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His epic fantasy novels, set in a parallel universe, have already been adapted for stage, radio and cinema. The 2006 film The Golden Compass, based on the first novel, starred Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. "It's been a constant source of pleasure to me to see this story adapted to different forms," Pullman said. "It's been a radio play, a stage play, a film, an audiobook, a graphic novel - and now comes this version for television. "In recent years we've seen how long stories on television, whether adaptations [Game of Thrones] or original [The Sopranos, The Wire], can reach depths of characterisation and heights of suspense by taking the time for events to make their proper impact and for consequences to unravel. "And the sheer talent now working in the world of long-form television is formidable. For all those reasons I'm delighted at the prospect of a television version of His Dark Materials." His Dark Materials - which consists of the novels Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - has been published in more than 40 languages and has sold nearly 17.5 million copies worldwide. The story centres on Lyra, a girl who lives at an Oxford college, who embarks on a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. In the second book she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between alternative worlds. The TV adaptation will be shot in Wales and is produced by Bad Wolf - a production company founded by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner - and New Line Cinema, which is making its first move into TV production. New Line had also produced The Golden Compass film, which featured Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra. "Ever since they were first published these books have been a huge influence on so much of my thinking and imagination and it is enormously inspiring to be now working on them for television adaptation," said Tranter. "The broad horizons of television suggests itself as the best of vehicles to capture the expansiveness of the story and worlds of Lyra and Will."

Philip Pullman has expressed delight that his trilogy, His Dark Materials, is to be made into a BBC One drama.

It happened just before 03:30 GMT on Saturday in the Queens Avenue area of Cookstown. The victim was taken to hospital for his injuries, which are not believed to be life-threatening. The 57-year-old man is in custody assisting police with their inquiries. Det Insp Will Tate said: "Police attended and a car and suspected firearm have been recovered. "Anyone who witnessed this incident, or who has any information about it, is asked to contact detectives at Cookstown Police Station on the non-emergency number 101."

Police have arrested a 57-year-old man after a 33-year-old man was shot in the foot in County Tyrone.

It is the biggest game in English football and a massive occasion for his first United appearance - if he features at Old Trafford. But the very fact I am wondering whether Martial will start, or even play at all, says a lot about the £36m transfer and suggests that United have paid such a massive initial fee for his potential, rather than anything he has done in his career so far. Martial is 19, and before the start of this season had only completed four first-team games for Monaco. He has played a total of 30 minutes of senior international football for France, all in the past week. Like myself, not many United fans will have seen much of him in action but, starting this weekend, he is going to be under major scrutiny because of how much he has cost, his record up to this point and the fact a club of their size has signed him. The pressure will be immense. So I hope that he proves to be the absolute gem of a player that United think they have bought, for his own sake and for the sake of English football too. Media playback is not supported on this device Otherwise, United spending so much on a teenager who has scored only 11 goals in 52 matches in Ligue 1 will just be used to show how the money in our game has gone completely crazy. At the moment, that is what most people seem to be thinking. His fee could rise to £58m and every single former player I have spoken to has been amazed by how much he has cost considering how little football he has played. On paper, what he has done is not that impressive either. If Martial had scored 25-30 goals I would be thinking 'that's only in Ligue 1' and he has not even got close to that. His goalscoring record does not say to me that he is going to be the new Sergio Aguero, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I am not on my own in not knowing what to expect from him, let alone where he will play, but being a bit of an unknown quantity will help him against Liverpool. So far, Martial has said all the right things in interviews and, considering he has joined one of the biggest clubs in the world, he seems to be dealing with everything pretty well. It is on the pitch where he will be judged, though, and it could be that this weekend he goes 'bang' - with a performance that shouts "here I am, and this is what I can do". That could happen, especially in a team like United's. They will create chances and, if Martial has got the strength and pace I keep hearing about, then he could have a big impact very quickly. I hope he does, because it would be great for the Premier League to have a new star. The best scenario, especially for a forward player, is obviously that he hits the ground running at his new club by scoring some goals straightaway. There was pressure on me when I joined Arsenal for what was then a club record fee of £2.5m in September 1991 but I scored in my first game, got a hat-trick in my second and never looked back. Any pressure disappeared and, instead, I was full of confidence. The way I looked at it then was that I could go four games without scoring and my average would still be good but the way I was feeling, I knew more goals would come - and they did. Not every player gets off to a flying start like I did at Arsenal. Also for the Gunners, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp both had to wait a while to get off the mark. I have heard Martial being compared to Henry a lot because of his playing style and the way he can come off the left or right wing as well as down the middle. That is great if it is true and, if he is not an out-and-out striker, he will need to be able to make goals for others like Henry could. Yes, those comparisons add even more pressure but they are inevitable because both players left Monaco at a young age and came to England for big money - Henry had a brief spell at Juventus in between, but his £10.5m fee was the third-biggest in English football when he came to Highbury in 1999. Henry, who was a couple of years older than Martial and a lot more experienced at first-team level, scored 26 goals in his first season for Arsenal, but did not find the net until his ninth game for the club. There is an argument that Henry's early days are an example of why Martial will need time before showing us what he can do. That is true, but I still saw Henry's ability in those first few games. I had left Arsenal by then but on his left foot or right foot, he had skill and athleticism and was such a dynamic player. He was not scoring goals but I remember looking at him and thinking 'wow - when he kicks in, he is going to be awesome'. In Memphis Depay, United already have one young player who makes me think the same whenever I watch him. You can see Memphis is not quite firing on all cylinders at the moment but there is still something really explosive building up in him, and you can tell he is going to do something special soon. What I saw from Thierry and what we are seeing now from Memphis is what I want from Martial on Saturday. It would be even better if he can nick a goal or two as well. One thing that Martial can rely on at his new club is that his team-mates will look after him and help him as much as they can, especially because of his age, his price tag and the fact he has moved to a different country. Even a player of Bergkamp's experience needed that while he settled in. He went six games without scoring after joining Arsenal for a British record fee of £7.5m in 1995, but we were unbeaten during that time and I scored four goals, which took a lot of the pressure off him. Media playback is not supported on this device You can be sure that Wayne Rooney will look to do the same for Martial and I think it is brilliant news for United that he has just broken Sir Bobby Charlton's record as England's top goalscorer. Rooney has had a difficult start to the Premier League season but his international goals in the past week will have lifted a weight off his shoulders and, whether Martial plays or not, I think Liverpool could feel the backlash of that at the weekend. Ian Wright was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

I would love to be analysing a dream debut for Anthony Martial when I come to discuss Manchester United versus Liverpool on Match of the Day on Saturday.

The claim: The UK can make itself energy self-sufficient in renewables. Reality Check verdict: This is not the policy in the Liberal Democrat manifesto, which pledges to get 60% of electricity from renewables by 2030. Being self-sufficient and having all energy coming from renewables would require considerable development of storage technology to avoid having to use non-renewable sources or energy bought from overseas as back-up sources. It came after he had said: "If it is simply for hair shirt, muesli-eating, Guardian readers to solve climate change... we're all stuffed." Becoming energy self-sufficient in renewables is not current Liberal Democrat policy, although Mr Farron described it in a speech in February as being a "patriotic endeavour". The manifesto says the party would: "Expand renewable energy, aiming to generate 60% of electricity from renewables by 2030." A party spokeswoman described the leader's statement in the debate as "visionary as opposed to completely literal". The problem with being entirely self-sufficient is that many renewable sources of energy cannot generate power all of the time (the notable exception being the burning of biomass), so if you are using a very high proportion of renewables you rely on interconnectedness (buying electricity from another country where the wind is blowing), storage (batteries in the short-term, some sort of gas storage in the longer term) or a back-up system using gas-fired power stations or nuclear energy. The Liberal Democrat manifesto talks about investing in interconnectors, which would be unnecessary if the country was to become self-sufficient. There are already private plans in place to increase the amount of electricity that may be bought from France via interconnectors. It may be that when he said self-sufficient he meant that we should not have a trade deficit in energy, so it would be OK to buy energy from other countries when we needed it as long as we sold the same amount to other countries when they needed it. While there have been suggestions that marine energy could make the UK a net exporter of electricity, being self-sufficient and generating 100% of energy from renewables is considerably more challenging than, for example, 90%, mainly because of the challenges of storage. The development of a smart grid, which co-ordinates renewable energy supplies depending on demand, may also be needed for a 100% renewable system. Also, while the Liberal Democrat manifesto targets 60% of electricity, Mr Farron was talking about all energy, which means, for example, that all cars have to run on renewable energy and all buildings have to be heated by it. So in 2016, the UK generated 24.4% of its electricity from renewables, but in 2015 (the latest year available) it was only producing 8.8% of energy from renewables. The UK has an obligation under European Union rules to derive 30% of electricity from renewables by 2020, which it is on the way to achieving (although the UK is currently scheduled to have left the EU by then). But the other two parts of the targets are 12% of heat and 10% of transport to be powered by renewables, which we are less likely to achieve. The Labour manifesto pledges to get 60% of energy from zero-carbon or renewable sources by 2030. The Conservative manifesto looks at it in a different way, saying that "energy policy should be focused on outcomes rather than the means by which we reach our objectives". So they say that the focus will not be on how the energy is generated but on achieving, "reliable and affordable energy, seizing the industrial opportunity that new technology presents and meeting our global commitments on climate change". The Green Party would have a target of near-100% renewable electricity generation by 2030 with significant investment in electric vehicles and lower-carbon sources of heating. It supports self-sufficiency and a decentralised system of communities owning their own generation systems, but would also invest in interconnectors to allow for co-operation with other countries. Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter

In Wednesday night's debate, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that the UK could become energy self-sufficient in renewable energy.

The survey, carried out ahead of the Holyrood election, suggested support for raising the very top rate of tax. But there was also apparent backing for keeping Scottish tax rates in line with England. The Ipsos MORI survey interviewed 1,002 people between 18 and 29 March. Respondents were asked to rank a range of policy ideas. A score of one meant the policy was poor and should not be implemented. A score of 10 meant: great idea, do it tomorrow. Respondents could choose any number between one and 10, generating an average score for the policy. Here, in the first of two pieces, we look at the issues of..... These are topics which have been to the fore in the election campaign so far. Responses tend to cluster in the middle - with few ideas attracting dominant support and few being dismissed entirely. There is, however, apparent support for the Labour idea that the top rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000 a year should be increased from 45p to 50p. That attracts a net score of 7.3. That ranking is perhaps no surprise. There are very few people in Scotland earning that level of salary. It is perhaps a human characteristic to support the notion that somebody else should pay more tax. 332,000 Approximate total for the UK 17,000 Approximate total for Scotland Further, the idea of increasing the top rate, advanced by Labour's Kezia Dugdale, has also been backed in principle by Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader. Ms Sturgeon has resisted the plan in practice on the grounds that well-heeled residents might alter their tax plans to avoid the extra levy - either by changing their base or by shifting from income to dividends which will continue to be taxed at the lower Westminster level. Labour has stressed that HMRC has plans in place to counter such avoidance. Ms Sturgeon cites advice from her officials to the effect that Scotland could lose net revenue if only 7% of top earners contrived to change their circumstances. The SNP leader says she would be willing to contemplate such a tax increase in future if she could be convinced that Scotland would not lose out. It seems likely that Labour will continue to pursue her over this topic. Further, on tax, our survey suggests a net score of 6.5 for the idea that the rate of income tax for people in Scotland should be kept at the same level as for people in England. That is the Conservative approach - although one might also note that, with modifications, the SNP also currently intend to leave rates alone. The key difference is that the SNP also favour cancelling an effective tax cut for higher earners announced by the Chancellor. 372,000 Approximate total number 10% Working population £190m Value of 40p tax cut plan 14,000 Workers removed if cut adopted in Scotland It is perhaps worth noting that support for the status quo on tax rates slightly outpolls backing for the Labour and Liberal Democrat idea that all rates of income tax should be increased by 1p in the pound, with the money primarily diverted to education. But the difference is marginal and, again, the rankings are mostly grouped in the middle. It seems there is, as yet, no clear verdict among the Scottish people on tax. That is perhaps understandable. These are new powers - and hence new politics. Plus there is a very fundamental choice to be made, particularly with regard to the standard rate. The Conservatives argue that it is wrong, from first principles, for people in Scotland to pay more than in England. Labour and the Liberal Democrats argue that it is right to ask people to pay more tax in order to protect public services, with the emphasis upon education. The SNP say that increasing the standard rate is wrong in that it amounts to asking the low-paid to shoulder the burden of "Tory cuts". Then there is a further debate about the impact upon the lowest-paid. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats say they would protect those earning less than £20,000 from paying more in tax than they do at present. That is, primarily, because the overall starting rate for income tax is due to increase under Treasury plans. (LibDems claim the credit for this tendency, dating back to their period in coalition. Lib Dems also suggest they might introduce a zero rate to entrench further the support for the low paid.) Rivals have criticised Labour in particular, noting that they formerly talked of a rebate administered via councils to help the low-paid. Labour say this was only for the first year, before fully enhanced powers took effect, and has been overtaken. The SNP say an increase in the standard rate is still wrong. They say, at the very minimum, it cancels out for Scotland any benefit for the low-paid from the UK increase in the starting rate for tax. They say they can raise cash for services - a cumulative £2bn over a parliamentary lifetime - from cancelling the effective tax cut for higher earners set out by the Chancellor, together with their council tax proposals. With regard to higher rate tax, the SNP have now set out details involving a CPI inflation rate increase in the threshold for the 40p rate - which would thus be lower than under the Chancellor's plans, meaning that people in Scotland on that upper rate would pay more than in England. The details of that SNP package only emerged after we had formulated our questions for the survey. However, we did ask in very general terms about the idea of pegging the threshold for the higher rate of tax at the current level, even if people in the rest of the UK only started paying the 40p rate on higher incomes. That attracted a net score of 5.3, close to the midway point on our scale. Ms Sturgeon argues that the detailed SNP package is gaining support as it becomes evident that it obliges higher rate taxpayers to stump up more than in England while protecting low and middle earners. Her rivals dissent, on various grounds. It seems certain that the political parties - all the political parties - will have to continue to evangelise their tax plans in detail in order to build support. Turning now to council tax, there was a mean score of 6.2 for the idea that those living in more expensive homes should contribute more. That outpolled the notion of increasing all rates of council tax by up to 3%, with the money devoted to schools. That policy ranked 5.1 Again, though, these are figures broadly in the middle. Once more, the parties will require to explain their distinctive approaches. Tax is rarely popular with individuals - unless others are paying. Finally, welfare. There was 7.3 support for the idea that the level of free childcare should be broadly doubled for three and four year olds. That is an SNP policy although other parties also have offers on childcare. The idea of increasing the cash support for those who care for people with disabilities was ranked 6.4. Eight questions on tax, council tax and welfare (plus mean score) All figures are mean scores based on answers provided between one and 10. One means the policy should never be put in place, and 10 means that it is very important and should be put in place quickly.

Scotland remains divided in attitudes to taxation, according to a new poll for BBC Scotland.

Lee Waldon, 51, died in a ground floor flat in Bybrook Road, in Ashford, Kent, on 17 May. Darren McKay, 39, of Beecholme Drive, Kennington, had been charged with his murder but at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter. He is due to be sentenced at the same court on 23 January.

A man has admitted killing a 51-year-old man who died after suffering head injuries.

Dan y cynllun, bydd chwe thref yn ganolfannau ar gyfer twf economaidd yn y cymunedau sydd rhwng Castell-nedd a Chwmbrân. Mae'r gweinidog sydd yng ngofal y cynllun, Alun Davies, wedi bod yn arwain tasglu ac mae eisoes wedi galw am "ddadeni diwydiannol" ar gyfer y cymoedd, ac i hynny fod yn fwy na "ffyrdd newydd sy'n sgleinio". Dywedodd hefyd y byddai'n gweithio i symud swyddi o'r sector cyhoeddus i'r cymoedd pan yn "addas". Mae'r tasglu wedi trefnu cyfres o ymgynghoriadau dros y flwyddyn i ddod. Y ddogfen drafod fydd Ein Cymoedd, Ein Dyfodol, gyda'r blaenoriaethau'n cynnwys swyddi a sgiliau gwell, gwasanaethau cyhoeddus gwell a chymunedau cryfach. Mae'r tasglu'n ceisio: Dywedodd Mr Davies: "O'r dechrau, dwi wedi bod yn glir na fydd hwn yn achos arall o lywodraeth yn penderfynu beth sy'n iawn i'r cymoedd. "Os ydyn ni am lwyddo, rhaid i gymunedau lleol a phobl leol fod wrth galon ein gwaith." Y canolfannau dan sylw fyddai: Dywedodd yr Athro Kevin Morgan, awdur A New Agenda For The Valleys yn 1988, fod angen buddsoddi mewn trafnidiaeth o safon uchel a gwella tai er mwyn creu cysylltiad gwell rhwng trefi'r cymoedd. Ychwanegodd mai dyna'r ffordd o annog pobl ifanc broffesiynol i fyw mewn llefydd fel Pontypridd. "Pontypridd yw'r porth i'r cymoedd ac fe ddylai gyflawni rôl o fod yn ganolfan gyflogaeth i'r cymoedd uwch a chanol", meddai. "Byddai cwmnïau fel Admiral, dwi'n siŵr, yn gallu creu atynfa drwy leoli rhai o'u swyddfeydd ym Mhontypridd. "Fe fyddai hynny'n cynorthwyo rhyng-ddibyniaeth ein dinasoedd a'n cymoedd... wedyn fe fydd pawb ar eu hennill." Wedi'r cyhoeddiad, dywedodd llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr ar yr economi bod y cynllun yn fawr ddim mwy na "chynllun PR sgleiniog". Dywedodd Russell George bod "diffyg arweiniad strategol" gan Lywodraeth Cymru wedi effeithio'r ardal, a bod unrhyw fuddsoddiad gan yr Undeb Ewropeaidd "wedi ei wastraffu ar y cyfan". Mae arweinydd Plaid Cymru wedi dweud ei bod yn "hanfodol" bod cymunedau'r cymoedd yn "cael y parch y maen nhw'n haeddu, a bod cyfleoedd go iawn yn cael eu creu i bobl". Dywedodd Leanne Wood na allai'r cynllun yma gael ei "ychwanegu at y rhestr o addewidion gafodd eu torri a chynlluniau wnaeth fethu".

Mae cynllun i greu 7,000 o swyddi ac adfywio cymoedd y de wedi ei gyhoeddi.

The bill - which was approved with only minor amendments - is now certain to become law after a final vote in the lower house, expected in May. There have been several demonstrations in Paris both for and against the bill. Gay rights organisations say homosexuals are being increasingly targeted amid opposition to government plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children. Friday's Senate vote, by a show of hands, came after senators had on Wednesday approved the first article of the bill allowing gay couples to marry and adopt, by 179 votes to 157. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira praised the result, saying the Senate had strengthened French society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples". The bill is now set to become law after technical second readings in both houses of parliament. On Thursday, some 5,000 people took part in a protest in Paris linking critics of the gay marriage bill to homophobia. The rally came as an image apparently showing the victim of a homophobic attack went viral on social media. Opponents of the bill have denied homophobia and denounced violence. Opinion polls suggest that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, but only about 50% approve of gay adoption. The anti-gay marriage lobby, backed by the Catholic Church and right-wing opposition, has already held large marches in Paris. It argues the move would undermine an essential building block of society.

France's upper house of parliament has voted to legalise gay marriage.

Tries from Sean O'Brien, Iain Henderson, Johnny Sexton and Dave Kearney secured Ireland's bonus point before half-time. Sean Cronin, Rob Kearney and Jared Payne added further tries in the second half at the Millennium Stadium. DTH Van Der Merwe snatched a breakaway reply for Canada. After the recent warm-up defeats by Wales and England, Ireland were back to their clinical best with Sexton the orchestrator. The fly-half sprinted clear of the Canadian defence to score his first-half try as the Irish took total control after a slightly subdued beginning. Loose-head prop Cian Healy made his return to action following neck surgery as he came on in the second half to complete a thoroughly satisfactory afternoon for Ireland coach Joe Schmidt. Relive Ireland's win over Canada After a lack of physicality in their two recent defeats, Ireland's forwards had a much more dynamic afternoon as flanker O'Brien looked back to something like his best and Henderson again excelled. Henderson demonstrated his appetite for work in a performance highlighted by his 25th-minute try as he burst past three attempted tacklers with a close-range finish. Healy went close to scoring a try of his own after his introduction following the hour mark and, crucially, Ireland appeared to emerge from the contest without picking up any major injuries. As has been the case during their two recent successful Six Nations campaigns, Ireland performed the basics extremely well with the set-piece also rock solid. The Canadians produced some early endeavour as they charged into Ireland's 22 but Sexton's 14th-minute penalty was soon followed by O'Brien's sixth international try as the Irish exploited the sin-binning of Canada captain Jamie Cudmore. With Cudmore still off, Henderson burst past three tackles to notch Ireland's next try in the 25th minute before Sexton scorched clear of the Canadian defence moments later after O'Brien's clever inside pass. The high Ireland tempo yielded Dave Kearney's bonus-point clinching try before the break with Canada winger Van Der Merwe denied a reply following a forward pass by Nathan Hirayama. Leading 29-0 at half-time, the Irish efficiency wavered somewhat in the second half, with Paul O'Connell sin-binned soon after the interval for seizing an intercept from an offside position. Ireland coach Schmidt introduced a plethora of substitutions with Healy coming on for his first action since May and Sexton called to the bench after his impressive afternoon. But the opposition were also producing praiseworthy resolve and after replacement hooker Cronin scored Ireland's fifth try, Canada did finally get on the scoreboard with 10 minutes remaining as wing Van der Merwe charged clear after intercepting Payne's attempted grubber kick on halfway. However, that only spurred Ireland to produce a strong finish as Payne regrouped to score Ireland's final try in the 76th minute shortly after a Keith Earls break set up Rob Kearney to touch down. After having to deal with back-foot ball in Ireland's two most recent games, Sexton was back to his brilliant best as he kicked flawlessly and also showed an impressive turn of foot to run in Ireland's third try. Sexton is probably more important to Ireland's World Cup prospects than even Paul O'Connell or Conor Murray. So once he had produced his first-half brilliance, Schmidt wasn't going to wait long in the second half before calling his fly-half star ashore. Media playback is not supported on this device Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt:"I felt we built our way into the game pretty well and I think Canada showed why they deserved the respect we showed them. They are a very combative side. "For us to build our way into the game and successfully put a few phases together effectively, to build that scoreboard pressure on them as well, was satisfying." For the latest rugby union news, follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter. Ireland: R. Kearney, D. Kearney, Payne, Fitzgerald, Earls; Sexton, Murray; McGrath, Best, Ross; Henderson, O'Connell, O'Mahony, O'Brien, Heaslip. Replacements: Zebo for Fitzgerald (80), Madigan for Sexton (54), Healy for McGrath (60), Cronin for Best (60), White for Ross (60), Ryan for O'Connell (75), Henry for O'Brien (63). Not used: Reddan. Sin bin: O'Connell (42). Canada: Evans, Hassler, Hearn, Blevins, van der Merwe, Hirayama, McRorie, Buydens, Barkwill, Wooldridge, Beukeboom, Cudmore, Gilmour, Moonlight, Carpenter. Replacements: Underwood for Evans (41), Trainor for Hassler (41), Mack for McRorie (49), Sinclair for Buydens (48), Piffero for Barkwill (63), Tiedemann for Wooldridge (66), Thorpe for Underwood (80). Not used: Sears-Duru. Sin bin: Cudmore (17). Att: 43,000 Ref: Glen Jackson (New Zealand).

