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John Humphrys will go from grilling politicians to toasting composers after landing a weekly Classic FM show.
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The presenter will "share his own stories and reflections on his favourite composers and their music" in a Sunday afternoon slot from 5 January.
Humphrys was known for interrogating political figures on BBC Radio 4's Today programme until his departure in September after 32 years on the show.
"It's proof positive that there really is a life after politics," he said.
"And a rather more inspiring one at that."
The 76-year-old was given the Classic FM job after sitting in as a guest host on the station's breakfast show for a week in October.
Classic FM senior managing editor Sam Jackson said there had been a "hugely positive reaction" to Humphrys' stint.
The move comes despite the fact Humphrys told BBC News two weeks after leaving Today that he had no plans to go back to broadcasting.
"I don't feel any need to get back in front of a microphone or indeed a camera," he said. "Perhaps I will, but at the moment no I don't."
Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
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Cloud computing is taking off on a massive scale, so what should companies look out for as they move their information technology into the cloud?
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By Tim WeberBusiness editor, BBC News website
Cloud computing is not just a buzzword anymore. If 2010 was the year that cloud computing went mainstream, then 2011 will be the year that companies have to get their cloud strategy sorted.
At its most basic, cloud computing is "just another word for something that's been going on for a long time - the internet," jokes Rowan Trollope, in charge of cloud services at web security firm Symantec.
In reality, though, cloud computing is a fundamental change of how we - companies and consumers - use computer technology.
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing power over the internet. It turns software into a service where customers don't pay for a licence but for how much they use; it makes computing power and storage space a commodity, bought when needed and scaled up when necessary.
The rush
The cloud is such a "major technology disruption" that the new chief executive of computer giant Hewlett Packard, Leo Apotheker, has decided to refocus his whole company around a cloud strategy.
The early adopters are both the very big and the very small beasts in the corporate world.
"This year, especially for service providers like big telecoms companies, there is an extraordinary rush underway to deploy and go live with their cloud offerings," says Bob Beauchamp, CEO of BMC Software, a firm that helps large companies to build their own cloud solutions.
"The people who are most keen are those who see new revenue streams," says Mr Beauchamp.
One telecoms boss told him that "time is of the essence, we must hurry and get our cloud offering out because the market is very competitive, and we don't want to be late to the market."
Not everybody is quite ready yet. Many manufacturers, says Mr Beauchamp, haven't even started to think about their cloud strategy.
Many established small and medium-sized firms don't even know what the cloud is, reports Martin Leuw, until recently chief executive of Iris Software Group.
From zero to server in 30 seconds
Ironically, small firms would be best placed to take advantage of the cloud. Indeed, it is usually start-ups that are seizing the moment.
After all, information technology is costly. It requires capital expenditure - for servers, software licences - and a team to maintain it all.
And it is slow. "Twelve years ago, it took a company six to eight weeks to commission a server," says Lanham Napier, chief executive of Rackspace, a webhosting and cloud services company.
Putting your IT into the cloud allows "you to have a new server in 30 seconds, and to innovate and grow faster," he promises.
But going into the cloud is not without pitfalls. Companies have to think strategically how to "enable the cloud, get the road map, embrace the implementation and work out the security dimensions," says Nick Coleman, in charge of cloud security at IBM.
The price of cheap
The global economic crisis is helping with cloud adoption. Big IT providers report that customers' budgets are so squeezed that there's a huge reluctance to invest. So finance directors hope that moving to the cloud allows them to replace capital expenditure with operational expenditure.
Getting your IT from the cloud may be cheap, but it comes at a price: standardisation. Using the cloud means opting for off-the-shelf solutions.
There will be no, or hardly any, customisation. On the upside, instead of having the same big, pricey software package for everyone, your staff should be able to select smaller and cheaper applications with the functionality that is just right for them.
Mobile demands
The cloud is also the perfect answer to the surge of corporate mobility. Workforces are becoming ever more mobile, while staff - from the chief executive down - carry smartphones and tablet computers, and expect that they can use them to access their work files everywhere.
Old school IT systems don't cope with that, but attempts to force users to comply with old IT rules are doomed to fail, says Rami Habal of Proofpoint, a web security firm. "Users will revolt instead of going through the normal IT channels," he says.
Using cloud services saves companies from building the expensive infrastructure to support mobile solutions.
Agile growth
Most companies pay good IT money for little return. Their servers usually run at 15% to 25% of capacity at most.
Shifting the computing workload to a cloud provider is more efficient. Companies like Rackspace or Amazon run their cloud servers at 75% or even 90% of capacity. That's both greener and cheaper.
More importantly, extra storage or computing power can be switched on in an instant, and it is this agility and scalability that persuades most companies to venture into the cloud - even more important than cost, according to a survey by Gartner, a technology consultancy.
Cloud spotting
Not all clouds have been created equal, though. Asking for a cloud solution is like asking for a "vehicle" instead of specific type of car.
For starters, there are public cloud solutions that deliver a service, but you won't know in detail how it is delivered. "The public cloud is a really cheap place to do business," says Dave Coplin, until recently the chief technology officer of Microsoft UK.
Big companies, however, often feel queasy about sharing their IT service with other companies. They want the "commercials of the cloud", paying only for what they use, but stay in full control as well, says Nick Wilson, the man in charge of Hewlett Packard in the UK and Ireland.
The solution is private clouds, where companies know exactly where their own software and data are, maybe even down to the server racks dedicated to their computing.
Realistically, though, most established companies won't even go that far and opt for a hybrid cloud instead, where a private cloud solution is closely integrated with a company's legacy system, says BMC's Bob Beauchamp.
As companies phase out these old systems, "cloud will ultimately become the prime architecture to deliver IT services," he predicts.
Cloud enthusiasts like JP Rangaswami, chief science officer at Salesforce.com, one of the earliest firms to bet on the cloud, wants companies to ditch their legacy systems much faster. "It's the sunken cost fallacy," he argues, where IT departments feel more comfortable supporting old mainframes and enterprise software instead of supporting their company's business strategy.
The cloud check list
Still, even the biggest cloud cheerleaders counsel companies to compile a thorough checklist.
The starting point for any such list will be a self-examination, because one size won't fit all.
Nick Coleman at IBM reels off a long list of vital questions: How much management do your data or applications need? What's the right measure of security for your company? Where is the workload? Which data are sensitive, which are not? Do you have specific regulatory issues like audits, compliance and privacy?
"Map your company's IT needs early for the right cloud strategy. In a start-up, the source code might be really sensitive; for others it is not a core issue. Ask yourself what you should put in the cloud," says Mr Coleman.
"Think of the cloud as a tool, an enabler, you have to think about what you want to have as an outcome," says Microsoft's Dave Coplin. For one company, security may equal reliability; for another it may be the safety of the data.
Rowan Trollope at Symantec has six tips for companies moving into the cloud:
Culture shift
The experts at Gartner counsel their customers to "put a small [cloud service] in place first and see what unexpected behaviours happen."
"The risk is in allowing that small private cloud to grow faster than your organisation, people, and processes and business model changes can handle it."
Companies have to understand that cloud computing is more than an IT deployment. "Moving into the cloud is a cultural shift as well as a technology shift," says Microsoft's Mr Coplin. "People lose some flexibility, but they get scalability and power in return."
For IT departments, and especially the chief technology and chief information officers, it requires a rethinking of their roles, away from operations and towards business strategy.
Moving to the cloud also results in new challenges. To "onboard" a new employee - putting them on the HR system, sorting their payroll, giving them access to the company's customer relationship management software, providing mobile access to the corporate IT etc - may involve half a dozen cloud services.
All this needs to be tied together, so that one click can enable all cloud services, says Bob Beauchamp.
IT service providers like Infosys of India have identified this as a big business opportunity. Chief executive Kris Gopalakrishnan believes that companies moving into the cloud will soon require a "cloud aggregation service" that integrates the patchwork of cloud services with a company's core IT systems.
Clearly, these are still early days.
There are no fully established policies that rule the behaviour of data and applications in the cloud.
Cloud-to-cloud communication is still a big issue, says Mr Beauchamp, although he predicts that soon they "will be able to interoperate".
At Rackspace, chief executive Lanham Napier even describes cloud technology as "still a little bit immature, but progressing".
JP Rangaswami at Salesforce.com, meanwhile, calls for the adoption of 10 simple principles for cloud service providers - ranging from data portability and transparency to security breach notifications.
Then there is talk of IT becoming just another commodity, with spot prices for storage and computing power.
John Manley, in charge of cloud computing at HP Labs in the UK, says that "we are in the foothills of cloud computing and going towards Mount Everest".
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The Queen and animated characters in front of Buckingham Palace feature on two commemorative Oyster cards.
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The special pay-as-you-go cards, one for the Queen's Jubilee and the second for the London Olympics, will be available at Tube stations in Zone 1.
About 250,000 Jubilee cards, featuring an official portrait of the monarch, will be available from mid May.
There will be 1.5 million Olympic editions of the card for travellers from mid June.
The commemorative cards will cost £10, which includes a £5 deposit and £5 credit, Transport for London (TfL) said.
The Olympics Oyster card includes images of sports, the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames and bunting to mark the summer of events in the city.
Last April TfL issued 750,000 special Oyster cards bearing a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to mark the Royal Wedding.
Shashi Verma, TfL's Director of Customer Experience, said: "Transport will play a vital role in bringing people out to see The Queen during her Diamond Jubilee, and in getting people to all of the sporting and cultural events during the London 2012 Games and so it is fitting that we have limited edition Oyster cards that they can use and keep to mark these wonderful, once in a lifetime, occasions."
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Children as young as four have been treated in accident and emergency departments in Wales for the effects of alcohol, research shows.
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By Kevin LeonardBBC Wales News reporter
Figures obtained by BBC Wales suggest at least 1,200 children attend casualty each year because of drink and drugs.
Children under 12 are among cases of alcohol and drug poisoning.
Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, said the issue was "increasingly worrying".
"I think it's pretty well recognised by health services and health professionals that there's an increasing problem with both alcohol and drug-related incidents with younger and younger people," said Dr Lewis.
"We see year-on-year increases with attendances at A&E departments, particularly for alcohol."
One young person in casualty as a result of alcohol and drugs was one too many, he said.
"It is increasingly worrying. The BMA and the health profession have been advancing for some time the importance of raising the awareness of alcohol in particular," he added.
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show that more than 800 children have attended casualty in each of the past three years in cases where alcohol is a factor.
Hundreds more have been seen after taking drugs, although figures are not necessarily for substance abuse as they may include incidents such as an accidental swallowing of tablets or medication overdose.
Legal highs
Clive Wolfendale, chief executive of north Wales drug and alcohol agency Cais, said the problem of children regularly drinking to such extremes had taken off around five years ago.
"Where kids go first for what might be described as a high is drink, rather than cannabis or opiates or ecstasy or legal highs. The substance of choice is alcohol," he said.
"The reasons for that are two-fold. First of all it's the cheapness and availability because, in real terms, it's cheaper that it's ever been."
The former North Wales Police deputy chief constable said efforts to prevent the sale of alcohol to children was "easily circumvented" by older people buying it on their behalf.
"The second reason [for alcohol's popularity] is the general thrust of marketing," he added.
"The drink companies are on social networking sites and there's still a lot of direct advertising going on through sports sponsorship and so on.
"It's perceived as a cool thing to do. That's why young people are much more likely to end up in casualty requiring a stomach pump and so on."
Welsh Government guidance states that children under 15 should not drink alcohol as there is evidence that it can harm the developing brain, bones and hormones. It also warns that drinking at 15 and older can be hazardous to health.
Aneurin Bevan Health Board, a small board which covers the former Gwent area, said the vast majority of cases contained in its figures related to teenage alcohol intoxication and misuse.
Drug misuse
However, the health board has also dealt with 21 cases of actual alcohol poisoning among children since 2006, including six for children aged 11 and under.
It has also treated 39 children for drug poisoning from narcotics/hallucinogens since 2006, including 10 last year.
Larger health boards such as Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, which serves Swansea, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot, Cardiff and Vale, and Betsi Cadwaladr, which covers north Wales, each treat hundreds of children every year in their casualty departments for the effects of drink and drugs.
Children's Commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler, said the figures did not come as a surprise.
"The Welsh Government published its latest wellbeing monitor earlier this year which highlighted how people aged under 20 account for almost one in 10 of all referrals for treatment for alcohol problems in Wales," he said.
"The long-term dangers of alcohol and drug misuse are well documented, and more and more young people now understand the health risks associated with excessive drinking and are, in fact, choosing to avoid alcohol.
"But if we want to successfully combat this problem I think we need to shift society's general attitudes towards alcohol.
"There is plenty of information out there to help children and young people make informed decisions but children tend to succumb to peer pressure and often model the behaviour of those around them.
"Whilst educating children and young people must remain a top priority, there is also a need for adults involved in a child's life to take responsibility."
Welsh Government figures for 2008-09 showed that more than 120 children under the age of 12 in Wales were referred for specialist help for drug and alcohol problems.
Figures between health boards may not be directly comparable as differing methods of compiling data have been used.
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Unemployment in Scotland has fallen for the fifth time in a row.
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The number of jobless fell by 5,000 to 214,000 between April and June, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
The Scottish unemployment rate now stands at 7.9%, which is just below the average of 8% for the whole of the UK.
The claimant count in Scotland also fell by 800 from June to 142,600 in July.
The number of those in employment now stands at 2,500,000, up by 12,000 over the three months from April to June.
In the UK as a whole, unemployment fell by 46,000 during the same period to 2.56m.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, said: "The Scottish labour market is proving resilient and it is good news more people are finding work and fewer Scots are claiming benefit.
"Each step in the right direction counts for the families and individuals who have made the positive step into work."
According to the Scottish government, the youth employment rate increased by 2.3% over the past year whereas it fell slightly in the UK as a whole.
First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the figures.
He said: "The figures for youth employment show that the Scottish government's efforts to help young people are paying off, and the rate of female unemployment is now below the UK average.
"However, while these are welcome trends, there are still too many people in Scotland without work, and more needs to be done."
He called on the UK government to increase capital investment.
Business organisation CBI Scotland said the figures demonstrated the private sector was "gradually regaining the confidence to hire".
However, Graham Smith, general secretary of the STUC, said there was "little cause for celebration".
He added: "Despite the recent improvement, employment remains significantly below pre-recession levels and too many new jobs being created are part-time, low wage and insecure."
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There is a risk of serious outbreaks of disease in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, aid agencies have warned.
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A lack of shelter, contaminated water and poor sanitation could lead to cholera, dysentery and other water-borne diseases, the charities said.
The UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said in some areas people were living and defecating in the open.
The umbrella organisation, formed of 12 charities, said immediate action was needed to tackle the problem.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake is now known to have killed more than 7,500 people and injured more than 14,500.
More than 4,000 aid workers from around the world have been helping with relief and rescue operations.
A spokesman for the DEC, which has been running a major appeal to provide aid to the country, said there had already been reports of diarrhoea outbreaks and chest infections.
DEC member agencies have been working to provide better emergency shelter and to ensure drinking water and sanitation are a part of the emergency response.
The scale and cost of this aspect of the response are still being assessed but it was clear action was needed now before the rainy season starts in June, a spokesman said.
"Cholera is endemic in Nepal, so an outbreak would not be unprecedented; last year 600 people caught cholera and in 2009 a major outbreak affected more than 300,000 people," he added.
Nepal earthquake relief
$415 million
needed for humanitarian relief
3 million people in need of food aid
130,000 houses destroyed
24,000 people living in makeshift camps
20 teams working to reunite lost children with their families
The DEC appeal has so far raised £33m from public donations. The UK government has matched the first £5m of donations, bringing the total to £38m, and committed a further £17.8m in humanitarian aid, making it the largest international donor with a total contribution of £22.8m.
Based on pledges, aid agencies in Nepal have already provided clean drinking water, soap, blankets and mattresses to tens of thousands of people, DEC said.
"One week on and the response by the UK public continues to amaze me," DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said.
"The funds mean we are able to increase the humanitarian response and despite immense challenges, aid is getting through to more and more people who desperately need it."
The relief effort was being hampered by the damage to Nepal's roads and sole international airport, as well as fuel shortages and limited electricity, Mr Saeed added.
British rescuers have been playing a key role in the relief effort which has followed the Nepal earthquake.
Among the work by the UK International Search and Rescue team deployed by the Department for International Development has been taking a four-year-old girl with a serious leg injury to a field hospital for treatment and treating a young boy's broken arm using a plastic bottle as a splint.
Glynnis Brooks, head of health, water, sanitation and hygiene at the British Red Cross, said: "Water and sanitation remain critical at this stage of the disaster, as those affected are generally much more susceptible to illness and death from disease.
"Given the scale of the damage to infrastructure near the epicentre of the quake, rehabilitation of water supplies will take time, so it is essential that humanitarian agencies assist the government by providing people affected with clean, safe water supplies."
Among the DEC member agencies, Oxfam has been providing water and sanitation in four camps in the Kathmandu Valley and Action Aid has distributed disinfectant kits for cleaning to 2,500 people in Khokana and Paanga just outside Kathmandu.
Care has been delivering jerry cans and hygiene items including soap, and is also distributing water purification tablets to people who are particularly susceptible to water-borne illness such as diarrhoea.
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A man who threatened to "chop up" his former partner with an axe has been jailed for six years.
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Carlisle Crown Court heard Mark Little assaulted Amanda O'Brien several times, including one attack where she was head-butted and dragged along a floor.
On another occasion Little, 51, punched her in the face, grabbed an axe and said "I will kill you and chop you up".
Little, from Workington, admitted making a threat to kill and causing actual bodily harm.
The court heard the assaults began at the home of a mutual friend on 6 March, with witnesses reporting Ms O'Brien and being "bloodied, bruised and hysterical".
At the same house a week later, Little pushed her to the floor, dragged her by the hair between rooms and took hold of a large black axe, which prosecutor Tim Evans described as a "heavy, sharp and frankly fearsome weapon".
Although he dropped the axe, Little told terrified Ms O'Brien "shut your mouth, I will kill you and chop you up", before head-butting and punching her.
The court was told the victim was so distressed she moved away from Cumbria, telling police "I honestly believe he could kill me".
Little, of Milburn Street, who the court heard had a criminal record spanning 35 years, pleaded guilty to assault, causing actual bodily harm, making a threat to kill and perverting the course of justice.
Recorder Kevin Grice told him: "You are, in my view, a controlling, manipulative and devious man who, in certain circumstances, fuelled by drink and drugs, is capable of threatening and inflicting violence, particularly on women."
Little was also banned from contacting the victim for seven years.
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Experts studying a revamp of Blackpool promenade carried out two years ago have said the changes should be kept.
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Consultants Ove Arup Partners Ltd said changing the prom again would be a "retrograde" step after studying five options outlined by the council.
The 600m stretch in front of the resort's tower has been blamed for causing congestion.
Councillors have asked residents to consider the options which range in cost from £900,000 to £2.7m.
The renovation in 2011 saw a "shared space" for cars, pedestrians and trams on the promenade with the removal of kerbstones.
A public consultation period ended on 31 May and councillors will discuss the consultant's report at the executive meeting on 15 July.
'Safe prom'
"The scheme provides a safe and attractive pedestrian environment which is befitting of the prominent location within the town centre and provides an appropriate public realm for a busy pedestrian and tourist destination," said the Ove Arup report.
"Although busy, the traffic volumes are not considered to be excessive and the queues observed on site were relatively modest," it added.
The report said "issues relating to congestion are anecdotal" and stated: "The other options put forward are considered to be retrograde steps that would revert to a more traffic-dominated space."
The first option, which is favoured by Ove Arup, would just see repairs carried out on the carriageway as needed and no restoration of the zebra crossing which was removed earlier in the year.
The other four options include variations on replacing the road surface with asphalt, raising the kerbs, the installation of guard rails and the restoration of two lanes of traffic each way.
In March local MP Paul Maynard asked residents to send him photos of area of notorious traffic congestion in the town including the section near the tower.
Blind people complained following the revamp about the risk caused by a lack of kerbstones.
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Plans to build a £6m school in Liverpool for children with special needs have been approved by the city council.
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Millstead Primary School will be relocated from Old Mill Lane, Wavertree to Prince Edwin Street, Everton.
The school currently caters for 70 pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism.
The new school will be able to accommodate 105 youngsters.
The school in Everton is due to open in September 2014 and will feature a hydrotherapy pool and rooms with physiotherapy and sensory support.
Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for education, said: "Millstead is already doing amazing work with young people and this was reflected in their recent Ofsted inspection.
"This new building will enable them to continue their teaching in much improved surroundings with better classrooms and a proper outdoor space."
The school is part of the Liverpool School Investment Programme, in which Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson pledged to deliver 12 new schools to the city.
Headteacher Michelle Beard said: "The new facilities will be absolutely fantastic and enable us to provide the best possible experiences for our pupils."
Millstead School was rated as "outstanding" by education watchdog Ofsted in an inspection in March.
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A man taking legal action against Sinn Fein has denied having a "special category relationship" with SDLP MLA John Dallat.
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The High Court heard the claim after it emerged that the men had co-authored a draft press release critical of sackings at Northern Ireland Water.
Declan Gormley was fired from its board two years ago.
He is suing Sinn Fein for defamation over the contents of two party press releases.
Mr Gormley spent a second day in the witness box at Belfast High Court where he was cross-examined by a lawyer for Sinn Fein, who are claiming their press releases were defensible responses to attacks on the party and its then minister Mr Murphy.
Mr Gormley, who described himself as a non-political individual, admitted helping to draft a press release for Mr Dallat after they met at a hotel.
He later e-mailed it to the North Antrim MLA, but it was never issued by the SDLP politician, although it was claimed some of the language used later appeared in a letter from Mr Dallat published in the Irish News.
'Language of confrontation'
Mr Gormley, who also met other politicians from all parties, said: "I have no difficulty in Mr Dallat fighting my corner. Mr Dallat was doing what MLAs do."
Sinn Fein's QC said: "You were in it together using language of confrontation and attack."
Mr Gormley replied: "I object to that."
The court heard that Mr Dallat's party colleague, Patsy McGlone, telephoned the Department of Regional Development during the 2010 'big freeze' crisis to demand the then minister Conor Murphy apologise for sacking Mr Gormley over procurement failures.
Mr Gormley said he had no advance knowledge of the call.
However, Sinn Fein's lawyer said: "You knew Mr Murphy and Northern Ireland Water were under huge scrutiny and you were trying to take advantage of the crisis caused by the unbelievably bad weather."
Mr Gormley characterised it as the "cut-and-thrust of politics".
He claims he was unfairly sacked by Mr Murphy and that his position was vindicated in a report by the Public Accounts Committee last year.
One of the Sinn Fein press releases at the centre of the case was issued the same day as the report in the name of MLA Cathal Boylan and it has been claimed it turned the findings of the PAC "on its head".
Both Mr Boylan and former assembly member Willie Clarke, who issued the other release, are also being sued.
The case is expected to run into next week.
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Bookmaker Ladbrokes has reported a big fall in pre-tax profit for 2014, from £68m to £38m, and expects to close 60 UK shops in the coming year.
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The firm, which has more than 2,000 UK stores, blamed "regulatory headwinds" and a disappointing Boxing Day.
Ladbrokes said that the impending rise in gaming machine taxes meant more closures would be inevitable.
Last year, councils were granted powers to refuse planning applications for High Street betting shops.
The move came after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said that concern had increased over "clustering" bookmakers in some UK towns and city centres.
The company's chief executive, Richard Glynn, said: "Whilst recognising there are regulatory headwinds, Ladbrokes is confident in its plans for 2015.
"Strong operational delivery delivered a second half of growth as envisaged, but the £8m hit on Boxing Day did take some of the shine off our performance."
He added that for 2015, the company would be focusing on digital and international growth - digital revenue for 2014 was up 23%.
Ladbrokes is searching for a new chief executive after announcing in December that Mr Glynn would be stepping down this year.
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The head of the Scottish Episcopal Church says the Church is "deeply distressed" at the offence caused by the reading of a passage from the Koran in a Glasgow cathedral.
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The comments of the Church Primus, the Most Rev David Chillingworth, follow criticism that Islamic verses were read during an Epiphany service.
In his blog, he also condemned the abuse received by St Mary's Cathedral.
Police are investigating offensive online messages aimed at the church.
The primus, who is also Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, said the church wanted to bring together people involved in interfaith relations.
'Widespread abuse'
In his online post, he said: "The decisions which have led to the situation in St Mary's Cathedral are a matter for the provost and the cathedral community but the Scottish Episcopal Church is deeply distressed at the widespread offence which has been caused.
