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30,230,755 | The latest figures on teacher trainee recruitment predict a 7% shortfall for next September - the third in a row.
Supply teacher agencies are now turning to Canada, Australia and the Irish Republic in search of trained teachers.
The government said it was confident it would meet demand, adding it offered £25,000 bursaries for top trainees.
But the Association of School and College Leaders deputy general secretary, Malcolm Trobe, said head teachers across the country had been describing the recruitment situation as "ghastly", "really difficult" and "a disaster area".
"From Durham in the north-east, Taunton in the west, and in the south and east, the message is consistent around the country. People found last year the most difficult year to recruit teachers.
"It's not just in the traditionally difficult subject areas, such as maths and physics."
He added: "We have always had a number of overseas teachers, particularly in London. We are going to be moving back into that situation again."
He said he had raised the matter with government and urged ministers to look at both long- and short-term solutions, adding that recruiting from overseas was one of the major strategies that could be employed.
His comments came as the Department for Education published the latest statistics on its teacher training recruitment targets. They show some 19,213 trainees have been recruited to courses for primary school teachers - 93% of the target.
For secondary programmes, 91% of the target or some 12,943 were recruited. That is a shortfall of 2,278 teacher trainees against the target for September 2015.
But over the past three years, a shortage of more than 6,000 teachers has built up, analysis by Prof John Howson, of Data for Education, suggests.
"It started to affect schools two years ago, and it was worse last year. We predict things will get even more difficult next year," he said.
He said he knew of supply teacher agencies who were already turning to Canada, Australia and the Irish Republic to fill the gap.
The government must take action if a fourth year of recruitment problems was to be avoided, he said. He also highlighted that the population bulge working its way through primary schools would soon hit secondaries.
The data also shows big shortfalls for certain key subjects such as maths where just 88% of the registration target was met, and in physics where just 67% of the total were registered.
Teacher supply expert Chris Waterman warned that next year would be a "catastrophe" as "all these trainees that we haven't got cannot be converted into the full-time posts".
Mr Waterman, who is also the chairman of the supply and teacher training advisory group, said schools in more challenging circumstances, such as those in coastal towns that already found it hard to recruit, would be hit the hardest.
He knew of a number of head teachers who had travelled to Canada on teacher recruitment trips, he said.
"In September 2015, many secondary pupils will either have no teacher or an untrained teacher in maths, physics and modern languages, and other shortage subjects.
"Places like Dover, Great Yarmouth and Blackpool will be at the back of the queue for teachers."
He added: "A secondary school student could do their entire GCSE course without ever having seen a single lesson from a maths specialist."
A DfE representative said it always allocated more places on courses than were needed to ensure a high quality supply of teachers across England's classrooms.
"We never expect to fill to 100% of allocated places and we are confident we will continue to meet future demand.
"Despite a tightening labour market, trainee teacher recruitment is holding steady - with low vacancy rates in priority subjects like maths and science.
"We want the best and brightest teachers in our schools. That's why we are offering increased bursaries worth £25,000 tax free to top graduates training in priority subjects, including physics, maths and languages and prestigious scholarships, to trainees in maths, physics, chemistry, and computing." | Schools could start to look overseas to fill teaching vacancies as a "ghastly" teacher training shortage in England starts to bite, expert say. |
38,615,373 | Homes, the local shop and post office in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant were affected by the incident on Friday afternoon.
A pub landlord told BBC Wales the road around Market Square "was like a river".
United Utilities, which owns the pipe, is investigating the incident, which affected about 50 properties.
A spokesman said the flooding was due to a burst on one of the pipes that carries water from Lake Vyrnwy to treatment works in Oswestry.
"Our engineers are investigating and we are working closely with the fire service to assist those who have been flooded," he said
"We will be visiting the householders and businesses affected to assess the damage and explain the process for claiming for any losses and getting their homes back to normal as quickly as possible.
"We will be doing all we can to help."
Crews from Mid and West Fire and Rescue service pumped out one property after the pipe burst and Powys council provided sandbags.
The water main was isolated by Severn Trent. | A burst water main which flooded properties in a Powys village has been fixed. |
35,121,143 | The 26-year-old has scored 27 tries in 128 appearances for Quins, despite spending over a year out with a serious neck injury he suffered in 2013.
"My decision to stay was a quick and easy one," he told the club website.
"The club and its supporters really helped me during my long-term injury and it's something I'm truly grateful for. I want to repay the faith."
Harlequins have not disclosed the length of Lowe's new deal at the Twickenham Stoop. | Harlequins centre George Lowe has signed a new contract with the Premiership club. |
39,271,625 | Craig Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, is being investigated over alleged overspending in the 2015 general election campaign.
Mr Mackinlay defeated the then UKIP leader Nigel Farage in the ballot.
Karl McCartney, whose bid to retain his Lincoln seat is also being probed, says a draft report into the controversy has been withheld by Tory central office.
Seventeen police forces across the country are looking into whether some MPs' agents should have filed costs associated with battle bus visits to their constituencies in their local expenses.
The Tories said they had been campaigning "across the country for the return of a Conservative government" and, as a result, associated costs were regarded as national not local expenditure.
Mr McCartney has accused Conservative Central Office (CCHQ) of keeping back from MPs a draft report from the Electoral Commission on the investigation.
In an email leaked to Sky News, he wrote to the party chairman, Patrick McLoughlin saying MPs felt "completely cast adrift" and "left to fend for themselves".
The message continued: "We didn't create this mess, the clever dicks at CCHQ did, and I don't see their professional reputations being trashed in the media much."
In a statement Mr McCartney said: "The Conservative Party advised us that the so-called campaign 'battle buses' were, as at previous general elections and in keeping with the practice of both the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats, a national campaign expense.
"This meant that they were not to be declared in our own election expenses."
The office of Craig Mackinlay, who was questioned on Saturday, said it would not be commenting.
The Tories have blamed an "administrative error" for not declaring £38,000 of expenses for their Battlebus tour.
It follows a Channel 4 investigation into spending in key constituencies.
In June, Kent Police were given a further 12 months to investigate the claims of improper spending.
Granting the extension, District Judge Justin Barron described the allegations as "far-reaching".
The inquiry, he said, could lead to election results "being declared void." | A Conservative MP has been interviewed under caution over his election expenses, the BBC understands. |
36,491,729 | The clerical worker went missing 20 years ago after a night out in Bath.
Her remains were found in 2009 on a slip road at the side of the M5 near Bristol.
Det Sup Andy Bevan said police received 20 calls after he revealed on Wednesday they had found DNA on an item found close to where her body was discovered.
Miss Hall, 25, who worked at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, had been on a night out at Cadillacs nightclub when she was last seen on 9 June 1996.
A black bin liner containing her bones and skull was found by a workman clearing vegetation next to a slip-road at junction 14 of the M5, near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, on 5 October 2009.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the case since the investigation began, but no-one has been charged.
"We have officers and staff following up on information we've received following the Crimewatch Roadshow appeal," Mr Bevan said.
"Some of the calls provided names of potential suspects, some related to the outstanding items of Melanie's property which have never been found and others were reporting suspicious activity around the motorway slipway where Melanie's remains were found.
"We're extremely grateful to everyone who has responded so far but we still need more information from the public.
"I firmly believe someone out there knows who killed Melanie and now is the time for them to come forward to bring some relief to her family, who've been through 20 years of heartache." | Detectives investigating the murder of Melanie Hall have received "potentially significant information" following a television appeal. |
37,180,037 | Peter Page of Nathans Waste Savers said both thefts and vandalism costs his firm £400,000 a year.
He explained: "We see local people stealing for their own benefit and a criminal aspect to it too.
"Someone actually dropped a child inside a clothing bin to pass stuff out. When the police came to chase the others away the child was left inside."
Slovakian Ivana Zigova came to Scotland six years ago. The 22-year-old has three jobs and earns about £4-an-hour cleaning in a local shop seven days a week - but says she is content.
"I love it here and I am happy with my work," she said. "I have a beautiful son and a very good husband."
I love it here and I am happy with my work - I have a beautiful son and a very good husband."
Ivana insisted she did not want benefits and she was keen to work and to pay her way.
Figures obtained by the BBC show that of a study of 310 local Roma people, most were working but that more than a third were receiving less than the minimum wage.
Govanhill has one of the largest concentrations of Roma people in the UK.
Local organisation, Community Renewal, received funding from the People's Health Trust to do the study which involved volunteers from Slovakia and Romania holding conversations in their native languages.
One of the volunteers, Marek Balog is originally from Slovakia.
He said: "People are coming to Scotland to work, not live off benefits.
"They are willing to work for less than the minimum wage. About 30-40% work for less than the minimum wage. Some have to do it to survive."
Calina Toqer, from Romania, is also a volunteer on the project. She said some women were so poor they raked through the charity clothes bins.
The study also found that local Roma were fed-up with the rubbish on the streets and in the closes.
New figures show that since January the council has collected 900 tonnes of waste and recyclable material from domestic and commercial premises in the area.
In addition, they've collected 485 tonnes of illegally fly-tipped material from pavements and lanes.
There are 42 different languages spoken in Govanhill, but a glance at social media would suggest that all the migrants in the area are Roma.
They are often blamed for what goes wrong in the community.
However, the local police commander tells a different story.
Ch Insp Graham McInarlin, the area commander, said Govanhill did not merit its reputation.
He added: "There are a number of myths in the area.
"If we are to believe everything we read then the Roma are responsible for all crime in the area. In actual fact we know that is not the case. We do know that a number of Eastern Europeans in the area are very reluctant to report crime."
While there is light in the sky, the streets are full of bustle. Shops sell huge watermelons, bowls of oranges and apples.
There are children playing on scooters and bikes, men congregating on street corners, bin lorries and council collection trucks picking up old sofas, mattresses and broken drawers left on pavements and rubbish blows around in the breeze.
Parts of Govanhill are ranked among the most deprived in the country, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Local agencies highlight overcrowding, poor housing and rogue landlords as the key problem.
Margo Uprichard of The Space - a community project of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul which works with Roma families in Govanhill - said the poverty in the area is quite extraordinary.
"What we saw when we came here was a community that reminded me of growing up in Glasgow in the 1960s," she said.
"We had workless men standing on street corners, large families and flats where there are infestations we have not seen for generations. Bed bugs, cockroaches and rats in flats.
"But on top of that you also have a people - many of whom - who have had no education and adults who have no capacity to read or write and don't know how to sign their name so they live in a communication vacuum."
And support agencies say the problems might have been exacerbated as there was a rise in migrants in the run up to the EU referendum in June.
Margo said: "We have seen an influx of people.
"We think they see it perhaps as their last chance of coming here."
Jim Monaghan agreed that there had been a "noticeable increase".
He is head of the Govanhill Baths Community Trust, a group created to raise enough money to re-open the Victorian swimming baths in the area closed by the council 15 years ago.
Jim said: "I think a lot of Romanians panicked that it was going to be the last chance to get in. Certainly a few hundred arrived in the lead up to the European vote.
"Poverty is the main problem in the area and has been for a long time. The problems came here before the Roma. Sometimes it's exacerbated by the amount of people and lack of housing but that's not about who the people are.
"There's a lot of one-bedroom flats. They're easy to get without references and so people gravitate here. People that already have problems gravitate here. There's far too many people living here. Years ago it was 8,500. Now it's 14,000."
With poverty comes other problems.
Figures obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act show that in the past four years there have been:
Rachel Moon, of Govanhill Law Centre, said: "Govanhill has the highest concentration of cockroaches in Scotland. Quite often they just travel up and down the flats and it is really difficult to eradicate them. It is made so much worse by fly-tipping by private landlords.
"Rather than buying new mattresses they just take them from the street and it goes round in a circle. We have had clients with pock marks all over their arms and their children have pock marks all over their arms and they are sitting scratching because of all the lice and bed bugs.
"Often people don't want to have anything to do with public authority. They don't want to give evidence or take a case. They just want somewhere to live. Many clients are getting paid less than the minimum wage but they say they are happy to have a job."
But the area is also cause for hope.
Beatbox musician Bigg Taj works with young people in the area.
He said: "I know people who have criticised Govanhill and I think it's people who have just heard the stories.
"They've actually come into the area, or they're kind of scared when they see a group of kids standing at the corner. Because I've worked here, walking down the street is fine, no one really gives you hassle.
"The group of young people I work with, they just want to work, they want to make music, they want to expressive themselves.
"Some of them want to be famous, they want to perform, that's what I've seen. They want to make something of themselves, they're not here to leach, they're not here to rob, they're not here to harm anyone, they just want to have a good life."
And Jim insists that despite its problems, Govanhill remains an "amazingly vibrant place".
He said: "All the bad things people will say are the bad things that have positive effects as well. Being so busy, there's always things going on. The low rents also bring in artists and students so there's lots of things happening in Govanhill." | The company looking after clothing bins in the Govanhill area said thefts had become so commonplace it was forced to change the specifications on the containers. |
34,473,079 | The party's Plan A is a voluntary coalition with an opposition, operating initially on the basis of 60% weighted majority votes.
The party's Plan B would involve MLAs passing bills through the assembly, but British ministers exercising executive functions while remaining accountable to the assembly.
The TUV claim Plan A would ensure cross-community involvement, although they believe it should be possible to reduce the threshold to a straight majority over time.
In a new policy document, the TUV leader, Jim Allister, argues that "clinging endlessly to the failure of mandatory coalition is not serving Northern Ireland well".
Stormont has been in crisis for weeks following the murder of an ex-IRA man.
Kevin McGuigan Sr was shot dead near his home in east Belfast in August, and following a police assessment that Provisional IRA members were involved, all but one of the Northern Ireland Executive's unionist ministers resigned in protest.
Crisis talks involving Northern Ireland's five biggest parties, and the British and Irish governments, have been taking place over the past three weeks.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers told the Conservative Party's annual conference that the future of Northern Ireland devolution is under threat.
However, she said a return to direct rule would be a "severe setback" for Northern Ireland's political process. | The Traditional Unionists have proposed two possible alternatives to the current power sharing executive which, they argue, could provide a path to making Stormont work. |
27,930,766 | Parents affected by the Mortonhall Crematorium baby ashes scandal are to be consulted later this year on the design and location of the memorial.
Bruntsfield Links, Princes Street Gardens and Mortonhall are also being considered as possible locations.
The plans are to be considered at a council meeting on Thursday.
The memorial is part of a council action plan in response to 22 recommendations made in a report by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini published in April.
These included that the council should review how Mortonhall crematorium is managed, ensure the location of interment of remains is recorded in future and discuss options for memorials with parents.
The council said its working group had given "sustained and proper consideration" to each of the recommendations made by Dame Elish.
Immediate actions include discussions with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) about existing practice and permits and the introduction of an infant cremator.
There has also been an exchange of letters between the council and the Scottish government as well as the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities and the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.
The council plans to hold discussions with infant death charities SANDS and SIMBA about when the time is right to open discussions with parents about improving the landscaping and the design of a memorial.
Staff at Edinburgh's Mortonhall crematorium secretly disposed of the remains of stillborn and dead newborn babies without their families' knowledge over decades, from 1967 to 2011.
Sue Bruce, Edinburgh City Council's chief executive, said: "I would like to re-iterate my sincere apologies to the bereaved families for the distress they have suffered as a result of the practices at Mortonhall Crematorium.
"I want to thank them for their co-operation with the investigation and contributions to the report and also thank Dame Elish and her team for their hard work.
"The families should be able to take comfort from their dedicated campaigning which has resulted in our action plan and the Infant Cremation Commission report by Lord Bonomy which will lead to legislative change in Scotland to ensure nothing like this can happen again.
"I have been impressed by the willingness of all the participants, especially the parent representatives, to work together. The publication of this action plan marks a significant step forward to ensuring that the highest possible standards are adhered to at Mortonhall.
"I am pleased with the progress already made but we now need to build on that impetus to ensure the action plan is closely monitored and delivered in full.
"The working group will continue to closely with the Scottish government to ensure our actions are consistent with the recommendations of Lord Bonomy."
Other measures in the action plan include a review of staffing in bereavement services and the development and roll out of a management and leadership programme.
The report into the Mortonhall scandal by Dame Elish Angiolini found parents faced "a lifetime of uncertainty" over what had happened to their infants' remains.
Earlier this week, an investigation into the handling of baby ashes across Scotland, led by Lord Bonomy, made 64 recommendations. | A memorial to remember the hundreds of babies whose ashes were not given to their parents in Edinburgh is being planned for the Meadows. |
36,545,441 | At one point the dollar fell to 104.06 yen, its lowest since August 2014.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 3.05% to 15,434.14 points.
The Bank of Japan boosted the yen, which has been gaining ground as a haven for nervous investors, further after it ended its meeting saying it would not add new stimulus.
Continuing worries around the upcoming EU referendum in the UK are adding to general unease about the lack of economic growth.
Comments by the Federal Reserve head, Janet Yellen, overnight sounded a warning over a possible British exit from the EU.
A stronger yen hurts Japan's big exporters.
It makes their goods more expensive to buy overseas and affects their bottom line when they repatriate earnings.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.1% to 20,038.42, while the Shanghai Composite closed 0.5% lower at 2,872.82.
News that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged for the moment was initially welcomed by several markets in Asia.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index opened up 0.5% and continued to rise in morning trade. It later closed flat at 5,146 points.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index spent much of the day in positive territory and closed up 0.28% at 6,888.56.
Investors there were given a boost by positive economic growth numbers released earlier. Official statistics showed New Zealand posted faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter, up 2.8% from a year earlier.
Stocks in South Korea opened in positive territory but lost some ground later, with the benchmark Kospi index closing down 0.86% at 1,951.99.
Analysts said investors would continue to be wary of news from the UK and whether voters there will move to leave the EU.
The possibility of Brexit was one of the factors that led the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said.
Ms Yellen said the decision to be made on 23 June could have consequences for economic and financial conditions in global financial markets.
The Federal Reserve raised rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade. | The Nikkei has closed down 3% for the second time this week after another rise in the Japanese yen against the dollar threatened exporters' prospects. |
33,880,326 | Pascal Aerts, who leads the officers policing migrants in Calais, told the BBC fences were a "short-term solution" and that migrants would simply move to places where security was weaker.
The UK government has spent £7 million on putting up new fencing.
Ministers say everything possible is being done to protect the UK's border.
Mr Aerts said fences were "an immediate response to an immediate problem" but they would only work until "migrants who can no longer get past them move towards other places where they can get through".
He said the fences would lead to a "displacement of the problem", possibly to ports in the Netherlands and Belgium.
The UK government was doing "everything it can to help our efforts", he told the BBC's Tomos Morgan and Alexandra Heal.
But he said: "The solution is not in Calais, the solution must be political. The solution will lie in international agreement."
Alex Morrison, BBC News
Travel down any Calais street, day or night, and you'll probably see the police.
They're mostly in vans, often parked on roadsides or bridges, just waiting.
When the busy town goes quiet after dark, growing groups of migrants appear near the fences that cut across the countryside.
Police vans leave their flashing lights on and there's an eerie atmosphere as migrants try to find ways past them - and the double fences - to the port or Eurotunnel train line.
There are flash points. Tear gas is used and migrants complain of rough treatment - one told us a policeman "pushed me with his van".
Even with all this security many migrants breach the Calais defences, and now the police say the issue may simply move elsewhere.
He said people-smuggling networks relied on help from some lorry drivers, and probably some British people.
Migrants in the Calais camp this week have told the BBC security has become much tougher in recent weeks, and many say they have stopped trying to cross.
But others say they will reach Britain or die trying.
Eritrean sisters Mhrt, 22, Migb, 17, and Tina, 16, said it was now "very dangerous" to attempt a crossing.
But Migb said: "We are trying every day. We wait until dark and then we try to cross."
Speaking about the issue of trafficking, Mr Aerts added: "There exists a network of smugglers, sometimes with the compliance of lorry drivers, sometimes with the compliance of locals.
"I don't have proof that they're English but we know perfectly there do exist links between the traffickers and the receivers in Great Britain, and with the traffickers who work in France." | Fences built to stop Calais migrants crossing to the UK will simply push the problem elsewhere, French police have said. |
35,734,979 | The event, one of the largest gay and lesbian parades in the world, attracted more than 12,000 participants.
It takes place as campaigners are fighting to get Australian leaders to legalise same-sex marriage.
PM Malcolm Turnbull, who attended the event but did not march, backs a public plebiscite on the issue.
Bill Shorten, the head of the opposition Labor Party, who did march in Sydney, has promised to introduce a same-sex marriage bill within 100 days if his party is elected.
One poll released this week showed that while a majority of Australians think same-sex marriage should be introduced, one in five consider it "immoral". | Thousands of people have turned out in Sydney for the city's annual Mardi Gras, including, for the first time, Australia's prime minister. |
21,578,057 | The cause was a surge in numbers attending accident and emergency (A&E) at Northampton General Hospital.
The hospital was close to capacity for 12 out of 22 days and a long term trend of growing need has been revealed.
In 2005/06 the hospital saw 65,000 patients in A&E (178 a day), in 2011/12 it was 87,000 (238 a day) and by March 2013 90,000 (247 a day) are expected.
"Like many other hospitals in the country Northampton General Hospital saw record numbers of patients attending at our A&E department during January, many of whom required admission to hospital," a spokesman said. | The main hospital in Northamptonshire had a bed occupation rate close to capacity for nearly half of January. |
20,045,927 | Born in New Zealand, Maitland can play on the wing or at full-back and qualifies to play for Scotland through both of his grandfathers.
A three-year deal has been agreed, with a medical and visa pending.
He will be a fantastic addition to our squad
"We're delighted to be welcoming a player of Sean Maitland's calibre to Glasgow Warriors," head coach Gregor Townsend told the Warriors website.
"The back three is an area of the team where we already have a number of excellent options, and Sean will provide a further layer of quality as we enter another busy phase of the season."
