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The full cost of damage in Newton Stewart, one of the areas worst affected, is still being assessed. Repair work is ongoing in Hawick and many roads in Peeblesshire remain badly affected by standing water. Trains on the west coast mainline face disruption due to damage at the Lamington Viaduct. Many businesses and householders were affected by flooding in Newton Stewart after the River Cree overflowed into the town. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the area to inspect the damage. The waters breached a retaining wall, flooding many commercial properties on Victoria Street - the main shopping thoroughfare. Jeanette Tate, who owns the Cinnamon Cafe which was badly affected, said she could not fault the multi-agency response once the flood hit. However, she said more preventative work could have been carried out to ensure the retaining wall did not fail. "It is difficult but I do think there is so much publicity for Dumfries and the Nith - and I totally appreciate that - but it is almost like we're neglected or forgotten," she said. "That may not be true but it is perhaps my perspective over the last few days. "Why were you not ready to help us a bit more when the warning and the alarm alerts had gone out?" Meanwhile, a flood alert remains in place across the Borders because of the constant rain. Peebles was badly hit by problems, sparking calls to introduce more defences in the area. Scottish Borders Council has put a list on its website of the roads worst affected and drivers have been urged not to ignore closure signs. The Labour Party's deputy Scottish leader Alex Rowley was in Hawick on Monday to see the situation first hand. He said it was important to get the flood protection plan right but backed calls to speed up the process. "I was quite taken aback by the amount of damage that has been done," he said. "Obviously it is heart-breaking for people who have been forced out of their homes and the impact on businesses." He said it was important that "immediate steps" were taken to protect the areas most vulnerable and a clear timetable put in place for flood prevention plans. Have you been affected by flooding in Dumfries and Galloway or the Borders? Tell us about your experience of the situation and how it was handled. Email us on selkirk.news@bbc.co.uk or dumfries@bbc.co.uk.

flood damage in Newton Stewart still being assessed by authorities. repairs are ongoing in the town after the river cree overflowed into the town. a flood alert remains in place across the borders because of the constant rain.

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Clean-up operations are continuing across the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway after flooding caused by Storm Frank.

A fire alarm went off at the Holiday Inn in Hope Street at about 04:20 BST on Saturday and guests were asked to leave the hotel. As they gathered outside they saw the two buses, parked side-by-side in the car park, engulfed by flames. One of the tour groups is from Germany, the other from China and Taiwan. It was their first night in Northern Ireland. The driver of one of the buses said many of the passengers had left personal belongings on board and these had been destroyed. Both groups have organised replacement coaches and will begin their tour of the north coast later than they had planned. Police have appealed for information about the attack. Insp David Gibson said: "It appears as though the fire started under one of the buses before spreading to the second. "While the exact cause is still under investigation, it is thought that the fire was started deliberately."

fire alarm went off at the holiday inn in hope street at about 04:20 BST on saturday. guests were asked to leave the hotel and saw the two buses engulfed by flames. one of the tour groups is from germany, the other from china and Taiwan.

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Two tourist buses have been destroyed by fire in a suspected arson attack in Belfast city centre.

Ferrari appeared in a position to challenge until the final laps, when the Mercedes stretched their legs to go half a second clear of the red cars. Sebastian Vettel will start third ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. The world champion subsequently escaped punishment for reversing in the pit lane, which could have seen him stripped of pole. But stewards only handed Hamilton a reprimand, after governing body the FIA said "no clear instruction was given on where he should park". Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne out-qualified McLaren team-mate Jenson Button on his Formula 1 debut. Vandoorne was 12th and Button 14th, complaining of a handling imbalance on his final lap but admitting the newcomer "did a good job and I didn't". Mercedes were wary of Ferrari's pace before qualifying after Vettel and Raikkonen finished one-two in final practice, and their concerns appeared to be well founded as the red cars mixed it with the silver through most of qualifying. After the first runs, Rosberg was ahead, with Vettel and Raikkonen splitting him from Hamilton, who made a mistake at the final corner on his first lap. But Hamilton saved his best for last, fastest in every sector of his final attempt, to beat Rosberg by just 0.077secs after the German had out-paced him throughout practice and in the first qualifying session. Vettel rued a mistake at the final corner on his last lap, but the truth is that with the gap at 0.517secs to Hamilton there was nothing he could have done. The gap suggests Mercedes are favourites for the race, even if Ferrari can be expected to push them. Vettel said: "Last year we were very strong in the race and I think we are in good shape for tomorrow. We will try to give them a hard time." Vandoorne's preparations for his grand prix debut were far from ideal - he only found out he was racing on Thursday when FIA doctors declared Fernando Alonso unfit because of a broken rib sustained in his huge crash at the first race of the season in Australia two weeks ago. The Belgian rookie had to fly overnight from Japan, where he had been testing in the Super Formula car he races there, and arrived in Bahrain only hours before first practice on Friday. He also had a difficult final practice, missing all but the final quarter of the session because of a water leak. Button was quicker in the first qualifying session, but Vandoorne pipped him by 0.064secs when it mattered. The 24-year-old said: "I knew after yesterday I had quite similar pace to Jenson and I knew if I improved a little bit I could maybe challenge him and even out-qualify him and that is what has happened. "Jenson is a very good benchmark for me because he is a world champion and he is well known to the team so I am very satisfied with the qualifying." Button, who was 0.5secs quicker than Vandoorne in the first session, complained of oversteer on his final run in the second: "Q1 was what I was expecting. Q2 he did a good job and I didn't. Very, very good job. We knew how quick he was." The controversial new elimination qualifying system was retained for this race despite teams voting at the first race in Australia to go back to the 2015 system. FIA president Jean Todt said earlier on Saturday that he "felt it necessary to give new qualifying one more chance", adding: "We live in a world where there is too much over reaction." The system worked on the basis of mixing up the grid a little - Force India's Sergio Perez ended up out of position in 18th place after the team miscalculated the timing of his final run, leaving him not enough time to complete it before the elimination clock timed him out. But it will come in for more criticism as a result of lack of track action at the end of each session. There were three minutes at the end of the first session with no cars on the circuit, and the end of the second session was a similar damp squib. Only one car - Nico Hulkenberg's Force India - was out on the track with six minutes to go. The two Williams cars did go out in the final three minutes but were already through to Q3 and so nothing was at stake. The teams are meeting with Todt and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday at noon local time to decide on what to do with qualifying for the rest of the season. Todt said he was "optimistic" they would be able to reach unanimous agreement on a change. "We should listen to the people watching on TV," Rosberg said. "If they are still unhappy, which I am sure they will be, we should change it." Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth on the grid, ahead of the Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Ricciardo's team-mate Daniil Kvyat was eliminated during the second session - way below the team's expectation - and the Renault of Brit Jolyon Palmer only managed 19th fastest. German Mercedes protege Pascal Wehrlein managed an excellent 16th in the Manor car. Bahrain GP qualifying results Bahrain GP coverage details

Mercedes will start the race on pole ahead of team-mate and title rivals. mercedes' nico rosberg will start second ahead of team-mate nico rosberg. fernando alonso will start in fourth with team-mate valtteri bottas in fifth. mercedes' nico rosberg will start in sixth place ahead of fernando alonso.

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Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

John Edward Bates, formerly of Spalding, Lincolnshire, but now living in London, faces a total of 22 charges, including two counts of indecency with a child. The 67-year-old is accused of committing the offences between March 1972 and October 1989. Mr Bates denies all the charges. Grace Hale, prosecuting, told the jury that the allegations of sexual abuse were made by made by four male complainants and related to when Mr Bates was a scout leader in South Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. "The defendant says nothing of that sort happened between himself and all these individuals. He says they are all fabricating their accounts and telling lies," said Mrs Hale. The prosecutor claimed Mr Bates invited one 15 year old to his home offering him the chance to look at cine films made at scout camps but then showed him pornographic films. She told the jury that the boy was then sexually abused leaving him confused and frightened. Mrs Hale said: "The complainant's recollection is that on a number of occasions sexual acts would happen with the defendant either in the defendant's car or in his cottage." She told the jury a second boy was taken by Mr Bates for a weekend in London at the age of 13 or 14 and after visiting pubs he was later sexually abused. Mrs Hale said two boys from the Spalding group had also made complaints of being sexually abused. The jury has been told that Mr Bates was in the RAF before serving as a Lincolnshire Police officer between 1976 and 1983. The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.

67-year-old accused of 22 charges including two counts of indecency with a child. formerly of Spalding, Lincolnshire, he now lives in London and denies all the charges. prosecutor tells jury allegations of sexual abuse were made by four male complainants.

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A former Lincolnshire Police officer carried out a series of sex attacks on boys, a jury at Lincoln Crown Court was told.

Patients and staff were evacuated from Cerahpasa hospital on Wednesday after a man receiving treatment at the clinic threatened to shoot himself and others. Officers were deployed to negotiate with the man, a young police officer. Earlier reports that the armed man had taken several people hostage proved incorrect. The chief consultant of Cerahpasa hospital, Zekayi Kutlubay, who was evacuated from the facility, said that there had been "no hostage crises", adding that the man was "alone in the room". Dr Kutlubay said that the man had been receiving psychiatric treatment for the past two years. He said that the hospital had previously submitted a report stating that the man should not be permitted to carry a gun. "His firearm was taken away," Dr Kutlubay said, adding that the gun in the officer's possession on Wednesday was not his issued firearm. The incident comes amid tension in Istanbul following several attacks in crowded areas, including the deadly assault on the Reina nightclub on New Year's Eve which left 39 people dead.

a man receiving treatment at a clinic in Istanbul threatened to shoot himself and others. officers were deployed to negotiate with the man, a young police officer. the incident comes amid tension in Istanbul following several attacks in crowded areas.

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An armed man who locked himself into a room at a psychiatric hospital in Istanbul has ended his threat to kill himself, Turkish media report.

Simone Favaro got the crucial try with the last move of the game, following earlier touchdowns by Chris Fusaro, Zander Fagerson and Junior Bulumakau. Rynard Landman and Ashton Hewitt got a try in either half for the Dragons. Glasgow showed far superior strength in depth as they took control of a messy match in the second period. Home coach Gregor Townsend gave a debut to powerhouse Fijian-born Wallaby wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, and centre Alex Dunbar returned from long-term injury, while the Dragons gave first starts of the season to wing Aled Brew and hooker Elliot Dee. Glasgow lost hooker Pat McArthur to an early shoulder injury but took advantage of their first pressure when Rory Clegg slotted over a penalty on 12 minutes. It took 24 minutes for a disjointed game to produce a try as Sarel Pretorius sniped from close range and Landman forced his way over for Jason Tovey to convert - although it was the lock's last contribution as he departed with a chest injury shortly afterwards. Glasgow struck back when Fusaro drove over from a rolling maul on 35 minutes for Clegg to convert. But the Dragons levelled at 10-10 before half-time when Naiyaravoro was yellow-carded for an aerial tackle on Brew and Tovey slotted the easy goal. The visitors could not make the most of their one-man advantage after the break as their error count cost them dearly. It was Glasgow's bench experience that showed when Mike Blair's break led to a short-range score from teenage prop Fagerson, converted by Clegg. Debutant Favaro was the second home player to be sin-binned, on 63 minutes, but again the Warriors made light of it as replacement wing Bulumakau, a recruit from the Army, pounced to deftly hack through a bouncing ball for an opportunist try. The Dragons got back within striking range with some excellent combined handling putting Hewitt over unopposed after 72 minutes. However, Favaro became sinner-turned-saint as he got on the end of another effective rolling maul to earn his side the extra point with the last move of the game, Clegg converting. Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones said: "We're disappointed to have lost but our performance was a lot better [than against Leinster] and the game could have gone either way. "Unfortunately too many errors behind the scrum cost us a great deal, though from where we were a fortnight ago in Dublin our workrate and desire was excellent. "It was simply error count from individuals behind the scrum that cost us field position, it's not rocket science - they were correct in how they played and we had a few errors, that was the difference." Glasgow Warriors: Rory Hughes, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Alex Dunbar, Fraser Lyle, Lee Jones, Rory Clegg, Grayson Hart; Alex Allan, Pat MacArthur, Zander Fagerson, Rob Harley (capt), Scott Cummings, Hugh Blake, Chris Fusaro, Adam Ashe. Replacements: Fergus Scott, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Mike Cusack, Greg Peterson, Simone Favaro, Mike Blair, Gregor Hunter, Junior Bulumakau. Dragons: Carl Meyer, Ashton Hewitt, Ross Wardle, Adam Warren, Aled Brew, Jason Tovey, Sarel Pretorius; Boris Stankovich, Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Nick Crosswell, Rynard Landman (capt), Lewis Evans, Nic Cudd, Ed Jackson. Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Phil Price, Shaun Knight, Matthew Screech, Ollie Griffiths, Luc Jones, Charlie Davies, Nick Scott.

Glasgow defeated the dragons 24-10 at st george's park on saturday. tries from tries by zander fagerson, sarel pretorius and ashton hewitt sealed victory. home coach Gregor townsend handed a debut to wing Taqele naiyaravoro.

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Defending Pro12 champions Glasgow Warriors bagged a late bonus-point victory over the Dragons despite a host of absentees and two yellow cards.

Veronica Vanessa Chango-Alverez, 31, was killed and another man injured when an Audi A3 struck them in Streatham High Road at 05:30 GMT on Saturday. Ten minutes before the crash the car was in London Road, Croydon, when a Volkswagen Passat collided with a tree. Police want to trace Nathan Davis, 27, who they say has links to the Audi. The car was abandoned at the scene. Ms Chango-Alverez died from multiple injuries, a post-mortem examination found. No arrests have been made as yet, police said. Ms Chango-Alverez was staying at her mother's home in Streatham High Road. She was born in Ecuador and had lived in London for 13 years, BBC London reporter Gareth Furby said. At the time of the crash, she was on her way to work in a hotel. The remains of the bus stop, which was extensively damaged in the crash, have been removed. Flowers have been left at the site in tribute to the victim. A statement from her brother Kevin Raul Chango-Alverez said: "My family has had its heart torn out, at this Christmas time, we will never be the same again. "On Friday night we were together as a family with Veronica meeting her newly born nephew and preparing for Christmas. "I last saw her alive as she left to go to work on Saturday morning, but moments later I was holding her hand as she passed away in the street." Describing the crash as "horrific" Det Insp Gordon Wallace, said: "The family are devastated. The memory of this senseless death will be with them each time they leave their home. "The driver fled the scene abandoning the grey Audi, which was extensively damaged. "We are looking to speak to Mr Nathan Davis in relation to this collision." The 51-year-old man injured at the bus stop remains in a critical condition in hospital while the condition of the 29-year-old driver of the Volkswagen is now stable.

Veronica Chango-Alverez, 31, was killed and another man injured in a crash. police want to trace a man they say has links to the Audi car. the car was abandoned at the scene in Streatham high road.

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A man with links to a car that was involved in a fatal bus stop crash in south London is being sought by police.

Belgian cyclist Demoitie died after a collision with a motorbike during Belgium's Gent-Wevelgem race. The 25-year-old was hit by the motorbike after several riders came down in a crash as the race passed through northern France. "The main issues come when cars or motorbikes have to pass the peloton and pass riders," Team Sky's Rowe said. "That is the fundamental issue we're looking into. "There's a lot of motorbikes in and around the race whether it be cameras for TV, photographers or police motorbikes. "In total there's around 50 motorbikes that work on each race. "We've got a riders union and we're coming together to think of a few ideas, whether we cap a speed limit on how fast they can overtake us. "Say we put a 10 kilometres per hour limit on it, if we're going 50kph they're only allowed to pass us 60kph or something like that." Demoitie, who was riding for the Wanty-Gobert team, was taken to hospital in Lille but died later. The sport's governing body, the UCI, said it would co-operate with all relevant authorities in an investigation into the incident. The Professional Cyclists' Association (CPA) issued a statement asking what would be done to improve safety. Despite Demoitie's death, attitudes to road racing will stay the same says Rowe, who has been competing in Three Days of De Panne race in Belgium. "As soon as that element of fear slips into your mind and you start thinking of things that could happen, that's when you're doomed to fail," he told BBC Wales Sport. "If you start thinking about crashes and the consequences and what could potentially happen then you're never going to be at the front of the peloton and you're never going to win any races." In a separate incident, another Belgian cyclist, Daan Myngheer, 22, died in hospital after suffering a heart attack during the first stage of the Criterium International in Corsica.

Belgian cyclist Demoitie dies after collision with a motorbike during race. the 25-year-old was hit by the motorbike as race passed through northern france. team sky's scott rowe says attitudes to road racing will stay the same.

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Welsh cyclist Luke Rowe says changes to the sport must be made following the death of Antoine Demoitie.

Gundogan, 26, told BBC Sport he "can see the finishing line" after tearing cruciate knee ligaments in December, but will not rush his return. The German missed the 2014 World Cup following back surgery that kept him out for a year, and sat out Euro 2016 because of a dislocated kneecap. He said: "It is heavy mentally to accept that." Gundogan will not be fit for the start of the Premier League season at Brighton on 12 August but said his recovery time is now being measured in "weeks" rather than months. He told BBC Sport: "It is really hard always to fall and fight your way back. You feel good and feel ready, then you get the next kick. "The worst part is behind me now. I want to feel ready when I am fully back. I want to feel safe and confident. I don't mind if it is two weeks or six." Gundogan made 15 appearances and scored five goals in his debut season for City following his £20m move from Borussia Dortmund. He is eager to get on the field again and was impressed at the club's 4-1 win over Real Madrid in a pre-season game in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Manager Pep Guardiola has made five new signings already this summer and continues to have an interest in Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez and Monaco's Kylian Mbappe. Gundogan said: "Optimism for the season is big. It is huge, definitely. "We felt that last year as well but it was a completely new experience for all of us. We know the Premier League a bit more now and can't wait for the season to start." City complete their three-match tour of the United States against Tottenham in Nashville on Saturday. Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said earlier this week he did not feel Tottenham were judged by the same standards as his own side, City and Manchester United. Spurs have had the advantage in their recent meetings with City, winning three and drawing one of their last four Premier League games. And Gundogan thinks they are a major threat. He said: "Tottenham are a great team. They have the style of football. They have young English players. Our experience last season shows it is really tough to beat them. "They are really uncomfortable to play against. "I am pretty sure, even if they will not say it loud, the people who know the Premier League know Tottenham are definitely a competitor for the title."

defender says he can see the finishing line after tearing cruciate knee ligaments. the 26-year-old will not be fit for the start of the premier league season. he missed the 2014 world cup and euro 2016 with a dislocated kneecap.

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Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says it has been mentally tough to overcome a third major injury.

The crash happened about 07:20 GMT at the junction of the A127 and Progress Road in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The man, who police said is aged in his 20s, was treated at the scene for a head injury and suspected multiple fractures, the ambulance service said. He was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital for further treatment. The Southend-bound carriageway of the A127 was closed for about six hours while police conducted their initial inquiries. A spokeswoman for Essex Police said it was not possible comment to further as this time as the "investigation is now being conducted by the IPCC".

crash happened at junction of the A127 and progress road in leigh-on-sea, Essex. man treated at scene for head injury and suspected multiple fractures. airlifted to the royal London hospital for further treatment.

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A jogger has been hit by an unmarked police car responding to an emergency call, leaving him with "serious life-changing injuries".

23 October 2015 Last updated at 17:44 BST It's the highest rating a tropical storm can get and is the first one of this magnitude to hit mainland Mexico since 1959. But how are the categories decided and what do they mean? Newsround reporter Jenny Lawrence explains.

hurricane elvis is the highest tropical storm category. it's the first one of this magnitude to hit mainland mexico since 1959. but how are the categories decided and what do they mean?

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Hurricane Patricia has been rated as a category 5 storm.

Weaknesses in the way mice swapped data with computers left them vulnerable, said security firm Bastille Networks. Attackers could spoof poorly protected signals letting them use PCs as if they were sitting in front of them, it said. Information about the loopholes have been passed to the makers of vulnerable mice, some of who are creating updates to make the mice more secure. The radio signals sent by many wireless mice to a "dongle" plugged in to a computer were often unencrypted, said Marc Newlin and Balint Seeber, from Bastille, who carried out the research. "That makes it possible for the attacker to send unencrypted traffic to the dongle pretending to be a keyboard and have it result as keystrokes on your computer," Mr Newlin said. By contrast, they said, signals sent by wireless keyboards were scrambled to stop attackers eavesdropping on or spoofing them. The pair found they could spoof signals for mice using a few lines of code and an antenna and dongle that cost $20 (£15). The attack worked at distances of up to 180m (590ft). Using this kit, they sent specially crafted mouse clicks that a computer interpreted as key presses, letting them run commands and take control of a target machine. The Bastille researchers said many companies spent a lot of time and money securing the physical devices sitting on their networks but often neglected to keep an eye on data sent via radio. Wireless mice produced by HP, Lenovo, Amazon and Dell were found to be vulnerable. Bastille said it had reported its findings to the hardware makers and to the company that made the chipset used inside the spoofable mice. Updates to the internal computer code, or firmware, for some of the vulnerable mice are now being made available, But Bastille said many of the insecure mice it had found could not be updated.

wireless mice were vulnerable to weak signals from computers, researchers say. bastille researchers found they could spoof signals to use computers as if they were there. the researchers used a $20 antenna and dongle to send crafted mouse clicks.

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Hackers could gain access to home and corporate networks via security flaws in wireless mice, suggests research.

Administrators confirmed the redundancies affecting 38 staff at Galashiels-based Murray and Burrell. The business, established in 1928, went into administration last week citing "adverse trading conditions". There are hopes some of the workers affected could find posts at another building firm in nearby Melrose which currently requires staff. Thomson Cooper partner Richard Gardiner was appointed as administrator at Murray and Burrell on Monday. A statement confirmed: "Directors explored all options in an effort to preserve trading and jobs. "Regrettably, 38 jobs were lost as there is no prospect of continuing to trade." South of Scotland MSP Rachael Hamilton described it as a "sad day for the Borders". However, some of the workers laid off could find employment with a Melrose-based company. JS Crawford has said that, with several housing projects on its books, it needs staff.

38 staff at Galashiels-based building firm affected by redundancies. Thomson Cooper partner Richard gardiner appointed as administrator at Murray and burrell. there are hopes some of the workers affected could find posts at another building firm in nearby Melrose which currently requires staff.

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Dozens of jobs have been lost after efforts to save an historic building firm in the Scottish Borders failed.

The EC's doubts about the arrangement were detailed in a document on Friday. The EC said that its "preliminary view is that the tax ruling... by Luxembourg in favour of Amazon constitutes state aid." However, Amazon said it "has received no special tax treatment from Luxembourg". "We are subject to the same tax laws as other companies operating here [in Luxembourg]," it said. The Luxembourg finance ministry said: "Luxembourg is confident that the state aid allegations in this case are without merit and will be able to convince the Commission of the legitimacy of the anticipatory decision in question and that no competitive advantage was granted," it said. The European Commission began a probe of the tax arrangement last year, saying that it had suspicions it broke EU rules. The Commission document, which was sent to the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October, gives its rationale for launching the investigation. The Commission said it had "no indication" that the tax arrangement was "compatible with the internal market". The current European Commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, was prime minister of Luxembourg when the deal was struck. Mr Juncker has come under pressure over claims that around 340 global companies were granted tax avoidance deals during his 18 year tenure in Luxembourg. Commission doubts over the Amazon deal included whether Luxembourg had properly looked into Amazon's "transfer pricing" proposals about how money would be moved between different Amazon subsidiaries. Doubts also existed about whether the country had assessed that the proposed tax regime was in line with market conditions before agreeing the deal in 2003, the European Commission document said. The Commission also had questions about how royalty payments between certain Amazon companies were calculated, and whether "Amazon has a financial incentive to exaggerate the amount of the royalty" between its Luxembourg head office company and an Amazon firm that holds shares in the head office company. "If the royalty is exaggerated, it would unduly reduce the tax paid by Amazon in Luxembourg by shifting profits to an untaxed entity from the perspective of corporate taxation," the EC said. It added that Luxembourg might have been too hasty in assessing Amazon's requested arrangement before striking the deal. Luxembourg's finance ministry said it "has provided all the information required by the Commission and cooperated fully with the Commission in its investigation." "Among other things, detailed reports on the transfer price requested by the Commission were disclosed," it added. Luxembourg is also being investigated by the Commission over suspected "sweetheart" tax deals with the financing arm of carmaker Fiat. In addition, Ireland's tax deal with Apple and the Netherlands' arrangement with Starbucks are being scrutinised as part of a crackdown on multinationals' tax avoidance schemes.

EC says tax ruling by Luxembourg in favour of amazon constitutes state aid. but amazon says it "has received no special tax treatment from Luxembourg" EC doubts whether the tax arrangement was "compatible with the internal market"

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The European Commission has disclosed a preliminary finding that Amazon's tax arrangements in Luxembourg probably constitute "state aid".

