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37,557,466 | "It's hard to say, but I agree a bit," said Tottenham defender Rose.
"I don't want to say it's a mess, but it's not nice for English football."
Allardyce left his role after being exposed for telling undercover reporters posing as businessmen how to "get around" player transfer rules.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Allardyce took over from Roy Hodgson in the aftermath of England's embarrassing Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland.
The former Sunderland boss won his one and only game in charge - a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Slovakia - before his sudden exit.
At the time, Shearer, who scored 30 goals in 63 games for his country, said England had hit rock bottom with Allardyce's departure.
"I didn't think England could stoop any lower from what happened in the summer at the Euros," he told BBC Sport.
"Now here we are, a laughing stock of world football."
Gareth Southgate, who has been England Under-21 boss, will take charge of the senior side for four games, starting with World Cup qualifiers against Malta at Wembley on 8 October and in Slovenia three days later.
"I hope the next England manager will be one for the long term and help us to improve a bit in tournaments," added Rose.
"Everyone - the players, the manager and all the staff - we've got to take it on ourselves to try to lift the opinion of English football over the next few games."
Rose, who played in the win over Slovakia last month, said he had texted Allardyce to thank him for selecting him and to wish him the best for the future.
"He was brilliant when he was there," added Rose. "He was such a good laugh, really approachable and he allowed us to play as well." | England left-back Danny Rose says Alan Shearer was right to call the national team a "laughing stock" following Sam Allardyce's departure as manager after just 67 days and one game in the job. |
39,730,928 | Deborah Wilkinson, 42, was found with head injuries at a house in the Hemlington area of the town on 19 August in 2016.
A 73-year-old man was arrested and bailed over her murder in August.
Cleveland Police have now concluded there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
The coroner has been informed, the force said. | No further action will be taken against a 73-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering a mother-of-three from Middlesbrough. |
40,370,416 | He spent the last four seasons with the Gills, scoring 48 goals in 153 league games, after a previous loan spell.
Boss Neal Ardley told the club website: "He has only just turned 31 and he still has years ahead of him.
"He scored 12 goals last season for Gillingham in a team that struggled a bit and his goalscoring record previously has been very good."
The Dons have not disclosed the length of the former Norwich and Coventry player's contract.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | AFC Wimbledon have signed striker Cody McDonald after he turned down a new deal with Gillingham. |
31,460,934 | First Essex driver Michael Willson, 44, met Denise Ashby about nine years ago, when she stepped aboard his Chelmsford park and ride bus.
They spoke to each other and became friends. But after two years riding on his bus, Denise moved to Basildon.
When they met again last year, Mr Willson told her how much he had missed her.
Mr Willson, who now drives the X30 Southend to Stansted service, said while he had conversations with most of his customers "there was something different about Denise".
"It was just so comfortable to talk to her," he said. "And we ended up very, very good friends."
But when Denise changed jobs and no longer boarded his bus, Mr Willson realised his feelings for her were far more than friendship.
"All of a sudden she was gone," he said. "I was a bit devastated and I tried to reason with myself to the fact I would never see her again."
They bumped into each other again at Chelmsford bus station in March 2014.
Mr Willson initially told the then Ms Ashby he was well and happy. But then he faltered, and told her: "Actually, I'm not fine, I should have told you how I felt about you."
Ms Ashby told Mr Willson she felt the same and they became a couple before Ms Ashby proposed to Mr Willson at the park and ride bus stop where they had first met.
They married at County Hall in Chelmsford, which is near the city's bus station, at the end of January.
They travelled to Norfolk for their honeymoon, not by bus but by train. | A bus driver has married a former passenger after she proposed to him at a bus stop. |
32,576,752 | David Coburn MEP said he wanted it to look at a number of areas, including the way Scotland is funded.
The party also remains committed to its main goal of taking the UK out of the European Union.
There was no hard copy of the Scottish manifesto available at the launch as it was "delayed in the Bank Holiday post".
Mr Coburn said he wanted to see the Barnett formula, which allocates funds to Scotland, discussed in a constitutional convention after the election.
He said his party wants Scotland to be re-industrialised and accused the SNP of wanting to take Scotland back to "the days of William Wallace" with "people living in mud huts".
Mr Coburn, who was elected as an MEP in Scotland last year, said there were a lot of "quiet UKIP voters" across Scotland who are "frightened of cyber nats" but "quietly voting UKIP as they did when they put me in".
The anti-EU, pro-UK party's policies for Scotland include a move towards federalism, with a constitutional convention to establish a future UK framework for the governance of the country.
Other policies include a pledge for Scottish MPs to abstain from voting on English matters, the retention and renewal of the Trident nuclear missile system and the introduction of fracking if it is proved safe and wanted by local people.
On the issue of fracking, Mr Coburn added: "I think it is essential ... if some people had their way we would still be with William Wallace in a cave.
"If you want to have modern technology, you have to break a few eggs.
"Fracking has to be done safely and must be done properly."
On defence and Trident, Mr Coburn criticised the SNP's policy of not renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent, which is currently based at Faslane on the Clyde.
"I don't want to see Scotland turned into some stripped pine Scandinavian, peacenik sauna republic that the SNP seek to create," he said.
"They can take it and stick it."
Mr Coburn and his colleagues shrugged off suggestions that the party was "amateur" in Scotland, after failing to provide copies of its manifesto at the launch.
He was quizzed on why some candidates had failed to attend hustings events in their constituencies.
Mr Coburn said UKIP's candidates were "real people with real jobs" and added: "I would rather have real people, people like myself, people who actually have a job, rather than folk who are just in it for the game."
What are the top issues for each political party at the 2015 general election?
Policy guide: Where the parties stand | UKIP have launched their Scottish manifesto in Falkirk with a commitment to hold a constitutional convention to debate the future of the UK. |
38,894,755 | Scotland's Uefa coefficient has slipped from 23rd to 25th.
It means that the Scottish Cup winners as well as the league's second and third-placed clubs will kick off their European campaigns at the end of June.
The Scottish Premiership winners will still start in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.
Teams finishing second and third in the top tier have become accustomed to entering the Europa League at the earliest stage, but the national cup winners have in recent years played in the second qualifying round.
However, the Uefa rankings, which are based on results over a rolling five-year period, are such that whichever team lifts the Scottish Cup at Hampden on 27 May will have only one month to prepare for a European qualifier on 29 June.
Hibernian, who won last season's Scottish Cup, played the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round match against Brondby on 14 July.
Should Celtic retain their league title, and then also win the Scottish Cup, the team that finishes fourth in the Premiership will take the final Europa League spot. | Scotland's three representatives in the Europa League next season will, for the first time, begin qualifying in the first round. |
25,848,873 | The guidelines range from practical security advice to more faith-based instructions, including a warning that updates are "transient yet permanent".
The list has been widely shared online, dubbed the "Twitter commandments".
Bath and Wells diocese said it compiled the nine rules to help "spread the word of God in the most effective way".
The guidelines aim to help parish staff "navigate through the social media landscape".
The first rule - "don't rush in" - urges ecclesiastical tweeters to consider the following questions:
Subsequent rules advise on drawing boundaries between public duties and private life, being an ambassador for the Church and maintaining a professional distance.
After feedback to the original rules suggested they were "worthy but a bit on the dull side", some light-hearted advice from a local social media expert was added.
A spokesman for Bath and Wells diocese told the BBC that publishing the resource was what "any good organisation" would do.
"The Church of England is in every community in the UK, so it seems right that we should be in online communities too," he said.
"We're not the first diocese to provide guidelines, but our clergy increasingly use social media.
"A vicar might engage in conversation online in the same way that they do in the street, post office or pub."
Other religious bodies offer faith-driven advice for their representatives communicating online.
The Methodist Church in Britain urges its clergy to "let Galatians 5:22-26", which urges the spirit of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control", guide their behaviour when sharing the "good news of Jesus Christ in the world" on social media.
But the popularity of these new guidelines took Somerset's Anglican clergy by surprise.
"The irony of these guidelines becoming part of a Twitter storm has not been wasted on us," a staff member said.
"We're just pleased that so many people have found it interesting." | A Church of England diocese has issued a list of social media rules to its staff and clergy, urging them to consider God when tweeting the masses. |
31,507,957 | The majority of the 2,345 viewers who complained about the Booking.com advert said the substitution was offensive.
But the Advertising Standards Authority said the word was used comically.
Booking.com said it was used in a positive tone and to reinforce brand recognition. It is the second most-complained about UK advert of all time.
The online travel agent said there was "no ambiguity" about the use of the word "booking".
It had been used to convey enthusiasm and joy, rather than with any negative or derogatory tone often associated with swear words, it added.
The advert, which screened on television and in cinemas, featured holidaymakers arriving at their destinations while a voiceover said: "It doesn't get any booking better than this.
"Look at the view, look at the booking view."
The word was repeated a number of other times in the advert.
Some viewers said the advert was likely to encourage swearing among children and some reported seeing it during television programmes such as a Harry Potter film, or at cinema screenings of family films.
The Cinema Advertising Association said it had considered both the advert's potential to offend and the long history of word substitution in British humour, which often appeared in family entertainment.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the voiceover artist enunciated the word clearly and that it was "sufficiently distinct" so as not to be confused.
"We understood that a small number of complainants had reported hearing their children swear after seeing the ad, but considered that because the ad did not contain any expletives, this behaviour would not arise from the ad itself," it said.
The ASA concluded that although some might find it "distasteful", it was "unlikely" to cause widespread offence.
Paddy Power's Oscar Pistorius advert, which offered "money back if he walks" during his trial over the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, remains the most complained-about UK advert of all time.
It was immediately pulled last year and later the ASA upheld the 5,525 complaints and banned it. | A travel website's TV advert that used the word "booking" as an apparent substitute for an expletive has been cleared by the advertising watchdog. |
36,902,668 | Powered by a bouncy bassline, and a chunky Barry White hook, it's an ode to Jones' romantic prowess with women all over the world.
"She said, 'hola, como estas?' She said, 'konnichiwa'. She said, 'pardon my French'. I said, 'bonjour madame.'"
The singer, who stresses he has "just one lady" in real life, says the song was inspired by his adopted home of Miami, Florida.
"It's a melting pot - Spanish, Haitian, French, Asian," he tells the BBC. "And in that melting pot, I stuck with the greetings that were most comfortable to me.
"You hear a lot of people say 'hola'. Spanish is a language that happens to take a waltz in other people's back yards."
But the 23-year-old concedes his vocabulary is limited.
"I just know the greetings... and some other words that are not appropriate for this interview."
Don't Mind went from inspiration to final mix in just 12 hours - "I was just in the studio making music and it came out" - but Jones didn't realise what he had on his hands.
The song was destined for his debut mixtape - a calling card "with no singles" before his debut album later this year. But even then, the song was initially rejected by his record label (DJ Khaled's We The Best Recordings).
"I was like, 'what's going on?' Not in the sense of, 'this is definitely a hit' because we didn't know that.
"But we took the time to sort out the issues and fix the mix, and they ended up putting it on [the mixtape]. And it's served me well. I'm not going to lie to you, it served me very well."
Indeed, the song has spread like wildfire, hitting the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, while Jones has been an opening act on Beyonce's Formation Tour and visited Europe for the first time.
"It's definitely a growing experience," he says. "It's helped me be a sharper man, a sharper artist."
But he insists he's up for the challenge. "There's a lot of people asking about pressure. They say there's so much pressure coming up with another hit after Don't Mind. And I'm unaware of the pressure they ask about. The key is being prepared."
That preparation began in Tallahassee, Florida, when Jones started bashing pots and pans in the kitchen. Eventually, his aunt took pity on him (but not his parents) and taught him to play the drums.
From there, he taught himself piano and Hammond organ, practising with his mother's gospel ensemble in Church, where the music director showed him how to make primitive beats on an electronic keyboard.
By adolescence, he was studying music in high school and found himself drawn towards jazz.
"I really dug into the greats," he says, "the ones I needed to transcribe and study."
"But there's so many styles within that one genre [of jazz]. It forces you to open yourself to different disciplines that allow you to play all those styles."
Playing Don't Mind in Radio 1 Xtra's Live Lounge, he gets the chance to show off those skills, his fingers rippling up and down the piano keys in a blur.
"Who would have guessed from Don't Mind that you could play the keyboards like that?" marvels presenter Trevor Nelson - but Jones insists hip-hop and R&B need to embrace musicianship and live instrumentation.
"Remember, that's all it was at one point," he says. "Everything's a little more generic now."
While his skills are currently parlayed into the synthetically-inclined world of hip-hop, Jones is looking back to Quincy Jones, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder as he prepares his next single, Sit Down, and his debut album.
"You're definitely going to hear a lot of musicality, I'm letting you know that now.
"At the end of the day, mechanical time and human time are totally different. So a computer metronome has nothing like the feel of a live band.
"There's nothing you could sample to replace the feel of the wood in a bass guitar. Same thing with the strings on a lead, or the weight of keys on a piano.
"There are certain elements of instrumentation you can't buy with a loop."
Don't Mind is out now on Black Butter in the UK and Epic in the US .
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or email [email protected]. | Certain songs were made for the sunshine - and one of this year's biggest summer jams is Kent Jones' irresistible Don't Mind. |
40,836,949 | In what has been described as a Scottish first, some of the country's biggest clubs have signed up to the LGBT Sports Charter.
The charter aims to encourage access to the sport for LGBT people.
Equality Network development manager Scott Cuthbertson said the move would help create a "more inclusive" game.
He said: "We're delighted that these clubs, from across all four SPFL divisions, are today making a commitment to LGBT supporters, officials and the next generation of LGBT players.
"Today's message is loud and clear, everyone is welcome at football and we are working for a more inclusive game.
"We don't yet have any openly LGBT professional players in the men's professional game in Scotland but we know there are plenty of LGBT fans."
'Sport for all'
Rangers striker Kenny Miller said: "Rangers is an inclusive club and strives to promote equality and inclusion and we are delighted to sign up to the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter.
"Everyone should be able to take part, enjoy and succeed in sport whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity and we are proud to support this initiative."
Celtic's Scott Brown added: "This is an issue which needs to be addressed and tackled and therefore we are delighted to sign up to the Charter, and promote the very important message that sport is for all."
The clubs backing the charter are Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Partick Thistle, Rangers St Johnstone, Dumbarton, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Forfar Athletic, Elgin City and Peterhead.
Partick Thistle managing director Ian Maxwell said: "Football can be a very powerful tool to help fight all types of discrimination.
"Football is a universal language so no matter what your race, religion, background, gender or sexuality, kicking a ball about or watching your team on a Saturday helps put everyone on a level playing field." | Professional football clubs in all four divisions backed an agreement on participation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. |
32,322,506 | The 48-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after police received reports of a nine-year-old girl being grabbed outside a chemists in Queen Street, Market Rasen.
There were also reports of a four-year-old boy being grabbed in a newsagents on the same road.
No-one was hurt but both children were left shaken, police said.
Det Insp Pete Grayson said: "These incidents will understandably be of great concern to the local community, to parents and to families, and I would like to make it clear that they are isolated and one-off occurrences.
"We have a suspect in custody and are not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation."
Patrols have been increased in the area to provide reassurance. | A woman has been arrested in connection with two attempted child abductions in a small Lincolnshire market town. |
36,937,377 | Nor was being diagnosed again at 30.
After receiving his second all-clear, the disease was gone but its psychological effects were not.
Mr Trout, now 37, says he became "gripped by anxiety, and the fear of cancer coming back, or the fear that maybe it hadn't gone".
He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia and skin problems which were so bad that he hated himself and stayed inside his house.
He calls this fearful phase the "worst part of my journey", and says he did not know how to deal with it.
In a report released on Monday by Macmillan Cancer Support, experts say an "extraordinary" number of people are now alive many years after they were diagnosed with cancer.
But it warns that thousands of people struggle with the physical, emotional and financial effects of a cancer diagnosis and treatment for many years afterwards.
Thousands surviving decades after cancer
People like Mr Trout.
"I felt guilty, angry at myself," he says.
"At times I was thinking 'am I ungrateful for feeling this way after having survived when so many others don't?'."
Looking back, he now feels differently.
"It doesn't really get more traumatic than getting cancer, so it's just a normal reaction to having to go through such a horrific life event," he says.
At the age of seven, having been diagnosed with a Wilms' tumour, he underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy and had his right kidney removed.
But Mr Trout, from Thames Ditton in south-west London, says getting cancer as an adult was worse.
"As a child I apparently only ever asked my mum and dad once if I was going to die," he says.
"They told me that they loved me too much and they wouldn't let that happen and I never asked again.
"When you're an adult, doctors tell you absolutely everything and you've got things like rent, job, relationships, all these things to contend with."
He was "far more unwell" as an adult - when he had a 10cm (4in) tumour removed from his bowel - but he says the illness also affected him "a lot more psychologically".
Mr Trout says "fantastic" counselling from Macmillan Cancer Support helped him cope.
He went travelling, visiting 23 countries in two years, and set up a website called 101 things to do when you survive.
"I still think about cancer a lot and it coming back, but I'm more equipped now to get myself out of those negative thoughts and it doesn't affect me like it did a few years ago," he says. | For Greig Trout, getting cancer at the age of seven was not the worst part of his battle. |
36,508,146 | Hong Kong-born Moore, 23, was the last British player in the event, having overcome world number 67 Christina McHale 6-2 6-2 to reach the last eight.
But the world number 280 could not take any of four break-point chances against Johanna Konta's conqueror Zheng.
She also served five double faults as 22-year-old Zheng won in 83 minutes.
Moore revealed she had been hampered by injury and told BBC Sport: "It was there, I could feel it, but I can't fault Saisai for the way she played, she didn't give me much of an opportunity.
"Every loss is a disappointment. It's been a great week and I have to take the positives and look forward to Birmingham next week. I do think I've improved a lot of things I needed to and going forward I am really excited about how things can progress."
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and unseeded Alison Riske of the United States won two matches each on Saturday to reach Sunday's final, after Friday's quarter-finals were washed out.
Pliskova beat Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-2 6-2 in 54 minutes after earlier seeing off Ashleigh Barty of Australia 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (9-7).
Riske took three match points to beat Zheng 6-1 7-5 in her semi-final, after earlier beating Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-3 6-3.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | British number four Tara Moore was beaten in the Nottingham Open quarter-finals, losing 6-2 6-4 to Saisai Zheng of China. |
36,429,660 | Another term for it is "relationship addiction". People form and persist with relationships "that are one-sided, emotionally destructive and/or abusive".
Sitting in the atrium of Trump Tower on Tuesday, as Donald Trump harangued the press - well, you know where I'm going. For all the abuse, for all the belittlement, we as reporters show no sign of ending our relationship addiction with Donald Trump.
Much of our cravenness is easily explained. It stems from the record-breaking television ratings that Trump has generated and, just as important these days, millions of online hits.
A human headline, he more than satisfies the viral requirements of our new media age. At a time when media organisations are struggling still to monetise online news content, and to make the painful shift from print to digital, along comes the ultimate clickbait candidate, a layer of golden eggs.
Understandably, hard-pressed news executives are echoing the words reportedly uttered by Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, at her Brooklyn headquarters: "I've got to get me some Trump."
It has meant that the default setting for cable news channels here is a split screen showing an empty Trump lectern on one side with pundits on the other, bloviating endlessly as they await the billionaire's arrival.
As for a Trump news conference, it is rather like broadcasting one of those freeway police chases filmed from a helicopter: car crash television that you want to stay with until the end - though perhaps the more accurate analogy is of security camera footage that captures a street fighter who has no qualms about reaching for the broken bottle. It is unedifying, gruesome even, but also utterly compelling.
It explains why none of the news channels cut away from the Trump news conference yesterday, even as it degenerated into a one-way slanging match. Or why none of the reporters present, myself included, simply got up and walked out.
Yet the media's Trump relationship addiction is not explained by commercial imperatives alone.
Political reporters have a tendency of writing a campaign narrative that comports with the race they ideally want to cover. It's not an invented narrative, as such - we can't simply make up storylines. But I would suggest it's a slanted narrative, which, rather than betraying a liberal bias, reveals a "great story" bias.
In a reworking of the old newsroom adage "if it bleeds, it leads", candidates tend to be assessed on the basis of their journalistic entertainment value.
My sense, while covering the 2000 campaign for instance, was that reporters handicapped the race in favour of George W. Bush because the possibility of a son following his father into the White House, with all the oedipal complexity that went with it, was a better story than seeing Al Gore become president.
That would have felt like a Clinton third term, absent its charismatic leading man.
This tendency was even more pronounced in 2008, during the Democratic primary campaign, when journalists were more excited by the prospect of the first African-American president than the first female president, Hillary Clinton. Everyone wanted to compose their own first draft of that dramatic historical moment.
Trump is also a beneficiary of great story bias. Never before has there been a candidate with such journalistic entertainment value.
His unexpected emergence meant that we ditched our initial narrative of Campaign 2016, which we had set up a dynastic showdown between a Bush and a Clinton, in favour of a better storyline.
The media didn't create Donald Trump, the basis of the ever more fashionable "Frankenstein's monster" critique of the press. But we have been more willing enablers than we would care to admit.
So while there has been no shortage of critical coverage of Donald Trump, there has been a reluctance to go for his jugular.
This tendency is most noticeable in broadcast interviews. Jake Tapper's interview with Donald Trump, in which the billionaire failed to disavow support from white supremacists and said he needed to do more research on the Ku Klux Klan before condemning it, offered a case in point.
Tapper, who has done some excellent interviews during this campaign, was tough and probing but did not go in for the kill. An obvious follow-up question would have been "do you really need to do more research on the KKK to condemn it" but he did not ask it.
As for the interview between Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump, it provides the textbook case study of campaign co-dependency.
Kelly rocked Trump in a televised debate last year, with a brilliant and legitimate line of questioning about his misogyny. But when she sat down with him at Trump Tower for a prime time special, and talked about his hate-Tweeting, she described how she imagined him doing it wearing "a crushed velvet smoking jacket, chaise lounge, slippers".