Ireland produced a composed and ruthless display as they secured a comprehensive win over outclassed Canada in the Pool D World Cup opener.

Rick Marchant told the BBC it was mainly small businesses that had been hit by the burglary at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd in London over Easter. He said he was dealing with seven clients who had lost items with an estimated value of £2m in total. Victims are due to meet later to consider ways of getting compensation. "We are dealing here with mainly small businesses and they are not making huge profits," said Mr Marchant, from Marchant and Marchant Limited. "These aren't extremely wealthy people, for a lot of them their livelihoods have gone. "All of us might be forgiven for thinking how audacious, how clever, but what [the gang has] done is ruin the lives of many people within the Hatton Garden jewellery quarter." In total, 72 safe deposit boxes were opened and the contents of 56 boxes were taken in the raid over the Easter weekend, at the start of April. Jewellery, watches and other valuables were removed from the premises in wheelie bins and bags by the burglars. A £20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gang, but no arrests have yet been made. "I have been told by individuals I have interviewed that they have had friends and colleagues who work in the quarter with them, grown men, hardened dealers, in sobs - [they] don't know what to do because of course some haven't insured at all," Mr Marchant said. "Their view was it is in a safety deposit box - the key word is safet - it should be ok and of course they have lost everything." Mr Marchant said for those who were not insured, the chances of recovering their sums were "pretty remote". He said their "only hope" would be pursuing a recovery if there was found to have been negligence in terms of the security of their items. Mahendra Bavishi, the director of Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd, has previously told the BBC he had "no clue" if the multi-million-pound raid could have been an inside job. He said he was "puzzled and surprised" at how the burglars managed to get past its security measures. Police are still investigating why officers did not respond when an alarm went off when the intruders were in the building. The burglars first went into the building after 21:00 BST on Thursday, 2 April and left shortly after 08:00 BST on Good Friday, 3 April, police said. They returned to the scene soon after 22:00 BST on Saturday, 4 April and were recorded on CCTV leaving the premises at about 06:40 BST on Easter Sunday, 5 April.

The gang behind the Hatton Garden raid of 56 safe deposit boxes has "ruined the lives" and livelihoods of its victims, a loss adjuster has said.

Whilst on patrol over Winnipeg, the chopper's crew accidentally turned on its loudspeaker allowing members of the public below to hear them. Those listening say they heard pilots swearing and discussing oral sex. Winnipeg Police Service say some of the "conversation was inappropriate" and have promised an internal review. Brandi Armstrong told CBC news that she had been sitting in her garden on Monday evening as the helicopter flew over and was shocked by the exchange. "My jaw hit the ground; eyes bulged out," she said. She added that she would like to see the pilots punished. The police say that they are considering disciplinary measures. Another resident walking near the city's legislature building overhead a different, expletive-laden discussion about money. The officers were unaware that the loudspeaker was on due to the noise from the helicopter's engine. Residents listening below began to tweet to the city's police department as the pilots continued talking.

Canadian police have apologised after an explicit conversation was inadvertently broadcast from one of its helicopters.

Media playback is not supported on this device Konta, who broke into the world's top 10 last year, beat Agnieszka Radwanska to win her second WTA trophy at the Sydney International on Friday. The 25-year-old begins her campaign against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens on Tuesday (midnight on Monday in the UK). "I'm very pleased with the level I played," said Konta of her Sydney win. "But we all know that it's not a given. It doesn't decide how you will do in the next event. "I'm taking it as a positive from the week itself, but I'm looking to again work hard here and really try to do the best that I can." Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide. Sydney-born Konta reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open last year - the furthest she has ever progressed in a Grand Slam. And despite enjoying her most successful season to date, she chose to split with coach Esteban Carril in December after two-and-a-half years together. Konta is now working under Belgian Wim Fissette, who has previously coached former world number one Kim Clijsters and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka. "My previous situation came to a natural end so I was in the market. It came together nicely for us," Konta told BBC Radio 5 live. "We're doing some great work together. I'm really enjoying learning from him. He's a coach who's been on tour for some time and has worked with some of the best players. "I'm trying to be a sponge and trying to absorb all the information he's passing on." Sue Barker, who reached the semi-finals of the women's singles at the Australian Open in 1975 and 1977, believes Johanna Konta is good enough to win this year's competition. "Last year's Australian Open was her big breakthrough tournament," Barker told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme. "We had been seeing her get better and better but at the Australian Open she started to believe in herself. She has not sat back and has improved week after week. "I watched her final against Radwanska in Sydney last week and it was the best I've seen her play. She looked incredible and doesn't have a weakness. "She is hitting the ball so hard and she is not just a top-10 player, she is a Grand Slam contender." Konta will return to ninth in the world rankings on Monday following her win in Sydney and Barker thinks Konta can beat the best players. "Johanna is seeded ninth so has not got the protection of being in the top eight but there is not one person that's just so outstanding in the women's game," added Barker. "Angelique Kerber is a solid world number one but she is beatable and Johanna has the game to beat her. She certainly has a chance to win it."

British number one Johanna Konta says it is "not a given" that she will be a contender for the Australian Open title despite winning the warm-up tournament.

Details of last Friday's incident have only just emerged. Work at the site was halted this Friday afternoon to give all workers a refresher on health and safety. Construction firm Morgan Sindall said it was conducting an internal investigation into the circumstances of the accident. A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council added: "The responsibility for the site and the construction programme, as well as for reporting and investigating incidents, sits with the contractor Morgan Sindall Group. "The health, safety and wellbeing of all those working on projects associated with Aberdeen City Council is of paramount importance to us and we will be kept informed by the contractor." The £107m office, leisure and hotel development is due for completion in the summer. Earlier this week, BBC Scotland revealed that only 10% of office space had been taken up for lease.

A worker was left with a fractured leg and ribs after an accident at the Marischal Square construction site in Aberdeen.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 (£1,600) and complete 100 hours of community service. Mayweather, 34, agreed to a plea deal, meaning he will not have to answer felony charges of beating Ms Harris and threatening two of their children. Prosecutors said Mayweather's history meant jail time was appropriate. "He just continually gets himself into trouble and he is able to get himself out of it as well," Prosecutor Lisa Luzaich told Judge Melissa Saragosa. "Essentially it is because he is who he is and is able to get away with everything. The only thing that's going to get this man's attention is incarceration." The judge said she decided to jail Mayweather after he admitted hitting Ms Harris and twisting her arm. Ms Saragosa, citing a police report, said that two of the former couple's children, ages 9 and 10, also witnessed the attack, in which Mayweather threatened to make Ms Harris "disappear". Mayweather has been told to report to jail on 6 January. He is facing another court appearance next week on charges of assaulting a security guard outside his home in November 2010 in an argument over parking tickets. He is expected to plead no contest. Ms Luzaich cited previous assault arrests, two in which Mayweather either paid fines or was required to complete community service, saying fines were of no consequence to the boxer. Mayweather earned $25m for the fight than won him a World Boxing Council welterweight belt. His lawyer, Karen Winckler, called Mayweather "a champion in many areas", including buying toys for children at Christmas and promising to donate $100,000 to breast cancer research by the end of the year. Ms Winckler argued that a full community service sentence would be more productive. His jail sentence means he will be released only two months before a major fight, likely to be against the Philippines' Manny Pacquiao, scheduled to take place on 5 May.

US boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr has been jailed for 90 days by a Las Vegas court after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, in 2010.

And there's only one rule for writing a romance - it has to have a happy ending. Yet the romance genre has long been dismissed as smut or trashy by many in, and out, of the publishing world - a fact that mystifies sisters Bea and Leah Koch, who last month opened the US's first exclusively romantic fiction bookstore. Their shop in Los Angeles is called The Ripped Bodice, and the store's motto is "smart girls read romance". "The fact that up until now the best-selling genre in America didn't have its own bookstore honestly didn't seem fair to us," says Leah Koch. "You have comic book stores, and science fiction bookstores, and mystery bookstores - probably all of which combined romance sells more than. We deserve our own book store, too." Primarily read by women, romance is by far the best-selling genre of fiction in North America - with $1.08bn (£760m) in sales in 2013, according to the Romance Writers of America. And readers of romantic fiction "want a knowledgeable bookseller who's not going to laugh at them for reading romance," says Bea, a Renaissance scholar with degrees from Yale and New York University. Yet Bea and Leah, who grew up in Chicago, say that the romance sections at most bookshops are woefully inadequate - and you can forget about finding staff who can help with recommendations. "The stigma against romance is extremely sexist," says Leah, 23. "It is really interesting when you look at teenage girls... there is just an inherent dismissal of whatever teenage girls like, despite the fact that they have huge buying power, and should not be dismissed. And I do think that [sexism] extends to women of all ages." The Ripped Bodice is a clean, well-lit place, devoted to the many sub-genres of romance, such as cowboys, aliens, Vikings, biker dudes and the paranormal. There's also a large erotic section, a Spanish-language area and plenty for young adults, as well as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer communities. In the historical section, books include Jane Austen spinoffs and romantic tales among tartan-clad Scottish highlanders. "Love can come in many forms," says Bea, 26, with a smile. The store was opened with the help of romance fans. As young, untested entrepreneurs, the sisters didn't expect banks to be much help, so they went directly to the internet to raise seed money from their peers. They used the online crowd-funding platform Kickstarter to raise nearly $100,000 to open the shop. They say that business has exceeded their expectations over their first few weeks, and that their very specialism will be the key to their store's long-term success. Leah says: "We think niche book stores are the wave of the future, especially from a business perspective and for making enough money. "To compete with Amazon you have to offer something unique." The sisters say that romance readers want a place to gather and talk about the books, and meet authors. A place where fans of the genre can read romance without shame. And book industry figures show that buyers of romantic fiction are more loyal to brick and mortar stores than general readers. While only 41% of general book sales in the US are now from physical shops, last year's Nielsen's Romance Book Buyer report found that 56% of romance fans still primarily buy from brick and mortar stores. Romance fans also read voraciously. According to the Nielsen report, some 6% of buyers purchase romance books more than once a week, and 15% do so at least once a week. And the stigma against romance is changing. The success of the novel 50 Shades of Grey stunned the publishing world, and introduced a lot of new readers - including more men - to the genre. Romance is, however, still primarily read and created by women - who make up more than 85% of romance readers. Best-selling US romance novelist Eloisa James (real name Mary Bly) says it is "a wonderful idea" to have a bookshop that only sells romantic fiction. She created a pen name for writing romance because she didn't want it to jeopardise her academic career - she is today professor of literature at Fordham University in New York. Ms James was born out of economic necessity back in the late 1990s when Prof Bly needed to pay off her student debt following studies at Harvard, Oxford and Yale. "So I turned to a genre which I've always loved," she says, adding that the advance on her first book paid off her student loans. Ms James has since written 25 books, 21 of them making it onto the New York Times bestseller list. When Eloisa James has a party, or reading and signing, at a bookstore, she says the storeowners are often shocked by the size of the crowds that show up, especially in bookstores with little or no romance section. She adds that general bookshops often say they don't have the audience for romance, a claim she says is "ridiculous". Back at The Ripped Bodice, the Koch sisters intend to make the shop a profitable enterprise. They have big plans for book clubs and community events. On a daily basis, Bea looks after the historical books, while Leah, who went to the University of Southern California, looks after the contemporary releases. "We always tell people that they should expect The Ripped Bodice to be a serious business that doesn't take itself too seriously," Leah says. "This is our livelihood. It's our business, we take it very seriously - however we are selling romance novels." Bea chimes in: "You are here to have a good time. To find something that might make you smile. "That's what we want to be - a respite from everything else that's happening in the world."

Romance novels are a billion dollar industry, vastly outselling science fiction, mystery and literary books.

John Farley, who died on Monday, was described by friends as a helpful, hard-worker who loved his community. He ran the Red Triangle Stores in the Central Market and was doing paperwork from his bed until the day he died. He was made a MBE in the New Year's Honours list for his work with charities and amateur dramatic groups. His son, Kevin Farley, who currently helps run the Red Triangle Stores, said he made a big contribution to Jersey. "He came to work at the Red Triangle stores in 1953 for six weeks. During that six weeks he met my mother and ended up not emigrating to Australia as was his original plan," he said. He added that his father "was involved in numerous organisations" including the Battle of Flowers for 60 years. Tony Perkins, from the Jersey Battle of Flowers Association, said John Farley was dedicated and hard-working.

Tributes have been paid to a former Jersey politician and charity worker who died in his sleep aged 87 after a long illness.

In a joint statement, the two airlines said they would now move to finalise the deal "as soon as possible". Alitalia, which has debts of about 800m euros ($1.1bn; £656m), voted on 13 June to accept Etihad's offer to invest in the company. The deal still needs regulatory approval before it can go ahead. For Alitalia the deal is seen as a way to reverse its troubled fortunes. Last October, Alitalia approved plans for a 300m euro capital increase as part of a deal to fend off bankruptcy. Prior to its 2008 privatisation it also received several state handouts. The Italian airline said earlier this month that the Etihad investment was "an excellent outcome" and would "provide financial stability". Etihad said the deal would give more choice to air travellers into and out of Italy. The firms did not give any details of the amount of money Etihad would invest. But Italy's transport minister Maurizio Lupi has said Etihad is prepared to invest up to 1.25bn euros over the next four years. Mr Lupi said both Alitalia and Etihad had met with Alitalia's creditors on Tuesday where "decisive steps forward" had been made. "It's increasingly clear that this marriage should happen because it's obvious to all that we are dealing with a strong industrial investment that will offer our airline concrete growth prospects," he added. The two carriers have been in talks since December, but negotiations are reported to have been held back by Alitalia's reluctance to make job cuts part of the deal.

Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways says it has agreed terms and conditions for its purchase of a 49% stake in Italy's Alitalia.

Alexander and Thomas Hunter, of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, were aged 16 when, in 2007, they devised the scheme of the robot, dubbed Marl, say US officials. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the stocks "picked" were actually firms that paid the twins hefty fees. The Hunters allegedly snared about 75,000 investors, mostly in the US. In November, Newcastle Crown Court ordered Alexander Hunter to pay back nearly $1m after he admitted providing unregulated financial advice. He was given a suspended 12-month prison sentence. According to an affadavit filed in a New York federal court on Friday, investors paid $47 for newsletters listing Marl's stock picks and $97 for a "home version" of the software. "The longer Marl is allowed to run on a computer... The More Advanced He Becomes!" one of the brothers' websites said. The home version was simply a program that grabbed ticker symbols fed in by the Hunters, who reportedly live with their parents in Whitley Bay. The twins collected an additional $1.9m from companies that paid to appear in the newsletters and in the software program, according to the US court document. In one example given by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Marl picked stock in 2008 for a music publishing company called UOMO Media, doubling its share price to 69 cents, and then again a year later, driving it to $1.06. UOMO has not traded above a penny since September 2010. The twins claimed Marl had a track record of detecting cheap stocks whose prices were on the verge of soaring by 200-400%. Marl was a supposed combination of the names of its phoney creators, Michael Cohen and Carl Williamson. The Hunters claimed that "Michael Cohen" had developed a Goldman Sachs trading algorithm that reaped billions in profits. Officials are asking the court to block the Hunters, now 20 or 21, from the securities industry and return money to investors. They are also seeking further financial penalties. Eric Bruce, a lawyer for the Hunters, did not respond to requests for comment on Friday, reports Reuters news agency.

Twin brothers from England face US civil charges for allegedly defrauding investors out of $1.2m (£745,000) through a bogus stock-picking robot.

Ten fire crews tackled the blaze at a 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) warehouse belonging to delivery company Arrow XL on the Blackpole East Industrial Estate since 08:35 BST. Normally there would be 150 to 200 staff on site at any one time, the firm said. All colleagues had been accounted for and were safe and well, it added. Read more news for Herefordshire and Worcestershire It said its "disaster recovery plan" was in place and the building had been evacuated. In a statement, the company said plans were "being finalised for our customers to move operations from Worcester to a group owned site". The Worcester hub, which has been operating since 1994, handles deliveries for Midlands and South West and is one of four hubs and 17 satellite bases. Earlier Supt Kevin Purcell, from West Mercia Police said it was at the scene of a "significant fire" where it was helping Hereford and Worcester fire service with road closures. He said: "The fire has been declared a major incident. Residents were also advised to keep doors and windows closed. An eyewitness who works for Arrow XL said: "It's a devastating day for all for us. "I was just driving in so I couldn't get in so it's a bit upsetting and obviously we hope everyone's safe which we think they are." Crews from Worcester, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Malvern, Pershore, Droitwich, Evesham and Ledbury fought the fire.

A fire at a warehouse at an industrial estate in Worcester was declared a "major incident."

Ugandan animator Richard Musinguzi told the BBC's Outlook programme that he learnt how to animate in his spare time whilst studying to be an architect. His cartoon creation Katoto now has a big following on social media. Find out more The BBC's Sammy Awami says unlike on the Tanzanian mainland where condoms are sold in almost every city kiosk, they are tricky to find on the mainly Muslim island of Zanzibar, which is popular with tourists. One vendor said as it was a "religious place" he didn't want to "promote adultery". Find out more People are turning to trees to advertise their services and products because of the expense of advertising in newspapers, reports the BBC's Brian Hungwe from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Find out more Renowned Senegalese Doudou Ndiaye Rose died this week aged 85 - and reportedly had more than 35 children. Many of his offspring played in his traditional drumming troupe - a legacy of which he was very proud. Find out more Robert Mugabe Jr, better known as Tinotenda in basketball circles, is in Zimbabwe's squad at the African basketball championships. The son of the country's president played for just over five minutes in a game against Algeria. He didn't manage to score and the team lost by 20 points. Find out more

Some of the quirkier snippets from the news in Africa that we did not know last week:

The government said 38 police were injured, although many were thought to have suffered from shock. The crowd gathered outside state buildings calling on Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's government to resign. The protest erupted after the opposition revealed leaked recordings. It was the latest in a series of wire-taps released by Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev, who has been locked in a power struggle with Mr Gruevski for several months. Mr Zaev said the audio files showed the prime minister, Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovsa and other leading officials attempting to cover up the death of Martin Neskovski, 22, who was beaten to death by an interior ministry policeman in June 2011. His death led to weeks of unrest. The policeman was convicted but the opposition said its wire-taps showed the government had sought to avoid responsibility for the death by blaming him. Witnesses say the demonstration began peacefully but turned violent late on Tuesday evening. Nova TV journalist Sashka Cvetkovska said some police had used excessive force on protesters, including women and girls. "Then some violent groups joined the protesters and it all went wild," she told the BBC. Police used water cannon and teargas as stones were thrown and containers set alight. Macedonia's political crisis dates back to last year's elections, when Mr Zaev's centre-left party made allegations of electoral fraud, denounced the government as a dictatorship, and boycotted parliament. Mr Zaev, who has been charged with espionage, has made allegations that the government has itself been wire-tapping more than 20,000 people, including judges, politicians and journalists. Mr Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE has been in power since 2006 and last month the European Union expressed its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Macedonia, particularly regarding "rule of law, fundamental rights and freedom of media". The opposition has called for a large anti-government protest on 17 May.

Riot police have clashed with thousands of protesters in the Macedonian capital Skopje after the main opposition alleged a cover-up over the death of a man in 2011.

Mr Hekmatyar, an Islamist warlord accused of numerous atrocities, leads Hezb-e-Islami, the country's second largest militant group. Under the deal, he has agreed to accept the constitution and abandon violence. Some see the deal as a step forward for Afghanistan but others say it could exacerbate divisions in the government. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar travelled to the capital from Jalalabad amid tight security, his convoy guarded by an Afghan army helicopter. President Ashraf Ghani led an event to welcome him at the presidential palace and thanked him for "heeding the peace call". Mr Hekmatyar urged the Taliban to hold peace talks, saying: "Let's end the war, live together as brothers and then ask foreigners to leave our country." On Friday, he will lead prayers at a prestigious mosque. A former prime minister, he is one of the most controversial figures in Afghanistan's modern history. Mr Hekmatyar's return comes more than 20 years after the Taliban forced him from Kabul in 1996. He was one of seven anti-Soviet faction chiefs who led a large number of mujahideen fighters in the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s. But he is remembered mostly for his role in the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when the Hezb-e-Islami clashed violently with other mujahideen factions in the struggle for control of Kabul. The Hezb-e-Islami was blamed for much of the terrible death and destruction of that period, which led many ordinary Afghans to welcome the emergence of the Taliban. The civil war also led to Mr Hekmatyar's fall from grace - he and his men were forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban swept into power. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was once known as the "Butcher of Kabul" - and was nicknamed "Rocketyar", in reference to the hundreds of rockets he rained down on Kabul in the country's civil war in the 1990s. Many in the city still haven't forgiven him. His critics say he has long ceased to be a significant military force, and that the Taliban are unlikely to listen to his calls to take part in peace negotiations - especially whilst they feel they have the Afghan government on the back foot. His opponents also worry he will become yet another political player vying for power in the country. But the peace deal is a success for the government, and has been welcomed by the US. The hope is Mr Hekmatyar could influence Taliban commanders who once operated under his banner and show the group that a peaceful solution to the conflict is possible. In 2003, the US state department listed him as a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But Hezb-e-Islami has not played much of a role in the conflict in recent years, and in September 2016 the Afghan government signed a deal granting Mr Hekmatyar immunity and the release of prisoners in return for peace. Hezb-e-Islami has supporters across the country and there are hopes that the peace agreement may encourage some Taliban leaders to consider joining the process. But others are wary. One paper has accused him of "speaking in a bullying tone" and calling for a more centralised government that would entrench the "dominance of one ethnic group". Mr Hekmatyar is Pashtun, as is Mr Ghani. But ethnic Tajiks, who back Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah - Mr Ghani's former presidential rival and now partner in the national unity government, and the mainly Shia Hazaras - could see the warlord's return as a worrying sign. In Kabul, one man told Reuter's news agency that Mr Hekmatyar's return was "a moment of pride for the country" and he hoped it would bring peace. But another said the move would not help. "If the government really wants to bring peace to Afghanistan, they should make a peace deal with the Taliban and Daesh [so-called Islamic State], because Hekmatyar doesn't have enough supporters and his reputation among people is low."

Veteran warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has returned to the Afghan capital, eight months after signing a peace deal with the government.

