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Dramatic images taken by an amateur drone photographer have captured an unusual angle on the repainting of a seaside landmark.
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Andy Medcalf focused on the work on Withernsea Lighthouse, which towers above the East Yorkshire town.
The octagonal Victorian building was once a working beacon for ships but is now a museum and visitor attraction.
Mr Medcalf said: "I was never nearer than about ten metres but the drone camera gives a magnification effect."
The licensed drone operator said he knew the lighthouse was due to be painted and spoke in advance to the painters and staff at the lighthouse about his plan to view the work from on high.
"The painters were very happy I was filming and I kept to a safe distance with the drone and waited till the man on top was harnessed," he said.
"I controlled the drone from the lighthouse's garden."
When the lighthouse was built between 1892 and 1894 there were only sand dunes and a lake - known locally as a mere - in front of it, but the town later expanded.
The building was last used to guide ships in 1976 and its light had a range of 17 miles (27 km).
Mr Medcalf, an IT project manager, said: "It's a very unusual building, but if you've grown up with it, it is just always there. I used to live in the same street.
"It used to flash into my bedroom window as a child and I can remember it stopping in 1976."
The lighthouse keepers' cottages at the base of the landmark are now home to a museum expected to fully open again in June.
One of the planned exhibitions there will show the work of Karen Turner, a textile artist who lives in Hull, inspired by the beach finds of Dean Wilson, a local poet.
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Andy Medcalf Photography
Withernsea Lighthouse
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Neighbours will be able to club together to get better deals on loft insulation and energy-saving light bulbs in a new government initiative.
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Consumer Minister Ed Davey said so-called collective purchasing could also eventually help households save money on utility bills and insurance.
The measure is one of a number aimed at giving consumers more power.
Mr Davey said he also wanted to give people better access to the data held about them by businesses.
And he suggested the creation of a "kitemark" for consumer feedback and price-comparison websites to help customers know which ones they can trust.
Switching tariffs
As part of the government's Better Choices, Better Deals initiative, Mr Davey said he wanted to harness "the power of the crowd" to help individuals save money.
The first collective-purchasing scheme will be piloted later this year by DIY company B&Q and will focus on helping people buy energy-saving products.
If successful, the idea will be expanded, with the government aiming to recruit 5,000 community organisers to help arrange collective-purchasing deals in their areas.
These could involve signing up, as a group, with an intermediary business or organisation which would then switch the households en masse between energy tariffs to make sure they are always on the best one.
Mr Davey also announced on Wednesday that more than 20 big companies, including banks, energy suppliers and retailers, had so far signed up to the "mydata" scheme, which is designed to give customers better access to information on their spending habits.
They should then be able to analyse that information themselves - or recruit a third-party company to do it for them - and hopefully find ways to save.
"At the moment we have a situation where businesses know more about us than we know about ourselves. That's barmy," Mr Davey said.
He gave the example of mobile-phone companies, saying that according to a recent survey by comparison firm Billmonitor, the average mobile-phone user is overpaying by about £200 a year.
He said that with mydata, customers would be able to analyse their phone usage more easily and get independent advice on the best deal for them.
Security and privacy
Other applications would include allowing customers to analyse their supermarket shopping or energy consumption and get suggestions on where they could save.
The UK Cards Association has also agreed to start issuing annual credit-card statements that make it easier for people to understand what they have spent, what they have repaid and any fees they have incurred.
The statements will also compare their cards with others that could be better value.
Jim Killock, from campaign group Open Rights, said: "We welcome the idea of allowing consumers to get their data back, but the other side of the coin is the confidence they have in data-protection regulation.
"This is a very opportune moment for the government to reinforce that confidence by reorganising our data-protection regime."
Mr Davey said he was very aware of the need to reassure people about security and privacy, and had appointed Prof Nigel Shadbolt, an expert in online data usage from Southampton University, to consider ways to avoid any problems.
Ann Robinson, from USwitch, said she thought the idea of giving customers more power was "brilliant", but there had to be some kind of public education campaign to help people to understand the new opportunities.
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Dementia patients are being dumped in hospitals in England because of a lack of community care, a charity says.
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By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent
The Alzheimer's Society called for action, highlighting data showing one in 10 dementia patients spends over a month in hospital after being admitted.
The figures also suggested the overall number of emergency admissions among people with dementia is rising - with some patients yo-yoing back and forth.
Ministers said they were "determined" to tackle the problems.
Central to this, the government said, would be plans for reforming the social care system, which encompasses care home places and support in people's homes.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said a long-term solution would be found to ensure dementia patients were treated with "dignity".
"We know that hospital visits can be distressing for people with dementia which is why there should be high-quality care in the community," she added.
'My mum spent most of her last year in hospital'
Dorothy Boschi had to be admitted to hospital three times during her last year of life after having falls and contracting infections.
Each time led to lengthy stays - she spent seven months in hospital in total.
Her daughter, Daphne, 63, from South Gloucestershire, said this continued even when doctors decided she was ready to be discharged because support could not be found to look after her in the community.
She died in January last year, aged 97.
Daphne said the situation led to her mother becoming "angrier, depressed and more frustrated" in her final months.
"Everything was a battle to get proper care. The whole system has lost sight of the person they are meant to be providing care for."
What has the charity found?
The Alzheimer's Society analysed hospital records covering emergency admissions in the six years to 2017-18.
It found 379,000 cases where dementia had been recorded on admission - a rise of 100,000 since 2012-13.
This represents just a small fraction of the six million emergency admissions that year - although that is likely to be an underestimate as the condition is not always recorded on hospital systems.
The charity believes around a quarter of patients in hospital at any one point will have dementia.
Around 40,000 of the dementia admissions - one in 10 - spent longer than 28 days in hospital.
Alzheimer's Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes said people were falling through the "cracks of our broken social care system".
"People with dementia are all too often being dumped in hospital and left there. Many are only admitted because there's no social care support to keep them safe at home.
"They are commonly spending more than twice as long in hospital as needed, confused and scared."
Read more from Nick
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Two options have been drawn up to outline how Nottingham's tram system could extend to Derby as part of plans for the HS2 high-speed rail network.
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One tram route would follow the A52 to Derby city centre, while another proposed route would go through Borrowash and Spondon.
The route would connect the two cities with the proposed HS2 station in Toton, Nottinghamshire.
East Midlands Councils said there is no guarantee a tram will be chosen.
Andrew Pritchard, from East Midlands Councils, which is co-ordinating the region's work on HS2, said "a range of options" were being looked at.
He said these included a tram, but also high-speed buses, trains and improvements to the road network.
"Nottingham Express Transit have been looking at a range of options for extending the tram route as far as Derby but also into Long Eaton and East Midlands Airport", he said.
Mr Pritchard said the A52 route would be "quite quick" but may not pick up as many people as the other route option.
'Business case'
"They're just two concepts at the moment rather than routes but they're worth further exploration and analysis," he said.
Work will now be done to develop an "outline business case for a limited number of options" over the next few months.
The cost of the work is not part of the budget for the national £50bn HS2 project.
The BBC previously learned the project to extend the tram system was being treated as a "priority".
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After 20 seasons of break ups, fall outs, glamour and scandals, Keeping Up With The Kardashians will air for the last time in 2021 .
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As the programme comes to an end after 14 years, Radio 1 Newsbeat has been looking back at some of its most memorable moments.
The launch of KUWTK
It's 2007. Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston is on the radio and iPhones have only just been invented.
Apparently long beaded necklaces are all the rage.
Khloe's brush with the law
The programme didn't ease us in gently. Season one saw Khloe Kardashian allegedly arrested for driving under the influence.
Not a great situation for her, but as Kim whipped out her phone and pouted, it did birth the iconic line: "Kim, would you stop taking pictures of yourself! Your sister is going to jail!".
Kourtney and Scott
They broke up, made up, broke up and made up. And broke up again.
It's fair to say Kourtney and Scott Disick gave us some great KUWTK moments.
Think back to Season Four, when Kourtney gave birth to their daughter Penelope on camera. As if that wasn't enough, she actually reached down and pulled the baby out herself. Not kidding.
Kim's diamond earring
"My diamond earring came off in the ocean," Kim sobbed in one Season Six episode.
The cameras cut to Kourtney, the queen of one liners.
"Kim, there's people that are dying."
Kim and Kris' brief marriage
The proposal and wedding were shown on a TV special.
But the marriage only lasted 72 days.
Kanye has since said he tried to persuade Kim not to marry Kris at the time.
Khloe and Lamar
Khloe was married to NBA star Lamar Odom for seven years, but it wasn't without a number of scandals along the way.
They bagged a spin-off show, Khloe and Lamar, which showed their life together.
'Call me Caitlyn'
It was 2015 when Caitlyn Jenner came out as a trans woman.
KUWTK aired her first meeting with ex-wife Kris Jenner to a huge audience.
Tristain in the delivery room
It was a dramatic episode in Season 15 when Khloe was told her boyfriend Tristain Thompson had cheated on her just before she was due to give birth to their child.
In the delivery room, Kim did what any of us would. Greeted Tristain politely, then made a "you're dead" gesture behind his back.
Kimye
Arguably the most famous couple of a generation, Kim and Kanye West, have been married since 2014.
Although we didn't get a special TV episode for the wedding like we did with Kris, their engagement was broadcast on the show.
You don't even want to know how much the ring cost.
They've since had four children together: North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.
Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
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The hostility towards the government's plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on people coming into the UK makes the front of the Daily Telegraph.
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By BBC NewsStaff
It reports the "troubled policy" has been championed by the prime minister's chief aide, Dominic Cummings, but he has lost the battle within the government and the measure could be phased out just weeks after being introduced.
Boris Johnson, it says, is now personally in favour of "air bridges" instead - allowing people to jet to and from low-risk countries.
According to the Times, up to 20 Conservative MPs are believed to oppose the quarantine plan, with tourism chiefs warning that it could put thousands of companies out of business.
The Sun says the measure will kill tourism and business arrivals, pointing out Gatwick Airport currently has just 23 passengers a day.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail asks why Britain is imposing a quarantine, when other European countries are lifting theirs. Ministers insist their decisions have been based on the latest scientific advice.
Back to school
Many front page pictures try to capture the new reality faced by children as they returned to school in England.
"Small steps into a new normal," is the Daily Mirror's headline alongside a photo of a teacher wearing a protective mask and apron as she takes the temperature of a girl arriving for class.
The i newspaper shows children working on separate desks more than two metres apart.
The Telegraph describes how children had to practise "helicopter arms", rotating them to make sure no-one was too close to them.
It adds: "Teddy bears were placed in quarantine and there were no more playground games of It... welcome to school in post-lockdown Britain."
The Times says that concerned parents kept up to 60% of children who were eligible to return to primary school in England at home.
However, the Mail thinks this was "quite an achievement" in the face of what it describes as the "scaremongering of teaching unions and their cheerleaders on the Left".
The children who did attend are pictured socially distancing in the playground. In the Telegraph's Matt cartoon, a boy proudly shows his mum a star which has been pinned to his chest. "I got this for not joining in or sharing," he says.
"One metre is enough!" exclaims the Daily Mail on its front page. It reports on a study funded by the World Health Organisation that says there is roughly a 1.3% chance of contracting the virus when two metres away from an infected person.
However, says the Mail, if you halve this gap to one metre the risk is only raised to 2.6%. It says the findings will boost the plea from business to relax the social distancing rules.
The Sun suggests that adopting a one metre rule would pave the way for pubs to reopen, and it pictures what they could look like.
Its model suggests drinkers would have to follow a one-way system, bar staff would be behind perspex screens and only cashless payments would be accepted.
The Mirror warns that with no vaccine, sticking to the two metre rule is the best protection against an unseen deadly enemy.
The lockdown measures may have been eased, but the Times reports that traders at Camden Market in north London had a very slow start on Monday. By lunchtime, none of the stallholders who spoke to the paper had made a sale.
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The idea that a second wave of coronavirus could overwhelm the NHS faces serious questioning from Prof Hugh Pennington, one of the country's leading experts on bacteria.
Writing in the Telegraph he argues the notion comes almost entirely from the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic - and Covid 19 is very different. He also points out there has not yet been a second wave in China, South Korea or New Zealand.
Meanwhile, in an editorial, the Times argues that the NHS needs reform - even before the pandemic ends.
It says health service staff deserve praise for their work and sacrifices, but the crisis has highlighted several problems including rationing, outdated buildings which will prevent effective social distancing and staff shortages.
The paper believes some of the difficulties could be solved with more money - but it calls for radical change to the institution's structure, bringing health and social care together.
The i newspaper's editor predicts the United States faces a "long, angry summer". Oliver Duff, like many other commentators, draws a comparison between the current unrest and the rioting that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.
The Guardian believes that against the backdrop of 100,000 coronavirus deaths a "dangerous" moment looms for America.
It says the chaotically handled pandemic and the economic fallout has already disproportionately affected African Americans - long before the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.
The green-fingered are being called upon to spot the next Japanese knotweed menace, according to the Telegraph.
It reports the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland wants keen gardeners to keep an eye on species which show signs of invasiveness, and report them using a special app.
The paper recalls how Japanese knotweed originated as an ornamental garden plant, before it started causing havoc to homes and waterways.
And if the lockdown's been enough to make you go grey, then there is hope in the Mail.
It covers an American study which found that hair can return to its natural colour - by putting an end to stress.
The authors found a man in his 30s saw his hair go back to being dark again, when he went on holiday for a couple weeks; while a 30-year-old woman who went grey when her marriage was ending returned to her normal colour once it was over. It prompts the paper to ask: "Could a divorce make your greys go away?"
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Massive collections of fake accounts are lying dormant on Twitter, suggests research.
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The largest network ties together more than 350,000 accounts and further work suggests others may be even bigger.
UK researchers accidentally uncovered the lurking networks while probing Twitter to see how people use it.
Some of the accounts have been used to fake follower numbers, send spam and boost interest in trending topics.
Hidden purpose
On Twitter, bots are accounts that are run remotely by someone who automates the messages they send and activities they carry out. Some people pay to get bots to follow their account or to dilute chatter about controversial subjects.
"It is difficult to assess exactly how many Twitter users are bots," said graduate student Juan Echeverria, a computer scientist at UCL, who uncovered the massive networks.
Mr Echeverria's research began by combing through a sample of 1% of Twitter users in order to get a better understanding of how people use the social network.
However, analysis of the data revealed some strange results that, when probed further, seemed to reveal lots of linked accounts, suggesting one person or group is running the botnet. These accounts did not act like the bots other researchers had found but were clearly not being run by humans.
His research suggests earlier work to find bots has missed these types of networks because they act differently to the most obvious automated accounts.
The researchers are now asking the public via a website and a Twitter account to report bots they spot to help get a better idea of how prevalent they are. Many bots are obvious because they have been created recently, have few followers, have strange user names and little content in the messages.
The network of 350,000 bots stood out because all the accounts in it shared several subtle characteristics that revealed they were linked. These included:
It was "amazing and surprising" to discover the massive networks, said Dr Shi Zhou, a senior lecturer from UCL who oversaw Mr Echeverria's research.
"Considering all the efforts already there in detecting bots, it is amazing that we can still find so many bots, much more than previous research," Dr Zhou told the BBC.
Twitter deserved praise for its work on finding and eliminating bots, he added, but it was clear that skilled hackers had found ways to avoid official scrutiny and keep the bots ticking over.
The pair's most recent work had uncovered a bigger network of bots that seemed to include more than 500,000 accounts.
"Their potential threats are real and scary due to the sheer size of the botnet," he said.
It was hard to know who was behind the collections of fake accounts, said Dr Zhou, although there was evidence that a small percentage of the accounts had been sold or rented as they were now following Twitter users outside the main bot network.
"What is really surprising is our questioning on the whole effort of bot detection in the past years," said Dr Zhou. "Suddenly we feel vulnerable and don't know much: how many more are there? What do they want to do?"
A Twitter spokesman said the social network had clear policy on automation that was "strictly enforced".
Users were barred from writing programs that automatically followed or unfollowed accounts or which "favourited" tweets in bulk, he said.
Automated responses "degraded" the experience for other users and was prohibited, he added.
"While we have systems and tools to detect spam on Twitter, we also rely on our users to report spamming," he said.
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An autistic man suspected of hacking into US government computer systems is to be extradited from Britain to face trial, a court has ruled.
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Lauri Love, 31, who has Asperger's syndrome, is accused of hacking into the FBI, the US central bank and the country's missile defence agency.
Mr Love, from Stradishall, Suffolk, has previously said he feared he would die in a US prison if he was extradited.
A judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court made the extradition ruling.
Follow updates on this story and other Suffolk news
Earlier, his lawyer said his alleged hacking had "embarrassed" US authorities.
Tor Ekeland said the US government "had very, very bad security and these hacks utilised exploits that were publicly-known for months".
Mr Love's lawyers said he could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of the hacking offences.
Earlier he stood in the dock as district judge Nina Tempia ruled he could be extradited to the US, where he could face trials in three different states.
He was first arrested at home in Suffolk in 2013 and had computer equipment seized by British police, who then released him on bail.
He was not charged in the UK, where the investigation into him was dropped.
Mr Love's defence team argues his depression and Asperger's syndrome mean he should not be sent abroad, but US prosecutors say he is using his mental health issues as an excuse to escape justice.
In England and Wales, the maximum sentence for crimes such as those of which Mr Love is accused is two years and eight months.
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Victoria Beckham's fashion business has posted another annual loss as demand for the former Spice Girl's high end clothes "plateaued".
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Victoria Beckham Limited, which has not made a profit since it launched in 2008, reported a loss of £12.3m for 2018.
Sales slipped 16% to £35m, amid weaker wholesale demand.
Chairman Ralph Toledano said sales of clothing and accessories had levelled off after years of growth.
"The performance was in line with expectations, so we were not surprised. Our goal is to reach profitability as soon as possible," he told trade journal Business of Fashion.
Mrs Beckham launched her label in 2008 with a collection of luxury dresses, and now sells fashion and accessories in more than 400 stores around the world.
But while she has received critical praise, the label has struggled financially, leading Mrs Beckham to say earlier this year that it was "not a vanity project".
"If I want this brand to still be here in 10, 20, 30, 40 years' time, I need to break even, and then I need to be profitable," she told the Financial Times in March. "We're on the right track to do that, but it's not going to happen tomorrow."The company has been trying to improve its performance, launching its own cosmetics range, striking a partnership with Reebok, and making price cuts.
But it said weaker demand from wholesale customers had hit performance in 2018.
Mr Toledano said: "I firmly believe that our destiny is in our hands. We have a great talent in Victoria and, if you take that asset with a dream team, we can do it."
Mrs Beckham controls the business with her husband and former Manchester United star David Beckham, via their company Beckham Brands Holdings.
The group, which manages Mr Beckham's endorsement deals and stake in football club Inter Miami FC, also saw a sharp fall in sales in 2018.
Losses at Mrs Beckham's label were partly to blame, as well as weaker income from Seven Global, a joint venture that manages some of his corporate partnerships.
It helped push Beckham Brand Holdings to its first ever net loss of £1.6m in 2018, which followed a net profit of £12.3m in the previous year.
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A simple urine test that could detect pancreatic cancer much earlier than at present has been developed by scientists.
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They found a protein "signature" only present in people with the disease.
Pancreatic cancer is often very advanced by the time it is diagnosed - and only 3% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis.
Cancer charities welcomed the study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, saying a test was "much needed".
Just under 9,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK every year. It has the lowest five-year survival rate of any common cancer and one that has barely improved in 40 years.
More than 80% of people with the disease are diagnosed when it has already spread, so they are not eligible for surgery to remove the tumour - currently the only potential cure.
Those at higher risk include people with a family history of the cancer, heavy smokers, obese people and people over 50 who are newly diagnosed with diabetes.
More research
The scientists from the UK and Spain who developed the test hope that if its early promise is realised then it could be possible to diagnose patients much earlier and offer them treatment.
The research looked at almost 500 urine samples. Just under 200 were from patients with pancreatic cancer, 92 from patients with chronic pancreatitis and 87 from healthy volunteers.
The rest of the samples were from patients with benign and cancerous liver and gall bladder conditions.
Out of 1,500 proteins found in the urine samples, three - LYVE1, REG1A and TFF1 - were seen to be at much higher levels in the pancreatic cancer patients, providing a "protein signature" that could identify the most common form of the disease.
The signature was found to be 90% accurate.
Patients with chronic pancreatitis were found to have lower levels of the same three proteins.
More research is now planned, and scientists will focus particularly on people whose genes put them at particular risk of pancreatic cancer.
'Really exciting'
Co-author Prof Nick Lemoine of the Barts Cancer Institute, said: "It's really exciting because for the first time we might be able to bring forward the window of opportunity for patients with pancreatic cancer - from something that is advanced and late stage to something that is early stage and potentially curable by surgery.
"Patients are usually diagnosed when the cancer is already at a terminal stage, but if diagnosed at stage 2, the survival rate is 20%, and at stage 1, the survival rate for patients with very small tumours can increase up to 60%."
The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund said this was "an exciting finding" and that an early diagnostic test was "much needed".
Fiona Osgun, of Cancer Research UK, said: "At the moment, we're a long way from knowing if this research could lead to a test that would help detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage, or who that test might benefit.
"But research like this is vital as there's been little progress in improving survival for pancreatic cancer, and innovative approaches are needed."
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Waitrose and Co-op have both announced they are cutting food prices in the run-up to Christmas in recognition of tough economic times.
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The coronavirus crisis continues to hit many parts of the UK economy hard, with unemployment rising.
Companies are expected to cut more jobs after the government's furlough scheme ends on 31 October.
Supermarket prices rose after lockdown, but are now only 0.5% higher than the beginning of the year, analysts said.
The coronavirus lockdown in March tipped the economy into recession and triggered panic-buying in many large food stores, which were forced to limit the number of items people could buy.
At the time, supermarkets scrapped many special offers, while prices rose 2.5% nationwide in the first month of lockdown, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
However, as panic-buying eased, those prices drifted back down again.
Analyst firm Kantar, which tracks supermarket pricing, said promotions over the four weeks to 4 October were the highest they had been all year.
In the run-up to Christmas and beyond, many people in the UK are facing tough economic times, said Waitrose, which is cutting prices on 200 of its most popular own-label products.
James Bailey, executive director at Waitrose, said: "This year has been incredibly challenging for consumers and we know times are tough for many, so we're reducing prices to provide our customers with great value on the items they buy most.
"Despite offering lower prices, we're maintaining the quality, high welfare and ethical sourcing that we're renowned for, so shoppers can spend less without compromising on what they value."
Similarly, Co-op is investing £50m to lower prices on 300 branded and own-brand products and is launching a value range.
Jo Whitfield, Co-op Food chief executive, said: "Value is uppermost in the minds of shoppers and offering good, honest prices and fairly sourced products is important to help shoppers balance their budgets."
A spokesperson for Co-op added: "The economic uncertainty means shoppers are looking for value for essential everyday products."
The price cuts follow similar moves by the main UK supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
'A war they can't win'
Waitrose and Co-op both face an uphill struggle on price when it comes to competing with the big four supermarkets and discounters Aldi and Lidl, GlobalData senior analyst Thomas Brereton said.
"It's a war Waitrose and Co-op can't win," he said. They don't have the market clout of giants such as Tesco, which can pressure suppliers into giving it better prices than smaller rivals, he said.
In addition, Waitrose is seen by some shoppers as being more upmarket and pricier than rivals, and altering that perception when consumers are getting more cost-conscious due to tougher economic conditions would take time, he said.
"You won't get Aldi or Tesco shoppers suddenly switching to Waitrose because they've cut the price of bread and milk," he said, adding that Waitrose's efforts to expand its online offering would be far more likely to bear fruit.
Richard Lim, the chief executive of Retail Economics, said the "big driver" for all supermarkets had been trying to stop the discounters gaining market share again as they did in the last recession, which had "a huge impact on people's behaviour and spending patterns".
During the last financial crisis, there was much more of an emphasis on people making their budgets stretch and getting value in terms of price and quality, he said.
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At least 200 new foster families are needed across Northern Ireland this year to look after the record numbers of children in care, figures show.
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The Fostering Network said the number of children in care rose for a second year in a row and is continuing to rise.
On any one day, there are 1,950 children living with foster families in Northern Ireland.
Hundreds more go in and out of care throughout the year.
The Fostering Network said more foster families are needed to replace the 13% of the workforce who retire or leave every year.
Margaret Kelly, of the Fostering Network Northern Ireland, said: "Despite fostering services attracting more people to become foster carers, the continuing rise of children coming into care means hundreds more are still needed.
'Right skills'
"These children need a stable family life to help them grow and achieve their potential.
"By becoming a foster carer people can help them have the best possible opportunity for a positive future, to do well at school and be successful in later life.
"Fostering services are looking for people from all walks of life to become foster carers, of all ages, and from single people to large families.
"What matters is that they have a desire to work with children and the right skills."
The charity is warning that, without new families, too many children will fail to get the care they need.
To find out more about becoming a foster carer people should contact their local fostering service.
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The widow of murdered policeman Stephen Carroll has expressed disgust at the 14 year minimum sentence imposed on one of her husband's killers.
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John Paul Wootton, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years to be served before he is considered for parole.
Brendan McConville will serve a minimum of 25 years for the murder.
Constable Carroll, 48, was shot dead in Craigavon in March 2009.
Outside the court, his widow Kate said she was disgusted at the term imposed on Wootton, saying he had shown no remorse.
She later added that the term would not act as a sufficient deterrent to other young people.
She said the trial had been like going through a "jail sentence of our own".
"Stephen is never going to come back, that's our life sentence," she added.
"At least when they finish their sentence they can get out again, but our life sentence is for an eternity."
McConville, 41, of Glenholme Avenue, Craigavon, and Wootton, 21, of Collindale, Lurgan, were found guilty of the murder in March.
Constable Carroll was the first member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to be murdered.
He died just 48 hours after two soldiers were shot dead by the Real IRA at an army base in Antrim.
At the time of the murder the Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for the killing.
In a victim impact statement read out in court the constable's widow said her husband's death had been "heartbreaking and gutwrenching" and that she had lost her soulmate.
The judge said terrorism had been "wholly rejected, as demonstrated by the will of the people" and that any sentence had to reflect the "need for deterrence".
'Indoctrinated'
"No person with any sense of humanity or compassion could fail to be moved by seeing or reading of the devastation visited, because self-appointed executioners decided that they are entitled to sacrifice a life in furtherance of terrorist goals roundly rejected by right-thinking members of society," he added.
He said those convicted had failed to show any remorse, but the statements from Constable Carroll's family were moving.
"These statements illustrate graphically the dreadful losses," he said.
In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said they would "take time to study the sentencing comments and the custodial terms imposed."
Mrs Carroll said she believed not everyone connected with her husband's murder had been caught.
"I think there are more out there, because witness M was saying in the court that he saw more than four that night, so obviously there are at least two to three people left who have to account for the murder of my husband," she said.
She said she now wanted to start up a fund in her husband's name and work with young children "in an effort to keep them off the streets so they won't be indoctrinated into the same thinking as Mr McConville and Mr Wootton".
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Claims that Devon County Council is scrapping target times for pothole repairs have been rejected.
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The claim was made by opposition Liberal Democrat councillors who said scrapping the target would lead to a "slackness in repairs".
David Whitton, of the highways department, said it was seeking only "temporary relaxation" on target times.
The council said more than 15,000 potholes were reported in January and February after weeks of storms.
'Unsafe situation'
Councillor Gordon Hook, the Lib Dems' highways spokesman, said: "We have a veritable epidemic of potholes and it's getting worse.
"I am aware of many schemes which have been temporary delayed. I don't want to see any slackness in repairs. We have a very unsafe road situation."
The council admitted a large numbers of potholes had appeared again, with 7,500 reported in January, and a further 7,900 in February, compared with 2,000 in December.
On its website the council said it aimed to repair large potholes on major roads, well-used pavements and cycle ways within one working day.
Potholes on minor routes are currently targeted for repair within seven working days.
Mr Whitton said: "We're not removing the target times. We're seeking a temporary relaxation on the target times to enable us to get on top of the problem to carry out sensible lasting repairs to the highways.
"In the current conditions it's really difficult to carry out lasting repairs at the sort of level we want."
The number of potholes repaired in Devon before the latest winter storms had halved in the last three years, down from 180,000 in 2010 to 90,000 in 2013, the council said.
