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38,442,805 | Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi was taken from her home in the Saidiya district of the capital, Baghdad, on Monday night by men claiming to be security personnel.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered security forces to "exert the utmost effort" to save her.
On Monday, Ms Qaisi wrote an article in which she expressed anger that armed groups could act with impunity.
The article, published by the Aklaam website, criticised an interior ministry officer who she said had assaulted the principal of a school in the southern city of Nasiriya for refusing to punish a pupil who had quarrelled with his daughter.
"There is nothing worse in a country than humiliating a teacher; nothing is worse than neglect by those who carry weapons," Ms Qaisi wrote. "If the state is anxious to preserve its prestige, it should hold accountable whoever uses weapons illicitly."
Ms Qaisi, 43, works for the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat and a number of other local news websites.
She is also an employee of the Iraqi culture ministry, is active in the field of human rights, and has participated in recent protests against government corruption.
The head of the Baghdad-based Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, Ziyad al-Ajeeli, said eight armed men had arrived at Ms Qaisi's house at about 22:00 (19:00 GMT) on Monday, claiming to be members of the security forces.
Before taking Ms Qaisi to an unknown location, the gunmen tied up her 16-year-old son, assaulted her brother-in-law, and stole her car, gold, money, mobile phones and computers, Mr Ajeeli added.
A security source told the BBC that the gunmen had been dressed in civilian clothes and had driven unmarked pick-up trucks with no licence plates.
The governor of Baghdad, Ali Tamimi, denounced what he described as a "barbaric" act that sought to "persecute and muzzle journalists".
Iraq is considered one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist. Seven were killed in the country in 2016, according to Reporters Without Borders. | Gunmen have kidnapped an Iraqi female journalist who has campaigned against widespread corruption in the country. |
36,680,125 | Aberdeen 3-1 CS Fola Esch
Heart of Midlothian 2-1 FC Infonet
Differdange 03 1-1 Cliftonville
IFK Goteborg 5-0 MBi Llandudno
Linfield 0-1 Cork City
AIK 2-0 Bala Town | Read match reports for the six ties involving British clubs in the Europa League qualifying first round on Tuesday, where Scottish Premiership sides Aberdeen and Hearts secured first-leg victories. |
34,638,279 | These printed listings of courses and requirements were usually put together with all the creative panache of a telephone directory.
The stilted photos of groups of students in idyllic campus scene became such a cliche they were known as "three under a tree".
Fast-forward several decades and the dodgy 1970s and 1980s fashion choices might have gone, but universities are trying even harder to attract the attention of students, particularly overseas students.
The global overseas student market has more than doubled since 2000, making it a lucrative and highly competitive battleground for potential recruits.
In the UK alone, overseas students are worth £7bn per year. Many postgraduate courses have a majority of non-UK students, making their financial viability dependent on overseas fees.
The university website is the modern prospectus - and the battle for students is taking place online.
Google has revealed data about the top destinations for where people are searching for university information, when looking at countries outside their own location.
Based on Google's internal search data for 2014, universities in the US get more searches from abroad than any other country, 35% of the total, matching the position of the US as the world's biggest market for overseas students.
The UK is the second biggest destination for overseas students and it is also in second place in terms of the amount of searches, with 26%.
But perhaps signalling a shake-up in the market, in third place in Google searches for overseas universities is Canada, with 8%.
According to Unesco figures, Canada is the eighth biggest market for overseas students, but it has big ambitions. Canada has increased overseas student numbers by more than 80% in a decade, and it has a strategy for a further increase.
According to these international education queries, Canada comes ahead of Australia, with 6%, while the Netherlands, with 2.4%, has overtaken Germany, 2.2%.
And while China is the biggest sender of students overseas, the search data suggests it holds much less interest as a destination.
The search data highlights the growing globalisation of higher education. In 2008, 37% of searches related to UK universities were from overseas. By 2014, that had risen to 46%. If the trend continues, most of the people looking at UK universities courses will be outside the country.
But the search data includes a warning about how much demand can fall.
India is second only to China in demand for overseas education.
But from 2010 to 2014, the proportion of searches from India about UK universities fell every year.
In 2010, 26% of university searches from Indian students were about the UK. By 2014, that had reduced to 17%.
This matches a slump in the number of Indian students coming to the UK, which the Google report interprets as a response to the "negative rhetoric" around student visas in the UK.
The winners were the US and Canada. In 2009, 39% of overseas university searches from India were aimed at US universities. That had risen to more than 47% by 2014, and this interest has been reflected in a growth in actual student numbers.
More stories from the BBC's Knowledge economy series looking at education from a global perspective and how to get in touch
The search data also shows how quickly attitudes can change. The proportion of searches from India about universities in Australia fell by more than a quarter between 2008 and 2010. This followed violent attacks on Indian students in Australia in 2009, which sparked protests in India.
The search data also includes some broader "query trends". Searching for online learning has climbed sharply since 2011. But global searches for 121 "traditional UK universities" declined between 2013 and 2014.
Such search patterns are highly significant in this multi-billion business.
And the New York-based World Education Services (WES), which specialises in the international student market, says universities are having to chase to keep up with the changing technology used by young students.
This is the mobile phone generation, and Rahul Choudaha, from WES, says an analysis of students applying to study in the US suggested most had used smartphones in the inquiry and application process.
And it raises questions about whether universities are able to distil themselves into a mobile-friendly format.
There is also a strong trend towards students wanting to engage with universities through social media, which is seen as an important influence on decision making.
Gordon Slaven, head of higher education at the British Council, which promotes UK education, says this is an "incredibly competitive market" and universities cannot wait for students to come and find them.
"The institutions must reach out to the student, increasingly online. Our research tells us that the student experience is a key influence," he says.
"How current students present their life on campus online now plays a vital role in how prospective students will view and make a decision on where they should study." | For today's students, it must seem like a distant and primitive era - but finding information about universities used to depend either on visiting the campus or else getting a copy of the prospectus. |
38,395,540 | Mark Anderson held Nigel Poustie hostage in his flat in the Charleston area of Dundee in July.
The 49 year-old was battered with a baseball bat and hammer and had boiling water poured over his head.
Mr Poustie eventually escaped but was later discovered seriously injured in the street and later died in the city's Ninewells Hospital.
Anderson, 51, who was originally charged with murder, admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide and will be sentenced in January.
Mr Poustie was described in court as a "poor soul" who had suffered personal problems following the death of his mother.
Mr Poustie and Anderson were said to have had a falling-out which led the killer to state to another friend: "I will torture him".
Prosecutor Adrian Cottam said that Mr Poustie was tortured overnight in Anderson's flat after being strapped to a chair and repeatedly punched.
He was also hit on the legs with a hammer and baseball bat.
Mr Cottam told the court: "He repeatedly begged him to stop.
"Anderson said he had betrayed him and would take what was given to him."
Mr Poustie then had a pillow case put over Mr Poustie's head as he sat "immobilised" in the chair.
Anderson told a woman in the house to boil a kettle, and a cup of boiling water was poured over Mr Poustie's head.
After leaving Anderson's home, Mr Poustie was seen looking "injured and disorientated" and later collapsed in the street.
He was taken to hospital, but suffered a cardiac arrest and never recovered.
Mr Poustie sustained extensive bruising and scalding, but existing health issues were a factor in his death.
Anderson was arrested four days later and initially claimed his victim must have been hit by a car or fallen over.
His QC Mark Stewart told the High Court in Glasgow his client was "ashamed" and deeply regretted his actions.
Judge Lord Boyd deferred sentencing until 18 January in Edinburgh. | A man has admitted killing a former DIY shop worker who he tied up and tortured for hours. |
26,096,612 | Johnny Quinn became trapped in his room after a shower and, unable to raise help, simply burst through the door.
"With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out," tweeted Quinn, 30.
Separately, GB bobsleigher Bex Wilson emerged from her athletes' village room to find an open lift shaft.
"Paula Walker nearly didn't have her brakewoman after walking out into this," wrote Wilson, captioning a photo of the open shaft. Walker and Wilson form the British two-woman bobsleigh team in Sochi.
Quinn's US team-mate, Justin Olsen, wrote on Facebook: "My team-mate and room-mate had an issue with our door. I knew something would happen.
"I wasn't there to help him out, at the gym. Trust me, he tried everything."
The Sochi Games have had various problems with the provision and build quality of accommodation for athletes and journalists attending the Olympics.
Reporters arriving in Sochi over recent weeks have documented unusual 'twin' toilet installations, unfinished hotels and problems with water and electricity supply. | An American bobsleigher had to smash through a jammed bathroom door inside the Sochi 2014 athletes' village on the opening day of the Winter Games. |
37,094,127 | The distillery will sit on the banks of the River Clyde at a former pump house between the Riverside Museum and the SSE Hydro Arena.
The multi-million pound development will have a visitor centre, cafe and gift shop.
The team behind the new Clydeside distillery said it hoped work would be completed and spirits would be "flowing" by the end of next year.
Owned by Morrison Glasgow Distillers, the distillery will offer guided tours, whisky tastings and an interactive whisky experience.
It is expected to attract 65,000 visitors per year and create up to 25 jobs when it opens next autumn.
The firm's chairman, Tim Morrison, owner of AD Rattray Scotch Whisky Company, said the firm's vision to build a distillery on the banks of the Clyde was "now set to become a reality."
"Work has started on site and our first batch of spirit should be flowing before the end of next year," he said.
"The city was once home to many whisky distilleries and we think the Clydeside Distillery will put Glasgow right back on the Scotch whisky map." | Work has begun on a new £10.5m whisky distillery in the centre of Glasgow. |
35,948,818 | El Khayati's curler sealed a defeat that left the Addicks 10 points adrift of safety with five games left.
Jordan Cousins looked to have earned the visitors a point when he fired in from the edge of the box on his left just after the hour mark.
Matt Phillips had earlier given Rangers a fortuitous lead with a cross-shot.
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The visitors went into the game on the back of a two-match unbeaten run, but found mid-table Rangers too tough to handle.
Seb Polter and Tjaronn Chery had chances before Phillips' opener, while Jose Riga's side were limited to Callum Harriott's shot off the bar.
Cousins scored against the run of play, but Ademola Lookman and Igor Vetokele passed up great chances to put Charlton in front.
And El Khayati's strike lit up Loftus Road and ensured a miserable trip back to south-east London for the seemingly doomed Addicks.
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink:
Media playback is not supported on this device
"At times you need a bit of luck and your keeper to be smart. I must say that Alex Smithies won us the game today.
"I am happy for Nasser but more happy for the team that we stuck at it, kept going, and in the end we finished them off even though we needed help from our keeper.
"I must say we put ourselves in that difficult situation as we had the chance to score and make it 2-0, and if you take that you go on and score three or four.
"If that chance goes in it kills Charlton's spirit. But it gave them more 'animal' to carry on."
Charlton boss Jose Riga:
"At the end of the match, conceding a goal like that when you have the possibility yourselves to win is cruel.
"It was a good performance. Okay, the first half was more complicated and we conceded a goal, but the reaction was good.
"It's a sad story. The only hope is that the Charlton fans can see again that the side was really competitive, with not just good spirit, but a style of play.
"When you do your job as we did today, at least your own feeling is that you have done your job." | Charlton's hopes of avoiding relegation from the Championship were dented severely by Nasser el Khayati's stoppage-time winner for QPR. |
36,369,824 | Carmarthenshire Rivers Trust is concerned Natural Resources Wales (NRW) may not allow an extension of its liming project in the River Doethie.
It claims a dramatic transformation of a catchment that was failing EU water quality and wildlife standards.
NRW said it wanted to stop pollutants reaching rivers in the first place.
With funding from Welsh Water, the trust has been releasing limestone sand into the Doethie in Upper Tywi valley - between Tregaron and Llandovery - since 2010.
The alkaline sand grains help neutralise the water's acidity, which is caused by pollutants in the atmosphere being washed into the river when it rains.
The area is important as a spawning habitat for salmon and sewin, also known as sea trout.
"I've personally taken a reading in a stream at the top of the catchment that ran the same as table vinegar," Caroline Orr, trust project officer, said.
"That was above our liming site, it's hard to imagine that anything could live up there.
"This is an ingenious project and very, very simple. We monitor quite drastically and have seen nothing but improvements in numbers of fish and the invertebrates they feed on, as well as birds and water quality generally."
Before the project began the catchment was failing standards set in the EU's water framework directive but has since been reclassified as having good ecological status.
A fifth of Wales' rivers and a third of Wales' lakes are vulnerable to acidification, according to NRW's risk assessment.
Most are located in west Wales where Afonydd Cymru, the body representing individual rivers trusts, claims commercial conifer plantations are exacerbating the problem.
These plantations in upland areas were historically used for pit props for the mining industry and more recently by the timber trade.
Densely planted, they become "particularly good at scavenging air pollutants, resulting in more acid run-off into rivers", according to Frank Jones, Afonydd Cymru's technical advisor.
"We absolutely need to have an intervention to deal with those impacts," he added.
"And through this project we have demonstrated what can be done. What we need to do now is extend this approach to other streams and rivers that are affected in Wales."
Mr Jones said that though the trust had "plenty of support" from local NRW officers it was concerned "policy formers are having second thoughts about liming" and may not support an extension.
Bob Vaughan, land manager for NRW, said the organisation was very pleased with the Carmarthenshire Rivers Trust's work but argued it was important to look at different opportunities to solve the problem.
"What we don't want to do is just carry on liming in a way that's just dealing with the symptom rather than the cure," he said.
In upland areas, Mr Vaughan said NRW had invested heavily in changing the way water runs off woodland plantations and would consider further interventions "on a case by case basis". | A project tackling high levels of acidity in a river should be given the go-ahead across Wales to help improve water quality, a charity has said. |
20,347,253 | They arrived in the international airport of the Albanian capital, Tirana, where they were greeted by family members and officials.
The remains were exhumed at Thiais cemetery south of Paris on Tuesday.
Critics accuse Albania's government of seeking to make political capital out of the former king.
His remains are due to be placed in a newly built mausoleum for the royal family this weekend.
Albania is currently celebrating the centenary of its independence from the Ottoman Empire.
King Zog, whose original name was Ahmet Muhtar Bej Zogolli, proclaimed himself monarch in 1928 but fled in 1939 as Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist troops invaded Albania.
In exile, he lived for years in England, then Egypt, before settling in France where he died in 1961.
His only son, Crown Prince Leka, died last year after failing in his efforts to restore the monarchy in Albania.
His grandson, Prince Leka, currently serves as a political adviser to Albanian President Bujar Faik Nishani. | The remains of King Zog, Albania's former monarch, have arrived in Albania after being repatriated from France more than 50 years after his death. |
30,530,769 | The crash happened at 07:45 about a mile north of the Black Isle side of the Kessock Bridge
The incident caused tailbacks for a time.
There are no details at this stage of whether anyone was injured in the accident. | A bus and three cars have been involved in an accident on the A9 near Inverness. |
34,224,687 | About 6,000 youngsters took part in the Mini and Junior Great North Run, with a Great North 5k (3.1 miles) also staged.
Elite athletes were in attendance for the Great North City Games, although long jump world champion Greg Rutherford withdrew through injury.
A crowd of 25,000 was expected by organisers.
Taking part in the Great North City Games was 200m world champion Dafne Schippers, who raced to victory on a 100m track constructed on the banks of the Tyne.
Rutherford and 5,000m and 10,000m world champion Mo Farah took part in a penalty shoot-out at a launch event at Newcastle United's St James's Park stadium on Friday.
The Great North Run half marathon will be staged on Sunday with more than 50,000 people taking on the 13.1 mile course from Newcastle to South Shields.
It will be the 35th staging of the event, which began as a fun run in 1981.
Farah is aiming for his second consecutive victory in the men's elite race, which gets under way at 10:40 BST. | Thousands of people flocked to Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides for the first part of the Great North Run weekend. |
34,124,142 | The changes will focus on the so-called purdah rules, which stop ministers using public money to campaign for one side, from 28 days before such a vote.
The government had wanted to suspend these laws so ministers could continue to discuss European matters in public.
Some Tories argued this would favour the pro-EU camp and now restrictions are likely to stay but with exceptions.
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 sets out a 28-day period ahead of any referendum, during which ministers, government departments and local authorities are banned from publishing material relating to the issue in question.
Prime Minister David Cameron claimed suspending these rules was necessary to allow the government to continue dealing with EU matters during the referendum period.
Ministers also said the purdah rules would stop them being able to defend the national interest in Brussels.
In June, 27 Tory MPs rebelled against the government plans for suspension of the rules, which avoided defeat only because Labour chose to abstain.
Then in July a report from the Public Administration Committee said it was also unconvinced by ministers' arguments.
In a critical report, it said such a move would "cast a shadow of doubt over the propriety" of the referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU or leave.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale said the changes - set to be tabled later - were "designed to reassure the government's critics".
He added: "The changes are expected to restore the restrictions on ministers, with some exceptions."
One Whitehall source told the BBC: "There will be a pretty significant shift in the government position.
"There is no wish within the government to be in a position where doubt is cast on the fairness of the referendum.
"It has got to be fair. And it has got to be seen to be fair."
The amendments have to be published on Wednesday so there is time for MPs to consider them before debating and voting on them next Monday.
Meanwhile, allies of Mr Cameron, who has pledged to hold an EU referendum by 2017, are contemplating staging it as early as next April, BBC Newsnight understands.
Senior Tories would like to get the referendum staged earlier in Mr Cameron's second term, to allow him to capitalise on what Conservatives think could be Labour Party infighting over the potential election of leadership hopeful, Jeremy Corbyn, the programme reported.
A government source said a referendum in April was "possible" but pointed out that the referendum legislation was still likely to be held up in the House of Lords, as peers tried to amend it.
The SNP's foreign affairs spokesman Alex Salmond told Newsnight that there was no way the government would get parliamentary approval - the support not just of Tories but of opposition parties too - for a referendum as early as April 2016.
On Tuesday, the government accepted the Electoral Commission's recommendations to scrap plans for a Yes/No vote and instead ask voters if they want to "remain in" or "leave the EU". | The government is set to announce "significant" changes to its planned rules on an in-out EU referendum. |
32,844,354 | Since 1994, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has produced an annual figure that estimates the skill-level in the country's jobs.
The figure would be increased if the proportion of skilled jobs rose and would fall if the proportion of unskilled jobs rose.
The 2014 figure fell slightly. In the previous 20 years it has always risen.
The lack of growth in the country's skill profile may be partly explained by there being a bigger-than-average increase in hours worked by people aged 16 to 29, who would be expected to have lower wages and skill profiles than more experienced workers.
The ONS also measures the number of hours worked in the economy. The number of hours worked increased by the largest amount since comparable records began in 1994.
The fact that labour quality continued rising after the financial crisis even though the value of the work done per hour declined is part of what has been called the productivity puzzle.
The ONS says that the decline in labour quality last year and only small increase in 2013: "suggest only that labour quality has stopped exacerbating the productivity puzzle; they do not explain it." | A measure of the quality of jobs done by workers in the UK has fallen slightly for the first time. |
22,165,242 | She has the sweetest face. Beate Zschaepe smiles gently at the camera as she twirls for the video the police made for their files. She is dressed in a girlish pink top as she performs the required choreography shortly after giving herself up. It is a face of child-like innocence, a young woman who would not hurt a fly.
But is it the face of genuine innocence - or a deceptive face concealing her involvement in the murder of 10 truly innocent people?
Prosecutors have called Beate Zschaepe the country's most dangerous neo-Nazi. She is accused of helping to murder nine men, all but one of them of Turkish background, and a policewoman.
She is also accused of helping in 28 attempted murders as well as being a member of a terrorist organisation. And she is charged with robbery, causing explosions and arson.
The arson relates to the fire which she is alleged to have started before giving herself up on 8 November 2011, telling police she was the one they were looking for.
She shared a flat in Jena, in the old East Germany, with two men - Uwe Boehnhardt und Uwe Mundlos. They had been found shot dead four days earlier, apparently a double suicide after they botched a bank robbery.
After the deaths, the gun used in the murders of the 10 people was discovered, thus clearing up one mystery but opening another: how did they get away with it for so long?
And it opened a debate about whether the police and security services were "blind in the right eye" because they had failed to see right-wing terrorism. And there was even speculation that maybe they had detected it through informers but then failed to act on it out of sympathy.
The first murder took place at a stall on the outskirts of Nuremberg on the Saturday afternoon of 9 September, 2000.
Two gunmen shot a seller of flowers in the face. They fired eight shots at Enver Simsek, six of which hit him. Two days later he died in hospital. One of the weapons used was a Czech-made pistol - a CZ 83 - the gun found after Beate Zschaepe handed herself in 11 years later.
The pattern of that first murder was repeated over the next six years. The victims were Turkish except for Theodoros Boulgarides, a locksmith who may have been mistaken for a Turk. The last murder was that of a policewoman on 25 April, 2007. Nobody - except perhaps Beate Zschaepe - knows the motive for this murder, though it may have been a personal grudge or an attempt to get weapons.
Either way, after the double suicide and Ms Zschaepe's surrender, a grisly video emerged (some say sent by the woman now on trial) which gloated over the killings. To the tune of the Pink Panther, it showed pictures of the corpses of the victims and identified the "organisation" behind the murders as the National Socialist Underground.