The three-day extravaganza of farming, food and family fun celebrates many aspects of agricultural life. The Balmoral Show is run by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) and dates back 148 years. Last year, it attracted more than 90,000 visitors to its recently-adopted home outside Lisburn in County Antrim. It was traditionally staged at the RUAS's headquarters in south Belfast, but the show moved to a larger venue on the site of the former Maze prison in 2013. The Maze venue, re-named Balmoral Park, is now hosting the show for the fourth consecutive year. The 2016 event coincides with Northern Ireland's Year of Food and Drink, and local produce features prominently in the exhibitions. One of this year's highlights is an "edible garden", in which visitors can see their food growing in the ground before it gets to their plates. The aim of the garden is to encourage people to grow their own food at home. The event will also showcase the best of local livestock, with prized pigs, cattle, poultry and ponies all lining up in bid to be the stars of the show. Their owners will also get a chance to shine, with horse riding and show jumping displays along with sheep shearing competitions and awards for the best livestock breeders and handlers. For younger visitors, there is a family fun area hosting displays from the Northern Ireland School of Falconry as well as a gun dog skills demonstration and a performance from balloon artist Bruce Airhead. BBC News NI are covering the event live on social media on Wednesday on Twitter at @BBCNewsNI, on Snapchat at bbcnewsni, and on BBC Newsline's Facebook page.

the Balmoral show is run by the royal Ulster Agricultural society. it dates back 148 years and last year attracted more than 90,000 visitors. the show is now held at the site of the former Maze prison outside Lisburn.

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The most important event in Northern Ireland's agricultural calendar - the Balmoral Show - has opened with thousands of people attending.

Mr Mosley wants Google to block photos of him at a sex party first printed in the now-defunct News of the World, which he successfully sued in 2008. He is suing the internet firm for breaches of the Data Protection Act and misusing private information. Google's barrister argued that Mr Mosley no longer has a "reasonable expectation of privacy". Mr Mosley won damages from the News of the World after it published a story alleging he had organised a Nazi-themed orgy. Photographs and a video which show his private sexual activity were originally obtained by News Group Newspapers Limited (NGN) in a clandestine "sting" operation. Mr Mosley - the son of 1930s fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley - won £60,000 after a judge ruled there was no substance to the allegation that there had been a Nazi theme to the sex party and found that his privacy had been breached. In that ruling, the High Court also said the article was not in the public interest. Mr Mosley has said the role-play at a rented Chelsea basement flat was harmless, consensual and private. On launching his legal action last year, Mr Mosley urged: "Google should operate within the law rather than according to rules it makes itself. It cannot be allowed to ignore judgements in our courts." Google has said it will remove URLs that it is alerted to, but is not prepared to remove the images entirely from its search engines. In court on Wednesday, Google's barrister Antony White QC for Google conceded that it was technically possible to remove the images and was "not burdensome" to do so. However, he argued that Google was not the publisher of the private information, and that Mr Mosley no longer had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the images. On that basis, Google will seek to show that Mr Mosley's claim is unfounded. The hearing is due to conclude on Thursday.

photos of sex party held by british man in rented flat were published in news of the world. he sued the newspaper for breach of the data protection act and misusing private information. google's barrister says he no longer has "reasonable expectation of privacy"

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Google has asked the High Court to throw out legal action being taken by ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley.

The Bath-born player, 28, has made 36 appearances for the Dragons since joining from Wasps in 2015. He is in his second season and signed a contract extension in December 2016. Dragons forwards coach Ceri Jones said: "It's a big blow. Eddie has been excellent all year for us, he has really stepped up to the mark and will be a big loss." However, Jones says Jackson's misfortune can be a chance for others to thrive. "We are very fortunate to have the likes of Ollie Griffiths, Harrison Keddie, James Thomas who can come into the back-row," said Jackson. "Harri has shown glimpses of what he can do all season and there's definitely a player there, so this is an opportunity." Dragons travel to Munster in the Pro12 on Friday.

28-year-old has made 36 appearances for the dragons since joining from wasps in 2015. Jackson signed a contract extension in december 2016. forwards coach Ceri Jones says Jackson's misfortune can be a chance for others to thrive.

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Newport Gwent Dragons number eight Ed Jackson has undergone shoulder surgery and faces a spell on the sidelines.

The announcement ends months of uncertainty for Cornish Language Partnership staff whose contracts had been due to end. Local government minister Andrew Stunnell said the three-year funding package for the service would help make sure the language survived. But he warned that long term funding should come from Cornwall. He said it was "important to make sure the Cornish were given the opportunity to put down sound foundations." "In the longer term support for the Cornish language is going to be something which is going to have to be based in Cornwall and will not come from London," he added. The Cornish Language Partnership's, Jennifer Lowe, said: "We can now plan for the future thanks to the funding." The United Nations recently upgraded the status of the Cornish language from "extinct" to "critically endangered". It is thought fewer than 500 people worldwide are fluent in the language.

local government minister says funding package will help ensure language survives. but he warns that long term funding should come from Cornwall. the united nations upgraded the status of the cornish language from "extinct" to "critically endangered"

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The government is spending nearly £400,000 to help save the Cornish language.

Jardim, in charge since 2014, described the last three years at the club as "exceptional". Monaco finished eight points ahead of nearest rivals Paris St-Germain to be crowned champions of France in 2016-17. "I feel part of AS Monaco and the principality," said Portuguese Jardim, the former Olympiakos boss. Monaco also beat Tottenham and Manchester City on their way to reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League during 2016-17, before losing to Juventus 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said Jardim had received offers to coach elsewhere. "He is one of the best coaches in European football and despite other offers he has chosen to continue the adventure at Monaco, which demonstrates our ambition," added Vasilyev.

Jardim has been in charge of french champions since 2014. the former Olympiakos boss has been in charge since 2014. the club finished eight points ahead of nearest rivals paris st-Germain.

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Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim has been rewarded for steering the club to their first Ligue 1 title for 17 years with a new contract until 2020.

A State Department spokesman said the election process was flawed and could not be seen as free and fair. He said the Ortega government had side-lined opposition candidates and limited monitoring of the polls. Daniel Ortega won 72.5% of the vote with 99.8% of the ballots counted. His closest rival, centre-right candidate Maximino Rodriguez, only received 14.2% of the vote. The State Department's Mark Toner said the Ortega government had not invited international election observers, which he said, "further degraded the legitimacy of the election". "We continue to press the Nicaraguan government to uphold democratic practices, including press freedom and respect for universal human rights in Nicaragua," he added. Mr Ortega had been widely expected to win both due to the popularity of his social programmes and because he faced no obvious political challenger. A former left-wing rebel, Mr Ortega has led Nicaragua through a period of economic stability which has made him popular with the country's business sector and foreign investors. Supporters of Mr Ortega took to the streets to celebrate his victory. But even before the first results were announced, members of the opposition coalition Broad Front for Democracy (FAD) called the elections a "farce". The FAD, which had urged voters to boycott the election, alleged that more than 70% had abstained from voting. They were contradicted by the electoral authorities which put voter participation at 65.8%. Mr Ortega's running mate was his wife, Rosario Murillo, who now looks set to become vice-president. Analysts say that Ms Murillo already shares decision-making with Mr Ortega and could become president if her 70-year-old husband were to bow out. Nicaragua's economy has grown at double the Latin American average, but the country still needs to attract more foreign investment. A $50bn (£40bn) plan to build an interoceanic canal across Nicaragua with Chinese investment has gained international attention, but there are serious doubts over whether it will ever be built. The country has been able to avoid the sky-high murder rates of some of its Central American neighbours but it also faces the ever pervasive threat of drug-trafficking.

the state department says the election process was flawed. it says the Ortega government side-lined opposition candidates. the opposition coalition had called the elections a "farce"

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The US says it is "deeply concerned" about the electoral process in Nicaragua a day after Daniel Ortega, the left-wing leader, won a third consecutive presidential term.

The decision comes after 170,000 activists from around the world demanded action to help lesbians targeted for "corrective rape". The authorities have been accused of not doing enough following the recent killing and rape of lesbian activist Noxolo Nogwaza. Police say they do not consider sexual orientation when investigating murder. "To us, murder is murder, whether somebody is Zulu, English, male or female - we don't see colour, we don't see gender," police ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi told the BBC on Tuesday, after rights groups urged the police to do more to find those responsible Ms Nogwaza's death. She was stoned, stabbed and gang-raped in the KwaThema township east of Johannesburg over the Easter weekend. Unlike in many African countries, homosexual acts are legal in South Africa and discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned, but activists say gay and lesbian people are often attacked in townships. They say "corrective rape" - when a lesbian is raped to either punish her, or "correct" her behaviour - is becoming increasingly common. Ndumie Funda, founder of the gay rights organisation Luleki Sizwe which works in 10 black townships and rural areas near Cape Town, welcomed the government's announcement. She said it was important to get "corrective rape" classified as a hate crime. "The South African constitution is one of the highly respected and acknowledged constitutions and it says we are all equal; we're therefore reminding our government to say that this was being promised and we voted for you so we need protection," she told the BBC's Network Africa programme. Luleki Sizwe started an online petition at Change.org to get the government to take action. "In less than six months, a tiny group of township activists has mobilised more than 170,000 people from 163 countries and gotten the highest levels of government to address their basic demand, that the sadistic crime of 'corrective rape' be taken seriously," Change.org representative Benjamin Joffe-Walt is quoted by the Sapa news agency as saying. Justice ministry spokesman Tlali Tlali said the the task team would begin its work in July and include six representatives from the judiciary, police and department of social development and six representatives from the gay community. "The team will be charged with developing a legislative intervention plan, a public awareness strategy, and LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex]-sensitive shelters," he said. In 2008, female footballer and gay rights activist Eudy Simelane was also killed in KwaThema, some 80km (50 miles) east of Johannesburg. Two people were given long prison terms for her murder and rape, although prosecutors denied that her sexuality had been a motive.

police say they do not consider sexual orientation when investigating murder. police say they do not consider colour, gender or sexual orientation. activists say gay and lesbian people are often attacked in townships. government says task team will begin work in July.

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South Africa is to set up a team to tackle hate crimes against gay people, the justice ministry says.

Big oil producing nations meet this weekend in Qatar to discuss plans for a freeze in production levels. But there is scepticism over whether such a deal would make much difference to the current oversupply of oil in the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.97 points to 17,897.46. The S&P 500 was down 2.05 points to 2,080.73. The technology focused Nasdaq Composite slipped 7.67 points to 4,938.22. Stocks in the energy sectors fell as another US bank - Citigroup - reported it was setting cash aside to cover losses on loans to the energy industry. Shares in banking giant Citigroup closed 0.13% down after trading mostly higher all day. It reported a 27% fall in quarterly profit, but that was not as bad as analysts had been expecting. Shares of Marathon Petroleum were down 3.8%, Exxon Mobile fell 0.5% and Chevron was 0.75% lower. Shares of Apple dropped 2% after a report suggested the company was cutting iPhone production in the April-June quarter due to weak sales. Investors also had a gloomy economic report to chew over. US industrial production fell 0.6% in March, which was a bigger drop than analysts were expecting, and followed a 0.6% decline in February.

the big oil producing nations meet this weekend in doha to discuss plans for a freeze in production levels. but there is scepticism over whether such a deal would make much difference to the current oversupply of oil in the market. shares in the energy sectors fell as another US bank - Citigroup - reported it was setting cash aside to cover losses on loans to the energy industry.

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(Close):Wall Street markets fell on Friday as oil prices slipped ahead of a weekend meeting that could result in a freezing of production.

That is the conclusion of a study by US biologists, exploring how the colour is created in different tarantula species. The hue is caused by tiny structures inside the animals' hairs, but those shapes vary across the family tree. This suggests, the researchers say, that the striking blue is not driven by sexual selection - unlike many other bright colours in the animal kingdom. This argument is also supported by the fact that tarantulas have poor colour vision, and do not appear to show off their hairy blue body parts during courtship. Nonetheless, Bor-Kai Hsiung and his colleagues found that 40 out of 53 groupings (genera) of tarantula exhibit a very vibrant blue. "We collected published data and constructed a super-tree, which combined the previous published small trees," said Mr Hsiung, a PhD student at the University of Akron in Ohio and the first author of the study, published in Science Advances. They then mapped blueness onto that evolutionary tree, based on a bank of tarantula snaps scoured from the internet. "If the genus has at least one species that's blue, we say that's a blue genus," Mr Hsiung explained. Given that scattering of blue species, he added, they then calculated "the lowest number of changes that can produce a distribution of blue colouring like this". The answer? "Eight is the lowest number, so it's [evolved] at least eight times." What is more, all these blue spiders evolved almost precisely the same shade; the wavelengths the team saw in the images all fell within a tight 20 nanometre range, clustered around 450nm - a bright, cobalt blue. The team also purchased specimens of eight tarantula species, and took a close look at those blue hairs. They used electron microscopes to zoom in on tiny shapes within the hairs and conducted simulations of how those shapes could produce a "structural colour" by reflecting - very specifically - this wavelength of blue light. The results, again, pointed to the colour cropping up multiple times independently: several different types of shape could be seen, even on the same branch of the family tree. "That's one of the reasons why it must have evolved so many times - because we don't see a very clear pattern of how these different mechanisms split," Mr Hsiung said. "If we could see a clear split, then it might have evolved just one or two times. But it's all over the place." So why did all these different species acquire the same colour? Given their relatively simple eyes, it is doubtful that tarantulas can distinguish this shade of blue from any other colour. That is one of the reasons that sexual selection seems unlikely - by contrast with some other spiders, which have remarkably good vision and put on very colourful courtship displays, such as the mesmerising peacock spider. "It evolved from multiple origins and different mechanisms produce the very same blue colour," Mr Hsiung said. "That's very strong evidence to suggest that this blue colour has a very important visual signalling function. "But if it's not for other tarantulas, then it must be to some other receivers out there." It may be that this colour helps conceal the critters from their prey while they hunt at night; or perhaps it serves as a warning to stop the tarantulas themselves being eaten. "We don't know yet," Mr Hsiung said. Follow Jonathan on Twitter

tarantulas have a blue colour, but it is not driven by sexual selection. researchers say the colour is not driven by sexual selection. the colour is caused by tiny structures inside the animals' hairs.

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Tarantulas have evolved almost exactly the same shade of vibrant blue at least eight separate times.

Internet searches from the week before the crash were found on the tablet computer used by Andreas Lubitz, Meanwhile, the second "black box" flight recorder from the plane has been recovered. There were no survivors among the 150 people on board the A320 on 24 March. The German prosecutors said internet searches made on the tablet found in Lubitz's Duesseldorf flat included "ways to commit suicide" and "cockpit doors and their security provisions". Spokesman Ralf Herrenbrueck said: "He concerned himself on one hand with medical treatment methods, on the other hand with types and ways of going about a suicide. "In addition, on at least one day he concerned himself with search terms about cockpit doors and their security precautions.'' Prosecutors did not disclose the individual search terms in the browser history but said personal correspondence supported the conclusion Lubitz used the device in the period from 16 to 23 March. Lubitz, 27, had been deemed fit to fly by his employers at Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. The first "black box", the voice recorder, was recovered almost immediately at the crash site. Based on that evidence, investigators said they believed Lubitz intentionally crashed Flight 9525, which was travelling from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, taking control of the aircraft while the pilot was locked out of the cockpit. The second "black box" recovered is the flight data recorder (FDR) which should hold technical information on the time of radio transmissions and the plane's acceleration, airspeed, altitude and direction, plus the use of auto-pilot. At a press conference, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said there was "reasonable hope" the recorder which was being sent to Paris for examination, would provide useful information. The "completely blackened" equipment was found near a ravine and was not discovered immediately because it was the same colour as the rocks, he said. He said: "The second black box is an indispensable addition to understand what happened especially in the final moment of the flight." He told the media 150 separate DNA profiles had been isolated from the crash site but he stressed that did not mean all the victims had been identified. As each DNA set is matched to a victim, families will be notified immediately, he said, He added 40 mobile phones had been recovered. He said they would be analysed in a laboratory but were "heavily damaged". Also on Thursday, Germanwings said it was unaware that Lubitz had experienced depression while he was training to be a pilot. Lufthansa confirmed on Tuesday that it knew six years ago that the co-pilot had suffered from an episode of "severe depression'' before he finished his flight training. ``We didn't know this,'' said Vanessa Torres, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, which hired Lubitz in September 2013. She could not explain why Germanwings had not been informed. The final minutes Lubitz began the jet's descent at 10:31 (09:31 GMT) on 24 March, shortly after the A320 had made its final contact with air traffic control. Little more than eight minutes later, it had crashed into a mountain near Seyne-les-Alpes. What happened in the last 30 minutes of Flight 4U 9525? Who was Andreas Lubitz?

internet searches from the week before the crash were found on the tablet computer. prosecutors said internet searches included "ways to commit suicide" the second "black box" flight recorder from the plane has been recovered.

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The co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing the Germanwings jet in the French Alps had researched suicide methods and the security of cockpit doors, German prosecutors said.

Mr Fox, 54, from London, denies eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault between 1988 and 2014. He said there was often "horseplay" with colleagues, involving "piggybacks, tickling and squeezing". But he told Westminster Magistrates' Court such behaviour was consensual. Mr Fox, who uses the nicknames Dr Fox and Foxy, became well known for presenting the chart show on Capital Radio, and was a judge on the ITV show Pop Idol between 2001 and 2003 alongside Simon Cowell. He joined Magic 105.4 in 2005, where he presents the breakfast show, Foxy in the Morning. He is currently not hosting the show. Giving evidence on Wednesday, Mr Fox said he had worked with "hundreds" of female colleagues during his career, but had never been accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour until last year. Under questioning from his defence counsel, Jonathan Caplan QC, he told the court his teams had kept their energy up during live broadcasts by playing loud music, dancing and creating makeshift obstacle courses. "It sounds daft, but it was the way we, I, got myself going, and the team would join in very much as well. They would be part of that." He said his entire shifts, not just the on-air periods, constituted a "full performance" and colleagues would often make playful comments to one another. Mr Caplan asked: "Could those comments become edgy or sexual?" Mr Fox replied: "Of course they could. Like any office. Some of it could be saucy, cheeky, over-the-top." Referring to the "horseplay" in the office, Mr Fox insisted he would never have engaged in such conduct if it was not consensual, "otherwise it would create a bad atmosphere in the studio". Asked whether the culture of radio had changed during the past 25 years, he said: "I think the workplace in general, it's changed, hasn't it? "Laws have changed. HR has changed. Political correctness has changed." He added: "But I don't think my behaviour has changed. I'm the same guy now, with the same morals, as I was then." One former colleague has accused the DJ of squeezing her breasts from behind. Asked about that, he said: "That would be wholly wrong, totally disrespectful, and it's not something I would do." The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also said Mr Fox once pushed her over and simulated having sex with her. Addressing that allegation, he said people in his then-workplace often pretended to have been caught in compromising positions - it was a "play-acting high jinks thing", he said. Mr Fox told the court he had seen it "many times", but agreed that out of context, the "Benny Hill-style" comedy could have seemed inappropriate. Prosecutor John Price QC said: "She says that when you did that to her, she did not consent to it. Are you in a position to dispute that?" Mr Fox replied: "I can't get in (her) head." Mr Price continued: "Did you ask her before you did it if it was okay?" to which the defendant replied: "No." Mr Fox also denied having sexual contact with a 15-year-old fan, including during a private tour of Capital Radio's record library. "It never happened," he said, although he did acknowledge he "could have easily taken her for a tour". Mr Fox agreed it would be "quite wrong" for an adult man to "stick his tongue" into the mouth of a teenage girl, as the woman alleged he had done in the station's car park on another occasion. If a young fan asked him for a kiss, he would respond with "a social kiss" on the cheek, he said. The girl in question had, he added, "become a little bit obsessed with me". Asked why three unrelated individuals were accusing him of similar inappropriate conduct, Mr Fox replied: "I don't have an explanation at all." Mr Price said: "Coincidence is ridiculous, isn't it, as an explanation for these things?" The DJ replied: "I can't explain those coincidences." The trial continues.

mr Fox, 54, denies eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault. he says there was often "horseplay" with colleagues, including "piggybacks" he says he would never have engaged in such conduct if it was not consensual.

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DJ Neil Fox has told a court he engaged in "saucy" behaviour at work, but complaints made against him in 2014 were the first in his 29-year career.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said the 20-year-old would be out for "a few weeks" after leaving him out of his squad to play Arsenal on Sunday. Pochettino said Alli "twisted his knee in a clash with a team-mate". England play Scotland on Friday and Spain the following Tuesday at Wembley. "I hope it is not a big issue, it's bad luck, he's an important player for us," Pochettino added. "He will be out for a few weeks. We need to assess him today, tomorrow. That is football and sometimes it happens."

Mauricio pochettino says he will be out for "a few weeks" he left the 20-year-old out of his squad to play arsenal on sunday. pochettino said alli "twisted his knee in a clash with a team-mate"

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Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been ruled out of England's World Cup qualifier with Scotland and friendly against Spain after suffering a knee injury in training.

He would go upstairs, on the premise that he was saying a prayer with his niece, then sexually abuse her. Now in her 30s, Karen wasn't understood when she first told her parents what her uncle, Mark Sewell, was doing. Sewell was also the son of a trusted older member of the local Jehovah's Witnesses congregation, known as an elder. Christian churches, as well as other religions, have faced claims of child abuse. But what is striking about the Jehovah's Witnesses is their explicit policy of dealing with abuse in-house. Because of their practice of following the Bible literally, they insist there must be two witnesses to a crime, often not the case in child abuse cases. However, in Karen's case a second witness did come forward: Wendy, a family friend and fellow member of the Barry congregation in south Wales. She had been raped by the same man. When she reported the crime to elders, Wendy was made to describe it in minute detail to a group of older men. Later, she had to give her account again in the same room as Sewell. Afterwards, the elders told her that as it was only her account against that of Sewell, nothing more could be done. This bringing together of the accused and the accuser in a "judicial committee" is a common feature of Jehovah's Witnesses' justice. Karen, still a teenager at the time, was put through the process. The elders also ruled that their separate accusations didn't constitute the required two witnesses. Despite a pattern of predatory sexual behaviour, it took more than two decades to bring Wendy and Karen's abuser to justice. He is now serving a 14-year prison sentence. His punishment from the Jehovah's Witnesses? There wasn't one. Even when the case came to court, the organisation was reluctant to co-operate. Karen's father, John Viney, who was also an elder in the Barry congregation, says that elders who knew of Sewell's conduct and were asked to give statements or evidence in court did not want to get involved. In a programme for Radio 4's The Report, we have identified this lack of co-operation in several other similar cases. Confidential documents from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Britain - the official name for the Jehovah's Witnesses - that we have seen are explicit about the best way to deal with such matters being within the congregation. Nowhere in the hundreds of pages we have seen are elders told that they must go to the police, even if the perpetrator confesses, unless state or national law makes it mandatory to report such allegations. The Jehovah's Witnesses' UK leadership declined to talk to us for the programme. In a statement, they said they were appealing against a recent High Court ruling in the UK that awarded substantial damages against the organisation for failing to protect a child from sexual abuse by a paedophile. Their statement also insists that the organisation does take child abuse extremely seriously. Karen Morgan and Wendy are now pursuing a civil claim against the organisation, hoping that further financial penalty may force the leadership of the Jehovah's Witnesses to change its policies. For both of them, what made it even harder was the sense that belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses was part of an all-encompassing lifestyle, with members encouraged to socialise and marry within the group. The organisation has some eight million members around the world, but as Karen found to her cost, those who decide to have a boyfriend or girlfriend who is not a member may find themselves "disfellowshipped" or shunned. Jehovah's Witnesses are not the only religious organisation to try to deal with allegations of sexual abuse in-house. For many decades, that was the preferred method of the Roman Catholic Church, which has since reformed its child safeguarding policies following numerous court cases in the US and Europe against priests for the sexual abuse of children. Other churches have also tightened up their child safeguarding policies, with the Methodist Church conducting its own recent inquiry into abuse allegations dating back to 1950. That inquiry has led to calls for the Church of England to hold a fresh internal inquiry of its own, separately from the overarching national public inquiry that has just begun, and from the investigation it published in 2010, which critics termed inadequate. However, it is the more closed religious communities and new religious movements where it remains hardest for the victims of such abuse to speak out and gain access to secular justice, although awareness of the issue is growing. Only this month, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish scholar from Manchester - who fled to Israel after he was exposed as a paedophile - was jailed for 13 years. Todros Grynhaus was deported by the Israeli authorities to face justice in the UK, with his conviction for sex offences against girls leading to a change in attitudes in the Haredi Jewish community. The case prompted the UK's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to urge members to report child sex abuse. The court had heard that both women who testified against Grynhaus in the case had been "ostracised" by their community as a result of speaking out about their ordeal. For young Muslim girls, the price of speaking out about child sexual abuse can also be high, with many reluctant to report such abuse because of the fear that it would bring shame on them and their family. Sexual and physical abuse at Islamic religious schools, known as madrassas, has also resulted in some prosecutions in recent years, although often victims still hesitate to come forward with such allegations. Many religious organisations will find themselves being closely scrutinised in the national independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, chaired by New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard. The survivors of such abuse hope that the inquiry will prove itself truly independent, and help ensure that abusers will not be able to rely on their own congregations or religious leaders to protect them - whatever their faith. The Inquiry will investigate a wide range of institutions including: Local authorities The police The Crown Prosecution Service The Immigration Service The BBC The armed forces Schools Hospitals Children's homes Churches, mosques and other religious organisations Charities and voluntary organisations Full details of the inquiry Caroline Wyatt's investigation will be broadcast in Radio 4's The Report at 20:00 BST on Thursday, 23 July.

a Jehovah's witness was jailed for 14 years for sexually abusing his niece. a second witness, Wendy, also raped by the same man, came forward. the witness's punishment from the jehovah's witnesses? there was none.