"We also deeply regret the widespread abuse which has been received by the cathedral community.
"In response to what has happened at the cathedral, the Scottish Episcopal Church will bring together all those who are involved in the development of interfaith relations.
"Our intention will be as a church to explore how, particularly in the area of worship, this work can be carried forward in ways which will command respect.
"Our desire is that this should be a worthy expression of the reconciliation to which all Christians are called."
It emerged last week that a passage from the Koran relating to the Virgin birth was read during a service at the Kelvinbridge cathedral.
Members of the city's Muslim community had been invited to join Epiphany celebrations at the church.
It provoked criticism because Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet - but not the son of God.
In his sermon on Sunday, the cathedral's provost, the Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, said the Epiphany service was aimed at promoting understanding between the two faiths.
But since then he had witnessed a "storm of abuse" from "10,000 'Christan' voices claiming to know what happened here that night."
'Policy of appeasement'
He said: "I would not have wished the week that I have had on anyone. The international hue and cry about our Epiphany service was not something anyone here was seeking.
"Our aim and the aim of all involved was to bring God's people together and learn from one another - something that did, beneath the waves of the storm happen, and continues to happen.
"Nobody at that service that night could be in any doubt that we proclaimed the divinity of Christ and preached the Gospel of God's love.
"All of this raises questions about how we live in a globally connected world but I cannot believe that moderate churches in the West should follow a policy of appeasement towards those who are Islamophobic and particularly not towards the recently invigorated far-right media."
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Facebook has said it will block "praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism" on Facebook and Instagram from next week.
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The social media giant also pledged to improve its ability to identify and block material from terrorist groups.
Facebook users searching for offending terms will be directed to a charity which combats far-right extremism.
The social network has come under pressure after a man livestreamed an attack on two mosques in New Zealand.
Facebook had previously allowed some white nationalist content it did not view as racist - including permission for users to call for the creation of white ethno-states.
The company said it had deemed white nationalism an acceptable form of expression on a par with "things like American pride and Basque separatism, which are an important part of people's identity".
But in a blog post on Wednesday it said that after three months of consultation with "members of civil society and academics", it found that white nationalism could not be "meaningfully separated" from white supremacy and organised hate groups.
'Not just the postman'
In the wake of shootings earlier this month in New Zealand, several world leaders called on social media companies to take more responsibility for the extremist material posted on their platforms.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said social networks were "the publisher, not just the postman", in reference to their potential liability for the material shared on them.
Facebook has previously acknowledged that a video of the attack, which left 50 people dead, was viewed more than 4,000 times before being taken down.
The company said that, within 24 hours, it had blocked 1.2 million copies at the point of upload and deleted another 300,000.
A group representing French Muslims is suing Facebook and YouTube for allowing the footage to be posted on their platforms.
Other tech groups also took steps to clamp down on sharing of the video. Reddit banned an existing discussion forum on its site called "watchpeopledie" after clips of the attack were shared on the forum.
Valve, which runs the Steam gaming network, said it had removed more than 100 "tributes" by users that sought to memorialise the alleged shooter.
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The president of Turkmenistan has won his country's maiden car race after an impromptu decision to enter.
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Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov drove to the track in the capital Ashgabat in a green Bugatti sports car to watch.
Suddenly asking to take part, he changed to a Turkish-made Volkicar and won the time trial challenge.
Correspondents say the apparently choreographed display seemed designed to enhance the president's image as a man of action.
The winning car will be given to the desert country's national sports museum.
Mr Berdymukhamedov, a former health minister, came to power following the death of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, at the age of 66, in 2006.
Sporting ambition
He was first elected president in 2007 with 89% of the vote and was returned to power in elections in February with 97% of the vote.
His choice to travel to Saturday's race in a Bugatti was in stark contrast with his preferred mode of transport during the elections, when he drove to a polling station with his family in a cramped Soviet-era Lada - a car much derided in the West for its unreliability.
Mr Berdymukhamedov, a fitness fanatic, wants to turn Turkmenistan, which gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, into a sporting power.
To date, the country of 5.5 million people has yet to win a single medal in the Olympic Games.
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Drivers heading to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone have been warned against heading into Northampton.
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Mereway, a major road in the town between the A43 and the A45, has been closed due to a burst water main.
Police said although staff from Anglian Water were on site, they expected the road to be closed all weekend.
The British Grand Prix attracts 350,000 spectators to the Northamptonshire circuit across the three-day event.
Police said there was a "large amount of water in the area".
The force has already warned people not to travel to the Grand Prix unless they have a ticket, as the event is sold out.
Supt Dennis Murray said drivers should "check their route" before travelling and avoid the area around Silverstone "unless they have reason to be there".
He said some vehicles had been diverted on to the M1 to avoid the road closure, which is about 13 miles from the Silverstone circuit.
The British Grand Prix begins with the first practice session on Friday, with the qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
It clashes with the Wimbledon finals and the final of the men's Cricket World Cup.
Earlier this week it was announced Silverstone would host the British Grand Prix until at least 2024.
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Chinese media and internet users have voiced shock at a hit-and-run incident involving a two-year-old child left injured in the road as passers-by ignored her.
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The toddler was hit by a van on Thursday in the city of Foshan.
After the van sped off, several pedestrians and vehicles passed the girl without stopping. Several minutes later she was hit by another vehicle.
A rubbish collector finally helped her, but she is said to be seriously hurt.
The incident was captured on surveillance cameras and aired on local media.
'Lacking conscience'
The footage showed the van hitting the little girl, pausing briefly while she was under the vehicle and then driving off, running over her legs.
It then showed about a dozen passers-by, including cyclists, a motorcyclist and a woman and child, noticing the little girl lying injured in the street but walking on.
After she was hit by the second vehicle, a rubbish collector spotted the little girl and moved her to the kerb, then began looking for her mother.
The child, Yue Yue, was taken to hospital for emergency surgery but pronounced brain dead on Sunday, the China Daily reported.
The newspaper said she had wandered off while her mother went to collect some laundry.
The drivers of both vehicles have now been arrested, the newspaper said, but the incident has also triggered outcry among Chinese citizens.
It provoked a storm of comment on microblogging site Weibo.
"Even pigs and dogs are better than they are!" said one angry contributor about the passers-by.
"In China, there's no bottom line for human ethics anymore! China is 'smashing' new records again and again!" commented another.
Others were more reflective. "Now people ignore everything other than money. This society is lacking people with a conscience badly."
Scam fears
Some said they understood the dilemma for the passers-by - that if they helped out they might incur costs or be blamed for the accident.
The China Daily reported incidents in January in which elderly men who fell in the street were left alone because people did not want to get involved.
It cited an earlier case in which a man, Peng Yu, who helped an injured elderly lady to hospital was then found by a court to be liable for some of her medical costs.
Another case - in which an elderly woman believed to have fallen in the road accused a man, Xu Yunhe, who stopped to help her, of hitting her with his car - also attracted considerable attention.
"There's been so many cases where people have been treated unjustly after doing good things," one comment said.
"I am not as rich as Xu Yunhe and Peng Yu are, we are all poor grassroots people," said another. "If we get caught in a scam, this is it. All we can do is to dial 120 (the emergency number)."
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There is no evidence the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots, say UK and EU regulators after a "thorough and careful review".
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By Michelle RobertsHealth editor, BBC News online
The MHRA and the EMA say people can have confidence in the vaccine's benefits and should get immunised, despite some countries pausing use.
But anyone with a headache lasting more than four days after vaccination should seek medical advice, as a precaution.
The same advice applies if someone develops unusual bruising.
That is because the regulators have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot occurring in the brain.
It is this type of clot that triggered some European countries to pause rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
In the UK, five cases of cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT), among 11 million people who have received the vaccine, occurred in men aged between 19 and 59. One of these was fatal.
The EMA has received an additional 13 reports of CSVT.
CSVT can occur naturally and no link to the vaccine has been established. The patients also had low blood platelet counts - cells involved with clotting.
Covid infection can make clots more likely.
Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said regulators would continue to closely monitor the situation and people should have the vaccine when it is their turn: "The public can have every confidence in the thoroughness of our review."
Prof Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, said the gains from getting vaccinated were clear.
"Given the extremely rare rate of occurrence of these events, the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with the latest data suggesting an 80% reduction in hospitalisation and death from Covid disease, far outweigh any possible risks," he said.
Product information on the vaccine will be updated to include information about rare blood clots.
EMA executive director, Emer Cooke, said: "Drawing attention to these possible rare conditions and providing information to health care professionals and vaccinated people will help to spot and mitigate any possible side effects."
The EMA review, based on data from around 20 million people vaccinated, concluded:
It said any of the following symptoms after vaccination should prompt a medical check as a precaution:
These occur very rarely and are different to the common side-effects people can expect with any vaccine, such as some tenderness where the injection was given.
Related Internet Links
MHRA
EMA
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An elderly couple were trapped in their bedroom without food or water for hours when a burst main flooded their home for the third time.
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Eileen and Bill Jackson, aged 90 and 94, woke to find the downstairs of their home submerged in murky brown water.
Their family finally managed to reach them with food at about 14:00 BST.
The burst water main, in Stoke Road, High Halstow, Kent, has affected the supply at about 750 homes.
Southern Water has said it will carry out a full clean-up.
The couple's daughter-in-law Sharon Jackson, who lives on the same site, said: "We couldn't get to them until this afternoon and they hadn't eaten or drunk anything and they can't get to their bathroom.
"They're in shock."
Mrs Jackson, who lives in Jacobs Lane, Hoo, discovered the flood at 07:30 and quickly alerted the couple. It is the third time their property has flooded in the 14 years they have lived there.
"Each time Southern Water promise us it will be the last," she said.
The Jacksons live about 100 metres from the burst pipe and the water runs down to their property through a field.
The family's septic tank was also submerged causing sewage to spill out into the garden.
Southern Water crews have been onsite for much of the day to fix the problem and say people living nearby may be experiencing loss of supply or low pressure.
A spokesman said: "Customers may also notice some discolouration to the water, this is normal when there has been a disruption and is only temporary.
"We are working closely with our customers who've experienced flooding from the burst, and will be carrying out a full clean-up.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
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The US, Russia and Jordan have agreed to put in place a ceasefire across south-western Syria, which is due to begin on Sunday.
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Jordan has said it will take place along a line agreed by both Syrian government forces and rebels.
The ceasefire was announced after the US and Russian leaders met in person for the first time.
During their meeting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed a wide range of topics - including the war in Syria.
Their face to face was held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg.
More than 300,000 people have lost their lives in the Syrian war, which began with anti-government protests in 2011, with another 5.5 million people having left the country and 6.3 million internally displaced, according to UN's refugee agency.
Russia and the US have backed opposing sides, with Moscow supporting the Syrian regime with its armed forces while Washington has called for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
This agreement, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said would cover the regions of Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida, is reported to be the result of several months of undisclosed meetings between Russia and the US on Syria.
Mr Lavrov said Russia and the USA would coordinate with Jordan to act "as guarantors of the observance of this [ceasefire] by all groups".
Speaking after the meeting in Hamburg, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: "I think this is our first indication of the US and Russia being able to work together in Syria, and as a result of that we had a very lengthy discussion regarding other areas in Syria that we can continue to work together on to de-escalate the areas."
Mr Tillerson said the meeting also showed the two countries eventual aims for Syria "are exactly the same" - but they differed on how they should be achieved.
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The NI secretary and Irish deputy prime minister are to present the NI parties with proposals for a talks process, the BBC understands.
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On Friday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald dismissed efforts to kick start talks at Stormont as a "sham".
The British and Irish governments met the five main Northern Ireland parties.
Despite the Sinn Féin response, Karen Bradley and Simon Coveney have pledged to come back with proposals to restart the talks process.
Speaking at a party conference on Saturday, DUP leader Arlene Foster accused Sinn Féin of engaging in the "politics of ransom".
"The restoration of Stormont should not be about political brinkmanship or about party advantage. It should be about people" Mrs Foster said.
"Whether it is contracts not being awarded, reforms not being implemented or new laws not being passed - be in no doubt our constituents are feeling the pain. It cannot go on."
"Four of the five parties in Northern Ireland are ready to move on and restore the assembly.
"One party stands as the blockage. I warn Sinn Féin today from this platform: this is no game.
"Whatever your demands about the Irish language, they do not trump the genuine and heartfelt demands of the good people up and down this country."
Friday's talks followed on from the All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit in Dublin on Friday morning. The tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister), Mr Coveney, also attended.
Sinn Féin's Mrs McDonald said nothing credible was put on the table to warrant a fresh round of negotiations.
She said it was clear the government and DUP "are not serious about resolving the outstanding issues".
Unionists and nationalists disagree over issues such as legislation to give official status to the Irish language in Northern Ireland, rights for same-sex couples to marry and Troubles legacy issues.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his party was sceptical about Mrs Bradley's motivation for calling the talks.
However, he said that the SDLP had a "willingness to try to do business" and was determined to see the restoration of an executive and an assembly.
UUP leader Robin Swann said that if politicians cannot get the executive and assembly back up and running then "we need to go to direct rule" from Westminster.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mrs Bradley said she was working tirelessly towards her "absolute priority" of restoring devolution to Northern Ireland.
However, she acknowledged it was a sensitive matter which required careful handling.
Labour's Northern Ireland spokesman Tony Lloyd said that in the two years since the Executive collapsed it would be very hard to claim the UK government had engaged in sustained action to bring back government at Stormont.
This week, the head of the Civil Service David Sterling expressed concern to the BBC about what he described as a "slow decay" and "stagnation" in local public services.
Mr Sterling said he feared the absence of elected ministers at Stormont could become "the new normal."
Why is Northern Ireland without a government?
Northern Ireland has been without a government since January 2017, when the governing parties - the DUP and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row.
Martin McGuinness, the then deputy first minister, resigned in protest of the handling of the botched Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.
Since then, the two parties have remained far apart over crucial issues such as Sinn Féin's desire for legislation to give official status to the Irish language in Northern Ireland, rights for same-sex couples to marry and Troubles legacy issues.
Several rounds of talks to restore government at Stormont have, so far, failed while the UK government has resisted calls to institute direct rule from Westminster.
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A codebreaking machine credited with saving millions of lives has topped a list of engineering feats.
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Members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers voted the bombe machine as their favourite recipient of the Engineering Heritage Award, which has run since 1984.
Alan Turing oversaw the development of the machine, used to crack the Enigma, at Bletchley Park during World War Two.
Concorde came second in the vote, which was open to 105,000 members.
John Wood, chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' Heritage Committee, said the 210 bombe machines helped decode up to 5,000 messages a day during the war.
"Estimates suggest that they could have helped cut the war by as much as two years, saving countless lives," he said.
The bombe machine topped the list with 19% of the vote, closely followed by Concorde with 17%.
The supersonic plane was a technological marvel when it was introduced in the 1960s.
It went on to reach speeds of 1,300mph (2,080kph), meaning it could go from London to New York in three hours and 20 minutes.
In April 2003 British Airways and Air France announced the plane would be retired due to falling passenger revenue and rising maintenance costs.
The Rolls Royce RB211 engine received 11% of the vote.
It was developed in the late 1960s but cost miscalculations led to the company going bust in 1971.
In 1938 the steam locomotive Mallard hit a top speed of 126 mph (203km/h), breaking the world speed record for steam traction.
It was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and built in Doncaster in 1938. By the time it retired on 25 April 1963, it had covered almost 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km).
Mallard received 10% of the votes.
In fifth place, with 10% of the votes, was the Crossness Engine House, and the James Watt rotative beam engine.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers said the engine, along with the pumps, were a key part of Sir Joseph Bazalgette's sewage system that rid London of cholera and typhoid.
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A shortfall of £290,000 may be incurred from this weekend's Love Luton Festival, the council has revealed.
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Luton Borough Council said the money would come from a special insurance fund and no authority services would be affected.
The four-day event includes high-profile concerts, for which tickets have been cut to half price.
A full report into income and expenditure for the festival will be produced after the weekend's events.
The Love Luton Festival coincides with the arrival of the Olympic torch in the town on Sunday evening, and will see The Wanted and Olly Murs perform on Friday and Saturday night and also includes the Luton carnival and mela.
In June, ticket prices for the concerts were halved to encourage sales, with the organisers blaming a "difficult marketplace" and complaints about the cost.
The council has now revealed that current costs are approximately £1.09m with an anticipated income and normal council contribution for the event being £800,000.
This leaves a further contribution required from the council of £290,000.
However, it also said it had put a £300,000 provision from the council's insurance reserve to insure against issues such as poor ticket sales.
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The Sri Lanka government is accused of failing to live up to its pledges to investigate child recruitment by LTTE splinter group led by V Muralitharan alias Karuna.
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New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said both Karuna group and the Tamil Tigers continue recruiting children onto combat despite repeated assurances to the international community.
The HRW activists have witnessed armed children under 17 working in Karuna groups offices in Batticaloa. The Sri Lanka security force personnel have failed to take any action against the group, the watchdog said in a statement.
Sri Lanka government pledged to investigate after a United Nations special envoy accused elements of armed forces of supporting Karuna group's child recruitment.
Allan Rock report
Defence Affairs spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, repeatedly said the government would launch an investigation into Alan Rock's special report on child recruitment.
But the HRW says it witnessed many armed children working in the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) offices in eastern Sri Lanka.
"When government troops at a military base look across the street at children standing guard at a Karuna office and do nothing, it's hard to believe the government is taking any meaningful steps to end this abuse," said HRW's Asia director, Brad Adams.
The Rights group says the group led by former senior LTTE leader Karuna have re-abducted some of the children after releasing them.
The record of the Tamil Tigers on child recruitment is not different tho that of Karuna group, according to HRW.
Sanctions against LTTE
Quoting UNICEF figures the rights group says while Karuna group has abducted 45 children since last December, the LTTE has forcibly recruited at least 28 since January.
Authorities at sacred Madhu church also accused LTTE of forcibly recruiting young adults who have sought refuge in the church.
"We have strongly told the LTTE not to come and recruit people here because this is shrine this is only for religious activities," Rev. Fr. Emilius Pillai told bbcsinhala.com.
Though there were no reports of child recruitment, young adults as young as 17 years have been forced to join the LTTE, according to Fr. Emilius Pillai.
"Access to LTTE-controlled areas remains difficult, but credible reports indicate that the group is increasingly recruiting and deploying girls as front line soldiers in the East," the HRW statement issued on Thursday said.
The HRW has called on the UN to impose targeted sanctions on Tamil Tigers as they have a "long history of recruiting children in violation of international law".
The watchdog says both groups have repeatedly broken their pledges to stop the illegal practise.
"The LTTE is a notorious repeat offender of child recruitment," Brad Adams said. "It's a shame that government forces complicit with the Karuna group are now involved in the same ugly practice."
There is also strong evidence that the government forces are colluded with the Karuna group, according to the LTTE.
Karuna- SLA 'colaboration'
"In February, Human Rights Watch saw a Karuna commander named Jeyam riding atop a Sri Lankan armored personnel vehicle outside Valaichchenai. In Batticaloa town, residents have seen Karuna cadre patrolling jointly with the police," the statement said.
The HRW has accused the government of deliberately preventing family members of the abducted children when a one man commission travelled to Batticaloa in January.
The military also pressurised the families to say their children were taken away by "unidentified group," according to the HRW.
The watchdog urged Sri Lanka authorities to take actions against Karuna group's child abductions.
"The Karuna group is doing the government's dirty work," HRW said.
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The system that has run landline phone services in Jersey since 1986 is being switched off.
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The new £20m digital Next Generation Network will take over from government owned telecom company JT's System X.
System X is a digital phone system that has been running landline services for the past 26 years.
The new system has been running alongside System X for a few years and Jersey Telecom does not expect problems when the old system is switched off.
Robin Dodkins, who worked for JT for 47 years, will help pull the plug.
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The Scottish Labour Party has said it will keep its suspension of nine Aberdeen city councillors under review.
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They were suspended for disobeying former leader Kezia Dugdale's instructions not to form a coalition with Conservative councillors following last May's local government elections.
The announcement came after a meeting of the party's executive committee.
It said it had been updated on plans from the group to "further progress Labour values in the administration".
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "The Aberdeen group has committed to make further progress to deliver policies that will benefit the people of Aberdeen.
"The Scottish executive will keep their suspension under review during this process."
One of the suspended councillors, Ross Grant, told BBC Scotland: "It's a matter for the SEC (Scottish Executive Committee), it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further."
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Amy Winehouse's death was the result of the singer drinking too much alcohol, a coroner has said.
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A verdict of misadventure was recorded into the 27-year-old's death after an inquest heard she was more than five times the drink-drive limit.
Winehouse was found dead at her home in Camden, north London, on 23 July.
St Pancras coroner Suzanne Greenway said the "unintended consequence" of Winehouse drinking so much alcohol was her "sudden and unexpected death".
Three empty vodka bottles, two large and one small, were found at her flat, St Pancras Coroners Court heard.
'No pulse found'
The inquest heard the singer, who won five Grammy awards in 2008, had 416mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal drink-drive limit is 80mg.
The pathologist who conducted her post-mortem examination said 350mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood was considered a fatal level.
The examination found Winehouse's vital organs had been in good health but she had huge amounts of alcohol in her system which could have stopped her breathing and sent her into a coma.
Toxicology tests showed there were no illegal substances in her system when she died.
The inquest was told she was found in her bed by live-in guard Andrew Morris, who looked in on her at 10:00 BST, but thought she was asleep.
Five hours later she was "lying on the bed in the same position", he said.
"I was immediately concerned, went over and checked to see if she was OK," he added.
'Very strict views'
"I checked on her and realised she wasn't breathing and had no pulse, so called the emergency services."
Winehouse had kicked her drug habit but fell back into a pattern of abstaining from drink for weeks then starting again for a few, the inquest heard.
The coroner was told Winehouse had not had a drink in the three weeks to 22 July.
Her GP, Dr Christina Romete, who had been treating the star for several years, said the night before her death, the singer told her she did not know if she was going to stop drinking but "she did not want to die".
"She was looking forward to the future," the doctor said.
Winehouse was taking medication to cope with alcohol withdrawal and anxiety and was reviewed last year by a psychologist and psychiatrist about her drinking.
"She had her own way and was very determined to do everything her own way," said Dr Romete.
'Battling problems'
"Including any form of therapy. She had very strict views."
After the inquest, Winehouse's family issued a statement thanking people for their messages of support.
They said it was "some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy".
Their statement added: "We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away - it is likely a build-up of alcohol in her system over a number of days.
"The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time."
Since her death, Winehouse's 2006 album Back to Black has become the UK's bestselling album of the 21st Century.
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On 1 April, the wife and daughter of an editor of a leading newspaper in India's western state of Gujarat went to a state-run hospital to get the daughter a Covid-19 test.
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Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent
Waiting in the queue, they noticed two body bags on gurneys. Workers at the hospital in the capital, Gandhinagar, said the patients had died of Covid-19.
The mother and daughter returned home and told Rajesh Pathak, who edits a local edition of Sandesh, what they that had seen.
Mr Pathak called his reporters that evening and decided to investigate further. "After all, the government press statements were showing no Covid-19 deaths for Gandhinagar yet," he said. Only nine deaths from Covid-19 were officially recorded in Gujarat that day.
The next day a team of reporters began calling up hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in seven cities - Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar - and kept a tab on deaths. Since then, Sandesh, a 98-year-old Gujarati language newspaper, has published a daily count of the dead, which is usually several times more than the official figure. "We have our sources in hospitals, and the government has not denied any of our reports. But we still needed first-hand confirmation," Mr Pathak says.
So the newspaper decided to do some old-fashioned shoe-leather journalism. On the evening of 11 April, two reporters and a photographer staked out the mortuary of the 1,200-bed state-run Covid-19 hospital in Ahmedabad. Over 17 hours, they counted 69 body bags coming out of a single exit before they were loaded into waiting ambulances. Next day, Gujarat officially counted 55 deaths, including 20 from Ahmedabad.
On the night of 16 April, the journalists drove 150km (93 miles) around Ahmedabad and visited 21 cremation grounds. There they counted body bags and pyres, examined registers, spoke to cremation workers, looked at "slips" which assigned the cause of death, and took photographs and recorded videos. They found that most of the deaths were attributed to "illness", although the bodies were being handled under rigorous protocols. At the end of the night the team had counted more than 200 bodies. But the next day, Ahmedabad counted only 25 deaths.
All of April, Sandesh's intrepid reporters have diligently counted the dead in seven cities. On 21 April, they counted 753 deaths, the highest single-day tally since the deadly second wave washed over the western state. On a number of other days, they counted in excess of 500 deaths. On 5 May, the paper counted 83 deaths in Vadodara. The official figure was 13.