Jon Sopel, my colleague and compatriot, wrote a terrific blog on the Trump press conference, observing: "The remarkable thing that has struck me as a British correspondent living in Washington, and who is used to a robust relationship between journalist and politician, is how Trump has been treated with kid gloves."
I could not agree more. The preference in American broadcast journalism is to end interviews on amicable terms. There is not the adversarial tradition of British interviewing, nor a US equivalent of John Humphrys or Jeremy Paxman.
Bikers reveal sickly choice for US voters
Trump: Illegals treated better than vets
What's also striking is that we as journalists do not have the power of old. Trump and other candidates have used Twitter especially, not only to bypass the media but also to become part of the new media themselves.
The billionaire's Twitter account has more followers - 8.5 million - than the Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, the Huffington Post or Buzzfeed. He has become a self-publisher, and provided an unfiltered commentary of his own. Trump's strength is a measure of the mainstream media's weakness.
That imbalance was evident at the news conference in Trump Tower. He possessed the only microphone. He could drown out every reporter. He controlled who asked the questions, and probably half of the journalists present did not get the chance to do so.
Ever the shrewd media operator, he also knew that the cable news channels would stay with it until the end.
For another illustration of our comparative powerlessness, just witness the number of stories that have been written about Trump, which in an ordinary election cycle would have been disqualifying - his misogyny, his racism, his incitement of supporters to punch protesters in the face, his cussing, his refusal to release his tax returns, his constant flip-flopping on policy, Trump University, etc, etc.
Much has been written about how Trump defies the usual laws of political gravity, but one of the reasons is that modern-day media organisations lack orbital pull.
The Trump obsession has affected our coverage in subtler ways, too.
Had it not been for our fixation with the Republican contest, we would have paid more attention to Bernie Sanders' extraordinary success. Yet we've downplayed that storyline.
This is partly for valid analytical reasons. Early on, it became clear that Hillary Clinton was winning the all-important "black vote" - this race has proven again that it is all but impossible to win the Democratic nomination without it - and had the support of so many super-delegates that her lead became insurmountable.
But I wonder whether another explanation for short-changing Sanders goes to how Trump has impacted our professional pride. We can cope with being proven spectacularly wrong in one race, the Republican contest, but not two.
Absent Trump, journalists would have felt the Bern far more strongly, because it would have been the best storyline on offer. Again, it demonstrates how we as journalists tend to talk up certain narratives and talk down others, of how we are prone to great story bias.
Confessedly, I hated being at that Trump news conference, most of which I spent with my arm thrust skyward trying unsuccessfully to ask a question. But I also admit to being enthralled by the most extraordinary election campaign I have ever covered.
Like every other journalist, I dare say I'll be back the next time he summons us to Trump Tower. Perhaps, if he continues to be so personally abusive, journalists should stage a walkout. That said, I suspect we'll remain planted in our seats, sufferers of co-dependency, fellow Trump relationship addicts. | Co-dependency is commonly defined as "an emotional and behavioural condition that affects an individual's ability to have a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship". |
36,417,177 | The duo helped England complete a Test series win over Sri Lanka on Monday.
Chris Woakes, who played in the second Test at Durham, and Jake Ball - who was included in the squad for the first two Tests - have also been made available.
They will be in contention to play for Birmingham Bears and Notts Outlaws respectively.
All-rounder Woakes can feature for the Bears against Durham at Edgbaston on Friday, while bowler Ball can play in two T20 games and a One-Day Cup fixture against Northants on 6 June.
Yorkshire lost their first T20 game of the season to Leicestershire on 27 May. | England batsmen Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have been made available to play for Yorkshire in Friday's T20 Blast match against Lancashire. |
28,240,831 | One of the suspect's daughters is in a critical condition after being shot in the head, but she was able to direct police to him.
After a 20-minute chase, the man's car was surrounded and he gave himself up following a two-hour stand-off.
Police said the incident appeared to have started over a domestic dispute.
"It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family, from what our witness has told us", a police press spokesman said.
The gunman and his wife were estranged and she was not in the state of Texas at the time, police said.
Police described the suspect as a man in his 30s with a beard who was "cool as a cucumber".
When approached by officers he was "just sitting in his car looking out at us," said Sgt Thomas Gilliland.
There followed "two hours of constant talking with a man armed with a pistol to his head and who had just killed six people".
Police had been called to a house about 18:00 (23:00 GMT) and found three children and two adults dead, a Harris County Sheriff's Office statement said.
A fourth child died in hospital. The children ranged in age from 4 to 13. The two adults are also believed to be related to the suspect.
Two of the children who died had been adopted.
The suspect's 15-year old daughter, who alerted police to the shooting, is currently in critical condition in hospital.
She warned police that her father was heading for her grandparents' home, allowing them to intercept him on the way. | A gunman has surrendered to police in the United States after allegedly shooting dead six people, including four of his own children, near Houston. |
38,932,954 | Traditionally, therapists have shied away from talking about religion as part of treatment - and can often see it as part of the illness.
But an NHS project based on research by Leeds University is "showing some individual signs of success".
Those behind the therapy say many Muslims do not get help because of stigma attached to mental illness.
Samia, who is in her late 40s, has struggled with depression and is taking part in the project.
"I just felt like I had to constantly keep myself strong and put on a brave face. Deep inside I was actually broken," she says.
"When I actually fell apart, when I was at my lowest, I felt that there was something that I might have done to upset Allah, which is God."
Lead researcher professor Ghazala Mir, of the university's Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, says this is a common concern among Muslims, who are under-referred for mental health treatment.
"This stigma does involve the idea that maybe if you need treatment, there might be something wrong with your faith identity in the first place," she says.
"Not only is there under-referral but the outcomes for people who do actually get referred are not as good as the general population."
NHS data assessing the people accessing psychological therapies found depression can be more chronic for British Muslims, who tend to have lower rates of improvement.
The NHS has a statutory duty to provide culturally appropriate care for its patients, but Prof Mir claims it often struggles to do so.
"There are a lot of inconsistencies amongst practitioners about how they interpret culturally appropriate," she adds.
Prof Mir also believes many therapists are mistaken in not considering faith as part of someone's culture.
"We know that in Muslim populations people can get quicker results from faith-sensitive therapies that have been tested elsewhere in the world. They tend to use religion as a coping resource more than people in other religious groups."
Prof Mir has helped to create a new treatment, based on an existing form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) called behavioural activation. Following a successful pilot involving 20 patients, it is being provided by the NHS via a mental health charity in Leeds.
Patients on the course are asked if faith was part of their life when they were well.
Those who stopped their religious practice because of depression are re-introduced slowly using a self-help booklet, which highlights passages from the Koran that illustrate "even people with strong faith" can become depressed and that it does not mean God is displeased.
Samia says her treatment with a traditional therapist "felt like half a journey", but that when she started to use the new booklet her life began to change.
"There are some teachings in here that help me reflect that the Koran actually acknowledges there is depression, there is grief, there is hardship upon you," she says.
"God is actually giving me those tools. So it really strengthened my 'imam', which is my faith.
"I'm happy that I can live my life with my religion and that I've got the support of teachings from the Koran."
Richard Garland runs the team at the Touchstone Mental Health Charity which is providing the treatment to some of its Muslim clients.
He says several therapists left the initial trial of the treatment for a number of reasons.
Some were worried about imposing religion on clients, others said they did not know enough about Islam, were resistant to the idea of using religion in therapy at all, or felt religion was not a helpful framework for treating depression.
However, Mr Garland claims this type of religiously-centred treatment can help.
"What has been produced here is a type of therapy that takes full account of people's faith, this particular faith, and links it to people's value framework. So it's a very practical application of someone's belief system."
The people behind the treatment say they hope it can be rolled out across the country and be extended to other faith groups. | Muslims with mental health issues could be helped by re-embracing their beliefs and religious teachings, it is claimed. |
33,987,289 | Marvin Couson, 39, was wounded at the Lime in London bar in Shoreditch in May 2002. He was left unable to communicate or leave his bed, and died on 8 August.
Police have launched a murder investigation and appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Mr Couson, who suffered injuries to his internal organs, was cared for at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability.
About 600 people were at the bar on 12 May 2002 when police were called to reports of gunfire. They found Mr Couson lying on the ground outside with a gunshot wound to the chest.
A man was arrested during the police investigation, but later released with no further action.
Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh said: "For 13 years Marvin's family have been at his bedside and now, tragically, he has succumbed to the injuries he suffered.
"We have launched a full murder investigation and, despite the passage of time, are committed to finding the person who shot Marvin that night."
He added: "We know there are potential witnesses who did not speak to police at the time and I would ask them to now please come forward with any information, no matter how small. Do not assume that someone else will contact police."
Until a change in the law in 1996, a murder was only deemed to have been committed if the victim died within a year and a day. | A man who was shot more than 13 years ago in east London has died from his injuries. |
33,901,809 | Greg Dempster of the Association of Head Teachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS) believed change was needed.
His plea came as as figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives showed there were 51 primary school headteacher vacancies in June.
In comparison there were only seven secondary school vacancies.
There are about 2,050 primary schools and 360 secondary schools in Scotland.
The Scottish government said it was increasing its investments in tackling teacher shortages.
The statistics obtained by the Conservatives showed there were more than 850 teaching vacancies across primary and secondary schools.
Of the 51 primary school headteacher vacancies, 16 were in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen - nearly a third of the national total.
Mr Dempster said there was not enough of a financial incentive for people to become head teachers.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I would say there are three reasons why people go for a particular job: The work itself appeals, the rewards on offer are adequate and they have the skills and abilities to take on the role. We're falling down on the first two of these.
"Head teachers are spending a lot of time in the classroom covering vacant teaching posts and the way that salaries are arrived at doesn't give adequate financial incentive for people to take on the job."
The practice of data journalism - more than anything - requires not only a double-checking of your arithmetic but, above all, context.
The Scottish Conservatives research on the number of headteacher vacancies in the country's schools is a case in point.
They say: "Many Scottish primary schools are struggling to recruit heads." But, what is meant by "many"?
Well, let's take a closer look.
The Conservatives' figures reveal 51 primary schools in Scotland are without a headteacher. Granted, while this situation is far from ideal, bear in mind there are 2,056 primary schools in Scotland.
So, does 2.5% of Scotland's primary schools count as "many"?
Let's dig a little deeper.
The Conservatives include statistics from the local authorities of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire where the 16 leaderless primary schools account for nearly one third of the national total.
Aberdeen City Council is listed as having the most head teacher vacancies (10) which, when divided by the number of primary schools in the area, equates to 21% of primary schools.
That's a fifth of schools, which is not an insubstantial number.
Read more from Marc....
His comments echoed research commissioned by the Scottish government in 2009 which showed that few teachers actually wanted to become headteachers.
The authors of the research cited problems with the application and interview process, lack of support and "negative perceptions" of the job and called for action to tackle the problems which deter applicants.
Earlier this year Moray Council said some vacant teaching posts posts attracted "no suitable candidates at all".
The Conservatives said that in 2005 the then SNP education secretary Fiona Hyslop "hit out at the Labour-led Scottish government for its failure to recruit more teachers and headteachers".
But it said the pupil to teacher ratio had increased under the SNP government from 13% in 2007 to 13.6% in 2014.
Scottish Conservative young people spokeswoman Liz Smith said the SNP had "continually made bold promises" about education over the past eight years, whether on class sizes, pupil to teacher ratios, teacher numbers and ensuring there were sufficient headteachers.
She said they were "failing on all counts" and said the statistics "lay bare the extent of the problem with recruitment of primary school heads."
The Scottish government's minister for learning, Alasdair Allan, said Scotland would not replicate the English education system and employ non-qualified teachers in a bid to fill the posts that are currently vacant.
Mr Allan told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland: "I accept that the government needs to work with local authorities to ensure they are recruiting teachers and head teachers. Good school leadership makes a big difference to a school and its attainment.
"What I cannot offer to do is to reduce the standards for those that apply for the teaching profession in Scotland and we wouldn't go down the route of England where non-qualified teachers are in the classroom." | Greater financial incentives are needed to overcome difficulties in recruiting headteachers in Scottish schools, a union has claimed. |
40,629,652 | Between 2008 and 2016 investors quintupled the amount of money they put into such platforms, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.
Companies such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Nutmeg and Interactive Investor now manage £592bn of savers' money.
The FCA will examine whether such firms help investors make good decisions.
It follows a previous inquiry into those who manage the funds that are sold on investment platforms, which found high levels of profitability.
The study found typical profit margins in the industry of 36% - and concluded that investors should be quoted a single fee, rather than a complex mix of charges.
Savers putting money into investment platforms pay a fee to each fund manager, as well as to the platform itself.
"With the increasing use of platforms, and the issues raised by our previous work, we want to assess whether competition between platforms is working in the interest of consumers," said Christopher Woolard, the FCA's executive director of strategy and competition.
"Platforms have the potential to generate significant benefits for consumers, and we want to ensure consumers are receiving these benefits in practice."
The FCA will look at:
One of the UK's biggest investment platforms, Hargreaves Lansdown, saw its share price hit in May when US firm Vanguard announced a cut-price service for UK investors.
Vanguard plans to charge investors a maximum fee of 0.15% on its tracker funds, capped at £375 a year.
Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.45% to hold investments in its Vantage service.
The FCA will also look at investment platforms' "model portfolios" where they suggest recommended funds to their clients. | The City regulator is to examine whether savers get value for money from so-called investment "platforms" - otherwise known as fund supermarkets. |
34,597,678 | Researchers will examine 200 people after a Scottish woman claimed she could detect people with Parkinson's.
Joy Milne's husband Les died earlier this year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's 20 years ago.
In an early test, Mrs Milne, from Perth, managed to identify six people with the disease and six people without just from T-shirts they had slept in.
Read more about Joy Milnes story.
Researchers now believe Parkinson's may cause a change in the sebum - an oily substance in the skin - that results in a unique and subtle odour on the skin, only detectable by people with an acute sense of smell.
The charity Parkinson's UK is now funding researchers in Edinburgh, Manchester and London to study 200 people with and without Parkinson's.
They hope to confirm findings from a pilot study by the universities of Manchester and Edinburgh involving 24 people, which suggested that Parkinson's can be identified by odour alone.
One in 500 people in the UK has Parkinson's, which can leave people struggling to walk, speak and sleep.
It has no cure or definitive diagnostic test, and 127,000 people in the UK live with the condition.
Prof Perdita Barran, one of those who will carry out the research, said: "The sampling of the skin surface will provide a rich source of metabolites which we can mine to distinguish healthy patients from those in the early stages of Parkinson's.
"We are excited to embark on this biomarker discovery project. It is hoped that these results could lead to the development of a non-invasive diagnostic test that may have the ability to diagnose early Parkinson's - possibly even before physical symptoms occur." | A study is being carried out to establish if people in the early stages of Parkinson's emit a particular smell. |
34,665,569 | "When a generation of hard-working men and women in their 20s and 30s are waking up each morning in their childhood bedrooms - that should be a wake-up call for us," David Cameron said before an audience of the party faithful in Manchester earlier this month.
The Prime Minister said he wanted a "national crusade to get homes built".
The first set of significant house building figures since then have just been published.
They are from the National House Building Council - which provides building certificates for new homes.
And they make for pretty gloomy reading.
Overall, registrations for new homes fell by 2% in the last three months compared with the same period last year.
That figure masks what many see as a more worrying trend.
In the private sector, new building registrations fell by 1%.
While in the public sector - that's largely homes built by housing associations which tend to be more often in the "affordable" category - the number was down a more precipitate 4%.
This morning, one housing association chief executive told The Times newspaper that it would certainly be cutting the number of affordable homes it planned to build this year.
Neil Hadden, of Genesis Housing Association, one of the largest in the UK, said that he was "looking carefully at priorities for spending".
The reason? Uncertainty over how new Right to Buy plans will affect housing associations (the government wants to allow tenants to buy their homes at a discount and cuts to housing benefit which has meant income for many associations has fallen or is at risk.
Now, the NHBC says it is not time to panic. After a robust first six months of the year, it is still predicting that overall new house building - when the full figures for 2015 are collated - will be up.
And it cautions that new build registrations can be "lumpy" - that is, quarter on quarter comparisons can be subject to a degree of volatility.
"We're comparing against what was a very strong quarter in 2014," Mike Quinton, the chief executive of the NHBC, told me.
"It's easy to forget the depths of the recession five or six years ago when the industry was only building 80,000 to 100,000 homes a year. We're now at about twice that rate so we've come a long way."
And there is still a long way to go if we are ever going to meet the target set by organisations such as Shelter that England alone should be building 250,000 new homes a year to meet the demand of those priced out of the present under-supplied market.
It could be a decade, Mr Quinton admits.
In 2007, before the financial crisis led to a sharp downturn in building, around 50,000 new houses were registered to be built every three months.
That figure has now fallen to 36,000 and the full year number is likely to be around 160,000.
The latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government released in August said that house building "starts" (that's actually building houses rather than registering a plan to do so) were down 14% compared to the previous three months and down 6% compared to the same period a year earlier.
And that comes against a background of generally poor construction figures as the sector becomes concerned about economic head winds.
It may not be time to roll out the tumbrils for UK house building.
But the latest figures could be making things a little twitchy for a Prime Minister who has made affordable housing one of the key priorities for this Parliament. | It was the centre-piece of his conference speech. |
27,101,049 | Three more guides are still missing after the accident.
In a statement, the Sherpas demanded compensation higher than the $400 (£238) offered by the government, as well as higher insurance payments.
Friday's was the single deadliest accident in modern mountaineering on the world's highest peak.
The avalanche struck in an area just above Everest base camp at 5,800m (19,000ft).
In the statement, made available to the BBC after a meeting at base camp on Monday, the Sherpas also demanded better measures to ensure speedy rescue and treatment facilities for guides.
Some expeditions have been cancelled as a mark of respect.
Correspondents say that Sherpa guides have an average income of around $5,000 a year - a substantial amount in Nepal - and often support their extended families.
The guides had climbed up the slope early on Friday morning to fix ropes for climbers and prepare the route.
The avalanche struck a passage called the Khumbu Icefall, which is riddled with crevasses and large ice boulders that can break free without warning.
Although relatively low on the mountain, climbers say it is one of its most dangerous points - but there are no safer paths along the famous South Col route first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
An injured survivor told his relatives that the path was unstable just before the avalanche hit.
Sherpas often make 20-25 round trips to carry kit and supplies to advanced camps, exposing them to greater risk.
It was the first major avalanche of this year's climbing season on Everest, which has been scaled by more than 3,000 climbers.
The rising number of tourists has raised concerns about safety and environmental damage, although Nepal still plans to cut fees from next year for those wishing to make the climb.
Some 250 climbers have died on the mountain, which is on the border between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet and can be climbed from both sides. | Sherpa guides in Nepal have demanded more compensation for the families of 13 of their colleagues killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest on Friday. |
38,831,133 | Canadian firms see an opportunity to lure talent even as they struggle with the impact of the ban on their business, and are seeking a fast-track visa to help them bring top candidates to cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Kasra Nejatian is among those leading a charge to assist the sector to hire tech workers rejected at the US border due to the recent executive order, which temporarily barred nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
The Iranian-Canadian chief executive of Kash, a tech company with offices in San Francisco and Toronto, has created an online list of resumes - he has over 180 names so far - to share with tech executives in Canada.
Mr Nejatian, who helped craft Canada's own immigration policies under the previous federal Conservative government as a senior adviser to a former immigration minister, does not mince words when it comes to the executive order.
"It's confusing and irresponsible, with tinges of racism," he said.
"There's great reason to be worried about the security of the US border. Americans should be worried about it. But there are things that help and there are things that hurt. This will hurt."
The order included a 120-day pause on the admission of all refugees and a 90-day pause on entry for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The US policy has had repercussions for the global tech industry.
A group of 97 US tech firms have filed a legal document stating that President Trump's immigration ban affects their operations and "inflicts significant harm" on business.
The amicus brief, which allows parties not directly involved in a case to give their view, includes Silicon Valley giants like Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.
There is currently a stay on the ban, issued on Friday by a federal judge, that allows visa holders from the seven countries covered by the executive order to enter the US until the full case has been heard.
But with so much confusion around Mr Trump's order, many have doubts about travelling between the US and Canada.
Mr Nejatian says for the moment, he is staying put in San Francisco.
Stephen Green, a specialist in immigration law, told the BBC that application of the policy "varies from border to border, there's no consistency through the system".
His company has been fielding calls over the past few days from start-ups looking to set up shop in Canada and global companies interested in increasing their presence in the country "because we have predictability here".
Canadian firms say their doors are wide open for the tech talent left out in the cold.
On 29 January, over 150 executives signed an open letter underscoring their support for diversity and pluralism in the workforce. By this week, there were over 3,400 signatories, including executives from domestic companies like Shopify, and venture capital firms like OMERS Ventures.
The letter also called on the Canadian government to institute a targeted visa providing tech workers displaced by the policy with temporary Canadian residency, one that would allow them live and work in the country.
Allen Lau, co-founder of Wattpad and among the signatories, says "Canada always supported inclusive nationalism and we embrace that recipe".
But the sector has struggle to compete with places like Silicon Valley for the best employees, and a talent gap of 200,000 high tech workers is projected by 2020, according to the Information and Communications Technology Council.
The shift in the US could be an incentive for people to look north for work, especially if the ban grows and starts applying to other nationalities and visa categories.
"Canada as a country is in a very unique place on the planet right now, has a unique message, is a unique differentiator. That will allow us to attract the best talent," Lau said. | As US tech giants take steps against President Donald Trump's travel ban, Canada's tech scene is hopeful the executive order will help bring much needed talent to the sector north of the border. |
39,214,995 | 9 March 2017 Last updated at 05:24 GMT
One of the states that voted is Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous and politically influential. Mr Modi’s BJP party is making a strong push to win the state against an opposition determined to check his growing power.