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From when Karen Morgan was 12, until she was well into her teens, she was sexually abused by her uncle - a ministerial servant with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Mr Varoufakis said Greece was subject to a programme that will "go down in history as the greatest disaster of macroeconomic management ever". The German parliament approved the opening of negotiations on Friday. The bailout could total €86bn (£60bn) in exchange for austerity measures. In a damning assessment, Mr Varoufakis told the BBC's Mark Lobel: "This programme is going to fail whoever undertakes its implementation." Asked how long that would take, he replied: "It has failed already." Mr Varoufakis resigned earlier this month, in what was widely seen as a conciliatory gesture towards the eurozone finance ministers with whom he had clashed frequently. He said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has admitted that he does not believe in the bailout, had little option but to sign. "We were given a choice between being executed and capitulating. And he decided that capitulation was the optimal strategy." Mr Tsipras has announced a cabinet reshuffle, sacking several ministers who voted against the reforms in parliament this week. But he opted not to bring in technocrats or opposition politicians as replacements. As a result, our correspondent says, Mr Tsipras will preside over ministers who, like himself, harbour serious doubts about the reform programme. Greece must pass further reforms on Wednesday next week to secure the bailout. Germany was the last of the eurozone countries needing parliamentary approval to begin the talks. But the head of the group of eurozone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, has warned that the process will not be easy, saying he expected the negotiations to take four weeks. On Saturday, the Greek government ordered banks to open on Monday following three weeks of closures. But the decree stated that the weekly withdrawal limit should be a maximum €420. Separately, the European Council approved the €7bn bridging loan for Greece from an EU-wide emergency fund. The loan was approved in principle by eurozone ministers on Thursday and now has the go-ahead from all non-euro states. It means Greece will now be able to repay debts to two of its creditors, the ECB and International Monetary Fund (IMF), due on Monday.

german parliament approves opening of talks on bailout for eurozone country. greece must pass further reforms on Wednesday next week to secure bailout. eu council approves €7bn bridging loan for Greece.

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Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has told the BBC that economic reforms imposed on his country by creditors are "going to fail", ahead of talks on a huge bailout.

The IPC opened proceedings against the National Paralympic Committee of Russia after a report claimed the country had operated a widespread doping programme. A decision on any ban will come in the week commencing 1 August. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opted against a blanket ban. "I can assure you that our board will take the right decision in the interest of sport and the interest of the Paralympic movement moving forward," said Craven. On Sunday, the IOC said it would leave it up to the governing bodies of individual sports to decide if Russian competitors are clean and should be allowed to take part. But Craven, himself a member of the IOC, was critical of that decision and said the IPC would not necessarily follow suit. "I am disappointed in their decision, but that is a personal view," he added. "We have to acknowledge their right to take such a decision. This is ultra-serious. I don't think there has been a situation in the past where you have had institutional doping on such a scale. "We believe the Russian NPC is either unwilling or unable to uphold the IPC anti-doping code, which is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency code, so that is what they have to respond to." Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report, published last week, claimed Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme from 2011 to 2015. The IPC said it acted after McLaren provided the names of the athletes associated with the 35 "disappearing positive samples" from the Moscow laboratory highlighted in the report. Nineteen samples potentially doctored as part of the sample-swapping regime during the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games have been sent for further analysis. Russia will have up to 21 days to appeal against any IPC decision, with the Rio Paralympics due to begin on 7 September.

IPC opens proceedings against the national paralympic committee of Russia. report claimed the country had operated a widespread doping programme. decision on any ban will come in the week commencing 1 august.

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The International Paralympic Committee will make its decision on Russia's participation in the Rio Games "in the interest of sport", president Sir Philip Craven has told BBC Sport.

The 24-year-old spent six seasons with the north London side and has previously spent time playing in the second tier with Bedford Blues. The Exiles have not disclosed the length of the former England under-20 international's contract. "Ben is a great acquisition," director of rugby Nick Kennedy said. "He has Championship experience which will be very useful as we gear up for what will be a very competitive campaign."

the 24-year-old spent six seasons with the north london side. he has previously spent time playing in the second tier with Bedford blues. the length of the former england under-20 international's contract is not disclosed.

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Full-back Ben Ransom has joined Championship side London Irish from Premiership and European Champions Cup winners Saracens.

The team went into administration in October but, as revealed by BBC Sport, have secured investment from Stephen Fitzpatrick, boss of energy firm Ovo. Former Sainsbury's boss Justin King has joined as interim chairman. He said he was confident that Manor had "the right people, the right values and sheer hard work" and would be "competitive at the highest level". King is not financially involved in the team but will take a leading role on the business side of the operation. Fitzpatrick's investment is a personal one and the money he has put into the team does not come from Ovo. He said: "I have a lifelong passion for F1 and can't wait for the season ahead." Manor Marussia have announced Englishman Will Stevens will be one of their drivers and said a deal to sign the second would be completed soon. The team's new car, a modified version of the 2014 model, must pass F1's mandatory crash tests before they can race at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from 13-15 March. Those tests are scheduled to take place this week. Graeme Lowdon, who has been with the team through its various guises as Manor, Virgin and Marussia, remains as president and sporting director. He said: "It has been a challenging period for all of us but we've come through it and now we just want to go racing again. "With formidable new business leadership in Stephen Fitzpatrick and the board presence of Justin King, we are now in a great place ahead of the new season. This is a fantastic and very rewarding moment for all those involved with the team."

manor marussia go into administration after going into administration in October. team secured investment from Stephen fitzpatrick, boss of energy firm Ovo. former sainsbury's boss Justin King has joined as interim chairman. englishman will Stevens will be one of the team's drivers.

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The Manor Marussia team have confirmed they intend to return to Formula 1 in time for the start of the season.

The destination of a stimulus package worth nearly £39m was agreed as part of the Welsh government's budget deal with the Liberal Democrats. Finance Minister Jane Hutt said it would help "generate immediate benefits" for the economy. But Plaid Cymru said it was "completely inadequate" and the Conservatives said it should go to council tax payers. Labour and the Lib Dems announced a budget deal on Friday night, ending weeks of negotiations between ministers and opposition parties. With 30 of the assembly's 60 seats, Labour needs the help of at least one other party to approve its spending plans. The £38.9m windfall - to be spent over two years - also formed part of budget discussions. The money is coming down from the Treasury as a result of a council tax freeze in England. A programme to help businesses hire young recruits is among projects receiving funding. The government said an extra £4.9m would create 1,800 more apprenticeships. Some £9m will go towards upgrading school buildings, with the same amount spent on delivering an additional 130 homes. The government will spend £3.5 improving roads in places where it is planning to create enterprise zones. Five parts of Wales have been earmarked as zones where businesses will get help to grow. First Minister Carwyn Jones has said that copying the UK government by using the money to keep down council tax would not significantly benefit the economy, adding that tax bills for band D homes were lower on average in Wales. Labour has faced criticism from opponents, particularly Plaid Cymru, for not doing enough to respond to a deteriorating economic situation. Ms Hutt pointed to other government spending commitments, intended to help growth. She said she had considered proposals to spend the money from across the government. She said: "This package builds on those actions to boost the economy and develop public services, generating immediate benefits for our economy while complementing our long term aims." Conservative shadow finance minister Paul Davies said he was disappointed ministers were using additional resources to "top up" existing policies. He said: "There is nothing new in this package other than a fresh attempt by Welsh Labour ministers to be seen to act on the economy, while spending money which would be better spent by taxpayers themselves." Welsh Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said her party will also work with the government on how to spend any money allocated to Wales as a result of Tuesday's Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne. "The Welsh Liberal Democrats approach will be to continue to get our economy moving and improve the quality of life for people in Wales," she said. Plaid Cymru economy spokesman Alun Ffred Jones said: "For over six months, Labour has sat back and done nothing - exposing Wales to the full force of this economic crisis. "Now, they're trying desperately to create the impression that this small sum of money will do what's needed. Quite simply, it will not."

finance minister says money will help "generate immediate benefits" for the economy. but plaid Cymru says it should go to council tax payers. the money is coming down from the Treasury as a result of a council tax freeze in england.

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Funding to improve school buildings and create apprenticeships has been announced to help revive the economy.

The former Tory prime minister also called for "more charm and a lot less cheap rhetoric" from the UK government towards the rest of the EU. And he said the costs of leaving would be "substantial" and "unpalatable". Downing Street said the government was determined to make a success of the UK's departure from the EU. Conservative former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said it was a "peculiar speech in the sense that it looked backwards the whole time". He told BBC Newsnight: "It was almost like a re-fight of the referendum... strangely bitter really, and almost really the speech of someone who simply refuses to accept that the British people should have made a decision such as they did." Prime Minister Theresa May plans to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which begins two years of formal negotiations, by the end of March. She has already confirmed the UK will not remain a member of the EU single market but will instead seek a new free trade deal with the remaining members. In a speech in London, Sir John, who campaigned for a Remain vote in June's referendum, claimed there was "little chance" the advantages of being part of the EU single market could be replicated once the UK leaves. "I have watched with growing concern as the British people have been led to expect a future that seems to be unreal and over-optimistic," he said. "Obstacles are brushed aside as of no consequence, whilst opportunities are inflated beyond any reasonable expectation of delivery." For Theresa May, also an unflashy leader who was propelled to No 10 by a surprising political moment, Europe will be defining in a way no others could even have anticipated. In Sir John's carefully calibrated speech, there are plenty of messages for her, some of which may be welcome, some not. First off, having campaigned to stay in the European Union, with sober warnings particularly about the consequences for the Northern Irish peace process, it's no surprise that Sir John says that in his view, Brexit will be a "historic mistake". It is notable, although again not surprising, that he cautions that the UK will be a diminished diplomatic force in the world after we walk away from the EU, with a warning too that we will be less useful to our most important ally, the US, as a consequence. Also, even as the PM who lived through the Commons trauma of trying to deliver the Maastricht Treaty, it is logical that he calls for Parliament to have a full role in shaping the negotiations over our place in Europe. What may be harder for No 10 to dismiss is Sir John's obvious political concern about how the public is being treated in the months after the referendum decision. Read more from Laura Sir John said Brexit talks require "statesmanship of a high order" and warned of a "real risk" of the exit deal falling "well below the hopes and expectations" that have been raised, saying he doubted the "rosy confidence being offered to the British people". "In my own experience, the most successful results are obtained when talks are conducted with goodwill: it is much easier to reach agreement with a friend than a quarrelsome neighbour. "Behind the diplomatic civilities, the atmosphere is already sour. A little more charm, and a lot less cheap rhetoric, would do much to protect the UK's interests." He also said the "cheerleaders" for Brexit had shown a "disregard that amounts to contempt" towards those that backed the losing side. And he said the UK would become "far more dependent" on the US after it leaves the EU, describing President Donald Trump as "less predictable, less reliable and less attuned to our free market and socially liberal instincts than any of his predecessors". Sir John, who as prime minister between 1990 and 1997 oversaw the start of the Northern Ireland peace process, warned that "uncertainties over border restrictions" after Brexit were "a serious threat to the UK, to the peace process and for Ireland, North and South". The ex-PM, who faced battles with Eurosceptic MPs during his time in Downing Street, also said Mrs May would have to "face down" people calling for "total disengagement" from Europe. But the Leave Means Leave campaign hit back, recalling Sir John's famous "don't bind my hands" plea to Tory Eurosceptics ahead of EU talks and saying he was now "seeking to do just this to the British prime minister ahead of negotiations with the EU". Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "It was a craven and defeated speech of a bitter man who was heavily defeated by the electorate for his own failings in Europe in 1997, was defeated again last June and now wishes to take out his failures on Mrs May."

former prime minister calls for "more charm and a lot less cheap rhetoric" from the government. he says the costs of leaving would be "substantial" and "unpalatable" theresa may plans to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of march.

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Britons are being offered an "unreal and over-optimistic" vision of what Brexit will look like, Sir John Major has warned.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said Labour - which is opposing the cap - was "in denial" over the state of the economy. But Labour argued the cap would be a "hit and run" on working families. Benefits have historically risen in line with the rate of inflation. The Commons vote is due at 19:00 GMT. The House of Commons is debating the Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill, which would keep benefit rises to 1% for three years from next April. The coalition argues this is necessary to reduce the deficit, and is fair at a time when public sector pay is being capped and salaries in the private sector are rising below the rate of inflation. But Labour, which opposes the cap, says it will result in a real-terms cut in support for millions of working people. Some Lib Dem MPs, including David Ward, John Leech, Julian Huppert and former minister Sarah Teather, are expected to rebel against the government while others - including Julian Huppert - could abstain. Mr Leech, MP for Manchester Withington, said he found it "objectionable that the Tories are using 'skivers versus strivers' rhetoric to justify a cut to seven million working families". Despite the concerns of some Lib Dems, the coalition is thought likely to win the vote. Legislation is needed to implement changes announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last month's Autumn Statement - to cap increases in jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, income support and elements of housing benefit. The cap would also apply to maternity allowance, sick pay, maternity pay and paternity pay as well as the couple and lone parent elements of the working tax credit and the child element of the child tax credit. These benefits traditionally rise in line with consumer prices in an annual process known as "uprating". By Ross HawkinsPolitical correspondent, BBC News Glance at the spreadsheets and the scale of the saving is apparent. Figures in the Autumn Statement show raising many benefits and tax credits by 1% a year will save £2.8bn in 2015/16, compared with the government's previous plans. The overall welfare budget in 2011/12, as calculated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is £201bn. The political debate will centre on who should feel the pain. Jobseekers Allowance totals 2.4% of the total bill, according to the IFS. Benefits for those on low incomes make up just under 21%. Those for elderly people, including the state pension, make up over 42%. The estimated value of fraud and error overpayments in benefit expenditure in 2011-12 is £3.2 billion. They increased 5.2% this year and without the planned change would have been set to rise by 2.2% - the rate of CPI inflation last September, on which the figure is calculated. The rate of inflation has since risen to 2.7%. During lively scenes in Parliament, Mr Duncan Smith said: "The number one priority now is reducing the deficit that they [Labour] left us - the biggest deficit since the Second World War." He added that the gap between the rate of income inflation between workers and the unemployed had "grown" in the last few years. "These are decisions that we are not taking easily but these are circumstances that they [Labour] are in denial about," Mr Duncan Smith said. For Labour, shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne accused the government of presiding over an increase in unemployment. But Mr Duncan Smith said this was not the case and that the US and other European countries were faring worse than the UK. Mr Byrne said the government was showing "contempt" by trying to "ram this bill through the House in just one day". He added: "It's turning into a hit-and-run on working families and we should not stand for it." Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: "Isn't the truth of this that it's a mean and miserable piece of legislation from a mean and miserable government?" Sarah Teather, who was replaced as an education minister in last autumn's government reshuffle, said she would oppose the bill "with a heavy heart" because it was "disingenuous" to try to "find someone to blame for our own woes". "A fissure already exists between the working and non-working poor," she told MPs. "Hammering on that fault line with the language of 'shirkers and strivers' will have long-term impacts on public attitudes, on attitudes of one neighbour against another. "It will make society less generous, less sympathetic, less able to co-operate." However, Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes told the House: "It's difficult but the government has got the right and I believe, after this parliament, it will be vindicated by getting more people in work and fewer out of work." David Cameron's official spokesman said: "The prime minister's view is that the welfare system has to be brought back under control. The measures that the government has been taking, ever since the government came to power, have been designed to that end." The BBC's political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue said an "impact assessment" published by the government suggested single parents would be most affected by the cap - losing £5 a week or about £250 over the three year period. The majority of working age households in receipt of state support are likely be an average of £3 a week worse off.

the coalition is thought to win the vote in the welfare benefits uprating bill. the bill would keep benefit rises to 1% for three years from next April. some lib dems are expected to rebel against the government. labour says the cap would be a "hit and run" on working families.

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The government has urged MPs to back a 1% cap on annual rises in working-age benefits and some tax credits, arguing it is vital to cutting the deficit.

Network Rail and Thames Water engineers are at the scene after the hole appeared in Forest Hill on Monday. The disruption is expected to last until Wednesday, with Southern, Thameslink and London Overground services affected. Thames Water said a sewer under the track had collapsed. It said the repair work was "extremely complex" and that engineers had located the problem section of the sewer and were working to seal it. Dry concrete has been put into the hole, forming a base to pour wet concrete on top. Once it has set, about 50 tonnes of ballast will be inserted, with the aim of opening the railway on Wednesday. Network Rail has closed all four lines between East Croydon and London Bridge, meaning Southern services to London Bridge are either cancelled or diverted. London Overground services are not running between West Croydon/Crystal Palace and New Cross Gate. Carl Leadbetter, Thames Water's regional network manager, said: "Our teams continue to work as fast as possible on this critical job. "While we need to work quickly to reopen the train lines, we also need to consider local residents, who will potentially suffer from sewer flooding if the pipe is not properly enclosed. "This is an extremely complex job as the pipe is in a difficult location in the tracks and six metres below the ground." Network Rail apologised for the delays and said it was working "as hard as possible" to get the problem fixed by Wednesday morning's rush hour. Spokesman Chris Denham said the hole "couldn't be in a worse place". "This is a massive piece of railway," he told BBC Radio London. "It's the equivalent of shutting the A2 out of London in the morning. It's absolutely huge." Some passengers expressed their frustration on social media, mentioning how the problem occurred on the hottest day of the year so far. Elsewhere in London, high temperatures have been disrupting trains between the city and the West, with speeds being cut over fears of rails buckling. Trains coming out of Paddington, Euston and Liverpool Street all saw severe disruption. And Southern services heading to Brighton from Victoria were heavily disrupted following a track failure in the Gatwick area. It comes as commuters have experienced months of cancellations and delays on Southern trains due to an RMT dispute. New rail minister Paul Maynard will appear before the Commons Transport Select Committee on Wednesday to give evidence on the Department for Transport's role in the issue. For more details on this story, please tune into BBC Radio London and follow @BBCTravelAlert on Twitter.

network rail and Thames water engineers are at the scene after the hole appeared in forest hill. the disruption is expected to last until Wednesday, with Southern, Thameslink and London Overground services affected. a sewer under the track has collapsed and is being repaired.

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A 13ft-deep hole causing widespread disruption to trains in south London has been found to have opened above an active sewer.

Everton had won on their last four visits to City - and for an hour frustration was in the air again as they mounted a wall of well-organised resistance that kept Roberto Mancini's side at bay. The introduction of substitute Mario Balotelli on the hour led to the breakthrough as he scored with a deflected shot after 68 minutes and finally unsettled Everton with an impressive cameo. It was the type of result and performances that adds weight to the argument that City will mount a serious title challenge this season Read more of the blog James Milner, another second-half substitute, added the second with two minutes left from David Silva's sublime pass to allow City to move top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester United's visit to Stoke City. And it was a win City deserved for demonstrating the patience and persistence they will need as Everton's dour approach is likely to be mirrored by plenty of sides who will attempt to suppress City's wide range of attacking options at Etihad Stadium. Media playback is not supported on this device Everton's tactics appeared designed to secure a draw and perhaps aim to take an isolated chance on the break. But David Moyes' side were undermined by a failure to offer anything in attack, although substitute Louis Saha - and his manager - were rightly infuriated when referee Howard Webb failed to award a free-kick when he was blatantly fouled on the edge of the area by Vincent Kompany with the game still in the balance. Moyes also believed Everton had been the victims of injustice in the build-up to Balotelli's crucial goal, claiming City were wrongly awarded a throw in. Mancini will relish the manner of this win as much as other victories earned in real style this season. Everton offered a stern test and City showed growing maturity to get the three points. Everton's superbly drilled defensive formation offered nothing other than frustration to City in the first half as they stood firm. Moyes had clearly earmarked Silva as central to City's threat and he deployed youngster Jack Rodwell to man-mark the Spaniard. And when he received a yellow card for a foul on Silva responsibility briefly switched to Phil Neville, until he drew similar punishment from referee Webb after a clash with Silva. Sergio Aguero was City's main threat in the early exchanges, but it was the 53rd minute before Everton posed a serious threat as Tim Cahill's header from Seamus Coleman's cross floated over the bar. It was only when Balotelli came on for Edin Dzeko on the hour that City made serious inroads into the Everton defence. Samir Nasri had a shot well saved by Tim Howard before the Italian broke the deadlock seven minutes after his introduction. Balotelli's finish from the edge of the area was measured and also took a decisive touch off Everton defender Phil Jagielka to send the ball tantalisingly out of Howard's reach into the bottom corner. Media playback is not supported on this device The visitors now needed to shift the entire emphasis of their approach, but City were playing with renewed confidence and Silva hit the woodwork with Howard beaten. Balotelli was then narrowly off target before setting up Silva for a tap-in, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Silva was at his creative best as City wrapped up the win with one minute left. Everton substitute Royston Drenthe lost possession in midfield and Silva threaded through a perfect invitation for Milner to slide his finish past Howard. Everton had offered next to nothing in terms of attacking threat, although another City substitute Stefan Savic made a timely intervention in injury time to clear Marouane Fellaini's shot off the line. Live text commentary

everton were held to a 0-0 draw at home by manchester city. substitute Mario balotelli scored the winner after 68 minutes. a second-half strike from substitute james milner sealed victory.

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Manchester City finally released the recent stranglehold Everton have placed on them with a hard-fought victory at Etihad Stadium.

Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs a target to reduce six week delays in discharging patients had been delivered. But Labour said it had not been met for more than three years, and called for her to amend the record. Ms Sturgeon's office said she would not be revising her remarks because the six-week target had been met in the past. Delayed discharge - sometimes referred to as bed blocking - is when a patient is not released from hospital despite being clinically well enough to be discharged, often because of a lack of care of care services. Ms Sturgeon faced criticism over the issue during first minister's questions in the Scottish Parliament, with Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale saying that people had remained in hospital for a total of 612,000 days last year when they were well enough to go home. She said Ms Sturgeon had told the SNP conference in 2011 that patients spent 200,000 days in a hospital bed when they did not need to. Ms Dugdale added: "That means it has more than trebled under the SNP government since this first minister admitted there was something badly wrong. So, by any measure that is unacceptable. "That is thousands of patients, the majority of whom are elderly, ready to go back home or into the community but can't because the extra support they need just isn't there." She also claimed that delayed discharge got worse during the peak of summer despite Health Secretary Shona Robison saying in February that she wanted to "completely eradicate" the problem. The substance is this. In the middle of a flood of stats, Ms Sturgeon said: "Having delivered the target of zero delays over six weeks, we have progressively toughened that target." A delay of that duration, for the avoidance of doubt, involves a patient being kept in hospital for at least six weeks longer than clinically necessary, generally because no alternative care is available. Dr Simpson said he had checked with parliament's own information centre. Based on that research, allied to his own knowledge, he believed the First Minister's remarks were misleading. According to Labour, Scotland's patients had not enjoyed "zero delays over six weeks" for three years. That is, there had been patients during that three-year period who had stayed more than six weeks in hospital beyond potential discharge. The immediate response from the First Minister's office is that the target - of zero delays over six weeks - had been met in the past. The general tenor of her remarks was that matters were improving - while there remained more to be done. Dr Simpson has now, in effect, suggested that Ms Sturgeon might reconsider that stance. Read more from Brian Ms Sturgeon responded by acknowledging that there was still work to do, but said "real progress" was being made. She later added: "Since 2007 there's been a 52% reduction in delays over four weeks, a 55% reduction in delays over six weeks, the number of delays over three days is down by 50%, the number of delays over four weeks has been reduced as well. "Having delivered the target of zero delays over six weeks, we've progressively toughened that target and we're now focusing on ensuring patients are discharged within 72 hours." That comment drew an angry response from Labour MSP Dr Richard Simpson, who subsequently made a formal point of order to the presiding officer. Dr Simpson said that the six-week target had been missed in every month since 2012. He also said that official statistics showed that more than 4,700 patients had been delayed more than six weeks despite being fit to leave since 2012, and nearly 400 in the past two months alone. Dr Simpson added: "We all know that nationalist rhetoric is divorced from reality but this is completely unacceptable. It was completely wrong to claim that these targets had been met when in reality thousands of patients had waited in hospital beds. "Our NHS is in real trouble. The health minister pledged to abolish delayed discharge by the end of the year. Instead it is going in the wrong direction. Meanwhile we see the first minister is making completely false claims about her government's record. "Patients and staff don't benefit from bogus claims about NHS performance. The first minister should correct the record, and this SNP government should get a grip of delayed discharge rather than bury their heads in the sand." But a Scottish government spokeswoman said: "The first minister was correct that the old six week target was met, on a number of occasions, under this government. "Subsequently, the Scottish government introduced new tougher targets that no patient should wait more than four weeks, and later two weeks, from when they are clinically ready for discharge. "Working with our partners in local government we've made the level of performance we expect tougher still, with an ambition for patients to be delayed for no more than 72 hours."

