities may be bigger than previously thought, court documents have revealed. |
34,323,976 | He failed a test that was taken after he played for his club USM Alger in a Champions League tie on 7 August.
Belaili waived his right to have his B sample analyzed when he met with the federation's medical commission.
The Confederation of African Football has banned him for two years from national and international football.
The first match that the 23-year-old will miss is the first leg of the semi-final in the Champions League against Sudan's Al Hilal on 27 September.
The 23-year-old played for Algeria in friendly matches against Qatar and Oman earlier this year and was also part of the squad that played at the first ever Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations in 2011. | Algeria international Youcef Belaili has been handed a two-year ban for doping, according to the country's football federation. |
29,869,909 | Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was found guilty of spreading anti-regime propaganda, lawyer Alizadeh Tabatabaie said.
Iran banned women from volleyball games in 2012, extending a long-standing ban on football matches.
The Iranian authorities have argued that women need protection from the lewd behaviour of male fans.
Britain's Foreign Office said it was concerned about the sentence.
"We have concerns about the grounds for this prosecution, due process during the trial, and Miss Ghavami's treatment whilst in custody," it said in a statement.
Amnesty International has described Ms Ghavami, who is from Shepherd's Bush in west London, as a prisoner of conscience, and called for her immediate release. More than 700,000 people have signed an online petition urging the authorities to free her.
The graduate of the University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies was part of a group of women who tried to watch Iran play Italy in a match on 20 June.
The women were arrested and allegedly beaten before being freed.
Ms Ghavami was rearrested later and subsequently put on trial. She launched a hunger strike in October after being held in isolation cells. | A British-Iranian woman detained at a men's volleyball match in Iran has been sentenced to a year in prison, her lawyer says. |
33,022,087 | Jersey have picked their side for the global qualifying tournament and start against Hong Kong on 11 July.
They became an international cricketing nation in 2005 and this will be the highest level they have played at.
Jersey made it through by winning the European Division One Twenty20 event.
"It's a big achievement already for the players to win European Division One and qualify," coach Neil MacRae told BBC Sport.
"Our next aim is to continue to improve from the performances we had in European Division One."
Jersey will be seen as the outsiders of the group - they have just four teams in their main cricket league, a population of under 100,000 and play in Division Four of the World Cricket League alongside the likes of Malaysia, Bermuda and Italy.
They face joint hosts Ireland, who beat the West Indies at the 50-over World Cup earlier this year and narrowly missed out on the latter stages of the tournament.
In the group stages, from 9-19 July, Jersey are also up against Nepal, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Namibia and the USA in Group A of the event, all with vastly bigger populations than the 45-square mile island off the coast of France.
The winners of the group will qualify automatically, along with the winners of the other qualifying group.
The sides finishing second and third in Group A will play their counterparts in Group B with the winners securing places in India and the losers playing the two fourth-placed sides to complete the 16-team line-up for the finals, which take place from 11 March to 3 April.
"We're a young side which is improving rapidly and we aim to play our top level of cricket in each game and qualify for the second week of the tournament," MacRae added.
"We think we've got a group of excellent young cricketers who've gained experience of playing this format.
"With the amount of T20 cricket we've played this season we have great momentum to take into this tournament."
Jersey squad: Peter Gough (capt), Nat Watkins, Edward Farley, Ben Stevens, Anthony Hawkins-Kay, Tom Minty, Charles Perchard, Jonty Jenner, Corey Bisson, Rhys Palmer, Ben Kynman, Callum Rabet, Paul Connolly, Dominic Blampied and Corne Bodenstein. | Jersey, with its population of 99,000, will begin a bid to qualify for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India, but they will need to beat countries up to 3,000 times bigger to do it. |
39,555,241 | Parnell will be eligible to play in the County Championship and One-Day Cup until he is recalled by the Proteas.
The 27-year-old, also a capable lower-order batsman, took 26 wickets in all formats in two spells with Kent in the 2009 season.
South Africa's next fixture is against England on 24 May at Headingley in the first of three one-day internationals.
"I really enjoyed my time at Kent in 2009 when we won Division Two and reached the T20 Finals Day," Parnell told the club's official website.
"I learned a lot from the experience and I hope to help the side continue their strong start in the County Championship and get off to a flyer in the One-Day Cup."
Kent thrashed Gloucestershire by 334 runs in their opening Championship match of the season and are next in four-day action against Sussex at Hove, starting on 14 April. | Kent have re-signed South Africa left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell as an overseas player on a short-term deal. |
21,471,847 | The three-times 3,000m steeplechase world champion and coach alleges many athletes use performance-enhancing drugs as a shortcut to wealth.
"The information shows that there are a good number of athletes out there who are using drugs," said Kiptanui.
Kiptanui is regarded as the greatest steeplechaser in history after his success in the 1990s. He was the first man to break the eight-minute barrier for the 3,000m steeplechase
But David Okeyo, secretary-general of Athletics Kenya, said Kiptanui should provide evidence to back up his claims.
Okeyo also called on the 1991, 1993 and 1995 world champion to name names.
In a BBC interview, Kiptanui, 42, said: "They want to get money by all means. Either by a genuine way or another way.
"We have put rules in place. If we don't use these rules then athletes will still use these drugs."
Kiptanui also alleges widespread corruption around the world.
"If you can bribe somebody today or tomorrow, then it [a test result] is gone," he added. "All over the world there is corruption in sport.
"It is not only a matter in Kenya."
Last September, Kenya's athletics authorities revealed they were investigating allegations of widespread doping.
The investigation was launched after media allegations that doctors had given banned substances to runners at a high-altitude training facility.
More than 40 leading Kenyan athletes were subjected to out-of-competition blood tests after a team of overseas drug-testers paid an unannounced visit to the Rift Valley base.
It followed reports in November that the World Anti-Doping Agency expressed frustration at a lack of communication from sporting authorities.
In June, distance runner Mathew Kisorio failed a drugs test at Kenya's national championships and claimed doping was commonplace.
Athletics Kenya head Isaiah Kiplagat said at the time that most athletes were "clean", but that he took the claims seriously.
"We are carrying out an investigation," he said. "We are working with other authorities to ensure that... if this true, [we can] then take action appropriately on the culprits." | Moses Kiptanui, one of most successful runners in Kenyan history, claims doping is rife among athletes there. |
29,607,736 | It says some senior officers have "poor" levels of knowledge of undercover policing and are failing to adapt to threats posed by online crime.
The report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) reveals that there are 1,229 undercover officers working in England and Wales.
The review was set up after controversy about ex-covert officer Mark Kennedy.
It discloses that 3,466 undercover operations were authorised between October 2009 and September 2013.
By Danny Shaw, BBC home affairs correspondent
The 206-page inspection report is a ground-breaking piece of work, partially lifting the lid on the "closed culture" of undercover policing.
The report reveals how many officers are deployed undercover and the number of operations - as well as exposing the many flaws in the system.
What emerges is that brave and courageous officers on the ground are being let down by patchy systems of psychological support and governance, while their bosses resist outside scrutiny and improvement: arguably the biggest gap is in the capability of forces to deploy covert officers to deal with online threats, such as child sexual exploitation and cyber-crime.
What inspectors hope is that this review will transform undercover policing, in the same way as the Macpherson Inquiry changed the police's approach to murder investigations.
The covert officers themselves are described in the report as "knowledgeable, professional and courageous".
Inspector Stephen Otter, who led the review, said: "It was disappointing to find inconsistencies and shortcomings in the way undercover officers were supported by policies, systems and training across the country.
"We were concerned by a generally poor level of knowledge and lack of expertise of those senior leaders who authorise the use of undercover officers."
Mr Otter also said that some police forces had been "slow to adapt" to online undercover tactics, and five forces were without any covert online capability.
Elsewhere, the report criticises the lack of psychological support in some forces, and calls for a combined 10-year cap on length of tenure for undercover officers, after it found that one officer had worked on undercover operations for more than 20 years.
Jack Dromey, the shadow minister for policing, said: "It is clear that systems governing such policing must be kept under strict control, which is why it is so worrying that HMIC has identified such a large variation between forces."
The report came about after the high profile case of former undercover officer Mark Kennedy, who spent a decade undercover, infiltrating groups involved in climate change protests.
He lived a double life as Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police and as Mark Stone, green activist, based in Nottingham.
In January 2011, the trial of six green campaigners collapsed after he offered to give evidence on their behalf.
A further 20 activists had their convictions quashed on appeal following the officer's unmasking.
Mr Kennedy admitted in a newspaper interview to having two sexual relationships with female activists and said it was "a wrong thing to do".
