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Disgraced former entertainer Rolf Harris has been stripped of his CBE, according to an official announcement in the London Gazette.
Harris, 84, was jailed in July for five years and nine months for 12 indecent assaults on four girls aged from seven or eight to 19, between 1968 and 1986. His victims included a young autograph hunter, two girls in their early teens and a friend of his daughter. He has already lost a Bafta fellowship and accolades in his native Australia. The announcement states: "The Queen has directed that the appointment of Rolf Harris to be a Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 17 June 2006, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order." Harris received his CBE from the Queen after he painted the monarch's portrait the previous year to mark her 80th birthday. He had previously been awarded an MBE and an OBE. Royal honours are forfeited in circumstances where Buckingham Palace considers the system to have been brought into disrepute. A recommendation is made by the Honours and Appointments Secretariat to the Forfeiture Committee. The decision must be approved by the Queen. Harris had his Officer and Member of the Order of Australia honours removed last month. People who had honours removed Honours are usually only removed from people who have been convicted and jailed for a crime. The forfeiture of a knighthood is rare and in past centuries could involve a public ceremony of degradation during which the accoutrements of the honour would be stripped from the culprit. In 2012 Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, had his knighthood removed due to his role in the collapse of the bank. There were calls for Jimmy Savile to be stripped of his knighthood in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual abuse but the Cabinet Office said the title ceased when people died. Other people stripped of their titles or honours include: Appeals Harris was found guilty of all 12 indecent assaults of which he was accused in his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London. Last year, Attorney General Jeremy Wright decided not to refer his sentence to the Court of Appeal despite 150 complaints over its "leniency". Mr Wright said he did not think judges would find it to be unduly lenient and increase it. In October, Harris lost the first round of a legal challenge against his conviction. The Metropolitan Police has said it has received "a number of allegations" about Harris since his conviction, which are being investigated. Mr Justice Sweeney said upon sentencing that Harris took advantage of his celebrity status and had shown "no remorse". In the wake of his conviction a mural of the former entertainer was painted over on a wall at the Sheffield Archives. Labour councillor Isobel Bowler said it was inappropriate to keep the artwork on show. Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir in Wrexham stripped Harris of the title of honorary vice-president, which he had held since 2010, and removed photos of him from its website.
A key report that is likely to have a huge impact on the NHS in England will be published later.
By Dominic HughesHealth correspondent, BBC News A public inquiry led by Robert Francis QC has been looking into how those responsible for overseeing the NHS - the national regulators, the local health authority and the hospital board - failed to prevent the terrible events at Stafford Hospital, where hundreds of people died unnecessarily as a result of poor care. But the fact that the disaster at Stafford Hospital was exposed in the first place is in large part down to a campaign led by one woman. Julie Bailey is a cafe owner from Stafford, whose mother Bella died in the hospital in terrible circumstances about five years ago. Originally motivated by what she witnessed in the ward her mother was on, Julie started what has become a formidable campaign. Local campaign, national issue With the help of local people who had similar experiences, Julie started Cure The NHS, a group dedicated to making the health service a safer and more caring environment. Over the past five years she has been contacted by people from across the UK who have also seen family members suffer in NHS hospitals. She has gone from cafe owner to full-time campaigner. "It's been an incredible journey to be honest, but I would never have been able to do it without the support of the group. "We're really close-knit, and it's just being able to share the same experiences that has knitted us together and we can help each other. "It's been very hard, but at the end of it we know the more we do, the more we push the NHS to make it safer, the less our loved ones died in vain." Threats of violence Christine Dalziel joined Julie after her husband George died while being treated at Stafford hospital in 2007. But Christine says there has been opposition to the campaign from within the town - some of it directed at Julie Bailey herself. "I think she's wonderful, the way she's able to speak on television, at conferences, wherever she goes. "She's worked so hard and then for people to threaten her with violence - things that she's read on the internet - it's just unbelievable. "Because these people just don't realise that all we're doing is trying to prevent them from having to go through the same thing that we went through." Staff at Stafford Hospital say things have greatly improved in the past five years - although Cure the NHS is still to be convinced. A recent story of poor standards of care at the hospital will have done nothing to change their view. But Antony Sumara, a former chief executive of the Mid Staffordshire trust which runs Stafford Hospital, says the group has performed a vital role. "What you need are the Julie Baileys of the world. "It doesn't matter how close you get to people like that from an authority point of view, she will hold you to account. "She will scream and shout at you if you do things wrong. "Most (health service) managers are scared of listening to people like that." An end in sight? Julie Bailey says her life has been on hold for five years, juggling a business and a high-profile campaign. But now she feels an end could be in sight. "This will be the biggest report in the history of the NHS and this will never happen again. "This examination of the NHS will never have to happen again, because this will be the end, this will be a safer NHS." So after five years, I ask Julie if that would mean the end of her campaign? "I really hope so. I hope we can put our goal to bed. "Our goal at the beginning was to ensure safe care throughout the NHS." Whatever comes from the Francis Inquiry, Julie has helped drive patient safety and dignity up the NHS agenda. That in itself has been a notable success. But securing a fundamental shift in culture in those parts of the NHS that are still failing patients would be a real achievement.
The government has published its 110-page bill to turn Boris Johnson's Brexit deal into law.
No 10 will ask MPs on Tuesday to approve its proposals for three days of intensive debate over the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB). The PM urged MPs to back the schedule, saying: "The public doesn't want any more delays, neither do other European leaders and neither do I." But opposition MPs said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the bill. Repeating his calls for MPs to "get Brexit done", Mr Johnson said his deal allowed the UK to leave the EU "without disruption" and provided a "framework for a new relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation". "We are leaving the European Union but we will always be European," he said. "I hope Parliament today votes to take back control for itself and the British people and the country can start to focus on the cost of living, the NHS, and conserving our environment." Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said that if MPs did not back the intensive timetable it could result in the UK missing the government's 31 October Brexit deadline. BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said ministers have planned for sittings in the Commons until midnight - with one suggesting they could sit through the night to stick to the prime minister's deadline. However, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said: "Ministers are trying to bounce MPs into signing off a bill that could cause huge damage to our country. We can't trust this prime minister." Mr Johnson agreed a deal with the EU last week, but it needs the approval of both the UK and EU parliaments to come into force. The PM tried to get the deal signed off in the Commons on Saturday before moving onto consideration of the bill. But instead, MPs backed an amendment withholding their approval until the WAB had faced the scrutiny of both the Commons and the Lords, and been passed into law. Here it is. And here we go. The government has now published the pages and pages of new laws that need to be passed to make our departure from the EU happen. Forget the meaningful vote, to get Brexit done - as the prime minster never tires of saying - this whole bundle of legislation has to pass. The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill is a document of 110 pages that details exactly how Parliament is expected to put the deal that the prime minister agreed with his counterparts around the continent into UK law. For Brexit watchers it is a big moment. Read more from the BBC's political editor. Boris Johnson's Brexit deal KEY POINTS: What's new in the deal? PEOPLE'S VIEW: Do voters support the deal? EXPLAINED: What is the Withdrawal Agreement Bill? IN GRAPHICS: What happens now? The amendment worked alongside the so-called Benn Act, which required the PM to ask the EU for an extension to the Halloween deadline to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Mr Johnson wrote an unsigned letter making the request on Saturday evening, along with a signed letter saying why he did not agree with any further delays. But there has been no official word from the EU yet on whether they would grant a proposal or what length it would be. BBC Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming said the European Parliament would only vote on the Brexit deal when it had reached a stage where it could not be modified any further at Westminster. The government also tried to bring forward a "yes" or "no" vote on its Brexit deal on Monday, but Speaker John Bercow said it would be "repetitive and disorderly" to debate it again. What is in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill? The WAB will give legal effect to the withdrawal deal negotiated by Mr Johnson. His plan ditches the backstop - the controversial "insurance policy" designed to prevent a return to physical checks on the Irish border. Instead it essentially draws a new customs border in the Irish Sea, as goods which could travel onwards to Ireland will have to pay a duty tax. It also will see the whole of the UK leave the EU customs union, meaning it could strike trade deals with other countries in the future. The WAB will also turn any agreed transition period into law, fulfil requirements on the rights of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, and allow ministers to make "divorce payments" to the EU foreseen under the current deal. But MPs will be able to vote on amendments - changes or add-ons - to the bill. If the government cannot get the bill through Parliament, the default legal position is for the UK to leave without a deal on 31 October, but that will change if the EU grants an extension. I know reporters like me love prattling on about crunch points. And I know there have been one or two instances of it being crunch point postponed. But this really now is it for the government trying to deliver Boris Johnson's proposed Brexit deal by 31 October. The time frame is mega tight - passing a new law, through the Commons and Lords, by a week on Thursday. Some want to crack on with it, some want to tweak it and some want to wreck it. What happens in the next few days will determine whether the UK leaves the European Union a week on Thursday and in what way. And it is likely to shape when the next general election is. And, perhaps, who wins it. Mr Rees-Mogg announced the so-called "programme motion" - outlining the timetable for debating and passing the WAB - on Monday. He said if MPs backed it, it would allow the bill to be debated at second reading and committee stage on Tuesday, with further discussion on Wednesday, before concluding with a report stage and third reading on Thursday. The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the government hoped to push the WAB through by getting MPs to sit until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday. But MPs will have to vote to agree to that timetable on Tuesday before the second reading, and the bill would also need to be approved by the Lords before becoming law. Labour's shadow Commons leader, Valerie Vaz, criticised the proposal, telling MPs: "At every stage the government has been running scared of this House and democracy, and it's now attempting to force through a flawed Brexit deal which sells out people's jobs, rights and our communities." The SNP's Pete Wishart also condemned a lack of economic impact assessments of the deal ahead of the attempt to pass the legislation. "Three days to consider a bill [that] somebody suggested is 100 pages... how on earth are we going to have the chance to assess that properly?" But Mr Rees-Mogg said other acts - including the Benn Act - had been brought and passed with short notice. "A king emperor left in 24 hours, and we are removing an imperial yoke in over a week," he added. Do you have any questions about the Brexit bill and what happens next? Use this form to ask your question: In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions. If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
Tributes have been paid to a "much-loved" mother-of-two whose death at her home sparked a murder investigation.
Firefighters discovered Louise Rump's body at her flat in Plewes Close, Kensworth, Bedfordshire, on 16 October after an alarm went off. Two men have been charged with the 29-year-old's murder. A family statement read: "Louise was a much-loved mother to her two beautiful daughters and will be greatly missed by all her friends and family." Habib Jackson, 31, of Dunstable Road, Toddington, and Christopher Hayward, 31, of Fensome Drive, Houghton Regis, are due to have a plea hearing at Luton Crown Court on 8 January. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]
Voters in Ghana have gone to the polls to choose a new president and 275 members of parliament.
By Reality Check teamBBC News The country is regarded as one of the most democratic in West Africa. But there have been some examples of misinformation about the voting. Were ballots printed to favour the president? A video has been circulating on social media channels that purports to show a ballot with a larger fingerprint box for President Nana Akufo-Addo. The video - which is just over three minutes long - claims the ballot paper has been produced in such a way that votes for opposition candidates will be discounted because the blank boxes, where the thumb impression goes, are too small. The footage shows an individual making this claim, and placing his finger in the box of an opposition candidate to show it won't fit within the space. This claim was first highlighted by West African fact-checking site Dubawa. However, the ballot featured in the video is missing some of the features that appear on official ballots, such as a red background behind all the images and an official stamp. An official from Ghana's electoral authorities told the BBC that the ballot did not come from the commission. The video was found circulating in WhatsApp groups, but as it's a closed social media platform it's not possible to calculate the exact number of shares. However, when the BBC received the video it came with the label "forwarded many times". Police training videos are not real incidents Some users have shared videos online, which they say are examples of polling day incidents where there's been police or security force involvement. On examination, these are actually taken from police training or simulation exercises in preparation for the vote, and not from polling day itself. One example is a video said to show the police shooting someone who had allegedly snatched a ballot box at a polling station in southern Ghana. But police spokeswoman Sheilla Abayie-Buckman told the BBC this particular video is from north-western Ghana and was taken back in September. She told us she recognised it because she was present at this event, which was held by local police to show their readiness for the elections to the country's police chief. Did the army 'storm' one constituency? A Facebook post on 5 December by a TV station called Hijrah TV News Ghana talked of security forces "storming" one area - Asawasi - in Kumasi district in southern Ghana and issuing warnings to local people. The Facebook post is tagged #AsawasiConstituencyTensions, and carries a Hausa-language report. The fact-checking service, Fact-Check Ghana, said this post should be disregarded for talking about the military having "stormed" the area. They said it was simply the military taking part in a meeting with local elders, religious figures, political representatives and others about the election on 7 December. So what was the army doing? During the TV report, the reporter talks to an army officer, who does issue a warning about people firing or brandishing weapons on election day, or attempting to steal ballot boxes. But there is no reference in the report itself to the military "storming" the area. The BBC's Zawadi Mudibo, who was in Kumasi on election day, says that local people told him there'd not been any unusual activity or extra presence by the military in the run-up to the vote. He was told the situation was normal, so the use of the word "storming" to describe the army's activities there does appear misleading. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter
Tesco's chief executive has told a court of his "surprise and shock" on learning the company's profits had been misstated by £246m.
David Lewis was told about the issue just weeks after he took up the post in September 2014. Mr Lewis has been giving evidence at the trial into alleged fraud at the supermarket giant. Former Tesco executives Carl Rogberg, Christopher Bush and John Scouler are on trial. All deny the charges. They are accused of fraud by abuse of position and false accounting between February and September 2014. Mr Lewis told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that he took up his post at the beginning of September 2014. He said he had had numerous meetings with Bush and one with Scouler, but he was not told of the accounting issue until 19 September. He recalled he was called into a meeting with Adrian Morris, Tesco's chief counsel, at about lunchtime that day, and presented with a paper detailing the problem. Asked for his reaction to this, he told the court: "One of surprise and one of shock, really. "I think the thing that was unique to this paper was the indication that the numbers that had been declared had a potential misstatement within them. "What was new was the proposition here that £246m of income had been included in the first half of the year that on that basis of this paper was deemed to be questionable." 'Intensive' investigation Mr Lewis said: "I had never experienced anything like this before, but it was quite clear that having read the paper, and the manner in which it was served, I felt that it had to be taken very seriously." He said he called Tesco's chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, and told him what the document said, and that a team of internal and external auditors was assembled to work through the weekend. Mr Lewis went on to explain the company had spent a great deal of time between Tesco's public announcement on 22 September stating profits had been overestimated, and when the company was due to issue its interim results on 23 October. He said: "It was a very intensive amount of investigation of these numbers. It required a huge amount of review of paperwork, documentation between pretty much all of the suppliers to Tesco and the different categories in order to validate the number. "So that was quite an extensive exercise." At an earlier hearing, the court heard that two members of its finance department resigned in 2014 over concerns they may be compromising their professional integrity. The two were unhappy about what they were being asked to do by bosses. Carl Rogberg, 50, Chris Bush, 51, and John Scouler, 49, are alleged to have failed to correct inaccurately recorded income figures. The company's former UK finance head, UK managing director and UK food commercial boss deny charges of fraud by abuse of position and false accounting. The court has heard the three men were accused of "cooking the books" by bringing forward income not yet earned to artificially inflate its figures. Problems with Tesco's accounts came to light in a regulatory announcement in September 2014, when Tesco shocked the market in admitting it had overstated profits forecast by about £250m. The trial continues.
England's second biggest police force plans to lose more than 2,500 jobs by cutting neighbourhood officers and introducing "self-service" policing.
West Midlands Police outlined the measures as part of its efforts to save £130m in the next four years. Chief Constable Chris Sims said the changes would help it become a "smaller, faster, smarter service". But unions said Mr Sims had "lost touch" if he thought "virtual policing" could replace bobbies on the beat. 'Frankly terrifying' The force said it was facing "unprecedented financial challenges". It said it needs to save £130m over the next four years, on top of £125m already cut. It has already said 27 of its 41 front desks are to close. In the "Blueprint" document, it set out how it believes it will operate by 2020. The force said 83% of its costs are spent on staffing. It has already shed 2,000 staff over the past four years. What is "self-service policing"? It plans to change the current neighbourhood policing model, which involves 10 local policing units, into "mission-led teams" which will operate across geographical boundaries. The force said it will focus resources, "on areas of most need". Mr Sims said: "We are currently at a point where budgets for policing... are retracting at a level never seen before. "We need to respond to and reflect those changes - becoming a smaller, faster, smarter service. "Although this blueprint has been accelerated by the austerity cuts, it is something we would have done in any event." Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: "We are doing all we can to ensure we can deliver what the public needs." Unite regional officer Caren Evans said Mr Sims had, "lost touch with the public he serves, if he thinks virtual policing can replace bobbies on the beat, who work tirelessly with the communities they serve". "The public will have no faith in the 'self-service' digital policing model being foisted on them because of budget cuts," she added. "It beggars belief that the government's heavy-handed cuts are forcing police forces into such drastic and frankly terrifying measures." She called for "urgent action" to stop police budget cuts.
Shops in England will be allowed to stay open until 22:00 six days a week when customers return from 12 April, the government has said.
After months of coronavirus-related closures, non-essential retailers will be able to apply to trade from 07:00 BST Monday to Saturday. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the move would help businesses to recover and customers to shop safely. He said councils will be asked to avoid "unnecessary restrictions" on hours. Under the road map for easing England's coronavirus restrictions, non-essential shops are permitted to reopen from 12 April at the earliest, providing the government's four tests are met. Shops will be able to extend their opening hours from 07:00 to 22:00 from Monday to Saturday, to help customers avoid peak times and to ease the pressure on transport, according to the Ministry of Local Government. Dominic Curran of the British Retail Consortium said it welcomed the announcement of extended opening hours, as it would allow people to avoid the busier shopping periods. He added: "Retailers have invested hundreds of millions in making their stores Covid-secure, implementing additional hygiene measures, perspex screens, social distancing and more." Mr Jenrick said the temporary measures would "support businesses to reopen and recover", alongside a £56m "Welcome Back Fund" announced by the government last week. He said: "This will provide a much-needed boost for many businesses - protecting jobs, reducing pressure on public transport and supporting people and communities to continue to visit their high streets safely and shop locally." In a written ministerial statement on Thursday, Mr Jenrick said he would ask local councils to take a "positive and flexible approach" to shops wishing to extend their opening hours. He said the government acknowledged that longer retail hours could have a "temporary impact" on local residents, but this had to be balanced by the "significant public interest in ensuring there is a safe retail environment when non-essential shops reopen". The government said it would also continue to allow pubs and restaurants to put up marquees to help increase seating capacity in a Covid-secure way. Flexible working hours on construction sites will also be extended, and food deliveries to supermarkets will be allowed over more time periods, No 10 said.
A woman whose body was found in Leeds shortly before a man fell from a footbridge has been named by police.
Sarah Henshaw, 40, was found dead at her flat in the Redcourt apartments building in Athlone Grove, Armley, at about 09:40 GMT on Tuesday. About 30 minutes later, a man fell from a city centre bridge over the A64 near Quarry House. He was taken to hospital and arrested on suspicion of murder. Police continue to seek witnesses in both Armley and the city centre. Det Ch Insp Mark Swift said: "The man arrested on suspicion of her murder remains in a stable condition in hospital with injuries that are serious but are not believed to be life-threatening. "He is under police guard and it is likely that he will need to remain in hospital for some time yet."
Organisers have hailed another "superb year" for the Wigtown Book Festival which ended at the weekend.
They said preliminary figures showed attendances had "matched or slightly bettered" the numbers achieved for last year's 20th anniversary special. Operational director Anne Barclay said they were "overjoyed" to have seen similar visitor levels - about 29,000 - again this year. "It really has beaten all our expectations," she added. Hundreds of events were held over 10 days at Scotland's national book town. Ms Barclay said organisers hoped it had offered something for everyone. She was "especially pleased" that the events attracted people of all ages and backgrounds, "with an ever-growing emphasis on children and young people. Ms Barclay added that plans were already being made for the 2020 event. This year former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and local author Shaun Bythell were among those who took part.
A health watchdog should be abolished after a senior nurse who bullied staff and failed patients was not permanently struck off, an MP has said.
By Michael BuchananSocial affairs correspondent, BBC News Helen Lockett, nursing director at the now defunct Liverpool Community Health (LCH), was found guilty of 34 charges after a "three-year reign of terror". The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) fitness to practise panel suspended Ms Lockett for 12 months. Labour MP Rosie Cooper said the NMC's reputation was in "complete disrepute". The NMC said it was reviewing the decision of the independent panel. Ms Lockett, who had been director of operations and executive nurse at LCH between 2011 and 2014, was responsible for providing services to 750,000 people on Merseyside. An independent review of the trust found that patients had suffered "unnecessary harm" after cost-cutting led to severe staff shortages. The independent panel found Ms Lockett had failed to take adequate action concerning reports of inadequate staffing and medication administration and she did not properly respond to reports following the deaths of inmates at Liverpool prison. It was also found that she bullied and intimidated colleagues, including telling one nurse that she had "wasted 35 years of her life in the nursing profession". The NMC had sought to have Ms Lockett struck off the nursing register. But despite the independent panel finding that the misconduct involved a "pattern of failings", it concluded that as she had an otherwise unblemished 30-year nursing career, "it was not in the public interest to permanently remove such an experienced and respected nurse from the practice". The NMC is understood to be disappointed with the judgement, and has taken the decision to review it at a meeting on Thursday. "I think striking off would have been the only safe decision," said Ms Cooper. She said the director of nursing engaged in a "three-year reign of terror which ended with Helen Lockett receiving a £25,000 payoff". "This decision has the brought the NMC's reputation into complete disrepute." She is now calling for the NMC to be "replaced with a body which can instil confidence into the profession for both nurses and the public".
A pest-control expert had to confront his arachnophobia to remove a venomous female black widow spider and her eggs from a Norfolk business.
Staff at the unnamed company near Great Yarmouth called pest controllers for help saying they had trapped "a nasty looking spider" under a glass tumbler. The spider was removed and about 100 spiderlings hatched on Wednesday. Ian Parkinson, 45, from Gorleston, said: "I really don't like spiders so I was a bit shaky." The former Royal Navy mine clearer added: "She was quite actively crawling round the glass and I had to coax her into one of our insect jars while making sure not to get bitten. "The egg sac only hatched this morning - I turned around and saw black widow spiders crawling around the container. "We can't keep them and we can't risk them escaping so we've been advised by the zoo community to euthanise them by freezing." 'Ultimate challenge' It is thought the spider had arrived in a load of crates from Texas. A pesticide was used to kill any other spiders at the location. Mr Parkinson has feared spiders since he was a child and as part of "self-help" therapy had a spider tattooed on his arm. He said: "The tattoo was my own way of dealing with them as it's not good for a grown man to scream at a spider. I regret it now, but that's why it's there. "The black widow was my ultimate challenge. It was a really big thing for me and I'm really proud I did it. "It was the perfect way to conquer my fear.". The female black widow spider is about 1.5in (38mm) long and can live up to three years in the wild.
People using frozen lakes in nature reserves for "Dancing on Ice practice" are "putting their lives at risk", a charity has said.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust said it had had several reports of "incredibly dangerous" activities at its reserves. They included people skating in Lunt Meadows near Maghull and walking across a lake at Foxhill Bank, Oswaldtwistle. The sites' remoteness meant there would be "few, if any, people around" to help anyone in trouble, the trust added. Referring to the ITV ice skating show, campaigns manager Alan Wright said it was "concerning to hear that our wetland nature reserves are being used for Dancing on Ice practice, but we need to warn people that this is dangerous". "These lakes are deep, because of the recent floods, and there will be areas where the ice is going to be thin," he said. "Our reserves, by their nature, are remote places and if anyone gets into difficulties, there will only be a few, if any, people around to help." Health and safety advisor Ben Turpin added that frozen lakes "pose a significant risk to life and must not be used for any recreation or entertainment". "The trust's ability to provide immediate emergency response is limited and these incidents put extra pressures on staff and resources," he said. "Please ensure you treat frozen lakes with the respect and care they demand." The trust manages more than 35 nature reserves in Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected] Related Internet Links Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Two-thirds of people in Wales think the amount of income tax they pay should be decided in Wales, an opinion poll has suggested.
It was carried out for the Silk Commission, which is examining the case for further devolution. A total of 64% of people questioned said powers to set income tax should be devolved to the Welsh government. But commission chairman Paul Silk said the report highlighted a "limited understanding" of tax issues. Referendum call The Welsh government has no tax-raising powers and depends on an annual grant from the Treasury for its budget. First Minister Carwyn Jones has called for powers over some taxes, such as stamp and air passenger duties. The poll found 81% approved of his belief that powers to set and collect income tax should not be devolved without a referendum. However, if taxes were higher in Wales, then only 28% remained convinced that control over them should be devolved. Mr Jones's administration also wants the ability to borrow money so it can raise funds to invest in big projects. This was also backed in the poll, with 80% agreeing with the proposal. Pollsters ICM said there was evidence that people did not fully understand the current tax arrangements, but that a picture was emerging of a public who, if forced to choose, would opt for the devolution of tax powers. Almost three-quarters (72%) supported Welsh government efforts to "nudge" people's behaviour through charges and taxes, for example by introducing a compulsory 5p fee for carrier bags. The Silk Commission was set up by the UK government to examine Wales' devolution and funding settlement. Its first set of findings will be published in the autumn, with a second report presented in spring 2014. Mr Silk said: "Our remit is very clear - we must come up with a package of recommendations likely to command a wide degree of support. "While the results show clear support for the devolution of tax and borrowing powers, we must be mindful as a commission of the concerns they also reveal. "It was also clear from the report that there is a limited understanding of taxation issues and from the outset we have sought to address this. "
US rapper XXXTentacion, who quickly rose to fame with two consecutive hit albums, has been killed aged 20.