But as Sanjoy Majumder reports from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, the political battle is also making the state’s Muslim minority very nervous.
Filmed and edited by Varun Nayar | Voting has ended in key state elections being seen as a major test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
31,832,409 | There were 56,725 birth registered last year, up 711 (or 1.3%) on 2013.
The number of deaths registered (54,239) was the fourth lowest number in 150 years. Only 2009, 2010 and 2011 had fewer deaths.
29,070
41,174 Marriages 1974
Marriage levels are still historically low but the number rose by 1,500 in 2014.
Of a total of 29,070 marriages registered, 367 involved same-sex couples following the introduction of same-sex marriage on 16 December.
Most of the same-sex marriages were conversions of civil partnerships as the law allowing new same-sex marriages only came in on the last day of 2014.
Same-sex marriages were fairly evenly split between male and female - 173 and 194.
50.8%
Born to unmarried parents
8.1% Born to unmarried parents in 1971
There were 863 pairs of twins and 11 sets of triplets born in Scotland last year.
The figures show that the rate for stillbirths was the lowest ever recorded in Scotland at 4 per 1,000.
The infant mortality rate (3.6 per 1,000 live births) has increased slightly compared to 2013. However, long-term annual trends show that the infant mortality rate has decreased by two-thirds over the past 30 years. In 1984 it was 10.3 per 1,000 births.
Cancer (15,803) and disease of the circulatory systems such as heart disease and stroke (15,020) were by far the biggest causes of death.
15,803
down 0.3%
4,101 Lung, trachea and bronchus
1,027 Lymphoid
976 Breast
901 Prostate
6,842
Coronary heart disease (-5.9%)
4,125 Stroke (-7.2%)
The figures showed that 1,634 died in accidents. This included 223 in transport accidents, 716 in falls and 483 who were killed by poisoning. | The National Records of Scotland has released preliminary annual figures for births, deaths and other vital events in Scotland in 2014. |
36,158,837 | Passengers on a British Airways flight from Prague and an Icelandair plane told of their relief after landing safely at Heathrow following the strikes on Wednesday.
One described "a white flash" while others said they felt a "crack" and "bang" as bolts hit the aircraft.
BA said planes were built to cope with lightning strikes and their jet would be inspected before resuming service.
Liz Dobson, a charity worker, told the Evening Standard: "It came out of the blue. There was a really loud bang and a white flash. Not really what you want on a plane.
"The lightning hit the wing."
Catherine Mayer, who is co-founder of the Women's Equality Party, was returning from Iceland.
She tweeted: "The plane got hit by lightning. Big flash and bang. #blimey."
She told the BBC how passengers sitting next to her looked distressed and frightened.
Icelandair confirmed that flight FI454 had been struck.
"The aircraft was of course inspected after landing for safety reasons, and as the lightning did not cause damage, the aircraft was returned to service later last night," said a spokesperson for the airline.
A spokesman for BA said: "Lightning strikes are fairly common and aircraft are designed to cope with them."
On average, commercial planes are struck by lightning about once a year according to Cardiff University's "lightning lab" in the UK, a recently established laboratory where Airbus conducts lightning tests. | Two planes have been struck by lightning over west London. |
24,825,094 | Fans groups have raised concerns about how the legislation is working.
Holyrood's justice committee now wants the Scottish government, the Lord Advocate and the police to respond to the issues highlighted.
The Scottish government said it would give "full consideration" to any justice committee correspondence.
When the new act came into force last year it was agreed it would be reviewed after two full football seasons.
However, after hearing representations from the fans, MSPs on the committee have raised the possibility of the review being brought forward.
The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act, which received Royal Assent in January last year, gave police and prosecutors additional powers to crack down on sectarian songs and abuse at football matches.
The legislation also relates to threatening behaviour posted on the internet or via mail.
An agreement was made at the time for the Scottish government to review the operation of the offences after two seasons and to report back to parliament by August 2015.
MSPs on the justice committee have agreed to write to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland and Chief Constable Sir Stephen House seeking a response within two weeks.
They will then make a formal decision on whether or not an early review of how the legislation is working is required.
Independent MSP John Finnie told the committee: "When we're down to a sizeable group of people feeling that a piece of legislation disproportionately impacts on them, then I'd like to have an early review."
Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell backed his proposal and said: "Clearly there is a lot of concern about how this legislation is operating in practice and about the drafting of it initially. It concerns me too about the amount of resource going to it."
SNP MSP Sandra White, supported by party colleagues, said there was already a provision to review the law after two full seasons.
"I don't think it will serve any purpose whatsoever for us to look at a separate investigation," she said.
Labour MSP Elaine Murray said she received only a small number of letters on the subject.
"But I think there are issues about the operation of the act," she added.
Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes said fans were now putting their heads above the parapet.
"I'd prefer a proper review that let us draw evidence on that," she said.
The committee agreed to support convener Christine Grahame's call for responses from government, the Lord Advocate and police.
She cautioned against splitting the committee on the issue, and said: "It doesn't need to be a long time away. We could get a time-scale of a couple of weeks to get a reply.
"It's not really kicking it into the long grass."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "There is a statutory obligation for us to report to parliament on the operation of the act's offences over two full football seasons. Steps are already in hand to collect the evidence necessary to inform that report.
"An independent evaluation of the offence covered by Section 1 of the act "offensive behaviour at regulated football matches" is currently under way and we believe that awaiting that evidence on the operation of the act before reporting to parliament is the best course of action." | An early review of controversial laws intended to stamp out religious sectarian abuse at football matches is being considered by MSPs. |
35,780,216 | A spokesman said Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar, also known as Abu Daoud, had been caught in Iraq in February.
The Pentagon said the capture had "removed a key IS leader from the battlefield".
The US says it has begun more aggressive operations against IS in Iraq.
Daoud divulged details about IS chemical weapons facilities and production, as well as the people involved in it, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
The information led to multiple coalition air strikes that disrupted IS's ability to manufacture chemical weapons, he said.
Islamic State: The full story
Can Islamic State be beaten?
Daoud has now been transferred into Iraqi government custody, Mr Cook said.
US media reported on Wednesday the February arrest of an IS chemical weapons expert, but named him as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari.
They quoted Iraqi and US sources as saying he was a specialist in chemical and biological weapons for Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader overthrown by the US invasion in 2003.
He told interrogators how IS loaded mustard gas into shells, US sources told the New York Times.
Last month, sources at the global chemical watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), announced that sulphur mustard had been used last year in an attack on Kurdish forces in Iraq blamed on IS.
If confirmed, it would be the first known use of chemical weapons in Iraq since the fall of Saddam. | The Pentagon has confirmed the capture of a chemical weapons expert from the group Islamic State (IS). |
32,956,937 | Passengers had to be evacuated from the vehicle on the eastbound carriageway between junction 29 at Pant-y-dulath and junction 31 at Caerwys, near Holywell.
The coach was destroyed by the blaze and a replacement was sent to pick up passengers. No injuries were reported.
It is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.
Three crews from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service tackled the blaze after being called at 10:13 BST on Monday.
The lane will stay closed while the coach is recovered and the carriageway is repaired.
This footage was captured by motorist James Nicholls. | Traffic delays continue on the A55 in Flintshire and one lane remains blocked hours after a coach caught fire. |
32,829,751 | It said the two rival cities could offer complementary events which would draw more visitors to the wider area.
It also recommended improving accommodation and transport links.
However, it said the biggest challenge for the festivals, which are held in August. was funding.
The Thundering Hooves report said with public funding shrinking, the festivals' organisers needed to find new and innovative ways of raising cash.
Lady Susan Rice, Festivals Forum chairwoman, said: "Following the publication of the first Thundering Hooves, the results achieved to date are compelling testament to the power of ambition and collaboration.
"We're delighted to share Thundering Hooves 2.0, an important report which sets out the strategic plan and recommended actions for Festivals Forum to take forward during the next ten years.
"While much has been delivered already, this review and re-focus will ensure Edinburgh addresses key challenges and opportunities ensuring the Festival City retains its global competitive edge in the months and years to come."
The 12 festivals the city offers include the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Edinburgh's Hogmanay.
The report noted that the festivals were "behind the curve" on digital innovation and risked being overtaken by others despite some important programmes and initiatives.
It said that Edinburgh's festivals should be a "digital phenomenon as well as a physical one" and needed to be leaders in the digital sphere as well as the festival sphere.
The report said that digital should be the next big area of growth in content distribution and audience development, across all festivals.
However, it said that developing the digital area would require significant city and national partnership and investment.
The report also recommended further developing international partnerships to give the nation a voice on the world stage.
On the issue of investment, it urged funders to maintain core and project funding while alternative funding models were considered, and encouraged the wider business community to invest in the festivals.
It also recommended ways for stakeholders to develop the Festivals Forum by adopting new terms of reference and responsibilities.
Richard Lewis, Edinburgh's festivals and events champion, said: "Our festivals are worth in excess of £261m to the Scottish economy.
"While recognising the financial constraints we currently have to deal with as a local authority, we need to work together with festival partners to support their ambitions and ensure our residents, visitors, businesses and educational institutions continue to benefit from them in the future.
"The partnership approach to the first study has clearly paid off and while progress has not been possible in every area, there is a solid foundation from which to work as we all aim to take the findings of the new Thundering Hooves 2.0 report forward." | A report into the future of Edinburgh's festivals said the city should collaborate with Glasgow to ensure it remains the world's leading festival city. |
35,411,530 | The Rams conceded three goals in 12 second-half minutes at Turf Moor and are now winless in five league games.
Butterfield, whose volley levelled the scores at 1-1, told BBC Radio Derby: "In the first half we were the better team and played some brilliant stuff.
"Before we knew it, we were 3-1 down in a game we have dominated."
The Rams have slipped to fifth in the Championship table and are now six points adrift of the automatic promotion spots, having played a game more than second-placed Middlesbrough.
Midfielder Butterfield, who has scored seven goals for the Rams this season, added: "It was one of those crazy nights. We will have to get it out of our system and move on.
"We were unlucky to go in at 1-1, we should have been 2-1 or 3-1 up. It looked like it was going to be a good night. It's hard to explain.
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"But when you are in a bit of bad form these things happen. You can't legislate for individual mistakes. They always happen and unfortunately we have had a couple and it has cost us.
"That will not happen every game - it's a one off. We have had a bad night but we will try to be positive about it."
Derby are in FA Cup action on Friday, 29 January when Premier League side Manchester United visit the iPro Stadium.
The next league fixture is also at home, against Preston North End on Tuesday, 2 January.
"It was only a few weeks ago we were four points clear," said the 25-year-old. "All the top teams have to still play each other.
"I still believe it is in our hands. We showed signs we can put it right. We still have time on our side and we are confident we can win a lot of matches and get right up there again." | Derby County's Jacob Butterfield says there were signs they were getting back to their best at Burnley and described the 4-1 loss as a "crazy night". |
34,501,458 | The Belfast bantamweight secured a unanimous decision in Sunday's semi-final with a scorecard of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
European champion Conlan, 23, has already qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Ireland's other two remaining hopefuls, Michael O'Reilly and Joe Ward, will also fight in the semi-finals.
Belfast light flyweight Brendan Irvine lost his quarter-final to Joahnys Argilagos on Saturday.
Irvine fought well but had no answer to his Cuban opponent's tight defence and scoring punches.
The Belfast fighter lost each round 10-9, though one judge did award him the final round as he battled hard against elimination one fight before the medal bouts. | Michael Conlan has progressed to the World Championships final in Doha after defeating Belarusian Dzmitry Asanau. |
31,981,751 | The host was speaking at a charity event in London, where he was auctioning what he described as his "last lap" on the Top Gear race track.
"I don't know when I did my last ever lap of the track, before the BBC sacks me," he said.
An investigation into Clarkson's current suspension following a "fracas" with a producer is still ongoing.
A report over the incident is due to be handed to director general Tony Hall next week, who will consider the evidence and "set out any further steps".
The Roundhouse Gala on Thursday saw Clarkson offer to drive someone round the Top Gear track as part of an experience offered during the auction.
"I didn't foresee my sacking, but I would like to do one last lap," he said.
"I'll go down to Surrey and I'll do one last lap of that track before the [BBC] sack me.
"And I'll drive somebody around in whatever I can get hold of when I'm sacked, so it's probably an Austin Maestro."
The presenter gave an expletive-filled description of BBC bosses, adding Top Gear had been "a great show" but it had been ruined by the corporation.
The BBC said it would "not be offering further commentary" on any issues involving Clarkson until the current investigation was concluded.
The presenter was suspended from Top Gear on 10 March, following an alleged altercation with producer Oisin Tymon.
All remaining shows in the current series of Top Gear were pulled following the incident.
An online petition calling for the star's reinstatement - set up by political blogger Guido Fawkes - has accrued almost one million signatures since the presenter's suspension.
It was delivered to New Broadcasting House on Friday.
The petition was delivered by a man dressed as Top Gear test driver "The Stig" who arrived at the BBC's London HQ in an armoured vehicle bearing the words "Bring Back Clarkson".
Clarkson publicly thanked his supporters on Twitter following the petition's delivery.
He said: "Many many thanks to all of the people who have called for my reinstatement. I'm very touched. We shall all learn next week what will happen." | A video has emerged of Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson saying he expects to be "sacked" by the BBC. |
40,635,070 | Authorities say traders at different firms used online chat rooms to share information about currency bids without adequate oversight from their banks.
The Federal Reserve alone has issued more than $2bn in fines against seven banks tied to the scandal.
Cases against traders are ongoing.
The scandal has touched banks that include Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank, UBS and JP Morgan Chase. It had resulted in billions in fines levied by various regulators related to manipulation of currency markets.
BNP Paribas in May also said it would pay New York regulators $350m to resolve issues relating to oversight of its global foreign exchange business.
"BNP Paribas deeply regrets the past misconduct which was a clear breach of the high standards on which the Group operates," the bank said in a statement after the settlement was announced on Monday.
Jason Katz, a former BNP Paribas trader, in January pleaded guilty - the first person to do so - to violating US competition laws while conspiring over the US and South African Rand in January.
Three former London-based traders on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges that they conspired to rig the prices on the foreign currency market.
The case, concerning actions that occurred roughly between 2007 and 2013, is being tried in New York.
In March 2016 the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) closed its criminal investigation into allegations of price-rigging in the foreign exchange market. | The US central bank has fined BNP Paribas $246m (£189m), the latest punishment in a currency rigging scandal that has led to billions in fines on both sides of the Atlantic. |
33,647,187 | An Australian radio telescope in operation for more than 50 years will be one of the primary instruments used in a new $100m (A$137m; £64m) search for life elsewhere in space.
The 10-year project - known as the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) - was announced this week by Prof Stephen Hawking in London, and is being funded by Russian billionaire and venture capitalist Yuri Milner.
One of the two main radio telescopes being used in the search is a 64-metre-wide parabolic dish known as the Parkes telescope.
The facility, 380km (236 miles) west of Sydney, belongs to Australia's national science organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
A multi-million dollar agreement has been worked out that will give project scientists access to 25% of the telescope's time over the next five years, says Lewis Ball, chief of CSIRO's Astronomy and Space Science unit.
Mr Ball says its location will allow the project to survey the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, which passes almost directly overhead in the southern sky.
"That's the region of our galaxy that has the highest concentration of stars, and therefore planets… that may support life," he says.
"It's the richest area of our galaxy to search for extraterrestrial intelligence and it's right on our doorstep."
Operating since 1961, the Parkes telescope played an important role in televising the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Its main purpose, however, is astronomy, and numerous upgrades over the past five decades have kept it at the cutting-edge.
"The Parkes telescope is one of the largest, fully steerable telescopes in the world," says Prof Matthew Bailes, an astronomer at Swinburne University of Technology, and the leader of the Australian team taking part in the project.
It has been particularly good at detecting very faint radio signals from small, rapidly spinning stars in our far-flung galaxy known as pulsars, identifying more than half of the 2,500 known, he says.
This track record makes it an ideal instrument for SETI as the "signal processing required to find a pulsar is very similar to what you have to do for aliens," he says.
Radio telescopes are designed to receive radio waves from sources in outer space such as pulsars, or possibly, alien civilisations.
The curved dish, or antenna, redirects the signal to a central receiver. The radio waves are then converted into a digital signal and passed to a computer network for analysis - either in real-time, or down the track.
The new project will survey the one million closest stars to Earth and will scan five times more of the radio spectrum than the next best SETI programme.
But characterising an alien signal is a daunting challenge, says Prof Bailes.
"Unfortunately there's no manual for how to find aliens."
When you know what you're looking for "it's very easy to know the exact pattern recognition algorithms you need to run", he says.
"It's much harder to find something when you're not even sure what it is. There's going to have to be several hypotheses, and it might be quite easy to get them wrong, and to just let these radio waves from aliens wash past us."
The other major challenges are processing the enormous amounts of data the search will yield - close to 30 gigabytes, or a Blu-ray DVD, every second - and dealing with radio frequency interference, which becomes more problematic as you try to detect signals across a broader range of the spectrum.
"Our [potential] alien transmissions are going to be competing with your mobile handset for our attention, and it would be a tragedy if all we end up listening to are people's Facebook transmissions," says Prof Bailes.
To get around this problem, he and other project scientists at the CSIRO and the University of California, Berkeley in the US, are planning on developing new technologies to capture and process the data, and to hopefully eliminate human-generated interference.
He anticipates that the team will also build new processors that are able to make one-million-billion calculations per second - handling what is known as a petaflop of data.
Currently, their most advanced processors can handle a quarter of that, says Prof Bailes.
"These will be very pioneering, and will have applications beyond alien hunting," he says.
And while the chances of making contact are "tiny", he says if it happens it will be "incredibly significant".
"It's a high-risk, high-reward endeavour but I'm old enough to have some fun," he says.
Myles Gough is a science writer based in Sydney. | Australia is playing a key role in the world's biggest search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. |
40,863,257 | Both are up for the Joe Allen Best West End Debut prize at the inaugural The Stage Debut Awards.
It recognises a debut performance in the West End, with the winner decided by a public vote.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's Anthony Boyle is also nominated.
The other nominees for the prize are:
"It's great to see such a range of talented theatre makers and gives cause for great optimism about the future of theatre in the UK," said The Stage's associate editor, Lyn Gardner.
Mark Shenton, The Stage's associate editor and one of the judges, said: "While the other categories in The Stage Debut Awards only recognise complete newcomers, the Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award is a chance to celebrate talent making their mark in the West End for the first time.
"We have a really great shortlist that ranges from genuine newcomers like Anthony Boyle, who made his professional debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, to Audra McDonald, a legend on Broadway making her belated West End debut in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill."
Boyega made his West End debut as the lead in Woyzeck, with Riley appearing as Effie White in Dreamgirls.
Switching space for the Cold War, Boyega received largely positive reviews for his performance in the modern adaptation of George Buchner's unfinished play set in 1980s Berlin.
Riley took on the role played by Jennifer Hudson in the 2006 Dreamgirls film - having previously performed one of its songs, And I am Telling You I'm Not Going, in the first series of Glee.
After collecting the award for best actress in a musical in April, Riley told The Stage it felt "exceptional" to be in a show where the three leads were black women.
She said: "I think it's incredible. In theatre, I feel like you want to see people that look like you and know that you can do that.
"I'm not necessarily the standard of what the industry may feel is beautiful or could be a star, but I'm doing it anyway because I'm making my own way."
The awards ceremony will take place in London on 17 September.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion, email [email protected]. | You might know them best from Glee and Star Wars - but it's Amber Riley and John Boyega's performances on the London stage which have bagged them nominations for a new industry award. |
34,995,729 | The money was invested in buying storage units from Lancashire-based Store First Ltd.
Pension holders told Radio 4's You & Yours they were promised high returns for renting the units out, but these have not materialised.
Store First says it was unaware of the allegations and is not responsible for the sales tactics.
The firm operates a chain of self-storage warehouses across the UK and sponsored Accrington Stanley Football Club until August 2015.
The Liverpool sales company Jackson Francis Ltd was paid through an intermediary by Store First to cold call people with "dormant pensions" - savings they had accrued under previous employers.
From 2011, more than 1,000 people were persuaded by Jackson Francis staff to move these pensions into the Store First scheme.
David Griffiths from Sutton Coldfield said: "They brought me glossy booklets, with jolly people shaking hands.
"They told me it was a very good investment, and that many people have had their money back off it, so I looked on their website, and it looked all kosher."
But You & Yours heard former salesmen from Jackson Francis claim their immediate managers told them to lie to get clients signed up. They admitted forging documents, and say they witnessed other staff copying client signatures.
David's entire pension pot of £66,000 was used to buy Store First units called "storage pods", which he's still trying to sell.
Others have failed to sell their units after three years of trying, despite being promised an easy route out of the scheme by Store First.
David added: "I'm annoyed with myself, and I'm even more annoyed with the people who took it off me. It's £66,000 and I want it back."
One former Jackson Francis salesman said he'd seen colleagues fill out paperwork on customers' behalf and forge signatures, adding: "You'd see them practising on a piece of paper until they got it right, and then they'd sign."
Another former salesman said he witnessed the ticking of boxes on forms, which indicated investors were happy with a high level of risk - when the question had never been asked.
Two investors who have received the predicted income are used as testimonials on the Store First website.
Over two years, Store First owner Toby Whittaker paid £33m commission to Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd, which funded Jackson Francis.
Transeuro was controlled by his friend and former co-director of Store First Midlands Limited, Mike Talbot, from Knutsford, Cheshire. Mr Whittaker also lent the Transeuro boss Rolls Royces and two Ferraris while Mr Talbot was based in Liverpool.
The same Liverpool-based sales team persuaded 500 people to invest in the now defunct Capita Oak and Henley Retirement Benefit Schemes.
These two schemes were also invested in Store First, with pensioners promised the same high returns. Toby Whittaker of Store First says he did pass on returns to Transeuro and does not know why the schemes did not receive them.