It was a revelation to the police. They had initially assumed that the murders were the work of the Turkish mafia. This meant that the families of the victims had been interrogated, in their grief, as potential perpetrators rather than as victims themselves. In one case, a mother who had scrubbed and cleaned up her own son's murder scene then found herself the object of suspicion.
Mehmet Daimagueller, who represents one of the families, still seethes with anger. He told the BBC: "It's obvious you can't survive underground in Germany - you need to have people supporting you - and I would like to know who supported the group."
He is voicing a common discontent about the trial in Munich. It is, the critics say, about much more than the specific charges against one woman.
Big questions arise because of the failure of the security authorities. The neo-Nazi trio were known to have been involved in far-right demonstrations 20 years ago in Jena, the run-down town where they got to know each other as rebellious teenagers.
One case cited is where a doll bearing the sign "Jew" was hung from a motorway bridge. The three realised they were known to the authorities so, it is alleged, they vanished from view in 1998 to found their murderous cell.
One of the problems for the authorities is that they have admitted that documents relating to the investigation were shredded. The questions asked by sceptics are: did informers tell the authorities of the activities of this group and, if so, why were the murders not halted?
The authorities' defence is that law enforcement in Germany is in the hands of myriad agencies, police and secret service, national and local.
On top of that, the murders were spread out in place and time. Sometimes the killers would strike within a few weeks of the previous murder and sometimes many months would pass.
Even today, it is hard to see why these particular victims were chosen. They were invariably the operators of small businesses - tailors, internet cafes, a flower stall, kebab shops - with no public profile. Their shops were nondescript and often in run-down parts of a city. The murders were spread across Germany in no particular pattern.
One of Germany's leading investigative authors, John Goetz, wrote a book on the case. He concluded that it was more cock-up than conspiracy.
"What we are looking at is security services which failed dramatically but basically out of incompetence and pettiness, not out of Nazi sympathies," he told the BBC.
On this view, the shredding of documents was to protect the security services from embarrassment over incompetence rather than to hide their complicity.
Sebastian Edathy, who heads a German parliamentary investigation, inclines to a similar view but thinks there was a blindness to the crimes of the right - the police simply assumed that Turkish victims meant Turkish criminals.
The Bundestag, he said, was debating new legislation which would oblige police to investigate a possible political background to any severe crime where the victim was a member of a religious or ethnic minority.
"Right-wing extremism should never be underestimated again in Germany," he added. | One of the biggest trials in Germany since the war focuses on an alleged neo-Nazi ring. |
38,743,694 | A three-year ban is in place on killing fish outside estuary limits with strict controls on numbers in inland waters.
The Annan Common Good Fund holds the rights to traditional fishing methods such as haaf, poke and stake netting in much of the area.
It has worked up a £50,000 compensation bid which Marine Scotland said it hoped to have resolved by next month.
The annual cost of applying the regulations in the area has been estimated at nearly £17,000 due to lost fish licence income.
A report to go to the common good fund sub committee outlined progress in efforts to claim the funds.
A letter from Marine Scotland confirmed it would consider the bid but it could only be done after compensation for coastal netting had been agreed.
It added that it understood the issue was one they were "anxious to resolve" and hoped to respond by the end of February. | Marine Scotland is to consider a compensation claim over new wild salmon protection rules on the Solway Firth. |
29,791,227 | Margot Martini, who had two forms of leukaemia, "died peacefully and was surrounded by those who love her," her family said in a statement.
Margot, from Roehampton in London, had a bone marrow transplant in February but the cancer later returned.
Earlier this month her parents, from Essington, Staffordshire, said Margot was unable to fight an infection.
The appeal for Margot inspired "tens of thousands" of people to register as potential stem cell donors, a spokeswoman for Delete Blood Cancer UK said.
Richard Branson, Boris Becker and David Tennant were among those who backed the Team Margot campaign.
Tributes for Margot are being left on the Team Margot Facebook page, where people described the toddler and her family as "inspirational".
The statement from her parents Vicki and Yaser and their two older sons said Margot died on Monday morning.
"Thank you all for your love and support," it added. | A two-year-old girl whose rare illness prompted a worldwide marrow donor appeal has died at home. |
24,626,432 | Colby resident John Donald Collister left his entire estate to the Manx nation following his death in 2007.
A consultation was launched by Manx National Heritage (MNH) to see how the public would like the money spent with 114 suggestions put forward.
The £15,000 grant was awarded to the Colby-based Quilliam Group.
It will be spent on a new stained glass window to commemorate Captain John Quilliam, who is described by Manx National Heritage as the "most famous Manxman to have participated in the Battle of Trafalgar".
A spokesman for the group said it was a "huge boost."
Chairman of the Manx Museum, Tony Pass said: "More than 3,000 Manxmen served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
"It was a higher percentage of population than any other area in the British Isles."
He added: "The most famous of these men was Captain John Quilliam; the lowly son of a farmer, who rose to commissioned rank and found his place in history aboard Nelson's flagship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar."
The design and production of the window is being undertaken by local artist Colleen Corlett.
The MNH consultation concluded that the £1m gift should be used to deliver a strong sense of community benefit, both on a national and local scale. | A major grant has been awarded from the Donald Collister Heritage Programme, established when a 93-year-old man left a £1m bequest. |
36,431,474 | In an appeal to younger voters, he will say immigration puts pressure on housing stock, increasing rent costs and competition to buy homes.
Further "uncontrolled migration" will make it "harder to get a home of your own", Mr Fox will add.
The Remain campaign dismissed his argument as a "fantasy".
The Leave campaign has stepped up its focus on immigration in recent days, with just over three weeks to go until the referendum on 23 June.
In a speech from Vote Leave's headquarters, Mr Fox will try to win over younger voters with a warning about the impact on housing of "uncontrolled migration" from the EU.
He will say: "Most new immigrants move into the private rented sector which has grown as the immigrant population has grown.
"Competition for rented accommodation obliges all those in the private rented sector to pay high rents which take a large share of income and makes saving to buy a home even harder.
"These resulting high rents and a shortage of housing make it much more difficult for young people to set up home on their own so they have to spend more time in house shares or with their parents."
This issue covers immigration and free movement within Europe.
The former defence minister will warn there is no "realistic possibility" that money would be found to fund the extra infrastructure needed to match migration levels if the UK voted to stay in the EU.
He also warned that migration pressures would have a negative impact on the green belt with "more of our open spaces and natural greenery being turned over to housing".
"If we remain in the EU, if we have uncontrolled migration year after year after year after year, you will find it harder to get a home of your own.
"You will find it harder to see a GP or you will find it harder to get a school place and you will see our green spaces disappear at an even greater rate," he will add.
Liberal Democrat Tim Farron attacked Mr Fox's argument, arguing that leaving the EU would "destroy young people's hopes of getting on the housing ladder".
"Leaving would mean fewer jobs, higher prices and lower pay, making deposits harder or impossible to build up. And it means higher mortgage payments making first time loans less affordable.
"First time buyers are better off in Europe and leaving would be a leap in the dark leaving young people worse off," the Remain campaigner added.
House builders also criticised Mr Fox's argument - saying the construction of new homes would stall if Britain left the EU.
James Hopkins, executive chairman of Hopkins Homes, said: "My greatest fear is that leaving the EU will exacerbate the housing crisis, bringing economic uncertainty and with it stagnation in the housing market.
"Instead of moving from 'Generation rent' to 'Generation buy' we could move to 'Generation debt'."
Meanwhile, Philip Makepeace, managing director of Norfolk Homes, said economists' predictions of a recession following a vote to leave would damage the UK house building industry. | Young people will find it harder to get on the housing ladder if the UK stays in the EU, Leave campaigner and former Tory minister Liam Fox is to say. |
36,190,323 | The park's new Galactica ride, which simulates space travel using virtual reality headsets, came to a halt at the Staffordshire theme park on Monday.
Twenty-eight riders were stuck lying face down near the top of the highest drop of 20m (66ft) for 20 minutes.
A spokeswoman for Alton Towers said heavy rain had obscured a sensor and the ride automatically stopped.
"This is a standard safety feature on this ride and the ride was working exactly as it is designed to do," she said.
Amelia Watkins, from Shrewsbury, had attended the theme park with a friend the day before her 14th birthday.
Her mother Debbie went to meet them at Galactica and watched as the ride was halted.
She said: "I thought 'oh dear they're up there'. I could see all these people just hanging there."
The friends said they were able to take off their virtual reality headsets when they felt the carriage stop, before realising they were stuck.
People in front of them were crying and shouting for help, they said, but staff climbed up to reassure them.
Mrs Watkins said: "They were shaken and wet because it was hammering it down with rain. Their hands were icy cold."
Galactica opened last month and is a £12m upgrade from a previous rollercoaster attraction called Air.
Monday's incident comes less than a year after the Smiler rollercoaster crash, which left two women needing to have legs amputated.
The theme park's owner, Merlin Attractions, later admitted a health and safety breach. | Dozens of people were left stranded on a rollercoaster at Alton Towers when heavy rain caused it to stop. |
38,952,203 | Joanne Lees, 43, returned to Australia as part of a TV special to search for Mr Falconio's body in the Outback.
Bradley Murdoch was convicted in 2005 of murdering Mr Falconio, 28, and assaulting Ms Lees, then 27, on a remote stretch of highway in July 2001.
Ms Lees revealed she met her sister, Jess, for the first time last year.
"I feel less alone in the world," she said of Jess, who is eight years younger. Ms Lees' father is Australian and the pair are estranged.
"When wonderful things happen in the world I want to share them with Jess."
Ms Lees and Mr Falconio, from Huddersfield, were about 200 miles north of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, when Murdoch waved down their camper van and shot Mr Falconio in the head.
Ms Lees was threatened with a gun, punched in the head and bound with cable-tie restraints before she managed to escape, hiding in bushes for hours while her attacker stalked her with a dog. She eventually flagged down a passing lorry.
Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found, despite extensive searches.
In the interview with Nine's 60 Minutes programme on Sunday, Ms Lees said she was determined to find Mr Falconio's body.
"Pete lost his life on that night but I lost mine too," she said.
"I'll never be fully at peace if Pete's not found, but I accept that that is a possibility."
Ms Lees was shown on the TV special returning to the area where the killing took place, and saying she was prepared to step into her "attacker's mind".
"It's because I love Pete so much and I want to bring him home and I need to bring him home," she said.
Ms Lees described her new bond with Jess as "kind of mind-blowing".
"I have a strong connection to Australia because my father is Australian," she said.
"Although my father's not been in my life, I've always been aware of who he is and his nationality."
Ms Lees also plans to erect a giant silver falcon statue in the Outback town of Ti Tree to honour Mr Falconio's memory.
The town was the last happy place they shared together, she said.
"The falcon represents his spirit," she said. | The girlfriend of murdered British man Peter Falconio plans to apply for Australian citizenship after learning she has a sister in the country. |
33,971,047 | It happened on the hill section between Greencastle and Sandyknowes shortly before 06:00 BST.
Police said they are investigating the circumstances and want to hear from witnesses.
The motorway was closed between the Greencastle and Sandyknowes offslips, but has since reopened. | Police have appealed for information after a woman died in a collision with a bus on the M2 on Tuesday morning. |
34,701,991 | The Oscar-winning star is nominated for her role as pioneering British scientist Rosalind Franklin in the play Photograph 51.
Kidman is up against Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Nell Gwynn) and Lia Williams (Oresteia).
The awards, hosted by Rob Brydon, take place at the Old Vic on 22 November.
In the best actor category, four-time winner Simon Russell Beale is up for his performance in Temple at the Donmar Warehouse against Kenneth Cranham for The Father, Ralph Fiennes for Man and Superman and James McAvoy for The Ruling Class.
Imelda Staunton's highly-praised role in Gypsy has earned her a best musical performance nomination while Gemma Arterton's lead role in the Made in Dagenham show has earned her a place on the list for newcomer in a musical.
The National Theatre leads with seven on the shortlist, followed by Royal Court with five and the Donmar Warehouse with four.
The National's The Mother with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis vies for the best new play with The Father, written by Florian Zeller, and Martin McDonagh's Hangmen.
The former's director Indhu Rubasingham makes the best director shortlist alongside Robert Icke for Oresteia and Jamie Lloyd for Assassins.
The London Evening Standard's Evgeny Lebedev said: "This fantastic shortlist bears witness to the fact that Londoners are living through a theatrical golden age. With ground-breaking director-led seasons, visionary new writing dominating the West End and the world's finest thespian talent queuing up to perform here, London's theatre scene is the envy of the world."
LONDON EVENING STANDARD THEATRE AWARDS SHORTLIST
Best Actor:
Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress:
Best Play:
Milton Shulman Award for Best Director:
Best Design:
Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright:
Emerging Talent Award in Partnership with Burberry:
Best Musical Performance:
Newcomer in a Musical:
Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical (voted for by the public): | Nicole Kidman is competing for the best actress prize at this year's London Evening Standard Theatre Awards. |
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Farah made it three successive world 5,000m titles and has now won golds in both track distance events at the Olympics and two World Championships as he once again found both the perfect tactical response and the form to pull it off.
This time he would not be allowed to lead it out from 500 metres to go, as we have seen so often, with Kenya's Commonwealth champion Caleb Ndiku going to the front before the bell and stretching away down the back straight.
But as the field splintered Farah first hung on and then, coming off the final bend, surged past Ndiku to go away to his seventh global track title in a row.
"It's great to make history," Farah told BBC Sport.
"I didn't feel great, my hammy (hamstring) was playing up a bit, but the medical team helped me through it and to come out here and make a double means so much to me.
"I was kind of getting nervous for the first time in a little while, but thanks to all the medical team. It was amazing to do it."
It had been a slow race, and Farah's finishing time of 13 minutes 50.38 seconds was in itself not remarkable, Ndiku 1.37 seconds back in silver and Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet taking bronze from his compatriot Yomif Kejelcha.
Yet this was about the response to a fresh and dangerous challenge: a final 800 metres of 1:48.6 and a last 400 metres that none of his rivals could possibly match.
With a series of allegations made against his coach Alberto Salazar - all denied by the American, and with no suggestion Farah has done anything wrong - this has been a difficult summer for the man who won the 10,000m and 5,000m double at both the last Worlds in Moscow and the London Olympics.
But in the same Bird's Nest stadium where he failed to make it through the 5,000m heats of the 2008 Olympics, Farah continued his unparalleled sequence of distance victories in wonderful style.
The race was slow to unfold, Britain's Tom Farrell taking them through 2,000 metres in just under six minutes.
Farah was content to sit at the back, going wide to pick up a drink of water from the feeding stations on the back straight early on and dump it over his head.
Only with seven laps to go did he move up through the field, cruising into second behind Ethiopia's Imane Merga before easing to the front with 1,600 metres to go.
Gebrhiwet went to his shoulder with three laps to go and was joined by his two Ethiopian team-mates as the pace finally quickened.
Ndiku then threw in a big effort with 800 metres left and as Farah tried to come past him at the bell held the Briton off and kicked again.
But Farah would not be beaten, the best distance runners left in his wake once again.
Brendan Foster, Olympic medallist and BBC athletics commentator said: "I would say Mo is the greatest sportsman Britain has ever had.
"Tonight has put him at the top table. When you talk about the greatest distance runners of the world, he has gone alongside them. He is up there with the greats Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Emil Zatopek and Lasse Viren.
"Nobody has worked out how to beat him and he's got the Rio Olympics next year and then maybe the Worlds again in London in 2017.
"This guy is still adding to his record books. He is getting better as he gets older." | Mo Farah ran a blistering last lap of 52.6 seconds to sprint away to a brilliant 5,000m gold and become the first man in history to pull off a distance 'triple-double'. |
38,361,124 | Pep Guardiola's visitors were far from their free-flowing best en route to their 12th win of the season, but were nevertheless good value for a victory that keeps them seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
Yaya Toure's penalty, awarded after Andrew Robertson's clumsy challenge on Raheem Sterling, set the visitors on their way before Kelechi Iheanacho added a second from close range and Curtis Davies conceded an own goal in the last few seconds.
Hull have now conceded nine penalties so far in the league this season - four more than any other side.
The hosts played well in patches and saw Michael Dawson's second-half header cleared off the line by Bacary Sagna, but their return of one win in 16 matches is a damning statistic that points to only one outcome at the end of the season.
And it will not be lost on Tigers fans that the side bottom on Christmas Day have only stayed up three times in the 24 Premier League seasons to date.
Guardiola's players will not earn many style points for this latest win but the final result is all that matters as they bid to keep in touch with Antonio Conte's flying leaders.
After starting December with back-to-back losses to Chelsea and champions Leicester, Man City now appear to be comfortably back in the winning groove with nine points from nine.
Sergio Aguero was sitting out the final game of his four-match ban and his absence appeared to be felt in a first half of few chances.
Guardiola decided against employing out-and-out striker Iheanacho from the start in favour of a four-man forward line of Kevin de Bruyne, Sterling, David Silva and Nolito, and they did not click into gear until after the break.
And Sterling took centre stage with a probing run into the area which proved the turning point, drawing a needless foul from Robertson that presented Toure with a chance from 12 yards that he did not pass up.
Iheanacho, introduced from the bench in the 57th minute, added a simple second after good work by Silva, before more direct running from Sterling forced Davies to turn into his own net in the fourth minute of added time.
The only real scare for Guardiola during the match was the early withdrawal of England defender John Stones through injury, but his concerns were quickly allayed.
"We were a little bit worried about that but it is just a kick, not ligaments or something like that," said Guardiola.
Hull have conceded the first goal of the game a league-high 15 times this season, but the rate at which the Tigers are shipping penalties is an even more alarming statistic.
With nine conceded so far, Mike Phelan's men are giving away spot-kicks at the rate of one every two matches.
But they have committed just 186 fouls in 18 games so far - just four teams have conceded fewer - meaning they have given away one penalty for every 20.6 fouls committed.
A mixture of poor judgement and ill fortune lurk behind most of those spot-kicks - two things the Tigers could do without if they are to escape from trouble.
Should they continue to give up penalties at even half the present rate, they will comfortably eclipse the Premier League record of 11 penalties conceded in a season, held by the Blackburn team of 2006-07.
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Man City boss Pep Guardiola: "I enjoyed it because we won but like always had to work hard for it.
"In the first half we forgot where the goal was, in the second half, our strikers saw the goal a bit more and after the first goal it was easy.
"There is always pressure for us because the top of the league is tough and the other teams at the top had won today. Every game we play is like a final."
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Hull manager Mike Phelan: "The penalty was the major turning point. Andrew Robertson is heartbroken over it because he knows he has suffered a harsh lesson there - he has got to stay on his feet and shuffle the player across into an area where maybe his team-mate can do a little bit better at making an attempt to tackle.
"But he has learned from that, and he will learn a lot more at this level. He is a good young player, and a good kid to have around but he has made a basic, basic mistake that has cost us.
"Until then, we put everything together the best way we could. I thought we were very very solid and moved the ball around well. We got to their players quickly and definitely frustrated them. We caused them a few problems now and again."
Man City face a big away trip to Liverpool on New Year's Eve (17:30 GMT), while Hull are back in action on Friday, 30 December when Everton visit the KCOM Stadium (20:00).
Match ends, Hull City 0, Manchester City 3.
Second Half ends, Hull City 0, Manchester City 3.
Own Goal by Curtis Davies, Hull City. Hull City 0, Manchester City 3.
Attempt missed. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the right. Assisted by Yaya Touré.
Attempt saved. Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
Ryan Mason (Hull City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Fernando (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Markus Henriksen (Hull City).
Substitution, Manchester City. Fernando replaces David Silva.
Foul by David Silva (Manchester City).
Markus Henriksen (Hull City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Fernandinho (Manchester City).
Robert Snodgrass (Hull City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. David Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Bacary Sagna.
Ryan Mason (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ryan Mason (Hull City).
Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dieumerci Mbokani (Hull City).
Substitution, Hull City. Adama Diomande replaces Sam Clucas.
Goal! Hull City 0, Manchester City 2. Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by David Silva.
Foul by Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).
Ryan Mason (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Michael Dawson.
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Ahmed Elmohamady.
Substitution, Hull City. Markus Henriksen replaces Jake Livermore.
Goal! Hull City 0, Manchester City 1. Yaya Touré (Manchester City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty Manchester City. Raheem Sterling draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Andrew Robertson (Hull City) after a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt saved. Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne with a cross.
Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dieumerci Mbokani (Hull City).
Attempt missed. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by David Silva.
Attempt missed. Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Robert Snodgrass.
Foul by Fernandinho (Manchester City).
Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Gaël Clichy.
Substitution, Hull City. Ryan Mason replaces Tom Huddlestone.
Foul by Yaya Touré (Manchester City). | Manchester City climbed to second place in the Premier League with a workmanlike victory over bottom side Hull City at the KCOM stadium. |
37,968,090 | State media say two soldiers and six attackers died in clashes after an ambush on troops, which led to air support being called in.
There are reports of villages burning in the northern region of Rakhine.
Photos released by Human Rights Watch seem to show charred villages, with the group reporting 430 burnt buildings.