The Gujarat government denies under-counting and says it is following federal protocols.
But reportage by other newspapers has stood up the alleged under-counting. The English language Hindu newspaper, for example, reported it had information that 689 bodies were cremated or buried in the seven cities following Covid-19 protocols on 16 April, when the official death toll for the entire state was 94. Some experts reckoned that last month alone Gujarat might have under-counted Covid-19 deaths by a staggering factor of 10.
With the pandemic forcing people to stay away from the rituals of grief, newspapers were overflowing with obituaries.
And some of the obituaries appeared to point to the under-counting that was taking place:
The number of funerals at a cremation ground in Bharuch district on Saturday also did not tally with the official death statistic, according to this report in Gujarat Samachar, another leading local newspaper:
Gujarat has so far officially registered more than 680,000 Covid-19 infections and over 8,500 deaths. Under-counting of deaths have been reported from several Indian cities badly hit by the pandemic. But the scale of Gujarat's under-counting appears to be massive, and has even provoked the state's high court to admonish the state government, run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. "The state had nothing to gain by hiding the real picture and hence suppression and concealment of accurate data would generate more serious problems including fear, loss of trust, panic among the public at large," the judges said in April.
Many believe that most Covid-19 deaths are being attributed to the patient's underlying conditions or co-morbidities. A senior bureaucrat, who preferred to remain unnamed, told me only patients testing positive for the virus and dying of "viral pneumonia" were being counted as Covid-19 deaths. Chief minister Vijay Rupani says "every death is being investigated and recorded by a death audit committee".
To be sure, counting bodies at mortuaries or cremation grounds and tallying them with official figures for the day can be imprecise as official statistics come with a time lag, according to Prabhat Jha of the University of Toronto, who led India's ambitious Million Death Study. Countries such as UK have reduced the official death toll from coronavirus after a review of how deaths are counted. Covid-19 deaths have been under-reported by as much as 30 to 40% worldwide, studies have shown.
"Reporting and recording systems are swamped during a pandemic, so officials often take time to update [numbers]. But update they must, and record all the deaths. Counting body bags at hospitals and cremation grounds is a good way to put pressure on authorities to come clean," Dr Jha says.
For the journalists, it has been a harrowing experience.
Hitesh Rathod, a photographer at Sandesh, recounted the harrowing experience of counting the dead. "People were getting admitted and coming out as body bags," he said. He found six-hour-long queues of bodies at crematoria, which he says reminded him of the "long queues of people outside banks after demonetisation," Mr Modi's controversial 2016 ban on high denomination currency.
"Five years later, I found similar queues outside hospitals, mortuaries and cremation grounds. This time there were queues of the people struggling to stay alive and queues of the dead," he said.
Ronak Shah, one of Sandesh's reporters, says he was shaken up by the wails of three young children piercing the still night when the hospital's PA system announced the death of their father. "The children were saying they had come to the hospital to pick up their father and go home. They returned with his corpse seven hours later," Mr Shah says.
Dipak Mashla, who led the team to the cremation grounds, says he returned home "scared and shaken". "I saw parents come with body bags of their dead children, pay money to the funeral worker and tell them, 'Please take my child and burn him'. They were too scared to even touch the corpse."
Imtiyaz Ujjainwala, another reporter on the team, believes the scale of under-counting has been considerably more, considering he and his colleagues only counted bodies from one hospital. There were more than 171 private hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in Ahmedabad, he said. "And nobody is counting there."
Read more of our Covid coverage
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The mother of a teenager who was run over by a police car after a high-speed chase is seeking compensation from the force.
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Matthew Seddon died after his car hit a barrier on the A33 in Reading which caused him to be thrown from his car. He was then struck by a police vehicle.
The 19-year-old's mother and his partner have launched a damages claim against the force.
Thames Valley Police (TVP) insist the officers all acted "proportionately".
The incident took place in February 2013.
Before being told to pull over, Mr Seddon's driving had been "normal" and within the speed limit, Heather Williams QC told Central London County Court.
Traces of cocaine were found in his system but there was no evidence this led to the tragedy, she added.
"Reasonably and proportionately"
But he "made off at speed" when police flagged him down, triggering a high-speed pursuit, the court heard.
During the four-minute chase Mr Seddon's Ford Fiesta hit speeds of well over 90mph.
He was not wearing a seatbelt when his car hit the central barrier and he was catapulted into the air.
An autopsy later reported that the ejection from the car had already caused fatal injuries, Miss Williams said.
Representing his mother, Julie Seddon, and his partner, Bryony Morgan, Miss Williams said the police had failed to "take reasonable steps to protect Matthew's life from the real and immediate risk about which they knew or ought to have known".
Andrew Warnock QC, for TVP, said: "The risks he faced were created by himself and voluntarily undertaken by him. He drove at speed and failed to wear a seatbelt.
"He put himself - and indeed the police officers - at risk."
Judge Heather Baucher will give her ruling on the case at a later date.
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K-pop group BTS have secured their first ever top 10 UK chart hit.
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Their English-language single Dynamite debuted at number three on Friday's chart, beating their previous best effort Boy With Luv, which featured Halsey and reached number 13 last year.
"We feel humbled and honoured to have earned a new personal best on the UK Official Singles Chart," BTS said.
Elsewhere on the chart, Vera Lynn's Land and Hope and Glory returned to the top 20, following a BBC Proms row.
'Vibrant energy'
Reacting to the news of their achievement, via the Official Chart Company, the seven-strong South Korean boy-band said: "First and foremost, we give all credit to [their fans] Army - without their support and love from day one, we wouldn't have come this far.
"Dynamite was created in the hopes of bringing some vibrant energy that the world needs right now more than ever. If it made one person happier, then that's more than enough for us."
Earlier in the week the video for the track broke YouTube records, being watched a whopping 101.1 million times in 24 hours after its release.
Despite the ever-growing K-Pop influence, Joel Corry and MNEK held on to top spot in the singles chart for a sixth consecutive week, with Head & Heart.
They fought off competition from provocative rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's and their widely-discussed WAP.
On the album chart, meanwhile, Vegas indie rockers The Killers secured their sixth Number one album, with Imploding The Mirage going straight in at number one.
Aside from BTS blowing up the internet, this week saw the start of a debate about whether or not the BBC should drop the patriotic festival favourites Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory from Last Night of the Proms.
Chineke! Foundation founder Chi-chi Nwanoku said the songs carry "jingoistic echoes of empire". But Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters it was "time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history".
In response to the suggestion the songs could be dropped, a campaign was launched online to get Dame Vera's version of Land Of Hope And Glory to number one.
The song entered the chart at number 17 on Friday.
It was ultimately confirmed by the Proms that orchestral versions of the songs would be performed this year, with the lyrics not being sung as a result of coronavirus restrictions.
Fewer performers will be allowed on stage, which makes it harder to perform the songs with a traditional chorus.
The BBC said sung versions would return in full for 2021, however.
In May, one month before her death, Dame Vera became the oldest singer to score a UK top 40 album, beating her own record, with her greatest hits collection.
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Hewlett-Packard (HP) is suing Autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch and former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain for about $5.1bn (£3.4bn).
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HP is suing for alleged fraud. Separately, Mr Lynch and the former management of Autonomy plans to sue HP for more than £100m, alleging "false and negligent statements".
US-based HP bought software firm Autonomy in 2011 for $11bn.
HP later wrote down the value of its purchase by three quarters.
Industry observers suggested there may have been problems with due diligence before Autonomy was bought. HP purchased Autonomy with the aim of moving more into software.
But shortly after buying it, HP claimed it had been misled by Autonomy as to the firm's true value.
Earlier this year, the Serious Fraud Office closed its investigation into Autonomy's sale, saying that "on the information available to it, there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."
It ceded legal jurisdiction to US authorities. Mr Lynch and Mr Hussain have consistently denied any allegation of impropriety.
UK claim
HP said in an emailed statement that: "HP can confirm that, on 30 March, a Claim Form was filed against Michael Lynch and Sushovan Hussain.
"The lawsuit seeks damages from them of approximately $5.1 billion. HP will not comment further until the proceedings have been served on the defendants,"
HP said it had filed its claim in London's Chancery Division High Court.
Meanwhile, representatives for Mr Lynch and his colleagues said in a separate statement: "The former management of Autonomy announces today they will file claims against HP.
"Former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch's claim, which is likely to be in excess of £100 million, will be filed in the UK."
Late last summer, Autonomy filed papers in a San Francisco court accusing HP of "mismanagement" of the takeover.
Autonomy's former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, said then that HP wanted to "cover up its mismanagement of the Autonomy integration".
At the time HP dismissed Mr Hussain's complaint as "preposterous".
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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) authorities have slammed independent selectors panel for not implementing a coherent plan in choosing the national cricket team.
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Chairman of the SLC Interim Committee, Jayantha Dharmadasa, told BBC Sandeshaya that the selectors' decisions have paved the way for early retirement and criticism by senior players.
A member of the 1996 World Cup winning team, Upul Chandana, slammed the select panel while announcing his retirement from the international games earlier this month.
Former skipper Marvan Atapattu was granted special permission to leave the national contract upon his request.
Both players are reportedly considering joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) organised by the Zee TV. Chandana however told BBCSinhala.com that he was not approached by the ICL.
Player and the Best Bowler of the 2007, Anil Ridheegammanagedara, revealed to BBC Sandeshaya that he plans to join the rebel ICL unless he was given an opportunity to represent Sri Lanka.
"If the best player was not offered a place there is something wrong with the selecting process," Dharmadasa said, "and both Marvan and Chandana have voiced similar criticism against the selectors".
The SLC chairman was also critical of select committee chairman Asantha de Mel's view that Sri Lanka players should be allowed to take part in the ICL twenty20 tournament.
De Mel has told media that he did not see why players are banned from the ICL tournament while allowing them to take part in County cricket in the UK.
"I think he (de Mel) should be aware that there is a clear difference between the two," Jayantha Dharmadasa told BBC Sandeshaya.
"The county cricket is authorised by the England cricket board, but the ICL is not recognised by the Indian board," he added.
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Air Zimbabwe has warned striking pilots that they could lose their jobs unless they return to work, according to state media.
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The pilots are on the third day of a pay strike which has grounded the carrier's planes.
Air Zimbabwe has begun hiring aircraft and pilots from South African private airline Quaries to cover local routes.
The pilots are being paid $1,200 a month but are demanding their full salaries of $2,500.
Air Zimbabwe chairman Jonathan Kadzura told the state-run Herald newspaper: "If they do not go back to work inside 24 hours, legal and disciplinary action will be taken."
According to the Herald newspaper the strike is costing Air Zimbabwe $500,000 dollars a day.
The airline has suffered huge losses in recent years brought about by declining passenger numbers, debt and the country's economic crisis.
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Two people have been stabbed during a brawl at pub in Leeds late on Friday night.
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Police were called to the Travellers Rest pub in Crossgates, to reports of a fight involving a group of people.
A man in his 30s was stabbed in the arm and a woman whose age is not known was stabbed in the leg. They both required hospital treatment.
West Yorkshire Police said it was investigating and those involved in the stabbing had left the scene in a car.
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A third proposal for how island-wide voting for deputies could be achieved in Guernsey has been suggested ahead of the States' February meeting.
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The States Assembly and Constitution Committee has suggested all 45 members of the States be elected island-wide.
Its chairman suggested an alternative with a mix of island-wide and the current district elections.
The new proposal from Deputy Rhoderick Matthews also involves a mix combined with elections every two years.
Currently the island is divided into seven electoral districts, each electing six or seven deputies every four years.
Deputy Matthews' plan would see 15 island-wide deputies elected for two years in March 2012 and after that for four year terms.
In a separate election held in April the current districts would elect 30 deputies to serve four year terms.
'Too cumbersome'
If agreed only those elected island-wide would be eligible to hold the office of chief minister.
Also the terms of office within the States, those of chief minister, deputy chief minister, ministers, department members, chairpersons and committee members, would be reduced from four to two years.
Deputy Matthews said: "This is the best way to give islanders the democratic power they would like to have."
He said it would "provide more accountability and opportunity for change, yet provide improved continuity".
Deputy Matthews said: "All island-wide for all deputies is too cumbersome; people want to be able to vote for, or not for, the deputies in power."
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The major failure of a taxi booking system to get train drivers to work has caused further delays on already troubled rail routes.
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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) services in and out of London were delayed or cancelled this morning, affecting Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink trains.
Commuters called the situation "ridiculous" and "farcical".
GTR apologised, saying it was working to get things "back on track".
The delays come after five weeks of disruption caused by the introduction of new timetables.
A commuter in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "How ridiculous. As a single parent, working full time in London I'm at breaking point."
Helen Patterson from Bedford said the situation was "farcical", adding "how can their drivers all use the same taxi company?"
A spokesman for GTR said it was "standard practice" each morning to put drivers in a taxi from the railway station they are based at to the engineering depot where the train is held overnight.
"This morning, the company we use to book taxis appeared to suffer a major failure of its booking system and taxis failed to arrive. There was no warning," he said.
"We used local cab firms where we could, but with trains not leaving their start point on time this has caused disruption across the GTR network of Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern, for which we sincerely apologise.
"We are talking to the taxi booking firm to understand how this happened and doing everything we can to rearrange our resources to get the service back on track as soon as possible."
GTR have declined to name the taxi booking firm.
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Northern Ireland's tourism industry got welcome news this week when it was announced its lockdown will end earlier than planned.
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By John CampbellBBC News NI Economics & Business Editor
Hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes can reopen from 3 July, ahead of the original target date of 20 July.
But challenges for the sector remain, with Titanic Belfast saying it was planning to make up to 75 redundancies.
It is one of Northern Ireland's top tourist attractions, pulling in more than 800,000 visitors in 2018.
That was second only to the Giants Causeway, which had more than one million visitors.
'Redundancies are necessary'
BBC News NI has seen an email sent by Titanic Belfast's chief executive, Judith Owens, to her staff explaining why redundancies are necessary.
It makes for sobering reading for the entire sector.
She said the attraction will reopen on 1 August but that overall visitor numbers are expected to be just 30% of what they were in 2019.
The expected fall is attributed to "required physical distancing, lack of air and sea access, and consumer nervousness".
It is assessed that European and other international markets will not return in 2020 or 2021.
The tour operator market is also said to be unlikely to return in 2020 and will be at a significantly reduced level in 2021/22.
It is also forecast that school trips, another important business sector, are unlikely to return in the short term.
The Northern Ireland domestic market is expected to recover first but that currently accounts for only 11% of Titanic Belfast's business.
This means the facility will be operating at a hugely reduced capacity, with it set to open five days a week from October to March and possibly going down to a three-day week in January.
Titanic Belfast also has a significant conferencing and banqueting business - normally at this time of year planning would be underway for the Christmas party season.
But this side of the business will not return at all in 2020.
Ms Owens wrote: "This is due in part to a lack of clear guidance on a cap on mass gatherings and the fact that incorporating 2m social distancing would prohibit the successful delivery of our main type of events."
The hope is to relaunch in 2021, by which time the guidance on social distancing may have been reduced to 1m rather than the current 2m rule.
Conferences have been an important part of tourism growth in Belfast in recent years.
They bring midweek business travellers into the city and so the development of the International Conference Centre (formerly the Waterfront Hall) sparked a surge in new hotel openings.
Salvaging a summer season
Rajesh Rana has more hotel rooms in Belfast than any other operator.
His family's business, Andras House, has almost 1,000 rooms across six hotels.
He was seeing the positives this week, with the 3 July reopening giving him a fighting chance of salvaging the summer season.
"The summer's important, particularly because I think corporate travel will still take a while to recover, so leisure guests who will be having staycations are essential for us," he said.
"I think a lot of people still have holidays booked in July even if they've got nowhere to go, so we're hoping to see a busy July and August season."
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A merger between Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group won approval from both sets of shareholders on Monday.
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The deal will create the world's fourth biggest carmaker and comes two years after talks began.
The combined company will bring together well-known brands such as Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall from PSA with Fiat, Jeep and Chrysler.
The new company following the $52bn (£38bn) deal will be called Stellantis.
Stellantis, which means to brighten with stars, will have 14 car brands under one roof including niche players Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
Executives expect the merger to be finalised by the end of March and say it will provide significant cost savings.
This has raised concerns about the closure of some factories across the brands, including those of Vauxhall which employs 3,000 people in the UK.
However, in November PSA pledged not to close factories after the merger even though the combined group would have spare production capacity of almost six million cars.
Is bigger better?
While creating the fourth biggest carmaker globally, critics argue that bigger isn't always better.
Tesla is often used as an example of this as it has relatively small production compared to its bigger rivals but a much higher market value.
And US-based General Motors (GM), the world's fifth biggest car brand in terms of production, has scaled back from many markets to focus on North America.
While it will be ahead of GM and Ford in terms of global sales, Stellantis will still trail VW, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance and Toyota.
The new car giant will be known as Stellantis - a name which the architects of the deal say is derived from the Latin verb stello, meaning to cover with stars.
But the rationale for the merger is rather more down to earth. The auto industry is going through a technological revolution. Electric or fuel cell power is set to take over from the internal combustion engine within the next two decades.
Cars themselves are likely to become increasingly connected and autonomous. The merger will allow the two companies to pool expertise and resources - and save costs.
At the same time it will combine PSA's strength in the European market with FiatChrysler's muscle in North America.
That's the theory - although it's worth mentioning that mega mergers in this industry don't always work. The late-nineties link up between Chrysler and German giant Daimler, for example, later broke down at the roadside
Asian focus
Bosses hope the combined firm will have more financial muscle to compete with its bigger rivals.
One area Stellantis is expected to focus on is China, the world's biggest car market where 21 million vehicles are sold each year.
"On their own, each group might not be able to afford a reboot in China," said Philippe Houchois, an analyst at Jefferies investment bank.
But managing such a large portfolio of brands will be a major challenge experts say as they could eat into each other's sales.
In Asia, PSA and FiatChrysler are "miles behind the industry leaders, like Toyota, VW and Honda," said Michael Dunne, chief executive of ZoZo Go, an investment advisory firm focused on China's car market. The brands accounted for less than 1% of Asia vehicle sales in 2020.
"But Asia's car markets are still young, offering Stellantis an opportunity to bet big on new innovations in electric, connected and autonomous vehicles," he added.
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Vegetable-based products such as soya steaks or vegetarian sausages marketed as meat substitutes are to be banned in France for "misleading" consumers.
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Food producers will no longer be able to use "steak", "sausage" or any other meat term to describe products that are not partly or wholly made up of meat.
The measure will also apply to vegetarian or vegan products marketed as dairy alternatives.
Failure to comply will lead to fines of up to €300,000 (£260,000).
The regulation, which was tabled in the form of an amendment to an agriculture bill, was proposed by a farmer MP, who argues that products such as vegan sausages and other vegetarian alternatives are confusing for consumers.
"It is important to combat false claims. Our products must be designated correctly: the terms of #cheese or #steak will be reserved for products of animal origin," tweeted Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's political movement La République En Marche.
The measure was approved by French MPs on Thursday.
Last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that plant-based foods could not be sold in the EU using terms such as milk, butter and cheese.
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A company oversaw "serious" maintenance failings before a woman was killed by a water tank cover which blew from a roof, a court heard.
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Tahnie Martin was hit by the wooden panel outside Wolverhampton's Mander Shopping Centre in February 2017.
A court heard an inspection of the roof afterwards found "over 50 recommendations for urgent action".
Cushman Wakefield Debenham Tie Leung Ltd has admitted health and safety breaches.
Miss Martin, 29, from Stafford, who worked at University of Wolverhampton, had become engaged shortly before she died.
Her inquest previously found a plant room on top of the roof, from which the panel was ripped away, may not have been maintained for nearly two decades.
The start of a two-day sentencing hearing for the company which was in charge of maintenance on the building heard its centre operations manager Phil Dutton had "assumed" the plant roof had been "flat".
Three other surveys by outside contractors also made "no reference" to structures on its roof, a barrister for the company said.
Prosecuting barrister, Bernard Thorogood told Wolverhampton Crown Court the firm had overseen "systemic" and "serious" failings.
Mr Thorogood said a vent hood structure and two panels from the top of the water tank structure flew off because the fixings which should have held them to the brick plant room were rotten.
They were torn off, he said, by gusts of up to 59mph, with one section hitting Miss Martin while another woman, Ramal Sarpal, was also injured by the debris.
Latest news from the West Midlands
Barrister Eleanor Sanderon, representing the company, said it did believe it had "robust" systems and "relied on competent consultants".
She added there had been "wholesale changes" to its health and safety procedures since the incident.
In a statement read to court, the company's chief executive, Colin Wilson, said he expressed his "deepest and unreserved apology and condolences" to Miss Martin's family, fiance and friends, and all those affected.
The company, which is facing a fine, will be sentenced on Tuesday.
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There are too many emergency admissions to hospitals in England, according to the government spending watchdog.
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By Adam BrimelowHealth Correspondent, BBC News
The National Audit Office says there were 5.3m such admissions in the last financial year - a 47% rise in 15 years - and many of these patients stayed in hospital for longer than necessary.
It says it is "critical" for the NHS to do better in dealing with these issues to cope with rising winter pressures.
NHS England says "big decisions" are needed to develop alternatives.
'Default route'
The NAO report looks at how well emergency admissions to hospital are managed. These are admissions that are not planned, and happen at short notice because of the perceived clinical need.
The report points out that, although admissions per head of population are lower in England than in Scotland and Wales, the rate of increase over the past decade has been much higher.
A big factor is the growing proportion of patients attending major A&E departments who are admitted. Ten years ago it was fewer than one in five. Now it is more than one in four.
But the NAO estimates that at least a fifth of patients admitted as emergencies could be managed outside hospital.
It concludes that going to A&E and then being admitted has become the "default route" for urgent and emergency care.
It also highlights growing delays in discharging patients once they are fit to leave hospital.
It says these problems are a "major concern", partly because of cost to the NHS, but also because of the disruption they bring to hospitals and to patients.
The report argues that all parts of the health system have a role in ensuring patients are treated in the most appropriate setting.
It says primary, community and social care can manage long-term conditions better. It suggests ambulance services can take fewer patients to A&E, and it calls on hospitals to ensure senior doctors are on hand to help with early diagnosis and treatment.
There is added urgency in these findings as the health service prepares for the increased pressures of winter.
'Full to bursting'
The director for acute episodes of care for NHS England, Prof Keith Willett, said the increase in emergency admissions was a growing concern.
"As the report recommends, we must collectively take substantial steps to ensure patients receive the best possible care, preferably out of hospital but also when necessary in hospital," he said.
"To achieve that it is clear the way we provide health and social care must change so our hospitals, GP and community services have the space to do that."
In a statement the College of Emergency Medicine welcomed the NAO report.
"In particular the recognition that best practice includes consultant supervision of patient care within emergency departments echoes the college campaign to ensure every department has a minimum of 10 consultants."
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We know demand for A&E services is increasing as the population ages, with more people needing more healthcare.
"That's why we are tackling both the short and long-term problems: transforming out of hospital care by reversing the disastrous changes to the 2004 GP contract, joining up the health and social care system, and backing A&Es with £250 million to prepare for this winter.
"Winter is always tough, but the NHS has never been more prepared, and in the face of unprecedented demand A&E performance has never been stronger."
For Labour, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the NHS was on the brink of a dangerous winter crisis.
"This report is right to warn about the increasing numbers of elderly patients being admitted to England's A&Es," Mr Burnham said.
"We have long warned ministers that severe cuts to council care services have left hospitals unable to discharge patients, and A&Es full to bursting."
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Chelsea's Ramires is closing in on a £25m move to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning.
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By Tim HagueNewsbeat reporter
But why would a 28-year-old Brazil international choose to leave champions Chelsea for a side who finished ninth in China's top tier in 2015?
The midfielder, signed from Benfica for around £17m in 2010, has only started seven Premier League games this season.
And opportunities under interim manager Guus Hiddink have been increasingly hard to come by.
But why China?
Well, there's the link Jiangsu have with his current club Chelsea for starters.
They are managed by former Blues defender Dan Petrescu.
On top of that, some of the Brazilian's international team-mates have been plying their trade in China for some time.
The Brazilian connection
Among the most famous is former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho.
The player said he was facing a new challenge in his life.
He signed for champions Guangzhou Evergrande in June 2015 on a four-year deal and for a fee of £9.9m.
The world-renowned former Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan striker Robinho also played for Guangzhou last season.
