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Nicola Park was performing in The Real Hoosewives Fae Glesga: Wee Fat Glesga Wedding in the Pavilion Theatre when the outage happened on Friday night.
She stayed on stage and joked with the crowd, who could not see her, until all 1,389 theatregoers were evacuated.
Police believe a fire at an electricity substation, which caused the power cut, was started deliberately.
Ms Park was playing a character in the comedy show who is getting married. She is left on stage on her own after waving off her friends, who have left for America in search of stardom.
The lights went down as planned as Ms Park prepared to sing All By Myself.
She told the BBC Scotland news website: "I was standing there in the dark and nothing happened with the spotlight. Then I realised there was no microphone.
"I said to the audience 'I'm still here by the way' and I told them 'this is not part of the show'.
"I continued to talk to them. I said I was doing a wee dance and they couldn't see me. Then I started a wee jingle bells. Everyone was laughing. I was there for five to 10 minutes before we all left.
"I've worked on the stage for 20 years and I've never known anything like it."
Iain Gordon, manager of the theatre, said: "Around 35 minutes into the show, the lights went down when they were supposed to.
"Then we realised it was a problem and we had to evacuate the theatre. Once we talked to Scottish Power, we discovered it would be several hours until the power was back on."
The theatre has added an extra performance for Sunday after they were forced to cancel Friday's show.
Scottish Power said the fire at the electricity substation in Renfield Street, near the Herald newspaper building, left 200 properties without power.
About 20 firefighters attended the blaze just after 20:00.
A man and a woman were trapped for about 30 minutes in a lift in the Apex Hotel in Bath Street as a result of the power cut.
The fire was extinguished by 21:30 and firefighters remained in the area until midnight.
A spokesman for Scottish Power said the substation was completely destroyed and engineers have worked through the night to reconnect all properties.
He said: "By 21:30 we had reconnected approximately 150 properties, and the remaining 50 properties were all restored by 09:00 this morning (Saturday).
"We will work with Police Scotland to assist with their investigations."
A spokeswoman from Police Scotland said it is believed the fire was started deliberately and that officers were following a positive line of inquiry. | A Glasgow theatre production had to be cancelled after a power cut plunged the theatre into darkness. | 34559919 |
Ministers have announced £3m will be spent on continuing flood protection work in 2016-17 in St Asaph.
A further £3m will also go on improving coastal defences in north Wales.
But the final cost for defences in the Denbighshire city will be £7m and former mayor John Roberts said residents want to know where that money will come from - and when.
"In all probability it will be six years before the work is complete," Mr Roberts told BBC Radio Wales.
"Now six years from 2012 is far too long for this work to be completed because people do live on their nerves.
"People are on tenterhooks because we were on flood alert a few weeks ago and people were moving their possessions in preparation. People can't go on living like that."
Ongoing work in St Asaph will be carried out along the River Elwy in the city and is expected to help protect more than 400 homes that suffered flooding in 2012.
This includes improvements to St Asaph old bridge and the restoration of a small stream.
Natural Resources minister Carl Sargeant said: "Minimising the effects of flooding and keeping our communities safe are key priorities for this government."
Natural Resources Wales, which is carrying out the work in Denbighshire, said the project would be funded over two financial years.
Keith Ivens, the operations manager for flood risk, added: "We are delighted that funding for 2016-17 has been allocated and the Welsh government are aware of the need for the remaining funding to complete the scheme." | A former mayor of a north Wales city devastated by floods has criticised funding for flood defences. | 35115253 |
A 24-year old man was shot dead in Luton by a firearms officer who was responding to reports a woman had been attacked in a flat.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has begun an investigation into the incident.
Bedfordshire Police chief constable Jon Boutcher said the force will "co-operate fully" with the investigation.
Live updates on this story and other Bedfordshire news
He said: "I have met all the officers directly involved in the incident in Luton and I am incredibly grateful to them, and all of my officers who do such a difficult job in often extremely challenging circumstances in order to protect the communities we serve.
"The officers involved in the tragic death yesterday know they have my full support.
"The force will co-operate fully with the IPCC investigation to establish the exact circumstances of what took place."
He said the force's thoughts are with the family of the man who died, and all those involved.
Officers were called to Tracey Court, a block of flats off Hibbert Street in the town, at about 13:30 GMT on Wednesday.
Neighbours said they saw officers trying to save the man in the street outside the block of flats where it is believed the woman lived.
At the same time a blonde-haired woman was seen being escorted from the building, neighbours said.
The man, who was described as white and British, was initially treated at the scene by officers and paramedics.
His family has been informed.
In a statement, the IPCC said: "The investigation is in its early stages and no further information is available at this time." | A police chief said he is giving his "full support" to officers involved in a fatal shooting. | 37938645 |
Thomas Willcox was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, near West Land Cottages on Alnwick Moor, at about 19:20 GMT on Tuesday.
Mr Willcox, who was from the Alnwick area, was in a Rover which was in a collision with a VW Passat.
The 31-year-old man driving the Passat was taken to Wansbeck General Hospital with minor injuries.
The road was closed for five hours. | An 82-year-old man who was killed in a two-car crash in Northumberland has been named. | 31530685 |
Last year NHS Kernow, in Cornwall, was put under special measures because of a £14m deficit.
Health Initiative Cornwall said it was a "shame" that NHS England had "forced" the new turnaround director Keith Pringle on NHS Kernow.
NHS England said it was "encouraged to see the early progress being made".
Graham Webster, vice chair of Health Initiative Cornwall, said: "The governing body of NHS Kernow already has quite a number of senior executives and all these people are being paid huge amounts of money."
One of the conditions of the special measures imposed by NHS England was that NHS Kernow had to appoint a turnaround director.
NHS England said Mr Pringle's appointment was a "crucial element in strengthening" NHS Kernow's "capacity to recover its position while safeguarding standards of care".
NHS Kernow said in a statement: "The actual cost to be incurred will depend how long the legal direction requiring a turnaround director remains in force."
Mr Pringle, a former chief restructuring officer with Sherwood Forest NHS, declined to comment. | Campaigners have criticised the appointment of a new £400,000-a-year director to a cash-strapped health commissioning body. | 36919628 |
Mongo, aged 22, had suffered alopecia and was undergoing a routine health check at Twycross Zoo, but failed to come round from the anaesthetic.
The film of the "fight" was viewed more than a million times online, fuelled in part by Mongo's appearance.
Twycross Zoo said it was "displaying" rather than fighting and was perfectly normal behaviour for chimpanzees.
In a statement, Twycross Zoo said his death was unexpected.
"Mongo was undergoing a routine health check to investigate his enlarged air sac," said the statement.
"Although Mongo showed no other outward signs of ill health, the health check revealed that he had an infection and regrettably, he failed to recover from the anaesthetic."
Despite being hairless - inherited from his equally smooth father Jambo - Mongo was a hit in his group.
Early in life he had to work hard to be accepted but was recently an integral part of the strict hierarchy, headed by his father.
He was also popular with the ladies, particularly Noddy, who was usually close by.
A spokeswoman said: "A good natured and playful chimp, Mongo was often seen interacting with others - Tuli being a favourite playmate - and was just as popular with the keepers and other staff here at Twycross."
Hundreds took to the zoo's Facebook page to offer their condolences.
Marie Cross wrote: "Aw no so very sorry to hear this , RIP Mongo love and thoughts to his carers we will miss you lad x"
Staff at the zoo will carry out a full post-mortem examination after early checks revealed he also had some signs of heart disease.
Twycross Zoo recently started a study into heart disease in great apes. | A hairless chimpanzee that became an internet hit when a film of an apparent fight went viral has died suddenly. | 36924808 |
The firm, which has been plagued by falling sales, high debts and several management crises, said it had agreed a deal to restructure its finances.
The Los Angeles-based company has been involved in a drawn-out legal battle with its founder Dov Charney.
American Apparel runs 260 shops and concessions in 19 countries. It expects the restructuring to take six months.
The company, which has been trying to turnaround its business, recorded a loss of $19.4m (£12.8m) in the second quarter.
Chief executive Paula Schneider said: "This restructuring will enable American Apparel to become a stronger, more vibrant company."
Under the restructuring agreement, American Apparel's secured lenders will provide about $90m in financing, the company said.
It expects to cut its debt to $135m from $300m through the restructuring, with the programme set to be completed within six months.
The firm said it would continue to operate its retail stores, and its wholesale and US manufacturing operations throughout the process.
It has 18 stores and concessions in the UK including locations in London, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Brighton.
The Los Angeles-based retailer, known for making its products in the US, has not turned a profit since 2009.
In August, the company flagged up problems with its finances, saying it might not have enough capital to keep operations going for the next 12 months as losses widened and cash flows turned negative.
American Apparel was founded in 1989 by Dov Charney. The firm fired him in December over misconduct claims, and Mr Charney is suing the company for defamation and fraud. In June, the company was granted a corporate restraining order against him.
The combination of the firm's debts, falling sales and management crises have "finally proven too much for the iconic teen retailer", said Neil Saunders of retail analysis firm Conlumino.
"Bankruptcy protection is, in our view, the only viable option for American Apparel which is crippled by $311m of debt and is subject to a number of corporate lawsuits, including those brought by its founder Dov Charney," he said.
"Arguably, the big loser will be... Dov Charney, who will not only see his legal proceedings delayed but will also find, along with other shareholders, his holding in the company - currently worth some $8.2m - wiped out," he added. | Troubled clothes retailer American Apparel has filed for US bankruptcy protection. | 34441143 |
The Football League wants to create an extra division with 20 teams in each from 2019-20, increasing the number of clubs from 92 to 100.
Both the Football Association and Premier League back the proposal "in principle".
"The National League is very concerned about the potential consequences of any potential adoption," said Barwick.
"We strongly feel its attempt to re-shape the existing professional game structure has failed to take into consideration the effects of any change on football played below its proposed five divisions.
"We seriously believe it could be very damaging to the National League and its member clubs and will be determined to make that point very clear when we meet up with Football League officials to discuss their proposals.
"The National League is an ambitious and forward-thinking organisation as well as a well-established and well-loved competition and we will do everything possible to protect both its integrity and its commercial value."
BBC Sport has contacted the 18 clubs that were neither promoted nor relegated from the top-tier of English non-league football this season about the idea, with the responses ranging from "simply awful" to "long overdue".
However, many of the clubs want to know more before making a decision.
Here are the responses:
Aldershot: Yet to respond.
Barrow: "Simply awful. This is clearly the proposal of someone completely out of touch with grassroots English football and in thrall of the elite clubs. A reduction of potential revenue through less games, a further diminution of the FA Cup to a midweek competition, and absolutely no perceived benefit to any club below the top half of the Championship. I had to check it wasn't 1 April,", said chairman Paul Casson.
Braintree Town: "It introduces another tier between the Premier League and non-league football, effectively relegating all but the eight clubs that are invited to join the re-organised Football League. A better structure would be a reorganised Football League with the existing Championship and League One tiers fed by a League Two North and League Two South," said chairman Lee Harding.
Boreham Wood: No-one available for comment.
Bromley: Yet to respond.
Chester: "Until it is clear how the change in the structure of the Football League will impact upon the ability to generate revenue, i.e. reduced number of home games, potential lack of FA Cup replay revenue, introduction of Premier League B teams, it is not possible to make a decision one way or the other," said chairman Simon Olorenshaw.
Dover Athletic: "It needs careful consideration. We foresee some issues but the devil will be in the detail," said chairman Jim Parmenter.
Eastleigh: No-one available for comment.
Forest Green: "The proposal sounds like a good idea - 20 teams per league, ending Tuesday night games. It makes perfect sense that the top eight teams from our league should be incorporated into the Football League if this goes ahead. In fact, given that below the National League all competitions become regional, the Football League should really think about adopting the National League now. They should also standardise the number of teams that are promoted and relegated between divisions," said chairman Dale Vince.
Gateshead: "Every National League club aspires to be in the Football League, and secondly, football needs to change and it's a good time for us. Everybody needs to understand the detail a bit more, but in principle it's a good idea," said chairman Richard Bennett.
Guiseley: "We need a lot more information about the involvement of Scottish or Premier League clubs in the proposals," said chairman Phil Rogerson.
Lincoln: "From our perspective, we feel it's a positive move by the Football League and is an exciting opportunity for clubs at our level," said manager Danny Cowley.
Macclesfield: Yet to respond.
Southport: "There's been no consultation with the National League board from the Football League. There's a lack of understanding of how the pyramid system will change - what happens to the others when the eight clubs go up?," said a club spokesperson.
Tranmere: No comment to make at this time.
Torquay United: "I believe the lower leagues should be regionalised. Travelling the length of the country, like to Gateshead in front of paltry crowds is farcical," said chairman Dave Phillips.
Woking: "I personally think it is a fantastic proposal and long overdue, I am definitely in favour. The National League standards have been improving year on year, one only has to ask the relegated clubs from League Two how difficult it is to get back where they came from. Furthermore there is, in my opinion, little difference between the two leagues," said Woking football director Geoff Chapple.
Wrexham: No-one available for comment. | The National League is "very concerned" about the Football League's proposed shake-up, says chairman Brian Barwick. | 36342609 |
"I'll do anything I can if Hillary's elected to help her, but I don't want to remain in the administration," he told a Minnesota TV station.
Politico reported Mr Biden was "at the top of the internal short list" should the Clinton team win the White House.
With 11 days to go, she leads Republican Donald Trump in the polls.
Mr Biden told KBJR that Mrs Clinton had not approached him about a potential role in any administration she may lead.
"I have no intention of staying involved. I have a lot of things to do, but I'll help her if I can in any way I can," he said.
Mr Biden, 73, was a senator for 36 years and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He has the foreign affairs pedigree for secretary of state, which is America's top diplomat, despite a reputation for being gaffe-prone.
Mr Biden pondered a run at the presidency himself last year but said the recent death of his son Beau meant he would not have been able to focus fully on a campaign.
The BBC's Anthony Zucker in Washington says that it would be unusual for a vice-president to hop down a rung in the ladder to secretary of state, and Mr Biden may follow through on his promise to fade from the stage, perhaps to write a book.
Recently he has been very critical of Mr Trump for being too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also said he wished he was still at high school so he could take the billionaire "behind the gym" to fight him.
The vice-president has a close relationship with the president despite raising eyebrows early on by referring to the then-Senator Obama as "the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean".
In the summer, he went to Latvia and assured the Baltic states that the US would defend Nato countries against possible Russian aggression.
Who will win? Play our game to make your call | Vice-President Joe Biden has said he is not interested in becoming secretary of state if Hillary Clinton is elected president. | 37801564 |
Louis, 37, established himself with Oxford United from 2002 before spells with Bristol Rovers, Stevenage, Mansfield and Wrexham among others.
The Dominica international joins Oxford City after two seasons with Wealdstone.
"He's certainly collected a few clubs and appearances along the way," City boss Justin Merritt said.
"Although he's had many clubs, he hasn't been with Oxford City before," Merritt joked to BBC Radio Oxford.
"We're hoping to have him involved in Saturday's game against Poole Town."
Louis' career has involved several returns to a number of clubs either on loan or permanent deals, with his sole international cap coming in a World Cup qualifier against Barbados in Match 2008, which Dominica lost 1-0. | Striker Jefferson Louis has made the 37th move of his 20-year playing career by joining Oxford City of National League South, his 26th different club. | 37655311 |
The 50-year-old, who played heart surgeon Preston Burke during the first three seasons, was axed after he used a homophobic slur during an on-set altercation.
Washington will make a guest appearance to coincide with the departure of series regular Sandra Oh, his former on-screen love interest.
It will be screened in the US in May.
Washington was last seen on the series leaving Oh's character, Cristina Yang, at the altar on their wedding day.
Series creator Shonda Rhimes said his return was integral to Yang's storyline.
"It's important to me that Cristina's journey unfolds exactly as it should," she said.
"Burke is vital to that journey - he gives her story that full-circle moment we need to properly say goodbye to our beloved Cristina Yang."
Washington was one of the original stars of Grey's Anatomy, but his contract was not renewed after he used the anti-gay slur during an argument with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
Soon after, fellow cast member TR Knight revealed he was gay and said he was offended by what the actor had said.
Washington then further angered network bosses by repeating the slur backstage at the Golden Globes while denying he had said it.
The actor later apologised for his comments, saying it was "unacceptable in any context or circumstance". He received counselling and met with gay rights groups to discuss ways to address homophobia.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has praised Washington's return to the series, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "His PSA (public service announcement) and his statements promoting marriage equality in recent years have sent a strong message of support for LGBT people."
"We look forward to seeing him return to one of our favourite shows, as well as in Patrik-Ian Polk's moving film Blackbird about a young man coming out in a small Southern town."
After his controversial exit from Grey's Anatomy, Washington struggled to find continuous work and mainly landed bit parts in television shows including Law & Order: LA and the re-make of Bionic Woman which was cancelled mid-way through its first series.
He will next appear in US post-apocalyptic drama The 100 - his first regular series role since Grey's Anatomy. | Actor Isaiah Washington is to return to US medical drama Grey's Anatomy, seven years after he was fired from the show. | 26479733 |
A cub escapes deep snow by hitching a ride on its mother's backside in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada.
Taken by Daisy Gilardini, from Switzerland, the photo is one of 25 shortlisted for the People's Choice Award in the latest Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition - on show now at the Natural History Museum in London.
Scroll down to see all 25 images, pre-selected by the museum from almost 50,000 submissions from 95 countries.
A mother's hand
Alain Mafart Renodier, France
Alain Mafart Renodier was on a winter visit to Japan's Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park when he took this photograph of a sleeping baby Japanese macaque, its mother's hand covering its head protectively.
Opportunistic croc
Bence Mate, Hungary
Although this shot was taken from a safe hide, Bence Mate says it was chilling to see the killing eyes of this 4m (13ft) Nile crocodile. This one had been baited with natural carcasses on an island in the Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa, but crocodiles also come here just to bask in the Sun.
The stare of death
Johan Kloppers, South Africa
Johan Kloppers saw this little wildebeest shortly after it was born in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. Little did he know that he would witness its death later that same day. The small herd of wildebeest walked right past a pride of lions, and the calf was caught by a lioness and then taken by this male lion.
Monkey ball
Thomas Kokta, Germany
Cold temperatures on Shodoshima Island, Japan, sometimes lead to monkey balls, where a group of five or more snow monkeys huddle together to keep warm. Thomas Kokta climbed a tree to get this image.
Facing the storm
Gunther Riehle, Germany
Gunther Riehle arrived at the sea-ice in Antarctica in sunshine, but by the evening a storm had picked up - and then came snow. He concentrated on taking images of the emperor penguin chicks huddled together to shield themselves.
Ghostly snow geese
Gordon Illg, US
These snow geese almost seemed like ghosts in the pink early morning light as they landed among sandhill cranes in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, US.
Sisters
Bernd Wasiolka, Germany
Bernd Wasiolka encountered a large lion pride at a waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. One of the two males spray-marked the branches of a nearby tree. Later two females sniffed the markings and for a brief moment both adopted the same posture.
Into the fray
Stephen Belcher, New Zealand
Stephen Belcher spent a week photographing golden snub-nosed monkeys in a valley in the Zhouzhi Nature Reserve in the Qinling Mountains, China. The monkeys have very thick fur, which they need to withstand the freezing nights in winter. This image shows two males about to fight, one already up on a rock, the other bounding in with a young male.
Head-on
Tapio Kaisla, Finland
Tapio Kaisla took a trip to Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjell National Park, Norway, to find these oxen in their natural habitat. Even though spring is not rutting season for these animals, they were already seriously testing their strength against each other. The air rang out with the loud bang of the head-on collision.
Colorado red
Annie Katz, US
It was a crisp, clear day in January when Annie Katz saw this Colorado red fox hunting in her neighbour's field in Aspen, Colorado, US. The light was perfect, and she took the photo as the fox approached her, looking right into the lens of her camera.
The couple
Sergio Sarta, Italy
During a dive off the coast of Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, Sergio Sarta saw a bright-coloured organism - a fire urchin with an elegant couple of little Coleman shrimps. The fire urchin has quills that are very toxic to humans - the shrimps avoid this danger by seeking out safe areas between the quills.
Jelly starburst
Andrea Marshall, US
Andrea Marshall was snorkelling off the coast of Mozambique when she came across hundreds of large jelly-fish. Many were covered with brittle stars - opportunistic riders, taking advantage of this transport system to disperse along the coast. Delicate lighting makes the jelly glow, so the viewer can focus on the subtle colours and textures.
The stand-off
Michael Lambie, Canada
It was breeding season and all the male turkeys were putting on a show for the females, but a number of birds seemed a little confused. This one was more concerned with the potential suitor in front of it, not realising it was its own reflection.
Into the night
Karine Aigner, US
During the summer months, 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats arrive at Bracken Cave in San Antonio, Texas, US, to give birth and raise their young. Each evening at dusk, the hungry mothers emerge into the night in a vortex, circling out through the entrance and rising into the sky to feed on insects.
Willow up close
David Maitland, UK
David Maitland photographed the crystallised chemical salicin, which comes from willow tree bark. Salicin forms the basis of the analgesic Aspirin - no doubt this is why some animals seek out willow bark to chew on.
The blue trail
Mario Cea, Spain
The kingfisher frequented this natural pond every day, and Mario Cea used a high shutter speed with artificial light to photograph it. He used several units of flash for the kingfisher and a continuous light to capture the wake as the bird dived down towards the water.
Eye in focus
Ally McDowell, US/UK
Ally McDowell often focuses on colours and patterns underwater - and this is the eye of a parrotfish during a night dive.
Spiral
Marco Gargiulo, Italy
Sabella spallanzanii is a species of marine polychaete, also known as a bristle worm. The worm secretes mucus that hardens to form a stiff, sandy tube that protrudes from the sand. It has two layers of feeding tentacles that can be retracted into the tube, and one of the layers forms a distinct spiral.
Eye contact
Guy Edwardes, UK
The Dalmatian pelican, seen here on Lake Kerkini, Greece, is the largest species of pelican in the world. It is native to eastern Europe, Russia and Asia. However, its population is currently threatened in some areas from hunting, water pollution and habitat loss, particularly a decline in wetlands.
Confusion
Rudi Hulshof, South Africa
Rudi Hulshof wanted to capture the uncertainty of the future of the southern white rhino in the Welgevonden Game Reserve, South Africa, because of poaching. He anticipated the moment when these two rhinos would walk past each other, creating this silhouette effect and the illusion of a two-headed rhino.