He said in 2011: "The circumstances I was involved in led to that to happen and I can assure you that I am not the only person who has been involved in sexual relationships as an undercover officer." | Shortcomings in how undercover police officers are deployed and monitored have been criticised by a review. |
29,251,618 | Bears skipper Varun Chopra made 64 as the Bears, having lost the toss and been put in, were dismissed cheaply in bowler-friendly conditions for 165.
Opener Mark Stoneman's 52 rescued Durham from 12-2 before spinner Jeetan Patel took 4-25 to give the Bears hope.
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But Ben Stokes (38) and Gareth Breese (15) restored calm to get home on 166-7 with more than nine overs in hand.
Breese, one of only three survivors from Durham's only previous one-day final appearance (their Friends Provident Trophy win over Hampshire in 2007), struck the winning runs in what was likely to be his final appearance for the county.
He had also contributed wonderfully with the ball earlier in the day, taking 3-30 from seven overs.
But man of the match Stokes was even more influential. After returning figures of 2-25 with the ball, despite two dropped catches, he kept a cool head with the bat in a nail-biting finale that was in marked contrast to his heroic semi-final innings, when he blasted 164 off 113 balls to see off Notts.
Having lost the toss on an hugely overcast day, when the Lord's lights were on from the outset, the Bears had already avoided a couple of early scares when Will Porterfield edged the first ball of the fifth over to Durham wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, who took a good low catch.
Jonathan Trott laboured for 15 balls before being trapped leg before in Paul Collingwood's first over to make it 29-2.
Collingwood then dropped Tim Ambrose at slip off Stokes on three before making amends without too much damage done when he himself had the Bears wicketkeeper caught at slip - a similar sharp chance to his right snapped up by Breese.
The 50 came up in the 17th over when Chopra guided only the third boundary of the innings through extra cover, but Ambrose's dismissal led to three wickets going down for just five runs in 18 deliveries.
Laurie Evans gloved a lifter from Stokes to the safe hands of Breese at second slip and, although he then had Rikki Clarke dropped one-handed by Mustard in his next over, Stokes soon rearranged the Warwickshire all-rounder's stumps to make it 68-5.
Chopra and Woakes helped to make a game of it with a sixth-wicket stand of 47, but a brilliant one-handed catch running back by Scotsman Calum MacLeod - who spent two seasons on Warwickshire's books in 2008 and 2009 - accounted for Woakes.
Shortly after, Rushworth returned to remove Chopra's leg stump, and Patel perished at short third man after hitting Breese for six off the previous ball.
Breese collected his third wicket when Ollie Hannon-Dolby spooned to mid-on before the innings ended with three overs unused when Boyd Rankin was run out going for a second.
Warwickshire needed early wickets to stand a chance and Clarke quickly struck twice, hitting Mustard's middle stump before having MacLeod caught at first slip.
Skipper Stoneman responded by bludgeoning 10 boundaries before becoming one of three lbw decisions for Patel as Durham were sent sliding from 60-2 to 86-5.
Durham skipper Collingwood and Stokes appeared to have restored calm with a stand of 31.
But, with 49 needed, Collingwood steered Hannon-Dolby to point, and then Gordon Muchall became Patel's fourth lbw victim (all from fast balls from the Pavilion End which kept low) to make it 130-7.
However, Stokes stood firm and when his fortuitous attempted reverse sweep narrowly missed the stumps to run away for four in Patel's final over, Durham finally sensed that they had it won.
It was left to 38-year-old Jamaican Breese to carve the winning runs to third man and make it two victories out of two for Durham in Lord's finals.
BBC Radio Newcastle's Martin Emmerson:
"If you had told me a month ago that Durham would be safe from relegation in Division One and winning a cup at Lord's I would have told you you were mad.
"Things were grim. They'd just lost a crucial relegation clash to Lancashire and the One-Day Cup looked to be fizzling out.
"But, in the last three seasons, Durham have come into their own with a stunning run of late season form.
"Two years ago they won five out of six to stay up. Last year it was five in a row to win the title and this year three in a row to achieve safety in the four-day game and six in a row to win the cup.
"And the backbone of the team has been produced via the academy. Those who had the vision to go first-class in 1992 deserve praise. The players don't seem to know when they're beaten and have such determination.
"Fitting too that it should be Gareth Breese who scored the winning runs in his last one day appearance."
BBC WM's Clive Eakin:
"Warwickshire will take some credit for making a contest of a match which had looked decided at the halfway stage.
"Jeetan Patel was outstanding with the ball and may even have merited a Man of the Match award despite being on the losing side.
"In the end, the Bears will reflect that even 30 more runs might have been enough to win but Durham, whose bowlers were unerringly accurate, deserved to win." | Durham kept their heads in a tense finish as they beat Warwickshire by three wickets to win the One-Day Cup. |
40,223,940 | Whitehouse took charge of 21 internationals before taking up this current WRU position in July 2013.
The Union said that the 55-year-old will officially leave the organisation on 20 June.
Head of rugby performance Geraint John will take overall charge of Whitehouse's previous department.
A WRU statement said: "National match officials manager Nigel Whitehouse has resigned from his post at the Welsh Rugby Union and will officially leave the organisation on 20 June.
"Nigel has been a WRU employee in referee administration for seven years, having had a long career in Welsh rugby previously as an international referee in 21 Test matches. We wish Nigel well for the future.
"Nigel's duties will be absorbed by existing members of staff for the time being, with WRU head of rugby performance Geraint John having overall control of the department." | The Welsh Rugby Union says that former international referee Nigel Whitehouse has resigned from his role as national match officials manager. |
38,184,881 | Linda Eshun scored the winner on 49 minutes when she headed the ball home from close range following a corner.
In the first half South Africa had the best chances but Refiloe Jane headed over and another header was well saved by Ghana keeper Patricia Mantey.
Banyana Banayana also failed to equalise when Andisiwe Mcgoyi put a simple chance over the bar.
Unlike in 2014, this match did not offer the prize of a Women's World Cup place.
And in the end South Africa had to settle for fourth place - just as they did two years ago - while Ghana claimed a first bronze medal since 2004. | Ghana edged out South Africa 1-0 to win the third-place play-off at the women's Africa Cup of Nations. |
23,614,135 | At the end of June last year the population stood at 5,313,600 - up 18,200 since the last census on 27 March 2011.
Although there were more births than deaths, the rise was mainly due to people moving into Scotland.
Women continue to outnumber men in Scotland, with nearly 160,000 more females.
The figures also revealed that, since the 2001 census, Scotland's population had become older.
There were rises of 14% in those aged 75 and over, 16% in the 60 to 74 age group, and 14% among those aged 45 to 59.
Among younger people, there were falls of 6% in the under-16 age group, and 9% in those aged 30 to 44.
Overall there were 159,320 more women in Scotland than men last year, widening the gender gap which had been evident in previous census data.
The report said: "Among older people, particularly those aged over 75, the higher number of females reflects the longer expectation of life for women, partly as a result of higher rates of male mortality during the Second World War.
"The two baby booms of 1947 and the 1960s can also be seen, with a sharp peak at age 65 and another peak between the ages of around 40 and 50.
"These baby boomers, along with relatively low fertility rates since the 1960s, are the main reasons why Scotland's population is likely to age in the future."
Scottish government minister Fiona Hyslop accepted there was an ageing population and said it was "excellent" to see the under-fives population had increased by 3,050 since the 2011 census.
She added: "The net in-flow of 14,300 more people coming to Scotland from overseas than leaving is proof that Scotland is an attractive and dynamic nation and one where people want to make a life for themselves.
"The Scottish government welcomes the contribution these new Scots can make to our economy and society, and we are working hard to attract the best international talent to our universities and our workforce."
After publication of the figures, the Scottish Conservative Party expressed concern that the population was now growing at a much slower rate.
Finance spokesman Gavin Brown said: "A country like ours needs people, particularly young people, to come in to work and increase the tax base - that is absolutely essential for the economy.
"It could just be a one-year blip, but the minister in charge at the Scottish government needs to find out why this is and what can be done, and explain as quickly as possible what the solution will be." | The number of people living in Scotland has reached a new high, according to the latest official figures. |
31,901,533 | Mr Shapps admitted he had "over firmly" denied continuing his work as a web marketing expert under the name Michael Green, after being elected in 2005.
Labour wants an inquiry into whether his outside interests, which were fully declared at the time, breached rules.
Downing Street said the prime minister had "full confidence" in Mr Shapps.
And David Cameron defended his party chairman in an online interview with Buzzfeed on Monday evening, saying Mr Shapps had made a mistake and it was time to "move on".