At New Zealand Under-19 and Under-20 level, Maitland won the World Cup and IRB Junior World Championship, respectively.
He has also represented the Canterbury provincial side and New Zeland Maori.
"His try-scoring record in Super Rugby [24 tries in four years] speaks for itself, and he's also a player who has a big appetite for self-improvement," added Townsend.
"He will be a fantastic addition to our squad and will, I'm sure, be very popular with our supporters.
"It's another indication of the increasing profile of Glasgow Warriors that a player of Sean's ability and ambition sees us as a club where he can continue to progress." | Glasgow Warriors have signed Sean Maitland following the 24-year-old's departure from Crusaders. |
39,665,902 | Police say they were first called to Nelson Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent at around 21:00 BST having been told car windows had been smashed.
They were then called to Rochester Road, Sandford Hill to more reports of people fighting and smashed windows.
Six men, aged between 18-23 were arrested on suspicion of affray.
Staffordshire Police say they seized "a machete and hammer along with a red Mercedes" and say they are linking both incidents.
More on this and other Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire stories here
Officers recovered a suspected firearm but say examinations show it was a "plastic, toy gun."
Inspector Mick Eyre, of Staffordshire Police said: "I want to take this opportunity to reassure residents that we take such matters extremely seriously and respond with the appropriate resources."
"Such behaviour on our streets is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Police are appealing for any witnesses to the incidents to get in touch with them. | Armed police were called to two reports of men fighting in the street, some said to be armed with bats, poles and what was described as a gun. |
36,292,457 | An official said the monk's body was found inside a Buddhist temple.
It is the latest in a spate of murders of religious minorities, secular activists and academics.
More than 20 people have been killed by suspected Islamists in the last three years.
Is violent extremism on the rise in Bangladesh?
Who is behind the killings?
Lurching from secularism to sectarian terror?
Police said Maung Shue U Chak appeared to have been attacked by at least four people at the temple in Baishari, 350km (220 miles) south-east of the capital Dhaka.
His killing follows the murder of two prominent gay activists, a law student and a university professor in April.
In February a Hindu priest was beheaded in northern Bangladesh.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group and a Bangladeshi militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda have said they carried out some of the killings.
IS has also said it carried out attacks on Shia Muslim mosques and shrines as well as the killings of two foreigners - an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farming expert - last year.
Earlier this month Singapore deported eight Bangladeshis it said were members of a group set up in March called Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) and were plotting attacks in their homeland.
However the Bangladeshi government denies there is an IS presence in the country.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh is officially secular but critics say the government has failed to take appropriate action in the wake of the attacks. | Police in Bangladesh say a 75-year-old Buddhist monk has been hacked to death in the south-eastern district of Bandarban. |
35,530,848 | The 26-year-old is the fourth celebrity to drop out of the competition because of an injury.
Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle, actress Tina Hobley and Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington have also pulled out of the programme.
Vandelli was taken to hospital on Sunday after a fall while taking part in the show's Snow Cross challenge.
A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "[Vandelli] received immediate medical attention but sadly will not be able to continue in the competition due to an ankle fracture, which has now been treated."
The Jump sees celebrities take part in various winter sports competitions, including ski-jumping, bobsleigh, and speed skating.
Tweddle had to have neck surgery after suffering a serious spinal injury on Saturday when she crashed into a safety barrier. She remains in hospital.
Holby City actress Hobley broke her arm in two places while Adlington dislocated her shoulder. All three have since left the series.
Athlete Linford Christie has also been forced to take time out due to a hamstring injury but remains in the competition.
Earlier in the week, Channel 4 confirmed it had asked producers to "review safety procedures again to further reduce the prospect of accident".
On Tuesday, Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards said producers were not solely to blame for the celebrities injuries, saying it was the contestants' own responsibility to train properly.
Tweddle described the days following her accident as "very scary" after the operation which saw surgeons take a bone from her hip and use it along with pins to fuse together two fractured vertebrae in her neck.
Rebecca Adlington told host Davina McCall the fall that caused her shoulder injury was "literally the worst thing that has ever happened to me, it was worse than childbirth". | Mark-Francis Vandelli from Made in Chelsea has left Channel 4 series the Jump after fracturing his ankle. |
36,964,015 | 3 August 2016 Last updated at 16:45 BST
The long-awaited Transit Elevated Bus ran its first test in Hebei province this week.
Powered by electricity, the bus is able to carry up to 300 passengers.
The scheme's prompted criticism from some though, as vehicles must be less than two metres high to pass under what's been dubbed a "bus on stilts".
Pictures courtesy of Xinhua News Agency | A futuristic new bus that allows cars to pass underneath it on the road is being tested in China. |
35,276,531 | However, both the German president of the European Parliament and the German EU commissioner have been sharply critical of Poland's new government.
The German ambassador has been summoned to the Polish foreign ministry.
The conservative and staunchly Catholic Law and Justice party won elections in October with a majority.
It became the first party to be able to govern alone since democracy was restored to Poland in 1989.
A newly enacted media law gives control of Polish public radio and TV to a national media council close to the government.
Thousands of Poles joined a demonstration on Saturday in Warsaw to protest against the law.
PiS has also sought to strengthen government control over the constitutional court and the civil service.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz, a German centre-left politician, accused PiS of putting the interests of party before country.
It was a "dangerous Putinisation of European politics," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German), referring to Russia's authoritarian president.
Earlier this month, EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said there were grounds for activating a new EU mechanism for states deemed to have breached the rule of law.
However, in a recent interview with the right-wing Catholic broadcaster Trwam, Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Poland would not be lectured by Germany "on democracy and freedom".
He accused Germany and other countries of meddling with Poland's sovereignty.
Poland enjoyed eight years of excellent relations with Germany under the previous centre-right Civic Platform led government, says the BBC's Adam Easton, in Warsaw.
The new Law and Justice government is much more sceptical of Germany's intentions and frequently makes allusions to Poland's losses during the World War Two, our correspondent says. | The Polish foreign ministry has criticised German politicians for what it calls "anti-Polish" comments but has given no details of which ones. |
33,511,578 | Some professionals at the time questioned whether Emily Titterington's illness was induced by the emotional challenges being faced by her mother.
Her parents felt experts did not understand her issues, the review said.
Agencies across the country are being urged to learn from the case.
Emily collapsed and died at home at St Austell in February 2013.
At an inquest into her death earlier this month, the Coroner for Cornwall concluded the cause of death was "natural causes contributed by psycho-social factors".
The serious case review said seven agencies were involved with her and her family during the last three years of her life.
It said "the voice of the child was not heard or accessible" and no professional knew what Emily herself "thought would help her most in life".
Emily, who was home educated and had mild autism, lived in a rural area with her parents in a "fixed, unchallenged family dynamic" that was "difficult" to work with, according to the review.
Chairman of Cornwall's Safeguarding Children Board (SCB), John Clements, said: "The hypothesis is the mother had her own emotional difficulties, and as a consequence... whatever relationship that existed with her daughter caused a number of conditions within her daughter".
He added there was no suggestion this was deliberate and admitted "we don't really understand the full circumstances".
Emily was seen by a number of medical professionals in the lead up to her death, but had refused to go to hospital.
The serious case review found there was a lack of continuity across the healthcare system and "no clear clinical leader to grip her chronic health problem".
Mr Clements said a number of recommendations had been made, including working to make sure a vulnerable child's voice is heard.
"The last thing we ever want is for anything like this to happen again," he said. | The voice of a vulnerable 16-year-old who died from a constipation-induced heart attack "was not heard" despite seven agencies being involved in her care, a serious case review has found. |
37,331,510 | The Briton, who had a stroke aged 23 which led to her being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), won athletics bronze in the T38 100m and gold in cycling's C4-5 time trial.
"I am in a small minority as a black female with a disability," she said.
"But I've shown that even with conditions like MS, it's not the setback that it has to be."
In winning cycling gold in a world record time, the 25-year-old from Leeds became the first Briton since 1988 to win a medal in two sports at the same Paralympics.
Isabel Barr was the last Briton to achieve that feat, with medals in the shooting and athletics in Seoul.
Cox, who said she celebrated winning bronze on the track by spending the next day "plaiting people's hair and watching [the film] Coach Carter", now wants to inspire the next generation of Para-athletes from different backgrounds.
"There is nothing to be afraid of - just come out and show what you've got," she said.
"I've come out here and done it, I'm nothing special. You just have to have heart, passion, determination and self-belief."
BBC Sport's Nick Hope
"I really think Kadeena Cox's success could start a seismic shift in Paralympic, as well as Olympic, cycling and encourage more black athletes to try the sport.
"Given the obvious sprint power many black athletes are able to generate in track and field events, I know there are many in cycling who feel it would be a natural shift.
"To date I think it's been a cultural problem - much like we've seen traditionally in swimming, which is dominated by white athletes.
"However, that has begun to change in recent Games and in particular the Rio Olympics where USA's Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic swimming gold.
"Will cycling be the next sport to benefit from a change in views and attitudes towards old 'traditions' in sport?" | Double Paralympic medallist Kadeena Cox hopes her achievements in Rio can inspire fellow black athletes. |
29,687,817 | BBC Radio 4's You & Yours has spoken to people cold-called by Liverpool-based salesmen and persuaded to "unlock" their frozen pensions, with promises of cash upfront, and high returns.
But the BBC has heard support staff were encouraged to lie repeatedly to worried scheme members.
These sales companies are no longer trading, but former bosses deny wrongdoing.
More than five hundred people were persuaded to transfer more than £20m into the two schemes - Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme and Capita Oak.
Henley promised a tax free lump of 25% on the member's 55th birthday, while Capita Oak offered up to 15% cash upfront - regardless of age.
Both schemes promised a guaranteed return by investing the money in Lancashire storage company, Store First Ltd, part of Group First.
But many have struggled for months to receive payments, or get any details of where their pensions are and whether the promised return has been added.
The Liverpool-based sales companies - including Sanderson Clarke Ltd and Jackson Francis Ltd - have now ceased trading, leaving clients with no contact details.
In the case of Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme, BBC Radio 4's You and Yours has learned of at least 150 people who transferred more than £9 million.
Jane Parker from Kidderminster was first contacted by a sales agent in early 2012.
"I had a cold call from a company called Sanderson Clarke, a gentlemen called Dominic, about unlocking frozen pensions, and I agreed to look into it," she says.
"Once they looked into my pensions and said yes, they can be unlocked, they sent a chap called Ian round to have a chat with me.
"He said he was an independent financial adviser, but he only explained about this company called Group First, and that I'd get this 8% return.
"It sounded very good and very believable."
Jane says one of her frozen pensions - worth £30,000 - was transferred into the scheme.
"The letter from Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme looked very legitimate," Jane says, "with a registered number, with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs written on it."
She has since heard nothing from either Sanderson Clarke or Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme.
"I was getting concerned I hadn't heard anything so I tried to ring but nobody ever got back to me."
Eventually the line went dead, Jane says. Now she has no contact details at all.
"I have nothing, no paperwork whatsoever. This is my little pot of money for when I retire, so what I'd like to do is take all that money and put it into a legitimate scheme"
Steve Lomas, from Swinton in Greater Manchester, had a similar experience.
He was persuaded to transfer his £60,000 local authority frozen pension pot into the Henley scheme in the spring of 2013.
He was told he would receive a 25% tax free lump sum after his 55th birthday later that year.
Nothing happened. For a year he called and emailed Sanderson Clarke repeatedly - but they did not phone back.
He did eventually receive his lump sum, after the BBC made enquiries. He is still unsure where his remaining money is.
Graham Williams from Cardiff was persuaded by the Liverpool sales agents to transfer his £117,000 frozen pension into the Capita Oak scheme.
Unlike the Henley scheme members, he received 15% cash up front, almost immediately, although he was only 48, and payments before 55 are illegal.
He, too, has since heard nothing about where the rest of his pension is.
A former employee of the Liverpool sales companies told Shari Vahl from "You & Yours" that staff were frequently told to fob off pension members - many of whom became increasingly desperate.
"Basically I was getting told to lie to them," the employee said.
"It just got too much just listening to grown men crying, literally breaking down on the phone.
"It was not nice at all."
The former employee claims managers lied to clients "millions of times".
It was "things like, I'll follow up the call , I'll give you a call back, I'm writing it into my diary right now"
"They weren't writing anything into their diary, they didn't even have a diary."
The former boss of the sales companies, Stuart Chapman Clark, denies these allegations.
Another person who transferred their pension to Henley - Tony Helps - became so angry he chained himself to building of the Liverpool sales companies and contacted the media.
His gesture largely worked, and his pension was transferred out of the scheme minus £4,000 - which no-one can explain.
The BBC investigation has discovered a web of companies behind the schemes.
The deal to invest Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme money into Store First was brokered by Stuart Chapman Clark, who ran the Liverpool sales companies, and who has denied any wrong-doing.
The BBC did speak to the man who runs the storage company, Store First Ltd, Toby Whittaker.
He confirmed Stuart Chapman Clark came to him with a third of the £9m transferred into the Henley pension scheme, about £3.5m.
Mr Whittaker said that money was invested in Store First.
Mr Whittaker said he paid the guaranteed return - 16% - as promised, up front, on day one.
But he claims he paid it to a company based in Gibraltar, Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd.
The BBC has tried and failed to make contact with that company.
Millions of pounds remain unaccounted for.
Experts say the case highlights the dangers of responding to cold calls, and allowing your pension to be invested in unregulated investments sold by unregulated advisers.
"Always, always check that the people you are dealing with are authorised by the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority," says Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"If they aren't regulated don't deal with them however plausible they seem or enticing the deal they're offering.
"Don't deal with unregulated advisers and don't put your money into unregulated investments; remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is."
You can hear the special edition of You and Yours here and there will be a special report on BBC Wales X-ray.programme at 19:30 | Millions of pounds is unaccounted for in two pension schemes. |
36,693,360 | The 29-year-old was released by Blackburn Rovers at the end of last season after three seasons.
The former Oldham man spent the second half of last season on loan at Millwall where he helped them reach the League One play-off final.
He is the first signing for new manager Phil Parkinson as Bolton prepare for life in English football's third tier.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Bolton Wanderers have signed midfielder Chris Taylor on a free transfer on a two-year deal. |
37,371,122 | England are also up one place to 12th after beating Slovakia 1-0.
Scotland's 5-1 triumph in Malta means they are the biggest climbers among the home nations, up seven spots to 44th.
However, after their 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland are down two slots to 30th, a place above the Republic of Ireland.
Wales went into the top 10 for the first time in July 2015 and reached a record eighth in October that year.
In August, 2011 Wales were ranked 117th, but their rise to be alongside some of the world's strongest nations included qualifying the 2016 European Championship.
It was the nation's first major tournament since 1958 and they progressed to the semi-finals in France, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Portugal. | Wales have risen a place to 10th in the Fifa world rankings, one spot above Spain, following their 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Moldova. |
37,026,453 | Dawson will go straight into the side to start against Bristol City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old joins the Chairboys as they only have 47-year-old goalkeeper coach Barry Richardson for back-up.
His previous first-team experience came on loan at Alfreton in 2014-15, where he made 17 appearances.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Wycombe Wanderers have signed Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Cameron Dawson on a seven-day emergency loan after an injury to first-choice Scott Brown. |
37,898,202 | Members of the Association of Secondary Schools (ASTI) have withdrawn from supervising students during break times.
ASTI says its members are available for normal teacher duties and are not on strike.
However, school management bodies have said that schools are being forced to close on health and safety grounds.
Most of the schools affected are in the religious-run sector.
It is not known when the schools will be able to open again.
Talks between ASTI and the Irish education department are continuing.
Irish Education Minister Richard Bruton said that ASTI members must comply with working one extra hour per week if they want to be paid for supervision and substitution.
He added that every public servant works the extra hour.
Speaking to RTÉ, he said that ASTI are trying to rewrite the entire approach to public pay in this dispute.
President of ASTI, Ed Byrne, said that there is no sign of the dispute being resolved.
He added that using a one-size-fits-all approach with public servants was not always the best way. | Almost 60% of secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland are closed because of industrial action by teachers. |
38,301,293 | Media playback is not supported on this device
A photograph of six-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi wearing the shirt made from a striped blue plastic bag went viral in January and ended with the boy receiving a signed shirt from the Barcelona striker.
But now the pair have come face to face in Doha, according to Qatar's 2022 World Cup organising committee.
Barcelona are in Qatar to play a friendly against Al Ahli on Tuesday and Ahmadi will walk out on to the pitch with Messi.
"The image the world wanted to see," tweeted the Supreme Committee on Tuesday. "The six-year-old boy who dreamed of meeting his hero, #Messi, finally comes true."
Ahmadi, who comes from the Jaghori District, in the eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, was forced to flee the country to Pakistan in May.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Murtaza was finally identified as the boy in the picture after his uncle, Azim Ahmadi, an Afghan living in Australia, put BBC Trending in touch with his brother, Arif - the young devoted Messi fan's father.
Take part in our new Premier League Predictor game, which allows you to create leagues with friends. | An Afghan boy who became an online hit after wearing a homemade shirt bearing Lionel Messi's famous number 10 has met his hero. |
30,347,612 | Speaking at UKIP's first Welsh conference on Saturday he said the party should have genuine belief it can be the opposition in Cardiff Bay.
He also named Welsh MEP Nathan Gill as the party's Welsh leader and announced two defectors to UKIP.
About 50 protestors gathered outside the conference at Margam Park.
UKIP claims it is now the main challenger to Labour in Wales and has its rivals "on the run".
It has opened campaign offices in Merthyr and Penarth, and is due to open another in Shotton, Flintshire, next week.
The party came within 4,500 votes of beating Labour into first place in the European elections in Wales in May.
Welsh Labour has launched an advertising campaign attacking Mr Farage as a "Thatcherite".
But during his speech to the conference, Mr Farage responded to Labour supporters saying UKIP is not welcome in Wales by saying: "It's a bit late mate, We're already here!"
He said coming close to Labour in the European elections "was simply the most stunning result of the night".
He added: "Our progress electorally and organisationally in Wales is fantastic. We've trebled our membership here."
On devolution Mr Farage took another swipe at the Labour-led Welsh government.
"It isn't devolution that's failing Wales, it's the administration in Cardiff," Mr Farage said.
Turning his attention to next year's general election, he said targeting seven or eight seats and making Mr Gill leader in Wales "sends a signal we're taking Welsh politics seriously".
And on the assembly elections, he added: "We're planning a massive assault on the Welsh assembly elections in 2016.
"We should go into those elections with a genuine belief we can be the opposition party in Cardiff Bay."
Former Newport Conservative councillor William Routley and former Cardiff Plaid Cymru councillor Mohammad Sarul Islam have defected to UKIP.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said its former member had not been an active member "for some years".
Hear Nigel Farage's interview on BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement at 08:00 GMT or see it on BBC One Wales' Sunday Politics Wales at 11:00 GMT on Sunday 7 December. | UKIP leader Nigel Farage is targeting seven or eight Welsh seats at the general election and plans a "massive assault" on the assembly elections. |
30,541,381 | Armed police and specialist officers were called to a flat in Alexandra Road, Blackpool at about 15:20 GMT following reports a man had a weapon.
A woman was taken to hospital with a minor head injury.
The man left the flat voluntarily and is being held in custody for questioning.
A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said: "Specialist officers negotiated with a 43-year old-man in a flat for around five hours before he voluntarily left the flat.
"A weapon has been recovered."
A cordon had been placed on either side of Alexandra Road while negotiations took place.
Neighbours reported a heavy police presence, saying the road was cordoned off but that some residents were later escorted back to their homes.
Ann-Marie Farren, from Alexandra Road, said: "I was driving home from work and saw dozens of police cars." | A 43-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was injured during a five-hour stand-off with police in Lancashire. |
40,597,514 | The activist had been serving an 11-year prison term for "subversion" and was recently moved to a hospital for treatment for terminal liver cancer.
A university professor turned tireless rights campaigner, Mr Liu was branded a criminal by authorities.
The Nobel Committee said the Chinese government bore a "heavy responsibility for his premature death".
The campaigner was repeatedly jailed throughout his life. When not in prison, he was subject to severe restrictions while his wife, Liu Xia, was placed under house arrest.
Mr Liu died "peacefully", surrounded by his wife and other relatives, a doctor who treated him said. His final words to Liu Xia were: "Live on well," the South China Morning Post reported.
Liu Xiaobo played a significant role in the Tiananmen Square student protests of June 1989, which ended in bloodshed when they were quashed by government troops.
He and other activists negotiated the safe exit of several hundred demonstrators, and have been credited with saving their lives.
He was subsequently placed in a detention centre and released in 1991.
Mr Liu's campaign to free those detained during the Tiananmen Square protests landed him in a labour camp in north-eastern China for three years, but he was permitted to marry poet Liu Xia there in 1996.
He was later freed, and continued to campaign for democracy.
The 11-year jail term was handed down in 2009 after he compiled, with other intellectuals, the Charter 08 manifesto. It called for an end to one-party rule and the introduction of multi-party democracy.
Mr Liu was found guilty of trying to overthrow the state.
He was a pro-democracy figurehead for activists outside mainland China, although many of his compatriots were unaware of his struggles because the authorities rigorously censored news about him.
Who was Liu Xiaobo?
The activist in his own words
The dissident won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China", but he was not permitted to travel to Norway to accept it.
He was the second person to receive the award while in prison - the other was the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who won in 1935 while incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp.
China media silent on Liu Xiaobo death
Love that survived a labour camp
By Carrie Gracie, China editor
Chinese authorities refused Liu Xiaobo's dying request to be allowed to travel abroad for treatment. Instead he died as he had lived, under the close watch of the one-party state.
The life and death of this Nobel laureate underline the cost of political defiance in China. Liu Xiaobo had enjoyed a comfortable early career as a university professor, but the massacre which followed the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was the fork in his path.