Hickey stepped aside as OCI president after being arrested by Rio police during the Olympics in an investigation into illegal ticket sales. The 71-year-old is expected home in Ireland on Thursday after being released on bail on medical grounds. Dublin man Hickey has consistently denied any wrongdoing. A statement from the OCI said that Hickey would not be a candidate for the president's post, which he has held since 1988. "For clarity, as Pat Hickey has repeatedly advised in the past year prior to the Rio Games 2016, he would be finishing his term of office after the Games, therefore please note he will not be a candidate for President at the forthcoming elections," said the OCI. Hickey, who has also stepped aside from his presidency of the European Olympic Committees, was detained by Brazilian authorities and charged with various offences relating to ticket touting. Earlier this week after four months of detention, which included a brief prison stay, a court ruled Hickey's passport could be returned on medical grounds after his lawyers lodged a bond of just over £340,000. Judge Juliana Leal de Melo from Brazil's Special Court for Supporters and Large Events warned his bail would be forfeited if he did not return for future legal proceedings. Hickey suffers from a heart condition and is set to receive treatment in Dublin. Several OCI executives have resigned since August, including vice-president, Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney, treasurer Kevin Kilty and crisis management committee member Ciaran O'Cathain. Willie O'Brien is serving as interim OCI president, and is expected to be a candidate for the role in February. Meanwhile, OCI chief executive Stephen Martin has been appointed as Team Ireland's chef de mission for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. The County Down native and double Olympic hockey medallist also led the Irish team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ireland are hoping to qualify competitors in alpine skiing, snowboarding, and skeleton disciplines.

The Olympic Council of Ireland will elect a new president to succeed Pat Hickey at an extraordinary general meeting on 9 February.

Mr Gurlitt's father bought and sold art under the Nazis, including works looted from Jewish homes and works bought from Jewish owners under duress. The collector's lawyers accept a small portion of the works may be disputed. But the great bulk of the trove, they say, is the collector's for him to do with as he wishes. Mr Gurlitt has been recovering from heart surgery and it is not known how he has reacted to the decision. The immediate likelihood is that the paintings, some by Matisse, Picasso and other masters, will remain in a secure warehouse in Bavaria while legal disputes continue but the prosecutors' decision implies he has a right to them. A smaller number of works found at a property of Mr Gurlitt's in Austria are not affected by the German decision. Wednesday's decision came shortly after the collector agreed to co-operate with the authorities to determine which of the paintings had been stolen by the Nazis and to enable their return. Augsburg prosecutor Matthias Nickolai said in a statement that the works had been formally released after prosecutors re-evaluated the legal situation. Prosecutors, he said, had been "absolutely convinced" at the time of the seizure that it was legally correct. Mr Gurlitt's lawyer, Tido Park, said his "rehabilitation [would] be further strengthened" by Wednesday's decision. "So this is a good day for Cornelius Gurlitt," he added. The collector's lawyers have agreed with the German authorities to return any works proven to be looted to their rightful owners but they believe that to be only 3% of the trove, and it will not be easy for claimants to get them back. There is a one-year deadline on proving ownership. The lawyers say that just over 300 of the works are without doubt Mr Gurlitt's because his father acquired them before the Nazis were in power. Only six paintings are so far being claimed by other people. In the case of one of those paintings - a Matisse - the lawyers say there are now two competing claims. Negotiations between Mr Gurlitt's lawyers and claimants have been tough. According to the German Sud-Deutsche Zeitung daily, one claimant replied to an offer to sell back a looted painting in blunt, Anglo-Saxon words of one syllable. There has been outrage among Jewish groups, who say that the authorities in Germany have made it very difficult for people to get their rightful property back. The prosecutors were heavily criticised for not publicising the fact that they had found the trove of pictures. It only emerged in the press a year later. How, Jewish groups argued, could someone claim an artwork if the authorities kept its existence secret? At the end of it all, it seems likely that Mr Gurlitt will keep all but a small part of the collection built up by his father. Will he be able to enjoy the works? Technically, yes, but those who have contact with him say he is confused. He was a recluse even before his world was shattered by the raid on his flat - and his mind and body are presumably even more disorientated now. Meanwhile, the row over the way the German authorities have dealt with the case grows louder.

Prosecutors in Germany are to release 1,280 works of art confiscated two years ago from the Munich apartment of collector Cornelius Gurlitt.

The new factory aims to produce 300,000 vehicles a year and expects to employ about 4,000 people. President Donald Trump tweeted the decision was "a great investment" in US manufacturing. The two carmakers have also agreed to join forces to develop electric car technology, and Toyota is to take a 5% stake in Mazda. End of Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump Earlier this year, Mr Trump said Toyota would face hefty tariffs on cars built in Mexico for the US market if they were made south of the border. He campaigned on promises to increase manufacturing and expand employment for American car workers. Toyota had initially been planning to produce Corollas at its new $1bn plant currently under construction in Mexico, but this will now shift to the US. A new Mazda SUV crossover will also be made at the new US factory, with the two companies hoping production will begin in 2021. Toyota's Mexico plant will produce its Tacoma truck instead. The co-operation between Toyota and Mazda on developing electric vehicles comes as the industry adapts to the tightening of global emissions regulations. Toyota has set a goal for all of its vehicles to be zero emission by 2050. More carmakers are facing large research costs as they look to improve battery-powered cars. Toyota and Mazda also plan to work together on developing in-car information technologies and automated driving functions, as competition intensifies over the development of self-driving vehicles. As well as Toyota taking a 5% stake in Mazda, the tie-up will also see Mazda take a small stake in its larger rival. Toyota, Japan's biggest carmaker, has been forging alliances with smaller Japanese rivals for several years. It already owns a 16.5% stake in Subaru, where it has a development partnership. Toyota is also seeking some form of research and parts supply deal with Suzuki in an attempt to tap into its expertise in emerging Asian markets. Chris Richter, managing director of investment company CLSA, said: "By buying a 5% stake (in Mazda), Toyota takes Mazda off the table rather than having it sit out there like a free agent which could someday be used against them." Mazda also stands to gain a production stake in the US, which is its biggest market. At the moment it ships all vehicles sold in the US from its plants in Japan and Mexico. It, along with other Japanese rivals, also lacks the funds to develop electric cars on its own. Janet Lewis, head of Asia transportation research at Macquarie Securities, said: "Mazda needs electrification technology. "In the past they've pooh-poohed electric vehicles, they've felt that they can make internal combustion engines more efficient, but the bottom line is that globally you need to have this technology."

Japanese car giants Toyota and Mazda have teamed up to invest $1.6bn in a new car plant in the US.

England's Howell, 41, the world number 228, is on seven under, four behind joint leaders Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain and Australian Sam Brazel. Englishman Fleetwood is on nine under after a round of 67 and well placed for the final day. But it could have been even better for the 25-year-old who bogeyed the 18th. Howell's career highlight was beating Tiger Woods to win the to win the inaugural HSBC Champions in Shanghai in 2005 but he has struggled at times since and came to this event after six weeks off with a foot injury. He started the third day at Fanling on the cut mark of level par, but a run of birdie, birdie, eagle at the turn laid the platform for him to match the course record held jointly by Chris Wood and Lucas Bjerregaard. "This whole calendar year has been a real struggle for me with injury," Howell said. "Czech (Masters) and The Open, really, were the highlights of last season but it's been a while."

Former Ryder Cup player David Howell shot a course record-equalling 63 as Tommy Fleetwood launched a challenge at the Hong Kong Open.

Wearing shirts in the queen's colour - sky-blue - and emblazoned with "Bike for Mom", the cyclists paraded through streets closed to traffic. Many Thais outside the capital were expected to do the same. The queen - who turned 83 four days ago - is in very frail health, like the king, and will not be seen. Commentators say the 43km (27-mile) cycle is the first event to be publicly led by the prince, who is 63. About 300,000 people registered to join the ride. The crown prince was followed by other well-known figures including Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his cabinet. With sweltering heat and unforgiving traffic Bangkok is an unpromising setting for a cycling event, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. But against the odds, cycling has taken off as a hobby in recent years, and on Sunday the heir to the throne tapped into that craze. The prime minister said he hoped it would unite a country which is still divided over last year's military coup. Thai officials often quietly remind journalists that Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn is the undisputed heir to the throne, citing the 1924 palace succession law and his investiture in 1972. The harsh lese majeste law prevents any open discussion of the succession, but that has not stopped clandestine gossip in Thailand about "alternative scenarios", usually involving the crown prince's popular sister Princess Sirindhorn. This rare appearance at such a high-profile, public event by the Crown Prince - heavily promoted by the military government - will send out a clear signal that he has the backing of the armed forces, and that he can be a "man of the people", like his father. It also shows him as a loving and dutiful son. With King Bhumibol in increasingly frail health after 69 years on the throne, the military is pre-occupied with managing an orderly succession; indeed that may have been uppermost in the generals' minds when they launched last year's coup. On Sunday, Thais saw the heir to the throne, usually a remote figure, leading tens of thousands of eager cyclists in Bangkok, all paying tribute to his mother. Few will miss the symbolic importance of such an event. But it is the rare appearance at such a high-profile public event by the 63-year-old crown prince which will be noted by royal-watchers, our correspondent says. Many Thais are anxious about what happens after the death of 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, whose health is very frail. He is widely revered, but observers say the heir apparent does not command similar affection. This event is a chance to improve his public image and promote national unity. Organisers of the cycle ride are also attempting to set a new world record for the greatest number of people cycling at once. The record is currently held by Taiwan, with 72,919.

Thousands of Thai cyclists have joined Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn in a ride through Bangkok in honour of his mother, Queen Sirikit.

8 January 2016 Last updated at 02:39 GMT The idea is to let the owners have a more relaxed experienced when the vehicle is in self-drive mode. The automaker's head of user experience Holger Kampf showed the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones how it works. Read and watch more from CES and follow the BBC team covering the event on Twitter.

BMW is showing off a concept car at CES that lets its occupants use hand gestures to control its entertainment system and heating, and even send commands to their smart home kit from afar.

Mark Harbinson, 48, of Sheepwalk Road, Lisburn, has been charged with possession of a semi automatic pistol, a silencer and 28 rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life. The weapons were found by police on 21 December. As a result, Mr Harbinson fled to Dublin and then Cumbria before eventually handing himself in. Lisburn Magistrates' Court heard that police found the Makarov semi-automatic 9mm pistol in a biscuit tin hidden in the rafters in an outbuilding of Mr Harbinson's farm. Police claim Mr Harbinson's fingerprints have been found on the inside inside of the biscuit tin lid. Police said that Mr Harbinson was alerted to the fact that they were at his home, and he fled to Dublin. After staying there for a few days he got the boat to Holyhead, and then the train to Carlisle. He then stayed in a caravan behind an old friend's home in the village of Low Seaton in Cumbria. The PSNI then raided this address, along with Cumbrian Police on New Years Eve, but Mr Harbinson escaped again. A detective told the court that Mr Harbinson handed himself in later that day, 25 miles away having left his clothes, shoes, money, and passport in the caravan he had been staying in. The court also heard that between £3,000 and £5,000 worth of clean Bank of England notes, along with a bag of clothes, and a travel itinerary from Dublin to Cumbria were found in the caravan. The police officer also told the court that when questioned, Mr Harbinson said he could not explain why his fingerprint was inside the biscuit tin as "he didn't like those kind of biscuits anyway". His defence solicitor said although leaving Northern Ireland had been "stupidity in the highest form", it was simply because he had "gone into a blind panic" like a "kind of breakdown", as he was coming to the end of the license period for a previous crime of sexual offences against a child. He said that Mr Harbinson, who has a seven year old child, had money, clothes and a passport at his parents house because he has a lot of enemies in the area around his home. Mr Harbinson was remanded in custody as the judge ruled there were "real concerns" of flight risk, and because of the gravity of the charges. He is due to appear again in court later this month.

A prominent loyalist has been remanded in custody charged with firearm offences.

Boro opened the scoring after Gaston Ramirez was fouled in the box by Joel Lynch and captain Grant Leadbitter made no mistake from the spot. From the kick-off Ramirez collected a loose ball, rounded keeper Jed Steer and netted from a tight angle. The Uruguayan's curled free-kick from 25 yards in the second half rounded off a fine performance from Boro. Huddersfield enjoyed the majority of the early possession but the home side looked dangerous on the counter-attack as Ramirez set Jordan Rhodes free - only for the striker's shot to be tamely deflected into Steer's arms. And an exquisite turn in the box from the loanee midfielder outfoxed defender Lynch, to gift Boro the simplest of opening goals. Having failed to score in his five matches for Southampton this season prior to his move to the Riverside, Ramirez netted his fifth and sixth goals in a Boro shirt, with two goals of Premier League quality. Victory sees second-placed Boro secure three consecutive wins for the first time since December and they also have a game in hand on Burnley with seven matches left to play. The Terriers meanwhile remain eight points above the drop zone in 18th and look to have ensured another season in the Championship. Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka: "Gaston Ramirez was the player who changed everything. "For the first 25 minutes we looked as if we were playing for nothing. He was the difference between Huddersfield and us. "I think it was his best game for us. He scored, he worked and he came up with an assist for the penalty - the things we expected when he came here." Huddersfield head coach David Wagner: "The goals we conceded were too easy. Each of them were presents. "We lost the ball too easily and were not able to keep it as long as we usually do. "If you like to get a result against such a good team as Middlesbrough at this stage of the season - when they are very focused - then you have to make nearly everything right."

Middlesbrough eased past Huddersfield to move within just one point of Championship leaders Burnley.

The S-400 Triumph missile systems were earmarked for troops in Crimea last month, Russian media said at the time. Moscow also announced exercises in Crimea next week to simulate an attack by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, said this week it had foiled a Ukrainian sabotage mission. It accused the Ukrainian government in Kiev of trying to send saboteurs into Crimea and reported the deaths of a soldier and a secret police officer in an operation to foil the alleged plot. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow might be forced to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine if the crisis worsened. Denying the accusations, Ukraine placed its troops on alert along its de facto border with Crimea, and along its front line with Russian-backed rebels holding parts of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east. A column of Ukrainian tanks could be seen rolling towards Crimea on Friday. A statement by Russia's Southern Military District, which incorporates Crimea, said the missiles had been received by an air defence regiment in Crimea. According to the statement, quoted by Russian news agencies, the missiles were successfully tested on the Kapustin Yar test range in southern Russia. Russia's Interfax news agency says the missiles are designed to hit airborne targets at a range of up to 400km (249 miles) and ballistic missiles at a range of up to 60km, flying at speeds of up to 4.8km per second. The missiles are being installed in Crimea to protect Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria among other things, it adds. Last November, Russia deployed S-400s at Hmeimim, after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 bomber. The Russian defence ministry announced (in Russian) exercises in Crimea and the Volgograd region for 16-19 August to simulate the effect of an enemy attack using WMD. Radioactive, biological and chemical defence troops will be deployed in the manoeuvres, which will involve the use of Solntsepyok rocket systems in Volgograd, as well as an artificial smoke screen to block any surveillance. Separately, the ministry said (in Russian) it would be sending an additional 40 aircraft to the Southern Military District this year. Ukraine's envoy to the UN asked Russia on Thursday to prove its allegations, and said some 40,000 Russian troops were massed on the Crimea-Ukraine border. His Russian counterpart told the UN Security Council of Moscow's "concern and outrage" at the alleged incursions. Russian state TV broadcast an apparent confession by a man named as Yevhen Panov, saying he was part of a Ukrainian defence ministry force sent into Crimea "to carry out acts of sabotage". He said the group also included officers of Ukraine's military intelligence. Reports in Ukraine say Mr Panov is a former volunteer fighter who has more recently been associated with a charitable organisation called Heroes of Ukraine. Crimea was annexed by Russia after a majority of its mostly ethnic Russian population voted to secede in an unrecognised referendum on self-determination, held under military occupation. The annexation was relatively bloodless, in sharp contrast to the ferocious fighting which followed in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The Russian military has announced the delivery of new air defence missiles to Crimea, in a move scheduled before the latest tension with Ukraine.

Varela, 20, had a trial at Old Trafford last season and is David Moyes's first signing as Manchester United manager. The defender has made one appearance for Penarol but has nine caps for Uruguay's Under-20 side. "I'm very pleased to be a part of this club, one of the best in the world," he said after signing a five-year deal. "As everyone in the world knows, this is a huge club that has won everything and I really hope that continues." Varela is taking part in the Under-20 World Championships, which runs from 21 June to 13 July, in Turkey. Last week, Penarol head coach Jorge Da Silva, who is reported to have since resigned, said he believed the youngster has earned the move. Da Silva said: "This is what he deserves. It is a shame to see him go but you can't deny him the opportunity to join a club like this." Rafael was United's regular right-back last season, with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also featuring in the role.

Manchester United have completed the signing Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Varela from Atletico Penarol for an undisclosed fee.

"The FSA [Financial Services Authority] was stretched almost to breaking point." It is a comment given to one of the report's authors, Andrew Green, by Sir Hector Sants, the chief executive of the FSA from 2007 until 2012. Reading through both HBOS reports, time and again it is revealed that major questions about why a bank was engaged in reckless lending are missed. Opportunities to rein in excessive lending are rejected. And the option of starting proper investigations and enforcement actions into who might be "personally culpable" for failures lost as increasingly desperate attempts were made to keep the banking system on its feet. Indeed, Clive Adamson, the former director of supervision at the FSA, said that "the people most culpable were let off". Keeping the ATMs open became the focus for a regulator that was "facing a day-to-day survival game" in the banking system. That may be understandable in the teeth of a storm. But the fact that the storm was allowed to gain such ferocity before someone started asking if the flood defences were secure is important. And why it is worth studying closely today's reports on HBOS, even though for anyone who has looked at the investigations into the collapse of Northern Rock and Royal Bank of Scotland the criticisms will be wearily familiar. Of course, the failure of HBOS was ultimately down to the management and board of the bank. The bank rapidly increased lending to risky property ventures in Britain and abroad during a period of "almost uninterrupted economic growth". It seemed like a one-way bet that could not fail. HBOS financed that lending through what are known as the "wholesale markets" - funding provided by other banks. Increasing market share was the key. For a time it was hugely profitable - and flattered the bank's bottom line, much to the delight of investors. When questions were raised about the major problems inherent in this approach they were often rejected, as the "risk function" at HBOS was seen as far less important than the race to make ever higher profits When the property market started turning sour, HBOS was exposed. Wholesale funding started to dry up and "inappropriate risk taking" over many years was quickly revealed as unsustainable. So, where were the police officers? The stability of the bank was regulated by the FSA. "Overall the FSA's approach was too trusting of firms' management and insufficiently challenging," the Bank of England report into HBOS says. It also puts that in context, saying that "sustained political emphasis" during the era of the Labour government on "light-touch regulation" and the need to keep London "competitive" weighed heavily. It is worth repeating Paragraph 1117 (yes, there are an awful lot of them) in full. "It was inherently unlikely that senior leaders of the FSA would have proposed, before the first signs of the financial crisis, a supervisory approach which entailed higher capital and liquidity requirements, supervisory caps on rapid bank balance sheet growth, or intensive analysis of asset quality," the key paragraph says. "If they had, it is likely that their proposals would have been met by extensive complaints that the FSA was pursuing a heavy-handed 'gold-plating' approach which would harm London's competitiveness." Could it happen again? Of course, no-one can give an ultimate guarantee that any financial system is totally secure. But, certainly, the capital and liquidity requirements for banks today are far higher. And regulators are more intrusive. But, as some argue that regulation has gone too far, it is worth remembering the content of these two reports on the collapse of HBOS, the failure of the policing system and the ultimate cost that was paid by the public.

In one sentence, the major regulator of a crisis-ridden banking system reveals the truth about the chaos in the run-up to the financial crisis.

The stories of women running a gauntlet of sexual assault by young men have tapped into society's deepest fears. In just the city of Cologne, more than 500 cases of violence have been recorded, although not all were sexual attacks. The consensus in favour of accepting 1.1 million refugees was already fraying. Now the country is deeply uneasy and sharply divided. "Cologne has changed everything," said Volker Bouffier, vice-president of Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right CDU party. "People are now doubting." Women describe 'terrible' assaults Cologne mayor's 'code of conduct' attacked The search for answers What happened during the first hours of 2016 is likely to have a profound impact on the rest of Europe. Certainly the boldness of the assaults and the sense of a powerless state will haunt the victims, but what has also been lost is trust - the essential glue in any society. There is now a widely held suspicion that the political elite is not being candid with the German public. There was the inexplicably bland initial police report describing the evening in Cologne as a "relaxed atmosphere. Celebrations largely peaceful". It was on social media that news of the assaults first seeped out. When the Cologne police chief said that many of the young men who had been outside the train station that night had been of North African or Middle Eastern origin, politicians and officials were quick to say they were not drawn from the migrants who in recent months had sought asylum in Germany. It took the better part of a week to acknowledge that asylum seekers were among the suspects. The police certainly knew the reality of who had been on the streets. On the night some young men had shown police their asylum documents. An internal police report describes a man telling the police: "I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly. Mrs Merkel invited me". Certainly there is much that remains to be explained. Was this a co-ordinated event and, if so, who was behind it? The German justice minister believes it was organised, but for what purpose? Or was it just a gathering sparked by social media? It is also true that large public events like Oktoberfest have been marked by incidents of sexual assault without any migrants being present. Although the figures are not up to date, it does not appear so far that the crime rate among asylum seekers is higher than among similar groups in the native population. What has fuelled the sense of crisis is the suspicion - now widely held - that the German establishment is not telling the truth. The German public-service broadcaster ZDF did not mention the incidents in Cologne in its broadcast until last Tuesday, four days after the attacks. The broadcaster has now admitted it was a "clear misjudgement" and says that since then, it has been "over-whelmed with hate and anger". In parts of social media the idea of a "lying press" has taken root. Some German papers are quoting police sources saying they are under orders not to report crimes involving refugees. Many Muslims have spoken out against the assaults, but that has not stopped the main euro-sceptic party Alternativ fuer Deutschland warning against the disintegration of German culture. In the party's view, Angela Merkel has become a danger and Germany is being asked to compromise its basic values. The mayor of Cologne suggested it would be wise in future if women "kept men at arm's length". She insists her words were misunderstood. But there have been echoes elsewhere in Europe. The Viennese police chief Gerhard Pursti said that "women should in general not go into the streets alone in Vienna." This has caused an outcry, with women complaining that they are being asked to change their behaviour. Many of them feel torn; they are outraged but they don't want to lend any support to racist groups. Certainly Angela Merkel was quick to understand that these assaults threatened her whole refugee policy. Very early on in the crisis she said that "women's feeling of being completely defenceless is intolerable, also to me personally". She went on to say that "when crimes are committed, there must be consequences." The German government is examining changing the law to make it easier to deport those convicted of sexual assault but it is unclear how a refugee who has come from Syria could be deported back there. So pressure will build on Mrs Merkel to limit the numbers of refugees arriving. Already some of her political allies have demanded that. She has resisted but her political authority has been weakened by these events. In the short term, she has enough political capital to withstand the pressure but she will face further tests in the spring. There are three state elections and members of her party will watch closely how the CDU fares. And then, of course, the question is whether the warmer weather will increase the numbers arriving. Chancellor Merkel's long-stated belief is that migration is not a German problem, but a European one. It is not seen that way in parts of Eastern and Central Europe. An EU plan to implement quotas, to relocate refugees across the member states, has failed so far. Only a few hundred refugees have actually been moved. Mrs Merkel has placed a huge bet on Turkey helping to stem the flow of migrants in exchange for financial help and granting people from Turkey visa-free travel in parts of Europe. This week, senior European officials could not disguise their frustration with Turkey; they have seen little evidence of migrants being turned around at the Turkish border. Mrs Merkel has said that the passport-free zone, guaranteed by the Schengen agreement, can only work "if there is joint responsibility for protecting the external borders". It is hard to see how that will happen and, in any event, what is being talked about is an orderly system of registering those who qualify for asylum. It is not about reducing numbers. In the meantime checkpoints, border patrols and fences are springing up in different parts of Europe. Only this week border identity checks were introduced on the Oresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. It is the first time since 1958 that there have been border controls between the two countries. In the short term, both Brussels and the European establishment portray these measures as temporary. Certainly Europe's leaders will do all in their power to defend the Schengen guarantee of freedom of movement, a key pillar of European integration but the migrant crisis is not receding. Even in mid-winter, 3,000-4,000 migrants are arriving each day in Germany. So already in these early days of 2016 the debate about the wisdom of sanctioning large-scale migration in Europe has been re-kindled. Mrs Merkel herself - in the past - has questioned whether integration is working. Once again there are fears of parallel societies taking root with different cultural rules. You can sometimes feel that in the banlieues around Paris or in parts of Brussels. But then in parts of London, you see groups of young people hanging out together - regardless of background or creed. The question for Germany is not just how to protect women without curtailing their lives but how to restore trust with ordinary Germans that they are being told the truth. It is a question that resonates across Europe. It is hard to think of a series of events so likely to feed the narrative of Europe's anti-establishment and populist parties that an elite is misleading the people.