In an interview with LBC Radio three weeks ago, Mr Shapps said it was "absolutely clear" he was not doing business as Michael Green while he was an MP, saying "I did not have a second job while being an MP; end of story".
However, Mr Shapps has now acknowledged that he was mistaken over the dates" of his outside employment during the interview.
This came after the Guardian issued what it says is a recording of a sales pitch made in the summer of 2006 in which Mr Shapps, using his Michael Green pen name, says he will be running his "mentoring programme" to hire staff and produce software to create websites, claiming his products could make listeners a "ton of cash by Christmas".
There are no rules banning MPs from having other sources of employment, but they do have to declare any paid employment outside Parliament.
Key dates:
2000: Grant Shapps and his wife Belinda launch How to Corp Ltd
March 2005: The business is incorporated
May 2005: Grant Shapps is elected MP for Welwyn Hatfield
November 2005: Grant Shapps declares his interest in How to Corp Ltd in the Commons Register of Members' Interests
2008: Grant Shapps transfers his shareholding in How to Corp Ltd to his wife. Interest in How to Corp no longer registered in Commons Register
May 2010: Grant Shapps becomes a housing minister
2012: Police decide not to launch investigation into software sales by How to Corp following a Labour complaint
September 2012: Grant Shapps becomes Conservative Party chairman
2013: How to Corp Ltd reportedly dissolved
Mr Shapps' directorship and shareholding in the firm How to Corp Ltd - which featured him under the name Michael Green - was declared in the Parliamentary register of members interest. for 2005 to 2008.
And Conservative sources said Mr Shapps did not regard his interest in his firm as "a second job" - as the company was in the process of being wound up at the time - and more of "a hobby on the side".
They said he had earned minimal income from the job and likened his earnings to those made by other MPs who have written books.
A party spokesman said: "Like many authors and journalists, Grant wrote with a pen name. This was completely transparent: his full name and biographical details were permanently published on the company's main website."
In his first entry in the register after being elected in November 2005, Mr Shapps declared paid directorships and shareholdings in Printhouse Corporation and marketing firm How to Corp. He continued to declare the paid directorship with How to Corp for several years afterwards, the last entry coming in June 2008.
The source said: "It turns on the semantics of what constitutes a second job."
Defending Mr Shapps, Mr Cameron said: "Grant did have another job when he first became an MP and he declared that in the Register of Members' Interests which is what you are meant to do.
"But he obviously made a mistake by saying in some interviews that the work had stopped earlier than it had. He's put that right so I think we can put that behind him. He's doing a good job."
Conservative colleagues have also voiced their support for Mr Shapps, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt suggesting the criticism of him was "incredible".
He tweeted: "His sin not to use pseudonym but to write books about how to create wealth - shock horror."
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries said Mr Shapps had "stumbled" in an interview over the exact dates but that the wider accusations were "re-hashed nonsense".
However, Labour MP John Mann suggested Mr Shapps should consider his position as Minister without Portfolio in the government. | Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps has said he "screwed up" in a recent interview when he suggested he never had a second job while an MP. |
35,504,566 | The new .22-calibre revolver is named Nidar, it weighs a mere 250g (8.8 ounces) - that's half of .32-calibre Nirbheek's 500g (1.1lb); and it costs 35,000 rupees ($513; £357) - Nirbheek came with a steep price tag of 122,360 rupees ($1,990; £1,213).
Manufacturers say Nidar is made with an aluminium alloy which makes it very light, but has "strength similar to steel", it has a 40-mm barrel and is just 140mm in length which makes it "small enough to fit into a palm".
Both Nirbheek and Nidar are synonyms of Nirbhaya - the nickname given by the Indian press to Jyoti Singh, the 23-year-old victim of December 2012 fatal gang rape on a bus in in Delhi. All three words mean fearless in Hindi.
They are produced by government-owned factories, and their manufacturers say carrying them will make people more confident and "fearless".
An official at the state-run Rifle Factory Ishapore, near the eastern city of Kolkata (Calcutta), said Nidar was aimed at "professional Indian men and women".
"I believe our customers would be people who travel a lot, who have security risks. They will buy this gun for their personal safety," factory in-charge PK Agarwal told the BBC.
He said he expected the gun to be more popular with women.
"I think it will be ideal for women. If a woman takes a taxi at night, the driver will think 10 times before trying anything with her because he knows she has a gun in her purse," he added.
But can carrying a gun make people safer?
Not really.
Most places in India do not allow guns - even the licensed ones - and there are metal detectors at many offices, malls, cinemas, markets and other public places to enforce this.
So even if "professional Indian men and women" were to get a gun, it will be of little use to them because they will not be able to carry it around with them.
Anti-gun campaigners also say that arming citizens is never a good idea - and that the way to tackle women's safety and reduce crimes is by better policing and changing attitudes.
The manufacturers of Nidar, however, are confident that their product will succeed - Mr Agarwal told the BBC that he expected to sell 10,000 units of the gun this year. | Two years after India launched Nirbheek, a handgun pitched as the country's "first gun for women", a state-run arms factory has launched a similar gun which it says is India's lightest gun. |
37,413,710 | No injuries have been reported, and some migrants have now been allowed to return to the camp.
Police still investigate whether the fire was deliberate, but an aid worker says it started after a food dispute.
There are some 5,600 refugees currently in Lesbos, according to the UN, but the island only has capacity for 3,600.
The fire destroyed 30% of the camp, according to Aris Vlashopoulos, an aid worker with the Swiss charity SAO.
"People are returning to the camp now as I can see. But the biggest number of the refugees are already on the streets, sleeping outside," he added.
According to Greek state news agency ANA, a brawl started on Monday after a rumour that refugees would be deported to Turkey en masse.
Many on the island are afraid of being returned to Turkey or their home countries, correspondents say.
The situation on Lesbos is exacerbated as many refugees land there and are held on the island until their asylum claim is fully processed.
Those granted asylum are permitted to journey to the Greek mainland, while others are turned back.
The procedure is part of the EU-Turkey deal brokered in March, in which the EU pledged to work towards visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to Europe's Schengen zone in exchange for Ankara's assistance in curbing migrants crossing to the Greek islands. | Up to 4,000 migrants were evacuated from the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after a large fire destroyed tents and prefabricated homes. |
35,959,865 | NHS staff campaign group Just Health started proceedings after raising £100,000 in four days online.
The move follows separate legal action made by the British Medical Association last week seeking a judicial review.
A Department of Health spokesman said legal action was "expensive" for all parties and "totally unwarranted".
The news comes before Wednesday's planned 48-hour strike affecting routine and non-urgent care is due to start.
The strike will be the fourth time doctors have taken industrial action in the long-running dispute.
Just Health alleges government's decision to impose the contract, affecting about 45,000 medics, did not allow for adequate consultation.
The group raised the £100,000 through a crowdfunding website which remains open to donations.
Dr Marie-Estella McVeigh, from Just Health, said: "We feel this contract imposition has been rushed through without appropriate consideration and due process.
"There is no evidence that it will deliver a safer system or better quality care for our patients; it will instead exacerbate the staffing crisis we are already struggling with across the NHS."
The BMA, in its legal claim, alleges that the government failed to "pay due regard" to the equalities impact of the new contracts and is calling for a judicial review.
Talks between the government and BMA broke down in January, prompting the government to announce the following month that it would be imposing the contract in the summer.
Ministers have said the changes, which will see doctors paid less for working weekends, are needed to improve care at weekends and create a "seven-day service". This is disputed by the BMA.
Currently, junior doctors are paid more for working unsocial hours at night or at the weekend.
But under the imposed new contracts, the Saturday day shift will be paid at a normal rate in return for a rise in basic pay.
Last month, the Department of Health described the forthcoming strike action by doctors as "desperate and irresponsible". | A second legal challenge has been made over the government's decision to impose a new contract on junior doctors in England. |
38,142,233 | Police officers found the woman with serious neck injuries after a 999 call just before 23:30 GMT on Monday.
The injured woman was taken to hospital from an address in Middle Hill, which is two miles north of the town centre, but later died.
Greater Manchester Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to get in touch. | A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death in Rochdale. |
26,367,100 | Speaking to BBC 6 Music at Wednesday night's NME Awards, Eavis said the singer had confirmed the "amazing news" earlier that day.
"We're really, really excited because it's been something we've been wanting to happen for a long time. And she finally said yes," said Eavis.
Parton later told her three million followers the news via Twitter.
"I'm incredibly excited to FINALLY announce that the #BlueSmokeWorldTour is coming to @GlastoFest on June 29th! ;) Stay tuned for more info…" she wrote.