Tasty delicacy
Cristobal Serrano, Spain
The natural world provides countless magical moments, none more so than the delicate moment a tiny, elegant hummingbird softly inserts its slender bill into the corolla of a flower to drink nectar. Cristobal Serrano was lucky enough to capture that exact moment in Los Quetzales National Park, Costa Rica.
Breakfast time
Cari Hill, New Zealand
Shortly after purchasing the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya, the owners learned that the only remaining Rothschild's giraffes in the country were at risk, as their sole habitat was being subdivided into smallholdings. So they began a breeding programme to reintroduce the Rothschild's giraffe into the wild. Today, guests can enjoy visits from resident giraffes in search of a treat.
Caterpillar curl
Reinhold Schrank, Austria
Reinhold Schrank was at Lake Kerkini, Greece, taking pictures of birds, but the conditions were not ideal, so he looked for other options. He saw this caterpillar on a flower and encouraged it on to a piece of rolled dry straw. He had to work fast because the caterpillar was constantly moving.
Rainbow wings
Victor Tyakht, Russia
The bird's wing acts as a diffraction grating - a surface structure with a repeating pattern of ridges or slits. The structure causes the incoming light rays to spread out, bend and split into spectral colours, producing this shimmering rainbow effect.
Vote for the People's Choice Award here before 10 January 2017.
The exhibition runs until 10 September 2017.
Top image: Hitching a ride - by Daisy Gilardini, Switzerland.
A female polar bear and her cub in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. | Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. | 38083691 |
George Chertofilis, the president of the Kos Solidarity Group, said a win would "give meaning to the work we do".
Kos Solidarity is one of 16 volunteer groups from the Aegean Islands nominated on Sunday for the award.
They were nominated by more than 230 academics from universities including Oxford, Harvard, and Princeton.
In a private letter to the Nobel committee, shared with the BBC, the academics praised the islanders for responding to the crisis "with overwhelming empathy and self-sacrifice".
"They fundraised; opened their homes; dove into treacherous waters to save lives; took care of the sick and the injured; shared a meal or their garments with new arrivals," the letter reads.
It adds: "Despite persistent constraints and the continuous institutional inability to respond to this challenge in a respectful and efficient way, the nominees provide an example of possibility for action in the darkest of times and with the most limited of means."
Mr Chertofilis, a physics teacher on Kos, said the prize would be "a nice thing for individuals of course, but more importantly for the ideal of peace and solidarity".
"Ultimately we are not doing this for a prize, we are doing it because we are human beings and we must do everything we can to help each other," he said.
More on this story
Kos volunteers forced to close migrant food project
Migrant crisis: the volunteers stepping in to help
According to the nomination letter, the prize money in the event of a win would be used to fund healthcare on the islands. Three unnamed volunteers have been chosen who would travel to Norway to collect the award.
In order to make the volunteer groups eligible for the prize, which states that only individuals or organisations can be nominated, they were joined in an umbrella network called the Aegean Solidarity Movement.
The network was pieced together by Avaaz, a grassroots campaign group that coordinated the nomination. More than 630,000 people have signed a petition on the Avaaz website to show their support.
Sam Barratt, a spokesman for Avaaz, said the campaign group worked closely with the Nobel committee to ensure that the network complied with the prize rules. He was keen to stress that the 16 groups included in the nomination represent many smaller groups and individuals who have given up their time to offer support to refugees and migrants.
Among the signatories of the nomination are Nobel Laureate Economist Sir Christopher Pisaridis, Professor Margaret MacMillan from Oxford University, and Professor Anthony Giddens from the London School of Economics.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has also lent his name to the cause. He said: "Just imagine 900,000 visitors in desperate need arriving at the door of your reasonably modest establishment. Hungry, exhausted and in a state of acute emotional distress.
"They don't speak the same language as you or ascribe to the same cultural or religious beliefs. What do you do? You open the door. Incredible!"
More than 800,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Greece last year via the Aegean Sea - over 80% of all those who arrived in Europe by sea - but authorities on the small Greek islands where many landed were not equipped to help.
Volunteers have stepped in to fill the gap, pulling stricken families from the sea, clothing, feeding and in some cases opening their homes to those in need.
Mr Chertofilis continues to volunteer several days a week, patrolling the beaches at night in shifts, armed with warm clothes, shoes, and snacks.
"The prize would be a nice thing for the people of these islands, many of whom have helped," he said. "But we are doing this because we don't like to see people suffer." | The leader of a volunteer group on the Greek island of Kos has welcomed news that islanders have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. | 35460012 |
A group of at least four whales were seen north of Hunstanton during the afternoon, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said.
An RNLI spokeswoman said its hovercraft had taken marine life experts to assess the whale which was still stuck in water with a depth of about 6ft (2m).
She said: "It looks quite injured and is in difficulty."
Gary Pearson, who lives in Dersingham, saw the whales at about 16:00 GMT and said he was told they had been there for a couple of hours.
"Two had already got out to deeper water, but two were still in trouble and one got away when I was there," he said.
"The remaining one was thrashing around and in distress. It looks like an adult sperm whale to me and I wouldn't be surprised if it was 40ft [12m] long.
"It's probably stuck between these boulders covered in algae which you can see exposed at low tide." | Rescue teams have been attempting to save a stranded whale just off the Norfolk shore. | 35384749 |
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust is "one of the best hospital trusts in England", chief inspector of hospitals Prof Sir Mike Richards said.
The Care Quality Commission said it was "caring, effective and well-led".
The trust's new Cramlington A&E hospital has faced criticism over long queues and the distance some seriously ill patients must travel to get there.
The £75m centre was the first in England purpose built to treat only emergency cases, with consultants on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But the plan for its opening also included the downgrading of A&E at the trust's North Tyneside General, Wansbeck General and Hexham General hospitals, which now offer a walk-in service for less serious conditions.
Sir Mike said, however, there was a "consistency of the outstanding ratings across all four hospital locations and across community services".
"To achieve this across so many sites is truly remarkable and is a first," he said.
Trust chief executive David Evans said it was a "wonderful achievement" so soon after the trust "brought about a huge clinical change with our new emergency care centre".
A&E at Cramlington was rated good overall with some areas of improvement needed.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) had highlighted areas the trust "already knew about and were already working on", Mr Evans said.
The trust said it had seen A&E patient numbers "far in excess" of those predicted, including walk-in patients which it had not intended to use the acute unit.
CQC regional head of hospital inspections Amanda Stanford said the trust had "struggled" with emergency waiting times.
But she said patient feedback overall had been "extremely positive" despite a number of criticisms on the NHS Choices website.
Many related to A&E and waiting times but the CQC had confidence in the trust's ability to deal with, and learn from, complaints, Ms Stanford said.
Announced and unannounced inspections of the trust were carried out at the end of last year.
The CQC found leadership was inspirational and recent changes in services had been managed effectively.
Hospital and community services were strongly integrated and support for young people with complex needs was "excellent", inspectors found.
Staff were compassionate, polite and respectful and went out of their way to meet patients' needs, the report said. | A health trust that last year opened a pioneering emergency-only hospital has been rated "outstanding". | 36196674 |
They say the method should help with donor shortages since it does not require a perfect cell match.
Mohammed Ahmed, who is nearly five years old, was among the first three children in the world to try out the new treatment.
He has severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome and had been waiting for a suitable donor for years.
Mohammed, who lives in Milton Keynes, was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital when he was a year old.
His condition - a weak immune system - makes him more susceptible to infections than most, and a bone marrow transplant is the only known treatment.
While Mohammed was on the transplant waiting list, he became extremely sick with swine flu.
At that time, his doctors decided Mohammed's only real hope was to have a mismatched bone-marrow transplant, with his father acting as the donor.
Mohammed's dad, Jamil, agreed to give the experimental therapy a go.
Before giving his donation, Jamil was first vaccinated against swine flu so that his own bone-marrow cells would know how to fight the infection.
Mohammed's doctors then modified these donated immune cells, called "T-cells", in the lab to engineer a safety switch - a self-destruct message that could be activated if Mohammed's body should start to reject them once transplanted.
Rejection or graft-v-host disease is a serious complication of bone-marrow transplants, particularly where tissue matching between donor and recipient is not perfect, and is one of the most difficult challenges faced by patients and their doctors.
Mismatched transplants in children - where the donor is not a close match for the child - are usually depleted of T-cells to prevent graft-v-host disease, but this causes problems in terms of virus infections and leukaemia relapse.
The safety switch gets round this - plenty of T-cells to be transfused and later killed off if problems do arise.
Thankfully, the transplant carried out in 2011 was a success - Mohammed's doctors did not need to use the safety switch.
Although Mohammed still has to take a number of medicines to ward off future infections, his immune system is now in better shape.
Jamil said: "We waited for a full match but it did not come. By the grace of God, we took the decision to have the treatment.
"Now he is all right. Sometimes we forget what he has been through. We are just so grateful."
He said Mohammed would still need close monitoring and regular health checks over the coming years, but his outlook was good.
Dr Waseem Qasim, ‎consultant in paediatric immunology at Great Ormond Street Hospital and lead author for the study, said the new approach should hopefully mean children who received a mismatched transplant could enjoy the same chance of success as those given a fully matched transplant.
"We think Mohammed is cured of his disorder. He should be able to lead a fairly normal life now."
A full report about Mohammed's therapy and the research by Great Ormond Street Hospital, King's College London and the Institute of Child Health has just been published in PLoS One journal.
There are currently about 1,600 people in the UK waiting for a bone-marrow transplant and 37,000 worldwide.
Just 30% of people will find a matching donor from within their families.
Donations involve collecting blood from a vein or aspirating bone marrow from the pelvis using a needle and syringe. | Doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital have carried out a pioneering bone-marrow transplant technique. | 24609025 |
The ATM was taken from the Co-operative store on Northway Lane in Tewkesbury, at about 03:45 BST on Thursday.
A 41-year-old and a 31-year-old, both from Worcestershire, were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Gloucestershire Police said the two men were currently being held in custody in Worcester. | Two men have been arrested after a digger was used to rip a cash machine from the wall of a supermarket in an overnight robbery in Gloucestershire. | 37454258 |
First Minister Carwyn Jones said he supported the idea of a Wales one-day cricket team provided there was no "financial hit" on Glamorgan.
But Morris believes the prospect would be hugely detrimental.
"It would have a fundamental and catastrophic impact on the finances of cricket in Wales," said Morris.
Jones had said it was "odd" Ireland and Scotland had teams while Wales did not.
His response came to a question in the Senedd from Conservative AM, Mohammad Asghar, who supports the idea of a Wales cricket team.
In 2013, an assembly committee called for "an intelligent discussion on the feasibility" of establishing such a team.
But Morris opposes the establishment of a Wales team, saying Glamorgan would consequently lose its status as a member of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Additionally, Wales would no longer be part of the ECB and would rather be classed as an associate member of the International Cricket Council.
As a result, England internationals would no longer be played in Cardiff, which would have serious financial repercussions for the club and cricket in Wales according to Morris.
"I can understand the philosophical argument being a proud Welshman myself," said Morris.
"The thing the First Minister said in the Assembly was that he was in favour of it as long as it did not impact on the finances of Glamorgan cricket and cricket in Wales.
"Fundamentally it would. The reality and impact is we [Glamorgan] would host no international matches in Cardiff, we wouldn't be playing in domestic first-class cricket in ECB competitions.
"We wouldn't have any fee payments from the England and Wales Cricket Board.
"Our income at the moment for cricket in Wales, between us and Cricket Wales, is £8m per annum.
"If we were to join the ICC as an associate member we would get five per cent of that income from grassroots to professional level."
From 2002 to 2004, a Wales team played against England in a one-day challenge match each June, scoring a shock eight-wicket victory in 2002.
Morris says Wales would need to start at the bottom tier should they leave the ECB and become an associate member of the ICC, joining 93 other nations, such as Scotland and Jersey.
Ireland and Afghanistan were granted full membership in June, joining the 10 other nations with full test status.
"It has been one or the other so far," Morris told the Jason Mohammad show on BBC Radio Wales.
"Either we are a member of the England and Wales Cricket Board or an ICC associate member like Scotland.
"Ireland has just done really well in getting Test status of the ICC, but it has taken them 30 years to get to that position.
"If we were to join the ICC now we would be starting in the bottom league against the likes of Guernsey, Jersey and Germany.
"We wouldn't be having some of the world's best players coming to Wales." | Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris has warned of the "catastrophic" financial consequences should Wales form its own cricket team. | 40522115 |
Iran spoke of "serious issues" that must be resolved, while one Western diplomat cited "considerable gaps".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived to join the talks, and reports say the discussions could extend into the weekend.
The deal could see Iran curb uranium enrichment for some sanctions relief.
However, US politicians have indicated they will push forward with a bill proposing more sanctions against Iran next month if the talks fail.
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would support "broadening the scope" of current oil and trade sanctions.
P5+1 wants Iran to:
Iran wants the P5+1 to:
Q&A: Iran nuclear crisis
Iran's nuclear sites
Analysis: Can gaps be bridged?
Both Republican and Democrat congressmen say the threat of sanctions will bolster the negotiating position of the world powers.
President Barack Obama had earlier urged Congress not to promote the bill while talks were going on.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some world powers suspect it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
Talks extended?
EU foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton is leading the talks for the world powers.
She has begun a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
The Geneva talks, which are currently scheduled to conclude on Friday, involve Iran and representatives of the so-called P5+1 - UN Security Council permanent members US, UK, France, China and Russia, plus Germany.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that negotiations were "positive", but said meetings were likely to continue into Saturday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry may join later.
After Thursday's talks, Mr Araqchi was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying "serious issues remain a source of difference".
One senior Western diplomat told Reuters: "Considerable gaps remain, and we have to narrow the gaps. Some issues really need to be clarified.
"I sensed a real commitment... from both sides. Will it happen? We will see. But, as always, the devil is in the details."
One US source said simply: "It is very hard."
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France 2 television: "This deal will only be possible if it has a firm base."
However, one diplomat told Reuters there was still a "very high probability" that foreign ministers would join the talks at some point.
The Geneva meeting follows a previous round of talks earlier this month.
The US has said any interim agreement would see the bulk of international and US sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear programme remain in place.
Mr Obama said sanctions relief would be worth between $6bn and $7bn.
The essence of the deal would involve Iran making no more advances in its nuclear programme and agreeing to "more vigorous inspections", he said.
Analysts say a major sticking point is Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium - a process that yields material used to manufacture fuel for power stations, but can also be used for weapons.
Western diplomats are also concerned about a reactor Iran is building at Arak, which disrupted the first round of talks.
Before the talks opened, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran would not step back "one iota" from its nuclear rights.
He also referred to Israel as a "rabid dog".
Israel has vehemently opposed the proposed deal and says it will not be obliged to honour it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in Moscow, said the ayatollah's speech represented the "real Iran".
"We are not confused. They must not have nuclear weapons. And I promise you that they will not have nuclear weapons," he said. | World powers are struggling to reach an interim deal with Iran to limit its nuclear programme, as talks in Geneva move into a third day. | 25041814 |
When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was formed in 1988, about 350,000 children were getting infected with wild polio virus every year worldwide.
The disease leaves many children paralysed for life.
About one in every 10 paralysed children dies from breathing complications.
The number of infections is now down 99%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In Africa, the last case of wild polio diagnosis was in the Puntland region of Somalia, on 11 August 2014.
But the continent must still stay a full year without new cases to be declared polio-free.
Two years without a case is a significant milestone.
It gives hope to millions of volunteers, community mobilisers, health workers, religious and community leaders who have helped deliver vaccines to some of the most remote villages that their effort has been worthwhile.
In difficult to reach areas, volunteers have used donkeys, canoes or helicopters to deliver vaccines.
It has been described as the largest public health campaign in history.
In some countries, like northern Nigeria, volunteers were attacked during immunisation campaigns.
Source: World Health Organisation
The history of polio
Similar - if not worse - attacks have been witnessed outside the continent, in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Taliban issued a religious declaration - fatwa - against polio vaccination.
The two countries are the last known places where wild polio virus transmission is still active.
The virus is transmitted person-to-person through infected faecal matter.
It has no cure, and mainly affects children under five.
Wild polio virus cannot survive for long outside the human body.
In the absence of unvaccinated hosts, the virus dies out.
That's what experts hope will happen to the virus - to be driven into extinction.
WHO will now review data from all over the continent to confirm if no cases of polio were identified on the continent. This process often takes two to three weeks.
As the countdown to a polio-free Africa begins, Rotary International, one of the organisations that formed part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has called for renewed international effort to step up immunisation and improve surveillance.
The organisation says that effort will need funding from governments and other donors.
Only two diseases have ever been eradicated in the world: Smallpox and rinderpest.
Campaigners hope polio will be the third. | It has been 28 years in the making. | 37043845 |
French investigators think they have heard locator-beacon signals from at least one of the "black box" flight recorders, and now salvage experts are heading to the site to take a closer look.
Hearing the beacons is one thing, but they won't know for sure what they have found until they send down a robotic submarine armed with bright lights and cameras.
"Black boxes" are, in fact, bright orange and have reflective strips, so they show up pretty well when you shine lights on them.
The robotic submarine is on a special salvage ship, called the John Lethbridge.
The sub has claws (manipulator arms) that can pick things up and bring them to the surface.
EgyptAir flight MS804: What we know
EgyptAir crash fuels fears and theories
EgyptAir crash: What the evidence tells us
I have spoken to a marine salvage expert, David Mearns, who has decades of experience looking for shipwrecks and lost aircraft.
It had a different name then, but he used the John Lethbridge in 2001 to photograph the wrecks of the warships Bismarck and HMS Hood.
This is also a man who once ran an operation to pick up every single piece of a crashed aircraft that had sunk 3,800m (12,500ft) to the sea bed on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea (actually the Tyrrhenian Sea off western Italy).
It took his team two years to recover all the debris.
Mr Mearns is not involved in this search, but he knows crew members on the John Lethbridge, and ocean recovery is a small, specialised world.
His best guess, and it's just that because he doesn't know all the details, is that, with a fair wind, the team with the robot sub could be on site within three or four days.
They have to stock up in port first.
"If they're really lucky, they could find the black boxes on their first dive," he told me, "but it all depends."
"It is not unusual for the underwater locater beacons, or pingers, to have been knocked off the black boxes during the crash."
In the meantime, Mr Mearns thinks that the ship, Lalplace, that initially heard the pingers, will have remained on site to sweep back and forth, listening out for more locator-beacon signals.
They go in set patterns, figure of eights or clover leaves, "to get the best possible range and bearings from which they can calculate a more accurate position of the black boxes on the seabed".
If they have found the plane, he says, investigators are faced with a choice.
"This is potentially a crime scene," he said.
"So, they could decide to sonar map and photograph the entire debris field before touching anything.
"That may be an area as small as 1km [0.6 miles] by 1km depending on how the plane broke up.
"Or they may choose to bring the boxes up quickly, because that could give them an early answer."
Recovering aircraft from under the sea is time consuming and complex.
The robot subs, operated by experts on the surface, can bring up small pieces weighing maybe 100kg (15st) in their claws.
You can also strap bigger parts, weighing about 500kg, to the subs.
But the really big pieces, such as the engines or tail for example, require specialist heavy lifting equipment.
There is one piece of positive news.
The depth isn't an issue for this kind of kit.
But all of this is jumping ahead.
First, they have to confirm they have heard a "black box".
Then, they have to find it, recover it, dry the circuits out - that takes a day or two - and download the data.
There are two boxes on board.
The cockpit voice recorder should reveal what the crew thought was happening.
You would hear what they said to each other, plus all the alarms in the background.
The flight data recorder should reveal what the plane's computers thought was happening.
The limited evidence so far points to an on-board fire.
But the "black boxes" might not be able to tell us whether it was started deliberately or not.
They may end up having to recover large parts of the aircraft to know for sure, and that is a long job. | The Egypt Air disaster may have dropped out of the news briefly, but the investigation continues apace to find out why flight MS804 crashed. | 36481749 |
In Balochistan - Quetta is the provincial capital - markets and schools have been closed.
The bomber targeted crowds who had gathered outside a hospital to mourn prominent lawyer Bilal Kasi who had been murdered earlier on Monday.
Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar says it was behind both the attack and murder.
Quetta bombing: What the witnesses saw
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) said its lawyers would be boycotting court proceedings, and observing a week of mourning.
Many lawyers are expected to take part in rallies across Pakistan on Tuesday.
"We [lawyers] have been targeted because we always raise our voice for people's rights and for democracy," SCBA President Ali Zafar told reporters in Lahore.
"Lawyers will not just protest this attack, but also prepare a long-term plan of action."
Monday's bombing targeted lawyers and journalists who had crammed into the emergency department of Quetta's Civil Hospital where the body of Mr Kasi had been brought.
Former provincial bar president Baz Muhammad Kakar was one of at least 25 lawyers killed. TV news cameramen Shahzad Khan and Mehmood Khan were also among the dead.
At least 120 people were injured.
Bilal Kasi, who was head of the Balochistan province bar association, had earlier been shot while on his way to the court complex in Quetta.
He had strongly condemned the recent murders - including those of fellow lawyers - in Quetta in recent weeks, and had announced a two-day boycott of court sessions in protest at the killing of a colleague last week.
Balochistan, Pakistan's poorest province, has long been plagued by insurgency.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar [The Party of Freedom Fighters] split from the Pakistani Taliban two years ago.
It has claimed a number of major attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed more than 70 people, including many children, at a park during Easter celebrations this year.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flew to Quetta after the attack, and said "all state security institutions must respond with full might to decimate these terrorists". | Lawyers across Pakistan are boycotting court to mourn the loss of some 70 people, many of them lawyers, killed in a bomb attack in Quetta. | 37021302 |
The area around the Houses of Parliament was closed off after the incident to keep people safe, and many people were told to stay in their buildings until the police said it was safe for them to go home.
Five people were killed in what the police have described as a terrorist attack.
They include a police officer who was stabbed outside Parliament and a woman who was hit by a car on Westminster Bridge. The attacker was shot dead by armed police.
The head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, said they think they know who the attacker was but the police have not given any more details yet.
The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner told Newsround: "This is the most serious terrorist attack on London since the 7/7 bombings in 2005."
"The police reacted extremely quickly, ending this attack before any more people were hurt. A friend of mine actually gave first aid to the stabbed policeman before the helicopter arrived."
"This is very rare, although the Government has been warning for some time to expect something like this. The chances of any of you, as an individual, getting caught up in a terrorist attack are microscopically small."
If anything you see in the news upsets you, click here for help and advice. | On Wednesday afternoon, there was an attack outside Parliament in London. | 39352665 |
People living in Pentre-bach, near Lampeter, have been without signal and internet since 20 December. About 40 houses and businesses are affected.