The events in Cologne and other cities over New Year have left a deep imprint in Germany.

Ian Cumming will offer a pie to anyone who disembarks at Cambridgeshire's Shippea Hill station on Christmas Eve. But with just two trains during the day - 12 hours apart - mince pie fans will have to find alternative means to get home or commit to a day in the Fens. The station was used just 12 times in the last financial year. Mr Cumming, a travel photographer from Great Wilbraham in Cambridgeshire, said he and his family planned to board the 07:00 service from Cambridge, arriving at Shippea Hill 25 minutes later. Anybody who gets off at the station with him will get one of his mince pies. "But they have got to get off and stay off - they can't just hop off and get back on again," Mr Cumming said. He encouraged people to either run or cycle back - or to ask a "nice person" to pick them up. Otherwise, they will have to wait for the next train at 19:27 GMT. He said: "It's just a bit of fun for Christmas Eve. "Have a pie and get a bit of exercise at the same time." Mr Cumming, a Great British Bake Off finalist in 2015, will be making a total of 38 mince pies, some with a Viennese topping. If all 38 are earned by travellers, Shippea Hill stands a good chance of relegating its nearest rival - Greater Manchester's Reddish South - into the quietest station slot. With just one train in and one train out at Shippea Hill on Christmas Eve, those taking advantage of Ian Cumming's mince pie offer could have some time to fill. So if you enjoy a walk then you are in luck, because Shippea Hill is surrounded by countryside - although not much else. The most notable attraction in the surrounding region is the cathedral city of Ely, a mere two-and-a-half hour walk away. The cathedral dates back to 1083 and is known locally as "the ship of the Fens" because of its prominent position above the surrounding flat landscape. But other than that, well... there's always the pub. Littleport and Lakenheath - both less than six miles (9.6km) away - probably provide the most accessible options for food and drink.

A former Great British Bake Off finalist is to serve mince pies at England's quietest railway station in a bid to boost passenger numbers.

Holyrood's welfare reform committee warned that the implementation of a distinctive Scottish system would require a "huge culture shift". The committee has been investigating the future delivery of social security. This is in light of new powers over welfare being devolved to the Scottish Parliament. In a report setting out their conclusions, MSPs called for an overhaul of the current approach to ensure that "the same dignity and respect that is normally offered to NHS patients is offered to benefit claimants". They said: "Witnesses suggested that elements of the current system appear to operate under an umbrella philosophy which regards those on social security universally as 'skivers'. "The welfare reform committee rejects this narrative and believes that it is neither realistic nor helpful. "We believe that a new Scottish social security system requires a huge culture shift." MSPs said the new system should be non-punitive, with sanctions used only as a last resort, and much more accessible with clear and simple communication in plain English. The committee recommends the introduction of long-term disability living allowance and personal independence payment awards for people with severe, long-term disability or illness and supports the Scottish government's proposed increase in carer's allowance to at least the amount paid in jobseekers allowance. The report also calls for the housing element of universal credit to be paid fortnightly, direct to landlords, and for the Scottish government to use the new powers to immediately abolish the so-called "bedroom tax". Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said: "We agree with the welfare reform committee that the current welfare system is in need of a significant overhaul. "Its comprehensive report supports our aims of ensuring our new social security powers will treat people with respect and dignity, and be delivered in a fair and efficient way but there is also a need for the UK government to do more to improve the benefits it will continue to deliver."

A new Scottish welfare system must move away from the negative stereotyping of benefit claimants as "skivers", MSPs have said.

The Crown Estate said that leasing the sites for technology development was "critical" for the UK to unlock the potential of wave and tidal energy. First Minister Carwyn Jones said the benefits could be significant in terms of the economy and renewable energy. Wales's first commercial tidal energy farm is due to launch off Anglesey in summer 2016. Its electricity generators will operate like wind turbines but with blades driven by tidal wave action. Menter Mon and Wave Hub were confirmed by the Crown Estate as managers for the west Anglesey tidal and south Pembrokeshire wave demonstration zones respectively. They will prepare and manage the sites for sub-letting to developers. In addition, development rights for a tidal site off Holyhead Deep have been granted to Minesto. Rob Hastings, director of energy and infrastructure at the Crown Estate said: "By providing these additional seabed rights we are pleased to be enabling further technology development and commercialisation, which will be critical if the UK is to unlock its significant natural resources for wave and tidal current energy. "This innovative approach to leasing the seabed sees us responding to market demand and introducing managed demonstration zones to give other organisations the opportunity to lend tangible support in their local areas." First Minster Carwyn Jones said: "The energetic waters off our coast are ideal for marine renewable energy projects. "Our ports, supply-chain infrastructure and grid infrastructure also put us in an enviable position for developing a thriving marine energy market, both as a significant generator and as an exporter of marine energy knowledge, technologies and services." Gareth Clubb, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru said: "To having testing sites approved for marine renewable energy is a significant step forward."

Sites for testing wave and tidal energy off the west coast of Anglesey and south Pembrokeshire have been approved.

Media playback is not supported on this device One bookmaker has suspended betting on the Republic of Ireland assistant taking over from outgoing Celtic boss Ronny Deila, although it is understood the club are still interviewing candidates and no decision is imminent. "He's hard but fair. What you see is really is what you get," said Gordon. "If he was appointed, I'm sure he would do well and he would be successful." Gordon played under Keane at Sunderland having been signed by the Irishman from Hearts in a deal totalling £9m in 2007. "I know how he liked things to run at Sunderland," Gordon added. "He was an aggressive player, he wanted to win every match and, from what I've seen, he is exactly the same as a manager." Norwegian Deila announced on 20 April he would leave the club, before a fifth straight Scottish title was secured on Sunday. Gordon is not surprised to see big names linked with the Celtic job and believes plenty of top-class managers would be interested in taking over the Scottish champions. "It's a big job for anybody. It's a big club, a massive club," he said. "There are a lot of good managers out there that would see Celtic as being a really good job and a good prospect to go on and do something pretty special, winning trophies and playing in European competitions. "There's not that many clubs in Britain that are capable of doing that."

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon says Roy Keane's "hard but fair" approach would be successful at the Glasgow club.

The ex-Great Britain and England international died at the age of 68 on 2 May. A service was held at St Mary's Church in Kippax, near Leeds, at 11:45 BST before his cremation in Pontefract. Rugby league star Johnny Whiteley MBE was among former teammates and fans who attended his funeral. Speaking ahead of the service, the ex-Hull FC player and coach described Millward as "the best rugby league all round player I've ever seen in my life". "I've played with the best and coached the best and, like I've always said, if I had a son Roger Millward would've been that man," Whiteley said. Hull KR's chairman Neil Hudgell said: "Sleep tight Roger the Dodger, the greatest Robin ever." The club said his family had asked for donations to be made to three charities - Yorkshire Cancer Research, the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund and the Rugby League Benevolent Fund. Speaking after his death, Mr Hudgell said: "There is no doubt Roger will go down in history as Hull KR's greatest ever player, coach and captain and an all-time legend of the game. "At his peak, he was a player blessed with exceptional skills, outstanding leadership qualities and genuine bravery. He was also a true gentlemen of the game who remained very close to the club in his later years." Millward made 406 appearances for Hull KR, scoring a club record 207 tries and kicking 607 goals. He was awarded the MBE for his services to the sport in 1983 and inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2000. After his retirement from playing, he coached the Robins for 11 seasons, winning six trophies.

About 1,000 mourners have paid their respects at the funeral of former Castleford and Hull Kingston Rovers stand-off Roger Millward.

After the robbery at Winsor Bishop in the city's London Street on 5 August dozens of passers-by filmed the raiders trying to escape on scooters. Five men and a boy, 17, were dealt with at Norwich Crown Court. The men made their pleas via video-link from Norwich Prison while the youth appeared before the court in person. They are due to be sentenced for robbery at the same court on 25 September. The five men are Alfredo Rojasvargas, 24, Bradley McMillan, 22, Mark Moloney, also 22, all from Islington, and Tommy McKenzie, 25, and Curtis Bradbury, 21, both from Hillingdon. The teenager cannot be named for legal reasons. The prosecution said it was an organised and targeted raid.

Members of a gang from London have admitted carrying out a raid on a Norwich jewellers in which more than £30,000 worth of watches were taken.

Mention his name to a Northern Irish football fan under the age of 50 and you're likely to draw a blank. But the family of Jackie Vernon remember his successes very well and a scrapbook of his glory days, put together by a close friend, is a treasured tribute to him. Vernon played for Belfast Celtic and West Bromwich Albion, and had more than 20 caps for playing at international level for Northern Ireland, Ireland and a Great Britain XI. The painstakingly assembled wooden book has everything from cartoons and photographs to clippings and original letters, and dates from 1942 when the centre half was playing for the now defunct Belfast Celtic club. The scrapbook, which has been looked after by the family since Jackie's death, has been lost and misplaced many times but always found its way back to Jackie's nephew Jim Peel. Not only does the book track Vernon's rise through the ranks of football from the 1940s to the 1950s, but it is also a portal in to the world of football before champagne and Ferraris were the norm. John Joseph Vernon was born in Belfast in 1918 and was destined to become a butcher, not an international centre-half. But a little thing like the family business wasn't going to stop "Sausage" Vernon, as the press took to calling him. He learnt his trade in the family butchers on the Springfield Road, all the while playing for local clubs Spearmint FC and Dundela. Vernon turned down the chance to sign with Liverpool in the early 1930s, and instead bided his time until Belfast Celtic came knocking. By 1939, he was playing for Belfast Celtic's first team and was a constant on the pitch. Padraig Coyle, the Chairman of the Belfast Celtic museum, says that Jackie probably turned down Liverpool because he was waiting for the opportunity to play for Belfast Celtic. "Everyone wanted to play for them then. It's hard to explain now what that team meant to people in west Belfast," he said. "The best way to sum it up is with the supporters phrase: 'when we had nothing we had Belfast Celtic, and then we had everything'." It was around this time, in 1942, that Vernon's career began to be chronicled in the meticulous wooden scrapbook. Paper cuttings and photos show the centre-half's success with Belfast Celtic and his move in 1947 to West Bromwich Albion, when he was sold for £10,000. That doesn't sound much when you compare it with the recent world record signing by Manchester United of Paul Pogba for £89m. But the Vernon signing to West Bromwich Albion was a club record at the time. Paper cuttings from the scrapbook proclaim that the fee was well deserved as Vernon was "the best pivot in Britain", "the greatest centre-half in present-day football". In the present day, Padraig Coyle calls Vernon "one of the most talented defenders to ever come out of Irish football, he would definitely be playing in the Premier League today". He adds: "He had a footballing brain that was ahead of his time. He was a tactician when no one else was." Jim Peel says his uncle would have earned about £10 a week at West Bromwich: "It was a small fortune for a former butcher's boy, it was five times what a tradesman would have earned." Today the average premier league footballer earns £22,000 a week. At West Brom, Vernon captained the team to promotion into the English first division. During his time in the West Midlands Jim Peel says Vernon would have been a big draw. "The Irish immigrants living around Birmingham would have flocked to see Vernon, he was a hero and would have been very well known to them." By 1952 Vernon was back in the Irish League as a player-manager at Crusaders, guiding the team to victory in the Ulster Cup in 1954. He returned to his work as a butcher at the end of that season. Throughout his club career Vernon also played internationally and was one of the few footballers to play for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Great Britain teams. Appearing as he did for these teams meant he played with and against some of the brightest stars of his day. Matt Busby, Stanley Matthews, Charlie Tully; these were Jackie's contemporaries. This international career also meant that Vernon had the opportunity to travel, playing in Portugal and Spain in 1946. It was on this trip that Jackie would play in front of Franco. The extensive scrapbook detailing Vernon's footballing career has gained something of a cult reputation in Belfast Celtic circles and with those fascinated by Belfast's football history. Jim Peel is clearly proud to be the keeper of the book. "It's so unusual because it's a record, there were no videos of players then, no internet," he said. "I've looked after it over the years. "People would ask for a lend of it and it would end up God knows where, we've lost it a few times but we've always gotten it back. "The book has just about survived over the years." Padraig Coyle has looked after plenty of footballing memorabilia as it has passed through the Belfast Celtic museum, but nothing to equal the scrapbook. "I have never seen anything like this, it's so detailed, and it's such a resource," he said. "The condition that it's in is incredible. "For a football fan it's just beautiful." After Vernon retired he was still a local celebrity, his nephew remembers the effect he had on people. "When I was very young I used to go scouting with Jackie and everyone in the crowd would shout and wave at him," he said. "When he was in the shop the world stopped and waved at him as they went by. "He was a humble man. Jackie Vernon, Tommy Breen, Charlie Tully, these people lived among their communities." Mr Peel explained why he has treasured the scrapbook over the years. "I was a history teacher for a while, I know the importance of holding on to these kinds of things, someone needs to remember," he said. "But as the old song goes 'year after year their numbers get fewer and fewer'."

Jackie Vernon may be one of the greatest Belfast footballers you've never heard of.

Goalkeeper Patrik Carlgren's save from William Carvalho proved decisive. Portugal dominated possession for much of the game and Sergio Oliveira hit the bar, but the teams could not be separated after two hours of football. Both sides had each missed a penalty in the shootout before Carlgren dived to his right to deny Carvalho. Sweden were just minutes from elimination earlier in the tournament, before a late equaliser against Portugal saw them progress from a group in which England finished bottom. A final victory had looked unlikely for most of the first 90 minutes, as Rui Jorge's Portugal team underlined their status as favourites. But they failed to take their chances, despite dominating possession and creating the more clear-cut openings in a contest that took time to come to life. Sweden struggled to cope with their opponents' pace and movement, as Ricardo hit the side netting with an early left-foot shot from the edge of the area. Oliveira came even closer inside the opening 10 minutes, the midfielder striking the bar with a long-range free-kick after a foul on Carvalho by Abdullah Khalili. Joao Mario saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Alexander Milosevic after the forward connected with a cross from Ricardo Esgaio, as the Swedes were forced back for long periods. The best they could manage in reply was a tame header from Isaac Kiese Thelin, as the unmarked forward met Khalili's cross at the far post but failed to test keeper Jose Sa. Sweden began to assert themselves more in the second half, Thelin providing a neat lay-off to John Guidetti, whose volley flew narrowly over from the edge of the box. Carlgren remained the busier keeper, and was forced into a hurried save by Toze. Within seconds, Iuri Medeiros cut in from the right to send a low curling effort inches wide. The Swedes finished the 90 minutes strongly, and Sa had to spread himself well to keep out a low close range shot from Guidetti after the forward found a way past two defenders with five minutes left. Thelin's curled effort almost brought the game's first goal in the first period of extra-time, as the chances dried up and penalties loomed. After the first five were converted, Carlgren saved from regular Portuguese spot kick taker Esgaio. Khalili failed to press home the advantage when his effort was saved, but after Victor Lindelof restored Sweden's lead, Carlgren comfortably kept out Carvalho's tired penalty to settle the contest. Match ends, Sweden U21 0(4), Portugal U21 0(3). Penalty Shootout ends, Sweden U21 0(4), Portugal U21 0(3). Penalty saved! William Carvalho (Portugal U21) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner. Goal! Sweden U21 0(4), Portugal U21 0(3). Nilsson-Lindelöf (Sweden U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal. Goal! Sweden U21 0(3), Portugal U21 0(3). João Mário (Portugal U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal. Penalty saved! Abdul Khalili (Sweden U21) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner. Penalty saved! Ricardo Esgaio (Portugal U21) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner. Goal! Sweden U21 0(3), Portugal U21 0(2). Ludwig Augustinsson (Sweden U21) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top right corner. Goal! Sweden U21 0(2), Portugal U21 0(2). Tozé (Portugal U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner. Goal! Sweden U21 0(2), Portugal U21 0(1). Isaac Thelin (Sweden U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal. Goal! Sweden U21 0(1), Portugal U21 0(1). Gonçalo Paciência (Portugal U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. Goal! Sweden U21 0(1), Portugal U21 0. John Guidetti (Sweden U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner. Penalty Shootout begins Sweden U21 0, Portugal U21 0. Second Half Extra Time ends, Sweden U21 0, Portugal U21 0. Attempt saved. Tozé (Portugal U21) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Iuri Medeiros. Attempt blocked. Gonçalo Paciência (Portugal U21) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Raphael Guerreiro with a cross. Nilsson-Lindelöf (Sweden U21) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Gonçalo Paciência (Portugal U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Nilsson-Lindelöf (Sweden U21). Joseph Baffo (Sweden U21) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Iuri Medeiros (Portugal U21) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Joseph Baffo (Sweden U21). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match Patrick Carlgren (Sweden U21) because of an injury. Foul by Gonçalo Paciência (Portugal U21). Patrick Carlgren (Sweden U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Tozé (Portugal U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Abdul Khalili (Sweden U21). Second Half Extra Time begins Sweden U21 0, Portugal U21 0. First Half Extra Time ends, Sweden U21 0, Portugal U21 0. Attempt missed. Abdul Khalili (Sweden U21) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Robin Quaison. Paulo Oliveira (Portugal U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by John Guidetti (Sweden U21). Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Sweden U21) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick. Foul by Tiago Ilori (Portugal U21). John Guidetti (Sweden U21) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Attempt missed. Isaac Thelin (Sweden U21) header from a difficult angle on the left misses to the left. Assisted by Oscar Hiljemark with a cross. Attempt saved. Gonçalo Paciência (Portugal U21) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Raphael Guerreiro. Attempt missed. Oscar Lewicki (Sweden U21) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Oscar Hiljemark with a cross following a corner. Corner, Sweden U21. Conceded by João Mário.

Sweden secured their first European Under-21 Championship title thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Portugal in the Czech Republic.

Despite its relative stability, the region has endured armed conflict, and grabbed the world headlines with an upsurge in pirate attacks on international shipping in the Indian Ocean. Puntland is a destination for many Somalis displaced by violence in the south. Unlike its neighbour, breakaway Somaliland, Puntland says it does not seek recognition as an independent entity, wishing instead to be part of a federal Somalia. The territory takes its name from the Land of Punt, a centre of trade for the ancient Egyptians and a place shrouded in legend. Population 2.4 million Major languages Somali, Arabic Major religion Islam Life expectancy n/a Currency Somali shilling President: Abdiweli Mohamed Ali "Gas" This US-trained economist beat the incumbent Abdirahman Muhammad Mahmud "Farole" by one vote in parliament to become the president of the Puntland autonomous region in January 2014. Mr Gas, who was born in north-central Somalia in 1965 and holds US and Somali joint citizenship, served as prime minister of Somalia in 2011-2012 In the post, oversaw steady progress to drive back the Al-Shabab Islamist militia and to strengthen the central government's remit. Although Puntland's charter provides for freedom of the press, the authorities have resorted to detaining journalists and closing media outlets. Private broadcasters are permitted to operate. No newspapers are currently published in Puntland. 17th-19th century - The area of current Puntland is ruled by the Sultanate of Majeerteen - a major trading power. 1888-9 - Majeerteen and the rival sultanate of Hobyo become Italian protectorates. 1920s - Both sultanates are annexed to Italian Somaliland. 1960 - Puntland becomes part of a united Somalia with the independence and merger of Italian Somaliland (modern-day Somaliland)and British Somaliland. 1998 - Puntland region declares autonomy after the rest of Somalia collapses into anarchy, but does not seek independence. 2005-2012 - Pirates - mainly operating out of Puntland - pose a major menace to shipping off the Somali coast, before falling away as a threat as a result of an international naval operation.

Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia, declared itself an autonomous state in August 1998, in part to avoid the clan warfare engulfing southern Somalia.

Manav Arora, 37, from Birmingham, performed oral sex on the man, who had limited movement, while inserting a catheter. The married father of three was convicted at a trial at Norwich Crown Court in September. He was working at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital when the incident happened in September last year. Arora was also given a sexual harm prevention order prohibiting him from working in any medical capacity with access to patients for 10 years. The victim, who cannot named to protect his identity, said he was assaulted behind a curtain on a busy hospital ward as five other patients lay nearby. In sentencing at King's Lynn Crown Court, Judge Guy Ayers said: "There is a high level of trust between doctor and patient and you betrayed that trust. "The victim was incapable of much physical movement, as he was in great pain, and was in no position to prevent what was happening." The trial also heard from two men who claim they were assaulted in the same way by Arora at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, four years earlier. After the verdict, prosecutor Andrew Shaw said Arora had also been suspended in 2005 after a similar accusation was made at a hospital in Portsmouth. Indian-born Arora also received a caution from West Midlands Police after being caught engaging in a sex act with another man in Sandwell Valley Park near West Bromwich less than two weeks after the incident in Norwich. Alan Jenkins, for Arora, said he would be struck off by the General Medical Council, and added it was highly unlikely he would ever work in the medical profession in this country again.

A locum doctor has been jailed for two years for sexually assaulting a male patient he was treating in hospital.