Where many gave up demanding democracy, he stood firm and was jailed repeatedly. When he won the Nobel, he was serving a prison sentence for subversion. A furious Beijing subsequently placed his wife under house arrest.
Only in a hospital ward in the last days of his life have this suffering couple been reunited, to be parted again by his death.
More from Carrie Gracie
In the weeks leading up to his death, Mr Liu's case became mired in international controversy. Several Western countries urged China to allow Mr Liu to leave the country to seek palliative care elsewhere.
A German and an American doctor who recently visited and examined him in a hospital in the north-eastern city of Shenyang said he would be able to travel abroad. But Chinese medical experts insisted that he was too ill to travel.
Mr Liu's condition deteriorated shortly after he was admitted to hospital, according to Shenyang's First Hospital of China Medical University.
In a brief statement, Shenyang local officials said that Mr Liu had suffered multiple organ failure, and that efforts to save the activist had failed.
At a press conference, Teng Yue'e, the doctor who led the team treating Mr Liu, said: "He was not in any pain at that moment, he was very much at peace, because all of his relatives said their goodbyes beforehand."
Liu Xiaobo memorialised in social art
Coverage on mainland China has been muted - with only a few short reports in English.
Xinhua and CCTV news have issued short statements on their English sites stating that Liu Xiaobo, "convicted of subversion of state power", has died.
Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times said Mr Liu was "a victim led astray" by the West.
"The Chinese side has been focusing on Liu's treatment, but some Western forces are always attempting to steer the issue in a political direction, hyping the treatment as a 'human rights' issue," the Global Times added.
Official Chinese-language news sites on the mainland appear to have steered clear of reporting the story altogether.
Social media users have also noticed attempts from government censors to mute reaction online.
Many comments appear to have been deleted, including messages with "RIP" or candle emojis, popular when commemorating someone who has died. | Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who was China's most prominent human rights and democracy advocate, has died aged 61. |
35,716,264 | In the age of devolution, it is shorter than it used to be and led by a backbencher rather than a government minister.
Unusually, in this year's debate the secretary of state for Wales didn't even speak. Stephen Crabb's absence was highlighted by Labour MPs, including his Labour shadow Nia Griffith.
"I am amazed to see that the Secretary of State for Wales is not in his place to respond to today's debate," she said. "This is despite him making an extremely important announcement about fundamental changes to the Wales Bill on Monday to journalists and not to thishouse, with the Wales Office tweeting at the time that MPs could wait until today to debate these changes."
Mr Crabb's deputy, Alun Cairns, told MPs he had "parliamentary business elsewhere". This was later updated to "an important telephone conversation" with Welsh Economy Minister Edwina Hart.
Caerphilly Labour MP Wayne David suggested Mr Crabb may have resigned or even died.
He said: "Not only am I concerned about the secretary of state being absent from this important debate, but I am also concerned that he was absent at a StDavid's Day reception hosted in Lancaster House earlier today.
"Perhaps he has died or perhaps he has resigned and not told the house?"
Shortly afterwards, as if to prove that reports of his demise were premature, Mr Crabb did appear in the chamber, but did not speak during the debate.
There was another possible explanation for his absence - he was photographed at the Conservative Women's Bexley lunch, where guests tweeted photographs of him speaking to them.
A Wales Office spokesman said "It is very common for junior ministers to respond to backbench debates and the secretary of state was there for the closing speeches".
Asked about the "parliamentary business elsewhere", the Wales Office said it would not discuss the secretary of state's diary (although Mr Crabb himself retweeted photographs from the lunch).
Mr David accused Mr Crabb of showing "disrespect" to MPs and to First Minister Carwyn Jones, whose reception he failed to attend.
The debate itself, led by Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, was a largely consensual affair, with little to trouble the headline writers. You can read the exchanges (including the ones Mr Crabb missed) here. | MPs refer to it as the Welsh day debate, the annual occasion when the House of Commons focuses exclusively on Welsh affairs. |
25,900,547 | Sir Michael Wilshaw spoke after the Times said two right-leaning think tanks were to criticise Ofsted - and one would call for it to be scrapped.
He told the Sunday Times he was "spitting blood" and blamed Michael Gove's department for briefing on it.
A source close to Mr Gove said no-one close had encouraged the attacks.
The two think tanks both confirmed they were working on reports on Ofsted, but denied their work was being done with encouragement from the Department for Education.
The Times on Friday reported that Policy Exchange - which was set up by the education secretary - and Civitas were preparing to call for a radical overhaul of the Ofsted inspection regime, claiming it was trapped by 1960s "progressive" approaches to learning.
It said Civitas would say Mr Gove's wish for schools to develop their own approaches to teaching was being held back by child-first orthodoxies among inspectors, who were stifling innovation.
Policy Exchange, the paper said, would say the current inspection regime placed disproportionate pressure on teachers, while its judgments were too inconsistent.
Sir Michael told the Sunday Times he suspected the think tanks were being "informed by the Department for Education" - "possibly" Mr Gove's special advisers - and that he was "displeased, shocked and outraged".
By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent
Opponents used to talk about "the Two Michaels", such was the assumed unity of purpose between Sir Michael Wilshaw and Michael Gove.
Teachers' unions routinely accused the Ofsted chief of lacking independence from the education secretary.
But this row, in the shadows of briefings and think tanks, suggests some of the fault lines.
Apart from Sir Michael's hackles being raised by the criticism of Ofsted, he is sending a signal about his intentions not to give any special treatment to academy chains or free school providers.
Sir Michael, a former academy head teacher, has said the chains which run groups of academies must be open to scrutiny by Ofsted, in the way that local authority services can be inspected.
This Ofsted boss has turned around tough schools. He's been there, done it - and in his case, not so much got the T-shirt as got the crisp suit and tie.
And no one would doubt his single-mindedness or willingness to challenge vested interests if he believes it will raise school standards.
"I am spitting blood over this and I want it to stop," he said.
Asked whether he wanted Mr Gove to call off the "attack dogs", the newspaper reported, he replied: "Absolutely."
He added: "It does nothing for [Michael Gove's] drive or our drive to raise standards in schools.
"I was never intimidated as a head teacher and I do not intend to be intimidated as a chief inspector."
Sir Michael, who inspects children's services as well as schools in England, was appointed by the coalition and he and Mr Gove have been thought of as allies.
Sir Michael has also drawn criticism from teachers' unions in the past , and defended his organisation, saying it had done "more to raise standards in 21 years of existence than any other organisation".
He also said that in parts of the country no-one was effectively monitoring free schools and academies, the newspaper reported.
"If I see things going wrong in an academy chain I will say so," he said.
"If people tied to the free-school movement think I will not do that, they have another think coming."
"As long as we exist and have the job of raising standards, we will do the job fairly without fear or favour."
Sir Michael also expressed his concern at right-wing critics of the education system who, he said, wanted "children to be lectured for six hours a day in serried ranks".
Such rote learning, he said, was not enough to produce successful learners in the 21st Century.
A source close to Mr Gove told the BBC it definitely was not the case that the education secretary or anyone near to him had encouraged the attacks.
But shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt accused Mr Gove of "playing politics".
"Michael Gove should not seek to discredit Ofsted because Ofsted has given negative judgements to under-performing free schools," he said.
"Michael Wilshaw is right that there is a complete lack of local oversight of free schools to prevent the sort of failure Ofsted has identified."
Civitas director David Green said: "The idea that Michael Gove is in any way directing our criticism of Ofsted is well wide of the mark.
"We have had serious misgivings about Ofsted for many years, driven by the testimony of teachers and their concern for school standards.
"The fact is, whatever Sir Michael Wilshaw's intentions, we know schools that would like to innovate are scared to do so because of the misguided notions of many Ofsted inspectors. It would not be in Michael Gove's power to 'call off' our criticism whether he wanted to or not."
A spokeswoman for the Policy Exchange confirmed that it too was working on a report on Ofsted, but said: "We haven't been told to do that and if we were we wouldn't." | The chief inspector of schools in England has accused staff at the Department for Education of briefing against his organisation. |
29,710,756 | Johnson, 21, joined the League Two strugglers in time to start against Mansfield on Tuesday.
The forward scored 59 goals for Gainsborough in the Northern League last term, earning him a summer move to Championship side Cardiff, where he has yet to feature at senior level.
"He's a fantastic goalscorer who'll be a real threat for us," Rovers boss Micky Adams told the club website.
He is the second signing made by new boss Adams, following the arrival of Armand Gnanduillet from Chesterfield on Monday. | Tranmere have signed Cardiff striker Danny Johnson on a one-month loan deal. |
40,127,326 | He said moves to negotiate a new "fair" deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers would begin.
Mr Trump said during last year's presidential election campaign that he would take the step to help his country's oil and coal industries.
Opponents say withdrawing from the accord is an abdication of US leadership on a key global challenge.
The Paris agreement commits the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them even more, to 1.5C. Only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign up to the deal.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump characterised the Paris agreement as a deal that aimed to hobble, disadvantage and impoverish the US.
He claimed the agreement would cost the US $3tn in lost GDP and 6.5 million jobs - while rival economies like China and India were treated more favourably.
"In order to fulfil my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord... but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States," he said.
The speech contained several rhetorical flourishes reminiscent of his campaign speeches.
"We don't want other leaders and other countries laughing at us any more - and they won't be," he said.
"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. I promised I would exit or re-negotiate any deal which fails to serve America's interests. Many trade deals will soon be under re-negotiation."
The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan in Washington says the move will be welcomed by many Trump supporters, as for them this is less about science - and more about sending a signal to so-called global elites.
Analysts say the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement will make it more difficult for the world to reach the goals that it set for itself in the Paris agreement.
The US contributes about 15% of global emissions of carbon, but it is also a significant source of finance and technology for developing countries in their efforts to fight rising temperatures.
Mr Trump did not give a timescale for US withdrawal, but White House sources had earlier suggested it could take up to four years.
Former US President Barack Obama, who agreed to the Paris deal, immediately criticised the move, accusing the Trump administration of "rejecting the future".
Republican congressional leaders and the US coal industry backed the move, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supporting Mr Trump "for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration's assault on domestic energy production and jobs".
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the decision "one of the worst policy moves made in the 21st Century because of the huge damage to our economy, our environment and our geopolitical standing".
The leaders of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement rejecting a renegotiation of the agreement.
"We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies," it said.
Canada was "deeply disappointed" by President Trump's decision, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters.
This was echoed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who expressed her disappointment and told Mr Trump in a phone call that the deal protects the "prosperity and security of future generations".
Leaders of the Nordic nations - Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland - also condemned the move.
A United Nations spokeswoman said it was a "major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security".
Small island nations whose existence is threatened by rising sea levels were critical of the move. The President of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, said it was "highly concerning for those of us that live on the frontline of climate change".
Tech entrepreneur Elon Muskconfirmed that he was leaving his role as an adviser to the Trump administration in protest.
"Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," he tweeted.
By BBC environment correspondent Matt McGrath
President Trump's statement is a very clear repudiation of the Paris agreement and international efforts to fund climate mitigation and adaptation in poorer countries.
In many ways it is far worse than many had expected. He sees it as a clear job killer, as an economy strangler and a desperately unfair stitch-up by other countries wanting to take economic advantage of the US.
He spoke of being open to re-negotiating the deal or trying to build a new agreement - but the idea of "re-negotiation" is an unlikely scenario.
The scale of his opposition, seeing the deal as "a massive redistribution of US wealth to other countries" is a clear indication that he has fully bought into an economic nationalist and climate denier perspective.
The question of unfairness cropped up again and again, how the world's worst polluters, China and India, had "no meaningful obligations" placed on them by the deal.
The overall tone and content of his speech clearly plays to his base but is also a clear disavowal of multilateralism, especially on climate change, and will definitely push other countries more closely together on this issue.
Climate change, or global warming, refers to the damaging effect of gases, or emissions, released from industry and agriculture on the atmosphere.
The Paris accord is meant to limit the global rise in temperature attributed to emissions.
Countries agreed to:
Exxon shareholders back 'historic' vote on climate
Antarctic ice crack takes major turn | President Donald Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. |
37,107,726 | Ibrahim Halawa, the son of the most senior Muslim cleric in the Republic of Ireland, was arrested during a siege on the Al-Fath mosque in Cairo in 2013.
Last month, the Irish government said it was concerned after the Dubliner's trial was adjourned for the 14th time.
Wednesday marks the third anniversary of Mr Halawa's arrest.
Now the Bar Human Rights Committee has said he should be returned to Ireland.
Mr Halawa and almost 500 other people have been charged with murder and a range of other serious offences.
The 20-year-old could face a death penalty if he is convicted.
Kirsty Brimelow QC, the chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee, said Egypt's treatment of him "constitutes a serious breach of international law".
She added: "He has been subjected to several years of pre-trial detention, violently assaulted by the Egyptian police and denied access to a lawyer or a fair trial.
"During part of this period, Mr Halawa was a child.
"[His] urgent release is required."
The Egyptian government has rejected claims by the United Nations of ill-treatment of Mr Halawa during his time in prison.
Mr Halawa was 17 when he was arrested along with three of his sisters in the Egyptian capital.
They said they were on holiday at the time and sought refuge in the Al-Fath mosque to escape from violence outside.
The sisters were later released on bail, but the family has had to deny claims that Mr Halawa is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organisation.
The Eyptian government has declared it a terrorist group, a claim that the organisation rejects. | A group of British lawyers have called for the release of an Irishman who has been held in an Egyptian prison for three years without trial. |
35,587,817 | St John's CofE Primary School in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, issued a letter after parents reported the class B drug "being used" around the site.
The letter said it had been "noticed" by some older children, adding it is a "serious safeguarding concern".
Police have been made aware of concerns and will be working with the school.
Deborah Binns, deputy head teacher, said: "We have had concerning reports that parents have been using cannabis around the school premises as they drop off and collect their children.
"This has been reported by parents and has been noticed by some of the older children."
"Please respect our school as a place of learning and make sure you set an appropriate example within the community," she added.
The letter about the school in Johnson Street was sent to parents on Friday and was earlier published by the Bolton News.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "The policing team will be working closely with the school and anyone found to be engaging in such activity will be dealt with accordingly by the police. "
The school's governors, the Diocese of Manchester and Bury Council have been contacted for a comment. | Some parents have been seen "using cannabis" while dropping off and collecting their children from a primary school, it has been revealed. |
35,655,684 | Mr Perry, who has twice run as a Republican presidential candidate, had been fighting the case, which he described as "unconstitutional".
"Appeals court clears @GovernorPerry of all charges. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers," his team said.
It was the second count to be dismissed over Mr Perry's use of veto authority.
He was indicted in August 2014 after months of investigation into his motivations for cutting funds amounting to $7.5m (£4.5m) to a state anti-corruption unit run by District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg.
He originally faced two charges but one, coercion by a public servant, was dismissed last summer.
And on Wednesday, the presiding judge in the state's highest court said a governor's power to exercise a veto "may not be circumscribed by the legislature, by the courts, or by district attorneys".
"When the only act that is being prosecuted is a veto, then the prosecution itself violates separation of powers," Judge Sharon Keller added.
Governor Perry, 65, was the longest-serving governor in the state's history and Texas's first indicted governor in nearly a century. He left office in 2015 as the criminal investigation got under way.
The criminal case cast a shadow over his short-lived run in the Republican presidential race for the 2016 election.
Though he was initially seen as a top-tier candidate, he dropped out in September last year after a poor showing in the polls, eclipsed by New York billionaire Donald Trump. | The highest criminal court in Texas has dropped an abuse of power charge against Rick Perry during his time as governor of the US state of Texas. |
38,561,338 | 9 January 2017 Last updated at 20:02 GMT
He was killed in action on 9 January 1917 fighting Turkish soldiers in Mesopotamia, in what is now known as Iraq.
He left behind a baby daughter who never knew him.
His grandchildren were determined that the sacrifice of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment soldier should not be forgotten, so held a remembrance service at Preston Minster 100 years after his death. | When Private James McLaughlin lost his life during World War One there was no funeral, no memorial service and it is not even known where his body is. |
33,182,393 | The event at Rothiemurchus in the Cairngorms National Park will take place on 31 July and 1 August.
Primal Scream, The Maccabees, Lianne La Havas and Honeyblood will also be performing at the 25,000-ticket event.
The festival will be the only UK and European leg of the band's world tour to promote their album Wilder Mind. | Scottish acts Rachel Sermanni, Neon Waltz and White have joined the line up for Mumford & Sons' Gentleman of the Road Aviemore Stopover festival. |
33,990,041 | The Aberdeen-based company said revenue was down 13% to $444m (£283m) compared with the first half of last year, with pre-tax profits down from $120m (£76m) to $11m (£7m).
Production rose by 17% in the first half of this year due to Malaysian fields but North Sea output declined.
The drop in profit was put down to the lower oil price and a reduction in the value of assets.
Enquest has significant projects in the UK North Sea requiring investment, including the Kraken field, east of Shetland.
Production in UK North Sea fields was down from 25,300 barrels per day to 21,900, while Malaysian production added 7,800 barrels per day.
Its half-year results show that it has reduced the operating cost per barrel from $45.90 to $39, and expects to continue cutting until it reaches the low thirties range.
The chief executive, Amjad Bseisu, said: "EnQuest has responded well to the lower oil price environment, delivering a strong performance driven by production gains and cost reductions.
"As the current capital programme reduces over the next two years and EnQuest benefits from lower cost operations and higher production, we expect to move into positive free cash flow at prevailing oil prices." | North Sea oil firm EnQuest has reported sharp drops in revenue and profit. |
39,490,197 | The Right Reverend Tim Thornton has been announced as the new Bishop at Lambeth.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said Bishop Tim was known for his work helping people "on the margins of society".
His duties will include supporting the Archbishop's work in the House of Bishops, General Synod and the Archbishop's Council.
For more on Rt Revd Tim Thornton and other news
The Archbishop said he was "delighted" to welcome Bishop Thornton to Lambeth Palace.
"His work on Feeding Britain demonstrates his range of ability and skill in bringing people together," he said.
The Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Dr Chris Goldsmith, said Bishop Thornton would be missed in Cornwall.
"Not only has he been tireless in inspiring people to look for new ways to meet the challenges of ensuring the church remains relevant, engaged and engaging in the 21st Century, he has also been a keen advocate for the county, and particularly some of its least privileged members," he said. | The Bishop of Truro is to be appointed to a top job in the Church of England. |
32,900,892 | From 2018, EU residents will be prevented from hiding undeclared income in Swiss banks.
The EU and Switzerland will exchange information on the bank accounts which their respective citizens hold.
The EU Commission said it was a "deterrent" against hiding income abroad.
"This new transparency should not only improve member states' ability to track down and tackle tax evaders, but it should also act as a deterrent against hiding income and assets abroad to evade taxes" the EU Commission said.
The Commission is also negotiating similar agreements with Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco.
EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that the agreed automatic exchange of information was "another blow against tax evaders and (represents) another leap towards fairer taxation in Europe".
It follows an agreement for "strengthened transparency" made between EU member states last year. | The EU and Switzerland have signed an agreement that is intended to clamp down on tax evasion, the European Commission has said. |
39,923,153 | The Nailsworth-based club, who once played in the Stroud League, beat Tranmere 3-1 at Wembley and next season fans from Coventry City, Swindon Town and Port Vale will be weaving through the Gloucestershire countryside to reach their New Lawn home.
Forest Green's road to promotion has been a long one - this was their 19th consecutive season in the National League.
But when they reached the fifth tier in 1998, the odds against them progressing to the EFL were steeper than the Nympsfield Road that leads up the hill to their ground.
"It is an unbelievable achievement to put a village team in the Football League," manager Mark Cooper told BBC Sport.
"People talk about us having a lack of fans but you've got to remember we're on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere. They were brilliant [at Wembley]."
Former Swindon and Notts County boss Cooper has forged a strong working relationship with chairman Dale Vince, but it is the latter's unique business strategies that have attracted plenty of attention.
Even the address of Forest Green's stadium hints at alternative thinking: The New Lawn, Another Way, Nailsworth, GL6 0FG.
Whether it be the vegan diet for the players, the barring of any red meat being served in their ground on match days, the cow manure used to help fertilise the pitch or the solar-powered lawnmower cutting it, this is a club breaking from convention.
"It's always good to be different," Cooper added. "The chairman is certainly different, his ethos and what he believes in.
"There's no right way or wrong way, but we've had success doing it, so he's been vindicated in what he's done.
"We've had a lot of animosity towards Forest Green. When I played for them, they were a friendly little club, part-time. Everyone loved them because they weren't a threat. Once they became a threat, nobody liked them, so I'm just chuffed for the chairman.
"He gave me the opportunity to have full control over the football side, and I've never had that. That was what enticed me to come here."
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Vince, the owner of electricity company Ecotricity, has ambitious plans for the club to one day compete as high as the Championship, and on Sunday he was quick to continue looking up the football pyramid.
Highlighting the additional promotion places available at the top of League Two, compared to the National League, Vince declared that getting into League One "will be easy" for the Green Army.
But what can EFL sides expect from the Gloucestershire outfit on the pitch next season?
"We've got some great games, Newport, Swindon, some big crowds, Coventry, so it will be fun getting them up that hill, that's for certain," said Cooper.
"We're not going to go in there to make the numbers up. Knowing what the chairman's like, he will want to be a threat in that league.
"This National League is the hardest league to get out of, one trillion per cent, because with so many big teams in there, it's a graveyard.
"Next year we might not be the favourites every week, but a bit of pressure comes off us."
With a population of 5,794, Nailsworth will be the smallest place to ever have an EFL club. So how did they do it?
Having solid financial backing has undoubtedly helped, but Cooper is adamant it's been about more than that.
"When you're on the outside, you think everybody [here] is earning 10 grand a week," he continued. "When you get on the inside, you realise that is not strictly true.