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People earning above £70,000 a year could be asked to pay more tax under a Labour government, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has suggested.
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He said he wanted to see a "fair taxation system" with corporations and the rich paying more.
Labour is also planning to link senior executives' pay to the average wage of the workers in the same company.
Mr McDonnell said a fair taxation system would see "the corporations and the rich pay their way more".
"That means ending the tax giveaways to the corporations and also those in inheritance tax, capital gains tax and the bankers' levy - all of those giveaways under this government," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"The rich will be above £70,000 to £80,000 a year - and that's roughly defined as what people feel is an earning whereby people feel they can pay more."
Mr McDonnell said middle and low earners were "being hit very hard" with a combination of income tax rises and "attempts by this government to increase National Insurance payments on the self-employed".
Less than a week after announcing them in last month's Budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond dropped plans to make self-employed people pay more National Insurance after they were criticised for breaking a 2015 manifesto pledge.
Economic downturn?
Mr McDonnell said Labour would go into the election promising to cap senior executives' pay with the introduction of "a pay ratio".
"That in itself will set a cap in terms of what the maximum earning will be within that company in relation to an average worker's pay, because we believe in fairness within our economy," he said.
Mr McDonnell said Theresa May's decision to seek an early election was more about the risk of an economic downturn than securing a mandate for her plans on leaving the European Union.
"I don't think this election is about Brexit," he said. "The government has seen that the economy at the moment is going to turn.
"We are seeing inflation increasing - we are seeing wages stagnate and we are seeing people in heavy debt as a result of that."
Labour's approach to Brexit talks would aim to secure "tariff-free access to the single market" and a managed and fair immigration system from the EU.
On future customs arrangements, Mr McDonnell said: "We want to maximise the benefits that we currently get from the customs union - that does not necessarily mean full membership of the customs union."
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This week should have made Jack Ma China’s richest man again, and the stock market debut of his company Ant Group should have been the largest ever.
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By Timothy McDonaldBBC News, Singapore
Things didn’t quite go according to plan though.
Ant was set for a dual listing on Thursday in Hong Kong and Shanghai worth about $34.4bn (£26.5bn).
Instead, the listing was suspended after a last-minute grilling from China’s financial regulators.
Mr Ma’s shares were reportedly worth about $17bn, and would have taken his net worth to roughly $80bn.
“This deal was not only cleared for take-off, the wheels were literally off the ground,” says Drew Bernstein, co-managing partner at Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk, which advises Chinese companies.
Some analysts saw the move as an attempt by Beijing to humble a company that had become too powerful and a leader who had become too outspoken.
So how had Mr Ma - a man who came from meagre beginnings to become a symbol of China’s potential and its growing technological strength - become a threat?
Rags to riches
Mr Ma raised the ire of Chinese government officials at a financial technology conference last month in Shanghai, where he likened China’s state-dominated banking sector to “pawn shops” and lamented their lack of innovation.
In some ways it was vintage Jack Ma, according to Duncan Clark, the author of Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built.
“This is not the first time he’s gone off the leash. He just doesn’t like to follow a particular script or narrative. And he likes to be provocative, like any great storyteller,” he says.
And like many great storytellers, he often draws on autobiographical detail. He tells his own story as a tale of perseverance, but he never omits his failures and struggles.
He grew up poor in Hangzhou, struggled in school and failed his university entrance exams twice. When he tried to get work, he was knocked back by dozens of employers. He applied to Harvard 10 times, but never got in.
Perhaps most famously, he applied to work at KFC, only to discover later that of the 24 people they interviewed, he was the only one that didn’t get a job.
He passed his university entrance exam at the third attempt and went to teachers college. He stayed on for several years afterwards as an English teacher. And it was on a trip to the US as a translator that he first discovered the internet.
After one failed internet venture, he founded Alibaba in 1999 with loans of $60,000 he cobbled together from friends.
Alibaba went on to enormous success, dominating Chinese e-commerce and raising $21.8bn in its own initial share sale in 2014. He formally retired from Alibaba last year.
Nowadays, of course, he is not always regarded as David taking on Goliath.
“He’s made his living out of being underestimated. That’s getting harder. As you get more rich, and more powerful, expectations build,” says Mr Clark.
'Sheer scale of interest'
Expectations had certainly built for Ant Group’s market debut.
Ant’s best known service, Alipay, started as Alibaba’s payment platform. It held payments in escrow until buyers had received their purchase. It was central to Alibaba’s growth, because it enabled buyers to feel safer shopping online. Now, it’s more widely used than cash or credit cards in China.
The company was spun off in 2011 and later rebranded as Ant Financial and then Ant Group. Alibaba suggested at the time the move was due to regulatory changes in China. Jack Ma took a large stake in the spin-off company, which expanded into other financial services such as insurance, wealth management and consumer loans.
Many analysts think it’s not vindictiveness by officials that scuppered Ant’s debut. Mr Ma’s comments may have been impolitic, Mr Clark says, but they weren’t the only reason regulators were concerned.
“My gut feel was that it was the sheer scale of the interest in the offering, and the way in which people were raising money, often through debt, to invest,” he says.
News agency Reuters reported that banks were lending vast amounts of money to retail investors.
Ant’s consumer finance division is more of a matchmaker than a bank. It makes loans to small businesses and retail customers, but passes those loans on to banks, which underwrite them.
Ant earns fees from the banks, but without the requirement to hold on to reserves, and with less risk to its own balance sheet.
Cautious Chinese regulators have been concerned for some time about the growing number of online lenders in China, and how they might affect the broader financial system.
Under draft rules published on Monday by the People’s Bank of China, online lenders must provide at least 30% of any loan they fund jointly with banks.
When the IPO was suspended the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said it was because the company “may not meet listing qualifications or disclosure requirements” and also suggested “recent changes in the fintech regulatory environment” might have been an obstacle.
“This is a really, really big deal. But I don’t think that China is going to bend for any one deal. They’re not going to put their financial systems at risk for one deal,” says Drew Bernstein.
The way ahead
It seems almost inconceivable that Ant won’t come back with a new prospectus and attempt another share market debut.
“The company’s going to have to restructure somewhat. Maybe commit some more capital to the loan division, apply for more licences. Then they’ll be able to come back to market,” says Mr Bernstein.
Some analysts think there will be pressure to spin off the consumer lending division altogether.
According to some estimates, Mr Ma personally lost billions when the share launch failed. But determination is a defining feature of his story.
A man who applied to Harvard 10 times seems unlikely to be dissuaded by a single rejection from regulators.
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The evidence for an "ocean" of water under the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus appears to be overwhelming.
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By Jonathan AmosScience correspondent, BBC News
The little world has excited scientists ever since jets of icy material were seen squirting into space from a striped region at its south pole.
Now, exquisite measurements using Nasa's Cassini probe as it flew over the moon have allowed researchers to detect the water's gravitational signal.
Science magazine reports the details.
"The measurements that we have done are consistent with the existence of a large water reservoir about the size (volume) of Lake Superior in North America," Prof Luciano Iess told BBC News.
A European comparison would be 245 times the water mass of Lake Garda in Italy.
The findings of Prof Iess and his team will boost the view that the 500km-wide moon would be one of the best places beyond Earth to go look for the existence of microbial life.
Cassini's data suggests the liquid volume lies about 40km under Enceladus's ice crust.
This would put it directly on top of the moon's layered, rocky interior.
The case for a subglacial ocean has been growing ever since Cassini first sensed a diffuse atmosphere at the moon in 2005.
Subsequent observations pinned the source of this atmosphere to mineral-rich streams of water vapour flowing away from surface fractures dubbed "tiger stripes" for their resemblance to the markings on a big cat.
Cassini even flew through the plumes to "taste" their load of salts and organic (carbon-rich) molecules.
Enceladus's orbit around Saturn is eccentric - it is non circular. The giant planet's gravity should therefore be expected to squeeze and stretch the little moon as it travels this path, heating some of its ices and melting them.
Some of the resulting liquid could then be hurled into space through the deep tiger fractures, although quite how this happens is not yet fully understood.
Nonetheless, the new work reinforces this general picture.
It has involved measuring tiny changes in the speed of Cassini as it passed through Enceladus's own gravitational field.
These changes in velocity were as small as 20 millionths of a metre per second.
They enabled Prof Iess and colleagues to map variations in the distribution of mass on the moon.
The large anomaly they spotted in the data at the southern pole is best explained by the presence of a big volume of water.
"What we see is consistent with a water pocket of about 8-10km in depth, and this pocket can extend up to southern latitudes of 50 degrees around the pole," the Sapienza University of Rome researcher explained.
There is strong evidence to suspect the existence of sub-glacial oceans at a number of Solar System moons.
Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, probably has one. Similarly, the Jupiter moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto would fall into this class; and perhaps even Triton at Neptune.
Of these, Enceladus and Europa draw the most interest because it is more likely that their water would be in contact with rock.
This could make for some interesting chemistry - the sort of reactions that might facilitate the emergence of life.
Prof Andrew Coates, of the UK's UCL-Mullard Space Science Laboratory, commented: "I think Enceladus has gone to the top of the charts in terms of a place where there could be life.
"It's got several of the things which you need for life - there's certainly the presence of heat, there's liquid water in this ocean, there's organics and that type of chemistry going on.
"The only question is, has there been enough time for life to develop?"
Prof David Stevenson, from the California Institute of Technology, added: "We don't have an answer to that, but there are some theoretical ideas.
"First, let me say that the ocean that we have found could keep things going for tens of millions of years, maybe 100 million years, but, of course, we don't know whether the ocean is being added to at present or is freezing up.
"And, maybe, Enceladus does go through cycles and those cycles would be related to the eccentricity of the orbit. It's possible that the orbit has not always had the same eccentricity."
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
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The Catholic Church has called for a planned Orange Order parade to be re-routed as it would pass the spot where a priest was spat on last year.
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Parish priest Canon Tom White was assaulted outside St Alphonsus' Church in Glasgow's London Road during the annual Boyne march in July 2018.
Bradley Wallace, 24, from Uddingston, was convicted of the attack in January.
The decision on whether to allow the march on 6 July rests with Glasgow City Council.
The Orange Order has applied for marchers to take part in 6 July parades across the city - with members from the Orange And Purple District 37, Orange And Purple District 40 and Rutherglen Orange And Purple District 20 groups due to pass St Alphonsus' Church as part of the route.
'Unduly provocative'
However, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said the application was inappropriate.
He told the BBC Scotland news website: "It seems extraordinarily insensitive to plan such controversial marches past churches which will be full of people, knowing the anxiety and fear which will be caused to worshippers and the wider community.
"After the distressing scenes of last year in this precise location, sensitivities are high.
"Many regard the planned marches as unduly provocative. We would trust that the police will take these issues into consideration when offering advice to the city council on how to proceed."
'Power to ban'
In a statement, the council said the application was still being considered and that a final decision on the route's path was still to be taken.
A spokeswoman added: "As with any other procession, the council will consult with Police Scotland on whether it has any concerns regarding public order, public safety, damage to property or disruption to the life of the community as a consequence of this notification.
"Local authorities do not have the power to ban or prevent parades on the basis that some citizens may dislike or be offended by them; or that they pass a place of worship."
Orange marchers were forced to re-route last year's Remembrance Day parade away from a church in Glasgow's east end amid fears of violent clashes.
Glasgow City Council's public processions committee told organisers they must avoid St Mary's Church in Calton.
The move followed the attack on Canon White four months previously.
A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said the latest application was an annual process.
He added: "The Grand Lodge looks forward to a meaningful dialogue with the police on this issue."
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Several Welsh Tories have called for changes to Theresa May's Brexit plan after more than a third of Conservative MPs opposed her in a confidence vote.
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Mrs May won on Wednesday but while 200 MPs backed her leadership, 117 voted against the PM.
Former Brexit minister David Jones said it was a "difficult outcome" for the prime minister.
But Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said her critics should give her "space" to come up with a deal MPs can support.
Remainer MP Simon Hart also called on Mrs May's opponents to help the government.
Labour Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said Theresa May's credibility was "shot".
He said the PM "should now ask to extend Article 50 and call a general election to bring in a government capable of taking decisions".
Mrs May, who is heading to Brussels on Thursday to meet EU leaders, has faced criticism in her party for the Brexit plan she has negotiated with the remaining 27 states.
Many Brexiteers object to the insurance policy aimed at preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland, known as the backstop, which would be difficult for the UK to unilaterally exit.
In a statement after the vote Theresa May said she wants to "get on with the job" but accepted a "significant" number voted against her.
Before the vote all but one of the eight Welsh Tory MPs said they would back Mrs May in the ballot.
The exception was Clwyd West's David Jones, a former Brexit minister.
"When one is talking about the Brexit process one obviously has got to put country before anything else, and I think that's what I and a large number of colleagues did," he said.
"She has got to have our support now, quite clearly, but she's got to consider how she can take the process forward."
Two Brexiteer MPs who supported Mrs May in the vote - David Davies and Chris Davies - also called for changes.
David Davies, who represents Monmouth, said Mrs May should come back from the EU with a revised plan.
"I hope she will be very clear that, if people are not willing to accept the compromise Brexit she brings back, we need to move immediately to the full Brexit that people voted for."
Chris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said Theresa May "needs to go and spend a bit more time in Europe".
"It's the Europeans now who need to change their minds", he added.
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies, who supported the PM, told BBC Wales that there were still "major challenges ahead" for her but the result was "better than expected".
"The PM is still facing some serious problems," he said. "She needs to have something to bring the DUP back on board as well as the Tory MPs who voted against her tonight."
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire's Simon Hart said it was "quite a good result" for Theresa May.
"The people who have been plotting against her have now been defeated and, if you like, the challenge has gone back to them," he said.
"Do they want to act responsibly and help the government get Brexit over the line, or do they want to continue to meddle from the side-lines?"
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns urged Conservatives to give the prime minister a chance, saying she was "trying to respond" to the criticism of her Brexit deal.
"I think that as prime minister she should be rightly given the space in order to come up with a package the majority support in the House of Commons," he told the BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.
Ahead of Mrs May's trip to Brussells, Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb said: "Let's see if there are any meaningful or significant changes - there's still life in this process yet".
He said the government was operating "on a weekly basis".
"We don't have a clear majority in the House of Commons and we're also deeply divided as this vote demonstrates, so it's really hard," he said.
But he said Mrs May "demonstrates time and time again" that she "cares about the country".
Away from Westminster, the Welsh Conservative leader in the Welsh Assembly Paul Davies said it was "great to see" Theresa May "overwhelmingly winning the vote tonight".
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price called for a further referendum on the EU.
"A prime minister without a majority for her defining policy is not a proper prime minister," he said.
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A possible alternative to a vaccine, for people without functioning immune systems, is entering its final stage of trials.
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By Rachel SchraerHealth reporter
The injection was developed using antibodies - made by the immune system to fight infection - produced by a single Covid patient in the US.
It is hoped it could provide at least six months' protection for patients who cannot receive vaccines.
Trials involving 1,000 UK participants begin in Manchester on Saturday.
A further 4,000 people are involved in the trial globally, which is being organised by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Participants will be given either an injection containing two different Covid-19 antibodies, which have been specially engineered to last longer in the body - or a placebo.
In recent weeks there have been promising developments in the creation of a Covid-19 vaccine, which works by priming the immune system to fight off the infection.
But the UK's Vaccine Taskforce chair, Kate Bingham, estimates hundreds of thousands people might not benefit from a vaccine because they do not have a working immune system.
This might be due to an immune deficiency, or because they are taking immune-suppressing drugs, for diseases such as cancer.
"It's crucial that we leave no one behind as we move closer to finding both a vaccine and developing more treatments for Covid-19," she said.
"We particularly need to ensure those who cannot be given a vaccine, such as people who are immuno-compromised, have alternatives available that will help protect them."
AstraZeneca, which is developing the antibody injection, hopes it will offer 6-12 months' protection.
Study lead Prof Andrew Ustianowski said, while vaccines work "by inducing a person's immune system to produce antibodies that inhibit or 'neutralise' the virus", his team are investigating whether similar protection could be given to the immuno-compromised, by injecting antibodies which have been shown to neutralise the virus directly into the muscle.
This bypasses the immune system for those people who "don't respond well to vaccines, or cannot be given them".
However, the therapy is significantly more expensive than vaccination and difficult to produce at scale, so it is unlikely to be used on the wider population.
Nine UK trial sites have been identified so far, in Manchester, London, Plymouth, Southampton, West Yorkshire, Enfield, Rochdale and Preston. The first results are expected next spring.
The trial will assess whether the therapy is effective and whether it is safe.
Preventative measure
Additionally, AstraZeneca has suggested another possible use for the jab - to protect care home residents if a case is identified within the home.
Vaccines take a bit of time to build immunity in the body, but this injection should work immediately, so could be given as a preventative measure.
Its preventative efficacy will be tested in a second, parallel trial, on participants in the US and the UK.
Follow Rachel on Twitter
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The first people to be charged in the UK over female genital mutilation (FGM) have appeared in court.
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Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, 31, of Ilford, east London, and Hasan Mohammed, 40, of Holloway, north London, appeared before Westminster magistrates.
Mr Mohammed is charged with encouraging the doctor to repair a pre-existing FGM on a patient at Whittington Hospital after she gave birth there.
The alleged offences are said to have happened in November 2012.
The men will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on 2 May. Both have been released on unconditional bail.
The defendants' lawyers indicated in court that the pair would plead not guilty.
The men were charged under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.
FGM includes procedures that alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
Dangers include severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility, complications in childbirth and increased risk of death for newborns.
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The Conservatives have a problem. More young people are voting than at any time in the last quarter of a century, but largely not for them - so what can the party do to change that?
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By Sean ClareBBC Victoria Derbyshire programme
It's been labelled - perhaps unfairly - the "Tory Glastonbury". Around 200 activists, MPs, sympathetic thinkers and business people meet in the low September sunshine to discuss how the party can attract young voters.
Just two years ago, the split in support between Labour and the Conservatives among 18 to 29-year-olds was fairly even, 36% to 32%.
Fast forward to this June's general election and that small gap had become a chasm - according to pollsters YouGov - with Labour now on 64% to the Tories' 21%.
In fact, unless you were touching 50, you were in a minority if you voted Conservative.
'Panic mode'
Addressing worried-looking party figures at the Big Tent Ideas festival in Berkshire, Lord Cooper - one-time director of strategy for ex-Prime Minister David Cameron - puts it starkly.
Older Conservative voters, he says, are dying. And younger, more "open" voters are not going to decide when they hit 50 that "feminism and the internet and the green movement are a bad thing after all".
Unless the party responds, he adds, "it is going to die".
So what should they do?
"Somebody famous and clever said the Conservative Party only knows two modes - complacency or panic," says one of the Tories' youngest MPs. "And we're definitely in panic mode."
Bim Afolami, an old Etonian and former banker, is 31 and has only been an MP for a few months, but his thoughts have already turned to this question.
"The party generally, collectively, realises that this is a problem," he says.
With the Budget less than two months away, he says Chancellor Philip Hammond recently told a meeting of Conservative backbenchers that the party must address two of the key issues for younger voters - housing and student debt.
Victoria Borwick - who represented the safe seat of Kensington until she became one of the 33 Conservative MPs swept away by Labour's better-than-expected showing in June - echoes the message.
"Every single MP should go back to their own area and see how they can build more housing for the next generation."
'Not Glastonbury'
It might be only 100 miles away, but the Big Tent Ideas Festival couldn't be further from Glastonbury.
The music is Bach - perfectly rendered by a violinist. The buffet is delicate and refined. And there are more MPs in attendance than the young voters whom the ideas are intended to reach.
"This is not Glastonbury," Mr Afolami points out. "It's more akin to (literature festival) Hay-on-Wye."
The comparison is clearly unfair, but does it matter?
The story goes that the brains behind the event, Conservative MP George Freeman, saw Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn cheered by thousands at Glastonbury over the summer and asked, "Why is it just the left who have all the fun in politics?"
Conservative MP James Cleverly is unimpressed.
"Wow, a left-wing leader getting a good reception at a rock festival," he says, ironically.
"What kind of crazy world is it we live in that that kind of thing happens?
"It's a bunch of young people who've just been given a massive electoral bribe."
Mr Corbyn - who said before the election he would "deal" with student debt - will be punished for taking "younger voters for fools", Cleverly says.
"Being hip, being popular, being cool, that's really easy," says Cleverly.
"Until you have to make tough decisions. And when you have to make tough decisions, that veneer of coolness comes off real quick.
"So the better thing to do is to be right and be doing the right things for the right reasons rather than trying to be cool and popular and saying whatever thing is going to get good headlines or a big cheer at Glastonbury."
Diversity
What, then, can the party learn?
Labour's general election campaign was praised for its use of social media and for reaching young people previously unmoved by party politics.
Tobi Alabi - a south Londoner who was invited to attend the ideas festival, and was courted by Conservatives there, but isn't a supporter - says the party was an irrelevance for most of his friends.
Labour, he says, related and appealed to young people.
"That's something the Conservative Party didn't do. They didn't display diversity. They didn't display an appeal to young people. You have to tap into young people's interests."
So - if they do that - could those young people won over by Jeremy Corbyn's Labour one day support the Tories?
"Those people can be won back," says a hopeful Bim Afolami.
"Those are not people who have decided forever to vote for one person or one party.
"I think if we show them that we've got the right policies - but, more importantly, the right values - those are people that we can at least compete for in the future."
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
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Actor Philip Lowrie, one of Coronation Street's original cast members, is to return to the show 43 years after his last appearance.
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Lowrie played Dennis Tanner, the wayward son of Elsie Tanner, in the soap's first episode in 1960 and remained in the show for eight years.
ITV described Tanner, who was written out when he married and moved away, as "the original Corrie bad lad".
Lowrie, 74, will start filming in March and will be seen on screen from May.
In the first episode, broadcast in December 1960, Tanner had recently been released from prison and was seen arguing with his mother over his reluctance to get a job.
He was also seen in the Rovers Return antagonising Ken Barlow, played by William Roache - the only actor to have remained in the show throughout its history.
After his character was written out, Lowrie became a regular in theatre and had a string of roles on TV, including a number of appearances in Victoria Wood shows.
The soap recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, when it became the world's longest-running TV soap opera.
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A venue that held a wedding party with about 70 people has been shut after attendees refused to leave, police say.
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The event was at a licensed premises in Stockport Road, Longsight on Thursday, Greater Manchester Police said.
"Despite efforts from responding officers to engage with the organisers and encourage them to abandon the event, the party persisted and attendees initially refused to leave the venue," a police spokesperson said.
The organiser has been fined £10,000.
The premises will remain shut for at least seven days subject to review, police said.
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, executive member for neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, said: "For so many people to be congregating in this manner flies in the face of every single public health message we have been making for more than six months.
"It is deeply concerning that the owner allowed such a reckless event to take place."
Supt Chris Hill, from Greater Manchester Police, said there would be "zero tolerance" of such events.
"This blatant disregard for public health is totally unacceptable and meant we had no alternative but to issue the maximum penalty for breaching the legislation on large gatherings."
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A body designed to save money in the public sector has had to be bailed out by the Welsh Government after making millions in losses.
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By Nick ServiniPolitical editor, Wales
The National Procurement Service (NPS) aimed to bulk-buy items like electricity and agency staff worth more than £1bn a year.
But a spending watchdog found only £150m was spent by public bodies through the service in 2015-16.
The Welsh Government said a review of NPS is under way.
A report by the Wales Audit Office found that the NPS had generated savings of £25m to the bodies which used it in 2015-16.
But the body was only able to recoup £339,143 to cover its £2.4m operating costs, leaving it with a loss in the region of £2m.
In the following 2016-17 financial year, there was a rise in the value of the contracts it handled to £234m.
However, it only made savings of £14.8m - about 60% of what was expected - and it continued to make a loss of about £2m.
The NPS has not been able to repay a £5.9m Welsh Government loan and government reserves are continuing to meet the shortfall until the end of this financial year.
The service was set up in 2013 by then Finance Minister Jane Hutt, who said it was going to be a "very Welsh way to meet Welsh business needs but also value for money for the Welsh pound".
The idea behind the service was to make increased annual savings to public sector spending in Wales of more than £4bn.
The audit office also found that only a third of public bodies who took part in a survey were satisfied with the service.
A third of local authorities, and even the Welsh Government, which created the service, were dissatisfied.
The future of NPS was discussed in a meeting of the public accounts committee at the assembly this afternoon.
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies tweeted: "Even the government expresses dissatisfaction with its own service, you couldn't make it up."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We welcome the findings of the Wales Audit Office report published last year. The report highlights that public sector expenditure through the NPS agreements is growing year on year.
"In 2016/17 it reached £237m and is on target to exceed that figure in 2017/18.
"The Wales Audit Office report also identifies that the savings generated by the NPS for the public sector exceed the investment in establishing the service."
The spokesperson said the government recognised more work needs to be done and a review is underway to refocus the NPS.
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Dozens of people were killed, including children, when a lorry ploughed into a large crowd watching a fireworks display in Nice to mark the Bastille Day holiday.
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The driver also fired shots, before being killed by police. This is what we know about what happened.
Who was the attacker?
The driver of the lorry was identified as Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian man.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins says Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was divorced with three children. His ex-wife was taken into custody along with four other people believed to be linked to him. A flat he lived in near Nice railway station was searched by police.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "totally unknown" to security services, and investigations are continuing into whether he acted alone, Mr Molins said.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel is said to have hired the lorry from a rental company in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, a town to the west of Nice, on 11 July. He had been due to return it on 13 July.
Police said that, at the time of the attack, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was in possession of an automatic pistol, bullets, a fake automatic pistol and two replica assault rifles (a Kalashnikov and an M16), an empty grenade. Also in the lorry with him were a driving licence and a bank card.
Who was the Nice attacker?
Who were the victims?
Eighty-six people were killed, all but three of them at the time of the attack. The dead included 10 children and teenagers.
A total of 303 people were taken to hospital for medical treatment. A man who was badly injured in the assault died on 4 August, taking the total number of those killed to 85.
In the hours after the attacks, worried relatives posted images on social media of the missing.
Among the dead was Fatima Charrihi, whose son said she was the first to die.
Another victim, according to reports, was the assistant head of the Nice border police, Jean-Marc Leclerc.
An American 11-year-old boy, Brodie Copeland, and his father, Sean, were also killed. They had been on holiday in Nice.
Three people on a school trip from Germany were unaccounted for.
Read more about the victims
Who was behind the attack?
French security officials are still assessing whether the driver of a truck was working alone or in a group.
So-called Islamic State later claimed one of its followers carried out the attack.
A news agency linked to the group, Amaq Agency, said: "He did the attack in response to calls to target the citizens of the coalition that is fighting the Islamic State."
Officials said it bore the hallmark of a terrorist organisation.
President Hollande said it was "an attack whose terrorist nature cannot be denied".
Mr Molins said the attack was "in line with the constant calls to kill" from militant Islamist groups, and the investigation would be seek to find out whether Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had ties to Islamist militants.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel seemed to have been "radicalised very quickly".
Anti-terrorist prosecutors in Paris have launched an inquiry for murder and attempted murder as part of an organised terrorist strike.
France's DGSI internal security organisation warned of the danger of further attacks from Islamist militants with "booby-trapped vehicles and bombs".
The so-called Islamic State has targeted France on several occasions since January 2015.
Only hours before the Nice attack, President Hollande had announced that France's state of emergency would be removed later this month. After the attack in Nice he announced it was being extended.
What happened on the promenade?
The terror began a little after 22:30 (20:30 GMT) on 14 July, shortly after thousands of people had watched a firework display on the seafront.
There had been a mood of celebration and the crowd had enjoyed an air force display. Families strolled along the city's renowned Promenade des Anglais.
A large white lorry was seen driving erratically a couple of streets away from the seafront promenade. "He was speeding up, braking, speeding up again and braking again. We thought it was weird," said Laicia Baroi. She described how the lorry then turned on to the promenade heading south-west towards the airport.
But it was not for another half hour before the attack began. A German journalist saw events unfold from a hotel balcony, as the lorry doubled back from the direction of the airport, breaching the barriers erected on the promenade opposite the Lenval children's hospital.
"He was driving really slowly, that's what was astonishing," said Richard Gutjahr, who described seeing the lorry being tailed by a motorcyclist. "The motorcyclist tried to overtake him and even tried opening the lorry driver's door," he told AFP news agency. At that point the motorcyclist fell under the wheels of the lorry.
