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A classic sports car is to be raffled as part of efforts to raise £4.8m to restore a historic Worcestershire house.
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The National Trust took over management of Croome Court in 2007 and said it hoped to restore it "back to its Georgian splendour".
The Morgan Motor Company donated the car and tickets are being sold on open days at the home.
The house is a tourist attraction after several decades in private hands.
The house, the former home of the Earls of Coventry, was bought by Croome Heritage Trust in 2007.
The National Trust said essential repairs included restoring all 85 windows and repairing staircases, guttering and external masonry.
The raffle will be held next year.
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With British Prime Minister David Cameron visiting Russia next week, the killing of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko in London five years ago is still a major thorn in relations, as the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from the Kamchatka peninsula.
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Andrei Lugovoi gently cast his fishing rod off the boat, letting the bait drop into North Pacific on a windless day. The backdrop was spectacular. Kamchatka's volcanoes glowered over the bay. The fish he caught looked like something from the Jurassic era.
The former KGB bodyguard had taken time out from political campaigning to talk about the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, almost five years on.
He suggested a third country should be brought in to re-investigate the murder in a Lockerbie-style attempt to break the diplomatic deadlock, and suggested MI6 - and even Litvinenko himself - were responsible for his death.
Main suspect
Mr Lugovoi remains Scotland Yard's main suspect in the murder. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service says there is sufficient evidence to charge him. As a result, he has not left the Russian Federation since November 2006, for fear of being extradited and put on trial.
I spent the best part of two days with him on the edge of the Kamchatka peninsula, one of the great Russian wildernesses. He seemed relaxed, but clearly frustrated that his case remains the most serious impediment to British-Russian relations.
"Are we going to fight about it for the next 100 years?" he asked. "We should be looking for a way out. And the ball is not in the Russian court, it is in the English court."
He did not mean court in the legal sense.
Radioactive poisoning
David Cameron will want to talk about business and geopolitics with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but he will have to press them again on sending Andrei Lugovoi for trial in Britain. Something they will have to refuse.
Alexander Litvinenko - the man Andrei Lugovoi is accused of killing - died a slow and painful death. He was poisoned by the lethally radioactive isotope polonium-210. British police believe it was dropped in his tea at the Millennium Hotel in London. He was there with Andrei Lugovoi.
Both had been in the KGB, but Alexander Litvinenko had become an outspoken critic of the Russian government and had recently become a British citizen
I asked Mr Lugovoi what he thinks now about Litvinenko's death.
"I only started thinking about it after a year, when the whole story subsided," he said. "There is no doubt that what happened was tragic. Those photographs of Litvinenko that were released were heart-rending. Whatever I thought about that man, death is always a bad thing."
Strong evidence
The evidence against Lugovoi appears strong. He was present at the crucial moment in the Millennium Hotel. Many of the other places he went to on that trip - the Emirates Stadium, the offices, even his aeroplane seat - tested positive for Polonium 210.
He concedes that things look bad, but insists Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command has got the wrong man.
"If you spin it in the right way… Well, there's Lugovoi, a former officer of the Russian special services. He comes over and meets another former special services officer who dies soon afterwards, and Polonium is found all over the place. It seems obvious," said Mr Lugovoi. "But it's not a fingerprint. It's impossible to say who left the Polonium."
Scotland Yard will not say what other evidence they have against Mr Lugovoi. He insists he is a victim of Polonium contamination himself, and not a killer.
Asked who he thinks murdered Alexander Litvinenko, he insisted that the British intelligence services were involved "in an active or passive way".
"Litvinenko was an opportunist," he added. "We may presume that he was involved in the Polonium trade with the intention of staging an act of provocation or an act of terrorism. We can presume that he was handling Polonium without enough care and died as a result."
Under English law it is impossible to libel someone who has died.
Extradition refused
When Scotland Yard detectives concluded their investigation, Britain made a formal request to Russia for Andrei Lugovoi to be extradited. The Russian government refused, saying it was against Russia's constitution to extradite its own citizens.
Andrei Lugovoi is now a deputy in Russia's parliament, the Duma. He is a member of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's populist and right-wing Liberal Democratic Party. The chances of him being tried in Britain seem remoter than ever.
But he understands that it is difficult for diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain to improve. He suggested a third country should get involved to break the deadlock.
"In the famous Lockerbie case Britain passed a special law allowing the terrorists to be tried in the Netherlands," he said. "Listen guys, why don't we get a third country to conduct an independent investigation?"
And then, on a boat thousands of miles from Moscow, he offered me a cup of tea - black and sweet, with a slice of lemon. It seemed churlish to refuse.
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The number of people registered as unemployed in Jersey but looking for work has risen according to the States.
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June saw 1,110 people registered as out of work but seeking employment, compared with 1,060 people in May.
The number of people registered as unemployed but looking for work last month was 150 more than in June 2009.
The States said that since January the number of people seeking work had been "relatively stable" compared with rises seen in the latter half of 2009.
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Saharan dust, traffic fumes and smog from Europe may be clogging up London's air at present - and causing alarm in the newspapers - but in the world's most polluted city London's air would be considered unusually refreshing. That city is Delhi, the Indian capital, where air quality reports now make essential reading for anxious residents.
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By Anu AnandBBC, Delhi
In London last week, the most dangerous particles - PM 2.5 - hit a high of 57 - that's nearly six times recommended limits.
Here in Delhi, we can only dream of such clean air.
Our reading for these minute, carcinogenic particles, which penetrate the lungs, entering straight into the blood stream - is a staggering 215 - 21 times recommended limits. And that's better than it's been all winter.
Until a few weeks ago, PM 2.5 levels rarely dipped below 300, which some here have described as an "air-pocalypse".
Like the rest of the world, those of us in Delhi believed for years that Beijing was the world's most polluted city.
But last May, the World Health Organization announced that our own air is nearly twice as toxic.
The result, we're told, is permanent lung damage, and 1.3 million deaths annually. That makes air pollution, after heart disease, India's second biggest killer.
And yet, it's only in the past two months as India's newspapers and television stations have begun to report the situation in detail that we've been gripped, like many others, with a sense of acute panic.
It's a little bit like being told you're living next to an active volcano that might erupt at any moment.
At first, we simply shut all our doors and windows and sealed up numerous gaps. No more seductively cool Delhi breezes could be allowed in.
We began checking the air quality index obsessively.
Then, we rushed out to buy pollution masks, riding around in our car looking like highway robbers. But our three-year-old wouldn't allow one anywhere near her face.
Our son only wore his for a day, and only because I told him he looked like Spider-Man.
Despite our alarm, many Delhi-ites reacted with disdain. "It's just dust from the desert," some insisted. "Nothing a little homeopathy can't solve," others said.
But we weren't convinced.
When we heard that certain potted plants improve indoor air quality, we rushed to the nursery to snap up areca palms, and a rather ugly, spiky plant with the unappealing moniker, mother-in-law's tongue.
But on arrival, the bemused proprietor informed us that the American embassy had already purchased every last one.
In any case, we calculated that to make a difference, we needed a minimum of 50 plants.
"We could get rid of the sofa to make room for them," my husband offered.
Instead, we borrowed an air pollution probe from a friend to work out what progress, if any, we'd made.
Switching it on, our P-M 2.5 levels registered an off-the-charts 44,000.
My husband scratched his head, consulting the manual.
"This says 3,000 is hazardous."
"It must be broken," I said.
But it wasn't, so we had to call in the experts.
One afternoon, a young man turned up with a small, free-standing air filter, specially modified for Delhi's dust. He pressed a button, which activated something called a "plasma cluster".
After 20 minutes, the numbers on our air monitor began to drop... precipitously.
My husband and I watched, mouth agape, as the readings went down from 44,000, to 20,000, then 11,000. Eventually, the probe settled around the 1,000 mark.
That's still worryingly high by global standards... and that's only the air inside our home. There's nothing we can do about the air outside.
The government has announced that it will install more air quality monitors in Delhi and that it will ban diesel-belching vehicles more than a decade old.
But that's a drop in the ocean compared to India's pro-growth economic policies, which still rely heavily on subsidised, dirty diesel.
The trouble is on many days, you can't see the pollution.
Right now outside my window is an intensely blue sky filled with flocks of lime green parakeets and frangipani trees just beginning to unfurl their waxy, fragrant blossoms and I find myself wondering if it isn't perfectly OK to take my kids out to play football.
But in the past few months, at least a dozen families we know have moved away, either to cleaner towns and cities, or outside of India.
And although I'm still lulled by the reassurances of long-time residents - "Don't worry - it's nothing," they chide - I am beginning to wonder if it isn't time to think about moving too.
Compared to Delhi right now, London and even Beijing are looking like pretty good options.
How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent:
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"I call it reconciliation," says Manuel Elviro. He is part of a Spanish volunteer group that felt compelled to act after seeing some of the dramatic drawings by children who survived the perilous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece.
"There were monsters in the sea and people drowning."
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By James BadcockMadrid
The volunteers' task was to try to entice traumatised children on the island of Lesbos back into the sea to help them tackle their fears. As well as the terror of the crossing, the children had depicted the war zones they had fled and the filth of the refugee camps, rife with violence and sexual abuse.
"Worst of all, they drew hopelessness," recalls Mr Elviro, a technology researcher from Spain's Balearic Islands University who volunteered for charity Proem-aid.
"As I am from Mallorca, a Mediterranean man, I love my sea. It was like an affront. We had to do something."
In 2016, some 173,000 people reached the Greek islands from Turkey. At one point, 2,000 migrants and refugees were reaching Lesbos every day and Proem-Aid says it saved about 50,000 lives.
But an EU deal with Turkey last year has dramatically slowed that number to an average of up to 70 a day. The "pull factor" that some accuse NGOs of providing to migrants off the coast of Libya is not currently an issue on Lesbos.
The period of relative calm gave the group more time to work with survivors in makeshift immigrant camps such as Pikpa, home to some of the most vulnerable individuals who have lost relatives or suffer disabilities.
"Many of the children are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and had never seen the sea before. It's a hostile environment for them," says Lara Lussón, a volunteer who left her native Madrid for Lesbos in January.
'Blue no good!'
For Sahaar, 15, and her five-year-old brother Satria, their journey from Afghanistan to the gates of Europe ended in tragedy when their mother and two brothers aged eight and 12 were washed overboard.
"Sahaar screamed every time she saw the water," says Manuel Elviro. "They were like koalas, clinging to us, saying 'Blue no good, blue no good'."
"Now the danger is that they will get hypothermia because we can't get them out the water," he laughs. "Sahaar said 'I'm going to Turkey', and I had to grab her by the leg and pull her out."
The volunteers work with about a dozen children at a time on spring and summer afternoons, when the water is warm. "They are not swimming lessons; it's not like a summer camp," he explains.
Adam, a six-year-old Iraqi Kurd, arrived at Pikpa camp with an eye problem. His eyelids were glued together, possibly due to exposure to chemical munitions.
"We took him to the water to relax him while his eyes were getting better."
Does water therapy work?
The best treatment for trauma is to confront it, argues Essam Daod, a child psychiatrist and co-founder of Humanity Crew, an NGO that addresses mental health issues among migrants in Greek camps.
"Swimming gives them a sense of control where they had none and fear was the sole master," Dr Daod told Spanish website eldiario.es.
Manuel Elviro tells the story of a Syrian boy who lost his entire family in a bombardment.
"He told me: 'When I come with you to swim, that night I can sleep all right'."
The idea has recently been extended to include some of the children's mothers. The man-free sessions, known as "women's own water" have benefited migrants like Fahtia, who arrived from Somalia with a new-born baby.
Volunteers on trial
The work of the Spanish charity off the shores of Lesbos is not without controversy.
Three Proem-Aid volunteers will face jail terms of up to 10 years if a trial due next April upholds charges of people smuggling and possession of illegal weapons.
Manuel Blanco, Julio Latorre and Enrique Rodríguez, all firefighters from Seville, were arrested by Greek coastguards in January 2016 on the waters off Lesbos as they were mounting a search-and-rescue mission for migrants.
The Greek authorities consider that the knives the Spaniards were carrying constitute "illegal weapons". The volunteers argue the knives were the minimum blade length required to cut through ropes, nets or other material when rescuing people from the sea.
Two Danish volunteers were arrested at the same time.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.
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A search has resumed for a 13-year-old British boy who went missing in the sea off the northern coast of France.
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It is believed the teenager had been with his two younger brothers when he got into difficulty in water off a beach in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Monday.
The search was launched at about 18:00 BST on Monday and continued late into the night.
The head of Boulogne lifeboat station said the boy had been in a channel not meant to used by swimmers.
"At this time of the year for somebody in tip-top condition the temperature of the water indicates a maximum survival time of about two to two and a half hours," Gerard Barron added.
The parents of the missing boy and the two others have been treated in hospital for shock, AFP news agency has reported.
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Interest rate rise on the cards! Terrible news for homeowners!
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By Andy VerityBBC economics correspondent
A whole generation of mortgage borrowers who have never seen a rate rise are in for a shock. When they can't afford it, spending will be slashed.
The slowdown will get worse. The economy will tank!
That, at least, is the scary story. And here's why it seems like it may be true.
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, raised official interest rates from their post-crisis low last month, the first rise in nearly a decade. Historically, the UK tends to follow close behind.
And British households, with their record unsecured borrowing and sizeable mortgages, are more vulnerable to rate rises than they are over there.
Creeping up
Scare yourself even more with a superficial look at the data. Households have debt worth 135% of their income according to the Bank of England.
That may be less than the peak in 2008 but it's still well above the pre-crisis norm of around 105%. And it's creeping up again.
Unsecured borrowing from credit cards to personal loans is above its pre-crisis level, at £11,800 per household, up £600, according to TUC analysis.
Those who took out a mortgage since 2007 have never seen a rise in the Bank of England's base rate. And with the average mortgage charging interest of just 3.07%, even a rise of 0.25 percentage points would hurt. It would mean the amount needed to pay interest on the typical mortgage would rise by 8%.
Savers' gain
But delve a little deeper. Who exactly is going to be hit by the rate rise?
"My killer fact," says interest rate rise drum-beater, and former rate-setter at the Bank of England, Andrew Sentance, "is the percentage of people who have a mortgage at all.
"It's now at its lowest for years - only about 30%. And the percentage of households who own outright is much higher."
Let's look at the picture in England where there's recent data from the English Housing Survey.
It shows there are 14.3 million owner-occupied households. Among them are 7.4 million people, mostly in the older generations, who have no mortgage at all, so a rate rise won't harm them. In fact it is more likely to help because they tend to be net savers.
They outnumber the 6.9 million (mostly younger) owners who are still paying mortgages. But it would be bad for that group, right? (Let's try and keep the scare story going).
Certainly, for those who have stretched every financial sinew to buy recently in hotspots like London, the east of England or Kent. If they're paying 40% or more of their gross income on the mortgage, it might well hurt.
Minority
But they are a small minority. Only just over 1% of households are in that danger area, according to Bank of England data. And 90% of mortgage holders spend less than a fifth of their gross income on the mortgage. Not so unmanageable.
"The 70% who do not have a mortgage are in the majority," Mr Sentence says. "Their interests are actually in having slower house price growth if they're renters, so they can all get on the housing ladder - or in having a better savings rate. It is odd that we have a policy that caters for a minority and not the majority."
Last month, the Bank of England published an authoritative survey of more than 6,000 households carried out by NMG Consulting. It asked a scary question. How would you cope if interest rates rose by two percentage points immediately?
The answer was that 31% of households would have to take action - like cutting spending, working longer or renegotiating the mortgage.
But turn that on its head. 69% of households said they could cope with an immediate interest rate rise of two whole percentage points - without having to cut their spending at all.
Unlikely
Not very scary. And it gets even less so. More than half of mortgage holders have fixed rate mortgages. So only 2.9 million holders on variable rates might be affected. If 31% of them might have to cut spending, that's just 900,000 people. Less than one in 20 households.
That 31% who might have to cut their spending wouldn't have to cut at all, says the NMG, if their wages grow, as projected, by 10% in the next four years.
And this scenario of two percentage point rise looks in any case highly unlikely.
The thousands of traders in the City who bet on interest rate rises via derivatives currently give the equivalent of 2-1 odds against a quarter-point rate rise any time in 2016, with most betting it won't happen until 2017. If their projections are right it will take three years to raise rates by one percentage point.
So, for our personal finances, it's a case of nice scare: shame about the facts.
Real interest rates
Far scarier, perhaps, is the bigger picture. A powerful argument against raising interest rates is a startling but vital fact. They have already risen.
No, you didn't miss it. As inflation has fallen to the floor (and sometimes below it), the real cost of money - real interest rates, shot up. From 2011 to 2014, because inflation was higher than interest rates, official interest rates were negative in real terms - a big incentive to encourage people and companies to borrow and banks to lend to stimulate the economy. Now they are positive.
And the economy has been slowing down - growing by 2.1% in the year to September 2015 compared with 2.9% in the same period a year before. Unemployment may have dropped to 5.2%. But far from showing signs of taking off, inflation, currently 0.1%, has been bumping along the floor.
Fragile China
The EY Item Club's senior economic adviser Peter Spencer points to economic headwinds like the slowdown in China and the oil price drop.
He says: "There's still a lot of downward pressure on prices.
"One of the reasons the Bank's so keen to get interest rates up is so they have some ammunition if the economy runs into trouble again."
While interest rate hawks like Mr Sentance point out that a rate rise now won't have an effect for 18 months, doves like the Bank of England's Andy Haldane fear it may choke off a fragile recovery, while signs of inflationary pressure are noticeable by their absence.
"The economic aircraft appears to be losing speed on the runway," he says. "That is an awkward, indeed risky, time to be contemplating take-off."
Scary for the economy, perhaps. But not for the vast majority of households.
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All the residents of Sark will be invited to a special vin d'honneur to welcome home Olympic gold medallist Carl Hester.
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The event on Saturday will take place at the Island Hall from 14:00 BST.
The dressage rider is due to be accompanied on his visit by teammate and protege Charlotte Dujardin, who also took the individual dressage gold.
Lt Col Reg Guille, Sark's Seneschal, said he expected at least 150 of the 600-strong population to attend.
He said the island was "still euphoric" over his success and "the island was buzzing with the idea that he's coming to Sark so soon after the event".
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Millions of people want selfies riding elephants, or washing them, or patting their trunks. But according to a study carried out by World Animal Protection (WAP) across Asia this is helping to fuel a rise in elephants captured from the wild and kept for entertainment. The number in Thailand has increased by almost a third over the last five years.
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By Claire MarshallBBC Environment Correspondent
WAP researchers assessed almost 3,000 elephants and found that more than three quarters were living in "severely cruel" conditions. Many were bound with chains less than 3m long and were forced to stand on concrete floors close to loud roads, crowds and music.
Some 160 travel companies have already committed to stop selling tickets to or promoting venues offering elephant rides and shows. In 2016, TripAdvisor announced that it would end the sale of tickets for wildlife experiences where tourists come in to direct contact with wild animals, including elephant riding.
Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, Global Wildlife and veterinary adviser at World Animal Protection (WAP), said: "The cruel trend of elephants used for rides and shows is growing - we want tourists to know that many of these elephants are taken from their mothers as babies, forced to endure harsh training and suffer poor living conditions throughout their life.
"There is an urgent need for tourist education and regulation of wildlife tourist attractions worldwide. Venues that offer tourists a chance to watch elephants in genuine sanctuaries are beacons of hope that can encourage the urgently-needed shift in the captive elephant tourism industry."
This research was carried out between November 2014 and May 2016 across all venues that could be identified in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and parts of India. After inspecting 220 venues and 3,000 elephants, they found only 200 to be living in acceptable captive conditions. These were where there was no direct interaction with people: no rides; no washing of the elephants; no circus tricks.
According to the WAP report, Thailand uses roughly twice as many elephants in tourism as all the other countries combined. Over five years, the number of tourists visiting the country doubled to more than 30 million (2016 figure). The research found that 40% of tourists of the top nationalities visiting said they had been or were planning to ride an elephant, so captive elephants in Thailand gave rides to almost 13 million people last year.
The vast majority of these elephants are captured from the wild. The WAP report says that harsh methods are used to get a wild elephant to carry a human on its back. The process starts soon after it is captured. It is often referred to as "breaking-in " or "crush". Their handlers - mahouts - are dependent on the animal for their livelihood. The report finds that mahouts also endure "unacceptable" living conditions and earn poor wages in many of the elephant camps.
Asian elephants are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are also on the CITES list of endangered species. According to a 2013 report from the monitoring network Traffic, many of the elephants used in the Thai tourist industry were captured in neighbouring Myanmar. It's estimated that each one can fetch up to $60,000. They are smuggled across the long and porous border. Here the capture of elephants is considered a serious threat to the country's wild population.
Daniel Turner, Associate Director for Tourism at Born Free told the BBC: "Riding an elephant still features on many people's bucket list when visiting Asia and, more recently, Africa. While some may consider riding on top of the largest land mammal to be a cultural experience that holds an air of romance, few recognise that this practice actually significantly compromises the welfare of these magnificent animals and potentially places people at risk.
"Riding or interacting with captive elephants, swimming with dolphins, walking with lions, or cuddling a tiger cub for a photo - these are just some of the many worrying tourism excursions and activities involving animals. All can impact on the welfare of the animals involved, and risk people's safety."
The WAP report says that there are a small but growing number of venues where elephants are kept in more humane conditions. They call themselves "rescue centres" or "sanctuaries". In Thailand they are mostly in the north, near Chiang Mai. The report concludes that the way forward is to support and replicate these places - where people are kept far enough away just to observe.
Thailand is also making moves to help improve the conditions of captive elephants. In 2016, it set up an elephant database, and has strengthened the policing of its border with Myanmar.
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Caring, hard-working, dedicated to the people. The tributes continue to pour in for Jo Cox following her shocking killing. And on the streets of the area she served as a local MP, grief is palpable.
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By Lauren PottsBBC News
Birstall, a large village about five miles from Leeds, is in gridlock. On the approach to its centre, blockades warn of road closures ahead.
The market place - often a hive of retail activity - is as packed as it would be on any other Friday, except today it is lined with the world's press.
"We want Birstall to be famous, but not for this," says resident Ian Blaimers, 69.
He and lifelong friend Brian Doyle, 72, are standing across the road from where the town's MP, Jo Cox, was shot and stabbed just 24 hours ago.
"I had planned to go see her at 1pm," Mr Blaimers says. "At 12.30 I changed my mind. I thought, 'I'll see her another time'."
He stares across the street, where police officers are carrying out a fingertip search outside the library.
"If I hadn't changed my mind, I would've been in the middle of it."
Blue police tape is wrapped in great loops around lampposts surrounding the square. Cameramen jostle for what limited space there is left to set up their tripods.
"Depressed, is the word," says Mr Doyle. "We've lost someone special."
Journalists outnumber the residents on Birstall's streets. Those who have come out are wary of the intrusion.
"You're the third reporter to come up to me in the last five minutes," one lady says. She looks close to tears.
"You expect this in big cities but not here. It's just a quiet, little place.
"It's going to take a long time to recover from," she says before heading back inside the shop where she works.
"It's not just shock it happened, it's shock it happened here," says Sarah Lyle, 44.
She and her friend have just dropped their children off at nursery. They are just one of the many clusters of people gathering at the edges of the town to reflect on what's happened.
"This is a small community, people think of this place as a village, and Jo was such a big figure in that."
She shakes her head. "It's just so surreal."
"The community is scared," adds Jessica Clarkson, 27. "I didn't want to send my kids to school today because it's on the estate where [the alleged attacker] lives."
Her friend, Jodie Britton, 29, rocks her child's pushchair and nods at the media scrum.
"We only voted Jo in a year ago, I think she was one of five people we could choose from - that's how much the community thought of her," she says.
The baby drops a milk bottle on the floor and, as she leans to pick it up, she adds:
"I really don't think people will get over it."
Another resident, who did not want to be named, was possibly more shocked than anyone to hear how the mother-of-two was shot and stabbed on Thursday. He knows the suspect.
"When his image came up on the screen me and my wife said, 'not in a million years'. Of all the people in Birstall that I know, he would've been at the bottom of the list."
The 66-year-old has lived in the town his whole life and, for many years, across the road from suspect Tommy Mair.
He describes him as shy, a loner, a "gentle, kind chap", a well-read man with whom he had talked politics and someone who never hinted at extremist views.
A steady stream of people are walking towards the town centre clutching bouquets of flowers ready to be laid just yards from where Mrs Cox was killed.
As helicopters thump overhead and police officers guard every corner, it would be easy to paint Birstall as a village shattered.
But among the feelings of sadness and fear are those of resoluteness - a desire to come back stronger once the turmoil fades.
Sonya Archer, 44, believes it is what Mrs Cox would have wanted most of all.
"Everyone is devastated, but the positives need to come out of this, particularly because that's what she stood for.
"She was a champion for communities and this will make us go from strength to strength.
"We will move forward."
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The mobile phone in India has many uses other than making calls and sending messages. For hundreds of millions of people, a mobile phone is sometimes the only piece of technology in their homes. This has led to unique uses for the phone in the country - the world's fastest growing market for mobile phones with 900 million subscribers. Here are five unusual Indian uses for the mobile phone.
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By Tushar BanerjeeBBC Hindi, Delhi
MISSED CALL
Giving missed calls where the caller disconnects after a ring or two is hugely popular in India and is often used as a way to pass on "the message" without being charged for a call.
Children and employees use the facility regularly to "communicate" with their parents or employers. Missed calls are also used extensively for marketing purposes. Some television channels offer a missed call service to viewers who wish to be alerted about specific show timings.
The missed call is also popular in Africa, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, but in India, it has been converted into a business now estimated at over $100m (£60m).
Delhi-based technology writer Prasanto K Roy says a start-up, ZipDial, lets over 100 companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Cadbury, Colgate and Disney allow customers to request a sample or service or give feedback, all via a missed call.
The service is also being used for political recruitment.
India's newest political party - Aam Aadmi Party (or Common Man Party) - which now rules Delhi, launched a membership drive earlier this month by urging citizens to give a missed call to their phone number. The AAP officers would then get in touch with the callers and get them formally enrolled into the party.
The AAP claims it has added more than 700,000 people to the party through missed calls in less than a month.
Because of poorly lit streets and frequent power outages, many pedestrians in India carry torches. So when Nokia offered the "torch" feature on its popular mobile handset, it became an instant hit and soon other manufacturers too jumped onto the bandwagon.
Unbranded and cheap Chinese phones with LED flashlights began flying off the shelves.
When smartphones entered the market, they gave up other popular features like FM radio, but retained the flashlight, placing them right next to the camera for easier access.
With more than 200 FM stations, India offers a wide choice of FM station to listeners. But a majority consume radio content on devices that are not traditional radio sets. Millions of people use their mobile phones to listen to FM programmes and most of the low-end phones sold in the market now come with this feature. Many of those who have upgraded to smartphones, which do not have radio, use third-party apps like Tune-in to access FM stations. India's national radio broadcaster All India Radio has also introduced mobile apps to enable live radio streaming for smartphone users.
Also, some non-governmental organisations, like CGNet Swara in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, are using mobiles as a tool to gather and broadcast news in remote tribal areas. Villagers call in to record a short news item and the NGO uploads these "citizen news" reports on its website. And those who want to listen to them can dial a public toll free number from their mobile phone to tune in.
A couple of NGOs like Access Agriculture and Digital Green offer a call-in service to farmers and rural poor to listen to an audio version of videos.
The NGOs help farmers create and share videos and lets them log in to view the videos. But since all of these services are available to those who have access to internet, what happens to others? Those who are in areas with poor internet connectivity?
Well, they can still listen to the audio version of a video clip - all they need to do is call up a number, choose the video they want to hear and request a call-back.
One of the most common uses of mobile camera in India is to scan or take photos of documents. For instance, those filling up forms for a bank loan or a government identity card may want to keep a copy of it. But as photocopier machines are not available at all places, how do they do it? They turn to mobiles.
Students too use their mobiles to scan their study material and one can often spot them on Delhi Metro memorising notes displayed on their little screens.
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Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have spent days walking 160km (100 miles) to Mumbai to demand respite from loans, higher prices for their produce and rights to forest land. BBC Marathi's Janhavee Moole and Rahul Ransubhe spoke to some of them.
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Subhash Kalu Gangode
We are here to protest against the unfair policies adopted by the state government of Maharashtra with respect to farmers.
I had borrowed 40,000 rupees (about $615; £444) under a "crop loan" [loans for farmers to buy fertilisers, seeds and other materials required for farming].
The state government announced in June 2017 that it was waiving loans to help farmers in debt. I completed all the paperwork that was required to get the waiver.
But it is yet to come into effect. I have checked with the bank several times.
I know I am eligible because the waiver applied to all loans up to 150,000 rupees.
Chhayatai Gulhane
I own an agricultural field that I'm cultivating on my own but the produce I grow is priced too low.
It should be priced fairly. [One of the protesters' demands is that the government should pay them at least one-and-a-half times the cost of their crops.]
I have borrowed more than 100,000 rupees from government-run banks.
My family and I need those loans to be written off because nature has been cruel to us for the past few years. Sometimes it rains abruptly and sometimes the crops get infected and we cannot harvest much.
My husband died six months ago and I have a large family to look after - sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren. My sons are searching for jobs so they can help support the family.
Ramesh Devram Lahare
We [tribal farmers] are asking the government to grant us the forest land we have been cultivating. They promised us this land but are yet to transfer it to us.
We are asking for five to six acres of land in each of our names.
I have to look after my parents and my sister - cultivating farm land is my only means of livelihood.
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After nearly 12 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan, long-awaited peace talks with the Taliban are set to begin. But why and how have these negotiations ended up taking place in the Gulf emirate of Qatar? The BBC World Service's Dawood Azami has this assessment from Doha.
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Taliban representatives secretly arrived in Qatar about three years ago to talk to Western officials. They knew that the Americans in particular were eager to secure a peace deal that would allow Nato a dignified exit from Afghanistan and leave the country more stable and peaceful.
In March 2012, the Taliban suspended initial talks with the US focused on prisoner exchanges.
They wanted the release of five Taliban figures held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the freedom of US soldier Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, believed to have been held by the Taliban since 2009.
But the number of Taliban representatives and their activities in Qatar have gradually increased. There are now more than 20 relatively high-ranking Taliban members who live here with their families.
Over the past two years, they have sent representatives from Qatar to conferences on Afghanistan in Japan, France and Germany - most recently sending a delegation to Iran.
Those in Qatar represent only the Taliban in Afghanistan, the main insurgent group led by Mullah Mohammed Omar. There are no representatives of the Pakistani Taliban.
Shopping encounter
Nearly all members of the Taliban office are said to have come to Qatar through Pakistan. A few have reportedly commuted between Qatar and Pakistan over the past two years.
While in Doha, the Taliban have in general been careful about their activities and appearances.
But it is not a big city and there are about 6,000 Afghan labourers and businessmen who live here. Several told me that they had occasionally seen Taliban representatives driving, walking the streets, or inside shopping centres and mosques.
A diplomat from the Afghan embassy in Doha shared the story of an encounter he had had with a Taliban representative in a Doha shopping centre.
"I approached a couple of children when I heard them speaking in Pashto," he said.
"I recognised the man with the children, but when he avoided disclosing information about himself. I asked him: "Are you from the other side?' He blushed and simply left."
The diplomat also said that like other Afghans, some Taliban visit the Afghan embassy to register the birth of a child or renew documents.
"They live in Doha in comfortable homes all paid by the Qataris, who are generally nice people," Doha-based Afghan businessman Zadran Darwesh said.
"A Taliban member once told me that he had seen war and fighting for 30 years but now wanted to live in a peaceful environment."
For years, the Afghan government and its Western backers have been trying to contact the Taliban, but they did not have a known address.
As a confidence-building measure, providing protection to those Taliban leaders participating in peace talks and finding them a permanent address became a priority for the US and the Afghan High Peace Council.
The council was established after a 2010 Jirga - a council of tribal delegates - in Kabul, which was tasked with contacting the Taliban and convincing them to join the peace process.
The Afghan government was keen on opening an office for the Taliban in Turkey or Saud Arabia, because it thought those countries were more influential and had a closer working relationship with Kabul.
'Cordial relations'
But the Taliban's preferred venue was Qatar because they considered it a neutral location. They see Qatar as a country that has balanced relations with all sides and has a prestigious status in the Islamic world.
The US was also happy with this option.
Afghan officials say that President Hamid Karzai finally gave the green light to the office after receiving guarantees that it would maintain a low profile and work only as a venue for peace talks.
The president did not want it to be used for other activities, such as the expansion of Taliban ties with the rest of the world, recruitment or fundraising.
All the sides have their reasons to support talks in Qatar:
Qatar was not one of the three countries - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates - which recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. But according to a former Taliban foreign ministry official, it did have "cordial" relations with the militants.
After the Taliban regime was toppled, its leaders did not have a place of refuge.
A few high-ranking figures sought asylum in Qatar, but their requests were quietly declined or ignored for a number of reasons, including because their names were on the UN/US sanction list, or they were wanted by the US.
'Arab Kissinger'
However, some lower-ranking Taliban managed to travel to Qatar and other Gulf states, such as UAE and Saudi Arabia, as ordinary Afghan labourers and businessmen.
They were neither high-ranking and nor well known, and could mix easily with the Afghan diaspora in the Gulf.
About two years ago, the former Guantanamo prisoner and Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdual Salam Zaif, also moved from Kabul to Qatar with his family after his name was removed from the international sanctions list.
Qatar, the tiny but wealthy Sunni Muslim Gulf state, has become famous for punching above its weight. It became a household name when it started the famous al-Jazeera television network.
It also got involved in a number of international crises as a mediator - including the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region and the rift between the Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas.
And it has been involved actively in the Arab Spring uprisings, supporting the armed rebellions in Libya and Syria.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's ambitious 61-year-old emir, is reported to be preparing to hand control of the wealthy Gulf state to his son, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He is well known for his diplomatic activism, with various media outlets calling him the "Arab Henry Kissinger".
So the opening of the Taliban office has brought Qatar the international limelight it craves. The challenge is how to make this new hub for peace talks become a true success story.
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A murderer serving a life sentence in a Belgian jail, who asked to be allowed to die by lethal injection, was told in September that his wish would be granted. This week the Justice Ministry reversed that decision.
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The case raises an interesting question - whether prisoners serving long jail terms should be allowed to choose medically assisted death. In Belgium, euthanasia is available for the terminally ill, and also for those who wish to end psychological suffering.
Here three philosophers give their view on Frank Van den Bleeken's case, and whether he should be allowed to die.
YES
Rebecca Roache, lecturer in philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London
Should Van den Bleeken be allowed to escape his mental suffering by dying? Or is it right that, given his crimes, he should be forced to endure incarceration? There are arguments on both sides. On the one hand, Van den Bleeken has a very traumatic past and psychiatric problems so severe that he has been deemed not criminally responsible by a court, making him a good candidate—if anyone is—for euthanasia on the grounds of psychological suffering.
On the other hand, some might argue that prison is not supposed to be enjoyable, and that it is inappropriate to allow prisoners an escape from their deserved suffering via euthanasia.
There is, however, a strong argument for allowing Van den Bleeken to die as he wishes. If we view euthanasia as a type of medical treatment—as there is good reason to do, at least in Belgium, where it is implemented by medical professionals in response to medical problems—then Van den Bleeken should be treated like any free citizen. This is because prisoners, in any civilised country, are not denied access to medical treatment as part of their punishment. That Van den Bleeken has committed appalling crimes is a red herring: if his plea for euthanasia would be granted were he a free man, then it should be granted despite the crimes he has committed.
Because of this, it was not appropriate for the justice minister to become involved and to overturn the decision to allow Van den Bleeken to die. Questions about whether an individual should be allowed access to medical treatments should not be answered by a justice minister, regardless of whether or not the individual in question is a criminal.
NO
Daniel Sokol, barrister and medical ethicist
Allowing a prisoner, who is not terminally ill, to die by euthanasia has a whiff of the death penalty.
Before his request for euthanasia, Van den Bleeken had asked to be treated in a specialised psychiatric centre in the Netherlands, a request that was initially turned down by the Belgian justice ministry. This suggests that he still hoped to get better - and as it turns out, the Belgian authorities now say they are arranging his transfer to the Dutch facility.
The combination of his mental illness, the intense hardships of the environment at Merksplas prison where he has been held (and which was criticised by the European Court of Human Rights in an earlier case involving a mentally ill prisoner), and his request for treatment raises the troubling possibility that, rather than respecting his autonomy, allowing him to die would represent a form of abandonment.
"Abandon away!" many might say, pointing to Van den Bleeken's rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl, Christiane Remacle, in 1989 and his rape of three further women, including an 11-year-old child, following his release from a prison psychiatric ward. The trail of misery he left behind remains for the victims and their loved ones. Remacle's sisters allegedly opposed euthanasia for Van den Bleeken, wanting him to "languish in prison" for the rest of his days.
In Reflections on the Guillotine, the French philosopher Albert Camus told the story of his father, who woke early one morning to attend the public execution of a murderer who had slaughtered an entire family, including children. His father thought decapitation too mild a punishment. After the execution, he returned home, pale as a ghost, lay on the bed and vomited. Instead of satisfying his father's wish to see justice done, the execution had simply nauseated him. Camus wrote that "far from repairing the offence to society, the death penalty adds a new stain to the first".
Allowing prisoners with severe mental illness to kill themselves by euthanasia, without offering adequate psychiatric support and treatment, represents a stain on civilised society. It cannot be described as voluntary euthanasia. If a prisoner with a gangrenous foot was left untreated, in unbearable pain, and asked for euthanasia, it would not be a free choice either. It would be borne out of necessity, with only a semblance of voluntariness.
Van den Bleeken's case raises pressing questions about the level of psychiatric care in prisons, in Belgium and elsewhere. Are the psychiatric services adequate? Are they accessible? Is enough money invested in them?
The case is not a one-off. After Van den Bleeken's request for euthanasia was approved in September, 15 other inmates made applications to be euthanised.
MAYBE
Victor Tadros, Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory, Warwick University
Frank Van den Bleeken, it seems, wishes to be put to death because he believes that his alternative is to spend the rest of his life in prison, and this alternative is a fate worse than death. Should he be granted the right to die? I am not sure.
Suppose that those who will otherwise suffer a fate worse than death generally have the right to die, if they so choose, but that it would normally be wrong to assist a person to die where they have a fate that is better than death. Suppose, also, that Van den Bleeken is sufficiently competent to make decisions for himself.
We might nevertheless doubt whether spending the rest of his life in prison is, for Van den Bleeken, a fate worse than death. We might also doubt that his conditions couldn't be improved to make his fate better than death - perhaps his psychiatric treatment will achieve this? Van den Bleeken might believe that his fate will be worse than death even if he is given such treatment, though.
Some may argue that if Van den Bleeken believes that his fate will be worse than death, it must be so. However, it is difficult for us to imagine how well or badly our lives will go, even when we know, broadly, what will happen to us. Van den Bleeken is no exception. Perhaps, though, Van den Bleeken's judgement should be decisive, even if it could be mistaken, either because it is most likely to be right, or because we should respect his judgement.
Suppose that Van den Bleeken is right, or that we should respect his judgement even if it is wrong. Should he have the right to die? Some might believe that a fate worse than death is a proportionate punishment given the gravity of his crimes. Allowing him to die would then render his punishment too light. I find this hard to accept. The reason why he will most likely never be released is public protection, not because a fate worse than death is a proportionate punishment.
Still, perhaps others - especially the victims and their families - have interests in him being kept alive. One reason that might be offered is that the victims, or their families, take satisfaction in his suffering. His death will reduce that satisfaction. Alternatively, and I think more plausibly, the victims and their families might have an interest in Van den Bleeken recognising the significance of the crimes that he has committed. Assuming that he has not done this already, he can do so only if he is kept alive. Could this be a decisive reason not to allow him to die? This idea seems more attractive, but I am not sure whether it is sufficient to deny him the right to die if his fate will indeed be worse than death if he is forced to stay alive.
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It is the tragic story that everybody knows the end to - the doomed Titanic sinks. Its final hours have become the stuff of myth - but how much have the various film versions of the story helped to create and reinforce these legends?
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By Rosie WaitesBBC News
One hundred years ago RMS Titanic raced into an iceberg at almost full speed. Two-and-a-half hours later, it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic with the loss of over 1,500 men, women and children.
It has inspired a host of films, documentaries and conspiracy theories.
The re-release of James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster in 3D is a reminder that many people's knowledge of the events of 14 April 1912 comes not from historical fact, but the silver screen.
'Unsinkable'
In Cameron's Titanic, the heroine's mother looks up at the ship from the dock in Southampton and remarks: "So, this is the ship they say is unsinkable."
But this is perhaps the biggest myth surrounding the Titanic, says Richard Howells, from Kings College London.
"It is not true that everyone thought this. It's a retrospective myth, and it makes a better story. If a man in his pride builds an unsinkable ship like Prometheus stealing the fire from the gods... it makes perfect mythical sense that God would be so angry at such an affront that he would sink the ship on its maiden outing."
Contrary to the popular interpretation the White Star Line never made any substantive claims that the Titanic was unsinkable - and nobody really talked about the ship's unsinkability until after the event, argues Howells.