He was leaving a motorcycle dealership in south Florida on Monday when a gunman shot him. Police in Broward County said XXXTentacion, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was often described as one of rap's most controversial artists and was facing domestic violence charges. XXXTentacion's lawyer, David Bogenschutz, said on Tuesday that investigators believe the slaying was the result of a random robbery. Mr Bogenschutz said the rapper may have recently withdrawn cash to buy the motorcycle. The Broward County Sherriff's Office has offered a $3,000 (£2,200) reward for any information about the killing. On the same day, up and coming rapper Jimmy Wopo was also killed in a shooting in Pittsburgh. The 21-year-old's manager, Taylor Maglin, confirmed on Facebook the singer had been one of the victims of a drive-by shooting on Monday evening. Wopo started making music at the age of 14, but had yet to see a breakthrough hit. Soundcloud rapper XXXTentacion first found an audience by uploading songs to the website SoundCloud. He had been hailed as a breakthrough talent and tributes have been pouring in from hip-hop luminaries in the wake of his death. Onfroy was leaving the dealership shortly before 16:00 local time when two men approached him, officials say. At least one of them shot him before both fled the scene in Deerfield Beach, 43 miles (69km) north of Miami, in a dark-coloured SUV. Video posted on social media apparently showed Onfroy slumped in his car. A witness told celebrity news website TMZ that multiple shots had been fired outside the dealership. The rapper, whose hit songs include SAD! and Moonlight, quickly rose to prominence following the release of his debut album 17 last August. His follow-up ? debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart in March and has been listened to hundreds of millions of times online. The album tackled subjects such as depression and was praised by some of rap's highest-profile stars. But his short career was plagued by allegations of domestic violence. He was facing 15 felony charges at the time of his death, including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman. From tough upbringing to number one By Mark Savage, Music Reporter, BBC News XXXTentacion had a troubled upbringing and was expelled from middle school for fighting, but he channelled his energy and fury into music. He quickly became the most popular artist in the genre known as SoundCloud Rap, defined by its languid, hazy beats and wide-ranging influences. His surging popularity was noted by the music industry and, by October 2017, he had scored a distribution agreement reportedly worth $6m (£4.5m). But his career was already being overshadowed by his legal problems. Fans were apparently unswayed, sending his latest album to number one in the US. Read more from Mark Tributes quickly poured in on social media from Kanye West and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs among others. Rapper J Cole hailed the star's "enormous talent and limitless potential". "God bless his family, friends and fans," he posted. Documentary maker Louis Theroux said: "Notwithstanding personal demons, he was a huge talent & bringing a beautiful new feel to hip hop. So sad."
A three-eared cat - who rescuers almost dubbed Captain Kirk due to his "final front-ear" - has been found abandoned near a garage.
The stray stunned staff at Feline Care Cat Rescue, in East Harling, Norfolk, with the "peculiar" birth defect. Manager Molly Farrar said the centre's vet had not seen a cat with an extra ear in 30 years of practice. Staff at the centre floated a number of names but settled on Brian, the Eastern Daily Press first reported. The cat was named after the owner of the garage where he was found. Updates on this story and more from Norfolk "It's obviously a really rare thing as our vet hasn't seen it as well," Ms Farrar told the BBC. "We see plenty of cats with no tails, some tails, only a little bit of tail missing, cats with three legs, one eye, cats with all kinds of disabilities, but this is something quite special." Brian, who is thought to be between four and eight years old, almost ended up with a more outlandish moniker, Ms Farrar said. "We have had suggestions of Spock or Captain Kirk because he's got a left ear, a right ear and a final front-ear," she said. Brian was discovered on Monday near the remote cat sanctuary, which is on the edge of an industrial estate, and it is thought he may have been dumped or ended up on the back of a lorry. If Brian's owner cannot be found, he will be re-homed, Ms Farrar said.
Police and other agencies in Newquay have launched a summer campaign to reduce crime and disorder.
The Newquay Safe Partnership said the No Nonsense 2012 campaign would build on work in 2011. People with potentially offensive inflatables or are wearing mankini thongs will be targeted and street disorder will not be tolerated. The campaign would be supported by a new network of ID scanners in six pubs and clubs, the partnership said. The scanners would not only check for forged documents, but would also share data on banned persons to ensure that information about someone banned by one pub will distributed to all landlords in the town. The 2011 campaign saw 104 people banned from the town centre, police said. The partnership - which involves police, councils, businesses and residents - was set up in 2009 to crack down on underage drinking after the deaths of two teenagers in the town.
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has dismissed suggestions voters in the Eastleigh by-election backed his party as a "protest vote".
He said people voted for UKIP because they were "offering policy solutions" and "common sense ideas". But Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted it was the Conservatives who would stay on the "common ground". Lib Dem President Tim Farron described the result, which saw his party hold the seat, as "game changing". UKIP finished second in Eastleigh, in Hampshire, with 28% of the total vote, pushing the Conservative Party into third place. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted his party will not "lurch to the right" following the result and will "stick to the course" the government is on. 'Two fingers' The Conservatives have argued the surge in support for UKIP was essentially a protest vote, but Mr Farage dismissed this as "the default position of the political establishment". He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that some people who voted UKIP in Eastleigh "probably used it as a chance to stick two fingers up to the establishment", but insisted others did so because the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems were not offering voters "a real choice". "You can't put a cigarette paper between them on policy," he said. "They don't just vote UKIP because they dislike the other three, they vote UKIP on policy. "What we're saying to people and what we're putting in front of them is a common sense idea of how we should control our borders, of what our relationship with Europe should be, of what we should be doing about the looming energy crisis. "Actually people vote for UKIP because they see us offering policy solutions." But speaking on the same programme, the foreign secretary insisted it was the Conservative Party which was sticking to the "common ground" and offering solutions to the country's problems. Mr Hague said: "We're not brushing it off. There are people who are impatient for us to sort these things out. "What we have to do is make sure we follow up and communicate properly the things that we are succeeding in in government." He cited a fall in net migration, reductions in welfare spending and increases to the personal tax allowance as evidence the government was addressing people's concerns. 'Siren voices' Liberal Democrat Tim Farron said the result for his party, which held on to the seat despite a drop in its vote share, showed that "Lib Dem fortresses are firm". And he warned the prime minister against listening to "siren voices from the right", which would be "very foolish" for the country and the Conservative Party. He said it was a "game changing result" for his party. "This vindicates the position we have taken which was 'It's a tough thing to go into government.' "The alternatives were worse and it was far better for us to campaign for the right things in power than to sit on the sidelines. It shows you can take power and you can win elections. " Mr Farron said the result demonstrated the Liberal Democrats had the right to exercise more "muscle" in coalition negotiations, particularly in the run-up to the Budget on 20 March. He rejected a suggestion from Conservative Defence Secretary Philip Hammond that the defence budget should be protected and more cuts made to welfare. "At a time like this to think it is more important to be investing in Trident or something like that, rather than protecting people who are the least well off in our society, that would be morally wrong as well as just economically stupid," he said.
Jessie J says she doesn't know whether there is a future for The Voice.
By Sinead GarvanNewsbeat music reporter The singer quit the show in July because of her work schedule, Danny O'Donoghue left weeks later. There are now rumours the remaining two coaches, Tom Jones and will.i.am, will not return for the third series. The BBC says it is still in talks with them and will announce the line-up soon. The coaching panel said in the past they would only continue in their roles if they were all in it together. When asked if she thought there was a future for the show, Jessie J said: "I don't know, that's the honest truth. I can't predict the future." She said she enjoyed her time on the show but is about to release her second album Alive and will not have time for both. "All I know is that when I went in to the show I gave it everything, I tried to be myself," she said. "I was critical. I worked really hard as a coach. "The hardest thing is you can't control what the public want, it's weird because they crave real. "But then you give them real and then they don't want real, so who knows?" A tour following the first series of The Voice had to be cancelled because of poor ticket sales. Then last year's winner Leanne Mitchell's debut album failed to make it into the top 100 in the official UK album chart. This year's series also suffered poor ratings. A third series will go ahead but it will be no surprise if there is a new line-up on the coaching panel. Jessie J thinks that could be a good thing for the show's credibility and for its contestants. "I can't sit on a coaching panel and say we're doing this right now," she said. "This is us, we're successful, listen to us. "Then if I can be sitting in that for seven months, I'm not successful. "There should be a fresh batch of people that go, 'Right now you can learn from us.' "I feel like if it is the same batch of coaches then we're not putting out music, so what are we doing to teach you?" Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter Click here to Tweet this story from your account
Canada's decision last year to walk out of the Kyoto Protocol caused concern around the world.
By Lorraine MallinderMontreal To those outside environmental circles, the move seemed puzzlingly out of character. After all, in the popular imagination, this is a country of virgin forests and pristine lakes, home of Jack London's White Fang, not to mention the birthplace of Greenpeace. Quite simply, Canada was not supposed to act like this. The move, of course, came as no surprise to those familiar with Alberta's tar sands boom - the sands saturated with a dense form of petroleum which can be extracted and used as fuel. Under the Conservative government of Stephen Harper, the Kyoto Protocol had become an impediment to growth of the multi-billion-dollar industry, which generates higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional pumping from oil wells. Rush for riches The retreat from Kyoto may only have been the beginning of Canada's environmental about-turn. The country is currently preparing to capitalise on its treasure trove of resources, which include hydro-power, natural gas, timber, coal, potash, iron ore, lithium, gold and much more. With global warming freeing the Arctic shipping routes, this vast mineral wealth will flow eastwards to feed the burgeoning appetites of the world's developing economies. The country is in a hurry. As Canada's natural resources minister Joe Oliver said at a Toronto press conference last month, it's time to "seize the moment". "These opportunities won't last forever," he added. David Suzuki, a scientist and one of the country's foremost voices on the environment, fears Canada is about to commit ecological "suicide". Pipeline flashpoint "The warming that has been going on in the Arctic is undeniable," he says. "But, what Mr Harper is seeing is all this economic activity, that we'll be able to mine more resources and ship them through the Northern Passage. The ecological implications of all that are just monumental." His criticisms come as the Conservative government, re-elected with a majority in 2011, embarks on a sweeping review of environmental laws. The most controversial proposals would speed up assessments, limit public participation in hearings and give the cabinet powers to override regulators on major projects. Other reforms would water down laws on the protection of fish habitats and endangered species. Environmentalists are alarmed by the proposals, which they say have been bundled into an obscure budget bill that is being fast-tracked through parliament. "It's not illegal, but it's devious," says Elizabeth May, leader of the opposition Green Party. "It's all about massive resource development, intentionally designed to grease the wheels of the tar sands industry." The new rules could affect projects currently under review, such as the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline, which will transport bitumen from Alberta to British Columbia for shipping to Asia. Like the unpopular Keystone XL pipeline, which was rejected by US President Barack Obama earlier this year, Northern Gateway has become a flashpoint for tar sands opponents, including native groups who fear spills on their territory. Their opposition prompted Mr Oliver to write an open letter to Canadians this year, attacking groups threatening to "hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda". Moreover, he accused groups of receiving foreign funding to undermine Canada's national interests, attracting "jet-setting celebrities" to "lecture Canadians". Environment Minister Peter Kent later accused charities of laundering foreign money. The government's salvoes led to accusations of a smear campaign against activist groups. Simon Dyer, policy director at the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank which also advises government and industry, thinks the debate has become irreparably polarised. "Right now, you're either for or against development," he says. There has been progress on some fronts, such as the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, which promotes sustainable logging. But, in other areas, such as the protection of woodland caribou, there is still far to go. Mr Dyer laments what he calls the government's laissez-faire attitude to tar sands. Since Mr Harper's arrival in office, despite repeated promises, there has been no progress on regulating emissions from the industry. Meanwhile, oil production is expected to nearly double, to almost four million barrels a day by 2021. "The federal government just hasn't been minding the stall, letting many tar sands projects to go ahead at the same time," he says. Liberal MP Stephane Dion, a former environment minister and party leader, worked hard to place green issues at the top of the country's political agenda. But, his proposals for a carbon tax were rejected in the 2008 federal election. "I don't see the opportunity for meaningful change in Canada in the short-term," he says. "If you allow people in the oil industry to have less regulation, they will not protest and that's what this government is willing to do." Mr Harper is nothing if not consistent. In 2002, in a letter written when he was leader of the now defunct Canadian Alliance party, he described the Kyoto Protocol as "a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations." Describing his campaign as the "battle of Kyoto", he vowed to block the "job-killing, economy-destroying … accord". As leader of the country, he has remained true to his word. Canadians are largely in favour of the tar sands industry, though attitudes vary across the country. According to an Ipsos Reid survey conducted in April 2012, two-thirds of respondents believed it would be possible to increase oil and gas production while protecting the environment at the same time. Mr Suzuki maintains his fellow countrymen care deeply about the environment. "Canadians are not where Mr Harper is," he says. "We place a high value on nature as a part of who we are as a country." "It is something that is deeply embedded in the Canadian psyche." Lorraine Mallinder is a freelance journalist based in Montreal. More from Canada Direct
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's political ally, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says that a Japanese peace envoy intimidated the party.
JVP parliamentarian Vijitha Herath told BBC Sandeshaya that Yasushi Akashi told the party that Sri Lanka would lose international aid if the government fails to come up with a political solution for the national question. The Japanese special envoy who arrived in Colombo on Sunday has met President Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Monday. 'No interviews' with BBC Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, president's secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona, and Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka also took part in the discussions. When contacted by BBC Sandeshaya, Dr. Kohona said he doesn't speak to the BBC. In the meeting held on Sunday with the envoy, MP Herath said the JVP urged Mr. Akashi not to work on 'to strengthen separatist terrorism'. "We told him that Japan that work together with the American forces in Afghanistan against terrorism should not support Sri Lanka's separatist terrorism," Vijitha Herath told BBC Sinhala.com. Mr. Akashi for his part stressed the need for a political solution instead of a military one, Mr . Herath added. If Sri Lanka failed to find a political solution, Yasushi Akashi has warned, that the international community would have no option but to stop financial aid to Sri Lanka. Japan, a member of the co-chairs of Sri Lanka's peace process, is Sri Lanka's biggest financial donor. "He did not say the financial aid will be stopped; It was rather an attempt to intimidate," Vijitha Herath said.
The family of a shop-owner who was the victim of a "brutal and chilling" attack seven years ago are still unable to move on from the ordeal, they say.
David Basrai was attacked by two men on 18 November 2011 in his convenience store in Washington, near Sunderland. He suffered a fractured skull, broken jaw and a bleed to the brain. As detectives made an anniversary appeal for help, Mr Basrai's wife Karen said she and her four children were still reliving the attack. Mr Basrai managed to make his way home after the assault and call police. He was later taken to hospital where he spent several months recovering. The attack happened between 20:15 and 21:00 GMT on the night of Children in Need 2011. 'Selfish and terrifying' Mrs Basrai, 48, said: "As a family, we are unable to move on and seek closure following this terrifying ordeal until those responsible are caught. "These thugs came into the shop and left my husband who is a father to four children for dead. The injuries he sustained that night could so easily have been fatal. "I would urge anybody who saw anything that night to get in touch with police." Det Sgt Iain Saville, of Northumbria Police, said: "Exactly seven years have passed since this brutal and chilling attack which left Mr Basrai with serious head injuries. "The damage caused to Mr Basrai was not just physical. He and his family have had to live with the psychological stress and trauma caused by the selfish and terrifying actions of those individuals that night, and they continue to do so. "Our investigation has never closed, and we are making a fresh appeal to the public in the hope that somebody knows something that could prove to be the key to seeking justice for Mr Basrai." The attackers, thought to be wearing dark clothes and scarves around their faces when they carried out the attack, were described as being in their late 20s or early 30s at the time of the offence and were believed to have local accents.
A teacher who talked about spanking and tickled a pupil has been banned from teaching in England for breaching professional standards.
At a misconduct hearing Timothy Moore was accused of making sexual comments and touching pupils inappropriately whilst at Clacton Coastal Academy, Essex, between 2016 and 2018. The teacher of 30 years had waived his right to attend the disciplinary. The prohibition order can be reviewed in two years. Mr Moore, 63, was employed as a humanities teacher at the Essex school from April 2013. 'Comfortable together' The hearing heard that he made "inappropriate comments in regard to a pupil's underwear, innuendoes, and unnecessary physical contact with pupils.". In March 2017 he faced an investigation after telling a pupil adjusting her bra: "Don't stop, glad we are comfortable together." He also said "I would spank you but it would be a bit inappropriate" to a pupil. In April 2017 he was given a first and final written warning and further safeguarding training. 'Tactile' person He continued to teach until April 2018, when a new allegation of inappropriate physical contact with a pupil led to his dismissal in July 2018. Mr Moore had described himself as being a "tactile person" and the hearing panel accepted that some of his comments and physical contact of "patting" made some students feel uncomfortable. But a witness also described him as a "flamboyant" and "eccentric character" who was "old school", a "gentleman" and "chivalrous". Although not satisfied that Mr Moore's actions could properly be described as being "sexually motivated" the panel did find his conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. Following a recommendation to the Secretary of State, Moore was prohibited from teaching indefinitely in England but may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside in July 2021.
It is the contest that kick-started Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra's career, so it is unsurprising that this year's Miss India finalists have such wide smiles in their publicity shots.
By Geeta PandeyBBC News, Delhi After all, this is a competition with the power to change lives. But instead of being able to enjoy their success, they have found themselves at the centre of a storm over a photo collage which, critics say, suggests the organisers are obsessed with fair skin. The collage published in the Times of India newspaper - which belongs to the group that organises the annual beauty pageant - depicts 30 headshots of beautiful women. But when a Twitter user shared it and posed a question: "What is wrong with this picture?" it began to gain traction. With their tame, glossy, shoulder-length hair and a skin tone that is virtually identical, some quipped that they all looked the same. Others wondered out loud - albeit as a joke - if in fact they were all the same person. As the picture gained traction on Twitter, critics made the point that while there was nothing wrong with the image of the women themselves, the lack of diversity in skin colour has once again highlighted India's obsession with being fair and lovely. The pageant's grooming expert Shamita Singha told the BBC the original pictures had to be retouched as the contestants looked "like plastic". She insisted the Photoshop team were told not to alter skin tone, but blamed a tight publication deadline and newspaper print for the change in appearance. "This is not the skin tones of the actual pictures," she said, adding that some of the show's past winners like Nehal Chudasama, Srinidhi Shetty and Anukreethy Vas had darker skin. "These are just some of our girls in the last year," she said. "Everyone's skin colour is kept as is." Beauty pageants have been serious business in India since the mid-1990s. The country has produced several famous Miss Indias, like Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and Ms Chopra, who also won global titles. Many pageant winners have also gone on to have lucrative Bollywood careers. Over the years, institutions that train young women aspiring to participate in beauty pageants have mushroomed across the country. But again, many of their biggest successes have been women who are light-skinned. This is hardly surprising. India's obsession with fairness, especially when it comes to women, is well known and many regard fair skin as being superior to darker tones. It has always been accepted for instance, that fairer is better in the marriage market. And ever since the 1970s, when Fair and Lovely - India's first fairness cream - was introduced, skin whitening cosmetics have been among the highest selling in the country and, over the years, top Bollywood actors and actresses have appeared in advertisements to endorse them. Commercials for such creams and gels promised not just fair skin but also peddled them as means to get a glamorous job, find love, or get married. And pageants like this, which critics say favour a particular type of skin tone, only serve to perpetuate that stereotype. In 2005, some bright spark decided that it was not just women who needed fairer skin, so along came India's first fairness cream for men - Fair and Handsome. Endorsed by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan no less, it soon became a huge success. In recent years, there have been campaigns such as Dark is Beautiful and #unfairandlovely, questioning "colourism" and calling on people to celebrate dark skin. And last year, I wrote about a new campaign that re-imagined popular Hindu gods and goddesses with a darker skin. But this has not stopped the flood of new creams and gels that claim to lighten everything from armpit hair to - hold your breath - female genitalia. Their popularity in India can be gauged from the fact that fairness creams and bleaches sell for hundreds of millions of dollars every year and, according to one estimate, the market for women's fairness products is expected to be 50bn rupees ($716m; £566m) by 2023. The defenders of skin whitening products say it's a matter of personal choice, that if women can use lipstick to make their lips redder, then what's the big deal about using creams or gels to appear fairer? It may sound logical, but campaigners point out that this obsession with fair skin is grossly unfair - the "superiority" of light skin is subtly, but constantly, reinforced and that perpetuates societal prejudice and hurts people with darker complexions who grow up with low self-confidence. It also impacts their personal and professional success, they say. We've heard models with darker skin colours say how they were overlooked for assignments and I can remember only a few darker-skinned Bollywood actresses in leading roles. In 2014, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body of advertisers, issued a set of guidelines barring commercials from depicting people with darker skin colour as "unattractive, unhappy, depressed or concerned" and said that they should not be shown as being at a disadvantage when it came to "prospects of matrimony, jobs or promotions". The ads, however, continue to be made, even though they are a bit more discreet now compared to the earlier in-your-face sort of campaigns. Popular film actors and actresses also continue to endorse them. But as I write this piece, a heart-warming piece of news is just being reported: South Indian actress Sai Pallavi has confirmed that she rejected a 20m rupee deal to appear in a fairness cream advertisement earlier this year. "What am I going to do with the money I get from such an ad? I don't have... big needs. "I can say that the standards we have are wrong. This is the Indian colour. We can't go to foreigners and ask them why they're white. "That's their skin colour and this is ours," she was quoted as saying. Pallavi's comments are being hailed as a breath of fresh air by commentators, especially as they are seen in context to the Miss India collage where all contestants look the same - whitewashed.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is "deeply disappointed" by the toppling of the statue of Canada's first prime minister over the weekend.
He called the act "vandalism". Activists in Montreal pulled down the statue of Sir John A Macdonald, who was linked to policies that killed many indigenous people in the late 19th Century. Video captured the moment the statue's head flew off and bounced on to the pavement nearby. On Monday, Mr Trudeau said that, while he understands the "impatience and frustration" of Canadians who have dealt with discrimination, acts like pulling down the statue "will not move us ahead as a society". He said it should be up to communities and cities to choose how to remember controversial historical figures, not a small group acting unilaterally. The premier of Quebec and the mayor of Montreal also condemned the action by activists. Mayor Valérie Plante said it "cannot be accepted nor tolerated", adding it is better to put historical figures "in context rather than remove them". Quebec Premier François Legault wrote on Twitter, "whatever one might think of Sir John A MacDonald, destroying a monument in this way is unacceptable". "We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution. Vandalism has no place in our democracy and the statue must be restored." The statue has been a frequent target for activists over the years, and has often been covered in splashes of paint. Macdonald was prime minister of Canada between 1860 and 1890 and is remembered for his nation-building policies. But he also created the residential schools system, which forcibly removed at least 150,000 indigenous children from their homes and sent them to state-funded boarding schools. Many children were abused and some died, and they were forbidden from speaking their own language or practising their culture. A government report in 2015 called the practice "cultural genocide". He was accused of allowing famine and disease to kill many indigenous people and his government forced some First Nation communities to leave their traditional territories, withholding food until they did so. Mr Trudeau said during a news conference in Montreal that it is fair to "ask questions regarding all our former prime ministers, all our past leaders who did many good things but made mistakes as well". "Sir John A Macdonald did very good things but we need to be far more critical of some of his actions," he added. A number of statues of controversial historical leaders around the world have been toppled in recent months during heated public debates over how societies should remember leaders tied to slavery, empire and racism. In the US, statues of Christopher Columbus as well as Confederate leaders were removed, while in the UK monuments to prominent slave traders have been taken down. Belgian protesters also defaced statues of King Leopold II due to the deadly legacy of his personal colony in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A Kuwaiti social-media influencer who was criticised over comments she made about Filipino domestic workers has defended her remarks.
Sondos Alqattan had posted an Instagram video condemning new laws that give Filipino workers a day off per week and the right to keep their passports. However, she has said that the outcry she received was "unjustified", though she has since deleted the video. Known for her make-up tutorials, Ms Alqattan has 2.3m Instagram followers. "I have not [in] any circumstances in present or past... degraded or in any way mistreated an employee of mine," she said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. "I consider all employees as equal human being [sic]." Several beauty companies who previously had ties with Ms Alqattan have moved to distance themselves. "We are totally against the principles expressed by Ms Sondos Alqattan which in no way reflect the Micallef brand," a spokesperson from perfume house M. Micallef told the BBC. Make-up company Chelsea Beautique also posted on Twitter that Ms Alqattan's behaviour did not "represent [their] brand's core beliefs". 'Out of touch with humanity' In her controversial video posted earlier in July, Ms Alqattan said: "How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them? And what's worse is they have one day off every week. I don't want a Filipina maid anymore." The response to her remarks has been fierce. Migrante International, an advocacy group for Filipinos working overseas said it "vehemently condemned" Ms Alqattan's statements. "We strongly demand that she offer public apology [sic] and express remorse for her disgusting statements," it said in an online statement. "It would be more valuable if she can visit the Philippines to witness the appalling poverty... and find out what hardships [they] had to go through before they can be deployed abroad." More than 250,000 Filipinos are working in Kuwait, according to the Philippines foreign ministry. Most are employed as maids or domestic helpers. The Philippines had earlier this year temporarily banned its citizens from travelling to work in Kuwait, following an incident in which a domestic worker was killed and her body found in a freezer. The ban was lifted in May after Kuwait and the Philippines signed an agreement on workers' rights.
Children's services in Birmingham are improving but remain fragile, a peer review has said.
The Local Government Association (LGA) highlighted "improved managerial grip" and "a greater focus on effective operational delivery". But it also raised "urgent" concerns about unallocated cases and the speed of intervention. Birmingham City Council, which will consider the findings on Monday, said there was no quick fix. 'Positive signs' The LGA said: "There is evidence of improved managerial grip and a greater focus on effective operational delivery but this is extremely variable and needs to progress much further." It added: "There are positive signs appearing generally around Children's Services and the children's partnership and some good news stories are emerging but these are early days. "The position remains fragile." 'Capacity to improve' Birmingham City Council's children's department has faced criticism after several deaths, including that of two-year-old Keanu Williams, who was beaten to death by his mother. In December, the authority revealed a multi-million pound improvement plan and said it had been failing children for five years. Speaking to BBC WM, Councillor Brigid Jones, cabinet member for children and family services, welcomed the findings. "It's not going to be a quick fix," she said. "We have been inadequate for four years and it's going to take time for the changes to bed in and for new staff to learn the ropes... but they [the LGA] said we have the capacity to improve and that's important to us." The peer review, used to draw from the experience of other authorities working in similar fields and share best practice, was commissioned by the council.
Indian police have arrested four people suspected of leaking an episode of the hugely popular TV show Game of Thrones before it was aired.
Three of the accused are current employees of Prime Focus Technology, while one is a former employee. Prime Focus, a Mumbai-based company that stores and processes the series for Indian streaming website Hotstar, had lodged a complaint with police. The fantasy series is already the most pirated show in TV history. Episode four of the seventh season was leaked on 4 August, days before it was due to air globally. The show produced by HBO has seen several leaks over the years. Most recently a group of hackers said they had stolen 1.5TB of data, allegedly including episodes of Ballers, Room 104 and scripts from Game of Thrones episodes. On Monday they leaked some of the unaired material. The arrests on Monday were related to the leaked episode, not the most recent hack. After receiving a complaint "we investigated the case and have arrested four individuals for unauthorised publication of the fourth episode from season seven," Deputy Commissioner of Police Akbar Pathan told AFP news agency. The four have been charged with criminal breach of trust and computer related offences and will be detained until 21 August, he said.