Nicola sturgeon told MSPs a target to reduce delays in discharging patients had been delivered. but labour said it had not been met for more than three years, and called for her to amend the record. delayed discharge is when a patient is not released from hospital despite being clinically well enough to be discharged.

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Labour has accused the Scottish first minister of misleading parliament over hospital bed blocking statistics.

Overflow pipes at the Burry Inlet near Llanelli are used to help stop flooding. But the European Court of Justice ruled this broke clean water laws in a special conservation area. The Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water said they were investing in improvements. Though the UK has not been fined, it will have to pay legal costs in a case that also found a number of other breaches around the handling of waste water in England and Gibraltar. The problems stem from the UK's ageing Victorian sewers, engineering marvels of their time, but now out of date. The pipes were designed to mix both sewage and rainwater but over the years new housing developments and more frequent storms as a result of climate change have put pressure on the system. Welsh Water has 3,000 special overflow pipes which act as relief valves to deal with the extra sewage and rainwater but go straight into rivers and the sea. At the Burry Inlet there are 14 overflow pipes which discharge into an area supposed to be protected by UK and EU laws. It includes salt marshes and is a habitat for tens of thousands of wild birds during the winter. 2,200 hectares of saltmarsh - largest continuous area in Wales 20,000 waterfowl are supported 13,590 oystercatchers 35,000 wildbirds spend winter including curlew, godwit and shelduck The local cockling industry has also been hit but Welsh Water insisted this was not due to their discharges. It is investing in a £113m project to reduce the number of spills. RainScape involves reducing the amount of water that reaches the sewers through planting green spaces on streets and roofs to absorb rain and building channels to capture surface water. The UK argued the improvements would mean it could comply with EU clean water laws by 2020. However, the ECJ - which rules on disputes involving EU legislation - found the UK had acted "too late" and was failing in its obligations. Judges ruled spills contributed to the deterioration of water quality in the Loughor Estuary. A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We will continue to work with Natural Resources Wales and Dwr Cymru on a £113m programme to reduce the number of spills, improve water quality and reduce the risk of local flooding by 2020." Welsh Water added: "We have met the legal permits for water quality in the Loughor estuary and are aware of ever increasing environmental standards and the need to manage long-term challenges, such as climate change, in a truly sustainable away." The UK Government said all sites in England included in the judgement "now comply with the directive and plans are in place elsewhere across the UK to deliver compliance by 2020 at the latest".

overflow pipes at the burry inlet near Llanelli are used to help stop flooding. the ECJ ruled this broke clean water laws in a special conservation area. the problem stems from the ageing Victorian sewers, engineering marvels of their time.

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The UK has been found to be in breach of EU laws over the amount of sewage and waste water discharged into the sea off Carmarthenshire.

He also hailed improving ties between the US and Cuba as "an example of reconciliation for the whole world". The Pope was greeted by President Raul Castro after landing in the capital, Havana. The Pope is due to celebrate Mass on Sunday in Havana's iconic Revolution Square. He will spend four days in Cuba before flying to the US. Following his arrival on Cuba on Saturday, thousands lined the route of the Pope's motorcade to the home of the Vatican's ambassador to Cuba. Pope Francis - the first pontiff to hail from Latin America - is credited with helping the recent thaw in diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US. Mr Castro has thanked the Pope for his contribution. Speaking at the airport alongside President Castro, Pope Francis urged further support for Cuba's Catholics "so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in its hopes and concerns, with the freedom, the means and the space needed to bring the proclamation of the kingdom to the existential peripheries of society". He also called on Cuba and the US to "persevere on the path" of detente. On Thursday the Vatican said it hoped the Pope's visit would help bring an end to the 53-year-old US embargo and lead to more freedom and human rights on the island. Pensioner Diego Carrera told AP the visit was "like a breath of hope blowing over Cuba" because of the role that the Pope played in the reestablishment of relations with the US. On Friday the US announced eased restrictions on business and travel with Communist Cuba, the latest move by President Barack Obama to improve relations. At the scene: Will Grant, BBC News, Havana Disembarking to chants of "Christ lives" and other religious slogans, the Pope was welcomed off the plane by Raul Castro. He was quick to praise the pontiff for his leadership on issues of climate change and poverty and thanked him for his role in brokering talks with Washington. The Pope said he was in Cuba to "support and encourage the Cuban people in their hopes and concerns". While he didn't shy away from using the word "freedom" in his initial address, he is still unlikely to publically berate the Cuban government over its human rights record - choosing instead a more pragmatic approach. As the first Latin American pope, he's likely to receive a unique welcome from the Cuban people - many of whom remember when a commitment to atheism was a key part of the constitution. Cuba all set for Pope Francis Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, president of the Pope's native Argentina, also arrived on the island on Saturday and will attend the Mass in Revolution Square. Workers have been building a huge altar and stands for the congregation and choir on the square. Streets have been newly paved in Havana, and the cathedral has been renovated. In the city of Holguin where the Pope will celebrate Mass on Monday, the cathedral has been repaired and repainted. Nearly 1,000 Cuban and foreign journalists were expected to cover the visit. In 1998 Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the island, saying: "May Cuba... open itself up to the world, and may the world open itself up to Cuba." His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, also visited Cuba in 2012. Francis's trip will later take him to the US, which he will also be visiting for the first time since his election to the papacy.

Pope Francis greeted by president of the island after landing in the capital, havana. he will spend four days in the island before flying to the united states. the pontiff is credited with helping thaw diplomatic relations between the two countries. he is due to celebrate mass on Sunday in the city's iconic revolution square.

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Pope Francis has called for the Church in Cuba to have "the freedom and the means" to pursue its mission, on his first visit to the island.

The 31-year-old half-back joined Widnes until the end of the season after being told he did not feature in Tigers' plans for the rest of 2017. The former England playmaker was dropped at Cas for three games in March after an "internal investigation". Chase has swapped table toppers Castleford for bottom-of-the-table Widnes, who have won twice in 13 games. "It is a great signing for us and I'm excited we've managed to pick up someone of Rangi's quality to come into the side," Betts told BBC Radio Merseyside. "I know he's excited about playing as he wants to be playing regularly - he wants to start games and play 80 minutes. "He comes here, he's got a clean slate and he wants to go again. "He's up for the challenge as he knows we've got our backs against the wall, he knows the situation and he's been told that. He's up for the fight which was really exciting."

former england playmaker dropped by castleford for three games in march. the 31-year-old half-back joins bottom-of-the-table widnes until end of the season.

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New Widnes loan signing Rangi Chase has a "clean slate" start at the Vikings, says head coach Denis Betts

He is approaching the end of his 10th year in charge and thinks it is the right time to seek a fresh challenge. Cricket Scotland chairman Keith Oliver said: "There is no doubt that the governing body of cricket in Scotland is unrecognisable from where we were in 2004. "And the credit for this must go to Roddy and his staff." During Smith's time as chief executive, his management team have increased from eight to 25 and turnover has quadrupled. I am delighted that I leave an organisation in good health with a growing game and after a year of exceptional on-field performances by national teams at all levels Cricket Scotland reported a rise in participation figures for players, coaches and umpires during those 10 years. And the national side have secured a place at next year's World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand by beating Kenya in a qualifying event. Oliver, who has worked with Smith during that whole period, said: "Back then, we could not have imagined we would have won global qualifying events, played in world cups at youth and senior level, played One Day International games in front of thousands, run a fully professional national team as well as winning numerous development awards at a European and Global level. "I and all at Cricket Scotland wish Roddy every success in his next role." Cricket Scotland will start the recruitment process to find Smith's successor with the aim of having a replacement in place early in the new year. Smith said: ''I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Cricket Scotland and it's hard to believe it has been nearly a decade. "I am delighted that I leave an organisation in good health with a growing game and after a year of exceptional on-field performances by national teams at all levels. "Ten years is a long time for a chief executive of a national governing body and now feels exactly the right time to move on to my next challenge. "With a Cricket World Cup to look forward to early next year and a number of newly-appointed quality staff to work with, I am looking forward to handing over to my successor an organisation that is very well placed to succeed in the future." Cricket Scotland announced in June that it plans a new "world class" base in Stirling, relocating from Edinburgh, with a new pavilion at the home of Stirling County Cricket Club designed to host international matches.

cricket chief executive Roddy Smith is approaching the end of his 10th year in charge. cricket in Scotland is unrecognisable from where it was in 2004. turnover has quadrupled and the national side have secured a place at next year's world cup finals in australia and new zealand.

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Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith has announced that he will leave the role at the end of December.

But the Premier League club say they want Allardyce to stay, insisting he is "very much key to our plans". Sunderland claim speculation about Allardyce has been "extremely damaging" and have urged the FA to "bring about a swift resolution to the matter". England are searching for a new boss after Roy Hodgson quit on 28 June. He resigned after the national team were knocked out of Euro 2016 at the last-16 stage by Iceland. Photographs that appeared to show Allardyce, 61, at the home of FA vice-chairman David Gill were published in the media in the past 24 hours. Allardyce had been on tour with Sunderland in Austria until he returned home at the start of the week, reportedly on transfer business. Sunderland said they agreed to let Allardyce speak with the FA as a "potential candidate" after he requested permission, but are upset discussions did not remain confidential. "After what was an extremely challenging season, we are keen to see a period of stability, both on and off the field, and we want him to remain as manager of our football club," read a club statement issued on Wednesday. Kevin Davies, who played under Allardyce at Bolton, thinks his former boss would be a good choice for England. "Where we are now as a nation, I think he is probably the right man," said Davies, who earned one England cap during his career. "Motivation-wise, he is fantastic, the best I have ever worked with. He knows how to get the best out of a player. "He has a lot of other strengths, too. He surrounds himself with the best people in the best roles, which allows him to plan and get the best out of his squad." Davies also thinks Allardyce will improve morale in the dressing room. "The atmosphere he will create will be similar to Wales or Iceland... that spirit, that togetherness, along with the ability that we have a lacked," said Davies. "I think he has always thrived on being the underdog and I think England are going to go into a lot of games as underdogs in the future, so it probably will suit the way England are at the moment. " Allardyce is not the only Premier League manager linked with the England job. Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, Bournemouth's Eddie Howe and Hull City's Steve Bruce have all been touted as possible candidates. United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann and former England manager Glenn Hoddle have also been linked with the job, but Allardyce is the frontrunner. The former West Ham, Newcastle, Bolton and Blackburn boss, who has one year left on his Sunderland contract, won a lot of plaudits for keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League last season. England begin their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign on 4 September, when they face Slovakia in Trnava. The two sides met at Euro 2016, battling out a goalless draw in Group B. Media playback is not supported on this device The England manager will be chosen by a three-man panel - Gill, FA technical director Dan Ashworth and chief executive Martin Glenn. They want the next boss to be a strong-minded, tactically savvy manager who will build a clear team identity and help shape the team into a cohesive unit. Allardyce was previously interviewed for the role in 2006 after Sven-Goran Eriksson left following that year's World Cup. Eriksson's assistant Steve McClaren got the job instead but he failed to guide England to qualification for the 2008 European Championship. Here's what Allardyce has since said about the England job: 2009 After missing out to McClaren: "I should have got it and I really don't know why I didn't. It had to be political for me, rather than my credentials. "Maybe my external look isn't to everybody's liking. It was the right time and the right job for me but not from the FA's point of view. "It seems foreign coaches are still all the craze for the top jobs and that is a great shame. I also think that Steve not being successful was a massive blow for British or English managers, because it has put us down a peg or two." 2015 From his autobiography: "I wanted to do a real knock-your-socks-off interview for the FA, so I put together a PowerPoint which looked at every single detail. "Nobody but nobody was going to beat it. But then Brian Barwick, the chief executive, told me there were no PowerPoint facilities at the interview venue, so I had to print off hard copies for the panel. So much for the progressive FA. "I should have got it and, as I'm a better manager now than I was then, I believe I should be in the running whenever it comes round again. That's not vanity or being full of my own importance. My track record entitles me to be considered." May 2016 Prior to Euro 2016: "That's gone. For me to be interested in the England job, Roy would probably have to leave at the end of the Euros. "And would England be interested in me? They say they are looking for an English manager, but will they do it? You've got this, 'what's sexier?' element now, rather than how good you are at doing the job."

sunderland say speculation about manager roy hodgson has been "extremely damaging" the club have urged the FA to bring about a "swift resolution to the matter" allardyce had been on tour with sunderland until he returned home.

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Sunderland have given the Football Association (FA) permission to speak to their manager Sam Allardyce about the position of England boss.

Media playback is not supported on this device All the tries came in the second half with Liam Williams and Gareth Davies crossing as Wales twice opened an eight-point lead. But Juan Martin Hernandez and Martin Landajo both scored as the Pumas refused to lie down. Full-back Leigh Halfpenny's 78th-minute penalty edged Wales four points clear to settle the encounter. The Toulon full-back scored 14 points with the boot, which ultimately proved the difference between the sides in a match which did not quite live up to expectations. Read: Wales restored pride, says Howley Howley praises 'world class' lock Jones Following their 32-8 defeat by Australia the previous week, Wales were relieved to hang on against a Pumas side that refused to buckle in the face of extreme pressure. After coach Rob Howley had asked for a response from his team, man of the match Alun Wyn Jones and wing Williams - who both missed the Wallabies defeat - made a huge impact on their returns. Williams' determination for his try typified a full-blooded display by the Scarlets back. Argentina failed to rediscover the exciting running which saw them beat Ireland at the same stadium in the 2015 World Cup. And while Howley would be pleased with the improvement in Wales' performance, a lack of composure in attack, particularly when they were on top in the first half, will be a concern. Wales controlled the opening period but, apart from two penalties by Halfpenny, had little to show for their dominance at the break as Argentina repeatedly infringed in their own 22. When referee Angus Gardner finally lost patience and sent prop Ramiro Herrera to the sin-bin with a minute of the first half remaining, Wales were promptly penalised at the next scrum and went in with a three-point lead which barely reflected the run of play. Media playback is not supported on this device After the break, wing Williams produced a tenacious finish to edge Wales eight points clear before Landajo's opportunism from a quick penalty created a try for the superb Hernandez. When Davies dummied over for his eighth international try and Halfpenny converted, it looked as though Wales would pull clear. But the Pumas, with Sanchez a probing threat at fly-half, hit back again when Landajo was given the benefit of the doubt by television official Sean Davey. An exchange of penalties meant Wales led by a point before Halfpenny eased the nerves with his fifth successful kick of the game. Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gethin Jenkins (captain), Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty. Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Nicky Smith, Samson Lee, Cory Hill, James King, Lloyd Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Jamie Roberts. Argentina: Joaquin Tuculet Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Juan Martin Hernandez, Santiago Cordero, Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Lucas Noguera, Agustin Creevy (captain), Ramiro Herrera, Guido Petti, Matias Alemanno, Pablo Matera, Javier Ortega Desio, Facundo Isa. Replacements: Julian Montoya, Santiago Garcia Botta, Enrique Pieretto, Leonardo Senatore, Tomas Lezana, Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Jeronimo de la Fuente. Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus) Touch judges: Mike Fraser (NZ) & Luke Pearce (Eng) TMO: Sean Davey (Eng) Citing commissioner: Bruce Kuklinski (Canada) Media playback is not supported on this device

tries from wingers Williams and Davies gave Wales an eight-point lead. but argentina's Hernandez and landajo scored tries to keep the game close. full-back half-back halfpenny scored 14 points with the boot.

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Wales held on for a nervy win over Argentina in Cardiff to end a run of five successive Test match defeats.

The 130m-tall (420ft) Bulford Kiwi, on Bulford Hill near Stonehenge, was carved by New Zealand troops who were stationed there. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made it a scheduled monument on the advice of Historic England. Kiwi soldiers played a significant role in the Battle of Messines, fought in June 1917 in Belgium. Another monument at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, marking the same battle, has also been granted protection. The Terrain Model of Messines - a scale model of the battlefield - was made by German prisoners of war using soil, concrete, bricks and pebbles. The model was a popular tourist attraction at the end of the war, but it became neglected and was lost until it was recently excavated. It has now been covered over again to protect it from damage and erosion. Roger Bowdler from Historic England said: "These two monuments pay tribute to the bravery of New Zealand's fighting forces in the First World War and we are delighted that they are now being protected for the future. "The Bulford Kiwi was cut into the chalk at the end of the war by Kiwi soldiers themselves, to mark the presence of their forces in England, and their achievements at the front. "The taking of the Messines ridge was one of the war's most stirring attacks, and this model lay-out remains as testimony to the planning which made possible the victory. "Like so much of our historic environment, these lasting reminders enable us to connect with lives and events from the past that made us who we are as a nation. "One hundred years on, it is right to remember New Zealand's valour." Sir Jerry Mateparae, New Zealand High Commissioner to the UK said: "It's fantastic to see Historic England protecting two very significant sites of huge importance for New Zealand. "The special connections that were forged 100 years ago, with communities in the UK where New Zealanders trained, are still strong today and it's moving to see these sites protected for generations to come."

Bulford Kiwi, on Bulford hill near Stonehenge, was carved by Kiwi soldiers. soldiers played a significant role in the Battle of Messines. monument at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, also granted protection.

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A giant chalk carving of a kiwi has been granted protected status on the centenary of a World War One battle.

An internal prison report seen by the BBC says the the inmate ran down a landing with the keys at HMP Wayland. "As he was being restrained another prisoner attempted to grab another officer's keys," the report adds. A Prison Service spokesman said both men had been transferred to a higher security jail. They also face additional time added to their sentences. Both men were "quickly apprehended" during the incident on A wing at about 09:00 BST on 27 May, the report states. Wayland, near Watton in Norfok, is a Category C men's prison with just over 1,000 inmates.

internal prison report says inmate ran down landing with keys at HMP wayland. report: another prisoner attempted to grab another officer's keys. both men were "quickly apprehended" during incident on wing.

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An inmate at a prison grabbed keys from an officer and, while he was being restrained, a second prisoner tried to take another set of keys.

If he does become the next Premier League manager to lose his job, it would not just be unfair, it would be absolutely ridiculous. I cleaned Tim's boots when I was an apprentice at Norwich in the late 1980s, and he was the captain at Blackburn Rovers when we won the Premier League together in 1995. Of course I am not just backing him to succeed at Villa because I used to play with him - the reason is that, since the earliest days of my career, I have always seen him as manager material. When I was a teenager I looked up to him because I liked the way he went about things and how he dealt with me and other people. Even though he was a young man then too, the other players all thought the same. Character is a bit of a buzzword these days, but as a player I looked around for team-mates who had the ability to handle pressure and Tim was always one of them. At 46, he is a relatively young manager now, certainly in terms of experience, but you have to remember he was quite a young captain at Blackburn too - he was 26 when we were champions. We had some pretty big-hitters in terms of personalities in that dressing room, the likes of Alan Shearer, David Batty, Tim Flowers and Colin Hendry. They were never afraid to have their say but, if you speak to them, they will all tell you they admired Tim not just for what he brought to the team as a player but also his contribution to the club's success as captain. For Tim to be skipper ahead of, say, Shearer shows you what the Blackburn boss Kenny Dalglish thought of him too. He always had the leadership qualities you need as a manager and, on top of that, I always thought he was extremely knowledgeable about the game. He comes across as confident or even cocky in some respects, but in the dressing room it doesn't matter whether you are an introvert or an extrovert as long as what you are saying makes sense. Tim always did. So it does not surprise me that, as a manager, he has got the best out of players who had been under-performing - like Emmanuel Adebayor at Spurs or Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph at Villa last season - because he has always had the ability to get people playing for him. At times he might say things that players don't like - because he tells the truth. That ruffles a few feathers but I don't mind it, in fact he should be commended for it. These days I hear a lot of people in football say things with no substance behind them, but Tim certainly is not like that - he can always back his opinions up. Tim earned his right to have a proper crack at being Villa boss with the incredible job he did to keep them up after taking charge in February, when they were in desperate trouble with a dreadful scoring record. Villa have been fighting relegation for a few years now under several different managers so this season was never going to be any different. But, just eight games into the new campaign and at the first sign of adversity, Sherwood already appears to be under massive pressure. You have to take into consideration that he lost his two best players over the summer in striker Benteke and midfielder Delph, who were both inspirational for him last season, and realise he is trying to build a new team with all the signings that Villa have made. Villa's net spend over the summer was under £10m - and a lot of that went on young players with little or no Premier League experience. They have plenty of potential, and also plenty of sell-on value which seems to be a big part of the club's thinking, but it is a gamble whether they work out for Villa now and that is Sherwood's problem. I don't know who had the final say on each deal but from what I understand, Villa's head of recruitment Paddy Reilly and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt play a big part in the process. You cannot blame Tim for the squad not being strong enough if it is not just down to him, but he is the one who is being criticised because Villa have not won since the opening day. I get why the club's owner Randy Lerner might be getting twitchy because of the amount of money at stake if they go down, but the logical thing to do is to give Sherwood more time because he is an intelligent man who has already shown he can improve players - which is exactly what Villa need now. Sherwood has chopped and changed his team and formation a lot so far, but that is only because he is trying to find the right balance between attack and defence while he beds those new signings in and finds a system that works with the players he has got. The choices he has to make with his current forwards is an example of how difficult that is. Like Benteke, Rudy Gestede has tremendous physical attributes and is as good as there is in the air in the Premier League. In an effort to make the most of that, Sherwood has tried to get his full-backs forward to get crosses into the box - Jordan Amavi and Alan Hutton or Leandro Bacuna have all done that far more than any of Villa's midfielders. But what Gestede doesn't have is the ability to link up play, or the pace to get behind defences. In that way, Benteke was much more of an all-round striker. Sherwood can leave out Gestede and play Gabriel Agbonlahor or Jordan Ayew if he wants pace, but then he does not have that same physical presence up front, or any aerial threat. Whoever he picks, he is missing something that Benteke provided on his own. Because he is trying to find that balance between attack and defence, he cannot always play two up front to solve that problem, especially because he is also trying to fit Jack Grealish into his team as an attacking midfielder. Grealish is a young player who has a lot of talent but picking him creates a different issue because winning games is not just down to what happens when you have got the ball. However good Grealish is going forward, he does not always put in a shift going back the other way. When you lose possession, you need to be compact and tight defensively and Villa have lacked that in the games I have seen, notably in their defeat by Leicester when they were hit on the counter-attack time and time again. You really need defensive responsibility when you are in Villa's position near the bottom of the table. That might be one of the reasons why Sherwood has apparently used this international break to try to get Grealish fitter. After trying so many formations and line-ups, maybe we will see Sherwood sticking with just one in the next five or six games. A settled system and some continuity is what Villa need at the moment. Tim knows that and, if he is given the chance, I am confident he will get it right. Chris Sutton was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

alan pardew's former assistant has always backed tim sherwood to succeed. sherwood: "i have always seen him as manager material. when i was a teenager I looked up to him because I liked the way he went about things" herwood: "tim has got the best out of players who had been under-performing. he has got the best out of players who had been under-performing," says pardew.

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There is a lot of talk that Tim Sherwood is close to being sacked by Aston Villa but I cannot understand why they would even contemplate getting rid of him at this stage of the season.

Transport Minister Edwina Hart said she also wanted to introduce measures to streamline the system and cut fraud. Tough new guidelines to tackle abuse, introduced in 2013, were suspended by one council in February 2015. Neath Port Talbot council had received complaints that genuine cases were being rejected. It was one of a number of local authorities reporting a big rise in rejections, after being told not to just rely on evidence from GPs. A consultation on Welsh ministers' latest proposals has been launched.

transport minister said she also wanted to introduce measures to streamline the system and cut fraud. tough new guidelines to tackle abuse, introduced in 2013, were suspended by one council in february 2015.

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The blue badge disabled parking scheme could be extended to people with temporary conditions restricting their mobility.

Figures show that for those aged 65, men can expect to live for another 19 years and women a further 21 years. But there is concern that too many elderly people are living in poor health. And the figures vary across the country, with the North East and North West having lower life expectancies for 65-year-olds than other regions. Life expectancy among older age groups in England rose to its highest level in 2014 - with male life expectancy increasing by 0.3 years at age 65 and 0.2 years at ages 75, 85 and 95 since 2013. Female life expectancy increased by the same amounts at the same ages. This comes after a fall in life expectancy in some older age groups between 2011 and 2012. The only region where male and female life expectancy did not increase in 2014 was in the North East, where male life expectancy was higher in 2013. Among local authorities in England, the majority showed an increase or no change in life expectancy at age 65 - but one quarter showed a decrease. In the past, statistics have tended to focus on life expectancy at birth but now that most deaths in England occur in people over the age of 80, patterns of mortality in older age groups are becoming more important. Prof John Newton, chief knowledge officer at Public Health England, said the report presented a positive national picture that made achieving "a good quality of life in later years even more important". "This report is an opportunity to remind people that, even during mid-life, it is not too late to improve your health," he said. "Most of us could make changes today, like stopping smoking, being more active or eating better, that would allow us to look forward to healthier later years." He said it was not clear what had caused the variation in trends between local areas. Danny Dorling, professor of human geography at the University of Oxford, said there was an urgent need to find out why improvements had stalled in many parts of England in recent years. "Beneath the headline figures of this report, there is evidence of worsening health for many older people in some parts of the country," he said. In Scotland, life expectancy continued to improve, with 65-year-old men expected to live for a further 17.4 years and women a further 19.7 years, according to the latest statistics. But there are also wide variations across the country.

life expectancy among older age groups in england rose to its highest level in 2014. male life expectancy increased by 0.3 years at age 65 and 0.2 years at ages 75, 85 and 95 since 2013. but there is concern that too many elderly people are living in poor health.