"We have to pay sometimes to attract players because of where we are, but we have a competitive budget. But that doesn't guarantee you anything.
"We try to play football the way we believe it should be played. Our fans know that we've got a little bit of an identity in how we play football. Lincoln are long ball. We're a football team."
Vince told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "Our budget is nowhere near as big as people say it is.
"People just get carried away but that's football. Nobody at the club really cares about that."
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Even the richest clubs in the world can only go so far without a reliable goalscorer, and Forest Green certainly had one of those this season in the shape of former Dagenham and Redbridge frontman Christian Doidge.
His 27th goal of the campaign put Forest Green 2-1 up at Wembley this season, as he found the back of the net with a typically crisp finish.
"He is an unbelievable professional. If you had 11 or 12 of him in your squad, you wouldn't go far wrong," Cooper said.
"He's just desperate to be a footballer, works hard every day. And he's getting better and better. Someone said at the start of the season 'he'll never score 20 goals' - he's definitely shut them up."
So what of the future? Other so-called 'smaller clubs' have climbed through the divisions in recent years, including now-Championship outfit Burton Albion and League One play-off semi-finalists Fleetwood Town.
"The chairman is going to build a new stadium," Cooper, Forest Green's top scorer in 2001-02, continued, referring to Vince's plans for a new eco park and wooden stadium.
"That is 100% certain that will happen, knowing him. Right on the M5, it will be state-of-the-art, an unbelievable facility.
"As we grow, we will gradually attract more supporters and become even more sustainable."
Forest Green may be small - but having reached the EFL, they fully intend to take root. | They may be known as the 'little club on the hill', but Forest Green Rovers have reached new heights by winning promotion to the English Football League for the first time. |
38,656,523 | There are at least 14 suspected cases.
Most companies on the RHI scheme are based in mid-Ulster and north Antrim, according to information passed to the BBC.
A regional breakdown of installations published by the Stephen Nolan Show shows the biggest cluster is around Dungannon, County Tyrone.
There are 342 boilers there - about one-in-six of the total.
The Ulster Unionist economy spokesman Steve Aiken told the BBC that the Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton, has questions to answer.
"When you have a minister say there's potential for or likely to be fraud, and it hasn't been contradicted, i would think that's enough evidence for the PSNI to become involved in the situation".
The statistics, passed to the BBC, show the total of 2,128 recipients are split roughly between commercial and farming interests.
Around Ballymena and Ballymoney there are 276 boilers.
Poultry farmers are heavily represented, accounting for 871 of the installations.
The two main clusters are close to Moy Park's processing plants in Northern Ireland, in Ballymena and Dungannon.
Poultry farmers use the boilers to heat chicken houses where the birds are reared.
Many switched from LPG gas to biomass in recent years.
Other areas where there are significant numbers of boilers by postcode include Armagh which has 112 and Omagh which has 82.
Last week, Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said a Moy Park briefing with his officials had raised "issues" about the operation of the RHI scheme.
Moy Park later issued a statement but made no reference to those issues.
On Monday, the former DETI minister Jonathan Bell claimed under assembly privilege that he had been told DUP special advisers Timothy Johnston and John Robinson had extensive interests in the poultry industry, and that he would not be allowed to reduce the RHI tariff as a result.
The DUP later issued a statement of categorical denial on behalf of both men.
John Robinson said he had "no personal interest" in the poultry industry. He said two of his brothers were poultry farmers but were not in the RHI.
Timothy Johnston said he had "no family connections to the poultry industry". He said he had two brothers in law in the poultry industry but neither had any connection with the RHI.
On Tuesday, Mr Bell said he was prepared to repeat allegations he made about the role played by special advisers in the RHI scheme, to a judge-led inquiry.
He was speaking during an an opposition debate in the Assembly calling for a public inquiry into the controversial scheme.
He also made further allegations about the RHI scheme - suggesting at least one DUP special adviser might have up to eight boilers. The party said it was an "outrageous claim".
MLAs later voted for a public inquiry to be called into the controversy in a debate where Sinn Féin were absent.
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme was an attempt by the Northern Ireland Executive to help to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources.
But flaws in setting the scheme's subsidy rate left it open to abuse as claimants could earn more cash the more fuel they burned, with the overspend estimated to be about £490m.
It has been centre stage in politics in Northern Ireland over the past month, with the resignation of Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister bringing the issue to a head.
Sinn Féin's refusal to re-nominate a deputy first minister on Monday left Secretary of State James Brokenshire with no option but to call fresh Assembly elections on 2 March.
Former first minister Arlene Foster set up the scheme in 2012 when she was enterprise minister. | The PSNI has said it is considering a request for the chief constable to investigate allegations of fraud in the Renewable Heat Scheme (RHI). |
33,637,226 | In 2014, he lasted just 70 days as Leeds boss and has worked for Swindon Supermarine and Coventry since then.
Hockaday, 57, claims he set up England's first football academy in Cirencester in the 1990s.
"After 20 years I've returned to it and will set up a super football academy," he told BBC Wiltshire.
"Twenty years ago I established the first football academy in this country, long before the academies we see in the pro game today. They followed my blueprint."
After leaving Leeds in August 2014 following just six games in charge, Hockaday joined non-league Swindon Supermarine as assistant manager on a temporary basis before becoming professional development coach at Coventry City in February until the end of last season.
Now he is turning his attention to developing young players in Wiltshire, an area he calls a "black hole" of talent.
"If you are an Under-16 player and think you are an exceptional, or you know someone who fits that description, then my academy will be the place for you," he said.
"The academy I had 20 years ago was the best and won everything. I don't shy away from the words elite and excellent and winning.
So I am going to set up the best academy in the area and then the country and I want the best local talent to come to my trials and see if they can get into my academy."
He added: "I believe massively in the talent in this country.
"We go wrong from the 15 to 19 age group which I call the twilight zone, I want to fill that gap.
"I had great success at Cirencester 20 years ago. People develop at different time scales, I believe there is a lot of talent in this country but there is no patience." | Former Leeds United head coach David Hockaday is to open a new talent academy in Wiltshire to train and develop Under-16 players. |
35,806,707 | The 15-year-old has been giving evidence in the trial at Leeds Crown Court since Tuesday.
She and her friend allegedly killed alcoholic Angela Wrightson in her home in Hartlepool, County Durham, in December 2014.
Mr Justice Globe told the jury the girl had a history of self-harming.
He said they would hear evidence from psychiatrists who had been in court to hear the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, giving evidence.
The judge said: "You're going to hear that [the girl] has had a number of incidents in the past of self-harming and there have been incidents of attempted suicide.
"In the context of her giving evidence, there have been three such incidents.
"One of them apparently occurred at the place where she's staying last Wednesday, the second one occurred while she was at this court last Friday and the third one occurred over the weekend.
"Being aware of these incidents, you will perhaps appreciate a bit more the reason why we have been so careful in relation to making sure she's alright and in a fit state to continue giving her evidence."
The court has been sitting for short days during the trial and the girl has been giving her evidence in half-hour time periods. She has been speaking via video link from a separate room.
The girl, who was 14 at the time, has admitted manslaughter and told the court she repeatedly hit and kicked Miss Wrightson but did not think she could die from her injuries.
The second younger girl, who is now 14 and was 13 at the time, says she played no part in the attack.
Miss Wrightson, who was 5ft 4ins and weighed six and a half stone, was found in her blood-spattered living room with more than 100 injuries.
Both girls admit to being present at the time the injuries were inflicted but deny murder.
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday. | One of two teenage girls accused of murdering a 39-year-old woman has tried to commit suicide three times in the last week, a jury has been told. |
39,774,783 | Margaret Lee flew from Tennessee to Amsterdam to meet someone she had been chatting with online.
The 16-year-old was arrested by Dutch police in the city of Zwolle over the weekend on suspicion of identity theft.
Police say she used her sister's passport to leave the country after hers was confiscated by her family.
Ms Lee ran away from her home in Clarksville on 1 April, according to the Montgomery County Sheriffs office.
She then flew to Amsterdam, via Iceland, by herself.
Dutch police began searching for the girl near The Hague, based on her details from her social media accounts.
Ms Lee was found by Dutch police at a train station in Zwolle, located about 75 miles (120km) east of Amsterdam.
She was reunited with her mother, who flew to the Netherlands to join the search.
Police have yet to reveal the identity of the person she travelled to meet.
It is also unclear whether she will face any criminal charges in both the Netherlands and the US. | An American teenager who ran away last month has been found in the Netherlands and reunited with her mum, but is reportedly refusing to return home. |
36,576,565 | Organisers have revealed the landmark and its rocky foundation will act as a canvas for animated projections charting 350 million years of history.
The free, ticketed event, called Deep Time, will be set to a specially-composed soundtrack by Mogwai.
It marks the start of Standard Life's three year sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Festival.
A viewing arena will be created on Castle Terrace for the late-night show on Sunday 7 August, developed by the company 59 Productions with academics from Edinburgh University.
It follows last year's, The Harmonium Project, which attracted thousands of festival-goers onto Lothian Road to see the transformation of the Usher Hall.
Leo Warner, creative director of 59 Productions, said: "Deep Time gives us an opportunity to build on the success of The Harmonium Project and to create a spectacular event that is more deeply connected to the story of the city."
Deep Time will explore the geology of a landscape formed by volcanic activity and the work of renowned Edinburgh scientist James Hutton (1726-1797), often referred to as the father of geology.
Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch said: "We are delighted to be supporting the Edinburgh International Festival in our sponsorship of this exciting and very unique opening event.
"This exciting highly-visual and visceral event is another great example of innovative and creative work which will be enjoyed by the live audience and millions of others through the power of social media and online."
Festival director Fergus Linehan said: "Standard Life has shown itself to be innovative and creative in its sponsorship of major events, and we look forward to working together to offer the people of Edinburgh and beyond a spectacular start to the summer festival season." | Edinburgh Castle will provide the backdrop for a show to mark the opening of this year's International Festival. |
35,771,805 | Mr Grayling, who wants Britain to leave the EU, warned the country could be shut out of decisions as the eurozone nations integrate further.
He also hit back at the PM's claim that Leave campaigners thought losing jobs was a "price worth paying" for exit.
He said leaving the EU "would create the opportunity for more jobs".
In his speech Mr Grayling warned that Mr Cameron's concession in his EU renegotiation that the UK would not stand in the way of eurozone integration could undermine its position.
"One of the inadvertent consequences of the renegotiation discussions is that we have agreed that Britain 'shall not impede the implementation of legal acts directly linked to the functioning of the euro area'. This is a significant - and underappreciated - loss of leverage," he said.
"We now lack a key tool in preventing further EU integration - which we might be dragged along into. In fact we may be in a worse situation than we were before."
BBC Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith said Mr Grayling and the other Leave campaigners were trying to switch focus back to Mr Cameron's deal, after all the "sound and fury" of recent days, as they believe this is what the referendum is meant to be about - and it is an issue they feel they can "win more easily on" than the economy.
Mr Grayling - one of six members of Mr Cameron's top team backing the Leave campaign - warned the UK would still be choosing to stay in an "unreformed EU which will Hoover up more money and more power at every opportunity it gets".
"The degree to which the European Union now governs our lives is not changed by this agreement," he said.
"The renegotiation has not returned powers to Parliament or the people elected and accountable to it."
The minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he had "huge respect" for the prime minister and was "enormously grateful" to him for allowing ministers to speak their minds ahead of 23 June referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU.
He also claimed the government could work together after the referendum but the public expected a "grown-up discussion" on the EU, adding: "They don't expect us to be automatons."
Addressing Mr Cameron's claims - due to come in a speech to car workers later - that the Leave campaign believed "lost jobs and a dented economy might be... a price worth paying" - he said "European Union regulations cost jobs in the country".
"Outside the European Union, we can take decisions and make laws that are in our own national interest," he added.
Mr Cameron claimed to have secured protections for the City of London in his reform treaty, agreed last month at a Brussels summit.
He also secured an exemption for Britain from the EU's commitment to "ever closer union".
But Vote Leave, the cross-party group to which Mr Grayling is a member, is publishing research later that challenges this claim.
It will suggest the UK has "seemingly given up" its right to veto any future EU treaty drawn up to cement the process of economic and monetary union across the eurozone.
Mr Grayling told Today: "It is not a static situation. I believe we have already given up to much control now to the European Union to govern our affairs.
"But in future as they move to integrate further the danger is we will simply not be able to stop them doing things that will have an impact on us anyway."
He added: "As the eurozone moves towards being much more integrated, towards being a single government, the decisions they take will, nonetheless, impact on the City of London, for example." | Commons leader Chris Grayling has criticised David Cameron's EU reform deal, saying it could leave Britain in a "worse situation" than before. |
38,762,643 | Police were called on Wednesday night to the city's south side after a gang ambushed the vigil.
Among the victims was the mother of the 20-year-old dead woman whom mourners had gathered to remember.
Last year the Illinois city recorded 762 homicides, according to police records.
Police spokesman Ron Gaines said the 12-year-old girl suffered a bullet-graze wound to her head, and is currently in hospital in stable condition.
"Another gang saw them on social media and came out and shot up the memorial," community activist Jedidiah Brown told the Chicago Sun-Times.
"No regard for life, they shot up anybody who was there."
A 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman are in hospital in a serious condition after suffering gunshot wounds, Officer Gaines said.
The other victims, ranging in age from 17 to 43, are in a stable condition.
No arrests have yet been made.
The attack came hours after President Donald Trump threatened to "send in the Feds" if Chicago officials are unable to stop the "carnage" of gun violence.
It is not clear what type of federal intervention Mr Trump had in mind for the city of 2.7 million people.
So far in 2017, 43 people have been killed in Chicago, according to the Chicago-Sun Times. | A 12-year-old girl was among six injured at a shooting during a memorial for a victim of gun violence in Chicago. |
35,145,300 | The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) said in a letter that the money to pay her came from "government corruption and human rights violations".
Minaj, 33, entertained thousands in the Angolan capital, Luanda, on Saturday.
The Christmas event was hosted by mobile phone company Unitel, which is part-owned by the family of Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Since the end of the conflict in 2002, Africa's second-largest oil producer has witnessed an economic boom, but critics of the elected government say the wealth has only benefited a small elite.
HRF's Thor Halvorssen wrote in the letter to Minaj last week that her participation in a performance sponsored by a government "involved in gross human rights violations would be improper".
Mr Halvorssen points out that Unitel is controlled by Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the president and said to be Africa's richest woman.
Transparency International recently named the billionaire as one of 15 symbols of grand corruption worldwide.
Two days after the accusation, Ms Dos Santos's company Fidequity issued a statement insisting it is an independent company and does not use public funds.
Before going on stage on Saturday, Minaj posted a photo of herself with Angola's flag on Instagram along with one of her posing with Isabel dos Santos with the words: "She's just the 8th richest woman in the world. (At least that's what I was told by someone b4 we took this photo) Lol. Yikes!!!!! GIRL POWER!!!!! This motivates me soooooooooo much!!!!"
Minaj also shared the stage with several local acts.
Her performance came a day after a judge ordered the release of 15 Angolan activists, including prominent rapper Luaty Beirao, who were arrested six months ago during a book reading where one of the books on the agenda was about non-violent resistance to repressive regimes.
The group will return to court next month for their trial's conclusion on charges of "rebellion" and attempting to carry out a "coup".
Minaj is not the only performer to be criticised by rights groups for their choice of gigs.
Singer Jennifer Lopez was criticised in 2013 for singing Happy Birthday to the leader of Turkmenistan, who was accused of human rights violations.
In 2011, Nelly Furtado said that she would give away $1m (£615,000) she was paid to perform for the family of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. | US rapper Nicki Minaj has gone ahead with a concert in Angola despite a rights group asking her to cancel it. |
30,624,897 | Eric Meyer described the feature as "jarring" and "wrong" after he logged on to discover a picture of his six-year-old daughter, who had died earlier in the year, was selected.
The photo album, which is automatically generated, includes photo uploads and wall posts that received the most "Likes" over the past 12 months.
Facebook say it is looking at ways to improve the app to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
In a blog Meyer wrote: "I know, of course, that this is not a deliberate assault.
"This inadvertent algorithmic cruelty is the result of code that works in the overwhelming majority of cases.
"The Year in Review ad keeps coming up in my feed. There wasn't enough thought given to cases like mine or anyone who had a bad year.
"The design is for the ideal user, the happy, upbeat, good-life user. It doesn't take other user cases into account."
Jonathan Gheller, product manager for Facebook, told the Washington Post that the social network site had been in touch with Mr Meyer.
Gheller said: "[The Year in Review feature is] awesome for a lot of people, but clearly in this case we brought him grief rather than joy."
Facebook has also seen complaints from users after pictures of deceased pets and an urn containing human remains were selected as "highlights" of the year.
Writer, Julieanne Smolinski, uploaded one of the images automatically chosen to select her best bits of 2014, a picture of her ex's house on fire.
She wrote: "So my (beloved) ex-boyfriend's apartment caught fire this year, which was very sad, but Facebook made it worth it."
The photo album, which users could personalise before sharing also ended with the caption, "See You Next Year!"
Facebook, which boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users, was launched in 2004.
The company also owns WhatsApp and Instagram.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | Facebook has apologised over its Year in Review feature after some users complained about the images chosen to sum up their 2014. |
39,209,982 | Lisa Hauxwell, 48, was sentenced to 14 years in her absence in November 2016 for rape and indecent assault.
Hauxwell, from Darlington, was arrested in Newark, Nottinghamshire on Tuesday, police said.
Hauxwell, who police said was living as a man when found, was tracked down after dozens responded to the appeal.
Nottinghamshire Police said of the 48-year-old, who committed the crimes as Craig John Hauxwell: "The fugitive had carried out the offences while living as a man, but was sentenced under the name of Lisa."
Det Insp Yvonne Dutson of Durham Police said: "This a fantastic result and due entirely to the calls we had following the appeal on Crimewatch.
"We understand Hauxwell had been living at the address in Newark for several months, without anyone knowing his true identity."
The sex assaults took place in the Newton Aycliffe area of County Durham during 2001 and 2002.
The two rapes and seven indecent assaults were described by police as "horrendous".
Hauxwell will be handed over to police in Durham "in due course", police said. | An on-the-run sex offender who committed crimes as a man but was tried as a woman has been arrested following an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch. |
36,511,028 | The attacker threw a bottle containing explosives, which went off near a check-in counter in Terminal Two.
The man then took out a knife and stabbed his own neck, officials say.
In 2013 a man in a wheelchair detonated a bomb at Beijing airport to highlight a personal grievance. He was later sentenced to six years in prison.
The latest incident happened at about 15:00 (07:00) on Sunday.
Eyewitness Ni Bowen told the Associated Press news agency that she was waiting to check in at Pudong International Airport when there was a loud bang.
"A beer bottle filled with white smoke rolled right by my feet. I was scared and made off at once,'' she said.
The four victims sustained light wounds and are being treated in hospital. The unnamed attacker is said to be in a critical condition. | A man has set off a homemade explosive device at Shanghai international airport, injuring four people as well as himself, Chinese officials say. |
36,592,171 | Pacemen Ben Cotton (4-28) and Tony Palladino (4-30) shared most of the wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 164, before making 24-1 second time around for the loss of Daryl Mitchell.
Resuming on 319-3, Derbyshire finally declared on 467-5 after home skipper Billy Godleman's maiden double century.
His 204 was backed by New Zealand batsman Neil Broom, who made 93.
It was the second time in a month that Broom has been out in the nineties on this ground but, despite the loss of the entire first day, he and skipper Godleman have helped put Derbyshire in a potentially winning position.
The Derby wicket suddenly looked a different proposition when the visitors batted after lunch under the floodlights as they slumped to 18-5, Cotton taking 3-0 in six balls, before a stand of 66 between Ben Cox (40) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (29).
Ninth-wicket pair Matt Henry (31) and Ed Barnard (28) held up Worcestershire's expected follow-on with a stand of 55.
When they did bat again, Cotton quickly struck to remove out-of-form captain Mitchell for the second time in successive sessions, caught in the gully, as his side ended the day needing 279 runs to avoid a final-day innings defeat.
Derbyshire fast bowler Ben Cotton:
"It was great to see Billy get 200. We knew we had a good platform and it was our job to make early inroads.
"The early wickets set us up and we just kept going from there. We were relentless with the ball. There was just a fraction of movement off the wicket.
"When the lights are on the ball seems to go through a little bit more and that's why we got a little bit more bounce but we don't scientifically know why.
"That wicket before the close sets us up for tomorrow. We only have to take nine wickets to win the game."
Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes told BBC Hereford & Worcester:
"We had one of those days where we didn't apply ourselves. If that happens, you lose your wickets.
"But I don't want to be too critical because they've played really well this year and scored plenty of runs and everyone is entitled to a bad day.
"When you have fielded for that length of time while you are probably not physically feeling tired you are mentally not as sharp as you could be. I call that batting tired.
"But take nothing away from the Derby bowlers. They bowled really well. They were nice and fresh and had a new ball in their hand and a big score under their belts so you tend to run in with a real zest." | Derbyshire are in line for their first Championship home win since 2014 after forcing Worcestershire to follow on. |
35,979,802 | Jurors will decide if the supporters were unlawfully killed in the 1989 disaster.
The seven women and three men will also consider if fans' behaviour added to a dangerous situation outside the stadium in Sheffield.
The hearings are the longest running inquests in British legal history.
Liverpool had been due to play Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final on 15 April 1989.
But police asked for the match to be stopped six minutes in after noticing a crush on the terraces occupied by Liverpool fans.
Four hundred people needed hospital treatment after Britain's worst sports stadium disaster.
The jury will respond to a 14-section questionnaire on how the supporters died.
Four sections of it asks whether police "errors or omissions" caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the match and the crush on the terraces.