Parton will perform in Sunday afternoon's renowned "legend slot" on the Pyramid Stage, which last year featured fellow country star Kenny Rogers.
Festival-goers enjoyed a mass singalong of Islands in the Stream - his hit duet recorded with Parton.
"It's one of those rare things where someone like [Dolly] is in the country at the same time as Glastonbury, and we're really, really excited about this. Hopefully Kenny put in a good word," said Eavis.
In an interview with Radio 4's Front Row programme, Eavis added that she had made it her "life's mission" to get Parton to agree to perform at Glastonbury, after being told years ago that she did not do festivals.
"She stands totally alone, she's such a brilliant star and I think one of the greatest female stars of our generation," said Eavis, adding "And she doesn't tour very often."
She also appeared to rule out rumoured headline acts Prince, Stone Roses and Fleetwood Mac, telling BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz it was "unlikely" they would feature on the bill.
"I very much doubt any of them will be on this year," said Eavis.
However, she did admit timings were still a work in progress.
"At the moment we've got a napkin on our fridge and it's got a sort of rough sketch of who's going where," she revealed.
"And then every few days we'll be like 'maybe actually it would be better for him to go on the Friday, and then we'll move her down to third on the Sunday', or something. We're moving it around a lot because its all about balance," she said.
Arcade Fire have already confirmed they are 2014's Friday night headliners for the event.
The Canadian seven-piece revealed the news in December, tweeting a photo bearing the words "June 27 - Glastonbury".
Lily Allen is among the other acts who have already let slip they will be performing, but Eavis said the remaining headline acts would stay a closely guarded secret for now, and would "be with you in the spring."
Eavis was at Wednesday night's NME Awards to pick up the prize for best festival, which she said "means a lot to us".
"It's an important one, because it's the people that actually come to the festival that decide and make that decision that you're the best," she said. | Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has confirmed that country star Dolly Parton will play this year's festival. |
35,753,716 | McGuigan has been chairman of the Shrimps for 16 years, and oversaw the club's relocation from Christie Stadium to the Globe Arena in 2010.
Morecambe are 18th in League Two, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
"I feel the time is right for a new owner to take the club forward and build on a strong platform that exists today," McGuigan said in a statement.
"At present we are looking for expressions of interests from individuals who have the financial ability to take this club further."
Morecambe, who McGuigan confirmed were "virtually debt-free", have been in League Two ever since they beat Exeter City at Wembley nine years ago to win promotion to the Football League. | Morecambe chairman and majority shareholder Peter McGuigan has put the League Two club up for sale. |
32,146,043 | The keys for Barry Island Pleasure Park were handed to new owner Henry Danter on Monday, leaving just five days to get the site ready for visitors.
Mr Danter's daughter Kimberley, who is managing the construction, said that Monday's high winds, problems with diggers and a delay in receiving the keys had put them behind schedule.
On Wednesday 30 men were on site.
Ms Danter said that they would complete "three days' work in one day" in order to "put on a show for Barry" on Friday.
A new ride, the Star Flyer, has been delivered to the site alongside fairground staples like the dodgems, the Miami trip and the waltzer.
A child-size caterpillar roller-coaster and hot dog stand has also been planned for the opening.
The Vale of Glamorgan fair has been an attraction since 1920 and had 400,000 visitors over a bank holiday at its peak in 1934.
In recent years it found new fame with the TV comedy Gavin and Stacey after featuring in the BBC show. | The new owners of one of south Wales' most famous fairgrounds have said they will open on Friday despite setbacks. |
40,726,806 | Islanders on Fair Isle, off Shetland, have lived without power from 23:00 to 07:00 when there is not enough wind.
The island has used a combination of wind and diesel for power generation since the 1980s.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said a £2.6m funding package for wind turbines, a solar array and battery storage was now complete.
It is hoped the plan could boost the island's population - 24 miles south of the Shetland mainland - which currently standing at 55.
HIE has awarded the final £250,000 required.
Fiona Stirling, development manager at HIE's Shetland area team, said: "This is a key project in the development plan for Fair Isle and we are delighted to support it.
"Improving the island's local energy system supply is one of the highest priorities identified in the recent community development plan.
"It's a key factor in attracting new people to the island as well as helping businesses to develop. The new energy system will also be cleaner and greener and will reduce reliance on expensive diesel, hence making living costs more sustainable."
Fair Isle Electricity Company director, Robert Mitchell, said: "Having a constant electricity source may help to attract more people to live in Fair Isle as well as benefit the residents.
"It will also bring new employment opportunities and sustain existing employment.
"The directors of the community-owned company, as well as the whole community itself, are delighted with the support that the small rural community received from all the funding bodies involved.
"This ambitious project is the first step in ensuring that the community of Fair Isle continues to thrive." | Plans to offer 24-hours-a-day electricity to one of Scotland's most remote communities have moved forward. |
37,895,581 | UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is at the Mont Pelerin resort for the talks. He hopes to broker a deal before he steps down at the end of the year.
A previous UN peace plan for Cyprus was rejected by Greek Cypriots in 2004.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will discuss tough security and territorial issues with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci over five days.
Reports say this round of talks - one of many over the past 42 years of frozen conflict - will focus on possible land transfers, to address the claims of Cypriots who fled their homes in 1974.
As he opened the talks on Monday, Ban Ki-moon said the two leaders had reached a critical moment, adding that "the prospect of a solution in Cyprus is within their reach".
Cyprus has been split since Turkish troops invaded in 1974, following an Athens-inspired coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece.
Since then the island has been cut in two, with the northern third controlled by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots.
UN troops patrol the Green Line - a buffer zone cutting across the island, where damaged buildings are a reminder of the 1974 inter-communal fighting.
Cyprus aims to heal its great divide
Cyprus country profile
Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but EU law does not extend to the Turkish-controlled north. The self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.
Cyprus adopted the euro as its currency in 2008, yet the north uses the Turkish lira.
EU diplomats are involved in the reunification talks. A deal would be a great relief for the EU after so many years of Cyprus stalemate, and at a time of inter-ethnic conflict in the nearby Middle East.
A deal would remove a major obstacle in Turkey's bid to join the EU, though many other serious obstacles remain. | The leaders of Cyprus are holding UN-mediated talks in Switzerland aimed at reuniting their divided island. |
37,022,535 | Media playback is not supported on this device
"I started riding while I was about 10 and it was a bit intimidating and scary but I was hooked from then on," he said.
"It probably made me hungrier that it wasn't handed to me on a plate - I had to work jolly hard for it."
If you want to find out more about getting into equestrian sports, read our special guide. | Four-time Olympic silver medallist Ian Stark reflects on his career in eventing - from humble beginnings to world success. |
37,048,528 | The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also warned the firms paying them and forced the intermediary, Social Chain, to undertake to stop.
But the CMA insisted on keeping the names of the public figures and the companies secret.
Transparency campaigners said the names should be released
A CMA investigation found that Social Chain arranged for "widely followed social media personalities" to promote films, games, takeaway and dating apps, without declaring that the content was paid-for advertising. They posted the adverts on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, the government body said.
It added that Social Chain organised 19 marketing campaigns featuring undisclosed advertising in a four-month period last year.
The posts appeared on social media accounts with a "combined reach of around four million followers" and some of the campaigns "trended on Twitter, which may have increased their readership further".
Social Chain also used its own social media accounts.
The CMA wrote to 43 celebrities and 15 businesses to "warn them that arranging or publishing advertising that is not clearly labelled may result in them breaching consumer protection law".
On Thursday, it refused to name any of them, saying that it preferred to concentrate on the marketing company.
"It is important that when companies are caught breaking the rules, either in letter or in spirit, that the names of those companies, and any others involved in the offence, are made public," Peter Van Veen of Transparency International UK said.
He told the BBC: "Only through disclosing such information will any sanctions act as a future deterrent for those companies and others."
According to Daniel Knapp, an advertising researcher at the analyst firm IHS, social media advertising has become more important in recent years as consumers tire of traditional advertising methods.
They are "bombarded" by advertising and see as many as 1,000 ads per day and many people no longer trust "interruptive advertising", such as television ad slots, he said.
"So, they are looking for other ways. Social media is where young and highly influenceable people congregate and the stars have bigger followings than some brands. They are also very close to the consumers."
But Mr Knapp added that undeclared advertising was bad for the marketing industry in the long term because it risked eroding trust.
"Social media personalities can have an important influence on people's views, especially young people. It is therefore crucial that when people decide what to buy, they should not be misled by adverts on social media that read like independent opinions," said Nisha Arora, of the CMA.