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Older people in England are living longer than ever before, a report from Public Health England says.

Operation Equinox is investigating claims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse between the 1940s and 1990s. In a letter to victims Nottinghamshire Police confirmed 530 of 636 reported crimes were on council property. Officers also said 485 alleged offences were committed by council staff and of 432 suspects, 283 had been identified. More on this story and other news in Nottinghamshire So far, police have had 290 people report crimes. Operation Equinox combined two police inquiries. Operation Daybreak, sent up in 2011, was focussed on the Beechwood children's home in Nottingham, while Operation Xeres has been looking at residential homes in the county. The letter emphasises the progress already made, with former social worker Andris Logins jailed for 20 years. Two other men have been jailed for historical attacks not connected to children's homes and three more trials are due to begin in early 2017. Nottinghamshire Police has not commented directly as the information is part of an ongoing enquiry.

operation Equinox is investigating claims of abuse between the 1940s and 1990s. 530 of 636 reported crimes were on council property. officers also said 485 alleged offences were committed by council staff.

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An inquiry into historical abuse in Nottinghamshire has recorded more than 500 offences on council property.

In an all-top-flight last-eight draw, 2015 winners Chelsea were handed a home tie against Sunderland, while league champions Manchester City face a trip to newly-promoted Bristol City. Meanwhile, Liverpool will host 2015 finalists Notts County. The ties will be played on Sunday, one week on from the fifth round, in which Arsenal beat Tottenham 10-0. All of the last-16 ties resulted in home wins, with World Player of the Year Carli Lloyd making her Man City debut in their 1-0 victory over fellow-Women's Super League One club Reading on Saturday. Arsenal's convincing win over third-tier Tottenham on Sunday was one of three local derbies, with Birmingham overcoming West Brom 2-0 and Liverpool seeing off Everton 2-1. Notts County beat Yeovil Town 3-2 to reach the last eight, while Sunderland beat second-tier Aston Villa. Chelsea knocked out six-time winners Doncaster Rovers Belles 7-0 and Bristol City eliminated Millwall Lionesses 5-0. Winning clubs will receive £4,000 each in prize money for a victory in the quarter-finals, have earned £3,000 for progressing from the last 16. This year's final will be held at Wembley on Saturday, 13 May. Birmingham City Ladies v Arsenal Ladies Chelsea Ladies v Sunderland AFC Women Bristol City Women v Manchester City Women Liverpool Ladies v Notts County Ladies

all-top-flight last eight draw takes place on sunday, one week after fifth round. arsenal beat third-tier Tottenham 10-0 in the fifth round, with three local derbies. league champions manchester city face newly-promoted Bristol city. league finalists liverpool will host notts county in the other last eight.

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Holders Arsenal Ladies have been drawn away to 2012 winners Birmingham City in the Women's FA Cup quarter-finals.

On-loan striker Holman opened his account on his home debut with a fine half-volley before doubling his tally with a 12-yard finish. Danny Wright then matched Holman's feat, heading home from James Rowe's corner before striking from six yards for a second-half double of his own. Alex Wall snatched a consolation goal but the Robins secured their seventh win in eight in the National League. Cheltenham remain second in the table, one point behind Forest Green Rovers, while Bromley slip to 14th having won just once in their last 11 games. Cheltenham Town boss Gary Johnson told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: Media playback is not supported on this device "It's the best we've played for a little while. We've still been getting the results, but I enjoyed the way we played today - we created lots of chances. "I was really pleased with our performance and hopefully our supporters can go home nice and happy. "Our passing had a bit of an end product to it without going long. All in all the boys have put it together."

on-loan striker phil holman scores twice on his home debut for cheltenham. Danny Wright also scores twice as the Robins secure their seventh win in eight games. the win sees the Robins move up to second in the table, one point behind forest green.

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Dan Holman's brace helped Cheltenham to an easy win over out-of-form Bromley.

Mr Menezes, an electrician who was fatally shot at Stockwell Tube station in south London on 22 July 2005 by officers who mistook him for a suicide bomber, arrived in the UK from Brazil in 2002. He had joined an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Brazilians - including some relatives - in London and quickly learnt to speak English. The son of bricklayer Matosinhos Otoni da Silva, Mr Menezes was born in the town of Gonzaga in the state of Minas Gerais - a source of many migrants to Europe and the US. He spent his childhood living in an adobe hut in the town. Mr Silva told BBC News his son had always wanted to be an electrician - as a child, he would make electrical toys with batteries, copper and matchboxes. Mr Menezes moved to Sao Paulo to live with his uncle at the age of 14, attended high school and became a qualified electrician. His father said Mr Menezes had always had a desire to move abroad to earn money. "When he was a child he said: 'Father, I heard on the radio people make good money in England, the United States, France. If I have money to go, I will go. I will take advantage of my age and my energy to help you out.'" About half of the young people from Gonzaga move abroad in the hope of securing a better future. The Home Office said Mr Menezes had been granted entry to the UK for six months as a visitor on his arrival on 13 March 2002. He then applied for leave to remain as a student, which was approved. He was granted leave to remain until 30 June 2003. The Home Office says his visa expired at that time and that he remained illegally in the UK until his death. Like many Brazilians in London, Mr Menezes would send money home to his parent's modest farm in Gonzaga. "He didn't make a lot of money," his father said. "Most of his money went on rent and food. "He wanted to stay for another two years to save money so he could come back and invest in a ranch." He said his son was happy in London. Friends say Mr Menezes was as shocked as all Londoners by the 7 July 2005 Tube and bus bombings, as well as the attempted London public transport attacks on Thursday 21 July - the day before he was shot. Gésio César D'avila, a friend and colleague, said Mr Menezes had considered alternative transport after the failed attacks. "We were together on Thursday, and when we saw what happened, Jean said he wanted to buy a motorbike to avoid the Tube," he said. On 22 July, the day Mr Menezes was killed, police and soldiers had been watching the block of flats in Tulse Hill, where the electrician lived. They believed Hussain Osman, one of the failed 21 July bombers, was living there. What they did not immediately realise was that the flats shared a communal entrance. It is thought Mr Menezes left his flat, which he shared with cousins Vivian and Patricia, in order to fit a fire alarm. Undercover police officers began following Mr Menezes because they thought he looked like Osman. He took a bus to Stockwell station, where he boarded a train. There he was pinned down and shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by two officers trained in stopping suicide bombers. Police were later to say the officers had feared for their own lives and for those of other passengers on the train. In the days that followed the shooting, a makeshift memorial to Mr Menezes was set up outside Stockwell Tube station. The shrine of flowers, candles, pictures and newspaper articles became a gathering point for campaigners seeking answers over the incident. Almost a year after his death, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that no officers would be prosecuted, but the Met Police would be tried for breaching health and safety laws. On 1 November 2007, the force was found guilty at the Old Bailey of endangering the public over the operation that led to the shooting and fined £175,000 with £385,000 costs. A jury found the force broke health and safety laws when officers pursued Mr Menezes and shot him seven times An inquest into Mr Menezes death began on 22 October 2008. The jury rejected the police account Mr de Menezes was killed lawfully by two officers and returned an open verdict. The coroner had instructed the jury not to return a verdict of unlawful killing, and gave it the choice of two possible verdicts. The Met Police settled a damages claim with Mr Menezes family in 2009. The amount of compensation the family will receive was not disclosed. In January 2010, Menezes family members and campaigners gathered at Stockwell station on what would have been his 32nd birthday to unveil a permanent memorial. A colourful mosaic framing a photograph of Mr Menezes was created by local artist Mary Edwards.

electrician adolfo menezes was fatally shot at stockwell tube station in 2005. he had joined an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Brazilians in the city. friends say he was shocked by 7/7 tube and london bombings.

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Nearly a decade after the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, his family have brought a case at the European Court of Human Rights in an attempt to see someone prosecuted over the 27-year-old's killing.

Glasgow City Council said it planned to put up the tax by 3% after the national council tax freeze ended this year. Council leader Frank McAveety said while the increase would raise more than £7m, the council faced a budget gap of £67m. Most councils have yet to confirm plans, with about a third indicating they may propose a 3% increase. Further details of Glasgow's budget proposals are expected later. Mr McAveety said: "Raising Council Tax will support frontline services while protecting the most vulnerable in our city. "One-in-four households will not pay a penny more - and we can avoid around £7m of the most difficult cuts, which would otherwise hit every community across the city." The average bill in the city - in the Band D category - is £1,213, compared to the national average of £1,149. All other bills are a set proportion of this figure. But changes this year mean those in bands E, F, G and H properties will automatically pay more - even before the 3% across-the-board rise is factored in. Increases are due to take effect just weeks before May's council elections. BBC Scotland's local government correspondent Jamie McIvor said: "Inevitably, close attention will be paid to decisions taken by councils in the west of Scotland where the SNP is hoping to make big inroads into Labour's council powerbase. "Privately, some Labour councillors believe they are caught between a rock and a hard place. "They argue a rise in council tax would merely limit cuts rather than end them, so they would risk asking voters to 'pay more and get less'. "However, they also believe that if they did not raise the council tax, they would be accused of failing to use the means at their disposal to at least attempt to mitigate cuts." Labour-run South Lanarkshire has said it plans to freeze bills this year but the leader of West Dunbartonshire Council has indicated a rise is likely. There have been no public declarations yet from Labour-run Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire. The Scottish government has said more money would be available in the coming financial year for local services across Scotland. For example, there will be new money through the council tax changes and cash which will be given to headteachers to spend on schemes to raise attainment. A final decision on the council tax in Glasgow is likely to be made in February.

council tax increases will raise more than £7m for the city of Glasgow. council leader says council faces a budget gap of £67m. most councils have yet to confirm plans, with about a third indicating they may propose a 3% increase.

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Scotland's largest council is to increase council tax for the first time since 2005.

Sustainable Shetland, a group opposed to the development, has announced it intends to seek a judicial review of the Scottish government's decision to approve the development. The wind farm would be the third biggest in Scotland, run by community company Viking Energy. Energy Minister Fergus Ewing granted consent for the scheme in April. Protesters claim the development is too big and would blight the landscape. Supporters argue it would raise money for the islands, create jobs and help meet renewable energy targets. The 370MW wind farm is aimed at powering more than 175,000 homes despite Shetland having a population of about 22,000. It is estimated the wind farm could bring about £30m annual income for the local community.

the wind farm would be the third biggest in Scotland, run by community company Viking energy. protesters claim the development is too big and would blight the landscape. supporters argue it would raise money for the islands, create jobs and help meet renewable energy targets.

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Controversial plans to build a 103-turbine wind farm in the centre of Shetland could face a legal challenge.

Mr Besigye was the main challenger to President Yoweri Museveni in the country's recent general election, which Mr Museveni won by a landslide. He insists he was the rightful winner of the polls, but Uganda's top court upheld the official result. "We have been informed by police today that Besigye appeared in court in Moroto and was charged with treason," said his lawyer Erias Lukwago. Mr Besigye was arrested on Wednesday in downtown Kampala and flown to Moroto, where he has been in custody ever since. It follows a series of arrests of the opposition leader during the election campaign. Meanwhile, Mr Museveni was sworn in on Thursday for his fifth elective term, extending his 30-year rule of Uganda. Foreign observers said the poll had been marred by fear and intimidation. In a BBC interview, Mr Museveni rejected allegations of vote rigging, and accused Mr Besigye of planning to incite violence. Responding to criticism from European Union observers that the electoral commission "lacked independence and transparency", Mr Museveni told the BBC's Zuhura Yunus that "those Europeans are not serious". "Transparency is what we've been voting for," he added. Mr Museveni, a key ally of the West in the campaign against militant Islamists in the region, seized power in 1986 and is credited with restoring stability to Uganda. However, critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian. On Friday, the US said Mr Museveni should "rein in" his security forces after they briefly arrested Mr Besigye, and fired tear gas to disperse his supporters in Kampala.

opposition leader besigye charged with treason in Ugandan court. he was arrested on Wednesday and flown to moroto. president Museveni sworn in on Thursday.

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Uganda's main opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been charged with treason.

North and his fellow Wales wing Alex Cuthbert scored the Lions's tries in the 23-21 win in Brisbane. Australia would have won had replacement Kurtley Beale not failed with two late penalties. "It was a remarkable win and a remarkable result," North said. "It was an unbelievable feeling. We won and I got my first [Lions] Test try. It doesn't get much better than that. "My heart was in my mouth at the end. I think everyone was feeling the same. "It's always good to get a win, and while it was tough towards the end we are delighted to have got that first win in the series. "We've spoken a lot about momentum these past few weeks, and that could be huge for us now heading into the second Test next week." The Wallabies were leading 7-3 through Israel Folau's converted before the Lions hit back with a fine individual try from North. The 21-year-old, making his Lions Test debut, effortlessly beat three players during a 60-metre run before crossing for his third try of the tour. "When the ball dropped out of the sky, my first thought was just to run," said North. "Luckily, I saw a gap and I just went for it. It opened up for me, and I can't begin to tell you how good it felt when I crossed that line." North, who has joined Northampton Saints from Scarlets ahead of the 2013-14 season, thought he had struck again just five minutes later when he squeezed over in the corner. But the television match official ruled a combination of opposite number Israel Folau getting a hand underneath the ball and the Lions wing's free arm hitting the touchline meant no try. "I felt it was a try. At the end of the day, the TMO makes his call and you have to live with it. But I certainly felt that I had got there," North added. "Perhaps one or two things didn't quite go for us in that regard today, so it makes the win even better." The Lions face Melbourne Rebels, led by former Wales number eight Gareth Delve, on Tuesday before next Saturday's second Test against the Wallabies in the same city. Victory at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium would secure a first Lions Test series win since 1997 but North believes there is room for improvement. "I definitely think we can play a lot better than we did," North added. "We need to be more clinical, and we need to get a bit more accuracy in our game. "It's a funny one, really. We know we can play better than that, but we are obviously still delighted to get the win. "That wasn't our best performance, and we need to keep pushing for next week." North's Wales team-mate Cuthbert, who scored the Lions' second try, expects an Australian backlash in the second Test. "Australia are not going to lie down and let us win this," Cuthbert said. "They're going to put in one hell of an effort and I think they thought they probably could have won that game so they're going to be straight at us again next week. We've got a lot to work on."

Wales winger alex cuthbert scores tries for the london Lions in 23-21 win in Brisbane. substitute Kurtley beale misses two late penalties to deny the wallabies victory. the 21-year-old makes his first Test appearance for the Lions after joining from scarlets. the win gives the london side a first-round series lead over australia.

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Try-scorer George North has described the British and Irish Lions's first-Test victory over Australia as an "unbelievable feeling".

Reus, 27, missed the 2014 World Cup and has had recent injury concerns. Fellow midfielder Schweinsteiger, 31, has not played since picking up a knee injury in March while away with Germany but has been selected by Joachim Low. Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt, Karim Bellarabi and Hoffenheim's Sebastian Rudy have all been left out. "The medical staff could not give a clear prognosis for Marco," Low said of Reus's omission, which comes on his birthday. "He has massive injury problems and the medical staff was very sceptical about his ability to last through the coming weeks and such a gruelling tournament. "It is a bitter decision and bitter for Marco." Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and former Gunners attacking midfielder Lukas Podolski, now at Turkish side Galatasaray, have all been included as the world champions search for their first European title since 1996. Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Antonio Ruediger (Roma) Midfielders: Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray), Andre Schurrle (VfL Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund). Forwards: Mario Gomez (Besiktas), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Schalke 04)

joachim low makes three changes to his germany squad. bastian Schweinsteiger and marc-andre ter Stegen left out. defenders and midfielders included for first time since world cup. germany looking for first european title since 1996.

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Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus has been omitted from Germany's Euro 2016 squad but Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger has been included.

Prosecutors accuse Fifa president Sepp Blatter of making a "disloyal payment" of $2m (£1.6m) to Mr Platini. Mr Platini has provided information to the investigation but said he did so as a witness. Both men deny any wrongdoing. Mr Platini has said he is still determined to run for Fifa president once Mr Blatter steps down. Asked whether criminal proceedings had been opened against him, Mr Platini said: "Absolutely not. I was heard last week by the Swiss Authorities only as a person providing information and I cooperated fully." But this was contradicted by the Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber, who said: "We didn't interview Mr Platini as a witness, that's not true. We investigated against him in between as a witness and an accused person." Mr Lauber also said he was prepared to search the Uefa headquarters as part of the investigation. The allegations centre on a payment made to Mr Platini in 2011 at Fifa's expense for work he completed almost a decade earlier. It came just two months before Uefa gave its backing to Blatter's 2011 presidential campaign, leading some to question the timing of it. Mr Platini said he was told when starting the work that Fifa would not be able to pay him all the money because of its "financial situation". But Fifa accounts show a revenue surplus of around $83m (£55m) from 1999-2002, when Mr Platini undertook the work as a technical adviser. Fifa was thrown into turmoil this year when the US and Swiss authorities launched separate investigations into corruption at the body. Mr Blatter is also suspected of signing a contract that was "unfavourable to Fifa". He is due to stand down next year, but says he will carry on in the role despite the criminal proceedings.

Swiss attorney general says he will search the uefa hq as part of the investigation. prosecutors accuse former president sepp Blatter of making a "disloyal payment" to mr Platini. mr Platini says he only provided information to the investigation as a witness.

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Michel Platini, the head of European football's governing body Uefa, is being treated as "in between a witness and an accused person'' by Swiss prosecutors investigating corruption at the world football authority Fifa.

The 41-year-old reached the semi-final for the first time since he last lifted the trophy in 2011 with a 13-6 win over Kyren Wilson. The world number six will now face the winner of Stephen Maguire's match against Barry Hawkins for a place in Sunday's final. "I believe I can [win], and that's a great feeling to have," Higgins said. "I was close last year, Alan [McManus] pipped me [in the quarter-final]," he added. "A couple of years after 2011, I'd been losing, my form wasn't great and you don't think you're going to get back to that one-table set up. "It's the best place in the world to get out and play and I can't wait to get into the arena tomorrow [Thursday]. I'm buzzing." Higgins won all three sessions against Wilson, the world number 16, and believes his game has grown in strength over the course of the tournament. The Scot considers reigning champion Mark Selby as the favourite for the title, while his pre-competition tip was Hawkins. Yet Higgins is in a good place mentally as he prepares for the semi-final. "The nerves get more difficult, but I'm more relaxed this year," he said. Media playback is not supported on this device "I don't know if that's because I feel as if I'm playing OK. At this event, you need to have a few sessions when you have good, frame-winning breaks. I did that against Mark Allen and in the second session against Kyren. "To win this event you need a couple of sessions when you're dominating the other player. I feel as if my game can be there to do that but I'm sure other players will say the same thing. "There are some sessions, especially this year, when I couldn't have played any better. I played [Ronnie] O'Sullivan in the final of the Champions and couldn't have played any better. You've just got to hope that comes out in the big matches." Maguire was once tipped as a potential world champion by O'Sullivan, and Hawkins said the Scot is benefitting from curbing his socialising at tournaments. Higgins would like to face his compatriot Maguire in the semi-final, because it would guarantee that a Scot will feature in Sunday's final. "Everybody's got their own choices in life and us Scots, we maybe like a drink and there's nothing wrong with that," Higgins said. "Life's too short. "Stephen is a great player and I hope [he] comes through. If he was to beat me, I would be the first one to cheer him to win his first world title. "But I get on well with Barry as well and I know how difficult he is to beat. In the last few years he's grown into a great champion, because he always had the game and he's got the belief now."

world number six higgins will play Stephen maguire in the semi-finals of the british open. the 41-year-old will face the winner of maguire vs. Barry Hawkins for a place in the final. higgins reached the semi-final for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2011. the winner of the other match will face the winner of the other match against maguire.

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John Higgins believes he has the ability and the form to win his fifth World Championship.

Pte Paul Wilkinson said he asked Pte Cheryl James to choose one of her lovers and pick him or her boyfriend. The inquest in Woking was told Pte Wilkinson and Pte James had been caught in bed by her boyfriend Sapper Simeon Carr-Minns, known then as Jim. Pte James was found dead with a bullet wound to the head in November 1995. The 18-year-old from Llangollen, Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die at the base in seven years. Mr Wilkinson, then aged 16, said he spoke to Pte James about 20 minutes before he heard she had died. He said: "I just remember saying 'pick one of us, if you want to be friends that would be fine if you want to stay with him'. She said that she did not." Mr Wilkinson said he did not try to avoid being seen while the pair talked and he was just sitting in a chair in the cabin while she was on guard duty. He was eventually seen by a major and told to leave because he should not have been with Pte James while she was on duty, the inquest heard. He said the officer "pretty much escorted me back to the barracks". The major has previously told the inquest that he did not march Mr Wilkinson off. The inquest heard that was the last time Mr Wilkinson saw Pte James. He also told the hearing about his anger and upset after Mr Carr-Minns caught him in bed with Pte James, days before she died. He said Pte James told him then she was splitting up with Mr Carr-Minns. Alison Foster QC, representing the James family, suggested to Mr Wilkinson he was "not just angry" but "humiliated" when Mr Carr-Minns turned up because other people who were also in the room began to tease and laugh at him. Mr Wilkinson said being caught in bed by her boyfriend "is not what you want". Ms Foster then told Mr Wilkinson the major was certain he had not marched him away and asked: "Were you aware that you needed to sort out some sort of alibi?" Mr Wilkinson said he had always given the same account but the other officer remembered it differently. Ms Foster then recalled a statement from December 2002 in which Mr Wilkinson commented that if he had not been forced off the grounds he could have been facing a murder charge and been in prison. But Mr Wilkinson denied he had tipped Pte James over the edge. Ms Foster took Mr Wilkinson through differences in statements he has made and said: "Your story gets more and more elaborate as time goes by. "Your upset and humiliation gave you a motive to be seriously angry with Cheryl. "Is it the case you have been less than truthful for your reason for going to see her on Monday morning?" But Mr Wilkinson replied: "No that is not true. I have said all that I remembered." Mr Wilkinson was asked if he saw Pte James sitting by a tree, if either of them had messed with her rifle, if he saw an accident happen to her, if he was present when the trigger was pulled, and if he heard the shot - he replied "no" to each question. He had earlier denied he got violent when angry but Ms Foster pointed out he put someone's head through an arcade machine when he thought they were laughing about Pte James's death. Mr Wilkinson said he had been pushed to breaking point and added: "I think any other person would have done the same thing." A first inquest into Pte James's death in December 1995 recorded an open verdict. This second inquest was ordered after High Court judges quashed the original findings. The hearing continues.

inquest told pte Wilkinson and Pte James had been caught in bed by her boyfriend. inquest heard he asked her to pick one of her lovers and stay with him or her boyfriend. inquest heard he was eventually seen by a major and told to leave because he should not have been with her while she was on duty.

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A boyfriend of a young soldier who died at Deepcut barracks asked her to end a love triangle at the Surrey base on the day she died, an inquest has heard.

Doug Richard, 57, allegedly paid for the girl and her 15-year-old friend to travel from Norwich in January 2015. The jury was told he took them to a Bishopsgate flat, where he spanked the younger girl and had sex with her. He denies sexual activity with a minor and paying a child for sex. Mr Richard, a US citizen who lives in Islington, north London, says the sex was consensual and that he "reasonably believed" the girl was over 16. He gave a total of £480 to the teenager and her friend, which he says was for "travel expenses". Prosecutor Gino Connor told the jury how Mr Richard met the girl through a US website where he listed his profile as a "sugar daddy", while 13-year-old called herself a "sugar baby". During an iChat exchange retrieved from his laptop, the defendant asked her for a "revealing" photograph on her hands and knees. "You are my new daddy I will do anything to keep you happy," the girl replied. They arranged to meet and Mr Richard made a payment of £120 through PayPal, the court heard. The girls travelled to Liverpool Street station on the morning of 2 January, where they met Mr Richard in a nearby cafe. He asked their ages and they told him they were 16 and 17, the court heard. Police were alerted after the mother of the older girl noticed a PayPal deposit in her bank account. An examination of the 13-year-old on 4 January indicted she had suffered an injury that could have been caused by sex. Mr Richard was arrested the following day at the Lord Milner Hotel in Belgravia. The court heard he reacted by saying: "As you can see I am in a lot of trouble." The trial continues.

