label
stringlengths 5
984
| text
stringlengths 76
235k
|
|---|---|
A teenager who "hunted" for an 18-year-old man before stabbing him to death in east London has been jailed for 17 years.
|
Israel Ogunsola was found wounded in Link Street, Hackney, on 4 April. He later died from his injuries.
Jonathan Abora, 18, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years and 152 days for the murder.
Police said "Abora did not act alone" and continue to investigate.
A witness told investigators that Mr Ogunsola was attacked with "intent to kill," the Metropolitan Police said.
Det Ch Insp Chris Soole added: "Israel was hunted by Abora who was armed and ruthless in his efforts to kill.
"I hope this conviction brings some small comfort to Israel's family and acts as a deterrent to anyone thinking of carrying weapons on our streets.
"We know Abora did not act alone and we are now appealing for anyone who knows what happened to call police."
Abora will also serve a concurrent three-year sentence for possessing a knife.
|
A 70-year-old man has been killed in a crash on the M4 in Neath Port Talbot.
|
The motorcyclist died at the scene between junction 43, for Llandarcy, and 44, for Llansamlet.
The westbound carriageway remains closed between junctions 42 and 44 following the crash at about 16:25 BST, to allow investigations to continue.
Earlier, tailbacks had stretched back six miles, with roads into Swansea and Neath also affected, but the congestion has now cleared.
Motorists are still advised to avoid the area, with diversions are in place along the A4230 through Skewen and the A465 past Neath.
The motorway expected to remain closed for a "significant period" of time, Traffic Wales said.
|
Researchers say if increasing levels of fatness are replicated globally it could mean the equivalent of an extra billion people on the planet.
|
By Matt McGrathScience reporter, BBC World Service
The team estimated the total weight of people on the planet and found that North America had the highest average.
Although only 6% of the global population live there, it is responsible for more than a third of the obesity.
The research is published in the journal
BMC Public Health
.
In their report, the researchers from the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
calculate the weight of the global population at 287 million tonnes. They estimate that 15 million tonnes of this mass is due to people being overweight, and 3.5 million tonnes due to obesity.
Using World Health Organization data from 2005, the scientists worked out that the average global body weight was 62kg (137lb). But there were huge regional differences. In North America, the average was 80.7kg (178lb), while in Asia it was 57.7kg (127lb) .
While Asia accounts for 61% of the global population, it only accounts for 13% of the weight of the world due to obesity.
One of the authors of the paper, Prof Ian Roberts, explained the thinking behind the calculation.
"When people think about environmental sustainability, they immediately focus on population. Actually, when it comes down to it - it's not how many mouths there are to feed, it's how much flesh there is on the planet."
Weight of the world
The researchers say that just focusing on obesity in individuals or in groups is divisive and unhelpful.
"One of the problems with definitions of obesity is that it fosters a 'them and us' ideal. Actually, we're all getting fatter." Prof Roberts told BBC News.
The scientists also compiled tables of the heaviest and lightest countries according to their estimates.
The US, with its well documented problems with weight, is top of the list. If the rest of the world were to emulate the Americans, Prof Roberts says, it would have dramatic implications for the planet.
"If every country in the world had the same level of fatness that we see in the USA, in weight terms that would be like an extra billion people of world average body mass," he explained.
While countries like Eritrea, Vietnam and Ethiopia are at the other end of the scale from the US, the researchers argue it is not sufficient to say that being skinny is just a factor of poverty. The researchers point to a country like Japan which, according to Professor Roberts, could be a model for others.
"The Japanese example is quite strong. Average BMI (Body Mass Index) in USA in 2005 was 28.7. In Japan, it was 22. You can be lean without being really poor, and Japan seems to have pulled that off."
Car culture
But other countries in the top 10 most weighty are more of a surprise, and include Kuwait, Croatia, Qatar and Egypt.
Prof Roberts says that the high number of Arab countries is due to the impact of the automobile.
"One of the most important determinants of average body mass index is motor vehicle gas consumption per capita. So, it is no surprise to see many of the Arab countries in the list - people eat but they move very little because they drive everywhere."
The research team hopes its work will prompt new thinking about how the world weighs up issues of consumption, weight and population growth.
"We often point the finger at poor women in Africa having too many babies," says Prof Roberts. "But we've also got to think of this fatness thing; it's part of the same issue of exceeding our planetary limits."
|
A man has been jailed for 10 years for killing and sexually assaulting the British teenager Scarlett Keeling in Goa in 2008.
|
Samson D'Souza was found guilty of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder" by an Indian court on Wednesday.
The court upheld the acquittal of another man, Placido Carvalho.
The 15-year-old's mother said the 10-year sentence was "a year less than it's taken us to get this far".
Fiona MacKeown told the BBC she was happy D'Souza had been sentenced to "rigorous imprisonment" - meaning he has to work behind bars.
"I just hope he stays inside for that long," she added.
Both men were previously acquitted by a lower court in 2016 after a prolonged trial, but the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appealed against the verdict.
Earlier this week, D'Souza was found guilty of assault, destruction of evidence and providing narcotics to Scarlett, among other charges.
Scarlett's bruised and partially clothed body was found on Anjuna beach in Goa just after dawn on 18 February 2008.
The 15-year-old from Bideford in Devon was on a six-month "trip of a lifetime" to India with her family when she died.
The family had spent two months at the Goan resort before travelling down the coast to neighbouring Karnataka - but Scarlett was allowed to return to attend a Valentine's Day beach party.
She was left in the care of 25-year-old tour guide Julio Lobo, Ms MacKeown told media outlets.
Police in Goa initially concluded her death was accidental but, after a campaign by her family, a second post-mortem examination in March 2008 revealed she had been drugged and sexually assaulted before drowning in seawater.
The 2016 acquittal of the two men prompted angry statements from Ms MacKeown.
The verdict also drew widespread criticism in Goa, leading to the CBI filing a petition for a retrial.
|
Ministers have insisted there are safeguards to control the powers of police and crime commissioners (PCCs), after criticism from MPs.
|
The Home Affairs Select Committee identified two cases in which PCCs had "removed" police chief constables while "sidestepping" scrutiny.
Their report said it seemed "very easy" for a PCC to remove a chief constable for "insubstantial" reasons.
But the Home Office said strict protections were in place.
PCC Martin Surl argued the police chiefs had chosen to retire.
Confrontations
The new PCCs set police budgets and can hire and fire chief constables.
They replaced police authorities in the 41 force areas spanning England and Wales but not London following elections in November 2012. Fewer than 15% of voters turned out for the PCC elections.
Confrontations have already arisen between them and chief constables.
In Gwent, Chief Constable Carmel Napier retired under pressure from commissioner Ian Johnston, and in Avon and Somerset, Chief Constable Colin Port decided not to reapply for his job.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee, said MPs were concerned about the way some PCCs were using their powers.
"Nobody can overrule a commissioner when he or she makes up their mind to get rid of a chief constable and we've no other example of that in and elected public service."
But the government defended the process for removing chief officers, saying "strict safeguards such as consulting the independent Inspectorate of Constabulary and the local police and crime panel" were in place.
In another case, Lincolnshire chief constable Neil Rhodes was suspended by PCC Alan Hardwick but was reinstated following a High Court judgment that described the decision as "irrational and perverse".
'Too weak'
The Home Affairs Committee noted that even the home secretary was powerless to intervene if a PCC sought to force out a chief constable.
They were particularly critical of Mr Johnston who "persuaded" Chief Constable Carmel Napier to retire earlier this year.
He had provided "further evidence, if any were needed, that the checks and balances on police and crime commissioners are too weak", the MPs said.
Mr Johnston had told the committee he had a "duty to act in the best interests of the people, the electorate of Gwent".
After he decided to "take action" against Mrs Napier, he had followed legal advice on the appropriate procedure, he said.
Commissioners remove chief constables by "calling upon" them to resign or retire - but they must first give a written explanation of the reasons for the proposal and then consider any response.
Police and crime panels must make a recommendation to the commissioner within six weeks backing or opposing the plan and may consult HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
Neither of the two chief constables removed had ended up going through the process, the committee said.
Mr Vaz added: "It is worrying that police and crime commissioners seem able to side-step the statutory process for dismissing a chief constable. Police and Crime Panels should make more active use of their powers to scrutinise decisions such as this.
"We will be returning to this area when we carry out our next major inquiry into police and crime commissioners, towards the end of this year."
'Barking mad'
The chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners board, Tony Lloyd, countered that "in the vast majority of cases, the relationship between police and crime commissioners and chief constables have developed strongly and purposefully".
He added: "The appointment and removal of a chief constable is a duty that police and crime commissioners take very seriously.
"Police and crime commissioners and chief constables work together to decide the direction of travel of a force and police and crime commissioners have a duty to hold chief constables to account for the delivery of the most efficient and effective service for the public."
But, on BBC Radio 5Live, he conceded: "The powers of Police and Crime Commissioners do need to be looked at.
"If we had elected, for example, a member of an extremist political party or simply somebody who's barking mad - the ability to dismiss chief constables is pretty awesome."
Mr Surl, the PCC for Gloucestershire, denied that any of the cases Mr Vaz had raised involved the sacking of a chief constable.
"They chose to retire," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Although they had been encouraged to do so, he conceded, the chief constables had "had a choice... They could have gone down the procedure of a big inquiry, or they could take their half-million-pound pension."
A home office spokesman said: "As the Home Affairs Select Committee acknowledges, it is for PCCs to make decisions around appointing, suspending and removing chief constables and down to police and crime panels to scrutinise their decisions."
|
A Mexican photojournalist has been found dead along with four other people in a flat in Mexico City.
|
Ruben Espinosa, who worked for the investigative magazine Proceso, had recently moved to the city from the eastern state of Veracruz where he said he had been threatened and harassed.
Veracruz is considered one of the most dangerous Mexican states for journalists to work in.
They are often the targets of organised crime linked to drugs gangs.
Proceso said the killings were discovered in the Narvarte neighbourhood of Mexico City a day after Mr Espinosa's family lost contact with him.
The other four victims were all women. Three of them had lived in the apartment and the fourth was a domestic employee, the city prosecutor's office said.
Officials said identifications and cause of death were still being verified. However, Proceso said Mr Espinosa had suffered two gunshot wounds.
Many journalists under threat in Mexican states have taken refuge in the capital and the government has set up an agency to help protect them.
Free speech advocacy group Article 19 said Mr Espinosa was the first journalist to be killed while in exile in Mexico City.
It said his death marked a new level of violence against journalists in Mexico.
Earlier this year, the National Commission on Human Rights said 97 journalists had been killed in Mexico in connection with their work since 2010.
|
Smartwatch software used to help elderly patients could easily be hacked and abused, security researchers say.
|
Some of the watches are targeted mainly at dementia patients - and a hacker could even send a reminder to "take pills" as often as they wanted to.
The researchers said they were concerned that "an overdose could easily result".
The security flaw has now been fixed after they notified the Chinese company behind it, they said.
However, the app that connects to these types of watches has more than 10 million downloads, the researchers say - and there is no way of knowing if it had been exploited by someone else before being fixed.
The flaw was discovered by UK-based security firm Pen Test Partners.
It was in a system called SETracker, used in a wide range of relatively cheap smartwatches made by several different companies, and widely available online.
"We can make any watch reveal the position of the wearer, we can listen to the wearer without them knowing, and we can also alert them to take medication," said Ken Munro, a partner at Pen Test.
The watches targeted at dementia patients could be useful in scenarios such as the patient getting lost while out for a walk. If that happened, they could trigger a call to their carer, who could track their location, the company said.
The "take pills" notification could let a carer send the reminder from afar.
"This is where it all went wrong," the researchers wrote in a blog post.
"Anyone with some basic hacking skills... could trigger the medication alert as often as they want.
"A dementia sufferer is unlikely to remember that they had already taken their medication."
The China-based manufacturer responded within days of being notified of the flaw, and repaired it on their end, securing the system without the need for users to install any updates.
"This is a standard sort of problem that is so common," commented Prof Harold Thimbleby of Swansea University.
"People think programming is easy. And they rush stuff out, they start selling it, and they don't check it."
"Our culture thinks programming is exciting and children can do it. And of course they can," he said.
"My children can build stuff in Lego, but I wouldn't let them build a skyscraper - but that's what we do in programming."
|
Glass sculptures depicting the world's most deadly viruses have gone on display.
|
Artist Luke Jerram worked with University of Bristol virologists to ensure the models - which include HIV, swine flu and smallpox - were accurate.
He said his Glass Microbiology exhibition was designed to "contemplate the global impact of each disease".
The exhibition will be on at the At-Bristol science museum until 4 September.
The sculptures, which are not restricted solely to depictions of viruses, were made in collaboration with glassblowers Brian Jones and Norman Veitch.
Mr Jerram's previous art projects include turning Park Street in Bristol into a giant water slide, and mooring a flotilla of abandoned fishing boats in Leigh Woods.
|
The parents of a man killed by a fire at a luxury hotel on the shores of Loch Lomond have been left devastated by his death, according to the head of their local church.
|
Simon Midgley, 32, and Richard Dyson, 38, died after the blaze at the Cameron House Hotel on Monday morning.
John Payne of the Hope Church in Harrogate said Mr Dyson's parents were members of the congregation.
He said they had asked for prayers to be said for the family.
Police Scotland has now officially named Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson, both of Somerfield Road in north London, as victims of the fire.
The force said that emergency services remained at the scene while investigations into the cause of the blaze continued.
A report into the incident will be sent to the procurator fiscal's office.
A spokesman for Cameron House said on Wednesday: "The hotel complies fully with all relevant fire safety regulations and its fire safety certification is complete and up to date. We continue to co-operate with the emergency service as they investigate the cause of this tragic incident."
'Awful time'
In a Facebook post, Hope Church pastor, Mr Payne, wrote: "I'm afraid I'm writing with the tragic news that Roger Dyson's son was one of the fatalities in the Loch Lomond fire.
"As you can imagine both Roger and Val are devastated. They have asked us to pray for them and the family.
"Please pray for them, for the God of all comfort to make his presence so powerfully known in the midst of their pain.
"Our hearts go out to them and I'm sure they'd welcome your love and support at this awful time."
Mr Dyson, who grew up in Wetherby, and Simon Midgley had been staying at the five-star hotel on a winter break when the fire broke out.
Flowers from Mr Midgley's mother, left at the entrance of Cameron House, were dedicated to her "wonderful son, Simon and his soul mate".
In a tribute to journalist Mr Midgley, who worked as a freelance writer for the Evening Standard, former chancellor and current editor of the paper, George Osborne, said he would miss his "adventurous spirit".
'Thoughts and prayers'
Mr Osborne said: "The team here are very sad to hear the awful news about Simon and Richard.
"We will miss Simon's adventurous spirit. Everyone sends our thoughts and prayers to his family at this impossible time."
The Royal Holloway University of London also paid tribute to Mr Dyson, who was a former student.
The university said: "We are very sorry to hear of the death of our alumnus Richard Dyson, who was tragically killed with his partner in a fire on Monday at the Cameron House Hotel. Condolences to his & Simon's families."
More than 200 guests were evacuated from the building, which is understood not to have a sprinkler system, when the blaze broke out.
Among those to escape the flames were Andrew and Louise Logan, and their two year old son Jimmy, from Worcestershire.
A firefighter was pictured carrying the child on a ladder after rescuing him from an upper floor of the burning hotel.
They were taken to hospital after being brought to safety, but were later discharged.
Cameron House, an 18th Century mansion, was converted into a luxury hotel and resort in 1986.
It is a popular wedding venue and houses the Michelin-starred Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond restaurant.
|
The mother of Olympic silver medal winning sailor Hannah Mills has spoken of the sailor's delight at her success.
|
Mills, 24, from Dinas Powys, and her partner Saskia Clark were runners-up in the 470 class after failing to catch up with the New Zealanders in the medal race.
Fiona Mills said her daughter was "thrilled" to have brought home silver.
She said Mills would now have to decide whether to go back to university and complete her engineering degree.
Mills and Clark had shared the lead with the New Zealand boat going into Friday's race, and despite a good start they were undone by a shift in the wind, finishing the medal race next to last.
Mrs Mills, a supply PE teacher, said; "They were a bit disappointed not to get the gold because that's what they went into the race trying to do.
"But they are very excited to have competed in a home Olympics and to have come away with a silver."
The former Howells School student was the first Welsh athlete to be selected to compete at London 2012.
She even won the support of rapper Snoop Dog but Mrs Mills, speaking from Weymouth where the Olympic sailing events are being held, said she did not think the American rapper had been in contact after her medal.
Mills now has to decided whether to go back to Bristol University where she has deferred her degree to concentrate all her efforts on competing and winning an Olympic medal.
"I'm not sure what she will do - she has to make up her mind by mid September," admitted her mother who is celebrating her daughter's Olympic achievements with businessman husband Chris and Hannah's elder brothers Nick and Richard.
Mills began her sailing career at an early age at Llanishen Sailing Centre in Cardiff, which is now called Cardiff Sailing Centre and operates from Cardiff Bay.
"It's a crying shame (that the Llanishen centre has closed)," said her mother.
"There was so much of a buzz about that centre. She spent many happy hours being taught there."
Later she was chosen to join the Optimist class training for the Welsh squad and spent much of her time training at Plas Menai in north Wales.
"One of her coaches Alan Williams was an official in the Olympics racing and had the pleasure of seeing his protégé's success, " said Mrs Mills.
Her daughter also trained on Sunday morning at the British Steel (now Tata) Lake in Port Talbot.
"She loved honing her skills against more mature sailors there," she added.
Mills was one of a strong group of young sailors from Wales who had been helped by the sailing set-up in Wales, her mother added.
"She said how when she was in the Optimist class sailors like Ben Ainslie would come and sign their buoyancy aids and be an inspiration. Now perhaps she can be the inspiration for others."
|
Northern Ireland's health minister has said there was a "sustained failure of care" at Muckamore Abbey Hospital.
|
By Louise CullenBBC News NI
Robin Swann was speaking after a review of leadership and governance at the hospital was published by the Department of Health on Wednesday.
Allegations of physical and mental abuse of patients began to emerge in 2017 and there have been seven arrests.
Belfast Health Trust's Chief Executive Dr Cathy Jack accepted the findings and expressed her "deep sense of shame".
"Some of the most vulnerable people who were entrusted to our care were harmed and maltreated and I am truly sorry," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.
"We betrayed the trust of patients and their families and we failed them."
The hospital provides facilities for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs and is run by the Belfast Trust.
In addition to the seven arrests since October 2019, there have been 59 precautionary suspensions of staff, but no-one has been charged.
Mr Swann said he is to establish an inquiry into what happened at Muckamore.
"This was a sustained failure of care, affecting some of the most vulnerable members of our society," the health minister said.
"Patients and families have been let down and I want to apologise to them on behalf of the health and social care system."
The review said a prior investigation into allegations of abuse represented a "missed opportunity".
Systems to protect against risks to safe and effective care were not implemented properly and senior staff did not use their discretion to escalate matters, it said.
The review found that the Belfast Trust Board and Executive Team rarely discussed Muckamore Abbey Hospital and that the focus of trust leadership was on resettlement targets.
Dr Jack, who took up her post as chief executive in January 2020, said she welcomed the review's publication and apologised unreservedly to patients and their families who had been failed by the trust.
"It is clear there were serious failings in leadership and ineffective escalation of serious matters at Muckamore, despite appropriate governance structures," she said.
'Rigorous processes'
"This contributed to an environment which enabled the serious maltreatment of vulnerable people to go unnoticed for so long. This is a matter of profound regret and for that I am deeply sorry."
The review was commissioned to build upon the serious adverse incident review (SAI) into the hospital.
It confirmed the SAI conclusions that the hospital was viewed as a "place apart" which operated "outside the sightlines and under the radar of the trust".
Dr Jack said there were now "rigorous processes" in place to ensure the safe care of patients, and that a culture of openness between staff and families was encouraged.
The report also detailed challenges and tensions within the management team at the County Antrim hospital, a lack of continuity and stability at director level, and "a lack of interest and curiosity" about Muckamore Abbey Hospital from the Trust's Board.
The review team found that CCTV cameras were operational in the hospital from 2015, but it took "an inexplicably long time" to produce a policy to implement CCTV in the hospital.
The health minister said the patients and their families deserved "much more" than apologies - that they needed answers, and confidence that what happened at Muckamore would never happen again.
Dr Jack said there had been many "significant" improvements and the trust was confident Muckamore Abbey Hospital was "a much safer place today".
'Comprehensive and damning'
Anne Blake, whose son was a patient in Muckamore, said she was "pleasantly surprised by the report" which was "very comprehensive".
"They did have a lot of criticism for the top people from the board right down, which is something we, as parents, were very concerned about," she said.
"Unfortunately, Minister Swann has said he will look at this and there will be an inquiry, he doesn't say a public inquiry which is something we are looking for."
She added: "This report is showing everything that didn't come out before and I'm pleased about that."
Another parent, Glynn Brown, said the report was "extremely damning".
"It's important that he [Robin Swann] fulfils his written commitment to all the parents.
"It's only a full public inquiry will compel people to attend and give the proper evidence," he said.
|
Children's programmes will no longer be shown on BBC One and Two following the digital switchover, the BBC Trust has confirmed.
|
Award-winning shows such as Horrible Histories and Blue Peter will move permanently to CBBC and CBeebies.
No date has been set for the change, but the final analogue transmitters
will be switched off in Northern Ireland
between 10-24 October.
The confirmation came in a report approving the BBC's cost-cutting plans.
Spending on children's programmes will not be affected, and the move is unlikely to be detrimental to viewing figures.
In recent months, the number of young people watching children's programmes on the BBC's main terrestrial channels has occasionally dropped as low as 1,000.
Figures on digital have steadily increased since its introduction of CBBC and CBeebies in 2002.
Blue Peter, for example, is now seen by an average audience of 123,000 6-12 year olds when it is shown on CBBC.
BBC One repeats of the show are watched by an average of 30,000 children in the same age range.
A Trust spokesperson said: "Children's programmes are absolutely fundamental to the BBC and that is why we have protected investment in them in the light of cuts elsewhere.
"Only a very small percentage of children still solely watch these programmes on BBC One and BBC Two alone, so moving them to digital channels is merely following current viewing patterns and reflects the fact that CBeebies and CBBC will be universally available on digital TV from the end of this year."
Local radio cuts 'halved'
The BBC Trust document was its final report into cost-saving plans known internally as "Delivering Quality First".
It confirmed that cuts to local radio and TV services would be halved - with savings now in the region of £8m, compared to the original proposal of £15m.
As a result, reductions in local news teams will be lower, and coverage of local sport will be "more protected", the Trust said.
A plan for local radio stations to share programmes in the afternoon will now be limited to a "very small number" of stations.
However, on weekday evenings between 19:00 and 22:00, all of the BBC's regional stations in England will join together for a new all-England programme, although stations will have the flexibility to opt for local sports coverage.
Across the BBC, some of the main points noted by the BBC Trust were:
The BBC Trust, which is the governing body of the BBC, drew up its report in consultation with listeners, viewers and other broadcasters.
BBC management responded to the report, saying: "We welcome the BBC Trust's full approval of our Delivering Quality First proposals.
"The coming years will involve a significant effort from people at every level of the BBC to deliver the savings while we continue to provide the quality programmes and services that audiences expect from us."
|
What is so extraordinary about an ill-tempered football match that it has to be discussed at a government summit convened at the request of the police?
|
By Brian PonsonbyBBC Scotland news website reporter
The simple answer is that the game was between Celtic and Rangers.
The Barcelona motto, "Mes que un club", meaning "More than a club", could also apply to these two Scottish giants.
They are institutions, split largely along religious, cultural and political faultlines. When there is fallout from a game, it can go far beyond the pitch.
Last week, following a Scottish Cup replay at Celtic Park, it did.
'Shameful' game
During a volatile match, which Celtic won 1-0, there were three Rangers players sent off, several touchline and tunnel confrontations and 34 arrests inside the stadium.
Police described the events as "shameful", with politicians and the Scottish Football Association also being highly critical.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond later agreed to host a summit in Edinburgh following a request from Strathclyde Police.
So how did Celtic and Rangers arrive here?
Both clubs are known collectively as the "Old Firm" - a term of association, which unsurprisingly, is unpopular to some of their fans.
Although the origin of the label is not clearly known, it has become accepted that it refers to the commercial benefits that flow from the great rivalry.
Both clubs are from Glasgow - Scotland's largest city - but like other giants of world football, their appeal draws support from a worldwide fan base.
It is across the water, however, in Ireland, that the reference points of their bitter rivalry can be found.
Celtic were founded by an Irish Marist brother - Walfrid - and historically draw their support from the descendants of Irish Catholics who emigrated to Scotland after the Great Famine.
The club also has a substantial well of support across Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Rangers were founded by brothers Moses and Peter McNeil, Peter Campbell and William McBeath and have traditionally drawn support from Scotland's mainly Protestant community.
It also has a substantial support in the mainly Unionist Northern Ireland.
Although both clubs attract support from other sections of society, it is this religious divide which has come to define the fixture's 100 years plus history.
For many Celtic fans, their club is an integral part of the Irish diaspora, and embodies a unique Irish Scots identity that has overcome discrimination in employment, housing and education to fully play a part in modern Scotland.
Sectarian singing
Across the city, many Rangers fans see their club as "quintessentially British", with a pro-Union ethos which is often expressed through strong support for the monarchy and the country's armed forces.
The physical manifestation of these historical differences can be seen in the strips, flags and songs of both clubs.
But why should these cultural differences be a problem for an internationally famous derby match?
The answer, for some authorities in Scotland, is that they have fed a sectarian-fuelled hatred between the clubs' fans that too often leads to unacceptable levels of violence and anti-social behaviour.
Critics accuse both sets of Old Firm fans of sectarian singing, which would not be tolerated in any other social gathering.
They also claim the fixture lies at the root of high levels of alcohol-related violence on match days and that modern Scotland cannot, and should not accept this any longer.
The most infamous case of disorder came during the 1980 Scottish Cup Final when both sets of fans ended up on the field after Celtic had triumphed 1-0.
The resulting riot saw supporters attack each other and hurl bottles, cans and bricks, while mounted police charged the fans in a desperate bid to restore order.
With the full shame played out on live television, the fallout was profound.
In the aftermath, alcohol was banned from every ground in Scotland and the police presence at games was greatly increased.
Over the years, there have been other notable incidents involving players, referees and fans, but nothing on this scale.
Uefa fine
If the alcohol ban and eventual introduction of all-seater stadiums went some way to addressing the issue of violence, it did nothing to diminish the charge of sectarianism which has been continually levelled at both sets of fans.
In 2005, the then First Minister, Labour's Jack McConnell, hosted an anti-sectarianism summit after referring to the issue as "Scotland's shame".
There was much debate but it did little to diminish what critics perceived as the core problem.
Since then, Rangers have been fined twice by Uefa for sectarian chanting by some fans.
One song - the so-called "Famine song" - has been ruled as racist by Scottish courts and also attracted widespread criticism from the Irish Republic.
Celtic have not been without their own problems too.
There was heavy criticism when a representative of one fans' group, the Celtic Trust, said chants about the IRA were "songs from a war of independence going back over a hundred years".
A section of fans, who call themselves the Green Brigade, also caused controversy when they unfurled a banner condemning the club's participation in the Poppy commemoration.