The satellite photos were taken between 22 October and 10 November, following reports of fighting and civilians fleeing last month.
Rohingya activists say the government is trying systematically to drive the Muslim minority from their villages.
Attacking the Rohingya is a popular move for the military, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Myanmar's largest city, Yangon.
They are disliked by many, if not most, Burmese who consider them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, our correspondent says.
Glimmer of hope for Myanmar's Rohingya?
Rohingya migrant crisis in 90 seconds
The 'abandoned' people in Myanmar's election
The latest outbreak in fighting was triggered by an attack on three police checkpoints just over a month ago.
The Burmese government is not allowing independent journalists into Rakhine, so it is impossible to verify claims about the scale of the fighting.
According to the latest official statement on Saturday, troops were ambushed and then clashed several times with armed men, presumably Rohingya Muslims, equipped with guns, knives and spears.
At one point, when faced by about 500 men, the soldiers called in air support and two helicopter gunships fired on the Rohingya village.
Casualty figures vary widely, our correspondent says.
Brad Adams, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the new photos showed "widespread destruction" that was "greater than we first thought".
"Burmese authorities should promptly establish a UN-assisted investigation as a first step toward ensuring justice and security for the victims," he said.
The government - led by Aung San Suu Kyi - talks of "clearance operations" as part of the search for the attackers. | The government of Myanmar (Burma) has admitted firing on villages occupied by the Rohingya Muslim minority with helicopter gunships. |
24,156,005 | He ordered the plant operator to stem all the leaks within six months and gave instructions for decommissioning of two reactors.
Earlier this month, radiation levels near the plant's water tanks rose to a record high, according to officials.
The plant has been hit by several leaks in recent months.
The plant was crippled by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Cooling systems for reactors were knocked out, causing meltdowns at three of them.
Water is being pumped in to cool the reactors, however this creates large amounts of contaminated water that must be stored securely.
Some of the water has leaked from the tanks, pipes, and damaged structures, leading to concerns contaminated water is mixing with groundwater that is flowing into the sea.
Mr Abe, who last visited the plant shortly after he took office in December, met representatives from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).
He inspected storage tanks holding radioactive water and water treatment equipment at the plant during his three-hour tour, reports say.
"I've urged Tokyo Electric Power Company to deal with the contaminated water leakage as its priority. I gave them three demands," he said.
These demands include earmarking discretionary funds "that managers on site can use to implement necessary safety measures".
It also includes a "deadline to complete the purification of waste water stored in tanks at the plant" and "decommissioning the idle No 5 and 6 reactors and concentrate efforts to solve problems".
The two reactors are in addition to four others that were earlier marked for decommissioning.
Earlier this month, the government pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to build a wall of frozen earth around the reactors in order to contain some leaks.
Speaking at the time, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the government "felt it was essential to become involved to the greatest extent possible".
During Japan's successful 2020 Olympic bid process, Mr Abe assured the International Olympic Committee that the situation at Fukushima was "under control". | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, amid public concern over radioactive water leaks. |
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The three-time champions lacked urgency throughout the 90 minutes. They frequently looked rattled as an enterprising Algeria wasted a succession of chances in an open, exciting encounter, before Andre Schurrle finished from close range early in the first additional period.
Mesut Ozil drilled in to double their lead and, although Abdelmoumene Djabou volleyed home to ensure a frantic end, a relieved Germany held on and will take on the French in Rio on Friday.
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The result looked inevitable once an impressive Algeria side began to tire, but Joachim Low's men will have to improve dramatically if they are to secure a first World Cup since 1990.
Germany are into the last eight for the 17th time in 18 World Cup appearances, but they lacked the fluency and cutting edge that has seen them installed among the tournament favourites.
Algeria could not mark their first experience of the knockout stage with a win, meaning Africa's representation in Brazil is over, but they depart with immense credit for a superb campaign.
"Germany played such a high line with little pace in defence, and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is incredible to sweep up after them. They flirt with danger and he gets them out of trouble.
"Has there ever been a better sweeper keeper? He reads things wonderfully well."
The build-up was dominated by talk of them seeking revenge for 1982, when West Germany's convenient 1-0 win against Austria saw them both reach the second round at Algeria's expense.
They beat the Germans in the group stage that year and looked determined to produce a repeat.
With a 5-1-3-1 formation and five changes to their starting line-up that saw playmaker Yacine Brahimi drop to the bench, the Desert Foxes appeared to be set up defensively.
But, after an early spell of German pressure, they went in search of a shock lead and almost found it.
Germany keeper Manuel Neuer made a vital challenge on Islam Slimani after Faouzi Ghoulam's ball up the left wing eluded Per Mertesacker, and it subsequently took an important tackle from the Arsenal centre-half to deny the same man.
Sofiane Feghouli then sliced through the Germany back line only to miscue his cross from a brilliant position, Slimani's diving header was correctly disallowed for offside and Ghoulam steamed through on the left but lashed his finish across goal and wide.
Germany eventually managed to exert an influence - Ozil's misdirected cross was tipped over the bar, Muller headed wide and keeper Rais Mbolhi spilled an Ozil drive - but Algeria refused to sit back and Mehdi Mostefa was the latest to come close with a strike that was deflected wide.
Mbolhi made a magnificent double save from Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze as Germany finished the half well, but it was no surprise when Gotze was replaced by Schurrle at the break.
The big question was whether Algeria would maintain their intensity or be punished for their missed chances and the answer nearly arrived when Schurrle's effort was deflected narrowly off target, before Shkodran Mustafi headed at Mbolhi and the goalkeeper pulled off a fine save from Philipp Lahm's shot.
Algeria responded by tightening up at the back and attempting to pounce on the counter-attack. Keeper Neuer was forced to operate as an auxiliary sweeper as Slimani escaped the German centre-backs, while Feghouli drilled wide and then Slimani lashed powerfully at Neuer.
At the other end, Mbolhi made another stunning stop from Muller's header while Esseid Belkalem and Ghoulam cleared off the line from Schurrle and Benedikt Hoewedes respectively.
Algeria were visibly tiring and after Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger threatened a winner late in the 90 minutes, Schurrle finally broke the deadlock in the opening moments of extra time.
Muller crossed low from the left for the Chelsea forward to dispatch with an improvised finish. It was the 14th of Germany's last 24 World Cup goals that Muller has been involved it.
Ozil rammed in a second before substitute Djabou converted from Feghouli's cross, but there was no time to find another goal as Germany celebrated and Algeria made a tearful exit.
Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi:
"It's true we are part of Algeria football history, we went farther than any other team before.
"We have to build upon this performance for the future since we saw that Algeria is able to play on an equal footing at a very high level with other teams."
Match ends, Germany 2, Algeria 1.
Second Half Extra Time ends, Germany 2, Algeria 1.
Attempt saved. Madjid Bougherra (Algeria) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Rais M'Bolhi.
Thomas Müller (Germany).
Rais M'Bolhi (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Germany 2, Algeria 1. Abdelmoumene Djabou (Algeria) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sofiane Feghouli with a cross.
Goal! Germany 2, Algeria 0. Mesut Özil (Germany) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the high centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. André Schürrle (Germany) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Christoph Kramer (Germany) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Thomas Müller.
Foul by Per Mertesacker (Germany).
Islam Slimani (Algeria) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Mesut Özil (Germany) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Aissa Mandi (Algeria).
Offside, Algeria. Madjid Bougherra tries a through ball, but Abdelmoumene Djabou is caught offside.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution, Germany. Christoph Kramer replaces Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Delay in match Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) because of an injury.
Philipp Lahm (Germany) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Philipp Lahm (Germany).
Yacine Brahimi (Algeria) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Second Half Extra Time begins Germany 1, Algeria 0.
First Half Extra Time ends, Germany 1, Algeria 0.
Corner, Germany. Conceded by Sofiane Feghouli.
Hand ball by Islam Slimani (Algeria).
Attempt blocked. André Schürrle (Germany) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jerome Boateng.
Attempt missed. Mehdi Mostefa (Algeria) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Algeria. Conceded by Sami Khedira.
Offside, Germany. Thomas Müller tries a through ball, but André Schürrle is caught offside.
Substitution, Algeria. Abdelmoumene Djabou replaces Soudani.
Attempt missed. Thomas Müller (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
Substitution, Algeria. Madjid Bougherra replaces Rafik Halliche because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Rafik Halliche (Algeria) because of an injury.
Attempt blocked. Thomas Müller (Germany) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sami Khedira.
Sami Khedira (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yacine Brahimi (Algeria).
Goal! Germany 1, Algeria 0. André Schürrle (Germany) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Thomas Müller.
First Half Extra Time begins Germany 0, Algeria 0.
Second Half ends, Germany 0, Algeria 0.
Corner, Germany. Conceded by Rafik Halliche. | Germany survived a huge test of their World Cup credentials to see off underdogs Algeria in extra time and set up a quarter-final meeting with France. |
30,341,376 | There had always been rumours the actor would take on the part since Marvel announced the film's production.
Cumberbatch will play the neurosurgeon Stephen Strange, who suffers a car accident and gets involved in a world of magic and alternate dimensions.
The film is due for release in November 2016.
Announcing the casting, producer Kevin Fiege said: "Stephen Strange's story requires an actor capable of great depth and sincerity."
Doctor Strange has featured in numerous Marvel comics since the 1960s. He first appeared in a book called Strange Tales in July 1963.
In 1978, actor Peter Hooten played Strange in a TV movie, which was created as a pilot for a proposed series. It was never commissioned.
In October, Marvel announced a roster of film releases for the next five years, of which Doctor Strange was one.
Others include a new two-part Avengers film, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and a sequel to Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Before Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch will be seen in four more episodes of Sherlock and will also be the voice of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube | It's hardly a surprise, but Marvel has confirmed that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch WILL play Doctor Strange. |
34,345,210 | Alexander Dobrindt said it was not known how many of the 11 million vehicles affected were in Europe.
He also said other manufacturers' vehicles would be checked.
The scandal began unfolding on Friday when the German car giant said it had used software in the US to provide false emission test results.
Mr Dobrindt said he had been told vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines are "affected by the manipulations that are being talked about".
The company's Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Audi A3 models in the US from 2009 to 2015, and the Passat from 2014-15, were fitted with the devices which produced doctored results. However, diesel cars are far more popular in Europe than in the US.
The city of Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony is not merely the hometown of Volkswagen. Wolfsburg is Volkswagen, Germany's answer to Detroit - but rather more prosperous.
It was founded in the 1930s as a place to house workers building the KdF-Wagen - the car which became the VW Beetle after the Second World War.
Even today, more than half of the town's 120,000 inhabitants work at the local VW plant, a sprawling complex that covers some 6.5 sq km. Many of the rest provide the services which those employees need, such as shops and restaurants.
So a crisis at Volkswagen is a crisis for Wolfsburg.
It threatens the entire social and economic fabric of this town. People here are reluctant to speak about the scandal in the United States, wary of showing disloyalty.
But it is clear the events of the past week have taken a heavy toll.
Read Theo's piece in full here
Car emissions tests: Not fit for purpose?
VW boss Winterkorn's highs and lows
VW scandal explained
Why diesel sputters in the US market
VW emissions scandal: Your reaction
Mr Dobrindt also said random tests would be conducted on cars made by manufacturers other than VW: "It is clear that the Federal Office for Motor Traffic will not exclusively concentrate on the VW models in question but that it will also carry out random tests on vehicles made by other carmakers."
The value of Volkswagen has shrunk by around 30% since the scandal was revealed.
Separately, BMW shares dropped by 10% on reports the false tests had been used by other car makers.
The company issued a statement denying the report, saying the "group does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests".
"We observe the legal requirements in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements," it continued.
11 million
Vehicles affected worldwide
€6.5bn Set aside by VW
$18bn Potential fines
No. 1 Global carmaker in sales
VW is setting aside €6.5bn (£4.7bn) to cover the costs of the scandal.
The German car giant's chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned following the revelation.
Mr Winterkorn said he was "shocked" by recent events and was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part".
The supervisory board said it would announce Mr Winterkorn's successor at a board meeting on Friday.
There has been speculation in German newspapers that Matthias Mueller would be named as the next chief executive. He is head of Porsche, which is part of the Volkswagen group of companies.
German public prosecutors are considering an investigation, with US authorities also said to be planning criminal investigations. | Volkswagen has admitted using the same fake emissions test in Europe as it used in the US, Germany's transport minister has suggested. |
34,674,276 | Its report found those under the age of 34 were hit by the steepest fall in income and employment.
This age group also had less access to decent housing and better paid jobs, and faced deepening poverty, it found.
EHRC commissioner Laura Carstensen said the young had the "worst economic prospects for generations".
The report also says those aged 16 to 24 were more likely than all other adult age groups to be living in poverty.
Ms Carstensen said: "It's great to see the barriers being lowered over the last five years for some people, but during the same period they've been raised higher for younger people in particular.
"Theirs are the shoulders on which the country will rely to provide for a rapidly ageing population, yet they have the worst economic prospects for several generations."
The report, entitled Is Britain Fairer?, also found:
Ms Carstensen said the review showed that British people wanted a society where everyone had an equal opportunity to make the best of their lives, but "our achievements still lag behind our aspirations in some areas".
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the report should be a "wake-up call" to ministers about the "plight of young people, who are struggling to cope with poverty pay, deteriorating job prospects and the increased cost of housing."
"Hiking up university and college fees and excluding young people from the new higher minimum wage rate is not the way to build a fair and prosperous Britain," she said.
"It is the blueprint for a lost generation.
"Without better employment and training opportunities many young people will continue to be shut of the recovery." | Prospects for young people in the UK have worsened over the past five years, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. |
40,993,981 | World number 27 Brecel hit breaks of 110, 103, 81 and 57 to secure victory.
He will face Li Hang, after the home favourite defeated Mark Williams 5-3 in Guangzhou.
Shaun Murphy beat China's Zhou Yuelong 5-2 to set up a last-four match against Ali Carter, who defeated Fergal O'Brien by the same score.
Delighted Brecel said: "It was unbelievable. Against most players you think you can come back from 4-1 down, but against Ronnie you don't fancy it because he is so good.
"When I made a century I started believing again. I kept really cool and made some good breaks." | Belgian Luca Brecel came back from 4-1 behind to beat five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 and reach the China Championship semi-finals. |
35,706,968 | The exhibition, which will open at SeaCity Museum in 2018, will chart the club's history from 1885, when it was St Mary's Young Men's Association FC.
Other highlights will include items linked to the Saints' highest top-flight finish, second place in 1983-84.
Fans are being asked to donate their memorabilia for display.
The club's FA Cup final win in 1976, when a Bobby Stokes goal clinched a 1-0 win over strong favourites Manchester United, Southampton's long-standing rivalry with south coast neighbours Portsmouth, and the birth of the Premier League will all feature in the exhibition, which is being put together by the club, in partnership with the city council and the museum.
Gareth Rogers, chief executive of Southampton Football Club, said: "It is fantastic that fans will be able to contribute to the celebration of our history as they have played such a pivotal role in that journey.
"I cannot wait to see the variety of memorabilia they come forward with".
Councillor Satvir Kaur said: "Since Southampton Football Club's birth as a church football team back in 1885, the Saints have grown to become an integral part of the fabric of our city and its identity.
"It is a club that is not only much loved and cherished by locals, but one that is now recognised and respected around the world."
A series of "memorabilia roadshows" are planned for members of the public to showcase their collections - which it is suggested could include programmes, tickets, commemorative items, photographs and signed shirts.
The first roadshow will be held at St Mary's Stadium on 21 May, with more dates to be announced, the council said. | Plans have been announced for an exhibition on Southampton FC's history as it prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its only FA Cup victory. |
28,055,909 | The social media site said the request was "by far the largest" it had ever received from a government body.
Photographs, private messages and other information were supplied to a New York court last year, but the process was only made public by a judge this week.
The ruling defined Facebook as a "digital landlord".
A judge said this definition meant the company must comply with search warrants.
The original case investigated fraudulent claimants of US federal disability benefits, whose Facebook accounts apparently showed that they were in fact healthy.
The web giant was ordered to hand over information from the 381 accounts, which the court said contained "evidence of criminality".
After an appeal was denied, Facebook complied with the request but protested that it violated the Fourth Amendment of the US constitution, which protects against "unreasonable searches and seizures".
Facebook also voiced concerns about the lack of date restrictions on the warrant, which it argued allowed the US government to keep the data indefinitely, and the range of data requested, which it said would contain private material which bore no relation to the trial.
The proceedings have been kept private by the court, but after a fresh appeal by Facebook a New York judge has now made the court filing public.
Facebook said the government had obtained "gag orders", preventing it from telling the account holders that it had been forced to hand over their data.
"This unprecedented request is by far the largest we've ever received - by a magnitude of more than ten - and we have argued that it was unconstitutional from the start," wrote Chris Sonderby, a legal adviser to Facebook.
"Of the 381 people whose accounts were the subject of these warrants, 62 were later charged in a disability fraud case.
"This means that no charges will be brought against more than 300 people whose data was sought by the government without prior notice to the people affected."
But a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney defended the court's actions.
"This was a massive scheme involving as many as 1,000 people who defrauded the federal government," said Joan Vollero.
"The defendants in this case repeatedly lied to the government about their mental, physical, and social capabilities. Their Facebook accounts told a different story."
In a summation of the legal justification for the court's decision, the judge wrote: "Facebook could best be described as a digital landlord, a virtual custodian or storage facility for millions of tenant users and their information.
"Hence, the search warrants authorise the search and seizure of digital information contained within the Facebook server." | Facebook is fighting a US court order in which it was forced to hand over data belonging to almost 400 people involved in a benefit fraud trial. |
39,686,737 | The Brecon Beacons National Park had the night sky above it protected to prevent light pollution in 2013.
LED Street lighting was installed in Cwmdu, Powys, by the Welsh Government, for "driver and community safety".
International Dark Sky Association (IDA) said this was not consistent with the ideals of dark sky preservation.
Older street lights have been replaced by LED units on the A479, which as a trunk road means the Welsh Government does not need permission from the national park authority.
John Barentine, a spokesman for the non-profit IDA, said he was worried about the implications of the development.
While there are no current plans to take away the status, he said the situation would be monitored closely.
"The information I have available to me suggests that the type of roadway lights installed and operated in Cwmdu are not consistent with the notion of Brecon Beacons as having an 'exceptional commitment to, and success in implementing, the ideals of dark sky preservation'," Mr Barentine said.
He said park staff were surprised when the Welsh Government installed the lights.
While admitting it had done nothing wrong, he said the move could lead to more lights being installed in the Brecon Beacons and other national parks in the UK.
Mr Barentine said the design and effect of the lights were "inconsistent with both these goals and the protected status" of an international dark sky reserve.
He added: "The government has been generally quite supportive of dark skies efforts across Wales, which is why the new installation of lights in Cwmdu is perplexing.
"We would like to work with the government to find a way to mitigate any adverse impacts of these lights."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "As part of its commitment to reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint the Welsh Government, during the course of maintenance, recently replaced old lanterns at this location with modern LED units.
"The intention was not to have any consequential adverse effect on the environment and options such as dimming in the vicinity of Cwmdu campsite will be considered provided there are no safety implications." | Streetlights placed at a dark sky reserve where people travel to view the Milky Way and major constellations have left a campaign group concerned. |
34,496,713 | Red Bull are without an engine partner for 2016 after all-but finalising a split from Renault but failing to secure an alternative supply.
Team principal Christian Horner said: "At this point, everything is open.
"Is it likely we'll be with Renault? Difficult to see that would be the case but in F1 nothing is impossible."
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Horner said the termination of Red Bull's contract with Renault, which was due to last until the end of 2016, had not been finalised.
However, a continuation of the relationship would be a major climbdown for Red Bull, who have been heavily critical of the French company over the past two years as it failed to produce a competitive engine under F1's new turbo hybrid rules.
Horner, whose team won four consecutive world title doubles with Renault engines, said: "Maybe we have been guilty of being too honest on occasion."
He added: "We have enjoyed a long relationship with Renault - nine years. We have had some good years and some tough years. The last couple of years have been tough.
"We have pushed Renault because we're hungry for success and sometimes it's got uncomfortable.
"We just have to be open-minded and come up with the best solution for the team."
Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul told Autosport: "Frankly, when you see the way we have been treated, it's going to be a very difficult sell to my board and to my executive management to do something else to what is currently planned."
Red Bull have been in talks with Ferrari since Mercedes told them in September they were not prepared to give them an engine.
But Ferrari have so far offered Red Bull only a supply of their 2015 engine, not their definitive 2016 design, which will be supplied to customers Sauber and Haas - the new US-based team - as well as to their factory team.
Ferrari's position is Red Bull approached them too late and they are not set up to supply any further 2016 engines.
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Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff reaffirmed at this weekend's Russian Grand Prix that the German company would not supply engines to Red Bull.
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has said he will pull both his teams out of F1 if he cannot get an engine that allows them to be sufficiently competitive.
The team have previously said they think it will be another two years at least before Renault is able to produce a competitive engine.
The 2015 Ferrari engine is very similar in performance to the standard-setting Mercedes and in the region of 50bhp more powerful than the Renault.