He appeared in a side that featured several Brazilians and which continues to be managed by Brazil's former World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
International flavour
Scolari succeeded another World Cup winner in charge of Guangzhou - Italian Fabio Cannavaro - who replaced ANOTHER World Cup winner, former Italy boss Marcello Lippi.
And then there's the familiar face of Sven-Goran Eriksson.
He's in charge of Shanghai SIPG, has been working in China since 2013 and even recently claimed he'd like Manchester United and England Captain Wayne Rooney to join him.
Talking about life in China, the Swede was glowing in his praise.
"This is a fantastic country to live in. I live in Shanghai, and if you asked me to compare it to London, I honestly couldn't say which was better.
"Football is becoming huge here and they have very big ambitions for the Chinese Super League.
"We already have famous players, like Asamoah Gyan and Demba Ba, and they have brought something special.
"Football has become much, much bigger even in the time I have been here. I think in the years to come it will be huge and a player like Wayne Rooney could only help that development."
The money
Whether Rooney would ever decide to leave for the far east is debatable, but there's little doubt the pay is pretty good.
Though the only British players to move to China thus far are Maurice Ross in 2010, Derek Riordan in 2011 and Akpo Sodje in 2012.
However one of Eriksson's stars at Shanghai, the aforementioned former Sunderland striker Gyan, will be happy he upped sticks.
He supposedly became one of the highest paid players in world football last July.
The 29-year-old Ghanaian forward, who spent just one full season in the Premier League, is reported to earn around $350,000 per week (£247,000).
That is a weekly amount only bettered by a handful of football's finest - think Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Growth
With money like that, the number of recognisable names setting foot on football fields in the Far East is only likely to grow.
Attendances are up, wages are definitely up, and so are sponsorship revenues.
Wealth and population increases in China have already turned sport into a multimillion-pound business, and clearly the Chinese Super League is on an upward curve too - just ask Ramires.
Listen: Chinese clubs have 'massive plans and intentions'.
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Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in its western-most region, Kaliningrad, which borders on Nato members Poland and Lithuania.
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Poland said the development was of the "highest concern", adding it was monitoring the situation.
Russia's defence ministry said the new deployment was part of military exercises and had happened before.
The US and Nato have seen disagreements with Russia intensify in recent times, particularly over Syria and Ukraine.
Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Are Russia's military advances a problem for Nato?
Nato and Russia - in search of dialogue
The Iskander system has a range of up to 700km (440 miles) and could reach the German capital, Berlin.
Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz called Russia's activities "very alarming".
And a US intelligence official told Reuters the move could be to express displeasure at Nato. Nato is boosting its eastern flank by deploying four battalions in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia next year.
Kaliningrad facts
Kaliningrad profile
But Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the deployment was "not exceptional".
Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine provoked considerable alarm in this region that Moscow might also consider aggressive action against countries on Nato's eastern flank, says the BBC's Adam Eston in Warsaw.
Nato sought to soothe those fears at its Warsaw summit in July by announcing it would deploy troops to both the Baltic states and Poland, our correspondent says.
Nato said it was a purely defensive action but Moscow sees it as a threat and the deployment of the missiles could be viewed as a counter measure, he adds.
Iskanders were sent to Kaliningrad during military drills last year.
Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continue to test relations with Western powers.
Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia are among nations reporting recent air-space violations by Russia's military.
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England's chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has ordered a "landmark report" into how state schools teach the most able students.
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Ofsted's head warned some pupils, who got top marks at primary school, were not doing as well at secondary school.
Such students ought to be pushed, as they would be at independent or grammar schools, he told the Sunday Telegraph..
The news comes as league tables reveal hundreds of schools failed to produce pupils suitable for elite universities.
The tables, released on Thursday, showed almost a quarter of England's sixth forms and colleges had no pupils with the top A-level grades sought by leading institutions.
'Nonsense'
Setting out a "rapid response" to the data, Sir Michael promised the watchdog's survey would investigate fears that some of the brightest secondary school pupils are being let down by teachers who fail to stretch them to get the best exam results.
Many are left to coast in mixed ability classes, or entered too early for GCSE exams in order to gain the minimum C grades required for league tables, he warned.
He also said the report - to be published in the spring - would address the "nonsense" that a tiny number of independent schools were sending more youngsters to Oxford and Cambridge than thousands of state secondary schools.
England's comprehensive schools would have to learn lessons from the independent and selective sectors, he said.
The new report is due to be carried out over the coming months by Ofsted inspectors visiting a sample of more than 50 secondary schools, looking at statistics on gifted and talented provision and pupil progression, according to Sir Michael.
"I am passionate about this, it will be a landmark report.
"I am as concerned as the next person on the issue of social mobility. Are our children and our children from the poorest backgrounds who are naturally bright doing as well as they should?"
Leading universities have been urged in recent years to do more to recruit bright students from a wider set of backgrounds.
But data released this week shows that many schools are not producing students of a high enough calibre to automatically get places at such universities.
League tables - drawn from the latest official government figures on pupils' academic achievement - have shown some 594 (23.4%) of the 2,540 schools teaching A-levels had no pupils with the two As and a B in the subjects recommended for the best degree courses.
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Canadian police say two US tourists are missing, feared dead, after an avalanche in Banff National Park in the province of Alberta.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say the pair from Boston didn't check out of their hotel on Tuesday and their car was found near Lake Louise.
A rescue team found snowshoe tracks leading to avalanche debris.
The risk of another avalanche was so severe that police could not send a search team any further.
Parks Canada, which is leading the search operation, said a helicopter flying over the area had picked up signals from two radio distress transmitters.
They say they will continue the search when weather conditions improve.
"The area is closed and we would like to remind people that entering a closed area is not permitted," Parks Canada said in a statement.
Police have notified the families of those missing but have not named them.
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A male osprey which hatched in the Lake District in 2007, has returned to a nest in Cumbria.
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Ringed as YV, the bird has joined a female that had already returned to Bassenthwaite near Keswick. The pair have started mating and nest building.
It is believed the female, first spotted in March, might be the same one seen in the area last year.
Ospreys fly south to Africa during late autumn, returning to the UK towards the start of April.
The birds' nest blew down last winter and this year the birds are using a new platform erected by conservationists.
Barbara Thomson, from the Lake District Osprey Project, said: "Although we think it is the same female bird as last year because of her markings and behaviour on arrival, we cannot be 100% sure as she is not ringed.
"She could be a look-alike but completely unrelated bird."
There is still no sign of a male bird, who is believed to have bred in the area every year since 2001.
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Rock legends The Who have unveiled their first song in eight years as they mark their 50th anniversary.
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Be Lucky includes lyrical references to Australian rockers AC/DC and French electro band Daft Punk and will be included in a double album featuring the group's greatest hits.
The band will donate royalties from the new track to teenage cancer sufferers.
One of the most influential rock bands of the 20th Century, their hits include My Generation and I Can See for Miles.
Earlier this year, surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend announced they would play a tour, which starts in the UK in November, to mark their 50 years in the industry.
Daltrey described the tour as "the beginning of the long goodbye".
The new track Be Lucky features the lyrics "You wanna climb without a safety line/ AC/DC's gonna be fine," and a similar refrain, "You want to climb without a safety line/ Daft Punk will tell you that it's gonna be fine."
Daft Punk's single Get Lucky was one of the biggest hits of 2013.
Recorded at British Grove and Yellow Fish Studios, the Who track features long-time collaborators Zak Starkey on drums and Pino Palladino on bass.
In a statement on their website, The Who said: "In keeping with their ongoing support for Teenage Cancer charities, the band have donated their royalties from the song to Teen Cancer America."
Daltrey was instrumental in founding the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2000.
In 2011, Teen Cancer America was founded by Daltrey and Townshend in the US.
In April, Daltrey was presented with the outstanding contribution prize at the Music Week awards for his work with the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Singer Paul Weller praised Daltrey's "tireless, fantastic work" for a "very worthwhile charity".
The Who were formed by singer Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle in London in 1964 and were joined by drummer Keith Moon before recording their first single.
Moon died of a drug overdose in 1978 and Entwistle died of a drug-induced heart attack in 2002.
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China will continue to hit back against the US if more tariffs are imposed, the country's finance minster has said.
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In an interview with Reuters, Liu Kun said China would respond "resolutely" to the "unreasonable" US measures.
On Thursday, the US imposed a second wave of tariffs on Chinese goods worth $16bn (£12.4bn), and China immediately responded in kind.
Two days of trade talks in Washington between the two sides failed to make any major progress.
Tariff threats
The escalating trade row between the US and China has now seen each side impose 25% tariffs on a total of $50bn of one another's goods
The US has threatened a third round of tariffs on an additional $200bn of Chinese goods, which could come as soon as next month. President Trump has also said he could slap tariffs on all $500bn of imports from the country.
In his interview with Reuters, Mr Liu said: "China doesn't wish to engage in a trade war, but we will resolutely respond to the unreasonable measures taken by the United States.
"If the United States persists with these measures, we will correspondingly take action to protect our interests."
He said that, so far, the impact of the trade row on the Chinese economy had not been significant, but added that government spending would be increased to support workers affected by the tariffs.
Mr Liu said China was responding to the US measures in a "precise way".
"Of course, the value of US imports of Chinese goods isn't the same as the value of Chinese imports of US goods. We'll take tariff measures in accordance to this situation."
He also said China was trying to ensure that companies operating in the country were not caught up in the crossfire.
"When we take measures, we try our hardest not to harm the interests of foreign businesses in China. That's why our tariff measures are targeted to avoid affecting them as much as we can."
President Trump has long been critical of China, and ordered an investigation into Chinese trade policies in August 2017.
His administration says its goal is to convince China to make its economy more open to foreign companies.
China has loosened some rules in recent months. It removed restrictions on foreign ownership for banks this week, putting into effect a promise from last year.
However, the White House has maintained that China's changes have not gone far enough.
Candid talks
Talks between the US and China concluded this week without a major breakthrough.
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said the two sides "exchanged views on how to achieve fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship".
In a statement, China's Ministry of Commerce said the Chinese delegation had held "constructive and candid" talks on trade issues.
"Both sides will keep in contact about the future arrangement," it added.
By imposing tariffs on Chinese imports, President Trump hopes to make life easier for US companies, whose goods will become cheaper within the US by comparison.
The duties are part of his broader "America First" approach, which has also prompted the US to impose higher import duties on steel and aluminium, including from Mexico, Canada and the European Union. All of those countries have retaliated.
Many US companies and industry groups have testified to the US Trade Representative's Office that their businesses are being harmed.
Firms that rely on Chinese imports face higher costs, while exporters are worried that retaliation will make their products more expensive and reduce demand.
Meantime, China plans to file a fresh complaint against the tariffs at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which adjudicates in global trade disputes.
China's commerce ministry says it "clearly suspected" the US of violating WTO rules.
It filed an initial complaint at the WTO in July as Mr Trump imposed his first round of tariffs.
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Preston Guild Hall could be demolished because it costs £1m a year to run.
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Council leader Peter Rankin said the authority could not rule out bulldozing the venue to help save money.
But the council is also looking at whether a business from the entertainment industry could take over the building.
Last month councillors voted to demolish the city's bus station - but it could be saved by an unnamed businessman.
Mr Rankin said: "We are actually trying to improve Preston although I can understand people feeling that we are wrecking the city."
'Difficult position'
He added: "I didn't come into politics to demolish things - but the government has put us in a very difficult position."
The Guild Hall opened in 1972 as part of that year's Preston Guild celebrations.
It is a regular entertainment venue with concerts at its Grand Hall and it was once the regular host of the UK Snooker Championships.
But a lot of the retail space in the complex is unoccupied, including the site of a former supermarket.
Councillor Tom Burns, who is responsible for leisure services, said government spending restrictions have made the Guild Hall's future uncertain.
He added: "Leisure services, museums, entertainment complexes like the Guild Hall will not be financed in the future by the government.
"We're OK next year because we've made some savings but everything is under review at the moment and the Guild Hall is one of them."
In December councillors voted in principle to demolish the bus station which is linked to the Guild Hall but the council is negotiating with a local businessman who might save the station, which opened in 1969.
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A former teacher who raped a woman and blamed the attack on "drink, tablets and stress" has been jailed
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Michael Leydon, 61, claimed he was stressed in 2014 after son, Christopher, had been arrested on suspicion of rape.
He was found guilty of rape, and acquitted of a second charge, at Worcester Crown Court last month.
Sentencing at the court on Friday, Judge James Burbage QC ordered Leydon to serve six years and six months.
His trial heard Leydon had been a teacher at a school in Worcester in the 1980s, and had also taught in Redditch and Hereford.
Leydon, formerly of Diglis, Worcester but now of Worthing in West Sussex, retired from teaching in 2017.
He claimed sex had been consensual, but sent a number of text messages including one which read: "I did something disgusting as a result of drink, tablets and stress."
Robert Tolhurst, defending, urged the judge to take into account Leydon's previous good character and the depression and anxiety he was feeling at the time of the offence.
"He respects the verdict of the jury but he continues to maintain his innocence," Mr Tolhurst said.
"It was clearly a terrible, terrible act but a mistake."
Leydon's son Christopher, then 28, was jailed for seven years in 2017 after being found guilty of child sex offences, including rape.
After reading character references, the judge accepted that Christopher Leydon's arrest had placed a "significant burden of pressure" on his father.
"In a single moment you lost leave of your senses," Judge Burbage said.
"It is difficult to comprehend why you did that."
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A friend of Kiaran Stapleton who was with him when he shot Anuj Bidve did not "grass" because he feared for his safety, a court has heard.
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Ryan Holden, 20, said he had not gone to police after the shooting because he would have been "dead in a week".
He was arrested as a suspect following the incident, but became a witness after helping capture Mr Stapleton.
Mr Stapleton admits shooting Mr Bidve on 26 December 2011 but has denied murder at Manchester Crown Court.
Mr Holden was giving evidence for the second day, having told the court on Friday that he had been "shocked" by the attack on the Lancaster University student and had later confessed to his mother he had been at the scene of the shooting.
'Family in danger'
Questioned by Simon Csoka QC for the defence, he said he had not offered an anonymous tip-off because, "if I had done I would have been dead in a week".
He said there was "not a chance" of him being a "grass" because it would have also put his family in danger.
Mr Csoka went onto suggest that the gun which Mr Stapleton had used was actually owned by Mr Holden.
The 20-year-old, who gave evidence behind a curtain to shield him from the public gallery, said that was not the case, and that he had not even known Mr Stapleton had a weapon on him.
However, he admitted washing himself down with petrol to destroy evidence on his skin.
He said he had done this not because he had gunshot residue on him, as Mr Csoka suggested, but because his "head was gone" and he was "paranoid".
The case continues.
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A nightclub where Radiohead and Supergrass have played has been given protected status.
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After Dark, which opened in 1973, has been made an Asset of Community Value by Reading Borough Council.
Its new status means it must be used for the community and is protected from a change of use or demolition.
Club manager Zee Khan described the successful application by Reading Civic Society as "a really positive thing" for the community.
"They are an independent group of people and they have valued the club and the council has verified it as being a very significant part of Reading."
The council apologised in October after previously missing the application to help protect its future, due to the pandemic.
Last year, the club had its licence revoked after complaints about noise and violence.
An appeal hearing is due to be heard at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on 5 January, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Although the club is able to continue operating until the appeal is heard, the pandemic has meant it has been shut since March.
Plans to demolish the club and turn it into flats were rejected by the council for a third time in June.
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Politicians and business leaders have been reacting to news of up to 1,000 job losses at one of Northern Ireland's biggest employers, Bombardier.
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The Canadian-owned aerospace firm has announced plans to cut the posts over a two-year period.
First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness:
"The news that staff at Bombardier have received today is a devastating development for many of the workers, their families and the wider manufacturing industry in Northern Ireland. While the company has made it clear their decision is as a result of inescapable global economic factors, the impact is very real for those affected, and for the wider economy.
"Bombardier has made it clear their decision aims to protect the long-term future of the business. The Executive will make every effort to mitigate the impact of the job losses and we will work closely with Invest NI and with the enterprise and employment and learning ministers to ensure all possible avenues are explored."
"This is bitterly disappointing news for the employees of Bombardier Belfast and their families. I think there is some comfort to be drawn from the fact that the company has made it very clear their commitment to the C Series that's manufactured in Belfast, and their commitment to Belfast."
"The impact of this decision will be hard felt in Northern Ireland, in particular by those personally affected. First and foremost, my thoughts are with the workers and their families as they absorb today's news.
He added: "While today's news is deeply disappointing, Bombardier Inc has made it clear that the decision has been taken to safeguard the company's long term future globally and here in Northern Ireland."
"The job losses announced today by Bombardier are extremely regrettable, not only for those who have lost their jobs, but also for the families, communities and the economy as a whole.
"My department will be proactive in determining what steps we can take to assist employees facing redundancy to provide them with advice and guidance regarding re-skilling, training and alternative employment opportunities."
"This jobs loss announcement is the latest, cruel blow to Northern Ireland's manufacturing sector. While the scale of the losses reflect the severe market conditions being experienced by the group which has led to over 7.000 job losses globally, heavy manufacturers across the region continue to face challenging times.
"The Northern Ireland Executive needs to redouble their efforts and secure alternative employment for those highly skilled workers who will be made redundant."
"While we were fully aware that Bombardier intended to make cost reductions across its global business, the news of 7,000 jobs, 1,080 in Northern Ireland, is much greater than anticipated.
"We have listened to the company's reasoning for this difficult decision and, while it is hard to hear, we understand why it has had to make this choice.
"While Bombardier feels this 'right-sizing' is essential for the business market as it stands today, its announcement of a new order of 75 CS300 aircraft by Air Canada is a positive development and I have every confidence that its commitment to the CSeries project will see the company's presence in Belfast rebuild for the future."
"Today's announcement is devastating for the Bombardier workforce and their families. My thoughts are with all of those affected and who now face an uncertain future. Those workers must now get any help and support they require to find alternative employment or retraining.
"Bombardier still remains an absolutely vital part of the Northern Ireland economy however and I would hope reassurance can be given of the viability of the East Belfast site going forward."
"This is a serious development and my thoughts are foremost with the workers and families affected by this news. It is important to say that the skills and productivity of Bombardier Northern Ireland workers are first class and this decision appears to be based primarily on factors affecting the company on a global basis."
"Not only does this impact on those who lose their jobs but also has a knock-on effect on the local economy as these wages are removed. I am hoping when the new CSeries goes into full production that we can see a reverse of this trend and see employment rise again."
"The loss of 1,080 jobs in Belfast comes hot on the heels of the announcement of significant manufacturing job losses at JTI and Michelin in Ballymena. The Bombardier announcement is yet another concrete example of a minister and department that is out of touch with the grim reality of the challenges that are facing manufacturing in Northern Ireland."
"In an interview two weeks ago the enterprise minister said he had no indications of any job losses at the Bombardier plant. Today we hear that 580 people have lost their jobs, and 500 other people could be out of work next year. The priority today must be the 580 workers who now need a new job and saving the 500 additional jobs which are due to disappear in 2017."
"Bombardier represents around 10% of our total exports and almost 50% of the manufacturing jobs in Belfast as well as a deeply embedded supply chain which stretches from the north west to north Down. These are well paid, highly skilled advanced manufacturing roles in line with the current economic strategy."
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Scottish doctors have criticised a new strategy aimed at increasing the number of organ donors for not going far enough.
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And they believe more can be done to save more lives through an "opt out" scheme.
A new UK strategy has won the backing of the health ministers from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
It suggests people on the organ donor register would receive priority if they needed a transplant themselves.
The proposals also suggest preventing families from overriding the consent of people who have signed the organ donor register to ensure a person's wish to donate is honoured if they die.
Details are contained in the report Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 which contains details of the strategy and a series of recommendations which aim to enable the UK to match world-class performance in organ donation and transplantation.
Waiting list
But the new strategy and the Scottish Action Plan has been critically received by Dr Brian Keighley, Chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland.
He has made a renewed call for moves towards an "opt out" system which would increase the availability of organs by forcing people to refuse to become donors.
Dr Keighley said: "There has been welcome progress in the number of people signing up to the Organ Donor Register and donation rates.
"But despite this rise, there are still many people in Scotland waiting for an organ transplant. Some of these people will die while they are waiting, whilst others will have died without even reaching the waiting list. We believe that more can be done and more lives can be saved."
He added: "The BMA believes that a change to an opt out system for organ donation would help to increase the number of organs available. This would make donation the default position from which people may opt out during their lifetime if they choose to do so.
"Given the exceptionally high level of support for donation, this is simply making it easier for people to achieve their wish to donate."
The Scottish Government backs the strategy and hopes to build on Scotland's success of having more than two million people on the NHS Organ Donor Register, the highest rate of any UK country.
Deceased donation rates in Scotland rose by more than 74% since 2008, compared to a UK-wide increase of only 50%.
Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson said: "Organ transplants transform lives. That is why we must do more to ensure that everyone who wished to become donors are able to do so.
"In Scotland, we've already seen huge progress in terms of getting more people on the NHS Organ Donor Register and in significantly increasing the number of donors. While this shows we are on the right track, we know that even more can be done to address the shortage of donated organs.
"This Scottish plan sets out the actions we and the NHS will take to give more people the chance of receiving a life-saving or life-enhancing transplant."
'Very humbling'
Backing the scheme, Betty Taylor, 67, from Livingston, West Lothian, who received a liver and kidney transplant during a life-saving 12-hour operation last year said: "I am so grateful that someone made the decision to join the NHS Organ Donor Register as that decision has saved my life.
"I often think about my donor's family too and how they allowed the donation to go ahead which is very humbling. My life has been saved by organ donation and I would encourage everyone to tell their families their wishes and think about signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register now."
However, there are still more than 7,000 people on the UK national transplant waiting list and, during the last financial year, more than 1,300 people either died whilst on the waiting list or became too sick to receive a transplant.
Dr Keighley said: "We, as a society, need to decide if the work we have done so far is enough or if there is more that we can do to try to meet the demand for life saving organ transplants and help to transform the lives of patients whose lives are on hold while they wait for an organ."
The Welsh assembly has voted to change to law to bring in an opt-out system of organ donation in 2015. Wales will be only UK country where individuals will be presumed to have consented for their organs to be donated unless they opt out.
The new law will come into force by 2015. It will apply to over-18s who die in Wales if they have lived there for more than 12 months.
Dr Keighley said: "We are disappointed the Scottish Government has not actively considered moving towards an 'opt out' system for organ donation. We can't wait until 2015 to begin the debate about opt out. We need to start the public debate about this now so that, when the time comes we are ready to move forward."
In the UK, there are 10,000 people on the list for an organ. They wait an average of three years for a suitable donor and every day three people on the waiting list die.
Currently 19.5 million - just under a third of the population - are signed up to the Organ Donor Register. The NHS is aiming to increase this to 25 million.
Spain and Belgium have opt-out laws but similar schemes in Australia and elsewhere are claimed to have deterred donors.
A consultation is under way in Northern Ireland on an opt-out system while in Scotland, ministers have said the option is "not completely off the agenda".
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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have made history by becoming the first members of the royal family to visit Cuba in an official capacity.
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Prince Charles and Camilla's trip is being seen as an attempt to help form closer ties between the UK and Cuba, which were foes during the Cold War.
The couple attended a wreath-laying ceremony for Cuba's national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
They are due to join the country's president for an official dinner.
Later this week they will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, who is flying to the country to represent the UK government.
His presence is an indication of how important Downing Street views the four-day Cuban visit and its potential to develop new avenues with a country that has already begun the process of opening up economically and socially.
After the couple stepped on to Cuban soil from the UK ministerial jet RAF Voyager on Sunday, there were brief handshakes from Cuban officials before they were taken to the wreath-laying ceremony.
Prince Charles stood in silent contemplation as a large wreath of roses was laid at the open-air monument in Havana's Revolution Square.
Monday began with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall going on a tour of Old Havana.
The royal couple met locals and tourists during the walkabout among the city's 18th-century colonial Spanish buildings.
Prince Charles later met boxers training at a gym, while his wife visited a maternity home.
The royal couple arrived from Barbados, one of five Commonwealth realms they have visited.
St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have also featured on their tour.
Fractious relations between Cuba and the West stem back to before the 1800s.
Cuba - a former Spanish colony - was ceded to the US in 1898 and four years later became independent under US protection.
But at the height of the Cold War in 1959, a guerrilla army led by Fidel Castro defeated the US-backed Batista government, establishing a communist state.
The armed revolution prompted a US trade embargo, known as the blockade or "el bloqueo" in Spanish.
Coupled with similarities of ideology, the embargo pushed Cuba into the arms of the Soviet Union.