Supporters of both clubs could no doubt lengthen the crime count of their rivals, but in the eyes of critics, however unjustifiable it may seem to some fans, they are both as bad as each other.
In recent years, senior police have become increasingly bullish about the problems they have to deal with when the Old Firm go head-to-head.
Figures have been published which show a sharp rise in domestic abuse incidents and serious assaults during and after the fixture.
More recently, some senior police officers have stepped up pressure by calling for the fixture to be banned, or played behind closed doors.
There have also been claims, from police again, that the fixture will cost the country up to £40m this year.
In the wake of last week's ill-tempered Scottish Cup replay, Strathclyde Police requested a summit to address issues of Old Firm-related disorder.
Amid the continuing fallout on the field, what can Tuesday's meeting in Edinburgh achieve?
No doubt, the police hope it will lead to renewed efforts to reduce sectarian behaviour and violence and a rebuke for both clubs over recent on-field and touchline conduct.
But critics have accused them of blowing last week's events out of all proportion and lacking perspective in a bid to, perhaps, lever more resources during a time of budget pressures.
They also ask how can two football clubs be held responsible for wider social problems such as alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour.
Throw in the cultural baggage of both clubs, and the summit has an unenviable task.
Whatever the outcome, the Old Firm game is, once again, a political football.
|
The home secretary and the Police Federation have condemned a video which shows an officer on the ground apparently being kicked.
|
Video circulating on social media shows an officer struggling with a man in Frampton Park Road in Hackney, north London.
The footage was branded "sickening" by Priti Patel, while the federation said: "We are not society's punch bags."
Four people have since been arrested on suspicion of assault on police.
They include a 13-year-old boy and three men, aged 20, 32 and 34.
The officers, a man and a woman, suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment, the Met Police said.
A member of the public, who had claimed to have been assaulted, flagged down the police on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement, the Met said: "As an officer attempted to speak with those involved, one of the men resisted and a struggle ensued. A number of other people became involved whilst the officer was on the ground."
Footage appears to show the officer trying to restrain a man but they then fall to the ground with the officer pinned underneath.
Passers-by began filming and taking selfies as the officer and the suspect grappled.
The female officer attempted to keep people away from the scene and also suffered injuries before more officers arrived and the first two arrests were made.
Analysis
Tom Symonds, BBC Home Affairs correspondent
Two police officers, presumably awaiting backup, are having to fight for control, on a London pavement, surrounded by people, seemingly hostile.
As is so often the case, phones came out of pockets as the incident developed, so the video doesn't show what happened in the minutes before.
That is crucial since officers have to justify the force they use.
Even before George Floyd's death, any number of controversial arrests in recent years have demonstrated that a single video posted on social media can transform the public's opinion of an incident, and therefore their views of the police.
This investigation may be able to rely on the officer's own body-worn video cameras, increasingly vital in establishing the context.
But more generally, figures show the number of reported assaults on police officers have been rising steadily since 2014.
This, during a period when police numbers fell because of years of austerity. Fewer officers on the streets means fewer officers to respond, when their colleagues get into difficulty.
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: "Yet again this starkly shows the dangers [officers] face and the bravery they show each and every day keeping Londoners safe.
"We are not society's punch bags. We have families we want to go home to at the end of every shift, but the dangers are stark and seemingly escalating."
Supt Martin Rolston said: "This incident, which was captured on someone's mobile phone is truly shocking.
"My officers went to the assistance of a member of the public - who asked for their help - after stating that they had been assaulted.
"What happened next is a reminder of the risks our officers take whilst going about their duties."
Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: "Sickening, shocking & disgraceful.
"My thoughts are with the outstanding officers who were subject to this disgusting violent attack."
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "I utterly condemn the disgraceful attack on two Metropolitan Police officers this afternoon.
"These brave officers were doing their duty and assisting the public. We owe them a debt of gratitude."
|
A student who is self-isolating at Cardiff University has said coronavirus support feels "too little too late".
|
Ellie Cooper, 19, is a first year International Relations student and is self-isolating with four others after a flatmate tested positive.
She said that four out of six flats in her student accommodation block are isolating due to positive cases.
Cardiff University said it was "deeply concerned" to learn of students' experiences.
Emails, seen by BBC Wales, sent to students by the university on Sunday, said a mobile testing unit, run by Public Health Wales (PHW), will operate at Talybont student accommodation from Monday.
It also said a university screening service for those without symptoms would begin on Tuesday and offered students a free laundry service and £20 voucher to spend in the "student marketplace".
But Ms Cooper, from Taunton, Somerset, said she felt "left in the dark" about the spread of cases in student accommodation.
She said she was unable to use the university's coronavirus screening service last week as she was not showing symptoms, but university staff and NHS Test and Trace have told her to self-isolate.
"They should've had this information in place earlier, it is too little too late. So we wouldn't have had to panic and go and look for other support," she said.
"They should've known we would get corona, even if you didn't go out lots. People interact all the time here, just going to the laundry, or at the gym," she said.
University 'deeply concerned'
Ms Cooper said isolating in her accommodation has been a "curve-ball".
"All I'm doing is sitting in my room, it feels like I've paid £9,000 for five new friends and a couple of zoom classes," she said.
"Our tiny kitchen has two barely functioning fridges and a radiator that doesn't turn off. It feels like you're dying in a tiny space."
A Cardiff University spokesperson said: "We recognise that this is an extremely difficult and challenging time for all our students - especially those in our residences experiencing life away from home, often for the very first time.
"Whilst we're unable to comment on an individual case, we are deeply concerned to learn of their experience."
|
The Sri Lankan health minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, has again denied that government forces have been shelling the government-designated
safe zone.
|
Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped on a small stretch of coastline, and on Thursday a senior health official inside
the no-fire zone said there had been further heavy civilian casualties caused by shelling.
Dr T Varatharaja told the BBC that at least 60 civilians have been killed by shells fired in a no-fire zone in Sri Lanka within
24 hours.
'Health facility attacked'
"Some shells landed inside a smaller health facility in the Ambalavanpokkanai area. Ten people were killed in the incident,"
Dr. T Varatharaja told the BBC.
But in a BBC interview, the health minister said officials inside the area were under threat from the Tamil Tigers, and were
having to give the rebels' version of events.
"Throughout the conflict, when there had been incidents like this, health ministry officials have been making statements in
favour of the LTTE because they will not be able to survive there," Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
He also accused the international community of being misled by the rebels -- it was "high time", he said, that the United
Nations believed what the government was saying.
"What is the independent evidence the UN or the European Union or the international community has to say that the armed forces
of Sri Lanka fired into the safety zone?," the minister questioned.
HRW statement
The Tamil Tiger fighters are currently holding out in a small stretch of coastal area in Mullaitivu district.
Meanwhile, New York based campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government to stop firing heavy artillery
into the safe zone.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the HRW has called upon the UN Security Council to take urgent measures safeguard civilians
caught in the conflict.
It urged both the government and the LTTE to bring an end to violations of international humanitarian law.
"Sri Lanka's so-called 'no-fire zone' is now one of the most dangerous places in the world," Brad Adams, Asia director at
Human Rights Watch was quoted in the statement.
|
A ceremony has been held to mark the start of a £40m regeneration project at the site of a former Kent coal mine.
|
Hadlow College is transforming the Betteshanger Colliery into a heritage and business park focussing on green technology and renewable energy.
The three-phase development will include the Kent Mining Heritage Museum, a visitor centre and office space and business units.
Betteshanger was the last of Kent's collieries to close, in 1989.
The project was officially launched in November 2013 and will transform the 121-hectare former colliery which is Kent's largest brownfield site.
It is hoped the park will eventually attract 10,000 visitors a year.
Jim Davies, of the Betteshanger and Mill Hill Heritage Group, said: "It is something we can pass on to the next generation.
"I give talks at schools where children do not even know what coal is but when this new heritage centre is up and running we will be able to show them what it was."
|
Climate scientists meeting in Berlin have been accused of "marginalising" the views of developing countries.
|
By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent, BBC News, Berlin
They are preparing to release a key report on how the world must cut carbon emissions to stem dangerous warming.
They are likely to say that if significant action isn't taken by 2030, temperatures will quickly break through the 2 degree C threshold.
But a lead author told BBC News that this focus on cutting CO2 was ignoring the development needs of the poor.
"The narrative, the language, the views of the IPCC still marginalises the developing country perspectives," Dr Chukwumerije Okereke, from Reading University, told BBC News.
Dr Okereke was a lead author on chapter four of the new report, dealing with sustainable development and equity.
He believes that there has been a fundamental shift in the discussions because the issue of historical responsibility for carbon emissions has been watered down by richer nations who are more concerned with the future than the past.
"The argument has been shifting away from the view that the developed countries, who have been mainly responsible for the problem, should take leadership in solving it, to this centre-ground view that we are all in it together and we all have to do our share.
"In effect, this is shifting the burden onto the developing countries and is holding them down from developing; quite frankly this is reinforcing historical patterns of injustice and domination."
In a leaked draft of their report, the IPCC authors write that cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide from 1750 to 1970 were around 900 billion tonnes. But when you measured the emissions between 1750 and 2010 they had soared to 2,000 billion tonnes of CO2.
Further emphasising the recent trend, the draft points out that between 2000 and 2010, emissions grew at 2.2% per year, compared to 1.3% over the period between 1970 and 2000.
To keep temperature rises below 2C, widely accepted as the threshold to dangerous change, carbon emissions in the atmosphere by 2100 have to be between 430 and 480 parts per million (ppm).
On current projections, the world would go through the 430ppm by 2030, so the report says that emissions cuts must happen soon.
The report indicates that the majority of future emissions growth will take place in developing countries.
This question of past and future is a big bone of contention between the parties meeting here in Berlin.
"I think one of the big battles is the definition of historical responsibilities and the estimation of it," said Martin Khor, who was a co-ordinating lead author of chapter three of this report but resigned, he says, because of the overwhelming amount of work involved.
"Developed countries are more likely to say, let's look into the future, the future runs from 2005 to 2100, and you will find that a lot of the emissions are coming from developing countries."
Dr Okereke says that a big part of the problem is that there are not enough authors on the IPCC from developing countries.
"This IPCC is a very genuine effort to reflect the underlying science, but in the end it does not fully capture the views from developing countries because the overwhelming majority of the authors are from the developed world.
"They come with loads of secretaries and helpers, they bring their PhD students along, but the few of us from developing countries are not able to match the force of intellectual firepower that comes from them."
Dr Okereke's views on the involvement of authors from developing countries are supported by Martin Khor, who says the lack of representation has serious implications for the tone of the report.
"Most of the accepted literature is published in developed countries and the authors are predominantly western," he says.
"It doesn't mean they are wrong but they don't have that same sympathetic consideration of developing country problems as they are not living in those conditions day to day."
The IPCC said it is working hard to increase the number of authors from the developing world.
"As someone from a developing country myself, this is an issue of which I am well aware," said the Panel's chairman Dr Rajendra Pachauri.
"About 30% of the authors for the Fifth Assessment Report come from developing countries, a share which has gone up with each successive assessment, and I am sure that figure will continue to rise in the years ahead."
Follow Matt on Twitter.
|
When author Kamila Shamsie challenged the book industry to publish only women in 2018 to help address a gender imbalance in literature, just one publisher took up the challenge - the Sheffield-based company And Other Stories.
|
By Ian YoungsArts & entertainment reporter
It was almost three years ago that Shamsie suggested "a concerted campaign to redress the inequality" in publishing.
Arguing that there was a gender bias in book awards, reviews, top publishing jobs and prestige afforded to authors, she suggested that 2018, the centenary of women over 30 in Britain getting the vote, would make a good Year of Publishing Women.
Women would be prominent in review pages and blogs, shop windows, festival line-ups and prize shortlists, she predicted.
The response? A lively debate about opportunity in literature ensued, but only one person responded to the call to arms.
That was Stefan Tobler, founder of And Other Stories, which publishes a mixture of translated and English language authors. The company made its name with Deborah Levy's 2012 Booker Prize-shortlisted Swimming Home.
"We did look at what Kamila was saying and did think she was right, that the importance given to male writers was still more," Tobler says.
"They don't necessarily sell more books, they don't necessarily have more fans, but as far as prestige goes, there is still a difference there."
The gender imbalance is even more pronounced in translated fiction, where Tobler says 30% of books are by women because fewer women are given support in some countries where those books are sourced.
And Other Stories publishes about 12 books per year from an office in Sheffield Central Library - they relocated there from London in 2017.
Tobler says the Year of Publishing Women means they can get behind female authors they might not otherwise have had room for in their schedule.
"We're not publishing anything that we're not really, really excited by and it will start us off with some authors that we'll carry on publishing for many years," he says.
The year's first two books - a collection of rare and unpublished writing by cult 1960s author Ann Quin and a translation of Swiss author Fleur Jaeggy - are already out.
Others by Catalan author Alicia Kopf, American Christine Schutt, Mexico's Cristina Rivera Garza and late Argentine author Norah Lange will follow.
Enthusiasm for the Year of Publishing Women in the rest of the publishing industry was, it's fair to say, mixed.
Some lauded Shamsie's motivation but were less keen on the practical implications and the idea of excluding male authors entirely.
Some had a problem with the message sent by giving women special treatment. Author Lionel Shriver called the idea "rubbish" because the suggestion that women needed special help was "problematic and obviously backfires".
Others said there wasn't a problem, and the success of female authors should be trumpeted instead.
What do the stats tell us about whether there is a gender imbalance?
Among the UK's major literary awards, 57% of Booker Prize nominees in the last 10 years were men, but 61% of Costa Book Award winners in that time were female.
It's not just about the gender of the author, but also the gender of the characters - in 2015, author Nicola Griffith found 12 of the previous 15 Booker Prize-winning novels had male protagonists.
In its annual audit of book reviews, lobbying group Vida found most literary publications still give much more space to reviewing books by men. In 2016, just 26% of reviews in the London Review of Books were about titles by women, with a figure of 29% in the Times Literary Supplement.
In sales, though, the situation is reversed, and then some. Nine out of the top 10 best-selling literary authors were women in 2017, led by Margaret Atwood, Sarah Perry and Helen Dunmore. Haruki Murakami was the sole man on the list.
Hannah Westland, publisher at Serpent's Tail, believes the Vida stats are skewed because they include non-fiction - where there is "absolutely an imbalance".
And the Booker Prize has seen more male winners in recent years because American authors were admitted four years ago, and American men are more likely to be submitted than women, she believes.
'A real success story'
"In my experience, publishing is an industry where some of the most inspiring people at the top are women," Westland says.
"Actually, of the books I've published, the ones by women have been far more successful than those by men, and you can see that replicated across the board.
"While there are so many important arguments and conversations going on within feminism and about gender imbalances in all walks of life, publishing is a place that is a real success story.
"I was very frustrated by the idea that young women, or young female writers, could be given the impression that they are in any way going to be underserved by the industry because in my view it's entirely the opposite and we should be celebrating our strength and success."
Stefan Tobler of And Other Stories says he can see why the Year of Publishing Women may not have received wider support.
"The danger I guess by doing something like this is it looks like women are victims and downtrodden, when the fact there's an inequality there doesn't necessarily mean that women authors will want to be seen in those terms," he says.
"So I can see why there was resistance. But from the facts and figures we saw, we did think there was an inequality, so I wanted to do something."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
|
Universities should be brought into the heart of the economy and funded to stimulate growth, a report is urging.
|
By Judith BurnsBBC News education reporter
It says the government should put £1bn into what it calls Arrow Projects, to turn "globally competitive technological ideas into real business".
Current funding streams are too complex, argues author Sir Andrew Witty, boss of GlaxoSmithKline.
The government and the Confederation of British Industry welcomed the report.
John Cridland, director general of the CBI, described Arrow Projects as a "great idea".
Universities Minister David Willetts said the government would consider what recommendations to make following the publication.
"We know that universities are engines of innovation and have an important role to play in driving our industrial strategy," said Mr Willetts.
'Invention revolution'
The report, entitled Encouraging a British Invention Revolution, says the UK is a world leader in technology and invention, adding that "the research strength of the UK's universities in an enormous national asset".
But it warns: "We will have to work hard to maintain our position of strength in the face of increasing competition."
In his foreword, Sir Andrew writes that UK universities have "an extraordinary wealth of ideas, technology and human energy - much of which is world-leading and capable of seeding not just new companies but whole industries".
But without better-focused funding, organisation and collaboration, he says, there is a risk of delay and of "British inventions building foreign industries".
He says a "thicket of complexity" in funding "leads to unnecessary hurdles for those striving to translate ideas to job-creating businesses".
Arrow Projects are his plan for an taking ideas from "mind to factory" with a "globally competitive sense of timing and scale".
If they were successful they "could herald a British invention revolution to rival the transformation witnessed in the 19th Century," Sir Andrew writes.
He envisages the projects as large collaborations in technologically advanced fields. The partners would not necessarily be "geographically co-located", and would include a range of universities - not just leading research institutions - as well as industry, business and local and central government.
The report says the government "will need to create a new funding stream to bring the Arrow Projects into being."
Block grants
This could be composed of both public and private money, from both new or existing sources and delivered perhaps in the form of block grants which would allow project managers to use their judgement as to how it is spent, it says.
Universities and businesses would form themselves into consortiums to bid for the funding. The funding would be channelled through the lead university in each project.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "The future of the UK economy depends upon making the most of the knowledge, innovation and energy to be found in universities. This work is already happening but the report challenges us, quite rightly, to do more."
Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of research universities, also welcomed the proposal: "Discoveries at our world-leading, research-intensive universities have generated billions over the years.
"But it's vital for the UK's economy that groundbreaking discoveries make it all the way from idea to implementation and from prototype to profit.
"Collaboration with business is a core part of the mission of all our academics. But we need to bridge the gap and help everyone work together."
Mr Cridland added: "We also need to ensure that more mid-sized and smaller businesses benefit from the huge potential universities bring.
"A single point of entry for companies wishing to engage with universities and a sharper focus on supporting innovation in mid-sized businesses are logical first steps."
|
Communities in the west Highlands are using beach clean stations to help tackle pollution on their beaches.
|
Local residents and visitors can leave rubbish they pick up in large plastic boxes, which are emptied once full.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust's Living Seas Project has set up a station at Melvaig, near Gairloch, in Wester Ross.
Two others are also to be made available on the Coigach peninsula, while a station has already been delivered to Staffin on Skye.
Residents of Melvaig had requested a station, and its delivery at the weekend was marked with a beach clean.
More than 1,000kg (2,204lbs) of rubbish - mostly plastic ropes, nets and fish farm pipes - were cleared away. The owners of two local fishing boats have sponsored the new station.
The Living Seas Project's first beach clean station was established at Dun Canna north of Ullapool in 2017.
Rubbish cleared from that beach included tin cans from fish factory ships - known as klondykers - that would anchor in Loch Broom off Ullapool to process mackerel in the 1970s to early 90s.
|
All new arrivals in Jersey "must" self-isolate for 14 days even if they are not displaying coronavirus symptoms, the States has announced.
|
All members of shared households must stay at home, even if only one person has returned.
However, the new guidance does not apply to "essential workers" who are necessary to "keep the island running".
The announcement comes after the total number of island cases rose to 10, including two with .
Arrivals who are displaying "flu-like symptoms" will be met at the ports and provided transport, the States said.
Passengers who are asymptomatic can use public transport for a journey of up to an hour to travel home if necessary, as long as they observe social distancing advice.
They can also be collected, provided the vehicle is cleaned and they practice social distancing.
"Passengers should travel directly to their homes and not visit any shops during the journey," the States said.
The government has published advice on its website on social distancing and how to self-isolate.
Anyone who develops symptoms during the two-week period should call the dedicated helpline on 01534 445566.
The first case of the virus on the island was detected on 10 March.
Most schools and colleges will close from Monday until at least 20 April.
|
Some of those hit by power cuts over Christmas could be without electricity until the end of the week after storms left 1,000 homes in England flooded.
|
The Energy Networks Association said late on Christmas Day that 24,000 properties in the South and South East were still without power.
Homes in the South East and South West had borne the brunt of the flooding, the Environment Agency added.
Two severe flood warnings remain in place in Dorset where rain is forecast.
The Environment Agency warning - meaning there is a danger to life - is still in place for Iford Bridge Home Park on the River Stour in Dorset, which police evacuated overnight.
Liz Gaere, 48, was rescued from the residential development at around 07:00 GMT on Christmas morning.
"We went out on our balcony and saw the flooding and saw the boats coming in," she said.
Travel
Check if this is affecting your journey
"They said to us 'do you want to come out, you've got five minutes'."
A 79-year-old neighbour Pat Tapply added: "I have nothing apart from what I am standing in. I don't know if my home is flooded."
People were also evacuated from the Beaulieu Garden Park Home in Christchurch, Dorset - where a severe flood warning is also in place.
More rain is expected in the already flood-hit county overnight with 10mm forecast to fall.
Tim Field from the Energy Networks Association (ENA) told the BBC the number of those without power was starting to come down but that it could be the end of the week before problems are resolved in heavily flooded areas in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
Leave had been cancelled and extra staff had been brought in to fix the problem, he said.
UK Power Networks, which supplies about eight million customers in the South East, says it arranged Christmas dinner for hundreds of those without power via a mobile catering facility, pubs, restaurants and hotels.
Director of customer services, Matt Rudling, added: "Extra staff are on duty, many of whom have cancelled their leave to help with the repair effort or to join our additional call centres on Christmas Eve and today."
Meanwhile, about 800 homes in the north of Scotland are still without power, mainly around the Banchory, Buchan and Aboyne areas in Aberdeenshire, and Forres and Fochabers in Elgin.
Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution said it was hoped all properties would be reconnected on Christmas Day.
Some of the worst disruption was felt at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, where a power outage at the North terminal led to cancellations and delays on Christmas Eve.
Gatwick Airport is now running a full service, but says all flights apart from those with British Airways will be departing from the South terminal. It also advises people to check with airlines before travelling.
In other developments:
Elsewhere, winds of up to 80mph caused disruption to Christmas Eve travel in Scotland, with the Northern and Western Isles hit by ferry and flight cancellations.
There has also been heavy rain in Northern Ireland, while winds in Wales reached 78mph in Pembrey and 77mph in Aberdaron.
More than 10 flood warnings remain in place across mainland Scotland, with high tide being accompanied by heavy rainfall.
And yellow "be aware" warnings for high winds are in place for the Highlands and Islands, Orkney and Shetland.
The Environment Agency (EA) still has close to 100 flood warnings in place for England and Wales - signifying that flooding is "expected". A yellow alert for heavy rain remains for the southern coastal counties of England.
The agency's head of operations, David Jordan, told the BBC that officials were keeping a close eye on the Stour and the river flowing through Maidstone in Kent.
BBC Weather said winds and rain would ease across much of the UK on Wednesday evening, although heavy rain and gales are expected to pick up again at the end of the week.
The next storm, expected to hit the UK on Thursday night into Friday, will not be as intense, but has the potential to cause disruption.
|
A severely malnourished student who survived on just 2 yuan ($0.30, £0.20) per day for years to support her brother has died, Chinese media say.
|
Wu Huayan's plight shocked China when pictures of the young woman, who weighed just over 20kg (43lb), emerged last year.
She was admitted to hospital with breathing problems in October 2019.
Donations flooded in to help her recovery, but her brother told reporters she had died on Monday.
Ms Wu had told the Chongqing Morning Post that she turned to the media for help after watching her father and grandmother die because they had no money to pay for treatment.
"I don't want to experience that - to wait for death because of poverty," she said.
Her brother, who has not been named, told Beijing Youth Daily that she was just 24 when she died.
Doctors said last year that the third-year university student was suffering from heart and kidney problems as a result of five years spent eating minimal amounts of food.
What is Wu Huayan's story?
Wu Huayan and her brother had struggled to survive for many years. They lost their mother when she was four and their father died when she was still in school.
She and her brother were then supported by their grandmother, and later by an uncle and aunt who could only provide 300 yuan each month.
Most of that money went on the medical bills of her younger brother, who had mental health problems.
This meant Ms Wu spent only 2 yuan a day on herself, surviving largely off chillies and rice for five years. When she arrived in the hospital, she was only 135cm (4ft 5in) tall.
Doctors said she was so malnourished that her eyebrows and 50% of her hair had fallen out.
What was the reaction?
The siblings hailed from Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces in China, and the case has shone a spotlight on poverty in China.
While China's economy has boomed over the past few decades, poverty has not disappeared, with the National Bureau of Statistics saying that in 2017 there were 30.46 million rural people still living below the national poverty line of $1.90 a day.
Inequality has also grown, with a 2018 report from the International Monetary Fund saying China was now "one of the world's most unequal countries".
Wu Huayan's case prompted an outpouring of anger towards authorities, with many on social media questioning why more had not been done to help the siblings.
Others expressed admiration for her efforts to help her brother while also persevering with her studies.
Aside from the donations on crowdfunding platforms, her teachers and classmates donated 40,000 yuan, while local villagers collected 30,000 yuan to help her.
Before her death, officials released a statement saying Ms Wu had been receiving the minimum government subsidy - thought to be between 300 and 700 yuan a month - and was now getting an emergency relief fund of 20,000 yuan.
China has previously pledged to "eliminate" poverty by 2020. Earlier this month, Jiangsu province said only 17 people out of its more than 80 million population were living in poverty. The figures were questioned online.
|
Malaysia's government has agreed to sell a seized superyacht allegedly bought with money stolen from the 1MDB state fund for $126m (£95.9m).
|
The sale of the yacht to casino firm Genting Malaysia marks the country's largest recovery yet of 1MDB cash.
Billions of dollars were allegedly embezzled from 1MDB, which was set up in 2009 to aid economic development.
It comes as Malaysia's ex-PM Najib Razak faces his first trial over his role in the sweeping financial scandal.
He denies any wrongdoing.
US authorities say money siphoned from 1MDB was used to buy lavish assets including a private jet, paintings, real estate -and the luxury yacht, Equanimity.
Businessman Low Taek Jho, a key figure in the scandal, allegedly purchased the superyacht which was confiscated by authorities in 2018.
On Wednesday, a court approved its sale to Genting Malaysia for $126m.
The price also fell well short of the $250m reportedly paid by Mr Low.
Mr Low said "the bargain-basement sale price" reflected the treatment of the boat by the Malaysian government which he claimed had not stored it properly and had reduced its sale price.
"Proceeds from the sale have been further eroded by expenditure on the vessel's upkeep - reportedly some US$3.5m," he said in a statement, issued by his lawyers.
Equanimity - decked out with a 20m swimming pool, spa and sauna, movie theatre and helipad - has been moored off the coast of Malaysia for the past five months, on show for potential buyers.
The Malaysian government said the pool of buyers was small, and while many offers were received, only a few topped $100m.
The Chinese-Malaysian financier has been portrayed by Malaysian and US investigators as one of the masterminds of the 1MDB scam.
US prosecutors say Mr Low leveraged his powerful political connections to win business for 1MDB through the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes.
|
A "no selfie zone" will be implemented at a major Hindu festival in India due to fears they could cause stampedes.
|
The ban is being imposed at the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage that has attracted nearly three million people since July.
Authorities say that selfies will be banned on the days that people ritually bathe in the sacred Godavari river.
Organisers say they conducted a study that showed people took too long taking selfies. This slows down the flow of people, leading to pushing and panic.
Signs saying "no selfie zone" can be seen around the two festival sites in the state of Maharashtra.
The festival takes place every three years. It began in mid-July and runs until late September.