14 April 2015 Last updated at 06:44 BST The high-tech cook can chop ingredients, mix food in a pan and do the washing up afterwards. It's been designed by a London based company and shown off at a technology fair for new gadgets. The robo-chef learns how to perform kitchen duties by capturing the movements of a human in the action of preparing a meal. These movements are then turned into commands that drive an intelligent pair of robot hands. But the product is still two years away from being available to buy in shops.

The prototype for an all-action robot chef has been revealed in Germany.

Graham Clark top-scored with 63 not out after being dropped twice, adding 83 with Paul Collingwood before rain came. Andrew Salter's career-best of 75 meant that Glamorgan led by 11 on first innings, adding 192 for their last four wickets as they ended 353 all out. He was supported by Marchant de Lange (30) and Michael Hogan, who hit 29 not out in a last-wicket stand of 74. Salter's innings just passed his previous best of 73 against Gloucestershire, also at St Helen's in 2015, as he smashed eight fours and three sixes. Seamer Paul Coughlin finished with 4-87 while opening bowlers Chris Rushworth and James Weighell shared the other six wickets. Durham then slipped to 75-3 when England Test opener Keaton Jennings was adjudged lbw to David Lloyd's first ball. But Clark and first-innings centurion Collingwood repaired the damage, Clark riding his luck in particular when De Lange spilled a skied catch, before reaching his 50 off 97 balls with nine fours. Durham's impetus was halted when bad light and rain intervened at 17:20 BST, and more poor weather is expected overnight. Glamorgan's Andrew Salter told BBC Wales Sport: "It's funny how I've had both my best innings here in Swansea and also make my debut here as well, so it's one of my favourite grounds. "I'm very delighted with my performance, but more so because it put us in a position where we could get slightly ahead with that last partnership. "The wicket's quite flat, but as sometimes happens in Swansea a couple of wickets fall quickly and the game moves forward, it's a tricky one to suss out. "It'll be interesting to see how they play it, especially with losing some time (to the weather)." Durham batsman Graham Clark: "First hour this morning we were really good, we put Glamorgan under pressure and credit to their tail-end, they put us under pressure and it swung back in their favour to take the lead which looked unlikely overnight. "But we've had a good period then to push it back in our favour. "When (the chance to de Lange) went in the air, I thought that was over for me but luckily he put it down and I could take my chance and carry on. "I think we'll just be batting (normally) in the morning, there won't be huge pressure to score quickly for the first hour and we'll see where we are."

Durham lead Glamorgan by 147 runs going into the final day after reaching 158-3 in their second innings at Swansea

The bus collided head-on with a goods vehicle near the city of Khairpur in Sindh province, officials say. The bus was travelling overnight from Swat, in the north-west, to the port city of Karachi. Deadly accidents are common on Pakistan's roads - often caused by reckless driving, poorly maintained surfaces or unsuitable vehicles. The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Islamabad says that most of those killed in the accident early on Tuesday morning were women and children. At least 15 people were injured - some seriously - and are being treated in hospital. Medical Superintendent of the Khairpur district hospital Ghulam Jaffar Soomro told Geo TV that it looked as if the bus overturned at high speed. Police say there were 65 passengers in the bus and that a morning fog which covered the highway at the time of the collision could have played a part in the accident.

At least 50 people have been killed in an accident involving a bus and a truck in southern Pakistan.

Lt Gen Gadi Eisenkot said Israeli intelligence had similarly concluded that Mustafa Amine Badreddine was assassinated by his own men. He was killed by a blast near Damascus, which the militant Lebanese Shia group blamed on Sunni extremist rebels. Badreddine was believed to have run the group's operations in Syria since 2011. Hezbollah is heavily involved in the country's civil war, deploying thousands of fighters in support of President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier this month, the pan-Arab news network al-Arabiya said its investigation into Badreddine's death had concluded that the commander was killed on the orders of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The report said Hassan Nasrallah was put under pressure to remove Badreddine by Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite overseas operations arm and a key adviser to the Syrian military. Israeli intelligence believes Badreddine was in conflict with Iranian military commanders there, according to the Associated Press news agency. At the time of his death on 13 May 2016, Hezbollah said Badreddine had been killed by an explosion at one of its bases near Damascus airport. An initial report by Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV said the 55 year old had died in an Israeli air strike. But a later statement by Hezbollah published by its al-Manar news site did not mention Israel. Israel did not comment on any alleged involvement. Hezbollah and Israel are sworn enemies and fought a 33-day war in 2006. Israel is believed to have carried out multiple air strikes on weapons convoys in Syria destined for the group, and to have killed senior Hezbollah operatives, though it does not comment on such claims. On Tuesday, Gen Eisenkot said the Arab media reports that Hezbollah had killed Badreddine matched the "intelligence we have". He added that the killing reflected "the depth of the internal crisis within Hezbollah". Badreddine was a cousin and brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyeh, who was the commander of Hezbollah's military wing until his assassination by car bomb in Damascus in 2008 - reportedly the result of a joint operation by Israel's Mossad spy agency and the US Central Intelligence Agency. Badreddine himself was charged by prosecutors at The Hague with masterminding the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a huge car bomb blast in Beirut in February 2005.

The Israeli military's chief of staff has added weight to Arab media reports that Hezbollah was behind the killing of its own commander in Syria in 2016.

The 22-year-old, who had a spell on loan at St Mirren in 2014, was released this summer after 11 years at City. "He is a boy with a massive point to prove," Well boss Steve Robinson told the club website. "There were high hopes for him when he was younger but he has had injury problems, so we hope to give him a platform to get back to where he was." Plummer can play a number of positions in defence and has also featured as a holding midfielder. "I'm delighted," he said. "I was desperate for a new challenge and I think this is the perfect place for me. "I had a taste of Scottish football from my time at St Mirren and I really enjoyed it. It's very competitive but I think that suits me." Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

Motherwell have signed former Manchester City defender Ellis Plummer on a season-long contract.

Media playback is unsupported on your device 4 March 2015 Last updated at 07:22 GMT More than 150 firefighters have been battling the flames, which have destroyed some people's homes and turned huge areas of plants to ash. Authorities are planning to bring in another 250 extra firefighters from other parts of the country. No-one has been killed but some people had to have treatment after breathing in smoke and for minor burns. A firefighter was also hurt by an explosion and taken to hospital. The fire began on Sunday, and strong winds have fanned the flames, spreading the destruction. Wildfires are common in the area at this time of year but this fire is one of the worst in recent years.

Wildfires have been burning for several days on Table Mountain, near Cape Town in South Africa.

JP Morgan Chase and American Express were among the biggest risers on the Dow Jones index, up 2.01% and 1% respectively. Overall, the Dow was up 141.49 points or 0.66% at 21,452.15. The broader-based S&P 500 was 21.31 points or 0.88% higher at 2,440.69, while the tech-focused Nasdaq was up 87.79 points or 1.43% at 6,234.41.

Wall Street shares closed higher on Wednesday, with financial stocks leading the way.

Dr Ian Paterson denies 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man at Nottingham Crown Court. He said he had never told alleged victims they had "a ticking bomb" of cancer inside them. He said the phrase appears in three witness statements which was "clear evidence" statements have been coached. "It's a scary thing, why would I intentionally scare a patient, that you've got a time bomb?" he said. More updates on this and other stories in Birmingham and the Black Country The 59-year-old also said one patient, John Ingram, who had a double mastectomy after tests showed only potentially abnormal cells, was a "quivering mass of anxiety", convinced he would get cancer. Nothing he told him would have changed his mind, Mr Paterson said. Mr Ingram gave evidence saying Mr Paterson, who worked at hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Trust and Spire Healthcare, told him in 2006 he was "on the road to developing breast cancer". But Mr Paterson, of Ashley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, said on Wednesday that Mr Ingram's memory had become "confused" over time. He described his patient as a "troubled gentleman with multiple phobias - one of them breast cancer, because his mother had died of breast cancer, aged 42". "So the minute he had an abnormality in his chest wall, in his head he was on the way to getting breast cancer," he said. "Very little I told him thereafter would disavow him of that view." Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC asked whether it was "quite wrong" to say he would "travel in time towards cancer". Mr Paterson said: "I doubt I said that, simply because nobody has a crystal ball." The trial continues.

A breast surgeon accused of carrying out unnecessary operations has told a court that witness statements against him have been "coached".

Tom Condliff, 62, of Stoke-on-Trent, lost his Court of Appeal battle to make North Staffordshire PCT pay for the procedure on Wednesday. He said he needed the operation to save his life after becoming obese from the drugs he takes for long-term diabetes. The Supreme Court has now rejected his application for a hearing. Mr Condliff's solicitor Oliver Wright confirmed the refusal saying "it is the end of the line." He said: "We could go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but that will take years and he will be dead well before that. "He is a dying man. His doctors in April this year gave him about a year." The grandfather has a body mass index (BMI) of 43 - not high enough under his PCT's rules to qualify for surgery. Only patients with a BMI above 50 are routinely treated with weight loss surgery in North Staffordshire. Mr Condliff's lawyers had argued that the PCT had applied a funding policy which was legally flawed and breached his human rights. He lost a High Court battle over the PCT's decision not to fund the operation in April. On Wednesday, Appeal Court judges expressed sympathy for Mr Condliff saying: "Anyone in his situation would feel desperate." But they maintained the PCT "on proper medical advice does not consider his condition to be exceptional for someone with his diabetes, obesity and co-morbidities". Mr Condliff also argued that it was also more cost effective for the NHS if he had the procedure. The operation costs £5,500 and his current treatment costs at least £30,000 and will rise as his condition worsens, his solicitor said. He suffers from 13 illnesses, takes 28 different drugs and uses breathing masks and inhalers.

A 22-stone ex-policeman cannot appeal to the Supreme Court in an attempt to get a health authority to fund "life-saving" obesity surgery.

Campaigners want to turn the building, in Clifton, Bristol, into a one-stop shop for a host of everyday items. The Friends of Clifton Centre and Library (FOCCAL) told the Bristol Post the project would benefit people with limited space at home. They hope turning the service into a "library of things" will protect it from future cost-cutting measures. Clifton library - which recently had its hours cut - also hosts craft sessions and relaxation classes. Councillor Paula O'Rourke said people had told her they wanted to keep the library open but they realised it had to move with the times. "In the 1930s libraries used to lend out pictures so people that couldn't afford them could put them up on their walls," the Green councillor for Clifton said. "Then they started loaning books, videos, CDs and DVDs so now we thought in the future we could look at a library of things. "People don't always have the space for garden tools, power washers, hammers or travel cots in small flats," she added. Ms O'Rourke said she also hoped people would volunteer to help run writing workshops, craft classes or just organise board game sessions for the elderly or lonely with cheap tea and coffee for sale. FOCCAL was set up in response to previous plans to shut seven of the city's libraries in an attempt to save £1.1m. But after public consultation the plans were revisited and a compromise reached with reduced opening hours.

Power washers, garden tools and travel cots could soon be loaned out alongside books and CDs from a city library.

It take its name from the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, where the agreement was signed in 1985. It took effect in 1995. The first member states were Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Now there are 26 Schengen countries - 22 EU members and four non-EU. Those four are Iceland and Norway (since 2001), Switzerland (since 2008) and Liechtenstein (since 2011). After the initial five came Italy (1990), Portugal and Spain (1991), Greece (1992), Austria (1995), and Denmark, Finland and Sweden in 1996. Nine more EU countries joined in 2007, after the EU's eastward enlargement in 2004. They are: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Only six of the 28 EU member states are outside the Schengen zone - Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the UK. The EU explains the evolution of Schengen here. Andorra and San Marino are not part of Schengen, but they no longer have checks at their borders. There is no date yet for Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, or for Bulgaria and Romania (joined in 2007) or Croatia (joined in 2013). The UK and Republic of Ireland have opted out. The UK wants to maintain its own borders, and Dublin prefers to preserve its free movement arrangement with the UK - called the Common Travel Area - rather than join Schengen. The UK and Ireland began taking part in some aspects of the Schengen agreement, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), from 2000 and 2002 respectively. The SIS enables police forces across Europe to share data on law enforcement. It includes data on stolen cars, court proceedings and missing persons. Schengen is often criticised by nationalists and Eurosceptics who say it is an open door for migrants and criminals. The 13 November Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, prompted an urgent rethink of the Schengen agreement. There was alarm that killers had so easily slipped into Paris from Belgium, and that some had entered the EU with crowds of migrants via Greece. In 2015, the influx of more than a million migrants - many of them Syrian refugees - also greatly increased the pressure on politicians, and one after another, EU states re-imposed temporary border controls. In December, the European Commission proposed a major amendment to Schengen, expected to become law soon. Most non-EU travellers have their details checked against police databases at the EU's external borders. The main change is that the rule will apply to EU citizens as well, who until now had been exempt. Non-EU nationals who have a Schengen visa generally do not have ID checks once they are travelling inside the zone, but since the Paris atrocity those checks have become more common. Under the Schengen rules, signatories may reinstate internal border controls for 10 days, if this has to be done immediately for "public policy or national security" reasons. If the problem continues, the controls can be maintained for "renewable periods" of up to 20 days and for a maximum of two months. The period is longer in cases where the threat is considered "foreseeable". The controls can be maintained for renewable periods of up to 30 days, and for a maximum of six months. An extension of two years maximum is allowed under Article 26 of the Schengen Borders Code, in "exceptional circumstances". In the Schengen zone, currently six states have border controls in place: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. Hungary's controls affect its borders with two non-Schengen states: Croatia and Serbia. Last October it also imposed temporary controls on the border with Schengen member Slovenia. In 2005 France re-imposed border controls after the bomb attacks by Islamist militants in London. Austria, Portugal and Germany re-imposed border controls for some major sporting events, such as the Fifa World Cup. The main feature is the creation of a single external border, and a single set of rules for policing the border, but there are other measures including: Nationals from some countries need to obtain a Schengen visa in order to enter one of its member countries or travel within the area. It is a short-stay visa valid for 90 days. It also allows international transit at airports in Schengen countries. A short-stay visa costs €60 (£46; $66), but just €35 for Russians, Ukrainians and citizens of some other countries, under visa facilitation agreements.

The Schengen Agreement abolished many of the EU's internal borders, enabling passport-free movement across most of the bloc.

Essex Police previously apologised for the handling of its inquiry into the rape by a boy aged 12 in 2011. The boy was given the equivalent of a caution and the case was not referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. Essex Police admitted that outcome was wrong. The girl's mother said it was "shocking" her daughter had been "failed so significantly". The force found numerous failures during its subsequent internal investigation, overseen by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), into the actions of detectives. As a result, a wider probe was launched and an outside force invited in for a mass-examination - known as Operation Maple - of Essex Police investigations into child abuse. The girl's parents say they now want their own case looked at by an outside force. They are angry that despite multiple failures - including one detective telling the 12-year-old boy to "do it to someone older next time" - the officers concerned were given only a written warning and were returned to work on the child abuse investigation team. The rape was reported to police in August 2011, and police gave the offender a "final warning" - the juvenile equivalent of a caution - in November of that year. Essex Police said in a statement that the IPCC had investigated the case following a complaint from the girl's family and as a result three officers had been subject to misconduct proceedings. The force said a "full and robust process" that had already taken place meant the case had not been among those referred to the IPCC as part of Operation Maple. But the girl's parents believe the investigation was insufficient and that its conclusions were watered down to protect officers. They also say they don't understand why their case is not among the near 40 investigations being re-examined. "Give us a plausible explanation why you won't, even for the sake of transparency, review our case," said the girl's mother "Sara" - not her real name. "You're reviewing a significant amount. "One more, surely, for transparency purposes alone, should be a drop in the ocean." The parents also say they have lost their trust in the police. "We brought our children up to think they could trust the police. As we did. As you would expect to," said Sara. "And clearly that just isn't the case. "And for a little girl to have been failed so significantly is just shocking, and she doesn't understand why these adults and police officers have all failed her at a time when it's crucial that we trust them." Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said the family had few options because the IPCC had concluded an investigation already, albeit one which was carried out by an Essex Police officer and merely supervised by the police watchdog. He said he believed the system for investigating complaints against police was broken and often "seems to operate against the victims". Mr Alston, who is brokering a meeting between the family and Essex Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh, said the force had learned from the case - but that the family's comments were "devastating". "I have huge sympathy with the family, and I hope that their meeting with the chief constable will help start to rebuild that trust, but they have been through a bad experience," he said. "I'm afraid to say it's an experience shared by many other people who are victims of crime, who don't get the satisfaction they need."

The parents of a five-year-old rape victim have called for a new police investigation into her case.

Transport Minister Edwina Hart said plans were to build a new bridge over the River Dyfi in Machynlleth. Campaigners have long complained that residents face a 20-mile (32km) detour when the Dyfi bridge is closed by floods or damaged by vehicles Montgomeryshire AM Russell George said local people would be pleased. The Dyfi bridge is seen as an essential link between north Wales and Aberystwyth but the crossing on the A487 has been repeatedly damaged over the years and is sometimes shut during periods of heavy rain. In a letter to assembly members, Mrs Hart said: "Procurement of a team to deliver this project will commence next month. "We will then develop the options and take the scheme through the statutory process. "Construction could commence in late 2016 assuming a public local inquiry is not required." Mr George said: "Local residents will be pleased to hear this latest confirmation." "The bridge is a key pinch point in mid Wales's transport network and the sooner these challenges can be alleviated, the better for residents as well as both local and regional businesses." Part of a side wall was knocked down by a lorry in 2010 forcing the closure of the bridge to trucks for several weeks.

A 200-year-old flood-hit bridge in Powys will be replaced by a new crossing and work to build it could start in late 2016.

He told the BBC that it was too early to say what had caused the crash. The Airbus 321 is thought to have broken up in mid-air over the Sinai peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. On Monday, the airline Kogalymavia blamed "external influence" for the crash. But the head of Russia's Federal Aviation Agency, Aleksandr Neradko, told Russian TV that such talk was premature and "not based on any proper facts". President Sisi also warned against jumping to conclusions. "All those interested in the matter are welcome to participate in the investigation," he told the BBC ahead of a visit to the UK. "When there is propaganda that it crashed because of Isis (IS), this is one way to damage the stability and security of Egypt and the image of Egypt. Believe me, the situation in Sinai - especially in this limited area - is under our full control." The US director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said there was no "direct evidence of any terrorist involvement yet" adding: "It's unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out." Militants launched an insurgency in the Sinai following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. They stepped their attacks after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in mid-2013. A year ago the insurgents renamed their movement Sinai Province and pledged alliance to Islamic State. Hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed. After the crash Sinai Province issued a written statement and an audio message saying that it brought down the passenger jet. However, experts doubt it possesses the weapons capable of bringing down an airliner. The Airbus 321 had been carrying 217 passengers, including 25 children, and seven crew members. Most of those on board were Russians. It crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh en route to the Russian city of St Petersburg. The plane's flight recorders have been found and sent for analysis. Debris was spread across a wide area of Sinai, officials said. On Monday, the deputy director of Kogalymavia - which has just renamed itself Metrojet - ruled out a technical fault or pilot error. "The only [explanation] for the plane to have been destroyed in mid-air can be specific impact, purely mechanical, physical influence on the aircraft," Alexander Smirnov said. "There is no such combination of failures of systems which could have led to the plane disintegrating in the air," he added. He said the plane lost speed and started descending rapidly, and the crew made no attempt to get in contact and report about the situation on board. The US broadcaster CBS News reported that a US satellite had detected a "heat flash" over the Sinai at the time of the crash. It said the data was still being analysed and that although the flash could have been caused by a bomb, a fuel tank or engine explosion was also possible. It is believed to be Russia's worst ever air disaster. The bodies of most those killed have been flown back to St Petersburg and identification is under way. 05:58 Egyptian time (03:58 GMT): Flight leaves Sharm el-Sheikh, a statement from the Egyptian cabinet says 06:14 Egyptian time (04:14 GMT): Plane fails to make scheduled contact with air traffic control based in Larnaca, Cyprus, according to Sergei Izdolsky, an official with Russia's air transport agency 06:17 Egyptian time, approx (04:17 GMT): Plane comes down over the Sinai peninsula, according to Airbus 11:12 Egyptian time (09:12 GMT): Flight had been due to land in St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has described claims that militants linked to Islamic State brought down a Russian airliner as "propaganda".

The men aged 65 and 37 were stabbed multiple times by two men near Manor House Tube station. The Met has named Kyroe Oscar Howsen, 24, from Haringey and Amari Orgill, 19, from the Finsbury Park area as the two men they want to speak to. Anyone with information is urged to contact the force. Police said the father and son, in a grey van, were attacked at about 19:50 GMT after an argument with the driver and passenger of a black Smart car. The incident began in Green Lanes and carried on into Hermitage Road and Vale Grove. The relatives were seriously injured and required hospital treatment. They have since been discharged. Det Const Leon Ure said: "This was a very violent attack and the injuries the victims sustained were serious and it was very fortunate they were not fatal. "The elder victim had just arrived in the county to spend Christmas with his family; instead he and his son had to be rushed to hospital."

Two men are being sought by police after a father and son were stabbed in a row between drivers in north London on Christmas Eve.

One of London's key roads was closed, but others in the area were open and teeming with traffic. This meant stern-looking policemen stood around, scolding press and public alike as they directed pedestrians. "Oi! It'll be hazardous to your health if you get squashed by a lorry," barked one officer, as he motioned with some exasperation for people to get out of the way of traffic. People stood on the pavement, beneath Winston Churchill's statue, craning their necks and watching the every movement of two figures across the street, so well covered by their loose-fitting crime scene suits that only their eyes were visible. One press cameraman finally broke cover and ran across the road, when the passing cars were on a breather, to the edge of the fluttering police cordon tape. He was followed by plenty of others, photographers and tourists. Together we watched the painstaking routine of the forensics officers. Measurement markers indicating scale were put around objects on the ground. Some of those objects looked like knives, others scraps of paper, all of them photographed from different angles before being put into a box or a bag. Each time this happened, a cricket-like chorus burst into life from the photographers training their lenses towards the evidence gathering. This was repeated again and again, officers removing their green plastic gloves for a new pair each time they handled an object. A brown rucksack, discarded on the ground, was also examined before it too was transferred into a large paper bag. The tourists got bored, frozen in the biting cold around Westminster, and some went while others came to see what was going on. Journalists did pieces to camera in front of the scene, but had to raise their voices over the incessant noise of a helicopter hovering overhead. All this happened yards from Westminster Bridge, the scene of a terror attack weeks ago. But all around Parliament Square, tourists continued to take selfies and pictures of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. And life went on.

Armed police swooped in Whitehall on Thursday afternoon to arrest a man on suspicion of terrorism offences, and it was near the aftermath of that scene where we all stood now.