Doug Richard, 57, allegedly paid for the girl and her friend to travel from Norwich. he denies sexual activity with a minor and paying a child for sex. he says the sex was consensual and that he "reasonably believed" the girl was over 16.

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A former Dragons' Den star paid a 13-year-old girl for sex in a rented London apartment after meeting her on a "sugar daddy" website, the Old Bailey has heard.

The telecommunication company said 11 cables were vandalised in Ealing on Saturday affecting people in the capital and parts of the South East. BT said the vast majority of customers had been reconnected but engineers were still working on the problem. The issue has also affected some Plusnet and Talk Talk customers. BT said broadband, TV and mobile services were unaffected.

vandals vandalised 11 cables in the capital and parts of the south east. telecommunications company said vast majority of customers were reconnected.

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Thousands of people have been left with no phone service after what BT described as "malicious damage" to cables in west London.

The South African was the fastest qualifier for Saturday's final with a time of one minute 57.67 seconds. "Caster Semenya is one of the contenders," Mutola, who won the 800m Olympic title at the 2000 Olympics, told BBC Africa. "Pamela Jelimo from Kenya and the Russians are also very, very capable. I'm looking forward to a good final." Mutola, 39, set the benchmark for women's 800m running until her retirement in 2008, winning three world titles and the Olympic title in Sydney. Semenya, who won the 800m title at the 2009 World Championships, asked her "idol" Mutola to be her coach at the end of last year with the sole purpose of helping her win Olympic gold. The 21-year-old looked comfortable in the semi-finals, producing a burst of speed down the back straight to move to the front of the pack and take the line two metres clear of her rivals. "In 800m you need to be able to run a fast race, and you need to be able to win a tactical slow race," explained Mutola, who is in London to fine-tune Semenya's preparations. "You [need to] combine those two things - so if the race is slow you can win anyway and if the race is fast then it's even better, [as in] the final they'll have to dip under two minutes. "Since I've got here I've focused more on my athlete Caster Semenya as I know she has to do well, so I'm just enjoying being a coach for the first time." Semenya became global news when she was asked to take a gender test by athletics' governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations in the aftermath of winning her world title. Doubts were raised over her gender because of her muscular physique, running style and sudden improvement in times. Semenya was suspended for 11 months by the IAAF but was cleared to return to the track in July 2010. She won silver at last year's World Championships in Daegu despite a back problem.

Mutola won the 800m title at the 2000 Olympics. the south african was fastest qualifier for final. semenya won the 800m title at the 2009 world championships.

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Mozambique legend Maria Mutola says her protege Caster Semenya can win the Olympic 800m title on her debut.

According to AP, the lawsuits accuse them of serious safety lapses. Rashad Charjuan Owens has been in jail on murder charges since March after four people died when his car broke through a barrier at the music, film and interactive festival. The crash, which happened outside the Mohawk venue, also injured 23 people. Among several wrongful deaths lawsuits was one from the family of Steven Craenmehr, a Dutch music executive, who was knocked off his bike. His widow and mother claim that SXSW organisers didn't put enough traffic safeguards on the roads for pedestrians during the event, which sees thousands of bands performing at venues across Austin. "A festival organiser or traffic design consultant of ordinary intelligence would have anticipated the danger," the lawsuit says. Lawyers for SXSW released a statement which read: "What happened on Red River was a terrible tragedy, caused by Rashad Owen's utter disregard of human life. "Our hearts continue to ache for those injured and the families of those who lost their lives. "We look forward to his prosecution for his awful crimes." Authorities say that Owens drove his grey Honda Civic through a barricade after an officer on a drink-drive patrol tried stopping the car. According to police, his blood alcohol level was .114, above Texas' legal driving limit of .08. In September, a SXSW safety report found that alcohol consumption and overcrowded venues during the event had left Austin facing a "critical point where public safety could be compromised" if changes are not made. Organisers called the report incomplete and said it failed to address root issues. SXSW is known as one of the world's best platforms for rising music talent. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

four people died when a car broke through a barrier at the music, film and interactive festival. wrongful deaths lawsuit says organisers didn't put enough traffic safeguards. lawyer for SXSW says: "our hearts continue to ache for those injured"

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The families of the victims of a fatal car crash at this year's South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, are suing its organisers.

Mills and Clark improved on the silver they won in London by taking Olympic gold in the women's 470 event in Rio. Four-time world champion Giles Scott, who won Finn gold at Rio 2016, was nominated for the men's award but it went to Argentina's Santiago Lange. "I've got the gold medal that was the childhood dream and the goal we set," said Clark, 37, who retired after Rio. Find out how to get into sailing with our special guide. Mills, 28, added: "Our whole six years together has been focused on building our team, making it as strong as it can be. "London was a rushed Olympics where we had 18 months and it was kind of hashed together. Rio we had four years to really get it right and our team is at the centre of this. To finish like this just means everything." Media playback is not supported on this device

women's 470 team win gold in women's event at rio olympics. mills and Clark improved on the silver they won in the women's event in 2012. four-time world champions giles scott was nominated for the men's award.

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Olympic champions Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark have won the prestigious female World Sailor of the Year Award.

Kruse, ranked 10th in the world, beat Italy's Alessio Foconi 15-8 in the final to win the foil. The 33-year-old was attacked shortly after arriving in Shanghai last week. "The adrenaline that went through my body was unbelievable," said Kruse, who will rise to world number five. "When I came to fence, I was ready to fight." Kruse, who finished fourth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, received a bye through the qualifying rounds in Shanghai before beating German fencer Benjamin Kleibrink in his opener. Further victories over American Nick Itkin, Hong Kong's world number seven Cheung Ka-long, Italian Lorenzo Nista and France's world number six Erwann le Pechoux set up the meeting with Foconi in the showpiece. "Maybe coming fourth in Rio was the best thing to happen to me," said Kruse, who missed out on Great Britain's first Olympic fencing medal in 52 years. "Had I got a medal then perhaps I wouldn't have had the motivation to carry on."

Kruse beats italy's foconi 15-8 in the final to win the foil. the 33-year-old will rise to world number five. he finished fourth at the 2016 olympic games in rio.

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British fencer Richard Kruse produced his best performance of the season to win the Shanghai Grand Prix - just days after being mugged in the Chinese city.

The plans include a new propylene production unit, with sites in Belgium among locations being considered. It also plans to increase the ethylene capacity of its crackers at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway. Both rely on fracked shale gas being shipped across to Europe from the US. Ethylene and propylene are key building blocks in the manufacture of plastics. In a statement, Ineos said its investment would boost the amount of ethylene it can produce at each plant in Grangemouth and Rafnes by about 50%, to more than one million tonnes. About 150 new jobs are expected to be created at each location, once the expansion of processing units is completed in three to four years' time. Gerd Franken, from Ineos, said: "These expansions and new-builds will increase our self-sufficiency in all key olefin products and give further support to our derivative businesses and polymer plants in Europe. "All our assets will benefit from our capability to import competitive raw materials from the US and the rest of the world."

plans include a new propylene production unit, with sites in Belgium among locations being considered. it also plans to increase the ethylene capacity of its crackers at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway.

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Ineos has announced plans to build a new European petrochemical production plant and boost capacity at plants in Scotland and Norway at a cost of about two billion euros (£1.8bn).

His departure was said to be one recommendation of a report by former US Attorney-General Eric Holder about the company's culture and practices. Uber said the board had voted unanimously to adopt all the report's recommendations. However, its contents will not be released until Tuesday. Mr Holder was asked to undertake the review in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler made claims of sexual harassment. The Financial Times reported that neither Uber nor Mr Michael would comment on whether he had resigned or been fired. James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt, said Mr Michael's departure reflected Uber's need for a "fall guy" and could help protect Mr Kalanick. "If Kalanick did leave, we think it would be very difficult for him to come back," Mr Cakmak told Bloomberg. It is possible Mr Kalanick could be forced to take a leave of absence or have his role altered. That issue was on the agenda at a seven-hour board meeting held in Los Angeles on Sunday. Mr Kalanick has been on bereavement leave following the death of his mother in a boating accident. An Uber insider said the recommendations in Mr Holder's report include introducing more control on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Mr Kalanick have had an unusual degree of autonomy for a company of Uber's size. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing service has more than 12,000 employees. Mr Kalanick has earned a reputation as an abrasive leader and was criticised earlier this year after being caught on video berating an Uber driver. He said in response to the video: "I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up." Uber board member Arianna Huffington has said Mr Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company". One Uber investor said the board's decisions were a step in the right direction, giving the firm an "opportunity to reboot". Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research, said: "This week we finally learn just how committed Travis Kalanick and the rest of the senior leadership team at Uber is to meaningful cultural change." Last week Uber said it fired 20 staff after another law firm examined more than 200 cases including complaints about sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying. As part of its attempt to draw a line under its recent problems, Uber said it had appointed Wan Ling Martello, a Nestle executive and Alibaba board member, as an independent director. She is the third high-profile female appointment to the company in the past week. Uber, which is still privately owned with voting control resting with Mr Kalanick and his two board allies, is valued at about $68bn. Although revenues hit $6.5bn last year, it is yet to make a profit.

former attorney-general Eric Holder's report on culture to be released on Tuesday. analyst says departure of mr michael reflects need for a "fall guy" at company. board votes unanimously to adopt all recommendations in report.

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Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice-president and a close ally of chief executive Travis Kalanick, has left the company, employees have been told.

Charminster bridge was previously untouchable due to its historic status, but authorities agreed its small arches restricted the flow of the River Cerne. English Heritage will now allow the 16th Century bridge to be replaced with a new one that has bigger arches. The bridge had been blamed for nearly wrecking a nearby grade I-listed church during the January 2014 floods. Dorset County Council, which has worked with the Environment Agency on the project, said the replacement bridge would "reflect the character" of the existing bridge, and would use "as many of the original bricks as possible". The existing historic parapets will also used on the new bridge. Work on the new bridge is planned for May, which includes raising the road surface by 30cm to accommodate the larger arches. The road would be closed to both vehicles and pedestrians until October.

english heritage will allow the 16th century bridge to be replaced with a new one. the bridge had been blamed for nearly wrecking a grade I-listed church during the 2014 floods. the new bridge will use "as many of the original bricks as possible"

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A grade II-listed bridge in Dorset that was blamed for causing severe floods is to be dismantled and replaced.

The title pacesetters would always be able to recover from a bad result - but how would they cope with the exclusion of their firebrand top scorer after a training ground bust-up and suggestions of interest from China? Chelsea gave their answer with an impressive 3-0 win at Leicester City that, combined with the weekend's other results, put them firmly back in control of their Premier League destiny. So, after 21 games and another weekend of significant matches, how are the top six clubs shaping up? Form: Won 14 out of past 15. Upcoming fixtures: 22 January - Hull (home), 31 January - Liverpool (away), 4 February - Arsenal (home). Conte will have demanded an instant Premier League response from his team after that 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane, which he rightly placed in context by pointing out it was inflicted by a quality side with title aspirations of their own. The wildcard was provided by the sudden falling out with influential striker Costa that provided an unexpected backdrop to Saturday's events at the King Power Stadium and gave the first hint of dissent in Chelsea and Conte's camp this season. In the end, the Italian boss was given the opportunity to prove the versatility and flexibility of his squad in Costa's absence as Willian, Eden Hazard and Pedro provided the attacking threat. In the absence of any suggestion Blues owner Roman Abramovich will bow to pressure to sell in January, the priority now is to get the combustible Spain striker back on side and ensure any unrest does not spread. If that can be done, then Chelsea can look back at a weekend where their title position was strengthened as they now stand seven points clear. Verdict: Back on track and clear title favourites. Form: Won past six. Upcoming fixtures: 21 January - Manchester City (away), 31 January - Sunderland (away), 4 February - Middlesbrough (home). Mauricio Pochettino's side are a growing force in this title race and the 4-0 demolition of West Bromwich Albion was further evidence of their growing authority. It was their sixth straight league win since their loss at Manchester United in December - and they have only lost two games out of 21. Harry Kane is firing on all cylinders, shown by his hat-trick against West Brom, and with Dele Alli scoring seven goals in his past five league games Spurs are starting to look the full package. They ran out of steam towards the end of last season, but Pochettino is a top-class operator who will surely have learned his lesson and tailored his team's intense style accordingly. The Argentine will still hope to avoid injuries and there is a real worry over influential defender Jan Vertonghen, who Pochettino fears has suffered a "bad" ankle injury. Next weekend's game at Manchester City will tell us even more about them. Verdict: Flew under the radar for a while but now right at the heart of the title race. Form: One defeat in past 19. Upcoming fixtures: 21 January - Swansea (home), 31 January - Chelsea (home), 4 February - Hull (away). Liverpool will be disappointed they could not hold on for victory at Manchester United on Sunday, but there is plenty of encouragement to take from their performance. The disappointment will come because they were within six minutes of securing a win that would not only have inflicted even more damage on United, but also would have sent a strong message to those nearer the top of the table. It is to the Reds' credit that they came so close to victory despite key men such as Philippe Coutinho still not fit enough to start, Nathaniel Clyne out with a rib injury and Joel Matip sidelined because of confusion surrounding his absence from Cameroon's Africa Cup Of Nations squad. Manager Jurgen Klopp rightly believes they are still in a strong position but will surely be frustrated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late goal means Chelsea stretched their advantage to seven points. Verdict: Remain title contenders but top four would still be fine achievement. Form: Unbeaten in past four. Upcoming fixtures: 22 January - Burnley (home), 31 January - Watford (home), 4 February - Chelsea (away). Arsenal's win at Swansea City could not have been more convincing and they have responded well to successive losses at Everton and Manchester City, when they conceded winning positions and showed the vulnerability that has haunted them for seasons. Even at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday they made a slow start, but it is hard to argue with a 4-0 away win. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants the Gunners to stay in the title shake-up until the closing stages - and they are certainly doing that so far. Are they, however, potential Premier League winners? They cannot be ruled out but it is hard to see where they will pick up the points to haul in Chelsea. Verdict: In the mix as their manager demands, but will a soft centre let them down? Form: Two defeats in past three. Upcoming fixtures: 21 January - Tottenham (home), 1 February - West Ham (away), 5 February - Swansea (home). Manager Pep Guardiola effectively wrote off Manchester City's title challenge after they were giving a thorough working over and beaten 4-0 at Everton. City now face a fight to finish in the top four with a side seemingly physically weak, riddled with defensive frailty and a goalkeeper in Claudio Bravo who hardly ever seems to save a shot. Failure to make next season's Champions League would represent a catastrophe in the Spaniard's first season. And this is Guardiola's responsibility after he shipped out England keeper Joe Hart on loan to Torino. Out of the past 22 shots Bravo has faced, 14 have been goals. Only five teams have a lower haul than City's tally of four clean sheets and they have conceded from the first shot they have faced in four of their past seven games. The problems are there for all to see, although Guardiola has so far done little to correct the faults. City have suffered two damaging defeats on Merseyside in recent weeks - and do not look like a side who have the slightest chance of making up a 10-point deficit on Chelsea. Verdict: Forget the title. Manchester City are in a top-four fight now. Form: Unbeaten in past 12. Upcoming fixtures: 21 January - Stoke (away), 1 February - Hull (home), 5 February - Leicester (away). Manchester United are showing definite signs of improvement under manager Jose Mourinho, but like neighbours City their fight is now for the top four rather than the title. They could have closed to within two points of Liverpool with victory at Old Trafford on Sunday, but 12 points is surely an impossible gap to breach between United and Chelsea. United have drawn seven league games - including five at home - and the simple fact is they have squandered too many points to make up the deficit. Mourinho is definitely moving United forward, but not fast enough to make them title contenders this season. Verdict: Top four should be the target. The title is now out of reach.

chelsea are seven points clear at the top of the premier league table. manchester city are second in the table after a 3-0 win at Leicester. arsenal are third after a 2-0 win at west bromwich albion. manchester united are third after a 2-0 win at west brom.

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Chelsea's Premier League title rivals thought the door had been pushed ajar after a run on 13 straight wins ended at Tottenham and the new harmony under manager Antonio Conte was disturbed by Diego Costa.

The 22-year-old midfielder, from Glasgow, was stopped by police for driving erratically in the Robroyston area at about 03:00 on 5 February. Officers asked him to provide a breath test and he gave an alcohol reading of 78mg - the legal limit is 22. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, McGregor was also fined £500. Sheriff Neil Mackinnon disqualified McGregor for 12 months, although he may get a reduction if he successfully completes a drink driving course. Last August, McGregor was banned from driving for four months and fined £400 after being caught driving at 69mph in a 50mph zone. The court opted to impose a four-month ban instead of a heavier penalty and left him with nine points on his licence. He was convicted at Hamilton Justice of the Peace Court after claiming the speed gun was faulty. McGregor began as a youth player at Celtic and spent a year on loan at English side Notts County in the 2013-14 season. He returned to Celtic and scored in his first-team debut against KR Reykjavik in a Champions League qualifier in 2014.

police stopped the 22-year-old midfielder for driving erratically. he gave a breath test and gave an alcohol reading of 78mg - the legal limit is 22. at Glasgow Sheriff court, McGregor was also fined £500.

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Celtic player Callum McGregor has been given a 12-month driving ban after he was caught behind the wheel at almost four times the legal alcohol limit.

The Briton, 23, had two set points on his own serve to force a decider but could not convert, and Robredo won the third-round match 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 4-6 7-5 in three hours and 13 minutes. Robredo, who struggled with a leg injury in the closing stages, fought back superbly from 5-3 down in the fourth set to claim victory. Evans, ranked 179th, earned £60,000 in prize money for his efforts and enough points to get close to the world's top 150, but missed out on a possible dream fourth-round match against Roger Federer. "It was a tough one, especially to go down in the fourth set after serving for it and having two set points," Evans told BBC Radio 5 live. "I felt in pretty much total control of the match. The last point is always the hardest one and I couldn't get that last point of the set to take it to a fifth. "I just played two really loose points - that's all it was. They came at the wrong time. I just have to learn on that for next time." It was the British number three's sixth match in 10 days at Flushing Meadows after coming through three rounds of qualifying, then beating 11th seed Kei Nishikori and world number 52 Bernard Tomic. He had never won a match in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament before New York, and playing under lights on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, albeit in front of a sparse crowd, was a far cry from the Challenger events he is more used to. Evans impressed in the opening set but 31-year-old Robredo's experience told as he edged it in the tie-break, then raced through the second in just 28 minutes. Defeat was not far away for Evans at 4-4 in the third but he got the vital break with a sharp backhand volley, pumping his fist as he made his way back to the chair, and served out the set to love with an ace. "I was sure the match was heading to a fifth set but Dan Evans just tightened up. After missing those set points in the fourth, he started rushing a bit, showed his inexperience and made a couple of bad shot choices. "It is such a shame for him, but once he gets over the disappointment there is no doubt that there are so many positives. It looks like his career is going to go to another level after this tournament." Things seemed to be turning Evans's way when Robredo spent the next two changeovers having his left thigh massaged, but the Spaniard fought magnificently in the fourth set. Evans was bristling with positive intent, moving forward at every opportunity, and twice broke to go ahead, but, serving at 5-3, 40-15, the nerves appeared to bite and he gave the set points up with a double fault and an error. Robredo sensed his chance and pounded away from the baseline, drawing two more errors to recover the game and, after a solid hold, the pressure was quickly back on Evans. From standing on the verge of a fifth set, Evans was now serving to stay in the match, and a wayward drop shot and a double fault brought Robredo to match point. He closed in on the net to chase down another drop shot and leapt upon the Briton's response to angle away the volley and bring Evans's amazing US Open campaign to a sudden end. "It's been a great experience, a great learning curve," added Evans, who heads to Croatia next for Great Britain's Davis Cup tie on 13-15 September. "I can definitely play with these guys so I should be confident going into the next tournaments."

defending champion roger federer through to fourth round in new york. defending champion novak djokovic also through to last 16. serena williams and maria sharapova also through to last 16. maria sharapova and victoria azarenka also through to last 16.

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A battling Dan Evans could not take his surprise US Open run into the second week as he lost to Spanish 19th seed Tommy Robredo in four sets.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the death penalty of Pakistani national Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman of the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, has opened the debate once again. Predictably, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been quick to demand Qasab's swift execution "as those who wage war against the country and kill innocents deserve no mercy". Qasab can still appeal to the highest court to review the verdict; and his last hope lies with a plea for clemency to the president. His appalling crime of gunning down innocents surely qualifies as a "rarest of the rare crime", a condition for handing out the death penalty in India. But, as critics of capital punishment say, there's no evidence to show that the death penalty deters crime. Two-thirds of the world's countries have done away with the death penalty in law or in practice. Last year, according to Amnesty International, death sentences were imposed in 63 countries, but only 21 countries actually carried out executions. India has shied away from executing people for many years now. There have been only two hangings in the country in the past 12 years and the majority of convicts on death row can expect their sentences to be commuted to life. Former president Pratibha Patil commuted the death sentences of 35 convicts midway through her five-year term. Clemency pleas of 29 prisoners on death row in India are pending before the president. They include Afzal Guru, who was convicted for carrying out an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001. The Supreme Court upheld his death sentence as long ago as 2004. Then there is a serious practical problem: there are only one or two hangmen available in India. Two years ago, I met one in a Calcutta prison who had been employed as a hangman-cum-sweeper, and was still waiting to carry out his first execution. Recently, 14 retired Indian judges wrote to the president asking him to commute the death sentences of 13 inmates being held in prisons across the country. And the Supreme Court itself recently admitted that some death penalties it had upheld were erroneous. "Public opinion in India can no longer ignore the global movement in favour of abolition of the death penalty," says AP Shah, the former chief justice of the Delhi High Court in an interview in today's The Times of India. What do you think?

a BJP leader has demanded the death penalty for the sole surviving gunman of the 2008 attacks on Mumbai. ajmal amir qasab was sentenced to death for the attack, but has appealed the verdict. he says there's no evidence that the death penalty deters crime.

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Should India abolish the death penalty?

An operation to pump 3,000 tonnes of water out of the Hoegh Osaka is expected to last until Sunday. But poor weather conditions has made it unsafe for the salvors to board on Saturday to finalise pumping arrangements. High winds of up to 83mph during the night caused the vessel to drag anchor for approximately 100 metres. The ship had been anchored to help control its movement. Salvage company Svitzer described working conditions on board as "difficult". The Hoegh Osaka has been secured two miles (3.2km) east of the Bramble Bank sandbank from which it freed itself on Wednesday. Water, described as being "lightly contaminated with oil" is being pumped from the ship's hold, which salvers say will cause the ship's 50-degree list to decrease. The film of oil on the water is believed to have come from vehicles held within the hold. With no power from the ship's generators, the water is being discharged using portable pumps during daylight hours. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said there was no evidence of any pollution. Divers are also waiting until conditions improve to complete an inspection of the hull which began yesterday. The Queen's Harbour Master has introduced an exclusion zone of 984ft (300m) around the vessel, currently held by tugs between Cowes and Lee-on-Solent. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention, said: "I've got confidence the salvors can discharge the bulk of the water from sucking underneath the oil and that will leave us with a small quantity of oil on board the vessel." The 51,000-tonne vehicle transporter "refloated" itself unexpectedly at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday due to the high tide. It was towed two miles east of Bramble Bank, where it was grounded on Saturday. At a news conference on Tuesday, Bram Sperling of Svitzer, said there was some water inside because of a "small opening in the vessel" that had since been closed. A refloat was the preferred option to avoid further damage to the ship from the sandbank. Salvage experts boarded the ship on Monday and began carrying out an assessment to form a rescue plan. The Singapore-registered transporter set sail for Germany at about 20:20 on Saturday, shortly before being deliberately run aground by the crew after it unexpectedly started to list. There were 1,400 cars on board, including 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and 65 Minis, as well as 105 JCB machines and 500 tonnes of fuel. Two crew members out of 25 rescued by RNLI Lifeboats and the Solent Coastguard on Saturday suffered non-life threatening injuries. Two senior officers and a pilot stayed on board before being taken ashore.

poor weather conditions make it unsafe for salvors to board on Saturday. operation to pump 3,000 tonnes of water out of the hoegh Osaka expected to last until sunday. salvors say working conditions on board are "difficult"

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High winds are affecting the operation to salvage the cargo ship that ran aground in the Solent.