The decision was taken after over 100 volunteers conducted a study on behalf of the Kumbhathon group which works with the authorities to help monitor the festival.
"Since 13 July, our volunteers on the field have been collecting data which showed that people stop to take selfies. They also climb to dangerous spots to take selfies," Kumbhathon CEO Sandip Shinde told the Indian Express.
Local official Dr Pravin Gedam told the paper that selfies would only be banned during the "days of the holy dip as we don't want to take away from the festive mood on other days".
|
When Lego originally decided not to sell the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei bricks with which to make a political statement, it really thought it was doing the right thing.
|
By Jamie RobertsonBusiness reporter, BBC News
Its ethical policy states that any artwork using Lego products should not "contain any political, religious, racist, obscene or defaming statements".
However, the Danish company was widely attacked by commentators and accused of not wishing to annoy the Chinese government, which Ai regularly criticises.
Lego has now relented and on Wednesday announced that it had changed its policy.
It will no longer ask customers what they want to use the bricks for, but requests that they make clear that the company does not support or endorse their projects, if exhibited in public.
But should a business be picky about whom it sells to?
'Strict restrictions'
The problem is that selling as much as you can to anyone and everyone can have unintended consequences.
Some customers can turn into your competitors.
LVMH, which owns luxury brands from Christian Dior clothing to Dom Perignon champagne, has had its Chinese business undermined by bulk sales ferried into the country by so-called "daigou" agents.
Taxes and currency differences make luxury goods far more expensive in China. Some analysts estimated that by mid-2015, Chinese prices were 60% higher than those in Europe.
The daigou agents, many of them students making extra cash to finance their overseas studies, buy up luxury products in bulk in Europe and Hong Kong and sell them on at home. It is sometimes known as parallel trading.
So LVMH started to watch its customers more closely.
Speaking on a conference call earlier last year, Jean-Jacques Guiony, chief financial officer at LVMH, said: "We've placed strict retail restrictions for the amount of products that people can buy.
"But, when you see someone in a store, you don't know whether they are buying handbags for themselves or to sell them on to the market in China. We are trying to make sure we are not competing with our own products in the China market, but our actions are not entirely bullet-proof."
Grey market
Other companies have found it easier to try to equalise prices. The fashion house Chanel raised its European prices by 20% and cut them in China, directly competing with the daigou agents and successfully eroding their profit margins.
This kind of grey market happens everywhere.
A supermarket might halve the price of a box of chocolates in a sale and sell them all to a single customer, only to see them turn up in the corner store down the road, undercutting their recommended retail price, a fortnight later.
That's not illegal, but there are ways to stop it - by restricting sales.
The British Retail Consortium's external affairs adviser, Bryan Johnston, says: "In the end, it is up to the individual store. It is in the gift of the retailer to decide on how much they want to sell to any one customer."
Many supermarkets imposed restrictions two years ago when the scandal over contaminated baby milk in China prompted overseas Chinese to buy up formula and import it into China.
However, these were more to do with trying to stop a run on the product at home than trying to stop any kind of parallel trading abroad.
More can be more, or less
But for some retailers more is, well, more.
Marks and Spencer spokeswoman Clare Wilkes says: "A few years ago, a woman came into one of our stores and bought up the every piece of cashmere we had. We had no objection to that - at all."
But the luxury goods industry on the whole is very choosey about whom it sells to.
The most famous example is Burberry, which by 2006, when Angela Ahrendts became chief executive, was growing just 2% a year in a booming luxury market.
It was selling everything from kilts to dog cover-ups and leashes - to everyone.
Ms Ahrendts wrote later in the Harvard Business Review: "In luxury, ubiquity will kill you - it means you're not really luxury anymore. And we were becoming ubiquitous."
Ms Ahrendts completely restructured the company, drastically reducing its product range, centralising production and design, making it more expensive and then, restricting the customer base.
She added: "We began to shift our marketing efforts from targeting everyone, everywhere, to focusing on the luxury customers of the future - millennials. We believed that these customers were being ignored by our competitors."
The restrictions it imposed were financial. The kilt and dog-leash buyers were simply priced out of the market. Many of the core Burberry products, such as the signature trench coat, now cost more than $1,000 (£700).
Brand consultant Rebecca Battman says: "There are unintended consequences of your brand becoming popular - the more widely seen it becomes, the more it will diminish the power of the brand among the people you really want to appeal to."
Ms Ahrendts' strategy worked. Within five years, Burberry's revenues and operating income had doubled and 2014-15 revenues rose 11%. Less had become more.
|
Current procedures are inadequate for dealing with allegations of sexual harassment and assault, former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has said.
|
Ms Wood told AMs "all too often nothing happens" when allegations are made.
The Rhondda AM said she was setting up "a new network" to provide support for women making allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
Ms Wood said that every woman she knows has experienced unwanted sexual attention.
"One year on from the #MeToo movement, and the sea change that many of us hoped it would spark has not happened," she said.
"Encouraging people to report is important, but all too often, when they do, nothing happens.
"Police and victim support services are underfunded, waiting lists for counselling and other support are unacceptably along."
She called organisations' procedures "inadequate", saying they were "unable to deal with the particular characteristics of sexual harassment and assault".
Ms Wood added: "People don't have confidence in our systems and the majority of incidents therefore go unreported.
"So, I'm putting out a call today for anyone interested in changing how we tackle sexual harassment and assault to get in touch with me to be part of a new network."
|
A baby girl in the US born with HIV and believed cured after very early treatment has now been found to still harbour the virus.
|
Tests last week on the four-year-old child from Mississippi indicate she is no longer in remission, say doctors.
She had appeared free of HIV as recently as March, without receiving treatment for nearly two years.
The news represents a setback for hopes that very early treatment of drugs may reverse permanent infection.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told US media the new results were "obviously disappointing" and had possible implications on an upcoming federal HIV study.
"We're going to take a good hard look at the study and see if it needs any modifications," he said.
Analysis
By James Gallagher, Health editor, BBC News website
There was huge hope that the "Mississippi baby" would live a life free of the HIV.
Antiretroviral drugs can keep the virus in check in the bloodstream, but HIV has hiding places - known as reservoirs - in the gut and brain.
If treatment stops, then the virus emerges from its reservoirs and begins its assault afresh.
Doctors had hoped that starting drug treatment within hours of birth would prevent the reservoirs forming.
This seems not to have been the case.
This case was never going to lead to an HIV-cure for infected adults, who begin treatment months or years after infection.
The Mississippi baby has become a reminder of how difficult HIV is to defeat and how distant a cure really is.
BBC News: A cure for HIV?
Genetic mutation
The child, nicknamed the "Mississippi baby", did not receive any pre-natal HIV care.
Because of a greater risk of infection, she was started on a powerful HIV treatment just hours after labour.
She continued to receive treatment until 18 months old, when doctors could not locate her. When she returned 10 months later, no sign of infection was evident though her mother had not given her HIV medication in the interim.
Repeated tests showed no detectable HIV virus until last week. Doctors do not yet know why the virus re-emerged.
A second child with HIV was given early treatment just hours after birth in Los Angeles in April 2013.
Subsequent tests indicate she completely cleared the virus, but that child also received ongoing treatment.
Only one adult is currently believed to have been cured of HIV.
In 2007, Timothy Ray Brown received a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV. He has shown no signs of infection for more than five years.
|
Walk down any High Street, and you will see a blizzard of discounts and promotions right now.
|
By Emma SimpsonBusiness correspondent, BBC News
And it is still the start of the spring season.
A sign of the times?
It is certainly part of an increasingly gloomy picture of the current retailing environment.
We have had a string of retailers reporting a slowdown in sales in the last few weeks.
HMV, Dixons and Mothercare have announced profit warnings, whilst Hennes & Mauritz, the popular clothing chain, reported a 30% fall in its net profits for the first quarter of this year.
All eyes were on Marks and Spencer Wednesday morning for its trading update.
It had performed better than analysts had predicted, but they too expect trading to get increasingly challenging.
'Clear slowdown'
It is clear that with many households facing the squeeze, the future is looking a lot tougher for retailers.
They face a double whammy of rising costs and consumers reining back on spending.
So have the last few weeks been a blip or the start of a real dip for retail?
"I think consumers were quite resilient during the recession, but now the chickens are coming home to roost," says Neil Saunders from Verdict Research.
"What we're seeing evidence of is a very clear slowdown in demand from the consumer.
"I think this year could be one of the toughest in decades for retailers."
'Household recession'
Mr Saunders uses an interesting phrase to describe what is now underway. He calls it "the household recession".
In other words, consumers are running out of money.
It is not just a question of reigning back - they simply have a lot less to spend.
That is in contrast to the previous two years when millions of householders still had a lot of disposable income thanks to low interest rates.
It meant that despite the recession, retail sales still held up relatively well.
Discount sales
Consumers are now behaving much like they did at the start of the global crisis, when retail sales really did dip for a few months.
Of all the money currently being spent on supermarket groceries, some 40% is now being spent on items that are either discounted or on special offer.
That is a record, according to Nielsen, the consumer analysts.
The discounters, Aldi and Lidl, are enjoying double-digit sales growth.
Children first
Asda's sales have held steady. Its strategy of giving customers a cast iron guarantee that it will not be beaten on price appears to be paying off.
In recent weeks it has introduced the "round pound" deal.
It means that shoppers can buy thousands of items for a nice round number like a pound, in order for them to make it easier to keep tabs on what they are spending as they shop.
"Price is becoming more and more important," says Asda's chief executive, Andy Clarke.
"Our income monitor shows that our mums are now £11 a week worse off than they were this time last year and they're changing their behaviour.
"So we've had to change our proposition to reflect the fact that customers are thinking much harder about what and how they're spending their hard earned cash."
Ready meals are doing well, showing how people are once again eating in instead of going out.
Sales of womenswear is down, however, although children's clothing is holding up - a tell tale sign for this retailer that mums are putting their children first whilst scrimping and saving elsewhere.
Scratchcard sales are also up.
'Two types of retailers'
So what will the rest of the year hold for retail?
The former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, Sir Stuart Rose, is far from gloomy about the state of the industry.
"If the economy goes forward, which I believe it will, then we've got reasons to be optimistic by the time we get to the end of this year," he says.
"Sure, we've got inflation coming through, but we've still got low interest rates, so providing that people have got jobs, they'll be in a better place or no worse a place.
"Those people who haven't got jobs will find it tough, but that won't affect the whole retail scenario."
And what about all the sales signs and promotions around right now?
"I see two types of retailers," he says. "Those that are doing okay, and those that are doing less okay. But that's always been the case,."
|
About four million French women - 12% of the total - have been raped at least once in their lives, a survey suggests.
|
The study for the Fondation Jean Jaurès, a Paris-based think tank, also says 43% have been subjected to sexual touching without their consent.
Like many other countries, France has seen women take to social media to highlight abuse in recent months.
Many have shared their experiences under the hashtag "Balance ton porc" ("rat on your pig").
The campaign was launched following the rape allegations against Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein last October.
The aim of the survey (in French) of 2,000 women published on Friday was to assess the extent of sexual sexual harassment and violence in France.
In addition to the 12% who say they have been raped, 58% have been subjected to disturbing propositions and 43% to "sexual touching without consent", the study says.
Most of the women reporting such abuse have experienced it several times, it adds.
The report highlights the "heavy consequences and long-term repercussions suffered by the victims".
Puritanism?
But the "rat on your pig" movement has generated national debate around what constitutes harassment.
Last month French movie star Catherine Deneuve was one of 100 women who signed an open letter claiming the movement had gone too far. It warned of a new type of "Puritanism" and insisted men should be "free to pester women".
"Rape is a crime, but trying to seduce someone, even persistently or clumsily, is not - and nor is men being gentlemanly a chauvinist attack."
Deneuve later clarified her position saying the letter was not meant as a defence of harassment and "fraternally" paid tribute to victims of sexual assault.
The French minister for gender equality, Marlène Schiappa, has vocally defended "balance ton porc", "Me Too" and similar movements.
Last year Ms Schiappa set out plans for a law cracking down on sexual violence and harassment.
The proposals would include on-the-spot fines for catcalling and lecherous behaviour in public.
As well as cracking down on harassment, the legislation will also give people who experienced sexual assault as a child more time to make a police complaint, and toughen laws on sex with minors.
|
A prison worker who smuggled contraband for a convicted murderer she was having a relationship with has been jailed.
|
Samantha Drinkwater, 49, met Michael Gregory while working as a teacher at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.
She was caught on camera passing several small packages to the prisoner, Peterborough Crown Court heard.
Drinkwater admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply and conveyance of an SD card into a prison and was jailed for two years.
She also pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office.
The court heard how Gregory, who is serving a life sentence, was a Category A prisoner and described as a "dangerous individual".
Evidence of the relationship between the pair was captured on camera in May last year, along with footage of Drinkwater passing several small packages to Gregory.
'Position of trust'
Following her arrest, Drinkwater's vehicle was searched and a quantity of cannabis, a small Nokia mobile phone and four miniature bottles of whiskey were discovered.
Examination of the phone revealed text conversations between her and another person that she later admitted was the prisoner.
A search of her home on Hawthorn Road in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, uncovered a notebook with doodles detailing their relationship and a number of electrical items including SD cards.
When Gregory was searched, officers found an SD card which matched material on an external hard drive seized from Drinkwater's property and a small quantity of cannabis.
Prisons minister Rory Stewart said the case was "shocking".
"This kind of behaviour undermines a whole prison, it is dangerous. It threatens other, hard-working, dedicated staff and unfairly sullies their reputations too."
Det Con Shelly Reeve added: "Drinkwater abused her position of trust and entered into this relationship in full knowledge that it was inappropriate."
|
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has defended the new Wales Bill after the first minister said policing should be devolved to the Welsh Government.
|
Carwyn Jones has asked why UK ministers were keeping responsibility for the police yet it was devolved in Scotland, Northern Ireland and "even Manchester".
But Mr Cairns told BBC Wales policing was already devolved to Police and Crime Commissioners.
Devolution "closer to communities" was more effective, he added.
Mr Cairns told The Wales Report: "Policing is an area that I believe we've already devolved to Police and Crime Commissioners.
"It's only a few weeks ago that we had the elections to the Police and Crime Commissioners."
He added: "The priorities for Dyfed Powys for example, will be very different to the priorities for South Wales Police.
"And I think that real devolution, where it is down closer to communities is much more effective in delivering on that sort of policy area."
The Wales Report is one BBC One Wales at 22:40 BST on Wednesday 8 June
|
Eight 5,000-year-old artefacts looted from Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein will be returned after being identified by the British Museum.
|
The objects were seized by police from a now-defunct London dealer in 2003.
The collection has spent 15 years in the hands of the state but has now been established as being from a site in Tello in southern Iraq.
The items, which include a marble bull pendant, will be presented to the Iraqi embassy in London on Friday.
The British Museum's director Hartwig Fischer said the organisation was "absolutely committed to the fight against illicit trade and damage to cultural heritage".
In addition to the bull pendant, the collection - which dates back to 3000BC - includes a gypsum mace head, two stamp seals, an inscribed pebble and three clay cones bearing Sumerian cuneiform script.
None of the items were accompanied by documentation when first discovered in England by the Metropolitan Police - and the dealer they were taken from made no attempt to reclaim them.
After years in police storage, the collection was taken to the British Museum in 2018.
By reading the inscriptions on the items, museum experts were able to determine not just which site they belonged to, but also which parts of specific building remains they came from.
The cone inscriptions bore the name of the Sumerian king who commissioned them, the temple they came from and the god the temple was dedicated to.
Following a presentation ceremony involving the British Museum and Iraqi ambassador to the UK, the antiquities will be returned to Baghdad next week.
Iraq's ambassador to the UK, Dr Salih Husain Ali, said he wanted to express his "thanks and appreciation" to the museum, adding that cooperation between the two countries was "vital for the preservation and the protection of the Iraqi heritage".
|
Four police officers accused of beating up a terror suspect have all been found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court.
|
A jury acquitted Pc Roderick James-Bowen, 40, Pc Mark Jones, 43, Pc Nigel Cowley, 34, and Det Con John Donohue, 37, of assaulting Babar Ahmad.
Mr Ahmad, 37, was arrested at his home in Tooting, south London, in December 2003 on suspicion of leading a group which supported al-Qaeda.
Mr Ahmad was never charged in relation to his arrest but is in custody.
He is awaiting extradition to the US for alleged terrorism offences.
Mr Ahmad said he feared he would die in the early morning Metropolitan Police raid.
But jurors rejected claims that the officers attacked him, taking less than an hour to reach their decision.
The BBC understands some members of the jury later asked to meet the officers to shake their hands, correspondent Ben Ando reported.
Secret recordings
Speaking after the verdicts, the officers' solicitor Colin Reynolds said secret recordings - which emerged in evidence - from a listening device planted in Mr Ahmad's home corroborated his clients' accounts.
"It was only weeks before this trial commenced that the prosecution then disclosed that a listening device had been planted in the home address of Babar Ahmad some time before his arrest in December 2003," he said.
"Many hours were spent analysing what could be heard as a result of that probe before and during the trial and that evidence proved the account originally given by these officers was correct and specific details of the complaint made by Mr Ahmad were not present."
Asked why the Met paid out £60,000 to Mr Ahmad in a civil case when the force admitted liability, he said: "That's a matter for the Commissioner and his lawyers."
Mr Reynolds also spoke of the men's relief at the verdicts and said they were "looking forward to getting on with their professional lives".
"The officers look forward to returning to work and... serving the public within the MPS and they are hoping that they will be able to put these unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations behind them now."
After the not guilty verdicts were returned, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said he hoped what he described as Mr Ahmad's "ordeal" would come to an end as quickly as possible, either by his extradition to the US or his release.
He said Mr Ahmad had been detained in the UK for a number of years and it was a matter of concern.
Mr Ahmad claims the officers, then all constables in the Met's Territorial Support Group (TSG), beat him repeatedly, swore at him, mocked his Islamic faith and humiliated him by touching his genitals in an assault that began at his house and continued in a police van and at a police station.
He alleged that one officer grabbed his throat and cut off his breathing.
Mr Ahmad told the court: "He kept squeezing to the point where I thought, 'This guy is going to kill me. He wants to kill me. I am going to die in the back of this van'."
But the officers said his injuries were either self-inflicted or caused by a legal tackle that took him to the ground when he was first detained.
Pc James-Bowen told the court he had a "ferocious" struggle with martial arts expert Mr Ahmad in which he used "significant force", but rejected accusations that he and his colleagues beat him up.
Resistance feared
The four officers involved in the raid had been told by senior officers to arrest Mr Ahmad.
The four-week trial heard that the suspect's arrest came 11 months after DC Stephen Oake was murdered in Crumpsall, Manchester, by terror suspect Kamel Bourgass.
Police chiefs briefed the arresting officers that Mr Ahmad was to be considered as dangerous as Bourgass and said they feared he would resist, the jury heard.
Pc Jones told the court he and the other officers in his unit were told by their sergeant before the operation that the suspect had been trained by al-Qaeda in armed and unarmed combat.
Mr Ahmad was believed to be the leader of an al-Qaeda-linked cell that acted as a conduit to terrorism overseas, providing recruits and logistical support.
In evidence during the trial, Mr Ahmad confirmed that he travelled to Bosnia three or four times to fight during the 1992/95 war, but insisted he was not an "al-Qaeda superman".
Misconduct review
The Metropolitan Police Authority is set to publish an investigation into the incident.
In a statement, the Met Police said the court had heard evidence that did not support Mr Ahmad's account of events following his arrest.
Acting Commander Carl Bussey, head of the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards, said: "The issues that have arisen out of the arrest have now been ongoing for a long time and undoubtedly this will have been a difficult seven years for all involved.
"Given the result I will now ensure a misconduct review is conducted immediately so that the officers can be given a decision as soon as possible and this matter finally brought to a conclusion."
The Metropolitan Police later said three of the officers would remain on restricted duties pending a decision on whether they should face a misconduct hearing.
The fourth officer, Pc Mark Jones, is currently suspended on an unrelated matter.
Mr Ahmad's lawyer, Fiona Murphy, said: "The criminal proceedings have taken their course and the jury has returned its verdict".
"We now call upon the IPCC to put its abject failures in relation to this case to one side and to give proper consideration to the misconduct aspects."
|
On a crisp autumn day in 1915, 38 ornithologists gathered in the tiny Swiss village of Zimmerwald.
|
By Imogen FoulkesBBC News, Zimmerwald, Switzerland
Only, they were not actually bird watchers - that was just a cover. These were socialists from all over Europe, meeting to discuss ways to bring peace to a continent ravaged by World War One.
Two of the most famous participants were Russian: Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or Lenin, and Leon Trotsky.
Their peace campaign made secrecy necessary: opposing the war was viewed as treason in many countries.
Lenin and Trotsky were already political refugees. They were both living in neutral Switzerland - Trotsky in Geneva and Lenin in Berne, quietly planning the overthrow of Tsarist Russia.
Birthplace of a revolution
Today, Zimmerwald is not much changed from that day in 1915.
It is a sleepy little place, population 1,100, with a few farms, a church, and the Alps soaring majestically across the valley.
And for 100 years there was no sign that the founders of the Bolshevik Revolution had ever set foot there.
Thousands of kilometres to the east, however, Zimmerwald gradually became famous.
In classrooms across the Soviet Union, the village was being celebrated as the birthplace of the revolution.
"In the Soviet Union, Zimmerwald was such a famous place. Every Soviet school child knew about Zimmerwald," explained Julia Richers, a historian at Berne University.
"But you can ask any Swiss school child, they would never know what Zimmerwald was about."
Zimmerwald conference
Julia describes Switzerland's attitude to its history as a kind of "forceful forgetting", especially in Zimmerwald itself, where, in the 1960s, plans to have a small plaque marking Lenin's presence were formally banned by the village council.
Switzerland's neutrality probably lies at the root of that reluctance to acknowledge the past.
During the Cold War the Swiss were extremely nervous about showing overt friendliness to either East or West, and spent billions on a vast army and on bunkers for every family, in the hope of sitting, neutrally, out of any future conflict.
But in Zimmerwald, reminders of Lenin's presence were dropping through the letter box every day.
Letters from schoolchildren
Mayor Fritz Broennimann has a vast archive of earnest missives: postcards, drawings, and notes, from hundreds of Soviet schoolchildren, many of them addressed to the "President of Zimmerwald", all begging for information about their national hero Lenin.
"They asked for photographs, for booklets," he explained, showing a fraying postcard of a Lenin statue in Moscow.
"Some even sent their letters to the Lenin museum in Zimmerwald."
Of course, there was no museum, and there were no photographs or booklets.
Most of those letters were never answered.
But occasionally a Zimmerwald official, perhaps made anxious by the excessive amount of mail with Soviet stamps landing on his desk, tried to stem the flow.
And so, in 1945, this firm reply was sent:
"Sir, I have not been briefed on your political sympathies. However, I am not inclined to provide material to a political extremist, which could then be of use to enemies of the state."
Even in this centenary year, Zimmerwald has wrestled with the apparently agonising decision over whether to mark it.
"We had an idea [for an article] - 'A hundred years, a hundred opinions'," explained Mayor Broennimann.
"So we put an advertisement in the local paper. We got about six answers."
Lessons of history
But just a few kilometres north of Zimmerwald in the Swiss capital Berne - one of the most left-leaning of Switzerland's cities - the significance of the Zimmerwald conference is getting a good deal of attention.
"Zimmerwald was actually a peace conference," said Fabian Molina, president of Switzerland's Young Socialists party.
"They were young leftists from the whole of Europe, discussing peace, discussing their strategy against war."
"A hundred years after Zimmerwald, we are in a similar situation, if we compare the wars that are going on, with 60 million people fleeing.
"We have a refugee crisis, it reminds us how violent the world is, and so it's important to remember there was once a conference of people uniting for peace."
Historian Julia Richers agrees, pointing out that the conference was the only gathering in Europe against the war, and that the final manifesto from Zimmerwald contained some fundamental principles.
"The Zimmerwald manifesto stated three important things," she explained. "That there should be a peace without annexations, a peace without war contributions, and the self-determination of people.
"If you look at the peace treaties of World War One, those three things were hardly considered, and we know that World War One led partially to the World War Two, and so I think the manifesto did state some very important points for a peaceful Europe."
A little-known fact is that that manifesto was not revolutionary enough for Lenin and Trotsky, who wanted it to contain references to replacing war between nations with an armed class struggle.
Their fellow socialists and social democrats in Zimmerwald outvoted them, but Lenin continued to harbour hopes that Switzerland might be fertile ground for staging a revolution.
"He once stated that the Swiss could have been the most revolutionary of all, because almost everybody had a gun at home," said Julia Richers.
"But he said that in the end the society was too bourgeois… so he gave up on the Swiss."
"I think he recognised after a few years that it was not a good idea to start a revolution in Switzerland," laughed Fabian Molina.
"Switzerland has always been a quite right-wing country, it… never had a left majority, and I think Lenin saw that the revolutionary potential here in Switzerland was quite small."
Recognition at last
But back in Zimmerwald, that historic conference, and its most famous participants, have finally received some modest recognition.
On the spot where the hotel Lenin stayed in once stood (it was pulled down in the 1960s to make way for a bus stop) are two small signs.
Made only of plywood and cardboard, they will not last once winter begins, Fritz Broennimann admits, but they do at least commemorate the events of 1915.
And, after much discussion, the village held a memorial event, with speeches by historians and politicians.
It took place in the local church which, Mr Broennimann remarks with a wry smile, "was full for a change".
And Lenin? He carried on living in Berne, where he wrote some of his most important political treatises.
In 1916 he moved to Zurich, and in early 1917 he took the famous train from Zurich to St Petersburg, which was teetering on the edge of revolution.
The rest, as they say, is history.
|
A suspected far-right extremist has been charged with plotting to kill French President Emmanuel Macron at the Bastille Day parade later this month.
|
The 23-year-old was arrested in a Paris suburb last Wednesday after police were alerted by users of a videogame chat room where he allegedly said he wanted to buy a gun.
He also said he wanted to attack minorities, a judicial source told AFP.
Mr Macron has been giving a state-of-the-nation-style address in Versailles.
He has been outlining his priorities in the speech, taking place during a special session of both houses of parliament at the Palace of Versailles.
However the French president is facing criticism over the address, with far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélénchon accusing him of behaving like a "pharoah".
'Muslims, Jews, blacks, homosexuals'
Investigators found three kitchen knives in the plot suspect's vehicle and analysis of his computer revealed he had conducted internet searches on possible targets.
After his arrest, he told police he wanted to attack "Muslims, Jews, blacks, homosexuals", AFP said.
The suspect was convicted last year of condoning terrorism after praising Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in July 2011.
He was jailed for three years with half the sentence suspended.
The Bastille Day parade on 14 July commemorates the start of the French Revolution and takes place on the Champs-Elysées avenue in Paris.
In 2002, then-President Jacques Chirac was the subject of a Bastille Day assassination attempt when a man with far-right links took out a rifle and fired a shot before being overpowered.
This year the Champs-Elysées has seen two attacks on police.
Last month a man rammed a vehicle containing guns and gas canisters into a police van. In April a gunman shot dead police officer Xavier Jugelé using a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
|
The man who invented the automated cash machine is one of four engineers to be added to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.
|
James Goodfellow is being given the accolade along with telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell, lighthouse designer Robert Stevenson and structural engineer Sir Duncan Michael.