A statue of Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph in central London have been boarded up ahead of planned protests.
Monuments were targeted during last week's anti-racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in the USA. A Black Lives Matter protest planned for Saturday in Hyde Park has been brought forward to Friday, over fears of clashes with far-right groups. The Mayor of London has called on protesters to "stay at home" to avoid further disorder. "Key statues", including one of Nelson Mandela, will be covered for protection, Sadiq Khan said. During protests last weekend a statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square was defaced, while in Bristol an effigy of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down. Video shared online also appeared to show a protester climb the Cenotaph, the memorial to Britain's war dead on Whitehall, and attempt to set a union jack flag alight. More protests are taking place over the weekend. A Black Lives Matter protest planned for Saturday in Hyde Park has been brought forward to Friday, over fears it would be hijacked by counter-protests. Far-right groups have called on supporters to travel to London to protect monuments from being damaged. Mr Khan said: "I'm extremely concerned that further protests in central London not only risk spreading Covid-19, but could lead to disorder, vandalism and violence. "Extreme far-right groups who advocate hatred and division are planning counter-protests, which means that the risk of disorder is high. "Staying home and ignoring them is the best response this weekend." Violent protesters could be jailed within 24 hours under plans to fast-track arrests linked to protest. The BBC understands that opening hours at magistrates courts are to be extended to process anybody caught vandalising, causing criminal damage or assaulting police officers. Churchill is lauded for leading Britain to victory in World War Two. He is described on the UK government website as "an inspirational statesman, writer, orator and leader", and was voted the greatest ever Briton in a 2002 BBC poll. But for some he remains a controversial figure, in part because of his views on race. Following last weekend's protests, campaigns to have monuments to controversial historical figures taken down have gained pace. On Tuesday, a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan was removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands. Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London have said they will remove two statues linked to slavery in response to anti-racism protests. The NHS foundation trust which runs the hospitals said monuments of Thomas Guy and Sir Robert Clayton will be moved out of public view.
The closure of several minor injury units (MIU) in Worcestershire has increased "chaos" at Accident and Emergency departments, a nurse claims.
MIUs in Bromsgrove, Tenbury and Evesham have been shut since Saturday so staff can help meet demand at the Alexandra and Worcestershire Royal hospitals. But a nurse, who did not want to be named, said the "problem was a bed shortage" so the move had not helped. The hospital trust said the high demand was "not caused by one single issue". Meanwhile, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, which runs five MIUs, said staff were supporting colleagues in A&E "which remain extremely busy". 'Less care' However, the nurse said the Worcester and Redditch A&Es were still severely under pressure, with some patients waiting in corridors. "No one is happy with it. The problem is a bed shortage so it is not making an iota of difference," she said. "This is leading to more patients walking into A&E. More pressure but less care for patients," she said. She added the A&Es were dealing with "all kinds of injuries", including broken bones from falls in icy conditions. The nurse feared for patients having to travel much further afield after finding MIUs closed. "If an elderly person has paid £12 in a taxi and travelled in pain only to find a unit is shut - that's horrific," she said. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the decision was "strategic and managed". "To help reduce pressures and length of wait in A&E we pulled minor injuries unit staff in to A&E to provide extra cover and better use their skills as MIUs were experiencing very low demand," a spokesman said. He said beds' availability was among issues increasing demand, adding the focus continued to be on "safe emergency care to those who need it."
A group of people bidding to save a historic swimming pool have been granted a licence to run the facility.
Moseley Road Swimming Baths is the oldest of three grade II* listed pools still in use in Britain. Birmingham City Council granted the licence to the Moseley Road Baths Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) at a cabinet meeting. The woman who chairs the Moseley Road Baths CIO said it was "all we could have hoped for and more". The council said it would continue to maintain the building and is spending a total of £200,000 on repairs and maintenance. But it is now the CIO, formed by Moseley Road Baths Action Group, which will run the baths, where one of the two pools is open for swimming. Karen Leach, who chairs the CIO, said: "We are thrilled with the outcome. "We will maintain swimming at these beautiful baths and a process has been started to repair and restore the building. The baths looked set to close last summer, but the council put it off so community groups could have more time to prepare plans. Historic England, the National Trust and the World Monuments Fund are providing £1m between them to help secure the future of the building. The CIO will take over all swimming activities on 3 April, after it successfully crowd-funded £26,000 to recruit and train volunteer lifeguards and swim leaders. Councillor Ian Ward, Labour leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "I know how much Moseley Road Baths mean to the community and the campaigners deserve a great deal of credit for their dedication over a number of years." Moseley Road Baths is the only grade II* listed pool in Britain built before 1914 that is still open for swimming.
The SNP has lost its overall majority on Dundee City Council after gains from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
It had held a majority of three, but is still the biggest party on the council. The SNP now has 14 seats on the council compared to the 15 seats now held by the other parties and an independent candidate. The SNP lost six seats on Angus Council, with the Conservatives gaining five. Labour lost its only seat on Angus Council. There remains no party with an overall majority on Falkirk Council, which was previously run by a Labour/Conservative/independent coalition. Labour lost lost five seats on the council while the Conservatives gained five. Labour now has nine seats on the council and the Conservatives have seven - the SNP lost one of its 13 seats. How the BBC calculates the 2017 result By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor Let's talk numbers - there have been boundary changes which mean that some comparisons are made with "notional" outcomes in 2012, the last time these councils were contested. On that count, the SNP are notionally down by a fractional seven seats. However, in terms of absolute numbers, the Nationalists have ended up with more councillors than in 2012. Plus the SNP are the largest party in Scotland's four largest cities - including Glasgow, where jubilant supporters attended their ousting of Labour. They have waited decades for that. Read more from Brian The SNP has become the largest party in Clackmannanshire Council, with the Conservatives making gains at the expense of Labour. The SNP retains eight seats on the council, with Labour losing three of its eight seats and the Conservatives increasing their share from one seat to five. All five wards in the local government election were declared shortly before 11:30. Turnout in the election was 46.2%. A forthcoming meeting of the council will be held to form an administration and appoint office holders. The SNP kept nine seats and Labour lost four as the Conservatives jumped to nine seats on Stirling Council, which had been a Labour/Conservative coalition. The Tories gained five to draw level with the SNP in the election, which had a 53.3% turnout. Labour dropped to four with the Greens keeping their seat. In Perth and Kinross, the Conservatives gained seven seats and have taken over from the SNP as the biggest party on the council. The Conservatives now have 17 councillors while the SNP, who had been the minority administration, dropped two to 15. Labour dropped by three and the Lib Dems and independents lost one seat each.
The globe is facing a "tidal wave" of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered, say World Health Organization scientists.
By James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News It predicts the number of cancer cases will reach 24 million a year by 2035, but half could be prevented. The WHO said there was now a "real need" to focus on cancer prevention by tackling smoking, obesity and drinking. The World Cancer Research Fund said there was an "alarming" level of naivety about diet's role in cancer. Fourteen million people a year are diagnosed with cancer, but that is predicted to increase to 19 million by 2025, 22 million by 2030 and 24 million by 2035. The developing world will bear the brunt of the extra cases. Chris Wild, the director of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, told the BBC: "The global cancer burden is increasing and quite markedly, due predominately to the ageing of the populations and population growth. "If we look at the cost of treatment of cancers, it is spiralling out of control, even for the high-income countries. Prevention is absolutely critical and it's been somewhat neglected." The WHO's World Cancer Report 2014 said the major sources of preventable cancer included: For most countries, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. However, cervical cancer dominates in large parts of Africa. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major cause. It is thought wider use of the HPV and other vaccines could prevent hundreds of thousands of cancers. One of the report's editors, Dr Bernard Stewart from the University of New South Wales in Australia, said prevention had a "crucial role in combating the tidal wave of cancer which we see coming across the world". Dr Stewart said human behaviour was behind many cancers such as the sunbathe "until you're cooked evenly on both sides" approach in his native Australia. He said it was not the role of the International Agency for Research on Cancer to dictate what should be done. But he added: "In relation to alcohol, for example, we're all aware of the acute effects, whether it's car accidents or assaults, but there's a burden of disease that's not talked about because it's simply not recognised, specifically involving cancer. "The extent to which we modify the availability of alcohol, the labelling of alcohol, the promotion of alcohol and the price of alcohol - those things should be on the agenda." He said there was a similar argument to be had with sugar fuelling obesity, which in turn affected cancer risk. Meanwhile, a survey of 2,046 people in the UK by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) suggested 49% do not know that diet increases the risk of developing cancer. A third of people said cancer was mainly due to family history, but the charity said no more than 10% of cancers were down to inherited genes. Amanda McLean, general manager for the WCRF, said: "It's very alarming to see that such a large number of people don't know that there's a lot they can do to significantly reduce their risk of getting cancer. "In the UK, about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented through being a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and being regularly physically active. "These results show that many people still seem to mistakenly accept their chances of getting cancer as a throw of the dice, but by making lifestyle changes today, we can help prevent cancer tomorrow." It advises a diet packed with vegetables, fruit, and wholegrains; cutting down on alcohol and red meat; and junking processed meat completely. Dr Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "The most shocking thing about this report's prediction that 14 million cancer cases a year will rise to 22 million globally in the next 20 years is that up to half of all cases could be prevented. "People can cut their risk of cancer by making healthy lifestyle choices, but it's important to remember that the government and society are also responsible for creating an environment that supports healthy lifestyles. "It's clear that if we don't act now to curb the number of people getting cancer, we will be at the heart of a global crisis in cancer care within the next two decades."
Tamil parliamentarians in Sri Lanka have once again called on India to immediately intervene to stop bloodshed in Sri Lanka.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) legislators told media that India should broker a truce between Sri Lanka government and the LTTE. R Sambanthan, Suresh Premachandran, Mavai Senadhiraja, MK Sivajilingam and Padmini Chidambaranathan made the remarks at a press conference held in Chennai, Tamilnadu. Suresh Premachandran told BBC Tamil Service that if India did not intervene soon, it would tantamount to being complicit in the genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils. India certainly would not want such an interpretation, he said, and expressed hope that Indian government would heed the persistent calls from Tamil Nadu to intervene to stop Sri Lankan conflict. The MP added that LTTE might have retreated to Mullaitivu but their weapons and manpower were intact and they would resume the struggle in other forms like guerrilla tactics. TNA, the Tamil political party with the largest representation in Sri Lanka parliament accepts LTTE as the sole representative of Sri Lanka’s Tamils.
For those of us fortunate enough to earn considerably more than the national minimum wage, a 3% rise to £6.70 may sound pretty derisory.
Robert PestonEconomics editor It is equivalent, for example, to just two and half flat-white coffees in a famous coffee chain, and would allow the recipient of that wage to rent a one-bedroom place in a dowdier part of London, so long as he or she didn't eat, use power, pay council tax or wear clothes. Not big bucks. But when David Cameron and Nick Clegg say it is the "largest real-terms increase" since 2008, they are not simply making a point about how badly low-paid workers have done (pre tax and benefits) since then. Because what has been happening to inflation - its fall to a low of 0.3% in January - makes the 3% increase better than a poke in the eye. The more important point perhaps is that the price of essential goods - those all of us have to buy, whether we like it or not - has been falling sharply. So in January the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks dropped at an annual rate of 2.5%, which is the lowest since the beginning of 1997 (when the relevant data was first collected). The cost of transport fell at an annual rate of 2.8%, reflecting the collapse in the oil price, which was again a record low. There was a modest monthly fall in gas and electricity prices, but a handsome 3.7% month-on-month drop in the price of clothes and shoes. So unless inflation were suddenly to let rip between now and October 2015, which is when the new minimum wage is introduced, the 3% increment should be worth at least 3% in real terms, when adjusted for the inflation - or in this case the deflation - that applies to the goods which those with least resources spend most of their money on. With an important exception of course - there is still inflation of 3.3% in cigarettes and booze - though this too has been falling (from 5% in December). And although the Bank of England expects inflation to bump along near 0% for most of this year, it does expect prices to start rising again very gently come the autumn, when the pay rise is actually handed over. Also there is of course one really important area of the living costs of all of us, including the poorest, where inflation remains excessive, namely the cost of a home. So many would argue that if any British government really wanted to address poverty and the most grotesque forms of inequality, much more would need to be done to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Memorial services have been held at Southwark Cathedral to mark the second anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack.
Eight people were killed and 48 seriously injured when three men drove into pedestrians before stabbing people in Borough Market on 3 June 2017. An evensong began at 17:30 BST while a special prayer service finished at 22:16 - the time the attack ended. An inquest into the eight deaths has been adjourned until Tuesday. Xavier Thomas, 45, Christine Archibald, 30, Sara Zelenak, 21, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, Kirsty Boden, 28, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39, were all killed in the attack. The Old Bailey inquest into their deaths is on its 19th day of live evidence. It has heard the attackers stalked people like "predators" and 12-inch pink kitchen knives which had been bought from a Lidl supermarket weeks earlier were used during the attack. Lawyers representing several victims' families also told the inquest there were "opportunities galore" to identify that the London Bridge extremists were plotting an attack. Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba were shot by armed police at Borough Market during their rampage. PC Wayne Marques, who confronted the three attackers with only his baton to protect him, gave a reading at evensong. He was temporarily blinded in one eye as the three attackers slashed at him with their knives. A tree has been planted in the churchyard using compost created from floral tributes laid on London Bridge in the aftermath of the attack. The later prayer service got under way at 21:58, the time the attack began, and concluded with a moment of silence at 22:16. Borough Market traders marked the anniversary with flags flying at half-mast. The mayor of London said the anniversary would be "no less difficult" for those affected. "Our thoughts are with the victims' families and all those who were injured," Sadiq Khan said. Emergency services including the Met Police have also paid tribute to those who died, as well as recalling "the bravery of the officers and the public who confronted danger".
Russia's government and entrepreneurs have taken steps to improve the country's global image as a reliable business partner, but some recent events must have given them a headache.
By Konstantin RozhnovBusiness reporter, BBC News Russia, eager to position itself as a trusted exporter after its gas conflicts with Ukraine and Belarus, had to introduce a grain export ban because of a severe drought in the country. And while this setback could be blamed on nature, another story that is being closely followed by investors is entirely man-made. Two main shareholders in Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel and palladium producer, have been at war since June, when one of them, aluminium company Rusal, lost a seat on Norilsk's board. Rusal, the world's leading aluminium producer, is controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, once the richest man in Russia. The other main shareholder is Interros, which is also controlled by a prominent Russian billionaire, Vladimir Potanin. Rusal and Interros each hold a 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel, and Rusal accused Interros of gaining unfair influence in the company - something Interros and Norilsk's management strongly deny. Igor Repin, deputy head of the Investor Protection Association, believes that this conflict could potentially happen in any country. But, he adds, the main question is how fast and in what kind of manner it will be resolved. Need of investment Russia has the reputation of a country where investors' rights have been poorly protected. For years, the state has been seen as a force ready to intervene in almost any shareholder dispute in order to gain control over an attractive company or a project. For example, in 2006, Russian environmental officials said that the owners of the huge Sakhalin-2 integrated oil and gas project had violated a number of environmental regulations. Several months later, when Russian state monopoly Gazprom bought a controlling stake in the project from its shareholders - foreign companies Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi - the dispute was settled. In one of the most notorious cases of Russian state companies eventually taking over a private firm, oil giant Yukos was dismantled, while its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been behind bars since the end of 2003. Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Russian investment bank Uralsib, believes that Norilsk Nickel is one of the companies the state would love to add to "its list of national champions". But, he says, the situation is now different to how things were several years ago, as the government needs the investment money to finance its huge privatisation agenda if projects like "Russia's Silicon Valley" and economic diversification are to work. "It cannot afford another Sakhalin/Yukos, quite the opposite, it has to take great care to improve Russia's investment credentials," says Mr Weafer. "The government is now firmly on the side of minorities, albeit by default." 'Right and wrong' When it was announced in August that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would go to the northern Russian city of Norilsk, where Norilsk Nickel's largest operations are located, many experts were sure that the state was ready to intervene. The government was expected to become the third and decisive force in the company, not least because the city fully depends on the wellbeing of Norilsk Nickel and Russian officials have been eager to avoid any social unrest. But these expectations did not materialise. Instead, Mr Putin said at the meeting in Norilsk: "Shareholders, management and the government have been working on the company's problems and it seems to me there is some movement forward." Mikhail Khazin, president of the consulting firm Neoсon, believes that an important reason why the state has not intervened so far is "because it is not a situation when one side is clearly right and the other is clearly wrong, which was the case with Sakhalin and some other projects". Indeed, despite the earned reputation, the Russian government has not directly interfered with a number of other shareholder disputes. In 2008, oil giant BP and its Russian billionaire partners were at war in joint venture TNK-BP. Many experts expected the conflict to result in some form of nationalisation of the company. However, the battle ended with the resignation of TNK-BP boss Robert Dudley, who was accused by the Russian shareholders of favouring BP's interests. Meanwhile, both sides retained their stakes. Pragmatic solutions The Norilsk Nickel shareholders' conflict is not the only one in Russia. There have been similar ones in some other companies - from big telecom firms to supermarkets and shops. But this particular dispute is seen as the case that could help define "the rules of the game" in the market and create precedents to be used in future, because the two sides of the conflict are really big, says Mr Repin. He also says that the situation "shows the shortcomings we have in corporate governance". For example, in 2008, when Mr Deripaska's Rusal became a major shareholder in Norilsk Nickel, a shareholder agreement was struck between Rusal and Interros. Back then, Mr Repin explains, there was no law regulating this kind of deal. So, the shareholders were not able to dispute it in Russia, having to take it to London. Rusal now says that Interros has breached the part of the agreement in terms of the two sides' representation on Norilsk's board. Brook Horowitz, executive director for Russia at the International Business Leaders Forum, believes that the battle of the shareholders shows that Russia is in the middle of its business development. Indeed, in the 1990s a great number of Russian companies were the objects of conflicts between competing businessmen. Some of those conflicts even resulted in killings. "Now what we are seeing is a rather public debate, and it looks as though it will be resolved in due course," says Mr Horowitz. "Those kind of pragmatic solutions will be more and more common as Russia integrates with the global economy." For more about the Norilsk Nickel shareholders' conflict and the Russian economy watch Russia Business Report on BBC World News this weekend: on Saturday, 25 September at 0430 GMT and 1730 GMT and on Sunday, 26 September at 1030 GMT and 2330 GMT.
A dog walker accused of losing several pets in her care is to be prosecuted for animal welfare offences.
Louise Lawford is alleged to have been looking after at least five dogs when they went missing during a walk in woods in Staffordshire, in June. Owners said Mrs Lawford, who operated Pawford Paws in Sutton Coldfield, had not revealed what happened to the pets. The case, brought by Birmingham City Council, is due to be heard at the city magistrates' court on 23 January. Mrs Lawford, 49, from Erdington, is accused of nine animal welfare offences, including five counts of undertaking group walks without ensuring each dog had been vaccinated, allowing dogs off the lead without written consent and failing to contact the owners or dog warden immediately when dogs were lost. She is also accused of three counts of breaching conditions of the licence to operate a business providing home boarding for dogs and one further charge of failing to provide veterinary treatment for a skin infection for a dog. The council said Mrs Lawford's dog boarding licence was revoked on 28 June. It is claimed the dogs vanished in Hopwas Woods near Tamworth, on 23 June. April Lock, who owned pugs Charlie and Ralph, said she was on holiday when Mrs Lawford contacted her about their disappearance. "I thought originally maybe that they'd got stolen. She let us search for about two weeks," said Ms Lock. Ms Lock and two other pet owners whose dogs disappeared on the same day have been crowdfunding to take civil action against Mrs Lawson. West Midlands Police said it had investigated allegations of theft relating to the missing dogs but there was insufficient evidence to consider charges. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.
A suspect in the inquiry into the death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko has told the BBC he has not obtained permission to give evidence.
UK officials believe Dmitry Kovtun and another man, Andrei Lugovoi, poisoned Mr Litvinenko in 2006, which they deny. Mr Kovtun had been due to appear by videolink from Moscow on Monday, but said he had been unable to get permission from Russian authorities. Mr Litvinenko's family lawyer said it seemed the case was being manipulated. Sir Robert Owen, the chair of the inquiry, gave Mr Kovtun a deadline of 09:00 BST on Tuesday to begin giving evidence. Sensitive documents Mr Litvinenko, 43, had been an officer with the Federal Security Service - the successor to the KGB - but fled to Britain where he became a UK citizen and a fierce critic of the Kremlin. In 2006, during a meeting with Mr Kovtun and his co-accused Andrei Lugovoi, Mr Litvinenko drank tea containing a fatal dose of the radioactive substance polonium-210. Attempts to extradite Mr Kovtun and Mr Lugovoi have failed and they remain in Russia. Analysis: Richard Galpin, BBC world affairs correspondent Dmitry Kovtun - who told me in an interview earlier this year that he had once been a member of the Russian army intelligence corps - had claimed he wanted to testify at the inquiry to refute much of the evidence linking him and the other chief suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, to the fatal poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. He also said he wanted to get access to the key documents which are made available to all core participants. Sources close to the inquiry say Mr Kovtun will have been able to see sensitive documents, including some which have not been made public. It's not clear yet how significant this could be, but it had been one of the main concerns about letting Mr Kovtun become a core participant. There are also fears that if he ignores his last opportunity to give evidence on Tuesday morning, he will try to argue that he's been denied the chance to defend himself because of circumstances beyond his control. And there could then be attempts to question the legitimacy of the inquiry. Mr Kovtun originally refused to take part in the inquiry, but changed his mind in March. Speaking to the BBC in Moscow on Monday, the former Soviet army officer said he needed permission because testifying would risk violating an obligation of confidentiality to a Russian investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death. He said he had been unable to contact the relevant Russian investigator. "Even if the investigator, who I have not been able to reach, gave me permission, he would still have to make a decision on how much information I could disclose," he added. Mr Kovtun dismissed any suggestion that he was never serious about giving evidence. He said that if British authorities contacted investigators in Moscow on his behalf, they could still get permission for him to testify at a later date. But the BBC's Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford said that seemed unlikely. 'Proceedings manipulated' Sir Robert, referring to details of developments outlined by inquiry counsel Robin Tam QC, told the Royal Courts of Justice: "The facts as you have outlined them give rise in my mind to the gravest suspicion that an attempt is being made to manipulate the situation, so as to enable him [Mr Kovtun] hereafter to assert that he would have been willing to give evidence to assist me in this inquiry, but has been unable to do so for reasons beyond his control." Ben Emmerson QC, who represents the Litvinenko family, said: "I can only endorse your concerns that it appears that these proceedings are being manipulated in a co-ordinated way between Mr Kovtun... and the Russian state that sent him... a continuation of a collaboration that began in 2006. "That said, we endorse your view that there should be no place left for Mr Kovtun or his masters in the Kremlin to hide behind procedural limitations as an excuse." On Friday, the Royal Courts of Justice in London heard Mr Kovtun had emailed to say he felt bound by obligations of confidentiality. Richard Horwell QC, for the Metropolitan Police, said Mr Kovtun's actions did not come as "any surprise". "It appears Kovtun's request to give evidence was nothing more than an attempt to become a core participant and obtain as much information about these proceedings as he could," he said. Mr Kovtun denied that claim on Monday. The Litvinenko case Who was Alexander Litvinenko?
Scotland's first minister has said she does not want to see people being "intimidated" into returning to workplaces before it is safe to do.
Nicola Sturgeon said her government had been holding talks with business leaders about the possibility of a phased return to office working. But she said it was still too soon for everyone to return to normal without the virus spreading. She said no one should face the threat of redundancy for working from home. Ms Sturgeon was speaking after the UK government announced that a campaign encouraging people to go back to their workplaces in England will start next week. The campaign will see employers asked to reassure staff that it is safe to return by highlighting measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, Whitehall sources have insisted that the campaign will not suggest those who continue to work from home are at any greater risk of losing their jobs. And the UK government's transport secretary, Grant Shapps, stressed that people should only return to work if it was safe to do so, and said he believed there would be more flexible working in the future. Business leaders have warned that city centres have been damaged by people staying away from offices. But research carried out by academics in Cardiff and Southampton has suggested that about 90% of people who have worked from home during the lockdown want to continue doing so. Ms Sturgeon said a return to office working in Scotland would be a decision for the Scottish government to take as part of its route map out of lockdown. She stressed that she wanted things to return to normal as quickly as possible - but said there was also potentially an "opportunity" for people to continue working flexibly to improve their work-life balance. The first minister said the economy secretary had been holding talks with the Chambers of Commerce this week about the possibility of a phased return to offices while "supporting workers working from home". But she stressed that this had to be done alongside ensuring that the virus continues to be suppressed, and that everything returning to normal would currently create "too high a risk of the virus spreading very quickly". She added: "That would compromise our route out of lockdown, and perhaps take us backwards, and it would also significantly compromise the ability to keep schools safely open". 'Redundant or sacked' Ms Sturgeon went on to warn: "I will not countenance in Scotland any kind of narrative around this that is seeking to almost intimidate people back to work before, as a country, we have taken the decision that it is safe. "People should not be told that if you don't get back to work in an office right now, if you're still working from home, you may be at greater risk of being made redundant or sacked. "I don't think that is the kind of approach that we want to take here." Ms Sturgeon also confirmed a £59m package of support for the culture and heritage sectors, which comes from the £97m given to the Scottish government through the Barnett formula. Theatres, galleries, comedy clubs, music venues and nightclubs are among the groups eligible for the new fund, with information on how to apply to be released next week. The announcement follows claims that the Scottish government has unfairly championed "elite" cultural organisations at the expense of nightclubs, pubs and grassroots music venues.
Three thousand tax workers in Wales are staging a one-day strike over plans to close four tax offices and 20 enquiry centres.
Hundreds of jobs will be lost leaving the remaining staff unable to cope with the workload, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) claimed. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said growing use of online services reduced the need for offices. A new phone-based service would replace the enquiry centre network, it added. The walkouts in Wales and north west England - where 8,500 staff are expected to strike - will end a week of rolling strikes by PCS which have hit tax offices across the UK. 'Valuable assistance' The union claimed HMRC had already cut more than 30,000 posts in the last decade and planned to cut thousands more across the UK by next year. Margaret Davies, secretary of the union's HMRC south Wales branch, said: "A decade of cuts has left the department unable to cope with its crucial job of collecting the taxes that fund the public services we all rely on. "And in closing all its enquiry centres, the department is taking away a service that provides valuable assistance to the public with their tax questions and problems." HMRC announced in November it was closing 21 tax offices across the UK including sites in Carmarthen, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil and Pembroke Dock, with 259 jobs going in Wales. In February HMRC said it was replacing its network of 281 walk-in enquiry centres - 20 of them in Wales - with a telephone-based service, saving £27m a year. A spokesperson said the total number of jobs under threat could not be confirmed as many affected staff were being offered redeployment, and there were plans to hire 210 people in Cardiff in an expansion of work tackling error and fraud. HMRC was committed to providing a service to customers during the planned strike, the spokesperson added.