The US discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba in 1962, which almost led to a nuclear war.
In 2014, after 50 years of severed ties, the US and Cuba announced a move to normalise diplomatic relations.
But in 2017, US President Donald Trump rolled back some of the restrictions eased by his predecessor.
The BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said this week's visit showed the UK was in a "strikingly different" position to the US.
British diplomats "clearly feel it's time to send a message of encouragement to the Cuban government to move further along the road to economic and political reform," he said.
In recent years, private enterprise in Cuba has been encouraged, although it has been scaled back amid fears the reforms were fuelling inequality.
The prince and his wife will also be meeting members of the Buena Vista Social Club at a recording studio in Havana.
The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award winner.
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Dairy farmers hit by a series of price cuts say they will take direct action in the next four days.
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By Claire MarshallBBC environment correspondent
With fresh cuts announced this week, the amount farmers receive for their milk has been slashed each month for the last four months.
Some farmers now face revenue losses of up to 25%.
Speaking at the Dairy Show at the Bath and West Showground, the chair of lobby group Farmers for Action said protests would begin within the next week.
This show is one of the most important events for dairy farmers.
There are around 14,000 dairy farmers in the UK, producing a record 3.3 million litres a day. Farmers for Action (FFA) represents around a third of them.
"Talking has run out," said FFA Chairman David Handley.
"The processors don't seem to understand it. Why do they cut prices? Because they can.
"Look at the cars they drive - who's making a living out of milk? I can tell you, as a dairy farmer, I'm not."
The average cost of production of a litre of milk is just over 30p. The typical price paid is now around 28p, down from around 35p in April. More cuts are predicted.
Perfect storm
The big milk buyers, such as Arla, Dairy Crest, Muller and First Milk, say that the cuts are down to a variety of factors.
One is global commodity prices: farmers worldwide are producing more milk, while at the same time demand, particularly in China, is falling. The Russian import ban has also had an impact, as have supermarket price wars.
The Chair of the NFU Dairy Board, Rob Harrison, argued that price fluctuations are down to the global commodities market, and that not much can be done.
"Ultimately we have a supply and demand situation, we are in free markets, and it is really really difficult to actually do anything about it."
But FFA argues that, since more than 80% of the milk produced by UK dairy farmers is used in this country, they should be immune from global dairy price cuts.
According to independent dairy analyst Ian Potter, world demand is growing at 2.5% while growth in world production has catapulted to 5%.
"We are producing twice as much as is needed," he said. "Throw in to that the Russian import ban and this is an accelerating downward spiral.
"It's the perfect storm and it's come so quickly it's taken everyone by surprise. There is no glimmer of light, the market is continuing to track down. It's a vortex that everyone is being sucked in to - there are farmers now staring down the gun barrel."
Stuart Perry, 29, farms a herd of 130 dairy cows in East Devon. He only got in to the industry early this year. He has a wife and a 14-month-old daughter.
"I'm very worried," he told the BBC. "For the next 12 months there are going to have to be cuts in the business. Things are going to be very tight, we are going to have to make savings wherever we can."
Would he consider protesting? "Yes, in the right way, if it's dignified and sensible. As an industry we need to show one voice."
According to David Handley, in one morning his group had received around 250 emails from farmers and farmers' wives fearful for their future.
"I had a lady on the phone this week, very concerned about her husband, saying he might be contemplating suicide. This is the kind of pressure they are facing."
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The former leader of the Brexit Party group in the Welsh Parliament has joined the Abolish the Assembly Party.
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Mark Reckless said the Brexit Party had achieved its goal in seeing the UK leaving the EU.
He said he was joining the Abolish the Assembly Party "to help give those opposed to devolution a proper voice".
The Brexit Party no longer has any members of the Senedd (MSs) after David Rowlands and Mandy Jones created the Independent Alliance for Reform group.
They will be joined by Caroline Jones, herself a former Brexit Party MS who left the group earlier in the year.
In a statement, Mr Reckless, a former Conservative MP who defected to UKIP in 2014, said: "The Brexit Party has achieved its goal now that we are properly leaving the European Union."
The South Wales East MS said he was "joining the Abolish The Assembly Party to help give those opposed to devolution a proper voice in Welsh politics".
"Devolution has until now only ever been one way, with more and more powers devolved. Now they are even enforcing a border with England [with the Covid travel ban].
"Next year we could see income tax rise just in Wales under new powers."
New group
On Friday, his former Brexit Party colleagues David Rowlands and Mandy Jones joined the independent member Caroline Jones to form a new political group in the Senedd, the Independent Alliance for Reform.
The new group will be the fourth-largest in the 60-member Senedd, or Welsh Parliament, which changed its name from the National Assembly for Wales in May, and they say they will focus on reforming devolution, rather than abolition.
In becoming a member of the Abolish the Assembly Party, Mr Reckless joins another former UKIP MS, Gareth Bennett.
The Brexit Party Senedd group, formed by ex-members of UKIP including Mr Reckless and backed by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, came together in 2019.
Mr Reckless was originally elected as a UKIP assembly member in 2017, before later joining the Conservatives in the chamber.
Of the original UKIP group only Neil Hamilton, now the party's interim UK leader, remains.
Michelle Brown, a former UKIP member who now sits as an independent, said she did not expect to join either the new group or the abolition party.
A third member would allow the abolition party to form a Senedd group and attract extra funding for staff.
"If we want to cure our country's ills, it's the party in government that needs changing, not the Welsh Parliament itself," Ms Brown said.
"As far as me joining 'Reform' or 'Abolish the Assembly' is concerned, I'd rather dive into a pool of my own vomit than join either of them," she added.
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A council has appealed for extra help as it faces a £2.8m bill to contest a major public inquiry into five wind farm applications next year.
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Powys council has set aside the money from its reserves to tackle the inquiry, which is expected next spring.
But it wants Welsh government help, saying the county deals with more wind farm projects than most councils.
The Welsh government said it had given Powys over £130,000 to help it cope with wind farm applications since 2010.
The council confirmed it had received the government money, but said it was not for funding public inquiries.
It said planning inquiry costs were considerable and would be an additional burden on its budget at a time when it was under "huge financial pressure".
Opposition to wind farms has grown in Powys since plans were unveiled to build an electricity sub-station in the county. Cefn Coch, near Llanfair Caereinion, was chosen as the preferred site for the sub-station in July.
About 1,500 campaigners gathered at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay in May last year against the plans, which includes a corridor of pylons from 10 planned wind farms.
The five public inquiries follow the council's rejection of large wind farm applications in Llaithdu, Carnedd Wen, Llanbadarn Fynydd and Llandinam, and a National Grid connection from Llandinam.
Council cabinet member for planning and regeneration, Graham Brown, said as a consequence of the Welsh government's Tan 8 policy Powys had a higher proportion of wind farm applications than other authorities in Wales.
The technical advice note (Tan) 8 policy was introduced in 2005 as guidance on wind farms. It allows councils to decide on wind farms up to 50 megawatts in size.
Mr Brown said the authority had been "forced to set aside £2.8m to fund legal action to defend the county council's interests".
He added: "We are appealing to current governments both in Cardiff and Westminster to recognise this unfair situation and provide additional resources to councils like Powys who have been placed in this very difficult position."
The council said more than 12 other wind farm applications were in the pipeline, so more public inquiries could follow.
Earlier this week it rejected plans for two wind farms at Pentre Tump, near New Radnor, and Mynydd-y-Cemmaes near Llanbrynmair.
'Extra money'
A Welsh government spokesman said: "We have given extra money to Powys County Council to help it deal with the wind farm applications in the Tan 8 areas within their boundary.
"This support is for those schemes which are decided by the UK government.
"The UK government does not offer any extra resources to planning authorities in England, so Powys has access to more financial support than most other councils.
"It must be remembered that the decision to object to the wind farm applications referred to is entirely down to Powys County Council.
"They were aware of the financial implications when they decided to object to these schemes."
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A Highland mum campaigning to make allergy training a legal requirement for staff in schools and nurseries believes the move could save lives.
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Catrina Drummond's three-year-old son Lewis had a severe reaction to cow's milk last year.
It prompted her to find funding for allergy training for his nursery carers.
Now she has lodged a petition at the Scottish Parliament calling for similar training for staff across Scotland.
Her proposal will be discussed by the petitions committee on Thursday.
At present, the Scottish government says children's individual care plans are the responsibility of their care-giving institution.
Its guidance is that staff should be allergy-trained if any pupils are at risk of anaphylaxis - a life-threatening allergic reaction - but this is not a legal requirement.
Ms Drummond, from Latheron in Caithness, wants this to change.
She told BBC Radio Scotland's Kaye Adams programme she started the petition after a scare involving her three-year-old son Lewis last year.
Lewis was diagnosed with severe allergies to cow's milk and peanuts at the age of one.
She said: "Last summer he had a reaction at a friend's house. He ate a piece of cake which we thought was fine for him.
"When we got home he started to react. I spoke to the friend's mum and discovered that without thinking she had added a few drops of cow's milk to the cake.
"The reaction developed into hives, diarrhoea, the hives went to his throat and his voice changed. I administered his EpiPen and called an ambulance.
"He needed a course of steroids. Alarm bells started ringing, as it was from such a small amount."
'Severe reaction'
She discovered a petition in England to the UK government calling for allergy care legislation for schools.
Catrina created her own petition for Scotland which she lodged in November.
She said: "I am asking for the government to pass legislation that will make an allergy care policy statutory in every nursery and school and to establish appropriate standards for nursery and school staff on medical training, education and care for children with life-threatening allergies."
In 2017, 13-year-old Karanbir Cheema from London, who suffered a dairy allergy, died after a slice of cheese was flicked at his neck by a fellow pupil at William Perkin Church of England High School.
A coroner said the case was "extremely rare" but said the health care given to him at the school was "inadequate".
Catrina thinks the situation could happen again if facilities and training are not put in place.
An estimated 20 deaths from anaphylaxis are reported each year in the UK. About 8% of children in the UK suffer from allergies.
Allergy expert Dr Hazel Gowland thinks making training a legal requirement would help manage instances of extreme reactions.
She said: "Setting that level of standard and expectation is definitely needed. We have more and more of these children who are living with complex allergies and it's a big load on everybody. It has to be recognised.
"This is an issue that won't go away and we need to address it."
The Scottish government's current position is that it does not believe a statutory approach is necessary.
A spokeswoman said: "Our guidance on supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools is clear that those affected should have those needs met through an agreed individualised plan. This includes young people affected by allergies.
"Care providers must make proper provision for the health, welfare and safety of all children in their care and consider any training and qualifications required for staff who manage medicines."
Highland Council, which oversees Lewis's nursery, said: "In addition to the special diet process we have in place, the council's catering service has recently delivered food allergy specific training to all cooks and we are currently in the process of developing an Allergen Policy."
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Two Tory leadership candidates have clashed over whether they would shut down Parliament early to force through a no-deal Brexit.
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Esther McVey said the measure was part of a "toolkit" that could be used to ensure Brexit is delivered on time.
But Michael Gove said such a move would be "wrong" and contradict "the best traditions of British democracy".
Eleven Conservative MPs are vying to replace Theresa May as party leader and, ultimately, prime minister.
The candidates have been laying out their policies on Brexit and other issues before nominations close at 17:00 BST on Monday. They need eight MPs to back them or they are eliminated from the contest.
Jeremy Hunt, another leadership contender, said the EU would be "willing to negotiate" on the Brexit deal if the UK takes the "right approach".
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, the foreign secretary said he had spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and suggested she was open to looking at new solutions for the Irish border issue in talks.
"She said that [...] with a new British prime minister, we would want to look at any solutions you have," he added.
Asked whether she would consider using ending the current session of Parliament - a process known as prorogation - to force through a no-deal Brexit, Ms McVey said it would not be her "priority" and she would "not be looking to do that" as prime minister.
But the former work and pensions secretary told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I've said I'd use every tool at my disposal, so that would include that."
She also said MPs who wanted to "frustrate" the Brexit process had "ripped up the rule book" and were guilty of "tearing up 400 years of history".
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said MPs who had voted to start Brexit talks by triggering Article 50 should respect the result of the vote to leave the EU, but halting Parliament would "not be true to the best traditions of British democracy".
Earlier, he said that he would replace VAT with a "lower, simpler, sales tax" in an interview in the Sunday Telegraph.
Could prorogation be used to push through no deal?
If a new prime minister is concerned about MPs blocking the UK's exit from the EU, they could advise the Queen to prorogue Parliament.
This would send MPs away so that they cannot do anything in the Commons to hold up Brexit.
However, it would be an unprecedented move in modern times to use this power for political reasons, rather than to end a session in preparation for a new Queen's Speech.
Fellow Tory leadership candidate Dominic Raab has also suggested he would be prepared to shut down Parliament to ensure the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.
The suggestion has led to criticism from a number of MPs, with Commons Speaker John Bercow saying prorogation to enforce a no-deal exit is "simply not going to happen".
'Scylla and Charybdis'
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson - in his first major interview of the campaign - compared the Labour and Brexit Party leaders to sea monsters from Greek mythology.
"I truly believe only I can steer the country between the Scylla and Charybdis of Corbyn and Farage and on to calmer water," he told the Sunday Times.
Mr Johnson said as prime minister, he would refuse to pay the EU a £39bn settlement until there was "greater clarity" about a future relationship.
He also said he would scrap the Irish backstop and would only settle the border issue when Brussels was ready to agree to a deal.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Housing Secretary James Brokenshire have all declared their support for Mr Johnson's leadership bid.
The former foreign secretary has also won the backing of Brexit Minister James Cleverly, who became the first Tory MP to pull out of the leadership race on Tuesday.
Who will replace Theresa May?
The winner of the contest to lead the Conservative Party will become the next prime minister.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, another MP hoping to become Tory leader, told Sky News his offer to pay Ireland for new technology to ensure a frictionless Irish border would "change the dynamic" in Brexit talks.
Mr Javid also said he would pay for a "multi-billion pound" spending increase in education by slowing down government debt repayment.
He said that could free between £15bn and £25bn a year, some of which would go to the education system.
Mr Javid has won the backing of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who wrote in the Scottish Mail on Sunday that he had a vision to unite a "divided Britain".
In his Sky interview, Jeremy Hunt also repeated his support for lowering the standard legal time limit for abortion from the current 24 to 12 weeks, but added that it would not be government policy to change the law if he became PM.
After nominations close on Monday, MPs will then vote for their preferred candidates in a series of secret ballots held on 13, 18, 19 and 20 June.
The final two will be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced about four weeks later.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the country is close to testing long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
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The intercontinental ballistic missiles were in their "last stage" of development, Mr Kim claimed during his New Year's message.
Pyongyang has conducted two nuclear tests in the past year, including its biggest one to date.
This raised fears that North Korea has made significant nuclear advances.
But it has never successfully test-fired such a missile.
Reuters reported a senior US military official as saying that although North Korea appears able to put a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a missile, the missile re-entry technology necessary for longer range strikes is still a serious obstacle to its weapons development.
How advanced is North Korea's nuclear programme?
Mr Kim, who took control of the secretive state following his father's death in 2011, said in a televised speech: "Research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage."
He said the country was now a "military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy".
UN resolutions call for an end to the country's nuclear and missile tests.
Two audiences: Steve Evans, South Korea correspondent:
Kim Jong-un was speaking to two audiences: one inside the country and one outside, particularly in the United States.
On both counts, it is in his interests to talk up the country's strength.
He did not say that he had achieved his ambition of having a warhead small enough to go on reliable and accurate intercontinental missiles - but he said success was near.
Outside experts reckon it might take less than five years. The North Korean diplomat who defected from the London embassy thinks it will happen by the end of 2017.
It's not clear what US President-elect Donald Trump might do about it. Military experts say the North Korean nuclear programme is too advanced and well-protected to destroy by force. The key facilities are hidden and dispersed.
When North Korea tested its nuclear bomb in September 2016, estimates varied on how strong it was.
South Korea's military said its yield was about 10 kilotonnes, enough to make it the North's "strongest nuclear test ever". Other experts say initial indications suggest 20 kilotonnes or more.
The bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotonnes.
The September test triggered widespread condemnation and further international sanctions against the country.
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A silver cigarette case believed to have saved a soldier's life by blocking a bullet during World War One is to be auctioned.
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The case had been gifted to 2nd Lt William Alexander Lytle by his wife during the conflict.
A note inside it, written by his son, said he had been wearing it in his breast pocket when the bullet hit him.
The dented case will go under the hammer later this month along with several medals awarded to Mr Lytle.
Hansons Auctioneers said the Derbyshire-born Sherwood Forester had accumulated an "impressive" set of medals for his efforts during both world wars.
The battered cigarette case was discovered when his family was asked to find a photo of Mr Lytle to put alongside them at auction.
Adrian Stevenson, militaria expert at Hansons, said: "Many soldiers kept hard objects in the breast pockets of their Army uniforms in a bid to protect themselves from enemy fire. Cigarette cases, shaving mirrors and pocket Bibles were popular.
"A bullet potentially heading for the heart could be stopped in its tracks by objects such as this, particularly if it was reaching the end of its trajectory.
"Consequently, these objects have gained historical significance. They provide us with an insight into how young men who lived a century ago dealt with the grave dangers faced in the trenches in the war to end all wars."
The medals include a Military Cross awarded in 1915 and several from World War Two.
The collection is due to be auctioned in Etwall, Derbyshire, on 22 November with a guide price of £1,000 to £2,000.
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Efforts are continuing to try to save the Scottish Youth Theatre from closure.
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A number of former students have staged a peaceful demonstration in George Square in Glasgow.
Meanwhile a parent has presented a petition, signed by more than 37,000 people to the Scottish government.
The theatre has announced its imminent closure, after failing to secure regular funding from arts agency Creative Scotland.
At the weekend, Creative Scotland chief executive Janet Archer said it may be able to help the SYT avoid having to shut under an alternative funding plan.
The Glasgow-based organisation, which has been running for more than 40 years, has helped shape the careers of international stars like Karen Gillan, Kate Dickie and Gerard Butler.
The funding decision by Creative Scotland means the SYT, which costs £600,000 a year to run, has a funding gap for 2018-21 amounting to a third of its required income.
The youth theatre has been working on a plan to secure direct government funding by winning "national company" status.
A group of former students from the SYT gathered in George Square on Tuesday afternoon for what they described as a peaceful protest.
A question has been also been tabled at the Scottish Parliament. Labour MSP Claire Baker has asked the Scottish government what discussions it has had with the theatre regarding its future.
On Monday, an online petition organised by the mother of a six-year-old girl was handed in at the first of two meetings between the SYT and the Scottish government to consider future funding.
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A former charity chief executive took money from the organisation to clear more than £11,000 in credit card debts, Swansea Crown Court has heard.
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Naz Malik, ex-head of All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema), is also accused of using charity funds to pay for £3,500 life assurance for his wife.
Awema was wound up in 2012 when its public funding was stopped after claims of financial mismanagement.
Mr Malik denies three counts of fraud.
The charity distributed public money to projects across Wales in order to promote equality and diversity.
Prosecuting, Jim Davis, said in March 2010 Mr Malik asked the charity's finance director Saquib Zia for an advance to cover expenses, using a blank cheque signed by its treasurer.
Mr Zia said the request would need to be approved by the board, but eventually gave one to Mr Malik, which he later made out for £2,500 to reduce his credit card bill.
Life assurance
Four months later Mr Malik took another signed cheque from Mr Zia's drawer while he was away from the office, the court heard.
The cheque was then paid into Mr Malik's account in August 2010 for the sum of £9,340.36 - the exact amount owed on his credit card.
Mr Davis said: "While the defendant was running Awema he defrauded the charity by drawing two cheques for £2,500 and £9,340 which he was not entitled to.
"He was acting dishonestly when he did that.
"The defendant was not authorised to use charity money to reduce his own credit card bill. He knew full well he was not entitled to do so."
The court also heard Mr Malik used the company's bank account to pay for a life assurance policy in the name of his wife, Bronwen Malik.
The policy would see her receive a lump sum of £120,000 in the event of Mr Malik's death.
The monthly direct debit payments of £89.52 were paid from early 2008 to early 2012 leading to a total of more than £3,500.
Jim Davis said these monthly payments had been hidden in the company accounts as "insurance", adding: "He was being dishonest and defrauding the charity."
Mr Malik claimed the two cheques were for expenses and and he was entitled to the life assurance policy because of a salary sacrifice arrangement he had made.
The trial continues.
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The government has prepared a short three-line bill to begin the Brexit process - so Theresa May can meet her March deadline, it is understood.
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By Norman SmithBBC Assistant Political Editor
Sources say they believe the legislation is so tightly drawn it will be difficult for critical MPs to amend.
Ministers have drawn up the legislation in case they lose their appeal to the Supreme Court - which would force them to consult Parliament.
The High Court ruled against the government earlier this month.
Sources say the government would plan to introduce the bill in the Commons immediately after the Supreme Court ruling.
The hope would be to push the bill through the Commons in two weeks.
It would then go to the House of Lords where it is understood the government hopes peers would back down.
They believe peers would not dare defy MPs - if the Commons had approved the legislation.
Sources say they have devised the bill to be "bomb-proof" to amendments.
This would mean Mrs May could meet her March deadline for triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which begins the formal negotiation process.
Sources say although they looked at allowing Parliament a vote through "a substantive motion" rather than legislation, they decided this would leave them vulnerable to further legal challenge.
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An assistant school principal who filmed himself raping a blindfolded girl has been jailed for 11 years.
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Chemistry teacher Jonathan Rowe, 49, abused the girl when she was aged eight to 10.
The former Eggbuckland Community College teacher admitted a series of sexual offences including three rapes.
Sentencing him at Exeter Crown Court on Friday, Judge David Evans said Rowe had lived a "double life" and described his actions as "depraved".
See more news from Devon
The court heard Rowe raped the girl while she was asleep and transferred footage of his attacks on to his school laptop.
He was caught after the girl told her mother Rowe had blindfolded her while asking her to pose for pictures.
Investigations revealed the mother of a six-year-old girl had previously warned Rowe about his behaviour after finding him playing with her half-naked daughter in a beach rock pool.
Officers also found a video of a 13-year-old girl on a trampoline in which he had focused on her breasts.
'Appalling actions'
Rowe, of Higher Dean, Buckfastleigh, also admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child, five of taking indecent images of his victims, and three of making indecent images by downloading them from the internet.
Judge Evans said: "You clearly have a sexual interest in children. Sadly, you translated that sexual interest into the actual abuse of this girl."
Rowe was given a one-year extended licence, ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and banned from going within 50m of any school or taking photographs or videos of children.
Will Willden, defending, said Rowe regretted what he had done and appreciated the damage caused to others.
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said Rowe had "preyed knowingly on a vulnerable young girl to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies".
She added: "His appalling actions have betrayed the trust placed in him and it's vital his victim receives the right support to recover from what has happened."
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A passenger in a van that was crushed by a tree, killing the driver, was saved as he bent down to pick up a lighter, a witness has said.
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Christopher Hayes, 51, died as a beech tree fell on the van cab in high winds in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday.
Eyewitness Gary Heasman pulled the male passenger from the wreckage.
He said the "shocked" man told him his life had been saved when he dropped a lighter in the van and bent down to get it at exactly the time the tree fell.
Mr Heasman, who lives in Sherwood Road, near to the scene of the incident in Sandhurst Road, said: "Initially my daughter heard the noise of the tree coming down and then we could see out the window that it had gone straight across a van."
He said he and a friend ran over to the van and had not been expecting to see anyone inside.
'Shocked and panicked'
Mr Heasman added: "There were two people in there and one was sort of trying to get out so we just did our best.
"We tried to pull the door open but we couldn't do that so [we] just went back to the van and got a crowbar out and smashed the side window in and just pulled him out."
He said the passenger, who has not been identified, was "just shocked and panicked".
He added: "He couldn't sit still and we couldn't calm him down."
Police said the tree collapsed on to the cab of the van at about 12:25 GMT in the severe weather and Mr Hayes, from Tonbridge, died at the scene.
Married father-of-three Mr Hayes owned a building firm that had operated in the Tonbridge area for more than 30 years.
A post-mortem examination into his death is due to take place on Thursday.
The high winds, which are believed to have brought the tree down, also forced the closure of the QEII Bridge, linking the M25 between Essex and Kent for part of Tuesday.
The Port of Dover was also shut for about three hours and a 90-year-old woman had to be treated by paramedics after a tree fell on her house near Sevenoaks at about 06:50 GMT.
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A British teenager has won nearly a million pounds after coming second alongside his teammate in the Fortnite World Cup finals.