BT Openreach said it could not replace the pole until it obtained permission from the utility company.
Resident Clive Mills told BBC Radio Cymru the situation was "awful".
"Businesses are losing money because of this, and for disabled people in the area their emergency buttons aren't working because of needing phone signal," he told Taro'r Post.
"There is a garage selling petrol which has to only accept cash now because card machines don't work without the telephone and people can't pay, they must be losing business."
A spokesman for BT Openreach said: "This pole will need to be replaced but our engineers are currently unable to carry out this work safely until we've gained permission from the utility company that also run their high-voltage cables within the same vicinity.
"We'd like to reassure those residents that have been affected that this matter has been escalated and we're working hard to get the fault fixed as quickly as possible."
In a separate incident, BT recently apologised to Arfon Gwilym from Saron, near Caernarfon in Gwynedd, who has been without signal or internet for 25 days.
The company said engineers needed to check for obstructions to carry out the work safely. | A Ceredigion village was left without phone signal over the festive period after a road crash damaged a telephone pole. | 35241899 |
16 January 2017 Last updated at 13:56 GMT
Moments after she accepted the nomination, Sinn Féin refused to put forward an individual for deputy first minister.
When nominating Mrs Foster, DUP MLA Maurice Morrow said no one would dictate who led the DUP and that in last year's assembly elections she received "the highest personal vote of any member of this house". | Stormont faces collapse despite the DUP's Arlene Foster accepting her party's nomination as first minister. | 38639610 |
The error was the result of a faulty gas line which was dispensing nitrous oxide at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.
A doctor discovered the problem after the baby died unexpectedly.
New South Wales Health Minister Jillian Skinner said she felt "profound sorrow" at the "tragic mistake" and ordered an investigation.
"I deeply regret these families have suffered through such a devastating error. NSW Health will do all it can to support them," she said.
Sonya Ghanem, the mother of the newborn who died, told Australian broadcaster Channel 9: "I said, 'I want to see him.' Just looking at him, shaking. 'My son, wake up,' I would tell him. 'Wake up, wake up. What did they do to you?' "
Ms Skinner said the gas lines were checked and certified by the gas company, BOC Ltd and the hospital. The legal counsel for New South Wales has demanded an explanation from BOC Ltd.
In a statement, the company said: "We deeply regret that these families are suffering pain and sorrow."
BOC Ltd is carrying out an internal inquiry.
Ms Skinner has ordered all medical gas lines to be checked. "Mothers can feel confident that we have checked every operating theatre, every [resuscitation] bay where babies are treated and there are no other examples of this, " she said.
Media in Australia criticised Ms Skinner for attending a performance awards ceremony as news of the gas incident emerged.
The opposition party has called for her resignation, but Ms Skinner says she will not stand down. | A baby has died and another is in critical condition after both were administered "laughing gas" instead of oxygen at a hospital in Sydney. | 36891897 |
Dutch electricity network administrator TenneT said a significant part of North Holland province, home to some 2.7 million people, was affected.
The operator later said power had been restored.
But incoming flights were still being diverted from Schiphol airport - one of Europe's busiest terminals.
The hub was forced to run on emergency power, as the cut caused widespread disruption.
It was triggered by a "technical fault" at a substation in the Amsterdam suburb of Diemen, TenneT said on Twitter.
It said its engineers were working hard to fix the problem.
Public transport across the Netherlands was affected, with trains cancelled and passengers stuck in lifts, trams and subways, according to reports.
Hospitals were operating on backup power, NOS public television said. | A major power cut hit Amsterdam and surrounding towns, causing all flights to and from the city's Schiphol airport to be temporarily cancelled. | 32086164 |
Horse Rheidol Petra, ridden by Iola Evans, won the Llanwrtyd Wells event on Saturday in two hours and 30 minutes.
The first runner, Owen Beilby, finished the course 20 minutes later.
In 37 years of the Whole Earth Man V Horse race, only two runners have ever emerged victorious - Huw Lobb in 2004 and Florian Holginger in 2007.
The idea for the annual race was born from a bet in the back room of the Neaudd Arms in 1980 after an argument over whether a man could ever beat a horse in a long-distance race.
The pub is still the starting point for the race. | Hundreds of people have gathered in a Powys town to cheer on competitors in a 21-mile race that saw 650 runners pitted against 60 horses and riders. | 40237844 |
Figures show about 1,160,000 fines - worth about £81m - have been passed to a European debt recovery agency since the Dart Charge began in 2014.
Mr Freeman - known as "Mr Loophole" - said it sent out a bad message.
Highways England said non-payment was being followed up in the UK and abroad.
Figures for how many fines went on to be paid by foreign drivers have not been released by Highways England, which said this could prejudice the effective operation of Dart Charge.
Mr Freeman said: "That means it's complete nonsense and they've recovered nothing."
Charges and fines at the Dartford Crossing
Live: More on this story and other news across Kent
The figures showed there had been more than 120 million chargeable crossings since Dart Charge began. Of the five million of those by foreign vehicles, more than a million drivers did not pay.
Mr Freeman, who has defended Sir Alex Ferguson, Jeremy Clarkson and David Beckham among a string of high-profile clients, is calling for an app to be developed to notify foreign non-payers about unpaid fines at UK borders.
He claimed it could be sorted without too much difficulty.
"The government need to grasp this because the amount of money is exorbitant and it's totally unfair," he added.
"The point is there are millions and millions of foreign drivers who come over to this country and they pay nothing to use our roads. We go abroad, we have to pay."
A Highways England spokesman said: "The vast majority of drivers are paying their Dart Charge correctly, and the number of foreign drivers not paying on time makes up less than 1% of total crossings.
"Non-payment is being followed up fairly and appropriately, using all legal means, both in the UK and abroad." | The UK is being "soft and stupid" over the unpaid fines of more than a million foreign drivers who have used the Dartford Crossing, according to celebrity motoring lawyer Nick Freeman. | 40996859 |
Imports also fell for the month by 16.1% in yuan terms, compared with forecasts for a fall of about 12%.
That means the country's trade surplus has risen to 210.2 billion yuan (£21bn; $32.4bn) from 18.6bn yuan in March.
Recent economic data from the mainland has shown further signs that China's slowdown is continuing.
"[The surplus rise] was mainly due to further import weakness," said Moody's analyst Alistair Chan in a note.
"Imports have slowed on account of the housing slump and reduced demand for commodities, while exports have been softened on account of the uneven global recovery," he said.
Economist Tony Nash of Delta Economics said there was clearly pressure on China's trade environment.
"But the environment is improving and will continue through the second quarter," he said. "We see some difficulties in the third quarter, with recovery late in the year."
In US dollar terms, China's exports for the month fell 6.4%, while imports fell 16.2%, and the trade surplus rose to $34.13bn.
Some official numbers from the mainland are now reported by media in both currencies, because of currency conversion factors based on US dollar and Chinese yuan movements over the last year.
China's economy grew by 7.4% in 2014, its weakest for almost 25 years. | China's monthly trade data has shown exports fell in April from a year ago by 6.2% in yuan terms compared to expectations for a rise of about 1.5%. | 32639974 |
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said a top black advocate had lodged a complaint against Judge Mabel Jansen.
The justice minister has been asked to put her on special leave, while the complaint is dealt with, the JSC added.
Judge Jansen was widely condemned after her purported comments went viral on social media at the weekend.
She said, in posts attributed to her, that the gang-rape of babies, girls and women was seen as a "pleasurable" pastime by black men.
The judge said the comments had been made in a private Facebook exchange with South African activist Gillian Schutte, and had been taken out of context.
Ms Schutte said she made the comments public to expose the "deep racism and colonial thinking" prevalent in South Africa.
The JSC said it was confident that the complaint lodged by lawyer Vuyani Ngalwana would be dealt with in a "just and proper" way by its conduct committee.
After discussions with Judge Jansen, a proposal had been made to Justice Minister Michael Masutha to give her special leave, it added in a statement.
In the posts attributed to her, the judge said: "In their culture a woman is there to pleasure them. Period. It is seen as an absolute right and a woman's consent is not required."
In another post, she purportedly said that "murder is also not a biggy" for black men and "gang rapes of baby, daughter, and mother [were] a pleasurable pass [sic] time".
Judge Jansen added, according to the post, that the "true facts are most definitely not that espoused by the liberals".
Mr Ngalwana said her "outburst, effectively tarring all black men with the 'rapist' broad brush" was "shocking beyond belief", South Africa's Business Day newspaper reported on Monday.
A spokesman for the governing African National Congress (ANC) said he suspected there were other judges who engaged in "racist stereotypes", while the party's influential women's wing said her comments were "purely racist" and misrepresented the "facts about black culture".
The opposition Democratic Alliance said Judge Jansen's comments were "not only hurtful and demeaning", but undermined "the dignity of our people," the AFP news agency reports.
The judge told local media that the posts were from last May, when she was in a private inbox exchange with Ms Schutte in an attempt to get help for victims of rape and assault.
"I was referring to specific cases," the judge was quoted by South Africa's News24 website as saying.
"It is very bad when you are attacked on this basis, when you know it is the opposite. I don't know what she [Ms Schutte] is trying to do."
Last month, Mr Masutha said he planned to toughen anti-racism and hate speech legislation following a spate of controversial comments on social media.
White minority ruled ended in South Africa in 1994.
South Africa social media race rows in 2016:
May:
March:
January: | A white South African judge is to be investigated for alleged misconduct after she purportedly said on Facebook that rape was part of black culture. | 36258362 |
Hugh James Rodley, 69, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2009 for trying to steal £229m from a Japanese bank.
In 2012, he was given an additional seven years after being convicted of conning 741 pensioners out of £6m.
He was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Rodley was ordered to handover £1,236,737 or face an additional seven years in jail in November 2014.
The money had been identified by National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London Police financial investigators as profits he had made from both criminal enterprises.
Among the assets were luxury cars and his manor house in Gloucestershire. He bought his title at an auction in 1986.
Acting Det Sgt Melonie Moody, from City of London Police, said his sentence was "one of the biggest" they had seen in recent times.
He said the force hoped to reunite the 741 victims with money they lost to Rodley.
Stephanie Jeavons, from the NCA, said the sentence showed the "seriousness of his failure to pay". | A self-appointed lord convicted of two multimillion-pound frauds has been jailed for a further seven years after he failed to pay back more than £1m. | 36546348 |
He'll never play here again, not as a Caley Thistle player.
When next he comes he will have given up his captain's armband and donned the jersey of the enemy - his new club, Aberdeen.
It's hard for a 23-year-old to be wistful about anything, but in Shinnie's case it's understandable. He remembers his first match for Inverness, an under-17 contest against, coincidentally, the very team he will play his last one against on Saturday - Falkirk.
At the time, he thought professional football might have passed him by. He was getting ready for a different life.
He changed tyres, refitted batteries and got to thinking that maybe a mechanic's lot wasn't so bad, even if his father laughed when he came home every evening looking like he'd been swimming in diesel.
That game was the breakthrough. He played centre-midfield and was dominant. On the way home his father said that he knew that young Graeme was good, just like his older brother Andrew, but it was only now that he realised how good.
Those words meant a lot, especially when they were endorsed by the club by a way of a contract.
The Cup final awaits. The last stand - and more reason for reflection. Just over four years ago Inverness played a Scottish Cup tie against Morton.
"I couldn't move," he recalls. "I don't know how I got through the game. Beforehand, I was saying to the boys, 'I'm not feeling great, I'm really struggling here,' and I went into hospital and they told me it was Crohn's disease.
"I'd had it when I was much younger but it was a pretty mild version. Now it was a lot worse. It's a swelling in the digestive system. You're knackered all the time, you can't eat, you lose weight.
"It was a career-threatener. I had a seven-hour operation and when they were in they found a few abscesses. I was in Raigmore hospital for a month and a bit. I lost a lot of weight, I was weak, I couldn't eat because of the pain in my stomach and I had part of my bowel removed.
"I was thinking, 'Will I ever get back to football, will my life change because of this? Terry Butcher was the manager and he was fantastic. He popped into hospital nearly every day. He was really good to me.
"I was only saying this to my family the other day. Back then, when I was lying in the bed, I couldn't see things working out the way they have.
"I've just become a dad, I've got this Cup final to look forward to and I'm about to make a very exciting move to Aberdeen, where I come from. I owe Inverness so much. It's been a brilliant place to be for the last seven years. Such a positive club, full of good people."
This will be his second Cup final, of course. The first was unforgettable for the fans of the team he is about to join but something altogether different for Inverness. The League Cup final loss to Aberdeen is something he looks back on with particular regret - about the loss, of course, but also because he didn't find it in himself to step up and take a penalty in the shoot-out in those frenetic moments at Celtic Park.
"It felt like nobody wanted to win it on the day," he says. "Neither of us were prepared to take a gamble and go and do something special. It was like we were both afraid to concede a goal and it was boring for the fans to watch.
"All the pressure was on Aberdeen and they didn't want to let the fans down. It goes to penalties and it's horrible.
"We know what it's like to lose and we don't want that feeling again on Saturday. We've got to go in saying, 'I'm going to grab this game by the scruff of the neck.' We have players who can do that.
"I kick myself every time I think about that shoot-out. I wanted to take one, but I was exhausted. I'd run myself into the ground and I'd taken a few heavy tackles. I should have dug deeper and stepped up.
"From that day on I've regretted not finding the energy to do it. If it goes to penalties against Falkirk then I'm definitely taking one."
Life has been interesting under John Hughes. He calls his soon-to-be-former manager a "madman" but says it with affection. He says he's different from Butcher in the style he wants the game played but that the thing that unites them both is that they won a lot of matches and raised the bar.
"Terry's way was a more hard-working, chasing-lost-balls kind of philosophy and John is the opposite. He wants us to make the ball do the work; keep it, pass it, make the other team do the chasing.
"I hope the fans will agree that we're playing better stuff under Yogi but under Terry we were winning as well and as long as we were winning we were enjoying ourselves.
"Derek McInnes has a similar way of looking at it as Yogi. When I met him I was really impressed with his vision for the club and, in my heart, it feels like the right move. I had a few options to go to England but I felt that Aberdeen was the club where I would progress best.
"I spoke to my girlfriend, Jodie, and my family and her family and had a real good think about it. I could have had more money down in England.
"Money is a lot of things in life, but being happy and enjoying my football is more important. The money's good here anyway. You're doing something you love, you're working until midday and you've got plenty of time with your family. It's a great life.
"People get a bit hung up on my money. If you're playing then you're happy and your family is happy. When I was weighing it up, I decided I'd take less money and play rather than go south and take more money and maybe not play.
"If you're not playing then you're unhappy and you take it home with you and that's not a good situation to be in - away from home and frustrated.
"Things that you normally don't get upset about suddenly bother you because you're not in the team and you're on a downer.
"I've seen players who went to England just for the sake of saying they've done it. I've signed a three-year deal and after that if anybody comes calling and it's the right move, then maybe. I'll be 26 or 27. Hopefully, I have plenty of time."
None of that matters now, of course. Not yet. The Cup final is all that he can see. Saturday and Falkirk and a chance to make history on his final day. Inverness are favourites and he accepts it. There's no mind games, no attempt to duck and dive. If they play to their maximum they should win, that's the bottom line.
"We know we have the squad to beat any team. We've beaten Celtic, the best team in the country, twice this season including in the semi-final, which was the most enjoyable day of my career.
"We can't be reserved and be sitting back and hoping for something to happen. We need to go out and do it. That's the lesson I hope we've learned from our last final. You have to seize the moment."
He's only 23, but he has a wise head to go with all the talent and he knows that days like these don't come around all that often - at his current club or his future one. | Graeme Shinnie is sitting in a room in the Caledonian Stadium, looking out of a window on to the pitch that has been his place of work since he was 16 years old. | 32908290 |
Police were called to Blaeloch Drive at about 02:45 on Saturday.
The victim was taken to Hairmyres Hospital where he was treated for a serious injury to his face but was later released.
Officers said it was a particularly violent attack and have asked anyone who was there and saw what happened to contact them. | A 23- year-old man has been seriously assaulted after a disturbance in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow. | 37397763 |
Joshua Dobby, 23, was out of jail on licence when he knocked over Makayah McDermott, 10, and Rozanne Cooper, 34, in Penge, south London, last August.
Dobby had previously denied manslaughter but changed his plea last month at the Old Bailey.
He was jailed for 12 years for two counts of manslaughter with a further three to serve on licence.
Dobby, of no fixed address, was being pursued by police as he drove a stolen black Ford Focus at three times the speed limit down one-way roads and through red lights, before losing control.
The court heard he hit a bollard before ploughing into Makayah and Ms Cooper, and three other members of the family, two aged 13 and one aged eight.
After the fatal crash, he jumped out of the car and stepped over 13-year-old Yahla McDermott who had suffered serious injuries, and ran from the scene.
At the time, on 31 August, the family had been on their way to get ice creams and play on the swings in a park, the court heard.
Yahla described lying trapped under the car when she saw Dobby flee.
In a victim impact statement, she said: "I couldn't feel my legs. An ugly man's foot stepped over me and ran."
Ms McDermott, who told the court she was ashamed of her scarring, said "I feel like my life is over... because there is nothing to live for."
Following the hearing, they said said they were "disappointed" in the length of Dobby's sentence.
"We came here today to see justice done and in the hope that Joshua Dobby would show remorse and sorry for killing our beautiful Rosie and our wonderful Makayah. But he has shown none," they said in a statement.
Earlier, Makayah's grandfather accused the killer of treating the lives of his family as "worthless" and "expendable".
In a pre-sentence statement, Martin Cooper told how he watched helplessly as Dobby lost control and drove the car at his family.
"I watched as the driver of the car made no attempt to stop or apply the brakes and no attempt to swerve," he said.
Giving evidence, Dobby admitted he had been coming down from smoking crack cocaine and heroin when he killed Ms Cooper and Makayah.
He was on his way to sell the car for £300 to buy more drugs at the time, the court heard.
The defendant had 53 previous convictions dating back to the age of 13, including a conviction for aggravated vehicle taking, having crashed a car into railings with police in pursuit, aged 16.
Just five days before the crash police had abandoned a pursuit of the same Focus because it was too dangerous, the court heard.
Dobby, who never has never been able to drive legally, was on licence from an 18-week prison sentence for handling stolen goods at the time of the crash.
Mitigating, Tyrone Smith QC told how Dobby had a "fractured upbringing", estranged from his father with time in care and a "principal family member" who was also an addict. | A drug addict who killed an aspiring child actor and his aunt during a police chase has been jailed. | 39234086 |
This week in Washington, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will sit down with President Barack Obama and tell him the US-Japan military alliance is stronger than ever.
In many ways this peculiar love affair between the US and Japan, which began after one country dropped atom bombs on the other, does look pretty solid.
But while Japanese people may like the protection that the US alliance brings, they don't much like the US bases and tens of thousands of personnel that come with it.
Most will never get to see the 50,000 US military personnel stationed in their country. That's because most of the Americans are far away on the island of Okinawa.
Okinawa makes up just 0.6% of Japan's land mass but, as the locals will never tire of telling you, it hosts over 70% of the US bases in Japan.
The people of Okinawa are weary of the 70 years of "semi-occupation". They have long complained of the noise and danger from US planes and helicopters flying day and night.
Most of all they complain of the young men of the US Marine Corps, who are seen as drunken, violent and a threat to Okinawan women.
In fact the statistics speak otherwise - the incidence of rape, murder and other crimes by American personnel in Okinawa is low.
But a small number of horrific cases have done huge harm - in particular the 1995 gang rape of a 13-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by four US Marines changed attitudes here dramatically.
It's a big reason why the US government wants to move Futenma, the largest Marine base in Okinawa, out of the densely populated south of the island to a remote spot 60km away.
It sounds like a good idea. The city of Ginowan will get a big chunk of land back. Its people will get to sleep at night and its daughters will no longer have to fear.
But for most Okinawans, 60km is not nearly far enough. They want to see the US Marines moved much further - say Guam for instance, or even better, Australia.
As plans for building the new base at Camp Schwab have moved forward, attitudes here have hardened. Tokyo insists there is no other choice.
Okinawans have responded by kicking out the pro-Tokyo governor and electing a new one who has promised to block any construction. Tokyo has simply over-ruled him.
It is, say many in Okinawa, the behaviour of a colonial regime, and it is making people here mad.
At 6:30 on a chilly morning I find myself outside the gates of Camp Schwab with around 100 elderly, but determined, protesters.
At first it is noisy but pretty docile. But then as the construction crews start to arrive the elderly protesters roll in to action.
En masse they rush out in to the road and lie down in front of one of the vehicles. The police struggle to pull them away, four policemen for each protester. They kick and scream.
"Why are you betraying your own people?", they shout. "Why are you helping the Americans?"
Through it all, blaring away on his megaphone, is protest leader Satoru Oshiro.
"It is 70 years since the end of the war, but still we have to bear the overwhelming burden of US bases here in Okinawa."
"In a democratic country that is not right," he says. "Now they want to build a new base here, we cannot allow that to happen."
The emotions here are complex. Okinawans feel semi-occupied by the US military, but their feelings towards Tokyo are also deeply ambivalent.
There is deep bitterness here, in particular about how their overlords from the "mainland" sacrificed them at the end of World War 2.
"Okinawa is the only place in Japan that experienced battle on the ground," says Satoru Oshiro "We cannot forget the tragedy, the horrible past."
And it was unspeakably horrible.
On a hilltop just outside the capital Naha, I find Takamatsu Gushiken digging for human remains.
He and a small team of volunteers have been doing this for over 30 years. All they have is some old trowels, a few buckets and one yellow metal detector. Each year they uncover the remains of around 100 people - most are civilians, many are women and children.
"When I find the bones of child and woman together, I cannot help but think that must be a mother and child and think about which died first," Gushiken says.
"I heard of lots of babies sucking their mother's breast after she has died. Was it like that or did the child go first and the mother hung on to the baby? It makes it very hard for us to see sights like that."
All the more so when you realise that many of the victims he unearths did not die in battle but killed themselves on the orders of Japanese military commanders.
"The Japanese military was the only military that ordered soldiers and people to take their own lives, rather than surrender.
"People were taught that killing themselves was a noble act. When I see those remains, it is very hard for me to forgive teaching in Japan at that time."
The carnage wrought by this policy is terrible to think about.
Perhaps a quarter of a million people died here in three months of slaughter from April to June 1945. No-one has ever apologised to the people of Okinawa for what they were put through, not the US, certainly not Tokyo.
Back at Camp Schwab the protesters have now taken to the water.
Much of the new marine base will be built by landfilling a pristine reef with millions of tonnes of rock and soil and building two long runways in Henoko Bay.