Spain is close to passing the worst of its coronavirus outbreak, the prime minister said, as the Spanish parliament approved a 15-day extension to the national state of emergency.
"The fire starts to come under control," PM Pedro Sánchez told MPs in Madrid, saying the country would have “total victory” over the virus. Spain has Europe's highest number of confirmed cases, with 152,446. As of Thursday, the country has reported 15,238 deaths. Mr Sánchez is the latest European leader to suggest the situation may be stabilising. His comments came ahead of news that EU finance ministers had agreed a €500bn (£440bn; $546bn) rescue package for European countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The deal, reached after marathon discussions in Brussels that began on Tuesday, was announced by the chairman of the Eurogroup finance ministers, Mário Centeno. The French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, said the agreement was the most important economic plan in EU history. The ministers fell short of accepting a demand by France and Italy to share out the cost of the crisis by issuing so-called "corona bonds" (or eurobonds) - mutualised debt that all EU nations help to pay off. On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country rejected a plan to share out coronavirus-incurred debt in the form of "coronabonds" (or eurobonds) - mutualised debt that all EU nations help to pay off. "You know that I don't believe we should have common debt because of the situation of our political union and that's why we reject this... but there are so many ways to show solidarity and I believe we will find a good solution," she said. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte earlier told the BBC: "If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real." What’s the latest in Spain? According to latest data from the past 24 hours, Spain has recorded 683 deaths – a drop from the 757 reported on Wednesday. Total confirmed cases now stand at 152,446, and Spain has now reported the second-highest number worldwide after the US, which has more than 400,000. On Thursday, Spanish lawmakers participated remotely in a parliamentary debate before agreeing hours later to extend the country's state of emergency until 26 April, keeping people at home for a further two weeks. Spain has imposed some of the strictest measures in Europe. But Mr Sánchez said they had helped drastically cut the infection rate. Europe is still the region hardest-hit by the outbreak worldwide, suffering the majority of deaths and confirmed cases. How will lockdown be relaxed after Easter? Countries across the continent are, however, moving towards a gradual easing of lockdown measures, and leaders have begun to sound more positive in recent days. Small, non-essential shops are set to open in Austria and Czech Republic next week. Denmark’s schools and kindergartens will reopen on 15 April, and Norway’s on 20 April. In Germany, health minister Jens Spahn suggested on Thursday there could be “a gradual return to normality” after Easter if the current positive trend in numbers continues. Switzerland’s daily death tolls have decreased for almost a week, while Belgium has for the first time recorded a drop in the number of people being treated in hospital for the virus. Italy, which has the highest death toll worldwide, is also considering how to ease its restrictions. The infection rate there has slowed significantly from the peak of the outbreak, although Mr Conte warned the country still needed to be cautious. "We need to pick sectors that can restart their activity. If scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month,” he said. There are widespread concerns, however, about the Easter weekend, when people usually travel to see loved ones. Many countries have launched campaigns appealing for people to stay at home over the long weekend. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said nice weather was no excuse for gatherings, and said the situation remains “dangerous and deceptive, because the virus has not yet been defeated”. Portugal has tightened lockdown measures for Easter, with a ban on people leaving their local area without official documentation. Prime Minister António Costa has, however, suggested schools could reopen on 4 May.
Northern Ireland's oldest cinema is celebrating its 85th birthday.
The Strand, in east Belfast, a relic from the golden age of cinema in the city, was opened on 7 December 1935 by the Union Cinemas chain. It was once among 40 similar picture palaces in Belfast but is now the last pre-World War Two example in operation. While NI cinemas are closed due to coronavirus restrictions, the Strand is marking its anniversary by asking its patrons to share memories online. Its chief executive, Mimi Turtle, told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that many of the cinema's older patrons have migrated from Belfast picture houses no longer in existence. "We do a lot of work with seniors and it's wonderful to hear their stories," she said. "A lot of them have come from different picture houses which had all the same features and visiting the Strand brings all their memories flooding back." The building's Art Deco design, with an exterior curved like the bow of a ship, was heavily influenced by the nearby Harland and Wolff shipyard. Inside, backlit portholes and curved walls in the 1,170-seater auditorium gave audiences the impression of sitting in an ocean liner. Film critic Helen O'Hara says the cinema has always been central to the community in east Belfast. "It's so important to have cinemas like this in the community, putting on fantastic films for such a long time and being a hub for people to come to again and again," she said. "It's wonderful." The first film shown at the Strand in 1935 was the Shirley Temple film Bright Eyes. The most popular was 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby, which was screened for a total of 26 weeks. Now operating as a not-for-profit charity, it is hoped a planned £4.6m renovation to improve facilities and disabled access will secure the historic building's future for generations to come.
"Hello, it's Beck..," drawls a Southern Californian voice down the phone from a hotel room somewhere in leafy Kent.
By Paul GlynnBBC Music Having shaken off the LA jetlag that threatened to ruin a joyous secret gig near London Bridge on Sunday night, the 47-year-old is on fine form ahead of his appearance on Later... with Jools and happy to look back and laugh about Kanye West interrupting his Grammy Award acceptance speech. The rapper famously stormed the stage in 2015 after Beck's last record, Morning Phase, pipped Beyonce's self-titled one to best album, adding later that "Beck needs to respect artistry." Beck Hansen - to give him his full name - is in an elite club of only two singing stars who have suffered at the hands of a Kanye awards bash tantrum, along with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs. But that's no reason why the three of them can't be friends or even work together in the future, right? "Yeah, I don't know - maybe!" he jokes. "It's the music business. You're walking right into centre of the whole thing - it's a circus. "We were laughing about it. She'd had dinner with Kanye after the Grammys thing happened and Morning Phase came on in the restaurant they were in and he stopped the conversation and said: 'What is this? This is good.' She was smiling and said: 'This is Morning Phase!'. "So even when he went on that whole thing I didn't take it personal... Ultimately he had let me know that he liked the record." Beck will be seeing a few more "friends" at a second surprise London gig in Camden on Thursday ahead of the release of follow-up album Colors on Friday. But before that he takes time out to talk Kanye/Taylor and how completing his "painstaking" new LP was "like finishing a marathon", plus why on earth MC Hammer is signing copies for him. He also reveals what it was like touring with the huge but friendly U2 "machine" and what "a thrill" it has been to see album co-writer/producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher) "gently take over the world!" That was a great secret show on Sunday, despite you saying the band were all jet-lagged at the start. Thank you very much, it was a great night. The crowd helped us, we couldn't have had a better crowd. You've announced another one for Thursday night. Do you like keeping secrets and pulling surprises? We were originally just coming here to do some TV and radio but I insisted on playing. We haven't played here in over a year and it just doesn't feel like we can come here without playing a gig. It's like visiting your friends. How was the reaction to new stuff? I was surprised, it was great. They were singing the backing vocals! One of the songs on the new record, there's a part where there aren't enough of us in the band to sing the backing vocals and the crowd just starting doing it - it was beautiful. You covered Gary Numan and The Clash at the gig, plus you perform on the same bill as Robert Plant on the Jools Holland show. Do these classic British artists hold a special place in your heart? Absolutely. They're so formative, for myself, the people in my band, everyone I grew up with. We were completely influenced by the 60s and 80s waves of British (and Irish) musicians. We even just toured with U2 so that influence is still there. Tell us about touring with Bono and the guys. It was a great experience, the audiences couldn't be more warm. It was interesting because there was a more elevated feeling of people being passionate about being there and wanting to engage with the music. The band and their crew are incredibly kind, thoughtful, warm and generous and the doors are open and they want to hang out and engage. Everyone is working hard and there's lots of commotion but it's very calm and very friendly. For such a huge machine it was striking how human and open and relaxed it was. You've had another musical legend, MC Hammer, signing copies of your new album. He's calling it a 'great party record'. I think it's great to have him christen the record. We're label mates now. I met him last year at the celebration of the anniversary of Capital Records in Hollywood. It was actually an idea of a friend of mine at the label. There's a scene in Step Brothers where he gets somebody to sign a samurai sword and he's like, 'Why did you get him to sign the samurai sword?' and he says: 'It's the only thing we had!'. How important is the whole packaging and promotion of the modern album to you? For better or worse I'm involved in the whole thing. I'd love nothing more than to call someone up and say: 'Hey, can you throw something together and make it great? Or I'll just come by and maybe sing a little something'. I'm more of a hands-on artist in every way. I have a lot of talented people and musicians I get to work with. Like Greg Kurstin, who wrote and produced the record with me - he's now a storied producer. He was touring with me maybe 15 years ago and we've been in bands together for years. I wanted to make a record in the spirit of the songwriting team. The more I look back on it, my favourite songs are from bands that had two great songwriters in them. I was trying to create a version of that for myself. But we're all like family and it's been a thrill for me to watch Greg gently take over the world! The last album Morning Phase won the Grammy. How do you top that? Well, this record started before the last one came out. We wrote the songs in 2013/14, so my idea at the time was to make a record that was very up and had a lot of light in it and positive feeling. I'd been for many years making much more experimental, abstract, darker, moodier music. I guess a lot has changed during that time, particularly in America. Does this record reflect that? Not really. These songs were already set in stone, long before the secretion of unfortunate events and tragedies - it's a truly tumultuous time. But I don't think these songs reflect that at all. This is just the record I wanted to make five years ago, it's not really a reaction to anything. Is it a relief now that it's finally coming out? More like a collapse! Like the finish line at the marathon. I can't feel my legs! But I've been juggling a lot of things. We've been touring constantly. I've been collaborating with The Chemicals and Flume and helping other people write. I worked on the Pink and Lady Gaga records. All kinds of things. Like I did a charity thing with McCartney. It's been an amazing period of time where these opportunities are coming up - so I've been trying to juggle it but keep my eye on the record. What are your feelings now looking back on 'that' Grammy Awards night in 2015? It was such a mixture of shock and amazement. For me the joy was watching all the people that I've worked with for so long all get to share in this victory; the musicians who played with me all these years, the engineers that I've spent 15,000 hours with trying to find this unachievable sound. Then externally there was this circus of media and the things that Kanye was saying and Beyonce fans who were angry and that's something that you don't ask for. But it's like: 'What did you expect?'. Ha! You know, it's the music business. You're walking right into centre of the whole thing - it's a circus. Along with Taylor Swift, you're in an elite club of two people that Kanye has interrupted at big awards nights. Will we ever see the two - or all three of you - working together? Did someone say supergroup? Yeah, I don't know, maybe! We'll see. I actually performed with her. She invited me out to one of her concerts and we did one of my songs. We were laughing about it. She'd had dinner with Kanye after the Grammys thing happened and Morning Phase came on in the restaurant they were in and he stopped the conversation and said: 'What is this? This is good'. She was smiling and said: 'This is Morning Phase!'. So even when he went on that whole thing I didn't take it personal and he reached out after. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Ultimately he had let me know that he liked the record. Finally, can I ask you about the recent tragic shootings at a music festival in Las Vegas. Are you conscious of this while on stage yourself or do you have to block those things out? It's the last thing I'm thinking about on stage. But when I hear about it - it's all I'm thinking about. Because that's my work environment, as a musician you can put yourself there and it's horrible. Any of these shootings, whether at a concert or an airport, it's unfortunately the world we live in and you have to keep living and engaging. Starting with Later with...Jools? Yeah, we've done it several times and there's nothing like it. The novelty of sharing a stage with all the other musicians. It's funny and also just a humbling appreciation of all the talent there. Colors is out on Friday and you can watch Beck's appearance on Later... with Jools on BBC Two on Saturday at 22.30 BST. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
There is less than a week to go until the capital sees the introduction of the Toxicity charge (T-charge) where older, more polluting vehicles will have to pay to enter central London.
By Tom EdwardsTransport correspondent, London It is the brainchild of London Mayor Sadiq Khan who has made it his aim to clean up the city's air. London is again at the forefront of congestion and pollution controls. The Congestion Charge and Low Emission Zone are already in place but the T-charge is one of the most radical pollution measures this country has ever seen. So what is it? From Monday 23 October, there will be a £10 fee for those who drive more polluting vehicles. Heavy polluting vehicles will have to pay if they enter the congestion charging zone of central London - and this is on top of the £11.50 congestion charge. The zone will operate between 07:00 to 18:00 - Monday to Friday. Nearly all vehicles will have to comply with what is called the Euro IV exhaust standard or pay the charge. That standard defines the acceptable limits for emissions and covers cars, vans, buses, coaches and lorries. That's roughly vehicles registered before 2006 . You can check if you will have to pay by clicking here:. While air quality campaigners have welcomed the plan and say it is about time London's toxic air is cleaned up - it will not be universally welcomed. Sue Terpilowski, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "The introduction of the T-charge, comes at a time when small and micro-businesses in London are already facing astonishingly high property, employment and logistics costs and there is a fear that this will be the final straw that closes businesses and takes jobs." And this is just the beginning as the pollution controls in London will gradually be tightened. The T-charge will only be in force until the Ultra Low Emission Zone (uLEZ) is introduced. That starts in 2019 also initially covering the same area. But the crucial thing to remember is, that the plan is to expand the boundaries of the uLEZ and to include even more vehicles by ramping up the exhaust emission standards. So the T-charge is really just the beginning.
Visitors to an air festival were greeted by the additional spectacle of a large fire on top of a nearby cliff.
Firefighters tackled the blaze which broke out on the Undercliff at Bournemouth, near the East Cliff lift. Bournemouth Air Festival organisers urged people to avoid the area, where heathland and trees were alight. Dorset Fire & Rescue Service was called at about 17:45 BST and sent five fire engines and a water carrier to the scene. The fire was put out shortly before 19:30, organisers said. It is the first day of the four-day air festival, which has been running since 2008. The 2019 event's schedule includes a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RN Black Cat Helicopter Display Team, the Tigers Freefall Parachute Display Team, and night air displays.
When a Swansea primary school began to teach pupils about their human rights, several children told teachers they did not feel safe at home.
Rachael Webb, headmistress of Hafod Primary school, said it led to the involvement of the authorities. "It does make children think about how they should be treated," she said. The Wales' Children's Commissioner Prof Sally Holland has called for a legal obligation on schools to educate children about their rights. The Welsh Government said the new curriculum, which will be rolled out in 2022, would ensure children understand the issues. Prof Holland warned some schools are not doing enough to support children's rights. The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child includes a right to have a say in decision-making, a right to be safe from abuse and neglect, and a right to an education. Ms Webb introduced the UN convention into Hafod primary school's ethos 12 years ago. "Some years ago we had children who were learning about their rights come to us and say they didn't feel safe, not only in the home but in the community as well. [There were] massive implications for the children, to know they were listened to, and there was action." She added that children's rights are now "very well understood" in the local community. "Thankfully we've not had anything [like that] for six to seven years." The school puts an emphasis on listening to children - with "worry boxes" dotted around the school where children can post their concerns - but they also teach pupils about their responsibilities to other children. "You have to make it easy for them to understand. So for example the children's right to have an education… means all children should behave in class. They shouldn't disturb other children - [otherwise] they are taking away their rights to have an education and to listen to the teacher." Each class has a "charter" based on the convention, and Ms Webb said their approach also helped make children aware of how others are living around the world. Inconsistency Professor Holland said many schools already do a "fantastic job" of making sure children know about their rights. "But that is not consistent right across Wales," she said. She said she wanted children's rights to be put on a legal footing as part of the new curriculum. "[Otherwise] we can't ensure that every child in Wales gets the chance to learn about their rights and to experience their rights." "Sometimes schools have policies that aren't great really in terms of supporting children's rights. They may be super-strict policies for example that don't pay attention to children's home circumstances and why it's hard for them to come in a clean tidy uniform every day for example." "This isn't just another topic to be ticked off for children to learn… it's much more about their fundamental experience throughout their time in school." A Welsh Government spokesman said the commissioner was welcome to take part in the consultation. "The new curriculum will ensure that learners have opportunities to understand and exercise their human and democratic rights - helping them to become ethical, informed citizens," he added.
The creation of a 3D virtual model of the Flow Country has been proposed to help people better understand Europe's biggest blanket bog.
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), which is part of a project to restore large areas of the peatland, said the model could form part of a new website. The Flow Country stretches across Caithness and Sutherland and involves about 494,210 acres (200,000ha). As well as the 3D model, a documentary film has also been suggested. Last summer, the Peatlands Partnership began Flow to the Future, a five-year £10.5m Heritage Lottery-funded project to restore hundreds of acres of peatland. The partnership comprises SNH, Forestry Commission Scotland, Highland Council, RSPB Scotland, Plantlife International, the Environmental Research Institute UHI, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Flow Country Rivers Trust, The Northern Deer Management Group, Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) Ltd., and The Highland Third Sector Interface. Commercial forestry is being felled and ditches blocked to waterlog large areas of peat, which is a natural store of carbon and provides habitat to a range of wildlife. SNH has used online technology before to provide the public with an interactive experience of Scotland's environment. Virtual experiences of Loch Sunart Special Area of Conservation, Sound of Barra and the Small Isles were created between 2011 and last year. The project was inspired by how Cbeebies' series Octonauts was encouraging children to become interested in marine wildlife.
How do you stop a great white shark, a creature that can grow up to six metres in length and weigh more than a tonne?
It is a question that has dogged authorities in those countries where people suffer attacks by sharks (great white and others). Attacks continue to happen, and as long as they do, so will the calls for preventative measures. In the latest case, Laeticia Brouwer, 17, was fatally attacked by a shark on Monday while surfing off Western Australia. In response, Australia's Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has said he would consider new proposals, including culling, adding that the government "would welcome any proposal to put human life first". On Thursday, the Senate environmental committee will hold a hearing - already planned before Laeticia Brouwer's death - on shark mitigation strategies. But what are the possible solutions? Do they make sense? And are shark attacks a big enough problem to warrant such measures? The possible solutions 1) Shark shields A shark shield is a device that lets out an electromagnetic pulse to deter sharks, and the Western Australia (WA) government has proposed offering a subsidy of A$200 (£117; $150) to anyone wanting to buy one (this is roughly equivalent to a third of the cost of the device). On the other hand, the WA opposition says shields would remain prohibitively expensive to most people, even with a discount. The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute has been tasked with testing different shark deterrents by Australia's federal government. Speaking to media on Wednesday, Prof Shaun Collin, the institute's director, said a shark shield proved to be an effective deterrent in 400 tests of an "investigative" shark attack - in which the shark approaches prey to assess what it is. However, he said the shields proved ineffective in "ambush" attacks, in which the shark swims at speed from deep on seeing a silhouette - possibly of a surfer. Can science stop sharks attacking humans? 2) Shark nets A shark net is stretched through the water to try and separate swimmers and surfers from what may try and approach them. They are not new at all, having been used across Australia for decades. The New South Wales government ran a trial with a net from 2015-16 and, in one aspect, it proved successful - it caught 133 sharks in that time. The down side? A government report showed 615 other marine animals were caught, including 90 threatened or protected species. Close to half of them died after being caught in the netting. The nets have been called cruel by campaigners, and have been cut by activists. Why the jump in NSW shark attacks? 3) Drum lines and culling This method, too, has been attacked as cruel - it is a baited hook suspended underwater and tied to a float on the surface of the water. It is also anchored to the sea bed, meaning the shark has nowhere to go once it has taken the bait. Larger sharks are often shot; smaller ones released. It was a policy pushed in Western Australia under the state's previous government and has been used in other Australian states. There was some controversy that drum lines were not put in place on the beach where Laeticia Brouwer died. But many also question their effectiveness - including the government now in place in WA. On Tuesday, the state's Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly told ABC: "We made it clear in opposition that we don't see the merit in automatically deploying drum lines, because they don't actually make our beaches any safer. "We want to focus on individual shark deterrence, which can actually provide genuine protection for the people who are most at risk." The possibility of an active cull - not just killing sharks caught in drum lines - was one raised by Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday. And while Australia's government is committed to a programme of conserving shark populations, and proposals of culls are generally met with protests, there is some support for a targeted cull. An editorial in the centre-right The Australian newspaper by its surf writer, written after Laeticia Brouwer's death, said "our insane shark conservation policies have cost another life", adding that there was blood on the hands of the government. Shark cull divides a nation There are plenty of solutions on the table - but just how big a problem are shark attacks in Australia? When Laeticia Brouwer was attacked near Esperance on Monday, she became the 15th person to be killed by a shark in Western Australia since 2000, but the first in the country since June last year. The number of shark attacks in Australia - including fatal and non-fatal - has risen over the past century, but in a way that is consistent with how Australia's population has grown. But, as horrific as those incidents are for everyone affected, there is, on average, only one death due to a shark attack in Australia every year. The number of people killed by a shark in Australian waters has changed little over the years despite the country's population - and tourist numbers - booming. In 1950, when there were 8.3m people living in Australia, two people were killed by sharks. Last year, with a population of more than 24m, there were still only two fatalities. John G West, who runs the Australian Shark Attack File, which reports all attacks for the Taronga Conservation Society, says the chances of being killed by a shark now are much slimmer than in previous years. In a 2011 report, he said the number of attacks that were fatal fell from 45% in the 1930s to 10% in the decade leading up to 2011. But while human populations have grown, he points out that the number of sharks has fallen. One thing, though, seems sure. "Encounters with sharks, although a rare event, will continue to occur if humans continue to enter the ocean professionally or for recreational pursuit," Mr West writes.
Scientists have outlined how they managed to make the "wonder material" graphene using a kitchen blender.
Graphene is thin, strong, flexible and electrically conductive, and has the potential to transform electronics as well as other technologies. An Irish-UK team poured graphite powder (used in pencil leads) into a blender, then added water and dishwashing liquid, mixing at high speed. The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials. Because of its potential uses in industry, a number of researchers have been searching for ways to make defect-free graphene in large amounts. The material comprises a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. Graphite - mixed with clay to produce the lead in pencils - is effectively made up of many layers of graphene stacked on top of one another. Jonathan Coleman from Trinity College Dublin and colleagues tested out a variety of laboratory mixers as well as kitchen blenders as potential tools for manufacturing the wonder material. They showed that the shearing force generated by a rapidly rotating tool in solution was sufficiently intense to separate the layers of graphene that make up graphite flakes without damaging their two-dimensional structure. However, it's not advisable to try this at home. The precise amount of dishwashing fluid that's required is dependent on a number of different factors and the black solution containing graphene would need to be separated afterwards. But the researchers said their work "provides a significant step" towards deploying graphene in a variety of commercial applications. The scientists have been working with UK-based firm Thomas Swan to scale up the process, with the aim of building a pilot plant that could produce a kilo of graphene per day by the end of the year. In addition to its potential uses in electronics, graphene might have applications in water treatment, oil spill clean-up and even in the production of thinner condoms. In 2010, Manchester University researchers Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of graphene. They published details of their advance in the academic journal Science in 2004. They famously used sticky tape to peel off the layers of graphene from graphite. Graphene can currently be grown atom-by-atom via a process called chemical vapour deposition. However, while this can produce metre-scale sheets of graphene, they also contain defects which can inhibit their properties.
Too many teenagers and young adults are dying of some types of cancer, a Europe-wide report warns.
Their survival rates for cancers such as leukaemia are much lower than in younger children, says a report in the Lancet Oncology. The researchers suggest differences in tumours, delays in diagnosis and treatment and a lack of clinical trials for that age group are to blame. Cancer Research UK said it was crucial to find out what was going wrong. The study analysed data from 27 countries on nearly 57,000 childhood cancers and 312,000 cancers in teenagers and young adults. Overall, five-year survival rates were higher in teenagers and young adults at 82% compared with 79% in children. But those better prospects were largely driven by the older age-group getting cancers with a better prognosis. The overall rate concealed areas of concern where survival was "significantly worse" for eight cancers commonly found in both age groups. The five-year survival rates for: Dr Annalisa Trama, from The National Institute of Cancer in Milan, Italy said: "The good news is that the number of children, adolescents and young adults surviving for at least five years after diagnosis has risen steadily over time in Europe. "However, we found that adolescents and young adults still tend to die earlier than children for several cancers common to these age groups, particularly blood cancers." Dr Alan Worsley, from Cancer Research UK, said: "While it's great news that the number of children, teenagers and young adults surviving cancer continues to improve, it's also clear that for some cancers, survival in different age groups is improving faster than in others. "We need to find out whether adolescents are faring worse because of how their cancer is managed in the clinic or whether it's because the underlying biology is fundamentally different at these ages. "Answering these questions is a big part of the reason why we've launched the Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens campaign."
Some care home workers who test positive for coronavirus may have to continue working, according to new official guidance.
The guidance says infected staff should carry on with their work if not doing so would create an "unacceptable risk". But this should only be for the "absolute minimum period" necessary - no longer than the end of their shift. And it stresses that infected staff should only work with residents who are also known to have the virus. Nearly half of all coronavirus deaths in Scotland have been in care homes, with eight staff and more than 1,400 residents having died so far. The latest guidance from Health Protection Scotland was issued a week after draft guidance was published on the Scottish government website in error without being signed off by ministers. It says that some homes may face "unavoidable delays" in replacing staff who test positive for Covid-19, which could "create an unacceptable risk to safety of the care being provided." It adds: "If such a situation occurred, then any staff that had to continue working must only do so for the absolute minimum period (e.g. to complete a shift) pending their replacement." The guidance states that infected staff should continue to wear the appropriate protective equipment, and should maintain "appropriate social distancing" when their mask has to be removed. They should also eat and drink in a separate room - either alone or in the company of other infected staff. And the guidance goes on to say that infected staff should "avoid unnecessary casual contacts and observe appropriate social distancing when heading home, avoiding if possible or limiting the use of public transport." Speaking at her daily briefing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the guidance should only be followed "in extremis" and for a "very short period of time", and urged care homes to develop contingency plans to avoid infected staff having to keep working. She said: "This is about making sure that a care home is not left, even for a short period of time, without the right level of cover, because that would also pose a danger to residents in the care home. "This is not about taking unacceptable risks with people who have the virus." Ms Sturgeon also insisted that infected staff would not be providing direct clinical care to a resident - despite the guidance stating that they can "work with residents already known to be infected themselves." 'Isolate in a room' Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen said she hoped infected staff could be replaced on their shift in "minutes and hours", and that it would only apply to staff in a relatively small number of specific roles, such as a registered nurses. She said: "If you are a registered nurse and you're in charge of that shift for 12 hours in a care home which may be 10 miles from anywhere and you have a text or telephone call saying that you are positive, then that nurse cannot just walk out of the care home. "What I would expect them to do is go and isolate within a room until they have a relief coming to them." The new guidance also sets out rules for admitting hospital patients to care homes during the pandemic, and policies around the testing of staff and residents.