Although the sinking of the Titanic happened around 15 years after the birth of cinema, and the disaster featured heavily in the silent newsreels of the day, there was very little footage of the ship itself.
This was because the Titanic was not big news before it sank. Its sister ship the Olympic effectively stole the limelight on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1911. It had the same captain as the Titanic, travelled the same route, had the same safety facilities and the same number of lifeboats - or lack thereof.
Olympic's hull "was painted a light grey purely so that it would look fantastic in the news reel footage", says John Graves, from the National Maritime Museum in London.
Some of this footage was used for the Titanic newsreel after the disaster, but with any telltale signs scratched or inked out.
Simon McCallum, archive curator at the BFI, believes this misrepresentation "fed into the conspiracy theories and mysteries around [the Titanic]. Film makers could project their own narratives and agendas on the event from the get-go".
"History turned into myth within hours and certainly days of the sinking," agrees Richard Howells.
One of the most vivid images to feature in many of the Titanic films is of the band playing as the ship sinks. The story goes that the musicians remained on deck, in an attempt to keep up passengers' spirits - and the last tune they played was the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee. None of them survived, and they were celebrated as heroes.
The Daily Mirror's front page of 20 April was reproduced as a postcard: "Bandsmen heroes of the sinking Titanic play 'Nearer, My God, To Thee' as the liner goes down to her doom."
Simon McCallum says eyewitness accounts suggest the band did play on the deck, but there is debate about what their final song was - with many accounts describing how the band played ragtime and popular music.
"The passenger that recalled that particular hymn being played was lucky to get away quite some time before the ship sank. We will never really know as all seven musicians perished - but it's poetic licence. Nearer, My God, To Thee is such an evocative hymn that works as a romantic image in film," McCallum says.
Paul Louden-Brown, from the Titanic Historical Society, worked as a consultant on James Cameron's film. He says that the musician scene in the 1958 film A Night To Remember was so beautifully crafted that Cameron decided to repeat it in his film.
"He told me, 'I stole that entirely and put that into my film, because I loved it, it was such a strong part of the story.'"
Little is known about the final hours of Captain Smith, but he is remembered as the hero, despite apparently failing to heed ice warnings, and not slowing his ship when ice was reported directly in his path.
"He knew how many passengers and how many spaces were in the lifeboats, and he allowed lifeboats to leave partially filled," says Louden-Brown, who doesn't accept the rosy portrayals of the captain on celluloid.
In the flat, calm conditions that night, the first boat to leave Titanic's side, with a capacity of 65, is said to have contained just 27 people. Many of the lifeboats went off half empty and didn't come back to pick up survivors.
"History records him as dying a heroic death. Statues were erected in his memory. There were postcards produced and stories of him swimming through the water with a child in his arms, saying 'good luck, lads, look after yourself'… all of which never happened," adds Louden-Brown.
"Captain Smith is ultimately responsible for all the failures of the command structure on board, nobody else can take the blame."
Captain Smith did not issue a general "abandon ship" order - which meant many passengers would not have realised the Titanic was in imminent danger. There was no plan for an orderly evacuation, no public address system, and no lifeboat drill.
John Graves agrees that on that fateful night "Smith seems to have vanished into the ether".
He thinks that the captain may have become traumatised when he realised there were insufficient lifeboats.
"His possibly unclear state of mind is illustrated by the fact that he got the design of the Olympic and Titanic mixed up. The latter's promenade deck was enclosed in part, yet he ordered lifeboats to be boarded from that deck, rather than from the boat deck."
The stories surrounding J Bruce Ismay, the president of the company that built the Titanic, are many but almost all centre on allegations of his cowardice in escaping the sinking ship while fellow passengers, notably women and children, were left to fend for themselves.
All of the screenplays, including the new TV series written by Julian Fellowes, portray Ismay as a coward who bullied the captain into driving the ship too fast and then saved his own skin by jumping into the first available lifeboat.
"Every single film-maker has found that betrayal to be too delicious not to incorporate into their film," says Paul Louden-Brown.
"If you go back to the genesis of where that came from, it goes back to William Randolph Hearst, the big newspaper magnate in the US. He and Ismay had fallen out years before over Ismay not cooperating with the press with regard to an accident that happened to a White Star Line ship."
Ismay was almost universally condemned in America, where the Hearst syndicated press ran a vitriolic campaign against him, labelling him "J Brute Ismay". It published lists of all those who died but in the column of those saved it had just one name - Ismay's.
Some survivors said he jumped on the first lifeboat, others that he had demanded his own crew to row him away and the ship's barber said that Ismay had been ordered into a boat by the Chief Officer.
Lord Mersey, who led the British Inquiry Report of 1912 into the loss of the Titanic, concluded that Ismay had helped many other passengers before finding a place for himself on the last lifeboat to leave the starboard side.
"Had he not jumped in he would merely have added one more life, namely, his own, to the number of those lost," he said.
The 1943 German film Titanic, commissioned by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, portrays Ismay as a power-mad Jewish businessman who bullies the brave, Teutonic captain into driving the ship too fast through the ice despite being warned that this is reckless.
The 1958 film A Night to Remember, long regarded as the most historically accurate of the Titanic films, also portrays Ismay as the villain.
Louden-Brown believes this to be unfair, and raised the issue with James Cameron when he was working with him as a consultant. In Cameron's film Ismay uses his position to influence the captain to go faster with the prospect of an earlier arrival in New York and favourable press attention.
"Apart from being told, under no circumstances are we prepared to adjust the script, one thing they also said is 'this is what the public expect to see'," Louden-Brown says.
Ismay never overcame the shame of jumping into a lifeboat and retired from the White Star Line in 1913, a broken man.
Frances Wilson, author of How to Survive the Titanic: The Sinking of J Bruce Ismay, says she feels sympathetic towards Ismay and sees him as "an ordinary man caught in extraordinary circumstances".
"He was emotionally completely unequipped for what he was to go through... His confused and confusing behaviour on the Titanic was due to the confusion around his status - was he an ordinary passenger, as he claimed, or as the inquiries suggested a 'super-captain'? People on ships act according to rank and Ismay had no idea of what his rank was."
One of the most emotive scenes in Cameron's Titanic portrays the third class passengers as being forcibly held below the decks and prevented from reaching the lifeboats. Richard Howells argues that there is no historical evidence to support this.
Gates did exist which barred the third class passengers from the other passengers. But this was not in anticipation of a shipwreck but in compliance with US immigration laws and the feared spread of infectious diseases.
Third class passengers included Armenians, Chinese, Dutch, Italians, Russians, Scandinavians and Syrians as well as those from the British Isles - all in search of a new life in America.
"Under American immigration legislation, immigrants had to be kept separate so that before the Titanic docked in Manhattan, it first stopped at Ellis Island - where the immigrants were taken for health checks and immigration processing," Howells says.
Each class of passengers had access to their own decks and allocated lifeboats - although crucially no lifeboats were stored in the third class sections of the ship.
Third class passengers had to find their way through a maze of corridors and staircases to reach the boat deck. First and second class passengers were most likely to reach the lifeboats as the boat deck was a first and second class promenade.
The British Inquiry Report noted that the Titanic was in compliance with the American immigration law in force at the time - and that allegations that third class passengers were locked below decks were false.
Evidence given at the inquiry did suggest that initially some of the gates blocked the way of steerage passengers as stewards waited for instructions and that they were then opened, but only after most of the lifeboats had launched.
Lord Mersey noted that third class passengers were "reluctant" to leave the ship, "unwilling to part with their baggage", and had difficulty getting from their quarters to the lifeboats.
None of the evidence presented pointed to any malicious intent to obstruct third class passengers - but rather an oversight caused by unthinking obedience to the regulations, but the results were still deadly.
When the lifeboats were finally lowered officers gave the order that "women and children" should go first. One hundred and fifteen men in first class and 147 men from second class are recorded as having stood back to make space available and as a result died.
No third-class passengers testified at the British inquiry but they were represented by a lawyer, W D Harbinson, who concluded that: "No evidence has been given in the course of this case that would substantiate a charge that any attempt was made to keep back the third class passengers."
Class did make a difference however - less than one third of steerage passengers survived, although women and children survived in greater numbers across all classes as they were given priority on the lifeboats.
Additional reporting by Melissa Hogenboom.
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I think it's fair to say that on the whole we have the same relationship with all those public statues of long dead grandees dotted around our towns and cities as we do with the terms & conditions box we are asked to click on for a software update.
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Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter
That is to say, by and large, we ignore them.
A bit like the stars in the sky during the day - we just don't see them. They have become invisible, a part of an urban fabric that forms the backdrop to our busy lives.
There are exceptions, of course even beyond divisive figures such as Cecil Rhodes, who has gained renewed visibility in our post-colonial age.
In London's Parliament Square, for instance, the pugnacious representation of Sir Winston Churchill stands out from the mainly 'invisible' statues of other political figures.
As does a slightly comical depiction of David Lloyd George next to him, in which the last Liberal Prime Minister is made to look curiously like the Fat Controller out of Thomas the Tank Engine.
But until Tuesday it was an entirely male line-up in the Square.
Thankfully, that has now changed with the welcome arrival of Dame Millicent Fawcett (1847- 1929) to the ranks.
Credit for this goes to the writer and activist Caroline Criado Perez, who made the initial suggestion of having a statue to commemorate the suffragist who fought for decades for women to have the vote.
That the statue is of a woman makes it exceptional.
But it is also exceptional in terms of its execution by the Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing.
I'm not only talking about the technical side of things and the quality of the work by the foundry, which is first class (they've made bronze look and feel like tweed). But also the conceptual element of its creation, which is the bit Wearing really excels at.
As an artist, Gillian Wearing has spent most of her life exploring the extraordinary inner lives of outwardly ordinary people. She is a chronicler of the everyday, a champion of the disregarded. And that is why it makes perfect sense for her to be given the job of making this new public statue.
She knows how to make us see the overlooked.
And so the first thing you notice about the statue is not Millicent Fawcett.
It is the banner she holds across her body reading 'Courage Calls To Courage Everywhere', that catches the eye. The text is taken from a reflective piece Fawcett wrote about the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison who died after running onto the Epsom racecourse during the Derby in 1913.
It is a compelling statement.
It is also a call-back to the artworks that made Wearing's name.
In the early 1990s she produced a series of photographs with the collective title, 'Signs That Say What You Want Them To Say And Not Signs That Say What Someone Else Wants You To Say (1992-93).
To make the work she had to overcome her natural shyness to approach people randomly on high streets or in parks to ask them to write down an inner thought on a large piece of white card.
Those who agreed were then asked by Wearing to hold up their personal statement while she took their photograph (think Bob Dylan and his one-word lyrics on placards in Subterranean Homesick Blues film).
The point of the exercise was a revelation, to make their private public. 'I'm desperate', wrote a young man with a side parting and a smart suit and a tie. A less well-dressed, slightly older man held up his card, which read, 'I've Thought About Being A Gigolo But I'm Worried About The Health Risks!'
You can view these images as stand-alone artworks, or as a unified entity, or as documentation of a performance piece by the individuals who participated. Or, when you look at them now in the context of the bronze Millicent Fawcett, as living statues.
All of which is to say, there is more to the slogan that the suffragist holds than the words we read.
It is, for Wearing, an expression of Fawcett's inner feelings: her truth.
It is as much a statue of the subject as it is of the lifelike figure behind.
The Fawcett we meet is middle-aged, dignified and resolute.
Wearing doesn't do hyperbole or grandstanding; she is more interested in finding the dazzling in normality.
Hence, she gives us Millicent Fawcett unmasked, a private woman on a public stage.
A woman who went through her life without compromise, and now stands facing Parliament in a no-nonsense 'walking suit', challenging those inside to do the right thing.
Which brings us to the most potent part of this statue, and that is the weighty impact it makes as a piece of contemporary sculpture.
I'm not talking about its scale, or about its form, or the materials from which it has been made. Neither am I talking about all those neat smaller details, like the belt of photographs of Fawcett's fellow campaigners that goes around the top of the stone plinth on which she stands.
In fact, I am not talking the physical object at all.
I am talking about the effect it has on its surroundings.
That is sculpture's secret weapon.
It doesn't just occupy a space; it alters how we read the environment around it.
The Fawcett statue makes most of the others look ridiculous, or pompous or both (not Gandhi who stands to her right side).
It also creates a palpable tension that stretches between the Houses of Parliament and the implacable Fawcett. Which in turn gives this small island of lawn a focal point that it has lacked since the late Brian Haw occupied its southern edge with his tented peace protest (maybe he'll get a statute on this plot of land one day?).
This statue of Millicent Fawcett has been too long coming, but at least Gillian Wearing has made it worth the wait.
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It is intriguing to note how phrases enter the lexicon. Take "alternative fact" for example. It was initially used by a member of Team Trump to counter claims regarding the inaugural crowd which greeted the new president.
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Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland
The suggestion was that the grouping of enthusiasts gathered to hail the new chief was differently numbered from those who mustered to welcome President Obama (at his first outing.) A rival depiction. A distinct vision. Ok, smaller.
No, no, said Kellyanne Conway: President Trump's analysts were simply offering "alternative facts" when they said that the numerical zeal greeting the new guy had been the biggest and happiest crowd on the planet since Dundee United paraded the Scottish Cup in the City Square. (C'mon, I need some football cheer - and, currently, it's mostly historical.)
But "alternative fact" has now become code for "lie". At Westminster, it has long been the case that you cannot say that an Honourable Member has departed from the strict truth.
Winston Churchill deftly got round this by suggesting that a fellow MP had pursued "a terminological inexactitude". By the time the House worked out what he had said, the wily Winston was in the tea room.
Today Labour's Kezia Dugdale pursued a comparable path. Being a thoroughly modern woman, Ms Dugdale drew upon current usage. She suggested that the first minister was reliant upon "alternative facts" in defending her budget.
Now another intriguing element arises here. (That's two, a columnar record.) With the presidential crowd, it would presumably have been possible, albeit with a little effort, to count the competing crowds. "One, two, three…..oh, for any sake, stand still while I conduct a popularity census!!"
In short, these are potentially absolute, external, discreet facts. With the issue raised by Ms Dugdale, things are rather different. One enters the world of relative, qualified truth.
Labour's point is that £327m has been cut from the budget for local authorities. The Scottish government's retort is that £200m has been added to local services. That includes, for example, money despatched directly to schools.
Both sides can cite documentary evidence for their claims. Both sides assert their points with rising vigour although, to date, Labour's argument has been followed with perhaps a little more vigour.
That is because Scottish Ministers are fighting on a range of fronts - while Labour has been singing one song, the Anthem of the Missing Millions. (I know, I know, sounds a bit Brechtian but there you are.)
Ms Dugdale and chums say what they are going to say, say it, then sum up what they have just said. Repetitive but potent.
For the Tories, Ruth Davidson also voiced discontent with the ministerial record, notably on health. She raised the case of an individual patient - then disarmingly declared that she did not expect the FM to comment on individual cases.
Ms Sturgeon took her at her word and turned the attack around, arguing that the NHS and other budgets would suffer should the Scottish government follow the Tory idea of a substantial effective tax cut for higher earners.
Is there a deal pending on the budget? I still think there will be - but it is not there yet. The Greens want concessions on spending but also on tax; in essence a higher imposition upon upper earners.
Ministers are presently - repeat, presently - keen to stick to what they regard as a balanced package.
Bargaining seriously
The Liberal Democrats want concessions on spending: an extra £400m on mental health, police, education and Northern Isles transport.
The talk is that ministers are presently offering around £50m to £70m. A sizeable sum - but well short of the demands. One SNP source said the Lib Dem demands were "not at the margins, rather they would change the budget substantially."
Hence Willie Rennie's comment that it was not "looking good" for a deal next week when the budget faces its first key vote in parliament.
Ms Sturgeon stressed that her ministers were still bargaining seriously with the Lib Dem leader - while reminding him rather bluntly that her party received much more popular support than his.
Tension too at Holyrood today over Brexit. The Scottish Secretary David Mundell met Scottish Ministers. After the talks, said Scottish Ministers described them as a waste of time in that Mr Mundell had not arrived with details regarding the post-Brexit allocation of powers, as they claim they had been led to expect.
Mr Mundell seemed benignly content at the disquiet he had caused. He told his interlocutors that there was no question of Holyrood being given a vote on the Article 50 trigger bill which was published at Westminster today.
But there would be a vote through a Legislative Consent Motion for the eventual Great Repeal Bill which will, in effect, unpick EU law and repatriate it to these islands.
And were the Scottish Ministers humbly content with this? Yes, thought you might say that. Mike Russell voiced suspicion over the repatriation of powers. Would the UK seek to grab control of, say, fishing and farming when the European element of these devolved powers is returned?
He suspects they might. With a degree of justification. I think UK Ministers may want, for example, to consider a Common Agricultural Policy - for the UK, albeit with a distinctive Scottish element. But Mr Mundell is adamant that Holyrood will gain new powers.
Alternative facts, anyone?
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The fast bowler waits, perfectly still, an intent silhouette against the late afternoon sunshine. Then, a sudden sprint, a flash of the wrist and the ball is flung fast and hard, a dark red blur across the green.
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By Jenny HillBBC News, Bautzen, Eastern Germany
It is a scene you might expect on a fragrant summer's evening on a Yorkshire village green. Or in the humid heat of a floodlit ground in Kolkata.
But this is Germany, football-mad Germany. Where many people have never heard of cricket, and those who have consider it rather an exotic pastime. There is a national team but it is not exactly known for its resounding success.
'It's going crazy'
And yet, on dusty scraps of wasteland, on abandoned playgrounds and borrowed football fields, the sound of leather on willow echoes. Because, in the last year, tens of thousands of young men who have come from Pakistan and Afghanistan to seek asylum in Germany have brought their sport - and their enthusiasm - with them.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the refugee crisis would change this country but she probably did not have this in mind.
In 2012 there were 1,500 players and 70 teams registered with the German Cricket Federation.
Today, there are 5,000 cricketers playing in 220 teams.
"It's going crazy!" says the federation's manager Brian Mantle. Every day he receives enquiries from refugees and social workers keen to set up new teams. Germany, he says, has been overwhelmed by the migrant crisis.
"They can't offer refugees things like German lessons, they can't offer them schooling. So they're sitting in their homes doing nothing."
More on Germany's influx of migrants and refugees
One of the newest clubs is in the eastern town of Bautzen.
"They said this is Germany: no-one plays cricket here," says its coach and founder Ahmad Irshad.
"It was really strange and a really new thing for them. I tried my best, I tried to convince them and tried again and then I was able to make them understand."
For now, Bautzen's football club has lent them their pitch for practice. Sitting near the goal posts, a group of bemused German students watches as a young Pakistani man tries to explain the rules. One girl laughs and shakes her head when I ask if she understands them.
"It's something we didn't have here in Germany. But we can learn something about the game and about other cultures. We can integrate them into our culture and everybody learns from everyone."
It is significant that this club is thriving in Bautzen. The town became, briefly, notorious after a refugee home here was targeted by arsonists earlier this year. Some locals watched it burn down, cheering and clapping.
Today, about 2,000 asylum seekers live here.
Many of the cricket team are housed in an old hotel on the outskirts of the town.
When I visit the cricketers, they are in celebratory mood. They have crowded into a sparsely furnished bedroom where a golden trophy is in pride of place on a table. Next to it the local newspaper lies open; there is a report about the team and their recent victory in a local league.
One of the players, Sunny, tells me: "If I can do something for Germany then I will play cricket and I will show them the game that is in our veins. Germany has become the best in football and it will become the best in cricket also."
Sunny works as a handyman in the refugee home and hopes to be granted asylum here.
Cricket in Germany
Source: Deutscher Cricket Bund (German Cricket Federation)
"Sport is the best way to make unity," says Sunny. "We have Muslim guys, Christian guys and I belong to a Sikh family. When we play together, we forget everything."
At the start of every training session, Sunny and his team-mates nail down green matting to stop the bowlers from slipping. They manage with donated kit and makeshift equipment. Many new teams have received donations from the UK cricketing charity, the Lord's Taverners, but there is simply not enough to fulfil current demand.
The match begins. The batsman steps up and the ball flies out of sight.
Coach Ahmad sighs. "We need nets," he says, looking in the direction in which the ball disappeared.
"We keep having to replace the balls. We don't have enough equipment but the boys have talent, and they want to play."
Their bats may be broken and the wickets less than perfect. But Ahmad smiles. At least they are playing cricket.
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A man has died after being found with fatal injuries at a waste recycling depot in Kent.
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Kent Police were called to the depot in North Farm Lane, Tunbridge Wells, just after 06:00 GMT. Details of the the man's injuries have not been released.
A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council said due to an incident at its depot, there would be no recycling or rubbish collections on Monday.
A white Ford Fiesta was later taken from the scene for forensic examination.
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When it comes to animals threatened with extinction, the cute and cuddly ones tend to get the most attention. But what about the ugly ones that go unnoticed when their numbers start to dwindle? Mary Colwell speaks up for the burbot.
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"When you are furry, when you're lovable, you often fare better in people's interests than if you're bald and rather ugly," says Richard Sabin, curator of mammals at the Natural History Museum in London, referring to the popular appeal of animals such as pandas.
It was never going to bode well for the burbot then. The fish is "fat looking and a little bit flabby and soft" - a description offered by the museum's fish curator, James Maclaine.
He isn't the only one who doesn't swoon at its looks. "People have mixed feelings about the burbot," he says. "There's a 19th Century account by a man called Pennant who calls it 'a very delicate fish for the table, though of disgusting appearance when alive'."
It is true that burbot are… characterful. They are long and sinuous, commonly growing to more than a metre in length, but can get much larger. They look very much like eels - they are often called eelpout - and when caught, will wrap themselves around the angler's arms and legs.
With large squashed heads, small eyes, downturned mouths full of razor sharp teeth and tubes protruding from their nostrils, they are not exactly pretty. They are also exceedingly slimy and under the chin is a single long, fleshy feeler called a barbel, giving the impression of a goatee beard.
These characteristics are important. They are all adaptations to the cold, dark world at the bottom of northern lakes and rivers.
These were ice-age fish that once swam unhindered in a glacial world, until the ice retreated 10,000 years ago leaving some remnant populations throughout the northern hemisphere, including eastern England.
Find out more
The burbot is the only member of the cod family that lives in fresh water. For several months a year burbot can be trapped under ice - they need cold temperatures to spawn but all that slime and flabbiness provide excellent protection.
Their teeth are essential for catching a huge variety of food. "They're a very voracious predator," says Steve Simpson, marine biologist and lover of burbot at Exeter University. "There are reports of them eating birds, eating snakes, eating frogs - they really will eat anything they encounter."
Because their world is dark, they don't need big eyes. They use their barbels to detect vibrations and catch their prey. They may not be beautiful but they are perfectly adapted to their gloomy, chilly world.
Although still present throughout the rest of Europe and North America, the only burbot in England today can be found in the vaults of the Natural History Museum in London, preserved in pickling jars. Once a proud member of Britain's piscatorial family, the fish disappeared from British waters in the 1960s - the Angling Times offered a reward of £100 to anyone who found one in the UK, but that money lies unclaimed.
They were common enough until the 20th Century but slowly faded away - probably a combination of the draining of wetlands, river engineering and warmer winters saw them off. It is a pity. Burbot make good eating.
Many medieval recipes use them in pies and soups and their livers, which are the richest in vitamins of any fish, were once highly prized by French chefs and the tsars of Russia.
They were so admired as a table fish that Anton Chekhov wrote a story called The Burbot about a group of men trying to catch one (it got away) and burbot soup was a dish for royalty in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
The burbot in Russian literature
The fish makes a sudden, unexpected upward movement with its tail and the fishermen hear a loud splash . . . they all put out their hands, but it is too late; they have seen the last of the burbot. The Burbot, Anton Chekhov
"There's no room with us. Go to that table, and make haste and take a seat," said the Prince, and turning away he carefully took a plate of burbot soup. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Middle-aged smokers and tea drinkers in the UK may remember pictures of burbot on the collectors' cards that used to come in packets of Brooke Bond Tea and some cigarettes. We used to love the burbot - but no longer. It is all but forgotten.
Well, not by everyone. There are some burbot lovers who yearn to see the Lawyer Fish (another of its names due to the beard) return to the UK's waterways.
As the desire to "re-wild" Britain grows, we hear increasingly loud demands for the charismatic wolf and lynx to be brought back. A trial reintroducing beavers to Scotland has already taken place.
But there are a few burbot champions. Environmentalist and writer George Monbiot is one of them, however. "It's this dark, mysterious, weird creature which lives down deep in the bottom of deep lakes and buries itself in the mud and then moves through marshes and water courses, and you're quite unlikely to see it and for me that's part of its appeal," he says.
Monbiot feels we have lost a part of our natural history. If the burbot is reintroduced we can once again experience the primeval pleasure of chancing upon a secretive, slimy, ugly fish, as ice-age hunters would surely have done. "Somewhere in those marshes the burbot lurks and for me that sums up the serendipity and wonder of these chance encounters with wildlife. Just knowing it's there, that's something you can't put a price on," he says.
Not everyone agrees, though. Others think that the warming world will make life too uncomfortable for the burbot and its chances of survival in UK waters are slim. They believe it is best to leave it as a memory of colder days.
But whatever we do, let's not forget the burbot. It may well have been prized more for its taste than its looks, but that doesn't mean we should erase it from our memory. Last year WWF produced a report showing that since the 60s the total number of animals living on the planet has halved.
The burbot is just one part of that sad statistic. To reverse the trend we must remember, not forget, those creatures that once lived alongside us so abundantly. If we only remember and revive the cute and cuddly, Earth will be less rich and vibrant.
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More than 150 RAF Lossiemouth personnel returned to their Moray home base overnight to be met by relatives after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.
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The troops - specialists in guarding airfields - were involved in a major firefight with Taliban insurgents who attacked Camp Bastion in September.
It left two US marines and 14 of the attackers dead.
Several members of the contingent were wounded during the tour of duty.
A homecoming parade is planned for Elgin next week.
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Bosses at East Midlands Airport have reported an increase in passenger numbers over the Easter period.
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About 70,000 passengers used the Castle Donington-based airport, an increase of 1.1% from Easter 2010.
An airport spokeswoman said top destinations for travellers were Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Faro and Tenerife.
The airport said about 151,000 people were expected to travel in and out of the airport over Easter, Royal Wedding and May Day bank holidays.
That compares to 124,903 passengers for the same period last year, an increase of 20.89%.
Related Internet Links
East Midlands Airport
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Child protection authorities in Sri Lanka have begun an investigation on whether child abuse has been occurred while making a Sinhala film.
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Colombo magistrate Sarojini Kusala Wijewardhana ordered Sri Lanka Film Corporation to provide copies of “Samanala Thatu” (Butterfly Wings) to Children’s and Women’s affairs department.
The courts issued the order after considering a complaint made by child protection authorities that the film includes nude scenes of a 12-year old child.
The plaintiff has sought copies of the film to rule whether a child abuse has occurred in creating the film.
“Samanala Thatu” was directed by Somaratne Dissanayake.
The magistrate ordered the child protection authorities to provide a report on 05 June on the progress on the investigations.
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India's federal government detained thousands of people ahead of a controversial move to strip the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status on 5 August 2019. One year later, many of them have been charged with serious offences and are still languishing in jails across India. BBC Hindi's Majid Jahangir reports.
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Tasleema Wani and her family were fast asleep on the night of 6 August when there was a loud banging on the door.
It was the day after the Indian government in Delhi stunned the country by revoking a constitutional provision that gave Jammu and Kashmir special powers. The decision split the part of the disputed region that India administers into two federal territories, and saw an unprecedented curfew and communications lockdown imposed.
"It was a team of joint security forces from the army and police and they were screaming for us to open the door. It was terrifying," Ms Wani said.
"They sent me inside, and took both my sons outside to the lawn and questioned them for about 15 minutes. Then they left."
But they later came back and asked her elder son, 19-year-old Nadeem, to show them the way to a neighbour's house. That was the last time Ms Wani saw him.
He was taken to a police station, detained and eventually transferred to a jail in Uttar Pradesh state, more than 1,000km (620 miles) away.
In an official dossier, which the BBC has seen, police have accused Nadeem Wani of being an "Over Ground Worker". Such "OGWs" are defined by security forces as non-combatant members of armed rebel groups, usually tasked with logistics.
He has also been charged with other offences, including putting up posters asking people not to participate in the 2014 elections - he was 15 at the time.
"I know my son. He is not a militant and never took part in any unlawful activity. I appeal to the government to please release him," Ms Wani pleaded. Her husband, Mohammad Ashraf Wani, has only seen Nadeem once in the entire year that he has been in jail.
Nadeem is among thousands of Kashmiris who were detained in a massive security operation that began in the region just before 5 August and continued for weeks after. Politicians, businesspeople, lawyers, activists and others with alleged links to protests or militant groups were detained, imprisoned or placed under house arrest. Three former chief ministers were among those who were detained - one of them is still under house arrest.
Despite strident criticism in India and abroad, the government insisted that the arrests were necessary to maintain law and order in the region, which has seen increased militancy in recent years.
Many, including Nadeem, have been detained under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), which among other things, allows detention without formal charge for up to two years.
It's unclear exactly how many Kashmiris have been detained or jailed as part of this crackdown. On 20 November 2019, the government told parliament that they had made 5,161 preventive arrests since 4 August that year. But it's unclear how many of them have been charged under the PSA and how many are still in jail.
Court records obtained by a civil organisation made up of parents of "disappeared" Kashmiris show that as many as 662 petitions challenging detentions under the PSA were registered in 2019. The majority of those, 412, were filed after 5 August.
The BBC asked Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar for information on the arrests but he said he could not share "such sensitive data".
Rights activists have alleged that these arrests and detentions are aimed at creating fear.
"The arrests were to silence the people. Many were booked under PSA. Some were released. And fear was created. The government wanted to ensure that no-one would come out of their homes and protest against the new law," said Srinagar-based rights activist Parvaiz Imroz.
Srinagar-based journalist and political commentator Haroon Reshi agrees.
"August 5th was a big event and the state knew it could trigger public resentment. The state didn't want to hear reactionary voices," he said.
Meanwhile, those who have been released have spoken of the ordeal of detention.
Qamar Zaman Qazi, editor of regional online news portal The Kashmiryat, was detained days after being summoned to "explain" some tweets.
In the days before 5 August, the region had seen a massive military build-up. Until then the government had given no indication of what was to come, and the entire operation had been kept a closely-guarded secret.
Mr Qazi's tweets on 26 July - talking about additional troop movements - were noticed by local police who summoned him to the station the next day and detained him. On 8 August, he was transferred to the central jail in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.
"We were stripped naked there. Initially, we tried to resist but we couldn't," he said.
There, Mr Qazi added, he was told he was being charged under the PSA He was transferred to Bareilly central jail in Uttar Pradesh state. "As they put us in the military aircraft, we started singing Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz's anthem of resistance, Hum Dekhenge (We shall bear witness)."
With no information about where he was being held, Mr Qazi's family visited four prisons in the state looking for him. It took them 52 days to find him - and when they did, he was still wearing the shirt he had been wearing when he went to the police station.
At his home, after he was released following the revocation of his detention order by a district magistrate, he showed me the T-shirt, ragged and torn, with 119 holes in it.
"The worst thing was that I wasn't given a paper and pen inside my cell despite several requests. I wanted to record the agonies and pain I went through for nine months," he said.
Earlier this week, Mr Qazi was detained again because of a story he wrote - authorities have told his family to apply for bail after 6 August, when the curfew imposed on Monday will be lifted.
Across the state thousands of worried families are still fretting about the safety of their loved ones, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.
Among them is the mother of Waseem Ahmad Sheikh, who has been in jail since he presented himself at a police station on 8 August 2019 - one day after security forces came looking for him in the middle of the night.
He is accused of helping militants and throwing stones at security forces.
Waseem was also flown to a jail in faraway Uttar Pradesh, and his family has not been able to seen him since then.
His mother, Sara Begum, said she was terrified that Covid-19 would either kill him or her before they are reunited.
"We want to die together. I haven't seen my beloved son for the last 11 months," she said, sobbing. "I appeal to the government to at least shift him to a jail in Kashmir even if they don't want to release him."
Read more on Kashmir:
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Twitter's much-anticipated launch on to the markets is fizzing with fanfare and debate over how - given that it has never made money - the microblogging site, priced at $26 per share , is officially worth more than $18bn (£11bn).
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By Sarah TreanorBusiness reporter, BBC News
The facts seem to contradict themselves. Twitter's growth is slow, and it shows no sign of making a profit - its losses for the third quarter of 2013 increased to $64.6m, from $21.6m a year earlier. And more than half of its total registered users don't even use it.
But some analysts predict that in the months post-share sale, the seven-year-old company's worth will increase to $20bn and beyond.
That would give Twitter a valuation of more than double the likes of global carmaker Fiat, with its very modest-sounding market capitalisation of 6.9bn euros ($9.3bn).
But Twitter is not alone in its sector when it comes to big price tags, if not profits.
Online "scrapbooking" website Pinterest was valued at $3.8bn in October after its latest round of investment, giving it the same value, in terms of market capitalisation, as the UK's second largest house-builder Barratt Homes.
Yet while Barratt has reported a full-year pre-tax profit of £192m for 2012-13, Pinterest has never made any money.
Its digital "pinboards" may be attracting users, there may be talk of advertisers paying for posts, but it has no revenue yet.
So why do these social media companies have this value attached to them?
Value v price
Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, told the BBC it was a bit like buying a house.
"You look at what other people are paying for something a little bit like what you are buying," he said.
"[But] you have to think about whether you are going to price [the company] or value it."
Twitter, Mr Damodaran believes, is being priced by bankers and brokers - not valued - and that pricing is coming from comparing it to its peers.
By this he means that value is something more complex and emotional, but that pricing is based on at-the-time comparisons.
Most notably, with Facebook.
"The big difference between Facebook and Twitter is that Facebook was making money [when it launched its IPO in 2012] and Twitter is losing money," said Mr Damodaran.
Facebook had a billion active users when it launched its shares. While Twitter is growing its user base rapidly - up 39% over the past year to 500 million - only 232 million of these are active each month.
According to a recent report by analysts Pew Internet, 72% of internet users in the US use social networking sites, but just 18% use Twitter.
Plus, while users are invited to tweet their thoughts in 140 characters, many do not engage on the platform at all, leaving their registered accounts dormant.
Others prefer to simply follow news feeds and favourite celebrities instead. This can cut the amount of time people spend on the site, and in turn the opportunities for advertisers to catch their attention.
A 'moon shot'?
Facebook's IPO famously ran far from smoothly, and its shares quickly halved in price, before recovering slowly over the next two years.
"Twitter is also entering a more crowded market than Facebook," said Mr Damodaran, "and there are many more queuing up to join."
Therefore, he added, Twitter should be valued at about $10-15bn. He wrote recently that "at $20 billion, it is a moon shot".
Chris Orndorff, who manages billions of dollars for clients at Los Angeles-based Western Asset Management, believes value is a lot to do with cash flow.
"One of the best ways to value a company is to figure out the present value of the cash flows," he said.
"For a more mature company, this is easier to do because they have a history of earnings, and generally reliable predictions about future earnings and cash flows.
"Relatively new companies do not have the history."
Therefore, he added, the stock was more likely to be volatile.
"The susceptibility of social media companies to changes in consumer tastes also makes valuing those companies much more challenging," he said.
'Scrabble for revenue'
Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of the travel website Lastminute.com, told the BBC she was confident Twitter could make money and hold its value.
"Yes it is a scrabble for revenue," she said, but the company "has an astonishing amount of money in the bank".
Advertising income from mobiles, rather than desktop computers, now accounts for over 70% of advertising revenue, and here, believes Ms Lane Fox and others, Twitter may be able to flourish.
She also predicted "a huge number of interesting deals and partnerships" that could boost it further.
Predicting the future?
A lot of the "value" or pricing of these companies depends on a future demand for services, as well as possible advertising streams.
But, as past deals demonstrate - that future isn't always predictable.
Famously, ITV bought the website Friends Reunited for £175m in 2005, but in 2009 Brightsolid paid ITV just £25m for the site.
It had been superseded. Its "value" had been eroded. Its customers, the key to any company, had, in large numbers, moved on.
Similar problems were encountered at one of the early social media pioneers, MySpace. In 2005 News Corp purchased MySpace for $580m. When it was sold in 2011, its price tag had fallen to a reported $35m.
It too had been overtaken, and users abandoned its offering.
But, for San Francisco-based CBS technology analyst Larry Magid, these cautionary tales make the newer clutch of technology companies stronger.
"MySpace is a constant reminder that a high and mighty service can lose its lustre. However, the lessons of MySpace were not lost on Facebook, Twitter and services that followed," he said.
"I think the difference [now] is the execution and the demographics. To succeed, Twitter needs a diversified audience that transcends a particular demographic. MySpace was focused on youth - a particularly fickle audience."
Mr Damodaran said: "A lot of very valuable companies today - including Google - were once small, money-losing companies."
And Mr Orndorff agreed: "The valuation is reasonable if the company can continue to grow its user base, generate cash flow from advertising, and successfully fend off the competition. If not, then it will be remembered - or forgotten - like many of the 1998-99 tech bubble companies, and generate plenty of tax losses for investors."
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It is a familiar formula in many ways.
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Branwen JeffreysEducation Editor
The school down the road from you that's had a bad name among parents and falling pupil numbers is taken over and turned into an academy school.
The head teacher and the name will change, and there is a fair bet the discipline regime and uniform will too.
Making schools independent from their local council and giving head teachers much greater leeway in whom to hire, and what to teach, isn't new.
But until now, it has been applied to failing schools. The new Education Bill will extend that to "coasting schools".
The government clearly intends to draw that category quite widely, which could mean many more schools than expected facing pressure to improve.
The more obvious case for intervention is in local authority areas with large numbers of schools Ofsted says are less than good.
In Lowestoft, Suffolk, there are four secondary schools. Only one is rated as being good, two others have just come out of special measures, and one requires improvement.
Of the 20 primary schools, only eight are currently deemed to be good or outstanding.
New start
Tucked away behind streets of neat houses is Meadow Primary School.
The building is a little down-at-heel, but it is surrounded by beautiful playing fields and green spaces.
The school has chosen to begin a journey that hundreds more schools in England may be forced to follow in the coming years.
Meadow, rated as requiring improvement, is joining the primary-only academy chain REAch2.
Into this school has stepped a new head teacher, Nadia Paczuska, who was recruited through a scheme called Future Leaders.
She says: "It's very isolated geographically, there is high unemployment among the parents and the area surrounding the school, it's very difficult to recruit to this area and there's a sense of low expectation of the children."
In order to have enough teachers for the coming year she has recruited from Canada and Romania, and taken to social media to persuade teachers to relocate from around the UK.
The local neighbourhood is mainly white, typical of Lowestoft's long-established communities.
The school's standing had slipped, and there were some tense moments between parents and her predecessor, but Nadia says there is a will to change.
"Most of the parents I speak to are very conscious it's not good enough, and although it had perhaps become normalised it's certainly not something the community are happy about."
An appeal to the community to roll up its sleeves has led to volunteers offering to set up and run a library, and join a summer work party re-painting parts of the school.
Over the holidays, the school will also be running catch-up classes for pupils.
Which raises the question of whether it's Nadia's determination to lead a team improving the school that will make as much difference as becoming an academy.
It is easy to make a case for intervening in schools that are underperforming.
No guarantee
But Lowestoft also shows that simply becoming an academy, free from the management of the local council, is not a guarantee of success.
Many of the pupils from Meadow Primary will head towards what is now called East Point Academy.
It became an academy in 2011, but by 2013 under the management of the troubled AET Academies chain it was in special measures.
There were concerns about poor teaching, truancy and bullying.
In 2014, just 32% of pupils got at least five GCSEs grade A to C, compared with the national average of 53%.
Now run by the Inspiration Trust, standards are rising and it was taken out of special measures in March this year.
Kevin Blakey, the principal, recognises he is up against a degree of scepticism from parents, staff and pupils because of the school's recent history.
He says: "It went into special measures as an academy and during that time in special measures it had four principals, and obviously with that comes some instability."
That is probably an understatement. So what exactly does he get out of being part of an academy trust?
As a new head, Kevin has been given a more experienced mentor, whom he meets each week to review progress and talk through problems.
And he tells me that because the academy chain is concentrated in nearby Norfolk, he is also calling on staff from its other schools, for example to check coursework marking.
The older Ofsted reports for the school, which used to be called Kirkley Community High School, are a depressing read.
They describe persistently low expectations of the largely white, working class kids attending the school.
Why intervene?
Which brings us back to the case for intervention.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told MPs the power to force underperforming schools to become an academy is about creating opportunities.
"We believe in a school-led system where experts have greater freedom but within a strong framework of accountability," she said.
"That is why we want more schools to benefit from the freedom that academy status brings."
But just last week, Ofsted warned another academy chain, which has expanded very rapidly, that many of its schools weren't improving quickly enough.
In particular, it said, that in schools run by Oasis Community Learning Trust: "Disadvantaged pupils, particularly boys, make significantly less progress than their peers nationally."
There are eight Regional Schools Commissioners who are meant to monitor the performance of academies and free schools.
They have very few staff and a job that is getting bigger.
It will also fall to them to implement the new powers to intervene in schools identified as coasting.