Horner said: "I am working very hard to try to find a solution in the coming weeks. We have to find a way to get as competitive an engine as possible in the car and to satisfy our shareholders and Mr Mateschitz." | Red Bull have not ruled out continuing with Renault as their engine supplier next season despite the breakdown of their relationship. |
38,891,481 | The Beacon Medical Group cares for more than 30,000 patients and was formed in 2014 after three practices merged.
Dr Jonathan Cope, GP and managing partner at Plympton Health Centre, one of the Beacon practices which has 10 doctors, says, at present, there are 30 unfilled GP posts in Plymouth.
Three years ago, his practice was unable to recruit the equivalent of one-and-a-half full-time GPs.
"We made a conscious decision to look elsewhere, to work differently. So we decided to looks at what skills clinical pharmacists, paramedic practitioners and nurse practitioners could offer. We converted that budget to two-and-a-half full-time equivalents."
Patients registered at Plympton who feel they need same-day care from their family doctor call the reception team at the surgery.
Depending on the problem, they will then be called back by an advanced paramedic, pharmacist, nurse practitioner - or a doctor.
Dr Cope said: "Because of the extra capacity, we have freed up the GPs' time. So we are offering more appointments for routine problems, and the waiting times are now shorter."
The advanced paramedic practitioner, Simon Robinson, responds to any emergency medical problems in the practice, as well as doing, on average, four home visits a day.
He says he is often called out to see the more complex cases and his daily schedule allows him to spend more time than the GPs with patients. Simon was keen to point out that if he does have any queries he just has to knock on the GPs' door.
Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said while paramedics are highly valued and trusted, they have different skills and training.
"GPs are highly trained to take into account the physical, psychological and social factor - this unique skill set cannot be replaced by another healthcare professional, however well meaning the intention is.
"We do not have enough GPs in the NHS - and actually we don't have enough paramedics either. This transference of workload pressures from one area of the health service to another is not going to benefit our patients in the long term."
In an effort to understand the pressures on the Beacon Medical Group, the 100 most frequent attendees were analysed.
Dr Cope expected the list to be dominated by frail, elderly patients but instead the typical patient was a 37-year-old woman, often with mental health problems, multiple prescriptions and referrals to hospital.
From March, a psychiatrist will do a weekly clinic from the surgery for these patients and provide additional training on mental health care to staff.
It is part of a parallel drive to offer specialised new services more commonly found in a hospital setting.
Dr Helen Frow, a GP with a special interest in dermatology, has provided care to patients registered to the group in the last two years. "Onward referrals to the hospital have reduced by 85%," she said.
A similar scheme for musculoskeletal care resulted in 75% fewer secondary care appointments.
The model of working with between 30,000 to 50,000 patients in a multi-specialty community provider model is known as a Primary Care Home.
There were 14 other sites working to this structure across England in the last year.
The National Association of Primary Care is working closely with NHS England to explore how they can continue to expand working in this way.
A BMA spokesperson said: "Many GP practices are increasingly becoming hubs where nurses and other professionals work together to deliver services to patients.
"However, while this is encouraging, England is suffering from a drastic and worsening shortage of GPs that is damaging patient care and restricting the number of appointments on offer to the public.
"The government needs to address this workforce crisis urgently."
A week of coverage by BBC News examining the state of the NHS across the UK as it comes under intense pressure during its busiest time of the year. | A GP practice in Plymouth has reduced the time it takes to get a routine appointment with a doctor from three-to-four weeks to under seven days. |
35,158,234 | Crowds arrived at the Wiltshire landmark before dawn with many others travelling to the Avebury stone circle, which is also in the county.
The winter solstice marks the point when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun.
The solstice occurred at 04:49 GMT, with the sun rising at 08:04.
Senior Druid, King Arthur Pendragon said the solstice celebrates the coming of the new sun.
"This is the dawn we've been waiting for, this is the dawn the ancients cared about so much," he said.
"After this they knew the days were going to get longer and the return of hope and renewal."
The ceremony took place on what may have been the mildest 22 December since records began.
The Met Office said it was "finely balanced", but sunshine in the afternoon could put the heat on the 105-year record for the warmest 22 December.
A spokesman said: "Generally speaking there's been quite a bit of cloud, but if the sun peeps through the clouds in early afternoon, it could just push the temperature up to 16C or something like that."
England Heritage said people travel to Stonehenge because of its alignment with the sun on the winter solstice.
"One of the most important and well-known features of Stonehenge is its alignment on the midwinter sunset-midsummer sunrise solstitial axis," a spokesman for the organisation said.
"The midwinter sun sets between the two upright stones of the great trilithon.
"We do not know which solstice was more important to the users of Stonehenge, but several pieces of evidence suggest that midwinter was very important."
The shortest day of the year often falls on 21 December but this year the druid and pagan community marked the first day of winter on 22 December.
That is because the Gregorian calendar of 365 days a year - with an extra day every four years - does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days. | Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge to witness the sunrise on the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. |
20,949,733 | City of York Council has approved the development of a business plan for what it calls a community benefit society to run the city's 13 libraries.
Unison said it opposed the use of social enterprise schemes in public services and staff were concerned.
The council said staff would be fully involved in the scheme's development.
The Labour-run authority is cutting £250,000 from the library services budget in 2013-14 and said looking at options for sustaining the service in the future was essential.
Fiona Williams, head of City of York Council's library service, said: "In these difficult times we would be remiss if we weren't looking at lots of differing options for how we provide services.
"We've looked at it [community benefit society] and we believe it may offer some advantages."
The council would still fund the service through an annual fixed grant but as a social enterprise with charitable status, it would be able to attract other sources of funding, said the authority.
Andrea Dudding, general convenor for Unison in York, said it was not clear what type of grants the service might be able to access.
"We are opposed to social enterprises in public services in principle.
"Libraries are a statutory service and have to be comprehensive and efficient and outsourcing means the council has no control," she said.
She added: "Staff are very upset and angry and haven't been consulted about it."
The council said it had been talking to staff about the idea of a social enterprise for over a year and more talks would be held as the business plan was developed. | A trade union says library staff are "angry and upset" as a council considers transferring the service to a social enterprise. |
22,381,059 | A motion by its joint foreign affairs committee has been redrafted to say Dublin will seek reassurances from Moscow on its respect for human rights.
Members had advocated blacklisting Russian officials linked to the death of whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky.
Moscow then linked any Irish sanctions to adoptions of Russian children.
Its ambassador to Dublin, Maxim Peshkov, wrote a letter to the foreign affairs committee of the Oireachtas (the Irish houses of parliament) on 11 March saying Russia might stop adoptions by Irish parents if parliament endorsed the Magnitsky Act.
Russia banned Americans from adopting Russian children soon after the US Congress passed the legislation in December.
MPs in several EU countries are considering following the American example.
Pat Breen, chairman of the cross-party foreign affairs committee, said after the motion was revised he "wouldn't regard as blackmail" the failure by the committee to support sanctions.
"We have reached a motion that fulfils our obligations on human rights," he was quoted as saying by the Irish Times.
Senator Jim Walsh, who proposed the original motion, said he was "disappointed we didn't have some sanctions" before adding: "But politics is about achieving compromise."
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal group (ALDE) in the European Parliament, condemned the Russian letter earlier.
"Russian foreign policy once again is showing its ugly face," he said in a press release.
Sergei Magnitsky was working as an auditor at a Moscow law firm when he discovered what he said was a massive fraud by tax officials and police officers.
He is said to have uncovered the alleged theft of $230m (£150m). After reporting it to the authorities, he was himself detained in 2008 on suspicion of aiding tax evasion, and died in custody on 16 November 2009 at the age of 37.
His colleagues at the firm, London-based Hermitage Capital Management, say the case against him was fabricated to make him halt his investigations.
Magnitsky reportedly became the first person to be tried posthumously in Russia when proceedings for tax evasion opened last month. | The Irish parliament is set to limit its reaction to the Magnitsky affair to a statement of concern, after Russia warned against US-style sanctions. |
39,093,449 | Two of Saviano's goals came in the first period with Mike Forney also on target as Sebastian Thinel replied for the Flyers.
Carlo Finucci's strike cut Belfast's lead before two more Saviano goals and a double from Jerome Leduc.
Cardiff, second-placed Sheffield and Belfast all have eight games left.
The leaders hammered Coventry Blaze 8-0 on Saturday night while Sheffield remain a point ahead of the Giants after defeating Nottingham Panthers 4-2.
While Belfast's title hopes now look a long shot, player-coach Derrick Walser is unlikely to give up on the chase just yet with his side still to face Cardiff twice and also having a contest with Sheffield.
All three title contenders are back in action on Sunday with the Giants facing Nottingham away (16:00 GMT), Cardiff taking on Edinburgh Capital away and Sheffield also on the road as they play Fife. | Belfast remain seven points behind Elite League leaders Cardiff Devils after Steve Saviano's four goals helped the Giants beat Fife 7-2 on Saturday. |
28,839,343 | After struggling to survive in the Sinjar mountains for five days without water and food, these refugees were taken by Kurdish fighters to Newroz camp in Derik city, in an area of north-eastern Syria under Kurdish control.
"Hundreds of people were killed and beheaded by IS fighters and hundreds of women have been taken by them. We are dying - the Yazidi minority has seen genocide," said 65-year-old refugee Khidier Shamo.
Two sisters and their families were found by Kurdish forces in the mountains, two hours before this photo was taken. One sister had jumped from a truck because she was thirsty and desperate for water, spraining her ankle.
One sister said: "All of my family walked 12km in the mountains, my children are dehydrated and got diarrhoea. We lost a lot of relatives." Meanwhile, Farman Jendi (right), a 65-year-old refugee, said it was "a religious war; it's not a political or an economic war".
"We will never convert to Islam as IS want, we prefer to die," said 18-year-old Amina Kalo from Sinjar.
Refugees travelled from the Sinjar mountain via a safe corridor, by truck. Only large trucks can cross the bumpy roads leaving the mountains.
Photographs by Jewan Abdi (Twitter: @abdijewan)
Who are the Yazidis?
Struggle for Iraq: In maps | Pictures from a BBC reporting trip from northern Iraq into Syria, as Iraqi refugees fled Mount Sinjar after days of fighting. |
33,995,268 | Photographs seem to show that the audience at the Ponghwa Theatre was appreciative, if not completely sure of what to make of the concert.
Laibach describe themselves as "a music and cross-media group" and are known for playing eclectic cover versions of famous songs.
The songs were accompanied by images styled from North Korean propaganda posters projected on to a screen, with translations in Korean.
But what was on Laibach's setlist in Pyongyang? And what could their choices of songs signify?
As the band promised before travelling to North Korea, they played a number of songs from The Sound of Music, including Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi and The Hills Are Alive.
It is not the first time they have performed the songs - but the choice to sing them in Pyongyang was deliberate.
The tour's organiser, Morten Traavik, told the BBC the film "is very well known in North Korea".
The 1965 musical is one of the few western films people are allowed to watch in the secretive state.
When a journalist with Vanity Fair visited Pyongyang in March, one North Korean complained to him that he had to watch The Sound of Music more than 100 times as it "was our English-language textbook at university".
The fact that The Sound of Music is about a family escaping from Nazi Germany does not seem to have set North Korean alarm bells ringing.
If you spent any time on a European dancefloor in the 1980s or early 90s, you would know this hit for the Austrian band Opus.
Again, it's a regular on Laibach's setlists. But a closer look at the lyrics of the song do show how it might sit well with North Korea's so-called "juche" principle of self-reliance, as well as the Communist values of the state.
When we all give the power / we all give the best
Every minute of an hour / don't think about a rest
Then you all get the power / you all get the best
When everyone gives everything and every song everybody sings.
But, of course, the selection of this song could be just coincidence.
This is, again, a regular for Laibach.
The song was written during the period when John Lennon was most interested in transcendental meditation. As such, it has a strong spiritual theme and includes a mantra in Sanskrit.
One North Korean defector told the NK News website last year that people from his country were deeply spiritual while not at all religious.
"Human communication with the spirit world is something that is very popular in North Korea, where it crops up most often in the form of fortune-telling," Ji-min Kang wrote.
"Like anywhere in the world, when things get too much and life gets unbearably hard, people like to know what is ahead of their future."
Laibach did well not to make any references to North Korea's nuclear programme here.
The second verse begins with the lyric: "We're heading to Venus", and while North Korea has not announced plans to send a manned mission to Venus, there are indications it is planning to launch another satellite into space.
The decision to play a traditional Korean folk song reportedly went down very well with the audience in Pyongyang.
The Arirang genre of songs - also well-loved in South Korea - have been placed on Unesco's list of "intangible cultural heritage".
Unesco says the songs "speak about leaving and reunion, sorrow, joy and happiness" and "function as an important symbol of unity".
The image above may not make it appear that people enjoyed their evening, but the official state news agency said: "Performers showed well the artistic skill of the band through peculiar singing, rich voice and skilled rendition."
"They seemed to really enjoy it," said Simon Cockerell, general manager of the Beijing-based North Korean travel agent Koryo Tours. "It wasn't an audience pulling faces of distrust or confusion.
"Everyone sat in their seats the whole time and there wasn't really any clapping along or singing along, but then that's the norm at concerts here anyway.
"I imagine most of the people there really had no idea what to expect, but the whole show seemed to be well received." | On Wednesday, the Slovenian band Laibach say they became the first western rock group to play inside North Korea. |
32,717,123 | This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. | Man charged with murder of Polish national Marta Ligman, whose body was found in a suitcase in a London canal |
39,711,077 | The 27-year-old Senegal international was shown a straight red card for a tackle on M'Baye Niang during Hull's 2-0 win over the Hornets on Saturday.
However, Hull, who are two points above the relegation zone with four games to play, made a successful appeal to the Football Association.
It means Niasse will be available for Hull's trip to Southampton on Saturday. | Hull City forward Oumar Niasse has had a three-match ban overturned after his red card against Watford was rescinded. |
40,067,670 | Natasha Marke-Jones gave the visitors the lead in the 22nd minute, only for Amy Brodie to bring Scotland level within two minutes.
But Phoebe Richards restored the lead early in the second half and Wales hung on for a crucial win.
The remaining two matches are on Sunday at 14:00 BST and Monday at 11:00 BST.
Wales are ranked 26th in the world and are preparing for the European Championships in Cardiff this August, so will relish an important win over 17th-ranked Scotland.
Find out how to get into hockey with our special guide. | Wales Women hockey beat Scotland Women for the first time in more than a decade in the first of a three-Test series in Glasgow on Friday. |
37,914,763 | Knockaert's father Patrick died aged 63 last Thursday and the former Leicester player missed Albion's trip to Bristol City in the Championship on Saturday.
Midfielder Steve Sidwell dedicated his goal in the 2-0 win to the Frenchman.
"Coming all the way from England it's just unbelievable. My dad had the best tribute ever," Knockaert, 24, tweeted.
Sidwell was among 10 Brighton players seen alongside Knockaert in pictures posted on Twitter.
Goalkeepers David Stockdale and Niki Maenpaa, defenders Bruno, Gaetan Bong, Lewis Dunk, Connor Goldson and Liam Rosenior, midfielder Dale Stephens and winger Jamie Murphy also made the trip to Leers, on the outskirts of Lille, on Tuesday.
"I will never forget that day! The respect of this football club is too much... You are not just my team mates but my friends forever," Knockaert added on Twitter,
"They give me the power to be where this club has to be. Road to the Premier League... Let's do it for my dad." | Brighton boss Chris Hughton and several first-team players travelled to France to support Anthony Knockaert at the funeral of the winger's father. |
37,807,393 | Media playback is not supported on this device
Craig Jones had given Westfields, who play in the ninth tier of English football, a dream start when he fired a ninth-minute penalty low and hard into the net to put his side in front.
Curzon, the Greater Manchester side from National League North, enjoyed the majority of possession but the home side always looked dangerous on the counter and deserved their lead going into the interval.
Marshalled by the superb James Febery, the Westfields defence stood firm and the home side almost doubled their advantage when Jones met Richard Greaves' pass on the hour mark.
But the linesman's flag came to Westfields' rescue when Kane Kahaki turned the ball into his own net with 20 minutes to go.
And with less than 10 minutes remaining, Westfields' hearts were broken as Morgan was quickest to react when a Luke Clarke corner created panic in the goalmouth.
Ashton continued to press in the closing stages but Westfields goalkeeper Kieron Blackburn claimed a number of dangerous crosses to ensure the game finished level and set up a replay for his side.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Westfields 1, Curzon Ashton 1.
Second Half ends, Westfields 1, Curzon Ashton 1.
Attempt missed. Chris Ham (Westfields) right footed shot from long range on the left is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Sam Archer-Plane.
Attempt missed. Connor Hampson (Curzon Ashton) header from very close range is too high. Assisted by Rory Gorman with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Kane Kahaki.
Attempt blocked. James Baillie (Curzon Ashton) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Rory Gorman.
Joe Guest (Curzon Ashton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Chris Ham (Westfields).
Substitution, Westfields. Jamie Saunston replaces James Febery.
Offside, Curzon Ashton. Paul Ennis tries a through ball, but Adam Morgan is caught offside.
Foul by Paul Ennis (Curzon Ashton).
Kane Kahaki (Westfields) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Kane Kahaki.
Substitution, Curzon Ashton. Paul Ennis replaces Niall Cummins.
Attempt missed. Jamie Stott (Curzon Ashton) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Luke Clark with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Kane Kahaki.
Rory Gorman (Curzon Ashton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sam Gwynne (Westfields).
Goal! Westfields 1, Curzon Ashton 1. Adam Morgan (Curzon Ashton) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal following a corner.
Connor Hampson (Curzon Ashton) hits the right post with a header from very close range. Assisted by Rory Gorman with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Sam Gwynne.
Attempt blocked. Luke Clark (Curzon Ashton) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Rory Gorman (Curzon Ashton) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Niall Cummins.
Alex Brown (Curzon Ashton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Chris Ham (Westfields).
Attempt saved. Niall Cummins (Curzon Ashton) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Adam Morgan with a cross.
Attempt saved. Luke Clark (Curzon Ashton) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by James Baillie.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Sam Archer-Plane.
Attempt saved. Craig Jones (Westfields) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Richard Greaves.
Substitution, Westfields. Sam Gwynne replaces Aidan Thomas.
Substitution, Curzon Ashton. Adam Morgan replaces Iain Howard.
Offside, Curzon Ashton. Connor Hampson tries a through ball, but Niall Cummins is caught offside.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Keiron Blackburn.
Attempt saved. Niall Cummins (Curzon Ashton) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joe Guest.
Substitution, Curzon Ashton. Rory Gorman replaces Ryan Hall.
Attempt missed. Jamie Stott (Curzon Ashton) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Luke Clark.
Attempt blocked. James Baillie (Curzon Ashton) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Guest.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Aidan Thomas (Westfields) because of an injury.
Corner, Curzon Ashton. Conceded by Chris Ham. | Adam Morgan's late equaliser earned Curzon Ashton a draw and forced the lowest side still in the FA Cup, Westfields, into a first-round replay. |
32,132,125 | The 31-year-old joins New Zealand international Grant Elliott in the Foxes squad for the competition.
O'Brien has played 125 T20 games, scoring 1,980 runs with a strike rate of 132, and has taken 68 wickets at an average of 22.94, with an economy rate of just under 7.5 runs per over.
In 2011 he hit the fastest-ever World Cup century as Ireland beat England.
O'Brien, who played in the recent tournament in Australia and New Zealand, is the brother of Leicestershire batsman and wicketkeeper Niall and will be at Grace Road between 15 May and 26 June.
He has had previous spells with Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Surrey, and has played in the Bangladesh Premier League and Caribbean Premier League. | Leicestershire have signed Ireland all-rounder Kevin O'Brien for this season's T20 Blast campaign. |
29,337,566 | Paige Chivers, 15, was last seen in August 2007 in Bispham, Blackpool. Her body has not been found.
The men, aged 45 and 59 and from Blackpool, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
A court hearing, held earlier, granted officers an extra 36 hours to question them. | Police investigating the suspected murder of a teenager have been given more time to question two men. |
39,352,070 | A major search operation is continuing after the man fell into the River Tay shortly after 04:00 on Saturday.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) has now been instructed to investigate.
The police watchdog will then submit its findings to the Crown Office and procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Rescuers from the police, coastguard, ambulance and fire service were called to the scene of the incident on Saturday.
The inshore lifeboat from RNLI Broughty Ferry and a search and rescue helicopter were also involved.
The police's dive and marine unit carried out searches near to Moncrieffe Island on Monday.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "The matter has been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further." | A watchdog is to investigate the police response before a 25-year-old man fell from the Queens Bridge in Perth. |
34,006,723 | The Bears took one point from their first three games and Wednesday's wash-out in their final group match against Kent ended their last-eight hopes.
"We can't think we're unfortunate, we started poorly," Brown told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
"The games that we lost, we lost very heavily, and that cost us."
Big early defeats by Nottinghamshire and Essex undermined the Bears' hopes of advancing, and Brown said the match schedule did not help.
"We had no time to prepare for the competition," he added, after taking his side through 14 days of cricket in a 26-day period across three competitions.