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By Joe TidyCyber-security reporter
Jaden Ashman, from Hornchurch, London will split $2.25m (£1.8m) with his Dutch partner.
The 15-year-old, competing under the name Wolfiez, told the BBC he was "stunned" to have finished so high.
Popular online shooter game Fortnite has 250 million users worldwide, and the event's prize pool is $30m.
That is the biggest ever at an e-sports competition to date, although August's Dota 2 The International tournament is set to give away even more.
Jaden and his team-mate Dave Jong (Rojo) came second in the duos event.
Norwegian Emil Bergquist Pedersen and Austrian David W - Nyhrox and Aqua - took first place, winning by 51 points to Ashman and Jong's 47.
The singles final takes place on Sunday.
Jaden has played the game since it came out around two years ago, but unlike many of the finalists, he is relatively unknown with only a few thousand followers and fans on gaming social media.
His mother, Lisa Dallman, said she and her son used to have rows because his grades suffered at school.
She said she once threw out an Xbox after an argument - but now accepts Jaden's career choice as a professional esports player.
The Fortnite finals conclude on Sunday with 100 players battling on giant computer screens in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
Forty million players attempted to qualify over 10 weeks of online competition.
The winner will take home $3m and become the first Fortnite World Champion.
More than 30 nations are represented with 70 players coming from the US, 14 from France and 11 from the UK.
Fortnite is arguably the world's most popular game and involves 100 players being dropped onto an island where they have to find weapons, build structures and eliminate each other until one player comes out on top.
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A French drugs squad officer has been arrested in the southern city of Perpignan on suspicion of stealing more than 50kg (110lb) of cocaine from Paris police headquarters.
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The unnamed officer, 34, was picked up while on holiday in the city near the Spanish border, officials say.
The theft of the drugs, which have a street value of some 3m euros (£2.4m; $4m), was a major embarrassment.
It appears they were taken from a secure room on 24 July.
CCTV images of a man carrying two bags into police headquarters that night, and leaving shortly after, helped investigators identify the suspect, police say.
The drugs were originally seized in a raid on 4 July against a suspected Senegalese gang operating in northern Paris, Le Parisien newspaper reports.
There was no immediate indication on Saturday that the missing cocaine had been recovered.
Police headquarters, immortalised in Georges Simenon's Maigret detective novels and in French crime films, is located at 36 Quai des Orfevres, in the heart of the French capital, overlooking the River Seine and close to Notre Dame cathedral.
The building also attracted unwelcome publicity in April, when two elite anti-gang officers were charged with raping a Canadian tourist there. An investigation is still under way.
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Keith Raniere, the leader of an elusive US self-help group, has been arrested by the FBI in Mexico and charged with sex trafficking.
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Federal prosecutors allege Mr Raniere oversaw a "slave and master" system in his group called Nxivm, where female members were expected to have sex with him and were branded with his initials.
He is expected to appear in court on the charges in Texas on Tuesday.
Mr Raniere left the country last year after former members spoke to US media.
A number of women came forward for an investigation published in the New York Times newspaper in October, which led to the United States attorney's office in Brooklyn opening an investigation into the group.
After the piece, a letter by Mr Raniere denied any such practices were sanctioned by the group and said an independent investigation found "no merit" to the allegations.
What is Nxivm?
On its website Nxivm (pronounced nexium) describes itself as a "community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people and answer important questions about what it means to be human."
Based in Albany in upstate New York, the group was founded as Executive Success Programs in 1998 and says it has worked with more than 16,000 people.
Members of the group are reported to include wealthy heiresses, the son of a former Mexican president and Hollywood actresses.
Mr Raniere and his group have been the subject of controversy for several years. Investigative journalist James M. Odato published a number of pieces in the Times Union of Albany Newspaper in 2012 which questioned the group's practices and compared it to a cult.
In 2009 the newspaper wrote about a visit by the Dalai Lama to Albany, which was reportedly sponsored by the Nxivm group. The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet denied he was paid for the appearance.
After the New York Times piece was published in 2017 and women came forward, federal authorities began interviewing "witnesses and victims" associated with the group.
What is the group accused of?
An affidavit filed as part of the FBI's criminal complaint says that Nxivm operated as a "pyramid" group where self-help workshops cost members thousands of dollars.
Federal investigators say that in recent years Mr Raniere, 57, set up a secret sorority within the group known as Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), a quasi-Latin phrase meaning roughly Master Over the Slave Women.
The complaint says that once recruited as "slaves", women were allegedly expected to perform menial chores for "masters" and have sex with Mr Raniere, who was known as "The Vanguard".
Investigators say Mr Raniere had a rotating group of 15 to 20 sexual partners, who were not allowed to discuss their relationship with him or have one with anyone else.
They allege that "slaves" in the group had to eat extremely low-calorie diets because of Mr Raniere's preference for thin women.
According to the complaint, members of the group were branded with Mr Raniere's initials using a cauterising pen, often on their pelvic areas, in ceremonies that were filmed by members.
Investigators say members were expected to provide "collateral" as a pre-condition to joining in the form of sexually explicit or other compromising material.
Court documents say investigators have found electronic communication that suggested Mr Raniere was behind the sorority "slave" internal group, something he has denied.
'Unorthadox pyramid scheme'
"Keith Raniere displayed a disgusting abuse of power in his efforts to denigrate and manipulate women he considered his sex slaves," senior FBI official William Sweeney said on Monday.
"He allegedly participated in horrifying acts of branding and burning them, with the co-operation of other women operating within this unorthodox pyramid scheme.
"These serious crimes against humanity are not only shocking, but disconcerting to say the least, and we are putting an end to this torture today."
Mr Raniere publicly disputed the New York Times newspaper's account in late 2017 before leaving the country.
"These allegations are most disturbing to me as non-violence is one of my most important values," a letter on his website said.
In the letter, he added that members of the sorority were "thriving, health, happy, better off, and haven't been coerced".
Prosecutors say Mr Raniere was unco-operative when immigration officials detained him at a villa in Mexico.
They say after he was arrested, women he was staying with "chased the car in which the defendant was being transported in their own car at high speed".
Federal prosecutors have requested he be held without bail.
He is expected to be transferred to authorities in New York following Tuesday's court appearance.
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Former model Sofia Hellqvist is marrying Sweden's Prince Carl Philip in a lavish ceremony in Stockholm on Saturday.
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By Jasmine ColemanBBC News
It is the first time a Swedish commoner has become a princess of Sweden in centuries.
"It's a real Cinderella story," says royal expert Roger Lundgren.
But like the fairytale, this royal love story has not always run smoothly.
News of the couple's relationship in 2010 caused quite a stir.
Tattoos and topless photos
The prince's new girlfriend was known for appearing in the popular Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel in 2005, which saw young, scantily-clad singles compete to stay in a luxury hotel the longest.
She had also posed topless with a boa constrictor for the men's magazine Slitz.
And her tattoos and belly button piercing raised some eyebrows, with reports that the royal palace may have asked her to have them removed ahead of the weekend's wedding.
"When Carl Philip and Sofia first met I think that many people were critical to her, because of her background and the fact that she had done those bikini-shots and had been part of a reality show," says Johanna Lejon, royals reporter for the newspaper Svensk Damtidning.
Meanwhile Catarina Hurtig, the journalist who first broke the news of the couple's relationship, says: "At first there was quite a lot of fuss about her.
"Perhaps it was quite normal [behaviour] for a Swedish teenager, but maybe not a very appropriate history when falling in love with the prince."
But both experts say that attitudes towards her have changed over the years.
"Sofia has shown... that she is not in this relationship for fortune and fame," says Johanna Lejon.
Yoga instructor
Ms Hellqvist, 30, herself has said she does not regret anything about her past, although she would not make all the same decisions again.
Meanwhile, the royal palace has set about highlighting her other achievements.
We now know that after her stint on Paradise Hotel, Ms Hellqvist spent time in New York where she studied accounting and became a yoga instructor, helping to set up a yoga centre.
In 2009, she worked as a volunteer in Ghana, and the next year she co-founded the organisation Project Playground, which helps vulnerable children and young people in South Africa.
The previous focus on the raunchier elements of her past caused a "big problem" for the royal house, says Catarina Hurtig.
So the palace turned its attention on transforming her image, she says. "Her charitable work has been great for the royal house to focus on."
A team of stylists also helped prepare her for her new life, replacing the fake tan with classic outfits and swept-back hairstyles.
Catarina Hurtig says they took inspiration from Prince Carl Philip's mother, Queen Silvia.
Born in Germany, the queen also does not have blue blood, but has gone on to become popular among the Swedish public.
Commoner
It may be down to King Carl XVI Gustaf's own choice of spouse that Prince Carl Philip - who is third in line to the throne - has been able to wed whom he wants.
The prince, 36, must get permission from the king to marry a commoner, and his great uncles lost their royal titles and succession rights when they went ahead with a wedding without it.
King Carl XVI Gustaf has given each of his three children, who have got married within five years of each other, his blessing.
Carl Philip's elder sister, Crown Princess Victoria - the next in line to the throne - married her personal trainer, Daniel Westling, in Stockholm in 2010.
And Princess Madeleine married US-British businessman Christopher O'Neill in 2013.
Commoners who married royalty
Read more
Roger Lundgren, royal expert and editor of Kungliga Magazine, says that like in the UK, the younger royals have taken the spotlight from older members in recent years.
And the glamorous couples will no doubt attract the cameras yet again this weekend.
Royal duties
Ms Hellqvist's past career choices are "not a problem" for the liberal Swedish public, Roger Lundgren says, and her experience with the media may well help her in her new role.
Meanwhile Catarina Hurtig says Ms Hellqvist has also helped her future husband to be more comfortable with publicity.
Sweden's royal family
The new princess is expected to devote most of her time fulfilling her royal duties once married, and many hope she will be a role model for future generations.
"The royals have a lot of money and a lot of help with everything from cleaning their castles to taking care of babies, so they should be doing good things in the world and their country," says Catarina Hurtig.
Opinion polls have shown the Swedish royal family's popularity waning in recent years, particularly following a scandal in 2010 over claims the king had visited strip clubs.
But with as many as half a million people expected to line the streets of Stockholm on Saturday, the monarchy is still popular among many.
Fans say Ms Hellqvist - along with her story - has played a big part in this, arguing that she has changed the way people in Sweden view them.
"She is a small town girl and comes from a normal background, just like any of us," says Johanna Lejon.
"The fact that she is now becoming a member of the royal family says a lot about the Swedish king and the queen. They seem, and are, very open to change."
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I've been coming to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas since 2007, and I think at last I'm beginning to get the hang of it.
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Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter
It's loud, overwhelming, crowded and sometimes chaotic - but there are ways to cope with it. So here's what I've learned in Las Vegas this year.
The best stuff is not on the floor
The two most exciting products I came across at CES this year were not on any of the stands in the vast Convention Centre, and neither was made by one of the big names in consumer electronics.
The Pebble watch, which connects to your smartphone and allows you to look at text messages, answer calls - and even tell the time - with a simple glance at your wrist is already a huge hit thanks to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. And just by turning up in Las Vegas and announcing that the watch was at last going to ship, Pebble's CEO Eric Migocovsky managed to create even more buzz around his product.
This may just be version 1.0 of the smartwatch era, with plenty of bugs that need to be ironed out, but Pebble looks certain to make Mr Migocovsky one of the tech industry's brightest young stars.
And in an unpromising back room I was shown something even more impressive. Leap Motion's Leap is a small, beautifully designed device that you plug into your computer. This creates an invisible field around the computer, allowing you to control what happens on screen with your fingers, whether it's slashing melons in a game of Fruit Ninja or shaping a vase in a 3D design program.
This was the most impressive demo I've seen of gesture as a new computing interface and it looks set to make the founders of Leap Motion very rich. Our predecessors in the shabby conference room were executives from one of the biggest names in global entertainment, and the firm has already struck deals with computer makers who will install their technology inside their products.
Get connected
It is no use gathering interesting material if you can't find a quick way of shipping it back home. We used to rely on satellite feeds - reliable but expensive - but most of the time we are now using internet connections to feed our video and audio back to the UK. This means hotel wi-fi, which is often flaky but served us well this time, or mobile phone networks.
And this year we tried something new to go live, a technology called Live U which bonds together several Sim cards to produce a strong broadcast signal. With 4G networks available in Las Vegas, this worked a treat when we broadcast live from the Strip late at night - eight TV and radio broadcasts without a hitch. But when we tried it again from the Convention Centre the next day, the speed dropped so far that the video image froze and we had to give up. However fast the mobile networks, put thousands of technology journalists in one place and they will test them to destruction.
Sensible shoes, sporadic sleep
CES is an exhausting experience and if you're travelling from the UK, there is the added challenge of jetlag. Then there is the geography of Las Vegas, a city almost devoid of public transport - there is a monorail but it seems designed mainly to get you to walk miles through casinos before you find a station.
You could try a taxi, but during CES the queues are endless so walking is often the best option. This year I wore two fitness devices, the Fitbit and Nike's Fuelband, that monitor your activity and sync the data with a smartphone.
Each showed me walking miles each day, though the Fitbit struggled to cope with the different timezone and seemed reluctant to hand over information to my phone. It was also supposed to monitor my sleep pattern but as I had to remember to press a button before I fell asleep, this didn't really work. Overall, I reckon I managed about four hours sleep each night - but this is Vegas, who needs sleep?
Teamwork is vital
In the business of broadcasting, you have to operate as a team and I'm lucky to work with some really talented people.
This year, cameraman Steve Adrain surpassed himself with stunning time-lapse sequences of Las Vegas traffic by night, and calm late edits to meet London deadlines. Producer Victoria Fritz, who spent weeks researching interesting companies in advance and dug out the Leap Motion story, also proved invaluable on security duties.
As I broadcast live to BBC Breakfast at midnight outside Planet Hollywood, I saw out of the corner of my eye my producer speeding past in hot pursuit. Two drunks out on the town had decided it would be great to appear on British TV, demonstrating their own gesture interface. Victoria thought otherwise and ushered them firmly down a flight of steps and out of shot.
And one last lesson - never moan to colleagues or family about the sheer hell of covering a gadget conference in Las Vegas. Some of your gripes may be true but nobody's ever going to believe it is anything but the best job you could imagine. And they're probably right.
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Russia says the main cause of the deadly incident on board a submersible which killed 14 crew on Monday was a fire in the battery compartment.
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Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also said the top-secret military craft was nuclear-powered but the reactor had been isolated from the fire.
The 14 senior officers died of smoke inhalation as a result of the fire on the submersible in the Barents Sea.
The craft is now at Severomorsk, the main base of Russia's Northern Fleet.
It has not been named, but it is a deep-sea research vessel, which had been exploring the Arctic seabed, the Russian government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta says.
It had been descending to extreme depths on difficult missions, the paper reported.
Those missions were not specified, but Russia is in an international race to stake territorial claims in the Arctic, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas and other minerals.
"The main cause has been established - it was a fire in the battery compartment, and then it spread," Mr Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin in a meeting on 4 July, according to the Kremlin website.
"The nuclear power unit on the vessel has been fully isolated and nobody is in that section. The crew took all the necessary measures to protect the unit, and it is in full working condition. This gives us hope that in quite a short time the vessel can be put back into service."
The fire broke out as the submersible was in Russian territorial waters, the defence ministry says.
High-ranking officers
The ministry has now named all 14 victims, and all were senior officers. Seven were first-rank captains, including two with Hero of Russia awards; three were second-rank captains; two were third-rank captains; one was a captain-lieutenant and one a lieutenant-colonel.
A first-rank captain comes fifth in the Russian naval hierarchy, after four ranks of admiral. After three ranks of captain comes the rank of captain-lieutenant.
They were from a unit based in Peterhof, a district of St Petersburg.
The ministry says several crew members survived and are in hospital, but no figure has been given. A "civilian specialist" was rescued by the crew during the fire.
Read more on similar topics:
Severomorsk was also home to the Russian Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 2000 killing 118 sailors.
Mr Putin was heavily criticised for the way he handled the Kursk disaster. Media reports at the time showed him enjoying a holiday at a Black Sea villa as families of the victims demanded information about their relatives.
In the latest incident, the Kremlin has also given few details about the vessel, "in the interests of the state and state security".
What sort of submersible was it?
Several newspapers, quoting military sources, identified the stricken vessel as an AS-12 - nicknamed "Losharik" - or AS-31 submersible.
These mini-subs can dive up to 6,000m (19,685ft) and are designed to be carried under the belly of a larger submarine. They are operated by the Russian military's Chief Directorate for Deep Water Research - the GUGI - often referred to as the country's "underwater intelligence service".
Quoting military sources, RBK newspaper listed the GUGI's main tasks as "monitoring foreign underwater communication lines, recovering from deep water interesting weaponry and military equipment and protecting Russia's own underwater communications cables".
The mini-sub's nickname "Losharik" comes from a Soviet-era cartoon character - a horse made out of spheres.
The craft's design consists of titanium spheres - titanium being an especially robust metal - connected by passageways inside a light-weight hull.
A Russian specialist military journal, Voyennoye Obozrenie, reports that the Losharik can descend to 6,000m, is about 79m long, has a displacement of 2,000 tonnes and can reach a speed of 30 knots.
In the Barents Sea the vessel would have been studying the relief of the seabed for the navy to update its charts, military expert Viktor Baranets told the defence ministry channel TV Zvezda.
The seabed changes frequently, and naval vessels need the data to avoid any dangers, said Mr Baranets, a retired colonel who writes for the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Underwater tragedies
Accidents involving underwater vessels are rare. Here are some of the most serious:
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Dozens of weapons were recovered from the home of one of three men accused of murdering a teenager, a jury has heard.
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Jordan Watson, who was 14, was found dead under a blood-stained tree in a Carlisle cemetery on 15 June.
George Thomson, Brahnn Finley, both 19, and 20-year-old Daniel Johnston, all from Carlisle, deny murder.
Carlisle Crown Court was told throwing knives, flick knives, Gurkha knives and a machete were found in Mr Thomson's bedroom.
Swords, cross bows, air rifles and a stun gun among the 67 items retrieved from his home, the jury heard.
The judge, Mr Justice Green, warned the jury to be aware that many young men collected knives but did not commit murder.
Earlier in the trial, the court was told that Jordan had suffered at least nine deep wounds to his head and neck which were likely to have been caused by a sharp-bladed instrument.
It also heard that Mr Thomson had an "obsessive desire" for Jordan's girlfriend and wanted to "get him out of the picture".
The trial of Mr Thomson, of Upperby Road, Mr Finley, of Furze Street, and Mr Johnston, of Petteril Bank Road, continues.
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The Wickerman Festival has unveiled its acoustic act line-up for this year's event in the south of Scotland.
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London-based musician Pete Roe, who has collaborated with Laura Marling and toured with folk-rockers Mumford and Sons, is among the artists announced.
Singer-songwriter Colin Macleod, who received critical acclaim for his debut album Fireplace, will also play.
The festival takes place at East Kirkcarswell Farm near Kirkcudbright, on 26 and 27 July.
Folk singer-songwriter Shelagh McDonald, Welsh musician Al Lewis and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Paddy Callaghan will also take to the stage.
Edinburgh-born Belle & Sebastian contributor Roy Moller joins the bill too.
Other acts include singer-songwriter Tommy Reilly, folk-jazz band Simon Atkinson and the Foundryman's Apprentice and ukulele songwriter Zoe Bestel.
Primal Scream and Amy Macdonald will headline the two-day event.
KT Tunstall, The Enemy, Dexys, Admiral Fallow and Bellowhead have also been confirmed.
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Two presidential candidates in Kenya are to stand trial over crimes against humanity following post-election violence in 2007, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled.
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Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto will both face charges.
They are among four prominent Kenyans - all of whom deny the accusations - who will stand trial.
Kenya's president has appealed for people to stay calm after the news.
"Our great nation has had its share of challenging times," Mwai Kibaki said in a statement.
Mr Kenyatta - son of Kenya's founding President Jomo Kenyatta and a man who has been ranked as one of its richest citizens - is to stand trial with cabinet secretary Francis Muthaura.
The pair, both allies of President Kibaki, are accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.
Mr Kenyatta wrote on his Facebook page: "My conscience is clear, has been clear and will always remain clear that I am innocent of all the accusations that have been levelled against me."
Former Education Minister William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang will stand trial in a separate case, as they opposed Mr Kibaki during the 2007 election. Charges against a further two officials were not confirmed by the Hague court.
More than 1,200 people were killed in weeks of unrest in 2007-8 and some 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Many still remain homeless.
'Break with impunity'
The violence began as clashes between supporters of the two rival presidential candidates - Raila Odinga and Mr Kibaki - but it snowballed into a bloody round of score-settling and communal violence.
"It is our utmost desire that the decisions issued by this chamber today bring peace to the people of the Republic of Kenya and prevent any sort of hostilities," ICC presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova said.
Kenyans are due to head to the polls in fresh elections early next year.
Ms Trendafilova stressed that the decisions do not mean guilty verdicts against the suspects, only that there is sufficient evidence to send them to trial.
"We are not passing judgment on the guilt or innocence of the individuals," she said before a public hearing held in The Hague.
No date has been set for the trials.
The news of the trials was welcomed by international campaign group Human Rights Watch.
"The ICC trials will break with decades of impunity in Kenya for political violence," the group said in a statement.
"But Kenya should act to widen accountability by carrying out prosecutions at home."
In Kenya itself, there was a mixed reaction to the announcement, according to the BBC's Muliro Telewa, in the Rift Valley town of Burnt Forest, the scene of one of the worst atrocities during the violence.
He said people in the town - where dozens died when a church where people had fled was set on fire - had gathered around radios in public places to listen to the ICC announcement.
Some, he said, saw the process at The Hague as political, while others were glad that justice was being done.
'Big disappointment'
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had asked to bring two separate cases, reflecting the political and ethnic divisions behind Kenya's post-election violence.
Mr Kenyatta is accused of organising a campaign of violence including murder and rape members of ethnic groups seen as supporters of Mr Odinga.
Prosecutors say he met members of a secretive criminal organisation known as the Mungiki at a shopping centre in Nairobi before the election in 2007 to plan some of the attacks.
He denied the accusation at a preliminary hearing at the ICC last September.
Mr Kenyatta is hoping to stand in next year's presidential poll, with analysts suggesting that he has a realistic chance of winning.
Mr Ruto, a former education minister, described the charges against him as "strange" and emphasised that he still intended to put himself forward for the presidency.
"I am firmly still in the presidential race; the charges confirmed against me will not affect it," Mr Ruto said from Nairobi.
He and Mr Sang backed Mr Odinga in 2007 and are accused of organising attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as Kibaki supporters.
Mr Sang said the news of the trial had come as a "big disappointment" but said he would contest the charges.
Kenya's government has been lobbying for the cases to be dropped - a position endorsed last year by the African Union.
Mr Kibaki was eventually declared the winner of the 2007 election, and is serving his second and final term as president.
Mr Odinga was installed as prime minister under a power-sharing deal brokered by Kofi Annan to end the violence.
Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga have since fallen out and are expected to face each in the elections.
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The father of a five-month-old boy killed when a van mounted the pavement and hit his pram said it was "quite miraculous" his wife survived.
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By Phil Shepka & Sam ReadBBC East
Rachael Thorold, 36, was walking with her son Louis by the A10 in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, on 22 January when they were hit.
Louis died at the scene and his mother was left with serious injuries.
Chris Thorold said when he arrived at hospital, staff treating his wife "prepared me for the worst".
He added: "I don't think they expected her to survive the first 72 hours to be perfectly honest. That's hard. I gave myself a bit of a talking to and said, 'you've got to be strong here'.
"The fact that Rachael has survived is quite miraculous, but I guess Louis, being a little guy, just wasn't strong enough."
He said he was "prepared for everything", adding: "It sounds a bit sad but if she had not made it I kind of thought 'well at least she's with Louis'.
"Maybe there's not much solace in that and clearly, selfishly, I wanted her to survive, but I also made a little bit of peace that if things don't go well for her then at least she's with our little one."
Mr Thorold said he "can't do enough" to thank those involved in his wife's care.
She has been discharged from intensive care and was "exceeding all expectations", he said, adding she could now sit awake and talk to him.
"Clearly she has lots to do - a couple of weeks ago she didn't know what day of the week it was but now she does," he said.
He added that he hoped she would be out of hospital in the next four to six weeks.
Mr Thorold said: "It's been hard but she's just an incredible woman and, given what's happened to her and Louis, her motivation and her strength is quite admirable."
'Beautiful little boy'
Louis was born in August and Mr Thorold said he "felt so grateful we had him".