Japan's Olympics Minister Yoshitaka Sakurada has resigned over comments that offended people affected by a huge tsunami and earthquake in 2011.
At a fund-raising event, he suggested that backing the governing LDP member of parliament for the region was more important than its economic revival. It is not the first time Mr Sakurada has been forced to apologise. He said in February that he was disappointed by a Japanese swimmer's leukaemia diagnosis. He said he was worried that medal favourite Rikako Ikee's illness might dampen enthusiasm for next year's Olympics. Mr Sakurada also admitted last year to never having used a computer, despite being Japan's cyber security minister. After accepting Mr Sakurada's resignation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologised for appointing him. "I deeply apologise for his remark to the people in the disaster-hit areas," said Mr Abe. The 2011 tsunami left more than 20,000 dead and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Shunichi Suzuki, who had been Olympics minister before Mr Sakurada was appointed last October, will return to the post. In February Mr Sakurada had to make another apology, after arriving three minutes late to a parliamentary meeting. Opposition MPs said his poor timekeeping showed disrespect for his office and boycotted a meeting of the budget committee for five hours in protest. He also came under fire in 2016 for describing so-called comfort women forced to provide sexual services to Japanese war-time troops as "professional prostitutes".
Many countries whose fishing fleets catch large numbers of sharks have failed to meet a 10-year-old pledge on conserving the species, a report says .
By Richard BlackEnvironment correspondent, BBC News The wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic and the Pew Environment Group say most of the main shark fishing nations do not manage fisheries well. Ten years ago, governments agreed a global plan to conserve sharks. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year, with nearly a third of species at risk of extinction. Many fisheries target the fins for use in shark fin soup; and a number of countries, including the US, have recently passed measures aimed at regulating the trade. Neither of the two countries catching the most sharks - Indonesia and India - has yet finalised national plans of action for protecting sharks. This was one of the main recommendations of the 2001 agreement under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that sharks needed international management. Of the top 20 shark-catching nations, which collectively account for 80% of the global catch, only 13 have national plans in place. "The fate of the world's sharks is in the hands of the top 20 shark catchers, most of which have failed to demonstrate what, if anything, they are doing to save these imperilled species," said Glenn Sant, leader of Traffic's global marine programme. "They need to take action to stop the decline in shark populations, and help ensure that the list of species threatened by overfishing does not continue to grow." Sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because they live long lives and reproduce slowly. As well as intentional fishing, many are caught accidentally in large nets and on the hooks of longline boats targeting species such as tuna and marlin. Traffic and Pew are asking the FAO to review implementation of the 10-year-old agreement when it meets later this year. The 10 recommendations to governments agreed back in 2001 include identifying and protecting key habitat, ensuring catches are sustainable, and minimising waste and discards. Many sharks are top predators; and there is an abundance of biological evidence to show their removal can have major impacts on the rest of the ecosystem. "Where shark populations are healthy, marine life beneath the waves thrives; but where they have been overfished we see that world fall out of balance," said Jill Hepp, Pew's global shark conservation manager. "Shark-catching countries and entities must stand by their commitments and act now to conserve and protect these animals."
President Donald Trump has applauded the Bastille Day parade in Paris, where US and French troops marched together down the Champs-Élysées.
He was guest of honour as the annual parade this time marked 100 years since the Americans entered World War One. French President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing will ever separate" France and the US, and Mr Trump's presence showed "a friendship across the ages". Earlier Mr Macron stood in a military jeep and inspected the troops. He is now in Nice, attending a commemoration for last year's Bastille Day terrorist attack, in which a Tunisian-born man drove a huge lorry into a celebrating crowd on the beachfront, killing 86 people. At the start of the ceremony people were honoured for their heroism on the night. They included Franck Terrier, the man who drove his scooter alongside the speeding lorry and jumped on to its cab, punching the driver through the window in a desperate attempt to force him to stop. Mr Terrier was given a lengthy ovation and awarded the Légion d'honneur - France's highest order of merit. France remains under a state of emergency, following a spate of terror attacks by jihadists. In Paris earlier, President Trump and First Lady Melania warmly embraced their French counterparts - Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte. Mr Trump called Bastille Day "a wonderful national celebration". "Our two nations are forever joined together by the spirit of revolution and the fight for freedom," he said. Earlier, he suggested he could review his position on climate change, after Mr Macron argued in defence of the 2015 Paris accord. "Something could happen with respect to the Paris accord," Mr Trump said. "We'll see what happens." Last month he had said the US would withdraw from the Paris accord, citing moves to negotiate a new "fair" deal that would not disadvantage US businesses. On Thursday, Melania Trump toured Notre Dame cathedral with Brigitte Macron, and prayed before a statue of the Virgin Mary.
The Department of the Environment will confirm how it intends to deal with the controversial issue of sand dredging in Lough Neagh in "the next few days".
By Conor MacauleyBBC News NI Environment Correspondent Warning letters advising sand companies to stop were sent last September. The department says it has been gathering evidence of alleged breaches. It has emerged that departmental officials discussed using a helicopter at a cost of up to £540 an hour to observe the sand operation as part of that evidence-gathering. The companies were told to stop after it emerged in 2013 that sand extraction on the lough had no planning permission. Lough sand-dredging plan imminent The area is an important wildlife habitat protected by EU directives. Sand has been removed from the lough since the 1930s, and about 150 people are employed in the industry. Warning letters telling the dredgers to stop were issued in September 2014. Allegations were made that the work had continued. The advice to use a helicopter is in a briefing document prepared for Stormont Environment Minister Mark H Durkan and senior officials in February this year. It was drawn up by chief planning officer Fiona McCandless and the former head of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency Terry A'Hearn. 'Not forthcoming' In it they said evidence that work was continuing was "not considered an appropriate standard to confirm a breach". They advised that the department should begin its own investigations. They said information requested from the sand operators about the volume of sand being taken "had not been forthcoming". This made it impossible to do an environmental screening as required under European habitats regulations. Ms McCandless said in the absence of the information, the department should assess the impact of the dredging operation on the site "based on the information available" to it. Failure to act could be "could be legally construed as giving consent, permission or other authorisation," she said. The briefing note says that if a breach is confirmed, officials can begin enforcement action to ensure the work stops. Complaint Sand dredging could only resume if planning permission is then granted. DoE officials have been working with representatives of the sand dredgers since February 2014 to "seek regularisation of activities on the lough". Among the issues discussed are the details of a environmental statement that would accompany any planning application. The briefing documents says planners have been told an application "will not be submitted until the end of 2015 at the earliest". Green Party MLA Steven Agnew has raised a complaint under the EU regulations, demanding that the department moves immediately to stop the unauthorised activity. The Northern Ireland Audit Office has also begun its own review of a number of issues surrounding the sand extraction from Lough Neagh. It is looking at the environmental impact of the dredging; the enforcement around it; and tax exemptions available to the operators. Mr Durkan said in a statement: "In the time since the request to cease operations was issued, officials have, under my instruction, been gathering evidence of the level required, and I expect to be in a position to confirm how I will proceed in the next few days."
An eighth Harry Potter book is to be released this summer - containing the script for a new stage play telling the wizard's story.
A hardback edition of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II will be released on 31 July, the day after the play has debuted on stage. It sees Harry as a father and an overworked Ministry of Magic employee. The play is from an original new story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will tell the "untold part" of the boy wizard's story, including the story of the lives of his murdered parents, Rowling has said. It will pick up the story 19 years after Harry was last seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, waving his two eldest children off to Hogwarts. Fan appeals The script's ebook will be published simultaneously with the print editions. David Shelley, chief executive of the publishers Little, Brown Book Group said: "We are so thrilled to be publishing the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. "JK Rowling and her team have received a huge number of appeals from fans who can't be in London to see the play and who would like to read the play in book format - and so we are absolutely delighted to be able to make it available for them." The special rehearsal edition of the script book will comprise the version of the play early in the production's preview period and is therefore subject to being changed before the official opening. Previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begin in May at London's Palace Theatre, with both plays set to open on 30 July. The hardback and ebook will go on sale at 0001 on 31 July. Jamie Parker, currently starring in the West End show Guys and Dolls, will star as an adult Harry in the production. Noma Dumezweni, known for her 2006 Olivier Award-winning role in A Raisin in the Sun and for stepping in at the last minute to replace Kim Cattrall in Linda at the Royal Court, will play Hermione Granger. London Road star Paul Thornley will play Ron Weasley. The play was first announced in December 2013, after the author said she had "received countless approaches" over the years "about turning Harry Potter into a theatrical production".
A Royal Commission will be needed if politicians cannot "get to grips" with political and electoral reform by next year, Jersey's chief minister has said.
Previous attempts at reform, including a referendum, have all been rejected. Senator Ian Gorst said if Senator Philip Ozouf's reform proposals were not approved, such as larger voting districts, a commission was one option. The last Jersey Royal Commission - also on electoral reform - was called by the Privy Council in 1861. The States of Jersey government currently has 51 politicians - 10 senators elected island-wide, 12 constables with one elected from each of the 12 parishes and 29 deputies elected from 17 different constituencies. Mr Ozouf has proposed reducing the States members from 51 to 44, scrapping the role of senator and introducing larger voting districts. As a Crown dependency, Jersey could request a Royal Commission to investigate independently and make its recommendations. The last one - in 1861 - was also on the issue of government reform. Senator Gorst said the public wanted electoral reform and the government had to "get to grips" with the issue. "The States need to make a decision that it is prepared to reform itself because if it isn't and if it doesn't there are not many options left to us other than a Royal Commission," he added.
Coca-Cola will adopt government recommendations and introduce traffic light nutrition labels on the front of its cans and bottles.
It had previously rejected the plans. The colour-coded labels will show nutritional content in each container and percentage guidelines for daily consumption of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories. Coca-Cola said that it had changed its stance after "having gauged British consumers' views on the scheme". The voluntary traffic light labelling programme was introduced in July last year, with all major supermarkets agreeing to the plans. Coca-Cola and Cadbury had publicly rejected the new system. Jon Woods, general manager of Coca‑Cola UK & Ireland, said: "We have monitored the labelling scheme since it started to appear in-store and asked shoppers in Great Britain for their views. "They told us they want a single, consistent labelling scheme across all food and drink products to help them make the right choices for them and their families. "That is why we have decided to adopt it across our full range of brands." 'Clear information' The UK government has welcomed the news. Jane Ellison, parliamentary under-secretary of state for Public Health, said: "I am delighted that Coca‑Cola Great Britain has adopted this government's voluntary front of pack labelling scheme. "It will help consumers make informed choices and lead a healthier lifestyle. "We want all businesses to give people clear and consistent information about their food and drink." Coca Cola UK has 23 brands in Great Britain including, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes and Dr Pepper. The company says all its major brands have a low or no calorie option and Diet Coke and Coca‑Cola Zero make up more than 40% of its UK sales. The colour coded labels will appear on packs in-store within the first half of next year.
The first women of colour have been elected to the Scottish Parliament in its 22-year history.
Kaukab Stewart of the SNP was elected to represent the Glasgow Kelvin constituency. And Pam Gosal is now a Conservative MSP for the West of Scotland region. Prior to the 2021 election campaign, there had been a total of four MSPs from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds - all of them men of Scots-Pakistani heritage. Ms Stewart has run for election five times having been a campaigner for more than 20 years. The 53-year-old teacher takes over the Glasgow Kelvin constituency seat from the party's Sandra White, winning with a majority of 5,458 over the Greens. She thanked voters, saying it was "an honour" to be the first woman of colour to become an MSP. Giving her acceptance speech, Ms Stewart, who is also the first Muslim woman to be elected in Holyrood, said: "It has taken too long but to all women and girls of colour out there - the Scottish Parliament belongs to you too. "So whilst I may be the first I will not be the last. "I intend to be a voice for every single person in Kelvin that I've been elected to represent. Whether you voted for me or not, please know my door will always be open." Arriving at the Glasgow count, Nicola Sturgeon said she was "thrilled beyond words". "It has taken us far too long, more than 20 years. Party politics aside this is a really special and significant moment for Scotland," she said. Later on Saturday, Ms Gosal was elected as a Conservative MSP via the West of Scotland list. She said it was a "privilege" and a "great honour" to be the first female MSP elected to the Scottish Parliament from an Indian Sikh background. "We have certainly made history," she said. The businesswoman thanked all those who had supported her, and said she could not wait to get to work. "I hope I do you all proud," she added. Charandeep Singh, director of Sikhs in Scotland, said it was a "monumental moment in Scottish Sikh history". "Sikhs have been in Scotland for over 100 years and it has been a long wait to see diverse representation in the national parliament." Ms Gosal has previously spoken to the BBC about experiencing racist abuse throughout her life - but has said it will never stop her. "I remember what mum and dad had told us: 'Just put your head down and walk past, and don't give them eye contact'," she says. Offensive comments on social media platforms are something she has learned to deal with. "Go back to your country" was a recent one, she said. "I was born in Scotland so I don't know what they were talking about," she added. Passion for politics Ms Stewart earlier told the BBC of her passion for politics when she stood for election in 1999 against Scotland's first First Minister Donald Dewar. "The SNP was very different in those days," she said. "We didn't expect to win, let's face it, however it did get me fired up - and that fire has continued burning for all these decades. Many considered the Glasgow Kelvin seat to be a two-horse race between Ms Stewart and Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie, who was bidding to be the first ever Green candidate to win a constituency seat in Scotland. Ms Stewart said her victory had been a "long time coming". She said: "I can't believe we're in the day that we are and it hasn't happened. I do think it is a wee bit of a failure of all political parties." Humza Yousaf - who is one of the four men of Scots-Pakistani heritage - said that a record of "no black MSP ever, no female BAME MSP ever" was "frankly a failure of all of us, regardless of party". In February Labour's Anas Sarwar became the first non-white leader of a major political party in the UK, and referenced "rising injustice, inequality and division" in Scotland. Mr Sarwar failed to win the Glasgow Southside seat from Nicola Sturgeon on Friday, although there was a swing of 4.8% to Labour. Referring to an incident when she was involved in a tense confrontation with far-right candidate Jayda Fransen, Ms Sturgeon said she was "proud" that voters had rejected racism and fascism. Derek Jackson was suspended from the Liberal Party after he arrived at the Glasgow count wearing a yellow star and making saluting gestures before questioning the SNP's Humza Yousaf about events in Pakistan. Mr Yousaf accused Mr Jackson and others of targeting ethnic minorities with their behaviour. A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive. More information about these elections Who won in my area? Enter your postcode, or the name of your English council or Scottish or Welsh constituency to find out. Eg 'W1A 1AA' or 'Westminster' Ms Stewart told the BBC she watched the scenes at home, citing racial abuse as one reason why women of colour may be put off getting involved in politics. She said: "It's very disappointing to see however I was quite pleased to see they were dealt with quite assertively and quite quickly, and other political parties rallied round and made sure it was dealt with. "There is no place for racism in this country and democratic procedures will prevail. People like myself, like Humza, like Anas and so many other candidates should be able to take part in this process." Other women of colour who ran in this election include Nadia Kanyange for the Greens, Aisha Mir for the Liberal Democrats and Deena Tissera for Labour.
A woman who was duped into sending thousands of pounds to a fraudster she met online has said she fell for the scam because she "wanted to be loved".
The Belfast woman said the scammer claimed to be a US marine and sent her a series of flattering messages. He earned her trust over a number of weeks before asking to borrow money. She spoke out about the romance scam after police in Northern Ireland revealed two other women lost nearly £105,000 in similar circumstances. 'Hello there, beautiful' The Belfast woman, who did not want to be named, told BBC News NI she even booked flights to the US to meet her new lover before realising it was all a con. She also said scam led to the break up of her existing relationship and left her and her children with "nothing". "I'm ashamed of myself. I feel violated, I feel embarrassed," she said, but added that she was speaking out to encourage other scam victims to seek help. The deception began on Instagram almost a year ago, and although she has since reported it to the police, she has given up hope of getting her money back. "I received a message on Sunday evening, 19th March, saying: 'Hello there, beautiful. How are you? What are you up to?'," the woman explained. "He told me that he was in the United States Marine Corps. He told me that he was based out in Uganda." The scammer ingratiated himself by bombarding her with compliments such as: "You look good today, you look lovely." The pair exchanged phone numbers and woman admitted that at the time, the attention he paid to her made her feel special. "I was just crazy - I just wanted to be loved and cared for," she said. "I think whenever you're sucked into that world, you want to hear anything and everything that's being said to you." 'Overboard' As her online romance progressed, the woman's relationship with the father of her children ended. About five weeks after making initial contact on Instagram, the fraudster sent his first request for financial assistance. "Basically, I was given a sob story that they were all on the ship travelling over to Uganda and his wallet fell overboard", the woman recalled. "I have no idea about the US military, their laws etc., so yes I admit I was vulnerable. Groomed, I would say groomed." Initially, he asked her to send him a phone, and she complied with his request. Shortly afterwards, she sent him cash for the first time - almost £1,500. After it was transferred, he asked for more, and not just more money. The cash-strapped marine also said he needed clothes and trainers. "I was told: 'I'll pay you back whenever I get my money, I'll give you every cent back', the woman said. 'Explosion' Keen to meet her new lover in person, the woman planned a 10-day trip to the US and had paid for her flights. "I was told a couple of weeks before flying out that he was in an explosion and he couldn't fly," she said. Although that story made her "question" her situation, she still wanted to believe in him. "I think when you're sucked into this cyber dating, you want to believe anything and everything that they say to you. "It's just a business to them, they have no thought, feelings... on what's left behind and what we have to deal with." 'Imposter' A short time later, she became suspicious while looking through photos that he had sent to her. She noticed that in some early pictures he had tattoos but in other, purportedly later photos, those tattoos had mysteriously disappeared. "It basically clicked with me that this was an imposter," the woman said. She said she "confronted" the scammer with her suspicions but has made no progress in getting her cash back, and it was money she could ill-afford to lose. "I was sitting in the house with nothing, and that person knew I was sitting with nothing," she said. "He has basically stolen from my kids' mouths." She reported the fraud to police in August. She said she was told she would hear more about the investigation within three months, but has not had any further response. "People need to be more vigilant and more aware of who they speak to," she warned. "I know for a fact I'll not see any of my money." Similar scam In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "On 31 August 2018 police received a report that involved a woman who had been befriended by a man on a social media platform, who claimed to be in the US Army. "The woman forwarded money and various items to this individual. This incident is being investigated by Action Fraud." Action Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. The Belfast woman's story is remarkably similar to the experience of one of the two women from Northern Ireland who recently lost nearly £105,000 between them in romance scams. In a public warning on Tuesday, police revealed that one of the victims was befriended by a man claiming to be a US marine. They said he conned her into sending him £65,000 after telling her that he was being held by authorities in Africa and needed money to get out.
The government has been urged to make the reporting of child abuse mandatory after cover-ups at two leading Catholic schools.
A recent report found monks at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire and Downside in Somerset hid allegations of "appalling sexual abuse". The abuse dated back the 1960s and involved pupils as young as seven. The House of Lords heard that one school took legal advice over whether it had to report the abuse. Raising the scandal in the Lords, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Walmsley said there was a need to introduce a law to make the "reporting of child abuse an regulated activity". She said there was evidence "that one of the schools consulted its legal adviser as to whether it was legally obliged to report the abuse that it knew about". "Having learned that it was not so obliged, it decided to cover it up," she added. In response, Education Minister Lord Agnew of Oulton said it was "absolutely unacceptable for anyone to conceal abuse". "I know that there are calls for mandatory reporting," he said. But highlighting a consultation carried out, he added: "We had 760 responses from social workers, police officers and other connected parties. "Some 70% of them felt that mandatory reporting would have an adverse impact; 85% said that it would not, in itself, lead to the appropriate action being taken." He added that the government was "committed to ensuring that legislation can adequately deal with this". The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse made the claims in a report on the English Benedictine Congregation, which has 10 monasteries in England and Wales. The report said the allegations were hidden to protect the schools' reputations. Related Internet Links Ampleforth Abbey & College Downside Abbey Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Prime Minister David Cameron has visited Corby to give his support to the Conservative candidate ahead of the town's by election.
The seat, held by the Conservatives since the 2010 General Election, is to be contested following the resignation of MP Louise Mensch. Mr Cameron said Corby needed an MP who "understands business", adding "we have that in Christine Emmett". Eleven other candidates have been selected for the by election. Mr Cameron visited the town's steel works. 'Debts and deficits' "What we see in Corby is that the claimant count is falling, youth unemployment came down on the last count, business creation is going up, there are new businesses and new jobs are coming to Corby," he said. "We have got to build on that but we've got to recognise we have to deal with debt and deficits." He denied he was fighting a lost cause in Corby - a Labour seat between 1997 and 2010. Mrs Mensch, a best-selling author of chick-lit under her maiden name Bagshawe, stood down in August to spend more time with her family. A date for the by election has not been set but it is likely to be held alongside the police crime commissioner elections on 15 November. The candidates so far are: Independent candidate James Delingpole; Conservative Christine Emmett; Liberal Democrat Jill Hope; Lord Toby Jug of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party; Young People's Party candidate Dr Rohen Kapur; Independent Adam Lotun; Margot Parker of the UK Independence Party; Peter Reynolds of CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform; Gordon Riddell of the British National Party; Andy Sawford of Labour Co-Op; Christopher Scotton of the United People's Party and the English Democrats' David Wickham.
Since it emerged that Arlene Foster had resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and as NI first minister, politicians on all sides have been reacting.
Mrs Foster, who was the first female first minister of Northern Ireland, said it had been the privilege of her life and she was now preparing to "depart the political stage". Here are some of the reactions. Sinn Féin Deputy First Minster Michelle O'Neill said she had spoken to her ministerial partner earlier on Wednesday and wished her and and her family well. "I have worked alongside Arlene Foster this past year in what has been a difficult and challenging time for everyone with the unexpected onset of the Covid pandemic," she said. "Throughout the pandemic I acknowledge the efforts Arlene Foster has made as first minister, and the service that she has given in working with the rest of the executive as we have battled the biggest health crisis in a generation." She said it was now time for the DUP to choose a replacement. "The incoming DUP leader should recognise that the political landscape across our island has changed," she said. There must now be a "genuine commitment from all political leaders to power-sharing and to work to deliver equality for women, for the LGBT community, for Irish language and identity and all sections of our community," she added. Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said it had undoubtedly been a "difficult day for Arlene and I extend my regards to her and her family". She acknowledged the work that she did as first minister alongside Ms O'Neill throughout the Covid-19 crisis. She said Sinn Féin would work with the new leader with "generosity and respect", adding that "unionism is at a crossroads". "The inbuilt unionist majority is now a thing of the past," she said. Democratic Unionist Party DUP peer and deputy leader Nigel Dodds said Mrs Foster had "dedicated her life to defending the union and moving Northern Ireland forward". "She has demonstrated great courage and is an example for women in public life," he tweeted. "Thank you Arlene. It's been a privilege to work alongside you." DUP MLA and Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots, thanked the first minister for her "service, sacrifice and commitment to the DUP and country". "We all wish her well for whatever the future may hold for her and her family," he added. Education Minister Peter Weir said he was sorry to see Mrs Foster step down. "I have known her and been a friend and colleague for over 30 years. She has devoted her adult life to Northern Ireland and to unionism," he said. DUP MP Gregory Campbell thanked Arlene Foster on his Facebook page for her "steadfast commitment to making progress here in Northern Ireland despite the many difficulties we all faced, and will continue to face in the future". "She faced many difficulties and didn't shirk her responsibilities in carrying out her role both as an MLA and as first minister," he said. "Thanks for your faithful endeavours in all that you tried to do." East Belfast MP, Gavin Robinson, thanked the former leader for her "dedicated service to NI". "She had been a constant source of encouragement to me and my colleagues throughout the province, facing difficulties with courage and determination and sacrificing so much over her 18 years in elected politics," he said. The DUP's Sammy Wilson said she had served both party and Northern Ireland "very well". The East Antrim MP said pressure had been building for some time. He says the first minister has been "carrying the can for things which were beyond her control in the Covid restrictions" and has been the "lightning rod for criticism of the difficulties the assembly had". "Maybe a new leader will not be able to escape from some of the unfair criticism which has been attached to Arlene on this," he added, Mr Wilson also says he will not confirm whether or not he signed a letter of no-confidence, describing it as an "internal thing for the party". Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said while he "disagreed" with Mrs Foster on "almost everything", she was a committed servant to her party and he wished her well. "The circumstances that have led to the first minister's resignation are deeply concerning," he said. "That a political leader would be removed from office by their party for failing to support conversion therapy is distressing and will cause some alarm for members of our LGBT+ community," he said, referring to Mrs Foster abstaining on a motion in the Stormont assembly calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy. "Whoever takes over as DUP leader and first minister will also inherit the same febrile political situation that we have all been dealing with for months," he added. His party colleague and Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon tweeted: "We have our political differences but as a minister, it was always clear to me that Arlene Foster was passionate about her constituents and Northern Ireland. "On a personal level, I have no doubt this will be a difficult time for Arlene and her family." Ulster Unionist Party UUP leader Steve Aiken said he had messaged Mrs Foster, who was a former UUP member, and planned to speak to her soon. He gave the outgoing DUP leader his best wishes, said she had shown "passion" and her resignation evidenced "how difficult the life on politics can be for people". He said his party would represent a "modern and progressive approach to unionism". "It has to be more than anything else about good governance," he said. "We need a period of stable and continuous government." Alliance Party Alliance Party leader and Justice Minister Naomi Long said she wished Mrs Foster and her family "every happiness for the future". "Politics can at times be brutal, and the challenge on Arlene Foster certainly has been," she posted on social media. "Our politics may differ but I want to pay tribute to Arlene for her last 20 years of public service, latterly as first minister." Prime Minister Boris Johnson The prime minister said he wanted to "thank" Arlene Foster "for her dedication to the people of Northern Ireland over many years". Boris Johnson said that she would "continue to play a vital role" until the end of her time as first minister. "I hope that she stays in public service for years to come," he added. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis The NI minister said: "Arlene is a truly dedicated public servant, devoting her political career to her constituents for over 18 years and the people of NI as FM for several years. "There are many young people, particularly young women, who will be inspired by her example to follow a path into politics. "I wish her all the best and look forward to continuing to work with her in the days and weeks ahead, delivering for all the people of NI." Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister Speaking to the BBC's Evening Extra programme, Mr Allister said he appreciated it had been a "difficult day" for the former leader, particularly, he added, the "speed of her dispatch by some who, no doubt, she counted as friends". He said he had known her from both his legal career and NI Assembly career and "whether in law or politics" he found her to be "straightforward" in his dealings with her. However he criticised what he said was her "equivocal attitude, at the start, to the (Northern Ireland) Protocol". "The protocol is systematically dismantling the union and has left us in a different place to the rest of the UK," he said. Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin The taoiseach said he had had a "positive working relationship" with the former DUP leader for years. "In particular I valued the constructive engagement, notwithstanding our differences, we have had in our respective roles," he said. "As a person who has personal experience of the suffering that violence brings, Arlene knows more than most how difficult it is, but also how important it is, to work together for the peace and prosperity for all. "She has served during what has been a period of considerable change and challenge in Northern Ireland." He added that she had "sent a strong message to women about what can be achieved in and through politics." Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney Mr Coveney sent his best wishes to the first minister and her family. "While we bring different perspectives to some issues, she has worked sincerely, tirelessly & with determination for her party & for NI as First Minister," he tweeted. Green Party Leader Clare Bailey Ms Bailey tweeted: "Party politics aside, there can be no denying that Arlene Foster made her mark in Northern Irish politics including becoming the first female first minister. "I wish her well for her future."