"We knew what the schedule was like but we went from a T20 game at Headingley, straight to Nottingham and then to Lord's.
"Flitting from one competition to another while you're on the road, and playing your first four One-Day Cup games away wasn't ideal."
Although out of the One-Day Cup, Warwickshire have a chance to defend their T20 Blast title at Finals Day on 29 August and are eyeing runners-up spot in the Division One of the County Championship.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes is set to miss Friday's match at Nottinghamshire with a hamstring strain as the Bears look to close the 12-point gap on second-placed Middlesex. | Warwickshire's failure to reach the quarter-finals of the One-Day Cup is a result of their poor start, says director of cricket Dougie Brown. |
35,912,192 | As the team most likely to stop them, Tottenham have become the pantomime villain in the Foxes' fairytale. But with the chance to win their first league title in 55 years, Spurs' own story is as remarkable as it is impressive.
Last season Tottenham finished fifth in the Premier League - 23 points behind champions Chelsea - and conceded as many goals as relegated Burnley.
In less than 12 months, the north London side's improvement has been remarkable. Not only are they the top scorers in the league, but they also now have the best defence.
Only in terms of taking their chances have Spurs failed to improve, despite Harry Kane having another excellent season.
Ranked as sixth favourites for the title at odds of 150-1 by many bookmakers at the start of the season, Tottenham could become the first side to finish outside the top four one season and win the title the next since their arch-rivals Arsenal in 1989.
Achieving that feat would see them win their first top-flight title since 1961 and only the third in their history, moving them level with the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town.
It is 20 years since Alan Hansen's famous claim that "you can't win anything with kids" was disproved by a title-winning Manchester United side brimming with talented youngsters such as Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville.
However, if Tottenham do win the title this season, they would outdo even that side to become the youngest champions in Premier League history.
While Manchester United did have more players aged under 23 than this current Spurs side, it also had experienced veterans in their 30s such as Denis Irwin, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister to lead them, while the oldest outfield player in Tottenham's squad this season is 28-year-old centre-back Jan Vertonghen.
Although there is concern over the number of English players in the Premier League, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has placed great faith in them, with Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker, Dele Alli and Danny Rose heavily involved in Spurs' title challenge.
Only four Premier League teams have given more minutes this season to English players than Tottenham, while the three title favourites at the start of the campaign - Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal - have, along with Newcastle, given the least.
Pochettino's trust in English players has been to the benefit of the national team, with Rose, Dier, Alli and Kane all starting and starring in England's 3-2 win over Germany on Saturday.
The understanding between Alli and Kane is actually the most prolific in Europe's top five leagues this season, with the midfielder setting up seven of the striker's goals - a fact that will please England manager Roy Hodgson heading into the summer.
If the club's English players continue to play such an integral part and help them win the Premier League, Tottenham would be the champions with the most English representation since Manchester United lifted the trophy in 2001.
One of the reasons why Leicester's title challenge is so remarkable is that they are outdoing the big-spending clubs of the Premier League.
But while Tottenham have spent £256m on players over the past five seasons - still significantly less than the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool - they have sold an incredible £293m worth of talent, meaning they have actually brought in more money than they have spent in that time.
Even Leicester in their two seasons back in the Premier League have a net spend of £48m compared to Tottenham's £7m.
In an era in which it is often claimed that English players are too expensive, it is worth noting that Rose, Alli and Dier - all of whom started alongside academy graduate Harry Kane on Saturday in Germany - cost a combined £10m.
It is well known that Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri is yet to win a major league title in his managerial career, but Tottenham's title challenge is being led by a man who is yet to win a trophy of any kind as a manager.
Ranieri has experience of winning the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina and the Copa del Rey with Valencia. However, Tottenham boss Pochettino would become the first manager for whom the Premier League trophy would be his first silverware if Spurs were to be successful in May.
In any other Premier League season, a club going from title outsiders to title challengers by shrewdly assembling a squad of young players with a strong English core under a manager yet to win a trophy would be the story of the season.
That it is not makes Tottenham the Cristiano Ronaldo of this season's Premier League - a fantastic story in their own right, but just unfortunate that an arguably even better one is taking place at the same time.
Leicester's story is undoubtedly incredible, but Tottenham lifting the trophy in May would arguably also be the most remarkable title win in Premier League history. | From relegation strugglers to title favourites in less than a year, Leicester's remarkable rise has been the story of the season, with many neutrals hoping they can clinch the Premier League title in May. |
15,684,591 | Kudankulam plant Chief Superintendent MK Balaji said that the delay was due to public protests at the site which had disrupted building work.
He said that the site had been subjected to a total blockade by protesters since 13 October.
Protesters say the facility is unsafe and in an earthquake area.
They fear a repeat of the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant. But officials say it is in a low seismic activity area.
The nearly $3bn plant - which has been either under design or construction for two decades - is equipped with two reactors built with Russian assistance.
"Definitely there is a delay," Mr Balaji told BBC Tamil.
"We have completed hot runs in August and are in the process of completing inspection work. But the the public agitation has disrupted our work."
He said that there would be at least a "three to four months delay" in commissioning the first part of the plant, and because of that the second part was also likely to be behind schedule.
Mr Balaji strongly denied media reports that Russian scientists at the plant were planning to go back home because of the continuing protests.
He insisted that it was safe and that there was no possibility of a radiation leak, although still no decision has yet been taken on where to store nuclear waste. The government insists that no waste will be kept at Kudankulam.
On Monday former Indian president and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam - on a visit to the plant - said that it was fully safe.
He said it was equipped with "sophisticated safety features and there is no need to panic".
Mr Kalam said that he was neither a mediator nor a government envoy, but "a technologist".
"I support nuclear energy along with solar and wind power as it is a clean and green energy which is very much required for the country's rapid growth," he said.
But protesters said they were disappointed with Mr Kalam's support for the plant. | Commissioning of a controversial planned nuclear plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has been delayed by a few months, officials have told the BBC. |
40,512,969 | Two people were seriously hurt and 31 injured in a suspected gas blast at New Ferry, Wirral, on 25 March.
The man, from Cheshire, was arrested in May on suspicion of conspiring to commit arson with intent or recklessness and a fraud offence.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said he is "no longer under investigation".
Police are still investigating a 62-year-old man from North Wales and a man, aged 55, from Wirral. | A 65-year-old man arrested following an explosion which resulted in 100 people being evacuated from their homes will not face charges. |
15,792,001 | Voodoo is completely normal in Benin.
People across West Africa, especially Togo, Ghana and Nigeria hold similar beliefs but in Benin it is recognised as an official religion, followed by some 40% of the population.
Voodoo Day is a public holiday and there is a national Voodoo museum.
It has none of the negative connotations it has in the West and many of those who are officially Christian or Muslim also incorporate some Voodoo elements into their beliefs, especially in times of crisis.
In pictures: Voodoo priestess
But Voodoo is more than a belief system, it is a complete way of life, including culture, philosophy, language, art, dance, music and medicine.
The Voodoo spiritual world consists of Mahou, the supreme being and about 100 divinities - or Voodoos - who represent different phenomena, such as war and blacksmiths (Gou), illness, healing and earth (Sakpata), storms, lightning and justice (Heviosso) or water (Mami Wata).
Voodoo priests ask these gods to intervene on behalf of ordinary people but local adherents stress that they have nothing to do with sorcery or black magic.
People here do not stick needles into dolls to cause misfortune to their enemies, as you see in some Western films - this image may have arisen from the icons of a particular god which a priest may have in their shrine.
Some Voodoo priests use herbs to cure the sick - and possibly to poison enemies.
They also sometimes ask for offerings, such as a chicken or a sheep, which is then sacrificed to the divinity, or some alcohol is poured onto the floor.
This can happen when asking for help or when you wish has been granted.
People seek help on a variety of issues - to be cured of a disease, find a job, complete a business deal, find a spouse or have a child. | As Pope Benedict XVI visits Benin, widely seen as the home of Voodoo, Virgile Ahissou from BBC Afrique explains the reality behind what is often a misunderstood religion. |
37,116,752 | The 52-year-old said he wanted to "focus on a different phase" in his life not involving "front-line politics, in any shape or form - whatsoever".
Mr Burns became Labour group leader in 2008 and has headed the city's Labour SNP coalition since 2012.
He will stay in office up until the elections next May.
Mr Burns, who has been a councillor for almost 18 years, said: "Nothing I've done in my life beforehand, and I'm sure nothing that I'll do with my life in the future; will match the hugely enriching local experiences I've had over those two decades.
"But today, I'm confirming that I won't be putting my name forward for a fifth consecutive occasion, and thus will not be standing for potential re-election in 2017.
"I want to now move on; to focus on a different phase in my life. A phase that once again will not involve front-line politics, in any shape or form - whatsoever."
Tom Connolly, Unison Edinburgh lead negotiator, said: "Andrew has always made himself available to Unison and the other trade unions and has engaged with us on regular basis throughout his time as leader.
"He has always done this in a respectful, positive and constructive manner." | City of Edinburgh Council leader Andrew Burns is to stand down at next year's local elections. |
34,775,616 | James Watson, 71, was crossing a road when he was struck by a southbound silver Land Rover Freelander on Bentinck Drive, at its junction with Yorke Road, at about 21:10 on Sunday.
He was taken by ambulance to Ayr Hospital where he later died.
Mr Watson's family described him as "a loving family man who will be sorely missed".
Police said inquiries were continuing into the incident. | A pensioner who died after he was hit by a car in Troon has been named by police. |
34,206,728 | He has asked his party colleague Arlene Foster to take over as acting first minister, after the DUP failed to get enough support to adjourn the assembly.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "gravely concerned" but it would not be right to suspend the assembly.
The crisis was sparked by the murder of ex-IRA man Kevin McGuigan, last month.
Police said that IRA members may have been involved in the killing.
The political row escalated on Wednesday, when detectives arrested three senior republicans as part of the murder inquiry, including Sinn Féin's chairman in Northern Ireland, Bobby Storey.
All three men were released unconditionally on Thursday evening and Mr Storey's lawyer said he plans to sue for unlawful arrest.
With the exception of Mrs Foster, the DUP's ministers have all signed their letters of resignation.
Mr Robinson said: "The failure of the SDLP and Sinn Féin to implement the Stormont House Agreement, together with the assessment of the chief constable of the involvement of the IRA in murder, the continued existence of IRA structures, and the arrests that followed has pushed devolution to the brink," the DUP leader said.
"In light of the decision by republicans, nationalists and the Ulster Unionist Party to continue with business as usual in the assembly, I am therefore standing aside as first minister and other DUP ministers will resign with immediate effect with the exception of my colleague Arlene Foster."
The DUP leaded added he has "stepped aside but not technically resigned" and has asked Mrs Foster to play a "gatekeeper role".
"Arlene remaining in post allows us to ensure that no irrational financial decisions are taken by other parties in what might appear to be the last number of days of this assembly," he added.
Mr Robinson said he will not take his salary and will not carry out any departmental work at Stormont while Mrs Foster is in post as acting first minister.
Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said Mr Robinson's decision to step aside instead of announcing his resignation was intended to avoid an election.
"The DUP are afraid of an election," Mr Kelly said.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister had spoken with Mr Robinson on Thursday afternoon and was "gravely concerned about the situation in Northern Ireland".
"While acknowledging the gravity of the situation, the Prime Minister told Mr Robinson that the UK government did not believe it would be right to introduce emergency legislation now to suspend the assembly.
"They discussed options for what more the UK government could do to comprehensively address all remaining paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland.
"The Prime Minister underlined the need for intensive cross-party talks to identify ways to tackle all paramilitary groups and to get on with implementation of the Stormont House Agreement
Earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers told a press conference that she would not suspend the assembly despite the DUP resignations.
She said the latest developments were "a sign of a complete breakdown in the working relationships within the executive".
"There is an urgent need to get the parties together, find a way to repair those working relationships and address the two issues," she added.
"We did not think the circumstances will justify suspension, that has not changed and obviously suspension would not resolve the two big problems we face, implementation of the Stormont House Agreement and the presence of paramilitary organisations."
Analysis: Mark Devenport, BBC Northern Ireland political editor
In some ways the situation is not quite as grave as had been thought earlier today.
The DUP has not pulled out all its ministers as Peter Robinson had said he would yesterday.
Instead he has stepped aside and Arlene Foster will be in place as acting first minister for six weeks - that's how long an acting FM can remain in place.
There will be no suspension as in the words of the Secretary of State "the time is not right".
It would seem that Peter Robinson was left in no doubt that the government was not offering the option of immediate suspension. And despite pressure on the SDLP from the Irish government, they did not offer the DUP the lifeline of voluntary adjournment.
It looks like Mr Robinson has come up with a clever tactic which gives the government six weeks to rescue the situation.
Last month, Northern Ireland's police chief said the IRA still existed and that detectives believed some IRA members had a role in Mr McGuigan's murder.
But Chief Constable George Hamilton added that there was no evidence at that stage that the murder was sanctioned by the IRA, which he said was committed to politics and not engaged in terrorism.
However, Sinn Féin's leadership has insisted that the IRA no longer exists and said the murder was being exploited by enemies of the peace process. | Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has stepped aside and other DUP ministers have resigned as a result of the political crisis at Stormont. |
33,309,674 | Stuart Cullen, 52, from the Lowestoft area, is believed to have died instantly during Friday's attack on a beach near Sousse, by a gunman with links to Islamic State extremists.
Mr Cullen was with his wife, who was injured but has now returned home, Suffolk Police said.
The couple have one grown-up daughter, police said.
Lowestoft mayor Stephen Ardley, who was holidaying in Sousse last week, said his thoughts were with Mr Cullen's family.
"My heartfelt sympathy goes out to not only the Cullen family, but to all the families and friends that have been affected by this devastating act of cruelty.
"I was walking along that very same beach eight days earlier. The wife and I used to go for a walk on it every morning, so it really brings it home," he said.
A total of 38 people were killed in the attack and at least 36 people were injured.
One of those who remains in hospital in Tunisia is Allison Heathcote, from Felixstowe.
She was critically injured in the shooting and is currently in an induced coma in a Sousse hospital, her brother Simon Boon.
His sister was shot twice and had undergone six hours of surgery to have her shoulder rebuilt, Mr Boon said.
He told the BBC the family had "received very little information from the Foreign Office" and had had to "source information" themselves.
Mrs Heathcote's husband is still unaccounted for.
About 3,500 British tourists have flown home from Tunisia since the attack. | A man from Suffolk is among the British holidaymakers killed by a gunman in Tunisia, police have confirmed. |
34,295,288 | Tejas Hirani is 17 - too young to hold a driving licence in Kenya - but he has won 48 motor-racing championships both locally and internationally. He told the BBC his racing career began when he was 12.
A photo journalist in Somalia's Puntland region pictured a brazen goat helping itself to his after-dinner cup of tea. The animal lapped up the whole glass quickly, despite its heat, Mohamed Jabra told the BBC. We also found out that "Goat" is the nickname for Ghana's President John Mahama as he said he was as inured to strikes as a dead goat was to a knife.
Find out more
Anas Aremeyaw Anas is behind an expose of alleged corruption in the Ghanaian judiciary. When he turned up at the offices of the chief justice to testify about his investigation, he wore beads over his face to safeguard his anonymity.
Find out more
A diplomat told the BBC that when he arrived at the Kismayo airport in Somalia, travellers had to wait under an '"arrivals tree" instead of an indoor lounge. "There is nothing more dignified than being welcomed under a tree at the airport, which has good shade," Mohamed Abdi Afey said.
Find out more
Tweets about the coup this week in Burkina Faso have been accompanied by the hashtag #lwili. It has nothing to do with the political crisis and is used by Burkinabes when discussing news to do with Burkina Faso on social media - and may have been chosen to reflect Twitter's logo.
Find out more | Some of the quirkier snippets from the news in Africa that have been covered this week: |
23,572,716 | The 48-year-old is accused of harassing Amanda Thomas with tweets, text messages and telephone calls over a fortnight in March.
He is also charged with harassing Andy Stone, who is reportedly a photographer, during the same period.
Gascoigne, of Poole, Dorset, is due to appear at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court on 29 October.
Gascoigne, who formerly played for Newcastle United, Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton, has faced a high-profile battle with alcohol addiction in recent years and has spent a number of spells in rehab.
A spokesman for Gascoigne declined to comment on the case. | Ex-England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been charged with harassing his ex-girlfriend with abusive messages. |
37,646,972 | Crowds are complex. Some people fear they may turn violent, with individual personalities becoming submerged in the group mentality.
But some leading social psychologists who research crowds believe that this old picture is mistaken.
"The danger with this view of crowds as inherently violent isn't just that it's wrong, it's that it might become true. It might lead us to treat crowds in ways that will enrage them," says psychologist Professor Steve Reicher.
Of course crowds are not all the same - there are different types of crowd and controlling them requires different approaches.
There are violent crowds, of course. Some sporting crowds become violent. For example, British football stadiums in the 1970s and 1980s became notorious as arenas for hooliganism between rival sets of fans.
Political rallies can also become violent, although they often begin peacefully enough. Then there are spontaneous riots, usually sparked by a particular incident such as a police killing. Unrest in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson in the American mid-West in August 2014 began after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.
In Britain, in August 2011, a police killing of Mark Duggan in north London set off a wave of violence across the nation. Even when there are outbreaks of violence, the targets are not random: in that sense, it's an error to regard them as crazy, or without reason.
Despite the popular conception of the dangerous crowd, Keele University's Clifford Stott also rejects the view that they are inherently threatening.
"The language of pathology that we use about the crowd, the idea that people become bestial in crowds, robs people of the meaningful nature of that behaviour," he argues.
Some crowds are remarkably non-violent even when baited. A good example is the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, where protestors usually remained calm in the face of provocation from the police. "Non-violence" was part of the movement's ideology.
In fact, not only are most crowds peaceful, but we positively seek them out, because we enjoy being among them. Watching a football match in a half-empty stadium is a dispiriting experience.
Much of the joy of being at a music festival is hearing the musical acts while surrounded by other devotees.
Of course, all this raises the question of what counts as a crowd.
Compare sitting at a crowded sports event with fellow enthusiasts and sitting in a train packed with commuters. The former is exhilarating, the latter can be uncomfortable.
That is partly because there is no psychological connection between commuters - they don't feel any sense of shared identity. Now imagine that the train stutters to a halt in a tunnel and the driver announces on the tannoy that, because of a technical fault, there will be an indefinite delay. What will happen?
Well, people might begin to talk to each other and might even share their sandwiches. There is now a psychological connection between them, they are part of a group whose lives have been inconvenienced by the train company.
Having a sense of identity with others can influence us in myriad ways. Prof Reicher, from St Andrews University, ran a test involving sweaty T-shirts, the results of which were published earlier this year.
A group of 135 students were asked to smell the T-shirts. For one group, the shirt had a logo with which they could identify (that of their university). The other group had no connection with the shirt. They sniffed it for a shorter period and washed their hands with more soap afterwards.
The study authors inferred from this that the level of disgust was greater when there was no connection to the clothing.
On a packed train, we often find being squashed up against other human bodies repugnant, but not so when we are at a music festival.
The study of crowds has many practical implications. One is how crowds should be policed. In the past, the British police have used a tactic which they call containment, but which is popularly known as kettling.
During a political demonstration, they may cordon off a crowd, preventing protestors from leaving for a period of time until it is deemed safe to disperse them. After a challenge, the practice was ruled lawful by the European Court of Human Rights.
Lawful, perhaps, but Prof Reicher believes it is a terrible way of dealing with the threat of disorder. When enclosed together, the sense of identity among the demonstrators becomes reinforced - just as it does with commuters stuck on a faulty train.
When demonstrators are kettled, they are forced to share the same fate which can forge a common identity. They may believe their legitimate rights have been trampled on and those within the group who advocate conflict with the police can become more influential.
It is often precisely those who had set out to express their legitimate grievances in a peaceful manner who can become most outraged by harsh policing.
"Every group has notions of right and wrong and it is always possible to enrage people by trampling on their notions of legitimacy," argues Prof Reicher.
"When there is kettling, the irony is that often the activists don't like it but they're used to it. It's people who've never experienced it before - and who suddenly find themselves being treated as if they're the sort of people their mothers warned them against - who are absolutely outraged."
The police often fear the influence of a few violent people, but by treating the crowd in an undifferentiated way, they risk magnifying the very influence they want to curb.
Crowd psychologists like Prof Stott believe a better response is for the police to see their role as supporting lawful gatherings rather than impeding them.
"The best way to manage these problems is through facilitation of legitimate behaviour, not necessarily a focus on the control of illegitimate behaviour," he says.
There is some indication that the police are beginning to take the academic work on crowds seriously. For many years, retired commander Bob Broadhurst was responsible for public order in the Metropolitan Police.
Among many important public events, he oversaw the police operation during the G20 demonstrations in London in 2009, when demonstrators were kettled.
He still defends kettling as a legitimate tactic, but now concedes that "it was used as too much of a blunt tool".
During those G20 demonstrations, newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson was struck by a police baton and later died. Since then, police forces up and down the country have deployed what are called Police Liaison Officers (PLOs).