The hall of fame was launched in 2011 by The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland.
It now has 27 members.
Gordon Masterton, chairman of judges for the hall of fame, said: "We are delighted to welcome more recent engineers like Duncan and James into this pantheon of Scottish engineering, as well as some of the notable older pioneering engineers.
"Scotland can rightly claim to have provided the educational base for many of the world's greatest engineers who have gone on to lead great companies and make world-changing inventions. Duncan Michael and James Goodfellow are living proof that this tradition is alive and well."
'Recognises contribution'
Collectively, the 27 members in the hall of fame tell a story of 450 years of world-beating engineering innovation that has led to massive improvements in the quality of life and economy in Scotland, the UK and worldwide.
Welcoming the announcement of the new inductees, Sara Thiam, director for the Institution of Civil Engineers in Scotland, said: "It is wonderful to see great engineering getting recognition.
"Many don't realise the human impact that civil engineers, and engineers in general, make upon everyday life. But the induction of someone like James Goodfellow highlights an innovator of a piece of engineering most of us use every day in life without thinking.
"Civil Engineers, and other engineers, create the environment we live in, so they have a massive impact on all our lives. The hall of fame attempts to recognise that contribution."
James Goodfellow
James Goodfellow, who was born in Paisley in 1937, received just a £10 bonus for his invention and patent of automated cash machines that used pin numbers.
"My task was to design the means of allowing a customer, and only a genuine customer, to actuate the dispenser mechanism," he said.
"Eventually I designed a system which accepted a machine readable encrypted card, to which I added a numerical keypad into which an obscurely related Personal Identification Number had to be entered manually, by the customer.
"This pin was known only to the person to whom the card was issued. If card and keypad inputs agreed, the cash dispenser mechanism was activated and the appropriate money was fed out to the customer."
Automated telling machines (ATMs) spread throughout the world and there are now an estimated three million machines.
Mr Goodfellow continued to generate innovative design ideas and leadership throughout his career and was twice a recipient of IBM's Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.
Sir Duncan Michael
Sir Duncan Michael, who was born in Beauly in 1937, reached the highest level in global consulting engineering through his excellence in structural engineering and business expertise, and restructured Ove Arup and Partners into a global business.
In 1957 Arup had joined with Jorn Utzon to design the Sydney Opera House which was to be a highly complex construction. Sir Duncan's part of the project was the "side shells"' which supported all the spherical roof surfaces as key elements of the project.
He was knighted in 2001.
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh in 1847 and emigrated with his family to Canada in 1870.
The following year he moved to Boston and became interested in transmitting the human voice over wires.
In 1875 came up with a simple receiver that could turn electricity into sound and was granted a patent.
The Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877 and by 1886 more than 150,000 people in the US owned telephones.
In January 1915 Bell was invited to make the first transcontinental phone call from New York to San Francisco.
When he died on 2 August 1922, at the end of his funeral the entire telephone system in North America was shut down for one minute in tribute to his life.
In 1888, Bell was one of the founding members of the National Geographical Society and has been ranked as among the 100 Greatest Britons.
Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson was born in Glasgow in 1772 and was the father of David, Alan and Thomas Stevenson who all became engineers. His grandson was the famous author, Robert Louis Stevenson.
His first assignment as an apprentice was the supervision of the erection of a lighthouse on Little Cumbrae.
From these beginnings he realised the importance of lighthouses and that the marking of navigation hazards would save countless lives and greatly improve the safety of near coastal shipping.
In total, Robert Stevenson was responsible for building more than 15 lighthouses, including the Bell Rock Lighthouse at Arbroath in 1811.
Stevenson was also responsible for a number of bridges in Scotland including the Stirling New Bridge, Annan Bridge, and Hutcheson's Bridge over the Clyde in Glasgow.
|
The first of the Olympic Games Lanes has come into operation on the M4.
|
The restrictions on the 3.5-mile (6km) stretch of the motorway between Heston and Brentford in west London will be in place from 05:00 BST until 22:00 BST.
Motorists could be fined £130 for straying into it. The road was reopened on Friday following repairs to a crack which appeared on the former bus lane.
Apart from official Olympics vehicles only black cabs are allowed to use the M4 Games Lanes.
Athletes and officials who have begun arriving at Heathrow Airport are using the lanes to reach the Olympic Village.
Transport for London (TfL) said there was a 10% drop in traffic in to central London on Monday.
Mayor Boris Johnson said: "London is as ready, in fact readier, than any Olympic city has ever been at this stage of proceedings and I think the IOC are bowled over by the success we have had in delivering the Olympic venues on time, under budget."
There will be 30 miles (50km) of Games Lanes in London, which will form part of the Olympic Route Network (ORN), most of which will come into effect from 25 July - two days before the opening ceremony.
'Far from happy'
The Games Lanes will be clearly marked and will operate alongside existing traffic, but all road users will be able to go into the lanes when they are not in use overnight.
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the London Taxi Drivers' Association, said black cabs were allowed to use the Games Lanes on the M4 and Park Lane and can pick up and set down in most lanes near the Games sites.
"We are also allowed to make right turns across a significant number of lanes throughout the ORN," he added.
"But we are far from happy with these lanes and we would question the need for them any time."
A TfL spokesman said: "The Highways Agency have confirmed to TfL in writing that licensed taxis will be permitted use of the M4 Games lane."
'Perfect storm'
Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said a breakdown or crash could lead to a "perfect storm".
Mr Delaney, who was former head of traffic at the Metropolitan Police, said: "The problem with the Games Lanes is that London's road network runs at, or very close to, capacity almost all day, almost every day of the year.
"Unless everybody heeds the advice to not drive, there are problems. Imagine if there is a situation where we have a breakdown or a crash.
"It would be like a perfect storm - the level of congestion that you would normally get would be magnified."
Earlier accidents on the M4 in Berkshire affected traffic heading into the capital London.
But a Highways Agency spokesman said: "The delays were a long way from west London and traffic in the area of the Games Lane was no worse than it is on any normal Monday morning."
On Sunday, Sport Minister Hugh Robertson said the authorities had plans to lift the restrictions on the lanes if there was gridlock.
The M4 had been closed between junctions two and three for about a week after a crack was found in the Boston Manor viaduct.
There were fears the repair work on the damaged flyover near junction two may not be completed in time for the Games Lanes to open, but the motorway reopened on Friday.
But restrictions imposed on vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes, which had been in place since March when hairline cracks were discovered in some of the steel beams, are still in place.
The motorway connects west London to south Wales.
|
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has reported a modest profit for the three months to the end of September, but also saw falling revenues from advertising.
|
The publisher of the Times and the Wall Street Journal said net income for the quarter was $27m (£16.9m).
But revenues came in at $2.07bn - lower than analysts expected, resulting from a decline in newspaper advertising.
The results are the first since News Corp was split into two separate companies earlier this year.
The publishing business is now separate from the much more profitable entertainment business, which includes a film studio and television channels under the name 21st Century Fox.
Last week that business reported a quarterly profit of $1.3bn.
Mr Murdoch remains in control of both businesses despite the split.
News Corp includes book publisher HarperCollins alongside newspaper titles that include the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in the US and the Times and the Sun in the UK.
Commenting on the results, News Corp's chief executive Robert Thompson was keen to stress that newspaper titles were in the middle of transforming themselves into digital content providers.
Declines in Australia
"Our first quarter... was the beginning of a journey in the digital development of the company," he said.
"We have been consistently cost-conscious and are transforming our publishing operations longer-term into multi-platform businesses.
News Corp's newspapers in Australia, where Mr Murdoch was born, accounted for much of the firm's fall in revenue, posting a 22% decline in sales.
The firm's papers in Australia include the Daily Telegraph, The Australian and the Herald Sun.
Analysts said the weakness in the firm's Australian newspaper segment was well known but that the fall in income was worse than expected.
|
Thousands of bus drivers in London are to vote on whether to take strike action in a row over payments during the Olympic Games.
|
Unite said it had given 21 bus companies operating in London notice of its intention to ballot up to 21,000 of its members in the capital next week.
The union has asked for a £500 payment to recognise the "massive increase" in workload during the Games.
Transport for London has called for a resolution with minimal disruption.
The union said 800,000 extra passengers were expected to travel on buses during the Games.
It added that other transport workers, including those on London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin, would receive hundreds of pounds in extra payments during the Olympics.
'Refused to talk'
Unite official Peter Kavanagh said bus workers would be going "above and beyond the call of duty" to make the Olympics a success, adding that newly re-elected London Mayor Boris Johnson should intervene in the dispute.
"Boris Johnson has sat on his hands for almost a year while the bus operators have refused to even talk to Unite about their workers' extra contribution to the Olympics," he said.
Unite's general secretary Len McCluskey told BBC Radio 5 live that workers "had a right to join in on additional revenue at a time of increased stress".
"What is wrong with the bus companies who are going to earn millions of pounds additional revenue, what's wrong with them saying 'we're going to give a little bit of that to our workers'?"
Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "London bus drivers are employed by private bus companies and their pay and conditions are set by those companies.
"If bus drivers are required to work additional hours they are always paid overtime accordingly."
|
The British government has stressed that maintaining political stability in Northern Ireland is a UK responsibility.
|
The comment follows a statement from the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny indicating he had agreed with British Prime Minister Theresa May there will be no return to direct rule.
The UK government wants to see a power-sharing executive restored.
A government spokesperson said: "We are not speculating on any other outcome."
"We remain firmly focused on securing the resumption of devolved government and the formation of an Executive within the statutory timeframe of 27 March," the spokesperson added.
The Taoiseach told an audience at Bloomberg's offices in New York: "I hope that the elected members of the assembly will now focus through their parties on actually putting an executive in place within the three weeks from the date of the election.
Analysis - BBC News NI's Political Editor Mark Devenport
During his St Patrick's Day visit to the United States Enda Kenny made two striking comments about Northern Ireland first saying he had a deal with Theresa May on no return to direct rule and then indicating he wishes to remain in office until there is a resolution to the deadlock at Stormont.
Initially the UK government appeared reluctant to respond but they have now underlined that they see maintaining political stability in Northern Ireland as the UK's responsibility and that ministers are still focussing on the 27 March deadline for restoring the power sharing executive
The statement does not directly deny Mr Kenny's claims regarding a prime ministerial deal but nor does it substantiate them or lend credence to speculation about a second election
"If that doesn't happen the secretary of state for Northern Ireland (James Brokenshire) would then either have to hold further elections or have direct rule again from Britain.
"I have spoken very clearly to the British prime minister and we are both agreed that there will be no return to direct rule from London.
"So I do hope that the executive can be put in place, because this has implications for the peace process."
The DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC's Sunday News that he was not aware of any agreement between Mrs May and Mr Kenny regarding no return to direct rule.
"We had no indication from the government at Westminster that they have agreed that line with Dublin so I think Enda was pushing the boat out a little on that one," he said.
Talks between Northern Ireland's political parties and the UK and Irish governments are continuing with a view to restoring a power-sharing executive at Stormont after this month's assembly election.
A third week of negotiations are due to resume on Monday.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has indicated that he will not step down until political uncertainty in Northern Ireland and over Brexit is resolved.
Speaking during a week-long visit to the United States, he said those issues are his "immediate priorities".
Mr Kenny will return to Dublin on Saturday, having met US President Donald Trump on his trip to America.
Critics within his Fine Gael party have been pressing for him to give a timetable for his departure as leader.
Last month, the Irish coalition government, made up of Fine Gael and the Independent Alliance, survived a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Before leaving Ireland for his annual engagements in the US to mark St Patrick's Day, Mr Kenny told his party that he would address his future "effectively and conclusively" when he returned.
But during the St Patrick's Day parade in New York on Friday, he said that political talks in Northern Ireland and forming a standpoint on Brexit would "take precedence over everything else".
"I have a number of immediate priorities on my desk when I arrive back tomorrow morning," he told Irish journalists.
"You can't have a situation where you have no leadership in Northern Ireland.
"Do you not think it is appropriate that the immediate priority is to have an executive functioning in Northern Ireland?"
Talks between Northern Ireland's political parties and the UK and Irish governments are continuing with a view to restoring a power-sharing executive at Stormont after this month's assembly election.
Mr Kenny also said that it was important for him to "get an agreed negotiating stance" with other European Union member states ahead of talks with the UK over its withdrawal from the union.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will begin the Brexit process by the end of this month, a move that looks set to have major implications for the neighbouring Republic of Ireland.
"It's going to affect everybody in our country - these are two immediate priorities," Mr Kenny said.
Mr Kenny was re-elected as Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) in May 2016, after a general election that produced no outright winner.
He has led Fine Gael since 2002 and held the office of Taoiseach since 2011.
|
The outgoing editor of The Archers has said she was "cyber-bullied" by listeners over the show's storylines.
|
Vanessa Whitburn is retiring as the BBC Radio 4 programme's longest-serving editor after 22 years.
Ms Whitburn admitted she had felt stress in the role at times but that "it does come with the territory".
She said there was unhappiness among some listeners at plots including the killing off of long-standing character Nigel Pargetter in 2011.
Nigel Pargetter had been played by Graham Seed for 27 years.
Death threats
Ms Whitburn told BBC Radio 4's Feedback programme: "I'm not as tough as people think but you have to be a bit tough, you can't take the job and then take the good bits and whinge about the bad bits.
"I do not mind proper criticism, and we have a very intelligent audience out there who love the programme, and I love debating with listeners. What I don't like is cyber-bullying."
Asked if that included death threats, she said: "I wouldn't call it a serious death threat, but you know people saying 'why don't we kill Whitburn rather than Nigel [Pargetter]', stuff like that.
"You have to ignore it. People are very sad - those people. Most of my listeners whom I meet and talk to are fantastic and galvanising and interesting and we can debate things forever."
Speaking about the Nigel Pargetter plotline, she added: "I thought it was a good story. I have a regret that several people didn't enjoy it."
'Good shape'
The world's longest running radio soap opera, which has been on air for 62 years, attracts up to five million listeners every week.
Set in the fictional Midlands village of Ambridge, it charts the lives of its characters, many of whom are from the farming community.
Announcing her retirement from the show, Ms Whitburn said: "I leave the programme in good shape with some strong storylines planned."
Gwyneth Williams, the controller of Radio 4, described her as "an excellent editor," adding, "we are very grateful to her".
Under Whitburn, the show won awards, including the Sony Gold Award, two Television and Radio Industries Club Awards and The Royal Variety Club Personality of the Year Silver Heart.
Whitburn was also executive producer of radio drama in the Midlands from 1995 and was responsible for Silver Street, the long-running serial on the BBC Asian Network, as well as being behind single plays and serials for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.
Last year, Whitburn launched Ambridge Extra, a companion series to the show on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
|
Award-winning director Martin McDonagh may be the toast of Hollywood and a frontrunner for the Oscars.
|
But the success of his hit film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri has not gone unnoticed outside Leitir Mealláin in County Galway.
Three billboards paying tribute to his success have been erected just outside the village in Connemara.
The London-born director has Irish parents and a long connection with the Connemara area.
The look of the billboards - black font on red background - directly references the critically acclaimed film.
The area is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) and the billboards pay suitably local tribute to McDonagh with the words: "Réalt Mór Hollywood" (big star of Hollywood), "Réalt Mór Leitir Mealláin" (big star of Leitir Mealláin) and "Comhghairdeas Martin McDonagh" (congratulations Martin McDonagh).
The film features a woman seeking justice for her daughter's murder, using the billboards to publicise the local police force's lack of leads in the case - but the three billboards in County Galway take on a more positive tone.
McDonagh's father is originally from Leitir Mealláin and the filmmaker regularly visited on holiday from a young age.
County Galway served as the setting of his first six plays as a writer - the Leenane trilogy and the Aran Islands trilogy.
John Bhaba Jeaic O'Conghaile, the curator of a heritage centre in Leitir Mealláin, said that the director's parents had informed their son about the billboards and he was delighted with the community's gesture, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ reports.
The community hoped McDonagh would return to the area in future more Oscars after Three Billboards film claimed five Baftas, including best film and best original screenplay, he added.
Three Billboards is nominated for seven Oscars in the upcoming awards, and McDonagh is no stranger to the biggest ceremony in Hollywood having already won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter in 2005.
It is not the first time that the three billboards of McDonagh's film have found their way from screen into real life.
Campaigners for justice following the Grenfell Tower fire drove three film-inspired billboards through London that read "71 dead. And still no arrests? How come?"
|
A village known as the "Dutch Venice" is shutting its canals for several hours each morning to repair the damage tourist boats have caused to its historic bridges.
|
By News from Elsewhere......as found by BBC Monitoring
Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Giethoorn in the eastern Netherlands each year, attracted by its network of canals, but many of them have trouble handling their hire boats and end up bumping into the bridges, the regional broadcaster RTV Oost reports.
The bridges are the private property of the 2,600 villagers, and they depend on them to get about car-free Giethoorn, much of which is only accessible by boat or on foot.
"There is a love-hate relationship with the visitors," according to the NOS national broadcaster, which says that the income is welcome but "tourists walking through their gardens and looking in through their windows" less so.
'Whisper boats'
Last year Giethoorn hired an "environment director", who tries to balancing the demands of tourism with the needs of the permanent residents.
Companies offer canal tours with experienced captains, but many visitors prefer to hire private "whisper boats".
Their electric engines are much quieter than conventional outboard motors, but they still lead to accidental collisions on the often-congested waterways, and these are weakening many of the bridges.
You might also be interested in:
Last year the council installed new mirrors on the canals to help skippers see what's just around the corner, but now it has decided to take the major step of reinforcing the bridges with extra posts and cross-beams.
The job is more complex than it sounds.
"The narrow canals and low bridges are not accessible from the road, and the posts have to be driven deep if they are to get a purchase on the peaty soil," RTV Oost says, adding that the repairmen have to work with cranes mounted on floating pontoons.
This means the canals will be closed to locals and visitors alike for four hours early each morning until the end of May, by which time the 45 bridges in question should be fixed.
The council has put diversions in place for essential journeys, and has managed to repair two of the bridges so far.
Reporting by Martin Morgan
Next story: Eurovision: Gay kisses upset Belarus TV host
Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.
|
Designs have been unveiled for a new £21m medical school at the University of Lincoln.
|
The planned building, which is a joint venture with Nottingham University, is to be based at Lincoln's Brayford Pool campus.
A fundraising campaign has started with residents and businesses being asked to donate funds towards the project.
The university said it hoped the school would increase the number of doctors "to ease NHS staffing shortages".
Proposals for the school include lecture theatres, laboratories and suites with virtual and augmented-reality technology to simulate clinical settings.
It is expected to open in September 2019 and provide medical training to about 400 undergraduate students when it is at "full capacity in a few years' time".
The university said the county has been without a medical school and not had "the ability to train its own GPs and hospital doctors".
Professor Mary Stuart, vice chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: "The medical school will make a huge difference to the people of Lincolnshire who will benefit from the establishment of this hub of medical expertise, training hundreds of young people, many of them local, to become doctors and encouraging them to stay in the county."
She said she hoped people in the city would "come together and be part of making a difference to thousands of people's lives".
Plans for the new school were confirmed in March after the government announced it would increase the number of medical training places in England.
|
About 80 rare white-clawed crayfish have been released into the wild in North Somerset as part of a conservation programme.
|
The crayfish are the largest freshwater invertebrates in the UK and the only native species.
They are under threat from North American signal crayfish which were introduced to the UK in the 1970s for the fishing and restaurant industry.
The native crayfish are pink-white on the underside of their claws.
Due to competition from the signal crayfish and the spread of a disease which is carried by them, white-clawed crayfish numbers have decreased dramatically.
They are now classified as a globally endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Elusive animal
The South West Crayfish Partnership was set up in 2008 in response to the decline.
It is a collaboration between Bristol Zoo Gardens, Avon Wildlife Trust, Bristol Science and Conservation Foundation, Bristol Water, the Environment Agency and Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust.
The crayfish being released have been reared at the zoo for a year to ensure they have a good chance of survival when introduced in to their new home.
"We have all worked so hard here at the zoo to successfully breed this endangered species and we will be thrilled to see them return to their natural habitat, thanks to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund," said Jen Nightingale, Bristol Zoo's UK Conservation Manager.
"This is a relatively small release, however it is the beginning of a large scale approach to prevent the extinction of this species.
"Captive populations are paramount to increasing our knowledge as we still know relatively little about this elusive animal."
|
A derelict Grade II listed coastal lido is to be refurbished and reopened to the public, but not as a swimming pool.
|
Plans for Grange Lido in Cumbria to be turned into a "multi-use public space" have been agreed by South Lakeland District Council.
The authority said it could be used for swimming in the future if a business case was made for a pool that could run without an ongoing public subsidy.
The Save Grange Lido campaign group said it would continue its efforts.
A meeting of the council's cabinet was told the condition of the lido in Grange-over-Sands was "critical" and it approved plans for a "light touch" refurbishment of structures before they fall down.
Deputy council leader Jonathan Brook said: "Soon the buildings and some of the structures will be beyond economical repair.
"Refurbishment will be an important step forward which will hopefully lead to a solution which will be viable, sustainable and acceptable to the residents of Grange and the wider district of South Lakeland."
The planned measures include landscaping, while the pool may be given a removable infilling so as not to prevent any future use as a swimming facility.
The cabinet's decision needs the approval for £2m funding at a meeting of the full council next month.
More than 14,500 people have signed a petition calling for the lido's restoration, with campaigners confident it could become a tourist attraction.
Addressing the cabinet meeting, Save Grange Lido secretary David Dawson described the plan to fill in the pool as "unwise".
He said: "Such a plan will be disastrous, and once filled in, no matter how many times it is said to be only temporary, we all know that the pool will be gone forever."
The lido was constructed in 1932 but closed in 1993 with the council pointing to low use and increasing operational and repair costs.
|
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has chosen the Reverend Charles McMullen as its next moderator following a vote on Tuesday evening.
|
The 57-year-old, who was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, is currently minister of West Church in Bangor, County Down.
Mr McMullen said he was "overwhelmed" by his election and was and looking forward to an "exciting, challenging and enriching year".
The Presbyterian Church chooses its moderator on an annual basis.
'Building relationships'
A total of 19 presbyteries meet independently across the island of Ireland to decide on who should hold the most senior position within the Church.
Mr McMullen was one of three nominees for the post - the others were the Reverend Brian Boyd of Kells and Eskylane and the Reverend William Henry from Maze Presbyterian Church.
The winner secured the support of just under half the presbyteries, taking nine votes including four from the Republic of Ireland.
His fellow nominees got six votes and four votes respectively.
Mr McMullen is married with three adult children and has been minister of West Church for almost 20 years.
He has four months to prepare for his new role, as he will installed as moderator at a ceremony in June.
The moderator-designate said: "I hope I can be involved in a ministry of building relationships and offering encouragement, both within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and with others as I reach out in Christ's name."
|
Thousands of GCSE pupils in Northern Ireland are to face changes to their English exams, although they are half way through their courses.
|
By Maggie TaggartBBC News NI Education Correspondent
The changes are being rushed through, in spite of strong opposition.
Pupils who use exam boards in England for GCSE English and English Language, are assessed on their 'speaking and listening skills'.
The marks from these assessments will no longer count towards their final grades.
The change will affect about 6,000 pupils in Northern Ireland.
It is being brought in halfway through current courses because of concerns about the reliability of the results which are assessed by pupils' own teachers.
The exam regulator Ofqual admits the decision will be unpopular and was strongly opposed by 92% of people consulted.
However, Ofqual says the assessment of speaking and listening skills was not carried out consistently across schools and that only a third were monitored each year.
The local exams board, CCEA, is not making the change because it says it is satisfied its results are robust and that every school in Northern Ireland is checked each year.
A CCEA spokesperson said: "The announcement made this morning by Ofqual does not apply to CCEA's English examinations.
"We believe that speaking and listening, along with a robust process of moderation, is an integral part of the GCSE English qualification."
|
Photographs taken by homeless people in Oxford are being exhibited to dispel myths surrounding homelessness.
|
Residents of Homeless Oxfordshire's 56-bed O'Hanlon House hostel and community housing projects were given disposable cameras to capture what life looks like as a homeless person in the county.
More than 280 photographs were taken by 10 homeless people over two months.
One of the artists, who wishes to remain anonymous, said his photos show "sad but real life issues" in Oxford.
"From my own experience of being on the streets, you feel that you are not living but only existing," he added.
"Behind Oxford's historical town and day-to-day life is a dark, depressing problem of men and women who live on the streets."
'Homelessness shatters confidence'
Residents of the hostel went out with support workers to take pictures.
Those living in Homeless Oxfordshire's community housing projects kept the disposable cameras for up to a week.
A spokeswoman for Homeless Oxfordshire said: "Stereotypes and stigma surrounding homelessness dehumanise people who are living a personal crisis every day.
"Homelessness shatters confidence. Below the Spires has been an opportunity for our clients to express themselves creatively and, for some, a chance to build their confidence out in the city again."
The exhibition runs until 24 February at The Jam Factory.
|
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, with neither side able to claim outright victory.
|
Decades on, the truce is still all that technically prevents North Korea and the US - along with its ally South Korea - resuming the war, as no peace treaty has ever been signed.
Both sides regularly accuse the other of violating the agreement, but the accusations have become more frequent as tensions rise over North Korea's nuclear programme.
When the armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, talks had already dragged on for two years, ensnared in testy issues such as the exchange of prisoners of war and the location of a demarcation line.
Military commanders from China and North Korea signed the agreement on one side, with the US-led United Nations Command signing on behalf of the international community. South Korea was not a signatory.
The armistice was only ever intended as a temporary measure.
The document, signed by US Lt Gen William K Harrison and his counterpart from the North's army, General Nam Il, said it was aimed at a ceasefire "until a final peaceful settlement is achieved".
However that settlement never came, and a conference in Geneva in 1954 which was designed to thrash out a formal peace accord ended without agreement.
Ceasefire
The armistice is still the only safeguard for peace on the Korean peninsula.
The agreement provided for:
Both sides pledged not to "execute any hostile act within, from, or against the demilitarised zone", or enter areas under control of the other.
The agreement also called for the establishment of the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) and other agencies to ensure the truce held.
The MAC, which comprises members from both sides, still meets regularly in the truce village of Panmunjom.
Despite the relative peace since the war ended, tensions remain high between the two Koreas, and their border remains the most heavily militarised frontier in the world.
|
Two teenage boys have been charged with the murder of a man who was fatally shot in a street.
|
Lewis Williams, 20, died from a shotgun wound to his face and neck sustained in Wath Road, Mexborough, South Yorkshire, on 11 January.
The two boys, aged 15 and 17, were charged on Wednesday and are due to appear at Doncaster Magistrates' Court, police said.
Four other people have previously been charged with Mr Williams' murder.
Ryan Nisbet, 21, Jack Parkes, 20, and two boys aged 16 and 17, were remanded in custody at Sheffield Crown Court earlier this week.
They are due to stand trial in September.
The two boys charged on Wednesday, along with the other two teenagers, cannot be named for legal reasons due to their age.
More news from across Yorkshire
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or send video here.
Related Internet Links
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
|
A coroner has criticised a "delay" by prosecutors over the death of a man at a holiday park three years ago.
|
Paul Gladwell, 38, died in 2017 after being arrested at Pontins in Suffolk, and last year the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said no manslaughter charges were being brought.
His family has appealed against this decision.
Coroner Jacqueline Devonish said she was "putting pressure" on the CPS to make a decision regarding the appeal.