"Him and Rachael were just inseparable, never spent a moment apart," he said.
"I couldn't have asked for a happier five-and-a-half months and a more beautiful little boy - smiley, happy, always giggling away."
Mr Thorold said he tried to delay Louis's funeral for as long as possible "to see if Rachael was going to get better and there was any chance she could come".
He said it became apparent in early February that was not a realistic prospect, and said they "gave him a lovely funeral", with support from the "fantastic" local community.
"His funeral, without a doubt, was the hardest day I've ever encountered. Let's just hope he's gone to a better place," said Mr Thorold.
'His life needs to mean something'
He set up the Louis Thorold Foundation with the aim of eliminating infant pedestrian deaths, and called for immediate improvements at the junction of the A10 and Car Dyke Road.
Mr Thorold said: "I don't know if there's a textbook on how to grieve. I guess my way of dealing with it is, yes it's sad but his life needs to mean something.
"With his plight and what he's been through, hopefully we can do something with it and prevent this happening to anyone else."
He said there were "way too many stories of little ones not making it home and all of it is preventable".
"The technology, systems, and approaches to prevent every single one of these deaths exists.
"I think if we can prevent one more child dying on the roads in Britain... then Louis has done something good for his friends."
Mr Thorold has met with Cambridgeshire County Council and it said it had brought forward a route safety study of the A10 and was working to start the construction of a path for walkers and cyclists.
Cambridgeshire Police said an investigation was ongoing.
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Wales' chief medical officer has warned that increasingly unhealthy lifestyles may lead to a fall in life expectancy.
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Dr Tony Jewell said the problem was diseases caused by obesity, smoking, alcohol and fitness, with under one in three taking enough daily exercise.
He said there had been a welcome reduction in young people taking up smoking and drinking but statistics for adults painted a far gloomier picture.
His annual report calls for bold action to tackle these "lifestyle factors".
Dr Jewell said these "non-communicable" diseases threatened to "restrain or even result in a fall in life expectancy".
"Unfortunately adult smoking levels remain comparatively high at 23%," he said.
"The number of adults that undertake the recommended level of daily physical activity are around 30%, and around 22% of adults are classified as obese."
He also pointed out other parts of the UK and Europe were seeing better health improvements than Wales.
Action was required to tackle these issues, led by the Welsh government, he said.
He said the reduction in young people starting to drink and smoke was a "welcome finding and a trend we must sustain as these crucial early influences are critical to life chances and future healthy life expectancy".
However, public health charity ASH Wales released figures on Monday saying that every day, an estimated 38 teenagers who have never smoked before try cigarettes.
The figures were released ahead of a conference on tobacco and alcohol on 12-13 October.
Meanwhile, Dr Jewell also outlined his concern at tooth decay among children.
He said it was a sign of deprivation and a measure of inequality.
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The government must reverse its decision to drop a "crucial" £347m fund to help families affected by emergencies, councils have said.
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The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents authorities in England and Wales, said the money helped people faced with homelessness or struggling to afford meals.
It was "extremely disappointing" the fund would not be renewed in 2015.
The government said the fund had been "poorly targeted".
The Local Welfare Assistance Fund was introduced in 2013 to replace the previous system of crisis loans. Each local authority area is allocated money from the £347m total.
The LGA said some of the families in Surrey forced out of their homes during recent flooding had benefited from the fund, gaining assistance with food, clothing, bedding and utility costs.
'Open mind'
Chairman Sir Merrick Cockell said it provided "crucial support to people facing personal crises in their lives".
He added: "By helping people at an early stage and targeting support at where it is needed most, we have been able to give essential support in people's time of need and prevent short-term problems escalating.
"It is extremely disappointing that government has removed the funding for this safety net without first honouring its promise to discuss with councils what the consequence of such a move might be."
Sir Merrick argued that ministers should look at the fund with an "open mind", saying: "Local authorities are working hard to support the most vulnerable in society while managing the biggest cuts in living memory to funding for services.
"For some councils, providing crisis payments to those in need from local service budgets is likely to be a stretch too far."
But a government spokesman said: "Councils will continue to provide support to those in their community who face financial difficulties or who find themselves in unavoidable circumstances.
"In contrast to a centralised grant system that was poorly targeted, councils can now choose how to best to support local welfare needs within their areas - what is right for inner London will not be for rural Cumbria.
"The government continues to provide support to local authorities through general funds as part of the government's commitment to reducing ring-fencing and ending top-down Whitehall control."
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Passengers who escaped a "Duck" tourist boat on fire on the Thames were not wearing lifejackets, a marine safety chief said.
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But Philip Naylor, of the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA), said it would "not have been usual" for passengers on that type of boat to wear them.
The crew and all 28 passengers were safely recovered from the river on 29 September.
Mr Naylor gave evidence to the London Assembly.
Lifejackets in the London Duck Tours vessel Cleopatra were in plastic bags stowed above the seats, Mr Naylor told the specially-appointed Thames Passenger Boat Investigation Committee at City Hall.
He added this was a perfectly good place to stow them.
London Duck Tours managing director John Bigos said the Cleopatra had the required legal number of lifejackets on board and it was company policy that lifejackets were not worn on tours.
Physical demonstrations
He said: "We have our reasons for this (non-wearing) but they are not to do with commerciality."
Mr Bigos said his company gave physical demonstrations of donning lifejackets before tours began.
He added: "The problem on September 29 was certainly not good for any of us who work on the river. It's the sort of thing that none of us must allow to happen again."
In evidence read out on his behalf at the hearing, passenger Kevin Anthony questioned the procedure whereby lifejackets were not put on at the start of the water part of the road-river Duck tours.
Mr Bigos replied: "The issue of the lifejackets is definitely something we can revisit."
He added that overall he believed his company, which has an annual turnover of £4m and employs 60 people, had "a good track record".
The committee is not a formal investigative body but was taking evidence to see what safety lessons can be learnt.
The London incident followed the sinking of a similar vessel, the Wacker Quaker 1 in Salthouse Dock, Liverpool, on 15 June. All 31 passengers and two crewmen were safely recovered from the water, with no serious injuries.
A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report into the two incidents blamed both accidents on problems with the buoyancy foam.
In the report Chief Marine Accident Inspector Captain Steve Clinch recommended that tourist vessels of this kind, known as DUKWs, should not operate until the buoyancy problem was sorted out.
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The release date for one of the most anticipated games of the year, The Last of Us 2, has been brought forward after story spoilers appeared online.
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Video footage of the sequel that contained major plot details emerged online at the weekend.
The game had been repeatedly delayed, with the last delay pushing it out to an unspecified date later this year.
But after the story details leaked, Sony PlayStation announced the game would be released on 19 June.
'Logistics issues'
The Last of Us 2 is the sequel to 2013's PlayStation exclusive, in which a smuggler and young girl make their way through a post-apocalyptic United States hit by a devastating infection.
Despite the planned release date coinciding with the current real-life pandemic, Sony had said the indefinite delay was down to logistics issues caused by Covid-19, not concerns about its content.
The original game won hundreds of awards for its storytelling, art and direction.
Sony-owned studio Naughty Dog said it was "disappointing" to see the spoilers and promised the game "will be in your hands soon".
Personal thoughts
"No matter what you see and hear, the final experience will be worth it," the studio tweeted.
Vice-president Neil Druckmann, who is working on the game, added some personal thoughts, tweeting: "Heartbroken for the team. Heartbroken for our fans."
The original February release date had initially been pushed to May, after development delays.
Then, in April, a further delay was announced - with no new date set.
Stephen Totilo, editor of gaming news site Kotaku, tweeted: "The Last of Us 2 spoilers are a bit of a drag but reading what happens or even seeing it can never fully replace playing through it."
VG247 deputy editor Kirk McKeand, wrote: "[I've] seen people judging the game... by the leaks.
"Imagine if you did that to the first game - read a plot synopsis and call it.
"It'd sound dull - they just go to a place.
"It's the characters, the performance and the dialogue that make a story like this."
The first game in the series was a PlayStation exclusive and came near the end of the PlayStation 3's lifecycle before being ported to PlayStation 4.
Its sequel is similarly positioned, with the PlayStation 5 planned for release at the end of 2020.
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It was Margaret Thatcher who said: "Advisers advise but ministers decide."
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Enda McClaffertyBBC News NI Political Editor
Sammy Wilson said it rather less elegantly this week when he told Robin Swann to start acting as a politician "rather than a poodle for the unaccountable chief medical officer".
It meant roughly the same thing - but at Stormont the old mantra is not quite as simple as it sounds.
That is because when advisers advise at Stormont, 10 ministers from five different parties have to decide.
If they cannot decide, they vote - again it sounds simple.
But, as we know, it can be complicated.
Parties can deploy a cross-community vote requiring a majority of nationalists or unionists to support a decision.
Foster-O'Neill friction on show
Even when they do reach a decision, ministers can ask for it to be "revisited" as happened this week.
And finally - if you are still with me - when an executive decision reaches the assembly chamber it is often criticised by MLAs from the same five coalition parties which agreed it.
Welcome to the confusing world of Stormont decision making, where we have five parties often operating in government and in opposition at the same time.
Now with big decisions stacking up and the post-Christmas unity evaporating, the pressure is starting to show.
This week, the frustration for some parties of being in power but not in control boiled over both inside and outside the executive about the re-opening of schools.
That friction was on display in Dungannon - when questioned about the Sammy Wilson "poodle" tweet, the first minister took a veiled swipe at her partner in government saying he "wasn't the only person this week to refer to people as dogs".
She was referring to comments by Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill when she described unionists "as dogs chasing their tails" over Brexit.
Then we had Justice Minister Naomi Long attacking the DUP over its meeting with the Loyalist Communities Council, which speaks on behalf of the UVF and UDA.
On Friday, Health Minister Robin Swann, for a change, turned political in blaming "delayed decisions" and "party politicking" for the loss of lives during the pandemic.
We ended the week with a political stand-off over the DUP's agriculture minister ordering work to stop on the new permanent Irish sea border control posts.
It has been a bruising time for relations around the executive table as they face into the challenge of plotting a pathway out of lockdown.
A blueprint with no dates is what they are working on, which avoids any hard conversations for now about the fine detail.
They were due to finalise it tomorrow (Monday) but the stand-off over the border control posts has now landed on the agenda and that might take some time to resolve.
The pressure brought about by the Northern Ireland Protocol has been ramped up at a time when a lockdown-weary public were hoping for some clear decision-making from ministers.
Finding agreement at a time when executive relations are so strained won't be easy.
It feels like the five-party mandatory coalition straight jacket just got a little tighter.
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The prospect of finding a blank cheque for £8,000 in the Milton Keynes Gallery has increased visitor numbers by "a few hundred", venue staff confirmed.
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Artist Tomas Georgeson claimed he hid the cheque in January, without the gallery's knowledge, to help promote the town as a "cultural destination".
He said he would collect it on 1 March if it had not been cashed.
A gallery spokeswoman said, whether the cheque was there or not, it was "thrilled" at the exposure.
Katharine Sorensen said: "We don't know whether there is a cheque there, or if it is, whether it has been found."
She added she was pleased with the extra "few hundred" visitors calculated by looking at the same period last year.
"Obviously we have very different exhibitions now, so we are not comparing like with like, but certainly in the first few days of the story breaking we had a lot more visitors than normal," she said
"I have very, very little money for paid advertising so obviously I am thrilled at the additional visibility."
'Personal risk'
Primarily a painter, Tomas Georgeson from Milton Keynes, was the winner of the Derby Open competition in 2002 and exhibited his Portrait of my Father at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the 2011 BP Portrait Award.
Announcing a cheque had been hidden he said: "I hope that the personal risk I have taken in doing this can stand as something positive in a town eager to establish itself as a cultural destination."
He said whoever discovered it could write the cheque out to themselves.
Ms Sorensen confirmed it was "certainly not [a hoax] on the part of the gallery".
"From our perspective we have to take it in good part and look at the positives of people having been to visit us with many of them taking time to look at the work on display and learn about what we have here on a regular basis," she said.
Mr Georgeson later issued a statement saying the cheque was recovered by "one of four young graduate artists who have been helping me with this intervention at the Milton Keynes Gallery".
"The cheque is now void and the project is concluded," he added.
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Ministers are proposing a minimum price of 45p a unit for the sale of alcohol in England and Wales as part of a drive to tackle problem drinking.
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By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent, BBC News
The Home Office has launched a 10-week consultation on the plan, arguing it will help reduce the levels of ill-health and crime related to alcohol.
It is also considering banning multi-buy promotions, such as two-for-the-price-of-one.
The 45p proposal is 5p higher than the figure suggested by ministers in March.
It comes after pressure has been mounting on the government to follow Scotland's lead, where 50p has been proposed.
The aim of a minimum price would be to alter the cost of heavily-discounted drinks sold in shops and supermarkets. It is not expected to affect the price of drinks in many pubs.
The Home Office said the consultation was targeted at "harmful drinkers and irresponsible shops".
A spokesman added: "Those who enjoy a quiet drink or two have nothing to fear from our proposals."
The 45p minimum would mean a can of strong lager could not be sold for less than £1.56 and a bottle of wine below £4.22.
Research carried out by Sheffield University for the government shows a 45p minimum would reduce the consumption of alcohol by 4.3%, leading to 2,000 fewer deaths and 66,000 hospital admissions after 10 years.
The number of crimes would drop by 24,000 a year as well, researchers suggested.
There has been evidence of some outlets selling alcohol at a loss to encourage customers through the doors, with cans of lager going for 20p and two-litre bottles of cider available for under £2.
'Pre-loading'
Ministers have been particularly critical of such practices, blaming them for what has been dubbed "pre-loading", where people binge-drink before going out.
They have linked this phenomenon to the rising levels of alcohol-related violence and hospital admissions, of which there are more than a million a year.
But the idea of introducing a minimum price - first proposed at 40p in the government's alcohol strategy published in March - has been met with opposition by the industry.
The Scottish government plan, which is not due to start until April 2013, was challenged on legal grounds by the Scotch Whisky Association and the European Spirits Organisation.
They claimed it was up to Westminster, rather than Holyrood, to decide such an issue and they said it was also incompatible with the EU's "general principles of free trade and undistorted competition".
The legal challenges were heard in the Court of Session in Edinburgh last month and a judgement is expected before the end of the year.
Separately the European Commission is looking into the legality of the Scottish government's actions.
In Northern Ireland, consideration is also being given to minimum pricing, although no final decision has been taken yet.
Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Most major retailers believe minimum pricing and controls on promotions are unfair to most customers. They simply penalise the vast majority, who are perfectly responsible drinkers, while doing nothing to reduce irresponsible drinking.
"The government should recognise the role of personal responsibility. It should not allow interfering in the market to regulate prices and promotions to become the default approach for public health policy."
Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, agreed, saying there was "no evidence" minimum alcohol pricing would be effective in tackling alcohol misuse.
But health campaigners believe a minimum price is an important step in tackling problem drinking.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, from the British Medical Association, said the changes in pricing could help to stop young people binge drinking.
She told the BBC: "Alcohol is a dose-related poison, in other words the more you drink the more harm it causes, so by reducing the amount they are drinking over the safe limit you are helping to save them.
"It isn't a small minority of the population who are drinking excessively, it's nearly a quarter. That's a huge number of people who are drinking at levels that are hazardous to their health and we really have to throw everything we can (at it) to save lives."
Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "We're paying a heavy price for alcohol misuse and setting a minimum unit price will help us on the road to changing this.
"But we cannot cut the misery caused by excessive drinking, whether it's crime or hospitalisation, through price alone.
"We need tighter controls around licensing, giving local authorities and police forces all the tools they need to get a firm grip on the way alcohol is being sold in their area. We have an opportunity to make an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of people - we must seize it."
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Postal services from the Isle of Man to Europe, Turkey and Canada have resumed, the island's post office has said.
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The services were suspended on 22 December after Royal Mail and Parcelforce announced its services to mainland Europe had been halted.
All international mail from the island is delivered through those operators.
A spokeswoman for Isle of Man Post Office said delays of up to two working days were expected on items posted on 29 and 30 December.
All items already in the Manx postal system, which had been securely held on the island, were dispatched on Tuesday evening, she said.
No collections would take place and no mail would be sent off the island on 31 December, she added.
UK services had been suspended due to restrictions at ports amid fears about the spread of a coronavirus variant.
Island mail to Turkey and Canada was also halted due to a lack of available UK flights, but those services have now resumed.
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Alderney needs to diversify its economy to retain and attract workers, according to the chief executive of the States of Alderney.
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Roy Burke said nearly 130 people of working age had left the island over the past four years.
He said his economic development team was trying to attract small niche businesses that were suited to the island.
He said Alderney would also continue to try to attract e-commerce business.
Mr Burke said: "The general population of Alderney has been falling for the last five maybe six years.
"It is a very small community, there's only 2,000 or so people there.
"A significant problem we had last year, just as Guernsey did, was with [the loss of] low value consignment relief, and those people left Alderney when they lost their jobs."
Low Value Consignment Relief, which allowed companies based in the Channel Islands to send low value goods to the UK without paying VAT, was abolished in April 2012.
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Thorntons is to close up to 180 stores over the next three years following a strategic review of its business.
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The chocolate maker, which gave a profit warning in May, said "a minimum" of 120 shops would shut, with the possibility of an extra 60 closures.
Thorntons said the outlets that will be closed are among the 364 stores directly owned and run by the company.
It said it hoped to replace them with franchised stores "in the majority of locations".
Thorntons currently has 227 shops run by franchisees.
Shares in the company were down 5% in London trading.
'Refocusing'
The company added that it would continue to expand its commercial division, which sells Thornton-branded chocolate via supermarkets and other retailers.
In addition, it aims to continue to grow sales via its website.
Thorntons also said it wanted its sales to become less dependent on seasonal events such as Easter and Christmas.
To do this, it is introducing a new range of smaller chocolate gift products for birthday presents, anniversary gifts or thank you presents.
Chief executive Jonathan Hart said: "Our goal is to refocus the business across all channels, and seek to deliver industry competitive results over the next three to five years.
"Although we see the prospect of weakness in High Street footfall and consumer sentiment continuing, I am confident that this strategy is right."
Thorntons' warning of continuing weak trading comes as a number of retailers are struggling against a backdrop of lower consumer spending.
Over the past week, fashion chain Jane Norman and home fittings company Homeform have both gone into administration.
In addition, Habitat announced that all but three of its UK stores had been put into administration.
The most recent official figures showed that UK retail sales fell 1.4% in May.
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Lockdown measures are increasing across China's Hubei province to try to control the spread of a new virus that has left 18 people dead in the country.
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Wuhan, Hubei's capital of 11 million people where the virus first emerged, has no trains or planes in or out.
At least five other provincial cities are seeing clampdowns on transport.
There are more than 500 confirmed cases of the virus, which has spread abroad, with Singapore and Vietnam the latest affected.
The new strain of coronavirus is believed to have originated at a market in Wuhan. One resident of the city said the atmosphere there felt like "the end of the world".
The lockdowns come as millions of Chinese people travel across the country for the Lunar New Year holiday.
What's the latest in China?
All the fatalities bar one so far have been in Hubei province. Most of the 17 victims there were elderly and suffered from other chronic diseases including Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
An 18th victim, an elderly patient, was announced on Thursday in Hebei province, near the capital, Beijing.
Wuhan's public transport lockdown came into force as of 10:00 local time (02:00 GMT), leaving normally busy train stations and airports empty.
One Wuhan resident said on social media site Weibo that people were on the "verge of tears" when they heard about the closures.
Health authorities are reported to have made wearing a mask mandatory in the city. They are advising people to avoid crowds and public gatherings.
Demand for rubber gloves and surgical masks has soared. Taobao, the Chinese online retail giant, has warned sellers not to profit from the outbreak by raising prices.
Also in Hubei province:
Beijing announced it had cancelled all major Chinese New Year celebrations.
A doctor at a hospital in Wuhan spoke to the BBC
The virus is now spreading at an alarming rate. The hospitals have been flooding with thousands of patients, who wait hours to see a doctor. You can imagine their panic.
Normally Wuhan is a great place to live and we are proud of our work. Specialists here have developed a guide for coronavirus diagnosis and treatment.
But I am scared because this is a new virus and the figures are worrying.
Two days ago we were told not to go to work because of the risk of contamination. If we leave our home on the hospital campus, we are required to wear masks.
We don't want to take our two-year-old son outside. He's sleeping now, and we are trying to protect him as much as possible: handwashing, airing the apartment, avoiding contact with people.
Outside I can barely see anyone on the streets. We have been told to avoid gatherings.
I went to the supermarket to buy food, but there was nothing left, no vegetables or biscuits. Some Lunar New Year celebrations are cancelled.
People had bought tickets to go home for Lunar New Year but they can't go now. Everyone is stuck here and can't leave.
What do we know about the virus?
Currently known as 2019-nCoV, the virus is understood to be a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans. The Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus that killed nearly 800 people globally in the early 2000s was also a coronavirus, as is the common cold.
Authorities have said this new virus originated in a seafood market in Wuhan that "conducted illegal transactions of wild animals". The market has been shut down since the beginning of the year.
There is evidence of human-to-human transmission, with the virus spreading from patients to family members and healthcare workers.
But understanding more about how the virus transmits between people is one of the major outstanding questions.
The virus infects the lungs, and symptoms start with a fever and cough. It can progress to shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
What's the picture globally?
The World Health Organization (WHO) emergency committee said on Thursday that it was not the time to declare an "international emergency" over the new virus, although it was "an emergency in China".
Its 16-member experts' panel was divided 50-50 on the issue, the WHO said, but had decided overall that it was too early because of the limited number of cases abroad, the efforts made by China to control the virus and the fact there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China.
A global emergency is the highest level of alarm the WHO can sound, and has previously been used in response to swine flu, Zika virus and Ebola.
Authorities around the world have announced screening measures for passengers from China.
Thailand has confirmed four cases of the virus, the most outside China. The US, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea have all reported one case each.
The first US case was confirmed on Tuesday. President Donald Trump said the situation was "totally under control" and that he trusted the information being provided by Chinese authorities
On Thursday, two more nations confirmed cases:
An earlier report that an Indian nurse working in the city of Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia had tested positive was altered by the Indian consulate in Jeddah. It said the nurse was suffering from Mers-CoV, also a coronavirus.
Learn more about the new virus
Are you in Wuhan? Have you been affected by the lockdown? Email [email protected].
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A mayor has resigned after breaching Covid restrictions by visiting a house where police said people were "celebrating a wedding".
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Lancashire Police said nine people were fined after being found at an address on Dukes Brow, Blackburn, at about 21:00 GMT on Saturday.
Blackburn with Darwen Mayor Iftakhar Hussain confirmed he was fined £200.
He said he regretted the "momentary lapse of judgment", adding that he "should have known better".
In a statement, he said he believed resigning was "the right thing to do", as he no longer believed he could "continue to serve as mayor to the best of my ability".
"I do not want to make any excuses," he added.
"I regret the momentary lapse of judgment - I should have known better and I accept full responsibility for my actions."
Mohammed Khan, the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said he had accepted Mr Hussain's resignation, adding: "I know he deeply regrets this mistake [and] I would like to thank him for his dedicated service during this difficult year."
'Correct course of action'
Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, the Labour councillor had earlier said he had been taking part in a "remote meeting" all evening when his uncle called, at about 20:30, and "asked for some food to be delivered to his house".
"I agreed to facilitate this by going to the house and letting the food outlet deliver the food," he said.
"Once the food was delivered to the house, I remained there while my uncle returned.
"I know in hindsight, I should have left the house... once the food had been delivered."
He added that he had urged those present to abandon the function once he realised what was happening.
Lancashire Police said that officers responding to a report that up to 30 guests would be at the house had "found nine people inside celebrating the wedding, including two residents of the address".
A force spokesman said all nine had been issued with a £200 fixed penalty notice and the non-residents had been instructed to leave.
Blackburn with Darwen Council's deputy chief executive Sayyed Osman said the mayor stepping down was "the correct course of action" and had reinforced "the council's members' code of conduct, which highlights personal responsibility".
"We do not endorse or condone any behaviour that falls outside this code and the coronavirus restrictions," he added.
Deputy mayor Derek Hardman will take over mayoral responsibilities until a new mayor is chosen in May.
Blackburn with Darwen, which was subject to tier four restrictions before the national lockdown was imposed, currently has 16th highest infection rate in England, according to the latest government figures.
In the week leading up to 10 February, the area had an infection rate of 263.2 cases per 100,000, down from 354.1 cases per 100,000 seven days before.