Their job is not to arrest, but to talk and de-escalate tension when it emerges. Mr Broadhurst says that even when crowds are forcibly contained, lessons have been learned from past, often unpleasant experiences.
"You need to let the crowd know why you're doing it," he says. "And you need to target as best you can, those individuals who are the problem. The PLOs, by talking to protestors in the planning stage, are helping."
The evidence is beginning to pile up that this different approach to policing - not just at demonstrations, but at sports events too - would reduce violence, tension and police costs.
Good news for the police. And good news too for those who enjoy the thrill, the collective action and the sense of belonging that comes with being in the crowd.
David Edmonds presents Analysis: The Myth of Mobs on BBC Radio 4 on Monday at 20:30 BST. You can listen online or download the programme podcast. | Is our growing understanding of the psychology of crowds feeding in to how we police them? |
29,361,839 | BBC Sport explains why it was brought in and how clubs in breach of the regulations can be punished.
It was introduced by Uefa to prevent clubs that qualify for its competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what their president Michael Platini called "financial doping" within football.
Platini believes the big spending of some clubs is ruining the game and feels that the level of debt carried by many is unsustainable.
Uefa made its first FFP ruling in April based on club accounts from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
Clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£3.9m) more than they earn per assessment period, although, under this monitoring period, total losses of 45m euros (£35m) were permitted as long as clubs had owners who could cover such amounts.
From now on, the assessment will be made over a rolling three-year period.
For 2014-15, losses will still be limited to 45m euros (£35m).
For 2015-16, the monitoring period will again cover the previous three seasons, but the limit will drop to 30m euros (£25.5m).
The pattern is repeated in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
In the following years the limit will be lower, with the exact amount still to be decided.
Clubs are also obliged to meet all their transfer and employee payment commitments at all times.
Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt.
The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) was set up by Uefa to oversee the application of the its Club Licensing System and Financial Fair Play Regulations.
"The atomic bomb is a ban from European competition," said Jean-Luc Dehaene, the first chairman and chief investigator of CFCB, back in 2011 (Dehaene died in May 2014).
The CFCB's investigatory chamber can offer clubs settlement agreements, with potential punishments including warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for Uefa competitions.
Nine clubs were found to have breached the FFP criteria in the first assessment period, most notably Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, and a range of fines and sanctions were imposed.
City were fined £49m, £32m of which was suspended, had spending restrictions imposed and could only name a 21-man Champions League squad for 2014-15.
They had posted combined losses of £149m for the first two seasons assessed - £97m in 2012 and £51.6m in 2013 - and the CFCB ruled that not enough of their costs could be attributed to a new training complex and youth development investment.
Qatar-owned Paris St-Germain received a similar punishment to City. They were deemed to have failed the test when the CFCB decided their back-dated £167m sponsorship contract with the Qatar Tourism Authority, which wiped out their losses, had an unfair value.
We will see. Jean-Louis Dupont, a lawyer who helped win the landmark Bosman case, has launched a legal challenge with the European Commission, claiming that FFP breaches European competition law.
An independent Manchester City supporters' club, which has 15,000 members, has voted to back the complaint.
Clubs could also appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Because they posted losses of £49.8m in 2012-13 and £41m in 2011-12 and are back in European competition this season having qualified for the Champions League.
The Reds, along with Monaco, Inter Milan, Roma, Besiktas, FC Krasnodar and Sporting Lisbon - none of whom took part in European competition in 2013-14 - have submitted their accounts to the CFCB but have been told to submit further information on their finances in October and November.
After signing a series of lucrative commercial deals over the past 18 months, Liverpool are confident they have adhered to the FFP regulations.
No. The Premier League has brought in its own form of financial regulation which is not as stringent as Uefa's FFP.
Clubs cannot make a loss in excess of £105m across the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons (as with FFP, investment in infrastructure and youth development is exempt).
Any club that posts losses in excess of that figure could face severe penalties, including a points deduction.
A loss between £15m and £105m has to be guaranteed by club owners.
The league has also introduced a short-term cost control measure in which clubs are restricted in the amount of increased PL central funds that can be used to improve player wages.
The increase in wages from the fund was limited to £4m in 2013-14, £8m in 2014-15 and £12m in 2015-16 (wages can be increased from clubs' own commercial revenue).
The measure applies only to clubs with a player wage bill in excess of £52m in 2013-14, £56m in 2014-15 and £60m in 2015-16.
Meanwhile, the Football League and its clubs have agreed on a FFP framework across all three of its divisions.
Championship clubs are permitted losses of £8m (£5m funded by shareholders) in 2013-14 (accounts must be submitted by 1 December).
They have to reduce them, season-on-season, to a maximum of £5m (£3m funded by shareholders) by 2015-16.
Clubs promoted back to the Premier League who exceed those losses are subject to a fine.
Most notably, QPR. They posted losses of £65.4m, with a wage bill of £68m, in their 2012-13 accounts.
Chairman Tony Fernandes has indicated he would appeal against a fine from the Football League, which would be around £54m if losses for Rangers' promotion season matched the 2012-13 figures.
There is a sliding scale on the next £10m of losses, with a maximum fine of £6.681m. Once losses exceed £18m, the fine is imposed on a strict pound-for-pound basis.
Should there be an overall loss of £30m, the fine would be almost £19m. If it was £50m, the figure would be nearly £39m.
If the club don't pay, the league can block entry to its competitions, which theoretically could force QPR down to the Conference if they were relegated from the Premier League in 2014-15.
These clubs already have a limit on spending as a percentage of turnover.
Any club that is deemed to have breached the permitted spending threshold can be subject to a transfer embargo. | We are hearing more and more about financial fair play (FFP) in football, with clubs across Europe already facing punishments for breaching its rules, but how does it work? |
29,062,509 | The search giant said the utensils could detect unsanitary cooking oil - a common concern in the country.
At its annual conference in Beijing, Baidu also unveiled its own wearable headset, a rival to Google's Glass.
The Baidu Eye has an in-built camera but no screen, and conveys information to the user via an earpiece or by connecting to a smartphone.
Both new products are as yet unavailable to consumers, and the company did not specify a date on which they would go on sale.
In a video promoting the new chopsticks, Baidu shows the device measuring the precise heat of various foods, as well as nutrients and sell-by date.
The sticks, which also include a sodium analyser to help users regulate their daily salt intake, can connect to any computer via wi-fi and Bluetooth.
"Chopsticks are the embodiment of Chinese wisdom," a Baidu executive said. "And we have combined it with our advanced technology." | Electronic chopsticks that can detect whether food is unsafe to eat have been unveiled by Chinese tech company Baidu. |
36,519,359 | The Living Memory project has won the support of broadcaster and journalist Kirsty Wark, whose great uncle fought at the Somme.
She has urged people to visit war graves - including those in more than 1,200 cemeteries across Scotland.
She said people should remember the casualties, and find out their stories.
The campaign was launched at the Western Necropolis on Glasgow which contains the graves of 355 service personnel killed during World War One - the earliest Pte L Maskell, who died on 26th October 1914.
They are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which looks after memorials in more than 150 countries and in every continent apart from Antarctica.
Kirsty Wark said her relative, James Wark, fought and survived the entire 141 days of the Battle of the Somme, to die of Spanish Flu "just days after the Armistice in 1918".
"He had the most poignant letter in his kit bag, which the family now have, saying how much he looked forward to coming home," she said.
"Sadly, as we know, he never made it, but thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, he is buried and remembered at the Ascq Communal Cemetery in France."
Jennie Sweeney, from the commission, told BBC Radio Scotland's Newsdrive programme that the initiative was "about raising awareness."
She said most people know about the cemeteries in Belgium and France, but she called graves in Scotland and the rest of the UK "the forgotten front."
She added: "We're looking to mark the Battle of the Somme by encouraging community groups to go, find, research, visit, explore and commemorate their local war graves."
The commission has launched a resource pack to help people organise events, and find graves near them or the details of casualties from their local area.
Jennie Sweeney said: "Some people, for example, have wanted to find people from their street. And people are coming to us with their research, and telling us that they've found a Somme casualty in their village, town or city."
The commission claims most people on the UK mainland are no more than three miles from at least one of its graves. | A campaign has been launched to encourage community groups to remember - and visit the graves of - the dead of World War One. |
34,952,702 | The Kiwis were reduced to 116-5 at stumps to lead by 94 runs with paceman Josh Hazlewood doing the damage with 3-32 under the lights with the pink ball.
Earlier, Australia were dismissed for 224 with wicketkeeper Peter Nevill top scoring with 66.
Australia lead 1-0 in the three-match series.
A crowd of 42,372 attended the second day, after 47,441 watched day one at the Adelaide Oval.
The hosts had added only 64 runs to their overnight total for the loss of six wickets when the scoreless Nathan Lyon was controversially reprieved by the decision review system at 118-8.
New Zealand appealed for a catch at slip after a Mitchell Santner ball hit Lyon's upper arm during an attempted sweep shot and then called for a review after it was turned down.
'Hot spot' technology showed a mark on Lyon's bat but third umpire Nigel Llong upheld the on-field decision.
The decision cost New Zealand their second and last review and triggered a momentum shift.
Lyon smashed Santner for 15 runs in one over, sweeping a four and a six, then another four behind square in three consecutive balls.
Nevill brought up a half-century before Lyon was caught by Kane Williamson in the slips off Trent Boult, having scored 34 vital runs in a ninth-wicket stand of 74.
Left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc hobbled to the crease after suffering a stress fracture to his right foot on day one - but blasted spinner Mark Craig for 20 runs in one over, smashing two fours and two sixes over wide long on, as Australia charged past New Zealand's total of 202.
The Kiwis eventually polished off the tail when Nevill lofted to Santner to give Doug Bracewell impressive figures of 3-18.
After Kiwi openers Martin Guptill (17) and Tom Latham (10) survived a tricky 30 minutes before the dinner break, Australia's bowlers dominated the evening session under the lights.
Hazlewood accounted for both openers before Mitchell Marsh chipped in with the wickets of Kane Williamson (nine) and skipper Brendon McCullum (20).
Australia tightened their control when Hazlewood trapped in-form Ross Taylor leg before for 34 just before the close of play.
Australia's team masseur and logistics co-ordinator Grant Baldwin was drafted in as a substitute fielder during New Zealand's second innings.
The 28-year-old, who played second XI cricket for Victoria eight years ago, was chosen to replace the injured Mitchell Starc.
Australia had three young players from their academy system available, but Cricket Australia opted for Baldwin, who has experience of fielding in tour matches. He even bowled an over for an Australia XI in South Africa last year.
However, Baldwin made several errors and South Australia's Sam Raphael has now been called up to fill in for Starc for the remainder of the Test. | New Zealand face a battle for a victory to level the series after an eventful second day of the first day-night Test in Adelaide. |
37,411,137 | Christy George, 38, from Hucknall, was jailed in July for causing a crash on the M1 in Leicestershire after becoming distracted on her phone in 2014.
Her car crashed into a lorry which ploughed onto the opposite carriageway in an eight vehicle pile-up.
Leicestershire Police released the image in a warning film.
The release of the film follows the announcement that penalty points and fines for drivers caught using handheld mobile phones are to double next year.
More on this and other Leicestershire stories
George deleted a record of calls made during her journey after her Skoda hit a lorry which crashed through to the opposite carriageway.
It spilled its load of beer barrels and crashed into a BMW travelling in the opposite direction, killing Murray Simpson, from London.
Liese Bowers-Straw, from Nottinghamshire, was also involved in the crash which broke her neck in two places, tore muscles across her hips and stomach, and injured her brain.
She has not returned to work and struggles to leave her home because of the trauma.
She said: "I remember thinking 'that's it, I'm a goner, I'm dead' and then I don't remember anything else until the following day.
"The collision has completely changed my way of life. I have gone from having a career I loved... to being a prisoner in my own home doing absolutely nothing."
Det Con Pete Davies said it was the "largest collision site" he had ever investigated.
He said: "Someone died in this collision and Liese has been left with the most appalling injuries as a result of someone who was too selfish to wait to make a call."
George was jailed for five years and banned from the road for 10 years. | A shocking picture of a motorway smash which left a driver dead and another severely injured has been released to warn about using a phone while driving. |
28,123,802 | Almost every one of Canvey Island's 13,000 inhabitants had to leave their homes during the North Sea tidal surge.
The floods have been depicted on panels along a mural on Concord Beach, painted by professional artists and Canvey inhabitants.
The project was made possible with a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The idea to paint the mural was put forward by the charity Friends of Concord Beach.
Its chairman, Colin Letchford, said the mural was intended to "involve and educate the community".
He said school groups and others had already been to visit the wall and learn about the history of the island and its relationship with the sea.
"People have wept at the pictures because of the memories they've brought back. They've also wept with joy," he said. | Floods which devastated an island in 1953, killing 59 people, have been remembered on a 262ft (80m) sea wall. |
39,361,079 | Donald Trump Jr tweeted an article written last year, in which Sadiq Khan said terror vigilance had become "part and parcel" of life in a global city.
Mr Trump quoted the headline and tweeted: "You have to be kidding me?!"
He angered many Britons who accused him of exploiting the tragedy and implying the quotes were made after the attack.
Dozens were hurt in Wednesday's attack, when an assailant drove a car through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then fatally knifed a police officer who tried to stop him entering the Houses of Parliament. He was then shot dead.
Two hours later, Mr Trump tweeted an article from the Independent newspaper in September 2016.
In the article, Mr Khan was speaking shortly before a meeting with New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, on the day after three bombs exploded in New York City and nearby towns, wounding 29 people.
The attacks had given him a sleepless night, he said, as he pondered the dangers faced by big Western cities like New York and London.
"Part and parcel of living in a great global city is you have to be prepared for these sorts of things, you have to be vigilant, you have to support the police doing an incredibly hard job, you have to support the security services," he said.
On Wednesday, after the attack in Westminster, the mayor said that Londoners "will never be cowed by terrorism" and that the city stood together in the face of those seeking it harm.
Mr Trump's tweet incensed many British people on Twitter, including MP Wes Streeting, who called him a "disgrace" for exploiting the tragedy.
Others accused him of implying that Mr Khan's comments were made after the attack.
Mr Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, has previously clashed with Mr Trump's father, in January denouncing the US president's travel ban as "shameful and cruel".
Last year, he accused the then-candidate Trump of being "ignorant" about Islam.
Mr Trump responded by challenging the mayor to an IQ test. | President Donald Trump's son has come under fire for criticising London's mayor, shortly after a terror attack on the UK capital killed three people. |
26,785,736 | Burke, who replaces Beverley Knight in June, said it was "a dream come true" to land the "iconic" part of troubled superstar Rachel Marron.
The film, which co-starred Kevin Costner in the title role, gave Houston one of the biggest-selling singles of all time with I Will Always Love You.
Burke beat JLS to win 2008's X Factor.
"I am a massive Whitney Houston fan so to be given the opportunity to play a role made famous by her every night will be a real privilege," said Burke.
The Bodyguard musical, directed by Thea Sharrock, is set to run at London's Adelphi Theatre until the end of August where it has been since 2012.
Burke added: "I start rehearsals very soon with my fellow cast mates and the brilliant creative team and, with a little trepidation, I am looking forward to our first performance in June."
Burke was mentored to X Factor success by Cheryl Cole and has since released two albums.
Her debut winner's single - a cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah - sold more than a million copies in the UK.
As well as the cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, the musical features renditions of several other classic Houston tracks, including So Emotional, One Moment in Time and I Wanna Dance With Somebody. | Former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke is joining The Bodyguard musical in the West End to play the role made famous by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film. |
39,634,287 | Mr Danczuk, 50, was suspended in 2015, pending an investigation, following revelations he exchanged explicit messages with a 17-year-old girl.
He currently serves as an independent MP but has asked Labour's head office about having his hearing held in time to him stand for the party on 8 June.
Labour said the hearing's timeline has yet to be decided.
Mr Danzcuk said: "I hope and expect to fight the general election for Labour in Rochdale on 8 June.
"I don't take anything for granted but I go round talking to the people of Rochdale regularly, and they say they have faith in me.
"I have a strong track record."
Labour's National Executive Committee conducts investigations.
Regarding Mr Danczuk, the party said: "The process for selecting candidates in all our seats, including Rochdale, will begin shortly."
Mr Danczuk, who has been an MP for the town since 2010, said he is the "best-placed person" to fight the snap general election for the party.
Best known for his campaign work on historical child sex abuse and he co-authored a book on alleged abuse by former Rochdale MP Cyril Smith.
In July 2015, shortly after separating from his wife Karen, the MP announced he was stepping back from his work on child sexual abuse to seek help for depression.
Five months later he was suspended from Labour following tabloid newspaper claims that he sent lewd texts to a teenage girl. He said while the story had been blown out of all proportion by the tabloids, it referred to "an extremely low point" in his life.
In January 2016 he admitted taking payments from a photo agency for pictures of him sold to tabloid newspapers and magazines, but denied any wrongdoing.
Two months after that, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority ordered him to repay more than £11,000 after he admitted an expenses claims "error" over money he claimed for the cost of his children living in London.
In August 2016 he was arrested in Spain for two nights following an alleged row with his estranged wife Karen.
In October a rape case against him was dropped by police due to "insufficient evidence". | Suspended Labour MP Simon Danczuk said he expects to be the party's Rochdale candidate in the general election. |
37,628,303 | The two-year Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme will work with offenders to change their ways.
It is a voluntary scheme for fathers aged 18 and over who have been asked to participate as part of a child protection plan or child in need plan.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson is launching the project.
Read more news for Birmingham and the Black Country
A support service for female partners and children will also be provided by the West Midlands Domestic Violence Consortium.
Mr Jamieson said: "The Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme will work with offenders to change their ways and improve the safety of their families.
"I hope it will make a real difference and improve the lives of hundreds of families."
The Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner is now looking to appoint an organisation or consortium to deliver the programme. | A £700,000 project to tackle domestic violence and abuse is being set up in the West Midlands. |
37,420,339 | The Holywood native has been cast as an Irish soldier who led his men through a siege during a UN peacekeeping mission.
The actor is best known for starring as the sadomasochist Christian Grey in the film version of the erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.
Dornan also currently plays a sadistic, sexually motivated serial killer in the BBC TV drama, The Fall.
So was it difficult to move on from such characters to take on the role of a man Dornan considers to be a real-life Irish war hero?
"It's your job, I guess. That's what I'm paid to do" the actor said.
"You can never allow any character that you've played before to seep into a new project."
His new film, the Siege of Jadotville tells the true story of Irish UN troops who were attacked and taken prisoner in Congo in 1961.
"I actually just couldn't believe the story, I couldn't believe that I didn't know it, coming from this island," Dornan said.
He plays Comdt Pat Quinlan, who was leading a company of about 150 inexperienced Irish troops when they came under attack from thousands of tribesmen and mercenaries.
Against overwhelming odds, the Irishmen held out for six days, before surrendering and being taken as prisoners of war.
"To have a chance to play the man who led them through it - such an inspirational figure in Irish history should be more known," Dornan said.
About 40 of the Irish troops involved in the battle are still alive today, and have campaigned for the role they played to be recognised by the state.
"Rightly so, they've had such a bad rap," Dornan said.
"There's a whole derogatory term 'Jadotville Jacks' that was pinned on them all.
"Any sort of acts of cowardice in the military going forward - they were known as Jadotville Jacks, which is a total disgrace to be honest.
"So hopefully, we're showing them in the right light."
The film's director, Richie Smyth, agreed, saying: "Basically, within the army itself, which is a closed community, they were made to feel ashamed."
The film is due to be released in cinemas next month.
In a bid to channel the soldiers' spirit, the cast were sent to "boot camp" in South Africa before filming began.
"The most valuable part of that was just bonding with the lads," Dornan said, speaking of his fellow actors.
He added the training was also useful for "safety reasons".
"You've got to know how to handle a gun."
The film's director said that even in the boot camp, he put Dornan in charge of the other actors, so he could "create the dynamic" of leading men.
Dornan is soon to return to the small screen in the third and final series of The Fall.
However, there is no need for a spoiler alert as he is giving nothing away.
"I can't say anything, you'll just have to watch it.
"There's a lot of big twists this series," he added
"There are big things that happen that I just couldn't touch upon without ruining it.
"I've been trying to work out ways of leaking stuff but I actually don't know how to say it without wrecking the story." | Film star Jamie Dornan is used to playing the bad guy but he is hoping to right some wrongs with his latest role. |
30,458,341 | His appearance follows Wall Street Journal reports that he bought the home from a construction firm whose parent company had won large public contracts.
Mr Videgaray is not accused of anything illegal and he says he will neither sell his home nor step down.
The affair comes in the wake of a similar case involving President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Last month, Mr Pena Nieto's wife was forced to sell a $7m (£4.4m) house she had bought from the same company and also made a televised address explaining the source of her income.
The Wall Street Journal says it has seen property records that show Mr Videgaray bought a luxurious home in Malinalco in the central State of Mexico from Bienes Raices H&G.
The firm's owner, Juan Armando Hinojosa, has other companies which have won public works projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars during President Pena Nieto's time in office, the newspaper says.
In a radio interview, Mr Videgaray said the home purchase was carried out with "honesty and legality".