None was available to speak to the BBC before the draft regulations setting out the detail of the bill about how this will work.
The risk, says Tristram Hunt, shadow education secretary, is that "underperforming schools will simply pass from one poor provider to another, without the measures required to turn around sub-standard school leadership and classroom teaching."
The government says the difference is it can intervene more rapidly in a failing academy trust.
Impact on pupils
The question is whether that is rapid enough to make a difference for individual pupils.
People like 18-year-old David Stephenson, whom I met hanging out on the seafront at Lowestoft with friends.
Academy schools:
Academies are independent, state-funded schools, which receive their funding directly from central government, rather than through a local authority.
Although the day-to-day running of the school remains with the head teacher or principal, they are overseen by individual charitable bodies called academy trusts and may be part of an academy chain.
These trusts provide advice, support and expertise.
They have more freedom than other state schools over their finances and curriculum, and do not need to follow national pay and conditions for teachers.
As of June 2015, there are 4,676 academies open in England. There are hundreds more in the pipeline.
The number has grown dramatically under the coalition government, from 203 in May 2010.
Now over half of all secondary schools in England are academies.
David wants to be a welder and is now trying to gain skills at college.
But his school years were at Kirkley Community High in its troubled years, where he got into trouble and ended up in a student support unit.
"Basically I wasn't taught for a year and a half until I left that school. I got chucked into GCSEs without knowing anything. I was lucky to scrape out Ds."
David is clear what he thinks about how growing up in Lowestoft: "Pretty let down, because it's not the fact of where you should be that determines how good a school should be."
This in essence is the argument for intervening in areas like Lowestoft.
Taking a similar approach in areas where schools have broadly been told they are good will be more controversial.
Not least because the evidence around the academy model is mixed.
As Lowestoft has learnt, it is not a one-way ticket to success.
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A man in his 70s has died in a crash between a van and a car.
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The crash happened at Pepperbox Hill on the A36 shortly after 12:00 GMT on Saturday, Wiltshire Police said.
The car driver, from Somerset, died at the scene. The van driver suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to Salisbury District Hospital.
The A36 road was closed for six hours in the afternoon while an investigation was carried out.
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Four Loyalist marches and one Irish Republican parade planned for this weekend have been been banned by Glasgow City Council over the threat to public safety and the likelihood of widespread disorder. Can Glasgow now ban all marches over sectarian fears?
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If the people of Glasgow were given a vote on the future of Loyalist and Irish Republican marches in the city, the majority would ban them, according to SNP MSP John Mason.
His assertion has not been tested in any reliable poll but it is clear many people have had enough of the sectarian disorder that too often comes with the marches.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was depressing to be asked to legislate for disorder committed by grown men "fighting battles of centuries gone by".
After a full-scale riot in Govan at the end of August, when a march by a Republican Flute Band was met by hundreds of disruptive Loyalist counter demonstrators, Glasgow City Council said it planned to stop "morons intent on bringing mayhem to the streets of our city".
However, it is not that easy.
After the initial tough talk, Glasgow Council chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell admitted options were "limited by law".
And the justice secretary told the Scottish Parliament that the right to parade peacefully was an important part of a democracy that values free speech.
He pointed to Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of "peaceful assembly".
It says no restrictions should be placed on these rights except for public safety, preventing disorder or crime and for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
For this reason, total prohibition of marches or processions is very rare but, on Wednesday, Glasgow City Council's public processions committee made that decision.
It said it would prohibit all of this weekend's marches because of the disruption, disorder and heightened tensions that had proceeded them.
The police told the council there had been calls on social media from Republicans to target Loyalist events and demands from Loyalists to protest against Republican parades.
Despite delivering its blanket ban, the council said it was clear that the law expected it to facilitate public processions - including those that some people oppose or find offensive.
However, it said the right to march had to be balanced against the rights of people and communities across Glasgow.
Data from Glasgow City Council shows that the number of marches linked to Loyalist and Republican organisations has been falling in recent years.
It shows that three Loyalist organisations - the Orange Order, Apprentice Boys of Derry and the Royal Black - accounted for more than 60% of all marches in the city over the past five years.
Who is marching in Glasgow?
Over the past five years, the majority of the processions were by Loyalist organisations such as the Orange Order (142 this year), the Apprentice Boys of Derry (20 this year), and the Royal Black institutions (20).
There have been 16 marches this year classed as Republican.
The pattern has remained similar over the period, with the Orange Order accounting for, by far, the most processions as well as the biggest fall in the number of marches.
Glasgow City Council's annual report on public processions says "the vast majority of processions pass without difficulty".
Where there is a significant concern for public safety, public order, damage to property or disruption to the life of the community, and no agreement can be reached with organisers, a meeting of the council's public processions committee is convened.
This only happened five times last year.
Three resulted in conditions being imposed amending the route and two led to an amended route being agreed at committee with the procession organiser.
After the trouble in Govan two weeks ago, the council had considered calling a processions committee before the two Republican marches and Loyalist counter protest last weekend.
In the end it met procession organisers along with police officers and decided they could go ahead, with a massive police presence.
Police used a tactic known as "kettling" to ensure there were no clashes between marchers and their opponents. It requires a huge number of officers, brought in from all over Scotland.
BBC Scotland revealed that it cost £300,000 to provide about 500 specialist public order officers to the two demonstrations.
The Scottish Police Federation said that did not include other resources such as the force helicopter, mounted officers and conventional police.
Could there be court challenge?
Earlier this year, Loyalist groups called off four parades after they were ordered re-route them.
The marches were due to pass a church where a Catholic priest had been verbally abused and spat on during an Orange parade last year.
The decision was challenged in court but was upheld by a sheriff.
The lawyer for the four Loyalist groups told the court that all his clients were "seeking to do is exercise their rights to walk where they have walked for the last 15 to 20 years with largely no incidents".
The sheriff said it was a "difficult and anxious point" but he was satisfied that the council had the statutory power to re-route public processions.
He said the right to freedom of expression was "not an unrestricted right".
Glasgow City Council has called for a moratorium on marches which will give a "breathing space" for tensions to die down.
It says it can't ban all parades as that would infringe human rights. It wants the Scottish government to legislate.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was open-minded about that.
"It is part of our democracy to have the right to assemble and to march and to protest peacefully, she said.
"What is not part of our democracy is sectarian violence in any form. We continue to work closely with Glasgow City Council to make sure they get the support they need to apply the law as it is but also to be open-minded about any changes we need to see in the future."
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A woman whose death prompted a murder investigation after her body was found at a National Trust beauty spot has been formally identified.
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The remains of Carole Wright, 62, from London, were found by police in woodland on the Watlington Hill estate in Oxfordshire last Friday.
Tests have so far failed to establish the cause of her death.
A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Thames Valley Police said searches were continuing in the area where Ms Wright was found and further tests would be carried out on her body.
Det Insp Mike Roddy said: "Our condolences, thoughts and support are with the family of Carole Wright at this unimaginably traumatic time."
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The lack of women on the boards of almost half of Wales' enterprise zones is "not acceptable", the equalities watchdog has told BBC Wales.
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission said the boards for Ebbw Vale, Central Cardiff and St Athan have no female members.
The 65 board members across all seven boards include only 11 women.
Ministers said they had made "significant" progress "increasing diversity on public sector boards".
Kate Bennett, the commission's national director for Wales, said the number of women on Welsh enterprise zone boards was "not acceptable" and "very unusual".
In an assembly debate on Wednesday, a call by three AMs for the Welsh government not to give contracts or grants to companies without female directors on their boards was described as illegal by ministers.
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A bus company was worried about the safety of pedestrians on a Swansea road more than two years before a man died after being hit by a bus.
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A second pre-inquest hearing into the death of Daniel Foss heard First Cymru wrote a letter to Swansea council in April 2011 expressing concern about people crossing the bus lanes.
Mr Foss, 37, from Reynoldston, Gower, was struck by a National Express bus on The Kingsway in September 2013.
An inquest will be held in September.
Colin Phillips, acting senior coroner for Swansea, told Thursday's hearing he will be calling an independent road safety expert to give evidence at that inquest.
He also asked to see all council road safety reports about The Kingsway that were written between 2008 and 2014.
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On Tuesday, India further eased rules on foreign direct investment in a range of industries in an attempt to boost the economy which grew at its slowest pace in a decade during the 2012-13 financial year. Economic analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta explains what ails Asia's third-largest economy.
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For Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the irony could not have been more cruel.
The man who is credited with lifting the country's economy from the brink of disaster in 1991 as finance minister in PV Narasimha Rao's government, is today facing a situation which is not very much better.
In fact, in at least two respects - economic inequality and the international exchange rate of the rupee - India's economy appears to be worse off than where it was two decades earlier.
India is not in danger of defaulting on external financial obligations as it was in June 1991. Nor has Mr Singh's government mortgaged the country's gold to the Bank of England as it did then.
Disconcerting news
But India's current account deficit - the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency - touched $33bn (£22bn) in the quarter ending December 2012, reaching a historical record level of 6.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Though the deficit has narrowed since, the situation is far from comfortable. The deficit is also the principal reason why the Indian rupee has dipped to an all-time low (12%) against the US dollar over the last month.
For the financial year that ended on 31 March, India's GDP grew by 5% - the slowest in a decade.
This is particularly disconcerting for a government that has been emphasising growth over everything else in its economic policy.
Growth, Mr Singh's government has always believed, would spur investments and savings, create more jobs, mitigate the adverse impact of inflation and propel India's "emerging economy" to the high-table of fast-growing nations.
Unfortunately, none of this has happened.
Savings and investments are down.
Investments by Indian businessmen abroad have overtaken foreign direct investment for the first time, even as the government desperately woos foreign investors and is nervous that international credit rating agencies will soon downgrade India.
If that indeed happens, it would exacerbate an already-bad balance of payments problem.
The government has lifted caps on foreign investment limits in various sectors, especially telecommunications. Finance Minister P Chidambaram insists that the India "growth story" will return soon and that what the country is currently facing is a temporary aberration.
But markets remain bearish and there are few signs of a revival in investments, both domestic and foreign.
More unequal
For instance, in December, the government opened up the retail market to global supermarket chains in the teeth of opposition from not only its political opponents but some of its coalition partners who subsequently parted ways with the ruling Congress party. But the likes of Wal-Mart and Tesco are yet to announce plans to invest in India.
Employment opportunities have not expanded fast in the recent past, even when the economy was growing rapidly at around 9% for four years in succession between 2004 and 2008. The creation of new jobs has slowed down further now that the economy is growing by only 5%.
Many believe that the single biggest failure of the government's economic policies in recent years has been the inability to control inflation in general and food prices in particular.
Many reasons - such as changing dietary patterns on account of rising incomes and higher fuel prices - have been forwarded to explain why food inflation has been in double-digits or close to that level for the better part of the last five years.
What cannot be denied is that high food prices have hurt the poor much more than the rich or even the middle classes, simply because food constitutes a larger proportion of total household incomes the lower one moves down the economic ladder.
Many argue that what food inflation has done in effect is to widen the gap between the rich and the poor, deepening inequality.
The government says the worst is over and that the economy will revive in the near future.
The problem is that their optimism is shared by few.
Mr Singh has often argued that there is no difference between good politics and good economics. But what the government has ended up doing may hurt it both economically and politically.
Sharp rises in fuel prices, for example, will hardly help it gain popularity with voters.
The Congress-led ruling coalition was dependent on its Communist allies for a majority in parliament between 2004 and 2008 and had to tone down some of its market-friendly policies.
However, since 2009, the Congress has been in-charge of the ruling coalition and it cannot blame the Communists for stalling reforms.
Yet, India's economic situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent years. And that's bad news for the government in the run-up to next year's crucial general elections.
The author is an independent journalist and economic analyst.
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A few days ago it was just "Brussels gossip".
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Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter
Yesterday she swore to be a "bloody difficult woman" - stern words.
But this morning, the chancellor and the Brexit secretary said the noises off out of Brussels and suggestions of an exit bill of 100bn euros were only "manoeuvring" and that the UK would not be pulled into "megaphone diplomacy".
By 15:30, the prime minister was standing at a lectern in Downing Street accusing some in Brussels of trying deliberately to interfere in the election, to make trouble for her politically at home, and of wanting the Brexit talks to fail.
She just used one of the most powerful microphones in the country for blunt diplomacy indeed.
It's worth pointing out she made careful aim at the EU institutions, rather than the individual leaders, with whom she'll have to deal one on one.
But forget that nuance for a moment - this was quite some statement, quite an accusation to make. It seems the prime minister is intent on playing the Brexit card for all it's worth in the next election.
It's no coincidence that the Tories want every UKIP voter to turn to them, no coincidence that many Labour seats were Out areas in the referendum, no small matter that in 71 Labour constituencies, the UKIP vote was bigger than the size of the eventual majority.
British prime ministers taking public aim at "Brussels bureaucrats" is hardly an original tactic from the playbook.
And do not, for one second, be surprised if come 9 June, IF Theresa May is back in power, her language starts to sound rather more conciliatory.
But words like this cannot be unsaid. What is perhaps more surprising is that Theresa May has gone full throttle at such an early stage in this election, and in a situation where the polls put her as the clear frontrunner.
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The recent spat between Aberdeen City Council and First Minister Alex Salmond will not affect future investment in the city, politicians on both sides of the row have promised.
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Council leader Barney Crockett met deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon in the city to discuss the issues.
Ms Sturgeon said their working relationship could survive political differences.
Mr Crockett said it was now time to move on from the row.
The issues have included Mr Salmond's unannounced visit to a closure-threatened school in Aberdeen during the recent Donside by-election.
The visit to Bramble Brae was two days before the by-election, which was won by the SNP.
In a recent letter to council chief executive Valerie Watts, Mr Salmond claimed the majority Labour group on the council was in danger of bringing the authority into disrepute.
Mr Crockett responded by saying he would not be "bullied" by the first minister.
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Every time a new haul of fake designer goods is seized we're told that the people who buy them are ruining the reputation of brands, stealing revenue from companies, contributing to an unethical labour market and subsidising organised crime. But is this really the case?
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By Bethan BellBBC News
A BBC investigation has found over the past two years, thousands of fake goods were seized from black markets across England.
But is there any harm in nabbing a pair of "Louboutins" from a market, or a "Chanel" handbag from a chap selling them on a foreign beach? To the average punter it might sound a bit far-fetched that their cash goes straight to a drugs cartel or gun-runners.
We're not talking about alcohol, tobacco or medications - buying such items clearly poses a health risk. The same can be said for toys which aren't up to safety standards, and sunglasses which don't have the recommended UV protection. Nor are we talking about people who genuinely believe the goods they buy are the real thing.
We're talking about those who are happy to get knock-off designer items for knock-down prices. The people who are well aware there may be issues about quality and copyright - but don't actually mind.
After all, are the people who buy fakes for a tenner really depriving the companies that sell goods for hundreds or even thousands of pounds? A woman who makes an impulse buy in a market almost certainly wouldn't otherwise invest in the real deal, while the wealthy buyers of the genuine brand pride themselves on knowing the difference and having the official article.
Where are England's black market hotspots?
As Steven Brown, from Batley, told the BBC in response to its revelations about the extent of the black market in England: "I've bought fake handbags for my wife. We both knew that a Gucci bag for £20 would be fake and not last as long as a real one.
"Is it really stealing revenue from a company if I would never buy a genuine Gucci bag?"
The fake market exists alongside the genuine one. It can be argued it actually helps the brands, by quickening the fashion cycle and raising brand awareness.
That's what David Wall, professor of criminology at Leeds University, believes. He says the issue of counterfeited goods "provokes a lot of outrage, but what about?"
He argues there is little evidence provided that profits fund organised criminal gangs - although admits there is a problem with sellers of fake goods not paying taxes.
However, should that be an issue for the consumer? Do we have a moral responsibility to ensure the people we buy things from pay their taxes? Is that any of our business?
Arguably, the same goes for goods that violate the intellectual property rights of the designer. Most punters wouldn't see it as their moral obligation to look after the brands of the big fashion houses.
"I'm not condoning counterfeiting," Prof Wall insists. "It's just that it shouldn't be a police issue. It's a civil issue.
"And the same goes for people stealing a design, or a logo. Fashion is a complex market, and counterfeit fashion just as complex.
"After all, we buy fake items for different reasons. Many of us indulge in ironic consumption - such as a Breitling watch for a dollar. It's clear it's not real, it's just quite amusing.
"The real issue is when people think they're getting the real thing and they're not. Those people need to be protected. But the vast majority of consumers know exactly what they're getting".
What about the argument that counterfeiting leads to the exploitation of workers in so-called sweat shops?
There's no reason to think it's more of a problem than with many "fast fashion" brands, such as Primark. How sure are we that anything we buy is ethically sourced?
Fake luxury goods still need to be made to a certain standard, or they wouldn't sell. There's still skill in the manufacture of making something that can be confused with the original, skilled workers are still needed.
Official position
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau advises consumers to avoid buying fake goods because "you're helping the trader to break the law".
The bureau, which is affiliated to the City of London Police, also claims:
The organisation urges people to report any instances of fraud.
Research suggests about three million consumers every year buy counterfeit goods carrying one of the top designer labels, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Burberry or Gucci. Nearly a third of the sales are over the internet.
Louis Vuitton is one of the luxury brands with a specific team dedicated to the management and protection of the company's intellectual property rights.
A spokesperson said: "Louis Vuitton believes that it is essential to preserve the house's ancestral know-how and the work of its craftsmen by fighting the illegal networks that infringe on human rights, the environment and global economy.
"In 2010, Louis Vuitton initiated 10,673 raids and 30,171 anti-counterfeiting procedures worldwide, resulting in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit products and the breaking up of criminal networks."
But despite the action taken by the fashion house, it's still pretty easy to get your hands on a replica.
One online shop is perfectly open about the fact it's selling a fake, cheerfully boasting that "the materials used are identical to the real ones. Trademark marks are indistinguishable to the originals".
What is distinguishable is the price. A genuine Monogram Zippy Wallet retails for £455, a fake one for about £40.
So who buys fake luxury goods, and - other than the "ironic consumers" - why?
According to Dr Haider Ali from the Open University, it's "people who have relatively little regard for the law" and "people who have negative attitudes towards big business".
"This may be because they feel that genuine brands charge unfair prices. Those people who see themselves as being shrewd shoppers willing and able to beat the system may also be more likely to buy counterfeits.
"Counterfeits may also appeal to those people who want to demonstrate their status, but don't have the funds to do so with genuine products".
Dawn Lawson from Herefordshire bought a fake Prada backpack for a fraction of the cost of a real one. She has no qualms about it, she says.
"I have little pity for the multinational companies that lose a minimal amount of profit. You're surely not expecting me to believe Prada or Louis Vuitton are going to go out of business because of replicas?
"Of course they're not. Besides, I love my bag - fake or not."
According to Prof Wall, who's advised the Home Office about organised crime, there's no need to have a moral argument about it.
"Policing counterfeit luxury goods is not in the public interest. People bow to the norms set by the fashion industry. High demand is an indication of successful brand. That's the way it is. It's up to the brand to invest in security for intellectual property.
"So long as people know what they're getting, there's really no need to get worked up about it."
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Ruth Davidson is renowned for many things. One of those is a notably wide smile. It was, I can attest, even broader than usual when she told me this afternoon that she is three months pregnant.
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Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland@tannadiceladon Twitter
I asked her whether she hoped to be a role model for working mums. With a grin, she said she would rather wait to see whether she was any good at it first.
I then asked her whether she would be a role model for same-sex parents. After all, at all points in her political career, Ms Davidson has been a quiet but determined advocate of such matters.
And, certainly, when we spoke this afternoon, she voiced the hope that she and her partner Jen might help dispel any lingering "taboo or mystery" associated with the subject.
But, mostly, she preferred to focus upon the challenges and impending joys of motherhood - rather than making any form of political or social statement. She plans to be a mum, not a symbol.
Maternity leave
Her pregnancy follows successful IVF treatment. The couple have been contemplating parenthood since last summer. Both intend to continue working. They intend to marry after the baby is born: earlier plans were shelved after their wedding fund was spent on vet's fees for their dog.
More generally, Ms Davidson stressed there should be no limitation on choices for women as a consequence of maternity although she was realistic enough to recognise that there would be considerable pressures upon time.
Ruth Davidson will step aside for maternity leave in the autumn, leaving her deputy Jackson Carlaw in charge.
She told me it has been a struggle to keep the secret. In the early weeks of her pregnancy, she felt fatigued and endured occasional nausea. On one occasion, she says, she had to exit the Holyrood chamber rather hurriedly.
But she is feeling better now - and fully intends to stay in political action until her autumn leave. Beyond that, she intends to be back in spring of next year and to lead the party into the next Holyrood elections.
My congratulations.
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As one of the greatest Chinese fables is set to be retold yet again, in the form of a Netflix series, the BBC's Heather Chen looks at the enduring appeal of a wandering monk and his loyal friends.
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Almost everyone with a Chinese background has grown up learning the folktale Journey to the West, the story of an epic pilgrimage of a Buddhist monk and his three disciples, the legendary monkey god Sun Wukong, the greedy and mischievous Zhu Bajie and man-eating demon Sha Wujing.
Together with a dragon prince -transformed into a white horse - the party travels on a mission to bring ancient Buddhist scriptures from India back to China. Along the way, they encounter monsters and other obstacles, triumphing through their wit and teamwork.
"It is the greatest story in classical Chinese literature," says Qu Jingyi, a professor specialising in Chinese literature and history at the Nanyang Technological University.
Fantasy and 'whitewashing'
Western audiences might best know the legend through the kitschy 1970s series Monkey, which put Sun Wukong front and centre.
The Japanese show, which most people called Monkey Magic after its theme song, was a mainstay of kids TV in the 1980s, and won a cult following for its mismatched dubbing, rudimentary special effects and funk soundtrack.
Streaming site Netflix, perhaps capitalising on current nostalgia for the era, has now teamed up with broadcast companies in Australia and New Zealand to bring back Monkey.
The Legend of the Monkey will revamp the classic as a "big budget fantasy drama", with a whiff of Game of Thrones about it.
The decision proved to be a controversial one, however.
There's a noticeable change in location, this time being filmed on set in New Zealand, and early promotional photos released last week show no Chinese actors have been cast.
The lead actor is Thai, while others have Maori or Pacific Island backgrounds, but it caused a now familiar outcry.
"My childhood favourite just got a whitewashing reboot," said Khoo Fooi-Ling on Twitter.
"Is this Journey to the West or Lord of the Rings," wrote a user from Beijing on China's popular micro-blogging Sina Weibo site.
"Everything looks wrong, they've butchered and insulted our history. Expect an unwelcome from viewers in China and zero ratings."
The journey story has been retold in China for centuries. It can be seen in artworks, cultural festivals and even as local movie and small screen adaptations.
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While it's commonplace to see Chinese operas telling the story, in 2007 it found a fan in British musician Damon Albarn of Blur fame, who brought the story to life in Europe.
Monkey: Journey to the West featured music by Albarn with designs by Jamie Hewlett, the artist who brought Albarn's animated band Gorillaz to life.
It was performed in Mandarin and featured acrobats, martial artists and a team of contortionists.
The legend has even made its way into video games.
Blizzard title Overwatch unveiled a festive update in time for the Lunar New Year, which featured special holiday items, maps and cosmetic "skins" modelled after the four main characters from Journey to the West.
Multiplayer online battle game Defense of the Ancients (DotA) has also incorporated Journey to the West-themed characters in past gaming updates.
'Dynamic Chinese storytelling'
All of this would likely be surprising to Xuanzang, the Chinese monk who travelled to India in the 7th Century to bring back sacred Buddhist scrolls.
Still highly revered, he was first immortalised in the 16th Century novel Journey to the West, which added fantasy elements to his travels.
So what is the enduring appeal of his tale?
Chinese studies scholar Jason Zhuang says it lies in the powerful narrative of the original 16th Century author.
"The pure storytelling dynamics of Wu Cheng'en will never be replicated elsewhere.
"It's a great novel that tells of important Chinese qualities. Each character also represents different values."
Prof Qu says the novel is "very suited to be adapted because of its appeal with young people". It shows "the imagination and sense of humour among Chinese people".
While there are other great Chinese novels, Journey to the West offers strong dramatic and comic content, he says, along with elements like fairy immortals, demons and ghosts.
"Readers and viewers love the Monkey King's fighting spirit and optimistic attitude towards life," said Prof Qu.
"His playful nature is also still beneficial to our modern society, under heavy stress."
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Oil giant Shell has been issued with an improvement notice by health and safety inspectors over a gas leak on a North Sea platform last year.
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that the company failed to prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable or explosive substances on the Brent Bravo installation in November.
It is claimed valves were not kept in efficient working order.
Shell said work had been completed to comply with the notice.
The company said it was a "small hydrocarbon release".
Brent Bravo is 115 miles (185km) north east of Lerwick in Shetland.
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An investigation has been launched after a train derailed on the Inverness to Perth Highland line, causing "significant damage" to the track.
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The incident happened at about 22:15 on 29 October, south of Dunkeld and Birnam station.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the railhead treatment train re-railed itself and no one was injured.
It said it had begun a preliminary investigation into the cause of the incident and will publish a report.
Railhead treatment trains use high-powered water jets to clear leaves from the line.
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A stroll around a country house is, for many, the ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But the National Trust is calling on visitors to view its properties with fresh eyes, as the beneficiaries of a British Empire that reflects a murky past.
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By Jennifer HarbyBBC News
Prof Corinne Fowler "didn't anticipate the catalyst of Black Lives Matter" when she first pitched an idea to the National Trust, back in 2017, to organise a children-led project about its properties' colonial connections.
In Britain, the protests fuelled calls for statues honouring those with links to slavery and racism to be taken down, and one "degrading" statue of a black man outside the trust's Dunham Massey property in Greater Manchester was removed.
The trust recently found that up to a third of its 300 UK houses have links to colonialism. "I expected [the links] to be extensive but I didn't expect there to be that many: the connection was umbilical," said Prof Fowler.
Charlecote Park, Warwickshire
On display in Charlecote, a 16th Century house near Stratford-upon-Avon, is a painting from 1680 by Godfrey Kneller that shows Thomas Lucy - then Charlecote's owner - with a black servant.
"We believe it was his black page," said Prof Fowler, who teaches colonial studies at the University of Leicester. "The boy is shown wearing a metal slave collar. We don't know if this collar was real or symbolic."
Prof Fowler said the painting was interesting because it opened up the history of a black presence in country houses in the 17th Century.
"It's probably earlier than a lot of people realised," she said. "We think the boy might be called Will Archus.
"We know there was a boy of that name there at that time, because we have researched the parish records, and a visitor to the house comments on how there was a boy serving hot chocolate at around that time.
"We don't know how long he lived for, or much else about his life, but he was baptised as an adult. He is right on the edge of the painting, in the shadows, and the painting is hung at Charlecote above a doorway in such a way that you can accidentally not see it."
Kedleston Hall, Derby
Set in grounds encompassing serpentine lakes, Kedleston's Robert Adam-designed stately home is one of the trust's many impressive Derbyshire properties.
Its collection includes artefacts from around the world, largely thanks to former owner Lord Curzon, who served as Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905.
"The house includes many artefacts from India and the Middle East from his travels," said Prof Fowler. "There's an ivory elephant, a tiger rug and some miniatures from Lucknow, a site of violence during colonial times."
She said there was nothing on the National Trust's labels - which were inherited from the V&A - to suggest Lucknow was a site of trauma during colonial times.
The V&A said the basis for the labels in Kedleston's Eastern Museum appeared to have been a 1907 catalogue of the collection from when it went on display while on loan in London.
"The labels say things like, 'Native personage on elephant'," she said. "There are no references to the darker side of colonial history. Part of the legacy of colonialism that we have inherited is the interpretations of previous curators who have been immersed in that colonial mindset.
"We are now repositioning the country house as a global phenomenon that has relevance to the rest of the world and reflects connections with the rest of the world.
"It's a really important shift in our minds, because country houses are seen as epitomising Britishness."
Speke Hall, Liverpool
At first glance, Speke is merely a spectacular Tudor manor house in Liverpool.
But, said Prof Fowler, it is also "a great example of a really major slavery story which is not clear unless you know the background of the house".
Speke was owned by two families. One of them was the Norris family whose ranks included slave trader Richard Norris, who was central to improvement schemes at Liverpool's docks that ensured access for ever-larger ships.
"According to the historian Laurence Westgaph, ultimately Norris's actions were an important contribution to Liverpool's dominance of the slave trade by the 1740s," said Prof Fowler.
"The other owners were the Watt family. Richard Watt (1751-1803) started out as a hackney carriage driver who owned a slave ship, sold slaves to plantation owners and had a rum and sugar shipping company himself.
"The money his nephews inherited allowed for the restoration of the family hall, which is what we see today."
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
Calke is one of the trust's most intriguing properties.
With its peeling paintwork and overgrown courtyards, it has been deliberately maintained as a country house in decline, to tell the story of the waning of a style of living that once dominated the English countryside.
"Calke is the perfect example of a house which has direct connections to empire and shows how the country house was steeped in empire," said Prof Fowler.
"There are a lot of items from formerly colonised countries which are displayed in a typically colonial fashion.
"There's a case of a Tibetan skull cup, which was a sacred object, nuzzling up against a mosque tile. They are put there by earlier generations completely out of context.
"What we have is a decorative custom of display, with no information about where these objects come from or how they were used."
The objects are likely to have come to Calke thanks to a mania at the time for collecting items from afar.
The Harpur family, which owned the property from 1622, had connections through marriage with Barbados plantation owners and an East India Company merchant, as well as an Egyptologist, according to Prof Fowler.
"One of the interesting objects at Calke is a globe, dating from 1870, which has red lines showing the farthest reaches of the British Empire at that time - but of course those red lines would creep even further around the globe as the century wore on."
Other properties included in the project include:
Prof Fowler's advice for anyone visiting these houses and seeking to find the colonial connections is:
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Oil giant Shell will not sell off any more North Sea assets.
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By Kevin KeaneBBC Scotland's environment correspondent
A senior figure at the company has told BBC Scotland he has no plans to sell resources despite the chancellor announcing measures to make the process easier.
Shell has just completed the sale of a package of assets to the company Chrysaor for $3.8bn.
It included stakes in the Buzzard, Beryl, Elgin-Franklin and Schiehallion fields.
Director of Shell's Upstream Commercial business, Steve Phimister, said he would now invest in what remains.
Strong core business
He said: "We have, in the last year, conducted quite a significant divestment of a package of assets. It's been done very intentionally and very clearly with an intention to focus on our core business.
"So, we today have a good strong core piece of business. It's about 150,000 barrels a day so still a very significant producer in the basin.
"And that is the portfolio we will take forward and intend to invest in in the coming years."
Following a campaign from the industry, Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced changes in decommissioning relief to make it easier for smaller operators to invest in older assets.
Although it will take a year to implement, the hope is that it will stimulate investment and prolong the expected life of the North Sea.
Mr Phimister said: "I think it's going to help the basin immensely.
"I think there are still assets that may not attract investment from certain companies who may not want to hold them for the long term and want to move them on.
"I now have the portfolio today in the UK that we set out to achieve at the beginning of the year and that's the one I intend to invest in."
Abandoned platforms
Shell's most iconic field, Brent, is currently going through the process of decommissioning. It lent its name to the benchmark of North Sea oil, Brent Crude.
Some environmental groups have objected to their plans to leave some of the legs from abandoned platforms in the sea to collapse.
The company said it is has listened to the concerns raised and that "it is possible to have derogations" from the original plan.
Shell's 1,500 strong workforce will be pleased to hear reassurances about its future in the North Sea after the recent downturn.
Since the oil price crashed about 700 jobs have been lost in Aberdeen and the North Sea.
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Stratford-upon-Avon, which attracts up to six million visitors annually as the birthplace of William Shakespeare, could lose almost half its income this year because of coronavirus and the lockdown, experts have calculated.
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The lack of tourists is already being felt in the town but businesses said they were also concerned about the future impact of any protracted shutdown and social distancing measures.
The town's reliance on tourism meant it was going to be "badly hit by a perfect storm", said councillor Daren Pemberton, deputy leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council. But he said the authorities had been working on measures to protect the historic town.
Almost overnight in March, the majority of Stratford's business suddenly stopped.
When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 16 March people "should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues", the Royal Shakespeare Company closed the Swan Theatre, with many of its other attractions and venues forced to follow suit.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust cares for William Shakespeare's family homes, which it expected to bring in £10m this year. It said its income was now predicted to fall by between £7m and £8m.
"The impact of Covid-19 on Stratford-upon-Avon has been immediate and plain to see," said its CEO, Tim Cooke.
"It is home to the world's richest Shakespearian heritage, which the trust cares for, a jewel in the crown of 'Brand Britain' and the economy of the West Midlands, attracting six million visitors a year. Now it lies empty.
"As an independent charity, we rely on those visitors for the vast majority of our income, like many businesses and organisations in the town."
The closures and cancellations have hit other attractions in the town too - and some of them had already begun to feel the impact before the lockdown measures were introduced.
John Ford, who has run Tudor World since 2007, said for him the first sign of the problems to be caused by the pandemic came when French and Italian school parties started cancelling their visits.
Mr Ford has since closed the museum and furloughed four members of staff.
"I think it is not knowing when we were going to open, we can't plan," he said.
"I could probably cope until the end of June, I would have to subsidise it from my personal finances... because our fixed costs are still there."
Also affected by cancelled continental school parties was Stratford Butterfly Farm.
Despite being closed to the public, marketing manager Jane Kendrick said the farm still had weekly outgoings of £4,000, as some members of staff have remained on site daily to care for its animal attractions.
"Coming out of the February half term into March is when visitor numbers usually start to pick up," she said.
"To put it into context, this time last year we were making £10,000 per week."
As well as the visitor attraction, the farm also has a business importing pupae from the tropics and distributing them to attractions in Europe.
It was able to get a delivery for the first time in two weeks last weekend.
"We thought our biggest battle this year would be Brexit," Ms Kendrick said.
"This has completely floored us."
Some business owners fear the end of lockdown will not be the end of their financial worries.
Nigel Lambert, who runs restaurants Vintner, Lambs and The Opposition, with partner Marcos Torres, said he had concerns about how they would operate if distancing measures continued once the doors were open.
"I don't think restaurants and bars will be able to operate until there is a vaccine," he said.
"If we reopen with social distancing, we still have to pay rent, lighting, power, wages and yet we will probably be doing 20% of the turnover we would normally do. It is not viable, it wouldn't work."
Mr Pemberton, the deputy council leader, said it was always likely the town would suffer.
"This stands to reason because many of our key businesses are in the tourism and hospitality sectors, which will be the last out of lockdown," he said. "And the automotive and manufacturing sectors will be deeply affected by the inevitable worldwide slowdown.
"We've already started doing the critical thinking, our future decisions will be crucial to supporting and enabling recovery and we are already shaping our economic plans by engaging with businesses, local authority partners and other key stakeholders.
"At the same time we are already lobbying our local MPs and central government about the issues that we will face in the future."
A West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute report has estimated Stratford-upon-Avon would see a 46% reduction in its Gross Value Added - the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area - in the second quarter of the year.
Rebecca Riley, who co-authored the report, said recovery would depend on how lockdown progressed.
"A lot of forecasters and commentators believe the last thing to come out will be tourism," she said.
"With Stratford somewhere that relies on international visitors, there may be some rules and regulations on travel, and until they are lifted, Stratford will continue to suffer."
She said many organisations would already be looking at how to "bounce back" after lockdown was lifted, with Stratford no exception.
"Stratford should look at less international, more local," she said. "How do they rebalance their tourism strategy or procurement strategy to make their offer more attractive to local tourists?
"I can't imagine the environment for people going abroad for holidays will change, so they will need to make more of the staycation."
Denise and Andrew Perkin have run White Sails bed and breakfast in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013 and took the decision to close their business on 20 March.
Although they admitted money had been a "big worry", they were optimistic about a future after lockdown.
The couple have looked at measures they could introduce should they be able to open under social distancing, such as offering fewer rooms and separating tables.
Although there have been cancellations, Mrs Perkin said she was hopeful customers would return once the restrictions had been lifted.
"Most people we have had a phone call from are booking for later in the year or next year," she said.
"They want to come back, they just can't at the moment," she said.
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The Isle of Man Overseas Aid committee has donated £50,000 to help charities deal with the effects of flash flooding and landslides in Bangladesh.
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The move comes after the south-east region of the country was badly hit by heavy monsoon rain at the end of June.
More than 100 people are reported to have died in the disaster, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The Isle of Man donation has been given to two charities working in the area - Christian Aid and Plan UK.
Committee chairman Phil Gawne said the donation would help deal with both the immediate and long-term fall out.
He added: "The funding will go towards provision of emergency food supplies, emergency water purification and sanitation supplies, cash transfers for essential items and health care, and maintenance of schooling for children."
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Real Madrid star Marcelo has been accused by Spanish authorities of tax fraud totalling €490,000 (£436,000; $576,000).
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The alleged irregularities are linked to the use of foreign firms to handle the earnings of his image rights, Madrid's public prosecutor says.
The 29-year-old Brazilian player has yet to comment.
He is the latest in a string of footballers to be pursued by the Spanish tax authorities.
In the complaint, the public prosecutor said the defender, who joined Real Madrid in 2007, had used the tax structure seeking an "illegal fiscal benefit".
The case dates back to 2013.
Other footballers have been accused of tax fraud in Spain, including:
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A woman from Birmingham has been charged with terrorism offences.
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Aaminah Amatullah, from Livingstone Road, Handsworth, was arrested on 24 November as part of an investigation by counter terrorism police.
The 38-year-old faces two counts of disseminating terrorist publications contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Ms Amatullah is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, West Midlands Police said.
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There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters.
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Many of the groups are small and operate on a local level, but a number have emerged as powerful forces with affiliates across the country or formed alliances with other groups that share a similar agenda. Here we look at the most prominent.
MAIN REBEL COALITIONS
SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE FREE SYRIAN ARMY
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed in August 2011 by army deserters based in Turkey, led by Col Riad al-Asaad. Its banner was soon adopted by armed groups that began appearing across the country. Despite this, the FSA's leaders had little or no operational control over what was happening on the ground in Syria. The opposition's Western and Gulf Arab backers sought to encourage a centralised rebel leadership and in December 2012 a number of brigades affiliated themselves to a newly-created Supreme Military Council (SMC). The SMC's chief-of-staff, Gen Idris, wants it to be a more moderate and stronger alternative to the jihadist rebel groups in Syria.
The SMC has 30 members, six representing each of five "fronts" in Syria - Northern (Aleppo and Idlib), Eastern (Raqqa, Deir al-Zour and Hassaka), Western (Hama, Latakia and Tartus), Central (Homs and Rastan) and Southern (Damascus, Deraa and Suwaida). Each front has a civilian-military council and a commander. The opposition National Coalition describes Gen Idris as the commander of the FSA, however observers have said the FSA is simply a loose network of brigades rather than a unified fighting force. Brigades supposedly report through the chain of command to Gen Idris, but he is yet to assert operational control and serves more as a spokesman and conduit for foreign funding and arms shipments. SMC-aligned brigades retain separate identities, agendas and commands. Some work with hardline Islamist groups that alarm the West, such as Ahrar al-Sham, and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.
SMC AFFILIATES
Martyrs of Syria Brigades
Originally called the Martyrs of Jabal al-Zawiya Brigade, the group was formed in late 2011 in Idlib province. Although its name was changed in mid-2012 to the Martyrs of Syria Brigades to reflect the growing ambitions of its leader, its operations are still focused in north-western Syria. Unlike Suqour al-Sham (see below), which also hails from Jabal al-Zawiya and wants an Islamic state, the Martyrs of Syria Brigades reportedly ascribe to no particular ideology.
Northern Storm Brigade
The Northern Storm Brigade is an Islamist FSA unit that controls an important border crossing between Syria and Turkey. In September 2013, there were deadly clashes between the Northern Storm Brigade and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) after the jihadist group stormed the town of Azaz.
Ahrar Souriya Brigade
The Ahrar Souriya (Free Men of Syria) Brigade, which operates under the SMC, was set up by Col Qassem Saad al-Din, a former air force pilot from the northern town of Rastan.
ISLAMIC FRONT
In November 2013, seven Islamist groups - Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, Jaysh al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Sham and the Kurdish Islamic Front - declared that they were forming the largest rebel alliance yet in the 33-month conflict, with an estimated 45,000 fighters. They said the new Islamic Front was an "independent political, military and social formation" that aimed to "topple the Assad regime completely and build an Islamic state". They outlined a new command structure, with key roles shared between the seven groups, and said they would work towards a "gradual merger".
The announcement led to the dissolution of the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), which was dominated by Ahrar al-Sham, and the effective break-up of the SMC-aligned Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF). Analysts predicted that the move would undermine the SMC, and in December 2013 the front announced that it had withdrawn from the SMC's command. Days later, its fighters drove out SMC-aligned forces out of their headquarters and warehouses at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, prompting the US and UK to suspend "non-lethal" assistance for rebel groups in northern Syria.
The Islamic Front does not include al-Qaeda affiliates like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the al-Nusra Front, but its charter welcomes foreign fighters, as "brothers who supported us in jihad", suggesting it is willing to co-operate with them.