When two police officers opened fire on the lorry, the driver accelerated and careered at full speed towards the crowd.
The vehicle mounted the kerb then went back on the road, zigzagging for up to 2km (1.25 miles), as the driver deliberately drove into people.
A local MP spoke of hundreds of people being run over. Others scrambled to safety, on to the beach or into nearby hotels.
"I was opposite the Palais de la Mediterranee [hotel] when I saw a lorry at high speed running over people. I saw it with my own eyes, people tried to stop it," said one witness.
Police finally managed to bring the lorry to a halt near the luxury hotel.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins says the driver fired repeatedly on three policemen, who returned fire and pursued him for hundreds of metres.
Mobile phone footage appeared to show the moment the driver was shot.
Images from the scene showed the windscreen and front of the lorry raked with bullets. Interior ministry officials later confirmed that the attacker had been "neutralised".
How have the authorities reacted?
It soon became clear that many people had died, although the full scale of the disaster was unclear. The dead and injured were taken to the local Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice.
In the area around Nice, the anti-terror alert was raised to its highest level.
President Francois Hollande was flown back to Paris from a visit to Avignon, joining Prime Minister Manuel Valls in a crisis room. Mr Valls declared three days of mourning.
The pair then travelled to Nice, where the interior and health ministers were already involved in crisis meetings with local officials.
Mr Hollande met his defence and security chiefs and cabinet ministers.
Later, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on "patriotic citizens" to become reservists to boost security across the country.
He also reiterated a pledge made by Mr Hollande to call up France's current squad of reservists, which total some 12,000 volunteers.
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White men are becoming an "endangered species" in top business jobs as companies take on more women and ethnic minorities, Tesco's chairman has said.
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John Allan told a retail conference "the pendulum has swung very significantly" - even though white men still dominate in UK boardrooms.
He said it was an "extremely propitious period" to be "female and from an ethnic background and preferably both".
Mr Allan later said his comments were intended to be "humorous".
In his speech, the day after International Women's Day, about the recruitment of prospective non-executive directors, Mr Allan said: "For a thousand years men have got most of these jobs, the pendulum has swung very significantly the other way now and will do for the foreseeable future I think.
"If you are a white male - tough - you are an endangered species and you are going to have to work twice as hard."
Mr Allan sits alongside eight other white men and three white women on Tesco's board.
Labour's Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, reacted on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Sophie Walker, the leader of the Women's Equality party, joined calls for a boycott of Tesco saying, that Mr Allan was out of touch and his comments risk alienating customers.
She also highlighted data released by the Fawcett Society this week that suggested the pay gap was influenced by racial and gender inequalities, saying both groups were a "long way from endangering men's dominance of boardrooms".
Campaign group Women's March on London said Mr Allen's comments were "extraordinary" and the company should "step-up and show the world that diversity in leadership is no joke".
A spokeswoman said: "We call on the Tesco Board of Directors to commit to prioritise diversifying their board and provide a clear path with set targets on how they intend to do so.
"As consumers we are a powerful force and can exercise our freedom to shop elsewhere to support women and locally owned businesses. We encourage all of our marchers to do so until Tesco steps up."
But businesswoman Helena Morrissey, a campaigner for greater gender diversity in the boardroom, tweeted that media reports of Mr Allan's speech had put an "unfair spin on what he's trying to say".
Ms Morrissey's government-backed initiative, the 30% club, launched in 2010 with the goal of boosting female representation on FTSE 100 boards.
'A bit hyperbolic'
In a statement issued by Tesco to "clarify" his remarks to the Retail Week Live conference in London on Thursday, Mr Allan said: "The point I was seeking to make was that successful boards must be active in bringing together a diverse and representative set of people.
"There is still much more to be done but now is a good time for women to put themselves forward for NED roles.
"In all the organisations I have been involved in I have been a committed advocate of greater diversity and very much regret if my remarks have given the opposite impression."
Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Mr Allan said: "The context was [that] I was talking to a bunch of aspiring non-executive directors, many of whom were women, and I wanted to give them some encouragement and, therefore, I used that rather colourful turn of speech.
"It was intended to be humorous, a bit hyperbolic.
"Clearly, white men are not literally an endangered species but I was actually wanting to make the reverse point, which is that it is a great time for women and people of ethnic minorities who want to get on in business."
A non-executive director sits on the board of a company but is not part of the executive team involved in day-to-day management.
According to analysis by headhunters Egon Zehnder, women held 26.3% of board positions in the UK's largest companies in 2016 - but it said recruitment, at 29%, was at its lowest proportion since 2012.
A report published in November said there was a disproportionately low level of diversity in the boardrooms of FTSE 100 companies.
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A man has been jailed after spitting at a police officer while being arrested for breaching a court order.
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Guy Turner, 57, from Redditch, was arrested at his home on Tuesday, and spat at the officer while in a police vehicle.
At Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, he admitted assaulting an emergency worker and was jailed for nine months.
The sentence also included a charge of breaching a criminal behaviour order.
Supt Mark Colquhoun of West Mercia Police, said: "Officers come to work to protect the public and keep them safe.
"Spitting in an officer's face is an utterly disgusting way to behave and rightly this has been dealt with by way of a custodial sentence."
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Covid vaccinations will be offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week as soon as supply allows, Boris Johnson says.
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The prime minister said the plan was to extend opening hours of vaccination centres - at the moment, most sites run from 08:00 to 22:00.
The 24-7 service will be piloted in a small number of places first - with NHS staff likely to be offered the option of overnight vaccinations first.
But Mr Johnson said supply was the limiting factor at the moment.
The NHS had just over a million doses available last week and used up most of them.
This week, there are thought to be more but not yet enough to vaccinate two million people - the weekly target the government is aiming to reach in the coming weeks.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson said there would be 24-7 vaccination "as soon as possible".
The UK has access to two vaccines at the moment - the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and another produced in partnership by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
A third vaccine made by the US company Moderna has been approved but is not yet available to the UK.
'Exceptionally fast'
Mr Johnson praised the work of the more than 200 hospitals and 1,000 GP-led NHS vaccination sites running at the moment.
"They are going exceptionally fast," he added.
By the end of Monday, 2.4 million people had received their first vaccine dose.
The government has promised all the over-70s, the extremely clinically vulnerable and front-line health and care workers - about 15 million people - will be offered a jab by mid February.
How big a problem is supply?
There is actually enough vaccine in the country to vaccinate all the highest at-risk groups.
The problem is that not all of it has been packaged into vials or passed through the final safety checks.
There should soon be two million doses available each week for the NHS to use.
But the key question once that is achieved is how quickly and by how much supply can increase from there.
To make full use of the network of vaccination centres - the ambition is to have 2,700 up and running - many millions of doses will be needed each week.
There is huge global demand for these vaccines.
And while the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is made in the UK, the Pfizer-BioNTech one is made abroad as is the Moderna vaccine.
Supplies of the latter are not expected until the spring.
This is an issue the government is likely to be grappling with for some time.
But despite the concerns, it should also be recognised the UK has been quick out of the blocks.
Only two countries have vaccinated a larger proportion of the population than the UK.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was vital the government moved quickly.
Speaking about the planned 24-7 vaccination, he said: "I obviously welcome that and urge the prime minister and the government to get on with this."
Meanwhile, Nadhim Zahawi, the minister in charge of the vaccination programme, was also asked about supply, at an appearance before the Science and Technology Committee.
He said he had a "clear line of sight" for the expected numbers that would be available to the NHS for the next few months but refused to give any more detail.
"The more we show off about how many vaccine batches we're receiving, the more difficult life becomes for the manufacturers," he said.
AstraZeneca vice president Sir Mene Pangalos said one of the issues the firm was facing was that infections among staff had begun to hinder production.
"I feel that it is critical that those who are working on vaccines are immunised because if you have an outbreak at one of the centres, which we've had actually or in one of the groups in Oxford that's working on new variants, or those working on the regulatory files everything stops."
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The government has published an analysis of the UK's options if it left the EU - suggesting they would all be worse for the economy than staying in.
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Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the aim was to "smoke out" Leave campaigners who had "avoided" spelling out their vision of a post-EU Britain.
The document says the UK would lose influence and exporters could be hit with damaging tariffs.
But Leave campaigners said the "dodgy dossier" was misleading.
Iain Duncan Smith - one of five cabinet ministers campaigning in favour of a vote to leave the EU - said it misrepresented the Leave case by suggesting Britain could follow the example of other non-EU countries, such as Norway or Switzerland.
He said: "The truth is, we won't copy any other country's deal. We will have a settlement on our own terms - and one that will return control of our borders, and money to Britain. That's the safer choice."
He said the government was "in denial" about the risk of remaining a member of the EU. "This dodgy dossier won't fool anyone," he said, adding that the "real uncertainty is the future of the EU project".
Cabinet ministers are allowed to campaign freely on either side of the debate, but the official government position is in favour of staying in a reformed EU in the 23 June referendum.
Four post exit options
The document says Norway and Switzerland's trading arrangements outside the EU require them to make financial contributions, accept the EU principle of free movement of people and be subject to other EU laws.
Meanwhile, Switzerland and Canada's arrangements provide only limited access to the single market, it adds.
In a speech in London, Mr Hammond said Britain would be locked in talks with the EU for two years after an exit, while "our competitors, including our EU competitors, forge ahead".
He said there was no guarantee the UK could reach a deal within the two year limit, and talks could drag on for many years because there would be no "goodwill" from member states to help the UK get a deal.
He claimed Leave campaigners had "deliberately avoided" sketching out what a post-exit trade deal would look like because there were no "credible" options that "come close to the deal we already have on the table" that had been negotiated by David Cameron.
Mr Hammond said Leave campaigners should be "honest" with voters and say "they are prepared to sacrifice jobs and growth in order to get a clampdown on migration, in order to stop paying into the EU".
He said he hoped the dossier would force Leave campaigners to "put some flesh on the bones" of their vision of a post EU Britain.
The official government analysis of UK membership of the EU is required by law under the EU Referendum Act, which paved the way for the in-out referendum on EU membership.
'Analysis flawed'
If Britain votes to leave the EU, it will have to negotiate a new trading relationship with what would then be a 27 member organisation, to allow British firms to sell goods and services to EU countries without being hit by penalties or sparking a trade war.
The government paper runs through examples of other countries, such as Norway, Switzerland and Canada, who have trade deals with the EU without being members - as well as the option of breaking free from the EU altogether and striking deals with individual countries through the World Trade Organisation.
These scenarios have been mentioned by anti-EU campaigners in the past.
Speaking to the BBC, Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, said she would like her country to be part of the EU because it lacked influence over important decision making and had "basically... left part of our democracy to Europe".
Asked if she thought Britain could retain access to the single market without being subject to free movement of people, she said: "To believe you'll get everything you want without giving something back does not happen in any political body."
The government paper says they each carry serious risks for business - but Leave campaigners say the analysis is flawed because it does not consider the possibility of a bespoke trade deal between the UK and the EU, with no tariffs or trade barriers.
Gerard Lyons, of investment managers Black Rock and chief economic adviser to London mayor and Leave campaigner Boris Johnson, said it would be "a shock for both sides" if Britain left but it would be in the EU's interest to reach a trade deal with the UK as it was one of the EU's biggest export markets.
Meanwhile, Lord Lamont has become the latest Conservative grandee to nail his colours to one side or other of the EU debate.
Lord Lamont, who was chancellor in the early 1990s when Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, is calling for Britain to leave, arguing in the Daily Telegraph that the country could succeed economically and would regain control of immigration.
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A London council affected by plans to build the HS2 high-speed rail link from Birmingham to Euston has said the national compensation pot will mean its residents' needs may not be met.
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The government has proposed putting aside up to £1.3bn to reimburse people living close to High Speed Two.
But Camden Council says the bill for its borough alone will be £1bn.
The Department for Transport has said its compensation will be "significantly beyond statutory requirements".
The total compensation package for the project is expected to be between £930m and £1.3bn, but that figure is subject to property compensation proposals which High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd in consulting on.
'Compensation not factored'
A consultation event will be held in Camden on Saturday by HS2 Ltd which is undertaking the engineering, design and environmental work for the Department for Transport (DfT).
It is one of 22 being held over three months nationally.
To implement HS2, Euston Station in the borough of Camden will need to be expanded as the service's London terminal.
The expansion will mean the demolition of about 216 homes, the loss of businesses, including some in Drummond Street which is renowned for its South Asian cuisine, and the relocation of Maria Fidelis secondary school.
The government says the rail network will provide direct, high capacity, high speed links between London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
But Camden Council says it will have to bear the brunt of the disruption and relocations.
Sarah Hayward, leader of the Labour-run council, said: "We don't believe the government has allocated enough money and we don't believe they're taking Camden's concerns seriously."
The council argues that people in urban areas will not be compensated in the same way as those in rural areas.
A spokesman said: "These people are expected to live through 10 years of building work and that's where we're asking for compensation that they haven't factored in."
The government has said it will go "above and beyond what is required by law" and compensation measures being consulted on include a hardship scheme to help those who need to move but are unable to sell their homes.
An HS2 Ltd spokeswoman for Euston said it would create "enormous opportunities for London and the Euston area" and support the creation of 20,000 jobs for Londoners.
HS2 will be built in two phases.
Phase one of the £33bn high-speed rail link is due to start operating in 2026.
Construction could begin in 2017.
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An update to England and Wales's contact tracing app has been blocked for breaking the terms of an agreement made with Apple and Google.
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By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor
The plan had been to ask users to upload logs of venue check-ins - carried out via poster barcode scans - if they tested positive for the virus. This could be used to warn others.
The update had been timed to coincide with the relaxation of lockdown rules.
But the two firms had explicitly banned such a function from the start.
Under the terms that all health authorities signed up to in order to use Apple and Google's privacy-centric contact-tracing tech, they had to agree not to collect any location data via the software.
As a result, Apple and Google refused to make the update available for download from their app stores last week, and have instead kept the old version live.
When questioned, the Department of Health declined to discuss how this misstep had occurred.
Scotland has avoided this pitfall because it released a separate product - Check In Scotland - to share venue histories, rather than trying to build the functionality into its Protect Scotland contact-tracing app.
Virus hotspots
NHS Covid-19's users have long been able to scan a QR code when entering a shop, restaurant or other venue to log within the app the fact that they had visited.
But this data has never been accessible to others.
Instead, it has only come into use if local authorities have identified a location as being a virus hotspot by other means, and flagged the fact to a central database.
Since each phone regularly checks the database for a match, it can alert the owner if they need to take action as a consequence, without sharing the information with others.
However, this facility has rarely been used, in part because prior to the most recent lockdown, many local authorities were confused about what they were supposed to do.
Before shops reopened in England and Wales on Monday, along with outdoor hospitality venues in England, the intention had been to automate the process.
This would have involved users who had tested positive being asked if they were willing to upload their logs.
Depending on the thresholds set - for example, how many infected users registered having visited the same place on the same day - other app users would then have been told to either monitor their symptoms or immediately get a test, whether they felt ill or not.
The Department of Health had described this as being a "privacy-protecting" approach.
But despite being opt-in, it was still a clear breach of the terms that health chiefs had agreed to when they switched to adopting Apple and Google's contact tracing API (application programming interface) in June 2020. This was after their original effort was found to miss too many potential cases of contagion.
Setting a precedent
The tech firms' Exposure Notifications System FAQ states that apps involved must "not share location data from the user's device with the public health authority, Apple, or Google".
And a separate document covering the terms and conditions in more detail says that "a contact tracing app may not use location-based APIs... and may not collect any device information to identify the precise location of users".
Had Apple and Google made an exception for England and Wales in this case, it could have set a precedent for other countries to have sought changes of their own.
The team behind the app was told not to disclose why the update had failed to be released on schedule.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health told the BBC: "The deployment of the functionality of the NHS Covid-19 app to enable users to upload their venue history has been delayed.
"This does not impact the functionality of the app and we remain in discussions with our partners to provide beneficial updates to the app which protect the public."
A spokeswoman for the Welsh government said it had nothing to add.
Apple has indicated it wants to work out a solution.
Just a week ago, the Department of Health seemed to think this update to the app would go through without problems.
It's hard to understand why. After all, the rules for using the Apple-Google Exposure Notification System were clear - collecting any location data was a no-no.
The app team knew that when they switched to it last summer, having discovered that going it alone with their own system was just not practical.
But they may have assumed that, because the sharing of locations by users was optional, the tech giants might show some flexibility.
Instead, Apple and Google have insisted that rules are rules.
What this underlines is that governments around the world have been forced to frame part of their response to the global pandemic according to rules set down by giant unelected corporations.
At a time when the power of the tech giants is under the microscope as never before, that will leave many people feeling uncomfortable.
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Tenants in the Norwich Union House building in Belfast city centre have been told they will have to relocate their businesses.
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The building's owners, property company ES NUH Limited, plan to redevelop it.
A spokesperson for the company said the Primark fire in August forced them to bring forward pre-existing plans.
Norwich Union House is currently a six-storey office building with shops at street level.
"We recognise the challenging environment faced by all businesses in Belfast City Centre," a spokesperson for ES NUH Limited said.
"As a commercial consequence of the Primark fire we have had to accelerate our long standing plans, which we had previously communicated with tenants, to develop the Norwich Union Building.
"We understand the impact this will have on existing tenants and we are engaging directly with them to discuss how we can support the relocation of their business."
'Bit of a shock'
One of the businesses which has been asked to leave is Conway Opticians.
Its manager, Michael Connor, said they were told last week that they would have to move.
"It's put a bit of pressure on, they said February. It's not a lot of time in business terms," he said.
"Going back 15 years there's always been rumours of redevelopment and this and that, but this did come as bit of a shock and I'm fairly sure it's a direct result of the Primark situation.
"The problem with this building is that half of it's been asked to leave and half of it's OK according to the safety cordon.
"Three retail units had to move out because they're within the [safety] cordon and there's offices above had to move out and then there's a bundle of us left."
Drastic dip
The blaze at Primark's flagship store burned for three days after starting on 28 August.
A cordon, which remains in place due to health and safety reasons has also meant that 14 businesses near the Bank Buildings have not been able to trade.
Belfast City Council said it was working closely with Primark to reduce the cordon, but any reduction could only happen once it was safe to do so.
In October, it was revealed that Belfast had seen a "drastic dip" in shopping footfall as a direct result of the fire.
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Madagascar's lemurs - the world's most threatened primate - could be saved from extinction by eco-tourism, conservationists say.
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By Melissa HogenboomScience reporter, BBC News
The big-eyed fluffy creatures are unique to the island but their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years.
Now researchers have unveiled a survival plan that combines tourism with increased conservation efforts.
Writing in Science, the team says the project will cost £4.6m ($7.6m),
There are over 100 species of lemur known to science, the majority of which are at dangerously low levels, largely due to habitat loss from illegal logging.
Madagascar is the only known home of these species as its unique location, split off from the African mainland, has allowed the primates to evolve in near isolation.
Political turmoil has enveloped Madagascar following a coup in 2009. As a result of the instability, illegal logging has increased on the island, a source of valuable rosewood and ebony trees.
Due to a lack of environmental policing, the habitat of the lemurs has been under constant threat and the primates are now one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates on the planet.
Over 90% of these species are at risk and are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN)'s red list of threatened species.
This includes over 20 species regarded as critically endangered, which is the highest level of threat.
The team propose that cashing in on Madagascar's unique lemur "brand" would help the animals and poor rural communities.
Dr Christoph Schwitzer from the Bristol Zoological Society has been working in Madagascar for more than a decade. He said that tourists had still been flocking to the island, despite the political instability.
"There's always a trade-off between the destruction caused by too many tourists and the money they bring to the country that can be used for wildlife conservation," he told the BBC's Science in Action programme.
"This balance for Madagascar is still very positive for conservation and it's a long way until it may tip over."
Conservationists point to eco-tourism in Rwanda and Uganda where visitors are willing to pay a premium to observe endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
There are already successful examples of this in Madagascar such as the Maromizaha forest which is home to at least 13 lemur species.
Local villagers have been taught English and French and several now work as guides. A multi-purpose interpretive centre has also been built there.
While just eight visitors came to the forest in 2008, by 2011 this had increased to 208.
"Obviously these people spend money in local communities and contribute to the upkeep, maintenance and management of protected areas," added Dr Schwitzer.
Other aspects of a new three-year emergency action plan include increasing the number of long-term research field stations and building up conservation programmes.
These could help reduce another threat to lemurs, the illegal hunting of the primates for bushmeat.
Dr Schwitzer and colleagues have been in charge of a field station for the past decade and they found that this station deterred illegal activity on protected areas nearby.
This would also help stop illegal logging for tropical hardwood which destroys the lemurs' natural habitats - a key issue threatening their survival.
Despite the challenges, Dr Schwitzer said he was hopeful they could "scrape together the funding". He pointed out that the money was small in terms of international aid and could bring a significant return in preserving a unique habitat.
"We haven't lost a single species of lemur - indeed not a single species of primate, during the last two centuries since our records began.
"We have the people, we have the place, we have the ideas, we are just just lacking funding," he added.
Listen to Science in Action on the BBC World Service at 20:30 GMT or download the podcast here
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Deforestation of Brazil's Amazon rainforest increased by 29.5% in 12 months, the highest rate since 2008, the country's space agency reports.
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The rainforest lost 9,762 sq km (3,769 sq miles) of its vegetation between August 2018 and July 2019, Inpe says.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has in the past questioned the accuracy of data provided by Inpe.
Scientists say the Amazon has suffered losses at an accelerated rate since Mr Bolsonaro took office in January.
They say the president favours development over conservation.
Mr Bolsonaro - who in July dismissed a similar Inpe report as flawed - has not commented on the latest data.
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.
Over the past decade, previous governments in Brazil had managed to reduce deforestation with concerted action by federal agencies and a system of fines.
But Mr Bolsonaro and his ministers have criticised the penalties and overseen a dramatic fall in confiscations of timber and convictions for environmental crimes.
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Conservationists from Gloucestershire are travelling to France to look at ways of stopping the decline of eels.
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The group will see work being carried out in Normandy where two dams on the Selune River are being removed.
The visit is part of a wider campaign to draw attention to river barriers which stop the migratory European eel from reaching its home waters.
It is estimated there are 1,500 river barriers, tidal gates, flap valves and weirs in France.
Dr Gordon McGlone, from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, said he feared the county would lose its elvers and silver eels forever unless UK and European countries take rapid action.
"This once common fish is now in such decline that commercial fisheries are in crisis," he said.
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The boss of Sainsbury's has said the UK is "probably through the worst" of a weaker pound fuelling food inflation.
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After years of deflation, Brexit currency movements meant there had been a "little bit of food price inflation" this year, chief executive Mike Coupe told the BBC.
But he said food prices this Christmas would still be "about the same as they were two years ago".
His comments came as the retailer reported a 9% fall in interim profits.
However, the decline was not as bad as expected and sales rose.
The UK's second largest supermarket chain said profits came in at £251m in the 28 weeks to the 23 September, while like-for-like sales excluding fuel went up by 1.6%.
It said the fall in profits was due to price cutting, wage cost inflation and the consolidation of Argos.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said he was "very pleased with progress".
'Relatively limited'
The value of sterling has fallen sharply since last year's Brexit referendum, pushing up the cost of imports.
Initially, retailers were protected against those increased costs because they buy in advance, but more recently they have felt the effects of the currency devaluation.
However, Mr Coupe said the "impact on customers had been relatively limited".
He said the retailer was aiming to limit price rises, despite the recent pick-up in inflation.
"Food price inflation as measured by the government is around 2% and inevitably the things that we import - so they tend to be things like fresh foods - get a little bit more expensive on the back of that," Mr Coupe said.
"But we're probably through the worst, if the truth be told, and actually even today's prices are about the same as they were two years ago, so we as a business have done a very good job of protecting our customers from the more extreme challenges of inflation and the currency movements."
The supermarket chain took over catalogue retailer Argos and Habitat last year in a £1.4bn deal.
In the past six months, Sainsbury's has opened a further 73 Argos concessions in its stores, bringing the total to 112. It plans to have 165 by Christmas.
Mr Coupe said: "We have delivered a good performance across the group in the last six months.
"We are now three years into delivering our differentiated strategy and are seeing clear results."
Cost cutting plans
Sainsbury's is looking to make cost savings amid fierce competition from discounters and rising food costs.
It says it has exceeded its cost savings target and will have managed to have saved £540m over the three years to the end of the current financial year. It also plans to make a further £500m of savings during the next three years.
Mr Coupe said the chain was continuing to "focus on offering our customers great value, supported by our removal of multibuys".
He was also asked whether discounters such as Aldi and Lidl were still making inroads into Sainsbury's customer base.
"We have always worked on the assumption that the discounters will continue to grow... but we have planned our business on that basis and the way our customers are shopping is changing.
"They're shopping with us more frequently and you can see that in our convenience store business - it's grown at 8%, they're shopping online, that's grown at 7% and increasingly they're shopping non-food with Sainsbury's, so for instance, our clothing business grew by 7%."
'Muted' improvement
The company said its full-year profit forecast remained "in line" with market expectations.
However, Sainsbury's share price fell more than 3% following the release of the results. It subsequently recovered some ground and closed 2.1% lower.
Molly Johnson-Jones, senior Retail Analyst at GlobalData, said Sainsbury's "momentum" from the first quarter had not been maintained.
"Of all of the grocers, Sainsbury's improvement seems the most muted, and a focus on profitability must be maintained in order to prevent further investor discontent."
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The Southern Health Trust has suspended visiting at all of its hospitals and other facilities in order to protect patients and staff from coronavirus.
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The trust runs Craigavon Area Hospital, where there have been three clusters of Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks.
Four patients there who were infected with the virus died in that time.
From Friday evening only visits to so-called "end-of-life" patients and partners who have given birth are permitted under the new arrangements.
Two other Northern Ireland health trusts also announced hospital visiting restrictions on Friday.
In Belfast Health Trust hospitals only one member of a family will be permitted a visit once a week.
That must be by appointment arranged with a nurse in charge of the relevant ward.
Visits will be permitted in exceptional circumstances including palliative and end-of-life care.
The only exceptions are:
The South Eastern Health Trust announced the same restrictions at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald and the Lagan Valley Hospitals in Lisburn.
It said restrictions would also apply to residential and nursing homes in some parts of the trust.
Its restrictions will apply for a minimum of two weeks and will then be reviewed.
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Five people have been arrested after a man left at a hospital died of stab wounds.
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Joel Richards, 20, was left at Birmingham's City Hospital on Sunday where he died from his injuries.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder at a service station on the M40 on Monday evening.
West Midlands Police also stopped a car on the motorway near Oxford and arrested three men and a woman on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Supt Tom Chisholm said: "This continues to be a fast paced inquiry and we have made five arrests over the bank holiday weekend.
"However, our work is not done and we continue to investigate the circumstances that led to this young man's death.
"We will still continue to liaise with Joel's family and our thoughts remain with them as they continue to come to terms with their loss."
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A campaign group is taking legal action against Leicester City Council over its boycott of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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Jewish Human Rights Watch wants a judicial review of the decision to stop using produce from the area in Israel.
The city council says it opposes "the continuing illegal occupation" of the Palestinian territory.
The campaign group said the move is a "boycott of Jews" and should be scrapped.
The boycott, one of the few by a local authority in the UK, was approved in November.
The Jewish group's director Jonathan Neumann said he "urged the council to change their decision to hear the concerns of the community" but was refused.
'Not an attack'
"The council had no interest in hearing the concerns of Jews. We were left with no option but to seek legal redress."
Councillor Mohammed Dawood, who introduced the motion, said: "We are very mindful that this was not an attack on a particular faith but is about a particular policy.
"We are talking about produce… and we are saying we won't be getting anything from the illegally-occupied territories in the future."
He said the West Bank was "under illegal occupation and this is recognised by the UN Convention on Human Rights".
The campaign group said it would argue the motion "gives encouragement to anti-Semitic sentiment and increases the likelihood of harassment of the Jewish community."
A council statement said: "The motion relates specifically to the council's procurement policy and produce originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank."
The Jewish group said it expected a decision on its request for a judicial review in September.
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Scientists have cast doubt on the value of vitamin D supplements to protect against diseases such as cancers, diabetes and dementia.
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Writing in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, French researchers suggest low vitamin D levels do not cause ill health, although they did not look at bone diseases.
More clinical trials on non-skeletal diseases are needed, they say.
Vitamin D supplements are recommended for certain groups.