The protesters are now in small sea kayaks. They can slip in to the shallowest water and dodge between rocks.
For an hour there is a game of cat and mouse as the tiny kayaks try to slip into the construction zone. But the coastguards, in their powerful speedboats, outflank them and round them up like a dog herding wayward sheep.
It is an unequal contest - but the sentiment of people here in Okinawa is clear. They don't want the new base.
When Prime Minister Abe tells President Obama everything here is under control, he should not be reassured. | As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe travels to the US for a state visit, one Japanese island is pushing back against a new American military base. | 32476954 |
Scotland Under-21 international Hyam has yet to play for the Royals' senior side, but featured in one EFL Trophy game in January.
The 21-year-old made his professional debut on loan at Dagenham last season, playing in 16 League Two games.
He joined Portsmouth on loan in August, but failed to make a first-team appearance in three months at the club. | National League side Aldershot have signed Reading defender Dominic Hyam on loan until the end of the season. | 39370402 |
The 45-year-old racer from Morecambe broke four vertebrae, three ribs and fractured his leg in a crash at the North West 200 last month.
He travelled to the island ahead of Sunday's opening race with fans on the ferry from Lancashire.
"It was amazing," he said. Everyone stood up and clapped."
The Honda racer is the second most successful racer in the event's history and his 23 wins place him just three behind all-time record holder Joey Dunlop.
"The fans' reaction means a lot. I've been in tears a few times in the last couple of weeks and it's things like that make me feel emotional."
The Honda Racing team have not replaced McGuinness at the event but Guy Martin will represent the team.
A Honda spokesman said: "Out of respect for McGuinness' long-standing relationship with Honda, the team has made the decision not to replace him aboard the Fireblade at the Isle of Man TT.
Following a weather-disrupted practice week the opening Superbike six-lap Superbike race will be held on Sunday at 14:00 BST. | English racer John McGuinness has made an emotional return to the Isle of Man despite being ruled out of this year's TT races through injury. | 40130910 |
Having restricted the Netherlands to a modest 90-6 from their 20 overs, the Irish reached their victory target with more than eight overs to spare.
Openers Cecelia Joyce (39) and Clare Shillington (33) added 74 for the first wicket in the opening eight overs.
Earlier, Dutch wicketkeeper Miranda Veringmeier made 53 but lacked support.
Joyce's twin sister Isobel, the Irish captain, was their most successful bowler, taking 3-18 after conceding 10 runs in her opening over.
Ciara Metcalfe took 2-19 and Kim Garth 1-14 while 16-year-old seamer Lucy O'Reilly, although wicketless, conceded only eight runs from her four overs.
Ireland play China in their second Group B match on Sunday, and then face Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
In Saturday's other Group B game, Zimbabwe beat China by 10 wickets, while in Group A, Scotland and Bangladesh saw off Papua New Guinea and hosts Thailand respectively.
The top two teams in the eight-strong qualifying tournament will progress to next year's Women's World T20 in India. | Ireland enjoyed a comfortable eight-wicket win over the Netherlands in their opening match of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier in Bangkok. | 34952790 |
The fire in a yard run by WH Orchard and Son in Dobwalls, Cornwall, caused an estimated £10,000 of damage.
Owner Graham Orchard said the fire started because a gas canister was left in a car they were crushing.
Cornwall Fire service confirmed a gas canister was the "likely cause" of the fire.
For more on the scrap fire and other stories across Cornwall.
Multiple appliances from across the county were called to the scene at on Thursday afternoon. Relief crews stayed overnight.
Reflecting on the cause of the fire, Mr Orchard said he was angry about the canister being left in the vehicle.
"Somebody brought in the shell of a car and we asked them if there was anything hazardous in it, they said 'no', and we took their word for it," said Mr Orchard.
"There was a gas cylinder placed under one of the seats. Crushing it must have caused a spark, which caused a great fireball to go over my head
"Because people are being charged now to get rid of different types of waste, they try and mix it in with the general scrap, to hide it, and then this is what happens.
"We need to get the message across that it's dangerous to mix scrap metal, people don't understand the risk.
"We've been in business 60 years, but that frightened me yesterday." | A scrap metal dealer has spoken about the moment a huge fireball erupted over his head when a hidden gas canister exploded at his yard. | 39746954 |
The lender estimated there were 335,750 first-time buyers last year, the highest figure since 359,900 in 2007.
However, the average first-time deposit has more than doubled since 2007 to stand at more than £32,000.
The Halifax also found the average price of a first home broke through the £200,000 barrier for the first time.
Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis attributed the increase in first-time buyer numbers to continuing low mortgage rates and high levels of employment, which had "supported the market".
"Government schemes such as Help to Buy have improved affordability, enabling more first-time buyers to buy their own property."
The Halifax First-Time Buyer Review estimated that the number of buyers entering the market rose by 7.3% last year and is now 75% higher than the all-time low of 192,300 first-time purchases made in 2008.
However, it still has some way to go to match the peak of 402,800 in 2006.
The average first-time deposit across the UK a decade ago was £15,168, but this stood at £32,321 last year.
Rising property prices also mean that first-time buyers are increasingly taking out longer mortgages.
Last year, 60% of first-time buyers took out a mortgage of 25 years or longer. More than a quarter (28%) took out a 30 to 35-year term mortgage.
Ten years ago only 36% of people getting on to the first rung of the property ladder borrowed for longer than 25 years.
However, there are big regional variations.
While the average price paid by a first-time buyer across the UK as a whole in 2016 was a record £205,170, in London it was nearly double that at £402,692, which was another all-time high.
In the least expensive region, Northern Ireland, the average cost of a first property was £115,269.
The average deposit paid in Northern Ireland has fallen by a fifth in a decade to £16,695, the lowest in the UK.
Meanwhile the average deposit in London has shot up over that time by 276% to £100,445. | There were more first-time home buyers in 2016 than at any time since the start of the financial crisis, according to research by the Halifax. | 38605479 |
Elizabeth Hughes told the Department for Work and Pensions she had broken up with husband Arthur in January 2010 before reconciling in 2013.
But a court heard that the couple were together during the three-year period.
Hughes, 36, of Dundee, will be sentenced in February.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told that none of the money had been repaid.
Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court: "She claimed tax credits in 2009 and then in August of that year informed DWP she and her husband had separated.
"She confirmed that position over the next three years before declaring they had reconciled in 2013.
"An investigation revealed there had never been a separation."
Miss Bell said the couple held joint bank accounts.
She said: "Holiday payments, TV licence and other household expenses were paid jointly.
"Her Facebook page had a photo of them on holiday together during the period of the claim.
"There was also a post on Facebook saying he was 'the bestest husband' posted during the period of the claim that she was single."
Hughes was released on bail ahead of her next court appearance. | A woman who fraudulently claimed £32,000 in benefits by claiming to be a single mother was caught after posting a holiday photo with her husband on Facebook. | 38586057 |
Although she now lives in Caversham, near Reading, Miss Glover, 26, started her sporting rise to fame as a child in Newlyn, west Cornwall.
She went to school at Humphry Davy in Penzance, where she is fondly remembered as a girl who always involved herself in all sports.
A huge screen and bunting filled the hockey club in Penzance where many witnessed Helen Glover and her partner Heather Stanning achieve Team GB's first gold medal.
Glover and Stanning also made history by becoming Britain's first ever female rowing gold medallists.
Miss Glover's uncle, Rob Evison, said: "The family is very emotional, very proud. They were incredible. Beautifully smooth. We're over the moon."
Her mother, Rachel, said the family was still trying to get to grips with the sport after Helen started rowing just four years ago, but added they were "absolutely delighted" at her "meteoric, rapid rise".
Watching the race at the Penzance Hockey Club, local resident Barry Wright said: "It was incredible, my heart is still pounding. I can't describe what the feeling's like. Only Helen could do it."
Miss Glover's former PE teacher, Kate Finch, said: "She always had this phenomenal all-round talent, totally committed and totally reliable.
"You knew if you had Helen in any team you were safe. She took part in everything. She excelled in hockey and cross country.
"Helen was so hard working and so coachable. If you asked her to do something, she would do it."
Andy Thomas, a former deputy head at the school, said: "I'm just amazed that someone from a small school in Penzance can make it to the top of her game."
Despite her heavy training schedule, Miss Glover has kept in regular contact with the school that first witnessed her sporting skills.
Mr Thomas said: "She's been very involved in the school for the last year really, in the run-up to the Olympics.
"She's been to the school and sent video messages to the pupils. It's amazing to see her level of commitment tied in with the level of training she must have to do."
Ms Finch added: "I have been very impressed with how she's coped with the pressure.
"Goodness knows the hopes of the nation have been on her shoulders."
Team GB posted on Twitter "Proud does not cover it!!" while the pair were being presented with their medals.
Speaking after her win, Miss Glover, who appeared to be smiling in the last quarter of the race, said it was "probably a grimace".
She said: "I don't remember smiling because I remember never, ever, ever thinking we've got this."
The medallist added that she hoped the performance would inspire others.
She said: "If you work hard and try your best absolutely anyone can do anything."
To mark their win, Royal Mail announced the rowing pair were to appear on a stamp that would be available within 24 hours. | Former teachers of Olympic gold winning rower Helen Glover have described her as a "phenomenal all-round talent". | 19076903 |
Results, provided by the Associated Press, are available below. We are experiencing some technical difficulties so if the page starts showing test data please refresh the page for the latest results. | The polls have now closed in the eastern US state of New Hampshire where voters are choosing their preferred party candidate to contest the presidential election. | 35532782 |
The 42-year-old former Glovers player and manager has been Yeovil boss Darren Way's number two since December 2015.
A former centre-back, Skiverton spent nearly 11 years at Huish Park during his playing career.
"He has a wealth of experience. He's been an unbelievable servant for Yeovil Town," manager Way told BBC Somerset. | Yeovil Town assistant manager Terry Skiverton has signed an extended contract for a further season with the League Two club. | 40419725 |
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Lomu died on Wednesday at home in Auckland. He had been diagnosed with a rare kidney condition in 1995.
"We wish to thank all who have expressed their sympathies for our family at this incredibly difficult time," said Lomu's father-in-law Mervyn Quirk in a statement.
"We know that many people are mourning a very special individual."
Winger Lomu was capped 63 times for the All Blacks between 1994 and 2002 and scored 37 tries.
Quirk said funeral arrangements for Lomu were yet to be finalised.
However, he added there would be a celebration of his achievements "during an all too short time on this earth".
"We are truly touched by the outpouring of love for Jonah and the support for our family," he added.
Meanwhile, Lomu's widow, Nadene, has taken down a fundraising page set up after his death.
Ms Lomu had said the page, on the Givealittle site, would help her and her sons bring Lomu's "dreams and visions to life". She later clarified the money would go towards her sons and their education.
Family spokesman and former All Blacks coach John Hart said the page had felt at the time like "an appropriate way" to respond to requests from the public who wanted to help the family, but that it had been "misunderstood".
He said Ms Lomu had asked for it to be taken down. | Jonah Lomu's family say they have been "truly touched" by tributes to the New Zealand great after his death aged 40. | 34875559 |
An education summit in Oslo, Norway, will hear calls for funds for education alongside other emergency aid.
Unesco has published figures showing 124 million children are out of school.
Mr Brown says support is needed for a "vast group of vulnerable children denied the basic right to education".
The Oslo summit will hear warnings that the rising numbers of refugee families and displaced persons, caught up in conflicts such as those in Syria and Iraq, need to have access to education as well as other humanitarian aid.
Mr Brown will call for a dedicated, multi-million-dollar global education fund which could be deployed to help families in emergencies, whether wars or disasters such as earthquakes.
The level of humanitarian support available for education projects is overwhelmed by the scale of the demand, he says.
"Despite the mass exodus of child refugees, currently just a tiny percentage of humanitarian aid is spent on education," says Mr Brown.
"A humanitarian fund for education would have allowed us to help Syrian refugees and those caught up in the Nepal earthquake emergency without having to spend months sending the begging bowl around the international community which is what happens now."
Mr Brown says that emergency aid focuses on food, medicine and shelter - and longer-term development projects do not provide for the educational needs of young people caught up in wars or disasters.
The former UK prime minister will speak at the Oslo summit alongside Julia Gillard, the former Australian prime minister, who chairs the Global Partnership for Education which co-ordinates international education aid.
Ms Gillard said that more than a third of out-of-school children "live in conflict-affected countries and miss out on an education - often for months or even years to come".
She said that "we must ensure education in humanitarian crisis situations as a matter of urgency".
The call for an emergency fund is being backed by groups including Oxfam, Save the Children, World at School and ActionAid.
The Overseas Development Institute has put a price tag on how much it would cost to provide an education for 65 million children caught up in wars or natural disasters.
The think tank will tell the Oslo summit that it would cost $4.8bn (£3.1bn)- or an extra $74 (£48) per child.
The summit will also address the global problem of millions of young people having no access to education.
Research from Unesco, published on Monday, shows that this problem is getting worse rather than better, with figures showing that 124 million young people are out of school. But international aid for education is less now than five years ago.
The UN agency says that the funding is "grossly insufficient" for proposed new targets for all young people to have access to 12 years of education.
Silvia Montoya, director of the Unesco Institute for Statistics said the most recent data showed the "devastating impact of the civil war in Syria".
"Before the conflict, nearly every child was enrolled in primary school but by 2013 nearly two million children and adolescents were out of school. It took just two years of civil war to erase all education progress made since the start of the century." | An emergency fund to provide education for young people caught up in conflicts and natural disasters is being proposed by UN envoy Gordon Brown and a coalition of charities and campaigns. | 33409112 |
Katie Cutler, 23, of Gateshead, set up an internet appeal to help Alan Barnes, 68, who is 4ft 6in (1.37m) and registered blind.
PR consultant Claire Barber said she agreed a £550 daily fee with Miss Cutler for publicity, but was not paid.
A Newcastle County Court judge ordered Miss Cutler to pay £6,200.
Miss Cutler claimed the fees were to be paid from a planned charitable foundation that subsequently failed to take off, and not out of her own pocket.
The mother of one, who received a British Empire Medal for her charity work in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours, told a judge in chambers that the dispute had left her feeling "stressed".
During the hearing it emerged Mr Barnes wrote a cheque for Ms Barber in October for the full amount owed but she refused to cash it because she felt he had been pressured.
The PR consultant said: "Alan Barnes felt tremendously pressurised, he has also been trolled. Everyone knows Alan has a disability. He is a really lovely guy.
"I didn't know what to do because it's not Alan that owes the money so I held on to the cheque and waited to speak to the judge to see what to do.
"It's not Alan who owes the money, it is Katie."
She added she had tried to avoid suing but had to act after Miss Cutler gave interviews describing her firm as "rogue".
After the hearing, a tearful Miss Cutler said she would not undertake any further charity work and that cash raised via another online fundraising website would be used to settle the outstanding debt.
She said: "Money has been raised to pay that amount, but I haven't received that money yet so it might be a little while.
"I'm happy that I have done some nice things and have helped some people.
"But because of this I will not do any more charity work. I won't take part in anything for anyone else because I am so disappointed."
Ms Barber said: "Katie could have sorted this out easily. I gave her a year to pay it back but at every point, instead of contacting me, she kept giving interviews to the media.
"She gave me no choice."
Miss Barber acted for Ms Cutler for four months and told the court she probably worked "triple" the 14-and-a-half hours that she billed her client.
Deputy District Judge Nathan Adams said the disputed bill came down to contract law and he turned down Ms Cutler's application to challenge a previous County Court judgment in favour of Ms Barber.
Mr Barnes suffered a broken collarbone when he was knocked to the ground outside his Gateshead home in January 2015.
A total of £330,135 was raised from donations to the online appeal.
Richard Gatiss, 25, was later jailed for four years for assault. | A woman who raised more than £300,000 for a mugged disabled pensioner has lost a court case over an unpaid publicity bill. | 37850522 |
NHS Tayside said several cases of vomiting and diarrhoea had been reported in ward six, which treats elderly female patients.
It said it took the decision as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus, which is also known as the winter vomiting bug.
The board asked anyone with symptoms of the bug not to visit the hospital. | A ward at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital has been closed to new admissions after a suspected norovirus outbreak. | 38168321 |
The arrests came ahead of a protest by members of the former ruling party against plans to bar Mr Compaore's associates from contesting presidential elections due in October.
Mr Compaore was deposed in a popular uprising in October.
The West African state is currently being led by an interim government.
Mr Compaore's Interior Minister, Jerome Bougouma, is among those arrested, former ruling party member Leonce Kone, told the AFP news agency.
The arrests showed that Burkina Faso's new rulers were "harassing" officials linked to the ousted government, he said.
The authorities have not commented on the arrests.
Supporters of the former ruling party have protested in the capital, Ouagadougou, against a proposed electoral law which will prevent Mr Compaore's allies from running for the presidency.
Mr Compaore is exiled in Ivory Coast. He ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years. | At least three close allies of Burkina's Faso's ousted ruler Blaise Compaore have been arrested, their party has said. | 32207959 |
Most people are not members of political parties and many treat politics as a spectator sport rather than something they actually participate in.
But the activist is different, giving their time and their energy for the cause of their party.
As a member of the Labour party for almost 35 years, Aberdeen GP Clare Wilkie knows a thing or two about pounding the pavements.
But she was not always what you might call an "active" activist.
Although she was a party member she did not go to meetings or go out campaigning.
So what changed?
"Politics is the way that we live together," she says.
"If we don't all participate and decide who we want to run things we really have no way of complaining when they are badly run.
"Politics formalises people's motivation to look after each other."
When I met her, Labour activists were out and about in Bridge of Don.
The party has been running Aberdeen City Council in a coalition with the Conservatives and independents.
They go into the election with one more council seat than their main rivals, the SNP, and they want to keep it that way.
Dr Wilkie says it is an area where you have to fight for every vote.
She says that while the 2014 Independence referendum and last year's EU referendum have left lasting divisions they have also energised more people to get involved in the political process.
A few miles up the Aberdeenshire coast is one such person.
Electrician Billy Sangster, from Newburgh, became an SNP activist in the run-up to the Independence referendum.
He had been a member of the party since 2007 but his involvement had not gone beyond reading the various newsletters he was emailed.
But he has now been involved in every campaign since 2014 and the local elections are no exception.
In the name of the party he has been bitten by a dog, wears special joiner's gloves to avoid letterbox blisters on his knuckles, and even once had his canvassing documents ripped up by an angry old lady.
But he says what irks him the most is trying to explain to the unconverted that the SNP is not just about a second independence referendum.
"We're fighting this on a local agenda with local issues," Billy says.
"You have to explain that your local councillor has very little influence over Nicola Sturgeon and that this is to do with the lighting in your street, potholes in the road, and who solves the dispute about the fence at the bottom of your garden."
In central Edinburgh going up and down seemingly endless flights of stairs in the city's tenements is a particular challenge facing canvassers.
For Lorna Slater of the Scottish Greens the trick is to trudge all the way up to the top and then work her way down.
It gets the climb, and therefore the worst part, over with.
And as for the leaflets she distributes, she is a roller rather than a folder as she reckons they are easier to get though letterboxes.
She says she always believes trudging the streets and plodding up and down tenement stairs is worth it, although she accepts that some people cannot be won over.
She got involved in the run-up to the 2014 referendum, with fighting climate change being her main motivation.
"I took environmental philosophy as part of my engineering degree and it made me see the world in a different way," she says.
"If we are to have a future as a species we can't be complacent.
"You can't have a working planet without a working human society."
In Midlothian, retired print worker David McDonald has now been pounding the pavements for the Liberal Democrats for nearly three decades.
He folds his leaflets rather than rolling them up, and says he is not bothered with getting his knuckles scraped on letterboxes, but has been bitten by dogs lying in wait behind front doors.
He says he finds the Lib Dems a good fit for the way he sees the world.
"I just felt that the community politics, the agricultural policies, all those things gelled together and said this is the party for me," he says.
"The pavement politics was the thing that clicked.
"So that's when I joined up to deliver leaflets. That was 1979."
He says he's been around long enough to see that politics goes in cycles with ups and downs and believes that the secret of being an activist is to hang on in there.
On Perth High Street the Conservatives have their gazebo set up and are targeting weekend shoppers.
After a career working internationally in the oil industry, Norman Grieve is now back in Perthshire campaigning in an area where the SNP has usurped what had traditionally been Tory territory.
He accepts they have a fight on their hands but insists they are up for it.
"I see a lot of people not really living in good conditions," he says.
"I don't like that.
"It makes me feel uncomfortable.
"I want Scotland to do well, I want people here to prosper and for the country to flourish."
Norman says he finds talking to people fascinating and that often the best conversations are with people he did not expect to want to engage.
Like most canvassers he has had his moments with cut fingers on letter boxes and dogs shredding leaflets he has put through.
His secret technique is using a kitchen spatula to get things through letter boxes without incident.
None of our five activists need to do what they do.
They are not paid, and there is no direct personal gain, and in some cases some real personal pain in terms of scraped knuckles, sore feet and dog bites.
Their political views might divide them, but to a woman and a man they are united in being a fundamental part of the glue which holds democracy together.
They might not realise it but without them it really wouldn't be the same. | What motivates armies of volunteers to brave the weather to trudge the streets in search of local election votes which will make the crucial difference for their party's chances? | 39711418 |
The move to cut the number of deputies from 45 to 38 was proposed alongside changes to the political structure.
The proposals were accepted alongside changes to ensure recognised accounting standards would be brought in and the electoral process would be reviewed.
The drop in the number of deputies will be in place ahead of the next election, being held on 20 April.
The new political structure, including a senior committee, will be put in place following the election.
Deputy Matt Fallaize, chairman of States Assembly and Constitution Committee, said these changes would introduce leadership.
"We need more leadership in the States, but it has to be leadership by influence because it can't be leadership through the exercise of raw power unless we have a ministerial system of government," he said.
"If you create the conditions for leadership and coordination and more proportionate checks and balances, the chances are over time you will get policy that will serve the island better."
States outline structure
The States Assembly and Constitution Committee has been tasked with investigating a range of election methods, including island-wide elections, reducing the number of electoral districts and bringing in a single transferable vote system.
Currently the States is made up of 45 deputies elected from seven electoral districts and two States of Alderney representatives - who will be unaffected by the changes.
A move to increase the size and oversight of the States' Trading Supervisory Board was among those defeated.
The final details of the government, including the mandates of the committees, are due to be agreed later this year. | Changes to the States of Guernsey, including cutting the number of deputies, will take effect next year. | 33421756 |
Watson, who won her third WTA title in Monterrey last week, won seven games in a row to lead 2-0 in the third set before Niculescu prevailed 6-4 2-6 6-2.