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya
The Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant) is a Salafist group that first emerged in the north-western province of Idlib in late 2011 as Ahrar al-Sham and has since made a major impact on the battlefield. In December 2012, it formed the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF) with 10 other hardline Islamist groups, including Liwa al-Haqq. Ahrar al-Sham later merged with three of them to form Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya. Its leader is Hassan Abboud, also known as Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi, who was imprisoned by the Syrian authorities after taking part in the insurgency in neighbouring Iraq but released in early 2011 as part of an amnesty.
Before its dissolution in November 2013, the SIF became the most powerful rebel force battling the government, operating all over the country. It remained independent and refused to come under the umbrella of the SMC, but co-operated with SMC-aligned brigades on the battlefield, as well as al-Qaeda affiliates.
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham's fighters are renowned for their discipline and ability. They were some of the first to use improvised explosive devices and to target military bases to capture weapons. The group operates a "technical division" that carries out cyber-attacks and a "relief office" that runs social services and carries out public works.
Jaysh al-Islam
Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) was formed by some 50 Islamist factions operating in and around Damascus in September 2013. Zahran Alloush, a former imprisoned Salafist activist whose group Liwa al-Islam (Battalion of Islam) is the most prominent and powerful member of the alliance, said it had been formed to "achieve unity among the units of the mujahideen and avoid the effects produced by the divisions within the National Coalition". More than 30 of the brigades in Jaysh al-Islam were already operating under the banner of Liwa al-Islam. The others include Liwa Fath al-Sham, Liwa Tawhid al-Islam and Liwa al-Ansar. Jaysh al-Islam's formation was believed to have been an attempt by Saudi Arabia to counter the expanding presence of al-Qaeda affiliates around the Syrian capital, with Salafist groups being offered arms and money in return for loyalty. Zahran Alloush's father is a religious scholar based in the Gulf Kingdom. Liwa al-Islam, which was founded in mid-2011, is the leading rebel group in the Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus and is well-armed. The group rose to prominence after claiming it was behind the bombing of the National Security Bureau's headquarters in Damascus in July 2012, which killed several senior security officials including the defence minister and President Assad's brother-in-law.
Suqour al-Sham
Suqour al-Sham (Falcons of Syria) was formed in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of the north-western province of Idlib in September 2011. It has since grown in size and influence - drawing in several local factions, including the Daoud Brigades - and expanded its operations into Aleppo and Damascus provinces. Ahmed al-Sheikh, also known as Abu Issa, was the driving force behind the establishment in September 2012 of the SILF and was named its leader. Suqour al-Sham nevertheless said its fighters would not take instruction from an outside leadership and in late 2013 it joined the Islamic Front. Abu Issa, who has previously called for a moderate Islamic state that is not imposed on society, was named head of the new alliance.
Liwa al-Tawhid
Liwa al-Tawhid (Battalion of Monotheism) was formed in July 2012 to unite the many separate fighting groups operating in the northern Aleppo countryside. It took control of part of the city of Aleppo after leading a rebel offensive that month. Liwa al-Tawhid is now one of the main forces operating in the province. The relatively moderate Islamist group, which calls for an Islamic state that is governed by civilians and protects minorities, joined the SMC-aligned SILF in January 2013. However, it maintained good relations with hardline groups such as Harakat Ahrar al-Sham and the al-Nusra Front. In September 2013, it was called in to broker an end to clashes between ISIS and an SMC-aligned brigade in the northern town of Azaz. Later that month, Abdul Aziz Salama, then Liwa al-Tawhid's political leader, read out a statement by 11 rebel groups, including al-Nusra, declaring that they did not recognise the National Coalition and calling for the opposition to unite under an "Islamic framework". Its late military leader Abdul Qadir al-Saleh, a former businessman known as "Hajji Marea", praised al-Nusra before he was killed in a government air strike in November 2013. After his death, Mr Salama, also known as "Hajji Anadan", assumed overall command of Liwa al-Tawhid and the following week the group joined the newly formed Islamic Front. In addition to its military operations, Liwa al-Tawhid has medical and media "foundations" and claims to have thousands of civilian "administrators" helping run areas under rebel control.
Liwa al-Haqq
Liwa al-Haqq (Battalion of Truth) was formed in 2012 by Liwa al-Ansar and other Islamist brigades fighting in and around the central city of Homs. Led by a former Syrian army paratrooper, it is one of the most prominent groups in Homs and the surrounding province. Liwa al-Haqq is dominated by hardline Islamists and helped form the now-dissolved SIF alliance with Ahrar al-Sham.
Kataib Ansar al-Sham
Kataib Ansar al-Sham (Supporters of the Levant Brigades) is mainly active in the northern provinces of Latakia and Idlib. The group was a founding member of the SIF.
Kurdish Islamic Front
The Kurdish Islamic Front is a Salafist group that came to prominence only recently when it fought alongside Harakat Ahrar al-Sham and ISIS against the Popular Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish militia force set up by the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) to provide security in the de facto autonomous Kurdish zone in north-eastern Syria. The KIF reportedly runs a number of Islamic schools for Kurdish children in Aleppo and elsewhere.
SYRIAN ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT (SILF)
The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF) is a loose alliance formed in September 2012 by about 20 rebel groups, including the Farouq Brigades, the Islamic Farouq Brigades, Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Fath, Liwa al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham, and the Deir al-Zour Revolutionaries' Council. Most of the groups, which ranged from moderate Islamist to ultraconservative Salafist in outlook, recognised the SMC and made up the bulk of its fighting force. In November 2013, Liwa al-Tawhid and Suqour al-Sham declared that they were joining the new Islamic Front, significantly reducing the SILF's military strength and raising questions about whether it would be disbanded. It is not clear if the remaining members of the SILF will continue to fight under its banner or join the Islamic Front.
Ahfad al-Rasoul Brigades
The Ahfad al-Rasoul (Grandsons of the Prophet) Brigades are an alliance of more than 40 moderate Islamist groups formed in 2012. They operate across Syria, although their presence is strongest in the northern province of Idlib. The alliance is independent but aligned to the SMC, and has also been linked to Qatar and Western intelligence agencies. In August 2013, its fighters were forced from the northern town of Raqqa by ISIS.
Asala wa al-Tanmiya Front
The Asala wa al-Tanmiya (Authenticity and Growth) Front is a moderate Islamist alliance formed in November 2012. Its fighters are organised across five "fronts" covering most of Syria, but their presence is strongest in Aleppo, where the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Brigades operate, and in the tribal areas of the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, the power base of the Ahl al-Athar Brigade.
Durou al-Thawra Commission
The Durou al-Thawra (Revolution's Shields) Commission is an SMC-linked alliance of a few dozen small armed factions, most of them in Idlib and Hama provinces. It was set up in 2012 with the help of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. It describes itself as a moderate Islamic-democratic alliance. It acknowledges receiving support from the Brotherhood, but denies any direct link to it.
Tajammu Ansar al-Islam
Tajammu Ansar al-Islam (Gathering of the Supporters of Islam) was formed in mid-2012 by seven Damascus-based Islamist groups. However, it has since suffered several splits.
Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade
The Yarmouk Martyrs' Brigade is a moderate Islamist group linked to the SMC that was formed in the southern province of Deraa in August 2012 through the merger of eight small units. Led by Bashar al-Zoubi, it operates mainly near Syria's borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where in March and May 2013 fighters briefly detained UN peacekeepers patrolling the demilitarised area.
National Unity Brigades
The National Unity Brigades (Kataib al-Wihda al-Wataniya) were created in August 2012. They claim to have several units located in almost all of Syria's provinces and to operate "for the sake of a civil, democratic state for all ethnicities and social identities". The NUB operates mainly in the Jisr al-Shughour region of Idlib province and south of Damascus, but also in Jabal al-Zawiya, Deraa and Deir al-Zour. Some fighters are reported to be from the minority Alawite and Ismaili sects.
Al-Nusra Front
The Nusra (Support) Front for the People of the Levant, is a jihadist group believed to have been created in mid-2011 with the help of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). It declared its existence in January 2012 and has since emerged as one of the most effective rebel forces. Its fighters are active in 11 of Syria's 14 provinces, particularly Idlib, Aleppo and Deir al-Zour. Initially, the group was blamed for dozens of suicide bombings in major city centres, killing many civilians. Later, its disciplined and well-armed fighters began to take part in regular rebel operations, then major offensives. Today, they control territory in northern Syria. The US designated al-Nusra a terrorist entity in December 2012, saying it was an "alias" of AQI. In April 2013, the head of the ISI, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announced the merger of his group and al-Nusra, creating the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). However, al-Nusra's leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani - another former insurgent in Iraq released in 2011 by the Syrian government - swiftly rejected the move and asserted his allegiance to al-Qaeda's overall leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Since then, al-Nusra and ISIS have operated as separate entities, with large numbers of foreign fighters joining the latter. Like Ahrar al-Sham, al-Nusra has sought to build popular support by providing social services and carrying out public works.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis)
The creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in April 2013 was rejected by the al-Nusra Front. ISI's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, known as Abu Dua, nevertheless pressed ahead with expanding its operations into Syria. In August 2013, US intelligence assessed that he was based in Syria and commanded as many 5,000 fighters, many of them foreign jihadists. The group is active mostly in northern and eastern provinces of Syria. It has assumed joint control of municipalities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa provinces. Isis has taken part in a number of major rebel operations, including by carrying out suicide bombings that helped capture two military bases. But it has also had tense relationships with other rebel groups, including those considered Islamist. Its fighters reportedly recently killed a prominent member Ahrar al-Sham, and have clashed with those from Ahfad al-Rasoul in Raqqa and the Northern Storm Brigade in Azaz. They have also targeted Shia and Alawite civilians.
Jaysh al-Muhajirin wa al-Ansar
Jaysh al-Muhajirin wa al-Ansar (Army of the Emigrants and Helpers) is a group comprising hundreds of mostly foreign fighters, many of them from the North Caucasus, that was formed in March 2013 by several jihadist units. The group, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Syria, operates mostly in Aleppo province, but says it is also fighting in Hama and Latakia. It is led by a Chechen jihadist called Omar al-Shishani, who has aligned himself with ISIS.
Popular Protection Units (YPG)
The Popular Protection Units is the armed wing of the Kurdish political party, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that runs the de facto autonomous Kurdish zone in north-eastern Syria. The YPG emerged as a force in the summer of 2012 when the Syrian army withdrew from Kurdish areas and it sought to provide security. The PYD has tried to keep the Kurds out of the conflict and consolidate its territorial gains. However, there has been occasional fighting with government troops, and since November 2012 also deadly clashes between the YPG and rebel fighters - particularly those from Islamist and jihadist brigades - over control of several border towns and parts of the city of Aleppo. The Syrian rebels and the Turkish government have accused the Kurdish group of acting as an Assad proxy.
Sources: IHS Jane's, CTC Sentinel, Institute for the Study of War, Carnegie Endowment
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The 2019 Oscars are set to go ahead without a host for the first time since 1989. But there is perhaps a reason it has taken so long for it to happen again - as 1989's ceremony has gone down as one of the most embarrassing moments in Oscars history.
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By Ben SutherlandBBC News Oscars reviewer
It took a long time for the footage of that night to re-emerge. When it eventually popped up on YouTube, it attracted a million views in a day.
Here's how it unfolded in real time:
0'01" Army Archerd, a greying columnist for Variety magazine, stands at the entrance to the Oscars and introduces Snow White (played by 22-year-old Eileen Bowman) - dressed exactly like the 1937 Disney depiction of the fairytale princess. Archerd tells her to "follow the Hollywood stars"- people in tights wearing massive sparkly polystyrene stars about their torso.
0'28" With a squeal like sped-up whalesong, Snow White enters from the back; she has to go down a long slope to the front, past actors, directors and producers who already look appalled. Snow White goes to greet some of them; they actively distance themselves as much as possible. None more than Michelle Pfeiffer - when Snow White goes to grab her hand, Pfeiffer pulls it away. This one movement signals to the watching world what the mood is in that theatre, just one minute in.
01'25" The song continues and Snow White tries to engage Tom Hanks, Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman and Glenn Close. All give her the same frozen smile and 1,000-mile stare of a combat veteran.
02'10" Snow White goes centre stage and the curtain lifts, revealing a set done to look like the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at its peak. Salsa music plays. California native Merv Griffin starts singing I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts in a faux Cockney accent. Sitting at the tables of the "Grove" are a selection of veteran stars (Roy Rogers, Vincent Price, Cyd Charisse). One by one, they are taken away by dancing waiters in sequinned trousers.
04'57" Griffin introduces Snow White to her "blind date", Rob Lowe. Lowe looks like he already knows the next few minutes are going to cause grievous bodily harm to his career.
05'21" Lowe and Snow launch into a rewritten version of Proud Mary. Lowe hits a bum note on his first line and never recovers. "Rollin', rollin', keep the camera rollin'", they sing. Everyone else hopes that they will just shut the cameras off. Forever.
06'58" Three women wearing enormous coconuts on their heads enter. One, who has genuine singing talent, takes over from Snow White - which does wonders for the audio but throws Lowe's abilities into somewhat sharper relief. In the background, the tables stand and dance, lamps on their head.
07'37" The routine finishes. The camera cuts to the audience. It is perhaps just unfortunate that it finds Robert Downey Jr, whose face is an unmatched study in contempt. He gives all of three sarcastic handclaps.
08'11" A row of scarlet-clad ushers begin high-kicking to a backing song about the wonderful magic of cinema: "When you're down in the dumps / Try putting on Judy's red pumps."
09'45" Snow White's skirt swells into a 10-metre wide gold peacock-feather contraption, and she is wearing an outsized box office stand on - yes - her head. Hooray For Hollywood, the backing song trills.
10'12" Steps that hide Snow White are moved centre-stage. Her ordeal is over. Lily Tomlin steps out of the box office stand and starts to descend the steps. She loses her shoe on the way down. "I told them I'd be thrilled to do the Oscars if they could only come up with an entrance," she says. There is mild laughter. In the background, Lowe crawls down the steps to throw the missing shoe back to Tomlin. He throws it wide and it falls in the orchestra pit. Lowe flees the stage. "A billion and a half people just watched that," Tomlin adds. The longest 11 minutes in film history are over.
Rob Lowe's response
Last year Rob Lowe was asked about the "debacle" of 1989's Oscars by the New York Times.
He said: "It's basically a show that nobody wants to do. It's really sad."
Admitting he made a "huge mistake" by taking part, he added that there had been benefits to taking part.
"In an era when staying in the conversation is as important as anything else, I for sure have gotten more money and acclaim out of being in that Oscar opening number than if I had won an Oscar."
The other bad bit
Later in the show there would be another big routine that flopped - Bob Hope and Lucille Ball introducing a 10-minute-long "stars of tomorrow" song-and-dance bit involving young actors mimicking Michael Jackson, sword-fighting and tap-dancing in MC Hammer-style trousers hoisted up to their throats.
"The 61st Academy Awards ceremony began by creating the impression that there would never be a 62nd," wrote the New York Times's Janet Maslin.
A man in trouble
Hollywood producer Allan Carr - renowned for his lavish parties - had been selected as the ideal antidote to what had become a boring, staid show. He promised "the antithesis of tacky" and "the most beautiful Academy Awards of all time".
The opening 12 minutes were based on a musical revue called Beach Blanket Babylon, which Carr had seen at a nightclub in San Francisco; Carr hired its creator Steve Silver to direct it.
Sitting in the audience, Silver realised immediately how badly it had gone down. But Carr was oblivious until he found the usually supportive newspaper columnist Jeannie Williams in the press room.
She told him it was "over the top" and questioned what Snow White was doing in the Cocoanut Grove.
Academy's apology to Disney
Carr knew he was in trouble. The morning after the Oscars - when normally a producer's phone would be ringing off the hook with congratulatory messages - there was silence at Carr's home.
But two critical - in both senses - pieces of correspondence did follow.
The first was from the Walt Disney Company. It was a legal case against the Academy for using their Snow White character without permission.
The Academy went on to apologise for the "unauthorised use of Disney's copyrighted Snow White character" and for "unintentionally creating the impression that Disney had participated in or sanctioned the opening production number on the Academy Awards telecast".
The other letter was from some 17 Hollywood figures - including Julie Andrews, Paul Newman, Billy Wilder, Sidney Lumet and former Academy president Gregory Peck - which denounced what happened at the Shrine as "demeaning" and "an embarrassment to both the Academy and the entire motion picture industry."
Some of the signatories were people who had been regulars at Carr's parties.
Change that lasts
Carr, whose career highlights had included writing and producing credits for Grease, had his reputation in Hollywood dented. It never fully recovered and he died of liver cancer in 1999 at the age of 62.
But amidst the criticism of the show, which was later described by Hollywood Reporter as "Oscar's biggest goof", Carr had reversed the decline in viewing figures; 42.7m watched across the US. (For context, that is 10m more than watched the 2018 ceremony).
He had also made a number of changes that define the ceremony to this day.
The phrase "and the winner is…" was replaced by "and the Oscar goes to…", which sounded less exclusionary.
The arrival of the stars on the red carpet - which now has its own show - was given much greater prominence. And Bruce Vilanch, hired by Carr, remained the chief writer of the show over the next two decades.
And indeed Vilanch's gags found their perfect voice in a certain Billy Crystal. Carr had selected him to deliver a monologue at the 1989 Oscars and it went so well that he was asked to be the full-time host for 1990.
His first line? "Is that [applause] for me, or are you just glad I'm not Snow White?"
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]. Follow Ben on Twitter.
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Mother-of-three Salom Gamedze may be struggling to feed her family and pay school fees for her children's education but she is unlikely to take part in anti-government demonstrations which Swaziland democracy activists have called, starting on 5 September.
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By Louise RedversBBC News, Lubombo
Ms Gamedze, 42, lives in a half-brick half-mud hut in the remote Lubombo region of eastern Swaziland. She has no electricity or water and is unemployed.
"I want to get a job so I can send my children to school but there are no jobs for me here and now we cannot even afford to work our land so we are not growing much," she sighed.
"We had dreams for our children, that they would be better than us, become doctors and nurses and make something of their lives, but now that seems like an impossible dream."
Ms Gamedze is like many Swazis: She wants change in a country where two-thirds of the population lives in grinding poverty and a quarter is HIV-positive, but she is unsure about the type of change she wants.
She is unlikely to take part in pro-democracy demonstrations to demand an end to the rule of King Mswati III, who is sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch.
Educated at a British boarding school, he has ruled Swaziland - which has a population of about 1.2m - since 1986.
The king's critics accuse him and his 13 wives of leading a lavish lifestyle, showing little concern for the plight of his subjects - an allegation he denies.
During her interview with the BBC, Ms Gamedze stayed clear of mentioning King Mswati.
'Suicidal to criticise'
For many Swazis he is almost a cult figure. Few of them wanted to talk about him, however discreetly.
One pro-democracy leader said it was "suicidal" to criticise King Mswati, while another pointed out that in Swazi culture he is the final authority so if the opposition went to him to ask for change and he refused, they would have no further avenues to explore.
Despite this fear of challenging the monarch, trade unions and civil society movements have staged several public demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini and his cabinet.
The protests follow a worsening economic crisis in Swaziland, forcing the government to ask neighbouring South Africa for a bailout of $355m (£218m) to pay its bills.
But most people - like Ms Gamedze - are reluctant to get involved.
"People do understand that things are not right but they fear a backlash if they speak out. They are worried that if they are seen to be making a stand then they will have to answer to the traditional authority," Sibongile Dlamini, a programmes officer with the Swaziland Council of Churches (SCC), told the BBC.
She said the lack of security of land tenure added to the vulnerability of people, as chiefs - representing the monarchy - controlled land in rural areas.
In one recent case, she said, someone who tried to organise a group discussion about the situation in Swaziland had to pay a fine of two cows.
"This is a person who does not work and has no income so that was a very big fine. What our system has done is suppress people into a state of ignorance and inaction," Ms Dlamini says.
"I think as civil society, we need to go back to the drawing board and work out how to engage people because we need everybody to come together to make the government realise we need change."
State of emergency
Pro-democracy activists argue that King Mswati's "Tinkundla" system of government - which has banned political parties, but allows for a parliament to exist - is a major cause of Swaziland problems.
They say this system has few checks and balances, allowing corruption to flourish.
Former businessman Musa Hlophe, who heads the Swaziland Coalition of Concern Civic Organisations (SCCCO), says the battle to achieve democracy in Swaziland is an uphill one.
"You're talking about 38 years of living under a vicious state of emergency that has produced a generation who know no democracy and who grew up in an environment where people can't talk freely," he says.
Mr Hlophe was among a number of Swazis who lobbied against South Africa giving Swaziland a bailout without strict conditions, arguing the money would just prop up the existing regime.
Although the finer details of the loan agreement are still under discussion, South Africa's government has said the "creation of an open dialogue in Swaziland" was a key condition for the loan.
Mr Hlophe said he hoped that dialogue would take place soon while protests to demand democracy would continue.
From 5 September, the opposition has called a "Global Week of Action on Swaziland", urging people to back their campaign to bring democracy to the monarchy.
Labour protests in April were met by a heavy police reaction leading to teachers being tear-gassed and several foreign journalists arrested.
Last year around 50 people were arrested for taking part in demonstrations and South Africans who showed their solidarity by joining the protest were deported.
Ms Dlamini hopes that despite the political repression, there will be a big turnout at the main protest in Swaziland's capital, Mbabane.
"If it's always the same faces walking through Mbabane the government will continue to say that it's only a minority who are unhappy with the system and nothing will change," she said.
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The National Front candidate for the Aberdeen Donside by-election has been named as Dave MacDonald.
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The by-election, which will be held on Thursday 20 June, follows the death of the SNP MSP Brian Adam.
Mr Adam died last month, aged 64, after a battle with cancer.
Mr MacDonald is the National Front's Scottish organiser.
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Dozens of people have attended the funeral of an 18-year-old man who died after being attacked at a south Wales caravan park.
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Conner Marshall, from Barry, was found at Trecco Bay Caravan Park, Porthcawl, last month but died in hospital four days later.
A man has been charged with his murder.
The service started at 11:00 BST at St Peter's Church on Mill Road, Dinas Powys. The family asked mourners to wear bright clothing.
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Indian-administered Kashmir used to be a thriving hub for factories that made guns for civilians. But as owning a gun has become increasingly difficult in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, the industry has been in a steady decline in recent years, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Srinagar.
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It's mid-morning on a weekday, but the Zaroo Gun Factory in the city's Rainawari area wears a deserted look.
The machines are covered in dust, tools are lying unused and a couple of men sit around, waiting.
Until 2012, the factory produced 540 single-barrel and double-barrel shotguns every year and each one of them was sold, says Nazir Ahmad Zaroo, one of the three owners of the factory.
"But in 2013, we could sell only 29 guns. In the last three years, we have not been able to sell a single gun," he says bitterly.
The guns were prized for their long butts made of walnut wood and many had leaves of Kashmir's famed Chinar trees carved on them.
Their customers included buyers from within the valley, who bought guns for hunting or self-defence, and dealers from other states, including Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Today, an occasional old customer walks in, looking to get an old gun repaired.
Mr Zaroo's family has been in the business since the "Mughal era" - he says his grandfather came to Kashmir from Pakistan before India's independence in 1947 at the invitation of the former ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, for whom he made muzzle-loading guns.
The present factory was set up in 1953 by Ghulam Ahmad Zaroo, Mr Zaroo's father.
"In its heyday, we employed about two dozen people, many of them were local, but some came from faraway places," says manager Mohammad Shafi.
"The factory was bustling with activity. "If you'd visited us then, we would have paid you no attention, but today we have all the time in the world."
The Zaroo Gun Factory is among the only two manufacturing units that remain in the valley today - the other being Subhana and Sons.
Before 1947, there were at least a dozen factories which employed hundreds of people. Over the years, most have shut down or shifted base to the state's Jammu region.
And with that, all the market has shifted to Jammu too.
"There are more than 30 gun factories in Jammu and their quotas have been increased massively," Subhana and Sons owner Zahoor Ahmed Ahangar told the BBC.
"There are also hundreds of arms-dealers there, so buyers from other states of India no longer come to us, they all go to Jammu. We haven't sold any guns in the last two years."
Kashmir's gun industry was banned for two years from 1989-91 when a violent insurgency began against Indian rule in the region.
The ban was lifted in 1992, but traders say the number of guns they were allowed to produce was curtailed - Subhana saw its quota reduced to 300 guns from the earlier 700.
Established in 1925, the factory initially made hunting arrows, swords and daggers. In 1942, it got a licence to make 12-bore shotguns and began manufacturing them.
Now, unable to find any buyers, the factory-owners are contemplating shutting down.
Mr Zaroo and Mr Ahangar say the authorities have not given any reason for why they are no longer issuing licences to local people.
But, they feel that years of militancy and an unstable security environment in the region could be a reason behind the government's reluctance.
Burhan Zaroo, son of Nazir Ahmad Zaroo, says that, in 2013, they petitioned the state's home ministry to save the industry, and were assured of help, but nothing came of it.
"The fears of the security establishment are unfounded," he says. "Even at the peak of insurgency, the militants never bothered us. They are not interested in our obsolete guns. They have much more sophisticated weapons."
Adds Mr Ahangar: "The authorities must start issuing licences to eligible people after verification, otherwise this industry will die. And that will be a shame."
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A man has been charged with drugs offences after police seized heroin with a street value of more than £4,000 in the Isle of Man.
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Police arrested the 27-year-old man from Liverpool on Monday for possession with intent to supply a class A drug.
The man together with a 38-year-old local woman was also charged with money laundering offences and will appear at Douglas courthouse later.
Det Sgt Paul Holland said the heroin had a street value of £4,100.
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Organisers of the annual Orange parade in Belfast on 12 July are seeking to use the grounds of the City Hall for a family event.
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Orangefest, along with Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Taste of Ulster and Belfast Centre Managements, are planning an event with an emphasis on food, craft, dance, face painting and balloon modelling.
The Festival of Fools would also be present in the streets with performances to reflect growing diversity in post-conflict Belfast.
The aim is to bring at least 1,000 extra visitors to city centre, over and above the estimated 12,000 who normally attend to watch the parade. A large number of stores will be open.
The council's strategic policy and resources committee has approved the use of City Hall grounds.
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Despite only having seven doctors for every 100,000 people, Senegal has been widely praised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The BBC's Mayeni Jones and Naomi Scherbel-Ball look at how the country has managed to keep Covid-19 in check.
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"When the first case came, we were very anxious and I was angry because it was an imported case," says Dr Khardiata Diallo, who co-ordinates the epidemic treatment centre at Fann Hospital in the capital, Dakar.
"We worried that we lacked equipment, for the treatment of coronavirus there were just 12 beds with limited oxygen supplies for the whole country."
That was in late February when a Frenchman had returned to Dakar from a skiing holiday with a fever, sore throat and headache.
He was Senegal's first case of Covid-19, the second reported case in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Diallo, who was part of the team that treated the country's single Ebola case during the West African outbreak of 2014 as well as other cholera outbreaks over the last 15 years, knew they needed to act quickly to contain the pandemic.
Free 24-hour testing
Her colleagues at the prestigious Institut Pasteur in the Dakar, which in February was one of just two laboratories in Africa that were able to test for coronavirus, trained staff from dozens of other countries on how to test.
By April, 43 countries on the African continent were able to diagnose Covid-19 effectively.
Today the lab in Dakar's central Plateau district has a 24-hour operation and testing has been expanded across the country.
Tests for those with symptoms are free and results are released in eight hours.
While there have been concerns over low testing rates across the continent, the Africa Centre for Disease Control is supporting countries to ramp up testing levels and there are hopes that cheap self-testing diagnostic kits could help that effort.
The Institut Pasteur has been crucial to this effort, with its chief virologist Amadou Sall partnering with UK-based firm Mologic to develop two home test kits:
Dr Sall says the manufacturing of the antibody test has already begun and they should be released in the coming weeks.
It will work like a pregnancy test, costing close to $1 (£.80) with results in just 10 minutes.
The home test that will show if someone currently has coronavirus has been delayed and is now being validated by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, but there are hopes it will still be out before the end of the year.
Higher levels of testing should also help with early diagnosis.
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Ibrahima Diop, a 29-year-old telemarketer in Dakar, fell ill in April and was initially treated for malaria.
It was only at the insistence of his mother, who worked at a hospital, that he was tested and diagnosed with coronavirus - along with 60 of his call centre colleagues.
He was swiftly treated and released from hospital within a week - his case showed the need for people to seek tests in a country where symptoms can easily be confused with malaria, something the authorities have emphasised during their daily morning televised coronavirus briefings.
Singing to defeat the virus
A global Covid-19 response index by Foreign Policy magazine gave Senegal the highest possible score for its communication strategy - and top musicians too joined the effort to inform people.
In April they clubbed together to release Daan Corona, meaning "Defeat coronavirus" in the local Wolof language.
The song features famous Senegalese musician Youssou Ndour calling on people to stay at home and wash their hands.
There are also colourful murals on the walls of Senegal's oldest university calling on students to share the right coronavirus prevention techniques with their classmates, rather than sharing coronavirus.
Across the road, you can see the blue basins that have been set up for handwashing in some public areas.
In the early days of the pandemic, preventive measures were put in place including a state of emergency, full school closure and a night-time curfew
Restaurants, supermarkets and banks were quick to introduce temperature checks at their entrances.
While that's now largely been relaxed, on Dakar's streets face masks are still obligatory, a rule that was introduced as early as April.
Today all of Senegal's 14 regions are equipped to treat coronavirus patients and there are now just 26 patients remaining on ventilators across Senegal.
In the acute coronavirus ward at Dakar's Fann hospital, Dr Oumar Kane monitors his last coronavirus patient dependent on a ventilator.
The 58-year-old has been treated there for just over a week - he is diabetic.
To minimise contact, cameras from the ward link up to a television screen outside.
But back in March, when cases in Senegal first started to rise, Dr Kane remembers a very different situation.
"The problem was we only had 10 beds with ventilators and there were moments when there was pressure on the list, which meant that we would receive calls asking for a bed and we couldn't receive the patient.
"That demand continued for around three weeks, until other hospitals were equipped."
The number of recorded daily cases has been broadly decreasing since mid-August. recorded
Senegal, which has a population of 16 million, has only had 15,000 positive cases and just over 300 deaths.
Its strategy for containing the virus has adapted and many patients with mild symptoms are now treated at home, with hospital staff monitoring their condition remotely and delivering medicine.
Muslim pilgrimage challenge
When international flights re-opened in July, there were concerns that there would be a spike in cases.
Senegal, like many other African countries, has asked visitors to produce a negative Covid-19 certificate, dated no more than a week before travel.
On arrival passengers have their temperature taken. So far, these measures seem to have worked, with low levels of imported cases.
This week four million people are expected to attend the country's largest annual festival, the Grand Magal of Touba.
It is a historic pilgrimage to Touba, which is 190km (120 miles) east of Dakar and is the spiritual home of the Muslim Mouride brotherhood.
The pilgrims queue for hours on the city's streets to get to the Grand Mosque and to a mausoleum of the brotherhood's founder.
While posters around the capital show the leader of the community calling on followers to wear face masks, gathering such a large number of worshippers in one place will be a crucial test as the country seeks to maintain the progress made so far.
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Sixty children in care will get together for what's being billed as a giant party or play date on Saturday - but some of them know that when they leave they may have found what they most want in the world - parents or a new family of their own.
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By Angela Harrison BBC News correspondent
Aged from one to nearly eight, the children will get the chance to try out juggling and other circus skills in a 'Big Top day' aimed at being fun - with a purpose.
Those who are said to be "old enough to understand" will know that some of the grown-ups chatting to them as they play games or do crafts want to adopt a child, with children as young as three or four being told what the day is all about.
Activity days - sometimes dubbed Adoption parties - have attracted controversy, being described by some as cattle markets, or adoption speed-dating.
They were run in the UK for a time from the mid-1970s, but have been held in the USA for more than 30 years.
Now they have returned to the UK, with a pilot scheme involving nine local authorities and several adoption agencies.
They are organised by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) - in partnership with some councils and voluntary adoption agencies. The first event was in January 2011 and the fourth is this weekend.
'A fun event'
Bridget Betts, who is in charge of the activity days for BAAF, says "matches" have been made for 23 out of the 120 children who have been to the three events held so far.
"For most of the children who are attending, other traditional methods of family-finding have not worked, so these are children who would otherwise have not had a family," she said.
Traditionally, people wanting to adopt would have been shown written profiles, pictures and videos of children. Because of the risk of giving a vulnerable child false hope or further disappointment, they often do not get to meet them until the adoption process is well advanced.
Bridget Betts says the US experience convinced her of the worth of the events: "Statistics show adoption activity days are twice as effective as other ways of family-finding for children.
"Adopters get to see children enjoying themselves, having fun and see them first as children without reading about all their problems.
"The emphasis for the day is about fun for the children. They have a proper invitation for the day and at the end of the day they go home with a party bag."
Match made
For Alice and Mark (not their real names), the last such event, earlier this year, may have brought them their own family.
"We did not go there thinking we were going to meet our kids; we thought we would see the kind of children who were waiting to be adopted," said Alice.
"But almost the first children we saw... they were absolutely lovely... for some reason I thought 'These are our kids'."
The couple say would-be adopters were encouraged to interact with the children, to talk to them and play with them but were told not to stay too long with anyone in case it raised their expectations.
They say they enjoyed meeting the other children, but kept thinking about those two - and later went back to them.
There was "chemistry" which they would not have been able to get through a paper profile of a child, they said.
The couple are now in the process of trying to adopt the children.
"It was fun; a huge party. They had a boat, archery, water cannon. And it was well structured - with staff everywhere, passively watching," said Mark.
The party worked like this: They were teamed up with a social worker, while children had either their social worker, foster carer or another adult with them.
If they saw children they were interested in meeting, their social worker would talk to the children's social worker and arrange it.
Risk of rejection
Adoption speed dating by proxy? Possibly. It is that "fast" aspect - and the potential danger of vulnerable, damaged children facing further hurt - that worries some people.
Bridget Betts from BAAF says that is a danger everyone involved is all too aware of: "These are vulnerable children and the risk of rejection and being rejected again is quite high and for some of those children, social workers and their foster carers have had to support them afterwards.
"What is good about this is is it has to directly involve the children; you can't do it behind their backs and they can see that the adults around them are doing everything they can to find a family for them."
Voices have been raised against such days in the UK. Last year, Barnardo's chief executive Anne Marie Carrie, was critical of the idea on BBC Radio Four's Woman's Hour, saying "This is not Battersea Dogs Home. I am concerned about this aspect of beauty parades.
"What happens when a child has been to 10 parties?"
But are children's charities warming to this approach?
The NSPCC's Tom Rahilly - head of looked-after children - says the events make sense as the next logical step on from looking at photos of children and forms - but they have to be carefully planned and delivered.
"Adoption activity days are an opportunity for groups of prospective adopters and children waiting to be adopted together in person before any decisions have been made," he said.
"They make the experience and potential much more real, particularly for prospective adopters who can live in a very theoretical world right up until the day they meet their new child for the first time."
For writer Anne (not her real name), who adopted two young boys about eight years ago with her husband, the idea of meeting lots of children waiting to be adopted seems "awful".
"It's an American idea and the parties have been criticised there for putting children on show, making it like an audition. Here, the idea has been to try to make sure that a match will work before introducing everyone.
"We did not meet our children until we had been matched with them.
"The first glimpse we had of them was when there was no pressure on either side - they didn't know we were watching them. We were told to go to a playground at a certain time and they were brought there with other kids to play.
"We sat on a bench, reading a newspaper, feeling a bit furtive watching them, but it was nice to see them being themselves, calling to each other."
Adoption targets
Speeding up the adoption process and getting more children adopted has been made a priority by the government in England.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said too few children are being given the chance of a finding the security of a stable permanent home. Councils are being more closely monitored and there are controversial new "adoption league tables".
Only a small proportion of the 67,000 children in care in England are available to be adopted. Many go in and out of care as their family circumstances change, while arrangements might be made for others to be looked after by grandparents or other family members.
There were 3,450 looked-after children adopted in the year ending 31 March 2012 - the highest figure since 2007.
Adoption experts say children are much less likely to be adopted if they are older, with brothers or sisters or have disabilities.
BAAF's Bridget Betts says the adoption activity days help to open the eyes of potential adopters to such children.
"For adopters, it dispels the myths about children who are in care. Most adopters start out thinking 'I would like a pre-school child', but they might meet a seven-year-old," she said.
"We had one little girl matched from the first day where every method of matching had failed. She had very complex needs and a lot of uncertainty about her future. Some adopters came who had not thought about adopting a child with additional needs - and she is now placed with them."
Could such examples be winning over sceptics?
In a statement this week, Barnardo's UK director of strategy Janet Grauberg, said: "Finding a loving and secure adoptive family for these children is critical. We welcome any approach that encourages prospective adoptive parents to consider again whether they could provide a home for an older child or a sibling group.
"Of course, it is also vital that safeguards are in place to ensure the emotional safety of these children during such a vulnerable stage of their lives."
Adoption activity day project manager Bridget Betts says she understands why some people react against the idea of the days.
"For all parties who come it's a very emotional experience and everyone needs preparation and support," she said.
"I find it quite overwhelming and a very emotional experience as a social worker with 30 years' experience - walking in to a room with 60 children who need adopting - and they are all beautiful children."
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Aaron Campbell was looking for cannabis when he entered the flat and discovered Alesha MacPhail sleeping in her bed.
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By Paul O'HareBBC Scotland
For the duration of his trial he had denied ever meeting the six-year-old, let alone being responsible for her abduction, rape and murder.
But as Campbell, 16, faced a criminal psychologist, who was preparing a pre-sentencing background report, he finally admitted one of the most horrific crimes in Scottish legal history.
The detail of his account was chilling.
It was known Campbell left his home on the Isle of Bute after a party as he wanted to get "stoned".
He had previously bought cannabis from Alesha's father and had been to the flat where he lived on Ardbeg Road, Rothesay.
The jury heard that a key had been left in the door in the early hours of 2 July last year.
What remained a mystery was why Campbell took Alesha from her bed?
It has now emerged that in the 12 months prior to the murder the teenager thought about "doing something excessive" including rape.
And when he set eyes on the child he saw it as a "moment of opportunity".
Campbell told the psychologist: "At any other time in life, murder wouldn't have been the conclusion. If I was a year younger I don't think I would have done it.
"All I thought about was killing her once I saw her."
There were emotional scenes in the public gallery at the High Court in Glasgow as more horror was heaped on Alesha's family.
They heard the schoolgirl was initially "drowsy" but as Campbell carried her out of the flat and along the shoreline she became more awake.
Alesha asked who he was and where they were going.
Campbell told her he was a friend of her father and that he was taking her home.
He even gave the child his top as she was cold.
The details of what happened at the end of their journey were, mercifully, not aired in court.
But as Campbell was sentenced it was disclosed he told the psychologist he was "mildly amused" police took two days to arrest him after Alesha's body was discovered.
'Quite satisfied'
The teenager also admitted he had to "zip his mouth" to stop himself laughing during the trial.
Perhaps the most disturbing revelation he volunteered was that he was "quite satisfied with the murder".
It was an astonishing about-turn for a killer who had initially lodged a special defence of incrimination in which he blamed 18-year-old Toni McLachlan, the partner of Alesha's father.
This was particularly cruel as she was old enough to be named in the media while he remained anonymous, until that restriction was removed after the verdict.
Prosecutor Iain McSporran QC branded the schoolboy a "confident liar" who had spun a web of deceit.
When Campbell was convicted by a unanimous jury verdict last month he did not show a flicker of emotion and remained impassive in the dock.
He wore the same blank expression as he was ordered to spend a minimum of 27 years in prison and warned he may never be released.
Lord Matthews described him as a "cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual".
Family life
Campbell had first appeared on the police radar shortly after midnight on 3 July last year
The previous morning Alesha's naked body had been discovered in the grounds of a former hotel on the Isle of Bute.
It was Campbell's own mother who contacted detectives after reviewing footage captured by the CCTV cameras outside the family home on Ardbeg Road, about a mile outside Rothesay, the main town on the island.
After being sworn in as the first defence witness Campbell said he had lived on Bute since the age of four or five with his parents and younger sister.
A previous police statement shown on the court screens confirmed he was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on 7 May, 2002.
His father Christopher, 42, was a supervisor in the oil industry and often worked away from home.
Campbell's QC, Brian McConnachie, questioned the accused about his relationship with his mother Janette, 54.
He said they argued, normally when she was drinking.
Asked if she had a alcohol problem, Campbell said: "I would say so. I don't know about now but certainly back then."
Mr McConnachie later described his client's upbringing as "less than ideal" but stressed there were no mitigating factors which could explain his appalling crime.
Emotional state
Campbell had spent Saturday 30 June camping on Ettrick Bay to mark the first weekend of the school holidays.
The following day he used Snapchat to invite 15 friends to a party at his home, a seven-bedroom detached property which looks onto the Firth of Clyde.
That night the teenager told the court he drank a bottle of Mad Dog fortified wine and shared a bottle of Echo Falls wine with a friend.
He said: "I got drunk. I was not sick. I was just having a good time."
But as the party drew to a close, at about 00:30 on 2 July, his mood changed.
Campbell admitted: "I was quite upset as my mum had been arguing with me most of the night."