Toby Whittaker and Mike Talbot had previously operated Dylan Harvey, a property investment company that collapsed owing investors millions.
Toby Whittaker, owner of Store First, maintained that Jackson Francis, now in liquidation, was a sales agent and he was not responsible for their tactics, saying: "My company's sales agents are not employed to give financial advice, they are employed to explain the product, not to advise whether [it] is suitable for an individual's investment portfolio."
Mike Talbot says he had no management or control of Jackson Francis so can't comment on the allegations and the director of Jackson Francis says he is unaware of the claimed sales tactics. Salesmen have told the BBC they lied and forged to persuade investors to part with pensions worth £100m. | Salesmen have told the BBC they lied and forged to persuade investors to part with pensions worth £100m. |
35,767,315 | The #rideforolivia tribute was launched following the death of Australian Olivia Inglis, 17, in a fall on Sunday.
Hundreds of thousands of social media users from dozens of countries have been posting and sharing photos of their own horses using the hashtag.
Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin is among the high-profile figures to have joined in the tributes.
Fellow British dressage rider and gold medallist Carl Hester has also paid tribute.
The movement echoes a similar social campaign to mark the death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes in 2014.
The hashtags #putoutyourbats and #putyourbatsout were tweeted and shared across platforms such as Instagram and Facebook along with photos of cricket bats.
As of 08:00GMT on Thursday, more than 120,000 people had posted photographs and videos for #rideforolivia on Instagram alone.
The images will be used to create a mosaic of Olivia for her family, following a call from the bloodstock company which her family runs.
"We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and sympathy from family and friends throughout the school, equestrian and thoroughbred communities," parents Arthur and Charlotte said in a family statement. | A social media tribute to a teenage equestrian rider killed in competition has become a global phenomenon. |
33,497,301 | In a statement, Mexico's National Security Commission said Guzman was last seen in the showers of the Altiplano jail late on Saturday night.
He was the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, which smuggles huge amounts of illegal drugs into the US.
His recapture in 2014 was hailed as a victory for Mexico's government.
Officials say that Guzman's escape was discovered when officers checked his cell in the Altiplano prison, which is near Mexico City.
A search operation has been launched and flights have been suspended at a nearby Toluca airport.
Guzman escaped from a Mexican high-security prison in 2001. He hid in a laundry basket after bribing prison officials.
He had been serving a sentence of more than 20 years after being arrested in Guatemala in 1993.
The US has indicted him on federal drug trafficking charges.
His arrest last year was a success story for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. At the time of his arrest Guzman was paraded before the media in Mexico City.
Guzman was born in the town of Badiraguato, probably 57 years ago, and became an important figure in the drug cartels of the 1980s.
His rise to head of the Sinaloa cartel made him the world's most wanted drug trafficker.
The cartel controls much of the flow of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine to the US.
Before his recapture in 2014, the US state department had offered a reward of up to $5m (£3.2m) for information leading to his arrest.
His wealth is estimated at $1bn (£630m). | Top Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo or "Shorty", has escaped from a maximum security prison for a second time, officials say. |
37,164,507 | The woman was being treated for extensive burns at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Police were called to a collision involving the woman's red Vauxhall Corsa at about 05:50 on Tuesday.
Officers have appealed for witnesses to the accident, which happened on the A78 Fairlie to Largs road.
Sgt Ian Thornton, from the Divisional Road Policing Unit, said: "Inquiries are ongoing to establish the exact circumstances of the incident, however I would like to speak to anyone who was in the area around the time and may have seen a red Vauxhall Corsa on the road.
"Anyone with information is asked to contact officers at the Divisional Road Policing Unit based at Irvine on 101." | A 46-year-old woman is in a critical condition in hospital after her car hit a lamp post near Hunterston power station in North Ayrshire. |
27,320,806 | The move was announced by separatist leaders after consulting supporters.
On Wednesday, Mr Putin called for a postponement to create the conditions necessary for dialogue.
Ukrainian authorities say they will disregard the results and that "anti-terror" operations will continue.
Millions of ballot papers have been prepared for the referendum.
By Richard GalpinBBC News, Donetsk
Inside the building which has become the headquarters of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, there was an air of defiance. The leaders of the self-declared "People's Republic of Donetsk" flexed their muscles in front of the world's media, apparently demonstrating they would not be pushed around by Russia's Vladimir Putin.
In total 78 self-appointed "deputies" acting on behalf of those who no longer want to be part of Ukraine had taken the decision to ignore Mr Putin's suggestion that the referendum be postponed.
One of them, a man called Vladimir, told the BBC that they respected the Russian president. "But we have our own opinion and the people want a referendum like they had in Crimea," he said.
The head of the commission organising the referendum even joked that he was delighted Mr Putin had called for a delay. Thanks to the Russian president, he said, everyone even in the furthest corners of eastern Ukraine now knows about it.
The question put to voters is: "Do you support the act of proclamation of independent sovereignty for the Donetsk People's Republic?''
The decision to press ahead with the vote was announced by separatist leaders in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The leader in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said the decision had been unanimous.
"We just voice what the people want and demonstrate through their actions," he said.
A spokesman for the Kremlin said there was "little information" and that it needed to analyse the situation further.
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says Mr Putin may turn the separatists' decision to his advantage, claiming it is proof that Russia is not orchestrating events in eastern Ukraine - as claimed by the West.
Moscow has vowed to protect the rights of Ukraine's Russian-speaking population against what it calls an undemocratic government in Kiev.
Ukrainian authorities have rejected activist demands for greater autonomy and troops have been battling to regain official buildings occupied by rebels in the east.
The European Union weighed in on Thursday, warning that "such a vote could have no democratic legitimacy and would only further worsen the situation".
The separatists' decision to hold the referendum comes as a Pew Research Center poll released on Thursday shows that a strong majority of Ukrainians want their country to remain unified, even in the largely Russian-speaking east.
In related developments on Thursday:
By Fergal KeaneBBC News, Sloviansk
Sloviansk divided over identity
The US and the European Union have imposed sanctions against several Russian individuals and businesses and threatened wider measures if Moscow interferes further in eastern Ukraine.
Sunday's planned referendum was seen as a potential trigger for that.
Meanwhile Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says there is no sign of a Russian troop withdrawal from the Ukrainian border, which Mr Putin announced on Wednesday.
Unrest in the south and east of Ukraine has worsened since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March.
That followed the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February by pro-Western protesters. | Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine have decided to go ahead with an independence referendum on Sunday, despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone it. |
37,295,666 | Writing in JAMA Pediatrics, the researchers said this might be because babies born vaginally are exposed to healthy gut bacteria that play an important role in regulating diet.
The study followed more than 22,000 babies into adulthood.
But experts said there were likely to be many different factors at work.
These include the diet of the mother, whether she had diabetes during pregnancy and whether the baby was breastfed.
Babies born via Caesarean are less likely to be breastfed, and this has been shown to lead to an increased risk of obesity. Children's diets also have an effect on their future weight.
In the UK, about 26% of babies are delivered by Caesarean section - an operation where a cut is made in the tummy and womb to get the baby out. Rates have been rising steadily over the past few years, according to the Royal College of Midwives.
In this study, American researchers from Harvard Medical School and other institutions found that babies delivered by Caesarean were 15% more likely to grow up to be obese after adjusting for a number of factors, including the mother's weight and age.
In families where children were born by different methods, those born by Caesarean were 64% more likely to be obese than their siblings born by vaginal delivery.
But the researchers could not say Caesareans were the cause of obesity or explain the mechanisms behind the link.
Their best guess was that differences in gastrointestinal microbiota, or healthy gut bacteria, between babies born by different methods could have an effect.
Microbiota is the term used to describe the microbes that colonise our bodies and which vary from one person to another. They are linked to some diseases but can also be used to treat disease and promote health.
A technique called "vaginal seeding" can be used to transfer maternal vaginal fluid - which contains the healthy bacteria - to a baby born by Caesarean but doctors say there could be risks with infection.
Dr Simon Cork, research associate in the department of investigative medicine at Imperial College London, said there were many factors to consider in children's risk of obesity - not just their mode of delivery at birth.
"Overall, the literature surrounding this area suggests that there may be a link between Caesarean section and obesity. However, this link is neither fully proven nor understood.
"Most often Caesarean births are as a result of medical necessity, rather than elective, and as such this risk would outweigh any concerns mothers should have regarding the possibility of future weight issues."
Prof Neena Modi, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said more research was needed to find out whether birth by Caesarean was a cause of obesity.
"Caesarean section can be life saving for women and their babies. However many women are now considering Caesarean section where there is no medical indication.
"It is important that they are told about the possibility of increased risk of obesity in their children, to help them make an informed birth choice.
She added: "It is also important for parents to focus on factors that they can influence which definitely impact on their infant's health. This includes maintaining a healthy weight at the time of conception, and throughout pregnancy. " | Babies born by Caesarean are at higher risk of becoming obese, especially compared with siblings born by vaginal delivery, a large study suggests. |
39,125,341 | Shanique Syrena Pearson, 22 of Vauxhall, threatened Mr Vine and made a gun sign at him during the row in Kensington on 26 August 2016.
She was convicted of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users and using abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Her appeal will be heard on 18 April.
Pearson, who has a number of previous convictions including assaults and theft, had been warned she could be jailed as she was subject to a suspended sentence when the argument happened.
She has admitted driving an unlicensed vehicle.
The mother-of-one was to be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court but the hearing was postponed pending her appeal. | A driver filmed screaming obscenities at BBC presenter Jeremy Vine as he cycled on a narrow road in west London is to appeal against her conviction. |
23,395,145 | The UK prime minister told the BBC there was a "stalemate" on the ground, but work must continue internationally to try to find a solution.
UK military chiefs have warned of the risks of arming rebel groups.
Mr Cameron said there was "too much extremism" among the opposition, but moderate groups still deserved support.
Syrian government forces have taken the initiative in recent months, and have been bolstered by the capture of the strategically important town of Qusair in the west of the country in June.
Most of the much bigger city of Homs has been recaptured by government troops backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Washington and London have been looking at ways to increase logistical support for opposition groups and the UK announced last week it was sending £650,000-worth of protective clothing to guard them against chemical and biological attacks.
By Emily BuchananBBC world affairs correspondent
Today's interview shows just how far David Cameron has rowed back from his previous bullish calls for action.
Last November he called on the newly re-elected Barack Obama to address the Syrian crisis as a priority. Then, in December, he pushed the EU for an early review of the arms embargo.
But as the conflict has dragged on and more evidence of the involvement of extremist groups has emerged, discomfort over getting involved in a bitter civil war has grown.
It's unlikely that arming the rebels could now be passed through Parliament with dozens of Conservative MPs opposed.
Although the prime minister still wants to help moderate forces, how that can be achieved is far from clear. He called the conflict a stalemate.
With Russia still supporting President Assad, so too it seems is Western policy on Syria.
But reports have suggested support for supplying weapons to rebel groups is receding, due to strong political opposition and widespread concerns about arms falling into the wrong hands.
Mr Cameron told the Andrew Marr show that President Bashar al-Assad was an "evil" man who was doing "terrible things to his people".
But he also said the UK "should have nothing to do" with elements of the opposition also reported to have committed atrocities.
"It is a very depressing picture and it is a picture which is on the wrong trajectory," he said of the conflict.
"There is too much extremism among the rebels. There is also still appalling behaviour from this dreadful regime using chemical weapons. There is an enormous overspill of problems into neighbouring countries."
He added: "I think he [Assad] may be stronger than he was a few months ago but I'd still describe the situation as a stalemate."
Despite the UK's concerns about the actions and views of some opposition groups, Mr Cameron said the UK had a duty to support those pushing for a "democratic, free and pluralistic" country.
"You do have problems with part of the opposition which is extreme, that we should have nothing to do with. But that is not a reason for pulling up the drawbridge, putting our head in the sand and doing nothing.
"What we should be doing is working with international partners to help the millions of Syrians who want to have a free democratic Syria, who want to see that country have some form of success."
Mr Cameron also said reports in the media that his wife had been a strong influence on his policy were a "total urban myth".
Samantha Cameron visited a refugee camp in Lebanon in March in her role as ambassador for Save The Children, in which she met families and children displaced by the conflict.
It has been suggested that she has since pressed for a stronger humanitarian response.
The UN says the refugee crisis is the worst for 20 years, with 1.7 million forced to seek shelter in neighbouring countries and an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day this year.
Mr Cameron said his wife had been "very moved" by what she had seen and heard from people who had lost loved ones and whose communities had been destroyed.
But he added: "She does not influence my policy on this. I have been very passionate about this for a long time." | The Assad government may have got "stronger" in recent months, but more can be done to help Syria's opposition forces, David Cameron has said. |
30,898,405 | The protests continued on Tuesday in the capital, Kinshasa, and internet connections were blocked following Monday's clashes between opposition supporters and security forces.
Demonstrators say government plans for a census are a ploy to delay elections.
Mr Kabila is constitutionally barred from running for a third term.
The government admits next year's elections could be delayed, but says the census is vital to ensure free and fair elections.
The BBC's Maud Jullien reports from Kinshasa that most shops are closed and internet and text messaging services have been blocked, apparently on the orders of the government.
Hundreds of angry young men burned tyres in several neighbourhoods, looted mainly Asian-owned shops and threw stones at cars, our reporter says.
A town hall in southern Kinshasa, a city with a population of more than nine million, was also set ablaze, AFP news agency reports.
In the poor area of Masina on the city's outskirts, police tried to disperse protesters by shooting into the air, our correspondent says.
Ten people were arrested on Tuesday, AFP reports.
Government spokesman Lambert Mende said two policemen and two "looters" had been killed in Monday's clashes in the capital.
Human rights activists said up to 10 people may have been killed.
Opposition figures suggested the number of those who had died may be higher still.
The demonstrators called on Mr Kabila to step down when his term expires and carried placards which said: "Don't touch the constitution".
Hundreds of people also protested on Monday in Goma, the main trading post in the east.
The protests coincided with a debate in the Senate, the upper parliamentary chamber, over government plans to hold a census before elections.
Most senators, including members of the governing party, said they were opposed to the plan because it risked destabilising the country.
The lower chamber, the House of Representatives, approved the plan on Saturday, in a vote boycotted by opposition MPs.
The opposition says this amounts to a "constitutional coup" by Mr Kabila, as it will take about three years for a census to be conducted in DR Congo, which is two-thirds of the size of western Europe, has very little infrastructure and is hit by instability in the east.
DR Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has never had a reliable census since independence from Belgium in 1960.
Mr Kabila took power in 2001 following the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, who was president at the time, and has won two disputed elections since then.
DR Congo is rich in natural resources, but most people are poor. | At least four people have been killed in protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down next year. |
35,779,485 | It proved to be a frustrating afternoon for the Dutchman who saw his side fail to make the most of their opportunities.
Ahly are hunting a record-extending ninth Champions League title under the guidance of the 60-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham boss.
African Champions League fixtures and results
The return match is set for Alexandria next Saturday with record eight-time winners Ahly favourites to reach the final qualifying round for the group stage.
Elsewhere, goals just before and after half-time gave Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa a 2-0 home victory over AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville.
It could have been a wider winning margin after Anthony Laffor had a late penalty saved by substitute keeper Tresor Elenga. He had replaced Herve Lomboto who was sent off for the foul which led to the penalty.
Keagan Dolly had put Sundowns ahead with Colombian Leonardo Castro doubling the lead.
The other South African challengers, Kaizer Chiefs, suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast at Soccer City stadium in Soweto.
Adama Bakayoko nodded the winner on 51 minutes for ASEC as Chiefs suffered a third loss in all competitions within eight days.
Last Saturday they were bundled out of the South African FA Cup by arch rivals Orlando Pirates and a midweek league loss virtually ended any hopes of retaining the league title.
Zesco United of Zambia were impressive 4-1 home winners over Horoya of Guinea in Ndola thanks to goals from Idriss Mbombo, Jesse Were, Cletus Chota and Maybin Mwaba.
Young Africans of Tanzania look set to secure a last-16 slot after winning 2-1 away to APR of Rwanda in an East African derby. Goals from Juma Abdul Jaffar and Thaban Kamusoko put the Dar es Salaam outfit in control before Patrick Sibomana halved the deficit in stoppage time.
Stade Malien of Mali overcome Coton Sport of Cameroon 2-0 in Bamako and there was a 1-0 home win for Club Africain of Tunisia over Mouloudia Bejaia. | Egyptian giants Al Ahly were held to a 0-0 draw away to Recreativo Libolo in Angola on Saturday as Ahly's new coach Martin Jol launched his African Champions League career in the first leg of their last-32 clash. |
33,648,602 | At the La Olivilla lynx breeding centre in Santa Elena, in southern Spain, a group of conservationists are in an office, gathered around a TV monitor.
On it they watch an Iberian lynx cub learn to hunt by playing with a domestic rabbit in one of the centre's compounds. The lynx, the size of a small cat, is only a few weeks old but already has the sharply pointed ears and mottled fur that make the species so recognisable.
It swipes playfully at the rabbit with its paws, but still has a long way to go before it graduates to killing its own prey.
When it does, it will probably be released into the wild, following in the tracks of many other animals born in captivity here.
Just over a decade ago, the Iberian lynx, also known as Lynx pardinus, was on the verge of extinction, with only 90 animals registered, in the Andujar and Donana areas of southern Spain.
But an intense campaign over recent years has brought it back from the brink, with 327 lynxes believed to be roaming southern, central and western Spain, as well as parts of Portugal, last year.
"We're on the way to saving the species," says Miguel Simon, director of the Iberlince lynx conservation programme.
"Losing this unique natural treasure would have been as bad for us as losing the Great Mosque in Cordoba or the Alhambra in Granada."
In June, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) improved the status of the Iberian lynx from "critically endangered" to "endangered". In its appraisal, the organisation saw the mammal's recovery as "excellent proof that conservation really works".
Around 140 specimens have been released into the wild, with the Iberian wildcat programme borrowing reintroduction techniques used by German conservationists.
But this success has not been cheap. Between 2002 and 2018, the programme will have received €69m (£49m; $76m) in funding, mainly from the European Union.
Much of that money has gone into three breeding centres in Spain, including in Santa Elena and one in Portugal.
Teresa del Rey Wamba, a veterinarian who works on the conservation programme in southern Spain, says that prior to the animal's recent comeback, a lack of appropriate prey was a major problem, as was illegal hunting.
Clamping down on poaching and encouraging the growth of rabbit populations - the lynx's favoured food - were therefore key, with private landowners, local governments and hunting federations all supporting the programme.
But it is not all good news. Last year, 22 lynxes were killed by vehicles on Spanish roads.
Miguel Simon says that while this is a problem, it also reflects how the lynxes' movement has increased as their numbers have risen.
His team has overseen the installation of underground tunnels, custom-built for the animals to cross busy roads, and more are planned.
Of greater concern however is a recent outbreak across southern Europe of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, a highly contagious virus that has been killing off the lynxes' staple diet since 2011 and reducing their reproductive rate.
In light of this threat, the IUCN decision to take the lynx off the "critically endangered" list was incorrect, according to Emilio Virgos, a lynx expert at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
"If all the data we have so far about how lynxes live and survive and reproduce are correct, and we have no reason to think otherwise, the number of lynxes… will drop drastically," he says of the outlook for the next few years.
He warns that extinction is still a possibility within decades.
While Mr Simon is worried about the rabbit virus, he describes such forecasts as "alarmist" and points to an emergency plan to boost rabbit numbers. Its success, he says, will depend in great part on continued funding.
"The battle for conservation of the lynx is never-ending," he says. | An intense conservation campaign has brought the Iberian lynx back to the south of Spain from the verge of extinction barely 10 years ago, Guy Hedgecoe reports from Spain. |
35,409,201 | It comes amid a Ugandan ban on the recruitment of maids to work in Saudi Arabia after accusations that workers have been mistreated.
The women were staying in a government-run shelter in Riyadh because they did not have money to pay for a flight.
The shelter is for people who have run away from their employers and illegal workers caught by immigration services.
A statement from the Ugandan Embassy in Saudi Arabia said that they found 24 women from Uganda at the shelter in the Saudi capital.
After visiting the shelter, Ugandan ambassador Rachid Yahya Ssemuddu said that "most of the cases involved human trafficking".
"Many of the young girls were brought to Saudi Arabia on promises that could not be met by those recruiting them," he said.
The Philippines, Indonesia and Ethiopia have also banned domestic workers from travelling to Saudi Arabia after reports of abuse.
In efforts to improve working conditions, the Ugandan embassy said it had employed a private company to monitor Ugandan migrant workers.
It was using an internet-based system that would ensure that only licensed Saudi employment agencies recruited Ugandan workers in future.
The poor treatment and abuse of maids in the Middle East is a familiar tale. Benjamin Dix and Lindsay Pollock tell the disturbing story of a young Ethiopian woman who took a job as a domestic help in Saudi Arabia but was treated like a slave.
Read Almaz's story | Seven women stranded in a Saudi hostel have been flown home, Uganda's ambassador to Saudi Arabia says. |
39,266,003 | It follows the American Civil Liberties Union of California's revelations the police had used surveillance tool Geofeedia to access data from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The ACLU said Facebook had made it "crystal clear" such data was now off-limits.
It called for swift action when there were any violations of the new rules.
In a blogpost, Rob Sherman, deputy chief privacy officer at Facebook, said developers could no longer "use data obtained from us to provide tools that are used for surveillance".
"We are committed to building a community where people can feel safe making their voices heard," he said.
"Our approach involves making careful decisions every day about how we use and protect data at Facebook."
Last year, the ACLU of California obtained thousands of pages of public records that revealed some 20 law enforcement agencies in the state had acquired social media spying software, such as Geofeedia, that allowed them to track civil rights activists.