In a small, leafy village midway between two cities, an internet revolution has been taking place.
By Gemma RyallBBC News Michaelston-y-Fedw might be just 10 miles from Cardiff city centre and a short drive from Newport but it has always been a world away when it comes to its broadband access. Its low internet speed of 4Mbps meant it was a proper "not spot" where young people could not watch YouTube, the local pub struggled to take card payments and downloading a film was nearly impossible. So fed up locals decided to take matters into their own hands and install their own ultrafast broadband. The local pub, village hall and church have just been connected and by autumn about 175 homes in the area will have upload and download speeds of 1Gbps - or 1,000 Mbps - some of the fastest internet speeds in the UK. When you drive along the lanes leading to the village, large banners proudly proclaim: "Fastest Village in Wales." It's a huge deal for its 300 residents. Meg Cope, 21, says her house has the slowest broadband in the village because it's at the end of the current copper line - and it's affecting her studies at Cardiff University. "The internet is so important for my university work - I read a lot of articles and journals so I have to go into uni to download them and then come home to read them," she said. "It makes me feel like I'm behind with my degree. Its's so frustrating. "Just going online for social media, I have to use 3G and I end up using all my data and have to buy more." Caroline Hill and Ben Langman, who have been running the Cefn Mably Arms for the past 21 months, said the slow speeds had been hurting their business. "It affected everything. As soon as someone came into the pub and their phone connected with the wi-fi, it would crash our debit card machine," said Ben. "Trying to pay our 26 staff was difficult as it's all online banking these days. A few years ago you could do your ordering over the phone, now it's all online... It was so hard." But that's all changed as the pub has just been connected to the new ultrafast Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband. "Now you can come along and download the whole Star Wars trilogy in three minutes," laughed Ben. They all have Dave Schofield to thank for dragging the village into the 21st Century. He and a team of about 30 volunteers - all local villagers - decided that because nobody else was sorting out their problem, they would do it themselves. He mentioned the idea at a village meeting, not thinking anybody would be enthusiastic, but he said everyone jumped on board. They set up their own not for profit Community Interest Company and raised £150,000 by asking local people to buy shares in the project. They then went about applying for every grant they could, including to the Welsh Government and Access Broadband Cymru, which offers vouchers to homes in areas that are not set to benefit from BT's Superfast Cymru project. Similar schemes have been undertaken in England, but for Wales it was a first. Farmers and landowners readily gave permission for trenches to be dug to lay the fibre optic cables - that are thinner than a human hair - from a hub to people's homes and businesses. And residents swotted up on the technology, pooled their skills and received training on how to lay the infrastructure. Local contractors use machinery to dig across farmland to people's driveways. It's then up to each home owner to dig trenches to carry the fibres into their own homes, with others stepping in to help those who can't manage the work. It has become a full time job for many of the volunteers. "We started digging on 21 February this year when the ground was frozen solid," said Dave, 52, who's lived in the village for eight years. "A few weeks later we were snowed in for three days and then we had torrential rain. "So it's not been easy but we were all determined. And it's brought the whole community together." David Walford, 21, stepped up to do the groundwork, digging trenches in the many fields that surround Michaelston-y-Fedw. "I've got a drone and I take loads of videos but I've never been able to upload them. There'd be no hope of doing anything like that," he said. "For the last three days I've been coming down to the village hall to finally upload all my videos to YouTube. It's amazing - you don't realise how painful it was before." For many of the villagers, the project has not just been about improving internet access - it's also been about improving community relationships. Jim Dunk, 71, has had a home in the village for 41 years but because he was in the Merchant Navy, he travelled the world and used it only as a base. "This is why the project meant so much to me," he said. "It's the place I came back to - but apart from the village pub, I didn't know many other people. Now, I've met just about everybody as I'm one of the people who's put the routers into all the houses." His wife Carina, who does the fibre splicing, added: "In a very short space of time we've got to know a lot of people very well. "Sometimes we're spending eight hours a day together. Before this, Jim was playing golf four times a week - now he's lucky if he gets there once. But he loves it." They still have much work to do. The popular Cefn Mably Farm Park will also be connected as part of the project - but first the team will have to get the wires across a river. That doesn't daunt them. "We'll just use a directional drill to do it," added Dave - a phrase he no doubt didn't think he'd be using this time last year. The people power behind the project has impressed many of the locals. "They're all so clever doing it," said Saskia Barnett, 22, who has lived in the village all her life. "It's such a great idea and will really make a difference for people living here. "When you're a teenager growing up here it's really hard... My brother and I would have to time when we'd go online - when he was playing on his Xbox I wouldn't be able to watch Netflix on my laptop." "Our house has just gone over to the new router. It's not up and running yet but it will be so much better. It will be so good."
US President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen has been released from prison after a judge ruled he was sent back to jail in retaliation for writing a tell-all book.
The judge ordering his release said the government was retaliating when it sent Cohen back to prison this month. He had been released in May over Covid-19 concerns. Cohen was serving a three-year sentence for charges including Trump campaign finance violations. Cohen is expected to be fitted with an ankle tag and will serve the rest of the sentence at home in New York City. "He looked exhausted, as one might think, when you come out of quarantine/solitary confinement," his attorney, Jeffrey Levine, told the Reuters news agency after speaking to Cohen over FaceTime from the car. "He hasn't slept in two weeks." You might also like Cohen was convicted last year of crimes including tax evasion, lying to Congress and facilitating illegal payments to silence two women - pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who claimed they had affairs with Mr Trump. After his May release, authorities this month said Cohen violated the terms of his release. Cohen argued his re-arrest was retaliation for his plans to publish a critical book about Donald Trump. He said that probation officers had asked him to sign a release agreement that would prohibit him from speaking to, or through, any media. When he questioned this order, he was taken back into custody. US Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued the ruling during a tele-hearing on Thursday. He said that Cohen's return to jail was "retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others". The Manhattan judge added that, in 21 years on the bench, he had never seen such a provision for a prisoner. "How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?" Cohen was re-arrested on 9 July - days after he tweeted that he was "close to completion" of his tell-all book relating to the president. The book reportedly details alleged racist comments made by Mr Trump. This week, Cohen had sued US Attorney General William Barr and the prison bureau director over the so-called "gag order". The suit, brought by Cohen's attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claimed that Cohen's re-jailing over the order violated his constitutional right to free speech. According to court filings, Cohen's book would provide "graphic and unflattering details about the President's behaviour behind closed doors", including descriptions of his "pointedly anti-Semitic remarks and virulently racist remarks" against former President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela. The White House has not yet commented on these allegations.
The number of Covid infections is continuing to rise in Glasgow, with weekly case rates now higher than 100 per 100,000 people.
Latest Public Health Scotland figures for 14 May show the city rate is 100.3, with indications it may rise further. The area remains in level three, while much of the rest of Scotland moves to level two or level one. The rate in neighbouring East Renfrewshire is 86.9, well above the level two threshold. However, that council area, which is to the south of the city, has been moved down to level two restrictions, where indoor visits are now allowed. The outbreak is focused in the south of the city, with Pollokshields recording the highest rates. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who stood for election in Glasgow Southside, confirmed on Monday that he was self-isolating after a family member tested positive for Covid. A party spokesman said he had tested negative and remained well. Lockdown measures About 16 people in every 1,000 tested positive in Pollokshields West in the week up to 14 May and the rate was 13 per 1,000 in Pollokshields East. The number of weekly cases per 100,000 people is a key indicator for the Scottish government when judging what level of restrictions an area should be under. Other measures include the percentage of positive tests, or positivity rate; predicted pressure on local NHS services; and consideration of other harms that could be caused by lockdown measures. There are now four council areas in Scotland with case rates higher than the level two threshold of 50. Two of them - Glasgow and Moray - have been held at level three restrictions. Moray's rate for the 14 May was 55.2, but that now appears to be falling. Midlothian has a rate of 55.2, with indications it is rising. Scotland's national clinical director, Prof Jason Leitch, told BBC Scotland other areas would continue to be monitored. He said people were being asked to get tested and vaccinations were being rolled out as fast as possible. "I'm hopeful that we won't have to go backwards but I can't guarantee it," he said. "It can't be as simple as case rates. Everything builds from there, from hospitalisations, intensive care admissions and death, tragically. "But you've also got to think about things like vaccine coverage, the economy and social harm. Today we are allowing people into each other's houses - that's a fantastic step but not so good for the public health advisers. You have to balance all that." Prof Leitch said not enough was yet known about the impact of the Indian variant, but added that in the north of England it had not led to an increase in hospital admissions and numbers of people in intensive care. He urged anyone in an area with increasing cases to get tested and said people should be doing home tests twice a week as an "extra layer of protection". He added that people should remain cautious but should not panic. Second doses Prof Leitch had warned on Sunday that Glasgow may have to remain in level three for longer than the extra week. But he told BBC Scotland that the city was doing an "enormous amount of work" to get on top of the outbreak, including accelerating the vaccination programme. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it was making vaccination appointments available to people aged 18-39 who lived in the worst affected areas of Glasgow. The health board also said it was "finalising plans" to bring forward second doses for those people aged 50 and over. In a statement, NHSGGC added: "We would strongly encourage members of the public, particularly those living in the most affected areas of Glasgow, to visit their local asymptomatic testing centre and take a Covid-19 test. "This will determine whether members of the public have the virus even if they do not have any symptoms." It is an uncertain time for government trying to balance the easing of restrictions with avoiding another wave of cases. For now the biggest concern will be how the new Indian variant will play out. It looks to be more infectious and while early evidence suggests it will not make more people sick or evade the vaccine, it is too early to say for sure. The vaccine won't work for everyone, and there are still plenty of people who need to get their first dose. That's why the race is on to vaccinate all adults in hotspots and to use surge testing to root out cases - with support in place for those who are asked to isolate. In other parts of Scotland cases are also on the rise. That was inevitable as more and more people come together. But case rates are only one of a range of factors the government will use to determine what local action is taken. They will take into account things like projections on hospital demand, the proportion of unlinked cases in an area, vaccine uptake, even population density. It's a complex picture and tricky decisions will need to be taken but it doesn't necessarily mean a uniform approach as the weeks go on. There were a further 161 new cases of Covid-19 reported across all of Scotland on Monday, with 1.6% of tests positive. No Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test were registered and 68 Covid patients were in hospital. Public Health Scotland figures show that South Lanarkshire was approaching the level two threshold with a weekly case rate of 47.1 on 14 May. East Dunbartonshire is also close with 46 cases per 100,000.
Oxford University is opening a new research institute dedicated to tackling resistance to antibiotics.
By Sean CoughlanBBC News family and education correspondent The university says this is one of the the biggest rising threats to global health, already causing 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide. The institute will be funded by £100m donated by the Ineos chemical company. Vice chancellor Louise Richardson said the Covid pandemic had shown the "high cost of ignoring something that is likely to head our way". 'Growing menace' There will be 50 researchers working in the new Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance, addressing the "over-use and mis-use" of antibiotics, which the university warned could cause 10 million excess deaths per year by 2050. Routine operations and "taken-for-granted treatments" would become much riskier without effective antibiotics, said the university. "The growing menace of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most under-reported issues of our time," says David Sweetnam, a surgeon advising the new institute. "We now have a very narrow window of opportunity in which to change course and prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable," he said. Prof Richardson said the growth of resistance to antibiotics made it "absolutely imperative that we act" "It may seem very costly to do all this research now but it's nothing on the cost of failure to act," she said. The vice chancellor said Oxford's success in developing a Covid vaccine had created a much more positive public perception of university research and the value of experts. 'Cannot get enough of experts' "We were able to adapt so quickly and produce a vaccine in less than a year because we had spent 20 years working on it, doing blue skies research," said Prof Richardson. There had been debates about universities not providing value for money and too many people going into higher education, but Prof Richardson suggested the public mood had changed. "The British public cannot get enough of experts at the moment," she said. The high-profile development of a Covid vaccine had shown the value of university research, said Prof Richardson - "critical not just to health, but to the economy, to the preservation of culture and to generation of new ideas". "It's so much in the national interest that we have good universities," she said. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, billionaire chairman of Ineos, said the partnership with Oxford aimed to "accelerate progress in tackling this urgent global challenge".
The UK recession has deepened, latest official figures have shown, after the output of the economy fell by 0.7% between April and June.
The contraction was much bigger than expected and follows a 0.3% drop in the first three months of the year. The Office for National Statistics said the fall was largely due to a sharp slowdown in the construction sector. It said it was not yet sure of the size of the effect of the poor weather and the extra June bank holiday. This means that these figures, which are the first estimate for what happened in the economy between April and June, are more uncertain than usual. "The bottom line from all this is that the underlying performance of the economy was probably somewhat better than the headline figure of -0.7% would suggest, having regard to the extra bank holiday and to the poor weather," said Joe Grice from the ONS. "How much that effect might be is something we won't be able to say or to quantify until we have further experience against which to judge." The figures could be revised in the coming months as more information comes in. The first estimate is largely based on information the first two months of the three-month period. "Nevertheless, the overall picture is of an economy that remains fragile," the ONS said in its latest analysis of the economy. Prime Minister David Cameron said the figures were disappointing: "They show the extent of the economic difficulties that we're grappling with, not least the situation right across the eurozone where our neighbours are also really struggling. "Clearly we've got to keep doing everything we can to get out of this difficult situation and provide the growth and jobs that our people and our economy needs." Chancellor George Osborne said the country faced "big challenges". "But given what's happening in the world, we need a relentless focus on the economy and recent announcements on infrastructure and lending show that's exactly what we're doing," he said. In response, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the "truly shocking" figures showed the government's economic plans had failed. "If these figures don't make the chancellor wake up and change course, then I don't know what will," he said. "Thank goodness the Olympics will give our economy a much-needed shot in the arm. But this short-term boost is not enough - we need a plan B now to get the economy moving again and radical reforms to set Britain on a new course for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity." The ONS did point to some more positive signs for the economy. Employment is growing "modestly", it said, with 181,000 jobs created in the past three months. With prices rising at a slower rate, the squeeze is also easing on household incomes. However the output of the economy is still 4.5% lower than it was during its peak before the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. Construction slump Output in the building sector fell 5.2% in the second quarter compared with the first. It is continuing to feel the effects of the economic slowdown and a sharp drop in public spending on social housing and infrastructure projects. The ONS said the end of major Olympics projects could also be having an effect. "This is a disaster for UK growth," said Alan Clarke, economist at Scotiabank. "It looks like construction has done a lot of the damage," he said. "On average for the year, it's looking very unlikely that we'll be on the right side of zero growth. More likely we'll be contracting." Production industries, which include manufacturing, decreased by 1.3%, due in part to weak demand from the eurozone, one of the UK's biggest trading partners. The fall in services output by 0.1% surprised some, including RBS economist Ross Walker, who said he had expected the retail sector to grow during the quarter. "We thought even with the drag from the Jubilee that we would probably just about squeeze some growth out of that sector, [but] it's contracted." However, John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said many firms were faring better than the statistics suggested. "We're not completely convinced about the accuracy of the figures," he said. "Our business surveys and other business surveys and also the employment figures all belie what the ONS are saying about GDP and it wouldn't be the first time in history that two successive quarters have been revised upwards from negative to positive." But he added: "Nonetheless, there's no question that the economy is, at best, stagnating." An economy is considered to be in recession when its output has declined for two consecutive three-month periods. The UK economy is in a double-dip recession as after a period of recession, it briefly starting growing again before a second bout of falls. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said that the UK faced "significant challenges" from a stalling recovery, high unemployment and threats from the eurozone.
A man has admitted stealing handcuffs, a baton, uniform and the keys to two patrol cars from an unlocked police station.
Russell O'Connor, 36, went to Totnes police station in Devon to ask for help but found the door open and no-one inside, Exeter Crown Court heard. Judge David Evans warned O'Connor to expect a jail term. He also asked police to explain how a "member of the public got into an unmanned police station". "That is worthy of as much investigation as possible," he said. 'Desperate state' Emily Cook, prosecuting, said there was no damage to the door that O'Connor used to enter the police station last December. Paul Dentith, defending, said O'Connor went to the police station because he was in a state of mental turmoil and wanted help. More stories from across Devon and Cornwall "He says he was upset and depressed and worried he was going to harm himself. "He contacted the police on the phone outside the station and said he was in a desperate state," he said. "When he saw there was nobody to help and saw there were windows open and lights on, he thought it was an operational station. "He went in through a door which was not closed properly." O'Connor, of Redruth, Cornwall, entered the station twice on 21 December and took a collection of police kit including incapacitant spray, a baton, handcuffs, torches, car keys, a marked fleece, an electronic notebook and a lock-picking device. He admitted two counts of burglary, possessing of offensive weapons in relation to the baton and spray, and possession of cannabis. O'Connor was remanded in custody and Judge Evans adjourned the case so a mental health assessment could be made.
A royal burial site found between a pub and Aldi supermarket has been hailed as the UK's answer to Tutankhamun's tomb.
Workers unearthed the grave, which contained dozens of rare artefacts, during roadworks in Prittlewell, near Southend, Essex, in 2003. Tooth enamel fragments were the only human remains, but experts say their "best guess" is that they belonged to a 6th Century Anglo-Saxon prince. It is said to be the oldest example of a Christian Anglo-Saxon royal burial. Now, after 15 years of expert analysis some of the artefacts are returning to Southend to go on permanent display for the first time at the Central Museum. When a team from the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) excavated the site, they said they were "astounded" to find the burial chamber intact. 'Man of princely lineage' The remains of the timber structure, which would have measured about 13ft (4m) square and 5ft (1.5m) deep, housed some 40 rare and precious artefacts. Among them was a lyre - an ancient harp - and a 1,400-year-old box thought to be the only surviving example of painted Anglo-Saxon woodwork in Britain. Gold coins, the gilded silver neck of a wooden drinking vessel, decorative glass beakers and a flagon believed to have come from Syria were also found. Each had been placed within the tomb "as part of a carefully choreographed burial rite", indicating the resting place of a man of princely lineage, they said. Locals nicknamed the grave's unknown occupant the Prince of Prittlewell and the King of Bling because of the riches buried alongside him. Ciara Phipps from Southend Museums Service said the first artefact uncovered - a copper alloy hanging bowl - gave experts a "real idea of just how significant this burial might be". "It's thought it was probably acquired as a gift so it gives a sense of how significant this person might have been... he had friends in high places," she said. It had been suggested the remains were those of Saebert, Saxon king of Essex from AD604 to AD616 but carbon dating and other tests have indicated the tomb was constructed between AD575 and AD605 - at least 11 years before his death. After 15 years of research, archaeologists said their "best guess" was that the tomb belonged to Seaxa, Saebert's brother. Fit for a prince Source: Mola Sophie Jackson, Mola's director of research and engagement, said no-one had expected the "unpromising looking site" found in 2003 to contain "our equivalent of Tutankhamun's tomb". "It's between a bit of railway and a bit of road, essentially a verge. It's not where you'd expect to find it," she said. She said the grave provided a snapshot of a "really interesting time" when Christianity was "just creeping in" to the British Isles. "They would have been just on the transition between having pagan burials with all your gear but also having these crosses," she said. Ms Jackson said "the best guess" was the tomb had housed Seaxa. She said: "There's a lot of debate about whether he was a fully-fledged hairy beast Saxon warrior, or younger. "Had he died before he could really prove himself?" Who was Tutankhamun? Tutankhamun was an Egyptian king who died about 3,000 years ago. His tomb was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922 in an area now known as the Valley of the Kings. It was one of the most well-preserved tombs that conservationists had ever seen, and close to 2,000 objects were found inside. The chamber was filled with treasure and detailed wall paintings that showed the story of King Tutankhamun's life and death. After the treasures had been catalogued and cleared, the tomb itself became a tourist destination when it was opened to the public in the 1930s. Who was Tutankhamun? You may also be interested in: Research was undertaken by more than 40 experts in various fields, who worked together to reconstruct the chamber. In some cases, items had been so badly eroded that only soil impressions remained. These artefacts were digitally recreated using techniques including CT scans and microscopic analysis of soil samples. Ms Phipps said the display, which begins on Saturday, was a "real gem" of the museum. "It's such a significant moment for the museum service and also for the community of Southend," she said. "This collection has evoked and encouraged a huge amount of local pride." The museum has also launched a website with information about its research, as well as an interactive diagram of the tomb.
A section of aircraft carrier's 600-mile journey around the north coast of Scotland to the Rosyth dockyard in Fife has been put on hold.
The largest hull section of HMS Queen Elizabeth left BAE's shipbuilding hall at Govan two weeks ago and was loaded on to a huge sea going barge. It had been due to begin its five day journey around the coast to Fife on Monday. However, the move has been delayed due to weather conditions. When the 11,000-tonne carrier section does reach Rosyth it will be joined with other sections. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be the Royal Navy's largest ever warship. Six shipyards around the UK are involved in building various parts of the ship, which are being assembled in Fife. The section of hull being moved is more than 80m (262ft) long and 40m (131ft) wide. It houses two main engine rooms, a hospital complex, dentist, galley and accommodation, including 242 berths. When assembly is completed, HMS Queen Elizabeth will be a 280m (919ft)-long carrier capable of deploying up to 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft. The vessel will not be finished until 2016 at the earliest, and may not be ready for active service until 2020, when she will be based in Portsmouth. The aircraft carrier is the first of two 65,000-tonne ships under construction in Scotland, with work on her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, also under way at Govan in Glasgow. The project is one of the largest defence orders placed in the UK, with a price tag of £5bn, and is being delivered by BAE Systems, Thales UK and Babcock. The two ships were saved from defence cuts under the UK coalition government because, it said, it would cost more to cancel the projects than proceed with them. However, HMS Prince of Wales will be mothballed and kept as a reserve vessel.
Cardiff council has ruled out proposals to withhold pay for the first three days staff are off sick.
Sick pay cost Wales' biggest council £15m in 2011-12 when its 15,246 full and part-time workers averaged 11.49 days off. Unions had criticised the proposal from a task group which looked into ways of tackling short-term absence from work. The Labour-run authority said the idea was ruled out during a scrutiny committee meeting. The task group chaired by councillor David Walker had suggested docking workers' pay for the first three days they were off sick. It said staff would be eligible for pay on the fourth day if they had "fully complied with sickness reporting arrangements". Mr Walker, leader of the opposition Conservative group, said staff absenteeism figures had been "consistently high" for a number of years at the council and action was needed to tackle it. The task group's idea - one of 19 recommendations in a draft policy report on absenteeism - was considered on Wednesday by the policy review and performance scrutiny committee. Russell Goodway, cabinet member for finance, told the meeting there was "no prospect" that the cabinet would agree to withholding pay for the first three days. A Cardiff council spokesperson told BBC Wales that Mr Goodway had "ruled out categorically the introduction of any such plans, and outlined the cabinet's singular opposition to them". Elizabeth Clark, chair of the scrutiny committee, said she was pleased to have the reassurance that the proposals would not be introduced. "If somebody is off sick with a miscarriage or after an accident and they are on the lowest wage they would be losing about £150 over the three days - for somebody on the limit that is a lot to lose," she said. The move was also been welcomed by Unison and the GMB, the two biggest unions within the council. But they added that they still have concerns over other aspects of the draft policy, including plans to discipline managers who fail to tackle sick-leave within their teams. The cabinet will now bring the draft policy before the full council on Thursday, 6 December.
The new BBC Scotland TV channel will include its own Question Time-style debate show, MPs have been told.
The Scottish Affairs Committee heard plans are "on track" to launch the channel on 24 February next year, with a nightly hour-long news programme. BBC Scotland head of news Gary Smith said a political debate show is also being commissioned. He told the Westminster committee the format of the programme had still to be finalised. He said: "This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and it's fantastic to have the opportunity to do this now. "It'll be a really significant addition to what we can offer on TV as a proper, in-depth political debate programme. "We haven't quite worked out the format yet but there will clearly be some kind of panel and some kind of audience and a presenter, and we'll be able to look at all the issues of the day but from a Scottish perspective. "In shorthand terms it's kind of like our own BBC Scotland version of the Question Time format." Funding uncertainty Donalda MacKinnon, BBC Scotland director, said the outcome of an ongoing consultation on how licence fees for over 75s are paid could have an impact on the channel and all BBC services. Asked by committee chairman Pete Wishart if there were any plans to deal with a "potential hit" to allocated funds, Ms MacKinnon said: "I think we all have to plan with a view to there being a future and certainly launching a new service I wouldn't be advocating we do anything other than that. "The BBC will have to look across all its services and ours would potentially be part of that landscape." Asked what roles the new channel will have, Ms MacKinnon said: "I think it will have a number of roles, culturally, politically and economically, and I suppose critically the most important role we will have will be to serve audiences better."
Forty-three drivers in Northern Ireland are still allowed to drive despite having 12 or more penalty points.