A close friend found him in an emotional state and recalled he was "suicidal".
The 16-year-old friend said Campbell blamed his mother's drinking for his mood.
He told the jury: "I felt quite worried for him."
The friend eventually managed to calm Campbell down before they parted company.
Cannabis debt
At the time of his arrest last summer the teenager claimed he was only smoking the Class B drug once a month.
Campbell named Alesha's father, Robert MacPhail, and his girlfriend, Toni McLachlan as two of the people who had supplied him with "weed".
But in February 2018 he fell out with Mr MacPhail, 26, over the quality of his product.
This resulted in an unpaid debt of £10.
Given Campbell's dealer was 10 years his senior, the episode was presented to court as yet another example of the teenager's arrogance.
In the early hours of 2 July Campbell tried to contact Mr MacPhail via Facebook Messenger.
He said: "Then I remembered I still owed him a tenner so I messaged Toni instead."
Neither responded so he headed for the flat the couple shared with Mr MacPhail's parents, which was a five-minute walk away.
He was armed with a kitchen knife but discarded it on the shore when he realised he could easily gain entrance to the property.
On his return the first bedroom he encountered at the top of the hall was Alesha's.
'Friends with benefits'
Campbell appears to have been comfortable in the company of girls and claimed he was sexually active.
In evidence he named two teenagers he had been "talking to" during his fifth year.
When his advocate, Mr McConnachie, asked what the term meant, he explained: "It is kind of like the transition period between being friends and being boyfriend and girlfriend."
In the winter of 2017 he told the court he became involved with Alesha's father's girlfriend, Toni McLachlan.
He said: "Toni and I began seeing each other, not in a going out sort of way.
"I guess I would call it friends with benefits."
Campbell claimed the sexual relationship enabled Miss McLachlan to frame him by planting his DNA at the crime scene from a used condom.
Lord Matthews later described his account as a "cruel travesty of the truth" and told the court Miss McLachlan was "completely innocent".
Horror games
Campbell owned a Playstation 4 and, according to his mother, was "addicted" to gaming.
From the age of 12 he wanted to be a YouTube star and posted footage on his channel, including clips of a nightmarish game called Slender Man.
Its focal point is a tall, faceless character who lives in the woods and stalks children.
Another, psychological horror PT, involved exploring a haunted house.
On the videos Campbell is seen playing games and commentating on what is happening.
After his conviction YouTube said it had taken down the footage as a mark of respect for Alesha and her family.
At school Campbell had a large circle of friends and his strongest subjects were maths and physics.
He planned to go to university and his dream was to design games.
The teenager was also a fan of parkour and posted videos online in which he showed off his skills on a trampoline.
To keep fit he lifted weights at home and in the gym.
He was strong for his age and, under questioning by Mr McSporran, said he could bench press 50kg.
The QC then told the court Alesha, who has just finished her second year at primary school, weighed 22kg.
The distance between her grandparents' home and the secluded spot where she was found would have taken up to 17 minutes to cover on foot.
Crucially, the post-mortem examination recorded 117 injuries on the child's body but not a single mark on her feet.
The prosecutor said: "Alesha was carried to where she died. Toni could not have carried her. You could have."
Campbell replied: "I have no experience of carrying people. I have never carried weights for such a distance before."
Fantasy kill chat
The trial heard from Campbell's friends that he had a dark sense of humour.
The jury was shown a transcript of a Facebook Messenger chat which had been initiated by a female friend after she watched a crime documentary.
During the conversation in 2017 Campbell wrote: "Might kill 1 day for the lifetime experience."
When he was asked about the comment during his evidence, he said: "I think in the next message I said it would be more like a short lifetime experience because it would ruin your life if you killed someone. It would be a stupid thing to do."
The morning after the murder Miss McLachlan messaged Campbell and asked him to keep an eye out for Alesha as she was missing.
The killer replied: "Oh damn. Am sure she's not went too far x".
That afternoon he filmed a video in his house which ended with his reflection being revealed in a bathroom mirror.
It was then shared with a Snapchat group with the caption: "Found the guy that done it."
As he sentenced Campbell, Lord Matthews highlighted the footage.
He told the the teenager: "Your attitude was clearly demonstrated by the evidence that you posted an image of yourself in a mirror while making a joke that you had found where the murderer was hiding.
"The arrogance and callousness of that is breathtaking."
Identity revealed
Before officers arrived at his home, the court heard Campbell's iPhone was used to Google "How do police find DNA?"
Asked how he presented himself, Det Con Gavin McKellar replied: "Confident. He was quite confident."
Mr McSporran inquired if the accused seemed overawed or anxious.
The officer said: "Not at all."
His alibi was that he had gone out to buy cannabis from another teenager and at no point did he mention meeting up with Miss McLachlan.
Mr McSporran questioned why he gave the police a story that could easily be disproved.
Campbell answered: "I guess I am not very good at lying."
He was arrested on 4 July and driven to Helen Street police station in Govan, Glasgow.
Throughout his nine-day trial he could not be named as he was under 18.
After his conviction media outlets, including the BBC, launched a successful legal bid to reverse the court order which had protected his identity.
During the hearing the court was told the teenager had a history of self harm, anxiety and depression and he had been previously tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He does not suffer from any mental health disorders of syndromes but Lord Matthews later observed Campbell was "completely lacking in victim empathy".
The teenager will be held at HM Young Offenders' Institute Polmont, near Falkirk, until he turns 21.
He will then be transferred to the adult prison system where he will not be eligible for parole until 2045.
But before he was led from the dock, the judge told him: "Whether you will ever be released will be for others to determine but as matters stand a lot of work will have to be done to change you before that could be considered.
"It may even be impossible."
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This weekend Steve Worswick will be pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human, attempting to fool a panel of judges into thinking they are chatting to another person while really they will be talking to a chatbot.
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By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter
But Steve isn't an engineer at Apple or Amazon, he is a designer from Leeds and the AI he is hoping will pass the test - Mitsuku - is one you have probably never heard of.
The competition he is taking part in, the Loebner Prize, is one of the only real-world Turing Tests but is also relatively obscure in the highly-hyped world of artificial intelligence - and not without controversy.
This year could be the last time Steve competes - the sponsor Hugh Loebner, a millionaire inventor who made his fortune from brass fittings, died in 2016 so there is no longer funding for the prize.
The competition sees four judges conducting a series of conversations with both humans and bots which they then score out of 100.
'Old ladies'
Each bot is asked the same 20 questions, of varying degrees of complexity. At the same time, the same message is typed to a human, with the judge tasked with deciding which is which.
Typically, winning bots only get a score of about 30 out of 100, with none ever reaching the heady heights of 70, which would - under Turing Test rules - be "human enough".
The test was developed by mathematician Alan Turing in 1950 as a way of demonstrating a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human.
His paper proposed this could be tested via a series of conversations, one with a machine and one with a human. Each judge would have five minutes to talk to each machine and if more than 30% of the judges thought they were human, the machine passed the test.
Under Loebner Prize rules, the conversations are 25 minutes long and the machine only wins if it fools at least half the judges.
That has never happened. Instead the prize money goes to the machine that convinces the most judges.
"It usually becomes apparent after the first few questions which is the bot," said Mr Worswick, who has 'won' four times.
Since the Loebner Prize launched in 1991, it has had a range of partners - from the Cambridge Center for Behavioural Studies to the Science Museum and The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour (AISB) but it has failed to attract bigger players or those studying in the field.
Noel Sharkey, computer scientist at Sheffield University and two-times judge at the event, is baffled as to why it has always been so low-key.
"I am a little surprised, given the number of chatbots we are all experiencing in online customer services, that this is not a much bigger affair," he said.
"It might be that the big tech companies don't like the idea of independent objective evaluation or maybe they are a bit worried about competing with one another."
There could be truth in this. In 2013 someone unofficially entered Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, into the contest and it finished in 14th place.
For two years, the competition was hosted in Mr Loebner's apartment but from 2014 to 2018 it took place at Bletchley Park where Alan Turing spent his wartime years as a codebreaker.
Two side rooms were set aside for the competition but with no publicity given to it, the only people who stumbled upon it would be visitors to the code-breaking museum.
"It was usually little old ladies on a day out who would much rather reminisce about the war than talk about conversational AI," said Mr Worswick.
The lack of success of the competition among the AI community could just be a case of bad timing, thinks Prof Sharkey.
"It started out really well in 1991 when there was still great interest in the Turing Test with all the great and good of AI on the programme panel," he said.
"All the media turned up," he added, but things quickly turned sour "when the AI systems of the day were shown to be hopeless at the task".
"After that it was sidelined and only small companies and hobbyists have taken it up."
And Hugh Loebner himself may have put some people off, he thinks.
"Loebner's eccentric personality did not help much. He was a very provocative man, quite blunt and said some very dumb things that annoyed a lot of people. Personally I was highly amused by him. He told me that the reason why he started the competition was that he just wanted to be famous," said Prof Sharkey.
Mr Loebner also dedicated his time to fighting for the rights of sex workers and would often turn up to the competition with "young women on his arms," he added.
Both the venue and the nature of the contest have changed this year, moving from Bletchley Park to Swansea University.
There will no longer be a panel of judges. Instead, the chatbots will be judged by the public and there will be no human competitors.
"No-one's quite sure how it will pan out," said Mr Worswick.
The Loebner prize may now be on the verge of fading into obscurity.
"I do not think that the Loebner prize has had a big impact on AI language processors because it has not had much take-up from the academic community and none from the big tech companies," said Prof Sharkey.
He does, however, believe that the field, now fully revived and brimming with hype, could benefit from its own more high-profile test - one that Amazon, Google and Apple were prepared to take part in.
"Perhaps they should take a lesson from the big car manufacturers competing in Formula One. Competitions like this can push the envelope of innovation and accelerate development," he said.
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Syria, graced with thousands of historic sites, is seeing its cultural heritage vandalised, looted and destroyed by war - but volunteers are doing what they can to document the damage and save the country's cultural identity from obliteration.
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By Diana DarkeWriter on the Middle East
They have taken many of the photographs below.
In March the Syrian air force bombed the world's best preserved Crusader Castle, the 12th Century Krak des Chevaliers (above) in Homs province.
Its strategic location - guarding the only corridor from Syria's interior to the coast as well as the entrance to Lebanon's Bekaa valley - guaranteed that it would be a fiercely contested stronghold in this war, just as it was for the Knights Hospitaller in Crusader times.
The elegant Crusader cloister inside the castle bore an inscription carved in Latin: "Grace, wisdom and beauty you may enjoy but beware pride which alone can tarnish all the rest."
The loggia became a ruined shell after MiG fighter jets were used to dislodge rebel fighters who had based themselves there. The Latin inscription has been blown to smithereens.
In November a mortar shell, fired from rebel-held areas in the north-eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, struck the priceless mosaics on the facade of the 8th Century Great Mosque - the spiritual heart of the city.
The mosaics depict visions of Paradise with fantastical buildings surrounded by trees and gardens - the Syrian authorities have since repaired the damage.
Another shell fired the same month penetrated the western face of the perimeter wall of the Damascus Citadel, leaving a hole nearly one metre wide near the recently restored Throne Room.
The stronghold served as headquarters, chief arsenal and supply centre for the great Muslim warlord Saladin, in his battles against the crusaders amongst others. Most of the citadel's 12 defensive towers and vast internal courtyard date from the 12th Century, though it continued to be used as a prison by the Syrian state under Hafez al-Assad as recently as 1985.
Among the 2,000-year-old remains of the Roman oasis city of Palmyra, to the north-east, the army has dug a road and earth dykes, and installed multiple rocket launchers inside the camp of the emperor Diocletian.
Shells have hit the columns of the ancient city's Temple of Bel (seen above before the bombardment), causing two of them to collapse.
The temple is one of the most important religious buildings of its time in the Middle East - it represents a synthesis of Roman with Greco-Persian-Babylonian architecture. Many finely carved sculptures and blocks formerly stood inside the sanctuary, including a crowd scene with fully veiled women centuries before Islam. Whether they are still there, and still intact, is unknown.
The distinctive Palmyra rose and acanthus leaf motifs directly influenced the 18th Century classical revival in England, and can still be seen on the ceilings of many British country homes.
Syrian armed forces are also installed in the medieval Arab citadel of Ibn Ma'an overlooking the site (see photograph with tank above). Shells fired from this natural vantage point damage not only the ancient site, but also ancient olive, date and pomegranate plantations, destroying the livelihood of many local people.
Syria's riches
Further north, Aleppo's Great Mosque, founded in the early 8th Century, has come under heavy fire. Its 50m-tall Seljuk minaret, a masterpiece of elegance dating from 1095, was considered one of the most important monuments of medieval Syria. It was built in the grounds of the 6th Century Cathedral of St Helena - inside is the tomb of the Prophet Zachariah, father of John the Baptist (who is buried in Damascus).
The minaret, whose height made it a useful rebel lookout and sniper position, collapsed as a result of shelling in March 2013. Its destruction is the equivalent to the loss of Big Ben from the London skyline.
Archaeology students from Aleppo University have collected the fallen basalt and limestone blocks and put them in a safe place awaiting reconstruction when the war ends.
Aleppo's souks, dating back in parts to the 13th Century, were considered the finest of any in the Middle East, with more than 12km of winding alleys. Not just a major tourist attraction, they represented the beating heart of the commercial city, founded in the 2nd Millennium BC.
Free Syrian Army rebels established a headquarters in a bath-house near the old souk, making it a target for bombardment. In the shelling, an electricity sub-station caught fire and flames quickly spread, reducing the souk's wooden doors and wares to ash within hours.
The livelihoods of over 35,000 people went up in smoke.
Syria's third largest city after Aleppo and Damascus is Homs, home to most of the country's factories and oil refineries. Its strategic central location at the intersection of the country's road and rail networks ensured it would always be a fiercely contested city.
The Old City of Homs suffered more aerial bombardment than any other city in Syria. Many ancient buildings, including several active churches and monasteries, were flattened. Umm Al-Zinnar Church boasted a relic from the belt of the Virgin Mary.
As ancient Emessa, this was an important early Christian bishopric, and the Christian and Muslim populations were well integrated across the centuries, fighting side by side in the current war till the siege finally ended in May this year.
Far to the south, the 2nd Century Roman amphitheatre of Bosra, once the capital of the Roman Province of Arabia, is concealed within a 13th Century fort not far from the Jordanian border. It has been occupied during the current fighting by army snipers and shabiha militia, its windows piled with sandbags, firing at rebel pockets in the Old Town of Bosra.
The famous tells or archaeological mounds of Mesopotamia - rich repositories of man's earliest history once carefully dug by the likes of Agatha Christie's archaeologist husband Max Mallowan - are now systematically being plundered with heavy machinery to fill the coffers of Islamist militant group Isis. While some ancient artefacts are traded for weapons or cash, others that represent humans or animal gods are seen by Isis as heretical to Islam and destroyed.
This photo of an 8th Century BC Assyrian statue excavated from Tell Ajajah, near Hasakah on the Khabour River, was taken in May.
Isis has also bulldozed statues of lions along with Sufi and Shia shrines in the Raqqa province, the militant group's headquarters.
Small scale illicit digging in these places and elsewhere has always been a problem, but now no-one is guarding them at all.
While Iraq benefited from a UN resolution banning trade in its antiquities after the US invasion of 2003, Syria has been given no such protection. Unesco can only function inside Syria with the permission of the Syrian regime - a permission which has not been forthcoming.
Groups of young Syrian academics, archaeologists and volunteers such as the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology (APSA) are taking matters into their own hands. They are documenting the damage and protecting vulnerable sites wherever possible building physical barriers to shield them from shell damage and vandalism.
This protective wall is being built in front of the 13th Century Halawiye Madrasa prayer niche in Aleppo.
Diana Darke is the author of My House in Damascus, An Inside View of the Syrian Revolution. She wrote this piece with Syrian sculptor and archaeologist Zahed Taj-Eddin. Thanks to the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology for photographs.
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George Mitchell is no stranger to troubled situations.
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Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland, he also launched a Middle East peace initiative in 2001.
In 2006 he investigated the use of steroids and other banned substances in Major League Baseball - his findings destroyed the reputations of some of the game's biggest players.
Now he has stood down after two years confronting perhaps his biggest challenge - an effort to bring Israeli and Palestinian negotiators together for peace talks as US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East.
Announcing Mr Mitchell's resignation, Mr Obama said the diplomat had taken on "the toughest job imaginable" and been a tireless advocate for peace.
"His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security," Mr Obama said.
Democratic favourite
Mr Mitchell was born on 20 August 1933 in Waterville, Maine, the son of an Irish Catholic father who was a labourer and a Lebanese mother who worked in a factory.
He worked from an early age to put himself through university and law school, eventually joining the US Army where he served in counter-intelligence in Berlin.
At one time he dreamed of becoming mayor of his home town, but his career was to take him much further afield.
He entered politics as a staff assistant to Maine Senator Ed Muskie, then practiced law, including working as US Attorney, the highest-ranking federal prosecutor in Maine.
In 1980, he was appointed to fill Mr Muskie's seat, then was elected to two full terms.
During the Iran-Contra affair in 1987, Mr Mitchell famously asked Oliver North to "remember that it is possible for an American to disagree with you on aid to the Contras and still love God, and still love this country, just as much as you do".
Succinct and memorable remarks like these helped propel him into the national spotlight, and a year later he become the majority leader of the Senate.
He was voted the "most respected" member of the Senate six years in a row.
Seasoned diplomat
Upon his retirement from the Senate in 1995, then-President Bill Clinton appointed him special envoy to Northern Ireland.
He chaired all-party talks that led to a ceasefire by the IRA and set the scene for a reconciliation between the two sides that would have once been unimaginable.
His skill in brokering an agreement, much of it done in secret, earned him a reputation as a shrewd negotiator and someone who could be trusted by both sides.
Accepting his role as envoy to the Middle East, he said that his experience in Northern Ireland strengthened his conviction "that peace, no matter how difficult, could always be achieved".
"Conflicts are created, conducted and sustained by human beings; they can be ended by human beings," he said.
He left politics behind for a time in 2004 to become chairman at Walt Disney, after a bitter battle between its shareholders and former head Michael Eisner.
But his investigation into the use of steroids in baseball in 2006 put him back in the political spotlight.
His report, released in 2007, found widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs in the game and named some of its biggest and brightest stars.
Veteran trouble-shooter
Challenging vested interests and resolving intractable conflicts have been Mr Mitchell's speciality.
In 2000, Mr Clinton asked him to lead a high-level commission on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In that role, he won respect for being tough with both sides.
His final report recommended an end to Israeli settlement activity, and for Palestinians to prevent militant attacks and punish those responsible.
His appointment as Mr Obama's Middle East peace envoy came in the wake of a three-week Israeli offensive against Hamas militants which left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis were killed.
Speaking after accepting the appointment, Mr Mitchell said he did not "underestimate the difficulty" of his assignment.
Mr Mitchell immediately began a programme of frequent travel to the region. He spent almost two years holding proximity talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, in which he acted as an intermediary between the two sides.
His efforts culminated in September in a short round of direct, White House-brokered talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
But the negotiations quickly fell apart after Israel declined to extend a moratorium on construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Mr Mitchell was unable to push the two sides to restart the talks, and his travel to the region slowed significantly after December 2010.
Following his resignation, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid tribute to his efforts, saying: "As well as anyone in his generation, George understands the slow, hard work of diplomacy, the art of compromise and the indispensable role of American leadership in the world."
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Two people had to be rescued from a car after becoming stranded by the sea on a tidal causeway in Northumberland.
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The rescue mission took place on the road that leads to the island of Lindisfarne - also called Holy Island - on Sunday afternoon.
The couple were eventually saved by the coastguard and taken back to dry land.
Northumbria Police said they were "safe and well" and the vehicle would remain on the causeway until it was safe to return.
Warning signs at either end of the road urge drivers to check the tide times, which explain when it is safe to cross each day.
The island is a popular tourist destination and wildlife haven and has a population of about 180.
Related Internet Links
Northumberland County Council
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On the morning of journalist Rachel Syme's 36th birthday, she took to Twitter to ask: "I feel like 33-38 is a really tough age for a lot of women I know; feels like so many big decisions and future plans have to be squeezed into this lil window; just me?
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By Dhruti ShahBBC News
"It's not just a baby decision which, yes, is huge in those years and looms over everything. It feels like all my friends this year are doing this huge re-evaluation of everything. It's a time of lurches and swerves."
It turned out, that no, it was not just her.
Instead, she had touched a nerve and was sent an avalanche of shared experiences and advice by a swathe of strangers from around the world who understood exactly how she felt. There were hundreds of responses, just under 1,000 retweets and 9,000 likes.
Rachel told the BBC: "The messages, both private and public, just don't stop coming.
"I felt like somewhere in my youth, I decided that 36 was my 'scary age' but now it feels like I'm here and while things are coalescing both in good ways professionally and personally, it's also in a scary way."
She added that the people contacting her were "describing how they were 'going through the swerve' so that's what I'm now calling it".
Rachel said she would look around and see her friends who were in the same age bracket all experiencing this "unspoken period of change" involving major life decisions.
Some were new mums, others were breaking up with their long-term partners and others were moving across the country.
"I feel like nobody talks to you about what it's like to be this age. We have the youth; spunk, energy, beauty, and there's so many things people feel like they must do - but where are the conversations about all of the big decisions we need to make?"
Although the New Yorker hoped her vulnerability on Twitter would be a "generative exercise", she never expected it to spark such a global conversation.
"I read so many articles about people who live with their parents for longer than before, while we also know our generation has such little job security," she said.
She added that people take longer to settle down, live longer and have more choice. "Basically there is just so much going on."
@TheKimClub responded on Twitter to say that Rachel's initial tweet was "correct", and described being in your 30s as "a mini-adolescence".
The experiences people shared with Rachel were varied, with some feeling so passionate about this particular period in life they used strong language.
"I opened up my direct messages especially and a lot of people told me intimate things. I felt honoured to be entrusted with their stories. About half of those who contacted me were not people who were already in my circles," she said.
She said she has been trying to respond to everyone who contacted her or shared their story, but it has taken a significant amount of time to do this because of the attention her initial tweet received.
But it is not only women in their 30s who have got in touch. Men and people who identify themselves as non-binary have acknowledged the stage as one either they or their partners are going through.
Paul Busch thanked Rachel for her post and responded: "If men are reading, and listening, they can learn a lot about the women in their lives. I've been married for 40+ years and would have to admit I was oblivious as my wife went through this period. But I'll ask my daughters about it - they are 33 and 36."
Many commented that they felt exhausted, while others agreed it was a time in which they could do anything they wanted.
Heather Candon, who is 43, was one of those who responded to Rachel, tweeting: "For freak reasons I had to get my hips replaced right before my 35th birthday, which charted the course for the next few misadventures, including buying a motorcycle, moving to Spain to live and work (despite not speaking any Spanish), and a sexy French boyfriend in a seaside mansion."
She told the BBC when she saw Rachel's tweet, she felt moved to respond: "My life and career were so swiftly sidelined by a medical event right at the stage (33-38) that Rachel describes as a time period when 'so many big decisions and future plans have to be squeezed into this little window'.
"I welcome any opportunity for women to share the truth of our experiences; I believe the more we tell our individual stories, the more powerfully we can push back against the limiting myths that tell us what's common/acceptable/appropriate for us."
As Rachel says in one of the tweets closing her thread: "I have dozens and dozens of messages from women who've changed jobs, changed partners, frozen eggs, had kids, didn't have kids, adopted, moved cities, cared for sick parents, completely started over.
"Here's the big takeaway: you're not alone."
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This year's Brit Award nominations are announced in London later. The Brits honour the year's biggest and best stars, and all artists must have had a top 40 single or album in the UK to be eligible.
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By Ian YoungsEntertainment reporter, BBC News
But there are always a few gems that do not make the top 40 - the treats that have less commercial appeal, are not in step with fashion, get little promotion or get overlooked for some other reason.
Here is an alternative list of artists who did not make the top 40 but could have found a wider audience in 2011.
Best British female
This R&B singer from Toxteth in Liverpool went to the Brit performing arts school. But it is across the Atlantic that her glossy sound has found success. Her debut solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings features a collaboration with Alicia Keys and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. It went to number two in the US when it was released in March.
Official site
The seductive, offbeat vocal jazz on this Shropshire singer's second album Floreat was due to be released by EMI in 2008 - but got shelved when the major label was taken over. She finally wrestled back the rights and put it out last August. In a five-star review, The Independent on Sunday hailed its "unnervingly perfect vocals, lush yet off-centre arrangements [and] quirkily original songs".
Official site / BBC Music review
One of the venerated veterans of the English folk scene, Tabor released two acclaimed albums in 2011 - one solo, Ashore, inspired by the sea, and the other, Ragged Kingdom, recorded with The Oysterband, 21 years after their first collaboration. At times she comes across as PJ Harvey's long-lost folky mother and she has four nominations for next month's BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Official site / BBC Music review
Best British male
The Super Furry Animals frontman makes endearingly infectious oddpop that layers inventive melodies with sweet celestial sounds and lashings of strings and brass. In October, his third solo album Hotel Shampoo (about finding free toiletries in hotels on tour) won the inaugural Welsh Music Prize, the Welsh answer to the Mercury Prize.
Official site / BBC Music review
London dubstep DJ and producer Aaron Jerome marries the moodscapes of The xx and James Blake with sparkling, danceable electronica. His self-titled debut was named best artist album of 2011 by DJ Magazine, which described it as "the smartest album of the year", adding that it was "arguably as emotion-drenched and era-defining as Massive Attack's Blue Lines 20 years ago".
Official site / BBC Music review
The one-time new wave trailblazer and self-styled "Jesus of Cool" has found renewed respect as a stylish, sepia-toned crooner. The reflective retro ballads on his 13th solo album The Old Magic fit comfortably into a world where Richard Hawley is a star. "Like a fine wine, Nick Lowe continues to mature as a songwriter, at an age when others are withering on the vine," The Independent wrote.
Official site / BBC Music review
Best British group
Amid a morass of mediocre indie bands, this enigmatic Mancunian quartet were among the only the ones aiming to take guitar pop somewhere different and coming halfway close to achieving it. It was in both Q and NME magazines' top 10 albums of the year lists, while their incomprehensible, impassioned yelping recently left TV host David Letterman bemused after an appearance on his show.
Official site
The album Diamond Mine was a collaboration between singer, songwriter and record label owner King Creosote and Hopkins, an electronic artist who has worked with Coldplay and Brian Eno. Described as a "romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village", it combined simple folk melodies, atmospheric synth washes and stuttering beats and was nominated for last year's Mercury Prize.
Official site / BBC Music review
This band make refined, lyrical and highly tuneful songs, with their wistful and whimsical tone drawing comparisons with The Divine Comedy. Led by Londoner Nick Hemming, their 2009 debut album was nominated for two prestigious Ivor Novello songwriting awards and the follow-up Into the Murky Water proves they have the talent to sustain a fruitful career.
Official site / BBC Music review
Best international female
The second album by the exhilarating Tune-Yards, aka America's Merrill Garbus, was near the top of many critics' end-of-year lists. She made her name with a DIY debut album recorded on a hand-held dictaphone in 2009. For the follow-up Whokill, she picks bits from genres including hip-hop, Afrobeat and alt-rock to make what Rolling Stone called "the year's most thrillingly weird record".
Official site / BBC Music review
Texan singer Annie Clark makes atmospheric avant garde pop, like Goldfrapp with bolder ideas. Her third solo album Strange Mercy is "is a flawless exercise in arty pop subversion", according to a five-star review in The Daily Telegraph, while another five-star write-up in The Observer praised her knack for a "memorable melody and a winning voice".
Official site / BBC Music review
This Malian singer has produced a debut album of beguiling, warm grooves with backing from such luminaries as Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. Now based in Paris, she is involved with Blur singer Damon Albarn's new supergroup Rocket Juice and the Moon.
Fatoumata Diawara on MySpace
Best international male
This Irish singer-songwriter delivers heartfelt songs with a fragile power and a twang of Americana. He crept into the UK top 40 on Sunday with a version of Steve Winwood's Higher Love, but the original songs on his debut album Early in the Morning, which earned him comparisons with Damien Rice and Bon Iver, show that his own material can shine.
Official site
A central figure in the Californian folk-rock scene, Wilson is an acoustic strummer for whom the hazy hippy days never ended. He is also a guitarist for Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and Robbie Robertson's bands. Mojo magazine described his album Gentle Spirit, fourth on its list of the albums of 2011, as sounding "like sunlight slowly burning off the mist", while Uncut named him new artist of the year.
Official site / BBC Music review
This LA-based R&B singer has sung on Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaboration Watch The Throne, written songs for Beyonce and Justin Bieber and put out an acclaimed solo album Nostalgia, Ultra. That may well have made the top 40 if he had not released it himself for free online after getting frustrated at a lack of action from his record label.
Frank Ocean on Tumblr
Best international group
With a euphoric, anthemic air and 80s-sized synths and drums, Hurry Up We're Dreaming, the sixth album by M83, narrowly missed the top 40. Led by French musician Anthony Gonzalez, the album was described as "horizon-spanning, unabashedly epic synth rock" by Pitchfork, the bible of music blogs, which ranked it as the third best of 2011.
Official site / BBC Music review
San Francisco group Girls were another rare example of a guitar band who just about fulfilled their ambitions in 2011. Mining several decades of rock history for inspiration, their second full album Father, Son, Holy Ghost ranges from simple, shining moments of melodic pop to thrilling, throbbing wig-outs. Dummy magazine said it was "one of the best rock records of our time".
Girls on MySpace / BBC Music review
On their 10th studio album Undun, the Philadelphia hip-hop crew tell the backwards story of a semi-fictional character who is sucked into a life of crime as he struggles to survive in the ugly city. The Los Angeles Times declared that it showed "a band at the top of its game continuing to forge new directions in hip-hop".
Official site / BBC Music review
Listen to a selection of songs by these artists in playlists on YouTube, Spotify (registration & application download required) or MySpace.
This list is entirely subjective, frivolous and unscientific, and does not confer any accolade upon these artists on behalf of the BBC.
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With the world's biggest bike race starting in Leeds on 5 July, BBC Yorkshire's Tour de France correspondent Matt Slater rounds up the best of the gossip, opinion and stories, on and off the bike, and also tries to explain some of cycling's unique lingo.
TOP STORIES
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Do not let the stereotype of people who say what they like and like what they say put you off, they are a welcoming bunch in Yorkshire. They must be, they are even willing to change the names of their pubs to make you feel more at home. Otley's 19 pubs have translated their names into French for the Grand Depart period. Apparently, the West Yorkshire market town has previous in this regard, as they were all renamed "The Yorkshire Princess" when Kate Middleton married into the Windsor clan. I can see names like the Bar Du Nord (North Bar) and La Toison (The Fleece) sticking for a while, but I do not think Le Cheval et Marechal-ferrant (The Horse and Farrier) will linger.
Full story: The Guardian
In doing this gig I have learned that if I want common sense from Huddersfield I should look no further than the Andrew Jackson column. The Examiner's executive editor is in trenchant form today on the subject of Tour de France refuseniks. "What's yellow and annoying? No, not a budgie with an airhorn - I was actually thinking of some people's attitude towards the Tour." Jackson goes on to outline the pros and cons of staging the event, and hits the nail squarely on its tete when he says: "If it was somewhere else, we'd be moaning that we never get anything like this in Huddersfield. Well this time it's in Huddersfield."
Full story: Huddersfield Examiner
Having said how welcoming Yorkshire folk are, they do have limits. And I may be about to test those limits with the next item, but there is a spirit of fraternite in the air so I will try to sneak it past. Manchester's excellent Museum of Science and Industry - a family favourite of the diary's - is staging an exhibition called "Pedal Power" from 19 July to mark the 20 years of success British cycling has enjoyed since moving to the city's National Cycling Centre. It is free and you can be back in Yorkshire pretty sharpish afterwards.
Full story: MOSI
CYCLING ROUND-UP
Two more teams have confirmed their line-ups for Leeds, and they are both significant in their own way.
The first announcement came from the Dutch-based Belkin squad. The nine riders selected were all pretty much as expected - the Dutch duo Bauke Mollema and Laurens ten Dam will lead the team's general classification challenge, with Sep Vanmarcke perhaps fancying his chances on the cobbles of stage five - but the key issue for them is that they are riding under the pressure of needing to find a new title sponsor for next season. Or a new team.
After a few up-and-down seasons and numerous name changes, Trek Factory Racing's future seems much more stable these days and they have certainly gone for continuity in their team selection. Having taken the ever-so modern approach of naming the first six riders on twitter overnight, they announced the final three on Wednesday afternoon. Those three were Luxembourg's finest Andy and Frank Schleck, and the popular German Jens Voigt. Of the Schleck brothers, the younger Andy's selection is perhaps more controversial as he has been in such miserable form since finishing second behind Cadel Evans in the 2011 Tour. He had come second the two previous Tours, too, but inherited the 2010 win when Alberto Contador was banned for doping. This looks like a last chance to rediscover that form.
And for Voigt, well, this is his chance to say goodbye. The 42-year-old retires at the end of the season and this will be his 17th straight Tour, equalling the record. He will no doubt mark this feat by joining an early breakaway, and repeating this most days until Paris.
TWEET OF THE DAY
"Today is the day!! Tour de France or not! It will be decided today for my team, big meeting of our sports management."
Voigt sums up the mood of many professional riders at the moment as he waited for news: will he go to the ball or not?
TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA
In honour of Voigt, let us pay tribute to those lone riders who have escaped up the road and avoided recapture - it does happen, just not very often. The longest solo break in Tour history belongs to Albert Bourlon. On a stage from Carcassone to Luchon in 1947, the Frenchman rode on his own for 253km, finishing more than 16 minutes clear of the next rider. That is not the biggest winning margin, though. That honour belongs to Spain's Jose-Luis Viejo, who beat the pack by nearly 23 minutes in 1976.
THE COUNTDOWN - 1O DAYS TO GO
Just 10 days then until British cyclists can start trying to move the UK up from its current 10th place on the national leaderboard for yellow jerseys. So far, British riders have been given a maillot jaune to wear 39 times, four fewer than riders from Denmark. With Mark Cavendish desperate to don yellow on the Tour's second stage this year, and Chris Froome favourite to end up in it, Denmark's lead looks vulnerable. But there is a big gap to Germany in eighth - their riders have won 71 yellow jerseys.
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The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, has reminded the nation on the day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, that it is "neither the time nor the place" to debate her legacy. The full text of his sermon follows.
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After the storm of a life lived in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm.
The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an "ism". Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service. Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings.
There is an important place for debating policies and legacy; for assessing the impact of political decisions on the everyday lives of individuals and communities. Parliament held a frank debate last week - but here and today is neither the time nor the place.
This, at Lady Thatcher's personal request, is a funeral service, not a Memorial Service with the customary eulogies. At such a time, the parson should not aspire to the judgments which are proper to the politician; instead, this is a place for ordinary human compassion of the kind that is reconciling. It is also the place for the simple truths which transcend political debate. Above all it is the place for hope.
But it must be difficult for those members of her family and close associates to recognise the wife, mother and grandmother in the mythological figure. Our hearts go out to Mark and Carol and their families, and also to those who cared for Lady Thatcher with such devotion in her last years.
One thing that everyone has noted is the courtesy and personal kindness which she showed to those who worked for her, as well as her capacity to reach out to the young, and often also to those who were not, in the world's eyes, "important".
The letter from a young boy early on in her time as Prime Minister is a typical example. Nine year old David wrote to say, "Last night when we were saying prayers, my daddy said everyone has done wrong things except Jesus. I said I don't think you have done bad things because you are the Prime Minister. Am I right or is my daddy?"
Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that the PM replied in her own hand in a very straightforward letter which took the question seriously.
"However good we try to be, we can never be as kind, gentle and wise as Jesus. There will be times when we do or say something we wish we hadn't done and we shall be sorry and try not to do it again…If you and I were to paint a picture, it wouldn't be as good as the picture of great artists. So our lives can't be as good as the life of Jesus."
She was always reaching out and trying to help in typically uncoded terms. I was once sitting next to her at some City function. In the midst of describing how Hayek's Road to Serfdom had influenced her thinking, she suddenly grasped my wrist and said very emphatically, "Don't touch the duck pate, Bishop - it's very fattening."
She described her own religious upbringing in a lecture she gave in the nearby church of St Lawrence Jewry. "We often went to church twice on Sundays, as well as on other occasions during the week… We were taught always to make up our own minds and never take the easy way of following the crowd."
Her upbringing was in the Methodism to which this country owes a huge debt. When it was time to challenge the political and economic status quo in nineteenth century Britain, it was so often the Methodists who took the lead. The Tolpuddle Martyrs, for example, were led not by proto-Marxists but by Methodist lay preachers.
Today's first lesson describes the struggle with the principalities and powers. Perseverance in struggle and the courage to be were characteristic of Margaret Thatcher. In a setting like this, in the presence of the leaders of the nation, it is easy to forget the immense hurdles she had to climb.
Beginning in the upper floors of her father's grocer's shop in Grantham, through Oxford as a scientist and, later, as part of the team that invented Mr Whippy ice cream, she embarked upon a political career.
By the time she entered Parliament in 1959 she was part of a cohort of only 4% of women in the House of Commons. She had experienced many rebuffs along the way, often on the short list for candidates only to be disqualified by prejudice against a woman - and, worse, a woman with children.
She applied herself to her work with formidable energy and passion. But she continued to reflect on how faith and politics related to one another.
In the Lawrence Jewry lecture she said that, "Christianity offers no easy solutions to political and economic issues. It teaches us that there is some evil in everyone and that it cannot be banished by sound policies and institutional reforms…We cannot achieve a compassionate society simply by passing new laws and appointing more staff to administer them."
She was very aware that there are prior dispositions which are needed to make market economics and democratic institutions function well: the habits of truth-telling, mutual sympathy, and the capacity to co-operate. These dispositions are incubated and given power by our relationships. In her words, "the basic ties of the family are at the heart of our society and are the very nursery of civic virtue". Such moral and spiritual capital is accumulated over generations but can be easily eroded.
Life is a struggle to make the right choices and to achieve liberation from dependence, whether material or psychological. This genuine independence is the essential pre-condition for living in an other-centred way, beyond ourselves. The word Margaret Thatcher used at St Lawrence Jewry was "interdependence".
She referred to the Christian doctrine, "that we are all members one of another, expressed in the concept of the Church on earth as the Body of Christ. From this we learn our interdependence and the great truth that we do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of Society." Her later remark about there being no such thing as "society" has been misunderstood and refers to some impersonal entity to which we are tempted to surrender our independence.
It is entirely right that in the Dean's bidding there was a reference to "the life-long companionship she enjoyed with Denis." As we all know, the manner of her leaving office was traumatic but the loss of Denis was a grievous blow indeed, and then there was a struggle with increasing debility from which she has now been liberated.
The natural cycle leads inevitably to decay, but the dominant note of a Christian funeral service, after the sorrow and the memories, is hope.
It is almost as perplexing to identify the "real me" in life as it is in death. The atoms that make up our bodies are changing all the time, through wear and tear, eating and drinking. We are atomically distinct from what we were when young.
What unites Margaret Roberts of Grantham with Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven and constitutes her identity? The complex pattern of memories, aspirations and actions which make up a character were carried for a time by the atoms of her body, but we believe are also stored up in the Cloud of God's being.
In faithful relationships, when two people live together, they grow around one another and the one becomes part of the other. We are given the freedom to be ourselves and, as human beings, to be drawn freely into an ever closer relationship with the divine nature. Everything which has turned to love in our lives will be stored up in the memory of God. First there is the struggle for freedom and independence and then the self-giving and the acceptance of interdependence.
In the gospel passage read by the prime minister, Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life". "I am" is the voice of the divine being. Jesus does not bring information or advice but embodies the reality of divine love. God so loved the world that he was generous: he did not intervene from the outside but gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and became one of us.
What, in the end, makes our lives seem valuable after the storm and stress has passed and there is a great calm? The questions most frequently asked at such a time concern us all. How loving have I been? how faithful in personal relationships? Have I found joy within myself, or am I still looking for it in externals outside myself?
Margaret Thatcher had a sense of this, which she expressed in her address to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: "I leave you with the earnest hope that may we all come nearer to that other country whose 'ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace'."
TS Eliot, in the poem quoted in this service sheet, says,
'the communication
Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.'
In this Easter season Death is revealed, not as a full stop but as the way into another dimension of Life.
As Eliot puts it:
"What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from."
Rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her.
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It is 10 years since a deal to protect the world's thousands of shipwrecks, but the UK and several other major maritime powers are yet to ratify it. Should this underwater heritage be protected or is it acceptable to plunder?
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By Chris SummersBBC News
When a ship sinks and lives are lost, it is a tragedy for the families involved.
For the relatives of the dead, the ship becomes an underwater grave but as the years pass the wreck can become a site of archaeological interest.
In recent years technological innovations have allowed commercial archaeologists, decried by some as "treasure hunters", to reach wrecks far below the surface.
The most famous of them all, the Titanic, is nearly three miles down and to get thereas film director James Cameron has shown,involves using "robot" divers which are prohibitively expensive - around $50,000 (£32,000) a day.
Salvage firms are most interested in ships with cargoes of gold and silver, ceramics or other valuables.
In November 2001, theUnesco Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritagewas finally adopted.