The CMA also announced that it had received an undertaking from the clothing retailers Wool Overs, which it said had "cherry-picked" more favourable customer reviews for publication on its website.
The firm agreed to publish "all genuine, relevant and lawful customer reviews on its website" in future and not to "suppress unfavourable reviews", the CMA said.
Wool Overs said it had undergone a change of ownership and had begun working on a change in its practices when the CMA investigation was opened.
Social Chain did not respond to a request for comment. | Dozens of celebrities have been warned about endorsing products on social media without declaring they had been paid to do so, the government has said. |
28,754,899 | More than 1,000 people have died in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the outbreak was first reported in February.
Miguel Pajares, 75, was airlifted back to Spain from Liberia last week with a nun who tested negative for the virus.
For the past few days he had been treated with an untested, experimental drug, Zmapp.
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel in Geneva has meanwhile approved the ethics of using ZMapp.
According to the Reuters news agency, the panel said it was ethical to combat the Ebola outbreak by offering drugs or vaccines whose side-effects and efficacy had yet to be proven.
The priest was part of a Catholic order at St Joseph's hospital in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
The hospital has now been closed because of the outbreak.
A Congolese nun died there on Saturday, days after its director, Patrick Nshamdze, also died. | A Spanish missionary who contracted the Ebola virus while working in West Africa has died in hospital in Madrid. |
40,053,489 | Celtic's 2-1 win over Internazionale 50 years ago established the team as "pioneers of doing the impossible," Ferguson insisted.
"They set the pattern for a period, particularly when Manchester United the next year did it," the Scot said.
"From '65 to '67, if someone had written a book about it they would call it fiction. It was amazing."
Ferguson was speaking at an event at Glasgow's SSE Hydro to celebrate the achievement of Jock Stein's Celtic side on 25 May 1967.
The former Manchester United manager said the European Cup win paved the way for other British sides to follow.
"They were [pioneers] for British football, there's no doubt about that," Ferguson said.
"Sir Matt [Busby] at Manchester United was rebuilding the team after the Munich air disaster, but they got to a semi-final, which was a great achievement for a very young side.
"For Celtic to do it with 11 players from within 25 miles of each other is astonishing. This [event] will recognise the achievement, but [also] applaud the players and management staff who achieved it. It will never be done again."
Ferguson arrived in Glasgow after watching Manchester United's 2-0 win over Ajax in Stockholm to win the Europa League. He said the victory "gave the city a lift" after the bomb blast at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena last Monday night that killed 22 people and injured 116 more.
"Manchester is a city like Glasgow, it's working class, they've got fantastic people there and they'll get together," Ferguson added.
"They've been through some difficult times in the past, the bombing in the Arndale Centre in 1996, they recovered from that, and they will get together because they have the working class ethic about them and there's a great unity now in the city.
"We're all proud of the [United side], it was a great achievement."
Former Celtic captain Roy Aitken also attended the event at the Hydro, and he talked of the Lisbon Lions setting the standards that others had to follow at the club.
"They've been the benchmark for all the teams since 1967," Aitken said.
"It's never going to be achieved again, it's iconic considering the group of players who were there at that time. Celtic demand success and these guys showed what it took to be winners, they were top quality and top guys. Everything that you need in a footballer, they had.
"When I came into the team at 16, 17, I was from Ardrossan, Bobby [Lennox] was from Saltcoats, he was my mentor throughout my early years. He showed what it took to be a Celtic player and gave me the guidelines and tools required.
"I owe a lot to him and it's great to be here tonight to celebrate with the fans and the team. They were the ones we all looked up to." | Sir Alex Ferguson has described the Lisbon Lions' 1967 European Cup win as "the greatest feat in football". |
37,244,416 | She was speaking as she launched her party's "alternative programme for government".
It sets out proposals for a series of bills which Ms Dugdale wants the Scottish government to introduce over the next five years.
The SNP said Labour's proposals had already been rejected by voters in May.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to reveal her legislative plans for the coming year when MSPs return on Holyrood next week.
Scottish Labour is currently the third largest party at Holyrood behind the SNP and Conservatives.
Launching her alternative programme - much of which was also included in her party's manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election in May - Ms Dugdale said the Scottish government should focus on reforming public services rather that the constitution.
Ms Dugdale also said the results of the independence referendum in 2014 and June's Brexit vote had both been "definitive" and there was no need for a referendum in either case.
It follows Owen Smith, who Ms Dugdale is backing to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, saying on Wednesday that "of course" he would not oppose a second referendum on independence if the SNP attempted to hold one.
But Mr Smith - who has called for a second referendum on the UK's EU membership - also said it would be down to Scottish Labour to decide the party's position on another independence referendum.
Ms Dugdale's alternative programme includes an Education Bill aimed at closing the attainment gap between Scotland's wealthiest and most deprived pupils by establishing a Fair Start Fund to help youngsters in deprived areas, paid for by increasing income tax on the highest earners.
It would also establish a breakfast club for youngsters in every primary school, and abolish charges for exam appeals.
Scottish Labour's other proposals include:
Ms Dugdale said Labour would offer "strong progressive opposition" over the next five years, adding: "We are the only party that wants what the Scottish people want - a strong Scotland inside the UK and maintaining our relationship with Europe."
She also branded the Conservatives as "Scotland's Brexit party" as she launched an attack on leader Ruth Davidson.
She said: "After years of constitutional debate, it is time for the first minister and all Scottish government ministers to focus on the job of reforming and investing in our public services and getting people back to work.
"As I said repeatedly during the election campaign, education is Labour's priority. Investing in the next generation so that they are prepared for the jobs that will drive the Scottish economy in the future."
Responding to her speech, an SNP spokesman said: "Labour have already presented their alternative programme for government in May's Holyrood election - where it was roundly rejected by voters and they slumped to a humiliating third place in Scottish politics.
"Meanwhile the SNP is getting on with governing for a historic third term, prioritising investment in education, record funding for our NHS, £100m in additional capital spending to grow our economy and a determination to protect Scotland's place in the EU." | Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has called for Scotland to focus on improving its public services rather than the constitutional debate. |
33,905,145 | The Galloway Mountain Rescue team received the emergency call at about 22:00 on Wednesday.
The group from the Doncaster area, who got into difficulties while descending the summit of the popular Buchan Hill, was airlifted to safety at midnight.
One of the group, a 56-year-old man, suffered an asthma attack. | A group of six holidaymakers has been rescued from Buchan Hill in Galloway by an RAF search and rescue helicopter. |
35,358,925 | Asylum seekers in Middlesbrough told The Times eggs and stones had been thrown at their houses because the doors made them easy to identify.
The immigration minister said he was "deeply concerned" about the issue.
G4S said there was no policy to house asylum seekers behind red doors but its subcontractor would be repainting them.
The Times visited 168 houses in Middlesbrough owned by Jomast, a sub contractor for the global security firm G4S, and found 155 had red doors.
Is Middlesbrough the UK's Germany?
BBC correspondent Andy Moore said it was thought the door colour may have been a convenient way for the company to identify its properties.
Former local councillor Suzanne Fletcher told the BBC's Today programme she had raised the issue with G4S as far back as 2012 but was told the company would not ask Jomast to repaint the doors.
She went on to submit evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Public Accounts Committee and National Audit Office.
She said: "Over four years ago when I was working with groups of asylum seekers, they were worried it marked them out and were worried about attacks."
The charity Refugee Council said it "has long held concerns about the quality and security of asylum accommodation".
It added: "The government must not tolerate its contractors taking a lax attitude towards housing these vulnerable people. Such an approach is clearly jeopardising their safety."
G4S said Jomast had no policy to house asylum seekers behind red doors but accepted the majority of doors, both for private and asylum accommodation, were painted red.
Immigration minister James Brokenshire said he had commissioned an urgent Home Office audit of asylum seeker housing in the North East.
He said: "I expect the highest standards from our contractors. If we find any evidence of discrimination against asylum seekers it will be dealt with immediately as any such behaviour will not be tolerated."
G4S said in a statement: "Although we have received no complaints or requests on this issue from asylum seekers we house, in light of the concerns raised Jomast has agreed to address the issue by repainting front doors in the area so that there is no predominant colour.
"Our asylum accommodation is inspected frequently by the Home Office and has been found to meet the required standards." | The front doors of houses used by asylum seekers are to be repainted, after claims they were targeted because nearly all of the doors were red. |
34,034,840 | Off-duty US airman Spencer Stone said he had just woken from a deep sleep when he saw the gunman and moved to restrain him on Friday.
He overpowered the gunman with Alek Skarlatos, a member of the US National Guard, US student Anthony Sadler and Briton Chris Norman.