Figures released to the BBC's Nolan Show revealed there is one driver on the roads in Northern Ireland with 21 penalty points. Despite reaching the limit at which they would ordinarily be disqualified, exceptions exist in the law which allow some motorists to remain on the road. These include circumstances where a ban could cause "exceptional hardship". Drivers are normally liable to be disqualified if they receive 12 or more penalty points in a three-year period, or receive six or more penalty points within two years of passing their first driving test. 'Distressing news' Sinn Féin transport spokesperson Seán Lynch said there were road safety concerns in light of the revelations. Mr Lynch said it would be "distressing news to those injured or bereaved by dangerous driving". "I will be asking the minister for infrastructure for clarity on this issue and to outline the conditions which allows drivers with 12 penalty points or more to keep driving," he said. 21 points1 driver 15 to 17 points8 drivers 13 to 14 points10 drivers 12 points24 drivers 'Mitigating circumstances' In a statement to the Nolan Show, the Office of the Lord Chief Justice said it "works with the legal framework set down by legislation" and noted there are circumstances which are considered "mitigating". Disqualifications are made under Article 40 of the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Once a person receives 12 points on their licence, it is at the discretion of the court whether a disqualification takes place. The court also has the discretion to disqualify someone for a shorter period of time. In a statement, the Department for Infrastructure said the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) records penalty points as advised by the courts, but does not have the power to disqualify a driver. The spokesperson said if the court is satisfied that there "are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of the conviction" it can decided on a discretionary basis "not to order such a disqualification".
The UK medicines watchdog is to review the safety of a clot-busting drug often used to treat strokes.
By Adam BrimelowHealth Correspondent, BBC News The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency believes the benefits of alteplase outweigh the risks. But it is revisiting the evidence. Some experts say previous assessments may have been flawed. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges welcomed the investigation, saying the review has "huge implications" for patient safety. A stroke is a medical emergency - and there is one every five minutes in the UK. Most strokes are caused by a clot blocking the flow of blood to the brain. Many patients are given alteplase to break down and disperse the clot - treatment known as thrombolysis. Concerns over 'balance' There is an increased risk of dangerous bleeding in the brain, but regulators have concluded this is outweighed by the benefits of improved recovery. However, some experts disagree. Dr Roger Shinton, a stroke specialist, set out his concerns in a letter published in the Lancet. He told the BBC: "My concerns using alteplase for stroke have always been that the risks of this drug are quite considerable, particularly with bleeding into the brain. The question is, do the benefits justify that risk? And I am not myself convinced that they do." Dr Shinton said many stroke specialists shared his concerns. Responding in the Lancet, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had recently examined the issue and concluded that the balance of benefits and risks was still favourable. But it also confirmed it was setting up an expert working group "to ensure all relevant sources of evidence have been taken into consideration". 'Great progress' It said it expected the inquiry would report its findings early next year. Jon Barrick, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said treatment by thrombolysis using alteplase was part of the great progress in stroke treatment. "No treatment is without risks. The NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] recommendation on the use of alteplase is based on current evidence that shows overall the benefits outweigh the risks. "Eligible patients treated with thrombolysis are more likely to have a good outcome and more people are surviving stroke and leading independent lives." The manufacturers, Boehringer Ingelheim, say they stand by the safety of the drug. 'Huge implications' "Our medicine is an emergency clot-busting treatment for someone who has just suffered a stroke. Our medicine increases the proportion of patients who are alive and leading independent lives following this life-changing event." Dr Aseem Malhotra, consultant clinical associate to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, welcomed the MHRA announcement. "We support the MHRA in carrying out an investigation as a matter of urgency as this has huge implications not just for patient safety but also for the provision of acute stroke services."
Kim Han-sol has been the subject of intense media interest for most of his life, and the killing of his father in mysterious circumstances at Kuala Lumpur airport has done nothing to diminish that.
A short video of him confirming his father's death that emerged weeks later has only added to the intrigue. Kim Jong-nam was passed over for the North Korean leadership and his life since the early 2000s had been spent in exile. The half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un had even spoken out against his family's dynastic control of the North, so it is perhaps no surprise that his son also became known for his open-minded views. Han-sol has referred to his uncle as a "dictator" and also expressed hope for peace between the two Koreas. In a 2012 interview for Finnish television, he said: "I've always dreamed that one day I would go back and make things better, and make things easier for the people back there. I also dream of unification." Although his immediate family was reportedly living in exile, Han-sol, who was then 17 years old, said that he visited North Korea every summer to "meet with my relatives and keep in touch with my family". When asked about his uncle, he said: "I don't really know how he became a dictator because first of all it was between him and my grandfather." Change in fortunes Born in 1995 in Pyongyang, Kim Han-sol spent the first few years of his life living in the capital in isolation with few friends. But his life dramatically changed in the early 2000s, when his father fell out of favour and moved the family to Macau. It was in Macau and later at United World College in Mostar in Bosnia, where he said he became more exposed to different cultures and opinions. He added that he had made friends with Americans and South Koreans. "These are countries which we have been having conflicts with and a lot of tension, but we turned out to be really great friends. That just sparked the curiosity for me," he said. In 2013 Han-sol reportedly moved to the French city of Le Havre where he enrolled in the prestigious Sciences Po university, to study social sciences. There have been reports that his next move was to attend Oxford University in 2017, but it is unclear whether he will go ahead following his father's death. On 8 March, a video was published by a previously-unknown group of a man confirmed to be Kim Han-sol saying: "My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister." He showed what appears to be a North Korean diplomatic passport to confirm his identity, though the details have been blocked out, and said he is "grateful to..." before the audio and image were censored. He ended by saying: "We hope this gets better soon." In the video, he spoke perfect English with a faint British accent.
Asian stock markets headed lower after Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected austerity demands from creditors in Sunday's referendum.
The euro fell across the board after Greece rejected the conditions of a bailout package, increasing the odds of the country's exit from the eurozone. It was at $1.1014 against the dollar in Asian trade, having recovered slightly from one-month lows hit earlier. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 3.2% at 25,236.28 - leading Asia's losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 2.1% lower at 20,112.12. The yen - often viewed as a haven currency in times of uncertainty - rallied against the dollar and euro. The euro fell 1.5% to a six-week low of 133.70 yen, but then recovered some losses to trade at 135.45. However, it is still down from Friday's rate of 136.185 yen. Major commodities such as oil were also down, with the price of Brent crude falling more than 1% to $59.56 a barrel in Asian trade. Officials step in Japan's government and the Bank of Japan met to discuss the market impact from Greece's "no" vote. "The direct economic and financial relations between Japan and Greece are limited. But government and BOJ (Bank of Japan) officials have held discussions" to ensure Japan responds smoothly to any market response as needed, said Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda. In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index closed down 2.4% at 2,053.93 - posting its biggest daily loss in three years. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index finished 1.1% lower at 5,475. Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors said that while the Greek "no" vote meant more uncertainty ahead for the eurozone, the impact on the markets would be short-lived. "The threat of a flow on to other eurozone countries is likely to keep markets on edge in the short term," he said in a note. "However, contagion is likely to be limited as the rest of Europe is now in far stronger shape than was the case in the 2010-12 eurozone crisis and defence mechanisms against contagion are now stronger." Volatile China trade Mainland Chinese shares surged nearly 8% in morning trade after the government announced measures over the weekend to stabilise the tumbling stock markets. In an unprecedented move, brokerages and fund managers vowed to buy massive amounts of stocks backed by the state. However, the market lost much of the morning's gains, with the Shanghai Composite closing up 2.4% at 3,775.91. On Monday, three Chinese asset managers said they would commit a combined 210m yuan ($33.85m: £21m) of their own money to buy equity funds, as part of a concerted effort by institutional investors to stabilise the market. Harvest Fund Management said it would spend 50m yuan, Yinhua Fund Management would spend 90m yuan, and the asset management arm of Orient Securities would commit 70m yuan to buy equities. Over the weekend, the China Mutual Fund Association said 25 fund firms pledged to buy shares, while another 69 fund firms said they would do the same, as part of emergency measures to boost investor confidence. The Shanghai Composite has fallen nearly 30% over the past three weeks, despite an interest rate cut by the central bank the week earlier and other measures to support the market.
Guernsey Post is to introduce an Augmented Reality stamp in January featuring marine life.
The company said that when the stamps are scanned with a special mobile phone app a special documentary on the fish would be shown. The miniature sheet stamps, including one of the rarely seen Black-face Bleeny, will go on sale in 2013. The images and footage taken for the stamps are the work of Sue Daly, a world-renowned underwater photographer. Ms Daly, who lives in Sark, was able to capture the depicted fish during her summer dives around the island. Boley Smillie, Guernsey Post's chief executive said: "We are extremely pleased with this exciting new product. The technology, which is easy to use, brings the stamp to life and adds another dimension for our collectors to explore."
A car was driven off at speed from the scene where a man was murdered in South Lanarkshire, police have said.
Graham Williamson, of Caithness Street, Blantyre, was in his back garden at about 17:00 on Monday when he was shot by a man who had run up behind him. Police, who believe Mr Williamson was targeted, said he managed to get onto the street to friends. He was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Wishaw but died there a short time later. Officers are appealing for information about a dark blue Skoda seen at the time of the murder. Det Supt Kevin Jamieson, of the major investigation team, said: "The response from the public so far has been encouraging, people are really shocked about what has happened. "From our inquiries, we believe now that a dark blue Skoda car - a newer model, possibly an estate car - was in the area at the time of the shooting. It was seen to drive off at speed after the attack in the direction of Blantyre Main Street, possibly towards Douglas Street and maybe the expressway or other roads nearby." 'Hooded suspect' He added: "Whether linked to the incident or not, we are still interested in speaking to its occupants or indeed anyone who may have seen the car, or who maybe has dashcam footage of it in Caithness Street, either before or afterwards, or in streets nearby. "As said before, it is imperative we catch those responsible for Graham's murder." Police have previously issued a description of a suspect they want to trace. He was wearing dark clothing, with either a hood or balaclava covering his face.
Nelson Mandela had no shortage of female admirers, given his charm and impeccable dress sense.
His biographer Anthony Sampson once said he was a "ladies' man and proud of it". He had three wives, who over more than six decades proved invaluable partners to him at different stages in his career, and have given an insight into the private man. Evelyn Mase: First wife Nelson Mandela married Evelyn Mase, a cousin of his political mentor Walter Sisulu, three years after arriving in Johannesburg to avoid an arranged marriage in the rural region of Eastern Cape. He was 26 and she was 22. "I think I loved him the first time I saw him," she is quoted as saying in Higher Than Hope, a biography of Mr Mandela that came out in 1990 when he was released from prison. "Within days of our first meeting we were going steady and within months he proposed." They were married for 13 years. During much of that time, her nurse's salary supported the family while Mr Mandela pursued his law studies. Together they had four children. The death of their second child aged nine months had a devastating effect on Evelyn, who became more religious, while Mr Mandela became more political. She was a Jehovah's Witness with no interest in politics. ''I could not give up my life in the struggle, and she could not live with my devotion to something other than herself and her family,'' Mr Mandela wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. It was a bitter end to the marriage, and Mr Mandela returned home on bail after his arrest on treason charges to find she had moved out. Five years after Mr Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964, their eldest son Thembekile died in a car crash. According to biographer Anthony Sampson, he sent Evelyn, who was then running a grocery store in a village in what is now the Eastern Cape, a message of condolence - it was their only communication while he was in prison. When her former husband's release from jail in 1990 was compared to the second coming of Christ, she told journalist Fred Bridgland: "It's very silly when people say this kind of thing about Nelson. "How can a man who has committed adultery and left his wife and children be Christ? The world worships Nelson too much. He is only a man." But she later seemed to have grown accustomed to the adulation. In an interview just after the general election which saw Mr Mandela elected as the country's first black president, she said she had not seen him since he had been released from prison, but she knew "the people love him very much". "When I go to their houses to talk to them about Jehovah, I always see his picture on the walls. His strength has come from God. "God uses people to do his work even if they are not righteous." In 1998, more than 40 years after separating from Mr Mandela, Evelyn married Simon Rakeepile, a fellow Jehovah's Witness. She died in 2004. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: Second wife Nelson Mandela's romance with Winnie Madikizela blossomed during his treason trial. She was a 22-year-old social worker, 16 years younger than him and she would become a political firebrand. "I was both courting her and politicising her," Mr Mandela said in his autobiography. In her 1984 memoir Part of My Soul Went with Him, she said that Mr Mandela never formally proposed. "One day Nelson just pulled up on the side of the road and said: 'You know, there is a woman who is a dressmaker, you must go and see her, she is going to make your wedding gown. How many bridesmaids would you like to have?' "That's how I was told I was getting married to him! It was not put arrogantly; it was just something that was taken for granted. I just asked: 'What time?'" She said in an 1983 interview with filmmaker Kevin Harris that to all intents and purposes she was marrying a prisoner. "He had to get permission to get married because he was not only a prisoner, he was banned and the trial was on in Pretoria at the time. So he was given four days in which to go to the Transkei and get married." The couple went on to have two daughters, but spent little time together as a family. "He did not even pretend that I would have some special claim to his time. There never was any kind of life I can recall as family life, a young bride's life where you sit with your husband. You just couldn't tear Nelson from the people: The struggle, the nation came first," she said in her memoir. Three years after their wedding, Mr Mandela went underground - he was captured and imprisoned for sabotage in 1962 for five years. "The honest truth of God is that I didn't know him at all," she later admitted to Mr Sampson. 'He is human' While he was in prison, the Rivonia trial began, and the defendants could have faced the death sentence - instead they got life in prison. From this time, Winnie was determined to keep the struggle going with her name. She faced banning orders, imprisonment and was exiled to a township near Brandfort. Visits to see her husband were difficult. "Exile is like being in prison at your own expense… worst of all was being without my children and not having the opportunity to play the role of a parent… virtually both of us have really not had that opportunity to be parents to our children," she told Mr Harris. Despite her controversial politics in the late 1980s - and her involvement in the abduction of a teenage boy accused of being a police spy who was murdered by one of her bodyguards - the couple put on a united front for Mr Mandela's release in 1990. She said there had been a great fear that the ANC leadership would die in prison. On the day of his release, before he walked free, Mr Mandela was full of excitement and they were both shocked by his reception, she recalled in an interview in The Guardian newspaper in 2010. "He is human," she said. "He must have at a certain point been afraid, afraid of what he was coming out to… having left in the 60s, you come back to a society that expected so much of you at the age of over 70." The couple separated before Mr Mandela became president, over growing political and personal differences, and reports of her infidelity. They later divorced and during court proceedings it was revealed that after Mr Mandela's release from prison, she had never entered their bedroom while he was awake. On the 20th anniversary of his release and at a time when her political star had again risen, Winnie recalled their married life together in a speech: "He was loving, fond of children, a people's person and a very hard worker. "His fearlessness, his unassailable morality, his unwavering commitment to the struggle for total freedom and his insistence on marching to his own beat were the hallmarks of his character. "Yet he also had the ability to take on adversaries and win them over, and to take complex issues and bring them down to earth. "And he was no angel, like most human beings. He never claimed to be a saint." Profile: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Graca Machel: Third wife Graca Machel knew what it was to be married to a liberation movement when she married Mr Mandela towards the end of his presidency. She was the widow of Mozambican independence leader and president Samora Machel, who died in a plane crash in 1986 - an accident that was alleged to have been engineered by South Africa's apartheid-era regime, though this is still under investigation. "It's just wonderful that finally we have found each other and can share a life together," Mr Mandela's biographer Anthony Sampson quoted her as saying two years before their marriage. "He can love very deeply, but he tries to control it very well in his public appearance," she told the author. "In private he can allow himself to be a human being. He likes people to know he is happy. "When he is unhappy he lets you know. "He's a very simple person, very gentle. He is down to earth. Even politically if you watch him sometimes you can feel there's a bit of naivete." Twenty-seven years his junior, she was reportedly reluctant to marry him because of her sense of obligation to the people of Mozambique, and the tension between Mr Mandela and Winnie Mandela following their divorce. 'He is vain' According to Mr Sampson, she agreed to spend two weeks every month with him in Johannesburg in 1996, finding it hard at first to adjust to his early rising and bedtimes. He could be "very impatient" and "very stubborn" - and in a sentiment shared with Mr Mandela's other wives, she told Mr Sampson: "He is a symbol, that's correct, but he's not a saint." Eventually bowing to pressure, she agreed to marry him and they tied the knot on his 80th birthday in 1998. She already had six stepchildren and two of her own children, and together they enjoyed their large families and many grandchildren. Graca, who continued her political and humanitarian career, also oversaw his several retirements and tried to protect him from the demands of an adoring world. And for several years before his death, she was at pains to prepare South Africa. "Madiba is a very proud person. He is vain so when he realises that he can't walk tall and firm like he used to be, he doesn't like it," she told CNN on his 91st birthday. "To see him ageing is something that pains you. "You understand you know it has to happen. That spirit, that sparkle, somehow is fading." Nevertheless she told the BBC in 2010 it was wonderful to watch Mr Mandela "get old gracefully".
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said it has seen a "steady recovery" in the country since March, but warned that the path to an economic rebound remains uncertain.
The firm's sales grew 22% in the three months to 31 March, despite virus-related restrictions denting activity. The gain was stronger than expected, driven by demand for groceries, electronics and cloud computing. Supply chain disruptions and investment losses weighed on its results overall. The performance of China's economy - in which Alibaba is a key player - is being closely watched as a preview of how the rest of the world might fare following abrupt economic shutdowns aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19. The country's government said this week that it would not set an economic growth target. This marks the first time it has declined to do so since 1990. Many global companies have also scrapped forecasts for the year ahead, citing uncertainty due to the pandemic. On Friday, Alibaba, which runs one of the world's largest groups of shopping and digital media websites, also warned of uncertainty. But it told investors that it expected revenue growth of about 27% over the next 12 months, compared to 35% in the prior year. "Although the pandemic negatively impacted most of our domestic core commerce businesses starting in late January, we have seen steady recovery since March," Alibaba chief financial officer Maggie Wu said. International uncertainty Alibaba profits were, however, almost completely wiped out in the three months to 31 March. The company said this was largely down to a loss of investment income. The firm reported sales of $16bn (114.3bn yuan, £13.1bn) in the same period, with revenue on its core shopping websites up by almost 19%. Sales in the firm's cloud computing division jumped 58%. However its international businesses saw significantly slower growth. This branch includes Southeast Asia shopping website Lazada and account for about 7% of the firm's revenue. "For our international commerce businesses... the timing and pace of recovery is still uncertain as demand in countries outside China remains soft," Alibaba said.
The minister's bodyguard who shot Westminster attacker Khalid Masood broke down in court as he described fearing for his life.
"He was carrying two large knives... covered in blood. He was going to kill me," the close protection officer told an inquest, his voice wavering. Masood had ploughed through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four, and fatally stabbed PC Keith Palmer. He died after being shot in the Palace of Westminster on 22 March last year. Two close protection officers were granted anonymity at 52-year-old Masood's inquest. They gave evidence beneath the public gallery in the Old Bailey's Court One, with the media listening from another room. The bodyguard who fired the shots - known to the court as SA74 - said he heard an "explosion" as Masood's car crashed. The officers moved towards the Carriage Gates, where PC Palmer had been stabbed, the court heard. Police officers and members of the public were "frantically" moving towards him "trying to get away from something or someone", said SA74. "I was certain that something terrible was happening." He described drawing his Glock pistol on seeing Masood running towards him, and shouting at the attacker to drop the knives, before firing three times. Bomb risk? His colleague - known as SB73 - described to jurors how he risked his safety to handcuff the attacker as he lay dying. "At that time he was still breathing. His chest was still rising and falling. He was going grey," he said. "He basically stopped breathing, so I started CPR; chest compressions." Jonathan Hough QC, for the coroner, asked: "Is it right to say there was a risk given the circumstances he might have a bomb?" The officer agreed. 'Mouth-to-mouth' A police officer who was on duty as part of a palace search team at Westminster described joining the officer at the scene to find Masood with two gunshot wounds. "I was unable to find his pulse and started CPR. I continued the mouth-to-mouth on the suspect," he said. The inquest heard he was joined by a doctor, and a defibrillator was called for after a first was found to be faulty. PC Dunmore added: "He started to deteriorate. He started to go cold and clammy and unresponsive." Paramedics arrived and Masood was taken to St Mary's Hospital, with CPR continuing in the ambulance, but he died as a result of damaged caused to his heart and lung by one of the bullets. Those killed in the attack were PC Palmer, 48, American tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, mother-of-two Aysha Frade, 44, and Romanian designer Andreea Cristea, 31. The coroner ruled last week that they were unlawfully killed.
Organisers of the National Eisteddfod have apologised for delays following a decision to shut the main car park after it became waterlogged.
People attending the festival on Anglesey on Monday were asked to take shuttle buses to the Bodedern Maes from the Anglesey Show ground at Mona. But some visitors complained of waiting up to two hours for a bus. Eisteddfod chief executive Elfed Roberts had urged visitors to "be patient". He said the change was a "temporary measure" to conserve the ground. "The rain yesterday was horrendous, that's what was at fault," Mr Roberts added. "There are people complaining that there is some mud on the Maes, I don't think that any field anywhere would have coped with what we got last night. "We all need to be patient, we need to calm down and not panic." The shuttle bus system will stay in place on Tuesday. Blue badge holders should park in Ysgol Uwchradd Bodedern, with a system in place to bring people to and from the Maes.
Arctic Monkeys fans in Sheffield have snapped up the chance to buy a limited-edition, gold vinyl version of the band's new album.
The pop-up shop in the band's home city is the only place in UK where the gold edition of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino is for sale. There are only 2,044 gold records available in Sheffield. Other pop-up stores have been opened in New York, Berlin, Sydney, Tokyo and Paris, according to the band's website. More stories from Yorkshire Alex Turner and the band have created a meandering, piano-driven, sci fi, jazz, lounge record, according to BBC Music. BBC Music News Live: More about the Arctic Monkeys' release The release has received mixed reviews. Rolling Stone gave it two stars calling it a "weird lounge music detour". The Independent, in a four-star review, said the band had landed on "something creative, intriguing and completely different". The group, whose previous hits include I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and Do I Wanna Know, was formed in 2002. The first person in the Sheffield queue, who gave his name as Joe from Leeds, said he had arrived just after midnight because he was "desperate" to get hands on the special album. "I'll probably spend too much money, but it is worthwhile", he said. Ashley, who had travelled from Preston, said he had spent about £90 and got "everything I wanted". "Inside they've got a film playing; it's like a museum. It's right good. "Everyone's just grabbing everything. I got the gold vinyl, posters, a Tranquility key-ring", he said. There were more than 100 people in the queue outside the shop an hour before it opened at 08:00 BST.
Emoji flags for Wales, Scotland and England are being considered by the international authority on computer text and characters.
By Huw ThomasBBC Wales arts and media correspondent A UK flag is available on keyboards found on devices such as smartphones. But a proposal submitted to Unicode has recommended adding flags for the home nations to the keyboard. Unicode's committee is meeting in Washington, US, to consider which characters to add to the world's digital keyboards. The lack of emoji flags meant the UK's social media users were unable to include their home nation's flags via their keyboards when writing about events such as the Euro 2016 football tournament or last year's Rugby World Cup. Alternatives have been used by social media users, including hashtags and the dragon's head emoji favoured by footballer Gareth Bale during the European Championships. The proposal for a new range of emoji flags was submitted by Jeremy Burge, of Emojipedia, and BBC Wales's social media lead, Owen Williams. The flag for Northern Ireland has not been included in the proposal as it does not have official status, although it is included in an unrelated proposal asking Unicode to adopt "regional indicator" emojis. If approved, the new emoji flags could be available during next summer.
Short-form video sharing app TikTok has been handed the largest ever fine for a US case involving children's data privacy.
Dave LeeNorth America technology reporter The company has agreed to pay $5.7m (£4.3m) and implement new measures to handle users who say they are under 13. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the Musical.ly app, which was later acquired and incorporated into TikTok, knowingly hosted content published by underage users. It has ordered TikTok to delete the data. Additionally, as of Wednesday, TikTok users in the US will be required to verify their age when they open the app. However, like many social networks, age verification is implemented on a trust basis - a person signing up simply has to lie about their date of birth in order to get around the check. "We care deeply about the safety and privacy of our users," the firm said. "This is an ongoing commitment, and we are continuing to expand and evolve our protective measures in support of this." Despite this, TikTok said it would not be asking existing users in other countries, including the UK, to verify their age as the settlement only applied to the US. After being one of the most downloaded apps of 2018, TikTok has an estimated base of 1 billion users worldwide. 'Large percentage' of underage users But the FTC was concerned about how old some of those users were. Its report said the Musical.ly app had 65 million users in the US, a "large percentage" of which were underage. TikTok's parent company, China-based ByteDance, acquired Musical.ly in 2017, and incorporated it into TikTok, discontinuing the original Musical.ly app. The apps allowed members to create short videos, set to music, to share with other users. "For the first three years [of its existence], Musical.ly didn't ask for the user's age," the FTC's statement read. "Since July 2017, the company has asked about age and prevents people who say they're under 13 from creating accounts. But Musical.ly didn't go back and request age information for people who already had accounts." The FTC noted media reports suggesting adults on Musical.ly had contacted children who were obviously under 13 because "a look at users' profiles reveals that many of them gave their date of birth or grade in school". According to the regulators complaint, Musical.ly was contacted by more than 300 concerned parents in just a two-week period in September 2016. While the profiles of the children involved were subsequently deactivated, the content the child had posted was not deleted. The FTC said TikTok would be fined because of what it saw a Musical.ly's failure to adhere to the basic principles of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, known as Coppa. Obligations include being upfront in how children's data is collected and used, as well as a mechanism by which to inform parents their child is using the service, and obtain their consent. The company was also said to have not responded adequately to parents' requests to delete data, and subsequently held onto that data for longer than was reasonable. TikTok would not share estimates on how many underage users had been, or still were, on the platform. 'Concerns arise' TikTok's settlement does not constitute an admission of guilt, but the BBC understands the firm does not plan to contest any of the FTC's allegations. The process of deleting the data in question has begun, but the firm could not give an estimate of how long it would take. To comply with regulations in future, TikTok said it was launching an "experience" for under-13 users that would strip out much of the functionality of the main app. "While we've always seen TikTok as a place for everyone, we understand the concerns that arise around younger users," the company said. "In working with the FTC and in conjunction with today’s agreement, we’ve now implemented changes to accommodate younger US users in a limited, separate app experience that introduces additional safety and privacy protections designed specifically for this audience." That app experience will disable the ability for users to just about everything TikTok offers, such as "share their videos on TikTok, comment on others' videos, message with users, or maintain a profile or followers". TikTok told the BBC it did not plan to provide the under-13 experience to users outside of the US, and instead would continue to limit use to those 13 and above. 'A bit complicated' On social media, panicked TikTok users reported being locked out of their accounts because of making mistakes when entering the date. Users responded by saying the process did not work properly, or that they did not have the required verification. "I'm sorry but this is ridiculous, I don't have a government ID and I'm 14,” wrote one user on Twitter. The firm admitted it was "a bit complicated". ___ Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC Do you have more information about this or any other technology story? You can reach Dave directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370
Refined petrol and chemicals were among the stronger sectors of the Scottish economy, according to the latest manufactured export figures.