The transaction took place before Mr Videgaray was finance minister.
"There was no conflict of interest," he said in a written response to the Journal.
"I did the deal when I was not holding public office and the deal was within market parameters."
However, BBC Mexico correspondent Will Grant says there are uncomfortable questions for the government and Mr Videgaray personally.
Among them are why he chose to finance the property through a minor mortgage lender belonging to Juan Armando Hinojosa, rather than a major Mexican financial institution.
Mr Videgaray has suggested that the government's reform agenda has disturbed vested interests in Mexico and that is why details of his personal finances are coming to light.
Mr Pena Nieto is facing the lowest popularity ratings of any president for many years, recent polls show.
He has faced severe criticism over his handling of the disappearance of 43 students in Iguala who were allegedly abducted by local police and handed over to a gang who murdered them. | Mexican Finance Minister Luis Videgaray has gone on national TV and radio to defend how he bought his luxury home. |
20,640,580 | "It is with immense sadness that we have to let you know our great friend of many years and fellow musician Huw Lloyd Langton passed away peacefully last night," the band said on its website on Friday.
Lloyd Langton played on Hawkwind's debut album in 1970. He rejoined the group in 1979 and played with them for the next 10 years.
"Huw had been bravely fighting cancer for a couple of years, but was determined not to let the battle affect his day to day life," said the Hawkwind statement.
"He continued to play his guitar, laugh, joke and share the great love he had in his heart, with all who knew him.
"As he wished, he was at home when the time came, with his ever strong and loving wife Marion at his side.
"Huw was one of the great guitarists with an individual style and character. He is gone but never forgotten by any of us. He will live on in our music and in our hearts."
Lloyd Langton, who was born in Harlesden, north London, also played with Widowmaker in the 1970s, and formed the LLoyd Langton Group in 1982.
He continued to make guest appearances with Hawkwind and played solo support slots on tour.
In August 2009, the guitarist played an acoustic set at Hawkwind's 40th anniversary concert at Porchester Hall, in London.
One of the world's longest-running bands, Hawkwind have undergone countless changes of personnel and musical styles over the years.
Former members and collaborators include Motorhead's Lemmy, science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker. | Former Hawkwind guitarist Huw Lloyd Langton has died, aged 61, after a two-year battle with cancer, the band has announced. |
36,917,726 | The controversial proposals would appoint a single person - usually a teacher or health visitor - to look out for the welfare of every child.
But the Supreme Court ruled that part of the legislation relating to data sharing breached human rights laws.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the necessary changes to the scheme would be made.
Mr Swinney told the BBC: "What the government is going to do is to consider carefully the judgement of the Supreme Court, which requires us to make some changes to the information sharing arrangements of the named person scheme.
"Then we will proceed to implement the named person scheme, which the Supreme Court judged to be unquestionably legitimate."
Campaigners against named person appealed to the Supreme Court in London after their case was dismissed as "hyperbole" by the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year.
They have described named person as a "state snooper" scheme that would undermine parents and divert resources away from the most vulnerable children.
But the Scottish government accused opponents of misrepresenting the proposals, and insisted they would help to protect vulnerable children while giving a single point of contact for parents who needed help or advice.
In its ruling, Supreme Court judges allowed the campaigners' appeal and said the legislation made it "perfectly possible" that confidential information about a young person could be disclosed to a "wide range of public authorities without either the child or young person or her parents being aware".
This meant that the data sharing part of the legislation was "incompatible with the rights of children, young persons and parents" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which deals with the right to privacy and a family life.
But the judges also said that the purpose of the legislation was "unquestionably legitimate and benign" and gave Scottish ministers "an opportunity to correct the defects".
Mr Swinney said named person was an "important scheme that is designed to support the wellbeing of young people in Scotland, to provide them with the support when they require it".
He added: "It has been very broadly supported by the Scottish Parliament, and it will be taken forward by the Scottish government."
The scheme was originally to be rolled-out across the country by 31 August, but the Supreme Court ruling means that will not now be possible.
However, BBC Scotland understands that the government is hopeful the legislation can be relatively easily redrafted to make it fully compliant with the ECHR, and that it could potentially be introduced before the end of the year assuming the changes are approved by the Scottish Parliament.
Lawyer Elaine Motion, who represented The Christian Institute and six other petitioners in the legal challenge, said: "This is a highly significant and extremely unusual judgement. Successful challenges to legislation are very rare.
"In layman's terms, the Supreme Court has said that the Scottish Government has overstepped the line drawn by Article 8 to protect and respect private and family life."
The Christian Institute co-ordinated the successful legal action, with its director Colin Hart saying: "This ruling is crystal clear that the named person scheme's cavalier approach to handling private information is unlawful and must not happen."
Simon Calvert, spokesman for the No to Named Persons (NO2NP) campaign group, claimed: "The Big Brother scheme is history.
"It's wonderful news for mums, dads and children all across Scotland who no longer have to worry about this unjustified invasion of their private lives."
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the "important ruling by the most senior court in the land" was a "victory for campaigners who have exposed this from the outset as illiberal, invasive and deeply-flawed".
She added: "We have consistently argued against the named person legislation on grounds of principle and practicality. I hope today's ruling will make the SNP stop and think again."
The Scottish government wants Scotland to be "the best place in the world for children to grow up".
It has said that most children and young people get all the help and support they need from their parents, wider family and community, but sometimes they might need a bit of extra support.
As part of its Getting it Right for Every Child strategy, the government proposed giving all children and young people from birth to 18 years access to a named person under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
The Scottish government says the named person is intended to be single point of contact if a child or their parents want information or advice, or if they want to talk about any worries and seek support.
They will also be a point of contact for other services if they have any concerns about a child's wellbeing.
The law had been due to come into force across the country on 31 August of this year, although the policy had already been rolled out in parts of Scotland, including Highland, Edinburgh, Fife, Angus and South Ayrshire.
Mr Swinney said the government would start work to amend the legislation "immediately", so that the scheme can still be rolled out "at the earliest possible date".
He welcomed the judgement as a sign that "the attempt to scrap the named person service has failed".
Read more about named person here
Labour is broadly in favour of named person in principle, but has previously called for a "pause" to ensure it is introduced "properly and proportionally".
Education spokesman Iain Gray said the handling of the scheme had been "a shambles from the very beginning".
He said: "Labour will always support the need to protect vulnerable children and ensure that families get the support they need and deserve.
"In light of this ruling, however, the implementation of this scheme must be paused for as long as it takes to sort it properly. That is the case Scottish Labour have made for many months now and it is more compelling than ever following the court decision."
Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens said his party would continue to give its full support to named person, but called on the Scottish government to do more to build public confidence and better explain what the scheme means in practice.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats submitted a motion calling for parliament to be urgently recalled.
Education spokesman Tavish Scott said: "A recall of parliament is the only way to ensure that reforms receive the scrutiny required. This is not a decision for a minority minister to make in his office. It needs full parliamentary approval." | The Scottish government still intends to introduce its named person scheme despite a Supreme Court ruling. |
32,885,748 | Conservation organisation Nabu say there are fewer than 50 Maui's dolphins left on the planet now.
The organisation said fishing should be banned in the waters off New Zealand, where the species live.
Dolphins are often caught in fishing nets which can harm and even kill them.
"New Zealand has to abandon its current stance, which places the interests of the fishing industry above conservation," said Dr Barbara Maas from Nabu.
A spokesperson for the New Zealand minister for conservation said no comment would be made until after the scientific committee reported its findings and recommendations in June.
The number of dolphins has declined since the 1970s.
Scientists say the main threat is fishing using trawling nets. It's thought the nets kill five Maui's dolphins each year. | The smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world could be extinct within 15 years if protection is not stepped up, experts have warned. |
21,021,697 | New laws to allow gay marriage are expected to be introduced in England and Wales before the next election in 2015.
There are no plans for similar legislation in Northern Ireland, assembly members as recently as October rejected a proposal that same-sex couples should have the right to marry.
But the issue of gay marriage is on the political radar in the Republic.
In Dublin, a group of tourists are taking photographs of Leinster House - home of the Irish houses of parliament - through the railings on Kildare Street.
Jackie Mullins is standing close by, holding a large placard.
"I'm in support of the right of gay and lesbian persons to marry in this country" she said.
"I don't believe that the state should pick out people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender and say to them, 'you're the wrong orientation so we're going to say you can't get married'.
"The state needs to protect its minorities and I feel that protecting the rights of gay and lesbian people is really important."
Same-sex couples in the Republic of Ireland have been able to enter a civil partnership since January 2011, but not marriage.
"Human rights affect people and we are talking, in this case, about the right of people to equal treatment" says Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer.
"If we want to see an Ireland of equals then the next logical step for me is the achievement of marriage equality."
Last year, Jerry Buttimer became the first Fine Gael Dail deputy to come out as gay after his party launched a new forum to push for gay equality.
"In my case it was about showing leadership, especially on the issue of marriage equality, and it's about having a position where I can come out and say as a gay person, I think we should have equality," he said.
"The support I have received has been tremendous, from people of different age groups and walks of life.
"It's a personal journey for everyone but it's also a shared journey where we can advance the lives of so many people."
Opponents claim that gay marriage would change what they say is now child-centred to a more adult-centred institution.
"Marriage cannot be gender neutral without changing the very nature of what it is," Dr John Murray, a lecturer in theology at the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin said.
"As far as I can see society is either going to have to promote the heterosexual view of marriage, in relation to mothers and fathers and children, or promote a gender neutral view, which will deny the other, I can't see how you can do both.
"Up until now we have promoted the more traditional view and I think that's the way to go, to try and strengthen that whilst at the same time trying to avoid any violence or bullying of gay people."
The Irish prime minister, or Taoiseach, has not outlined his own view on gay marriage.
Enda Kenny instead points to the Constitutional Convention, a group set up to examine possible changes to the Republic of Ireland's constitution.
Same sex marriage is at the top of the list.
Mr Buttimer said: "I believe that the Constitutional Convention is the forum within which to initiate the debate and to make a recommendation and hopefully it will make that recommendation."
He added: "Leading on from that is the need to have a referendum campaign which will have a debate, a discussion and ultimately a vote and it will be the democratic will of the people that will be the ultimate decision at the end of the day." | In the Republic of Ireland, same-sex couples can enter a civil partnership, but now the debate has moved on to whether or not they should be permitted to marry. |
38,921,732 | James John Boyle failed to return to the open prison near Dundee following a period of home leave
The 24-year-old was reported missing at 15:40 on Wednesday.
Police Scotland said it was understood that Boyle travelled to the Clydebank area for the home leave visit and has connections to the Drumchapel area of Glasgow.
He was described as being 5ft 8in tall, of medium build, and clean shaven with short brown hair. | Police have warned the public not to approach a prisoner who has absconded from HMP Castle Huntly. |
37,132,974 | The 27-year-old right-arm seamer, who made his Test debut against England in January, has taken 325 first-class wickets at an average of 26.66.
He took a wicket with his first ball in Tests, only the 20th man to achieve the feat, dismissing Alastair Cook.
Viljoen could make his debut for Kent in their match at Gloucestershire, which begins on Tuesday, 23 August.
Kent are currently third in the Division Two table, 24 points behind leaders Essex. | Kent have signed South Africa bowler Hardus Viljoen for the final four games of the County Championship season. |
38,254,111 | UKIP have been campaigning hard in the Lincolnshire seat, an area which voted heavily to leave the European Union.
The seat has returned Conservative MPs since it was formed in 1997 - Tory Stephen Phillips had a majority of more than 24,000 votes in 2015.
He resigned in November, citing "irreconcilable policy differences" with the government.
Although he backed leaving the EU, he had since been critical of the government's approach to Brexit.
Mr Phillips won with 56.2% of the vote in 2015, Labour came second with 17.3% with UKIP a close third on 15.7%.
But UKIP has been throwing its weight into the by-election campaign, hoping to bring about a similar upset to last week's Richmond Park by-election, which saw the Lib Dems overturn a 23,000 Conservative majority.
UKIP will be hoping to capitalise on Eurosceptic feeling in Sleaford and North Hykeham, situated in Lincolnshire, west of Boston - which had the highest majority of Brexit voters in Britain.
UKIP's former leader Nigel Farage and his successor Paul Nuttall have been on the campaign trail in the constituency, supporting their candidate Victoria Ayling - a former Conservative who stood for the Tories in Great Grimsby in 2010 - running Labour a close second.
Conservative candidate Dr Caroline Johnson, a consultant paediatrician, stood unsuccessfully for Scunthorpe in 2010, losing to Labour. She has said she is "completely behind the government's plans for Brexit".
Jim Clarke, a refuse driver, is standing for Labour. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has been to Sleaford to give a speech backing Mr Clarke. The party will be hoping for a strong performance after losing its deposit in last week's Richmond Park by-election. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has been in the constituency backing his candidate, Ross Pepper, an optical assistant.
In all 10 candidates are vying for the seat. The result of the by-election is expected at about 04:00 GMT on Friday.
The full list of candidates is: | The polls have closed in the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election, called after its Conservative MP quit. |
40,665,969 | Dywedodd Chris Grayling bod y trenau hybrid diesel-drydanol fydd yn cael eu defnyddio ar y lein yn golygu bod "dim angen" trydaneiddio i'r gorllewin o Gaerdydd.
Ond dywedodd Llywodraeth Cymru bod peidio trydaneiddio gyfystyr â "thorri blynyddoedd o addewidion i bobl Cymru".
Mae'r llywodraeth honno eisoes wedi galw ar Lywodraeth y DU i roi'r grym a'r arian i'r Cynulliad ddarparu trenau trydan ar gyfer y gorllewin.
Dywedodd AC Plaid Cymru, Dai Lloyd, bod y penderfyniad yn "dro pedol sylweddol iawn, iawn", tra bod Cyngor Abertawe'n dweud ei fod yn "frad".
Mewn erthygl i Wales Online fore Iau, dywedodd Mr Grayling y bydd Abertawe'n cael "holl fudd" rheilffordd drydan ond "heb y misoedd o waith" a "gwasanaethau bws dros dro".
Yn ei ddatganiad yn ddiweddarach, dywedodd bod angen "ailystyried y ffordd rydyn ni'n moderneiddio'r rheilffyrdd" a "thrydaneiddio dim ond ble mae 'na fudd go iawn i deithwyr na fedran ni'i gael drwy dechnolegau eraill".
Ychwanegodd y bydd gwelliannau eraill yn cael eu gwneud i'r rhwydwaith, gan gynnwys trenau uniongyrchol i Ddoc Penfro o Lundain trwy Gaerfyrddin a newidiadau i orsafoedd Caerdydd ac Abertawe.
Mewn datganiad, dywedodd Llywodraeth Cymru bod gan Lywodraeth y DU "ddyletswydd i Gymru".
"Rydyn ni wedi galw'n gyson am drydaneiddio'r rheilffordd hyd at Abertawe", meddai llefarydd.
"Mae Llywodraeth y DU wedi gwrthod datganoli cyllid isadeiledd y rheilffordd... felly mae'n ddyletswydd arnyn nhw i fuddsoddi yng Nghymru.
"Os yw'r adroddiadau'n wir, bydd gyfystyr â thorri blynyddoedd o addewidion i bobl Cymru."
Dywedodd Rob Stewart, arweinydd Cyngor Abertawe, ei fod yn "ddig" ac mai "brad" oedd y penderfyniad.
Fe ddywedodd bod Llywodraeth y DU wedi addo y byddai trydaneiddio'n digwydd, a'i fod yn codi amheuon am eu hymrwymiad i Forlyn Abertawe yn ogystal.
Mewn cyfweliad ar raglen Y Post Cyntaf fore Iau, dywedodd AC Plaid Cymru ar gyfer Gorllewin De Cymru, Dai Lloyd, ei fod yn "siom enfawr" ac yn "benderfyniad gwarthus".
Ychwanegodd ei fod wedi cael "addewidion pendant gan wahanol lywodraethau" dros y blynyddoedd ac "felly mae'n cynrychioli tro pedol sylweddol iawn, iawn".
Dywedodd Owain Davies o CBI Cymru hefyd bod y cyhoeddiad yn siom.
"Dwi'n siomedig iawn. Mae'r rhaid dweud ro'n i'n edrych 'mlaen i gael y rheilffordd wedi'i drydaneiddio", meddai.
"Mae'n dangos bod Llywodraeth y DU ddim yn barod i fuddsoddi yn yr ardal hon o Gymru sydd angen y math yma o fuddsoddiad.
"Os nad ydy'r cyllid ar gael, rhaid iddyn nhw ffeindio fe." | Mae ysgrifennydd trafnidiaeth Llywodraeth y DU wedi dweud na fydd y rheilffordd hyd at Abertawe'n cael ei thrydaneiddio. |
37,737,043 | Jordy Hiwula grabbed his fifth goal of the season to give Bradford an early lead, but Tom Elliott levelled for the hosts in the 18th minute.
Wimbledon then took the lead through a 68th-minute Lyle Taylor penalty but Hanson converted a spot-kick of his own before heading a dramatic winner.
Bradford scored in the third minute, Hiwula's shot from the edge of the box deflecting off Paul Robinson into the net.
But AFC Wimbledon were level on 18 minutes as a Hanson header from a free-kick landed at the feet of Elliott, who blasted home.
Wimbledon flew out of the blocks after half-time and deservedly went ahead after Josh Cullen fouled Jake Reeves in the box and Taylor kept his cool from the spot.
But the hosts could not hold on for the win as Matthew Kilgallon was pulled down in the box and Hanson scored the penalty, before he grabbed a late second when meeting Stephen Darby's cross.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, AFC Wimbledon 2, Bradford City 3.
Second Half ends, AFC Wimbledon 2, Bradford City 3.
Attempt missed. Tyrone Barnett (AFC Wimbledon) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right following a set piece situation.
Corner, AFC Wimbledon. Conceded by Romain Vincelot.
Goal! AFC Wimbledon 2, Bradford City 3. James Hanson (Bradford City) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Stephen Darby.
Tyrone Barnett (AFC Wimbledon) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Tyrone Barnett (AFC Wimbledon).
Matthew Kilgallon (Bradford City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Paul Robinson (AFC Wimbledon) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by James Hanson (Bradford City).
Marc McNulty (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Paul Robinson (AFC Wimbledon).
Attempt missed. Romain Vincelot (Bradford City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Foul by Tyrone Barnett (AFC Wimbledon).
Romain Vincelot (Bradford City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Jonathan Meades (AFC Wimbledon) header from the centre of the box misses to the left following a set piece situation.
Barry Fuller (AFC Wimbledon) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Filipe Morais (Bradford City).
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. Chris Whelpdale replaces Lyle Taylor.
Attempt missed. Filipe Morais (Bradford City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. Tyrone Barnett replaces Tom Elliott.
Substitution, AFC Wimbledon. Tom Beere replaces George Francomb.
Goal! AFC Wimbledon 2, Bradford City 2. James Hanson (Bradford City) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Penalty Bradford City. Matthew Kilgallon draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by James Shea (AFC Wimbledon) after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner, Bradford City. Conceded by Andy Barcham.
Jake Reeves (AFC Wimbledon) is shown the yellow card.
Substitution, Bradford City. Filipe Morais replaces Josh Cullen.
Goal! AFC Wimbledon 2, Bradford City 1. Lyle Taylor (AFC Wimbledon) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty AFC Wimbledon. Andy Barcham draws a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty conceded by Romain Vincelot (Bradford City) after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner, Bradford City. Conceded by Paul Robinson.
Attempt missed. Tom Elliott (AFC Wimbledon) header from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, AFC Wimbledon. Conceded by Nathaniel Knight-Percival.
Attempt blocked. Andy Barcham (AFC Wimbledon) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Bradford City. Mark Marshall replaces Billy Clarke.
Substitution, Bradford City. Marc McNulty replaces Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila.
Foul by Paul Robinson (AFC Wimbledon).
James Hanson (Bradford City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jake Reeves (AFC Wimbledon). | James Hanson scored a stoppage-time header against AFC Wimbledon to help Bradford City triumph for the first time in four League One games. |
39,930,241 | Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau has introduced legislation that will set national standard for how passengers are treated by airlines.
Mr Garneau says the bill will give the government the tools it needs to protect air travellers.
The proposed new rules will apply to any airline operating flights in and out of Canada.
The minister said the details related to passenger rights in instances like overbooking and bumping are still being developed but that there must be compensation in those cases.
"I am convinced the air carriers will take note of these new measures protecting passengers rights, and will know if they don't change some of their practices there will be repercussions," he said.
He said air carriers will not be able to involuntarily remove from flights people who have a legitimate right to travel.
"That is a critical factor. If somebody has bought a ticket for a particular flight that person cannot be removed from that flight. This is non negotiable."
The proposed rules would set minimum compensation standards for overbooked flights and lost or damaged luggage, and set out how airlines must treat passengers when a flight is delayed or cancelled in situation within the airline's control or during events like bad weather. It will also set standards for tarmac delays.
Mr Garneau announced plans for the rights bill last year, but restated the promise as footage of a US passenger being forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight made global headlines in April.
Canadian news has since been filled with stories of people coming forward with travel woes.