They are to receive the Legion d'Honneur from the French president.
Francois Hollande will present the award - France's highest honour - in recognition of their bravery, early on Monday.
A French passenger, who wants to remain anonymous, and a French-American man who was shot during the attack will receive the award at a later date.
Meanwhile, French authorities say the suspect being questioned, Moroccan national Ayoub El-Khazzani, 25, has links to radical Islamism.
He was flagged up to French authorities by their Spanish counterparts in February 2014.
He is reported to have lived in France, Spain, and Belgium and to have travelled to Syria.
The French are enthralled by the three Americans who acted so swiftly to stop the Thalys gunman. In their news conference Sunday afternoon at the US embassy in Paris, they came over as archetypes of American masculine virtue: handsome, strong, modest.
Deep in the French gene, there is something that responds positively to this. It is the same spirit that is so grateful - 70 years on - for the American sacrifice in the Normandy landings: a recognition of the American capacity to join moral clarity with swift, decisive action.
Recognition, but also not a little envy. The press has made much of the fact that while the three Americans - and their ally the British businessman Chris Norman - have been feted with news conferences and all the rigmarole of instant fame, the Frenchman who also played a heroic part has preferred to remain anonymous.
It is a source of national pride - and a relief - that it was not just les Anglo-Saxons who "had a go".
Viewpoint: New anti-terror approach needed
Profile: Ayoub El-Khazzani
What we know
Mr Stone, Mr Skarlatos and Mr Sadler, have been hailed as heroes for their actions on Friday, and gave a press conference at the US embassy in Paris on Sunday.
It was the first appearance before the cameras for Mr Stone, who has been treated in hospital and was wearing a sling because of injuries to his thumb.
Asked what led him to react, he replied "survival".
"I turned around and I saw he had what looked to be an AK-47 and it looked like it was jammed or wasn't working and he was trying to charge the weapon.
"Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said 'let's go' and ran down, tackled him. We hit the ground."
Friday's incident began when a French passenger tried to enter a toilet, encountered the gunman and tried to overpower him. It is thought this passenger may have since requested anonymity.
A gun was fired and the French-American passenger was injured by the bullet. Mr Stone said he saw blood squirting out of his neck.
"I just stuck two of my fingers in the hole, found what I thought to be the artery, pushed down and the bleeding stopped," he said. "I just said 'thank God' and held that position until the paramedics got there."
Mr Skarlatos also said his initial reaction was "mostly just gut instinct", and that military training had only played a role in providing medical help and making sure there were no accomplices.
Mr Skarlatos disputed a statement the gunman made through a lawyer, that he just wanted to rob passengers because he was hungry.
He said he had a lot of ammunition and "his intentions were pretty clear", but that he appeared untrained.
"He clearly had no firearms training whatsoever."
"If he knew what he was doing, or even just got lucky... we would have all been in trouble and probably wouldn't be here today - along with a lot of other people."
Mr Stone said Friday's events had still not sunk in. "It feels very unreal. It feels like a dream."
Security aboard the high-speed Thalys service on which the incident took place is being stepped up. The trains link major cities in the Netherlands and Belgium to Paris.
Patrols and security checks will also be boosted at international train stations, and more baggage checks will be carried out.
France's security services have placed been on high alert since January when Islamist militants killed 17 people in and around Paris - including the attacks at the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket. | A US passenger who tackled a gunman on a train from Amsterdam to Paris said survival instinct led him to react. |
22,888,851 | The court order follows complaints from four music labels that the site was helping spread copyrighted content.
The ISPs have been given until mid-July to implement the ban. It is Ireland's first such move.
It follows similar restrictions placed on the site in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and Belgium.
The High Court order applies to Vodafone, Digiweb, UPC, Imagine, Telefonica O2 and Hutchison 3G.
A seventh ISP in the country, Eircom, has voluntarily banned The Pirate Bay since 2009.
EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner Music had alleged that as many as 200,000 people in Ireland made use of the site, causing them to lose about 20m euros (£17m) a year.
"The Irish Recorded Music Association is very pleased at the decision of the High Court, which blocks access by all ISPs to the notorious Pirate Bay website," the organisation's director general, Dick Doyle, told the BBC.
"It is estimated that 8% of all internet users in Ireland accessed the website on a monthly basis.
"The template from this decision will now be used to seek further orders blocking access to other websites and cyber-lockers predominately involved in making available infringing copyrights."
Ireland signed into law last year an EU regulation designed to make it easier for copyright owners to seek injunctions against ISPs and other intermediaries providing access to pirated materials.
When the UK imposed a similar ban in 2012, several proxy sites - which act as a middle man to retrieve blocked content - were created, allowing users to circumvent the restriction.
Music industry organisation the BPI was subsequently given the right to add the proxies to the list of sites the ISPs had to block, but it effectively set up a situation where as soon as one was taken down another was set up to take its place.
"I expect that the music labels have learned from the past experiences in other countries where the blockades are massively circumvented through proxy sites, and that they have requested these to be blocked in Ireland as well," said Torrentfreak's editor Ernesto Van Der Sar.
"But even when that's the case then there will always be workarounds. People can use a VPN [virtual private network] service for example, and there are still hundreds of proxy sites that are not covered.
"That said, it does become harder to access The Pirate Bay and that is the music label's ultimate goal." | Six internet service providers (ISPs) in the Republic of Ireland have been told to block access to The Pirate Bay's file-sharing website. |
40,765,195 | Only a late goal from Isma Goncalves saved Hearts from defeat within the 90 minutes, but the Championship visitors won 3-1 on penalties.
Even a win in the shoot-out would not have been enough for Hearts, who needed all three points to progress.
"Of course things need to improve," Cathro, 31, told BBC Scotland.
"It's important that today we just talk about today's game. It doesn't need to be anything that's more grand than that."
Don Cowie's opener for Hearts was cancelled out by Joe Cardle's stylish finish.
Declan McManus fired the Pars in front before Goncalves' scrambled equaliser.
The result means Hearts finish third in Group B behind the Pars and Peterhead, who beat Cathro's side in midweek.
That adds to the growing pressure on the former Rio Ave, Valencia and Newcastle coach, who was appointed as Robbie Neilson's replacement in December when the Edinburgh club were third in the Scottish Premiership.
They missed out on a place in the Europa League with a fifth-placed finish last season, while a Scottish Cup defeat by city rivals Hibernian also did not endear him to supporters.
Cathro has lost half of his 30 games in charge and won just eight of them.
When asked if he had a message for the fans who made their feelings known as Cathro headed down the tunnel following the Dunfermline defeat, he said he will "not waste my time making comments or asking for anything".
He added: "I don't say anything, I will quietly continue to do my job professionally, believing in the work that we do.
"If we had the urgency and intensity that we did when we felt that we needed to push at the end for the entirety of the 90 minutes then we'd be discussing a different situation.
"Earlier in the game we were playing reasonably well, we scored a good goal. Dunfermline did well and it's a good individual goal.
"After that we started to be below the levels that we needed to be at. John Souttar is involved in an error for the goal but I take responsibility for that. I think John should have come off at half-time." | Hearts head coach Ian Cathro brushed aside questions over his future following the 2-2 draw with Dunfermline that saw his side exit the League Cup. |
40,263,702 | Operator Caledonian MacBrayne said the MV Isle of Arran would be out of action for at least another seven days.
Problems with the vessel's engine mean that only about half of the scheduled services are running.
The breakdown also means that there are no sailings to Campbeltown.
Calmac said the 33-year-old ferry's engine had suffered significant damage and it was unlikely that she would be able to return to service until next Wednesday.
The vessel also suffered a serious breakdown last year but under went a refit over the winter months.
The MV Isle of Arran has been used to provide an enhanced service between Ardrossan and Brodick over the summer months in recent years.
It also covers a weekend route to Campbeltown which became permanent last year after a three-year experiment.
A new ferry, which is still being built and will be named the Glen Sannox, is to be introduced on the Arran route next year. It is not yet known if it will cover the Campbeltown service too.
The breakdown means only about half of the timetabled services between Ardrossan and Brodick are currently running.
Calmac said anyone who could not get their car onto their preferred sailing could still travel as a foot passenger with no advanced booking required.
The firm said some people who want to take their car to Arran may want to consider the three-hour road journey to Kintyre, then sailing from Claonaig to Lochranza.
Campbeltown can still be reached by plane or by bus. | Ferry services to Arran will be disrupted for at least another week because of a serious breakdown on one of the two ferries which cover the route. |
34,518,226 | The 55-year-old father of five, once dubbed "Salford's Mr Big", had a conviction for stabbing a man and had been under investigation from the regional organised crime squad over allegations of money laundering.