She made the comments at a pre-inquest review in Ipswich, during which Mr Gladwell's family described the way he died as "diabolical", and said the CPS "could deal with it a lot quicker".
Ms Devonish said an inquest into Mr Gladwell's death could not be held until it was known whether or not there was going to be a prosecution case.
She said: "I have written to the CPS to say I'm concerned about the delay.
"This is a significantly old case and we could end up having to pay a penalty for not getting the case on.
"I want to get the case heard."
Mr Gladwell, also known as Paul Reynolds, was detained by staff at Pontins in Pakefield on 14 February before later being arrested on suspicion of assault.
He became ill on his way to police custody and was taken to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, where he died.
Last year, the CPS said there was "insufficient evidence" to bring manslaughter charges against five security staff and three police officers.
The CPS said the case was being looked at as part of its Victims' Right to Review scheme and "once all the evidence has been assessed we will be able to make a decision".
|
MPs have called for a crackdown on "smelly" landfill sites to improve the quality of life of those living nearby.
|
Aaron Bell said the "tell-tale rotten egg" odour emanating from a site in his Staffordshire constituency was widely regarded as a blight on the local area.
He used a Westminster debate to press for tougher enforcement rules and limits on where sites could be built.
Minister Rebecca Pow expressed sympathy with his concerns but said planning decisions were a matter for councils.
She insisted the government had ambitious targets to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste being sent to landfill.
During a debate in Westminster Hall, Parliament's secondary debating chamber, Mr Bell and other Conservative MPs called for the personal experience of local residents to be given greater weight in deciding whether odour levels were acceptable.
Mr Bell, who represents Newcastle-under-Lyme, said the current regulations were "not fit for purpose" and it was not enough for operators of landfill sites to simply meet minimum health standards as set down by the World Health Organisation.
Citing the case of Walleys Quarry landfill in his constituency, he said many of his constituents felt "powerless" after levels of methane gas and hydrogen sulfide emitted were deemed to fall well within legally permissible limits following a review by environmental regulators last year.
'Causing offence'
He claimed unpleasant odours from the Silverdale plant had been a long-standing issue for local residents, with many reluctant to open their windows or use their gardens while the smells were also affecting businesses and night life in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
He said the Environment Agency needed greater powers to deal with "minor and frequent breaches" which did not cause "demonstrably adverse" effects on people's health but which were clearly a nuisance to people's lives.
"An operator can be compliant with their permit and their planning permission but it does not mean they are not causing offence to their neighbours," he said.
"Local communities have few options for remedy against a waste operator where the operator is acting in compliance with its permit. Local communities are the ones who know best how their lives are affected."
While he conceded councils did have the power to issue nuisance abatement notices, he said this process took too long and often did not take into account factors such as changing weather patterns which meant occurrences were "only apparent for a short period of time".
He added: "Odours are not something that can be measured objectively so quantifying and characterising odours can be very challenging because each person's sensitivity to odours can vary."
'Waste hierarchy'
Mr Bell said people living in close proximity to landfill sites were experiencing similar problems "across the country". He called for tighter planning rules to ensure that landfill sites could not, in future, be built "within a certain distance" of any residential housing.
Former Cabinet minister Maria Miller said there was also a problem in her Basingstoke constituency with emissions from biodigester waste plants, which break down material anaerobically.
"The issue here is the threshold at which the Environment Agency can act," she said, insisting statutory health and environmental standards should not be the only consideration. "Why on earth are residents' needs not taken into account?"
In response, Ms Pow said landfill sites could never be odour-free but levels should "not be causing offence".
In the case of Walleys Quarry, she said its operator Red Industries had complied with the terms of the site's permit since 2005 while the site had passed a series of "continuous" air quality monitoring tests carried out by the watchdog in the past three years.
She said the tests found the presence of hydrogen sulfide "above which complaints would be expected" for just 1% of the monitoring period and at a level which Public Health England believed would not expect to cause any long-term health consequences.
More generally, she said legislation due to be debated by MPs for the first time on Wednesday would minimise the amount of waste that "reaches the lower levels of the waste hierarchy", including landfill.
The aim, she added, was for 65% of municipal waste to be recycled by 2033, with no more than 10% going to landfill.
Red Industries, which bought Walleys Quarry Landfill in 2016, has insisted that it complies with all legal and government regulations, operates tight controls and procedures on the site and strives to minimise its impact on the environment.
|
Sri Lanka's prime minister has said mangroves' ability to swiftly absorb carbon make the forests vital in the fight against climate change.
|
By Mark KinverEnvironment reporter, BBC News
His comments come on a day marking the first anniversary of a project to protect all of the nation's mangroves.
As well as storing carbon, the forests provide habitat for fish and protect communities from tsunamis and cyclones.
Also on Tuesday - World Mangrove Day - Sri Lanka's president will open the world's first mangrove museum.
The museum will act as a hub for conservation training for adults, and educating children about the value of mangroves. It is estimated that 20,000 pupils will visit the museum in the first year.
Read also: The community who won back their mangroves
The Sri Lankan government has also included mangrove forest conservation into its national curriculum.
The museum is a central pillar of a five-year programme to protect all of the island nation's mangroves.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said: "Mangroves swiftly absorb carbon dioxide and inject oxygen into the atmosphere, maintaining an ecological balance vital for the environment.
"It is my belief that the mangrove restoration project will generate much needed awareness among key stakeholders such as the community, leisure sector personnel, tourists, and the general public."
He added: "It is my hope that this will be the beginning of a long-term effort to sustain the mangroves for greater conservation benefit."
In partnership with island conservation organisation Seacology and local NGO Sudeesa, the Sri Lankan government has identified all of the nation's 15,000 hectares of mangrove forests, and has surveyed almost half of them.
Ministers have also introduced legislation to protect the habitats and have assigned forest officers to help guard them.
Green gold
Seacology executive director Duane Silverstein explained that although the project required US $3.4 million of funding, the sum was dwarfed when the ecosystem services provided by Sri Lanka's mangrove forests were taken into account.
"In last year, research has been published looking at the economic value of mangrove in Asia," he said.
"It has concluded that each hectare has a value of US $194,000 - that would put an economic value of our project at US $2.9 billion."
He told BBC News that mangroves were critical in a number of areas, socially as well as environmentally.
"Firstly, they provide nurseries for young fish, which are protected among the mangrove roots," he explained.
"Secondly, and increasingly important, they provide protection from natural disasters such as tsunamis and cyclones. They disperse the energy in the sea and waves, therefore the villages that have intact mangroves suffer significantly less damage.
"Thirdly, and most importantly, mangrove forests sequester far much more carbon than other times of forest. A recent UN report estimated that mangroves store about 1,000 tonnes per hectare in their biomass and underlying soil. There is a minimum of 15,000 hectares of mangrove in Sri Lanka, meaning that the country's mangroves are sequestering 15 million tonnes of carbon."
Global problem
One of the threats facing mangrove forests around the world is the emergence of shrimp farms in order to meet the growing global demand for shrimps/prawns.
In order to build saltwater ponds needed to rear the crustaceans, mangroves - which grown in the intertidal area of shorelines - are felled, either legally or illegally.
This practice has been identified by the United Nations as one of the main drivers for the loss of the valuable and most at-risk habitat, with more than half of mangroves being lost or felled over the past century.
However, the development of shrimp farms in Sri Lanka had resulted in a significant fall in fish catch yields, say local conservationists.
This resulted in local fishing communities losing incomes and livelihoods, making them aware of the importance and value of healthy mangrove forests, and keen to protect them.
Mr Silverstein said that the conservation model adopted in Sri Lanka could be rolled out to other mangrove-rich nations, however he added that "one size would not fit all".
"However, it is very clear that we are demonstrating that a nation can preserve all of its mangroves, and still improve the economic quality of people's lives.
"Although the Sri Lanka project has four more years to run, it does take many years of planning. We are looking at working with another nation to do something similar."
Follow Mark on Twitter.
|
The Pensions Regulator is challenging a crucial plan to pay off the £10.3bn deficit in the Royal Mail pension scheme over 38 years.
|
By Ian PollockBusiness reporter, BBC News
The pension scheme's trustees have struck the deal with the company.
Royal Mail says it will continue to make "substantial" extra payments to clear the deficit.
But the regulator says it has "substantial concerns about both the deficit figure and other aspects of the agreement".
Details of the deal between the company and the trustees are being kept private for the time being.
But the BBC has learnt that the plan involves repaying the deficit over 38 years, more than twice as long as the current deficit repayment plan.
Deficit payments would be tiered, starting a bit above their current level but rising sharply in four or five years' time.
"The regulator is passionately opposed to the idea," said a source close to the scheme.
"They would see it as a green light to every other scheme in the country."
The £10.3bn deficit was calculated as of 31 March 2009, but the trustees say that a valuation a year on suggests the deficit has fallen to £8.4bn.
Formal review
The regulator's concerns and its formal investigation have been revealed in a letter to all Royal Mail pension scheme members from Jane Newell, chairman of the trustees.
"The trustee is pleased to report that agreement has been reached with Royal Mail regarding the ongoing funding of the Royal Mail pension plan," she said.
"Royal Mail will continue to pay substantial contributions in excess of the current level to repair this deficit [£10.3bn].
"The agreement is now subject to a formal review by the regulator," she added.
The deficit in the scheme has long been identified as the biggest financial problem facing the postal service.
In the Queen's Speech, the newly-elected coalition government said it would revive the previous Labour government's plan to part or wholly privatise the Royal Mail.
It said this would include plans to "resolve the problems" with the pension deficit.
Last month, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, asked the businessman Richard Hooper to update a report on the Royal Mail he had written for the Labour government in December 2008.
That had recommended that the state should take over the pension scheme, to relieve the Royal Mail of the burden of eradicating the deficit and clearing the way for its part privatisation.
Previous agreement
Under a previous deal struck between the company and the pension trustees in 2006, Royal Mail committed itself to paying an extra £270m a year over 17 years, to clear a deficit of just £3.4bn.
In 2008, the scheme was closed to new joiners, who now join a "money purchase" fund, rather than a final-salary scheme.
Existing members were moved into a career-average scheme, which is much less generous than the old final-salary version.
Along with raising the standard retirement age to 65, the Royal Mail hoped all these changes would eventually cut its total contribution rate from about 30% of staff salaries to about 11%.
|
The chief executive of the Royal Opera House and the BBC's former director of news, Tony Hall, has been appointed the corporation's new director general.
|
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said Lord Hall was "the right person to lead the BBC out of its current crisis".
Lord Hall, who starts next March, said he was "committed to ensuring our news services are the best in the world".
The appointment follows the resignation of George Entwistle earlier this month after just 54 days in the job.
Mr Entwistle quit on 10 November, saying that as editor-in chief he had to take "ultimate responsibility" for a Newsnight investigation that had led to the former Conservative Party treasurer, Lord McAlpine, being wrongly accused of child abuse.
Sixty-one-year-old Lord Hall is due to take over the role - currently occupied by acting director general Tim Davie - in early March, on a salary of £450,000 a year.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller offered her congratulations, saying Lord Hall had "a very strong track record in successfully leading iconic organisations".
She added: "It is important now that Tony Hall gets to grips quickly - to provide the stability and certainty that the BBC needs, and restore public confidence."
Shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman said Lord Hall was an "excellent choice... the right person to bring stability to the BBC in these difficult times".
'Long, hard look'
Lord Patten said the BBC needed "to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects... Tony Hall is the right person to lead this."
He went on: "Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider.
"As an ex-BBC man he understands how the corporation's culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world.
"And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the corporation - that it can be inward-looking and on occasions too institutional.
"But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences."
News trainee
Lord Hall said: "This organisation is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country - but to tens of millions around the world too.
"It's been a difficult few weeks - but together we'll get through it."
Lord Hall joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1973 and during his 28 year career at the corporation oversaw the launch of Radio 5 live, the BBC News Channel, the BBC News website and BBC Parliament. He is believed to have been on the final shortlist for the director general post in 1999 when Greg Dyke was appointed.
He began his job at the Royal Opera House in 2001.
In 2009 he joined the board of the organising committee for the London Olympics and also set up and chaired the board of the Games' arts festival, the Cultural Olympiad.
He was made a cross-bench peer in 2010 as Lord Hall of Birkenhead.
Lord Hall, who is currently deputy chairman of Channel 4 and sits on the board of the British Council, will be standing down from these roles before he takes up the post of director general.
At the Royal Opera House, Lord Hall has won praise for turning around the business's fortunes. He has widened access to productions through nationwide big screen relays and the purchase of a DVD company to distribute recordings globally. Turnover is reported to have risen from about £45m to £106m under his tenure.
Simon Robey, of the Royal Opera House's board of trustees, said: "I can think of nobody better able to bring stability back to the BBC... He has been a tremendous and inspiring force for good."
Addressing concerns that the process to appoint Lord Hall had not been transparent, Sir Christopher Bland, former chairman of the BBC governors, said it was "absolutely right under the circumstances to dispense with a long-drawn out process".
He said Lord Hall was the "right man... an inspired appointment".
Mr Entwistle's resignation came after the BBC had already spent several weeks at the centre of a scandal over sexual abuse carried out by the late DJ and TV presenter Jimmy Savile. Police believe Savile may have abused 300 young people over a 40-year period.
|
A Malaysian high court judge has ruled that the government's sodomy case against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will continue.
|
Mr Ibrahim had sought to have the charges dropped because a member of the prosecution team was involved with the man who accuses Mr Ibrahim of sodomy.
The judge said the romantic connection did not mean case-sensitive information had been exchanged.
Mr Ibrahim dismisses the trial as a political conspiracy against him.
His legal team has lost every attempt to alter the basis and conduct of the trial.
Junior role
The key witness in the sodomy trial against Mr Ibrahim, 25-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan, was revealed as having an affair with the prosecution lawyer Farah Azlina Latif.
The judge, Mohamad Zabidin Diah, accepted that the relationship did indeed exist as it had not been denied.
"The court must accept what is stated as true," he said.
However, he also accepted the prosecution team's argument that Ms Latif had simply been a junior note-taker and had no access to details of the prosecution case, and so could not have passed them on.
"She has no control over the directions of the prosecution and in the handling of the witnesses," Mohamad Zabidin said.
"(Therefore it) did not affect the prosecution to the extent that it compromised the integrity and the conduct of the trial."
The junior prosecutor has already been removed, but Mr Anwar says her alleged affair with the male witness is evidence of a conspiracy against him.
"It just supports our contention right from the beginning that this is all a farce, a politically motivated trial, trumped-up charges," he told reporters.
"This is an additional fact or evidence to support our case, to show the prosecution is not and cannot be impartial."
Mr Anwar is accused of sodomising his former male aide, Mr Azlan, in 2008. He strongly denies the charge.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Malaysia and Mr Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Mr Anwar was imprisoned on separate sex and corruption charges in 1998, and freed on appeal in 2004.
|
Steve Carell shot to fame as the lead in the Judd Apatow comedy The 40 Year Old Virgin, while Channing Tatum is the star of films such as White House Down, and comedies 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike.
|
By Emma JonesEntertainment reporter, BBC News
But both actors break their own mould in Foxcatcher, director Bennett Miller's intense real-life drama about eccentric American millionaire philanthropist and wrestling enthusiast John Du Pont.
Carell plays Du Pont, while Tatum and Mark Ruffalo take the parts of Mark and Dave Schultz, Olympic-level wrestlers who joined Du Pont's training programme at Foxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania, with tragic consequences.
At 52, Carell says the film is a "different step" for him and that he "hopes people will embrace the movie and like it and think it works.
"My agent actually put me forward for the part without me knowing, so at least I didn't worry about it.
He continues: "It wasn't so different doing drama, as opposed to comedy. It's just a different character to play. But for all the script's darkness, it was also absurdly funny in places."
For Tatum, Foxcatcher was "the most intimidating thing that I've ever done. I first read the script about seven years ago as the movie was first proposed in 2007.
"It was great to return to it and have the opportunity to do it, but I had to trust each day that I was up to the job and just put myself out there."
The film explores the events that led up to John Du Pont's arrest, imprisonment and death in a Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution in 2010.
Bennett Miller, who also directed Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in 2005 says he "finds oddballs interesting. I do like those stories about people who are in worlds where they don't belong, peculiar people who don't fit, and John Du Pont was such a man. In this case, because of that, this story has a tragic ending."
Carell says: "I never see John Du Pont as a villain. You can't have contempt for your character.
"I thought he was a guy who was personified by not only his mental state, but his upbringing with his mother Jean.
"I had sympathy for him to a certain extent. I think the difference is that so far, I've always played characters with a soft centre somewhere. Du Pont just didn't have that - he just claimed to.
"He also had little understanding of humour, and I just can't imagine going through life without that, without comedy."
Attention has been focused on the prosthetic nose Carell wears throughout, making him virtually unrecognisable and, he says, influencing his performance.
"People actually wanted to be separate from me. I think even my family found it creepy. And that's not so far removed from John Du Pont because, watching documentaries about him, he had an intense physicality which many people found off-putting.
"It was very easy for me to stay in character because of that. I wasn't exactly method acting, but I was definitely in a different state of mind.
"This wasn't a light set, it wasn't a fun film, it was very intense and very serious because some of the characters are still alive and we felt a responsibility.
"It's still something that I think about, and it sounds pretentious, but I feel like we all went as a group to make this film, and then we disappeared for a while. Months later, we re-emerged.
"I still talk to the other guys about it, there's something about the film that I can't shake off."
Foxcatcher is on general release in the UK..
|
Google's claim that Microsoft owes it billions in patent payments has been rebuffed by a US judge.
|
In 2012, Google subsidiary Motorola sued Microsoft claiming it was owed royalties for technologies used in the Xbox console and Windows software.
It sought damages of about $4bn (£2.6bn) a year but Microsoft said it would pay about $1m (£647,000).
US Judge James Robart has ruled that Microsoft should pay about $1.8m a year.
"This decision is good for consumers because it ensures patented technology committed to standards remains affordable for everyone," said David Howard, Microsoft's deputy general counsel, in a statement.
In its legal arguments, Microsoft said the patents had been registered as "standard essential patents" - meaning they could only be offered on fair, reasonable and non-discriminating (Frand) terms.
In other words, Motorola was committed to offering the rights to use the technologies at a non-excessive price, and could not discriminate who got to use them so long as such a fee was offered.
Motorola and parent company Google have yet to comment on Judge Robart's ruling.
The dispute was over wireless and video technologies used in the games console. The row over the technologies led Google to seek a ban on Microsoft selling its console and some other products while the dispute was unresolved.
A sales ban was briefly imposed in Germany but was soon overturned on appeal.
The row over royalties is just one part of several different patent wrangles between Google/Motorola and Microsoft.
Until January 2013 the companies were also rowing about video compression software used in the Xbox. However, this wrangle ended after Google withdrew its patent claims.
The remaining patent battle between the two is over whether Motorola has charged too much for use of its patents. This legal dispute is set to be settled in a Seattle court in the summer.
|
New safety measures have been put in place at the Royal Welsh Show following the death of a 19-year-old at last year's event.
|
James Corfield was found dead in the River Wye after visiting the event near Builth Wells in July 2017.
His family had called for "urgent safety issues" to be addressed.
A riverside security fence and signposts indicating safe walkways have been installed ahead of the return of the annual agricultural show on Monday.
A safety group made up of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, Powys Council, police, Wales Young Farmers' Clubs and others was formed after Mr Corfield's death.
Chief Executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society Steve Hughson said: "There's more to the show than just what happens inside the showground.
"A lot happens in town, in Penmaenau, in the Young People's Village, and in the local community.
"We therefore have to make sure that everyone connected to the show, and who goes to Builth Wells during show week is safe."
Outside the showground a "green route" - a combination of green finger-post signs and green arrows painted on the pavements - has been created to direct visitors to safe walking routes.
Street pastors will patrol from Sunday evening until Wednesday evening and the former Tourist Information Centre will be used as a welfare base at night.
The Welsh Ambulance Service have committed additional resources to the area and Insp Gwyndaf Bowen from Dyfed-Powys Police said there would be about 70 officers working in the area each evening.
The annual four-day event is one of the largest agricultural events in Europe and attracts about 240,000 visitors every July.
|
No trace of alcohol or drugs has been found in the blood of the driver of the car in which the band Viola Beach died, Swedish police said.
|
The four-piece Warrington group died along with manager Craig Tarry on 13 February while on tour in the country.
They were the only people in a car that plunged off a bridge into a canal, about 18 miles from Stockholm.
A police spokeswoman said that, for the moment, they would not release any information on who was driving.
"We can confirm that the very preliminary post-mortem results show that the driver of the car had no trace of alcohol or drugs in the blood."
She added more tests would be carried out in the coming weeks.
Chart entry
Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin and their manager, who were aged between 20 and 33, were killed when their car fell more than 25m (82ft).
Hours earlier, the band had played their first gig outside the UK.
Their hired car went through a barrier of a bridge that had opened to let a boat pass underneath.
The barrier - 50 metres before the opening - had flashing lights and warning signs, an officer handling the case said earlier this month.
The band, who had played several sessions for the BBC Introducing showcase, were due to travel to the South By South West (SXSW) festival in Texas next month.
Their song Swings & Waterslides entered the singles chart at number 11 last week after fans campaigned to get it to number one.
Who were Viola Beach?
Read more about the band
|
Despite signs that numbers of giant pandas are rising, suitable habitat has shrunk, according to satellite data.
|
By Helen BriggsBBC News
The forests where the panda lives are in worse shape than in 1988, when it was first listed as endangered, scientists say.
Last year, the giant panda was downgraded from endangered to vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Habitat loss is the most serious threat to the animal, which is seen as an icon of global extinction efforts.
"What's new in this study is our ability to assess the status of the giant panda by using satellite imagery and then use that information to come up with recommendations of how better to manage this iconic threatened species," said Prof Stuart Pimm, of Duke University, North Carolina, US, who is a researcher on the study.
The news last year that the giant panda had been taken off the endangered list made headlines around the world.
The decision was made because numbers of wild pandas had risen in surveys. However, with only around 1,800 left in the wild, establishing new reserves and extending existing ones is crucial for the animal's survival.
"I think we now understand we've got to keep an eye on the habitats where pandas live," said Prof Pimm.
"But it also points to the need to try and re-connect isolated panda habitats by building what we call biological corridors."
Shrinking forests
Chinese and US scientists used geographic mapping, remote sensing data and satellite imagery to assess changes across the panda's entire range from 1976 to 2013.
Their study, published in the journal, Nature Ecology & Evolution, suggests that suitable panda habitats have substantially reduced.
Earthquakes, human encroachment, agriculture, road building, tourism and logging of forests have had the effect of dividing the areas where pandas live into ever smaller fragments.
"Habitat decreased nearly 5% from 1976 to 2001, but has increased since, said Weihua Xu of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"However, the average size of the habitat patches decreased by 23% from 1976 to 2001. It has increased only slightly since."
Some of the changes in the region are encouraging, such as stopping logging and establishing nature reserves, said Jianguo Liu of Michigan State University.
"But conservation is a dynamic process with humans and nature in a constant push and pull to survive and thrive, so new solutions always are in demand," he added.
The giant panda was once widespread throughout southern and eastern China.
There are now estimated to be about 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild in six mountain ranges in China's Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.
Head of Asian programmes at WWF, John Barker, said pandas are increasingly separated from one another due to developments such as roads, which run through their ranges creating small isolated populations which are unable to meet and breed with each other.
"Creating wildlife-friendly areas and corridors that link these fragmented populations is essential, including finding ways for pandas to move over or under roads," he said.
"If the giant panda is to truly thrive in the wild we need to boost efforts to maintain their habitats, ensure that they are connected and safeguard the future for pandas by making sure that developments are designed responsibly with the lowest possible environment impact."
Follow Helen on Twitter.
|
More than 100 gold and platinum discs are among a collection of memorabilia from Sir Elton John's career which has been put up for auction by his mother.
|
Tour jackets and VIP passes used by Sheila Farebrother for backstage access at his concerts are among the lots.
Two multi-platinum discs for Candle In The Wind, re-released in tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, are also being sold in East Sussex.
Auctioneer Gorringes said it could not put an accurate figure on their value.
Mrs Farebrother is selling the collection in Lewes on 19 October after downsizing to a new home on the south coast.
"From an early age Elton would love to perform at family weddings and birthdays," she said.
"When his career as a performer began to take off I would go along to his concerts and my main concern was that he wouldn't forget any of his lyrics.
Stage suits
"It wasn't until the concert in Madison Square Garden in 1974 when John Lennon made an appearance on stage and sang with Elton that I realised he had become a world superstar."
Also in the sale are two platinum discs for the first million sales of the 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, plus items from Bob Halley, the musician' s manager for more than 30 years.
Among the 227 items are four silk Versace stage suits that Sir Elton wore on tour and artwork by Sam Taylor-Wood which featured on the sleeve of his album, Songs from the West Coast.
The highlight of the sale is said to be two sets of framed discs commemorating the 63-year-old musician's 43 million record sales in the United States.
Also being sold is a diamond-studded Theo Fennell crucifix, worth up to £3,000, which was given to Mr Halley by Sir Elton as a birthday gift and signed: "To Bob, Happy Birthday, Love Elton."
Sir Elton has sold more than 250 million records in a career spanning five decades.
Andrew Elliston-Elhinn, of Gorringes, said it was one of the most interesting sales it had ever had.
"Nothing like this has been seen since an Elton John sale back in 1988 which was different because it didn't include quite so many benchmark items from his career," he said.
"His mother used to have a large games room with shelf upon shelf to store all the things he had given her, but since moving she doesn't have the room any more.
"Some of the items are autographed but, as his mum said, 'Why would he sign things for me? I'm his mum.'
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for buyers and we expect it to be a fan-driven auction."
|
Overall recorded crime in Wales fell by 3% in 2013, according to official figures.
|
The total number of offences recorded by the four forces in 2013 was 173,147, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
Dyfed-Powys Police and North Wales Police saw a drop of 7% while South Wales Police recorded a reduction of 1.5%.
But it rose by 1.6% in the Gwent Police area.
Individual forces saw some sharp increases in levels of recorded violent crime, including a 26% spike for Gwent Police and 13% in south Wales.
The level of violent crime in north Wales fell by 4%.
However, figures have shown there was a 25% increase in the number of recorded sexual offences across the forces.
Robberies fell by 8%, burglaries were down 9% and drug offences dropped by 8%.
However, there was an overall rise in shoplifting, criminal damage and arson.
Across the whole of England and Wales, the actual number of crimes recorded by police forces crept up slightly, by 0.3%.
But according to figures published on Thursday by ONS, the level of reported crime measured in the Crime Survey for England and Wales, fell by 15% - the lowest level since the survey began in 1981.
The CSEW figures estimate crime levels based on how many people say they have been victim of a crime, rather than relying on crimes recorded by individual police forces.
About 50,000 households are invited to take part in the survey every year, and the results are considered to give a better picture of actual crime levels than just police figures alone.
|
A leading Kosovo Serb politician has been arrested on suspicion of war crimes, according to EU officials.
|
The EU's police and justice mission in the region said Oliver Ivanovic had been identified as a suspect during a war crimes investigation soon after the 1990s Kosovo conflict ended.
Mr Ivanovic, 60, presented himself voluntarily, accompanied by his lawyer, on Monday, it said in a statement.
Details of the alleged crimes have not been made public.