Recent evidence has shown it may also have a role to play in preventing non-bone-related diseases such as Parkinson's, dementia, cancers and inflammatory diseases.
Prof Philippe Autier, from the International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon, carried out a review of data from 290 prospective observational studies and 172 randomised trials looking at the effects of vitamin D levels on health outcomes, excluding bone health, up to December 2012.
'Discrepancy'
A large number of the observational studies suggested that there were benefits from high vitamin D - that it could reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by up to 58%, diabetes by up to 38% and colorectal cancer by up to 33%.
But the results of the clinical trials - where participants were given vitamin D supplements - found no reduction in risk, even in people who started out with low vitamin D levels.
And a further analysis of recent randomised trials found no positive effect of vitamin D supplements on diseases occurring.
Prof Autier said: "What this discrepancy suggests is that decreases in vitamin D levels are a marker of deteriorating health.
"Ageing and inflammatory processes involved in disease occurrence... reduce vitamin D concentrations, which would explain why vitamin D deficiency is reported in a wide range of disorders."
High risk
In the UK, vitamin D supplements are recommended for groups at higher risk of deficiency, including all pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five years old, people aged over 65, and people at risk of not getting enough exposure to sunlight.
People with dark skin, such as people of African-Caribbean and South Asian origin, and people who wear full-body coverings, as well as pale-skinned people are also known to be at higher risk.
In recent years, there has been a four-fold increase in admissions to UK hospital with rickets - a disease that causes bones to become soft and deformed.
Dr Colin Michie, consultant senior lecturer in paediatrics and chair of the nutrition committee at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the review had little to contribute to the problem in the UK because it excluded the measurement of bone health.
"It has been known for almost a century that vitamin D supplements given to those with deficient vitamin D levels results in improved bone health, preventing hypocalcemic seizure and rickets."
He added that it was important to provide appropriate supplements, such as vitamin D, to improve bone health.
More research
Peter Selby, consultant physician and honorary professor of metabolic bone disease at Manchester Royal Infirmary, said the French review was limited.
"It could very well be that the apparent negative results of this study have been obtained simply because they have not been looking at people with sufficient degree of vitamin D insufficiency to have any meaningful biological effect."
But he said the authors were right to say that more interventional research looking at disease outcomes was necessary.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), an independent group of scientific experts who advise the government on nutrition, is currently reviewing the dietary recommendations for vitamin D for all population groups in the UK.
Their report on vitamin D is expected to go out for public consultation in 2014.
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Iran has accused the US of "grotesque" interference in its internal affairs in a letter to the UN.
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It said the US leadership, in "numerous absurd tweets, [had] incited Iranians to engage in disruptive acts" which violated international law.
Twenty-one people died in six days of protests sparked by Iran's economic problems, which spanned several cities.
On Thursday state media focused on pro-government rallies after a second night without reports of major protests.
The unrest was initially over price rises and corruption but the focus quickly turned to the remote elite and particularly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
They are the largest protests since the disputed 2009 presidential election.
Why is Iran so upset about the US?
Since the protests broke out, US President Donald Trump has endorsed them, culminating on Wednesday with the suggestion that the US could offer "great support" to protesters.
This chimes with the conservative Iranian narrative which blames the protests in part on foreign powers including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US.
In his letter, Iranian UN envoy Gholamali Khoshroo said the US had a track record of intervening in Iranian affairs.
However, he added, the current administration had "crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilised conduct of international relations".
Despite professions of solidarity with the Iranian people, he said, the US had actually insulted them by banning ordinary Iranians from entering the US (under Mr Trump's travel ban) and with Mr Trump's refusal to certify an internationally agreed deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme.
The Russian foreign ministry echoed the concerns, urging the US not to interfere in Iran's "domestic issues", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reports.
On Tuesday, US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley branded as "complete nonsense" Iran's suggestion that external enemies were fomenting the unrest.
She said: "The people of Iran are crying out for freedom. All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause."
What's happening with the protests?
They seem to be dying down despite unverified reports of small protests in a number of cities after nightfall on Wednesday.
The same day, the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said "enemies" had been defeated and the Guards had only intervened in a "limited" way in three provinces.
Internet messaging services Telegram and Instagram remained blocked, as they have been since the protests began.
However, there were calls in parliament to remove some of the most unpopular measures from last month's budget, including welfare budget cuts and energy price rises, AFP news agency reports.
On Thursday, state television showed large pro-government rallies in Ardabil, Mashhad, Shiraz, Birjand and Isfahan.
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The Netherlands has received the first victims' bodies from crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in a solemn ceremony at Eindhoven air base.
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Forty hearses left for the town of Hilversum where the formal identification process will begin.
The Netherlands is observing a national day of mourning for the 298 victims, most of whom were Dutch.
Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels have been widely accused of shooting down the plane on 17 July.
UK government sources say intelligence shows rebels deliberately tampered with evidence, moving bodies and placing parts from other planes in the debris.
As fighting continued in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, officials in Kiev told the BBC that two aircraft, thought to be military jets, had been downed just 35km (20 miles) from the crash site.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk later told the BBC that one of the fighters could have been hit by an air-to-air missile. He did not directly accuse Russia but said it was not brought down by a Ukrainian jet.
Two military planes - one Dutch and the other Australian - carrying the first 40 coffins landed at Eindhoven air base on Wednesday afternoon. They were met by members of the Dutch royal family, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and hundreds of victims' relatives.
Churches around the Netherlands rang their bells for five minutes before the planes landed, and flags of all the nations affected by the disaster have been flying at half mast. There was also a minute's silence.
The coffins were slowly loaded into a fleet of waiting hearses which then moved off in motorcades.
All the bodies are being taken to the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks south of the city of Hilversum for identification, a process that could take months.
Two more planes carrying victims are due to arrive in Eindhoven on Thursday.
Earlier, the coffins had been loaded on to the planes by a military guard of honour at Kharkiv airport in eastern Ukraine.
There has been mounting international anger at the delays in recovering the bodies.
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai told BBC Newsnight that international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had told them to leave the bodies to be collected by experts.
"So we wait a day. We wait a second day. A third day. Come on! Not a single expert. Well, to leave the bodies there any longer, in 30 degree heat, it's absurd. It's simply inhuman. It's a scene from a horror movie," he said.
OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw denied they told rebels not to move the bodies. He told the BBC: "It is not consistent with our mandate to tell people what to do. We're here to monitor, observe and report."
Rebels have also been accused of exaggerating the number of bodies transported from the crash site to the town of Kharkiv on Tuesday.
They had claimed there were 282 bodies but experts said only 200 could be verified.
In a separate development, the Dutch air safety board said the cockpit voice recorder from flight MH17 had been successfully downloaded and contained "valid data from the flight".
The "black box" flight-data recorders are being examined at the headquarters of the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough.
Earlier in Washington, intelligence officials presented evidence they had gathered on the involvement of the rebels.
"It's a solid case that it's an SA-11 [missile] that was fired from eastern Ukraine under conditions the Russians helped create," said the officials, who requested that their names not be reported.
They said the "most plausible explanation" was that rebels mistook the airliner for another aircraft.
The evidence they presented included:
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said some observers suggested the US statement constituted a subtle backing off from more assertive claims over the weekend in which they said they could not rule out a direct Russian role. American diplomats said this was not the case.
Meanwhile, fighting between Ukrainian government forces and rebels around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk has reportedly left 16 people dead.
A statement from overall military commander Igor Strelkov posted on a rebel website said he had withdrawn his fighters from the outskirts of Donetsk.
He said they had pulled back and were prepared to defend their positions.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine erupted in April and is believed to have claimed more than 1,000 lives.
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A second inquest will be opened into the death of a Leicestershire man who was misdiagnosed by hospital staff.
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John Moore-Robinson died in 2006 after Stafford Hospital staff failed to diagnose a ruptured spleen but said he had bruised ribs. He died hours later.
The first inquest returned a narrative verdict but Mr Moore-Robinson's family have argued for a fresh hearing after new evidence came to light.
His father said the family was "satisfied" they would "get the truth".
Mr Moore-Robinson, 20, from Coalville, was taken to A&E at Stafford Hospital after falling off his bike on Cannock Chase.
He was discharged after staff diagnosed him with bruised ribs.
Following the first inquest in 2007 an internal report from the hospital said Mr Moore-Robinson's treatment could have been negligent.
Two members of staff in the Mid-Staffordshire Hospital Trust's legal department were investigated for suppressing information about the death, but later cleared.
Since then Frank Robinson and his family have been campaigning for a fresh inquest and wrote to the Attorney General.
Mr Robinson said: "It has been a long, hard road. It has been very difficult at times but we always knew we were fighting for a just cause.
"I always argued there should be a second inquest following the public inquiry and new evidence coming to light.
"From day one we have asked for a full, thorough investigation into John's care and for the truth, and we feel we will now get that."
On Wednesday the High Court agreed a new inquest could be held.
South Staffordshire Coroner Andrey Haigh said: "The second inquest is by way of a consent order based on the fact that new evidence which was not available at the time of the first inquest has come to light."
The original verdict will now be quashed and a new inquest could open in Leicester by next week.
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An independent expert on mortality rates has suggested that ministers have suppressed details of NHS failings to avoid losing votes.
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Prof Sir Brian Jarman said a "basic problem" was the government both provided and monitored health services.
He says 14 NHS trusts under investigation for high death rates trusts totalled 13,000 more deaths than the national average in 2005-10.
Former Health Secretary Andy Burnham said he tried to flush out problems.
Mr Burnham, now shadow health secretary, was in charge of the NHS between June 2009 and May 2010 and said he left warnings in place at five of the 14 trusts and took particular action at Basildon and Tameside.
A report, which was commissioned by the government in the aftermath of the Stafford Hospital scandal, is expected to set out on Tuesday how the 14 trusts should improve their care.
It was written by the medical director for the NHS in England, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, with contributions from Sir Brian.
BBC health correspondent Jane Dreaper said the high death rates at Stafford Hospital were explained away at the time, rather than used as an alarm signal which should have triggered further investigation,
'Spin'
Sir Brian told the BBC: "One of the basic problems is that the government is responsible for provision of the health service but also for the monitoring of it.
"The NHS is very popular, and quite rightly so, in the country, and they don't want a bad news story for electoral purposes."
In an interview with Sky News, he said: "When they had a problem with quality, they couldn't really say what it was, so things were suppressed.... spin.
"Effectively they had to deliver good news for the minister. The minister then indicated that the pressure came from Number 10. Although he then denied it."
In response, Mr Burnham said the last Labour government had "established independence" by setting up the independent regulator and that "was not the move of a government that wanted to hide".
He said the Francis Report into care at Mid Staffs had looked at this and "said no minister did anything wrong".
"If there is evidence bring it forward... and I will answer it," he added.
The trusts under review serve a total population of almost six million people.
They are: Basildon and Thurrock in Essex; United Lincolnshire; Blackpool; The Dudley Group, West Midlands; George Eliot, Warwickshire; Northern Lincolnshire and Goole; Tameside, Greater Manchester; Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire; Colchester; Medway, Kent; Burton, Staffordshire; North Cumbria; East Lancashire; and Buckinghamshire Healthcare.
The Keogh report is not expected to contain figures projecting what the effects of poor care might have been, our correspondent added, and comparing death rates is a complex undertaking.
But Sir Brian said: "Looking at the 14 trusts, if you say how many deaths would they have had, had they had the national death rate, over the last five years it would have been about 13,000 fewer deaths.
"This means really that we have a number of other hospitals that are similar to Mid Staffs. I would put Mid Staffs in about the top third of those 14.
"We have another group of Mid Staffs hospitals."
This report was the subject of a complaint that was considered resolved by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit.
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Plans have been unveiled for a new £600m cycle-friendly bridge to span the river Thames in east London.
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The designs were commissioned by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in its campaign to improve connections in the area.
The LCCI said east London has only two fixed river crossings compared to 22 west of Tower Bridge.
The design takes account of planes taking off from nearby City Airport and the need for ships to sail underneath.
'Gap in infrastructure'
The crossing, named Bridge East London, would include a segregated cycle lane and was designed by architects HOK and design consultants Arup.
The LCCI said almost half London's population lives east of Tower Bridge but no new road capacity has been developed to the east of it since the opening of the southbound Blackwall tunnel in 1967.
It said the £600m price tag, compared to £150m for a new ferry, was justified because a bridge would attract more private sector funding and could also bring in money through tolling.
'More traffic'
However, Darren Johnson, Green Party member on the London Assembly, said the proposed bridge would not help the local economy but create more congestion and pollution.
Val Shawcross, London Assembly member and transport spokesperson for Labour, backed the scheme, saying it would "boost road capacity, public transport connections and cycling and pedestrian routes".
Transport for London (TfL) said the capital's population is set to grow to 10 million by the early 2030s, and is looking at river crossings in east London in a 10-week public consultation that is due to start on 7 July.
It will consider four options: a new ferry at Woolwich or Gallions reach, or a new bridge at Gallions Reach or Belvedere.
A Boris Johnson spokesperson said: "The mayor has been a strong and vocal supporter for more river crossings in east London and is pushing them ahead as fast as national infrastructure processes allow."
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Police will get powers to fine careless drivers, rather than taking them to court, as part of a government strategy to make Britain's roads safer.
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Ministers say motorists who tail-gate, undertake or cut others up often go unpunished and that introducing instant penalties would be more efficient.
Offenders would get a fine of at least £80 and three points on their licence.
Critics say the approach - likely to be introduced in 2012 in England, Scotland and Wales - is too simplistic.
Currently motorists who have driven in a careless manner have to be prosecuted through the courts. Under the new plans, they will still have that option should they contest the offence.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond released the new strategy for England, Scotland and Wales on Wednesday.
The proposals still have to go through Parliament.
Plans for an 80mph speed limit for motorways and reduced speeds on country roads are not included in the legislation, but are part of ongoing plans.
Drug crackdown
Mr Hammond told the BBC that the fines would not change the government's approach towards serious offenders but were for "low-level" offences.
He said: "We're going to crack down on the most reckless and dangerous drivers, we're going to support those who are basically law-abiding but who perhaps have an occasional lapse."
He added that he hoped the plans would alleviate the pressure on police officers.
"We hope to allow them effectively and efficiently to address poor driving skills and behaviour on our roads, while at the same time freeing up court and police resources to tackle the really dangerous drivers that are the real problem on our roads."
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would also include a clampdown on drug-driving and the closing of loopholes that allow people to escape drink-driving charges.
Disqualified drivers would have to undergo retraining, and possibly take another test, before they got their licence back.
Courts would be encouraged to make more use of their powers to seize vehicles for the most serious offences.
There will be support for new drivers who need to hone their driving skills, and wider range of retraining and education courses for cases of less serious offences.
In some cases, motorists will be spared the penalty and points if they agree to undergo training, at their own expense.
'Greatest danger'
A DfT spokesman said: "By giving the police the tools to deal with those who present the greatest danger to others we can make our roads even safer.
"While seeking to do everything possible to tackle the most dangerous drivers, the strategy will also help the responsible majority to improve their driving.
"This is the government's twin approach to improving road safety."
But the Institute of Advanced Motorists said the fines were not necessarily the right approach for careless driving because, unlike speeding, cases were often not clear-cut.
It also said their introduction could make police reluctant to enter into lengthy prosecutions even in more serious cases.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, agreed that the proposals should help tackle anti-social driving but expressed concern over whether the police had the necessary resources.
He said: "The three things needed to make these plans work are enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. With police services being cut it is far from certain the desired results can be achieved. Without adequate enforcement there is no strategy."
'Slap on the wrist'
Julie Townsend, campaign director at Brake, the road safety charity, expressed her "concern" at whether the level of the fines would be enough of a deterrent for motorists.
She said: "You can be fined £1,000 for dropping litter yet we're talking here about committing crimes behind the wheel that all too often lead to injury and death. To many people £100 is little more than a slap on the wrist."
Robert Gifford, chief executive of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Traffic Safety, gave the plans a "cautious welcome".
He said that the fines would not remove much of the burden from police officers.
"The main argument seems to be that it'll reduce police bureaucracy and therefore more people will be given a fixed penalty. But the police will still have to gather evidence, as the person will have the right to challenge it in court."
Mr Gifford added: "We don't want it to backfire in the way that speed camera funding did, if people think the police are doing it simply to raise money."
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There will be a record 2.5 million people living with a cancer diagnosis in the UK in 2015, an analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support predicts.
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By Smitha MundasadHealth reporter, BBC News
The charity says the surge will create a crisis of "unmanageable proportions", despite improvements in survival and diagnosis being partly behind the rise.
It says political parties need to take urgent action.
Department of Health officials say survival rates are now at their highest ever in England.
'Double-edged sword'
The report says the growing older population has contributed to the rise - an increase of almost half a million people "living with cancer" in the last five years.
The figure includes people who are undergoing treatment and those who have been given the all-clear.
Lynda Thomas of Macmillan Cancer Support says: "While it is great news that more people are surviving cancer or living longer with it, progress is a double-edged sword.
"As numbers surge, the NHS will soon be unable to cope with the huge increase in demand for health services.
"As we are threatened by a cancer crisis of unmanageable proportions, all political parties must step up and make a real commitment to supporting people with cancer."
Living with cancer in the UK
2.5m
people will have cancer in 2015
691,000 will have breast cancer
330,000 will have prostate cancer
290,000 will have colorectal cancer
1,172,000 will have other cancers
The charity estimates around a quarter of people treated for cancer in the UK continue to need NHS care after being clear of the disease.
John Pearson, 47, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2006, said: "Eight years on from my diagnosis I'm still suffering fatigue and permanent nerve damage to my legs, hips and arms from the chemotherapy.
"I try to stay positive as I've survived cancer but I'm living with the long-term side-effects of treatment.
"I wish I could do without the health services but I can't - I see my GP for help with pain control, and have to visit the hospital for colonoscopies, neurology, and physiotherapy."
Cutting-edge care
Cancer Research UK's head of statistical information, Nick Ormiston-Smith, said: "Cancer is mainly a disease of old age so as we live longer, more people will develop the disease.
"This means the number of cases will increase as the UK population ages. Research has also led to improvements in survival so more people are living longer following a cancer diagnosis.
"It's essential that the next government increases investment in the NHS, particularly in diagnostics and treatments, so our cancer services are fit to deal with the increasing demand of an ageing population and can ensure the best possible results for patients."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "It is hugely welcome news that over the last five years 500,000 more people are able to live with cancer - part of the fact that cancer survival rates are increasing from a relatively poor performance by European standards to their highest ever level in England.
"The NHS is rising to the challenge this presents and is seeing 51% more patients with suspected cancer than 2010, offering cutting-edge drugs through the cancer drugs fund, focusing on high quality compassionate care as never before, and working to introduce a personalised recovery care package for every patient."
Macmillan Cancer Support's analysis includes projections of future cases based on research published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2012.
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It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?
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By Mark SavageBBC music reporter
The Killers' Mr Brightside has set a new chart record, after spending 260 weeks - or five whole years - in the UK's Top 100.
No other song comes close. The second-longest-running chart hit is Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, which has racked up 166 weeks in the countdown.
According to the Official Chart Company, Mr Brightside is streamed 1.2 million times a week on average, and has sold 3.52 million copies since it was first released in 2003.
Not bad for a song that only reached number 10 in the UK on its second release in 2004 - and didn't chart at all the first time around.
Its popularity continues without any promotional efforts. Mr Brightside has never been licensed to a television show or UK advertising campaign, and its only significant film appearance is in the 2006 romcom The Holiday - where a tipsy Cameron Diaz shouts-screams her way through the chorus.
So how did it happen?
The origins of a classic
Brandon Flowers wrote the lyrics to Mr Brightside at the end of his first serious relationship, when he was about 19 or 20.
Speaking to Q Magazine in 2009, he recalled how he had discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him in a pub in his hometown of Las Vegas.
"I was asleep and I knew something was wrong," he said. "I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor and my girlfriend was there with another guy."
Around the same time, Flowers met guitarist Dave Keuning, who'd already written Mr Brightside's backing track. As soon as he heard that chiming riff, his heartbreak spilled out on to the page.
"When I first heard those chords, I wrote the lyrics down and we didn't waste much time," he told Spin magazine. "That's also why there's not a second verse. The second is the same as the first. I just didn't have any other lines and it ended up sticking."
The pair grabbed a drum machine to record a primitive demo, which was later released on The Killers' Direct Hits compilation.
At that stage, it was a much darker song. Flowers alternately sounds angry and on the verge of tears - his vocals raw and raspy against a grungy, fuzztone guitar.
Flowers says his urgent delivery was influenced by David Bowie's Queen Bitch - but when it came to recording the studio version of Mr Brightside, he adopted a more detached, almost voyeuristic, tone.
That choice was informed by an artist who is closely associated with Bowie: Iggy Pop.
"If you listen to the Lust for Life record, Iggy does a monotone delivery on Sweet Sixteen, and I was trying to sound like that," Flowers told Rolling Stone. "It's just that I have a sweeter voice than Iggy, and I was a kid, so it came out the way it did."
Mr Brightside was the first complete song The Killers wrote - and the only track to survive the original configuration of their debut album, Hot Fuss.
All the other songs were scrapped after The Strokes released Is This It, a record which redefined American guitar music at the start of the millennium.
"That record just sounded so perfect", Flowers told the NME in 2012. "We threw away everything [we were working on] and the only song that made the cut and remained was Mr Brightside."
First release: Met with indifference
The Killers debuted Mr Brightside at their first ever show, at a venue called Cafe Roma in Las Vegas in 2002.
"It was terrible, awful," Flowers later recalled. "Before we went on, I was looking for a place on the floor to get rid of whatever I'd eaten that day. I didn't throw up, but after my voice broke a couple of times I decided that I'd just play keyboards, because singing made me so nervous."
Things didn't improve for quite some time. The band's sound, heavily influenced by British bands like The Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode, was unpalatable to the US record industry. It wasn't until their demo found its way to the UK indie label Lizard King that they landed a record deal.
"We signed The Killers in the summer of 2003," said label boss Martin Heath. "Everyone in America had turned them down. They had been out for a year looking for a deal but nobody was interested."
Heath was particularly impressed by the band's front man. "It was very clear to me that he was a major star. He had huge charisma. He completely believed in what he was doing. He just stood out and carried the music."
Lizard King released Mr Brightside in 2003, in a limited run of 500 CD singles. It picked up early plays from Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq on Radio 1; and their first ever review in The Times newspaper.
"Mr Brightside is one of those records that come along all too rarely and make you think, hel-lo," wrote Dan Cairns. "A fantastically bleak and catchy ode to romantic paranoia and jealousy, it nails that moment in a love affair when one half is suddenly forced to accommodate the possibility that the other half is playing away."
Despite the buzz, 500 copies wasn't enough to make a dent in the charts; and The Killers seemed destined to become a footnote in musical history. But destiny was calling them...
Making the top 10
After a second single, Somebody Told Me, crept into the top 40, The Killers were signed to Island Records in America (they remained with Lizard King in the UK) and Mr Brightside was re-released as a slightly cleaner "radio mix".
This time, the song caught fire, making the top 10 in both the UK and the US. One of Flowers' biggest idols, Smiths singer Morrissey, even declared himself a fan. "He's bought our single - that's nuts!" Flowers told an interviewer for the Independent.
Even so, there was no indication that Mr Brightside would become a defining anthem of the 2000s. It dropped out of the UK top 40 after just three weeks, and lost the Grammy for best rock song to Maroon 5's This Love.
But Flowers had longevity in his sights, nonetheless: "We want to be important and to last," he told USA Today in 2004.
"We look up to John Lennon and U2. To have just one great song like Where the Streets Have No Name or I Want to Hold Your Hand would be an accomplishment."
He first realised Mr Brightside could become one of those songs when The Killers played Glastonbury's John Peel tent in 2004.
"It went off," the singer told Rolling Stone. "It looked like footage of the Sex Pistols!"
A classic is born
Zane Lowe was one of the first people to spot the enduring appeal of Mr Brightside. The radio presenter started making it a staple of his DJ sets in the mid-2000s "just to get that adrenaline rush of watching people sing it back at you".
"Every time, you could see that it was giving them a moment. And those moments become something that you hold dear to you," he told The Guardian in 2019.
Pretty soon, the song began to reappear in the lower reaches of the charts. It made number 100 in the first week of 2005, as fans spent their Christmas record tokens (remember those?) on the remaining copies of the single.
Once downloads started being counted towards the countdown in July 2005, Mr Brightside would pop into the charts every time The Killers played a festival or toured the UK.
Meanwhile, the song became a staple of wedding parties and student discos. Ed Balls shrugged off his defeat in the 2010 Labour leadership race with a karaoke version; and Coronation Street star Andy Whyment made it his party piece on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.
In December 2018, Mr Brightside reached the landmark of one million pure sales (ie downloads and CD sales). But its unparalleled chart run truly began in 2014, when the Official Chart Company incorporated streams into its calculations.
Since then, it's taken up semi-permanent residence in the lower reaches of the countdown, with 281 million plays, making it the most-streamed song of any track released before 2010.
At the time of writing, it features on 20,200 separate Spotify playlists. The company says it's most likely to appear on playlists designed for road-trips, although it also features on compilations called: "Darts: All the walk-on songs" and "Songs that never fail to make white people turnt".
What do the band think of it?
While some bands would grow to resent the idea of being forever associated with their debut single, Flowers says he's proud Mr Brightside has "stood the test of time", insisting that: "I never get bored of singing it."
Asked about the song's record-breaking chart run in 2017, Flowers told the BBC: "We get little glimpses of stuff like that and it's just incredible.
"As fans, we know what that feels like. Whether it's Enjoy the Silence from Depeche Mode or Where The Streets Have No Name from U2 - those songs belong to everyone.
"To be a part of it, on the other side of it, it's nothing that we can really explain. But it's really cool."
Last year, he capitalised on the song's success to encourage people to wash their hands during the pandemic.
By the way, you've been singing it wrong
That iconic first line - "Coming out of my cage / And I've been doing just fine" has rung out at thousands of festivals and become a popular meme.
But according to the band, we've been singing it wrong for the past 18 years. Who knew?
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The family of a soldier who died during a British Army-led kayak training exercise have settled a claim against the Ministry of Defence for £535,000.
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Jamie Lee Sawyer, 20, from Birmingham, was swamped by waves and drowned off the coast of Cyprus on 12 March 2015.
A failure to take account of high winds contributed to his death, a coroner ruled in 2017.
Judge Mr Justice Stewart said at the High Court that the MoD now admitted liability over the death.
Private's Sawyer's mother, Tracey Sawyer, brought legal action against the MoD over the death of her son, who was deployed to Cyprus as part of a United Nations peace-keeping operation.
'Knocked unconscious'
Mr Justice Stewart said about 40 minutes after the trip began the weather and the state of the sea changed suddenly near sheer sandy cliffs, known as Cape Greco.
He told a hearing in London on Tuesday there were "very strong winds and extremely large waves making progress difficult and some of the kayakers were pushed inshore".
Mr Justice Stewart explained that Pte Sawyer, a Royal Logistic Corps chef, fell behind the rest of the group.
Maritime police threw Pte Sawyer a rescue line "but, as he was trying to grab it, a wave knocked him unconscious", the judge said.
Pte Sawyer was rescued from the water and taken to hospital, but "sadly he was pronounced dead on arrival", he added.
Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Louise Hunt gave a narrative verdict at Pte Sawyer's inquest and said there was a "failure to adequately assess the weather forecast before the event began."
She also cited a failure to ensure thunder storms warnings were provided to the regimental adventure training team.
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Hundreds of people have taken part in a protest against plans to survey Sherwood Forest for shale gas.
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Chemicals giant Ineos wants to inspect part of the ancient Nottinghamshire forest to see if there is potential for fracking.
Protestors fear the surveys could lead to fracking in the forest or on on land in nearby Edwinstowe.
Thoresby Estate, which owns the site, had already said it will not agree to any shale gas well heads on its land.
What is fracking and why is it controversial?
The surveys came to light in Forestry Commission documents, which Friends of the Earth received under the Freedom of Information Act.
Pauline Meechan, from Frack Free Sherwood and Edwinstowe, said: "If there is enough awareness and understanding of the long term problems associated with this whole [shale gas] industry, then people may well start to put pressure on government to say 'we don't want you backing this'."
The government gave Ineos licences to explore for shale gas on a million acres of land across the UK.
As part of this, the company wants to carry out seismic imaging surveys at Sherwood Forest and other locations.