Truck drivers are resorting to cocaine, speed and ecstasy to help keep themselves awake on long journeys. Drug testing firms say to have 10% of drivers in an haulage firm test positive for drugs was "not unusual". Road safety minister Mike Penning insists Britain's roads are among the safest in the world. One lorry driver speaking to the BBC's5 live Investigatesprogramme, who works for a major international haulage company, claims he regularly sees drivers use ecstasy, cannabis, speed and cocaine to relieve the boredom of lengthy shifts. The highly experienced driver has tried to raise the issue with managers at his firm but says nobody wants to take responsibility and tries to pass the buck to another department. The driver, who spoke anonymously, says fellow drivers have in the past veered off motorways or overturned, and in some instances were not even able to remember the incident afterwards. In one incident the insider was told about, a heavily drugged-up driver ploughed into workmen's vehicles by the side of a motorway. When questioned by the police the driver was only tested for alcohol and he was not arrested. "They are basically taking a recreational drug like ecstasy and speed to keep themselves awake because of the distances involved and because boredom just kicks in," said the driver. He explained that drivers got around rules governing how many hours they were allowed to work by taking two tachograph cards, which record driver hours, speed and distance. Listen to the full report on 5 live Investigates on BBC 5 live on Sunday, 1 April at 21:00 BST or download the programme podcast. Listen via the BBC 5 live website Download the 5 live Investigates podcast Got a story? Contact 5 live Investigates To make it look like two drivers were operating a vehicle, when it was in fact one, drivers simply swapped the cards around at the end of a shift. The driver's testimony is backed-up by a number of drug testing companies contacted by 5 live Investigates. The companies did not want to be identified for fear of losing business but revealed they knew about a substantial number of positive readings among truck and van drivers. One firm carrying out tests for a major haulage company for the first time found 10% of drivers tested positive for illegal drugs, but said none of them lost their jobs. Told of 5 live's findings, another drug testing firm said in its experience 10% of drivers testing positive for illegal drugs in the transport industry was "not outrageous or surprising". That was backed up by a third testing firm which revealed a company that employs around 5,000 courier drivers, found around 10% of its drivers tested positive for illegal drugs. Another insider who assesses risk for major companies told the BBC how one firm tested 300 young van drivers in their 20s, and more than 40 of them tested positive for illegal drugs. In evidence submitted to the Commons Transport Select Committee the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said the vast majority of its members do not test drivers for drugs as they do no believe drug use among drivers to be a significant problem. Of those companies which do carry out drug tests the RHA said they reported no significant problem. However, the RHA admitted that a substantial minority of its members who do not currently test drivers suspect there is a significant problem within the industry. The anonymous driver speaking to 5 live said: "It's nothing unusual to see drivers rolling joints while they're driving along the motorway and they're holding the steering wheel in their knees. "That's why they're driving at 50 miles per hour. That's not a strong drug but it still shouldn't be taken while driving. "But for the longer journey - eight or nine hours - they're taking ecstasy. "I was talking to a lad two weeks ago and, literally 10 minutes before, had taken ecstasy to try and keep awake and get back up because he had another seven hours in front of him. "He said he hadn't been to sleep for two days." Campaigners are now calling for a change to the law to bring the road transport industry in line with the railway industry where there is a statutory duty to ensure drivers are drug-free. They also want haulage companies to take more responsibility for their drivers' actions. Julie Willis's 23-year-old daughter Louise Cooper was killed by lorry driver Lee Baker in 2008 - he admitted smoking cannabis the previous afternoon and was driving at 60mph in fog when he crashed into Miss Cooper at the roadside. Traces of cannabis were found in Mr Baker's lorry. Mrs Willis says employers should have a statutory duty to check the competency of their drivers. The toxicology report on Mr Baker, seen by 5 Live Investigates, shows cannabis was found in a blood sample. However, because of a delay in blood sampling the toxicologist was unable to say whether or not he was under the influence at the time of the incident. He was jailed for 14 months after admitting one count of death by dangerous driving because it was not known whether or not the cannabis played any part in the accident. Mrs Willis said she is angry that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not feel it was in the public interest to pursue the drugs matter. In a statement, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East of England Ken Caley said: "The most senior lawyers in CPS East of England, including myself, were involved in the decision. "We thoroughly considered the material arising from the police investigation and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mr Baker was under the influence of drugs when the incident which lead to the tragic death of Louise Cooper took place. "We continue to offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Willis and her family for their tragic loss". Mrs Willis told the BBC: "The crux of the matter is that drug testing must take place within six hours of the accident and the driver's impairment must be proven, unlike in the case of alcohol." "The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) ensure vehicles have to be kept in tip-top condition but if the driver is under the influence of drink and/or drugs, the condition of the vehicle is irrelevant." Road Safety Minister Mike Penning insisted Britain's roads were among the safest in the world. "Drug driving is a menace, which is why we are going to introduce a new drug driving offence and approve screening equipment to make it easier for the police to test for the presence of drugs in drivers and tackle this irresponsible minority," he told BBC 5 live. "We are currently putting together a panel of experts to advise us on the technical aspects of introducing a new offence of driving with an illegal drug in your body and expect them to meet in the next few weeks to finalise their terms of reference. "We are not complacent and I am determined to crack down on those who continue to put lives at risk by drug driving." You can listen to the full report on5 live Investigateson Sunday, 1 April at 21:00 BST onBBC Radio 5 live. Listen again via the5 live websiteor by downloading the 5 live Investigatespodcast.

A culture of Class A drug taking is common among some drivers working in the UK road haulage business, say industry insiders.

That was the reaction of a dad whose son has been cleared of killing a British teenager while on holiday in Malia. Myles Litchmore-Dunbar has spent 16 months in a Greek jail for a crime he says he didn't commit. Tyrell Matthews-Burton was in Malia celebrating his 19th birthday when a fight broke out outside a bar involving about 30 British tourists. Tyrell was stabbed and died. Myles Litchmore-Dunbar was found guilty of affray but is appealing that charge and denies playing any part in the killing of the teenager. His dad Chris told Newsbeat: "It was a very long 16 months. Very hard. "Having to be in the UK, not able to see my son, going to work every day to make sure we had funds to pay for the legal fees. But whatever I felt, it's nothing compared to what he went through." "Yesterday I saw him. I was able to hug him and talk and he was able to speak to family in England and his girlfriend. It was brilliant, really brilliant." It is still unclear who killed Tyrell. There are outstanding charges against at least one other person. Tyrell's mother Sharon has previously said that her son's death was "senseless, brutal and unnecessary". Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

"I was able to hug him and talk, it was brilliant."

Media playback is not supported on this device Bolt, 29, clocked 19.89 seconds in his first appearance since pulling out of the Jamaican trials. He was picked for the Olympics after getting a medical exemption, leading to comments from Gatlin and others. "For me I felt it was a joke, I felt it was a disrespect they think I'd back out of a trials," said Bolt. "I've proven myself year on year that I'm the greatest. I laughed when I heard it, I was disappointed, especially in Justin Gatlin." Media playback is not supported on this device Bolt won gold in both the 100m and 200m at the London and Beijing Olympics, and will defend both titles in Rio next month. Gatlin, considered his main 100m rival, was among those who claimed the Jamaican - who has struggled with a hamstring injury - got preferential treatment he would not receive were he American. "He's injured, gets a medical pass, that's what his country does. Our country doesn't do that," Gatlin, who has twice served doping bans, was quoted as saying in the American press. At the Olympic Stadium on Friday night, Bolt finished 0.15 seconds ahead of Panama's Alonso Edward in second, with Britain's Commonwealth silver medallist Adam Gemili third. The fastest 200m time of the year is 19.74 by United States sprinter LaShawn Merritt, while Bolt's word record - set in 2009 - is 19.19. Media playback is not supported on this device

Usain Bolt accused sprint rival Justin Gatlin of "disrespect" after the six-time Olympic champion won the 200m at the Anniversary Games in London.

The money "could be allocated if the BBC so wishes", he told an assembly inquiry into the BBC Charter Review. Ministers have previously said there was a "lamentable" lack of BBC Wales comedy and drama in English. The BBC has said it was working with devolved governments to meet audience aspirations around the UK. Earlier in November, First Minister Carwyn Jones repeated his call for an additional £30m to be spent on English language programmes that reflect Welsh life. Mr Skates told the communities, equality and local government committee: "The BBC's budget is significant and I reject the idea they aren't able to allocate more resources to English language - particularly non-news - programming in Wales. "I think the money could be allocated if the BBC so wishes." The BBC has warned it faced a "tough financial challenge" following the licence fee settlement in July. In his evidence to the assembly's inquiry, Mr Skates also reiterated the Welsh government's call for a review of the BBC's public purposes in Wales to determine the broadcaster's responsibilities to Welsh audiences. Mr Skates said he would establish a media panel to carry out the review of the BBC's role in Wales if the work did not form part of the UK government's wider review of the BBC's charter. At a media summit in Cardiff last week, the BBC's director of strategy James Purnell said the corporation was "committed" to Welsh audiences. The BBC's new charter, setting out its 10-year remit, is due to come into force in January 2017.

Deputy Culture Minister Ken Skates has said he "rejects the idea" the BBC cannot afford to spend more on television programming in Wales.

He held off a late charge by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in a nail-biting climax and leads his team-mate by eight points after Hamilton took third. Mercedes' decision to switch Hamilton to a three-stop strategy got him back ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. When Ricciardo followed suit, he closed rapidly on Rosberg, who just held on. Australian Ricciardo rejoined just under 30 seconds adrift, with 16 laps remaining, and initially sliced into Rosberg's advantage at nearly three seconds a lap. But as the laps ticked by the advantage of Ricciardo's fresh tyres began to fade and the edge was taken off his charge. Rosberg had just enough pace, despite managing fading brakes, to keep the Red Bull at bay, crossing the line just 0.488 seconds ahead for a win that could prove crucial in the destiny of the world title. Listen as Rosberg holds off Ricciardo to win Singapore GP Hamilton had an out-of-sorts weekend, qualifying only third, 0.7 seconds slower than Rosberg, lacking grip after failing to set up his car properly because of track time lost to a hydraulic failure in Friday practice. He drove a steady race, unable to do anything about Rosberg and Ricciardo ahead of him, and intermittently pleading with his engineers to come up with a strategy that could gain him places. Both Mercedes drivers were struggling with overheating brakes and Hamilton struggled so much that he was caught by Raikkonen in the second stint, and actually lost third place following a mistake at Turn Seven just after half distance. Listen as Raikkonen passes Hamilton for third Raikkonen made his second stop at the end of the lap, Hamilton a lap later, and the world champion rejoined still in fourth place. At this point, Mercedes decided to switch Hamilton's strategy and unleashed him from managing his tyres and told him to close on Raikkonen. Hamilton's final pit stop on lap 45 triggered his rivals to follow suit, with Raikkonen pitting on the following lap and Ricciardo the lap after that. The move worked for Mercedes - it leapfrogged Hamilton back ahead of Raikkonen and despite being on super-soft tyres rather than the ultra-softs chosen by Ferrari, Hamilton was comfortably able to hold on to the final podium place. Behind the top four, McLaren's Fernando Alonso ran fifth from the start of the race after a quick getaway. It took him down the outside as Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz collided, and he passed Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat into the first corner. Alonso held on to the place through the subsequent safety car period and the first and second stops, fending off heavy pressure from Sainz's team-mate Daniil Kvyat and Verstappen. Around mid-distance, Alonso got some breathing space thanks to an intense battle between Kvyat and Verstappen. Listen to Hulkenberg's crash at the start The fight had added needle because of the Russian's demotion in Verstappen's favour after four races this season and after Kvyat had squeezed Verstappen close to the wall on a couple of occasions to keep him behind, the Dutchman complained over team radio. In the end, Red Bull pitted Verstappen to give him some clear air to exploit his pace - a decision that ultimately won him sixth place. But as the race progressed and strategies diverged, Alonso was passed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, recovering strongly from a start at the back of the grid following a suspension failure in qualifying, and found himself defending from Verstappen, who was on fresher tyres, in the closing laps. The extra grip from the rubber and the superiority of the Red Bull car meant Verstappen could pull off an aggressive dive down the inside of Turn Seven with a handful of laps to go. Alonso had to be satisfied with seventh, behind Vettel and Verstappen, a strong performance at the end of a difficult weekend for McLaren. Jenson Button retired at two-thirds distance after an early pit stop to replace a damaged front wing and spending much of his time struggling with poor grip at the back of the field. Singapore Grand Prix race results Singapore Grand Prix coverage details

Nico Rosberg retook the World Championship lead from Lewis Hamilton following a grandstand finish to the Singapore Grand Prix.

The increase is particularly pronounced among middle-age white people who now account for a third of all US suicides. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report did not offer an explanation for the steep rise. However, other experts have pointed to increased abuse of prescription opiates and the financial downturn that began in 2008 as likely factors. The report did not break down the suicides by education level or income, but previous studies found rising suicide rates among white people without university degrees. "This is part of the larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between poverty, hopelessness and health," Robert D Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, told the New York Times. CDC reported on Friday that suicides have increased in the US to a rate of 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. Meanwhile, homicides and deaths from ailments like cancer and heart disease have declined. In the past, suicides have been most common among white people, but the recent increases have been sharp. The overall suicide rate rose by 24% from 1999 to 2014, according to the CDC. However, the rate increased 43% among white men ages 45 to 64 and 63% for women in the same age-range. In 2014, more than 14,000 middle-aged white people killed themselves. That figure is double the combined suicides total for all blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. The suicide rate declined for only two groups: black men and all people over 75.

The suicide rate in the US has surged to its highest level in almost three decades, according to a new report.

The official Lana news agency said the budget was based on an oil price of $100 per barrel, with production of 800,000 barrels per day. It forecast a deficit of $8 billion. Libya's oil-dependent economy has been struggling since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Rebels blockaded oil export terminals last year, hurting the economy. Their seizure of four terminals slashed output from 1.5 million barrels per day to just 200,000 barrels per day. Libya, which relies on oil for 96% of its gross domestic product, says the blockade has cost the country more than $14 billion in lost revenues. An International Monetary Fund-World Bank assessment on Libya this year forecast that a contraction of gross domestic product that reached 5.3% last year would widen to 8% in 2014.

Libya's interim parliament has adopted a 2014 budget worth $48bn (£28bn), after delays due to the unrest that has plagued the country.

The woman had threatened to cancel the group's next trip and not pay for their return tickets if they did not spend up to 3,000 yuan (£319; $483) each. Officials in south-western Yunnan say she violated national tourism laws. Since 2013, Chinese tour operators have been banned from enforcing shopping stops and seeking illegitimate profit. In the four-minute video (in Chinese), the female tour guide pleads with a bus load of tourists, asking them: "Where are your sense of conscience and morals?" "If all of you don't spend more than 3,000 or 4,000 [yuan], we'll cancel the Xishuangbanna trip, the tour company won't be responsible for the return to Shenyang," she warns. The YouTube video, which has been widely circulated on Chinese-language social networking sites, has sparked outrage with many users sharing their own bad experiences of tour operators in China. Even Hong Kongers can feel a similar pain: if you sign up for a tour group to mainland China, you would always be brought to a few "designated shopping points" where promoters would demonstrate their products from Pu'er tea to medical ointment. The difference is that tour guides seldom force Hong Kong tourists to shop like this Yunnan woman did with the mainlanders. Those who are not interested are usually free to wait outside, feeling their time is being wasted. Forcing tourists to shop has been an issue for years in China, mainly as a result of the unreasonably low fees charged by travel agencies. In an incident in May 2010, retired national tennis player Chen Youming died from a heart attack outside a jewellery shop in Hong Kong. This sent shockwaves across Hong Kong, and in mainland China, as Mr Chen apparently fell after a spat with his tour guide for not shopping. This was his first and final visit to Hong Kong. China rolled out a new Tourism Law in 2013 hoping to crack down on forceful shopping and lowly-priced tour groups. This incident in Yunnan, however, suggests more needs to be done. In addition to revoking the tour guide's licence, Yunnan tourism officials said on Sunday the guide's travel agency had also been suspended from operating. The company, Kunming Fenghua Travel Agency, was fined 20,000 yuan, a statement from the Yunnan Provincial Commission on Tourism Development said. "First thing, the tour guide forced them to shop, if the video is real, then her words certainly violated the regulation. Secondly, her attitude is terrible. Third, she used abusive language. So based on these aspects, we can say she violated regulations," official Liu Kunfeng is quoted by Chinese radio station CRIEnglish as saying. Several users on China's main microblogging service Weibo recalled similar incidents, some in the same province. "More than just forcing you to shop, my tour guide made us pay fees and changed the itinerary without our consent. We called to file complaints but they cover up for each other. I'd say let's not go to Yunnan anymore. This is not an isolated incident, it's everywhere," one user posts. Another user describes an encounter with a guide on a tour of some north-eastern provinces during the Spring Festival, China's most important annual holiday. "The female tour guide was such a bandit. I almost got into a brawl with her. And that was a place with no mobile signal, where everybody were forced to spend money. They threatened us, but there was no phone signal, and we couldn't call the police."

A Chinese tour guide who was caught on camera berating tourists for not shopping enough has had her licence revoked after the video went viral.

Police are searching for David O'Sullivan, 25, from Midleton, County Cork. He travelled to America in March and intended to hike from the Mexican border to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. However, his family have not heard from him since he emailed them in April from Idyllwild, California. He had been scheduled to meet a friend in Santa Barbara in early May but he did not show up. It is believed he was hiking alone. According to a Facebook page the O'Sullivan family officially reported him missing on 30 June. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs are providing consular assistance to Mr O'Sullivan's family.

Concerns are growing for the safety of an Irish man who has gone missing while on a hiking trip in the United States.

Matthew Nichols, 29, also sent "highly inappropriate" messages to a 16-year-old, the Education Workforce Council hearing was told. Mr Nichols, who used to work at Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Wrexham, messaged the girls between July and September 2015. The disciplinary panel deemed his actions amounted to unprofessional conduct and banned him for two years. A previous hearing was told that late-night texts included sensitive information about Mr Nichols' girlfriend, references to hugs in the woods, kissing under the mistletoe, breaking the rules and keeping secrets. An investigation began after two girl pupils approached a pastoral support assistant because of concerns about texts to their 14-year-old friend. A barrister for Mr Nichols said he had since had counselling and had lost his job because of what had happened. Announcing the sanction on Tuesday, chairman Richard Parry Jones said Mr Nichols had shown "limited insight" and his actions were "serious incidents of unprofessional conduct". The decision came after a three-day hearing of the panel at Ewloe in Flintshire. An NSPCC Cymru spokesman said his behaviour amounted to "a significant abuse of this trust". "Schools should be places of safety for children and teachers are trusted to play a key role in safeguarding all pupils' wellbeing," the spokesman said. "The panel has been clear that his actions were unprofessional and that his safeguarding training was ignored and it is right that he has faced the consequences."

A maths teacher who sent "flirty" texts to a 14-year-old pupil has been banned from the classroom.

The man was spotted on traffic cameras between junctions 11 and 14 on the clockwise carriageway. Surrey Police said he was trying to reach the airport at about 06:00 BST on Thursday. Highways England said the cyclist was "irresponsible and could have caused a serious incident". At one point he is seen riding the wrong way along the busy motorway, before crossing the carriageway. Surrey Police's road policing unit described in a tweet how traffic slowed as distracted motorists turned to look at the cyclist, who is believed to be from Feltham, West London. Martin Crosswell, a manager at Highways England, said: "It is important all road users follow the Highway Code and listen to advice from traffic officers. The actions of this man were irresponsible and could have caused a serious incident."

An "irresponsible" cyclist caught riding his bike on the M25 motorway in a bid to reach Heathrow Airport has been fined £50.

The Belgian, 25, the PFA's player of the year in 2015, scored the opening goal in the 3-0 win over Burnley and produced a superb all-round display. "We are seeing that guy from two years ago," former England and Newcastle striker Shearer said. "The first thing manager Antonio Conte realised he had to do was get him on side. He knows he's the match-winner." Hazard found the net on 13 occasions during the 2014-15 season as Chelsea won the title. However, he lost form during the first half of the 2015-16 season as the Blues underperformed, leading to the departure of manager Jose Mourinho. Media playback is not supported on this device Ruud Gullit, who helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 1997 as player-manager, also said Hazard had rediscovered his best form. "This was Hazard at his best, when he's facing players one-on-one," the Dutch Euro 1988 winner added. "This is Hazard when he has fun. I don't want him to chase back." The former Fifa world player of the year suggested that the signing of defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante from Leicester has allowed Hazard to focus on attacking. "Kante is like [former Chelsea midfielder] Claude Makelele. He's always there when you need him," added Gullit. "Hazard doesn't need to track back anymore." Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is back playing his best football, says Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer.

Peter Kassig is shown at the end of a video apparently showing the death of British taxi driver Alan Henning, and a masked man says he will be next. The 26-year-old from Indiana has worked in Lebanon, Turkey and Syria to help victims of the Syrian conflict. The BBC understands he was kidnapped when in an ambulance in Syria in 2013. Mr Kassig's capture at the hands of IS was confirmed by the White House on Friday evening. "At this point we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the video released earlier today," said spokesperson Caitlin Hayden. "We will continue to use every tool at our disposal - military, diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence - to try to bring Peter home to his family." A family statement referred to him as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, saying he had converted to Islam while in captivity. And they extended their concern for the family of Alan Henning. "We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration. "We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe." A US Army veteran, Mr Kassig was discharged after the Iraq War and he became an emergency medical technician. He travelled to Lebanon in May 2012 to work as a volunteer helping Palestinian refugees and as time went on, people affected by the war in Syria, setting up a charity called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera). In an interview before his capture, Mr Kassig described himself as an idealist who had found a sense of purpose in aid work amidst the complexities of the Middle East conflict. The White House condemned the "brutal murder" of Mr Henning, who it had said "worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family and the people of the United Kingdom". Mr Henning becomes the fourth Western hostage to be killed by the group. The beheadings of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and Scottish aid worker David Haines, have previously been filmed. The father of another UK hostage, John Cantlie, appealed on Friday for him to be released. His son, a journalist, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and has so far appeared in three videos. Islamic State (IS) - also known as Isis or Isil - has taken control of large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate. The US has led a campaign of air strikes in Iraq for several weeks and in Syria for almost two weeks.

An American medical aid worker has been threatened by an Islamic State militant in a video that appears to show the beheading of a UK hostage.

And to be fair, he was telling them in a state where anyone who tried to do so would probably be arrested, or at least stared down. He told his crowd of supporters to do that because - he said - the votes would not be properly counted. His line throughout this campaign has been that the system is skewed against him and that he would be cheated out of a win. The line would sound shocking if it weren't vintage Trump. The candidate for president has said he will decide on the day whether to accept the results of the actual election. But curiously, the call to "re-vote" is not as crazy as it sounds. There are seven US states in which the practice is perfectly legal. In Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York and Connecticut. If you have a change of heart, you can go back and do it again. There are some restrictions. In Minnesota, it must be done by the week before. In Wisconsin you can only (only) go three times. In Pennsylvania you can change right up to election day itself - but you have to do so in person. Few people make use of this curious loophole, but Donald Trump wants to exploit it to the full - telling Democrats who already voted for Clinton before the FBI reinvestigation to "go back and vote again". Presumably he has thought through the ramifications. It works both ways after all. Emily Maitlis is presenting BBC Newsnight's coverage of the US presidential election. You can follow her on Twitter and watch more of her reports here,

The first time I heard Donald Trump in Colorado call on voters who had already voted to go back and vote again, I nearly fell off my chair.