But according to local newspapers, Mr Ivanovic is suspected of having tortured and murdered ethnic Albanians and is believed to have been one of the organisers of a now disbanded Kosovo Serb vigilante group known as "Bridgewatchers" - suspected of violence against ethnic Albanians.
He was ordered detained for a month, over crimes "which occurred in 1999 and in 2000 against Albanian victims", his lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic said, adding that he has been transferred to a Pristina prison.
His supporters insist the allegations are politically motivated.
Mr Ivanovic is the first senior Kosovo Serb official to be arrested by the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) on suspicion of war crimes against ethnic Albanians.
EULEX has the power to take on sensitive cases that the local judiciary and police are unable or unwilling to handle.
Considered a relative political moderate, Mr Ivanovic narrowly lost to a hardline Kosovo Serb, Krstimir Pantic, in a recent election to be mayor of the Serb part of the northern town of Mitrovica, where he lives.
Mr Pantic refused to swear allegiance to Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities, so a new vote will be held on 23 February.
The 1998-1999 conflict began when ethnic Albanians rebelled against Belgrade, prompting a brutal crackdown.
Some 120,000 ethnic Serbs live in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and which counts 1.8 million inhabitants, most of whom are ethnic Albanians.
However, the 40,000 or so Kosovo Serbs living in the north do not recognise Kosovo's independence. Serbia also rejects Kosovo's secession.
Despite this, Kosovo has been recognised by more than 100 countries, including the United States and most EU states.
|
Norfolk County Council is losing out on millions of pounds due to unfair funding rules, its leader has claimed.
|
In 2005/2006 a fairer system for funding was worked out and Norfolk was set to receive a large increase.
But the government brought in new rules to redistribute some of the funds from the big gainers such as Norfolk to councils losing funding such as Surrey.
Norfolk county leader Derrick Murphy called for changes to the rules. The government said the grant will be fair.
Mr Murphy said the Conservative-run authority was due to lose about £21.6m.
'Damping of grant'
He said: "That's more than any other county is losing through this 'damping' of our grant entitlement.
"Since 2006/07 we have lost £118.8m that the government's own calculations say that Norfolk should receive to support services.
"This 'damping' of our grant was supposed to be a transitional arrangement to allow other authorities to adjust to the loss of national funding.
"I raised this issue with Eric Pickles [Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government] at the council leaders' meeting at 10 Downing Street and have followed this up with a letter asking him to review Norfolk's damping adjustments as a matter of urgency."
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "The government has delivered a tough but fair settlement ensuring the most vulnerable communities were protected.
"The settlement is fair between different parts of the country - north and south, rural and urban, metropolitan and shire.
"In calculating the settlement ministers have ensured that formula grant funding per head is higher in those parts of the country with the highest level of need."
|
Vietnam-bound soldiers drinking in a Pittsburgh bar and football fans in France this summer may sound like two groups sharing little in common.
|
But they are linked through a song which captures the hope and despair of Wales' quest to reach a first major football championships since 1958.
Manic Street Preachers release their Euro 2016 song Together Stronger (C'Mon Wales) on Friday.
Yet an oversight meant the process of recording it nearly ended in failure.
The song has its roots in the build-up to a match 23 years ago, when a team which included Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and Mark Hughes was on the verge of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
"Back then, the only chant fans had to sing was (to the tune of) an outdated John Lennon song that went 'all we are singing is give us a goal'.
"It sounded desperate," said John Morgan, then head of promos at BBC Wales.
As a do-or-die clash with Romania approached, he wanted to find a tune that would "capture the imagination of a nation" and turned to an unlikely source - 1978 film The Deer Hunter.
"People remember the Russian roulette scene near the end, but I remembered a brilliant song sung by Frankie Valli in the film," Mr Morgan said.
"There is a little sequence with soldiers in a Pittsburgh bar about to go to Vietnam. They are all singing along, letting their hair down, before facing the terrible thing.
"It stuck in my head and I thought that would do it."
Andy Williams' version of that song - Can't Take My Eyes Off You - was used in television adverts and came to symbolise, for a generation of fans, the agony of a missed Paul Bodin penalty and a 2-1 defeat.
"I can remember walking up to the stadium and suddenly there was not that fear in the crowd, just jubilation," said Manics singer, James Dean Bradfield.
"Obviously we know it was misplaced now, but the crowd was singing this song and you could hear it all the way down Westgate Street."
For lyricist and bassist Nicky Wire, his "personal introduction to Welsh forlornness" was the 1-1 draw with Scotland in 1985 that denied the country qualification for the 1986 World Cup.
A "dodgy hot dog" which gave him food poisoning and the death of Scotland manager Jock Stein after the game helped create a sense of despondency around such occasions.
"I've written lyrics before when we have had playoffs (Wales lost to Russia over two legs for a place at Euro 2004), but then chucked them away," he said.
"For the Israel game (a 0-0 draw in September 2015 which left Wales close to qualifying for France), I was in a Welsh mini-skirt and scarf ready to post a message saying 'happy days'.
"But that selfie is still on my phone ready to go."
When qualification did come, courtesy of a Cyprus victory over Israel in October 2015, attention turned to how the Manics would mark it.
The answer was simple - Wire lyrics set to the tune of Can't Take My Eyes Off You.
According to Bradfield, their version would "retain the spirit of the original" with Everything Must Go era "produced trashiness".
As they started recording, Gavin Fitzjohn from Cogan joined the band to record trumpet and saxophone parts.
"I've said a million times how incredible this scenario is. You're getting on with your stuff day-to-day and it pops into your head that we've qualified," he said.
"I'm going to hear this (song) a lot probably, so it is a bit nerve-wracking. I need to make sure it's bang on."
They duly recorded a "great version" that Wire said the band was happy with, before they "hit the wall" in December and the dream appeared over.
"Like the complete numpties we are, we hadn't checked with the publishers that we could get permission to actually use the song but with our written lyrics," said Bradfield.
"(They refused) then we were left with nothing."
In January, Bradfield said "a phoenix arose from the flames" as he had an idea for putting the words to a new tune.
"It's not A Design for Life or If You Tolerate This but they came to me in 10 minutes flat and so did this," he said.
"I dashed from the house to the studio and had a really good old bloke moment, thinking 'I can still do it'."
He praised Wire's words for giving him a "great template" to work from.
These used the 1958 World Cup quarter-final defeat against Brazil - Wales' last appearance at a major tournament - as a starting point.
"There was a lack of a cultural impact in that era which was really sad as it was still such a great achievement," said Wire.
"To lose to the world's greatest player (Pele) and world's greatest team (Brazil) 1-0, in modern times, you would have lived off that for decades."
He tried to get as many names into the song, but said it would then have ended up as "just a list of the greatest Welsh players".
One name that did make it was that of former manager Gary Speed, who died in 2011.
"As a player, he was amazing," said Wire. "I remember against Russia (in the Euro 2004 play-off), he tried to drag the whole Wales team up akin to David Beckham versus Greece, saying 'Come on this is it'."
The band met up with the Welsh football squad at their Vale of Glamorgan base to record the song in March.
Wire described it as a classic Manics "romantic tragedy" with good doses of Welsh melancholy and enthusiasm.
That is not to say it will not provide an upbeat, sing-along soundtrack to many Welsh people's summer.
As Bradfield said: "If New Order, who were Joy Division, can get away with it, then we can get away with it."
|
Bankrupt businessman Séan Quinn has condemned the latest attack on property belonging to the new owners of his former business empire.
|
A bus was set on fire at the entrance to three of its businesses in Rakeelan, Ballyconnell, in County Cavan.
Irish police said no damage was caused to the property and no-one was injured.
"I condemn these unlawful acts and that any persons carrying out such acts are not acting in my name," said Mr Quinn.
It is the latest in a series of attacks on properties formerly owned by the Quinn family whose wide range of businesses collapsed in 2011.
The company, re-branded the Aventas group, said the ongoing campaign to disrupt and sabotage the business would not lead to the reinstatement of the former owner.
Last month, a fuel tanker was set on fire after being driven into the former headquarters of the Quinn Group in County Fermanagh.
Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew, said such attacks would "severely impact" on jobs.
"They need to stop. There is no justification for them whatsoever," she said.
"The only thing this type of action is going to achieve is that sooner or later someone will be injured or worse."
|
For many Christians, Holy Communion is central as it reminds them of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
|
By Robbie MeredithBBC News NI Education Correspondent
While there are some differences in how Roman Catholics and Protestants regard it, they all recognise its importance.
But with churches closed for all but private prayer, the four main denominations have different approaches to celebrating communion online.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many churches have been streaming services.
That is the case, for instance, at St Paul's Church in Lurgan, although Fr Colum Wright admits it has taken a bit of getting used to.
"When you're using a webcam there's no one right there in front of you," he told BBC News NI.
"It's not something I ever thought would happen and it's not something that I was ever prepared for."
International viewers
But Masses over the internet have proved popular, both with parishioners and those far beyond Lurgan.
"We have actually over 84 countries who join us now through the webcam," Fr Wright said.
"We've had visitors from the Republic of Korea, we've had a few hits from Russia, from Vietnam.
"The biggest number of people who would join us are from the United States, next would be Australia."
But only those physically in the church can partake in the Eucharist or communion Mass.
"It's just myself and the sacristan and the reader who would receive communion physically," Fr Wright said.
"For everyone else we would invite them to take part in a communion of desire which is a spiritual communion.
"During the time of pandemic, when people are unable to physically attend a celebration of the Eucharist, they are reminded of the ancient Catholic tradition of a spiritual communion in one's heart," the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has said.
'Spiritual communion'
The Church of Ireland takes a similar approach with those watching the service online also enjoying "spiritual communion".
"For a service of Holy Communion which is being broadcast online, the clergy person presiding can alone bless and partake in the sacramental bread and wine used in the location where the service is being recorded," a Church of Ireland spokesperson said.
The secretary of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Reverend Dr Heather Morris, said ministers could hold Holy Communion online and those watching at home could use their own food and drink to take part.
"The guidelines are that ordained ministers of the Methodist Church in Ireland may lead a service of Holy Communion provided they are in live online contact with those who are participating," she said.
"Those who are participating in their own homes engage in a full and meaningful way spiritually, whether they choose to share their own food and drink as the minister leads or not. "
Virtual communion 'inappropriate'
But the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has told its ministers "virtual" communion services are "inappropriate" and should not be held.
"It is important, however, to stress that this does not underestimate in any way the place of the Lord's Table within our shared life as believers," the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said.
According to Prof Drew Gibson from Union Theological College in Belfast, that is because for Presbyterians, being able to gather together for communion is crucial.
"In some traditions the church mediates that communion," he said.
"It's a Catholic, Orthodox, High Anglican tradition, where the church in offering the sacrament communicates Christ to the people."
"Whereas in the reformed traditions, broadly coming out of the Protestant reformation, we would see the church as gathered together and Christ is there among us and we share this meal - this symbolic meal - with him."
"When we're all separated you just can't have that togetherness. The actual physical presence is really quite important.
"Simply sitting in church, looking round and seeing all of these people of different ages, different backgrounds, different states of health, different nationalities and saying we're all in this together, is quite important."
Whatever their different approaches to communion, though, being able to have that togetherness again back in church when it is safe to do so is something all Christians will want.
|
On the day MPs debate eight proposals on the future of Brexit, people on the streets of Cowbridge have been giving their views on what they want to happen.
|
In the 2016 referendum, the Vale of Glamorgan produced one of the closest results in Wales - and the UK.
There were just 1,053 votes in it, but 50.7% of voters in the county chose to Remain, while 49.3% wanted to Leave.
So what do they think now?
Mary Ballantyne, 75, a former wine merchant from Cowbridge, said she wanted a "no deal" for the UK's future.
"I didn't vote to come out with no deal, I voted to come out and have a sort of fair deal," she said.
"But a fair deal isn't happening. I don't want another referendum - that's not democratic.
"We voted to come out, so come out."
She added that she did not think the wine business would be affected by Brexit: "Do you think France is going to stop selling me their wine? No chance."
Stationery store-owner Sally Stephenson said their margins had been "squeezed phenomenally" since the referendum.
"Within six months of the referendum, all our cost prices went up anything between 15% and 25% because of the crash in the value of the pound," Ms Stephenson explained.
"A lot of the stock that I sell here is sourced either from European countries or from the US - so anything that affects the exchange rate has a direct impact on our cost price.
"I've lost three members of staff. We did have a toy shop down the road and we've had to close that now in order to focus all our energies and save all our money on keeping The Pencil Case afloat.
"It's impossible to plan in this current environment, a nightmare."
Former local government worker Keith Bennett, 70, said he believes "we belong in Europe."
"If everything that we're proposing to leave the EU is going to be catastrophic, why are we going to leave?" he asked.
And Emma Parsons-Reid, from St Fagans, said "a referendum is a referendum" and that she wants the UK to leave with no deal.
"We voted out, and whether you voted remain or leave, a referendum is a referendum and I think 'what are we scared of'?" she said.
"Employment has never been so high - we've had Brexit hanging over us for two years and I think we're doing really well."
The 52-year-old is starting up a new cleaning business and is positive for the future: "I think there's plenty of business owners who want out as well.
"We were out of Europe once, why can't we do it again?"
|
Every year May Day is used to mark many things - from the coming of spring in the Northern Hemisphere to the fight for workers' rights.
|
Here are some of the events that have taken place to mark the day from Indonesia to Mexico.
Thousands of people gathered in cities across Russia for what is a major public holiday. The largest celebration took place in Moscow's Red Square.
This boy was particularly enthralled by the traditional costumes, balloons and flags on display.
Workers held a protest march in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. May Day has long been associated with workers' rights in many parts of the world. But there were sporadic clashes between demonstrators and police during the Jakarta rally.
There was also a May Day protest by migrant workers in Hong Kong.
Rallies were held in major cities across France, where trade unions hold traditional parades on May Day. This image shows marchers in Strasbourg.
Police in Turkey prevented demonstrators from marching on Istanbul's Taksim Square.
In Lisbon, Portugal, protesters carried a giant puppet depicting Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
In South Africa workers took part in a rally north of Durban that was organised by the country's largest trade union.
Cuban soldiers held in large parade in Havana. Former President Raul Castro was among those attending.
Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido addressed a rally in Caracas. He had called for a massive protest to increase pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.
But the day is not a political event for everyone. In southern Germany, the annual maypole festival features traditional dancing and music.
In China, May Day marks a national holiday where people often travel. In this image, Chinese paramilitary police stand guard while people visit the promenade on the Bund in Shanghai.
In Bangladesh, traditional musicians participated in a rally in the capital Dakha.
In Britain, too, the day is seen by some as an opportunity to show off a traditional form of dance. These Morris dancers managed to catch the sunrise in Yorkshire.
All images subject to copyright.
|
Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip have stepped up their attacks on each other, in some of the most intense exchanges of recent years.
|
The army says Palestinian militants have fired 600 rockets into Israeli territory over the weekend, leaving four Israelis dead.
Israel says it has hit 280 targets in the Gaza Strip and threatened further "massive" strikes.
At least 15 people have died so far in Gaza, the Health Ministry there says.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to "continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip".
Israeli forces around Gaza would be "stepped up with tank, artillery and infantry forces", he added.
The flare-up comes despite a truce agreed last month. Egypt and the United Nations have recently been trying to broker a longer-term ceasefire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for "maximum restraint".
How did the latest violence develop?
It began on Friday, during protests in Gaza against the blockade of the area - which Israel says is needed to stop weapons reaching militants.
A Palestinian gunman shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers at the boundary fence. Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants.
The rocket barrage from Gaza began on Saturday morning. Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system shot down dozens of the rockets, but a number of homes in Israeli towns and villages were hit.
What do we know about casualties?
Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, 10km (six miles) north of Gaza, has said it has treated more than 100 civilians in the last 24 hours.
Out of those, three people died and three more were seriously wounded - including an elderly Israeli woman.
Those killed included a 58-year-old man struck in a garden, Israeli media say.
Israel air strikes targeted sites belonging to the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said they had killed a Hamas commander named Hamed Hamdan al-Khodari in one of their strikes.
Gaza's Health Ministry say the 15 killed there include two pregnant women and an infant.
Israel has contested the account of the death of one woman and her 14-month-old niece killed on Saturday. They blamed their deaths on a Palestinian rocket that fell short of its target.
The sites destroyed include a multi-storey building in Gaza City, which Israel said included Hamas intelligence offices.
Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office there. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called Israeli strikes on civilians "a crime against humanity".
In Israel, all schools within 40km (25 miles) of the Gaza strip have been closed for Monday and shelters have been opened for the public in places.
How does the flare-up in violence compare?
It is the one of the most surges in violence since the conflict of July and August 2014.
In that year, Israel launched a ground offensive on Gaza following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers.
The conflict resulted in the death of 67 Israeli soldiers. Hamas and its allies launched more than 4,500 rocket strikes that killed six civilians in Israel.
On the Palestinian side, 2,251 people, including 1,462 civilians, were killed in the seven-week conflict, according to the UN.
Since then, Palestinian militants have continued to carry out sporadic strikes on Israel.
In a previous wave this year, in March, several rockets were fired into southern Israel, triggering raids on Gaza by the Israeli air force. No fatalities were reported on either side.
In early April a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt, but Hamas and allied militant groups later accused Israel of violating its terms.
What has the reaction been?
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has condemned the recent violence and said the UN is working with both sides to calm the violence.
In a statement, UN Chief Antonio Guterres has condemned "in the strongest terms" rockets being launched into Israel.
"He urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months," the statement added.
Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Israelis have "every right to defend themselves" from rocket attacks.
"I hope we can return to the ceasefire that had been in place for weeks and had been holding significantly before this," he added.
The European Union on Sunday called for rocket fire to "stop immediately".
Iran's foreign minister, condemned what he labelled as Israel's "savage" attacks on Gaza, while also hitting out at "unlimited American support" of Israel.
Save the Children has said it has had to suspend all but essential programs in the Gaza strip.
Jeremy Stoner, their Middle East Regional Director, said the group were "deeply alarmed" by rapidly rising casualties on both sides, and called for de-escalation.
|
Vets in Scotland will be trained to spot signs of abuse in both animals and their owners, in a bid to help victims of domestic violence.
|
The Domestic Abuse Veterinary Initiative (DAVI) has been developed by six charities including Medics Against Violence (MAV) and Crimestoppers.
It aims to give vets the preparation to spot the "golden moment" to help victims when concerns are identified.
Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon has backed the project.
She said: "The mistreatment of animals is something that should concern all of us. Individuals who hurt and neglect animals are often likely to hurt and neglect other people.
"Increasingly we hear about ever more terrible cases of abuse and neglect, and it is time for zero tolerance towards those who harm animals, but also for more initiatives to prevent this violence in the first place."
The other charities involved are Links Group, OneKind, the Pet Fostering Service and the Violence Reduction Unit.
DAVI follows on from MAV's domestic abuse dental initiative, which has trained about 500 dentists across Scotland.
MAV founder Dr Christine Goodall said: "Like doctors and dentists, vets often build strong relationships with clients over years of visits. This makes them ideally placed to spot signs of abuse not only in an animal but also in their owner.
"Yet on the whole, like dentists, vets are unprepared for this situation. The training we are offering helps them take advantage of a 'golden moment' to intervene and help."
MAV said research and clinical evidence increasingly suggested links between the abuse of children, vulnerable adults and animals.
Dr Freda Scott-Park, chairwoman of the Links Group, said: "Over the years we've seen a growing number of cases where animals have been used as a way of manipulating and controlling victims of domestic abuse.
"The threat or actual abuse of a pet can often prevent women from leaving situations of domestic abuse. By training vets to be aware of the signs of animal and domestic abuse, we can hopefully support those who are suffering towards getting help."
The initiative was launched at Glasgow University vet school's small animal hospital.
|
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has hailed gains in council elections across England as a "game changer".
|
UKIP won over 140 seats and averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing.
The Conservatives lost control of 10 councils, but retained 18, while Labour gained two councils and boosted its councillors by nearly 300.
David Cameron said he would "work really hard to win back" supporters who had decided to vote for UKIP.
Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.
Four party politics
The BBC's projected national share of the vote put Labour in the lead with 29% of the vote and the Conservatives in second place with 25%, UKIP in third place with 23% of votes and the Lib Dems fourth with 14%.
An estimate from a BBC sample of key wards suggests that average turnout was 31%, down 10 points from the last local elections in 2009.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the vote shares confirmed four party politics were at play in these elections, but it was still unclear if this would carry through to a general election.
Responding to the success of UKIP, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party and we are going to work really hard to win them back."
In other developments:
The Tories were defending thousands of seats last fought in 2009 - when they were in opposition and when Labour had its worst night in local election history.
They retained control of traditional council strongholds like Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Dorset, Hampshire and Hertfordshire, as well as Somerset and Devon.
But they lost their majorities on 10 of their councils, which moved to no overall control, as both Labour and UKIP made gains.
Nearly 10,000 candidates were battling for seats in English county councils and unitary authorities - "top-tier" authorities in charge of schools, roads, refuse collection and fire and rescue among other services.
Labour made progress in the Midlands, taking control of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county councils, both of which it lost in 2009.
It also made double digit gains in Staffordshire, Cumbria, Warwickshire, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.
UKIP surge
The most eye-catching performance was from UKIP, which is riding high in the opinion polls and fielded 1,700 candidates, three times the number that stood in 2009, when the party won just seven council seats.
The party became the official opposition in Kent, where it won 17 councillors, Lincolnshire, where it won 16 councillors and Norfolk, where it won 15 councillors.
It took seats in councils like Essex and Hampshire, where it previously had no councillors, but failed to pick up any seats in a number of councils including Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Derbyshire.
The party, which campaigns for the UK to leave the European Union, polled 11 points higher, on average, than in wards where it stood in 2009.
UKIP's Nigel Farage told the BBC the party had taken its "first substantial step towards a party that can credibly win seats at Westminster".
'Major lesson'
"It's a fascinating day for British politics. Something has changed here.
"I know that everyone would like to say that it's just a little short-term, stamp your feet protest - it isn't. There's something really fundamental that has happened here.
"People have had enough of three main parties, who increasingly resemble each other. The differences between them are very narrow and they don't even speak the same language that ordinary folk out there, who are struggling with housing and jobs, speak."
He said the results put UKIP in a "very strong position" in the run-up to the next general election, but acknowledged that "when it comes to a general election we do have a problem, which is the first-past-the-post election system".
He confirmed on BBC Radio Kent that he would stand as a candidate at the next general election. In 2010 he unsuccessfully contested Speaker John Bercow's seat of Buckingham.
David Cameron said the gains made by UKIP were a "major lesson" for the three main Westminster parties.
"For the Conservatives I understand why some people who have supported us before didn't support us again, they want us to do even more to work for hard-working people to sort out the issues they care about," he said.
"More to help with the cost of living, more to turn the economy round, more to get immigration down, to sort out the welfare system. They will be our focus, they are our focus, but we have got to do more."
'Bonkeroony'
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he was pleased with his party's results but acknowledged the party still had more work to do.
He told the BBC: "I also recognise - having gone round the country during this campaign - the vote for UKIP, the two thirds of people who didn't vote, that there are still lots of people saying can anyone turn this country round? I believe Labour can and we're carrying on that work to convince people that we can."
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said it was "understandable" that people would be attracted to the "simple answers" UKIP was offering.
"But I don't think they do have answers to the dilemmas we face as a country," he said. "I believe that the Liberal Democrats do, that our message that we need to build a stronger economy and do so as fairly as possible, enabling everyone to get on in life is the right message for the future."
Education Secretary Michael Gove, asked what he thought about a councillor's call for a new Conservative leader, said the idea was "barmy" and "bonkeroony".
No elections took place in London, Scotland, Northern Ireland or anywhere in Wales other than Anglesey.
|
The detention of two children of failed asylum seekers at Yarl's Wood immigration centre in Bedfordshire has been ruled unlawful by the High Court.
|
Asylum seekers Reetha Suppiah, from Malaysia, and Nigerian Sakinat Bello said the detention of their children could cause them serious harm.
The pair were arrested in February 2010 and detained with their children for between 12 and 17 days.
Government lawyers argued the detention of families was "workable and lawful".
Ms Suppiah, 37, and Ms Bello, 25, were both refused asylum and detained along with their children after UK Border Agency raids on their homes.
'Human rights breaches'
Ms Suppiah, of Bury in Greater Manchester, told the BBC she was "so shocked" when she was told of the High Court ruling.
"I said, 'Thank you Lord' - not only for me but for other women," she said.
She said the "scars" of staying at the centre remained with her family.
Mr Justice Wyn Williams, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled the policy itself was not unlawful, but had been applied in an unlawful way.
He ruled: "The claimants were detained unlawfully from the time they were taken into custody until their release."
The judge said they had suffered human rights breaches and were entitled to claim damages.
There was a significant body of evidence which demonstrated the UK Border Agency had failed to apply that policy "with the rigour it deserves", the judge said.
BBC News correspondent Dominic Casciani, at the High Court, added: "The two families were detained prior to the coalition government's decision to close the family unit for failed asylum seekers as part of its commitment to end the detention of children.
'Disappointed by decision'
"But the judgement paves the way for the claimants to sue for damages."
David Wood, of the UK Border Agency, said: "In December the government announced the immediate closure of Yarl's Wood to children.
"The government said it would end the detention of children for immigration purposes and that's been done.
"However, we are disappointed by the High Court's findings in relation to two specific cases but will not be seeking permission to appeal at this stage."
He said the UK Border Agency would be studying the judgement to see if there were lessons to learn.
He added: "We are pleased that the court has concluded that the relevant policy in relation to the detention of children and families at the time of this detention was lawful."
|
A majority of Welsh MPs have voted in favour of a bill which will allow ministers to trigger Article 50 and leave the European Union.
|
Ministers won Wednesday's House of Commons vote, with 498 MPs voting for the European Union Bill to go to the next stage, and 114 against.
Of those, 27 MPs from Wales - including 16 Labour and 11 Tory - voted for the bill, with 10 against.
The proposed law would allow ministers to start the Brexit process.
Following a Commons debate, seven Welsh Labour MPs including frontbencher Kevin Brennan were among 47 who defied party orders by voting against the measure.
The bill will now return to the Commons next week for the committee stage, when opposition parties will try to push through a series of amendments.
Clwyd West Conservative MP David Jones tweeted it was a "historic day". Wales backed leaving the EU in the referendum last year.
Which Welsh MPs voted and how?
Shadow culture minister Mr Brennan was the second Labour front-bencher in Wales to announce he would vote against Jeremy Corbyn's wishes, following Jo Stevens who quit as shadow Welsh secretary on Friday over the order.
Mr Corbyn suggested at the weekend that shadow ministers who choose to vote against triggering Article 50 could be sacked.
On his blog, Mr Brennan said: "I believe it is now quite clear that triggering Article 50 will lead Britain on a road to the kind of economy and society I have never believed in.
"That is also the view of the majority of my constituents."
Mr Bryant, a former shadow leader of the house, told MPs: "I believe this bill, this way of Brexiting will leave us poorer, weaker and at far far greater danger in Europe, and in the west and in this country."
He added: "Not in my name, never, never, never."
Rhondda Cynon Taf registered a 53.7% vote for leave in the referendum. All of the area's MPs voted against the Article 50 bill.
David Jones, a minister for Brexit, said MPs were not voting on the referendum outcome but "simply" to start the process.