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Brazil's Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani has told the BBC Rio de Janeiro is ready for the Olympic Games.
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By Vanessa BuschschluterBBC News
He dismissed concerns over unfinished building work, the outbreak of the Zika virus and political uncertainty following the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff.
Everyone going to the Games would "have a great experience", Mr Picciani said.
His remarks come a week after more than 200 scientists asked for the Games to be moved or postponed over Zika.
Zika outbreak: What you need to know
In an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), the scientists argued that the WHO declaration of Zika as a public health emergency coupled with new scientific findings underscoring the seriousness of Zika made it "unethical" for the Games to go ahead in Rio as planned.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 5 August.
Risk assessment
The WHO initially joined the International Olympic Committee in dismissing calls for the Games to the postponed or moved.
But in a letter dated 1 June, WHO head Margaret Chan wrote that "given the current level of international concern, I have decided to ask members of the Zika Emergency Committee to examine the risks of holding the Olympic Summer Games as currently scheduled".
Mr Picciani told the BBC that "all the precautions" had been taken to prevent the spread of Zika.
The 36-year-old minister took up the post less than a month ago.
He was appointed by Michel Temer, who took over as interim president after Ms Rousseff was suspended pending an impeachment trial.
Mr Picciani said that despite the political upheaval created by Ms Rousseff's trial, the team behind the Olympics was running "seamlessly".
'Don't worry'
He said more than 2,000 health workers had been deployed to inform Rio's population on how to combat the mosquito which spreads the Zika virus.
Mr Picciani also said that holding the Games in the winter month of August should help keep the number of mosquitoes, and Zika risk, low.
Several athletes have said they are concerned about travelling to Rio because of Zika.
Mr Picciani said he was "convinced" that athletes would be safe. "All the mechanism of prevention and protection are guaranteed," he said.
He also said that of the 7,000 athletes who had taken part in 43 sporting test events between last July and this April, none had contracted Zika.
"I would say to any athlete, to any visitor planning on coming to Rio, you do not have to worry, Rio and Brazil have prepared for this moment."
Ms Rousseff is facing an impeachment trial in the coming months in the Senate. If two-thirds of the Senators find her guilty, she will be removed from office permanently. If not, she will resume her presidency.
Asked if Ms Rousseff would attend the Games' opening ceremony - once expected to be the highlight of her second term in office - Mr Picciani said: "President Michel Temer will certainly be there at the opening.
"As for other officials, that's up to the organiser, the Olympic Committee, but Mr Temer will be there as the person accredited as the leader of the country."
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A Muslim woman from Australia has told how she was forced to leave a beach in France for wearing a burkini.
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Zeynab Alshelh, a 23-year-old medical student, told Australian media she had travelled to Europe to show solidarity with local Muslim women.
Footage broadcast on Channel 7 showed local people saying they would call the police if she didn't leave.
The ban on burkinis in several French Riviera towns was overruled in August by the top administrative court.
Local mayors who brought in the laws said the full- body swimsuits were a symbol of Islam and potentially provocative after the July terror atrocity in Nice.
Ms Alshelh said she and her family travelled to France to learn more about the situation and see if there was "anything that we can do to help these girls just live a normal life".
She told the BBC's Newsday she "couldn't comprehend how it was illegal" to go a public beach in a burkini.
She went to Villeneuve-Loubet beach, where the ban had already been overturned, but "the locals decided they didn't want us there so they told us to leave, and if we didn't leave they would call the cops".
"We left because we didn't want to cause any problems
The video footage aired on the Channel 7 show Sunday Night showed a man threatening to call the police if they did not leave the beach.
Other beachgoers gestured at her or made disapproving comments.
Ms Alshelh said she didn't feel she had been "inflammatory" by going to the beach. She said she "just went as a tourist".
"I looked at the beach and you just want to swim."
Ms Alshelh had told Channel 7 that the view that Muslim women who choose to cover their hair or face are oppressed was false.
"I just find it ridiculous," she said.
"It is a symbol of my faith, it is a symbol of my religion, it is a symbol of Islam and to go out there and wear the hijab, it helps people focus on what's inside rather than what's on the outside."
What is a burkini?
Burkini creator: 'It's about freedom'
Pauline Hanson, the leader of the anti-immigration One Nation party, last week called for a ban on the burka saying that Australia was at risk of being "swamped by Muslims".
Aheda Zanetti, the Australian woman credited with creating the burkini, said the swimwear represents freedom and healthy living, not oppression.
"It is as Australian as you can get, it was born in Australia and it started off in Australia," Ms Zanetti said.
"Why would they ban something when I designed a swimsuit that was part of integration within Australian lifestyle?"
What French law says on secularism and religious clothing
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People who show "even minor" signs of respiratory tract infections or a fever will soon be told to self-isolate in an effort to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
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The UK government's chief medical adviser said the change in advice could happen within the next 10 to 14 days.
Five people have now died from coronavirus in the UK.
It comes as the Foreign Office warned British residents against all but essential travel to Italy.
Italian authorities are extending strict coronavirus quarantine measures - which include a ban on public gatherings - to the entire country from Tuesday.
A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said anyone who arrives from Italy from Tuesday should self-isolate for 14 days.
Italy has more than 9,100 confirmed infections, and more than 460 people have died.
In the UK, there were 319 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 09:00 GMT on Monday, a rise of 46 since the same time on Sunday.
People will be asked to self-isolate for seven days after showing mild symptoms under the new approach, the UK's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty said.
All intensive care patients will now be tested for the virus, he said - as well as anyone in hospital with a respiratory infection.
It comes as two more deaths in the UK were announced.
Both patients - who were in hospital in Wolverhampton and Carshalton, south London, respectively - were in their 70s and had underlying health conditions.
In a joint press conference with Prof Whitty in Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also suggested the elderly and vulnerable could be asked to stay home in the near future, with further steps set out "in the days and weeks ahead".
He said that the more the peak of the spread could be delayed to summer, "the better the NHS will be able to manage".
Meanwhile, global shares have suffered their worst day since the financial crisis.
Dramatic falls led to it being called Black Monday, with a nearly 8% drop in London's FTSE 100 wiping some £125bn off the value of major UK firms.
In the US the major stock indexes fell so sharply as the market opened that trading was halted for 15 minutes to curb panicky selling.
Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to urgently "reassure the public and markets".
Mr McDonnell said Mr Sunak must use Wednesday's Budget to make clear the government would do "everything necessary" to support the economy as the virus spreads.
"In these circumstances you need to be fast in demonstrating that there is a clear plan," he said.
The government has announced it is to extend shop delivery hours to ensure that supermarkets have basic items, amid stockpiling concerns.
A European Union expert said the UK had only a "few days" to implement measures to prevent an outbreak like the one in Italy.
London mayoral candidate Rory Stewart has called the UK government's measures "half-hearted".
Mr Stewart, a former Conservative minister, said the UK should act "much more aggressively", adding: "The government has made a serious mistake today... schools should be shut now."
But the prime minister said the government must "take the right decisions at the right time".
Meanwhile, universal credit claimants who have to self-isolate will not be sanctioned, a work and pensions minister has confirmed.
What's been cancelled?
A number of public and sporting events have been cancelled or postponed due to fears large gatherings could further spread the virus.
The UK is currently in the first phase - "containment" - of the government's four-part plan.
Mr Johnson said the government is preparing to move to the second phase - "delay" - which will seek to push back the peak of the epidemic to the summer, when there will be less pressure on the NHS.
Prof Whitty said introducing measures "too early" could become problematic as "anything we do, we have got to be able to sustain".
This is very much the first step in a gradual and phased approach to reducing the impact coronavirus will have in the UK.
A significant outbreak is on its way but the government and its advisers believe they can limit its impact by taking the right steps at the right time.
We know the first step is to get people with even relatively moderate flu-like symptoms to self-isolate. To date only those who have been to an affected country or who had had close contact with an infected person had been asked to do this.
This will be followed by further advice later this week that is likely to be focused on protecting the most vulnerable groups - the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions. Reducing social contact will form part of that.
But drastic steps like closing schools and banning public gatherings are not going to happen in the immediate future.
Prof Whitty said that the balance would tip so that more people would suffer from coronavirus rather than regular seasonal flu, or other respiratory infections.
"We are expecting the numbers to increase initially quite slowly but really quite fast after a while and we have to catch it before the upswing begins," he said.
The government's scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) is due to meet on Tuesday, followed by another meeting of the emergency committee, Cobra, on Wednesday.
US authorities are planning to fly home Britons who were on board the virus-hit Grand Princess cruise ship on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said.
There were 142 British people on the ship, which spent five days stranded off the coast of California.
Passenger Linda Stennett, from Shrewsbury, told BBC Radio Shropshire the Foreign Office had confirmed in an email that they would be sending a plane to repatriate Britons.
"We know when we dock, that the Americans will be getting off first and that is going to take, they reckon, two to three days, and I think we are after that, hopefully."
Another passenger, Margaret Bartlett, 77, from Burnley, Lancashire, said she went "stir crazy" on board the ship, which has now docked in Oakland.
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Children's favourite Paddington has maintained pole position at the UK and Ireland box office for a second week.
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The family adventure took £3.8m, keeping the latest instalment of dystopian epic The Hunger Games at bay.
Animated spin-off Penguins of Madagascar was the two films' nearest rival, making its debut at three with £1.5m.
Seasonal release Get Santa was a distant seventh with takings of £576,722.
It was followed by another Christmas film, Nativity 3: Dude Where's My Donkey? which has been in the countdown for four weeks, amassing ticket sales of more than £5m.
But Paddington, a mixture of live action and animation based on Michael Bond's popular books, has now surpassed the £10m mark after just two weeks of business at the cinemas.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, starring Jennifer Lawrence, scored the biggest UK debut of the year when it was first released two weeks ago, and has now held onto the second spot for two weeks.
At the other end of the rundown, St Vincent and Black Sea scored new entries, but languished at the foot of the top 10 with relatively meagre takings of £389,136 and £246,309 respectively.
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Brazil has recorded more than 100,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, the world's second-highest figure, as the outbreak in the country shows no sign of easing.
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The virus killed 50,000 people in three months, but that number doubled in just 50 days. There have been more than three million confirmed cases so far.
The pandemic is yet to peak but shops and restaurants have already reopened.
President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the impact of the virus and opposed measures that could hit the economy.
The far-right leader, who caught the disease himself and recovered, fought restrictions imposed by state governors to curb Covid-19, and has frequently joined crowds of supporters, at times without a face mask.
Experts have complained of a lack of a co-ordinated plan by the Bolsonaro government as local authorities now focus on restarting the economy, which is likely to boost the spread of the virus.
How is Brazil responding to the crisis?
The health ministry is being led by an army general with no experience in public health. Two earlier ministers, both physicians, left the job after disagreeing with the president over social distancing measures and the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, though studies say it is ineffective and even dangerous.
President Bolsonaro - who has called Covid-19 a "little flu" and has been criticised at home and abroad for his response to the outbreak - said he recovered from his own infection thanks to the anti-malarial drug.
"We should be living in despair, because this is a tragedy like a world war. But Brazil is under collective anaesthesia," Dr José Davi Urbaez, a senior member of the Infectious Diseases Society, told Reuters news agency.
"The government's message today is: 'Catch your coronavirus and if it's serious, there is intensive care.' That sums up our policy today."
Brazil has had 100,477 virus-related deaths and 3,012,412 cases, according to the health ministry, though the numbers are believed to be much higher because of insufficient testing. Only the United States has higher figures.
Where are the hotspots?
Cases have accelerated in recent weeks in the countryside, particularly in southern and western states, while the situation seems to be improving in São Paulo, the most populous.
Meanwhile, the number of infections has declined in northern states - including Amazonas, which was an early hotspot - and in Rio de Janeiro, where pictures of crowded bars and beaches outraged many earlier this week.
In a tribute to victims on Saturday, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses on the sand on Rio's famed Copacabana beach and released 1,000 red balloons into the sky.
"We reach that mark and many people seem to not see it, both among the government and our people... Death became normal," 56-year-old Marcio do Nascimento Silva, a taxi driver who lost his children in the pandemic and joined the tribute, told the Associated Press.
The virus has hit black populations and impoverished neighbourhoods known as favelas especially hard, and there are fears it is still spreading among indigenous communities. At least 22,300 indigenous people have been infected while 633 have died, Brazil's main indigenous federation Apib said.
Senate Speaker Davi Alcolumbre announced four days of mourning in Congress but President Bolsonaro has not yet commented. Earlier this week he said he was sorry for all the deaths but suggested "we should carry on with [our] lives".
The leader who did not lead
Just as news came in that Brazil surpassed 100,000 deaths, there was cheering and fireworks across São Paulo. No, this was not some perverse celebration of Covid-19 - football team Palmeiras had won the state championship over rival Corinthians after a tense penalty shootout.
Passion for the beautiful game is not to be knocked - especially when there is little else to cheer people at the moment - but the fact that Jair Bolsonaro marked the win by offering his congratulations, yet stayed silent on the grim numbers, says a lot about how the president continues to view the pandemic.
The editorials in the newspapers on Sunday are full of criticism of the president.
His indifference and his lack of empathy do not go unnoticed. His lack of leadership continues to be deeply worrying, especially with the country reopening and the virus still not seemingly under control.
What's happening elsewhere in Latin America?
Brazil accounts for nearly half of all coronavirus-related deaths recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean, where more than five million cases have been confirmed, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the disease globally.
Some of the other hard-hit countries include Mexico - which has the world's third-highest number of deaths with 52,000 and nearly 476,000 cases - Peru, Colombia and Chile.
Experts say a combination of overcrowded cities, poverty and ill-equipped health systems is contributing to the outbreak in the region.
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A former steelworks office which has fallen into a state of disrepair has been placed in a top 10 list of endangered UK buildings.
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The Grade II-listed general office and clock tower, which used to be part of Shotton steelworks, was built in 1907 and became a landmark in Flintshire.
It is now subject to break-ins and is targeted by vandals, so the Victorian Society has put it on the list.
Director Christopher Costelloe said it needed "urgent" restoration.
"This is a fine Edwardian industrial building which should proudly showcase Shotton's industrial past," Mr Costelloe said.
"Instead it is boarded-up and unused, and every day continues to be at risk from vandalism and theft."
A landmark industrial building
The office was built when the owners of the James Summers Steelworks expanded in the late 19th Century.
Harry and James Summers and their four brothers decided to extend the family business founded by their father, John, and buy 40 acres of Dee marshland to start production of galvanised steel sheeting.
In the end, they bought 10,000 acres and the general office was built in 1907 at the site entrance, dominating the view on the banks of the River Dee.
The company was absorbed into British Steel in 1967; British Steel became Corus in 1999 and this company was taken over by Tata Steel in 2007.
In 2010 landowners, Pochin Goodman, paid £5m for 200 acres of surplus land from Tata, including the general office and four other buildings.
Pochin Goodman has been asked to comment on any redevelopment plans.
Griff Rhys Jones, president of the Victorian Society, said the general office could be transformed if given attention.
"This building is crying out for redevelopment and could make something truly wonderful for its community," he added.
Other buildings in the society's latest top 10 endangered buildings list - published each year to highlight at risk Victorian and Edwardian buildings - include the Winter Gardens in Great Yarmouth, Merseyside Centre for the Deaf in Liverpool and St Mary's Convent Church in Leeds.
The society has previously worked on saving Welsh listed buildings. As a result of their intervention, work started on converting the old Buckley's Brewery in Llanelli earlier this year.
The Grade II-listed malt house and kiln buildings, which date from the 19th Century, is in the process of being converted into 21 apartments.
It was put on the society's list last year.
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A baby's skeleton found near a Roman fort on Alderney was probably buried there in the early 19th century.
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The tiny remains were discovered at the Nunnery - one of the best-preserved small Roman forts in Britain - during a dig at the site last summer.
States of Guernsey archaeologist Dr Phil De Jersey said they had been carbon dated to around 1820 when the structure was being used by soldiers.
He said it was possible the child's parents were connected to the garrison.
"The most likely explanation is the parents of this child had some association with the Nunnery," he said.
"The problem is ... we are making up theories and explanations to explain something very unusual."
He said that even if that was the case it was still a "strange" place to bury a child.
The team were excavating a small trench on top of the gate of the Nunnery to check when it was modified from a Roman gate to a more recent gate when they made the discovery.
Dr De Jersey said the find was "totally unexpected" because it was not consecrated ground or a place where a child would normally be buried.
He said the remains had been analysed by bone expert Jenny Cataroche who said the baby had been "full term" at about 38 weeks.
"It could be a stillbirth," he said.
"We can't tell how it actually died (and) we can't say if it was a boy or a girl."
Dr De Jersey added that the burial was not orientated east to west as you would expect with a Christian burial.
The bones will be reburied in Alderney this summer.
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From the Reina nightclub and restaurant, guests usually gaze across the Bosphorus towards Asia, cocktail in hand.
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Nestled on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey's cosmopolitan city, the glitzy venue is known for attracting famous singers, actors and sports stars.
It sits within Ortakoy, a lively neighbourhood triangulated by a Muslim mosque, Christian church and Jewish synagogue that is said to reflect "the religious freedom and mosaic in Turkey as a secular state".
The Reina, like the area, is also beloved to many visitors to the city.
"Reina is a must do when in Istanbul!" one tourist from Delhi raves online. "I have never been disappointed with the music there and that might just even be because who can complain when your (sic) dancing the night away with a breathtaking view."
Another, from London, describes it in similarly dreamy terms: "You can just sit there and watch all the beautiful people of the city".
After a turbulent year marked by an attempted coup and several deadly terror attacks, glamorous partygoers at the Reina will have been hoping that 2017 would bring better things for their country.
Instead, in the first hours of the new year, they were leaping into the Bosphorus to escape a gunman firing directly at them, looking to kill.
Of the 39 people confirmed dead, at least 15 were foreigners, reflecting the venue's popularity among international visitors.
Some have drawn comparisons with the massacre at Paris' Bataclan concert hall in November 2015, where terrorists killed 90 people.
Crowds there were watching the Eagles of Death Metal, a Californian rock band.
The Reina certainly is a more upmarket venue. Well-heeled visitors arrive by private boat, entering via the waterfront terrace.
But the attack, like those claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS) in Paris, targeted young people out having fun.
IS now says that one of its "soldiers" carried out the Reina attack, which occurred just a few days after a pro-IS group urged supporters to attack "celebrations, gatherings and clubs" in Europe during the holiday period.
The nightclub reportedly knew it could be a target. The Hurriyet newspaper quoted owner Mehmet Kocarslan saying that security measures in the neighbourhood had been stepped up in recent days after US intelligence warned of a possible attack.
The US Embassy in Ankara has said it did not have information about a specific threat to the Reina.
Less than a month ago, Reina's Facebook page posted a black and white photo of Istanbul's Vodafone Arena, where at least 44 people were killed in a double bomb attack on 10 December claimed by Kurdish militants.
"May our nation be safe. #Wecondemnterrorism" the post reads.
The football stadium is located just a few miles away from the waterfront nightclub. Now, terror has been brought to Reina's door.
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Sports Direct has said it wants to remove all the current members of the Debenhams board except one, and appoint its boss Mike Ashley to run the business.
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Sports Direct has a nearly 30% share in Debenhams.
The department store chain said it was "disappointed that Sports Direct has taken this action".
Earlier this week, Debenhams issued another profit warning as its sales continue to fall.
The struggling department store, which has 165 stores and employs about 25,000 people, reported a record pre-tax loss of £491.5m last year and said more recently that sales had fallen sharply over Christmas.
High Street retailers have been under increasing pressure as more people choose to shop online and visit stores less.
Tuesday's profits warning followed three which Debenhams issued last year. It also said in October that it plans to close 50 stores, putting 4,000 jobs at risk, over the next three to five years.
In January Mr Ashley joined together with investor Landmark Group to vote the retailer's chairman and chief executive off the board. Sergio Bucher remained as chief executive of Debenhams but no longer sits on the board.
In a statement, Sports Direct said it had called for a general meeting of Debenhams shareholders to appoint Mr Mike Ashley to the board of directors of Debenhams, and to remove all of the current members of the Debenhams board, other than Rachel Osborne who became a director in September 2018.
It said that if Mr Ashley were to be appointed to the board of directors of Debenhams "during this business critical period for Debenhams", Mr Ashley would carry out an executive role, and would focus on the Debenhams business, "including building a strong board and management team".
"If appointed, Mr Ashley would step down from his current roles as a director and chief executive of Sports Direct," it added. He would be replaced as acting chief executive by Sports Direct's deputy chief financial officer Chris Wootton.
Mr Ashley, who founded Sports Direct, has been taking an increased interest in Debenhams.
Sports Direct already owns 29% of the shares in the department store chain.
It did offer a further investment of £40m, which Debenhams rejected.
In February, Debenhams came to an agreement with its lenders which secured it a cash injection of £40m. The extra money extended the retailer's £520m borrowing facilities with banks for 12 months and enabled it to continue talks about a longer-term refinancing.
In a statement, Debenhams said it had received notice from Sports Direct "proposing changes to the board".
"The board has been engaging with Sports Direct and our other stakeholders and is disappointed that Sports Direct has taken this action.
"In the meantime, we remain focused on delivering the restructuring of our balance sheet, and our discussions are well advanced."
Last year, rival department store chain House of Fraser fell into administration before Mr Ashley bought its assets for £90m.
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Google has apologised for a temporary fault that affected millions of users of its Gmail service.
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Up to half of users were affected, over 12 hours from 15:00 BST on Monday, with many taking to Twitter to complain.
Google said the delivery of some messages had been halted for a few seconds while others were "more severely delayed".
On Gmail's status dashboard, it said: "We're aware that prompt delivery is an important part of the Gmail experience.
"And today's experience fell far short of our standards."
Last month, Google experienced blackouts across all of its services.
And although they only lasted a few minutes, it saw worldwide internet traffic plunge by about 40%.
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US department store Macy's has seen its income plunge 40% in the first three months of the year and it has slashed profit forecasts for the whole year.
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Sales have been hit by falling tourist numbers because of the strong dollar, and competition from discounters like TJ Maxx and online retailers.
It follows retailer Gap's announcement this week that its sales also fell in the same period.
Macy's revenues fell 7.4%, sending its shares down 10% to a four-year low.
Revenues fell to $5.77bn from $6.23bn in the same quarter a year ago - the fifth consecutive quarterly fall.
It now expects comparable store sales this year to fall 3-4% rather than the 1% forecast by industry analysts.
In January Macy's and rival JC Penney's were forced to axe thousands of jobs and close stores.
Macy's Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren said in a statement: "We are not counting on the consumer to spend more, so we are working harder to give customers more reasons to buy from us."
The company opened a group of Macy's Backstage stores last year to compete with discount stores and is opening nine more in the next six months.
It has also expanded online by acquiring Bluemercury, an upscale beauty and spa company.
Mr Lundgren said: "Given that the first quarter is a relatively small portion of the total year, we have an opportunity to make up some ground in the months ahead, and particularly in the fourth quarter."
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A new, more scaled-down, design has been chosen for the main stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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Spiralling costs had forced the scrapping of renowned architect Zaha Hadid's futuristic original design.
The new design, by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will cost 149bn yen ($1.2bn; £825m) to build.
Ms Hadid's plan would have cost 252bn yen, making it the world's most expensive sports venue.
Mr Kuma's design will cost an additional 4bn yen to design and maintain.
The scrapping of the design caused a row that eventually led to the resignation of Japan's Education and Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura in October.
Mr Kuma's design echoes Japanese temple styles, with a low-lying steel and wood structure, surrounded by trees. It will sit more than 20 metres lower than the previous design and supporters say it fits better with its immediate environment, which includes the greenery around the nearby Meiji Shrine.
"I think this is a wonderful plan that meets criteria such as basic principles, construction period and cost," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said when he announced the choice.
Japan's Taisei Corp will lead construction of the new design.
It beat a rival proposal by architect Toyo Ito. That too was simpler than Ms Hadid's proposal, which was compared with a gigantic bicycle helmet or an oyster, and which would have taken up a much larger area - 78,100 sq m (840,660 sq ft) against 72,400 sq m for Kengo Kuma's concept.
Construction or the new design will also be quicker. Necessarily so when the International Olympic Committee deadline for completion is January 2020, ahead of the Games' start in July that year.
The new winning design has also attracted colourful comparisons, with some saying it looks like a stack of pancakes, or a hamburger.
Sixty-eight thousand spectators will pack the stadium, though that can be expanded to 80,000 after the Olympics, if needed. The old design had a capacity of 80,000 from the start and was expected to host the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
The new stadium will not be built in time to host that event.
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