Ian Jack, of the Canadian Automobile Association, which lobbies for passenger rights, said it is too early to say whether the minister's promises will mean better travel for passengers because the "devil is in the details".
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) will establish the details such as levels of compensation and the rules around bumping over the next few months.
"The jury's out on whether they are going to be able to deliver," said Mr Jack.
"There's a big difference between the concept of compensation and whether you're going to be offered a coffee coupon or $750. That has still to be worked out."
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says some 60 countries have some form of passenger rights protection already in place.
The CTA receives an average of about 50 complaints a year from passengers saying they were denied boarding.
Both the European Union and the US have compensation rules for passengers bumped from flights.
The federal government also said on Tuesday it plans to loosen international ownership restrictions in the industry to boost competition. The bill would allow international companies to own up to 49% of Canadian air carriers, up from a 25% cap.
The new rules are expected to be in place by 2018. | Canada is moving to crack down on "shoddy treatment" and overbooking on flights. |
35,886,332 | He said "The UK government will continue to give farmers and the environment as much support - or perhaps even more - as they get now … after all, non-EU countries like Switzerland and Norway actually give more support to their farmers than we do."
Agriculture in Norway and Switzerland is amongst the most protected in the world.
According to the OECD, 60% of Norwegian farmers' income is generated by state subsidies and other policies. For Swiss farmers it's 55%.
Meanwhile, the average farmer in an EU member state can expect state subsidies to make up around 19% of their annual income.
It should be noted that just because some countries outside the EU offer greater subsidies to farmers, it doesn't automatically mean British farmers could expect the same if Britain left the EU. The only way to ensure greater state support would be to start farming in Norway or Switzerland.
REALITY CHECK VERDICT: True - farmers in some non-EU countries do get higher subsidies, but no reason to think that would be matched in a post-Brexit UK.
READ MORE: The facts behind claims in the EU debate | George Eustice MP, the Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment, and campaigner for Vote Leave, has been talking about how British farmers could be better off if the UK left the European Union. |
23,424,087 | Shillington hammered an unbeaten 114 from just 72 balls at The Hills to help Ireland to a total of 170-1, with Cecelia Joyce not out on 40.
Elena Tice took three wickets as Japan were skittled out for 53, giving the hosts a 117-run victory.
Ireland take on Canada in their next Group B game at Merrion on Thursday.
Shillington smashed 13 fours and two sixes in a superb knock in County Dublin.
Tice (3-10) and fellow teenagers Lucy O'Reilly (2-9) and Kim Garth (2-10) starred with the ball along with Melissa Scott-Hayward (2-8).
Ireland are aiming to clinch one of three qualifying places for the Women's World Twenty20 in Bangladesh next year. | Clare Shillington became the first Irish woman to score a Twenty20 century as the hosts opened the World Twenty20 qualifiers with victory over Japan. |
37,565,626 | Arthur Simpson-Kent, 49, stabbed Ms Blake to death along with their sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four.
The Old Bailey heard he killed them when he learnt Ms Blake was planning to leave him and take their sons away.
Ms Blake had motor neurone disease and would not have been able to defend herself, the court heard.
All three were hit on the head before they were stabbed in the neck or throat with a small axe by Simpson-Kent in December, who then buried their bodies in the garden.
He painted over the bloodstains in their bungalow in Erith, south-east London, before fleeing to his native Ghana in January.
Simpson-Kent was arrested at Heathrow Airport in February after being extradited. He admitted murdering his family in June.
Mr Justice Singh said there was "no doubt" that Simpson-Kent should serve the rest of his life in prison.
"In my judgment this was indeed a case where each murder involved a substantial degree of premeditation or planning," he said.
"At the very least that must be true of the murder of each of the two little boys individually, and in turn after the defendant had already killed Sian Blake."
He added there were serious aggravating features as the victims were vulnerable because of age or disability.
Ms Blake's mother Lindell Blake said in an impact statement: "We live knowing that Sian and the children would have been scared, terrified before that monster slaughtered them in their home, a place they should have felt safe and secure.
"Sian was unable to protect her precious children. Little Zachary fighting back trying to protect his mother, himself or his little brother from his own father.
"Our nights are now sleepless despite our constant tiredness and extreme sadness which never leaves us."
The court heard Simpson-Kent told psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph "something just snapped in me".
He said previously: "I felt as if I had just been pushed off a diving board and was falling."
Simpson-Kent said he grabbed a small axe that was in the kitchen before hitting her repeatedly on the head.
"My mind was blank and I was focusing on doing and not thinking. It was like I was there but not there," he said.
The judge rejected Simpson-Kent's claim that he was depressed and had planned on killing himself.
Ms Blake played Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of EastEnders between 1996 and 1997. She then went on to work as a voice-over artist, with her last credited work in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, as the character Yugiri in 2015. | The partner of former EastEnders actress Sian Blake has been given a whole-life tariff for killing her and their two children. |
32,312,220 | We hosted a live debate on our @BBC_HaveYourSay Twitter account from 1600-1700 BST on Friday, 17 April, following the #BBCdebate of opposition leaders on BBC One and the News Channel on Thursday.
Here is a selection of some of the best comments and responses we received:
Llywedd in Gwynedd, Wales: I won't be voting because it doesn't matter who I vote for, as this area is a safe seat for Plaid Cymru.
Charles, Bedworth: Anyone who doesn't vote is an idiot. People fought for the right to vote. To throw that away is an insult to their memory
Here are some tweets in response to Charles' comment:
Amy Stott, Huddersfield: It's a disgrace Cameron and Clegg weren't on the BBC debate. How do they expect to get votes if they don't show up?
Karen Lee, Glasgow: I didn't vote in the last election due to apathy. The independence referendum politicised me, my friends and family. I feel this time that my vote counts and that makes me feel like my choice will make a difference for my children.
Peter, Bishops Stortford: Exactly why vote? This is the most boring election ever. No ideas except to counter what the next party is doing.
Mike in Hastings: I've only voted once. Until the first-past-the-post system changes to make it fairer, I will not be voting again.
Antonio, London: I am 57 and have never voted. I've been in the UK since I was 12. I feel I should now vote and have a say in this election.
Adam Turel, Bournemouth: I will always vote but there is no incentive to vote in a safe seat which returns the same party colours every time
Sandy, Essex: This time around, I'm afraid nobody is getting my vote. I'd rather abstain than vote for any of these awful candidates. The only one who's talking to British people is Farage but I don't agree with some of his policies so I cannot vote UKIP.
Here is a tweet in response to Sandy's comment:
Claire Wilkins, Chesterfield: I always vote. I think there will be a larger turnout this time as certain parties generate strong feelings. | We asked if you are planning to vote in the UK general election on 7 May - one of the most tightly contested national polls in living memory. |
35,583,490 | The France international, 30, joined Bordeaux until the end of the season on 1 February, having lost his place in the Gunners side to Hector Bellerin.
"It would have been magnificent," he said of a move to Old Trafford.
"I discussed it with the coach, who said that obviously he couldn't help out a rival."
Debuchy told French television channel Canal+: "Unfortunately it wasn't the case. Yes, I'm a little bit annoyed with him. It's his choice." | Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy said he had a transfer deadline day loan move to Manchester United blocked by manager Arsene Wenger. |
33,772,261 | But a UK security firm has shown the BBC how one tool, sold around the world to spooks, actually works.
It allows spies to take secret pictures with a phone's camera and record conversations with the microphone, without the phone owner knowing.
Hacking Team's software was recently stolen from the company by hackers and published on the web.
Almost any data on a phone, tablet or PC can be accessed by the tool and it is fascinating how much it can do.
When Joe Greenwood, of cybersecurity firm 4Armed, saw that source code for the program had been dumped online by hackers, he couldn't resist experimenting with it.
Although he had to fiddle with the code to make it work, it only took a day before he had it up and running.
The software consists of the surveillance console, which displays data retrieved from a hacked device, and malware planted on the target device itself.
4Armed was careful to note that using it to spy on someone without their consent would be against the law.
After testing the software on his own PC, Mr Greenwood soon realised the scope of its capabilities.
"You can download files, record microphones, webcam images, websites visited, see what programs are running, intercept Skype calls," he told the BBC.
The software even has some in-built features to track Bitcoin payments, which can be difficult to associate with individuals without additional data about when and how transactions were performed.
In a live demonstration of the system, Mr Greenwood showed how an infected phone could be made to record audio from the microphone, even when the device was locked, and use the phone's camera without its owner knowing.
"We can actually take photos without them realising.
"So the camera in the background is running, taking photos every number of seconds," explained Mr Greenwood.
It was also possible to listen in on phone calls, access the list of contacts stored on the device and track what websites the phone user was visiting.
Both Mr Greenwood and 4Armed's technical director, Marc Wickenden, said they were surprised by the sleekness of the interface.
Both point out, though, that customers could be paying upwards of £1m for the software and would expect it to be user-friendly, especially if it was intended for use by law enforcers on the beat.
For the tracked user, though, there are very few ways of finding out that they are being watched.
One red flag, according to Mr Greenwood, is a sudden spike in network data usage, indicating that information is being sent somewhere in the background. Experienced spies, however, would be careful to minimise this in order to remain incognito.
At present, spy software like this is only likely to be secretly deployed on the phones and computers of people who are key targets for an intelligence agency.
The version of the spyware distributed online is now likely to be more easily detected by anti-virus programs because companies analysing the source code are in the process of updating their systems to recognise it.
Security expert Graham Cluley said it should be as easy to detect as malware.
"The danger will be that malicious hackers could take that code and augment it or change it so it no longer looks like Hacking Team's versions, which might avoid detection," he added.
The best course of action, said Mr Cluley, is to keep operating systems and software as up to date as possible.
In a statement, a spokesman for Hacking Team said it advised its customers not to use the software once the breach was discovered.
"As soon as the event was discovered, Hacking Team immediately advised all clients to discontinue the use of that version of the software, and the company provided a patch to assure that client surveillance data and other information stored on client systems was secure.
"From the beginning Hacking Team has assumed that the code that has been released is compromised," he said.
The spokesman added that the software would be operated by clients of Hacking Team, not Hacking Team itself, and therefore no sensitive data relating to ongoing investigations had been compromised in the breach.
"Of course, there are many who would use for their own purposes the information released by the criminals who attacked Hacking Team.
"This was apparently not a concern of the attackers who recklessly published the material for all online.
"Compiling the software would take considerable technical skill, so not just anyone could do that, but that is not to say it is impossible," he said. | Intelligence agencies' secretive techniques for spying on mobile phones are seldom made public. |
29,367,253 | The proposals are specifically aimed at reducing the high rates of teenage smokers in France.
Health Minister Marisol Touraine plans to follow Australia's example, which introduced similar measures in 2012.
Experts say removing branding on packets and adding large health warnings reduced smoking in Australia.
However, some tobacco companies dispute the evidence for this and say France's plans are incomprehensible.
Smoking is the main cause of death in France, with more than 70,000 people dying each year of tobacco-related illnesses.
The new measures, which will come into effect once the law goes through the National Assembly, also includes a ban on smoking in children's play areas in public parks and in cars carrying children under 12.
In addition, advertising of e-cigarettes will be restricted before being banned in May 2016, except at the point of sale and in trade publications.
Ms Touraine says there are 13 million smokers in France - which has a population of around 66 million - and the "number of smokers is growing, especially among young people."
"We can't accept that tobacco kills 73,000 people every year in our country - the equivalent of a plane crash every day with 200 people on board," she added.
The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says the move goes well beyond what France is required to do under European anti-smoking rules.
EU laws already force tobacco firms to cover 65% of the packaging with health warnings, but Ms Touraine said they would be "the same shape, same size, same colour, same typeset" if the ban came into effect.
Celine Audibert, a spokeswoman for French firm Seita, which is a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, described the move as "completely incomprehensible".
"It's based on the Australian experience which, more than a failure, was a complete fiasco," added Ms Audibert.
In 2012, Australia forced all cigarettes to be sold in identical brown packets, largely covered with graphic health warnings.
Tobacco clearances, an indicator of tobacco volumes in the Australian market, fell 3.4% in 2013 compared with 2012.
But Australia also raised cigarette taxes that led to consumer prices increasing, creating doubt over which move made the most difference. | The French government has unveiled controversial new measures to cut the number of its smokers, including introducing plain cigarette packaging. |
30,103,762 | Christopher Hannah is also charged with causing injury by dangerous driving and other road traffic offences.
He made no plea and was remanded in custody.
Sophie Brannan died following what was described by police as a hit and run incident in the Maryhill area of Glasgow on Friday.
Her 10-year-old friend and 36-year-old Joseph Lloyd were also injured in the incident.
Mr Hannah is expected to appear in court again next Wednesday. | A 32-year-old man has appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court charged with causing the death of an 11-year-old girl by dangerous driving. |
35,491,882 | The Environment Agency has tried pumping water and towing it with a tractor after it came adrift in Oxford.
It is one of two boats that came loose on Monday. It has crashed into Botley Bridge causing an obstruction.
Russell Robson, waterway operations team leader, said he was "optimistic" the latest attempt would work.
He said the river conditions meant it was too dangerous to put divers inside the 25-tonne boat boat.
"That has prevented us from using flotation to get the vessel higher in the water and pump it out.
"What we're looking to do is to attach steel to it and use a winch to try and winch it across the river and control it coming out via other winches attached to the land on either side.
"Our primary objective at the present time is to reopen the river Thames and get the vessel out of the water. [The boat] is someone's home."
The other boat that came loose has since been recovered. | Engineers are attempting to winch a stranded narrowboat out of the River Thames after several previous methods to remove it have failed. |
36,164,419 | Coastguards received a 999 call from a member of the public just before 14:30 BST, saying the boat was in difficulty near rocks at St David's Head.
It is thought two local fishermen were on board when it sank.
Five lifeboats and a Rescue 187 coastguard helicopter were called off the search at 22:00 BST on Thursday.
It is due to resume on Friday morning.
Jim Phillips, from the RNLI in St Davids, said a member of the public on the coastal path saw the boat smashed on a rock with two people - thought to be local fishermen - in the water at about 14:40 BST.
The vessel - believed to be "The Harvester" which operated from Milford Haven - was about a mile out to sea near Abereiddi.
He said by the time rescuers got to the scene it had sunk and all that was left on the water's surface was debris.
"We know there were two people on board this boat but unfortunately there's been no sign of them since," Mr Phillips added.
The RNLI said conditions at sea were rough.
A spokesman for St David's Head Lifeboat Station said the search on Thursday was "intensive".
"In that area where there are rocks under the surface, they wouldn't have been fishing, so we are not sure what they were doing there," he said.
"We're trying to plot the tides to try and see where they could have got washed into a cove or washed to shore."
Dyfed-Powys Police said the families of the two missing men were being supported by officers and have appealed for any witnesses to come forward. | A major search for the crew of a fishing boat which has sunk off the coast of Pembrokeshire has been called off until first light. |
35,502,516 | The closure of Hawarden, Mancot and Queensferry libraries was agreed last year, partly due to funding cuts.
But a group, Friends of Mancot Library, has been set up to to operate the existing building as a community library from March.
The new library opens on 29 February and the others shut on different days. | Three council-run libraries in Flintshire will shut this month when a new facility opens at Deeside Leisure Centre. |
37,095,168 | School holidays start and finish on different dates depending on where you live in the UK, so lots of you will still be on summer holidays.
But if you're heading back now, let us know about it - will you be returning to the same school or starting a new one? Will you have new teachers, a new uniform or new subjects?
What are you looking forward to the most?
I'm getting a new school building since my old one one had been there since 1886 so i get 3 days extra so they can build it!
Rachel, 10, Scotland
I am excited for school because I really want to see my friends again and I am going to be in year 4.
Jasmine, 8, Coventry
When I go back to school, I will be starting year nine. We will be getting a new form tutor this year and I'm curious about who it will be!
Laura, 13, Port Talbot
I will be heading to high school this year and I am quite nervous but excited at the same time. The school will be a lot bigger than my primary school and everything from classrooms to uniforms will be different.
Medhavi, 11, Essex
I'm moving to high school when the holiday ends and I am a little bit nervous because I don't know many people going but I know I will make new friends. As well as new people and teachers, there will be new subjects and I can't wait to use fire in science!
Louise, 11, Isle of Man
I'm starting secondary school today and I'm so excited. I'm excited to meet new people and learn new subjects. I'm starting secondary school today and I'm so excited. I'm excited to meet new people and learn new subjects.
Elizabeth, 12, Fife
I am looking forward to seeing my friends and a new year in P5.
Connor, 8, Dunfermline
I am looking forward to school because our playground is getting built.
Georgia, 9, Edinburgh
I've got a new teacher so I am looking forward to meeting her!
Cameron, 11, Aberdeenshire
I can't wait to go back to see all the friends I've not seen in ages.
Lara, 11, Edinburgh | If you live in Scotland you'll be on your way back to school already - let us know what you're looking forward to in the new school year! |
37,170,972 | Newcastle City Council was considering enlarging the Blue House roundabout near Gosforth, which would involve laying road on two surrounding moors.
About 2,000 people attended a protest rally on Sunday against the plans, which they described as "overkill".
The council said it would "review alternative proposals" before submitting its final proposal.
Newcastle City Councillor Ged Bell said: "People have come together to express their concerns and there's been significant public opposition to our outline designs.
"Alternative approaches to making improvements will require a willingness to work together from all parties."
The council said the roundabout was the worst in the city for causing injuries and it had a responsibility to make it safer.
Peter MacDonald, of community group SPACE for Gosforth, said: "The news that they are proposing to form a working group of stakeholders and community groups to work with them is exactly what many of us have campaigned for.
"We'd like to thank the council for listening, considering the feedback and for proposing an alternative way forward." | Plans to expand a roundabout on to moorland in Newcastle will be redesigned, the council has said. |
34,626,098 | The incident happened on the Suir Road in Inchicore shortly after 22:00 local time.
Those injured are aged from their late-teens to the mid-30s.
Four patients were transferred to three different hospitals for treatment. It is believed there were no serious injuries. | Twelve people were taken to hospital on Friday night following a crash between a car and a Luas tram in Dublin. |
37,740,678 | The strength of the holders, who top Pool 3 on nine points, was evident in the first two tries - England prop Mako Vunipola dummying his way over and centre Nick Tompkins' fine solo effort.
Marcelo Bosch, Chris Wyles and Michael Rhodes secured Saracens' bonus point.
Flanker Aaron Shingler and Wales centre Jonathan Davies crossed for Scarlets, but too late to affect the result.
The visitors' Rhys Patchell had put the first points on the board with a third-minute penalty.
But when Vunipola picked up the ball out wide, the flamboyant forward threw a back-like dummy to slip one defender, and powered through another two to score the night's first try.
Both teams saw plenty of the ball, with Patchell and Farrell swapping penalties, but it was the home side who looked most dangerous.
And it was 21-year-old Tompkins who stretched the lead, beating defenders with exceptional footwork for a fine solo effort.
Two more Patchell penalties kept Scarlets within touching distance, but it was Saracens who again found the cutting edge at the start of the second half.
Both Vunipola brothers punched holes in the Welsh team's defence, before England fly-half Owen Farrell flung a loopy pass for Bosch to finish on the left wing.
Wyles put the bonus point within touching distance, finishing from 30 metres with aplomb after a Scarlets handling error.
Shingler scored the visitors' first try of the night just past the hour mark as both sides pursued the extra points.
Replacement eight Josh Macleod thundered off the base of the scrum to set up a second try for Scarlets, with Wales centre Davies powering over from close range.
But South African flanker Michael Rhodes swiftly struck back to secure the bonus point and extinguish any hopes the two tries had fanned of a Scarlets come back.
Saracens: Alex Goode; Sean Maitland, Marcelo Bosch, Nick Tompkins, Chris Wyles; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth; Mako Vunipola, Schalk Brits, Juan Figallo, Maro Itoje, Jim Hamilton, Michael Rhodes, Billy Vunipola, Schalk Burger
Replacements: Jamie George, Richard Barrington, Petrus du Plessis, Kelly Brown, Jackson Wray, Ben Spencer, Alex Lozowski, Mike Ellery
Scarlets: Liam Williams; DTH van der Merwe, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Steff Evans; Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, David Bulbring, Aaron Shingler, John Barclay, Will Boyde
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Luke Garrett, Werner Kruger, Lewis Rawlins, Josh Macleod, Jonathan Evans, Dan Jones, Steff Hughes | Saracens produced a fine performance to beat a valiant Scarlets side 44-26 in the Champions Cup at Allianz Park. |
39,503,371 | Shelby Lauren Maher, 17 and Rachel Murphy, 23, of Preston, were hit by a BMW on the A59 at Brockholes Brow on 20 April 2016, Lancashire Police said.
A spokesman said Mohmed Salma Patel, 35, of Blackburn, had been summonsed to appear in court at an unspecified date.
The location of the hearing was also yet to be confirmed, he added.
Ms Maher and Ms Murphy were walking in a group of five, when three of them were knocked down by a BMW heading towards Preston city centre.
Police said the third person, a girl aged 15, was treated in hospital for serious injuries. | A man has been summonsed to face two charges of causing death by dangerous driving following the death of a woman and teenager after being hit by a car. |
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