The ACLU suggested that "law enforcement should not be using tools that treat protesters like enemies", noting that it had found no evidence of "any public notice, debate, community input or lawmaker vote" about the use of such software.
In November, after the ACLU revelations, Twitter said that using its data to "track or profile protesters and activists is absolutely unacceptable and prohibited".
In response to Facebook's changes, the ACLU of California's technology director, Nicole Ozer, said: "We depend on social networks to connect and communicate about the most important issues in our lives and the core political and social issues in our country.
"Now more than ever, we expect companies to slam shut any surveillance side doors and make sure nobody can use their platforms to target people of colour and activists."
Malkia Cyril, executive director of the Center for Media Justice, said: "When technology companies allow their platforms and devices to be used to conduct mass surveillance of activists and other targeted communities, it chills democratic dissent and gives authoritarianism a licence to thrive.
"It's clear there is more work to be done to protect communities of colour from social media spying, censorship and harassment." | Facebook data can no longer be used by developers to create surveillance tools, the social network has said. |
35,205,659 | The 36-year-old Plymouth-born ex-Yeovil midfielder took over in a caretaker capacity following previous boss Paul Sturrock's departure on 1 December.
Since then, Yeovil have drawn three of their four League Two matches.
They also beat Stevenage to reach the third round of the FA Cup, in which they have been drawn at Carlisle.
Way, who will have long-serving Terry Skiverton as his assistant manager, remained coy about the length of any contract.
"Everyone's asking that question and that's including myself, with regard to contract lengths and negotiations," he told BBC Somerset.
"But all I'm focusing on is making sure that we win football matches and I think everything else will fall into place.
"I am honoured and privileged to become manager of Yeovil Town. I am ready to take this club into battle and secure our Football League status.
"I have shown the same passion and commitment as a manager that I did when I played. feel the players have given everything for me since I have taken charge and the supporters have shown a lot of love and respect."
Yeovil currently stand just two points adrift of safety, ahead of Saturday's home game against fellow strugglers York City. | Yeovil Town, the Football League's bottom club, have confirmed the appointment of Darren Way following six games in charge as interim boss. |
17,416,299 | The pair, along with prop Adam Jones, are among an exclusive group of Wales players to have won three Grand Slams.
The third clean sweep in eight seasons was sealed with a 16-9 victory over France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
"It's just great for this group of players," said Jenkins.
The experienced trio were in the 2005 and 2008 Grand Slam sides, while Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams and Gerald Davies achieved the same feat in Wales' so-called golden era of the 1970s.
Jenkins, 32, Adam Jones and Ryan Jones, both 31, are among a Wales team well-represented by young players, including 21-year-old Alex Cuthbert, who scored the only try of the game to gain revenge for the World Cup semi-final defeat against France in October 2011.
"It wasn't the best of games [with] a lot of kicking involved. Our defence stood out and we managed to grind out a win," said prop Jenkins who took over as captain for the second half after Sam Warburton's withdrawal with a shoulder injury.
"We knew they [France] were going to be good. They've played well all Championship and it was up to us to perform on the day.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"The occasion didn't quite get to us as they would have hoped.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable and it's great for us to win another Grand Slam.
"The coaches give us freedom to go out and play. We're quite a close group [and] the World Cup obviously brought us tighter.
"Our loss to France spurred us on today to get revenge and it's a great achievement for us."
Jones, who captained the Grand Slam winning side of 2008, was a half-time replacement for current skipper Warburton, who suffered a shoulder injury.
And Jones said the victory over France capped a memorable Six Nations campaign for Warren Gatland's side.
"For nine weeks they've been nothing short of superb," said Jones of his team-mates.
"They came into this campaign possibly as favourites with a goal and they've worked incredibly hard and they've achieved it.
"I take my hat off to every single one that's played even the smallest role. Everyone's contributed to this.
"It's something we'll reflect on and treasure and will be ours for years." | Wales veterans Gethin Jenkins and Ryan Jones believe the Grand Slam is just rewards for Wales' efforts during the Six Nations campaign. |
38,514,742 | On Wednesday the military said all forms of co-operation were on hold, with things needing "to be improved".
But Wiranto, who goes by one name, said the suspension related only to a language-training programme.
The row relates to "teaching materials" at an Australian army language facility, officials say.
Indonesia's military chief said the materials included "unethical stuff" that discredited the military.
How close are Australia and Indonesia?
It is not the first time official statements about the matter have contradicted one another.
Earlier, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo said relations with Australia remained "in a good condition". He confirmed he had sanctioned the suspension despite his spokesman denying he had any part in the decision.
Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne, meanwhile, said she was confident co-operation would soon be restored.
Indonesia's army spokesman Maj Gen Wuryanto had said the halt in co-operation came into force in December.
Military chief General Gatot Nurmantyo said the teaching materials in question were "about soldiers in the past, East Timor, Papuan independence and 'Pancasila'", a reference to Indonesia's founding philosophy.
A low-level separatist conflict has simmered in Papua province for almost half a century.
Senator Payne said an official inquiry into the dispute would be completed soon.
"I would hope at the conclusion of the inquiry, when we're able to indicate to Indonesia the steps that have been taken in Australia to address any of these concerns, we'll be able to discuss resuming the relationship across the board then," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC).
She said the issue of Papua was raised by Indonesia, but she said Australia "of course" recognised Indonesia's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".
Senator Payne also denied a claim that Australia had tried to recruit Indonesian officers in the past.
The allegation was made by General Gatot during a speech in November, according to the ABC.
"Every time there is a training programme - like recently - the best five or 10 students would be sent to Australia. That happened before I was chief so I let that happen," he was quoted as saying.
"Once I became chief commander of the national forces, it did not happen again. They will certainly be recruited. They will certainly be recruited."
Senator Payne said this was "not the case and it is something which we would not countenance, of course".
Indonesian special forces group Kopassus trains with the Special Air Service in Perth, according to local media.
The countries' navies had been expected to take part in multinational training exercises next month.
"Whether or not we will continue with the joint exercise, I will have to get back to you on that," First Admiral Jonias Mozes Sipasulta, from the Indonesian navy, told the ABC.
Bilateral relations have been tense at times in recent years, and have been suspended before, although there had been recent signs of improvement.
Military co-operation between the two nations covers a number of areas, including border control and counter-terrorism. | Indonesia has not suspended all military co-operation with Australia, its security minister says, contradicting earlier statements. |
36,339,681 | Those included 56 passengers from 12 different countries, with 30 Egyptians and 15 French nationals among them, according to the airliner.
One Briton was also among the travellers.
There were seven crew members and three Egyptian security staff on board.
66
people on board - 56 passengers, seven crew members and three security personnel
30 Egyptians
15 French citizens
2 Iraqis
1 from Britain, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Portugal
The Belgian father-of-three, 56, was travelling to Cairo for a business meeting, media in Belgium reported.
The head of a logistics company, Mr Supre came from the village of Watervliet in eastern Flanders, close to the Dutch border.
Mr Osman, a 40-year-old geologist and father of two, grew up in Carmarthen in South Wales but is thought to have recently moved to Jersey.
He was the eldest son of the late Dr Mohamed Fekry Ali Osman and wife Anne.
His father had moved to South Wales from his native Egypt to work as a consultant in ear, nose and throat surgery.
Richard Osman was an executive for Jersey-based mining company Centamin and had previously worked in Australia and Egypt.
Canadian media said one of the victims was Ms Hamdy, an executive with IBM originally from Saskatoon in the province of Saskatchewan, but who had relocated to Cairo.
A family friend told the National Post that Ms Hamdy, a mother of three boys aged between 11 and 16, had been visiting family in Paris.
"I asked her son: 'How do you want people to remember her?'" the family friend, Haleh Banani, told the National Post. "He said, 'As a kind, loving woman, who helped a lot of people.'"
EgyptAir had initially said only one Canadian was on board, but Canada's Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said there were two.
Multiple reports identified the Chadian citizen on board as Mr Mahamat.
A spokesman for Chad's embassy in France, Muhammed Allamine, told the BBC, without confirming his name, that he had just lost his mother.
"He was going to Chad to mourn his mother. He [was] going to give condolences to his family."
Mr Allamine added that the man had been a student at France's leading military academy in Saint Cyr.
Egyptian media identified the couple as being from the city of Mahalla, in northern Egypt. They were reportedly in France where Ms Mossad had sought cancer treatment.
They were returning to Egypt after a month in the French capital, the reports said. They had three young children, who had remained in Egypt.
The mother and son had gone to France for a wedding, friends said.
Mr Shabana, in his 20s, had recently got engaged and his wedding was due later in the year.
The company Procter and Gamble said Mr Helal had managed one of its plants in Amiens, France, and was on board the flight.
He joined the company in 2000 in his native Egypt, it said. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from The American University in Cairo in 1999, the Associated Press news agency reports, quoting his LinkedIn profile.
Media in Normandy, France, said Mr Hess, 51, almost missed the flight after losing his passport days earlier. It was later found in the street in the town of Evreux, where he lived, a community website said (in French).
A minute's silence was held on Friday to remember Mr Hess, a freelance rock photographer, the website said
Father Pierre, who lived in Paris, and son Quentin, who was based in London, were travelling together following the death of Edith, Pierre's wife and Quentin's mother, Le Figaro newspaper reported (in French).
A spokesman with Algeria's foreign ministry said an Algerian-born woman, Nouha Saoudi, her husband Faycal, daughter Joumana and son Mohammed had been on board.
He said Nouha Saoudi had been naturalised as a French citizen in the western city of Nantes.
Separately, media in France say an unnamed couple in their 40s from Angers, close to Nantes, as well as their two children, were passengers. It is unclear if they are referring to the Bettiche family.
EgyptAir had said on Thursday there were only three children on board.
Reports said the couple from Angers owned a market stall, and that one of their children was a baby.
In an interview late on Thursday, Angers mayor Christophe Bechu said: "They were lovely people, with whom no-one had any problems at all, who'd been here in Angers for some time."
Kuwait's foreign ministry named Mr al-Muteiri, a Kuwaiti national, as one of the MS804 passengers, but did not give more details.
The Guardian reported that he was an economics professor and a father of two, who was travelling to Cairo for a three-day conference.
Portuguese media quoted the government as saying the 62-year-old civil engineer was the only Portuguese passenger on the flight.
He was due to travel from Cairo to Accra in Ghana for a conference, the Correio da Manha newspaper reported (in Portuguese).
Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper and AP reported that Ms al-Khawaga, a Saudi national who worked at her country's embassy in Cairo, was one of the victims.
She had worked in Cairo for 13 years, AP said, and had been following up on her daughter's medical treatment in Paris.
The Cairo-based Lebanese film director Osman Abu Laban wrote on his Facebook page that he had lost four members of his family in the crash - his uncle and aunt, as well as his cousin and his cousin's wife.
Sources have confirmed for the BBC that the pilot's name was Mohammed Saeed Ali Ali Shaqeer, and his co-pilot was Mohamed Ahmed Mamdouh Ahmed Asi.
EgyptAir said on Thursday that the pilot had had 6,275 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had spent 2,766 hours in the air.
One of the air hostesses was named as Yara Hani. Relatives and friends commemorated here at a church service in Cairo on 21 May.
Egyptian media identified the other crew members as Mervat Zakaria, Samar Ezz El-Din and Mahmoud El-Sayed Mansour.
If anyone is concerned about relatives or friends following the disappearance of the flight, they can call this free number provided by EgyptAir: +202 259 89320 | Sixty-six people were on board the EgyptAir flight MS804 that went down over the Mediterranean on 19 May. |
40,105,387 | There were 64,645 mortgage approvals for house purchases in April, the Bank of England said, a 2% fall on the previous month.
Mortgage lenders have told of a fall in demand, despite the low rates on offer.
One theory is that landlords might have brought forward purchases, to avoid the latest in a series of tax changes.
From 1 April, the amount of tax relief they could claim on mortgage payments was reduced.
The Bank of England figures also reveal that it continues to be difficult for savers to get a decent return. The interest paid on variable Individual Savings Accounts (Isas) averaged 0.39% - a new record low.
Interest paid on instant access savings accounts was just above a record low.
Meanwhile, the rate of growth of consumer credit - such as credit card borrowing, loans and overdrafts - remained at more than 10% a year in April.
Authorities, including the Bank, have said they remain vigilant over these rising unsecured debt levels. | Fixed mortgage rates have fallen to new lows, but home loan approvals have also fallen to their lowest level since September. |
18,293,155 | Thirteen factory workers were forced off a bus and executed by shabiha members in a village near Qusair, in the west of the country, they said.
Correspondents say the video shows a group of bodies with hideous injuries.
The UN Human Rights Council has meanwhile begun an emergency session to discuss the violence in Syria.
It is expected to blame pro-government forces for last week's massacre in Houla, in which more than 100 people died, including 49 children.
On Thursday, a Syrian government investigation into the killings blamed armed rebel groups seeking to trigger foreign military intervention.
The US permanent representative to the UN, Susan Rice, dismissed the finding as a "blatant lie", for which there was no factual evidence.
On Thursday evening, activists posted on the internet two videos showing the bodies of the 13 men who they said had been killed in al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya, a village between Qusair and the city of Homs, earlier that day.
Satellite clues to Houla massacre
Houla: How a massacre unfolded
Timeline: Syria's massacres
One video showed a group of bodies sprawled on the ground, with hideous injuries consistent with their having been shot dead at close range in the head or stomach, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.
Another video showed the bodies laid out on the floor of a building, with relatives grieving over them, our correspondent adds.
Activists said the murdered men were workers from a fertiliser factory whose bus was intercepted by shabiha members. They first of all robbed the workers, then took them off the bus, forced them to chant pro-government slogans and executed them, the activists added.
The account cannot be independently verified, but twice in the past week, UN ceasefire observers on the ground have corroborated similar claims from activists - most recently the killing of 13 men in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, and before that, the massacre in the Houla area of Homs province.
Residents of the village of Taldou said the shabiha had been sent into their village early on Saturday after the Syrian army unleashed a barrage of heavy weapons late on Friday in response to a local anti-government protest.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said most of the 108 victims had been shot at close range or stabbed. No more than 20 had been killed by tank and artillery fire preceding the raid, it added.
The UN Human Rights Council, the world's top human rights body, is
meeting in emergency session to discuss Syria
and is expected to condemn the Houla massacre in the strongest possible terms.
A draft resolution refers to "the wanton killings of civilians by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse by pro-regime elements and a series of government artillery and tank shellings of a residential neighbourhood", and demands that Syria allow in human rights investigators and aid agencies immediately.
But the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the 47-member council has no real power. It cannot impose sanctions on Syria, neither can it order the UN Security Council to act.
And, our correspondent adds, with continued disagreement within the UN - neither Russia nor China supported the council meeting - and continued fighting in Syria, the prospect of an end to human rights violations, let alone the prosecution of those responsible, seems a very long way off.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to face pressure over Syria from the leaders of Germany and France when he visits Berlin and Paris. Russia has blocked Security Council action against Syria's government.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague is meanwhile scheduled to meet representatives of the Syrian opposition in Turkey.
Mr Hague told the BBC that the situation was so grave and deteriorating so rapidly that all options were still on the table.
He warned that military intervention would have to be on a much bigger scale than in Libya and have to have "very broad international support". | Activists have released a video which they say shows another mass killing of civilians by a pro-government militia in Syria - the third in a week. |
38,209,990 | ACS, which is based at Perth Airport, offers pilot training and engineering and maintenance services for private and commercial operators in Scotland.
Glasgow Airport-based Cloud Global specialises in aviation recruitment, aircraft leasing and aviation support.
The purchase of ACS will create an operation with a combined turnover of £3.5m and a workforce of 20.
The deal will see Cloud Global utilise ACS to maintain its existing fleet of 10 aircraft.
Cloud Global said ACS managing director Allan Falconer would be leaving the business to "pursue other commercial opportunities".
He will be replaced by Cloud Global director Graeme Frater.
Mr Frater said: "This is a very positive development for both businesses.
"We had been looking for an opportunity to expand and it was clear from our previous dealings with ACS that the company provided a very good fit with our business model.
"Our strategy of developing various divisions has proven very successful and this deal will allow us to explore new opportunities to add to our client list which includes such prestigious names as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Apollo Aviation Group and IAS Medical Ltd." | Perth Airport operator ACS Aviation has been bought by aviation firm Cloud Global for an undisclosed sum. |
30,209,544 | The four companies are said to have rigged prices for eight years. BASF and Standard bank were also sued in the first lawsuit of its kind in the US.
The four defendants declined to comment.
Modern Settings, a Florida-based maker of jewellery and police badges, said purchasers lost millions of dollars.
The Florida company filed the complaint in Manhattan federal court.
Platinum and palladium are used in jewellery, cars and dentistry.
The companies were accused of having conspired since 2007 to rig the twice-daily platinum and palladium fixings.
It is alleged that the companies illegally shared customer data and then used that information to engage in front running.
Front running is a form of market manipulation in which traders profit by using information about their clients' trading intentions.
Traders will often know how a particular client order will affect the market and can place their own trades ahead of that order to benefit.
The four companies in this case are also accused of manufacturing "spoof" orders.
Last month , the London Metal Exchange said it will take charge of platinum and palladium price fixing, and use a new electronic platform from the 1st December.
However, the lawsuit said those changes "have come too late".
Goldman, HSBC and Standard Bank declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for BASF, the world's largest chemicals maker, said the group could not comment because it had not been notified of the complaint.
International regulators have tightened scrutiny of pricing benchmarks in recent years.
The tighter regulation comes after a currency trading scandal and the Libor scandal, which fixed a benchmark interest rate. | Goldman Sachs and HSBC are among four platinum and palladium dealers to be sued in New York for allegedly fixing the price of the metals. |
38,575,404 | Fe wnaeth Meri Huws ei sylwadau ar raglen y Post Cyntaf, sydd yr wythnos hon yn ceisio darogan sut le fydd Cymru mewn 40 mlynedd a hynny fel rhan o ddathliadau pen blwydd BBC Radio Cymru.
Yn ôl Meri Huws, bydd sicrhau rhagor o gyfleon addysg Gymraeg yn golygu y bydd rhan helaeth o'r boblogaeth o dan 30 oed yn gwbl ddwyieithog erbyn 2057.
"Byddai hynny yn golygu fod cyrraedd y nod o filiwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn canol y ganrif yn bosib," meddai.
"Buaswn i yn disgwyl ein bod ni wedi cyrraedd y miliwn o siaradwyr. Dyna yw'r nod, dyna mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi ei ddweud sy'n mynd i ddigwydd, dwi yn gobeithio ei fod e am ddigwydd a dwi ddim yn gweld pam na ddyle fe ddigwydd."
Ym mis Awst 2016 fe gyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru ei nod o sicrhau miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn canol y ganrif.
Er mwyn cyrraedd y nod hwnnw, mae Meri Huws yn dweud bod angen gweithredu nawr i gynyddu y nifer sy'n medru'r iaith. Mae'n cyfaddef bod yna her, ond dywed mai'r ateb yn syml yw newid y system addysg.
"Os ydyn ni'n hollol o ddifrif ynglyn â'r miliwn, mae'n rhaid i ni chwyldroi y system addysg o nawr ymlaen."
Ychwanegodd bod angen cyflwyno addysg Gymraeg i bob plentyn o dan saith oed.
Meddai: "Dwi'n credu fod hynny yn bosib, dwi'n credu fod e'n dderbyniol. O wneud hynny, buaswn ni yn dechrau meithrin cenhedlaeth o bobl ifanc oedd â'r iaith Gymraeg yn rhan o'u pecyn sgiliau nhw o'r dechrau."
Ychwanegodd Meri Huws ei bod yn falch bod yna alw cynyddol am addysg Gymraeg a bod twf aruthrol wedi bod yn y deugain mlynedd diwethaf.
"Ond, mae hi'n drist nad ydyn ni ar bob achlysur yn gallu cwrdd â'r galw yna," dywedodd.
"Mae angen i ni sicrhau bod yr awdurdodau lleol yn gallu cyflawni, mae'n rhaid i ni roi yr adnoddau iddyn nhw."
Ychwanegodd bod rôl amlwg gan Lywodraeth Cymru i roi arweiniad yn y maes a dywedodd ei bod yn credu bod yna awydd clir gan weinidogion i ymateb i'r galw.
Ond mae'r Comisiynydd yn galw am ymateb strategol cliriach.
"Nid fan hyn, fan draw, hap a damwain, mae'n rhaid i ni feddwl yn strategol ynglŷn ag addysg yng Nghymru. Dyw e ddim yn mynd i ddigwydd trwy rhyw ddamwain," ychwanegodd.
Wrth ymateb fe ddywedodd Alun Davies, Gweinidog y Gymraeg: "Yn amlwg ein nod ni mewn 40 mlynedd yw i gyrraedd miliwn o siaradwyr. Yn dilyn yr ymgynghoriad ar y Strategaeth ddrafft, rydym bellach yn y broses o ddatblygu'r strategaeth iaith derfynol a fydd yn gosod y cyfeiriad hirdymor i gyrraedd y nod.
"Rydym eisiau creu un strategaeth ar gyfer y Llywodraeth gyfan. Bydd hynny yn cynnwys cyfres o ddangosyddion a fydd yn ein galluogi ni i fonitro cynnydd tuag at gyrraedd y miliwn yn ogystal â chynnydd yn nefnydd y Gymraeg.
"Wrth gwrs bydd datblygu'r system addysg i greu siaradwyr Cymraeg i'r dyfodol yn rhan greiddiol o'r strategaeth derfynol. Bydd y Strategaeth Iaith newydd yn adeiladu ar y Strategaeth Addysg Cyfrwng Cymraeg cyfredol ac yn cynnwys targedau ar gyfer ehangu a gwella'r ddarpariaeth.