Two other questions ask whether the police and ambulance service responses to the crushing "contributed to the loss of lives".
Question six asks if the 96 were unlawfully killed.
To answer yes to that question, jurors must be "sure" that Ch Supt David Duckenfield, who was in overall command of the police operation, was "responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence" of the 96 who died.
Coroner Sir John Goldring has told them to put their "feelings" about the disaster "to one side" and to "assess the evidence dispassionately and without emotion".
The jury "should not make critical findings unless they are justified by the facts" but they "should not shrink from making such judgments if they are", he added.
He began his summing up on 25 January and had been speaking to the jury for 26 days in total.
Since the inquests began on 31 March 2014, it has heard from more than 500 witnesses, been shown more than 4,000 documents and watched footage from the day of the disaster.
The jury has heard how a dangerous crush built up before the match as Liverpool fans tried to enter the stadium.
Mr Duckenfield told the inquests he gave an order to open exit gates and allow the fans inside to relieve the pressure.
Around 2,000 supporters went into the ground through exit gate C. Many of them went down a sloping tunnel that led into fenced enclosures on the Leppings Lane terraces, which already had hundreds of fans inside.
The coroner has laid out four steps jurors must go through when answering question six in the questionnaire.
Only if they answer yes to each can they conclude the 96 were unlawfully killed.
For the final point to be proved, the jury has to be sure the match commander's breach in his duty of care was so bad that it amounted to a criminal act or omission, and that a "reasonably competent and careful" match commander in his position would have foreseen a "serious and obvious risk of death" to the supporters.
Read profiles of all those who died in the disaster
During his summing up, Sir John reminded the jury that Mr Duckenfield admitted several "mistakes", including that he did not think about where fans would go after opening gate C.
Sir John also referred to Mr Duckenfield's evidence that he believed many people contributed to the disaster, including the fans, with those who arrived late overwhelming police resources and the turnstiles.
The coroner has told the jury to consider his evidence "with great care".
He added: "You should make your judgments on his conduct by asking whether he could and should have acted differently in the situation he was facing.
"You should take into account the conditions he was facing when deciding what he should have done and what consequences he should have foreseen."
Sir John said there were "significant conflicts" in the evidence about what happened at the disaster.
One "highly controversial" area concerned what caused the crush among Liverpool fans before kick off, the coroner added.
He said some of the police officers who had given evidence were "critical of the behaviour of the supporters" in Leppings Lane.
But he said "many of the supporters gave evidence to a very different effect", saying the fans behaved "normally, sensibly" and "did not contribute to the dangerous situation in any significant way".
Sir John said: "This is a highly controversial part of the evidence of the day, and you will have to make your own assessment of that evidence and your own decisions as to what you accept and what you reject.
"You will have to resolve the conflict. No doubt, in doing so, you will consider all the witness evidence and the evidence of the [video] footage and photographs."
The jury will also answer questions about whether there were any defects in the stadium and if there was any "error or omission" in the licensing and local authority oversight of the ground.
There are questions about the conduct of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, both before the disaster and on the day, and of the club's engineers, Eastwood & Partners.
Legal teams for the families claimed that "coordinated efforts were being made to manipulate the evidence and present a false narrative of the disaster", Sir John said.
But he added the police involved in the process had "denied they had done anything improper" and were following the "guidance of experienced lawyers".
The coroner told the jury: "It is entirely a matter for you what view you take about the way in which statements were gathered and then amended. You will take your own view about the motivations of those involved." | The jury at the Hillsborough inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans has been sent out after hearing more than two years of evidence. |
36,538,217 | And there is no shortage of discussions about the benefits of leaving or remaining in the EU during this referendum campaign.
Issues have included the rights of EU citizens while studying in other European universities.
Also the value of exchange programmes, with Leave campaigners arguing little would change post-Brexit.
What are EU students entitled to?
Students coming to study in Wales from the European Union are entitled to the same grants to cover course fees as students from here.
That means EU and Welsh students are entitled to claim a grant of up to £5,190 a year towards tuition fees from the Welsh Government - although students from the rest of the UK do not qualify.
Jean Francois-Poncet, 22, originally from rural France, is studying international and European politics at Aberystwyth University and said equal treatment of EU students was a valuable principle.
"I got the grant from the Welsh Government - the great thing is it allowed me to meet people from different countries and study here," he said.
He added that the EU provides a platform for collaborative research and does not believe it could be replicated.
"The EU facilitates students moving from one university to another, acquiring knowledge and by the scientific community working together, enables it to be more effective."
How many students are there here - and studying in other EU countries?
As well as nearly 5,500 EU students in Wales, there are another 18,805 non-EU international students here.
There are no comprehensive figures on the number of Welsh people studying in other EU countries, but they too qualify for financial assistance in the host country.
Samuel Sparrenius Waters is a former pupil at Monmouth Comprehensive School, now studying at a business school in Amsterdam, where he can claim support from the Dutch government.
"I've always been keen into hotel management and specifically into business management as well and I found a university in the Netherlands which was number three in the world for hotel management," he said.
"It was not so much a conscious choice of wanting to go and study in the EU but more a choice of where the best schools were.
"Since we are an EU member I am able to apply for all of those loans and grants that Dutch students get. However, there are a few conditions on them, like I have to work a certain amount of hours per month in order to get a larger loan."
5,425 Students from the EU in Wales
2,335 successfully applied for tuition fee grants
£11.2m value of tuition fee grants to EU students
£24.1m paid into Welsh universities by EU students (2013/14)
EU support for building links
The Erasmus programme is one of the EU's most high profile schemes, giving support to study or train in other member countries and some outside the EU.
Those campaigning to Remain argue this scheme has offered invaluable opportunities to tens of thousands of student building links which lead to social, cultural and economic benefits.
But another Aberystwyth University student, Mark Norton, who is campaigning to Leave, argues these links are not dependent on Britain remaining in the EU and can still happen with countries outside its boundaries like Israel and Iceland.
He also said Welsh universities would still be attractive places to study.
"Britain currently has the highest fees paid by students but students from the European Union come here - that's more of a reflection of the excellence of the universities, not their costs, and I think the same people who study here would still come."
Last year, 80 Erasmus students from elsewhere in the EU studied at Aberystwyth University, while 58 Aberystwyth students went abroad.
They included Branwen Miles, an international politics and French student who spent a year in Strasbourg in France.
"I spent a year in the sciences po [political studies] part of the University of Strasbourg - taking courses in law, politics and history," she said.
"It gave me the opportunity to meet new people, to travel and just to see new things.
"You experience a different culture - a different way of living."
The referendum arguments are generally not focused on the value of these links to students, society and the economy.
Instead, it is a debate about whether these connections would be destroyed by pulling out of the EU or whether they would continue regardless. | Student campuses have historically been the centre of debates on the big political questions of the day. |
37,311,755 | The state prosecutor in Salzburg told the BBC that the men - Moroccan and Algerian nationals - were suspected of being accomplices of the attackers.
Salah Abdeslam, the only known surviving member of the jihadist team, has appeared in a Paris court for a third time, but again refused to speak.
The co-ordinated attacks were claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS).
The state prosecutor in Salzburg told the BBC that one of the suspects was a 26-year-old Moroccan and the other one was an Algerian citizen aged 40.
The pair, who have not been named in keeping with Austrian privacy laws, have been charged with being part of IS. They were reportedly arrested at a refugee centre last December.
They are suspected of helping two other suspects - whom Austria extradited to France this year - with "logistics as well as through gathering information and arranging contacts".
Those two extradited suspects have been identified by a number of media outlets as Algerian-born Adel Haddadi and Muhammad Usman, a Pakistani national.
They are believed to have been part of the same cell that carried out the Paris attacks.
In Paris, Salah Abdeslam again refused to answer questions from French anti-terror judges.
"He exercised his right to silence," Mr Abdeslam's lawyer Frank Berton told reporters.
Mr Abdeslam is believed to be angry about a 24-hour video surveillance of his prison cell in the high-security Fleury-Merogis jail just outside Paris.
In France, judges are responsible for investigating the case and questioning suspects ahead of any trial.
Salah Abdeslam is being investigated over charges of terrorism-related murder and attempted murder.
Arrested in Brussels in March after months on the run, he was transferred to French custody the following month.
His arrest took place just four days before bombings at Brussels airport and metro station, and he has been linked to several of the suspects believed to have carried out those attacks.
Belgian authorities have been accused of failing to connect him and his brother, Brahim Abdeslam, to ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Brahim Abdeslam blew himself up on 13 November, while Abaaoud was killed during a police raid in Paris days afterwards.
The Belgian authorities have already admitted making serious blunders in the months leading up to the Paris and Brussels attacks. | Two men have been charged in Austria in connection with last November's Paris attacks which killed 130 people. |
35,581,976 | The men, three of whom have US or Canadian dual nationality, were arrested in August 2014.
Two went on trial in late 2015, while three were only charged last month with funding, supporting and co-operating with terrorist organisations.
The UN experts said there was credible information they had been tortured and forced to sign confessions.
Most were also suffering from serious health conditions as a result of their mistreatment and a lack of access to adequate medical care, the experts added.
The experts identified the detainees as Salim Alaradi, a Libyan-Canadian citizen; Kamal Ahmed al-Darrat and Mohamed Kamal al-Darrat, father and son, both Libyan-American citizens; and Adel Rajab Beleid Nasef and Moad Mohamed al-Hashmi, both Libyan citizens.
Following their arrest by State Security officials, the men were allegedly held incommunicado in secret detention locations and in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time.
Mr Alaradi and Kamal and Mohamed al-Darrat were charged with funding, supporting and co-operating with alleged terrorist organisations on 18 January. Their trial was scheduled to open on Monday.
However, the UN experts expressed concern that the three men had been charged under a law that had not yet entered into force at the time of their arrest.
Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said they had denied the charges and alleged they had been tortured into confessing links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was designated a terrorist group by the UAE in November 2014.
Mr Nasef and Mr al-Hashmi have been charged in a separate case and their trial opened in late 2015.
The UAE government had no immediate comment on the experts' appeal on Monday.
The experts said they had been in contact with authorities previously and found their reply "unpersuasive". | UN human rights experts have urged the UAE to release five Libyans who they say are being detained arbitrarily. |
18,059,282 | The teenager played Sir William Walton's Cello Concerto with the Northern Sinfonia at the competition's final at The Sage in Gateshead.
Accepting the £2,000 prize, van der Heijden, from East Sussex, said she felt "amazing" and "so, so lucky".
She beat pianist Yuanfan Yang and Charlotte Barbour-Condini, the final's first ever recorder player.
Born in England to a Dutch father and a Swiss mother, van der Heijden started her musical education with the recorder at the age of four.
She soon progressed to the piano and then the cello at the age of six.
Since late 2008, she has been a student of the British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov. Last year they performed together at the Brighton Festival and in Germany.
Her winning performance on Sunday was something of a risk as the Walton concerto is not a well-known piece.
"It's not played very often, but I think it deserves to be played," she said. "The colours and ideas in it... it's a very imaginative piece."
Conductor Kirill Karabits, who was leading the Sinfonia, said: "I really understand why she wanted to play that. It suits her really well. She enters in the music and it changes her."
The Young Musician contest is held biennially, and was previously known as Young Musician Of The Year.
The competition's last winner - pianist Lara Melda - gave a guest performance at Sunday's final.
Her predecessor, trombone player Peter Moore, became the youngest ever winner when he took the prize aged 12 in 2008. | Fifteen-year-old cellist Laura van der Heijden has won the BBC's Young Musician prize for 2012. |
36,133,214 | The 27-year-old Australian is on a season-long loan with the Red Devils, having missed the end of last season after being suspended by the Tigers.
The former Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders player has scored six tries in 12 outings so far this season.
"I feel right at home at Salford," Carney told the club website.
"[Owner] Marwan Koukash was there from day dot for me and there are a lot of people like Michael Dobson, Weller Hauraki and Junior Sa'u I have played with previously and I work well with."
Head coach Ian Watson added: "Justin is a real good bloke to have around the place.
"He is a 100-miles-per-hour player and he is the top metre-maker in the competition this year. That's a big plus for any team." | Salford Red Devils have confirmed the signing of on-loan Castleford winger Justin Carney on a three-year deal from next season. |
40,741,524 | It came as Coroner Sir Peter Thornton QC said plans to hold the hearings in September were "no longer viable".
Inquest lawyers have also asked Irish police to interview self-confessed IRA bomber Michael Hayes.
Twenty-one people died when two bombs were detonated in the city in 1974.
A pre-inquest review in Birmingham was told by lawyers for Sir Peter that "a request to the Irish Gardai to interview Mr Hayes" had been made.
Gardaà (Irish police) told the BBC: "While we do not discuss named individuals, we can confirm that Gardaà have received a request for assistance from the West Midlands Police, UK, through Interpol and we are facilitating their request."
Mr Hayes, 69, recently told a BBC interview that he accepted "collective responsibility" for the bombing but did not know who planted the devices.
Peter Skelton QC, counsel to the inquests, added: "We're discussing our involvement in any interview with West Midlands Police."
The force also confirmed that it was "also considering an application for Mr Hayes to be interviewed".
Hours before the review took place, Justice4the21, the main campaign group representing many of the relatives, said it will "no longer participate" in the hearings.
The families were "devastated" when Sir Peter ruled out naming the IRA suspects believed to be behind the attack.
The group said its decision was based on the fact that material held by Devon and Cornwall Police, which reviewed the original criminal investigation, had not been disclosed.
It added it was seeking a judicial review of the coroner's ruling on the scope of future inquests.
Sir Peter said the possible judicial review application meant the September timeframe was no longer viable.
He said it was "unlikely the inquests will commence until certainly December, maybe later - maybe substantially later - I just cannot say at the moment".
The victims' families have fought for years to have the inquests reopened. Hearings were held days after the bombings but closed without hearing any evidence.
No one has been charged with the attacks since six men were freed from prison in 1991. | Families of the Birmingham pub bombings victims have announced they will not attend the fresh inquests after the coroner ruled out naming alleged suspects in evidence. |
39,991,889 | Hassan Minhaj hosted the the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April - an event President Trump snubbed.
Speaking to the BBC, Minhaj said there was "something cool" happening in response to Mr Trump's policies.
He said the political atmosphere was such that it gave him an unexpected opportunity to host the correspondents' dinner.
Speaking during a Facebook Live Q&A with the BBC, Minhaj said he would "probably not" have been given such an opportunity had Hillary Clinton won last November's election.
"I think the narrative of the country would have been different," he said. "I think the collective feeling around who the White House Correspondents' Association should choose to represent, and be the comedian that night - that narrative would have been different."
Mr Trump became the first commander-in-chief to skip the dinner since 1981, when then-President Ronald Reagan was recovering from a gunshot wound.
During his election campaign, Mr Trump said he would establish a register of Muslims and since then, he has attempted but failed to introduce bans on people from seven Muslim-majority nations travelling to the US.
Those moves were met with protests, but Minhaj - a Muslim-American - said the policies had sparked a response among Asian-American and Muslim comedians, adding that "there's something amazing in the chai right now".
Six takes from the White House Correspondents' dinner
How much has Trump achieved so far?
"What I think is really cool is there's different shades of the narrative," said Minhaj, who appears on The Daily Show on Comedy Central. "People are bringing their own personal perspectives, and everyone's being unapologetically themselves."
Minhaj is not the only comedian to have benefited from a Donald Trump presidency - the TV show Saturday Night Live, which has regularly skewered the president and his cabinet, has reported its highest ratings in about 20 years.
Wajahat Ali, an author and New York Times contributor who was also a guest of the Facebook session, said he wanted to thank Mr Trump for helping give comedians a voice.
The policies of the White House had, he said, "awakened slumbering giants, queens and kings, princes and princesses, who had stayed dormant". He added: "Sometimes it takes a crisis to wake up." | Comedians have a new-found energy in the era of Donald Trump, says a rising US comedy star. |
37,189,134 | Financial analysts Deloitte say top flight clubs' gross spending hit £880m on Thursday - beating the £870m set in last year's summer transfer window.
At the same stage last year clubs had spent £685m.
Dan Jones from Deloitte's sports business group said: "This is the fourth summer in a row where we have seen record-breaking spending."
He added: "This is particularly striking considering we still have the best part of a week to go before deadline day.
"With the third round of games in the new Premier League season to come this weekend and a number of clubs keen to strengthen with a view to competing in European and domestic cup competitions, total spending in this window will likely break the £1bn barrier for the first time."
Premier League clubs are benefitting from a new £5.1bn television deal coming into force, meaning they have more spending power.
Earlier this month Manchester United set a new British transfer record when they spent £89m on Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
But some managers have complained that British clubs are being asked to pay too much for players on the back of the TV deal. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte last week said the market was "crazy", and that he was being asked to "pay £50m for medium players".
The transfer window in England closes at 23:00 BST on 31 August.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page. | Premier League clubs have broken their transfer spending record with six days of the transfer window to go. |
39,311,084 | The National Youth Advocacy Services (Nays) said some youngsters are waiting weeks for assessments, with some placed in adult accommodation while they wait.
A report said this raised "safeguarding issues" for unaccompanied children.
Cardiff council said it did not believe there was a delay in the process.
The authority said young people were placed in suitable accommodation while assessments were being completed.
The Cardiff Nays team, which acts as a guardian for the unaccompanied children, raised concerns about the support given by the council's children's services department.
Between August 2016 and January 2017, Nays saw an increase in referrals from unaccompanied young asylum seekers looking for advocacy during the age check process.
The report pointed to "inconsistencies" where young people are housed while the age checks are carried out, with some getting support from the service while others do not.
"Some of these young people are then later assessed as children and have not been in receipt of looked-after services whilst other unaccompanied asylum seeking young people are accommodated pending assessment and get the full ambit of services," the report said.
"Such a practice also raises safeguarding issues for this vulnerable group of young people who find themselves placed in adult accommodation."
The report, considered by the council on Tuesday, also highlighted issues with children seeking support from the department during their asylum claim.
It said feedback from the service pointed to "capacity issues" in attending solicitors appointments, court hearings and if they are detained in an immigration centre.
"Whist we recognise that children's services have limited resources they have a duty of care for this extremely vulnerable group who urgently require robust intervention and support at this difficult and traumatic point in their lives," the report said.
Last year, Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies came under fire from dentists after suggesting unaccompanied child migrants entering the UK should be given mandatory teeth checks to reassure people about their age.
In a joint statement, Cardiff council cabinet members Susan Elsmore and Sue Lent said they were "surprised" by Nyas' concerns as they had not previously been raised.
They said the authority had a sufficient number of social workers undertaking the age checks and young people were placed in suitable accommodation while assessments were completed.
"City of Cardiff Council is proud of its commitment to supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children," they said.
"Indeed at very short notice, in October and November last year, we were the only Welsh authority to set up reception facilities for children arriving from Calais.
"We continue to support the most unaccompanied asylum seeking children in Wales."
The council has asked Nyas for specific examples of age check delays.
Nyas was asked to comment. | Child asylum seekers arriving in Cardiff are being put at risk due to "substantial" delays in checks to verify their age, an advocacy agency has said. |
35,744,204 | A top division of eight teams will be introduced next year, down from nine, with 10 counties in the second.
Each county will now play 14 games rather than 16, while the Royal London One-Day Cup moves to early season.
"The changes for 2017 will be good for fans, players and our international teams," ECB chairman Colin Graves said.
One-Day Cup group games in April and May ahead of a July final does away with the end-of-season Lord's showpiece, and allows the T20 Blast to take centre stage in the second half of the season.
A two-tier T20 Blast has been rejected, at least until the next broadcast deal in 2019, when plans to change the competition to a city-based franchise tournament could also be revived.
Four-day cricket will again largely take a break during July and August.
"The season is easier to follow," Graves added. "The blocks help players focus on specific skills, and there's a better balance across all three formats."
In Short: County cricket needs a new tournament - Vaughan
Have you added the new Top Story alerts in the BBC Sport app? Simply head to the menu in the app - and don't forget you can also add alerts for the Six Nations, cricket scores, your football team and more. | Only one team will be promoted from Division Two of the County Championship this summer in order to reduce the number of top-tier teams in 2017. |
28,237,052 | Local elites and communities protect pirates because they lack an income, says the study by two UK universities.
The EU, US and China have all sent ships to the waters off Somalia in order to keep shipping lanes safe.
This has led to a decline in attacks off the Somali coast, with the UN estimating that about 40 people are still being held by pirates.
At the peak of their activity three years ago, the pirates held more than 700 crew members and more than 30 ships.
The World Bank estimates that pirates netted more than $400m (£230m) in ransom money between 2005 and 2012.
Somalia has been a largely lawless state since the fall of long-serving ruler Siad Barre in 1991.
Warlords, religious groups and clans have been fighting for control of Somalia.
The study, by the University of Oxford and King's College London and published in the British Journal of Criminology, says Somalia witnessed a surge in pirate attacks when territory was contested or elections took place.
This suggested the behaviour of clan leaders in Somalia was similar to that of politicians in Italy and Taiwan, who extended protection to criminals when they needed extra funds to further political ambitions, the study adds.
"Local communities support pirates when there isn't a better alternative income stream," said Federico Varese, a co-author of the report based at the University Oxford.
"By improving the infrastructure of Somalia, building new harbours and roads to link the remote areas to trade routes, our research concludes that poorer communities would be less likely to resort to piracy," he added.
People in Somalia's north-eastern city of Bosasso cut ties with pirates once the economy grew, the study says.
"As the city regained its importance as a major trading port for livestock and an import centre for the wider region, pirates were no longer tolerated - pirate hostages were freed and pirates were imprisoned by the local clan leaders," the study adds. | Building roads and harbours in Somalia is a better way of tackling piracy than deploying warships, a study says. |
37,857,457 | Ron Jones, of Bassaleg, has been collecting for The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for more than 30 years.