British men's number two Aljaz Bedene earlier lost 7-5 2-6 6-3 to Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round.
Andy Murray and Johanna Konta will begin their campaigns on Saturday.
Both Britain's top players are seeded and have byes in round one at the BNP Paribas Open, with second seed Murray taking on Spain's Marcel Granollers and 25th seed Konta facing American Madison Brengle.
Murray, playing with fellow Scot Colin Fleming, lost in the doubles on Friday, beaten 7-5 6-7 10-8 by John Isner and Milos Raonic.
Venus Williams returned to Indian Wells after a 15-year boycott but was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara.
The American, 35, had been booed and whistled, along with her father Richard and sister Serena, in 2001 after Venus withdrew from her semi-final against Serena.
Richard Williams had alleged that racist comments were directed at them and the sisters refused to play at Indian Wells until Serena ended her boycott last year.
Elder sister Venus followed suit on Friday and received a hearty reception from the main stadium crowd of about 7,000 spectators.
"It was enough of a fairytale to come here and play," she said after the defeat. "A win would have been nice, but that means I have to come back, play next year."
Serena Williams, the world number one, later beat Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-2 6-1, and there were also wins for third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, fifth seed Simona Halep and eighth seed Petra Kvitova. | British number two Heather Watson lost the last six games as her six-match winning run came to an end against Monica Niculescu in Indian Wells. | 35790483 |
Demonstrators chanted slogans against Prime Minister Viktor Orban, accusing him of employing corrupt officials and being too close to Russia.
Similar protests occurred in at least 20 other Hungarian cities as well as London, Berlin and Stockholm.
Last month thousands successfully rallied against a planned internet tax.
Opposition politicians were amongst the protesters, although party symbols were not on show following a request from the organisers, Reuters news agency reports.
Demonstrators called on Mr Orban to resign and demanded the ousting of six public officials, including the head of Hungary's tax authority, who have been accused of corruption.
In October, Washington banned Ildiko Vida and the five other officials from entering the US because of their alleged corruption links.
After announcing the ban, while US charge d'affaires Andre Goodfriend said that "negative trends [had] rapidly taken hold" in Hungary.
Despite this, the six officials deny any wrongdoing and Mr Orban has refused to ask for their resignation.
The demonstrators also accused the prime minister of moving away from the EU towards Russia, and demanded greater government accountability.
Many accuse Mr Orban, who leads the country's centre-right Fidesz Party, of becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Although the protest was peaceful, thousands remained after the demonstration was over.
The crowds dismantled metal barriers by the Hungarian parliament and faced police in riot gear whilst chanting "Orban, go away" and "We do not pay tax to criminals".
Monday's protest was the fourth demonstration within Hungary in the last 30 days.
On 9 November demonstrators marched against Ms Vida calling for her resignation.
But the largest protest came in October when the government suggested an internet tax.
After thousands rallied in protest, Mr Orban surprised many by changing his mind and withdrawing the plans four days later.
Despite the protests, Mr Orban commands broad popularity in Hungary and in April he was re-elected with Fidesz winning two-thirds of the seats in parliament. | Ten thousand Hungarians have taken to the streets of Budapest to rally against the government in a protest dubbed "public outrage day". | 30086497 |
QPR, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, are challenging the legality of the Football League's FFP rules.
The west London club could face a fine of up to £58m.
"We took a view, as did most clubs, that we should comply with the rules," Barber told a BBC Sussex fans' forum.
"One club that did get promoted and is now back with us still has its case to be determined. We would expect them to be punished and punished severely: they gained from breaking the rules.
"We comply with every other rule, why wouldn't we with FFP as well?"
At the end of 2013-14 QPR were promoted via the play-offs, in which Brighton lost to Derby. The Hoops have since returned to the second tier.
In March, QPR announced losses of £9.8m, but £60m worth of loans were written off by owner Tony Fernandes and other shareholders.
"We're now in another set of rules and we have a bit more money to spend but so has everyone else," added Barber.
"The Premier League parachute payments have gone up so we haven't gained a lot. What it actually means is that people expect you to pay even more."
Meanwhile, Barber said the club was "relaxed" about the impact on the playing surface of staging two Rugby World Cup games next month.
"We had the opportunity with the England v France Under-20s game last season to see the effect these big guys have on our pitch," he said.
"We were pleasantly surprised to see the scarring was no worse than first-team football. Whether that changes at the next level up we'll see, but the groundstaff are very relaxed about the games and their ability to put the pitch right." | Brighton chief executive Paul Barber says he expects QPR to be "punished severely" for allegedly breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. | 33820941 |
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Carl Tremarco gave Inverness the lead with a left footed shot after getting to Brad McKay's cross.
Lonsana Doumbouya made it two when a corner kick fell straight to him right in front of the goal, and he happily poked it beyond goalkeeper Craig Samson.
And Liam Polworth picked his spot just inside the post to make it three.
In general play, there was little between the two sides. The sense was of a stalemate, with the teams essentially cancelling each other out. With neither in control of the game, or able to build pressure, it was clear that only a moment of quality or scrappiness would deliver a breakthrough.
It was the latter that befell Motherwell defender Stephen McManus in the second half, since he awkwardly miscued an attempt to clear McKay's cross allowing the ball to run to Tremarco. Even then, the defender was hardly decisive in his finishing, and the ball skewed in off the underside of the crossbar.
There was a similar bout of indecision by Motherwell defenders at the heart of the second goal, since they failed to clear a corner kick, eventually letting the ball drop to Doumbouya. The striker didn't hesitate in stabbing it into the net past the Motherwell goalkeeper Samson.
This was a game built on industry. There was a tireless effort at the heart of both sides, particularly in central midfield. Keith Lasley - who is still capable of neat footwork to leave an opponent trailing - and Chris Cadden worked the midfield for Motherwell, while Greg Tansey and Ross Draper did the same for Inverness.
Their efforts meant that the encounter was always finely balanced - with the two sides also sharing an inability to deliver penetrating attacks. Motherwell would have hoped for more from the strike partnership of Louis Moult and Ryan Bowman, although they did combine neatly in the first half for the former to shoot into the side-netting.
There was still room for a moment of genuine quality, though, with Polworth finally finding his range with a effort from outside the area late in the game. He'd speared a couple of shots over earlier, but when the ball ran to him 22 yards out, he lashed it low, hard and accurately into the bottom corner, past the outstretched arm of Samson.
There was a moment during the first-half when Motherwell manager Mark McGhee turned to a fan in the stand and sharply reminded him that the player the supporter had been grumbling about was still only a teenager. Members of this Motherwell side remain a work in progress, but the fans lacked patience as the game ran away from their team.
When Doumbouya scored the second goal, some of the home fans immediately started heading for the exit. Their team had lacked a cutting edge, and the frustration would have felt more acute because there had been so little between the sides until the second goal.
Under McGhee, the likes of Chris Cadden, Ross MacLean and Jack McMillan will continue to develop. There will be highs and lows along the way.
Motherwell's Mark McGhee: "First-half I thought it was neck and neck. I thought we just needed to find a bit more accuracy with our final ball, but I thought the second half was diabolical.
"It's difficult to say if there was any difference up to the goal, but after that we just had no unity, no team work, we suddenly became a group of individuals. At that point, it looked to me as if we had no chance of getting back into the game because we'd lost it.
"It's the first time that's happened and I'd say that's probably the most disappointing 45 minutes that I've had since I've been back. I need to find why that was. We've had a good chat in the dressing room, we've spoken about a few things, we'll train tomorrow and Friday and hopefully we'll be ready for Ross County.
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"I don't know if I didn't see it coming. I sensed that there's been a little bit of lethargy since the Celtic game, I've hoped it wasn't what I was really feeling, but it surfaced tonight in the second half. We now know and we have to put it right.
"I know they can [bounce back], they're capable of that but they have to do that. Having done it in the past, what they have to do now is reunite, as a group get together and go out and believe in each other, work for each other, and stay united as long as whatever happens out there. That team spirit just evaporated after the first goal."
Inverness CT's Richie Foran: "It was an outstanding performance, a near-perfect performance. We tinkered with our formation a wee bit, I wanted to isolate a couple of our players, to play to their strengths, and we brought in Aaron Doran, a total footballer who's comfortable taking the ball in with his back to goal and he was immense for us.
"I'm delighted all round, a clean sheet for us away from home, at Fir Park, a tough place to come. I can't speak any more highly of the lads.
"I always feel we'll score goals. I was looking for a clean sheet. I questioned the lads, I questioned their ability a wee bit. They'd given us the team spirit, they'd given us the fight, the desire, the hunger, and I said I was looking for quality tonight. They certainly showed that.
"There was some great play all over the park, our fitness levels were spot on, and once again we're finishing the game stronger, we're going right to the final whistle, so it was good. I'm delighted for the back four getting that clean sheet.
"A draw away from home is good in the Premiership, a win is great and gives us a lot of confidence."
Match ends, Motherwell 0, Inverness CT 3.
Second Half ends, Motherwell 0, Inverness CT 3.
Attempt missed. Keith Lasley (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Corner, Motherwell. Conceded by Carl Tremarco.
Substitution, Inverness CT. Scott Boden replaces Lonsana Doumbouya.
Attempt missed. Lonsana Doumbouya (Inverness CT) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Attempt missed. Louis Moult (Motherwell) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution, Inverness CT. David Raven replaces Josh Meekings.
Delay in match Richard Tait (Motherwell) because of an injury.
Carl Tremarco (Inverness CT) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Richard Tait (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Carl Tremarco (Inverness CT).
Foul by Chris Cadden (Motherwell).
Brad McKay (Inverness CT) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal! Motherwell 0, Inverness CT 3. Liam Polworth (Inverness CT) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Billy King.
Scott McDonald (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Josh Meekings (Inverness CT).
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Craig Samson.
Chris Cadden (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ross Draper (Inverness CT).
Attempt blocked. Lonsana Doumbouya (Inverness CT) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Motherwell. Lionel Ainsworth replaces Ross MacLean.
Substitution, Motherwell. James McFadden replaces Craig Clay.
Louis Moult (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Iain Vigurs (Inverness CT).
Attempt missed. Louis Moult (Motherwell) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Stephen McManus (Motherwell) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Lonsana Doumbouya (Inverness CT).
Foul by Scott McDonald (Motherwell).
Josh Meekings (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal! Motherwell 0, Inverness CT 2. Lonsana Doumbouya (Inverness CT) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal following a corner.
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Richard Tait.
Corner, Inverness CT. Conceded by Craig Samson.
Attempt saved. Liam Polworth (Inverness CT) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Foul by Keith Lasley (Motherwell).
Billy King (Inverness CT) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Motherwell. Scott McDonald replaces Ryan Bowman.
Stephen McManus (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Lonsana Doumbouya (Inverness CT).
Substitution, Inverness CT. Billy King replaces Aaron Doran. | Inverness Caledonian Thistle moved into the Premiership top six with a fine victory over Motherwell at Fir Park. | 37699986 |
And Frankie Dettori, champion jockey, Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero and A-list celebrity, puts much of his fame and fortune down to a dry and bright Saturday afternoon at Ascot on 28 September 1996.
In a BBC interview to mark the 20th anniversary of that date's unprecedented 'Magnificent Seven' - when he went through the card, taking all seven races that made up the Festival of British Racing, a precursor to British Champions Day - Dettori declares it the outstanding accomplishment of his record-breaking career.
Barely 13 and a half minutes' work, staged over a combined total of less than eight miles, changed his life forever, plus those of thousands of Dettori-following punters who placed accumulator bets on the seven. It left the betting industry in a state of near meltdown.
Their combined odds amounted to 25,095-1 (at starting prices), or nearly 236,000-1 for anyone taking advantage of the morning odds on offer.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, the 45-year-old jockey - who in August passed the 3,000 winners mark in Britain - said: "For sporting achievement, it's my greatest thing that I've ever done, and in horse racing. It would be very hard to match something like that.
"And, second, there's a fairytale scenario where bookmakers lost £40m, and wherever I went, in every part of the country, I had so many people coming up to me who'd won so much money on that day, and it changed people's lives, so it's a very amazing thing.
"I moved the stock market [because of fears about bookmakers' losses]. It was crazy what happened, but it's nice that it can happen and people made a lot of money."
Two decades on from the day when the jockey's trademark flying dismount first reached a wider audience, he remembers events "like yesterday… every detail", reeling off the names of the horses involved, and how he was rating their prospects as he left home in Newmarket for the 100-mile journey to Ascot.
"I thought I had a couple of chances on the day," he said. "I thought I'd definitely win the first [on Wall Street] because it was a small field and we'd get a nice, easy lead.
"Diffident [race two] I didn't fancy at all; [2000 Guineas winner] Mark Of Esteem I thought had a great chance in the QEII [featured Queen Elizabeth II Stakes] but had the great filly Bosra Sham to beat; Decorated Hero, my fourth one, had top weight and a bad draw - I couldn't see him winning.
"Fatefully [race five], she had a chance, but it looked a very tricky race and a big field; then came Lochangel in a small field which looked to be a match race between me and Pat [Eddery], so I was pretty hopeful; my last horse, Fujiyama Crest, had won the race the year before with a small weight but was completely out of form and was carrying top weight so I couldn't dream of him winning."
I too have a clear memory of the disbelief that mounted as the successes kept being clocked up, though my recollection is not from the stands or paddock at Ascot, but from a friend's wedding at which many of the guests were followers of a variety of sports.
The groom had been circulating, updating us with bogus football scores - he claimed Dettori's beloved Arsenal, who had just appointed Arsene Wenger as manager, were being beaten by Sunderland, though they actually won 2-0 - and I quickly dismissed his insistence that the then-25-year-old reigning champion jockey had won "another at Ascot" and a few minutes later "another".
The Lochangel success - making it six - equalled a British record held at the time jointly by Sir Gordon Richards (at Chepstow, 1933), Alec Russell (at the now defunct Bogside, 1957) and Willie Carson (Newcastle, 1990), all more 'bog-standard' fixtures compared to Ascot on one of the marquee days of the season.
"After Lochangel, the euphoria came out, and I was delighted," says Dettori. "I sprayed champagne at everyone, it was great.
"Never in a million years did I think I'd win the seventh, but I remember putting my colours on and giving the saddle to Michael Stoute [trainer of Fujiyama Crest] and I said to him: 'Look, I'm on fire, so if this horse gets beat, it's all your fault', and he laughed.
"We went out and got a standing ovation from the public which was very touching, but I was very relaxed and serene because I didn't really believe the horse could win."
However, sent off as 2-1 favourite, having been six times those odds earlier, Fujiyama Crest led all the way and clung on for victory by a neck from Northern Fleet and Eddery, who was runner-up four times during the afternoon.
Dettori believes that the horse - who ultimately spent his retirement with his jockey's family, and only died last year - had a "sixth sense" that something was up and performed beyond his ability.
Ascot was a picture of cheering crowds and long queues in front of ashen-faced bookmakers, some of whom actually went bust as a result of the day's events. For the hero of the hour, there were countless media interviews to perform and thousands of autograph hunters to satisfy before the return home.
"I didn't know what to think," he recalls. "Because I did everything right - usually you think, I should have done this on this one, I should have done that on that one, but that was the first time everything went right.
"And then I got home and my wife Catherine - she was my fiancée then - dragged me to a friend's birthday party, where I didn't want to go, and so we ended up having a bit of an argument, so it was a bit of a sad end to a great day to be honest with you.
"I got up next morning and opened the door to get the papers, and there were a few cameras outside my house and I was in my underpants - it was one of those Notting Hill embarrassing moments - and only then did I realise this was really headline news."
During the 20 years since, Dettori has continued to make headline news, though not quite on the scale of Ascot. There have been many more big-race winners, of course, and regular TV appearances, on Top Of The Pops and Question of Sport and, more recently, Celebrity Big Brother.
But low moments too: the 2000 plane crash at Newmarket in which pilot Patrick Mackey died; losing his job as number one jockey to Sheikh Mohammed and being written off in some quarters; and a six-month drugs ban for cocaine use.
Dettori, now riding principally for Qatari Sheikh Joaan Al Thani and his Al Shaqab operation, describes himself as "colourful" and his career as a "rollercoaster", and he intends to continue for a few years at least.
"I've achieved everything I wanted to achieve," he said. "Now I'm at a later stage of my career, I'm really trying to enjoy it, and embrace it, as much as I can because I'm not going to be here forever [though] I'll get to 50 riding, no problem,"
And, nearly 30 years on from his initial success in Britain, in June 1987, as an Italian teenager speaking little English, is the enthusiasm still there? The answer is immediate and emphatic: "More than before because I know that I'm running out of time." | He is the winner of most of flat racing's greatest prizes, the Italian with the sparkling personality, sharp dress sense and unmistakeable accent, all of which have made him among the world's most recognisable sporting stars. | 37416300 |
The captain of the KLM aircraft became unwell as he was about to leave for Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.
He was resuscitated by the crew with the help of a passenger, and firefighters helped take him off the plane.
The Dutch pilot was then taken to the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank where he was in a "stable condition".
The co-pilot of the plane, which had 128 people on board, took the aircraft back to the gate.
The flight was supposed to leave at about 17:00, but because of the emergency it was cancelled and passengers had their flights re-booked.
A spokeswoman for KLM said: "During taxiing to the runway on this KLM flight to Amsterdam the captain became unwell and the staff treated him with the help of a passenger.
"He was taken to hospital where his condition is stable."
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We took a call that a man was having a heart attack at Glasgow Airport. We attended the scene and arrived at 5.25pm." | An airline pilot suffered a heart attack as he taxied the plane to the runway at Glasgow Airport. | 38189194 |
Three weeks after this year's tournament in Gabon, all the technical staff, including coach Avram Grant, have still to be paid.
"We don't have the money," a leading Ghana FA (GFA) official told BBC Sport.
Video analyst Gerard Nus is refusing to fly to his home nation Spain until the matter is addressed.
I will be here as long as it takes
"It's frustrating," the Spaniard told BBC Sport.
"Like any human being, when you do work you want to get paid - I don't think there's anything strange in that. I'm just going to wait here until they come with a good solution. Local people tell me that if I leave without a payment, most likely I will never get paid.
"It's sad to hear that because basically all I'm claiming is the money I've been promised for the job done."
Citing financial difficulties, the GFA has sought assistance from the country's government to settle the matter.
"The ministry is working for government to release funds for them to be paid," the official explained.
"It's not only Nus but the entire technical team and backroom staff - all of them."
Fitness coach Jamie Lawrence, who played in the Premier League with Bradford City, says he has lost work as a result of the payment delays.
"It's very frustrating. They told us the money would be paid as soon as we got back to Ghana and they haven't fulfilled the promise," the former Jamaica international told BBC Sport.
"I was away longer than anyone else - two months - and I went at the drop of a hat with 18 hours' notice for Avram and they haven't paid the money.
"90% of the team weren't playing regularly for their clubs and I got them up to speed before the tournament.
"I've been promised that I will get the rest of the money in the next 14 days. This hasn't put me off working in African football again but I have missed out on work because of this, when I was waiting for the money in Ghana."
The Black Stars extended a Nations Cup record in Gabon this year when becoming the first team to reach six semi-finals.
However, the four-time African champions once again failed to win a first title since 1982 as they were beaten 2-0 by Cameroon in the semi-finals.
Having taken charge after a disastrous 2014 World Cup for Ghana, Grant left his post earlier this month after deciding against renewing his contract.
The Israeli has left the country - in contrast to Nus, who should be back in Madrid.
The Spaniard also works at La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, who have been working without their assistant technical director in recent weeks.
"Rayo are wondering why I am not back in Madrid and of course that's where I want to be to help the club," Nus explained.
However, he is prepared to stay put until he is paid his salary by the GFA.
"They say I will get paid and I believe them. They are nice people and I trust them but it's one day, another day, another day and another day - and the issue is not getting sorted out.
"I will be here as long as it takes." | A member of Ghana's coaching staff at this year's Africa Cup of Nations is staging a sit-in at a hotel in the capital Accra in a row over his salary. | 39071567 |
Ciaran Williamson was playing with friends in Craigton Cemetery when the tragedy happened on 26 May 2015.
An inquiry into his death has heard its final submissions.
His mother Stephanie Griffin and stepfather Thomas McGee have spoken to BBC Scotland about the day Ciaran died, and their devastation at his death.
They believe his death might have been prevented if safety checks had been carried out.
However, that is disputed by Glasgow City Council, which said it was speculation that such tests would have averted the tragedy.
The council said it had done everything it could to assist the court, and that it would be "inappropriate" to comment further while the inquiry was ongoing.
Sheriff Linda Ruxton, who heard the fatal accident inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court, will deliver her findings at a later date.
The inquiry heard that following Ciaran's death, Glasgow City Council carried out a safety assessment at the cemetery and laid flat between 500 and 900 headstones over concerns they were unsafe.
Ciaran's family said they hoped other children would be warned off playing in unsafe locations.
His mother Stephanie said: "Every day I feel angrier. I feel I need to know what happened."
She hoped that other parents would become more aware of what was around them.
"Maybe it's a graveyard - or an old factory. Maybe just try to speak to their children," she said.
"If they see something that needs repaired, to report it."
At the time of the tragedy, the family lived next to the cemetery.
Stephanie said she had warned Ciaran about the dangers two days before the tragedy.
"We tried to speak to him and he said 'right mum, I promise you I won't go in'," she said.
Two evenings later Ciaran joined other boys in the cemetery.
He had only been gone for 10 minutes when another boy knocked on the family's door to say he had been injured.
Ciaran's stepfather Thomas hurried to the scene, followed shortly afterwards by Stephanie.
"I remember saying to Thomas 'what's happened to him, what's happened to him?'
Stephanie recalled that she saw Ciaran on the ground with a headstone or tombstone next to him.
She said "Thomas said to me 'Stephanie, that was on him. I've had to take that off him. It's fell on him'.
"And I was screaming and I was shouting. I was slapping his face and saying: 'Ciaran, Ciaran, come on, please, just get up'."
Thomas then called the ambulance service and they talked him through administering CPR.
He recalled: "It must have only been five minutes, but it felt to me like it was an hour. And I'll never forget it."
Stephanie said the family was still adjusting to life after Ciaran's death, and that some days it was difficult to get out of bed.
"It just hits me, all over again, that he's not here anymore," she said.
"And then I need to get up for the other kids. Otherwise, I don't think I would. If I'm honest, I don't."
Stephanie said the tragedy had badly affected Ciaran's elder sister.
"Even now at night she'll still cry for him. She says 'mum, I miss Ciaran' - and I say 'I know, mum misses him too. We all miss him'."