It said it was "exploring the viability" of shale gas across the country and its seismic imaging surveys "do not include fracking in any form".
The RSPB, which will manage the entire Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve from 2018, opposes fracking but does not object to seismic imaging surveys in principle.
The conservation charity said surveys must be done in a way that did not disturb breeding birds.
Who owns and manages Sherwood Forest?
Source: Nottinghamshire County Council and Thoresby Estate
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A letter penned by artists Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, which details their visits to brothels, has been sold at auction for €210,600 ($236,632; £188,538).
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The letter was bought by the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation at the Drouot auction house in Paris on Tuesday.
The artists wrote the letter to their friend, French painter Emile Bernard, in late 1888.
In it, they describe living and working together in the French city of Arles.
Van Gogh and Gauguin, both post-impressionist painters who are famous around the world, were convinced they were leading a "great renaissance of art", according to the letter.
The artists honed their artistic vision in Arles but, after spending several months together, their friendship ended acrimoniously and Gauguin left.
Dated and signed 1-2 November 1888, the letter was written several weeks before Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown and famously cut off his left ear.
The Dutch artist took his own life in 1890.
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where the letter will go on display later this year, said it was the only correspondence Van Gogh ever had with another artist.
The museum described the letter as "the most significant document written by Van Gogh that was still in private hands".
The auction house, Drouot, said the letter was "exceptional" because of how certain the artists were that their painting would revolutionise art.
Van Gogh and Gauguin, the auction house said, were "fully aware that their art marks a turning point and that only future generations will understand it".
The director of the Van Gogh Museum, Emilie Gordenker, said she was "thrilled" that the "important letter" had been acquired and could be put on display.
"We are delighted and very grateful that the Vincent van Gogh Foundation has made it possible to add such a remarkable letter as this to our collection, especially in these challenging times," she said.
What does the letter say?
The artists take turns to give an account of their stay in Arles, where they worked together in a rented apartment at the Yellow House.
"Now something that will interest you - we've made some excursions in the brothels, and it's likely that we'll eventually go there often to work," wrote Van Gogh in the four-page letter.
"At the moment Gauguin has a canvas in progress of the same night café that I also painted, but with figures seen in the brothels. It promises to become a beautiful thing."
While the letter was addressed to their friend, it was also a dialogue between Van Gogh and Gauguin, who gave their first impressions of working together.
In the letter, Van Gogh described Gauguin as "an unspoiled creature with the instincts of a wild beast".
"With Gauguin, blood and sex have the edge over ambition," he added. "But enough of that, you've seen him close at hand longer than I have, just wanted to tell you first impressions in a few words."
From 9 October 2020, the letter will be one of 40 documents to go on display at an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
More on Van Gogh:
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Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has been sized up for a waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London.
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The new figure, which is costing £150,000 to make, will be unveiled next month.
The waxwork will have taken four months to complete by the time it's launched.
The 16-year-old was in the UK for the premiere of his documentary music film Never Say Never last week and picked up the international breakthrough act at the Brit awards.
Waxworks of Justin Bieber will also be unveiled at the same time at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam and New York.
Liz Edwards from the attraction said: "Justin Bieber is truly a worldwide sensation.
"We have been absolutely inundated with requests from young fans from around the world to see him at Madame Tussauds.
"We're sure his fans will be just as delighted as we are that Justin will be joining the A-list here in March."
Justin Bieber will be seen in the interactive music zone alongside stars like Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse and Justin Timberlake.
But the figure may be out of date quite soon.
The star's tweeted to say he's cut his hair for charity.
He said: "Yeah so it's true...i got a lil haircut...i like it...and we are giving all the hair cut to CHARITY to auction. Details coming soon."
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The last of the artefacts taken from Machu Picchu by American archaeologist who rediscovered the Inca citadel have been returned to Peru.
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More than 35,000 pottery fragments and other pieces were flown from Yale University to the Andean city of Cusco.
They had been taken to the US by archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who brought the site to international attention in 1911.
The move completes a deal signed in 2010, following legal action by Peru.
It argued that Bingham had only been loaned the artefacts.
The American archaeologist and historian took to Yale some 46,000 ceramics, bone fragments and metal pieces.
The first and second lots of artefacts arrived back in Peru last year.
The best pieces will now be on display in a newly built museum in nearby Cusco.
The citadel of Machu Picchu, located 2,500m (8,200ft) above sea level, was built in the 15th Century by the Incas.
It is Peru's main tourist attraction, attracting more than 1 million visitors a year.
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The final proposal to redraw electoral boundaries in Northern Ireland has been published.
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By Enda McClaffertyBBC News
It will cut the number of constituencies from 18 to 17, as part of a wider move to reduce MPs at Westminster from 650 to 600.
The plan published today is largely in line with revised proposals published earlier this year which will see Belfast retain four constituencies.
West Tyrone constituency will be renamed Sperrin.
When the revised proposals were first published in January they were heavily criticised by Sinn Féin.
Dungiven will no longer be split between three constituencies, instead it will be moved to Sperrin.
Lagan Valley and Strangford will also disappear from the constituency map.
The new plan will see the creation of the Causeway constituency on the north coast, merging part of East Londonderry with part of North Antrim and a small section of East Antrim.
The remainder of North Antrim is renamed Mid Antrim and takes in parts of East Antrim and South Antrim.
South Antrim, in turn, takes part of a defunct Lagan Valley.
Another portion of Lagan Valley merges with a section of Strangford, and a small part of South Down, to become Mid Down.
Westminster approval
South Belfast is also expanded to take in parts of Lagan Valley and Strangford.
The plan will now go before Westminster for approval and there is no guarantee it will get the votes needed to pass both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Commenting on the recommendations, the deputy chairwoman of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, Madam Justice Denise McBride said:
"The Boundary Commission has determined its final recommendations after careful consideration of all the evidence collected during three stages of open and transparent public consultation.
"The commission is grateful to all those who took the time and trouble to respond.
"We have sought, where possible, to try and accommodate the wide range of views and proposals presented whilst remaining within the constraint of the statutory criteria imposed upon the 2018 Review."
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A "shocking" report has found a number of failings in the way the Education Authority provides support for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
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By Robbie MeredithBBC News NI Education Correspondent
An internal audit found "unnecessary and undue delays" in the statutory assessment and statementing process.
It also raised concerns about the security of confidential information about children kept by the EA.
Sara Long, chief executive of Education Authority (EA), apologised to families for the "distress and worry" caused.
Speaking before members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) on Stormont's Education Committee, Ms Long said that the authority was guilty of "significant shortcomings".
The chair of the committee, Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle, said the EA's findings were "shocking" and demonstrated "systemic failure" of children with SEN.
"The findings of this report present - for whatever reason and that's what we have to establish - the development of a culture of delay, non-compliance and a lack of accountability," Mr Lyttle said.
A number of other MLAs on the committee also described the findings as shocking.
The committee's vice-chair, Sinn Féin MLA Karen Mullan, said the Education Authority had systematically failed some of the most vulnerable children.
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan said: "What I've heard today is nothing short of chaotic, shocking, reckless, dysfunction, utter failure."
'Meltdown'
The internal audit was ordered by Ms Long following allegations by a whistleblower on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan show.
The whistleblower had alleged a number of shortcomings in the way the EA dealt with applications for support with children with SEN.
A Belfast primary school principal had also said the EA was in "meltdown" after she encountered repeated problems trying to get support for some pupils.
Almost 80,000 pupils in Northern Ireland have some form of special educational need - almost a quarter (23%) of the school population.
About 20,000 of those pupils have a "statement" which details extra help they are to be given in school.
If a pupil is believed to need extra support in school due to SEN, the EA carries out an assessment of their needs and then issues a statement of what additional help they are to receive.
The maximum length of time for that process is meant to be 26 weeks, although there can be valid reasons for it taking longer than that - for example, if the EA needs to get advice about the child from a number of agencies.
However, according to separate data released by the Department of Education, the average time the EA took to complete each statement in 2018-19 was 40 weeks.
A total of 280 children have been waiting over a year for their statement to be completed.
The EA revealed before the Stormont committee that one pupil had been waiting two years for support.
The EA's investigation into how it handled the assessment and statementing process took place between October 2019 and January 2020.
The resulting report found "unnecessary and undue delays in the operation of the process across all SEN teams".
It found that 85% of over 1,300 statements examined were not completed within the recommended 26 weeks.
'Inaccuracies'
The report's authors were also critical of a lack of "proactive and effective management" within the EA.
"There was found to be a lack of management focus or accountability on the importance of the 26-week statutory assessment timeframe," it continued.
The EA's Donna Allen told the committee that there were inconsistencies and inaccuracies in when the EA recorded the required starting date of the statementing process.
"There was evidence to suggest that the dates that the referral was received was not the date that was recorded on the system," she said.
The report also said that even after a child had a statement detailing what extra support they needed, the timeframe of delivering that support was not monitored which often resulted in delays.
It also highlighted concerns about how confidential information about children was kept by the EA.
"The security of the highly sensitive information about individual children contained within offices is not currently managed effectively," it stated.
It added that while individual EA staff were doing their best, there was a lack of "proactive and effective" management.
The report called for a "change of culture" within the EA and included a number of recommendations to that end.
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Amazon has reported a loss of $126m (£74m) in the second quarter and warned that sales could slow in the current quarter.
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Amazon forecast third quarter sales of between $19.7bn and $21.5bn, which could mean sales growth of as little as 15% - well down on previous quarters.
Amazon has traditionally survived on thin profit margins, but investors have been reassured by strong sales growth.
But today's warning over sales has spooked investors.
In after hours trading in the US shares slumped by 6%.
Digital content
Amazon has been investing heavily to build up its business, including the launch last month of its first smartphone - the Fire Phone.
It has been developing digital content including computer games and TV shows.
In its conference call the company said that producing its own TV shows would cost $100m in the third quarter.
Amazon has also been spending money on improving its delivery systems which includes expanding Sunday delivery to 18 cities in the United States.
Web services
Another major cost of Amazon has been the building of its Amazon Web Services business.
It provides computer services and storage for businesses and has been growing very quickly.
To match that growth Amazon has been investing heavily in infrastructure and has hired "thousands" of staff for the web services operation.
All that has contributed to a negative net income of $126m in the second quarter, which compares with a loss of $7m in the same quarter in 2013.
That loss came despite a 23% jump in second quarter sales to $19.3bn.
Analysis
Leo Kelion, BBC Technology Desk Editor
Amazon's enjoyed strong growth in its sales over the past quarter - its 23% revenue rise on last year's figure was bang on target for Wall Street's predictions.
But what makes investors nervous is that its net loss was nearly double what had been forecast.
What's more, it has warned that it might sink further into the red during the current period.
In short, Amazon's growing list of investments is hurting its bottom line - at least in the short term.
Developing new products such as its Fire Phone, Fire TV set-top box and Dash grocery scanner haven't come cheap.
The company also pointed to the need to invest in the expansion of its web services division - the behind-the-scenes computing power it rents out to clients including Netflix, Nasa and the CIA, as well as smaller app creators.
On top of that the firm has rolled out Sunday deliveries in the UK and US, commissioned new TV shows for its Prime subscribers and expanded its operations in India and China.
Benefit of the doubt
In the past, shareholders have been willing to give Amazon the benefit of the doubt - foregoing dividends today for the promise of it being in an even stronger position to pay out in the future.
But they may be concerned about how many bets it is taking at once - this week's lacklustre reviews for the Fire Phone can't have helped.
The size of today's sell-off indicates that some at least want more reassurance - particularly since Amazon refuses to break down its numbers to reveal exactly how its different products are performing.
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Thousands of people should find it easier to obtain a mortgage and buy a new home in 2013.
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By Ian PollockPersonal finance reporter, BBC News
The property market has been suffering a severe depression since 2008, thanks to the after-effects of the credit crunch and the banking crisis.
But a significant boost came in August last year.
The Bank of England launched an initiative - the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) - aimed in part at encouraging more lending to home buyers.
The scheme involves offering up to £60bn in cheap money to banks and building societies, in the expectation that they lend it to people and businesses and avert any further slowdown in the wider economy.
"For people who have only got a 10% deposit, there are definitely better options now than there were even six months ago and I suspect the options will be better again by the end of this year," says Ray Boulger of mortgage broker John Charcol.
"We have seen more lenders come into the 85% and 90% loan-to-value space, with more competitive deals, and I think that trend will continue as FLS continues to give lenders more cheap funds over the course of this year," he adds.
'Incredibly difficult'
In fact, the number of completed house sales rose by 6% last year to about 930,000, despite banks and building societies continuing to ration their mortgage lending to only the most credit-worthy of borrowers.
Meanwhile the number of new mortgages approved, but not yet lent, picked up in the last few months of the year, suggesting more sales ahead.
So FLS seems to be having some modest effect and, on the face of it, the prospects for more people to buy their first home, or move to another one, are now better than for several years.
But property commentator Henry Pryor warns against too much optimism.
He points out that millions of people are still prevented from moving, either because past house price falls have eroded the equity in their homes, effectively locking them in to their current properties, or they cannot put down the huge deposit typically asked of a first-time buyer.
"You can't throw £5bn to £10bn at the mortgage market and not see some sort of result," he says.
"But it is still going to be incredibly difficult for the vast majority to access the deals that we are going to see lenders offering, because most people still won't have the pre-requisite 25% plus deposit."
What do lenders think?
Two of the biggest lenders are the Halifax, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, and the Nationwide building society.
They argue that caution by would-be buyers has had a dampening effect on borrowing and house buying, and will continue to do so, FLS or no FLS.
"We will still see high levels of unemployment and a lot of pressure on household finances - it's going to make people cautious about going out and buying a home," says Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax.
"We would have to see really solid signs of a significant economic improvement [to stimulate more lending] - it's going to be a slow recovery," he adds.
His counterpart at the Nationwide, Robert Gardner, takes a similar view.
He argues that things will continue to be very subdued in the coming year, because the economy is likely to stay flat.
"We are expecting the economy to be fairly weak, and that to translate into another year of weak housing market activity with prices remaining flat, or falling," he says.
Few forced sellers
Depending on which house price index you look at, in 2012 average prices were either up a bit or down a bit.
This disguised big regional variations, with the bubble economy in London pushing up prices there significantly, while they fell in other parts of the country.
Why haven't prices fallen further, on average, given the restricted number of buyers with adequate finances?
Mr Gardner reminds us that the growth of the population has been far outstripping the hopelessly inadequate level of new house building, while the number of people in employment has been rising.
"There is already quite a large gap between the rise in the number of households that have been formed in recent years, and the number of houses that have been built," he says.
"If you look at England, the official projection is that up to 2033, about 230,000 new homes will be formed every year, but at the moment we are building fewer than 150,000 homes every year.
"And we haven't had waves of forced sellers, either because they have lost their jobs or their payments have increased significantly - that hasn't happened," he adds.
Private landlords thrive
The growing population has meant ever rising demand for rented accommodation.
Last year the Survey of English Housing revealed that there had been an 8% rise in the number of households renting from private landlords, to 3.62 million or 16.5% of all households.
That was almost as many as lived in council or housing association homes.
Meanwhile rents have been rising briskly to stand at an average of £741 pounds a month for private tenants in England and Wales.
So one group of people who do not seem to have much trouble borrowing money are buy-to-let (BTL) landlords.
The figures make startling reading.
There are now 1.44 million BTL mortgages outstanding, a record number and now nearly 13% of all residential mortgages. That is almost a million more than there were a decade ago.
Bernard Clarke, of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, says the buy-to-let industry should continue to thrive.
"There is still a shortage of homes being constructed and demand in the rental sector remains strong," he says.
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Marine life is facing "irreparable damage" from the millions of tonnes of plastic waste which ends up in the oceans each year, the United Nations has warned.
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"This is a planetary crisis... we are ruining the ecosystem of the ocean," UN oceans chief Lisa Svensson told the BBC.
But how does this happen, where is most at risk and what damage does this plastic actually do?
Why is plastic problematic?
Plastic as we know it has only really existed for the last 60-70 years, but in that time it has transformed everything from clothing, cooking and catering, to product design, engineering and retailing.
One of the great advantages of many types of plastic is that they're designed to last - for a very long time.
And nearly all the plastic ever created still exists in some form today.
In July a paper published in the journal Science Advances by industrial ecologist Dr Roland Geyer, from the University of California in Santa Barbara, and colleagues, calculated the total volume of all plastic ever produced at 8.3bn tonnes.
Of this, some 6.3bn tonnes is now waste - and 79% of that is in landfill or the natural environment.
This vast amount of waste has been driven by modern life, where plastic is used for many throwaway or "single use" items, from drinks bottles and nappies to cutlery and cotton buds.
Four billion plastic bottles...
Drinks bottles are one the most common types of plastic waste. Some 480bn plastic bottles were sold globally in 2016 - that's a million bottles per minute.
Of these, 110bn were made by drinks giant Coca Cola.
Some countries are considering moves to reduce consumption.
Proposals in the UK include deposit-return schemes, and the improvement of free-drinking water supplies in major cities, including London.
So how much plastic waste ends up in the sea?
It's likely that about 10m tonnes of plastic currently ends up in the oceans each year.
In 2010 scientists from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the University of Georgia in Athens estimated the figure as 8m tonnes, and forecast that to rise to 9.1m tonnes by 2015.
The same study, published in the journal Science in 2015, surveyed 192 coastal countries contributing to ocean plastic waste, and found that Asian nations were 13 of the 20 biggest contributors.
China was top of the list of countries mismanaging plastic waste, but the US also featured in the top 20 and contributed a higher rate of waste per person.
Plastic waste accumulates in areas of the ocean where winds create swirling circular currents, known as gyres, which suck in any floating debris.
There are five gyres around the globe, but the best known is probably the North Pacific gyre.
More on this topic:
It is estimated debris takes about six years to reach the centre of the North Pacific gyre from the coast of the US, and about a year from Japan.
All five gyres have higher concentrations of plastic rubbish than other parts of the oceans.
They are made up of tiny fragments of plastic, which appear to hang suspended below the surface - a phenomenon that has led it to being described as plastic soup.
And the hard-wearing qualities of most plastics means that some items can take hundreds of years to biodegrade.
However, there are moves to clean up the North Pacific gyre. An operation led by a non-profit organisation Ocean Cleanup is due to begin in 2018.
How bad are things in the UK?
The Marine Conservation Society found 718 pieces of litter for every 100m stretch of beach surveyed during their recent Great British Beach Clean Up. That was a 10% increase on last year.
Rubbish from food and drink constituted at least 20% of all litter collected, the MCS reported.
The origin of a lot of the litter is difficult to trace, but the public contributes about 30%. "Sewage-related debris", or items flushed down toilets that should have been put in the bin, amounted to some 8.5%.
Why is plastic so harmful to marine life?
For sea birds and larger marine creatures like turtles, dolphins and seals, the danger comes from being entangled in plastic bags and other debris, or mistaking plastic for food.
Turtles cannot distinguish between plastic bags and jellyfish, which can be part of their diet. Plastic bags, once consumed, cause internal blockages and usually result in death.
Larger pieces of plastic can also damage the digestive systems of sea birds and whales, and can be potentially fatal.
Over time, plastic waste slowly degrades and breaks down into tiny micro-fragments which are also causing scientists concern.
A recent survey by Plymouth University found that plastic was found in a third of UK-caught fish, including cod, haddock, mackerel and shellfish.
This can result in malnutrition or starvation for the fish, and lead to plastic ingestion in humans too.
The effect on humans of eating fish containing plastic is still largely unknown.
But in 2016 the European Food Safety Authority warned of an increased risk to human health and food safety "given the potential for micro-plastic pollution in edible tissues of commercial fish".
Produced by Alison Trowsdale, Tom Housden and Becca Meier. Design by Sue Bridge and Joy Roxas.
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A photographer has captured life in Leicester throughout the coronavirus lockdown.
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Beth Walsh, from Loughborough, became a freelance photographer in 2016 but lockdown hit her business hard.
So she took to the streets, initially almost deserted but increasingly busy, to talk to strangers.
"I have learnt about other people's feeling's during this unprecedented time in all of our lives," she said.
"All of our lives have been concentrated down and we are all connected through Covid.
"This project has been a real journey and I have felt humbled by the kindness of strangers."
Olga, pictured above, felt family was the most important thing "and not everyone has that".
Tattoo artist Pauly said: "I have witnessed the world during a modern day plague".
Samira, who has terminal cancer, asked to help with the project. "Despite her illness, she wanted to help a stranger," said Ms Walsh.
Sofia, photographed on Midland Street in the city, is expecting her baby in October.
Olivia, who was attending a Black Lives Matter demonstration, said: "During a pandemic, people come out on the streets to try and make a change."
Eric and son Jabez were photographed on Humberstone Gate. Eric said he didn't feel safe on the streets with the increase of people shopping.
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Unions say the £1,100-a-day pay of a council's new children's director is "obscene and unjustified".
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Sally Hodges, who was appointed by Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) in February, has a salary of £258,000.
The unions which represent some staff at the authority, who this year were not given a pay rise, said the salary was unacceptable.
The council said the salary reflected a "detailed assessment" of the market rate for such posts.
Ms Hodges earns more than the financially-troubled authority's chief executive.
Kev Standishday, Unison's branch secretary in Northamptonshire, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "This obscene salary cannot be justified in any way and harks back to the days when NCC paid outrageous sums of money to consultants and agency staff across social care which then contributed to the county going broke."
GMB branch secretary Rachelle Wilkins said she was "deeply concerned" about the salary.
"This sends the wrong message to people that have worked for the council without a pay rise," she said.
The unions have been told there could be a pay rise in June for all staff, with pay backdated to April, but nothing has been confirmed.
The Conservative-led council has announced that this year it should balance its books, after going £40m over budget last financial year.
The government stepped in last year to oversee children's services after a critical Ofsted report, six months after the government appointed two other commissioners to oversee the authority as a whole.
Before joining NCC Sally Hodges had been a children's director at a number of other councils and has advised Ofsted.
The authority said Ms Hodges "is one of the UK's leading children's services professionals and has a wealth of experience" and that her salary reflected this and was decided after "a detailed market assessment".
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The Bank of England is to unveil plans allowing European banks to operate in the UK as normal post-Brexit.
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Simon JackBusiness editor@BBCSimonJackon Twitter
The BBC has learned that banks offering wholesale finance - money and services provided to businesses and each other - would operate under existing rules.
It means EU banks operating through branches can continue without creating subsidiaries - an expensive process.
Branches offer an easy way for banks to move money around their international operations.
But they present the risk that, in the event of a financial crisis, funds are quickly repatriated to the foreign bank's headquarters - leaving customers of the UK branch out of pocket.
Subsidiaries are forced to hold their own shock-absorbing capital which can't cut and run - they essentially become UK companies.
Changing from a branch to a subsidiary could cost billions for a bank like Deutsche Bank, for example, which employs 9,000 people in the UK.
Currently, banks based anywhere in the EU can sell services to anywhere else in the EU thanks to an instrument known as a financial services passport.
More from Simon Jack
On Monday, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier was talking tough on UK-based financial services access to the European single market after Brexit.
"There is no place (for financial services). There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It doesn't exist. In leaving the single market, they lose the financial services passport," he said.
Which begs the question - if they are playing hard ball - why are we being so nice in rolling out the red carpet?
Miles Celic, head of the lobbying group TheCityUK, said offering continuity to EU banks was an act of goodwill, but it was also one of enlightened self interest.
"Encouraging EU banks to continue to operate in the UK will help preserve financial stability for the UK and the EU and will help defend London's position as an open global financial centre," he said.
Forcing EU bank branches in the UK to become separately capitalised subsidiaries may well have encouraged European banks to pull out of London - gradually eroding its pre-eminence as a financial centre.
But on the other hand, London acts as the wholesale bank to the EU and access to its expertise and capital is highly prized. Some may see this decision as surrendering a trump card that should have been held back for the tough negotiations ahead.
So, why are we allowing the EU access to this valuable resource while the EU threatens to create barriers the other way?
Government sources said there are three reasons.
First, there are the jobs. Tens of thousands of highly paid people work in the London branches of big EU banks. That also creates knock on jobs in other professions like accountancy and law.
Second, those people pay a lot of tax to the exchequer.
No strings attached
And third, there is another important economic point. Services sold by the UK branch of a French or German bank to a third country like the US, for example, count as UK exports - something the government is keen to maximise.
In a speech back in October, Sam Woods, the head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (the bit of the Bank of England that supervises banks) said the reason the European financial markets work so well is not just due to the "passport" that Michel Barnier insists will be revoked.
He said he hoped "for a strong, co-operative relationship in which wholesale banks can continue to operate across the UK and EU27 in branches... We have embedded a sophisticated framework of supervisory co-operation... There is every reason to think these will continue into the future"
This sentiment echoes what a senior banker told me six months ago - "if the regulators were in charge, and not the politicians, this would all be sorted out in a fortnight."
They are not in charge. But I understand the bank has the blessing of the government in offering this "no new post-Brexit strings attached" access to the world's largest financial centre.
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Australian PM Tony Abbott has defended what critics have described as government secrecy over asylum policy.
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Officials have in recent days refused to comment on reports that Australian naval forces have turned back at least one boat to Indonesia.
Asylum-seeker accounts have also alleged mistreatment by navy personnel.
Mr Abbott, who promised a tough line on the asylum issue when he took office, said restricting information flow boosted operational enforcement.
"I'd rather be criticised for being a bit of a closed book on this issue and actually stop the boats," he told local media.
"The point is not to provide sport for public discussion. The point is to stop the boats.
"I'm pleased to say it is now several weeks since we've had a boat, and the less we talk about operational details on the water, the better when it comes to stopping the boats."
'Force used'
The number of asylum boats travelling to Australia from Indonesia rose sharply in 2012 and the beginning of 2013.
Indonesia serves as a transit point for people-smugglers, who ferry people mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka to Christmas Island, the closest part of Australian territory, on rickety and over-crowded boats. Dozens of people have died making the journey in recent years.
In response, the Labor government reintroduced offshore processing on the Pacific island of Nauru and in Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. It also said that people found to be refugees would be settled in Papua New Guinea, not Australia.
When Mr Abbott's Liberal-National Coalition ousted Labor in the 7 September general election, it initiated Operation Sovereign Borders, giving the military control over the response to people-smugglers.
The Labor government had provided a detailed breakdown of asylum arrivals and vessel-related incidents.
But Mr Abbott's government has limited information to a weekly press briefing. In December the immigration minister appeared to suggest that this would be changed to a weekly e-mail.
Officials have refused to answer questions about reported incidents, citing operational needs.
These have included recent reports - both from Australia and Indonesia - that the Australian navy turned at least one boat carrying asylum seekers back to Indonesia.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) carried accounts from two men - from two separate asylum boats - who said their vessels had been intercepted.
Passengers were offloaded - some with physical force - and their boats towed for some distance. Passengers - who were only given one meal a day, according to one of the men - were then returned to their boats off Indonesia's coast, the men said.
Officials did respond to the men's claims, with Australia's Defence Force chief David Hurley saying personnel had acted in a "humane and considerate manner", the ABC said.
'Basic questions'
Australian media have also reported that the government is to buy 16 lifeboats to ferry asylum seekers back to Indonesia.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa earlier this week declined to comment on specific incidents.
"But on the policy itself, let me once again put on record that Indonesia rejects Australia's policy to turn back the boats because such a policy is not actually conducive to a comprehensive solution," he said.
Ties between Australia and Indonesia remain strained in the wake of spying revelations in documents leaked by US whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
Australia's opposition leader urged the government to "start answering the most basic questions''.
''It's time for the Abbott government to stop hiding the boats,'' Bill Shorten added. ''If the policies are good, and if they're working, then why keep them a secret?''
The Greens, meanwhile, have hit out at the apparent decision by the Nauru government to raise the cost of a media fee from A$200 ($180, £108) to A$8,000.
Conditions at both the Nauru and Manus Island asylum processing camps have been the subject of stringent criticism from both UN agencies and human rights groups.
"It's designed to make it difficult for the media to access Nauru and to get information back to Australia," Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was quoted by the ABC as saying.
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Police have issued more than £15,000 in fines after 300 people attended an illegal rave in a railway arch.
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Officers raided an unlicensed music event in Nursery Road, Hackney, at 01.30 GMT on Sunday.
Many people fled the scene, while organisers padlocked the doors from the inside to stop officers getting in, police said.
No arrests were reported, but 78 fines of up to £200 for breaching lockdown restrictions were issued.