Northampton Borough Council initially prevented the sale of the house in an attempt to recover some of the £10.25m it loaned to Northampton Town Football Club while Mr Cardoza was chairman. The house can now be sold and his wife Christina, its legal owner, is entitled to keep half the proceeds. The council said it was satisfied. The court papers for the hearing name Mr and Mrs Cardoza as well as Anthony Cardoza, David's father. David and Anthony Cardoza were directors of Northampton Town Football club when it received the loan to build a new east stand at Sixfields. The stand was not finished and the money was not repaid. A spokesperson for the council said: "We have reached an agreement about the proceeds of the sale of the house that protects the interests of the borough council and the taxpayer. "We are satisfied with the agreement reached today, which is part of our continuing efforts to find out what happened to the loan made to Northampton Town."

Solicitors are to keep half the proceeds of any sale of David Cardoza's £1.2m family home in case of further legal action, a court has ruled.

Media playback is not supported on this device Therefore it's important that you know how to set up your cleats properly - watch British Cycling's guide to help you. Inspired to get back on your bike? Take a look at this handy guide to find ways to get into cycling.

Correct positioning of your cleats - the plastic or metal that fixes to your cycling shoes and clips into the pedals - is vital if you want to avoid foot, neck or back pain.

Barcelona director Albert Soler said the Reds put that valuation on the Brazilian on the final day of the Spanish transfer window on Friday. Liverpool turned down three offers from the Spanish side for Coutinho, who had made a transfer request, and maintain the 25-year-old was not for sale. The Anfield club regard Barcelona's claim as "absolutely false". "Liverpool were asking for 200m and logically we didn't accept that," said Soler at a news conference on Saturday. "We thank the player for the efforts he made, because he did make a big effort and showed he wanted to play for us. "The situation ended as it ended and there is nothing else we can do." Barcelona wanted Coutinho after selling his Brazil team-mate Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record fee of £200m. Liverpool said Coutinho was not for sale and rejected bids of £72m, £90m and one in the region of £114m prior to the deadline in Spain, which closed a day later than in England. Coutinho, who scored 14 goals last season and spent six weeks out with an ankle injury, signed a new five-year deal at Anfield in January which did not include a release clause. He then said he wanted to leave via email, a day before the Reds opened their Premier League campaign at Watford on 12 August. A back injury has forced him to miss all three top-flight games this season and the two legs of a Champions League qualifier against TSG Hoffenheim, which the Reds won 6-3 on aggregate. However, the midfielder made his first appearance of the season when he played for Brazil in a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, scoring the second goal. When asked about the £183m asking price, Soler said Barcelona "don't want to get caught up in such an inflated market" and "we won't put the club at risk". Uefa has opened a formal investigation into PSG as part of its "ongoing monitoring" of clubs under Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. PSG have been owned by the Gulf state of Qatar, via its Qatar Sports Investments fund, since 2011. The French club more than doubled the world record transfer fee by signing Neymar. They have also signed striker Kylian Mbappe on loan from Monaco and could pay £165.7m for him in 2018. "PSG came to us with 222m euros [for Neymar] and that meant everyone knew we had money," said Soler. "When you go to the market and you have a lot of money, the demands made of you are extortionate. "We found ourselves in unbelievable situations." Barcelona signed forward Ousmane Dembele Borussia Dortmund for an initial £96.8m on 28 August, potentially rising to £135.5m, in addition to bringing in Nelson Semedo, Gerard Deulofeu and Paulinho. Soler added: "What has happened in the market this year takes us to a model of football different to the one we are used to. "We used to be the ones that led the market and now countries and investment funds are leading it. Countries have become the main agents in the football world."

Liverpool have denied Barcelona's claim that they wanted 200m euros (£183m) for playmaker Philippe Coutinho.

HMP Exeter was built for 317 inmates but latest figures show it holds 530. Geoff Dobson, from the PRT, said the category B prison was doing a "pretty good job" at coping with the prisoner numbers, but nationally more had to be done to stop prisoners reoffending. The Prison Service said the current number of inmates was acceptable, but it was aiming to reduce crowding. Mr Dobson said: "In practical terms, you've got two prisoners in single cells and you've got three prisoners in double cells." He added that nationally, reoffending rates tended to be high, particularly for short-sentence prisoners. "At Exeter Prison last year the inspection showed almost 50% of prisoners were locked in their cells during the working day," he said. "It should be a place where prisoners are in a disciplined routine, do work in the day and develop a work habit and we see too many prisoners languishing, locked-up and presumably learning about reoffending. "Some of the most serious offenders need to be in prison, some of the petty offenders don't need to be there. "We're not helping them or society by repeatedly locking them up." A Prison Service spokesperson said: "All of our prisons provide acceptable levels of accommodation for prisoners, although some prisons hold more people than they were originally designed for. "We are aiming to reduce the existence of crowding alongside reducing the cost of the prison estate." The most overcrowded prison in England and Wales, according to official figures, is HMP Kennet in Liverpool.

Exeter Prison is the fifth most overcrowded jail in the UK, according to the Prison Reform Trust (PRT).

Four hundred devices have been purchased, at a cost of £1.5m. Body Worn Video Technology, as it's known, is already in place in Derry City and Strabane District. The cameras are clipped on to the top half of an officer's uniform and can provide eight hours of continuous recording. Officers have been trained to tell people when they are being recorded. Supporters of the scheme say the cameras will improve the quality of evidence that police officers can gather. They will be particularly useful in assisting prosecutions in cases of domestic abuse, for example. The roll-out follows on from a pilot scheme in Foyle in 2014-15. Body cameras are routine in other parts of the UK and were first introduced about a decade ago. Studies have found that they dramatically reduced complaints against officers by members of the public, by up to 93% in one case. PSNI Chief Supt Chris Noble said: "Video evidence puts the victims of crime first. "The pilot of this technology in Foyle district evidenced how Body Worn Video has the potential to improve the quality of evidence provided by police officers. It also increases the number of offenders brought to justice. "The introduction of this new technology is the latest example of our commitment to these principles as we continue to work together with the community to keep people safe."

Police officers in Belfast will wear body cameras while on duty from Wednesday.

The Egyptian human rights activist can't travel himself. The authorities confiscated his passport in June when he tried to fly to Germany, during the president's visit there, to discuss human rights. He got off lightly, he says, by only getting a travel ban. Other leading activists here won't be following the visit because they are in jail - among them icons of the 2011 revolution. "We have never had such a dismal situation for human rights," says the renowned Egyptian author and activist Ahdaf Soueif. "It's the worst it's ever been." Her nephew, Alaa Abdel Fattah, is one of the key figures from the uprising who are now behind bars. The prominent blogger and pro-democracy activist has just marked one year in jail, and is due to serve four more, for attending an illegal demonstration. Ms Soueif - who is a citizen of Egypt and the UK - says that by hosting President Sisi, Britain will strengthen an authoritarian regime. "I think it definitely sends the wrong message," she says, "because the regime needs acceptance, and if it has acceptance when it's disappearing people from the streets, and giving people ridiculous jail sentences and allowing people to die in prison for lack of medical attention - then it's definitely the wrong message." The previous Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, was also invited to the UK, but was ousted before he could make the trip. Mr Sisi, then armed forces chief, removed him in 2013, after massive public protests, in what many regard as a coup. Now he and most of those who would have accompanied him are behind bars. Morsi - who was Egypt's first democratically elected president - is a one of hundreds of Islamists sentenced to death in summary mass trials. That is part of a brutal campaign to crush dissent in which more than 1,000 protestors, mostly Islamists, have been killed on the streets. As many as 40,000 people are estimated to have been detained in recent years. The US-based Human Rights Watch describes the crackdown as "ferocious". Egyptian officials - in Cairo and London - deny that the Arab world's most populous nation has returned to the repression of the past. Nasser Kamel, Ambassador to the UK, accused human rights groups of siding with the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. "We know where those campaigns are coming from," said Mr Kamel, "and we know they are politically tainted, in a way reflecting a point of view of a certain group, or view, of the Brotherhood in Egypt. "Egypt is a state of law, has been applying the law, respecting the law." The ambassador prefers to emphasise the common ground between the two countries. "We are partners in the war against Isil [so-called Islamic State]," he told the BBC, "we are partners in the war against terrorism at large. "Egypt and UK are talking closely to each other concerning so many issues like the crisis in Libya and the situation in Syria." Egypt presents itself as a beacon of stability in a volatile region. And it has another selling point - it is an attractive market for British businesses. In Cairo shopping centres there are big name British brands - from Topshop to Debenhams and Marks and Spencer. But the UK's interests extend beyond retail - to oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and construction. Britain has a great deal at stake here. It is the biggest foreign investor in Egypt. The opportunities are expanding with the nation, according to Cairo-based investment consultant Angus Blair, of the Signet Institute. In the next 15 years, Egypt's population of 90 million is expected to swell to around 120 million. "That will be a major drain on the government," Mr Blair said, "but it will also provide enormous opportunities for investors because the consumer sector is growing. "There's a lot of money around in supermarkets and shopping malls. People are looking to spend." So when the prime minister sits down with the Egyptian leader, they will have plenty to discuss - from business interests to conflict in the Middle East. Downing Street says the stronger the working relationship, the more there can "be necessary and frank discussions on areas of disagreement". Activists hope President Sisi's human rights record will not be swept under the red carpet.

When President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi makes his first visit to the UK, Mohamed Lotfy will be watching - back in Cairo.

The discoveries suggests that at least three distinct species of humans co-existed in Africa. The research adds to a growing body of evidence that runs counter to the popular perception that there was a linear evolution from early primates to modern humans. The research has been published in the journal Nature. Anthropologists have discovered three human fossils that are between 1.78 and 1.95 million years old. The specimens are of a face and two jawbones with teeth. The finds back the view that a skull found in 1972 is of a separate species of human, known as Homo rudolfensis. The skull was markedly different to any others from that time. It had a relatively large brain and long flat face. But for 40 years the skull was the only example of the creature and so it was impossible to say for sure whether the individual was an unusual specimen or a member of a new species. With the discovery of the three new fossils researchers can say with more certainty that H.rudolfensis really was a separate type of human that existed around two million years ago alongside other species of humans. For a long time the oldest known human ancestor was thought to be a primitive species, dating back 1.8 million years ago called Homo erectus. They had small heads, prominent brows and stood upright. But 50 years ago, researchers discovered an even older and more primitive species of human called Homo habilis that may have coexisted with H. erectus. Now it seems H. rudolfensis was around too and raises the distinct possibility that many other species of human also existed at the time. This find is the latest in a growing body of evidence that challenges the view that our species evolved in a smooth linear progression from our primate ancestors. Instead, according to Dr Meave Leakey of the Turkana Basin Institute in Nairobi, who led the research the find shows that there was a diversity early on in the evolution of our species. "Our past was a diverse past," she told BBC News, "our species was evolving in the same way that other species of animals evolved. There was nothing unique about us until we began to make sophisticated stone tools." In other groups of animals many different species evolve, each with new traits, such as plumage, or webbed feet. If the new trait is better suited to the environment then the new species thrives, if not it becomes extinct. According to Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, fossil evidence is increasingly suggesting that human evolution followed the same pattern. "Humans seem to have been evolving in different ways in different regions. It was almost as if nature was developing different human prototypes with different attributes, only one of which, an ancestor of our species, was ultimately successful in evolutionary terms," he said. According to Dr Leakey, the growing body of evidence to suggest that humans evolved in the same way as other animals shows that "evolution really does work". "It leads to amazing adaptions and amazing species and we are one of them," she said. Follow Pallab on Twitter

Researchers studying fossils from northern Kenya have identified a new species of human that lived two million years ago.

Simon Brown, 45, failed to return to HMP Castle Huntly near Dundee, on Tuesday. In 2012, along with Paul Banks, he was jailed for eight years for the murder of John Carter in Edinburgh before leaving his body in a lift at a block of flats. Police had warned the public not to approach him.

A killer who went missing from a Scottish prison following a period of home release has been found in England.

The move comes as MLAs prepare for an assembly debate on whether to make abortions legal in such cases. A vote on whether or not to amend the Justice Bill is due to take place on Wednesday. The proposed amendment looks unlikely to pass now that the DUP has said it will be voting against it. Currently, a termination is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health. Justice Minister David Ford has asked the executive to approve legislation for abortion in cases where a fatal foetal abnormality is diagnosed. The DUP said the issue required proper consideration by the assembly and executive, and that the Bill was not intended for this purpose. They have asked Health Minister Simon Hamilton to set up a working group, including clinicians and people with a legal background, to make recommendations as to how the issue can be addressed, including, if necessary, draft legislation. It is to report within six months. BBC News NI political correspondent Gareth Gordon said finding a way forward, which the majority of people can agree on, will be "a mammoth task". "This is one of the most sensitive issues facing politicians and society generally in Northern Ireland," he said. In December, a High Court judge ruled the law does not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights in cases of fatal foetal abnormality or sexual crime. The case was brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. The commission took legal action against Mr Ford's Department of Justice as part of its campaign for a change in the law. In January, the justice minister said he was lodging an appeal to the ruling, because he was concerned that a lack of "legal certainty" could lead inadvertently to abortion on demand.

The DUP has asked the Northern Ireland health minister to set up a working group to look at how the issue of fatal foetal abnormality can be addressed.

The 34-year-old midfielder has just finished his latest spell in the Indian Super League with Atletico Kolkata. "Having been the player who has come back three times before, I know the appeal and why you would want to come back," said McFadden, who confirmed that Well have made him an offer. "And I know Pearo is exactly the same." Pearson began his career at Fir Park and, after spells with Celtic, Derby County, Bristol City and Karela Blasters, rejoined Well for a season in 2015. He is a free agent again after helping Kolkata finish fourth in the Indian league before winning the title with a play-off victory over his former club, Karela. "We have spoken to him and offered him a deal and we're waiting to hear back," said McFadden, who thinks Motherwell have a tradition of welcoming back former players. "Pearo would be a great addition on and off the park here. "We would love to him back, so hopefully he makes the right decision and comes back. "I know he has one or two things to think about before he makes that decision, but he knows he will be welcomed back with open arms here by everyone." Motherwell have signed winger Elliot Frear from Forest Green as well as adding Reading defender Zak Jules and Everton goalkeeper Russell Griffiths on loan in recent days. However, they are still looking to add to their squad before the transfer window closes. "There could be, we are still working away on that," added McFadden. "But we don't have answers back from the people we are speaking to, so we will see how it goes."

Motherwell assistant James McFadden hopes Stephen Pearson will follow his example by signing with the Scottish Premiership club for a third time.

They had left the remote Atlantic archipelago at 04:00 on Friday morning. The passage lasted just under 31 hours across 41 miles of the Atlantic, through the Sound of Harris and across the Minch. They were welcomed home by a large crowd at Portree Harbour on Saturday morning. The rowers, who were raising money for the RNLI and Skye and Lochalsh Young Carers, spent two years preparing for the venture. Five of the eight crew were volunteers with Portree RNLI. After the boat arrived at Portree, team leader Donnie Nicolson said: "We are delighted to have completed the row in such a brilliant time. "We are tired, but sheer adrenaline and all the support we've been getting has kept us going." He added: "As five of the rowers are crew members of the Portree Lifeboat, we are fully aware of the enormous costs that are needed to keep the RNLI running. Hopefully we can do our little bit to help. "Skye and Lochalsh Young Carers is a charity most of us were not unaware of until the challenge. "We hope we can not only raise some funds for them, but just as importantly raise their profile and let people know the extraordinary and important job they do in our local community." Until last month, the last time the boat was in the sea was more than 100 years ago. Named Aurora, the 20ft-long (6m) skiff had lain in a boat shed on Skye since before the outbreak of World War One.

Eight adventurers from Skye are back on dry land after rowing 100 miles from St Kilda to Portree in an open wooden skiff built more than 100 years ago.

The hotel owner and workmen intervened when the woman was assaulted on 11 June at the Regent Hotel on Springfield Road, police said. The 21-year-old, from Cumbria, was taken to hospital with significant head and facial injuries. Her condition is described as serious but stable. Wayne Hollerin, 35, is due to appear before magistrates later.

A man has been charged with attempted murder and attempted rape after a woman was attacked in a Blackpool hotel.

A 2km (1.2m) stretch of the River Ennig at Talgarth, near Brecon, was affected by the release of pesticide, killing other species. But the crayfish deaths were a "particular concern" as the native white claw is already under threat. The juvenile crayfish were raised at a Natural Resources Wales-run hatchery. A further 1,000 juveniles are due to be released next year. So far, more than 3,300 crayfish have been released in and around the River Wye, with future releases planned in selected areas in west Wales.

Nearly 600 juvenile crayfish have been released into a river in Powys after the deaths of others in a pollution incident in 2012.

Goals from Thiago and Xabi Alonso put the home side firmly in control before Leipzig's Emil Fosberg saw red for a nasty foul on Philipp Lahm. Robert Lewandowski made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulasci had fouled Douglas Costa. Lewandowski was denied twice as Leipzig kept Bayern at bay after the break. It is just a second league loss of the season for Leipzig, who are in their debut Bundesliga campaign. Formed in 2009 when drinks manufacturer Red Bull bought the licence of amateur club SSV Markranstadt and changed their name, Leipzig have achieved four promotions in seven years to reach the German top flight. Under coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, they won 11 of their first 15 matches, including a victory over last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund. However, they were emphatically put in their place by the reigning champions, who were fortunate not to fall behind early on when Yussuf Poulsen failed to connect with Timo Werner's low cross, but after that were irresistible. Thiago had a simple job in finding an empty net from close range after Lewandowski's shot had struck the post. Costa struck the upright from an angled strike but the home side would not be denied a second goal for long as Alonso drove home from inside the box after collecting a pass from the scorer of the first. It was 3-0 and game over before the break as Costa was tripped in the box by Gulasci after running clear of the defence to collect Mats Hummels ball over the top. Lewandowski converted from the spot and could have had a hat-trick but with just the keeper to beat on two separate occasions in the second half the Polish striker came off second best. Gulasci was beaten again late in the game but substitute Franck Ribery's fierce strike from inside the box struck the crossbar and bounced on the goal-line before being cleared. Match ends, FC Bayern München 3, RB Leipzig 0. Second Half ends, FC Bayern München 3, RB Leipzig 0. Attempt saved. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Douglas Costa with a cross. Attempt missed. Bernardo (RB Leipzig) left footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the right. Attempt saved. Mats Hummels (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Thiago Alcántara. Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Stefan Ilsanker. Attempt blocked. Juan Bernat (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski. Attempt saved. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Douglas Costa. Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Yussuf Poulsen. Attempt missed. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Philipp Lahm. Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München) hits the bar with a left footed shot from the left side of the box. Assisted by Xabi Alonso. Attempt saved. Douglas Costa (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Willi Orban (RB Leipzig). Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Marcel Halstenberg. Substitution, RB Leipzig. Oliver Burke replaces Marcel Sabitzer. Foul by Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München). Diego Demme (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick on the left wing. Attempt saved. Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski. Attempt blocked. Juan Bernat (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Douglas Costa. Foul by Xabi Alonso (FC Bayern München). Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, FC Bayern München. Joshua Kimmich replaces Arturo Vidal. Attempt saved. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Franck Ribéry. Offside, FC Bayern München. Mats Hummels tries a through ball, but Robert Lewandowski is caught offside. Hand ball by Bernardo (RB Leipzig). Substitution, FC Bayern München. Juan Bernat replaces David Alaba. Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Yussuf Poulsen. Corner, FC Bayern München. Conceded by Péter Gulácsi. Attempt saved. Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Franck Ribéry with a through ball. Offside, FC Bayern München. Xabi Alonso tries a through ball, but Franck Ribéry is caught offside. Offside, RB Leipzig. Stefan Ilsanker tries a through ball, but Davie Selke is caught offside. Attempt missed. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by David Alaba with a cross. Hand ball by Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München). Foul by Arturo Vidal (FC Bayern München). Diego Demme (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, RB Leipzig. Davie Selke replaces Timo Werner. Marcel Sabitzer (RB Leipzig) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Marcel Sabitzer (RB Leipzig).

Bayern Munich will head into the winter break three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga following an emphatic win over second-placed RB Leipzig.

Following the country's doping scandal, the International Olympic Committee has left it up to individual sports' federations to ban Russian competitors. Wada "stands by" its recommendation last month of a full Russia team ban. And Wada chief Olivier Niggli said the IOC's decision will "inevitably" mean "lesser protection for clean athletes". Wada president Sir Craig Reedie said investigators had "exposed, beyond a reasonable doubt, a state-run doping program in Russia that seriously undermines the principles of clean sport embodied within the World Anti-Doping Code". There was also concern expressed for Yuliya Stepanova, the Russian runner whose evidence helped expose her nation's doping scandal, but will now not be allowed to compete in Rio under a neutral flag. "Wada has been very vocal in supporting Yuliya's desire to compete as an independent athlete," added Niggli. "Ms Stepanova was instrumental in courageously exposing the single biggest doping scandal of all time. Wada is very concerned by the message that this sends whistleblowers for the future." Media playback is not supported on this device Olympic organisers have been accused of a lack of leadership and creating a "confusing mess" over the Russia decision. The United States Anti-Doping Association (Usada) said the IOC had delivered a "significant blow to the rights of clean athletes".  "Many, including clean athletes and whistleblowers, have demonstrated courage and strength in confronting a culture of state-supported doping and corruption within Russia," said Usada chief Travis Tygart. "Disappointingly, however, in response to the most important moment for clean athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC has refused to take decisive leadership." The IOC also ruled that any Russian athlete who has served a doping ban will not be eligible for the Games. That means it will not allow whistleblower Stepanova to compete as a neutral athlete in Rio. Tygart added: "The decision to refuse her entry into the Games is incomprehensible and will undoubtedly deter whistleblowers in the future from coming forward." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko: "We are very grateful to the International Olympic Committee for the fact that in choosing between collective responsibility and the rights of individual athletes, it took the decision that every athlete whose reputation today is untarnished, who is clean, without doping, has the right to compete in the Olympics." UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch: "While this is solely a decision for the International Olympic Committee, the scale of the evidence in the McLaren report arguably pointed to the need for stronger sanctions rather than leaving it to the international federations at this late stage." British IOC member Adam Pengilly: "I believe that the Russian federation has mocked the Olympic movement and I worry about the future of clean sport, I worry about the future for clean athletes, the Olympic movement and the Olympic Games. "Some have suggested the IOC has passed the buck and I'd have to agree. There's been an abdication of responsibility here." World marathon record holder and four-time Olympian Paula Radcliffe: "While I applaud no athlete going to the Games who has previously served a doping suspension, this cannot fairly be only Russian athletes. "A truly strong message for clean sport would have been to ban all those who have been caught cheating." Six-time Olympic track cycling champion Chris Hoy tweeted: "What sort of message does this send out? Surely IOC's job is to make crucial decisions rather than passing the buck." Five-time Olympic distance runner Jo Pavey tweeted: "Such a disappointing decision by the IOC. Does not send out a strong message that doping will not be tolerated." Double Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell tweeted: "Bottled it - IOC passing the buck to individual federations (sports) on whether to allow Russian athletes to compete in Rio 2016. Bad day. Russian track & field appeal fails so their ban remains." Olympic 400m bronze medallist Katharine Merry tweeted: ‏"IOC are useless... like I said last week.. what EXACTLY would a country have to do to get a blanket ban? #cantshakemyheadhardenough." Double Olympic gold medallist rower Andrew Hodge tweeted: "Decision based on promises from Russia, & leaving to the IFs is a poor move from a position on strength. Sad day." American long-distance runner Kara Goucher ‏tweeted: "So if you're Russian and served a drug ban you aren't allowed, but the US can send previously banned athletes. What?" Media playback is not supported on this device Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is "disappointed" its recommendation to ban Russia from next month's Olympic Games in Rio has been rejected.