In the family's living room, words stencilled on the wall are a daily reminder of the loss and suffering they continue to endure amid the lasting memories of a special little boy.
Those words read: "Because someone we love is in heaven, there's a little bit of heaven in our home." | The family of an eight-year-old boy who died after a headstone fell on him at a Glasgow cemetery have spoken of their anger and pain at his loss. | 38028261 |
The 24-year-old heptathlete was ruled out of last month's Birmingham Indoor event with a minor hamstring strain.
Johnson-Thompson was due to compete in the long jump in Belgrade.
"I'm healthy/happy and in full training. I just want to concentrate on the outdoor season, as originally planned," she wrote on Instagram.
"Shame I won't be there, as I have such fond memories of last time! But playing the long game."
A British Athletics spokesman added: "The injury is fine but she didn't want to go there and not win, so she is making up for the training she missed."
Multi-eventer Ashley Bryant will captain the British team in Serbia.
Men: 60m: Richard Kilty, Andrew Robertson, Theo Etienne; 800m: Guy Learmonth, Kyle Langford; 1,500m: Tom Lancashire; 3,000m: Nick Goolab; 60m hurdles: Andrew Pozzi, David King, David Omoregie; High jump: Robbie Grabarz, Chris Kandu, Allan Smith; Long jump: Dan Bramble; Combined events: Ashley Bryant, Liam Ramsey.
Women: 60m: Asha Phillip; 400m: Eilidh Doyle, Laviai Nielsen, Lina Nielsen; 800m: Shelayna Oskan-Clarke; 1,500m: Laura Muir, Eilish McColgan, Sarah McDonald; 3,000m: Laura Muir, Eilish McColgan, Steph Twell; High jump: Morgan Lake; Long jump: Lorraine Ugen, Jazmin Sawyers; Shot put: Rachel Wallader; 4x400m: Eilidh Doyle, Laviai Nielsen, Lina Nielsen, Philippa Lowe, Mary Iheke. | Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson says she has withdrawn from this week's European Indoor Championships in Serbia to focus on her outdoor season. | 39129873 |
Police said a red Honda Civic had hit a silver Audi A4 before mounting a kerb on Manningham Lane and hitting a bollard on the pavement.
Two 18-year-old men from the city were pronounced dead at the scene.
The 20-year-old arrestees, who were also in the car, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail. | A man and a woman have been arrested after two teenagers were killed in a car crash in Bradford. | 29913310 |
Governing body the FIA said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with the F1 Group "setting out the framework for implementation" of a new deal.
The so-called Concorde Agreement is set to be signed "in the coming weeks".
Although the statement did not say the terms between the FIA and F1 Group were agreed, sources say that is the case.
The Concorde Agreement, which is confidential, sets out the commercial terms of a sport that has approximately $1.5bn (£1bn) of annual revenues.
Bernie Ecclestone's association with Formula 1 began in 1971, when he bought the Brabham team from Australian Ron Tauranac for £100,000
F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone had already agreed commercial terms with 10 of the 11 teams. He has made no attempt to do with Marussia, who finished last in the championship last season.
Agreement with the FIA president Jean Todt took longer to reach, but the Frenchman and Ecclestone are understood now to have reached an agreement.
"There have obviously been lots of things we've had to sort out," Ecclestone said.
"It's a longer term thing, and this forms most of the Concorde Agreement for the teams as well, so we can get the whole lot put to bed now."
Ecclestone said the new agreement gave the teams more involvement in the rule-making process. Their commercial terms have also improved.
"It's for seven years, and what it does is give a little more input from the teams which we've been fighting for concerning regulations, so they can't complain," Ecclestone said.
If the Concorde Agreement is signed, it will be a major boost to Todt as he seeks re-election as president of the FIA later this year.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Englishman David Ward, a former adviser to ex-president Max Mosley, is planning to run against Todt.
Sources say Ward, a former adviser to the Labour Party in the UK, believes he is unlikely to win but wants to run to bring out into the open a number of issues regarding Todt's presidency of which he does not approve.
A signed Concorde Agreement could also raise the possibility of long-discussed flotation of F1.
CVC Capital Partners, which owns 35.5% of F1, has talked about floating the sport on the Singapore stock exchange in September.
The other shareholders in F1 are US investment groups BlackRock and Waddell & Reed, Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management and Ecclestone himself.
Ecclestone's own future as F1's chief executive is uncertain - he has been charged in Germany with bribing a banker to smooth the sale of F1 to CVC eight years ago.
Ecclestone has denied wrongdoing and says he will fight to clear his name. | Formula 1 has concluded a new agreement binding the teams, governing body and commercial arm together for the next seven years. | 23477951 |
Police are treating the death of the 30-year-old as murder.
He was found in Argyle Street at 15:35 Saturday by officers investigating a disturbance. A second man, aged 37, was also discovered with serious injuries.
Police Scotland's major investigations team has made a further appeal for information from potential witnesses to the crime.
Det Insp Grant MacLeod said Mr McFall died after suffering a "violent assault". | A man found dead in a residential street in Paisley has been named as James McFall. | 39707716 |
The One Click Politics app has won the information category at the national Apps for Good Awards.
The students and their teachers will attend an awards ceremony at The Barbican in London on Thursday.
A Dragon's Den-style judging panel of 14 experts picked the winners.
Wick High School computer science teacher Chris Aitken said: "I am personally very proud of all our teams that have taken part this year.
"They have shown real focus and dedication and I am sure they will use the skills they've learned in their future school career and beyond."
Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning and Science, added: "Taking part in a competition like this is an excellent way to show the real practical application of what is being learned in the classroom.
"I would like to congratulate the pupils and staff of Wick High School for winning through and wish them all the best for the launch of their app."
The Apps for Good programme has the backing of Digital World, a campaign promoting careers in the digital technology industry.
Skills Development Scotland has been involved in developing the campaign.
Two years ago, Wick High School held what was thought to be the first wearable technology competition of its kind in Scottish education.
Working in teams of two or three, S2 pupils were challenged to design an app for use with Google Glass eyewear or Samsung Gear 2 and Pebble smartwatches. | Pupils at Wick High School in the Highlands have created an award-winning app designed to engage young people in politics. | 35482250 |
The Scot defeated China's Mei Xi Wen and England's Dominic Dale 4-0.
O'Sullivan recorded two 4-2 wins - over veteran fellow Englishman Jimmy White and Northern Ireland's Mark Allen.
Judd Trump faces Robert Milkins, Yu De Lu takes on Liang Wenbo and Mark Davis is up against Marco Fu in the other quarter-finals.
Hong Kong's Fu edged out Australia's Neil Robertson 4-3 having already beaten Finland's Robin Hull 4-0.
Following his 4-1 win over China's Xiao Guodong, Englishman Davis was also made to battle to a 4-3 win by Mark Williams, the Welshman having earlier beaten home favourite Stephen Maguire.
Trump beat fellow Englishman Kyren Wilson 4-2 after whitewashing Thailand's Noppon Saengkham.
Milkins was another to win a by a deciding frame, against Anthony Hamilton, having beaten another fellow Englishman, Joe Perry, 4-1.
China's De Lu had single-frame wins over Welshman Daniel Wells and England's Sean O'Sullivan.
Wenbo edged out Barry Hawkins by one frame after the Chinese beat another English opponent, Ian Burns, without the loss of a frame. | John Higgins won two rounds without losing a frame to set up a quarter-final against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Scottish Open in Glasgow. | 38334720 |
This week's theme will be "my commute" - Find out how you can join in and submit your images and videos below.
If you have a picture you'd like to share, email us at england@bbc.co.uk, post it on Facebook or tweet it to @BBCEngland. You can also find us on Instagram - use #englandsbigpicture to share an image there. You can also see a recent archive of pictures on our England's Big Picture board on Pinterest.
When emailing pictures, please make sure you include the following information:
Please note that whilst we welcome all your pictures, we are more likely to use those which have been taken in the past week.
If you submit a picture, you do so in accordance with the BBC's Terms and Conditions.
In contributing to England's Big Picture you agree to grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish and otherwise use the material in any way that we want, and in any media worldwide.
It's important to note, however, that you still own the copyright to everything you contribute to England's Big Picture, and that if your image is accepted, we will publish your name alongside.
The BBC cannot guarantee that all pictures will be used and we reserve the right to edit your comments.
At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws collecting any kind of media. | Each day we feature a photograph sent in from across England. | 37338751 |
In a statement to be sent to parishioners, they appealed for all involved in disputes at the school to work collaboratively.
The trustees own the school on behalf of the Catholic Church.
Their statement was issued by Fr Timothy Bartlett from the Diocese of Down and Connor.
There have been ongoing industrial problems at the post-primary school, which has about 1,100 pupils, over the past few months.
About a third of the 70-strong teaching staff at the school were absent for a number of days before the Easter holiday.
In an unusual move, an associate principal is to begin work at De La Salle on Monday which is the first day of the summer term.
Imelda Jordan is a former principal of St Colm's High School, Twinbrook, and will work alongside the current principal, Claire White.
The trustees said that she had been appointed to ensure "maximum stability" in the school while pupils prepare for exams.
"She will support and advise the leadership and management of the college, including the governors, on the day-to-day operation of the school and in addressing any issues giving rise to concern," the statement issued by Fr Bartlett said.
"On behalf of the diocesan trustees, I encourage everyone associated with the school to work collaboratively to ensure a stable and supportive teaching and learning environment, both within and around the school, as young people prepare for their examinations."
"This includes dealing with any recently publicised issues regarding the school in a calm, constructive manner that does not impinge on the operation of the school or distract pupils, families, staff and management."
A group representing parents of some pupils has held a number of demonstrations outside the school in recent weeks.
The Concerned Parents Committee of De La Salle has called for the principal, vice-principal and board of governors to be stood down.
They also called for a "thorough independent and transparent investigation" of events at the school.
They plan to hold further meetings for parents and a public rally to highlight their "concerns associated with the running of this school and direct impact on the education and well being of the pupils." | The trustees of De La Salle College in west Belfast have called for calm as efforts continue to resolve "a range of issues" at the school. | 35950162 |
It was "one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks we have ever dealt with" and could take another four months to contain, the WHO said.
The virus had now killed 101 people in Guinea and 10 in Liberia, it said.
Ebola is spread by close contact and kills between 25% and 90% of its victims.
Many West African states have porous borders, and people travel frequently between countries.
Southern Guinea is at the epicentre of the outbreak, with the first case reported last month.
The geographical spread of the outbreak is continuing to make it particularly challenging to contain - past outbreaks have involved much smaller areas.
"We fully expect to be engaged in this outbreak for the next two to three to four months before we are comfortable that we are through it," Keija Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general, said at a news briefing in Geneva, Reuters news agency reports.
The WHO said 157 suspected cases had been recorded in Guinea, including 20 in the capital, Conakry.
Sixty-seven of the cases have been confirmed as Ebola, it added.
In neighbouring Liberia, 21 cases had been reported, with five confirmed as Ebola, WHO said.
Mali had reported nine suspected cases, but medical tests done so far showed that two of them did not have Ebola, it said.
Last week, Mali said it was on high alert because of fears of an outbreak of Ebola and it would tighten border controls.
Saudi Arabia has suspended visas for Muslim pilgrims from Guinea and Liberia, in a sign of the growing unease about the outbreak.
This is the first known outbreak in Guinea - most recent cases have been thousands of miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
There is no known cure or vaccine for Ebola.
The tropical virus leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding. | The number of people believed to have been killed by the Ebola virus in Guinea has passed 100, the UN World Health Organization says. | 26941698 |
The PFA Scotland player of the year has experienced spells on the sidelines at previous clubs and was part of the Aston Villa squad relegated from England's top flight last season.
"If I can give advice to young players it is to never give up," he said.
"People will always pull you down and say you are never good enough."
And Sinclair, who has scored 25 goals so far this term, added: "The main thing, on a personal level, is that I never gave up and I'm getting the rewards for it now.
"When you've gone through so many tough times in your career, of not playing and getting relegated, I was the one who stayed behind at training and did things at home. Looking back, it was all worth it."
Sinclair, now 28, joined Chelsea at 15 from Bristol Rovers and made a handful of appearances for the first team. In his five years contracted to the Stamford Bridge club he was loaned to Plymouth, Queens Park Rangers, Charlton, Crystal Palace, Birmingham and Wigan before signing for Swansea in August 2010.
The English winger made more than 90 appearances for the Swans ahead of a switch to Manchester City, but was on the fringes there and was again loaned out, with spells at West Brom and Aston Villa.
The pain of relegation with Villa, in his first season there after a transfer from City ahead of season 2015-16, has made the success of his debut season under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic all the more joyful.
He said: "The main thing was to come up here and enjoy my football again and get that happiness back into my life of playing week in, week out and having a manager who believes in me.
"I could have stayed down in England and enjoyed my life and had it all nice and cosy. But I didn't want that, I wanted much more. I've always wanted to be giving more."
Sinclair, who described his player of the year award as "a great honour", came off the bench on Saturday as Celtic swept St Johnstone aside.
In the second half he replaced the impressive 18-year-old Michael Johnston, who has since signed a three-year deal with the treble-chasers.
"Mikey stepped up," said Sinclair of his young team-mate.
"He was fantastic, you could see his confidence. I spoke to him before the game just to say, 'play your own game', because sometimes when you play under-21 level and you come in to the first team you just want to keep it simple.
"But any young player coming into the first team wants to go out there and express himself, and that's what the gaffer brings to any young player who steps up." | Celtic winger Scott Sinclair says the most important lesson he has learned in football is to always have belief in your ability. | 39847968 |
Corrie Mckeague, 23, vanished from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 24 September.
More than £51,000 has been raised to fund a private investigator. Donations have come from almost 5,000 people.
Nicola Urquhart told supporters: "Even in my darkest moments when I just want to crumble you all just keep giving me the strength to carry on fighting."
What do we know about Corrie Mckeague's disappearance?
Her son, a gunner at RAF Honington, was last seen at about 03:25 BST walking alone in the Suffolk market town.
He was seen walking into a dead-end loading bay area known at the "horseshoe" but not seen coming out again.
In response to Mrs Urquhart's frustrations with the police investigation, a crowdfunding site to hire a private investigator was set up on 6 December.
Mrs Urquhart, from Dunfermline, told donors: "You have given us the ability to get information that might just be that vital piece that brings Corrie home.
"We just could not have considered these opportunities without your amazing kindness."
A private investigator has not yet been hired.
Mrs Urquhart said if she does not hire one, the money would go to Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue which has been assisting the search effort.
Mrs Urquhart said she had halted her search for a private investigator after Suffolk Police agreed to investigate three men attempting to set fire to a vehicle on 25 September.
Police said the incident had been investigated and there was nothing to link it to Mr Mckeague's disappearance.
A second public search for Mr Mckeague will take place on 22 January. More than 60 volunteers joined in the first on 17 December. | The mother of a missing airman has expressed her gratitude after a fundraising target to help find her son was reached within weeks. | 38471826 |
Most of Crimea's two million people have been hit by the power cut. There are also some water shortages.
Anti-Russian activists were blamed for the cut. Russian forces annexed Crimea in March 2014, during Ukraine's crisis.
Public transport is still running and Crimean hospitals are using generators.
A state of emergency was imposed in Crimea on Sunday after two more key pylons were damaged - bringing the total to four. Monday was declared a non-working day.
It is still not clear how exactly the pylons were damaged in Kherson, a Ukrainian region adjacent to Crimea. That region has been tense since Russia's annexation of Crimea - an act that was condemned internationally.
Crimean Tatar activists, denying repair workers access to the damaged power lines, suggested that the weakened pylons were blown down by the wind.
But Ukraine's state energy company, Ukrenergo, said the damage was caused by "shelling or the use of explosive devices".
Russia has blamed Ukrainian nationalists from far-right party Right Sector as well as Crimean Tatar activists, calling it "an act of terrorism".
Earlier this year those activist groups prevented food lorries crossing into Crimea.
The blackout has knocked out street lighting and cut cable and mobile internet. It has also forced the closure of some 150 schools.
A Crimean Tatar activist told Ukraine's TV news broadcaster 112 Ukrayina that Russia must release "political prisoners" and let their leader Mustafa Dzhemilev return to Crimea in exchange for repairs to the power lines.
But later Mr Dzhemilev, leader of the Crimean Tatar National Movement, told BBC Ukrainian that his supporters would grant repair workers access to the power lines. "I think that Crimea will have electricity soon", he said.
Crimean Tatar activists accuse Russia of abusing Tatar rights and denying them a voice since a pro-Moscow government was installed in Crimea.
Images on social media show Ukrainian flags on some damaged pylons - and Crimean Tatar flags on others.
Crimean authorities said they had managed to partially reconnect the cities of Simferopol, Yalta and Sevastopol using generators.
Only 30% of Crimea's electricity is generated locally - the rest comes from Ukraine, Russia's government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.
Emergency power-saving measures have been imposed: Sevastopol is getting three hours' supply, followed by a six-hour cut; in Simferopol residents have three-hour power cuts three times a day.
Ukrainian authorities said they encountered activists blockading the site when they tried to repair the damaged pylons.
The power cut is threatening food outlets which rely on cold storage and lack generating capacity.
A hospital worker said the electricity was sufficient to keep wards warm but not to power hot plates, so patients were only getting cold food. | Only essential services and government offices are operating in Crimea after key electricity pylons connected to the peninsula were knocked down in Ukraine, causing a major blackout. | 34899484 |
Mr Taylor, who was a regular face presenting the news, died in December aged 65.
His roles at the BBC included presenting the Four-Five-Six programme on BBC Radio Wales.
His funeral was held at Holy Trinity, Christchurch, in Newport, and was followed by a service at the Gwent Crematorium in Croesyceiliog. Mr Taylor leaves a wife and two children.
As well as his work at the BBC, Mr Taylor was a presenter and journalist at HTV, the predecessor of ITV Wales.
He also presented on BBC Radio Gwent and worked for the Newport-based South Wales Argus newspaper. | The funeral of former HTV and BBC Wales journalist Steve Taylor has been held. | 30817259 |
Sources described a "bit of a bust-up" as the energy secretary "went for" David Cameron and George Osborne.
But both the Yes and No campaigns have criticised Mr Huhne for diverting attention from the main issues.
Voters will be asked on Thursday whether they want to change the voting system for UK-wide elections.
A source from the Yes campaign told the BBC: "Nothing Chris Huhne has done in the last few weeks was authorised by us or useful to us.
"The difficulty from day one was that we didn't want the referendum to be seen through the prism of the coalition."
And a spokesman for the No campaign accused Mr Huhne of using "increasingly offensive and hysterical invective to obscure the issue of AV".
The issue of whether to change the way MPs are elected divides the coalition - the Conservatives want to keep first-past-the-post while the Liberal Democrats are supporting the Yes campaign for the alternative vote.
At the moment MPs are elected by the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate getting the most votes in a constituency is elected.
On 5 May all registered UK voters will be able to vote Yes or No on whether to change the way MPs are elected to the alternative vote system.
Under the alternative vote system, voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.
Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected.
If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers' second choices allocated to those remaining.
This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes in that round.
In depth: AV referendum
Q&A: alternative vote referendum
AV poll: Where parties stand
The confrontation between Mr Huhne and Mr Cameron happened at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
The energy secretary is understood to have put two leaflets issued by the No campaign - which Lib Dem activists regarded as a personal attack on party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg - on the table.
He then challenged the prime minister and the chancellor to defend them and sack any Conservative activist involved in them.
One source said: "There was a bit of a bust-up. Chris Huhne went for the PM and the chancellor over AV."
The BBC's deputy political editor James Landale said that the chancellor had intervened, telling Mr Huhne: "This is the cabinet, not some kind of sub-Jeremy Paxman interview".
Other sources, James Landale added, suggested Mr Huhne's actions felt like a "deliberate stunt by the Yes campaign" and that he had not been supported by anyone else in the cabinet.
A No 10 spokeswoman confirmed AV "was raised in the context of parliamentary business" at the start of the meeting.
Humphrys could be 'clearer' on AV
Asked about the confrontation, Deputy PM Nick Clegg said he would not give "a running commentary of what was said in one cabinet meeting" but told the BBC it was no secret "that I feel and other people from the Liberal Democrats" felt the No campaign had been "quite misleading".
It follows an interview with the Guardian on Monday in which Lib Dem minister Mr Huhne accused the Conservatives of "trashing" his party and Mr Cameron of doing nothing to stop personal attacks on Mr Clegg by the No campaign.
Mr Huhne, a former Lib Dem leadership contender, has been one of the most vocal Lib Dem critics of the No campaign's tactics - threatening legal action and comparing claims made by cabinet colleague Baroness Warsi to Nazi propaganda.
But a spokesman for the energy secretary accused Conservatives of "furiously" briefing about the meeting despite a convention that the proceedings remained private.
Ex-Labour minister Lord Boateng decided against criticising Mr Huhne by name in his speech to a No to AV rally, after a pre-released extracts suggested he would, as the No campaign seeks to move the debate away from a row between politicians.
Earlier Mr Cameron distanced himself from the official No to AV campaign's controversial posters which used images of a sick baby and suggested the cost of introducing an AV system could be up to £250m - something the Yes camp disputes.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today's programme he was "directly responsible" only for the official Conservative Party no campaign but he stood by the No campaign's claims AV would "very likely" mean electronic counting machines would have to be bought.
Amid opinion polls suggestions that the Yes campaign is heading for defeat, Labour leader Ed Miliband said he did not accept that the AV result was a "foregone conclusion" - adding: "Let's see what happens on Thursday."
He also defended his decision to refuse to share a Yes campaign platform with Nick Clegg due to his perceived unpopularity with voters: "There's a reason the No campaign want to make Nick Clegg the poster child for their campaign."
The Yes campaign is trailing in the opinion polls, with a survey by The Sunday Times/YouGov putting them 10 points behind - a narrowing of the poll before that, which put them 18 points behind.
But campaigners for changing the electoral system insist it is still all to play for, with turnout in different parts of the country likely to prove crucial.
The No campaign also believes turnout will be all-important. A spokesman said: "At this stage no one can be certain what the turnout is going to be like and it is about getting out your vote." | Chris Huhne is said to have confronted the prime minister at a cabinet meeting over the No campaign's claims in the alternative vote referendum. | 13269677 |
The World Health Organization estimates that at least 81 million people across Africa are affected by some form of disability.
As a result many grassroots activists, academics and artists are finding innovative ways to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, at both a local and international level.
From the Accessible Guidebook to Ethiopia, to wheelchairs made especially for rough rural terrain, there are numerous examples of resourcefulness and audacity.