Bydd nifer o faterion yn cael sylw o ran y maes addysg, gan gynnwys:
• cynyddu darpariaeth addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg drwy gefnogi awdurdodau lleol i gynllunio drwy eu Cynlluniau Strategol y Gymraeg mewn Addysg;
• cyflwyno un continwwm o ddysgu Cymraeg, y bydd disgwyl i bob ysgol ei ddefnyddio o 2021;
• cynllunio'r gweithlu er mwyn cynyddu nifer yr athrawon sy'n dysgu trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg.
"Yn ogystal â'r maes addysg, bydd y strategaeth derfynol yn rhoi sylw i faterion sy'n dylanwadu ar gyfleoedd pobl i ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg yn eu bywydau bob dydd, boed yn y cartref, y gweithle, yn gymdeithasol neu mewn hamdden," meddai'r Gweinidog. | Dywed Comisiynydd y Gymraeg bod yn rhaid "chwyldroi" y system addysg, er mwyn sicrhau y bydd miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn canol y ganrif. |
34,824,375 | For most of last year and much of this, IS's focus has been on taking and holding territory in the Middle East. For its leaders in Raqqa and Mosul, that is still the priority.
But the militants are well aware of their transnational appeal to violent jihadists in Europe and elsewhere.
As they reel under the daily onslaught of US-led coalition airstrikes, haemorrhaging one leader after another, they are increasingly looking to direct or inspire attacks further afield.
In June, IS claimed a gun attack at a Tunisian beach resort in Sousse that killed 38 tourists, 30 of them British.
In October Turkey blamed a suicide attack killing 102 people in Ankara on IS. Later that month, IS's Sinai affiliate claimed to have brought down a Russian airliner, killing all 224 people on board.
On 12 November, IS claimed the bomb attack on the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut that left 44 people dead. And then came Paris, with at least 120 dead and over 300 injured.
Paris attacks: What we know
Fear stalks Paris
These are not isolated, lone wolf, spur-of-the-moment attacks.
Although not necessarily difficult to execute, these attacks still took planning, preparation, training, sourcing of weapons and explosives, reconnaissance of the target and the careful recruitment of so-called "martyrs" - fanatical young men prepared to carry them out in the full knowledge they will probably die doing so.
This is far more reminiscent of al-Qaeda's modus operandi in the early 2000s, going for big publicity, high-casualty attacks that make headlines around the world.
Western counter-terrorism officials had recently come round to the conclusion that while there were still people aspiring to such grand-scale attacks, the prevailing threat was more likely to come from "self-starters", people like the murderers of British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich near London in 2013.
In the light of what has happened in Paris and elsewhere, they may now be revising that assessment.
How will Paris cope?
A new type of terrorism?
There is also another factor here. The 1000-mile (1,600km) Turkey-Syria border used to present little obstacle to the thousands of would-be jihadists coming from Europe to swell the ranks of IS.
While the border is still porous in places, much of it on the Syrian side is now controlled by the YPG, a Kurdish militia opposed to IS.
So the "window" through which new recruits can cross has narrowed considerably. Iraq is not a realistic transit route for European jihadists to reach Syria, Jordan's border is closed and in Lebanon there is a high risk of being caught by security forces.
The net result is that IS's online recruiters have recently been encouraging their followers to stay in their own countries and plan attacks there, rather than attempt the risky journey to Syria.
In the short term at least, this will translate into a heightened chance of terrorist attacks here in Europe. | Friday's Paris assaults mark a new and frightening watermark in the steady expansion of attacks attributed to or claimed by the so-called Islamic State. |
40,325,788 | Well, they've all been chosen as 50 of the films children should watch before they turn 11.
Film industry experts picked the movies which most benefit a child's development and creativity.
The list, put together by education charity Into Film, also allows for the nostalgia factor when choosing which films families want to watch together.
The Must See Movies Before You Grow Up campaign - run in conjunction with the UK video industry - is split into five categories: Classics, thrills and chills, heroes and villains, kids rule and adventure.
Old favourites like Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are included alongside popular recent films like The Lego Movie and Kubo and the Two Strings.
Roald Dahl is well represented on the list, with films of his books The Witches, The BFG and Fantastic Mr Fox also among those picked.
The oldest film chosen is Disney's 1941 animation Dumbo, with a handful selected from last year including Trolls and The Secret Life of Pets.
Others selected include Night at the Museum, Shrek, Free Willy, Star Wars: A New Hope and Babe.
Into Film's chief executive Paul Reeve said he hoped that watching the films would help foster "a love of movies that can last a lifetime".
He added: "Film entertains, educates and inspires. The Must See Movies list of the 50 films every child should see before they reach the age of 11 has been selected by our panel to do all of those things."
All 50 films - the full list of which can be seen on the Into Film website - are being distributed by retailers this summer.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. | What have these films got in common - The Lion King, Annie, Toy Story, E.T., Paddington and Frozen? |
13,017,881 | Outlets operate under tight Communist Party control. The opening-up of the industry has extended to distribution and advertising, not to editorial content. However, there is leeway for independent coverage that is not perceived as a threat to social stability or the Party.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has described President Xi Jinping as the "planet's leading censor and press freedom predator".
The Communist Party has taken repression "to new heights", the group said in its 2016 World Press Freedom Index. "Journalists were spared nothing, not even abductions, televised forced confessions and threats to relatives."
Beijing tries to limit access to foreign news by restricting rebroadcasting and the use of satellite receivers, by jamming shortwave broadcasts, including those of the BBC, and by blocking websites.
Overseas Chinese-language news outlets that are not state-owned are blocked in mainland China. However, international English language websites like the BBC are often available to view. But content that is contrary to Communist Party rhetoric is filtered and English-language news sites can be filtered at times of tension.
Fears that the media in Hong Kong would lose their independence when the territory reverted to Chinese control in 1997 have generally not been borne out. Hong Kong still has editorially-dynamic media, but worries about interference remain.
TV is available in most homes and the sector is competitive, especially in cities. There are more than 3,300 local, regional and national TV channels.
State-run Chinese Central TV (CCTV) is China's largest media company. Its dominance is challenged by provincial TVs, which are on the air nationally via satellite. China is a major market for pay TV, which is almost entirely delivered by cable. All of China's 2,600-plus radio stations are state-owned.
There are around 1,900 newspapers. Each city has its own title, usually published by the local government, as well as a local Communist Party daily.
China spends hugely on TV, radio, online and press outlets targeted at international audiences, aiming to extend its political influence and boost its image. It is less keen to allow foreign players into the domestic market.
With 731 million users (China Internet Network Information Centre, CNNIC, January 2017), China has the world's largest internet-using population.
The CNNIC says 92.5% of China's online population can access the internet via a smartphone.
There are three powerful online giants, known collectively as "BAT": Baidu is the top search engine; e-commerce leader Alibaba has allied with Sina, which operates the Weibo microblog platform; and Tencent owns instant messenger WeChat.
Because of official censorship, Weibo is losing some of its appeal as a forum where relatively uncensored news can be shared.
WeChat, Tencent's take on the WhatsApp instant messenger, has more than 846 million monthly active users, making it the most popular social media platform in China.
China has the world's largest online video market. Streaming platforms, including market leader iQiyi, Youku Tudou and Sohu have a huge following and pose a challenge to traditional TV.
An extensive web filtering system, dubbed the "Great Firewall of China", blocks tens of thousands of sites using URL filtering and keyword censoring.
Thousands of cyber-police watch the web and material deemed politically and socially sensitive is filtered. Blocked resources include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and human rights sites.
The use of circumvention tools, including virtual private networks (VPNs), became harder after China strengthened its firewall to allow it to intercept data traffic to and from individual IP addresses. This was coined the "Great Fire Cannon" when it came into effect in 2015. | China is the largest media market in the world, and has the world's largest online population. |
37,076,430 | The fire at Little Plumstead Hospital, near Norwich, broke out at 01:45 BST on Sunday.
There were more than 50 firefighters at the scene at the height of the blaze.
Station manager Duncan Ashworth said: "It's a beautiful building, and a very complicated building. All of the internal structures have burnt away."
The blaze engulfed the entire 60m (197ft) by 20m (67ft) building.
The red brick building, built as a hall in 1889, opened as a hospital in 1930 and has been unoccupied since the 1990s. No-one was in the building when the fire broke out.
Mr Ashworth said it was not yet known how the fire started and an investigation was under way.
"Because it was so well developed by the time we got here, we are obviously going to speak to people, early witnesses, to try to establish the most likely area but at the moment, it's going to be difficult to pinpoint that exactly," he said.
Firefighters are still at the scene dampening down. | A former mental health hospital has been destroyed after a large fire ripped through the 19th Century building. |
39,604,792 | The already-relegated club slumped to a 26th League One defeat of the season through goals from Jake Forster-Caskey and Ricky Holmes.
Reece Mitchell replied in stoppage time for bottom-placed Chesterfield before Forster-Caskey had a penalty saved.
Chesterfield needed a fine save by Thorsten Stuckmann in the 16th minute to keep out a Holmes free-kick from just outside the box.
Joe Rowley almost gave Chesterfield the lead in the 35th minute but two minutes later, Charlton scored when Forster-Caskey was given too much time to fire a 20-yard shot into the bottom-left corner.
Chesterfield should have equalised in the 47th minute when Kristian Dennis robbed Ezri Konsa but blazed over from 12 yards and Charlton took advantage when Holmes' free-kick was deflected past Stuckmann in the 57th minute.
Dennis rattled the bar in the 74th minute and Mitchell converted a rebound before Forster-Caskey's last-gasp penalty was saved after he was fouled by Jon Nolan.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Chesterfield 1, Charlton Athletic 2.
Second Half ends, Chesterfield 1, Charlton Athletic 2.
Penalty saved! Jake Forster-Caskey (Charlton Athletic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the centre of the goal.
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Penalty Charlton Athletic. Jake Forster-Caskey draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) after a foul in the penalty area.
Kristian Dennis (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card.
Goal! Chesterfield 1, Charlton Athletic 2. Reece Mitchell (Chesterfield) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner.
Laurence Maguire (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Jordan Botaka (Charlton Athletic).
Substitution, Charlton Athletic. Johnnie Jackson replaces Josh Magennis.
Substitution, Chesterfield. Jack Brownell replaces Dan Gardner.
Attempt blocked. Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Jordan Botaka (Charlton Athletic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high.
Ezri Konsa Ngoyo (Charlton Athletic) is shown the yellow card.
Hand ball by Reece Mitchell (Chesterfield).
Corner, Chesterfield. Conceded by Ezri Konsa Ngoyo.
Corner, Chesterfield. Conceded by Jason Pearce.
Foul by Reece Mitchell (Chesterfield).
Nathan Byrne (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Kristian Dennis (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Josh Magennis (Charlton Athletic).
Jon Nolan (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jake Forster-Caskey (Charlton Athletic).
Foul by David Faupala (Chesterfield).
Jason Pearce (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Dan Gardner (Chesterfield) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt saved. Laurence Maguire (Chesterfield) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
David Faupala (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jason Pearce (Charlton Athletic).
Tom Anderson (Chesterfield) hits the bar with a right footed shot from the centre of the box.
Joe Rowley (Chesterfield) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Jake Forster-Caskey (Charlton Athletic).
Foul by Ricky Holmes (Charlton Athletic).
Paul McGinn (Chesterfield) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Kristian Dennis (Chesterfield) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Substitution, Charlton Athletic. Lee Novak replaces Joe Aribo.
Substitution, Charlton Athletic. Jordan Botaka replaces Karlan Ahearne-Grant because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Karlan Ahearne-Grant (Charlton Athletic) because of an injury. | Chesterfield set an unwanted club record after being beaten at home by Charlton. |
33,445,245 | The UK government recently announced plans to scrap the Renewables Obligation scheme early.
UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has said ending the scheme meant energy bills would not need to rise.
But Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, who chaired the summit, has accused the Conservatives of ignoring Scottish concerns.
The event was attended by more than 200 people from businesses and organisations, according to the Scottish government.
The UK government has said that ending the subsidy scheme, which was funded by a levy on household fuel bills, was likely to mean about 2,500 planned onshore turbines would be cancelled.
Ending the subsidy was part of a manifesto commitment by the Conservative party ahead of the general election in May.
It had been due to end in April 2017 - but will now cease a year earlier.
When she announced the move last month, Ms Rudd said: "We are driving forward our commitment to end new onshore wind subsidies and give local communities the final say over any new wind farms.
"Onshore wind is an important part of our energy mix and we now have enough subsidised projects in the pipeline to meet our renewable energy commitments."
But the Scottish government has said that ending the subsidy will disproportionately affect Scotland, which leads the UK in onshore wind power.
Industry body Scottish Renewables has warned the change could put up to £3bn of investment in Scotland at risk, and called for UK ministers to reconsider.
Speaking after the summit, Mr Ewing said: "Delegates this morning spoke about the damage this will cause the rural economy - many of the shops and business that are vital to these communities.
"Over the next few weeks DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) will be seeking the views of those affected and I strongly encourage anyone with an interest to respond on this to ensure our concerns are heard.
"We will continue to make representations to both the UK government's energy department and to the Scotland Office, feeding back from what I heard at the summit and the many meetings I have had with representatives from the industry." | A green energy summit has been held in Glasgow to discuss the impact of plans to end onshore wind farm subsidies. |
37,339,389 | Known as imperial measures - because they were defined in law in the early 19th Century and spread across the British Empire - these units have a place in our collective vocabulary and history, but could they be about to make a comeback in every day commercial use following the vote to leave the EU?
Although steps towards metrication began nearly a decade before the UK joined the EU in 1973, the gradual adoption of a French measurement system has become synonymous with European integration in the eyes of many and Brexit a priceless opportunity to inch away from it.
Since June's Brexit vote, a number of companies, ranging from butchers to wine merchants, have said they would relish the chance to be able to trade in imperial units.
Simon Berry, chairman of Berry Bros & Rudd, has gone as far as to say it is his lifetime's ambition to sell champagne in pint-sized bottles - currently outlawed in the UK - and in his words to reclaim it from "rules-obsessed bureaucrats".
Campaigner Warwick Cairns says people feel this way because imperial measurements are not only easily understandable but inherently popular.
"There is something about feet and inches that feel part of our identity and culture," he says. "They make sense on a human scale, they make sense on a cultural scale. It is part of us."
A brief history of weights and measures
Mr Cairns, who represents the imperial-supporting British Weights and Measures Association and is the author of a book about the issue, insists that people should not be required to use either system, because modern technology can easily accommodate both.
"This is the chance for people to be free to use whatever measures they please," he says.
"Take my bathroom scales. If I want to weigh myself in kilograms, I can. Flick the switch the other way, and I can weigh myself in stones and pounds. There is no reason why you can't do that."
Controversial attempts by the EU - aided and abetted by successive British governments - to make the UK move to a single metric system officially came to an end in 2008, when Brussels agreed to the continued use of pints (for draught beer and cider), pounds and miles, alongside metric units.
Current laws require traders to use metric measurements when weighing packaged or loose goods for sale in England, Wales and Scotland but still allow them to sell goods in imperial quantities and display prices in imperial as long as they do not "stand out more" than the metric signs alongside them.
The rules are not rigorously enforced today, after public and political furore over the prosecution of the "metric martyrs", a group of market traders convicted 15 years ago of selling goods using only imperial measures.
But they are still seen, by both sides of the argument, as a dog's breakfast ripe for reform.
Advocates of metric say it is perfectly feasible for the two systems to co-exist but does not make commercial sense.
"The current measurement muddle aids only our competitors," says Derek Pollard, the chairman of the UK Metric Association.
With 90% of the UK's trade taking place with metric countries - the US being the stand-out exception - he says the UK would be at a big disadvantage if it reverted.
"To compete effectively, we need a single, logical and universal measurement system that everyone understands and is familiar with," Mr Pollard says.
This view is shared by the UK Weighing Federation, which speaks on behalf of companies manufacturing, installing and repairing commercial scales and associated equipment - including components, instrumentation and software.
Not only, it says, are most imperial measuring scales now consigned to people's lofts or on display in museums, but the equipment used to test commercial weights to guarantee their conformity with technical and safety standards - a procedure known as type approvals - is not available for any mass switch back to imperial.
"All measuring equipment is designed to record in metric," says its president, Nick Catt.
"If you want to be a manufacturing country and want to have a strong connection with Europe, then you have to follow the European norms and rules.
"Otherwise it would be chaos and it would be consumers who lose out."
Having a dual system of metric and imperial would, he says, involve a "phenomenal" cost to retailers, which would inevitably be passed on to customers - an outcome at odds with the deregulatory impetus behind Brexit.
"It would just not be practical," Mr Catt says.
"You would have to teach kids in schools what pounds are.
"We are talking about an era that is gone, and we can't turn the clock back that far."
The act of Brexit, in and of itself, will not see "lb" signs springing up all over the UK.
For that to happen, Parliament would need to repeal the current regulations, dating back to the mid-1990s, obliging traders to sell their products in metric weights.
As far as the government is concerned, such a change is not on the horizon while it focuses on reassuring investors the UK is open for business globally after the Brexit vote.
"Businesses can already use imperial units alongside metric, or on their own for draught beer and cider, bottled milk and road traffic signs," a spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said.
"This is national legislation and there has been no change to the law since the referendum result."
While the issue is unlikely to be the first port of call for MPs as they seek to decouple the UK from 40 years of EU-related legislation over the coming years, there is a body of opinion within Parliament that would support such a move.
In 1998, 89 MPs signed a parliamentary motion opposing compulsory metrication and the prosecution of traders continuing to use imperial.
The motion, which also pledged its support for the "use of customary UK measures", shows imperial measures have friends in high places.
Among those to sign were Jeremy Corbyn and Philip Hammond - then humble backbenchers but now Labour leader and Chancellor of the Exchequer. | Not giving an inch, going the extra mile, entering the final furlong, piling on the pounds and doing the hard yards - the English language is rich with phrases derived from the units British people use to measure distances, sizes and quantities. |
40,418,917 | Coleraine's Peter Chambers will compete in the lightweight single sculls.
Fellow Coleraine man Joel Cassells will race in the lightweight pair with partner Sam Scrimgeour.
Enniskillen's Holly Nixon will stroke the women's quadruple sculls and Belfast's Rebecca Shorten will do likewise for the women's eight.
Chambers returns after missing the second World Cup in Poznan but takes part in the lightweight singles sculls rather than the double sculls as Englishman Will Fletcher is currently injured.
Lightweight men's pair duo Cassells and Scrimgeour continue their partnership as they fine tune their race plan ahead of September's World Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida.
Illness to Jess Leyden forced the women's quadruple sculls to miss Poznan after they'd won a bronze medal at the European Championships in May.
Leyden is replaced by Alice Baatz and she joins regulars Nixon, Beth Bryan and Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne.
Shorten will once again stroke the women's eight in Lucerne as they hope to continue their progress that saw them claim a silver medal in Poznan. | Four Northern Ireland rowers have been included in the Great Britain squad for the third and final World Cup regatta of the season in Lucerne next month. |
39,926,119 | The BBC reported in February that Lewis-based Hebridean Sea Salt was the subject of a probe by local authority environmental health officers.
It has now emerged that its product is no longer stocked by a supermarket and cannot be bought online.
There is no activity at its factory or on its social media sites.
The BBC has been unable to contact the owner Natalie Crayton for comment.
The probe by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar's environmental health department is understood to have been prompted by concerns raised by a former employee.
Hebridean Sea Salt was formed six years ago and became a well-known brand in delis and shops across the country.
It began as a small operation before successfully securing orders from high street stores such as Sainsburys, which had been offering the product at its 360 stores in a deal worth £180,000.
Hebridean Sea Salt had also been making inroads into international markets.
The company has had financial backing from the public purse with Highlands and Islands Enterprise contributing £174,573 to expand the business. | A sea salt business appears to be no longer in business following the launch of an investigation into the authenticity of its product. |
38,004,782 | The Bevan Foundation outlined what it thinks Wales' economic priorities should be, following an invitation for views from the Welsh Government.
They include all public sector employers paying workers the voluntary Living Wage within a year.
The Welsh Government said it will consider the report.
In October it was announced the UK voluntary Living Wage was to rise to £8.45 per hour.
The foundation's submission said despite Wales' good performance "some major challenges remain."
These are highlighted as a shortage of jobs in some part of the country.
For example Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taff have barely half the number of jobs per head of working-age population compared with the UK average.
The report said where there has been employment growth, much of the increase has been in self-employment, part-time working and temporary jobs.
The report said wages, especially low wages, have been stagnant over the last six years with some parts of Wales experiencing a decrease in earnings.
In Blaenau Gwent earnings have not kept up with inflation, meaning the average worker is more than £70 a week worse off than in 2002.
Brexit was said to pose a new challenge, with concerns about the consequences for Wales' 500 foreign-owned companies and its £1 billion of exports each quarter.
The Bevan Foundation recommends that the Welsh Government's economic policies should promote "inclusive growth".
This involves combining the aim of growing prosperity, such as increasing employment, with the aim of increasing inclusion, such as addressing low wages.
The report said: "The Welsh Government has made good progress in encouraging the adoption of the voluntary Living Wage in the public sector, including the NHS, further education colleges and some local authorities."
But it adds that "much more could be done to increase take-up."
The foundation calls on the Welsh Government to require all public sector employers to pay the voluntary Living Wage to workers within a year, and to sub-contractors by 2019.
Inclusive growth should also address inequalities in the labour market.
The report states less than half of disabled people are in work, as are less than two-thirds of people from an ethnic minority.
The report concludes by saying: "Although Wales' economy and employment have made good progress, there are still too many people in Wales for whom a secure, decently paid job is just a pipedream.
"We welcome the Welsh Government's commitment to prosperity for all, and recommend that its commitment be turned into reality."
The Welsh Government said it welcomed the report.
A spokesman said: "We will consider it along with the others we have received as we take forward our work to build the confident, bright, prosperous and dynamic economy all parts of Wales deserve.