On 27 July, the day after the murder, Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd, warned against any other shootings: "Clearly no-one wants to see any further retaliation.
"The right answer for this is for people to come forward and help the police to arrest those who are responsible - because that's what will put a stop to guns in Salford," he told the Manchester Evening News.
Mr Massey, who worked as a security boss, stood for mayor of Salford in 2012 vowing to rid the city's streets of drugs.
He had told a BBC documentary which was filmed in 1998 but never broadcast: "The only reason that's kept me alive today is because the person who fires that shot knows that they've got to fly the flag and handle the pressure after it... and they won't be able to handle the pressure."
GMP were so concerned about possible reprisals at Mr Massey's funeral in August they had armed response units on standby.
Supt Mark Kenny even made a direct appeal to criminal gangs in the area "not take action into their own hands" on the day.
In the months since Mr Massey's killing, GMP have now linked two shootings with his death and believe they may be connected to a feud between two rival gangs in the Swinton and central Salford areas.
On 12 August, just over two weeks after Mr Massey's killing, a 33-year-old man was shot in the hip in the Weaste district of the city.
There have been several shootings in Salford since, but the only one formally connected to Mr Massey's death is the doorstep shooting of a 29-year-old mother and her seven-year-old son in Eccles on Monday.
Hours earlier, police had confirmed three shootings, in Salford and Bolton on Saturday, were part of a separate feud in an "escalating" gang rivalry between two "serious and organised crime groups" in the Little Hulton area dating back a year.
Police said they do not know what is at the root of that particular feud, which has prompted at least six shootings.
Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson said there was nothing to link the Little Hulton feud with the Massey shootings "at the moment".
GMP also believe both feuds may have spawned a series of "low-level shootings" which have not been reported to police. | When Paul Massey was gunned down outside his home by a masked man on a Sunday night in July, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were aware reprisals may follow. |
39,943,820 | It's probably fitting, then, that the responses to the death of the man who founded conservative media behemoth Fox News have been sharply divided along partisan lines.
He was a "monster" who poisoned American society and made people "dumber and angrier". Or he was a "great American patriot" and a "media genius". One man, two decidedly different pictures in one country with two decidedly different outlooks on the world.
Much has been written recently about the fracturing of US culture; of how Americans are withdrawing to their own bubbles, where they are fed news and entertainment that caters to their political and social predispositions.
Over the course of the past two decades, Ailes built Fox News into one of the biggest bubbles of all.
In 1996, when Ailes was hired by Fox head Rupert Murdoch to start his new network, CNN dominated the cable news world. Its style was not too unlike the network evening news formats that had become a way of life in America since the dawn of television, from Walter Cronkite to Tom Brokaw. Authoritative, purportedly unbiased television presenters read the news and introduced stories, day and night, week after week.
A few talks shows dotted the schedule. Crossfire and Capital Gang had politicians and pundits who exchanged barbs, and Larry King offered a safe space for major public figures to get their message out. CNN, however, styled itself as a neutral forum.
Ailes took cable news and gave it a partisan edge. The long-time Republican operative, who worked for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush, fashioned the television news format into an ideological tool - a megaphone or a cudgel, depending on one's perspective.
His network's nightly line-ups dispensed with the appearance of even-handedness and offered conservative red meat - which the audiences devoured in record numbers.
Ailes successfully concluded that much of the American public didn't want information from their television news, they wanted confirmation.
It's impossible to separate Ailes, who for decades was perhaps the most powerful man in US media, from his precipitous downfall, of course. He was accused of being a serial sexual harasser who abused his position of influence to demean and degrade the women around him. More than 25 women came forward to accuse him of a range of predatory behaviour, and Fox Corporation had to pay millions of dollars in legal settlements.
If Ailes built a news empire unlike any before it, like all empires there is a peak followed by eventual decline. His network has been beset by a wave of crises. Many of its top talents have departed - including Megyn Kelly, who wrote a book that included details of Ailes's misdeeds. Bill O'Reilly, the highest-rated Fox News personality, was recently deposed in his own sexual harassment scandal.
Beyond the accusations that it has become a toxic environment for some of its employees, Fox News has found itself adrift in the Donald Trump era. The sunny picture it paints of the Republican president has often seemed woefully out of step with the daily drumbeat of crises wracking the White House. If the Trump presidency turns into a sinking ship, Fox News is poised to be the orchestra that plays Nearer My God to Thee until the bitter end.
This week, when James Comey's memo-writing habits and the details of Mr Trump's conversations with Russians in the Oval Office were sending shockwaves through Washington, Fox evening hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity were focusing on Hillary Clinton's email server and a bogus conspiracy theory about a Democratic staffer who was murdered last year.
Even viewership ratings, which Fox News once dominated, have lately shown signs of weakness, as left-leaning MSNBC has frequently posted better numbers during the evening hours over the last few weeks.
With Ailes gone, Fox News' future is far from certain. Murdoch recently toured the networks New York headquarters and unveiled plans for a massive structural renovation. A similar programming overhaul could eventual reshape much of what Ailes built.
His legacy, however - both the good and the bad - is secure. | Roger Ailes revolutionised cable news in the US, creating the hyper-partisan, opinion-based environment that currently dominates the American media landscape. |
40,527,784 | The battery will protect South Australia from the kind of energy crisis which famously blacked out the state, Premier Jay Weatherill said.
Tesla boss Elon Musk confirmed a much-publicised promise to build it within 100 days, or do it for free.
The 100-megawatt (129 megawatt hour) battery should be ready this year.
"There is certainly some risk, because this will be largest battery installation in the world by a significant margin," Mr Musk said in Adelaide on Friday.
He added that "the next biggest battery in the world is 30 megawatts".
The Tesla-built battery, paired with a Neoen wind farm, will operate around the clock and be capable of providing additional power during emergencies, the government said.
"It will completely transform the way in which renewable energy is stored, and also stabilise the South Australian network as well as putting downward pressure on prices," Mr Weatherill said.
Mr Musk's 100-day pledge will begin once an electricity grid interconnection agreement has been signed.
Tesla has been expanding its battery business alongside its car production.
South Australia has suffered from blackouts since September last year, leading to a political spat over energy policy.
The row culminated in a bizarre confrontation between Mr Weatherill and a federal government minister at a press conference in March. | An Australian state will install the world's largest lithium ion battery in a "historic" deal with electric car firm Tesla and energy company Neoen. |
10,550,840 | Four people died when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Baghdad, while a car bomb in southern Baghdad killed at least one more person.
The attacks come one day after bombings across Baghdad killed at least 40 pilgrims and injured more than 100.
One million pilgrims are expected to gather at the Moussa al-Kadhim shrine on the final day of the festival.
The attacks come despite a vast security operation. Thousands of extra police and military officers have been drafted onto the streets of Baghdad and vehicle traffic has been restricted.
By Gabriel GatehouseBBC News, Baghdad
The nature of the conflict has changed since mid-2007, when sectarian violence in Iraq was at its height.
Today we have an insurgency which, while reduced in size and capability, still carries out attacks on a daily basis.
Their targets fall generally into three categories: members of the Iraqi or American armed forces; government buildings or institutions; and large religious events.
By targeting Shia pilgrims, it seems clear that the bombers are intent on reigniting that sectarian violence which nearly tore the country apart.
However, this spark does not appear to be catching fire. Despite the horror of these bombings, Iraqis in general are not turning against their fellow countrymen of the opposite sect.
At least four people died in Bab al-Muazam neighbourhood when a roadside bomb exploded as pilgrims were walking home from the mosque in Kadhimiya, officials said.
Meanwhile, a car bomb in southern Mashtal area killed at least one other person. About 80 people were injured in the two blasts, the AFP news agency reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but similar attacks in the past have been blamed on extremist Sunni groups.
Just a day earlier, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest as he walked among pilgrims in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Adhamiya district, killing at least 30 people.
It was the deadliest in a series of explosions targeting the worshippers that killed more than 40 people and wounded 100 more.
Despite the bombs the worshippers continued to stream into the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Kadhim, the seventh of 12 holy figures who defined the Shia faith.
"There was a blast [on Wednesday] carried out by base-minded people, killing the elderly, women and children," pilgrim Abdul Zahra told the BBC. "We will not be deterred by blasts and we will continue observing our rituals."
The annual event is frequently hit by tragedy.
Last year, two female suicide bombers blew themselves near the shrine, killing 65 people, including 20 Iranian pilgrims.
And in 2005, nearly 1,000 pilgrims were killed in a stampede on the Imams Bridge, which crosses the River Tigris between Kadhimiya and Adhamiya, after rumours spread that a suicide bomber was walking among them.