He was a prisoner of war in the Nazi death camp Auschwitz while serving in the 1st Battalion of the Welch Regiment during World War Two.
The Royal British Legion said he was one of its oldest poppy collectors and described him as "a true hero".
Mr Jones, who sells the poppies at Tesco on the Harlech Retail Park, had planned to retire last year but after carrying on for another 12 months has finally called it a day.
He said he was stepping down as he no longer had a car and had to rely on others for a lift.
"I've met a lot of people, it's an important cause," the grandfather-of-two said.
"I have made a lot of friends which has been nice."
Mr Jones was captured in 1943 while fighting in the Middle East and after nine months in Italy was transferred to forced labour camp E715, part of the Auschwitz complex.
He has previously recounted his experiences at the camp where he worked six days a week in a factory and being permitted to play football with his fellow soldiers on Sunday.
Lynne Woodyatt, The Royal British Legion's community fundraiser for south east Wales, said: "Ron is one of our oldest poppy collectors and one that we hold in very high regard.
"The poppy appeal is something very close to Ron's heart and I have no doubt that he would miss being involved as much as we at the legion, and the general public, would miss him.
"He is a true hero and a gentleman. But whatever he decided to do we will support him." | A former soldier from Newport is set to retire from selling poppies at the age of 99. |
29,790,933 | Media playback is unsupported on your device
27 October 2014 Last updated at 18:17 GMT
A nurse quarantined in New Jersey after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone will be discharged after being symptom-free for 24 hours.
And the World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the outbreak that came to light last March, and nearly half of them have died, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Here is the latest Ebola news for Monday 27 October - in 15 seconds. | The head of the UN's Ebola Response Mission says hundreds more foreign health workers are needed to tackle the outbreak in West Africa. |
38,539,427 | The 28-year-old met Michail Antonio's cross in mid-air to hit a left-footed effort that tore past Eagles keeper Wayne Hennessey to make it 2-0.
Sofiane Feghouli had put the hosts ahead from close range earlier in the second half for his first Premier League goal.
Manuel Lanzini sealed victory late on with a sublime chip over the advancing Hennessey to leave Palace boss Sam Allardyce still searching for his first win.
Relive the action from London Stadium.
Reaction to all Saturday's Premier League games.
The result moved West Ham up into 12th place, while Palace only stay out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Palace had looked comfortable in the first half, but they did not force West Ham keeper Darren Randolph into making a meaningful save until the dying minutes of the match.
Carroll admitted afterwards that he had tried something similar to his brilliant goal in training during the week, but that his effort had hit the post that time.
The old adage about never leaving your best on the training ground seems apt here.
Carroll told BBC Sport: "It's been a while in the making - I've been trying for a couple of years. It's got to be the best goal I've scored."
Carroll's attempts at scissor kicks in practice had left manager Slaven Bilic more than a little worried.
"With his history of injuries I go a bit crazy when he does that in training because you don't want him to get hurt," admitted the West Ham coach, while his Palace counterpart had nothing but admiration for the goal and its execution.
"It's a terrific finish from Andy Carroll and he's always had that in his locker," said Allardyce. "The volley was outstanding."
The goal also impressed Chris Sutton and Martin Keown on BBC's Final Score, with former striker Sutton describing it as a "contender for goal of the season."
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Keown compared Carroll's effort favourably with Olivier Giroud's 'scorpion' goal, also scored against Palace.
"There's a lot of instinct involved, but he knows what he's doing. Is it better than Giroud's scorpion? There was an element of chance with Giroud but Carroll knows exactly what he's doing," he said.
Much of the build-up to this match had revolved around West Ham's Dimitri Payet, who manager Slaven Bilic had revealed "does not want to play" for the club any more.
Bilic omitted the French midfielder from his matchday squad altogether, and his side looked to be lacking the kind of spark needed to break down a resilient Palace defence.
But a tactical switch from the Hammers boss, which saw Sam Byram replace Angelo Ogbonna at half-time, reaped dividends with a host of chances coming thanks to the rejigged four-at-the-back formation.
Antonio menaced the Palace backline throughout the second half, and Lanzini popped up where Payet may have been had he played, but the errant midfielder will have slipped out of many minds following this fine second-half display by Bilic's side.
Allardyce had to deal with speculation over Christian Benteke's future prior to the game, stating that the Belgian international was "not for sale" and had a "big part to play" following rumours that the 26-year-old could leave a mere five months after he moved to Selhurst Park.
The striker made his presence felt, catching West Ham defender James Collins with his arm in the first half, and could have put his side ahead if their best chance had fallen to him rather than James Tomkins.
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The ex-West Ham player stabbed the ball across the goal rather than on target from close range in what turned out to be the closest the Eagles came to scoring.
The south London side, who have now gone seven games without a win and are level on points with Hull City, look in need of fresh blood during the current transfer window.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "Payet is a great player so you are losing quality, but the team showed it is about the team and not individuals. This is a great example for that.
"So let's talk about Carroll, or Darren Randolph, or Mark Noble. Michail Antonio had flu and a temperature of 38.4C last night. He showed brilliant determination, brilliant quality. That's what I want to talk about."
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce: "We don't have the capability to make sure we don't lose. That's the first thing to put right at a struggling club and at the moment we don't know how to get that result.
"Today after 70 minutes we didn't look in any real trouble, but once we gifted them the first goal we lost our shape and our discipline.
West Ham travel to Middlesbrough on Saturday, 21 January at 15:00 GMT, while Palace have two games in the next week. They replay Bolton Wanderers at home in the third round of the FA Cup on Tuesday, 17 January at 20:00, then host Everton next Saturday at 15:00.
Match ends, West Ham United 3, Crystal Palace 0.
Second Half ends, West Ham United 3, Crystal Palace 0.
Attempt blocked. Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sam Byram (West Ham United).
Attempt missed. Loïc Remy (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jeffrey Schlupp.
Foul by Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace).
Andy Carroll (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).
Sam Byram (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, West Ham United. Ashley Fletcher replaces Michail Antonio.
Offside, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye tries a through ball, but Christian Benteke is caught offside.
Substitution, West Ham United. Edimilson Fernandes replaces Manuel Lanzini.
Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
Goal! West Ham United 3, Crystal Palace 0. Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Michail Antonio following a fast break.
James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Andy Carroll (West Ham United).
Foul by Loïc Remy (Crystal Palace).
Pedro Obiang (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Joe Ledley.
Goal! West Ham United 2, Crystal Palace 0. Andy Carroll (West Ham United) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Michail Antonio with a cross.
Foul by Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace).
Sofiane Feghouli (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Manuel Lanzini.
Attempt missed. Loïc Remy (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Christian Benteke with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Lee Chung-yong (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Loïc Remy (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jason Puncheon.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Mark Noble.
Hand ball by Andy Carroll (West Ham United).
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Lee Chung-yong replaces James McArthur.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Loïc Remy replaces Andros Townsend.
Sam Byram (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal! West Ham United 1, Crystal Palace 0. Sofiane Feghouli (West Ham United) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Michail Antonio.
Attempt missed. Sam Byram (West Ham United) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right misses to the left. Assisted by Pedro Obiang.
Attempt missed. Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
Foul by James Tomkins (Crystal Palace).
Andy Carroll (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Hand ball by Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace). | Andy Carroll scored with a stunning volley as West Ham beat Crystal Palace at London Stadium. |
30,126,430 | Messi finally matched Telmo Zarra's 251 goals with a fantastic free-kick, having failed to score in his last three La Liga matches.
Sevilla levelled through a Jordi Alba own goal, but Neymar made it 2-1.
Ivan Rakitic scored a header before Messi's record breaker from a counter-attack and goal number 253 came after a one-two with Neymar.
The 27-year-old's goal tally is all the more remarkable given his goals have come in only 250 starts for Barcelona.
Earlier in the month, Messi drew level with Raul's all-time Champions League record of 71 goals after scoring twice in Barcelona's 2-0 victory against Ajax.
"Messi is without doubt the best player I've seen as a player and a coach," said Barca manager Luis Enrique after that feat.
Against Sevilla he was in irresistible form, equalling the record with a breathtaking free-kick around the wall and past goalkeeper Beto to give Barca a 1-0 lead.
He struck again from close range in the 72nd minute and scored a third goal six minutes later with a powerful low drive from the edge of the penalty area.
After scoring the goal that took him past Zarra's total, Messi's team-mates picked him up and threw him into the air several times while the crowd at the Nou Camp roared its approval.
The legendary Zarra scored 251 goals in a 15-year stay at Athletic Bilbao in the 1940s and 50s.
Messi, who joined Barca's academy at the age of 13, has taken 10 seasons to overhaul Zarra - also setting a record for goals in a single campaign with 50 in 2011-12.
The Argentine became became the third-youngest player to play for Barcelona when he made his debut aged 17 years and 114 days in October 2004 and scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompie the following May.
Match ends, Barcelona 5, FC Sevilla 1.
Second Half ends, Barcelona 5, FC Sevilla 1.
Foul by Adriano (Barcelona).
Iago Aspas (FC Sevilla) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, FC Sevilla. Conceded by Gerard Piqué.
Foul by Dani Alves (Barcelona).
Vitolo (FC Sevilla) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Gerard Piqué (Barcelona).
Kevin Gameiro (FC Sevilla) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Neymar.
Corner, FC Sevilla. Conceded by Adriano.
Offside, FC Sevilla. Iago Aspas tries a through ball, but Gerard Deulofeu is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Adriano (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Iago Aspas (FC Sevilla).
Rafinha (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Vitolo (FC Sevilla).
Substitution, Barcelona. Adriano replaces Jordi Alba.
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Gerard Deulofeu.
Goal! Barcelona 5, FC Sevilla 1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Neymar.
Substitution, Barcelona. Rafinha replaces Xavi.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Grzegorz Krychowiak (FC Sevilla).
Substitution, Barcelona. Pedro replaces Luis Suárez.
Substitution, FC Sevilla. Iago Aspas replaces Carlos Bacca.
Goal! Barcelona 4, FC Sevilla 1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Neymar following a fast break.
Dani Alves (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Diogo Figueiras (FC Sevilla).
Attempt missed. Jordi Alba (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Luis Suárez with a through ball.
Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Éver Banega (FC Sevilla).
Offside, FC Sevilla. Beto tries a through ball, but Carlos Bacca is caught offside.
Dangerous play by Luis Suárez (Barcelona).
Daniel Carriço (FC Sevilla) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal! Barcelona 3, FC Sevilla 1. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) header from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Luis Suárez with a cross.
Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Coke (FC Sevilla).
Corner, FC Sevilla. Conceded by Sergio Busquets.
Attempt missed. Grzegorz Krychowiak (FC Sevilla) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Kevin Gameiro. | Barcelona's Lionel Messi became the Spanish league's all-time top scorer with a hat-trick against Sevilla. |
38,217,512 | Media playback is not supported on this device
After a goalless 90 minutes, Plymouth were awarded a penalty in the first half of extra time only for Paul Garita to hit the post.
But Carey made no mistake with Argyle's second spot kick after Darren Jones' rash challenge on David Goodwillie.
Argyle will be away to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool on Sunday, 8 January.
The second-round replay saw League Two's bottom side host the division's leaders after the original tie had ended 0-0 at Home Park.
Chances had been at a premium for both sides in normal time until the last quarter, when fog descended on Rodney Parade.
County's Josh O'Hanlon was denied by Luke McCormick while at the other end Joe Day made a good save to thwart Plymouth midfielder Carey.
Jordan Green fired wide for Newport early in extra time before the visitors were awarded a penalty with Jennison Myrie-Williams adjudged to have handled the ball.
Garita, on loan from Bristol City, hit the post and Newport cleared the danger.
But Argyle converted their second penalty of the game with top-scorer Carey sealing a lucrative trip to Anfield in the new year.
Match ends, Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 1.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 1.
Attempt missed. David Goodwillie (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is too high. Assisted by Paul Garita.
Foul by Josh Sheehan (Newport County).
Connor Smith (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jennison Myrie-Williams (Newport County).
David Goodwillie (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt blocked. Connor Smith (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is blocked.
Jazzi Barnum-Bobb (Newport County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Goodwillie (Plymouth Argyle).
Substitution, Newport County. Abdoulaye Méité replaces Joss Labadie because of an injury.
Goal! Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 1. Graham Carey (Plymouth Argyle) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Penalty conceded by Darren Jones (Newport County) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Plymouth Argyle. David Goodwillie draws a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt saved. Josh Sheehan (Newport County) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Darren Jones.
Attempt blocked. Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by David Fox.
Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Joss Labadie (Newport County).
Foul by Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle).
Joss Labadie (Newport County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Joss Labadie (Newport County) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Newport County. Conceded by Oscar Threlkeld.
Oscar Threlkeld (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jordan Green (Newport County).
Second Half Extra Time begins Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 0.
First Half Extra Time ends, Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 0.
Attempt saved. Rhys Healey (Newport County) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Josh O'Hanlon with a headed pass.
Foul by Gary Miller (Plymouth Argyle).
Josh Sheehan (Newport County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Scot Bennett (Newport County) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Rhys Healey with a headed pass.
Foul by David Goodwillie (Plymouth Argyle).
Joss Labadie (Newport County) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Paul Garita (Plymouth Argyle).
(Newport County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Penalty missed! Still Newport County 0, Plymouth Argyle 0. Paul Garita (Plymouth Argyle) hits the left post with a right footed shot.
Penalty conceded by Jennison Myrie-Williams (Newport County) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
Corner, Plymouth Argyle. Conceded by Joss Labadie.
Attempt blocked. Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Rhys Healey (Newport County) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Josh Sheehan.
Jordan Slew (Plymouth Argyle) wins a free kick in the defensive half. | Plymouth Argyle secured an FA Cup third-round tie at Liverpool as Graham Carey's extra-time penalty ensured they won their replay at Newport County. |
36,443,013 | Keziah Flux-Edmonds was discovered lying next to the bodies of her father, Darren Flux-Edmonds, 44, and two dogs in East Cowes on Wednesday.
She was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Newport but died a short time later.
More than 200 neighbours, family and school friends gathered at the home in Cromwell Avenue, on Thursday evening.
As flowers, toys and candles were laid outside the house, Keziah's favourite song "Roar" by Katy Perry was played.
Pupils and teachers at Keziah's school, Queensgate Foundation Primary, will be offered support after the half term holiday.
Family friend, Lucie McMahon said: "How do you explain it to five and six-year-olds? The best way you can explain it is that she's gone to the stars."
Hampshire Constabulary said Keziah's mother was being supported by specialist officers.
Isle of Wight councillor Julia Baker-Smith, who lives nearby, said: "We're absolutely shocked and saddened.
"The whole community is grief-stricken, by what's happened."
Investigations into the exact circumstances of the deaths are ongoing. | Hundreds of people have gathered on the Isle of Wight for a candlelit vigil after a six-year-old girl and her father were found dead. |
35,299,984 | The fire broke out at Housing Options premises on High Street in the city centre at around 19:20 GMT.
Fire investigators have been at the scene and inquires are continuing.
Anyone with information about the man or the incident has been asked to call 101. | Police investigating a suspicious fire at a Swansea council housing office have released images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the blaze. |
24,533,511 | Mike Nicholson said universities and schools were worried about the limited evidence available on reforming exams.
He said plans to make AS-levels a stand-alone qualification would hinder attempts to increase the numbers of disadvantaged students doing degrees.
Ministers said single exams would end the "test treadmill" in sixth-forms.
Speaking at a Westminster Education Forum in central London, Mr Nicholson, who is director of undergraduate admissions and outreach at Oxford University, said changing A-levels was "another great example of a government's tendency to meddle in things they should probably just leave alone".
He said: "There is widespread concern, not restricted to the secondary-school sector, but also to higher education, about the limited evidence that there is need for any change and widespread concern that the impact of bringing in both GCSE and A-level changes at the same time is going to just wreck the English education system.
"Part of the problem is a total misunderstanding and confusion over activities and information that is in the public domain," he said.
Under the government's plans, teenagers will no longer take "modular" A-levels with exams throughout but "linear" A-levels with exams at the end of the two-year course.
AS-levels will be separated from A-levels to form a qualification in their own right.
Mr Nicholson said that there was an assumption that linearity was good, partly because some universities still operated a system of exams at the end of a three-year degree course. But he added that universities had "managed to cope with modularity".
He said students also applied for degree courses with different types of qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate, the Cambridge Pre-U and A-levels.
Mr Nicholson also raised concerns about the planned changes to the AS-level.
"The loss of AS-levels will have tragic consequences for widening participation and access to higher education.
"AS-levels are excellent because they give students a very clear indication of what they are capable of achieving.
"The real danger is students will plough on believing that they may not be capable of applying to a highly selective course, but equally believing that they are capable of applying to a highly selective and competitive course.
"Losing AS-levels will have a really significant result on the likelihood of students from a disadvantaged background progressing to higher education."
Source: Russell Group
Mr Nicholson also said there were misconceptions around the A-level subjects that Russell Group universities - which are considered among the best in the UK - required from prospective students.
In 2009 - following calls for universities to be clearer about their admissions procedures - the Russell Group published a list of subjects that tended to be required more often than others.
Mr Nicholson told Tuesday's forum:"We tried to respond and give advice. That however has been totally misinterpreted. It states very clearly in the document what the intention is.
"People choose to ignore that and say what it's basically saying is here are the 12 subjects that will guarantee you a place at a Russell Group university.
"That's total nonsense. If you believe that's the case then I'm sorry but you are deluded."
He also said that no university required students to have the government's English Baccalaureate at GCSE. This covers English, maths, sciences, a language and history or geography.
"If anything, with GCSEs, we much prefer students to have high grades across a range of subjects," Mr Nicholson said.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "We are putting universities, not politicians, in charge of A-levels to ensure they prepare children for work and higher education.
"According to [the exams watchdog] Ofqual, the clear majority of universities favour A-level predictions over AS-levels as an indicator of ability.
"Returning A-levels to single exams will end the test treadmill in sixth-forms - something which many teachers complain about." | Plans to overhaul A-levels and GCSEs could "wreak havoc" to the exams system in England, Oxford University's admissions tutor has said. |
25,654,155 | Some of the largest oil fields China operates are in areas controlled by fighters backing Riek Machar, the country's vice-president until he was sacked in July.
Oil production has already dropped by 20% since the onset of the conflict three weeks ago and more than 300 Chinese workers have been evacuated.
The spectre of their Libyan experience also weighs heavily on the Chinese minds - project after project now lies deserted because of heavy fighting during the Arab Spring uprising of 2011, inflicting huge losses on China.
It is no surprise then that China is putting its full weight behind the peace talks in Addis Ababa.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in the Ethiopian capital on Monday and made it clear that China wanted both sides to stop fighting and seek a reasonable and rational way out.
According to media reports, he was even willing to mediate personally between the warring sides.
It is unclear if Mr Wang has been able to do this, but his message was important, reports the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza from Addis Ababa.
It demonstrates how seriously the international community is taking the crisis - with many diplomats present at the talks, he says.
Apart from China's Africa envoy Zhong Jianhua, US special envoy Donald Booth and EU special representative Alexander Rondos are also attending.
China invested some $20bn (£12bn) in Sudan before it split into two countries in 2011, according to Chinese media reports.
Another $8bn was pledged to President Kiir during his visit to China the year following secession, to be used for infrastructure projects and the oil sector.
The heavy investment seems to have borne fruit, as in the first 10 months of 2013, China imported 1.9 million tonnes of oil (nearly 14 million barrels) from South Sudan, twice as much as China imports from Nigeria each year.
Though amounting to less than 1% of China's total oil imports, it makes up roughly two-thirds of oil exported by the world's youngest nation and is expected to increase.
Two years ago, China suffered heavy losses in its Libyan projects, including infrastructure, telecommunications and oil.
Many constructions were halted and sites looted or destroyed during the revolution which toppled long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The total loss was estimated by several Chinese media reports to be in the region of $20bn, although no official figures exist.
Compensation talks with the new Libya government stalled as their priority was very much on nation-building and improving the living conditions of the Libyan people.
Experts point out that China has taken tremendous risks in its search for oil.
This is because the country's economic boom continues to require a great deal of oil - home production is limited and reliance on exports reached 56% in 2012.
But all the known global markets have been dominated by Western companies or have been off-limits because of sanctions, leaving China with little choice but to adopt high-risk strategies.
Nowadays, more than half of China's investment in the overseas oil sector is found in areas which are considered unstable, including Iran, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan and Venezuela.
Chinese workers have been caught in the conflicts for control of oil by various forces in Sudan.
In 2008, five Chinese oil workers kidnapped by rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan province were killed during a rescue attempt.
Four years later, another 29 Chinese construction workers were abducted in the same province and were only released 11 days later after intense negotiations.
The Sudanese rebels were quoted as saying that they did not want to harm the workers, but they aimed to send a signal to the Chinese government that they did not want them to be involved in the conflict over oil in Sudan.
But what is currently happening in South Sudan seems far more serious than kidnappings.
China must be praying for a quick end to the trouble so life on the oil fields can return to normal.
In the meantime, some experts also predict that China might be forced into re-thinking its high-risk oil strategy. | The stakes could not be higher for China, the largest investor in South Sudan's oil sector, as fierce fighting continues between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those of his former deputy. |
33,552,431 | Staffordshire Police found Mr Bachta lying in All Saints Road, where he lived, at 06:30 BST on Wednesday. He had a stab wound in his neck and later died.
Twelve people have now been arrested in connection with the murder inquiry.
Police said they were supporting Mr Bachta's family.
Staffordshire Police said it arrested five men and one woman on Wednesday.
It arrested a further six men earlier, taking the total to 12.
Of the 12 arrested, seven remain in custody and five have been released on bail.
Those who have been bailed are four men, aged 34, 26, 25 and 26, and a 24-year-old woman.
Officers said they had been responding to a report of damage to vehicles on the street when they found the man.