"We are also developing a fresh approach to improving prosperity in the south Wales valleys, which is being driven by a new ministerial taskforce." | There are too many people in Wales for whom a "secure and decent paid job is just a pipedream," a think tank has said. |
36,306,331 | Actor Brian Cox appears in two of the films, a comedy, The Carer, and a western, Forsaken, which also stars Donald and Kiefer Sutherland.
Braveheart actor Angus Macfadyean will bring his first film as a director, Macbeth Unhinged, to the festival.
The film is a modern, black and white retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy.
Scot Dougray Scott will be starring in the apocalyptic thriller The Rezort.
The 70th edition of the film festival runs from 15-26 June. It will include feature films, shorts, documentaries and animations.
The opening night gala will feature the world premiere of Jason Connery's drama Tommy's Honour, about Scottish golfing pioneer Old Tom Morris and starring Peter Mullan and Jack Lowden.
It is based on a true story and focuses on Morris's turbulent relationship with his son, Tommy.
The festival will close with the world premiere of Gillies Mackinnon's Whisky Galore, featuring Gregor Fisher, James Cosmo, Kevin Guthrie, Sean Biggerstaff and Eddie Izzard.
Mark Adams, artistic director said: "We are delighted to once again cast the spotlight on great Scottish talent at this year's festival. It speaks so much about the breadth and variety of filmmakers, craftspeople and performers that our selection of projects featuring local talent shines so brightly."
Natalie Usher, director of screen at Creative Scotland, said: "EIFF is a key event in Scotland's cultural calendar, offering audiences inspirational, world-class cinema.
"EIFF is recognising and celebrating the wealth and depth of home-grown filmmaking talent supported by Creative Scotland."
The festival will also have a special screening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting and a world premiere screening of the newly 4K restored Highlander, attended by the film's star Clancy Brown. | The Scottish films to be screened at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival have been announced in Cannes. |
38,006,546 | Suzie McCash, from Tynemouth, rang police and calmly explained that "Mummy's got her eyes closed" and that she could not talk.
A recording of the call was released by Northumbria Police, who said she almost certainly saved her mother's life.
Rowena McCash was treated in hospital and has made a full recovery.
The GP suffered a severe allergic reaction at home last month and went into respiratory arrest.
Suzie dialled 999 and described her mother's situation to police call handler Adam Hall, who guided paramedics to the family home in Tynemouth.
The youngster earlier received a bravery award and was reunited with the police and ambulance service staff involved in the drama.
Dr McCash said: "I feel incredibly fortunate for how brave and clever Suzie was and I am incredibly proud of her.
"She's so amazing. Everyone thinks their children are amazing, but this is something else.
"Suzie tells me I fell on the floor and that I just wouldn't get up again.
"At some point I got to the sofa, but we don't quite know what happened after that.
"I'm so grateful to the police, especially the police call handler, who was just so calm."
Paramedic Jamie Frend, who treated Dr McCash before taking her to hospital, said: "When we arrived Suzie made a beeline for me and gave me possibly one of the most professional and succinct handovers regarding her mum that I have ever had. From a child, it blew me away.
"She said Mum was possibly having a reaction to something, that she had taken her medication twice and it hadn't worked.
"She also told me how Mum had presented before the 999 call and during the call, which gave me a good picture of what was happening."
Supt Nicola Musgrove said: "Suzie's mum stopped breathing altogether but paramedics were able to stabilise her.
"Had it not been for the quick actions of Suzie she would undoubtedly have died." | The mother of a four-year-old girl who called 999 when she suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction has described her daughter as "brave and incredible". |
39,723,939 | West Heslerton, near Malton, has a 21-bedroom mansion, pub, petrol station, 43 homes and 2,116 acres of land.
The village has been owned by the same family for more than 150 years and was put on the market after the death of the most recent owner.
Cundalls estate agents said it had been acquired by Norfolk-based farming and property investment company, Albanwise.
Read more about this and other stories from across North Yorkshire
A spokesman for the firm said the company was due to complete the purchase on Friday and had already had meetings with residents.
The sale price has not been disclosed.
The estate had been inherited by Eve Dawnay in the 1960s but the family decided to sell after her death in 2010.
At the time it was put on the market, residents of the village described it as the "end of an era".
Miss Dawnay was known to have kept rents in the village at a low level which Cundalls said had helped the village remain vibrant.
The estate produces an annual income of about £388,000. | An English village put up for sale in 2016 with a £20m price tag has been sold. |
38,376,878 | The extension into Bay of Nigg, which will provide a facility for oil industry decommissioning work, is due to be completed in 2020. Work on the project will begin early in 2017.
Other improvements included in the expansion are aimed at attracting cruise ships to the port.
Aberdeen Harbour Board described the project as a "major new chapter" in the port's history.
Board chief executive Colin Parker said: "We are delighted that, after six years of detailed planning and extensive consultation with our many stakeholders and the regulatory authorities, we are now in a position to approve commencement of construction.
"Aberdeen Harbour Board, in partnership with Dragados UK, a main contractor, will develop facilities over the next three years that will represent a step change in the marine support capabilities in Scotland.
"These will transform the port's ability to accommodate the trend for larger vessels we are witnessing across a whole range of industries.
"The expansion will afford existing customers the opportunity to diversify and expand their interests, whilst attracting new customers and markets to the port, including up-scaled decommissioning activity, a more significant share of the available cruise vessel fleet and larger more cost-effective commercial vessels."
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "This is excellent news for Aberdeen and the Scottish maritime industry, as the signing of the construction contract means this nationally significant project can now get underway in earnest.
"The significant investment will bring jobs and business to Aberdeen, supporting the local and national economy.
"The historic harbour will be transformed to accommodate larger vessels, opening up potential new revenue streams and offering customers world-class marine support facilities.
"These are exciting times for Aberdeen Harbour."
However, residents from the Torry area who formed the Battle for the Bay of Nigg Committee say they remain against the plan.
A member of the group, Renee Slater, told BBC Scotland: "The size of it is massive.
"Dolphins, porpoises and seals use the harbour, it's a beautiful place.
"The images are a Disney-esque parody."
The Battle for the Bay of Nigg Committee is concerned that if the proposals are carried through they will threaten local wildlife and have a detrimental effect on surrounding roads and open space. | A £350m expansion of Aberdeen harbour has been approved. |
39,635,353 | The Dens Park club, second bottom in the Premiership, sacked Paul Hartley on Monday.
The Dark Blues' next fixture is away to Motherwell, who are one place and two points above them, on 29 April.
"Yes, we're in a poor position at the minute but, equally, we're not far off of [seventh-placed] Kilmarnock," said McCann, 42.
"I'm excited. I appreciate the opportunity, I'm not going into anything lightly.
"It's not a big risk for me, it's maybe a big risk for the club - a lot of guys will think because I've not been in a job before.
"This opportunity was just too good to turn down."
Dundee are on a run of seven straight defeats, with Hamilton Academical climbing above them after Saturday's 2-0 win at Dens Park.
Scot McCann, who had a previous coaching spell at Dunfermline Athletic, has worked as a pundit covering Scottish football for Sky Sports.
Managing director John Nelms said McCann was "first choice" for the job and the new manager insists the current Dundee squad is "absolutely good enough".
"I am surprised at the position they're in," he said.
"I'm not going to kid anyone on and say, 'it's just going to be easy' because it's not. There's a lot of hard work ahead. The other sides in and around us will have that same mentality. It's a massive job.
"I think most people know the type of person I am, type of character, the standards that I liked to have when I was playing and training - those qualities I would like to think I'll bring to the football club.
"It's my job now to sit with the players and try and get them to understand the requirements that's going to get them that extra yard or that extra wee bit that's going to be enough to see us win games of football."
McCann also said he was "massively confident" of getting Dundee away from relegation trouble.
He started his playing career as a winger at Dundee in 1992 and enjoyed stints at Hearts, Rangers, Southampton and Falkirk before ending his career at Dens Park in 2011. He also won 26 caps, scoring three international goals.
And McCann's former Falkirk and Scotland team-mate Jackie McNamara has backed Dundee's appointment.
"Neil has got great experience in the game," the former Dundee United and Partick Thistle boss told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.
"I don't think Neil would do this if he wasn't confident. The feelings he has for the club, the affinity he has with them, I don't think he would even consider it if he didn't feel he was confident of getting a reaction from the players inside the dressing room.
"He's obviously an intelligent lad, he's got good ideas in the game. He's quite a fiery character, Neil. I always thought he'd go into management.
"There's five massive games there for them to keep them in the division. They're capable of doing that." | Dundee have appointed former player Neil McCann as their interim manager until the end of the season. |
32,106,787 | The tour coach came off the A83 in Argyll at the Rest and Be Thankful. It rolled down an embankment before coming to rest beside Loch Restil.
Of the 52 people on board, 23 were initially taken to hospital.
One of the six still being treated in hospital is reported to be in a serious but stable condition at Glasgow's Southern General.
Two patients at the Western Infirmary and three at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley are in a stable condition. | Six patients are still in hospital being treated for a range of injuries, following a coach crash on Thursday. |
29,168,382 | They said their process is fast, clean and cheap. It can store energy from the sun and wind.
Writing in the journal Science, the Glasgow researchers said their process is thirty times faster than the current method.
Without using any more energy, it is claimed to store the hydrogen in a carbon-free liquid.
Prof Lee Cronin, of the university's School of Chemistry. said: "The process uses a liquid that allows the hydrogen to be locked up in a liquid-based inorganic fuel.
"By using a liquid sponge known as a redox mediator that can soak up electrons and acid we've been able to create a system where hydrogen can be produced in a separate chamber without any additional energy input after the electrolysis of water takes place.
"The link between the rate of water oxidation and hydrogen production has been overcome, allowing hydrogen to be released from the water 30 times faster than the leading PEME process on a per-milligram-of-catalyst basis." | Researchers at Glasgow University have claimed a breakthrough in producing hydrogen fuel from water. |
36,734,377 | The figure represents a 54% increase compared with the previous year.
There has been a high-profile legal challenge to whether parents should have to pay fines for taking children on holiday during the school term.
A Department for Education spokesman said: "Children should not be taken out of school without good reason."
The Department for Education figures include parents who have taken their children on term-time holidays - and the figures show that a high proportion of parents paid the penalty fines within 28 days.
But there were more than 21,000 cases where parents did not pay and were prosecuted - and in another 17,000 cases the penalties were dropped.
The figures show how fines for parents have become more common - with almost a fivefold increase in penalties over the past five years.
A separate set of figures, based on Freedom of Information requests carried out by the Santander bank, estimated that the fines levied last year amounted to £5.6m.
In May the High Court ruled that a father did not have to pay a £120 fine to Isle of Wight Council after he took his daughter to Florida.
The court ruled that Jon Platt had no case to answer because, overall, his daughter had attended school regularly.
But the council has since been told it can apply to challenge the decision.
A Department for Education spokesman said: "The rules are perfectly clear - children should not be taken out of school without good reason.
"That is why we have tightened the rules and are supporting schools and local authorities to use their powers to tackle unauthorised absence.
"The evidence shows that every extra day of school missed can affect a pupil's chances of achieving good GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances - vindicating our strong stance on attendance.
"A child who is absent also impacts teachers, whose planning of lessons is disrupted by children missing large portions of teaching." | There were 151,125 penalty notices issued to parents in England for their children's term-time absence from school during 2014-15. |
32,714,802 | The PM will tell the National Security Council a counter-extremism bill will be in the Queen's Speech on 27 May.
The bill will include new immigration rules, powers to close down premises used by extremists and "extremism disruption orders".
Mr Cameron will say a "poisonous" extremist ideology must be confronted.
In other political news;
The proposals were first set out by Home Secretary Theresa May before the general election.
But the Conservatives were unable to secure the backing of their then Liberal Democrat coalition partners for the measures.
There is likely to be some opposition in the new Parliament on the grounds that some of the plans could infringe people's right to free speech, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.
The measures are also expected to introduce banning orders for extremist organisations who use hate speech in public places, but whose activities fall short of it being proscribed as a terror group.
Home Secretary Theresa May told BBC Radio 4 Today the government wants to "bring people together to ensure we are living together as one society".
She said: "What we are proposing is a bill which will have certain measures within it, measures such as introducing banning orders for groups and disruption orders for individuals, for those who are out there actively trying to promote this hatred and intolerance which can lead to division in our society and undermines our British values.
"But it will be part of a bigger picture , a strategy which will also have as a key part of it actually promoting our British values, our values of democracy, rule of law, tolerance and acceptance of different faiths."
The measures, she added, will focus on "extremism of all sorts... that is seeking to promote hatred, that is seeking to divide our society, that is seeking to undermine the very values that make us a great country to live in".
According to details given by Mrs May at last year's Conservative Party conference, such orders would apply if ministers "reasonably believe" a group intended to incite religious or racial hatred, to threaten democracy, or if there was a pressing need to protect the public from harm, either from a risk of violence, public disorder, harassment or other criminal acts.
The granting of a ban, which would be subject to immediate review by the High Court, would make membership or funding of the organisation concerned a criminal offence.
The extreme disruption orders could be imposed on individuals, using the same criteria.
Policymakers have debated the definition of extremism ever since Tony Blair's government looked at new laws after the 7/7 Tube and bus attacks in London a decade ago.
There are, potentially, two key challenges for the government in creating anti-extremism laws and tools.
First, can a definition of extremism that leads to someone facing restrictions, such as a ban on using social media, withstand legal challenges - particularly on human rights grounds?
Secondly can such bans work in practical terms without tying up the resources of the security services.
MI5, for instance, already has triage-like systems to prioritise watching the most dangerous people: it can't monitor everyone with dangerous views.
That aside, this package of measures is part of a potentially significant shift in focus.
Ministers want tools to marginalise, restrict and silence these voices because disrupting their influence may buy time to intervene and bring someone back from the edge before it's too late.
Under the government's plans, the Charity Commission will be given more power to "root out charities who misappropriate funds towards extremism and terrorism", and broadcast regulator Ofcom will be able to take action against channels broadcasting extremist content.
The terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe last August in response to the conflict in Syria and Iraq.
Ministers responded by introducing new orders that can block British fighters from returning to the UK and give police the power to seize the passports of people suspected of plotting to join the fighting abroad.
Mrs May will tell the National Security Council - which meets weekly and is chaired by the prime minister - that the government will empower institutions to "challenge bigotry and ignorance".
Mr Cameron will say the new powers will make it harder for people to promote extremist views.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'," he will say.
"It's often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that's helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance."
The Conservative government will "conclusively turn the page on this failed approach," he will add, saying the UK must confront "head-on the poisonous Islamist extremist ideology".
Jonathan Russell from the Quilliam Foundation think tank, which challenges extremism, said the measures would tackle symptoms, not causes.
He told Today there was a danger of "negatively" altering the balance between national security and civil liberties.
And on the government's plans, he added: "I don't think it will tackle radicalisation. I don't think it will change the numbers of people who are attracted to this poisonous ideology. And I don't think it will attack the ideology itself." | David Cameron is to set out a string of new powers to tackle radicalisation, saying the UK has been a "passively tolerant society" for too long. |
36,143,832 | 11 May 2016 Last updated at 13:11 BST
He was badly wounded and needed specialist care from a team of vets.
Lofo's mum had been killed by poachers for her horn in Kruger National Park, one of the world's biggest animal reserves.
Rhino poaching is a huge problem there and in other parts of Africa.
The poachers also attacked the baby rhino and tried to take his horn.
Amazingly he managed to escape and was found by the Kruger team after five days of searching.
Experts at a special rhino orphanage called Care for Wild Africa have been taking care of him ever since.
'Rhino mum' Petronel Nieuwoudt, named him Lofo - because he was lost and then found.
Watch his amazing story here...
Pictures courtesy of Care for Wild Africa | In February 2016, a baby rhino called Lofo was rushed to an animal rescue centre by helicopter. |
34,313,695 | It was the smallest-ever audience for an opening episode, down from 8.4 million last year.
Those who tuned in saw the staff facing redundancy, Lady Mary embroiled in a blackmail plot, and arguments over the future of the village hospital.
Butler Mr Carson revealed he "desired to live as closely as two people can" with housekeeper Mrs Hughes.
Critics were largely positive about Julian Fellowes' show, with some reservations.
In his review, The Times' Andrew Billen said he found the opening episode "comfortingly pleasurable, even during the substantial stretches when it is not very good."
Ceri Radford expressed similar sentiments in the Daily Telegraph, saying that while the drama had never "quite measured up" to its first series, the episode provided "an enjoyable if flawed finale to the convoluted tale of the Crawley family's fortunes".
"This bodes well for an autumn of cosy Sunday evening entertainment, even if it often feels more like farce than tour de force," he went on.
The Guardian's Sam Wollaston was less impressed, writing: "There is some very tedious business about a hospital, but it's really just a way... to provide Dame Maggie Smith with a few of her withering putdowns.
"Thank heaven there's not much more of this."
The Sun's Leigh Holmwood agreed that Dame Maggie's character "is still hogging the best lines", adding that Sue Johnson's Denker "continues to be a great addition to the show, spreading spiteful gossip that comes back to haunt her".
"Enjoy it while it lasts," he told his readers.
ITV will not be disappointed with the opening night viewing figures, as the statistics are becoming an increasingly unreliable snapshot of audience interest.
The X Factor made headlines last month when its opening episode attracted 7.6 million viewers, down by a million compared to 2014. But once catch-up and on-demand viewing was counted, the figure jumped to 9.6 million.
Similarly, Doctor Who recorded lower-than-expected audiences on Saturday, when Peter Capaldi's return to the Tardis drew 4.6 million people to BBC One.
But an analysis of last year's series by ratings body BARB showed that, on average, viewership increased by 39% in the week after an episode was broadcast. | The sixth and final series of Downton Abbey drew 7.6 million viewers to ITV as it returned on Sunday night. |
39,254,087 | The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) said 78 veterans had died since the beginning of the year, out of 1,100 remaining worldwide.
The site - set to open in September - still needs £2m in donations and events are being held to raise the cash.
IBCC director Nicky Barr described the shortfall as "heartbreaking".
She said: "I personally feel we've let them down. We are losing veterans at such a rate and we are desperate to see the centre open."
Bomber Command crews were tasked with attacking Germany's airbases, troops, shipping and industrial complexes connected to the war effort.
The Lincoln attraction is to honour their efforts with exhibitions, information and accounts from aircrew and survivors.
Officials said fundraising efforts had been hampered by a number of break-ins at the site, including one at the weekend.
Thieves took items intended for a forthcoming open day, including two generators, food and drink.
They also shredded a wreath left at the base of the memorial spire.
125,000
Aircrew served in Bomber Command in World War Two
364,514 operational sorties flown
55,573 aircrew killed in action
25,611 killed flying from Lincolnshire
70% of aircrew were killed, taken prisoner or injured
Almost half of the 125,000 Bomber Command lost their lives and it is estimated between 300,000 and 600,000 civilians died as a result of large-scale area bombing near the end of the war.
Mrs Barr said "these boys were forgotten after the war, and were publically ignored".
She added: "And yet, night after night they went up and faced the biggest risks of any unit in World War Two.
"For us as a nation to have turned our back on them is a very sad injustice, and we've got an opportunity to put it right while they are still alive." | Millions of pounds are still needed to complete a memorial and visitor centre to bomber aircrew before the last veterans die. |
33,666,314 | Construction on the new lane, which runs alongside part of the existing canal, started less than a year ago.
The 72km (44 mile) route allows two-way traffic and can accommodate larger vessels.
Several container ships from around the world successfully navigated it on Saturday as part of a trial run.
Helicopters and naval vessels escorted the ships as part of the security operation.
The Sinai Peninsula, which borders the canal, is a base for Islamic militants, who have killed hundreds of people since the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The original Suez Canal opened almost 150 years ago and links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says the expansion of one of the world's busiest shipping routes will boost trade and increase employment across the country.
It currently handles 7% of global sea-borne business, and is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency income.
$8.5bn
raised for canal expansion project
$13.2bn
projected revenue by 2023 (up from $5.3bn)
72km of new channel and bypasses
97 ships a day by 2023 (up from 49)
11-hour southbound transit (down from 18)
12 months to complete project by Aug 2015
Work on the second waterway is estimated to have cost about $8.5bn (£5.4bn) and is being carried out by the army around the clock.
It will be formally inaugurated on 6 August - one year after construction started - meeting an ambitious target set out by Mr Sisi.
The project has been labelled "a rebirth" for Egypt by the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Adm Mohab Mameesh.
But it does have its critics. Some experts are dubious about the revenue projections and believe the money should have been spent elsewhere.
"It's a patriotic project first of all, and that's very difficult to quantify," Cairo-based investment analyst Angus Blair told the BBC.
On Saturday, Adm Mameesh also revealed plans to build another canal near East Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea.
It is expected to cost around $60m and will be 9.5km (6 miles) long, Reuters reports. | The first cargo ships have passed through Egypt's second Suez Canal, amid tight security, ahead of the new waterway's official opening next month. |
38,262,491 | From April, employers with a wage bill of more than £3m a year will pay 0.5% on payrolls to fund apprenticeships.
Subsea UK said plans to give public sector employers equal access to the funds could cost jobs rather than create them.
Ministers said the move had followed consultation with employers.
The new levy, announced in the UK government's Autumn Statement in November 2015, aims to raise £3bn a year for apprenticeships across the UK.
Scotland's share of the levy under a funding formula for devolved administrations will be £221m next year.
Subsea UK chief executive Neil Gordon said the money raised should be invested in new and improved training and initiatives "to stimulate the desired increase in apprenticeships and not off-set to fund existing programmes".
He also warned that businesses would simply see the new tax as a bottom line cost which could have an impact on existing jobs, given the "fragile state of the oil and gas sector and continuing pressure on costs".
Mr Gordon said: "This levy is designed to create opportunities for employment through training and development.
"For our industry to achieve a real step-change in the number and quality of apprentices, we need to ensure that the training and delivery mechanism will support the development of the right type of apprenticeships to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry now and in the future."