He said the vote was an "opportunity for all of us to demonstrate" respect for the referendum's outcome "by supporting this small and important bill".
David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth and a prominent Leave campaigner in Wales, told MPs: "Stop fighting the campaign and become part of what is going to take place now.
"Our prime minister tonight is going to reflect the will of the British people."
One of the Labour MPs to vote for the bill, Carolyn Harris, tweeted that the number of constituents who had contacted her to vote for Article 50 outweighed those that asked her to vote against.
"I was elected in May 2015 to represent the people of Swansea East and I must continue to carry out their wishes when voting in the Commons," she said.
Before the debate, Cardiff North MP Craig Williams, who had wanted the UK to stay in the EU, said the poll result must be honoured.
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Mr Williams said that, by originally voting to hold a referendum on EU membership, MPs had "empowered the British people" and "now we're going to trust what they told us".
Plaid Cymru's Westminster group leader Hywel Williams said the vote was "not about whether to accept the referendum result - it is about endorsing the Tories' extreme version of Brexit".
In January, the prime minister said the UK must leave the EU single market but promised to push for the "freest possible trade" with European countries.
|
Mexican authorities have carried out a series of raids while investigating the attempted assassination of Mexico City's police chief, according to local media.
|
Omar García Harfuch was shot several times during an ambush on Friday, though his injuries are not said to be life-threatening.
Two of his bodyguards and a female passerby were killed.
The attack is believed to be linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Police said cocaine was found during raids on three locations, according to El Universal newspaper on Saturday.
Mr García Harfuch - who was shot in the shoulder, collar bone and the knee - tweeted after the attack, laying the blame on the cartel. "Our nation must continue to confront the cowardly organised crime," he wrote.
What happened in the attack?
Twenty-eight people attacked Mr García Harfuch's armoured vehicle at dawn on Friday on Paseo de la Reforma, a boulevard that leads to the exclusive Lomas de Chapultepec neighbourhood, home to various embassies and mansions.
The hitmen brandished grenades and sniper rifles.
Although Mexico has long suffered from extreme violence, the brazen nature of this attack - on a high-profile figure in a high-security area of the capital - has increased concerns.
It also comes shortly after the murder of a federal judge, Uriel Villegas Ortiz, and his wife, Verónica Barajas, earlier this month.
Security Minister Alfonso Durazo Montaño said on Friday that preliminary investigations into the prior incident also suggest the involvement of the New Generation Jalisco Cartel.
What has happened since?
More than a dozen arrests have been made since the attack on Mr García Harfuch's car, investigators say.
The alleged mastermind of the plot, José Armando Briseño, known as Vaca (Cow), was detained on Friday night.
Ulises Lara López, a spokesman for the Mexico City prosecutor's office, said the group of assassins was hired three weeks prior to the attack and was divided into four different cells to carry out the act. They were given ski masks and weapons the night before the assault, he said.
Three separate ambush points were then set up, including an unused one that was one block from the city's central "Angel of Independence" monument.
What is the background?
Omar García Harfuch, 37, was appointed as Mexico City's secretary of security and citizen protection in 2019, having previously worked as an intelligence coordinator for the mayor's office.
It was unclear whether the attempt on his life was related to his recent work or earlier investigations.
The Jalisco cartel, which formed in about 2010, has expanded rapidly across Mexico and is now one of the country's most dominant organised crime groups.
Its rise in recent years has been fuelled by its use of extreme violence.
It has previously downed an army helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade and killed dozens of state officials.
In recent weeks, there have been unconfirmed reports of the death or arrest of Jalisco's leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho".
Officials have denied this, but he remains at the top of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list, with a $10m (£8m) bounty on his head.
|
The University Challenge student with amazing facial expressions has returned to lead his team to victory in their first quarter-final match .
|
Canadian Eric Monkman became a social media hit when he first appeared on the current series back in September.
And his name was trending again on Monday night when he led Wolfson College, Cambridge, to a win over Balliol College, Oxford.
#Monkman was the number one trend on Twitter while the programme was on air.
And after his third appearance on the current series of the BBC Two show, Twitter went into overdrive.
Michael wants to be a superhero called Monkman.
Alex says he got his powers after being bitten by a radioactive monk.
Aaron posted a photo showing him ripping off a wrestler's T-shirt.
Anne likes the way he pronounces Sneezy.
Pav wants him to be given his own show.
Steve thinks Monkman is worth the BBC's licence fee alone.
Anthony says he's a legend.
This tweet likens him to Megamind.
Wolfson College, Cambridge, ended up beating Balliol College, Oxford, by 165 points to 135.
There'll be another chance to see Eric Monkman when his team appears in its second quarter-final in the next few months.
Meet University Challenge's five most tweet-worthy contestants.
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
An attack which killed more than 44 migrants at a detention centre outside the Libyan capital could constitute a war crime, a UN official said.
|
At least 130 people were injured in the attack, which the Libyan government blamed on an air strike by forces loyal to a warlord, General Khalifa Haftar.
Gen Haftar's forces accuse the government side of shelling the centre.
Most of the dead are believed to be sub-Saharan Africans who were attempting to reach Europe from Libya.
Thousands of migrants are being held in government-run detention centres in Libya. The location of the centre attacked on Tuesday and the information that it housed civilians had been passed to all parties in Libya's conflict, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said.
"This attack may, depending on the precise circumstances, amount to a war crime," she said. It was the second time the shelter was hit, she added.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was was "outraged" by the reports and called for an independent investigation "to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice".
Late on Wednesday, the UN Security Council held a meeting behind closed doors, but was unable to agree on a statement condemning the air strike, after the US said it needed approval from Washington before it could sign it, the AFP news agency reports.
It was unclear why this approval was not forthcoming, but the Security Council meeting ended without issuing a statement.
Libya has been torn by violence and division since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.
What do we know about the attack?
A hangar housing migrants at the Tajoura Detention Centre, which houses 600 migrants, reportedly took a direct hit.
Women and children were among the victims, Guma El-Gamaty, a member of the UN-backed political dialogue group, told BBC World Service.
An official in the Libyan health ministry, Doctor Khalid Bin Attia, described the carnage for the BBC after attending the scene:
"People were everywhere, the camp was destroyed, people are crying here, there is psychological trauma, the lights cut off.
"We couldn't see the area very clear but just when the ambulance came, it was horrible, blood is everywhere, somebody's guts in pieces."
The UN issued a stark warning in May that those living in the Tajoura centre should be moved immediately out of harm's way. "The risks are simply unacceptable at this point," the UN refugee agency said.
Analysis: An inevitable tragedy
By Sebastian Usher, Arab affairs editor
The UN and aid agencies have been warning that a tragedy like this has been all but inevitable as the renewed fighting in and around Tripoli has put migrants held in detention camps directly in the line of fire.
The plight of migrants was already desperate, prey to human traffickers and militias.
The UN has said that the airstrike on Tajoura shows that the EU policy of sending people trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe back to Libya must be ended.
It's been successful in radically cutting the numbers of those getting into Europe by that route – although others have since opened up. But humanitarian agencies say the human cost is too high.
With General Khalifa Haftar's assault on Tripoli stalled, the chances are that his forces may resort to indiscriminate attacks that could endanger civilian lives further.
But the militias who hold the migrants in such appalling conditions, so close to what is now a frontline, must also take a share of the blame for what has happened.
Who is to blame?
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, accused the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) of carrying out an air strike on the centre.
The "heinous crime" was "premeditated" and "precise", it said.
The LNA - led by Gen Haftar - was fighting government forces in the area where the strike happened.
It had announced on Monday that it would start heavy air strikes on targets in Tripoli after "traditional means" of war had been exhausted.
The LNA said its warplanes had bombed a pro-government camp near the centre and pro-government forces had fired shells in response, hitting the migrant centre by accident.
A spokesman for the UN refugee agency, Charlie Yaxley, said it could not confirm who was behind the attack on the centre.
In a subsequent statement, the head of the UN Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salama, was quoted as saying: "This attack clearly could constitute a war crime, as it killed by surprise innocent people whose dire conditions forced them to be in that shelter."
Why is there war in Libya?
No authority has full control over Libya and the country is extremely unstable, torn between several political and military factions, the two most important of which are led by Prime Minister Sarraj and Gen Haftar.
Gen Haftar started an offensive against the government in April.
The general has been active in Libyan politics for more than four decades and was one of Gadaffi's close allies until a dispute in the late 1980s forced him to live in exile in the US.
After returning to Libya when the uprising began in 2011, he built up a power base in the east and has won some support from France, Egypt and the UAE.
Libyans have mixed feelings towards him due to his past association with Gadaffi and US connections, but do credit him for driving Islamist militants out of much of the city of Benghazi and its surroundings.
How vulnerable are migrants in Libya?
People-smuggling gangs have flourished in Libya's political chaos, charging desperate migrants from sub-Saharan Africa thousands of dollars per head.
Human rights groups have highlighted the poor conditions at the detention centres where many migrants end up as the EU works with the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats.
Italy, one of the main landing points for migrants from Libya, has taken a hard-line stance of closing its ports to humanitarian rescue boats, accusing them of aiding people smugglers. Instead, it wants to return any migrants found in open water to Libya - where most end up in detention centres.
Following Italy's objections, the wider EU proposed a compromise solution of setting up EU "assessment centres" in countries like Libya, where applications for asylum could be processed on foreign soil in a bid to break up the smuggling operations. Such a move was resisted by Libyan officials.
As things stand, migrants are not treated with consideration when it comes to housing them, said Leonard Doyle, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration in Geneva.
"This detention centre is right beside a militia workshop that's been targeted in the past and it's been hit by shrapnel," he said.
"Migrants who are trying to get to Europe get picked up typically by the Libyan coastguard. They're brought back to land and then they're brought usually by bus to any of up to 60 detention centres around the city. It's really not a good situation."
|
The government's industrial strategy shows little evidence of a long-term approach, say MPs.
|
By John MoylanIndustry correspondent, BBC News
They called the plans a continuation of existing policies rather than the step change that's needed.
The Prime Minister highlighted the strategy as part of her plan to create an economy that works for everyone.
The government insists that the recent industrial strategy green paper represents an ambitious long-term vision for the UK.
The report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee welcomed the government's "re-found commitment" to an industrial strategy.
It called Prime Minister Theresa May's rhetoric on the issue a "significant shift" from the approach of governments over the past 40 years.
"There's tantalising glimpses that there is something significant happening here," said committee chairman Iain Wright.
But he warned that the government's approach "appears to be evolutionary" and reflects a continuation of policies.
He warned that "business as usual" approach will not achieve the significant shift needed and that the industrial strategy will fall short in providing a framework for future success.
The strategy also provides little clarity on how regional rebalancing will work, according to the committee.
Sectoral deals
The green paper offered an "open door" challenge to industry to approach government for "sector deals".
But the report called on the government to step back from this.
"One of the things the committee felt quite strongly was that if you just go down a sectoral route you are going to miss the cracks in the middle" said Mr Wright, the MP for Hartlepool.
"And the cracks in the middle could be where the real economic advantages are".
He said the plan could lead to special pleading and that some key areas could miss out.
"What happens if something is really important to the UK economy and they don't come forward with a sectoral deal?"
Instead the committee wants the government to focus on "horizontal" policies that would benefit the wider economy like boosting skills, infrastructure and R&D.
It proposed a "missions" approach instead, targeting some of the key challenges ahead, from the ageing population to decarbonising the economy.
Government coordination
The report also stated that the Prime Minister "has not yet been able to harness the political will across government to drive forward her ambition".
It highlighted the recent housing white paper, which it claimed failed to spell out how the government and the construction industry would work together to tackle the housing shortage.
"The early evidence on things like the housing green paper are not positive in terms of collaboration across government," said Mr Wright.
"How are we going to avoid the silo-based approach that most government departments have, to really co-ordinate government activity in a single direction?"
Skills
The MPs said that proposals in the green paper on skills "leave much to be desired."
"After six months in development we expected more than a disappointing combination of re-announcements, continuations of existing policy, and vague aspirations," the report said.
The committee warned that businesses will need to continue to bring in skilled workers from abroad after Britain has left the European Union.
"In the context of negotiations over free movement as part of withdrawal from the EU, government must ensure that businesses continue to be able to access the skills they need," it said.
The department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that the recent green paper is the beginning of an open dialogue to develop the strategy.
In a statement it said: "Our modern industrial strategy represents an ambitious long-term vision for the UK that will build on our strengths as a country and deliver a high-skilled economy for the years ahead".
It added that it would consider the findings of the report carefully.
|
An Android update designed to fix a security hole in the operating system is itself flawed, it has emerged.
|
In July, a vulnerability that affected up to a billion Android phones was made public by software researchers.
Google made a patch available, but security company Exodus Intelligence said it had been able to bypass the fix.
Exodus Intelligence said the update could give people a "false sense of security".
Google told the BBC that most Android users were protected by a security feature called address space layout randomisation (ASLR).
"Currently over 90% of Android devices have ASLR enabled, which protects users from this issue," it said.
ASLR makes it difficult for an attacker to plot an attack, and introduces more guesswork to the process, which is more likely to crash a smartphone than compromise it.
'Vulnerability remains'
In April, another security company, Zimperium, found a bug in Android that could let hackers access data and apps on a victim's phone, just by sending a video message.
The company disclosed the issue to Google and provided its own patch for the software, which Google made available to phone manufacturers.
Details of the flaw were made public in July, after Google had integrated the patch into the latest version of Android.
At the time, Google pointed out that there had been no reported cases of anybody exploiting the bug.
On Thursday, Exodus Intelligence said its researcher Jordan Gruskovnjak had easily bypassed the patch and the vulnerability remained.
"The public at large believes the current patch protects them when it in fact does not," the company said on its blog.
'Bigger challenge'
"Stagefright is the early warning alert to a much bigger challenge," said David Baker, security officer for computing firm Okta.
"There isn't a comprehensive update solution for Android, since there are so many device makers modifying the software."
Android is an open source operating system and phone-makers can modify it to use on their handsets.
Phone manufacturers are responsible for updating their own devices with the latest software. But many do not, while some companies use customised versions of Android which take time to rebuild when security changes are made.
For these reasons, only 2.6% of Android phones are running the latest version of the operating system.
"Other manufacturers like Apple and BlackBerry control both the hardware and software. That means they can patch flaws much more quickly," said Mr Baker.
Exodus Intelligence said Google had known about the flaw for more than 120 days and still not fixed it.
"The patch is 4 lines of code and was (presumably) reviewed by Google engineers prior to shipping," said Exodus Intelligence on its blog.
"If Google cannot demonstrate the ability to successfully remedy a disclosed vulnerability affecting their own customers then what hope do the rest of us have?"
|
Here we go down the rabbit hole…..what will be the meaning of Parliament's promised "meaningful vote" on the terms of any Brexit deal Theresa May negotiates with the EU?
|
Mark D'ArcyParliamentary correspondent
This is a question which takes its asker into the heavily-mined, crater-dotted, no-man's land that lies between Parliament and government.
So how did we get here?
Just before Christmas, MPs amended the EU Withdrawal Bill to, in effect, make it impossible for the government to implement Brexit until they had given the thumbs up to whatever deal was struck (along with the parallel political declaration on the long-term UK-EU relationship) - and the government gave assurances that Parliament would have that "meaningful vote".
But it's not even clear to MPs, let alone the general public, how the parliamentary votes to make this fateful decision will be structured.
So this week the Commons Procedure Committee began an attempt to chart a course through this extremely dangerous terrain. The committee has some cred in this area, having created a system for monitoring changes in the law made under the sweeping powers conferred by Brexit legislation, and defended it when it looked like ministers were trying to water down one aspect of the new scrutiny system.
But this time their efforts triggered a blast of fury.
The immediate cause was the publication of a memo from the Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab, setting out how the government thought the meaningful vote should work. His key point was that there should be no legal uncertainty as to whether Parliament had properly voted on the deal (MPs get to approve it, peers just have to "take note").
Yes-No question?
The big stumbling block is that Parliament cannot, by itself, amend the withdrawal agreement, because it is an international treaty negotiated with the EU.
Should it want changes, British ministers would have to go back and try to negotiate them.
Nor, Mr Raab says, could Parliament delay or prevent the UK's departure because these are already set by UK law and by the Article 50 process laid down in EU law - although this point will soon be tested in court. Mr Raab's memo argues that any amendment would undermine the government's ability to ratify the withdrawal deal.
On that logic, he argues that the real question that MPs will face is a simple "Yes-No" - whether or not to accept whatever deal Theresa May brings back from Brussels.
In that case, he adds, the normal shape of Commons voting, where amendments are put down, some are selected by the Speaker, and they are voted on, before the main approval motion (perhaps, by then, amended in some way) is put to the House, is the wrong way round.
So his memo rejects the normal method and comes down in favour of a procedure based on the way Opposition Day motions are considered - the main motion is voted on first, and only if it is lost, do MPs then go on to consider alternatives.
The point is that the Raab approach puts a much harder choice in front of potential Conservative dissidents, in particular. It's one thing to support an amendment softening (or, indeed hardening) whatever the government proposes, passing that, and then supporting the resulting proposition; it is quite another to vote down the government deal and then see what might happen afterwards.
Is this fixing the decision? The author of last December's "meaningful vote" amendment, the former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, dismisses Mr Raab's concerns with a dismissive Anglo-Saxon monosyllable - and Labour have denounced his proposal as a blatant fix.
So MPs are now in a situation where it will be even harder to find an agreed method to make this critical decision, and the Procedure Committee is now in the spotlight. And next week could see some serious pushback against Mr Raab; in particular, watch the other Dominic, Mr Grieve.
What if MPs rejected the Brexit deal?
But suppose - under the Raab procedure or some other method - MPs did vote to reject the Brexit deal?
It's not clear what impact any subsequent votes would have. They could pass an amendment calling for the government to renegotiate some aspect of withdrawal, but they could not guarantee that ministers could get the desired result, or even make them try very hard. They could demand a second referendum - but to make that stick they would have to pass a full-dress Act of Parliament; a mere resolution, claiming to direct the government, would not cut the mustard.
Parliament and its existing procedures for debate and decision are not really configured to make policy - they scrutinise policy and make laws, but it is much more difficult for MPs to instruct ministers, and harder still for them to make their instructions stick, unless they are passed as legislation.
The former Lib Dem MP and constitutional law professor, David Howarth, has argued that the ultimate weapon available to MPs is to insist on the ancient parliamentary principle of "grievance before supply" and refuse to pass the next finance bill until the government concedes a further Brexit referendum.
Others think that is a bit fanciful, but the forthcoming Budget and the ensuing Finance Bill will provide serious leverage for those unhappy with the government's position.
This might be exerted through something quite procedural like messing with the programme motion which would timetable consideration of the Chancellor's tax changes - but, faced by rising factional discontent from its in-house Leavers and Remainers, and from its DUP allies, the government is now dangerously vulnerable.
|
President Donald Trump directly asked about a Ukrainian investigation into his Democratic rival Joe Biden, a top US diplomat has unveiled.
|
Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, told an impeachment inquiry that a member of his staff was told Mr Trump was keen to push for the probe.
Mr Trump says he does not recall making the remark. He denies any wrongdoing.
Mr Biden hopes to run against Mr Trump next year. It is illegal to ask foreign entities for help to win an election.
He is accused of withholding US military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country's new president to publicly announce a corruption inquiry into Mr Biden.
Mr Trump has called the inquiry a "witch-hunt".
What did Trump allegedly ask about?
During a detailed opening statement, Mr Taylor said a member of his staff had overheard a telephone call in which the president inquired about "the investigations" into Mr Biden.
The call was with Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, who reportedly told the president over the phone from a restaurant in Kyiv that "the Ukrainians were ready to move forward".
After the call, the staff member "asked ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine", Mr Taylor said.
Mr Taylor said: "Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden."
Meanwhile observers and former officials have drawn attention to the security implications of making the call from a restaurant, potentially exposing the conversation to eavesdropping by Russian intelligence.
When asked about Mr Sondland earlier this month, the president had said: "I hardly know the gentleman."
Responding to queries from reporters after the hearing, Mr Trump said: "I know nothing about that, first time I've heard it."
He said he recalled Mr Sondland's testimony, in which the diplomat said he spoke to the president "for a brief moment" and Mr Trump had "said no quid pro quo under any circumstances".
He did not recall the phone call Mr Taylor described, "not even a little bit", and "in any event it's more second hand information", he said.
The impeachment inquiry has been going on for more than a month - but all previous hearings were private, with reports based on leaks and sources speaking to the media.
Wednesday's public hearings were the first time the public heard from witnesses directly and a chance for Democrats and Republicans to win over voters.
Why the new information matters
This has the potential to be a major twist. Although there have been reports of Mr Sondland's direct line to the president, there has yet to be evidence tying Mr Trump directly to the alleged quid pro quo.
The phone call Mr Taylor described could change all that.
In the middle of Wednesday's hearing, the House Intelligence Committee announced a new witness scheduled to give a closed-door deposition on Friday, an aide named David Holmes - reportedly the aide Mr Taylor mentioned.
Next week, Mr Sondland himself is scheduled to testify during public hearings.
If either of these two men supports Mr Taylor's account, it could undercut the president's defenders who have suggested that Mr Trump was not closely involved in the activities of the "unofficial" channel of Ukraine policy, as Mr Taylor called it, which was pressuring Ukraine to open up investigations into the Bidens.
Democrats have reason to be pleased, while the president's team has a new set of headaches.
Read more from Anthony
What else happened at the hearing?
Wednesday's hearing began with testimony from George Kent, a top US diplomat charged with overseeing European affairs.
He told the committee that President Trump's private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, ran a "campaign to smear" the US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, before she was recalled from her post.
Meanwhile, much of Mr Taylor's other testimony repeated evidence he gave to private Congressional impeachment hearings, but he added new detail to the accounts in the public domain.
The career diplomat, who has served under Republican and Democratic presidents, reiterated his understanding that the Trump administration threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to publicly announce an investigation into Mr Biden.
He testified that he told Mr Sondland and Kurt Volker, previously the US special envoy to Ukraine, that it would be "crazy" to withhold security assistance for the sake of domestic politics.
Adam Schiff, the Democratic Chairman of the Intelligence Committee overseeing the impeachment inquiry, said the purpose of the inquiry was to establish whether Mr Trump "abused his power and invited foreign interference in our elections".
"If this is not impeachable conduct, what is?" he added.
The senior Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, who is a staunch ally of the president, denounced the inquiry as "a televised theatrical performance staged by the Democrats".
Republicans have been demanding the anonymous whistleblower, who filed a report that eventually triggered the impeachment proceedings, be compelled to give closed-door testimony to the committee.
However, Mr Schiff said he would "do everything necessary to protect the whistleblower's identity".
Mr Trump said he was "too busy to watch" the impeachment hearing, although he also tweeted and retweeted several posts about the inquiry on Wednesday.
"I want to find out who's the whistleblower," he told reporters after the hearing.
Learn more about Trump and impeachment inquiry
What is Trump accused of?
The US House of Representatives is trying to establish whether Mr Trump abused the power of his office for personal gain.
In a phone call in July, the Republican president asked his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic White House contender Joe Biden. His son, Hunter Biden, worked for a Ukrainian gas firm while his father was US vice-president.
The US congressional inquiry has already heard that Mr Trump dangled nearly $400m (£327m) in military aid and a White House invitation in order to prod Ukraine's leader to announce a corruption inquiry that might have caused political embarrassment to Mr Biden.
It is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.
Mr Trump has denied the allegations and branded the impeachment hearings a "phony showtrial".
What is impeachment?
Impeachment is the first part - the charges - of a two-stage political process by which Congress can remove a president from office. If, following the hearings, the House of Representatives votes to pass articles of impeachment, the Senate is forced to hold a trial.
A Senate vote requires a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the president - unlikely in this case, given that Mr Trump's party controls the chamber.
Only two US presidents in history - Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson - have been impeached, but neither was convicted. President Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.
|
Sir Terry Pratchett, fantasy author and creator of the Discworld series, has died aged 66, eight years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
|
"The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds," said Larry Finlay of his publishers Transworld.
The author died at home, surrounded by his family, "with his cat sleeping on his bed", he added.
Sir Terry wrote more than 70 books during his career and completed his final book last summer.
He "enriched the planet like few before him" and through Discworld satirised the world "with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention," said Mr Finlay.
"Terry faced his Alzheimer's disease (an 'embuggerance', as he called it) publicly and bravely," said Mr Finlay.
"Over the last few years, it was his writing that sustained him. His legacy will endure for decades to come."
Sir Terry leaves wife Lyn and daughter Rhianna.
The announcement of his death was made on Sir Terry's Twitter account on Thursday afternoon, with Rhianna later writing: "Many thanks for all the kind words about my dad. Those last few tweets were sent with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes."
Despite campaigning for assisted suicide after his diagnosis, Sir Terry's publishers said he did not take his own life.
BBC News correspondent Nick Higham said: "I was told by the publishers his death was entirely natural and unassisted, even though he had said in the past he wanted to go at a time of his own choosing."
Sir Terry Pratchett
His career in numbers
70
books written
70 million sales
37 languages
44 years of writing
Fellow author and friend Neil Gaiman was among those paying tribute to Sir Terry, writing on his website: "There was nobody like him. I was fortunate to have written a book with him, when we were younger, which taught me so much."
Gaiman added: "I will miss you, Terry, so much."
Actor Sir Tony Robinson described his friend as a "bit of a contradiction", saying: "He was incredibly flamboyant with his black hat and urban cowboy clothes.
"But he was also very shy, and happiest with his family
"Everybody who reads his work would agree Death was one of his finest creations - Terry in some way has now shaken hands with one of his greatest-ever creations."
Prime Minster David Cameron said: "Sad to hear of Sir Terry Pratchett's death, his books fired the imagination of millions and he fearlessly campaigned for dementia awareness."
The Discworld series - which started in 1983 - was based in a flat world perched on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle.
By 2013, he had written more than 40 instalments.
At the peak of his writing powers, Sir Terry - known for his striking dress sense and large black fedora - was publishing more than three books a year. His quirky and satirical view of the world won him a worldwide following.
At the turn of the century, he was Britain's second most-read author, beaten only by JK Rowling.
In August 2007, it was reported Sir Terry had suffered a stroke, but the following December he announced that he had been diagnosed with a very rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease which, he said, "lay behind this year's phantom stroke".
Knighted in 2009, he said: "It would appear to me that me getting up and saying 'I've got Alzheimer's', it did shake people."
"The thing about Alzheimer's is there are few families that haven't been touched by the disease.
"People come up to me and talk about it and burst into tears; there's far more awareness about it and that was really what I hoped was going to happen."
His death was announced on his Twitter account with a tweet composed in capital letters - which was how the author portrayed the character of Death in his novels - read: "AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER."
A fundraising site set up in Sir Terry's memory to raise money for a charity that cares for those with Alzheimer's has already raised thousands of pounds.
|
One of the "longest standing early railway mysteries" has been solved with the pedigree of a locomotive proven to be false, researchers have claimed.
|
The Lyon engine was said to be designed by George Stephenson and pre-dated his 1825 Locomotion No 1 and 1829 Rocket.
But researchers at Locomotion National Railway Museum in Shildon, County Durham, said they can "conclusively" prove that to be false.
The "tall tale" had ensured the engine survived though, the researchers said.
The locomotive, which hauled coal at Hetton Colliery near Durham for 60 years, was actually built around 1849, an expert team concluded.