BBC Africa spoke to eight of these change-makers - to find out what they are doing and why they were inspired to make a change.
In 2002, singer Grace Jerry was on her way home from choir rehearsal when she was knocked down by a drunk driver and left with paralysis of the lower limbs. After the accident she says music took on a whole new dimension: "Today, it is more than just holding the microphone, it is my world, my platform and my voice." Last year, she introduced President Obama at the Mandela Washington Fellowship Young African Leaders Initiative programme in the United States. "I had to hold back the tears when he walked up to me on stage and said some beautiful things about me and the work we are doing in Nigeria through [disability advocacy NGO] Inclusive Friends," she remembers.
Four years ago, the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development published its Guide to Accessible Addis Ababa, reviewing the accessibility of different hotels, government buildings, restaurants and public spaces. "When we saw that it was really helpful for visitors as well as locals with disabilities, we thought 'Ok we have to scale up this project'," says programme director Retta Getachew. "We have six guides now and another that combines them all in one book, which is the Guide to Accessible Ethiopia."
When her daughter was born with disabilities, Shona McDonald says medical staff told her: "'Put her in a home, have another kid and move on' - that there was nothing that would really add value for her. And it was through my frustration and anger that I decided I wanted to prove them wrong." Using her sculpting skills, she started designing mobility equipment and supports - with the help of the University of Cape Town's biomedical-engineering department. Now her company, Shonaquip, manufacturers everything from wheelchairs to posture supports, which can be easily assembled, fitted and maintained by local therapists and technicians all over Africa.
Last year, Tlhokomelo Elena Sabole was crowned Miss Deaf Africa 2015. It was, she says, a dream come true: "Winning was so amazing. I have never been happy like that." Growing up in Lesotho as a deaf person is not easy, she says. But she hopes to change attitudes towards non-hearing people, and wants to see access to information opened up - such as through sign language on TV and signing classes in schools. "My dream is to have my own business," she says, "for example a salon where I can share my skills and work with other deaf girls."
When Kenneth Habaalu joined the APTERS organisation they were finding it difficult to identify children with disabilities in the community. "People didn't want others to know they had a disabled child at home," he explains. "One mother told me she usually leaves her child in bed when she goes to the market. To help her sit, she said: 'I dig a hole outside the house and put the child in there.' To stand, she would tie the child to the tree with material. I think it's inhuman to do such things." With limited resources, APTERS' team of eight (all of whom are disabled) use recycled paper and cardboard to make papier maché chairs, standing frames and walking aids, as well as teaching blocks for physiotherapy.
Victor Locoro has been working as a lecturer in the Faculty of Special Needs and Rehabilitation at Uganda's Kyambogo University for 20 years. As well as offering courses in community-based rehabilitation and disability studies, the faculty has its own Braille Production Unit. "At the moment it's on hold because one of the embosser machines needs serious repair," says Mr Locoro, who lost his sight at the age of ten. "But we are able to produce small amounts of material for the students, and are in the process of replacing the machine so that we resume full production. This includes producing books in Braille for primary and secondary schools; ministries of education, science, technology and sports; as well as civil society organisations."
In September 2007, Tim Stones co-founded the South African Deaf Rugby Union (SADRU). But there was a problem, the union wasn't affiliated with the South African Rugby Union - and so wasn't recognised by World Rugby. That all changed in 2014, and the following August SADRU held its first official Deaf Rugby Test series - the first of its kind held on South African soil - against Deaf Rugby World Champions, Wales.
Today, the union has around 90 deaf players. "However our numbers are steadily growing," says Mr Stones, "especially now that we are forming provincial Deaf Rugby unions in each province of SA." SADRU is also working with audiologists to conduct screenings in clubs and schools, to identity potential players - and undiagnosed hearing problems.
In between studying for her Electrical Engineering Masters at Colombia, Kay Igwe, who was raised in America but whose parents are from Nigeria, has been busy making an accessible computer game that's powered by brain waves. "A lot of people are investing in gaming culture right now," she explains, "but when someone has a neurodegenerative disease that impairs them from using any of their limbs or eye movements - or if they've suffered from a stroke or something that has left them paralysed - they cannot use a controller in the same way that someone who has those abilities can." Her solution? To use electroencephalogram or EEG signals to connect the brain to a computer game, so that a person can control a player using their brain waves.
This is part of BBC Africa's Living With Disability season. Find out more here. | Fighting for disability rights in Africa is a huge task but some people are taking it upon themselves to make a positive change. | 36538196 |
A first-half Gavin Whyte goal and two second-half strikes by Paul Heatley ensured a Crues victory at Solitude.
Andrew Waterworth and substitute Aaron Burns found the net twice as Linfield trounced Glentoran 4-0 at the Oval.
Glenavon defeated Coleraine 3-0 to move above Cliftonville into third place.
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Crusaders secured back-to-back Premiership successes by continuing their impressive run of form against the Reds, which has now seen them win six and draw one of the last seven meetings between the sides.
The champions took control from the outset and Whyte smashed the ball past Peter Burke in the 10th minute after a poor clearance by the home goalkeeper.
Before half-time, Burke tipped over a Jordan Forsythe piledriver, Jordan Owens flashed a right-foot effort wide and Heatley had a shot palmed away.
After the break, Owens saw an effort cleared off the line, before Heatley extended the lead by firing home right-footed on 56 minutes after the ball took a couple of deflections inside the area.
Heatley struck again two minutes later, then Burke denied the winger and Declan Caddell had an attempt cleared off the line by Levi Ives.
George McMullan grabbed a consolation goal by drilling in with four minutes remaining but it was the Crues who sealed a sixth league championship triumph.
Stephen Baxter's side have lost just three of the 36 league games they have played to date this season, including an opening day defeat to Portadown, their only home reverse of the campaign.
Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter: "These are good players and good players win leagues. They have worked hard and fully deserve this success.
"It's been difficult as everyone wants to beat you when you are champions so we had to dig out a few tough results and chip in with some late goals.
"We looked dead and buried at times and we had a lot of hard, tough games in the second half of the season. We ground it out and came back stronger and stronger."
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Linfield proved too strong for the Glens but lie eight points behind the Seaview outfit with just two sets of fixtures remaining.
Waterworth opened the scoring with a cool low shot past Elliott Morris into the bottom corner in the third minute and added another just after the half hour with a stunning right-foot strike into the top right-hand corner.
Burns tapped in from a Mark Haughey assist on 82 and the midfielder netted again four minutes later to complete a convincing win.
The result means the Windsor Park side have won three and drawn one of their four encounters against their cross-city rivals, while the Glens' run of five games unbeaten comes to an end.
Coleraine's dismal run of form continued as a Neil McCafferty own goal after 20 minutes, a Simon Kelly header from an Andy Hall free-kick on 29 and a late Kevin Braniff free-kick into the top corner from the edge of the area moved them two points above Cliftonville in the battle for a Europa League place.
The Bannsiders, who had Lyndon Kane sent-off with two minutes left, are now without a win in six games, while the Lurgan Blues have won all four meetings against Oran Kearney's side this season, without conceding a single goal.
Coleraine have found the net just once in their last six league outings. | Crusaders have retained the Irish League title for the first time in their history as a 3-1 win over north Belfast rivals Cliftonville gave them an unassailable lead over Linfield. | 36087817 |
The 93 year old was sedated and placed on a respirator on Tuesday after being taken to the Sheba Medical Centre.
On Wednesday, hospital director Yitzhak Kreiss said he was still in intensive care, but was stable and conscious.
Doctors were seeking to reduce Mr Peres' sedation to evaluate him, he added, calling it "a good sign".
Earlier, the Novel Peace Prize laureate's son-in-law and personal physician, Rafi Walden, said there appeared to be no imminent threat to his life anymore.
At a briefing for reporters outside the hospital near Tel Aviv, Prof Kreiss said Mr Peres was "in a pretty tough condition".
"But he is stable and we see some improvement. He is conscious, he's awake."
"We are trying to reduce some of the sedation in order to evaluate him, and that's a good sign. We will keep on evaluating him continuously in the neurosurgery intensive care unit. "
Prof Kreiss hoped to see further improvement over the next 24 hours.
Prof Walden meanwhile revealed that after his sedation was lowered, Mr Peres had indicated that he understood what was being said to him, had been responsive and squeezed his hand.
"We will continue to sedate him in order to ease his breathing and prevent him from getting upset about the things that are happening around him, which may raise his blood pressure - not because it is required neurologically," he said.
"The very mild anaesthesia allows him to rest completely and provides optimal conditions for his brain to recover."
Mr Peres was taken to the Sheba Medical Centre, outside Tel Aviv, on Tuesday for examination when he complained that he had a headache after giving a speech.
While in hospital, he suffered a massive stroke in the right side of the brain.
Prof Walden said it was too early to say whether Mr Peres had suffered any irreparable brain damage.
As one of Israel's most popular figures, his condition is being closely followed by the media and the public.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: "Shimon, we love you and the entire nation is wishing for your recovery,"
Mr Peres has held almost every major political office since Israel was founded in 1948, and was the architect of Israel's secret nuclear programme.
He twice served as prime minister and was president from 2007 to 2014.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role negotiating the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier, a prize he shared with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was later assassinated, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Despite his age, Mr Peres has maintained an active public schedule, mostly through his non-governmental Peres Centre for Peace, which promotes closer ties between Israel and the Palestinians.
In January, Mr Peres underwent minor surgery after suffering a small heart attack. | Doctors treating Israel's former President Shimon Peres after he suffered a stroke say his condition has improved slightly but remains critical. | 37360590 |
Charlie Austin and Matt Targett have returned to full training after long-term injuries but it is too soon for them to be involved in the first team.
Hull striker Oumar Niasse is available after the red card he received against Watford was rescinded.
Defender Omar Elabdellaoui remains absent with a back problem and may not play again this season.
Mark Scott: "This is a real chance for Hull to crank up the pressure on Swansea, who play a day later.
"While the Tigers' record on the road is awful, they can draw hope from the fact Southampton haven't exactly been on fire at St Mary's of late.
"That said, the Saints display at Chelsea in midweek certainly dispelled any suggestion they might already be on the beach.
"But Marco Silva's men are likely to be just that bit more fired up than the home side, given how strong a position victory would put them in, with all-but-doomed Sunderland the visitors to their KCOM Stadium fortress next week."
Twitter: @Mark_Scott_
Southampton manager Claude Puel: "It's important to take points because we want to finish in the first half of the table.
"Hull City will be a difficult game, we know, it's important to have this good concentration in this game.
"I think it will be just as difficult as the last games against Chelsea and Manchester City. Perhaps it will be more difficult."
Hull head coach Marco Silva on away form: "We need to change, of course we need to change.
"We analysed the last game like normal, and I think it's clear to me and I hope it's clear for our players what we need to do differently.
"We need to keep focus always and play with the same confidence we do at home. We need to keep focus, we conceded goals away on the counter-attack."
As good as Hull have been at home since Marco Silva took charge in January, they still cannot win away.
The Tigers have drawn one and lost eight out of nine matches on the road in all competitions in that time, and I don't see them improving on that record here.
Prediction: 2-0
Lawro's full predictions v Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar
Head-to-head
Southampton
Hull City
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches. | Southampton defender Sam McQueen is available to face Hull after recovering from a minor groin injury. | 39676469 |
Jamal Moghe, 26, from Wembley, north-west London, also worked as a civilian employee of the Met based at Ealing in west London.
He is believed to have been killed by bandits while travelling on a charity trip.
Ealing borough commander Andy Rowell said: "We were all shocked and saddened to hear of Jamal's death."
Mr Moghe was a criminal exhibits officer in Ealing and also worked as a special constable - a volunteer police officer - in his home borough of Brent.
Cdr Rowell said: "He was a popular member of the team at Ealing borough and he also chose to serve his community by volunteering as a special. Our thoughts are with his wife and family at this time."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national on 12 January and we are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."
A source told the BBC Mr Moghe had been on the way to Marsabit, towards the border with Ethiopia, to see his family.
By Noel MwakuguBBC News
North-eastern Kenya is a remote and arid region which borders Somalia to the east and Ethiopia to the north. It is sparsely populated - most people are cattle herders - and usually it is poorly policed. As a result incidents of banditry and cattle rustling are frequent.
Armed bandits, mostly from war-ravaged Somalia, raid villages to steal animals and in some instances attack public transport convoys for cash and other valuables. The road infrastructure has been neglected - and in many parts is non-existent - making travellers easy prey. The influx of illegal arms from Somalia and the huge number of unemployed youth have also complicated the security situation.
Although incidents of banditry are common, they are not likely to affect Kenya's tourism industry. North-eastern Kenya does not feature on the tourist circuit - most foreigners visit the area for the purpose of research or work for aid agencies.
It was Mr Moghe's first visit to the region in about 15 years, the BBC understands. He is understood to have been buried in the town of Isiolo within 24 hours of the attack - in line with Muslim tradition.
North-eastern Kenya, bordered by Ethiopia and Somalia, is a remote and sparsely populated area where lack of security is a problem.
The BBC understands the bus in which Mr Moghe had been travelling was sprayed with bullets by the bandits and no passenger was singled out.
But the BBC's Noel Mwakugu, in the capital, Nairobi, says official details of the attack are sketchy and Kenyan police do not have further information about the incident.
Odiambho Joseph, from the BBC's Swahili service, says banditry has been on the increase recently and in the last year several Kenyan policemen have been attacked and killed by suspected Islamist militants from Somalia.
The Somali al-Shabab group vowed to take revenge when Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October 2011 to help the UN-backed government seize territory from the militants.
The Times's Africa correspondent, Jerome Starkey, tweeted: "Brit cop Jamal Moghe was shot in a moving vehicle and nothing was stolen once the truck overturned, say provincial Kenyan police chief."
He said there were only nine passengers in the vehicle. | A British man who was killed in Kenya on Saturday was a special constable with the Metropolitan Police. | 21024341 |
The tunnel, which starts from the Mexican city of Tijuana, is reported to belong to the drug gang of fugitive drug cartel leader Joaquin Guzman.
Police said they detained 16 suspects and seized 10 tonnes of marijuana.
Mexican cartels have been smuggling drugs to the US through underground tunnels for years.
Federal police moved in on the latest tunnel, which was 10m (33ft) deep, after weeks of investigations and "without firing a single shot, surprising the suspected drug smugglers," the National Security Commission said.
Police described a sophisticated tunnel, which was lit, ventilated and built with metal beams to prevent collapse.
Officials have not yet confirmed which gang was operating the tunnel, but officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Reuters news agency that it was built by Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel, which operates in the region.
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaped from a maximum security jail through a 1.5km-long (1 mile) tunnel in July and remains on the run.
Another tunnel was discovered at the start of August also in Tijuana, though it was incomplete and came short of crossing the border with the US. | Mexican police have found an 800m (2,625ft) long tunnel used to smuggle drugs into the US city of San Diego, authorities say. | 34611997 |
The remarks came after the Australian government said its aircraft would participate in missions against IS in Syria.
Previously its jets were only flying missions against the militant group in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition.
Australia has also sent soldiers to help train and advise Iraq's army.
Ms Bishop told local media Australia was committed to destroying the militant group.
"We've always spoken about our involvement in Iraq in terms of years, not months or days," she said.
Defence Minister Kevin Andrews told ABC the country's role in the Middle East conflict would last "two or three years, I can't say in exact terms".
The Australian air force has been bombing IS targets in Iraq for about 12 months, but the US last month asked Australia to help pursue targets in Syria.
This week Australia announced it would take in an additional 12,000 migrants who are fleeing the Syrian crisis, on top of the 13,750 overall intake of confirmed refugees for 2015.
Australia will also give A$44m ($32m; £21m) to the UN to directly pay for the support of 240,000 displaced people in countries neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
That would increase Australia's total humanitarian aid to the Syria and Iraq conflicts to A$230m since 2011.
Europe is struggling to cope with its worst migrant crisis since World War Two, with tens of thousands crossing European borders. | Australia's role in the fight against so-called Islamic State in the Middle East could last "years", Foreign Minster Julie Bishop has said. | 34194367 |
The 20-year-old France international signed a five-year contract at the Nou Camp alongside the club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Monday.
The deal is the second most expensive of all time, eclipsed only by Neymar's recent £200m move to Paris St-Germain.
Barca said Dembele's contract has a release clause of 400m euros (£369.6m).
Dembele said: "I'm very happy to be here. It has always been my dream to be at Barcelona and now I'm here I'm very happy.
"It is the best club in the world with the best players in the world."
Dembele's last appearance for Dortmund came in the German Super Cup on 5 August. The Bundesliga side rejected a bid from Barca earlier in August, with the player then suspended for missing training.
Dortmund said they rejected Barca's approach because their offer "did not correspond to the extraordinary footballing and additional value of the player and the present economic situation of the European transfer market".
With regard to the agreed fee, Dortmund said in a statement the payment of add-ons "was agreed up to a maximum total amount of approximately 40% of the fixed transfer fee".
Barca have failed with three bids for Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho, the most recent of which was £114m.
Officially, the £75m signing of Luis Suarez from Liverpool in 2014 was their most expensive previous purchase.
However, Bartomeu has said in the past that "the overall cost of the operation" to sign Neymar from Brazilian club Santos in 2013 was "over 100m euros (£92m)", despite the transfer fee having been disclosed as £48.6m.
Last season, Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 21 assists as Dortmund finished third in the Bundesliga, won the German Cup, and reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
He joined Dortmund from French side Rennes on a five-year deal in May 2016, having been voted Ligue 1 young player of the year for the 2015-16 season, when he scored 12 goals and made five assists.
Dembele made his senior France debut in 2016, his only goal in seven caps to date coming in a 3-2 friendly victory over England in June.
He was left out of the France squad for September's World Cup qualifiers against the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with manager Didier Deschamps explaining on Thursday: "Ousmane hasn't trained for a fortnight and he's waiting to see if the transfer will go ahead or won't go ahead."
2017 - Neymar £200m (Barcelona to Paris St-Germain)
2017 - Ousmane Dembele £135.5m (Dortmund to Barcelona)
2016 - Paul Pogba £89m (Juventus to Manchester United)
2013 - Gareth Bale £85m (Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid)
2009 - Cristiano Ronaldo £80m (Manchester United to Real Madrid)
John Bennett, BBC World Service
The transfer fee is astonishing but former team-mates and former coaches will tell you Ousmane Dembele has the potential to be a Ballon d'Or winner.
They mention his extraordinary acceleration on the ball, they rave about how two-footed he is (his right foot is supposed to be stronger than his left, but it's very close) and they talk about his extraordinary skills, touch and close control.
His former manager at Rennes, Rolland Courbis, actually claims Dembele could have joined Barcelona last summer but turned them down. He says they offered more money than Borussia Dortmund but the French youngster chose to go to Germany.
His change of heart now may have a lot to do with Neymar's departure offering more guaranteed game time in a World Cup year. Filling the Brazilian's boots will come with a lot of pressure but Dembele has the quality to make that spot his own. | Barcelona have completed a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele for an initial £96.8m, potentially rising to £135.5m. | 41075084 |
Keitany, 34, ran a time of two hours 24 minutes 26 seconds to become the first to accomplish the feat since Norway's Grete Waitz - who won five in a row.
"Winning three times means a lot to me. It's not easy but I got it," she said.
Eritrean world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 20, beat Kenya's Lucas Rotich in the men's race to become New York's youngest ever winner.
Ghebreslassie, who finished fourth at both the London Marathon and the Rio Olympics this year, crossed the line in 2:07:51 to deny Kenya a fourth consecutive double in the New York men's and women's races.
"I am really proud with my victory today to be the first one from my country [to win the race]," he said.
American Tatyana McFadden won her fourth straight New York women's wheelchair race in one hour 47 minutes 43 seconds.
The win means she has won the last 17 major marathon races - London, Boston, Chicago and New York - including four calendar-year clean sweeps. | Kenya's Mary Keitany has become the first woman to win three consecutive New York Marathons for 30 years. | 37891938 |
Police were called to the scene on the A720, near the Dreghorn junction, just before 17:00 on Saturday.
The teenager was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with serious injuries.
The incident involved a blue Skoda Citigo travelling westbound. Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them.
The road was closed until about 03:00 while an investigation was carried out.
Sgt Andy Gibb, of Police Scotland, said: "We're currently working to establish the full circumstances surrounding this collision and are asking anyone who may have witnessed this, or who has any other information which can help with our inquiries, to come forward." | A 16-year-old boy is seriously ill in hospital after being hit by a car on the Edinburgh bypass. | 34957311 |
Researchers said about 75% of all food and drink marketing seen by 11-18 year olds was for unhealthy food.
In addition, more than 80% of the products that young people picked up at checkout promotions were high in fat, salt or sugar, the research found.
More than 2,000 schoolchildren across Scotland were surveyed for the study.
The data was obtained from the Ipsos-Mori 2014 Young People in Scotland Survey and analysed by Stirling's Institute of Social Marketing.
It showed that almost two-thirds of the 2,285 children questioned recalled seeing a food or drink promotion in the past week, with more than half responding by buying something.
However, only one in 10 of the purchases was for healthy food.
Report author Georgina Cairns, a senior researcher at Stirling University, said the study clearly showed that marketing was affecting the behaviour of young people.
"Although we knew the visibility of marketing for food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar was high, the strength of our results was nevertheless surprising," she said.
"Retailer and marketer's food and drink promotional investments are clearly heavily skewed towards these products. As a consequence, our young people are not getting the cues they need to encourage them to make healthier choices."
Ms Cairns said promotional offers on food featured very highly in decisions to buy sweets, chocolate and sugary drinks - products commonly found at tills in supermarkets and petrol stations.
But she said there was an opportunity for marketers to use children's responses to such offers in a positive way.
"The extent of sweets, chocolate and sugary drinks being purchased at the till is concerning.
"Reducing the number or indeed completely eliminating these products from till areas could have a really positive impact on the buying behaviour and in turn the health of young people." | Children are exposed to "concerning" amounts of junk food marketing, according to a study by the University of Stirling. | 35051097 |
The incident occurred at a sold-out match between Motagua and Honduras Progreso in the Honduran capital.
News agency Associated Press reports that a police statement claimed too many tickets had been sold.
Motagua denied too many tickets were sold and said they warned "responsible authorities immediately that fake tickets were being circulated".
They said the fake tickets "enabled people to enter the stadium illegally to watch the final between Motagua and El Progreso - people who apparently occupied seats that were not theirs, forcing others to leave the area".
The game went ahead, with Motagua winning the title play-off match, held at the 35,000-capacity national stadium in Tegucigalpa, 3-0 on the day and 7-1 on aggregate.