He added: "The Scottish government has obviously not listened to industry."
Scotland's Employability and Training Minister Jamie Hepburn said all of the funds raised through the levy would be used to support skills, training and routes into employment.
He also highlighted that funding for apprenticeships and wider skills would be set out as part of the overall Scottish budget on 15 December.
Mr Hepburn said: "While the levy settlement forms part of the Scottish block grant, its proceeds will largely be replacing existing apprenticeship funding.
"This means that the £221m is not additional funding but largely replaces existing UK expenditure through the new tax.
"We understand that for employers, paying this levy is new and they want to see how those funds are being used.
"We have consulted with employers and are using the findings from that and wider discussions to finalise our response to the introduction of the levy in Scotland."
The Scottish Conservatives said the SNP had "blown a golden opportunity to invest in Scotland's future workforce" by failing to ring-fence levy funds.
Leader Ruth Davidson said: "The Scottish Conservatives have been clear that every penny of this funding should be spent on developing a skilled workforce to help boost our economy.
"I said last month that Scotland could become the skills capital of Europe, but instead we will miss the opportunity to make a real difference unless the SNP performs a very quick U-turn." | Subsea industry leaders have criticised a decision by the Scottish government not to ring-fence funds raised from the new Apprenticeship Levy. |
36,669,137 | The 45-year-old has not been offered the role or spoken to the Football Association since the weekend.
Hodgson resigned after four years in charge following the shock Euro 2016 last-16 defeat by Iceland on Monday.
Southgate was considered as a possible temporary appointment while the FA searched for a successor to Hodgson.
BBC Radio 5 live senior football reporter Ian Dennis said the England job is "not what Gareth Southgate wants at this stage" either on a permanent or interim basis.
Media playback is not supported on this device
On Tuesday, chief executive Martin Glenn said the FA wants a new manager in place for the opening World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on 4 September.
However, if the right man was not available by then he said former England defender Southgate would be the "obvious choice" as an interim boss - and did not rule out appointing a foreign manager.
Arsene Wenger is thought to be among those in the FA frame, with his Arsenal contract due to expire at the end of the season.
Former Paris St-Germain coach Laurent Blanc - who managed France from May 2010 to June 2012 - is also reportedly a name interesting the FA.
Earlier on Wednesday, West Ham co-chairman David Gold said Hammers boss Slaven Bilic would not be tempted by the England job, while on Thursday Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers ruled himself out of the running.
The selection process will be led by Glenn, FA board member David Gill and technical director Dan Ashworth. They plan to conduct a widespread consultation process before narrowing down the contenders.
Southgate, who has been in charge of the Under-21s since 2013, has also managed Middlesbrough, taking them down to the Championship in 2009.
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox. | England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate has no interest in succeeding Roy Hodgson as boss of the senior national team. |
36,499,637 | The regulator, The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already warned that up to 670,000 consumers face such fees.
In a survey of people withdrawing cash from their pension, Citizens Advice found those with smaller funds were paying proportionately larger charges.
Those with pension pots of less than £20,000 typically paid £1966 in fees.
The regulator is planning to introduce a cap of 1% on such fees, from March 2017.
But Citizens Advice said even that cap would be too high.
It is calling for a standard £50 charge to cover the providers' administration costs.
"The threat of excessive charges can also put people off making the right pension choices for them," said Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice.
"A standard £50 exit fee across all types of pensions will mean consumers can make the most of the pension freedoms."
The survey was based on 500 people who had taken money out of their pensions since April 2015, when the pension freedoms began. | Withdrawing money from a pension fund can cost savers up to 10% of their retirement fund, according to Citizens Advice. |
31,822,176 | It hasn't been so cheap to visit the 19 countries that make up the eurozone since 2007.
Europe's economy growing more slowly than the UK and fears over Greece leaving the single currency are behind the rise.
It comes at the most popular time of year for young adults to book holidays.
Daisy Parker from travel association Abta says: "For the under-30s, with the pound at a seven-year high and day-to-day prices coming down in the eurozone, it's a great time to travel to Europe."
The pound is also currently struggling at it's lowest point for a year against the dollar making trips to the America more expensive.
So let's do some maths.
Say you planned to spend £500 during a trip to Spain.
That could get you up to 700 euros at the moment. Compare that to last year you'd be lucky to get near 600 euros.
For people buying bigger items like a car from Germany or a holiday home in France the difference can now run into thousands of pounds.
Some currency analysts expect things to get even better by the summer holidays.
RBS economist Sebastian Burnside says things can change quickly.
"So has it reached its peak? No-one knows for sure what will happen to currencies, but there'll be many more bumps in the road before a long-term solution to the Greek bailout crisis is reached.
"Recent history shows that the pound has benefited from that uncertainty."
If you plan on heading further away from home the pound is also flying strong against both the South African Rand and the Australian Dollar.
Eighteen months ago I reported from Sydney for Newsbeat about the expense of following the British and Irish Lions.
Back then you couldn't get much more than Aus $1.50 to the pound but now it's closer to Aus $2.00 making an expensive trip a touch more affordable.
The question arises should we wait for the pound to get stronger? That's a tricky one.
With a general election around the corner that brings uncertainty to the money markets no matter what the result.
There are also the other advantages to booking now according to Daisy Parker from Abta.
"Booking this far in advance gives you time to save for your holiday as well as the advantage of widespread availability, with your choice of where to stay much less restricted than booking last minute."
Of course it's important to remember that the place you exchange your money to go on holiday often makes just as big a dent as variations in the currency.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | An extra 16% free cash to go on holiday sounds pretty good because that's what you'll get if you're planning on heading to Europe this year. |
34,085,951 | 29 August 2015 Last updated at 08:15 BST
Like our farms in the UK, Australia has farms especially for crocodiles where the animals are looked after and raised in a similar way to cows or sheep.
Recently lots of big fashion companies have been buying up the crocodile farms, and now around 80% of them are owned by the fashion industry.
This is because they want to use the crocodile's skin to make things like handbags, shoes and belts, which can sell for thousands of pounds.
The crocodiles in these farms are not endangered or protected at the moment.
Ricky has been investigating this one. | There's been an increase in the number of fashion companies buying up crocodile farms in Australia. |
33,390,998 | Drug dealer Anton Levin, 24, from Dagenham, east London, was found dead at a flat in Southend in November.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard the killing involved rival drug gangs.
Danielle Russell, 26, was jailed for 11 years and six months and two boys - aged 16 and 17 - were sentenced to 10 years and four months each. They had all been found guilty of manslaughter.
All three were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm on another man and guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Mr Levin was stabbed and died at Russell's flat in St Ann's Road on 19 November.
He had just graduated from Greenwich University.
The court was told Russell lured Mr Levin and his friend Abdullatif Abdulkadir to her flat.
There the two teenagers - one from Thurrock and the other from Basildon - and a 27-year-old man, who has now fled the country, were waiting for them.
Mr Abdulkadir told the court his friend was stabbed in the femoral artery.
Judge Christopher Bell said the killing was part of a pattern he had seen across Essex - of drug dealers coming out of London and encroaching on the turf of existing drug gangs in the county.
He also praised the "outstanding police work" that led to the arrest of the young men, two days after the attack.
Ch Insp Simon Werrett said: "This was another unnecessary death linked to gang activity in Essex.
"The defendants have never any shown remorse for the attack and the needless loss of life." | A woman and two teenage boys have been jailed following a drugs turf war which led to the stabbing of a man in Essex. |
33,791,846 | Almost 650 ballot papers were sent out across the city in April without the names of the Labour, Green and Yorkshire First candidates.
The EC said it had assessed the officer as not meeting "performance standards" as a result of printing errors.
Hull City Council said it would prevent similar incidents in the future.
Labour's Karl Turner and the Green Party's Sarah Walpole were left off 484 postal ballot packs for the Hull East constituency in the UK parliamentary election.
While Yorkshire First's Colin Worrall, who stood in the Bransholme West Ward, was omitted from 164 ballot papers for the local election.
In its report, the EC said: "...Although the errors did not affect the outcome of the election, this could have resulted in those voters concerned not having the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice.
"In addition, the errors could have affected the confidence of those standing for election in the management of the process and the result."
In a statement, the authority said the ballot papers were incorrectly cut by an external printing company and the firm had now put measures in place to "prevent such an episode occurring in the future".
"The council acted immediately on both occasions when problems with the ballot papers were identified.
"We have put our own steps in place with Presiding Officers and Inspectors to identify and prevent any similar incidents occurring in future elections." | A returning officer for the 2015 general and local elections in Hull did not meet the Electoral Commission's (EC) standards, the watchdog has said. |
37,961,409 | Services delayed earlier in the day are now able to run as normal, according to National Rail.
Roads closed in the area have now also been reopened.
The incident happened as sports fans travelled to Cardiff for major rugby and football matches.
Wales' rugby team took on Argentina at the Principality Stadium at 17:30 followed by a World Cup qualifier between the football side and Serbia at Cardiff City Stadium.
British Transport Police says the incident is not being treated as suspicious. | Rail lines between Swansea and Cardiff have been reopened after a woman was hit by a train at Pencoed. |
39,895,558 | A new study suggests less dust means more solar radiation hits the land surface, which reduces wind speed.
That lack of wind in turn leads to an accumulation of air pollution over heavily populated parts of China.
The researchers found that reduced dust levels cause a 13% increase in human-made pollution in the region.
Hundreds of millions of people across China continue to be impacted by air pollution from factories and coal-fired power plants.
Studies suggest that the dirty air contributes to 1.6 million deaths a year, about 17% of all mortalities.
But this new research says that the human-induced pollution is being made worse or better by naturally occurring dust that blows in from the Gobi desert.
Using models to simulate 150 years of wind and dust patterns in the region, the researchers found that the dust deflects significant amounts of sunlight.
Without it, more heat from the Sun hits the land. Differences in the temperatures between land and sea cause the winds to blow. Without the dust, the land warms up more and that changes the temperature differential with the sea leading to weaker breezes - and more air pollution.
"There are two dust sources. One is the Gobi and the other is the highlands of north-west China, but we found the Gobi had much more influence," said lead author Yang Yang, from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State, US.
"Less dust in the atmosphere causes more solar radiation to reach the surface. It weakens the temperature difference between the land and the sea and impacts the circulation of the winds and causes a stagnation over eastern China and that causes an accumulation of air pollution."
The decreases in dust emissions are considerable, varying by almost a third. The impact on winds speeds are quite small by comparison, a reduction of barely more than one-tenth of one mile per hour.
However, when this takes place on a large scale over a wide region, the small change in speed means a 13% increase in the amount of air pollution over eastern China during the winter.
Another study has recently shown a link between declining Arctic sea ice and a major air pollution event in China in 2013.
The authors of the new study believe that both theories could be true.
"Our study has the same mechanism: the weakening of winds causes more pollution, and what is behind this needs to be studied," said Yang Yang.
"We have two views on this kind of weakening of wind. They found the sea ice, we found the dust-wind interaction can also lead to weakening of the wind. I think both of them are important."
The researchers believe that the study may inform broader questions about how natural and human-created aerosols interact.
Many parts of the world, in addition to China, are now suffering from increased levels of air pollution and understanding how dust, winds and emissions work together may help limit some of the worst impacts of dirty air.
One of the key lessons from this study is that the absence of dusty conditions could mean the air you are breathing is worse for you, not better.
"You're damned if you do, damned if you don't," said Prof Lynn Russell from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
"Dust emissions can impair visibility, but they are not so harmful in terms of air quality," she told BBC News.
"If it's not a dusty year, you may be happy and spending more time outdoors because you don't have this dust in the way, but you are actually going out to spend more time in more toxic air."
The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Follow Matt on Twitter and on Facebook. | Airborne dust is normally seen as an environmental problem, but the lack of it is making air pollution over China considerably worse. |
39,411,798 | The 33-year-old went 2-0 down against Poland's Adam Stefanow, before getting on the board with a break of 61.
Selby levelled with a 136 and although Stefanow, 23, won the fifth frame, the Englishman went on to win the final three frames on Monday.
England's Judd Trump began his title defence with a 5-0 whitewashing of compatriot Jason Weston.
Home favourite Ding Junhui beat England's Sean O'Sullivan 5-3, but fellow Englishman Joe Perry suffered an early exit at the hands of Iran's Hossein Vafaei, who won 5-2. | World number one Mark Selby is through to the second round of the China Open after a poor start in Beijing. |
38,964,958 | U's winger Brennan Dickenson drilled wide early on before the hosts took a 13th-minute lead when George Elokobi picked up possession 25 yards out and curled a superb shot over stranded Wycombe goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.
Colchester keeper Sam Walker twice denied Wycombe's Paris Cowan-Hall while Alex Jakubiak's low cross-shot flashed across the six-yard box as the Chairboys pushed for an equaliser.
Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa blasted over at the second attempt from close range just before half-time after his first effort was blocked.
Walker saved Akinfenwa's weak close-range header just after half-time and Elokobi made an acrobatic goal-line clearance to deny Cowan-Hall while at the other end, Blackman pushed Kurtis Guthrie's low attempt around the post midway through the second half.
Michael Harriman nodded Guthrie's header off the line and Wycombe defender Joe Jacobson was sent off with two minutes remaining after being shown a second yellow card as Colchester claimed victory.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Colchester United 1, Wycombe Wanderers 0.
Second Half ends, Colchester United 1, Wycombe Wanderers 0.
Attempt blocked. Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Wycombe Wanderers. Conceded by Owen Garvan.
Foul by Kurtis Guthrie (Colchester United).
Max Müller (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick on the right wing.
George Elokobi (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers).
Attempt missed. Brennan Dickenson (Colchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Second yellow card to Joe Jacobson (Wycombe Wanderers) for a bad foul.
Tarique Fosu-Henry (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Joe Jacobson (Wycombe Wanderers).
Attempt missed. Anthony Stewart (Wycombe Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Corner, Wycombe Wanderers. Conceded by Kurtis Guthrie.
Substitution, Wycombe Wanderers. Sam Wood replaces Marcus Bean.
Attempt blocked. Kurtis Guthrie (Colchester United) header from very close range is blocked.
Corner, Colchester United. Conceded by Max Müller.
Foul by Owen Garvan (Colchester United).
Marcus Bean (Wycombe Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Colchester United. Tarique Fosu-Henry replaces Sean Murray.
Attempt saved. Sean Murray (Colchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Joe Jacobson (Wycombe Wanderers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Drey Wright (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Joe Jacobson (Wycombe Wanderers).
Substitution, Colchester United. Drey Wright replaces Chris Porter.
Foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers).
Richard Brindley (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Owen Garvan (Colchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Richard Brindley (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Paris Cowan-Hall (Wycombe Wanderers).
Corner, Colchester United. Conceded by Jamal Blackman.
Attempt saved. Kurtis Guthrie (Colchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Foul by Marcus Bean (Wycombe Wanderers).
Kurtis Guthrie (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Paris Cowan-Hall (Wycombe Wanderers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Wycombe Wanderers. Conceded by Brennan Dickenson.
Attempt blocked. Owen Garvan (Colchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Wycombe Wanderers. Garry Thompson replaces Alex Jakubiak.
Corner, Colchester United. Conceded by Max Müller.
Chris Porter (Colchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Colchester moved into the League Two play-off places with a 1-0 win over Wycombe. |
35,574,144 | Officers were called to the property after the woman was found dead at 13:10 on Friday, 12 February.
A "major investigation" is now under way, with police reviewing CCTV and conducting door-to-door inquiries.
Det Supt David McLaren, from Police Scotland's major investigation team, said officers believe the woman may have worked as a prostitute.
He said: "There is no doubt that this incident will raise concerns in Aberdeen and the wider community but I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the public that a significant police investigation has commenced and all efforts will be made to trace the person or people responsible.
"A priority for us is establishing the woman's recent movements, identify who she may have been in contact with and ultimately determine what happened to her prior to her being found on Friday afternoon.
"Investigations are at a very early stage however a line of inquiry at this time is the suggestion that the woman may have been involved in prostitution and as such Police Scotland is actively engaging with support groups nationally.
"I am appealing for anyone who may have any information that would assist us with our inquiry to speak to us. We would ask that people remain vigilant and follow personal safety advice." | Police have launched a murder inquiry after the death of a woman in a flat in Aberdeen's Union Terrace. |
36,454,839 | Aqib Mazhar, from the Forest Fields area of the city, was stabbed in an attack on Russell Road on Wednesday evening.
Mohamud Alasow, 18, of Hamilton Road, Nottingham and Junaid Farrukh, 21, of Heathermead Close, Oakwood, Derby, have been charged with murder.
The two men are due before Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Monday.
A 23-year-old man who was also arrested on suspicion of murder has been released without charge.
Mr Mazhar died in hospital from his injuries, Nottinghamshire Police said. | Two men have been charged after a 21-year-old was fatally stabbed in Nottingham. |
38,814,180 | The 20-year-old striker came through the Stadium MK academy and previously spent time on loan with Nuneaton Town.
He played against Yeovil in the Football League Trophy in December, one of 12 games for MK Dons this term, and impressed Glovers manager Darren Way.
"We know he's a real threat behind a back four and he's got an eye for goal," Way told the club website.
Tshimanga is Yeovil's fifth January arrival and joins Tottenham's Shayon Harrison and West Bromwich Albion's Andre Wright on loan at the club.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Yeovil Town have signed Kabongo Tshimanga from Milton Keynes Dons on loan until the end of the season. |
36,023,778 | The Foxes secured their place in Europe's top competition for the first time at the weekend and need three more wins to guarantee the Premier League title.
Leicester, who this time last season were fighting relegation from England's top flight, are seven points ahead of second-placed Tottenham.
"Leicester is no more a fairy tale, now is reality. Welcome in Europe Mr Claudio Ranieri," tweeted Buffon, who was coached by his fellow countryman at Juventus from 2007-09.
Ranieri's achievements with Leicester dominated the front of the Italian sports newspapers on Monday, despite a full weekend of Serie A fixtures including Juventus' win against AC Milan.
The 64-year-old last managed in Italy in 2012, when he was sacked by Inter Milan, prior to that he resigned after a two-year spell with Roma and was also dismissed by Juventus.
"Ranieri's rise to the throne," wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport, "Another victory, the tears and the miracle of Vardy."
While Corriere dello Sport wrote: "The lesson of Ranieri: You can bring an outsider a step from the title, you can cry with joy, you can talk about emotions." | Italy and Juventus goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon has welcomed Leicester City and his former manager Claudio Ranieri to the Champions League. |
38,343,245 | Lee Nolan strangled Katelyn Parker, 24, with her own hair straighteners after she called him "gay" in August 2015.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has now found "significant failings" in the way police handled previous allegations against Nolan.
Detectives from Greater Manchester and Kent police received official warnings.
The IPCC said Nolan was allowed to "remain at liberty" and went on to kill Ms Parker in Heywood, Greater Manchester, despite two unrelated allegations of rape and one of making threats to kill.
The watchdog found the threats to kill allegation was not progressed by either police force.
There was confusion over which force would investigate the complaint as Kent Police thought Nolan had been in Manchester at the time, but Greater Manchester Police were unaware of this.
Two separate rape allegations were also subject to "severe delays and poor communication", the IPCC ruled.
The detectives were found to have cases to answer for misconduct and were subject to "management action".
In February Nolan was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum sentence of 18 years.
Rachel Cerfontyne, deputy chairman of the IPCC, said a "lack of organisation and inadequate communication" meant "grave offences" were not investigated.
"While it is impossible to know the full consequences of this failure, we do know that Nolan remained at liberty and went on to commit murder, albeit unrelated," she said.
"It is essential that forces have protocols in place which ensure effective policing nationwide. I strongly recommend an urgent review of current policies and practices and will be taking this forward with relevant policing bodies." | Two detectives have been disciplined after police failed to properly investigate rape allegations against a man who went on to murder a woman. |
39,492,034 | Elizabeth Hart-Browne, 27, denies murdering Stephen Rayner, who was found in a pool of blood outside their flat in Acton, west London, last September.
Ms Hart-Browne told the Old Bailey she had suffered abuse at the hands of her 25-year-old partner.
She said he often took on the persona of notorious criminal Charles Bronson.
Giving evidence, the defendant described an attack in October 2015 when Mr Rayner arrived drunk at the family home and threatened to kill her.
She said: "He had a fascination with Charles Bronson. He would take on that persona sometimes when he was angry.
"His whole accent changed, his whole being would change and I couldn't get through to him."
Describing another attack in 2015, the defendant said Mr Rayner punched and bit her after he misunderstood a phone conversation she had with his father.
She said: "He had his hands around my throat.
"His dad was still on the phone when he was attacking me going 'I'm going to kill her, I'm going to kill her'."
Mr Rayner was arrested for the alleged assault days later but, in the meantime, the mother-of-two took out an insurance policy, the court heard.
When asked why she had done so Ms Hart-Browne said: "Because I believed I was in danger of him killing me and I didn't want my kids to be left with nothing."
James Scobie QC, defending, read out an exchange of text messages between the couple in which Ms Hart-Browne said she loved Mr Rayner as he was being sought by police.
However, Ms Hart-Browne explained at the time that she "did love him", adding: "I did not want my family to fall to pieces."
The trial continues. | A jewellery designer accused of murdering her boyfriend took out life insurance because she feared he was going to kill her, a court heard. |
37,211,496 | The statutory prison term recommended for offenders had ranged from between three months and three years.
The cabinet has approved plans to impose jail terms of between five and seven years, with harsher sentences if the procedure leads to death or deformity.
FGM has been illegal in Egypt since 2008 but it remains widespread.
The procedure involves the partial or full removal of the external sex organs, ostensibly to control women's sexuality.
It is practised by both Muslims and Christians in a number of African countries and in parts of the Middle East.
In May, an Egyptian teenager who had undergone FGM died of complications, prompting the UN to call on Egypt for tougher action. | Egyptian authorities are to increase the penalty for those who force women into genital mutilation (FGM). |
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