The attacks come one year after Iraqi forces took over control of security in Iraq's towns and cities from the US military.
Confidence in their ability to protect the population, especially at large religious events such as this one is still fragile, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad.
The US is speeding up the pace of its withdrawal, aiming to reduce its presence to 50,000 non-combat troops by the end of next month, in preparation for a full military departure by 2012. | At least five people have been killed by bombs targeting Shia pilgrims in Baghdad, Iraqi officials say. |
36,138,283 | Supporters of the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched towards the Green Zone, where the government is based.
He wants Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to press ahead with a plan to replace ministers appointed on the basis of political affiliation with technocrats.
Powerful parties in parliament have so far refused to approve the reshuffle.
Systemic political patronage has aided corruption in Iraq, depleting the government's resources as it struggles to cope with declining oil revenue and the cost of the war against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
The BBC's Ahmed Maher in Baghdad says this is one of the country's worst political crises since the US-led invasion and downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
For the past three weeks, MPs have been unable to agree on a new line-up of non-partisan ministers proposed by the embattled prime minister as a key element of his programme to tackle corruption.
More than 100 MPs have been staging a sit-in in parliament since mid-April to express their frustration at others who have blocked votes on the reshuffle.
They even voted to sack the speaker of parliament, Salim al-Jabouri.
On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of Mr Sadr's supporters heeded his call to "frighten" MPs from the main political parties, which rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds, and "compel" them to agree to the prime minister's reforms.
"Our participation in the demonstration aims to reject this government for being sectarian," protester Abu Ali al-Zaidi told AFP news agency.
The government "did not bring the country and Iraqis anything but poverty and killing", the taxi driver from the southern province of Maysan added.
Waving Iraqi flags and chanting that politicians "are all thieves", the protesters marched from Tahrir Square towards the Green Zone, where parliament had been expected to convene to hold a vote on Mr Abadi's proposed cabinet line-up.
However, more than a dozen MPs disrupted proceedings, clapping, slamming their hands on desks and chanting slogans like "invalid" and "treachery" for almost half an hour before the session was adjourned, according to Reuters news agency.
A second session was then held in another room in the parliament building, but the protesting MPs were reportedly barred from attending.
Those present approved Mr Abadi's nominees for the ministers of health, labour and water resources, but rejected his candidates for justice and education.
Parliamentary sources told the BBC that Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari also submitted his resignation, but that the prime minister had refused to accept it.
An MP and former national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, acknowledged that the political system was "not working" and that "radical change" was necessary. But he told the BBC that Tuesday's protest was "not terribly helpful". | Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, in protest at a months-long political crisis and lack of reform. |
39,229,848 | The film from 2012 has Dame Judi Dench's M and Daniel Craig's 007 standing side by side looking out over the landscape of Glen Etive.
Social media campaign, Glen Etive the Dirty Truth, blames visitors to the same spot for causing erosion.
National Trust for Scotland said it was aware of the problem and has asked people to respect the environment.
The trust (NTS), which manages land in the area involved, said the damage was being done to a roadside verge, but it did not believe the wider landscape had been harmed.
The popularity of Glen Etive, and the wider Glen Coe area, with tourists has increased because scenes were shot there for Skyfall, the 23rd film in the Bond movie franchise.
The campaign, Glen Etive the Dirty Truth, flags up problems with wild camping and littering in the area.
It has highlighted an issue with visitors' cars causing damage to ground in the glen.
A spokesperson for NTS said: "We are aware that an impromptu layby has developed where people are stopping to see the Skyfall spot.
"This is on the roadside verge and is a limited area, which, is not impacting on the wider landscape.
"It's great that so many people want to visit the area and experience this wonderful place for themselves.
"As a conservation charity, we would always encourage visitors to think about their impact on the places they visit and what they leave behind, whether that's litter or tyre tracks."
NTS said that the arrival of spring would likely see a rise in visitors to the area.
The spokesperson said: "It's a good time to remind visitors of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code - take your litter home, if you're camping, remove all traces of your pitch and don't pollute.
"Unfortunately, some people just don't follow this advice.
"The trust takes responsibility for tidying up our land - every year we remove hundreds of bags of rubbish."
The spokesperson added: "In the next few weeks, we're running a roadside tidy up to help get Glen Coe ready for springtime. We're really grateful to our dedicated volunteers and partners who help us in this work." | Tourists recreating a scene from Bond movie Skyfall have been accused of causing damage in a Highlands glen. |
38,705,014 | But the inauguration of President Donald Trump was also a global event.
Images from Washington DC were relayed on numerous news channels to a worldwide audience wondering what a Trump presidency will mean for future.
Overall, the tone was pessimistic.
While many broadcasters opted for straight live feeds, Russia's state-run Rossiya 1 hosted a live studio discussion where guests bickered and joked beneath a giant screen in a high-tech studio. Perhaps notably, the channel chose not to carry a live translation of the inaugural address.
Poland's Politiyka website said the ceremony was "so sweet and normal, one could almost forget that it crowns a campaign full of filth".
But most commentators disagreed, saying Trump abandoned the traditional niceties that usually accompany such events.
Under the headline "One president, two Americas", France's Liberation says Mr Trump delivered "the least unifying" inaugural address in US history, with a tone that was "entirely in line with his campaign statements, but with added presidential posturing".
But Le Monde saw only "moderate enthusiasm" from those who had gathered, in an atmosphere that "seemed a far cry from the fervour of the campaign."
In South America there is fear for what Mr Trump's apparently isolationist leanings will herald. Brazil's Estado de S Paulo newspaper called the inaugural address "aggressive", while left-wing Argentine newspaper Pagina 12 focussed on the new president's government, which it called a "cabinet of racists, financiers, fundamentalists, warriors and anti-workers".
Significantly, China seemed to downplay the event, with most media offering only basic reporting - perhaps emblematic of Mr Trump's already fraught relationship with the world's second-largest economy.
Russia's independent Gazeta.ru website said that "Trump is closing America".
Anti-Trump demonstrations around Washington DC did not go unnoticed, particularly in countries with an historically fraught relationship with Washington.
Cuba's Prensa Latina news agency offered only cursory coverage of the ceremony, with emphasis on the "numerous protests" taking place around Washington.
Similarly, Iran's hardline daily Javan newspaper led its coverage with reports on protests, which it used to predict a "volatile" term in office.
Rossiya TV remarked that "not everybody welcomed the new father of the nation", but that the protests "did not affect the festive ceremony".
On the website of Israel's conservative daily Yisrael Hayom, Boaz Bismuth called the ceremony "a celebration of US democracy" which "symbolises the success of the US constitution".
Mrs Trump captured attention in eastern Europe, where few could resist comparisons to former first ladies. Rossiya 1 said her "exquisite image reminded many of Jacqueline Kennedy".
In her native Slovenia, the Svet24 newspaper said Melania "completely overshadowed" Michelle Obama with her outfit. And her choice of a Ralph Lauren was also "a little poke at Hillary Clinton" who also favours the designer.
Media in Ukraine and Belarus sought to find ancestral connections to the new First Family. In Belarus, Salidarnist website noted that Ralph Lauren had Belarussian ancestry and that President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has family in the country.
Ukrayina TV said Mr Kushner's great-grandfather was a Jew from Ternopil Region. A local council head was shown saying that he would be happy to build contacts with Mr Kushner.
Commentators struggle to offer any certainty as to what the next four years will mean for America and the world.
In Germany's Die Zeit, commentator Carsten Luther says President Trump's declaration that he and his supporters will set the course of the US and the world for many years to come "sounds like a threat".
Alexei Veselovsky said on Russia's NTV news that "They had brought the billionaire to the White House and Trump clearly expects that his vision of America will help him in future too."
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. | It was a ceremony saturated in stars and stripes, with a speech that sung a paean to American exceptionalism. |
34,852,857 | The outage affected 1,300 properties in Fyfield, near Burford, 700 in Witney, and 220 in Chipping Norton.
Extra engineers had been standing by ahead of the storm, a Scottish and Southern Electric Power Distribution spokesman said.
By 22:00 GMT work continued to restore power to 488 homes in Fyfield, 400 in Witney and 50 in Chipping Norton.
The power firm spokesman apologised to customers for the problems and said they would be dealt with as soon as possible.
In Middle Way, Oxford, firefighters were also called out after strong winds blew loose part of a house's roof.
Storm Barney, the UK's second named storm, affected parts of Wales and southern England with gusts in excess of 80mph. | About 2,220 homes were left without power in Oxfordshire after Storm Barney hit the county. |
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