A dog unit and helicopter were deployed to the scene, with police saying they made numerous attempts to contact the organisers.
Ch Supt Roy Smith said: "This was a serious and blatant breach of the public health regulations and the law.
"Officers were forced, yet again, to put their own health at risk to deal with a large group of incredibly selfish people who were tightly packed together in a confined space - providing an ideal opportunity for this deadly virus to spread.
"Not just organisers, but all those present at such illegal parties can expect to be issued a fine."
There is an England-wide lockdown in place which prevents any social mixing between households.
Under these restrictions people are asked to only leave home for limited reasons such as shopping, going to work, seeking medical assistance or avoiding domestic abuse.
The Met Police has broken up several large gatherings in London over the last month including a 150-person wedding at a north London school.
Two officers were injured as police broke up a party involving about 200 people in Kensington on 17 January.
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The great-granddaughter of a woman who led the British suffragette movement stumbled across a parade commemorating her ancestor's struggle.
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Dr Helen Pankhurst was in Carlisle for a book festival when she heard a famous suffragette song being sung and followed the sound of the music.
"It was wonderful, I wasn't expecting it," she said.
Her great-grandmother, Emmeline Pankhurst, led the campaign to win the right for women to vote
Dr Pankhurst. a writer, academic and women's rights activist herself, had just arrived at the train station.
"As we were coming through, I heard The March Of The Women, which I know so well," she said.
"It represents so much about the fight, the suffragettes' struggle, the personal family connection."
The parade, organised by the Celebrating Women Of Cumbria creative project to mark 100 years since some women got the vote, had been rescheduled after bad weather in March.
The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave women the vote - but only those who were over 30 and also owned property.
There have been events across the country commemorating the anniversary.
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The Tamil National Alliance says that the Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim who visited Sri Lanka on Tuesday was not optimistic about restarting peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers.
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Parliamentarian Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam told BBC Sandeshaya that Erik Solheim informed a TNA delegation that people should not have high hopes on an immediate resumption of peace talks as "there is no change in the situation"
The Norwegian envoy is conducting a series of preparatory meetings before the arrival of foreign minister Jan Petersen on Wednesday.
The Norwegian envoy also met the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem.
The SLMC leader also echoed the sentiments of the TNA parliamentarian when interviewed by Elmo Fernando.
However, both told BBC Sandeshaya that the Norwegian facilitators are trying to do their utmost to get both parties back to the negotiating table.
The Norwegian envoy was of the view that contradictions between the government and the LTTE did not help setting up an agenda, said Ponnambalam.
"If the President and her government can give a clear assurance that they are prepared to talk on the basis of the Interim Self Government Authority (ISGA) proposals, peace talks will come out of the deadlock," he added.
The SLMC leader said that he emphasised the need for the participation of a separate Muslim delegation comprising of Muslim parliamentarians in future peace negotiations.
Meanwhile, Tamil Tigers' chief negotiator Anton Balasingham was airlifted from Colombo to Vanni by the Sri Lanka air force.
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Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has blamed Iran for an explosion that damaged an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week.
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The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was travelling from Saudi Arabia to Singapore when an explosion reportedly ripped holes in both sides of its hull.
"This was indeed an operation by Iran. That is clear," Mr Netanyahu told Kan Radio, without providing any evidence.
Iran's foreign ministry said it strongly rejected the accusation.
Mr Netanyahu's remarks were broadcast hours after a monitoring group reported that Israeli missile strikes had targeted Iranian forces in Syria.
It is not yet clear what caused the explosion that damaged the Helios Ray on Thursday night. But the ship's owner, Rami Ungar, said that it left two holes in the hull about 1.5m (4.9ft) in diameter, just above the waterline.
Yoav Galant, an Israeli cabinet minister, told Ynet TV that photographs of the hull suggested the damage was the result of "a mine affixed to the exterior, apparently in a night-time navy commando operation".
He noted that the attack took place close to the Iranian coast and that the perpetrators would have known from publicly available databases that the vessel was Israeli-owned.
In 2019, Iran was accused of being behind explosions that damaged several oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The US military said the blasts were caused by limpet mines attached magnetically to the ships' hulls.
Iran denied any involvement in those attacks and rejected Mr Netanyahu's accusation on Monday.
"The Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are Iran's immediate security areas. We will not allow them to spread panic," foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference.
"Netanyahu suffers from Iranophobia and he thinks the way to solve his domestic problems is spreading such accusations. Israel knows well that Iran's answer will be technical and precise regarding its national security."
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When asked whether Israel would retaliate, Mr Netanyahu replied: "You're familiar with my policy. Iran is Israel's biggest enemy. I am determined to fend it off. We are striking at it all over the region."
Kan's interview with the prime minister was recorded on Sunday night, hours before neighbouring Syria said it had repelled an Israeli missile attack.
The Syrian state news agency, Sana, cited a military source as saying Israeli aircraft had fired missiles from the occupied Golan Heights towards "some posts in the vicinity of Damascus". Air defences intercepted the missiles and shot down most of them, the source added.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted sites in the southern Sayyida Zeinab area that were controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah movement, which are backing the Syrian government in the country's civil war.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the reported strikes, but it frequently attacks Iran-linked targets in Syria to counter what it calls "Iranian entrenchment" in the country.
Iran has also accused Israel of being behind the assassination in November of the country's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement.
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The winners of the Royal Observatory Greenwich's annual photography competition have been announced, with first place going to an image of a dramatic landscape below the Milky Way.
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American photographer Brad Goldpaint won both the overall award, Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018, and the People and Space category.
Taken in Moab, Utah, Goldpaint's Transport the Soul depicts immense red rock formations below the Milky Way on the right, and the distant Andromeda galaxy on the left.
Goldpaint beat thousands of amateur and professional photographers from around the globe to secure the £10,000 top prize.
Competition judge Will Gater said, "For me this superb image is emblematic of everything it means to be an astrophotographer; the balance between light and dark, the contrasting textures and tones of land and sky and the photographer alone under a starry canopy of breathtaking scale and beauty."
People and Space
Runner-up: Andrew Whyte (UK) with Living Space
Taken in Pagham, West Sussex, Whyte's photograph aims to show how accustomed we have become to the loss of night sky views because of light pollution, with the unlit street lamps allowing for awe-inspiring views.
Aurorae
Winner: Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) with Speeding on the Aurora Lane
A hazy auroral band is seen drifting across the sky above Sirkka, Finland, seeming like a road disappearing over the horizon.
Runner-up: Matthew James Turner (UK) with Castlerigg Stone Circle
Turner's image depicts standing stones illuminated by moonlight, while auroras beyond the mountains gives the appearance that the hills are emitting an ethereal green glow.
Galaxies
Winner: Steven Mohr (Australia) with NGC 3521, Mysterious Galaxy
The spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is located around 26 million light years away in the constellation Leo, with enormous amounts of surrounding dust and stray stars glowing far out from its disk.
Ageing yellow-red stars, younger blue-white stars burning aggressively, and various nebulae throughout the disk provide a bright array of contrasting colour tones.
This image comprises approximately 20.5 hours of exposure time with various filters.
Runner-up: Raul Villaverde Fraile (Spain) with From Mirach
This photograph is a mosaic of 24 images and depicts the galaxies Messier 31 and Messier 33 either side of the star Mirach.
Our Moon
Winner: Jordi Delpeix Borrell (Spain) with Inverted Colours of the boundary between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis
Inverting colours is a legacy of deep sky imaging, where faint detail of galaxies and nebulae can sometimes be clearer in a negative image.
Imaging the Moon in this way can help to reveal otherwise barely detectable soil features, such as ray systems.
Runner-up: Peter Ward (Australia) with Earth Shine
During a total solar eclipse the brightness of the solar corona hides details of the Moon.
However, by layering multiple digital exposures - from two seconds to 1/2000th of a second - Ward's image shows the brilliant solar corona as well as the face of the Moon, illuminated by sunlight reflecting off the Earth.
Our Sun
Winner: Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) with Sun King, Little King, and God of War
This image shows the solar corona during a total solar eclipse above Unity, Oregon, US.
The eclipsing sun is flanked on the left by the blue star Regulus and the red planet Mars on the right.
More than 120 individual images were used, with a total exposure duration of 100 seconds.
Runner-up: Stuart Green (UK) with Coloured Eruptive Prominence
In this image, the photographer managed to capture an eruptive prominence only hours after a massive solar flare.
Presented in an inverted format and colour enhanced to create a warm sunny glow, the photograph shows the beautiful structure within the hydrogen chromosphere.
Planets, Comets and Asteroids
Winner: Martin Lewis (UK) with The Grace of Venus
Lewis captured this infrared image of Venus using a monochrome digital video camera mounted on a reflector telescope.
The video was processed to remove blurring caused by Earth's atmosphere and the frames were combined to create a single still image of the planet.
Runner-up: Martin Lewis (UK) with Parade of the Planets
Martin photographed every planet in our solar system from his own back garden in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Mercury, Uranus and Neptune required infrared imaging to bring out surface details and were colourised to match their more normal visual appearance.
All images are displayed at the same relative size that they would appear through a telescope.
Skyscapes
Winner: Ferenc Szemar (Hungary) with Circumpolar
Colourful star trails are brought together with glowing city lights in Galyateto, Hungary.
This extremely long capture sequence shows the circumpolar star Almach, also known as Gamma Andromedae, just touching the horizon.
Runner-up: Chuanjin Su (China) with Eclipsed Moon Trail
This image shows a spectacular total lunar eclipse seen from Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China.
The photographer set his camera for a four-hour stack exposure, capturing an image that reflects the changes of the Moon's colour and brightness before, during and after the eclipse.
Stars and Nebulae
Winner: Mario Cogo (Italy) with Corona Australis Dust Complex
Under the dark Namibian sky, the photographer set his camera to a six-hour exposure in order to capture the CrA Molecular Complex, a large, dark and irregular area in the northern part of Corona Australis.
Runner-up: Mario Cogo (Italy) with Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula
The Witch Head Nebula is a very faint molecular gas cloud that is illuminated by supergiant star Rigel, the seventh brightest star of the sky and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion.
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Winner: Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy, aged 15) with Great Autumn Morning
On an early Monday morning before taking an exam at school, the photographer decided to go out and take some images.
Shooting on a 50mm lens, Dalpiaz captured this incredible photograph of a meteor passing over the Dolomites in Italy.
Runner-up: Logan Nicholson (Australia, aged 13) with The Eta Carinae Nebula
The Eta Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372, is the biggest and brightest nebula in the sky and is located in the constellation Carina.
To create this image, the photographer stacked and processed multiple shots.
Special Prize: The Sir Patrick Moore prize for Best Newcomer
Winner: Tianhong Li (China) with Galaxy Curtain Call Performance
This was the last opportunity in 2017 to see the silver core of the Milky Way before it sunk below the horizon in Ming'antu, China.
The image is stitched together from a total of 20 pictures.
Special Prize: Robotic Scope
Winner: Damian Peach (UK) with Two Comets with the Pleiades
This image showcases a very rare conjunction of two bright comets passing the Pleiades star cluster; Comet C/2017 O1 (ASASSN) is on the far left while C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is in the centre.
To capture this image, the photographer used a remote telescope located in Mayhill, New Mexico.
All photographs courtesy Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year, Royal Observatory Greenwich.
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Nearly two hundred Buddhist monks have gathered opposite Lake House building after surrounding the official residence of President Chandrika Kumaratunga in Colombo.
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Some others have started a march to Kandy after they were forcibly dispersed by the police.
The monks, in a protest against a planned joint relief mechanism (JM) with the Tamil Tigers to distribute tsunami aid, have earlier crashed through a barrier at the president’s house.
A monk was threatening to self-immolate unless they did not get a reply to the letter handed over to a senior official of the presidential secretariat.
Tear Gas
President Kumaratunga was at the residence holding a meeting with Buddhist Mahanayakes (chief prelates) in a bid to defuse tension over the issue.
The Sanghanayakas, the Ven.Udugama Buddharakkitha Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter, the Ven.Thibbotuwawe Sumangala Thera of the Malwatte Chapter, the Ven.Wewaldeniye Medhalankara Thero of the Ramanna Chapter and the Ven.Davuldena Gnanissara of the Amerapura chapter on Thursday issued a signed statement opposing the proposed mechanism.
Udaya Shantha Kumara of Sri FM, who was at the scene, told BBC Sandeshaya (BBC Sinhala) that the police attacked the protesting monks with tear gas and water cannon.
The protesters, mainly Buddhist monks from Sinhala nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), oppose the plan to share relief aid with the LTTE saying it would help the Tamil Tigers to achieve their goal of creating an independent state.
Fast unto death
General Secretary of the JHU, Dr. Omalpe Sobhita thero, is conducting a fast unto death in Buddhist’s most sacred The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
The monk’s health is deteriorating, but refusing to give up the fast until President Kumaratunnga pledges not to establish the JM.
President Kumaratunga has pledged to establish the mechanism even if that means the collapse of her government.
The rebels complained that aid was not reaching areas under their control fast enough.
Sinhala nationalist JVP had earlier threatened to pull out of the ruling coalition by 16th June unless the president dropped her plans.
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Oxfam has opened its first "superstore", a mammoth space which includes a drive-through donations point. But what are the impressions of customers trying it out for the first time?
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"I'm 21 so hopefully I've got a bit of time left on the planet - it would be nice to keep it the way it is."
Eleanor Leahy is trying on a pair of trainers at the 18,500 sq ft (1,718 sq m) store in Oxford, which is 12 times the size of an average Oxfam shop.
"Charity shopping is so much better for the planet and so much more sustainable - but usually you can't go out looking for something, you've got to find it at the right time," Eleanor says.
"So it's just amazing to have so many options all under one roof."
As she is speaking, another customer tries out a piano in the background, while the nearby clothes section is crammed with shoppers.
"Fast fashion is the second biggest cause of climate change so it's important to make what difference you can," Eleanor says.
"People can see that there are more options to shop sustainably now.
"They're also seeing how much of an impact the way we've been shopping in the past has made on the planet."
A small queue gathered outside the superstore in the Oxford Business Park in Cowley when it opened for its third day of trading on Tuesday.
The charity opened its first shop in the city in 1948.
When Rachel Atherton heard about the store she came looking for something to wear for two upcoming social events.
The 28-year-old says it is "even better than she expected", adding: "I've always been a charity shop-goer, so having a superstore just round the corner seemed ideal.
"Every time you buy clothes, money's going to a good cause, and you can always donate some of your clothes back again, which seems much more sustainable."
The store also sells larger goods, such as exercise equipment, washing machines, and fridge-freezers.
Primary school teacher Rosemary O'Reilly, 27, says: "It's nice to see so much in here, because the small shops in town are difficult to get a lot into.
"I work with children, so I absolutely want to live out the kind of lifestyle I want to be able to encourage them to have."
James Duke, 39, says he is "shocked" by the size of the store, which is run by 150 volunteers on four days a week.
"There are people who stay away from charity shops because they get this impression that they sell second-hand stuff that people don't want, but that's not the case.
"There's everything from what I can see.
"I do like the fact that I go away with something I'm happy with, and at the same time I'm doing some good and helping.
"Everyone's a winner, let's face it."
This month Oxfam is encouraging people to stop buying new clothes and instead buy used items as part of its Second Hand September campaign.
Hannah Britton, 28, has been buying only second-hand items since January.
"I really love Oxfam and I love going to charity shops," she says.
"You find more exciting things when they're second-hand."
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Hannah, who has picked out some jeans, adds: "I've had my eyes really opened to what fast fashion does to people and to the planet.
"Lots of materials like dyes and plastics are harmful to the environment.
"If we reduce the number of things we buy then maybe we can change the face of the planet."
Julie Neeve, the store's project manager, says 650 bags and boxes have been donated since opening day on Saturday.
She adds: "We're hoping we'll continue with the great support we've had from the local area, and if this is successful we'd look to roll out more stores next year."
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All slots giving free access to a new viewpoint on a historic building were booked up less than 24 hours after it was first opened to the public.
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Inverness Castle Viewpoint allows for 360 degree views of Inverness and surrounding area.
High Life Highland, which runs leisure sites on Highland Council's behalf, said all the free slots were booked by lunchtime on Tuesday.
Entry fees to access to the viewpoint on the North Tower begin on Saturday.
After Easter Monday's opening day, 1,100 slots were available.
High Life Highland said all the slots have been booked.
Highland Council, which owns the tower, said the viewpoint was the first phase in transforming Inverness Castle into a major tourist attraction.
The 175-year-old property is currently the base for the city's courts service, which is to be moved to a new building.
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Two masked men who grabbed two girls walking home from school are being sought by police.
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The two 14-year-olds were approached on 3 May by the pair, who police said tried to "drag them away".
They were walking home on Station Road in Acocks Green, Birmingham, at about 18:15 BST when they saw a white van "being driven suspiciously".
West Midlands Police said the suspects appeared shortly after but fled when a passerby came to the girls' aid.
Det Insp Jonathan Kiteley said it was "a disturbing incident" and officers were trying to trace the van and the two men, who are believed to have fled in the direction of Warwick Road.
He also advised children and parents to "remain vigilant" and said there would be an increased police presence in the area to reassure the local community.
The incident is being treated as an attempted abduction and police have appealed for any witnesses, particularly the passerby who helped the victims, to come forward.
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A new flight service between Cardiff and London has started and has been timed to coincide with major rail engineering works taking place.
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The three times-a day FlyBe flights to London City airport operate until 21 October and are scheduled to take 1hr 15 mins
During the same period, the Severn Tunnel is closed as part of the rail electrification programme.
Passengers have been warned of up to 45 minutes extra on journey times.
The 130-year-old Severn tunnel has closed to trains for six weeks so rail engineers can install more than eight miles of electrical equipment.
The work is crucial so the faster, electric trains can run in future.
Great Western Railway (GWR) mainline services will be diverted via Gloucester between Newport and Swindon, adding about 30 minutes to journey times.
For some services, passengers will need replacement buses, which the company said will add up to 45 minutes to journeys.
Buses will run between Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol Parkway, and between Newport and Parkway.
As well as connecting to London services from Parkway, these will be used by those passengers travelling between south Wales and Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton and Portsmouth.
GWR said with Network Rail it would be minimising disruption "as best we can".
Mark Youngman, GWR development manager for Wales, said: "The electrification of the Severn Tunnel is a vital part in the modernisation of the railway between south Wales and London; and once complete will enable us to deliver more frequent services, more seats, and to reduce journey times into London by as much as 20 minutes from Swansea."
Dan Tipper, area director for Network Rail added: "Without a solid six-week closure, it would take engineers up to five years to complete the upgrade, causing long-term disruption for passengers and delaying electrification until 2021."
FlyBe announced the new route in March, calling the return services "rescue flights" to alleviate the "travel woes" of rail passengers during the planned engineering works.
It already operates flights to London City from UK airports including Exeter and Edinburgh. The airport in east London is connected to the Docklands Light Railway.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the move would be "a helpful way of ensuring that the Welsh capital, Canary Wharf and central London stay connected" during the tunnel closure.
The Welsh Government's Economy Secretary Ken Skates said business leaders were "looking forward to the time and money it will save and the opportunities it might provide".
Scott Waddington, chairman of Cardiff Business Club, said there was hope the air link would prove viable to continue beyond October.
"Time is money and the potential time savings to businesses at both ends of the M4 is a significant incentive to use the new service," he added.
Chris Nott, senior partner at Capital Law and founding chairman of Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone said: "After the quality of the people here, transport links are the next most important thing.
"Electrification can't come too quickly, we have to have this. A core part of our message is that we're two hours away and for lots of Londoners that's just a commute - we need to get them to think of us that's just a trip down the road. This flight can really help with that."
He also said the quality of the service on trains had to be improved and the business class fares were "outrageous."
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Theresa May has bowed to pressure from a group of Tory MPs and ministers and agreed to give Parliament a vote on delaying the UK's departure from the EU on 29 March.
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By Gavin StampPolitical reporter, BBC News
This will take place only if MPs reject her Brexit deal for a second time when they vote on it next Tuesday - and then also say no to the UK leaving the EU without a comprehensive, legally binding agreement, the so-called no-deal scenario.
With just 22 days to go, Parliament has yet to approve the terms of withdrawal negotiated with the EU.
MPs will have another "meaningful vote" on Theresa May's deal on 12 March and insisted that if MPs back her, the UK can still leave as planned just over two weeks later.
In the event of MPs backing a pause in the Brexit process, the PM has said she will seek the "shortest possible" delay, while also refusing to rule out the UK still leaving without a deal later in the year.
So if not 29 March, when could the UK actually end up leaving?
Middle of April?
The first thing to point out is that any decision to delay the UK's departure by extending the Article 50 process would have to be agreed by both the UK and every other EU member.
The EU has sent out slightly mixed messages on the question, with some senior figures saying a delay would be sensible while others argue there would have to be a good reason for it.
But assuming the EU agrees to it, the first alternative Brexit date that has been touted is 18 April, which happens to be Maundy Thursday.
The thinking behind this is that it is also the last day in which the European Parliament can vote on issues before it breaks up ahead of May's Europe-wide elections - more about those later.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also have to approve the deal although unlike MPs, who rejected the agreement by a margin of more than 200 votes, they have yet to consider it.
If the UK and EU run out of time to come up with a solution to address MPs' concerns about the current deal - and EU leaders won't hold their next summit until 22 March - or if Mrs May loses MV2 by a narrow margin, there could be a short "technical" delay to allow everyone to regroup and make one last push to get it "over the line".
If the UK Parliament finally consents to the withdrawal agreement in late March or early April, it is thought that MEPs will soon follow suit - although expecting them to do so right at the last minute carries obvious risks.
And would this tight-ish timetable give the UK enough time to prepare for an orderly departure?
End of May?
Irrespective of whether MPs agree to the deal, there are a number of other complicating factors.
First of all, MPs wrote the 29 March exit date into UK law when they passed the EU Withdrawal Bill last year. This would need to be superseded, although this is done relatively easily by way of a statutory instrument.
Furthermore, Mrs May has promised to enshrine the withdrawal agreement in domestic legislation by passing an Act of Parliament. It normally takes months for bills to pass through the Commons and Lords.
Although the PM has indicated the withdrawal and implementation bill could be fast-tracked, some MPs and peers may kick up a fuss saying two weeks does not leave enough time for proper scrutiny.
Thus 23 May or thereabouts has emerged as a possible new Brexit day. This, the thinking goes, would allow the UK two further months to fully prepare itself for leaving.
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Your guide to Brexit jargon
It would also see the UK leave before the outcome of May's European elections, due to take place between the 23 and 26 May, in which it will not play any part.
Simon Hart, a member of the Brexit Delivery Group of Tory MPs, has proposed tabling an amendment advocating a "strictly time-limited" delay until 23 May although this was withdrawn after Mrs May urged MPs not to "bind her hands".
End of June?
If there are no signs of the two sides finding a solution to the thorny issue of the Irish backstop, then a slightly longer delay becomes a possibility.
Pushing back Brexit by about three months to the end of June would not be ideal for either side.
But it would be an admission that more time is needed for negotiations, particularly if the EU doesn't fancy, as has been reported, making further concessions that it can't be sure would be accepted by MPs.
Leaving on 23 June, on the third anniversary of the Brexit referendum, would be particularly sweet for many Brexiteers although the issue of ratification by the European Parliament would still be outstanding.
Newly elected MEPs from across Europe aren't due to take their seats until early July although they could conceivably convene a special session earlier or, possibly, approve the Brexit deal retrospectively.
There will be a big incentive to get the whole thing done and dusted before the end of July, both for political and more worldly reasons - no-one will want to see their summer holiday plans disrupted if at all possible.
Late 2019 or beyond?
Once you get past the end of July and the evenings start to draw in, that's when things get trickier.
The EU may be willing to grant one extension to the Brexit process but a series of rolling delays is reportedly not to its liking and a lengthier hiatus may only happen if there were a general election or another referendum.
That said, senior EU officials are reported to have mulled delaying Brexit until 2021 - in the hope the two sides will have negotiated their future relationship by then and this will sort out all the issues relating to the backstop.
But this is likely to be unacceptable to Conservative MPs, and millions of Leave voters, as it would mean the UK was still part of the EU more than five years after it voted to leave in 2016.
There is also the small matter of Europe's parliamentary elections. Could the UK remain in the EU for an indefinite period without sending representatives to Brussels and Strasbourg?
Theresa May has suggested this would not be viable but experts, such as the Institute for Government, have pointed out that there may be ways round this dilemma - in the short term anyway.
These could include the UK's existing MEPs being granted "observer status" with no voting rights or the UK sending national representatives, as Romania and Bulgaria did for four months after they joined in 2007.
Another potential option would be for the UK to re-elect its 73 MEPs - whose seats would otherwise be re-allocated - on an interim basis but to hold the polls at a different time from the rest of the EU.
But the cost of doing this would be controversial and would the Conservatives be willing to put up candidates when they were likely to be accused of betrayal by, among others, Nigel Farage's new Brexit party?
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Three more patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to six.
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The first minister told the Scottish Parliament the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 had risen to 266, an increase of 39 from Wednesday.
But Nicola Sturgeon warned the figures were "likely to be an underestimate".
She added that those on the frontline of the NHS were the priority for testing.
Police officers and other emergency service personnel will also be included in the list of key workers, whose children will still be able to go to school.
Ms Sturgeon acknowledged there must be local flexibility on what constitutes a key worker as some posts may be considered crucial in rural areas but not in cities.
The first minister told MSPs that Scotland now has three laboratories - in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee - for testing and it is hoped they will be able to carry out 3,000 tests a day.
Ms Sturgeon said a £2.2bn package of support was available to help sustain businesses and help them pay their staff fairly.
Under the measures:
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said more supplies of personal protective equipment were distributed on Wednesday, but they were paper masks with an expiry date of 2016.
He called for a guarantee that the appropriate supplies would be made available and asked for reassurances for staff who feel they are being put at risk.
The first minister replied: "We will do everything we can to protect those on the frontline."
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There have been big advancements in the acceptance of the transgender community in recent years but some divisions over their rights remain.
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By Katie AlstonVictoria Derbyshire programme
"If I'd been an ordinary person and I had daughters, I'd think 'what's this? Men coming into the toilets? I don't like the sound of that'," says campaigner Paris Lees, who is transgender.
She supports trans people having increased access to female facilities - such as toilets or changing rooms - but understands some people have legitimate concerns.
She tells the Victoria Derbyshire programme this is because some people do not really understand what is happening or are confused, while other people are playing on ignorance and prejudices and "whipping up fear".
"It is that playing on people's prejudices and [in the same way] there was no evidence that gay people would harm children, or children adopted by same sex couples are any more likely to be in danger," Ms Lees says.
"I think it is really irresponsible whipping up this fear against us based on zero evidence."
Moral panic?
Some of the women raising concerns say they are being silenced when they just want an open discussion.
Community organiser and campaigner Pilgrim Tucker says: "Let's slow down and really talk about why women might feel cautious about having trans women in their spaces, places where they will feel vulnerable."
The issue needs "lots of careful thought" she says, due to the differences between trans women and people who were born biologically female.
The way trans people are legally recognised is another issue, on which the government is currently consulting.
Currently, anyone who wants to legally change their gender in the UK has to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate, but many feel the process is long and demeaning.
To qualify, trans people do not need to have had surgery, but must have lived for two years in their preferred gender.
But some trans people believe they should be allowed to self-declare the gender in which they choose to live, without the need for medical evidence or proof.
"The moral panic we see at the moment isn't really about the gender recognition act, in the same way the really undignified public discourse around gay marriage wasn't really about gay marriage - it is just an excuse for people to vent really ugly homophobia," Ms Lees argues.
"All we are hearing about is all of people's imagined fears about how it will be the end of the world if we make it easier for you and I to change our birth certificates."
Journalist Ella Whelan believes there is no need for legislation on the issue.
"It's playing into this idea that if you don't believe a trans woman is a woman, or a trans man is a man, then you are not only the wrong kind of person in society and bigoted, but also you're going against the law and what the law is," she says.
"And that should be up for debate."
Law changes
The Gender Identity Research & Education Society (GIRES) estimates that about 1% of the British population are gender-nonconforming to some degree.
Meanwhile, LGBT charity Stonewall found that 41% of trans people have experienced a hate crime because of their gender identity in the past 12 months.
The Equality Act 2010 protects trans people from discrimination and says anyone who identifies themselves as a woman can use single-sex facilities.