But 10 years on, it still has not been ratified by the UK, France, Russia, China or the US, and commercial archaeologists continue to locate wrecks, remove their cargoes and sell them off.
"The convention has not been ratified yet because of the issues it throws up about the cost of implementing and policing it," a spokesman for the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, says. "Discussions continue within government, but ratification is not currently seen as a priority."
In September Britain's Department of Transport announced it had signed a deal withOdyssey Marine Explorationfor the salvage of 200 tonnes of silver, worth up to £150m, from the SS Gairsoppa, which was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1941.
The British government will get 20% of whatever Odyssey recovers but Unesco says the deal broke the spirit of the convention.
Robert Yorke, chairman of the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee, argues the real reason the government, and the Ministry of Defence in particular, are not ratifying the convention was because of a misplaced fear about the implications for British warships around the world.
The internationally recognised concept of "sovereign immunity" means nations should not interfere with foreign warships.
Under the Military Remains Act 1986,a number of British warships around the world are protected, including several ships sunk during the Falklands conflict. Also covered are several German U-boats in UK waters.
There are an estimated three million wrecks on the seabed.
Unesco believes attitudes to the exploration of wrecks are out of step with land archaeology.
"The looting of the tombs of Tutankhamen is now considered unacceptable, so why is the looting of shipwrecks considered acceptable?" says Unesco's Tim Curtis.
Caesar Bita is a Kenyan maritime archaeologist and an expert on ancient trade between China and Africa.
He believes he is close to finding the remains of the legendary fleet of Zheng He. According to stories, a ship from the Chinese admiral's fleet is thought to have foundered off the coast of Kenya in the early 1400s.
Bita says the wrecks could provide evidence of early contact between China and East Africa.
"Shipwrecks are always under threat all over the world by people collecting material from the site and the situation in Kenya is not unique," he says.
Sean Fisher, whose grandfather Mel discovered the treasure ship Nuestra Senora de Atocha off Florida, says he is not "ashamed to call himself a treasure hunter."
"Purist archaeologists turn up their noses at us," he says. "But every artefact we find, whether it's a piece of pottery, a gold bar or a spike used in the rigging gets treated with exactly the same care.
"Everybody loves gold and everybody has a bit of treasure hunter in them but for me the most exciting thing I ever found was a 400-year-old arquebus (hook gun). It was like bringing history back to life."
But the idea that mass heritage is at risk is scaremongering, says Dr Sean Kingsley, a director of Wreck Watch International and a spokesman for Odyssey.
"Sand dredging, offshore fishing, pipeline laying, scuba-diving trophy hunters and governments' failures to police these industries are the true greatest threats to the world's shipwrecks."
He argues that the nations which have ratified the convention represent only 5% of the world's coastline.
The convention only covers wrecks that are over 100 years old, which means the Titanic will only be covered from next year and ships from World War I and II have no protection.
That is something which concerns naval veterans.
Last month seven European naval associationswrote a letter to The Timesto protest at Dutch salvage firms who they said were "desecrating" the graves of three British warships, which were torpedoed off the Netherlands in 1914, in their search for scrap metal.
But some wartime wrecks have been protected.
The Polish Maritime Office recently placed a 500m diving exclusion zone around the wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff, which sank in the Baltic in January 1945. The ship, packed with 10,000 German refugees from the Eastern Front, was sunk by a Soviet sub. Only 500 survived and it is the single largest death toll at sea.
In 2006 Australian divers located the wreck of aJapanese mini-submarine, M24,three miles off Sydney.The sub, which is believed to contain the bodies of two young Japanese submariners, came to grief after taking part in an attack on Sydney harbour in 1942.
The Australian authorities placed a similar 500m zone around the wreck, monitored by sensitive hydrophones, with a A$1.1m (£725,587) fine for anyone who interferes with the wreck.
Maritime archaeologist Mark Wilde-Ramsing is unlikely to get to meet the relatives of those who died on the wreck he is exploring.
The Queen Anne's Revenge was an English pirate ship commanded by Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, which sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1718.
Many of theexhibits- including pistols, rum bottles, slave shackles and a surgeon's kit - are now on display at a museum in North Carolina but sadly Blackbeard's treasure was nowhere to be found.
But the convention does not just apply to shipwrecks.
It also covers archaeological sites which are now underwater, such asPort Royal in Jamaica,a former pirate harbour once described as the "wickedest city on Earth", as well as prehistoric sites in the North Sea, and the watersoff Alexandria, in Egypt.
But if wrecks and ruins continue to fascinate, what is the best way to satisfy the public curiosity?
In 1982 the Mary Rose, flagship of England's King Henry VIII, was raised from the Solent and next yeara £35m museum will open in Portsmouth.
Some argue it would have been better, in hindsight, for the Mary Rose to have stayed on the seabed, because of the expensive chemical treatment needed to preserve the timbers.
"It has created the myth that all shipwrecks are bottomless money pits and that hull and mass artefact recovery are best avoided," suggests Dr Kingsley.
But Prof Jon Adams, head of maritime archaeology at the University of Southampton, strongly disagrees.
"If it was falling to pieces and nobody came to see it I'd agree, but its conservation has been a highly successful research project in its own right and it is one of the most popular maritime museum in world with over 300,000 visitors a year," he says.
Many experts believe the future is in underwater trails or virtual museums, where the wreck remains in situ and cameras relay real-time pictures to a museum on the surface.
Australia is also home to a number of "underwater heritage trails", with plaques offering information for divers.
In the Dominican Republic a "living museum" has been set up around the wrecks of two Spanish galleons which sank during a hurricane in 1724.
The living museum was the idea of Prof Charles Beeker, of Indiana University.
"We want people to come and visit but to take only pictures and leave only bubbles," he says.
Prof Beeker, who has also discovered the wreck of Captain Kidd's pirate ship the Quedagh Merchant, said all divers had to be "sensitive" to the fact that wrecks are essentially graveyards and he criticised some who took the skulls of Japanese seamen from the many wrecks in Truk Lagoon in the Pacific.
While it pushes in situ preservation, Unesco is hopeful several major countries, including Australia and France, might soon ratify the convention to give it more weight.
Dr Kingsley is doubtful and says self-regulation is the best way forward: "The future is going to be an expensive and unimaginable journey, a challenge best met by sharing ideas, information and enlightened management, not by using the Unesco convention to slap parking tickets' on robots' windows."
But Prof Adams says self-regulation does not work and added: "The Unesco convention represents best practice and is the only feasible way of protecting underwater cultural heritage in international waters."
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Motorists are facing diversions of about 12 miles (19.3km) for five to six weeks as bridge repairs are carried out in Conwy county.
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Conwy council is repairing the bridge at Tal-y-Cafn, which links the A470 to the western side of the River Conwy.
The closest crossings of the river are at Conwy castle six miles (9.7km) north of the bridge, or at Llanrwst, seven miles (11.3km) south of the village.
The council said the bridge needs "essential repairs".
Work includes resurfacing, replacing joints and concrete and upgrading drainage.
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Thailand is holding parliamentary elections on 2 February amid anti-government protests which show no sign of subsiding. The government called the snap election to try to quell the unrest which has swept the capital and to confirm its mandate to govern.
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Tensions are running high and there are fears that violence could break out at the polls.
Why is the election atmosphere so tense?
The poll is being held in a nation which is politically polarised.
The demonstrators do not want the election to take place. These activists represent a segment of the urban affluent and middle classes, who have been holding rallies in the capital, occupying public buildings and ministries.
The main opposition Democrat Party, which is allied to the protesters, is boycotting the election.
On the other hand, the government's Pheu Thai Party has many supporters - sometimes referred to as "red shirts" - in the rural North, where the majority of voters live. Under various different names, the ruling party has won the last five elections.
Thailand's recent history is marked by a string of coups, the latest one taking place in 2006.
The army's support for the current government is uncertain, with the army chief recently making an ambivalent statement about whether or not another coup could take place.
Why do the protesters oppose the prime minister?
Protesters say Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is too much under the influence of her brother, the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is the main focus of their anger. Mr Thaksin lives in exile after being convicted of corruption by a Thai court. He was removed by the military in 2006.
The protesters say the Shinawatra family is corrupt and therefore its electoral mandate is meaningless. Instead of an election, they want an unelected "people's council" to replace parliament and clean up Thai politics.
Will this election make a difference?
The splits that have divided Thai society for the past two decades will not be healed by this election. Ms Yingluck will almost certainly continue to receive overwhelming support from the north and east. The main opposition Democrats will continue to dominate in the south and in most parts of Bangkok.
Even if the election passes off peacefully, it will return a parliament without the Democrats. Their persistent inability to win elections has left their supporters disenchanted with electoral politics, and desperate for another avenue of representation. They are likely to continue their support for the protesters. It is unclear how a stable government could emerge in such a situation.
How has the campaign gone so far?
The campaign has been operating under a state of emergency in Bangkok and the surrounding areas, called by the prime minister to contain potential violence.
Advance voting at many polling stations on 26 January was obstructed by protesters who padlocked gates outside the venues. Some voters were harassed and intimidated when they tried to cast their ballots. A local protest leader was shot dead by unknown assailants.
The day before the election, centres processing ballots became a flashpoint, particularly in Bangkok where a gun battle outside one of the centres wounded six people.
How are other voters reacting to the situation?
Some observers have argued that Thais are showing positive signs of a renewed interest in exercising their democratic rights. Pictures have been circulating on social media showing advance poll voters climbing over fences and walking through hostile crowds in a determined attempt to cast their ballot.
A grassroots movement loosely titled "Respect my vote" has gathered momentum, after an activist disturbed a Democrat Party meeting by shouting this slogan which he had written on a placard.
The incident, which has been widely viewed on YouTube, inspired rallies in other parts of Thailand, with people wearing white and calling for the election to go ahead.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.
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US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have finally shaken hands. But nobody knew exactly how it would play out. Here we break down the images from an extraordinary morning to explain how each moment unfolded.
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First of all, an (almost) empty stage
The last finishing touches were made to the red carpet at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island with North Korean and US flags seen as a bold backdrop. It's safe to say that there has rarely if ever been a time when the North Korean and American flags flew side-by-side quite like this. It's a symbolic win for Kim, showing both players come together on equal terms.
What you don't see in the picture is the media swarm on the other side of the photo, poised for that historic handshake.
They enter: stage left, stage right
Almost as if they had rehearsed this moment, Mr Trump entered from the right and Mr Kim from the left.
Even before the two leaders were anywhere near each other, you can already see Mr Trump stretching out his hand - ready perhaps, to execute that famous grip he's known for.
A firm 12-second handshake
"Nice to meet you Mr President," were the words spoken by Mr Kim upon meeting Mr Trump.
It was a firm handshake of equals pressed upon each other, but one that was significantly shorter than Mr Trump is used to, lasting only seconds instead of the uncomfortably long ones the US leader usually gives.
On Mr Kim's part, the handshake is a lot less dramatic than the one the North Korean leader gave South Korean President Moon Jae-in just a month ago, where he gripped Mr Moon's hand and led him over to the North Korean side of the border.
And then Mr Trump ushers Mr Kim off the red carpet. He's seen in many pictures physically guiding or moving Mr Kim along, projecting an image that he's in charge and in control.
"Donald Trump placing his hand on Kim's back...[this] shows a bit of dominance," Manoj Vasudevan, a body language expert told BBC World News.
"You can see Trump leads the way a lot."
'Fireside chat' photo opportunity
The duo are seen here in a fireside chat setting before they made their way into their one-on-one meeting.
The moment, as it played out, was slightly awkward, with Mr Kim seen staring at the ground and Mr Trump fidgeting with his hands.
Unlike the South Korean summit there was no scheduled ritual, it was almost a series of staged tableaux.
"Here they are sitting together, [but they aren't] making much eye contact," says Mr Vasudevan. "You can see Kim Jong-un changing his position a few times and Trump tapping his fingers, [a sign of being] uncomfortable. There's no outward appearance of close rapport."
The awkwardness is understandable.
Leading the way
Here's Mr Trump and Mr Kim walking (with Mr Trump one step ahead) towards their one-on-one meeting which lasted for 40 minutes.
For Mr Trump, he's likely to credit any success in these talks to his "maximum pressure campaign". For Mr Kim, gaining an audience with a sitting US leader could be seen as a victory in itself - something which neither his father or grandfather could achieve. More importantly, it's cemented his legitimacy as a world leader.
A day of many handshakes
Both at the end of the bilateral talks and when the leaders gave a joint statement to the press, they shook hands again - a number of times.
Without a clear sense of what exactly they have agreed to, perhaps gestures of goodwill summed up the day best.
Reporting by the BBC's Yvette Tan.
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Labour is calling for an investigation after the prime minister accused Sadiq Khan of leaving a "black hole" in Transport for London's (TfL's) funding during a Downing Street press briefing.
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Boris Johnson accused the mayor of London of "blowing" TfL's finances with an "irresponsible fares policy".
Mr Khan dismissed the remarks as "lies".
Labour has written to the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to investigate if Mr Johnson broke the ministerial code.
The remarks were made from Downing Street during the pre-election purdah for the London mayoral election on 6 May.
During purdah the government is required to limit announcements that might influence the outcome of an election.
In a letter to Mr Case, Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, said the ministerial code "clearly states that official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of party political material".
Asked at Monday's coronavirus press conference about potential government support for London's pandemic recovery, the prime minister said: "As for the finances of TfL, I must respectfully remind you that I left them in robust good order.
"And it is not through any fault of my own that the current Labour mayor decided to blow them on an irresponsible fares policy.
"We're doing our best to help them out and will continue to do so.
"And I'm afraid there was a black hole in TfL's finances even before Covid began."
Mr Khan said he had reduced TfL's deficit by "more than 71% before the pandemic".
Mr Khan said: "I think it is inappropriate for all of us to follow the rules and abide by the rules, and Boris Johnson to yet again break the rules in the way he's done.
"Firstly, during the purdah period using a government platform to attack a Labour candidate.
"But secondly, to tell lies."
Related Internet Links
London City Hall
Electing the Mayor and Assembly
London Elects
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Lady Gaga is the first person to have nine million followers on Twitter.
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The American singer, 24, became the most popular person on the social networking site last August overtaking Britney Spears when they both had just over 5.7 million followers.
She joined Twitter in 2008 with her first Tweet saying she was rehearsing for the Just Dance video.
Justin Bieber is the second most popular celebrity on the site, with just over 8.3 million followers.
Gaga's latest single, Born This Way, is at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to number three in the official UK singles chart.
Born This Way, the singer's second album, is released on 23 May.
The star also has 31 million fans on Facebook and her videos have had more than a billion views on YouTube.
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A man serving a 12-year sentence for manslaughter has absconded from an open prison in Derbyshire.
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Ashley Squires, 27, failed to return to HMP Sudbury over the weekend.
In 2006 he admitted the manslaughter of farmer Michael Boffey who died during the theft of a vehicle in Withybrook, Warwickshire, in August 2005.
Squires is described as white, 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build, with short blond hair and green eyes. He has an East Anglian accent.
His last known address was in Leicester.
Mr Boffey, 61, was struck by a Land Rover at his farm moments after Squires had tried to run over another farm worker.
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Reports that South Korea, in the wake of North Korea's dramatic 3 September test of a massive thermonuclear bomb, has approved plans to establish a special forces unit to assassinate Kim Jong-un appear to signal a sharp change of direction in the foreign policy of South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.
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By Dr John Nilsson-WrightChatham House
Why would a progressive politician elected in May on a platform of engagement with the North and who, just a few months ago in Berlin in July, talked confidently of establishing a "permanent peace regime" on the peninsula, of avoiding the "collapse" of North Korea and "easing its security and economic concerns", suddenly shift gears and appear to embrace aggressive regime change?
Seoul's leaders are terrified by the apparent failure of military deterrence, and the inability of Donald Trump, through his confident "fire and fury" rhetoric, to stop Pyongyang from pressing ahead rapidly with its aggressive military modernisation campaign.
More missile tests are a certainty and in the last day there have been reports of new activity at the North's nuclear testing facility at Punggye-ri that suggest a seventh nuclear test may be being prepared.
If the North finally and unambiguously becomes able accurately to deliver a long-range missile, armed with a powerful, miniaturised nuclear warhead, at an urban target in the continental United States, US planners will have, albeit reluctantly, to accept the need for military action on the Korean peninsula.
As Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has pointed out on a number of occasions (ostensibly channelling the thinking of Donald Trump), the US will have to risk exposing Seoul to massive civilian and military casualties in order to prevent the North from putting a US city in its strategic cross-hairs.
Only by scaring Mr Kim into believing his life may be in imminent danger can Seoul hope to offset this risk by persuading the North to pause its tests and engage in constructive dialogue.
But is the threat of decapitation a credible one and would it deter the North?
Paranoid leadership
In the past, the North's leaders have taken seriously the risk of being targeted.
In March 1993, for example, at a time of heightened US-North Korea tensions, Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un, spent most of the month in a secure bunker, committed to a "semi-war" status while announcing the country's withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
Fear of US escalation pushed Mr Kim into hiding but did not prevent the North from continuing to respond belligerently by violating international norms and abrogating past agreements.
The North also has a long history of creative adaptation in the face of foreign pressure. Fear of potential targeted strikes has encouraged a paranoid North Korean leadership, both past and present, to use dummy decoy vehicles and heavily circumscribed public appearances to minimise the risk of being caught in a surprise attack.
Just a few months ago in May, North Korea accused the US of instigating a CIA-coordinated plot to bribe a North Korean citizen to carry out a biochemical attack on Kim Jong-un.
It is impossible to corroborate these North Korean claims, which may amount simply to a propaganda gambit designed to deflect attention away from the North's own assassination plots, most notably the dramatic killing of Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-un's elder brother, apparently killed in February in Malaysia by North Korean operatives using a lethal VX nerve agent.
Given the fears and precautions of the North's leaders, a South Korean directed "hit" on Mr Kim would be highly risky and could easily degenerate into a Bay of Pigs scenario, comparable to the Kennedy administration's embarrassing failure to topple Cuba's Fidel Castro in 1961.
The South needs, therefore, to be especially cautious. A botched assassination attempt could easily provoke retaliation from the North in the form of limited military action that might in turn rapidly escalate unintentionally to a full-blown nuclear exchange.
Policy makers in Seoul may be hoping to effect change indirectly.
By threatening Mr Kim directly, they may calculate that this will undermine support for the regime amongst political elites in Pyongyang who might be persuaded to launch a coup against the feared and brutal young leader. Recent high-level North Korean defector testimony suggests this scenario is highly unlikely.
As much as North Korean elites fear and resent Mr Kim, they are just as troubled by the threat to their security of rival groups within their own society. North Korea remains a highly stratified and class-conscious society.
The have-nots and those historically discriminated against in the North would, in the event of the removal of the leadership, rise up and seek retribution against the hyper privileged and favoured residents of Pyongyang.
Fear of being caught up in a destructive and bloody counter-revolution is likely to be sufficient to stay the hand of, or at least give pause to, anyone minded to take the perilous step of plotting against the leadership.
No good options
Decapitation then seems a high-risk strategy with a low chance of succeeding. Its value at this point is more declaratory than substantive.
The Moon administration may also hope that it may deflect increasingly vocal South Korean conservative demands for the country to acquire its own indigenous nuclear capabilities to offset the growing North Korean threat.
Notwithstanding recent positive remarks by the South Korean defence minister supporting the possible reintroduction of tactical nuclear weapons to the South, the government remains opposed to such a step, in part because it fears that this would spark a damaging and destabilising arms race in the region and further escalate tensions with the North, while increasing the risk of conflict arising through misperception and miscalculation.
Ultimately, President Moon wishes to revisit the possibility of dialogue and engagement with the North, reaffirming in the process the constructive, diplomacy-centred approach of former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.
To do this, he needs time to delay both the North's military modernisation campaign and the related tendency for Washington to see its policy options increasingly constrained and narrowed to the point at which the use of military force becomes the least unappealing among a number of distinctly unattractive options.
In an environment where there remain no good policy choices for dealing with the North Korean challenge, threatening decapitation may appear to be a viable card to play in an increasingly dangerous game of strategic poker.
Dr John Nilsson-Wright is a Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia, Asia Programme, Chatham House and Senior Lecturer in Japanese Politics and the International Relations of East Asia, University of Cambridge.
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So why on earth has the plunge in Chinese stock markets - Shanghai fell another 7.6% today, taking the losses on shares over four days to well over 20% - left European markets unperturbed this morning after yesterday's fall?
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Robert PestonEconomics editor
Well, it may well be that the absence of massive (or any) Chinese state intervention to prop up the market, of the sort we saw just a few weeks ago, has delivered some kind of coldish comfort to Western investors - for two reasons.
On the one hand, the lack of panic buying by Beijing's poodles implies the Chinese government does not believe that the economy is grinding to a halt in a devastating way, or that the share-price drops will damage the health of important financial institutions.
Paradoxically, Beijing actually looks more in control of the events that matter - in the short term at least - in not artificially inflating share prices and bailing out the 50 million to 90 million Chinese households who've been punting on the market.
That may, of course, just be an illusion.
Beijing will be hard pressed to meet its target of 7% GDP growth this year without doing the opposite of what is needed to put the economy on a sustainable footing, which is to curb debt-fuelled investment in infrastructure, construction and lame-duck heavy industries.
Also very difficult to gauge is the scale of the negative impact on the spending habits of investors whose wealth has been mullered and on the investing habits of companies whose share prices have been poleaxed.
But there is a serious risk of economic aftershocks from the market quake: multinationals with production in China aimed at Chinese consumers tell me they are significantly scaling back their manufacturing plans.
There is, however, one other positive gloss to put on the untrammelled Shanghai rout.
It is widely thought that the long-term sustainability of the Chinese economy requires Beijing to place more confidence in market forces and not mess with them before breakfast, lunch and tea. So in that sense, its neglect of stock markets today would be seen as benign, a sign that Beijing gets it (at last).
That said, the Chinese government is a million miles from understanding what true markets look like.
In a proper open economy, Shanghai's stock market turbulence would be the big talking point in China's media. But there is no mention of it anywhere in today's People's Daily newspaper - which is laughable even by the censorship standards of the People's Republic.
Two other things.
Tokyo's fall, in contrast to Europe's early rise, is simply because Japanese companies are so exposed to China.
And another reason why the UK market is up this morning, and Wall Street is expected to open higher, is that China's woes - and the slowdown in emerging markets in general - are seen to have delayed that fateful moment when the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve end our era of near-zero interest rates.
A rise in the Fed Funds rate in September now looks marginally less probable than my beloved Arsenal winning the Premier League this season (a zilch probability). And although it is still plausible that the Bank of England will raise interest rates next March, those on the Monetary Policy Committee who want a rise may yet be Shanghaied.
UPDATE 11:28
Spoke too soon. China has cut interest rates and so-called reserve ratios at banks, making it easier for banks to lend.
Plainly the market falls have spooked Beijing that its 7% growth target will be missed.
Ouch.
FURTHER UPDATE 11:34
The big point about today's Chinese monetary stimulus is: that may revive growth and the stock market in the short term - but it will further inflate China's dangerous debt bubble and will increase the longer-term risk of a crash.
As I said, ouch.
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A referendum will be held on 5 May on whether to keep the first-past-the-post system for electing MPs or to switch to the alternative vote (AV). The BBC is asking a variety of people to give their view.
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By Katie GhoseChair, Yes to Fairer Votes
"The alternative vote is a small change that will make a big difference - making MPs work harder to get and stay elected, and giving you more of a say.
No wonder the old political establishment will say anything to cling on to the old rules.
They will say anything to defend a broken system that can let them win power with just one in three voters on their side.
A system that has let them enjoy jobs for life in safe seats. A system that has bred the complacency we all saw in the expenses scandal.
The last general election was decided by fewer than 450,000 voters in marginal seats.
Two thirds of our MPs don't have the majority of voters on their side - so most of us are now represented by MPs that most of us didn't vote for.
It is not right, and in this referendum you can change the rules.
AV takes what works with our current system and improves on it - making MPs work harder to win and keep their jobs.
A 'Yes' vote means all the candidates who want to be your next MP will have to aim for 50% support in the communities they seek to represent. MPs will have to work harder to win - and keep - your support, reaching out to voters they can no longer afford to ignore.
A 'Yes' vote will give you more say. AV lets you can rank candidates and show support for anyone you feel is up to the job. So if your favourite candidate doesn't win, you can still help decide your next MP.
Good news for the millions of us forced into tactical voting.
Bad news for extremists, like the BNP, because candidates who will not reach out have no future.
AV is not revolutionary. It is a small, sensible step that builds on the current system, preserving and strengthening the link between MPs and their voters.
This referendum is a straight choice between a broken system and a better alternative.
Say Yes to AV."
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The House of Lords has rejected an attempt by crossbencher Lord Dear to kill off the government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by 390 votes to 148.
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Here is a breakdown of how peers voted.
Voting to kill off bill
Allenby of Megiddo, V.
Anderson of Swansea, L.
Arran, E.
Bell, L.
Birmingham, Bp.
Blencathra, L.
Brennan, L.
Bristol, Bp.
Brooks of Tremorfa, L.
Brougham and Vaux, L.
Browne of Belmont, L.
Browning, B.
Butler of Brockwell, L.
Butler-Sloss, B.
Byford, B.
Canterbury, Abp.
Carey of Clifton, L. [Teller]
Carswell, L.
Carter of Coles, L.
Cathcart, E.
Chester, Bp.
Clarke of Hampstead, L.
Cobbold, L.
Cormack, L.
Coventry, Bp.
Cox, B.
Craig of Radley, L.
Cumberlege, B.
Curry of Kirkharle, L.
Dannatt, L.
Davies of Coity, L.
Dear, L. [Teller]
Deech, B.
Eames, L.
Eaton, B.
Eccles of Moulton, B.
Eccles, V.
Eden of Winton, L.
Edmiston, L.
Elton, L.
Emerton, B.
Empey, L.
Erroll, E.
Exeter, Bp.
Feldman, L.
Flight, L.
Fookes, B.
Forsyth of Drumlean, L.
Framlingham, L.
Gardner of Parkes, B.
Geddes, L.
Glenarthur, L.
Gordon of Strathblane, L.
Grenfell, L.
Griffiths of Fforestfach, L.
Guthrie of Craigiebank, L.
Hameed, L.
Hardie, L.
Hereford, Bp.
Hooper, B.
Howard of Rising, L.
Howie of Troon, L.
Hurd of Westwell, L.
Hylton, L.
Inge, L.
James of Blackheath, L.
Kalms, L.
Kilclooney, L.
Kirkhill, L.
Knight of Collingtree, B.
Lawson of Blaby, L.
Leach of Fairford, L.
Leitch, L.
Lewis of Newnham, L.
Listowel, E.
Liverpool, E.
Lloyd of Berwick, L.
London, Bp.
Lothian, M.
Luce, L.
Luke, L.
Lyell, L.
Lytton, E.
McColl of Dulwich, L.
Macfarlane of Bearsden, L.
Mackay of Clashfern, L.
Magan of Castletown, L.
Maginnis of Drumglass, L.
Mancroft, L.
Mar, C.
Marlesford, L.
Martin of Springburn, L.
Masham of Ilton, B.
Mawhinney, L.
Mawson, L.
Methuen, L.
Miller of Hendon, B.
Montgomery of Alamein, V.
Montrose, D.
Morris of Aberavon, L.
Morrow, L.
Naseby, L.
Nicholson of Winterbourne, B.
Northbourne, L.
O'Cathain, B.
O'Loan, B.
Oppenheim-Barnes, B.
Palmer, L.
Palumbo, L.
Parkinson, L.
Patel of Blackburn, L.
Patten, L.
Pearson of Rannoch, L.
Pendry, L.
Plumb, L.
Quirk, L.
Rowe-Beddoe, L.
Saltoun of Abernethy, Ly.
Sanderson of Bowden, L.
Sandwich, E.
Sassoon, L.
Scott of Foscote, L.
Seccombe, B.
Sharples, B.
Shaw of Northstead, L.
Sheikh, L.
Simon, V.
Singh of Wimbledon, L.
Skelmersdale, L.
Slim, V.
Stewartby, L.
Stoddart of Swindon, L.
Swinfen, L.
Taylor of Warwick, L.
Tebbit, L.
Temple-Morris, L.
Tenby, V.
Tombs, L.
Trenchard, V.
Trumpington, B.
Ullswater, V.
Vinson, L.
Waddington, L.
Walker of Aldringham, L.
Walpole, L.
Walton of Detchant, L.
Willoughby de Broke, L.
Winchester, Bp.
Voting in favour of bill
Aberdare, L.
Adams of Craigielea, B.
Addington, L.
Adebowale, L.
Adonis, L.
Afshar, B.
Allan of Hallam, L.
Alli, L.
Andrews, B.
Anelay of St Johns, B. [Teller]
Armstrong of Hill Top, B.
Ashton of Hyde, L.
Astor of Hever, L.
Astor, V.
Attlee, E.
Avebury, L.
Baker of Dorking, L.
Bakewell, B.
Baldwin of Bewdley, E.
Barker, B.
Barnett, L.
Bassam of Brighton, L.
Bates, L.
Beecham, L.
Benjamin, B.
Berkeley of Knighton, L.
Berkeley, L.
Best, L.
Bhattacharyya, L.
Bichard, L.
Bilimoria, L.
Billingham, B.
Bilston, L.
Birt, L.
Black of Brentwood, L.
Blackstone, B.
Blair of Boughton, L.
Blood, B.
Boateng, L.
Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, B.
Borrie, L.
Bottomley of Nettlestone, B.
Brabazon of Tara, L.
Bradley, L.
Bridgeman, V.
Brinton, B.
Broers, L.
Brooke of Alverthorpe, L.
Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, L.
Brookeborough, V.
Brookman, L.
Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, L.
Browne of Ladyton, L.
Browne of Madingley, L.
Burnett, L.
Burns, L.
Caithness, E.
Cameron of Dillington, L.
Cameron of Lochbroom, L.
Campbell of Surbiton, B.
Campbell-Savours, L.
Carlile of Berriew, L.
Chalker of Wallasey, B.
Chandos, V.
Chidgey, L.
Christopher, L.
Clancarty, E.
Clement-Jones, L.
Clinton-Davis, L.
Collins of Highbury, L.
Colville of Culross, V.
Colwyn, L.
Condon, L.
Cope of Berkeley, L.
Corston, B.
Courtown, E.
Coussins, B.
Craigavon, V.
Crawley, B.
Crickhowell, L.
Cunningham of Felling, L.
Darzi of Denham, L.
Davidson of Glen Clova, L.
Davies of Abersoch, L.
Davies of Oldham, L.
Davies of Stamford, L.
De Mauley, L.
Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, B.
Deben, L.
Deighton, L.
Desai, L.
Dholakia, L.
Dixon-Smith, L.
Dobbs, L.
Donaghy, B.
Doocey, B.
Drake, B.
Drayson, L.
Dubs, L.
Dundee, E.
Dykes, L.
Elder, L.
Elis-Thomas, L.
Elystan-Morgan, L.
Evans of Parkside, L.
Evans of Temple Guiting, L.
Evans of Watford, L.
Falconer of Thoroton, L.
Falkner of Margravine, B.
Farrington of Ribbleton, B.
Faulkner of Worcester, L.
Faulks, L.
Feldman of Elstree, L.
Fellowes of West Stafford, L.
Fellowes, L.
Fink, L.
Flather, B.
Foster of Bishop Auckland, L.
Foulkes of Cumnock, L.
Fowler, L.
Freud, L.
Freyberg, L.
Gale, B.
Garden of Frognal, B.
Gardiner of Kimble, L.
Garel-Jones, L.
German, L.
Gibson of Market Rasen, B.
Giddens, L.
Glendonbrook, L.
Glentoran, L.
Gold, L.
Goldsmith, L.
Goodhart, L.
Goodlad, L.
Goudie, B.
Gould of Potternewton, B.
Grantchester, L.
Greaves, L.
Greengross, B.
Grey-Thompson, B.
Grocott, L.
Hamilton of Epsom, L.
Hamwee, B.
Hanham, B.
Hannay of Chiswick, L.
Hanworth, V.
Harries of Pentregarth, L.
Harris of Haringey, L.
Harris of Peckham, L.
Harris of Richmond, B.
Harrison, L.
Hart of Chilton, L.
Haskel, L.
Haskins, L.
Hattersley, L.
Haworth, L.
Hayman, B.
Hayter of Kentish Town, B.
Healy of Primrose Hill, B.
Henig, B.
Henley, L.
Hennessy of Nympsfield, L.
Heseltine, L.
Higgins, L.
Hill of Oareford, L.
Hilton of Eggardon, B.
Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, L.
Hogg, B.
Hollick, L.
Hollis of Heigham, B.
Howard of Lympne, L.
Howarth of Breckland, B.
Howarth of Newport, L.
Howe of Idlicote, B.
Howe, E.
Howells of St Davids, B.
Hoyle, L.
Hughes of Stretford, B.
Hughes of Woodside, L.
Hunt of Chesterton, L.
Hunt of Kings Heath, L.
Hunt of Wirral, L.
Hussein-Ece, B.
Irvine of Lairg, L.
Janner of Braunstone, L.
Janvrin, L.
Jay of Ewelme, L.
Jay of Paddington, B.
Jenkin of Kennington, B.
Jenkin of Roding, L.
Joffe, L.
Jolly, B.
Jones of Cheltenham, L.
Jones, L.
Jopling, L.
Judd, L.
Kakkar, L.
Kennedy of Southwark, L.
Kennedy of The Shaws, B.
Kerr of Kinlochard, L.
Kidron, B.
King of Bow, B.
King of Bridgwater, L.
Kingsmill, B.
Kinnock of Holyhead, B.
Kinnock, L.
Kirkham, L.
Knight of Weymouth, L.
Kramer, B.
Krebs, L.
Laming, L.
Lee of Trafford, L.
Levy, L.
Lexden, L.
Linklater of Butterstone, B.
Lipsey, L.
Lister of Burtersett, B.
Lloyd-Webber, L.
Loomba, L.
Low of Dalston, L.
Lucas, L.
McConnell of Glenscorrodale, L.
McDonagh, B.
Macdonald of River Glaven, L.
Macdonald of Tradeston, L.
McIntosh of Hudnall, B.
MacKenzie of Culkein, L.
McKenzie of Luton, L.
Maclennan of Rogart, L.
McNally, L.
Maddock, B.
Mallalieu, B.
Mandelson, L.
Manningham-Buller, B.
Mar and Kellie, E.
Marks of Henley-on-Thames, L.
Massey of Darwen, B.
Maxton, L.
Mayhew of Twysden, L.
Miller of Chilthorne Domer, B.
Mitchell, L.
Mogg, L.
Monks, L.
Moonie, L.
Morgan of Drefelin, B.
Morgan of Ely, B.
Morgan of Huyton, B.
Morgan, L.
Morris of Bolton, B.
Morris of Handsworth, L.
Morris of Yardley, B.
Moser, L.
Murphy, B.
Myners, L.
Nash, L.
Neuberger, B.
Neville-Jones, B.
Newby, L. [Teller]
Newlove, B.
Noakes, B.
Noon, L.
Northover, B.
Norton of Louth, L.
Nye, B.
Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, L.
O'Donnell, L.
O'Neill of Bengarve, B.
O'Neill of Clackmannan, L.
Ouseley, L.
Palmer of Childs Hill, L.
Pannick, L.
Parekh, L.
Parminter, B.
Patel of Bradford, L.
Perry of Southwark, B.
Phillips of Sudbury, L.
Pitkeathley, B.
Plant of Highfield, L.
Ponsonby of Shulbrede, L.
Popat, L.
Prashar, B.
Prescott, L.
Prosser, B.
Puttnam, L.
Radice, L.
Ramsay of Cartvale, B.
Randerson, B.
Razzall, L.
Rea, L.
Redesdale, L.
Reid of Cardowan, L.
Rendell of Babergh, B.
Rennard, L.
Richard, L.
Richardson of Calow, B.
Risby, L.
Roberts of Llandudno, L.
Robertson of Port Ellen, L.
Rodgers of Quarry Bank, L.
Rooker, L.
Roper, L.
Rosser, L.
Rotherwick, L.
Rowlands, L.
Royall of Blaisdon, B.
Sawyer, L.
Scott of Needham Market, B.
Selborne, E.
Shackleton of Belgravia, B.
Sharkey, L.
Sharp of Guildford, B.
Shephard of Northwold, B.
Sherlock, B.
Shipley, L.
Shutt of Greetland, L.
Smith of Basildon, B.
Smith of Clifton, L.
Smith of Finsbury, L.
Smith of Leigh, L.
Soley, L.
Stedman-Scott, B.
Steel of Aikwood, L.
Stephen, L.
Stern of Brentford, L.
Stern, B.
Stevenson of Balmacara, L.
Stevenson of Coddenham, L.
Stone of Blackheath, L.
Stoneham of Droxford, L.
Storey, L.
Stowell of Beeston, B.
Strasburger, L.
Symons of Vernham Dean, B.
Taverne, L.
Taylor of Blackburn, L.
Taylor of Bolton, B.
Taylor of Goss Moor, L.
Taylor of Holbeach, L.
Teverson, L.
Thomas of Winchester, B.
Thornton, B.
Tonge, B.
Tope, L.
Tordoff, L.
Trees, L.
Triesman, L.
Trimble, L.
Tugendhat, L.
Tunnicliffe, L.
Turnberg, L.
Turner of Camden, B.
Tyler of Enfield, B.
Tyler, L.
Uddin, B.
Vallance of Tummel, L.
Verma, B.
Waldegrave of North Hill, L.
Walker of Gestingthorpe, L.
Wall of New Barnet, B.
Wallace of Saltaire, L.
Wallace of Tankerness, L.
Walmsley, B.
Warner, L.
Warnock, B.
Warwick of Undercliffe, B.
Wasserman, L.
Watson of Invergowrie, L.
Watson of Richmond, L.
West of Spithead, L.
Wheatcroft, B.
Wheeler, B.
Whitaker, B.
Wigley, L.
Wilcox, B.
Wilkins, B.
Williams of Baglan, L.
Williams of Crosby, B.
Willis of Knaresborough, L.
Wills, L.
Wilson of Tillyorn, L.
Wood of Anfield, L.
Woolf, L.
Woolmer of Leeds, L.
Worthington, B.
Wright of Richmond, L.
Young of Hornsey, B.
Young of Norwood Green, L.
Young of Old Scone, B.
Younger of Leckie, V.
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Europe has been so transfixed by tragedies in the Mediterranean in recent years that a similar crisis in the Indian Ocean has gone almost unnoticed. It is caused by the magnetic attraction of the French island of Mayotte to the inhabitants of the neighbouring Comoros Islands.
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By Elise WickerBBC World Service
"Ahmed was dead before the fisherman arrived to rescue the girls and women. Initially, they agreed to take his body, but then they decided to throw it overboard."
This is the last thing Nouriati el Hairia Houmadi remembers from the day where she lost her youngest brother, Ahmed, on the journey from one Comoros Island to another 60km (40 miles) away.
He was 14, and she was taking him from the family home on the island of Anjouan, to Mayotte - a tiny speck of French territory in the Indian Ocean, where she and her elder sister already lived. The goal was to get him a better education.
"We left Anjouan at 8pm, the accident happened at about 10.30pm in the waters near Mayotte. We could see the lights on the island," she says.
At that moment a large wave overturned the overloaded boat, and those who could not swim had little chance. Eighteen died, some before the rescuers took away the women, and some after.
This was back in November 1997, but it is a scenario that has been repeated again and again in the intervening years.
Thousands of people have died on the journey to Mayotte from the other Comoros Islands - Anjouan, Moheli and Grande Comore - since Mayotte voted to remain part of France in 1975, and the other islands voted for independence.
It's a carbon copy of the situation in the Mediterranean, where people make the crossing from North Africa or Turkey, in search of a better life - except that few in the West have paid the slightest attention to this crisis in the waters between Mozambique and Madagascar.
"We have the mournful reputation of having the largest marine cemetery," the Governor of Anjouan, Anissi Chamsidine, said in May.
"More than 50,000 Comorians have perished amid a deafening silence from the international community and France…
"It is indifference to human suffering."
The problem became acute in 1995, when the French government, under prime minister Edouard Balladur, put an end to visa-free travel.
Nouriati el Hairia Houmadi had made her first visit to Mayotte before the introduction of visas. She flew by aeroplane and was legally entitled to stay for three months.
By the time she went back with Ahmed both should have obtained a visa - but islanders from the villages often do not have the papers needed for a visa application, so nearly everyone travelling to Mayotte from other Comoros islands goes illegally, by fishing boat, or kwassa-kwassa.
The kwassa-kwassa are not intrinsically dangerous - they are a normal form of transport between the other Comoros islands and considered by the Comorians to be quite safe.
But the migrants take round-about routes, nearly always travelling at night to dodge patrol boats - and all-too-often the smugglers overload the boats, just as they do in the Mediterranean.
This is why when governor Anissi Chamsidine made his comments about the "marine cemetery", he laid the blame squarely at the door of the "Balladur visa".
The scale of the traffic is illustrated by the numbers picked up by the French authorities in Mayotte and sent home - about 20,000 in 2014 - and by the flood of applications made each year for residence permits - about 100,000, including renewals (of which only about 18,000 are approved).