A police cordon remains in place on All Saints Road, between Branston Road and Uxbridge Street.
Ch Insp Steve Maskrey said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Tomasz at this difficult time and we will ensure they get all the support they need.
"An investigation to understand exactly what happened in All Saints Road yesterday morning is ongoing." | A 29-year-old man who died after being found unconscious by police in a street in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, has been named as Tomasz Bachta. |
38,817,150 | Le Fondre, 30, previously spent time on loan with Wanderers in 2015, scoring eight goals in 17 league appearances.
He started the season on loan with Wigan but scored just once in 12 league games for the Latics.
Solomon-Otabor, 21, has scored once and started just twice in 25 Championship appearances for Blues.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page or visit our Premier League tracker here. | Bolton Wanderers have signed Cardiff striker Adam le Fondre and Birmingham winger Viv Solomon-Otabor on loan until the end of the season. |
34,825,279 | A bus carrying four players to the course took two hours to complete a trip that normally takes 15-20 minutes.
Being more than five minutes late usually results in disqualification but officials decided to waive the rule because of "exceptional circumstances".
World number one Inbee Park carded six birdies for a three-stroke lead.
Park was on an earlier bus that, though delayed, arrived well before her tee time.
The 27-year-old shot a five-under 67 to move to 10 under, with fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim in second.
Halfway leader Minjee Lee slipped seven shots off the pace after a three-over 75.
American Angela Stanford, who finished the day nine shots off the lead after a four-over 76, was one of the players on the delayed bus.
She tweeted: "Learning that GPS is a wonderful thing. Hour in a bus and still no sign of the golf course.
"Two hours and 15 min later we arrive. Thank you LPGA for letting us play!" | The final three groups at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico were allowed to delay their third rounds by nearly an hour because of traffic. |
39,339,834 | Sadly for the 33rd President of the United States, you would need a lot of hands to explain today's surprisingly rapid increase in inflation.
Rising global commodity prices are pushing up inflation pressures around the world.
As global growth strengthens, that upward pressure is likely to increase.
In 2015 and early 2016, we saw a period of deflation - falling prices - in key sectors such as fuel and clothing, so the rise now (in comparison with a year ago) is particularly stark.
More recently, poor weather in southern Europe has meant that foods such as salad have increased in price by over 60%.
Although, as Alan Clarke from Scotia Bank, points out, "the lettuce crisis didn't cause today's big upwards surprise."
What did were increases in the prices of food (the first year-on-year rise for more than two years), fuel and what are described as "recreational" goods (such as televisions and laptops).
These increases can all be linked, at least in part, to the cost of importing goods into the UK.
And a large part of that increase in cost comes from the fall in the value of sterling since the referendum.
Although it is always worth pointing out that sterling's fall was evident before the referendum (many economists argue it was over-valued) and that the dollar has been particularly strong as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.
Will the increase in inflation continue and put pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates?
Well, input prices - what manufacturers pay for the materials and fuel they use - are rising by over 20% a year, the fastest since 2008.
And those costs will increasingly be pushed through to consumers.
So in the medium term, inflation is on an upward trajectory and could peak above the Bank's own forecast of 2.7% in the first three months of next year.
But, and it is a significant but, wage growth (a long-term motor of inflation) is actually slowing.
Last month, incomes grew by 2.3%, significantly down on a month earlier and the same number as today's inflation figure.
Yes, it is only one month's data, but as it stands, real income growth has stalled and groups such as the Resolution Foundation believe it will now turn negative.
The great wages squeeze which followed the financial crisis could well have returned.
And that is a worry for Theresa May, as I wrote last week.
Given that trend, the dovish position of the Bank is likely to remain in place.
Yes, the markets have upped their expectations of a rate rise, but the Bank has been clear: a cut to support economic growth as the UK begins its Brexit negotiations is as likely as an increase.
And any increase, if it were to come, is likely to be small.
Which is bad news for savers, of course.
It would be ridiculous to say that Brexit is not affecting the UK's course on inflation.
But it is not the whole story. To tell that, you need plenty of hands. | It was Harry S Truman who famously pleaded for a one handed economist, so tired was he of proponents of the dismal science saying "well, on the one hand, sir... but on the other..." |
37,202,921 | The children appear to be about 10 to 13 years old and the boy captioned as Abu Abdullah al-Britani is white.
The video shows the children shooting dead five men identified as captured Kurdish fighters who are kneeling.
The identity of the boy said to be British could not be verified and the Foreign Office has not commented.
The child is pictured in full military fatigues and a black hat alongside four other boys, and the prisoners are wearing orange jump suits.
One of the children, identified as Abu al-Bara al-Tunisi (the Tunisian), addresses the Kurdish fighters in Arabic, promising more violence and saying the battle against them has not yet begun.
The other children are captioned as Abu Ishaq al-Masri (the Egyptian), Abu Abdullah al-Britani (the Briton), Abu Fu'ad al-Kurdi (the Kurd) and Yusuf al-Uzbaki (the Uzbek).
Children have featured prominently in Islamic State propaganda in which the militant group boasts about preparing the next generation of fighters. | The Islamic State group has released footage showing five boys, including one it identifies as British, carrying out the killing of prisoners in Syria. |
30,934,979 | Gates beat nine other nominees to take home the £40,000 prize - the largest award for the arts in the UK.
The other nominees were from 70 countries including Portugal, Israel and Iceland, and were shortlisted from more than 800 entries.
First Minister Carwyn Jones presented Gates with his prize at the National Museum Cardiff on Thursday night.
The winning installation, A Complicated Relationship between Heaven and Earth, or When We Believe, is a series of symbolic objects that the artist says challenges the dominance of Christian ideology in the western world.
Gates said he was "grateful" to Artes Mundi for the global platform to "expand the context" of his work.
Artes Mundi director Karen Mackinnon said Gates stood out for "his ability to be not just an artist but an urbanist, a facilitator and a curator".
Held every two years, Artes Mundi was founded in 2002 by Welsh artist William Wilkins and supports contemporary visual artists from around the world who are still gaining international recognition. | Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates has won the coveted Artes Mundi 6 award in Cardiff. |
27,511,103 | The party, which was the largest at Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend councils, has mainly suffered losses to UKIP and those authorities now have no overall control.
Labour has lost control of Thurrock to no overall control, but retained control of Harlow.
The European Parliament election vote will be counted on Sunday.
UKIP made 11 gains in Basildon and five in both Southend and Castle Point.
A party source said there was no particular strategy to target Essex.
"It's just a reflection on how organised we are becoming in areas of the country," he said.
In Basildon, the Tory council leader Tony Ball, who pushed through the controversial traveller evictions at Dale Farm, lost his ward to UKIP.
He was one of seven Conservatives to lose their seats, while Labour lost three and the Lib Dems one.
The Tories remain the largest party with 17 seats, UKIP has 11, Labour 10, the Lib Dems one and there are two independents.
In Castle Point, the Conservative leader of the council Pam Challis lost her seat to UKIP.
In Brentwood, the Conservatives lost one seat to the Liberal Democrats, one to the Brentwood First party and one to Labour, which means the council now has 18 Conservative, 11 Lib Dem, five independent and three Labour councillors.
In Southend, the council now has 19 Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats join UKIP on five after losing four seats, Labour gained three seats bringing their total to nine and there are 13 independents.
Labour lost two seats in Thurrock as UKIP gained five seats there. Overall, Labour now has 23 seats, the Conservatives 18, UKIP six, there are two independents and the Lib Dems remain without a seat.
Labour retained control of Harlow Council, despite losing three seats to UKIP, who won five seats in total as the Conservatives lost one and the independent lost his.
The Conservatives have retained control of Rochford.
Colchester remains with no single party in overall control.
The Conservatives retained control of Epping Forest but lost two seats. The Lib Dems also lost one but UKIP took two and the Green Party one.
Voting also took place across Essex for the European Parliament's East of England constituency and the count is due to take place on Sunday night. | The Conservatives have lost control of four councils in south Essex following voting in Thursday's local elections. |
34,101,132 | He said he would use a "carrot and stick" approach to force up pay if he leads the Labour Party to power.
Those who embrace the £11 rate would be rewarded with lower NI contributions under Mr Burnham's plan.
He faces Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall in the leadership vote.
At the start of the final 10 days of campaigning, Mr Burnham will set out the proposals at an event in Pudsey - a seat Labour failed to win at the election.
He is expected to say Chancellor George Osborne's National Living Wage plan - announced in the Budget - is a "complete con" because it only applies to over-25s and fails to compensate for cuts in tax credits.
Mr Burnham's proposed rate, which would rise to over £12 in London, would apply to all age groups.
It would also be adjusted for the loss of tax credits and linked to the cost of housing, food and household items.
Firms that failed to pay the rate would face penalties devised in consultation "with independent experts and with business, ensuring a credible, deliverable and fair plan", Mr Burnham is set to say.
"The Labour Party I lead will stand for a true living wage for everyone," Mr Burnham is expected to say.
"It will be based on the simple principle that the same hour's work deserves the same hour's pay, regardless of your age. So I will abolish the youth rate minimum wage, apply the higher rate to everyone and give incentives for companies to go even further."
The shadow health secretary, who is trailing Mr Corbyn according to recent polls, is expected to add: "Businesses will be helped to pay a true living wage, but as more firms pay this fair wage it would be wrong for the unscrupulous few to hold out. So over the next Parliament I will phase in National Insurance penalties for those not paying the rate.
"By 2025, we will end the scourge of low pay in the UK for ever."
At-a-glance profiles of the four contenders | Firms who failed to pay a proposed new higher living wage of £11 per hour could face penalties including higher national insurance payments, Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham says. |
40,279,795 | The photos were mostly taken in Calgary, Alberta, and pictured women's clothed breasts, buttocks or genitals.
Twitter has since suspended the account, CanadaCreep, which amassed 17,000 followers in just under a year.
Calgary police say the man was identified thanks to an "overwhelming" response from the public online.
So far, police have laid voyeurism-related charges for three separate incidents, but more charges may follow. After arresting the suspect, police searched his residence and seized a laptop, storage devices and other electronics.
Investigators are now examining multiple terabytes of data, including hundreds of thousands of images, and trying to identify victims.
Friends told 22-year-old Alexandra Constantinidis on Monday evening about a minute-long video of her walking downtown. She immediately reported it to the police and by Tuesday morning the account was taken down.
"It was less that he'd taken the video of me, and more that he'd taken these terrible, horribly humiliating videos of other women and nobody said anything in a year," she told the BBC.
"And he had 17,000 followers who thought this was appropriate."
Many of the images and videos on the account were filmed up a woman's skirt. Since news of the account has spread online, many have circulated images from the account which appear to show the photographer reflected in mirrors or windows.
"On the hunt to find this dirtbag," said one internet sleuth.
Staff Sgt Cory Dayley said the videos are "clearly disturbing".
In Canada, a person can be charged with voyeurism if they "surreptitiously" observe someone who has "reasonable expectation of privacy".
A conviction can carry a sentence of anywhere between six months and two years per offence.
"If you're not punishing this behaviour, you're endorsing this behaviour," said Ms Constantinidis. | A 42-year-old Canadian man has been charged with secretly photographing hundreds of women and posting their images on Twitter. |
39,139,737 | Payne, 31, made his return in Ulster's Pro12 win over Zebre after three months out because of a kidney injury.
Leinster fly-half Joey Carbery comes in at the expense of Munster counterpart Ian Keatley, while forwards Dave Kilcoyne and Jack Conan are recalled.
There is no place in the squad for Ulster winger Tommy Bowe however.
Carbery, who made his three international appearances to date in the November autumn international series before injuring his ankle, will offer back-up for Johnny Sexton and Paddy Jackson at number 10.
Loose-head prop Kilcoyne boasts 17 international caps and has recently scored tries for Munster against the Dragons and the Ospreys in the Pro12.
Ireland play Wales in Cardiff on 10 March and then face England in a potential title decider in Dublin on 18 March.
Full-back Rob Kearney underwent a scan on Monday after being forced off in Saturday's win over France because of a groin injury.
While no details of the scan results have been revealed, the Ireland management appear reasonably confident that the Leinster man will be available for the Wales game.
If Kearney was ruled out, Payne would be a full-back option although a switch for Simon Zebo from wing to the number 15 jersey, with Andrew Trimble coming into the starting line-up. might be a more likely scenario.
Payne came off the bench in the second half of Ulster's game in Italy on Sunday to make his first appearance since sustaining a fractured kidney in Ireland's game against Australia in November.
The New Zealander, who has been a regular at centre alongside Robbie Henshaw since Brian O'Driscoll's retirement, is expected to get further game time with Ulster against Treviso on Friday.
Connacht lock Ultan Dillane is recalled to coach Joe Schmidt's squad, with Quinn Roux providing additional cover in the second row.
Ireland extended 36-man squad for the Six Nations against Wales and England:
Forwards (19): Rory Best (Ulster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Connacht), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Dan Leavy (Leinster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Sean O'Brien (Leinster), Tommy O'Donnell (Munster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Quinn Roux (Connacht), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), John Ryan (Munster), Niall Scannell (Munster), CJ Stander (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), James Tracy (Leinster).
Backs (17): Joey Carbery (Leinster), Andrew Conway (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), Luke Marshall (Ulster), Luke McGrath (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Tiernan O'Halloran (Connacht), Jared Payne (Ulster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Johnny Sexton (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Munster). | Fit-again Ulster player Jared Payne has been included in a 36-man Ireland squad for the Six Nations matches against Wales and England later this month. |
36,061,047 | The teams were separated only by goal difference before the match and that was reflected in the closeness of the contest.
The difference was the presence of a proven match-winner in the visiting ranks.
Kane Hemmings' 24th and 25th goals of the season rendered Kris Doolan's effort meaningless.
The win moves Paul Hartley's side three points clear in seventh place, with the Premiership now split in two for the final weeks of the campaign.
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Hemmings' first goal came marginally against the run of play, with Dundee goalkeeper Scott Bain having earlier had to move sharply off his line to block Ryan Edwards' goal-bound shot.
But after Gary Harkins skewed a shot wide, team-mate Hemmings showed typically predatory skills to put his side ahead.
He darted towards the near post as Paul McGinn burst down the right, but as the cross came in, Hemmings checked his run and tapped in unmarked from close range.
Thistle were always well in the game and Doolan was denied by the impressive Bain, who tipped the striker's shot round the post.
But the Thistle frontman did notch his 10th goal of the season 20 minutes before the end to give his side hope of victory.
Abdul Osman drifted a cross in from the Thistle left and Doolan headed past Bain to the delight of the home fans.
But they were to be disappointed before the end as the excellent Greg Stewart played a perfectly-weighted pass in behind the Thistle defence, allowing Hemmings to race through and slip a shot between the legs of keeper Ryan Scully.
David Amoo blasted over the bar from point-blank range in injury-time when he should have earned his side a draw, as Dundee again left Glasgow's west end with all three points. | Dundee continued their dominance over Partick Thistle at Firhill with a third away win against the Jags this season. |
36,158,451 | The 46-year-old Scot joined Blackburn in November, but has activated a clause in his contract to leave after their final game against Reading on 7 May.
At the start of the April, former Aston Villa boss Lambert stated he would 'wait and see' about his future after talks with the club's owners Venky's.
He has won 10 of his 31 games in charge as Rovers sit 18th in the league.
Lambert has been quickly installed as odds-on favourite with several bookmakers to take over at Celtic, where he spent seven seasons as a player.
"I would like to place on record my thanks to the owners and especially the players, staff and fans for the tremendous backing and support I have received since I arrived," he told the club website.
"It's a brilliant club, with great people, and I wish it every success in the future. For now, I remain fully focused and determined to try to win the final two games of the season starting this Saturday against Rotherham."
Blackburn say the search for a new manager will begin 'with immediate effect'.
After replacing former boss Gary Bowyer, Lambert steered the club to a season-high position of 11th in the Championship table in December but they have struggled for form since.
Last month debts of £102.4m were revealed by Venky's, run by the Rao family that owns the club, who are based in India.
Blackburn are the sixth club he has managed, following spells at Livingston, Wycombe, Colchester, Norwich and Aston Villa.
"Paul Lambert deciding to leave is no surprise.
"Over recent weeks he has grown increasingly frustrated at the lack of communication from the owners in India, with regards his plans for next season.
"His departure next month will leave Blackburn Rovers without a manager, chairman, chief executive or managing director. A situation that can not continue going forward." | Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Lambert will leave the Championship club at the end of the season. |
37,154,458 | Members of Lifestage, currently only available on Apple devices in the US, upload pictures and videos based around feelings, likes and dislikes. These are then turned into video profiles.
All posts are public and there are no options to restrict viewing. The idea is to connect members of the same school, its creator said.
One expert told the BBC the lack of privacy settings was a concern.
School members can view each other's profiles once the individual school has registered 20 members or more.
Users aged more than 21 are only able to view their own profiles, reports the Tech Crunch website.
However the app warns that it cannot guarantee whether all its users are genuine.
"We can't confirm that people who claim to go to a certain school actually go to that school. All videos you upload to your profile are fully public content," it says.
Lifestage has no messaging functionality but users can display contact details from other sites such as Snapchat and Instagram.
The app currently has a 2.5 star rating on the iTunes store with comments describing it as "kinda sorta creepy" and "confusing".
According to statistics website Statista only 8% of Facebook's US users are aged 13-19.
It has been designed by Facebook product manager Michael Sayman, who is 19 years old.
In a Facebook post he wrote that the app was based around the original social network's early days.
"Back in 2004, Facebook was all about 'who I am'. I could post my relationship status. I could share what my favourite music was. And it was all about expressing myself," he said.
"Today as Facebook has grown into so much more, we see the opportunity to explore that concept of 'who I am' once again, but for Generation Z in 2016."
Dr Bernie Hogan from the Oxford Internet Institute told the BBC the app's lack of privacy settings could prove unpopular.
"The lack of privacy settings on this app in its current state is indicative of Facebook ideology - which is to stay open and connected as much as possible," he said.
"From their point of view that's a great idea but sometimes being so open can get in the way of getting connected. They already know this as people become reluctant to share things online if they have to share them with everyone.
"It seems yet again that they are trying to push the boundaries of what we think is appropriate to share online and then walking back when they face public criticism." | Facebook has launched a new social media app aimed at school teenagers. |
39,442,296 | Saving Banksy explores attempts to preserve and profit from the anonymous Bristol artist's work.
The premiere is being held on Saturday 15 April at the Belmont Filmhouse, as part of the NuArt Aberdeen festival.
Belmont manager Colin Farquhar explained: "Banksy is a cultural phenomenon and we are sure the showing will be popular."
Banksy's images are daubed on walls around the world, and are worth vast sums of money.
James Finucane, general manager of the NuArt Festival, said: "Saving Banksy has received widespread critical acclaim since its release in the US earlier this year.
"It's a great coup for Aberdeen and a fascinating insight into current debates about street art practice and the traditional art establishment's efforts to remove the 'street' from 'street art'."
NuArt Aberdeen has been brought to the city by Aberdeen Inspired and Aberdeen City Council.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of business-led initiative Aberdeen Inspired, said: "Banksy symbolises the debate that goes on around street art and this film is a brilliant platform for discussion.
"We want to get people talking about art and bring it to a new audience in the city and are hugely looking forward to the premiere." | The UK cinema premiere of a documentary about famous street artist Banksy is to be held in Aberdeen. |
38,278,017 | Media playback is not supported on this device
The Swans were bottom of the table before beating fellow strugglers Sunderland 3-0 on Saturday.
Bradley had been under pressure having won only one of his first seven games in charge - but insisted he was not worried about his own future.
"It's not about me, it's about the work," Bradley said.
"I don't spend all week worrying about myself. I only know one way to work, and that's to think about the team, engage the staff, engage the players.
"Criticism is part of the job for a manager in the Premier League. I don't think I was the only one to be criticised in the last week."
The win against Sunderland was a fine response from Bradley and his players after they were humiliated 5-0 at Tottenham a week earlier.
Victory over the Black Cats means Swansea are now above the Premier League's bottom three by virtue of goal difference.
"We did get a good response. The players deserve full credit. That's the part of the job, a result gets a little bit out of hand, you can cry about it but you have to look at it in a strong way," said Bradley.
"This is a step but we have to build upon it, there's still plenty of work to do. It's a nice bonus to be out of the bottom three, but the work is still there and we can't get ahead of ourselves.
"The word many players used when we talked this week was 'pride' and the only thing I did was I tried to get back at them and say: 'What does pride look like actually on the pitch?'
"Pride has to turn into intensity, pride has to turn into clean sheets. Don't just talk about pride - put it into something more. At the end of that, for a few seconds you can look at the table and say you're not there yet, but it looks better than last week and we can continue move forward." | Swansea City manager Bob Bradley has warned his side they still have "plenty of work to do" despite climbing out of the Premier League relegation zone. |
36,311,644 | The decision to admit Montenegro must next be ratified in each of the alliance's national capitals - but the basic decision has been taken.
Montenegro's contribution to the alliance's defences will, in fairness, be limited.
It has a tiny population and an active-duty military of only a little more than 2,000 members.
But, as Nato says: "Montenegro has provided troops for the training mission in Afghanistan and financial support to the Afghan security forces."
"Montenegro, also plays a constructive role in the Western Balkans region."
This points to another aspect of Montenegro's perceived value as a Nato member.
After the bitter Balkan wars, Nato is slowly bringing the new democracies of the region into its fold; a means of spreading a security blanket across Europe's once fractious south-eastern flank.
Nato's expansion since the end of the Cold War has been dramatic.
As a journalist covering defence matters during the late 1980s, I used to receive a regular copy of a journal called Nato's Sixteen Nations.
Once the Berlin Wall came down and Nato's doors were opened, it had to change its name with the arrival of each new member, and then it gave up.
Today, with Montenegro, there will be 29 Nato members in all.