According to the Scottish government, total overseas sales grew 3.5% in the second quarter of this year. Engineering also proved to be a strong factor. The strength of refining and chemicals underlined the importance of the closure-threatened Grangemouth complex for the economy. The data shows that refined petrol and chemicals account for nearly a quarter of manufactured goods sold to the rest of the world. Exports over the most recent quarter grew by 4.2%, which was at a slower pace than previous quarters. Overall following poor exports in the second half of 2012, the year-on-year figure for total manufactured exports was down 1.8%. Neil Francis, director of international operations at Scottish Development International, said: "These latest figures reinforce continued global demand for Scottish products, particularly those within the engineering, textiles, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. "With economic recovery gaining momentum, we are seeing more and more Scottish companies look to new and emerging markets such as Asia, Middle East, Africa and South America, as well as sustaining growth in the more traditional economies." He added: "We continue to work hard with our partners to help support ambitious companies with global potential and we are encouraged by the positive outlook for Scotland's manufactured exports."
Two Metropolitan Police detectives have visited Libya as part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher.
The officers travelled to Tripoli on Monday and returned on Wednesday. A Met Police spokesman said they discussed with Libyan officials how to take the inquiry forward. PC Fletcher, 25, was shot while policing a protest against the Muammar Gaddafi regime at the Libyan embassy in St James's Square in 1984. The officers - a detective superintendent and a detective inspector - were from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. In a statement, the force said it hoped their "preliminary discussions" would pave the way for the Met and Libyan authorities to work together to identify PC Fletcher's killer. The detectives will remain in regular contact with the policewoman's family who will be given an update about the visit, the force added. British officers had previously been refused visas by the Libyan authorities for such a visit. Siege The bullets which killed PC Fletcher and injured 10 protesters came from inside the Libyan embassy, but no-one has ever been charged over the shootings. Her death led to an 11-day siege of the building and the severing of diplomatic ties between the UK and Libya. Last month, Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib laid a wreath at the spot where she died, and held a private meeting with her family. They said in a statement they "looked forward to the investigation progressing".
For the first time in more than a decade, a train has travelled from South Korea across the heavily guarded border into North Korea.
On board is a team of South Korean experts investigating ways to help North Korea modernise its rail network. The two Koreas have made significant progress in improving their relationship over the past year. The hope is that it will eventually become easier to travel and trade across the border. When the leaders of North and South Korea had their historic meeting in April, North Korea's Kim Jong-un asked for help with updating his country's railways, which he said were in an "embarrassing" state. Some of the infrastructure dates back to the early 20th Century, so if it is ever to link up with the South it needs a full overhaul. The engineers boarded the train in Dorasan, just north of Seoul, on Friday morning for the short journey to the Demilitarised Zone which has divided the Korean peninsula since the Korean War in the 1950s. A banner displayed across the train as it headed over the heavily armed border described it as an Iron Horse, running towards an era of peace and prosperity. At Panmun Station across the border, a North Korean engine took over to take them further north. The 28 experts will live on the train for the next 18 days while inspecting 1,200km (745 miles) of track and railway infrastructure. The BBC's Laura Bicker in Seoul says the engineers can only look at the North's network but they can't touch it just yet. They also had to get special one-off clearance from the UN to get around sanctions, which prohibit taking fuel and certain equipment into North Korea. Cho Myoung-gyon, who heads the Unification Ministry which oversees relations with North Korea, said the project was "intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula". "Through the one connected railway, the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated. The trains running on the track will also carry peace and prosperity with them to North East Asia and the world," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying. But while inter-Korean relation-building has continued apace over the past year, talks with the US have stalled. Pyongyang and Washington have repeatedly accused each other of failing to honour the vague agreements about denuclearisation they made at their landmark summit in Singapore in June. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in is determined that this railway project will go ahead, says our correspondent. The US has given its support to the rail survey, but Mr Moon will have to have a number of difficult conversations if he's to persuade President Donald Trump that easing sanctions at this stage would be worthwhile so the project can go ahead, our correspondent says.
A former climbing instructor gave a boy in his care "preferential treatment" before repeatedly indecently assaulting him, a jury has been told.
Robert Pugh, 75, from Cardiff, denies 13 charges of indecent assault against three boys at the Storey Arms in the Brecon Beacons, in the 1980s and 90s. The witness said Mr Pugh gave him gifts and tried to go into his room and touch him when he was a boy. He said he tried to push him away but that often led to confrontations. He told the trial at Cardiff Crown Court that, at times, the "confrontation was as uncomfortable as a certain level of contact". He described an occasion when he went on a skiing trip abroad with Mr Pugh for work experience at the age of about 16 and was "horrified" to find they were sharing a room and a double bed. The victim told the jury his "defence strategy" was to lie on the edge of the bed, but "Bob was constantly in my personal space - any movement and I'd be touching him". He said the following year, on a trip to the Alps, he was invited to stay with Mr Pugh a week later than others. He told the jury that, at a pub, he was given a lot of alcohol to drink by Mr Pugh and when they returned to the car, Mr Pugh repeatedly touched his genitals and attempted to perform oral sex but there was an angry exchange and he left the car. He told the court that Mr Pugh had touched his genitals about 10 to 12 times and had attempted on many other occasions. Mr Pugh's barrister Hillary Roberts suggested that knocking on the door of the room and telling the witness to get ready was perfectly innocent. He replied: "At times it might have been, but I don't think trying to touch my groin is perfectly innocent." The trial continues.
Several churches in Chile have been attacked or vandalised ahead of a visit by Pope Francis next week.
Three churches in the capital Santiago were damaged by firebombs. Some flyers left behind warned that the next one was for the Pope. But at another church south of the capital, a pamphlet used a phrase that refers to activism in the indigenous Mapuche territory. President Michelle Bachelet described the incidents as "very strange". "In a democracy, people can express themselves as long as they do it in a peaceful way," she told a radio station on Friday, adding that the attacks could not yet be tied to a particular group. No one has been arrested for the attacks, which caused no injuries. The Vatican is yet to comment. Pope Francis has made compassion and support for migrants and the needy a major theme of his papacy. But notes left at one of the attacked churches reportedly complained that money spent on his visit could be better used on the poor. The Pope will hold mass on Tuesday in a Santiago park and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out. The pontiff will also meet Mapuche leaders on his visit to Chile. They say vast privately owned estates and huge timber plantations have left their lands in the extreme south of Chile environmentally depleted and their people mired in poverty, says BBC World Service Americas Editor Candace Piette. The pontiff, the first Latin American Pope, will travel to Peru after Chile.
A £37m theme park is set to be built on the site of a former coal mine in South Yorkshire.
The Pithouse West opencast colliery site, near Rother Valley Park, has been sold by Rotherham Council to the Gulliver's Family Theme Parks firm. The Gulliver's company said on its website the rolling development of the site would cost about £37m. The plan includes a theme park, adventure centre, "glamping" woodland lodges, a hotel and holiday village. Rotherham Council said its decision was subject to certain conditions being met and planning permission being approved but, if successful, building work could start "as early as next year". In a statement the authority said: "Gulliver's Valley Resort would be developed in four or five phases over a 12-year period." The Gulliver's company said its development of the Pithouse West site - the site of the former Brookhouse Colliery, which closed in 1985 - was planned to be "sympathetic, retaining and enhancing large areas of existing woodland as attractive elements of the resort". Managing director Julie Dalton said: "We want to create a 'whole park feel', with nature trails, walks, outdoor gyms and woodland runs which can be used by our guests and the local community alike." The first phase of developing Gulliver's Valley would be the theme park and associated areas, taking about two years. Gulliver's already operates three family theme parks at Matlock Bath, Warrington and Milton Keynes. Five government commissioners were selected to run Rotherham Council until March 2019 after a report found the local authority "not fit for purpose" over its handling of child sexual exploitation in the town. In agreeing to the sale of the 333-acre site, one of the commissioners, Julie Kenny, said she was "absolutely delighted" to see a well-established family company planning to locate to the area.
In our series of letters from African journalists, the editor-in-chief of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper, Mannir Dan Ali, considers the controversy over the latest plan to deal with insecurity in his country.
Last week, I helped pay a ransom to free the kidnapped wife and two daughters of a friend. The three had been held for eight days after being snatched from their home in the northern city of Kaduna. What I did no longer seems unusual and it's just one of the many stories resulting from the current insecurity in this vast country. The federal government has been accused of ineffectiveness and the governors of six states in south-west Nigeria have come up with their own answer. They have announced that they plan to set up their own security outfit to be known by the Yoruba word for leopard - amotekun. Exactly how it will operate is not yet known as the states are still finalising the plans, but it is set to involve employing new security personnel with the power to arrest. Accused of plotting breakaway Amotekun will also share intelligence and security infrastructure across the states. The plan has riled the national authorities and led some to accuse the six states of plotting to secede from Nigeria, a diverse country of 200 million people. Yorubas are one of its three main ethno-linguistic groups. To ease suspicion the governors met Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and top police figures last week. But if anyone had expected that that would be the end of the controversy then they were disappointed. Emerging from the meeting Ondo state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who chairs the council of the six governors, said a deal had been struck. He said the states will now go and enact enabling laws to create Amotekun and at the same time align it with federal police initiatives. But almost immediately, Afenifere, a Yoruba cultural group which stoutly supports the new initiative, quickly dismissed the agreement saying the federal government cannot dictate how the south-west protects its people. Similar sentiments were expressed by others on the matter, which has gived opponents of what they see as a bumbling federal government a rallying point. The media, both old and new, is awash with stories and opinions on the subject. Acres of newspaper space have been devoted to Amotekun, while TV and radio discussion programmes and news bulletins have also been dominated by the issue. And social media has been on fire since the idea first came to light several weeks ago. You may also be interested in: Most politicians do not have the luxury of avoiding this leopard. But one of the biggest political figures managed to walk a tightrope with the precision of a circus performer. Bola Tinubu, reputed to be the most influential politician from the south-west, and whose support was critical in getting Muhammadu Buhari elected as president in 2015, was goaded into declaring a position. With the ambition of getting President Buhari's support for him to contest the next presidential election in 2023, and careful not to antagonise his critical base in the south-west, Mr Tinubu appeared to support both sides of the argument. Some comments on the matter have reflected the distrust between the different regions of Nigeria. When the veteran northern politician, Balarabe Musa, aired his views on Amotekun, he said it was the beginning of a separatist republic for the Yorubas. The reactions came thick and fast. Nobel literature laureate, Wole Soyinka, said that "raising the spectre of secession is a facile approach to the dangerous, self-evident lapses in governance". The poet and playwright added that "the midwives of Amotekun have repeatedly acknowledged that theirs is only a contribution towards a crisis of escalating proportions". But the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said that the proposed regional security outfit was against the law since the constitution vests such powers in the federal government. "Amotekun [is] unconstitutional and illegal," he declared. While our leaders debate points of constitutional law, hapless Nigerians, not just in the south-west but all over the country, are at the mercy of kidnappers, bandits and in the case of the north-east, Islamist insurgents. They are killing, maiming and making people poorer as they prevent them from earning their living in peace. Apart from those who specialise in stealing oil from pipelines, there are also the bandits who rule the roost in many towns and villages, making it impossible for many to farm or keep livestock. This is in addition to the herders who kill and maim farmers who challenge their right of way. I am aware of many who have abandoned their multi-million naira investments in their farms for fear of getting kidnapped if they visit. And it is not as if the authorities are not doing anything, as they periodically deal with some of the gangs involved. In the case of the north-west, where banditry is rife, the authorities have agreed on an amnesty for criminals who give up their unlawful acts. This week, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered air strikes against bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers in forested areas bordering three states in the north and centre of the country. He said that air raids "remain the best approach given the lack of motorised roads in the areas constantly under attack". Vigilante response But the measures appear piecemeal and suggest that something more systematic and drastic needs to be done before everyone resorts to self-help or vigilantism. In just the past few weeks, in a sign of people taking matters into their own hands, alleged kidnappers were reportedly burnt to death by mobs in the south-eastern Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states. In the capital, Abuja, not only did a mob kill an alleged kidnapper, they also vandalised a police vehicle when the police tried to intervene. What is needed is a frank discussion and agreement on measures to deal with the situation involving all tiers of government, instead of the grand-standing that distracts from tackling the criminals, who continue to have the upper hand. More Letters from Africa Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
A South Tyneside man has arrived at Land's End in Cornwall after running from John O'Groats in the Highlands of Scotland - with a fridge on his back.
Tony Phoenix-Morrison, from Hebburn, ran 40 marathons in 40 days carrying the 40kg fridge. The 49-year-old is raising money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation for cancer research. He crossed the finish line to cheers from supporters, with his seven-year-old son Rocco on his shoulders. The married father-of-four - known as Tony the Fridge - said the 1,000-mile trek had left him with a damaged hip and needing physiotherapy treatment en route. 'Just incredible' He said: "When I set out I genuinely had no idea how far I'd get. "I wanted to try something so hard that nobody could be certain of its outcome. All I could do was try to prepare myself physically and mentally as best I could. "At the end of this I feel humbled really. I've had so much support and generosity from the British public from the top of Scotland all the way down to the bottom of England." The regular marathon runner, who ran for about seven hours a day, said he carried the fridge to represent the burden of cancer. Sir Bobby Robson's son, Mark, said: "Tony's just incredible. "What strikes me most about him is his mental strength. That kind of perseverance and determination is exceptional really. "Anyone who has been kind enough to sponsor him will know he's pushed himself to the limit to raise funds for the foundation." Mr Phoenix-Morrison will be visiting Sir Bobby's former club Ipswich Town on Saturday when Middlesbrough are the visitors. He is due to run a lap of the Portman Road pitch before heading back to Tyneside to take part in the Great North run. The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation funds research which directly benefits cancer patients across the north east and Cumbria, and which contributes significantly to international studies into the disease.
Residents have been forced to move their furniture on to the street after a burst pipe flooded dozens of homes in Birmingham.
Severn Trent Water supplies in nine postcode areas were affected and homes along Bristol Road South in Northfield were flooded on Sunday. Shabnam Sama said about 40 families were affected as flats were evacuated, and they were now mopping up. She said she saw "a river" outside her home as water came into her garage. Her husband went outside to warn neighbours on New House Farm Drive, off Bristol Road South, at about 05:00 BST. "It started at about four or five in the morning when we could hear a gargling noise in our home and then smell of sewage," she said. "We went to look and saw a river outside and the fire brigade and lots going on, so we wondered what had happened." Mrs Sama, who works in pharmaceuticals, said the water continued escaping until about 08:30, causing distress and concern for many residents. "This is normally a quiet street, but it was full of contractors and firefighters. They sent a lot of people out," she added. "The water stopped millimetres from our home, although it did go into the garage so we are not the worst affected. "I've been helping my neighbour who has been unwell after a back surgery. "I had to cook for her as she could not use her kitchen. It's a trauma for people." Severn Trent has said the repair would be "a lengthy progress" and was likely to take "a few days". A lane closure on Bristol Road will remain in place while the repair is carried out. Pressure was restored for the "majority" of customers by Sunday afternoon. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
How did a video about telling your parents you're gay at Chinese New Year become a viral hit in China?
BBC Trending What's popular and why New Year is a time for millions of Chinese families to come together to eat, celebrate and set off firecrackers. For many Chinese sons and daughters, it's also a time to endure a barrage of questions from parents demanding to know when they're ever going to meet someone and settle down (many have been there). This spring festival there's a chance they may also be discussing homosexuality thanks to a film called Coming Home, about a man named Fang Chao, who goes home for New Year and tells his family he's gay. As BBC Trending radio has been finding out, the film has racked up more than 100 million views on QQ, one of the biggest social media platforms in China. In the film Fang's parents disown him for two years after he tells them he wants to be with a man. At the end there are real clips from the mothers of gay men offering their advice, and leaving messages like: "Share the story of your life with your parents - they're willing to hear you out," and "Don't allow social convention and traditional views on marriage get in the way of your kid coming home." Attitudes towards homosexuality in China are mixed and the comments reacting to the video reflect this. Some have been overwhelmingly supportive, others less so. "Some say gays and lesbians are OK and normal. What will you think if YOUR sons and daughters are?," one comment read. "Are they afraid to socialise with women? Can they differentiate fraternal relations from love?" another said. One of those behind the video is Ah Qiang, who runs the Guangzhou branch of the not-for-profit organization PFLAG. It began in the US and campaigns for the social inclusion of all people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Ah Qiang told BBC Trending his coming out story. "My mother died in 2006 and I never got the chance to tell her. [I'm] very sad about that," he says. Two years later he decided to tell his father and stepmother he was gay. He invited them over, explained why he had no girlfriend and why he did not come home for New Year. "At the end I said 'have you got any questions for me?' [My father] had just one. 'Who will look after you when you are old?' "I said, 'I will have friends and I am saving for my old age'." Despite China's policy of internet censorship, Ah Qiang says social media has given people in China an outlet to discuss issues around homosexuality. He told BBC Trending that QQ, the Chinese social media site that hosted the Coming Home video, initially said they couldn't put it on the front page because of its pro-gay message. After a few days however, it had proved so popular it was moved to the site's front page. To hear the full interview with Ah Qiang check out the BBC Trending podcast. Blog by Gemma Newby and India Rakusen Next story: Be careful who you swear at on the train Or maybe you'd like to watch: Celebrities defend gay rights in Ghana You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending
Several EU countries are receiving significantly fewer doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine than expected, after the US firm slowed shipments.
Six nations called the situation "unacceptable" and warned it "decreases the credibility of the vaccination process". Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia urged the EU to apply pressure on Pfizer-BioNTech. Pfizer said the reduced deliveries were a temporary issue. In a statement on Friday, the drugmaker said shipments were being affected by changes to its manufacturing processes designed to boost production. "Although this will temporarily impact shipments in late January to early February, it will provide a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March," Pfizer said. The company said its production upgrades would also have a "short-term impact" on the delivery of vaccines to the UK. Despite this, the UK government said it still planned to hit its target of vaccinating all priority groups by mid-February - about 15 million people. The vaccine from Pfizer is not the only candidate available in the UK, with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca jab also currently being rolled out. The EU is not wholly reliant on the Pfizer jab either, having approved a vaccine manufactured by US company Moderna for use. Still, the development is expected to slow the pace of vaccination programmes. The German health ministry called Pfizer's announcement surprising and regrettable, noting that it had committed to binding delivery dates until mid-February. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had been assured by Pfizer's chief executive that all orders guaranteed for delivery in the first quarter of the year would arrive. Last week, Ms von der Leyen said Pfizer had agreed to supply the EU with 600 million doses this year, double its initial order. The pledge may do little to soothe European governments battling to subdue a fast-spreading Covid-19 variant first detected in the UK. About a third of the 27 EU governments reported having "insufficient" vaccine doses at a meeting this week, Reuters reported, citing a participant. Lithuania said it would now get only half as many Pfizer vaccine doses as promised until mid-February. Belgium said it expected to receive about half the planned doses in January. Canada is also affected, because its vaccine supplies come from a Pfizer factory in Belgium. Norway, which is not an EU member, said on Friday that Pfizer was temporarily reducing the number of vaccine doses delivered to the country as of next week. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in a statement that it could supplement the loss using "emergency stock". "The stock we now have will be able to compensate for a reduction in the planned deliveries for a few weeks ahead," it said. Which other vaccines is the EU buying? As well as Pfizer-BioNTech, the European Commission has reached agreements with five other pharmaceutical companies to purchase hundreds of millions of vaccines, once they pass clinical trials: The Commission concluded initial talks with another company, Novavax, for up to 200 million doses. Elsewhere in the world, Turkey said it had vaccinated half a million people in two days with vaccines developed by China's Sinovac Biotech. The figures suggest Turkey vaccinated more people on the first day of its roll-out than France did in almost three weeks. The French government faced a storm of criticism after it emerged that only 500 people had been vaccinated in the first week of the roll-out, which began in late December. Vaccination efforts have since stepped up, though, with 388,730 people receiving at least one dose so far, according to CovidTracker. In the US, President-elect Joe Biden on Friday unveiled an ambitious plan to ramp up vaccinations against Covid-19 when he takes office on 20 January. Mr Biden said his administration would set up new mass vaccination centres and hire extra health workers to achieve his target of inoculating 100 million Americans within his first 100 days in office. The incoming president made the announcement as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a stark warning about the spread of a highly transmissible coronavirus variant in the US. India, meanwhile, launched the world's largest vaccination campaign on Saturday. Efforts are under way to inoculate 1.3 billion people against the disease, starting with healthcare and frontline workers. Two vaccines - Covishield (the local name for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine) and Covaxin - are being used in India. You may also be interested in:
Plans for a park and ride near Bristol have received £3.5m funding from the region's combined authority.
Originally £500,000 was earmarked for the Yate scheme, but South Gloucestershire Council said the cash boost showed "commitment" to the plan. It is one of a number of transport schemes agreed for the MetroWest project aiming to improve road infrastructure and cut congestion. Plans for a park and ride in Yate have been under discussion for 15 years. A council-owned site in the area has already been allocated for the project. The funding was announced at a West of England Combined Authority (Weca) meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported. South Gloucestershire Council leader Toby Savage told the meeting the scheme will "offer residents in our communities a further way to access public transport around the region, while encouraging commuters to step out of their cars, free up our roads and reduce carbon emissions". A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson added: "A number of options have been identified and the next piece of work, which Weca have now agreed to fund, will be the one that confirms the best location. "Clearly the council-owned site is the frontrunner in deliverability terms, but we will now undertake the work necessary to confirm this is the best option to go forward with and to ultimately deliver."
Secondary school pupils in England could be kept home every other fortnight if local coronavirus cases soar, new guidance for teachers says.
The plans also say large groups of students - known as "bubbles" - could be told to stay home in the event of an outbreak among pupils. The education secretary described the measures as an "absolute last resort". The guidance, published on Friday night, comes just days before millions of pupils go back to school. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the document was a contingency plan for a "worst-case scenario". "We hope that we won't have to implement the guidance," he said. The guidance sets out what will happen in schools with a case of coronavirus. If a pupil or staff member has a suspected case, classes will continue as normal while the affected person self-isolates and a test is carried out. But if a case is confirmed, other pupils could be sent home to isolate for 14 days and to study online. This will depend on the level of contact between the infected person and other pupils in a "bubble" - with health protection teams to advise. In a smaller "bubble", such as a single class, all the pupils might have to be sent home to isolate. For a bigger bubble, such as an entire year group, there is the option to send home all the other pupils, but it could be limited to those who were in direct contact or close proximity or who had travelled with a pupil with the virus. Paul Whiteman, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Keeping schools open has to be the priority, but you don't need a crystal ball to see that there will almost inevitably be some disruption in some areas in the coming weeks." He said heads had been asking for weeks for this "Plan B" for what happens in the event of an outbreak - and "another late-night publication is fairly typical of what we've become used to". And Patrick Roach, of teachers' union NASUWT, said the government needed to give schools the resources to cope with the potential disruption, including support for remote learning and cover for staff absence due to self-isolation. "The availability of staff where there is a local lockdown or outbreak may mean that schools have to limit provision if they cannot be staffed safely," he added. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not ruled out nationwide restrictions should England see a spike in coronavirus cases this winter. Mr Hancock told The Times a second wave was "a very serious threat" and that, under a "reasonable worst-case scenario", Britain could be faced with a spike in Covid-19 cases and a bad outbreak of seasonal flu as people spend more time indoors. In other developments: For schools to respond to changing levels of coronavirus cases, there will be a four-stage set of responses - which prioritise keeping primary school pupils in school full-time. The default setting will be Tier 1, where all pupils will attend full-time. If local public health and education officials decide levels of infection are too high, schools could move to a Tier 2 response, in which secondary pupils would go on to a part-time rota. They would be in school for two weeks and then study online at home for two weeks. The guidance says schools would only be affected in this way after "all other measures have been exhausted" - but it says this would help to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission. A more severe response would be Tier 3, in which most secondary pupils would study from home, and then Tier 4, in which all types of school would switch to studying from home, except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children. Analysis: 'Remote learning will still be a reality' By Dan Johnson, BBC News Head teachers had asked for a Plan B and here it is - but there's frustration it came just days before more children are due back in the classroom across England. A suggestion of entire year groups or classes - "bubbles" - having to automatically self-isolate was deleted, but not before it added confusion. The Department for Education is now pointing to more nuanced guidance about head teachers and public health officials needing to establish who's been in "close contact" with anyone who tests positive. There's recognition that schools won't be immune from outbreaks in local communities and, while the intention will be to stay open and keep children in class, there's an acknowledgement that further interruptions to learning are possible. Primary school pupils are the clear priority. Secondary schools will first adopt a rota system before more prolonged disruption, meaning remote learning will still be a reality for some children. Prof Carl Heneghan, a Oxford University epidemiologist and practising GP, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme schools and families faced "significant disruption", with cold and flu cases meaning more pupils would have to self-isolate until they could be tested. "If your child has any symptoms they're going to have to stay off school. In the past there's been a tendency to say, you can have some Calpol, maybe you can go in. But there's going to have to be a sea-change in how parents behave with their children," he said. Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said he felt a "weary, resigned sense of inevitability" to receive the guidance at the last minute, after head teachers had been accused of "treachery" in asking for contingency planning for outbreaks. He said more needed to be done to support students in exam years who might find their teaching disrupted by periods of self-isolation, including ensuring that they had access to laptops to study at home. "We have to do better than previously," he said. "We simply cannot have those young people being left at home without clear guidance on what they're going to do." Prof Neil Ferguson, a former advisor to the government on the pandemic, said primary schools had often only had "the odd case" without evidence of wider transmission, so there was less need to isolate a larger group or introduce a rota. But he said schools also needed "very rapid testing" of students and staff to control outbreaks. Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green told Sky News the guidelines were "long overdue" and it was "unfair" to school and college leaders to release them so close to the start of term. It said this was "out of date with the latest guidance at the time of publication". Education staff and parents took to Twitter to express irritation at the timing of the publication. "The timing of this shows total disregard for schools, leaders and teachers. It is utterly breathtaking that this is how we are repeatedly treated," said deputy head Daniel Sabato. Several teachers raised concerns about the possibility of whole year groups being asked to isolate in some circumstances. Head of geography Mark Enser asked: "Staff in most secondaries are teaching across year group bubbles - who would be in school to teach the rest?"