The attraction of Mayotte, which was made a French departement in 2011, is its higher standard of living. The jobs available on Anjouan are mainly agricultural - often on ylang ylang or vanilla plantations - which usually means long hours for little reward. There is not much to do on the island and few public services. A brand new Chinese-built hospital stands idle, because there are no doctors to staff it.
In the past, someone returning from Mayotte with a few colourful T-shirts would have been an object of envy. Now the internet means that people don't have to travel there to see the bright lights.
But the life of a migrant in Mayotte often turns out to be less attractive than it might seem.
Ousmani, a 17-year-old Anjouanese boy who has lived there illegally for the last three years, slowly gathering the papers needed for a residence permit and doing odd jobs, says he lives in permanent fear of being stopped and sent home.
"When I see a policeman I have to hide because I'm in an 'irregular' situation. I can't walk past them, if they ask for my identity papers, I don't have any legal papers," he says.
"Sometimes friends will call me and say, 'Don't come here because the police are checking papers.' So I hide. Once they've been in touch saying they've gone, I'll go out."
Normal French immigration laws have been altered, campaigners say, to allow instant deportation without recourse to a judge. They add that under French law children cannot be deported, or put in pre-deportation holding centres, unless accompanied either by their parents or a guardian approved by a judge - but if unaccompanied children arrive on a boat with adults, the campaigners say, officials in Mayotte automatically assume the adults are responsible for the children, and deport them together.
Last year, more than 5,000 children were held in holding centres prior to deportation.
Amirdine Mohamed, the newly elected Mayor of Anjouan's capital, Mutsamudu, says there are two reasons why people from Anjouan and the other Comoros Islands try to get to Mayotte.
The first, he says, is "psychological" - they think life must be better on a French island.
"Like in Africa generally, in Anjouan, people think life is much better in Europe," he says. "When they go there, those who manage to reach it are surprised to see they were wrong."
The second reason is that there is a good hospital, and some other useful facilities. "In Anjouan we don't have them," he says.
As Ahmed's story illustrates, some children dream of entering Mayotte's schools.
Many, perhaps most, Anjouanese families are now split between the two islands, with some members living on Mayotte, legally or illegally, and waiting for relatives on Anjouan to join them by making the crossing on which far too many die.
Governor Anissi Chamsidine's figure of 50,000 deaths is one of the highest around. Some say 20,000, while in 2012 a committee of the French Senate put the figure at between 7,000 and 10,000 since 1995.
Members of the committee called on the French authorities to take steps to end the loss of life, and to put an end to the Balladur visa - which, they pointed out, had failed to prevent illegal migration.
A foreign ministry spokesman told the BBC a French-Comorian joint committee, created in 2013, was trying to "improve maritime security in the hope of putting an end to tragedies in the water".
"As in the Mediterranean it will be necessary to find solutions acceptable to all," the spokesman said. "Especially to fight the traffickers and people who profit from the migrants' distress."
It's easy to understand why people in Anjouan are attracted to life in Mayotte. But the island has some attractions of its own. It is beautiful, as well as quiet. There are no beggars on the street - the islanders follow Muslim tradition and provide charity for those who do not have enough to eat.
Barely a week goes by, though, when the Anjouanese don't hear or read a news story about shipwrecks and bodies washing up on their shores.
Divided families on two islands
On a visit to Anjouan, BBC Swahili's Zuhura Yunus calls on Ousmani's younger brother. They have not seen each other since Ousmani left three years ago, and only talk on the telephone once every three months.
This is part of the Island Stories series
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"Today would be the kick-off day, a really big one. I'd usually be getting together with grandparents, cousins, uncles and siblings - but this year, it's really different."
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Freelance writer Emma Jacobs, like many Jewish people across the UK, is preparing for a partly virtual Hanukkah.
The festival, which celebrates one of the greatest miracles in Jewish history, runs this year from today until nightfall on the 18th.
"Hanukkah would usually be like the Jewish version of Christmas," Emma explains. "A super-exciting day everyone looks forward to, filled with chocolate coins and presents. Not sure if that's completely for religious reasons, or just so we don't feel left out at Christmas!"
Emma will have a few close family members with her, saying: "I've got the joy of still living at home for a bit, so I'm going to be having doughnuts and latke with my parents."
But at the beginning of the holiday, it's traditional for the whole family to get together.
"I don't know if I'm gonna have to go and throw doughnuts at my cousin and grandparents' door," she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat. "But whatever it takes this year, I hope to at least be able to say 'Hanukkah sameach' to them, even if we can't light the Hanukkiah [ceremonial candle] together."
Sadie Stanton, 22, is also jumping online to connect with family.
"I'm at home so I'm with my immediate family. But wishing grandparents and cousins and everyone happy Hanukkah, that's going to be over Zoom."
And it's not the first holiday affected by the pandemic.
"We already had Passover - that was very disjointed and separated, so it's just such a shame.
"I just got off the phone with my grandparents in Israel. So they're a long way from their family and they don't know when they're next going to be able to see them and this kind of brings that home."
For Eve Phillips, 22, the restrictions are a chance to get back to basics.
She'll be settling down to a meal with her parents in London, but not leaping on to Zoom.
"Passover was way more of a big deal for us that we couldn't get to see our grandparents and cousins and stuff," she says.
"Hanukkah is much more of a low-key festival. So we're very happy, just the four of us, to light candles and do the traditions, but it's not so big of a deal that we feel like we have to be online.
"And also," she adds candidly, "we're zoomed out! So we have no interest in getting online."
Amy's 22 and studying history at Edinburgh uni.
"I have a couple of Jewish friends, and normally we'd get together," she says.
"Last year we had a little Hanukkah party and made latkes and doughnuts and had them with all our friends, which is really nice - to introduce them to Jewish culture."
But for Amy, there's something about the message of Hanukkah that seems especially poignant this year.
"I think it's about resilience and strength. That, to me, is what Hanukkah is about, Jewish resilience.
"And I guess the whole country has to be resilient right now, and kind of look to the greater good."
'We need light more than ever'
And that's something Emma certainly agrees with.
"It's a classic sort of 'they tried to kill us, they didn't, we survived, let's eat!' religious festival," she tells Newsbeat.
"Back then, it was the Greeks against the Maccabees. Today, you could say maybe it's coronavirus against all of us.
"But we've made it through what has been such a tough year, and whatever people are celebrating - whether that's Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali or Eid - we need light and celebration more than ever.
"That's the hope of the Hanukkah miracle, whether for you that is a vaccine, or the oil lasting eight days instead of one. It's something we really need now - we really need that hope."
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A woman has died and another was injured after they were hit by a vehicle on a pedestrian crossing.
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They were struck by a blue Volkswagen Sharan on the A338 at Tidworth, close to the Esso petrol station, at about 14:35 GMT on Tuesday.
A 55-year-old woman, Ludgershall, died at the scene and a woman, in her 20s, suffered minor injuries.
A woman who was driving the vehicle remained at the scene. No arrests have been made.
Police are appealing for witnesses and anyone who has dashcam footage to contact them.
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The final decision over building a new £18bn nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset has been five years in the making. Now the EDF board has voted yes, thousands of firms in the West Country are hoping to reap the benefits.
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So far £250m of contracts have been agreed with companies along the supply chain and plans for several hotels are already in the pipeline.
There are two main aspects to the project - building the nuclear power station itself and getting the infrastructure in place.
The new plant is expected to take between eight and 10 years to build and - at the peak of construction - up to 5,600 people will be working there, living in purpose-built hostels. These will be constructed in 2017, complete with football pitches and a gym.
They will go to work on a fleet of buses, many of which will be run by a Somerset coach company. About 650 workers are currently on site preparing for the major construction phase.
During the lifetime of the project, up to 25,000 jobs could be created, although not all of these will be at the same time.
Phil Adams, economic development manager at Sedgemoor District Council, said EDF's decision would have an immediate "ripple effect" on the local economy.
He said: "It will be a catalytic project and new investment will come in pretty quickly.
"Many of these big contracts are sitting there just waiting to be signed.
"At present Somerset's largest employment sectors are health and manufacturing, with the production of food and drink and tourism not far behind, but the construction phase will change all that.
"The potential of Hinkley C has been felt for a while and local businesses have been expanding their services and increasing their staff numbers in expectation of this decision for many months."
EDF has been working with the Somerset Chamber of Commerce to prepare firms in the area for work on the plant.
The energy firm has held numerous meetings with hundreds of small firms, explaining what work is available, and what they need to do to win it.
The result is a unique database of 3,200 firms who have been declared "fit for nuclear".
Nobody is guaranteed work, but when EDF's main contractors are looking for specialist sub-contractors, they have been told to look first at this list.
It covers the full range, from high tech engineers, steel fabricators, groundworks, right through to small carpenters, electricians and even taxi drivers and hairdressers.
At the chamber, Chris Langdon has spent the past five years creating the supply chain database.
He hopes that, as well as creating jobs in the county during the construction, Hinkley will improve skills in engineering and construction.
He said: "The skill level will lift. The careers that will come out of this for young people at school today is a massive legacy for the project and for the local economy."
Analysis by Dave Harvey, BBC Points West's business correspondent
"Europe's largest building site will inevitably mean lots of work for local bricklayers, carpenters, electricians and digger drivers.
But to build a new power station, EDF must first build a small town.
For 10 years, this quiet west Somerset coastal community will be host to 5,000 builders and engineers.
They will be hungry and thirsty, they will order taxis and haircuts. They will go to the cinema, go surfing, go fishing.
Every corner of the Somerset economy will be changed by this £18bn project, but the real prize is the legacy.
Somerset's leaders want to use Hinkley to transform the skills of their young people.
Schools and colleges have been trying to inspire students to go into engineering, manufacturing, construction.
As a beautiful corner of rural England hosts the world's largest privately funded nuclear build, some want Hinkley C to cause as little disruption as possible.
But Somerset's business leaders want the experience to change Somerset forever.
EDF has promised to spend at least £100m a year in the local economy.
As well as food and transport, Somerset is hoping to use the massive building project to boost its high tech manufacturing.
A group of five family-owned steel firms have come together to offer bespoke steel construction, such as the huge beams that will support the main reactor hall itself.
Will Haley employs 150 people at a steel factory near Brent Knoll, in north Somerset. They already supply big construction firms, but he hopes Hinkley will boost the company's fortunes.
He said: "It will take a bit of time, but over the next five to six years we plan to grow the business as Hinkley takes off, maybe by the end of it we will have doubled in size.
"Somerset is a really strong place for steel, surprising though that may be."
The hope is that as many as possible of the 5,600 jobs can be filled by people in the West Country. But Professor John Glasson, a consultant for EDF Energy, says just 2,000 are likely to come from within a 90-minute commute of Hinkley, mainly due to the skill set employers will require.
"However, while some of the jobs will obviously be highly specialised, there will be much construction and engineering work at the nuclear reactor and there will be a variety of administrative, security and catering jobs available," said Prof Glasson, who is from the Institute of Sustainable Development at Oxford Brookes University.
He said: "This will have a very significant impact for the economy as, besides direct employment, people working in the area will spend their income locally."
EDF will also create 1,000 apprenticeships as well as an education programme which has been rolled out across the region's schools to inspire pupils to consider a career in the industry.
In the past some business groups had raised concerns that not enough local firms would benefit from the development.
But David Hall, deputy leader and cabinet member for economic development at Somerset County Council, said: "In a way the delays have actually helped us to prepare for what is to come and put us in a better position to guard against business being sub-contracted outside the area."
Previously residents from Cannington and Stogursey have voiced concerns over traffic and noise from the construction site and they have been awaiting the decision with some trepidation.
Many believe the resulting traffic congestion during construction could cost the Bridgwater economy £47m with the influx of workers straining the local infrastructure to breaking point.
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A video for sanitary towels is trending on YouTube. But there isn't a direct mention of the product and only a subtle reference to the brand. It's a formula that has proven to be successful for companies. So what does it say about how advertisers are using social platforms to reach new audiences?
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By BBC Trending What's popular and why
The video entitled #LikeAGirl was made for the brand Always, which sells feminine hygiene products. It presents itself in a candid documentary style and asks girls and boys of different ages about their understanding of what it means to be "like a girl". The filmmaker and director Lauren Greenfield says she teamed up with Always "to shed light on how this simple phrase can have a significant and long-lasting impact on girls and women."
It's a transparent attempt to debunk negative stereotyping associated with femininity. You only need to glance at the online conversation ignited by this video to understand why it's been so successful. "Moving", "amazing", "wonderful", and "inspiring" have been used to to describe it. #LikeAGirl is popular because it taps into an issue that resonates with people worldwide. Gender equality is one of the most prominent topics discussed on social media - look no further than the hashtag campaigns #NotYourAsianSidekick and #YesAllWomen.
Since Thursday the #LikeAGirl video has been watched more than 20 million times on YouTube and the hashtag has been used 75,000 times on Twitter. But does it do more than get clicks and start a conversation? Can it move the gender debate forward and sell products at the same time? "It's often difficult to quantify if a specific video sold more products as it will have been part of a much wider campaign. But there are examples where this has happened. The motherhood Fiat ad sold £500,000 worth of cars." says Christopher Quigley, co-founder of the Viral Ad Network (VAN).
Advertising and simultaneous campaigning on social media is not new. Last year Pantene released an ad on YouTube using the hashtag #ShineStrong. It featured men and women in the same scenarios but using different words to describe them. The intention? To ignite a debate about how genders are perceived in the workplace. Perhaps the most ringing endorsement came from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg who gave it the "'Lean In' prize of the day!" It only became apparent at the end of the video that it was an ad for Pantene. "As a fundamental principle, advertisers have to respect people's time and realise that they can click away at any point," says Christopher Quigley of VAN. "As long as you've enjoyed or engaged, there's no reason why you'd have a negative reaction to the brand."
So advertisers realise they can't just blatantly flog their products on social media. They're attempting to give people something extra and be part of a conversation. But there's a fine line between success and failure. This week's Twitter Q&A with the US singer Robin Thicke is a recent example of how things can go horribly wrong. Social media users are savvy and discerning which means companies have more exposure and are more exposed than ever before.
Reporting by Anne-Marie Tomchak
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending
All our stories are at bbc.com/trending
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It's a story that sounds impossible. Lightning never strikes twice, so they say. Except when it does."I want our story to remain shocking forever - but I'm worried that already we're not alone," Celia Randolph says.
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By Georgina RannardBBC News
On the surface they are a normal family - mum, dad, four kids. They've lived in small towns in America that seemed safe.
Celia's children speak carefully and precisely, like their mother. "I'm not an emotional person," Celia explains. "But I'm now very angry and I'm very sad. America has failed our kids. What happened to my daughter in 2006 shook me and my husband to the core."
Then on Valentine's Day this year she got a text. Celia saw the words: "You're not near Parkland are you? There's been a shooting."
"I kept saying to myself, 'Not again, not again'." Celia dropped everything: "When it happens, you run. You run." Her son Christian is a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida.
The first time someone called Celia to say a gunman was in her child's school was 12 years ago.
She and her husband Jason were 50 miles from home. "We raced to get to her."
Chelsea was 14 years old and they were living in Bailey, a small mountain town in Colorado. The Columbine massacre, in which 13 people were killed, had happened in 1999 just under an hour away but the beautiful forest and mountains gave their home a secluded, quiet feeling.
When Chelsea tells her story - which she's never spoken about publicly before - she's anxious: "What happened to other families is worse. Don't overshadow them."
She's talking about the family of her friend Emily Keyes - the 16-year-old was killed in the violent end to a hostage crisis in their school in 2006. The gunman had entered the Platte Canyon High School with a handgun and a rucksack he said held explosives. He took six girls hostage in a classroom. The siege ended four hours later when a Swat team blew a hole in the wall.
At first Chelsea hid under a table in the classroom opposite, holding her best friend's hand. When a Swat team knocked down the door, they escaped.
"You have to understand, to see a man with a full-on vest, with full-on attire, and a gun bursting into your classroom telling you to get out - you have no idea what is going to happen to you," she says. "As we ran out, in every corner we saw a Swat man with a gun. I saw my friend in one classroom, petrified and pale. He couldn't speak."
Once Chelsea made it home with her parents, they watched the crisis play out on TV. She watched helicopters, police, guns swarm over her school. "We didn't know who the hostages were but we could piece together the classroom timetable and who would have been in there."
Accurate information was hard to come by. Her only option was to watch TV to find out what happened to her captive classmates. "We saw the girls released one by one - there was a hill by the school and we watched them running for their lives up it."
After a pause, she continues, "I remember an image of a stretcher coming out of the school and put in a helicopter."
The shootings shattered Celia: "it was very, very difficult. You just think, 'I can't protect my kids.' It's horrible.
"It took away the sense of security that I hoped my children would have. A stranger came into our world and did this terrible thing. You felt like, if it could happen there, where could you keep your family safe?
"We raised our children teaching them to be more afraid of harm from animals than from people."
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She consoled herself with the thought that she didn't feel it was a targeted attack on the school. "The emphasis was on healing and performing random acts of kindness. We all considered it a random act of violence rather than a 'school shooting'."
But her sadness made her feel guilty. "I would think I get to hug Chelsea, what's wrong with me for being upset?" She says looking after a traumatised child took its toll, but that she and her husband gave their children a stable upbringing. "We have good family relationships and we loved them. I don't think it changed our family life permanently."
Chelsea finished the school year and in 2007 the family left Colorado, returning to Celia and Jason's roots in Florida.
Family life ticked by and although Celia never felt that she had closure, she says they've been "very blessed". Twelve years on, gun laws have barely altered in the US. An estimated 57 mass shootings have happened between 2006 and 2018. Still, Celia found it unimaginable that it would happen to another of her children.
The second time someone called Celia to say a gunman was in her child's school was two weeks ago.
Christian is 16 and is quiet with a calm manner. He's smart and Celia and Jason chose Marjory Stoneman Douglas, in Parkland, Florida, for its academic reputation.
He was in a culinary class when he and his classmates heard shots. Their teacher, Ashley Kurth, pushed them into a cupboard. "At first we didn't take it seriously but then we got quieter and quieter. I resigned myself to the floor. I couldn't convey any emotions because we had to stay silent. People were texting their parents, but I couldn't - I had forgotten to charge my phone."
After getting the news, Celia ran to her car. She got as close to the school as possible. "I couldn't get any information. I was texting him and he didn't respond," she explains. "That killed me. I was only thinking, "Is my child alive? Is he scared? Is he injured?"
A barricade was blocking parents' access to the grounds as police searched for the gunman.
Christian's teacher let into her classroom more children who'd been trapped in hallway. They listened to police updates through a walkie-talkie. She reassured the teenagers that, should the gunman find them, they were in a kitchen surrounded by huge knives.
Like his sister, Christian remembers the Swat team bursting in: "They shouted, 'Hands up, lie down.' They couldn't be sure one of us wasn't the shooter."
On the way out Christian saw blood on the stairs outside his classroom. "We ran to the street. There were helicopters, police, military equipment everywhere. We were allowed to see our parents. At first I was so happy I was out of there but then I became sadder and sadder."
While Chelsea had felt isolated by the memories of what she witnessed, Christian has the dubious fortune of having a sibling who also survived a shooting.
"She told me she too wanted to stay inside when it happened, that it took her a while to feel anything, that she felt numb at first. She said she broke down, got better, then four years later broke down again. For all the wrong reasons, it's wonderful to have her. She already knows what's going to happen to me - she's just waiting," he says.
For Celia, two weeks after the Parkland shooting, the realisation that not one but two of her children have been caught up in and, thankfully, survived school shootings is sinking in.
Celia's experience means she knows what's coming for the Parkland community, even before they do.
"The other parents and children injured will be dealing with their trauma for a long, long time. I feel sad I know what's going to happen next."
"I'm really struggling to cope with the idea that two of my children had to dodge bullets. It's so sad to me that I have a child that went through it and now has to comfort her little brother."
She's in a community message group - members recently asked what the millions of crowdfunded dollars will be used for. After all, the funeral and medical expenses of the victims will be met by the local county.
"There are costs they can't imagine right now. The parents who can't work because of hospital visits or caring for traumatised kids still have mortgages to pay. It's for the counselling for the kids, which will take years. But they don't know all of that yet," she explains.
She's seen one community cope with the aftermath of a shooting already. Although she says Bailey "came together in an amazing way" she says "processing what's happened takes time".
"Not all the kids in Parkland are going to do well. They're not all going to come out of this OK. You don't have a concept of how long this road is going to be, and not only for the victims' families," she warns.
It's the first time she's told many people what happened in 2006 - the reaction is one of shock. The family, who found the media circus in both shootings intrusive and traumatising, want to speak publicly to call for an end to school shootings. "We are not anti-gun, but we are against these weapons of war being so readily available. We need not to fail our kids. People can't believe our family has been through two shootings, but I'm not so sure the chances aren't pretty good of there being more like us unless we do something about this."
The teenagers from Stoneman Douglas went back to school last week, some of them now famous for their passionate calls to end to gun violence. In the days since the shooting, President Trump shocked lawmakers by calling for the type of gun law changes that Republicans rarely back, and major retailers have reduced access to some weapons or ended links with the National Rifle Association.
Celia has seen the cycle of violence, public outrage and a return to status quo many times. "If Sandy Hook couldn't change things, will this?"
She wants the conversation to move away from debates about mental health and expanding access to guns to teachers, saying: "Until there's alternative political funding that's not from the NRA, there won't be any change."
But she believes there is something different this time. "These kids have access to social media and are very articulate but also privileged. The kids have shamed the adults into action. I love them dearly for it and my family has joined them. Now they need to go to school and just be kids. It is our duty as the adults. It's not too late for us."
On Wednesday, Christian returned for one day to the classroom where he hid from a gunman. "I do know that he has not yet been hit with that punch of realisation of what he and his school have been through. This is where my experience of the past makes me sad. That said, it makes Jason and I more understanding of him when that time comes," Celia explains. The next day, events began to catch up with Christian and he was unable to go to school.
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The Northern Ireland Secretary has described the task facing the talks group to be chaired by US envoy Richard Haass as "immensely difficult."
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The UK government will not be at the talks table but Theresa Villiers said Westminster has a direct interest.
It may have to implement any proposals on dealing with the past.
On the past, Ms Villiers said the government will never put those who uphold the law on the same footing as those who seek to destroy it.
Politically motivated violence from whatever side, she told a British Irish Association meeting at Cambridge, was never justified.
Ms Villiers also argues that any mechanisms for dealing with the past will need to recognise the integrity of the rule of law and not be too expensive, given the UK's current economic situation.
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The story of a four-year-old Syrian boy called Marwan has gone viral after a photo of him apparently arriving alone at a refugee camp was shared on social media thousands of times.
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By BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why
But all was not what it seemed. The photograph led to criticism online and accusations of staged photo opportunities.
Anne-Marie Tomchak of BBC Trending tells Ros Atkins on BBC Outside Source about the reaction to the photo.
All our stories are at BBC.com/trending
Follow @BBCtrending on Twitter and tweet using #BBCtrending
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The Indian government has expressed support for the proposed Joint Mechanism (JM) for tsunami reconstruction between the government and the Tamil Tigers.
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The High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in New Delhi, Mangala Munasighe, told BBC Sandeshaya that visiting Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga was given assuarance by the Indian leaders that the country does not oppose the deal with the LTTE.
Sri Lanka’s Sinhala nationalists challenged the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government to call a referendum to seek public opinion on the proposed tsunami relief mechanism.
The government's coalition partner Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has threatened to resign from the coalition if the government go ahead with the plan to create JM.
Should the government establish the JM? Or should it listen to JVP and the monks?
Please not that this forum is now closed.
The LTTE are not the sole representatives for Tamil people in Sri Lanka. They are in it for themselves now. The Sri Lankan Government are representatives for the people of Sri Lanka (Singhalese, Tamils, Muslims etc). There is not need in having two sides looking after this. The whole country (inclu LTTE) should come together to support the Govt's efforts to distribute aid evenly to all people affected.Sian, Sydney, Australia
As usual your panel who selects the comments is very partial. These are not the general sri lankan's view. No reason to send my comment. As always you suck.Hemantha Aranwela, Grand Forks, USA
Mrs. Kumaratunge was appointed as president of Sri Lanka by the people of the country. She must call a referendum before she decides to launch a joint michanism. Sri Lanka is not a coutry of her own or her parent's property.Dayaratne Bandara, Riyadh
The Government should listen to the people and establish the JM. It can ensure justice to the people affected in the relevant areas. Now the Government should prove its will for sharing. UNP should support the JM if they are truly committed for a solution for the countrys ethnic conflict.Subhashinie Perera, Sri Lanka
As public anger is building up over establishing of joint machanism with LTTE, chandrika as the people's president should seek the consent of General public or the parliamentary consent.Jerram Ravinath, Hounslow, UK
The ground reality is that the country is divided and there are two governments. The question is whether we want to facilitate unity or separation. Joint Mechanism can promote unity. Unity is possible only by sharing not by theft or robbery.Ram Mohan, Perth, Australia
It is great to see that the government and LTTE are prepared to work together to lift the lives of tsunami victims. To obtain a lasting peace UPFA and JVP have to forget their ridiculous ideas. Lets not forget that JVP led two brutal riots in the past. Ethically JVP shouldn't be making decision for the future of Sri Lanka.Robbie Peris, New Zealand
All Tamil Terroist controlled areas should be rebuilt by the terroist themselves.People dont own land people belong to the land. Terroism and peace cannot work together.Senaka Dutugemunu, New Zealand
The JM is only a small step in furtherance of this ground reality which could eventually ensure that the country does not get divided. If even this meagre JM is opposed by the South, the demand of the Tigers for separation will seem justified in the eyes of the international community including India.Swaminathan Palendira, Australia
President Kumaratunga has promised a lot but so far (almost 10 yrs) has achieved nothing tangible in her presidency. I do not think she will manage to implement JM, so the Monks, JVP and JHU do not need to worry so much.Shan Mylvaganam, UK
I am not certain what is in the Joint Mechanism. People of the North East need aid. They need to rebuild their lives too. Since most of them live in an area where the Government of Sri Lanka has no control over, it's only fair the aid delivered by foreign groups go to the people who do have control in that region. It would be naive to think that the LTTE would allow the Government of Sri Lanka into the land many sacrificed their lives to get control of.Gayathri, Toronto, Canada
It is really disappointing to witness the state of mentality of people who oppose JM. The JM has given the country new hope where we could work together towards prosperity.Bimal Gunawardena, UK
Lets not forget that Ms Kumaratunge is the elected President of Sri Lanka, not the fasting monks. Since the 2 parties invovled lack trust in eachother, the JM should be mediated by an international third party. SL is a multiethnic and multicultural society, its time the monks respect the mendate given by the people to the politicians of the countryJay Gunawardena, USA
The country went through a national tragedy and at this point in time we should put our differences aside and work together to reconstruct it. As a significant part of the island is under the control of LTTE,it is really important to have a proposed joint mechanism.Ranjan, Singapore
Aid could be distributed by Government machinery functioning within the LTTE areas. What donor countries must do is to force the LTTE to agree to such aid distribution rather than forcing a legitimate government to kneel down before a terrorist outfit.George, Kalutara, Sri Lanka
SriLankan government has not done any developments or improvements in the North & East of the country for last 55 years. If government thinks that Srilanka is only for Sinhalese & Buddist then JM is very important to develope the Tamil area by themself.Visaga Ravi, London, UK
Why negotiate with terrorists? Sri Lankan goverment should be smart enough to realise that the deal will ruin the countries reputation. JM is not the solution Sri Lanka need, and if UNP is elected they will give half of the country to terroists!!!!Rukshan Edirisinghe, Kandy, Sri Lanka
The JM is the first time a Tamil representative i.e. LTTE and the Gov. of Sri Lanka are going to come together in administering and disbursing 'Foreign Aid' to develop and reconstruct areas devastated by the Tsunami. I cannot understand why some chauvanistic Sinhalese should be worried by this?Chris, London, UK
LTTE has a history of collecting funds through various ways in various countries secretly e.g. through Hindu Temples, Cultural Activities, Tamil Film Shows etc. Major portion of Tsunami Funds might be used by LTTE for their terrorist work. The organzation cannot be trusted.Thurarajah, Toronto, Canada
There is no doubt LTTE will first build its depleted assets such as bunckers, roads, offices and ports with these funds. So what's after JM in year's time? When will the killings end for peace to be establish? It is quite foolish for LTTE think they are on the high ground on the JM, if the lull continues they will face restless cadres itching for war as they were trained.Ravi, Ottawa, Canada
Its up to the politicians to make decisions, not monks. Lord Budha taught peace. But these monks demonstrating to stop the aid reaching the affected. Hindu priests never interfered politics. so i advice monks stop these dramas or either join the army and be a martyr.Kanahai Gupta, Melbourne, Australia
Most of those who oppose JM fail to realise that it is only a facility to provide relief to those affected. It is not a concession to LTTE without whom no relief is possible. One should accept the fact that the LTTE has its own territory which it controls whether one likes it or not. Ratnam Nagaratnarajah, Sydney, Australia
Has anyone thought of what will happen to either parties(GoSL & LTTE),and more importantly the people living in the affected areas, if the joint mechanism doesn't go through?!Dharshanie, Colombo
I watched over the TV that the Indonesian Govt; authorities are barring even the relief workers entering into the "Banda Aceh" regiom without proper escort and the permission of the armed forces. I never heard that there is a JM or similar agreement with the Banda aceh separatist & the Indonesian govt. But the Sri Lankan president shamelessly decided to sign an agreement for JM with the separatist movement and the declared terrorist organisation by the US government, jeopordising the sovereignity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.Ajith, London, UK
We as tamils do not want any help from the government. LTTE has proven that they are self sufficient on their own. GOSL showed that the Tamils don't belong in Sri-Lanka. Does any one think, if it wasn't for the LTTE military strength, the GOSL is willing to negotiate ?.Soma Pradeep, Cayman Islands
What we need is an efficient way to deliver the aid for tsunami affected citizens. Why the JVP have failed to provide a better and more efficient proposal to directly help in the re-construction efforts? Can the JVP or the GOSL work in the north and the east without cooperating with the LTTE? Dont forget the goal of the project is to help the victims and not the LTTE. As Sinhalese we have to show that we care for our Tamil brothers.Srimevan, Lincoln, USA
The LTTE are not the sole representatives for Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Government are representatives for the people of Sri Lanka (Singhalese, Tamils, Muslims etc). There is not need in having two sides looking after this. The whole country should come together to support the Govt's efforts to distribute aid evenly to all people affected.Sian, Sydney, Australia
It is sad that the humanitarian aid for Tsunami victims is used for unconstitutional changes in Sri Lanka. All fair minded people would like to see the aid distributed according to the needs of the people affected irrrespective of their race or religion but the LTTE is capitalising on the Tamil peoples misery for their own ends with the help of the Norwegians.Prisam, London, UK
It is the best move government has made and I hope they will promptly implement the JM for the sake of those people who are undergoing untold misery after the tsunami.Nama Yogasakaran, St Albans, UK
The government should go ahead and establish the JM. It helps the people affected both by war and Tsunami. Further it gives a chance to build confidence meassure betwwen both parties.Ananther Boopathy-Bala, Wiesbaden,Germany
It's easy for someone in Australia, Canada, UK or even Colombo to say forget about the JM, it just gives into LTTE but what about those that affected by the War and Tsunami? Who will speak on their behalf? JM was proposed to bring relief efforts and life building essentials to North Eastern Provinces and rest of Tsunami damaged Island, that claimed lives and lifes of Sri Lanka's most under priviledged, the poor people that live on the coastal areas and rely on the Ocean for everything else. Why cant we all have a heart and say let those effected get the aid they need, why so much fuss?Thula, Toronto, Canada
Although I feel that aid should be distributed amongst everyone who needs it, I think that the JM is a bad idea. The prospect of JM is threatening both national and international confidence in the government. Surely the govt. can distribute aid throughout the country without implementing something so controversial?Sonia Douglas, Kitakyushu, Japan
Even though it is 5 months overdue, I think it is fantastic that the govt and LTTE are working together. The country needs more of these trust building mechanisms to facilitate peace talks which should lead to lasting peace. I hope Chandrika has the courage to drive it through.Gane, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The Government of Sri Lanka has a duty to provide aid to the people living in LTTE held ares if they want to prove that they have not forgotten them. If the GoSL ignores the people living in LTTE held areas in their aid effort they are merely adding weight to the LTTE's claim that they are the sole representatives of the Tamil people.Morquendi, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The fundamental issue here is not about the technicalities of the JM itself, but the manner in which it is going to be implemented. The Europeans had a vote on the EU constitution. How come the Sri Lankans are not allowed to decide whether or not they want the JM by means of a referendum. All the opinion polls show that the overwhelming majority of the people are against the JM.Chin Dayaratne, Melbourne, Australia
Why negotiate with terrorists? Sri Lankan goverment should be smart enough to realise that the deal will ruin the countries reputation. The best is to co-operate with other countries of the world and cut out all resources for LTTE. JM is not the solution Sri Lanka need, and if UNP is elected they will give half of the country to TERRORISTS!!!!Rukshan Edirisinghe, Kandy, Sri Lanka
It is time to forget the past and move forward as Sri Lankans! This is a wonderful oppotunity to build trust and cooperation between the long divided races to join forces to build the country.Raj, Milwaukee, USA
I honestly dont see what the fuss is about. The joint mechanism is just giving legal recognition to an already existing situation. What most people oppose about the structure is the fact that they think that it will give the LTTE parity of status. What they dont understand or know is that the LTTE already HAVE parity of status as per the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Anyway what is the alternative? War?Ayeshea Perera, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The country went through a national tragedy and, at least at this point in time, we all should put our differences aside and work together to reconstruct it.Ranjan, Singapore
I feel that instead of fighting among our selves we should urge the doners to understand that LTTE is a terrorist organisation and that Sri Lanka is not devided yet and that the government should be able to recontruct & rehabilitate any area in the country.Niroshini Fernando, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Joint Mechanism implementation is essential not because Sri Lankan government wants it or not wants it. It is very essential to relive and rehabilitate the people of North and East of Sri Lanka who were severely hit by Tsunami one (more than two decades of Sri Lankan arms atrocities) and Tsunami two (December 26th, 2004 Tsunami).Esan Satkunarajah, Toronto, Canada
Tiger Terrorists may be ruling only 2% of the country. There are people from all ethnic groups in the elected government. It is odd to have a Joint Mechanism(JM), but it is a mode for a reconcilliation between terrorists and a legitimate government. But it needs to be proof read for any loop holes for a nasty seperate state.Champ Mendis, Melbourne, Australia
Joint Mechanism? What next - will the LTTE be allowed to bring in 'relief' to 'their' areas using 'their' aircraft ? Come,come, how naive? Let's not fall for another Tiger con.Join hands to help all Sri Lankans affected by Tsunami. The Tiger held areas are, in reality very small. Let them not hold the innocent Tamils,Muslms and Sinhalese affected in the North and the East, to ransom with their thuggery. Why the double standards? Coalition against Terror for the Western World, and nurture,and foster terror in Sri Lanka!Jayantha Silva, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Joint Mechanism with LTTE is not a good solution. Government of Sri Lanka has the responsibility to do the necessary rehabilitation throughout the Tsunami effect areas. One reality is LTTE is controlling the major part of north and some part of east. The other reality is GOSL is still supplying the basic needs for the people who live in those areas. LTTE must realize this and should be more flexible.Gamini, Winnipeg, Canada
It is great to see that the government and LTTE are prepared to work together to lift the lives of tsunami victims. To obtain a lasting peace UPFA and JVP have to forget their ridiculous ideas. Lets not forget that JVP led two brutal riots in the past. Ethically JVP shouldn't be making decision for the future of Sri Lanka.Robbie Peris, Auckland, New Zealand
The ground reality is that the country is divided and there are two governments. The question is whether we wamt to facilitate unity or separation. Joint Mechanism can promote unity. Unity is possible only by sharing not by theft or robbery. We need harmony not peace or war.Ram Mohan, Perth, Australia
Sri Lanka is one country and hence it is wrong for any donor country to pressurise the government to work on JM with terroists. In my last visit to Sri Lanka after the Sunami I realised terrosists are ruining the country and they do not allow the government agencies to reach the people affected from sunami living in North and South. It is a waste of time and waste of resources attempting to discuss with terroists whether it is in Sri Lanka or Thailand or any other country. Lets respect every country's sovereignity.John Collin, Pattaya, Thailand
JM is fantastic its good to share evenly but the point is with whom? terros? no at all who robbed roof sheets and make bunkers. Are they the only people living in that part of the country. What happend to the Muslims, sinhalese and others?Saman, Essex, UK
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Increasing disorder, violence and anti-social behaviour among young people in a Gwynedd town has prompted police to issue a dispersal order.
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The 48-hour order will come into force for much of Pwllheli town centre on Friday at 14:000 GMT in a bid to "limit further issues for residents".
Anyone asked to leave the area by police must do so and returning may result in arrest.
A video of girls fighting in the street has been circulating on social media.
North Wales Police has urged parents to ensure they know where there children are and make them aware of the order.
Insp Lisa Jones said: "We are committed to ensure the actions of a disorderly minority do not affect our community, and we will not tolerate behaviour which brings misery to our residents."
She said officers would be patrolling the area throughout the dispersal period.
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On 6 June 1944, World War Two allied forces launched one of the most ambitious amphibious attacks in history, landing along 50 miles of the heavily fortified Normandy coast in France and creating a significant dent in Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
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More than 70 years later, Lynda Laird photographed the remnants of Normandy's bunkers using infrared film, a medium used by the military in WW2 to detect camouflage by exposing a visual spectrum that's invisible to the naked eye.
The images were taken along the Normandy coast, from Utah beach to Deauville.
Accompanying Laird's photographs is Odette Brefort's diary entry from 6 June 1944. A member of the French Resistance, Brefort lived in Deauville throughout WW2, providing military intelligence on the German defences by drawing intricate maps to send to her comrades in Paris.
Diary of Odette Brefort, 6 June 1944
"Oh, what a night! My little head is all shell-shocked.
"Since midnight it's been impossible to sleep: the humming from planes, the anti-aircraft bombs, the machine gun noise.
"I went downstairs because I couldn't sleep and after 15 minutes it went quiet. Thinking it would be better, I went back to bed. What a mistake!
"All night, the humming from planes, it was non-stop."
"What a joy when waking this morning, someone announces there was a landing at Dives."
"At 8:20am a bomb falls on the Printemps store, another one on the Normandy."
"By rule we don't have the right to leave Deauville, or to ride our bicycles.
"The weather remained foggy until midday, the sun shone from 4pm. It must be the English who brought the clouds! The defence volunteers will be able to move freely tonight."
"Around 6:00pm, what a tremendous bang! It is the Mont Canisy. The English navy must have blown up a large artillery battery that was shooting at them. It had been deafening us since this morning. I think the shot hit the target, as we can't hear a thing anymore."
"What on earth will happen to us when the Navy and Air Force take care of our region?
"There is no electricity. Deauville is in the dark."
Photography by Lynda Laird as part of the Dans Le Noir installation.
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A teaching union has welcomed moves to extend the consultation on proposals to develop a new super school for S4 to S6 pupils in Dumfries.
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The region's education committee is to consider a recommendation to continue the process until at least next summer.
It follows calls by the local branch of the EIS for more time to address concerns about the plans.
Regional Secretary John Dennis said the extension would be a vital first step in restoring faith in the consultation.
A public meeting was held in Dumfries on Wednesday night about the plans.
They could see the four secondary schools in the town retained for S1 to S3.
However, senior students would move to the new super school which would benefit from closer links to further and higher education.
The consultation process had been due to run to the end of the month, but now looks likely to run until the middle of 2013.
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Since the sudden appearance of the extremist Sunni Islamic State (IS), the group has seized headlines with a shocking level of blood-letting and cruelty - but can its savagery be explained, asks Fawaz A Gerges.
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Islamic State has become synonymous with viciousness - beheadings, crucifixions, stonings, massacres, burying victims alive and religious and ethnic cleansing.
While such savagery might seem senseless to the vast majority of civilised human beings, for IS it is a rational choice. It is a conscious decision to terrorise enemies and impress and co-opt new recruits.
IS adheres to a doctrine of total war without limits and constraints - no such thing, for instance, as arbitration or compromise when it comes to settling disputes with even Sunni Islamist rivals. Unlike its parent organisation, al-Qaeda, IS pays no lip service to theology to justify its crimes.
The violence has its roots in what can be identified as two earlier waves, though the scale and intensity of IS' brutality far exceeds either.
The first wave, led by disciples of Sayyid Qutb - a radical Egyptian Islamist regarded as the master theoretician of modern jihadism - targeted pro-Western secular Arab regimes or what they called the "near enemy", and, on balance, showed restraint in the use of political violence.
Beginning with the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1980, this Islamist insurgency dissipated by the end of the 1990s. It had cost some 2,000 lives and saw a large number of militants head to Afghanistan to battle a new global enemy - the Soviet Union.
'Killing machine'
The Afghan jihad against the Soviets gave birth to a second wave, with a specific target - the "far enemy", or the United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe.
It was spearheaded by a wealthy Saudi turned revolutionary, Osama Bin Laden.
Bin Laden went to great lengths to rationalise al-Qaeda's attack on the US on 11 September 2001, calling it "defensive jihad", or retaliation against perceived US domination of Muslim societies.