It does however allow service providers - including hospitals and prisons - to refuse a trans person access to single-sex services if that is seen as detrimental to others.
Dr Timothy Hildebrandt, from the London School of Economics, says the UK government doesn't "see" transgender people, because they do not fit into the way services, such as healthcare and prisons, have always been divided between the genders.
"The difficulty then with gender identity discussions, there is simply no way for governments to really understand them because they don't fit within the general framework of dividing the general population," he says.
For her part, Ms Whelan does not think the law needs updating.
"You're saying we are going to have a completely new system in a prison to placate the personal situations of a few trans people; well there might be some questions about the needs to do that and it might not be necessary," she says.
Politics
The issue of trans women in politics is also making waves.
A group of Labour party members have set up a crowd-funder to try and stop the party allowing self-identifying trans-women being selected for all-women shortlists for their candidates.
Dr Heather Peto, is a trans woman who was selected by her local Labour party to be on the all-women shortlist for Rushcliffe and Melton.
She says: "I find it incredible that a small group of women can say who and who shouldn't represent them - if the membership wants to select me, they'll select me and if they don't they don't.
"It is up to them to decide how many people stand and I'm as valid a woman as any other woman - it is just that I've had a bit of a different journey getting there."
The Labour Party said all-women shortlists are, and always have been, open to all women "which of course includes trans women".
Meanwhile, some say the strength of feeling that these issues create means that even discussing them is difficult.
Rebecca Root, an actor who transitioned in 2003, says: "But why should there be a debate at all: it's that person's life."
"They're not really doing anything to harm anybody else by saying I'm female or male of whatever," she adds.
Watch the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
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An Edwardian swimming baths in Bradford has been earmarked for closure following council spending cuts.
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The council said the baths needed "expensive modernisation" and closure would save around £120,000.
The rare Edwardian building is one of only 14 such baths in the country still open for public swimming.
Dr Ian Dungavell of the Victorian Society asked the council to spend "the bare minimum to keep it open" until the economy improved.
Dr Dungavell said the baths were "important on a national level".
There are only 50 listed Victorian and Edwardian pool buildings in the country.
The building in Manningham was designed by Bradford city architect, Frederick Edwards and opened in 1904.
'Budget decision'
The pool still has its original changing cubicles, along the side of the pool, tiling and several ceramic spittoons.
Dr Dungavell told BBC Radio Leeds: "It's like stepping back in time.
"When it is closed it will never reopen... conditions will deteriorate even further."
He said that the pool was well used and liked, but avoidable maintenance problems had caused conditions to worsen.
Councillor Ian Greenwood, leader of Bradford Council, said: "The planned closure of Manningham Pool is a budget decision based on it needing an expensive modernisation.
"The proposal will save the council nearly £120,000 as part of a £30m overall package of cuts."
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The chair of West Yorkshire Police Federation has criticised the region-wide merger of its police divers.
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Andrew Tempest Mitchell has said the move was "worrying" and was the "thin end of the wedge" for services.
In March the Yorkshire and Humberside Joint Police Authorities Committee approved plans to reduce the number of divers from 28 to 10.
The merger is due to start from 10 September, with the team based in the Humber region.
The report said the merger would enable savings of about £400,000.
Mr Tempest Mitchell said: "I'm worried from a West Yorkshire perspective that we don't have an active unit within the policing area, which is quite large.
"I think there are some gaps in there that just don't feel comfortable."
Dedicated team
Currently the three forces spend £1,125,000 per annum on marine and underwater search units. They deploy 28 divers, five of which are full time and 23 performing other duties.
Mark Whyman, deputy chief constable for the Yorkshire and Humberside Police Forces, said the reduction to 10 divers meant they would all now work full-time to the service.
"The new unit is a dedicated full-time team so costs associated with training and equipment can be optimised to provide the same level of specialist search and recovery support to all four forces in the region," he said.
"I am confident that the public will not see any difference in service levels, and that the £400,000 saved through creating a full-time team will go support neighbourhood and response policing."
From September the projected new unit based in the Humberside Police area will cost just under £720,000.
North Yorkshire Police, which has a contract to use West Yorkshire Police divers, will not be part of the regional merger but will retain the contracted service.
Mr Tempest Mitchell said: "It's the thin edge of the wedge really. It's the erosion all the time - policing matters, officers and now there is no dedicated presence in West Yorkshire."
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Two thirds of Welsh pupils who took GCSEs got A* to C grades, according to this year's results.
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This is exactly the same outcome as in 2014, although slightly fewer students got the very top grades.
A total of 19.2% passes were A* and A grades - a drop of 0.2%.
Wales failed to close the gap with England but the education minister said the best results had been matched and it was a "strong performance".
But opposition parties said it was a reality check and Wales had come up short.
An improvement in performance in the north east of England (67.2%) saw the region overtake Wales (66.6%) in terms of A* to C grades.
Education Minister Huw Lewis said Wales had "at least matched" its best results.
"This is the result of hard work and sustained effort by both our learners and their teachers and I wholeheartedly congratulate everyone involved on this success," he said.
"I am particularly pleased we have seen such a strong performance at key subjects including English, maths, Welsh and science."
Take our GCSE quiz here.
There is a difficulty in comparing results for maths, where there has been a further fall in the results of pupils who sat the exam in June.
This year, just 47.5% managed to reach a grade of A*-C, compared with 50.6% last year and 52.8% in 2013.
However, many pupils in Wales sat the exam earlier in the year.
When those results, which tend to be higher, are taken into account, it is expected that figure will rise.
Those results will not be released until the autumn.
Wales still lags behind other parts of the UK, as well as comparable regions of England.
The results show:
GCSE results
Must do better - how did 40 schools challenged to improve perform?
How does it feel for a head teacher as results approach?
Where are we at with GCSE changes?
Northern Irish pupils achieve best results
What is it like to re-take a maths GCSE 22 years later?
The 66.6% score on A*-C puts Wales ahead of just two of the nine regions of England - Yorkshire (65.3%) and the East Midlands (65.9%).
But it lags behind the north east of England (67.2%) and the north west (68.6%).
However, at A*-A grades, Wales scored higher than four of the English regions.
POLITICAL REACTION
Conservative Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns AM said: "Overall results across Wales are - regrettably - still lagging behind England.
"In fact, the attainment gap has widened. That's despite clear promises from Labour's first minister to turn performance around and challenge - and surpass - English results."
Aled Roberts AM, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, called it a "massive reality check" for ministers who had spent months heralding this year as being the one where Wales would see a further narrowing of the gap.
"However much spin the Welsh government issues before results as to why we cannot rely on bare data, the reality of the situation is that they would have been very willing to rely on that same data if it had painted a more positive picture."
Plaid Cymru accused the Welsh government of a "culture of complacency".
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After years of warnings from science fiction writers, it seems androids may finally be taking over the world.
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By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter, Barcelona
For now, their influence is limited to mobile phones, in the guise of Google's hugely popular operating system.
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, hundreds of Android-powered devices were on show.
Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt declared his company's platform to be the market leader.
"It is the fastest growing mobile ecosystem," he told delegates.
Mr Schmidt said that 300,000 Android-based phones are being activated each day, and more than 170 Android compatible devices are on the market.
Centre of attention
He claimed that IT graduates, fresh out of university were attracted to working on the platform.
"Young programmers think mobile first. That is where the action is," he said.
Around the halls of the world's largest mobile phone show, Android seemed omni-present.
HTC's stand was full of Android devices, while LG's headline grabbing 3D smartphone and tablet also feature Google's operating system.
Android's own colourful stand was a mini version of Google's famous Mountain View headquarters, with its huge Android slide and smoothie bar.
But despite the fun image, Android has not been without its critics.
Fragmented market
One of the biggest problems faced by Android is fragmentation, according to Ben Trewhella from application developer Mubaloo.
"The growth in Android has come from a large number of mobile manufacturers finding it easy to adapt to various screen sizes, hardware features and unique user interfaces.
"Developers are having to test across many devices and sometimes create device specific versions," he said.
During a question and answer session that followed Mr Schmidt's keynote, he was asked about the issue of fragmentation.
"You develop an app on one device and it won't run on another," the questioner said.
"We hear some of this," Mr Schmidt replied.
"Under our terms and agreements there is an anti-fragmentation clause. No operator will want to be in an eco-system without access to all apps but we do this by conformity to the apps [policy] rather than forcing anyone on a platform," he said.
As more devices move onto Google's latest iteration of Android - Gingerbread - fragmentation will be less of an issue, he said.
"Everyone on a common platform should address your concerns."
Sweet dreams
Mr Schmidt also gave a glimpse of Android's future.
"We've had Gingerbread, which begins with a G, then Honeycomb [the first version designed with tablets in mind], which begins with an H so the next one will begin with an I and be named after a dessert," he said.
But while Google is busy working through the mobile alphabet, software maker Microsoft is hoping to attract some attention away from the little green robot.
Before the first queues had even formed in Barcelona, the software giant stole a march on its rivals with the announcement that it had signed a deal with Nokia to make the software giant's Windows Phone 7 its primary operating system for smartphones.
Mr Schmidt said Google had "tried" to woo Nokia.
"We would have loved if it they had chosen Android. The offer remains open," he said.
Joint forces
Android's director of mobile experience Matias Duarte was magnanimous in defeat.
"Microsoft has done a nice job with Windows 7. It is a beautiful design, but at Android our ambitions are about as big as they get. We want to create the best mobile platform," he said.
During his keynote speech, Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer was in more modest mood.
"We are off to a strong start but we know we have a lot of work to do," he said.
The Microsoft/Nokia partnership has a long way to go to catch Apple and Android, according to Ian Fogg, an analyst with Forrester Research
"It certainly strengthens the Windows Phone 7 brand in the market but the fundamental issue will be what will Microsoft allow Nokia to do that will differentiate the first Windows Nokia phone?" he said.
Android is hardly a veteran itself, having only came onto the market in 2008.
At the time, operators were crying out for a viable alternative to the dominance of Apple.
"There are multiple reasons why it is popular but simply put, it brought an iPhone like experience to other devices," said Tony Cripps, an analyst with research firm Ovum.
Elephant in the room
According to figures from Canalys, in 2010 Android went from being a bit player in the smartphone market to outselling Nokia's Symbian operating system.
In the last quarter of 2010, 32.9 million Android-based phones shipped worldwide, compared with 31 million running on Symbian. Apple had 16.2 million and RIM 14.6 million.
"There are always shifting sands when it comes to operating systems. Three years ago, Symbian was the number one," said Mr Cripps.
The death knell for Symbian may have been sounded, but it could be too early to declare the mobile operating systems battle a three horse race, as Nokia's Stephen Elop did last week.
Blackberry is still very much in the race, said RIM co-executive director Jim Balsillie.
"We feel very good about our business. I wouldn't write us off."
He said that the firm had experienced 70% growth in the last year and is appealing to a new demographic of teenagers, who love Blackberry Messenger.
But the elephant in the room at Mobile World Congress was Apple. It had no stand at the event and no keynote speakers, yet the iPhone was still in the hands of many of the delegates.
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Airbus, which leads the production of Europe's Ariane rocket, has developed a concept that could make future vehicles partially re-usable.
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By Jonathan AmosBBC Science Correspondent, Paris
Code-named "Adeline", the system would see a booster's main engines fly themselves back to Earth after a launch.
The returned elements would then be refurbished and put on another mission.
Airbus says it has been working on the concept since 2010 and has even flight-tested small demonstrators.
Reporters were let into the Ariane production centre at Les Mureaux on the outskirts of Paris on Friday to inspect them.
The European aerospace giant is in a fierce multi-billion-dollar battle to defend the market position of Ariane, which has launched roughly half of all the large telecommunication satellites in orbit today.
Competitors such as America's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are also working towards making their rockets re-usable - an approach that is expected to drive down prices across the industry.
Airbus has recently begun development of its next-generation Ariane, and, in the present design, the recovery of components is not envisaged. But the company says the Adeline concept could be grafted on to this vehicle in due course.
"The current design for Ariane 6 is fixed. For its maiden flight in 2020, it will not change," explained Francois Auque, the head of space systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
"But it is absolutely normal that in parallel we begin to think about what will be the evolution of Ariane 6, because if we don't already pave the way for those evolutions we will not be in a position to implement them somewhere between 2025 and 2030."
The firm's engineers believe the basic Adeline idea could be incorporated into any liquid-fuelled launcher, however big or small.
It takes the form of a winged module that goes on the bottom of the rocket stack.
Inside are the main engines and the avionics - the high-value parts on all rockets.
The module would be integral to the job of lifting the mission off the pad in the normal way, but then detach itself from the upper-stages of the rocket once the propellants in the tanks above it were exhausted.
The Adeline module's next step would be re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. For this, it would have a protective heat shield on its bulbous nose.
At a certain point in the descent, Adeline would pull up using its small winglets, and steer itself towards a runway.
Small deployable propellers would aid control as it essentially operated like a drone to find its way home.
The recovered engines and avionics could then be serviced and readied for the next launch.
Herve Gilibert, a chief technical officer at Airbus Defence and Space, told BBC News that Ariane engines could be re-flown perhaps 10-20 times.
"We have the conviction that we will generate savings for one given launch on the order of 20-30%, which will make us highly competitive."
Naturally, there is a penalty in the performance of the rocket overall because mass is being taken up only to be flown back down again. But Mr Gilibert said this was maybe as little as 10%.
California's SpaceX is currently trialling its rocket recovery system on launches from Florida. Its methodology is slightly different to the Airbus one. It is looking to bring back the entire first-stage booster, propellant tanks and all.
In the past year, SpaceX has got the first-stage of its Falcon 9 rocket very close to making a controlled, vertical return to a floating barge.
ULA is going for an alternate model, too. The Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture, which launches America's military and spy satellites, as well as many Nasa science missions, is working on a new rocket called Vulcan.
This would detach its engines and protect them with a heat shield on re-entry, similar in that sense to Adeline. But ULA's idea is for a helicopter to catch the engines in mid-air as they are parachuted towards the Earth's surface.
Rocket companies have talked for years about making their traditionally expendable rockets wholly or partially re-usable. And people will remember that the space shuttle was designed as a recyclable system. But the complexities of refurbishing the vehicle swamped any savings. The shuttle main engine - an engineering marvel - contained 50,000 parts.
To realise significant economies, all the rocket players - Airbus, SpaceX and ULA - will have to avoid this trap.
They will also have to get satellite operators comfortable with the idea of launching their precious hardware on what would essentially be second-hand systems. These operators will not embrace the developments if they think reliability is being compromised.
Airbus says it has spent perhaps 15m euros so far on its reusable technology programme, and plans now to push ahead with an even bigger demonstrator.
The company is in the process of turning over Ariane manufacturing to a joint venture with French engine maker Safran, and it is this new commercial entity that will determine whether Adeline becomes reality.
The same will be true for other evolutions. Engineers also have an idea for how the upper-part of Ariane 6 could be modified to link up with space tugs that are kept permanently in orbit.
Ariane would deliver satellites and fuel to these tugs, which would then carry out the business of placing the spacecraft in their correct slots on the sky.
The tactic could work to reduce the size of satellites and the rockets needed to get them off the Earth.
Europe's next-generation rocket - the Ariane 6
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
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The former chief executive of carmaker Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, has died in hospital in Zurich aged 66.
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He was replaced four days ago when his health worsened following complications from surgery on his right shoulder.
Mr Marchionne, who was also Ferrari's chairman, had led the combined company for more than a decade and planned to step down next year.
Mr Marchionne has been succeeded by Briton Mike Manley, head of the Italian-American firm's Jeep division.
"Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone," said group chairman John Elkann, a member of the Agnelli family that controls the company.
Tributes paid
Mr Elkann praised Mr Marchionne's "values of humanity, responsibility and open-mindedness".
He added: "My family and I will always be grateful for what he has done."
Analysis: Theo Leggett, BBC business correspondent
Sergio Marchionne was the architect who created Fiat Chrysler. Now, many investors are wondering what his loss will mean for the future of the company.
The news that he was being replaced as chief executive sent shares tumbling earlier this week.
Today, the company published its second quarter earnings. They were certainly disappointing - and exposed significant challenges in China.
The shares fell again - more dramatically this time. The question is... would the reaction have been so strong if Mr Marchionne had still been firmly in control?
He had been planning to retire next year - and the new chief executive, Mike Manley, had been widely tipped to succeed him.
That process had to be brought forward. The market reaction to today's figures suggests investors are still nervous about Mr Manley's ability to replace the former lynchpin of the company.
Politicians and car industry figures also paid tribute to Mr Marchionne.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said: "Marchionne wrote an important page in the history of Italian industry. As leader of Fiat, he went through years of very deep and radical transformation of markets, production systems, financial strategies and trade union relations."
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said: "With Sergio Marchionne, Italy loses not only the most brilliant of its managers, but one of the symbolic figures of our country. He represented the best of Italy."
Ford's executive chairman Bill Ford and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi chief executive Carlos Ghosn both expressed their sympathies.
Workaholic lifestyle
Mr Marchionne was seen as the driving force behind Fiat-Chrysler's growth.
Famous for his signature black jumpers, sharp tongue and workaholic lifestyle, he is credited with saving both Fiat and Chrysler from bankruptcy.
An accountant and lawyer by training, Mr Marchionne joined Fiat in 2004 after the death of its patriarch Gianni Agnelli.
In 2009, he presided over Fiat's merger with Chrysler, which was then the number three carmaker in the US.
He carried out two successful spin-offs from the merged group - first its tractor-making arm in 2011, which became CNH Industrial, then Ferrari, which was floated in 2016.
By this year, Mr Marchionne had managed to wipe out the group's near-$13bn (£10bn) debt pile, something he described as a "healing" process for two companies that for so long were associated with failure.
'Great leader'
Mr Marchionne was also a big figure in the world of Formula One, and after taking charge at Ferrari in 2014 oversaw a major restructuring of the racing team.
He formed a powerful alliance with Mercedes, fighting major changes to the sport being planned by new owners Liberty Media for 2021.
Mr Marchionne more than once threatened to pull Ferrari out of F1 after 2020 if he was unhappy with the changes.
Chase Carey, the chief executive of F1, described Mr Marchionne as "a great leader", both for the sport and in the business world generally.
"He led with great passion, energy and insight, and inspired all around him. His contributions to Formula One are immeasurable.
"He was also a true friend to all of us and he will be deeply missed."
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Begging and intimidating behaviour could be targeted under a new crackdown on crime around Wrexham town centre.
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Council bosses are consulting on an enhanced Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) after rules centred on the main shopping precincts recently lapsed.
They gave police and council staff the power to fine people £100 for anti-social behaviour such as drinking, drug taking, sleeping rough and littering.
Officials said the aim was to "break the cycle" of anti-social activity.
The council had not been expected to renew the orders but responded to pressure from community leaders in areas like Rhosddu, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
A consultation document said the aim of a new PSPO would be to "encourage vulnerable people to access support and services, seeking to break the cycle of behaviour and vulnerability they can be locked into".
"By not addressing concerns effectively it is clear that there is risk to the quality of life of residents, a risk to the reputation of Wrexham, including loss of trade and attractiveness to new businesses, and subsequently a reduction in visitors/tourists to the area," the document added.
People are being encouraged to share their views online, with the responses to be considered by Wrexham's ruling executive board in October.
Wrexham MP Ian Lucas recently criticised the council for disbanding a high-level taskforce - known as the "gold" group - set up to tackle anti-social behaviour by drug users.
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A shop worker said she was "mortified" when she opened her locker and discovered a homophobic note.
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The offensive message was found by Pammie Clinton during her shift at Wilko in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on 9 September.
It directed a homophobic slur at her and implored her to quit. She handed in her notice a few days later.
Wilko said discrimination of any kind was not accepted and it was looking into the situation "very seriously".
Ms Clinton, who is a lesbian, said the message had been pushed into her locker through a small hole.
"I was absolutely disgusted with what I was reading - I felt like my heart had sunk to the pit of my stomach," she said.
"I went straight to the bathroom and sat and cried."
The incident was reported to management but the culprit was never found - and Ms Clinton said she felt compelled to resign.
She said: "I was filled with anxiety and found myself looking at everyone at work thinking 'was it you?', which was mentally and emotionally unhealthy."
'Narrow-minded'
Ms Clinton has since found work elsewhere but hopes her experience will lead to changes at Wilko.
"I hope management can deliver and enforce equality and diversity training to educate, accept and welcome everyone," she said.
"There are some incredibly kind, honest and innocent members of staff at Arnold. This is the mindset of one very narrow-minded homophobic individual.
"But we need to remember that lives have been lost because of homophobia - sometimes it just takes one 'flippant' comment for someone to no longer be able to tolerate it anymore."
A Wilko spokesperson said: "We welcome everyone at Wilko and want our customers and team members to feel comfortable being themselves.
"We think of ourselves as one family with strong values, one of which is respect. So, discrimination of any kind isn't accepted.
"However, sometimes even families can let each other down and if this happens we really want to put it right.
"We're sorry our team member felt they had to resign and we've already been looking into the situation very seriously.
"As a highly valued team member, we've also asked them to have another think about their resignation."
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Gardaí (Irish police) are to be allowed to wear turbans and hijabs for the first time in a bid to recruit more officers from diverse backgrounds.
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In a statement, the force said its current uniform rules were a "major barrier" to some potential recruits from the Sikh and Muslim communities.
The uniform update was announced as the force launched a recruitment drive to appoint hundreds of new officers.
It aims to grow from its current total of 14,161 members to 15,000 by 2021.
Commissioner Drew Harris, the head of the Garda Síochána (Irish police force), said it needed to become "a much more diverse organisation so that we properly reflect the society we serve".
"We want to encourage people from all walks of life to join us," he added.
"We are looking for diversity not only in background, but also in skills."
The uniform changes will bring the Garda into line with other police forces that already permit turbans and hijabs, including:
"We hope that this will encourage people from minority communities to join An Garda Síochána," said the commissioner.
"We want to demonstrate to them that An Garda Síochána is an inclusive employer that is serious about becoming more diverse."
Mr Harris, who is a former PSNI deputy chief constable, was appointed as Garda commissioner last summer.
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Gamekeepers and land managers from an Aberdeenshire estate have appealed for help in locating a missing sea eagle.
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The bird's satellite tag was last recorded in woodland near the River Dee on the Invercauld Estate near Braemar.
The estate said its ranger and gamekeepers were working hard to find the one-year-old eagle, named Blue T, whose tag last signalled on Saturday.
Pellets are understood to have been found in the the search area, which suggest it had been roosting there.
RSPB Scotland confirmed Blue T was raised from a chick at Abernethy before it fledged.
The tag was said to be last operating within a native woodland and Scots pine regeneration zone on Invercauld.
But neither the bird nor its tag have been located within the woodland or estate.
One other sea eagle - also known as a white-tailed eagle - and two golden eagles have been spotted but there have been no known sightings of the missing bird.
Shooting estates are often blamed for bird of prey disappearances, but the Invercauld estate insisted it was committed to conservation.
Estate manager Angus McNicol said: "We have spent the last two days trying to locate any trace of the missing sea eagle and we will be continuing our efforts to watch the area in case there has been a technical malfunction of the tag and the sea eagle returns to roost again.
"For several months our ranger has been working with the RSPB's sea eagle project officer to track the movements of the sea eagles in our area and if the tag is no longer transmitting then it is a concern to us.
"Invercauld hosts a vast range of bird species and other types of wildlife and we want to learn if any harm has come to the bird.
The estate is part of the East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership with the Cairngorms National Park Authority and bird species include golden eagles, sea eagles, buzzards, merlin, kestrels, golden plover, curlew, lapwings and black grouse.
It also works with conservation bodies including the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland on their wildcat breeding programme
Mr McNicol added: "We realise that such cases where a tag stops transmitting will invariably attract comments about persecution but it is clear that gamekeepers, conservationists, and the Cairngorms National Park Authority all want to see this bird alive and well.
"We would ask anyone with information that could aid the search to speak to the RSPB or ourselves immediately."
'Highly suspicious'
Ian Thomson from RPSB Scotland told The National newspaper: "This bird fledged from a nest in Strathspey last year, and was one of only a handful of chicks successfully fledged by adults originating from the east of Scotland reintroduction of this species.
"The publication of the Scottish government's review of the fates of satellite-tagged golden eagles last May, provided unequivocal and damning evidence of the link between the highly suspicious disappearance of satellite-tagged raptors and criminal activity associated with grouse moor management.
"We believe that the Scottish government-supported project designed to deliver the population expansion of white-tailed eagles in the east of Scotland will be put in jeopardy if this situation persists."
Grant Moir, chief executive officer of the Cairngorm National Park Authority, said: "We condemn all forms of wildlife crime and the apparent loss of an iconic species like the white tailed eagle in the Cairngorms National Park is deeply felt by all working on conservation within the park.
"What seems clear to me and to many of those with whom I discuss these issues is that every time a golden eagle, a white tailed eagle, a hen harrier or any other bird of prey goes missing in suspicious circumstances or is found poisoned as has been reported last week in Perthshire, the greater the pressure grows for regulation to be given very serious consideration."
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Dairy farmers were among campaigners at a supermarket in Cardiff urging shoppers to sign a letter to support them over milk prices.
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The group, including members of the National Farming Union, also handed out leaflets at Morrisons in Cardiff Bay.
It came as the supermarket, along with the Co-operative,
announced increased premiums on milk
for farmers.
Earlier, it was confirmed UK ministers are to meet dairy farmers at the Royal Welsh Show on Monday.
Farmers around the UK are protesting against planned milk price cuts of up to 2p a litre.
Four leading dairy processors recently announced the cuts, due from 1 August
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman and farming minister Jim Paice are to meet dairy farmers on Monday in Llanelwedd, at the Royal Welsh Show.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said she had spoken to Ms Spelman who told her they hoped to broker a final agreement on a voluntary code of practice.
"I am due to attend the Royal Welsh Show with Caroline Spelman on Monday and will engage in further discussions with all those involved in the supply and sale of milk then," she added.
The BBC understands the government is also arranging to meet representatives of the big supermarkets in the next few days.
Campaign group Farmers for Action (FFA) is warning that cuts in the price paid to suppliers by dairy processors, combined with rising feed costs, could force hundreds of dairy farmers out of business.
The UK could end up having to import much of its milk, says the FFA.
It says supermarkets must pay more for milk and that this should come out of the retailers' profits rather than the cost being passed on to customers.
The group at Morrisons in Cardiff on Saturday - some dresses as cows - handed letters of support, signed by shoppers, to the store manager.
John Lougher, a farmer in the Vale of Glamorgan, said all dairy farmers wanted was a fairer share of the profit of milk.
"When the cream prices were way up last summer we didn't get the top price.
"But as soon as it starts dropping they turn back to the farmer and say you're going to have to take a 2p cut, the cream price has dropped back a bit."
'Negate their impact'
On Saturday, Morrisons announced it was increasing the premium to farmers on milk from 1p per litre (ppl) to 3ppl, as well as introducing support payments for farmers affected by the recent bad weather equivalent to 3ppl.
"The recent announcements by our processors will reduce the payment to farmers for the milk we sell and therefore we are announcing payments that negate their impact," said commercial director Richard Hodgson.
The increases - from 1 August when the processors' latest cuts come in - would help "to support all farmers not just those that have dedicated contracts", he said.
On Friday, Co-operative announced it would increase the premium it paid on milk to farmers within its group to 2.57 ppl with immediate effect and to 4.27ppl from 1 August.
Protests were held by hundreds of farmers - including from Wales - at processing plants in England on Thursday and Friday.
In the dairy industry, the processors set the price they pay farmers for their milk.
They say they have no choice but to make the cuts because the price they can sell cream for on the commodities market has fallen sharply in the past 12 to 18 months.
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Junior trade minister Greg Hands has resigned from the government to oppose expansion of Heathrow Airport.
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The vote on whether to build a third runway at the airport west of London is due to be held on Monday.
Mr Hands, who represents the Chelsea and Fulham constituency in London, said he had pledged to oppose the new runway at the 2017 election.
It had been thought that ministers with constituencies directly affected could have been allowed to miss the vote.
The highest profile opponent of Heathrow expansion in the cabinet is Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who once pledged to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop it happening.
But Mr Johnson is scheduled to be out of the UK on Monday so will not be attending the vote in the House of Commons.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson suggested on Twitter that Mr Hands' resignation should prompt the prime minister to allow her MPs a free vote: "It's not too late for her to change whipping arrangements. This would also allow Boris Johnson to re-enter the country."