They also provide the first direct evidence that there may be as much water trapped in those rocks as there is in all the oceans. The diamond, from central-west Brazil, contains minerals that formed as deep as 600km down and that have significant amounts of water trapped within them. Researchers have published their findings in the journal Nature. The study suggests water may be stored deep in the interiors of many rocky planets. Diamonds, brought to the Earth's surface in violent eruptions of deep volcanic rocks called kimberlites, provide a tantalising window into the deep Earth. A research team led by Prof Graham Pearson of the University of Alberta, Canada, studied a diamond from a 100-million-year-old kimberlite found in Juina, Brazil, as part of a wider project. They noticed that it contained a mineral, ringwoodite, that is only thought to form between 410km and 660km beneath the Earth's surface, showing just how deep some diamonds originate. While ringwoodite has previously been found in meteorites, this is the first time a terrestrial ringwoodite has been seen. But more extraordinarily, the researchers found that the mineral contains about 1% water. While this sounds like very little, because ringwoodite makes up almost all of this immense portion of the deep Earth, it adds up to a huge amount of deep water. Dr Sally Gibson from the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the work, commented: "Finding water in such large concentrations is a hugely significant development in our understanding of the ultimate origin of water now present at Earth's surface." The observation is the first physical evidence that water can be stored in the deep interiors of planets and solves a 25-year-old controversy about whether the deep Earth is dry, wet, or wet in patches. Discussing his findings, Prof Pearson told BBC News: "The discovery highlights the unique value of natural diamonds in trapping and preserving fragments of the deep Earth. "It's incredible to think that, as you hold this sample in your hand, the residual pressure at the interface between the diamond and the inclusion is 20,000 atmospheres." Describing his diamond sample, he said: "It looks like it's been to hell and back, which it has." Prof Joseph Smyth of the University of Colorado has spent many years studying ringwoodite and similar minerals synthesised in his laboratory. He said: "I think it's stunning! It implies that the interior may store several times the amount of water in the oceans. It tells us that hydrogen is an essential ingredient in the Earth and not added late from comets. "This discovery implies that hydrogen may control the interior processes of the Earth just as it controls the surface processes, and that water planets, like Earth, may be common in our galaxy." A key question posed by the observation is to understand the extent to which plate tectonics on Earth leads to oceans of water being recycled deep within our planet, and to predict the likely amounts of water trapped in other rocky planets. Ringwoodite is expected to form deep in Mars as well, for example, where it sits against the metallic core. Grains of the same mineral synthesised in Prof Smyth's laboratory shine bright blue under the microscope. Given the new findings of ringwoodite's water-bearing capabilities, its abundance at depth, and its beautiful hue, the term "blue planet" seems even more appropriate for Earth.

diamond from central-west Brazil contains minerals that formed 600km down. scientists say it is the first direct evidence that water may be stored deep in planets.

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Minerals preserved in diamond have revealed hints of the bright blue rocks that exist deep within the Earth.

Peter Whittle said he would back Paul Nuttall as "a leader who knows the party inside out and who can command the loyalty" of all members. Former deputy leader Mr Nuttall, former deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans and ex- soldier John Rees-Evans remain in the contest, to be decided on 28 November. Raheem Kassam also withdrew from the contest on Monday. In a message on Facebook, Mr Whittle said Thursday's High Court ruling, which found that the government could not trigger Article 50 - the formal process of leaving the EU - without consulting Parliament, showed that "the battle to ensure that the Leave vote in the referendum is respected is far from over and UKIP is needed more than ever". Mr Whittle, the party's culture spokesman and a former London mayoral candidate, added that the "sheer breadth of Paul's political experience, his dedication to the values of the party and the obvious affection in which he is held by members make him the person who is best placed to take us forward". Nigel Farage is back as interim leader after his successor Diane James quit just 18 days into the job. Mr Kassam, a former aide to Mr Farage, had endorsed Mr Whittle after himself pulling out of the race.

former deputy leader, Suzanne Evans and ex- soldier remain in the contest. Raheem Kassam also withdrew from the contest on Monday. the contest will be decided on 28 November.

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Another contender to become UKIP leader has pulled out of the contest - leaving three in the race.

The Aberdeen-born artist has been recognised for raising awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. She has been awarded the RSGS's latest Livingstone Medal. The singer said: "I'm truly honoured to receive such a significant and historical award as the Livingstone Medal." It was first awarded in 1901 to explorer Sir Harry H Johnston.

the singer has been recognised for raising awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. she has been awarded the RSGS's latest Livingstone Medal. it was first awarded in 1901 to explorer Sir Harry H Johnston.

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Singer Annie Lennox OBE has been honoured for her humanitarian work by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

In the court filings, the organisations said that there was "no adequate justification" for the FBI to continue to withhold the information. They added that they did not seek information that would jeopardise national security. The groups sued the FBI last year. Associated Press, Vice Media and Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, are seeking to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the event. The FBI has never named the security firm or group of hackers who helped unlock the phone, which was used by killer Syed Rizwan Farook. The process would have involved finding a way to bypass the passcode on a locked phone. In normal circumstances, if 10 incorrect attempts at the code are made, the device will automatically erase all of its data. "While it is undisputed that the vendor developed the iPhone access tool, the government has identified no rational reason why knowing the vendor's identity is linked in any way to the substance of the tool, much less how such knowledge would reveal any information about the tool's application," lawyers for the news organisations wrote in the filing to the US District Court in Washington. "Release of this information goes to the very heart of the Freedom of Information Act's purpose, allowing the public to assess government activity - here, the decision to pay public funds to an outside entity in possession of a tool that can compromise the digital security of millions of Americans." Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the Californian city in December 2015. In February, a court order demanded that Apple help unlock the phone, something which Apple resisted, saying it was unable to do so. It added that it hoped that the government would share with the company any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might come to light. There was speculation that the FBI paid at least $1.3m (£1.05m) to break into the phone, based on calculations following comments by FBI director James Comey who said that the agency had paid more to get into the phone than he "will make in the remaining seven years" in his post. He added that it was worth it, even though no details of what was found have been released.

Associated press, vice media and Gannett sued the FBI last year. they say there is "no adequate justification" for withholding the information. the FBI has never named the security firm or group of hackers who helped unlock the phone.

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Three news organisations have asked a US judge to force the government to reveal the amount it paid for technology to unlock an iPhone used by the San Bernardino gunman.

Media playback is not supported on this device It's 1997 and ID7 television are filming at Dunkirk rugby club in northern France. Their subject is in his mid-30s, has a full head of hair and is strangely familiar. He's not French, but he's fluent. Only when the cameraman asks him to say his name does the penny drop. "Je m'appelle Vernon Anthony Cotter." For four and a half minutes he doesn't miss a beat - and why would he? Cotter had been in the country for years by then. Four seasons playing in the back row with Rumilly in the south-east, two years with Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenees, a year with Saint-Junien in west-central France and he would soon kick on for the small southern village of Castelnau-Riviere-Basse, where he played and coached while briefly contemplating a new life as a winemaker. Cotter is now sitting in Murrayfield talking about the past, the present, the future. The New Zealander has been Scotland coach for 31 Test matches - 16 victories, 15 defeats, nine of which were by seven points or less, five of them by three or less. He's given a first cap to 26 players. Eighteen of the squad he has just named for the Six Nations have appeared on his watch. He has just five more Tests before France reclaims him. Montpellier await. Time for reflection, then. Time to remember where Cotter came from and where he has taken Scotland in his two and a half eventful years. Cotter is big into culture. Rugby culture. He learned about it first as a player with Counties in New Zealand but a lot of his knowledge came in those early years in France. "I used to think I was a reasonably physical player, but I was a baby," he says. I understand New Zealanders so much more after living in Scotland because a lot of the influence comes from here "I learned a lot about character and defending the jersey. You couldn't help but get swept away. The French flair - I used to laugh at that. It wasn't true. Overlaps were created because two forward packs were generally having a good whack at each other." He tells a story about a derby match from the mid-90s, his own Lourdes team versus Pau. No love lost between them. In their previous meeting there'd been "scuffles" and Lourdes had come off second best. "Our players were doing cartwheels going on to the paddock," Cotter recounts. "The coach said, 'Right boys, tactics for the day. The first five [eighth] kick it straight into the stand and we run up and punch them.' That's what happened. I had somebody who had given me a gentle tickle in the away game and I managed to line him up. "There was an all-out brawl, but no penalty. We had a scrum in midfield and our locks came through and caressed the opposition front row a little bit with their hands. A couple of them needed treatment and we scored a try from there. It was an insight. "It wasn't just a game. I enjoyed the fact that you were playing for your town and your colours. They could be absolute psychopaths on the paddock and gentlemen afterwards." Years later, while coaching at Clermont, Cotter was given a nickname - les yeux de glace ('eyes of ice'). Years after that, in Scotland, he was christened Stern Vern. To understand what makes him tick, the period of his life in a country where he's already done 17 years, and where he will soon return for another three, is important. Eight seasons at Clermont turned Cotter into one of the hottest coaching tickets in world rugby. The season before he took over, the club finished a poor eighth in the French championship. In his first year - and for the three years that followed - they made the final. In 2010 they won the first league title in their history. Cotter - with his great friend Joe Schmidt as assistant coach - had become immortal in the French game. Clermont were never out of the top four on Cotter's watch. Then, the move to Scotland. Not a lot of people in France could understand why he did it. Going to New Zealand, they would have understood. England, they could get. Ireland, perhaps. But Scotland? "It's something that I didn't have to do, it's something that we wanted to do as a family," he explains. "One of the key motivating factors was that people [in France] would take the mickey out of Scotland and its rugby. It sort of upset me. I was defending the underdog. "Before the Six Nations, everybody would take a sweepstake and Scotland was always last pick. "Look, I remember the 1990s. I remember Scotland coming to New Zealand [in the summer of 1990] and they should have beaten the All Blacks. We weren't inventing the game, Scotland were doing it. When we first came together as a squad we looked at some footage of those days. They were brave, confident warriors. "Trying to bring that back to Scotland was one of the key things. They [Jim Telfer and Ian McGeechan, the coaches of the era] were ahead of their time. Any comparison to those two great men is very nice. I would take inspiration from what they did. The game has moved on but some of the essential things they were coaching are still relevant, especially to the Scottish psyche. "Scotland has a proud history. It's a humble country and it's a place you can become attached to very quickly." In Cotter's first Six Nations, in 2015, Scotland got whitewashed, Wooden-spooned and, at times, embarrassed. Last season brought progression. The brilliance and pain of the near-miss against Australia in the World Cup, the home win against France in the Six Nations, the fact - incredible as it seems - that 2016 was the first time in the 17-year history of the competition that Scotland managed to score more points than they conceded, and hit double figures for tries scored. Media playback is not supported on this device Scotland have become an exciting team. More than at any point since last winning the championship under Telfer in 1999, they're posing a threat to the big nations. "The principal foundations are mindset and skill-set," says Cotter. "It was about creating clarity. "The other thing is leadership, creating a leadership group so that they determine behaviour and standards because it's always much easier when you have a group that can think on its feet, that's autonomous. I think that's where we're getting. "You've got a team that's experienced some good things and some bad things. We've become aware of what we can do. Winning is the most important thing. So how do we win? We go through a painful process of learning how to win. "There's been improvement. Would we have liked quicker improvement? Yeah, we probably would. Would we have liked to nail some of those close games? Yes. But we've used them as benchmarks." Media playback is not supported on this device On the opening day of the Six Nations, Ireland come to Edinburgh. "We played them at the end of the competition in the last two years and their strength in depth showed through," Cotter recalls. "We have more depth now to stay a bit more robust until the end. I'd like to think this game will be closer than those two. "It's a really big challenge for our guys. Joe [Schmidt, Ireland coach] is a really good friend and we'll probably have a beer afterwards. Unfortunately, he's always the one with the smile on his face - and I'd like it to stop. I'd like to get one back on him." Beyond that, it's a trip to France, then a visit from Wales, then a journey down to England. Scotland have moved forward, but that's no guarantee of victories in the coming weeks. "We know that these teams are very good," he insists. "When they see us on the fixture list they know they're going in as favourites, very confident that they'll beat us. It's our job to try to surprise them somehow, to have something that will take them away from the comfort zone and create errors in their game that we can exploit." Five more games and then he's away. It's not the way he planned it. It's just the way it is, he says. When the news broke that this was going to be Cotter's final Six Nations, an audible gasp could have been heard around Scottish rugby. There had been little hint of it, no suggestion his time was coming to an end. He would have preferred to stay on, but Gregor Townsend was ready for an elevation and there was only one way that was going to happen. Will he miss it? "Undoubtedly, but we'll come back on holiday," he says. "You never know, you might find that Glasgow are in Montpellier's pool next year in European rugby. "It was always going to be the deal. The SRU had made it known at the outset that they'd like a Scottish coach in the national position sooner or later and I respect entirely the decision. Would I have liked to continue? Yeah, probably would have, but that's the way it is." Cotter, without doubt, has been good for Scotland but he says Scotland has been good for him, too. "I understand New Zealanders so much more after living in Scotland because a lot of the influence comes from here," he explains. "I recognise it in our rural communities. "I'm not an extroverted person - I'm introverted, I'm quiet - and I love the countryside, I love what Scotland has got to offer, whether it's the coastline, the mountains, the rivers. I enjoyed my time in Colonsay, fishing on the west coast in Plockton, stalking in Glen Shiel. "We've got some good friends in the Borders who love their rugby and it's nice to see their passion. They talk about passion in France, but there's some real passion here for the game. "It's been a privilege, the whole thing. I've only got fond memories. I move on. The game has existed in this country for over a hundred years and it will exist long after I've left. There's another project to move to after I finish here. We were going to go back to New Zealand but then Montpellier came up. They wanted something constructed and the communication I had with the president convinced me that there was perhaps another adventure to take on." More than anything he wants to exit on a high. In the coming weeks he says he wants the team to deliver moments that will bond them together not just in the here and now but for decades down the road. "They give everything, these guys," he adds. "They're striving to give people something to be proud of. The stadium is a sell-out for Ireland. So, game on..."

new zealand coach has been in france for years. spent time in the south-east, south-west and midlands. has been in charge of Scotland for two and a half years. has been a coach for 31 test matches.

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The old footage begins with a large man in a blue tracksuit walking across a pitch and casually kicking a rugby ball out of his road.

Funerals have been held across the country for those whose bodies were released by forensic investigators. Officials said the number of dead had risen to 358 after two badly burned victims died in hospital. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo has ordered a safety review of all prisons as experts try to establish the causes of the blaze in the Comayagua prison. Pathologists continue to try to identify the bodies of the victims, but said many were so badly burned they could only be identified through DNA testing. So far, only 18 bodies have been released to their families for burial. Deadly conditions Of the 358 people who died, all but one were inmates. The other was the wife of a prisoner who had come to visit her husband. Forensic experts from Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico have joined their Honduran colleagues to try to speed up the identification process. The United States has sent a team from its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to help with the investigation into the causes of the fire. ATF team member Jose Oquendo said they would stay "until the investigation is concluded, however long that may take". The Honduran Ministry of Public Affairs said there had been 852 people inside the prison when the fire broke out on Tuesday. The prison was at double its capacity and there were only six guards on duty. Survivors described how they desperately struggled to save themselves as firefighters tried to find the guards who had the keys to the cells. The prison had no emergency evacuation plan. President Lobo said he would ensure measures would be taken to improve the situation in the country's 24 prisons, which hold more than 13,000 inmates.

funerals held across the country for those whose bodies were released by forensic investigators. president porfirio Lobo has ordered a safety review of all prisons. pathologists continue to try to identify the bodies of the victims.

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Relatives of the victims of Tuesday's prison fire in Comayagua, Honduras have been mourning the dead.

The Sauchiehall Street building was taken over by the Willow Tea Rooms Trust in 2014 and is being refurbished. The Willow Tea Rooms inside was a separate business and had to relocate. Its owner, Anne Mulhern, chose to recreate the Tea Rooms, which she has run since 1983, inside the nearby Watt Brothers store. The Sauchiehall Street building and interiors were designed by Mackintosh and built in 1903 for Kate Cranston, who ran several tearooms in the city. The Willow Rea Rooms Trust closed the building earlier this year for a major refurbishment which aims to restore the structure to its former glory. Ms Mulhern opened her business there in 1983 after the building had been used as a retail unit. She said it was "exciting" to be based at another building with a "fascinating history". "Creating the new tea room has been a really exciting project and we have returned it to its original grandeur with a nod to Miss Cranston's original tea room designs," she said.

the Sauchiehall street building was taken over by the Willow Tea Rooms trust in 2014. the Willow Tea Rooms inside was a separate business and had to relocate. owner Anne Mulhern chose to recreate the tea room inside the nearby Watt Brothers store.

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Glasgow's Willow Tea Rooms has reopened at Watt brothers department store after leaving its former home in a Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed building.

Riding shotgun, Mrs Obama sang along to hits by Beyonce and Stevie Wonder - although her security limited the drive to the White House compound. Mrs Obama confessed she had only ridden in the passenger's seat of a car once in the last seven years. Corden began hosting CBS's The Late, Late Show in March last year. Corden producer: How we got Michelle Obama to sing Singer, Missy Elliott, joined the ride for the song "This Is For My Girls", which is promoting Mrs Obama's Let Girls Learn initiative that supports girls' education worldwide. The First Lady also rapped along to Missy Elliott's 2001 hit, Get Ur Freak On. Other guests on Cordon's Karaoke have included Adele, Sir Rod Stewart, Sir Elton John, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and One Direction.

first lady rapped along to missy Elliott's 2001 hit, getur freak on. she admitted to only riding in the passenger's seat once in the last seven years.

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The US First Lady joined comedian and television star James Cordon for Wednesday night's episode of Carpool Karaoke on The Late Late Show.

England made only 134-8 despite being well set on 50-1 after six overs, Jos Buttler top-scoring with 32 not out while spinner Imran Tahir took 4-21. The hosts needed 15 runs from the final over and two off the last delivery. Chris Morris scampered two as bowler Reece Topley failed to collect Joe Root's throw from long-off. Morris, who also produced a match-winning 62 off 38 balls in the fourth one-day international, finished with 17 not out off seven balls. The defeat was England's fourth in a row following their 3-2 reverse in the one-day series, but only their first loss in seven Twenty20 internationals. The second game of the two-match series takes places in Johannesburg on Sunday. That will be England's last competitive match before their opening game of the World Twenty20 on 16 March. England knew they needed wickets to have any chance of winning and their hopes were boosted when Chris Jordan (3-23) dismissed AB de Villiers cheaply and Ben Stokes (1-19) removed Hashim Amla for 22 in a wicket-maiden. Adil Rashid claimed the wicket of JP Duminy and fellow spinner Moeen Ali struck twice, including the wicket of top scorer Faf du Plessis for 25, to make the hosts nervous. David Miller hit a six and a four in the 18th over but Jordan had him caught on the boundary and bowled David Wiese via an inside edge in a superb penultimate over that cost only six runs. After Kyle Abbott ran a single off the first ball of the final over, Morris struck successive full tosses from Topley for four and six. However, a dot ball was followed by two to long-off, leaving Morris on strike for the last delivery of the game. Root's throw on the bounce was accurate but Topley, at the non-striker's end, fumbled the ball with Morris short of his ground. Had Topley completed the run-out, the game would have gone to a super over. Alex Hales helped get England off to a promising start with the bat but became Tahir's first wicket when he was caught for 27, Duminy taking a high catch despite team-mate Kagiso Rabada almost rugby-tackling him in a race for the ball. Three balls later Root fell for eight to Wiese's first delivery and Stokes was stumped off Tahir the ball after hitting a muscular six. Tahir then dismissed Morgan for 10 and Moeen first ball, and came within a whisker of a hat-trick as Jordan was beaten by a googly that went between bat and pad. Helped by the accurate Wiese, who conceded only 19 off four overs, South Africa allowed only one boundary between the start of the eighth over and the end of the 14th. England's 100 came up in 16th over but with Buttler restrained by the circumstances, they were unable to set the total they would have desired. South Africa are now unbeaten in their past 13 matches against England at Newlands - a run that goes back to January 1957. They have won 10 and drawn three matches, having played six Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. England captain Eoin Morgan: "After a pretty poor batting display our bowlers nearly pulled it out of the bag. "Stokes and Jordan got as much as they could out of the pitch. The more and more we play the more responsibility the bowlers take on their shoulders. "We created chances with an under-par score. That is a huge positive. "We have had a reasonably good run in T20s and probably should have won tonight when we didn't deserve to." South Africa captain Faf du Plessis: "That's a massive get-out-of-jail card. "Neither team played their best because the wicket was two-paced and not a normal T20 wicket, but I have a smile on my face because we won. "We didn't start well. Twenty20 cricket is all about executing plans and we let them get away at the start. Our bowlers came back by getting wickets. "We tried to learn from their mistakes - maybe they went a bit hard at the ball - and we tried to play deeper. We messed it up a little but Chris Morris, the million-dollar man, saved us."

England made 134-8 despite being well set on 50-1 after six overs. hosts needed 15 runs from the final over and two off the last delivery. but jos buttler top-scored with 32 not out.

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England missed a run-out off the final ball as South Africa won the first Twenty20 international by three wickets in Cape Town.

Labour said 160,000 people would lose out as a result of changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIPs). The disability minister said new rules to clarify eligibility criteria for payments would ensure those most in need received maximum support. The action follows two court judgements on how benefits claims are scored. Labour said the government was not listening to criticism of how payments are assessed. The Liberal Democrats said the government was using court losses "as an excuse to severely restrict disability benefits". Disability rights campaigners said the changes were one of a number of cuts and changes faced by disabled people and those in ill health. Two tribunal rulings came in late 2016. One found someone who needed support at home to take medication or monitor a health condition like diabetes would score the same on the benefits criteria as people who needed help with a therapy such as kidney dialysis. A second ruling said people who struggled to travel independently because of conditions such as anxiety scored the same as someone who was, for example, blind. The government said the combined effects of the rulings would have added £3.7bn to the benefits bill by 2023. The benefit payments are aimed at helping people cope with the extra costs of living with ill health or disability and are made according to the points a person scores in an assessment of their needs. The replacement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), which was partly self-assessed, with PIPs, where eligibility is tested by a company, has been controversial. Eligibility for PIPs is reviewed regularly and the qualifying criteria are also stricter. In a written statement to the House of Commons on Thursday, Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Penny Mordaunt said the government monitored how effective the payment was in supporting those facing the greatest barriers to leading independent lives. She said that PIPs were designed to give "non-physical conditions... the same recognition as physical ones". But she added: "Now, over two thirds of PIP claimants with mental health conditions get the higher Daily Living award, worth £82.30 per week, compared to 22% under DLA." She said amendments to the criteria would "provide greater clarity", saying: "This will not result in any claimants seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP previously awarded by DWP (the Department of Work and Pensions)." But Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, Debbie Abrahams, said: "Instead of listening to the court's criticisms of Personal Independence Payment assessments and correcting these injustices, the government has instead decided to undermine the legal basis of the rulings." It was an "unprecedented attempt" to subvert a tribunal judgement, she said. She said Labour would fight changes to "strip" entitlements from more than 160,000 disabled people - describing them as a "step too far, even for this Tory government". A Lib Dem work and pensions spokeswoman said it was "utterly outrageous" the government was using the ruling to "make matters worse" for disabled people. "What makes things even worse is that they have sneaked this announcement out under the cover of [Thursday's] by-elections," she said. Campaigners said the government should instead embrace the tribunal's findings. Philip Connolly from Disability Rights UK said the changes showed "escalating levels of unfairness" in the government's approach to a benefit it had created. People with "very serious conditions" including dementia, learning difficulties and diabetes would be hit, he said. This change was one of several benefit cuts disabled people faced, he said. Campaigners are due to stage a protest in Westminster on Wednesday about a £29-a-week cut to employment support payments. A DWP spokeswoman said the government was "committed to ensuring our welfare system is a strong safety net for those who need it. "That's why we spend around £50bn a year to support people with disabilities and health conditions."

disability minister says 160,000 people will lose out on personal independence payments. action follows two court judgements on how benefits claims are scored. government says combined effects of rulings would have added £3.7bn to benefits bill.

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Opposition parties have criticised moves to cut £3.7bn from the benefits bill by reducing the number of people eligible for disability benefit.

The pair will be taking over the job from Sarah-Jane Crawford, who only hosted the show for one series. This year's X Factor will see big changes, with judges Louis Walsh, Mel B and presenter Dermot O'Leary leaving. Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini are the only faces returning. Olly Murs and Caroline Flack have already been named as The X Factor's new presenters. The judging panel will be completed by newcomers Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora, who was poached from BBC One's The Voice. Rochelle's new co-host Melvin Odoom is best known for presenting Kiss FM's breakfast show in London since 2007. The Xtra Factor is a spin-off show to the main weekend programme, and follows the backstage action, as well as chatting with judges and contestants. Humes said: "I have watched The Xtra Factor for years so I am beyond excited about joining such a brilliant team and getting to work with my old friend Melvin makes it even better. "I also can't wait to meet the contestants and be a part of their X Factor experience."

Rochelle and Melvin will be taking over from Sarah-jane Crawford. the x factor will see big changes with Louis Walsh, Mel B and dermot o'leary leaving. Simon cowell and Cherylfernandez-versini are the only faces returning.

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Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes is the new host of The X Factor spin-off show The Xtra Factor, where she has been partnered with radio DJ Melvin Odoom.