Conscious of the importance of winning hearts and minds, Bin Laden sold his message to Muslims and even Americans as self-defence, not aggression.
This kind of justification, however, carries no weight with IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who cannot care less what the world thinks of his blood-letting.
In fact, he and his cohorts revel in displaying barbarity and coming across as savage.
In contrast to the first two waves, IS actually stresses violent action over theology and theory, and has produced no repertoire of ideas to sustain and nourish its social base. It is a killing machine powered by blood and iron.
Going beyond Bin Laden's doctrine that "when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse", al-Baghdadi's "victory through terrorism" signals to friends and foes that IS is a winning horse. Get out of the way or you will be crushed; join our caravan and make history.
Increasing evidence shows that over the past few months, hundreds, if not thousands, of diehard former Islamist enemies of IS, such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic Front, answered al-Baghdadi's call.
'Shock-and-awe'
IS' sophisticated outreach campaign appeals to disaffected and deluded young Sunnis worldwide because it is seen as a powerful vanguard that delivers victory and salvation.
Far from abhorring the group's brutality, young recruits are attracted by its shock-and-awe tactics against the enemies of Islam.
Its exploits on the battlefield - especially capturing huge swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and establishing a caliphate - resonate near and far. Nothing succeeds like success, and IS' recent military gains have brought it a recruitment bonanza.
Muslim men living in Western countries join IS and other extremist groups because they feel part of a greater mission - to resurrect a lost idealised type of caliphate and be part of a tight-knit community with a potent identity.
Initially, many young men from London, Berlin and Paris and elsewhere migrate to the lands of jihad to defend persecuted co-religionists, but they end up in the clutches of IS, doing its evil deeds, such as beheading innocent civilians.
The drivers behind IS' unrestrained extremism can be traced to its origins with al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by the Americans in 2006.
Not unlike its predecessor, IS is nourished on an anti-Shia diet and visceral hatred of minorities in general, portraying itself as the spearhead of Sunni Arabs in the fight against sectarian-based regimes in Baghdad and Damascus.
Al-Zarqawi and al-Baghdadi view Shias as infidels, a fifth column in the heart of Islam that must be wiped out - a genocidal worldview.
Following in the footsteps of al-Zarqawi, al-Baghdadi ignored repeated pleas by his mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al-Qaeda, and other top militants to avoid indiscriminate killing of Shia and, instead, to attack the Shia-dominated and Alawite regimes in Iraq and Syria.
Sights on US?
By exploiting the deepening Sunni-Shia rift in Iraq and the sectarian civil war in Syria, al-Baghdadi has built a powerful base of support among rebellious Sunnis and has blended his group into local communities.
He also restructured his military network and co-opted experienced officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army who turned IS into a professional sectarian fighting force.
IS has so far consistently focused on the Shia and not the "far enemy". The struggle against the US and Europe is distant, not a priority; it has to await liberation at home.
At the height of Israeli bombings of Gaza in August, militants on social media criticised IS for killing Muslims while doing nothing to help the Palestinians.
IS retorted by saying the struggle against the Shia takes priority over everything else.
Now that the US and Europe have joined the conflict against IS, the group will use all its assets in retaliation, including further beheading of hostages. There is also a growing likelihood that it will attack soft diplomatic targets in the Middle East.
While it might want to stage a spectacular operation on the American or European homeland, it is doubtful that IS currently has the capabilities to carry out complex attacks like 9/11.
A few months ago, in response to chatter by his followers, al-Baghdadi acknowledged that his organisation was not equipped to attack the Americans at home.
He said though that he wished the US would deploy boots on the ground so that IS could directly engage the Americans - and kill them.
Fawaz A Gerges holds the Emirates Chair in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is author of several books, including Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy.
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Eric Joyce's admission that he assaulted four politicians in a Commons bar is just the latest episode in the colourful history of Parliament's watering holes, which have fuelled gossip, killed careers and occasionally broken out in song.
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By Ben WrightPolitical correspondent, BBC News
Clement Atlee knew that subsidised alcohol, late-night sittings, absent families, thwarted ambition and boredom can make a dangerous brew. His advice to new Labour MPs was simple: stay out of the bars.
But for decades before and since, MPs have ignored his warning, preferring to drink their way through Westminster life in the convivial comfort of its numerous saloons. The Houses of Parliament has the feel of a cruise ship, with different watering holes for its various passengers branching off the carpeted corridors.
There's the Smoking Room, the traditional haunt for Tory drinkers but where a corner was kept for Nye Bevan. There's a Bishops' bar, a Lords bar and a press bar where Neil Kinnock used to lead renditions of Cwm Rhondda.
Annie's bar is no more and politicians and journalists now lubricate their gossip in the Strangers' Bar. It used to be known as the Kremlin because it was where Labour MPs and trade unionists went to sink ales from the North East.
It's seen many a drunken skirmish over the years and there was once a little arrow nailed to the wall two inches off the floor - directions for MPs who were crawling out on their hands and knees.
Culture change
And on a warm summer's evening MPs can be seen burbling with contentment on the Commons terrace. From there, the former SDLP MP Gerry Fitt used to wave great glasses of gin and tonic to the passengers on passing pleasure boats saying, "It's free, it's all free!"
It was after a heavy session on the terrace in the summer of 2010 that the new Conservative MP Mark Reckless hit the headlines and had to apologise for missing an early morning vote on the Budget.
There is a long history of drinking in Parliament. In 1666, Pepys's diary records a pair of drunk MPs causing chaos in the Commons.
Three hundred years later Lord Owen had to revive an MP who had collapsed from drink, and over the years successive Speakers have battled to bring order to a late-night Commons chamber filled with boisterous, boozy MPs.
But it's not all convivial bonhomie. Drink has killed off the careers of prominent politicians such as George Brown and Charles Kennedy and has caused the deaths of several MPs.
Last year the new Conservative MP and former GP Sarah Wollaston said the drinking culture she had witnessed in Westminster needed to change: "Who would go to see a surgeon who had just drunk a bottle of wine at lunchtime? But we fully accept that MPs are perfectly capable of performing as MPs, despite some of them drinking really quite heavily."
Until the early 1990s it was a common sight to see MPs sliding down the walls during a late-night sitting. The bars were the refuge for the bored backbencher. But in the last 20 years the political drinking culture has changed.
Damage of drink
"Red or white?" used to be the traditional way to start a Westminster lunch. Now the dining journalist and politician are likely to restrict themselves to, "Still or sparkling?". The boozy lunch has largely gone, and so has widespread heavy drinking among Members of Parliament.
Today, pop into their office block in Portcullis House to see the professional politicians tapping away on their iPads and knocking back lattes. The working life of an MP has changed and sobriety in the Commons has increased.
Politicians I've spoken to in researching my book say it's down to shorter working days, fewer late-night sittings, more women in Parliament and greater awareness of the damage drink can do.
There was a time when a drunk MP would not have been newsworthy, when the masonic understanding between political journalists and their parliamentary contacts could have kept it quiet. Not today.
Ben Wright is writing a book on the history of politics and alcohol to be published later this year.
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Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge is to undergo repairs and be repainted as part of its refurbishment.
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The work to the Grade II-listed bridge is set to start on Monday and will see repairs made to its steel work.
It is part of a £2.6m project funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
Engineer Rodger Wakerley, from Taziker Industrial Ltd said the work may cause "slight disruption" but was hoping to "minimise the inconvenience to users".
The bridge was last painted in 2003.
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More data than ever before is available about how coronavirus has affected individual neighbourhoods across Scotland. From case levels, to deaths, we can now drill down and analyse how these 1,279 communities have been impacted. Here are six things we've learned from the latest batch of figures.
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By Marc EllisonData journalist, BBC Scotland
1. The neighbourhood with the highest death rate
One in every 100 people has died from coronavirus in the Edinburgh neighbourhood of Liberton West.
This is the highest death rate in any of the 1,279 intermediate zones across Scotland.
These zones are the statistical small geographical areas designed to contain a population of between 2,500 and 6,000 household residents.
It is one of the least deprived parts of Edinburgh and its high level contrasts with the relatively low figures of neighbouring Liberton East where there have been five deaths.
However, a single care home - which saw 19 deaths linked to Covid - feeds into the 36 fatalities recorded in the area.
2. The deprivation factor
After Liberton West, the next three zones with the highest death rates are all in the most deprived parts of the country.
Burnbank South (901 deaths per 100,000 people), Drumchapel South (787), and Irvine Fullarton (766) are all in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland.
This new data appears to corroborate an academic study from last year that argued those living in the poorest areas were more likely to die or be admitted to ICU.
3. Average deaths
Nearly a quarter of all the 6,834 coronavirus-related deaths reported in 2020 were in the most deprived neighbourhoods in Scotland.
On average seven people died in one of these zones from coronavirus, compared with five in the most affluent areas;
4. December increases
December saw huge rises in death figures for a number of zones across Scotland.
Between 30 November and New Year's Eve, deaths jumped by 1900% in Glenrothes Woodside (Fife), by 1300% in Crathes (Aberdeenshire), and 900% in Stonehaven North (Aberdeenshire).
The average national increase during this period was 27%.
5. New coronavirus hotspot
While the number of new positive cases appears to be decreasing overall across Scotland, an interactive dashboard shows there are still notable hotspots like Barra and South Uist.
This Western Isles zone had not reported any new cases for the 12 weeks before 6 January.
The community now has the highest case rate in Scotland with 37 new cases in the last days - that's 1.2 cases per 100 people.
As a result Barra was moved into level four this week.
6. Localised 'third waves'
The latest Public Health Scotland data also shows the resurgence of high rates in some Scottish zones such as Milton East (Glasgow), and Langholm and Eskdale (Dumfries and Galloway).
Following a brief decline the dashboard shows the latter neighbourhood had a higher rate on 17 January than it did on 6 January.
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The newspapers have delivered their verdict. Tidal lagoon 'would need large subsidy' to cut costs - The Times . Swansea Tidal cost claims crumble under questioning - The Daily Telegraph .
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David CornockParliamentary correspondent, Wales
Both reports of Wednesday's committee hearing at Westminster will add to the frustration already felt at Tidal Lagoon Power's Gloucester headquarters, although that might be lessened slightly by the Telegraph website's inability to spell its chief executive's name correctly.
Mark Shorrock's admission that the project could only match the cost of energy produced at Hinkley Point through Welsh Government investment prompted BEIS committee chair Rachel Reeves to question whether this was an "additional subsidy" on top of that required through the contract for difference.
While Mark Shorrock was largely among friends - some MPs told him their constituents were rather keen on the project - Ms Reeves raised the bar for scrutiny by challenging Mr Shorrock on his sums and the way he made them add up.
Brecon and Radnorshire MP Chris Davies (a parliamentary aide at the Wales Office) joined in: "Whichever way it's packaged this is taxpayers' money coming from Westminster which goes to the Welsh Assembly which is then being repackaged, which is then coming in as an additional taxpayers' allowance to your lagoon - do you think that's fair on the taxpayer?"
Mr Shorrock (unsurprisingly) replied: "I don't see it like that. I see it as the Welsh Government making a commercial investment. They're making a return and what they're really doing is they're creating an enormous new industry for jobs."
Former Energy Minister Charles Hendry repeated the cost comparison he made in his review published 16 months ago. "It is a pint of milk a year for 30 years," he told the MPs. "It is 30p a year."
Mr Hendry is probably paying around 40% less than the rest of us for his milk and his argument was challenged by Richard Howard of Aurora Energy Research who said that "pint of milk" added up to tens of millions of pounds a year.
Mr Howard wondered why there was no representative of consumers on the panel of four. Having allocated only an hour to grill four panellists that might have made proper scrutiny even more challenging.
Wednesday's was the first session in this inquiry, although some MPs appear to have made up their minds already. Both Geraint Davies and Tonia Antoniazzi stressed the local support for the scheme.
'Expensive'
The morning afterwards, Ms Antoniazzi told the Commons: "In Swansea and Gower, we are absolutely desperate for some good news, following the tragic job losses this week. Please can we have some good news for south Wales, and please will the Leader of the House find time to discuss the urgency of a decision on the tidal lagoon?"
Andrea Leadsom was sympathetic but reminded MPs it is "a very expensive and complex project".
So what happens next? Ministers from the Welsh and UK governments are due to be questioned but there is no agreed date yet - it is unlikely to before the Whitsun recess.
Could an announcement be made before then? There have been rumours that the go-ahead could be announced at the Welsh Conservative conference on May 18.
That may prove to be another false deadline, rather like previous spending reviews and Budgets, but I could be wrong. The lack of contact between Tidal Lagoon Power and ministers suggests an announcement is not imminent although much of the work is being done by officials. Charles Hendry said he wasn't disappointed by the delay as we are now "nearing the end game".
As the MPs took evidence, Energy Minister Lord Henley said the UK government will give its response to the Hendry review "shortly" - which is an update on the usual "in due course".
My colleague Steffan Messenger has a comprehensive report on Wednesday's hearing here.
You can also listen to my report for Radio 4's Yesterday in Parliament here (it's 24 minutes into the programme).
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Two men have been jailed, after a bus stop robbery in which a man with a walking stick was beaten to the floor with a metal bar.
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The victim aged 56 had been at a bus stop in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, in July, police said, when he was approached by men demanding cash.
Tayub Zaman, 25, pleaded guilty to assault with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.
Kyle Causer, 25, admitted intent to rob and having an offensive weapon.
Zaman of Cherrywood Road, Bordesley Green, was sentenced to four years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court.
He also admitted charges of driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
Causer, of HMP Stoke Heath, received four years and four months.
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The retaking of Palmyra by the Syrian army ends 10 months of occupation by the so-called Islamic State (IS). It is an important step in the containment and eventual defeat of the jihadist group that has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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By Michael StephensRoyal United Services Institute
It may not mean the end for IS, whose heartlands of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, and Mosul remain safe havens, but it is a step in chipping away at the group's power base, both geographically and strategically, as well as debasing the myth that the caliphate's armies are all-conquering and unable to be defeated.
Quite apart from protecting its beauty and historic importance - which IS forces have shown no respect for - reversing the fall of Palmyra is psychologically important.
The fall of the town and its historic sites to IS in May 2015 had much the same psychological effect as when IS forces rolled into Ramadi in Iraq the same month. Having suffered territorial defeats in Baiji, Tikrit, Kobani and Hassakah, IS was able to rebound almost immediately by taking both towns. In both cases, the forces of the Syrian and Iraqi state crumbled before their advance.
At the time it seemed that IS could always appear on the front foot, absorbing defeats but then rebounding and outmanoeuvring its rivals at a time and place of its choosing.
Palmyra's fall was a huge blow to the momentum built up by the counter-IS coalition and undoubtedly pushed back estimations of the jihadists' demise by months, if not years.
That Ramadi and Palmyra are now out of IS hands, without successful counter-offensives ruining the momentum, is an extremely positive sign. There is little doubt that the noose is tightening around IS and the group is clearly on the defensive.
Make no mistake, IS is still a hugely dangerous beast, able to kill innocent civilians through its relentless use of suicide bombs, most recently at a football match in Baghdad.
Its forces use chemical weapons, as residents on the outskirts of Kirkuk have recently discovered, and it still retains tens of thousands of armed personnel, able to defend its key heartlands for some time to come.
This is a particularly dangerous moment. As IS is forced onto the back foot it will try to strike back, wherever and however it can to keep alive its fading aura of power and invincibility.
Unfortunately this suggests that the group will aim to repeat and inspire attacks globally such as occurred most recently in Belgium and Istanbul.
The other problem, of course, is that it was not the counter-IS coalition or its allies that defeated the group in Palmyra, but the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers, both of whom are opposed by many key countries participating in the anti-IS coalition.
With the current political negotiations about the future of Syria's broken politics making slow headway in Geneva, President Assad will no doubt use the advance in Palmyra to strengthen his argument that he is the only player in Syria that is truly "fighting terrorism", and that he must be allowed to stay in order to finish the job properly.
This is a difficult argument to stomach, particularly for Western nations who have repeatedly stated that the president must leave power, and especially for the Gulf States who heavily back opposition groups fighting him, and who believe that IS's continued strength is drawn from its position as a protector of the Sunnis from the oppression of President Assad and Iran.
How the counter-IS mission handles the next steps will be critical. If President Assad's forces - battered after five years of war - can successfully use Russian airpower to push on east towards Raqqa, and arrive at the city before the forces backed by the coalition do, then it will most likely melt the glue holding the fragile anti-IS coalition together.
It is an unlikely scenario, due to the current weaknesses of the Syrian army, but it bears thinking about.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have promised to commit troops to the fight against IS if called upon, but Mr Assad's forces getting in ahead of them will more or less cement his rule over the country once more. It would be a painful defeat for the Gulf in particular, and embarrassing for Western nations who are so determined to see Mr Assad leave.
There is no doubt that time is on the regime's side. Safe from imminent collapse following a massive influx of Russian airpower last September, the regime is under no pressure to compromise at the negotiating table. The key for the anti-Assad opposition will be to show their continued support for the fight against IS as well, which would undercut Mr Assad's appeal as the natural ally of all those seeking IS's demise.
A recent UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee report suggested that now is the time for the anti-regime rebels and Mr Assad to put their differences aside and finish IS off once and for all. In fact, this may be the opposition's best bet to remain relevant and effective on the ground, while simultaneously keeping its hopes in the political track alive.
Nevertheless, the galvanising effect the re-conquest of Palmyra will have on the beleaguered Assad regime will be significant, and unfortunately we should expect no significant progress in peace talks as the regime looks to cement its legitimacy, politically and militarily.
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Retail organisations are split on Belfast relaxing Sunday trading hours.
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By Julian O'NeillBBC News NI Business Correspondent
A city council consultation ends this week on whether to designate Belfast a holiday resort, which would allow all-day opening on 18 days a year.
Belfast Chamber of Commerce supports the move, believing it would boost retail spending and create jobs.
However, Retail NI, which represents small traders, fears it could be exploited by supermarkets and has "serious concerns."
The move is also opposed by the shop workers' union, Usdaw
It has requested a meeting with the council on 19 May, when a council committee is due to deliberate the move.
The proposal could see large shops in Belfast having their trading hours extended on up to 18 Sundays between 1 March and 30 September each year.
The step is made possible by designating the city as a holiday resort under legislation from 1997.
Last year, a council paper stated there was "a strong lobby" to review Sunday trading, currently permitted from 13:00-18:00.
It said the move would boost the economy, benefit tourism and support the regeneration of the city centre.
Usdaw general secretary John Hannett said the current trading arrangements were a "fair compromise".
"Many shop workers, particularly parents, tell us how important Sunday is to them and their family," he said.
"Often it is the one day of the week when everyone can sit down together for a meal, with many saying they needed the time on Sunday to help their children prepare for the school week."
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A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a woman at a house in Falkirk in the early hours of Friday morning.
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Steven Mathieson, 38, was also charged with abducting and raping two women.
He made no plea or declaration during a brief hearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody.
The dead woman was found in a bedroom of a house in the town's Springfield Drive at 00:30.
Mr Mathieson is alleged to have carried out the crimes at his home.
A Crown Office spokesman said he faced one charge of murder, two of abduction, and two of rape.
He is expected to appear in court again on 16 December.
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A man has been arrested after a pedestrian died when he was hit by a car in south Wales.
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The pedestrian, a 30-year-old man from Cwmbran, was hit by a black Mercedes AMG on the A468 between Caerphilly and Newport at about 20:35 GMT on Friday.
A 25-year-old man from the Newport area has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains in police custody.
Part of the road, known as the "Machen straight", was closed until Saturday.
Gwent Police is appealing for witnesses to get in touch.
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Behind the statistics and news reports, what is the reality for families with loved ones critically ill with Covid-19? Sue Martin, a 49-year-old civil servant, tells Ceri Jackson of the daily heartache of her ordeal and that of her teenage children since her husband Mal, 58, was admitted to intensive care.
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The hospital consultant phoned me yesterday and asked me if I'd like to send him some photographs of my husband with his family.
He suggested getting them laminated and placed around his intensive care bed. He looks peaceful, like he's sleeping, but a ventilator is the only thing keeping him alive.
"It can be dehumanising," the consultant said, and besides, it would help the medical staff know a little more of the person they were nursing.
Hopefully the photos we've selected will give a glimpse of the man they are caring for in what could be his final hours.
I wish I could be there to tell them what Mal Martin's really like. How despite family tragedies and hardships we were happy after 28 years of married life; how he is loved by so many; that he's always the first to get on the dance floor; that his party piece was a rousing rendition of 'King of the Road'; that all he'd ever talk about was our two children, the eldest of whom we nearly lost in childbirth and the youngest who was miraculously conceived after we'd been told we had no hope of having a second child.
I'd tell them of his passion for Welsh rugby and that our son Wiliam, 13, never finishes a practice or a Cowbridge RFC under-14s game without his dad glued to the side-lines. Or of his pride at our daughter Hana, 16, a successful TikTok creative with a world-wide following. Our miracle kids; all the heartache had been worth it.
Instead, I struggle to get through another day, re-playing the living nightmare of the past 11 days over and over in my mind.
The day before Boris Johnson announced the 'lockdown' Mal had complained of feeling unwell. He felt he was coming down with a cold. "I just don't feel right," he'd said.
He'd been to work for a few hours that day. The staff at his recruitment company are like family to him and he was trying to figure out how he could protect their jobs through the coronavirus crisis by organising laptops so they could work from home.
He went to bed that night to sleep it off. The next morning - it was so sudden - he couldn't get out of bed. All the classic symptoms of Covid-19; a sudden cough, really high temperature, achy and shivering so much so that it hurt.
From that day he isolated in the one room. Except for using the bathroom, he didn't get out of bed. I would take him drinks, food and paracetamol, constantly monitoring his temperature.
He told me he'd never felt this ill in his life. "When is this going to get better? I can't take much more of this," he said. I tried to reassure him that from what I'd read he'd start to feel a bit better after day five.
His temperature would fluctuate; it would normalise and I'd comfort myself that he'd turned a corner but then it would go up again and down again…
By the time he went into hospital his temperature was normal.
On day seven he seemed to be getting worse. I rang 111 and twice I was on hold for an hour and 22 minutes - that's the maximum hold time - before getting cut off. I know that they were inundated.
I rang the GP surgery and our doctor did a telephone appointment with him. She instructed me on how to take his pulse and how to monitor his breathing rate.
She'd spoken to a hospital consultant who said he too was happy for him to stay at home and to monitor and report any deterioration. She, like others have been wonderful, ringing every day to firstly check on Mal, and now me.
By the next morning, Sunday, his breathing rate had really escalated. I rang 999. He was weak but managed to walk to the ambulance.
I didn't know where they'd taken him until a nurse from the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend phoned me. Mal was desperately ill she said and he needed to go straight to intensive care to be ventilated. My legs went from under me.
How did I not know he was so desperately ill? She reassured me that she'd seen the notes and that I'd done "above and beyond" and that his deterioration, so common with Covid-19, was rapid and there was nothing anyone could have done.
She said Mal had asked her to ring me because he was too upset to talk; they'd explained to him that they are going to have to put him to sleep and that he might not wake up.
Me and the kids Facetimed him. We told him how much we loved him and that he had to get well; we wanted him back home. He said to Hana "don't' worry, I'm going to be around for a while yet. I'm going to be at your wedding to give you away".
Then he said "I've got to go now. They're taking me in".
We messaged one another after that. I text that I missed him already and he replied "I miss you too. I know it's not my time. I promise you I'm going to fight this". I text back "I'm really sorry I tried to force-feed you Weetabix". For days I'd been desperately trying to feed him, to get his strength up. His last text to me was: "Ha ha. That's what's done it."
After that my messages weren't going through. I knew then they'd taken him to intensive care.
After a couple of days there was a little bit of improvement and they reduced the oxygen slightly. We'd been warned that the odds of a patient surviving ventilation was 50/50 but we were hopeful.
Mal is diabetic, which is genetic, not life-style related. Four years ago he'd had a heart attack while watching Wiliam play in a rugby tournament and had three stents fitted. He recovered well, did park runs regularly and never drank heavily or smoked. Doctors reassured us that his diabetes was controlled and that he was fit and healthy.
But one of the daily phone calls brought the news we were dreading - he had deteriorated, the consultant explained, they'd had to put the oxygen back up. They were concerned about his kidneys and his arteries, his hands were cold.
They tried lying him on his stomach to help his lungs but it made no difference. They hooked him up to a dialysis machine; his kidneys had failed.
On Sunday - day seven in hospital - the consultant prepared me for the worst; Mal was on the maximum amount of adrenaline they could give him in order to keep his blood pressure high enough to pump enough blood around to sustain his organs. He was at the brink and there was nothing further they could do for him.
The chance of his surviving, they told me, was almost zero.
I begged them to let us see him. We'd all had mild symptoms of Covid-19 at the time Mal became ill. We were on day 17 now, we'd isolated for 14 days and doctors had told us we were now OK to leave the house. I pleaded with them to do whatever they could do.
The ward sister was about to go off shift. She spoke to the consultant and phoned me back. "How quickly can you get here?" she asked me. "I'll wait for you and take you in but you'll have to be in full protective gear, you can't touch him, you can only have 10 minutes. But you can speak to him."
She was exhausted after a full shift but stayed on for us. I can't describe how grateful I am to her.
We couldn't touch him but we could get close. He had so many tubes in him but he was peaceful, like I said, as if he was asleep. We told him that we loved him. It was heart-breaking for the children. To hear them say "we're going to make you proud dad" and "we'll look after mum". I said to them "but you've already made him proud".
I promised him that I'd continue to ring his dad every day which is something he always did.
At that point we thought we were saying our goodbyes. We thought Monday would be his last day.
On Monday then there was an ever so slight improvement. No improvement to his kidneys, lungs or arteries but his blood pressure had increased ever so slightly so they were able to slightly reduce the amount of adrenaline they were giving him so he's not quite on the max any more.
We don't know what to do with ourselves, we don't know how to feel. It is torture we feel like we're in a living in a nightmare. I've never known pain like it, like somebody's constantly stabbing me in the heart and twisting the knife.
I find it difficult to swallow food at the moment. We don't sleep, me and the kids cuddle up in the same bed and stay awake til the early hours watching DVDs of the kids when they were little so they can see their dad.
The first thing I think on waking is "OK, they haven't rung me through the night so he's still alive" and the wait starts for the daily phone call from the consultant. I keep the phone lines clear as I never know what time it's going to be. And when the phone rings it's sheer panic.
I can't see my parents which has been so hard on them to not be able to be with us, be with their grandchildren. It's so much harder to deal with this when you're isolated from friends and family but people have been so supportive, dropping shopping, meals, cakes and flowers and plants - anything to try to bring us comfort. One friend drove an hour just to sit two metres outside my door just to be with me.
Yesterday I got a message from a nurse who was with him when he first went into hospital before he went to ICU. She said she remembered him and he was talking about how proud he was of his kids.
That brought me some comfort because what's been haunting me most is those couple of hours that he was in there knowing what was going to happen and us not being able to be there, thinking how scared he must have been.
They're literally buying him some time to give his body a chance to recover from the virus. There's nothing else they can give him. All they can do is give him time.
I'm so, so grateful for all the hospital are trying to do for him, risking their lives to try to save his. They have been wonderfully supportive, compassionate and empathetic in such difficult times.
I just want people to think. If me talking about our experience stops one or two people going out, it could save another life. You don't know how you will be devastated until it happens. Just don't take the risk. If you come through this crisis and everybody around your table is still there then you're incredibly lucky.
Nothing is worth sacrificing a loved one's life or the life of hospital worker for. For the sake of going for a bike ride with friends, or going out because your partner's irritating you… one moment that might relieve a bit of boredom could completely turn your life upside down.
I don't want Mal to be just another statistic. I want people to know him and know how amazing a man he is.
The photos here and the laminated ones around his hospital bed are our only way of saying he is the best and that our hearts are breaking over and over and over.
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For the past two years, a serial killer has been attacking pet cats in Britain, leaving behind him a trail of fear and mistrust.
This story contains details some readers may find distressing
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By Joanna JollyBBC News
Exactly what happened to Chantelle's black-and-white cat, Scooter, is a mystery.
The last time she saw her, they were in her kitchen on a warm, still night this summer. Scooter was sitting on a stool watching as Chantelle marched around the house to increase her step count before bed. The next morning, she had disappeared.
As Chantelle searched the street outside, a neighbour came over to say he had found Scooter at 1am. She had been lying dead on the pavement outside his house. He thought she could have been hit by a car, even though there was never much traffic in their residential street.
He told Chantelle he had gone inside to find a blanket to cover the body. When he returned it had disappeared. He assumed foxes had taken it.
But later that day another neighbour approached Chantelle to tell her she had also found Scooter.
This time the dead cat had been seen at 5.30am on the neighbour's front lawn. Scooter had been laid out as if she was stretching, except her tail had been removed with a clean cut and she had been sliced open from head to abdomen. Her entrails had been pulled out and laid beside her on the grass.
The second neighbour had called the local council to take the body away, so Chantelle didn't see it with her own eyes. But she was was sure of one thing - Scooter's death was not an accident.
Chantelle had read stories about a cat killer operating around the M25, a motorway that forms an outer ring road around London. She didn't think her own cats would be in danger in her home in St Leonards-on-Sea, 70 miles away on Britain's south coast.
"I didn't think to lock my cats up at night, but if I had, Scooter would still be alive," she says.
She and her husband are now thinking about moving to a new house where they can secure the garden to prevent their other cat getting out.
"I've had a couple of miscarriages and that was easier to deal with than this because that was meant to be," says Chantelle.
"I've never been jittery in my entire life, and now he's messed up the tranquillity we had."
The person Chantelle thinks is responsible for Scooter's death is a prolific cat killer who has been operating in Britain since 2015.
During that time he - and police are sure the killer is a man - has butchered more than 370 animals, mostly pet cats, but also foxes, rabbits and possibly a wild, baby owl.
The first reported victims were clustered around Croydon in South London - so the press named him the Croydon Cat Killer.
Sorry, your browser cannot display this map
Map produced by the BBC data team using Carto.
But killings were later reported all around London, prompting a second nickname, the M25 Cat Killer.
In fact, his hunting ground has spread even further than this - to the Isle of Wight, Kent, Birmingham, Wirral and Sheffield.
In early June, a small group of people gathered in a Quaker meeting hall in Croydon by the side of a busy roundabout.
As the traffic hummed and beeped outside, the group listened to a harpist and lit candles on a table adorned with a large photograph of a tabby cat with a white tummy.
They were there to commemorate the animal victims - joining together to sing the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful and to recite poems about grief.
"Love will solve this," was the reassurance given by the organiser, a 46-year-old local animal activist with the striking name, Boudicca Rising.
Over the past two years, Rising and her partner, 52-year-old Tony Jenkins, have been the central characters in the hunt to catch the cat killer - real-life pet detectives.
Originally from South Africa, Rising is a self-described "mad cat lady" who has been involved in animal rescue since arriving in Britain in 1994.
When she and fellow animal-lover, Tony, became a couple five years ago, they set up their own animal protection charity named after their neighbourhood - the South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty, or Snarl.
In 2015, as reports filtered in of pet and fox deaths in South London, Boudicca and Tony first wondered whether a gang was responsible.
"The previous work I've done has been around animal crush videos, which is sexually motivated animal torture," says Boudicca, referring to the market on the dark web for graphic videos of live animals being crushed to death.
"But as time went on we realised we were probably dealing with a serial killer," she says.
Boudicca and Tony are now officially collaborating with the Metropolitan Police in Croydon who have set up a special task force named Operation Takahe (the operation name was generated randomly and happens to be the name of a near-extinct, flightless bird in New Zealand).
It was Snarl who persuaded the police to get involved, providing details of killings and speaking out at a 2015 Croydon community meeting attended by the then head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan Howe.
"I understand some people may scoff at this," says the man running the operation, Det Sgt Andy Collin.
"But the loss that owners are feeling is very real."
Snarl now operates a triage service for the police.
They urge anyone who has found a body to call them first as they have a checklist to establish which deaths were caused by the killer, and which were caused by road accidents or other acts of cruelty.
When a victim is found, they help secure the crime scene, check the animal's microchip and scour the ground for evidence.
In some cases, like that of Chantelle's cat Scooter, they arrive too late and the bodies have already been removed by the council. But when they can retrieve remains, Snarl has helped pay for post-mortems to confirm the cats were killed by the same person.
"It's important for us to deal with the cases that are clearly linked," says Andy Collin.
"It's quite possible other people have got on the bandwagon - copycats if you like."
Snarl's work has helped to build up a picture of the killer's methods.
He strikes mainly at night in residential areas, often luring his victims with pet food, crab sticks or raw chicken. He kills them quickly with some sort of blunt force then waits at least half an hour for their blood to coagulate before mutilating their bodies.
He has cut off heads, paws and tails as well as sliced victims open. Often no blood trail is left, indicating that the victim is cut up in a different location. He then tends to display the bodies close to where he's hunted them down, sometimes in public spaces such as playgrounds. He's also been known to attack twice in the same area.
"I think there's an element of disbelief," says Boudicca of the reaction to the macabre brutality of the attacks.
"There are people out there who would rather believe anything else is happening rather than this."
This disbelief has manifested itself in angry posts on Snarl's Facebook page. Arguments have erupted between those who accuse Snarl of exaggerating the problem, saying the cats have been killed by foxes or in accidents, and those who are angry and want revenge against the killer.
"We have trolls on our page, sniping," says Boudicca, who has been accused by some of these hostile visitors of misappropriating funds and lying about the scale of the problem.
"But I think it's helpful to show the anger - I don't want communities withholding it as that won't end well."
But as well as attracting critics, Snarl has also gathered supporters especially around London, where volunteers distribute leaflets. Some of these attended the memorial service in June.
"So many people still don't know there's a cat killer," says Julie, who is a regular leafleter.
Julie does not want to give her full name, or even say where she lives, as she's afraid she may become a target herself. And she says the unease and distrust in the community is so great that some believe the killer could be hiding in plain sight among them.
"We haven't ruled that out," she says.
"We hope not, but we haven't ruled it out."
Serial killers often begin their careers by harming animals.
Andy Collin, the police detective, fears it is only a matter of time before the UK cat killer turns his attention to humans.
A profile drawn up by the National Crime Agency suggests that the killer's problem with cats stems from a deeper problem with women, or with one woman in particular.
"Cats are targeted because they are associated with the feminine - the killer can't deal with a woman or women who are troubling him," says Collin.
"The concern we have is that if it isn't a particular person - who will be at some risk eventually - then at some stage he'll escalate or feel brave enough to move on to vulnerable women and girls, either elderly or very young women."
Collin says that, if caught, the killer will probably be charged with criminal damage, though he's hoping to prosecute for other, more serious offences.
"If an animal is despatched humanely then you haven't necessarily got a cruelty offence," says Collin. The charge of outraging public decency could cover the psychological harm inflicted.
By his own admission, the detective is "massively frustrated" by his inability to catch the killer.
In August this year, his team released details of a man described as a "person of interest" after witnesses chased a man who was seen close to the site of an attack in Caterham, south of London. There was also a second possible sighting in nearby Orpington.
He was described as a man in his 40s, with short brown hair, dressed in dark clothing with possible acne scarring to his face, wearing a headlamp or carrying a torch.
"It's promising, but it's not something I would put a lot of money on," says Collin.
The fact that the majority of attacks have taken place in quiet resident areas hasn't helped him.
"We're always told we live in the most covered CCTV society in the world," says Collin.
"But when you go into suburban streets, while there might be cameras, people concentrate them on their own properties."
Nor have there been leads from forensic evidence.
It's almost impossible to gather DNA from cat fur, and even if his team managed to collect some, Collin says it wouldn't necessarily be from the killer.
He suspects the killer must wear gloves as no skin has been found under the claws of the victims. But even this detail isn't much help.
"If you're out at night, the chances are you'll have on a pair of gloves," he says.
"It's not likely you're walking around with a great big banner above your head."
One area where the police have made progress is in drawing up a geographical profile of the crimes.
Addiscombe - on the outskirts of Croydon - has been identified as an anchor point from where the offences started. The suburb, like many in which the killer has struck, has a run of secluded paths and alleyways behind its terraced houses, making it easy for someone to enter and leave gardens unnoticed and slip away into the night.
"There is something about Addiscombe that links quite strongly to our person," says Collin.
"It could be a family house from the person's youth, a gran's house, or somewhere they're living now. Somewhere they've stayed in and feel comfy in, or somewhere they've gone to school."
In September, Britain's first forensic laboratory dedicated to prosecuting crimes against animals announced it would re-examine the bodies of dozens of cats believed to be victims of the killer.
The laboratory, based at the University of Surrey, is described as a CSI for animals.
"We're looking at various different elements of this case at the forensic level - work that hasn't been done before," says university spokesman Dave Ferguson.
The news is welcomed by Naomi, who has allowed the body of her cat Ivy to be stored in a freezer for 15 months in the hope that a re-examination might help bring justice.
Naomi remembers the morning that Ivy failed to come in to her home in Northamptonshire when she was called for food.
She immediately searched her neighbourhood on foot, before jumping in her car to conduct a wider sweep.
Within minutes, she had found Ivy's decapitated body discarded by the side of a busy road.
"I was very emotional. I couldn't stop crying," she says. Although she searched for Ivy's head, she wasn't able to find it.
Naomi had to take three weeks off work with depression and anxiety. She says she still struggles with nightmares and interrupted sleep.
She now locks in her other cats at night and comes home early from evenings out to make sure they're safe.
"A cat being hit by a car you can accept as an accident," she says.
"This is completely different. It's caused so much pain, and a feeling of anger."
Boudicca Rising says she hopes that stories like Naomi's and Chantelle's will help people understand the emotional toll that the killer has inflicted, and perhaps prompt more witnesses to come forward.
"Our problem is that people still think of him as just the Croydon cat killer, even though he's been more widespread for some time," she says.
"I hope people realise they need to keep their cats indoors, keep a look out for strange behaviour and report it to the police.
"Most of all I hope that somebody will recognise his characteristics and the places he's killed - and turn him in."
Photographs by Emma Lynch and Joanna Jolly
Photographs of cats courtesy of their owners
@jojolly
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Ayrton Senna became a sporting legend thanks to his exploits on the Formula 1 circuit, winning trophies around the world before his death 20 years ago this month.
Some people chart his road to success back to his time spent racing in Norfolk in the early 1980s. So how did a young Brazilian driver find himself in a rural county known for mustard, bird-watching and The Broads?
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By Paul Hayes and Zoe ApplegateBBC Radio Norfolk
Nestled on the edge of a seemingly unremarkable housing estate on the edge of Norwich is a small semi-detached bungalow.
Rugge Drive, in Eaton, looks like any other in the city's suburbs, with a mix of 1960s houses and bungalows lining the quiet crescent.
But one home, halfway down the street, is a little different from all the rest.
In 1981 three-time world champion Ayrton Senna rented the two-bedroom bungalow during the Formula Ford racing season.
No-one was to know about the spectacular feats he would later achieve and it would seem his presence went unnoticed by neighbours.
Donald Campbelton bought his house in 1965 opposite the bungalow but did not know he had once lived near a sporting superstar.
"The house didn't have a big board outside saying he lived there," he said.
"I didn't have a clue, not that I was much of a racing fan. I was busy working."
'Mind-blowing'
Two doors down, Jason Skyring, 30, was equally surprised that his grandparents had once shared the road address of a racing legend.
"It's mind-blowing," he said.
"I've lived here all my life and it's the first I've heard of it."
Senna lived at the house while driving for Ralph Firman's Van Diemen company, according to Tom Rubython's biography, The Life of Senna.
The company, based 18 miles away at Snetterton circuit, had a reputation for making the best cars in Formula Ford.
It was the first step for drivers moving from junior karting events into professional racing.
Brazilian talent
Dennis Rushen, whose Rushen Green Racing team was also at Snetterton, often collaborated with Mr Firman.
It was a foreign driver who told the pair about a star coming up the karting ranks.
"Ralph asked me to run this young chap called Chico Serra, and we won all the English championships," said Mr Rushen.
"Chico said to me 'I'm quite quick, aren't I?' And I went 'Well, yes you are, you win everything.'
"He said 'Well, one day, I'm going to bring someone over who's proper quick'.
"That was the first thing I knew about Senna. He didn't even say his name, but he gave me the nod that there was someone special coming from Brazil."
"I never had any qualms about whether he was going to be very special," said Mr Firman.
"It took him two or three races to understand a car is not the same as a kart, but once he got the hang of it there was no stopping him, that was it, just win win."
After his Formula Ford successes, Senna worked his way through the series before reaching Formula 1 where he drove for Team Lotus, based at Hethel in Norfolk.
Clive Chapman, the son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman, said Senna's three years at Norfolk's top Grand Prix outfit were their final glory days.
'Lotus legend'
"He was the last driver to win a Grand Prix for Team Lotus," said Mr Chapman.
"He really extended the Lotus legend beyond just my father."
In 1988 Senna moved to McLaren, and his association with Norfolk ended as he became a superstar before his death aged 34.
But he is still fondly remembered in Norfolk by those who knew him well.
"Very straight, very honest, and he said what he meant. He was a gentleman," said Mr Firman.
The Boy From Brazil, the story of Ayrton Senna in Norfolk, will be broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk on Monday 5 May at 12:00 BST.
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