A museum spokesman said the mystery began in 1902 when "exaggerated claims" by the colliery's owners led to an "extraordinary national interest".
As a result of the claim, the Lyon, one of three sister engines, was withdrawn from service and went on to lead the 1925 procession for the Stockton and Darlington Railway centenary celebration.
Dr Michael Bailey and Peter Davidson spent seven months conducting a "forensic-like examination" of the locomotive and archives to prove its provenance.
Dr Bailey said: "I am pleased that as a result of this project we have been able to solve the Hetton mystery and confirm the locomotive's true identify.
"Although it would have been exciting to uncover links to early Stephenson engines, the benefit to us today is that this remarkable locomotive would undoubtedly have been scrapped were it not for the tall tales surrounding it."
One of the key breakthroughs came when the team discovered the technology needed to make long sheets of wrought iron plate used in Lyon's boiler did not exist before the 1840s, ruling out an earlier construction date.
Dr Sarah Price, head of Locomotion, said there are several other engines she would like Dr Bailey and Mr Davidson to look at.
Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
Related Internet Links
Locomotion
National Railway Museum
|
Seven police officers were injured when violence flared at a gathering in Bristol to celebrate the death of Baroness Thatcher.
|
Police were called to Chelsea Road, Easton, shortly after midnight where about 200 people had gathered.
Protests were also held in Brixton, south London, by people who said they were celebrating.
Stephen Williams, the Liberal Democrat MP whose constituency covers Easton, condemned the gathering.
"Margaret Thatcher was a very divisive figure in politics, but nonetheless to organise some celebration for someone who was a mother and grandmother is not appropriate.
"The best way to deal with her legacy is by democratic discussion not by holding a completely inappropriate celebration of her death at a very old age," he said.
Bristol's independent Mayor George Ferguson said the gathering was in "thoroughly bad taste".
"There are strong feelings about Margaret Thatcher but I think it's in very bad taste to be dancing on her grave and it's a shame this should have happened in Bristol," he said.
Tony Blair has also criticised people who held parties to "celebrate" the death of Baroness Thatcher, saying they were in "pretty poor taste" and urged critics of his Conservative predecessor to "show some respect".
Local Labour and Conservative politicians in Bristol have yet to comment.
'Led to hostilities'
The gathering of about 150 people in Brixton - the scene of fierce riots in 1981 - attracted a heavy police presence and led to small scale acts of vandalism and graffiti.
Some scaled the nearby Ritzy Cinema and displayed banners. There were no arrests and no serious injuries, police said.
Residents and police in Bristol said the event started peacefully, but by about 22:30 BST 150 to 200 people had gathered.
Ch Insp Mark Jackson, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "They had set fire to bins and had loud music playing and were being generally quite unruly.
"As you can imagine, the residents were quite upset by this and wanted something done about it."
"They were asked by officers to end the party and turn the music off but that unfortunately just led to hostilities and officers were pelted with bottles and cans."
The force said one person was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.
Chief Constable Nick Gargan tweeted: "Huge admiration for the officers who dealt so well with a violent crowd in Bristol last night. Some injuries, but thankfully nothing serious."
Lady Thatcher, Britain's first female premier, was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and won three successive general elections.
She died after suffering a stroke while staying at the Ritz hotel in central London.
Her funeral is to be held on 17 April, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.
|
Business growth in the eurozone accelerated last month to its fastest pace since June 2011, a survey says.
|
The final Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for February was 53.3.
This was higher than an earlier, preliminary estimate of 52.7, and above the 50 level that indicates expansion.
Markit said the figures indicated the eurozone is set to grow by 0.4-0.5% in the first quarter of 2014, which would be the best growth for three years.
Official figures, also released on Wednesday, confirmed that the eurozone grew by 0.3% in the final three months of 2013. Growth was helped by rising exports and improving investment.
ECB meeting
The PMI survey confirmed the contrasting fortunes of Germany and France.
German companies saw strong growth, with the country's composite PMI reading hitting a 33-month high of 56.4.
However, activity among French firms continued to decline, with the PMI figure dropping to 47.9.
The European Central Bank (ECB) holds its latest meeting on Thursday, and there has been speculation that the bank may take action to avert the threat of deflation in the eurozone.
Eurozone inflation was 0.8% in February, well below the ECB's target of 2%.
|
Sinn Féin is calling for the issue of the voting age to be included in negotiations on the future of devolution.
|
By Chris PageBBC News NI
The issue is high on the UK political agenda after the Scottish referendum.
The 3.6m votes cast in Scotland last month included more than 100,000 by 16 and 17-year-olds.
The decision to allow them to have a say on independence has led to debate over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 for other polls.
Members of the youth organisation WIMPS - which stands for Where Is My Public Servant - have been campaigning for 16 and 17-year-olds to have the vote.
At a meeting of a local group, which they call a "crew" in Belfast, young people spoke about why they thought it was time they were given the right to choose who represents them in the assembly, councils and Westminster.
"A young person's whole life is governed by politics," 17-year-old Ethan McKnight said.
He thinks it would help younger people to become engaged with politics, even if they choose not to put an X on a ballot paper.
"There's no guarantee young people will vote, just as there's no guarantee anyone from any age group will vote," he said.
"If they choose to vote for some of the parties here because they think they represent their own interests, that's great. But if they do not vote, at least they're choosing not to vote of their own accord, rather than out of ignorance."
'Bigger voice'
Rowena McCaughan, also 17, believes voting is comparable to other responsibilities she and her friends can have at that age.
"At the age of 16 there are so many things you can do - you can join the army, you can go into employment. But you can't decide who represents you," she said.
She thinks the right to vote would mean younger people would have a bigger voice on issues which affect them.
"We had no say whatsoever over university fees being raised - that was a major issue that was already decided for us before we were 18," she said.
At Stormont, four out of the five executive parties want to make 16 the voting age.
The Alliance Party, SDLP, Ulster Unionist Party and Sinn Féin would back the move.
Consideration
After the Scottish referendum, there is due to be a rethink of the structures of devolution across the UK.
Sinn Féin assembly member Megan Fearon said her party wants the voting age to be considered.
"I'm hopeful it will be included in the negotiations in the aftermath of the Scottish referendum - it's something Sinn Féin is very much in favour of," she said.
But the DUP believes 18 is the right age for people to enter the ballot booth for the first time.
Assembly member Alastair Ross does not believe a change in the law would encourage younger people to become more interested in politics.
"I think it's important to get young people aged between 18 and 25 to vote and then perhaps if we're successful in that, then perhaps you could look at extending the vote to 16-year-olds, but so far I haven't been convinced by the arguments," he said.
"Generally across the UK, 18 is the age which is recognised as when you become an adult. It's the age when you're able to buy alcohol, when you serve on juries - I think it's the most sensible age at which to give people the vote."
Student leader Rebecca Hall said: "Delivering votes at 16 will help politics and politicians better engage with young people as young people will then be involved in the democratic process.
"People pay tax at the age of 16, so they should be given a say on how tax revenues are spend by being able to vote," the NUS-USI president added.
In most countries, 18 is the age where you get to cast your vote.
In a few nations, 21 is the voting age.
But in recent years several have given the vote to 16-year-olds and up.
These include Austria, Argentina and Brazil.
Sixteen is also the voting age in elections in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The parties in Northern Ireland say their positions on the matter are not determined by how they think a lower voting age would affect them in elections.
Although religion is not a certain guide as to how people will vote, school enrolment figures show that 52% of post-primary pupils identify as Catholic, while 38% say they are Protestant.
Deciding the voting age rests with Westminster, not Stormont.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the Conservatives would keep it at 18.
But if a Labour government is elected next year, Ed Miliband has promised to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote.
The Liberal Democrats also support the idea.
However, a YouGov poll in August 2013 found that 60% of adults opposed lowering the voting age to 16.
|
Taiwan's government has imposed its toughest restrictions so far, as the island tries to battle a spike in Covid-19 cases.
|
The authorities are shutting down cinemas and entertainment venues until 28 May, while limiting gatherings to five indoors and 10 outdoors.
President Tsai Ing-wen urged the public not to panic-buy basic necessities.
Taiwan - which has so far survived the pandemic almost unscathed - on Sunday reported 207 new infections.
The island of 23 million people has recorded 1,682 infections and 12 Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Taiwan's impressive success battling the coronavirus has been largely attributed to early and strict border controls, a ban on foreign visitors and mandatory quarantine for all Taiwanese returning home.
In a separate development on Sunday, Singapore said all schools as well as junior colleges and universities would shift to home-based learning from 19 May amid a spike in infections.
Singapore on Sunday reported 49 new cases, including 38 locally transmitted infections. This is the highest daily tally since last September.
Singapore has so far confirmed more than 61,000 cases, with 31 deaths.
What are the new restrictions in Taiwan?
The government said masks must be now worn outdoors, urging people to work and study from home.
The capital Taipei remains the main infections hotspot, forcing the city authorities to raise the coronavirus alert there to Level 3.
Taiwan has four Covid-19 response levels, and the Level 3 alert stops just short of lockdown, local media say.
This is unprecedented, as Taiwan has until now not had to resort to such restrictions since the outbreak began.
In addition, shoppers across the island are being restricted to buying just two items of some goods after supermarket shelves were emptied in recent days.
President Tsai on Saturday warned that panic-buying would only increase the risk of Covid clusters.
Instant noodles and food in general, as well as toilet paper, was available in sufficient quantities and could easily be stored again by retailers, the president was quoted as saying by the Taiwan News.
|
The United Nations has raised grave concerns about reports of high civilian casualties in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
|
A senior UN official in Iraq said she was stunned by accounts of "terrible loss of life", after claims that at least 200 people had been killed in air strikes by the US-led coalition.
US warplanes are supporting the Iraqi army's mission to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).
US media reports say an investigation is under way.
The Kurdish news website, Rudaw, quoted its correspondent on 23 March as saying at least 200 people, mainly civilians but possibly also IS members, were killed.
It reported more than one air strike in the western Jadideh neighbourhood, killing 130 people in one house and 100 in another.
The exact timing of the strikes and the numbers of casualties have yet to be confirmed.
Reporters in Jadideh said they saw 50 bodies being pulled out of buildings on Friday, after they were razed in air attacks earlier in March.
More than 180,000 flee west Mosul battle
The New York Times quoted US military officials saying the coalition was investigating reports of civilian deaths from a strike between 17-23 March.
Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for the US-led command in Baghdad, said that "the coalition has opened a formal civilian casualty credibility assessment on this allegation" from Mosul.
"This process takes time, though, especially when the date of the alleged strike is in question," he said.
Iraqi forces have been waging a months-long offensive to recapture Mosul, the last IS stronghold in Iraq, which has been occupied since 2014.
The UN estimates that 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in the Old City of Mosul as government forces battle to recapture it.
More than 180,000 civilians have fled the west of the city in the past month, amid fears that an additional 320,000 may follow in the coming weeks.
Residents who have managed to flee say the militants are using civilians as human shields, hiding in houses and forcing young men to fight.
US officials believe there are about 2,000 IS fighters left in Mosul.
|
At least 39 people, including at least 15 foreigners, have been killed in an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey's interior minister says.
|
A gunman opened fire in Reina nightclub at about 01:30 local time (22:30 GMT), as revellers marked the new year.
Suleyman Soylu said efforts were continuing to find the attacker, who was believed to have acted alone.
At least 69 people were being treated in hospital, the minister added. Four were said to be in a serious condition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attackers were trying to "create chaos" and pledged to "fight to the end" against terrorism.
'Different countries'
Addressing reporters early on Sunday, Mr Soylu said: "This was a massacre, a truly inhuman savagery.''
"A manhunt for the terrorist is under way. Police have launched operations. We hope the attacker will be captured soon."
Only 21 of the victims had been identified, he said. Fifteen or 16 were foreigners, he said, and at least three of the Turkish victims may have been employees at the club.
Several hours later, Israel confirmed one of its citizens, 19-year-old Leanne Nasser, was among the dead.
Turkish state news agency Anadolu also quoted Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya as saying most of the dead were foreigners "from different countries - Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya".
Early media reports suggested the attacker may have been wearing a Santa Claus outfit, but newly-obtained CCTV footage shows the suspected attacker in a black coat outside the club.
Mr Soylu said the gunman was wearing a coat and trousers, but "we were informed that he was wearing different clothes inside".
'Several bodies'
Reina nightclub, in the the Ortakoy area of Istanbul, is an upmarket venue on the banks of the Bosphorus.
Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said the attacker killed a policeman and a civilian outside the club before entering and opening fire.
"Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me,'' the Associated Press news agency quoted Sinem Uyanik, who was inside the club, as saying.
"I had to lift several bodies from (on) top of me before I could get out. It was frightening.''
There were reportedly as many as 700 people in the nightclub at the time of the attack, some of whom jumped into the water to escape.
The Turkish authorities have imposed a media blackout on coverage of the attack, citing security and public order concerns, but it does not extend to official statements.
Some media reports spoke of more than one attacker and Dogan news agency reported that some witnesses claimed the attackers were "speaking Arabic", but there is no confirmation of this.
IS threats: By Rengin Arslan, BBC Turkish, Istanbul
Despite there being no official statement about who might be behind this brutal attack, the finger of blame is being pointed at the so-called Islamic State.
In the last two years of attacks in Turkey, Kurdish militants have mostly targeted military forces and police, while IS is known to target civilians.
IS leaders have threatened Turkey and called on their followers to carry out attacks inside the country.
Turkey began a ground operation against IS as well as Kurdish groups inside Syria four months ago.
In a statement, President Erdogan condemned those trying to "demoralise our people and create chaos with abominable attacks which target civilians".
"We will retain our cool-headedness as a nation, standing more closely together, and we will never give ground to such dirty games."
US President Barack Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii, was among the first international leaders to make a statement after being briefed by his team.
"The president expressed condolences for the innocent lives lost, directed his team to offer appropriate assistance to the Turkish authorities, as necessary, and keep him updated as warranted," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the "cynical" murder of civilians. "Our shared duty is to decisively rebuff terrorist aggression," he said in a telegram quoted on the Kremlin website.
Turkey and Russia are working together on efforts to end the fighting in Syria, though they support different sides in the conflict.
Istanbul was already on high alert with some 17,000 police officers on duty in the city, following a string of terror attacks in recent months.
Many were carried out by so-called Islamic State (IS) or Kurdish militants.
Less than a fortnight ago, Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead by off-duty Turkish policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas as he gave a speech in the capital Ankara.
After the shooting, the killer shouted the murder was in revenge for Russian involvement in the conflict in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Deadly attacks in Turkey in 2016
10 December: Twin bomb attack outside a football stadium in Istanbul kills 44 people, Kurdish militant group claims responsibility
20 August: Bomb attack on wedding party in Gaziantep kills at least 30 people, IS suspected
30 July: 35 Kurdish fighters try to storm a military base and are killed by the Turkish army
28 June: A gun and bomb attack on Ataturk airport in Istanbul kills 41 people, in an attack blamed on IS militants
13 March: 37 people are killed by Kurdish militants in a suicide car bombing in Ankara
17 February: 28 people die in an attack on a military convoy in Ankara
Were you in the area or have you been affected by this incident? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected].
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
|
Beauty spots have been "disappointingly busy over the last few days" despite restrictions meaning all but essential travel should be avoided.
|
Snowdonia park warden Arwel Morris reiterated the message that people should not be driving to visit places.
On Saturday, police stopped people from Milton Keynes attempting to walk up Snowdon in breach of Covid rules.
Mr Morris blamed a "perfect storm" of good weather and people being off work for the number of visitors in the area.
"We try and enforce the fact that exercise should begin and end at home, meaning people should not try and drive to a location where they plan to exercise," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
"And this has been really difficult over the last few days.
"We have dealt with people from London, Birmingham… numerous people from north Wales travelling to beauty spots."
Mr Morris, a warden for Snowdonia National Park, said police had been doing their "absolute best" dealing with visitors despite other pressures, as wardens could not enforce breaches in lockdown rules.
A breach of Covid rules can incur a £60 fine, which rises to £120 for a second breach.
On Saturday, North Wales Police said officers had "turned away" people who wanted to walk up Snowdon in breach of stay-at-home rules, including some some from Milton Keynes and London.
On New Year's Day, the force tweeted to say people had been reported for breaching travel restrictions.
Wales has been in a nationwide level four lockdown since 20 December.
Travelling is only allowed for essential purposes, such as for work and for caring responsibilities. International travel is also not allowed.
People are still allowed out of their homes to exercise for unlimited periods each day, but must maintain social distancing and not exercise with anyone outside their household.
More than three quarters of England is also under the strictest tier four coronavirus measures, putting restrictions on people's daily lives.
|
Economic changes after the vote to leave the European Union could see the defence budget reduced in real terms, a committee of MPs and peers says.
|
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy says security review planning, conducted once or twice a decade, should begin "immediately".
And its report criticised ministers' failure to set out contingency plans for Brexit in the last security review.
It accused them of "putting political interests ahead of national security".
Last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review contained a commitment by the government, made for the rest of this decade, to meet the Nato target of spending 2% of GDP on defence.
This implied an annual real-terms increase of 0.5% above inflation in the Ministry of Defence budget, which would result in spending rising from £34.3bn in 2015-16 to £38.1bn in 2019-20.
According to the report, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted analysis that states the UK's GDP might be reduced by between 2.1% and 3.5% in 2019 as a result of Brexit.
After taking account of the reduced EU contribution, such a reduction would imply a hit to the public finances of between £20bn and £40bn in 2019-20, says the committee.
The report says: "In that context, even if the new government were again to commit to spending at least 2% of GDP on defence, a stagnant or contracting UK economy might mean that the defence budget would be significantly reduced in real terms."
The Committee suggests that Brexit "could impact on the aspirations and capabilities set out in the National Security Strategy".
It adds: "Economic contraction caused by Brexit could limit the ability of the armed forces to fulfil their role effectively.
"The Committee had expected the National Security Strategy (NSS) and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR) to address what action would be required in the short term following a Brexit vote.
"The failure to outline a plan to address that contingency indicates the prioritisation of political interests above national security. If the National Security Strategy is to be credible, it must prioritise the maintenance of national security above political expediency."
'Inadequate' military forces
The report says the European Union is facing "significant security challenges", such as large-scale migration and an emerging domestic terrorist threat.
"These challenges also have implications for the UK, regardless of whether it is a member of the EU. A new security review must address how the UK will engage with these issues from outside the EU," it says.
The report goes on highlight how the government is commitment to maintaining the size of the regular army at 82,000, and to increase the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force by a total of 700 regular personnel.
But despite this, the committee says that "the manpower fielded by the UK armed forces is inadequate bearing in mind the range, complexity and potential concurrency of tasks expected of them".
In addition, planned reductions in MoD civilian staff could undermine the effective use of the state-of-the-art equipment to be purchased as a result of the NSS and SDSR 2015, the report adds.
|
The body of a dead minke whale has washed up on the Isle of Man's west coast, wildlife experts have confirmed.
|
The Manx Wildlife Trust said the carcass was discovered near Glen Wyllin at the weekend and probably washed ashore during the recent storms.
A spokesman from the trust added that the whale - thought to be about six metres (20ft) long - probably died from "natural causes".
The species is often sighted in the Irish Sea during the summer months.
Marine Wildlife Officer Lara Howe said: "It is quite rare for a minke whale to get washed up here on the island. I suspect it is a result of the stormy weather we have been having recently".
The last time the body of a minke whale washed up on the island was in July last year.
The carcass which is too decomposed for an autopsy, will either be buried in situ or disposed of by the Manx government, added the Manx Wildlife Trust.
Minke whales
|
Protests against US President Donald Trump's travel ban have been held in cities across Scotland.
|
The largest demonstrations were in Glasgow and Edinburgh with protestors also gathering in Aberdeen and Dundee.
In Glasgow several hundred gathered in Buchanan Street chanting: "Hope not fear, refugees are welcome here". A rally was then held in George Square
In Edinburgh, large crowds marched from the foot of the Mound to the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Trump has halted the entire US refugee programme for 120 days and suspended the visas of all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.
His executive order, signed on Friday, also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees from the US.
The move has been condemned by political leaders in Scotland.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier told BBC Scotland that it would not be appropriate for Mr Trump's proposed state visit to the UK to go ahead while the travel ban was in place.
Prime Minister Theresa May announced the visit during her recent US trip.
Ms Sturgeon said: "I don't think it's right to have a ban that is seen to be something approaching a ban on Muslims, a ban on people because of their origin or their faith.
"And I don't think it is right, or indeed in line with international and moral obligations, to put a ban on refugees when I think it's incumbent on all countries to work together to try to deal with the refugee crisis."
The first minister said she would not refuse to meet Mr Trump, but told the BBC she would not "maintain a diplomatic silence" either.
Ms Sturgeon added that she would like to see Mrs May take a "stronger stance" on the US travel ban.
Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson called on Mr Trump to rescind the ban, describing it as "simply wrong".
She praised the UK government for getting clarification on the status of UK dual citizens, but added: "I think at base, myself and many other people across the globe, including former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney, our solution would be for this executive order to be rescinded.
"I think that would be what we all want to see."
Ms Davidson has questioned whether the proposed state visit by Mr Trump should go ahead while the "cruel and divisive policy" was in place.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale also said there should be no state visit until the ban was lifted.
"It is heartbreaking that some of the most vulnerable people in the world are being turned back from a country that has a proud history of welcoming people from across the globe," Ms Dugdale said.
"One week into his presidency, Donald Trump is so far living up to our worst fears. He must be told in no uncertain terms that the vast majority of people of Scotland and the United Kingdom are repulsed and hurt by his actions."
More than a million people have now signed a petition to stop the president's visit to the UK.
But Downing Street has rejected calls for it to be cancelled, saying it would be "populist gesture".
The travel ban has caused anger worldwide as it came into effect over the weekend. Mr Trump said the executive order was about keeping America safe from terrorism and was not a ban on Muslims.
The "emergency protests" in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been organised by Stand Up To Racism Scotland.
Ahead of the protests, the group said: "They have been called in solidarity with everyone in the US who is opposing Donald Trump's executive order which targets Muslims and refugees.
"Last week's demonstrations across the world show that large numbers are ready to stand up to Trump's racism and bigotry and this is an urgent necessity."
|
A warning has gone out after a bottle of a highly toxic drug went missing from a stolen car.
|
The Land Rover was taken from the Newark area of Nottinghamshire but was found in nearby Staunton in the Vale.
But a "large animal euthanasia kit" from the vehicle was not recovered and police have warned this contains a 50ml bottle of the drug Somulose.
It is used to put down horses and cattle and is so deadly, contaminated animal carcasses must be incinerated.
Somulose is also highly toxic to humans and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recommends protective clothing and extra oversight when used.
A police spokesman said: "If you find the drug, or know where it is, please contact the police, so it can be recovered.
"Alternatively, you can take the drug to a police station, although extreme care should be taken when handling the bottle to avoid contact with the liquid."
Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
|
The ability to teach children with additional support needs (ASN) in mainstream Scottish schools is under threat, the country's largest teaching union has claimed.
|
The EIS union said cuts to the number of ASN teachers meant pupils' needs were not being met as well as they should be.
And it said ASN teachers were reporting a lack of equipment and resources.
The employment of support staff is the responsibility of local councils.
A wide range of factors can lead to children having a need for additional support, including learning difficulties, family circumstances, disability or health needs, and social and emotional factors.
The most recent figures showed there are currently 170,329 pupils with additional support needs in Scottish schools, of whom 162,034 were in mainstream schools.
Increased dramatically
Children classed as having additional support needs now make up a quarter of the total number of pupils in mainstream schools - with the figure having increased dramatically from 98,523 over the past five years.
However, figures published last year showed ASN teacher numbers had fallen 13% between 2010 and 2014 to 2,963, while overall teachers numbers fell by 2.3% to 50,814 in the same period.
ASN teacher numbers also dropped in 22 out of Scotland's 33 local authorities over the same period.
The EIS said it supported the principle of inclusive education, but warned that cutbacks meant some ASN teachers feared it was being done "on the cheap".
General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "Members working with pupils with additional support needs have reported that the current climate is extremely challenging.
"Cuts to ASN teacher numbers have meant these teachers having very high workloads and feeling unable to meet pupils' needs as they would wish to.
"There is also an undervaluing of ASN teachers' skills and experience and the EIS has heard reports that ASN staff are often being used as supply cover - especially as the national difficulty in securing supply teachers has worsened."
'Stressed and struggling'
Mr Flanagan said ASN roles were being "de-professionalised", with assumptions made that "this is work that any teacher can do".
He added: "ASN teachers are reporting a lack of equipment and resources, which makes their day-to-day work more difficult. Some schools no longer have any one-to-one support for pupils with ASN, or have no specialist services.
"ASN teachers are stressed and struggling due to the cuts and the inclusive educational environment we all support is being stretched to the limit.
"Those who are making these cuts should be aware of the damage they are causing."
The Additional Support for Learning Act requires education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils.
The Scottish government said it wanted all children and young people to receive the support that they need to achieve their full learning potential.
A spokeswoman added: "We have a positive picture of children with additional support needs consistently achieving more each year.
"Our most recent statistics and report to parliament on the implementation of the legislation indicates that attainment levels continue to improve.
"Children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs, whether that is in a mainstream or special school setting."
But opposition parties claimed Scottish government cuts to council budgets were making the situation worse.
Labour's education spokesman, Iain Gray, said: "Like all staff working in our schools, additional support needs teachers are feeling the brunt of a decade of SNP cuts and mismanagement.
"Additional support needs teachers require support and extra resources so they can provide the best education for some of our most vulnerable young people, yet the SNP's budget will cut a further £327m from schools and other local services next year."
And Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer said: "ASN teachers and support staff have been cutback and overworked as councils struggle to cope with years of reduced funding from the Scottish government.
"Instead of distracting us with unwanted governance reviews, assessments and league tables, Scottish Ministers need to make ASN their top education priority. Giving young people the support they need is the best way to improve attainment."
|
Will Young is the second celebrity to be announced for this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up.
|
He tweeted he was "so excited" after the news was revealed on the Strictly Twitter account.
"As a fan of Strictly for years, I have always imagined myself on the show, but the timing has not been right... until now!" he said in a statement.
Yesterday former shadow chancellor Ed Balls was the first contestant confirmed for the next series.
Young performed on last year's series of Strictly - performing his track Joy.
The Brit-award-winning singer has released six albums and has an EP coming out this autumn.
The singer won the first series of Pop Idol in 2002 and his debut single Anything is Possible/Evergreen is still one of the 20 biggest selling singles of all time in the UK.
'No abrasive ones'
He appeared in the film Mrs Henderson presents alongside Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in 2005.
He has taken ballet lessons in the past and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2013 for best actor for his role in Cabaret the musical.
Earlier this year he appeared in the Great Sport Relief Bake Off.
Young had put out a series of cryptic tweets on Tuesday teasing the announcement.
Six hours before the announcement he tweeted: "Today is going to be exciting..." and then three hours later he tweeted: "Big news coming at 3pm - Can you guess?!" Fans were soon quick to guess his news and welcomed it on Twitter.
Strictly hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman recently revealed that they already know who all the contestants are for the new series.
Winkleman said: "There's something for everyone... there's young, there's old, there's small, there's tall, there's cuddly, there's abrasive.
"Actually there's no abrasive ones, I miss the abrasive ones."
Ed Balls told Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show that it was a "dream come true" to take part in the show but he was "scared to death".
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.