Two countries, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have been offered what Nato calls membership action plans, a kind of waiting-room for membership.
Montenegro and Nato: Foes to friends?
Russian menace pushes Sweden towards Nato
Why Nato-Russia relations soured before Ukraine
Nato unveils plans for closer relations with Georgia
Bosnia-Herzegovina's status is still pending until it resolves some issues about ownership of defence property, while the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - that's what Nato has to call it - is unlikely to join until it resolves Greece's objection to it being called simply Macedonia, which also happens to be the name of a region of Greece itself.
So could Nato membership stall at 29? Nato has grandly stated that Georgia and Ukraine will one day be members.
But a deeply divided Ukraine is not, at present, seeking to sign up, and Georgia has so many problems with Russia (with whom it fought an unsuccessful war not so long ago) that it is almost impossible to see it becoming a member under current circumstances.
Nato may have to look north for new members.
Russia's growing assertiveness is leading to ever closer defence ties between the alliance and Sweden in particular, but also with Finland.
In neither country, though, is there any consensus about actually joining Nato.
Sweden may ultimately feel it can achieve its goals by enhancing its practical cooperation with the alliance.
So, for Nato, these are in some ways the best and the worst of times.
The steady stream of new candidates for membership has reassured the alliance that even with the Cold War over it still has a purpose.
Indeed Russia's increasingly aggressive behaviour - not least its seizure of the Crimea and its war in eastern Ukraine - has taken Nato in a sense back to its roots - the defence of the territory of its own members.
After years of counter-insurgency operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan, Nato must again contend with, at least the possibility of, a classic all-arms encounter with Russia.
Defending the Baltic Republics and Poland is now its top priority.
But Russia's war in Ukraine has also revealed significant shortcomings in Nato's military capabilities.
US military experts have watched, for example, Russia's use of electronic warfare on the Ukrainian battlefield with great respect.
Many of the more traditional aspects of high-intensity warfare have been, if not so much forgotten in Western armies, given a much lower order of priority.
There is a good deal of ground to make up.
The whole debate about burden-sharing in Nato itself is bound to be given new impetus with a Donald Trump candidacy for the US presidency.
He has questioned Nato's value and has described many of Washington's allies as freeloaders.
Some of Nato's European members are doing more, but many still have a great deal more to contribute.
Its fitting then, perhaps, that the alliance will meet for its next summit in the Polish capital, Warsaw, in early July.
Poland, of course, was one of the key members of the then Soviet-led alliance, the Warsaw Pact.
It is now a stalwart of Nato and eager to see the permanent basing of alliance forces on its soil.
Nato's continued expansion greatly annoys Moscow.
A Nato summit so close to home will annoy the Kremlin even more. | Nato will celebrate the arrival of its latest member, the small Balkan state of Montenegro, as a sure sign of the alliance's continuing relevance at a time of renewed tensions in Europe. |
35,497,209 | Championship outfit Alloa this week added Ryan Finnie from Annan Athletic after Doyle rejected a new contract.
Doyle, who joined the Wasps in 2011, had been poised to move to the League of Ireland to play full-time football.
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright said: "I know Michael well. He was about to sign for Cork City."
Doyle, who began his career with Kilmarnock and had a spell on loan to Stirling Albion, joins the Saints squad for Saturday's visit of Scottish Premiership title challengers Aberdeen.
"He wants full-time football in Scotland and this opportunity has come up at the right time for him," said Wright.
"He's a good athlete and experienced and will give us good cover at a critical stage in the season."
Mackay played through the pain barrier in St Johnstone's Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat by Hibernian on Saturday.
However, the 35-year-old now faces more surgery on his hip after initially returning successfully from a summer operation.
"Dave's been able to manage the problem since returning to action, but he has been in a lot of discomfort this week and so we sent him for further consultation and the outcome is that he needs another operation," added Wright.
"He's looking at an absence of four to five months, so unfortunately his season is over.
"I'm very disappointed for him because he put a lot of work into his recovery back in the summer and autumn."
Wright is hoping chairman Steve Brown to give him some of the £500,000 the Perth club will receive from the sale of forward Michael O'Halloran to Rangers.
Apart from Celtic, few Scottish clubs have been willing to pay transfer fees in recent years, but Aberdeen and Hearts were both been prepared to spend money to improve their squads during January.
"I've spoken to the chairman about it and feel we need to be a bit more pro-active," said Wright. I'll try my best to get him to loosen the purse strings because it is getting tougher.
"Ross County can go out and get David Goodwillie on loan - we couldn't afford that."
Meanwhile, Alloa manager Jack Ross has turned to Scotland Under-19 cap Finnie to replace Doyle, who made 178 appearances for Alloa.
The 20-year-old was coached by Ross at Dumbarton while on loan from Hamilton Academical before he won a move to Rangers.
Finnie failed to break into the first team at Ibrox and subsequently with Partick Thistle.
However, following trial spells with Dunfermline Athletic and Brechin City, he made 17 appearances for Annan after joining the League Two outfit in September. | St Johnstone have signed former Alloa Athletic right-back Michael Doyle after captain Dave Mackay was ruled out for the rest of the season. |
37,930,038 | The 25-year-old will partner the recently-recruited Nico Hulkenberg at the French team as they build up to competitiveness following their return to F1 as a factory entry this year.
Palmer said he was "over the moon" to be staying with Renault.
The British driver joined the team's predecessor, Lotus, as third driver in 2015 before graduating to race driver with Renault for the 2016 season.
It was also revealed on Wednesday that Dane Kevin Magnussen would be leaving Renault to move to the US-based Haas team for 2017.
Renault returned to Formula 1 as a constructor this season after taking over the Lotus team.
Palmer, who has started 18 Grands Prix to date, scoring his first World Championship point at this year's race in Malaysia, added: "I can't wait to reward the team's faith in me on track.
"Having worked out of Enstone [in Oxfordshire] since 2015, I can fully appreciate the development of the infrastructure this year. This means I share the excitement of the team looking to 2017 and our new car.
"For me, it's been a steep learning curve driving in Formula 1 and I know that I am performing better than ever, and that there's still more to come."
Jerome Stoll, Renault Sport racing chairman, said: "We are delighted to retain Jolyon as our driver for the 2017 season.
"Jolyon has shown his hunger to develop with us as the team grows and we have been impressed with his increasingly strong performances on track as the season has progressed.
"We are confident that the combination of Jolyon and Nico Hulkenberg offers a very promising driving force to meet our goals." | Jolyon Palmer will continue to drive for Renault for the 2017 season. |
35,851,019 | A suspicious object was found in an alleyway between Lancasterian Street and Albert Road on Saturday.
It was examined by army bomb experts and found to be "nothing untoward".
A number of nearby properties had been "evacuated as a precaution" during the alert. Residents have been allowed to return to their homes. | Police say a security alert in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, has ended. |
20,135,446 | Sandy has flooded subway and road tunnels in much of Lower Manhattan.
Beyond New York City, public transport has been halted in several eastern US cities, and thousands of flights have been grounded.
And US stock markets have had to close again on Tuesday, the longest period since 9/11.
It is also the first time the weather has shut them for two consecutive days since 1888. The estimate of damage comes from disaster risk modelling firm Eqecat.
Both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq exchanges plan to reopen on Wednesday. NYSE said that its famed trading floor - based close to the major flooding in Lower Manhattan - remained undamaged.
Wednesday is a key trading day because it is the last day of the month, when traders price their portfolios.
Sandy threatens an 800-mile (1,290-km) swathe of the US, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes in the Mid-West and killed 66 people in the Caribbean last week before pounding the East Coast of the US.
The storm has closed thousands businesses and severely affected the infrastructure of the nation.
The closure of public transport along the US East Coast means millions of people are unable to get to work.
Air traffic to and from the region has also been severely disrupted and nearly 14,000 flights were cancelled, potentially hurting airlines that were already struggling in the weak economy.
Amtrak has suspended passenger train services across the north-east.
The UN headquarters in New York is also to stay closed, while public transport was suspended in Washington DC, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.
Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said that depending on how long flooding lasts, the hurricane could maybe shave one tenth of US output during the quarter.
"But you have to remember that the hurricane generates extra activity too, in terms of the clean-up and rebuilding," he told the BBC.
"In theory, it could even be a positive for the economy."
Peter Morici, an economist and professor at the University of Maryland, estimated that some $15bn to $20bn will likely be spent on rebuilding after the storm, which could create as much as $36bn in an "economy with high unemployment and underused construction resources".
"When government authorities facilitate quick and effective rebuilding, the process of economic renewal can leave communities better off than before in many tangible ways."
Roan Kirby, a farmer in Hope, New Jersey, told the BBC he has had to shut his farm down during the storm.
"I see no mention of the impact on farmers," he said.
"It is easy to forget livestock, stored crops and buildings that are at great risk. If trucks cannot get through to pick up milk at the farms and if the processing plants are affected, milk supply will surely be affected. Milk will have to be disposed of on the farm if it cannot be collected, which will mean a huge loss of income."
In New York, the US financial capital, an explosion at a sub-station caused power outages and darkened most of downtown Manhattan as well as Westchester County and affected more than 650,000 customers, power company Consolidated Edison said.
"This is the largest storm-related outage in our history," said John Miksad, Con Ed's senior vice president for electric operations.
Six million homes are currently without power.
"It will be days before we can know the full extent of the damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy in New York City and the rest of the state," Rob Lillpopp, a spokesperson for the Business Council of New York State, told the BBC.
"We are just a year removed from Hurricane Irene, and what we learned from that devastating storm is that small and large businesses can and will pull together to recover."
In Europe, shares in Swiss Re rose 1.3% and Munich Re shares were also higher. The two companies are reinsurers - they insure insurers, who will have to pay out a large amount to businesses and individuals affected by Sandy. | Businesses on the US East Coast have continued to be disrupted by storm Sandy, with total damage estimated at between $10bn and $20bn (£6bn-£12bn). |
11,619,379 | Just over 500,000 old and poor people queued up to receive it. They had to be at least 70 years old, have an income of less than 12 shillings a week and not have too much furniture, which was judged as a sign of wealth.
An overhaul of the state pension system will see a single-tier pension - of £155 a week - being paid to some new pensioners from April 2016. Others will get less, and those who qualified for a pension before April 2016 will remain on the old system.
So how will this change the current system and how will it affect you?
How is the state pension run at the moment?
Those who qualify for a state pension currently start to receive payments in their 60s. The exact age is being equalised for men and women. It is rising to 66 for both sexes by 2020, then to 67 by 2028.
People can look at a state pension calculator to find the age at which they will receive it.
Some of those who qualified for a pension under the old system also receive the State Second Pension, or Serps, which is the government's earnings-related additional pension.
There is also an additional means test that tops up the pensions of the less wealthy.
This additional amount is called the Pension Credit, or Minimum Income Guarantee. Those who qualify are guaranteed a weekly minimum £151 for a single person and £230 for couples.
But is it correct that not everyone gets these payments?
Yes. Your state pension depends on how long you have worked and the number of National Insurance qualifying years you have.
If you reached the state pension age on or after 6 April 2010, you need to have 30 qualifying years for a full basic state pension.
If you reached the pension age before April 2010, then a woman normally needed 39 qualifying years, and a man needed 44 qualifying years during a regular working life to get the full state pension.
If you are in a couple, and only one person in a couple qualifies for the basic state pension, then you can still receive top-up state pension payments of up to £64.40 a week by using one partner's National Insurance record.
Currently, those aged 80 and over who do not qualify for a basic state pension because of an incomplete National Insurance record, can get a smaller pension as long as they fulfil factors such as residency requirements.
There seems to be quite a lot of paperwork there?
And there is more. The means test actually puts some people off the top-up they are entitled to.
An estimated 1.5 million people could claim the extra money through Pension Credit but are not doing so.
The government says this is all too complicated. It wants to make the system simpler - but it still will not be simple.
What do the latest proposals say?
The government has outlined proposals for a major overhaul of the system.
This aims to simplify the system by getting rid of all the means-tested sections entirely, for all those retiring from April 2017.
It plans to give a universal payment - of £144 a week at today's prices - for all those who reach their state pension age and have 35 years of National Insurance contributions.
Owing to the complexity of pensions, including "contracting out" arrangements, it will actually be the case that some people will get more than £144 a week, and quite a large number will get less.
Those who start receiving a state pension before April 2016 will not be affected.
Who wins, if these changes happen?
Those who have built up quite big savings for their retirement could be better off. This is because these savings are considered, at present, in the means testing for Pension Credit.
A simple system means that it should be easier to explain why people need to save more - on top of the state pension - for their retirement years.
The self-employed, who have received a relatively small state pension, could also benefit. Those who have taken time out of work to care for children, or people with disabilities will have access to the enhanced single-tier pension.
The flat rate of £144 per week per person at today's prices means that the actual level of payment will be higher than £144 and will depend on the level of inflation between now and then.
The government will want to get implementation right, to prevent confusion during the transfer between the current system and the new one.
Who loses and which aspects could prove controversial?
The timing will be significant.
For example, existing pensioners will remain in the old system, so they could be slightly worse off than new pensioners. In the long-term, those who are aged in their early 20s now may be worse off than they would have been under the current system.
There is also likely to be much discussion on whether a millionaire getting the same state pension as somebody on the breadline is fair or not, although this income would be taxed.
And, on a more technical point, some people on a workplace final-salary scheme pay less National Insurance (NI) because their state second pension is "contracted out".
They will receive a reduced version of the flat-rate pension to acknowledge the fact that they have not been contributing to the state second pension in the preceding years.
Anyone who has not paid NI for at least seven, or possibly even 10, years in total in their working life will not qualify for the new single-tier state pension at all. | When the state pension was introduced in 1909, the maximum payment was five shillings (25p) a week - the equivalent of about £20 today. |
34,569,881 | Its victory translates into 11 extra seats, giving it 65 out of the total 200 in the lower house.
Europe's migrant crisis boosted support for the SVP, commentators say - though Switzerland is taking in far fewer migrants than Germany.
The right-wing liberal FDP also got an electoral boost, coming third.
Swiss media are speaking of a "Rechtsrutsch" - a "slide to the right" - because the SVP, FDP and some small right-wing parties can now command a majority in the National Council (lower house).
No such slide has occurred yet in the 46-seat upper house (Council of States), as a second round of voting is required in many cantons.
The SVP won the 2011 vote with 26.6%, becoming the largest party, but now it has made further gains.
The SVP is sceptical about Switzerland's many bilateral agreements with the EU, telling voters that the country is better off remaining outside the 28-nation bloc.
In Sunday's election the leftist Social Democratic Party (SP) came second, winning 44 seats - two fewer than last time.
"The vote was clear. The people are worried about mass migration to Europe," said SVP leader Toni Brunner.
The SVP spearheaded the Swiss drive to impose immigration quotas, which got the green light in a February 2014 referendum. But it contradicts the EU's freedom of movement principle, which Switzerland had earlier agreed to respect.
The EU has until January 2017 to resolve the dispute with Switzerland - after that the Swiss government must make the quotas law.
Switzerland has pledged to participate in the EU's controversial scheme to relocate 120,000 refugees from Italy and Greece, but it is not yet clear how many the Swiss will accept.
The SVP is pushing for the three biggest parties to get two seats each in the seven-member government. Its composition will be decided by parliament in December. Currently the SVP has one seat in the governing council.
The newly-elected SVP politicians include Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, daughter of the SVP's controversial vice-president Christoph Blocher, who served in government from 2004-2007.
Mr Blocher, a billionaire businessman, made the SVP the best-funded Swiss party and played a key role in the Swiss rejection of the European Economic Area. EEA membership would have been a stepping-stone to Swiss EU membership.
Roger Koeppel, a leading Swiss political pundit and chief editor of the magazine Die Weltwoche, was elected as an SVP candidate in Zurich. | The right-wing, anti-immigration Swiss People's Party (SVP) has won Switzerland's parliamentary election with a record 29.4% of the vote. |
34,230,450 | Waghorn's 10th and 11th goals of the season maintained Rangers' perfect points record in the Championship.
The striker's first was a 20-yard left-footed drive and his second came from the spot after Gregor Buchanan was sent off for felling Kenny Miller.
The Sons pulled one back through Garry Fleming's penalty after Danny Wilson fouled Frazer Wright.
Whether it was through a resolve to not become the seventh team to concede five goals to Rangers this season, or because this marked their 300th competitive game at what is now called the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium, Dumbarton had their visitors between a rock and a hard place.
The pink boots of Willie Gibson were the source of some early jitters for Rangers, with the winger narrowly missing with a high, curled free-kick before crossing for striker Fleming to head firmly against the inside of Wes Foderingham's post.
The half-hour mark passed without Rangers creating a clear-cut chance as the well-drilled Sons rear-guard of Buchanan, Darren Barr, Mark Docherty and Grant Gallagher snuffed out what came their way.
Barr even found time to direct a header into the arms of Foderingham from another testing Gibson delivery and Scott Brown blazed over when well-placed for a shot.
In fact it was the 45th minute when James Tavernier's rocket from the edge of the box was tipped over by Dumbarton goalkeeper Mark Brown to register Rangers' first proper shot on target.
The Englishman then almost made it seven for the season with a free-kick that smacked the outside of the upright.
Just when an hour had passed and Dumbarton manager Stevie Aitken's plan appeared to be working, Waghorn picked up the ball and hit a sweet strike beyond Brown, who may have been slightly unsighted.
Harsh on the Sons who went two behind 10 minutes later.
A through ball had Miller bearing down on goal and Buchanan seemed to get tangled up with him as the former Scotland striker shaped to shoot.
Referee Alan Muir dismissed Buchanan and Waghorn stepped up to dispatch his penalty into the left corner.
Wilson's foul on Wright at a set piece allowed Fleming to get his third of the season from the penalty spot, with Foderingham getting a touch but not enough.
Match ends, Dumbarton 1, Rangers 2.
Second Half ends, Dumbarton 1, Rangers 2.
Nathan Oduwa (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Grant Gallagher (Dumbarton).
Goal! Dumbarton 1, Rangers 2. Garry Fleming (Dumbarton) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Dominic Ball (Rangers) is shown the yellow card.
Penalty conceded by Danny Wilson (Rangers) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Dumbarton. Frazer Wright draws a foul in the penalty area.
Foul by Danny Wilson (Rangers).
Garry Fleming (Dumbarton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Andy Halliday (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Darren Barr (Dumbarton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Fraser Aird (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Darren Barr (Dumbarton).
Foul by Lee Wallace (Rangers).
Garry Fleming (Dumbarton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Dumbarton. Calum Waters replaces Mark Docherty because of an injury.
Substitution, Rangers. Fraser Aird replaces James Tavernier.
William Gibson (Dumbarton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Dean Shiels (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by William Gibson (Dumbarton).
Dean Shiels (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Scott Brown (Dumbarton).
Garry Fleming (Dumbarton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Nathan Oduwa (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Garry Fleming (Dumbarton).
Substitution, Dumbarton. Frazer Wright replaces Kevin Cawley.
Goal! Dumbarton 0, Rangers 2. Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Gregor Buchanan (Dumbarton) is shown the red card.
Penalty Rangers. Kenny Miller draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Gregor Buchanan (Dumbarton) after a foul in the penalty area.
Danny Wilson (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Garry Fleming (Dumbarton).
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Garry Fleming.
Attempt blocked. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Nathan Oduwa (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gregor Buchanan (Dumbarton).
Goal! Dumbarton 0, Rangers 1. Martyn Waghorn (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box to the centre of the goal.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Gregor Buchanan.
Lee Wallace (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. | Rangers huffed and puffed but two Martyn Waghorn strikes eventually broke down a resolute and gutsy Dumbarton. |
34,123,834 | The team has been unable to take daily sea readings after fights broke out over food between the bears who settled near the Fyodorov weather station, on Vaygach island in Russia's far north.
The team failed to scare the bears off with flares and have no other weapons.
The Russian government has pledged help, the WWF conservation group says.
Polar bears in Russia live all along the Arctic coast from Murmansk in the west to Chukotka in the east.
Scientists have observed a gradual rise in bear attacks on humans in recent years. | Pictures show how polar bears have besieged a team of Arctic meteorologists working in a remote corner of Russia. |
37,541,278 | Ibrahim Halawa was 17 when he was arrested during a siege at the Al-Fath mosque in Cairo.
He has been accused, along with more than 400 others, of inciting violence, riot and sabotage.
Mr Halawa's solicitor, Darragh Mackin, tweeted that it was "disappointing, but not surprising" that his trial had now been adjourned until 12 November.
He said it was the 15th time the trial has been adjourned.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said that the hearing did not proceed on Sunday as 2 October was designated the start of Hijra (Islamic New Year) and a public holiday in recent days.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan spoke to Egypt's Ambassador to Ireland, Soha Gendi, about the matter.
"I am very disappointed that the case hearing did not go ahead," Mr Flanagan said .
"We are working closely with Ibrahim's family and with his lawyers in Dublin and Cairo."
He said Ireland's Ambassador to Egypt, Damien Cole, spoke to Mr Halawa's Egyptian lawyers.
"We are seeking urgent clarification from the Egyptian authorities in respect of the next hearing date," said Mr Flanagan.
"I want to reaffirm to Ibrahim, his family and his friends of my own and the government's ongoing commitment to secure his return to Ireland as soon as possible and to ensure his welfare during his detention," he said.
Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who shared a cell with Mr Halawa for a time, tweeted: "There can be no justification for yet another adjournment in this trial. This is imprisonment by administrative neglect."
Ibrahim Halawa, from Dublin, is the son of Ireland's most senior Muslim cleric.
Three of his sisters were also arrested at the Al-Fath mosque, but were later released on bail.
The family say they were on holiday at the time and had sought refuge in the mosque to escape the violence outside.
They deny claims that Ibrahim Halawa is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organisation. | An Irish man jailed in Egypt since 2013 has had his trial delayed again. |
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