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said the foreign secretary should quit too:
Prime Minister Theresa May defended the foreign secretary's absence from a vote seen by some as crucial to the UK's post-Brexit international trade campaign, known as Global Britain.
She said: "The government is absolutely committed to increasing airport capacity at Heathrow. This is important, it is part of our future as Global Britain, and the ambitions we have as a trading nation for the future.
"The foreign secretary early next week will be what I would describe as the living embodiment of Global Britain.
"He will be out there actually showing the UK's continued presence around the world, and the work that the UK continues to do around the world, with our diplomacy working on so many of the issues and challenges that we face across the world today."
Labour is also divided on the controversial issue, with members of the party's leadership, such as shadow chancellor John McDonnell, opposed to it, but high profile trade union backers in favour. The party's MPs are being allowed to vote however they want to on the issue.
The SNP are in favour of Heathrow expansion, with the Lib Dems opposed and with the government deciding to whip (order) Conservative MPs to vote in favour, it is widely expected that the expansion plan will get Commons backing.
A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Hands, who has held various ministerial roles and was chief secretary to the Treasury under David Cameron, had "served the government with great ability and distinction over several years, and we thank him for all of his work".
Mr Hands will be replaced as a minister in the Department for International Trade by George Hollingbery, MP for Meon Valley.
Meanwhile Mr Hands has tweeted that he cannot answer media calls about his resignation - because he is visiting a Romanian monastery:
The debate on expanding Heathrow has been going on for nearly 20 years.
The last Labour government backed the idea, and won a vote on it in 2009, but that plan was scrapped - and the idea of expansion put on hold for five years - by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition formed after the 2010 election.
But the idea of expansion was resurrected and has been subsequently backed by the Conservatives.
Ministers approved a draft national airports policy statement in October but Parliament has to give its approval for detailed planning to begin.
'So expensive': Why are critics opposed?
Campaigners argue that a new runway will breach the UK's legal limits on air pollution and increase noise pollution with an extra 700 planes a day.
It will result in huge disruption to residents of nearby villages, such as Longford, Harmondsworth and Sipson, with hundreds of homes likely to be knocked down.
Robert Barnstone, from the No 3rd Runway Coalition, told the BBC the government was "failing people and failing the environment as well".
Former Transport Secretary Justine Greening, who backs expanding Gatwick instead, suggested the idea of Heathrow as a national hub airport was outdated and the focus should be on improving regional capacity.
And Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, who resigned his Richmond Park seat in 2016 over the issue and subsequently lost a by-election, said for many people "this doesn't just look like a blank cheque being given by this government to a foreign-owned multinational, it looks like a whole book of cheques signed by our constituents".
'Right for UK PLC'
Heathrow's owners, which include Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, say the airport is virtually full and a new runway would increase its capacity from 85.5 million to 130 million passengers.
The expansion is estimated to create about 60,000 new jobs and generate about £70bn in total economic benefits by the 2050s.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said it will provide a "vital legacy" for the British economy.
Residents whose houses are knocked down will get compensation worth 125% of their value - as well as legal fees and stamp duty costs paid for - while £700m would be available to fund noise insulation measures for those who decide to stay.
Mr Grayling has said a ban on night flights was an "absolute requirement" and non-negotiable while he said landing charges paid by airlines must stay at current levels.
"This runway cannot be built if it does not meet air quality rules," he added.
Sir Howard Davies, whose 2015 review recommended a new runway as long as environmental and community impacts were addressed, said "significant" concessions had been made on reducing early morning flights and minimising the impact on residents on the proposed flight path.
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Carwyn Jones has announced he will stand down as Wales' first minister in the autumn.
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The AM for Bridgend made the announcement at the Welsh Labour party conference in Llandudno, which he said would be his last as leader.
Referring to the death of Carl Sargeant Mr Jones, 51, said he had been through the "darkest of times".
Mr Sargeant was found dead in November, days after Mr Jones sacked him from his cabinet job.
The communities secretary was dismissed after allegations emerged about his personal conduct, prompting a Welsh Labour investigation.
UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to the first minister's "tireless commitment to making Wales a more equal country".
Mr Jones, who has been first minister and Welsh Labour leader since 2009, said his exit would give his family, his party and the country a "fresh start".
The man widely considered to be a potential front-runner contender in the leadership race, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, says he is giving the matter "serious consideration".
Referring to his wife and family, the first minister told party delegates: "I don't think anyone can know what the last few months have been like - no one apart from Lisa and the kids.
"They have carried me through the darkest of times. I have asked too much of them at times. It's time for me to think about what's fair to them."
The conference reacted in shock when Mr Jones said: "This will be the last Welsh Labour conference I address as party leader.
"I intend to stand down as your leader in the autumn allowing for a new first minister to take their place by the end of this year.
"By that point it will make sense to have a fresh start for my family, my party and my country."
The announcement came despite the Welsh Labour leader telling BBC Wales on Friday that he was looking forward to continuing as first minister "for some time to come".
Mr Jones has been under pressure from Mr Sargeant's family and both opposition and Labour politicians who have wanted answers to questions over the circumstances of the minister's sacking.
Carl Sargeant's death led to Mr Jones announcing several inquiries. Two have been completed, but an independent probe into the circumstances led by QC Paul Bowen around his sacking is yet to begin.
Following Mr Jones' announcement, Carl Sargeant's son Jack, who has taken the Alyn and Deeside seat vacated by his father, said: "Nothing changes. The inquiries are still relevant and should continue."
On Friday the lawyer for Jack Sargeant said Mr Jones' manner had caused the family distress.
Mr Jones has said he did not see how that could be the case.
Mark Drakeford, who has been tipped as a future leader of the party, did not rule out the prospect of running for Welsh Labour leader when he told BBC Wales: "I will talk to others. I've got to think of my own family in talking to them, and I will think about it very seriously.
"But I can quite easily see why that serious consideration would conclude that I wouldn't want to do it."
Jeremy Miles, the Welsh Government's counsel general, also did not rule out the prospect of running when BBC Wales asked if he would stand, saying it would depend on "who puts their name forward".
Huw Irranca-Davies, minister for children and social care, said he was also considering running.
Alun Davies, the local government secretary, said he would wait and see what to do.
But he insisted that the next leader must not be elected under the current electoral college system, which was used to elect deputy leader Carolyn Harris whose victory was also announced on Saturday.
Leadership elections have been a controversial matter in the Labour party, with many grassroots campaigners calling for one member one vote (OMOV).
Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservative leader, said: "Whilst we have spent many years on opposite sides of the political divide, you have to recognise Carwyn's significant contribution to public life in Wales, and the huge achievement of serving his country at the highest level for so long."
Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, congratulated Carwyn Jones on his nine years as first minister, but added: "Wales needs more than a change of leader. We need a new government with the ideas, the values and the drive to build our nation into the successful country we know it could be."
Former Labour AM and ex-local government minister Leighton Andrews, who has been critical of the first minister following Carl Sargeant's death, said Mr Jones had many significant achievements during his period as first minister, but said unanswered questions remain.
But he said: "These last five plus months have been very difficult and there are still unanswered questions which the Bowen inquiry will investigate."
Health secretary Vaughan Gething told BBC Wales that the announcement was a "shock", but denied Mr Jones was leaving "under a cloud".
He also did not rule himself out of a future race, saying Saturday "was not the day to be running out of the starting blocks".
The Conservative Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "My relationship with the first minister has always been positive, pragmatic and driven by a mutual desire to get the best outcome for the Welsh people."
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said she had enjoyed working with the first minister - the two have jointly campaigned against provisions for devolution in the Brexit bill.
Analysis by BBC Welsh affairs editor Vaughan Roderick
It's a sad end to a political career.
Carwyn Jones would have wanted, in different circumstances, to continue for longer.
We should take what he says about the pressure on his family entirely at face value, I'm certain of what he is saying here is correct.
History will be kind to Carwyn Jones. He has had to manage Wales through a period of austerity and has managed to keep Labour in power. He has a lot of things going for him.
But at this moment, its the cloud of that reshuffle that went wrong and the results that came from it that will be on most people's minds.
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A Suffolk bus driver has spoken of the "scary experience" of his vehicle being picked up and blown over in high wind.
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The double-decker was on the A1071 at Hadleigh when its front wheels were lifted up and it ended up on its side in a field during the St Jude's storm in October.
David Cahill, the driver, and one of his two passengers, were slightly hurt.
He said: "When the wind blows like that again, it's going to bring it back to me - there's no doubt about it."
The bus was near Coram Street when its front wheels where lifted off the ground at about 08:15 GMT on 28 October.
An investigation by the bus company Beestons estimated the bus, which was travelling at 25-30mph (40-48km/h), was hit by a gust of wind measuring 69mph (111km/h).
'Smacked my head'
Mr Cahill said: "It picked the front of the bus up and spun it - it was a tidy old gust of wind.
"I couldn't do anything - it sort of sprung me up in the air and I smacked my head on the roof.
"The next thing I remember is waking up and somebody asking if I was alright - it was a scary experience."
Mr Cahill returned to work three weeks later and the injured passenger was treated for minor injuries.
After the accident, the bus company took all its vehicles off the road until the storm passed.
David Burrows, training and development manager at Beestons, said: "There was no blame attached to the driver. As far as we were concerned it was a freak gust of wind.
"I've been in the industry since 1979, but I'd never heard of a moving bus being blown over in the UK.
"There are a lot of elements in play, but now we've had this incident we would be a lot more cautious about sending buses out."
Related Internet Links
Beestons
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A student praised for helping to evacuate a burning block of flats says she has lost everything in the blaze.
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Kate Farren, one of the building's fire wardens, was on the sixth floor of The Cube in Bolton when the fire broke out at about 20:30 GMT on Friday.
The County Londonderry student had been getting ready to go out when she was alerted to smoke in the building.
"We started evacuating... like we are trained to do, it was all a blur," she said.
Two people were injured in the fire, amid confusion among residents because, as one said, fire alarms go off "almost every day". An investigation is under way into the cause of the blaze.
Kate, a third year student from Ballykelly, told BBC Radio Foyle that, once outside, she watched her room, and all her personal possessions, burn.
"It was so surreal, it was terrifying really," she said.
"She could see all the smoke; she said there might be a fire," Kate said.
"I looked out there was loads of smoke but only the smallest fire at that point."
She said her training as a student warden kicked in, but she only grasped the scale of the blaze when she was outside.
At its height, about 200 firefighters from 40 fire engines were tackling the Bolton blaze.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said two people were treated by paramedics at the scene.
Kate added: "My room was one of the back rooms on the top floor, I could see the fire hit it; I watched it, just watched the whole room burn.
"I don't think it hit people until later that night or next day," she said.
She is currently staying in a hotel until more permanent accommodation can be organised.
Kate paid tribute to the work of the university, emergency services and the generosity of people who have supported students since the fire.
More than £10,000 has been raised for the University of Bolton students through a crowdfunding appeal.
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A 25% cut in council funding will have a severe impact on the homeless in Blackpool, according to the head of a homeless charity in the town.
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Chief executive of Bay Housing Association, Paul Greenwood, said: "It would have a serious effect."
Councillor Peter Collins, who is in charge of young people's services at Blackpool Council, said the authority had little choice due to the £27m cuts.
He said the authority would try to help the town's homeless where possible.
"Given the severity of the cuts to the Blackpool budget we had to look at the overall picture for each of the departments especially in the children and adult services," he said.
"We will do our utmost to make sure that the most vulnerable aren't affected but obviously we can only take it on a case by case basis.
"We are there to still deliver the best service we can given the cuts we've had to implement."
Funding at Bay Housing Association, which offers temporary accommodation for vulnerable young people and helps them get a job or training, is due to run out at the end of next month.
Mr Greenwood said the reduction in funding put its future in jeopardy.
He said: "It would have an effect on the people who you could admit.
"You would have difficulty if your staff had been significantly reduced in coping with people who we take at the moment who have multiple needs. It wouldn't be possible to deal fully and efficiently with those."
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Professional women are freezing their eggs due to a "dearth of educated men to marry", a US study has claimed.
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Yale University researchers suggested an "oversupply" of graduate women left them struggling to find a partner and "desperate" to preserve fertility.
They said the "man deficit" was worse in countries where more women were going to university, as in the UK.
The researchers interviewed 150 women who had frozen eggs, of whom 90% said they could not find a suitable partner.
Author Prof Marcia Inhorn said the research challenged perceptions that women put off having a baby so they could prioritise their job.
"Extensive media coverage suggests that educational and career ambitions are the main determinants of professional women's fertility postponement, especially as they 'lean in' to their careers," she said.
"Rather, they were desperately preserving their fertility beyond the natural end of their reproductive lives, because they were single without partners to marry."
'Buying time'
Speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Prof Inhorn thought there were "not enough graduates for them".
In the majority of cases the women, who were treated at eight IVF clinics in the US and Israel and interviewed between June 2014 to August 2016, said they could not find an educated man who was willing to commit to family life.
"Women lamented the 'missing men' in their lives, viewing egg freezing as a way to buy time while on the continuing - online - search for a committed partner," Prof Inhorn said.
'Painful process'
Prof Adam Balen, president of the British Fertility Society, said that he had noticed a "big shift" in UK society, with many university-educated women delaying starting a family.
"In my clinic I certainly see more older women seeking fertility treatment than in the past," he said.
The research comes amid a sex imbalance at British universities. In the academic year 2015-2016, 56% of UK students were women and 44% men, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Prof Balen warned that freezing eggs can be a painful and costly process.
"Freezing eggs for a future pregnancy is not a decision to be taken lightly," he said.
"The technology in egg freezing has improved a great deal but it is still no guarantee of a baby later in life.
"Women choosing to 'bank' eggs until they are ready to start a family have to go through painful procedures and what can be a difficult regime of medications - this is not without potential risks to the woman undertaking the procedure."
In the UK, the number of women storing their eggs has increased substantially despite success rates remaining low.
In 2014, 816 women froze some eggs for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) later, up 25% on 2013, according to the latest figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates the industry.
Eggs are more fragile than embryos, and less likely to survive the freeze-thaw process. The pregnancy rate for transferring frozen embryos was 21.9% in 2013, and 22.2% in 2014.
The law allows for eggs to be frozen for up to 10 years, and in some circumstances up to 55 years.
Egg-freezing can cost several thousand pounds, with added costs for storing the eggs, while one cycle of IVF treatment may cost up to £5,000 or more.
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At least one million bees are suspected to have died of poisoning in a wine-producing area of South Africa.
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Brendan Ashley-Cooper told the BBC that an insecticide used by wine farmers, Fipronil, was thought to have killed the insects on his farm.
Other honey bee farmers in the area around Cape Town have also been affected, but it is still unclear how many of the insects have died, he said.
Fipronil has been blamed for the deaths of millions of honey bees in Europe.
Campaigners say Fipronil is highly toxic to insects, and its use was restricted in Europe in 2013.
About 100 of his bee hives, or 35% to 40% of those he owned in the affected areas, had been hit by the disaster, said Mr Ashley-Cooper, the vice-chairman of the Western Cape Bee Industry Association.
He estimated this meant between 1-1.5 million bees had been killed.
It is unclear how many bees there are in South Africa, but the deaths would not make much difference to their overall population, he said.
'Less honey for Christmas'
Fipronil was also at the centre of an egg scandal in Europe this year.
Millions of eggs were pulled from supermarket shelves in more than a dozen European countries, including the UK, after it was discovered that some had been contaminated with the insecticide.
Fipronil is commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks but is banned by the European Union for use on animals destined for human consumption, such as chickens.
Fipronil had been used by wine farmers in the Cape Town area for a long time to control the ant population, but this was the first time the insecticide was suspected to have caused the deaths of bees, Mr Ashley-Cooper said.
Further tests were being done to confirm whether it was to blame, and both wine farmers and the government were working with bee farmers to tackle the problem, he added.
Both managed and wild bee hives in Cape Town's southern areas had been affected, Mr Ashley-Cooper said.
"A week ago we started getting calls that beekeepers were finding dead bees in front of their hives," he added.
"A large majority of hives have been affected," Mr Ashley-Cooper said.
There would be a small impact on honey production, and "some uncles and aunties will have to go without honey this Christmas", he said.
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A former MP accused of sexually assaulting a woman agreed to pay her £5,000 to prevent his wife from finding out, a court heard.
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Charlie Elphicke, 49, said the complainant demanded to be paid "compensation" after he made advances towards her at his London home in 2007.
Mr Elphicke said he believed the woman had "wanted to take matters further" after they shared a bottle of wine.
At Southwark Crown Court he denies three counts of sexual assault.
Mr Elphicke and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, drank together while Mrs Elphicke was away on business.
The former Conservative MP said he had been "under a misapprehension" in making advances towards her.
'Groped and chased'
The woman, in her early-30s at the time, alleged Mr Elphicke tried to kiss her, groped her breast, then chased her around his home while trying to grab her buttocks.
Excerpts from Mr Elphicke's interview with police in March 2018 were played in front of a jury.
In them he said the woman asked him not to tell his wife about the 2007 incident and to pay her £5,000.
He said: "I got it [the £5,000] in smaller amounts - £500, £1,000 - because she was insistent Natalie shouldn't know."
Asked if he had ever told his wife about the payments, Mr Elphicke told police: "No."
'Incredibly apologetic'
He also described how the first alleged incident happened and said that he stopped immediately when the woman told him to.
He said: "The atmosphere was very warm and convivial and I believed she wanted to take matters further.
"I leaned over and kissed her.
"At first she responded positively, then it became clear it was not what she wanted."
He said: "I was incredibly apologetic. I believed this was what she wanted.
"She said she accepted my explanation, my apology, and that I had been under a misapprehension."
The trial continues.
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Irish planning authorities have given the go-ahead for a new bridge to be built at Narrow Water between County Louth and County Down.
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An Bord Pleanála gave planning permission to Louth County Council for the construction of the bridge across the Newry river channel.
NI Environment Minister Alex Attwood last week granted planning permission for the project.
The single lane cable bridge will be 660 metres long and cost 18m euro.
'Reasonably confident'
The fact that planning permission has been granted by authorities on both sides of the border has moved the project to an advanced stage.
The project is one of 12 seeking a share of a 30m euro EU fund and Louth County Council said they hoped the bridge would be opened in 2015.
A spokesman for Louth council said they were "reasonably confident" that funding would be granted.
He said it was hoped the outcome of the funding application would be known later this year or early next year.
Construction could then begin in 2013 with the bridge being completed in mid-2015.
The Irish government has already spent 900,000 euro on the project so far.
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Oklahoma's Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump's rally on Saturday in Tulsa, his first since March, can go ahead.
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A lawsuit to stop the 20 June event over concerns that it could increase the spread of Covid-19 in the community was filed this week.
Virus cases are rising in Oklahoma, and local health officials have expressed concerns over hosting the rally.
The Trump campaign says they received over 1m ticket requests for the event.
The queue for the event at the Bank of Oklahoma Center - which seats 19,000 people - began forming earlier this week.
Facing tough re-election prospects in November, the Republican president is hoping to reboot his campaign after a rocky week that has seen news of sinking opinion poll numbers, twin US Supreme Court defeats, two damning tell-all memoirs and a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
The lawsuit to cancel his rally was filed by John Hope Franklin for Reconciliation, a nonprofit organisation that promotes racial equality, and a commercial real estate company, the Greenwood Centre.
They argued the venue should mandate social distancing guidelines in accordance with US public health officials' recommendations, or cancel the event.
But the Supreme Court said that as the state had begun to reopen, the regulations left social distancing decisions up to individual business owners. Oklahoma has seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
In response to safety concerns, the Trump campaign has said they will check attendees' temperatures and offer hand sanitiser and masks.
But people buying tickets for the Tulsa rally online also have to click on a waiver confirming they "voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19" and will not hold the president's campaign responsible for "any illness or injury".
The president himself has pushed back against guidance around masks, calling them a personal choice.
In an interview with political news outlet Axios released on Friday night, he was asked if he recommended rally attendees wear facial coverings.
"I recommend people do what they want," he replied.
Mr Trump also said: "We're going to have a wild evening tomorrow night at Oklahoma."
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has said attendees will be given masks, but they will not be instructed to wear them - and told reporters on Friday that she will not be wearing one either.
Tulsa's health department director Dr Bruce Dart told the Tulsa World paper: "I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
Tulsa's mayor imposed a curfew on Thursday around the venue, declaring a civil emergency, but the president says the city leader has assured him the measure will not apply to the rally itself.
Mayor GT Bynum, a Republican, cited recent "civil unrest" and potential opposition protests as he slapped an exclusion zone on a six-block radius near the arena.
But on Friday afternoon, Mr Bynum said that the Secret Service had asked the city to lift the curfew.
"Last night, I enacted a curfew at the request of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, following consultation with the United States Secret Service based on intelligence they had received," the mayor said in a statement.
"Today, we were told the curfew is no longer necessary so I am rescinding it."
The mayor also said law enforcement had intelligence that "individuals from organised groups who have been involved in destructive and violent behaviour in other states are planning to travel to the city of Tulsa for purposes of causing unrest in and around the rally".
Meanwhile, a high metal fence was put up to barricade the Trump rally venue.
Earlier on Friday, President Trump posted a warning on Twitter to demonstrators.
"Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis," the president tweeted.
"It will be a much different scene!"
Mr Trump originally planned to hold the rally on Friday, but changed the date last week after learning it fell on Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of US slavery.
The president told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that a black Secret Service agent had told him the meaning of the anniversary.
On Friday, Ms McEnany said the president "routinely commemorated" the day and "he did not just learn about Juneteenth this week".
Tulsa was the site of one of the worst racial massacres in US history.
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The number of passengers travelling through Edinburgh Airport has fallen for the first time since the Beast from the East struck in 2018.
|
Overall numbers were 1,309,170 in October, a dip of 1% compared with the same month the previous year.
It is the first fall in five years - apart from during spells of severe weather such as March 2018.
A 6.1% drop in domestic travellers drove the overall passenger reduction last month.
The airport said Ryanair's decision to stop its flight to London Stansted in October contributed to the dip.
International passenger figures rose to 850,484 last month - up 2% on October 2018 - with the boost credited to strong growth in short-haul destinations.
Among the new routes since October 2018 are flights to Munich, Bergen, Stavanger, Aalborg, Vienna, Billund, Luxembourg and Bucharest.
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said: "We've had almost 60 months of continuous growth and it's unfortunate that we've seen this temporary fall in passenger numbers - something we earlier this year predicted would happen.
"It shows us that growth is not guaranteed and it is only possible with hard work and a collaborative approach."
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More than 10,000 suspects have been arrested and 600 criminal gangs "busted" in China's latest cybercrime crackdown, the authorities say.
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As of June, 3.2 million "harmful" messages had been deleted and 30 internet service providers punished for granting access to unlicensed sites, the Ministry of Public Security said.
The crackdown targeted pornography and the illegal sale of personal details.
But some say it is being used to censor online criticism of the government.
"Although illegal and harmful information on the internet has been sharply reduced through intensified crackdowns, fraudulent messages are still seen occasionally," said a statement from the ministry
quoted by the official Xinhua news agency
.
"And some telecom service providers are not strict enough when managing websites."
Crimes targeted in the crackdown also included the trading of weapons online, the illegal use of surveillance equipment and the creation of fake professional certificates, the ministry said, adding "harsher punishments for perpetrators" were planned.
Censoring micro-blogs
The statement coincided with reports from some of the country's local authorities about their own efforts.
Beijing's police force said it had arrested 5,007 people suspected of internet-related crimes and closed 263 internet cafes as part of its efforts to "protect the physical and mental health of young people" using the web.
Revealing the numbers, the chief of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Fu Zhenghua, warned users they faced being severely punished if they "attacked" the country's leaders online.
Three of the country's major Twitter-like micro-blog services - including Sina Weibo - are based in the city.
However the local
Global Times newspaper
said the public was concerned the authorities had not defined what counted as an "attack" or "political rumour" that would warrant punishment.
It said some citizens feared the campaign could be used to "mute online criticisms of the government".
One Beijing-based government policy analyst noted the effort built on a wider push to censor users' comments.
"It's increasingly difficult for the authorities to control what people are saying bearing in mind the rise of 'netizens' - individuals sharing their opinions over the internet," Oliver Barron, from the investment bank NSBO, told the BBC.
"People have felt that they could speak out because of the anonymity the net offered, which is why the government is now cracking down on this, demanding that people register their accounts with their real names."
Fake certificates
Elsewhere, police in Jieyang in the south-east province of Guangdong reported they had "cracked" the biggest case of hacks against government sites in recent years.
Xinhua reported
that 165 people had been arrested and further suspects were being hunted in connection with attacks on 185 official websites.
The suspects are accused of making more than 7,000 fake certificates, which they are said to have sold for more than a total of 300 million yuan ($47m; £30m).
Such certificates are commonly used to secure jobs, allowing a user to claim an educational qualification they do not have, or to avoid lengthy and costly administrative procedures to gain a driver's licence or residence permit.
"The gang tampered with official databases or added links to external databases so that if anyone checked up on the fake certificates, the client's name would appear," said Chen Xiaoping, head of Jieyang police's cybercrime unit.
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Buying a car can be exciting, but it can also be quite a headache.
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By Theo LeggettBusiness reporter, BBC News
One of the big choices facing buyers is whether to get something new, or a used model with a few miles on the clock.
But would you believe me if I told you that sometimes it is possible to get a new car for the price of a second-hand model?
Well, apparently you can.
The car I am looking at appears to be brand new.
It is a shiny silver Renault Megane, registered in 2014, and it has just six miles on the clock.
There isn't a fleck of dirt on it, the interior still has that unique new car smell, and its tyres have barely kissed the tarmac.
Yet as far as the motor trade is concerned, the Renault is a used vehicle, and it has a price tag to match.
It is on the market for £12,999, several thousand pounds less than you'd normally expect to pay for a new model.
Bargains like this can be found quite easily, if you know where to find them - and if you are willing to make certain compromises.
New or used?
Research recently carried out by the AA suggests three-quarters of drivers plan to buy a new set of wheels within the next five years.
For many people, the choice will ultimately boil down to cost.
"A lot of care needs to be taken," warns Ian Crowder of AA cars.
"Is the car going to be right for you - is it going do the job you want it to do? And how much is it going to cost? It's important to think about your budget and how you're going to pay for it."
"And how long do you plan to keep it? That might dictate whether you go for a new car or a used one," he says.
There are big advantages to owning a car that has never been driven.
It is less likely to go wrong, and if it does, the manufacturer will sort it out under warranty.
You know its history, and you are unlikely to find any nasty surprises.
There is a catch though. Not only are new cars more expensive to buy, they also lose their value very quickly. In fact they can be worth up to 40% less the moment you drive them away from the dealership.
New 'in effect'
Yet there are circumstances in which it can cost you less - over time - to buy a new car than a used model.
It may be the case, for example, if you are planning to pay for it on credit.
This is because manufacturers frequently offer low-cost or interest-free loans on new cars, along with other incentives which may not be available for used car sales.
A recent survey by What Car? Magazine suggests that, over a three-year period, new cars bought using a standard hire purchase agreement, or under a Personal Contract Purchase, can end up cheaper than used models about half of the time.
This doesn't mean that new cars are actually cheaper of course, simply that there are good funding deals to be had, and that credit for used cars is often more expensive.
Nevertheless it is entirely possible to buy a car that is, in effect, new, for the price of a second-hand model.
'Massive savings'
Which brings me back to that Renault.
The silver Megane is what is known as a "nearly new" or pre-registered car. It was first registered by a franchised dealer, who wanted to boost his sales figures in order to pick up lucrative incentives from the manufacturer.
In effect, the dealer bought the car himself.
"For us, our best customers are people who buy second-hand or nearly new vehicles", says Lee Arnold, general manager of Motorpoint in Peterborough.
"If you don't mind being the second owner of the vehicle, you can have massive savings off the retail price," he says.
There is a catch of course. When you buy a pre-registered car, as Mr Arnold points out, you will be listed on the registration document as the second owner, which could affect the value when you come to sell it.
If it is a few months old, the warranty will be that bit shorter as well.
There is also less choice; you have to accept what is available, and may not be able to get the precise model you want.
But if you are not worried about the colour or the number of cup-holders, there are some good deals to be had.
The key, when you're thinking about buying a car, is always to do your research first. That way you could end up driving off with a bargain - and avoid any nasty surprises.
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