Pre-tax profits fell to £78.7m in the first six months of the year, down 35% from £121.8m a year earlier. It paid an additional £44m in gambling duties, following changes to the taxation of online betting and fixed-odds betting terminals. William Hill also said it had bought a 29.4% stake in online lottery firm NeoGames for $25m (£16m). Shares in the bookmaker had fallen more than 7% by late morning. In December last year, a new Point of Consumption Tax came into effect, which applies to gambling profits generated from UK customers. In addition, Machine Games Duty - the levy paid on fixed-odds betting terminals - was increased to 25% in March. The company's chief executive, James Henderson, said: "We have delivered a good operational performance in the past six months during a period of significant regulatory and taxation change for the industry. "Whilst factors such as the Point of Consumption Tax and the increase in the Machine Games Duty rate have impacted our cost base as expected, we continue to progress our strategy and invest in our long-term growth drivers." William Hill's profits were also hit by one-off costs relating to the rebranding of its operations in Australia. The fall in profit came despite a slight increase in net revenues to £808.1m from £805.2m a year earlier. The bookmaker also said that the introduction of the government's National Living Wage would cost it about £1m-£2m in 2016. Referring to William Hill's purchase of the stake in NeoGames, Mr Henderson described the online lottery market as an "exciting opportunity". NeoGames' business is focused on the US, where lottery spending per head is the highest in the world, William Hill said. The UK firm also has an option to buy the remaining 70.6% of NeoGames, which it can exercise after either three or five years.

pre-tax profits fall to £78.7m in the first six months of the year. bookmaker paid an additional £44m in gambling duties. it also said it had bought a 29.4% stake in online lottery firm NeoGames.

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UK bookmaker William Hill has reported a fall in half-year profits after being hit by changes to betting taxes.

The Vikings finished outside the top eight in 2015, but last Friday's win at Wigan kept them at the top of the Super League table after seven games. In football, Leicester are five points clear with seven games left. "It's good, it's better being compared to someone at the top," Brown told the BBC Super League Show. "I don't really listen to what people say about where we finish, as long as we're playing well and doing our thing you can compare us to whoever you want. "If they're at the top of the league and going to win something, then I hope we can keep it up and they can keep comparing us to them." Media playback is not supported on this device The Vikings have scored 230 points so this season, the highest in Super League, and only Wigan and Warrington have conceded fewer. Key to their improvement has been the acquisition of strong forwards and a toughness instilled by head coach Denis Betts and his coaching staff. "Our attack has been pretty good for the last few years but the fact we've got real lads working their socks off in the middle coupled with some really good edge defenders," said Brown. "The lads who have come in have helped our attack but Chris Houston, Corey Thompson, Chris Bridge, Charly Runciman - these lads are competent, experienced players who know how to defend. "Above everything the defensive side of game has improved out of sight." Media playback is not supported on this device No team has scored more tries than the 42 by Widnes, an average of six per game. And their six wins from seven is a record Brown says can be put down to the atmosphere within the club. "I know it looks like we're just playing fancy-free, but there's a lot more structure and respect for the ball than that," he added. "From Monday to Sunday it's fun all the way, the coaching staff make sure we're working hard and putting everything into it. "But at the same time we're enjoying it, not just because we're winning, but the way we're playing is a good style and brand of footy."

Vikings are five points clear at the top of the super league table. they have scored 230 points so far this season, the highest in the league. the Vikings have won six of their last seven games.

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Widnes captain Kevin Brown welcomes comparisons with Premier League leaders Leicester City if it means they achieve success this season.

This follows earlier warnings that the reef was experiencing its worst coral bleaching event on record. Prof Terry Hughes from the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce told the BBC the link between bleaching and global warming was "very well established". Rising water temperatures cause corals to drive out colour-giving algae. The corals can die if conditions do not return to normal. In pictures: Great Barrier Reef Vinegar could help save Barrier Reef The taskforce's survey shows that the extent of the damage is most severe in the northern section of the 2,300km (1,429 mile)-long reef, which lies off the coast of Queensland state. Only 7% of the reef showed no signs of bleaching, Prof Hughes said. The effects of El Nino, as well as climate change, are being blamed for the rise in sea temperatures that causes the bleaching. More than 900 individual reefs were surveyed using a light plane and a helicopter, with the accuracy of the aerial survey then checked by teams of scuba divers. "I'm inherently an optimist, but I think we have a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to save the Great Barrier Reef," Prof Hughes said. "If we don't take action on global warming it will become more degraded. "After three bleaching events the mix of coral species has already changed." This bleaching event is far more severe than previous bleaching events recorded in 2002 and 1998, he said. "We know that this time only 7% of the reef didn't bleach. It was closer to 40% in the other two events. "If these events start coming as frequently as every five to 10 years there will not be sufficient coral regeneration," he said. Tourism to the Great Barrier Reef generates $A5bn ($3.9b, £2.7bn) each year and employs around 70,000 people, the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce said. "Thankfully many parts of the reef are still in excellent shape," said Daniel Gschwind, chief executive of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council in a statement. "But we can't just ignore coral bleaching and hope for a swift recovery." The current worldwide bleaching event, which is also affecting reefs on Australia's north-west coast, is predicted to be the worst on record. The Australian Department of Environment previously said that state and federal governments were investing a projected A$2bn over the next decade to protect the reef.

coral bleaching is caused by rising sea temperatures. only 7% of the reef showed no signs of bleaching. tourism to the reef generates $A5bn ($3.9bn, £2.7bn) taskforce says.

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An extensive aerial and underwater survey has revealed that 93% of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been affected by coral bleaching.

Varela, 20, had a trial at Old Trafford last season and is David Moyes's first signing as Manchester United manager. The defender has made one appearance for Penarol but has nine caps for Uruguay's Under-20 side. "I'm very pleased to be a part of this club, one of the best in the world," he said after signing a five-year deal. "As everyone in the world knows, this is a huge club that has won everything and I really hope that continues." Varela is taking part in the Under-20 World Championships, which runs from 21 June to 13 July, in Turkey. Last week, Penarol head coach Jorge Da Silva, who is reported to have since resigned, said he believed the youngster has earned the move. Da Silva said: "This is what he deserves. It is a shame to see him go but you can't deny him the opportunity to join a club like this." Rafael was United's regular right-back last season, with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also featuring in the role.

defender has signed a five-year deal with manchester united. the 20-year-old has made one appearance for penarol. he is taking part in the under-20 world championships in turkey.

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Manchester United have completed the signing Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Varela from Atletico Penarol for an undisclosed fee.

Carlos Vela and Juanmi, formerly of Arsenal and Southampton respectively, scored the hosts' goals as Granada suffered a fourth successive defeat under Adams. "We are all sad, the players, the fans, everybody," said Adams. "There's been a lot of mistakes. We're going to try to rectify it and rebound very quickly." The 50-year-old, who took charge on 10 April, has a contract to the end of the current campaign. However Adams has been working at the Spanish club since November and is vice president of the company owned by Granada's club president. "If the team played like this at the beginning of the season, there's no way we'd be in this situation," he added. "I thought they were incredible today, but it's not a day for incredible, it's too late, you're down, you're finished, it's over." Granada's relegation ends a six-season spell in the top flight. They play Real Madrid at home in their next match on 6 May with fans having walked out of previous defeats in protest at how the club is being run. Match ends, Real Sociedad 2, Granada CF 1. Second Half ends, Real Sociedad 2, Granada CF 1. Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Uche (Granada CF). Jon Bautista (Real Sociedad) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Granada CF). Corner, Granada CF. Conceded by Mikel Oyarzabal. Hand ball by Juanmi (Real Sociedad). Corner, Real Sociedad. Conceded by Guillermo Ochoa. Attempt saved. Sergio Canales (Real Sociedad) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Martin Hongla (Granada CF) is shown the yellow card. Juanmi (Real Sociedad) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Martin Hongla (Granada CF). Foul by Zaldúa (Real Sociedad). Andreas Pereira (Granada CF) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Goal! Real Sociedad 2, Granada CF 1. Juanmi (Real Sociedad) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sergio Canales with a through ball. Attempt missed. Raúl Navas (Real Sociedad) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Sergio Canales following a set piece situation. Ezequiel Ponce (Granada CF) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Asier Illarramendi (Real Sociedad) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Ezequiel Ponce (Granada CF). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match Uche (Granada CF) because of an injury. Substitution, Real Sociedad. Jon Bautista replaces Carlos Vela. Attempt missed. Yuri (Real Sociedad) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Mikel Oyarzabal. Corner, Real Sociedad. Conceded by Victorien Angban. Attempt blocked. Sergio Canales (Real Sociedad) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Zaldúa. Attempt saved. Jeremie Boga (Granada CF) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Andreas Pereira. Hand ball by Yuri (Real Sociedad). Attempt missed. Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Juanmi. Offside, Granada CF. Jeremie Boga tries a through ball, but Gastón Silva is caught offside. Foul by Zaldúa (Real Sociedad). Jeremie Boga (Granada CF) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Substitution, Real Sociedad. Sergio Canales replaces Xabi Prieto. Substitution, Granada CF. Ezequiel Ponce replaces Adrián Ramos. Attempt saved. Juanmi (Real Sociedad) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Asier Illarramendi. Goal! Real Sociedad 1, Granada CF 1. Adrián Ramos (Granada CF) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Dimitri Foulquier with a cross. Attempt blocked. Adrián Ramos (Granada CF) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Andreas Pereira. Substitution, Granada CF. Jeremie Boga replaces Aly Mallé. Offside, Real Sociedad. David Zurutuza tries a through ball, but Carlos Vela is caught offside. Offside, Granada CF. Andreas Pereira tries a through ball, but Adrián Ramos is caught offside.

Granada suffer fourth successive defeat under new manager adams. formerly of arsenal and Southampton, Carlos Vela and Juanmi score for hosts. Granada relegated from spanish top flight.

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Tony Adams' Granada have been relegated to the Spanish second tier after a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad.

The 12 men were accused of waging war against the nation, conspiracy and murder. One man was acquitted. The serial bombings on 11 July 2006 killed 189 people and injured more than 800. The attack was blamed on Islamic militants backed by Pakistan, an allegation that Pakistan has denied. Sentencing is expected to be pronounced on Monday after judge Yatin D Shinde hears arguments from the prosecutors and defence lawyers. The guilty face the death penalty or life in prison. "Justice has been done for the people of Mumbai. I will ask for the strictest punishment when I argue for their sentences," public prosecutor Raja Thakre told reporters. During the attack, seven blasts ripped through trains in the evening rush hour. The bombs were packed into seven pressure cookers and put in bags. The co-ordinated explosions were detonated within 15 minutes Convictions in Mumbai train blastsof each other. The blasts took place in the areas of Matunga, Khar, Mahim, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Mira Road, with most on moving trains and two at stations. The bombs appeared to have targeted first-class compartments, as commuters were returning home from the city's financial district. More than 200 witnesses were examined during the eight-year-long trial, which concluded in August last year. Prosecutors say the attack was planned by Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, and carried out by operatives of Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba with help from the Students' Islamic Movement of India, a banned Indian group. Pakistan had rejected the allegations and said India had given no evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks. Mumbai's suburban train system is one of the busiest in the world, carrying more than eight million commuters a day. Convictions in Mumbai train blasts Reporting by Menaka Rao

the serial bombings on 11 July 2006 killed 189 people and injured more than 800. the attack was blamed on Islamic militants backed by Pakistan. the guilty face the death penalty or life in prison.

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A court in India's western Mumbai city has found 12 men guilty for their roles in the 2006 bombings of commuter trains.

A new study by Cancer Research UK found that more than a third of Scots ate confectionary at least once a day. It warned that being overweight was the single biggest cause of preventable cancer after smoking. The Scottish government said it was committed to tackling obesity. Thirteen types of cancer, including bowel, breast and pancreatic, are linked to a person's weight, according to Cancer Research UK. The charity said its research revealed that 39% of Scots consumed confectionery at least once a day and almost a fifth (18%) of Scots have a soft drink which contained sugar at least once a day. About two-thirds (65%) of adults in Scotland and more than one quarter (28%) of children were found to be overweight or obese. The findings, for Cancer Research UK's Scale Down Cancer campaign, were based on a YouGov survey of 3,293 UK adults, 513 in Scotland, carried out between 24 February and 8 March 2016. Cancer Research UK is calling on the Scottish government to act to make it easier to shop healthily and improve the diets of Scots. The charity's cancer prevention expert Professor Linda Bauld, who is based at the University of Stirling, said: "Scotland's sweet tooth is a huge worry for the health of the nation. "Sugar should form no more than 5% of our diet but, on average, both adults and children in Scotland consume much more than this. "Too much sugar in our diet can lead to weight gain - which is not just linked to cancer, but also the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and tooth decay. "If left unchecked, obesity will lead to a rising tide in ill health, including cancers, and become a crippling burden on the NHS." The charity said foods on promotion accounted for about 40% of all expenditure on food and drink consumed at home. It wants restrictions on supermarket multi-buy discounts on foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt to form part of measures in the expected Scottish government strategy to improve diets. The charity said half (52%) of adults in Scotland had a ready meal once a week or more and 16% eat fast food or a takeaway at least once a week. Prof Bauld added: "The Scottish government can, and must, do more to make it easier to shop healthily and serve up a better future for our young people. We need urgent action now to prevent thousands of cancers in the future." Food Standards Scotland said it supported the charity's call for action but it cautioned that there was no "single silver bullet" to Scotland's obesity problem. Its head of nutrition science and policy, Heather Peace, said: "We all need to recognise there is a problem and everyone, including consumers, the food and drink industry, retailers, media and government has a part to play in finding a solution." Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: "We are committed to tackling Scotland's obesity problems and will consult on our new diet and obesity strategy this year, building on our wide range of activity to make it easier for people to be more active, eat less and eat better. "We're investing £12m over five years to 2017 on a range of programmes to specifically tackle the nation's poor diet, including engaging with the food and drink industry on action to offer healthier choices, rebalance promotions, and reformulate products with a focus on reducing calories, salt, fats and added sugar."

more than a third of Scots eat confectionery at least once a day, study finds. cancer research says obesity is the single biggest cause of preventable cancer after smoking. the charity is calling on the Scottish government to act to make it easier to shop healthily.

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Scotland has been warned it is hurtling towards an "epidemic of larger waistlines and increased cancer risk" fuelled by people's love of sweet treats and fast food.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker declared 13 August "Purple Hearts for Healing" Day for the unnamed girl. In a statement, her family thanked him for honouring "our little hero". She was stabbed 19 times by two girls who told police it was in "dedication" to Slenderman, a fictional character on the website Creepypasta. The family has been raising money for her medical bills and several Wisconsin businesses have come forward to host fundraisers. "The compassion and love expressed to our family by the people of Wisconsin [and from people around the world] has greatly assisted our family in this healing process," the family said in a statement. "The prayers, cards, hearts, notes, financial support, and now this heartfelt proclamation truly demonstrates that through this tragedy that there is so much goodness in the world." One of the two accused has been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. Morgan Geyser, 12, and classmate Anissa Weier, 12, have been charged as adults with attempted murder and face up to 60 years in prison. Mr Walker's proclamation includes an invitation to join him in wearing purple in the girl's honour. "This little girl is overcoming a terrible ordeal," he said in a statement. "Her strength and determination are an inspiration, and on behalf of Wisconsin, I wish her well as she continues her journey to recovery." According to police, the girls planned to stab the classmate during a sleepover but instead decided to commit the crime the next morning in a nearby park. Following their arrest they told investigators about their belief in paranormal figure Slenderman and their desire to become his "proxies" by killing to demonstrate their loyalty, police said. The victim was found by a cyclist after crawling from the woods with stab wounds to her arms, legs and torso. Doctors said the knife had just missed a major artery near her heart.

Wisconsin governor declares 13 august "Purple Hearts for Healing" day. family thanks governor for honouring "our little hero" victim was stabbed 19 times by two girls who told police it was in "dedication" to a fictional character.

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The family of a 12-year-old allegedly stabbed by two schoolmates have thanked their state governor for honouring her with a special day.

Greek coach Skafidas admitted nine rule violations, committed in 2011 and 2015. "He was put into a position of trust, he abused that trust and as a result categorically destroyed a career," said Ukad chief executive Nicole Sapstead. Sprinter Wilson was banned for four years in 2011 after she tested positive for testosterone and clenbuterol. The 31-year-old tested positive for clomiphene in an out-of-competition test in February last year but her sanction was reduced to 10 months due to "the substantial assistance" she gave Ukad. A UK Athletics-licensed coach, Skafidas ran a training group for young athletes in Lincolnshire, but Ukad confirmed the nine violations all related to his conduct with Wilson.

coach admitted nine rule violations, committed in 2011 and 2015. he ran a training group for young athletes in Lincolnshire. sprinter Wilson was banned for four years in 2011 after testing positive for testosterone.

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Ex-UK Athletics coach George Skafidas has been banned from sport for life by UK Anti-Doping, which accused him of destroying Bernice Wilson's career.

The Scottish capital's trams began running on Saturday, after six years of disruption and cost increases. Mr Salmond cited "considerable public concern" over the £776m project, which he said had disrupted homes and businesses in Edinburgh. The problems included a dispute between the city council and its contractor. The first minister stopped short of announcing a full public inquiry, raising concerns over the timescale, and instead decided on a "non-statutory" option. Speaking during first minister's questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Salmond said: "I am sure that everyone in Edinburgh, and indeed all over Scotland, will be delighted to see that the Edinburgh trams are fully operational and carrying passengers. "We cannot, however, lose sight of the considerable public concern over the conduct of the project, the disruption it has caused to households and businesses in the city of Edinburgh. "I therefore recommended to the Cabinet, and it has been decided, to establish a judge-led public inquiry into the Edinburgh trams project to establish why the project occurred significant overruns in terms of cost and timing, requiring in particular a considerable reduction in the original scope." He added that the government had been assured by the City of Edinburgh Council that it would fully cooperate with the inquiry. The first minister added: "There are lessons to be learned from the conduct of the Edinburgh trams project and I think the course of action we are proposing will be a substantial assistance in doing that." Mr Salmond was responding to a question from Marco Biagi, the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and an opponent of the city's trams, which run on an 8.7-mile route, from the New Town to Edinburgh Airport. "All of us who opposed the trams project from the start as risky and over-engineered have been disappointed almost daily by being shown to be right," said Mr Biagi. "Now that the trams are indeed rolling, if there is to be any faith from the public in future management or potential cost estimates for projects like this, we need to know for sure that these mistakes will never be repeated". In the decade since the first money was allocated to the project, the price has doubled, the tram network has halved and it has taken twice as long to build as originally planned. Four years ago, a bitter dispute between Transport Edinburgh Limited, the arms-length company responsible for delivering the project, and main contractor Bilfinger Berger brought the whole project to a halt for months.

first minister says "considerable public concern" over the £776m project. he cited problems including a dispute between the city council and its contractor. salmond says there are "lessons to be learned" from the conduct of the project.

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Edinburgh's troubled tram project will be investigated by a judge-led inquiry, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has announced.

A video was released via social media from MotoGP's Valencia Grand Prix, appearing to show the Italian colliding with the fan while riding a motorcycle. The nine-time world champion apologised for the incident and said that he hoped she was ok. Rossi, 37, added it was difficult for him to move quickly around the paddock. Fan Ana Cabanillas Vazquez told Spanish radio station COPE she would have accepted the apology if she thought it "had been an accident". "Seeing the video, you can tell that it was done on purpose," she said. "I have a small bruise on my leg. I'll consider pressing charges." Rossi finished fourth in Valencia, the final race of the MotoGP season and came second in the championship standings behind Spain's Marc Marquez.

video appears to show the italian colliding with a fan while riding a motorcycle. the nine-time world champion apologised and said he hoped she was ok. the 37-year-old finished fourth in the final race of the MotoGP season in Valencia.

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A fan has threatened to press charges against Valentino Rossi following an incident in the paddock that occurred while she was taking a selfie.

The 23-year-old has had surgery for what the Pro12 club describe as "an ongoing shoulder complaint". Edinburgh estimate that the former Scotland Under-20 and Scotland Sevens player will be sidelined for up to six months. Kennedy, who had loan spells with Glasgow Warriors and London Irish, is under contract until summer 2016. His last appearance for Edinburgh came as a replacement during the 38-20 European Challenge Cup win over Bordeaux-Begles on 23 January.

Kennedy has had surgery for "an ongoing shoulder complaint" the 23-year-old is expected to be sidelined for up to six months. he had loan spells with Glasgow warriors and London Irish.

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Edinburgh scrum-half Sean Kennedy has been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury.

A number of options are being considered to improve care in the north of the county, including removing consultant-led services from Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital. The boss of North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust said it does not look like Whitehaven has the "infrastructure" to maintain services. Midwives have raised safety concerns. They have warned mothers and babies "may die" if consultant-led maternity services are removed from Whitehaven and concentrated at Carlisle Cumberland Infirmary. Trust chief executive Stephen Eames told BBC Cumbria: "The options we are looking at are likely to mean there will be changes in maternity services and they're likely to mean we'll need to concentrate our expertise in our consultant staff in one place. "Everybody involved would prefer a consultant-led service in both, but I think the reality is it isn't just about maternity, it's about the other clinical services that support it. "So while we've made some improvements in children's services recruitment it doesn't look like we can recruit the infrastructure to support two independent consultant-led services." Midwives at Whitehaven are concerned mothers facing unexpected problems would need a potentially risky 40-mile (64km) transfer across the county. Earlier this month, Bernadette Bowness said: "We're going to become a third world area because of our inaccessibility to a consultant-led unit. "If ladies have to be transferred, mothers may die, babies may die. "If babies have foetal distress, what with the transfer time they may end up brain damaged." A public consultation exercise will be launched next month to gauge opinion on the future direction of services provided by the trust. The organisation has been in special measures since 2014 after Care Quality Commission inspectors judged it to be failing to provide a sufficiently high level of care in a number of areas.

consultant-led maternity services could be removed from whitehaven's hospital. midwives have warned mothers and babies "may die" if they are moved. trust boss says it does not look like whitehaven has the "infrastructure" to maintain services.

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Further doubt has been cast over the future of specialist-led maternity care at a Cumbrian hospital.

Celtic have not lost a domestic game this season ahead of their Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers. And Lovenkrands, 37, insists reaching the cup final in May should be all the motivation the Ibrox players need. "I don't think it's anything to do with being the first team to beat them," the Dane said. "With the Old Firm, you have to win. If you are playing for Rangers, you have to go and beat your rivals and Celtic will say the same. "I don't think anybody would be looking at it from a Rangers point of view, that we want to be the first team to beat them this season. "You need to approach every game to win it." Lovenkrands spent six years at Ibrox and scored twice, including a late winner, in the 3-2 Scottish Cup final win over Celtic at Hampden in 2002. He also scored the eventual winner in the 2-1 League Cup final defeat of Celtic at the national stadium the following year. And the former Newcastle United and Schalke player, who won 22 Denmark caps, would like to see a new Rangers hero emerge on Sunday. "I would hope someone could come out and grab that chance," he explained. "I grabbed my chance and these things happen in Old Firm games. It happens for Celtic players, like Henrik Larsson, he did fantastic scoring goals against Rangers. "You get your chance and it is about grabbing it and hopefully someone will go and grab the headlines." Celtic, who have already won the Premiership title and the League Cup, are 33 points clear of Rangers in the league. The Ibrox outfit go into Sunday's match having won three games and drawn two under new manager Pedro Caixinha. "Anything can happen in football," Lovenkrands added. "I have always said it is 50-50 in an Old Firm game. "Celtic have won the league comfortably and deservedly so. But Rangers have stepped up in the last couple of games. "They have changed their manager and they have changed their way of playing. I like the way they have changed and the more direct approach suits the players better, they seem to be getting the results. "But it is all about what happens on the day, a challenge after five minutes can change the whole run of the game."

Dane says reaching the cup final should be all motivation for Celtic. Celtic face a tough trip to scottish rivals Rangers in the semi-final on sunday. lovenkrands scored twice in the 3-2 Scottish cup final win over Celtic in 2002.

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Ending Celtic's unbeaten domestic record should not be the focus of Rangers players on Sunday, according to former Ibrox forward Peter Lovenkrands.

Following discussions with the PSNI, they will close from 16:00 -21:00 GMT on 17 March. There were a number of disturbances in the area over the St Patrick's Day holiday in 2016. In a statement, the PSNI said that the arrangement was made "to help keep people safe". Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University have also written to their students urging them not to travel to the area, or to behave responsibly if they do. Classes at both universities have been cancelled on Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March. Both of those days have been designated as "reading days" for students instead. The universities will then be closed on 17 March. The chief executive of Hospitality Ulster, Colin Neill, welcomed the move by the off-licences. "I have sympathy with residents," he said, "who have been subjected to unacceptable behaviour on St Patrick's Day, year after year." "However, I also have sympathy for the local off-sales and commend them for voluntarily agreeing to close." 'Fuelling of drink' "I call on the supermarkets to match the actions of the local off-sales and stop deliveries of alcohol into the Holylands area on St Patrick's Day and the day before." Ray Farley from the Holyland regeneration association also gave the move a cautious welcome. "It's a welcome first step and if we can get it for a half day this year we can maybe get a full day for other years," he said. "It's drink that's the problem, and the fuelling of drink."

the off-licences will close from 16:00 -21:00 GMT on 17 march. there were disturbances in the area over the st patrick's day holiday in 2016. classes at queen's university Belfast and Ulster university have also written to their students.

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Five off-licences in Belfast's Holyland area are to close "voluntarily" for a number of hours on St Patrick's Day.