In a statement, Motagua expressed "its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the four people who sadly died in the accident at the start of the final" and wished "a speedy recovery to those injured".
However, they added: "It is important to bear in mind that all the ticket sales are supervised, and in this case approved, by the national commission for sports facilities (Conapid), which is an agency of the Honduras government.
"The club is helping in the investigation into what happened at the stadium, which was under police control - according to the rules - as always 48 hours before any sports event." | At least four people are believed to have died and many others been injured in a stampede at a game in Honduras. | 40082119 |
The Edinburgh-based company said it would strengthen Menzies Aviation's offering at major international gateways such as London Heathrow, San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles.
The company said buying Asig for ($202m) was a "strategically and financially compelling transaction".
Asig has operations in 88 locations across seven countries.
It is one of the largest independent providers of commercial airline services in the world.
With its headquarters in Orlando, but currently owned by BBA Aviation in the UK, it is one of the market leaders for into plane (ITP) fuelling and fuel farm management (FFM) services in North America and the UK.
It also has ground handling operations.
John Menzies said the deal would strengthen its position as a leading player in the global aviation services market.
Menzies chairman Dr Dermot Smurfit said: "This is a transformational deal for Menzies and will significantly increase Menzies Aviation's footprint globally while also adding fuelling to our operations.
"The transaction will create one of the largest aviation services businesses in the world, doubling the size of our North American operations, while strengthening Menzies Aviation's service offering at major international gateways such as London Heathrow, San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles.
"The board is confident of realising significant cost synergies following the acquisition and it is expected to deliver material enhancement in underlying earnings per share in its first full financial year of ownership."
The takeover is expected to be completed for completion by the end of 2016. | John Menzies has agreed a deal to buy plane refuelling business Asig in a deal worth almost £153m. | 37384609 |
Many women born between April 1951 and 1960 have claimed they were not aware that their pension age was being raised by up to six years.
Although there had been talk of a compromise solution, the new Work and Pensions Secretary has told MPs that will not be possible.
"I don't see there is a do-able policy solution," said Stephen Crabb MP.
Members of the campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) said they were disappointed, but were still hopeful that a solution could be found.
Many of those affected say they have been left without enough money to live on, and not enough time to make alternative arrangements.
Two weeks ago, the Pensions Minister, Ros Altmann, told the BBC that she was hoping to help the women.
MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee had also suggested a compromise, that would not cost the tax-payer any extra money.
They said the women should be allowed to claim their pensions early, if they wanted to, but at a reduced rate.
But Stephen Crabb rejected that, saying, "When I've discussed that, some of the women have said that's not actually what they want".
"It is just fiscally impossible," he said.
"And I think it's irresponsible for anyone in this House of Commons to try to pretend, or lead these women into thinking there's an easy decision to be made."
"I am disappointed, but still hopeful," said Marion Smulders, a co-founder of Waspi.
"There is a cross-party parliamentary group on this. I trust they will have further contact with Stephen Crabb, and hope he will re-visit this."
She said a lot of women affected would have been happy with the compromise suggested by the Work and Pensions Committee, although it would not be acceptable for everybody.
The government's state pension calculator is available here.
Under the 1995 Pensions Act, the government decided that the pension ages of both men and women would be equalised by 2020. Previously, women retired at 60, while men retired at 65.
In 2011, state pension ages were raised at an even faster rate.
The government has said that everyone was told about the changes, but many women say they never received the information. | Hundreds of thousands of women who are fighting against delays to their state pension have had their hopes dashed. | 36266934 |
25 July 2017 Last updated at 08:11 BST
It's the first time that England have won an international trophy since 2009, and their score was the second highest in the history of the Women's World Cup final.
These young cricketers told us how they've been inspired by the team's success. | On Sunday, England's women beat India by nine runs to take the Cricket World Cup trophy. | 40713924 |
Meanwhile, like-for-like food sales in the quarter were down by 0.9%.
In May the firm's new boss Steve Rowe unveiled plans to revive the retailer's clothing and homeware business, with lower clothing prices and better style.
The firm said consumer confidence weakened in the run up to the June 23 European Union referendum in the UK.
But it said it was too early to quantify the implications of Brexit.
In early morning trade, shares in M&S, which have fallen 29% over the last three months, were down by 1.2% to 290.6p.
M&S also said that this year its summer sale began on 5 July, two weeks later than in 2015, a move that would reduce total sales.
The firm said the impact of moving the summer sale and running fewer promotions than last year accounted for 5% of the like-for-like sales fall.
Analysis: Emma Simpson, BBC Business Correspondent
The latest headlines from Marks are bleak. In fact they're the worst like-for-like sales in clothing and homewares for a decade. But the underlying picture is less grim, if you strip out the effects of price cuts and promotions and the clearance sale now falling into the second quarter of the year.
The wider clothing market is also having a pretty torrid time. New figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed fashion sales fell in the year to 5 June, compared with the previous year.
This is the first annual sales decline in six years. The wet weather in June hasn't helped. As if he didn't have enough to contend with, Steve Rowe now has to deal with the impact of Brexit - although he and lots of other retailers are still trying to gauge what the effects will be.
He says he's going to hold his nerve for the long term success of the business. Those nerves are likely to be tested in the months ahead.
"We continued to reduce the number of promotional events during the quarter, including just one 'cyber day' compared with six last year," the firm said, adding that it had repriced some 1,000 clothing lines since January.
Those 1,000 clothing lines have seen price cuts of around 17% since January, with some seven million items affected.
Chief executive Steve Rowe said the food business "continues to strongly outperform a deflationary market", with the 0.9% fall in like-for-like sales reflecting the timing of Easter.
He said the firm was "confident that our strategic priorities and the actions we are taking remain the right ones to deliver results for our customers and our business".
Mr Rowe also said that consumer confidence started to weaken in November, which continued through May and in the run-up to the EU referendum:
"We are operating in uncertain times and consumer confidence remains fragile," he added.
Today's first-quarter figures from M&S are worse than analysts' forecast a 5% to 8% drop for clothing sales.
M&S said its full-year guidance remains unchanged: "We continue to manage the business for the challenging market environment."
Richard Lim, chief executive of research consultancy Retail Economics, said: "M&S's clothing figures are painfully weak, and fail to stem the loss of market share to other, more-agile, multichannel competitors.
"Its tireless efforts to revive the struggling clothing business have failed to resonate with its core customer base." | Marks and Spencer said like-for-like sales at its clothing arm fell by 8.9% in the first quarter, as a "weak market" and fewer promotions hit sales. | 36732737 |
Writer Barbara Henderson's debut novel, Fir for Luck, is set during the Highland Clearances.
It tells of a 12-year-old girl who takes a stand against the threatened clearance of her village in 1841.
Henderson was inspired by real events in Strathnaver in Sutherland which saw women and children resist an attempt to clear their community.
Starting in the late 18th Century and running into the 19th Century, the Highland Clearances saw townships occupied by generations of families cleared to make way for large-scale sheep farming and the rearing of deer.
Landowners were seeking to "improve" their estates at the time of the industrial revolution. Their hope was to make more capital from the land by running shooting estates, or starting industrial-scale livestock farming.
In some cases people who had lived on the land for generations left voluntarily, while others were forcibly evicted and their homes burned and demolished.
The clearances have been tackled in fiction and factual books before, as well as in music and in film, including Slow West starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee and directed by Scottish musician John Maclean.
Henderson said one of the reasons for writing her novel was to offer a modern telling of the clearances for young readers.
She told BBC Radio Scotland: "While on holiday up at Strathnaver and the Sutherland coast with my family I looked for a suitable book for my children to read about the subject.
"I found The Desperate Journey, which is by Kathleen Fidler and is a book schools are still studying, but it was published in 1964.
"While I rate the book and I think it is a good book and it is well-written it maybe has a slightly dated feel to it.
"I was hoping, maybe, I would write something that is more appropriate for a modern reader."
Henderson drew on the real-life events that happened in Strathnaver for her story.
She was fascinated by the actions of women and children to resist a sheriff officer sent to evict the families while the men in the community were away.
Launches for the new book are being held in Inverness where Henderson lived for 12 years. | A new children's book tackles one of the most controversial periods of Scottish history. | 37428220 |
Leave racked up 104,166 votes in the county and won with 57% - compared to Remain which secured 78,987 of ballots totalling 43%.
In Telford and Wrekin, the Leave campaign claimed victory with 63% after a total of 56,649 of votes - while Remain took 32,954 - 37% of votes.
The turnout in Shropshire was 77% and in Telford and Wrekin 72%.
EU referendum reaction
Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham, said he was elated by the result.
"It is time to stand proud and tall as the fifth largest economy in the world, a permanent member of the UN security council and a member of the G7.
"This country punches above its weight and I have every confidence in our future."
But Richard Yates chairman of the Shropshire Branch of the National Farmers' Unions said he was concerned for the future of the country and his business.
"I fear it will lead to a break up of the UK. As a farmer and a businessman I am in unknown territory."
Brexit: What happens now?
Lucy Allan, Conservative MP for Telford, said she was pleased the Leave campaign won. She said: "I think it's to do with feeling under-represented, ignored, cut off from the political elites.
"Also it's a question of low wages being undercut by people coming in - those are the issues that people tell me they have concerns about."
Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for Wrekin who had campaigned to remain in the EU, said the most important thing now was to restore stability in Britain and negotiate the best exit terms.
Gavin Denton, a commuter in Telford who voted to remain, told Radio Shropshire the result was "shocking" and rejected the agreement for a peaceful Europe after World War Two.
"I don't think anyone expected that it would happen," he said.
"I've felt European all my life."
But William Mantle, from Bridgnorth, was happy to be leaving the EU.
"Finally the glasses are off and people can really see what the European Union is all about," he said. "It's a corrupt organisation for the elite."
Thomas Holt, a winemaker who brings his produce from Spain to Shrewsbury, said the result has had an "instant impact" on his business by making his products more expensive.
"I'm very worried about the future, and I think it's a dark day for the UK," he said.
Adam Fejfer, a Polish man working in Shropshire, also said he was worried about the future.
He said: "Probably I will have to spend a few good quid for my British citizenship, which will be expensive for me and my family. I am really scared." | Voters in Shropshire have backed plans to leave the European Union following polls in the West Midlands. | 36614852 |
Anne Marie Waters, who called Islam evil, said she had faced an "avalanche of lies and smears" and "the party's establishment is terrified I will win".
Neil Hamilton said he did not think Ms Waters looked "out of the ordinary".
But North Wales UKIP AM Michelle Brown urged members to reject "what she stands for".
Ms Waters was allowed to take part in the leadership contest last week.
She proposes a ban on the burka, the closure of all sharia councils and a temporary freeze on all immigration and is one of 11 candidates taking part.
She had predicted she would be prevented from standing, as had Mr Hamilton's assembly colleague David Rowlands, who said her views were "too extreme".
Mr Hamilton said: "I just think that Anne Marie Waters has been demonised because it's easy to paint her in sort of technicolour colours, by virtue of remarks that had been taken out of context from, in some cases, many years ago."
Mr Hamilton said he did not think it was likely she would win, adding: "I've looked at her website and I don't agree with everything on it.
"It's part of the debate on issues which are very important to lots of people, fundamentalist Islam, etcetera."
But the Mid and West Wales AM said he did not want UKIP "to be stigmatised as being excessively dominated by Islamic issues".
"I've already said it was a mistake to propose in the last general election campaign that we should ban the burka, not that I think that is totally unacceptable", he said.
Mr Hamilton said he would not endorse or criticise any leadership candidate and would work with whoever won.
Wales MEP Nathan Gill said he would leave UKIP if Ms Waters won the contest, which was called after the resignation of Paul Nuttall.
Asked about the prospect of Mr Gill leaving, Mr Hamilton said: "It wouldn't make the slightest difference. We hardly ever see him and he never says anything unless it's to undermine the UKIP group or UKIP as a party."
Ms Waters argued UKIP could rebuild support if it had the "guts" to be "honest about Islam" and her manifesto said the ideology had "created a fearful and censorious society".
But other UKIP AMs have criticised her - Ms Brown said members had a chance to "reject Ms Waters and what she stands for".
She added: "In doing so we will show the public that UKIP is not the narrow-minded party the mainstream media try to portray us as."
Caroline Jones, AM for South Wales West, said: "I think she courts controversy and appears to have far right views.
"This is my opinion but I think she will take the party in a direction I would not be happy to support."
Ms Water responded to the criticism of her in an email to BBC Wales.
"It's very clear to me that the party's establishment is terrified I will win, and they are right to be," she said.
"I have support all over the country and it is growing.
"I have been subject to an avalanche of lies and smears from people who don't understand the issues (or the difference between race and religion) and don't have the courage to.
"It's disappointing that some in UKIP should use the same smear tactics that have been used against them for years."
Ms Water added she would "carry on speaking the truth" and "continue building support among the party's grassroots".
UKIP's new leader will be announced at the party's annual conference in Torquay on 29 and 30 September. | A controversial anti-Islam campaigner running for the UKIP leadership has been "demonised", according to the party's leader in the assembly. | 40923093 |
23 February 2016 Last updated at 08:54 GMT
He's an endurance rider - just like Bradley Wiggins.
Next month he'll be trying to win medals at the UCI World Track Cycling Championships in London.
Hear his top tips for getting into cycling. | Cyclist Owain Doull is one of Team GB's brightest stars. | 35639103 |
It also said there was weaker demand from high-margin business-travellers.
IAG reported pre-tax profits of €124m (£96m) for the first quarter, compared with a loss of €37m in 2015.
"March revenue was affected by the timing of Easter and the Brussels terrorist attacks," said IAG chief executive Willie Walsh.
"Revenue trends in quarter two have been affected by the aftermath of the Brussels terrorist attacks, as well as some softness in underlying premium demand. As a result, IAG has moderated its short-term capacity growth plans."
Shares fell 4.8% in afternoon trading in London to 524.7p, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100.
Operating profits at IAG - which also owns Aer Lingus and Vueling - were €155m before exceptional items, compared with €25m in 2015.
IAG said it expected fuel costs to fall by about 1% this year due to weak oil prices.
Profits were boosted by the purchase of Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus which was completed last September.
IAG has fared better than some of its European rivals - Lufthansa and Air France-KLM - which have been hit by strikes over cost-cutting plans, as well as increased competition from Middle Eastern and budget airlines. | Airline group IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, has said it will temporarily slow plans to fly more routes following the Brussels attacks. | 36167287 |
The Magazine is a Grade I-listed stone gatehouse, built in about 1410 and used to store ammunition in the Civil War.
While not normally open to the public, it was due to be part of a Heritage Sunday open day.
Scaffolding will be set up to assess the extent of the problem but city council officials said it was unclear how long repairs would take.
Cracks were discovered in the parapet, along with damaged stonework on the main staircase.
The building, more properly known as the Newarke gateway, gained additional significance in recent years as Richard III's body may well have been carried through it after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Describing the decision as "a shame", Leicester City Council's heritage manager, Sally Coleman, said: "During our recent routine repairs, some additional damage was discovered, and in order to ensure people's safety, we've taken the decision to close it to visitors while we investigate further.
"Once we know exactly the extent of the work needed, we'll have a clearer idea of how long the repairs will take, and when it can reopen." | An historic Leicester landmark has been closed "to ensure people's safety" after cracks were found. | 40056571 |
Juhel Miah, 25, was escorted off a connecting flight heading to New York from Iceland on 16 February.
David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, said the incident ran contrary to the US policy on British citizens.
Labour MP Kevin Brennan said US president Trump was treating UK school teachers "like criminals".
Mr Miah had flown to Reykjavik, Iceland, with a party from Llangatwg Community School in Aberdulais, Neath, before boarding an onward flight to New York on 16 February.
But before the plane took off he was escorted off by security staff.
Mr Lidington made his comments after Cardiff West MP Mr Brennan raised the case in the House of Commons.
Mr Brennan said: "Isn't there a contrast between the way we are rolling out the red carpet for (US) President Trump, whatever our views on that, whilst he's treating our school teachers like criminals?"
In response, Mr Lidington told the chamber it was "perfectly fair" for Mr Brennan raise the case, which was "disturbing because it went contrary to the declared policy of the United States government as regards British citizens.
"My understanding is that this was down to the way in which a decision was taken at a more local level in that particular case."
He said he would raise Mr Brennan's concerns with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Mr Miah earlier told BBC Wales he has a British passport and does not have dual nationality. His family's ethnic background is Bangladeshi.
He said he had never been to any of the seven Muslim-majority countries included in an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, temporarily barring people from those places.
A US executive order suspending immigration and non-immigrant entry to the US for people from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen was suspended by a legal ruling earlier in February.
Prior to the suspension, the UK government had been told British citizens were not affected. | The case of a Welsh-Muslim teacher denied entry to the United States while on a school trip his "disturbing", a UK cabinet minister has said. | 39065293 |
Darren Junior Hunt, 22, from Chelmar Close, Castle Bromwich, was jailed for six and a half years in February this year.
He was cleared at London's Criminal Appeal Court.
He was jailed alongside his father Darren Hunt, 42, of Nightingale Avenue in Birmingham, and Dean Poyner, 47, from Stonebridge Road, Coleshill.
Hunt and Poyner were refused to leave to appeal. | A man jailed for conspiracy to kidnap has been freed on appeal. | 34932408 |
A quick scan of any list of the most read children's books will reveal that today's youngsters are growing up in a very different literary landscape to their parents.
Gone from bedroom bookshelves are the Famous Five, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the adventures of the Swallows and Amazons.
And in their places are the likes of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the complete and ever-growing works of David Walliams and Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series.
Only the prolific Roald Dahl remains sandwiched between the bookends by these newer arrivals at the top of the literary pops.
And as for the 19th Century classics of English literature, such as Emily Bronte and Charles Dickens, many children simply have not heard of them.
One south London mother, Geri Cox, explained how her daughter's Year 5 class was to be named this year after the literary giant, Jane Austen.
But the class teacher soon had second thoughts when the suggested name was met with blank stares.
"My daughter came back and said they weren't going to be called Austen class anymore, because not many people had heard of her. Instead the class was to be named Rowling, after the Harry Potter author, and she had to do a project about her instead.
"And she goes to a very high achieving school indeed."
Ms Morgan argues that children will miss out if they do not have access "to our incredibly rich heritage of world-famous children's literature".
But perhaps these more modern books are able to do the job of lighting the literary touch paper just as well.
A spokesman for Penguin Random House Children's books said: "Millions of children are readers because of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Jeff Kinney's work is perfect for turning reluctant readers on to books.
"With 50% words and 50% cartoons, the books are 100% hilarious and children agree."
Titles in the series have won numerous 'favourite book' awards and are frequently among the most borrowed children's books in UK libraries.
Also, interestingly, the first few Wimpy Kid books were made available to download online for free before they came out in book form.
According to Seni Glaister, children's books specialist and co-founder of The Book People, the mix of type-face and art is a big part of the attraction.
"It means the text does not look daunting and that it will therefore appeal to hesitant, reluctant or timid readers."
But she adds: "I do think the popularity is actually much more to do with the content, the story, than it is do with a trend for the aesthetic.
"The children in all of these books are often in grave peril and the grown-ups tend to be either absent, evil or weak in comparison to the young protagonists."
She adds: "You really don't need to look any further than Dahl to understand that there is nothing new here in taste or style!
"Walliams does it particularly well and I have absolutely no doubt that these books would have found their market with or without Walliams' celebrity status."
However, the fact that Puffin Books re-issued a series of 20 classics of children literature earlier this year, suggests these books have an enduring appeal - even if it is the parents buying them on behalf of their children.
Publisher Shannon Cullen said: "From Treasure Island and Heidi to the Secret Garden and The Wizard of Oz, these books have been firm favourites of children across the generations and their striking new jackets will ensure they remain popular for many years."
Cassie Buchanan, head teacher at Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark, which hosted a visit from Walliams and Ms Morgan this week, argues the classics sit easily in the primary school curriculum as long as the approach is right.
"The older children here are reading a range of different classics," she says.
"We read a version of Crime and Punishment and we have covered Antigone with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils."
She adds: "We do a lot of Dickens. He lived on this street and the children learn about him and where he grew up. And after all they are very good stories.
"We need to use a mix of abridged versions that don't lose the richness of the language, but we are also exposing children to excerpts of Bleak House in class."
Fortunately, many skilfully shortened versions of the classics exist, says Miles Stevens-Hoare, managing director of Capstone International Publishers.
His company produces graphic novel versions of such classics as Jules Verne's 20,000 League Under the Sea and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, for example.
But Paul Clayton, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, says supplying young people with cheap classics will do little to develop the motivation to read.
"In 2001, all 4,500 secondary schools in Britain, along with 1,400 schools overseas, received 250 hard-backed Everyman Classics totally free of charge.
"However, many of these sets still remain on school library shelves (assuming schools have retained their libraries) unopened and unread.
"There is now so much variety in reading matter and, with the arrival of electronic reading devices, so much choice in how to access material for reading.
"Perhaps Nicky's efforts might be more effectively deployed encouraging organisations to broaden access both to the widest range of fiction and the technology to read it." | Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has called for a return to the classics of English literature in schools, but are they still relevant and appropriate for today's children? | 34341656 |
The vandals appear to have used red spray paint to write "[expletive] law" early on Tuesday morning, the National Park Service said in a statement.
Crews are removing it with a "gel-type architectural paint stripper that is safe for use on historic stone".
US Civil War memorials have become a lightning rod in the US race debate.
Other "undecipherable graffiti" was found written in silver paint on a nearby sign directing tourists to the Smithsonian Institution on Washington's National Mall public park.
President Lincoln led the northern Union government to defeat the secessionist Confederacy and ordered African-American slaves to be freed in 1863.
He was assassinated in Washington only five days after southern General Robert E Lee surrendered, effectively ending the war.
The statue of General Lee became a flashpoint over the weekend, when white supremacists clashed with anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over that monument's removal.
A protester died after she was run over, and President Donald Trump was widely criticised in US media for failing to immediately lay blame for the violence on the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.
Statues to Confederate leaders have been targeted for removal by many cities across the US, including Charlottesville, following a 2015 hate attack by a man in South Carolina who used the rebel flag to espouse his racist views.
After Saturday's violence several more cities announced plans to remove their monuments to the Confederacy.
Baltimore, Maryland; Lexington, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jacksonville, Florida have all announced proposals to remove controversial monuments.
On Monday, protesters in Durham, North Carolina, toppled a bronze statue to a Confederate leader as police filmed the crowd.
Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews later issued a statement saying police are reviewing the video in an effort to identify and prosecute those responsible for bringing down the 1924 statue. | The memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, who led the US through the Civil War, has been vandalised in Washington DC. | 40942428 |