"I'm not going to own it," Mr Trump told reporters of Obamacare, "I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it." Support for the Republican Senate bill fell apart on Monday when two more senators said they could not back it. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump was "playing a dangerous game" with the US healthcare system. "He is actively, actively trying to undermine the healthcare system in this country using millions of Americans as political pawns in a cynical game", Mr Schumer said on Tuesday. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell vowed to hold a vote to repeal Obamacare only, but the plan withered within hours after three Republican senators came out against it. Call it Mr Trump's "Joker" option for Obamacare repeal. Do nothing, and watch the world burn. Explaining how your dastardly plan will go down seldom works for cartoon villains, however, and it may not be the best strategy for presidents either. By telling Americans he's going to let the US healthcare system collapse in order to rally support for an eventual fix, he's essentially taking responsibility for anything bad that happens in the coming days. Despite his protestations that he won't "own" what happens next, he just stuffed the receipt in his pocket. Premiums go up? Insurance providers pull out of state individual markets? Democrats can say it's part of the president's plan to sabotage the system. All the while Mr Trump's opponents can point to the Congressional Budget Office's findings that, without White House meddling, the insurance markets would be relatively stable. Then again, at this point, the president has few good options. His promises to eventually work with Democrats are undermined by his pledges to defeat them at the ballot box next year. He clearly can't move forward with Republicans alone. All that's left is to walk away and hope for the worst. President Trump backed that plan on Monday night but changed his tune on Tuesday morning by proposing to simply let Obamacare - which has failed to curb rising costs as insurance options dwindle - die on its own. "As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned!" he tweeted. Without a replacement bill, analysts have estimated that millions of people would lose health insurance. The party's proposed alternative includes steep cuts to Medicaid, a healthcare programme for the poor and disabled, removed the individual mandate requiring all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty and implemented a six-month lockout period for anyone who lets their health coverage laps for more than two months. The House of Representatives passed a similar version of the Senate bill, but slashed taxes on the wealthy used to pay for the health scheme. The Senate proposed a similar provision but was forced to ditch it amid opposition. Two Republican senators, Mike Lee and Jerry Moran, came out against the bill on Monday night, saying the new legislation did not go far enough in repealing Obamacare. They joined Senators Rand Paul and Susan Collins, who had already opposed the bill. Republicans, who hold 52 seats, no longer have enough votes to approve the measure in the 100-member Senate. Moderate Republicans had also said the bill would have harmed some of their vulnerable constituents. The non-partisan Congressional Budgetary Office (CBO) found the bill would have stripped 22 million Americans of health insurance over the next decade. On top of that, polls show Obamacare has gained popularity among Americans - a survey by the Washington Post and ABC News on Monday found more than twice as many people preferred Mr Obama's programme to the proposed alternative. It is estimated Obamacare extended insurance to 20 million more Americans. Mr McConnell had hoped to push through a 2015 plan to repeal Obamacare only and give lawmakers a "two-year, stable transition" period to give Congress time to come up with a replacement plan. But Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito and Lisa Murkowski have said they will not support their party's proposal to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan. All but two Senate Republicans, including Mrs Collins, voted in favour of the repeal plan two years ago. "We should not give up," Mr McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "Passing this legislation will provide an opportunity for senators of all parties to engage with a fresh start and a new beginning for the American people." Earlier this month, Mr McConnell had said: "I think repealing and then delaying the replacement doesn't work".

President Donald Trump has said the new Republican healthcare policy should be to allow the current law to collapse.

The England Saxons international, 27, joined from Worcester before the start of the 2013-14 season but has been plagued by injuries and made just 29 appearances, scoring 10 tries. Benjamin said: "It is massively disappointing to be denied the opportunity to play by injury. "I have some great memories, but now it is time to consider another challenge." Director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: "The tries he scored for the Tigers showed just how much of a threat his pace and power could present to opposition defences and made him a valuable member of the squad. "He has worked diligently and it is very unfortunate that he has not been able to make a full recovery. We wish Miles well and he will always be welcome at Welford Road."

Leicester Tigers winger Miles Benjamin has retired from rugby because of a knee injury.

And would that be more or less alarming than Comey being fired in order to impede the Russia investigation, which is the case Democrats are making this week? New reporting from the Washington Post, and other US media outlets, which are the recipients of a huge amount of leaks this week, suggest Mr Trump was upset by the Comey testimony at the Senate last week. What particularly angered him, the reports say, was Comey saying it made him "mildly nauseous" to think the FBI may have swayed the election. This hit right at President Trump's psychological weak spot - the legitimacy of his victory in the election. Mr Trump frequently talks up the size of his win in November and often disparages people, or photos, or agencies that suggest he didn't win big. He still does so, six months after the election. But is being thin-skinned now getting in the way of his ability to do his job effectively? The sacking of James Comey might be evidence of that. Mr Trump hated what he heard in Mr Comey's testimony. It made him angry, he felt disparaged and he hit back. This, we understand, was Mr Trump's MO as a business man. But the scale now is far larger and he hit back in a way that undermines his credibility (because the story is not straight) and diminishes trust in the institutions of government. This may be about the Russia probe getting more intense, but there is still no evidence that Mr Trump colluded with Moscow to affect the outcome of the vote. None. It doesn't look good that the White House fires the man who's in charge of the investigation but it may be just that, unfortunate optics. But it may simply be about Mr Trump's personality. He doesn't forgive grudges and feels somehow unfairly treated. Then he acts fast, sometimes impulsively, especially when he's angry. At 70 years old, his character is unlikely to change. If the firing of Mr Comey is an example, it's not a good sign for long-term stability in this White House.

What if the Comey firing is nothing to do with the Russia probe or the Clinton email server but is actually just a result of the president's thin-skinned character?

The latest figures, for 2011, show just 62% of newly qualified teachers were still in teaching a year later, the ATL annual conference has heard. This is a steep drop from 2005 when there were 80% still in teaching after a year, says the union. This is a "crisis of teacher supply" said general secretary Mary Bousted. "Teachers are leaving in their first year, or not starting teaching when they have completed their training," said Dr Bousted in her speech to the union's annual conference in Liverpool. "That's almost 11,000 qualified teachers never entering the profession - taking work elsewhere. Work with better pay and reasonable workload." The union's analysis draws on official Department for Education figures for 2011. The researchers added the figures for teachers who left the profession within their first year in service to figures for newly qualified teachers who never actually practised as teachers. The results suggest that in 2011 some 10,800 newly qualified teachers never entered service after completing their training, just over a third (38%) of the total. "Why are we losing the next generation of teachers, that new blood for the profession which should be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, full of promise and ambition?" asked Dr Bousted. "Is it, I wonder, because trainee and newly qualified teachers see very early on just what teaching has become and decide that they do not want to be a part of it? "Is it that they learn as they work with exhausted and stressed colleagues that teaching has become a profession which is incompatible with a normal life? "Trainee and newly qualified teachers cannot fail to understand that, despite Michael Gove's intentions, teaching has become a profession monitored to within an inch of its life." Dr Bousted said fear of the demands of Ofsted had led many head teachers to impose an excessive bureaucratic load on staff, "filling forms, inputting data, using three different coloured pens for 'deep marking' and so on". The increased workload adds "not one jot to the quality of teaching", she said. This exodus from teaching "could not happen at a worse time", said Dr Bousted. "We need our teachers and lecturers now, more than ever, if we are to face the challenge of change. "A tsunami of curriculum and qualification changes threaten to engulf schools and colleges as Ofqual, the qualification agency, marches on - leaving dismay and devastation in its wake," she told the conference. Dr Bousted concluded with a reminder that it is education professionals and not politicians who raise standards. She warned that failing to improve the lives of education professionals risked politicians reaping "the bitter reward of parental fury when there is no teacher for their child". In challenge to politicians to act she warned that this was no threat, but "a crisis of your own making".

Record numbers of new teachers are leaving the profession within a year of qualifying, according to a teachers' union's analysis of official figures.

The £252m programme feeds into its five-year revenue and 10-year capital spending plans. It includes replacements for Langlee Primary and Broomlands Primary in Kelso and an overhaul of Galashiels schools. However, 55 jobs will also be lost. The council says there will be no compulsory redundancies. Other plans include flood prevention work in Selkirk and Jedburgh with plans also in place for Hawick. The authority aims to transfer social care and cultural services such as museums and libraries to arm's length companies and trusts as it tries to meet a savings target of nearly £30m by 2020. Council leader David Parker said: "The key driver for us has absolutely been to make sure that we use our capital programme to drive investment. "Over the next 10 years we are spending about £80m delivering new schools and about £20m refurbishing schools. "£150m is being spent on our roads, street lighting, bridge and flooding infrastructure." Council leaders also paid tribute to their staff's contribution to meeting budget reduction targets. They said two deals forgoing any pay rises had saved £8m since 2010 - avoiding further job cuts. They believe that commitment has spared the authority some of the difficult decisions now faced by others across Scotland.

The administration of Scottish Borders Council has outlined draft budget proposals which will see council tax frozen for the eighth successive year.

Media playback is not supported on this device Last month MPs heard a doctor who received a 'mystery package' for Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2011 had no record of his medical treatment at the time. British Cycling has now asked the English Institute for Sport's director of medical services, Dr Rod Jaques, to conduct a review. He is expected to report in June. Dr Jacques has already started work and will examine the medical and physiotherapy teams' practices. He will carry out confidential interviews with staff and look at resources, management and record-keeping. "We've commissioned an external expert to scrutinise our existing processes and procedures and to make a series of recommendations on how we can improve," said British Cycling's people director, Michael Chivers. Both the national governing body and road racing off-shoot Team Sky were heavily criticised for lax record-keeping at a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee hearing in its inquiry entitled 'Combatting doping in sport'. The investigation focused on the contents of a package delivered to Team Sky for Wiggins in France at the end of the Criterium du Dauphine race in France in 2011. MPs heard that in 2014, ex-Team Sky medic Dr Richard Freeman had a laptop containing medical records stolen. Committee chairman Damian Collins MP said after the hearing that the "credibility of Team Sky and British Cycling is in tatters". In December, Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford told the committee that Freeman had said the package contained an over-the-counter decongestant, Fluimucil. Media playback is not supported on this device Wiggins is a five-time Olympic gold medallist and in 2012 became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. He and Team Sky boss Brailsford have come under scrutiny since information on the rider's authorised use of banned drugs to treat a medical condition was released by hackers. Wiggins, an asthma and allergy sufferer, received special permission to use triamcinolone shortly before the 2012 Tour as well as the previous year's event and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. His therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) were approved by British authorities, and cycling's world governing body the UCI. There is no suggestion either the 36-year-old or Team Sky broke any rules.

British Cycling has announced an independent review into its medical practices after it was criticised as part of an anti-doping investigation.

A Lancaster bomber, two Hurricanes and three Spitfire planes are all affected by the problem. The BBMF has three other Spitfires with different engines which are currently unavailable for other reasons. The RAF said it had "taken the decision to temporarily pause flying of our aircraft powered by Merlin engines". For live updates and more news from Lincolnshire Prince joins WWII flight commemorations Bomber flies again after overhaul A spokesperson said: "A routine engine inspection has highlighted a fault with one of our Merlin engines. We are currently investigating the fault." The decision to halt flying was "purely as a precaution" but safety was "paramount" and the unit was still operating its Griffon-engined Spitfires, they added. RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where the unit is based, confirmed an appearance at Weymouth Carnival had to be cancelled on Wednesday afternoon. The BBMF has also cancelled its appearance at Eastbourne Airbourne. A Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster bomber were due to appear at the air show later. Organisers are waiting to see if it will be able to appear on another day as the show runs until Sunday. Meanwhile, organisers of Biggin Hill's Festival of Flight, which is taking place this weekend, said: "The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will not appear this weekend unless we're told otherwise." The air show takes place at the site of an airfield south of London that played a central part in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Colin Hitchins, of the festival, added: "It's a great shame. But we'll see what happens. If they can make it, great, but if not, we'll see them next year." The festival is due to feature other Spitfires and Hurricanes, he added. The RAF states the mission of the BBMF is "to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country, to promote the modern day air force and to inspire the future generations". The aircraft can regularly be seen in the skies at air shows and military events. The RAF spokesman was unable to say when they would be back in action. One of the planes is the last remaining airworthy Spitfire which flew in the Battle of Britain, and the Lancaster is one of only two left flying in the world. The news comes before the first ever airshow at RAF Scampton, which is due to be held in early September and include planes from the BBMF. In July, the Duke of Cambridge attended an air display marking 60 years of the BBMF. Prince William, who is the flight's patron, also spoke to veterans at the event.

Most of the historic aircraft that make up the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) have been grounded due to an engine issue.

Holyhead deputy mayor Jeff Evans found the medal in his late father's effects, and it took him seven years to trace the history of its owner, TW Roach. An Army historian from Scotland finally pointed him in the right direction. A parade and service will now be held at the grave at St Seiriol's cemetery during Armed Forces Day on 19 June. Mr Evans said he felt the grave needed to be restored as a sign of respect to the soldier who had served with the Royal Engineers and died in October 1918, aged 24. "The major part was when I saw it done up, there was a lump in my throat," he said. It took a fair bit of detective work to find the correct TW Roach, and it was not until he widened his search on the internet that an Army historian from Scotland got in touch. Mr Evans said he was surprised when he learned TW Roach was buried in Holyhead. The reason his grave did not have a similar headstone to the three other war graves was that he was buried in the same plot as his father, Captain Thomas Roach, who was lost at sea in 1900. With no body to bury, Captain Roach's wife had provided the grave herself and so the War Graves Commission was not responsible. Mr Evans contacted the Army, who contributed £250 towards the refurbishing of the badly damaged grave, and the Holyhead branch of the Royal British Legion put up £250. The work on the grave - and others nearby - was done by the offenders working on a "community payback" scheme with the Wales Probation Trust. "I appreciate the way in which the community pay back team responds to requests like this," said Mr Evans. "It's exactly what people want to see - offenders putting something back into their local community." The community payback supervisor, Sid Giles, also has a military background, having spent 24 years in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and said he was proud to have worked on the grave restoration. "The place was a mess when we first came here and it's done the team good to be involved with something like this," he added.

The chance discovery of a British Commonwealth war medal has led to the grave of a "forgotten" soldier being restored on Anglesey.

Media playback is not supported on this device The award went to those who took part in the international event for injured, wounded and sick servicemen and women. More than 30 competitors took to the stage in front of a crowd of 12,000 people at Glasgow's SSE Hydro arena. The Helen Rollason Award is presented in memory of the BBC presenter who died of cancer aged 43 in 1999. It is awarded for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity. Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games, which brought together more than 400 competitors from 13 nations in London, following a visit to the Warrior Games in Colorado last year. "I'm like a proud dad," said Prince Harry. "These men and women will no longer be defined by their injuries. Their stories move, humble and captivate us. "We should not underestimate the power of sport, that changes life. All of those who complete in the Invictus Games have achieved so much just to make it to the starting line-up." Dave Henson, captain of the UK team, accepted the award on behalf of those who took part in the London event. "To use the phrase 'blown away' is inappropriate but we were," the 30-year-old said. Media playback is not supported on this device "We expected Aldershot but we were given the Olympic Stadium. It's absolutely overwhelming. "To be recognised formally with the Helen Rollason Award is the icing on the cake of our Invictus Games adventure." Competitions took place across nine disciplines: athletics, swimming, powerlifting, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, road cycling, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and archery. Members of the team who served with Britain's forces talked about how sport and the Invictus Games experience helped their recovery after suffering serious injuries. "When I'm running, I feel free. I don't feel disabled, I feel normal, I feel like I used to feel," said Henson, from the Royal Engineers, who lost his legs in an explosion. "I love the freedom. Invictus is unconquered, it's what we stand for. We go through recovery as a team, we will get ourselves through it as a team like we used to." Corporal Paul Vice, 31, tried wheelchair tennis, swimming and athletics before deciding sitting volleyball, cycling and archery suited him. Royal Marine Vice suffered 400 significant wounds down his left side along with other injuries after being seriously injured in an explosion in 2011. "It doesn't matter if you can run the 100 metres in 12 seconds or 25 seconds - the guys that run it in 25 seconds were told they'd never walk again," he said. Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "Their achievements this year at the Invictus Games have been inspirational and they all deserve to be recognised with the Helen Rollason Award." The Invictus Games were organised with the support and backing of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and the Ministry of Defence. The bidding process for the next Invictus Games in spring 2016 and summer 2017 is now under way.

Prince Harry presented Invictus Games competitors with the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.

The five-year agreement between Heriot-Watt University and Total will be worth a minimum of £2.5m. The partnership agreement covers global research and development. It also includes sponsored PhD and post-doctoral studies, guest lectures and presentations, internships and scholarships. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the Edinburgh Campus of Heriot-Watt on Thursday, where the agreement was signed by Elisabeth Proust, managing director of Total E&P UK, and Dr Gillian Murray, deputy principal, business and enterprise, at the university. Ms Sturgeon said: "Ensuring the future of Scotland's offshore industry is a key priority for this government and it is hugely encouraging to hear the positive impact this partnership will have for both the oil and gas sector and our university system. "Not only will this provide an excellent opportunity to harness the technological advances Scotland's universities are so famed for, but it is also set to help ensure Scotland's oil and gas sector will continue to prosper for future generations." The partnership will also cover seminars and training events, career, business and education forums and conferences and university and industry-based site visits. Dr Murray said: "This is the latest development in a long-term and much-valued partnership between Total and Heriot-Watt University. "Such partnerships and joint ventures are key to the way the university operates and are of great value to development and the wider economy. "This partnership agreement covers education as well as research and development, underpinning the future success of the offshore oil and gas industry and the Scottish government's economic priorities."

A university in Edinburgh has signed a multi-million pound partnership agreement with an oil and gas firm to boost research and education.

There are no winning hands in the great game being played in Syria, but Vladimir Putin has reaped a positive return from his military intervention to shore up the position of President Bashar al-Assad's government. His gamble could still be a loser over the long term, but he currently has command of the table and over what happens next. Mr Putin's combination of aggression and finesse is in sharp contrast to his American counterpart. Barack Obama has carefully guarded his chips, seeing little to be gained with the lousy cards in Syria. While the United States is leading a limited military campaign against the Islamic State, Mr Obama has offered little more than the status quo ante when it comes to Mr Assad. Mr Obama has called for Mr Assad to step down, but there has never been a real strategy behind that rhetoric. Mr Putin and Mr Obama are actually playing two interrelated but different games. Success in each game is the same - a functioning Syrian state that is not a safe haven for extremists. Their paths are vastly different. One envisages the survival of the existing Syrian regime, with some symbolic accommodation with its political opposition. The other one involves an inclusive political process that results in genuine power-sharing. Given the events of the past six months, Mr Putin is far closer to his goal than Mr Obama. Mr Obama insists that Syria does not represent a competition between the two leaders, but it is becoming increasingly hard to view it any other way. While Mr Obama is fond of calling the United States the indispensable nation, it is President Putin who has repeatedly made himself indispensable in Syria. First, after what he viewed as a fiasco in Libya, he made sure that the United Nations would not sanction a comparable intervention in Syria. There has been no international responsibility to protect the Syrian people from their dictator as there was in Libya. Second, after Mr Obama threatened military action in response to Syria's crossing of his red line over the use of chemical weapons, Mr Putin imposed on Mr Assad to yield his chemical weapons stocks. However, this provided a de facto green light to attack the opposition through conventional means. Finally, while Mr Obama hesitated at the use of military force, requesting congressional approval that would likely not have materialised, Mr Putin intervened decisively. Where Mr Obama's contemplated use of military force would not have affected the military balance in the Syrian civil war, Mr Putin fundamentally changed at least one crucial fact on the ground. Mr Obama's policy has been based until now on the presumption that Mr Assad's days are numbered. That may still be true but, thanks to Putin, the number is getting larger not smaller. Mr Obama is right when he said that Syria cannot return to where it was before the civil war. He is also right when he says that the conflict will not end as long as Mr Assad remains in power. But given that Mr Assad for the moment is not going anywhere, it is very likely that the political process that resumes this week in Syria is not going anywhere either. As Mr Obama suggested in a recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, he does not see Mr Putin's intervention as a success, but rather as an over-extension. Washington was content to play Huck Finn and let Moscow be Tom Sawyer and paint the fence. The problem with the White House analogy is that in regional geo-politics, who actually paints the fence matters. Mr Obama over the past three years has been far too dismissive of the importance of the perceived decline in the credibility of American power. Mr Obama suggests he wants to leave a "clean barn" for his successor. In fact, his successor will need to rebuild international trust and confidence in American leadership just as he did - albeit from a very different place. In 2009, the United States was accused of doing too much, with dire consequences in Iraq. Today, the United States is accused of not doing enough, with dire consequences in Syria. While Mr Obama has never believed that he needed to solve the tragedy in Syria - he has consistently viewed it as someone else's civil war - in all likelihood his successor will have to do more. US efforts to date have degraded the Islamic State, but it is questionable whether it can be defeated through the existing limited levels of air power and special operations forces. Mr Obama has been reluctant to do more, understandably fearing that greater involvement might exacerbate the extremist threat to the US and its allies. While the current operational pause has had a greater effect on the ground than anticipated, the next president will likely inherit the Syrian civil war and find a solution to end it. Its dangerous ripple effects cannot be ignored, even if the conflict itself does not represent an existential threat. What is unclear is whether Mr Putin's gamble has made a solution to the Syrian conflict harder or easier to achieve. It could be either one. PJ Crowley is a former US Assistant Secretary of State, now a professor of practice and fellow at the George Washington University Institute of Public Diplomacy & Global Communication.

Vladimir Putin's surprise announcement of a Russian military pullback from Syria underscores how his country has played a decisive role in the conflict, frequently outmanoeuvring the US, writes PJ Crowley.